#Really tried not to overthink it and just approach it as writing practice

[rafey-baby]

sweet treat 5

Shy!reader really wants to tell construction worker!rafe how she feels but what if he doesn’t feel the same?  

cw: the L-word, mostly fluff, reader being an overthinker and getting a little jealous, pda

wc: 2.3k 

hi! this is the last part of sweet treat (might write some extras but I make no promises) and just wanted to say how much I appreciate everyone who reads my stuff. the first part was my first proper piece of writing I posted on this account and I was overjoyed by the warm welcome and all the kind comments, asks & reblogs (nothing goes unnoticed by me!) so thank you so so much for being so lovely <33  

hope you enjoy xx 

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

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

It’s been exactly two weeks since she came to terms with the fact that she’s in love with him. She hasn’t been able to sleep all that well and has tried her very best to avoid Rafe, albeit fruitlessly since he insists on driving her home from work every day and on top of that, he often invites himself over to her house or asks for her to stay the night at his; not accepting her excuses about being tired and having to wake up early.  

”Why don’t we just…be tired and wake up early together, then?” His grin is playful when he argues with her reasoning. And how is she meant to refuse that? 

And if all that wasn’t already suffocating her, of course he’s now helping with the renovation of the cafe since her boss wanted to expand the business; make the small coffee shop into a bigger one in hopes of more space for new tables and seats because the amount of clients they got was beginning to be too much for everyone to comfortably enjoy their stay.

Therefore, she now has to practically work in the same building as him every single day because the renovation work isn’t disturbing the current cafe from running nor decreasing the number of customers with a sweet tooth or a craving for their usual morning coffee from strutting in.  

This wouldn’t be a problem, if Rafe wasn’t walking around all sweaty and dusty, biceps bulging whenever he’d lift wooden planks over his shoulder or carry around different equipment; looking as attractive as ever.

And with these newfound lovey-dovey feelings trying to break through the surface, she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to stop herself from ogling him or keep her rapid heartbeats to herself whenever he wanders over to chat with her on his breaks.  

She tries to act as normal as she can, but she can tell that he’s picking up on her excessive rambling and stuttering, flushed cheeks and anxious fingers fixing her hair every two seconds whenever he’s talking to her.

She’s certain he can see right through her, knows that she’s hiding something. She can practically see how he wants to bring it up more often than not but seemingly hasn’t found the right way to approach the subject yet and she can sense that she’s running out of time; can’t tolerate lying to him for much longer.  

She’s been thinking this whole thing through over and over, to the point of her head hurting as she bakes Rafe’s favorite lemon raspberry cookies as a distraction and because he’s been working so hard and she wants to surprise him; see the soft smile that makes the whole world glitter whenever he graces her with it.

She wants to tell him, wants him to know how deeply she feels for him, how much she appreciates him but every time she tries to open her mouth, the words seem to evaporate before they’ve even begun to sprout on her nervous tongue.  

What if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if this is all just a casual thing for him and she’s making it into something more than it is? These bleak thoughts turn her mood sour; a pout forming on her lips as she concentrates on topping the flamingo pink icing covering their most popular vanilla cupcakes with fresh blueberries.  

As she’s taking out Rafe’s cookies out the oven, she comes to the conclusion that she has two options; she either tells him she’s in love with him or she doesn’t. If she tells him, there’s a very high possibility of him looking at her with a crease between his brows and words about not wanting for this to be anything serious hitting her against the face.

And if she doesn’t tell him, then…well she doesn’t really have anything to lose, does she? Except maybe the what ifs haunting her for the rest of eternity.  

She tries to get rid of these tormenting thoughts with a shake of her head as she sets the cookies off to cool down and begins to place the finished cupcakes onto the display counter, trying her hardest to forget about it all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Later that day when Rafe is contently munching on the cookies she plated for him and happily distracting her from work, someone approaches the counter; a girl with glossy lips and shiny hair.  

”Hi, could I get a mango matcha latte, please?” Her eyes are as green as grass as she places her order. 

”Of course, would you like it with ice or no ice?”  

”With ice, please,” she answers in a friendly manner.  

”Coming right up,” she gives the girl a polite smile when her payment goes through.  

”You’re working on the renovation?” The girl’s attention then turns towards Rafe, making Y/N’s gaze flicker over to them as she puts blended mango into the bottom of a tall glass. 

”Yeah, the cafe’s gon’ be twice as big as it’s now,” his gravelly voice drawls, putting the half-eaten baked good down.  

”That’s so cool, I’ve always wondered how construction workers are so strong. Do you go to the gym a lot?” A saccharine voice reaches Y/N’s ears, making her brows furrow as she’s measuring the right amount of matcha powder and trying to appear nonchalant.  

”Uh, yeah, yeah. Also think my workdays sometimes count as workouts,” he scratches the back of his head as she lets out a giggle. It wasn’t that funny, Y/N thinks with a roll of her eyes.  

”Hey, I was actually wondering if maybe you’d wanna hang out sometime? Could give you my number?”  

Something muddy swirls in her stomach at the girl’s straightforward question. She doesn’t appreciate the fact that she’s blatantly hitting on Rafe right in front of her. Even if she’s well aware that they’re not together and the girl probably assumed they were just friends, which they are.

However, she can’t prevent herself from turning grumpy from the mere notion of him being interested in someone else. After all, the girl is stunning and she wouldn’t really blame him if he wanted to at least consider her offer.    ”Nah, I’m actually not available right now,” he offers an apologetic smile when the girl’s shoulders slump.  

”No? That’s a shame. Well, let me know when that changes?” She gives him a flirty smile that makes Y/N quietly scoff as she pours the milk into the mix. 

”It’s not changing anytime soon,” she mutters under her breath, making both of them turn their heads towards her.  

”Sorry?” The girl asks, muted jade settling on her suddenly tense form. Fuck, did she really say that out loud? 

”Oh, um— just that…here’s your drink,” she peeps out, feeling Rafe’s eyes burning into the side of her face as she sticks a paper straw into the beverage; the ice cubes clinking together when she hands it out to her.  

”Right, thanks,” she says looking over to Rafe once more, seemingly expecting him to give her an answer of his own. 

”Uh…yeah, what she said. Not changing anytime soon,” his grin is wide, making the girl’s cheeks flush as she hurriedly leaves. 

And when it’s just the two of them again, she flits her eyes down, busying herself with a wooden container of tea bags she’s trying to organize, not wanting to face him. 

”What was, uh…what was that about?” His tone is teasing, an annoying smirk playing along his features. 

”Nothing,” she quickly dismisses, avoiding his gaze. 

”Nothing? You’re telling me you weren’t just really fucking jealous two seconds ago?” 

”N—no,” she can’t even convince herself with the pitiful denial. 

”Don’t worry, I’m all yours, alright?” He chuckles as he stuffs the rest of the cookie down his maw.

”How did you know I was craving these, by the way?” He asks around the mouthful as she tries to brush aside the sudden tingle in her ribcage and the blush dusting over her cheeks.  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

A few days later when her shift is coming to an end, her other coworker already beginning to take orders and telling her she’s free to go, she drags Rafe behind the counter and practically forces him to taste test a new recipe she’s tried out; a walnut carrot cake with lime buttercream.

”Wow, this is…amazing. The lime gives this fresh sourness to the frosting, it’s so good,” his voice is muffled by his chewing and her heart warms in response to his detailed commentary, never one to shy away from showering her in compliments. 

”You think so? I actually added the lime just cause I know how much you like citrus fruits so, I’m really glad you like it,” she beams up at him. 

”Yeah? Made this just for me, huh? Can I ask why I’m getting this special treatment all of a sudden?” His tone is playful, tongue licking over his bottom lip to clean up the bit of icing lingering there.  

”Well, cause I love you and—“ she blurts out and then her entire body tenses; mouth hanging open in chock and wide eyes slowly moving to look at him, trying to verify whether he heard it or not. Of course he did. She wasn’t exactly quiet now, was she?  

“You…you love me?” His brows raise in surprise. 

“Uh…I— I didn’t mean to…I mean, you probably don’t feel the same so doesn’t really matter. Just— um...just forget I said that. I don’t know why I—”  

“What are you talking about? You think I spend most of my time with you cause I…what? Dislike you? You can be so silly sometimes, you know?” He scoffs, setting the golden fork down on the porcelain plate. 

She stays silent.

“What I’m saying is that I’m obsessed with you. I mean, you’re even in my fucking dreams, right? But listen, love has always been a little…tricky for me to grasp onto cause my relationship with my family has always been…complicated? But if me wanting to spend every second of my day with you means I love you too then, shit, maybe I do. But I need some time before I can really say that shit, you get that?” His words are honest and raw and she thinks her rattling heart is going to beat out of her chest.

“Oh. I— um…yeah, of course. Take all the time you need,” she finally manages out.

“Hey, c’mere,” he says before he’s practically dragging her dumbfounded form into his embrace; beefy arms pushing her flush against his chest with a steadying grip on her waist.  

“I mean, we’re basically already dating at this point, no? Wasn’t sure how to make it official without freaking you out but since you love me, I think you’re all good, yeah?”

She croons something incoherent in response.

“So, wanna be my little girlfriend or what?” He asks into her hair. 

“I— of course I do,” she mumbles against his shirt.  

“Yeah?”  

“Mhm,” She hums before he tucks an index finger under her chin and raises her face to look up at him; thumb toying with her bottom lip before he’s leaning down and smearing a sloppy kiss against her mouth.  

“Shit, you’re so cute. Just wanna swallow you whole sometimes,” he murmurs with a soft smile tugging at his lips and blue hydrangeas twinkling with something syrupy in them.  

“I love you,” she mumbles, almost inaudible; words still too tender to consciously say out loud.  

“Say it again,” he practically demands. 

“Um…I love you,” her voice is nearly a whisper. 

“What was that? Think you can say it a little louder?” He teases.  

“Rafe, stop…you’re embarrassing me,” she whines, cheeks coloring over with a strawberry hue.  

“No, I’m not. Just wanna hear you say it,” his smirk is all big and smug and it makes her huff.

“ILOVEYOU, okay?” The words mesh together like fluffy clouds in the sky and her volume is louder than he’s probably ever heard it, a couple of curious heads turn to look at them, the lively chatter around them quieting down some.  

“Yeah? You guys heard that? She loves me!” He’s nearly shouting, looking around with a stupid grin on his face, making her flush and hide behind her hands as a few customers cheerfully titter in entertainment. 

”Congrats, dude!” Someone even yells.  

“Oh my god, Rafe. Why would you do that?” Her mortified eyes widen as she crouches down; trying to find shelter from behind the pale yellow counter. ”I’m never leaving my house again,” she complains with a glare.  

He doesn’t seem to be all that bothered by the whole thing, simply chuckling with dimples denting his cheeks; the light-hearted sound making her stomach flutter despite the humiliation crawling up her spine and making her want to vanish into the cracks on the floorboards.  

“Of course you are. I’m your boyfriend now which means I’m taking you out on a date tomorrow, yeah?” He lifts her up with a grip on her waist, pulling her flush against him as his devious fingertips slip underneath the hem of her shirt, smoothing over her bare stomach and making her let out a squeak.

Then he’s grasping her jaw in one hand and pressing his mouth on hers once again; her protests withering away like a dead rose when he slips his tongue past her lips, dragging out an involuntary whimper from her.  

She pulls away, hiding her face in his chest when she can feel multiple pairs of eyes staring at them. 

”Rafe, can we just go already?” She pleads with her voice small before he’s guiding her out of the coffee shop with a big palm resting on her back, calming her down some.  

And despite the little scene he just caused, she thinks she might just be the happiest girl on the island as he helps her climb into his truck with a honeyed kiss warming the apple of her cheek.

[mak3itr7ght]

Pair: Jimin x fm!reader

Words count: 1235

A/N: just a very quick and out of contest scenario I imagined after listening 'Who' for the 192939939th time🫡 Hope you like it!

"Three minutes before getting on stage" the assistent announced before exiting the dressing room.

"Oi, so how was that date?" Hoseok approached his friend and roommate, Jimin. "Who was..oh, yes, that actress"

"I don't even want to talk about that-" Jimin cut his friend out. The older chuckled. "Was it really that bad?" He sat on the chair next to Jimin's, resting his chin the palm of his hand, curious.

"I went back home in the middle of the date because I couldn't stand her- she was so arrogant, and oddly flirty..ew" Jimin frowned at the memory. "What about you? You're not dating in ages, bro, at least i'm trying. You practically gave up" the blondie tried to swap the conversation.

Hobi shrugged. "I'm into my job for now. I don't feel like dating for now. I have this strange sensation, like i have to wait" he murmured, zoning out as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"Hyung, you've lived too much in your studio, in my opinion" Jimin joked, making Hobi smak his arm.

"Ouch-" Jimin faked pain, but then leaned against his chair. His hyung's words made him overthink.

"Anyway, let's get on stage, it's the first time we perform in Rome and i want to give a good impression to italian armys~" Hobi jumped on his feet and walked outside the dressing room.

Jimin didn't react to those words, he just heard them and hummed in response, still zoned out in his own mind.

Love, what a strange concept, especially for idols. They used to sign contracts that forced them to not date someone, and then most of them used to do it secretly from anyone. The media were always ruthless when it came to this topic. Even having the same necklaces with a person that probably was just a stranger could start a whole drama. That was truly shit. And, in the end, the whole media player work almost unconsciously pushed idols to search for rumors and scandals to gain more popularity. It was sick and toxic. And thank God Jimin and his friends didn't fall for that, even if there were a lot of temptations. Fame is dangerous, terribly dangerous. Jimin kept wondering if not dating and choosing to focus on himself was the best decision or just unnatural for an idol, because for the audience, idols must date! Not matter about their sexuality, because Jimin knew some asexual and aromantic people, so he started dating here and there, even without putting too much effort.

But that day, Hoseok's words made him realize that maybe not dating was more normal than he thought. Maybe his mind was already subconsciously linked with another woman or man, and that he didn't met him or her yet, just like the lyrics of his song, 'who', which he struggled to write, because, to quote him, 'he even forgot the last time he had a crush'.

The blondie kept mental tripping while rocking on his chair. When Namjoon went inside the room to call him again.

"I'm sorry! I was lost in thoughts!!" Jimin stood up and rushed outside.

Mics checked, in-ear monitors checked, another day, another concert of BTS's comeback tour after their discharge from military service. It was pretty long, many dates in many places of the world, all sold out, of course. And that was the first time the group performed in Italy in almost 13 years of career. What a day. Everyone was excited.

The concert started with their new title of their new album and the hours passed quicker than usual. A small break and then the solo-performances started. Jimin was the fourth, ready to perform 'Who'. He felt a strange sensation, like a tingle in his chest.

"No, i can't die now, come on. At least when I come back at the hotel" he told himself, trying to calm down and joke on that sensation.

And then, there he was, dancing and singing on stage, the choreography was composed to suit the concept of 'I love you, but I didn't even meet you yet', so Jimin had to dance with severals girls trying to find the right one, ending up alone on stage. That night, he felt that song more close to his self. While enjoying the Armys' cheering, shouting, crying and clapping he stared at some of them in the front rows. He loved his fans so much, recognizing his fame, the whole group's fame, was thanks to them. So he always used to look as many of them as he could, trying to remember at least vaguely their faces.

As his eyes met with one of them, that feeling on his chest intensified. I know what y'all are thinking and no, it wasn't like he fell in love, he just felt like he knew her, very deeply, just a veiled sensation, that kind of sensation that you can't even recognize or study enough because it's so delicate and fragile, yet unbreakable, and it's always there, you don't know it at all, but it's there, it gets louder when you're silently trying to sleep, and it gets quiter when your mind just turns off and focuses on the loud daily life. That was the moment Jimin felt that little pinch in his chest and it lasted less than a second. He didn't even see her properly, it was dark, the lights where flashing here and there and he was still boosted by adrenaline. That's why he stayed on stage even more than he had to and felt someone calling him from the backstage, it was Jungkook, ready to start with his 'Standing next to you' performance.

Jimin shook his head and rushed off the stage, quickly forgetting about that trance state he went in unconsciously. He went back in the dressing room where the other members were getting ready. Hobi approached him, a worried look in his eyes. "Oi, Jimin?" The brunette put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What happened? You seem off all of a sudden" He added.

Jimin just hugged him, out of nowhere.

"What's with this affection??!" Hobi scoffed, patting the younger's back before pulling away. He was slightly more worried at that point.

"I just felt like it.." Jimin commented, as he sat on one of those uncomfy couches near the mirrors.

Hoseok exchanged looks with the other members before looking back at Jimin. "You know what? I think tomorrow we should visit Rome"

"That's risky, we will have to prevent Jungkook from starting acting like a Roman warrior when we'll get into the Colosseum-" Yoongi laughed and the others followed.

Jimin chuckled too. Visiting the city, yeah, it sounded pretty good. Sounded...somewhat, right.

"Now now after the solo-perfromances, there will the the big pause and then the last-quarter of the set list, so let's revise the songs." Namjoon took the paper with the set list while one of the stylists where adjusting his hoodie.

"I think Armys will be happy to hear Airplane pt.2 again~" Taehyung commented while chewing a candy. "The audience is pretty cheering today~ I definitely want to comeback here next time" He added.

"I'll return here to perform The astronaut with Coldplay in a few months~" Jin pointed out, smirking.

"Why we took so long to come here?" Jimin wondered suddenly.

"Don't know, but now we're here and I think we'll have a great time" Hoseok patted his shoulder before standing.

[lovelaurs]

...any chance you could do mystreet travis x reader where they get overwhelmed and he helps them?? Just some fluff for the fluffy guy :3 ty

Remember. Your. Water.

TAKING YOUR TIME

pairing : mystreet travis x gn reader synopsis : it was long day filled with stress, and you come home absolutely riddled with anxiety. luckily, your boyfriend travis is there to comfort you through it as you're overwhelmed by life. tags : comfort, fluff, reassurance, slight romance, but more focused on support than anything word count : 0.9k a/n : i was so excited to write this one since mystreet travis (the one i have rotated so many times in my brain) was my favorite back in middle school! i took inspiration from how my life was in college and how my anxiety slowly got worse, so hopefully that works for realism! i love using my own pain in writing!! also, i made sure to make him really endearing, so i hope you enjoy!

MASTERLIST

It had been a long day.

As you closed the car door behind you, you could feel your arms ache, causing you to stretch them as you walked towards the front door.

You’d think after such a hard day that you’d come home to complete relaxation, letting your mind take a break as you slump on the couch.

But unfortunately, it seemed that wouldn’t be the case.

As you opened the door, you were greeted with the reminder that you still had several chores to do.

Since you lived alone, you set up your own reminder system to help you remember to do chores.

And unfortunately, this was one of those days.

It had been about a week since you vacuumed, and practically two weeks since you dusted, and that doesn’t even begin with your laundry as well!

You got this.

You groaned as you took off your shoes by the door, hanging your coat up on the rack next to you before moving to the kitchen to grab a snack before you started cleaning up.

That was when you noticed the sink.

Your dishwasher had broken about a week ago, letting countless dishes and utensils pile up within the basin. 

Hiring a repairman? Washing the dishes? Just two more things to add to your already dreadful day. You didn’t have time for a snack just yet.

You could feel your head already begin to bubble up with thoughts, starting to overthink everything you had to do as you approached the storage closet.

Just breathe. You can do this.

You took a deep breath in, your shoulders rising and falling along with you.

As you grabbed the handle of your vacuum, ready to begin cleaning, your bad luck seemed to double.

The handle broke off. As soon as you grabbed it, the cheap piece of plastic simply popped off without hesitation.

That was it.

You couldn’t help what happened next.

Within seconds, you fell to the floor, curling up into a ball with your face in your hands, bawling.

Irene oh why did life have to test you so.

Your cries were muffled by your legs as you folded up, pulling at your hair. You couldn’t deal with all of this right now. First you were running around outside getting groceries and your medication from Walgreens, the next you came home to everything being out of order?

Everything was against you.

At some point, you couldn’t even tell just how long you were sitting on the ground until the doorbell rang.

Apparently, life decided to make things even worse by having someone wait at your door.

Great.

Just great.

Your legs shaked as you slowly stood up, wiping the tears from your cheeks, hoping whoever was there wouldn’t notice.

After making your way to the door, your shaking hands slowly opened it, revealing a smiley Travis with a plastic bag in his hands.

His grin was almost as blinding as the rays of sun behind him.

“Hey! I thought I’d stop by to see how my Lovely was doing-” He stopped mid-sentence as he processed your disheveled appearance, a frown quickly growing on his face. “What’s wrong?” You tried to keep yourself in check, holding back your tears, but the worried look on his face? Nothing could hold you back anymore.

You sniffled once before rushing in to hug him, tightly squeezing, surprising the man.

As you stuffed your face into his chest, hiding your face from him, he slowly led you inside your house, closing the door behind him before the two of you sat on your couch.

You groaned into his chest, just letting your tears fall freely as he held you close. He played with your hair, carefully moving it out of your face and tucking it behind your ear, before patting your head while softly shushing you.

The two of you just sat there for a while, allowing you to release all your anger and anxiety through your tears as he hugged you.

Your boyfriend always was the best at comforting you when you needed it most.

As it seemed your tears were stopping, and you were left hiccuping, you moved back to look up at Travis, apologizing rapidly.

“Hey, hey, there’s no need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He slowly rubbed your back as he softly spoke. “Do you think you can tell me what’s bothering you?” You slowly nodded as you began to tell him all about what happened today, and how your anxiety was through the roof with it all. You felt like you were losing your mind.

He hummed as you recounted the events prior to your crying.

“I can help you out with it all if you’d like, we can face it all together!” He smiled as pumped his fist into the air, before kissing you on the forehead. “You know you can always just reach out if you need help, alright? I’ll always be here.”

You nodded with a smile. He was right, you had someone in your life who cared about you, someone to rely on. You can’t forget that. 

But you couldn’t help but slowly turn to the plastic bag sitting next to Travis' curiosity. What was in it?

He picked it up, opening it to show you the abundance of snacks he had brought along with him.

“A little bunch of presents I decided to get you during the day.” He chuckled, cupping your face in his palm, letting his thumb trace the tear stains on your cheeks.

“But before we get started on those chores, how about a snack, okay?”

@lovelaurs, 2024. do not repost this work in any way!

[thewritingbeforesunrise]

BALLERINA - Chapter Fifteen (Epilogue)

A Jake Kiszka AU

Physiotherapist!Jake x Original Female Character

Previous Chapter.

Story Masterlist

A/N: Hi everyone! This is the final chapter of Iris and Jake’s story. Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to finish my very first chaptered fic, but here we are, finally. I'd like to thank everyone who enjoyed this little story. A big thank you goes to those who supported me and encouraged me throughout the writing of this fic. You know who you are😉

I really hope you like this!

Word count: 1.4K

Warnings for this chapter: angst, nerves, feelings.

_________________________________

Paris, a year later.

Those mirrors along the walls were reflecting her every move and she kept seeing mistakes that didn't even exist.

Iris had been dancing and practicing for almost ten hours now. Her muscles burned but she didn't really care. She wanted everything to be absolutely perfect.

It was getting dark outside, signaling to her that it was almost time to go home. The next day was going to be her day. The most important one in years.

She practiced a few more moves and then packed her bags and walked the short distance separating the ballet school from her flat.

Her little rented flat, right next to her sister's, was tiny, in true parisian fashion, but it was wonderful. From her small balcony she could even see the Sacré-Cœur; its pearlescent white stones were shining even brighter with the full moon.

She tried to calm her nerves by admiring the beautiful basilica from afar, but it was useless. She was so nervous she couldn't stop her hands from shaking and her heart from hammering in her throat.

The next day was going to be a big step for her. It was the day in which she was going to dance again in front of a crowd after a year and a half.

And she couldn't stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

After tossing and turning for a while, she managed to finally turn off her brain and rest.

~

The next day, she woke up early. After a quick breakfast, she checked if she had everything she needed in her bags and left for the Opéra Garnier.

It didn't matter how many times she saw that theatre. Every time her eyes landed on its golden statues and white columns it was like the first. Little tingles travelled down her spine every time.

She showed her badge to the security at the entrace and reached her dressing room backstage.

She placed her bags on the floor, changed into her ballet shoes and started rehearsing again, trying to stop overthinking and fighting the urge to run away from there and never come back. It took her a while to finally silence the insufferable voice in her head that kept telling her that she was going to miserably fail but, eventually, she managed to do so, drowning that insecurity under the music of her choreography.

Before she knew it, her time was up.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she realized that her turn was quickly approaching.

The buzzing of her phone startled her.

She wiped her sweaty trembling hands on her leggings and read the text she had just received.

It was from her sister. She was telling her that the theater was packed and wishing her good luck using the French word “merde” like a true Parisian.

She smiled but her heart was threatening to jump out of her chest at any moment.

She finished getting ready and, when there were only 20 minutes left before her turn, she exited her dressing room.

Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears as she walked towards the stage.

She felt like a robot.

She wasn't even paying enough attention to her surroundings the closer she got to the stage so, when a pair of cold hands wrapped around her waist and dragged her behind the heavy velvet curtains, she was positively scared.

She gasped and thrashed around to escape, but a whisper in her ear made her stop abruptly.

“Iris”

Jake.

He was there.

Tears started flowing freely down her cheeks and she immediately relaxed in his grasp.

She quickly turned around and kissed him passionately, feeling his comforting presence in every cell of her body.

He cradled her face in his hands and caressed her cheeks, tenderly wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

“You told me you couldn't make it" Iris whispered.

“I told you I wasn't sure of it. I managed to arrive last night” Jake whispered back, a little smirk of mischief on his beautiful face.

“And you didn't tell me?!” She exclaimed, incredulous.

“I didn't want to distract you with my presence. But, as soon as I got here, I kept thinking about the fact that you were so close to me and I really couldn't stop myself from needing to see you, to touch you, to kiss you.” he said truthfully, blushing slightly and lowering his gaze to the floor.

She grasped his face and kissed him like it was the first time and almost lost herself in the kiss.

“Thank you” she whispered on those plump lips that she had come to know so well.

The sharp call to the stage made them both flinch and jump.

They shared a last kiss and a look full of love, before parting with a whispered “I love you.”

The moment she reached the stage the nerves were still present but she felt a lot less upset than before.

She could still feel the warmth of his presence on her lips and fingertips and that helped her immensely.

The air was cool all around her but her heart, so full of love, burned like a pyre in the night, lighting up everything with its orange glow.

The applause of the crowd filled her with joy and energy and when, finally, the first few notes of the music echoed in the room, she felt her feet start to move on their own accord, following the lead of her ever-present passion for dancing.

Throughout the performance she only ever had eyes for him, letting his calming presence guide her mind into a state in which nothing could hurt her anymore.

She had forgiven him two weeks after she had left for Paris and had abandoned him on the curb in front of her house, on that stormy morning of June, with teary eyes and a broken heart.

She had finally come to terms with the fact that life without him was simply unbearable.

She had mulled over the whole predicament so much she had given herself so many headaches, but, eventually, she came to the conclusion that, in his shoes, she would have probably done the same to protect her sister.

She realized he hadn't even meant to fall for her. It had happened. And she was so glad she felt the same and was ready to share her life with him.

When she had called him the first time, he hadn't answered and it scared her to death.

He had called her back in the middle of the night saying that he was in surgery when she had first called and asking if she was alright. He sounded extremely worried.

They had switched to a video call almost immediately and they had cried, laughed and talked for four entire hours.

The next weekend they were finally together. They had dinner in a cute little restaurant near Montmartre and then they went straight to her flat because they couldn't keep their hands off each other any longer.

He had flown to Paris a few more times while she attended the internship there and, every time, they went to visit museums and galleries together. They were always connected in some way. Her hand on his bicep, his arm around her shoulders, their fingers brushing when they walked. It was as if one was afraid to lose the other at any given moment.

Deafening applause brought her out of her thoughts abruptly.

Everyone in the room was on their feet praising her for her beautiful piece.

But three smiles were the only ones that she had eyes for.

She couldn't stop her tears from spilling while looking at them.

Her sister was standing between a very proud Jake, who mouthed a little “I love you” and Josh, who winked at Iris when he saw she was watching him and sent her a little kiss.

Their eyes were shining and their smiles beaming with love for her.

And it was all that ever mattered.

_______________________________

Thank you for reading!❤️

Taglist: @gvfpal @sammyslappers @spark-my-nature @highladyofasgard @sparrowofthedawnsworld @jessicafg03 @doodle417 @hellowgoodbye @ejoygvf @jaketlover @jakekiszkasbabymama @objectsinspvce @indigostreakmorgan @witchofendora @myleftsock @gretavanshmeat @gretasfallingsky @giraffehippy @jennasometimesreads @katiegvf @sinarainbows @laney_gvf @themorningbirds @starcatcherchords @lipstickitty @meetingthestardust @joshskittytickler @livkiszka @twistedmelodies @ignite-my-fire @gvfmarge @writingcold @brujamagik @edgingthedarkness @gold-mines-melting @mindastreamofcolours @blacksoul-27 @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface @mapelsyrup07 @klarxtr @takenbythemadness @peaceloveunitygvf @lyndz2names @jazzyfigz @its-interesting-van-kleep @fleet-of-fiction @lvnterninthenight @jakekiszkasbuttsweat

[leclerced]

Back with more things I think are canon in Charlie's and his ange's friendship.

If he is out with her and anyone tries flirting with her he gets rid of them immediatly (even if lando and oscar are nit there he has got their backs)

One time Angel really can't attend the gp because she really has to be at uni so Charles goes to landoscars room and practically forces them to do masks with him because Angel's not there to do it. After they send her cute selfies of all 3 of them with masks on.

He helps her get more comfy with sexuality. In the sense of maybe when lando and oscar bring something new up and she gets shy abt it, she can't help but overthink abt that and Charles can tell smth is up so in the end she confides in him and he helps her understand that trying things it's ok and that she knows that they would stop the moment she says she doesn't like smth.

In the begining angel was getting quite a lot of hate for her closeness with Charles, we all know how fangirls are but he immediatly cut it all out and made a statement on how he will take action against anyone and everyone that has smth bad to say abt her.

He is one of the few people she is comfortable to let be touchy with her besides her boyfriends( like even when she gets into one of her headspaces)

They don't fight! Nope! Charles will not allow and can't stand to see her sad so they don't fight (also he finds anything she does perfect so why would they even fight)

When exams are coming up for her he does little cards with questions related to the subject she has to study and quizes her (he has no ideea what the questins or answers even mean but she is responding accordingly so he is amazed at his little genius friend)

Gets her a pair of custom made pants just like his (we all know what pants I am reffering) and then she styles an outfit for both of them that includes the pants so they can take photos togheter.

His phone is full of candid photos of her.

As he can't cook she almost always invites him to join her and Landoscar for dinner since she learned to cook things that fit their diets.

At the Monaco GP angel is wearing his number all race weekend, is always by his side, hypes him up and cheers for him( Lando and Oscar also are really supportive and wish their friend to win his home race even tho they are and need to be more lowkey abt it due to media duties)

She is just sunshine and he is sunshine protector

Oh how I love writing this but I will stop again for now cuz this is really long <3

thank u for this i read it at work and it got me thru the day. i love these sm 🫶🏻

i love the idea of angel trying to get charles a gf so they’re going out to clubs in monaco and she’s pointing out pretty girls that are his type. every time he leaves her alone some guy tries flirting with him, to the point he starts bringing her with him to flirt so no one will approach her. the women he flirts with sometimes find it annoying when he approaches with a woman and expects a threesome proposal, and then he’s like “sorry my friend will be harassed if i leave her alone so she is my wingwoman” and they’re endeared by his protectiveness over her and instantly like him, plus he’s hot as hell and his voice is like honey. so they don’t mind a little extra company, especially when the woman isn’t even flirting with him, like he’s arguably the hottest guy in the club and she has no interest. plus angel hyping him the hell up to any woman they talk to when charles leaves to fetch drinks.

angel being asleep while they’re doing face masks so she wakes up to the images and responds with a video of her getting ready for the day, from skin care routine to picking out her outfit, making breakfast.

after the first time they talk about sex and angel realizes she can trust him, she goes to him a lot to ask if he’s ever done it and what it was like, especially if her boyfriends haven’t. she doesn’t like going into things blind, she seeks knowledge about everything and that doesn’t include her boyfriend’s ideas. he always reassures her that they love her too much to hurt her and she has safe words for a reason and she should never be afraid of using them. charles tells her about his hookups or past relationships to reassure her of trying new things. charles is perfect at reassuring her of anything.

charles will defend angel to the ends of the earth!! it’s part of why oscar and lando like him so much, because anyone else might enjoy the rumors but he’s quick to stomp them out.

charles deffo gives great hugs and the best cuddles, he’s her go-to person for comfort when her bfs aren’t there. he’s always petting her hair or her back when they cuddle. she’d ask him to tell her fairytales when she wants to lay on him for a nap, he’d be all smiley and cute like “oh you want a bedtime story for your nap? okay mon ange. my maman told me this one all the time as a kid.”

angel and charles never have disagreements, if they do have any, it’s definitely over fashion and they agree to disagree or charles agrees with angel only because she has a better fashion record than he so he trusts her more.

he’s trying to pronounce the words on the flashcards and is stumbling over the big ones and she finishes the word and answers the question and he’s just like, “how’d you know what i was trying to say? i butchered that.”

she knits them matching tops that go with the pants!!

lets be honest they both have sm candids of each other and if she has social media which i think as a fashion girlie she needs to, she posts charles in every photo dump and vice versa.

she has an entire cookbook of tried and true recipes that she found and altered to fit their diets and every night that isn’t a date night charles is at their house for dinner. he brings wine and dessert and good conversation every time. after people find out about the food she cooks from the three men talking about it constantly, it turns into dinners party with a rotating guest book. they do them once a week when they’re home, and throughout the year when they can make time to get home and host. depending on who is in town, there’s different people. charles is at almost all of them. fans love them bc they get fed sm content from peoples photo dumps from the night.

lando and oscar getting second and third to charles’s win in monaco and she’s waiting with his team to congratulate him, lando and charles are confused where their gf is until they see her being hauled over the barrier by charles and they’re running over to his team to get their gf. mclaren team wanting to congratulate their boys but they want their girlfriends praise more.

[honeylikesyanderes]

yandere oc - bhodi falor

new oc, same old yandere behaviour

i hope you enjoy!

18+ only. minors please dni

warning: contains yandere themes, socially unacceptable behaviours, slight/implied nsfw, afab reader

bhodi’s name is pronounced as bo (like in boat) and di (like in dip)

requests are open btw! ask anything or drop any thirsts/headcanons/ideas into my inbox and i’ll write asap :) (nsfw is allowed)

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bhodi ‘bo’ falor - the sweetheart

age: 24

birthday: july 12th

physical attributes:

shoulder length golden blonde hair

bright blue green eyes

6″1

very pale skin

slim and he looks frail

is actually stronger than he looks

has a soft and calm voice

always smiling

a bit of an overthinker tbh

personality traits:

is so so sweet and so so pure

is very gentle

couldnt hurt a fly tbh

he has a warm personality; always tries to make people feel comfortable around him

rarely ever gets angry

has a tendency to get upset tho

he can be a bit impulsive

and he’s very emotional

just a very sensitive boi

meeting you:

in a world where karma isnt your yandere, bhodi is

bo and karma are best friends

practically like brothers

you could say they are basically two sides of the same coin

but when it comes to romance, they're drastically different.

the thing is, women have always preferred karma to him

bo didn't really blame them tbh

karma was richer than him, taller than him, even more handsome

bhodi always felt like he would never be good enough to be the first choice

especially since women only flirted with him either to get to karma or because karma rejected them.

everyone loved bhodi tho.

but only ever as a friend.

so imagine his surprise when he hears a rumour that someone at work has a crush on him

he didn't believe it at first

it was just a stupid rumour

no one would ever have a crush on him

not when karma was still around

a month passed and the rumour resurfaced

this time with a name attached to it

(y/n).

he remembers meeting you.

he was the one who interviewed you for the job

you were so intelligent

with a cute smile

you were such a pretty little thing

like a delicate little butterfly

a butterfly that bhodi wanted all for himself

are they aware that they are a yandere? are they bothered by it?

bhodi knows he's a yandere and it does bother him to a certain extent. however, karma always tries to reassure him about his yandere tendencies.

yandere tendencies:

yandere type: obsessive/stalker

bhodi is the human resources manager at the Elios group

that means he has access to all the staff information folders

and he may or may not have a duplicate of your staff folder in his home office

its not like he means to pry

he just desires to know every single thing about you

he also has a mic installed in your workspace (he got this tip from karma)

also like karma, bo will date/court you normally

but he will take a long time to approach you romantically

he'd rather just observe until he feels confident enough to tell you about his feelings

or until someone tries to date you

oh yeah btw

bhodi has a tendency to kill love rivals.

he also breaks into your house a lot

and always drops you a cute little note before he leaves

he wont put cameras in your house tho

just microphones

cause he'd feel like a pervert staring at you in a vulnerable state

he doesn't mind hearing you tho, hence the microphones

he also somehow finds a way to put a tracking device on your phone

when you and bhodi start dating, he will just come off as a clingy and jealous person

you might get worried sometimes cause it can be a bit scary

but you'd never suspect that he's a yandere

he's 'too sweet' for that.

fun facts/trivia:

not a lot of people know things about bhodi

he's friendly and nice ofc, but people just dont know much about him.

and he doesn't say a lot about himself either

bhodi has an older brother and they were raised by their uncle and aunt

he wears strongly medicated glasses and cant see people's faces from a distance without them

he has very pretty hands (he used to be a hand model in uni) and he gets manicures regularly

the nails on his left hand are always painted black, but the nails on his right hand are always painted a different colour every 2 weeks

bhodi has a degree in both psychology and business administration (he did a double major)

when he first started to fall for you, he paid for you to recieve flowers to your doorstep every single day

and on weekends, you get your favourite breakfast delivered with your favourite flowers

bhodi's favourite colour is pink.

he has a notebook full of information about you

he also loves to take photographs

please dont ask how many photos he has of you.

[stardew-obsessed-ora]

Hello casual viewers of my headcanon posts! Guess what time it is? It’s “Ora stops neglecting Dobson in their HC posts” time! This time, I’m going to be giving what I just know the audience wants, and write some romantic headcanons for the silly Joja Man. 

Word count: 1,873

Notes: im going off of headcanons primarily since this dude has like NO real canon substance.

︶꒷˚̣̣̣︶ ͡𑁬

⋆ ︵︵Romantic Dobson HCs 

You two started off as clear rivals. He was trying to help with the expansion of Joja Corporations within the valley, while you were thwarting his and Morris’s advances with the gradual expansion of the community center. The moment he ran into you he attempted to sell you a Joja Membership along with pitching you a few new products. The moment you shut this man down his attitude entirely goes 180. Unlike Morris who kept a more professional allure to him, Dobson entirely dropped what little care and consideration he had into not being snide or making underhanded remarks toward you. This led to the both of you fighting, which sparked somewhat of a rivalry between the two of you. 

I feel like Dobson’s the kind of guy to entirely brush off how he feels. At first, he’s oblivious, then he realizes, then he dreads it, then he brushes it off and buries his crush for as long as possible. It’s a detriment to his work ethic, it’s getting in the way, it’s preventing him from doing what he needs. It’s preventing him from viewing you in a non-biased manner, and therefore, was bothersome. Nothing in his mind could convince him that falling for you was a good thing, no. It was an obstacle, and he didn’t need to focus on it. After all, the two of you were rivals. You were against what he stood for and you needed to stay out of his way. Nothing good would come from growing soft over you. 

He’d come to terms with the fact that he had “””possibly””” garnered feelings for you when he started actually appreciating the sappier things in life. Rather than turning his nose up at the concept of cheesy romances, he found himself kind of yearning for a similar dynamic. He found himself starting to live life somewhat slower and found himself dwelling on an undeniable loneliness in his heart. Dear Yoba- he was hopeless! What started off as a potential crush had become full pining, and before he could catch himself, he was smiling in your direction more than he’d like to admit.

For a while, he tried to avoid you. 

Then he approached you with caution, then he started talking himself up, and then his usual overzealous attitude had returned, albeit with different motives in mind. He started inviting you out with him, and overtime, would slip more vulnerable aspects of himself into conversation to see how you’d reply. It was an uncharted ground for him, but it felt… nice, oddly enough. He didn’t feel immature or stupid for bringing up more genuine parts of himself. He felt like he could be himself around you. How embarrassing, the one he tried so desperately to thwart was really starting to get to him. 

He doesn’t seem like the type to ask someone out conventionally. He finds the idea terrifying, regardless of how highly he views himself. A part of him realizes that the rejection would utterly crush him for weeks on end, while the other part wants to think it’s because he knows he’s better than to stoop and practically beg someone to be with him. Besides, he hasn’t dated anyone before. Dobson has about as much dating experience as a brick wall. Instead, he takes you out, gets to know you better, figures out as much as he can about you to tailor the absolute perfect way of asking you out.

…Which he overthinks on. To the point he surprises you with a bouquet on one of your outings. As much as he doesn’t want to feed into the confusing traditions of the valley, it seems like the most easy to understand way of telling you how he feels. Instead of saying anything, he merely stares at you with an expression that says “I know you’ll accept but I’m shitting bricks over this.” So basically, his usual smug facial expression laced with indicators that he truly values how you’ll respond. This is accompanied by his foot tapping rhythmically behind him, and his vice grip on the damn bouquet. Poor flowers! 

When you accept, he can’t help but appear noticeably giddy. That professional disposition he puts up melts away as if it were nothing, and he’s practically hopping up and down over the fact that he managed to win you over. 

Do you remember how I said Morris reminded me of a cat coming into a relationship? Dobson’s like a non-socialized kitten in my mind. He doesn’t know how to navigate a relationship, and can come more harsh than loving at times. It takes him a long time to properly warm up, and at times, it seems like he’ll never come around. But he’s trying. 

Dobson strikes me as someone who was forced to be mature a little too early in life. Not to mention the lack of conditioning to any kind of love that wasn’t conditional. As a result, he fears doing anything that could be seen as immature, and also has literally no idea how to be intimate with you. For the first little bit, he seems like he always has. Snobby, pretentious, a little less rude, but he’s slowly warming up. It takes him a while to figure out what his needs are and how he can navigate his relationship. I imagine him as either being a little overbearing at first or extremely distant for a while, then dialing either back and learning how to go at his own pace.  

I imagine he shows his affection as subtle physical gestures, like holding your hand while you’re talking to someone around him, or playing with your hair. He also likes coming behind you and placing a hand against your side. He’s one of those losers who likes showing off that you’re his and how much he cherishes you. Tl;dr, he is very touchy, but doesn’t like doing any overly visible gestures in public. In private, he’s waaayyyy too awkward about it. A part of him worries that your perception of him will change if he acts too strange, while the other feels uncomfortable being so close with someone else. He’s a little spoon. He *can* big spoon, but at heart, he wants to be held. 

As much as he would like to be more of a gift giver, I don’t actually see him as having a massively disposable income. And so, him giving gifts is a bit more of a rarity, but he tries his best to give you something worthwhile. Though, it can be a bit difficult for him to give a gift in a way that isn’t “I just happened to find this. I didn’t know if you’d like it, but- here- it- here!” in regards to anything he noticed you staring at. Bros awkward!! 

While Dobson can cook, he doesn’t care much for doing it. Yes, he can cook meals for himself, yes he was independent for years, no he doesn’t particularly want to cook something for anyone else. And so, rather than offering meals to his S/O, I like imagining he sticks to tidying up the house and asking if he can pick up any chores they forgot to do. He loves doing something, adores being put to a task and exceeding at it, doing housework for you is ABSOLUTELY something he can show off with. 

Dobson’s one of those people who has a more childish side, but genuinely has no idea how to go about expressing it or feeling comfortable with showing it around you. I feel like once he’s able to slowly bring those walls down, however, he’d be one of those people who absolutely adores play fighting or playing mundane, harmless pranks on his S/O. Bonus if he and his S/O end up laughing together and get to rest against one another after. In the first part of his relationship, he prefers sticking to extravagant dates. Sure, they eat a hole in his wallet, but they show he’s capable of planning only the best for his lover. What more could he want? After warming up to them and truly letting bits of himself show, however, he’d start shifting towards more comfortable dates. A home date where they’re both doing work together? Perfect. A museum date? Perfect. Sitting back in a scenic area having a picnic? Sure! Of course, he’d still take you out to the aforementioned fancy places, but they wouldn’t be the only thing to associate with dates with him anymore. Dobson adores movie nights, particularly ones where he and his S/O find the absolute worst garbage on whatever streaming service they’re using and laughing at it. What better way to spend a night than giving commentary on overhyped garbage? Or expending your energy commenting on an abomination that was better off never greenlit? It’s a great way to wean down his more judgmental side while also being able to joke and cut up. Despite his viewpoints on the activities of the townsfolk, I imagine he has a soft spot for the museum. He’s a firm believer in the statement “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” As ironic as that may be. He likes looking back on historical documents, objects, and seeing how far the world and its people have advanced since then. It both reassures him and has him questioning whether or not the path he’s gone down was truly worth it. Plus, he’s a rock nerd. I imagine he’d like dates where he gets to go to museums or exhibitions or things of that nature. If you brought this man a geode after you were dating, he’d stare at its luster for around 10 minutes then saunter off to place it near his bed promptly after. Dobson, at heart, is a jealous, insecure fella. I feel like for the first little bit in a relationship he’d need occasional reassurance that he wasn’t doing anything wrong, or that there was nothing to worry about, or that no, because he couldn’t convince his S/O to join Joja that he’s a total failure and that they’re still on opposing sides. Dobson is a man who lives under the concept of bravado and a facade, eventually, his genuine fears and worries start seeping through, and that vulnerable side of him is shown. Dobson, along with this, is the king of overworking. He’s in a high ranking Joja Position at a young age, he’s definitely worked to the bone juggling both college work and Joja Communications work. He has a bad habit of taking on more than he can handle, pulling all nighters, then waltzing around with only energy from a can of carbonated garbage to keep him going. There have definitely been times he’s worked all day, come home, then collapsed on his couch only to realize he had something planned with his S/O not too long after. Does he still try to make these plans? Of course. Does he fail horribly? Yes. It takes his S/O’s constant concern and dejectedness toward him in said state to make him start realizing, “Maybe… I should consider some changes?” TL;DR He is my silly goofer and I see him as a very complex loser. 

[catboyfever]

Overcast and Overthinking - Rabbit/Tigger Fluff

Hellooo again! The weather's been absolutely dreadful near me and so, I used it as some motivation to write this absolute sapfest. I relate to Rabbit a lot in the sense that he gets in his own head too much, so it felt really therapeutic to write this tbh. Hope you enjoy :3

Gray clouds blanket the sky of the Hundred Acre Woods. The rays of sunlight that filtered through the clouds illuminated the sky in a dim, muddled light. Rabbit couldn’t tell what time it was. It didn’t really matter to him anyway, he wasn’t planning on getting out of bed any time soon. In a way it worked to his benefit. He could try and pretend like he wasn’t painfully aware that he’d spent hours just laying there and yet, he couldn’t get out of bed. If he could snap his fingers and sleep the rest of the day away he would; however, his body wouldn’t allow it. He’d gone to bed early the previous night because of how he felt anyway, hoping that after a nice deep sleep maybe he’d wake up feeling better. Of course, that didn’t happen. Now a sky as dark and gray as his mood mocked him as the gray rays of sun filtered into his house. 

Rabbit sighed and rolled over in his bed, facing away from the window. The room was dark enough to tease him with the promise of sleep but it never came. Usually when moods like this hit, something at least happened to trigger it. However silly it may be, it made more sense than just waking up one morning feeling miserable about yourself. The whole predicament just soured his mood further. Feeling so bad about nothing made him feel bad about feeling bad in the first place! Despite the swirling thoughts in his head, Rabbit actually felt himself slowly drifting off again… until a knock at his door dashed that possibility. Rabbit grumbled and turned over in his bed, facing away from the door. Yet, whoever it was on the other side of the door knocked a second time. Then a third. Finally, they spoke up. 

“Ra-Ra? Are you home?” Rabbit’s eyes shot open and panic gripped him. He couldn’t let Tigger see him like this! He’d think he was so pathetic, he’d ruin his whole day with his imaginary problems, and yet… Rabbit heard himself say. “Just a minute, Tigger.” Rabbit shook his head, kicked the blankets off of himself and trudged off to the front door. He opened it slowly, revealing a smiling, ever bouncy Tigger holding a bowl. He stepped back to let him in and closed the door behind him. 

“Rabbit, you look terribible! I knew you were sick! Here, I made you a bowl of vegibibble soup with extra carrots just the way you like it.” Tigger said setting the bowl of soup onto the dining table. 

“I’m not sick, Tigger.” Rabbit said flatly. “The soup looks lovely, I’ll warm it up later.” Now Tigger was truly concerned. Rabbit passing up carrots?! Tigger studied him with a paw on his chin before he pressed the back of his paw against his forehead. 

“Hm, you don’t feel warm…” Tigger said. He then brought his head to Rabbit’s chest and listened to his heartbeat which also seemed normal. “Sounds fine here too…” “Would you get off me!? I told you I’m not sick!” Rabbit snapped and pulled himself away from the tiger. 

Rabbit regained his composure and looked to Tigger. The poor cat’s eyes couldn’t have looked sadder if he tried. Rabbit’s ears began to burn with shame as he realized what he’d done. 

“N-No, Tigger I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just…. I just…” Rabbit began to try and explain as tears welled in his eyes. Tigger’s expression changed on a dime as soon as he noticed them. He approached him again, pulling him into a tight, squeezing hug. 

“It’s alright, Rabbit. Why don’t ya tell me what’s wrong?” Tigger whispered, stroking down Rabbit’s back. 

Rabbit practically went limp against him and began to sob into his chest. Tigger just held onto him, resting his chin atop Rabbit’s head as the poor bunny cried his sorrows out. Tigger had really only recalled seeing Rabbit cry maybe once before but never had he been so close to him. Seeing him in such a sad, vulnerable state… he held onto him tighter. Eventually, Rabbit began to calm down, and spoke up with a sniffle. 

“I don’t really know what’s wrong. I woke up today and just… I felt awful about myself. I mean, just look at what I did just now. I snapped at you of all people… I’m always doing that. Snapping at our friends, ruining their fun, taking over whatever it is we do when I get the chance…” Tigger laid another kiss on Rabbit’s forehead. “Oh, Ra-Ra. There’s nothing wrong with you at all. So you get irritated with all of our hijinks from time to time. You always mean well by it, don’t ya? You know it’ll lead to some sort of trouble, which it usually does.” 

Tigger brought a paw to Rabbit’s chin and looked into his eyes, smiling warmly. “We all know how much you like to be the one to organize things, you’re not ‘taking over’ anythin’! Your friends love you, Ra-Ra. I love you.” Rabbit wrapped his arms around Tigger’s shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. He kept himself pressed against him as tightly as he could while their kiss drew on and on until Tigger had to break away for air. Rabbit didn’t let go of him, he just continued to squeeze him as tightly as he was able. 

“Thank you… Tigger. That really… that really meant a lot.” Rabbit said finally. 

Rabbit stepped away from Tigger with a sigh. “I think I’m starting to feel a bit better. I really appreciate you checking up on me, but I want to get some gardening done before it gets dark.” He said, opening his door. “Plus, I need to warm up that delicious soup you brought for me.”

Tigger nodded. “Course, Ra-Ra. I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Rabbit smiled his first genuine smile of the day. “Yes, bright and early. We have plantings to do tomorrow.”

As Rabbit watched Tigger bounce off onto the path away from his house, he sighed as he watched his stripes disappear over the hill. He felt blessed to have a partner as compassionate as he was. Surprisingly, the soup was still plenty warm when Rabbit lifted the bowl to heat it up, so he sat down with a spoon and began to eat. It was mostly carrots, each bright orange chunk of carrot reminded him of Tigger. The warmth of the soup spread through him, he felt his muscles relax and as he quickly got to the bottom of the bowl, all he could think about was the fact Tigger had gone out of his way to make it for him. 

“Oh Tigger… you’re too sweet for your own good.” Rabbit managed to pull a good amount of weeds before the gray skies finally began to yield their rain. With a fire roaring, Rabbit relaxed in his chair and let his mind wander. Naturally, all he could think about was Tigger. Rabbit felt positively giddy settling into bed that night as he thought about transplanting sprouts with Tigger the next morning. 

[ashplayz]

Hoggle x Y/n my Au- the labyrinth.. (Y/n is Jariths half sister and is half goblin)

Warnings: (this is a crack fic I don't know why I wrote this tbh) mentions of manipulation. Implied 'death'/injury. Sappy angst. (A lot of the narrator/me cutting in because I'm too lazy to write out the actual scene)

Narrator:

Y/n had left the goblin castle, she had gotten sick of Jareth trying to manipulate her into using her powers, she had given up wondering on how someone who's supposed to care about you could use you like that.. She walked through the labyrinth hoping to clear her head. It didn't take her long to come across hoggle, spraying the pesky fairies.

"Hello" y/n said as she approached him, he turned around only to scoff, "Your Jareth's sister right?" He asked, going back to spraying the fairies. "I'm y/n" she said ignoring his question because she was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that. "Did Jareth send you to cause trouble?" Hoggle asked, she cleared her throat, she didn't like how practically every one in the labyrinth always assumed the worst with her just because she was Jareth's sister.. "No. He doesn't even know I'm here, not that I think he cares.." Y/n said. "Well him and me both." Hoggle said irritability continuing what he was doing. "I told you my name. So what's your name?" Y/n asked clearly not put off by his rudeness. He rolled his eyes. "Ugh. It's hoggle. " he said. "It's nice to meet you, hoggle," Y/n said. To which he grumbled something under his breath. "Why do you do that? Kill the fairies I mean.. I know they're really nucinces but.." Y/n said trailing off. He scoffed, "because. It's certainly better than being stuck in here with nothing to do." He grumbled, Y/n sighed. ".. Yeah I guess you're right.. Wish there was a way out of here.." Y/n mumbled.. "You're his sister. Can't you leave as you please or does he keep you prisoner too." He asked. Y/n shitted uncomfortably.. "There's nowhere out there for someone like me.." She said looking at her feet..

"Did Jareth tell you that?" He asked. He asked that because Jareth had said the same thing to him.. And well he didn't necessarily disagree. If he had wanted to leave that would be the reason he never tried.. She didn't answer his question. "Do you want to take a walk around the labyrinth with me? I mean.. It looks like you're running out of fairies to spray." Y/n said. She didn't give him a chance to answer, she just started walking. And he ended up following her. As her and Hoggle walked they talked about a wide variety of things. Losing track of time, and found themselfs deep enough into the labyrinth that they could hear the cries of her beastly friend. "Oh no not again!" Y/n said running off into the direction of the noise. "Y/n! Hang on, where's you going?" Hoggle called out after you. "Come on!" Y/n called back in response. After a moment of hesitation he groaned before following after her. Y/n ran up on the guards with the ugly sticks attacking her friend ludo. "Hey! I told you guys to leave him alone!" Y/n yelled at them. Before picking up one of the rocks ludo summoned and throwing it at them. She was able to take out most of them before running to her friend's side. She was too concerned for her friend to notice one of the guards was about to attack her. Hoggle who had finally caught up saw this and picked up a rock and threw it at the guard. He surprised himself that he didn't overthink it. He took out the guard with that single rock. Y/n who had seen what he did smiled at him. "Thank you," she said. He was surprised at the way his cheeks heated up.. "Don't mention it.." He mumbled..

Y/n turned her attention to Ludo "Are you okay?" Y/n asked helping him up to the best of her ability (even though she was only slightly taller than hoggle) "Friend Y/n" ludo said happily y/n smiled "Hi ludo" she said. Ludo looked over at hoggle "Friend?" Ludo asked, y/n looked over at him with a smile.. "Yeah.. Friend."

(Time skip)

Narrator:

So. Y/n and hoggle (and ludo) had been friends for some time and hoggle couldn't deny the way he felt about y/n yet he still tried to push these feelings down. He didn't believe someone like him could love, especially not someone as amazing as her. But he never would have imagined that he'd lose her.. Everyone knows Jareth is the king of manipulation. So you can probably guess that that would be what he'd try to do.. (I'm too lazy to write this part but basically). Jareth told hoggle that y/n thought Ill of him and wanted to abandon him which wasn't by any means true. But Jareth had told her he'd give her a good life in the real world away from the labyrinth. But she wanted to bring her friends with her.. But when she had gone to find hoggle he believed what Jareth had told him and he pushed her away because of it.. And it broke her heart and ended up going to the normal world alone.. And it was something that for so long she didn't think she'd forgive him for.. And she never was happy in the new world.. Seeing as Jareth had tricked her and had turned her into a doll. A doll that at the time belonged to a younger sahara. This was long before Sara's adventure in the labyrinth. And y/n never imagined she'd return to that place..

(Time skip)

(Hi it's the narrator again because i'm lazy 🙃)

So Sarah gets taken to the labyrinth to try to save her brother along with her doll- (don't ask why she just has a doll with her it's for the plot 🙂) when she enters the labyrinth the doll turns back into y/n and agrees to help Sarah but says they have to go round up a few friends first and hoggle happened to be the first of the friends y/n found in her attempt to reunite the trio.

Hoggle stood there.. In shock.. He never thought he'd see y/n again he had always hoped he would.. He never got the chance to apologize for what had happened. He knew Jareth had lied and he had regretted hurting her.. He wished he could take it back. He never wanted to push away the one good thing in his life.. The person he cared about the most.. When she asked him to help them he surprisingly didn't even hesitate, something she had always done was being out the best in him, so that coward he always was wasn't there with her around.

(Time skip again, also more narrator:)

So y/n Sarah and hoggle went through the labyrinth together eventually finding Ludo (also I completely forgot about Sir Didymis let's just say they knew him in the past but he wasn't a part of the friend group- but they find him too) the movie continues as normal as it can get at this point- and while it goes on y/n and hoggle mend their relationship a bit considering y/n forgave him a long time ago, she had been manipulated by her brother her whole life she couldn't blame him for falling for Jareth's scheme. But still neither of them admitted their feelings for each other. Being away had made y/n realize her feelings. And his feelings never left this whole time. Y/n and Sarah became quick friends so clearly Sarah was able to notice the chemistry between them. But upon being it up y/n stayed silent. She didn't have very good views on love considering where she came from.. While she forgave hoggle she couldn't help but think he'd betray her again and in a way she was right.

Narrator.. Again But briefly!

When Hoggle was tricked into giving Sarah that fruit y/n let her anger towards him cloud her judgment so she hadn't noticed the ground about to collapse beneath them. When they fell the crew (minus Sarah) ended up landing in the junkyard and y/n had hit her head going down and wasn't waking up..

"Y/n! Wake up. Come on you've.. You've gotta wake up "Hoggle said, shaking her, overcome with dread as tears clouded his vision. The others gathered around Sir Didymus had a grim expression. and ludos confusion quickly led to loud sobs.. " y/n please.. I'm sorry.. I… . I never got the chance to say I love you.." Hoggle said as his tears fell onto her.. Y/n woke up slowly.. Her head was spinning and it took her one too many moments to realize what was happening, when it finally clicked she sat up quickly surrounded by her friends all crying their eyes out.. "Guys! I'm okay!" She said only to be tackled by her friends as their tears turned into tears of relief, once ludo wasn't crushing her she got up and looked over at hoggle.. She heard what he said.. "It's not your fault you know.. I might have overreacted.. We'll get her back I know it" y/n said hoggle was embarrassed for the fact that he really wasn't all that concerned for Sarah when he had just thought y/n was dead.. Y/n noticed the concerned look from him in turn rolling her eyes "I'm fine. Really" y/n said "But your bleeding-" hoggle started saying but was cut off by y/n kissing him on the cheek. "Come on let's go save Sarah" y/n said walking off leaving a flustered hoggle frozen on the spot.

(Okay I'm lazy and don't feel like explaining the rest of what happens. It follows the plot of the movie kind of so if you've seen it I don't need to explain. They defeat Jareth and all of them go back with Sarah and Toby.)

You're probably asking if they ever actually got together and to that I say maybe

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But that's another story..

Who knows.. Maybe someday I'll write a pt 2 (not likely but who knows)

The end..

[liminalpsych]

After two weeks of no adhd meds for the first time since I got on them in 2017, I finally wrangled a way with my pharmacy to get them filled (turns out they’re not backordered on the brand name, just the generic, which I hadn’t thought to check until a client mentioned success with this approach).

They still don’t have enough of my dose in stock so I’m not getting them until Monday, but I’m getting them soon instead of indefinite waiting, and now I have a route to take when the generic is backordered in the future so that I still get my meds on time.

(It’s a little more expensive, but still cheaper than the adhd taxes I’ve been paying with dopamine seeking behaviors for the past two weeks.)

The silver lining has been that I now have a very, very clear understanding of exactly how adhd stimulants help me, and how much they help. (I used to live like this. Only it was worse because I was on an SSRI instead of an NDRI as my antidepressant; my current antidepressant at least takes the edge off some of my adhd symptoms.)

(Did you know serotonin can inhibit dopamine production? That’s possibly why some ADHDers have paradoxical reactions to SSRIs. We don’t have enough dopamine to begin with and then it makes us produce even less? Terrible times.)

Anyway. Might make a separate post about adhd meds on Monday. But for now, here are the things I’ve noticed:

oh right I used to be tired all. the. time. 9 hrs of sleep + a nap = still tired all the time, pre medication. Properly medicated, I’m good on 7.5 hrs. Half medicated (no stimulants, but NDRI), I’ve been doing okay on 8 hours but still pretty fatigued. I have not been getting deep/delta sleep (which stimulants help with in ADHD, adhd brains tend to spend a lot of time in REM sleep and not enough in deep delta sleep, and stimulants increase deep sleep in many adhd cases for some reason). There’s been a couple nights of 0 hours of deep sleep despite 8 hours of sleep. It’s been great. Fabulous. /s (help i’m so so so tired)

Focus/motivation, obviously. Oh right, this is probably why I haven’t written much fiction since college. For the past several months I’ve just been able to choose to write, make myself write and it works. For the past two weeks that has been much, much harder and even impossible. I am able to make myself spend time with my WIP each day to maintain momentum (still using all my adhd coping skills) but writing prose has not really been happening.

Social anxiety. I knew stimulants helped with the rejection sensitivity, social anxiety, overthinking social situations, because I went off of them for 2 days in a row once and had a terrible RSD flare up. But two weeks off of them has been… not great. Also generally just feeling insecure, having self esteem issues flare up, anxiety in general, harder to self-soothe and talk myself through catastrophic thinking, etc etc. (and trust me, I have skills. So many skills. So many well practiced skills. I teach them to others and use them personally. I’m functioning, it’s just extra hard.)

Dopamine seeking. Siiiigh. Back to snacking on sugary things that make my digestive system angry at me, in a desperate subconscious bid for tiny insufficient hits of dopamine. That had mostly stopped.

Task switching has been extra hard, unsurprisingly. Also lots of zoning out.

My driving skill/safety. D: yeeeeah. there are a number of studies out there showing that unmedicated adhd (especially in younger drivers, it improves somewhat with age/experience) shows up as similar levels of impairment as being at/over the blood alcohol limit. I was horrified the first time I drove while medicated. “oh. Oh no. I have not been particularly safe to drive all these years.” Been extra cautious as a result, and haven’t driven the wrong way down one way streets or anything like that the past two weeks, thankfully. (Yes, that was a thing that happened pre-medication.)

In before anyone tries to suggest this is indicative of a dependency or is because I was on meds for a long time: no. This is how I lived 32 years of my life. Until the tiredness got so bad that I got desperate enough for a med change that might work a little better than just “not having intrusive suicidal thoughts,” which is all the SSRI managed to do for me. For the past six years of adhd medication, I haven’t been tired all the time, things haven’t been so mind-numbing hard, it’s been a complete game changer and opened up so much more capacity for living that I didn’t have before.

It sucks to have to go back to my old exhausting norm where I had to drag myself through tasks with sheer force of will and could barely get anything done. I am so relieved the end is in sight and I’ll be back to my modern norm on Monday.

[scythe-hagmoved]

Soft angst starters: “ I have to leave you behind. I’m sorry” for any combination of DA2 characters you think would work best for you!

Thank you for the prompt! Let’s go with some Merribela, set at the end of Act 2... 

Hawke is going to live.  

Merrill comes away from the room only after receiving the assurance from Anders. Sparing a sympathetic look for Hawke’s mabari, who is standing guard outside the room, and offering him a short, reassuring scratch behind the ears, she makes her way through the mansion, downstairs, past Varric and Sandal, to the entrance hall where Fenris waits. He’s tense, hands clenched at his sides, gauntlets digging into the bench on which he sits. He’s chosen the one by the doorway – as though he’s not even sure if he should be here at all. She relays the news from Anders and she sees some of the fear go out of him. Not all, but some. Merrill wonders if she should say more but she doesn’t have time. Fenris and Hawke do now, at least. Time to figure out whatever it is that keeps Fenris down here and not upstairs with her.  

She barely tells him good night and Fenris barely notices anyway. Then she steps out into Hightown and the turmoil they’d left behind when they’d fled with Hawke, back to her estate. People still looking for lost family members, while the dead still litter the streets, Qunari and elves and humans alike. And all Merrill can do is just hope she’s not too late. She takes a breath and then runs.  

She leaves Hightown, practically leaping down the many stairs that will take her to the poorer parts of the city, and when she gets to Lowtown, she still doesn’t stop. Even when the sign of the Hanged Man is looming over, she doesn’t pause, just shoves the door open and carries on all the way through, past the patrons, up the stairs at the back to the room that she hopes with everything she has in her will not yet be empty.    

She’s panting when she throws the door open and nearly cries out in relief when the first thing her eyes meet is another pair of startled warm brown ones. Familiar ones. Merrill’s always been left at least a little bit breathless by the sight but in this case it’s sort of hard to tell the difference, what with all the running.  

“Kitten,” Isabela says. “I should have known it was you.” 

The next thing Merrill sees is the bag on the bed, packed and ready to go. Just as she’d known it would be. It doesn’t make it hurt any less though.  

Merrill stands up straight and glares. “Don’t ‘Kitten’ me,” she says, startling herself even as the words come out of her mouth. But she finds she can’t stop. “Were you really just going to leave? Without saying anything?” 

Again?  

She thought Isabela had come back because she’d changed her mind. Because she wanted to make it right. But then, somewhere in the chaos between the keep and getting Hawke back to her estate, she’d disappeared once more.  

“I thought it for the best.” 

Merrill feels a lump in her throat. And, Creators, not now! She doesn’t want to cry, not when she has things she needs to say. “How is it best for you to go when your friends are here?” 

I’m here! she wants to add, but can’t. 

Isabela just looks at her with sadness in those beautiful eyes and it isn’t helping a bit with the not crying thing. Merrill sniffs.  

“How is Hawke?” Isabela asks gently. 

“Alive. And Anders says he’ll keep her that way.” 

She sees the relief Isabela tries to hide and doesn’t understand why it has to be this way.  

“You should come and see her.” 

“Now that is a terrible idea.” 

“It isn’t! Hawke might be angry for a little while, yes. But she won’t want you to leave... I don’t want you to leave.” 

Those rich brown eyes meet hers and this time Isabela doesn’t try to stifle the regret in them. Merrill knows then that everything she’s been wanting to say, without quite being brave enough, must have come through somehow anyway. But it just isn’t enough. Isabela picks up her bag and slings it over one shoulder, then approaches Merrill where she lingers in the doorway, coming close enough that she can smell the spice of her perfume. She leans in and presses her full lips to Merrill’s cheek. For just a minute Merrill feels her warmth before she straightens up.  

“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry, Merrill.” 

She doesn’t quite look Merrill in the eye this time as she says it. But Merrill knows all the same that she doesn’t mean it in regards to Hawke, or what happened in the keep, or any of the rest of this disastrous night. Though Merrill can’t bring herself to doubt that’s also true. Isabela’s words are meant for her. And that’s why it hurts so much more. 

Isabela slips past her, through the door, down the stairs and out into the chaos of the night, and Merrill can still feel the warmth on the cheek that she kissed just a moment ago.  

Then all she feels is the slow trickle of tears that she can’t hold back a second longer. 

(for the soft angst starters. feel free to send another!)

[pen-observing]

Hi! If you will have any inspiration about this

What do you think would be little things that brothers would bring you as courting you? As like birds or penguins with rocks and sticks?

Thank you 💜

sjdaj this was fun! i did have an image of lucifer bringing feathers as a meme in my mind for a sec

what the brothers bring you while courting you/wanting to impress you:

Lucifer:

He is what many would consider to be a classic idea of a man. Tall, dark, handsome with refined taste. Because of this he tries to be refined in what he brings you as well. Why should you two not share such traits?

Lucifer because of this relies on the extravagant, classic choices. Most of all – jewelry.

Rings, necklaces, bracelets – everything he sees while out on an errand that catches his eye.

He also tries to match some items with you. He has a golden pen, why shouldn’t you have one as well?

However, one thing that gets in his way is that: no matter how strong his impulse to buy or obtain rare jewels is – he cannot always give them to you.

He overthinks it.

‘if I give them two rings two weeks in a row, would that be too much? Would they then spend money to buy an outfit that matches it? Would the gifts lose their meaning if I don’t space them out? If I continue to give them so many gifts, they would feel responsible to return them so they would spend more money on me and we both know that I am the one who has more money so--’

All these thoughts come to him. Sometimes Lucifer even thinks that your pride would be hurt if he gives you jewels so often.

He tries not to go overboard but he knows that there is a whole desk drawer of little boxes just waiting for the right time to go to you.

Mammon:

No matter how much Mammon may chase gold and sparkles – he is no Lucifer and there is no way that he can just rely on jewels.

Sure, on very special occasions he manages to surprise you with them and that does make it more meaningful.

Mammon puts aside everything else and actually gets a job whenever your birthday is close.

So what else could be bring you?

He is well aware of how birds bring branches or rocks – how sometimes they even spend so much time flying high above and continuously dropping walnuts for others on the road until they crack. His approach is similar.

When you have issues or need to open something – he always offers himself.

It is a bit silly but being there for someone counts.

Besides this – every trinket that he sees somehow ends up in your room

Plushies, fun masks, nail polish that matches his, a leaf that fell in his hair while he was sleeping under a tree and dreamt of you.

He also brings postcards, magazines, photos you might enjoy.

Once he brought you a heart shaped stone and bragged about how his keen eye managed to observe it in the clean river!

Something in every corner of your room will be adjacent to him.

“What if I brought you branches?” “What?” “Nothing!”

He just wanted to ask!

Leviathan:

Lucifer is impulsive in buying just one thing, Levi, however, is impulsive all around.

And that impulsivity goes in many directions.

He is able to use and calculate all his Akuzon points to make sure that you get 10 products instead of just 1.

He takes it very, very seriously.

Sometimes he buys you way too many snacks, other times he orders 5 costumes

Often his courting relies on the thought; what if we shared this!

His mind says that the more you have in common the better match you are.

This is why he brings matching keychains or slippers or even computer backgrounds and mousepads.

He still knows that ‘matching’ does not fully count but it really warms his heart when he sees that you are willing to share and indulge in those small things that would not really matter to others.

It gives him a confidence boost and reassures him that you are in fact open to him.

However, something still has to be yours alone.

Yours alone, from his hands and he needs to make sure of that.

Levi does bring you pearls like penguins do.

And he did in fact spend a long time underwater making sure he brings the best ones.

Just... never show him the video that trended of a female penguin cheating on her partner in the human world.

Satan:

Satan, no matter how much he tries to deny it, is in many ways similar to Lucifer.

He might dress the way he does but he tries to be a classic gentleman in this regard.

He does bring jewelry too – however he never brings it without a deeper, more profound reason.

‘so what if this ring is rare? What does it matter to them? Nothing.’

He has to hear you say it is very pretty to give it to you.

The necklace needs to remind him of your eyes or he is not buying it at all.

Because of this – he is very picky so few gifts are of this nature.

What else does he bring?

Satan writes you notes all the time.

Sometimes they are there to remind you of water or meals, other times they are short quotes.

In fact, he brings you annotated books; lines that remind him of you; quotes of feelings he knows thanks to you.

He brings you parts of himself and looks for parts of you in everything.

This is his idea of courting.

And don’t be surprised to get letters (wax made by him) under your door even if you live close by.

Asmodeus:

Unlike the others, Asmo has no problems with giving you whatever his own impulse says to.

Why should he hide these 2 perfumes that he bought thinking of you and wait for 3 weeks to present them to you?

No, do it right then and there because your heart felt the love or do not do it at all!

Because of this, his impulse costs a lot. Only second to Lucifer.

Asmo wants to give you luxurious things but he knows that jewelry alone can get boring rather fast and is limited by time and fashion and practicality etc.

So he gives you luxury in everything.

New lines of fragrance are yours as well as his, new skin care products that few humans can buy just show up at your door.

Does he also give you framed photos of him? Yes

Does he give you best silk? Also yes.

Why should the two of you not enjoy these things? You deserve it after all.

Still, Asmo is very sentimental too.

He gifts you photo albums of things that make him feel so. Memories of trips and walks; of sleepovers and quiet nights as well.

Yes, luxury is there but this small pretty pen is cheap and has hearts on it! He simply has to give it to you!

Beelzebub:

Beelzebub knows the ‘proper’, ‘correct’ or expected ways to court someone.

He knows what gifts others give and why.

But, all of that seems slightly...like vanity or showing off to him.

It just wouldn’t feel right to give you a framed work of art or color stones that glimmer if it does not really awake something.

His gifts are as gentle as him.

Yes, food is the most obvious choice but he really does worry if you are eating well because humans are fragile.

Flowers that he sees in shops or on walks.

While once walking with Luke he saw some and said how pretty they would look on you. Luke taught him to make flower crowns for that reason.

Most of his gifts are handmade.

He wants to help you on his own no matter what.

The most consistent gifts however are those that you said you needed.

Doesn’t matter when you said it or how, maybe it was just a passing thought, but he remembers and he gets them for you.

Belphegor:

it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he manages to mix up all of these ways and refuses to settle down on just one type.

This is because he is similar to Beel.

Beel gives you thinks you said you needed; Belphie gives you those you did not even notice.

He is constantly observing you and being as smart as he is – nothing escapes him.

You don’t have to complain how you grew bored of your boots or how annoying those headphones are.

He just notices it and gives you new ones.

Sometimes he looks at you during a party in Diavolo’s castle and things that a necklace is missing and would actually be useful in the future as well; so, he buys it.

Books for assignments you are not aware you will need next year find their way to your table. Yes, it is a year but he is a published Devildom scholar so trust him with this.

Paintings, matching rings with stars, a keychain of some small alien from a human TV show etc.

He treads the lines of outlandish with luxury and simple.

Seeing you surprised no matter what because you never mentioned these things always brings him joy.

a/n: how tf do you spell jewelry is it this or jewellery or i hate his word pls

[iwadori]

Haikyu Boys when they make you insecure PT 2(Atsumu,Suna)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3  Part 4  Part 5 Part 6

word count: 1.6K

Genre: angst,fluff

Masterlist

Atsumu:

You have been dating the great setter of the MSBY Jackals since your third year in highschool 

You’ve always been okay with his profession 

Even when it comes with the adoring fans he has (the ones that don’t necessarily like you..)

And the away games he goes to, that you can’t always go to because of your job.

You and Atsumu got to spend all of quarantine together, which was challenging at times. As you and Atsumu sometimes did have conflicting personalities but you loved being together for 8months + altogether. 

But now with the restrictions being lifted, Atsumu got to go back to practice and playing some games although you still got to work from home. Over lockdown, you do feel like you gained a bit of weight (which you didn’t pay much attention to since didn’t everyone gain some weight?) 

However, today you were scrolling through twitter, smiling fondly at the recent tweet ‘tsumu made about you;

@ ThebetterMiya: ‘Remember this @ *Insert your twitter handle here* ‘ 

It was a picture of the two of you in high school in your second year, with you giving Atsumu a hug just after his game against Karasuno. The memory made you smile, but your positive thoughts stopped after seeing a particular comment... “Y/N has definitely let herself go” it read.

 To your surprise Atsumu even liked the comment, you didn’t want to overthink things as you know that Atsumu just unconsciously likes comments and tweets without thinking all the time. But you can’t lie and say you didn’t agree with the comment. 

For the rest of the day, you spent your time googling and searching personal trainers and gyms that were open for you to go to and new healthy diet plans to try

.Atsumu came home a while later, tired and grumpy claiming that coach worked him extra hard in practice. Because of your newfound idea to start eating and being more healthy, you decided to have one last day of ‘letting go’ so your ordered yours and ‘tsumu’s favourite take out.

Whilst eating dinner, you were going INNN as you should  because this is basically your ‘last meal’ you were going to have. ‘tsumu caught onto your cavemen-like way of eating which made him chuckle a bit. “Hey babe, woahh you’re really hungry aren’t ya?” 

His comment threw you off, even though you know that he probably didn’t mean anything by it but from the comment on his twitter earlier and how you already feel about yourself it just didn’t help.

“Well what do you mean about that?” you say a little agressively “you think i’m getting bigger right?”

Your question threw him off guard since he didn’t mean that “well Y/N I know you’ve kinda let youself go a bit and you’re obviously not the weight you were when we 16 but-” before he could finish you get up out of your seat and rushed to your room with tears in your eyes, missing the end of his sentence which was “but I still think you’re beautiful” he murmurs.

He decided to give you some space for a bit, and before approaching he see’s your phone ringing (lets just say you and Atsumu have ultimate trust so you can answer eachothers phones :3) “Hello is this Y/N L/N” the person on the otherside of the phone asked 

“No, this is Miya Atsumu” your boyfriend replied 

“Oh! Miya-san i’m a big fan of you!” he started making Atsumu chuckle “I was just calling Y/N to say i’m available next week saturday to start training”

‘Training?’ Atsumu thought “Can I ask what training you’re preparing for with Y/N” he asks

“Oh I am a personal trainer.” he replied “ Well that’s all I can say, can you please tell Y/N-san to call me again so we can work out times.” he ended the call.

Atsumu goes into your shared-bedroom where he finds you on your laptop looking at ‘weight loss’ tips. He goes over to you and closes your laptop lid and pulls your hand to lead you to the mirror in the room. He stands you in front of it and puts his arms around your waist and his head on your shoulder.

“You’re beautiful Y/N” he says, sparking more tears in your eyes “I think you misunderstood what I said earlier, you. are. goregous. babe” he says punctuating every single word. “Even, if you feel like you gained weight, or lost weight or whatever I will always think your beautiful. If you feel like you want or need to change I will definitely support you along the way, but I think you’re amazing Y/N.”

“Thank you ‘tsumu” you start “ I do feel a bit insecure about the way I look right now, and I’m sorry for my abrupt leave at dinner but I do feel like my body is gross but I do want to try to see myself the way you see me.”

After many efforts from Atsumu, you definitely fell back in love with your body wether you were bigger or small you didn’t care cause you knew you were beautiful either way and so did Atsumu which he reminded you of that every single day.

AN: Can someone give me a synonym for beautfiul lmao cause that’s the only word I can think to use lol.

Suna:

You and Suna have always surprised people when they find out that you’re together.

Since your loud and talkative personality mixed with his quiet and nonchalantness is that a word? seems to not work well for other people

But opposites attract right?

You just finished the last episode of Kakegurui and were excited for your boyfriend to come home so you can tell him about it. You and Suna have been dating for a few years, after you confessed to him in front of all the boys in the gym in your 3rd year.

Suna enters the house mumbling a soft “Hi Y/N” to which you responded back with “Hi suna” rushing towards your boyfriend with a big hug. 

He slightly recoiled back out of your hug making you frown, to which he used the excuse of ‘I smell bad from practice let me take a shower.’ Whilst he was in the shower you decided to make some dinner for you both since it seems that Suna is a bit ‘grumpy’ today.

Once he exits the shower, and gets changed, he sees the table set out with the delicious food you made. You exit the bathroom to see him sat down already eating his plate. “How do you like it ?” you ask him wanting to know his opinion on your food.

“It’s good” he mumbles, continuing to shove food in his mouth. A bit bothered by the lack of response, you decide to talk about the newest episode in the hopes of lighting the mood. “Last episode of Kakegurui was great Rin, you should’ve seen it I really love mary. She’s great, I am a Mary Saotome simp through and through I still didn’t get the game they played but who cares? I can’t wait for season 3 to come out, I’ve already ordered the first 3 volumes of the Kakegurui twin manga, do you think it’s as good as the manga since I do think it’ll probably be better since it is Mary-centric and who hates mary since she-” You ramble on not taking notice of the bubbling annoyance that Suna seemed to have.

“Can you just shut up Y/N” he shouted making you flinch “ You’re so fucking talktative gosh” he got up and left the house slamming the door shut making you jump again. 

Instead of wallowing in your bed you decide on going out the library to go and read a good book (something that always makes you feel better) forgetting the harsh tone that Suna used with you. You were only trying to lighten the mood...

You got too engrossed with your books to notice how the sun is now gone and it was pitch black outside, the librarian notified you that it was time to go, you figure that if Suna was back at home he would’ve cooled down now so you can have a proper conversation which to be honest, you didn’t really want one.

Once you enter your house, Suna rushes towards you enveloping you in a big hug murmuring a “Oh thank god I was so worried” he tried to give you a kiss on the forehead but you recoil out of it, just as he did to you earlier. 

“I think i’m going to go to bed Rin” you say quietly trudging towards your bedroom and getting immediately in your bed. Suna stood there in the spot you left him in feeling bad for what he said to you at dinner. He goes into you bedroom and see you on your bed and silently gets into it next to you.

“Y/N I know you probably don’t want to hear me right now, but I am sorry” You don’t respond but slowly move closer to him letting him put his arm around you. Because of your silence Suna continues to speak “Umm...I watched the last episode earlier and you were right Mary Saotome is the goat but.... yumeko is better” he said teasingly 

This made you smile, as this is what you wanted a nice moment with your boyfriend talking about the last episode of your favourite show. You spend the rest of the night arguing over which character is better and decide to start Demon Slayer together, with Suna enjoying your after episode talks that you have.

AUTHOR NOTE: I was really excited to write for Suna and Atsumu but I have a fat migraine so i’m so sorry for it not being thattt gooood today :// but I hope you enjoy it regardless 

[peanutpinet]

Hii i don’t know if your requests are open but this idea came to my head and now i can’t let it go awwghh. I’m glad to have found someone who writes for yuzuru *^* So. The context is Y/N’s last competition before retiring, at the gala she gives a speech and gets all emotional. Without knowing that behind her back a sneaky yuzu approached with a surprise. An engagement ring! Ajdbkdk i hope you can work with this it’d be an honor!

Wholesome Yuzuru Hanyu request :"

A/n: Hi, yes, I do accept requests though I may be slow on them since I'm currently doing an intern. I would definitely try my best to write as best as I could :)

Pairings: Yuzu x female skater

Warnings: a bit emotional but fluff!!

A/N: for the how many time, I dunno why but for some reason, I just see this in a bullet form; hope you won't hate it :" kay onto the fanfic

First and foremost, let's establish your relationship first

Basically, the two of you have known each other since you debuted in your senior level

Essentially, Yuzu was your senpai and you have always looked up to him

Yuzu, on the other hand, did notice your senior debut but because he was a very busy man, the two of you only ever interacted during competitions (and that is if you guys went to the same competition)

But do not fret because the universe slowly brought you both together

Short story was that the both of you were supposed to head back after practice one time when the both of you missed your bus back to the hotel and ended up having to find your way back to the hotel together

Throughout the adventure back to the hotel, the two of you started to talk more and got to know each other better; and basically the rest is history

Time skip to your last competition

You have been a senior for 7 years at this point and figured that you have tried so many competitions (from GPF to Worlds and even the chance to join the Olympics) and figured that it's time to close this chapter of your life and move on

It was the day of the exhibition of your final competition and throughout the day, your mind has been reciting the speech you made since you finished your competition

Everyone was so sweet and knew that it was your final competition and exhibition that they kept sending messages, gifts and texts; however, there was no news from Yuzu

You tried not to overthink about anything and just enjoyed yourself with your fellow skaters

Throughout the exhibition, you definitely bring out your best self; being fully immersed in your performance until the very end of the exhibiton

At the end of the exhibition, just like past skaters who were going to retire, a fellow skater brought a mic and some flowers for you as the spotlight was mainly shine on you

Throughout your speech, you started getting emotionally and just couldn't held back the tears; wanting to pull yourself and finish your speech so you could cry as much as you'd like on Yuzu's shoulder

But, someone thought otherwise ;)

Nearing the end of your speech, there was a huge clap from both the audience and your fellow skaters when suddenly there was a different genre of music of playing

Confused, you looked around to see what was happening but you couldn't comprehend any form of words coming out of your mouth for what you witnessed

Yuzu had changed his outfit into a suit-like outfit, brought you your favourite flowers, and pulled you out of the hug of the skaters to the center

What happened next definitely made you think that this was all a dream from a fanfic you've read because Yuzu was having his own little speech about how you've changed his perspective in life, how you made him feel so many different emotions he has never felt before and suddenly the man was on one knee, making you and basically everyone in the stadium gasped in shock

And the next few words and actions Yuzu does say everything on what's happening

"(Y/N). I know this may seem rushed since we've only really been together for 3 years but honestly, I can't imagine what my life would be if the both of us didn't miss that bus. It may sound cheesy and cringe, but for reals, you make my life more colourful, being with you is just one surprise after the other and what I'm saying is that, no matter what, I know that you're the one. And I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with someone else. So, (Y/N), would you marry me?" Yuzu spoke, pulling out a simple yet beautiful rose gold ring

"Yuzu...you must be out of your mind if you think I wouldn't say yes. Like, I'd say yes more than you jump the 3A. Of course I would!!" you shouted, all the tears you held back finally burst

Without wasting any time, Yuzu stood back up, put the ring onto your finger, pulling you close and sealing the night with a kiss

"I love you" - the both of you whispered to each other as the background excitement slowly faded into the kiss

A/N: brb, I dunno why I became emotional when writing this T_T I hope you enjoy this short one-shot I did. Also, to everyone who wants to request anything about Yuzu, NCT or 9%, feel free to message me or drop a request in my inbox!! See y'all in the next one and take care everyone :) xoxo

[dead-boys-club]

† notes : shiba hakkai.

warnings: none beta’d: nope a/n: ft. aggressive yuzuha and mitsu ( bc, i couldn’t think of a setting. ). for this request. kinda want to make a pt. 2 with said date.

'So, are you ever going to say something him or what? It's honestly getting annoying watching you two shuffle around each other.'

Yuzuha's words caught you off guard and briefly, you hoped maybe they were directed at Mitsuya. Needless to say, your hopes were crushed when you noticed her gaze on you, eyebrow raised and waiting. The warm that rushed to your features came nauseatingly fast and maybe you would rather talk about anything else in the world.

'It's kind of hard to talk to someone that acts like you aren't there when you try to talk to them,' you answered with a nervous chuckle, 'I can't even look him in the eye.. let alone speak to him half the time.' It sounded pathetic, even to you, how much trouble it was just to speak to someone. You deflated a little, overthinking just a tad.

'That's not completely true.'

Looking up, you blinked towards Mitsuya as he decided to join the conversation: it was a surprise he'd even heard a single word.

'Do you remember last year at the zoo? You both talked all day and I don't think either of you realized it. Positive he didn't. You guys talk when you're distracted and don't actually realize you're talking.' The smile he sent felt almost teasing and you thought back, blinking a few times. He was right. His sisters had dragged him ahead, leaving you to ramble about the animals with Hakkai without noticing.

Bringing your hands to your face, you sighed and slouched, resting your forehead against the counter. What were you supposed to do? If you approached him head on about it, you'd be met with silence.

Lost in thought, you felt something poke the side of your head and sat up to look at what it was. Yuzuha had been nudging you with a piece of paper, holding a pen out with the other hand. 'Here. Just let it out on here, what you'd say to him and all. Practice it.' Being naive, you didn't find anything malicious in her offer and took the offered tools.

You began writing, being honest and sharing the thoughts you'd never be able to get out verbally. The blonde lingered over your shoulder, reading the words no doubt, probably forming some type of plan. You tried not to think about that, none the wiser to the fact she already had one.

The note was almost done when the blue haired male returned, joining everyone in the kitchen with a few groceries he'd been sent out for. He'd found himself in the middle of a conversation with Mitsuya by the time you wrote the final letter, beaming and reading over it.

You were fine, content to share your thoughts and wondering if you'd be asked to burn it or something, like those exorcizes you'd seen.

But no. The world was not on your side for that.

Yuzuha snatched the letter from your hands and folded it in half, offering you a fox like grin. You could barely move due to the shock, eyes wide: if it were possible, you wished the world would open up and swallow you whole. She mumbled something along the lines of thanking her later before passing the letter off to her very confused brother. Mitsuya visibly didn't approve of the seemingly forced confession but kept his comments to himself, returning to his task as the room fell painfully silent.

Time felt like it was crawling and soon enough, you were trying to gather your things and babble out an excuse to leave. It only really resulted in you dropping your books and stumbling, flustered and barely knowing left from right. Yuzuha leaned against the wall, smug while she watched the scene unfold. It almost made you cry, if you were honest, but you couldn't bare to embarrass yourself any further.

Before you could actually move to pick everything up, it was being held out to you, Hakkai having gotten it while you were gathering your composure. He looked just as flustered and a little freaked out but that was almost normal. For the first time, however, he was actually looking at you.

'I, uh..' He was struggling with his words, helping you collect the rest of your spilled things, now trying to avoid eye contact. 'I feel the same,' he got out with a clearing of his throat.

Just like that, it felt like the world was spinning.

'You.. do?' You no longer cared about the study supplies, haphazardly shoving everything in your bag, which you'd end up regretting later, but there were more serious matters at hand. 'Then.. would you, maybe..'

'Jesus, just go on a date already!'

You both flinched at the demand, laughter following at how agitated Yuzuha had become just watching but it was out of good intentions.

Hakkai's eyebrows pulled together and he shifted his weight, ignoring how he could feel his sister's gaze practically burning holes in his back. 'You wanna go for a walk..? Out of here,' he gestured around before offering a slightly trembling hand; anything to get out from under the nerve wrecking stares. You simply nodded and took the offer, butterflies going mad as he lead you from the kitchen and out of the house.

The walk started off quiet and awkward, what you'd expect but it quickly perked up at a very simple suggestion:

'Would you, I don't know, like to go to the zoo for our first date?'

[alluringjae]

queen of hearts - sjn

summary: for the first time, one of your star students hasn’t been fetched right after class. but when she finally does, you weren’t expecting such a fine man to be her father.

pairing: johnny x female reader

word count: 5.5k

genre: fluff, romance, comedy | ceo and single dad!johnny + ballerina!reader + modern day!au

warnings: mentions of an absent parent, johnny being an overthinker, sexual innuendos (ten saying dilf hehe), slight explicit language, technical terms of ballet, a mini reference to mean girls

author’s note: sooo i came in touch with my former dance life, which led me to write this. there are links for the variations i used; their names are underlined when they’re mentioned. i am going to get technical with ballet terms here (even when my ballet knowledge decreased), so to any dancers reading, i really did my best, so please don’t come for me or do correct me for any mistakes.

although one character and her dance background, plus the name of the setting, are real, everything else about it is still a work of fiction.

i miss dancing, no cap.

leave me some feedback, constructive criticism or hellos!

Ballet student and teacher by day, a soloist of the Korean National Ballet at night.

This was your daily routine, and it wasn’t the typical 8-5. But it’s debatable whether or not it was worse, because you’re always going overtime. That’s the thing when you’re an overachiever. Nonetheless, you loved what you do. It’s the lifestyle you gradually built since your preschool days.

Mornings on the weekdays were mostly vacant since all the kids were still in school. You’d start at 10 am for a warm-up class for the company. Before you delved into teaching and assisting, you’d train right after your lunch break. Partnering class, en pointe class, 1-on-1 sessions with choreographers, self-practice, then the company night class, that’s the organization of your week.

Now adding the teacher title, you mostly handled kindergartners to 5th graders in the academy aspect of the company. Your first teaching class would start at 1 pm. It’s when the younger students who finished their morning classes zoom into your assigned dance studio. One class would last an hour and a half, then you have a 30-minute break in between another class with the older kids. Their lesson repertoire was more strenuous due to the added across-the-floor lessons and jumps. Water was always your best friend, water refilling stations located everywhere in the company building.

You wouldn’t say you’re a strict teacher, but you weren’t shy to correct anyone from wherever you stood. You’d lightly align their arms or back properly so your students were working on the correct body parts. Compared to the other teachers, a lot of students enjoyed your kind yet frank approaches. Your former students, who’ve already gone to the higher levels, missed your lively presence and wished repeatedly that they want you back as their teacher.

“Teacher (Y/N), I miss you so much! Teacher Ten is so intense. I get the jitters especially when we’re en pointe on the floor.”

“Teacher (Y/N), Teacher Sicheng and Teacher Seulgi scare the heck out of me during partnering class. Especially when I tried to lift my partner, I keep losing focus because of Teacher Sicheng’s never-ending comments!”

Not to be sadistic, but you’d simply laugh at their minuscule complaints. Even if they’re struggling in the academy, those comments were directed to fix their techniques if they wanted to breakthrough.

“Kids, you’re going to be fine! They wouldn’t say or do those things just because they wanted to. They’re here to push you to the next level, like how I used to do with you. It’s a cut-throat industry after all.”

This was always your reply, bittersweet and truthful. Not everyone makes it, unfortunately, so if you’re really striving, you’d do whatever it takes. Throughout your career, you’re relatively impressed with how far you’ve come.

Trainee at 17, Corps de Ballet at 18, Demi-Soloist at 21, and Soloist at 23.

You’ve been a soloist for 4 years. The final stage, which was to become a principal dancer, is your running goal. Becoming a soloist was praiseworthy enough because you’ve seen so many give up in the Corps, but claiming a spot as a principal dancer has been the ultimate dream. Since you’ve watched Swan Lake for the first time at 4 years old with your parents, that’s where you found a passion for dancing and the stage. Here you are years later, practicing numerous variations daily, performing in opera houses, and mentoring all these gifted kids.

Your last class with elementary kids, which began around 5 pm, reached its end once all the students curtsied in front of you and scurried to their mothers or their nannies. The remaining plan on your agenda today was the company class at 7:30 pm, which exceeds the average hour and a half. It’s worse during show season. There have been times everyone went beyond midnight to polish every scene from head to toe.

Currently, there’s no upcoming show for the public, though the annual summer recital for the students was around the corner. Selected members of the company were chosen to perform individually in it, which was both exciting and intense. It’s also because it’s an evaluation on whether you’d get promoted in status or staying put. You’ve partaken in 3 recitals in the past, two of which elevated you from the corps and demi-soloist ranks. The recent one, however, didn’t change your soloist ranking.

It was a major first in your career in ballet, and after finding out the result of the latter, it emotionally pained you. Recalling how much soul you put into that piece, the rejection from your artistic director clenched your heart. Though in time, you moved on from it and viewed it as a stepping stone. Also, Sicheng and Ten personally stormed your apartment to pull yourself together with wine and pizza after going on a short leave.

Since you were trainees, Sicheng and Ten were your best friends in and outside the company. Working daily to occasional barhopping, that’s your youth summed up. It wasn’t because you didn’t like the girls you’ve worked with (though a lot of them were fake and bitchy), but these two were frank and humorous as hell. Together, you’d help each other with your goals rather than be competitive. Over time, Ten leveled up to a principal dancer for 2 years running while you and Sicheng were still soloists. The way you’d watch Ten take all the big roles, that’s where you want to be one day.

Back in your last teaching class, the entire dance room was vacant. Since it’s mainly used for ballet classes, you’d either run through anything you’ve practiced from the company classes and polish it or warm up a little bit more.

Except for today, this was the only free time to sew a new pair of pointe shoes because your current ones were dead. Dead in a sense that the hard shell turned soft, which won’t be able to support you when you’re up on your toes. You’re not taking any risks of minor injuries especially when you’re in the current lineup of company members performing for this upcoming recital again. You have to prove to everyone that you deserve a position as a principal dancer.

As your legs sprawled in a half middle split, your sewing equipment laid in front of you like you’re about to perform surgery, a tiny girl stood by the ajar studio doors. In her neat bun and holding on to her small duffel bag, you’re convinced everyone has gone home already since it’s quite late.

You may have your priorities as a company member, but she was still your student.

“Minji!” You shouted her name, speedily waving your hand. You’re not one to have favorites, though you couldn’t help wonder how extraordinary she was. She’s always taking charge in demonstrating the lessons to everyone and improving every session in the 3 years she’s joined the academy. “Come in! Come in!”

At age 7, she’s gotten taller through the years, above the average from how you see it. She must have amazing genetics. Her legs sauntered in seconds to you. Sitting down across you, she marveled at your setup. Specifically, at the fresh pointe shoes.

“Are those yours, Teacher (Y/N)?” She perked up, caressing its soft fabric and playing with the mini bows of the drawstrings.

“Yes, it is, Minji!” You answered while trying to insert the thin thread through the small eye of the needle. “Why are you still here? Is your nanny stuck in traffic or something?”

“My nanny went on sudden leave, so my dad’s the one fetching me. But I think he’s running late from his job.”

Oh, this was a first to know about her father. In all the years she’s been your student, you rarely caught sight of him, even in recitals. Maybe he sat in an unknown section, but you’re pretty much acquainted with all the parents of your students. Even if some were snobbier than the rest because they wanted their child to have more stage time, you still got to know them out of respect. Quite odd, if you said so yourself.

After deep concentration, the thread triumphantly passed through the eye so you tied the two ends of the thread in a double knot. Seeing as Minji attentively watched you, you tasked her to cut the ribbons of your shoes according to the trail of pencil marks. This was so she wouldn’t cut it too short or too long. While she did that, you hammered your shoes against the floor to soften the hard front, bending the shank back and forth so the arch of your feet could move without difficulty later.

Minji wasn’t expecting such loud sounds, her entire body shaken awake. Her facial expression was priceless, explaining to her, “Once you get your first pointe shoes in a few years, this is one of the basic things you need to do so your feet won’t hurt too much while dancing.”

“Will you be there to teach me how to make my pointe shoes?”

“Absolutely! Come to me first then I’ll mentor you all that I know.”

The process of sewing and breaking new pointe shoes engraved your mind since your adolescent years, with changes along the way. Inspired by some tricks from your former teachers, but there were some differing rituals you followed. There’s no definite process of it, just as long you’re comfortable to dance after.

With your feet, you stepped on the hard boxes of the shoes to soften it more, creating a popping sound. Followed by sewing your elastic bands in. For your ribbons, you liked to burn the edges with a lighter so the thread of it won’t run. Kindly asking your cute assistant for the lighter beside her, you scanned the edges back and forth the flame. In seconds, the edges had a distinct mark, fully closed. From there, you slid your feet to your shoes to make final sewing adjustments. Sewing your ribbons took you another few minutes, plus adding superglue inside the shoe so the shoe won’t collapse when it unstiffens and scratching the shank with a cutter so you won’t slip later while dancing.

Voila, the final product is done! Hopefully, it can last you a week at least.

“Wow, Teacher (Y/N), it looks pretty!” Minji applauded, collecting the mess you’ve both made to dispose of later. You, on the other hand, gave her your thanks once you applied some bandages on your big toes and put on your toe pads. Slipping inside the shoes and tying them, you rose up back to your feet and headed to the bar to break them in. From plies-relevésto forced arches, the shoes gave you the sensation that they were an extension of your feet. The ease flowed through, meaning you were ready to practice your variations.

While you stepped your shoes in rosin for friction, your curious student moved to the front where the mirror lied to watch what you’ve prepared.

“What variation are you dancing to?”

“This is the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere.” You replied, tapping the play button on your phone and racing to your position on the side. Talking a short ballet walk, you strongly prepared your arms before the music of the orchestra takes off.

This variation consisted of a lot of jumps and turns. Grand jetés, attitude turns, chaîné turns, you needed a lot of core control and proper spotting so you won’t get dizzy. The thrilling music lessened your nerves because you enjoyed learning this piece from one of the principal dancers, smiling and letting the music guide your legs. Once you nailed 3 consecutive grand jetés, the variation ended with a sus-sous and the wrists of your hands flicking upwards.

Holding it for 5 more seconds, you landed back on your feet with heavy breathing and a need for water. But before you could, small claps and cheers from Minji in front erupted. Momentarily, you’ve forgotten her presence because dancing solo puts you in your own space. You’d never let anyone take you away from it.

“Teacher (Y/N), that was wonderful! Are you performing that in the summer recital?”

Yikes, she’s right but she wasn’t meant to see it yet. Solo performances from the company members for the recital were top secret, only unveiled during the production rehearsal. Well, you didn’t think this through, but you didn’t mind.

“Can you keep a secret?”

Time ticked a lot faster today, only 10 minutes left until the company class on the ground floor whereas you were in the second. Just a few steps down the stairs away, yet Minji was still here. You only presumed that within your hour break, her father could’ve made it already. But maybe he’s stuck in traffic or at work.

“Minji, my class starts soon. Have you contacted your father?”

“I already texted him earlier, but he hasn’t responded. This happens often, he’s a busy man.” She bowed in front of you suddenly. “I’m sorry, Teacher (Y/N) for the hassle.”

“Oh no, please!” You shook your hands so she’d stop. Because this situation was relatively new, you were unsure of how to handle it. Or that was until you remembered what Ten texted you earlier. “Minji, the blinds of the main studio are going to be lifted so anyone from the outside can view us practicing. Would you like to watch until your dad gets here?”

With her insistent nodding, she situated herself in one of the seats in the front row. When you entered the main studio, your two close companions already carried a metal barre to the center and leaned towards it while observing you walking to them in your flat shoes.

“I see we have a bit of an audience here.” Ten glimpsed at the young girl, astonished by the many dancers prepping and chatting away with their cliques from the glass barrier.

“Her dad isn’t here yet, and you did say the blinds were up today. Might as well give her a show while she waits, you know.” You lifted your right leg to the top barre, stretching it with your arms.

“Hmmm, shouldn’t her dad be more cautious though? It’s getting late and it’s a Thursday. Doesn’t she have school or something?” Sicheng pointed out, discarding his muscle tee to straighten out his leotard.

“That’s not my business though. She’s just my student, and since she’s still here, I have to entertain her while she waits.”

Before your friends said anything back, the artistic director of the ballet company strutted her way to the center of the room. It’s a common rule here that once she entered, everyone must be silent to listen and race to any free spot in the numerous barres spread out if they haven’t.

“Alright, everyone. We’ll do the typical barre, then before doing across the floor exercises, I’ll be requesting those performing solos already in the recital to dance any variation tonight as another evaluation on who deserves to perform twice.” She eyed the pianist directly beside her. “Proceed first with two demi-pliés then one grand plié. Don’t forget to do the port de bras of each position.”

As the live piano music played, your focus was divided. Partly properly executing the exercise while your artistic director roamed each barre area, partly thinking about what variation to perform. This was a first for the company, and everyone was just stunned to hear the breaking news. It’d be nice to get an extra opportunity to showcase to people your potential.

30-40 minutes flew by quickly. As the guys carried the bars to the side to clear out the floor and the girls changed to their pointe shoes, the artistic director ordered all the performers of the recitals to stand in a line in front of her. Everyone else was seated around the room, so the interested eyes of everyone were on you. There were 10 performers, half are from the corps and the other half are either demi-soloists or soloists. You and Sicheng stood beside each other, internally shaking with nerves under the intimidating eyes of the artistic director. She used to be a principal dancer for the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany before moving back to Seoul, making her undeniably capable of leading all of you.

“Okay,” From her seated position observing the 10 performers, her finger pointed at you directly. “Ms. (Y/L/N) (Y/N), you perform first.”

Your nerves intensified and more sweat streamed out your upper body. Even if going first felt more relieving, no one was ever brave enough to perform individually in front of the esteemed artistic director. Principal dancers aside from Ten that you’re close with were intimidated when they have 1-on-1 or partnering sessions with her. But anyhow, in less than 2 minutes, you’d be done. This wasn’t the first time she’s had your full attention either, so you’ll treat it like the other individual performances you’ve had.

You smiled to yourself when the other soloists left you alone, while you gave the name of the variation you’re dancing to the pianist. Running to the side to put on a practice tutu, the artistic director asked, “What will you be dancing for us tonight, (Y/N)?”

“I’ll be dancing Queen of the Dryads from Don Quixote.”

The last time you did this variation was 3 years ago during the recital that didn’t change your position as a soloist. Even if this variation hurt to think about for a while, it was still one of your favorites to watch and do. Moving on, you could only muse how powerful and beautiful you felt at that time. This isn’t an easy piece to perform in your opinion. Yet according to the members of the company, this was their favorite solo of yours.

As the starting notes unfolded, you took a deep breath and elegantly walked into the frame. You only wished you wore your fake crown again for this. Minimal smiling and light arms, you imagined yourself as an actual queen who captured the eyes of many. In this case, your fellow seniors and juniors held their breaths at the captivating sight of you.

Off you go into a series of glissade jeté developpé on relevé at elevating heights, then a fouetté arabesque and another arabesque on relevé before ballet walking again to the side to dance across the stage. Sissonne to the front, right developpé to the front on relevé, pique to prepare for a single pirouette, you gracefully did a chassé to the front twice and stood on your toes with a sus-sous.

Doing it a few more times, the climax of the entire variation was nearing. Returning to the center, you took another deep breath and lifted your left leg for the Italian fouettés. Spotting to the front and back while maintaining your balance, the variation approached its end with lame duck turns, posing with your arms were positioned at a 45-degree angle, your back slightly arched and your left leg doing a tendu derriére. Your eyes reflected at the mirror in front, surveying your alignment. Once your 5-second hold was finished, you properly put your arms down and closed your back leg into 5th position.

The applause from everyone in the room roared, Ten and Sicheng wolf-whistling even for more support. It’s a usual thing every time any of you perform individually, and no one minded it. The artistic director grinned, giving a quiet clap from the front before calling out the next performer, who was from the corps. Bowing to everyone hastily, you paid more attention to spot your student by the window. She was smiling ear to ear, waving both hands at you.

“You did amazing, Teacher!” She mouthed. Hearing words of praise from members was one thing, but hearing them from students was another. You’re so used to watching them and giving them your compliments that you often forget that you’re a dancer first before a teacher. Seeing them all delighted, saying that it motivates them more, showed that you’re doing a great job teaching them. You’re a reflection of what you pass down, and all you want was for them to be the best they could be.

From her jolly expression, a tall masculine silhouette hovered a part of the window. Her instinct of giving a brighter smile when the hand of said silhouette patted her head then carried her duffel bag again, that could only mean one thing. Excusing yourself to the artistic director, you stepped out to bid your goodbye and maybe meet her father. Minji and the tall man were about to leave the building if it weren’t for your breathy voice calling them out.

“Seo Minji and Mr. Seo?”

They stopped their tracks. Minji was fast to react, familiar with your voice and racing towards you for a sweaty hug. Meanwhile, your focus shifted once the masculine silhouette came into full view. You finally understood why Minji’s growth spurt spiked up, noticing that he was taller than Sicheng.

The top buttons of his shirt were off, yet he kept his formal blazer on. His hair was a bit tousled, some strands falling in front of his forehead. He must’ve run here. Peeking through were some roots of his scruff growing. His eyebags were almost as dark as his brown hair. Yet by the way his Rolex remained spotless, you blatantly assumed that he was more than well-off. Especially when the ballet academy was one of the most prestigious ones in Seoul.

Out of all the parents you’ve met, none of them appeared youthful like him.

“Teacher (Y/N)?” Thanks to Minji, you moved your staring eyes away from him. This was another first, since meeting only the fathers of your students wasn’t your norm. Meeting young-looking fathers, to be specific.

“O-Oh,” You ate your words, suddenly blanking out. “You’re leaving me without saying goodbye, Minji? Not polite of you.”

“My father was rushing right after watching your performance, and I don’t know why.” She responded, her finger scratching the top of her head in confusion. Speaking of said father, his strong presence appeared right in front of you. The wrinkles of his forehead creased while his eyes barely looked at yours.

“Uhm,” His fingers toyed with his Rolex. “I apologize for my tardiness. I got caught up in work and all, plus her nanny le-”

“Mr. Seo.” You halted his rambling, already aware of the situation. Like father, like daughter. “It’s fine. Minji loved watching us practice while waiting, and she wasn’t a bother either. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Phew.” He swiped an imaginative bead of sweat from his forehead, displaying his relief with his playful nature.

At age 23, Johnny Seo started his own company in the fashion scene and it grew internationally in the coming years. Then when Minji unexpectedly joined the picture, he’s been multi-tasking to make ends meet. Lately, as a CEO, he has had meetings and conferences on a daily. So, his position as a single father was always tested. It worsened when he rarely has proper time to spend any time with Minji unless it’s the weekend or late in the evening. Breaking it down, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to meet you. It was more like he couldn’t when his schedules were packed from head to toe.

Having the guilt of taking your precious time, “Seriously though, I am sorry for being late. Her nanny resigned suddenly, and I have no time to find her replacement.”

“Mr. Seo, again, don’t worry about it. As her teacher and a company member, I am practically here 24/7 so it won’t be a nuisance at all if this happens again.”

“Thank you so much, Teacher (Y/N). That is your name, right?” He planted his palm on his forehead, stressed. “Being a single parent is hard. I am always forgetting things.”

A part of you couldn’t restrain from feeling sorry for his struggle. Taking care of a child should be the work of both the mother and father, not one of them being absent. You’ve feared this would harm Minji, but she’s a strong girl.

“The fact you didn’t forget to fetch Minji despite the late time is still something to be happy over. I’m not a parent or anything, but parenting, in general, is a challenge.” You added an insight, patting the head of the young girl beside you. “Cut yourself some slack, Mr. Seo. I’m sure Minji still loves you, right?”

Minji shouted a big yes, now clinging to the leg of her father. “It’s okay, dad. Really.”

Over the years, Johnny has been doubtful of his parenting skills. He was an only child, and he struggled to ask for guidance from his own parents due to the shame of having a kid at a young age. So, he’d ask for help from his other friends and co-workers. No matter how many times they’ve reassured him that he’s doing well, he’s an overthinker who always reflected on the bad scenarios. There’s also that pressure to find someone who can fill that absent position not just for Minji, but for himself too. No matter how many girls he’s asked out or been set up with, he failed in the love department badly.

It’s the soothing way you voiced out your truth that made all these negative thoughts running through his head freeze briefly. Over the past 3 years since Minji started ballet, she always had a great story about you to share. One of them was how ballet made her a lot happier because of your influence. If he had at least an hour of his day to meet any of his daughter’s mentors, it would’ve been you.

“Do feel free to call me Johnny instead.” He casually introduced himself, taking his hand out for you to shake. “Mr. Seo makes me feel like I’m at work right now.”

Despite his informal approach, you understood his intentions and returned the action with a promising smile. “Pleasure to finally meet you, Johnny.”

“Pleasure is all mine, Teacher (Y/N).”

Earlier, the nerves from performing in front of the artistic director died down fast. But for some reason, they rose back up when you’ve spoken to this man in a matter of minutes. As someone whose feelings don’t flourish in a single glance, why did this man specifically deliver you such a strong effect?

If it weren’t for Ten calling for your name by the door, you would’ve held on to Johnny’s hand longer, which would’ve been inappropriate. Letting go first, this was your cue to return to your class.

“I must head back inside, Johnny. Don’t sweat on fetching your daughter late, though she is still a student with school the following day. Right, Minji?”

Minji nodded as Johnny kept that mind, knowing where he has to improve next.  “Yes, Teacher (Y/N). Thank you again, sincerely. I’ll definitely see you again in the coming days until Minji has a new nanny.”

“That’s no problem with me at all, Johnny.”

Soon as Johnny held his daughter’s hand to exit the studio and you were re-entering the studio with an impatient Ten, he swerved swiftly as if he forgot something.

“Oh by the way Teacher (Y/N), I saw your whole performance awhile ago. I was blown away, you deserved the applause.”

Although you could only distinguish his silhouette, you didn’t suppose he watched you from head to toe. Most parents or nannies would’ve dragged their kids out of the studio once they find them like they were on a tight schedule, so this was novel to experience. That performance showed your prime too.

“Thank you, Johnny. See you again soon.”

Giving a final nod, you led yourself back to the studio, not bothering to acknowledge the erupting heat on your cheeks and entire body. Not to sound narcissistic, but compliments weren’t foreign to you. You’re conscious of the hard work that you put in your talent and if they pointed out your greatness, why would you deny it? However, receiving one from Johnny was like gearing your engine with new fuel.

Before you could try to reject these harboring feelings, Ten was fast to pick up on it. You cannot hide anything from this man at all because body language was like another language he’s fluent in (aside from the other 5). Unlucky for you, the saga continued.

“You’re so into dilfs, (Y/N)!” He shrieked in your ear, nudging your shoulder repetitively. He placed things in his own way, yet they always shocked you because it was so inappropriate. Typical Ten for you.

“Shut up, Ten!” You objected, watching the other performers. You’ve improved in ignoring his remarks over time. That was until Sicheng sat down beside you after his solo and got up in your business. That placed you in the middle of boys from the water sign clan of astrology. They just loved getting down to your love life, going raunchy and whatnot.

“Who’s into dilfs, Ten?”

“A Miss (Y/N) beside you, who met Minji’s dad awhile ago, was basically eye-fucking him.” Ten elaborated, planting his elbows on your leg and gave you a sneaky glare. “Minji’s dad is fine as fuck, guys! I’m telling you, like a literal god! I’m surprised this is the first time he showed up here after 2-3 years?”

“How come (Y/N) is always getting students with good-looking parents? Especially the single moms.” Sicheng slumped his shoulders, attempting to get your attention too. “Is he that hot, (Y/N)?”

“Yah.” Sighing with annoyance, you’ve given up trying to appreciate one of the corps dancers with her rendition of Dulcinea from Don Quixote. “Don’t speak of Johnny like that. You barely know the man, yet you talk about him so unprofessionally."

“Oh, Johnny is his name, huh?” Sicheng sing-songed, bobbing his head. He’s certainly going to stalk him later on social media, you felt it in your chest. Like it was ESPN or something.

“Talking about being unprofessional, yet you’re here referring him as Johnny, not Mr. Seo.” Ten barked back, his lips pursed and one eyebrow lifted.

Just as soon as you could retaliate, the artistic director’s velvety voice boomed the room.

“Alright, thank you to the performers. I will deliberate with the staff and principal dancers over the weekend, and let you know the results on Monday. Now please, let’s proceed to the center.”

Everyone began to spread out on the wide floor, snatching a good position so they could monitor themselves in the mirror. Maybe you’ll defend yourself later after class because now, you needed to beat everyone else and have a crystal-clear view of yourself doing these following exercises.

In the meantime, Johnny was in the middle of driving Minji home. He had a designated chauffeur, but he gave him the night off because he wanted to spend time with Minji. Around this time, she’d be sleeping soundly, but instead, she’s boosting with so much life. She hasn’t even eaten dinner yet, which was the first thing on Johnny’s agenda now.

Playing Coldplay in the car, Minji belted some lyrics from her favorite songs while Johnny smiled to himself while listening to her attentively. Taking a breath, her thoughts reverted to her fantastic ballet teacher and shared them with her father.

“Dad! Don’t you just think Teacher (Y/N) is so cool? Ugh, I want to be just like her when I grow up.”

“Oh, to become a ballerina like her, you have to work hard every day and memorize lessons fast. Are you up for it, Minji?”

“Absolutely, dad! I want to pull off perfect jumps and turns like her one day!”

In the other after-school activities Johnny enrolled Minji in the past, none of them compared to the passion she had for ballet. Her work ethic was alike to Johnny’s: if they want something, they’ll do whatever it takes to make it possible.

Aside from being a star student in her school, she’s aiming to be a star ballerina. Being the supportive father he is, Johnny was on board to do what it takes to make it happen. Unlike his parents trying to mold him into the next heir of their company, he’s all ears to the dreams of his daughter. His only dream for her was to be live long and happy, not to merely pass on anything.

Johnny lost so much in his young life, so he doesn’t want to lose Minji in any way. As much as he loves his profession, he wanted to be an active father as much as time allowed it. He mostly received complaints from others that he’s not prioritizing his time well, but after hearing your kind words, this heavy weight on his shoulders decreased. All this doubt started to vanish after meeting you for the first time.

“Dad! Isn’t Teacher (Y/N) so beautiful?” Minji honored whilst gazing at the twinkling night sky. “She loves what she does and shines at it.”

Johnny was accustomed to his female co-workers throwing themselves at him due to his attractiveness, more than flattered even to have them feeling weak for him. Yes, there were times he used it to his advantage, some he frankly turned down. 

However, the radiance you carried whether you’re dancing or not was something Johnny couldn’t cease wondering about. Unknown to him, he’s the one getting weak. Behold, an unlocked first for the confident CEO.

“Yes, Minji. I do think Teacher (Y/N) is absolutely beautiful.”