#Sound Stage Rental Near Me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

field--guide · 11 months

Text

Autokinetic

All this machinery making modern music

Can still be open-hearted

Not so coldly charted, it's really just a question of your honesty

Yeah, your honesty

- from “The Spirit of Radio” by Rush, 1980

It’s Friday, and it’s raining in Minnesota. We're here to dance Saturday night away in celebration of Intellephunk’s 25-year anniversary, but before these festivities, we get to celebrate another significant piece of Minneapolis’ music history: Autokinetic, aka Mike McClure.

Lauryn and I have spent the morning and afternoon in St. Paul, eating delicious pastries from the French bakery around the block and catching up with old friends, and now it’s time for our interview with Mike. Accommodating as ever, he’s picked us up from our landing pad at flyover HQ, and is taking the scenic route down University Ave to get to his place in Northeast Minneapolis. “We’ll avoid some traffic this way.” Mike has lived in Minnesota his whole life, and it shows. The car ride feels like a tour of the Twin Cities, as he points out areas of historic interest with near-encyclopedic knowledge while maintaining the softness and approachability that make him so comfortable to be around. We cross an intersection in St. Paul and he exclaims, “This is where Freddy lives!” Freddy Fresh is a Midwest musical hero who’s had a profound impact on Mike’s journey. As he praises Freddy’s breadth and humility, I’m enveloped in an inexplicable warmth—the way he talks about his musical forebears is striking. He describes another of his early influences, Woody McBride, as a spirit full of kindness—but Mike, too, is like this, seemingly without even realizing it.

We arrive at his home, and after offering me and Lauryn all manner of snacks and beverages, he welcomes us into his studio, where we hang out and chat for the next couple of hours.

We’re joined by Mike’s cat (read: muse) Pandora, who can be heard mewing and purring at several points during the interview. She and Mike share a special bond—she spends most of our time together sitting on his lap, and is almost always in the studio when he’s working on music. She’s pictured here next to a Roland TR-909, taking a break from sitting with Mike to lay on a pile of designated cassette tape, which acts as a sort of cat bed in the studio.

“We had a big piano in the house. That was the first thing—synthesizers were later.”

Music has been a part of Mike’s life for a long time. He grew up in a big, musical family, getting a balance of “goofy,” collaborative and improvisational family music time at home, with an intense formal music education at MacPhail. He started piano at age 7, and by high school he was a multi-instrumentalist. Despite struggling with stage fright, to the point of even vomiting on a couple occasions (“Luckily, not on anyone!”), Mike’s life revolved around music and performing, spending virtually all his time participating in concerts, jazz ensemble, marching band, parties, and rehearsals.

His love affair with electronic music began when he was 12, playing with his first synth in his bedroom and taking trips to Minneapolis with older sister Carolyn, who brought him to record stores in the city to help feed his interest in hip-hop, breaks, and electro. He recalls loving the 808 hi-hats, but not understanding how they were made. “What are those sounds?” He was young when this curiosity sparked, and it would have a tremendous impact on his life. A few years later, during breaks from cleaning band instrument rentals at his first job at Schmidt Music, he finally came into close contact with the boxes that would give way to his synth fever.

“My buddies were there in the sales room, and when there was downtime, we’d go out there and there’d be like, Alpha Junos, and drum machines and things, and it was like, 'Oh, that’s where those fucking sounds came from,' and then I look at the price tag. [laughs] … But then, the desire to have..to get that sound going, drove me to start trying to find..well, where do you get these things? How do you get ‘em used?”

This desire became fused with introductions to underground sounds through friend and band-mate David Jarosz, who worked at Let It Be records just after their time in high school.

“So during and right after high school, [I was] in a lot of cover bands, we did Poison, and Black Sabbath....one of my best friends, his name is Dave, DJ Drone is what he ended up being in town, but he worked at a record store and he kinda got us all into different...like, he introduced me to Aphex Twin, he introduced me to house music, everything. He was like: ‘This is what you should be listening to. Put the Jane’s Addiction away, listen to Selected Ambient Works, here’s some Guidance, Prescription!’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, this electronic stuff is cool.’”

After he’d spent some years immersing in these sounds, he actually got to meet a pioneer of electronic music: George Clinton. Mike’s older sister was acquainted with the Parliament-Funkadelic founder for a time. During George’s visits, she would ask Mike to be their driver around town (“Helllllll yeah I’ll meet George Clinton!”). At one point, she asked him to bring his music gear along to show George some of the music he’d been working on.

“I was nervous as hell. I got to play him some samples, and he gave me feedback. It was probably pretty scary music to him,” Mike laughs. “I was still kinda learning how to just get loops to sync up with the different machines, so it wasn’t quite in time. But he listened to the stuff and he was like, ‘Yeah! Yeah! This is pretty good, but, it doesn’t have that wiggle.’”

Mike is telling this story quite casually; Lauryn and I exchange looks of disbelief and the three of us laugh together for a moment. “Sorry, who said this?” we ask. “George!” says Mike, and smiles. The point for him is not the association with George’s name, rather, what he learned about swing, and the importance of feedback in the artistic process. George apparently jammed on Mike’s gear for a moment, too: “He’s playing my little PC200 controller with my Ensoniq patches, and he’s gettin’ stuff out of ‘em that I’m not, and I’m just like, wow... It needs the wiggle!” Mike jokes that he still only kind of understands ‘the wiggle,’ but to this day, he looks to other artists for inspiration, and values feedback deeply. “With George, that was important for me, just like, oh shit, I...this is fun...I kept getting feedback on my music, I want this to be better, I wanna learn! So, that’s an important point.”

Mike used this same set up when he played his first rave in 1993—which, if you can believe it, was also his first time attending a rave. Performing there was spontaneous, and unrehearsed, instructed by his friend Dave Drone to “just play sounds over the top” of his DJ set. A photo from the event ended up in the Star Tribune.

“I was just rhythmically playing things that would sorta work, and I think he would bring me in and out, but I had a headphone in, and once in a while I’d be like, ‘Oh shit! It’s playing!’ And then a hilarious thing happened. There’s this company called Menards...”

Mike sings the jingle and Lauryn cackles.

“Early ‘90s, right..phenomenal. People were bringing a lot of samplers out at the time. So I’d record a buncha shit on TV and I had a sample of it, and there’s this drop [in the track at the rave] and I...... “SAVE BIG MONEY AT MENARDS!” is blasting over the sound system and people are like, ‘what the fuck is going on?’ because it wasn’t on a record. People were like, what the fuck is actually happening! So I was happy to be a part of that.”

I immediately think of the ‘DJs Will Put Anything Before The Drop’ videos that have proliferated on social media and laugh to myself. The past inside the present... Mike went on to use this trick at a few other parties, and his skill as a techno performer strengthened over the years as he cut his teeth at some of the best illegal raves in Minneapolis and other parts of the Midwest in the ‘90s, even regularly performing in Europe. This night in 1993 was where it all started.

Mike is credited on the poster as Mindphaseone, a name he would eventually use for an experimental ambient project formed in 1994 with Drone, Matt Gerzema, and John Golden. They opened for DJ Shadow at First Ave in 1997, and one of the songs on their only album was licensed by MTV for the Tony Hawk Show. “Somewhere out there is a recording of Bill Clinton being interviewed and mindphaseone is playing in the background.”

This was the same year he met Freddy Fresh, and together with John Golden, helped start the Electric Music Foundation record label. Releases from this imprint helped to get gigs and push things along, but it was no mere stepping stone; Freddy took Mike under his wing and fueled his desire to create. Mike speaks candidly about Freddy’s impact on him: “We just, we connected... Everything, everything, everything I know how to do in the studio is from him. ... Like, how do you get this sound on this record? And he’s like, this is what they did. … Freddy answered all the questions.”

Freddy was a connector for Mike both in the Midwest and abroad (he introduced Mike to Craig Lambert, aka Midnight Music Club, with whom Mike has spent the bulk of his time creating since 2019 under the combined name AutoClub). He also got Mike performing in Germany in the '90s (“The first one was Fred calling me and saying ‘Hey do you wanna play in Germany at Liquid Sky Cologne next week?”), eventually expanding to gigs in Austria and Slovenia. The more Mike played out, the more he came to value ‘market research,’ or, in his own words: “...Going to shows, going to a lot of parties, listening to what was getting played, watching the dance floor. What makes people leave, what gets them goin’ crazy—what are those SOUNDS?! What are those secret things, trying to figure that out, and that’s going on to this day.” Freddy didn’t just teach him how to find the sounds and turn the knobs; he instilled a deep appreciation for the “beginner’s mind,” combining a steadfast work ethic with a humble, open-minded approach to creating.

Our conversation shifts to artistic process, techno preferences, and authenticity, and Mike refers back to his roots to share a nugget of wisdom. It’s difficult to describe how clear he seems responding to this prompt—a pool of calm energy, rooted in years of experience and humility.

“What did Geddy Lee from Rush say..... It’s a......question of your honesty. That’s really what it’s about. What’s this track, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to trick everyone or are you trying to be vulnerable in your music?”

For Mike, creating impactful art necessitates being comfortable making mistakes, and open to the opportunities they bring. It’s a form of acceptance, both of the present moment and of oneself, which can translate into mindfulness. When practiced, this can create an “imprint” of the artist in the track by capturing “a moment in time.” This is the soul in the machine that makes techno exciting.

“To me, there’s something in the track that’s more than just the recording. Something was imprinted in it, … there's a layer to it that’s beyond what you’re hearing. And I don’t know how to put that into words. But there’s like, ‘What! How did they? There’s another track in there!’ That’s like an emotion..it’s...I...nothing else sounds like it. And if it’s loud and it’s moving your body, now it’s getting imprinted in you and your blood and your bones. That’s why I love going to shows and standing there and just getting hit by sound, I feel like you can record it somehow. And then later when you’re in here [the studio], you’re like, ‘Awh yeah I remember, this might work, I saw people dancing to this rhythm!”

Through his discipleship in the ‘90s, as well as his own trial-and-error, Mike has realized that in order to get to that place with creation, he sometimes has to almost force himself into the studio, even if it’s just to read a manual on a new piece of gear, or record something when he’s not feeling totally inspired. This “do it anyway” attitude is aided by his musical upbringing, improvising goofy songs with family while attending the “intense” MacPhail. Mike doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. He sometimes struggles with his own creative blocks. But drawing upon his foundation—expanded by his teachers—Mike’s found a process that works for him, and seemingly, his mission is to share that with others. He shares an insight gained from jam sessions with pals, further cementing his belief in honest creation being an ongoing process:

The track is in you by the way – it’s not in the boxes. It doesn’t matter what you’re making. I just learned that recently, with Dustin [Zahn] coming over, messing with the studio. I had some Mike stuff up; after an hour, it was Dustin’s stuff. And he had a Dustin track. I’m like, how did you????! Wait! But how! Like, it sounds so good! [laughs] It’s the same with Lonefront. I wanna be able to do that. Get your track out of whatever the stuff is. It doesn’t matter if you have million dollar gear, or a $100 sampler. These tracks are inside of you. How do you get ‘em out? How do you express that shit? I don’t know..it’s ongoing. [laughs] It’s a continuum, there’s no answer! You just gotta keep doing it.”

If there’s one thing we learned from Mike during this interview, it’s this: creator as conduit. When you come to know Mike, and his music, you can hear the inspiration of his teachers through how he executes his art. You can also see the influence of these teachers in how he interacts with his community, providing undying support and mentorship to other artists in the Twin Cities. The Auto Kinetic project has evolved through many iterations since its formation in the early ‘90s—what hasn’t changed is the deep current of humility and collaboration that gives it motion. [Published June 15th, 2023]

0 notes

avrentalsnyc1-blog · 2 years

Text

Complete Your Event with Stage & Lighting Equipment Rentals in NY

Organizing an event in New York comes with a set of unique challenges, ranging from finding the right venue to ensuring that all attendees have a great experience. One of the most important components is having the right stage and lighting equipment. Whether you're hosting a large concert or a smaller corporate gathering, renting stage and lighting equipment can make your event unforgettable. With the right provider, you can find all the rentals you need to complete your event in one place.

When planning an event, it's important to have the right stage and lighting equipment to create a memorable experience for attendees. In New York, there are plenty of options for equipment rentals that can help you bring your vision to life. Whether you're looking for the Best Projector Rental Near Me in New York or need a full lighting setup, there are companies that specialize in providing quality equipment for events of all sizes.

One of the benefits of renting equipment is that it allows you to get top-of-the-line gear without having to purchase it outright. This is especially useful if you only need certain items for one event or if you're working with a budget. Additionally, many rental companies offer delivery and setup services so that you don't have to worry about transporting or installing heavy equipment yourself.

Expert Stage and Lighting Rentals Add Excitement to Events in New York

Make your next event come alive with expert stage and lighting rentals from Event Lighting Solutions in New York. Whether you’re hosting a corporate event, wedding, festival, or any other special occasion, their experienced team will ensure you have the most dazzling setup imaginable.

Event Lighting Solutions offers a wide range of lighting options to choose from. Their extensive inventory includes LED up-lights, moving heads, lasers and more. You can also rent trussing, staging and sound systems to complete your setup. All equipment is inspected and maintained to ensure top performance. To make sure they always provide the best service possible, Event Lighting Solutions only uses professional grade gear from leading industry brands such as Chauvet Professional, Martin Professional and Elation Professional.

The team at Event Lighting Solutions is dedicated to ensuring your event is a success.

Create Spectacular Events with NY Stage & Lighting Rentals

NY Stage & Lighting Rentals, a leading event rental company, is the go-to resource for event organizers looking to create exciting and memorable experiences. With their vast selection of equipment, they can help transform any space into an unforgettable atmosphere. From stages and lights to video walls and trusses, NY Stage & Lighting Rentals has all the tools necessary to make your next event truly spectacular.

NY Stage & Lighting Rentals caters to a wide range of events. Whether you’re planning a corporate gathering or a large music festival, they can provide the right equipment for the job. Their selection includes professional lighting systems, sound systems, stages of all sizes, projectors and screens, and much more. They also offer custom packages tailored to meet specific needs.

Event organizers appreciate NY Stage & Lighting Rentals’ commitment to quality and customer service.

In conclusion, Stage and Lighting Equipment Rentals in NY are an excellent way to save money on your event. With a wide selection of rental companies, you can find everything you need for a successful event without breaking the bank. The quality of the equipment is always top-notch, allowing you to create unique, memorable experiences for your guests. Additionally, professional staff members can help guide you through the rental process to ensure that your event is as smooth and stress-free as possible.

0 notes

chaps-pa1 · 2 years

Text

CHAPS PA offers sound equipment rental.

People love to have parties, and there are many different ways that parties can be given. Many of those parties need party equipment rentals. Hiring party equipment in London is a much smarter decision than buying it. There are various reasons for hiring speakers for a party or an event, and for many other functions or events, sound equipment plays a very important role.

Party equipment hire London services include PA equipment rental, lighting equipment rental, AV equipment rental, DJ equipment rental, staging equipment rental, and much more.This equipment also includes a compact and portable mixing console that is used front of house.

Hiring a speaker system near me has become easy. You can hire it from CHAPS PA, which provides you with sound equipment hire and PA hire services to the music industry in the Surrey and London areas, as well as to the rest of the UK and Europe.

Sound equipment rental offers you speakers, which are crucial to the success of any live event. Speaker hire in London provides access to cutting-edge pro audio equipment. Chaps PA has decades of experience in the live audio and event industry and can provide professional quality speakers and sound engineering for any size event.

The following are the advantages of hiring speakers:

On-demand access to cutting-edge technology

You don’t have to pay maintenance costs.

guaranteed professional sound

Get experience and expertise from technicians

You can get it at an affordable price.

If you’re planning an event that requires high-quality sound, the sound system and speakers are an incredible feature. If speakers are required for a corporate event, a festival, a wedding, or even an open-mic night, a top-notch system is necessary, and buying one can be very expensive.

You can also hire microphones, which are perfect for the active front man who could really benefit from the freedom of a wireless microphone. Hiring a wireless microphone for a presentation, party, wedding, store opening, or event has never been easier. Hire it now from CHAPS PA to ensure that your event is as successful as possible.

CHAPS PA is a South London-based audio rental company established in the 1980s. We can help you with your performance, show, or conference by supplying you with top-of-the-line audio equipment. Visit us at https://chaps-pa.co.uk/ right now.

0 notes

munozgates · 2 years

Text

Rental management near me

Owning a holiday rental management near me can be one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have. Whether it be a perfect place in the sun, or a log cabin in the Swiss Alps, having the luxury of owning your own retreat is hard to top. But aside from the obvious benefits, your holiday home can also be a fantastic long term investment and can therefore also make sound business sense. From my experience, home owners at best, and with a lot of hard work, may get their investment property to just about "wash its own face". However it's more common for an owner to see their bank account being drained just to maintain a home they only get time to spend a few weeks in each year, while the remaining time it mostly unoccupied.

So even when you have an ideal home in an ideal location it still takes a lot of hard and continuous work to transform it into an ideal holiday rental investment that not only washes its own face but makes a bit profit to boot.

Things You Shouldn't Do

It's probably best to start by making clear some of the things that contribute to not making a lot of money from your holiday rental. By avoiding certain mistakes you can give your holiday home investment the best chance to not just compete, but soar in the market place.

It sounds obvious, but even the most well-intentioned owner will set out to facilitate their own bookings only to find that it's just too much effort, especially if they have a full-time job or other time-consuming commitments.

Rather than ignore the issue, a wee bit of research can result in you finding the ideal company to manage all aspects of your home rental; from marketing, inquiries, and bookings to providing key-holding, cleaning, and maintenance services.

Whatever services you sign up for will come at a price, but at least you could potentially find a hassle free way to get some return on your investment while also having the benefit of being able to reserve some time for your own well earned break.

Obvious, yet still a common oversight. Let's not dwell on it too much, as a rule of thumb just think 'hotel standard'.

OK it's a home not a hotel, but your marketing images should show a nice clean & tidy place to stay. Some level of 'staging' will be of obvious benefit, flowers in the vase, spirit-level for all wall hangings etc. But remember, the scene you set is pretty much what your clients will expect on arrival.

Again, it's fairly obvious, but then some owners do get sucked into elaborating the truth just to secure a booking. If you 'colour' the description of your holiday home, its location, situation and/or facilities and you fail to deliver in one or more areas, then you are effectively building your guests up to a hugely disappointing arrival.

Note:A common mistake owners make, which can be a genuine oversight, it to specify a maximum number of persons their rental can accommodate only for a guest to complain that they don't have a sufficient number of dining room chairs, cutlery, plates, cups, glasses or even patio furniture, including sun lounges. Make sure you max accommodation is met by adequate level of facilities.

Believe me, whatever your guests read about your holiday home or view in the images you provide, they will use all of this information to create their 'holiday vision'. In this perfect holiday vision, they will see themselves in your holiday home exactly as you have described it, and all of this could be weeks or even months before they even arrive!

Remember, a holiday is a really big deal. For most it will be a once a year event, and the vast majority of renters will have taken a lot of time evaluating all their holiday rental options before making a decision to book yours. So it is your responsibility not to let them down by providing inaccurate information.

Furthermore, for all the time and effort it takes to attract a renter to your home, you are then provided with the perfect opportunity to deliver on what they expect and hopefully get a repeat booking in the future; or even a booking based on a client recommendation, even better!

At the very least you should be able to get a glowing testimonial that you can use to persuade future holidaymakers to choose your holiday home over all of the other offerings on the market, so if anything aims to over-deliver.

1 note · View note

sparklekitteh · 3 years

Text

Prom Night

SFW, inspired by this imagine from @jeanslove

Jean Kirschtein x fem!Reader

Word count: 1998 -- LOL, ironically the year of my senior prom

Warnings: None, this is all SFW cotton candy fluff

“Y/N, will you come take one more picture before Jean arrives, dear?” Mrs. Kirschtein asked sweetly, her professional grade Nikon camera dangling from her neck. You adore Jean’s mother -- this woman who might as well be your own mom, as much time as you’ve spent at her house with your best friend Jean. She thinks the world of you and was delighted when Jean asked you to be his date to senior prom. She was over the moon when your parents invited her over to take pictures of the big moment when Jean whisked you away to the dance. In the two hours it has taken Jean to secure his rental tuxedo and your corsage, your mother and Mrs. Kirschtein -- Mama K as she likes you to call her -- have probably snapped hundreds of pictures of you from every angle. She was posing your hand on the waist of your red satin gown in front of the old upright piano where your father gave you and Jean lessons for years when you heard the cheery tones of your front door bell.

“Honey, he’s here!” your father calls to you from the door. “And he looks real sharp, like a fine young gentleman. Come on in, Jean,” he beckons to your date, and your father is not wrong. Jean is dressed to the nines in a black tux with a red vest and red bowtie matched to your dress, his shiny patent leather shoes gleaming in the light of your living room. Despite his attempt to sound suave in his text to you earlier, now his face is almost as scarlet as his outfit. He manages to find the words to say thanks and shake your dad’s hand nervously, who claps Jean’s shoulder with such a heavy hand that he has to take a step to the side to catch himself from stumbling.

“Oh Jeanboy, you’re here! Come in here by the piano so I can take pictures of you two dressed up,” his mother calls and you are surprised to learn that Jean’s face can turn an even deeper shade of red. “Look at my handsome boy!”

“Mother, please!” he groans as she drags him by his elbow and you follow trying to suppress a laugh at Jean’s protests at his mother publicly doting on him. She fusses over your dress for a few moments, straightening the hem while she instructs you to angle your shoulders just a little this way and tilt your chin up. She grabs Jean’s wrist and pulls him to stand behind you, then places his hands on your waist. “Sorry about this,” he mutters to you as she continues adjusting his stance.

“It’s ok,” you smile reassuringly, and it really is. You’ve had a crush on Jean for the longest time but didn’t want to do anything to endanger your friendship, especially since he’s your next door neighbor and it would be awkward as hell if it went sour. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy having his hands resting lightly on your waist as his mother flits about. She takes a few steps back and peeks through the camera lens to frame the shot and then steps over again to nudge Jean closer to you, closer, closer still, until he’s standing so near that you can smell the minty gum he’s chewing mixed with the cologne he bought for the occasion, a light botanical scent that reminds you of rain and freshly cut grass. His hands are trembling slightly, probably from the fact that he’s practically standing on top of you with your parents right there. His mother, finally satisfied with the shot, begins snapping pictures. Jean relaxes a little as your mom and dad crack jokes and tell stories about their own prom adventures, though the tremor in his featherlight touch near your hips betrays his nerves. After what seems like an eternity, his mother decides she has enough pictures and begins to shoo you and her son to the door.

“Mom, wait a second, will you? I have something for you, Y/N.” He strides to the table next to the front door where a plastic clamshell holds a delicate white rose fastened to an elastic band. He pops open the box and pulls the bud out, then slips the elastic around your wrist -- you note to yourself to thank him later for opting for this corsage and not one that would be pinned to the front of your dress; considering what a jittery mess he is he’d probably stab you with the pin.

“Thank you, Jean. It’s lovely,” you say as you bring the bloom to your nose. The scent blends perfectly with your vanilla rose lotion and you close your eyes as you inhale deeply. As you open your eyes, you see Jean is watching you with a dopy smile and it evaporates as soon as he realizes you saw it. He looks down at his feet, then runs his hand over his fresh undercut.

“You are lovely,” he whispers, then looks around the room with a sheepish grin. What a relief -- all of the adults are reminiscing about their high school days and are blessedly unaware of the two of you. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” you breathe, thankful that this stage of the night is coming to a close.

“It’s getting close to seven, it’s time to see you two off,” your mother smiles and walks you to the front door. “Have fun and remember, curfew is midnight.”

“Thanks, Mom,” you nod. Jean is whisking you out the door, eager to leave before his mother can stop him for another round of photographs. As you stumble over the threshold, you are shocked to find a black limousine parked in front of your house. The chauffeur, leaning against the passenger door and dressed in a black tuxedo himself, sees you approaching and moves to open the door for you. You stop in your tracks and gape at Jean. “Is this for us?”

“Yeah, silly… who else would it be for?” he laughs. “Cinderella went to the ball in a carriage, right? Every princess needs to arrive in style.” He pulls a pair of aviator sunglasses from his pocket and puts them on, then flashes you that crooked smile that makes your heart feel like it’s going to race out of your chest. He takes your hand and turns to wave to his mom who has followed you outside, the shutter of her camera snapping as she takes another hundred or so photos. Jean looks dashing in his tux and shades and you feel like you’re getting a glimpse of the man he’ll become -- handsome, confident, cool as hell. He helps you into the limo and as if the universe couldn’t miss an opportunity to humble him, Jean bonks his head on the doorframe and yelps a curse.

“Jean Kirschtein!” his mother scolds him, then rushes over to examine his injury. He holds her at arm’s length and rubs his head, the aviators sitting askew on his face now and for the second time you have to hold back a giggle -- you can tell he’s not physically hurt too badly but his pride certainly is. He mumbles an apology to his mom for the profanity and slides into the limo with you, taking the sunglasses off. You lean over and peer at his forehead.

“I think you’ll survive but you might have a bruise tomorrow.”

“Oh good. I knew everything was going too well,” he complains and you laugh out loud this time.

You’re still a little confused why he would go to such an expense -- it wasn’t like you were actually dating, and in fact the reason Jean is your date tonight is because you made a promise to each other that if the two of you didn’t have a date to senior prom that you’d go with each other. He probably feels sorry for me, you think to yourself. You wonder why he wasn’t able to secure someone else as his date, though. You know for a fact there are several girls and even a couple of guys in your graduating class that have turned their attention on Jean but he never seems to be aware of their interest. He turns to you as the limo pulls away from the curb and you’re grateful to finally be out of the glaring attention of your family and just relax with your friend.

“Jean, thanks for this,” you gesture around you at the limo’s interior. “This was unexpected but very sweet.”

He scoots a little closer and your breath catches in your throat as his knee bumps into yours, the black satin stripe on his tuxedo pants brushing against the red satin of your dress. “Of course, Y/N. I wanted to make tonight special for you,” he smiles shyly. “I hope you don’t think I went overboard or anything -- mom actually suggested this.”

“Oh,” you reply, a little let down that the thoughtfulness came from his mother and not himself.

“She said I owed you after chasing away everyone else who wanted to ask you to be their date tonight,” he chuckled, turning red again. You stare at him dumbfounded at what he just dropped so casually.

“What?” is all you can manage to squeak out and he shows that lopsided grin you’ve come to cherish.

“I know we said we’d be each other’s date if no one else asked… but I kind of cheated. Mina Carolina asked me but I turned her down, and I … uh… I might have warned every guy in our class that I’d kick their asses if they asked you to prom.” His grin faded into a sheepish look as he looked into your wide eyes and fumbled over his words. “I hope you’re not mad. I just… I didn’t know how to tell you that I like you. A lot. More than best friends. For a long time now.”

“Jean, I like you too. Way more than best friends,” you whisper and feeling an impulse of bravery, you thread your fingers with his and squeeze his hand.

“Would you … um… would you be my girlfriend, Y/N?”

“Oh my god, I thought you’d never ask. Yes!” you breathe and he tilts your chin up to look into your beaming face. The look of relief and adoration in his eyes melts your heart as he softly kisses you -- your first kiss, and his as well. He goes to lean his forehead to yours and then swears quietly, feeling the bump he received earlier. You giggle and gently kiss the sore knot on his forehead, and he laughs too. He’s warm and wonderful sitting so close to you and you feel like you’re dreaming, enchanted by this sweet clumsy boy.

The limo pulls up to the entrance of the school gym and Jean, more carefully this time, leads you out of the vehicle into the school. Sasha greets you at the door, both of you gushing about how pretty you look in your gowns and Connie fist bumps Jean when he sees you’re still holding his hand. Jean opens the door for you and ushers you into the dimly lit gymnasium, decorated with silver and blue balloons and streamers, fairy lights strung along the walls to resemble constellations, and leads you through a tinsel-curtained archway that reads A Night Among the Stars. There are certainly stars in his eyes as he leads you onto the dance floor and you fall into a comfortable swaying rhythm as you wrap your arms around his neck, his hands resting on your hips with just enough distance between you not to alarm any of the teachers and chaperones. What you thought was going to be an awkward night of goofing off with your friends has become the night you’ve dreamed of -- the night you finally get to hold Jean and call him yours.

#jean kirstein #jean kirschtein #jean kirstein x reader #jean kirschtein x reader #tooth rotting fluff

53 notes · View notes

tommodirection · 4 years

Note

Can you write one where you surprise Niall on tour? like its Niall's birthday and yn said he couldn't come bc of work you can do whatever you want at the end maybe put a smut 💗

Heylo! Thank you for sending in a request! Sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoy! Also, I don’t write smut, so it’s more implied at the end!☺️

Surprise

Niall Horan x Reader

Warnings: swearing, innuendos, spelling errors, brief mention of coffee addiction

Word Count: 2.1k

Masterlist

—

“Niall, I’m so sorry I can’t make it,” you apologized over the phone, probably for the thousandth time in the past week.

“Love, listen, it’s okay, you have to work, I understand, it’s not your fault,” Niall reassured you.

“I just feel really bad, I mean, it’s your birthday! What kind of girlfriend doesn’t make it to her boyfriend’s birthday?” You asked, clearly panicked.

“A girlfriend whose boyfriend has an abnormal job that requires him to travel around the world,” he said and you groaned. “Love it isn’t your fault, we can still FaceTime after the show, we’ll spend all night together then,” you heard the smile in his voice.

“I guess you’re right,” you sighed. “But I’d much rather just be there with you,” you bit your lip.

“Me too, but it’ll be okay, we can just celebrate when I come home, it’ll only be a few months late,” he joked and you giggled.

There was a knock on your bedroom, it opened a little to reveal Hailey, your friend.

“Listen, I have to go, but I’ll definitely call you tonight, okay bubs?” You asked, trying to hurry.

“Alright, love you,” he sang through the phone and you bit back another giggle.

“Love you,” you said, quickly hanging up and setting your phone down.

“You ready to go?” Hailey asked, a suitcase in her hand.

The truth was, you weren’t really going to miss Niall’s show. It was meant to be a surprise. You were going to fly down the night before his birthday, and then you were going to surprise him on stage, sounds simple enough to plan, right?

Not when your boyfriend’s show was in London, and you were in your shared LA apartment. Not when it was a ten hour flight.

It took off at 8 am in LA, so you’d arrive at 6 pm, LA time, but 4 am London time, so you’d basically have major jet lag and you’d get little to no sleep, but it was fine.

You grabbed your bag from under the bed, where there was no chance Niall could’ve seen it.

You popped up, grabbing your phone and carry-on bag.

Hailey practically shoved you into the car and hit the gas before your door was even closed.

You glanced at the clock, it was only 6:45, you had plenty of time.

“Hailey, why are you in such a rush?” You asked, shoving your bag in the backseat. You buckled your seatbelt and she huffed.

“This is why I’m hurrying,” she grumbled and gestured to the road. LA traffic.

Sometimes you forgot you lived in one of the busiest cities in the world, and not a small suburban area where there was rarely any traffic.

LAX was only a ten minute drive from your house, but the traffic tripled the time, you got there thirty minutes later, both of you running to the security check-in.

After clearing security, Hailey dragged you to the gate, clearly agitated. She stopped in front of the gate, seeing you had fifteen minutes left to board. She mumbled something under her breath and threw herself down in a chair.

You sat next to her, hesitant to touch her, but you still placed your hand on her arm. “H, are you okay? What’s going on?” You asked, keeping your voice low.

She looked away, clearly embarrassed. You tried to catch her eye but she kept looking away.

“Hailey,” you demanded, and she finally looked at you.

“I haven’t had my coffee this morning,” she admitted. You chuckled and stood up.

“That is definitely something we can fix.”

About fifteen minutes later, you were on the flight. Ten hours after that, you landed in London.

You and Hailey treaded into the hotel, both exhausted. Hailey could never sleep after drinking her coffee, so she didn’t sleep. You didn’t sleep because you were still a bundle of nerves.

It was mostly irrational fears, just little things that didn’t make sense, but still made you bite your nails. Your head was mostly just filled up with thoughts of him not wanting you there, but you knew Niall, and you knew he wasn’t going to be upset.

You and Hailey decided to book one room, you’d share with her tonight, and stay with Niall the rest of the time, she claimed you needed time alone, something you agreed with.

You settled into the bed, burying your head in the pillow. Excitement overwhelmed you, but your body was too tired to respond, so about three minutes later, you were out.

—

You woke up about four hours later, much more sleep than you thought you’d get.

Hailey was already up, sitting on her bed with a plate of food, her cup of coffee on the nightstand. She looked over at you, smiling when she saw you processing the surroundings.

“I got you breakfast,” she said, leaning over and grabbing another plate from the other side of the nightstand.

You groggily thanked her and began eating, the burnt toast leaving a bitter taste in your mouth, “Did you purposely burn the toast?” You asked.

She let out a low chuckle, “No, a little girl, a little toddler, insisted on making the toast, and I didn’t want to break her heart. Just eat the fruit when you’re done, it’ll cancel out the taste,” she suggested, and you squinted at her.

You didn’t think that was accurate, but you shrugged it off.

While you ate your burnt toast and bittersweet fruit, Hailey explained the itinerary for the day. First, you’d order lunch, and eat in the hotel room. Then, you’d stay in the hotel room until around five, then you’d drive to the stadium, Niall’s show started at five thirty.

You had to remain in the hotel room so your surprise wouldn’t be ruined. Dating a celebrity, meant you became a celebrity. You couldn’t go out in public without being recognized, so if someone had seen you, and posted it, word would’ve gotten to Niall that you were in London.

The day was pretty boring, Hailey ordered Nando’s, claiming she’d never had it before. You watched a few old rom coms on the cable television in your room, there weren’t many options.

Around four thirty, Hailey began getting you ready for Niall’s show.

You had chosen the look, and she was there to help you complete it. She had allowed you to get dressed in your own (thankfully) and even let you put on your mascara.

Instead of a fancy dress, you decided to wear a nice pleated short-skirt, a plaid black and white one. You’d chosen a red turtleneck, knowing Niall loved that color on you.

You stepped out of the bathroom, quickly taking a seat in front of Hailey. She grabbed her makeup bag and got to work.

You had told her to go light, it was Niall’s birthday, not a wedding, but Hailey liked to over exaggerate things a bit.

She had already put on the basics, including a perfect Smokey eye, something you still couldn’t accomplish. She had chosen a bright shade of red lipstick, one that matched your sweater perfectly.

After about six different styles, she decided to put your hair half up, curling it towards the ends.

You were surprisingly patient through the whole thing, humming and nodding when she spoke about nonsense at work, trying to hold still as much as possible.

She stepped away, a satisfied smile on her face. You stood up, and gave her a little twirl. She tapped her finger against her chin as if she was thinking.

“You know who you remind me of?” She asked, and you shook your head. “Heather Chandler,” she said confidently.

You have a confident smile, placing your hand on your hip. “Listen, if I look like the sexiest woman alive, I am completely okay with that,” you shot back and Hailey giggled.

She glanced down at her watch, her eyes going wide. “Shit! It’s 4:55! We were supposed to be on the road at 4:45!” She exclaimed, gripping your arm tightly. “Grab your shoes! Put them on in the rental!” She ordered, and you scurried to do what she said.

You both ran to the car, and you climbed in, not even getting buckled before she pulled onto the street. You looked around the car, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“When did you have time to pick up a rental car?” You asked, looking at her profile.

“I woke up two hours before you did, grabbed some good coffee from a café down the street, and ran back to the hotel. My cup ran out, so I grabbed a shitty hotel cup. That’s when I grabbed breakfast,” she explained and you nodded, then realizing what she had meant.

“You only got two hours of sleep last night?” You asked and she shrugged.

“Eh, I’m fine, just a little tired, but one more cup will help with that,” she said, and you shook your head firmly.

“Hailey, no, when we get there, I’m making you take a nap, and don’t even try to argue with me!” You ordered, pointing a finger at her.

She gave you a fake pout, then an exaggerated sigh, “Fine.”

You thanked her, and waited while she drove there, turning on her playlist. A few One Direction songs came on, ones she claimed she didn’t know how they got on that playlist, but you loved it.

About fifteen minutes later, you pulled up near the back of the arena. Hailey parked the car, shutting the engine off. She turned to you, “Got your ID?”

You nodded, pulling it out of your purse to show her. She stepped out of the car, you followed shortly after.

It was weird, having her take the lead, you were the one who planned it, but she did a much better job of running it, she was in charge of executing it.

You both made your way to the gates, ringing a buzzer. The man requested to see your IDs, and let you in after clearing you.

Niall’s manager ran up to you, giving you a quick hug before instructing you where to go. You told them what you had told Hailey, and you made sure someone was making sure she slept.

You stepped onto the platform, waiting for your cue. Niall was performing right now. It was a small show, so he didn’t bother with any openers, giving them a paid night off.

He was talking to the crowd now, meaning you were about to be lifted up. Your palms began to sweat, so you resorted to wiping them on your skirt.

“Thank all of you so much for coming out tonight! As many of you know, today’s my birthday, and it means the world to be celebrating it with you all!” He shouted into the mic.

You adjusted your mic, clipped to your collar, and braced yourself when the platform rose.

Niall and everyone else must’ve noticed, because he went silent, the crowd roaring in confusion.

The smoke cleared to reveal you, an extra effect Niall’s manager insisted on having.

“Speaking of who you get to spend your birthday with,” you said, smiling at Niall.

His jaw dropped, and he stood frozen for a few seconds. The audience was cheering, screaming and you swear you heard someone in the first few rows crying.

Niall nearly dropped his guitar, deciding to gently set it on the ground instead. He ran over to you, immediately sweeping you up and spinning you around.

He set you down and pulled you into a tight hug, burying his face in your neck. “You actually came,” he said, and you nodded.

“Of course, I can’t leave you all alone on your birthday,” you bit your lip, pressing a quick kiss to the top of his head. “Happy birthday, bubs,” you placed your hand on his cheek, and he leaned into it, beaming at you.

“I love you,” he whispered, and you smiled back at him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“I love you too,” this caused the crowd to let out a collective ‘aw’, making both of you blush. You gently massaged his scalp, pulling away from his embrace. “I’m going to go backstage now, you finish this concert strong, I’ll be waiting,” you had taken off your mic, and whispered the last part in his ear.

He grabbed your arm and pulled you back to him, “Don’t you dare start without me,” he growled and you smirked, pulling away.

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t,” you bit your lip and he let out a small groan, “I’ll see you backstage,” you sent him a wink, making your way back to your platform, where you were lowered back down.

You were in for quiet the hell of a night.

———

Permanent Taglist: @everything-is-alrightt

(Lemme know if you want to be added!)

#niall horan x reader #niall james horan #niall horan x y/n #niall horan x you #one direction x reader #one direction #request #ask box

113 notes · View notes

hockey-prose · 4 years

Text

Bitty Breaks the Internet

Summary: The AC in Jack and Bitty’s apartment is broken. So what better way to beat the heat than go out on the water? Bitty wears a new swimsuit, Jack takes his picture, and the picture ends up online. (Cross posted to AO3.)

It all started with that blasted weather. Simply put, it was stifling. Bitty was used to dry Southern summers and slight humidity. But he wasn’t prepared for this years incredibly humid Eastern summer. It made it worse that the AC in his and Jack’s apartment was broken and wouldn’t be fixed until next week.

So, while the two of them were boiling in their apartment, Bitty got a text from his mama.

Mama: Dicky, why don’t y’all just rent a boat and stay near the water for a few days?

That’s a great idea! Thanks Mama!

“Jack, honey,” Bitty said, adopting his extra thick accent. He knew it meant Jack would give him anything he wanted because he was sweet on his Southern side.

“Yeah, bud? What’s up?”

Bitty sat up, allowing the washcloth soaked in ice water to fall to his lap. He looked to his fiancé across the couch from him. It was so hot that the only parts of them that had been touching were their feet and ankles. There were at least 10 fans angled towards them.

“How about we rent a boat for the weekend? It’s the off season for you, and my deadline isn’t until next week.”

Jack lowered his phone, revealing the hair plastered to his forehead. Bitty’s heart squeezed with love for his man.

“I don’t know how to drive a boat.”

Bitty smacked Jack gently on the thigh.

“I do, honey! I spent I don’t know how many hours on boats in Georgia. Good Lord, the sunburns I’ve gotten. The point is that I know how to drive and I could teach you.”

“Do we want to invite other people or just have it be us?”

Bitty thought. As much as he loved every one of their shared friends, it would be nice to be just the two of them. Quiet.

“I think just us for this first time would be nice. Just the two of us?”

Bitty heaved himself forward to slide between Jack’s open legs. Jack’s eyes widened, but he covered Bitty’s hands where he’d placed them on his chest. Jack hummed.

“I like the sound of that. Want me to see if I can find any boat rental places?”

“How about we look together, huh handsome?”

The week came and went, and on Friday afternoon, Jack and Bitty took to the water at Providence Marina. Turns out, Marty had a boat docked there and gave Jack the keys to use it. The cooler that was clutched in each of their hands contained beer, soda, chips, sandwich fixings, fruit, and lemon blueberry mini pies.

After everything had been situated on the boat, and they’d had an awkward conversation with one of Marty’s dock neighbors, Bitty pulled them out to sea. They didn’t go very far, just out of view of the docks, and dropped the anchor.

Bitty turned on his portable speaker to some soft pop music, stripped off his clothes, and began making house on the boat. He could hear Jack snapping pictures with his camera. A quick look revealed that the subject was him.

“Well, now, Mr. Zimmermann. Who said you could take pictures of me just before I was about to fix you a sandwich,” Bitty sassed, planting his hands on his hips.

Jack took the camera away from his face, a love struck smile on his lips. He was also shirtless, and had laid himself on the deck of the boat to get a good angle.

“Sorry, Bits, you’re just so gorgeous I couldn’t help it. That swim suit is definitely doing you a favor.”

Bitty felt his cheeks warm, and a smile cross his own mouth. He’d bought the suit as soon as the boat was secured. It was almost a Speedo with just a bit more length. The print on them was white with light and dark blue sail boats.

“Oh hush now.”

A click.

“Jack Laurent Zimmermann!”

The afternoon passed with Bitty alternating between sunning himself on the deck and taking dips in the water. Jack kept mostly on the boat, occasionally dipping his legs in when Bitty swam. By the time they pulled into the dock, his shoulders were bright pink and he winced when he lifted the cooler.

“I told you to put on some more sunscreen, honey. There’s some aloe at home, but it’s gonna take more than that.”

“Bits, bud, don’t feel too bad. I’ll wear sunscreen tomorrow and bring a shirt too.”

“You still want to go out tomorrow?”

The couple buckled themselves into Jack’s car.

“Of course, Bits. You looked like you were loving it out there. As long as it makes you happy.”

Bitty leaned across the center console and planted a kiss on the underside of Jack’s jaw.

“You’re so sweet, honey. As long as you’re up for it.”

By the end of the weekend, Jack had taken over 100 pictures. At least 50 of them were Bitty. There was a handful of scenery, other boats and the ocean. And then a few were of the two of them. One for each day. They had gotten progressively pinker as the days went on.

Sunday night, the couple went to a nice seafood just off the water before heading home to fall into bed for a restful night sleep.

Wednesday rolled around quietly, and Bitty woke to about a thousand notifications on his phone. Some were texts. Some were notifications on Twitter. By far the most notifications came from Instagram. Even though he’d made an account, Bitty barely posted to Instagram except to promote his cookbook.

Deciding to look at the texts first, he was greeted with no context chirps from his Samwell friends. All of them were about him in a swimsuit?

What?

Bitty continued to flick through his messages. There were individual messages from everyone on his former team, but also in the big “Haus 4.0” group chat.

Holster (Adam Birkholtz): dUDE BITTY MY GOD HOW HAVE YOU STAYED SO HOT????

Ransom (Justin Oluransi): Jack’s lucky that nobody saw your ass or the internet would be broken brah

Lardo (Larissa Duan): bro, bitty DID break the internet have you seen his insta and twitter??

Shitty (BS Knight): I swear on the gods above if Bitty was not single and I was not straight, I would sweep him off his feet

Nursey (Derek Nurse): chill. was truly a kim k moment for Bitty

Dex (Will Pointdexter): Love the confidence my dude. Was really a monumental picture tbh

Honey 💞: Can we not talk about Bitty like a piece of meat?

ERB: What on earth are y’all talking about?

Lardo (Larissa Duan): bits, you gotta check jacks insta first before you come in here and ask questions

So that’s exactly what Bitty did. Goodness knows where Jack was because he was not currently in bed with him. The last text he sent was at 8:45 am and it was now 9.

Instagram proved to be a tough navigator. Not because Bitty was media illiterate, but because the sheer amount of new followers he got prevented the app from running properly. After three app crashes, Bitty grew frustrated. He logged out of his public account and into his private one.

Once on his smaller scale Instagram, he searched Jack’s name. The most recent post was of their weekend relaxation trip. It was one of those collections of images. The first three were of the ocean, some seagulls, and the view from the front of Marty’s ship. The next six were of Bitty and Jack in various stages of couple poses. Somehow Jack had even managed to capture Bitty feeding him some grapes. But the last image was what set a fire under Bitty.

The picture was of that first day. Bitty was wearing his, now scandalous in his eyes, swim suit. His sunglasses were perched on the edge of his nose. You could see the heat he held in his eyes for Jack, who had been behind the camera. Admittedly, Bitty had not been thinking of his body image at the time of wearing that swimsuit. But now that he had attracted so much attention to himself due to his body, he figured a once over couldn’t hurt.

The Bitty in the picture had a firm stomach, no defined abs to speak of. What was the need for them? He was perfectly healthy. The cut of the swimsuit allowed the camera to see the faint lines that traveled down from Bitty’s hips past the line of his swimsuit. His hair was shining in the sun. The skin of the Bitty in the picture looked a little pale, but he had no qualms otherwise.

He looked good.

Putting the praise of his body aside, Bitty knew he needed to find Jack.

ERB: Thank y’all for your kind words. It means the world to me. Now I have to find Jack and have a word with him

Shitty (BS Knight): AAH SHIT JACKS IN TROUBLE WITH BITTY AHAHAHAHA

Lardo (Larissa Duan): pls don’t kill jack

Bitty locked his phone and went out into the living room. No Jack. The entire open concept apartment was empty. Bitty knew the bathrooms and home office were empty. The doors always stayed open unless there was someone in there.

As Bitty pondered how to find his fiancé, the door unlocked with a small click. Jack emerged with several bags of groceries in hand. Bitty assumed position with his fists on his hips, but this time around, it was not nearly as tempting.

“Jack Laurent Zimmermann.”

“Bits! Uh, hey.”

Bitty tapped a foot on the floor.

“Euh, I didn’t know that post would go viral. I tried to soften the blow by bringing home everything you’d need to stress bake.”

Bitty came forward, taking the bags from Jack and going to the kitchen.

“Crisse,” Jack muttered before following Bitty.

“Bittle? I’m really sorry.”

“I know,” Bitty replied, his tone light. “I’m not mad, Jack. I only wish you’d told me you were going to post that where my mother could see it.”

Jack made a groan of displeasure as he approached Bitty from behind. Firm, warm hands pressed themselves into Bitty’s hips.

“Sorry, Bits.”

“Stop apologizing, honey! I’m just gonna have to field a call from my mama. I don’t think this’ll be worse than the cup, but I guarantee my family will chirp her for the rest of time.”

Jack buried his nose in the crook between Bitty’s neck and shoulder.

“George said the PR was good. We didn’t really need any more positive additions, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“Well I certainly hope not,” Bitty said with a scoff. “You didn’t post a picture of me nearly naked on the Internet for nothing!”

Jack laughed, and Bitty followed not long after. Together the couple baked breakfast pastries and Bitty got his own revenge.

Jack’s picture was also shirtless, but he was wearing his sweatpants reserved for lounging at home. His arms and stomach were so much more than Bitty’s. He had a workout routine to keep up with.

Once again, the Internet broke because of Eric Richard Bittle.

#omgcp #zimbits #check please #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #lardo duan #shitty knight #adam holster birkholtz #justin ransom oluransi #omgcheckplease #eric richard bittle #jack laurent zimmermann #omgcp fanfic #omgcp fanfiction #check please!#my fic

213 notes · View notes

closer-stars · 4 years

Text

Good Thing - Mingi (1)

Member: Mingi Genre: A lil of drama, tension, fluff, maybe angst depending on how you look at it. Requested: Yes Word count: 8k Content: Dance team leader y/n. Basketball captain Mingi. Both of them are stubborn. Enemies to Lovers. Mentions of food. Mentions of near fainting. Mentions of tension. Academics. Slowburn. Notes: after a long creative block, I’m back once again with long fics. Divided this into two? three? parts. This was supposed to be short, what the fuck. Anyways, I hope this fits your expectations, anon! Please I didn’t expect this to be so long, but here we are. I was already itching to post something after so long so here we are.

[ Mountain ] Capt, the venue’s already taken. :(((

That wasn’t a good sign. You were in class when you received that message from your best friend. It was a good thing your professor allowed gadgets as long as it was used for note taking. In true student fashion, you lower your brightness just a bit as you switch tabs to reply to San.

[ You ] Look for the next best. I trust your decision. I can’t stay too long, prof might catch me not paying attention.

You close the tab quickly and catch up on what your professor discusses. Fingers fly across your keyboard as you continue to add additional connections and theories that aid in the discussion. Your best friend and your second co-captain, Wooyoung, was slightly struggling with keeping up with the note keeping, you were already sure that he would ask you for help.

[ Mountain ] Don’t kill me, Please. :c

That didn’t sound good.

[ Mountain ] 6-9pm. Court 2.

That is definitely not good. Before you could reply, the bell rings and a chorus of laptops closing, notebooks closing could be heard in the room. Your professor quickly reminds the class of an exam the following week along with other reminders that just fly through your ears.

“Did you catch what he said about brand identity?” Wooyoung asks as the two of you leave the classroom with heavy feet. Your coach had thought it was a good idea to have all of you go through house drills for the first half of the training last night. Fast forward to today, you and Wooyoung were struggling with walking. Even with just simple walking, Wooyoung would make pained whines.

“I got them. I’ll send you my notes when we get a seat somewhere. I want my coffee while I massage your old muscles.” The both of you found a good shady spot where you could discuss what to do in tonight’s training session as your coach had personal issues to deal with. “Can you message the team where our training’s going to be tonight? San said it’s at Court 2, 6 to 9 PM”

“Heh, six to nine and okay.”

“How mature of you. I’ll be back.” You (try to) jog to the vending machine as you get yourself a quick dose of caffeine. By the time you get back, taking small sips of the caffeinated bean water, Wooyoung stares at you as if he had realized something. “What?” You ask as you settle down next to him.

“Court 2? That’s the only available one left for tomorrow?” He asks.

You shrug. “It’s either we get free venues or we pay a meal’s worth for studio rentals.” You reason as you send your notes to the male. As a student-dancer, you knew how hard it was to get studios and have it come straight from your own pocket. The competition was three months away and you didn’t want the team’s finances to run dry this early.

“Can you at least try not to bite off Mingi’s head?” Wooyoung pleads, almost pouting.

Song Mingi is the team captain for your university’s basketball team. That said, he’s also often the face of the school due to his grades and being captain of the team. He also often got in your nerves whenever you cross roads. You’re also fairly popular in and out of school: captain of the dance team, often competing in outside school competitions, and even being featured in some big time gigs. The gigs paid the most for your bills.

You pat your lap so that he stretches his legs from the muscle pain. Careful fingers press on his muscles, causing him to yelp in pain. “Breathe, you baby. I’ll try my best.” You snort, clearly entertained by how low his pain tolerance can be outside dancing. “Tell San we’re in the usual spot if he wants to--”

“Ello!!”

Speak of the devil and he will appear. Your co-captain and best friend as well has appeared a few feet away. “Captain!” He calls out, once he could see your face. Him noticing Wooyoung first then you wasn’t a surprise anymore. These two often plot pranks on you during down time since your second year in the team, this was old news to you by now. “Captain, I’m really sorry. Court 2 was the only one available. The other team already got our first choice and-” he goes off, rapidly defending himself.

“San, it’s okay. I know how annoying that team is. Let’s just do our best tonight so we can take over the studio for finals okay?” You shake your head, understanding the issue. The dance competition had your own team versus other dance teams inside and outside the university. It was a big event that tickets to watch were always sold out.

“Please. I don’t think I can handle you snarking Mingi off when he tries to drop by.” San mumbles.

The thing is, Mingi and you had a handful of common friends. The expectation of his course, Business Administration, being more difficult than yours, a Media Arts student. His tendency to be just as stubborn and strict as you are in your respective fields made it hard for both of you to see eye to eye.

“I don’t think I’m ready to see their bitch face anywhere outside the stage.” Wooyoung mentions lightly. It was an obvious fear though. The amount of auditionees for your team each year was pretty hefty, the reason? Your friends had pretty faces. To put it simply, your resting bitch face is scary even if unintentional but an intentional one had a lot of people staying clear of you. To whom do you give the intentional one? Shallow auditionees and Song Mingi.

By the time you’ve eased the knots on Wooyoung’s leg, you’ve finished your coffee. “Guys, I promise I won’t fight him tonight.” You say with a sigh.

San just looks at you with a raised eyebrow.

You pout at him. “I promise! Besides tonight’s cleaning and drills. If I get distracted by that demon, give me the spiderman reps.” Wooyoung places his other leg on your lap, a cheeky grin on his features. A look of empty annoyance shoots from your eyes at him but you still do as he needs. Your two best friends give in with groans. It’s next to impossible to reason with you sometimes. It’s also your stubbornness that brought the team to the current greatness it had.

“Three sets of spiderman reps. After training.”

The bell rings, signaling your next class which was quite unfortunately, with the two of them still. San rises from his seat, your bag and laptop already in his hands as he waits for the both of you.

“Last class for the day.” He states as you take your belongings from him.

It’s going to be a long day for the three of you.

“Five minute break” The entire team’s breathless from the drills. Some of them walked off the burn, others drinking water, others opted to lie on the cool tiled floor. You were part of the first group. You bend your back a little to get rid of the soreness that was starting to wear on you. The burn on your arms and shoulders is already a familiar feeling to you but you still hate it. At least it means your body was getting stronger, if the burn only started to set in now. When you reach for your water bottle, you realize that it was already empty. “Fuck..” You groan as you look for a water refilling station.

The nearest one was near the basketball team’s court.

Whatever.

You make your way to the station, making sure that you would go unnoticed by the basketball team as they did their drills. So far, so good. No one paid attention to you as you fill your bottle up with water. That was until Jeong Yunho had noticed you.

“Hey! Are you training here too?” His warmth made it hard for you to despise him even if he was best friends with Mingi. Why couldn’t he be the captain instead?

Eyes shoot up and you’re greeted by his pink hair. You wave at him quickly then take a sip of water. “Hey Yunho! Yeah, Is the music too loud?”

He shakes his head, a few strands of hair covering his view. He pushes it back and it was there when you realize just why he had a large following. “Don’t worry about it. The guys appreciate a little music every now and then.” A sigh of relief slips through your lips. At least the volume isn’t too destructive for everyone. Why wasn’t he the captain instead?

“I have to go now. Good luck with your practice!” You bid goodbye quickly, your Mingi radar was going off.

Yes, you had a Mingi radar in your head.

When you turn on your heel, you are greeted by his stoic features. Even without words, the tension was pretty thick in the air. “Anyways,” you mumble onto your bottle as you try to walk past him.

“If you’re going to train in here too, being conscious of your noise would be helpful.” Mingi’s voice drips with deep annoyance towards you. You on the other hand, are trying your best not to do spiderman push ups so you just hum in response.

“When I talk to you, you speak.” He says, rubbing his temple in annoyance. It was moments like this that genuinely make you wonder how he is the face of the school when his attitude was absolute horse shit.

“Noted with thanks, Song Mingi.” You say simply. Yunho looks at the both of you in mild alarm. He was aware of your less than stellar relationship with his captain but he never saw how bad it was until today. Is it easy to keep your face from shooting lasers at the tall male? No but you were going to do your best. The two of you exchange steely gazes until both of you look away, stalking back to where your team was.

“What took you so long?” Wooyoung asks as he watches the rest of the team clean the choreography, with San leading at the back.

“Mingi tried to stall me.” You explain under your breath as you take your spot next to Wooyoung as your eyes keep an eye on their movements. With those who have been accepted, you weren’t as intimidating as you make yourself to be. You wouldn’t admit it openly, you viewed them as your family. You weren’t strict all the time, knowing when to have an iron fist and when to relax. Thoughts were drifting elsewhere that you found yourself gnawing mindlessly on your own water bottle as you watched everyone go through the choreography. Two blinks and you’re focused again. To the untrained eye, it already looked pretty good but to the three of you, you knew it could be better. The team holds the last post for a few counts before doubling over for air. “Catch your breath first then from the top. Seventy five percent energy but I want you guys to focus on your angles and extensions.” You state, much to the relief of some.

“Does this mean you’re going to have to do spiderman reps?” Wooyoung asks, trying his best to not show his excited smile at seeing you struggle. Little shit.

“If you’re looking forward to it so much, do it instead.” You shoot back with a smirk. You direct him to join the team in dancing with a quick jerk of your head to their direction. “Join the run. I want to see how you’ve been doing as well.” You stand up. “San! Join the team in the run. I want to see how the two do as well.”

That’s how the rest of the night goes: repeated countings, claps, and feet stomping to the beat, with the occasional cheering from members to keep the energy up. Before you let everyone go for the day, you asked for one more run of the piece to record. The only issue now is who to ask to hold your phone because all possible places for your phone were either too low or too dangerously high to be on its own.

You spot Yunho coming out of the basketball court with his bags. His training must have ended. “Jeong Yunho!” Your voice manages to surprise everyone with the volume. Who knew you could bellow at such strength? The tall male’s startled by your voice and walks over to you.

“I didn’t know you could yell that loud. Do you need help with something?” He notes bemused at such a feat.

“Training can do that. Can you record our run for us, please?” You raise your phone up, hoping he says yes. Everyone’s tired and so are you. His hand is outstretched and it makes you sigh in relief. “You’re the best.” You say. “Start recording when I press play.” The tall male gives you the okay signal as he raises the phone’s angle to make sure everyone’s seen in the screen. Bless his soul. He does as you told him. The run goes without a hitch, by now everyone knows to give their all in the last run to which they do. As your team dances, you notice a familiar brown mop of hair in the peripheral vision. ‘Focus.’ You force yourself to do so as you do your segment, all while cheering for the others who were starting to lose breath. He stands next to Yunho, watching your entire team dance. A small part of you hopes that he’s watching the team as a whole. Once the run was over, a few of the members drop their sore bodies to the floor, relishing the cool feeling of the cement. You dismiss the team, telling them to cool down and stretch on their own as it was late. You walk over to the angel and the demon, both with different emotions displayed on their features. “How was it?”

Yunho hands your phone back and flashes two thumbs up. “That was really cool! You guys really keep with your team’s legacy.”

Those words make you smile through the exhaustion that has set on your features. “Thank you, you probably have to go now since it’s late. Thanks again for helping us!” You wave him goodbye, doing your best to not look at the demon next to him that stares you down. Just as you were about to leave them be, he speaks up.

“You looked tired the entire time.” Mingi says with a shrug. “Gotta be an example to your members, y’know?”

Without looking back at the two males, you heave a sigh. You were tired and the stress for your team and academics was setting in. “Song Mingi, I really am in no mood to deal with your lack of a filter. Please just leave already.” Before you could stop yourself, you find yourself looking over the male. “You call yourself the captain when you’re here throwing unneeded comments. Please do reflect first on yourself before trying to fight me.” You say with a roll of your eyes as you take the chance to leave.

You don’t see Yunho drag Mingi away before he could say anything. You do see Mingi greet some members of your team and your two best friends as if he didn’t just try to rile you up. You also do see Wooyoung and San’s concern for you. “Don’t do the spiderman reps today. Just do it tomorrow.” Wooyoung immediately pipes up. He knows how you get when you’re angry, the last time you tried to do something out of spite, you sprained your wrist.

“Let’s just go grab some late dinner. I need food.” Your voice comes out breathier than usual. Too exhausted to bother keeping up a front as you wipe your sweat with the collar of your shirt..

The three of you were seated in a fast food chain, dietary plans be damned. You needed something filling and if it was going to be through nuggets, a burger and a big cup of iced coffee then so be it. You had your head in your hands. The two had taken cared of your order, both of them returning to your table with trays full of food and drinks.

“This is just so shitty..” you mumble, staring at your nuggets. “I have to deal with the mess the alumni left the team with. I mean, I don’t mind covering the expenses from the gigs I’ve done but it’s not going to be enough. Not being in a studio is already so..” you couldn’t continue your thoughts so you shove the entire nugget into your mouth.

“Don’t beat yourself up. You’re doing everything you can for the team.” San reminds you while he eats his burger. How he manages to fit what looked like a double decker in his mouth was still a mystery to you.

“The team already knows of the issue since day 1 and they know you’re doing everything you can.” Wooyoung adds gently. He hated seeing you be so tough on yourself.

Both of them were right but it doesn’t stop you from beating yourself up for having to do your best with tied hands. This isn’t a choreography where you could still move as freely even if you had your hands tied. This is real life with no practice.

“I know you’re still annoyed at Mingi’s comments but come on, he doesn’t dance. So don’t pay attention to him.” San reminds you, already halfway with his burger. Boys with their almost insatiable appetites without gaining that much weight is something.

You take a deep breath, pushing the strands of hair that cling to your face as you pull yourself together again. If you were going to cry, it wasn’t going to be here. “Fuck it. I’ll enjoy these nuggets. San, where are we training tomorrow?”

“Studio. Yeosang got us a discount.”

“Perfect. Also, make sure he stays in the team once I graduate. His strengths could be so good for house segments also that discount trick he has.”

“Don’t talk about leaving us yet!!” The two of them cry out at the same time, and by chance they harmonize.

“Don’t leave the dance team for the choir. Both of you are taking over my position.” You shoot back with laughter.

The next training comes and it’s a lot more peaceful for your head. Your coach was back teaching another segment for the entire time. Whenever your coach was around, you cut back on your jokes and made sure that everyone didn’t go too out of line with their ways to keep the morale up. The training session leaves everyone much more exhausted as compared to yesterday.

“Good job guys, you guys did a lot better compared to the last time I saw you. Let’s go for gold.” Your coach says as the three of you, along with Yeosang manage the payments. It’s that type of comments that make this entire competition season worth it. Once all the payments were settled, everyone was slowly going on their own separate ways to deal with their own requirements. Wooyoung and San were going to head to a computer shop to play for a game or two, how long that would be was unknown. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Don’t be late for our history class… Please.” You stated, knowing just how your professor was strict with attendance and tardiness.

San whines at you. “We won’t! We promise.”

Wooyoung interjects, “Call him an hour earlier, you know how he is in the mornings.”

You shake your head at their antics and wave them off. “Fine, see you guys.” You readjust your bag as you slowly make your back to your dorm. A long shower and a hearty meal were needed before you could focus on your papers. After you freshen up, you pick up your laptop and other essentials as you make your way to your usual coffee shop.

The staff in the coffee shop already knew you. The amount of late nights you spent here to catch up on your studies to the point where they have to tell you to leave as they were closing was innumerable. They also know your current situation just based on your orders. If your order of coffee is stronger than usual, you were most likely stressed. If you had a meal with your drink, you were going to be forcing yourself to finish your requirements.

You ordered a macchiato with an extra espresso shot and a sandwich.

By the time your orders came in, you were taking down notes from the reading on your screen. You thank the staff for bringing your order to you, probably having missed them calling your name from the adrenaline in your body to get all of these finished. It’s only when you look up that you catch sight of two familiar faces that were ordering. An exhale and you reach for your earphones. Once you find them you plug them into your laptop, going back to work.

An elbow jabs his side, and he pulls out his earphones, looking at Yunho with a miffed expression. “What? Yunho, there’s barely any free table here. Let’s just get our orders and leave.” Mingi grumbles. The spare tables were outside but that also meant being in the company of smokers. Yunho pays no heed to his best friend’s complaints and gestures to the table next to yours.

“That one’s free.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m just pointing it out! Besides, air con.” Yunho also adds with a grin. Since last year, his rivalry with you had become a little blurry. He doesn’t remember what the two of you constantly fought about at this point but he clearly knows he can’t stand your presence. His best friend on the other hand, wanted to change that before all of you go on your own lives.

The air con point was a strong one to fight against. Instead of fighting against it, he just grumbles and lets Yunho do as he wishes. At least if a fight breaks out between the two of you, he could point it at Yunho. The logical part of his head also reasons that if a fight breaks out, his reputation along with the school’s would be destroyed. He couldn’t win.

He waits for their orders off to the side, prolonging the inevitable of having to sit near you. Once their orders have arrived, he and Yunho carry them towards where you are.

A hand appears at your peripherals and you look at the owner. The recognition taking a while to set in. The dazed look in your eyes after being disturbed was a little amusing in his perspective.

“Hey, sorry for disturbing. Is this table free?” He asks with an apologetic smile.

Your eyes scan the entire coffee shop for possible places for them to stay just so they don’t disturb you. All tables were taken. “Uh yeah sure, go ahead.” With that, the two boys sit next to your table as you go back to your work.

Thankfully, the boys leave you be as you continue to write and read. When you let own a yawn, you knew you had to give yourself a bit of a break. You pull out your earphones as you start eating again to give your brain a break. You look at your list of things to do and a little bit of relief sets in when you manage to finish a good portion of what can be finished tonight.

“About time you ate.”

That was enough to cause you to choke on your coffee. You look at the source of the voice and it was Yunho, who was obviously amused with your reaction.

“Did I scare you?”

“You’re still here?!” You ask incredulous, when you shift your gaze to your front, you were greeted with the devil. Mingi obviously looks like the reading material isn’t much of an interest, not that you could blame him. A small tinge of sympathy sets in you when you realize his notebook was filled with calculations. Yuck.

Yunho tilts his head in confusion then nods. “Yeah, we have an exam coming up.” The male peeks over his laptop to see that Mingi was on a different topic. “I thought you were studying for history.”

“Marketing had more things for me to deal with.” The other states in a flat voice as he continues to spin his pen.

That’s when you notice that there were some eyes on your table, to be specific, on Mingi. It made you a little thankful that you weren’t as out there in the public as he was. It didn’t change the fact that you feel a little bad for the both of them. “Is this under Professor Hwang?” You ask as you catch sight of a familiar reading on Yunho’s laptop.

“Yeah! Did you take it already?” This causes both pairs of eyes to land on you.

“I took it earlier today. Do you guys need help?”

That was enough to make Mingi lean a little forward, for Yunho to look a little more awake. “Are you sure? You’ve been working hard with your own thing.” Yunho reasons carefully. Your to-do list reaches your view again and you take a moment to gauge how good you can juggle your work and theirs. As much as you despised Mingi, Professor Hwang’s anger was something you’d rather everyone avoids.

“When’s your exam?” By now, your gaze has shifted to your laptop screen as you try to look at your schedule.

“Friday..”

“Give me your schedules.” You say, giving Yunho your contact details. “Both of your schedules. I’m already thinking of how to squeeze you into my schedule.” The two boys look at each other in surprise but they give you their schedules, your tone left no room for any opposition. No wonder you were the captain. No wonder people are intimidated by you. Mingi found it impressive.

“I’ll message Yunho when and where to meet me. We can’t meet during the day, tell me immediately. If both of you want a study session after our respective trainings that work too. Just keep in contact with me with any update.” It wasn’t a request. It’s an order.

You didn’t even notice that Mingi had pulled his hoodie down to look at you properly. Your attention was too focused on what Yunho was talking about regarding the coverage. None of you really intended to do so but you eventually were giving them tips on how to study for her exam, and they promise-- well more of Yunho promises to make it up to you after.

“Excuse me, We’re about to close up for the day.” the staff informs gently as he goes to the next table that still had people poring over their books.

With that, the three of you pack up your things. You finish the rest of your coffee. 3AM. You have 5 hours of sleep left to last through the day. “I’ll see you both depending on your schedules.” It was a reminder for Yunho to send their schedules and he does immediately. You bid them goodbye, as you leave the coffee shop on your way back to your dorm.

“So they put away their rivalry with you, Mingi.” Yunho notes with a glance at the male who put his hood up once more. He hums in response. To others, he might as well have ignored his best friend for the comfort of his own thoughts. Yunho knows better. Mingi just wasn’t the type of guy who openly admits his thoughts.

“If we’re studying with them later, can we choose a spot where no one’s looking at us.” He mumbles. Yunho felt for the guy. He didn’t want the role of captain, wanting to just play basketball with a team. Yet being the captain also meant that he would eventually become the face of the university and potential love calls from potential sponsors. The poor guy could barely focus on his studies without having strangers oogle at him when he was outside university grounds.

“Will tell them.” Yunho returns as the two make their way to their own apartment.

You reach your room after freshening up. 3:15AM. You were definitely going to need a strong cup of coffee throughout the day. A reminder to call San when you wake up was prepared. With that, your sleep was swift.

The cursed wind chime alarm jolts you out of your slumber. 8AM. A curse elongated by a dry groan escapes your lips. As you wash your face, you call San’s phone. “Pick up the phone, you sleepy butt.” You mutter as you prepare for your day.

He finally answers the phone though with a whine that pleads for more sleep.

“Get up. We can’t be late for class.”

His whines could’ve been mistaken for cries but you hear the sheets ruffle under his movements.

“I’ll buy you a donut, San. Just please get up and get ready for class.” The things you do for your friends.

“I’m up, I’m up. Can you get the birthday cake version please?”

“I’ll buy it after class, so you better show up.” You hang up just in time for a message to come in.

[ Yunho ] we’re free at 2-4 pm and 10-2am later!

[ You ] I can help 2:30-4 meet me by the benches near the chemistry department.

The class goes by painfully slow but you give San the money for the donut. Before he could complain that he wanted you to buy it for him, you quickly cut to the chase. “I just need to help someone with their studies until 4. See you guys later.”

You arrive at the benches with a sandwich in your free hand. No sign of the two boys yet, so you choose a bench away from prying eyes but visible enough for the two to see you. With some time to spare still, you take a few bites of your sandwich as you look through the notes as a refresher. The shuffling of feet against the pebbles and grass catch your attention. Did you expect Mingi to come first? Maybe this exam really meant a lot for him.

“Yunho’s following shortly. He just had to use the restroom.” He explains when he notices your wandering eyes. That shuts you up as you give him a polite nod, letting him settle on the bench opposite you.

“I think you forgot something.”

When did he strike conversations with you? He hands you your earphones then rubs the back of his neck.

“You left before Yunho or I could catch you.”

Your jaw drops slightly at the sight of your favorite earphones. How could this have slipped your mind? This pair was your favorite and your most used due to your activities. “Oh my god. Thank you for taking care of it.” There was no hint of underlying annoyance in your voice as you kept them in your pocket.

Just then, Yunho jogs towards where the two of you are, sitting next to you. “Sorry to make you wait!” Mingi lets out an exasperated sigh, as he brings out his notes.

“It’s fine. Let’s get started now cause I don’t think we’ll have any strength to study later.”

That’s how the ninety minutes go by. Quizzing the two guys on certain topics while giving them tips on how to do well for the exam. It’s not in you to spoon feed them the answers, and even if you did, the exam was half multiple choice and half essay. With every right answer they gave, you would smile brightly and nod. The smile seems a lot brighter around Yunho, when it came to Mingi your smile was a mix of pride and surprise. Not that you thought Mingi slacks off on his studies, he just seems like the type to not pay attention to things that don’t interest him.

Mingi also notices how you seem to open up when things go smoothly. Almost the entire time, your eyes were on Yunho as he carried the conversation with questions and clarifications over the topic. When he hears his question on the connection of the uprising to succeeding events, he pipes up.

“Wait, Yunho. That’s not part of the coverage, also, a totally different event.. You confused it with the other one.” Mingi explains, brows slightly scrunched as he explains the event to the best that he can from memory.

You look at him with an impressed smirk. He definitely had brain cells that give him the credit that he deserves. You gesture to him as you shift your gaze back to Yunho. “There’s your answer.”

Just like that, the bell rings, telling all students that the ninety minutes is over. The broody male is the first to pack his things up, thanking you under his breath. The pink haired male on the other hand, thanks you profusely and waves goodbye to you as they head to their last class.

You don’t realize the breath you were holding until they left, eyes drop to the earphones that Mingi had returned to you. It’s a nice change you suppose, as compared to all the daggers you’ve thrown at each other.

Today’s training was held in the same place. Court 2. You could hear the basketballs bouncing against the court floor along with the squeaks of rubber shoes against the floor. If you listened carely, you could hear Mingi cheering for the other members as they continued with their drills. You had your own drills too. This drill being new choreography. The team was picking up the new choreography faster as compared to the past. Those who weren’t part of the segment your coach was teaching were off to the side, cleaning what they know. San and you were part of the group that was learning the new segment. Both of you being the centers. The choreography is admittedly trickier. You didn’t think you’d be doing krumping next to San but here you are. Your group goes through it over and over as your coach directs on how and where to execute the movements. Occasionally, your coach would ask some of you to try a stunt or trick. He wants the gold as much as the entire team and it sometimes reaches the point where he forgets he’s leading student-dancers.

Your group was gasping for breath afterwards that you had to remind your coach to check on the others and teach the other segments that need to be taught. It worked and it gave your group some more time to breath and rehydrate themselves. Only five weeks left. Ideally, after this week would be intensive cleaning and minor editing. Everyone already had the mix but your coach constantly would try to change little things. Were you worried that this would be rushed and cost the team a place in the top three? Definitely. Being an overthinker and having a coach who was just as bad, if not worse wasn’t helpful. You thanked Wooyoung and San for reminding him of the logistics and reality of things.

The next few hours go quickly and everyone is admittedly, surprised and relieved that they finished the piece. San gives you a quick massage to relax your nerves as your coach asks the team to do the entire piece, cleanliness not really being something he’d look into for now. The entire number goes by with a few road bumps, none of which he seems to mind. At least he had mercy after being reminded, and by the last run, everyone lets themselves crumple to the ground. Training was officially done for the day. Everyone pays their share for the coach for the day then leaves. Wooyoung and San help you gather the payments then leave quickly, both having to cram papers that were due in two hours.

This leaves you and your coach alone.

“When is the team going to pay? I need the money too.” You knew where he was coming from. His family had some health issues that had to be dealt with, it was why he didn’t come the other day. You’ve been pestering the team the past few days in the chat for their share, some of them always pushing it back. Your body wanted nothing but to eat something then sleep. Even if you had your gigs as a source of income, it was enough to get you by. With how your coach urgently needed the money and how you couldn’t think clearly, you caved. You ask for his bank account details and right there, you transfer the money to his account from yours. You put the phone screen to his eye level to show the proof of transfer.

“There.” You say, waiting for him to notice the proof before packing up your things. He nods and you try to keep a note to raise your talent fee in order to make ends meet. He thanks you for the payment and as he was about to discuss another matter regarding the team, he gets a call which you assume is from his family.

“I have to go. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

You nod, bidding him goodbye before packing up your things. Holy fuck you were hungry and stressed. Studies, dance and now money? Of all times it had to be when it was near hell week? You want to cry.

“What are you doing here? It’s late.” Mingi asks, his tone clearly not helping you in your current predicament.

“What, I can’t stay here now? Is this your territory, Song Mingi?” A groan slips from your lips, but at this point it just sounds like a growl. “I can’t let myself catch my breath here?” You spit out. For once, his eyes widen at your venom.

“I’m asking because it’s already midnight. You know how the streets outside can be a little dangerous at this hour.” He’s exasperated. A small part of him can’t get himself to be his usual self around you after having helped him in his studies.

You immediately stand up from your spot, about to give him a piece of your hazy mind. Only, when you stand up, you feel the blood suddenly rush and your head spins for a moment. You lose your balance in that moment and the man knows better than to say anything that could make this worse.

Maybe it was because of his long limbs that you’ve come to be envious of, or his quick reflexes from his basketball history, regardless he manages to hold you up before you crumple to the ground. His finger gently pulls your lower eyelid down to peek at the color of your eyes. Pale pink. You need to eat and drink something fast.

“You need to eat.” He states, holding your bag with his free hand as he tries to keep you up.

You knew that you weren’t really fine but you still had some sort of want for self preservation that you let out a weak lie. “I’m fine.”

��No you aren’t.” The chances of you putting up a fight were low so you let him guide you to the nearest food chain.

It was the same fast food chain you go to with Wooyoung and San every post training. You couldn’t get yourself to look at the menu, the smell of meat, fried strips of potato and grease were overwhelming you. The bright lights made you want to shut your eyes. He notices this and brings you first to a booth far from the noise of people. “Stay here.” He doesn’t know why he said that, you were in no position to go anywhere else as you bury your features in your arms. He crouches down to your hunched level. “Do you want anything in particular?” You shake your head weakly. “I’ll buy you something okay?” You just nod. No strength in you to say that you didn’t want him to pay for you, that you were broke, that you just wanted to go home and sleep.

The time he was off buying your meal, you were floating in and out of consciousness. You reach for your water bottle, to finish what was left before the food came. All that was left were two mouthfuls of water which you suppose could stave off the hunger pains. As you wait for Mingi, you fish your phone out from your bag as you message the team to remind them of their unpaid dues. Your next gig wasn’t going to be until after this competition. Could you juggle a gig within the next five weeks while dealing with your student duties? Probably not but it is being considered.

Mingi arrives shortly with a tray full of food for you and him. “I owe you.” You mumble as you straighten up at the sight of food. He shakes his head as he hands you a double burger, orange juice, and ice cream. For him, a burger, nuggets, ice cream and coke.

“You need this. Call it even, you’re helping me with my exam.”

You stare at him for a moment then look at the meal. You were hungry and you couldn’t stop yourself from digging in anymore. The size of the burger makes it a little tricky for you to take big bites, forcing you to take small bites slowly. All of which was Mingi’s plan. After seeing how pale and weak you were, having you eat quickly all of a sudden wasn’t going to be good for you.

“H-hey, is everything okay?” Mingi asks, alarmed as he hands you some tissue to wipe your cheeks with. “You’re crying.”

The pad of your thumb brushes against your cheek and you could feel the wetness of your thumb. You take the tissue from his hands as you wipe your eyes. “I guess it’s the stress.” You mumble. It still hasn’t set in that you’ve reached your limit and you’re just wiping away the tears as they come.

“Wanna talk about it?” He offers. For tonight, he puts aside the sour relationship he has with you.

So you do. Through the tears and food, you share what’s been causing you distress. The internal issues of your team thanks to the alumni’s mishandling of the finances. The financial issues of having to cover some of those issues with your own money. Your academic workload. The pressure of being a captain when you feel like you just became one because there was nobody else willing to take on the role. Along the way, you ended up admitting your jealousy towards Mingi: how the school tends to favor the basketball team as compared to the arts and dance teams, how he’s doing so well as a captain, how finances is the least of his worries for the team.

That takes him by surprise. The entire time he’s been giving you hell, you’ve been going through your own hell. The idea of internal financial issues never crossed his mind, though that was mostly due to the fact the school covers the expenses for travel and what not. Along with the sponsorships his team receives from sports brands. While he was so caught up in his own jealousy towards you, he didn’t realize that you had your plate just as filled as his, if not heavier. He says nothing, opting to eat his food as you unload everything you’ve kept from everyone. It was obvious from how affected you were, just how passionate you are for this field and to be disregarded, disrespected and be the one to clean up after the mess would clearly take a toll on anyone. He watches you carefully, you’ve stopped crying but your eyes were puffy. It takes a while before you take a deep breath and that was a sign you finished with your tirade.

“Are you open for my own thoughts or is it better if I just listen?” He finally asks after finishing his burger.

You let him take the floor this time as you continue eating your burger.

Here, he admits his wrong doings to you. Just as you were jealous, so was he. Jealous of how you could keep a low profile despite having performed in front of so many people over the years. How he thought you were doing well in juggling your academics with your workload. How you could manage a team as the sole captain, even if Wooyoung and San were your co-captains. He also admits how he thought your team was doing well in terms of finances considering the clothes you have for the performances. Along the way, he apologizes for having added to your hardships. “If you guys need help with financial stuff, just tell me.” Maybe the words passing around of how rich his family was true.

You stare at the male, your drink halfway to your mouth. That was enough to make him backtrack his words. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Instead of saying anything that could worsen the situation, he just opts to eat the rest of his food in silence.

For the first time that night, you chuckle at his actions. Fingers brush through your hair as you push away the strands that block your vision. “I’ll think about the offer. Thank you though for it.”

For the first time, he actually shoots you a genuine smile. He walks you back to your dorm, not minding to carry some of your things. It was a quiet walk, not that any of you minded, at least this silence was comfortable as compared to the tensed ones of the past.

Once you reach your place, you take your bags from him. “Don’t forget tomorrow okay?”

He stares at you, confused at what prompted you to say such. A few seconds pass and it clicks. “Ah! Yeah, we’ll be there, same place?”

You nod as you unlock your door. “Get some sleep Mingi. It’s been a long night.” You bid him a good night with another smile before retreating into the safety of your abode.

The male realized that your smiles seem to make him feel odd emotions.

The following day goes by quickly. You manage to do alright in your exams and presentations-- though a good portion of your presentation being candid. You go through your usual routine of buying your lunch as you wait for the two in the same spot.

You didn’t expect Mingi to call your name out, especially in disbelief. Yunho following him shortly. “What’s the occasion?” Yunho asks as he eyes your business formal attire. You look down at yourself and you realize that they are probably more accustomed to your casual wear and training clothes.

“Oh, presentations. Some of my professors are particular about the attire so…” you trail off with a shrug. “Anyways, let’s get started before you need to go to your next class.”

You twist your questions a little more this time, testing their memory and understanding of the events. They manage to answer your questions with ease, even going as far as connecting the events to events that happen after. Your heart swells with pride and confidence. If they pass the exam, they were going to do so with flying colors.

The bell rings and it’s the same old once more. “That concludes our last session. You’ll do great tomorrow.” You say as you give them a standing ovation. Yunho was the first one to react.

“Whaaat, it’s that fast?” He whines with a pout. With your attention sole on the faded pink male, you don’t catch Mingi’s mixed expression. Just when the two of you were getting along, both of you were going back to your own lives. “We won’t see you anymore?” He asks, almost like a child whose lollipop was taken from them.

“Boys, you got class. You’re going to be late!” So you shoo them off. Mingi nods and stalks away, Yunho waving to you as he jogs after Mingi.

“You think we’ll do okay tomorrow?”

“We’ve been studying for this more than needed. We better, man.”

You watch them jog towards their next class until San notifies the group chat of their venue for the upcoming days.

[ Mountain ] Hey everyone! We’re using the studio for the remaining weeks starting today! ^^

[ Welsh Corgi ] fries are on us every pre-training so be there early!

[ You ] *only on wooyoung and san :p

Who knew that today was going to be the last day you’d see Mingi and Yunho?

Part 2

#ateez scenarios #ateez fluff #ateez angst #mingi fluff #mingi scenarios #mingi angst #ateez x reader #song mingi #mingi #my writings #unedited ish #will edit it when i wake up #i only got 18% on my laptop #i was already itching to post something so here we are #anyways i'm kind of 75% done with part 2

165 notes · View notes

nitannichionne · 4 years

Text

If He Was YOUR Fan Chapter 19: The Cavill Challenge (Henry Cavill Fan Fic)

CHAPTER 19: The Cavill Challenge

You are waiting. You didn’t go to the Durrell challenge, even though Henry asked you to over and over. You hadn’t trained for it, and you just weren’t ready for a 13K run. And then, in a public social setting for the first time was something you weren’t ready for. You couldn’t tell him that for some reason. People had seen you around town, but not necessarily together. You went shopped with Stella, even hit the pub once with her:

“Who’s your friend?” a man asked Stella one weeknight. When Stella shook her head, he turned to you. “What’s your name?”

“Piss off, Lars,” Stuart warns.

“Ah, come on, a name, if only to say hello?”

You glance at the good looking man, noting his size and good looks, but say, “Taken.” You turn back to your drink.

“Ah, like your friend, Hannah?” he asks, looking at you both. “Mentally dating Henry Cavill or something?” He laughs. “Hey, Archer! This one says her name is Taken.”

“She truly is,” Archer nods, his arm curling around Hannah. Her eyes harden at you, but you are grateful that neither tell more than they should.

“If Archer can’t be a nice consolation, why can’t I, love?”

You sigh. You pull out your phone and start paying attention to it. You check messages. You expect none from Henry; he was probably fast asleep. You feel like this is a mistake now. You went out with two couples and even though Stuart and Stella assured you wouldn’t, you feel like fifth wheel.

You look around Henry’s home: You bought a mat to go in front of the fireplace. You have lavender lotion at the ready. You bought Egyptian cotton sheets for his bed, determined to make up for your disappointing him for not coming to the Durrell Challenge run. Your phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

You recognize Stella’s voice. “Stella?”

“Everyone knows that Henry’s going to a pub at the end of his race,” Stella whispers. “It looks like every girl in the town is here!”

Your breath hitches. “There can’t be many—”

“Does there have to be?”

The line clicks off, and you feel a panic. You trust Henry right now, but is it too early in the relationship to when he has so many options? He went out with an actress for twelve days once. You more than beat that record, but…?

You tense...right now, you shake your head at your own thoughts. You should be there to show support of what he believes in. You realize your needing more time to adjust to a public eye, even a small one like a town near the movie set, might be unrealistic and selfish. There will be more eyes from here on out, you deduce. This is as good as a springboard as any. This could mark the sunrise of your time as Henry’s lady friend, and let’s face it, you wanted to stay private so that when he tired of you, your heartbreak could be the same as it set.

What if it doesn’t? What if it does because of this decision?

You take a breath. If he was any other guy, you knew you’d meet him at the finish. Chastising yourself for your mistake, you run to the mirror. Ugh, not like this!

You look into your backpack and the athletic bag left at Henry’s, biting your lip as you pull together an outfit: A teal sports bra top, black leggings and a black form-fitting jacket that accents your curves. You do your facial treatment, determined not to wear makeup, looking fresh faced, and then apply mascara and lip gloss for good measure. Eyes and lips matter on stage, and everywhere else for that matter. After pulling your ponytail through the back of your baseball cap, you walk outside and grab your mountain bike, looking at Henry’s. He bought one, saying he would ride with you one day, but not as of yet.

You load your leg pack, fill and put on a Camelback pack and take off. This is an ten mile ride. He’s running and then stopping at the pub miles from there. You have to move it! You put your earpiece in. “Call Stella.”

“Calling Stella.”

You wait as the line rings.

“Hey!”

“Where is he?”

“I hear he is less than halfway,” she says in a low voice. She listens to your breathing. “Where are you?”

“On my way,” you pant softly.

“You’re biking, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“You brought your headlights, right?”

“It’s broad daylight, but yes, Stella, I did.” You steer to the right, letting cars go by. “Don’t tell him I’m coming, alright?”

“Alright.”

You click off, and increase speed.

An small SUV goes by and you swerve, going off the road and purposely falling into the bushes to avoid rolling and falling into trees below at the bottom of a small ravine. You have cycled in snow and rain and wind and it pays off, only feeling a little bumped, maybe bruised. You try to see the license plate as you walk your bike back on the road but it is gone by the time you think to even do it, a bit unsettled by the near accident. Time passes and you see the town square opening up to you. It’s not very big, but big enough. You see quite a few SUVs parked, and they all look the same. It dawns on you that these are rentals and probably from the movie set. Could someone have tried to hit you?

You see Henry’s truck parked and go to it. You hitch your bike to a sign post and walk to the pub door. You take a deep breath and try to smooth yourself over. You can’t look all that together after a ten to twelve mile ride, but you made it. You nod respectfully to the man at the door who opens it and step inside.

You scan the place. He’s not there! You hear your name called and see Stella waving you over frantically. You speed over to her.

“He’s running at a park near here,” Stella says softly. “Cindy says his finish line is not in town, but four miles away.” She holds her phone and shows you where it is. “He met others here and they all drove to the start. You might not make it—”

You aren’t listening. You’re gone.

You hop on your bike, put the name of the place in your phone and hit the road again, this time putting the rubber drinking tube in your mouth to get water from your pack since you didn’t drink anything at the bar. You are solidly counting on Cindy’s information and the Google Map God. You take a cleansing breath and push on. You put on music as you listen to the English Siri tell you what to do.

You bike a trail in the natural park as you reach it, and your memory sparks at what you see before you in Instagram photos. You are in the right place, and this fuels you. Now that you know, the posts and the trail map are your best friends. Deductive reasoning tells you which paths to take, as there are a few turns, but you are making it.

Finally you reach a clearing, and you see Henry and security as well as a few people from work all laughing and smiling, drinking water in the distance. You stop short, watching him. You said you weren’t going and now you’re here?! How will he take that?! You use your time to catch your breath, unsure what to do, and insanely contemplating turning around as he takes a selfie of himself and Kal.

Henry calls your name. You stand still, gripping your handlebars and smile, but your stomach is doing flip flops while your heart is in your throat. What a time to reconsider—

“You came?!” He is grinning. “Oh my God, you came!” He starts toward you with Kal trailing behind and you walk your bicycle to meet him. “You biked here?”

“Knee injury, don’t run anymore, I told you,” you pant, tapping your knee which is in a brace. “but I wanted to be here to support you, being by yourself, but you’re not by yourself—” He smiles and you feel heat creep up your cheeks, taking a deep breath as your mouth goes dry. “I just wanted to be there for you.” That sounds stupid, all of a sudden. The man is fully confident and able to do whatever he wants whenever he pleases. “That sounds crazy, doesn’t—” He shuts you up with a kiss and you feel his arms encircle you as yours settle on his shoulders.

“Thanks for wanting to support me,” he says softly, his voice taking on that purr that just makes your knees go weak. His hand cradles your face as his thumb caresses your cheekbone. He looks down again rocking your body with his hips, which seem to be naturally aligning with yours. “You biked here?!”

“Yeah!” you laugh happily. “I used to bike all the time back home, good way to integrate exercise into the day.

“On these roads?!” He frowns. “That’s not easy.”

“It’s not that hard,” You retort, knowing you’d do it again for the warmth you’re feeling from him now.

He takes your bike and steers it with one hand, holding yours with the other and guides you toward his running party.

“So did you do this on purpose?” he asks. “Surprise me, I mean.”

“Actually, no,” you shrug. “I was setting up a nice spa night at your place—”

“Spa?!” he repeats with a raise of his eyebrow. “Spa? Like massage and bath?”

“I was about to make you something to eat when I changed my mind,“ You say apologetically. “but it can wait, I can make—”

“We’ll have a drink and some supper,” he says quickly. “then head back.”

“I thought—”

“Now I’m the one who can’t wait,” his says softly, his blue eyes changing to a shade that takes your breath away. He makes introductions to people you have seen and were never introduced to, his arm going around you as a warming symbol of his affection and protection. Everyone seems friendly enough and you wonder what you were worrying about.

Thanks for the support and comments! Feel free to follow or IM me to be tagged.

@mistress-of-ward @nuggsmum @messyinsomniacbookgirl @jencanbeyouryengeralt @sweetdreamsofgelato @maryann84 @omgkatinka @the-soot-sprite @viking-raider @keanureevesisbae @henryobsessed @summersong69 @kinbhot4henners @sunshine96love @michelehansel @radofrivia @thelastsock @michelehansel @tumblnewby @henryobsessed @defffcc @tenaciousneckpartypainter @rn7rocksn @mrskikkirazz @daydreamin83 @ruthoakenshield @musicartmayheminmyheart @michelehansel @tumblnewby @henryobsessed @defffcc @tenaciousneckpartypainter @rn7rocksn @mrskikkirazz @daydreamin83 @ruthoakenshield @musicartmayheminmyheart @mis-lil-red @kaatelyynn @forallthebrokenheartedthings @alphacancrii @liquorlaughslove @designerewriterchic

Looking forward to hearing from you! Enjoy and feel free to check out my master lists for my other Cavill fan fic stories!

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #superman #geralt #henry cavill fluff #henry cavill smut

86 notes · View notes

hailbop1701 · 4 years

Text

Only The Beginning

Chapter 4: My Bad...

Alas, another filler chapter. The reader finally meets Dorian! The bickering and fluff is on point my friends and I hope I got enough tension in there for you. If not there will definitely be more in coming chapters!

Thank you to my lovely Beta Reader @toppysammy! 🥰

-H❤🖖

John’s grip is tight on your upper arm. Wincing slightly, you allow him to lead you over to his car. A handsome-looking android casually leans up against the passenger side door with his arms crossed. He looks at you curiously, obviously scanning you for ID; you give him a little smile when he doesn't come up with anything. John yanks open the backseat and shoves you in.

“Rude,” you mutter, straightening in your seat and pulling your messenger bag close. Looking into the bag, you check on the heavy drive that is nestled inside. It has a small crack but otherwise is undamaged. Sighing in relief, you blow a strand of hair out of your face. Both car doors open up in front and the two detectives get in, bickering.

“Come on, John, you can’t be serious.”

“You heard what they said; rogue android turned on the security team.”

At that, you sink down in your seat feeling more guilty than before. John’s android partner rolls his electric blue eyes. “Security," he scoffs, "more like black market mercenaries. One of those men had a rap sheet longer than your attention span,”

You choke on a laugh as John sputters and glares at the DRN; you had heard about this model, but it's a wholly different experience to meet one. John shoots you a hard look in the rearview mirror.

“You wanna tell me what the fuck happened?” he barks, turning around in his seat so he can fully scowl at you. Clearing your throat, you think over your words carefully. To give yourself more time, you hold out a hand and introduce yourself to John’s partner.

“I’m John's friend--” you glance at said man; he's losing patience. Grimacing, you amend, “I think…”

The android smiles kindly and takes your hand, “Dorian, John’s partner.” His deep and polite voice puts you at ease.

Pulling your hand away, you look back at your angry best friend warily. You mull over what happened for a second before opening your mouth to explain, “Well, I figured out what happened to Julia Lawson, and it wasn’t suicide,” you jerk your head in the direction of the building.

“The creepy death squad murdered her and staged it to look like a suicide. Which, by the way, was completely obvious; they did a horrible job. Whoever had the case was paid off to keep it clean-cut and closed."

Both men in the front seat looked shocked. “You mean you figured this out in, what, three hours?” John asks with a raised eyebrow. You simply shrug, “I have no red tape I have to constantly cut through. I talked to Julie's brother; he told me what I needed to know and I figured out the rest by using the internet. Breaking in was easy--”

John cuts you off mid-sentence with a warning. He pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing out his frustration. Dorian looks at you like you're an entirely new species; fascination, amusement, and disquiet all flick across his face. Biting the inside of your cheek, you watch the two carefully.

“Look, Julie stumbled upon something very big and I think you should know about it,” you offer, holding out your bag like an olive branch. John watches you closely for a moment before taking the bag and looking inside.

“A hard drive?” he asks skeptically, pulling it out and handing it over to Dorian to peruse. You shrug and gave a smirk, “I downloaded everything I needed on to that thing; Julie’s ‘suicide,' who ordered it, and the plans Julie overheard that caused her death in the first place.”

Dorian plugs into the drive and the more information he obtains, the deeper his frown gets. “This is very...wrong,” he says with a wrinkle of his nose.

You grimace, “Yeah, I forgot about that part; it’s also about Speartips. Horrible name for a private tech company by the way; it's the CEO getting down and dirty with underage interns and paying them extra to keep quiet.”

Dorian stops looking through the drive and hands it back to John without a word. The android’s eyes are as hard as his partner's. John looks back to you, anger still in his gaze. Sighing, your shoulders slump. “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t mean to get caught by the mercs. The android was a new addition,” you defend quickly.

“You threw him out a window,” John points out, losing patience with you.

You throw up your hands, “HE started it! At least his body didn’t hit anyone."

John groans and shakes his head, “Pushing anybody off the fortieth-something floor is bad!” he scolds, starting the car. You scowl at John and cross your arms childishly, “Well, I didn’t like getting choked out. I panicked."

John winces at your words, his posture changing from tense and angry to sad and sympathetic. “I’m sorry, I know you wouldn’t have done any of that if you didn’t have to,”

Dorian’s attention jumps back and forth between you and John, his eyes widening as he connects the dots. “You’re the one who--” he cuts himself off and looks at his human partner.

John sighs heavily and taps his thumb against the steering wheel anxiously, “This is where the whole trusting me thing comes in.” He looks over at the DRN pleadingly. Dorian stares at John for a nano-second before nodding and keeping silent about the whole thing. He was no doubt currently wiping your presence from everything involving what just happened. From camera feeds to bystanders, taking pictures and selfies of the chaos.

“I really am sorry,” you mumble, feeling guilty for more than just putting John in the position that he's now in. Your best friend looks at you in his rearview mirror.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, his shoulders slump just a touch. “I know. You’ve been away from people--well, civilian people for a while. You have to be more subtle from now on, though, alright?”

You grimace at John’s words but nod anyway, agreeing to what he's saying. This is his home after all. He built a life here; and here you were, wreaking havoc in that home like a maniac.

“What now?” you say in a voice just slightly above a whisper. Dorian glances over at his partner, wondering the exact same thing. John purses his lips as he drives through the city. You can’t help your wry smile in response; he always makes that face when he is thinking hard about something.

“We should get you settled into a place. I’ve been keeping an eye out and I got a message from a buddy of mine. There’s a little apartment right near where I live,” he says, handing his phone over to Dorian, who downloads the directions and information.

“I guess you do want your bed back, huh?” you ask with a slight chuckle. John huffs and nods, “My couch is great and all, but it does get a bit uncomfortable after a while,” he mutters with a wrinkle of his nose.

Dorian smirks, “That explains the changes to your sleeping pattern,” he muses, making John scowl. “How many damn times--” he hisses, pointing an accusatory finger at the android only to be cut off by your snort of laughter.

John’s lips twitch upward at the sound, the tense atmosphere of the car lifting as the car crawls through city traffic. “So, Dorian, has John ever told you the story about how he became addicted to noodles?”

You immediately have the DRN’s full attention; John sputters from the driver’s seat unsuccessfully, trying to shush you.

“Well, you see, it all started when he and I traveled to China and we stumbled across this little mom-and-pop shop. The food there was to die for, what was it called…” you trail off, trying to picture the little restaurant in your mind.

“Little Bo’s.” John supplies with a fond smile.

You snap your fingers, grinning from ear to ear, “Little Bo’s! Oh, my gosh, they had some damn good food, and the owner was so sweet; she tried her best to teach John how to use chopsticks.”

Dorian chuckles, “He still can’t use them,” he whispers none-too-quietly.

John shoots him an offended look, “I can too!” he yells indignantly.

Dorian rolls his eyes. “Not very well.” he mutters, ignoring John’s slight pout. You giggle and gently squeeze John’s bicep.

“Maybe when I get settled, I’ll make you dinner,” you offer sincerely. You yelp when John suddenly hits the brakes and looks back at you with wide eyes.

“Seriously?” he asks with a grin. You snort and nod. Dorian looks bemused at the action and his jaw practically drops when John holds out his pinky for yours. Grinning, you seal the promise.

“Just let me know what you wa--”

“Chicken and dumplings," he answers immediately.

You snicker at the quick response. “I should have known,” you sigh with a shake of your head.

Dorian is at a loss for words; he tries multiple times to add something but he can’t. He’s never seen his partner this relaxed and happy before (despite today’s events) and it's odd. However, it's a good kind of odd. John deserves happiness and that’s what you seem to make him.

Just friends, Dorian mentally scoffs, smiling to himself as you and John bicker about the best dishes you've made in the past. Something deep within Dorian’s circuits says that someday you’ll end up being so much more. The heated discussion becomes a bit louder and suddenly changes to whose fault it was in burning down a rental in Rio.

Dorian sighs. Maybe not today, but someday, he thinks ruefully before verbally stepping in to divulge how John once ate a slug in hopes to not offend an old Japanese man.

Tags:

Everything:

@thottiewithashotgun

@lauraaan182

@writerdee1701

@stileslover13-blog

@cowenby2

@bluesclues-1234

"Only The Beginning" :

@dw-writes

@marvelouslytrekking

#almost human on fox #almost human #doom 2005 #john kennex x reader #john grimm x reader #john grimm #john kennex #reaper x reader #john kennex/reader #john grimm/reader #John Kennex is John Grimm #Reaper!Kennex #reader insert #hailey the queen of typos

21 notes · View notes