#Somewhere out there is a universe where things went a different direction between these two

[ceranovis]

We have not touched the stars, nor are we forgiven, which brings us back to the hero's shoulders and a gentleness that comes, not from the absence of violence, but despite the abundance of it. Snow and Dirty Rain by Richard Siken

My @qsmp-secretvalentine gift for @weatheredwaxwings who asked for Pac/Cellbit! Happy valentines day!

[idyllic-ghost]

glasses; seungkwan x reader

request: i saw this was an option for requesting so i wanted to try (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵) is there anything you really want to write about? or if you can't think of something at the moment, may i request seungkwan fluff with prompt 49?

synopsis: your best friend shows up in new glasses, and you just can't stop staring.

prompt 49: "this isn't a date"

a/n: totebag seungkwan au...

cw: mentions of food (cake and coffee)

genre: fluff, friends to lovers

word count: 1.6k

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

You had been staring at your best friend for almost ten minutes now. He hadn't noticed yet, and what he didn't know couldn't hurt him... still, you felt bad about looking at him in this way.

The university library was nearly empty, and you were sitting in a small nook where you could be shielded from the few people there. You were supposed to be working on an essay while Seungkwan was studying for one of his finals. The essay you were supposed to be working on needed to be turned in at the end of the week, and you only needed to make some final touches to it. So far, you had done nothing. If Seungkwan knew of this, he would've scolded you for not working - but he was way too engrossed in the book he was reading to even look up.

Seungkwan was your best friend and had been since middle school. The two of you went in separate directions for university, but you still went to the same school. You couldn't help each other with homework anymore, but it was always nice to have some company while working... until today when Seungkwan walked up to the table, happy that you had managed to snag the best table in the library, wearing glasses. Round glasses with a silver frame, perched onto the bridge of his nose. You immediately teased him for needing glasses, your way of hiding how much you liked them on him.

Ever since your senior year of high school, you had been crushing on your best friend. He had always been cute, but something changed during the summer before your last year of high school - he was different from the boy you used to know. Good different. Very good. The glasses only added to his charm.

Your staring had started out as glances from time to time while reading through what you had already written. It only took one extra long stare until you were physically unable of looking away. Now you had fallen off the deep end, and you couldn't get back. If it wasn't for the fact that those glasses made him look so smart, and his focused pout and furrowed eyebrows. Seungkwan looked like a study-date dream come true, in his cute button-up and classy jeans. Compared to your half-shabby self, he looked absolutely stunning. It almost made you start wondering if he was going somewhere after this, or if the library for some reason suddenly had a dress code.

"Are you doing okay?" Seungkwan interrupted your thoughts, bringing you back from staring off into space.

"Oh? Yeah... just tired," you murmured. "You know what? Why don't we uh... we should grab some coffee."

"I'm down for that." He giggled and closed his book. "You look like you need it."

You can't respond. You only laugh quietly and pack up your things. It doesn't take long, you didn't really take anything out of your bag. Seungkwan had swung his tote bag over his shoulder and was now offering a hand to you. You looked between his hand and his face, wondering what he could possibly want from you now. Your brain truly was fried at this moment. To not make him wait any longer, you did the first thing that came to you. With a quick swing of your wrist, you put the strap of your backpack in his hand. A slightly flustered and annoyed smile reached his lips. He huffed and pouted but still put your backpack on his back, leaving you wondering what you did wrong.

There were a lot of cafés around campus, trying to profit off of the poor and tired students and the overworked professors who just needed their daily dose of caffein. However, you knew where to find the best café. Better than any other café on campus. Seungkwan had found it within the first week of going to the university. Neither of you had tried any place after that, it was just that good. Of course, you didn't actually know if there was a better place, but neither of you had the time nor money to try to find it out.

As soon as you walked through the door of the Corner Café, a pleasant ding sound greeted you, followed by the old man who owned the café welcoming you as well.

"Two iced americanos?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah... do you want anything else?" Seungkwan asked you.

You looked through the many assortments of pastries, cakes, and bread. Cupcakes, brownies, gourmet sandwiches, and their specialty chocolate cake. They all looked amazing, especially the chocolate cake, but they were too expensive. You shook your head disappointedly.

"My wallet would start crying," you admitted shyly.

"Don't worry I got it." Seungkwan shrugged. "What do you want?"

"Oh... um..." You looked between him and the display of desserts, you knew better than to argue with Seungkwan over this. "Just a brownie then."

"Hey, come on... get something nicer," he complained and jokingly pushed your shoulder.

"What? Brownies are nice," you argued.

"But they're not fancy," Seungkwan countered.

"It doesn't need to be fancy." You looked over at him with pleading eyes, despite knowing that it never worked on him.

"How about the chocolate cake?" the old man interrupted your bickering.

Seungkwan looked at the chocolate cakes and pulled out his wallet, satisfied with the choice of pastry. The old man smiled and opened the sliding doors to the pastries. You tried to stop your friend, assuring him that brownies were fine, but he didn't let you convince him. This was as close to a compromise as you could get.

"My new server will bring it out for you," the man said as he was ringing you up. "You two can have a seat."

Seungkwan picked the seat you always picked, right in the corner as far in as you could get. There was only a couch seat with a table in front of it. You didn't mind. Sitting so close to your crush may be nerve-wracking, but it didn't make it any less wanted.

"You really didn't have to pay." You sighed as you sat down next to him.

"Of course I did," he said as he put your bags under the table. "I said I would."

His words surprised you, as you didn't remember having a conversation about buying you cake. But you didn't have time to question it, as the new server walked over with your orders.

"Thank you," you said in unison.

"Can I just say you guys are too cute?" the woman said. "Is this your first date?"

"This isn't a date," you said with wide eyes.

"It's not?" Seungkwan turned to you with knitted brows.

The server gave you an apologetic and awkward smile before scurrying away, leaving your americanos and the chocolate cake on the table. When you looked over at Seungkwan you felt a stab in your heart at his sad expression. Worry struck you like an ocean wave. Had he thought this was a date? When had you asked him out on a date? Had he asked you out on a date when you weren't listening?

"Not to my knowledge." You took the iced americano in your hands, the cold glass helping to chill your sweaty palms.

"You asked me out," he accused.

"What? When?" You panicked and put your drink down on the table again, afraid that your shaky hands would drop it. "Are you sure it was me?"

"Yes, it was you!" Seungkwan exclaimed. "We were at that house party a few days ago. You asked me out when we were sitting on the balcony."

You thought back to a few days ago. You remember the house - a big white house, with several floors - and the music, that had been so loud that you couldn't stand it. That's why you had gone out to the balcony with Seungkwan. Memories came flooding back and a groan escaped your lips. Your friends had been trying to get you to confess for ages, and with alcohol in your veins you had stupidly blurted it out while the two of you were alone.

"I'm sorry... I forgot," you mumbled and put your face in your hands. "Oh my god, this is so embarrassing..."

"No, it's not." Seungkwan rubbed your back. "I mean, it's a little bit embarrassing... but you're fine."

A laugh rumbled up from your stomach, and soon Seungkwan joined in too. The two of you let go of all the tension with laughter, and when it was finally gone you looked at each other. He was still smiling, and so were you. It was hard not to when all of the weight on your chest had finally lifted. So many years of pining, only to accidentally go on your first date together today of all days.

"I dressed up for you," he admitted.

"Good to know." You held back another fit of giggles. "I thought the library had gotten a dress code."

"Seriously?" He scoffed. "You're so oblivious."

"I'm oblivious? I was staring at you for like ten minutes and you never even said anything!"

"I noticed that, though." He grinned and started drinking his coffee.

Your face grew warm. He had seen you staring. For ten minutes. You cringed at the fact that you thought you were getting away with it. As Seungkwan laughed, you leaned your head on his shoulder to avoid his gaze.

"It was the glasses," you mumbled out your confession. "I was staring at you because of your glasses."

"You like them?" he asked with a grin.

With a soft smile, you lifted your head from his shoulder again. You studied his features and watched as he grew flustered from your staring.

"They make you look even prettier," you said.

"Oh, stop it!" He couldn't handle the pressure, and gently pushed you away.

"I'm being serious! They suit you!"

The two of you looked at each other, him glaring at you while you grinned proudly. You always enjoyed making him blush. A new feeling was in the air, along with a new tension in your chest. A giddy feeling, instead of a lovesick one. All you wanted to do was squish his cheeks together and dote on him.

"Is this our first date?" he asked suddenly.

"If you want it to be." You nodded and looked back at the cake. "Otherwise I'll pay you back."

"No way."

"Then I'll get the bill on our next date." You were nervous, but you thought it was better to just get it out. "Because I like you, a lot... and I'd like to go out on another date with you."

"I'd like that too... and I like you too." Seungkwan nodded. "Can I hold your hand now? Or are you going to make me carry your bag again?"

"You were trying to grab my hand before?" You chortled.

"It's not funny! I felt so rejected!" he clamored.

To shut him up, you grabbed his hand. When your fingers intertwined it felt like they were made for each other. All this time, and you never knew that his hand was so perfectly structured to fit in yours. You're glad he bought you that cake, and that someone else finally pointed out the obvious mutual feelings - you should really thank that new server. More importantly, you were glad to be holding his hand and you made sure to savor every moment.

[goosewriting]

i can't believe my brain finally, finally let me have a cal kestis appearance in my dream last night and it was the saddest most heart-wrenching thing ever 😩 my dreams are crazy, detailed and elaborate so this will get long lol if you feel like reading, go ahead, it's real "reader falls into an alternate universe and needs to find their way back" fic material 😂

btw if any of you ever have dreams with your blorbos i'd love to read it so feel free to honk in my inbox c:

so it kinda went back and forth between two different dreams i'm pretty sure. one playing at the university library and the other playing somewhere else. in the library one i was at a table with some classmates, working on our assignments, but there were also some people i know from elsewhere and we started arguing over something. then there was this girl who had lost something and i tried to talk her through how to get to the lost & found, giving the wildest (and very wrong) directions.

the other dream started in the middle of a yellow field of tall grass, where train tracks ran through from one side of the horizon to the other, nothing else to see. when the train came, it was massive, and i was participating in a heist of sorts. we (still don't know who the other people were) were successful i think, because the train derailed and we looted it. I think there was some big boss mastermind somewhere who told us what to do and we were all scared of her lol

so i don't exactly remember what happened after the heist, but the thing is there were these jumps between the dreams where in one i was this badass agent of whatever and doing cool stuff, and in the other i was "real me" in this world doing mundane things. although at some point i'm pretty sure i suddenly was an estate agent trying to set everything up for a visit except that the house was made of cardboard, but that's beside the point 😂 the scenarios from the library timeline i'm pretty sure happened not only somewhere else but in a different time altogether.

at one point, the events of the heist dream kinda come to its peak, and i now find myself in a big room (in hindsight i think it was the archives on jedha from the survivor game?) and somewhere in the air there's a bucket-shaped thing that's swallowing everything around it in a whirlwind, essentially ripping apart time and space. and as it turns out, cal has been there the whole time, and we were actually fighting together and stuff. but now that the bucket is about to shred the fabric of reality, we have to do something. and for some reason the plan of action is that i have to travel to a different universe. we (cal, me, and some other people idk) were all standing at a holotable looking at a map displaying different planets and universes and stuff (again, in hindsight, very web of life and destiny like. i just mashed everything together here it seems xD). and the reasoning in my head went like this: the planet we find ourselves on at this moment is not necessarily star wars canon and is outside of the known parts of the galaxy. so even if i do find my way back to this universe (which i was sure i could do, somehow) i still have no means to contact cal and or even find the planet again. so the search would take quite a while.

and there isn't enough time for us to set up a meeting point and time or anything because of the imminent danger. someone is already dragging me back to the bucket to be sucked into next wednesday or whatever, but i go up to cal one last time and he gives me the strongest hug and omg i didn't wanna let go. at this point i 'm in tears and as someone once again pulls me away and drags me off, i call to him "i will find you" and then everything goes black.

it's so lame i know but i legit woke up with a hole in my heart ;-;

my conclusion is that after leaving that place, the time and space travel kinda wiped my mind so i started a new life (the one at the library and the cardboard house) and completely forgot about cal :'( eventually i'd get snippets of memories, which is why the dream kept jumping back and forth, but i probably just thought they were daydreams or whatever, not my own memories. now that's some meta angst man.

oh and also at some point there were gorillas that shapeshifted into smaller versions of themselves with wings to fly around, and everyone was absolutely okay with that except that they were aggressive so they didn't like them. how that ties into any part of the dream i couldn't tell you but it was just a striking image to see these giant apes suddenly become small and flutter around shdjddkd

[strixcattus]

Conlang Year Days 39 & 40

The past two days were set aside to figure out the syntactic alignment and basic sentence structure of the conlang. I've been doing a little bit of thinking about the grammar, but this actually wasn't a part of that. Even so, I had a few ideas about what I didn't want:

I'd prefer a more common word order over a less common one. No sense going for something like OSV—I'd just be making things more difficult for myself in a way that isn't fun at the moment.

SOV was out from the start. My previous, most developed, and possibly only preexisting decent conlang, Yvelse, uses SOV, and I didn't want to do the same thing twice in a row.

I'm always a little wary about defaulting to SVO, English being my first language and all. I probably don't need to be, but I am.

With that in mind, I had a few ideas. I could just go with SVO. I could have different word orders for different circumstances, like how some languages move the verb in questions. I even played with the idea of having SVO and OVS being equally valid structures, with subject and object markings to indicate which is being used. A verb-first ordering might also be nice to have, given my... other intentions for this language. Get the chonky, information-laden part of the sentence out of the way upfront.

And that's not even getting into syntactic alignment. Nothing wrong with nominative-accusative—even though I also used it in Yvelse, I still don't have any qualms against doing that twice in a row. Actually, I didn't really spend time considering much else—I was between that and tripartite alignment, and I wasn't seriously considering the latter.

Then there's how to mark them. In the natural languages I'm familiar with, nouns don't get marked for all that much. It's the pronouns that get tangled up in alignment—and, given that this conlang is going to have seven grammatical persons and either four or five genders plus a null gender (the former of which apply to three persons and the latter of which applies universally and exclusively to the other four), that's a lot of pronouns. Maybe tripartite isn't such a good idea.

(I'm going to have tables for days when I get to this part of construction. When are the Conlang Year Pronoun Days? I'm wondering if I should maybe plan ahead if only to block out a few hours on those days to descend into the pits of Pronoun Tartarus.)

I could also make use of affixes or the like. Yvelse used prefixes for direct and indirect objects, and I'm currently learning a (natural) language that uses postpositions for... basically everything, so I already know I've got options there.

There was a brief moment (I say brief... I postponed this post by half a day because I wanted to sleep on the idea) where I considered animacy-based word order and went so far as to write a whole list for that (which has since been moved to a new section of the doc entitled Cryogenic Freezer just in case I ever want to dust it off and put it somewhere else), but in the end I went with something more simple.

Sentence structure is VSO. After the object, other nouns such as location and instrument can be introduced, and these don't have a set order. I'm planning to have the role of each noun marked by an adposition which can optionally also encode subjective tense—allowing me to mark subjective tense for everything that partakes in a sentence equally.

I've tested out this system on a few sentences. They're pretty barren without anything to mark tense or role, but I feel they work well (and you'll notice that siza, the word for "humanoid" from a while back, has been redefined to "person" as its primary definition):

Zasi siza zacio. [repair person time machine] A person repairs a time machine.

Zono kota denege. [kill poisonous plant songbird] The poisonous plant kills a (small) bird.

Zuga zasi. [err person] A person makes a mistake.

Nai dato. [exist rain] It is raining.

You can also make sentences that involve arguments beyond subject and object, like so:

Kai siza gate gai. [give person gamebird grain] The person gives the (large) bird some grain.

Nai lokodo lepito. [exist earthquake coastline] There is an earthquake at the coastline.

Zono siza kadou kijao tanu. [kill person herbivore fire valley] A person kills an animal with fire in the valley.

[inairbinad]

Never Quite As It Seems

Nancy Wheeler/Barb Holland + Steve and Barb bonding

A glimpse at a world where Nancy saves Barb and then they start dating 🥰 From the Barb Lives AU in my other fic, Petals in a Storm. It can definitely be read as a standalone, though.

cw: period typical homophobia; ~3k words; read below the cut or on ao3 if you perfer

Steve Harrington wasn’t the kind of person that girls like Barb Holland could trust. In Barb’s experience, Steve was the kind of guy you avoided at all costs, because if he looked in your direction that either meant he wanted to cheat off of your work or mock your very existence. At least, that had been true in years past. 

Barb really wasn’t expecting stealing the dude’s girlfriend to be the thing that turned their relationship around. 

Whether it was stranger that Barb and Nancy ended up together at all, or the fact that it happened as a side effect of hunting monsters together, Barb couldn’t quite decide. But by some curious twist of fate both were true, and Barb’s sophomore year went from being an endless slog of just trying to get through, to a (sometimes terrifying) adventure that left her finally able to kiss Nancy Wheeler whenever they could sneak away somewhere private.

Barb had known long before a demogorgon ever came after her in Steve Harrington’s backyard that she was in love with her best friend. Though living in a state of denial sometimes felt like slipping into a warm bath, in her most brutally honest moments Barb knew the truth. That truth rose up and slapped her across the face the night she watched Nancy come charging out of Steve’s house like a woman possessed to Barb’s rescue, and then throw a rock at an alien’s head and save her life.

That night, covered in blood and dirt and skirting the woods nearby the Harrington’s house, Barb escaped a certain death—and yet knew she was a goner.

What she never dared to hope for, however, was that Nancy might feel the same. 

“When did you know?” Barb asked Nancy while they were lying in bed, whispering so that Mike or Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler’s prying ears wouldn’t overhear them. Barb still couldn’t wrap her head around how no one noticed a difference between the two of them when their relationship had changed so drastically, especially when she was sure every feeling she’d ever had for Nancy was written across her face, every second of every day. But somehow they kept getting away with gal pal sleepovers filled with clandestine kisses, and no parents were the wiser.

“Know what?” Nancy asked. The shadows of her eyelashes cast deep shadows across her cheekbones that Barb desperately wanted to reach out and touch, and then she realized she could. Gently, she brushed the pad of her thumb against Nancy’s cheek, and the way Nancy smiled in response gave Barb the courage to rephrase.

“When did you know that you wanted to be more than friends?” Barb clarified, cursing the slight quiver in her voice. But Nancy just smiled at her, eyes shining like her question was a gift. 

“You might not like the answer,” Nancy said, biting the corner of her lip in hesitation.

“I’m pretty sure I will,” Barb said, unable to imagine any universe in which she’d be upset to learn how Nancy Wheeler realized she wanted to kiss her.

“Okay,” Nancy hedged, but her smile was still playful. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Barb mimed zipping her lips to encourage Nancy forward. 

“I realized it when I was kissing Steve,” Nancy said, scrunching up her nose a little, then quickly continued before Barb could think to interject. “Which sounds bad! But it was just because I felt so awful about how we left things that night at the pool. And I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and all of a sudden you were screaming my name...I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, but I knew by the end of it I never wanted to let you go.”

“That…” Barb hesitated, wondering how the hell to react. “That was not what I was expecting. But it sounds worse for Steve than it does for me.”

Nancy shoved Barb’s shoulder with all the force of a baby bird and sent them both tumbling down into a fit of giggles, until Mike thumped on the wall and yelled at them to shut up. Then they only laughed louder. 

“What about you?” Nancy asked, back to whisper quiet once they’d calmed down. 

“Remember last summer when we all watched Poltergeist in the basement?” Barb asked, fondly remembering how Mike and his friends insisted on being allowed to see it. Nancy had agreed, but only if she got to keep an eye on them while they did. 

“Yes,” Nancy rolled her eyes. “Mike was unbearable about sleeping alone for a week. He kept making Will come over every night.”

“Right,” Barb chuckled, remembering it well. “Well, I got freaked out while watching and you held my hand for the rest of the movie. I didn’t care about ghosts anymore because I was too busy freaking out about realizing I had feelings for my best friend.”

Nancy was quiet for a moment, but her crooked little smile was radiant. “That’s kind of adorable, Barb.”

“Shut up,’ Barb said, feeling her cheeks get hot now. 

“It is!” Nancy insisted, then leaned forward and pecked Barb on the cheek—matching sweetness for sweetness. “But I am a little concerned that both of our stories involve being scared out of our minds.”

Barb smiled in response, but it felt a little hollow. Nancy was right—almost every aspect of their relationship had been tied up in fear, because being gay in Hawkins was as scary as any monster Barb had ever seen. 

“At least we’ve got each other, right?” Barb asked softly. 

“Yeah,” Nancy’s smile was as warm as her lips when she leaned in to kiss Barb properly. Even though they’d been together for months, the soft feeling of Nancy’s mouth against hers still left her seeing stars. 

“I love you, Nance.” Barb heard the words slip out of her mouth before she even knew she was talking. She froze, eyes wide, with Nancy still close enough for their noses to touch. Nancy looked just as surprised as Barb felt, but she didn’t seem nearly as panicked. 

“I love you, too,” she said easily. 

It may have been terrifying, loving another girl, but Nancy made every moment worth it.

“Steve’s gonna eat lunch with us today,” Nancy told Barb as they were already on their way into the cafeteria. Barb tensed—she still wasn’t entirely comfortable around him, if she was being honest. He and Jonathan were the only ones that knew about Nancy and Barb at all (it was kind of hard to avoid after the two boys had stumbled upon their first kiss), and both seemed to accept their relationship after the initial shock wore off. But Barb still didn’t know quite how to act around Steve. They had next to nothing in common, besides Nancy.

“Okay…” Barb said, knowing her tone sounded passive aggressive even when she didn’t mean it to. “Why?”

“Because we’re kind of his only friends now, besides Jonathan?” Nancy said like it was obvious.

She wasn’t wrong, exactly. Steve was barely seen with Tommy H and Carol prowling around him these days, but they weren’t completely cut off from each other, either. And a large segment of the school’s population still looked at Steve like he ruled the place. It was just another reason Barb still didn’t entirely trust Steve, even if he hung around with Jonathan more than anyone nowadays. He still hadn’t completely kicked the assholes to the curb. 

“I wish you’d just give him a chance,” Nancy sighed. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. 

“Why?” Barb asked again. She felt an unfair question bubbling up out of her throat, but she couldn’t stop it in time. “Do you still like him, or something?”

“What?” Nancy stared at Barb like she’d just asked if the sky was green. “No!”

“You just seem to want to hang around him a lot, still,” Barb muttered, “Even though he’s your ex.”

“Please, we barely dated,” Nancy scoffed, but when she took in the look on Barb’s face she sobered right away. She pulled Barb aside to an empty table, looked around quickly to make sure no one was within earshot, and gently said, “You know you’re the only one I care about, Barb.”

Barb took a deep breath in, letting the oxygen and sense flood back into her brain before she spoke again. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Nancy said as they sat down. “If you don’t want to be friends with Steve, you don’t have to. But I do still think there’s more to him, when you get to know him. I just want you guys to like each other.”

Nancy had been pretty adamant about sticking close to both Jonathan and Steve in the months since they’d practically slain a dragon together. As far as Nance was concerned, there wasn’t any coming back from that. Their little foursome was bonded forever.

“Fine,” Barb sighed, just as the boy in question started making his way towards them. A curly-haired senior that liked to wear a lot of rings and band t-shirts mock-bowed at Steve as he walked past, and Barb had to hold back an appreciative snicker. She was trying, damn it. 

“Thank you,” Nancy practically beamed at her, then squeezed Barb’s knee under the table. Just that small gesture had Barb seeing stars and forgetting about Steve Harrington entirely.

Later that day, Barb was getting her books gathered up so she could finally go home when Steve stopped by her locker. 

“Hey,” he said, surprisingly subdued for the one everybody else around here had dubbed King.

Heeding her promise to Nancy, Barb smiled warmly and said, “Hey, Steve.”

“I was just thinking,” Steve scratched the back of his neck, and Barb was stunned to realize he was nervous. “Maybe we could hang out, just us sometime? Get to know each other better…for Nance, you know?”

“That’d be good,” Barb smiled at him, appreciative that he wanted to make the effort for Nancy too, whether she’d asked him to or not. “I—“

Barb was interrupted by a loud wolf whistle sent in their direction from none other than Tommy H. She tensed immediately, instinctively knowing whatever was coming next wouldn’t be pretty. 

“Jesus, Harrington,” Tommy crowed, and every other head in that stretch of hallway swiveled to watch. “You’re still trying to get the goody-two-shoes back? By asking her dorky friend for help?”

“I’m not,” Steve said through a clenched jaw, but Carol was already laughing over him.

“Geez, Steve,” Carol sneered as she popped her chewing gum in Barb’s face. It was honestly an impressive feat, considering how Barb towered over her. Even so, Barb felt very small in her presence. “You should know the Dyke Patrol isn’t gonna help you get in Wheeler’s pants—not when she wants to be the only one down there.”

Barb felt the tips of her fingers go numb just as her face felt like it was set aflame. She became rooted to the spot, and her ears were ringing so loud she barely heard Steve’s reply. 

“Shut the fuck up, Carol,” he spat, then stepped to move himself between Carol and Barb. The way Steve shielded her from the rest of the hallway gave her the space to breathe, if only in short spurts.

Tommy seemed to take offense with Steve’s stance, however, despite the fact that he hadn’t so much as brushed Carol, who still had a cloying smile on her face. 

“What the fuck, man?” Tommy stepped forward in a rush and shoved Steve’s shoulder. “You’re picking the peasants over us again?”

“Yes! Because you two are assholes, and Barb is a good fucking person,” Steve seethed, easily shrugging Tommy off. “Stay away from her, and me. For good.”

A stunned hush fell over the thirty or so people who were within earshot of the whole exchange. Steve looked around at them all like he was daring them to challenge him next. When no one spoke up, he folded his arms.

“Fuck you, man,” Tommy finally said. If Barb thought he were capable of it, she might’ve thought he looked hurt as he grabbed on to Carol’s arm and dragged her away. That seemed to diffuse the bomb looming over the rest of the crowd, because they all started muttering to themselves and going back about their own business. 

“I’m sorry about them—” Steve started to say, but Barb’s fight or flight instinct was kicking in a few moments too late.

“I gotta go,” she cut him off, slammed her locker door shut, and fled to her car.

Steve tried to call Barb twice that night, despite the fact that she was dodging calls from everyone who wasn’t Nancy. A few of her other almost-friends called to check on her as well, but Barb was reserving all of her social stamina for the unbearable amount of steel she’d need in her spine just to walk back into that school at all.

She thought she'd prepared herself for every curveball the day might throw her, but as Barb rushed out her front door the next morning, Steve was sitting in his car, parked at the end of her driveway. 

“Want a ride?” he asked as she approached his open window with an undoubtedly bewildered look on her face. 

“Um, sure?” Barb said, then tentatively climbed into the passenger’s seat. She hadn’t been in this car since things had gone to hell in a handbasket with the demogorgon. “What are you doing here, Steve?”

He looked almost guilty as he glanced over at her, then turned the key in the ignition. Steve took a while to compose whatever it was he wanted to say, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as he did. 

“I just know I wouldn’t want to walk in there alone, if it were me,” Steve shrugged. “But you can totally ditch me, if you want.”

Barb stared at him for a beat, completely surprised by the boy currently driving her to school in his fancy car. She was starting to think maybe Nancy had a point about him, after all. 

“I don’t want to ditch you,” Barb said quietly, then stared at her hands as she listened to the Sister Sledge tape Steve had playing. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Steve gave her a small smile, then shrugged again.

“No, I mean,” Barb took in a deep breath, feeling her shoulders lift and fall with the force of it. “Thank you for what you did yesterday, too. It can’t have been easy standing up for me to your friends like that.”

“They made it a lot easier when they made it clear why I don’t want to be their friend anymore,” Steve said, seemingly brushing off what he’d done as unremarkable. “I’m just sorry I didn’t drop them sooner.”

There was another curveball, and Barb really couldn’t reconcile this new Steve sitting beside her with the one she’d built up in her mind as an unmitigated asshole. 

“You really didn’t have to,” Barb said, still trying to work it out. “I mean. Who am I to you, even? The girl who stole your girlfriend.”

Steve laughed, but when he realized Barb wasn’t laughing with him, his face fell. 

“Barb,” he started, then shot her a confused look. “We might not know each other all that well, but we have fought monsters together. You saved my life at least once, and I like to think I helped Nance save yours—even just a little. That makes us…well, family.” 

He laughed a little at his pun and gestured to the tape deck, which is what it took for Barb to realize the joke at all. We are Family was playing. 

“Family?” Barb asked with a single raised brow.

“Well, yeah,” Steve hesitated, seeming unsure again now. “If you’ll have me, anyway.”

Once again, Barb could hardly believe the left turn life had taken to get her to this point, sitting in Steve Harrington’s car and considering his assertion that they were bonded forever, somehow. And he actually looked anxious, sitting there waiting to hear her opinion of him.

“You know, I think I will,” Barb said, not wanting to leave him hanging any longer. 

Steve’s smile was beaming when he said, “Good. Now turn it up, we’re almost there.”

Barb thought Steve wasn’t the kind of person that she could trust, but somehow that day they chose each other—as both brothers in arms and disco. They rolled down their windows and sang as they pulled into the parking lot, declaring their truce for everyone to see. 

Nancy was waiting for them by the doors, proudly smiling at them both. She looped one arm through Barb’s, and Steve matched the gesture on her other side. Barb walked into school with her head held high, sandwiched on either side by people who loved her.

[riahlynn101]

"Waiting in the Aftermath" (5).

Trigger warning: Implied/referenced child abuse

Chapter 5

--

Inko wakes with a start. Her dreams are a blur of red, slipping away as she catches her breath. Out of motherly instinct, she looks towards where she remembers Izuku falling asleep. Their crying session exhausted them both, and they wound up on falling asleep on the bed. 

It reminded her of the simpler times when her baby boy was, well, an actual baby. As sensitive as he is now (no thanks to her genes), he was a whole lot worse as a toddler and young child. Something as simple as hearing a loud noise, or seeing a fly be swatted could and often would send him into whole body hysterics. And this isn’t even mentioning the phase he went through at the age of two. 

But when she looks, he isn’t there. The bed is rumpled, telling Inko that she hadn’t imagined the whole thing. Which doesn’t make her feel better. That just means her son was here, and her husband likely took him somewhere else. 

She loves her husband. Wouldn’t have married him and had his child otherwise. But something has always felt decidedly “off” about him. She’s ignored it, tamping down her feelings of wrongness for the one thing she had always wanted. A family.

She loves her son even more. Not because he’s her blood, or because she spent years upon years spending every waking moment with him. But because, when Inko looks at him, she sees everything good in the world. She feels a fierce need to be better, to do better. For their son. 

And maybe that’s something all parents feel. She herself never had any parents, being relegated to an orphanage all her childhood. 

Either way, her son’s still missing…again. And she almost hates herself for having to tack on: again, like it’s a daily occurrence. Like it’s normal, but it isn’t. It shouldn’t be. 

She straightens her clothes, wrinkled from sleeping. 

Inko already has three separate murder plans, two of which include the use of her quirk, to kill her husband if he’s done anything to Izuku. She would hope Hisashi would know better, and he’s always been fairly overly protective of her and Izuku. But it never hurts to be prepared. 

If he makes her childless; she’ll make herself a widow. 

Equivalent exchange and all that.  

Hisashi should be proud. Afterall, he’s the one that taught her that.

-x-x-x- 

There’s something remarkable in the way All for One speaks. Slow and methodical, monotonous but not boring. It draws you in. It’s different from the one he uses when speaking to his mother and him. That one’s less drawn out, more excitable like a child on Christmas. 

Izuku sits hunched over, staring at his hands that are half-hidden away in an oversized sweatshirt (to his disappointment it has nothing to do with All Might and just has the words: University of Tokyo on the front). If his heart was beating any faster, he’s sure everyone would be able to hear it. That’s if All for One doesn’t already have some kind of supersonic hearing quirk (which it’s safe to assume he does). 

“And that brings up to now. Well, almost .”

He hears Shigaraki grumble. “I don’t see why I’m needed here. I’ve already made great headway with dispatching the heroes back at U.A.” 

Izuku tenses up. He snaps his head in Shigaraki’s direction. Righteous fury fills his veins, heating him up from the inside out. Standing he points a shaky finger at him. “What do you mean by ‘dispatching.’”

Shigaraki’s eyes look between All for One and Izuku, searching for something. Finally he focuses solely on him, returning Izuku’s burning gaze with a lackadaisical expression. He leans back even further in his seat, sending Izuku a smug smile. 

“Dispatch: a verb that has three possible meanings.” He speaks slowly, drawing out each syllable. In a way it reminds Izuku of All for One’s manner of speaking, except his way is more reminiscent of an older sibling poking and prodding their younger sibling until they snap. “One, to send off to a destination, or for a purpose. Two, to deal with a task, problem, or opponent quickly and efficiently. And three….” Shigaraki trails off, smile growing. 

“Tomura,” All for One warns. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t. ”

Izuku’s hackles are raised. One for All crackles just underneath his skin, ready for use. He ignores the voices of his predecessors trying to calm him down, just as Shigaraki ignores his own master’s voice. 

“And three, to kill .”

Izuku isn’t exactly sure what happened next, only that he lunged for Shigaraki. 

He remembers grabbing him by the collar, being mindful to avoid his hands, and shaking him. 

He remembers Shigaraki mentioning something about Kacchan being unresponsive. Dead.

Izuku remembers very little after that. 

-x-x-x-

Tomura groans. The little hero brat packs a punch, that’s for sure. He holds an ice pack up to his nose - thankfully it’s not broken, but it is badly bruised. If he had known the brat would take his taunt so hard, he wouldn’t-

He tries not to laugh. Yeah, he would have. Despite the pain from the bruises, it had been well worth it to set Midoriya off. 

He’s missed the feralness. The completely unhinged look before he lunges for Tomura’s neck. The one he saw on the battlefield through Sensei’s eyes. The one that tried to save him in the vestige realm. 

It’s easier to deal with that version versus the meek, timid one. 

He looks at that one and sees a kid. A kid that shouldn’t be anywhere near a battlefield, let alone the frontlines. 

He sees someone that, if things were different, he might have become his friend, or, er, mentor (he always forgets they have a significant age gap between them). 

 They sit side-by-side in the infirmary, which is really just the exact spot he woke up from. The only thing separating the infirmary from the rest of the doctor’s laboratory is a thin curtain. 

Midoriya’s hands are tucked into his sweater, and in retrospect, they had been through the entirety of their fight. His eyes are glazed over, as if he’s out of it. Tomura’s been there before. 

He watches Sensei talk to Dr.Garaki. 

It couldn’t hurt to talk to the brat. As much as he feels anger at his master for using him, most of that doesn’t translate to Midoriya. At least for right now, things can always change. 

He nudges Midoriya with his elbow. “Hey, kid.”

“What?” 

“What’s with the sweatshirt?” 

“Nothing,” the brat grumbles, pouting. 

“Y’know if you didn’t have your hands covered with your sweatshirt while fighting, you would have won?”

“I know.” He shifts, crossing his arms (is he supposed to take his pouting seriously?) “You didn’t actually kill anyone, right?” 

“Oh, I’ve killed hundreds of people. I am a supervillain, so…”

“I mean today.”

“Technically, no.” He scratches at his neck. “All for One was mostly in control. And if you’re worried about your friend with an explosive temper, he’s fine. Probably.”

Midoriya breathes a sigh of relief, uncrossing his arms. “I keep forgetting you were controlled by the All for One quirk. I’m truly sorry, Shigaraki.”

He snorts, dismissing his apology with a wave of his hand - the one not missing three fingers. “Why?”

At that, Midoriya reverts to staring down at his sweatshirt-covered hands. 

Tomura scoffs. “Will you stop that?” He yanks one of Midoriya’s hands free from the sweatshirt, holding it with four fingers. “You’re being ridiculous-”

His eyes lock on the hole in the center of the brat’s palm. The telltale sign of the All for One quirk. He drops Midoriya's hands.

He sputters. “You have All for One!”

“No, that’s not-” 

Sensei is immediately in front of them, an unreadable expression on his face. “Boys,” he starts, “what’s going on?”

Tomura grits his teeth. His mind races with a million different questions, namely: was he not good enough? 

This wouldn’t be the first time Sensei’s thought so. His father thought so, too, at least he acted like it. It shouldn’t surprise him anymore. It shouldn’t hurt so much. 

But it does. 

He listens idly as the little brat stumbles his way through an explanation. 

“We were…uh…messing around.”

“Messing around…?”

Tomura gives the kid a sideways look. Why is he covering for him? There’s really no reason either. Sensei has never cared if he threw a tantrum before (and this one’s more mild than his previous ones). Unless…..

…..unless he knows something Tomura doesn’t.

“Yes, we were messing around, and he saw my hands. I think he’s just confused.”

Something that is starting to cement the fact that Sensei holds him and Midoriya in vastly different categories-of which are probably labeled: traumatized children I picked up off the street, and my precious, only child, respectively-is the way he looks at the kid. His gaze is softer, as if Midoriya can do no wrong. Like he….loves him. 

“Oh, I see,” Sensei says in a voice that makes it clear he doesn’t believe a word. “Well, Tomura-” The minute he turns his head to look at him, the soft, fatherly look disappears. “-I was going to explain that in my office before you provoked him.”

Tomura opens his mouth, ready to defend his mouth, because Sensei’s being entirely unfair-

“You’re being entirely unfair.”

He shuts his mouth. 

Midoriya brows are furrowed. “I should have controlled my temper better. How can I be a hero if I go around attacking people just because they taunt me?”

Sensei hums. “No matter who was in the wrong, I do think it would be wise to explain further.”

-x-x-x- 

Hisashi is one hundred percent aware of what his son is doing. Yoichi used to do the same thing for him, protecting him in his own weak way against their domineering mother and alcoholic father. 

But then that begs the question: does his son think he’ll hurt Tomura?

He means, he would and has done so in the past. But Tomura has likely learned from this incident. It still hurts though, the way his son looks at him. Like he needs to placate Hisashi to protect…..

He swallows, forcing himself to suppress his childish fears. 

( Just like dad, eh? What’s next? Going to hit your son while he begs you to stop? Going to lay hands on your wife?)

Both boys look at him, expectantly. 

He takes a seat in a large swivel chair. “I already told you about my brother and I, of how One for All came to be, and the feud that’s nine generations long now. However, I failed to mention some pretty important details.” 

“Such as?” Tomura presses. 

“Such as why I’m telling you any of this. You see, my wife is-”

The door is kicked open. It hits the wall with a deafening bang, startling even him. For a brief second he fears the heroes have found them, and then he sees something that makes him wish it was the pesky heroes. 

“Hisashi!” His wife shouts, a slipper in her hand. With her other hand, she uses her quirk of attraction to practically strangle the doctor, keeping him hostage. 

“S-sorry, Sensei,” he wheezes out. 

 “Where’s our son!?”

[lunarsands]

ALSMP Fanfic: Mirror Mirror, Break Our Fall Ch 2

Characters: Merling!Scott, Gravital!Sausage, and two very special guests

Relationships: MythicalSausage/Scott Smajor

Tags: Crossover between two Afterlife fic universes, What If The In-Love Versions Met The Murderous Versions?, What If Someone Got Back All The Powers of Their Previous Origins?, What If We Threw Together A Bunch Of Our Favorite Tropes?, Playing with ideas on what Gravitals can do

WARNINGS: Violence, Injury, Bleeding, PTSD, threats of death, but also possibly the only one of my Afterlife fics where no one actually dies on screen !

Summary: Portals that lead to the same limbo dimension result in Sausage and Scott meeting the less friendly versions of themselves. All of them learn how things could have turned out on the other side of the proverbial coin.

(Also available on Ao3!)

[Chapter One]

--- 

It took every scrap of will that Sausage had to not call out for Scott when he didn’t see him right away, frantically looking down each of the four passageways he was faced with choosing from. There was no portal, no obvious light source, no clues. Even just some wet footprints would have made him feel a little better.

He then glanced upward, trying to judge the height of the walls. He took a running leap at the nearest one and propelled himself upward with a blast of gravi, kicking off of it to bounce up the opposite wall. He managed one more bounce upward before normal gravity took over. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing a top edge or if it was just an illusion in the dim light, but either way it was just out of reach of his abilities. He landed in a crouch as the kinetic energy dispersed, then he debated his options.

Finally he just went down the path straight ahead from where he had first looked. Within five minutes he came across a choice of three different directions to go. He gathered a bit of gravi around one hand and punched the floor, leaving a dent to mark the passage he had already been down. He did this at every fork, denting the walls as well to mark which side he had picked to follow next, and it wasn’t long before he did cross back over his own path; it was a small relief knowing he wouldn’t end up going in circles.

Another source of relief was seeing the occasional fountain full of water. Wherever Scott was in all this, if he found some of them he had a better chance of staying hydrated. But then, there were twice as many empty and broken ones, so Sausage could only hope.

It was maybe a half hour after he had passed his last marked passageway, and even longer since he had last seen any sort of fountain, that he began to feel a familiar disruption to the air, the same as when he manipulated gravity. It felt like it was further down the passageway—

No, it was approaching from down the passageway. Someone – another gravital? – was bouncing back and forth from wall to wall, moving along much faster than walking allowed.

It looked like…Scott.

“No…” Sausage grabbed the nearest wall for support. All this time he had been worried about the merling running out of water, when it didn’t even occur to him that Scott might have been killed by that creature in the city. But if he had become a gravital, maybe that meant their chances for surviving together were greatly increased. He tried to feel a little reassured by the thought, and he held up a hand to wave to get his attention so he didn’t just speed past him.

A sharp glance was thrown his way, and he saw a smile. “Oh, there you are!” There was a laugh to the voice, but it definitely sounded like Scott. It seemed that somewhere along the way he had picked up some ragged leather armor, too. The new gravital altered his trajectory and landed—

And then shoved Sausage with enough of an extra blast of gravi to send him right through the wall into the next passageway. His own ever-present field of gravi protected him from severe injury, but he was completely stunned by the move. He stared back through the rain of dust and chips of stone at a sneering Scott, and the expression made his stomach twist. He had never let go of the fear that one of them might come back evil, and it could very well be that fate had decided to latch onto the irony of opposite polarities.

“Where’d you get that get up? You look ridiculous. But also different! Did your little plan backfire, and you died again? Aww, poor you! Let me help you up—”

A burst of reverse-gravi pulled Sausage to his feet, then the other gravital threw him into the opposite wall. Sausage deflected with his own gravi to stop from going through it this time, but he still grunted at the impact. What in the world was Scott saying? He pushed off the wall to turn to face him. “W-Wait, let’s try to just talk here—”

“Oh, you want to talk? Are you tired? Did all the running and dying catch up to you?”

“Please, just listen to me! Remember when we promised to be each other’s conscience if one of us came back different? I think that’s happened—”

“What are you on about? I don’t remember any such thing! Are you trying to break the cycle, after all this time? Too bad! I love watching you die!”

“W-What?” Sausage looked on in horror. “You – You can’t mean that! Scott, please, I know you have to—”

“Scott? Did I hit your head too hard there? Did your new death make you forget? You know, my favorite one, that time when you tried to call me a major pain in the neck, but you were in the middle of dying so it came out ‘sssmajor’ instead? I thought that was very funny! Do it again.” The last came out as a growl, and with a jerk of both hands the apparently-named Smajor sent Sausage flying through another wall. And through the one behind it.

Coughing at the dust, Sausage picked himself up and tried to get a mental grasp on things. There was turning evil, and then there was whatever was going on with this person, who couldn’t possibly be his Scott. Portals led to other dimension; no one said they couldn’t also lead in from other worlds altogether.

By the gods, what could have been going on in this one’s world? He didn’t have time to think about it before he was thrown again, crashing through another set of passageways. This was not how he would have thought of using gravital powers, but at least his field of gravi was holding up against the collisions. Several times a loose stone that was sent flying cut at his face, but if that was the worst that happened…

He felt himself get yanked in the opposite direction again. All right, well, demolishing half the maze was one way to find the exit, and maybe the noise would get the real Scott’s attention.

And then he realized there was possibly a crazed version of himself running around out there, and how vulnerable Scott was as a merling out of water. Sausage altered the density of his personal gravity to stop another collision, righting himself and preparing to propel himself upward to try that wall-to-wall speed jumping trick.

Instead he got reversed right into Smajor’s hands. One of which closed on his throat as a triumphant look was thrown in his face. “I could do this all day, Myth, and you know that. Why don’t you just make it easy and let me wring the life out of you right now?”

Sausage grabbed at Smajor’s arm, not doubting him. He could see now, this close up, the shrunken pupils and haggard look of someone who hadn’t seen a bed in about three years, absolutely shattered inside.

In turn, he gave away his own fear with his eyes, and Smajor seemed to register for the first time that something was off. He harshly pressed the fingers of his free hand into Sausage’s right cheek. Then he slammed him into the floor, creating a small crater. “You’re not Myth. Who – Who the hell are you?!”

Sausage didn’t bother to answer, instead putting out his hands to release a gravi blast and toss Smajor up into the air. And then he ran, propelling himself down the passageway as quickly as his gravi allowed.

Behind him Smajor was laughing. “Who cares who you are! This means there are TWO of him that I can kill! WHAT A TREAT!”

Mouth dry, Sausage didn’t look back, only darting into the next passage to his right. He knew how he could be at his worst – flippantly uncaring and indifferent, and it terrified him to think of Scott being subjected to that. He just wished he had time to pick a more deliberate path so his chances of finding him would be better, instead of bouncing fast through the passageways to get far enough ahead of Smajor.

It was sheer chance the one time he did look back to check, just before he entered a four-way crossroad and crashed headlong into the circle of statues in the middle. Sausage rubbed at his neck and looked past the plinth he had hit – and saw Scott’s shocked face peering out from the passage across the way. Sausage cried out in relief and staggered to his feet, nearly tripping over part of one fallen statue as he ran over to him.

Scott looked relieved as well, but he cast a glance over his shoulder before going to meet Sausage partway. He put his hands on the gravital’s arms, preemptively stopping a hug, and when Sausage leaned in to kiss him, he put up a hand to stop that, as well.

Sausage drew back a little, a hurt feeling rising as well as sudden worry that this might also not be his Scott. But a pained look came to the merling’s face, too, and he gently squeezed Sausage’s arm as he whispered, “Not in front of him.”

The gravital looked over Scott’s shoulder and now noticed the grim apparition of himself watching from a couple meters away with undisguised bitterness, smoke and bright embers floating around him. Sausage looked back at Scott in alarm. “He didn’t hurt you, did he? Do you have enough water left?? Why did it have to be fire of all things?!”

“Shh, I’m fine. But what about you? I’ve got a healing potion in here, hold on.” Scott began to rummage through his satchel.

“No, you take some water first, I just look worse than it is,” Sausage insisted, wiping at one of the cuts on his face only to smear the dust and blood.

Scott instead shoved the healing potion at him and then took out a water bottle. They drank at the same time to compromise, although Scott saved some water to wet his hand then dabbed at Sausage’s face. The gravital tried to frown but the gesture was tender enough to make up for not getting a hug.

A gruff version of his own voice interrupted, “Are you two done yet? We need to get moving. He has obviously tangled with Smajor, and by some miracle got away alive. Let’s not tempt that Nether-be-blasted fate and get out of here before he finds us.”

Scott nodded and stowed the empty bottles, wary of the edge in Myth’s tone. He wanted to tell Sausage to keep his distance a little, but even he was having a hard time not simply keeping hold of his hand, grateful he was still alive and unchanged. “Which way this time?”

Myth scowled. “Whichever way he didn’t come from.” He was glaring at Sausage for some reason, and Scott worried they had already given away too much about their relationship.

“Well,” Sausage said, taking a moment to glance around at the statues. “Either left or right. I think I lost… Smajor? … somewhere a while back but I was also marking my path so if we come across any of those I’ll know where not to go.”

“New left then,” Myth grunted, pointing to the passage that had been on his own left when he and Scott arrived at the crossroad. “You still in front, though.” He moved his finger toward Scott and conjured a fireball in his other hand.

Sausage inhaled in a telltale way, pushing Scott behind him. The merling briefly touched his shoulder, saying quietly, “Sausage, don’t. Just go along with it. You can still put yourself between him and me if you feel like you have to.”

Myth uttered a disgusted sigh. “I knew it. Hero complex. Let’s just go.”

Still barely refraining from holding hands, Scott and Sausage entered the passageway side by side with Myth drifting along behind them, although Scott thought he could feel the heat closer than before. He tried to ignore it and not give away that it was bothering him, but at some point he started breathing through his mouth without realizing, and then was breathing more heavily the further they walked.

Sausage was the one to stop him and point to his satchel. “Potion time for you. I really wish we could find one of those fountains. Were you able to refill any bottles?”

“I didn’t think it would be a good idea if I ended up taking that water back. It might be normal water here, but if something comes out of this dimension into another, it might change.” Scott felt marginally better after finishing the potion. A proper submerging would likely be the only thing to really help. “Let’s keep an extra lookout for them, though…”

Sausage nodded, then threw a glare at Myth. “Hey, could you back off a little? He’s drying out faster with all that blaze-yness so close by!”

Myth snorted. “Oh, you two are something else. Even if Smajor wasn’t hell-bent on killing me, I can’t imagine being friends with him.” He waited an extra beat for them to walk ahead, however, emitting the deep huffs while he waited.

As if fate had actually decided to be kind, they found a full fountain at the next crossroad. Scott tested it first as usual, and while he climbed in, Sausage went back and marked the passage they had just exited. He inspected the walls and floors of the others, but they hadn’t come across any of his other paths yet. Myth hovered out of the way, watching silently aside from the occasional huff.

Either way, they had no idea how much progress they were making. None of the other crossroad structures gave any indication of the correct way out. Scott even tried looking for glyphs hidden underwater, but all the stones were blank. Now he leaned up on the fountain’s edge, soaking in as much water while he could as he watched Sausage pace around.

“We should – we should maybe rest for a while,” the gravital suggested. “Probably not long enough to sleep, but just for a little bit at least.”

“What a wonderful luxury,” Myth pondered. “It must be nice to even think about it. Go on, have a little sit.”  He flicked his hands at Sausage as if shooing him away.

The gravital went to lean against the fountain, glancing in. Scott gave a quick nod and dipped his head under the surface. Sausage ran a hand over his hair, displacing his goggles. He pulled them off altogether and stared at the lenses as he asked, “Is it just that bad where you’re from? You… You really haven’t had any kind of break  from the… dying?”

“None I can recently remember. We just keep finding each other, no matter where we go. But I know he’s actively looking for me at this point. Nothing stops him, no matter how many times or which way he kills me. Or how many times I kill him. It’s not like I go down without a fight,” Myth threw out as Sausage cast a distressed look at him. “You’re only a few deaths in still, aren’t you?” He drifted closer and turned his right arm to show his forearm guard. The embedded crystal was badly cracked and there were over two dozen tally marks scratched into the metal. “My count for how many times I’ve gotten him so I could keep track. You get the idea.”

Sausage glanced down at his own forearm guard, still pristine, and then busied himself with putting his goggles back on. Myth turned away without another word. Scott, having missed the conversation, only got a sense that something had happened by how tightly Sausage held his hand when he helped him out of the fountain, and felt that he was seconds away from clutching him in a hug, if only another voice that sounded just like Scott’s hadn’t then rang out.

“Ohhh, mini-Myth! You did a good job running, but I can still feel that little bump in the gravity you’re causing! Just around one of these corners, here…”

Not caring what Myth’s reaction would be, Scott drew his trident, and the three of them began watching the passageways for any sign of where the mad gravital might be coming from so they could run the opposite way.

But instead a large chunk of one wall exploded in at them, broken open by a thrown statue. Sausage caught it – and several of the larger pieces of wall – against a shield of gravi, then Myth hovered above it to start flinging fireballs into the new opening. Smajor cursed as he was briefly set on fire, and the three could have taken the opportunity to run—

Or they might have, or Scott thought that’s what was going to happen, but instead Myth swooped down and grabbed Sausage, cutting off his concentration and causing all the stone bits to fall down around Scott, while the blazeborn took off down one of the passageways. He heard Sausage howl in protest the whole way but couldn’t follow, as Myth left a gout of fire in his wake.

Scott gripped the haft of the trident, knuckles turning white. He hadn’t even had a chance to think of throwing it.

Smajor’s laughter interrupted any other thoughts. “Look at them run! This game is always so entertaining! Hello, other me! I think they just offered you as a sacrifice! What Myth won’t do to save his own skin, imagine!” The mad gravital then sat down on the side of the fountain, crossing his legs and posing with his head on his hand as if ready to calmly gossip, acting for all the world like there wasn’t still smoke coming off his hair where a fireball had hit. “Do tell, what’s yours like? You’re just a baby right now, little fishy-fishy! Tell me, what was drowning the thunderborn like? I didn’t really get to enjoy it, mine fried us both before I got far enough into it, but you’re still that, so you did something right! Come on, come on, I won’t hurt you! We must have so much in common! Getting good old Sausage killed, come on now!”

Somewhere in the distance there was a crash of stone, but neither of them moved, eyes locked.

~*~

Sausage made every attempt to deter Myth from continuing down the passageway, but it turned out trying to affect the gravity around someone who could float was a little harder than he thought, especially when they had a tight hold on him and he also needed to be careful about not being burned by moving the wrong way. With an angry cry he twisted himself backward and yanked at the air, pulling down a giant section of the wall ahead with a burst of reverse gravi that drained every reserve of power he had at the moment.

It worked, but both of them were buried under the resulting debris, although there was room for Sausage to kick free and put enough space between them so he wouldn’t get burned just by being next to the blazeborn. Myth’s eyes and fires were now glowing blue, and Sausage had no idea what that meant, but he himself was infuriated as he stood with a hand pressed against the chunk of wall facing the direction they had come. “W-Why did you do that?! How could you just leave him behind?! Are you crazy?!”

“I was saving you, you fool! You’re not safe around him! I don’t know what lie you’ve told yourself, but you need to keep away from that death trap – DO WHAT I COULDN’T!!” Myth’s eyes flared orange then went back to blue. “I can’t watch someone else become what I did, suffer what I’ve suffered!”

“Y-You don’t understand…” Sausage’s arm dropped. “It’s never been like that between us. He only killed me once – and it was an accident.”

“Then what happened to your other lives? I know the whole cycle, you can’t tell me he wasn’t there during each one. You can’t tell me his destiny wasn’t there, every second of every minute.”

“Well, he was, but—” Sausage debated the wisdom of going into detail. “…Choices were made, for different reasons.” No, there had only ever been one reason the whole time. He wasn’t going to say that. And what he really wished was for his gravi to recharge so he could break out of there and get back to Scott.

“Peaceful little friendships don’t exist,” Myth said bitterly. “What could have been going on in your world to lead to that?”

Sausage was taken back to his own earlier thought about Smajor’s behavior. “Forgiveness, mostly.”

The blazeborn snorted. “Well, I’ve got no room for that.”

“Then what else is there?”

“All-consuming hatred. Next question.”

“No, I think I’m good.”

“Then you tell me— how could you forgive him? That first time – I know it had to have been the same – how do you forgive a monster?!”

“We’ve been a monster, too,” Sausage said softly, and gave a look that challenged Myth to say otherwise about their second lives.

The blazeborn glanced away, glanced back, then away again several times. Finally he said, “Stop staring at my face. It weirds me out that we look alike… along with everything else, O Wither Soul-eater.”

Sausage inclined his head at the acknowledgement. “Sorry. But, about those extra scars..?”

“That was Smajor. Nearly clawed my eye out. I thought I was going to lose it for good that time.”

“You don’t…uh, regenerate when you die?”

“Used to – most of the time – but I think we’ve broken some cosmic mechanic by dying so many times.”

“Smajor looked all right, mostly. You weren’t… as vicious, I take it.”

“Oh, for him I think it’s all up here.” Myth tapped the side of his head. “He can’t stand that I have the audacity to keep coming back. As if it’s actually my choice to keep ending up where he can see me.” He lowered his hand and quietly huffed for a few moments, contemplating the floor. Then he peered back at Sausage. “So…you recharged enough to yeet this mess off us? Or should I just burn a way through?”

~*~

The helplessness was eating away at Scott, torn between wanting to chase after Myth and being stuck with his double smiling away at him with every ability to yank him right back to that spot if he did move. He had planted the end of his trident against the ground and now twisted it between his hands, thinking about how many throws and recalls he could get off before he was gravi-blasted into a wall. He would have to try stalling until he thought of something better, or else hope Sausage freed himself.

“We play different games, actually,” he said, attempting a casual tone. “Ours are more like seeing who can stay alive the longest without interference. You can see that I’m currently winning, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Oh, that’s just a little disappointing. But still! Getting to see him die means you win! There has to be some sabotage involved, right? Tell me I’m right.”

“No, we don’t—”

“Not even a little?” Smajor started to lean forward. “You know, that tiny little feeling inside, that thrill, that moment your heart turns inside out when you know he’s going to die and nothing can stop it??”

Scott gripped the trident harder, unable to stop from thinking about how he had completely lost himself to the ecstasy while drinking Sausage’s blood and had felt the last beat of the angel’s heart stop.

Smajor was watching him carefully then burst into a loud, ugly laugh, startling the merling. “That was too easy! I already know, I already know, your mini-Myth gave it away! You care about each other! Oh, what a really twisted fate that is! Watching each other die, over and over again, changing over and over, oh boohoo, we’re too different now, how will I ever hold your hand? You are in for some fun with that if you decide to keep this up! I can tell you exactly what you’re going to become, and what he’ll become.” He gestured to a scrap of loose leather hanging from his hip.

Scott resisted the urge to lean in to get a better look, but he was able to see uneven lines of tally marks.

Smajor grinned smugly. “Your list is short right now, but tell me – how many times has he actually protected you? Or saved you? How many times did he just sit back and have to let it happen? You laying there, suffering, struggling to breathe, body full of pain or fire or numbness, and he’s just sitting there, watching. How do you know what he’s really thinking? Maybe he’s actually glad, because you’re losing your powers, and maybe now he’ll be the more powerful one. He’s thinking you’ll come back weaker, you’ll need him to protect you, and meanwhile he doesn’t need you for anything except occasional food. Tell me – he pulled your soul out, didn’t he? DIDN’T HE?!”

Already flabbergasted by the relentless stream of assumptions, Scott was stunned by the force behind the last question. “I allowed him to, otherwise he would have—”

“Of course, of course! Couldn’t keep his filthy wither hands off that angel soul, even if it meant hurting you! See! He could have gone off to anyone else, but I bet – I bet! – he was just as obsessed with touching those wings he lost, that holiness he couldn’t have himself anymore! They’re both the same, and he’s going to keep trying to put you in the ground! I knew better! I drained him when he was an angel, and I tore him apart when he was a wither! He still came back for my wings because he couldn’t let go, but I’m still the stronger one!”

Scott struck the end of his trident against the floor, sending out a ringing sound that echoed off the surrounding walls. He couldn’t bear to listen to any more of this. He would fight if he had to. “No, you’re just insane. You sound like you’re obsessed with him.”

Smajor’s eyes widened and he pinched his lips together, but he didn’t yet leave his seat. “I could break every one of the bones in your body just by throwing you into a single wall, right now. But I want you to go through every life that I’ve lived, and see where your loyalty to him gets you. You think about that, every time you watch the light go out of his eyes, every time he watches it leave yours, every time a new obstacle comes up because of the changes. You’ll never get to be happy together. Do that, for me!”

He slid down off the fountain, and Scott shifted his feet, ready to spin the trident around to throw if it came to it.

[ Chapter Three ]

[dreamrecorder]

The words we keep

Soulmate au - first words tattoed on the wrist

Includes: Venti | Diluc | Kaeya | Albedo | Zhongli | Xiao | Childe

Mentions of suicide in Zhongli; angst and brief violence for Childe

Oh you're here- I mean! I'm sorry I didn't mean to take your spot!

The bard had guessed that he'd meet his soulmate either in Angel's Share, in Windrise, or at the hands of his statue in Mondstadt. But the latter two were more unlikely. But he doesn't mind sharing his space with you really. In fact, Venti would be more than willing to let you in his space. But lo and behold! He didn't think he'd meet you at the hands of his statue!

Nights prior, you always heard a voice singing songs of various emotions. The voice eventually led you to Barbatos's statue. When you looked up, you saw the bard in green. His voice was very calming and pleasant to hear, so you always visited the statue at night. Until recently, your curiosity grew. Why does the bard always stay there at night?

Seeing your relaxed form on his statue, hair swaying in the wind. Venti just went soft. "Quite the lovely view isn't it?" 

He didn't mean to surprise but you still did become surprised. He found it endearing. "Oh you're here- I mean! I'm sorry I didn't mean to take your spot!"

Ah- you scared them. Please don't do that.

Now who did he scare and what did he do to warrant his soulmate's first words to him? Diluc has always been aware that he can be intimidating and usually he doesn't mind that. But for you- he does give half a mind.

There was a new winemaker that Connor had hired and Diluc has yet to meet them. Connor had even commented that their methods were a bit unusual. But if it's enough to get the former's approval, then Diluc will see to this newcomer.

Diluc met you during the night, just at the edges of the Stone Gate that signifies the border between Mondtsadt and Liyue. The man was simply patrolling around the area for any hidden dangers. That's when he saw you, kneeling on the ground with a group of slimes surrounding you. Seeing your plight, Diliuc quickly ran and summoned his greatsword. With a few swipes imbued with pyro, the slimes hastily retreated. He was about to chase them off, but he was more concerned of your safety.

Diluc was about to speak when you cut him off as you stood up, dusting your clothes. "Ah- you scared them. Please don't do that."

Diluc was dumbstruck for a second. He did not expect to meet his soulmate right here right now. Seeing his stupefied look, you raised a brow. "Are… you alright, Sir Diluc?"

"Those slimes were about to attack you." Diluc pointed out. His reply made you chuckle a bit and shake your head to the sides. Did he say anything funny?

"No they were not. I was trying to befriend them so that I could use their slime concentrations for the winery."

Now Diluc was even more confused. Slime? For tbe winery? "Wait- you're the new-"

"Winemaker. And your soulmate if you're not yet aware. Come on, let's go look for those slimes! We can talk on the way about our… professional and not-so professional side of our relationship." And with that, you trailed to the path of the slimes with a smile on your face. As for the wine tycoon, he was still confused- like a lost puppy, but there was this gentle smile that landed on his lips as he followed you.

Yes, I am suffering and in need of a Pyro Vision. Soulmate or not, if you don't have a Pyro Vision- shoo.

The text tattooed on Kaeya's wrist always left him laughing. He just knows, that this was meant to be a comical moment. He can even imagine the moment he meets his soulmate just from these words alone. But of course, he does worry about your well-being. Kaeya had his guesses. Maybe he would meet you in Dragonspine or maybe- you were an unprepared tourist enduring the permafrost of Snezhnaya and he'd meet you there. Well- in the end, he's still amused at your winterish pain.

Sure enough, Kaeya was tasked to scout Dragonspine for any Fatui activity. He could feel it under his skin that he'll meet you any second now. As he traversed through the mountain path, he noticed a group of warming seelies hovering over… someone? And that someone is shivering immensely. The captain grinned.

You heard footsteps approaching but you stayed in your crouched position, determined to preserve your body temperature. The seelies were helping, sure, but they were not enough to counter the coldness your Cryo Vision emanates. Damn it. Just because you're a cryo user doesn't mean you're immune to sheer cold.

The footsteps stopped and you snorted at the words the stranger spoke, "Could this possibly be my soulmate suffering in the cold and in need of a Pyro Vision?"

You huffed, you didn't want to meet your soulmate in this kind of situation. But it happened anyway, much to your dismay. Still crouched, you managed to turn to face the man as seelies continued hovering around.

"Yes, I am suffering and in need of a Pyro Vision. Soulmate or not, if you don't have a Pyro Vision- shoo."

Now actually hearing it from you made Kaeya laugh hard. If he was already amused just from the ink on his wrist before, Kaeya's now even more so deeply amused. You muttered sadist on his way. Deciding he's had enough a good laugh for today, the captain gave you his fur coat and a warming bottle. "Come on, let's get you some place warm, yes?"

You're not the only one! I actually did one for you, too!

When his mind is not occupied by hus studies, it would often drift ink embedded on his wrist. Everytime Albedo does so, he would often wonder what did the two of make for each other that would lead to you eventual meeting.

The Windblume Festival arrived, and of course, so will tourists from other lands. Usually, Albedo would simply pay no heed to the ongoing festivities and their participants. But this time- things were different. You unknowingly caught the alchemist's eye. There was this sudden itch in his hands- and Albedo knew he had to sketch you form. However, before he could even approach you- you left to another direction.

He caught sight of you again the next day. You were reading a book on a bench, with the plaza fountain giving you a beautiful background for Albedo. Discreetly, the alchemist sat on a bench front of yours and began sketching. Unbeknownst by him, you were also entranced by his form and you, too, began sketching.

Albedo was first to finish- and like usual, he would give the sketch to the person he drew of even if they were strangers. As he walked, there was this certain nervousness that found way in his stomach. This never happened before. Why was he nervous?

Once close enough, Albedo cleared his throat and handed you his sketch, "I know this seems suspicious, but I want you to have this. You have a wonderful form."

You'd be lying if you said your heart did not stop a beat at his words. When you saw the paper he was offering you, you gasped at how he caught every detail of you. Bashful, you tore the page you were drawing on from sketchbook and gave it to him.

"You're not the only one! I actually did one for you, too!"

When your words reached his ears, Archons bless you as he gave you a genuine and joyful smile.

Please... don't touch my heart that wants to disappear.

When Zhongli fully embraced his mortal form, he didn't expect the universe to gift him a soulmate. Like a snake, ink slithered into words that gave his heart a certain sadness. Zhongli knew, you were suffering somewhere... Out there...

He saw you first at the highest peak of Guyun Stone Forest. Everything happened so quickly. One second he was watching your distant form from the beaches below then the next he knew- his heart dropped, the same way you willingly fell to the hands of death that waited in the sea. The archon did what he knew is right- and that is saving you.

To Zhongli, immoratlity can both be a blessing and a curse. When your skins touched, he knew you were of immortality. He could sense it. And he could also sense the tiredness that nest in your soul from the burden of immortality.

Once Zhongli landed on safe ground, that's when he spoke. "I won't ask why, however is this truly what you want?"

The way his words reflected the ink written on your wrist made you open your eyes wide. When the realization sank in- that this man is your soulmate, you began crying. You were tired of life- but this man- this man is now your lock away from your want for death. If you stayed with him- another cycle of seeing the people you love come and go.

"Please..." you begged, "don't touch my heart that wants to disappear..."

Your voice was sad and pleading- but Zhongli was a stubborn man, just like his element. He wanted to help you but not by giving your death. He wanted you to see life in a new light, hopefully with him by your side.

Excuse me... Here- for you. Qingxin.

Xiao was always resolute in his resolve that he has no need of a soulmate deemed by the universe. However, there are times that he would let his mind flutter around the concept. Specifically, around the words elegantly written on his wrist and his soulmate. Xiao would question why would you give him qingxin flowers in the first place. Other than that, there was also this underlying worry in his thoughts about you and the qingxin flowers. These flowers... they can only be gathered on high stone peaks. What if you slipped and fall?

This leads Xiao to have days where he just spends his time at the peaks of Jueyun Karst, looking out for any foolish person scale mountains just for qingxin. It's not because he's worried about you no- Xiao just doesn't want anyone die under his protection over Liyue. There has already been too much deat-

"Excuse me..."

At the voice, Xiao's head whipped to your direction with eyes wide in surprise.

"Here- for you. Qingxin."

There was this bored look in your face, but Xiao could see the worry in your eyes. Worry? Were you worried about him? Xiao frowned at the thought but still took the flowers from your outstretched hand.

"Foolish mortal... you could have gotten yourself hurt. Climbing peaks just for qingxin..."

... But still a small smile graced his lips and your heart melted.

"Thank you."

You're the only person I recognize whose eyes resemble the deep blue ocean.

The words tattooed on his wrist always left Childe questioning about his soulmate and what led them saying these words. Somehow- imagining the possible scenarios always makes him melt. This string of words- it never fails him to bring a sense of comfort in his heart. Childe learns of yoir existance during a mission.

The mission was to assasinate a captain of the Knights- you. He observed you for days and took note how you're silent and alone for the most part but kind to the people who approach you- he almost feels bad for having to kill you. The day came when he had to kill you. It was supposed to be a quick kill- but he should know better. You were a captain for a reason, so you fought back. However, in the end, Childe was stronger as he wrap his hands around your fragile neck. Another second, he'd have you dead- until a child's voice cut through- your little brother. The way your eyes watered up at the sight of your only family. Seeing the hurt in your eyes, Childe's thoughts went overdrive- No- nonononono way I'm killing in front of a kid- He simply can't- he was reminded of his little brother, too. With a wavering will to disobey orders, Childe let you go and retreated to the night,

"Don't think this is the last time you'll see me."

Like a shattering glass- the words he uttered made your heart shatter like glass...

Childe saw you again, this time in Liyue. When your gazes meet- there was a shock that passed through with tension suddenly gripping your necks. Childe swore he hid much of his identity physically that night- but he knew you recognized him. He managed to corner you in Yuehai Pavillion by swooping into an empty seat right in front of you. There was a tense moment and an oppresive air. He noticed how your hands were ready to grab your weapon. "How did you recognize me?"

You carefully thought of your words. And when you did reply, Childe have never felt so much despair until today. "You're the only person I recognize whose eyes resemble the deep blue ocean."

Back before he knew you- these words always comforted Childe- but now? Childe felt chills in his spine as despair clouded his mind. Why would the universe decide to have person he was supposed to kill his soulmate.

Similarly, his heart also shattered.

A/N: Look!!! I got meself some banners ksks---- this is all Childe's fault rawr

[roniscloud]

psh - love affair

park sunghoon [f. 8516 words] love affair

so when i’m gonna know what to feel inside, baby?

maybe it’s just all in my head, so

don’t overthink, this is love

maybe it’s just a crush

baby, is this your love affair, your love affair?

synopsis: what happens when two childhood best friends make a deal to help each other’s reputations? an unforeseen circumstance prompts sunghoon to approach you, intriguing not just you but practically every other student at your college. you believe your reunion with him can only end in one of two ways: you resort back to being friends and go on with your lives, or you use each other and once you’re both done, you fall out and never talk again. how will you two navigate your companionship? is it just the nostalgia coming up? a revival of feelings? a new crush? could it possibly be actual love?

genre + tropes : fluff. comedy. the slightest angst. childhoodbestfriends!au. enemiestolovers!au. college!au. fakedating!au. 

warnings: fem reader. a little swearing. slightly suggestive themes, sorta. a few cliches. mentions of underage drinking. the american collegiate school calendar. does them geeking out over fantasy/sci-fi sagas need a warning? unknown mutual pining. they’re so helplessly clueless of their feelings. also appearances of the rest of enha plus txt.

i. prologue

if someone told you that you would reconnect with your childhood best friend—let alone date him, you would’ve laughed in their face and told them to fuck off. park sunghoon is bad news. well, at least to you he is. one of the infamous campus playboys, you can spot him around the quad flirting with a different girl practically every day. 

but to you, he couldn’t have been anymore unlike the sunghoon you grew up with. you grew up with the sunghoon who couldn’t stand being around others, mind always focused on his own interests. you knew him as the little shy boy who would hide behind his mom whenever new people came around. the first person he opened up to was you. you can blame your mom for that. you can vaguely remember her words, something along the lines of mrs. park and i have been friends for longer than you have been alive. when we found out we were both expecting, we knew you two were destined to be besties. 

she was right. everyone thought you were two peas in a pod. wherever one of you went, the other followed. always stuck together, like true partners in crime. your close bond stuck for years. if anyone needed you, you’d most likely be found in the seats of sunghoon’s ice skating practices and competitions, cheering him on and being obnoxiously loud. likewise, he always attended your showcases, spending hours complimenting your artwork.

but then the villain of everyone’s lifetime eventually appeared. puberty. 

alas, your friendship did what anyone could predict of a couple of preteens entering high school. the usual “no matter what we’re gonna stick together!” leading to “sorry for blowing you off, got really busy,” to the imminent “what happened to us? we used to be so close,” and eventually the end of it all. senior year, the two of you attempted to leave on a good note. by that, you mean your parents made both of you apply to the same colleges to have a chance at sticking together. well, it worked, you got into the same university. funny how the universe does things.

back to present day, you’re now in your second year at hybe university. let’s just say, sunghoon isn’t the only one who went through a personality change. sunghoon traded his late night practices on the ice to one-night stands at frat parties. you, on the other hand, traded your once outgoing and fun-loving persona for a more… cold grunge meets artsy introvert. overall, let’s just say you both have reputations for not being the most approachable people. well at least you still have one thing in common.

ii. the cafe

the busy campus cafe was roaring with study groups filling every table. the aroma of fresh coffee and tea being brewed filling the air, creating a warm atmosphere—contrast to the cold winter weather just outside the walls. the college students scattered around, just like their minds scattered as they prepare for finals. not immune to the dreaded time of year, a group of four boys enter, immediately grabbing the attention of those already nestled inside.

a quick roll call of the four known by the student body as en-4, a combination of the dance crew name enhypen and the notorious f4. lee heeseung—the campus heartthrob, captain of the dance crew, center of the basketball team, and an unknown hopeless romantic. park jongseong, although everyone calls him jay—the resident bad boy and party animal, but those close to him know that he’s actually the responsible one. sim jaeyun, otherwise referred to as jake—the friendly and flirty frat boy who you can catch playing soccer in the quad almost every day. finally, park sunghoon—the handsome heartbreaker. he doesn’t need more of an introduction.

the four of them make their way to the counter, placing their orders. of course jake doesn’t miss his chance to sound extra sweet and send a quick wink to the barista, getting elbowed by heeseung in the process. after getting their drinks, they look around to see almost no where to sit. not a single table to fit all of them was available. 

in one of the tucked away areas, sunghoon spots an empty seat at a smaller table. the only catch was there was someone sitting across from it, hunched forward over her laptop. he can’t see much of her figure but he immediately recognizes her features. it’s you. well, a more mature and grown up you, but he couldn’t forget that face for the life of him.

sunghoon’s feet drag himself across the crowded room, catching the attention from the neighboring groups he passed but sneaking away quiet enough to not alarm his own friends. the three are too caught up arguing about what to do. sunghoon can hear the faint voice of jay suggesting going somewhere else while the other two shoot him down as he walks further away. he makes his way all the way up to your side. you look up, scanning him, confused but unamused. “this seat taken?” the first words he said in a year and half to you. still not not giving him any emotion, you hesitantly shake your head once, immediately bringing your focus back to your essay.

ignoring him only works for so long, his gaze not leaving the top of your head. you can feel his stare piercing into you, finally meeting his eyes. “what’s your deal?” the irritation and bluntness in your tone is all too evident.

he shrugs and answers nonchalantly, “nothing, just go along with it.” his answer is hushed, almost as if he’s a bit embarrassed.

“what are you trying to pull here, park?”

“can i not just sit here and peacefully drink my latte? am i that disturbing to you?”

“considering that the second you started walking in this direction, everyone had their eyes on us, then yes, you are that disturbing.”

“they’re not looking at us.” he pauses before continuing with his rant, “they’re looking at you.”

“and why the hell do you think that is?”

“they’re all trying to figure out what could possibly be so interesting about you that i would choose this seat.” he says it like it’s the most obvious answer.

you scoff and turn to see the lingering stares of the others in the cafe. “well, if it isn’t the god park sunghoon being as humble as ever, gracing me with his presence and having mercy on a peasant like me.” the sarcasm dripping off your tongue like venom.

he smiles warmly at your animosity and chuckles. “i’ve always loved your sense of humor.”

“funny cause i’ve always despised yours. i’m gonna ask one more time. what do you want, park?”

he only shrugs. hesitating before responding again, “i like it here. i like talking to you. it’s familiar… comfortable.” he sees your expression change subtly. it’s only for a second before you regain the prior look. he tries to read you. he caught you off guard and his pride brings a smirk to his face. 

by now, he finally tunes back into the situation around him and can feel his phone going off in his jean pocket. he pulls out the phone to see dozens of notifications, quickly stealing a glance back up at you to see that you’re already back to typing away on the previously forgotten assignment. he laughs as he sees the boys blowing up their group chat asking what he was doing. he looks up, finding the three sitting at a cramped booth with shock and confusion written all over them.

“enjoying the attention?” your turn to break the silence. when he turns back to you, you continue, “you’re no stranger to it but you’ve always loved it.” he gives you a slow nod, turning the question back to you. you answer him, “you know that it’s not my forte.”

“and why is that? scared people will get to know the real you?”

“oh please, like you aren’t afraid of me exposing all the dirt i have on you. imagine the buzz i could create with all of your old baby pics.”

he jolts up from his relaxed position, eyebrows raised, and completely on edge, “you wouldn’t dare.”

you lean forward in your seat, elbow resting on the table, cheek resting in your palm, and chuckle, “try me.” the words leaving your mouth quickly and a smile immediately replacing it.

“you’re finally smiling at me. good to know you still have emotions.” he gets you to laugh again. you spend the next 20 minutes catching up. looks like you two kept more in common than you thought. things run smoothly between the two of you, some of your old memories and inside jokes being brought up. “why didn’t this happen sooner?”

“what, us talking? i mean, you and i stopped running in the same crowd and school got the best of us. i will admit, though, freshman year sucked without you.”

he sighs when he hears your admission. “how about this? a proposition. i’m sure you’re aware that i don’t have the best reputation.”

you cut him off, “you can say that again.”

“haha, very funny,” he throws in another sarcastic comment. “you know you’re not exactly the most approachable either. hate to be the one to break it to you but you’re pretty intimidating.” he notices the expression on your face turned into one of annoyance at his last statement, “don’t look at me like that, you know it’s true.”

you dismiss the slight jab, telling him to continue. what you don’t expect is the next four words to come out of his mouth. “go out with me.” he sees your face drop, “oh come on, stop looking at me like that.”

“so i see, a little bit of time without me and you go insane.”

“look, i don’t mean actually date me, i mean… pretend to.”

again, you stare at him like he grew another head. “you want me to fake-date you? what are we, in a k-drama now? sorry hoon, you’re attractive but i would’ve preferred hwang in-youp or song kang.”

now he’s a bit annoyed, answering cockily, “i am so much better looking than them.”

“you wish.”

his jaw drops for a few seconds and then he chuckles. “i’m serious, think about it. we go out and spend time with each other like old times. i don’t look like i’m so incapable of being in a committed relationship and you don’t look like such a loner. no offense.”

“offense taken… but i see your point.”

“see, look at you using that smart brain of yours. this would be no strings attached. just two friends helping each other out while simultaneously deceiving everyone else. i know how much you love tricking others.”

you sit quietly, weighing the pros and cons in your head. “deal.”

iii. bro code

a few days later, sunghoon sits in his shared apartment with the boys, slumped on the couch as they eat dinner. “why are you guys so against it? i thought you wanted to see me in a relationship and now that i’m in one, you guys don’t approve. make it make sense. i should be free to date whoever i want.”

“yeah dude,” pausing to take a bite of his burger, “we get that.” jay answers, seeing how defensive his friend is getting.

jake interejects, “we respect your choices, but like… her? of all the girls that are falling at your feet, you chose her? the one that has no interest in you at all? i know you’re powerful but i don’t get how you managed to pull that off.”

“i feel like you could’ve consulted us about it first. bro code, man.” heeseung says as he shrugs his shoulders and sips on his soda.

“that’s kinda why i like her, because she isn’t all over me like the others. she’s cute and fun to hang out with. just give her a chance. honestly, what’s the worst that could happen? we go out and it doesn’t work. no harm in trying….”

that seems to do the trick as the boys lay off from the topic, going back to their own dinners and watching the latest episode of the penthouse.

later that night, sunghoon leaves their dorm to meet up with you. you agreed earlier that if you needed to meet up and talk that you’d go to the art department. perks of being an art major allows you a studio to spend your time in, secluded from the outside world. in this case, you and sunghoon don’t have to worry about nosy roommates.

when he arrives, he makes sure to take the back entrance like you mentioned. he makes his way through the deserted halls, glancing at each room he passes, and taking note of the various pieces framed along the corridor walls. he gets to the end of the building, finding a studio decorated with your name on the door. he silently enters. you don’t notice him at first with your back against the entrance and the music playing too loud through your airpods, focused on molding the clay on the pottery wheel. he grabs an empty stool, propping it beside you and taking a seat. he takes off one of your airpods, putting it in his own ear.

you finally turn your head towards him, “how long ago did you get here?”

“just now. how long were you waiting?”

you sit up, facing his direction. “i had a couple of classes today and came here to finish some stuff, been here for… what time is it?”

“um… almost 11.”

“then like four hours.”

“you’ve been working on that for four hours? what even is it, and when did you start doing pottery?” he points at the unfinished ceramic.

“not just that. i had some paintings that i needed to finish for my portfolio and those are in a separate room to dry. this,” you refer to the clay, “is just something i’m working on for fun. i got into it cause one of my profs suggested i try another medium.”

he nods along while you explain. “you can keep working on it while we talk.”

you hum in confirmation and turn back to the wheel, rewetting your wands. “so how do we make this believable? seems like people already know. word spreads quick when it comes to you.”

“we just need to act like a couple. so hanging out, going on dates, posting each other here and there, and being affectionate.”

“wow you finally found an excuse to kiss me,” you laugh as you joke with him, him following suit. “sounds reasonable, not much different from how we were as kids, just now we have to call them dates.”

“shouldn’t cause too many problems. just don’t fall in love with me, babe.”

you smile at the new nickname, “likewise, hoon.” you continue throwing the clay, molding it to your desired shape. you hyperfocus on the sculpture, tuning out the boy sitting next to you as he watches—he catches on that you still have the habit of pouting whenever you work on your art. you hunch forward, letting some of your hair fall in front of your face. too caught up, you don’t notice that sunghoon left his seat to stand behind you. he takes your locks and ties it into a messy ponytail. you snap out of your tunnel vision to ask, “why do you just have a hair tie handy?”

“i always had to carry some around for you because you always lost them. i never grew out of it, i guess.” he grins warmly, “do you remember how many times you had complained when you would get paint in your hair and i would have to clean it up for you?”

“how could i forget?” the night ends with more laughs and reminiscing on your childhood. time really does fly faster than you think.

iv. rated pg

the bell rings as you and sunghoon enter the convenience store. you two are discussing the movie you two just watched as you walk through the aisles. 

you split up agreeing to meet back at the register. you make your way to the drinks in the back while sunghoon goes to get snacks. you grab an iced jasmine tea for yourself and an iced vanilla latte for hoon. sunghoon yells over the stands as he browses, “hey, what should i caption for my insta post?”

you respond loudly, “i don’t know, something related to movies.”

sunghoon looks at the picture on his phone: a photo of you two snuggled up in the theater, most of your face hidden in his hoodie. he types in quickly “rated pg for park’s girl <3”, hits post, and goes back to browsing. he goes to grab bento boxes, honey butter chips, candy jellies, and practically everything his eyes landed on. 

when you make it to the cashier, you see sunghoon with his arms full. “you good there, park?”

a muffled “yup” is heard behind all the food.

you look around, walking away when you find what you needed. going closer to him, “why didn’t you just grab a basket?” you start to take some things from his arms, lightening his load. 

“i… uh… didn’t think of it.” he pauses in between, an embarrassed expression adorning his face. you giggle as you take everything to be rung up, missing how his ears turned red. you catch the worker’s name on his tag, jungwon. before you can take out your wallet to pay, sunghoon’s already entering his card into the machine. you whip your head around, ready to tell him off. “nope, do not look at me like that.” you roll your eyes at him as you grab the bag with what you just bought. 

“oh come on… you can’t seriously be mad at me.” no response from you. “really? the silent treatment?” he scoffs jokingly when you cross your arms against your chest. he comes closer to bend down and wrap his arms around your waist. “it’s snacks. it’s not that big of a deal.”

you release yourself from his grasp and walk out of the store, still faking being mad. you mumble, “whatever,” under your beath but still loud enough for him to hear.

he bids jungwon a quick “have a nice night”, not missing him calling the two of you a cute couple. sunghoon meets up with you outside, already sitting on the curb of the parking lot. 

v. pretty boy

the start of a new semester. en-4 are sitting out on the grass of the quad. surrounding them are various groups of students, typical for the buzzing campus on a crisp spring day.

“you need to cook the noodles first. end of discussion.” jake says sternly. he and heeseung are in a heated argument over the proper order of cooking ramen.

heeseung defends himself, “you are so wrong. you make the broth first to build the flavor.”

jay brings his attention up from his phone, “neither of you should be allowed anywhere near a kitchen.”

out of nowhere, a loud car horn is heard, drawing the attention of every student in the area. sunghoon looks up to find you leaning against the passenger door of your car and yelling, “hey, pretty boy! get in.” he chuckles at both the label and how bossy you sound, turning to his friends to grab his things. the three of them are stunned at him.

jake breaks first, “wait, what?”

heeseung lets go of his argument with the australian, “dude, are you seriously leaving?”

sunghoon only nods as he walks away, not letting them ask any more questions. he notices all the watching eyes and decides why not put on a show? he shouts out to you, “thought i was picking you up later, babe.” he makes sure to emphasize the nickname as his infamous smirk tells you exactly what his intentions are.

“lecture ended early, love. prof had some emergency. thought why not surprise you…” you wrap your arms around his shoulders as he reaches you and let him lay a quick peck on your cheek. “now come on, i’m taking you out on a date so either hop in or lose your chance. your choice but i don’t have that much patience so hurry up.”

“yes, ma’am,” he leans in closer and guides his hands lower from your waist. “but i’m driving,” he says as he sneakily takes your keys from your back pocket, 

“you sly fox.” he laughs at the new nickname as he opens the door, letting you sit down before closing it. he makes his way around the hood, noting that all attention is still on you two. he meets eyes with his friends again, the three looking much like the faces he saw in the cafe almost six weeks ago. as he buckles in and starts the car, you rest your hand on top of his on the gear shift. he raises his eyebrows and gives you a charming smile. “by the way, why’s your friend looking at me like that?”

he looks back up to face the boys, “which one?”

“jay. since we started doing this, he keeps looking at me weird—like weirder than the others.”

he tilts his head to the side when he realizes that jay is indeed looking in your direction, but his eyes are focused solely on you. “jay is… how should i put this? you know what i’ll tell you later. for now, tell me where to?”

vi. jukebox

the hazy red glow of the neon lights and checkered tiled floors welcomed you as you led sunghoon into the local diner. this place was a staple in your childhood, your go-to hangout spot with the aforementioned boy when you were still in your youth. 

“i will say, this is a nice surprise.”

you look up to sunghoon as he sits across from you in the vinyl booth seat, “i knew you would love it.” you laugh with each other as you get situated, seeing a young but tall—why is he so tall? he looks like he’s only a teenager—server coming towards your table.

“hey, i’m niki and i’ll be taking care of you guys today,” the giant says cheerfully. “anything i can start you guys with?”

sunghoon looks up at the boy to take your order swiftly, “two strawberry milkshakes, please.” you watch as niki nods and walks back to the counter.

“well, well, well, park… you remembered?” you question teasingly with a cocked eyebrow.

“you’ve always had a sweet tooth. no wonder you loved me so much,” his turn to turn up the typical park sunghoon charm.

you scrunch your face in annoyance, “you should become a comedian.”

“i will never get tired of your sarcasm. it really just… keeps me going.” his way of joking back. “stay here. i’ll be right back,” he says quickly as he looks behind you and gets out of his seat.

you wait patiently for him, assuming he’s just going to the restroom. unbeknownst to you, sunghoon is making his way to the jukebox on the other side of the restaurant. he flips through the song list, finally finding the one he wants. he quickly puts in the coins and sets it in the queue. as he turns to go back to you, he sees an engraving on the side. he runs his fingers along it as he inspects the writing. property of sunghoon and y/n. he thinks back to your last day of eighth grade when you two etched the label onto the wood. he joyfully walks back to your table, ready to let you know about the memory. he sits next to you now, resting his arm behind you and around your back,

“what took you so long, park?”

right as he’s about to explain, niki comes to your table, “two strawberry milkshakes. anything else i can get you two?”

you turn your head quickly to the boy sitting next to you, seeing his eyes are already focused on yours. “um… no, i, uh, think we’re good.” you stumble and stutter a bit. you watch him as he nods his head and walks away. regaining your composure, you ask sunghoon again, “so what did take you so long?”

once again, he gets interrupted. the sound of “purpose” by justin bieber playing over the speakers makes him stop. he gives you a second to register the song, “that’s why.”

you tilt your head down and look at him quizzically, “really? this is why?” you reach to your drink, sipping on the straw as you wait for his answer.

he mirrors your movement, nodding his head in confirmation. he too drinks from the tall glass, contrary to your use of a straw, he opts to drink straight from the rim. he pulls the milkshake away, leaving some on his upper lip.

you burst into quiet laughter, turning your gaze away to not spit out your own shake.

sunghoon furrows his eyebrows in confusion, “what’s so funny?”

you turn back to him, “you got a little something there, park.” you wipe away the liquid from his face with your thumb, popping into your own mouth to clean it up.”there, all good now.”

sunghoon freezes in his spot, trying to comprehend what just happened. it’s quick but he feels something. trying to shake off the foreign feeling, he turns to face forward again. he feels you lean into him, head resting on his chest. a small grin appears on his face, humming along to the justin bieber tune still playing.

“i missed hearing you sing.”

sunghoon looks down at the crown of your head, “really? you used to always tease me about it, though.”

you shake your head with a light laugh, “i never meant it. whenever you sang, it always calmed me. i used to think… if you didn’t pursue skating, you could’ve been a singer.”

“and then what? i would bring you around on tour everywhere and sneak you in backstage?”

“that could’ve been fun.” you now laugh louder than before, him along with you.

there it is again. sunghoon’s not sure what it is, trying to suppress the odd emotion. he sits there, cuddling up to you in the booth, finishing the strawberry milkshakes, just hoping you can’t hear the way his heart starts to beat faster.

sitting at the bar, snacking on fries, and trying to not be seen by you two are heeseung, jay, and jake. they ask themselves would they really be considered sunghoon’s friends if they didn’t follow them and stake out their date.

vii. nerds

sunghoon picked you up from the art department today. he showed up about ten minutes too early, and he got permission from your instructor to monitor your class from the back. he waited outside the door while you cleaned up, earning a few prying looks from your peers as they exited. as you drove back to his place, you agreed to have a movie marathon. 

opening the door to his dorm, you say “we are watching star wars. luke, leia, and han solo are a way better trio than three child magicians.”

sunghoon defends his choice, “first of all, they’re wizards. second, i’m offended. harry, ron, and hermione use magic with their wands. all star wars has is weird weapons and robots.”

“they’re literally in space and excuse you, but does something called—oh, i don’t know—the force ring any bells? they’re jedis, duh.” you rolls your eyes, making your annoyance clear.

sunghoon stops in the hall, “harry potter has spells and potions.”

“star wars has chewbacca.” you stand next to him with your arms crossed.

definitively and matter-of-factly, sunghoon says, “quidditch.”

“you can’t seriously believe quidditch is praiseworthy?” you look at him crazily.

“you two are such nerds.”

you both freeze, turning to see the rest of en-4 sitting in the living room. in the midst of your argument, you both failed to notice the others were home. you realize that jay was the one to stop you two. you also realize it’s the dreaded time for the best friends to finally meet the “girlfriend”. sunghoon seems to realize it as well, reaching to intertwine your hands to both sell the act to his roomates and to calm you down.

he leads you into the living room, meeting eyes with the boys. “so… guys, this is y/n, my girlfriend.”

“it’s so nice to finally meet you! i’m jake. sunghoon here has been holding out on us. i mean, come on, it’s been like two months and he still hasn’t introduced you to us.” the australian continues on with his energetic and positive ramble, asking you questions about your relationship.

heeseung butts in to tell jake to slow down. “i’m heeseung. jake’s right though, you two started dating before winter break and we’re barely meeting you now. sunghoon is always hanging out with you and telling us everything about it. honestly, all i can tell you is to run while you still can.” the others all laugh at his antics.

sunghoon scoffs, “hey, i’m not that bad.”

you excuse yourself to get a drink from the kitchen. you can hear jake spitting out more questions like rapid fire to sunghoon as you walk away. you reach into the fridge, fishing out a water bottle.

behind you, jay enters quietly. “you two are cute together.”

you flinch at his voice, “geez, dude. almost gave me a heart attack.”

he chuckles under his breath and leans against the counter, “sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. i met sunghoon at freshman orientation and we immediately became friends, but i’ve never seen him like this.”

“really hoping you mean that in a good way.”

“don’t worry, it is. you know… he only has a soft spot for you. the three of us are his best friends but he only ever smiles like that with you.” he sways his head back and forth as he rambles, taking a pause between his words. “stay with him. it’ll be good for everyone.”

you smile at his approval, “you wanna know something? he actually said you would be the hardest to win over. he said something about you being super protective over your friends… yet, at the same time you trust their judgement. he told me that when he and i got together, he wasn’t scared to tell you but more worried as to if you would like me.”

he smiles with you now, “that all he said about me?” he asks while raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

“he also mentioned that you’re a good cook.”

viii. proud

a professor of yours is holding their annual spring showcase for contemporary art. every year, a handful of students are chosen to join and display their art amongst other renowned artists. you happen to be one of the few, a top contender chosen for your abilities.

you’ve invited your friends, including en-4 to come by the studio and see your work—albeit a bit nervous for their reactions. you stand on watch by your section, greeting the patrons and waiting for the boys to arrive.

thankfully, they show up within the first hour of the gallery opening. they each show up looking professional and chic, sporting all-black fits—most likely at the hands of jay. sunghoon immediately finding you and leading the way for the rest. you welcome them in, explaining your collection, the concentration being “vulnerability.” the works are a mix of several mediums, majority being oil paint, each displaying a closeup of various people. the paintings show their bare faces, imperfections and blemishes with nothing to hide.

the night continues with more and more passing by, complimenting your collection. by the time the exhibition ends, you and sunghoon are the only ones left in the studio. he’s stayed in the same spot, eyeing one piece incredibly closely. throughout the entire showcase, he had kept going back to the one canvas. you join his side, linking your arm with his. “this one is my favorite,” you hear him say.

you look up to meet his eyes, “why this one?”

“because…  it’s you.” you takes your arm out and moves to stand behind you, now wrapping himself around you and resting his chin in the crook of your neck. he holds your hands in his, “i am so proud of you. times like this, i am proud to call you my best friend.” he turns his head, kissing you once on your jaw, and then pulling slightly back to kiss you again on the cheek.

you turn around, hugging him closer with your arms around his shoulders, “thank you.” you hold each other for a few minutes. when you pull away, you lock eyes. you feel your heart beating against your chest and your breathing getting faster. you snap back to reality when you feel sunghoon’s lips on yours. you’re not sure why you tangle your fingers in his hair and kiss him back or why he grabs onto your waist while backing you into the wall. he continues placing pecks on the corner of you lips, creating a trail down to your neck. when you let out a sigh and say his name, he stops. there he stands, a few feet in front of you, awkward and unsure of what to do next.

he breaks the silence, “it’s late. i should drive you back home.” he watches as you slowly nod your head. the drive back to your apartment was dead silent. you tried to occupy yourself by looking out the window.

when he drops you off, he bids you a quick goodnight. “um… text me when you get back home.” sunghoon just looks forward, muttering “ok” before leaving.

in the elevator, you look at your reflection on the metal doors. you make your way inside your place and take a seat on your bed. your mind is too busy reliving the moments with sunghoon before. you try to comprehend what you should do but find yourself too tired, instead falling asleep and missing his text.

ix. spring break

it’s currently the middle of april and the boys have made you an honorary member of en-4. you and sunghoon have been pretending to be a couple and successfully tricking everyone for the last four months.

everyone has the week off for spring break. jay, being the generous guy he is, rented out a cabin in the mountains for the now five members of your friend group. you all rode in one car on the way up, and you totally didn’t fall asleep in the middle seat while cuddling into sunghoon’s side. 

you all decide to settle into your rooms once you arrive. “so there are four rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs.” jay pauses, looking towards you and sunghoon, “i assume that you’ll be fine sharing one.”

you immediately answer, “yeah, for sure.” you look to see sunghoon avoiding your gaze, sensing knowing looks from the others. sunghoon and you already guessed that they would make the two of you share a room and truthfully, neither of you minded. growing up together meant a lot of sleepovers and sharing beds so this was no problem.

he continues on, “great, you guys can take the master bedroom on the second floor cause it has the most space. i’ll take the room next to you, heeseung and jake can take the two down here.”

everyone agrees and sets off to their assigned rooms. you and sunghoon drop your bags onto the mattress, starting to unpack. the interior is spacious, the tall glass sliding doors allow lots of natural light to come in. the room itself is cozy, king size bed with matching bedside tables, and a big fluffy area rug. you’re too distracted to notice that sunghoon has gone outside to the balcony. he leans against the railing, taking in the scenic views and the breeze, basking in the setting rust-colored sun. when you finally realize that he’s not next to you anymore, you silently make you way onto the balcony, wrapping your arms around sunghoon from behind.

he tenses up at the sudden contact, relaxing when he realizes it’s you. there it is again, his heart is acting up like at the diner. he’s noticed it more often—the way that whenever he sees you, his heart beats differently. this weird feeling in his chest, this warmth that only shows up around you. he gets lost in his thoughts, envisioning what could become of your situation.

“what’s got you so lost?”

your voice snaps him back to reality. he turns around to face you, “uh… nothing, just thinking.”

just when you want to question him further and talk about what happened at the showcase, a knock is heard on the door. sunghoon walks away, going to open the door. both of you can feel the awkward tension when he leaves his spot. 

“hey, we’re kinda hungry so we’re gonna order some food and watch a movie downstairs,” jake informs you two when the door opens. “feel free to come down and join whenever.”

“yeah, we’ll be down in a bit,” sunghoon tells him as heeseung nods before leaving you two alone again. you both finish getting settled before heading downstairs. you gather around the couch as ponyo plays on the tv and you reach for a tray of sushi. 

the night continues, the moon sitting high amongst the stars. after the movie, dinner, and some drinking games, everyone retires to their respective rooms. you plop yourself onto the bed, tired after the day’s activities. you hear sunghoon getting something from his bag along with the rustling of some plastic. you crane your head up to see him approaching you. he sits on the edge of the bed, now with fluffy headbands and face masks in hand.

you scoot back a bit, “nope. no way you are getting me to do that.”

he laughs lightly at your antics, “oh come on… let me take care of you, at least just for tonight. please.” he gives you a pleading look with pursed lips, dragging out the “please” to show how desperate he is. 

that was the deciding point that led to a spa night. you both changed into comfier clothes, you borrowed one of his hoodies and sweatpants. sunghoon got settled in closer to you and you reached for his wrist to grab one of the elastic bands. you adjusted your position to sit on your knees, reaching up to tie his hair back. he, on the other hand, took one of the headbands to bring your hair back and away from your face. 

by the time midnight rolled around, you two were snuggled under the comforter with face masks, surrounded by junk food, and on the fourth episode of some random netflix show. as the night continues, a wave of sleep starts to overtake both of you. you help each other take off the masks and clean up, getting distracted every few minutes because one of you would start messing around. the boys had stopped by to say goodnight, catching you two in the middle of a mild pillow fight. after sending them off, you fall asleep in each other’s arms, basking in the warmth of your shared embrace. heeseung had snuck in at one point and stole a few quick pictures to tease you two with.

the dawn breaking through the sheer curtains causes you to stir in bed. you turn to see the alarm clock on the nightstand say 6:02. untangling yourself from sunghoon’s grasp, you sneak outside. you climb up to sit on the rooftop, feeling the cool chill of the dewy morning. the time alone gives you a sense of serenity.

meanwhile, sunghoon moves under the covers, confused why he can’t feel you. his eyes open and he doesn’t find a trace of you in the room. worried, he gets up and quietly searches the house, making sure to not wake the others. he goes into the backyard, seeing a shadow on the ground with an unusual shape. he looks up to find you perched on the roof, facing the opposite direction. he eventually climbs up to sit next to you. he hesitates before getting closer and putting his arm around you. you sigh as you lean into him. there you both stay, watching the sun come over the horizon in a comfortable silence.

x. disaster averted

the following week, you all return to campus. needless to say, the break was well used—the days at the cabin mostly being spent at the lake or around the campfire. another day spent hanging out at en-4’s dorm after classes. sunghoon went out to pick up food for everyone. you are in his room, trying to cram for an upcoming test and failing miserably because the other three are all playing fifa way too loud.

while the boys are playing, the doorbell rings. jay gets up to check who it is, seeing a young girl and immediately recognizing her. he lets in yeji, sunghoon’s little sister. she casually joins the boys around the tv, catching up on whatever has been happening in their lives. sunghoon arrives back home within twenty minutes. 

“i’m back with the food,” he shouts out loud enough for everyone to hear including you behind his closed bedroom door. he places the plastic bags on the table, looking up to see another face. “yeji? what are you doing here?”

she gets up to greet her brother, giving him a hug, “it’s my spring break and i wanted to stop by.” sunghoon then realizes that his family doesn’t know about him becoming friends with you again or about your current situation. he drags her into the kitchen hurriedly, “ok so here’s the thing… you remember y/n?”

“of course! she’s like my big sister.”

his breath gets caught in his throat for a second, “yeah, don’t call her that. anyways, her and i are friends again,” he sees yeji’s eyes widen with excitement and continues with his explanation before she can cut him off, “and she’s my girlfriend.”

“what?!”

sunghoon panics and covers her mouth with his palm, “fake girlfriend!” he rushes out the whisper. “the guys don’t know that our relationship isn’t real and i’d like to keep it that way. they don’t even know that we were friends beforehand. yeji, i’m begging you to go along with it. please do this for me.” he clasps his hands together in front of him with a pleading expression.

the young girl crosses her arms in front of her and pretends to think about it, “hmm… fine.”

sunghoon blurts out a chant of “thank you’s” not knowing that his sister only agreed cause she always thought that you and sunghoon would’ve been a good couple. he tells her to help the others set the table while he goes to you. he quickly explains what’s happening and you’re just excited that you get to see yeji again. you both leave his room and you make your own way to the living room, spotting the other girl and exchanging glances.

yeji stops what she’s doing to turn and face you, “who’s this?”

you answer back casually, “y/n. i’m a friend of the boys, and you are?”

“yeji, sunghoon’s younger sister.” she says it proudly, bringing a grin to the aforementioned boy.

“oh, you’re yeji? hoon was right… you are pretty.”

she tilts her head and cocks an eyebrow, questioning you “why would he tell you about me?”

jake chimes in like it’s second nature, “i mean, why wouldn’t he tell his girlfriend about his sister?” he states like it’s so obvious. “they’ve been together since december.”

“girlfriend?” she takes a step back in false shock, “since december? why didn’t i know about this?” 

“what? i don’t seem like your brother’s type?”

“it’s not that. i’m just surprised he managed to get and keep a girlfriend. you’re like, way out of his league and he’s a loser.” one thing to know about yeji is that as much as she loves him, she will never miss a chance to tease her brother. 

with a scoff, you finally hear sunghoon join in beside you, “not gonna lie, that one hurt a little.”

“i’m so telling mom,” she says with a mischievous smirk.

you laugh at sunghoon’s shocked face and smile at the younger park, “i like you, i think we’ll get along just fine.”

“i like you, too.” she looks at sunghoon, “keep her.”

everyone laughs at the interaction as they settle in to eat. sunghoon sits to your right while yeji sits on your left, wondering how his two favorite girls learned to be such good actresses.

xi. returning the favor

fast forward another month, the end of the semester means the dreaded finals week again. sunghoon has been, for lack of a better word, slacking on some of his classes and is now juggling to prepare for exams and revisions. couple that with yeji telling his mom about your “relationship” and her nonstop questions, all of this stress has been piled on. this all amounting to him getting sick. 

now, sunghoon being sunghoon means that he pushed everyone away and hasn’t told you about his condition. luckily for him, you’ve been cooped up in your studio trying to finish your portfolio and also prepare for your exams. unluckily for him, the boys have gotten worried and heeseung called you. 

which brings us to the present, sunghoon stuck in bed with a fever, congestion, and neglected notes. a knock on his door does nothing to help his headache but seeing your face meekly peek in makes him relax. “what are you doing here?” he asks hoarsely.

“did you really think i wouldn’t find out?”

he avoids your glare, “i didn’t want you to worry.”

“honestly i’m not upset that you’re sick, but that i had to hear it from your roommates.” you come closer to him, clearing out the scattered papers and textbooks from atop his bed. you sit on the edge, taking out some medicine and cooling packs that you picked up from the convenience store.

“you really don’t have to do this,” he twiddles his fingers in embarrassment.

you tie back his hair and place one of the packs on his forehead, “you’ve always been the one taking care of me, so i might as well return the favor.” 

you busy yourself with getting the cough medicine ready and sunghoon takes an actual look at you. he notices that you’re wearing his old skating jacket, the same one he gave you at your high school graduation. he makes more room under the covers, allowing you to come closer and lay next to him. he drapes one arm over you and holds onto the end of the jacket sleeve, “i can’t believe you kept this.”

“we stopped hanging out and we weren’t in each other’s lives for a year and a half after being together basically since birth,” you pause, a little saddened thinking back. “this was the last thing i ever got from you. it’s all i had left.”

he brings you closer, neither of you caring if you got sick. “well… now you have me again. for good.”

xii. the party

the end of the school year has finally arrived. some seniors from the txt frat are hosting a big party to celebrate. of course, en-4 was invited—mostly thanks to heeseung being close with them. although you have made more friends and now have a more active social life, parties are still not your thing. 

yet, much to your dismay, being friends with designated party people means that you’re getting bombarded with pleas to go regardless. sunghoon took the lead on convincing you, “please, i promise that it’ll be fun.” the boys join in, their voices overlapping. sunghoon practically tackles you onto your couch while pouting and furrowing his eyebrows in desperation.

“stop looking at me like that. i can’t think properly when you do that.”

right on cue, the boys start to tease you. jay clears his throat and jake makes kissing noises, meanwhile heeseung starts singing y/n and sunghoon sitting in a tree… while you just glare at them.

“if i say i’ll go, will you all leave me alone?” 

they all shout “yes” in unison. which is how you ended up at the crowded frat house. although they had begged you to come, they practically abandon you and sunghoon when you get there. jake had yelled back to you that his friend sunoo from his econ class called them over for beer pong.

you and sunghoon find a big bean bag in the corner and stay there for a bit. he offers to get you both some drinks and leaves to the kitchen. you’re not sure how long he’s gone but you eventually get uncomfortable. you start wandering the house for some space to get some air. you find an empty room and make your way into the connected bathroom to wash your face. you take some deep breaths, then realizing that you didn’t tell sunghoon. as you’re about to step out, he enters the room.

“i figured you would want some space.”

“how’d you know where i was?”

he comes up closer to you, “in the sea of people, in this mess, in this frenzy… i will always find you. no matter what happens or who comes into my life, i always find my way back to you.”

“what the hell is that even supposed to mean, park?”

“i mean…” he stops to compose himself, “oh for fucks sake, i’m tired of this being pretend. i’m tired of being allowed to call you my girlfriend in public but not treat you like it in private. when i kissed you at the showcase, i had wanted to do that for so long, and i’ve been wanting to do even more.”

“sunghoon, look-”

“wait, i’m not done. what i’m trying to say is that i want you to be my girlfriend, for real this time—not as a joke, not as a trick. i want us to be together as an actual couple because i like you, a lot more than you could believe-”

you cut him off this time, kissing him like he did all those weeks ago. you kissed him in the way that you weren’t sure what words to say other than, “i would love to be your girlfriend.”

sunghoon shines with the biggest smile, picking you up and spinning around. when he lets you down, he incessantly leaves pecks all over your face. he holds you close, “now, how about we go enjoy the party?”

you nod and lead him hand in hand towards the door. you turn the nob, only to have the three remaining members of your friend group fall at your feet. heeseung landing on top, shouting out, “i fucking knew it!”

[dreamescapeswriting]

The Nanny ~ Bang Chan [Request]

WORD COUNT: 7.8K

GENRE: Fluffy,fluff and fluff, Non Idol AU, Single dad Au,

PAIRING: Bang Chan x Nanny!Female!Reader

A/N: I hope that this is okay for you sweetie!!!

"How do you know this guy still wants a nanny?" You questioned your best friend Felix as he pulled up outside a large home, he cut the engine off and shook his head at you. The whole drive over you'd been silent which he knew was a sign of you overthinking, he'd known you long enough to know all of the signs of it. He'd been your roommate for four years he knew you better than you knew yourself at this point.

"Because he's done nothing but complain to us at work about needing a nanny all week, what's the big deal? You're qualified for the job." It was true that you were extremely qualified to nanny for someone but you'd never been a live-in Nanny before which was the part that was scaring you the most. Felix had come to you one night claiming he had the perfect job for you, someone at his job was complaining about not having a Nanny for his 5-year-old daughter and needed one. The thought of living with people you barely knew terrified you but Felix assured you that the man you would be working for was great. He'd known him for the last three years at their job and the man was perfect, not to mention his daughter was one of the cutest little girls Felix had ever met in his life. A little 5-year-old bundle of joy.

"What if he's a creep at home? What if he hits on me? What if he's secretly a serial killer?!" You questioned as you got out of the car and Felix began heading up to the front door of the house he knew too well. Chan and Felix had been close since he started working there which was why Felix knew you and Chan would get along brilliantly together and have a good workflow.

Felix rolled his eyes as he listened to you come up with poor excuses not to get on with the interview and go back home, there was no way he was going to let you get out of this one since he knew how desperate you were for a new nanny gig. Looking after kids were something you'd dreamt of doing your whole life and for the last six years, you'd been looking after a 12-year-old boy until he turned 18 and the family no longer had a need for you. Not to mention Chan had lost his wife three years ago and hadn't dated or seemed interested in anyone since.

"It'll be good for you to get hit on, I don't remember the last time you even went on a date," Felix pulled a playful disgusted face and you rolled your eyes at him ignoring his attempts to make you feel better about all of this but it wasn't working. You were seriously nervous about meeting someone you didn't know anything about except for his name, Chan, that was all Felix told you about him. That and he was one of the producers that helped Felix write and produce songs at their entertainment company so the guy was constantly busy.

"This is serious Lix," You tried to tell him but he was already laughing softly.

"Trust me, Chan is not creepy and you'll love his daughter." Before you could even argue on it even more Felix rang the doorbell so you would shut up and then you were left alone with your thoughts. All of them creeping in about how you didn't know someone you were going to live with, you barely knew what his daughter was like and you knew you would be spending 90% of your time with them from now on if you got the job. Then the good thoughts crawled in, the pay was exceptionally great since you would be living inside their house, it was someone Felix knew which meant it would be easier and more relaxed to get to know the family.

"Hi!" You heard a male voice call out who you assumed was Chan call out through the closed door followed by some loud playful yelling and squealing out.

"Lix!? Open the door, Areum is currently running around covered in paint and I can't get her," Felix chuckled to himself as he pushed the large white front door open revealing the rest of the house to you. The door opened up into a small porch, directly in front of you were some carpeted stairs and to your right was an archway leading to the living room. The place seemed huge from where you were standing, nothing like you would have pictured it either. The floors were all laminated with brown wood, the walls were white, black leather sofas and a faux fur rug were on the floor.

"Hey you, come here!" A breathy chuckle came through the air and you saw a little girl screaming as she dripped paint onto the floor. She was darting towards the archway laughing wildly at her father, she had dark brown hair and the once black outfit she was wearing seemed to be mostly covered in white kiddy paint. The sight alone was enough to make you giggle a little as she rushed past you and Felix and around the sofa to avoid her father.

"Areum! We have guests!" Chan laughed as he almost caught up to her, you watched as a taller blonde male came into sight. He was wearing a black dress shirt with black jeans, probably not the best thing to be wearing whilst chasing a child with paint.

"Can you guys grab her? She's a slippery little girl today," You slid off your shoes and pushed your bag behind you on the floor as you began looking at Felix who went around one side of the sofa. It was a silent plan between the two of you on how to trap Areum and get her to give up the paint.

"I'm going to get your Areum!" Felix called out whilst wiggling his fingers as if he was going to tickle her making her jump up and squeal before running in the opposite direction towards you. You smiled as you saw her running in your direction, a smile filling her cheeks as she looked up at you. For a second you thought she would run over and hide behind your legs since you seemed to be the only other female presence in the room but she didn't.

"Hey!" You called out as she almost reached you but turned around at the last second to avoid you, you managed to grab her carefully and lift her into the air giggling as she laughed at you.

"Spin me!" She cried out as you laughed softly turning her around in small circles on the spot she started laughing again before whining that she was dizzy. You carefully set her down on the ground and took the paint from her hands as she wobbled over to stand by Felix greeting him with a hug.

"Lix can you take Areum for a bath?" Chan laughed as he came over to you to introduce himself properly to you, he held out his hand to shake yours when he noticed the paint on the both of you and stopped himself. He sighed nodding over to the kitchen door as he walked with you,

"Come to the kitchen, we can clean up and I'll do the interview there." He chuckled as he took you into the kitchen. It was larger than your kitchen back in your shared home with Felix, there were white marbled counters lining the room with a kitchen island in the middle of the room.

"I'm Y/n by the way," You told him as you reached the kitchen sink washing your hands under the hot water before dumping the empty tube of white paint into a nearby bin. He thanked you as he dried his own hands on a towel, giving it to you once he was done with it.

"Is Areum always like that?" You laughed out as you dried your hands on a towel listening to Felix who was currently singing loudly to Areum. Chan shook his head at you as he took you over to a small dining room just off from the kitchen. It had a round table inside with paperwork and folders all over it, you assumed it was paperwork for the job interview he was about to do with you.

"Not all of the time, she's just had a little too much sugar this morning and went wild. Saturday mornings are Weetabix days and...She got her hands on the sugar," He groaned out at himself as he thought back on the memory.

"I'd only turned away for two seconds," He laughed as he shook his head pulling out a chair across from him so you could sit down with him. As soon as you were settled he smiled up at you, there was something about him that seemed familiar. His dyed-blonde hair was throwing you off a little but you felt as though you knew him from somewhere,

"I should introduce myself properly right? That's how people do job interviews?" You relaxed as soon as you realised Chan was new at all of this as well and seemed a little more nervous about it than you did.

"I'm Christopher Bang, I go by Chan to everyone though as I just prefer it." He smiled at you flashing a dimple and that was when it hit you where you knew him from. The dimple and his full name hitting you as though someone had just flicked a switch inside of your head.

"C-Christopher Bang from Kinsella High School?" His eyes wandered up to your face as he nodded slowly wondering how you knew which school he had attended and you smiled as you realised it was him.

"Y/n! We went to the same school, I was in a couple of your classes!" You laughed softly as you finally placed where you knew him from. He and the main Cheerleader, Seo Nayeon were high school sweethearts back in school which made your heart sink as you remembered what Felix had told you. Chan had been a struggling single father since his wife died three years ago leaving him alone with Areum. The thought of Nayeon not being around anymore hurt, you'd been quite close in school but when you both went to different universities you drifted apart.

"Its good to see you again! I remember you from my English literature class and I think you were on the team with Nayeon right?" You nodded your head from side to side at him that was only partly true,

"Not officially on the team, I would just do all the girls hair and makeup for them." You laughed remember the good memories from your high school years. Not many people could claim they had a nice time in school but for what it was worth yours was pretty good.

"It's nice to see you again," He meant it this time, now he felt as though he didn't have to have too much of a rough time getting to know you. He didn't want the whole process to be slow and boring so it made it easier to know you had something in common together. You both smiled at one another before he continued on with the interviewing process.

"I mean the last decision is down to Areum but I think you should have the job," Chan laughed as you walked through to the living room together. The interview was just the two of you catching up on what you had been doing since leaving high school, it didn't felt as though two hours had passed at all. Sitting on the sofa was the same girl who less than two hours ago was screaming the entire place down but now she was curled up on Felix's lap with a bowl of popcorn in her hands. She was like a completely different person from before, she was in a complete state of relaxation now.

"I decide on what daddy?" She questioned as she sat up to look over at you both watching you closely as though she was trying to eye you up.

"Would you like Y/n here to be your nanny?" Chan watched as Areum slid herself off the sofa and walked to stand in front of you both, looking you up and down as she did so.

"That depends on the next questions I have for you," You bent down so you could be eye to eye with her and she smiled, happy you were treating her as though her opinion mattered.

"Do you like Disney princesses?" You nodded your head at her as thinking back on all those nights you forced Felix into watching the movies with you, as well as dragging him to the cinema whenever there was a new release.

"I do, I have a Disney DVD collection that I make Felix watch with me." You told her proudly, she took your hand in her smaller one and walked you towards the front door and up the stairs to her bedroom without saying a word to you.

Opening the door she smiled as she proudly gave you the tour of her room. The whole room had pink walls, and there was a white loft bed with a pink curtain along the bottom,

"My secret palace," She whispered to you taking you into the room and pulling the curtain back, you could have died happily once you saw how many stuffed animals she had. All of them Disney related somehow it must have taken years to collect everything that she had under there.

"Whoa." You laughed as you glanced over everything that was there. Areum smiled proudly as she realised you were impressed and pulled you down to sit on a beanbag beside her.

"I also have this." She pointed up to top slabs of her bed, a small projector was hanging on them it looked as though Chan must have installed it for her and she switched it on. It began running a film on the white wall at the bottom of her bed,

"You could bring your DVD's with you when you move in," You smiled as she basically confirmed you having the job and then she went back to quizzing you on everything and anything that she could think of that would make you a good enough nanny for her.

Felix and Chan smirked at one another from outside the bedroom when they heard the two of you talking together.

"I told you she would be good for the job," Felix whispered to Chan who had been unsure about everything when Felix first came to him with your CV. He'd been worried about hiring a nanny for Areum but since Areum was getting older it was getting harder to hire a babysitter all of the time he needed one. After Nayeon died he thought he could do it alone but the older Areum got the more he began to realise it would be hard to raise a daughter when he worked 5 days a week with long shifts.

"She's single you know," Felix nudged Chan in the side playfully and Chan pretended not to hear what the younger male was saying while they walked down the stairs to the living room.

"She's a good roommate, she'll end up cleaning up everything even if she didn't make the mess...Chan, she's the best you won't regret hiring her," He told him as they sat down on the sofas together, Chan looked at Felix as he thought over everything again.

"I just don't want Areum to get the wrong idea-" Felix sighed as he shook his head knowing that Chan meant he didn't want Areum to think he was replacing her mother.

"She won't, Areum is a bright girl Chan. You know that and I know that. It'll be like she has a live-in best friend." Felix tried to reassure him as they spoke to one another but Chan was still a little unsure in his mind as they spoke about it more.

They stopped speaking when you and Areum came down the staircase together, Areum looked at her dad as she walked into the room trying to keep a straight face on as she looked at him.

"She's hired." You giggled as she rushed over to the sofa and jumped onto Felix staring up at her father again,

"On one condition," She stumbled over the word a little but looked at her dad with confidence,

"And what's the condition?" He raised his eyebrows looking between you and then Areum for answers,

"She gets to bring her DVD's and we force both you and Lix into Disney nights." Chan nodded since he'd already seen 90% of the Disney movies that were out there as well as already know the Frozen movies word for word. As well as how to play most of them on the piano since his daughter had insisted on him learning it for her,

"That's fine with me, Lix?" Felix stared at Areum who had her forehead pressed against his as a way of intimidating him into agreeing with her, not that she would need to do that. Felix would give her the world if she wanted it all she would have to do is ask nicely.

"It's practically perfect in every way." He said as he quoted the original Mary Poppins moving causing Areum to yell out in glee and rush over to you giving you a hug.

"You can start moving in today and you'll start Monday, is that okay?" Chan questioned as he looked at you and Areum together, already it was like Areum had a best friend and she was enjoying herself and Chan could tell she liked you.

"Sure, I'll have Lix help me bring my bags over." You smiled at him as you looked at Felix who knew he didn't have a choice in the matter, he was helping whether he liked it or not.

The plan was to just take a couple of bags of clothes every couple of weeks instead of fully moving into the house, you didn't want to be in the way or make it seem like you were taking over but after three months of working with Areum and Chan, you'd moved in. The bedroom you had to yourself was on the top floor of the house on its own and had a small en-suite bathroom. It was nice having your own space to live in and after a while, it didn't even feel as though you were working for him, it just felt like you were living with a friend. Chan insisted on never letting you buy take out food unless you were buying it on your own at the weekends when they weren't eating with you, all of you shared the same food that was in the house it was basically like living with Felix only with a smaller best friend with him.

The first month of living in the house had been awkward, it took you a little time getting into the swing of their routines but once you got into it everything was great. Chan would go out for a jog every morning at 4 am, sometimes earlier if he didn't sleep that night you found out after the first week of being there his sleeping schedule was a little whacked out. You'd gone done one morning at 2 am to see him sitting in the living room watching an action movie so you joined him. Areum was at school three days out of the week so you would have to get her up and ready for 8 am while Chan went to work but over time you got to know them both a lot. Chan had changed a lot since high school and you ended up getting to know him on a deeper level finding out more about him than you did back then.

Tying your hair into a ponytail you headed down to the bottom floor to go out for a morning run, since moving in with them you'd started getting more active on the weekends. Chan didn't need you around since he didn't work them and you needed something to fill your time with while you had nothing to do. Running and swimming had been your main source of something to do other than hanging around Felix every weekend or trying to organise something with your friends who always seemed too busy.

"Morning," Chan chuckled as he walked into the porch to see you staring out of the small glass panelled windows. The rain was hammering down against the glass which was why he'd already made you a hot chocolate when he heard you moving around, he knew you wouldn't want to run out in that and made a drink for you. That and it was going to be his way of bribing you into helping him out today with Areum.

"Looks like it's going to rain all day, you're probably better off not running in that." He handed you a mug of hot chocolate and you smiled thanking him for him as you followed him into the living room he sat down on the sofa,

"Areum still sleeping?" You questioned as you sat down on the sofa beside him being careful not to spill the drink over.

"Yeah, I think she wants to bake today and I know Saturdays are your day off but..." He trailed off as he looked at you giving you the best puppy dog eyes he could manage and you giggled. After spending three months in the same house as Chan it had become very clear his cooking skills were less than great and when it came to baking you didn't want to put it to chance.

"The hot chocolate was a bribe huh?" You laughed at him before nodding as you thought it over,

"I mean if you're a bad baker you better admit it now." He challenged as he stared into your eyes, you scoffed at him as you sat up straight taking a playful offence to his remark.

"You'll be glad to know I'm an okay baker, better chef than I am a baker but I can help her," You laughed softly as he began thanking you repeatedly, he was just happy he didn't have to call someone else to come in for backup.

"I was scared I would have to call Felix or one of the boys over. I swear they're just as bad if not worse than me." He moaned out rolling his head over the back of the sofa thinking back to the times he'd invited Felix to bake a birthday cake for Areum.

"True. I've tasted Felix's attempts at homemade pizza and I barely lived to see today." You whined out playfully putting the mug of hot chocolate down on the sofa, Chan laughed along with you shaking his head as he turned to look at you.

"He told us you make his lunches for work! Is that true?" You nodded as you giggled thinking about it, all those times you used to wake up extra early to make breakfast and lunch for you in cute little lunch boxes.

"When I nannied for a different family I still lived at home so I would make his lunch when I made mine," Chan chuckled as he shook his head remembering the notes that Felix used to show him which you'd left in his lunch boxes.

"Seriously, if you'd tasted Felix's cooking you would be glad he never bought it to work, I swear it could melt eyelids off." You whimpered as you rolled your head back against the sofa and smiled at the ceiling just enjoying the peace and quiet you were having. Chan started telling you about one of the cake fails he and Felix had encountered before and you laughed it off together, shaking your head as he told you they'd ruined the entire thing by mixing Salt with sugar,

"You did not! That's awful!" You groaned thinking about the thought of eating a salt vanilla cake.

"Areum still ate it," He mumbled as he continued to laugh softly at it both of you staring at one another as you laughed together. Suddenly it was like you were the only ones in the room Chan moved a little closer to you on the sofa and you smiled nervously as you felt a shiver run up and down your back. There had been moments between you both throughout the last three months that made you feel like you had feelings for him but it would be wrong. He was your boss…But there was always something there. Just last week you were walking back up to your room after using the main bathroom shower since yours only had a bathtub and you both bumped into one another. Staring into each other’s eyes as you waited for the other to say or do something. Then there were the times you would accidentally cuddle one another while watching a movie or brush up against one another in the kitchen. Small things that made your heart race and your mind fuzz up just thinking back on them. Your eyes locked on Chan’s as you tried to say something, a small comeback for the salt cake but Areum’s footsteps came racing down the stairs and you moved away from him.

"CUPCAKE BAKING DAY!" Being screamed out by Areum who was dressed in an onesie and black apron tied around her waist, it looked a little big for her but she was still wearing it anyway.

"Ready for baking I see?" You giggled as you sat up straight and turned your body to face her eyes lit up as she saw you ready to bake with her,

"You're baking too?!" She seemed to go up in pitch as she got excited about you baking with her and her father,

"Yeah, we'll make some cupcakes after you've had breakfast and I've changed. Sound good?" She nodded at you sprinting over as she hugged your legs tightly,

"Sound fantastic!" You patted the top of her head before leaving and that was when she turned to her dad, smiling as she began listing off everything you were going to need to make today a baking success.

"Are you both ready?!" Areum questioned as she walked in front of you and Chan, slapping a pink spoon against her hand as she marched around in front of you as though she was some kind of sergeant.

"Yes, Chef!" You both called out to her in unison as she smiled pointing at the aprons on the back of the kitchen door for you both to take,

"Daddy can have the pink one. I want to match with Y/n in our black ones." You smirked as you saw the disgusted look flash over Chan's face about wearing a bright pink apron, you knew how much he loved wearing black rather than brighter colours.  

"Hey I mean, the princess on the front really makes your eyes stand out," You teased him and he glared at you playfully, pulling you close when Areum wasn't looking at you. His chest pressed against your back as he wrapped his arms around your waist,

"I'm going to ruin all your cupcakes." He whispered in your ear a seemingly innocent thing to do but your brain was freezing as all you could think about were his arms around you. From the moment he pulled you into his personal space your mind went into a brain fog and all you could think about was Chan kissing you. Your skin tingling as you felt his skin on your own, you had goosebumps up and down your body as you laughed it off trying to pretend like you had felt nothing but Chan had felt it too. He smiled at you as he stepped to the other side of Areum. She was standing on a stool in front of the Kitchen island as she waited for you both to start helping her,

"Coca powder!" She yelled out reading from a list of ingredients in front of her. Chan handed her the powder, continuing on like that while you both handed her everything she needed like a doctor in surgery when they would ask for a surgical instrument.

Areum was decorating all of the cupcakes with chocolate fudge icing while you and Chan helped with your own icing bags trying to do your best to follow an image she had up on Chan’s tablet.

"Hey, Y/n...You have a little something," Chan mumbled as he glanced over at you making you look up at him, he pointed to his own cheek as to where the mark on you was and you reached up to wipe it away.

"Where?" You questioned feeling nothing on your face, he sighed as you touched the wrong space over and over again,

"Chan where?" You giggled out as he continued to sigh at you before he shook his head at you,

"Right here," Before you could even react he placed a large squirt of chocolate icing across your cheek making you scream out in surprise as you felt the chocolate run down your face and hit the floor. Areum looked down at the chocolate and then back up to her dad who seemed to be laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

"Right...Channie, You have something just here-" You picked up some flour from the bag and threw it in his direction making him spit some out onto the floor after getting some in his mouth. Areum started laughing as she watched you both starting a food fight in the middle of the kitchen, she took her small plate of cupcakes into the dining room where she could protect them from your warpath.

"Christopher!" You cried out when you felt an egg yolk run down the front of your shirt making you groan at how cold the egg was,

"Oh! Christopher and Channie? We bringing out my full name and nicknames?!" He laughed harder, he hadn't heard someone use 'Channie' for him in years, even Nayeon stopped after they'd left school but it was refreshing to hear from someone else and it even made his heart jump. The only person who ever called him Christopher was his mother and that was only when he was in trouble.

"Chris! Put down the eggs!" You called out as you backed away from him, Areum watched from the door frame as you and Chan continued to throw random food items at one another from across the room. It was the first time she'd seen her father this happy in the longest time and she'd missed seeing the huge smile on his face so much.

"Areum! Save me!" You cried out as you ran past the dining room door, grabbing her as you held her in front of your body, kneeling down so you could shield yourself away from Chan.

"Don't bring me into it!" She yelled out before darting away from you letting you get hit with an egg to the chest, you groaned out as you held your hands up.

"You win! White flag!" You yelled out as you looked up at Chan, panic-filled him as he realised you looked as though you were really hurt by something and he rushed down to your side to check you over.

"Did it hurt? You okay?!" His voice cracked which made you feel almost bad for what you were about to do but you reached up and cracked an egg on top of his head. He stared at you in silence while Areum rushed over to give you a high five and dump the rest of the bag of flour onto Chan's head both of you giggling to one another.

"I'm going to give you a five-second head start..." Your eyes widened and so did Areum's as you scrambled to your feet trying to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible. Chan began counting down loudly so you both made a run to the living room, the front door opening to reveal Felix standing there drenched in water.

"FELIX RUN!" You screamed out running past him to save Areum but Chan picked you up from behind spinning you around making you scream out,

"AREUM SAVE YOURSELF!" You yelled out as Felix assessed the situation laughing when he saw the state of you and Chan he shook his head. He knew that both of you would get along well enough.

"What happened?" He laughed once Chan finally put you back down on both your feet and let go of you, you brushed some of the flour off in Chan’s direction and he wiped some of the egg off him onto you.

"Baking disaster," You laughed looking up at Chan who was standing directly behind you, his chest once again pressed against your back.

"Can you go and held run Areum a bath? We'll clean up down here, I think it’s only fair I help clean since I helped make the mess." Chan told Felix as you looked back over at the kitchen which looked as though a food bomb had exploded inside. Felix smirked to himself at the thought of you and Chan getting closer to one another, for a second when he walked in he thought it was just a lovers embrace he'd caught but then he noticed the food and realised you were only playing together.

"Sure. I'll take a pizza has payment though." You rolled your eyes at him but promised to buy him his favourite type before he ran up the staircase to help Areum clean herself up and find her some clean clothes to change into for the rest of the day.

Later that night Felix and Areum were asleep under her bed, they'd passed out watching Moana together so you and Chan left them there for the night. After the baking incident and pizza, all of you decided to have one of the famous Disney nights you’d been wanting to do which resulted in the biggest kids falling asleep before the fifth movie was even over. Covering them both in a blanket while smiling to yourselves about how cute they looked you snuck out of the room being careful not to wake them when you shut the door,

"Thank you," Chan said as you both got onto the landing of the middle floor, you frowned wondering what he meant and he smiled weakly,

"For coming into our lives, I-I mean Areum's life. I don't think I've seen her this happy for a while..W-We're both happy you're here I just meant..." He stopped when you giggled softly at how he was starting to stumble over his words but he continued talking. He truly meant every word though, it wasn’t just Areum that you’d been helping out with. You’d helped with Chan too without even noticing it.

"I just wanted to say I'm glad you decided to come with us, it's been great having you here." He smiled as you stared up at him, the longer you looked at him the more your heart began to pound. He ran his tongue along his bottom lip as he tried to think of something to say to you until he finally bent down a little, tilting his head to the side and closed his eyes. Without a second thought about it, you matched his actions, leaning forward to kiss him. Your lips brushed against one another and the same shock you'd felt earlier that night came rushing back to you making you smile against his lips. He relaxed a little wrapping his arms around your waist as he drew your body closer to his. You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck pulling yourself closer as you run your tongue along his bottom lip he smirked parting them slowly for you as you made out in the hallway. Everything around you seemed to disappear as you kissed him, everything was starting to feel right in the world when the sound of a door opening made you break apart. Chan cleared his throat scratching the back of his neck and you shivered trying to think of something to say to get out of the situation with Felix.

"Going to shower." You mumbled as you walked towards the stairs ignoring Felix who was smirking at the both of you, having seen everything he needed to see already, the kiss was more than enough for him to confirm you both liked one another. He could tell by the blush on Chan’s cheeks he liked you a lot.

"G-Going to go and erm...Go water the plants." He was never a good liar as he began making his way down the stairs,

“Chan?” Felix called out as he looked around the corner at the blushing man,

“You don’t have plants.” Chan let out a noise Felix didn’t understand or think was human as he ran off from him but Felix only chased after him wanting more answers.

The door to your room had a small knock on it and you frowned turning over to check the time, it wasn't even 2 am yet so you knew it wasn't going to be Areum. Unlike her father, she could sleep like the dead. You rolled over in the bed as you made your way to the door,

"Chan?" You frowned when you saw him standing there in a hoodie and some sweatpants, you yawned looking at him for some kind of explanation,

"Couldn't sleep...I brought snacks and a movie." He lifted up the small portable DVD play and a bag of marshmallows as his only bribe.

"Did I wake you up?!" He panicked looking at you he knew he had but he still wanted to make it seem like he was shocked you were asleep. Over the last couple of months whenever Chan couldn’t sleep you would find one another watching a movie together downstairs, it had almost become a sort of tradition between the two of you.

"No Chan, I've just come in from a scuba dive. Yes, you woke me up," You grumbled taking the bag of marshmallows from his hand and going over to your bed, you patted the spot beside you and he walked over to you. Somehow it didn't feel awkward between you despite the heated makeout session you were having five hours ago, you laid your head on his shoulder watching the action movie of his choice. Tonight was Mr and Mrs Smith which was a film you’d been wanting to see for a while.

"I thought you'd be awake...I'm sorry," You shook your head at him as you stuffed the marshmallows into your mouth,

"I'm okay, I like watching movies in the night." You mumbled tiredly as you continued to try and stay awake from the movie. You had no idea what was making you want to do this but the thought of Chan being alone when he couldn't sleep hurt you to think about, you wanted to be there for him whenever you could be.

"About the kiss..." He whispered to you an hour later, you rested your chin on his shoulder to look at him and he turned his head to look at you, you didn't say anything as you waited for him to finish his sentence.

"I want it to happen again." He admitted to you as he licked his lips, your heart jumped as he told you exactly what you were thinking and you nodded along with him and he smiled glad to know you were on the same page about things.

"Will it ruin what we have going on with you as a nanny?" He questioned hoping for the answer to be no. His eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips as he fought the urge to kiss you again without hearing what you had to say first.

"Not if you don't want it to...W-We can hide it from Areum-"You tried to tell him but he cut you off,

"I don't know if we can hide it, I mean I faked not being tired just because I knew you would stay awake with me...I wanted to spend time with you." Your heart began to pound faster as you realised he wanted to be with you. That he wanted to spend as much time with you as you did with him. You shook your head at him shutting the small portable DVD player down being glad you didn't have to fight the urge to sleep any more. Your eyelids were getting too heavy to keep open anymore.

"You'll have to keep you cool around your daughter Mr Bang." Your lips brushed against his and he smirked as you teased him a little making him whine out,

"I can do that..." You smiled at his words before leaning forward to finally connect your lips to one another, a small and soft kiss to keep you good until the morning.

"Good. Now let me sleep." You whined out at him snuggling down into the sheets as he sat up waiting for another kiss from you. You knew he wasn’t going to move so you kept your eyes shut as you threatened him playfully,

"Either cuddle me to sleep or sleep downstairs on your own." You mumbled not wanting to stay awake longer than you had to know you knew it had just been a ploy to get closer to you. He chuckled shaking his head and sliding down behind you, spooning you as you held onto one another.

After another a month of sneaking around behind Areum's back it was beginning to get harder and harder to hide things from her. It was harder to control yourself around one another when all you wanted to do was act like the couple you really were. Areum wasn't dumb for her age and she could tell there was something going on when her dad would sneak out of your room in the mornings or when she would catch you wearing one of his hoodies. It wasn't like you wanted to keep it from her but you wanted to make sure the feelings were strong enough before either of you decided to tell her what was happening between you.

"I think she knows," He mumbled to you one night as you laid in your bed together the movie of choice had just finished and you were trying to sleep in the dark. He had his arms wrapped around your waist as he kissed the back of your neck softly.

"Why do you think that?" You whispered to him, playing with his hands while you tried to get him and yourself to sleep, you knew if you traced patterns into his skin he would slowly start to drift off. It was one of the cute things you’d learnt about him over your nights like this together.

"She keeps asking if she'll need a new babysitter soon..." You laughed softly and rolled over to face him,

"Do you think she'll need a new babysitter soon? I-I don't want you to keep paying me if we're together..." It would be far too weird for him to pay you for being a nanny while your relationship keeps developing.

"What do you mean if we're together...I thought we were already together," You rolled your eyes at him as he took what you meant too literally even though he knew exactly what you meant by it,

"You know what I mean, I already feel weird taking money from you. I would have to find a new family to nanny for if we came out officially..." He shook his head at you, kissing your lips softly as he tried to get you to relax a little,

"I make more than enough money, you wouldn't need to find a new family to nanny...Y-You could just be a part of this one." He raised his eyebrows as he looked at you trying to see if you would be comfortable with that. He knew he had strong feelings for you but all he knew about your feelings were that you liked him a lot,

"Chan, you can't say things like that." You moved away from him biting down on your lip as you stared at him,

"Why not?" He sat up in the bed tilting his head to the side as he looked at you,

"Because I can already feel myself falling in love with you if you keep saying things like that i-it'll only make me fall harder." He smirked as he pulled you back to him finally happy to hear the words fall from your lips.  

"Then fall harder, I love you too." You whimpered as you kissed him passionately, whining out as he carefully laid you down in the bed running his hands down your body.

The next morning when Areum couldn't find her dad in his bed she snuck up the stairs to your room knowing he would be with you, pushing the door open and smiling to herself as she saw you both laying there together. She didn't say anything as she walked into the room, sandwiching herself between the two of you and smiling as you both woke up to a kick in the ribs as she attempted to get herself comfortable.

"I think someone knows," You mumbled as you turned over to see Areum laying on her back with a giant smile on her face, happy that her dad and someone she viewed as a best friend were finally happy together. It was becoming increasingly obvious it was the case.

“What gave you that idea?” Chan grumbled as he was forced to wake up,

"Can we have pancakes for breakfast? Then can we watch Frozen 2?" Chan groaned as he pulled a pillow over his face wanting to hide from Areum as she quizzed on him the Disney movie you could all watch.

"What about the little mermaid? Chan can we watch the little mermaid?!" You asked as you sat up in the bed and looked at Chan who was pretending to sleep under the pillow as you decided to join in with the begging of Disney movie watching. It was getting to the point where he knew he would have to lock all of the DVD’s away at some point.

"Areum, tickle attack in 3...2...-" You tried to whisper but Chan moved the pillow to look at you both. Giving the pair of you a warning look as he began talking,

"If you both want to live I suggest you don't- TICKLE ME!" He screamed out the last bit as both you and Areum began to tickle him wildly making him laugh and wriggle around on the bed uncontrollably as he tried to threaten you about how there were no more Disney movie nights. This was the beginning of a bright and wonderful future together. 

Tagline: @taestannie​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @channiewoo​ @minholuvs​ @lkwonmj​

[seokstrivia]

Neon Lights | dpr live

↬ Summary: You and Dabin work in a club, that’s it, that’s the fic

or, a cute moment between two friends 

↬ Club!AU | word count: 2.4k

↬ DPR Live x Reader: friends to lovers au, slowish burn, it takes place in a club where the two of you work, confessions, one-shot, fluff, minor angst, it's just short and sweet 

↬ A/N so this is my first khh fic on this account, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask, I hope this was enjoyable and you all welcome my love for khh to this blog, thank you <3 

A long and tiring sigh parted your lips as you dragged your feet towards the cloakroom. Sure, getting paid meant that you could buy food and feed yourself, pay bills and stay warm through winter, but you were 100% certain that it did not mean never getting any time to rest.

You were putting your jacket away when you heard a small chuckle behind you, one that you knew all too well. A pout formed its way onto your lips while you turned around to face the one person you would do absolutely anything for.

Hong Dabin— your work best friend.

“Good to see you’re happy to be here!” His tone was chirpy, but as usual, laced with sarcasm.

It made you roll your eyes before straightening your shoulders and crossing your arms. Almost in a way to intimidate him or stare him down, but he only smiled in return and you sighed in defeat.

“Do you know how hard it was to stay awake during my last lecture today?” You moaned as you followed him to his spot at the bar. “Clarkson’s monotone voice seeps right through me, I don’t know if I can take it anymore.”

Dabin shook his head before laughing at the forlorn expression etched into your face. Sometimes he wished he could take a picture so he could keep it forever, but you would probably threaten him and force him to delete it.

He knew you well. Maybe, a little too well.

“You’re just being dramatic as usual,” he told you, earning a scoff in return. “I’ll treat you to a nice meal once we’re out of here.”

That was enough to lighten your mood and get you situated at the front door, minutes before opening, with a smile on your face.

The rest of the night was nothing more than a blur, your job was to sit at the register by the front doors making sure anyone who walked in paid before going any further into the club. But it got boring and quiet after a certain time and, to be honest, the only thing keeping you going was the thought of getting something to eat with Dabin.

Hence, as soon as you were done with work and as soon as the place was vacant, you frantically sped towards the cloakroom to find Dabin. He was already there, tugging his jacket over his shoulders before twisting around to face you with a sheepish smile.

That’s not good. You sighed.

“No food?”

He went to open his mouth to speak; probably to spout out a reason or two, but you'd beat him to it.

“It’s okay! There’s always a next time.”

The smile on your face didn’t falter, it wasn’t fake— it was genuine and that was something he loved about you.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” That was the last thing he said before hurrying out the door.

You watched his figure disappear with pursed lips, wondering what came up—did something happen within his family? Did his friend finally break up with his snotty girlfriend? Did his goldfish die—wait, he doesn’t have a goldfish?

A giggle parted your lips as you laughed at yourself while moving for your jacket and bag. It was finally time to go home after a long and somewhat exhausting week.

Your bed was calling your name.

>

"You know what we should do?" Your friend urged, face way too close to yours.

"Sleep forever?" You mumbled in question while moving your face away from hers.

She chuckled in return, full and hearty before playfully bumping your arm with hers, "no silly! We should go clubbing this weekend."

A grunt left your lips, you knew this was coming from the second you'd informed her of your first weekend ever off work.

"That's far from what I think we should do this weekend," you told her before moving your chair slightly away from hers.

Mina was always bursting your personal space bubble without fail.

However, you could never stay mad at her, she was your best friend since birth and had never left your side. She was also extremely supportive, albeit annoying.

"I think it'll be fun."

You turned to stare at Mina, there was a pout on her face as if it would help convince you to say yes.

Unfortunately, it did help.

"Okay, fine! We can go clubbing."

A shriek of happiness emitted from her lips in excitement, it had been a while since you two hung out on the weekend and truth be told, she missed being able to spend time outside of University with you.

But, so did you.

Okay, so maybe you wouldn't be able to sleep the whole weekend away, but at least you'll have a good time.

Plus Dabin would be tending the bar.

The rest of the week was spent talking about what to wear, what time to be ready by and what drinks to buy to get a little tipsy before going to the club.

Mina wouldn't stop talking about, 'the best weekend ever,' it was annoying sometimes, but you couldn't bring yourself to get mad at her since it had been a while since you got the weekend off.

You missed it.

"Is Dabin working tonight?" Mina asked while finishing her makeup.

You were ready half an hour ago, but you never really dressed up. Comfort was always the way to go.

"Yeah, he should be unless he calls in sick," you told her while sipping on your drink.

Mina's eyes met yours through the mirror, the smirk on her lips had you rolling your eyes as she bounced her eyebrows up and down in a teasing manner.

"Shut up," you snorted.

She shrugged her shoulders before returning to her makeup, "I didn't say anything."

A chuckle parted tour lips making her smile.

"You didn't have to."

Sometimes you thought you could read her mind, but in reality, you just knew each other that well.

***

The club was already bouncing with people, most of the crowd was already drunk but, that was a given with cheap drinks.

Mina stretched for your hand and proceeded to skillfully advance through the crowd to get to the bar. A smile made its way to her lips when she noticed who was working at the bar.

"Will you buy me a drink while I quickly go and pee?"

You rolled your eyes at her before telling her to be careful and quick.

When you turned to face the bar after watching Mina disappear towards the toilets, you were met with Dabin's big, cheesy grin.

"Hi! I'm surprised to see you here," he teased, moving closer so you could hear him better. "I thought you would be in bed sleeping."

You flicked his forehead with your finger causing him to grimace in pain, "Mina said she wanted to go out, so... very reluctantly, I said yes."

He chuckled in response, feeling sympathy and understanding that you would much rather be asleep than somewhere loud and crowded.

"Well, can I get you anything?"

You shook your head, 'no,' before glimpsing at the direction Mina was standing, "he's gonna keep her distracted for a while, so I think... I'll just hang around here."

"And keep me company?" Dabin replied as he glanced away from the two now making out. "I'm flattered."

A chuckle parted your lips as you made yourself comfortable on one of the many empty bar stools.

The majority of the night was spent talking to Dabin, catching up and talking about how Uni was going for the two of you.

It was nearing 1:30 am when Dabin finally asked you if you were ever going to get off your ass and enjoy your night.

"You think there’s a reason that I sit at the counter talking to you all night while you bartend... No, of course, there isn't- WHO’S THAT GIRL AND WHY IS SHE WINKING AT YOU?"

You were drunk.

Dabin rolled his eyes and shook his head, "that's my ex."

You gasped in return, this was your first time hearing this, "you have an ex? But you told me that you'd been single all your life."

"I told you I was single most of my life."

"What's the difference?"

Dabin shrugged his shoulders, annoyed that you thought he'd been single forever. Did you think he was ugly or something? Maybe you thought he would only ever make it as a friend.

A sigh parted his lips as he stepped away to serve others at the bar.

You stopped staring at his ex only to find Dabin was on the other side of the bar—with a frown etched on his face.

Was it something you said?

When he came back towards your end, he handed you bottled water before turning to leave again, however, you were quick to grab for his arm, a look of concern lazed across your features.

"I'm sorry if I upset you."

Dabin removed your hand from his arm, he glanced over at his ex before making eye contact with you, "it's not like you would understand. You're the one who's been single their whole life."

His words didn't hurt because they were true, and they didn't mean anything to you. You just hadn't found the right person yet, but it wasn't difficult to understand that Dabin was upset.

And that it was most likely your fault.

>

"Are you working tomorrow night?" Mina asked.

You nodded.

"Is Dabin working."

An exhalation parted your lips as you shook your head, 'no.'

"He's off this weekend," you told her.

Mina knew you were still beating yourself up over the whole ex ordeal with him, even if you couldn't pinpoint exactly what you had said that upset him.

This is why she spoke to Ian, Dabin's best friend, and asked him if they were going out clubbing Friday night. Let's just say she was over the moon when he said yes, and you were slightly freaking out when she told you.

"Wow," Mina exclaimed when she reached the bar. "So, you're bartending tonight!"

You chuckled at the excitement in her tone and nodded your head, "someone called in sick, so I'll be stuck here tonight."

"This is great!" She shouted before going off to find the friends she'd come out with.

It wasn't long before the bar was filled with people asking for drinks, it kept your mind busy and distracted from Dabin.

It kept you so distracted that you didn't even notice him sitting on the stool at the far end of the bar. The very seat you'd taken just last week.

It made you smile, but also made you feel nervous.

"Hi," you spoke softly, but loud enough for him to hear. "What can I get you?"

The scowl on his face caught you off guard, but the slur in his voice told you that he was very drunk.

"Do you think I'm ugly?"

You stared at him for a solid minute before pinching his cheek, even though he was drunk, he could still feel the pain.

"Of course I don't think you're ugly!" You argued. "What gave you that idea?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a pout on his lips and stroked his cheek, hoping the pain would quickly subside.

"You thought I'd been single my whole life."

"That's only because you'd never spoke about your ex before," you told him. "I don't think you've ever told me anything about your personal life, to be honest."

Dabin stared into your eyes with his red and tired ones.

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions," you added.

And then, he smiled.

"If you liked me more than a friend," he slurred in a serious tone. "I would have confessed my feelings by now."

His words caught you off guard but you couldn't ask him what he meant since he was gone and, well, you had a job to do.

However, his words lingered endlessly in your mind for the rest of the night. Was this his way of saying that he liked you? Dabin liked you this whole time and you didn't even know?

Your mind was reeling by the end of the night, Dabin filled your mind with endless thoughts. Wait, if he liked you, why didn't he ask you out on a date?

A sigh parted your lips as you wiped down the bar, watching groups of people huddle together as they were all ushered out of the club.

Mina hurried over to the bar before leaving, her footing was clumsy, but it made you laugh. You assumed she's forgotten the keys to the flat and that's why she was rushing over, however, you were in fact, wrong.

"Did you speak to Dabin?"

You frowned in confusion, "I did, but he was drunk so it wasn't for long."

She nodded her head in response before leaving and waving goodbye.

You rolled your eyes, watching her stumble towards the male she'd met last week. A potential boyfriend she had told you, which didn't surprise you.

It didn't take you long to finish cleaning, but you were exhausted and couldn't wait for your bed. It was nearing 3:30 am when you left the club, the area was empty and quiet as you walked towards your car.

Dabin, who you thought had gone home hours ago, was leaning against the car door. Staring at the night sky, admiring the stars, something in your stomach churned, and you felt your heart begin to beat faster the closer you got.

"Hey," you smiled, keys in hand as you unlocked the car. "You need a ride home?"

His eyes finally met yours, he appeared to have sobered up as a smile rose across his lips, "if you don't mind," he chuckled. "Honestly, I just wanted to apologise."

"For what?"

"For being an idiot," he said. "Selfish, mostly. I got upset that maybe you'd never see me as anything more than a friend."

You punched his arm causing him to wince in pain, "you're an idiot, Dabin."

He shrugged his shoulders while rubbing the pain away.

"If you'd just told me how you felt or I dont know? Asked me out on a date," you argued. "You would have found out that I feel the same."

"You like me?" He asked carefully, eyes searching yours for answers—for anything.

"Yeah, I do."

A wide smile adorned his lips before his arms found your waist and lured you in for a hug, you giggled in return while coiling your arms around his neck.

"Will you go on a date with me?" He asked as he drew back to look at you.

You rolled your eyes, "took you long enough."

[neon-junkie]

“Nice plan.”

Summary: There's an enemy tailgating you and Crosshair through the busy streets of Coruscant, and you spontaneously come up with a plan to show the stranger that your two aren't a threat.

Pairing: Crosshair x gn!Reader

Rating: SFW

Word count: 1617

Tags: First kiss, Surprise kissing, Friends to lovers, Missions.

Notes: If you like my work then please reblog it!! xx

Being in the heart of the battlefield is common for you, but not for your associate; Crosshair enjoys his comfort up on cliffs, tucked away, viewing the world through his rifle's scope. Sure, he's been shot at before, and he's got the wounds to prove it, but the world is extremely different for him, now that he's trailing behind you through the centre of it. Well, soon to be the centre of it. Everybody has split up, taking their positions and waiting for said target to arrive. The streets of Coruscant are busy, as always, making it easier to weave through undetected. You're trying to find a ledge to overlook the club that the target is in, and once you're ready, you'll com Hunter and watch as he goes inside to draw the target out. The only problem is that there's a lack of ladders around these buildings, and you can't exactly scale up one of the walls without looking... odd.

So, you and Crosshair continue peering down alleys, searching for something to give you that boost to the upper levels. You can sense how tense Crosshair is; he's not fond of people, nor crowds, and thankfully they don't pay him much attention, despite being fully kitted out - Coruscant is used to the sight of armoured men, clone or not. You overhear Crosshair grumble under his breath, his patience running dry as you turn another corner to find nothing of use, only people mindlessly wandering by. However, an unfortunate thing does cross your eye as you go to turn around the next corner, only to stop in your tracks, letting out a sharp exhale as Crosshair accidentally bumps into you. "Why have you stopped?" he questions, and you can hear the annoyance in his tone, despite his voice being distorted through his helmet. You peer behind the corner again, double-checking what thought you just saw. Yep, your target's friends have begun heading your way, presumably going to meet up with the target in the club. "We have company," you explain, and begin heading back down the alley you just came from, Crosshair following behind. Thankfully, your target nor his friends know about you and your posse, nor do they know that they're being tracked - soon to be captured. You have the advantage of being anonymous, another pair of strangers throughout the sea of people that cover every square inch of Coruscant, but you still don't want to do anything that may draw attention - such as trailing them. "Just let them walk past, they don't know who we are," Crosshair suggests, walking beside you rather than behind. "And we should keep it that way. We don't want to look suspicious-" "-Doesn't this look suspicious? Coming back the way we came?" He has a point. Another small alley catches your attention, one that you're yet to go down, and you drag Crosshair by his wrist, pulling him down the surprisingly quiet passage. It backs onto a bunch of shops, with loth-cats rummaging through bins, and strangers sat on their back porches. "Are they still following us?" you question. Crosshair peers slightly over his shoulder. "Yes," he states. "You're taking us down an alley that leads to the back of the club. Have you not been paying attention to where we've been walking?" "I was more focused on finding a ladder." Crosshair lets out a defeated sigh. "We should have scaled a wall. It's Coruscant, people do weird things here all the time." As true as his statement may be, your target and his friends would definitely suspect something if they saw two strangers scaling up a wall, especially when they have bounties on their heads. A ladder it is, hopefully. Your comlink flashes, and Hunter questions what's taking so long. After explaining that Coruscant is lacking in the ladder department, and that your target has a few broody looking friends, he suggests that you two find somewhere safe to hide instead. Hunter needs to draw the target out before his buddies arrive, so the mission goes on without you two. No bother, this isn't the first time they've had to leave one of you out, or two... The alley finally leads to the back of the club, and there's a hefty crowd of people. This is the smoking area, possibly? But the sight of another alley catches your attention, a thin one, somewhat safe and hidden behind the thickness of strangers. You two begin weaving your way through, eventually coming to a halt between the tight walls. You prop yourself against one, and Crosshair takes the other, your feet touching subconsciously. It's a tight squeeze. You let out a deep breath, thankful that you're not buried under a helmet or a heap of armour; Crosshair seems indifferent, looking out over the sea of people and watching as the targets friends begin heading inside the club. Phew, you went unnoticed, just two strangers making their way through the universe.   "One of them is coming this way," Crosshair unfortunately announces, his eyes meeting yours under the thickness of his visor. "I told you we shouldn't have come back the way we came." Shit. Ugh. Hunter told you two to stay safe and hidden, and this is definitely not heading in the direction that you want it to go. You look at your surroundings, attempting to find an escape route, but all you can see is a variety of strangers, busy chatting away, mingling, unaware of the danger that surrounds them. Wait. Maybe you can make it look as if you're just another pair of strangers in this crowd, and it'll be hard for your tailgater to begin asking questions and making accusations if both your mouths are occupied. "Take off your helmet," you order, and frown as Crosshair laughs from beneath it. "This isn't a very smart plan. I'd prefer having my helmet on if this stranger is going to start-" "-Just take it off! Trust me!" You cut him off, and watch as Crosshair grumbles whilst removing his helmet, cooping it beneath his arm. "Now what?" Crosshair questions, unimpressed as ever. You peek over the crowd and pull a worried expression as the stranger continues nearing, struggling to get through the thickness of people, and even barging a few clueless people out of the way. People always seem to forget that manners are a blessing. There's a sickly feeling in your stomach, both nervous about kissing your associate, and nervous that he'll reject you. How are you meant to explain this plan? Ask him to kiss you? Attempt to explain your silly thoughts to him? There's no time, and words fail you. Crosshair raises a brow as you babble "sorry," split seconds before stepping between his feet, placing a soft hand on his armoured chest, and pressing your lips to his. Crosshair freezes. He's tense, thick, eyes widening. You're kissing him. If his lip weren't occupied then he'd laugh and comment "brilliant plan," because it really is, but instead he stupidly stands there, as if he's forgotten how to function, let alone kiss back. And unknown to you, he has butterflies churning in his stomach, along with a thick lump in his throat. But he finally kisses back, his spare gloved hand moving up to cup the back of your head as he moves his lips against yours. Just in time, too, as the stranger who was about to begin asking questions realizes that you're just another pair of lovesick fools in this sea of people. He rolls his eyes at the sight before beginning his journey back through the crowd, heading into the club to unfortunately find that the rest of his crew has gone missing. Neither of you peek open your eyes to wonder if the stranger has gone away, but nobody has attempted to catch your attention, meaning the stranger must be gone. He's gone, you two are safe, and neither of you are moving away. The grip on the back of your head tightens, and Crosshair gambles a bold move by lightly running his tongue across your lower lip, only to be welcomed into your mouth. You can feel the corners of his lips move, turning upwards, smiling as you allow him to make the kiss messier. It's needy, desperate, and something that you've both been craving for a long time. "I think he's gone," Crosshair quietly mutters against your lips, not giving you the ability to answer as he kisses you again. Sadly, the sound of your comlink beeping forces your lips to part, and you remain pressed up against Crosshair as you answer. It's Hunter, ordering you two to return to the ship. They have the target, the mission was successful in every aspect. Every. Aspect. "We should get back. You know what Hunter's like if he's kept waiting," Crosshair comments. His hand removes itself from the back of your head, and he gives your hip a comforting squeeze before fully moving away. "Yeah, come on," you sigh, and unwantingly pull your body away from his. You're about to begin heading through the crowd once more, but Crosshair lightly tugs your wrist. "Nice plan," he comments, a smug expression across his lips. The expression disappears as he puts his helmet back on, although you know he's going to be looking smug for a long time. You did kiss him, after all, but he also kissed you back. "Thanks," you reply. "You played your role well," you jab back, earning your own smug expression before turning your focus to heading through the sea of people, overhearing Crosshair laugh behind you, his hand slipping down your wrist to entwine his fingers between yours, keeping you close.

[mistressemmedi]

Måneskin: "Different from whom?"

Greetings from Miley Cyrus - phenomenal numbers.

The streams of Zitti e Buoni are growing by the second, and ahead of Muse, on the top of the English charts, twelfth in the Spotify Global Chart. We almost tripled followers after Rotterdam (from 1.4 to 3.3 million, ed). Contagious and universal madness: T-shirts and merchandise sold out in 10 minutes. Like records, tickets for a tour that adds dates and expands on maps. They are even looking for us in festivals where the Rolling Stones have played. - Thomas

After the whole cocaine scandal that was started against us from France, which was later denied by my drug test, in Spain there people have been making murals with my face saying "No drugs". Some tweets made us laugh: «Congratulations, Italy! I have never been so sure that four people have fucked each other ". Miley Cyrus started following us. "You are great". “You are more” . - Damiano

From rags to riches - what a story

It was only 2016, and we were playing in restaurants, on the streets, in via del Corso (famous street in Rome). Damiano without a microphone, Thomas's guitar with broken strings, Ethan drummed on a cajón. At the occupations of the high schools in Rome (Kennedy, Virgilio, Mamiani) we had our first gigs and half an hour of fame, between those who criticized us and those who said "these guys are so cool". One of the rare times in which they offered to pay us to play - 50 euros each - we offered that money to those after us, in exchange for the chance to play during their time slow, as we knew there would have been a bigger crowd. We already understood then how it worked. That visibility was worth more than the money. We still think so ». - Victoria

The intimacy of rock - Choice of a genre

Music allows is this miracle which allows one to talk about very personal and private topics, even difficult and delicate ones. They are and remain deeply yours, but at the same time they become a confession that reaches a wider audience, and in this passage which is like a delivery, they also find their place in you, their elaboration. They are overcome, they are accepted. One moment it feels aggressive, one moment later a (soft) ballad. It's very cathartic. - Damiano

Against panic - The stage as therapy

I have suffered a lot from anxiety and panic attacks, it is a problem that I have worked on thanks to a course of psychotherapy, to my friends and family. Playing has helped me not to let myself be paralyzed by my fears, not to be limited in my private and professional life. I have learned to accept, to live with this side of me. I don't hide it. I no longer feel ashamed. - Victoria

This belief that only crazy people go to the psychologist is widespread ignorance. Nobody is born learned. And it is often difficult to understand why we are here, let alone the derivation and direction of our desires. It is a long and legitimate journey towards one's clarity. - Damiano

Essere fuori di testa – Ma diversi da loro (Be out of your mind - But different from them)

Already feeling a strong passion for something that is not a 'regular' profession but an artistic language, it puts you on a level where you're an anomaly, and while you're neither superior nor inferior to others, it places you in the condition of what breaks the mold but you're also being at a loss, leaving it to you to be bold and to take risks, hoping that they will pay off and land you somewhere. "What good is it if you don't stand out on your own?". You want to give it an aesthetic to your artistic dream, but to others it boils down to " You dress differently! You must be gay! ”, I'm 22 now and it makes me laugh, but at 17 it had an effect on me too. - Damiano

The beauty of being unique - Of believing in that and defending it

After all, we are all different not because we want to be alternative but because really no one is the same. Justice is being judged on what you do and not what you are. Justice is equality, respect, beauty. - Ethan

Fluid sexuality - Pride is freedom

We appreciate heels on men, we kiss each other, we have an open, extended mind, and we are proud of it. The horizons become vast, beyond the oppression of conservative families. With information on the web, knowledge is enriched and with it the possibility that minorities will be fewer and fewer, because majorities will be fewer and fewer. This will lower the volume to insults and bullying. If social networks can reach a village of 50 souls to reveal to someone, who is afraid of the darkness, that someone has felt that same fear.. There is no longer the need to give it a name, to define that "something" to fear, to brand it with labels that only limit you. Definitions have always had this effect on me. Gender should not even be considered in a person's judgment. Let alone orientation ". - Victoria

Sexism - A culture to be dismantled

Emma (Italian singer) dropped the bomb:" When I went to Eurovision, they insulted me over a pair of shorts. Damiano - half naked and in heels - was never criticized ". The judgment against women is constant, ferocious, and demeaning (if I have a lot of sex I'm cool but Vic a whore, where I show myself strong I'm a leader she is domineering and pain in the ass, who is successful because only because of her looks [and not the hard work she puts in]). As a male I am privileged, the harassment I suffer is not comparable to that experienced by a woman, the comments on my aesthetics are focused only on my aesthetics and do not insinuate anything about my professionalism and my competence, while women are victims of this kind of thinking in a systemic way. But I did find myself in a situation, out of nowhere, with someone who, pulling close to her for a selfie, started licking my face ... "What do you want, did you ask me?" Consent exists, and it is a must ». - Damiano

To grow as a person - The only rule to follow

For me, to conform is the total opposite of educating oneself, and the asphyxiation of one's expression (of freedom). Fortunately, I did not suffer heavy bullying, to the point where I felt I needed to change to adapt to how others saw me. But the matrix of who I am and the aggression that marks me is the same. If I'm a kid who dances and loves dolls, then allow me the freedom to do so. I used to be a kid who wanted long hair and played with Barbies. My friends, as a teenager, looked my long hair and teased me: "You have to find yourself a girl with a short hair to make up for it". My grandparents took the dolls away from me and said: “Stop it, they're not for you” ». - Ethan

“I was six and I already could not tolerate the distinctions between masculine and feminine. I've always had strong ideas about how I wanted to be. I refused things typically defined as feminine as a child, and they made fun of me for skating, for playing soccer, for not wearing skirts, for giving myself the chance to be as I wanted to be. I suffered a little, as I was bullied, but I had courage to stay true to myself, and today thanks to that courage I know that I could have been much more hurt, or I would have risked leaving the most important decision to others: the one about being just me". - Victoria

Love - music and girlfriends

I've been married to music for the past 20 years. I cannot wait to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. - Ethan

Everyone goes through their own experiences, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's never other people's business." - Thomas

When, for the first time, I developed feelings and attraction for a girl it was a bit disorienting because I had never had the courage to go beyond the limitations I had imposed on myself. For society, being heterosexual is the norm and therefore often one automatically pegs himself in that way, giving up the freedom to experience many different shades and facets of love. Once I got over the initial insecurity of having to question one's own certainties, I lived my sexuality in a very natural and free way, as it should be for everyone. - Victoria

I had paparazzi under my house morning and night. So, after four years of relationship, I finally revealed her name. I still have the paparazzi under my house morning and night, but at least I don't have to hide anything anymore. - Damiano

The value of the group - Protecting each other

But the real relationship, the real family, is between us. Our band. We believed in it from the first day, even before calling ourselves Måneskin (moonlight in Danish), even before Ethan drew a giant moon, on the poster for our first concert. We share everything, even the pain of the tragedy of Seid Visin, who committed suicide at 20 because he was a victim of racism. Being a group is what we should all do together: stay united and not retreat in the slightest in the face of abuses generated by a distorted vision of someone "being different|. - Thomas

Non ho l’età – like Gigliola (It references Gigliola Cinquetti who won both Sanremo and Eurovision with her song "Non ho l’età" which translates to Not old enough)

Before us, the only one to win Sanremo and Eurovision together was Gigliola Cinquetti (in 1964). Is there is something for which I feel I am not yet old enough for? No, honestly no. Maybe for kids. I'll be honest, I'm not enough to be a dad. - Damiano

Reached the sky - What fears still remain

We are more than in the dream, we have conquered the dream. To fly high this high, there is the risk is to fall and get hurt, but we will try not to end up like Icarus, who burns his wings with the sun. Everything is in our hands. And this - somewhat presumptuously - reassures us rather than frighten us ". - Damiano

(ORIGINAL INTERVIEW IN ITALIAN)

[Please note that I have changed some words or structure sentence, trying to make it so that the interview made more sense lol - I skipped the first two paragraphs, which was basically the interviewer gushing over how pretty the band is lmao (relatable).

Any mistakes in the translation are sorely mine, nothing was proofread, so apologies in advance]

[holden-caulfield]

hi !! can i req a “r...ed string bonds two soulmates together for a lifetime and all come in varying lengths—imagine the trouble of only being able to walk certain distances or having to sleep on the edge of your bed” with draco ??? thanks!!

Thank you for the lovely request!! I slightly changed the concept for it to work, hope it's okay!

Red Binds

Summary: soulmate au in which two are bound by magical red strings. When the soulmates get closer, the strings shrink too until they meet.

Prompt from this list.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1309

//

Soulmates were amazing, there was no denying that. The idea that somewhere in the world a person made precisely, perfectly, only for you existed was ecstatic, magical one could even say.

But red tight strings clutching your very own wrist wherever you went was annoying to say the least. You always had this pesky feeling of entrapment clenching your skin and it was utterly unbearable.

You couldn't do anything to loosen the string, it could only tighten. Not enough to block your blood circulation but it certainly wasn't comfortable.

The most irritating feature that having a soulmate entailed was the inability to do certain things. The vexatious string never increased in length, only shrank: every time you and your soulmate got closer, the string shortened, decreasing the distance you could be apart.

It often happened in the worst situations: there were certain moments in which you couldn't join your friends outside just because you and your soulmate were too far away. You even had to ask one of your dorm mates to switch beds with you, hers being closer to the door and allowing you not to sleep on the edge of it. You still had to sleep with your arm dangling because the string was too short, but it was better than sleeping on the floor.

You were envying all of the people that seemed to have found their soulmate, not because they had finally uncovered their one and only, but because they were finally free from their silky restraints.

In fact, once you and your soulmate met, the strings loosened considerably. They also allowed much more movement because when one encounters their soulmate they are finally free.

A peculiar kind of freedom. You wait all your life bounded by these red cuffs only to be freed by someone who will remain by your side forever. Peculiar indeed, yet reassuring. You were rather skeptical about it but you would have given everything to find your soulmate and finally have your wrist released.

It wasn't easy, however, to find your soulmate. You couldn't just follow the string, no, it would have been way too easy. The string was magical of course, it became invisible after a few inches, the being visible only for a certain length before disappearing into thin air. It was still there, you were sure of that, but it couldn't be seen and thus it couldn't be followed, making the whole process of finding your special someone much more difficult.

As of you, though, the grim condition imposed by the universe was getting out of hand. Sadly, not literally: the string was still tightly latched on your wrist.

You were walking rather happily down the corridor towards your next class, trotting down the hallway with your friends beside you when something made you harshly stop.

Your arm hanged in mid-air, stretched by the scarlet silk which had caused all of your books to fall from your hands to the ground.

You received a couple of sympathetic glances from your friends who helped you collect your belongings but the situation didn't change: you couldn't still reach your next classroom. It was getting really ridiculous.

You waved your friends goodbye, asking them to give your excuses to McGonagall who would have, luckily, understood the circumstances, and tried a different way, hoping the string who allow it.

You took a few steps but had to stop again: you wondered whether your soulmate was having the same problems; maybe he was just sat at his desk, listening intently to the lesson, unlike you.

You clutched your books to your chest and made your way back to your common room. If you couldn't attend the lesson you would have at least gotten ahead with your homework.

You were about to enter when you had to stop again. You couldn't believe it: the string was now so short you couldn't even go inside your common room.

After a rapid series of curses you decided you had enough: you would have treaded every single corridor of hogwarts to find your soulmate if it meant you would have finally been able to go wherever you wanted, whenever you needed.

Your steps were steady and sure as you tried yet another different direction but they soon faltered when you started questioning yourself: what if your soulmate didn't attend hogwarts?

That would have been a problem indeed. But how couldn't they live there? The string didn't allow you much movement anymore, they must be here.

So you started confidently trudging once more, though the tiniest bit of insecurity was hidden in your resolved expression.

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry."

You were so engrossed in your own thoughts that you didn't even notice the figure that bumped into you.

You quickly resumed your path, still thinking about all the possible eventualities, and quickly found yourself back in front of McGonagall's classroom.

You were confused. Just moments ago you weren't even able to come close and now, now you were there.

You hesitated to open the door and instead ran outside, as fast as you could, almost expecting the twine to eventually block you. But it didn't.

You swiftly changed direction and ran back inside, easily reaching the farthest point from the lake near which you were just a few moments ago.

You took a moment to catch your breath and for the first time you actually noticed something new.

Your wrist didn't ache. Not at all. The flaming twine bounding your wrist was still there but you couldn't tell it was unless you actually looked at it.

Everything came together. The stranger you bumped into was unequivocally your soulmate.

Really a shame you didn't even glance up at him when you ran into him.

You retraced your steps to the corridor, but obviously he wasn't there anymore. You frantically searched for the stranger but how could you find him when you didn't even know what he looked like?

You were now walking way slower than before, a resigned air on your face as you almost dragged your feet across the floor.

"I'm sorry, it's the second time today, i should really begin to watch where i step..." you confessed as you bumped into yet another stranger, only this time you actually took the time to look at him.

He had blond hair, so light you swore it was blinding, and eyes that sent a shiver down your spine just from the cold they seemed to emit.

"Yes, you should." you scrunched up your nose in response, the tone of the boy in front of you too haughty for your liking. "And you should also stop running around the school, it was incredibly difficult finding you."

Your face immediately relaxed into a surprised one at the realization.

"So you're..."

"Yes."

"And you were looking..."

"For you, yes."

A smirk took over your features and you quickly jabbed him in the chest.

"Ow! What did i do?"

"You made my life very much complicated! I couldn't get to class today because you were merlin knows where!" your tone was neither angry nor reprimanding, the smile adorning your features very easily giving you away.

"You were the problem here! I had to follow Snape's lesson from the corridor because of you!" his voice was soft as he spoke, a fake frown dancing lightly on his face.

You tried to stifle a laughter looking down between you, but when you looked back up you realized you were closer than you expected.

"Draco Malfoy." he extended his hand to you even though he didn't have to move much because of the small distance that separated the two of you.

"Y/n Y/l/n."

His gaze never once left yours as he gingerly took your hand in his, guiding you away from the empty corridor, and, although you were now free, you squeezed the hand he gave you, wishing to never part from him again. Maybe it was worth in the end.

//

So this was yet another soulmate au... I don't know how to feel about this but it's been in the drafts for too long so here it is...

Taglist <3

@turn-to-page-394-please @gwlvr @dracosaccount @astoria-malfcy @dracomalfoys-wh0re @eunoniaa @cherie-draco @oeuryale @wh0re4blaise @90smalfoy @sanctimoniousslytherpuff @maybesandohnos @dracoswhore007 @macheregrace @paulina1998 @bungunz @malfoysbiitch @dreamy-clousds @malfoyxxdraco23 @saayanaaa @xlauren-malfoyx @riddleswh0r3crux

[if your name is crossed out, check your privacy settings!]

[starshipsofstarlord]

Omg thank you so much for writing my request for tom :) Can I ask for a part two where you try not to read the comments, but end up doing so, and most are good, so it's fine. Until you post a picture of you on your account, and tom's fans start calling you names, and tom's so tired of all that happening that he posts on his account a whole paragraph about how his personal life it's no one's business?

Posted

This is part two, find the first part here

Summary | previously Tom had accidentally posted a picture of the two of you, exposing your relationship. And so, you decide to purposely do the same on your Instagram, though the response is much different than what his post had received.

Warnings | hate comments, some angst, swear and demeaning words

Quick link to my masterlist, if you’re interested in reading more of my crap 😬

Tom was asleep beside you, his head tucked into the crook of your neck, you were able to feel his gentle, slumbering breathing against your skin, and it caused goose bumps to prickle upon the outer layer of your flesh.

The two of you had vastly fallen asleep upon the couch, and your phone was on the coffee table, and to say that you were itchy to reach for it was an understatement. There would be comments on the picture that Tom accidentally put online, and you were hungry to see them, whilst simultaneously nervous.

Tom was a big actor, known for his presence in the marvel cinematic universe upon many other projects, and some of his fans, whilst proven during Comic-Con panels, were borderline crazy. They’d snap if they even so much as saw something that they didn’t like, and this time, you would be on the receiving end of it.

Being motionlessly captured, with your face on show, was certain to bring much attention. You too were within the acting department, but there had been no correlation between the pair of you until now, most of the world weren’t even aware that you knew each other. And not to mention, your span of reaching an audience was smaller, although, certainly not non existent.

You had reprised fame during your appearance on Modern Family, as the friendly neighbour of Phil and Claire, and a classmate of their eldest daughter, and not to mention Luke was crushing hard on the character you played, though, with that said, your character laughed his efforts off due to the age difference, yet still found his pining weird and often uncomfortable.

Another role that you were becoming known for was your character in Netflix’s Irregulars, where you met Harrison Osterfield, Tom’s best friend. Through filming the show, you were introduced to the Spider-Man actor, and the pair of you had hit it off almost instantly, if you didn’t include Tom keeping his amorous distance, wary just in case there was something going on between you and your mutual friend. To his relief, there wasn’t.

And thus, when he received that confirmation, he was far more forward, yet respectful at the same time with his intentions. That was how you had ended up here, as he half used you as a pillow, his arms wrapped around his ribs, and his soft peaceful snores filling the void in the air.

Stretching your arm at its furthest length, your fingertips wrestled with the side of your phone, padding it closer to yourself, so that you could slide it across the small living room table, and closer to yourself. You were victorious in your efforts, and so on you unlocked your screen, going to your camera app, and leaning sideways so that you could snap a few pictures of your predicament with your loving and sweet boyfriend.

Looking at the images that you had captured, a smile arose upon your face; you truly did love this man, and you wanted the whole world to know how much you adored him. You wanted them to see that you cared about him, and that he was in good hands with you, to cool off any of his fans that were processing their hurt feelings for seeing Tom with another woman, show him that he was getting the love that he deserved.

Extreme courage coursed through your veins, focusing within your fingertips as you opened insta, gulping as you readied to post the image. There was no editing required, it was perfect just like him. And so, the caption was something to think about, you didn’t want to make it too obvious that you were dating as the online community already assumed, the priority was to show them that you cared about him.

‘He’s taking a nap, and crushing my hip a little, but I don’t mind 😌’ you typed, your finger hovering over the post button as you chewed your lip. It was easy to press your digit down, and so, taking a breath, you did just that, encouraged by the previous and kind comments on Tom’s earlier post.

Within a matter of minutes, your phone was blowing up, and you were too tempted not to glance at the growing comment section. There were various accounts, some supporting your confidence to show such a domestic version of yourself with Tom, you assumed that they were your followers, and the ones that weren’t so light hearted were those that intently watched anything on the media that involved Tom.

‘He’s too good looking for her, she should be dating someone within her league. Tom is clearly taking pity on this hoe.’

‘Aw look at him, and ew, look at the state of her. He could do sm better 😔’

‘Why doesn’t she look like his exes, they were hot af, and now he’s with some rando that is after his fame and money. Maybe she should just take better roles if she wants to get noticed so bad.’

Your eyes kept reeling through the intentionally hateful words that continued to come through beneath the image. Tears began to fall from your eyes as you tried to stifle the movements and the sound of your gentle sobbing, as to not wake Tom. Quickly, your fingers raced through the social media, and you, knowing that there would still be presence of the image somewhere online, you deleted it, muting notifications and shuffled back into Tom.

The man stirred, tugging you closer by your waist, pressing a kiss to your locks as he awoke. He noticed however the way that you refused to face him, and so he rolled you over with a gentle grip on your shoulder, frowning when he saw the recognisable redness beneath your eyes, and the sad expression floating within your eyes.

“Princess, what’s going on?” He wiped his thumb beneath your bottom lashes, collecting your tears as he worriedly looked down at you. His brown eyes searched every inch of your face for an idea, but found nothing but your broken hearted expression.

“It’s nothing Tommy.” You tried and failed to convince the man, wincing half heartedly as he sat back on his thighs, gripping your hips so that he could pull you up with him, giving him a clearer view of your face. It was clear that he did not believe you, and he hummed, trying to make you give in. Eventually, after much concerned staring, you gave in, slumping your shoulders as you tucked your arms around the back of his neck. “I posted a picture of us, the response wasn’t great.”

Instantly, Tom’s brows uplifted, surprised by your action, though he had a strong inkling of a feeling that the reaction that you had earned was not complimentary. These were not tears of joy, instead they were stricken rivers of anguish and insecurity running down the length of your face.

“Let me see.” He spoke, softly to you, but his intents towards defending you strong. You shook your head lightly, tracing circles upon his knees as you gulped, flickering your guilty gaze up to his watchful eyes.

“I deleted it. I just couldn’t deal with knowing that the longer that it was up, the more hate would be directed at me. I’m sorry.” Tom grasped your face by your tense jaw, his fingers stroking your chin as he sadly stared at you.

“Never be sorry. Now send me the picture you used so that I can give everyone a piece of my mind.” Reaching for your phone, you sent the image to him, and in a second his device pinged, revealing that it had successfully sent to him.

“Cute.” He described the picture, his hands furiously typing away on his phone, his constant unsettling of his rabidly moving fingers drawing anxiousness from you. “And some.” Tom finally breathed, closing his phone as you went to his account, checking what he had posted publicly.

‘This may concern some people, who keep sticking their noses in where it does not involve them. I appreciate you all, the support, the love, everything. But one thing that I do not stand for is people coming at my girlfriend just because they don’t approve of our relationship. If you check mate, I never asked for your opinion, I love y/n, and some online hate, that needs to stop otherwise you are not someone I want to be calling themselves a fan of me, needs to stop. It makes no one happy or feel healthy with spreading such toxicity around the internet, if you don’t like something, then keep your blood mouths shut, this has nothing to do with you, it is just me and my girlfriend. I’d think you’d want me to be happy, because I want the same for all of you, so can people please give my partner some respect, she’s done nothing wrong but bravely chose to reach out to you all, and she had that spat back in her face. It’s not on, and I want this to stop now.’

“Tom...” you were shocked by the paragraph, it came across as aggressive, and very over protective. His action, that could affect how he was cried by people that put him on a pedestal, and that made you feel guilty that he had reached out to them in such a way.

“It’s okay baby, I’d do anything for you, and you know that. No one messes with my girl.” He put his arm around your shoulders as he pulled you close placing a kiss upon your forehead. Not only was he your boyfriend, but he was your protector, your knight on a shining cell phone.

[ktheist]

life is yours

muses. professor!fiancee!namjoon x reader x fiancee’s friend!past life husband! expecting father!yoongi

genre. reincarnation au. college au. pregnancy au.

word. 1.7k

x

you loved min yoongi, you’d die for him.

and died for him you did. when the traitors came for your king, you’d leaped in front of him and took a swing of the treacherous sword. history books portrayed him as the king who went mad. the king who slayed hundreds of lives in one night and ruled for fifty more years as a tyrant.

what are histories if not painted with a tragic romance?

they said it was because of you he went mad. because he lost his queen, his breath.

a few hundred years later, he’d found her again. at the age of twenty-seven and you, twenty-two.

his girlfriend was pregnant with his baby and you were professor kim namjoon’s student-turned-fiance.

“it’s funny, you know,” you took a whiff of the cigarette and breathe out through your mouth, “we can walk out of our current relationships and ruin everyone’s perception of us, or we can just lead the life we’re living like we didn’t remember anything.”

yoongi squints his eyes as he stares up at the sun. lips tucked downwards, as though telling the universe that after one lifetime too many, he’s unimpressed.

“or we could just run away,” he recalls the flames of the torches of that night - not as bright as today’s sun but just as mocking, “forget about everything and run away.”

“you make it sound so easy,” a laugh escapes your smoke kissed lips, “it’s not as if the people we’ve known and loved are fake, faceless puppets.”

this life is just as real.

though it would’ve gone much different if you’d met each other sooner.

yoongi taps the pointed corner of the invitation card on his palm. it tickles but it’s nothing compared to the burning sensation as he held onto the handle of the sword despite it grazing his flesh.

“how far along is she?” his girlfriend, you mean. 

walking into namjoon’s office - the office you’d snuck into a few times too many but felt utterly alien - you saw the porcelain, snow-kissed complexion of your king. all at once, the memories hit you like a rain of shards.

and in each, individual shard, you see the images of your first step, first drawing, first embroidery and the first time you met yoongi. an arrogant boy whom you pushed into the koi pond.

the same boy who smirked at you the whole time during your engagement ceremony while you squirmed in your seat, scheming a runway and an apology at the same time.

and the man who strutted into the room, plopped on the left side of the bed and bade you good night on your first night as a married couple.

it was until three months later, that you trapped him under you and confronted him about it.

you thought yoongi, the crown prince turned king, had a lover. but he loved you too much to hurt you. they said you’re supposed to bleed on your first time. you laughed until your stomach hurt because you were happy beyond words that your husband was abstaining himself for you and not going around fucking a lover behind your back.

not even a year later, you caressed your stomach and giggled to yourself, thinking about yoongi’s stone cold expression turning pink and speechless. that night, the rebellion happened.

your last memories was of him holding you in his arms and calling out your name. 

in this lifetime, your first memory of him is watching him smile a familiar smile that screamed awkwardness as namjoon relayed their youthful tales.

that was, until he got to the part where yoongi’s about to be a father.

all of a sudden, there’s a knot in your stomach. it twists and tightens until you feel like you’re going to puke if you didn’t excuse yourself, saying something about calling your mom that you’d be having dinner with namjoon and letting the two men catch up.

“ten weeks. we’re ten weeks pregnant,” he sucks in a deep, agonized breath - and from the way he’s gazing up at the sky with his hands on his hips, you don’t think he meant to hide his afflictions.

the way he refers to himself and her as ‘we’ makes that knot all the more painful.

“i was a seven weeks pregnant,” you smile softly to yourself, gazing down at your stomach as if you could feel your baby from your previous lifetime.

you shouldn’t have said it.

should’ve just kept quiet.

but-

“they told me you were eight weeks in,” the soft, breathless tone that comes from yoongi is  what makes your heart beat again.

as if you’d come to life. as if min ___, the queen of joseon had come back to tell her king the one thing she wished to say. the one thing she wished for.

a family.

“taeyang. i was going to name him taeyang because he was going to be the sun of the dynasty and bring peace to the nation,” you laugh and it’s the choked up sound that you make that makes you realize you’re on the verge of crying.

“never thought i’d be talking about histories and dynasties with anyone - i hate history,” the confession slips out of you like you’re talking with an old friend. someone you trust wholeheartedly. someone you know you can confide in. 

yoongi was your friend, your lover, your king.

“come with me. i have a savings account, we can start anew somewhere, we can have what we couldn’t have back then.” he turns to you and looks at you in the eye. 

“what about your baby?” you ask because you know it’s meant for his future family.

“i’ll send child support every month,” he says.

“your parents?” you ask because his mother was a concubine and the king barely remembered his name out of the names of his many children.

in this lifetime, from the way namjoon candidly told the story, you know they love their eldest son as much as he loves them.

“they’ll adore you,” he says.

“no one’s gonna love a homewr- ah,” you hiss, dropping the cigarette that was trapped between your fingers until it burned your skin.

“___,” a familiar, deep but less gravelly tone reverberates against the walls as namjoon comes jogging at you like you’re a kid who just bruised her knee.

you study his face and yoongi’s eyes burn holes in your head.

from the way he meets your gaze and gives you ‘your fingers almost got burned and you’re looking at me?’ you think it’s safe to say that he didn’t hear what you were saying.

“i’m fine, i just burned my fingers because i got too engulfed in yoongi’s stories about how you two met,” you laugh at how namjoon’s inspecting your fingers more attentively than a doctor would.

“another reason to include in the long list of reasons not to smoke,” your finacee chides.

“that was my last,” you announce in a higher pitch than your usual voice - and that’s how namjoon knows you’re half-joking, even when you- “i promise.”

“anyways,” you place the injured hand on his chest to distract him - the way yoongi’s jaw tighten doesn’t go past you, “i talked to my dad because apparently my mom was cooking and couldn’t come to the phone and he said to tell you to bring me back before curfew.”

it’s the way namjoon freezes underneath your touch, his eyes blinking once and his soul retreating far back into his subconscious that makes you giggle.

“i’m kidding.”

only then, does he breathe again.

“my mom wasn’t cooking, she was watching her favorite show,” you say again.

it takes a split second for namjoon to put two and two together and tenses up again. as if he feels your father’s hardened gaze behind him. your father didn’t take it too well when you introduced your professor as your boyfriend who proposed to you a week before.

“it was nice meeting you, yoongi, we look forward to see you at our wedding,” you extend a hand, the playful smile reserved for namjoon, now directed at your king.

the king whom you died for. and the king who you’re telling to live his life, as you’ll live yours.

“wouldn’t miss my best friend’s wedding for the world,” he smiles, his hand grasping yours and you thought you’re going to combust from the electrifying sensation that runs through your veins.

but it’s only short-lived. 

you pull your hand away and he summons his back to his side.

he turns to namjoon and gives him a pat on his shoulder, congratulating him again but this time, with a lingering stare before walking past the two of you and towards the parking lot.

“professor, i’ll get my purse from your office and we’ll be good to go.” you say absently before skipping to the opposite direction of where yoongi was headed.

with each step you take, you hear your heart breaking. just like the pieces of your memories that rains down like shards of glass.

you wonder if you’ll make it through this life without dying of a broken heart.

“i thought we fixed that?” namjoon murmurs behind you, just as you sling the strap of your purse over your shoulder.

“hm?” you turn to the man leaning against the doorframe, observing you with a crease between his brows.

“you called me professor again,” namjoon mumbles almost as if he’s sulking.

and your heart warms at the tender sight of a grown man acting like a child. you’re reminded of the reason you fell for kim namjoon. his gentle nature was the opposite of yours yet he laughed at your jokes like he laughed off your flirtatious advancements.

he told you he saw you as a student and lent you his scarf when he saw you shaking in the cold while waiting for your uber. the next time he saw you, at 11 pm before the library closes, he offered to drive you home even though his was in the opposite direction from yours.

“namjoon,” you say his name, a smile tucked on your lips as you wrap your arms around his waist and his arm that had been crossed over his chest instantly makes it way around you, “thank you.”

“for what?” his eyes light up like a christmas tree, dimple digging into his cheek.

“for choosing me,” you stand on the tip of your toes and he meets you halfway for the kiss.

and you loved min yoongi, you died for him.

you love kim namjoon, you choose to live the rest of your life with him.

x

note. so like, the title - technically, it’s like oc saying “my life is yours” to both yoongi and namjoon but in different lifetimes :D