#I spent five hours on this website last night no kidding

[watatsumi-island]

OBSESSED

[totheseok]

home is where the heart is

Jung Sungchan x reader

trope?: friends to strangers, strangers to lovers, childhood friends, college au?

requested: yes?? but I'm turning it into a series??

req by: @melokoyy

warnings: swearing?

stage one: damn those theatre kids

prev ☆ masterlist ☆ next

words: 1.3k

Jung Sungchan and L/N Y/N grew up together but this didn't mean they were best friends. Nor did it mean they hated each other. Simply put the two of them were friends.

Sungchan and Y/N's parents were good friends but the two never found themselves hanging out with each other besides the times their families were together. They went to the same school but hung out with different people, they were in the same class but sat at different ends. Outside their homes, they were mere acquaintances.

When they were six Sungchan's family moved into the house across the street from Y/N's. It was then that they started hanging out more. Walking to and from school together, doing homework together, and sometimes going over to each other's house to play games when bored. The pair's newly formed friendship, however, was sadly cut short when Y/N's mother got a job offer abroad and the family decided to move. When you're six years old and are told that you're moving to a new country it's exciting, but then you realize you have to leave your friends behind and suddenly your whole world gets crushed. And that's exactly what happened to Y/N. The idea of exploring new places was amazing but what fun would it be if she didn't have Sungchan to do it with her.

Yet the move was inevitable, they were six what could they possibly do to stop it.

As the day of the flight approached the kids spent more and more time with each other and the night before Y/N's flight Sungchan handed her his favorite puppy plushie Haru and told her to remember him with it. In return, Y/N handed the young boy her beloved Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh) stuffed toy.

And with that, they bade farewell to each other and Sungchan walked home crying as Y/N stood outside her door hugging Haru tightly to her chest.

Considering Y/N was only seven when she moved to Canada with her parents, the adjustment wasn't too difficult. She knew English because she was sent to an international school in Korea, and being only seven, fitting in with other kids wasn't too hard.

She soon became friends with a girl named Somi and a guy named keeho and they became pretty much inseparable due to their korean backgrounds (a/n: reader doesn't have to be korean she was just raised there).

Surprisingly, the friendship lasted, even through middle school and high school and soon enough, senior year of high school rolled around.

"Girl, did you apply?"

Keeho has a habit of whispering to y/n during classes, especially if she's zoned out. She should be used to it by now but being broken out of your thoughts is always a bit surprising.

"Fuck! KEEHO! What the hell man?" Y/n replied not bothering to look at him.

"Did you apply to SNU, dumbass?" he quipped at her, pinching her arm to fully bring her back to reality.

"Oh. Oh, wait, oh shit I forgot." she started switching tabs on her laptop, making sure the teacher didn't notice and quickly opened Seoul National University's website. "When's the deadline to apply for the September semesters?"

"In two hours..." Keeho sighed."I swear to god y/n you're hopeless. HOW are you maintaining your GPA!?!?!"

Now y/n's GPA isn't a 4.0, but it's still good at a 3.79, keeping her at an A. Along with that, she actively takes part in extracurriculars and has won a few competitions for her society. So she was definitely HOPING to get accepted by SNU, preferably on scholarship, but hey, she'll take what she can get.

"When does this class end?" she asks him opening the application form and started filling it out, let's hope Mrs. Anderson doesn't notice she's not taking notes.

"Well considering its been about an hour and fifteen minutes, that means there's an hour and forty-five minutes left. Seriously WHY are our classes THIS long?!?!"

"Ugh, I get you," the girl mumbles, "So I either do this right now and risk getting caught by Mrs. Anderson OR I wait until class ends and try to write an application for my dream uni in fifteen minutes?"

"Basically."

"You know what? I'll take my chances, what's Mrs . Anderson going to do, give me detention for applying to uni in her class?" and she starts typing, looking up at the board every few minutes to make it seem like she's taking notes and not doing something her entire future relies on.

"Wait so you JUST applied?" Somi stops in her tracks and turns to Y/n as they walk out of the campus towards the closest 7/11.

Keeho replies for her, "Yeah, that too during Mrs. Anderson's class."

"Damn I knew you were crazy but Mrs. Anderson's class is just wild."

"Hey, atleast my application went through before the deadline," Y/n finally speaks up "Now we just have to hope all three of us get accepted together."

"Damn right, I still applied to a couple other unis in Seoul, just in case you know?" Somi comments, opening the door to the convenience store.

"Same. I applied to Yonsei, Hanyang, and a couple of others." Keeho agrees, following her.

"Other than SNU I just applied to Yonsei but no where else in Korea, if I get into SNU great, Yonsei's my backup option, the other unis I applied to are in the Middle East and Europe." Y/N adds.

"Hmm, you're just going to leave us to rot in Seoul I can't beleive this, but if you do end up going to the Middle East fuck learning, find a rich prince and marry him."

"KEEHO!" both the girls exclaim.

"ANYWAYS, let's hope all three of us end up in SNU, I mean how could SNU possibly turn down a trio as amazing as us." he continues.

"Yeah, let's do this together." Y/N adds while she waits for her hotdog.

Summer after high school came sooner than expected, and suddenly life slowed down, highschool was over and the little group of friends were on there way to be adults.

The only thing they were worried about now?

University acceptance emails.

The three hung out almost every day and every two hours they'd refresh their emails hoping to see an email from SNU.

"What if they accidentally sent our letters to the wrong emails? Is that possible?"

"Keeho I highly doubt a university as established as Seoul National University would send acceptances to the wrong emails..." Somi responds.

"Yeah and even if they did I doubt it'd happen to all three of us, plus apparently acceptances don't come until like June or something idk." Y/N adds to Somi's point.

"Damn, I just want the stress to end man, I don't like not knowing." the boy mumbles.

"I get you," Somi agrees, "Plus its already the end of May so anytime now I guess."

"Oh my god Somi I think you just manifested something, I got an email !" Y/N frantically opens the mail app on her phone and sure enough there was an email from Seoul National University. "Quick both of you check yours."

As she waits, she looks around her bed to find a worn-out puppy plushie, Haru. Once she finds him, she holds onto him, hugging him with her left arm while her right holds her phone.

"I got one too!"

"Same! oh my god oh my god I'm going to shit my pants!"

"OK on three we open them together and remember no matter what happens, we support each other through it."

"Alright one, two, two and a half, two and and three-"

"Y/N FOR FUCKS SAKE, THREE"

And que silence.

The first one to break the silence was Somi, "I GOT IN!"

"I DID TOO!" Keeho jumps in his seat.

The two friends realise the third hasn't spoken yet, and so they turn to her, only to see her sitting with a grim face, tears gathering in her eyes. Grip on her plushie tighter than ever as she hugs it to her chest.

She looks up, looks at Keeho, then at Somi, one singular tear slipping out of her eye.

"Oh Y/N-"

"SNU is overrated any -"

Just as her friends are about to comfort her, a smile overtakes her face.

"I GOT IN TOO!!!"

Damn those theatre kids.

synopsis: Sungchan and y/n are family friends but y/n moved abroad and they lost touch, now y/n is back in Korea for uni and it's just so happens sungchan is attending too and now he's helping her readjust and navigate through life in Korea. What could possibly go wrong?

a/n: So originally, this was supposed to be a oneshot, but I'm turning it into a series, first ACTUAL fic!!! I hope you all like it :)))

and special thank you to @ywnzn for helping me with the name for this series ❗️❗️❗️

taglist open: @seungzzzz @wccycc

[julemmaes]

Honey - part two

Elide Lochan x Lorcan Salvaterre roommates au

A/N: I’m so tired yall have no idea. My eyes are burning and my fingers are cramping cause I’ve been writing all day to get this done, so yeah, I’m very satisfied and some of the blogs that I consider big or are big for a fact started following me and commented on the first part, so I freaked out a little, but I can tell that I’ll sleep peacefully tonight because of that, so thank you all. Enjoy!:)

Oh, and I almost forgot, the song at the end is called “Honey” and it’s by Johnny Balik (shoker, as my man Kieran would say)

masterlist

Word count: 4,966

Lorcan's least favourite day was definitely Friday, unlike all people his age. Not because he didn't like going out in the city at night to have fun and drink until you forgot even your mother's name, but because it was the only day of the week he had to work at both the shelter and the toy shop.

He loved working with the dogs and the few cats they brought in, and although he wasn't really a people person, he enjoyed spending time deciding with the kids and parents what was the best gift to go home with. And although Lorcan would never admit it out loud, he had grown fond of some of the regulars - especially a mother of three who he knew worked as a lawyer in one of the offices above the shop. Almost every day she would come in during her lunch break to buy one of those surprise sachets that cost a euro each and if Lorcan didn't see her coming before he went on his break, he would wait a few minutes before closing up just for her. Elide had managed to find out this detail a few months later after she moved in and he knew she would never stop teasing him because he had a heart of gold.

The phone vibrated in his hand just as he got behind the wheel and he wasn't at all surprised to see that the last message he had gotten was from Elide.

He huffed, not even opening yet another link that would surely send him to yet another website with information on why the world was ending very slowly and why humans were to be blamed entirely. He started the car and drove off towards their house.

Lorcan wasn't a bad person and he really cared about everything Elide was sending him, but he was tremendously tired and all he could think about was how much he wanted to take a shower and pass out in his bed. The fact that none of this was going to happen because Fenrys and Rowan had forced him to accept the invitation out to dinner made it all worse.

It took him less than ten minutes to get home and when he parked and saw the lights in their living room on, he seriously considered backing up and getting out of there to get to Vaughan's house before Elide noticed his car and he wouldn't be able to get away no more.

He was sure his friend would take him in without question if he asked to put him up for a night.

But luck was not on his side as Elide's petite figure appeared in the window and Lorcan could not see her face, but he knew she was smiling as she bounced and waved to greet him.

Despite everything, Lorcan raised his hand in turn and smiled back at her, knowing full well that even she could not see him so low and hidden by the evening shadows.

As he climbed the sixth flight of stairs and mentally prepared himself for two more, he could foresee the flood of words that would wash over him when he entered the house. Elide hadn't kept quiet for the entire day, sending him voice messages and staying with him on calls for the entire duration of his lunch break, so much so that at one point he had wondered if she had gone to class and then to work. He had discovered that yes, she had gone, but she hadn't paid the slightest attention to what they had explained and had gotten half the customers' orders wrong.

When he opened the front door, he recognized the melody of one of the songs she'd put on her apology playlist, the one he'd made for her nearly three weeks earlier after she'd found out he still smoked. She'd seemed so hurt that after he'd gone to bed and cleaned the tiles of his blood until they glistened, he'd stood at the kitchen table and spent hours and hours searching for the perfect apology songs. A bit dramatic perhaps, but it had had the desired effect.

He sighed, slipping off his jacket and putting it as far away from Elide's as possible, so that no animal hair would get on hers. He would clean it later.

The girl in question sputtered out of the living room with a beaming smile on her face, her cheeks strangely red and her eyes so bright they were glossy, "Hello, handsome."

"Hi, Ellie." he murmured, straightening his back and making the bones in his neck crack. Elide approached and Lorcan took a step back, bumping his back against the door, "I haven't showered yet," he put his hands forward to keep her at arm's length, "you can touch and hug me all you want later, but please not now," he begged her.

She gave the cutest pout he had ever seen, "But-"

"No buts, you can wait three minutes for me to wash up without dying," he continued, walking past her without touching her or making any overly sudden movements.

"You're such a pain in the ass," she complained, that adorable pout deepening all the more, "I can always take the antihistamine if I get allergies."

Lorcan shook his head, turning a confused expression on her, "I'd rather you didn't take medication just because you want to hug me."

It was true.

To their great misfortune, Elide was one of the very few people he knew who was allergic to animal hair. Any animal. More precisely, she was allergic to the mites that lived in the fur and the dust that accumulated in it in enormous quantities even on a normal basis. Given that the dogs Lorcan worked with were left to run loose in the fields all day, when he came home he was covered in anything that could kill his friend and roommate in one sniff and he didn't want to have to take her to the emergency room again because they couldn't tell if she was breathing properly.

It was why every night since he'd started working at the shelter he had taken a shower before doing anything else. It was why their water bill had gone up so much since they had found out about this allergy of hers.

"It's just a pill Lor, it's not like I have to get shots or..." she shrugged, as if to indicate anything more invasive than a simple pill.

He brought his hands in front of his mouth like a prayer, looking her in the eyes, "How many times do I have to explain to you that if you take one type of medicine every day, after a while your body no longer perceives it as an extra foreign thing to help you, but as the norm and so it no longer has any effect?"

Elide grimaced, "I hate you."

He chuckled, walking backwards until he reached the bathroom door, just in case she had the great idea to ambush him and jump on his back, "Just wait five minutes."

"It was three before," she said frowning, "And, speaking of showers-" and then she did something that made Lorcan freeze in his tracks. He didn't register what was going on until Elide's shirt was too high up for him to avoid seeing everything. And by everything, he meant everything.

"Elide what the fuck are you doing?!" he turned around, screaming, then his eyes went wide, trying to figure out if what had just happened was true or not. He squeezed his eyes shut, closing his hands into fists, biting his knuckles, "You're not wearing a fucking bra." he said in a voice sharper than he had intended.

He heard her giggle, but the sound came out muffled, "Loorcaaan." she crooned, "Help."

"I can't turn around Ellie, you're naked," he pointed out to her with his eyes still closed, then in a lower voice, "God, you're naked. What has gotten into you?"

He felt her move as she walked around him and stopped in front of him, "Help." she said in a flat tone. Lorcan had to laugh, her tone reminded him so much of the way the green aliens in Toy Story talked.

"Help what?" he asked letting out an amused laugh.

"I'm stuck." she said slurring her words and he felt her move, she was probably wiggling to get out of her t-shirt. And if she was wiggling, that meant her-

Lorcan took a sharp breath, cursing under his breath and trying to quiet his wandering mind.

He arched an eyebrow, though he was pretty sure she couldn't see him either, as doubt crept into him, "Are you drunk?"

Elide was silent for a while, then giggled like a child, "Just a little tipsy."

"Ellie it's seven o'clock," he exclaimed amused, but surprised to learn that she had been drinking, "why on earth are you drunk at seven?"

"Just a little tipsy," she repeated like a broken record. Then she screeched like a pterodactyl and Lorcan burst out laughing again, turning and taking a step or two forward to avoid risking accidentally touching her once more.

"Alright, why are you just a little tipsy at seven o'clock on a night when we're supposed to be going out with the others?" he asked now a little more eager to know the answer.

He heard her snort audibly, "The world is ending, Lorcan, why won't you understand that?"

He opened his eyes wide, not believing what she was saying, pinning them on the picture their friends had given them for Christmas, the one with all their best pictures collaged on a coloured canvas.

And here he thought he was the dramatic one of the two.

He nodded to himself, "So you're telling me that the reason you decided to get drunk before you even went out is because of global warming?"

He heard a rustle and then something hit him on the head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to slap you," she said in the tone of someone who couldn't care less about having hit him, "Anyway, yeah. Global warming and forests catching fire and animals dying and plastic burning..." she took a deep breath and then continued for a few minutes, making a list of all the things she had learned that afternoon by reading all the articles she could find about why humans were the worst living thing in the world.

Lorcan stood patiently listening to her, occasionally getting lost when she introduced topics that were a little too specific, but listen to her he did. The way she was saying all those things was always reminiscent of the little green aliens, but he knew the subject was more serious than it sounded.

With his arms crossed over his chest, he didn't think he'd moved too much, but at one point Elide sneezed and he cursed himself for not having moved fast enough to go to the bathroom.

"I told you you'd get allergies."

"But I didn't even touch you," she squealed back.

"You know that's not necessary for even your soul to start itching too," he scolded her.

Elide remained silent for a while longer, then started talking again, "And we should seriously get some glass bottles, if I see you with those stupid plastic bottles again I'll kill you. Scout's honor." she threatened him.

Lorcan chuckled, "Elide you've never been in scouts."

"How punctilious of you." she scoffed at him, then gasped, "We could buy matching flasks, with glitter and," she gasped again, sounding increasingly excited, "We could have one of our pictures printed on it."

A smile broke out on Lorcan's lips and he knew that if he had looked in the mirror at that moment he would have seen the face of a boy lost in love. He pulled himself together, straightening his back, trying not to think about how he felt about Elide. It wouldn't have done any good to admit that those feelings were real and tangible inside him.

He was staring at Fenrys' face in one of the pictures they had taken on holiday that summer, when Elide spoke again.

"This is a list of things that should make you understand why we have to shower together."

Lorcan choked on his saliva. He coughed a few times, patting his chest.

How had they gone from polar bears dying from melting ice to them showering together?

"What are you talking about?" he asked her in a squeaky voice.

The fact that she was alluding to them showering together while he knew she was half naked behind him, a breath away practically, made him feel so many different kinds of wrong.

"We can't waste water Lor, it's not hard." she sounded exasperated, then muttered, "Sometimes I really think you're being obtuse or stupid."

Lorcan's eyes went wide, "Wow, thanks Ellie."

"You're welcome." she chipped.

He shook his head, sighing and running a hand over his face, "Don't you think there are plenty of other ways we can start saving the world, before we have to shower together?" he took the fact that she wasn't answering as a cue to continue, "Like start recycling?"

Elide gasped again, making him chuckle, "Did you sign the petition?"

"Which-" he trailed off. She was talking about the petition to have a door-to-door rubbish collection service introduced in their town. Something that would force everyone to sort their garbage. "Yes, I signed it."

"Good." she whispered.

"I signed them all," he reiterated, because it was true and he knew that Elide never sent him stupid petitions, that whatever she sent him must be important and it didn't cost him anything to put his email and name on a website if it meant he could make a difference in his own small way.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." she said in a weak voice.

Lorcan felt strangely uncomfortable all of a sudden.

And not because of the fact that Elide was naked behind him and had just confessed to wanting to shower with him, but because he would have wanted to turn around and kiss her, not do what any other guy would have thought of doing with a half-naked girl. No. Lorcan just wanted to kiss her and take his time in the process, savour the kiss and not be hasty and quick.

He wanted it to be slow and heartfelt, he wanted her to feel every single thing he couldn't say out loud.

"Lorcan?" she whispered, "I'm always stuck and I'm starting to get cold."

He blinked, "Yeah, you're right." then interrupted. They were silent a few seconds, "You really can't pull your shirt down?"

"No."

He took a deep breath. Then another.

"Okay, I'm going to turn around and keep my eyes closed, please stay still so I don't touch- anything. I'm not touching anything. I'll try to help you." he stammered, clasping his hands along his sides. She made a simple grunt of assent and he huffed, raising his hands in the air and lowering them slowly until he touched her head. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and then released the elbow that had gotten stuck in her shirt.

"Yay." exclaimed Elide.

Sensing that she was moving freely on her own, Lorcan pulled away again and when the sound of clothes stopped, he asked, "Are you done?"

"Yes," she said singing.

His shoulder sagged a little and he smiled. He opened his eyes, ready to move Elide to the side and go take that holy shower, but whatever he'd thought when he'd asked if she was done must have been the exact opposite of what she'd thought, because Elide's tits were freer than ever between the two of them.

Lorcan grunted, slapping a hand over his face to cover his eyes, "What the fuck, Ellie. Stop flashing me, I'm begging you."

He heard her giggle and then a gust of wind and her laughter fading down the corridor let him know she had run off. He opened his eyes tentatively, peering through his fingers to make sure she wasn't still in front of him and sighed with relief when he finally managed to get into the bathroom and lock the door behind him.

He leaned against the sink, clutching the ceramic between his fingers and staring at his reflection in the mirror.

He never thought the first time he would see Elide's tits would be under these circumstances. He ran a hand over his face again, trying to somehow erase the image he knew he would never forget.

He had just stepped into the shower when he heard something very large and heavy slam against the door. Something that seconds later burst out laughing. Lorcan could only follow as he imagined a half-naked Elide running towards the bathroom and failing to stop in time.

"Are you alright, honey?" he asked her just in case. He turned on the water, hissing when he found it frozen, but not moving from under the jet. After all, a cold shower wouldn't hurt him.

"Let me in." she shouted, slamming her fist against the door, "Let me iiin!"

"Are you dressed?"

"No."

"Then you can't come in."

A scream of despair followed by what could only be a fake hysterical cry made him burst out laughing again, but then for a few minutes all that was heard was the sound of the shower and water falling from his hair.  

"Ellie, are you still there?"

The answer came quickly, "Yes."

"Are you still naked?"

"Maybe." then he heard her move against the door and realised she'd been sitting on the floor.

Perfect, he was stuck in there. He reached for the phone and thought of something.

As he finished untangling the knots in his hair and washing out the conditioner, Elide was talking about how harmful the soaps they used were and had even gone so far as to say that they should both shave their heads so as to minimise their impact on the environment.

"What did you do today?" she asked him suddenly.

Lorcan didn't answer, dialling the number of a certain blonde girl who could help him out of this situation. Aelin answered after the fifth ring and Lorcan knew full well that she had done it on purpose, hoping he would hang up so she wouldn't have to talk to him.

"Hello?"

"Listen, something kind of weird happened and I need-"

"Who is this?" Lorcan arched an eyebrow, pulling his ear away from the phone to check the number. It was Aelin's phone. And the chick's voice on the other end was her, he was sure of it. "God, Lorcan, I'm fucking with you, what's up?"

"Funny," he deadpanned, "Elide's already drunk."

"What? But it's not even eight o'clock."

"I know, I came home and she was already like that."

A few moments of silence passed, "Okay, and what do you want me to do?"

"Well, she took her shirt off at one point."

Lorcan waited for a reaction, but Aelin didn't respond.

"And now she's naked in the hallway and blocking the bathroom door and-"

"She's what?" the friend burst out laughing.

"She's naked," he gritted through his teeth, "And she's blocking the bathroom door. I don't know how to get out and I don't want to open the door and push her off and risk hurting her. Is there any way you could come over here and help her? Help me?"

"I’ll make sure she'll never hear the end of it." Aelin laughed louder and Lorcan heard Rowan ask her what was going on. The blonde took breaths before saying, "Ellie flashed Lorcan and how he's stuck in the bathroom because he's afraid of a pair of nice-looking boobies."

"So are you planning on coming?" he asked before he completely lost his patience.

He imagined her wiping tears from under her eyes, "Yes, we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"We?"

"Me, Ro and Fen. He's the one driving tonight and he picked us up."

"Okay," Lorcan murmured, "but they can't come up to the house."

"Why?" drawled Aelin, "Because you're jealous?"

He counted to ten, restraining himself from hanging up on her, "No, because this is going to be humiliating enough for Elide without two more of her friends seeing her half naked, so please just come up alone."

Aelin huffed, "You're right, but you're no fun."

They said their goodbyes and Lorcan put the phone down, starting to blow dry his hair.

"Lorcan."

"Lorcan."

"Lorcan."

Elide hadn't stopped saying his name for half a second throughout the call and it was starting to annoy him. Then he shook his head, no. He wasn't annoyed by Elide, it was Aelin.

That girl could get under his skin like few could.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me what you did today."

And Lorcan did, so that at least she would stop slamming her hand against the door.

He told her about the last man who'd come to see what dogs he could give his daughter and how he'd seemed so much like the guy who'd abandoned them on the side of the road after not even a week and it had pissed him off. He told her the morning had been even worse, because one of the children had started opening all the toys on display and his mother, who had been right next to him the whole time with her eyes fixed on the phone screen, hadn't stopped him and it had been up to Lorcan to tell him he couldn't do it. It was only then that the woman had realised what a mess it was and had simply apologised to him, running out of the shop so fast that he hadn't even noticed they had left. He had to call his manager and he was not exactly pleased to hear this story, but he also said that they would donate the toys to the church down the street, which was responsible for distributing them to kindergartens in the neighbourhood. That cheered him up a little.

By the time he had finished his story, Aelin had arrived and once he had taken her to her room. Lorcan could finally go out and get ready himself.

***

It was after midnight, the entire group was rocking out on the dance floor of their favorite outdoor club, a place called "The Wild Night" that was on the edge of town, closer to the forest than anything else, and normally Lorcan would have joined his friends to dance and sing, but there was a problem.

A big, huge, handsome problem.

And the problem was called Kyllian.

He couldn't figure out whose idea it had been to invite the boy with them that night, but whoever it was, this person's days were numbered, because Lorcan would kill them first and then use the limbs of their corpse to kill Kyllian.

Kyllian who had now been rubbing up against Elide for hours and who had offered her more drinks than stupid charming grins - and he really was reserving a lot of those for her.

"If you don't stop looking at him like that you're going to make his head explode," someone said, throwing themselves onto the small bench next to him.

He turned his head so fast he wondered how he had managed not to break his neck, "What are you talking about?"

Fenrys arched an eyebrow, "Even if you weren't staring at Kyllian like you wanted to see him disappear off the face of the earth, everyone here, including Elide," he told him with so much as a glare, giving him a slight shove, "would know that you're not really into what's going on on that dance floor."

"He's right," Rowan said to his left, sipping the drink of Aelin's she'd left him. When the hell had he sat there?

Lorcan didn't answer, remaining motionless with his sullen expression.

"I can give you a hand if you want," Fenrys murmured, sucking on the fuchsia straw sticking out of his equally pink glass.

He inhaled through his nose, "And how would you do that?"

"You have to trust me."

"Never." said Lorcan as Rowan said at the same time, "Don't."

Fenrys looked at them both with his mouth wide open and a hand to his chest, "I'm hurt." then finished what was left of the drink in one gulp and stood up abruptly, staggering a little, but holding himself up nonetheless. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the two boys still sitting, grinning, and Lorcan knew immediately what was going to happen.

"Ellie!" he shouted, turning more heads than necessary, "Love of my life!"

Kyllian pulled away from Ellie just enough for Fenrys to grab her hand and spin her around a few times until she burst out laughing and begged him to stop. The new boy didn't even seem to exist anymore as his best friend laced her arms around Fenrys' hips and rocked left and right, increasingly drunk.

Lorcan's heart clenched in his chest as he heard that sound so carefree, so happy.

He didn't realise he was smiling until Rowan cackled beside him, "God, you're fucked."

He didn't pay any attention to him and stood up, keeping his gaze fixed on her face.

He heard Lysandra and Aelin calling his name, hyping him up and threw them a real, quick smile that made them scream even louder, as if they were fans at one of his concerts. When he finally reached Fenrys and Elide's side, the blond spun her around ninety degrees and for a moment she closed her eyes, giggling, intoxicated by the amount of alcohol she had ingested, but when she opened them again and saw Lorcan standing in front of her, a smile as wide as he had ever seen it spread across her face.

"I'll leave you Ellie, you're in good hands," Fenrys told her, winking at him from above her head.

But neither of them even looked at him.

His eyes locked into hers as they both took a step forward and found themselves a caress away. Her chest rose and fell in an agitated rhythm. After all, she'd been dancing with everyone for hours, so much so that Lorcan wondered how she hadn't thrown up yet.

His gaze ran over her body, her bare shoulders, the line of her collarbones, and further down between her breasts. Breasts he'd had the chance to see for a millisecond a few hours before and remembered perfectly. The darker shade of pink that had characterized her-

"Lorcan."

He felt his heart pounding in his throat.

She had never said his name like that.

His eyes went up, sliding over lips so full, so perfect, up, over her nose and then up again, finding hers and the music changed, becoming slower, the lights dimmed as the strobes were turned off. Elide seemed to recognise the tune as her lips parted slightly, "Lor," she repeated. He raised a hand until his knuckles brushed her cheek and when she let go a shuddering breath, Lorcan began to sing under his breath.

"Tell me everything and hold no lies. Say you're waiting for better skies," he leaned forward as his other hand slid to her hip and Elide moved closer, until their bodies were fully joined to each other and one of her legs was between his and their hips were one thing moving in sync with the music. He felt Elide's breath against his neck and had to suppress a shudder when she too began to sing along with him.

"Oh, but honey don't taste like summer no more. Stick around now, I miss you every night,"

He lowered his head even more, brushing her nose with his own. The hand that had been on her cheek had slipped over her shoulder and was now tracing the path down her back, grazing the top of her bottom until it rested on her hip.

"Elide," he whispered, breathing on her lips. She closed her eyes, pushing herself up, towards him, and Lorcan held her tighter, moving his fingers over the exposed skin between her miniskirt and the black top she was wearing and there he was. Elide was there, with him, and she was so close to his body that he could feel the heart beating in her chest.

She was there and the next second... she wasn't. Because Elide had snapped away and was now vomiting on his feet. Lorcan held his breath as she was shaken by another gag and he had just enough time to take a step back that she threw up again.

The people around them quickly scampered away, creating a small circle of spectators and casting a quick glance at his friends he saw that they had a large audience. He just hoped Elide was too drunk to remember what happened the next day.

He looked down and grimaced, all sorts of emotions swirling inside him as the girl he loved clutched at him and puked her dinner all over his clothes.

He cursed at whoever decided how things went for breaking the best moment of his life with vomit and then gathered her hair into a loose ponytail, tying it with an elastic band he kept on his wrist specifically for these occasions.

He heard her whimper and put both hands on her shoulders, stroking her in circular motions to help her warm up. Aelin and Lysandra appeared next to them shortly after and when Ellie was firm enough on her feet to walk, they stepped over the pool of vomit and Lorcan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pushing her towards the exit.

"Let's go home, Ellie."

tog tag list (if you wanna be added or removed just dm me or send an ask)

@tottenhamboys20 @maastrash @ireallyshouldsleeprn @sleeping-and-books @ladywitchling @thegoddessofyou @ghostlyrose2 @claralady @anne-reads @sayosdreams @perseusannabeth @letstakethedawn @simping4bookboisngrls @post-it-notes33 @booksstorm @nalgenewhore @queen-of-demons-and-hell @miserablemusings @lanyjoy-13 @vasudharaghavan @cupcakey00 @bri-loves-sunflowers @queen-of-glass​

[raysofcrosby]

37 and 45 for matty please!

37. “welcome to fatherhood” + 45. “you’re getting a vasectomy. that’s final.” w/ matty tkachuk

The one thing you and Matt both agreed on from the moment you got married and even before, was that you wanted to have at least, 4 kids. He grew up with a brother and sister while you grew up an only child, both of you wanted your future kids to experience life with a sibling by their side. 

And Matt especially had been eager to start a family from the moment the words “I do” left both of your mouths. He spent most of your reception whispering into your ear all of the things he had planned for the nigh, how he couldn’t wait to get you alone and just how excited he was for your honeymoon in Turks and Caicos— “I hope you don’t plan on leaving the room for the first two days...you know, adjust to the time difference and all.”

It was only an hour time difference between Turks and Caicos and your permanent summer residence in St. Louis, but Matt didn’t care— it didn’t matter, and the two of you definitely didn’t leave the room until your third day into your two-week honeymoon.

Which is why it was no surprise to anyone that you found out you were  pregnant a little over two months later when you were packing up to go to Calgary for the season. You were packing up some of the bathroom stuff when you came across a box of tests from your bachelorette party when it was decided the group of you would play “pregnancy test roulette” which thankfully— no one was actually pregnant.

But there was one left and instead of taking it with you or just leaving it behind, you decided to use it and see if maybe the back to back...to multiple back nights on your honeymoon and even then after, resulted in you being pregnant. Matt came into the bathroom, having stripped down to his gym shorts by the time he reached your bathroom only to see you holding the pee stick in hand.

“Is that?”

“I’m pregnant.”

He only stood there shocked for a few seconds before he swept you up into his arms and kissed you, the excitement shining in his blue eyes as he put you down and smiled. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

Your pregnancy was actually...pretty idyllic when it came to first pregnancies. Your appointments all went perfect, you were in good health throughout and even though at most times you were sure that your moodiness would chase Matt away at any given moment, he never faltered. He was with you every step of the way whenever the Flames schedule permitted it.

He took pictures of the ultrasounds to send to family, if he was on the road he’d always send you a text asking for a bump date, and then get a little cheeky asking straight up for a size check on your chest because he ‘wanted to see how the boobs are looking.’ He was loving, attentive and you felt more than lucky to be able to have him with you throughout.

You were sitting in the friends and family box at a Flames game when your water broke all over the nice fancy carpet floor of the suite. Both your Mom and Matt’s were helping you out of the suite, your last words to Keith before leaving for the hospital being “tell him my water broke, but do not let him leave this game!” A wish that Keith abided by and that Matt, when in an intermission, sent you texts worrying about missing the birth. You assured him that you doubted that you’d be having a baby in the 20 minutes of third period hockey.

The Flames won, Matt skipped media and came rushing to the hospital to be by your side, making it right as you were getting your epidural. Your families were in the room with you, waiting to pass the time and trying to distract you from your contractions. By the time you were fully dismayed, both you and Matt were escorted to the delivery room Brady yelling out via FaceTime that he hoped Matt didn’t pass out.

Out of all the books and websites you read and from the stories some of the WAGS had shared from their experience and friends experience, the pain was definitely worth it in the end. At one point, you thought that Brady’s chirp might actually come to fruition and Matt would pass out, since he was starting to look a little pale, but thankfully it never happened and his color returned once that small little cry erupted throughout the room, bringing the both of you to tears as he brushed your hair back and kissed your forehead, whispering small praises as you held the baby on your chest.

Grayson Tkachuk proved to be every bit his father. From the moment he was born— he was just always fussy. Fussy when he was tired, when he was hungry, when he was and and even when he was happy, he couldn’t stay still and couldn’t stay quiet. You were thankful that both of yours and Matt’s parents stayed around for a few weeks to help you and Matt adjust to parenting, especially you since right after Grayson was born, that following week was the Flames longest road series of the season.

Your late night FaceTimes with Matt and even the ones he had on free days, you could see that he was feeling sad and even a bit guilty that he wasn’t there to help you out. But you assured him that your parents were a great help and that if he felt so bad, he could change the first dirty diaper Grayson had the moment Matt came back. “Sure, it can’t be that bad.”

Matt came back late one night, your parents were all away in their guest rooms and you were struggling to fall asleep after Grayson’s last feeding. You felt gross, tired and in desperate need of a shower, but that didn’t stop Matt from cuddling you into the bed and kissing you endlessly.

“How’s my baby?” He mumbled, kissing along your jaw.

“He’s sleeping, thankfully.”

“No, my other baby.” He laughed, leaning up on an elbow. “You, you dork.”

“Oh, I’m—“ Graysons cry came through the baby monitor and you sighed, nudging him away and standing up. “I’m feeling like that.”

He shook his head and for up with you. “Come on, let’s go see our baby.”

You walked down the hall to Graysons nursery, his cries getting louder as you neared the crib. You knew what kind of cry it was, ready to tell Matt what he needed before he picked up Grayson and shook his head. “His butt is heavy.”

“Diaper change, Matty.” You laughed, walking with him over tot he changing table. You helped Matt get Grayson undressed from his onesie, Matt instantly gagging at the smell the was coming from Grayson.

“Oh my God, it’s leaking!” He groaned, shoving his nose into the crook of his elbow and looking at you with pleasing eyes. “He burst the diaper.” 

“You called dibs on the first diaper change of your return home. You smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek as you patted his shoulder. “Welcome to fatherhood, Matty.”

++

Eight years and three kids later,  you’d become all too familiar with those signs of pregnancy— or so you thought you had. Grayson was a random positive pregnancy test, Madelyn was a ‘watch your period tracking app religiously’ planned kind of pregnancy and Sienna was not quite planned, since you found out you were pregnant with her only 7 months after having Madelyn.

You and Matt loved having the three of them so close in age—Eight, six and five— and while the three were also at each other’s throats over the smallest of things, toys, food, who’s car seat went where, they were also all extremely close. Most mornings, it wasn’t rare to find both girls cuddled with their big brother in his bed, or him sleeping on the floor in between their beds.

Their favorite time of the year, which also happened to be yours and Matt’s as well, was when both families got together at the Tkachuk’s lake house during the week leading up to the 4th of July. It was endless days of laughter, watching your kids play with their cousin and coo over the newest and smallest member, a baby boy Emma and Brady had welcomed only two months earlier, making their four year old son Tucker, a big brother.

Nights spent grilling out and enjoying the night summertime air only to wake up early the next morning to go out on the water— you loved it all. It was arguably the best time of the year.

Until the worst stomach cramps you ever felt in your entire life, ended up with Matt rushing you to the hospital where doctors listened to your assumptions of maybe it being your appendix. It was...a pleasant surprise when they came back and told you that you were pregnant before being told to relax while they brought an ultrasound tech in to make sure that everything was going okay.

“Pregnant.” You huffed, rolling up the tank top and stuffing it beneath your bathing suit top. “Pregnant! I was just pregnant!”

“Actually...it’s been awhile, five years. We wanted to wait a bit since Mads and Sie were so close in age.” He replied, spinning himself around in the stool. “And hey, with this being baby number four, we reached our goal.”

“And after baby number four, I’m staying celibate.” You mumbled.

You went back on birth control after Sienna was born, but it just never agreed with you. Through the last five years, you’d been through the implant, the pill, the iud— and all of them messed with your hormones so much that you and Matt went strictly back to condoms, much to both of your disdain for them.

“Alright, Y/N, I’m here to check to see what’s going on with your little one today,” the tech smiled, walking into the room. “Not your first rodeo?” She laughed, picking up the gel as she nodded at your rolled up t-shirt.

“Our fourth.” You replied, no longer phased by the cold feeling against your skin.

“Well congratulations again,” she smiled, turning on the ultrasound machine before picking up the wand. “I assume that you know what this is?”

You and Matt both nodded as she placed the wand against your belly, moving it around. “Can we do that thing we did with Madelyn? Guess the gender and whoever’s right gets to pick the name?” Matt smiled, holding your hand as he rested his chin on your arm.

“As long as you don’t turn it into a bet with your teammates.” You nodded, glaring at him. “I’m still not amused with the fact you almost let Sienna’s middle name be Sam because Sam guessed the gender correctly.”

“Sam’s not too bad—“

“Sienna Sam Tkachuk?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. “It doesn’t flow Matthew! If this is a boy, we’ll let him use his winning bet as a middle name, but no more bets with the guys.”

The ultrasound tech laughed as Matt started to blush. “Okay, agreed.” He said, kissing your knuckles before looking towards the tech. “So how’s baby number four looking?”

“Well, you’re definitely not around 8 weeks like you thought you were. You’re more around 12 weeks and the babies are doing great. The pain you felt was probably more having to do with your pelvic floor trying to prepare for them.”

“See, babe? The babies are fine.” Matt smiled, looking at you before snapping his head back to her. “Wait, babies?”

“Babies,” she smiled, turning the screen towards the both of you and pointing at the three different figures on the screen. “Baby A, Baby B and Baby C, and they’re all looking good in measurements and I don’t see any worry you should be having.”

Your jaw dropped and you felt Matt’s grip on your hand fall as the both of you stared at the screen in shock. “Babies...plural...three,” you said, letting out a small laugh. “Triplets?! I’m having triplets?!”

“Mhhm, and I’ll get these scans for you. But just know that they’re doing great and with multiples, your doctor is probably going to want you to check in a lot more. So when you go back home, be sure to make an appointment as soon as you can.” She smiled, handing you a paper towel before walking to leave the room.

Matt got up and walked towards the screen, staring at it before squatting down beside you and staring at your belly, poking it. “Huh...I guess I can kinda see a bump. I can’t believe there’s three mini us’s in there.” He turned to you with a big smile, only to let it falter as soon as he saw your glaring eyes.

“You’re getting a vasectomy. That’s final.”

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (9)

I’m back with anotha one! Sorry it’s taken so ridiculously long! I’ve been soooo busy that sitting down and writing or even formatting has been such a challenge. Please enjoy this chapter!

*also i watched Cherry and Tom was so good in it I’m- that film messed me up a lil bit but like it was so good. Also I’ve loved Ciara since btr and now I’m just insanely jealous and love her even more ugh 

Story Masterlist

Word Count: 2333

Warnings: Some language? I can’t think of anything else

% approximately the 3rd week of October %

Friday evening, the volleyball team arrived at the town regionals were being held at, about an hour away. You were staying in a hotel again, and as before, Julia was your buddy.

After having spent the evening laughing and having fun, your whole hotel room group was about to head up the stairs.

“Hey, y/n. Do you mind staying back for a minute?” Julia asked.

“Oh, sure. We’ll meet you guys upstairs,” you called to the other two, who waved back nonchalantly and continued walking. Julia and you went back to some empty seats near the lobby.

“What’s up?” you asked, smiling.

“Well… Sam told me he caught you and Tom yesterday and I just wanted to ask you about it…”

Your smile faltered.

“What’s there to talk about? I told him that Tom sprayed me with water so I got back at him by soaking the back of his shirt. There’s nothing more to say.”

“Well, yeah, he told me that but he also mentioned that you stayed for dinner? And met Nikki’s parents last weekend? Not trying to imply anything, but I didn’t meet their grandparents until Sam and I had been dating for like 6 months.”

You were getting annoyed, considering this was the second person in two days to ask you about Tom.

“I didn’t just meet them over nothing! Nikki took my senior pictures at the same time as Tom’s and wanted to do them there. I was just tagging along for the ride.”

“You know he’s also coming to state next weekend, right? If we pass through tomorrow?”

He is?

“Uh, no I didn’t. Doesn’t he have football stuff to worry about? It’s also Halloween next weekend, like he’d miss out on the big party.”

“They have a bye next week. Sam is going to come and I guess Tom is taking him, but Nikki might come too? I’m not sure. I guess you’d better ask him. Anyways, I just wanted to clear things up since there were all those rumors today,” she said, starting to get up.

“Wait, wai- Rumors? I never heard anything. Like about me?”

“You haven’t heard? I guess one of the freshman girls who has a massive crush on Tom was stalking Nikki’s website last night and saw some pictures of the two of you. A bunch of people think you’re dating now.”

You felt yourself pale.

“Oh no, and she changed one picture after Tom asked her to. Do you know what the picture was?”

“Something about him carrying you..? I never saw it, why?”

“Great. Now everyone is going to think she changed it because a secret got out or something. Ughhhh I just wish this stupid marriage project had never happened and I would never be in this mess.”

Julia looked at you contemplatively for a moment.

“Think of it this way, you and Tom are friends now, right?” you apprehensively nodded. “If it weren’t for that project, you two would still be fighting all the time and you wouldn’t have had the incredible Nikki Holland taking your pictures. Everyone can just get over themselves, you know?”

You snorted, then grinned.

“Yeah I guess so. You know, you’re annoyingly wise beyond your years,” you stated. “Now let’s get back upstairs. We have a long day ahead of us.”

%

Placing first at regionals meant two things: you were going to state, and everyone was congratulating you again when Monday came.

They also kinda looked at you funny when Tom high fived you in the hallway as he passed by, but you had decided to follow Julia’s advice and stop caring about the rumors people were spreading. 

Once the morning announcements ended, your calculus teacher stood up, a small paper stack in hand.

“Okay, everyone, since I’m your first period teacher and homecoming is next week, today you get to cast your nomination votes. Y’all know the drill: three guys, three girls for king and queen. Try to make it fast, we have a lot to do today.”

She walked around handing out half-sheets of paper with six lines on them. You and Tom immediately looked at each other.

“We nominating each other?” Tom asked before you could.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” you joked, filling out the sheet with both of your names and four others.

In home ec, you sat next to Tom cutting fabric for yet another project you had to do together, thinking about something Julia had mentioned.

“Hey, I gotta ask you something. Is it true you’re going to the capital this weekend for our state tournament?” you asked.

“Oh, yeah. This is our bye week and I promised Sam I’d go with him and mom. Plus, we can work on the project when you’re free.”

“You do realize that’s like a four hour drive, right? I mean it’s Halloween this weekend. Wouldn’t you rather make an appearance at Johnny’s big blowout?”

“Eh, it won’t be that great. I mean his place isn’t even that big and it’s in town. There’s literally no way it won’t get busted within the first half hour. The homecoming party at Tyler’s however… that’s gonna be insane.”

“Okay Johnny’s trash party aside, you really would rather spend your one free weekend of the season four hours away watching girls play volleyball then at home doing… whatever it is you do. And please don’t tell me you watch the ‘hub in your spare time.”

“Come on, y/n I’m not an animal. Even without the tight uniforms volleyball is really cool.” 

You backhanded his arm at the comment.

“Plus, I don’t need any videos to get myself off,” he added, smirking.

“You disgust me.”

“You know you love me.”

“Hmm. Debatable,” you shot back dryly, earning a chuckle and shoulder bump from him as you finally cracked.

%

At lunch, your friends were discussing the Halloween party when you sat down.

“Okay we really need to figure out what to wear this weekend, and we’re not going as playboy bunnies like Daisy and all her group,” said one girl.

“Well I say we dress as frat boys. It’s funny, not super sexual, and we all know half the guys are going to rush next year,” suggested Caroline.

“I like it, but what if we went a step further and dressed as dads. You know, hawaiian shirts, khaki shorts, socks and sandals. That would be hilarious. What do you think, y/n?” said Alexis.

“Sorry ladies, I won’t be there. We have state this weekend at the capital so as always, we’re driving down Friday after school. I will be at Tyler’s homecoming thing next weekend. Also, I do really like the dad thing, but I vote y’all do Guy Fieri.”

“Wait why is that literally genius,” Alexis said as the others agreed. “Of course it would suck to take your idea without you even getting to do it.”

“You guys really think I care? Just credit me in your insta captions. I’ll make the team put ribbons with flames on them in their ponytails Saturday.”

“Okay now we have to do it,” a different friend said.

“Hey, at least you won’t have to worry about Tom. I’m sure he’ll be at the party,” Caroline said. You wrinkled your nose.

“Yeah about that… His brother’s girlfriend is on the team so he’s going, too. I’m the one that’ll be seeing him instead of you guys but whatever. We’ll need to work on our project anyways.”

“Don’t you think that’ll fuel the fires people are already spreading about you? A good portion of the school thinks you’re secretly together now,” added the first friend from before. 

“People are going to believe whatever the hell they want. I honestly don’t care anymore. Oh! By the way, did I tell you guys that some freshman was the one spreading shit about me Friday? The nerve those kids have,” you said.

“Wait, what? It was a freshman that was trying to tell everyone y’all are together? Ugh why would anyone believe them?” Alexis asked, incredulous.

“I know, right? Apparently she’s like obsessed with Tom or something. She must have a backwards way of thinking if she believes spreading fake rumors will make him want her. Jokes on her when she has to see us together on homecoming court. He’s just as likely to be voted as I am, maybe even more.”

The group all laughed and continued talking about random things, and you mentally wiped the sweat from your brow now that the conversation was shifted from you and Tom.

%

You were nervously bouncing your leg before calculus Friday morning. You’d gotten to school early to make certain you would be there for the announcements, which is when they would be releasing the list of nominees.

Tom came in a couple minutes before the bell, hair still wet from his post workout shower. Usually he blow dried it, and he obviously noticed you looking at his curls, your knee bouncing anxiously.

“Got out of the weight room late so I rushed over here. What are you wired up about, princess?”

“Do I really have to tell you? Homecoming noms.”

“You’re actually nervous about that? Everyone knows you’re already at the top of the list.”

“Uh, no, that’s you. After everything that’s happened the past few weeks, there’s no telling how people feel about me.”

“Oh you’ll be fine. I know it,” Tom finished. You wanted to disagree with him further, but then the bell rang and announcements began. After the general daily stuff, they got to the part everyone was waiting for. 

You were on the edge of your seat. The disembodied voice began with the underclassmen’s court nominations, eventually working up to the senior king contestants.

“Alright, first up in the running for kings we have… Tuwaine Barrett!”

Tuwaine was a cool dude. He played basketball and was in theatre. You were happy to see him nominated.

“Next up we’ve got Harrison Osterfield!”

Ugh. I’d rather abdicate the throne than end up against him.

“And finally for the boys, Tom Holland!”

A small cheer went up in your classroom as people congratulated Tom and patted him on the back. You gave him a high five.

“And now for the ladies. First on the list is Zendaya Coleman!”

Ah Zendaya. You were never that close, but she was always nice when you’d had classes with her. She was way taller than you, a star player on the basketball and softball teams. Not to mention she was insanely gorgeous. This was already some stiff competition.

“Second, we have Daisy Ridley!”

And of course another likely contender. Daisy, who was planning on going to that evening’s Halloween party as a playboy bunny, was a cheerleader. She didn’t fit every aspect of the cheer stereotype, like the fact that she was actually really smart, but she definitely wasn’t the nicest person either.

“And finally, your last nominee for homecoming queen is… y/n y/l/n!”

It took a second to fully process that it was you they were talking about until there were people cheering you on like they’d done for Tom. He reciprocated the high five.

“What’d I tell you princess? Or shall I say queen.”

%

Tom was leaving football practice after the bell when a few of his buddies appeared next to him to walk across the parking lot.

They were talking when Tom saw you all loading the bus, and you sent each other a wave.

“Damn, y/n’s not gonna be at the party tonight? That’s rough, she always has the dopest costumes. ‘Least you will. What are you going as?” one guy, Jake, said.

“Did I not tell you? I’m going out of town. Won’t be there. I totally would’ve been Spider-Man though,” Tom explained.

“Wait you won’t be there tonight either?” another, Chris, asked. “You’re gonna miss out on some major exposure for homecoming votes.”

“Oh yeah, right. I’m pretty sure things are in the bag for me. I’ll just be gone tonight and tomorrow. Promised Sam I’d go to the volleyball thing with him.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You. Are going to the capital. Which is four hours away. At the same time as y/n. Am I hearing this right?” Jake asked as they finally reached their cars.

“Oh shut up, man. It’s not like that. Yeah we’ll be at the same place this weekend but whatever. We’re cool with each other now.”

“Cool? Is that code for ‘I want to make out every time I look at her?’” interjected Chris. He and Jake gave each other a look and laughed.

“Ugh, no. I’d kiss a salmon before I kissed y/n. I just meant we’ve come to an understanding and are somewhat friends now.”

They both looked at him funny.

“So you mean to tell me that there’s nothing going on between you two? Yeah right. We’ve all seen the way you look at her at games,” Jake said suggestively.

“What is up with you and everyone else at this school thinking there’s more to the story?! We are fake married for a school project and are nothing more than friends. You’re crazy to think otherwise.”

“Who are you planning on asking to the dance?” Chris asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“What? What do you mean? I haven’t even thought about it.”

“I’m asking who you’ll take to homecoming. It’s y/n, isn’t it?”

“No. No, it’s not, because I haven’t asked anyone.”

“Would you go with her?” Chris continued, pressing in.

“I mean I guess so. If we’re voted king and queen then it’ll basically be an obligation.”

“And if you’re not?”

“Dude why are you asking all these questions! If she isn’t queen then I’ll go with whoever is. If I’m not king, I’ll just go solo and see what happens. Whatever, though, I need to get home. I’ll see you guys Monday,” Tom finished.

He walked off to his car, where his brothers were impatiently waiting.

%

A/N: Thanks for reading! Again, sorry for my inactivity but I’m hoping that writing will be a little easier as one of my classes was a half semester and I’ll now have a little more buffer room to write!

My asks and messages are always open!

Send a message or ask if you’d like to be added to my permanent or series taglists so I can verify you’ve been added!

Story tag list: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe, @stxfxniexreads, @justafangirlduh,

[trentaafcsblog]

February 14th

Anyone You Like

Warning - this is really shit, I’m so sorry! 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love” he whispers as he snuggles up next to you, pressing a kiss onto the tip of your nose and smiling when you start to stir from your sleep. His heart going all fuzzy as your face scrunches up and you lift your arms above your head to do your classic morning stretch - something so simple but he was literally obsessed with it, having seen you do it pretty much every single morning for the past six years. 

“Hi” you’re saying when you finally open your eyes, burying your head into his chest as he brushes your hair away from your face and wipes the sleep from your eyes, mumbling an ‘I love you’ when you lean up to kiss his lips before stopping yourself from going any further.

“What’s that?” you’re asking as you shuffle out of his arms and pull the duvet away from your face, looking up at the ceiling and realising that it’s completely covered in red and white balloons with pieces of gold ribbon dangling off them. Your lips going all pouty as you sit up to get a better look at everything, noticing the rose petals that are sprinkled on the floor and the huge bouquet of red roses that are waiting for you on your bedside table, a little card in the top that reads ‘I love you forever and always’ - a saying that you’d picked up along the course of your relationship and something that had a much deeper meaning than people probably realised. 

“Babyyy” you’re cooing as he goes all shy and giggly, hiding his face under the covers because neither of you were ones to make a massive fuss like this, particularly on Valentine’s Day because you don’t see the point in celebrating each other on one specific date when your love for one another grows more and more with each passing day. “I love you so much” you’re saying as you try to pull the duvet away from his face, fighting a losing battle when he rolls over and prevents you from seeing his blushing cheeks, leaving you with no option other than to lean across him and attack him with kisses until he’s forced to look at you. 

“Stop” he giggles when he gives in and reappears from under the pillow, looking up at you hanging over him with the same look in his eyes that he had when he first realised that he loved you, one that let you know that he was yours until the end and that he’d go to the ends of the earth to see the little smile that’s now on your face. Just staring at one another for a few seconds, still in shock that you get to call the other person yours after all this time. Wondering what the hell you did to deserve one another and be lucky enough to experience all of life’s journeys with them, and all of the challenges that you thought would break you both - yet here you are now, probably the most content you’ve ever been, with a future ahead of you that you could only have ever dreamed of. But your little romantic moment quickly comes to an end when his tummy starts rumbling, just like it always does when it gets past about 7am, knowing that food probably occupies his mind more than you do as you lay there and roll your eyes at him. 

“Just you wait until you see what I’ve done” he winks before springing out of bed, heading downstairs and reappearing a few minutes later with a huge tray piled up with all kinds of plates and bowls. Orange juice sloshing over the side of one of the glasses and making you cringe when it leaves a trail of little splashes all over your white carpet. “It’ll come out, don’t worry” he’s telling you before putting the tray on your lap, clearly not as bothered about the mess that he’s made as you are, dreading to think about the state of the kitchen going by the array of different breakfast items he’s brought you. Waffles, croissants, mini pancakes that he’s cut into the shape of hearts with a cookie cutter that he found at the back of one of the kitchen drawers, a fruit salad, vanilla yoghurt, a random bowl of baked beans and some nutella and syrup to dip things into. “Looks delicious” you grin before scooping some of the chocolate up on a strawberry, getting him to open his mouth before you’re popping it in and he’s teasing that that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for him, which of course earns him a gentle smack on the chest and a threat to flip all of his hard work on the floor, knowing that it’ll make a lovely contribution to the orange splatters that now decorate your lovely white flooring.

“I got you a card as well” he’s telling you with a mouthful of croissant, the flaky bits of pastry flying all over the duvet from where he’s trying to talk. “Just as well I got you one too” you wink before handing him the red envelope with his initial and a little kiss on the front. “Nice to know you’ve made it all cute” you joke as you look down at his to see ‘the missus’ scrawled across the front in a pen that looks like it ran about about five years ago. “Excuse me, I was busy doing all of this” he’s telling you as he points at the ceiling and the tray of half-eaten breakfast, most of which he’s consumed himself despite claiming that it’s for ‘the pretty lady’, replying with ‘I know, I know, I’m just kidding’ as he hums and slides his finger under the flap of the envelope to open it up.

“That’s cute, innit” he’s saying as he nods towards the card that he’s got you. A teddy bear couple on the front, one of them holding a bouquet of flowers and the other one going all shy and blushy in response. “Yeah, I take it you’re this one though” you tease as you point towards the blushing bear, not even bothering to fight back because he can’t argue with that, not after the state he got himself into this morning when you saw what he’d stayed up doing all night. 

“Thank you so much” he’s whispering once he’s finished reading your card, leaning across to kiss you whilst trying to disguise the fact that he’s crying at what you’ve written inside. “Thank you so much for mine, who knew you had such a way with words?” you smile as he rolls his eyes at you, propping your card up on his bedside table so that it acts as a little reminder to read it again before he goes to bed. Pulling you into his side and pressing a series of kisses onto your forehead as the two of you lay there in each other’s arms, tracing patterns along each other’s bare skin with your hearts going all fluttery each time the other person looks at you, never wanting this moment to end.

***

“Wow, what’s going on in here, mister?” you’re asking when you come walking into the kitchen to see him leaping around and trying to juggle about six different frying pans. Completely ignoring your question when he sees what you’ve come down to dinner dressed in. The most beautiful red silk dress that hugs your figure perfectly, paired with the pair of Louboutins that he bought you for your birthday a couple of years ago and a little black clutch bag to match - not that you particularly needed it when you were spending the night at home, but he loves how you still go to so much effort to look all pretty for him, even though he’d love you just as much if you turned up to the kitchen in your Minnie Mouse pyjamas that are littered with about twenty different holes. 

“I would come and give you a kiss but I’m quite busy if you can’t tell” he’s saying as you giggle at him. “Come and sit here to keep me company though, I poured a glass of your favourite drink so don’t say I don’t look after ya” he winks as you coo and make your way over to the kitchen island, clinging onto the worktop to steady yourself because it’s been ages since you last wore heels and you don’t want a repeat of five minutes ago when you nearly went arse over tit halfway down the stairs. 

“Is that my favourite pasta?” you’re asking as he nods his head nervously, now realising why he spent most of today’s movie marathon on fancy restaurant websites trying to find a recipe for something that you couldn’t quite get a glimpse of thanks to the angle of his phone, but it turns out that it was your favourite dish. Immediately feeling guilty for scowling at him and telling him off for being rude when you were meant to be relaxing and watching all of the soppy love films on Netflix, completely oblivious to the fact that he was actually busy trying to memorise about twelve different recipes so that he could pretend that he knew it off by heart, particularly as it’s your favourite. 

“I made my own garlic bread too, look” he’s saying proudly as he points towards the oven. “And a salad, and some of that fancy bread that you dip in the oil and vinegar, well actually that’s a lie, I bought the bread but I mixed the oil and vinegar together and cut the bread into little stars” he’s telling you as your heart almost bursts at the seams. Looking over at the plate of little bread stars across the other side of the kitchen and just dying to squish him for being so cute, especially since he’d cut them all freehand without using any sort of template - something that he was incredibly proud of himself for, even if a couple of them had very wonky edges and a few missing points.

“Aaand I made a chocolate cheesecake as well” he says smugly as you raise your eyebrows in slight disbelief. “All whilst I was getting ready?” you’re questioning as he nods his head. “Don't look so shocked! You were getting ready for about three hours so I had plenty of time to do everything, even if I did spend about an hour trying to work out how to use a garlic crusher” he’s smiling as you laugh at him, loving how he was still pretty inept in the kitchen despite managing to conjure up a romantic meal for you. 

“Let me take the pretty lady to her table” he’s saying with a posh voice as you slide off the bar stood and link your arm through his, letting him lead you over to the dining table that you didn’t even notice when you came in. “Oh my god” you’re cooing as your eyes scan over the little tea lights that he’s shaped to look like a heart, rose petals scattered across the table and a collection of Polaroids that the two of you have taken across the years dotted around too. Trying to swallow down the lump in your throat as he pulls the chair back and helps you get comfy before disappearing off and coming back to bring you all of the food that he’s prepared.

“This looks amazing” you whisper as you reach across the table to hold his hand, mouthing a little ‘thank you’ at him as he lifts your hand up and presses a kiss onto your skin. “Don’t go all shy and emotional on me now, missy, it’s not our first date” he teases as you giggle at him and wipe away a stray tear. Being cut out of your emotional moment when he forces a little star of bread into your mouth, the oil and vinegar dribbling down your chin as you give him the evils and try to pat it away with one of the paper napkins that’s he’s folded into a square - covered in little Christmas puddings because ‘what’s the point in buying ones for Valentine’s Day when we can use what we’ve already got?’ Tempted to do the same thing back to him but you’re managing to resist the urge to start a food fight on the most romantic day of the year, instead dipping your fork into your bowl of pasta and twiddling several strands of linguine around it before putting it into your mouth. Clinging onto the table when you start to chew, your eyes blowing wide as you stare straight back at him and wag your finger in his direction. Waving your hands above your head and clapping before swallowing and letting out a little cheer. “Is it that good?” he laughs as you start shovelling more of the pasta into your mouth, giving him the all important answer he needs as he breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that all of his not-so-sly google searches and telling offs during your movie day have paid off.

“Thank you so much for all of this” you’re saying as you tuck into your slice of cheesecake, admiring the little hearts that he’d swirled into the top of the chocolate mixture before doing the all important taste test. Nodding your head and smiling at him to reassure him that it tastes incredible before he’s reaching across the table to hold your hand again. “Thank you so much for making me realise what love is” he’s saying as you try your best to fight back the tears. Never really hearing him come out with things like that unless he’s drunk, probably because he gets too shy and embarrassed and worries that you won’t feel the same way, despite spending the past six years of your life with him and reassuring him every single day that he’s the one for you, so hearing him have the confidence to tell you how much you mean to him means the absolute world. 

“Thank you for making my life a million times better and holding my hand through all of what life’s thrown at us” he’s telling you as you tilt your head to the side and just admire the man you love with your whole heart going all soppy, clearly having added something to his pasta that evoked this kind of emotion. “And for keeping my feet on the ground and being there when things haven’t gone quite as I’d planned” he’s saying as you sniff away opposite him, your thumb rubbing circles on the back of his hand as he carries on. “There’s genuinely nobody else in the entire world that I love as much as you” he’s adding, his voice breaking half way through, making the rest of the sentence all shaky, as he does his best to try and hold himself together, despite just wanting to burst into tears at how much he means each and every one of those words. 

“I love you so much” you blub before getting up and making your way around the table to him, sitting down on his lap and burying your head in the crook of his neck as his arms snake around your waist and pull you close to him. His fingers tracing gentle patterns on the sides of your hips as you play with his hair, occasionally pressing the odd kiss to his skin which makes his grip around your body become even tighter. A comfortable silence washing over the two of you as you sit there in a completely love-filled state, neither person knowing quite what to say, but going by each other’s reactions a few minutes ago, it’s clear that this is what love feels like.

“I got you a present” you’re saying as you pull away from him, breaking the silence and climbing off his lap before disappearing off into the hallway. Picking up the little white gift bag that you’d left at the bottom of the stairs when you came down for dinner, your fingers looping through the silk handles as you make your way back to him. “I thought we said no presents?” he’s questioning as you scoff at him. “Says the man who decided to decorate the bedroom and cook me dinner” you’re replying as he gives you a shy smile at the thought. “It’s just a little something but it shows how much I love you and I know you’ve wanted it for ages” you tell him as he pulls one end of the bow, watching it unravel before he’s dipping his hand into the bag and fumbling around amongst the tissue paper. Pulling out several sheets of white tissue paper littered with tiny scarlet red hearts before he’s eventually reaching the box inside. Looking at you with a confused expression as he lifts the rectangular black box out and gives it a little shake, something rattling inside as he pauses for a second to think about what it could be, ruling out the possibility of it being a bracelet or a fancy watch, not that he’d ever want you spending that much money on him, of course.

“Just open it!” you’re giggling as you push him to open the gift, the anticipation getting to you more than it is him as. “I’m scared” he laughs nervously, waiting a few seconds before he’s beginning to lift the lid off. “Don’t be” you’re whispering as he looks at you one final time before fully taking it off. 

His jaw dropping as he admires what’s inside, his gaze flicking between you and the inside of the box as he tries to process what you’ve given him. 

“We’re having a baby?” he asks as you nod your head, your reaction taking a while to process in his mind, but after what feels like forever he’s letting out a breathy laugh, one that combines happiness and slight disbelief. And then the tears are coming too, his hand covering his face as he sobs into his palm. Making your way back over to him and wrapping your arms around his neck as you rest your head on top of his, letting him come to terms with the fact that you’ve blessed him with the best gift of all.

“Thank you so much” he’s crying as he takes the pregnancy test back out of the box, admiring the two little lines that are showing on the screen - confirming that there’s another life inside of you, made up of both you and him. “No, thank you so much” you’re sniffling as you cup his face and press a little kiss onto his lips. Staring into his teary eyes before they’re fluttering shut when your foreheads touch and the tips of your noses brush over one another. Neither of you knowing quite what to say as you settle back down on his knee again, just holding him close to you until he pulls away every few seconds to look at the pregnancy test again, feeling as though this is all one big dream and someone’s going to wake him up and take it away from him at any given moment. But it’s not. You’re living the dream, and it’s about to become a reality in just a matter of months, a reality that you’ve been craving for the past six years and one that you wouldn’t want to experience with anyone else, and now, it’s one step closer to becoming yours. 

 February the 14th. The day your lives changed forever.

——————————————————————————

I hope you enjoyed this little imagine 🥰 please let me know who you imagined it with because I’m nosy and I’d love to know hehe, I hope you’ve all had the best Valentine’s Day (regardless of whether you’re in a relationship or not) and remember that I love you all to bits x

[franeridart]

Anon said: Are you still into krbk? I noticed you haven't draw them a lot recently (I don't mean to pressure you, I was just wondering)

I still very much am!!! but a convergence of unrelated happenings (my focus being unusually scattered, lack of general motivation, them not having interacted much in the manga lately, my having pulled out of the fandom a little for a bunch of reasons, having gotten into a lot of new things I want to make a lot of stuff for ??) had my output of stuff for them/inspiration related to them die down a lot ): I miss them though, I should fill a page with doodles of them one of these days... well, I haven’t drawn much in genereal lately, so maybe let’s start first with fixing that haha

Anon said: Fun Fact : In smash bros ultimate there are spirits with octopath traveler and they're in pairs and guess what ? Alfyn and Therion are together :3

I KNOW!!!!!! It makes me so emo I’m a bundle of feelings they’re soulmates I tell youuuuuuuuuuu ;;A;; (little inconsequential things making me a mess, what’s new xD) - another fun fact is that h’aanit and ophilia share one too!! and I ship them too!! and cyrus and tressa share one as well, and they’re my brother’s mains in his save! A series of delightful little coincidences haha

Anon said: Will you be drawing more Jujutsu Kaisen? I love your art sm and I would love to see more!!!!

Right now I feel like I want to spend the next ten years drawing these kids, so I sure hope so! But as I said my focus has been very scattered for the past three or so months, so I can’t promise anything ): let’s both enjoy it while it lasts haha

Anon said: You are my emotional support artist. I check back every once and a while and BOOM. Serotonin.

You’re too kind!!!! But thank you, I’m glad I can make you feel better! :D

Anon said: i'm super new to your art (and mha) and i just wanted to say your krbk stuff is just !!!!!!! it makes me so happy and makes my poor jaded heart feel something and it's just all around incredible!!!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!! I’m glad you like my way of portraying the kids!!!!

Anon said: I’m about to cry I’ve spent an hour looking though your bnha tag for that lil comic where Kiri hugs Baku and. It. Sent. Me. Back. To. The. Top. I didn’t even get to finish reading it. I’m so upset. So. So. So. Upset.

(same) Anon said: OH MY GOSH IT KEEPS SENDING ME TO THE TOO I HATE MOBILE AND LOVE YOU I LVOE YOU BUT THIS WEBSITE IS K I L L I N G ME I JIST WANNA SEE WHAT HAPPENS AS KIRI ATTEMPTS TO HUG BAKUGOU BUT NOOOO, AN HOUR OF MY TIME ISNT ENOUGH SAYS THE TIME STEALER

(samesame) Anon said: I. Found the hug thing. On Pinterest. In. Five. Seconds. I hate life but also it was really cute. Thank you but seriously I hate this website

The saga hahaha sorry anon I couldn’t get to you before you went out of your mind trying to find it, I got the asks in the middle of the night! Glad you could find it, though I’m kinda sad you had to look on pinterest for it (...sad it is on pinterest at all tbh) here it is anyway, if this is the one you were talking about! you really went back in the years for this one huh

Anon said: So for that thing that you made a w h i l e ago where Bakugou ruffles Kirishima’s hair, right? So I imagine Kiri is like w h a t and calls over Mina or Denki or Sero or all of them or something like that and tells them and is freaking out and they’re like “he wasn’t in the right mindset, you know he sleeps at 8:32” and make a joke out of it as Kiri is freaking out. And Kiri is freaking out soooo much as they are crying laughing on the floor at Bakugou’s sleeping schedule.

hahaha I’m sure he must have freaked out on them at some point after that, and bakugou must have done the same (probably with jirou, less likely but more hilarious with todoroki or tokoyami haha) - though, the original idea came from a bigger one where the scene in the comic didn’t bring them anywhere closer to getting together (or figuring out they’re into each other, for the matter lmao idiots) maybe one day I’ll get back on that >:]

Anon said: In your comments, you said “at this point my hands will never forget” and I had a nozaki-kun memory float into my head, imagining him sick and trying to make his deadline xD yes muscle memory

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anon you have no idea how often I think about that hahaha yes, I say my hands won’t forget but we all know that’s exactly how it’ll end at some point lol

Anon said: dang this happens all the time like I follow someone for their bnha content and then like two months after following them I find out they used to make yowapeda content and im just sitting their like dang thats wild because bnha and yowapeda are like the only two animes I watch

ANON!!!! HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Always so nice to find other ywpd fans!!!!!!!! Sorry I’m not making art for it anymore (for now) but despite my sister insisting I read the manga already I’ve been putting it off......for years lol but it’s on my reading list!! So maybe I’ll get back on it at some point!

Anon said: FRAN!!!!!! i love ur art so much and im trying to buy ur products on redbubble and i geniunely cant decide what to get!!!!! i tired asking my friend but she doesnt know which one either hahahahhahah ig i just wanted to send this because i really appreciate u and u are very talented. im sending u lots of high vibrations and love❤️🧡

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! It means so much to me that you guys are still buying my stuff (TTATT) I should...........seriously update it..........gomen m(._.)m

Anon said:YES YES YEEES MORE ALFYON ON THE WAYYYYYY 💖💖💖💖💖 They're both the cutest really their ship is the beeest  Try reading some the alfyon fanfics if you have some time, they're really good ! The one i really recommend you is Crismonberries, blackberries by court_court on Ao3 !Your art is the best ever can't wait to see more octopath !!💖💖💖

Anon thank you SO MUCH for suggesting that fic to me I!!!!!!!!!!!! loved it so much I deep-dived into it and spent two straight days reading it it’s such a gem!!!!! ;;; bless you

Anon said: Have you watched Fullmetal Alchemist?

Hell yeah! Only Brotherhood though. I read the manga too tho!!

Anon said: Have you read Noragami? It’s one of my favourite manga, and the anime isn’t half bad either (still waiting for s3 tho lol) anyway it’s really good, concept-wise it’s similar to Soul Eater, I totally recommend

I watched the first season back when it aired! It’s not really my thing though ): feels a bit sad in that very specific way that always ends up just making me miserable as I keep reading............................... sorry

Anon said: I will never not be in love with your art. Everytime I'm feeling down and/or missing the boys I scroll through your krbk tag and it reminds me exactly of why I love them so much and I'm so thankful for that. Your brand of krbks is the one I love the most and honestly thank you so much for all your marvelous art of them and of other things as well because you art is just so pretty and I love seeing your ocs and other fandom art 💕💕💕

Anon I love you......................... ;;;;; thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me (oTT^TT)o<3

[fireemblemtcg]

“The Cipher Frontier!” Issue 58: “Cipher Will Never Die!”

"The Cipher Frontier! With Emma, Shade, Yuzu, Randal, Alice, Val, Niamh & Poe" was a regular column on the Fire Emblem Cipher website which summarized upcoming news concerning Cipher and other Fire Emblem materials. It was presented by the eight mascot characters. The following is a full translation of the 58th and final issue of the column, which was originally published on 31 March 2021.

More Fire Emblem Cipher translations!

Hello, everybody!!!!!!!!

It's been over five years since Cipher launched - and, for that matter, The Cipher Frontier! itself...

And today... we bring you the last one!

Sniff... So this is really it...

Aye, it certainly is a bitter occasion.

With the moment upon us, I find myself overcome with emotion. Yet at the same time, I cannot help but sorely wish that this day had never come at all.

Well, it... It doesn't bother m-m-me... Not... one...

BWAAAAAAAAAAAH! I C-C-CAN'T TAKE THIS!

E-easy, milady! You swore before we began that you would not cry!

I, too, owe very, very much to all of you, so... I am very sad.

Where there is a beginning, so too shall there be an end... It is an inevitability.

Still, one might argue that as long as there are still decks to play with and opponents to challenge... Cipher may be played for eternity. So think not on this as the end, for this is but a milestone of life.

Sniff... So this isn't farewell?

Not in the least! All of our players can still continue to get together to play Cipher. So as sad as you might be now to see the game end, the feeling won't last! And I, for one, would like to close out our final day with a smile.

To that end, I propose that we all share some parting words. You first, Emma!

Alrighty! Well, I've been here since the beginning, but... Back then, I was an absolute noob, wasn't I? I didn't have the faintest idea what a "Tea See Gee" even was!

But then I learned so much from Shade, and I presented news, participated in Tryout and Gathering events, and watched Live Broadcasts - and all of that gave me the chance to grow so much.

And then as the days went by, we got to meet Yuzu and Randal, Alice and Valjean, and Niamh and Poe, and we all always had a riot of a time playing Cipher together... It's all been like something out of a dream!

Lastly, I just want to say thank you...

To all of you who've been reading our column to date, thank you tho thuch!

Ha! Is that a slip of the tongue I hear?

Why, I do believe it was... And of all the words to flub, at that.

H-heh heh heh! I guess I am still just a kid after all... But mark my words, I'll be working even harder to become a mature, full-fledged knight! Okay, let's try this again... Thank you all!

Well, I'm next! I was primarily tasked with hosting this column and presenting news.

But the work introduced me to more and more friends, and to a constant stream of announcements that were news to me myself... To lose it is like I've also lost my reason to exist, but at least I am left with fond memories of it all.

My desire to convey the appeal of Cipher to others hasn't wavered in the slightest, but... this is the last time it will ever happen here. Alas. Still, I will always be rooting for all of you, even if we don't see each other.

There will always be a bond between us - always. Remember that whenever you play Cipher and see our cards. On this, you have my word! This has been Shade, shepherd of wayward lambs, saying farewell!

Alright, then. You're next, Yuzu!

...

Huh? Yuzu! What's gotten into you? Would you just get out here?

Er, forgive me. When everybody's gaze turned upon me, I could not help but immediately seek shelter...

Oh, yeah. You never did like public speaking, did you, Yuzu?

Of course! We had a devil of a time convincing you to come out at all for your very first column.

E-enough! That was many years ago: a d-d-difficulty that I have long since moved past!

Hrr-hrr-hrr... heh-HEM! L-l-let us, er, begin anew.

I am Yuzu. My contribution to this column was to introduce cards that afforded new styles of play... only to let a haze of utter passion promptly consume me and hence spend my every waking hour crafting decks from them and trialling them in matches.

You always were one to cry, "I must test these cards at once!" and throw yourself into obsessive research.

As such, I have acquired an eye for strategy, forged in the fires of Cipher, to incorporate into my prior mastery of the martial arts - and with that, at long last, I have come to an understanding of the very heart of warcraft.

Further, as a consequence I may declare with confidence that, should I ever find my brother, I shall be able to hold my head high for all that I have grown in his absence. For that, you have my most heartfelt gratitude. So end my parting words!

Thank you, Yuzu. Right, it's your turn, Randal!

Huh? Oh, right then!

I've got a motto: always take your games deathly serious, and always make your own fun on the job… And, well, this has been my chance to prove those words true.

I mean yeah, I'm a wanderer at heart; I might've stuck around a bit too long... but that's just because this was all a hell of a lot of fun.

Oh, I agree... It was a HELL of a lot of fun!

GAH! It's... It's you!

Well, well. We have a stranger among us!

Pah! "Stranger," indeed. This hair, this face, this ribbon... None of this ring a bell?

Eh? Do you... do you mean Randal?

Indeed! I am...

...His son, no? It is nice to meet you!

OI!

What are you on about?! I AM Randal, just from the past - younger than the one you know!

It's happening again! The exact same argument!

This really must be the end, if HE'S here...

This is how you treat me? I have to hear that the last column is happening at the eleventh hour and make a mad dash to make it in time?! Bloody hell...

What is this? A being under the thrall of the Boundless Chaos? How intriguing. I must conduct a thorough examination at once...

H-hey! What are you doing, Niamh?! You look deathly serious... Oi, that's enough! Stay back! I... I've got a sword!

Well, er, I'm just about all out of time, but I just want to say it was a hoot being on the Frontier. Hope I see you all again someday. Adios!

He vanished?! Still more intriguing...

Sigh... What a pain in the arse, if I do say so myself. Although... I must admit, we do agree on one thing: I'd also be glad to see you all again.

This might be one farewell, but here's hoping we cross paths once more! And if we do, hey, why not play a match with this old fart? And that's all she wrote from ol' Randal!

Thank you. Next, let's hear from Alice and Valjean!

Heh heh! At last! Shall we, Val?

Yes, milady.

The two of us made our debut circa Series 10, and ever since that day, the Frontier never failed to be a most thrilling time. Would you agree, Val?

Yes, milady.

My objective in making this journey was simple: to experience much in my travels, such that I might someday return home and become a great ruler indeed. But instead, I first became a most superior, most brilliant Cipher player! Utterly invincible! Favored by fortune! And whatnot. Didn't I, Val?

Yes, milady.

I remember... that every time a Cipher release day came, I would be up all night from their eve, crafting decks and playing matches with the others. Oh, it was such fun! Wasn't it, Val?

...Yes, mi... mi... milady! Sniff...

V-Val?! What is the matter with you?

I am most moved. That my most capricious liegelady could at last find in Cipher such an engaging hobby, such good company, and such a source of training - and that she could grow so greatly as a woman.

Val...

We have been truly blessed to have had all of this: all of you, who welcomed us so warmly into the Frontier fold, and all of the Cipher players out in the world. I wish to offer you my gratitude for everything.

To be honest... I have something to say on that matter myself. Thank you, truly, for everything. I will never, ever, ever, EVER forget even a single day that we spent here together!

Nor shall I!

...Having said that, milady, I fear that you are still yet unready for the throne! From today onward, we must redouble your original leadership training efforts! I fully intend to prepare for you an intensive study regimen.

I-I-I beg your pardon?! You will not speak to me so! If I see even a single incorrect mark, you would do well to prepare yourself, for I will work you to the very bone for the rest of your days!

By all means, do it. But be prepared, for I have a lifetime's worth of admonishments at the ready.

Heh... Best of luck to the two of you!

Your turn, Niamh!

I was present from the 37th column onward... To be precise, it was in the "Love and Bonds Special Talk CD" audio drama that came as a set with an artbook, sold at Comiket 93.

My inquiry and research into the miscellaneous phenomena of this world, and the Boundless Chaos in particular, shall continue, but...

...

Well?! Don't tell me that's all you have to say!

...No. To me, my inquiry into Cipher represented the introducton of a new, major challenge into my life. Cipher decks... Gameplay... Which solution is correct, and which is optimal... As yet, I still have found no answers. As such, it is vital that going forward, I collaborate with a broad sample of Cipher players and find an answer...

So what you're saying is, you enjoyed playing Cipher with everyone, and you're gonna keep playing forever!

That, er... Ahem! That's pretty much it.

Cryptic remarks if I ever heard them, but certainly Niamh-ish.

Right, let's keep this going with Poe!

Only a year and a half has passed since I was welcomed to this column, and sadly, in the end our association has been brief. But I was able to have a very fulfilling time with you.

Attending that Winter Comiket thing with all of you, playing the "Recite and Play: Heroes Iroha" card game being sold there... They were very happy days.

And in all of that, I have always been monitoring Niamh...

...

Hee hee... You have been a good girl here, have you not? I do nothing to good girls.

If one of you becomes wicked, at that time I shall... Heh... Heh heh heh heh heh...

So, I pray that we never have an unpleasant reunion, and end my speech. Thank you. This has been Poe!

Heh... Let's keep that warning in mind.

...With that, have all of us spoken?

Tsk tsk... We aren't actually finished just yet! Since this is our last column, allow me to call upon a special guest!

...A guest? Wait, you don't mean...

Ta-daaaaa! Here he is!

Hello, everyone! I am Kawade, the producer of Fire Emblem Cipher.

K-K-KawadeP!

My, what a surprise!

The publication of the final Frontier coincides with, at last, the end-of-March termination of event support for Cipher. So I thought I would share a message for all of our readers and Cipher players.

If you count from when Cipher was first announced, roughly six years have passed. That's a long time, yet it's just flown by... These have been very busy years, but also wonderful ones, absolutely full of memories and events.

In that time we've constantly taken on new challenges - not just the production of Cipher itself, but Twitter content, live broadcasts, and staging events all around Japan.

And through all of that, we've had the chance to meet so many fans of Fire Emblem and Cipher... That was not only the most fun part of all, but a part that made us happy.

Although, we were unfortunately unable to hold any of our planned events for our final year, and for that I am truly sorry to all of you.

Still, we staff stuck with it to the very end, and as a result were able to complete Cipher as a fantastic game that can be played for years and years to come. For that, we are proud of ourselves.

It was thanks to all of you, who kept on supporting us, that we could continue our work to this standard all the way to the final series. I am overcome with gratitude to you all!

Production might have come to an end, but Fire Emblem Cipher will never die! It would make me happy if, every now and then, you might bring your cards out and play with them. Thank you all, truly, for everything!

And that concludes KawadeP's remarks!

Whew!

That, I believe, is everything that we wished to share.

Aye, I've got nothing to add.

So I suppose this is it: the end of the Cipher Frontier's long run.

Er... Shade? Can I say one last thing?

Hm? What is it, Emma?

Thank you for taking the lead in hosting this last one... And thank you so much for all the things you've taught me!

(Emma...)

H-hey! That's enough of that! You're about to make me cry, and that wouldn't be ending this day with a smile, would it?

Heh. I guess not!

So hey, let's give them one last, enthusiastic That Thing before Shade bursts into tears!

Very well, then. That Thing it is! This has been The Cipher Frontier!

With Emma...

Shade...

Yuzu...

Randal...

Alice...

Val...

Niamh...

...and Poe.

Now, then...

Let's do it, everyone!

One...

Two...

CIPHER!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!

...

...

...

...

FIRE EMBLEM CIPHER The Cipher Frontier! With Emma, Shade, Yuzu, Randal, Alice, Val, Niamh & Poe

Emma Emma continues to train in order to become a full-fledged pegasus knight. Her tireless Cipher training also continues, but she has yet to show much improvement at the game.

Shade Veteran mage that she is, Shade continues to teach the next generation. Many seeking to become almighty Cipher players have come to her, only to struggle bitterly under her tutelage - yet at the same time, to Emma and the others, she remains a nurturing guiding hand.

Yuzu Yuzu embarked on a journey of martial training, all the while following whispers of her brother's whereabouts... although evidently, she does return from her travels from time to time, bearing souvenirs, to partake in Cipher matches with all of her friends.

Randal Randal made a truly once-in-a-lifetime wager, only to go into hiding thereafter. Some rumors attest that he won, and that with that windfall he secured for himself a carefree life of quiet leisure in some southern land - others, that he met with a catastrophic loss, and was hence forced into labor in someplace.

Alice Alice's travels continue, as she seeks all the experience that she needs to become a true leader. Although at first she struggled, she grew to thoroughly enjoy it, and so she will persist in her journey without ever taking a break to return home... Or so she tells herself, at least.

Valjean Valjean continues to travel all across the land with his liegelady. Witnessing Alice grow ever stronger and wiser by the day, he cannot help but feel conflicting feelings of joy and loneliness beneath the privacy of his helm.

Niamh Even as she continues in her pursuit of wisdom, Niamh silently carries out research into Cipher. Her seminal monograph, "A Compendium of Cipher Decks," is over 100 volumes in length, and by all accounts is still in print to this day.

Poe Poe vanished in her hunt for evil, and her whereabouts remain unknown. However, according to the afterword of "A Compendium of Cipher Decks," she and Niamh have since fought to the death on many an occasion.

The End...???

[hermannsthumb]

From horny twitter: Hermann writes a very very detailed review of a vibrator online

not sfw below cut!!!!!!!!!!! 

----------------------------

Now, usually, Newt doesn’t mess around when he’s on the clock, because that’d be very unprofessional of him and that’s totally not who he is, but he’s in a little bit of a rut with his current project and could use the distraction. Online shopping is his favorite go-to distraction these days: he can lose himself in size charts and color options and hunts for coupon codes and forget, even for a few minutes, that the end of the world is accelerating towards them at an intimidating rate. Plus, he can write off half his shit as work-related expenses. Win-win. Though maybe not this particular search.

Newt has a pretty reliable arsenal of sex toys he’s used on rotation since he packed up and shipped across the world for the PPDC, but the ten-year warranty vibe he’s used since PhD #3 (and his favorite of the bunch) finally crapped out on him last week after a historically intense fight with Hermann got him historically wound up. Eleven years ain’t bad. After testing out a different charger, poking around in the wiring, and even going so far as to zap it a few times with some sorta-stolen drift tech to see if it stirred any life back into it, he finally decided it was time to just mourn, move on, and buy a new one. (Even if, unfortunately, his particular favorite model was discontinued when the company’s factory was destroyed in a kaiju attack and they never quite managed to recover. More casualties of the war.)

The sex toy market is truthfully booming during the apocalypse. It makes sense, Newt guesses—anything for a distraction. Personally, for Newt, orgasms tend to dampen his own existential dread, even if it’s just for a few minutes. He scrolls idly through a few Top Ten For 2023 listicles on various sex magazine websites to see if anything jumps out at him (some of the recommended toys are dildos he already has, and vibes that are a little beyond his k-sci paycheck), just hoping for something to jump out at him. Apparently he missed out on a limited-edition run of jaeger and kaiju-themed vibes and dildos that came out in early January, which he’s honestly a little pissed about—he’s the top expert on kaiju biology, god damn it! Didn’t anyone want to consult with him about their hypothetical junk? Accuracy matters.

“It’s all off,” Newt mutters grumpily as he examines a 360 view of one of the kaiju dildos. Trespasser. “It’s not even the right color. Fucking amateurs. Did they even try?”

“What are you doing?” Hermann says.

Newt slams his laptop shut. Hermann decided to cut his lunch break short today, apparently. “Shopping,” he says.

“You sounded awfully angry about something, is all,” Hermann says. He clacks over to his half of the lab and shrugs off his big parka, then pauses. “Do you need to...talk about it?”

“No,” Newt says.

Hermann breathes out in obvious relief. “Good,” he says.

He takes his usual spot at his chalkboard and resumes his calculating. Newt re-opens his laptop and scrolls away from Trespasser before he can make himself angry over anatomical inaccuracies again. The jaeger vibes from the collection are pretty cool, actually; the designs are a lot cleaner, and their artistic license is a lot more forgivable. The highest-rated of the set is one obviously (but not enough to invoke copyright infringement, if that can even exist for a jaeger) modeled off of Coyote Tango, with like, a million different settings, and an astronomical cost to match. Newt eyes it enviously. He could be shoving that up his ass right now if he’d just signed up for a stupid email list last year.

He follows the link to Amazon to read through some of the reviews enviously, too. Life-changing; best money ever spent; warranty lasts a lifetime. Ten stars across the board. Sold out, obviously. No idea when it’ll be back in stock. He could get the Striker Eureka model for twice the original cost as when it came out, if he wanted, but the idea of constantly having to associate the twenty-something punk Hansen kid with his intimate affairs makes him shudder.

A nine-star review for the Coyote Tango model from someone named MathLover69 is the only one to make Newt really pause, on account of how absolutely insane it is.

I saved quite a few paychecks to purchase this vibrator, and though the cost is steep, I must say it is absolutely worth it. As opposed to my normal vibrator (here another vibe is linked, and Newt’s eyebrows jump at that price, too), which has only five settings, an admittedly bulky body, and average battery life, the CT2023 has a generous ten, a sleeker design, and charges fully in a matter of minutes. The orgasms I have experienced while using it are higher in quality (and more numerous) than any resulting previously from masturbation, though I have not tried beyond setting six yet. It also works wonders for stress relief. (I have an incredibly irritating colleague, and nothing calms me down so much as a quick round with the CT2023 after a spat with him.)

The body is versatile enough to be either inserted into one’s—

Newt feels heat rise to his cheeks in spite of himself, and he skims the second paragraph of MathLover69’s review to get the gist of it—that there are, uh, plenty of ways to utilize the vibe, that it’s discreet and small enough to wear to work (if you were inclined to do so, as MathLover69 implies he might’ve been) and that when combined with the Yamarashi dildo, the pleasurable experience increased tenfold. Talk about oversharing. Jeez.

My only complaint would be that the design is a poor approximation of the real Coyote Tango, and for that I’ve docked a star. I would recommend this product.

“This guy is a total nut,” Newt says to himself.

“Hm?” Hermann says.

Newt considers the implications of showing Hermann the vibrator listing: Hermann will know he was shopping for sex toys, Hermann will know he was shopping for kaiju and jaeger-themed sex toys, Hermann will know he was shopping for kaiju and jaeger-themed sex toys during working hours a mere ten feet away from him. Embarrassing, but on the other hand, MathLover69’s review is too funny to not share with someone else. “Hey, Hermann,” Newt says, angling his laptop towards Hermann. “Look. Who comments shit like this?”

Hermann descends his ladder carefully and inches up behind Newt’s shoulder, squinting at his laptop screen. He immediately turns bright red. Newt must’ve offended his Victorian sensibilities with the mere suggestion of self-abuse. “Oh,” he says. “Er.”

“Way TMI,” Newt says. “Listen to this line. ‘With the Yamarashi toy inserted into one’s mouth, and the CT2023 inserted up one’s—'”

“Well, how else is one meant to review a masturbatory aid?” Hermann snaps, surprising Newt. He looks oddly flustered. “Details can be—er—helpful. Can’t they?”

“Sure, dude,” Newt snorts. “Except they’re obviously just screwing with people. They literally have a 69 in their username.” He taps at the MathLover69, and doesn’t mention—on behalf of Hermann’s delicate mathematician feelings—that the MathLover part is obviously meant as a joke too.

“Well,” Hermann says. “Perhaps it’s just his—er, their birthdate.”

Newt turns around to stare at Hermann, taking in his red cheeks, his red ears, and the gaze he’s fixed steadily on his shoes. It’s all Newt can do to not to gape at him. “Hermann, you’re kidding,” he says. “Right?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Hermann says.

“You didn’t,” Newt says.

“I,” Hermann stammers. “Well—”

“I didn’t even know you—”

“That I what?” Hermann says.

Newt gives a half-shrug. Hermann doesn’t seem the type to engage in any sort of vice, let alone this kind. And especially not with the type of sex toys he apparently gravitates towards. (If Newt was a little bolder, and had a little less shame and care for hygiene, he might ask to check out the Yamarashi, because anatomical inaccuracies aside, wow that sounds awesome.) “I mean, you know,” Newt says. “You’re kinda you. No offense.”

Hermann takes offense. “I am human,” he says. “I am allowed to masturbate, Newton, and I was merely attempting to educate other customers about the—product—with my thoroughness.” He adds, awkwardly, “My review was voted very helpful, as you can see.”

“Okay,” Newt says with a grin. “I get it. Sorry.”

Hermann marches back over to his side of the lab with a scowl. Newt waits until he’s sure Hermann’s not watching him, and is too distracted by muttering angrily under his breath, to bookmark MathLover69’s page of reviews.

It turns out (as Newt revisits the page later that night, in the privacy of his bunk) Hermann buys and reviews a truly staggering amount of dildos and sex toys, and on top of that, has absolutely zero filter behind the wall of anonymity. It’s to the extent that some of his reviews read like goddamn sexts.

It took me three occasions to successfully work myself up to taking in the entire length…

My orgasm was so pleasurable I alarmed my colleague with the noise I made, who believed me to have injured myself…

The highest vibration setting is a bit of a disappointment…

These are excellent for double penetration…

It also turns out Hermann is a veritable sex fiend. Or at least a masturbation fiend. Judging by his reviews alone, Hermann’s purchased more than a dozen different toys in the past three years alone. That’s four a year. One every three months. That’s not even including buttplugs, which (according to other reviews) he sometimes just wears into the lab (“work”) for the hell of it, which Newt isn’t even going to think about right now. How the hell has Hermann kept this much of his life under wraps? When the hell does he have time to jerk off as much as he apparently does? No wonder they never seem to have any fucking funding; all of Hermann’s paychecks are funneled directly into his—well.

Newt recalls the faux-injury incident Hermann mentioned in a comment with mild embarrassment. No wonder Hermann had been so weird and flushed when he opened his door, and made excuses to say bye to him so quickly—Newt just caught him (oh, boy) immediately following the best orgasm of his life. Well, mild embarrassment, and a little more than mild arousal. What Newt would’ve given to have been there five minutes earlier, to watch Hermann in the act of the best orgasm of his life, to maybe even be the one to cause it…

What Newt would give to use Hermann’s fancy-shmancy vibrator on him, or literally anything from his giant masturbatory arsenal. Or even just watch him use it on himself. Hermann’s just so damned buttoned-up and uptight—it’s all about the contradictions. Juxtapositions. Newt unzips his jeans and sticks his hand down his boxers. “Stupid Hermann,” he moans, as he begins to bring himself off to the image of Hermann with that stupid kaiju dildo down his throat and that stupid jaeger vibe up his ass. Negotiator of peace between the two? Stupid joke, stupid Hermann. Or maybe he’s picturing Hermann showing up to the lab, all plugged up and loose from using a different vibe on himself that morning. Or maybe Hermann pushing two dildos into himself at once. How the hell can he even manage that? Ass his size— “Oh, goddamn it,” Newt moans again, and comes all over his hand.

Whatever. It’s not like Hermann’s ever going to find out about this.

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Happiest Place on Earth

You’ve had a rough go of it recently. Your boyfriend, Chris, schemes with your boss to give you the vacation you deserve.

-

           You couldn’t lie. Your day got a million times better when you saw Chris’s contact picture light up your phone. It was a picture you’d taken of him at the beach, smiling as he held Dodger in one arm and your old dog in the other, and it made your heart melt like anything in the Los Angeles summer sun. You picked up the phone right away, walking away from where everyone was editing.

           “Hey,” Chris’s voice said brightly. “How’s my favorite girl doin’?”

           “Not great,” you responded honestly. “A bunch of files got corrupted, so then we had to get different cuts, and that means re-shoots, which means more work, and…” You sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining.”

           “It’s okay to get frustrated. I was going to ask when you think you’ll be done this afternoon?”

           “I don’t know, maybe seven? I know that ruins dinner, but…”

           “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry about it. Just get home when you can, bubba, alright?” You melted again at his sweet nickname for you and sat down at your desk, flicking your Nomad Steve bobble-head that you’d gotten as a joke when you’d started dating Chris.

           “Okay. I’m sorry.”

           “Don’t say that, you’re just doing your job. I’ll see you around seven-thirty, okay?”

           “Okay.”

           “I love you.”

           “I love you too.” He hung up a second later and you rolled your chair back over to the large computer where everyone was reviewing footage. You were lucky enough to get a job in Boston right after you finished working with Marvel, so while you had an amazing job editing, it took the life out of you. Computers were finicky, and you’d just lost half of what you’d done so far because someone had dropped the hard drive and corrupted everything. You were about to cry and it was barely 10 AM. But you loved it, so you stayed, despite all of the bad. You just wanted to see this video get edited, even if it took until the middle of the night.

           Chris sighed as he hung up the phone on you. He could hear in your voice that you were frustrated beyond belief. An idea popped into his head and he scrolled through his phone until he found the phone number he was looking for. Your boss, Jenna, had gone to school with Chris, and he just so happened to have her number. She answered right away, and Chris explained everything. That you were completely burned out, your fifteen year-old dog had died last month, and that even though you desperately needed a vacation you weren’t going to do it yourself. So he took ten out of the twenty-five PTO days you’d saved up over the past year, since they rolled over and you hadn’t taken a vacation the last year or the six months before that when you first started. Your boss said she’d send you home at seven even if you weren’t done and she’d send an intern to take your spot for a few days, and Chris grinned to himself as he hung up.

           He went directly to his computer and the website auto-filled before he even typed the entire thing in. He picked out the resort that your family used to stay at when you were kids, hoping he remembered it correctly, and he calculated how much time it would take to drive there and back because he knew you would be even angrier at him if he spent money on last-minute plane tickets. Then he got tickets, one for each park, and a whole extra day for the Star Wars park because he knew you were excited to go, and typed in his credit card. Would you be pissed? Probably. But would it be worth it when he drove through the gates and saw you smile? Definitely.

           You were a little alarmed when your boss sent you home, especially with that grin on her face that meant something was going on, and you tried not to be suspicious. You got to the house to see that the SUV had moved – you’d taken Chris’s car that morning, since he wasn’t planning to go anywhere, but he must have because it was backed in close to the back gate. You stuck your hands in your coat, locking the car in your pocket, and went in the front door. Dodger greeted you like he always did, jumping up on one of your legs until he could see that you weren’t hiding a treat in your hand. You greeted him with ear scratches before deciding to look for Chris.

           “Chris?” You asked. You saw him coming up the basement stairs and walked over to him. He was holding your laundry, which he usually complained about doing. “Why are you doing my laundry? Did you break something? Are you trying to butter me up?”

           “Not everything is about you, sweetheart,” he said as he put the white bin down. He greeted you with a kiss that he just smiled into.

           “Why are you so smiley?”

           “Can’t a guy smile at his girl?”

           “Nope, not you. Spill, Chris, what did you do?” He giggled, actually giggled, and took your hand. “Are you going to give me a hint?”

           “Nope. I’m going to lead you to your suitcase…” He took you up the stairs and then let you go in your bedroom, where he’d already gotten your suitcase out. “… and you’re going to pack for approximately eleven days. Bring triple the underwear, because you know why, at least three swimsuits, and your Chacos, and two cute outfits, but mostly functional. We’re going to be walking a lot.”

           “What?” You glared at him. He was just smiling, a shit-eating grin on his face, like he was waiting for you to figure it out. “Are you why Jenna sent me home early?”

           “Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll never know. But we need to leave within the hour, and we’ll be in the car for quite a while, so download some podcasts and music for us to listen to because you’re the DJ.”

           “Have I ever told you how much I hate you?”

           “Yep. Every day, gorgeous.” He cupped your cheeks in his hands, kissed you, and then called Dodger’s name. “Dropping the dog off at Carly’s, I’ll be back in about, eh, half an hour? What snacks do you want?”

           “Uh, the usual road trip snacks?”

           “So combos, sour patch kids, and Chick-Fil-A on the way out of town?”

           “Well, if you’re offering.” He rolled his eyes and left the room. You weren’t going to say no to whatever he had planned, because he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t think you would need it. So you packed everything he told you to pack, throwing in exactly what he told you to, but you went and grabbed some of his shirts to sleep in just to spite him.

           You finished packing your makeup, because he hadn’t really said anything about that but you just assumed, and shoved the bag in your suitcase. You packed up your personal computer, knowing he would kill you for taking your work computer, and gathered all of your chargers. He was back in a few minutes and you loaded everything into the SUV, grabbing a pillow and your favorite fuzzy blanket like he told you to, and you changed into road trip clothes, also known as shorts and one of Chris’s sweatshirts.

           “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” You asked as he pulled out of the house. He moved the GPS mount to the other vent, by him, so you couldn’t see.

           “Nope. You’re either figuring it out on the road or when we get there. So turn your location off.”

           “Whatever,” you said, showing him that you were turning your maps off. “How long are we driving? It’s almost 9.”

           “We’re driving until sunrise. And then I’m checking into a hotel, we’re sleeping, and then going on.”

           “Why couldn’t we fly?”

           “You would’ve been even more pissed off.”

           “Yeah, you’re not wrong.” You turned on your road trip playlist for about an hour before turning on the true crime podcast you and Chris liked to listen to whenever you got the chance to, which lately wasn’t very often. You fell asleep after a couple of hours and Chris turned on cruise control, since there wasn’t really anyone on the road, pressing the button to adjust it every so often. But for the most part, he was looking over at you and smiling, trying to figure out how the hell he managed to get you there.

           He herded you into a hotel as the sun was coming up, and you were so tired that you didn’t even care where you were. You just passed out on the bed and Chris tucked you in, heading to shower before joining you. When you woke up you checked in on Dodger, FaceTiming him, and then he got the two of you breakfast. You decided that he had to be driving down the coast because you kept seeing signs for beach highways, and that meant you were probably going to the Outer Banks or something like that. You were curious, but you trusted Chris. He wouldn’t take you anywhere he didn’t think was worthy of ten vacation days. You ignored most of the signs, but you determined after looking at freeway signs that you were going south.

           “Can I drive?” You asked, noticing that Chris was getting a little tired. He had moved his left leg a little bit and even though he’d been holding your hand for a few hours, he was getting antsy.

           “Nope. But I am stopping here.” He pulled over at a rest stop for the two of you to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs a little bit, but you were back in the car first. He looked happy as he walked back. He was wearing his gray sweat pants and a t-shirt and his Red Sox hat over the mop of hair that he hadn’t brushed that day. He threw away your food trash and then walked back, noticing you were looking at him.

           “What?” He asked. “If you’re going to keep looking at me like that, let me know and I’ll find another hotel.” You rolled your eyes, elbowing him. He scratched at his beard a little before moving his hand in between your thighs underneath the blanket, gripping your leg with his gigantic hand. He squeezed it three times – I love you – and then let you go so he could drive again.

           You spent most of the night blasting music, mostly bad pop-punk music from your childhoods, and probably listened to most of Blink-182’s discography along with the Top Gun soundtrack and even some Disney soundtracks, before moving back to podcasts. You saw a sign that said welcome to Florida and looked over at him.

           “No fucking way,” you said, suddenly catching on. He was heading toward the middle of Florida, not the coastal highway anymore, which meant you were either going to Orlando or the Keys, and the amount of hours added up to…

           “You okay?” He asked, grinning. “You understand now?”

           “Did you seriously steal my vacation days so we could go to Disney World?” He turned down Creep with his right hand and reached over to anchor his hand at the back of your head before leaning over to kiss your hairline.

           “I did. If you’re okay with that?”

           ��Definitely. I love you.”

           “Yeah, I love you too.” It would be the second time you’d gone together, the first time being Disneyland at a Marvel event where he’d asked you to be his date. You usually just drove up to Maine or something for a couple days to relax at the beach, or there was one time when he took you to New York for the weekend to see your favorite show on Broadway.

           You were eager and sitting up as you listened to the last couple of podcast episodes you’d downloaded. Chris drove into the sunrise for another few hours before you finally saw the gates of Disney and you took your phone out, taking a video for your Instagram story. Chris just smiled at the camera, making it known that this was all his doing, and he slowed down. He made you cover your ears for what resort you were staying at, but when he pulled into the Port Orleans resort you realized it was because that was where your family stayed when you were a kid and you always talked about how you loved the French Quarter section. When he led you up to the room you found out that he’d gotten a view of the lake.

           “Have I ever told you how much I love you?” You said as you put your suitcase down.

           “Nah, you don’t need to.” He handed you your magic band from the last time you’d gone together – you hadn’t really gotten a choice since Marvel had sent them to Chris, but when he realized that it Peter Pan on it, who was your favorite Disney character, he’d given it to you while he took the Mickey one.

           “Yeah, I do. I love you.” You hugged him tightly and he just smiled down at you. His beard got caught in your hair and he had to un-tangle it before you could part ways.

           “I love you too. We should probably take a couple showers. Since it’s the smallest I figured we’d hit Magic Kingdom today, eat dinner there, and stay for the fireworks? If you’re not too tired we can stay after hours.”

           “Sounds good.” The two of you hopped in the shower together, mostly just to save time because you were both eager to get to the parks. You grabbed coffee from the shop downstairs and waited for the bus to take you there.

           You spent almost the entire day there, until it was a couple of hours until dinner. You’d both chosen to get on a water ride even though you weren’t dressed for it, so you had to go back and take another shower before then. You decided to dress up a little bit, since he’d told you what restaurant you were going to, and saw him smile as he emerged from the bathroom. You went back out to eat dinner and then he dragged you over to where the fireworks would be, even though they weren’t for half an hour, trying to get the two of you a good spot. He was like a little kid. You were both sitting on one of the fountain edges, sipping at beers, and then the fireworks were starting. You finished your beers and stood up, throwing them away before making your way back to Chris. He stood behind you, guarding you, and put his arms around you from the back, squeezing you into a hug as the music started.

           “Thank you,” you said to him, smiling as you turned to kiss him.

           “It’s the happiest place on Earth, babe.” You laughed and started watching the fireworks. They were over way to soon and you both decided just to turn in. You were exhausted, and you nearly fell asleep on him on the bus ride back to the resort. You took your clothes off, deciding to just deal with your leftover makeup tomorrow, and watched Chris as he got ready for bed.

           “What?” He asked you, looking you up and down. He finished what he was doing and walked over to you, a smile on his face, and pulled you close to him. You could smell his cologne even though he’d taken his clothes off, too. His skin still had a sweaty sheen on it from how hot it was outside, but you didn’t care.

           “I’m going to say something so cheesy you’ll want to punch me in the face.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around your waist, kissing your neck and your shoulder until they were red.

           “What would that be?”

           “I’m glad you’re here. You’re my happy place. Even if Disney kind of is too.” You had both known you were in it for the long haul awhile ago, but you’d never admitted that to him; that you were never as happy as you were when you were with him. No matter where you were, or what situation you were in.

           “You just had to steal my spotlight, didn’t you?” He said against your skin.

           “Sorry.” He squeezed your body closer, tangling your legs together.

           “No. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’d do anything to make you happy. I love you so much, bubba. And I’m sorry I stole your vacation days.”

           “I love you too. We’ll discuss your punishment for that when I wake up.”

           “Ooh, punishment, I like the sound of that.”

           “We are in Disney World, Chris, get your mind out of the gutter!” The both of you laughed against one another for another few minutes before your conversation shifted to the next day’s plans, and with a final I love you, you were both asleep.

A/N: This is literally my dream so thanks to whoever requested! I loved writing this one so much! 

Taglist (if you’d like to be added, send me a message!): @an-adventureland, @firstangeldragonranch, @ssebstann, @winterreader-nowwriter

[babywinkz]

The Four Month Sleep Regression

The Four Month Sleep Regression

As a professional sleep consultant, I hear the term “regression” used in regards to just about every imaginable circumstance.

Essentially, if your baby doesn’t sleep well for a couple of nights, parents start dropping the ‘R’ word.

Some people subscribe to the idea that there’s an eight month regression, a 9 month regression, a 1 year regression, as well as teething regressions, growth spurt regressions, and so on.

Others see these as simple hiccups caused by extenuating circumstances.

Is There Such a Thing as Four Month Sleep Regression?

But the four-month regression, everybody agrees on, and for good reason. It’s the real deal, and it’s permanent.

So to understand what’s happening to your baby during this stage, first, you need to know a few things about sleep in general. So here’s the science part, told in plain English.

Many of us just think of sleep as an on-or-off situation.

You’re either asleep or you’re not.

Sleep Cycle in Plain English

But sleep actually has a number of different stages, and they make up the “sleep cycle,” which we go through several times a night.

STAGE 1 – Initial Stage

Stage 1 is that initial stage we’re all familiar with where you can just feel yourself drifting off, but don’t really feel like you’ve fallen asleep.

Anyone who has ever seen their partner nodding off in front of the TV told them to go to bed, and gotten the canned response of, “I wasn’t sleeping!” knows exactly what this looks like.

STAGE 2 – True Sleep

Stage 2, which is considered the first “true sleep” stage. This is where people tend to realize, once woken up, that they actually were sleeping. For anyone taking a “power nap,” this is as deep as you want to go, or else you’re going to wake up groggy.

STAGE 3 – Deep and Regenerative

Stage 3 is deep and regenerative. Also known as “slow wave” sleep, this is where the body starts repairing and rejuvenating the immune system, muscles tissue, energy stores, and sparks growth and development.

STAGE 4 – REM (rapid eye movement

Stage 4 is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is where the brain starts to kick in and consolidates information and memories from the day before. It’s also the stage where we do most of our dreaming.

Once we’ve gone through all of the stages, we either wake up or come close to waking up and then start over again until the alarm goes off.

So what does this have to do with the dreaded regression we were talking about originally?

Well, newborn babies only have 2 stages of sleep; stage 3 and REM, and they spend about half their sleep in each stage.

But at around the third or fourth month, there is a reorganization of sleep, as they embrace the 4-stage method of sleep that they’ll continue to follow for the rest of their lives.

When this change takes place, baby moves from 50% REM sleep to 25% in order to make room for those first two stages.

So although REM sleep is light, it’s not as light as these 2 new stages that they’re getting used to, and with more time spent in lighter sleep, there’s more of a chance that baby’s going to wake up.

Waking Up Is Normal During Sleep

That’s not to say that we want to prevent or avoid baby waking up.

Waking up is absolutely natural, and we continue to wake up three, four, five times a night into adulthood and even more in old age.

As adults, however, we’re able to identify certain comforting truths that baby might not be privy to.

When we wake in the night, we’re able to recognize that,

“Hey, I’m here in my bed, it’s still nighttime, my alarm isn’t going to go off for another three hours, and I’m reasonably certain that there are no monsters lurking under my bed. I can go back to sleep”

And we do. Usually so quickly that, the next morning, we don’t even remember the brief encounter with consciousness.

A four month old baby, of course, lacks these critical thinking skills.

To a four month old baby who fell asleep at her mother’s breast, the reasoning could go much more to the tune of,

“OK, last thing I remember, there was a familiar, beloved face, I was having dinner, and someone was singing me a soothing song about the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Now I’m alone in this dark room, there’s no food, and there’s probably at least three, possibly four, scary monsters in the immediate vicinity.”

That’s probably an exaggeration, but who knows what goes on in the mind of a four month-old baby?

Understanding Four Month Sleep Regression

Anyways, now that baby’s suddenly realized that Mamma’s not around, and they’re not entirely sure where they’ve gone, the natural response is to do a little freaking out.

That stimulates the fight-or-flight response and, next thing you know, baby’s not going back to sleep without a significant amount of reassurance that everything is OK.

The other major contributor to this 4 month fiasco.

I find, is that up until this point, parents have either been putting their baby to sleep with a pacifier, or by rocking them, or by breastfeeding them, or some similar technique where baby is helped along on the road to falling asleep.

Sleep Associations Don’t Help In the Long Term

Now that baby’s spending more time in light sleep, and therefore has a higher probability of waking up, this suddenly becomes a much bigger issue.

These sleep props or sleep associations can be very sneaky indeed.

Because although they may be helpful in getting your little one to that initial nodding off stage, the lack of them when they wake up means that baby’s not able to get back to sleep again without some outside help.

Cue the fight-or-flight, the crying, and the adrenaline.

When this starts happening every half an hour, parents can find themselves in a nightmarish situation.

So, the good news for anyone experiencing the dreaded Four Month Sleep Regression is that it’s not, in fact, a regression at all.

What is Regression?

A regression is defined as “reversion to an earlier mental or behavioural level,” and that’s actually the opposite of what your baby is experiencing.

This would be much more aptly titled the “Four Month Sleep Progression.”

So, onto the big question.

What can you do to help your little one adjust?

First off, get all of that light out of baby’s room.

I’m not kidding around here. You might think that baby’s room is dark enough, or that baby might not like the dark, and that it’s comforting to have a little bit of light coming through the windows or seeping in from the hallway.

Nope.

1 – Eliminate All Light

Baby’s room should be dark, I mean coal mine on a moonless night kind of dark.

Tape bin bags over the windows if you have to, or cover them with tinfoil. (Just be prepared to explain it to the police when the neighbours accuse you of running a grow-op.)

Newborns and infants are not afraid of the dark.

They are, however, responsive to light. Light tells their brains that it’s time for activity and alertness, and the brain secretes hormones accordingly, so we want to keep that nursery absolutely pitch black during naps and bedtime.

2 – Eliminate All Noise

The other nemesis of daytime sleep, (and nighttime for that matter, although not nearly as often) is noise.

Whether its UPS ringing the doorbell, the dog warning you that the squirrels are back and for sure going to attack the house this time, or something falling on the floor three rooms away.

With baby spending more time in lighter sleep, noises will startle them easily and wake them up, so a white noise machine is a great addition to your nursery.

“Wait, isn’t that a prop,” you’re asking. Well, in a way, it is, but it doesn’t require any winding, resetting, reinserting, or parental presence. It’s just there and it can be on as long as baby’s sleeping, so it’s not a prop we need to avoid.

3 – Create Bedtime Routine

Bedtime routines are also an essential component to getting your baby sleeping well.

Try to keep the routine to about 4 or 5 steps, and don’t end it with a feed. Otherwise, you risk baby nodding off at the breast or the bottle, and that will create the dreaded “association” that we talked about earlier.

So try to keep the feed near the beginning of the routine and plan the songs, stories, and getting into PJs towards the end.

The whole process should be about 20 – 30 minutes long, and the baby should go into their cot while they’re still awake.

If you’re noticing your baby getting fussy before bedtime, you’ve probably waited too long. Four month old babies should only be going about two hours between snoozes, and bedtime should be between 7 and 8 at night.

We Aren’t Perfect – Baby Growth Plays a Role

Now, there are going to be regressions, actual regressions, later on in your little one’s youth. Travelling, illness, cutting teeth, all of these things can cause your little one to have a few bad nights in a row.

But when it comes to the four month “progression,” I’m happy to report that this is a one-time thing. Once you’re through this, your baby will have officially moved into the sleep cycle that they’ll essentially be following for the rest of their life.

Four glorious stages repeated multiple times a night.

Give Your Little One a Gift

And by taking this opportunity to teach them the skills they need to string those sleep cycles together, independently, prop-free, without any need for nursing, rocking, or pacifiers, you’ll have given them a gift that they’ll enjoy for the rest of their young lives.

Of course, some kids are going to take to this process like a fish to water, and some are going to be a little more resistant.

If yours falls into the former category, count yourself as lucky, take delight in your success, and go ahead and gloat about it on Facebook.

For those of you in the latter camp, I’m happy to help in any way I can.

Just visit my website or give me a call and we can work on a more personalized program for your little one.

The most common thing I hear after working with clients is,

“I can’t believe I waited so long to get some help!”

So if you’re considering hiring a consultant, now is absolutely the time.

I offer a free 15 minute evaluation so I can get to know the specifics about your little one’s situation, so book a call now and we can move forward as soon as you’re ready to get your little one sleeping through the night!

Read next >>>

Helping your baby to sleep – NHS

Is This the Right Time To Sleep Train?

Is Sleep Training Safe

Thank you so much for reading, please comment below if you have any questions.

[hoodharlow]

Family Addition

AN: I promised this one shot to @hoodschick​ like a week ago lol. It’s inspired by Michael and Crystal becoming foster dog parents and joking about maybe adopting the dog they’re fostering. 

Summary: Maya and Calum have been together 5 years. After some convincing from Maya, they become foster dog parents. A bump in the road 

Warnings: smut lmao

Word count: 4.1k words.

“Fuck,” Calum groaned as Maya slipped him back in her mouth.

Maya bobbed her head up and down on him quickly, then slowed her pace as Calum’s fingers tightened their grip on her hair. She let Calum guide her head as she continued to take him. His grip on her loosened; she pushed his hand away and took over. 

Calum threw his head back on the couch. His stomach began to contract, letting her know that he was close. Maya rested her tongue on his tip as she stroked him. Her hand sped up, and Cal’s moans grew louder. She took him back in her mouth, bobbing her head. She made sure to take in every last drop when he came.

“Fuck, I love you. I’m pretty sure you can ask me for anything, and I’ll say yes.” Calum said after he caught his breath. He pulled up his sweats. 

“Well actually….” Maya said, straddling his lap as Calum’s arms welcomed her.

“I knew something was up the minute I saw you in those shorts.” He shook his head, smiling to himself.

“I was only showing you my new pajamas, not my fault your dick can’t control itself.” Maya smoothed out her pajama shorts. 

Earlier that day Maya met up with Crystal for lunch before stopping by La Perla for some new pajama shorts and nightgowns. 

Maya is eternally grateful for Crystal because she’s the reason why Maya met Calum, her boyfriend of five years and father of her three year old, Jaime. Crystal was one of her first friends when she moved to LA from Texas in pursuit of acting. She helped Maya get the role as Calum’s love interest in the ‘Wildflower’ music video a few years back. 

They pretty much pulled a Chrissy Teigen and John Legend by hooking up after filming a music video and then just spending the rest of their lives together. 

“So, what’s on your mind?” Calum asked, rubbing her legs.

“I know you’ve said no to us adopting another dog, but-” 

“No.” Calum cut me off. 

“But-”

“Maya, I said no.”

“At least let me tell you before you make up your mind.” She pouted, crossing her arms against her chest. 

“Fine, what is it?” He sighed. Calum unwrapped her arms and put them around him. 

“Okay, so you know how Michael and Crystal always foster dogs, right? So I was thinking of us, you know, trying it out. The longest they stay with their foster people is like two months.” 

“What about Jaime?”

“I looked into the place, and the website said that kids should be at least two years old. Plus, we would only be fostering dogs that are okay to be around other dogs and children.” 

“You already looked into this, huh?” He joked. 

One of Calum’s favorite things about Maya was that she always loved researching and learning about things. When she started directing and making her own short films, she would spend hours upon hours looking up materials and different directing techniques. 

“Yeah,” she smiled at him.

She reached back to the coffee table and got her phone. 

Calum smiled at her lockscreen. It was a picture of them at Luke and Sierra’s wedding a few months ago. He had Jaime in one arm and the other was lazyly resting against Maya’s waist. He was the only of the boys that hadn't gotten married; ironically he was the only one with a kid. 

Maya rested her head on his shoulder and pulled up the website. It was a pitbull sanctuary called El Santuario. He immediately recognized it because it was attached to a public dog park that they always went to with Duke and Jaime. Originally the place was for all dog types, but when the owners began taking in pitbulls and their crossbreeds, people began to go to other places. Eventually they decided to focus on them.

Maya showed and explained to him the process of becoming foster parents and the few changes they would have to do if they got approved. He took in how her eyes lit up by the seconds as she read him the bios of each of the dogs. The way she talked was filled with so much compassion and emotion, it reminded him of why he fell in love with her. 

“Okay,” Calum said. 

“What?” Maya looked up at him in disbelief.

“Let’s do it.” 

“Really?” Maya smiled. 

“Yeah-” 

“I fucking love you!” She grabbed his face and kissed him all over.

Calum pulled her close to him as their kisses began to get more passionate. Calum laid her on the couch and showed her how much he loved her. 

***

Calum and Jaime stayed at home while Maya went to pick the dog they were fostering. It took them two months to get approved by the Humane Society. Duke let out a bark as Maya called from the front door. 

Their foster dog stood behind Maya’s legs as Duke continued barking. Calum scooped him up in his arms. Calum reached over for Duke’s leash on the key hanger and attached it to him, setting Duke down on the floor. Maya sat on the floor and gently pulled the dog in front of her. The dog was a grey staffy. It reminded Calum of a dark rain cloud.

Duke hesitantly walked forward and sniffed the dog. After a few seconds, he excitedly wagged his tail and barked. He spotted one of his toys and pushed it toward the dog. The dog hesitantly sniffed it and took it in its mouth. 

“Doggy.” Jaime pointed to the dog.

 “Yeah, her name is Cloud. Dame la mano.” Maya extended her arm to Jaime. 

He walked over to her and grabbed his hand to let Cloud smell him. Jaime giggled when Cloud licked his hand. She nuzzled against him. 

Calum detached Duke’s leash and let him wander off back to his bed. Calum sat down next to Maya and waited for Cloud to smell him. She looked over to him and then scooted away from him.

“Southy,” Jaime said.

“What baby?” Calum looked up at him.

“No like you. Like Southy.” He mumbled.

Calum slightly frowned at the comment. It was rare for a dog not to like him. About 98% percent of dogs like him, the other 2% is Southy. 

He watched Cloud lay its head on Maya. She rubbed Cloud's side. 

With her other hand, Maya reached for his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze. Calum picked it up and kissed the back of her hand. He noticed the slight flush around her neck. It made Calum feel things. Even after five years, she still blushed at the small gestures they shared. 

"What?" Maya giggled.

"What?" Calum blinked at her. He must've zoned out.

"You were staring at me." She smiled.

"Oh, sorry. I love you. You know that right?" He said.

"If you say so."

Before he said anything else. Jaime came back running to them. He watched Jaime show Cloud a raccoon stuffed animal. Then he threw it across the hall and ran after it. He came back and got Cloud to chase after it.

"I can't wait until we have another kid." Calum said. He grabbed Maya by the waist and pulled her into his arms. 

"You want another one?" Maya asked. 

She tried hiding the hopefulness in her voice. The night they agreed on being foster dog parents, they spent the whole night loving each other. With her excitement of becoming foster parents, she had forgotten to take the pill. A week before that night was the last time she got her period. This morning she started getting morning sickness.

"I mean in a few years, but yeah, I want another mini us. You?" He replied. He was playing with the fringes on her cardigan. 

"Oh… I guess when the time comes." She looked over at her purse where the pregnancy tests were burning a hole at the bottom. Maya got up. "I'm gonna change, and then I'll get started on lunch."

"Okay, want Chipotle later for dinner?" He asked her.

"Um, sure." She shrugged and walked up to their room. Maya ran into their bathroom. She peed on all five sticks. While she waited, she changed into one of Calum's hoodies and the La Perla shorts that got her into this mess in the first place. She ran her fingers into her hair in an attempt to disentangle it and braid it. After three minutes, her phone buzzed. 

Maya hesitantly went back into the bathroom. She gave herself the sign of the cross before checking the tests. 

"Puta madre." She mumbled to herself.  The tests either read positive or pregnant. 

She caught herself in the mirror, looking like a hot mess. Maya lifted her hoodie and placed her hand on her stomach. Inside of her was her baby, their baby. One made of pure love. 

She blinked back a few tears, remembering when Calum first announced they were going to have Jaime. A lot of his fans were quick to come for her. They claimed she didn't love him and was just trying to tie him down. That was far from the truth.

Maya loved Calum with her whole being. He showed her what unconditional love and support was. She never had that growing up. Back in Texas, her parents wanted her to pursue a career that guaranteed a job. Maya was basically disowned when she told her parents that she's moving to LA to give acting  a shot. Little did anyone know that her true passion was behind the camera and not in front of it. Calum always encouraged her to follow her dreams, and he was always supportive of her decisions. 

Now Maya isn't sure how he's going to feel about this.

***

Calum decided to get started on lunch. Knowing Maya, she probably fell asleep. 

Calum felt Maya off, maybe under the weather, so he decided to make some soup. The same one his mom would make him and Mali whenever they would get a cold or a stomach flu. 

"Hi, baby," He heard Maya tell Cloud. He watched her bend down to pet her. Of course she's wearing those shorts, Calum thought to himself.

"Hi, mumma," Jaime replied. 

"Hola, mi amor," she kissed his cheek. She felt Calum's gaze on her and she smiled at him.

 He saw a little sadness in her eyes.

"I'm making my mum's soup." Calum told when she walked over to him. "Just need it to simmer." 

Calum glanced back to Jaime.  He was on the couch watching soccer, resting his head on Cloud while hugging Duke. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the trio. 

"Send that to me." Maya said. She was sitting on the counter, watching him. Her shorts showed off her toned legs while the pale pink contrasted against her brown skin. What Calum would do to have his head in between them or to have her against the counter.

He walked up to her and kissed her. It was short and sweet. It left them wanting each other. Maya wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. In seconds they got lost in each other's lips. Calum opened Maya's legs so he could fit better. He gripped her hips as his tongue fought for dominance. Maya melted against him. 

"Mumma, I want food." Jaime called from his spot on the couch, making them split apart like opposing magnets. 

"Okay, just give us a minute." Calum replied. “Of course my own kid would cock block me.”

***

It’s been three weeks since Cloud has been here, and she’s still wary of Calum. 

“She just doesn’t like me. I walk into the living room, and she’ll walk away.” Calum told the guys. They had all come over for dinner. 

“You’ve been together five years and she still can’t stand your ass.” Ashton joked. 

“Funny, I meant the dog Maya wanted to foster. Thank god, we’re not adopting it.” Calum took a swig of his beer. His eye caught Cloud, she was laying on the ground watching all the other dogs play with Jaime. Calum came to know that Cloud was not a big fan of large groups. Whether it was dogs or people, she would stand back and just watch, very much like Calum.

“Is it me or is there something different about Maya?” Michael asked. The other day, he may or may not have overheard her and Crystal talk about her being pregnant, and how she’s scared of telling Calum. 

Calum’s breath hitched slightly. He was thankful that he wasn’t the only one that’s noticed. The past few weeks he’s noticed that Maya’s diet has changed. The most obvious is that she hasn’t drunk coffee or alcohol, and Maya loves those. And ketchup. She loves ketchup and puts it on everything. It reminded Calum when she was pregnant with Jaime. During her pregnancy with Jaime, she stopped eating ketchup because it made her nauseous. Though her other eating habits seem pretty much the same. 

Another thing he noticed was that she wore her loose traveling dresses. When he commented on it, she just shrugged it off and told him the weather was warmer. 

“No clue.” Calum said. His gaze fell on her. She was casually dipping celery sticks into her mango ice cream. Not the weirdest thing he’s seen her eat. When they first started dating, he caught her making a peanut butter and cheese sandwich. 

Maya felt his gaze on her, and she turned to him. She smiled and waved at him. He waved back and turned back to the boys’ conversation. Thankfully the topic changed, and they were talking about when to meet up to record their upcoming single. 

***

Being fourteen weeks pregnant and picking up dog poop was the worst combination ever. Maya barely made it to the bathroom in the home gym. 

Cloud had never seen anything like it. It scared her. She ran up to Maya and Calum’s room to get him. Unfortunately, the door was closed. She scratched and barked on the door. 

Calum rolled over, trying to cover his ears from hearing. He reached over to Maya, and her side was empty. He looked at the clock and groggily mumbled. When he opened the door, Cloud barked at him. 

“Hey, be quiet.” Calum scolded her. 

Cloud started whining and trying to get him to follow her. It wasn’t until he heard Maya throw up again that he understood what she was doing. She ran down the stairs and barked at Calum to follow her. She led him to where Maya was. She looked worriedly at Maya.

“She’s going to be okay.” Calum reassured her before going into the bathroom.

He knelt down to where Maya was. She was resting her head on her arm. Maya started crying. She didn’t want Calum to see her like this. Unsure on what to do Calum pulled her hair into a loose braid and then gently rubbed her back, letting her cry. They stayed like this for a few minutes until she was done. 

Cloud stayed with Calum and made sure Maya made it safely up the stairs. She even followed Calum when he went to the kitchen to get Maya a glass of water. 

“She's going to be okay, pretty girl. Mumma is going to be like that for a bit.” He explained to her. Calum reached over to her, and she let him pet her. Calum left his heart skip a beat in excitement when she laid on her back, so he could rub her belly. After a bit, she went back to where she and Duke slept. Calum washed his hands and went up stairs with Maya’s water.

“When were you going to tell me?” Calum asked Maya when he got to their room. 

He sat in front of her and pulled her legs over him. Maya just shrugged at him. 

“Maya.”

“I don’t know. You said you wanted to wait a few more years. I was scared that you were going to get mad and leave me.” She said, tugging at the chain around her neck, a habit she had when she’s nervous or avoiding a conversation.

“What?” He asked in disbelief.

“But you wanted to wait a few-”

“Yeah and?”

“I just don’t want you to stay with me because I’m having your child.” 

“Maya, I’m with you because I love you, and you make me happy. You being the mother of my kids is a blessing.” 

“You mean it?”

“Of course. Let me see.”

Calum gently pushed Maya’s t-shirt up, revealing her growing bump. 

“Hi, baby. I’m your daddy. I’m also your mumma’s daddy when she behaves.”

Maya rolled her eyes at him when he looked up at her. 

Calum gently kissed her all over her belly. It was an innocent gesture, but it got her feeling. Especially when his kisses made their way down. 

He opened her legs exposing a damp spot on her panties. He placed her thighs over his shoulders and got closer to her core. He licked the damp spot before ripping her panties off.

“Hey, those were expensive.” Maya protested.

“And?” Calum didn’t let her say another word. He attached his mouth on her. 

Maya was a writhing mess in seconds. Silently cursing at him for cutting his hair because she couldn’t pull on it. She slid her hands inside her shirt and played with her breasts. He pushed in his ring and middle finger in her and licked her clit as he thrusted his fingers. When he felt her clench on his fingers, he pulled away. Earning a whine from Maya.

“Apologize first for not telling me you’re expecting our child or I won’t let you come.” Calum said.

“What? No!” Maya breathed out.

“Fine.” Calum pushed her legs off his shoulders.

“No, wait! Calum, I’m fucking sorry. I should have let you know about the baby.” 

“See, was that so hard?” He latched his mouth back on her and teased her clit with his fingers. 

In a matter of minutes, Maya came, repeating his name in pleasure until her high wore off. 

Calum laid next to her and pulled her to his side. “I love you, you know that, right?” He asked her.

“Yeah, I love you too. I really am sorry I didn’t tell you.” She said quietly.

“It’s alright. I was going to ask you eventually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You expected me not to notice that you stopped drinking coffee and eating ketchup? You need your daily scrambled eggs with ketchup and morning coffee.”

“Kinda.”

***

“I’m going to ask her to marry me.” Calum told Ashton. 

They were at their go to coffee shop by the dog park where El Santuario is. He even brought Cloud along. Ever since that morning, they have been getting along. She even lets him cuddle her. A week had passed and they finally told the rest of their group. Well, Jaime did when he told Luke that his mumma was getting fat because there was a baby inside her. Luke, being the loud mouth he is, asked Calum in front of everyone. 

Ashton hummed in agreement, taking a sip from his drink.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, honest. Just surprising. Didn't expect you to want to marry her."

"I fucking love her. Of course I want to marry her." Calum defended himself.

"Not because of that. A blind person can see how much you both love each other. I just never saw either of you as the marrying type." Ashton said. 

"Oh."

"Not to mention, you're both pretty private about each other and Jaime. Hell, I'm still surprised how Jaime has never been photographed by the paps. When word gets out, because it will, it'll be hellhole for all of you. The paps will want to be up your arses. Kait and I almost called off the wedding because of them. I'm just looking out for you. I should get going. Think it through. And ask Maya if that's something she wants too." 

Ashton patted Calum on the shoulder and gave Cloud a scratch and left.

Calum and Cloud walked around the block as he processed his thoughts. Of course he wants to marry Maya. Ever since she got her first Academy Award nomination, he realised that he wants to be there for every milestone supporting her. He just never found the perfect moment to ask her. Something always happened that kept him from asking her.

The more he thought about it the more he also imagined Cloud in the picture. He'd gotten used to her being at the house. 

Fuck it, Calum thought to himself.

They walked to El Santuario. Cloud got nervous. She thought back to when her first owners dropped her off there when they got a puppy. She began to pull on the leash trying to get Calum away from there.

"Pretty girl, it'll be quick. I just have to do something really fast, and we'll leave." Calum reassured her. 

In an hour or so, Calum signed the adoption papers and got her registered to their insurance. It would take a week for the paperwork to process, so she can officially be theirs. While they walked back to the car, Calum spotted a jewelry store. 

It was a sign.

He tied Cloud to a parking meter, and went to the store. He spotted the ring. Like in Harry Potter, where the wands come to you, the ring called him. It wasn't huge or flashy like the others in the display window, but it was beautiful and bright like Maya. The jeweler told him that the ring will be ready within a week or so. 

Calum was so giddy and excited when him and Cloud got home. He was taken back when Maya ran into his arms crying. Blood drained from his face. He thought something happened to her.

"Hey? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"You're going to say you told me so. I got attached to Cloud. Yesterday I was going to ask if we could adopt her, but I forgot. And I just got a call that some pendejo adopted her. Who would do such a thing! She belongs with us. She's part of our family, Cal." 

Her tears became full-on sobs. Calum didn't know how to tell he was the pendejo that adopted her.

***

Today was the day that Cloud would leave them forever. Maya stayed home with Duke while Jaime and Calum went to drop off Cloud. They congregated on the couch and watched 'A Dog's Purpose' and finished off the bag of cuties. She cried throughout the movie. Then she got angry at Calum for letting her convince him to become foster parents. Then she got hungry again.

She tried calling Calum, so he could get her some shrimp tacos from Playa Azul Mariscos, but he didn't answer. She took it upon herself and ordered thought postmates. She ordered three Baja style and four shrimp diabla. For Jaime she got him shrimp empanadas and for Calum veggie quesadilla. While she waited for their food, she made herself a turkey sandwich. 

"Mumma?” Jaime called.

"Aca ando." She called from the kitchen.

Jaime came in.

"Ven." he said, pulling her. He led her out to where Calum parked the car. Maya stopped dead on her tracks when she saw Calum holding Cloud. 

"What's this?" She asked him, tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Funny story, I'm the pendejo that adopted Cloud." He smiled.

"No!" She cried. 

She got down and pulled Cloud into a hug. Cloud was wearing the collar Maya saw at Petco a few days ago when she went to get more snacks for Duke. She gushed to Calum about how cute Cloud would look with it. She reached over to see her dog tag only to find a ring.

"Cal-" She looked up to him. 

He was barely able to contain his tears. 

"Marry me?" Was all he could manage to say. He had a whole speech planned out and everything, but his emotions got the best of him.

"Yes! A million times yes!" She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you so much, Cal!"

"I love you!" Calum said in between kisses.

Later that night after Jaime had settled into bed, Calum and Maya were in the living room. 

"Stop, that tickles." Maya giggled.

Calum was painting a "#2" onto her stomach. 

"Well, if you sat there and not moved, we'd finish much faster." He told her.

"Ya?" She asked a few minutes later.

"Yes. Cloud go sit with mumma." He patted the space next to Maya. 

Calum placed Maya's left hand on top of her stomach while the other was draped over Cloud.

"Okay, smile on three." He said. He counted off from one to three. 

"Let me see it." Maya said once he had taken it.

"You'll see in a bit."

Calum opened Instagram and posted the picture. 'We got two new family members in the Hood-Arroyo household.'

[tswiftdaily]

In the 2010s, she went from country superstar to pop titan and broke records with chart-topping albums and blockbuster tours. Now Swift is using her industry clout to fight for artists’ rights and foster the musical community she wished she had coming up.

One evening in late-October, before she performed at a benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Taylor Swift’s dressing room became -- as it often does -- an impromptu summit of music’s biggest names. Swift was there to take part in the American Cancer Society’s annual We Can Survive concert alongside Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Camila Cabello and others, and a few of the artists on the lineup came by to visit.

Eilish, along with her mother and her brother/collaborator, Finneas O’Connell, popped in to say hello -- the first time she and Swift had met. Later, Swift joined the exclusive club of people who have seen Marshmello without his signature helmet when the EDM star and his manager stopped by.

“Two dudes walked in -- I didn’t know which one was him,” recalls Swift a few weeks later, sitting on a lounge chair in the backyard of a private Beverly Hills residence following a photo shoot. Her momentary confusion turned into a pang of envy. “It’s really smart! Because he’s got a life, and he can get a house that doesn’t have to have a paparazzi-proof entrance.” She stops to adjust her gray sweatshirt dress and lets out a clipped laugh.

Swift, who will celebrate her 30th birthday on Dec. 13, has been impossibly famous for nearly half of her lifetime. She was 16 when she released her self-titled debut album in 2006, and 20 when her second album, Fearless, won the Grammy Award for album of the year in 2010, making her the youngest artist to ever receive the honor. As the decade comes to a close, Swift is one of the most accomplished musical acts of all time: 37.3 million albums sold, according to Nielsen Music; 95 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 (including five No. 1s); 23 Billboard Music Awards; 12 Country Music Association Awards; 10 Grammys; and five world tours.

She also finishes the decade in a totally different realm of the music world from where she started. Swift’s crossover from country to pop -- hinted at on 2012’s Red and fully embraced on 2014’s 1989 -- reflected a mainstream era in which genres were blended with little abandon, where artists with roots in country, folk and trap music could join forces without anyone raising eyebrows. (See: Swift’s top 20 hit “End Game,” from 2017’s reputation, which featured Ed Sheeran and Future.)

Swift’s new album, Lover, released in August, is both a warm break from the darkness of reputation -- which was created during a wave of negative press generated by Swift’s public clash with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian-West -- as well as an amalgam of all her stylistic explorations through the years, from dreamy synth-pop to hushed country. “The skies were opening up in my life,” says Swift of the album, which garnered three Grammy nominations, including song of the year for the title track.

She recorded Lover after the Reputation Stadium Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing U.S. tour late last year. In 2020, Swift will embark on Lover Fest, a run of stadium dates that will feature a hand-picked lineup of artists (as yet unannounced) and allow Swift more time off from the road. “This is a year where I have to be there for my family -- there’s a lot of question marks throughout the next year, so I wanted to make sure that I could go home,” says Swift, likely referencing her mother’s cancer diagnosis, which inspired the Lover heart-wrencher “Soon You’ll Get Better.”

Now, however, Swift finds herself in a different highly publicized dispute. This time it’s with Scott Borchetta, the head of her former label, Big Machine Records, and Scooter Braun, the manager-mogul whose Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group and its master recordings, which include Swift’s six pre-Lover albums, in June. Upon news of the sale, Swift wrote in a Tumblr post that it was her “worst case scenario,” accusing Braun of “bullying” her throughout her career due to his connections with West. She maintains today that she was never given the opportunity to buy her masters outright. (On Tumblr, she wrote that she was offered the chance to “earn” back the masters to one of her albums for each new album she turned in if she re-signed with Big Machine; Borchetta disputed this characterization, saying she had the opportunity to acquire her masters in exchange for re-signing with the label for a “length of time” -- 10 more years, according to screenshots of legal documents posted on the Big Machine website.)

Swift has said that she intends to rerecord her first six albums next year -- starting next November, when she says she’s contractually able to -- in order to regain control of her recordings. But the back-and-forth appears to be nowhere near over: Last month, Swift alleged that Borchetta and Braun were blocking her from performing her past hits at the American Music Awards or using them in an upcoming Netflix documentary -- claims Big Machine characterized as “false information” in a response that did not get into specifics. (Swift ultimately performed the medley she had planned.) In the weeks following this interview, Braun said he was open to “all possibilities” in finding a “resolution,” and Billboard sources say that includes negotiating a sale. Swift remains interested in buying her masters, though the price could be a sticking point, given her rerecording plans, the control she has over the licensing of her music for film and TV, and the market growth since Braun’s acquisition.

However it plays out, the battle over her masters is the latest in a series of moves that has turned Swift into something of an advocate for artists’ rights -- and made her a cause that everyone from Halsey to Elizabeth Warren has rallied behind. From 2014 to 2017, Swift withheld her catalog from Spotify to protest the streaming company’s compensation rates, saying in a 2014 interview, “There should be an inherent value placed on art. I didn’t see that happening, perception-wise, when I put my music on Spotify.” In 2015, ahead of the launch of Apple Music, Swift wrote an open letter criticizing Apple for its plan to not pay royalties during the three-month free trial it was set to offer listeners; the company announced a new policy within 24 hours. Most recently, when she signed a new global deal with Universal Music Group in 2018, Swift (who is now on Republic Records) said one of the conditions of her contract was that UMG share proceeds from any sale of its Spotify equity with its roster of artists -- and make them nonrecoupable against those artists’ earnings.

During a wide-ranging conversation, Billboard’s Woman of the Decade expresses hope that she can help make the lives of creators a little easier in the years to come -- and a belief that her behind-the-scenes strides will be as integral to her legacy as her biggest singles. “New artists and producers and writers need work, and they need to be likable and get booked in sessions, and they can’t make noise -- but if I can, then I’m going to,” promises Swift. This is where being impossibly famous can be a very good thing. “I know that it seems like I’m very loud about this,” she says, “but it’s because someone has to be.”

While watching some of your performances this year -- like Saturday Night Live and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert -- I was struck by how focused you seemed, like there were no distractions getting in the way of what you were trying to say.

That’s a really wonderful way of looking at this phase of my life and my music. I’ve spent a lot of time recalibrating my life to make it feel manageable. Because there were some years there where I felt like I didn’t quite know what exactly to give people and what to hold back, what to share and what to protect. I think a lot of people go through that, especially in the last decade. I broke through pre-social media, and then there was this phase where social media felt fun and casual and quirky and safe. And then it got to the point where everyone has to evaluate their relationship with social media. So I decided that the best thing I have to offer people is my music. I’m not really here to influence their fashion or their social lives. That has bled through into the live part of what I do.

Meanwhile, you’ve found a way to interact with your fans in this very pure way -- on your Tumblr page.

Tumblr is the last place on the internet where I feel like I can still make a joke because it feels small, like a neighborhood rather than an entire continent. We can kid around -- they literally drag me. It’s fun. That’s a real comfort zone for me. And just like anything else, I need breaks from it sometimes. But when I do participate in that space, it’s always in a very inside-joke, friend vibe. Sometimes, when I open Twitter, I get so overwhelmed that I just immediately close it. I haven’t had Twitter on my phone in a while because I don’t like to have too much news. Like, I follow politics, and that’s it. But I don’t like to follow who has broken up with who, or who wore an interesting pair of shoes. There’s only so much bandwidth my brain can really have.

You’ve spoken in recent interviews about the general expectations you’ve faced, using phrases like “They’ve wanted to see this” and “They hated me for this.” Who is “they”? Is it social media or disparaging think pieces or --

It’s sort of an amalgamation of all of it. People who aren’t active fans of your music, who like one song but love to hear who has been canceled on Twitter. I’ve had several upheavals of somehow not being what I should be. And this happens to women in music way more than men. That’s why I get so many phone calls from new artists out of the blue -- like, “Hey, I’m getting my first wave of bad press, I’m freaking out, can I talk to you?” And the answer is always yes! I’m talking about more than 20 people who have randomly reached out to me. I take it as a compliment because it means that they see what has happened over the course of my career, over and over again.

Did you have someone like that to reach out to?

Not really, because my career has existed in lots of different neighborhoods of music. I had so many mentors in country music. Faith Hill was wonderful. She would reach out to me and invite me over and take me on tour, and I knew that I could talk to her. Crossing over to pop is a completely different world. Country music is a real community, and in pop I didn’t see that community as much. Now there is a bit of one between the girls in pop -- we all have each other’s numbers and text each other -- but when I first started out in pop it was very much you versus you versus you. We didn’t have a network, which is weird because we can help each other through these moments when you just feel completely isolated.

Do you feel like those barriers are actively being broken down now?

God, I hope so. I also hope people can call it out, [like] if you see a Grammy prediction article, and it’s just two women’s faces next to each other and feels a bit gratuitous. No one’s going to start out being perfectly educated on the intricacies of gender politics. The key is that people are trying to learn, and that’s great. No one’s going to get it perfect, but, God, please try.

At this point, who is your sounding board, creatively and professionally?

From a creative standpoint, I’ve been writing alone a lot more. I’m good with being alone, with thinking alone. When I come up with a marketing idea for the Lover tour, the album launch, the merch, I’ll go right to my management company that I’ve put together. I think a team is the best way to be managed. Just from my experience, I don’t think that this overarching, one-person-handles-my-career thing was ever going to work for me. Because that person ends up kind of being me who comes up with most of the ideas, and then I have an amazing team that facilitates those ideas.

The behind-the-scenes work is different for every phase of my career that I’m in. Putting together the festival shows that we’re doing for Lover is completely different than putting together the Reputation Stadium Tour. Putting together the reputation launch was so different than putting together the 1989 launch. So we really do attack things case by case, where the creative first informs everything else.

You’ve spoken before about how meaningful the reputation tour’s success was. What did it represent?

That tour was something that I wanted to immortalize in the Netflix special that we did because the album was a story, but it almost was like a story that wasn’t fully realized until you saw it live. It was so cool to hear people leaving the show being like, “I understand it now. I fully get it now.” There are a lot of red herrings and bait-and-switches in the choices that I’ll make with albums, because I want people to go and explore the body of work. You can never express how you feel over the course of an album in a single, so why try?

That seems especially true of your last three albums or so.

“Shake It Off” is nothing like the rest of 1989. It’s almost like I feel so much pressure with a first single that I don’t want the first single to be something that makes you feel like you’ve figured out what I’ve made on the rest of the project. I still truly believe in albums, whatever form you consume them in -- if you want to stream them or buy them or listen to them on vinyl. And I don’t think that makes me a staunch purist. I think that that is a strong feeling throughout the music industry. We’re running really fast toward a singles industry, but you got to believe in something. I still believe that albums are important.

The music industry has become increasingly global during the past decade. Is reaching new markets something you think about?

Yeah, and I’m always trying to learn. I’m learning from everyone. I’m learning when I go see Bruce Springsteen or Madonna do a theater show. And I’m learning from new artists who are coming out right now, just seeing what they’re doing and thinking, “That’s really cool.” You need to keep your influences broad and wide-ranging, and my favorite people who make music have always done that. I got to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the Cats movie, and Andrew will walk through the door and be like, “I’ve just seen this amazing thing on TikTok!” And I’m like, “You are it! You are it!” Because you cannot look at what quote-unquote “the kids are doing” and roll your eyes. You have to learn.

Have you explored TikTok at all?

I only see them when they’re posted to Tumblr, but I love them! I think that they’re hilarious and amazing. Andrew says that they’ve made musicals cool again, because there’s a huge musical facet to TikTok. [He’s] like, “Any way we can do that is good.”

How do you see your involvement in the business side of your career progressing in the next decade? You seem like someone who could eventually start a label or be more hands-on with signing artists.

I do think about it every once in a while, but if I was going to do it, I would need to do it with all of my energy. I know how important that is, when you’ve got someone else’s career in your hands, and I know how it feels when someone isn’t generous.

You’ve served as an ambassador of sorts for artists, especially recently -- staring down streaming services over payouts, increasing public awareness about the terms of record deals.

We have a long way to go. I think that we’re working off of an antiquated contractual system. We’re galloping toward a new industry but not thinking about recalibrating financial structures and compensation rates, taking care of producers and writers.

We need to think about how we handle master recordings, because this isn’t it. When I stood up and talked about this, I saw a lot of fans saying, “Wait, the creators of this work do not own their work, ever?” I spent 10 years of my life trying rigorously to purchase my masters outright and was then denied that opportunity, and I just don’t want that to happen to another artist if I can help it. I want to at least raise my hand and say, “This is something that an artist should be able to earn back over the course of their deal -- not as a renegotiation ploy -- and something that artists should maybe have the first right of refusal to buy.” God, I would have paid so much for them! Anything to own my work that was an actual sale option, but it wasn’t given to me.

Thankfully, there’s power in writing your music. Every week, we get a dozen synch requests to use “Shake It Off” in some advertisement or “Blank Space” in some movie trailer, and we say no to every single one of them. And the reason I’m rerecording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on. I do want it to be in movies, I do want it to be in commercials. But I only want that if I own it.

Do you know how long that rerecording process will take?

I don’t know! But it’s going to be fun, because it’ll feel like regaining a freedom and taking back what’s mine. When I created [these songs], I didn’t know what they would grow up to be. Going back in and knowing that it meant something to people is actually a really beautiful way to celebrate what the fans have done for my music.

Ten years ago, on the brink of the 2010s, you were about to turn 20. What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?

Oh, God -- I wouldn’t give myself any advice. I would have done everything exactly the same way. Because even the really tough things I’ve gone through taught me things that I never would have learned any other way. I really appreciate my experience, the ups and downs. And maybe that seems ridiculously Zen, but … I’ve got my friends, who like me for the right reasons. I’ve got my family. I’ve got my boyfriend. I’ve got my fans. I’ve got my cats.

[justasparkwritings]

Codename Cupid: Chapter 21

Previous: Codename Black Panther 

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x OFC

Genre: Secret AgentAU, Government AgentAU, Smut Lite

Rating: PG17

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: Swearing, Grinding, Making Out 

Summary: Lee Euna receives a startling message and goes to the one person she assumes will have the answers, or at least, an explanation. 

(uhhh didn’t know it was going to be this long)

The Final Notice

Present Day

           The note said they’d be meeting me face to face, but months have passed, and I am sitting here, waiting. Waiting for a sign, for another note, for someone to be sitting in my living room when I return home, for a dead rabbit to appear in my pasta pot, Jungkook to be taken for ransom, literally anything. And yet, nothing has happened. No note or call.

           I’ve increased surveillance on Taehyung, the only one who seems to connect some of these men, and by a stroke of pure genius, put a tracker on his car and Namjoon’s, as well as a few bugs in their apartment. There’s only so many times you can send flowers with a vague card, and a listening device embedded within the glass. Who gets rid of vases? Hopefully not these men.

           I’ve learned few things in my listening, namely that I am correct. The men are connected. Taehyung and Jimin are best friends and spend an innumerable number of hours together. They also spend time with Namjoon, who I think, if I’m correct, knows Hoseok. Hobi is a nickname for Hoseok, right? And if not, I’m fucked. They’ve added a new person to their discussion, someone they call Black Panther, who sounds like a right pain in the ass. All they do is bitch about how they’re constantly on call to deal with Black Panther’s mess, that Black Panther is getting in their way and in turn, ruining all plans. They speak in some code I don’t know, and I don’t know how to crack it. What I’m more startled by, is the fact that they continue to call this mystery person black panther, who calls a friend Black Panther? That’s like, cultural appropriation lite?

           It’s not, I’m kidding. It’s totally not.

           When I put it all the information together, Black Panther out of the equation because I have no idea who it is, it doesn’t amount to much. Names and addresses, a few yelp reviews, and nothing more. My gut is telling me there’s something here, something more than what Euna believes. Hoseok showing up in Genevieve’s photos, the trio going out to dinner, the mysterious note with the water mark, it has to add up to something. That and they keep mentioning the 7 of them, when the 7 of them are together, they’ll make sense of it, when the 7 of them are all clued in, they can handle Black Panther. Is Black Panther not their seventh member?

           The door to my office slams open, and a disgruntled Euna stomps in, lily white, tears cascading through her foundation.

           “Euna, what a sur-

           “Did you know about this?” She demands, shoving a picture in my face.

           “What?”

           “They know each other!” She yells.

           The photo, a polaroid, of Min Yoongi, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung and Kim Namjoon. I’ve never seen them all together, Euna was right, they are despicably pretty.

           “How in your world did you not figure out that they know each other?”

          “I-

          “They look pretty fucking chummy to me!”

           “Euna, please, sit, let’s chat,” I stand to get her a water, which she yanks out of my hand and tosses down her throat.

           “Have you been withholding information?” Her voice has simmered, the bubbles of discontent slowly rising to the surface but never popping.

           All I can do is sigh and shrug my shoulders. Lying is not going to work, she’s paying me enough to give her one of my unused eggs, the least I can do is be honest with her.  

           “That’s unfair, I could demand money back for your deception,” Euna says.

           “I have withheld information on the basis that I need more time to connect the dots,” I start. “This is season 1 of The Wire and I’m fucking McNulty asking for more time to put the wire up. These men, Euna,” I exhale again, “It’s not linear, I can’t just plot them and see the whole picture. It’s much more complicated than that.”

           “Explain,”

           “All of it?”

           “Yes, all of it, you think I want to fucking understand parts of it?” Valid question.

           “Fine. It starts sometime when Kim Namjoon was sixteen, I’m not sure what that something is, but that’s the beginning of it. He was a prodigy, renowned in mathematics and rhetoric, short listed for a Nobel Prize by fifteen. After Namjoon, it moves to you and Seokjin, which leads to you and Yoongi, Jun-Seo and Jimin. Finally, it all ends up at Taehyung and whatever happened there,” I glance at her, hoping she’ll tell me if the supposed abortion was from him or someone else. “Somehow Jung Hoseok winds up at Lee Enterprise’s Masquerade, and Kim Namjoon comes back into the picture as a friend of Jimin and Taehyung’s.”

           “Jung Hoseok has taken Kwan on a few dates,”

           “Are they still seeing each other?”

           “No. That’s all you’ve got?”

           “I’ve got more, but I’m not sure it’s going to help you understand this anymore than you already do.” I don’t move to open any files on my computer or pull up any surveillance, Euna doesn’t need that, that information won’t help her in any way understand what these men have in common.

           “Does this make sense to you?” She asks.

           “It’s all,” I sigh, “fits and starts.”

           “Why am I paying you?”

           “Euna, you have given me an already impossible job, and then added more impossible tasks on top of that. I have found all of these men, I have addresses, I have occupations and locations of current employment for five out of seven. I’ve done a fucking good job on something that should truly be solved by a governing body, not a P.I. who bought thirty dollar’s worth of Indian food and ate it over five days because I couldn’t afford to buy more. I’ve used all my resources, called in favors, spied, tiptoed on the brink of impropriety in order to get you results. I’ve done a damn good job.”

           Glowering, her voice is impenetrable, “Then why can’t you find Min Yoongi?”

           “That man has erased himself from the internet, completely, from every website, every search, he’s just gone.” Exasperatedly, I throw my hands in the air as my voice rises. How many times can I explain this to her?

           “He’s alive though,” She counters.

           “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can pinpoint him,” I grit my teeth and stand, pacing slowly around my office, her voice trailing behind me as I move.

           “He’s really,” She pauses, “Out of any of them, Y/N, he’s the one.”

           I run my hand through my hair before pulling at the strands and aggressively knotting it in a ponytail, the anger feeding into the heat of my body and I shed my sweatshirt. A sweatshirt, with a line drawing of a uterus, that my mother refused to buy me for my birthday so I spent $90 on it myself. I know Euna hates it, but it’s my office and I didn’t know she’d be popping in today in her Dior terrycloth jumpsuit. If I did, I would’ve at least put on a J.Crew sweatshirt and leggings that don’t have wax on them from making crayon art with the kids I used to nanny.  

           “I know, Euna. I know he’s important, I know he’s the one that got away, I know he’s the white whale of this whole investigation. But Euna, he-

           In the middle of my breath, the door opens again creating a space for Jungkook to saunter in. He’s parted his hair, a little off center, and hasn’t put in any product leaving the tendrils to fall softly framing his face. His locks are still long adjacent, and his left hand is using his sweater paw to hold a scalding beverage. His eyebrows are sloped, a genuine look of concern reflecting into my irises. The relief I feel cascading over me, of familiarity, of home, nearly bulldozes me into him.

           “Cricket, I brought you some,” His voice trails as he takes in my client. “Coffee.”

           “Oh thank god,” I whisper. Taking the cup from him, my eyes apologetic as I fall gracelessly into his open arms. The scent of his shampoo and cologne swirl in my nose, relaxing my senses. Nothing smells as sexy as Jungkook. No one looks as sexy as Jungkook does, no matter what he’s wearing, no matter the time of day or night. NSYNC put it best when they sang “god must’ve spent a little more time on you”, because whoever arranged the chromosomes and bone structure within Jungkook truly made a masterpiece. As the kids would say, he’s a whole ass meal. Jungkook keeps a hand splayed on my back while he turns back to Euna. He scans her up and down, no doubt assessing the level of danger she’s presenting.

           “Who are you?” Euna snaps.

           “This is my boyfriend, he was just dropping off some coffee,” I answer. The arm around his waist squeezes a little tighter, my head still resting against his chest.

           “Do I know you?” She wonders.

           “Me?” Jungkook asks.

           “Yes, you, who else?”

           He looks from me to her and back again, “Uh.” He shakes his head.

           “You look so familiar,” She eyes him cautiously, “You’re Korean?”

           “Uh, yeah,” His affirmation causes a twinkle in her eye, a recognition that if she wanted, she could use the powers at her fingertips to find his life story, overturn any

           “Hmm,” She scans him again. “Are you leaving?”

           “Oh, yeah sorry to interrupt,” Jungkook quickly glances at me, mouth moving to form SORRY as he scurries out the door. I hate when he leaves.

           “Don’t fall in love with Korean men, they’ll ruin your life,” Euna sits back down, tossing back some of her water before looking back at the photo.

           “Was something else left? A note maybe?” I hope this will move her back to the topic at hand, the photo in question and whomever left it, not my relationship.

           “Yes, there was,” She reaches into her purse and oh how I wish she had gloves on. The note reads like the last one I received, rhyming and all.

           “You’re looking too hard / We’ve been in plain sight / Stop looking for us / Or we’ll turn out your light,” I read. “Wow, premeditated violence.”

           “What the fuck does that mean?” Euna’s gone back to panic, eyes wild and cheeks red.

           “It means they’ve been in front of us this whole time, as in, we’ve overlooked them,” I clarify.

           “How could you have overlooked them?”

           “I’m not the only one, Euna, you have maybe overlooked them too. Maybe it’s a larger commentary on your persona in a relationship.”

           “My persona in a relationship? What would you know of that?”

           “I know what you’ve told me, and I know what I’ve seen through our interactions. No one is perfect,” I’m trying to soften this, but she’s truly living up to Dae-Seong in her blind rage.

           “Don’t try and compare your relationship to the heartache I have endured!”

           “Euna, I’m not,” The exasperation cannot be more pronounced as I roll my eyes and sigh heavily.

           “Your boyfriend, does what? How do you know he isn’t involved with these bastards?”

           “I don’t,” My honesty cuts her off, eyes widening slightly at my levelheaded response. Her pause gives me worry, what is she thinking?

           “Well, what do we do with these?” She shifts in the tension I’m brewing, I’m unsure what the solution is.

           “I can spend the afternoon trying to trace it, I can fingerprint the note and see what comes up, if anything,” I offer.

           “Will something?” A glimmer of hope, the worst emotion to ever contain or blossom in the human mind.

           “Probably not, whoever these men are, they are far too good to be caught doing whatever it is they’re doing.”

           “We need them all, all six,” Euna demands.

           “What do you want from them?” The thousandth time it leaves my lips, it’s complete insanity. This will never change.

           “What every woman wants,” She broods.

           “Euna, I don’t know what that is,” I’m sinking lower into my chair with every syllable.

           “Those who ask don’t get to know,” Abruptly she’s standing and leaving, belongings gathered in one hand, feet stomping heavily into the aged hardwood.

           Ah, another hint at her upbringing.

           I’m moving slowly through my apartment, Jungkook already sitting on the couch looking deeply cozy in his favorite grey sweats and a sweatshirt with a famous swoosh emblezaned across his chest. Dinner, pizza, is on its way, and a very large glass of prosecco sits waiting for me. I in turn am tossing off my bra, a sight Jungkook is audibly upset by, and coming to sit on the couch, in his embrace.

           “I couldn’t leave, she was mad, I was worried about you,” He tells me, his lips pressing to my forehead repeatedly. “I didn’t know if she was going to hurt you.”

           “About me? Bunny I’m okay, she doesn’t scare me, at least not physically,” I reply, my lips pressing against his neck in recognition of his vulnerability.

           “I didn’t know if she was going to hurt you,”

           “Bunny,” I sit up, turning my head to his.

           “Cricket,” His eyes move from mine to my lip, his thumb coming to swipe over the bitten cherry of my lower lip.

           “I love you, thank you for worrying about me,” I tell him, leaning in to kiss him, his soft, well moisturized lips making up for the bruised state of mine.

           “I love you too,” He hesitates, his lips starting to say something but stopping.

           “Jungkook?”

           “I also found, this,” He pulls out a note, the watermark distinguishable against the light.

           In black ink, a date and time is printed, and underneath:

Roses are red / Violets are blue / It’s time for us to meet / We’re ready, are you?

           “What does this mean?” Jungkook asks.

           “It means that, that I’m meeting with someone who may or may not want something from me, or maybe will hurt me. So just, be prepared.”

           “What’s the one promise you made me make when we first started dating?” He pulls me back into his embrace, but I catch the sadness in his eyes.

           “Aren’t we still in that honeymoon phase?” I want to lighten the mood and not focus on the way my heart is hurting. I never thought I would be the one concerned about not coming home, having Jungkook panicking over my safety.

          I don’t like it, like at all.

           “Absolutely, I think we’ll always be in that phase, but Y/N, please answer the question,” His arms tighten around my waist, another kiss to my temple, replaced by his soft cheek.

           “If you’re not coming home, tell me. If something is going to jeopardize you coming back to me, you have to let me know,” I quote myself.

           “So, if you are going to jeopardize your safety, Y/N, Cricket, my beloved, you gotta tell me. Let me follow you or drop a pin, or use Find My Friends so I can check up on you,” Jungkook rattles off all the apps with ease, a feat I find slightly concerning.

           “I don’t want you to –

           “No, no arguing.” His voice is curt, his words definite.

           “Okay,”

           “I love you, Cricks, and I don’t ever want to imagine anything happening to you.”

           “I know Bunny,” If I could burrow into him, I would. His embrace is my safe place, my weighted blanket after a panic attack, fuck during a panic attack.

          I have to come home to him. Whatever this note entails, it doesn’t matter. Torture me, harm me, beat me up, put me in the hospital, it doesn’t matter so long as when I wake up, or am lucky enough to walk away, I can come through that fucking front door to Jungkook.

           “You didn’t say it back,” He teases.

Rolling my eyes dramatically, squirming intentionally in his grasp so that I can lock eyes again, I sigh. “I love you too.”

           “Don’t act like that when you’d do the same to me!” He begins tickling me, and I feel beyond grateful for his duality.

           “Stop it! Stop it! You’re right, okay!”

           Giggling, his “I know,” is coupled with a kiss. He moves swiftly through my laughter to take my bottom lip between his teeth, tongue swiping over the indentations of his teeth before meeting mine. His hands, under my top and massaging my overheating flesh, pull me closer to him. I tug his locks as a moan escapes my lips, swallowed by his own groan as I reach my hand to palm him over his pants.

           “Cricket,” He groans.

           “Bunny,” I reply.

           He pulls away, pushing my torso down onto him, where my hips happily grind against him.

           “Lock and key?” He whispers, eyes refusing to close as he attempts to restrain himself from giving into the feeling of my heated core over his.

           “God we’re that couple now?” I stop my ministrations, staring at his features. How did I get so lucky?

           “Haven’t we always been?” He cocks an eyebrow, and I’m surprised he hasn’t mustered a ‘what’ to accompany the gesture.

           “I guess,” I roll my eyes, which he greets with a thrust of his hips.

           “Lock and key,” He repeats, hand behind my head, holding my gaze to his.

           “You and me,” I answer, the smile on my lips finding his again.

Next: Cricket & OT7

[isthisthingeven0n]

jailhouse rock : j.w

brief summary: you’re an ex-convict like jeff and you’re finally out of jail, leaving some unsaid matters to be addressed at last. 

word count: 2k requested: yes by an angel anon who was v sweet - i hope you like the result! warnings: it’s angsty, but there’s a happy ending (also idk how the prison system works)

* I just wanna say my requests are closed for a while! I know you guys wanna send ideas in, but can you hold off for a week or so if that’s okay - just so I can catch up :) *

* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it isn’t me. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

also can we appreciate this gif. my girl once again killin’ it with gifs 

All you can say is that you were caught in a bad situation at the wrong time. Unfortunately, that didn’t make the crime any better or your sentence despite your lawyer's defences.

“Y/l/n!” You lift your head up from your small bed, walking toward the door as a guard opens it. “You’re out today. Be ready in an hour.” He states coldly, ignoring the pure confusion in your expression.

As the door shuts, you remain still. “What the fuck?” You whisper to yourself as you look around your cell and slowly move to sit back down in a state of disbelief.

And then it hits you.

You’re going home.

*

Stepping out in casual clothing, you shield your eyes from the bright sunlight.

“There she is.” Jeff pats David’s arm as his smile only grows as he climbs out of the car, running over to you eagerly.

It had been just over three weeks since Jeff had last visited you. He didn’t know what to expect when he picked up the phone earlier today as he listened to the guard explaining you requested a lift home. He was your one call, always had been and the only one to visit you whenever he had the opportunity. 

“Hey, jailhouse bird?” Jeff calls out as you lift your head up, shaking your head as he slows down to bring you into a tight hug.

Lifting you off of your feet, you laugh as he holds you close, taking all of this in as it is finally a reality instead of a distant dream.

“I missed you.” You mutter as Jeff squints, trying to focus on you outside of the orange jumpsuit and hair tied back. You were finally starting to look like yourself again, and that’s all you wanted. 

Resting his arm around your shoulder, Jeff guides you over to David’s car as he films. “If it isn’t the lady herself,” David films and chuckles, catching as you flip him off. 

“Can we go get food? Like, a milkshake and some fries?” You take a seat in the back whilst Jeff remains in the front with David.

Jeff glances back, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously? You just got out and the first thing you want is a milkshake?” He chuckles in disbelief as you nod. “Alright, guess we’re going to five guys.” He nods to David as he pulls away, making a start on the long drive ahead.

*

Resting your head on the window ledge, you remain oblivious to Jeff watching you in the side mirror. The sun is glowing on your face as you focus on the scenes passing you by. Never had you experienced a more draining three months, besides the time Jeff made you train with him every day for a week which felt like three months. 

Slowly, your eyes begin to droop and Jeff smiles to himself, trying to be discreet. 

“You going to tell her?” David questions quietly, not wanting to disturb your peaceful sleep as he drives along the freeway. 

Jeff sighs under his breath. “I want to, but I don’t know how just yet.” He admits as he looks back once again as you’re now curling up, lips parting as your eyes flutter. “She’s so pretty,” He thinks aloud, thankful for once David doesn’t have his camera on. 

*

“Okay, what’s going on?” You laugh lightly as Jeff keeps his hands over your eyes, guiding you toward the house as you keep your arms extended in front of you. “Is this how I get murdered? After a stint in jail, this is how I go?” 

“You trust me, right?” Jeff whispers into your ear and you swallow the butterflies back down as his lips part from your skin. 

“Do I really have to answer that?” You joke in response as he scoffs playfully before counting down from three and removing his hands from your eyes.

As you adjust to the lighting, all of your friends stand in front of you with confetti. 

You stumble backwards into Jeff’s arms as his smile remains wide whilst you wear a pure look of shock on your face.

“Welcome home!” Carly cheers as you look around seeing balloons and a banner reading ‘welcome back from jail.’  

“You guys did all this for me?” You turn to see more decorations and drinks already laid out for everyone.

“Of course we did, baby!” Zane comments as he brings you into a tight hug. “Now never scare us like that again, and no more dealin’ alright?” 

You roll your eyes at his Mom like attitude. “Alright, Mom, I’ll stop messing around with shady characters.” You reply, forcing a smile before Jeff interjects, resting his arm around your waist as he guides you into the kitchen.

As the conversations around you continue, Jeff stands in front of you whilst you lean against the kitchen counter. 

“What’s up?” You raise an eyebrow, seeing his expression harden as he clenches his jaw.

“You’re not going to get involved in that again, are you?” He asks seriously, no hint of humour lacing his tone as your eyes widen. 

“You fucking kidding me, Jeff?” You scoff, crossing your arms. “Why would I ever get involved in that shit again, I was in jail for three months.” You retort in a hushed tone, not wanting anyone else to get involved. 

“Trust me, I know how it feels.” He comments back, eyes hardening on you as you refuse to look at him. “I just don’t want you risking anything, we all care about you here.” Jeff glances over his shoulder, catching a few eyes as conversations die down. 

“It was a one time job, Jeff.” You state loudly, making sure everyone is clear that you weren’t getting involved in that line of work, not even for a quick cash grab.”Just so everybody is clear,” You move aside from Jeff, ignoring his mutter of your name. “I’m not dealing, I don’t plan on dealing any kinda drugs again.” 

Turning on your heels, you ignore the shared looks as you face Jeff who remains speechless.

“Happy now?” You ask him as you keep a straight face, watching as he gives you a curt nod. “Good.” You nod before taking a hold of a drink and downing it. “Cause I don’t need your shit too.” 

*

It had been over a week since you arrived back home and you were still adjusting to it. You were waking up at set hours, unsure what to do with yourself now that you actually had free time to do anything anywhere you wished. 

Most of the time you were with others, keeping your mind occupied. Being busy was what you needed, as when you were left alone you curled up and lost yourself. The person you’d always call wasn’t exactly in your good books, so he wasn’t an option. 

“So you guys still haven’t spoken since that night?” Carly asks, surprise in her tone as you nod. “Shit, I didn’t think it was that bad.” 

Letting out a heavy sigh, you relax into the sofa. “Well, I didn’t know what to say to him.” You admit, shutting your eyes. “I’ve been so lonely, and being in there with barely any contact beside a visit a week if you get lucky,” You open your eyes, not wanting to recall every detail of that place. “but then Jeff always came.” 

Carly watches as a smile ghosts your lips. “Jeff was always different when he went to visit you, you know?” Carly tells you, catching your eye as she chuckles. “He’d spend hours the night before choosing what to wear, wanting to look his best just for you.” 

You let out a short laugh, remembering the time he walked in wearing a burgundy suit. “Glad to know one of us was always high fashion.” 

“But seriously,” Carly brings you back out of your distant daydream. “he doesn’t mean anything by those comments, he just cares about you, like a lot.” 

“Yeah, I know he does,” You weakly respond before hearing a loud groan enter the room.

“For fuck's sake, Y/n,” David yells. “Jeff likes you, you like Jeff. You spent three months sitting on your ass with your thoughts and I bet at least sixty per cent involved Jeff.” David states, catching you off guard. “Am I wrong?” 

You shake your head, eyes trained to the ground as David glances to Carly. 

“He’s got a point,” Carly adds, only making the situation worse. “just, go over to his place.” 

“It’s homier than a jail cell,” David chuckles, catching a quick glare from you before your eyes soften. 

Rising to your feet, you walk over and give David a tight hug. “You sure you know this?” You mutter, feeling him nod. “Okay,” Pulling away, you head out of the front door, driving straight over to Jeff’s to hopefully resolve your argument. 

*

The sound of laughter can be heard on the other side of the door as you stand, unsure whether to turn around and admit defeat or face this. 

For a split second, you can picture the moment you got caught. A hand containing a bag of illegal drugs whilst the person you bought it from ran off leaving you the sole person at the scene. You had no chance to cower away, but this time you do. 

As you lift your hand up to knock, the door opens and a force almost hits you, only stopping just before. “Oh, sorry,” Todd comments as he looks back as Jeff remains oblivious. “go easy on him, yeah?” He asks as he pats your shoulder before leaving the door ajar. 

“Todd I told ya to shut the doo-” Jeff turns around, seeing you stood in his doorway with a nervous smile. “Oh,” He places his broom down, wandering over as Nerf remains in his bed, observing you cautiously. “hey.” 

“Hey,” You smile softly, taking a step into the apartment. “I wanted to come to talk, if that’s okay?”

Jeff immediately nods, motioning for you to join him on the sofa as Nerf waddles over, panting heavily at your feet. 

“Listen, about the other night,” Jeff starts but you shake your head, cutting him off.

“Please, don’t apologise if you’re intending to.” You state, shuffling as you turn to face him, your hands resting in front of you. “I know you mean well, and what you said is because you care about me as a friend.” 

“Yeah,” He responds quietly. “a friend.” 

“But, the thing is I spent ninety-one days inside, and the most common thought I had was about you.” You tell him truthfully, watching as Jeff lifts his eyes back up to look at you with a certain level of surprise. “I didn’t focus on what was happening, but the thought of seeing you walk in for a visit, to listen to the updates I’ve missed and the stories I wish I could’ve been a part of.” You ramble, unaware that Jeff’s eyes are lighting up with each passing second. 

“You know,” Jeff speaks up, letting you take a breath. “when I got that phone call I would’ve gotten you anything you wanted. I wish I could’ve gone back and told you to not go for that deal, that I should at least have gone with you.” Jeff admits, that mistake still haunting him despite you being back, that you’re now home in front of him.

You take a hold of his hands in yours, taking him from his darker thoughts. “But I’m here now,” You tell him. “that’s all that matters, right?” 

Looking at your eyes, Jeff tries to find any uncertainty as his eyes flicker to your lips. And for the first time, he’s confident he isn’t getting the wrong vibe from you as he leans in closer, kissing you softly. 

As he pulls away, your forehead rests against his. “Yeah,” He whispers, a smile lining his lips. “this is all that matters.” 

[jisungsjheekies]

𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸𝚗 𝙼𝚢 𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚍

Genre: Soulmate!au, fluff, slight angst?

Word count: 6k

Warnings: swearing

Requested: Yes, for my friend Kenz ♡

*****Important note before reading: when words are italicized during conversations, it is Mackenzie’s thoughts //// when words are italicized and bolded in conversations, it is Changbin’s thoughts*****

In this world, everyone has their ‘person’. Someone to spend the rest of their lives with. Someone to love them forever. Someone chosen specifically for them. In this world, everyone has a soulmate. But no one knows who they are until they discover them through certain abilities. Some soulmates share matching tattoos from birth. Some are able to communicate through the writings on their arm. Some even see in black and white until one day, they meet their soulmate and finally see in color. There is a wide variety of connections that people share with their soulmate. 

In Mackenzie’s particular case, she can hear her soulmate’s thoughts. It all began when she turned twenty last month. She’d woken up during a nap because she kept hearing a voice. Thinking someone was outside her apartment. However when she opened the door, nobody stood outside. That’s weird. She shut the door before she heard the voice again. Where the hell is that voice coming from? she thought to herself. Terrified that someone had broken into her apartment, she began to panic. I’m about to die aren’t I? The voice rang out again, making her stop in her tracks.

Calm down, it’s just me, the voice spoke out. 

Turning her head all around, she looked for the source. Nothing. “Who’s there?” she whimpered. 

Will you please relax? You’re giving me a headache, the voice spoke again.

“What’s going on?” Mackenzie rubbed her face in distress.

It’s me. Your soulmate.

After the confession, she went silent. Afraid to speak. Afraid to think. Was this really her soulmate? It’d been five minutes and she’d already annoyed them. This was not how she wanted her first interaction with her soulmate to go.

________________________________________________________________

1 month later...

Even as the days passed, she’d been too scared to acknowledge them. Too worried she’d only annoy them further. Still, they could hear her thoughts as she could their’s. She began to wonder just how long they’d been able to hear her. Had it been for a while or had they only started hearing her recently too?

Suddenly the voice rang out, acknowledging each other for the first time since that day. I’ve been able to hear you for a little over a year now.

Her eyes grew wide as she apologized, Oh god I’m so sorry. I know I'm annoying.

She could hear them snicker, Relax, it’s cool. It’s been quite interesting.

Immediately she groaned. I don’t even want to know the type of things you’ve heard. She recalled all the times she complained about period cramps and the stress from school to quoting vines and fangirling about boys on a regular basis. At this point, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die alone from the embarrassment.

I’ve heard it all. Especially your little fascination with Stray Kids. 

Okay. For one, it’s definitely not little and two, we’re absolutely not going to discuss that. You’ve already heard too much.

That I have Mac.

Exac—wait what? How do you know my name?

Do you not realize how much you talk to yourself?

Point taken. What’s your name?

Bin.

Cute.

Please don’t.

Damn okay.

I’m off to work now. I’ll talk later.

Bye Bin.

Bye.

“Well they seem like fun” Mackenzie pursed her lips together as she got in her car and drove to work.

________________________________________________________________

2 days later…

“Don’t forget your paper is due Sunday night at 11:59 pm” the professor announced. Everyone gathered their things as they exited the lecture hall. Mackenzie sighed heavily. She had two days to complete a paper that she hadn’t even started. Between her other classes and work, she didn’t really have time for it. Now her busy schedule was catching up to her as she would more than likely have to pull all nighters to finish it. Walking through her apartment door, she tossed her bag on the couch before grabbing a couple snacks from the kitchen to get her through the night.

“Only the power of god and anime will get me through this paper” Mackenzie groaned as she opened the bag of chips and her laptop before beginning her paper. About four hours later, she’d gotten a little over half of the assignment done before she had to take a short break. Looking at her phone, the clock showed, ‘11:46pm’. Yeah, it was probably going to be a long night but she was determined to finish the assignment before work tomorrow night. Resuming her work, she spent another hour typing away at the laptop when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

You’re literally making ME stressed out and I’m not the one even writing a paper.

I’m sorry.

Are you okay?

If I say yes, will you leave me alone so that I can work?

I would but that doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. Now what’s wrong?

I’m stressed and exhausted.

Why don’t you stop and finish it later? You shouldn’t overwork yourself.

Because I have work tomorrow and the next day so I literally have no other time to do this but now.

Just don’t overwork yourself please.

Why? Are you worried or something?

Considering you’re my soulmate, yes I am.

Mackenzie’s heart skipped a beat. Sometimes she forgets that the voice in her head wasn’t hers and that it was the person she was destined to spend the rest of her life with.

Okay. I won’t.

Good. I’m going back to work now. Good luck Mac.

Thanks Bin.

Afterwards, Mackenzie set her mind to finish as soon as she could. Closing her laptop not too much later. She checked her phone again as the clock struck ‘2:00am’. She lifted her tired limbs from the couch to tread to her room. Changing into something more comfortable, she collapsed into bed and immediately knocked out.

________________________________________________________________

3 hours later... 

A voice stirred Mackenzie from her sleep. Was she dreaming or----?

Bin?

Yes?

It’s 5am, why are you awake?

Because it’s 6pm for me.

Oh. So he lived across the world.

Did I wake you?

Yeah but it’s okay.

I’m sorry.

You sound stressed. What’s wrong?

It’s nothing, go back to sleep.

Do you really think I’m going to buy that? Spill.

I’m just stressed about work and took it out on one of my roommates.

Why are you stressed?

My project’s deadline is in a week and I’m still not finished with it.

What kind of project?

They hesitated for a moment. Mackenzie waited patiently for an answer.

Producing a song.

You work in the music industry? That’s pretty cool. Mackenzie could hear them sigh, slightly relieved.

Yeah. It’s fun but stressful most of the time.

Understandable.

What do you do?

I’m in college but I work part time at a clothing store.

That’s--

Not exciting I know. Look, as much as I’d like to learn more about you, it’s almost 6am and I have to work tomorrow, so I should probably go back to sleep.

Okay, sorry again for waking you.

It’s cool. Goodnight Bin.

Goodnight Mac.

________________________________________________________________

1 week later…

Over the past few days, Mackenzie had more interactions with her soulmate. Granted, it wasn’t very many because they both had very different and busy schedules, especially with the time zone difference. However, they’d managed to learn a few more things about each other. So far, Mackenzie had learned that Bin was a twenty one year old boy from Korea who worked in the music industry and lived with several obnoxious roommates (his description, not hers). Bin learned that she was a twenty year old girl who lived with her best friend Allie in New York and was in college. 

“You know the tickets go on sale in a month right?” Allie asked the girl, bringing her back to reality. The two girls were currently trying to pass the time at work as they folded clothes and reorganized the racks.

“I know. You’re still going with me right?” Mackenzie asked, holding a shirt in her hands. Allie looked at her dumbfounded.

“As if I’d ever miss it. I’ve been saving up for like four months now” Allie laughed.

“I’m just worried that we won’t be able to get tickets. You know how fast they sold out last time” Mackenzie expressed worriedly.

“I don’t care what I gotta do. We are seeing Stray Kids and that’s final” Allie huffed in determination. Mackenzie just laughed at the girl, moving behind the counter to help the customers in line.

God please let us get tickets, Mackenzie thought to herself, wanting the day to be over with.

I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Bin’s voice startled her.

With what?

The tickets. Who are you trying to see?

Stray Kids.

Holy shit.

Don’t tell me your a fan of them?

And what if I am?

Omg. Who’s your bias?

Who’s yours?

Changbin.

Eh, mine’s Felix.

Are you going to see them?

Would be kinda hard not to.

Exactly. I hope I can get tickets. Allie and I have been saving for months.

Good luck. I hope you can get them.

________________________________________________________________

30 minutes before the ticket release…

“I’m so nervous I might vomit” Mackenzie announced. In front of her, laid both of their laptops and phones with the ticket website open.

“Please don’t” Allie paced around the room, biting her nails anxiously. They’d both been a nervous wreck all day due to the concert tickets going on sale tonight. After several months of working their ass off and saving every penny possible, the moment had finally come. If they didn’t get tickets, they’d be absolutely devestated.

“Holy shit. Only 5 more minutes Kenz” Allie threw herself on the ground next to Mackenzie, ready to spend all her money.

“Just stay as calm as possible” Mackenzie told the girl, also trying to do the same for herself.

5……..4….….3……..2….....1

The clock struck 7:00pm as the girls refreshed the websites. The website immediately crashing due to all the people trying to do the same as them. Quickly after, the website recovered as they searched for tickets. In a matter of six minutes, Allie turned to Mackenzie and she did the same, both girls speaking at the same time.

“They sold out.”

“I got them.”

“WHAT” Allie choked as her eyes doubled in size, shock spread across her face, “Kenz don’t play with me like that.”

“Al, we got VIP” Mackenzie grinned at the girl as she showed her the purchase confirmation on her laptop. ‘2 VIP tickets for Stray Kids in New York on December 16th’

“Holy shit” Allie began to tear up, “WE’RE GOING TO SEE STRAY KIDS HOLY SHIT!” The girl tackled Mackenzie into a hug as tears streamed down her face.

“I’M GOING TO MEET BINNIE” Mackenzie all but screamed as the girls jumped up and down in excitement. Immediately, Allie froze in place.

“Oh my god I’m going to meet Jisung” Allie began screaming again, as if she just realized they’d be meeting them. After their excitement died down, the girls watched netflix while they ate dinner together before splitting off into their own rooms.

Congrats Mac.

Thanks! Did you get tickets?

No. Sold out immediately.

Oh no, I’m sorry.

It’s cool. I’m at work now, I’ll talk later. Bye Mac.

Bye Bin.

Three months until her and Allie would be seeing the boys in concert for the very first time. How is she supposed to sleep now?

________________________________________________________________

2 weeks later… 

Mackenzie sat in class, bored out of her mind as she listened to the professor ramble on and on about whatever topic they’d been discussing. Completely zoned out, she started humming I am You to herself.

It’s 3am. Please stop singing.

I’m bored, sorry.

Are you in class?

Yep. I don’t even know what the professor is talking about.

Maybe if you paid attention.

Maybe if you stanned Loona.

Um what?

Nothing. Go back to sleep.

I can’t.

Why?

I want to talk to you. Mackenzie’s heart fluttered at the thought. How sweet.

About what?

Are you excited for the Stray Kids concert?

YES. I’m going to meet Changbin!

Why do you like him so much?

Isn’t it obvious? The boy can fucking rap better than anyone else. He’s pretty badass but he’s also a cute baby.

Cute baby?

The cutest. I also admire his love for music and his members.

That’s…..really sweet.

It’s the truth. I have to go now, class is over. Bye Bin.

Bye Mac.

________________________________________________________________

1 month later…

Mackenzie and Allie wandered around the department store, looking for the perfect outfits for the concert that was two months away. They were currently in the fifth store today. All the others proven to be unsuccessful.

“What do you think of this?” Allie held a dress up to her body. Mackenzie gave it a glance before shaking her head.

“Too bright. Find something darker” Mackenzie recommended, looking through the various racks of clothes. An item caught her eye as she grabbed it from the rack, walking around the store to find something to go with it. Quickly finding what she had envisioned, she found Allie holding up two jackets to her front, comparing them. She turned to her friend.

“Help” Allie asked, internally struggling as she couldn’t decide which jacket she liked more.

“The green one” Mackenzie said without hesitation as she walked towards the dressing rooms. Allie placed the other jacket back before following Mackenzie. The two girls walked into the rooms next to each other. Prepared to show the other their selection. 

“Are you dressed yet?” Allie asked the girl. Tying the laces on her boots, she answered the girl by opening her door. Stepping out of the room at the same time, the girls looked over each other before Allie clapped her hands excitedly.

“You look perfect!” Allie shouted in glee. Mackenzie adjusted her hat. She’d chosen an oversized black and yellow flannel paired with a black t-shirt dress, black knee high socks and black combat boots.

“You don’t think it’s too bland?” Mackenzie asked worriedly. It’d already taken most of the day to find something and if this wasn’t it then she didn’t know if she’d ever find the right outfit.

“Omg no. Changbin’s gonna freak when he sees you” Allie stated confidently, making the girl smile. Mackenzie then took notice of her friend’s choice of clothing.

“Did we really get the same shoes?” Mackenzie stifled a laugh. Allie had chosen a pair of black denim high-waisted shorts with a black top, an oversized olive green jacket (Mackenzie’s choice from the two), black combat boots, and a cheetah print beanie.

“Soulmate things” Allie replied as if it wasn’t already obvious. 

________________________________________________________________

2 weeks before the concert… 

The day couldn’t get any worse for Mackenzie. First, she’d gotten back her history test, finding out that she’d failed it. Then her car wouldn’t start so she had to get it towed and because she was short a car, she had to walk home. Just when she was ten minutes away from her apartment, rain had begun pouring down as it soaked through her hair and clothes. Once inside her apartment, she was met with silence as Allie was working the night shift that night, leaving her home alone. Peeling the wet clothes from her body, she took a warm shower to ease her stress before climbing out and getting dressed. Mackenzie sighed as she crawled into bed.

The stress of the day had finally hit her as she broke down, sobbing into her pillow. She was pretty good about controlling her emotions but after the events from today, there was no way that was happening. Fifteen minutes had passed when a voice broke through Mackenzie’s sobs.

What’s wrong? Bin asked you after hearing your upsetting thoughts.

I’d say nothing but you’re not stupid.

Do you want to talk?

It’s just been a really shitty day and I want to forget about it.

Alright then. Ask me something.

Ask you something?

Yeah ask me a question. I’m trying to change the subject.

What’s your full name?

Okay anything but that.

But… 

You know I can’t answer that.

Okay then. When will we meet?

A lot sooner than you probably expect.

What’s that supposed to mean?

It means we’ll have to wait and see when that day comes.

Are you kidding me? Mackenzie groaned, earning a laugh from the boy.

Sorry Mac. Just be patient. 

Yeah yeah, like I have a choice.

I know it’s late there, you need to go to sleep.

I don’t wanna.

Omg go to sleep.

Okay damn I will.

Goodnight Mac.

Goodnight Bin. 

________________________________________________________________

The day before the concert… 

Work had been slow as Mackenzie and Allie tried finding any little task to pass the time. Mackenzie had been staring aimlessly at the people walking past the store just as Allie sat next to her.

“Can you fucking believe it? We’re seeing Stray Kids tomorrow night!!” Allie hollered in excitement.

“Could you be any louder? You’re scaring the customers” Mackenzie apologized to the customer walking by.

“Actually I could but you’d slap me” Allie retorted. 

“I’d slap you regardless” Mackenzie snickered, making Allie roll her eyes.

“I hate you sometimes” Allie groaned.

“Likewise” Mackenzie winked playfully at her friend.

“You’re pretending to act cool but I know you’re freaking out on the inside” Allie commented.

“Of course I am. We’ve waited forever for the moment” Mackenzie started before adding, “I just have this gut feeling like something will be different.”

“What do you mean?” Allie questioned her friend.

“I’m not sure. Something in me just feels different” Mackenzie answered, confused as well.

“Good different or bad different?”

“Definitely good” Mackenzie grinned brightly.

“What if one of them falls in love with you!!!” Allie all but screamed, once again scaring the nearby customers. Mackenzie threw her hands over her face as she groaned.

“As if that would ever happen” Mackenzie quickly shut her friend’s idea down.

“You never know” Allie winked at the girl before assisting a customer in need.

Alone with her thoughts, Mackenzie couldn’t help but wonder what was causing her to have this feeling. Maybe it wasn’t the concert that was giving her this feeling. Maybe it was the fact that Bin said they’d meet sooner than she expected. How soon was soon? She was afraid that she’d never meet him considering he wouldn’t share his name. Mackenzie understood that he kept it hidden for safety precautions, just as she did her own identity. If only she could shake this feeling so she could focus on the excitement of the concert with her best friend.

Why are you always so stressed?  Bin thought, making Mackenzie huff.

I could say the same to you, Mackenzie retorted.

Touche. So…what’s on your mind?

Too much.

Do you want to talk about it?

Not exactly. I’d rather just not think about it at the moment.

What DO you want to think about?

The concert tomorrow night.

It’s tomorrow night?? Bin asked, somewhat panicked.

That’s what I just said.

Wow. I didn’t realize it was so soon. Are you excited?

Of course I am. I’m just extremely scared to meet them, especially Changbin.

Why especially him?

You know how it goes, everyone wants to be remembered. He’s my favorite so of course I’d like for him to remember me. I just don’t want to embarrass myself or for him to be disappointed.

Why would he be disappointed?

There’s plenty of other girls who are much prettier than me so I can’t be that exciting to meet.

I know for a fact that’s not true.  You’re a beautiful girl Mac.

Bin, you’ve literally never seen me before.

I don’t have to see you. I know your personality, how kind your heart is, how hardworking you are. Looks aren’t the only thing that makes you attractive.

You really think that?

I don’t think, I KNOW.

Thank you for cheering me up.

Anytime.

I have to go back to work now.

Let me know how the concert goes. Bye Mac.

I will. Bye Bin.

That feeling in her stomach only intensified after the conversation came to an end. Instead of thinking about it more, Mackenzie focused all of her attention into little tasks at work, hoping for the day to come to an end as soon as possible. If only she knew what would happen to her the next day.

________________________________________________________________

Concert day… 

“I’m so glad we have seats because there’s no way I could stand in that line all day” Allie commented as they’d arrived at the venue with only five hours to go until the concert.

“Seats or not, I still can’t believe we got VIP. Like, we’re gonna meet them in less than eight hours” Mackenzie remained calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside she felt like she would vomit any second now thanks to her anxious nerves. Allie, however, was a different story as she grabbed ahold of Mackenzie’s arms and started jumping excitedly.

“I’m gonna meet Jisung and you’re gonna meet Changbin!!!!” Allie squealed loudly. There wasn’t any point in shushing her as she wasn’t the only one acting this way.

“Promise me when we do that you won’t scare the poor boys” Mackenzie begged, making Allie laugh.

“I promise…maybe” Allie grinned. That girl really had no shame. Mackenzie figured that’s why they made such a great pair. They were both similar and different in every way. Mackenzie shook her head.

“After we get our wristbands, let’s grab some food at across the street and hang out there until it’s time to get in line again” Allie pointed at the cafe, Cozy Cup,  in front of the venue as Mackenzie agreed. Both of the girls proceeded to get in line for their wristbands, only having to wait around thirty minutes before they walked to the cafe. Cozy Cup was a small cafe that’s menu consisted of coffees, smoothies, and baked goods. Mackenzie ordered an iced caramel coffee and a scone while Allie ordered a pineapple smoothie and cookie. They’d both eaten a large breakfast so they weren’t in the mood for much at the moment, waiting until after the concert to pig out. Food on a nervous stomach was never a good idea. Sitting down with their purchases, they spotted a few other fans sitting around the cafe, probably doing the same thing as them.

The two girls chatted for the next couple hours, having to get refills on their drinks, before the clock struck ‘6:30pm’ signaling that it was time for them to get back in line as the concert would begin in an hour and a half. Throwing their trash away, Mackenzie and Allie headed back across the street towards the venue, noticing how the lines had grown at least three times in size. After forty five minutes of waiting, the two girls were finally ushered inside the venue after going through security and getting their tickets scanned. Even though they had seats, they made sure to get as close as possible to the stage, scoring seats in the front row.

Watching as more fans continued to pile into the venue, it was now five minutes until the concert would begin. Suddenly, Mackenzie’s head filled with anxious thoughts as her soulmate had begun to freak out over something.

Bin are you okay?

I will be soon, don’t worry, Bin rushed out before adding, Enjoy the concert.

Talk to you later.

Oh you have no idea, Bin accidentally thought. Mackenzie furrowed her brows in confusion.

No idea about what?

Nothing. Have fun, Bye Mac.

Bye Bin, Mackenzie thought just as the lights when down and fans began to scream.

In one moment the stage was empty and then the next, nine boys filled the empty stage as the noise from the fans intensified. Mackenzie and Allie would, without a doubt, have sore throats the next day as they joined the rest of the cheering. Never in her life did she believe she’d ever get the chance to see these boys live, much less with her best friend next to her. It really was a dream come true. The odd feeling still remained but she pushed it into the back of her mind as she focused on the boys on stage. Halfway through the concert, they took a break to talk to the fans before Changbin spoke up.

“Who’s ready for the next song?” He asked as fans screamed in response.

“This is….. Voices.” The moment he announced the title, that feeling in the pit of Mackenzie’s stomach grew stronger as she grew silent. All she could do was listen and watch as they performed the song. She wanted to sing along but something told her not to. She started to feel overwhelmed, having to sit down for a moment. Her actions caused Allie to glance over, asking if she was okay. Mackenzie reassured her that she was fine and Allie turned back to the boys. The moment Mackenzie lifted her head, she noticed Changbin searching into the crowd, looking slightly worried. I wonder why, she thought. Changbin quickly recovered, continuing with the concert as he searched the crowd. 

Sooner than anyone wanted, the concert came to an end as the boys bowed goodbye on stage before exiting, probably going to get ready for the hi-touch event. Mackenzie watched as the fans who didn’t have VIP exited the venue while the fans who did remained in their seats, waiting to meet the boys. Everyone was split into three groups, Mackenzie and Allie being in the second group. As the first group was called to enter, the next group stood to go next. A few minutes later and then it was their group’s turn to go. Allie was in front of Mackenzie as they followed through the halls, security directing the fans the right way.

And then she saw them. First up was Seungmin. Everything happened so fast, she couldn’t process it quick enough. The order of the line went: Seungmin, Felix, Woojin, Minho, Jisung, Changbin, Jeongin, Hyunjin, Chan. While greeting the first few members, Mackenzie watched as Allie stood in front of Jisung, the girl freaking out when Jisung winked at her. The line continued to move as it was Mackenzie’s turn to greet Jisung. The boy flashed her a bright smile, thanking her for coming before moving to the next fan. Mackenzie looked up at the next boy, heart dropping in her stomach as she noticed Changbin already looking at her. She moved closer, smiling nervously at him.

Holy shit it’s really him, Mackenzie thought excitedly.

Time seemed to freeze as Changbin’s eyes went wide, “Mac?”

The smile that once painted Mackenzie’s face, dropped instantly after hearing the nickname fall from his lips. “Bin” Mackenzie gasped, watching as the boy panicked when security rushed Mackenzie to greet the remaining members. She couldn’t help but glance back at the boy the further she moved down the line, catching his eyes on her more than once. 

Please don’t leave.

No response.

Let’s talk after I’m done. Please Mac.

Okay. Meet me across the street at Cozy Cup.

After one final glance, Mackenzie followed behind Allie as she moved out of the boy’s sight. Stopping just outside the venue, Mackenzie dropped to her knees in shock as everything finally hit her.

“Kenz what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Allie continued throwing questions at the girl as she crouched down in front of her.

“No” was all Mackenzie could get out before looking up at her friend in horror.

“You’re scaring me” Allie panicked, grabbing Mackenzie’s hands.

“I need to tell you something” Mackenzie rushed out, “but it needs to be in private.”

Allie nodded her head, helping the girl up as the two walked across the street to the cafe. Choosing a booth near the back, away from other customers, Mackenzie took a deep breath before beginning.

“I met my soulmate” Mackenzie admitted for the first time to anyone. Allie’s eyes grew wide in shock.

“You WHAT? Omg!!! Who is he????” Allie sat on the edge of her seat, waiting for an answer.

“Changbin.”

“What? How? When? WHAT?” Allie threw questions at her left and right before Mackenzie stopped her.

“I’m trying to explain woman! It started a month after my birthday. I started hearing things. I thought I was being crazy but turns out that was my connection with my soulmate. I could hear his thoughts and he could hear mine. At first I was freaked out because he’d been able to hear me way before I could him, but then we started to warm up to each other. We didn’t share names, only nicknames, just to be safe. I knew a few things about him like how he worked in the music industry or that he lived with several of his friends in Korea. He knew I lived in New York with my best friend and that I was still in college but that’s all we shared.”

Allie looked at her friend confused, “Wait, so how do you know it’s Changbin?”

“When I got to him in the line, the first thing he said was ‘Mac’” Mackenzie announced, still in shock from it all.

“Mac?”

“He called me Mac and I called him Bin. That’s how we knew.”

“Holy shit” Allie leaned back in her seat, also in shock before smirking, “I fucking called it.”

“What?” Mackenzie stared at her friend dumbfounded.

“You said you had a weird feeling about something happening today and I said, as a joke, that one of them would fall in love with you and now look” Allie grinned excitedly.

“I---”

“Hold up. Are you going to meet him?” Allie wondered.

“If it’s actually him, he’ll be here soon.”

“He’s coming here? To the cafe?”

“Yes.” Allie squealed quietly, excited for her friend. “After you start dating, introduce me to Jisung.” Mackenzie smacked the girl’s hand playfully as she laughed.

“Take the car and meet me back at the apartment. I’ll find a ride home” Mackenzie stated, handing Allie the car keys.

“I can wait for you” Allie offered.

“No don’t. There’s no telling how long this will take. I’ll call you after” Mackenzie promises, pushing Allie out of the booth.

“Be careful” Allie told her as she exited the cafe. Mackenzie remained in the booth, alone with her thoughts as she waited for any sign of the boy’s arrival. Maybe he wasn’t coming. Maybe he’d forgotten. Maybe this was all some sick trick that her mind was playing on her. So much had happened in the past hour, she felt overwhelmed. Laying her head against the window, she watched as people walked by. So consumed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the person slip into the booth in front of her. After a few moments, Mackenzie sighed to herself before turning her head forward, jumping in her seat.

“Holy shit you scared me” Mackenzie gasped, earning a laugh from the boy in front of her.

“Sorry” he laughed. Both of them stared at one another, waiting for the other to speak.

Is it really you? Mackenzie thought, watching the boy closely.

Changbin removed the mask from his face, before nodding his head, “It’s really me.”

Tears welled up in Mackenzie’s eyes as Changbin hesitantly reached for her hands, holding them in his own.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you” he apologized, all the guilt weighing down on him, “I just didn’t know how you’d react.”

“No it’s okay, I understand” Mackenzie nodded her head. Then it dawned on her.

“Oh my GOD I talked about you TO you!” Mackenzie wailed in embarrassment, throwing her head into her hands.

“I thought it was cute” Changbin smiled at her. Mackenzie lifted her head, giving him an ‘are you kidding me’ look.

“Cute? I probably sounded so stupid” Mackenzie whined.

“No you didn’t. I appreciate everything you said about me” Changbin mentioned, “The way you said you admired me for my dedication for music and the way you always helped me when I felt stressed. I got to know the real you, not just the side of you who’s a fan of Stray Kids.”

“I knew I picked you as my favorite for a reason” Mackenzie grinned making Changbin laugh. A comfortable silence washed over them as they gazed at one another.

“Bin?” Mackenzie whispered.

“Yes?” 

“What does this mean now?” Mackenzie wondered. She’d waited her whole life to find the one she was destined to be with. And now that she’d found him, she wasn’t sure what would happen next considering her soulmate was a member of one of the biggest boy bands in South Korea.

“I’m not gonna let you go” Changbin mentioned as Mackenzie gave him a confused look. “Just because I’m in front of you doesn’t mean I can’t still hear your mind.”

“You’re an idol Bin. How is this going to work?” Mackenzie worried. Changbin grabbed ahold of her hands tightly.

“It’s going to be hard but we can do this. You just have to trust me… do you trust me?” he asked her. Mackenzie held his stare for a brief moment before nodding her head.

“I trust you.”

“Good” Changbin smiled brightly, “How do you feel about moving to Korea after you graduate?”

“And live with you?”

“I don’t see why not” Changbin answered. Mackenzie felt the familiar feeling in her stomach return as the butterflies erupted in her stomach.

“On one condition” she bargained. Changbin quirked a brow at her, waiting for her to continue.

“Allie comes too.”

“She was the one Jisung winked at, right?”

“How did you--”

“You were thinking about it” Changbin replied immediately. “Considering Jisung wouldn’t shut up about her, I don’t think either of them would have a problem with it.”

“Wait” Mackenzie realized something, “Do the others know about me?”

“Of course. They were the ones who helped me figure out why I was hearing voices in my head that didn’t belong to me.”

“Lucky you. I thought I was getting robbed the first time I heard you” Mackenzie shuddered at the memory.

“I know” Changbin snickered, causing the girl in hit his arm. “So” he began.

“So” Mackenzie repeated him.

“Do you want to meet the guys?” he asked.

“You do know I just met them less than two hours ago, right?” she giggled.

“Yeah but they didn’t get to meet you as the girl who’s also my soulmate.”

“It’s so weird hearing you say that” Mackenzie commented.

“Why’s it weird?” Changbin wondered.

“Because you’re you” Mackenzie announced as if it was the most obvious thing. Changbin just laughed in response.

“So do you want to meet them?” he asked once more. Mackenzie just nodded in response, watching as he rose from the seat in front of her before extending a hand her way. She grabbed ahold of his hand as he helped her from the seat. She followed behind the boy as they exited the cafe. Waiting to cross the street, Mackenzie could sense the nervousness radiating from the boy as he turned to face her.

“Can I ask you something?” Changbin gazed into her eyes as the girl nodded.

“Can I kiss you?” His question made her freeze in shock. She remained silent as Changbin began to panic, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have--”

“Yes” Mackenzie interrupted the boy, taking one step closer to him. Placing his hands on either side of her face, Changbin gave the girl one last moment to back out, but seeing as she only moved closer, he took that as his chance. Gently placing his lips upon her own, the kiss could only be described in the way they do in movies. It was like a spark was ignited the moment their lips connected. In that moment, everything felt right. Changbin knew she’d felt it too as she smiled against his lips. Shortly after, the two parted as they tried to catch their breaths.

“I’ve wanted to do that the moment I laid my eyes on you” Changbin confessed. It’d only lasted for a few seconds and yet she was already addicted. Already craving for more. 

“Do it again, the boys can wait a little longer” Mackenzie encouraged, making Changbin smile as he leaned in again.

Or maybe they can wait until tomorrow.

________________________________________________________________

Mackenzie’s concert outfit:

Allie’s concert outfit: