#The movie is so fucking sad but there are some really good moments WAH!!!

[kylos-starlight]

I went down a rabbit hole... After the Kylo it recommended Sackler then from Sackler it recommended.. Ch---[sniff] Ch-Charlie doing d-dad stuff and I ----

[borathae]

↳ Index [Chapter 19 - Seaside]

Warnings: big sad, but it’s a little tinier already, the fighting continues, fears of abandonment & so much guilt, OC does way too much overthinking, Yoongi has done no wrong, I tried to sprinkle some good moments in between for damage control hahahelp, this is a healthy balance of hurt and comfort

Wordcount: 11.9k

a/n: i hope that there isn’t too much happening, but i thought that we all want them to make up as soon as possible. originally this chapter was supposed to be three individual chapters fjadsf it’s better that way i think

Yoongi isn’t with you when you wake the next morning. His clothes are gone. The only thing greeting you is the little leaf he picked for you last night. You sit up and reach for it, cradling the little bowl of water in which he put it. The sunlight is breaking in the water, casting figures of lights on the edges of the bowl in golden colours. On the parts where the leaf prevents the light from shining a small black dot is painted on the edge.

“Fuck”, you press out under your breath, lowering the bowl to your lap.

You don’t feel better. You feel awful. The sleep should have helped you, but it didn’t. All it did was stop the pain for a few hours. It is back again, now that you are alone and Yoongi is gone.

You wonder if he has already left. If he has taken Jungkook and the others and left you in this tiny single person bed. You wouldn’t even be angry at him if he did. You would deserve it.

You can’t believe that he still took care of you last night. After all the shit you did. The guilt you feel because of it makes you sick to the stomach. Yoongi shouldn’t have had to take care of you. He should have left you to cry and not given a shit. 

You hear a knock on your door.

You lift your head, but can’t call out to whoever is knocking.

The door opens regardless.

Hoseok steps in.

“Goddamn”, he says, “that room smells like me after watching too many sad movies. Get some fresh air ___, you’re literally reeking of sadness.”

He opens the window for you, pulling the seethrough curtains to the side to let in even more sunlight. He turns to you, studying you from head to toe.

“What’s that you’re holding?” he asks.

“Leaf. Yoongi gave it to me last night.”

“He did? Wah Yoongi’s such a romantic”, he says and chuckles.

When you don’t laugh with him, he stops, furrowing his brows.

“Is it bad that he did?” he asks.

He closes the distance between the bed and him and sits down on the edge of it.

You shrug your shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“I’m sure he did it to make up for the fight you were having”, Hoseok says and places his hand on your knee.

“But it’s not his job. I ruined everything, not he.”

“Tzt __”, Hoseok says and clicks his tongue. He gives your knee a soft squeeze, “don’t say that. You guys are having a fight, but that doesn’t mean that you ruined everything. Every couple fights. Hell, you should have witnessed all the fights I had with Annelise. They were brutal and yet we still made up.”

“You did? So why’s she not with you then?”

“That is because she went rouge and killed fifty people on our holiday in Vienna. I didn’t wanna be with someone like her after that.”

“Fuck”, you press out, “I ruined everything.”

“Okay, I’m realising that I said something wrong here”, he murmurs, pinching his brows in worry.

“Hobi”, you press out, “Hobi, all of this is such a mess and, and it’s my fault. Tae’s still missing because of me. He thinks that I lied to him about Jimin. And, and Yoongi is mad at me. And it’s my fault.”

“Okay, okay hey”, he says, holding you by your shoulders, “calm down ___. It’s not as bad as you think it is.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“No, it’s not. Hey”, he cups your cheeks, wipes your tears away, “come downstairs with me. They’re back. All of them.”

“What do you mean?” you sniffle.

“Taehyung’s back and Yoongi too. Seokjin, Emma and Kook are having breakfast with them right this moment.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so come downstairs.”

You shake your head, “I can’t.”

“Of course you can”, Hoseok gives you a sweet smile.

“No, they are all mad at me. I, I can’t bear being in a room with them. It hurts so much.”

“That’s not true. We’re not mad at you. Not me or Jin or Kook or Emma”, he speaks softly, giving your cheek a soft pinch, “come downstairs. I’m sure it’ll be good for you to eat something.”

“Fine”, you give in, “but you are not leaving my side.”

Hoseok chuckles, “of course not, I’ll stick with you.”

He hooks arms with you, leading you out of your tiny room.

The air is tense. It has been tense even before you entered the room. You inch closer to Hoseok in instinct.

Nobody is talking.

Seokjin looks relieved to see you and Hoseok.

Emma isn’t in the room, but judging by her missing coffee mug she fled to the vending machine.

Jungkook looks uncomfortable by the silence, fumbling with his cutlery.

Yoongi is sitting at one side of the table. Taehyung is sitting at the other.

Neither one of them have food in front of them. Or even a beverage. They are simply staring at each other with their arms crossed in front of their chests.

Jimin is nowhere to be seen.

“Jesus, the mood in here is worse than in a funeral home”, Hoseok tries to diffuse the situation, “I thought that you guys would find at least something to talk about in the time I was gone.”

Seokjin and Jungkook look at you.

“Look who decided to join us”, Hoseok says and points at you.

“Hey ___”, Seokjin greets you, giving you a quick smile. It said I am so glad that you are here, but I am also deeply uncomfortable by the tension so I’m trying not to act too happy in order to minimise damage.

“Good morning ___”, Jungkook sounds a little less tense, standing up from his chair, “are you planning on getting some tea?”

“Uh...sure?”

“Great, I’ll join you. I need more coffee.”

Seokjin stands up as well, “me too. I need coffee too.”

They both abandon their filled cups by the table, basically dragging you and Hoseok out of them room.

“I am telling you”, Seokjin says, “I would rather sit in a box full of scorpions than this room.”

“Seriously”, Jungkook agrees, “you can basically cut the air.”

“Is it that bad?” you ask them.

“Oh it’s bad. They’re not violent, but I think if you weren’t in the picture, they would have both already ripped each other apart. And not in a sexy kind of way”, Jungkook says.

“Fuck”, you lower your head, “I never should have come down.”

“Huh?”

Seokjin and Jungkook look at Hoseok with confusion.

“She thinks that it’s all her fault”, he explains.

“What? No, it’s not”, Jungkook says instantly.

“I agree. It’s not your fault”, Seokjin says.

“No. No, it is. Tae thinks that I lied to him about Jimin and Yoongi won’t ever forgive me.”

“Then tell him what really happened. This will change his mind.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Seokjin says.

“Because I can’t.”

“Why not? It’s not your fault.”

“I’m so scared. I can’t take another day like yesterday”, you choke out and bite down a sob.

“Hey”, Hoseok says, taking your hand, “don’t cry, sweets.”

“Hobi, I can’t take another day”, you choke out, hiding your eyes behind your hand, “I wanna keep crying, everything hurts so much.”

“I know, but it’s going to be okay. You’ve got us”, he whispers, “do you want to be hugged?”

“Yes please, I’m so sad”, you confess and just like yesterday, your friends spring into action, taking you into the tightest and most loving group hug ever. Just like always when one of you is sad. Just like always. You will lean on each other and hug it out until it hurts only half as much. Just like always. Emma joins in too, even if she doesn’t quite understand what the hug was for. You catch her up on it and soon after she hugged you lovingly, telling you that you weren’t alone.

You left for the dining room once you calmed down enough, still feeling terribly nervous but not so alone anymore. You want to tell Yoongi. They managed to convince you that telling him the truth will make everything easier again. You agreed in the end.

The air was as tense as it was when you left. The silence is still deafening.

You sit down on the empty chair next to Jungkook, leg bouncing up and down nervously. So Jungkook touches your hand under the table, intertwining his fingers with you. The bouncing stops.

“Good morning”, you whisper, feeling courageous now that Jungkook is holding your hand.

Taehyung sneaks a glance at you and looks away again. Yoongi does the same, giving you a nod of his head at least.

“Ho-how are you guys?”

“Murderous”, Yoongi grumbles.

“Homicidal”, Taehyung counters.

“Geez guys”, Hoseok laughs awkwardly, “what are we? Edgelords? Come on, lighten up a little.”

“Tch”, Yoongi scoffs.

Taehyung rolls his eyes, tongue in cheek and arms crossed in front of his chest.

“___ has something to tell you”, Seokjin says, placing his hand on your shoulder encouragingly.

They both look at you. Taehyung looks angry. Yoongi looks curious.

“I uhm…” you falter.                                        

“Go on, tell them”, Seokjin whispers.

“It’s about, uhm…” you lift your eyes as someone next to Taehyung pulled a chair out.

Jimin. He plops down on the chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His eyes are focused on you with such intensity you wonder if he is aware that you wanted to expose him.

“Doesn’t really matter”, you say, “sorry, I forgot what I wanted to say.”

“___”, Seokjin sounds disappointed, but you only have to sneak one look at him and he understands. You can’t do this with Jimin present. It takes way too much courage. He nods his head in understanding, caressing your shoulder, “it was just a stupid joke we thought of in the kitchen to lighten the mood.”

“Yeah, exactly”, Hoseok says, “guys, why is it bad to eat clocks?”

“Does it matter?” Yoongi grumbles, “we don’t have time for silly jokes. Eat up, we’ll leave afterwards.”

“Because it’s time consuming”, Hoseok says quietly, painting a faint smile to Jimin’s lips.

“Funny.”

“Didn’t you hear what I just told you?” Yoongi hisses, looking at Jimin.

“I already ate, chill out. Tell your human to eat faster, not me.”

You lower your head to the empty table.

“I’m not hungry. We can leave if you want to “, you whisper.

“Are you sure? You didn’t eat a thing”, Jungkook asks with concern in his voice.

You nod your head, “I’m not hungry.”

“We’ll just get something on the way, yeah?”

“Mh-hm yeah.”

“Good. Let’s go”, Yoongi says, getting up from his chair, “we’ll leave in ten. So get your shit down to the cars”, he says, strutting out of the room afterwards.

“He’s such a cunt”, Jimin says.

“Says the biggest cunt of them all”, Seokjin throws back.

“Excuse me?”

“We know what you did to ___”, Seokjin hisses, “I’d sleep with your eyes open if I were you, I can’t guarantee that I won’t lose my wooden stake in your chest.”

“Yeah seriously”, Hoseok agrees, talking with his cheeks covered in black veins and his eyes glowing ruby. The anger is imminent on his face, “I’ve got lots of practice with killing vampires these days, I’m happy to flex these skills on you.”

Jimin rolls his eyes and gets up, “yawn”, he says, leaving the room afterwards.

“Come back you asshole! I will actually kill-“ Seokjin screams, but gets stopped by Emma.

“Calm down, my moon. He is not worth it”, she says, smoothing her fingers through his hair.

“I hate this guy. He was better off dead.”

“I know, we all think the same.”

“Tzt”, Taehyung scoffs, calling all of your attention. He stands up, sending Emma a dark look, “not all of us”, he says.

“Why did you even come back then?” Seokjin throws back.

The look Taehyung sneaks at you doesn’t go unnoticed by anyone here. He looks away again and leaves without saying anything.

You left to pack your stuff afterwards, feeling worse than you did this morning. You really ruined everything. Holy shit, you feel terrible.

Knock. Knock.

You turn at the door you left open.

Yoongi is in the doorway.

“I left to eat this morning”, he says.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself.”

“Mhm”, he nods his head, eyes drifting to the leaf in your hair. He points it at, “looks good.”

You touch it, feeling your heart skip a beat.

“Thank you”, you whisper, eyes running over his face. Is it really not as bad you think it is? Was Hoseok right? “hey uhm, do we have time to, uhm, should we talk about it?”

Yoongi takes a deep breath, releasing it through his nose.

“Can it wait? The others are waiting downstairs.”

“Yes of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“Are you done packing?” he asks.

“Yeah. I just have to carry them downstairs.”

He walks to you, taking the suitcases out of your hand.

“Oh? Thanks.”

“Mhm”, he nods his head and turns, leaving the room.

You jog after him, keeping your distance because you have no idea what you can or can’t do.

“Kook and Hobi agreed to take the car with the two cunts”, he tells you dryly, “I want you to drive with me.”

“Yes, of course. It’s better for space too”, you say, meaning it more than one way.

He nods his head, not saying anything more.

The others are already outside, loading the cars. No words are spoken, but the tense air speaks a thousand words. You all enter the cars without saying anything, except for Yoongi who stays to walk over to Taehyung’s car. The latter rolls his window down, staring at the Creator with dark eyes.

“That’s the address. We’ll meet there”, Yoongi grumbles, stuffing a piece of paper into Taehyung’s hand.

“Thanks”, Taehyung hisses, ripping it out of Yoongi’s hand. He rolls the window up afterwards, driving off without making sure Yoongi is far enough away from the car.

“So where are we going?” Emma asks once Yoongi has claimed the driver’s seat and started the car.

“An old acquaintance of mine”, Yoongi answers her, driving off, “Meredith, she hates Namjoon as much as we do.”

“Is she like us?”

“No, she’s a witch.”

“I never liked witches. They’re always plotting something.”

“We can trust her. She helped me countless times already.”

“Does she know that we are coming?” Seokjin asks.

“Yes, she invited us.”

“How long are we going to drive?”

“Half a day.”

“That’s so long”, Seokjin says and groans.

“Let’s take a nap, my moon”, Emma says and afterwards their conversation drowns out as Yoongi turns on the music.

He stops after two hours of driving and having snuck too many glances at you. Seokjin and Emma are sleeping deeply on the backseat, holding each other.

“Why are we stopping?” you ask him.

“Lock the car, I need to do something”, he says, leaving you in your confusion afterwards. He disappears inside a bakery and for the next ten minutes you are left wondering what the hell he needs to do in a bakery.

“Are we there?” Seokjin woke up during the waiting time, now looking at you with puffy eyes.

“No, he needed to do something and now he disappeared in a bakery.”

“Is he meeting someone?”

“I have no idea.”

“How long did we drive already?”

“Two hours.”

“Well, that’s just way too short. Did you tell him about Jimin?”

You shake your head.

“Why not?”

“I’m scared. I don’t want to cause a fight again. Not when we’re locked in here for ten more hours.”

Seokjin places his hand on your shoulder.

“He needs to know. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know, just please give me time to find the right moment.”

“Of course. I’m sorry for being pushy.”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for being there for me.”

“Of course, that’s what family is for.”

“And for not telling it for me.”

“Hey, that’s a given. You have to do this, it’s not my job to do it for you.”

“Thank you”, you hold his hand, “you’re like my only light right now.”

Seokjin chuckles, “you old sap. Look, Yoongi’s coming back.”

He is carrying a big paper bag and a paper cup.

“Did he buy coffee?”

“I don’t know.”

Yoongi gets back inside.

“Did you meet someone?” Seokjin asks.

“No”, Yoongi answers him, placing the bag on your lap and handing you the cup. The paper is warmed by whatever is inside. It doesn’t smell like coffee, making you wonder what he got. You smell it again. The scent reminds you of a really good chai latte.

He starts the car and drives off.

Curiously, you open the bag. Two croissants, a wrapped tomato mozzarella sandwich and a blueberry muffin.

“I don’t understand. Why did you get food?” you say.

“You shouldn’t skip breakfast”, he says dryly, eyes focused on the road.

“Oh”, you let out, heart skipping a beat, “thank you.”

“Mhm”, he hums, placing his hand on your thigh to give it a soft squeeze. It doesn’t last long, not even a second and he has it already pulled back again.

The rest of the drive doesn’t feel as tense anymore. It seems that distance to the people, who truly anger him, does Yoongi well. When the seventh hour of the drive starts, he tells the group all about how he and Meredith met.

They met back in 1790, which alerted great confusion with the rest of the group until Yoongi explained to you that the magic Meredith uses is far from the magic, which was allowed and that it prolonged her life unnaturally. He said that exactly this kind of magic will finally give you the advantage point you needed over Namjoon.

Once the eighth hour hit, you catch him drumming his fingers to the music every now and then. At some point he even moved his fingers as if he was playing the piano. You didn’t call him out on it, but you liked watching him.

By the ninth hour, the scenery had changed drastically, passing you by in streaks of red dirt, white stone and scrubby trees. You really loved the view and so you spent most of the time looking outside. Emma and Seokjin played a game on the backseat. It involved way too many rules and was entirely silly. If they saw a tree with three branches on the right they had to hit each other on the arm. If a rock looked like a face they could pinch each other. A yellow car meant flicking the other’s forehead. And all in all, it meant lots of giggles from the backseat.

“Tree!” you joined them at some point, reaching over to hit Yoongi’s arm.

He snuck a glance at you, but didn’t react. You spent the next minutes overthinking everything you did and worrying that Yoongi will never forgive you, until suddenly you felt the impact of a hand on your arm and you could listen to Yoongi mumble, “tree.”

Your worries stopped then and for the rest of the ninth hour, your little group played this silly game while outside the scenery passed by.

By the time the tenth hour struck, you felt sleepy and so you fell asleep with your head leaned against the window and your knees turned to Yoongi.  Yoongi snuck a glance at the backseat then, because it had gotten terribly quiet, and he realised that Seokjin and Emma had fallen asleep as well. They hugged each other.

Yoongi turns off the music and takes off his jacket, draping it over your lap. He keeps his hand on your thigh for a while, counting the headlights passing by. He is glad to have you in the car with him. He would have never forgiven you, had you decided to drive with Taehyung. Warmth places itself over his hand and for a second Yoongi panics.

He turns his head, realising that you are still sleeping and that you merely reached for his hand in your sleep.

He looks back at the road, squeezing your hand.

“Fuck”, he presses out quietly enough not wake anyone, “why did you have to do this, ___?”

The next time you open your eyes is when you are being carried. Your comfort scent surrounds you, gravel crunches under someone’s feet. You lift your head from the chest you had it rested against previously.

“Yoongi?” you say, voice heavy in sleep, “where are we?”

“We’re here”, he speaks softly, “go back to sleep, it’s late.”

You rest your head back against his chest, but keep your eyes open. You can’t fall asleep again, not when you have to treasure the current moment here in Yoongi’s arms with the cicadas singing far away and his scent in your nose.

“Hyung”, Jungkook’s voice is instantly recognisable, “finally you guys are here. We were wondering what took you so long. Meredith’s not here tonight, but the witches told us to get comfortable. The others are already in the rooms. I reserved the best one for us.” His steps on the gravel come closer. “What’s wrong with her?”

You lift your head in order not to worry him.

“Oh? Hey ___”, he greets you, sneaking a glance at Yoongi, “are you guys good again?”

With bated breath you look up at Yoongi, waiting for his answer.

“She’s tired”, Yoongi answers him, “get her stuff and bring it to her room.”

“On it”, Jungkook says and disappears behind Yoongi’s back.

Yoongi looks down at you, locking eyes with you for just a second. It is enough to tell you that there is still a lot to fix, but that at least he wasn’t fuming in anger anymore.

You rest your head on his chest and close your eyes. You won’t open them until Yoongi sets you down on your bed and slips his arms from you.

Your eyes meet.

“Thank you for carrying me”, you say shyly.

“Mhm”, Yoongi nods his head.

“That’s uhm”, you begin, looking around the room. Small with lavender walls and a big queen sized bed which fills up almost the entire room. The duvet covers are fluffy and smell like laundry detergent. The furniture seems old, carrying marks of much use on their surfaces, “it’s quite cozy here.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you stay here?”

“No.”

“Oh, uhm.”

Tension fills the air and thankfully for your heart, Jungkook enters the room just this moment.

“How was your drive?” he asks.

“Good. We played some games”, you answer him, trying your hardest to make your voice sound normal.

“That sounds nice. Our drive was awful. I was happy when I finally got out and could go the other way”, he says, placing your suitcases on top of the chaise lounge. He claps into his hands and sighs contently, “there we go, all done.”

“Thank you, Kook.”              

“No worries”, he gives you a grin, “are you guys sleeping here?” he asks, looking around the room, “cozy.”

“I’m staying with you. She can sleep alone”, Yoongi says, making you lower your head.

Jungkook, who notices, laughs awkwardly.

“Yeah sure, uh sure. I’ll be downstairs then uhm, sleep well ___”, he says, fleeing the scene as quickly as possible.

The door falls closed.

You are alone with Yoongi.

With a racing heart, you look at him. He is studying your features, eyes weary in nervousness yet lips turned into a frown.

Is this your moment? Will you finally be able to talk it out with him?

You take a deep breath, readying yourself to speak. Yoongi however interrupts you before you can.

“Okay. Good night”, he says, turning his back to you to leave the room.

“Yoongi wait”, you say, hurrying to him and placing your hands over his, “don’t go yet.”

He looks at your hands resting there atop of his', clutching the doorknob tighter. 

“I want to tell you again that I’m sorry”, you say, “I’m so goddamn sorry.”

Yoongi looks at your face, “I know”, he says.

“I understand that you’re still angry at me.”

“I’m not angry at you. I’m disappointed.”

“Oh.”

You slip your hand from him, feeling sick in guilt. Having him be disappointed in you feels worse than him being angry at you. You understand him, you really do, but still it hurts so much to know.

“Please let me be alone”, he says quietly, “I can’t talk about it yet.”

You want to say that you understand, but you can’t make a sound. This feels as if he is breaking up with you.

“Do you want to leave me?” you ask quietly.

“No. I just need time for myself.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh my god, ___”, he blurts out, “I’m trying.”

You fall silent, gawking at him with big eyes.

“I keep going back and forth. Keep going back and forth between wanting to be close to you like I’m a stupid fucking addict because, because fucking avoiding you hurts me. Like fuck, I’m so fucking dumb”, he spits, twisting his hand on his own hair, “but then when I’m close to you, all I think about is what you did and getting so fucking upset that I can’t bear to even look at you. Fuck.”

He drops his hand from his hair, gripping his own neck in an almost painful grasp. As if he needed something to hold on. He can’t look at you as he speaks.

“My biggest nightmare is to have to watch you bleed out”, he says, eyes filling with tears.

“Yoongi”, you whimper, trying to reach for him but he flees.

“To watch you bleed out and to know that the only way to save you is to feed you my blood. That’s my biggest nightmare. That I have to curse you with my hell, just so I wouldn’t lose you. And you made me experience it”, he says, throwing his hand over his mouth in order not to sob. He prances up and down, squeezing his own cheeks. “I’m so hurt that I can’t breathe”, he squeaks out.

“Yoongi, I’m sorry”, you croak out and he ends up squeezing his eyes shut. You watch it happening with a breaking heart.

For just a moment you think that he will lose control, but he doesn’t in the end. Like he taught himself over decades and decades, Yoongi gains back control. His eyes flit to you. They are still teary, but are filled with anger.

“I’ve been trying so hard to show you that I won’t fucking leave you even after what you did. But fuck, I need some time to be able to look at you again without wanting to…be…angry. So give me a fucking break. I need some time.”

He meets your eyes, gulping upon seeing the fear in them. He can smell it too, could do so the entire day, you are soaked in anxiety. True and painful anxiety.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that…” he exhales and puts tenderness into his voice, “I’m doing all I can emotionally do right now to assure you that I won’t leave you. I can’t do much more and I don’t want to stay because I know that if I did, I’d say things that I would regret. So please give me some time.”

“I understand that”, you take a step back, “I’m sorry for being pushy.”

“Thank you for understanding”, he says and turns to leave. 

“Yoongi wait.”

He turns with an exasperated gasp. Fuck, you did it again. You were clingy. 

“Sorry I was…just…forget it, I wanted to keep you here again. Just go. I’m sorry, I won’t keep you.”

“Thanks”, he says and turns away, “sleep well.”

“You too.” 

You watch him leave with a lump in your throat and your heart aching. You want to run after him, hold him and beg him to stay. But you shouldn’t. Yoongi needs his freedom right now. He needs you to understand, just as much as you are asking him to understand your actions. And you do understand, you really do. It is just so hard to watch someone you love so very much leave you with so much disappointment in their chests. 

“Fuck”, you press out once the door fell closed, squeezing your eyes shut in order not to cry miserably.

You just hope that he comes back soon. Please, don’t let this situation be too long.

You wake with the sun. The sound of cicadas and the ocean greets you. Seagulls and gentle waves. It would be such a beautiful thing to wake up to if your situation wasn’t so fucked up.

You peel yourself out of bed with heavy limbs, dragging yourself to the window to open it. The salt is heavy in the air, mixing with the scent of pines and the lavender which seems to grow in the garden which the window overlooks. Olive trees and old fruit trees grow in the garden alongside roses, vegetables and the already mentioned lavender. There is an earthen path winding its way through the garden, ending by a stone wall and a gate. There was a small beach behind the wall just close enough that you could see the waves crush the shore. The gate is currently open, allowing whoever wanted to visit the beach to reach it easily. It seems that Taehyung and Jimin took said opportunity. You can watch them climb over the dark rocks, both of them not wearing much more than bathing shorts and sunglasses. They are talking to each other.

This right here would feel like you entered paradise if everything wasn’t still as twisted as it was. You break away from the window with a sad sigh, deciding that you should look for the others before you fall into total despair.

The house of the witches turns out to have two floors. Your room was located upstairs. The interior of your room continues outside. Colourful walls, old and well loved furniture and the most beautiful handmade decorations greet you as you wander through the hallways in search of the stairs.

You get stopped before you could find them by a woman leaving one of the rooms. She stops and looks at you.

“Hello”, you say shyly, running your eyes up and down her body. Her skin was tanned from the sun, her hair was dark and reached her down to her waist. A long scarf holds it out of her face. Green fabrics were draped over her body as a dress and a necklace made with dried flowers adorned her neck.

“Hello”, she says and smiles, “are you one of our guests?”

“Yes. I’m ___.”

“Nice to meet you ___, I’m Jelena.”

“Nice to meet you, Jelena”, you say.

“Were you on your way downstairs?”

“Yes, but I don’t know where to go.”

“Follow me.”

You jog to catch up with her, walking by her side. She has a bounce in her steps and even with a relaxed expression she is smiling.

“You aren’t like our other guests are you?” she asks you.

“No. I’m human.”

“Human”, she studies your face intently, “human, I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you a witch?”

“Yes, we are all witches here.”

“That’s really cool. Yoongi told me that you can help us with Namjoon.”

“At least we will try”, she says and laughs, “right down here”, she says and jogs down the stairs. Her naked feet make a soft sound on the stone, your own feet accompany the sound a little slower. You try not to run down unknown stairs, especially not with Yoongi’s blood still in your system. If you slipped and died only to come back a cursed vampire, Yoongi would never forgive himself.

“You have a very nice house”, you tell her once downstairs.

Bundles of herbs and flowers hang from the hand railings of the second floor balconies. Some seem to be freshly picked while others were in different stages of drying. Slices of oranges and apples dried right alongside them, mixing with the salty scent of the ocean.

“Thank you so much. We love it here a lot. Yoongi told me that you like to grow your own plants.”

“He told you that?”

“Yes. He made it sound as if you knew a lot.”

“Oh”, your cheeks feel on fire instantly. He talked about you to them. “I, I guess. I still have a lot to learn though.”

“One can’t learn enough, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. Totally. I think it’s fun to learn new stuff.”

“I agree. Now just through that door. Your friends must be eating breakfast if I’m not mistaken. They woke not that long ago. Except for your friends by the beach, they have been awake since sunrise”, she says, leading you through a kitchen.

The walls were made out of yellow painted stone with the ceilings rounded and decorated with more drying plants. A wooden oven was built right into the walls and the work counters were covered in glasses filled with what you assume to be magical potions. Two women were hurrying through the kitchen, slowing down when they notice your presence.

“Hello”, you greet them both.

“Hello”, they greet you.

“___, Suzy and Dragana. Suzy, Dragana this is ___”, Jelena introduces you to each other.

“Nice to meet you. You have such a beautiful home.”

“Thank you, we hope that you have a lovely time here”, Dragana says with a smile.

“I am sure that we will. Thank you for housing us.”

Suzy gives you a smile and then the loudly bubbling potion on the fire rips her attention from you. “Oh dear, oh dear that would have been a disaster”, she babbles to herself, stirring the red liquid vigorously.

“What happened?” Dragana asks her and then their conversation drowns out in your ears as Jelena continues her walk and you follow her.

“Is Suzy making potions?” you ask her.

“In a way. She is making tomato sauce, but her recipe tastes so good that it could be considered magic”, she says and snickers because of her joke.

“I see. I’m sorry for asking. I don’t really know how being a witch works. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Don’t worry, we are not shy to answer questions. So ask whatever you want to ask”, she assures you.

“Thank you.”

You have to walk under a tunnel of grapes and then a spacious sitting area reveals itself to your eyes. There are a total amount of eight tables scattered around the paved terrace and beds of lavender frame it. The tables, except for one, are unoccupied. Your friends sit by the occupied table, each wearing the darkest sunglasses imaginable.

They turn their heads to you. Hoseok lifts his hand and waves at you with squeaky sound effects and a bright grin. His bubbly greeting makes you feel better. His good mood is always so contagious.

“Good morning, guys”, you greet them.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Seokjin asks you.

“I guess. And you?”

They tell you that they all slept well, except for Jungkook who spent the night talking with Yoongi. There is no sight of the latter. Jelena tells you that it is probably because he is in the shed with Meredith and then she says her goodbye as she herself needs to go to the shed.

“What shed is she talking about?” you ask them, sitting down on the chair Jungkook pulls out for you.

He sits down next to you once he made sure that you are comfortable.

“Apparently the witches have a shed where they make all the magical stuff that could be dangerous. Just in case it goes wrong, the whole house doesn’t burn down”, Hoseok explains.

“I see. That makes sense. So what is Yoongi doing there?”

“Helping them build the device which will help us capture Namjoon.”

“Oh? That sounds good. I didn’t even know that he knew how to do that.”

“Right? We were really surprised as well, but apparently he is really knowledgeable in magic.”

“Really? Thank you”, you thank Jungkook for preparing tea and continue talking, “he knows so much about everything. He is so cool.”

“Waah look at her. She’s totally into him”, Hoseok teases.

“Yeah obviously, he’s my boyfriend”, you throw back with faux annoyance in your voice.

Hoseok snickers. Seokjin does too.

You share a few moments of silence with each other. You fill your plate with the most delicious looking breakfast ever while the others busy themselves with finishing their own servings.

Seokjin sighs loudly and leans back in his chair, presenting his face to the sun.

“It’s beautiful here isn’t it?” he asks.

“Yes, it’s so nice”, Jungkook agrees, “I love the seaside so much.”

“Same.”

“Did you guys visit the beach already?” you ask them.

“Not yet. It’s occupied”, Seokjin says, “there would be a murder if I went down there now.”

Jungkook chuckles lazily and Emma smirks in agreement.

You know what he meant by that, feeling some of your morning sadness return.

“It’s all so twisted, isn’t it?” you ask them.

They look at you, then exchange a glance. Jungkook reaches out, rubbing your arm.

“Don’t be too sad, I promise you that it’s not as terrible as you think it is.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know.”

“I do. I talked to Yoongi and he just needs some time.”

“I know, but I’m so scared he’ll decide that he wants to break up.”

“He won’t. Trust me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

Jungkook doesn’t lie. Not to you at least. And especially not about something like that. So to hear his reassuring words lessens a little bit of that pressure on your chest.

“Thank you”, you whisper, “I really want to go to him and apologise a million times, but I know that I shouldn’t.”

“I’m sure that he appreciates it a lot”, Hoseok says, “I think it’s really great of you that you respect his wish. It shows that you care a lot for him.”

“I do. I care so much.”

Hoseok smiles, “and I am sure that he knows that as well. Right Kookie?”

“He does. Although I hope that you guys talk soon. I can’t bear to watch you guys fight”, he says and pouts, “it’s like watching my parents fight.”

He cracks you up.

“Don’t call us your parents. We fucked multiple times, it makes it weird”, you say in a laugh.

“True. Sorry”, Jungkook says, flustering.

“I mean in a sense you can still be his Mommy and Daddy, it’s just the different type” Hoseok says, earning himself a slap on his arm by Seokjin.

“Why does your mind seriously always go there? You are such a perv”, he says while Hoseok laughs loudly.

Jungkook sneaks a shy glance at you, you do the same. You end up laughing as well.

“You’re so dumb sometimes, Hobi”, you say.

“I can’t argue with that”, Hoseok jokes, sending you some finger guns with a cute sound effect. He is so adorable.

The rest of breakfast feels nice. Conversation is mostly about how awesome this place is and your plans on going to the beach later. You clean up once breakfast is finished. Suzy and Dragana are still in the kitchen, telling you to put the dirty dishes in the sink because they will take care of it later. You go your separate ways, but decide to meet up once you are all washed up.

Hoseok knocks on your door when you are in the middle of putting on your shirt.

“Come in”, you call out, tugging it into your shorts.

“Are you naked? I hope you aren’t. I’m not looking”, he says, entering the room with his eyes covered.

“You can look. I wouldn’t have told you to come in otherwise.”

“Ah yeah, right”, Hoseok drops his hand, running his eyes up and down your body, “nice fit. I like the colours.”

“You do? Thank you. I feel like I have no clothes with me. I’ve been wearing the same bra for four days now.”

“Hey we’re on the road, you’re allowed to circle your outfits.”

“And yet I’ve never seen you wear the same outfit twice.”

“That’s because I have too many clothes with me”, he says and pulls a pose, “I have a reputation to keep up.”

You snicker, “of course you do. You look very handsome, Hobi. I like the fit.”

“Thank you, thank you”, he says and offers you his arm to hold, “let’s find the others, me lady.”

You hook arms with him, snickering because he is so funny.

You plan to go into the village together. Dragana told you that it offers an amazing market and a beautiful port to hang out at. So you want to check it out with the others.

Seokjin and Emma are waiting in the garden with a matching outfit. Jungkook is on his knees trying to take the perfect picture for them.

You and Hoseok wait by the sidelines until they are finished.

“Now take one of us”, Hoseok says, dragging you in front of the camera, “Kookie, take one of us”, he says and hugs you sideways, throwing one of his legs around you as well.

It makes you laugh. The shutter clicks, capturing the moment for all eternity.

“That picture is so pretty, wow both your smiles are so pretty”, Jungkook gasps, beaming at you.

Hoseok releases you and stretches his arms out, “go to her, I’ll take a pic of you guys.”

“Really?” Jungkook gasps, gazing at you.

“Come here, Kookie.”

He skips to you and places himself right beside you, grinning at the camera as big as he can.

“That’s perfect. You guys look so cute together”, Hoseok says, pulling the weirdest poses on the ground to truly capture your best sides, “now one where you’re hugging. Come on, give me that emotion.”

Jungkook hesitates in shyness and so you end up hugging his waist. He squeaks quietly, tensing up.

“Relax, you look like you don’t wanna be with her.”

“Sorry uhm sorry”, Jungkook stutters and finally wraps his arms around you, resting his cheek against your head.

“Yes! Cute! Oh you guys are so cute”, Hoseok exclaims, capturing the moment with perfection.

Jungkook breaks away from you afterwards instantly, keeping his eyes lowered shyly.

“I think that was really nice”, he says.

“I think so too”, you say.

Jungkook giggles and moves in, pressing a surprise kiss to your cheek. It paints heat to your face instantly, heart fluttering in your chest.

“You look really pretty”, he says.

“Thank you Kookie, you are so pretty too”, you whisper, looking into his sparkling eyes.

“You guys! You are so cute together. Look at that”, Hoseok says, showing you the secret picture he just took of the moment. Jungkook looks totally smitten for you while you are spilling over with fondness.

“I love those pictures. Please send them to me, I need to have them”, you gush.

“Me too please. I wanna put it as my lock screen”, Jungkook says, holding your hand tightly now that the nice pictures gave him a confidence boost.

“Of course, I’ll do it right away”, Hoseok says, opening Seokjin’s chats without asking.

“Hey. Don’t read my chats, they are private”, Seokjin complains, snatching his phone out of Hoseok’s hand, “I’ll send them to them.”

“Sorry”, Hoseok apologises.

You thank Seokjin once you receive the pictures. You also suggest saying your goodbye to Yoongi and the witches before you leave and they agree.

The doors to the shed are open. Chatter is lively. There are five witches with Yoongi. The latter is leaning over a table, having shrugged off his shirt and only working in a tanktop because of the immense heat in here. He was explaining something to Jelena but stops when he senses your presence.

“How are you guys doing? Any progress?” Hoseok asks.

“Lots. Thanks to Yoongi”, the witch next to the latter says, eyes flitting to you, “you must be ___. Yoongi told us a lot about you. Nice to meet you, I’m Meredith.”

“Nice to meet you too”, you say, glancing at Yoongi who is already busying himself with talking to Jelena. There is barely any distance between them and she keeps looking at his lips.

Meredith closes the distance between you and her.

“I am happy to have you as my guests. I hope that you are enjoying your stay here.”

“We are. You have such a lovely home. I really love your garden.”

“Thank you, this is very sweet”, she smiles, “you look dressed up. Are you planning to go somewhere?”

“Yes. We want to visit the market Dragana told us about.”

Yoongi lifts his head.

“Ah the market”, Meredith’s eyes light up, “you will love it a lot. It offers many useful things. We like to get our milk and eggs there.”

“I can imagine. It must be so nice to live such a life.”

“It is. I wouldn’t exchange it for any other life.”

Yoongi appears next to Meredith.

“You are leaving?” he asks.

“Yes. Why? Do you want to come with us?” Hoseok asks.

“I can’t. We have to fix up the device.”

“Yeah sure. Should we get you something from the market?”

“I don’t want you to leave”, Yoongi ignores Hoseok to address you instead.

“Mhm?”

Meredith excuses herself, hurrying back to the other witches in order not to eavesdrop on a clearly private conversation.

“I can’t hear if something happens when you’re at the market. I want you to stay on the grounds today.”

“Okay? Yes, sure. I understand. I’ll stay here.”

“Thank you”, he says, nodding his head, “you’ll be rid of it tomorrow.”

“I know, it’s okay.”

“Mhm.”

And with that he turns his back to you and walks back to the witches. You leave the shed, knowing that he won’t want to have any more conversation with you. The others follow you.

“What was that about? Are we not going to the market?” Hoseok asks.

“You guys can still go, but I guess I’ll stay here today.”

“Then we won’t go either. We won’t leave you here alone.”

“No please, I don’t want you guys to miss out on it.”

“We won’t. We can go another day”, Emma assures you.

“Hell yeah we can. Let’s make a nice day here”, Hoseok says, draping his arm over your shoulder, “should we go to the beach instead? Swim a little? I bet the water’s nice.”

“I’d love that. Thanks guys, I’m happy that you aren’t going without me.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s either all of us or none of us. I just don’t get why he wants you to stay here.”

“I guess he is scared that something could happen to me now that I have his blood in my system.”

“I forgot that already."

You sigh loudly, “this is all my fault.”

“Please don’t start again ___, it’s not”, Seokjin says.

“No, but what if Jimin’s right? What if I actually begged him to drink my blood? What if I forced him to feed me his blood? I can’t remember doing it, but is he right? What if I forced him?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Taehyung told me that Jimin said that I initiated the thing in the club. What if I did? What if Jimin controlled my mind to think that he was the villain so I don’t have to live with the guilt? What if I was too drunk and remembered it wrongly?”

“You are seriously saying the stupidest stuff sometimes. Jimin said that to Taehyung to shift blame. All he wanted to do was to look good in Taehyung’s eyes”. Seokjin says, furrowing his brows so intensely deep creases form on his forehead.

“I don’t know anymore. It’s driving me fucking insane”, you choke out and touch your own head.

“How would that even work? Why would Jimin control your mind to forget shit like that? Please think for a moment, ___”, Seokjin says in a stern voice.

“Hey, don’t be so harsh to her”, Emma says.

“No, I’m pissed off”, Seokjin says, “stop trying to blame yourself. Yeah you fucked up when you gave Tae your blood, yeah maybe fucking Jimin wasn’t the best idea, but fucking hell stop trying to blame yourself for shit you didn’t even do and which couldn’t have happened logistically. Sorry if that sounded harsh, but it’s the truth.”

You glance at Seokjin. He was frowning at first, but softens his gaze when he sees the sadness in your eyes. He steps closer.

“Hey”, he says, caressing your cheek, “I am here for you, you know? I just don’t want you to hurt yourself by feeling guilty over stuff which never happened. It’s unfair to yourself, please treat yourself gently not with so much unnecessary hate.”

“I know”, you whisper, “I don’t know what else to say. I’m just…tired. Really fucking tired.”

Seokjin sneaks a glance at the others. They think the same he does. They close the distance between you and them and hug you, sharing comfort that way.

“Then it’s seriously best that we stay here. We should relax and take it easy. We can have a nice day at the beach and stop thinking about stuff which never happened, yeah?” Emma says.

“We can eat snacks and play games and nap in the shade”, Hoseok says, “that sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”

“It does”, Jungkook says, rubbing your back, “and you have to swim with me, ___. You can even hang onto me, I’ll do all the moving.”

“Do I have to? The water’s so cold.”

“I’ll keep you warm, promise.”

“Fine”, you give up with a huff of air, “thank you guys, I know I’m a lot.”

“___, treat yourself gently”, Seokjin warns, giving you a soft squeeze.

“I’m sorry, yeah. Thank you for being there for me, guys”, you correct yourself and it felt good to do. It felt really fucking good not to put yourself down for once.

The day at the beach turns out to be way more fun than any day at the market could have ever been. Jungkook manages to get you into the water with him and eventhough you squeaked about the temperature at first, you had a great time with him. Hoseok joined you the second time you went for a swim and this time around, he was the one squeaking about the cold temperatures. Seokjin and Emma joined you for your third round. Jungkook proceeded to chase Seokjin with some algae while the latter called him a punk and screeched for Emma’s help. Emma merely laughed and continued chatting with you and Hoseok. You have lunch in the garden with the witches. After lunch you spend the time in the gardens, playing badminton and a round of soccer where Jungkook gets way too competitive and proceeds to call Seokjin a cheater for winning. It was hilarious to watch because Seokjin kept teasing him while Jungkook acted like the sorest yet cutest loser. By sunset hours, you fled back inside, helping the witches cook dinner and chatting about life here. Apparently the coast and its surrounding mountains were covered in little villages and estates such as the coven’s estate. There was a big community of witches, vampires and humans living together in peaceful synergy. The vampires along this coast are on a diet consisting of animal blood and blood bags and as a thank you the humans and witches here willingly donated a few bags of blood per month to help them out. Even the wolves living here get along with the vampires and just next month there will be the first human-wolf wedding between two of the villagers. The entire coastline and mountain is invited to the wedding and the witches look forward to it with great excitement. They will be responsible for the fireworks. All of magical nature of course without any harm to the environment.

You eat dinner outside with the crickets accompanying you and great laughter hanging in the air.

Taehyung and Jimin aren’t present for any of it.

Neither is Yoongi.

The feeling of their absence finally comes back to you once you are in bed all alone and with nothing to stop your bad thoughts from coming back. You had a good day, but how good was it really when everything was still so ruined? You try to fall asleep with that thought but can’t in the end. You text Hoseok, asking him to come to your room. 

He is by your door five minutes later, knocking gently. 

“Come in.”

He enters the room. A white flowy t-shirt and blue striped boxer briefs adorn his body. His hair is let down and his skin glowy from his excessive skincare routine.

“Hey there”, he says, “are you okay? Why did you text me?”

“Hobi, can you stay here tonight? I don’t wanna be alone.”

“Yeah of course, what’s up? Wanna talk about it?” he asks as he hurries to your bed. He steps out of his fluffy slippers and crawls under the blanket with you. 

“It’s just the same thing over and over again. I feel like all of this is my fault and I’m angry at myself and fucking sad because Yoongi and Tae are upset with me.”

“Yeah, I get you”, Hoseok caresses your hand softly, “tomorrow’s going to be a new day and won’t hurt as much anymore.”

“I don’t think it will. I feel so broken.”

“I get it”, he gives you a sorry smile, “do you want to hug?”

You nod your head. 

“Com’ere”, Hoseok says, closing the distance between you and him to cradle you against his chest. His body feels warm for a change, courtesy of the witches giving them their blood earlier today. He smells good. Fresh, warm and manly. He always smells so heavenly. Hoseok runs his fingers up and down the back of your head, resting his other arm around your waist. 

“You know”, he begins, “I suck at words, so sorry if my advice sucks, but I think you should listen to what Seokjin said today. Jimin lied to get out of the mess.” 

“You think so?”

“Yeah. You’re wearing your magic ring and Jimin’s really unpredictable. Of course he bit you and force fed you, it fits his character.”

“Yeah, I know. I think that I said those things because I just want to make sense of everything.”

“Yeah I get it. You can rant to me if you want to, I can listen really well.”

“No, I don’t want to talk. I just wanna be held and fall asleep. I’m so bloody tired of being awake.”

“Okay, I can do that too”, Hoseok says and shifts his head into a position which would allow him to kiss your forehead. He hesitates, looking at you with weary eyes.

You crane your neck, locking eyes with him.

“What?” you ask him.

“I just wanted to give you a kiss, but I don’t know if that’s good with you”, he says.

“Yeah”, you say, returning to your previous position, “it’s okay.”

“Nice”, Hoseok says and finally kisses your forehead, listening to the deep exhale of relief you do because of it. He pulls you closer afterwards, drawing nonsense patterns on your back.

“Thank you, Hobi”, you whisper, closing your eyes as you hide away in the comfort of his chest, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, ___”, Hoseok whispers, allowing his eyes to fall close.

You fall asleep in his arms minutes later, while Hoseok still stays awake for a little, listening to your calm heartbeat and slow breathing.

 Hoseok is gone when you wake the next morning, but he left a note on the pillow for you which tells you that he had to leave early because he promised Seokjin and Jungkook to go for a run together. You didn’t mind that you woke up without him. Being held tonight felt healing to your broken heart.

Like yesterday you open the windows, looking at the beach. It was empty today. The garden was empty as well. You woke earlier than you did yesterday. You offered the witches your help when you ran in on them making breakfast, but they declined you and told you to take a walk because the weather was amazing. You did so barefooted just as Jelena suggested, enjoying the warm temperature of the ground under your toes.

You stop when you are by the fountain just at the west end of the garden. Yoongi is sitting on its edge.

He turns, sensing your presence like he always does.

“Sorry. I didn’t notice you here. I swear I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy”, you say.

“It’s fine”, he says, running his eyes up and down your body.

“Sorry again. I’ll leave you to your sitting. It’s so nice here, isn’t it?”

“It is”, Yoongi lifts his hand and points at the mountain. It is so close to the house that it almost takes up all of your vision, “how far do you think you can see from there?”

“I don’t know. Probably really far.”

You shimmy from one foot to the other, fumbling with your fingers. Yoongi turns away from you and pats the spot next to him. You hurry to him instantly, sitting down with a racing heart.

“The sun rises behind that mountain. I watched it happening.”

“You did? You must have been awake really early then.”

“I never fell asleep.”

“I see.”

“My blood’s outta your system.”

“I know.”

“You can go to the market today.”

“I know. Do you want to come with us?”

“No. I want to stay here.”

“Okay. I respect that.”

Yoongi sneaks a glance at you.

“I do”, you insist.

“Mhm”, he looks at the mountain.

You do the same. You really want to bring up what Jimin did and you want to apologise again and tell him how awful you feel, but you know better than to do that. Yoongi may sit with you right now, but this is not your invitation to start the conversation. So you try to make small talk, hoping that you are allowed to do so.

“You told the witches that I like gardening.”

“I did.”

“Did you tell them more about me?”

He glances at you.

“Sorry. I know it doesn’t have to interest me”, you backtrack now that you realised how self absorbed that sounded. You however just wanted to know whether or not it is safe to say that he is your partner.

“They know that we’re together if that’s what you wanted to know”, Yoongi says.

“I did.”

“Mhm.”

You glance at his face. He is sloughing which he never does and his eyes look so fallen in and puffy. Has he been crying?

“Yoongi, I’m-”

“If you’re gonna apologise again, I’m getting up”, he interrupts you.

“I was, I just- fuck sorry, I won’t do it”, you murmur.

He doesn’t say anything and touches the side of his neck in soothing.

“You uhm”, you begin because you are fucking greedy for conversation. Not because of selfish reasons, but because you are scared that if you shared silence he would realise how little he actually cared for you and then you would lose him, “are you having neck problems?”

“It’s just tense, it’s fine.”

“I could massage it for you if you want to.”

“I said it’s fine.”

“Okay, sorry yeah. Uhm…are you going to fix up the device again?”

“Yes.”

“That’s cool. Are you far already?”

“No.”

“I see. I bet you’ll make lots of progress today.”

“We’ll see”, he says dryly and takes out something from his pocket. He opens his palm, revealing a delicate ring to you. It was made out of gold and had a blue crystal in the middle. “I had Meredith enchant it. Wear it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re not wearing your ring anymore.”

You glance at your empty finger. You were too preoccupied with everything happening that you hadn’t even noticed. Holy fuck.

“Thank you”, you whisper and accept the ring. His fingertips brush your skin when he places it into your palm. The simple touch leaves you aching because of how much you miss him.

Yoongi eyes your hand as you slip the ring on. It is too big for your finger at first, but shrinks to perfect size once you slipped it on. It is so comfortable that you don’t feel it.

“Huh?” you let out. That didn’t happen with the other ring.

“It’s made for you”, he says, “only you can wear it, it won’t slip off and only you can decide when to take it off. Give me your hand.”

You present your hand to him. Yoongi wraps his fingers around the ring and tugs strong enough that you have to follow the movement with your arm. The ring doesn’t budge one bit.

Yoongi releases the ring.

“You try”, he says.

“O-okay”, you say and put your fingers on the ring. The ring grows again, allowing you to slide it off easily, “holy fuck.”

“Yeah. Nobody can fuck with you anymore, unless you allow it.”

“I won’t allow it anymore”, you say, slipping the ring back on, “unless it’s you.”

Yoongi glances at your face, hiding the surprise with a blink of his eyes. He doesn’t say anything and looks back at the mountain.

“Thank you”, you say, “for looking out for me.”

“I said that I would keep you safe, didn’t I?”

“You did and I don’t take it for granted. So thank you.”

“Mhm”, Yoongi hums and places his hand on the stone next to yours.

You tense up when you feel his pinkie finger brush against yours. Once. It was probably a mistake. Twice. You glance at your hands with bated breath. Yoongi runs his pinkie down again. Holy shit, he is doing it on purpose. Feeling encouraged and with a racing heart, you reach out and hook your pinkie with his’.

He doesn’t show a change in posture, nor a change in expression, merely his pinkie closing around yours lets you know that he wanted this to happen.

And you feel close to passing out. Your heart tells you to break into tears and to fall around his neck and never let him go again. Your brain tells you to speak your truth and apologise a million more times. Your body is too weak and overwhelmed by this simple show of affection to act on any of those things. You are paralysed, left to stare at the mountain with a racing heart whilst wishing for time to never pass.

Yoongi turns, making you turn as well. You turn just in time to watch the others push and pull each other as they are trying to flee before you could notice them. You hear Hoseok whisper something along the lines of “they’re talking guys, let’s piss off.”

“We know that you’re here”, Yoongi says.

They stop, gawking at you with widened eyes.

“Oh guys? Oh hey wow you are here?? We didn’t even notice you here”, Hoseok lies, laughing nervously.

“You’re a shit liar, Hoba”, Yoongi says dryly.

“Ah yeah. Hah”, Hoseok touches the side of his neck.

“We didn’t want to disturb you”, Jungkook says.

“It’s okay. I’m leaving anyways”, Yoongi says, standing up, “have fun at the market today”, he says, strutting away with his hands hidden in his pockets.

You ache. You weren’t ready to let go yet.

The others wait until he is far away enough, hurrying to you quickly.

“And? Are you guys good again?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t talk about that.”

“So he doesn’t know about Jimin?” Seokjin asks.

“I just…didn’t think it was the right time.”

“Oh ___.”

“Please don’t be angry at me. I just don’t want to pressure him into having to talk to me. We, we hooked pinkies and, and it felt so nice that I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“You hooked pinkies? That’s so romantic”, Jungkook gasps.

“I didn’t wanna ruin that”, you whisper, looking at Seokjin.

Seokjin sighs in defeat, “I get it. Fine, I won’t say something again.”

“Thank you.”

“Should we get breakfast and then go to the market? I bet it’s better than to sit here and be sad, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

The market turns out to be as lovely as Jelena described it. You buy lots of delicious food and share it by the port whilst talking about Hoseok’s time with Annelise. She was a sweet woman until she went off the rails. Hoseok was angry at her for the longest of times, but isn’t these days. He wishes for her recovery and hopes that she will find happiness. He then proceeded to joke way too much, which let all of you know that he was embarrassed about being too emotional. You didn’t call him out and laughed at his silly jokes. On your way back to the house, you stumbled upon a bookshop and you insisted on visiting it. You came out of it with three new books, planning on reading them once you are home.

You return to the house in the late hours of the evening. You went sightseeing to a nearby mountain village, walking up small windy roads for way too many hours. The view was totally worth it. As was the incredible food you ate at a small restaurant up there. The owner instantly knew that your friends were vampires, welcoming them with a glass of blood on the house. The owner turned out to be a werewolf called Petar who is running the restaurant with his wife and son. He chatted about life here, resting his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder the entire time whilst rubbing his own belly mindlessly. Jungkook was nervous at first, but relaxes once he realises that he meant no harm in it and that this is simply how Petar the werewolf tells his stories. Petar called life here peaceful. He said that he spent many years in the big cities and that he hated the fighting between the different groups and so he moved here to find peace. He loved life here and he loved that the communities lived together in harmony. He hopes that the generations coming after him will have the same simple yet harmonious life as he and his wife had. Petar then proceeded to dish out the most incredible lobster you have ever eaten and sent you on your journey back home with a bottle of his daughter’s homebrewed Rakija.

Emma and Seokjin disappear in their room once home and won’t be seen for the rest of the evening. Yes, Hoseok made a horny comment before they left and Seokjin did slap his arm in punishment while Emma rolled her eyes fondly. Hoseok soon disappeared in his room as well and he won’t be seen for the rest of the evening.

Jungkook stays with you, offering his thigh for your head to rest upon as you read while he scrolled through his phone.

“You’re back.”

You and Jungkook lift your heads simultaneously. Yoongi is standing in the doorway.

“We are.”

“Good.”

“Do you want to sit with us?” Jungkook asks.

Yoongi sneaks a glance at you. You sneak a glance at Yoongi. Jungkook almost wants to yell because you both look so desperate for each other.

“I’m still busy”, Yoongi says and Jungkook swears he almost called him an idiot. He is yearning for you and yet he doesn’t want to accept it. Oh Jungkook is so angry at his stubbornness. He should get his head out of his butt and talk to you.

“That’s okay. You work so hard”, you say and Jungkook swears he almost called you an idiot. Your scent is soaked in yearning and yet you pretend that you are okay with giving him his space. Oh Jungkook is so angry at your good will. You should be disrespectful just once and kiss Yoongi until he feels dizzy.

Stupid fight! Jungkook hates this so much!

“Thanks”, Yoongi says, “sleep tight you two.”

“You too.”

Yoongi leaves. You settle against Jungkook. And Jungkook almost throws something. If this tiptoeing around each other continues, this stupid fight will last forever. Jungkook forces himself not to huff out air in frustration. He has to do something. He can’t watch idly by.

“Hey ___, I think I’m gonna go to sleep now. I’m really tired.”

“Oh? So soon already?”

“Sorry, the day was really long.”

“Oh yeah sure”, you sit up, “sleep tight, sweets.”

Jungkook kisses your cheek, “you too, baby.”

And with that he leaves, deciding to use the entire night to come up with a plan on how to get you and Yoongi to talk to each other.

You proceed to fall asleep on the couch twenty minutes later with the book in your hands, sleeping for a good two hours before you wake again to the sound of your phone.

“Urgh god. I fell asleep”, you groan, sitting up and reaching for your phone.

Kookie is calling

You pick up immediately.

“Hey Kookie, what’s up? Why are you calling me in the same house?”

“___ can you please help me?” his voice sounds strained as if he was in pain.

You jerk up in alarm, dropping the book on the floor without caring.

“What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?” your voice is raised in worry.

“No. I, I need your help, please. It hurts so much, m-my head.”

“Holy fuck”, you jump to your feet, running out of the room even if you have no idea where to go, “where are you? I’m coming.”

“The, the….”, his voice is slow, weak, “the attic room…help me…please…”

“I’m coming, Kookie. Hold on, okay? I’m coming.”

“Thank…you”, Jungkook whispers and then the line cuts.

You drop your phone on a random dresser, running through the house. You take two steps at a time, jump over folds in the carpets, dodge pieces of furniture. Your heart is pounding, but you don’t care. Jungkook is in pain and you need to get to him.

The stairs to the attic room croak under your aggressive steps, but you barely even hear the sound. The door is so in reach. Leaned closed, it lets out the shine of a weak light source. You throw it open. Candles are scattered in the room, illuminating your way.

“Jungkook?!” you call out, “I’m here! Where are you?”

Silence answers you.

“Please say something! Where are you?”

You have reached the end of the room. There is a huge round window in front of you, its glass is tinted in colours of reds and greens, showcasing a rose bush. There is a mattress in front of it with dozens of throw pillows on it. Pink rose petals and violet lavender buds are scattered over the sheets. But no Jungkook.

“Where are you? Kookie?”

You twist and turn. He isn’t here. Where is he?

“Jungkookie!” someone else calls out his name, stumbling through the threshold, “I’m here, hyungie’s here!”

You feel nervous instantly.

Yoongi stops, staring at you with widened eyes.

[bubacorn]

Music ask! 3, 4, 11

I also kinda just want to know your 3 favorite Metallica songs too 😅

3. three songs you were recently obsessed with

Recovery by Birdmask - the entirety of Tristan is perfection, and there are some themes that really resonate with me. plus Manuel's voice is just really good

Bow by Zeal & Ardor - again, Manuel, and again, the whole album is *chef's kiss*, i cannot even tell you how many times i played it through daily since i discovered them

Man or Ash by Corrosion of Conformity - it's just so catchy and i like the singer's voice in this one. i don't listen to CoC, and discovered this song only because James did backing vocals on it. their voices sound really good together and it all has a bit of a grimy feel. (i have a playlist of songs with James' backing vocals titled 'Man or Ass', don't ask, my brain just said 'that's exactly what that song is called')

4. three songs that you know thanks to your parents

hm. thanks to my parents. i can't really name any. my parents aren't/weren't that big on music (they listened to some music but didn't get into favorite genres/artists). when i was little, it was mostly cassettes with random popular songs from the 80s/90s, and the radio and later 'wedding pop' (i'm not sure if it's the right expression. crappy Hungarian songs that were big once, or music from popular bands that are pretty terrible). but it turns out one of them listened to rock/metal, too, once upon a time, so that's kinda cool (they can't really name anything, so it was more casual listening i think). sharing music with each other isn't really a thing, even though i played music from a young age and got into different bands growing up. but of course, those are silly and also no one cares

11. three favourite songs from movie or TV series soundtrack

Think by Kaleida - it's in John Wick and it's so catchy and just. wah. it's so good.

Guns Go Bang by Kid Cudi & JAY-Z - The Harder They Fall soundtrack in its entirety and the movie fuck so hard. i remember seeing the trailer before it came out and being so excited because it looked great cinematographically and also the music sounded really cool. it is, and it became one of my favorite action movies.

That Which Binds Us Through Time: The Chemical, Physical and Biological Nature of Love; an Exploration of The Meaning of Meaning, Part 1 by well, technically Wyld Stallyns - it's Bill & Ted. the third movie is so fucking sad, but it's also really pretty and-. yeah. i have very normal thoughts and feelings about it if anyone's interested.

+ ooohh, that's a dangerous inquiry (i'm not gonna be able to do just 3, i apologize in advance, and also for the rambling. i started writing out my favorites and narrowed it down to this. the purples are what i would say are the contenders for top 3 at this moment, but it's always changing)

Atlas, Rise!, Halo on Fire - one of my favorite 'modern' songs, especially the live versions of the latter with the additional intro James does

All Nightmare Long, Cyanide, The Unforgiven III, The Judas Kiss - Death Magnetic is full of such ominous songs, but people shit on it because of the whole compression issue, but i still like it. i even wanted to embroider the album cover onto my jacket (with cool, small stitches for the dirt and all that), changed my mind (or did i?) since, because i like the album but maybe not that much. i don't know, we'll see

Until It Sleeps, Bleeding Me, The Outlaw Torn - i think my all time favorite album is Load. i could ramble about each song for a while, it's such a great era, i adore James' vocals, the songwriting was top notch, and let's not get into the emotions and themes

Sad But True - this one was one of my first favorites and the only more popular/'classic' favorite of mine. i always forget about the existence of it, which is so funny, because i have the Pushead art shirt (also one of my favorite shirt designs from Pushead/for the band) and also because it's popular and it goes so hard, but for some reason my brain forgets it. then i listen to it and fall in love all over again

Devil's Dance, The Unforgiven II, Prince Charming, Low Man's Lyric, Fixxxer - right up there with Load. they are twin albums, i love them both, again, the vocals, the feels, the self-loathing, the grime. adore it

No Leaf Clover, - Human - S&M, my beloved. these two are up there with my all time favorite songs of theirs. they are truly bangers, the themes, the lyrics, the energy. the symphony compliments them so well

St. Anger, Dirty Window - the entirety of St. Anger is really close to my heart. i know people hate it, although i can't understand it. it's raw, it's painful and ugly and really, really angry. the album cover embroidery that i did for my battle jacket is i think my favorite design that i've ever done (even though it's wonky and not at all square-shaped)

The Call of Ktulu - my favorite instrumental, the bass is *mwah*

[minaminokyoko]

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil--A Spoilertastic Review

Disney: *shuffling through records* Hey, Hollywood.

Hollywood: *drunkenly burps, throws empty beer can behind the couch* Yup?

Disney: What’s that really well written, well acted, beautifully shot, feminist movie we made with Angelina Jolie that one time?

Hollywood: Oh, the broad with the wings and the horns? Maleficent.

Disney: Yeah, yeah, her. Do something else with her.

Hollywood: Wait, you don’t want to give it to her? *points to Talent, who is sitting at the table typing* Or her? *points to Effort, who is in the kitchen baking souffle* I mean, they’re the ones who made the first one.

Disney: Nah, you got this. Go for it.

Hollywood: Alright. *farts and a script falls out of his ass* Here you go.

Disney: Thanks, fam.

*END SCENE*

In case you can’t tell, I’m extremely disappointed in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Overall Grade: C-

As always, spoilers below.

Pros:

-Probably the only reason a few straggling fans are showing up to Maleficent II is finding out that the legendary Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as the evil queen. She is just as smug and cold and awful as she seemed in the trailer, so kudos. They don’t share enough screen time, but Mal vs. Ingrith at that dinner table was some of the shadiest, pettiest shit I’ve ever seen. Ingrith is That Bitch. You really wanted her to have a harsher fate considering the monstrous shit that she does in this movie.

-Though they are seriously few and far between, I did like the tiny domestic moments we got from Diaval and Maleficent. I’m sad to say that the hype was once again wrong. They were teasing that perhaps Diaval and Mal would get a little more of a romantic spin, but either it was cut for time or they changed their minds. Diaval and Mal are apart the entire movie. It’s the worst. However, the bits we do get of them in the beginning, like him giving her the bad news and her trying out her smile in front of him and her telling him he missed her was nothing short of adorable. I especially loved it when they were served bird and Mal gives him that mean little side-eye. It feels very comfortable and domestic, and less like they’re mistress and servant and a little bit more like the mother and father pair that they actually are. I’m just sad there is so few scenes of them together.

-Expanding Mal’s backstory has very mixed results, but the bits we do see and understand aren’t half bad. The phoenix thing is way under-explained, but it is a neat concept that the dark fae came from a single source. It was also a believable story that they were hunted to near extinction, especially during this era of time when white people were at their most fucking ridiculous killing every new people they found on every fucking continent they found them on. It made sense they hid from them and wanted revenge, since we pretty much see that the humans for the most part are utter shitheads anyway. I also loved the diversity of the dark fae, coming from all continents and all peoples. Nothing drives me crazier than the idea that all fantasy creatures should look like pale white folks. This was very nice to see. 

-At least Diaval didn’t die. I was afraid of that since bad sequels often kill someone you like just to “raise the stakes.”

-Tying the cursed spindle into the sequel isn’t half-bad an idea. It’s kind of neat that it’s how Aurora ends up discovering the truth.

Cons:

-Fucking everything else in this movie, basically, is a negative point. Goddammit. Why did they squander all this fucking talent?

-Having Mal, Diaval, and Aurora separated the entire time is the first huge mistake. I was hoping from the trailer that Mal getting hurt and finding her own kind was something that happens in the second act. Nope. First act. Fucking hell. All the reasons why Maleficent was a great movie was the dynamic between these characters and the development of their relationships. It was so easy to love them. They were a family. They had struggles and they all put in effort and they won the day. And then this movie happened. Mal and Diaval first and foremost were done dirty, especially since behind the scenes they had been teasing that maybe the hints of romance between them might finally get a brief spotlight, but no. Didn’t happen. Either it was cut for time or they changed their minds. Then Aurora just blindly believing that Mal cursed the king despite knowing her mother for fucking five plus years, not counting how Mal raised her from afar, just massively pisses me off. Aurora has shown no signs of wanting to just be a normal girl. She loves her mother faithfully and it feels very OOC for her to just instantly assume the worst, especially since she should know things about magic by now and would have heard that Mal has to verbally curse someone, not just with a gesture of magic.

-Almost every part of this story has our leads being passive as hell. I hate passive stories and I hate passive characters. Remember, a good story is one in which your protagonists affect the plot and the outcome and each other. This movie is borderline boring. It’s so much of people looking out the window at the sky and fretting and being moody. All of our characters just sit around for two goddamn hours barely doing a thing until the war at the end, as if the movie is just waiting for itself to end. It’s such a fucking shame considering how many creative, engrossing scenes are in the first film. The first film perfectly paced the character development with the three main leads alongside the action. I loved seeing Diaval’s different forms. The action was fantastic and the story was deeply personal. Everything built towards the end goal of showing the full scope of who Mal is as both the hero and the villain. Here, it’s just miscommunication. That’s it. It’s so stupidly basic and it doesn’t do anything but open the door for her backstory. It’s such a lazy method to introduce them. There were much better ways to go about it and I’m sad that none of our beloved three barely does anything over the course of the movie.

-The tone is all over the fucking place. I actually would not recommend this movie for kids. It’s much too harsh for the little ones when we reach the war in the third act. It’s unnecessarily cruel to a bunch of characters. It even has the nerve to outright KILL one of the three fairy godmothers with little to no reverence for what a big fucking deal that should be. It’s a nasty, unpleasant feeling when she dies and when the other moorfolk and the dark fae die as well. And yet some of these scenes have slapped together “wah-wah-wah” moments, like the evil queen simply being turned into a goat. Ha-ha. Yeah. There are dozens of soldiers and innocent townsfolk and fairies dead. But she’s a just a goat. Sure. That’s not a whiplash of a fucking tone at all. What the hell is the matter with this movie? How dare you actually kill a fairy godmother. And it was one of a few stupid sacrifices while we’re at it. I mean, Magical Negro Fae went full Piccolo standing in front of Mal when all he had to do was yank her out of the way. Same for the big tree fae who died. Not to mention the fact that the giant tree fae just had to walk over to that fucking pipe organ and snap that stupid redhead’s neck, easy peasy, in three seconds. Problem solved. Fuck this movie for showing such flagrant deaths for innocent characters.

Oh, excuse me, one second.

*grabs Hollywood by the ear, shoves him into a chair, and breaks his nose*

Hollywood: OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!

Me: IF YOU PUT ONE MORE GODDAMN FUCKING MAGICAL NEGRO INTO ANOTHER MOTHERFUCKING MOVIE IN 2019 OR BEYOND, I’MMA FUCKING KILL YOU.

-Magical Negro Fae makes me want to kill something. I’m tired, y’all. I’m tired of writers in Hollywood continually making wise black characters teach white people life lessons and then promptly die to advance their story. Go to hell. All of you who keep writing this wretched cliché go straight to hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Take your ass to hell and rot in the lake of fire. Stop. Fucking. Doing. This. To. Black. Characters. You. Fucking. Assholes.

-It feels like there is a movie between the first Maleficent and this one that we missed. Seriously, the characters spout backstory that sounds interesting and important, but it’s off-screen, and we’re constantly fighting to understand something that the characters clearly do. Show, don’t tell. Show me Aurora and Philip being in love. Show me Aurora’s longing for Philip and Mal to get along. Show me Mal wondering about her heritage and feeling like an outcast. Show me the dark fae’s backstory. Show me Lickspittle being forced into betraying his own kind. I cannot connect with these characters if you do not give me a reason to do it like you did in the first film.

-Is it just me or did Hollywood deadass steal a whole bunch of this from the Gargoyles animated series? I’m just saying. Go back and watch that and then watch this and tell me it’s not similar.

-Nitpick: God, Disney, I am so tired of you filming all your live action movies on one sound stage with zero practical effects and zero sets. Yes, we can tell the fucking difference when you film everything indoors and there’s no sets. Can we go back to actually giving a shit about how movies look?

-Nitpick: There’s plotholes everywhere. I already mentioned how the tree fae could have ended that church massacre in a total of 3 seconds, if that. Where have the dark fae been? Why did they just act that one time with those mercs stealing the moorfolk? What was Lickspittle actually doing to the trapped fairies? We never see him experiment on them or anything. How did Magical Negro Fae see Mal fall in total darkness? Was he just hovering around the area? Why? They seem very far away from their stronghold, so how did he see her and why have they never attempted contact with her before even though they apparently know the moors very well? I could go on like this for some time.

-Angelina Jolie is given very little material to work with and it’s depressing considering how emotionally attached I became to Mal in the first movie. Her struggle was so sympathetic and her reaction to Stefan’s cowardice and cruelty was arguably justified. Here, she’s not having some kind of revelation about herself. It’s cookie cutter right and wrong. It’s very little struggle. She’s not barely doing anything for long periods of time and it’s honestly boring and disappointing as hell considering what a force of nature she is in personality and in abilities. They took all the zest and spice out of her. She’s a hollow, empty version of herself here and it’s probably the most insulting thing of all.

-Nitpick: The title is a big fat lie. Mal does not turn evil or become evil. She swats some fools around at the end, but that’s all. I hate misleading titles.

Overall, the word to describe this movie is unnecessary. It’s not bad, but it is nowhere near good at all. It reduces all its characters into passive roles in a dull story that tries to make up for it by heavily loading the ending with very distasteful, cruel war scenes that are frankly too harsh for children. It’s not asking any deep, sympathetic questions from its audience. It’s just spinning its wheels, mostly. If you’re curious, sure, go ahead and rent it. I would warn you from paying full theater price since it adds almost nothing to something that was frankly perfect the way it was already. I went in with low expectations and while the movie didn’t go below them, it was still a letdown. Mostly because I wanted some Maleval scenes to wake up the tiny, dormant fandom, and I highly doubt this is going to do that.

Sigh. You deserved better, Mal. At least we’ll always have the first movie.

Kyo out.

[feralboimurphy]

Richie/Mike(can’t think of a title)

It’s the end of Spring and Summer is finally here. School’s out for their Junior, going into Senior, year and Mike is working more than usual. Richie misses him a lot and joins him in working. Sometimes he doesn’t even work, he just makes jokes and admires his handsome, strong boyfriend. After a long day at work, Richie rubs his shoulders and gives him different massages. Sometimes, when Mike’s in the mood or his grandfather made him mad in the day, the long day ends in passionate sex. Richie is surprised by Mike’s sex drive sometimes, but he tries to get used to it.

One week, Mike’s grandfather is gone to visit some family a few states over. He’s hired a few people to do the work, leaving Mike to have a week off.

Every night, he takes Richie out to something nice. The first night, they went to see a horror movie, Richie talking all night before Mike shut him up with a kiss. The second night, Mike and Richie stay in, Mike making dinner before taking Richie to his room. Richie claims it was the best date while Mike rolls his eyes with a fond smile. It’s the third night and they’re at the quarry, having a small picnic.

Mike watches Richie with a smile on his face as Richie rants about whatever Stan did to upset him. He just stares at Richie’s lips before looking at his eyes, which are looking down at his hands messing with his shorts. Mike was a little disappointed when Richie switched to contacts, but he loved his eyes. He loved everything about him. His inappropriate jokes, his hyperactive personality, his looks.

Most say Richie isn’t attractive, but Mike disagrees. He’s the most beautiful boy ever. And he always tells him that. Which leads to Richie’s face flushing before he leans in and kisses Mike.

“Helloooo?” Richie waved his hand in front of Mike’s face. Mike jumps a little and looks at Richie, not realizing he zoned out.

“Sorry, baby boy.” Mike smiles and takes Richie’s hand. Richie smiles and reaches his hand up again, kissing Mike’s knuckles. Mike watches and smiles, leaning a little closer to Richie. He gives him a soft kiss, smiling as Richie leans back, going to make a joke. Before he can, Mike’s voice interrupts him.

“I love you.” Richie’s sentence stops and he looks up at Mike with wide eyes. From the five months they’ve been dating, neither of them have said I love you. Mike feels hurt as Richie lets go of his hand. He watches Richie stand up and he panics, standing too.

“Ri-“

“I have to go. I’ll see you later, Mike.” Richie says quietly, walking to his bike quickly, getting on and riding home,well Bill’s house, as fast as he can, leaving Mike with a hurt expression on his face.

Now, it’s not that Richie doesn’t love him. Well, he doesn’t know really. He thought he was in love with his ex,a jerk who hurt him, but he was wrong. He doesn’t really know what Love was. He only really felt lust for former lovers. But Mike, it’s so much different. He’s treated good. And Richie loves it. He just doesn’t know if it’s love.

He gets to Bill’s house and walks to Bill’s room, noticing Stan hovering over Bill on his bed, just in boxers.

“J-Jesus, Richie! K-k-knock much!” Bill says loudly, covering himself up with a blush on his face. Stan huffs and sits on Bill’s other side. Richie feels his cheeks heat up and the two other boys look at each other. Richie usually is one to make a joke.

“Mike said he loved me.” Richie says quietly, but loud enough so Bill could hear him. Bill smiles, feeling happy for his friends.

“Good for yo—”

“It’s not good. I didn’t say it back.” Richie says, feeling himself getting stressed. “I-I don’t know how to l-love. I don’t know what it feels like. I don’t know what I’m feeling. I don’t know if I love Mike.”

Richie’s voice cracks a few times and he starts crying. Mike is gonna break up with him now. He won’t want him if he won’t love him. Bill frowns and stands up, walking over to Richie, giving him a hug. Richie sobs into his shoulder, feeling himself get a little weak. Bill shushes him quietly and Richie can hear Stan moving a little. Richie sniffles and wipes at his eyes, noticing Stan has pajama pants on now.

“I’m sorry. I ruined your guys’ night.” He mumbles, knowing Stan and Bill have tonight for an actual date night before they work separately again. Stan sighs from the bed.

“Don’t worry about it.” Stan says with a soft, reassuring smile to Richie. Bill smiles and pats Richie’s shoulder softly.

“Guess you guys can just have quickies.” Richie jokes, giggling a little, taking off towards his room as Stan groans and throws a pillow, just missing Richie’s side.

———————————————————

It’s been almost a week and Richie hasn’t spoken to Mike. He feels even more guilty each day. First, he ditches Mike at a date and then he doesn’t even speak to him. He feels like a shitty boyfriend.

One night, he woke up to a pounding on the door and he heard Bill open it, saying something. He hears Mike’s voice and he freezes. Fuck. He stays quiet and listens to Bill tell Mike that Richie is sleeping and it’s best if he gives him space. Richie swallows, feeling like there’s a lump in his throat as he hears Mike tell Bill to remind Richie that he loves him and he’s there when he needs to talk.

Richie hears the door close and then Bill’s footsteps echo up the stairs and Richie hears him knock at his door.

“Richie? C-Can I cuh-come in?” Bill asks softly, only stuttering a little. Richie sniffles.

“Y-Yeah.” He says so Bill can hear. Bill steps in and sighs.

“I th-thought you would be awake.” Bill says and sits next to Richie.

“I wish I could love him back and it’ll be easy. B-But I don’t know if it is. I don’t even know how I feel.” Richie laughs bitterly. He sits up and catches a glimpse of himself before he cringes. He looks like a mess. He is a mess.

“Sometimes yuh-you just know.” Bill says quietly and Richie looks at him. “Y-you feel duh-different. Wah-warmer.” Bill says and Richie just feels that he knows at that moment. He’s felt it. When Mike holds him. When he catches Mike staring at him. When Mike stands up for him. He gulps, a little nervous as he thinks of how he feels. Maybe he does love Mike. But what if it doesn’t last? That’s a huge commitment for Richie. He doesn’t notice Bill is still talking until he looks at him. He stops Bill as Bill starts stuttering.

“Thank you, Bill.” Richie says, smiling softly.

Two days later, Mike is at his house again. Richie doesn’t expect Mike, but he does expect a pizza. He gets his money out and opens the door when there’s a knock.

“How much would that b—“ he stops his question and looks at Mike with wide eyes. “M-Mike.”

“Richie.” Mike breathes out, relieved that he finally answered. He goes to speak and jumps as the door is shut in his face and he hears the door lock. He looks down sadly and sighs shakily.

“P-Please, Richie. Please talk to me. I’m sorry I said that. I know how you feel about stuff like that. But I do love you.” Mike’s voice cracks and he leans his head against the door. After a few moments of silence, he sighs shakily and backs up.

“I’m sorry, Richie.” Mike sighs and turns to walk away. He’s almost in his car and he stops as he hears the door open and Richie calls out his name. He turns around and walks back up to Richie. He goes to say something, but Richie interrupts him.

“I don’t know if I love you. I’ve never really felt it. Never felt love. But I know what I feel for you. It’s so different to me. I feel like I don’t know if I’m me.” Richie pauses and Mike looks at him shocked. He doesn’t speak, so Richie goes on.

“I know i feel happy inside when I’m around you. Like all I can do is smile and laugh. I feel no sadness with you. I’m not good with expressing things. But I know how easy it is to lie about it.” Richie’s voice cracks as he remembers his last relationship. All a lie.

“My heart feel like it skips when you just give me any kind of attention. And I only want it from you. And I don’t know if this is Love. But I never want to stop feeling this with you.” Richie says, breathing heavily as he finishes talking. Mike stares at him. He steps closer and takes Richie’s face in his hands. Richie turns his head and softly kisses Mike’s hand.

“Please don’t say you love me. I might not say it back. And I don’t want it to hurt you.” Mike laughs at Richie’s sentence, kissing him softly. Richie pulls back.

“Why’d you laugh?” Richie says, frowning.

“Because I love you. I’m gonna remind you every day. You don’t have to say it back. They’re just words. You’re showing me wether you realize it or not.” Mike mumbles and Richie smiles, not wanting to Joke at the moment.

He pulls Mike into the house and he closes the door before Mike pushes him back onto the couch in the living room.

“I wanna show you just how much I love you.” Mike mumbles and kisses down Richie’s jaw, hearing a slight moan.

“Show me. Show me love Some more.” Richie whimpers and tugs off Mike’s shirt. Mike smirks and leans down, kissing Richie once again. The door opens and before Mike can grab his shirt, Stan walks in.

“Really?! On the couch?!”

——————

3 years later, Richie and Mike have moved into a house together. Richie guides Mike through the house with his eyes covered.

“What are we doing, Richie?” Mike asks, a smile on his face. He recently proposed to Richie earlier in the day and Richie had said he had a surprise for Mike after.

“Be patient, Michael.” Richie teases as he keeps walking with Mike before he stops him. “Open.”

Mike opens his eyes and is surprised by the sight. In their spare room is a picnic blanket, the same one on the date that Mike told Richie he loved him.

“I made some of your favorite foods. Thought we could have a picnic. The outside one was ruined.” Richie glares at the window, watching the rain fall. He smiles brightly at Mike.

They both sit down and Mike laughs, enjoying his time with Richie. They’ve both been busy so Mike is happy this was planned. Soon, he takes Richie’s hand. Engagement ring now on his hand. Mike smiles and kisses his hand.

“I love you.” Another time Mike says it. He smiles, not really expecting much on Richie’s part.

“I love you too.” Mike feels like the wind is knocked out of him. It feels like something struck him. He looks up at Richie’s grinning face. He smiles widely and jumps at Richie, kissing all over his face. Richie laughs under him as he hears the ‘I love you’s coming out of his fiancé’s mouth.

“I love you so much, Mike. I felt it’s a right time to say it. I know now.” Richie whispers later in the night as they’re cuddled up, freshly showered with fresh bedsheets.

“I love you too. So much.” As Richie falls asleep that night, all he can think about is how those words making him feel. Warm. He’s in love.

[stuckinthekookiejar]

Therapy pt 1

Pt. 1 || Pt. 2 (final)

REQUEST: Helloo can i request for a story (it can be a one shot, a drabble or a long chapter ff its up to you) of AU! Semi canon Yoongi falls in love with his psychiatric that helped him going through his dark days? If i can add an addition he started to fall in love w/her the first time she helped him cure his mental health but he didn't have the gut to admit it at that time and he was busy being a trainee to even have a relationship so he kept the feeling for himself only. and like 11 years later they accidentally met and he is now laid back and able to manage a relationship and the girl is having trouble forgetting her ex because he cheat on her on their 1000days anniv and it was d-2 b4 her mother died so it's her that feeling down now but she manage to be strong in front of people. and yoongi is the one who helps her going through all this.

Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Summary: You were there for him when he needed you, but now it seemed like the tables have turned.

Word Count: 7187

“Oh, Jungkooookie-aaaah...ish t-that you?” Taehyung stumbled out of the bar with Jungkook and Jimin who struggled to guide him through the door mostly because he was flailing his arms about,

“Hyung watch it!” The older was flushed, his boxy smile overtook his face. He turned to Jimin,

“Jiminie! Aww, cute Jiminie...you’re so schmol...and c-cute...” Taehyung pinched Jimin’s cheek and Jungkook was struggling to stifle back his laughter. Jimin, on the other hand, was very irritated,

“Who was it that allowed Taehyung to drink today, huh?” 

Jin managed to hail a cab for the maknae line, “The stairs are steep so you guys make sure to get him to your apartment safely.”  They nodded as they stuffed the drunken boy into the car. 

Hoseok laughed, “Wah, how could he get so drunk...he’s not even the one going into the military. Right, Namjoon?”

“Ah, don’t worry too much. If Jin-hyung could survive training, then you guys will be just fine.” Yoongi assured. 

“YAH! WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” The eldest’s ears grew red as he shook his head in disbelief prompting the other three to burst out into laughter. 

“It’s such a shame, though,” Hoseok said with sad eyes, “It was just a few days ago that Yoongi-hyung came back from service and now Namjoon and I have to leave...I wish we could’ve at least have had some time to record something for our fans as a group.”

Another cab was hailed and Jin, Namjoon, and Hoseok hopped in. Only Yoongi chose to remain outside.

“Hyung?” Namjoon asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Nah, I think I’m going to do some stuff at the studio. You guys go home. You and Hoseok will need your rest for tomorrow.” 

“Don’t go home too late,” Jin nagged.

“Hyung, I’m not a child you know.”

“Yah, just because we don’t live in the same apartment anymore doesn’t mean I have to stop worrying about you. Besides, we’re neighbors. Technically we do still live under the same roof.”

“Yeah, yeah just go.”  Yoongi waved for them to leave. He stared at the back of the car and watched as Hoseok stuck his head out the window, smiling and waving. With sad eyes, Yoongi waved back. That moment would probably be the last time he’d see his friend for next two years. 

Once the taxi left his vision, Yoongi turned around and walked down the empty street with his hands stuffed in his pockets. These empty streets allowed him to walk freely without the coverage of a mask, and Yoongi basked in the feeling of complete freedom. It wasn’t every day that he got the opportunity to take walks like this without being bombarded with flashing cameras. Fans even loitered around the police station he was placed in, not to mention the police chief asking for many autographs for his nieces and nephews.

His breath came out in the form of a miniature cloud as he let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes. This freedom he felt unlocked a door in his mind letting memories of the past play again and again like a movie. The days of being a trainee were brought back. Although the workload had pretty much remained the same, he did have time to be alone back then. He could venture out into busy streets without the use of a mask. He could sit out by the Han River all day and compose without attracting a crowd. He could....he could see you. You were nothing but a memory to him now, a beautiful one. 

“Hey, lady,” Yoongi’s eyes opened at the sound of a voice nearby, “If you aren’t here with somebody, then how about coming with oppa, hmm?” 

A sigh escaped from Yoongi’s lips at he peeked at the situation unfolded out of the corner of his eye. It was some punk trying to coax a drunk woman into sleeping with him. Yoongi couldn’t stand people like him. 

“What do you say? C’mon, it’ll be fun. Why don’t we just go to my...”

“Hey, just leave her alone!” Yoongi made long strides to the man all while putting on his hood hoping that it’d be enough to cover his identity. 

The punk, who had been prodding at the drunk woman, turned to Yoongi with an expression of pure agitation, “Mind your own business.” he smirked before going back to bother the woman. He even grabbed her arm prompting Yoongi to do the same to the man. 

“I said, leave her alone.” The glare that Yoongi gave the man could pierce through the soul of any being, maybe even the devil himself. But that didn’t stop the punk from provoking Yoongi.

“Hey, dude, look why don’t you find yourself a catch somewhere else.” That smirk on the guy’s face grew even more and that, along with his rudeness, really pissed Yoongi off.

“Wow...‘catch’? Really? Ah, I see. The only way you’ll ever get laid is by bringing any random drunk woman home. If you’re that desperate then why don’t you go around and actually get a life? Maybe then someone would be willing to sleep with your poor thirsty ass.” 

The man’s face grew red and anger seeped from within him, “What did you just say?” 

“If you didn’t get the memo, I’m telling you to fuck off.” Again, the man smirked and attempted to throw a punch at Yoongi. Yoongi managed to dodge the punch, grab the man’s arm and jab him hard in the stomach.

At least the military training finally paid off.

He fell to the ground, wheezing for air, “Geez, why are kids like you so stubborn? Leave before I call the cops.” The man started to tear up a little as he got up and ran away. 

Yoongi turned his attention to the woman leaning against the brick wall behind her, “Miss?” As Yoongi approached her, he could clearly smell the alcohol in her breath. She was pretty dazed and out of it. Her head hung low and her disheveled hair covered her face. Sounds escaped from her lips, mumbles or something of the sorts. 

“Miss? Do you need me to get a cab? Miss?”

“Why would you...do that...WHY?” Something about her voice sounded familiar, but Yoongi couldn’t recall why.

“Excuse me? I thought I was helping you...”

“How could you....leave me...” She pointed a shaky finger at Yoongi, “Leave me...for that BITCH?” Weakly, she lifted her arm to hit Yoongi, but he caught her wrist before contact was made.

“Miss, you’re very drunk right now. I’ll get you a cab, okay?”

“Why...why...? I...I loved you...and...and you....you....leave......why....” Suddenly the woman started to wail. Yoongi released her wrist and started to panic. He’d never had to deal with someone this drunk before...well, aside from Taehyung, but he only drank when it was a special occasion. 

“Please calm down...” 

“And...and how could you....you knew about my mother....YOU KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH...and you...you did that...to me....YOU BETRAYED ME...LEFT ME ALL ALONE...SHE FUCKING DIED YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!” 

She shook her head, her hair getting even more disheveled and tangled up and weakly punched at Yoongi’s chest before trying to walk away.

“Miss, it’s dangerous to walk by yourself in the middle of the night like this.” He placed a hand gently on the woman, trying to prevent her from leaving.

“....l-leave me....ALONE!” She swung her arm outward causing Yoongi’s hand to fly right off. In the process, she managed to stumble forward and almost fall over, but Yoongi caught her just in time. 

All her wailing and sobbing had died down, but now she was out cold in Yoongi’s arms. Her head bobbed back against his arm and the hair that had covered her face fell to her sides. Yoongi’s eyes widened as he began to realize why her voice sounded so familiar. 

A huge sigh of relief escaped Yoongi’s lips once he finally tossed you onto his bed. You were out cold, your hair was all over the place, and you were drooling a stream from the corner of your mouth.

With much care, he awkwardly changed you out of your clothes, closing his eyes as he did so. He didn’t want to feel like he violated your privacy in any way, but he didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable sleeping the clothes he had assumed you wore for work. 

After finally getting you changed in on of his shirts and sweat pants, he tucked you into his bed making sure that you were well-taken care off. You were still sound asleep, nothing seemed like it could wake you up now. With a sad sort of smile, Yoongi pushed away a few strands of hair from your face. 

Despite your current state and the fact that he hadn’t seen you in 11 years, you still looked like the same breathtaking person from before.

"I don’t even know why I have to do this, hyung.” Yoongi grumbled into the phone as he spoke with his older brother.

“Yoongi, it’ll be good for you. This whole trainee thing is taking a toll on you and you just need to find a way to....distress.”

“Sending me to a psychiatrist will help me ‘distress’? Sure, hyung, that’s totally how it works.”

“Huh, you know what I mean...we’re all just worried about you. Just please give it a try.”

“Hyung...”

“It’s not only for your sake. Think about mom and dad. They’re worried about you too.” Yoongi was a family man. Despite his previous disagreements with his parents, he’d never want them to fell worried.

“...Fine, but I am just trying it out. If I don’t like it, then I’m done.”

“Thank you, Yoongi. I have to go now, but I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever. Bye, hyung.”

Yoongi scowled as he shoved his phone into his pocket. The door gave off a jingling sound as it slid open for him, and the woman behind the front desk stood up to greet Yoongi. He was given papers to fill out and was told to wait in the small sitting area. The place was too pistine. White walls, white chairs, white floors, even the flowers that decorated the coffee table was the color white. It felt so airy, so free...and Yoongi hated it. It was just too bright for his liking. 

“Min Yoongi-ssi.” The receptionist beckoned, “Dr. Y/L/N will be seeing you now.” He got up and handed the clipboard with the filled out forms to the lady and entered the room he was led to. 

The room was entirely different from the openess he felt in the waiting area. It was still light in color with soft beige shade flooring, and a pale blue coating the walls, but it was just more...cluttered. The desk area to the left of the door was haphazardly adorned with piles of files and papers. The bookshelves were filled with different small knick knacks and house plants. The only real spot that was free of such clutter was the sitting area to the right. There was a brown leather chair long enough for any patient to lay their legs on. Beside it was a simple white seat along with a basic night stand and two mugs on it. 

You were sat on the white chair with your legs crossed giving a Yoongi a welcoming smile, “Please, have a seat.” You gestured for him to come over and he obediently complied. As he sat down, he softly mumbled frustrating curses that you couldn’t hear. He didn’t want to be here. He thought that therapy was pointless and that he could be using this time to make music. But even Bang Shi Hyuk insisted for him to get consulted, so here he was. 

You automatically sensed the kind of attitude he had. The way he didn’t bother to look at you and the way he was reluctant told you that he clearly did not want to be here. Not only that, but you could tell that he was a kind of closed off person, someone who wasn’t one to openly share his experiences even to the closest of friends or family. You had many patients like him...but for some reason, somthing inside you felt like he was special. 

“My name is Dr. Y/L/N.” You held out your hand. Yoongi just stared at it and scoffed before adjusting himself into a more comfomfortable spot in his chair. 

“I’m Min Yoongi.” He didn’t even look at you. 

Looks like it’s gonna take some time for me to crack this one... You thought.

Awkwardly to retracted your hand back onto your lap, “So, since this is our first session why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself.”

Yoongi was about to spit out some smart ass answer when the sound of his hyung’s voice popped into his head, “Think about mom and dad.” He sighed and gave in knowing that he promised his hyung that he’d try for the sake of his family. 

He turned to you, and looked at you closely for the first time since the beginning of the session. Your hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a pair of thin framed glasses sat on the bridge of your nose and your smile felt like it could cure blindness. As Yoongi’s eyes dilated at the sight of you, his mind was screaming at him. He could never have imagined becoming so infatuated in one single moment. 

“Min Yoongi-ssi? Are you alright?” Your smile faded into a look of conern as you watched Yoongi stare at you. You were worried that maybe he was just too shocked or scared or nervous to even slightly open up in any way, “You don’t need to tell me anything too personal if you’re uncomfortable.”

Yoongi closed his mouth that had been agape and gulped blinking a few times, “Um...no...I’m fine...I can tell you a bit about myself.” 

After that first session, Yoongi came to your office on a regular basis every week. He didn’t need to see you weekly, he had just wanted to. Even when his mental state got better and he was told he didn’t need to come o frequently, he’d still go at the same time on the same day every single week. The one hour sessions he had with you was always something he looked forward to. Something about talking with you made him feel liberated. Only with you did he feel completely comfortable taking off his tough exoskeleton revealing his true vulnerable self that he vowed never to reveal. 

“I hear you moved in with your new members a little while ago?” 

“Yeah, I did. It’s kinda surreal now that I know that we’ll be debuting together.” He smiled with his genuine gummy smile. He sat on the side of his chair, his feet planted onto the floor, his posture hunching forward with his elbows on his knees as he held onto the mug of coffee you had offered him. 

“I’m sure it must be very surreal. I mean we’ve been talking about your worries about debuting for quite some time, and now that it actually is gonna happen...I’m so proud of you Yoongi. You’ve come a long way.” He brought the mug to his lips hoping that he could block your view from his reddening cheeks. The way you said his name without the honorifics made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

“But it’s weird living with six other guys. The dorm is very tiny and there’s barely any room. It’s practically impossible to get privacy when you want it.”

“I see. Well, if you are in any need to privacy take a step outside and do those breathing exercises we had established together before.” 

The sound of the alarm on your watch sounded and you looked down to surprisingly see just how fast the hour had gone by, “Well, it seems like time is up.” You and Yoongi stood at the same time and he sadly looked down at his feet. He always hated leaving because when he was with you, he felt like his true self. 

You walked him to your door, “It was wonderful having you, Yoongi.” 

Something like a punch to the gut hit Yoongi. A cold sweat started to form and he curled his hands into fists. This session was his last with you.

He couldn’t bare to think that he wouldn’t be seeing you anymore. He had been consulted by you for a little more than a year, and during all that time he felt like you were someone he could rely on, someone to just completely be free with. Yoongi knew that his sessions with you would come to an end eventually. Now that the permanent lineup of his debuting boy group had been determined, he had become more and more busy. And once he debuts, there would be even less time to do anything else other than practicing and recording nonstop. 

Ever since the beginning, he told himself that he couldn’t be with you. He was busy with his own life. Being a trainee was demanding, and he’d have no time for a relationship, but he knew he was just giving himself excuses. The full honest truth was that he was scared. He was scared that you’d reject him. You were a psychiatrist, a pretty popular one at that. You had many patients who came to you, even other famous celebrities and idols consulted you. Unlike you who had a stable job, and a stable life, Yoongi was going to jump out into the industry only hanging by a single thread. Becoming an idol...it wasn’t promising. He couldn’t promise you a stable income or care free life or even just a little bit of his time. He felt like he couldn’t offer you anything to make you happy, and that was what kept him from confessing his feelings. 

For one final time, you extended your hand out to give him a final handshake. Yoongi looked at it and remembered that first time when he paid no attention to your welcoming gesture which he regretted. This time, though, he would make it right. 

He took your hand and shook it firmly, and too your surprise he unexpectedly pulled you forward and into a hug. For a second, he rested his chin on your shoulder trying to forever engrave your prescence in his mind knowing that this would probably the last he’d ever see you. “ Thank you for everything, Songsaengnim. Thank you, so much.”

Shards of glass stabbed at your head...at least that was what your headache felt like. Your eyes fluttered open allowing the beams of light to hit your irises, soaking you in its warmth. You turned over, laid on your stomach and groaned into the pillow,

Damn...how much did I drink last night? 

You took in a deep breath, expecting the smell of the light lavender detergent that usually coated your sheets, but instead, you smelled something else....something that smelled more like pine. Using your arms, you lifted yourself up from your spot on the bed and realized that these bedsheets were black...yours were blue. 

What the....where am I? 

You looked around. The walls were white decorated with neatly framed graphic art, posters, and photographs. The dresser across from the bed was made of a sleek dark wood that complimented the walls as well as the smooth concrete floor. You peeked to the side of you, a fluffy zebra patterned rug laid right beneath the simple steel framed bed. It was very clean and minimalistic...nothing like your own apartment. You were messy and very unorganized while this place...it was the complete opposite. 

That wasn’t the only thing that was different. You felt a draft through your shirt which you thought was weird because the night before you were still in your work clothes: a button down tucked into some khaki pants.The clothes you had on right now definitely wasn’t as uncomfortable as your work clothes. You looked down, examining yourself. You were wearing a loose-fitting black t-shirt and some sweatpants that looked like it hadn’t been from your own selection of clothing. 

“Aish...” you mumbled to yourself scratching at your hair frustratingly. 

From behind the closed door next to the dresser, you heard the clattering of plates. Panic started to course through your veins and you grabbed the closest thing to you: the lamp on the nightstand. After unplugging the lamp, you took it in your hands lifting it above you and you quietly tiptoed towards the door. Slowly you wrap one of your hands around the silver knob and twisted it ever so quietly, but suddenly another forced from the other side opened it almost hitting you with the door. You screamed, startled by the movement, and swung the lamp down onto whoever opened it. A hand caught your wrist before you could actually hit the figure,

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHY AM I HERE?” You cried trying to pry your arm out the hand that clutched onto it, “LET GO OF ME!”

“Yah, calm down.”

“NO! IF YOU TRY TO HURT ME...I SWEAR...MY...MY BOYFRIEND IS A PROSECUTOR!” 

“S-Seonsaengnim, it’s me. Min Yoongi.” You looked up surprised at the mention of the name. Low and behold, you so called “captor” was indeed the Min Yoongi. The Min Yoongi that was part of the internationally famous boy group BTS. The Min Yoongi who had just come back from military service. The Min Yoongi who you had taken care of over a decade before. 

“M-Min Yoongi-ssi? What....” He sighed in relief seeing that you finally calmed down. Well, you weren’t really calmed down. It was just the shock that had caused you to freeze, “Um...what am I doing here?

The grip on your wrist was released and he took the lamp from you, “I’ll explain, but first, there’s some hangover soup for you on the table.”

“Oh...okay...” You gulped and reluctantly stepped out of the bedroom as Yoongi made way for you. 

The minimalistic theme of Yoongi’s bedroom carried on into the rest of the open plan apartment. The floors were a shiny concrete like material with a few white rugs here and there. The dining table was a deep brown, the couch was a shade of black. Even more framed photos and stylistic graphic art lined the walls. The apartment wasn’t that large, probably good enough to house a young couple. 

Behind you, Yoongi stepped out of his bedroom. With a small chuckle, he watched as you stood there wide eyed scanning the entirety of his modest apartment, “Does my place look ugly or something?” 

At the sound of his voice, your hunched back straightened and you hid your face with your hands in embarrassment, “N-No...it’s just smaller than what I imagined.”

You scurried over to the table and plopped onto the chair in front of the bowl of piping hot soup. The aroma of the broth tickled your nose and drool began to form at the edges of your dry mouth. As if Yoongi could read your mind, he brought you a glass of water, 

“You better drink up. You’re probably dehydrated from all that alcohol.” 

“Thank you...” That glass of water was chugged down your throat and the soup had vanished from the white ceramic bowl in a matter of seconds. Once you completed the meal, Yoongi came over and took away the dishes and placed them in the sink before coming back to sit across from you. 

The atmosphere was awkward. Here you were sitting in front of a guy who you haven’t seen in years, let alone him being one of your previous patients. Sure, the two of you had been particularly close and he used to be one of your most favorite patients, but that professional kind of relationship was still there. You were a psychiatrist and he was your patient, and nothing would change that. 

“So,” Yoongi finally broke the silence, “I guess you’re wondering why you’re in my apartment?” You blinked a couple times and nodded. He explained how a guy was trying to bring you home and how he kicked his ass and how he had to carry you on his back all the way to his place. By the end of the story, a deep pit had grown in your stomach with the feeling of guilt,

“Omo...I’m so sorry I caused you so much trouble...” You brought your hand to your mouth and shut your eyes as you mentally berated yourself. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid....you little shit....how could you drink so much...

“It’s okay. It was the least I could do to after you took care of me for the entire last year of my trainee period.” 

“Yoongi-ssi, you came to my office to get consultations. Taking care of you was my job. No one’s paying you to care for a stupid drunken crazy lady.” You laughed trying to somehow feel less bad about the situation, “Look, I’ll pay you back somehow...”

“No, it’s fine. Really, don’t worry about it.” 

“I can’t just ‘not worry about it’, Yoongi-ssi. For real, I’ll pay you back for sure.” 

“You’re really determined, huh?”

“I just don’t like to feel indebted to people, that’s all. If you think of anything that you want then tell me. I can get it for you.” 

“Anything?” 

You brought your arms over your chest and crossed them in a protective stance, “Not ‘anything’ per say...” 

Yoongi chuckled, amused by your assumption, “That’s not what I meant by ‘anything’. Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of man.”

“O-Oh....yeah...I knew that. I was just...setting boundaries...that’s all. So do you know what you want?”

Leaning back in your chair, you stretched your arms out after a long day’s work of consultations and documentation. As if it were now second nature, your eyes glanced down at your idle phone that sat in the corner of your desk. You promised Yoongi that you’d pay him back for the trouble you caused him and he said that he needed time to think of how you’d consolidate him. You gave him your number and told him to text you once he figured it out. 

That was a week ago, and no message was ever sent to your phone. 

A notification popped up on your phone and you jumped in your chair hoping that you’d finally be able to pay this debt off. Beads of sweat formed as you clutched your hand into a fist after seeing who had messaged you. It wasn’t Yoongi, it was your ex. 

[Heartless Bastard]: Y/N txt me back 

You scoffed and threw your phone back on the desk. Ever since you caught the unfaithful little prick in bed with none other than your former receptionist on your 1000th day anniversary, you refused to talk to him. The last thing you told him was to “fuck off”. 

[Heartless Bastard]: Wut’s the code to ur apartment. U changed it

[Heartless Bastard]: I still hav some of my things in ur place

[Heartless Bastard]: C’mon, Y/N. U know I need my PS4 back 

Imaginary fumes were expelled from your ears in anger. Not only did he cheat on you on a very special day, but he didn’t seem to give any fucks when it came to the fact that your mother passed away just 2 days after you found him and that bitch in bed. He knew about how your mother was battling cancer and how her days were numbered. He knew that you were hurting and he knew that he was only one of the very few people you had in your life to help you through hard times. He knew all of that yet he still hurt you, and his stupid messages only confirmed how little you must have meant to him. He didn’t even ask how you were, he just wanted his damned PS4 back.

Your ex was just a straight up terrible guy, but for some reason, you just couldn’t forget about him. You still kept his phone number, and you didn’t throw away the drawer of his belongings at your apartment. On social media, you still had his post notifications turned on. Even when he posted a picture with that bitch who called his new girlfriend, you still couldn’t bring yourself to completely forget about him. Maybe it was because you still did remember the happy times with him when he did care. 

You wanted to forget about the happy memories you had with him so that you could finally let go of him. That’s why you turned to alcohol. By no means were you an alcoholic. Before the breakup, you rarely even drank and even now you didn’t drink that much to be very honest. The problem was, was that you had low tolerance because of how rarely you used to drink before. After two drinks, your control over yourself would be thrown completely out the window, but knowing that didn’t stop you. 

After you made sure that you had finished all your work, you decided to wrap things up for the night. On your way out, you bid your current receptionist a good night and told her to carefully lock up the place before she went home. She just nodded and looked at you with worried eyes. By the drained look on your face, she could tell just where you were heading: the bar.

“Yeah, I’m on my way home now, Jin-hyung.....no.....hyung, I am not a child....yes, I remember how to get home.......hyung.....okay, hyung you can stop worrying about me.....yeah, yeah, bye.” Quickly Yoongi jabbed at his phone hanging up on Jin. 

Yoongi was on his way back from the studio after recording a few things for his upcoming solo album. Fans had been anticipating the release of one ever since he came back from the military, and he had been working hard to complete it. He was nearing the street where he remembered he had rescued you when he saw you in the near distance. From the looks of it, it seemed like you were going to the bar again. Before you could reach the door, Yoongi called out for you,

“Songsaengnim!” You were startled by the sudden shout and was surprised to see Yoongi running towards you.

“Y-Yoongi-ssi?” He was barely out of breath by the time came to your side, “What are you doing here?” 

“I’m just on my way home from the studio...it’s nearby.” 

“Oh, I see.” You really didn’t know how to respond. It was quite awkward bumping into him again in front of the bar, “Um...well I’ll just get going then. Oh, and I’m still going to repay you and I’m still waiting for your text. So think of something soon, okay?”  

“Wait.” He grabbed your arm just as you were going to walk past him, “Are you going to drink again?” You looked into his eyes and you could really see a sense of concern 

“Maybe...”

“After what happened last time, I don’t think you should be drinking without a friend.” 

A sigh left your lips as you gently remove his hand from your arm, “Look, Yoongi-ssi. I appreciate the concern, but we’re both grown adults. I can take care of myself.”

“After last week? Sure, I totally can see that you can take care of your drunken self.” 

As much as you wanted to argue with him, you knew that he was right. 

Yoongi noticed your frustration, and he could tell that something was bothering you...bothering you enough to make you want to drink, “I’ve got an idea.”

The couch was soft and fluffy despite the rough look of the material it was made up of. 

“Wine or beer?” From across the decently-sized studio apartment, Yoongi called for you from his kitchen. In one hand he held a bottle of red wine and in his other, he held a can of beer. Were you feeling classy tonight? ....not really.

“Beer.” He nodded and put the wine bottle back on the mini wine rack that sat on his counter. 

The cold touch of the can sent a shiver down your spine, but the golden liquid felt so refreshing as you gulped a sip down. To the right of the couch, Yoongi sat in a chair watching you intently without even taking a swing from his own can.

“Yoongi-ssi, you invited me to have a drink, not to babysit me.”

He shrugged, “You never know when you’ll go berserk again. And just to clarify, me inviting you over for a drink doesn’t count towards that debt you owe me.”

“Wow, look at you. Weren’t you the one who insisted that ‘it’s okay’, ‘you don’t have to pay me back’?” You shook your head and laughed as you downed another gulp of beer. You let out a satisfying “ah” enticing Yoongi to take at least a sip from his can which worked. 

It was quiet for a moment before you spoke up, “Uh...it’s kinda awkward isn’t it?”

“It’s only awkward if you say it’s awkward, Songsaegnim.”

“Looks like some things never change. You’re still a smart ass.” Your gaze was trained to the floor as you laughed yet again. 

“Hey, are you supposed to be talking about patients like that?” A gummy smile arose from his lips.

“No, but you’re no longer a patient of mine, Yoongi-ssi.”

“Touche.” It became quiet again. 

It was nice, though, the silence. It allowed you to really have a gander and Yoongi. You couldn’t lie to yourself when you first met him eleven years ago. He was attractive and talented and you got to know him through your consultations...it was safe to say you had formed a bit of a crush. Despite your own feelings, you suppressed it. He was a patient of yours back then, and he was considerably younger. Aside from that, he had his own life and his own problems to deal with. Even if it was your job to provide him with therapy, you weren’t close to him like that and you never thought you’d ever be able to have that kind of relationship with him. 

Now, eleven years later, here you were having a drink at his apartment. Looking at him now, he had grown up so much within the last decade. Not only did his looks become even more dashing, but the way he carried himself and just the aura around him...it seemed more mature. 

Your heart thumped in your chest. These thoughts that whirled in your mind...it must have brought back the feelings you had so carefully locked away. But you pushed them back down and stomped on them internally.  Despite your inner turmoil, you managed to keep still. You were always like this: an expert at hiding your feelings.

As if it were a blessing sent from heaven, a knocking on Yoongi’s door pierced through the awkwardness between the two of you. Yoongi excused himself to get the door,

“Oh, Jin-hyung. What’s up?”

“The three maknaes ordered some chicken at their place. Want some?” 

Yoongi thought about it. Eating with a group of people would probably be less awkward for the two of you, “Alright. Do you mind if I bring a friend?”

“I’m sure the others wouldn't mind. Plus, since Namjoon and Hoseok left, Taehyung probably accidentally ordered too much out of habit.”

“Okay, see you on the roof.” 

“Also, bring the beer.”

“Got it.”

You didn’t hear any of the conversation Yoongi had with Jin so you were confused when he started to grab his coat and the stuff a plastic bag full of all the cans of beer he had in his refrigerator. 

“Are you going somewhere?” 

Yoongi peeked from behind the door of the fridge, “Get ready, we’re going somewhere.” 

You hesitantly stood up and collected your things curious about where you’d be heading, “Is it far?”

“No,” He was all ready with two plastic bags in hand as he stood by the now open front door, “We’re going to the roof.” 

You slipped on your shoes, walked out and waited for him in the hallway as he locked his door, “The roof? What’s on the roof?” 

“Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook’s place.”

“What? I thought you guys lived together...”

“You think all seven of us could fit in my tiny apartment?”

“Well, I don’t know...”

“It’s okay, you probably wouldn’t know. It’s not like we announce these things to the public. We actually don’t live together anymore. Although, we all still live in the same apartment complex, and we’re all practically neighbors, so it really doesn’t feel like I moved out to be completely honest.” 

“Oh, I see. So you live alone then?”

“Yeah, I do. The four of us older members live separately in our own apartments. The younger ones still wanted to room together, so they got the house on the rooftop. Oh, watch your step.” Yoongi guided you as you reached the end of the narrow hall. There were steep metal stairs that led up to the roof unit. He made sure to watch you from behind making sure you didn’t fall like a true gentleman. 

As you climbed the stairs, you could see a faint glow at the top and hear the noise of laughing and screaming. Behind you, Yoongi let out a sigh,

“Those rascals never change.” 

You could see what he meant when you finally reached the top. Taehyung and Jungkook were running around while Jimin was yelling at them to be careful. 

“JEON JUNGKOOK, GIVE IT BACK!” Taehyung jumped over the chairs and stools that littered the rooftop as he chased the maknae.

“Yah! It’s dangerous to do that on the roof!” Jimin was worriedly looking back and forth between the Taehyung and Jungkook. The younger laughed as he ran around with some sort of silver chain in his hand. Yoongi, who had quickly grown tired of the fiasco unfolding before him, managed to snatch the chain from Jungkook’s grip as he ran past you and Yoongi. You only got a small glance of the thing in Yoongi’s hand, but you knew immediately just how expensive it must’ve been since a Gucci charm was dangling from the chain. 

“Yah, what is this thing?” Yoongi held it up by its end and waved it around. Taehyung, whose eyes became wide and twinkly, became worried as his hyung carelessly handled his bracelet,

“Yoongi-hyung! Don’t just wave it around like that!” He came and took it from Yoongi, “It’s a one of a kind, engraved silver diamond encrusted wristlet. Only those who model for Gucci get them.” 

It was difficult to keep your jaw closed. You had almost forgotten Gucci’s newly appointed model was standing right before you. Taehyung noticed you gaping at him and looked at you curiously,

“I didn’t know hyung was bringing a lady friend over.” 

“LADY FRIEND?” Jungkook and Jimin joined Taehyung.

Yoongi sighed and took one step in front of you, “This is Y/N-songsaengnim. She’s an...old friend.” 

Jungkook, the only one who dared to taunt Yoongi, came up to his hyung and nudged at his side with his elbow while whispering, “Old friend? What kind of old friend? Or is she an old crush or something hmmm?” 

Yoongi only gave the pleasure of jabbing the maknae sharply in his gut before leading you to the table set up in front of the rooftop house. 

The unit was humble, nothing too extravagant. The roof was painted a bright green and a long lunch table sat on the deck in front of the home. Exposed light bulbs hanging from wires were strong along the railings and overtop the roof from poles. It was really like a scene you’d find in a typical kdrama. 

Jin was nowhere to be found, but the three youngest members had no problem entertaining you. Once you took a seat at the wooden table the three immediately hit you with a barrage of questions, mostly having to do with how you and Yoongi knew each other. Over a can of beer, you enjoyed making conversation with them. Despite the age gap, you felt right at home talking with them. 

Yoongi quietly sat as you interacted with Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin. Watching you smile and laugh...it made him almost forget about the emotional, tear-filled, blabber of a mess you were one week ago. 

Right now, you were the Y/N that Yoongi knew when he was a trainee. You were poised and elegant...the kind of person who sat with their shoulders held high, yet very amiable. You were the woman that he fell in love with. He was so used to seeing you in this light that he never really considered that you had times when you were down. You helped him during his down days, and now he wanted to help you. 

The sound of laughter came from down the stairs and Jin slowly made his way to the top. In his hand was the bag of chicken that had been just delivered, but behind him was another person: a man who looked to be older than Jin. Yoongi, Jungkook, Taehyung and Jimin all rose from their seats leaving you at the table alone,

“Oh guys, I didn’t know that he’d be in town, but this is an old university sunbae of my older brother.” 

The man was dressed in an expensive looking coat and a button up shirt tucked into some navy pleated pants. The aura around him displayed nothing but professionalism, but his smilely expression gave away his seemingly light personality, 

“You make me sound old.”

“What? I’m only stating the truth. You know, this hyung of mine, he’s a famous prosecutor now.”

“Yah, Jin-ah, now you’re going to make me blush.” The man smiled and lightly poked at Jin to make him stop gushing about him to the guys,

“Omo...aren’t you Ha Jae Hee?” It took him a little while, but Taehyung seemed to recognize him: Ha Jae Hee, the nationally famous prosecutor Ha Jae Hee.

“Why yes, yes I am.” He chuckled humbly, but you knew that he was just waiting to be showered with compliments. That’s how he always was, you would know. 

You stood from your chair and took your belongings before making your way to Yoongi. Lightly you tapped him on the shoulder, “Hey, I think I’ll be going now. Remember to text me when you think of how I can repay you.”

Jae Hee noticed you shying away behind Yoongi, “Y/N? Is that you?”

Everyone looked at you the moment he said your name, and just like that, your poised composure fell as you ran away.

A/N: this was only supposed to be one part...but then it got too long...so this will be a 2 part scenario 

Gif not mine, cred to the owner

[rhantsandrhambles]

Would you consider yourself an adventurous person? no, not because i dont want to be but just because im lazy What were you doing at 11 pm last night? fucking around on my phone probably 

Would you consider yourself heartless? not really, maybe sometimes depending on the situation Do you ever wish you were the opposite sex? not seriously  If you could go on ONE DATE with any celebrity, who would it be? to be honest i don’t have an interest in going on a date with anyone else rn Have you ever been afraid of being underwater? no its fun Would you ever scuba dive in shark infested waters if you had the chance? yea if it was one of those cage things If you woke up and no one was home, would you wonder where everyone is? yes! i would create a group chat and be like what the fuuuuuck explain yourselves Have you ever hit a parked car with your car? i think a tiny bit oops What would you do if your girlfriend or boyfriend didn’t like your friends? i dunno, to be honest ive never really had to mix relationships and friendships so it wouldnt really matter i don’t think Do you prefer light or dark haired? dark Do you have photos up around your room, of you? me and other people, me by myself would be a little conceited Do you have a hard time controlling your emotions? more than i used to  Ever been suspended from school? no, i shouldve though that would be fun Last person you were in the car with? my boo What time did you wake up this morning? sooo late like 10 something oops How tall are you? 5′4″ ish How many drugs are in your system? drug free zone tyvm What foreign language do / did you study? japanese and i was good at it i shouldve kept going with it Where is the next place you will travel to? work tomorrow  if you mean vacay i have absolutely no clue

Do you say sexy a lot? not a lot just when im keen on matt tbh Do you want to cut your hair? yea kinda ughhhhhh but ill regret it Do you have empty bottles of alcohol hidden somewhere? no, when i was younger i think i did at my dads Do you miss anyone? jacob but i think everyone does so theres no point talking about it Think back to your most recent relationship — Serious or not? Was it worth it? serious and yes heres hoping Who was the last person in your bed? me and matt finally slept over Don’t tell me lies, so is the last person you texted attractive? ummm its my boyfriends uncle soooo ??? Where is the person you last kissed at this moment? i dunno at work or some stupid shit 😒

Have you ever sneaked someone over to your house? yea as a teen lol Is it okay if you kiss people when you’re single? if it floats your boat Do you think it’s possible that you could move on from someone, and then redevelop feelings for them? you probably didnt fully move on im guessing How’s your hair right now? a hot fucking messssss someone fix it wah Do you only wish the best for your ex? yea, a lot better than i couldve been How are things between you and the person you like? satisfactory i love him eee Who was the last person you talked to before you went to sleep last night? matt and then he woke me up and then i went to sleep again -_- What time did you decide to get out of bed today? like 11 i dunno im pretty slack these days Did you straighten your hair this morning? no but i sprayed it with my new dry shampoo ;) When was the last time you laughed really hard? last night i think when matt cracked a funny What do you hear right now? the fan and maybe a plane Do you think that once people get married, they eventually fall “out of love”? not always but it does seem to happen heaps i think you have to put in effort to maintain it and people nowadays are so disposable Ever had a near death experience? just every time im in a plane Do you regret anything? yea plenty but life goes on  Who would you like your next “fling” to be with? i never want anything with anyone again Are you slowly drifting away from someone close? yea all my friends sad When was the last time you saw the person you last kissed? this arvo before he left me for stupid work Do you like your phone? yea thanks babe Last alcohol beverage? captain and coke Have you ever slept in a bed with the opposite sex? just every night If you had to move in with a friend, which one would you pick? maybe gabbi because her place is nice Who was the last person to go to the movies with you? jacob <3 Are you currently fighting with someone? no yay  Last time you had butterflies in your stomach? whenever matt comes home and im not expecting it lol im a child i know  Do you count down the days till anything? not really, im not an overly excited person Are you looking forward to something as of right now? seeing jacob whenever the fuck that will be and all you can eat dinner lmao and a new job What are your chances of getting with your crush? 100% Do you hate anyone? not seriously  Last time you wore the opposite sex’s clothing? this morning i wear matts old shirts all the time its comfy as fuck What do you want in your life right now? jacob, a job, study When was the last time you laughed so hard you thought you were going to cry? i dunno a hot minute ago  Who’s your best friend/s? gabbi dyllan  One thing you really want to learn? how to school people on veganism

How many times have you been on a plane? maybe like ten or more but i fucking. hate. it. One thing you wish for? an unlimited supply of money Do you get jealous easy? usually not but more in this relationship than ever in my life which is annoying but whatevs What colour is your hair? fuck even knows Made up with anyone recently after an argument? yep just yesterday story of my life 🙄

[spiderfan22]

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SEVEN - 1/30/17

“DUMPLINGS (MORE, MORE MORE)” by DJS

I think these two are amping up to kill each other.

Also, I’m not including the whole play this time, just the new pages, because that was starting to get fucking annoying. Check back for previous posts for the rest of the story.

Guest trails off, that sudden silly-happy spirit gone as quickly as it came. Lost again. Beat. Then quietly:

         GUEST

Hey, do you wanna hear a story? Or not even a story but like more of an anecdote? Or not even an anecdote but just something I noticed about me recently? It was when I was getting my hair cut. I go to one of those cheapy-y places so generic I can’t even remember the name of it. Great Clips…? Smart Cuts…? I don’t know, not important. I just noticed that I am the worst at hair stylist chit-chat. Like they try to engage me in, you know, very general-type topics. BROAD: we’re talking local sports, TV shows, friendly, nothing too personal or that would force you to “out” yourself on any particular controversial issues. Like they’re not hitting me with where I stand on a woman’s right to choose.  I’m in favor obviously but - I mean a woman’s body is her own… thing.  But I’m getting off topic.  The point is the normal chit-chat thing people do so effortlessly? Small-talk, right, you would call it?  I can’t. I can’t.  I am just incapable for whatever reason of sustaining for any length of time, you know, beyond the perfunctory responses of, just basic like “Good.” “Yeah.” “Sure.”

A for instance or example?

One time I’m sitting there, in the chair, the barber’s, and I’m wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. Pretty much my usual get-up, Star Wars or something superhero related…

 (Important Note: however Guest is costumed, it must be explicit in how they are styled that they would never, under any circumstances, wear Star Wars or other geek related apparel. They are just not that person. To put it more bluntly, Guest is lying right now.)

 GUEST

…I’m kind of a geek that way. Or just really, really set in my ways. Like I want to be able to reach into my drawer in the morning and grab a shirt and not have to worry about it, like I’ll look down and I won’t even know what I put on but it’s okay ‘cause it’s  “Hey, cool, Spider-Man.”

 Anyways, I’m wearing a Star Wars shirt. And I sit down and the first thing-

 Well, I mean let’s just take a moment to acknowledge that it can’t be easy for the stylist either. I mean I’m sure when they go to beauty school or whatever they’re not given lengthy courses on social discourse. But a big part of their job is to be this talkative, you know, outgoing, to engage the customer, to build a rapport in that thirty minutes or an hour not much time, so that 1) the customer feels safe, you know, reasonably sure this total stranger with a sharp object isn’t going to just stab them in the eye, or slit their throat Sweeney Todd style, but is also a professional who’s gonna make them look good. And secondly, the haircut industry being a gratuity-inclusive system, they want you to like them because they make more if you like them, the idea being here that a lot of time when you get a haircut, you’re pretty much just looking for the same thing you got last time, so what you’re really judging them on is personality. How were they personally with you.  I mean am I wrong? I don’t think so, but speak up now or forever hold your peace.

 No but it’s, I guess what I’m trying to say is it takes two to tango. And the conversation, if that other person’s not giving, usually the customer… oh, it’s death. It is death to sit through. For both parties. Because there’s that forced feel to everything, like you’re not in Great Clips anymore but the dentist, ‘cause it’s like pulling teeth. Ugh!

 But anyway, back to my story. So I was sitting there, or I was sitting down, they’d just called my name. And the stylist – and isn’t it that they always tell you their names and you even shake hands but I can never remember – the stylist says, she notices my shirt and says, “Oh did you see that new Star Wars movie?” A completely non-loaded, just chit-chatty question. And my response is, I go “Yeah…” and sort of trail off, “Yeah, yeah…” totally non-committal. So then she asks if I liked it, a natural follow-up, and I just say, “Yeah, it was okay.” Again, the most wishy-washy bullshit response. I don’t elaborate, I don’t ask if she’s seen it, I don’t ask if she’s more of Star Wars person or Star Trek, or a million other lines of inquiry I could have gone down, I don’t say anything, I don’t engage her back, I just leave her there hanging, this perfectly nice, just-doing-her-job, just trying to get through her shift, you know, vary the days- and I always tip well, I always tip like five bucks, it’s not that it’s just- I feel like I’m not holding up my end of the bargain here. Y’know?

 And the reasons for that are… well, they’re… they probably just come down to me being so introverted. Like that’s just my wiring, that’s just how I’m built. And it’s sucky, it… yeah. Kind of debilitating.

    (Pause. Guest makes sad trombone sound:)

Wah-wah.

    (Pause. Then as Dan re-enters)

But it’s not like I can just stop getting my hair cut either.

 Dan enters with a large mixing bowl covered by saran wrap.

 DAN

    (overhearing)

What about a haircut?

He sets the bowl on the table.

           GUEST

Oh, nothing. Just some sad pathetic story I was telling them.

           DAN

It wasn’t boring was it?

 GUEST

    (considers that)

I don’t think so. Introspective, sort of rambling…

    (to audience)

I don’t know, what did you all think? Did you think my story was boring? Or maybe it held some special significance for you, was RELATABLE even…?

           DAN

A haircut – how is that relatable?

           GUEST

Well, we all get haircuts don’t we?

           DAN

Most people, yeah…

           GUEST

Well, see. There you go. There you are.

           DAN

    (mocking, lightly)

There I am.

           Dan exits again.

           GUEST

Where are you going now?

           DAN

    (off)

Just a few more things. I only have two hands.

           GUEST

I said I would help.

           DAN

    (off)

I know.

    (returning)

I know.

 Dan carries on a plate with two spoons, two forks, and a thick stack of pre-moistened dumpling wrappers. Everything goes on the table.

 GUEST

Smells good.

           DAN

That’s the filling, yeah.

           GUEST

What’s in it?

           DAN

Mushrooms and cabbage.

           GUEST

MMMMM. All chopped up together?

           DAN

Yeah/

           GUEST

Cooked or?

           DAN

Yeah, sauteed.

           GUEST

Can I try it?

           DAN

…Sure.

           GUEST

Is that ok?

           DAN

Yeah go ahead.

 Guest removes the saran wrap from the bowl and, using one of the forks, brings a mouthful of filling from to their lips and blows on it.

 DAN

It’s not hot.

           GUEST

Oh.

    (Guest tries the filling. Nodding)

Mmmm. Oh. Yeaaaah.

           DAN

Good?

           GUEST

Yeah, really. I can’t wait to try it in the actual dumplings.

           DAN

Then let’s get started.

 Dan sits down and starts to lay out the materials. Guest joins them at the table.

 GUEST

You seem more in a chipper mood than when we last saw you.

           DAN

Well, I took some time backstage to think about things.

           GUEST

Like what?

           DAN

Just my general outlook on our relationship. The dynamic we share.

           GUEST

And what conclusion did you come to about that?

           DAN

That you’re not really my antagonist in this thing.

           GUEST

How profound.

           DAN

And even when you make comments like that, “How profound”, which could read like you’re trying to get at me, needle me into blowing up again, this big reaction, you’re IN ACTUALITY doing me a favor.

           GUEST

A favor.

           DAN

Yes.

           GUEST

What kind?

           DAN

Well, you’re supposed to be like that little voice inside my head, right? You know the one: that I argue with, that’s always criticizing me, making me feel bad, guilty, or just shitty; that overanalyzes every interaction, stretching moments, obsessing over the minutest; that worries me, panics me, berates me, frustrates me, makes me feel like the most disgusting human being for even thinking that, scares me into a corner, then fucks with me taunting me from the dark.

           Beat.

           GUEST

And that’s who I am?

           DAN

Well yeah, pretty much. You’re an instigator, right? A rabble rouser; a provocateur.

           GUEST

Don’t get foreign with me.

    (pause)

So if I’m not the antagonist – which, let’s be honest, your description of me doesn’t entirely jive with if I’m always this critical apparition, I don’t know if that’s the word you’d use but – this kind of identity in your life, causing you stress and, just creating all sorts of turmoil for you. So if I’m not that, DESPITE what you claim, what does that not make you: the hero?

           DAN

Exactly. I think we’re really blurring the lines here into a grey area of, of thinking about character.

           GUEST

Awesome, ‘cause everyone loves the color grey so much. Grey really pops.

           DAN

I love you.

           GUEST

Oh shut the fuck up, are you high?        

            DAN

What??

           GUEST

No seriously, are you on something? Right now?

           DAN

…no.

           GUEST

You hesitated.

           DAN

Only a beat. And it was because your accusation is totally ridiculous-

           GUEST

Why?

           DAN

Because I’M NOT.

           GUEST

The lady doth protest too much I think.

           DAN

The lady doth protest as much as it takes when she’s TELLING the TRUTH.

           GUEST

Your mood.

           DAN

What about / it?

           GUEST

Just like you flipped a switch. And people don’t have swings like that all willy-nilly, apropos of nothing.

           DAN

What about bipolars?

           GUEST

We’re not TALKING about people who spend half their year living in the ARCTIC CIRCLE.

Now something kicked you in the ass mood-wise, and if you think I’m just going to let you get away / with it again-

           DAN

Get away with what? / With what again?

           GUEST

With turning this into another hospital-hostility situation, it’s NOT gonna happen. NO LIES-

           DAN

But I didn’t, I… there was nothing-

           GUEST

BullSHIT, Dan. Now what is it? You don’t seem drunk.

           DAN

I’m not.

           GUEST

    (finding the bottle they brought onstage)

And neither was I for that matter. That was merely a clever acting ruse for yours and the audience’s amusement.

           DAN

Don’t you mean a-RUSE-ment?

 Dan smiles gleefully. Guest starts to crack, and it takes all of their willpower to keep them from smiling too.

 GUEST

You will not – break me – with bad puns.

           DAN

But they’re your weakness.

           GUEST

No, they’re YOURS.

           DAN

Touche.

           GUEST

    (pause)

The fact you just said “touche” like that, with that little smirk on your face, totally un-ironical, means you’re DEFINITELY on something. You are UP.

           DAN

Better than down.

           GUEST

Stop turning everything around, that’s just easy! Stop quipping!

           DAN

    (channeling Devo)

When a problem comes alone, you must quip it!

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo

Quip it good!

           GUEST

I will fucking hit you.

Plus I think they already made that joke in one of the Austin Powers movies, so kudos for the retread.

           DAN

Well, it’s a popular song.

           GUEST

You can’t stop.

           DAN

I can, I’m just choosing not to. The shoe’s on the other foot now and if you can’t take the heat maybe you shouldn’t have chosen to vacation on the sun.

           GUEST

You’re insufferable. You INVITED me here-

           DAN

Oh sorry, am I not being a good host? Let me get your coat…

 Dan moves to remove Guest’s non-existent jacket. It almost gets physical as Guest shakes him off.

They stare at each other for a beat, Dan grinning, Guest more nervous and worried than anything.

To be continued...