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agustdakasuga · 4 years

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You Never Walk Alone | Chapter 8

Genre: Werewolf!AU, Poly!AU?, Mate!AU, romance, fluff

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: Student!reader, Omega!Seokjin, Alpha!Yoongi, Beta!Hoseok, Alpha!Namjoon, Omega!Jimin, Beta!Taehyung, Alpha!Jungkook

Summary: You live a quiet life in your late grandfather’s cabin in the woods. You go to school just to graduate and get your diploma, not to make friends or stand out from the crowd. That was until one day, you enter your home to see a pack of wolves that need shelter.

As you spend more time with the boys and start to understand each other more, your feelings make you impulsive with your actions. But the boys are afraid that they may have to tell you the truth sooner than they expected.

Chapter warning(s): Reader is called degrading names by bullies, slight violence. Please read at your own discretion.

After that afternoon spent with Suga, you felt like you understood the male a lot more than you think you did. The boys all had their unique personalities that just naturally drew people in. You hummed as you headed down the path to go to the bus stop.

“(y/n)! (y/n)! Save me!” J-Hope ran to you.

“Huh?” You blinked, turning to see the boy running towards you. He immediately ducked behind you, grabbing you to shield him.

“Jungkookie!” J-Hope pointed to the muscular boy with a bunny smile running towards you. He chased J-hope around you, succeeding in jumping on his back to tackle him. J-hope choked.

“Be careful.” RM grabbed your wrist, pulling you away from the two boys that were about to knock you down with their playing.

“Thank you.” You smiled gratefully and he patted your head.

“Seokjin, here. Thanks again for lending it to me.” You took his washed denim jacket out of your bag and handed it to him. He smiled and nodded his head, receiving the folded clothing and putting it into his own backpack. The others looked on at the exchange, even the two that were roughhousing also stopped, to see what was going on.

“I washed it! Don’t worry.” You added.

“It’s alright, (y/n). Thanks.” He chuckled. Meanwhile, you didn’t know that the wolves were having a mental interrogation with their oldest.

“What the hell was that?!” V growled.

“I lent her my jacket and forgot to take it back. So she is returning it to me now. That’s it.” Seokjin scoffed.

“Yeah, hyung. You just casually forgot to take your jacket back from her. So she could wash it and it would smell like her. You sneak! We know what you’re up to!” Jungkook accused.

“You guys are crazy. If you want, maybe try winning the next time we play rock, paper, scissors.” Seokjin teased and the others all growled at him.

“Guys? The bus is here.” Your voice pulled them out of their trance. They shook their heads to break the mind link and nodded, following you up the bus. All of you tapped your cards and took your seats. Jimin took the seat beside you while the rest were kind of spread out.

“So, what did you do during your weekend?” Jimin asked.

“Well, Sunday was spent doing chores and cleaning the house. I worked on Saturday then studied a bit.” You cast a glance over to Suga, who was just staring outside the window.

“What did you guys do?”

“Not much. We stayed in the house as we normally do.” Jimin chuckled.

“Wow, Chim. Way to make us sound like lazy people that just lie around and do nothing.” Suga scowled. Of course, he was hearing the conversation. Everyone else was.

“That’s good. Rest is the most important.” You giggled. When the bus stopped, the boys let you get off first.

Ever since you started being around the boys, the other students stopped messing with you so much, except Kira. The male students that would disturb you stopped, afraid of the wrath from the 7 boys. Kira and her team of girls were just jealous that the 7 boys decided to hang around you instead of them. She prided herself as being the prettiest in school.

“Slut.” Kira rolled her eyes as she watched you enter with the others. You ignored her remarks.

“Someone needs to put that girl in her place.” Jungkook frowned.

“(y/n) wouldn’t like that. We should think of her feelings first.” Jimin stopped the younger alpha from acting irrationally. After what happened last time, the boys made sure to follow you to your locker.

“Are you working today?” J-Hope asked.

“Yeah. But I’m not working tomorrow so I may bake. You guys can come over, if you’d like.” You said as you arranged your locker.

“We would love to.” RM smiled.

“Awesome.” You returned the gesture and shut your locker. When you all entered class, the other students still stared at you like they usually do. As someone they viewed as the ‘loser’ and ‘forever alone’, they all wondered how you got the attention of the 7 new students so easily.

“Does the staring creep you out?” V leaned in to whisper to you.

“Used to. But not anymore. I don’t care.” You shook your head with a chuckle. V smiled fondly at you.

Soon, the conversation was cut when the teacher came in and you focused on the board. The mid year tests were coming up and you wanted to make sure that you had all the resources that you needed.

“Do you have the exam schedule?” V asked.

“I do.” You took your planner out and flipped to the page with all the highlighted dates, sliding it to him.

“Hmm, thanks.” He closed it, handing it back to you. You nodded and put it under your pencil case. V felt like he could watch you study forever. The way you would frown slightly when a problem was too hard or how you would chew on your bottom lip when you were focused. It was the little gestures like these that he found so adorable.

“Class dismissed.” The teacher left when it was lunch time. The boys followed you to the place out back. That had become a regular place for all of you to just talk while you enjoyed your lunches alone.

“Oh, hey. I hope you don’t mind sharing the space.” You froze when you saw Kira and her friends there, in your exact spot, under the tree.

“What...?” Suga frowned.

“Come join us, oppas.” Kira smiled and waved.

“We’re not your oppas. Stop don’t call us that.” Seokjin crossed his arms. You turned around and walked away while the boys were too busy glaring holes into Kira’s head.

“That’s not cool.” Jungkook shook his head. Kira shrugged and sat back down. She turned to her friend and smirked.

“Wait, where’s (y/n)?” Jimin asked. The 7 boys turned around to find you missing. All 7 of them could feel a faint ache in their chest. They knew that it came from you, you were feeling upset. RM grabbed his pack and pulled them away. They had to find you.

You walked through the book shelves. Your uneaten lunch still in your lunch box. After what happened with Kira, you just didn’t have the appetite to eat anymore. You let out a sigh, that girl seriously needed something else to do.

“Hey, new book.” You smiled and grabbed the book down from the shelf. Turning it over, you read the back.

“That’s a good one. You should borrow it.” Someone spoke from beside you, making you jump.

“We were looking for you.” RM whispered. You nodded your head and tucked the book under your arm with the intention of borrowing it on the way out later.

“Sorry about just leaving like that. I just wasn’t in the mood to fight Kira. Anyway, I over reacted. It’s just a lunch place, nothing special. She can have it.” You shook your head. RM surprised you by holding your chin, lifting your head up to face him. You blushed at the contact. His eyes were filled with warmth and understanding.

“You didn’t over react. It’s alright.” He assured.

“It’s just... that has been my quiet place since I’ve come to this school. It’s the only place that I don’t need to deal with students trying to make me their joke.” You sighed.

“I understand.” He let go of your chin and stroke your head. You felt your heart pound against your chest at the contact.

“Thank you, RM.” You smiled.

“I found her. She’s okay.” RM told his brothers.

“Where are you guys? We’re coming!” V asked. For once, RM decided to ignore his brothers, him wanting to spend some alone time with you, talking about things the both of you enjoyed. Books.

“Namjoon! Don’t ignore us!” Seokjin came through.

“He’s hogging her!” J-Hope accused. RM decided to just block his brothers. If they really wanted to find him, they would have tried to track his scent. Besides, the school isn’t that big. He followed you to one of the tables in a corner to sit down. RM took the seat opposite you.

“I know this author but I haven’t read this book. I think the library just brought this one in.” You patted the cover of the book.

“I have all his books. I can lend it to you, if you’d like.” RM offered.

“Really? That would be so cool. I’m guessing you’re the bookworm of the family?” You giggled.

“That, I am. The others don’t really take to reading much. Maybe J-Hope, sometimes? He accompanies me. But most of the books in our home library was bought and collected by me.” He explained.

“Wow.” RM loved the way your eyes sparkled and lit up. When the bell rang, you and RM left the library. But you didn’t borrow the book as RM insisted that he could just lend you the book instead and you wouldn’t have to worry about returning it by the due date.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to eat because of me.” You frowned.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t apologise, (y/n). I actually enjoyed just hanging out with you in the library.” He confessed.

“I did too.” You smiled.

When you all went into the classroom, you noticed the other 6 boys staring at all of you. You blinked at them and just sat down. Even when you pulled your chair in, V was still staring at you. You cleared your throat awkwardly.

“Y-Yes?”

“So what did you and RM hyung do?” He asked. You nearly choked at his almost accusatory tone. It was almost as if he was implying that you and RM did something scandalous.

“You heard me.” V placed his face close to yours.

“W-We went to t-the library.” You stuttered and gulped. He drew back, sending you an unconvinced look.

“Kim Taehyung. What are you doing to her?!” RM growled.

“Making sure you didn’t feel her up!” V replied, turning to send a glare to the older. When the teacher came back in, you coughed and adjusted your collar, fanning your heated cheeks. You didn’t know what you were so nervous about. The fact that V had his face so close to yours or that he was accusing you of doing something with RM.

When school ended, you were still feeling flustered so you quickly packed up your things and sped off without a goodbye. The boys were all dumbfounded, sending V a glare.

“You did that.” Jin frowned.

“How is that my fault?” V raised his hands.

“You interrogated her and made her feel uncomfortable. We all have to share her, you know? If Namjoon wants to spend time alone with her. He can.” J-Hope lightly hit his brother’s shoulder.

“I’m going to take a walk. You guys go ahead.” V shoved his hands into his pockets and left. He walked around, kicking stones and keeping his head down. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he ran his hands through his hair. His wolf was just feeling so impatient and wanted you to be with them now.

Taehyung also felt bad that he was lying to you. He wanted you to know the truth about everything.

“Apologise to (y/n), Tae.” Jimin told him.

“I know, I will.” Taehyung didn’t know where you worked so he went home to change and put his bag down before heading over to your house. He sat on the log by your front yard to wait for your return.

Taehyung didn’t know that he fell asleep until he heard a gasp, followed by a growl. Turning around, he saw you backing away in fear. You haven’t seemed to notice him yet so he ducked behind a bush to shift into his wolf form. He leapt in front of him.

“T-Taehyung?!” You cried out in relief and fear for your beloved wolf.

*growl*

“Be careful, Tae.” You cautioned. The dark wolf had flashing red eyes as he bared his canines at Taehyung, his back hunched in defence. Taehyung lunged himself at the wolf and they tumbled around. You screamed.

“Taehyung!” You gasped.

“You stay away from her.” Taehyung snapped his jaws at the stranger. You ran into your house, trying to find whatever thing you could to try and help Taehyung. You saw your grandfather’s baseball bat and grabbed it, running back out. It was hard to see in the dark but when you saw the stranger nailing Taehyung down, you took the opportunity to swing.

The wolf let out a yelp as he fell off, giving Taehyung the chance bite into the wolf’s neck, but not enough to kill him. He quickly took off.

“(y/n).” Taehyung turned to you. He would have chased after that intruder but his priority was you.

“T-Tae...” Your legs were wobbly as the bat fell from your hands, hitting the floor. As your vision blurred and you fell to the ground, Taehyung quickly shifted back and caught you in his arms.

“Hyungs, Jungkook.” Taehyung whimpered as he held an unconscious you in his arms. As he waited for the others to come, he brought you into the house.

“Tae.” He heard Namjoon’s voice as he tucked you into bed.

“There was an intruder. His scent is everywhere. I got him in the neck but he ran off.” Taehyung shifted back into a wolf as he joined his pack. The 7 wolves sniffed the ground, indeed, it was the same scent as before. The same one they found while taking a walk.

“Is she hurt?”

“No. She was scared though. She managed to hit it with her bat.” Taehyung used his snout to point at the wooden bat that was left on the dirt.

“Even in fear, she’s still merciless.” Suga snorted.

“Taehyung!” You gasped as you woke up. Quickly, you ran downstairs and burst out the front door to see the 7 boys sitting in the yard, no wolves in sight. They all turned their attention to you.

“You’re awake.” Jimin approached you first. You nodded your head.

“What happened?” You asked.

“V was coming over and saw you passed out on the ground. We carried you back into your house. Are you feeling okay? Light headed or anything?” RM stroked your head. You shook your head, frowning slightly. Had everything just been a dream? But it felt so real. Seeing the look on your face, the boys all shot each other a look.

“Sorry, we didn’t know if we should have brought you to a doctor instead but we felt it wasn’t a good idea for you to go to school.” Jungkook said.

“No, don’t apologise. I should be the sorry one. You guys skipped school because of me.” You scratched your head.

“Don’t sweat it. School’s boring anyway.” J-Hope yawned.

“Thanks, V.” You smiled at the male. He nodded his head and sent you a boxy smile. You were still feeling a little disorientated. You looked down at your hands. Were you really almost attacked last night? Did you or did you not use a bat to beat a fierce wolf last night?

“You should rest more, (y/n). You still look a little shaky.” Seokjin put his arm around you and led you into the house.

“Wait, come over for tea later.” You turned to tell the other boys. They nodded their heads, sending you a thumbs up. Seokjin walked you up the stairs and followed you into the room.

“Everything that happened last night felt so real.” You said.

“What?” Seokjin asked. You shook your head as you laid down and he tucked you in.

“You shouldn’t overwork yourself, (y/n). That’s probably why you passed out. Your health is important. Luckily V found you before anything serious could have happened.” Seokjin sent you a soft smile. You nodded your head.

“I’ll see you later.” He squeezed your hand and left, closing the door behind him. Once he shut the front door behind him, the boys went back to their house.

“Ready?” Namjoon looked at the others.

“Yes.” They all shifted, taking off into the forest. They were going to find that intruder and find out what was his intention with you.

“It’s almost 3. Where are the others?” Namjoon asked Jimin, as he adjusted the watch around his wrist. He realised that it was only him, Jin and Jimin in the living room, ready to go. The two being omegas, they don’t really deal with whatever the alphas and the betas have to do, which was kind of a win situation for them in this case.

“Getting ready. They just came out of the basement.” The smaller replied.

“Guys, we need to go.” Namjoon called. The 4 other wolves came down the stairs, all freshened up and dressed.

“We’ll get back to that later. We wouldn’t want to be late.” He told them and they nodded in agreement. Wearing their shoes, they locked the door and made their way to yours.

“Smell that?” Jungkook asked. They didn’t even need to enter the house to smell what you were baking for their visit. The aroma of butter, chocolate and vanilla filled the air that surrounded the house.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Coming~” You replied. The smell only intensified when you opened the door for them. The boys nearly drooled at the sugary scent that mixed with yours. With a welcoming smile, you stepped aside for them to enter. They went to sit in the living room.

“I’ll be done in a second!” You went back to the kitchen. Looking back at how the boys were sitting, it was like you were looking at the wolves.

“Take your time.” J-Hope smiled at you.

“Are you making cookies?!” Jungkook appeared behind you, making you jump and almost drop the plate. But he was quick enough to catch it, wrapping an arm around your waist to support you as well.

“JEON JUNGKOOK!” The elders tensed.

“Are you okay?” He asked lowly. You nodded your head and he grinned, letting you go.

“You scared me.” You put a hand on your chest as you sighed. Jungkook placed the plate down on the counter next to you. Picking up a cookie, you handed it to him to at least satiate him a little. He made sounds of happiness and he ran out of the kitchen to show off to his hyungs that he managed to get a treat from you.

*He’s just like Kookie. Always wanted a treat before dinner.* You thought fondly, a soft smile on your face.

“Here. I’m not sure what you guys would prefer so I made an assortment of cakes and cookies. Can I get anything you guys anything to drink?” You placed the plates down.

“I’ll help.” Suga stood up.

“No, it’s fine. You already served me at your house, it’s my turn now.” You turned down with a small smile and he nodded, sitting back down.

“I’ll have an iced americano.” He ordered. The rest all ordered their own coffee preferences as well, except V, who wanted fruit tea. You made all their orders for them, laying it out on the table as you took a seat on the ground, beside V and J-Hope.

“This is good!” Jungkook said, his mouth stuffed with cake.

“I’m glad you like it. Slow down, Kookie.” You reached out to dust off the crumbs from his face. But quickly, retracted your hand.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t know what’s gotten into me recently. That was totally uncalled for. I mean, Jungkook.” You shook your head. You mentally scolded yourself for thinking it was the wolf, Kookie.

“At least she remembers.” Jungkook thought with a loving smile.

“Don’t worry, (y/n). I’m glad you’re comfortable around us. And you can call me Kookie if you’d like.” He assured.

“No, it’s okay. Kookie was just... the name of someone who was important to me so I mistook your name for it. That’s all.” Your tried to act chill and brush it off. The boys all softened as you said that the wolves were important beings in your life and you wouldn’t want to give their names to anyone else. It just proved how much love you had for them.

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redhoodssweetheart · 3 years

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Star-Crossed Lovers Part Two

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Requested: Yes @sarcasmismyfirstlove

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings: Swearing, angst, Reader has an assumed name in this (she is not named, but she goes by Sophia Turner since she is in hiding)

Description: Y/N now lives in Metropolis, she likes her life, but she misses the one she lost. Jason has spent eight months trying to find her, but to no avail. Maybe they truly weren’t meant to be.

A/N: I originally wasn’t going to post this part so soon. But I got inspired today and couldn’t stop writing it. I hope y’all enjoy. And please pretend that’s not a notebook for school okay. I’m too lazy to go looking for something new right now.

Her window was open letting in a nice spring breeze. Dinner was cooking in the oven and she was reading over the events from that day. It had been eight months since Y/N had hopped off the bus at the Metropolis station and entered the motel she would be staying at for the next few days. That was when she had found a quaint apartment that would do until she got on her feet.

Her phone buzzed and she looked over at it.

Clark: I need a favor, Sophie.

Sophie. The name she had assumed when she moved to Metropolis. Her full name was Sophia Turner. Sionis was more than likely dead, but Y/N wasn’t taking any chances. She hadn’t stopped looking over her shoulder since that night, and sometimes she would dream that he had found her.

In her dreams sometimes he was torturing her, but sometimes it was Red sitting in that chair. He was begging her to do something while Sionis laughed sadistically and said, “My little puppet ain’t gonna do shit, Red. She used you.”

“No!” Y/N would cry when she registered the betrayal on Red’s face.

She would sit up straight in her bed and gasp before the dream went any further. Most of the time she would look at the clock and see it was still in the early hours of the morning.

Now she was staring at the text from Clark and sighed.

Sophia: I’m listening, but you’ll owe me, Kent.

Clark was a good guy. A little flighty at times, but that was part of his charm. He was the one that had taken the risk on her when she had gone to the Daily Planet trying to get a job. He never abused that either. He was a genuinely good guy, something that had unnerved Y/N at first, but now she was grateful for it.

Clark: I’m supposed to be meeting with Lex Luthor tomorrow to ask him about the Superboy project, but I’m needed elsewhere. Sort of a family emergency. Do you think you can cover for me with Lex?

Lex was Metropolis’s biggest asshole. And she could eat him for breakfast.

Sophia: Sure thing. Need me to water your plants while you’re away?

Clark: Please? I’ll leave the key to my place in my top desk drawer, just pick it up tomorrow when you come in. You’re a lifesaver, Sophie.

A lifesaver…. Sure.

Jason came home to the manor at least once a week for a good home cooked meal and so he wouldn’t be alone at the safehouse. He hadn't returned to the one that he and Y/N had always frequented. He couldn’t, she was still haunting the place. Tonight however when he entered the manor he heard Dick and Tim arguing.

“You need to tell him,” Dick hissed. “He deserves to know the truth.”

“No, I made a promise to her that I wouldn’t,” Tim spat back. “Plus I haven’t even found Sionis yet. How would it look if Red Hood showed up in a city other than Gotham? Sionis knows about them, and Y/N would be compromised.”

Jason’s breath hitched at the sound of her name. Tim knew? Tim knew and hadn’t told Jason anything.

He threw open the door so hard that it let a dent in the wall, Dick cringed knowing that Alfred was going to be mad at that. Tim looked coolly at Jason, unbothered by the display. “Where is she, Replacement?”

“Who?”

Jason was starting to see red. “You know damn well who. Y/N. Where is she? What the fuck did you do?”

Dick came over to Jason and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but it was roughly tossed off by Jason, “Jay--”

“Don’t,” he snapped, his gaze going to Dick. “Don’t you dare. Tim knows something and I want to know what it is.”

Bruce entered the kitchen, having heard the raucous that his boys were causing. “Tim, Dick, I need a moment alone with Jason.” They nodded and swiftly made their exit. Bruce leaned against the counter, “Y/N’s story about how she came to work with Sionis was true.” Jason looked at Bruce confused. “Except I met her a month before she met you.”

“What?” Jason’s tone relayed the shock he felt.

Bruce closed his eyes, “She got mixed up with the wrong people because of her boyfriend and after Sionis killed him he kidnapped her and forced her to take on the role as a bodyguard. Commissioner Gordon came to me with a note from an anonymous source from someone in Sionis’s organization telling him to send the Bat to a certain location. I met with Y/N and she told me that she wanted out, that she didn’t want to be payment for her ex’s misdeeds. She fed me information and in exchange I promised to set her free.”

“So you knew that she was going to fake her death this entire time?!” Jason’s anger was returning. He had spent the last eight months agonizing over where she could be, turning over every stone only to come up with a dead end. And this entire time Bruce had known it was a ploy all along.

“Yes, but didn’t know the two of you had been involved. She never disclosed that to me, and I didn’t expect her to tell me things she did in her free time.” Bruce looked regretful, “Jason, I think you were the only normal relationship in her life and I think you brought her some semblance of happiness.”

“Apparently not enough to tell me the plan,” he said bitterly.

Bruce pulled something from his pocket and passed it over to Jason, “It’s from her. I don’t know where it came from, but if I had to guess I wouldn’t be able to figure it out either. I haven’t read it, but maybe she will answer some of your questions.” With that, Bruce took his leave.

Dear Red,

By now you probably know that I’m not dead. Maybe you even know that I met with Batman a month before I ever even met with you. That was purely coincidental. I didn’t plan on things progressing like they did between us. It made my job a whole hell of a lot more complicated that it needed to be. And for what it’s worth I’m sorry for how it all went down, but Red, I hope you understand that I couldn’t tell you. That was just not an option.

I’m somewhere safe for now. I have been for awhile, just blending in and living my life to the fullest that I can. I hope you’re doing well too and not getting too many bullet wounds. Who’s going to patch you up now that I’m not there :p

He chuckled at the little hand drawn face.

I do miss you, Red. Our banter. Your kisses. How you made me feel normal for a few hours a night. Even with the mask on I could still pretend we were just two average people living our lives.

We were dealt a shitty hand, and as I told you that night we truly are just star-crossed lovers. I’ll see you in the next life, Red. Maybe that one will be kinder to us, and maybe I can finally see what color your eyes are. Can I tell you what color I think they are? Blue, I always imagined you had the prettiest shade of blue eyes. Like the sky on a summer day. Cloudless and beautiful.

I need to cut this short before I start crying on the page. Take care of yourself, Red. I’ll be waiting for you at the River Styx or maybe you’ll be waiting for me. And I’ll finally know your real name and what color your eyes truly are.

Goodbye, Red.

Y/N

Jason stared at your name signed at the bottom for the longest time and finally when he tore his eyes away from it, he neatly folded it and put it back in the envelope. He then headed up to his room and stored the letter in one of his drawers, not wanting anyone to disturb it.

The Daily Planet was bustling when Y/N arrived to work the following morning. Clark - who was usually in before her - was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t expected to see him, but it was still weird.

Wandering over to his desk she found the key like he had promised and stuck it in her pocket before heading to her own desk and preparing for the meeting with Lex. Lois stopped by her desk to say good morning and chit chat for a few minutes before going to work on her own assignments. Around ten thirty Y/N headed out to LexCorp.

“Mr. Kent was supposed to be interviewing Mr. Luthor,” the receptionist said.

Y/N kept the forced smile on her face, “Yes, that’s true, but Mr. Kent unfortunately had an emergency that has taken him out of the city and he asked me to fill in.” She showed the receptionist her credentials. “I am more than qualified to handle the interview today.”

“It’s fine Lacy,” a new voice added and Y/N turned to see Lex standing there with a smile on his face. “I was alerted of the change last night, Mr. Kent was nice enough to email me and let me know. Miss Turner, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, Mr. Luthor,” she responded. As she made to leave the receptionist area she shot a scathing look at the girl behind the desk who was frowning. She probably thought Y/N was some groupie waiting to throw herself at Lex.

As if.

The two of them made it into Lex’s office and he offered her something to drink. “Water, coffee, tea? Just say the word and I can have it here for you immediately.”

“No thank you, I’m quite all right,” the quicker that she could get this interview over the better. She got her recorder set up and looked to Lex, “Clark informed me that he was going to be talking to you about the Superboy project, is that correct?”

“Yes it is, everyone has been dying to know more about the program,” he responded. “The world needed a Superman, as I’m sure you’re aware Superman was thought to be dead there for a good while.”

Y/N had known that, although she had been in Gotham at the time more concerned with her own welfare than that of a superhero that had supposedly died. “I am, so you decided to respond and give Metropolis hope then? That is what Superman represents, is it not?”

There was a shift in Lex’s smile that Y/N picked up on, but she wasn’t going to push him on it. He apparently had a dislike of Superman, but if he didn’t like him then why create a clone? “Yes it is, and yes I wanted to give this city some hope that everything was going to be okay. That LexCorp would make sure that while the big, bad Superman was away I would be the one to look after us.”

Y/N hummed, “Mr. Luthor, how long have you been working on this project? This doesn’t seem like an overnight solution and you seemed to unveil it fairly quickly?”

“Are you trying to insinuate something, Miss Turner?” Lex’s eyes narrowed.

Y/N’s smile turned predatory, “No sir, just merely asking some questions. I wondered how something as complex as replicating Superman’s powers took place so quickly. And how? How did you replicate Superman’s powers?”

“I had some of Superman’s DNA on hand, a gift from the Man of Steel himself,” Lex replied coolly.

Hardly, Y/N thought. She knew how these heroes worked, their identities were pivotal in maintaining some semblance of a normal life outside of hero hours. There was no way that Lex had legally obtained that DNA sample he claimed to have gotten from Superman. “It sounds like you and Superman are close, would you say that the two of you are friends?”

“Oh yes,” Lex matched her smile as if trying to intimidate her. What he didn’t know is she had been around some of the worst Gotham had to offer and he didn’t frighten her in the slightest. “We were very close.”

“You must have been crushed when everyone thought that he had died.” She saw through his smile and the lies. Superman and Lex weren’t close, but he wasn’t going to say that in something that would be printed in the Daily Planet.

“I was, it was like losing an old friend,” Lex rested a hand over his chest for dramatic effect.

Before she could ask her next question they heard someone saying, “Sir, sir you can’t go in there.”

The door to Lex’s office opened and revealed Bruce Wayne. Y/N had never had the pleasure of meeting him when she had lived in Gotham. She hadn’t run in those circles, but she would know the billionaire anywhere. “Lex, we need to speak now.” His gaze landed on her and she froze. For the first time in a while she felt exposed under the intense look he was giving her.

“Could it wait, Bruce,” Lex forced out. “I am in a meeting with the lovely Miss Sophia Turner here.”

Y/N turned to Lex, still feeling the weight of Bruce’s stair on her back as she did so, “It’s all right, Mr. Luthor. You seem to have some important business to attend to right now. Thank you for your time. The article should be out by Friday if all goes well. Email me with any other information you can disclose about the Superboy project that would be pertinent for the article. Have a nice day,” then she fled as quickly as she could.

Bruce watched Y/N flee the office. Sophia Turner, huh? He wasn’t surprised to find her living under an assumed name. He looked to Lex who was glaring at him, “Did I interrupt something?”

Lex’s eyes narrowed, “You damn well know you did. Now what do you want?”

“You have a leak,” Bruce said, causing Lex’s face to pale.

Y/N made it back to her desk without any other blasts from her past and she began to go over the information she had from her interview and checked her email to see that Lex’s assistant had sent over any other relevant information she would need to type up the remaining gaps.

A few hours later she was closing up shop and heading to Clark’s to make sure his plants didn’t die. As she moved down the sidewalk her mind drifted to thoughts of Red Hood, wondering what he was up to and if he were okay. She also wondered if he had gotten her letter yet or if maybe he had thrown it out the moment he knew that it was from her.

She wouldn’t blame him if he had.

As she continued down the street she accidentally bumped into someone. She stumbled for a moment and looked up as she said, “Sorry.” When her eyes met his, she was shocked to find the prettiest blue she had ever seen.

He smiled at her, “It’s all right. Have a good evening.” Then he was sidestepping her and going about his business. She watched him go, wondering why he seemed so familiar to her.

And those eyes.

Like the sky on a summer day. Cloudless and beautiful.

#Jason Todd x Reader #Jason Todd x Fem!Reader #Jason Todd x Reader angst #Jason Todd #Jason Todd fanfic #Jason Todd fanfiction #Jason Todd angst #Requested

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lvlyhao · 3 years

Text

『wayv’s ideal type』

headcanons, WayV

A/N: i love yangyang. send tweet.

today’s theme is... um... none. no braincells for an aesthetic

ALL OF MY WORKS ARE GENDER NEUTRAL AAAA

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮𝓼: fluff (♡)...?

𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼: i think like 2 swear words and as usual, my tough love for the neos. don’t be offended.

word count: 1.6K

pairing: wayv members x reader (includes kun, ten, winwin, lucas, hendery, xiaojun, yangyang)

disclaimer: the characters in the story below do not reflect real people or present real facts. this is purely fictional, and you may not copy, change, translate or repost my work in any way. all rights reserved © cherry-hyejin 2021.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Kun

Kun, similarly to Taeil, would most likely fall for someone very mature and responsible. My dude is already the father of 7 children (I'm counting Chenle); the last thing he needs is one more.

Very closely related to that is what I think would be another of his priorities: whoever they are and however they are, they've got to get along with the rest of WayV—but it's even better if NCT as a whole likes them. As much as he'd love his s/o, I can't say that if it ever came down to choosing them or his members, he'd pick his partner. The guys are his family and a BIG part of his work, which takes over most of his life, so there's really no escaping it. Befriend the boys or bye-bye.

Once the boys approve of his crush, I think his interest would grow if they've got many pastimes or hobbies. I mean, c'mon, Kun can fly a plane on the same day as he sings his lungs out on Inkigayo and then goes home to cook some fancy-ass dinner. He doesn't need them to be on his level, though. Small, silly passions are the ones the loves the most. He'd listen to them talk about ANYTHING for like 3 hours straight, even if it's why their favourite type of constrictors are pythons. No, that is totally not about me. Shut up.

Ten

Y'all remember that one WayV live where a fan asks for dating advice? Yes, I'm taking a lot from it. If you've seen it, it's not hard to come to the conclusion that Ten likes honest and straightforward people. He values himself way too much to lose his time with someone who's playing games, making him chase them and things of the sort. It's simple, really. If you like him, great, he'll give you the stars if you ask, but if not, great too, he'll live.

I can see that either he'd get with a person as extra as him or someone on Jaehyun's level of unbothered. Not many options here. You either become his partner in crime and bring hell on Earth with him, or you accept it well. Just don't be judgy or ask him to tone it down. That's the way he is, so why should he, you know?

Speaking of that, AUTHENTICITY, FOLKS. Being authentic is a big deal here. Ten is very true to himself and is always encouraging us to be, as well. Anyone he even considers dating will be nothing short of unique and unapologetically so. Being confident is just so attractive for him, I can't even—and yes, even if they're a bit strange. His partner might be a weirdo, but they're HIS weirdo, and he'll fight anyone that disagrees.

Winwin

I think while other members might fall for someone as bright as the Sun, he'd love a person as calming as the Moon. You know that aesthetic? The gentleness, introspectiveness, wisdom, the tranquillity... yeah, fam. That's it for my boy Winwin.

Allow me to elaborate: all of those traits would make him very comfortable with the thought of being in a relationship. I can see Sicheng as having some trust issues, aside from not being very touchy or loud when it comes to affection. Having that peaceful aura would really help him grow closer to his partner because he knows they'll be patient with him and respect his boundaries.

He wouldn't mind if they're more on the talkative side, but he needs a person that can appreciate silence too. Something I see a lot for him is having loud thoughts that are hard to get rid of. Dating him would mean having nights when he's tired out of his mind and just doesn't have the strength to talk. His partner will have to understand that and stay by his side until his inner world is a bit less chaotic, just holding his hand and letting him take his time. I think allowing him to have his space and peace in the relationship is how he feels loved the most.

Lucas

Yukhei would not mind one bit having a more childish, carefree partner. He's a big baby, c'mon, being around another baby would probably make him the happiest. I also think he meant it when he said he doesn't care about age (that one V-Live from years ago). Younger than him, older than him, my boy doesn't give a fuck. He really just wants someone to be silly with and smile a lot.

Having said that, I really can't see anything pushing him away from getting to know someone. Lucas is very lighthearted and loves people, so I think he'd have his fun getting to know anyone—and tbh, he would be hooked if they're a bit mysterious too. His interest would probably get the best of him, and he wouldn't stop whining about it to the other boys until he learns something about them. Very random, yes, but I can 100% see him complaining to WayV during dinner, LMAO.

One thing he wouldn't enjoy too much? A partner that can't take compliments or doesn't like being spoiled. Yukhei's affection is LOUD, and he really thrives off praise, cute pet names and giving gifts. He'd most likely be heartbroken if he finds out they don't like any of it, almost like they're shutting down his love itself.

Xiaojun

Ah, my dear Dejun. The middle child of WayV. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just look up "Xiaojun's middle child problems" on YouTube and go from there. If you don't feel like it, lemme break it down to you: he's an angel, but the boys mostly accuse him of everything and anything and will throw him under the bus for fun. It's very entertaining. At this point, my boy doesn't have a fight or flight response; more like fight or fight (shhhh, I'll get into the headcanon now).

I think since he's used to being so defensive around his members, he'd appreciate a person that makes him feel both understood and safe. They'd share similar tastes (mint-choco ice cream, cough cough) and interests, but they'd most likely have a fiercer presence than him. Kind of intimidating, tbh. Very nice. I can definitely see that his partner wouldn't let WayV's chaos get to them and would, undoubtedly, be as much of a savage as the boys are.

He'd probably like it if they (playfully) fight his members and defend him from whatever-the-fuck they're blaming him for atm, so, yes, a bit protective. I think Dejun would simply find it cute and admirable, you know, their braveness. Would 10/10 brag about it when they're alone.

Hendery

Kunhang is the ultimate crackhead, but a sweet one at that. Being a Libra (yes, I'm going there), I think he can actually be very sentimental around the people he trusts the most and needs to feel like he belongs. That leads me to point 1: his partner would also be a crackhead. That's REALLY not up for debate. Kunhang wouldn't even think about dating someone that's not as much of a weirdo as he is.

Point 2: he probably wouldn't like to be with a person that's too vain or superficial, whether that goes towards others or themselves. He's said before he hopes the fans can see him as more than a pretty face, and I can imagine that goes for his s/o too. He'd simply not feel connected to someone who's always dolled up or dressed to impress. Would definitely prefer a more casual style and personality.

I guess point 3 is kinda random, but it makes sense to me, so here we go. Kunhang would really like someone who's just in love with human nature. For him, it's the tiniest things: the way they laugh, how they drink their tea, which side of the bed they'd prefer... it all adds up to a person, and I think he'd feel over the Moon to be with someone who sees the same things as him. Comment on a small habit of his he thinks no one else would notice, and I swear he's yours.

Yangyang

He is a spoiled brat, and I say that with all the love in the world. We've all heard WayV say how he basically tries to exploit them (mainly Hyung-line) at every opportunity he gets, which makes me think Yangyang might be a bit lazy, yes, but also that he'd do great with someone whose love language is acts of service.

Now, I'm not saying he'd tyrannize them or anything of the sort, but things would work very well if that is how his partner expresses their love. They wouldn't mind fetching him a drink, cooking something—or ordering out, if they can't... you know, stuff like that. It would make him feel very validated and cared for. I see that, for him, that's the ultimate type of devotion.

The last thing I can imagine he'd consider is whether they can take his teasing and antics or not. Yangyang's affection is really not shown through super heartfelt, sugar-coated moments; quite the opposite, actually. If he feels happy around someone, his way of showing it is that playful banter, insults and teasing, you know? He really wouldn't know what to do if the person takes everything he says to heart, like—Yangyang.exe has stopped working. So, yeah. A thick skin and elastic heart are a great combo for my boy.

Bonus: he'd lowkey cry if they get super hyped with his work as an artist. PLEASE praise his dancing, rapping, visuals and all. I don't think many people do, and even if he denies it, the compliments make him all fuzzy inside. #appreciateyangyang2021, he's underrated af.

---

final notes: head empty, no thoughts, just 90′s love yangyang

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toorumochi · 3 years

Text

KaruShuu OTP Questions

Ah- I created ehhh 4?? I suppose KaruShuu head-canons posts today but do I regret it? Absolutely not, I loved it. So here you go, have another one, don't be shy, read it.

Also, please keep in mind that these head-canons are completely made up by me in a way of that it's just how I would see it sksksk also here, KaruShuu would be probably adults?? Also married??

Anyways, enjoy~ 🌸

Who is the most affectionate? Sinceee they got married, I'm sure the longer into the relationship, the more they have opened up to each other? Karma would be the type to wake up first in the morning and kiss Shuu good morning, but since Shuu is an early bird, he would wake up before Karma and make breakfast for him. Thats how he shows affection ❤️🧡

Most common argument? Sad to think that they NeEd to argue 🙄💅 but oh well- I thinkkk they would argue over super silly things. For example what to watch (If you have read my previous head canons, you will know what I mean by 'Shrek Marathons'):

"Let's watch something"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?''

Karma would just grin over to Shuu and Shuus eyes would widen, "Hell no"

"Absolutely ye-"

"Karma don't you dAR-"

They ended up watching (again for the 12 time this week) Shrek.

Who apologizes first? Karma apologies fly out of his mouth faster than they stop arguing. Karma would rather apologize than not let them talk for the next few hours.

Favorite (non-sexual) activity to do together? They enjoy getting massage! Ifff KaruShuu was too lazy to go out to get a professional massage for a few hours, they would do it to each other. (It usually ends with them making out later on but I'll delete that part)

Who is most likely to carry the other? Karma would carry Shuu ❤️😩 Ugh bridal style to embarrass him 💀💅

Nicknames?

For Karma, by Shuu: Tamponhead (I used this one in my fanfic and I will forever love it), Moron, Karma. Tbh, I don't think neither like these pet-names or nicknames since that think they are 'cringy'.

Tho, Karma has quite a few: Shuu (Main, he doesn't use 'Gakushuu' but when he does, Shuu melts lol), Pumpkin, Orange, pumpkin pie, Strawberry shortcake (bc he loves strawberries so why not call Shuu one 😌🤚🏻), Sugar cube (Idk I think it's cute, tho I don't know if that's even a nickname- 💀💀)

Also a note: They would definitely not use 'baby', 'babe', 'honey' bc- noooo 😩💀

Who proposes? Karma 💅

Who sings along with the radio? Karma would sing along but he is horrible at singing and Shuu makes him KNOW it by him singing and Karma shuts up but finds it hilarious at the same time.

Who worries most? Both do, depending on the situation. Shuu would be worried about stuff like paying taxes or things like that, meanwhile Karma is worried for Shuus health, if he is eating enough as well as getting enough sleep every night. Shuu is a hardworking bee after all ✨

Who always wants to take selfies with the other? Karma wants to, for example they are traveling somewhere for vacation and Karma wants to take as many pics as possible with his husband so he can later on put them into an album ❤️😩 (KaruShuu as a married couple >>>>)

Who likes to playfully tease the other? Ohhh~ Karma teases Shuu all the time, but there are times where Shuu would feel playful so he would tease back

Who has the weirdest taste in their music? Karma I'm begging you- his music taste changes every week and road trips are a disaster for Shuu

Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant? Karma remembers because Shuu is always ordering the same things since he is minimalistic lol but Karma is a living chaos when it comes to food so Shuu can't remember it all.

Who is embarrassed to take their clothes off in front of the other? Lmao no matter for how long they are already together, no matter if they are married, no matter how many times they had done it, Shuu would be the one to be embarrassed about it every time.

Who tops? ...Okay so here, personally as someone who writes Fanfics, Karma tops. Always. I just- I just can't imagine Shuu as a top?? my friends gave me some really valid reasons for Shuu to be a top but I just can't see it 😩

Who initiates kisses? Both I guess? But mostly Karma

Who reaches for the other's hand first? Oooo here an example! If they are driving in the car, and Karmas hand is free, Shuu usually reaches for it but as soon as Karma needs it to drive, he has to let go. Or if they are in the cinema - Shuu would definitely hold onto Karmas hand the whole time - as comfort, since they usually watch Horror movies together so yea 😌

Who kisses hardest? Who is most ticklish? Both is Karma, but when it comes to tickling, even tho Karma is more ticklish, he is also stronger than Shuu so he can easily pin him down and tickle him, just for the sake to see Shuu giggle which kills him bc God damnit isn't he adorable?

Who brings an animal they found home? Lol depends on the animal. I would say Karma is a cat person and Shuu is a dog person b u t Shuu is allergic to cats so they can't have cats. But I think if Karma would be the one to bring an animal home, it would be a dog.

Who holds the umbrella for the other when it's raining? Karma's shoe laces often get untangled, so when Karma bends to tie them, Shuu stands over him with an umbrella to keep the rain from pouring on him.

Who tries to playfully embarrass the other in public? Karma 😭

Who kills the scary bugs? Oh lemme tell you about this one:

Shuu HATES bugs, since he always had the feeling of his father having a bunch of centipedes around himself whenever he acted manipulative and so on so he hates them. So one time when Shuu was taking a shower, and Karma was in the kitchen, Shuu suddenly screeched so Karma went to check on him. He walked onto a Shuu, covering himself with a towel and looking absolutely T E R R I F I E D at the ceiling, stuttering. Karma was hella confused so he looked up and oop here we go, a spider. Karma obv took the spider off the ceiling to free it, but first he had to tease and scare his husband a little by walking towards the shower stall, "Shuu look~ He wants to be friends with you~", the way Shuu screamed at this made almost all of the windows in the apartment break.

Who asks the weird questions at random in the middle of the night? Karma does that on a daily basis, but when Shuu is a little bit drunk, he would ask weird questions to which Karma never has an answer but he jokes around.

Who hogs the blankets? Karma hogs them and Shuu ends up having a cold the next morning 😭

Who wakes up first? Shuu is an early bird, but Karma wakes up first for work.

Who wants to stay in bed just a bit longer? On weekends, they both stay in bed a bit longer to cuddle ❤️💕

Who always makes coffee for the other each morning? Karma makes coffee for Shuu before he leaves for work 🥰

Who cries during certain films or when reading sad books? Lmao Karma cries during Shrek every time the scene comes up where Shrek had an argument with Donkey 😔

Who gets scared during horror films? Shuu 😩😩 He would (as said before) take Karmas hand for comfort

Who tells their friends/family about the relationship first? Lmao none since GakuHOE is well, a hoe so they won't trust him b u t I have the feeling of Karmas mom being actually super supportive?? But they wouldn't tell her, she would just get the hint and then when she receives the wedding invite she goes "oh-".

What do their friends/family think of the relationship? Rio was shipping this since the beginning of middle school aight, she loves it and she even threw a party for them. #IstanRioNakamura

Who is more likely to ask the other to dance with them? Karma would ask Shuu to dance obv but Shuu would go along 😩💕

Who cooks best? Karma! And Shuu loves his cooking! :D

Who wears the other's jacket? Shuu is the one to wear long coats, and Karma those thicc jackets. Shuu usually gets super cold even with the coat on, so Karma gives Shuu his jacket on top of the coat lol.

Who uses cheesy pickup lines? Karma- anywhere. Have an example:

"Hey Shuu, could you feel the shirt?", he asked Shuu while they went shopping and Karma wAsN't sure about his T-Shirt choice so Shuu was running his fingers slightly over Karmas chest with the shirt still on and thinking about the material, then Karma went: "Know what it's made of?", and Shuu looked at him and was about to answer him, but Karma was quicker and continued, "Boyfriend material", ObViOuSlY with a grin and Shuu was a gay blushing mess 💅 but then Shuu went along, "What do you mean boyfriend? I can only see Husband material", and tuRNED AWAYYYYY~

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other's ear during inappropriate times? AAAA I T H I N K I've written sum like this before- So two things that happened:

KaruShuu were invited to a funereal or sum and pls the church was quiet and stuff but obv Karma had to joke around and he leaned over to Shuus ear and whispered a joke into his ear which made our stubborn Shuu giggle and the church was this close👌 to throw them out lmao

Shuu was at work, and Karma likes to call him randomly, but oh well Shuu picks up and Karma starts to tease him over the phone maybe something very sexual stuff (knowing Karma he would) and Shuu just- he is sitting at his desk and his workers are giving him looks about why is he blushing so much.

Who makes the other laugh most? Karmas jokes always make Shuu laugh, sometimes even cry since they are hilarious.

Who would have to bail the other out of jail? Oh my God- Shuu would have to bail Karma out of jail maybe during college years, but I think Karma would mature a bit more as an adult

What would be their theme song? YOOO- A WHOLE PLAYLIST WOULD BE NEEDED-

Who would sing their child back to sleep? OOO!! Karma would be the type to read stories, but Shuu would sing them to sleep :D

What do they do when they're away from each other? I can imagine that they both have those business trips from time to time, so when they are apart, they FaceTime each other every evening to check on each other. Yes indeed they must stay at fancy hotels for their business trips and they are being served food, but they still check that the other one is eating and sleeping well. Oh and good morning and goodnight texts™️🥰

A headcanon about them that stabs your feels? Oh- oH GOD- That maybe they tend to act very distant at first in their relationships?? Or more cold? For example Shuu, he would not really know nor show much affection to Karma and Karma at first thinking that Shuu doesn't love him at all (which isn't true bc Shuu loves him deeply) but then he after some time figures it out when Shuu opens up to him more.

A headcanon that mends the previous one? That they both after some time spend together, have the opportunities to open up to each other, know each other better as well as find out each others weaknesses and strengths which makes their relationship stronger. I absolutely love them ❤️😩

#KaruShuu #I wrote this for over 2 hours pls save me #I love them I will dedicate anything to them #Karma x Gakushuu #Karma Akabane #Karma #Akabane #Gakushuu #Asano #Gakushuu Akabane #Headcanons #assassination classroom #AssClass

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stardew-saloon · 3 years

Note

Weird headcannon request: what would your favorite villagers do in an apocalypse

Listen listen listen. I fucking love anything to do with the apocalypse, especially when zombies are involved. So I’ll write about that !!

This one took a while, sorry ! I wanted to include at least all of the bachelors, and then bachelorettes in another post maybe if I’m not lazy.

Also I follow someone on my other account and I really liked how they like, used different colors to highlight names, so I think I’m gonna do that ! It’s just cute okay :)

Bachelors in the Apocalypse

Alex

Alex thinks of himself as the most ready for the apocalypse. He’s got what he and his family need to survive for months. Food, weapons (Mostly just old baseball bats), clothes, and the Will to Survive.

The zombies probably come from Zuzu city. City people are dumb and get infected right when the virus hits. Everyone in SDV is safe. For now, at least.

Alex, unlike the other villagers, refuses to interact with anyone but his grandparents. He keeps contact extremely limited with people. The only time he ever interacts is when he goes to drop off cookies at Haley’s house, per Evelyn’s request.

He does miss his best friend, though. He misses everyone. He misses that time where he didn’t hear zombies going around the town, banging on doors and smacking their heads against windows. It sucks!

Alex takes a number of zombies down. He’s easily one of the toughest bachelors, plus he’s super strong. He wants to eventually take out all of them, make the valley a safe haven like it used to be. There’s still a long ways to go, but he’s slowly making progress.

His grandparents, especially Evelyn, help out by cooking for him and others. Alex helps out other villagers by dropping off little care-packages. It’s cute! It’s also his way of keeping in contact with everyone and making sure they’re okay.

Alex is the one in a zombie apocalypse movie to survive until the end. He makes the smartest choices and keeps his family safe. He can’t afford to lose anyone else.

Harvey

As a doctor, Harvey’s first thought when he hears about the zombie apocalypse is that he needs to find a cure.

And so he tries to. For about a week. Maru is in the office with him for a while, going back and forth from her house to the doctor’s office. It’s tough experimenting on zombies and it feels.. wrong.

Even though they’re a zombie, Harvey knows that there’s a person in there. Was a person. So he gives up on the cure and instead focuses on keeping the citizens healthy.

Harvey is a goddamn tank. Were he to be partnered with Alex, the zombies would be gone within two days. However, they have different concerns. Alex keeps the zombies away from the valley, and Harvey keeps them away from houses.

They have a good system. Harvey goes around the houses to do checkups, trying to keep some form of order in the new world. He makes sure the oldies stay healthy, despite being cooped up, and that the people that are out fighting stay un-zombieified.

I think Harvey would almost last to the end, but makes a careless mistake and gets bit. Fortunately, a cure comes around! He still did research on the zombies during the apocalypse, and his notes came in handy.

Elliott

You’d think by now that Elliott would be used to being cooped up in his house. He’s practically a hermit! The only time he used to go out was to sit by the ocean or see Leah at the bar.

Now that he has to stay in, he doesn’t like it. It’s the same as all of us with quarantine. Elliott never went out much before, but now that he can’t, he wants to.

He feels like dying of boredom within a week. Fortunately, the sense of impending doom creates a good writing atmosphere. He finishes at least three books during the span of the apocalypse.

However, Elliott isn’t very smart about his survival. He either forgets to eat the food that Alex drops off, or eats it before the week is up. It’s tough.

Eventually, Elliott decides he can’t survive on his own like this. He feels like he’s going mad. It makes for nice poetry, but for now, he needs to prioritize his health.

So he makes his way to Leah’s! He figures it’s probably a good idea. Nobody ever said that you couldn’t hang out with friends, or stay with them.

While going to Leah’s, he’s not very careful with avoiding any zombies. He’s not attacked, but he is followed. Leah let’s him in of course, and then end up holed up in her house. She’s lucky enough to have the forest near her house, so she can rely on that.

Elliott probably trips up somewhere and ends up dying first, joining the rest of the zombies. He’s not very good at being a zombie, though. Which might be for the best! He doesn’t run around very much and usually just hangs back by himself.

Sam

Sam thinks he’s going to be good at the whole apocalypse thing. He’s like “I’ve played enough first-person shooter zombie games to know how to fight them off.” Then the second he’s put into combat, he falters and doesn’t know what to do.

Lucky for him, Jodi is good at fighting. Kent knows how to defend the house. Vincent knows how to ask dozens of questions about what’s going on.

And Sebastian knows how to sneak into Sam’s window at night when they haven’t seen each other in a while. They still try and keep close, but most of their conversations are over the phone. It gets lonely, sometimes.

Sam isn’t necessarily smart about the apocalypse because he doesn’t need to be. He feels bad about relying on his parents, but you would too if you had his kickass parents.

He knows how to keep Vincent safe! Vincent is taken out at least once a week, mostly to see Jas. He misses her a lot. Sam likes to see Shane, too! He misses working with his buddy, even if his body was a grouchy alcoholic that waved him off whenever Sam got within ten feet of him. Good times.

Sam really wants things to be normal again, so he tries to stick with Alex whenever he sees him out. They’re good at fighting, but Sam is very chatty and often gets distracted by other things.

Other things are usually Abigail waving out of her window and whisper-shouting for Sam. Sometimes she’ll whip out the Samson!!! just to get his attention. It usually works. Alex will take a minute just to tease him.

Sam either survives until the end of the apocalypse, or dies about halfway through while on his many night trips to see Sebastian and Abigail.

Sebastian

Apocalypse? He doesn’t even know her.

Sebastian’s life is literally the exact same. Aside from hearing less people upstairs, nothing has changed about his life. Demetrius is upstairs working on a cure or something (Seb tuned out the second he started talking) and Maru goes off with Harvey sometimes.

He heard Robin say something about building a wall or something to keep the zombies out. He wasn’t planning to help very much, seeing as the others mom and some other villagers wanted to help out. Really, the only place the zombies are coming in is through the tunnel for the bus, so if they block that off, they’ll be fine.

Sebastian is more focused on other things. Like staying in contact with Sam and Abigail to make sure that they’re still kicking. Demetrius doesn’t let anyone outside of the house, so Sebastian sneaks everywhere, whether it’s outside to go smoke or to see his friends.

He’s pretty good at fighting, though. He can defend himself a whole lot better than Sam, who he thoughts would have more experience. They both thought his video game theory was true because they’re both dummies.

Those few times where Seb does get out of the house, he’s like a zombie killing machine. It’s too bad he’s doesn’t do it very often. He’s good at sneaking around, too. Those years of tiptoeing around the house to avoid his stepdad yelling at him are really paying off.

Honestly, the whole apocalypse could end and the zombies could dissapear, and Sebastian would have no idea. He'd still be down in the basement, messaging his friends and working on his coding.

Or, for a worse ending, zombies could storm his house, saving him for last, and he wouldn’t know until it was too late and he was surrounded by a horde.

I think Seb would end up surviving, though. He’s not necessarily good at the apocalypse, he’s just good at avoiding it.

Shane

When Shane thought about sobering up, he never imagined he’d have to do it like this. The apocalypse is pain in the ass for him.

He stays with Marnie and Jas, rarely leaving the property. He doesn’t like being holed up inside for so long because then he’s just alone with his thoughts, so Jas keeps him going most of the time.

As much as he hates to admit it, he misses his old life. He hated being employed at Joja, but it gave him something to do. And yeah, he misses his annoying coworker. Lucky for him, he gets to see him one a week when Sam and Vincent pop in.

Shane can act like he’s annoyed all he wants, but now? It’s he apocalypse. Why should he be so bitter?

I’m not going to say that the apocalypse changes Shane’s attitude, but he definitely has some revelations about himself that he wouldn’t have had under different circumstances.

Shane doesn’t like fighting zombies. Not as much as Alex does, anyways. But he still helps him out if it’s ever necessary. Shane is infinitely better at defending than he is attacking. He makes sure to keep the zombies away from their house, and the town in general.

Sometimes, Marnie will ask him to deliver stuff to Leah’s house, or Sam’s since they’re awfully close. It feels like a job to him, so he actually enjoys it. He’s surprised to see Elliott at Leah’s and immediately assumes they’re banging. He doesn’t ask any questions, though. He doesn’t care.

Shane probably ends up dying after a tiny mistake that could’ve easily been avoided. He doesn’t see it as that bad, since Jas is still safe. That was all that mattered to him, really. He either dies after a few months, or an entire year into the apocalypse. Either way he does not go down easily.

I would like everyone to know that I wrote these thinking that Lewis holes himself up in his house and does not help anyone out, so they kick him out and elect Alex as mayor. It was a silly thought I had, but then I just went with it.

Alex for Mayor 2020.

It’s not necessarily like, an official position, but they all kinda trust Alex to protect them, so he just assumes the position. He’s not the smartest, which is why Penny was elected to be Vice-Mayor (Alex’s words). They do a good job running the place.

Anyways that’s all! Hope you enjoyed! Sorry this took so long, it was a lot to write hah.

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pitaparka · 4 years

Text

lazy river

request: hell yeah prompt list time! kissing john b in the rain for love and longing? love your content btw summary: it’s been a long time since you’ve been to a water park. jon b knows this, and wants to change that.

pairings: john b. x reader

word count: 1.7k

warnings: super fluffy. real cute. might rot your teeth.

a/n: requests still open! i got an AP exam this week. i also have to finish a create task i’ve had weeks to work on and haven’t, so... wish me luck. big love!

It’s just how you remember it as a child; all funnel cakes and water slides and screaming children and too hot pavement. Exactly where you want to be when summer's in full swing.

Probably the best unofficial date you’ve ever been on.

You don’t know how much money John B. had to save up in order to get you there, but the topping on the cake was his ability to score a free bus ride to and from going with a small church group. You'd never known him to be religious, but it was an eventful ride for the two of you. John B. was playing the role of full blown Christian boy, and it was so hard to hide your smiles and giggles that everyone must've thought you were his even more Christian friend. K-love plagued the speakers, and you and John B. agreed some of it wasn't bad, but most of the kids were insufferably nice, to a point where it was almost disingenuous. Standing in line with them was a pain, but as soon as you were able to, you two booked it off to the umbrellas, searching desperately for two lounge chairs. Maybe even one at this point. Anything really, until you found a small bunch of chairs left secluded by a family whose child was not having a good time. It was a perfect spot right under the umbrella allowing you to spread your towels out and leave the cooler by the chair. John B. was fast to attack the food in there; sandwiches, chips, fruits, cheese. You name it and JJ had gotten (stolen) it from somewhere for you two. “You’re gonna get sick,” you commented, as he scarfed down a sandwich. The smell of sunscreen plagues the area. You rubbed some onto your face. John B. had miraculously thought of everything except spray on sunscreen, so you were forced to either buy some from the gift shop at a ridiculously inflated price, or use the lotion. “Sick shmick. Do you want to go on some rides?” He says, wiping his dirty hands down on his towel. The towel that was supposed to wipe down his wet body. You grimaced, but then he slipped his shirt off and shimmied off his flip flops. He was so well toned and tan already. You can’t imagine him wanting to get any tanner. “Yes I do, actually. Can you get my back first?” You say, and wonder if John B. actually forgot the spray on sunscreen or opted for the lotion instead for this reason. His hands were firm on your shoulders as he applied the sunscreen, rubbing the taut muscle there and going dangerously low down your back. It sends a shiver down your spine and he can so obviously tell because he does it again to gauge your reaction. He ruins it though, by sending you off with a buddy pat on your shoulders. “Let’s do pirates plunge first,” he said, and it made you smile how excited he got. You wondered how long it’s been for him too. “No,” you argue, “we have to work our way up to that.” "Do NOT tell me you're planning on staying in the lazy river the whole time," he said, turning to where the middle aged adults who obliged their children lounged, floating leisurely under bridges and waterfalls. It made him shiver. "It's a great place to tan," you teased, and he glared at you. You smiled, and stretched upward. "You want sunscreen?" You ask, and he looks like he's about to say no, but he nods his head yes. His back is smooth under your hands, and you make sure to lather his shoulders up nicely. You hand him the bottle when you're finished, and he scoffed. "You only did half," he says. "You can do the rest," you assure, and he rolls his eyes, squirting a glob of cream onto his palm before smearing it over his chest. "This kind of half-assery won't be tolerated," he jokes, "I'm going to have to report you to the manager." "Oh please. You're the king of half-assery." He gasps as he rubs his palms down his face, leaving streaks of white there. "How dare you. You're fired." He claims, looking over to one of the smaller two-person slides. You lean over to him and rub in the white with your thumbs, cupping his face a little. He watches your face the whole time, which, you have to admit, is a little creepy. When you're done, you shove him for good measure, before taking off in the other direction. The sun beats down hot on your shoulders, and you two spend hours waiting in lines and talking and spending time together. You could see the burn on John B.'s face and expected you were going to feel the burn too later on that night. It was a blessing whenever clouds rolled through the sky, blocking out the sun for a brief period before she cleared them away. The rides were subpar, but you two didn't notice in the slightest, screaming and yelling at each other down the slides and in tubes. The two of you dodged children and concerned parents and other teenagers, bobbing and weaving in and out of lines. Dripping wet, bodies glistening in the hot sun, you two decided funnel cakes were in order. You stood in line as John B. toweled off by your seats, and he ducked under the belt to stand with you. It got him dirty looks, but he didn't notice. "When are the church kids leaving?" You pondered, stretching on your tip toes to look in front of John B., trying to catch a glimpse of any of them. "In like an hour," he says, glancing up at the big clock poised over the food shack. There was only one in the entire park, which must've been good for business. They were so hot when you got them that the powdered sugar on top was melting. But as you made your way back to your seats, you felt it. “Oh no,” you whine, the water droplets on your bare shoulder. You turn to look at John B., but his gaze is not with yours. His eyes are on the sky, the grey storm clouds rolling in above. You sigh loudly. It’s not like you’re afraid of getting wet. Of all the places to be when it rains, a water park ranks at least in the top ten. But now all the rides were going to be closed. For god knows how long. He looked back down at you, grinning, and then noted your crestfallen expression. He pouted. “Why the long face?” He said, grabbing your chin and shaking it. You jerked away from his grasp to sulk. “Our day is ruined,” you grumbled, walking down in the direction of your chairs, planted conveniently under one of the large umbrellas. He jogged to catch up to you, intertwining his hand with yours. He swings it back and forth childishly. If he could, he’d probably skip down the concrete path to your area. "We have to eat these anyway. It'll probably be done by then," he assured. Much to your dismay, it was not in fact done by then. "That bus is probably going to leave early now," you mused, checking the notification app they made all of you download before you left the bus. “No way. This day’s not over. It’s just getting started,” he said, plucking your phone from your grasp and burying it in the bag he had brought. He left the rest of the conversation to your imagination before he took off running, pulling you in tow. “Hey!” You cried out, but you couldn’t help the giggle rising out of your throat when he stumbled over his own bare feet a little. He hushed you as you caught up to him on the side of the lazy river. There was nobody in it. All the employees were at the front entrance of it, escorting people out. "Wanna do a river run?" He said, slipping down the ladder. Your eyes bulged. "They're gonna kick us out," you said, hopping in after him anyway. You two stood downstream, and waited for tubes. It only took a few seconds before John B. was passing you one, rain falling on his hair and chest. "Now it's cold," you complained, but John B. chastised you. "Stop being a baby. Hang on," he said, standing up for you to grab onto one of the handles of his tube. The lazy river in the rain was a lot more fun than a lazy river in the sunshine. It would only be a few minutes before you reached the front of the ride, where all the workers were stuck trying to collect the tubes. John B. was splashing water at you, and shaking your tube to get you to fall out. You return the favor by flipping him over near the waterfall. He came up sputtering, and in return tried to flip your tube as well, but you latched onto his neck. It was easy for him to support your weight in the water, and he grabbed your legs, wrapping them around his waist as the tubes got away from the two of you. They floated sadly down the river, under the waterfall by themselves. John B. chased them, hands supporting you, your arms wrapped around his neck. He moved slowly towards the waterfall, and threatened to throw you under it. You squealed and pushed yourself up against him as much as you could, cradling his head to your own. If you were going down, so was he. But he stopped just short. You pulled away just a bit, and he was looking at you, eyes intense, smile bright. Your heart skipped a beat and you swear you saw him move closer. You couldn't help but do the same. Until his lips were on yours, moving in sync with you, rain pelting your bodies. His hands were firm underneath you, and you knew he wouldn't let you fall. It had been so long since you realized you wanted to kiss him for the first time. You could settle for him kissing you. "I love you, you know that?" He remarked. You thought it was sweet, until he tossed you under the waterfall. You swear you could hear his laugh from under the water.

#john b x reader #john b x you #john b x y/n #john b outer banks #john b #obx #outerbanks imagines #outerbanks x reader #obx imagine #obx x reader #chase stokes #chase stokes x reader #chase stokes imagine #chase stokes obx #chase stokes x y/n #john b imagine #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank outerbanks

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karajaynetoday · 4 years

Text

still a flicker of hope that you first gave to me | ashton irwin

Hello tumblr pals i hope you are all having a lovely day! Idalis @rawtitty made this post about slow dancing with ashton and my mind ran away with it a little bit, oops! Title comes from flicker by niall horan. Happy reading, lmk what you think!

Word count: 1k

Warnings: none

(This is a gender neutral reader insert blurb)

More writing here | send thoughts/feedback/suggestions here | if you’d like to be on my taglist go here

The first time Ashton asks you to dance, you hesitate. You can feel the stares of your classmates, and hear the snarky comments they’re making to each other.

“Are you… are you sure? Don’t you want to dance with somebody else?” You can barely meet his gaze, as the anxiety overcomes you.

“No, I want to dance with you. You’re my best friend, and I want to dance.” He’s firm, but gentle, and you let him lead you out onto the makeshift dancefloor of your high school gym and settle into each other’s arms.

It feels warm, and like the most natural thing in the world. You don’t have to say anything, because you know Ashton feels it too, as you gently sway from side to side in time with the music.

You both feel a bit out of sorts in your formalwear, but your parents had insisted that tonight would be a milestone you’d regret missing out on. After some half-rate punch and a terrible DJ setlist, you couldn’t quite agree with them just yet, but there was one thing you were glad for. At the end of the school year, Ashton was set to fly to the other side of the world to pursue his lifelong dream of a music career; while you stayed back and started your university degree. You were excited, but also quietly heartbroken, every time you thought about saying goodbye.

“Hey, where are you?” Ashton whispered, like he could tell you were getting drawn into the impending gloominess of his upcoming departure.

“Just thinking. About how different everything is going to be.” You can’t help but drop your face into a frown. Ashton tilts your chin up, and his hazel eyes are searching yours.

“But different can be good. And different doesn’t mean this changes. We’re ride or die, ‘til the end of the line.”

The song ends, but you don’t break apart. Because you’re scared to let Ashton go.

The second time Ashton asks you to dance, you refuse.

You know it’s a peace offering, because he feels guilty for losing touch with you. It was your fault, too, but technically you were the last one who’d sent a message, that Ashton hadn’t replied to. That was three years ago, and yes you were being extremely petty about it, but he’d promised you. Ride or die, ‘til the end of the line. And he broke the promise. And your heart.

But here he was, standing in front of you, in a suit, hand outstretched, red hair brushed back out of his face, hazel eyes pleading with you to say something in response.

“Go on, love! Have a dance. You deserve a bit of fun!” Your mother giggled drunkenly, as she brushed past you on her way to the dancefloor, your disgruntled father following along behind.

You knew coming to the wedding of a childhood friend carried the risk of running into Ashton, but you’d wanted to be there for your friend as they reached this milestone in their life.

“No really, I’m good. Thanks for the offer, though.” You tried to be polite, and turned in your seat to face away from Ashton.

“May I sit?” He already had a hand on the back of the chair next to you as he spoke, and you pursed your lips before nodding, and Ashton sat down.

He started with a gentle apology, and soon you were acknowledging your wrongdoing as well, and there was a flicker of hope in his eyes. Somehow, hours passed, and you sat there chatting like it’d only been days since you’d seen him, rather than years.

Then by some twist of fate, the DJ switches the song over, and it’s the one that was playing in the high school gym all those years ago. This time, it’s your turn to stand up and offer your hand to Ash, which he takes in earnest.

You’re on that dancefloor for three more slow dances, and then the nutbush, and the macarena, and then the Lizzo medley. Ashton keeps checking in, and asking if you’re tired and you want to sit down, but every time you refuse. Because you’re worried if you stop dancing, the magic will disappear, and the gloominess will return.

The third time Ashton asks you to dance, you pretend to be shocked he’s even asking.

“Me? Out of all the people in the room, Ashton Irwin wants to dance with me?” You gasp dramatically, clutching your chest in mock amazement and Ashton rolls his eyes at your antics.

“I mean, I just spent a solid hour standing in front of a room of our family and friends, vowing to love and cherish you for the rest of our days, in sickness and in health, but if you’d prefer to dance with someone else, then I guess that’s fine…” Ashton’s pouting, and he knows you can never resist when he does that.

A quick press of your lips to his and he’s smiling again, and tugging you out onto the dancefloor.

Technically, Ashton had asked you to dance many more times than three. In the kitchen on a Sunday morning, in the backyard on a lazy sunny afternoon, in the quiet of the night in an arena parking lot beside a tour bus, in your bedroom after getting home from a date night at a bar with a fantastic live jazz band. But those were just between you.

There was something about swaying in his arms, surrounded by so many others, but only seeing Ashton and only Ashton, that made you feel like you could slow dance for hours without needing to rest. The flicker of hope he gave you all those years ago, had grown into a flame, that steadily burned within your soul every time he was near.

Ride or die, til the end of the line. The song ends, but you don’t break apart. Because you’re going to be holding onto each other forever.

Taglist: If there’s a line through your name, I couldn’t tag you, so please message me to let me know your new URL or what the go is! @suchalonelysunflower @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @loveroflrh @spicycal @notinthesameguey @metalandboybands @cheekysos @ashton-trash @another-lonely-heart @queenalienscherrypie @becihadshawn @allthestarsandthemoon

#ashton irwin blurb #ashton irwin imagine #ashton irwin one shot #ashton irwin fanfiction #my writing

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babysizedfics · 4 years

Text

Little Accidents, Big Developments

Chapter 1: A Colourful Afternoon

[This is an age regression story]

The sides have successfully integrated Virgil's regression and Roman's age dreaming into their dynamic, and everyone seems happier for it. Though, Virgil's willingness to trust the others is tested when a long-term problem starts to present itself around his family; his regression leaves him susceptible to wetting himself.

Caregivers Patton and Logan try to help him navigate this issue all while navigating their own newly-discovered romantic feelings for each other.

Sibling spats, covert kissing sessions, and baby babbles lie herein.

Other chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / bonus

Read on AO3 or below the cut!

Chapter Summary:

Roman tries to look after his baby brother, Logan learns to let loose a little, Virgil is nervous to be left on his own, and Patton can’t take much more of this adorableness without screeching.

Chapter word count: 9,000

oOo

It was late afternoon in the mindscape and the house had been moderately quiet. There was the faint clattering of pans as Patton cooked in the kitchen, the soft scratching of Virgil’s crayons, and Logan’s quiet snores coming from the couch. They had been the only sounds cutting through the lazy atmosphere, up until Roman started playing with his Disney figurines. The silly voices and impromptu solos he made the characters perform interrupted the calm, though it was such a common sound in the house that no one seemed to notice the change.

Virgil had regressed a few hours earlier and, as usual, Roman’s littlespace quickly followed. There were a variety of reasons Virgil’s regression often inspired Roman to trigger his age dreaming; seeing Virgil act so young sparked the craving for Roman himself to let go of adult responsibilities, plus seeing Virgil’s various baby items such as his plushes and soft clothes made Roman miss his own little items - especially his toys. Also (and probably most of all), the care and affection that Patton and Logan bestowed upon a regressed Virgil did admittedly make Roman jealous. But he had learned that if he only asked for it, he was given the same level of attention, so it no longer upset him as it had previously. Instead of getting angry like he used to, he knew he could just fall into his own littlespace and he and Virgil could both be taken care of without any arguments. Though that afternoon, not much attention was being given to either of them.

Patton had tasked Logan with caregiving duties when he left to make dinner. While the logical side had taken to his caregiving headspace much more readily in the recent weeks, the lull of the afternoon had apparently made him lethargic and he had fallen asleep not long after.

Roman didn’t mind, though. As Virgil’s big brother, that meant that while the caregivers were not in the room (or were unconscious) it was Roman who was in charge! He hadn’t taken to caregiving, and he had no desire to, but he felt a childish giddiness at being given the role of a protector. Even if it was unintentionally handed to him by Logan falling asleep.

But Roman was quickly realising it was a lot harder to look after Virgil than their caregivers made it look.

The littles had both been preoccupied when Patton left, Virgil colouring a picture and Roman playing with his toys. Though, being much more observant and aware in his littlespace than Virgil was, Roman did notice when Patton left. He had tiptoed out quietly, leaving the distracted Virgil unaware of his departure.

Roman knew this was because of how clingy Virgil had become. Ever since they integrated his regression into the family dynamic, Virgil could hardly bear to be away from his Papa’s side for a minute. Logan had said it was something called ‘separation anxiety’ and that it was common for young children. Whatever it was called, Roman still didn’t see why it was worth crying every time their dad left the room. It wasn’t like he went far.

As expected, when Virgil finished his drawing and held it up to where Patton had been sitting, he stiffened on seeing the empty armchair. Roman looked up at the movement and felt his stomach drop when he saw Virgil’s eyes tear up.

He didn’t like it when Virgil cried, partly because it meant he stole all of their caregivers' attention, but mostly because it made Roman’s tummy flip and his throat get all cloggy when he saw his little brother upset. He didn’t like it.

‘It’s okay, Vee,’ Roman said. He dropped his toys and quickly shuffled closer to Virgil on the carpet. Their caregivers had said Virgil needed to be close to someone if he was sad because it helped him feel safer. ‘What’s the matter?’

Virgil’s fingers flew up to tug nervously at the handle of the pacifier that sat in his mouth. His eyes frantically searched around the room.

‘Dad went to make dinner,’ Roman explained. ‘Look, Mom’s still here,’ he pointed at Logan who let out a timely snore.

‘Theep,’ Virgil lisped through his pacifier, sounding upset.

‘Yeah, he’s asleep,’ Roman said, 'but I'm here too.'

The worry stayed on Virgil’s face, and Roman was about to speak again but fell silent when his hand was suddenly covered by something soft and warm. Roman’s gaze fell down to see that Virgil was holding his hand tightly. When he looked back up, Virgil refused to meet his eyes.

Pride surged through Roman. His little brother wanted comfort and was relying on him! He puffed out his chest to look important and tried to think of a way he could help Virgil feel better. He would prove he was just as smart and kind as their caregivers, and then Virgil would love him just as much.

‘Don’t be scared, baby,’ Roman said then twisted his hand around so that he could grip Virgil’s hand back in reassurance. ‘Do you wanna do another colouring?’

A small whimper escaped Virgil as his hand clasped tighter around Roman’s.

‘You wanna stay with me?’ Roman asked and Virgil nodded slightly. ‘Then let’s do a colouring together. We can show Mom when he wakes up and then Dad and they’ll be really happy we played nice together!’

Virgil perked up at the suggestion and Roman was happy to see he didn’t look close to tears anymore. Roman had helped Virgil to stop being scared and came up with a really good way to play together; he was the best big brother ever!

He summoned a large piece of paper, an assortment of coloured markers, and a black fineliner. With the fineliner, he started drawing a complex lined image of an overgrown bush full of leaves and flowers of various shapes. Virgil did not let go of his hand throughout the few minutes it took to finish and Roman was glad his dominant left hand was the one left free to draw.

When it was done, he tipped the coloured pens out of their case and they tumbled unceremoniously onto the floor.

‘You can start colouring that side and I’ll do this side,’ Roman directed, then grabbed a red marker and began adding colour to a rose.

He stopped after a few moments when he realised Virgil hadn’t moved. He looked up with a frown and saw a hesitance in Virgil’s eyes.

‘C’mon, you know how to colour,’ Roman whined in complaint.

Roman thought he had made Virgil feel happy, but now he was just being a scared baby again. And Roman didn’t even know why! He wasn’t good at knowing what was wrong with Virgil, their caregivers were supposed to do that. A faint frustration bubbled in his chest, but he knew to keep it there and not snap at Virgil. That was when things got really frustrating because when Roman yelled, Virgil would cry then Patton got worried and Logan told Roman off for being mean.

‘Why’re you scared?’ Roman asked. Then a thought came to him and he pouted. ‘Do you not like my picture?’

Virgil’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Roman breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Then what? You don’t like using pens? You dunno what colour to use?’ At the last question, Virgil’s hand squeezed and he nodded.

‘That’s silly,’ Roman giggled. Why was Virgil scared about something like that? ‘You can use whatever colour you want.’

‘Bu’ it yours,’ Virgil mumbled, the pacifier garbling his words.

‘Nu-uh,’ Roman shook his head, ‘I made it for both of us. And it’s boring if I choose all the colours, anyway,’ he shrugged then went back to colouring.

After a few seconds, Virgil slowly picked up a purple marker and Roman smiled at him to show that it was good. They coloured together in silence, their hands still joined between them.

A couple of minutes passed before Roman heard a gasp and looked over to see that Virgil’s pen marks had slipped outside of the lines. It wasn’t surprising; Virgil could never stay inside the lines when he coloured. When he first saw the messy work in Virgil’s colouring book, Roman teased him about it but then Virgil got sad and Patton had explained it was because Virgil regresses so young. Roman pointed out that Virgil was also using his wrong hand to colour because he was usually left-handed but Logan told him not to draw attention to it. So Roman apologised and Virgil was never worried about his messy colouring after that.

But for some reason this time Virgil looked like he’d committed an unforgivable crime. His eyes were wide and he had quickly dropped the pen to hide his hands in his sleeves.

‘That looks cool!’ Roman said quickly. He really didn’t want Virgil to start crying again.

Virgil looked like he was scared of him and it made Roman sad. How come Virgil didn’t believe him? He remembered Logan saying something about showing instead of just telling when you’re trying to get someone to understand you, so Roman decided he should show Virgil that colouring outside the lines was okay.

He stabbed his own pen onto the page and purposefully scribbled over the lines. He looked over at Virgil and saw the younger boy look cautiously from the page to Roman.

‘It’s more fun like this,’ Roman assured him. Then he grabbed a different coloured pen and started drawing swirling shapes outside of the lines. It wasn’t a lie - this was way more exciting than trying to be careful with the colours!

Virgil made a noise of understanding then picked up his purple pen and started scribbling randomly too. Soon they were filling the page with a rainbow of colours and shapes and made a silent game of trying to fill up their side of the page faster than the other. The room gradually filled with their growing laughter.

oOo

Logan awoke to the joyful sound of childish giggles.

In any other situation, it would have irritated him to be jolted out of sleep by someone else’s loudness. He heavily relied upon his body to wake him at the perfect stage of his sleep cycle to avoid any grogginess. Logan had made it very clear to the rest of the household a long time ago that they should not wake him unnaturally unless in emergencies. The others certainly didn’t seem to appreciate it on the rare occasion when Logan’s sleep cycle was interrupted and he had been far more impatient than usual.

Though this time Logan did not mind. Blinking his eyes open to see Roman and Virgil laughing together, joined at the hand and smiling brightly immediately dispelled any of Logan’s unsavoury feelings at being woken up. Though realising that he had fallen asleep while he was meant to be looking after the littles did cause him some guilt.

‘I apologise for falling asleep,’ Logan said, readjusting his glasses. ‘Have you two been alright?’

The two looked up at him excitedly.

‘Mom, I looked after Vee while you were asleep!’ Roman cried triumphantly.

‘Thank you, Roman,’ Logan said, ‘it appears you did a wonderful job.’ Both caregivers had realised Roman required a lot of positive reinforcement when he was little, so Logan always made a conscious effort to praise him.

‘Yeah, I did,’ Roman agreed with a big smile.

Virgil released Roman’s hand and stretched his arms out to Logan wordlessly as if he could somehow make them span the length of the living room floor. Logan immediately got up and walked over, settling to kneel on the carpet between both boys.

‘Have you been having fun with your big brother?’ Logan asked as he wrapped an arm around Virgil’s shoulders. Virgil hummed in confirmation and leaned against Logan’s side.

‘Do you like our colouring?’ Roman asked, tugging on Logan’s other arm harshly.

‘There is no need to pull, Roman. Just asking will do,’ Logan reprimanded gently, then looked down at the large piece of paper (A2 size, he noted) in front of him.

The page was decorated in an intricate, hand-drawn floral design, though the colours did not necessarily reflect the image. There were polka dots and spirals and scribbles and doodles of all different hues decorating the edges of the paper, with the middle of it still uncoloured. It was abstract and so something Logan would never normally have seen the point in. Though, he had to admit the disregard for conventionality was rather creative. And the smiles on Roman and Virgil’s faces were enough to convince Logan of the benefits of it.

‘It is rather colourful,’ he said. His neutral response appeared to disappoint Roman, so Logan promptly added, ‘and beautiful.’

‘Thanks, Mom!’ Roman said with a bright smile. ‘This is my side, and that one’s Vee’s,’ he indicated them with his pointer finger.

Logan looked at it more carefully, noticing the contrast between each side of the page. Roman’s colours were much more varied, seemingly using every colour available, and created elegant swirling patterns and smooth gradients. Not a single part of his side was left blank. Virgil’s side was much messier, with less variation in colours - he had used purples and blues mainly with some occasional hints of red. His pen marks were erratic and there were large streaks of white showing through the ink. His colouring was visibly less thought-out than Roman’s, appearing to be far more based on whimsy rather than aesthetics.

A quiet whimper sounded beside him and then Virgil’s face was pressed into his shoulder. Logan realised his quiet deliberation must have made him anxious.

‘The sides are both very different,’ he confirmed, ‘just as you two are very different.’ Virgil’s face pushed further against him. ‘Though they are both equally beautiful.’

He did not have much time to enjoy the look of surprise and delight on Virgil’s face before Roman was jostling his shoulder for attention again.

‘It was my idea!’ he proclaimed. Logan turned his head to him with an exaggerated look of surprise.

‘It was?’ he gasped.

‘Mhm,’ Roman nodded fervently. ‘Vee was nearly crying, so I said we should colour together to make him feel better.’

Logan smiled encouragingly, though tightened his hold around Virgil as he felt the younger side tense. Roman was not exactly delicate when mentioning Virgil’s tears. Still, he did not mean any harm and so there wasn’t much to be done about it.

‘That was very considerate of you,’ Logan said. ‘Your dad will be glad to hear it as well.’

Roman nodded to himself then jumped back into colouring with rekindled fervour.

Logan took the opportunity to give Virgil his undivided attention. It was a rare moment when Roman was occupied enough to not demand it for himself.

‘How are you feeling, Virgil?’ Logan asked, squeezing his shoulder lightly.

Virgil did not offer a response but looked up at Logan expectedly. He was evidently not very verbal at that moment.

‘Do you need anything?’ Logan asked instead, hoping the more direct question would encourage him to communicate.

‘Papa,’ Virgil whispered as soon as Logan finished speaking, the word muffled by his pacifier.

A sharp, unpleasant feeling spiked Logan’s stomach but he chose to ignore it.

‘Shall we go and show Papa the colouring?’ Logan asked.

‘No, it’s not finished yet!’ Roman interrupted.

Logan sighed quietly then turned to see Roman’s pouting face.

‘I believe dinner is almost ready,’ Logan said, going off of the appetising smells that filled the house. ‘And this is a rather large drawing. You may not have time to complete it before your dad sees it.’

‘He can’t see it yet,’ Roman mumbled grumpily. He started colouring again, though this time he was pressing the marker so hard against the paper it made a squeaking sound.

Logan wanted to respond to Roman’s tantrum but felt a gentle tug on his opposite sleeve. He twisted his body to see Virgil shyly holding a marker up to him.

‘For me?’ Logan asked redundantly, taking the pen.

Virgil pointed at the colouring page, his eyes pleading with Logan.

‘Oh, I see,’ Logan said. He considered for a moment then conceded, ‘I suppose I can help.’

Virgil smiled then picked up a pink marker and started scribbling.

Logan popped the cap off of his own pen and started to draw a simple square on the page. As the minutes ticked by, he experimented with various shapes and marks, though eventually settled on writing numbers chronologically. It was calming, and the boys didn’t seem to mind the difference, instead seeming pleased by the wild variation of work on the page.

It did not take long for the page to fill up, and by the time Logan was reaching the 130s their pens were crowding in on each other, fighting over the last few square inches of white paper.

Suddenly, there was a cold, wet swipe on Logan’s hand. With a slight delay, they all realised Virgil had mistakenly drawn over Logan’s hand rather than the paper. The pink pen clattered to the floor as Virgil recoiled from Logan, looking at him anxiously.

‘It’s alright, Virgil,’ Logan hastened to reassure him. ‘It’s only a bit of ink. No cause for worry.’

A mischievous giggle sounded from his other side and another cold tip tickled across his skin, this time on his forearm.

Logan looked over in surprise to see a red crown drawn on his arm. His gaze flitted up to Roman’s challenging smirk. If Roman were an adult at that moment, Logan might have accepted the challenge, but this was a child he was dealing with. He could contain his competitive nature if only to prove he would not sink to such silliness.

‘Highly amusing,’ Logan said, trying to get the right balance of playfulness and sternness in his tone, ‘but we should probably stick to drawing on the -’

He was silenced by a quiet giggle and yet another tickle on his opposite forearm. Virgil was scribbling on his arm happily now. Before Logan could close his gaping mouth, Roman was laughing boisterously and drawing on his arm again.

Logan’s gaze darted between the two impish boys helplessly for a few seconds. Then he raised his pen and said very seriously:

‘You both have made a grave mistake.’

oOo

Patton lifted the wooden spoon to his lips to taste his sauce and smiled at the burst of flavour. Perfect.

He dropped the spoon to the counter and turned off the stovetop. After closing the lid on the saucepan to keep it warm, he checked on the vegetables in the oven. Just a few more minutes and they would be done. Perhaps he could risk just a little bit of playtime with his boys while he waited. He rinsed his hands in the sink then started making his way to the living room, excited to see his family again even if he had only been gone for half an hour.

As he traipsed through the hallway, echoes of laughter became audible and grew louder with every step. Once Patton reached the closed living room door, he almost had to cover his ears from the squeals and joyous shouts that came from inside. He eased the door open silently, not wanting to disturb the fun before he got a chance to observe what exactly had them all so hysterical.

As soon as he poked his head around the door, a wide smile stretched his lips.

Heaped onto the carpet were three writhing bodies; Logan was at the bottom of the pile, his back propped against the front of the couch and his legs splayed out on the floor. They were trying to buck off Roman, who sat on Logan's knees and scribbled a pen over his shins, exposed by his rolled-up pant legs. Then there was Virgil, laid across Logan’s lap and wriggling around as Logan bunched up his sweater and scribbled a pen over his tummy. Virgil was doing his best to retaliate by drawing on Logan’s rosy cheeks, but he was flailing so much from the ticklish scribbling that he could not do much besides giggle and squirm. They were all laughing uncontrollably, gasping for breath as they wrestled playfully with one another.

Patton could hardly believe his eyes and hurriedly took out his phone to snap some pictures so that he would have proof later. The others were so absorbed in their play-fight that they did not notice his presence until Patton put his phone away and finally allowed himself to burst into goofy chuckles along with them.

They slowly seemed to notice the extra set of laughter and ceased their attacks to look over at him. Roman was beaming, appearing delighted that Patton had joined them. Virgil looked shy and curled close to Logan in search of comfort, though Patton could see his dimples and knew he was still smiling behind his pacifier. Logan had completely frozen, his smile dropping from his face within seconds and looking like a deer caught in headlights.

The logical side was so stunned that he startled when Virgil drew a heart on his cheek, evidently taking advantage of Logan’s obliviousness. The sensation shook Logan from his stupor and he looked down at the little in his arms and offered a playful mock glare. When Virgil giggled in response, Logan finally looked back to Patton.

‘They started it,’ he stated very seriously, contrasting the flush on his face.

Roman made a noise of offence and immediately started scribbling on Logan’s leg again. The logical side seemed uncomfortable to continue with Patton in the room, though.

‘That is enough now,’ Logan said. ‘I believe it must be dinnertime given your Dad’s appearance.’ Logan looked up at Patton almost pleadingly and Patton gave him the benefit of the doubt.

‘He’s right, kiddos, time to wash up before dinner!' Patton instructed the children.

Roman groaned loudly and collapsed on the floor by Logan's legs, his prolonged whine becoming muffled by the carpet. Virgil was far more cooperative and held his hands up for Patton to lift him.

Patton complied happily, grasping his arms and hoisting Virgil up to stand. As soon as he was upright, Patton pressed a kiss to his nose. The shorter side made a small sound of surprise.

Logan stood soon after, brushing off wrinkles from his pants. Roman still lay face-down on the floor.

'Come on, little prince,' Patton said. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’

'No,' Roman said stubbornly.

'Playtime is over, Roman, it's dinnertime now,' Logan stated.

'I don't need dinner!'

‘Falsehood.’

'Oh well, I guess Roman won't be coming,' Patton said loudly. Virgil made a noise of worry but Patton stroked his hair gently and winked over at Logan’s concerned look. 'It's a shame... I need a big boy who will help my baby wash his hands. Guess I'll just have to find another brave, handsome prince to help.'

Roman leapt up so fast Patton worried he would collapse from head-rush.

'I can do it, Dad!' he volunteered enthusiastically.

'Oh, thank you, sweetheart!' Patton grinned. He looked to Logan then nodded at Roman pointedly. The logical side nodded, getting the hint.

'Very chivalrous of you, Roman,' Logan praised.

Roman preened at the attention then reached out his hand to Virgil with a bow.

'I shall protect you with my life, young one.'

Virgil slowly reached out and held onto Roman's offered hand but looked up at Patton nervously.

‘I’m going to be right behind you, sweetie,’ Patton said. ‘I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.’

Virgil nodded and, led by Roman, the two toddled into the hallway.

As Logan tried to make his way past him to leave the room, Patton couldn’t help himself from giggling.

'So... They started it, huh?' Patton asked.

Logan paused in his path and fidgeted with his tie, straightening it where it had been misplaced by their play-fight.

‘Yes, well,’ he cleared his throat, ‘childish behaviour is to be expected of them.’

‘And it’s fun to join in,’ Patton added with a knowing smile. ‘Just because we’re the grown-ups doesn’t mean we can’t be playful too, Logan. I’m glad you’re having fun with them.’

Logan blushed though Patton saw a smile work its way onto his lips.

‘It is… invigorating,’ Logan said monotonously, then added with a concealed chuckle, ‘and they are quite endearing.’

‘Aren’t they?’ Patton agreed enthusiastically. He desperately wanted to add that Logan too was endearing in his own right, but something stopped him. Not because he didn’t truly believe it, but because he was frightened of Logan realising just how sincere the thought was.

Logan’s mouth opened and closed in quick succession. Then he seemed to abandon his train of thought with a shy smile. It made Patton feel dizzy.

‘Dinner?’

‘Oh, right,’ Patton shook his head lightly. ‘Forgot,’ he breathed through an awkward laugh.

Patton turned and made his way through the hallway in the direction of the kitchen with Logan close behind. He had a sudden thought, pausing by the bathroom door and gesturing for Logan to go through to the kitchen without him.

As he stood outside the bathroom he heard Roman explaining to Virgil that he had to wait for the water to get warm but not too hot and that he would check it for him so the baby doesn't hurt himself. Patton's heart swelled. He wondered when Roman had gotten so protective of Virgil, but didn’t care to question it at all. It was positively adorable.

He knocked on the bathroom door then eased it open when Roman called him in.

Roman's hand was stuck under the running tap, his t-shirt getting splashed slightly in the process. Virgil waited patiently behind him, still clutching onto his other hand.

‘Sweethearts, can you please use the potty before dinner too?’ Patton asked. ‘You both haven't been since you were big.'

'Okay, Dad,' Roman shrugged.

'Good boys,' Patton smiled then left for the kitchen.

Just as he and Logan served up the dishes, Roman and Virgil rushed into the kitchen. Well, Roman rushed in, Virgil was dragged behind him quite clumsily. Patton instantly noted the tension in the younger side’s shoulders.

'Are you alright, Vee?' Patton frowned.

‘He was too embarrassed to go potty,' Roman said, pointing at him.

Virgil's cheeks flushed and he ducked his head.

‘We don't point, Roman,’ Logan reprimanded.

‘Oh, sorry,’ Roman muttered, lowering his hand.

'It’s alright, sweetie,' Patton said, then turned his attention to the anxious side. He moved over to rub gently at Virgil’s shoulders, willing him to relax them. 'You didn't wanna go with Roman in the room?'

Virgil shook his head quickly.

'Okay, can you go alone for me?'

Virgil's head shook even faster.

Patton frowned and looked up to Logan for help.

'Virgil, can you tell us why you won’t go to the bathroom alone if not with Roman?' Logan asked calmly.

Virgil just whimpered and buried his head against Patton's shoulder. Patton instinctively petted his hair in comfort.

'Don't worry, baby. Come here,' Patton whispered.

He led Virgil by the hand back to the bathroom, noting how Virgil’s grip tightened as they drew closer. They stopped in front of the door and Virgil ducked behind Patton as if hiding from it. Patton would have thought it cute if it weren’t concerning him.

'Are you too scared to go in on your own?' he asked quietly, knowing Virgil would be more embarrassed if everyone could hear them.

Virgil nodded against his back. Patton slowly turned so that he could see Virgil’s reaction, though made sure his body still blocked his view of the bathroom as Virgil wanted.

'Okay, do you want Papa to come with you?'

Virgil's cheeks turned pink and he shook his head.

Patton felt lost on what to do but could see the whole ordeal was causing Virgil some distress, so he decided to drop it for now. If he needed the bathroom after dinner they could address the issue again. He probably just didn’t need it.

‘Alright, sweetheart, you don’t need to,’ Patton brushed his cheek lightly. ‘Shall we go have our dinner?’

Virgil visibly perked up and nodded his agreement, so Patton led them back to the kitchen where Logan had laid everyone’s plates out.

oOo

Dinner passed by easily, with excited chatter about what they had been up to that afternoon - mostly with Roman speaking on both his and Virgil’s behalf.

After they had eaten, Logan went to have a quick shower to wash off the pen ink and, after a lot of bargaining, Patton finally got the boys to agree they too would bathe, but later. Virgil was too young to bathe alone but also too self-conscious to let Patton bathe him. It was clear he wanted to wait until he was grown-up again, so Patton didn’t push the matter with him. The majority of his careful persuasion was directed at Roman, who did not have any issue with bathing alone (since he could come out of his littlespace voluntarily, unlike Virgil) but was simply stubborn. Eventually, he agreed to wash, though only if he could watch an episode of Steven Universe first. Patton didn’t necessarily mind the compromise.

After Logan got back from his shower, Patton and the littles had already watched one episode of the cartoon. As soon as Logan had entered the living room, Roman darted off to take his shower at light speed. He hurried back within minutes, his hair dripping wet, not wanting to miss any more of the show. Patton chuckled to himself at Roman’s dishevelled appearance, his pyjamas ruffled having been shoved on in a hurry. He would never have let anyone see him like that if he were his usual adult self.

Soon, all four of them were settled into the comfy atmosphere as the third episode started up. Patton and Logan both sat in the middle of the couch. There was barely any space between them, though they didn’t acknowledge it aloud. Meanwhile, Roman and Virgil sat cross-legged on the carpet gazing up at the screen.

They seemed to be enjoying the show far more in their younger mindsets: Roman was bouncing lightly and reciting lines along with the characters animatedly. Virgil was much more subdued, though Patton noticed he had been swaying gently from side to side for the past couple of episodes. He was sure it was a sign Virgil was relaxed and enjoying the cartoon.

Patton slowly began to feel the exhaustion seep into his body, suddenly aware of the fact that he hadn’t had much opportunity to relax that day. He truly didn’t mind that Roman and Virgil were somewhat demanding when little, he enjoyed being there for them. But his head felt heavy and, without a moment to reconsider, he let it drop gently to Logan’s shoulder.

He waited with bated breath to see if Logan would protest but was pleasantly surprised when Logan’s arm very gently curled around his back. He smiled and tried not to squeak with the bubble of excitement in his chest.

A few more minutes passed in peace, and Patton wasn’t sure when but his eyes had fallen shut. It was not often the house felt so tranquil.

Then, out of nowhere, Virgil gasped. Patton’s eyes shot open to watch Virgil clumsily jump onto his feet and bolt out of the room without a word. His pacifier tumbled to the ground where he had been sitting just a second ago.

The other three were shocked into silence for a moment.

‘Huh?’ Roman frowned back at his caregivers, his eyes noticeably settling on Patton and Logan’s cuddling. Patton unwrapped himself from Logan with a faint blush, though any embarrassment was far overwhelmed by concern for Virgil.

‘Was there a monster on the show?’ Patton asked.

‘Not at all,’ Logan said, sounding just as bewildered as the other two.

‘I’m going to check on him,’ Patton said as he jumped up and followed after the younger side without hesitation.

He jogged along the hallway with a heavy feeling in his chest, mind racing with worry. The house suddenly felt bigger than usual. When he rounded a corner, his heart stuttered at what he saw.

Virgil was facing away from him, doubled over in the middle of the hallway. From the back of him, it looked as if he was in pain and clutching his stomach.

Patton rushed over to his side in panic.

'Baby, are you okay? What’s -'

He cut himself off when he realised what was happening. Virgil's eyes were wide with fear, his knees trembling, his hands covering his crotch. They failed to conceal the large wet patch that was quickly spreading on his jeans.

'Oh, sweetheart,' Patton cooed sympathetically, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Virgil only just seemed to notice Patton's presence and he startled then quickly ducked his head in shame. His shoulders shook as a puddle gradually formed at his feet.

'It's okay, baby,' Patton whispered, rubbing his hand over Virgil's back. He gently shushed Virgil’s sniffles for a few moments as the boy’s pants and socks quickly became sodden. When the puddle on the floor finally stopped spreading, only a couple of seconds passed before a hoarse sob bounced off the walls.

‘Honey, it’s alright, I promise,’ Patton desperately reassured him.

He wrapped him in a tight hug and Virgil’s hands immediately clutched at the back of Patton’s shirt. The anxious sighed cried into his chest and the sound broke Patton’s heart.

‘It’s just an accident.’ He kissed Virgil’s head. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart.’

Logan’s head suddenly popped around the corner a few feet away, clearly having heard some of the commotion. Patton watched silently as Logan’s eyes fell to the floor and the realisation quickly dawned on him. When he looked up from Virgil’s predicament with a concerned glance, Patton shook his head at him very lightly, not wanting Virgil to feel the movement. He didn’t want to see Virgil even more upset knowing that Logan had been witness to his accident too.

‘Mama is keeping Roman busy in the living room,’ Patton said over Virgil’s head with a pointed look at Logan, ‘and I’m gonna give you a warm bubble bath. Doesn’t that sound nice, baby?’

Logan tiptoed back to the living room without a word.

Unaware of Logan’s brief appearance, Virgil spluttered a little on his tears, the sound muffled against Patton’s shirt. It wasn’t an agreement, but it also wasn’t a denial so Patton took the small victory.

He eased Virgil out of his hold, holding him at an arm’s length as he wiped away his tears. It was pointless, though, as they just continued to fall with Virgil’s shaky breaths. Patton wished he could hold his baby until he stopped crying but he didn’t want Virgil’s skin getting irritated by his wet clothes. Plus, he was sure the poor boy wouldn’t want to be stood in his accident for longer than necessary.

‘Let’s go get you cleaned up,’ Patton smiled softly at him.

He wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders to guide him towards the stairs, silently twirling his pointer finger behind his back. The carpet cleaned itself magically behind them.

Once they had reached Virgil’s bedroom, Patton left Virgil standing by the door while he speedily picked out a pair of underwear and pyjamas for him. He heard Virgil’s soft whimpers and sniffles grow louder and more frequent when he stepped away from him, so he was sure to make quick work of it before his absence upset Virgil any more.

He hurried back to Virgil’s side with the clothes and kissed his forehead tenderly.

‘Good boy, you’re so brave,’ Patton praised. He was forced off of Virgil by a firm head shake.

‘Bad,’ Virgil choked and hid his face in his hands.

Patton’s heart ached.

‘You’re not bad, little one,’ he said, crouching slightly so they were level. ‘It’s not your fault. I should have gotten you to go to the toilet earlier. I’m sorry, baby.’

Virgil shook his head again but didn’t offer any words. Patton assumed he had been pushed into a younger headspace and had gone non-verbal.

He led Virgil to the upstairs bathroom slowly, being careful with each step and rubbing his back soothingly the whole time. When they had reached the door, Virgil’s posture suddenly righted itself and he looked at Patton through his bangs. The older side was shocked to see a strange, distant look in his mismatched eyes.

‘I’m, um,’ Virgil’s voice was still slightly babyish, though there was a forced deepness to it. He quickly cleared his throat and took a deep breath, completely avoiding Patton’s eyes. ‘I-I’m older now. I can do this on my own.’

To say Patton was surprised would have been a severe understatement. Virgil never came out of his headspace so suddenly; even when he had made an effort to end his regression prematurely in the past, Virgil could pretend to be an adult all he wanted but it had been too clear that he was still mentally a child. Right now, he didn’t necessarily sound regressed but there was something wrong about it that Patton couldn’t quite pinpoint.

‘But - Kiddo, are you sure?’ Patton tried not to sound upset, though it was harder to keep the confusion from his voice. ‘You seem a bit off, Stormcloud.’

‘It’s Virgil,’ the anxious side grumbled, then grimaced at his tone. ‘I-I’m sorry, Papa… Patton . Thank you for helping, but…’ He held his arms out for his clothes, still looking at the floor. His hands were shaking.

Patton wordlessly handed the pile of clothes over, not knowing what else to do. He watched dejectedly as Virgil rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut without another word. The lock clicked instantly and Patton took a deep breath before turning away.

As the sound of water running started in the bathroom, Patton wandered through the hallway and into the living room, feeling disturbed by the interaction.

‘Patton, you can’t leave a toddler to bathe alone,’ Logan sounded mildly panicked.

He was sitting on the couch with Roman on the headrest behind him, braiding his hair.

‘He’s not regressed anymore,’ Patton said. Logan looked just as shocked as Patton felt.

‘He’s… But that never happens,’ Logan said, frowning.

Patton didn’t know what else to do except collapse wordlessly onto the couch beside him. He rested his head on Logan’s shoulder with a small sigh.

It wasn’t that he loved Virgil any less when he was an adult - he loved all versions of Virgil equally - but it felt unnatural for the boy to switch between headspaces so suddenly. It must have had something to do with the accident, but if anything Patton would have expected it to push Virgil further into his regressed mindset, not tear him out of it.

‘Is Virgil okay?’ Roman questioned.

‘Of course!’ Patton said in his usual bubbly voice, not believing his own words. ‘He’s just showering. Don’t you worry, little prince.’

‘But I heard crying before. What happened?’ Roman shuffled down from the back of the couch, sitting on the armrest and frowning over at both of them. When neither caregiver responded, Roman sighed. ‘I’m a grown-up now, you can tell me.’

‘Uh,’ Patton stumbled, pushing his face further against Logan’s shoulder as if he could hide from the question.

‘Nothing for you to concern yourself with,’ Logan said easily.

Roman huffed indignantly as he pushed himself off of the armrest and stomped across the room. He flopped into the armchair on the opposite side of the couch, pointedly facing away from Logan with his arms crossed. Patton couldn’t conceal his amused smile. Roman obviously wasn’t as grown-up as he claimed to be.

‘I care about him too,’ Roman mumbled. The pout in his voice was audible.

‘We know you do, kiddo,’ Patton reassured him. He felt guilty for making Roman upset, though he knew it was not a good idea to tell the creative side about what had happened. ‘You’re such a good big brother. It’s just… not polite for us to talk about Virgil without him knowing.’

Roman turned his body to squint suspiciously at them. After a moment, he seemed satisfied and smiled.

‘Okay. Do you like Mom’s hair?’ he asked excitedly.

Shaking off the brief shock from the sudden change in subject, Patton lifted his head from Logan’s shoulder to look at Roman’s handiwork. A braid circled the crown of Logan’s head, intertwined with a few daisies from the backyard.

‘Aww, how beautiful,’ Patton gushed.

He raised his hand to stroke along the strands of hair, twirling some loose tendrils around his fingertips. He wanted to comment on how soft Logan’s hair was but paused when he saw Logan’s shoulders were tense.

‘S-sorry,’ he quickly dropped his hand. ‘Should’ve asked to -’

‘No! No, it’s,’ Logan cleared his throat. Patton swore he could see a faint pink dusting his cheekbones. Logan’s lips twitched into a small smile as he briefly met Patton’s eyes before looking away again. ‘It is… acceptable.’

Patton dropped his head back to Logan’s shoulder, hiding his own blush. He didn’t miss the smug smirk on Roman’s face before he closed his eyes, pretending to take a nap.

A few minutes passed by with only the sound of Steven Universe playing on the TV, supplemented by Roman singing along with a musical number. After the ending credits song, Patton heard the TV click off followed by Roman’s whining protest.

‘We can watch more tomorrow,’ Logan’s voice rumbled through his chest and Patton breathed deeply with the comfort of it. ‘It’s nine o’clock so that means no more screens.’

‘Fine,’ Roman sighed, but Patton knew he wasn’t nearly as put out as he was trying to sound. ‘Can we listen to a book?’

Patton opened his eyes with a smile. It had become an almost nightly ritual for all members of the family to sit together and listen to an audiobook to wind down before bed.

‘Of course,’ Logan said. Patton loved the way Roman’s face brightened.

‘Yay! Ooh, can we have Paddington Bear? No, Winnie-the-Pooh! Oh, wait, wait, wait,’ Roman yelled, clearly getting bombarded by more ideas.

‘Hold on, kiddo,’ Patton laughed, ‘how about we ask Virgil to choose between those two? Then you both made the decision together.’

‘Yeah!’ Roman clapped his hands in excitement then something caught his eye outside the open door. ‘Virge, you’re back! You gotta help me pick a book!’

Patton heard a shuffling outside the room and lifted his head from Logan’s shoulder so he could hear better.

‘Oh, really?’ Virgil’s voice sounded soft and wobbly. ‘Uh, a-actually I’m suddenly tired. So, I-I’m probably gonna…’

‘Oh,’ Roman’s face dropped and his eyes followed what Patton assumed was a retreating Virgil. Roman turned a sorrowful look back on his caregivers. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Patton said honestly, just as confused.

He felt Logan nudge his shoulder and he looked to him in question.

‘I’ll talk to him,’ Logan said.

‘Thank you,’ Patton whispered and shifted to allow Logan to get up.

Logan offered a firm nod then quickly rose to go and follow Virgil.

Watching him leave the room, Patton sighed and hoped Logan would be able to figure out what was going on with Virgil better than he could. For now, Patton just focussed on getting that kicked puppy look off of Roman’s face.

‘How about we get some hot cocoa before your Mom can tell us off about it?’

oOo

Logan walked up to Virgil’s door and knocked gently.

‘Virgil? May I speak to you?’

He spoke quieter than usual, certain that Virgil would likely be in a state of distress from the incident in the hallway. There was a moment of silence before he heard a reply.

‘Yeah, sure,’ Virgil called through the door. His voice was distinctly uneven.

Logan heard a faint sniffling as he pushed the door open and was unsurprised to see Virgil sitting cross-legged on the floor in his softest pyjamas. Minty, his Triceratops plush, was clutched tightly to his chest. As Logan had theorised, Virgil did not look as grown-up as he had had Patton believe.

Logan closed the door behind him gently and lowered himself to kneel on the carpet a few feet in front of Virgil. He thought it was best to leave some space between them so that Virgil did not feel threatened in any way.

‘Patton tells me you’re not regressed anymore,’ Logan said. His doubt must have been obvious in his tone because Virgil immediately bit his lip and looked down to his lap. ‘Is this true?’

‘Dunno,’ Virgil whispered into Minty’s green fur. His voice was minuscule and Logan sighed.

‘Is this because of your accident?’

Virgil’s eyes went wide and welled up, his lip wobbling dangerously. It was all too obvious that he was in no position to have an adult conversation.

‘I don’t think you are grown-up, are you?’ Logan tutted gently. ‘How old are you right now, Virgil?’

The anxious side’s face crumpled and he hid behind his toy with a whimper. Logan quickly moved to kneel beside him, knowing he needed physical comfort.

‘No one is upset with you, I promise,’ Logan said, keeping his tone soft and quiet so as not to overwhelm him. He placed a comforting hand on the side of Virgil’s head and the younger side immediately leaned into the touch. ‘I know you wouldn’t lie to your Papa on purpose. You were just a little confused earlier, weren’t you?’

Virgil nodded into his toy.

‘Can you please tell Mama how old you are?’ Logan asked in his most baby-friendly voice.

Virgil slowly dropped the soft toy, looking up at Logan hesitantly. Eventually, he held up two fingers.

‘Only two? That is quite young,’ Logan said. He smiled encouragingly at Virgil and was happy to see the worry fade away from his gaze. ‘Much too young to be on your own. Do you want to come to listen to a book with me, your Papa, and your big brother?’

Virgil nodded and was millimetres away from sucking on his thumb before Logan quickly intercepted it.

‘Let’s get a pacifier for the baby,’ Logan said.

He patted Virgil’s hand then reached for the soft toy by their legs. He located the zipper sewn into the dinosaur’s back and opened the hidden pocket that was filled with various pacifiers. He held it open in front of Virgil for him to pick, and after a few seconds of deliberation, Virgil pointed to one. Logan took it out and held it in front of him.

‘Can you tell Mama what colour this is, Vee?’ he asked.

When Virgil was regressed, Logan liked to test him on simple questions such as this for several reasons: Firstly, it helped to establish a fun, educational atmosphere that Logan thought would be beneficial to his mental wellbeing. Secondly, it helped Logan to gather a clear idea of Virgil’s mental age at the time going by his speech and knowledge of certain things, proving beneficial to Logan’s understanding of Virgil’s regression. Lastly, it encouraged Virgil to communicate with him, which Logan hoped would be beneficial to their relationship.

‘Boo,’ Virgil muttered with a tiny smile.

‘That’s right, blue.’ Logan smiled back at him, knowing from experience it was an exercise in futility to try to correct his pronunciation.

He popped the pacifier in Virgil’s mouth without any fuss, then placed Minty back on the floor gently.

‘Light blue is your Papa’s favourite colour,’ Logan said. ‘Shall we go and show it to him?’

Virgil nodded and held onto Logan’s hand preemptively. Logan slowly rose from the floor and helped Virgil to do the same. He started to lead the way to the door but was stopped by Virgil tugging back on his hand and whining a little. Logan turned back in concern.

‘Is there a problem?’ he asked, then saw how Virgil’s gaze was fixed on the pile of stuffed animals on his bed. ‘Oh, I see,’ Logan said and walked them over to the heap of soft toys. ‘Can you choose a friend to come and listen to a book with us, Virgil?’

Virgil reached for his black cat plush and held it to his face with a smile, stroking the fur against his cheek.

‘Glad you could join us, Jiji,’ Logan greeted the toy and smiled when Virgil gasped.

Logan never made it obvious that he knew every single one of Virgil and Roman’s toys’ names. It amused him when they were shocked to hear him remember them so he kept up the pretence just to enjoy their endearing sounds of surprise.

Logan led both Virgil and Jiji back to the living room with a light heart.

‘Look who’s back,’ Logan announced as they stepped into the room and saw Virgil blush at the attention, hiding his face against Logan’s arm.

‘Aw, yay!’ Patton smiled brightly. ‘I missed my baby.’

Virgil looked up at Patton then pointed wordlessly to his pacifier. Logan saw a flash of confusion briefly cross Patton’s features.

‘Yes, that’s you,’ Patton said, obviously trying to guess at what Virgil was indicating.

‘Virgil picked his pacifier all by himself,’ Logan supplied with a surreptitious eyebrow raise. ‘Do you like the colour?’

‘Oh, yes!’ Patton said, suddenly understanding what Virgil had wanted to show him. ‘That’s my favourite colour, baby. It’s so pretty!’

Logan felt Virgil fidget under the praise. He shared a fond, amused smile with Patton.

‘Vee, you gotta choose between the two bestest bears ever!’ Roman yelled, all but bouncing in his seat.

‘Yes…’ Logan said but frowned at the high energy in the boy. He had not been so excitable when Logan left, so the logical side grew suspicious of what had caused the change.

Sure enough, his eyes landed on the chocolate coated rim of the Mickey Mouse mug in Roman’s hands. He gasped and shot a reprimanding look over to Patton. The moral side sunk into the couch looking as guilty as ever.

‘Patton, this is the time to wind down, not the time to consume sugar!’

‘But I made some for all of us, Lo,’ Patton countered. He indicated the coffee table where Logan’s NASA mug, Patton’s frog mug, and Virgil’s Jack Skellington mug all sat steaming, filling the air with the rich scent of chocolate. ‘Plus hot cocoa is technically warm milk, so it’s perfect for nighttime.’

Logan felt his reserve breaking when he realised how considerate it was that Patton had made some for everyone, but he remained steely. That is until Patton added with a sly smile:

‘I added a shot of hazelnut syrup to your one.’

Logan pretended to think it over for a few seconds.

‘Alright, I yield.’ He led Virgil over to the couch, encouraging him to sit beside Patton. ‘But Roman really should not be given dairy.’

‘Almond milk,’ Patton corrected with a victorious smile, accepting Virgil into his arms.

‘And Virgil is too young to drink from a mug,’ Logan added.

‘No prob, Bob,’ Roman cut in. He snapped his fingers and the Jack Skellington mug promptly transformed into a baby bottle.

‘Thank you, little prince,’ Logan said. He made sure to pay Roman due attention, knowing how important it was for Roman’s headspace to show that Virgil was not the only one who needed taking care of. ‘Where would you like me to sit?’

Roman’s eyes widened, apparently delighted that he was given such an important decision.

‘Over there,’ Roman pointed to the corner of the couch furthest from Patton. ‘Then I’m gonna sit next to you and Vee!’

Virgil hummed in content from his place beside Patton and nuzzled his face against his papa’s chest.

‘A very good choice,’ Logan said.

Before sitting down he moved over to the coffee table. He handed Patton the baby bottle and moved the frog mug to the corner of the table so it was within Patton’s reach. He nodded when Patton thanked him and grabbed his own mug, moving back to the couch to settle in the corner seat. Roman had already made himself comfortable, his mug empty and abandoned on the floor.

‘What will it be, Virgil?’ Logan asked. ‘A marmalade-obsessed bear from Peru, or a honey-obsessed bear from England?’ He took a sip from his mug and struggled to contain a smile at the warmth that radiated through his chest.

‘Nunny,’ Virgil mumbled through his pacifier.

Patton made an inhuman squeal of affection.

‘Honey,’ Logan echoed, unable to hide his smile now. It was undeniably adorable how Virgil’s speech was impeded by his regression. ‘Are we all ready for Winnie-the-Pooh?’

At the two shouted confirmations from Patton and Roman, Logan pulled out his phone to set up the bluetooth speaker. Within moments Stephen Fry’s voice filled the room with tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.

Roman clumsily wriggled his head under Logan’s arm to force it around his shoulders. Logan sniffed in amusement but acquiesced.

‘Do you want to hold the bottle yourself or do you want me to help you, sweetie?’ Logan heard Patton whispering during the introduction.

He looked over just in time to see Virgil pull Jiji up to hide his face. Patton’s eyes lit up and he giggled quietly.

‘Don’t be shy, baby. Papa’s here to take care of you.’

Patton gently took the pacifier from Virgil’s mouth and placed it on the armrest. Then he pulled Virgil onto his lap and held the bottle up to his lips. It was almost hypnotic seeing how quickly Virgil relaxed into Patton’s embrace, suckling rhythmically at the bottle. His eyes had fallen shut within seconds and a look of pure contentment settled over him.

Roman laughed at a part in the story and Patton looked up at the cheerful sound. He caught Logan watching Virgil and they exchanged soft smiles before Logan looked away again. Roman’s head fell onto his shoulder and Logan closed his eyes in contentment. He leaned back against the headrest, letting the sounds of the room blend into one calming symphony; Virgil’s suckling, Patton’s cooing, Roman’s giggling, and the narration sending him into a blissful sleep.

oOo

Reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated! ♡

AO3 link | Next chapter

#ts agere #sanders sides agere #agere virgil #cg patton #cg logan #ts agere fic #little/big series #little accidents big developments #little/big series fics #agedre roman

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bqstqnbruin · 4 years

Text

Three times he said it as a friend and once as something more

Hello, hello. I’m still working on the Nick Robertson request but wow I don’t want you to hate me for it because it is actual trash right now and I’m sorry. But I’m also working on B&W part 3, so there’s that!

This was requested from that fluffs prompt list, which I think I’m done with now because honestly, it’s so far deep at this point, and I’m so lazy.

I hope you like it!

46. Why should we date?

47. Because we’re attracted to each other

48. I’m attracted to pie, but I do not feel the need to date pie.

__________________________

one

“Next time I see you, I really do expect you to be a professional athlete,” you tell Charlie, the two of you laying on a blanket in his backyard, enjoying the last few hours of sunlight on his last night in town. The next morning, he would be leaving to go to BU to play hockey. It wasn’t even that far, but him not living at home, and you going to school in Vermont meant him no longer driving you to school each morning, you no longer going over with dinner your mom made when she knew he and his parents were running around because of his games, no more walking next door whenever you needed to talk to instead of calling him. The memories would last forever, but those moments were now just part of the past.

“Are you not gonna come see me play at BU at all? What about when we play UVM?” he says, turning his head to look you.

Turning to him, you roll your eyes, “Ok, fine. Then I expect you to be a professional athlete in the next three years.”

“Whatever,” he says, laughing.

You sit there in silence, taking in what is probably one of the last moments for a while that you two will be able to spend a lot of time together.

“Remember how we became friends?” he asks, sitting up.

You follow suit, laughing at the memory that he just triggered. You were neighbors since your family moved to Weymouth, but you weren’t automatically friends because of it. “Well, duh. We sat across from each other in Family Consumer Science. We, of course, always finished the work early because we’re great, and we played pencil hockey for like thirty minutes before Mrs. Grace yelled at us for distracting the other two at our table.”

“The fact that you ever finished your work fast in that class is still amazing. You get distracted by everything and can’t focus on anything.”

“Yeah, well,” you shrug it off. You sit there thinking of all the other good memories you had with him; sitting across from each other in US history and joking about all the mistakes you made while texting, the nights when you would walk around Boston Common once your parents trusted you out on your own, the last minute Bruins tickets he would get and force you to go along with him to the games.

“Did you ever think about what our lives would have been like if we dated?”

“What?” you ask, shocked. There was no way the two of you would ever date. He was destined to be a professional hockey player, traveling the US and Canada with whatever NHL team wanted him. You could never date someone that wasn’t going to be there when you needed them. And you couldn’t ask him to give up your dream for you. Yes, you were overthinking this, but best case scenario is that you had dated throughout high school and ended things tonight.

“Most people thought we were dating, anyway. What if we actually had?”

“Then we probably would have broken up tonight because long distance relationships from high school never work. Look at Andrea and Eric from last year, she went to Holy Cross and he only went to UConn and they could never make it work so they broke up. Or Josh and Maggie two years ago; he went to Ohio and ended up transferring to UMass so he could be with her and he loved Ohio State.”

“Too bad we never even gave it a chance.”

You look at him, shocked. “Did you want to?”

His only response was shrugging, a smile on his face as he lays back down on the blanket. You stay sitting up, thinking about what he just said. Did he want to date you all this time and never said anything until now? And why the hell would he do something like that anyway? You weren’t going to see him until at least Thanksgiving, which means that now you have to hyper fixate on this one memory until you see him again.

“Hey,” he says, snapping you out of it.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

two

Your phone lights up, causing you to tear your eyes away from the essay you had been writing that’s due in a few hours. Due to your great talent for procrastinating, you were, of course, finishing the paper at the last minute. The picture of you two in the Coyle’s front yard on your first day of school in six grade shows up on your screen, meaning Charlie was calling you. It had been forever since the two of you last talked; with you being in school and him trying to make it as a hockey player in Minnesota, your schedules never gave you a free moment to talk for more than a passing moment.

“Hey, stranger,” you say, not hiding the smile on your face even though you were out in public. You hated showing any sort of emotion that would provoke someone to come up to you and start talking to you, but seeing Charlie’s name come up on your phone with something other than a text automatically made you smile.

“Stranger? You know who I am.” You could tell by his voice that he was jokingly acting offended.

“Yeah, you’re Zach Parise, right?” you tease.

You hear the laugh you miss so much on the other end, “How have you been?”

“Uh, stressed, lately, so nothing new.”

“Why?”

“Homework, papers, and exams.”

“Oh, my.” You both start laughing at the accidental joke he made, “Why so much stuff?”

“It’s midterms, babe.”

“So I assume that you’re working right now?”

“Yep, it’s eight pm, the paper is due at midnight and I still have four more pages to write.”

` “I’m so glad that your work ethic hasn’t changed since high school.”

“Ok, rude! I have good work ethic, I just also have strong procrastination skills.”

“You probably have ADHD,” he says.

“Well, yes, but that’s a different story.”

“What’s your weekend look like? I want to catch up when you don’t have a lot of work to do.”

“Uh, I should be good.”

“Alright, get back to the paper.”

“I will. Love ya.”

“Love you, too.”

three

“Oh, come on! We practically live together. You can’t deny that something is going on between us!” Charlie argues, pacing around the kitchen as you make dinner. This conversation between the two of you was becoming a weekly one, slowly getting on your nerves to the point where you would consider moving just to get away from it.

“Because what happens if we break up? We’ve been friends since we were in middle school. Do you really want to throw all that away?” you say, turning to him, putting your hand on your hip.

“I just think we should go out as more than friends just once.”

“And how would that be different than all the other times that we go out together?”

“Because then I could do things like hold your hand and flirt with you?”

“I’m like ninety percent sure you already flirt with me.”

“Y/N.”

“Why should we date, Charlie?”

“Because we’re attracted to each other?”

“And I’m attracted to pie, but I do not feel the need to date pie,” you roll your eyes, turning your attention back to the stove.

“You’re seriously equating me to pie right now? I have never seen you eat pie, therefore, that argument is invalid.”

“Since when do you say things like therefore, and invalid?”

“Seriously, Y/N. You know I have wanted to date you since we were in middle school, but something always came up. You know I love you. You know I always have.”

You turn back to him, trying to make eye contact, but something in you just can’t. Your timing was never right. Once you were old enough to date, the two of you were never single at the same time. Actually, that isn’t true. You were both single for a brief period of time while he was playing with the Sea Dogs and you were still at UVM. This was the first time that both of you were single and in the same town.

“Charlie, you know that I love you, too. But this can not happen. We can’t risk breaking up and ruining what we have.”

He exhales, obviously disappointed. You were, too, but you couldn’t let that show. You wanted nothing more than to be with him, but you couldn’t let all those years of friendship go away if things didn’t work out between the two of you. “Fine.”

once

“Remember when you wouldn’t date me?” he asks over the sound of everyone around you.

“Remember when you were less annoying?” you roll your eyes. You look around to see so many other couples and families filling in the tables around you. Everyone looked so happy, just like you were.

You and Charlie had been together now for a year, him finally wearing you down and convincing you to let him take you on a date. He promised you that even if you stopped dating, your friendship would never end because, at this point, you were in too deep anyway. He told you he had this whole evening planned for your anniversary, complete with a walk around the Boston Common like you used to do when you were kids, dinner at Terramia, your favorite restaurant, and for dessert, he was taking you to Mike’s Pastries for the cannoli you loved so much.

“No, never,” he smirks, reaching out across the table to take your hand.

You had to admit, all the things he had said trying to convince you to date him were right; nothing was really that different between the two of you besides the intimacy that wasn’t there before. “You’re never letting me live that down, are you?”

“No.”

You roll your eyes at him. You didn’t want to inflate the ego of the man who didn’t even know how to use the oven by telling him he was right that you two dating was fine.

“Hey,” he says, like that last night before he went off to college.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

You smile, thinking back to all those times you told each other those three words, them meaning something completely platonic. “I love you, too.”

#charlie coyle #charlie coyle imagines #boston bruins #boston bruins imagines #bruins #bruins imagines #hockey #hockey imagines #nhl #nhl imagines #i think it might be cheating since i used them all in a row i'm sorry oops

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summerohnine · 4 years

Text

you bring me home

warnings: none

word count: 2.7k

summary: harry’s homesick while on tour and louis comforts him.

[read on ao3]

The tips of Harry’s fingers stung from where he’d bitten off the white parts of his nails, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as he continued to gnaw at the aching skin. His mind raced with too many thoughts to really pay any attention to the pain. It was only when a particularly rough bite tore the skin a bit too much and caused blood to seep out onto his tongue that he was brought back to reality and finally brought his hands down to his lap.

He looked around, then, at the walls tightly surrounding him in his too-small bunk. He thought of where he was. America. Somewhere in Colorado by now, I’d bet. Not that it really mattered where in America. What mattered is where he wasn’t, which was home. And not just his flat in London, which was beautiful and much more than Harry had ever thought he’d own. No, he wanted to be home, in Holmes Chapel with his mum and sister, getting woken up by Gemma smacking a pillow across his face because “Mum says it’s your turn to take the trash out.”

Harry loved his boys, and they were as much a family to him as his actual relatives were, but he missed home. The ache was always there, however it was usually distant and easy enough for Harry to distract himself from by playing a round of FIFA with Niall or cuddling up next to Louis (sometimes he even got away with doing both simultaneously, despite the dramatic eyerolls from Liam and teasing from Niall and Zayn).

Sometimes, though, the longing overtook him. It was always at night, when everyone else was asleep and Harry was left alone with his thoughts, too polite to wake any of the boys up, including his own boyfriend. Though he knew Louis would be more than willing to comfort him, Harry could never bring himself to wake Louis at times like this. He felt selfish, and almost humiliated at the thought. What 19-year-old needed to be held in the middle of the night because he missed his mum? It was childish.

Not that he thought Louis would judge him for it. Harry was well aware that Louis got his own bouts of homesickness, as Harry had been the one to stay up with him and run his fingers through his hair, rocking him back and forth as he struggled to find the words to express how he felt. But it made sense for Louis to miss home. He had little sisters that he had been taking care of for years, and he wasn’t used to not knowing what was going on with them. He was missing so many of their firsts, things that Louis had been waiting to experience for so long. But Harry was just a pathetic little kid whining for his mum. It wasn’t the same.

Frustrated, Harry finally forced himself out of his bunk and walked into the small kitchen on the bus. He searched for his phone in the dark, which had been plugged in on the cluttered countertop. He looked at the time, half-past three in the morning. His mum should be awake by now at home. Would it make it worse to give her a call? Or would hearing her voice be the one thing Harry needed to put himself at ease?

Without any other options, Harry rang her.

No answer.

When the call went to voicemail, the lump that Harry hadn’t yet noticed in his throat grew. He coughed lightly, willing it to go away, before the beep sounded indicating he could leave his message.

“Hi, Mum,” he said weakly into the phone, his voice thick from fatigue and disappointment. “I-it’s Harry. Well, you knew that. Um, anyways.” He let out a short laugh that caught in his throat and threatened to turn into a sob. It was much louder than he intended, but he hoped no one had heard. “I just, I wanted to tell you that I miss you and Gem, a lot, and, uh, I-I’m sorry I haven’t gotten the chance to call in the last few days.” He spoke slowly, careful to make sure he was forming coherent sentences because he was beyond tired and it was difficult for his brain to fully process what he was saying. Tears threatened to spill out from his eyes, and he was sure the slight quiver in his voice would give it away when his mum listened back to the voicemail. “I’m going to try and get some sleep, but give me a call when you can later on today. If you get the chance to talk to Gemma before me, ask her to call me, okay?” He sniffed, and he knew that there was no point in hiding the obvious pain in his voice anymore. “Love you, Mum. See you soon.” His voice shook at that last sentence, and it took everything in him to hold in his sob until he had hung up.

As soon as he set his phone down, he collapsed to the ground. He clutched at his stomach and tried his hardest to bury his face into his knees as an attempt to muffle the sounds of his cries. It must not have worked as well as he thought (or maybe Louis just had a sixth sense to know when Harry needed him), because almost as soon as Harry’s butt hit the ground, Louis came shuffling down the hall to see what was the matter.

Harry heard the unmistakable sound of Louis’ footsteps getting closer, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. He didn’t want to see the look of pity that was sure to be on Louis’ face, he already felt embarrassed enough. Harry wanted to hang on to what little bit of dignity he had left.

“Oh, Haz,” Louis murmured, sinking down next to Harry on the floor and surrounding him with his arms. Harry buried his face into Louis’ neck instinctively and let himself sob into his shoulder, dignity be damned.

Harry didn’t even want to think about what a mess he probably looked, tears and snot running down his face and soaking into the soft cotton of Louis’ shirt. Harry knew Louis couldn’t give two fucks about him ruining his cheap shirt, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit bad.

Louis scratched at Harry’s back as he continued to shake with sobs. The noise was starting to die down a bit, but only because Harry couldn’t breathe enough to get anything out other than a few wheezes. His head began to go dizzy from the lack of oxygen, which Louis must have been able to sense.

“Love, you have to take a few deep breaths,” Louis whispered into Harry’s ear, grabbing his face with both of his hands and rubbing at his still shut eyes with his thumbs. “For me, please?”

At that, Harry managed to open his eyes for the first time since he’d hung up the phone. His vision was blurred, but even through the tears he could tell that Louis was extremely worried. After a minute or so of Louis softly repeating, “In-two-three, out-two-three,” Harry was able to get his breathing somewhat back to normal.

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing Harry said when he was able to form words again. His voice shook as tears that he had been too lazy to wipe away collected at the corners of his mouth. Louis kissed them away.

Against Harry’s mouth, Louis whispered, “Sorry for what?”

Despite every part of him telling him not to, Harry pulled away from Louis’ mouth and looked him in the eyes for the first time. Louis’ hands remained on either side of Harry’s face, gently wiping each tear as they continued to fall from his eyes. He sniffed. “For waking you up.”

“You didn’t,” Louis responded instantly.

“Don’t lie.”

Louis sighed, staring into Harry’s eyes and searching for something, though Harry wasn’t sure what. “I’d been awake for a while,” he admitted. “I could tell from your breathing that you weren’t asleep.”

“That’s kind of creepy.” Harry laughed, which surprised him a bit. Louis smiled and leaned in to peck him on the cheek.

“What can I say? I’m sort of obsessed with you.” Harry allowed his lips to turn up into a slight smile, but didn’t say anything because he could tell Louis wanted to say more. Louis took a breath, the gentle smile on his face fading into something of concern. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry thought about it. He did want to talk about it. But what would he even say? Anything he thought of saying just sounded pathetic. He didn’t want to sound ungrateful for the life he’s living. It’s all he’s ever dreamed of--getting to perform with his three best friends and the love of his life, to fans who loved them for who they were and not for their looks or the fake personas forced upon them by the media. It was a lot to process sometimes, but it was all amazing.

But he missed the simpler parts of his life, from before any of this ever took off. He missed lazy mornings spent watching cartoons with his sister that they were both much too old to admit they enjoyed. He missed making trips to the grocery store and running into people he knew who actually wanted to talk to him, not just scream and take a few pictures. And, most of all, he missed being able to curl up in his mum’s lap and let her play with his hair like when he was younger. He missed the quick kiss on the cheek she would give him before leaving for school, and the notes she’d pack in his lunch that he pretended to be embarrassed by but secretly kept tucked away in a little shoebox under his bed.

But how was Harry supposed to articulate all of that at nearly four in the morning, with his foggy brain and head that was inches away from falling limply to rest on Louis’ shoulder so he could rest?

“Don’t know how,” Harry finally responded, looking down at his hands that had somehow found their way to clutch the material of Louis’ shirt.

As if Louis could read Harry’s mind, he untangled himself from Harry’s limbs and stood up from the floor, holding his hand out for Harry to take, then said, “Wanna get some sleep and talk about it in the morning?” Harry just nodded before taking Louis’ outstretched hand and using it to pull himself up.

Louis began to lead Harry back to their respective bunks, but Harry hesitated before they could make it much farther than a few steps. Louis turned to face Harry and stepped closer to him, not letting go of his hand in the process.

“What is it, love?”

Harry chewed at his bottom lip, oddly nervous to ask for something that they had done countless times before. He looked down at their clasped hands and rubbed his thumb along the smooth stretch of skin across Louis’ knuckles. Finally, looking up at Louis through his lashes, he managed to speak.

“Will you sleep with me?” It came out as barely more than a whisper, Harry’s lips hardly moving as he spoke. He wasn’t sure why he had been so scared to ask--they’d done much more together, after all--but something about Harry’s fragile mental state made it difficult to force the words from his lips.

It’d been longer than they both liked since they’d last gotten to properly sleep together. They tried to limit it to only when they were in hotels, because as much as Harry loved Louis, he also loved having enough room to spread out in bed and that just wasn’t possible with both of them in one of those tour bus bunks. But Harry couldn’t care less about that tonight. He just needed to be held.

Louis reached up on his toes to place a kiss on Harry’s forehead, a task that would have been much easier less than a year ago, but somehow Harry had managed to grow taller than him without Louis even noticing. “Of course.”

Instead of attempting to squeeze both of them into one of their tiny bunks, Louis just grabbed a few blankets from his bed and pulled Harry to the couch at the back of the bus. It was still rather small and they would definitely both have sore backs the next morning from sleeping on the stiff cushions, but they didn’t mind.

Louis gently wrapped one of the blankets around Harry’s shoulders and pulled him down onto the couch. He fit his arms around Harry’s torso and settled so his lips were right behind the younger boy’s ear. Harry easily settled into the weight of Louis surrounding him, loving the way Louis’ breath tickled his neck. A leg came and swung itself over Harry’s hip, and Louis shifted to breathe in the smell of his hair as he pulled Harry impossibly closer.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Harry didn’t really mean to say it out loud, but it slipped out of his mouth before he even realized it had happened, the words barely more than a whisper but enough that Louis heard.

“Harry…” Louis breathed, lifting himself up on one arm so he could look down at the younger boy. Harry turned his head to meet Louis’ gaze. Louis brought a hand up to tuck a stray curl behind Harry’s ear, then leaned in close so their noses almost touched. “You didn’t have to do anything. Just existing was enough.”

Not knowing what to say, Harry just reached up and closed the distance between him and Louis, their lips fitting together perfectly. It was a slow, patient kiss. Their lips moved in sync, just as they always did, and it was comforting. Louis’ hand moved to caress Harry’s cheek before he pulled away. Harry watched as Louis’ eyes roamed around his face, as if he were attempting to memorize every feature. The corners of Louis’ mouth pulled up into a soft smile when their eyes finally met, and Harry felt his heart flutter. Three years, and he still had that effect on him. Harry wondered if it would ever go away.

He hoped not.

“Are you feeling any better?” Louis asked, breaking the silence.

Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. “A bit, yeah.”

Louis bent down to leave a peck on the tip of Harry’s nose. “Good, that’s good. Y’know, Haz, you can talk to me about this kind of stuff, okay? I know what it’s like to miss home, and you know that. And I hate the thought of you hurting on your own.”

“I know, Louis, I do. I just, I don’t know, I feel annoying bothering you with stuff like that. Makes me feel like a burden.” The last part came out mumbled, but Louis understood.

“You’ll never be a burden, Harry.”

“I know, I just--shit.” Harry dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, tears blurring his vision once again. He couldn’t help but laugh pathetically at himself. Harry kept his hands over his eyes as he spoke. “Can we just talk about it in the morning? It’s too much for me right now.”

Harry could tell Louis didn’t want to wait, and it was understandable. If Harry were in Louis’ position, he’d feel the same. But Louis knew not to push it. “Sure, love.”

Harry waited for Louis to move back to laying down behind him, but instead he felt Louis tugging gently at Harry’s wrists. Reluctantly, Harry moved his hands away from his eyes.

Once Louis had Harry’s eyes locked on him, he said, “I love you. And I’m here. Always will be. You know that, right?”

Harry nodded. “Of course I do.”

“Good.”

“I love you, too. So much, Louis.”

“I know.”

Finally, Louis settled back down into their previous position, his left hand finding Harry’s and tangling their fingers together.

Harry brought both of their hands up to his lips and placed a kiss on Louis’ knuckles. After just a few minutes, Louis’ breathing evened out and his limbs hung heavily over Harry’s figure. Harry felt himself relax more than he’d been able to at all in the past few weeks against Louis’ sleeping body.

Maybe this was home.

reblogs/comments are appreciated!!

#this is my first larry fic oh my #i have no idea how this will go #anyways hope you liked it!!#larry stylinson #larry stylinson fanfiction #larry fanfiction #larry fic rec #hljournal #1dsource #hlcreators #skdfjsldf idk what tags people look at im so new rip #my fics #yourlarrysource

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aviss · 4 years

Note

For the short fic ask, would you be interested in writing 50 "Going through a divorce" for Jaime and Brienne?

Thanks for the prompt! To compensate by the fact I can’t write short and it took me longer than I thought, I seem to have tried to shove every single trope I could find into this one.

The documents arrived just on the day they had agreed as Jaime knew they would. He was left standing with his back to the door of his brand new and empty flat with his hands holding the paper that was supposed to cleanly sever the most important relationship of his life.

No-fault divorce, as painless and bloodless as they had planned, laughing, two years ago while they drank Tyrion's excellent wine.

This didn't feel painless to Jaime.

It had been a great idea like all of Tyrion's ideas always were, and it had backfired and exploded on Jaime's face like they usually did.

"You two are already more married than most couples," Tyrion had said waving his glass around, the wine sloshing dangerously, his voice slightly slurred. "You get your father off your back for a while," he'd said pointing at Brienne, "and you'll get Aunt Genna off yours and fulfil the terms of the inheritance." The inheritance, his father's last laugh. Jaime cared nothing for the family fortune, he had his own money but unless he married before his thirtieth birthday neither of Tywin's children would inherit a gold dragon. Tywin had known he would do it for Tyrion, if not himself, and was manipulating Jaime even from beyond the grave. "You forget to sign a prenup, stay married for two years, and at the end of it you have the last fuck you for the old man by giving half of it to Brienne so she can donate it to kitties or dolphins or whatever the fuck she wants."

It had felt like such a good idea just then. Brienne had laughed, eyes sparkling and Jaime had lifted his glass on a toast.

"Ms. Lannister," he had said, clinking his glass with hers.

"Mr. Tarth," she had countered, her voice raspy and low and so amused.

"See, you guys will be fine." Tyrion had joined his glass to theirs and they had all downed their glasses.

Jaime and Brienne had married the following week, just the two of them in front of a judge signing some documents, and it had been fine. It had been more than fine, nothing had significantly changed as they had been living together for a couple of years already. They still had their own rooms but shared everything else, they still had their arguments about silly stuff and they still went out together more often than apart.

Brienne still scolded Jaime for leaving his dirty dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher, except now she would say, "I don't know why I married you, you'll be sleeping on the couch for a week," and they would both laugh at that.

Jaime still would drink the sludge she made in the mornings pretending to be coffee and moan about it. "I should have chosen a more skilled wife."

Brienne always cuffed him over the head for that. "Then make your own coffee, you lazy husband."

"I should have married a less violent wife," Jaime would moan between fits of laughter.

It became their go-to joke when they were watching TV and fighting for the remote, when they were running in the mornings and met the neighbours, or when they got back home after work and Jaime would say, "Darling, I'm home," and Brienne would throw whatever she had at hand at his head.

It was perfect for a year and a half, it was everything Jaime had always wanted in a relationship and if sometimes he looked at Brienne, pressed against his side on the couch snoring lightly while pretending to still watch a movie, and felt the urge to kiss her, well that was just to be expected.

They were husband and wife, it was normal to want to kiss your wife.

Then they got drunk during Brienne's birthday dinner and woke up together in Jaime's bed, without clothes and without memories of how they got there. At least Jaime couldn't remember. He tried to laugh it off, though there was a weight settling in his stomach when he saw her horrified expression.

They had obviously had sex, and it was just as obvious that Brienne regretted it, if the way she looked at him and the haste with which she fled his room were any indication. The only thing Jaime regretted was that he didn't remember making love to Brienne. He had not known how much he wanted it until now, and it was clear there would be no repeat performance.

He had missed his chance, but at least he still had his friend.

Or so he had told himself, for the first time since they had met in college, he was feeling awkward around Brienne and couldn't meet her eyes.

The awkwardness didn't disappear during the first few days, no matter how hard Jaime tried. He made the effort of behaving exactly the same way as he had done before, going out for a run in the mornings with Brienne though the conversation was now strained instead of easy, and Brienne always steered them away from their neighbours. He would plan movie nights like before, buying their favourite snacks, but Brienne always had plans with other friends lately. They hadn't shared the couch since that night, not they had shared a touch, when before they would brush against each other and rest together continuously.

One morning, he complained about the coffee as always but Brienne didn't cuff him or follow the joke.

"Sorry I can't make it any other way, you shouldn't drink it if it's that bad," Brienne snapped at him, her voice sharp though she wasn't looking at him. Jaime froze, the smile falling from his lips and the weight in his gut increasing.

The next morning she didn't make any coffee and Jaime felt the loss as more than the awful sludge.

"Darling, I'm home," he said coming back one night and seeing that Brienne was home, a desperate hope things could be back to normal. It was becoming a rare sight to come home to her dancing in the kitchen while she cooked, or sprawled on the couch with a book. More often than not she was already in her room, the door closed like a barrier between the two of them Jaime didn't know how to break.

Brienne's head snapped up and she stared at him with wounded eyes right before she closed her book and stood from the couch. "Can't you stop it? It's not funny," she said, and that was all Jaime could stand.

He missed his best friend, it had been two months since that night and it felt like he had lost her, completely. Awkwardness he could understand, and he'd been trying to get past it, but Brienne was at points sad and angry, she had been withdrawing from him, and Jaime didn't know what to do anymore to stop it. "You used to think it was," he said, taking off his coat and hanging it on the back of the chair, something she would always scold him for. Brienne narrowed her eyes at it but said nothing. "Talk to me, Brienne. Don't go back to your room and hide there."

She crossed her arms over her chest, tense, braced for impact. "I don't think I want to do this anymore."

"This?" he asked, though he knew what she meant. He just didn't want to believe it, "you mean us? Because of that night."

"Yes."

"Did I--" he started to ask, unsure of how to continue. He had no memories, as much as he would have loved to, of that night. He had tried, every single night since then to recall the taste of her lips and the feel of her body, he had tried to remember whether she had moaned or sighed, and if she had held him as tight as he wanted to hold her. But maybe it hadn't been like that. "Did I hurt you?"

Her eyes softened a bit at that. "No, not like that." She sighed, her mouth turning down at the corners. "It's not--I--you don't." She stopped and swallowed and Jaime waited for her to continue.

"Then why?" He asked when it was obvious she wasn't going to say anything else, he didn't understand. "I miss you, I miss my friend, why can't things be like before?" He wouldn't push for more if he could have their old relationship back. He could be, if not happy, at least content with it.

Brienne looked like she was about to cry but turned and went to her room before she did. "I'm sorry, I can't."

She had gone to stay with Margaery the next day and Jaime had moved out of their apartment.

He had made sure it went to her in the divorce settlement, along with half of everything he had. He would give it all, all of Tywin's misbegotten fortune and his own on top, if he could get his best friend back. He looked at the papers in his hand and sighed, checking them again, then paused.

Jaime scanned the paperwork and saw all the changes she had made. Brienne had refused the money and properties that he had stipulated, had only requested things with sentimental value, like the painting of the Blue Knight Jaime had bought for her years ago. She had signed the papers and there were smudges where her name was, the ink spreading in a circular pattern which looked suspiciously like tear marks.

She had been crying.

Maybe, Jaime dared hope, she missed him just as much as he missed her. Maybe he had been mistaken and she hadn't regretted sleeping with him because she didn't love him but because she did, and his trying to make it as if nothing had changed has hurt her. Maybe he was grasping at straws, but what did he care? He had already lost Brienne.

Jaime was knocking on the door of his own flat ten minutes later, still short of breath because he'd not had the patience to wait for the lift. The door was wrenched open on the second round of knocking, "I've told you I'm fine, Marg," Brienne said before she closed her mouth with a click. She didn't look fine, she looked as miserable as Jaime felt. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose runny and her mouth downturned. She was the best thing he had ever seen. "Jaime."

He pushed the divorce papers against her chest. "I don't want to sign them," Jaime said, not giving her the chance to say anything else. "I want my best friend back, but more than that, I want my wife back. I'm sorry I was so dense and didn't realize I loved you before I married you, but now that I know I don't want to leave. These last months have been awful." Her eyes were impossibly wide and there was a new light coming to them, one that had been missing since that night. "Do you want to stay married to me? This time for real?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, closing the door and pushing him against it. She then pressed her lips against his and kissed him, long and deep, Jaime clinging to her for dear life. There was no way he didn't remember this one.

She pulled back and pressed her forehead against his, smiling. "I do."

#jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #short fic prompt #my fic #seethemflying

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toeil · 4 years

Text

summer is over, and so are we. [3] ↠ jung jaehyun

[pt.1] [pt.2]

➹ jaehyun x reader ➹ genre: angst, fluff ➹ word count: 3,385

➹ summary: He introduced you to a warm summer you thought you would never have to leave. Yet, here you are, in the middle of a ruthless winter which’s ending seems to be nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Doyoung?” Johnny dropped down onto your couch, spreading out his limbs.

“He’s staying at Taeyong’s.” You replied before walking into your kitchen to grab two beers. When you returned Johnny was sitting upright, his face showcasing his concern, “again? Why?” You handed him his can before taking a seat next to him, “We had a fight.”

“About what?”

“The dishes.”

“...What?” He stared at you incredulously as you flipped through the tv channels. “Wait y/n, are you joking?”

You dropped the hand that was holding the tv remote in your lap and turned your body towards him, “nope! He turned my simple question about the stupid fucking dirty dishes into an argument and then just fucking left. He sent me a text while we were at the store saying he was going to stay over Taeyong’s.” You scoffed and leaned back on the couch, going back to flipping through the tv channels. “Stupid idiot.”

“y/n hold on, wait, I’m so confused? You just let him leave over that?”

“Yes I did. What else was I supposed to do!?He does this every goddamn day!!” You took a deep breath and then let your voice lower into a soft whisper, “what else was I supposed to do?”

“Wh-”

“Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now, okay? Just...please drop it.

Things never got to this extent with Jaehyun, and you couldn’t help but wonder why it did with Doyoung.

Today was Johnny and Ten’s anniversary party and as soon as you arrived with Doyoung, you were drawn to the bar they had set up and spent most of your time there, only leaving when Johnny or Ten dragged you away. Eventually you’d find your way back there anyway. Now you were home, currently leaning against your bathroom sink just in case your body decided to purge your guts out again.

“Go away.” The moment you saw Doyoung entering the bathroom, you instantly turned your face away to stare at the products littering the bathtub. He stepped forward and set a water bottle down next to you before moving back to the doorframe, “what’s wrong with you? Why would you drink so much?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, drink the water and then let’s go to bed.” His voice sounded distant, the once sweet and gentle tone that coated it no longer there. It was hard to catch at times, but it was tinged with a sort of coldness now. You knew he wasn’t standing in the bathroom right now because he wanted to. No, it was because he felt obligated to. You were his wife after all and he felt a sense of responsibility for you because of it. Not to mention that small amount of guilt that kept nagging him at the back of his head.

“I’ll throw up again.”

“You threw everything up at the party, there isn’t anything left. Drink the water.” He wasn’t wrong, but you didn’t want to be with him right now and this was the perfect excuse to try and be alone. Even if it’s just for a little while.

He called out your name sternly and glared at the back of your head briefly before letting out a short breath, “why can’t you just listen to me sometimes?” You lifted yourself up away from the sink and turned towards him with a sigh, allowing your eyes to meet his, “why don’t you just say it?”

“Say what?”

“That you don’t love me anymore.” Your voice was weak, barely above a whisper but he heard you loud and clear. It was obvious by the way his eyes widened, standing completely frozen to his spot.

“You know I can’t do it.”

“Do what?” His voice lowered to a whisper too.

“Tell you I want to end it. I can’t do it because…” your voice started to crack as your eyes began to tear up, blurring your vision of Doyoung, “because...I can’t because...because I still love you. You don’t want to say it because you want me to, right? That’s why you’re always picking fights with me over nothing, hoping that my patience would run thin and I’d eventually get fed up with you and then want to call it quits. But I just fucking can’t. So just...let go of your ‘I’m too nice of a guy’ bullshit and say it.”

He opened his mouth, wanting nothing more than to deny your accusations. He’d be lying if he did, thought. He has never lied to you and he never would. He had promised himself that from the very beginning because he knew better than to build a relationship with secrets and lies. Maybe that was one of the many things you loved most about him, how truthful and honest he had always been with you about everything. Except for this one thing that was probably the most important thing of all.

His gaze fell to the floor, finding it difficult to watch you, “it just feels different. It’s not...it’s not the same anymore between you and me. B-but we can work through it, can’t we? You said you still love me so...we can fix this. Maybe couples therapy can help us?”

“Do you still love me?”

“y/n-” His eyes shot up finding their way back to you, almost pleading you to stop.

“Answer the question.”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Then there’s your answer. We can’t work through this because trying to would be like forcing you to have feelings that are no longer there and I can’t do that to you...it doesn’t matter if I still love you.”

After a long period of silence he spoke up again, “so it’s really over?”

“...It’s really over.”

Last month you and Doyoung had filed for divorce and last week it had finally been decreed. You moved out two weeks after that night in the bathroom. Moving in only took you a day, but finding a suitable apartment was what took you the longest. You didn’t tell family or your close friends until a week after filing for the divorce, the only reason for taking so long being that you knew they’d ask questions and you nor Doyoung were feeling up to answering them. If you told them before filing, they’d want to meddle in and try to get you two to reconsider and those suckers have a way with their words so there was a possibility that they’d be able to convince you two you could save your marriage. So you decided it would be better to wait until the ball was officially rolling and there’d be no way to undo it.

The hardest part about this whole thing was learning to be alone but not lonely. You had spent the last six years of your life with Doyoung. Four years of dating, one year of being engaged, and another year of being married. You got used to him in your everyday life so quickly and now having to adjust without him made you want to coop yourself up in your room all day to avoid your responsibilities.

But as you began to get used to doing things without Doyoung, you began to think that maybe your love had died on both sides. As you spent countless nights awake and thinking, you realized that when you and Doyoung fought, your feelings for him were there. But when you’d stop and you two were okay, your feelings weren’t as strong, if not completely gone. Things began to just feel like a routine. Maybe it was like that for him too and that was why he’d always pick fights over petty things, because he needed to assure himself that he did still love you. In the end though, it just wasn’t there for the both of you.

It never felt like that with Jaehyun.

“What’re you doing today?” Johnny’s voice asked through your phone.

“Nothing. I was supposed to go grocery shopping but the rain made me feel lazy.” As if on cue a yawn escaped your mouth.

“Well get your lazy ass ready! We’re going out!” You tried to protest but he wasn’t having any of it.

“Just come! Ten’s work gave him a free dinner coupon at this new expensive restaurant like an hour away, but he can’t come because he’s busy with work today.”

“Okay, then go another day!”

“Today’s the last day for the coupon and he told me to just ask you to go. And I refuse to just miss out on free food! I’d much rather go with Ten than you but I have no other option.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“So you’re going to come right?”

“I don’t really have a choice now do I?”

“Nope! See you in twenty!” You let out a huff before setting your phone down and heading into the bathroom to start getting ready.

As soon as Johnny saw you, he sneered, “Oh come on, you could have worn something a little better than-” he motioned to your outfit, “whatever that is.”

“Just drive you idiot.” But when you arrived and took a look around, you had wished that you had worn something better too. You felt a little out of place, watching girls walking in with cute blouses and floral summer dresses.

“I feel so embarrassed,” Johnny said as soon as the server walked away with your menus and your orders scribbled down on his notepad.

“Imagine how embarrassed I feel. Why didn’t you tell me earlier about how to dress?”

“Well, I assumed you would’ve known because I did mention it was an expensive restaurant. But like always, I underestimated your stupidity.”

As you were taking a sip of your water, your eyes fell on two people behind Johnny who were a few tables away. You squint your eyes to get a better look and when you recognized one of them you couldn’t help but choke on water and break out in a coughing fit.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?”

After you calmed down and everyone stopped staring at you, you spoke, “I’m fine, but listen. Don’t turn around right now bu-” Johnny whipped around and began to look, earning him a slap on his arm from you, “I told you not to turn around yet!”

“Is someone there?”

“Yeah, it’s Jisoo. But she’s not here with Jaehyun.” Johnny’s interest peaked and he turned around again, this time a lot less obviously.

“Who is that?”

“It looks like one of Jaehyun’s friends. I remember seeing him a few times. Pretty sure his name was Jinwoo? Jungwoo? Something like that.”

“Hopefully they’re just here as friends.”

“At a restaurant like this? That’s an hour away from town?”

“That’ll be literally like us.”

“Yeah may- oh. Oh no. Well we do not do that.” Johnny turned back around to face you with widened eyes, “They just kissed...”

After a few minutes of silence you spoke up, “are Jisoo and Jaehyun even dating anymore?”

“Yeah! They’re engaged.”

“Oh my god...”

“Should I take a picture?”

“What!? No! Are you fucking crazy?”

“To send to Jaehyun!” He didn’t wait for you to protest, “I’m taking a picture. I can’t just act like I didn’t just see his fiance cheating on him!”

“Johnny wai-” He quickly and discreetly snapped the picture and sent it to Jaehyun right away.

“You idiot! Don’t send it to him right now!” Your eyes flew back to Jisoo who was busy staring into Jinwoo’s, or Jungwoo’s, eyes lovingly. Your eyes fell to her phone that neatly sat on the table next to her hand and you watched it like a hawk, waiting for it to light up with a call or text. When Johnny was done ferociously texting, a few minutes later Jisoo got a call. As soon as she saw the caller ID she looked up at the guy across from her in panic. Jaehyun was calling.

You couldn’t hear her but from watching her face turn red with anger, you could tell it wasn’t going well. After she ended the call she slammed her hands down on the table and stood up to storm out. When she passed your table, both you and Johnny turned the other way in an attempt to avoid getting found out by her.

She must’ve been angry because he found out. Maybe he broke it off with her over the phone and she didn’t want to. But you couldn’t help but think that she had no right to be angry with him when she was the lying, cheating bitch in their relationship.

Jaehyun didn’t deserve that.

“Jaehyun was asking about you.” You snapped your head in Johnny’s direction out of surprise, “he what?”

“I can’t believe you two still aren’t over each other. Especially after such a long time with different people. I guess you two really do love each other that much.” He mumbled under his breath.

“He said he wasn’t over me?” Jaehyun did say he wouldn’t ever stop loving you, you always thought he was just being dramatic. Or maybe you just didn’t want to believe him.

“Technically he did not say that, but I could tell that he still loves you. I can read people like a book.” You rolled your eyes at your best friend, “yeah, no.”

“You should talk to him. Do you want me to give you his number?” Your heart was ready to fall out of your chest. Was this really happening? Now?

You weren’t ready for it, “N-no! I don’t- no!”

Johnny groaned and leaned his head back against his seat, “you both are so fucking dumb. He didn’t want me to give him your number either because he thinks you don’t want to talk to him.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it's just...I don’t know.”

“Just text him.” Johnny had provided you with Jaehyun’s number but you were still scared to send a text. So after a week of debating what you’d first say to him, you finally hit send. Once the conversation started, it didn’t seem like it’d end. Doyoung nor Jisoo ever came up which was probably the only thing that could’ve made it awkward. It felt like things were picking up right where you had left them off with him. The feelings you thought had died began to bloom again out of their dormancy. But the both of you did not acknowledge this with each other.

It stayed like that for a few weeks, just texting back and forth or staying up into the night on the phone. Until you got a text from an unknown number.

+82 xxx-xxxx: Is this y/n?

You: Yes, who is this?

+82 xxx-xxxx: This is Jaehyun’s mom. Would you like to come over for dinner?

You stared at your phone for a solid ten minutes, unintentionally leaving her on read. You didn’t know what to think or reply back to her with.

+82 xxx-xxxx: Sorry, I know this is out of the blue. But I know everything. I wish I knew a little sooner so that I could’ve prevented my idiot son from compromising his happiness and breaking up with you. He still loves you, I can tell. I feel like this was all my fault and I want to try and fix it because he sure as hell won’t. He’s coming over for dinner tonight, so if you still love him, I’m hoping you’d come over too.

You: I’ll come. Could you please send me the address?

When you pulled up in her driveway you saw that Jaehyun was already here and you suddenly got cold feet. After giving yourself a small pep talk in your head, you finally got out of your car and shakily walked up to the front door where you quickly rang the doorbell before you could give yourself the chance to change your mind. His mom opened the door and grinned, her smile just as beautiful as Jaehyun’s. She ushered you in and spoke about how happy she was that you came as she walked you to the dining room. You tried your best to listen to her every word, but it was hard to try and focus when a million thoughts were racing through your brain as you stepped closer to the room Jaehyun was probably currently sitting in, waiting for you, an unexpected guest.

Oh, you were so scared, but when you walked in and you saw Jaehyun after such a long time, everything just melted away into a pool beneath your feet. His eyes were wide as he stared into yours and he had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to get up and hug you? Shake your hand? He should at least say hello, but he was frozen. He knew he’d see you soon, but he didn’t know it’d be this soon. His mom made you take the open seat next to him and then excused herself from the room, saying she had to grab something from the kitchen. As soon as you sat down you softly gave him a ‘hey’ which he replied back to softly too.

“You’re here?” You nodded and cleared your throat, “yeah, your mom invited me.”

“How does she even know you?”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering about, too. She texted me and told me she found out about everything so I thought maybe you told her.”

“I don’t recall…” You two went quiet for a little bit, trying to think of a way she could’ve found out. It clicked in your heads at the same time, “it was probably Johnny!” You two said in unison, causing you two to erupt in soft laughter.

His mom came back in after that and you all started to eat shortly after. There was a lot more talking than there was eating because of all the questions his mom asked the both of you. And just as you expected, she confessed that it was Johnny that told her.

After an amazing dinner filled with laughter and childhood stories, Jaehyun offered to go out in the backyard to talk. Although it was dark and you couldn’t see that well, you recalled all the stories he would tell you about his childhood that took place in this very spot. Your heart felt warm as you imagined Jaehyun as a little boy running around his mom’s garden, accidentally stepping on the flowers she had just planted.

“My mom exaggerates her stories sometimes, by the way.” Jaehyun’s ears had turned a bright red out of embarrassment from how his mom didn’t hold back with telling you about him as a child.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed,” you chuckled and looked over at him, “they were cute stories.”

He nodded and looked up at the sky. It was silent for a little while, the only sound being the crickets starting to sing out between the plants. “I’m glad you came. It was nice seeing you and being able to talk like that after so long.”

“I’m glad I came too, I missed you a lot more than I’d like to admit.” You watched a smile begin to lift at the sides of his mouth, his dimple popping in on the side of his cheek.

“...Can I kiss you?” He whispered into the night.

“...Yeah.” He moved closer and brought his forehead to rest against yours. You two watched each other for a little while, soft smiles on both of your lips. He brushed his lips against yours a few times just to tease you, but after having enough, your hand settled behind his neck and you pulled him in to allow your lips to fully attach to his. The kiss was slow and soft, much like the first kiss you two shared. His hand rested below your ear, his thumb caressing your cheek as your breaths mingled together. You hadn’t realized how much you actually missed this until just now. When you two pulled apart, he rested his forehead against yours again.

“So, what now?”

“We start from square one.”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned away from you and straightened his back out, holding his hand out for you to shake, “hi, I’m Jaehyun.”

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