#and for me at least it's a nice way to make them seem more like . a person . and not a robot sbnfnencn

[pingintech]

"i like this character" vs "i like how this character is written" = you can like a character who is poorly written because there are interesting themes inherent in how theyre depicted or simply in the way they interact with people

"i like this character" vs "i care about this character" = just because a character is intriguing doesnt mean you necessarily care enough to see them again it doesnt necessarily mean you sympathize with them or want good things for them in fact sometimes you like a character specifically for how much you hate them and want them to die

"i like how this character is written" vs "i care about this character" = well written antagonists for example see above you can be a fan of how well their dialogue is written how their character arc gets resolved nicely you they interact with other characters in a way that seems pretty consistent with their characterization and not inherently like or care about them as a character

for me an example of a character i like who is poorly written who i dont care about is xorn from xmen i think there was a lot of potential there but the final reveal was atrocious and i dont want to see the character even again to the extent im not sure a retcon would even fix it

an example of a character i like but dont care about but who is (generally) written well is pixie shes cool i mostly just havent read much about her and she doesnt really light up my happy neurotransmitters much ya know???

a character i care about who is poorly written and i dont like is wanda maximoff i love the idea of a mutant who was a founding member of the avengers whos magnetos daughter and whos romani i care a LOT about all of that but she is so poorly written she is A. no longer magnetos daughter B. no longer a mutant C. magneto is also??? no longer romani??? which??? uh..... D. she has always been a romani character whos power is shes a witch E. She was responsible for the near extinction of all mutants F. they love to randomly make her a bad guy for all of those reasons i dont really like her either i mean her core concept was already bad tbh barely saved by the fact her brothers powers arent magic so at least theres a romani character whos super power isnt being a literal witch in the story but still

a character i care about and like who is poorly written is monet st croix mutant m shes an awesome autistic baddy whos powers are basically that shes superman with telepathy and telekenesis??? sounds amazing you say why dont people use her more often you ask and the answer is because she was also turned into a (actually genuinely sympathetic) mute diamond skin monster named penance by her brother a bone marrow vampire and then actually it turns out the whole time monet that we knew and loved was actually her twin sisters merged into one being to look like their sister and actually monet isnt autistic one of the two twins was (and it was demonstrated in the comics by monet randomly going catatonic) and in order to free monet from her prison as penance her twin sisters merged into penance freeing monet??? and then she was in a few things for a bit on the sidelines and then her brother merged with her and started killing people and then she was freed because she absorbed the powers of hindsight who sees the past of people he touches and a ton of people touched her making her brother somehow unmerge from her but then!!! she was controlled by mentallo into joining a cult girl cannot get a break

Can’t properly explain it, but “I like this character”, “I like how this character is written” and “I care about this character” are 3 very different things which may or may not overlap.

[livinghalfway]

Younger Years Pt. 12

Masterlist

Summary: Damian gets temp de-aged to 6yrs old; cue him asking where his twin is. This is how everyone finds out about Danny's existence. Word Count: 1643

"I spy with my little eye something white."

"Your hair?" Jason guessed. The tone of his voice was monotone, and it was clear that the game was going to be coming to an end soon. 

After Danny revealed the true nature of the GIW, and what they had planned, it had been quiet and tense between the two of them. The boredom and quite that followed after though was enough to make them both get over it. 

He doesn't know how long it's been since he woke up, but Danny knows it must have been at least a day by now. With no clock or window in sight it's hard to tell for sure. 

Which is what eventually led to them talking again, and playing games just to try and pass the time. Danny knows what happens though when it's time up. Jason gets taken to the lab, and he gets sent back to Amity where he too will be experimented on. 

"No." 

"The walls?"

Danny is not sure what he can do in this situation. He has to try though. There is no way that he is just going to sit here quietly while they drag Jason away. Maybe he could try and make himself more interesting, something that would make them ignore orders from HQ and take him to the lab instead. Try and buy Jason some time for a possible rescue. 

Sam and Tucker have to be looking for him at this point. The whole reason they came to Gotham was because the GIW were here, surely they must have connected the dots that they are the ones that took him. Danny can only assume that the bats are looking for him now as well what with him foolishly running straight into Damian. 

"Yes." 

"Really?"

"No." 

"Alright you little shit," Jason throws him a playful glare, "I give. What is it? What is your little eye spying?"

"Giving up after only two guesses?" 

"Giving up as this is the fourth time you've spied something white." 

As much as Danny hates to admit it, even to himself, it's nice to have someone here with him right now. He can only imagine how much worse everything would be right now if he didn't have anyone to talk to. 

He would have loved to meet Jason outside of this place and be his friend. That isn't his reality though; not now. 

"The whites of your eyes!”

"Fuck you." Danny can't help but let out a small laugh at Jason’s outburst. "No more eye spy!"

"If no more eye spy I think we'll have to start from the top of our list of games. I don't think there is anything new we could do." 

Instead of responding right away Jason takes a moment to look at him. It seems as if he was looking for something. "No. No more games. It's time to get serious again." 

That shocked Danny as this is seemingly coming out of nowhere. He thought after their first talk that Jason didn't want to know anything more about the GIW or why they took the two of them. Danny's not going to keep anything from Jason though if he really wants to know. "I'll answer what I can." 

“Do you have a brother?” 

That … that is not what Danny thought he was going to ask. Especially with the way Jason asked it. As if he already knew the answer; it wouldn’t make sense though for him to know about Damian. “Why do you ask?” 

Jason peers at him from across the hall with an almost melancholy type of look, “I didn’t really notice it at first, but you look very familiar to a certain big name in Gotham.”

"Is this really what you want to talk about? Me being a doppelganger to Damian Wayne." As soon as he said it Danny knew that he probably messed up. Jason knew it too based on the small smirk gracing his face. 

"We've got nothing else to do, and it's something that's been on my mind for a bit. Also I never said it was Damian Wayne." 

"It's something I've been told before." Danny truthfully argues, "I'm not sure who else in Gotham is a 'big name' that I could look like." 

This guy knows who Danny is somehow, but who would be close enough to Damian to know that he had a twin? And to have been embraced by death enough to become a revenant. Only one name comes to mind. 

"You're Jason Todd. Red Hood, I'm guessing?" 

"And you're Danyal al Ghul."  They are so lucky no monitoring system has been put in place.

It makes sense now that Danny thinks about it. Of course it was Jason Todd, adopted son of Bruce Wayne otherwise known as Batman, would be the revenant. The son that is supposedly dead. Everything he does just leads back to the Wayne family nowadays doesn’t it?

Danny had thought that it was odd when he was reading some of the GIW files how one guy could be setting off so many scanners within one night. Being a vigilante would explain that though. 

"Guess someone owes Damian two nickels, huh? Two nickels for two brothers that have died."  Jason questions mostly to himself. "Wait. You mentioned earlier that you were something different from a normal ghost. Are- are you actually dead? And don't say you can't talk about it because they're listening, we both know they're not. These guys might be smart, but they are still extremely dumb and overconfident for not having a monitoring system set up to watch us. So start talking, casper.” 

There's really not much Danny could say to argue against Jason. Sure, he could simply deny talking about it, but he really doesn’t want to make Jason upset with him right now. Not when this could be the last conversation they ever have with each other. 

"Casper? That's the best you got?" 

"I'll think of another one while you explain how about that?"

So much for trying to misdirect the conversation. "I'm a halfa, half ghost, half human, half dead, half alive. This," Danny gestures to himself as he speaks, "is my ghost half. I can switch between the two." 

"That's freaky."

"Yes, thank you Jason, I know."  Danny gives Jason a hard glare, "As I was saying-" 

The doors at the end of the hall are suddenly opening. Sounds echoing all around them as Jason and Danny can do nothing, but watch as three figures enter the hall. "-And here is where we're currently keeping the revenant and Phantom. I must say we at the GIW are very pleased with how quickly you two accepted our invitation to examine the specimen. It is truly an honor to have The Fentons here! Your research never fails to impress!" 

It's one of the GIW agents talking, but that is not what has Danny's attention. He is solely focused on the two people behind him; his parents. 

That- that can't be though! They knew Danny was Phantom, they put away the weapons, and locked up the lab! Things have been tense in the house since they found out, but surely they weren't here in support of the GIW. His parents weren’t here to experiment on a human being!

Danny watches as they approach his and Jason's cell, and come to a stop in front of them; both are smiling. Anger swallows the shock as he looks at his parents. He should have known better than to think they would give up their ideals for him. Rotting fruit will always fall after all. 

"Now Phantom here is a surprise capture, and I have orders from the higher ups that we aren't allowed to surgically examine it at this location." The agent and his parents' gaze feel hot as they talk about him. "The revenant on the other hand will be ready for you both tomorrow evening!" 

It's his mom who responds to that, "Oh, but we have such a history with Phantom! Surely they'd allow a few simple tests to be done! Testing his- its emotion mimicry and seeing if its joints react the same as ours." 

What an odd thing to suggest Danny thinks to himself. His joints? While it is something that is a part of the review process  it's never been something either of his parents particularly cared about. 

Jason who had been silent throughout all of this looks quizzically in his direction at that. Clearly wondering what kind of history he has with these two. How would he react knowing that they are his parents?

"Hmm I'll have to make a few calls, but I'm sure that might be something we can work out." The agent assures them. 

"Wonderful!" His dad's voice booms in the otherwise quiet hall. As he continues to speak his dad takes a step closer to his cell and places a hand on the glass, "Regardless though, we look forward to just being in the examination room tomorrow." 

The agent says something to that in response, but at this point there is nothing but a ringing in Danny's head. He doesn’t even react as they walk away. His dad's hand- the writing!

"-om Phantom!" Jason is calling out to him with a worried look. "You ok? You looked pretty out of it during all of that." 

"I'm fine." Danny smiles as he rationalizes all the information he just learned, "We're getting out of here." 

His parents are here and they're going to get him out of this nightmare place. It's only a matter of time now.

-

Robin watched from a nearby roof at the hotel room he was just at a couple of nights ago. Only this time the room was already occupied with three individuals instead of two.  Mason, Foley, and the newcomer, Jasmine Fenton. 

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Can I get an Erik Campbell x Fem!Reader where they’re coworkers and the sexual tension is there and one night after work they decide to get drinks and basically end up drunk and fucking 🥸 idk how else to put that lightly I jus wanna ravage that man

The attraction of alcohol

Erik Campbell x fem!reader

warning : +18, smut, pinv, drunk sex, alcohol consumption, mutual feelings, sexual tension, kissing, body worship

Summary : How long had this been going on between them? A question she had stopped asking herself, too often there seemed to be a spark between them, something just waiting to explode. After an eternal back and forth and such an attraction, Erik decided to invite his coworker out for a few drinks and well, with a lowered threshold, one thing finally leads to another...drunken sex in a bar.

info : The sexual attraction in a piercing/tattoo studio is simply irresistible. I would also like to be Erik's co-author and now have fun reading dear anon and thanks to everyone for the support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the same as always, they both arrived at the studio at about the same time for the evening shift so that their ungrateful boss could get home quicker.

As always, she was there a few minutes early and only opened the store when she heard the familiar knock and “Oh pretty lady, let me in!” from Erik, who was standing outside in the cool evening with two coffees that he always got in return for her getting up early.

And every damn time she felt the joy well up inside her that Erik was finally there, that she hurried to the door to open it for the dark-haired man and answered his, “Come in, handsome man,” his wink making her smile as they prepared the studio together for the guests who had booked an appointment...or at least the ones who came at all.

There were usually only a handful who came in the evenings anyway, so they had a lot of time together, which was probably the start of it all between them.

The pleasantries, jokes and glances were perhaps just mutual niceness, but at the latest when he held her once, his hands on her hips holding her in place when she would otherwise have almost tripped over the chair leg.

The fright in both of them, small but enough to give free rein to any feelings between them as their eyes met and both seemed to realize that there was something between them.

Erik's eyes were on her more and more often, at first just too chastely holding back his comments, but since the tension between them had risen there was nothing more to see.

Whenever she wore a top or T-shirt with a cut-out, he stared, when she bent over he stared and when she lifted something he stared.

But did she do anything about it?

No

Because the truth was, she did it extra, ever since she had seen him she had somehow fallen for him and could see that he was staring. That Erik seemed to want her the way she wanted him was a dream come true.

Erik seemed to do it just as extra, whether it was calling her by every nickname there was, always putting his hand on her body gently and too briefly for her to return it, to the one evening when he was lying on one of the benches with his shirt off and taking a nap according to him.

It was an eternal back and forth between them, but today when her gaze went to Erik, who was checking the cash register, she realized he was up to something, “What is it?” she asked, disinfecting the table.

The dark-haired man seemed to have seen her question coming as he gave her an innocent grin and replied, “What's going on?” and pretended not to know anything, as if he hadn't planned anything.

Yet when she saw him stuff a few extra banknotes into his wallet, she knew he was up to something, “I don't know, you tell me...do you want to take me out?” she dared to ask the question, hoping her wish would come true.

Although they had been here and there for a coffee, she had also been to his birthday party with his family, but she had never gotten a real 'date' or a real invitation from him.

When she was right he put his hands up, “Well my clever employee I thought we could have a few drinks” he revealed and she didn't hide her own pleasure.

When she gave him a stormy hug, pressing her breasts against him, but whether this was just a coincidence or something extra, Erik could decide for himself.

As the last few minutes passed in the store and no more customers came in, the two decided to put the plan into action and close up for the day and head to the bar.

She let Erik do the choosing, he had lived here longer than she had, he knew every street, neighbors, names and events that had happened, she had only moved here five years ago and still seemed to be 'new'.

At least that's what many of the older residents thought, but his family, the Campbells, liked her, which was mutual.

She liked his little family including his father's family which consisted of his cousin and cousin, they were all nice people, people she got along with and if Erik's mother was anything to go by, her son seemed to have found the perfect woman for life.

At least that's what Brenda had whispered to her in a slightly drunk state, whereupon she had sought a little distance, because it was true that she had hoped to get together with Erik...but what isn't can still be.

The bar that Erik had brought out was a small but lively place, a little rustic with lots of wood and a little metal, old-established but not too old that there was no life here.

The place was busy, a warmth surrounded her as the door closed behind her and Erik's exuberant manner told her it had just the right atmosphere.

The smell of alcohol, wood and leather lingered in the air like the bar's own scent, rustic and yet not too musty, “Pleasant here” she said as she looked to Erik who nodded in agreement.

He turned to the bartender who after a few moments handed his customer two beers and directed Erik to a corner in the store, “A kind of regular place, usually with the family always here” he explained when he saw her slightly questioning look.

There were still a few seats available, including standing ones, two seats right by the bar and the benches leading outside, but Erik chose a seat in the corner, a little to himself, a little secluded as far as was possible in a store like this.

“A nice place, you have everything in view, certainly good for the shows,” she said, looking back at the small stage, which was empty that evening.

Not two sips of the somewhat bitter beer later, Erik told her about the performances and poetry slam evenings that were always held here once or twice a month.

“Well, and believe it or not, your dear Erik has already given something of his best,” he said proudly and suddenly moved a little closer, leaning his shoulder against hers as he said more calmly, “There” and pointed to the wall with framed pictures.

To her surprise, she saw among the countless black-egg photos a relatively recent one that must have been only a few years old, in the middle of which was Erik with slightly fewer piercings, longer hair and a happy smile as he held his broken guitar up to the camera, “You're a metalhead sweetie,” she commented, seeing his slight embarrassment.

She knew Erik listened to metal but the fact that he had once played here himself was impressive, “Well, a little pop star,” he said casually and they both took another sip of the alcohol, a sip that was more than just another in the time that followed.

After a beer it became one more, then she insisted on a little dance which Erik only agreed to if they had a shot, well said and done and one became two, one dance turned into another shot and it seemed with each one a little more the two got closer and closer.

As if the whole atmosphere was changing, what was initially almost a dance around each other had now become a slowly calm couple's dance in which their gazes never left each other, “You know Erik...it's a wonderful evening,” she said quietly as the room seemed to turn slightly in the corner of her eye with each turn.

But Erik also needed a moment, his hand gently stroking her cheek, “Yes, it is...just as beautiful as you are,” he replied, and the compliment, probably due to the alcohol, made her embarrassed.

The whole moment was so pleasant, so warm and loving and Erik's touch was affectionate with an almost certain demand...a demand that she returned in exactly the same way.

Every touch with every turn, every look and every movement was something between cheering her on and igniting her.

An ignition that happened when she held Erik's hand on her cheek, when their eyes met and the “Fuck you're so beautiful” came from Erik's lips and he finally engaged her in a long-awaited and overdue kiss.

A kiss that ignited the fire, a kiss that finally brought out what they wanted between them, the whole room changed, the bar became secondary and they were both just present.

Clinging to Erik as if there was no stopping her, she let him lead her, his hands so much stronger on her than before, as if his inhibitions had disappeared with the kiss.

“Don't-not here come with me” he murmured as if everyone could hear them, he took her hand and led her through the crowd past the bar up the old wooden stairs.

Only now did she notice the sign with the bed and in her foggy mind it made sense that they went to the upper floor where there were probably a few rooms for guests who stayed the night...or wanted to sweeten their night.

Smiling at Erik, who had taken a key from the key box, he opened the room and looked around one last time before they both hurried inside, barely closing the door and clinging to each other again.

Once again tangled in a kiss, they both tried to get the clothes off their bodies, laughing a little awkwardly, the heavy jackets fell to the floor, the shoes came off with a thud and they both wriggled and jumped out of their pants, comparing themselves as rabbits, before practically falling onto the bed.

“So cute” Erik said to her and she only replied “And so drunk”which only made them both laugh even harder as he kissed her again and she tried to relax while his hands slid under her shirt.

Every feeling she experienced was so much more intense, his hands, which she had only ever felt briefly on her body, so much longer.

His closeness so much warmer, so much more intense, Erik's gaze so much more expressive, a gaze full of love, warmth, affection and excitement.

Every time he saw more of her, he seemed to fall even more in love, every “You're so beautiful” interspersed with kisses and caresses. It was as if he had been waiting for this, as if all this attraction between them was the path to this moment, the bed, the room, it just seemed perfect for them both in this state.

The music from downstairs and the people almost nothing more than a dull, barely audible sound between the kisses, caresses and breathless sweet words that left both their lips.

For every kiss, every time he looked at her like that and she traced his tattoos in return, leaving kisses on them and giggling when she heard his slight sigh, it seemed like she was getting to know him all over again.

As if they had only just met, as if the alcohol was giving them a second chnace, as if they had both given each other the best drug there could be.

As if lust and love were what they had needed all this time.

She would never have thought that she could see so much love in his gaze, and at the same time she would feel so much pleasure whenever she touched his tattoos and piercings.

Two new and yet familiar people, indebted to alcohol, getting to know each other in a 'new' way and not letting go of each other until her “Erik I...I want you please” came almost breathlessly over her lips, it also seemed to awaken something in Erik.

His gaze, slightly dark due to the little light, was like hers, addicted, hungry for more, but above all wanting each other.

Her hand on his sleeve, his response to her words, gave them both the last as he let go for just a moment to shift his position, his hands roaming over her bare thigh.

The underwear of both read the last to the other clothes and she saw Erik's almost slight embarrassment as she smirked at her condition, though more at the fact that his cock was pierced too, “A natural reaction,” he mumbled and they both felt like teenagers in sex class at school.

But the kiss she engaged him in once more, his hands lightly spreading her legs and stroking her hair, she mumbled to him, “A lovely reaction,” before lying back on the bed.

The bed was softer, so much warmer and the room so much more pleasant but all the benefits of alcohol as Erik's grin infected hers once more when his hand went to hers, he held her, gave her the support and the last closeness she wanted as much as he did.

The excited noise spread through the room, louder than the muffled sounds of the establishment below them. The feeling was more intense than ever before, more intense than ever before due to the alcohol.

Erik felt her so much more around him and the sweet, almost seductive, painful excitement that ran through him when he felt her inside him. It was something completely different, and neither of them could have imagined it would be so good, not when they kissed again, nor when Erik began to move.

As they reveled in each other's sounds, with every moan and every grunt, the closeness between them melted into more.

The alcohol did the rest, bringing a feeling of spinning and movement where there was none, her clinging to Erik seemed to spur him on, his sweet grunted breathless words and kisses so much more than just that.

The climax was so much more than just Erik pressing himself against her, his hands clawing at her hips while hers clung to his hair, there was a closeness and connection they had never experienced before.

It seemed as if they had both finally gotten what they wanted, both of them finally overcoming their inhibitions with the help of a little alcohol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@nearest-x-dearest , @captainthomasrobbie , @monkeydoll5 , @zombiepoe , @yearsbecomingcool , @starry-eyed-wild-child , @porterroths , @amandalove1355 , @mythicalcowboyatheart , @rhaenyrathecruell , @aashy723 , @luluscoff1n , @fapqueen , @sadslasher13 , @everdxen-mellark , @whoresinatrenchcoat , @dont-touch-my-knives

[gumilac]

pairings. barista megumi × gn! student council reader

genre. barista/cafe and college au, fushiguro megumi’s POV

word count. 3.2k

aki's notes. yes, a megumi fic, of course it is. it's all i write, why are you surprised? 🤨 ALL JOKES ASIDE @l1v1ngzomb1e your wish is my command for a college megumi au, so here you go 😌 eeee!!! i hope you'll like it + depending on how this fic does, i might consider making it a series—maybe a potential, reader POV??? 👀 let me know! mwa

“the university of tokyo…” he mutters, before looking down at the brochure he’s holding.

deep breaths. a new school means new friends—and new friends means… talking to people.

megumi lets out a sigh, finding it seemingly hard to understand why he couldn’t just stay at tokyo jujustu high. at least there, everyone knew to stay out of his way. but in a new school, he had to—one, stay out of trouble for tsumiki. and two, find a way to make people “fear” him without using force. 

yet, number two seems to be working already with how everyone steps aside as he walks down the hallway towards the student’s affair office. his bag strap hangs on one shoulder, slipping with every stride he takes, making megumi reposition it so often that he ultimately decides to just hold it in place.

as he reaches the office, he uses the hand that currently holds the brochure to open the door, slightly crumpling the paper from the action. megumi takes one deep breath and exhales for three; before finally letting the door behind him close.

“hey!” a voice greets and from where he stands, and it only takes about two strides for him to reach the table where a student was sitting at. what people don’t know about him is that it takes a lot for megumi to seem as composed as he is—consciously using one step to gather up the courage to say: 

“hi,” the second step, another deep breath. and megumi successfully gets his message across, “i’m here to pass my forms?”

the student stands up and smiles, reaching out a hand to take them, “oh! okay. can i have a look, please?”

to which megumi obeys, finally ridding the burden of these papers off of his chest. as he passes them over to the student, he is highly aware of his posture, keeping it straight as much as possible. a minute passes, then three and it makes him wonder…

did he fill these out right?

after five scrutinizing minutes, the student finally looked up. settling the papers nicely in their necessary bins for better organization.  

“you’re new here?”

“yeah,” and megumi nods, repositioning the falling bag strap again. at his response, the student smiles warmly and he finds it so contagious.

“oh, that’s great! welcome to the university of tokyo,” megumi starts to shift on his feet and manages to give back a small smile, albeit forced.

“i’m the student government president, from class 4. but you can just call me by my name. no need for formalities.”

student government president from class 4, huh? seems like he’ll have no choice but to remember your name… 

classmate.

he bows a little, standing up to his full height as he introduces himself, “fushiguro megumi.”

you’re still smiling and he wonders, how does one do that? he can’t even hold a proper conversation, let alone smile for a long time—your voice cuts him from his trail of thought, capturing his attention.

“i tend to facilitate newcomers’ information and i can’t help but notice that you’re here on a scholarship grant?” you inquire, a curious look in your face. “you’re a smart guy!”

with your remark, megumi fights the urge to roll his eyes because he always hears this phrase, to the point that it gets irritating. he wants to be known for more than his intelligence but, how? 

how, when he instantly contradicts himself by being introverted?

but, for some reason unbeknownst to him, you—you were able to make his heart skip a tiny beat. it was like you were almost able to bring back the euphoria of him being called the “smart guy.”

well, almost but not quite. it is still a bit annoying.

“yeah,” he forces a smile, running a hand through his hair, “it’s just my sister and i. so, i need all the financial help i can get.”

well— there goes keeping a low profile.

he internally chastises himself, ready to end this conversation. praying that you won’t pry even deeper. because this whole, transferring to a new school and passing of forms has already taken a toll on his social battery and he wants out.

“oh! i didn’t know…” you softly say.

maybe for another day it would be fine, but he really can’t handle long conversations. it’s too overwhelming that his internal monologue goes haywire.

don’t ask. don’t ask. don’t as—

“well, if you ever need anything i’m here.”

thank god.

with that megumi presses his lips in a thin line, forgetting the decency to say thank you and opts to bow his head instead. turning to walk out the doors of the office, megumi hastens his steps and gets to his first class.

~; 5 months later

when he said keep a low profile, he didn’t mean being: top 1 in his class and the representative of class 4 at interschool events. 

he seriously just had to be smart, did he?

well, he was always an excellent student, even when he was at tokyo jujutsu high. it was just because he got into so much trouble that he stood out in an intimidating way, that no one even dared to mention his name. but here, since he was naturally adept at academics, he finds himself—much to his dismay—in quiz bees, math leagues and writing contests. to the point that everything and anything acad-related in between. 

he. was. there.

yet, interestingly. you were also there where he was. but he seriously can’t think any of it, because before he came around, you were always the top student in class 4. although, since he saw you so often, he found himself subconsciously? he honestly doesn’t know at this point—but he would find himself in areas where he knew he’d find you on campus. and in the rare events that you’d meet his eyes, megumi would give you a small smile.

during interschool events he’d find a way to watch you compete after he’s done with his. always consistent with the way he’s there to applaud for you whether you make it or not.

and it’s weird. 

not because he's a stalker, no. but because new things, experiences and feelings give him the creeps. and yet, he finds himself drawn to go deeper than he already is in this little rabbit hole of distantly being there for all your achievements. and as a logical, rational person who always uses his brain for everything, he rarely gets caught in a tangled web of fuzzy feelings—though this one. this one feels different. 

ring. ring.

“hi. welcome to—” he looks up and stops wiping the counter mid-way. he feels giddy? is that the right term for the way his heart is beating? or is it bordering on arrhythmi—

“fushiguro, hi!” your voice catches him before he falls into a spiral. seriously, you just knew how to. “you work here?”

he neatly folds the towel he was using and sets it aside, all the while maintaining eye contact with you, “yeah, i started last week.”

“really?” scanning the menu board, megumi watches you intently, patiently waiting for you to pick a drink he’ll whip up, “i always see you around … it’s nice.”

you finally look at him again smiling and it takes everything in him not to falter from the way you’re looking at him.

“ahh … yeah?” he softly laughs, “i mean we are classmates and class 4 representatives.”

“haha, yeah! makes sense…” he starts to rest his hand on the register, shifting his weight on one foot. the cafe’s empty and he’s kind of glad. glad that he can stare at you unabashedly without the pressure of having to tend to customers. after a few more minutes you speak up again, “hmm, can i just have a latte?” 

megumi nods and turns around to start prepping what he needs for your drink. he moves swiftly but deliberately. fully aware that you’re watching him and it makes things harder. because the more conscious he is, he is more likely to make mistakes and when he thinks about making a mistake, he has to think harder to make the drin— well, instead of unconsciously making drinks, megumi's consciously repeating a mantra in his head. 

do not mess up. do not mess up. do not mess u— 

“last week, huh?”

and, you’ve done it again. 

he relaxes. visibly? he’s not sure. but he’s thankful that the nerves have now left his body just from you saying those three words.

“mhm,” is all he manages as he finally looks at you; finished drink in hand. megumi realizes that he’s going a little non-verbal and softly coughs, chastising himself.

yeah, megumi. cough out the nerves. great going.

“last week. i started last week,” he hands you the finished drink in hand and he rings it up on the register… remembering that he should have done that before he made your drink.

c’mon, megumi get it together. 

“your total is 250 yen,” he says, aware of the blush that dares to place itself on his cheeks, but he ignores it—he can say it's from the cold for all he cares. but, what he does care about, is the way you smiled widely at the little latte art he did.

he made a heart. hoping it’ll reach you the right way.

“aww, a heart!” you tease, “for me?” handing over your payment, megumi tenses up; even more so than before. his hands find themselves in the pocket of his apron, hiding the way it shakes to the best of his abilities.

“it’s the only thing i can do right now.”

that’s a lie—he’s mastered almost all the common latte arts the minute he worked here.

“that’s so cute,” your eyes meet with his and he smiles. like actually smiles. not that half-assed, i’m just being nice, forced smile, but a genuine smile that came from his heart.

and things rarely come from his heart. 

smiling up at him, you take the drink and wave goodbye, “thanks again, fushiguro.”

for a phrase he constantly says to all customers, it holds no meaning. but this time, he found himself wanting you to actually, “come back again.” 

and with that, he manages to give you a small wave—watching as your figure moves further and further away from him.

~; 1 year later

megumi was only able to do one of the things he swore when he transferred here. and that’s staying out of trouble for tsumiki. number two? well, let’s just say everyone seemed to like him. as he enters the classroom, he nicely acknowledges those who waved him over, but megumi just continues to walk over to where you were seated. 

math test results were released yesterday and he knows it wasn’t your best performance. seated by the window, your head was propped up by your hand, a distant look in your eyes. as megumi places his bag down at his assigned seat, the one in front of you, he carefully places your regular order of a latte on top of your desk. just the way you like it.

he sits on the chair sideways and with his arm resting on the backrest, he gently taps your desk; effectively pulling you out from your daze. megumi nods over at the latte he brought and you look at the drink for a few seconds, before looking at him with the cutest, poutiest frown ever.

“fushiguro,” you’re touched, that much he knows with the way you’ve drawn out his name, “how’d you know?”

“it’s all you order,” he says, managing to make you laugh. and at the sound of it, megumi feels his heart feel funny again—he gives you a comforting smile and a small, “cheer up.”

you grab the drink with both your hands and you furrow your brows, a tender look on your face, yet there are still remnants of sorrow. and megumi— well, megumi isn’t the best person to talk to when it comes to providing solace because emotions make him uncomfortable sometimes. so, he does the next best thing he can offer, which is logic.

“i’ll tutor you later, okay?” he suggests, second-guessing himself whether or not he’s doing this right. but he tries, “come by the cafe.”

you’re quiet, still looking at the drink, and he wonders if he messed up. so, he sits there uncomfortably, shifting in his seat; waiting for any recognition you’d provide to his “logical” solution.

maybe that isn’t what you need, he thinks. 

for megumi, the silence feels like eternity, but he knows it really only took you about a few seconds to finally respond in the smallest voice. 

“okay… thank you.” 

“you’re welcome,” he smiles, doing the best he can to ease your mind off the test result. “drink up. you’ll feel better.”

~; 5:30pm, at the cafe.

“okay, when looking for a point in a hyperbola,” tapping his pen at his notes, “what do we need to use?”

“the standard formula of a hyperbola?” the two of you have been at it for a good hour and a half, and he’s really impressed with how fast you’re able to pick up concepts.

“good job,” he says, following up with another question, “but how do you know if it’s a vertical one?”

you furrow your brows and he watches the way you nibble at your bottom lip, making his heart rate pick up. and as if that view wasn’t enough, the two of you are secluded, seated at the furthest corner of the cafe, sharing a small table. the close proximity and the subtle brushes of your arms makes his breath hitch, yet he perseveres. 

as you contemplate, megumi hooks a finger up to his collar and pulls on it a bit, hoping it’ll release some tension in his body right now. but really, it doesn’t help, so he’s just thankful that you’re too preoccupied and adjusts the way he was seated instead—resting both of his arms on the table, with sleeves rolled up, he slightly leans forward.

“when the traverse axis is vertical…”

okay, correct.

“and…” you pause and he watches as your face slowly remembers what he taught you, “and when– when–!”

almost there.

“when the y-term is positive and comes first in the equation!”

there you go. megumi smiles and nods his head, genuinely proud that you’ve finally got it. you squeal and everything seems to happen so fast because he said great job and suddenly— you were gone?

what? 

so, he backtracks.

“great job,” he says in a pleased tone and you look up at him, squealing, noses almost brushing with the way he’s leaning forward. he then softly laughs and is surprised at the sudden attack of a hug from you. but he didn’t have time to reciprocate the action. 

because by the time he decides to place a hand at the small of your back, your hands fly to cup his cheeks—pulling him in for a kiss.

you pulled him in for a kiss.

oh.

megumi sits there dumbfounded, staring at the door that’s now swaying back and forth from the impact of your escape and it takes him a good few minutes before he realizes that you left all your stuff. 

your bag, your notebook, your pens—everything.

~; one week later.

it has now been one week since the incident—though he wouldn’t really call it something negative. the only downside is that you have constantly been avoiding him.

you weren’t very good at it.

because he had to watch you bump into a wall and then a student for turning so quickly when you saw him walking towards you. while avoiding him in school is fine, what he doesn’t like is that you haven’t been to the cafe—and you were there almost everyday, ordering a drink or not.

does it make him upset? yes, he won’t deny it. so when he hears the bells of the cafe door ringing, and looks up to see you standing there? he’s reeling in all his happiness. 

“hey,” he softly calls out, a small lopsided smile on his face. he watches as you take a step, then another, and another, before finally reaching the counter. and he finds it so nostalgic—reminding him of the time that he also took calculated steps when he approached you back then at the student’s affairs office.

“hi,” your voice is soft, almost like a whisper; if he hadn’t been waiting for this moment, he would’ve missed it, but he’s wanted for so long to hear your voice again that megumi smiles a bit bigger, relishing the way your cheeks look flushed.

it’s cute.

“latte?” he asks and you meekly nod. but, before he turns over to make your drink, he reaches down the counter and pulls out your bag—completely aware that your eyes shoot wide open. it takes a lot in him not to laugh at you during this moment and just opts to gently place it in front of you. as he sets it down, his hands barely have pulled away when you quickly snatched it off the counter. your reaction makes him let out a little snort before turning around to make your drink. 

megumi does it in record time and as he looks back at you to hand it over, your payment is already placed nicely on the counter. once he rings it up on the register, he looks at you expectantly. it’s silent for a few minutes before realizing that he’s missed something.

"ah, right," he shuffles awkwardly, turning his back to you to grab tissues and—"here you go."

“thank you,” you fidget with the napkins he handed over and he watches as a myriad of emotions flow over your face. when you finally looked up at him, he perks up.

“thanks for my stuff and my coffee…” you pause, closing your eyes, “look, i’m sorry about last week—”

before you could react, megumi leans over the counter to give you a chaste kiss. letting his lips linger on yours for a few moments and he smiles when you finally reciprocate. as your mouth moves with his, it gives megumi the courage to keep going. 

hoping that you’ll finally get that the feeling was mutual all along.

he’d continue to kiss you but, for workplace etiquette, he has to pull away. and so he does. he pulls away just enough for your noses to still be touching. as he slowly opens his eyes, they meet yours and he feels drunk on the feeling—the high he got from your lips on his.

“don’t be,” he whispers, breaking whatever tension was holding you two back and hoping that this will be enough to reassure you. “come by again everyday, yeah?”

he subconsciously licks his lips and megumi watches as your resolve falters.

“yeah…“ you finally managed to say and he smiles, sneaking in one more kiss. 

“and stop avoiding me, okay?”

you nod but he isn’t satisfied, he needs to hear your voice—that and because he enjoys watching the confident student government president lose the ability to speak in front of him. so, one more kiss and to hell with it if his boss sees.

“okay?” he teases.

“okay…” you whisper, cupping your face with your hands; he smiles, finally satisfied. you furrow your brows at him, biting back a smile to which you fail miserably. megumi loves the way it brightens up his day as he watches your smile get bigger.

you both quietly laugh at the whole ordeal and megumi brushes his nose against yours before finally pulling away to stand up to his full height. grabbing your drink, he watches you walk towards a table—taking a seat, you scrunch up your nose when you look at him and he understands.

i’ll be here until your shift is over. 

[xylatox]

Laurel Hell || lhs

And im on part 2 >< The warnings already worry me slightly god, anyways unto my thoughts

for the past month, as the two groups got closer, heeseung realized how strong your influence is. maybe it’s because you are used to taking care of children—just like his friends’ childish behaviors are—but your demeanor matches well with all of them. when heeseung heard beomgyu invited you and your girls over, he was taken aback by just how easily both groups can blend in with each other.

Not hee calling his friends’ behaviours childish. I love that their friend groups did in fact merge, that makes me very happy

but how could heeseung love you when you’ve been such a pest in his life? sure, that night at the basketball court is a step of progress towards normalcy in your relationship, but, just like you said. baby steps are needed as you both had hurt each other so much; after he now knows of what you feel in the catalyst of why you hate each other and how you also know of his.

I feel bad about this honestly like :/ youd think the fact that theyre having a baby together would change things but its doesnt really; at least not at this point

American Football mention <//3 havent heard that name in forever

“you don’t think that i don’t realize your crush on beomgyu, don’t you? with the way you’ve been pining over him ever since he brought you to the doula’s office. even if i still harbor unsavory feelings towards you, i’ll allow it cause it’s fucking natural when you interact with him as much. but to then see you slut yourself out to my friends-“

Oh that broke my heart. Her feelings were a bit obvious in part 1 and it being out in the open hurts

“heck, i could’ve terminated them if i didn’t consider you-“

“don’t you fucking dare say that, 'cause,” he says as you looked at him exhaling, the tears of anger brimming in your eyes as you let your mind analyze what you say and how messed up it is. “don’t you see? you thought you were the losing one here? no, (y/n).”

Oh this hurts even more

“please,” you whispered, “please tell me you feel the same way as i do for the past few months.” you silently cry.

the boy in question, beomgyu, gives a solemn smile instead. “i’m so, so, sorry (y/n). but i don’t feel the same way.” he is shaking to signal to himself that yes, he doesn’t reciprocate.

Rejection always makes me so ughfhsibd yknow, i feel so bad for her. Also the whole thing about beomgyu and ryujin??? Thats not nice :( now why would he string her along :/ did he really care for her friendship?

I also feel super bad for Heeseung because it seems as if he has feelings for her but obviously their history makes it difficult and the act of being together to their parents

OMG ITS A BOY AND A GIRL I WAS HOPING😭😭😭😭😭

AND THEIR PARENTS GOT THEM A NEW APARTMENT???/ WHAT.

“(y/n) and i don’t get along with each other.”

he stares at the two women who turn their heads to face each other. both of them sharing a look before your mom replied, “we know.”

::::(((( they know, ofc they know they are their moms :( 

“your mom and i are actually rivals in our school basketball athlete days.” your mom said, “we used to trash talk so much at each other that our teacher had the smart plan for us to do something for detention together.”

Its a shame they didnt get together 🚬🥀

“you have me, (l/n)(y/n). we can heal together, if you want, of course. or else, i just take care of myself better an-“

This made me tear up a bit :( 

your free hands move animately whilst describing what you are reading, making a few kids holding onto their plush or blankets so hard as they imagine what you’ve said. every time he sees you like this, he can’t help but be enamored like you. like you are a goddess of storytelling and your stories capture people’s attention in such the right way that it influences them too. 

This is so sweet what :( The interaction with the kids has me so soft oh my god

“you gotta have to be patient with that. she’s a demiromantic, so you have to coax her into that part of the relationship. make her trust you enough.” 

Demiromantic rep!! That makes me super happy ahhh

I am glad that gyu formally apologized and they had that closer, it makes me happy :) 

Also love how theyre going to support hee at his game :(((( 

you could see heeseung’s hooded gaze as he didn’t hesitate to crouch down and give two kisses to each side of your bump—for his two kids—before he stood up and gave you another peck on the lips.

Oh im fucking soft ugh

“i can call that a date because we usually eat after each appointment,” he answers with the right vigor as you change the way you see. that, hey, maybe they are dates.

Hee is so silly oh my god

“it’s time?” heeseung asked, his mind’s wiring not right as he saw you standing up, wobbling from your weight. but he also sees the front of your crotch all wet and the beanbag being the collateral damage.

“oh fuck, it’s time- okay.”

Not me laughing, i love when men panic for childbirth

Thnks fr th mmrs is playing and i didnt expect that omg??? 2000s - 2010s nostalgia

“remember your hee hee hoos, babe,” he whispered to your ear as you nodded, the midwives checking in on you as you are now in active labor.

Oh my god he is really just a silly guy

“i’m so fucking proud of her and i just feel awful that she’s the only that could feel that immense amount of pain,” he said his truth, wiping the tears with the hand that has a bandage brandishing his lower arm from the scratch you gave him as you gave birth. 

This is so hee coded oh my god hes so cute

“and, you’re my girl. i’m your boy. and i do think you need to embrace that more. let me take care of you.”

Oh my heart no

“make it more of like a friendly or romantic rivalry,” he says, leaning upwards as he pecks on siah’s sleeping head on your shoulder. “besides, how could i compete with you if we aren’t on equal terms?”

Oh my god the end :((( 

Lissie i know i still have the epilogue to get to but this was so sweet. After getting through the main story i can see why I got this in the quiz (not only am i astronomically down bad for hee) but i also heavily related to the mc i think :( like from the sports to her general behaviours it just feels familiar.

Im so glad i finally read this <3 

part 2

cast: heeseung ✗ fem.reader (ft. the peeps, enhypen, and other idols)

synopsis: when you told your long-term rival and latest hook-up, heeseung, that you are pregnant with his child; you didn't expect said topic to be involved in your rivalry!

genre: romantic comedy, slice of life, coming-of-age, slow burn, drama, rivals since childhood to [redacted], college/university au, pregnancy au, future parents au, fluff, angst, mature content (explicit smut)

word count: 36351 (36.3k) out of 60550 (60.5k)

warning(s): so many curse words!, implication of abortion, rejection, depression, mention of cigarettes, mentions of consumption of alcohol, explicit description of active labor and childbirth, blood, explicit sex, pregnant sex, pretty rough sex, unprotected sex (wrap it up tho guys), hand job (m & f receive), oral job (m & f receive), dirty talk with pet names (daddy & mama), marking, multiple orgasms, creampies (if there is something that i forgot, let me know)

message of the moon: remember that this story is fiction and do be careful and read the warnings at the top. all the idols mentioned here are not what they are in real life.

i genuinely didn't expect THAT much attention on the first part! here is the rest and yes, the word count increased by 2k words. thank you so much for the love and support on the first part and enjoy! p.s. all the links will be edited including from the character intro and the first part!

soundtrack | read part 1 first!

3. the heat of lightning is 30.000° celsius

“bro, innie. your stream is starting.” chaeryeong calls out from the couch as the setup of jeongin’s camera and lights are standing in front of her. jimin brought in the snacks and put them on the coffee table right in front of ryujin and minjeong who sitting on either side of you. beomgyu and heeseung follow suit, sitting on the other dining table seats brought to the living area while jeongin is setting up his stream on obs.

you could see—from the mini setup of his—the chat scrolling up as you watched them get familiarized with the names that had come back from when jeongin asked you and the girls to join him on his last stream. his viewers seemed to enjoy it so much that another one was scheduled the next day, which is today after lots and lots of matching up free time schedules. as jeongin sat in between minjeong and jimin, he used his wireless mouse to change the static “starting soon” screen so chat could see all of you on the screen inside the boys’ apartment. the apartment that you’ve been hanging around about for the past month.

jeongin starts with, “ey, welcome chat!”

“WELCOME! WOO!” ryujin’s fanfare sounded as you heard the laughter being thrown all around you.

“since you guys have been wanting to for us to play again together since the last stream we did, well surprise, surprise! here we are!” the others seemed to hype him up as jeongin continued to speak. minjeong playfully slaps your hand as you try to not knock your headset that is lightly placed on your belly and playing classical music—something that heeseung’s mom told you could help with the babies inside you—as none of jeongin’s viewers have noticed your pregnancy bump with the successful oversized maternity top you shopped alongside beomgyu. jeongin continues to greet the chat on today’s stream.

“we did mario kart last time but now we will do mario party. but not just any mario party, courtesy of smosh games: we’re doing reverse mario party where the last place is the winner.”

“finally, (y/n) can win-“

“SHUT THE FUCK UP HEESEUNG.” you throw the pillow behind you, right towards him as beomgyu stood up to massage your shoulder, hyping you up while heeseung playfully glares at you.

“also, this is chaereyong’s idea. but we decided to not make this stream another "boys vs girls" type, but more so a mixed group with these wooden chopsticks inside the mug here helps in picking which person is in which team.” jeongin holds onto the mug as he pushes it towards each person, picking up the chopsticks one by one. in a countdown, all of you show the chopsticks you picked together as heeseung find his one marked—the same along with you, beomgyu, and ryujin: making you four a team.

the seating arrangements change as you are seated in between the two boys. you’ve already told them that you might not get too physical as you let ryujin and beomgyu play first, playing as luigi and waluigi, respectively. heeseung can hear how you are encouraging your team to play bad as your arms wrap behind beomgyu’s back, making heeseung feel a little iffy but he is just rolling his eyes watching the two using his switch controllers that jeongin asked him to lend out for the eight-peopled stream.

for the past month, as the two groups got closer, heeseung realized how strong your influence is. maybe it’s because you are used to taking care of children—just like his friends’ childish behaviors are—but your demeanor matches well with all of them. when heeseung heard beomgyu invited you and your girls over, he was taken aback by just how easily both groups can blend in with each other. but then he is reminded of what you said on that basketball court: how you want to have a truce with him. how he is so much more ahead of you that you deviate from the sport of basketball that you still seem to enjoy.

heeseung couldn’t join much of the hangout as he was being brought into the season’s games and competing left to right. the scream of his name from the bleachers rings in his ears as he recognizes a few of his fans and decelis’ fans supporting the team as he checks his phone during the break. he remembers how he caught a notification from jeongin’s stream, pressing the banner to see you appearing on it with him as you play guess the song or some sort of game similar to it. then, he remembered one day after you both came out of the doctor park’s office for your biweekly check-up. a sudden proposition you push to him as you hold your phone with the screen showing a familiar social media.

“i’ll follow your instagram and you follow mine back.”

“why?” he questioned, arms wrapped in front of him with squinting eyes.

“that’s another baby step for us to be like what our moms want it to be. you say so yourself.” you also replied with your own wrapped arms in front of you, letting the flowy cloth be pushed towards your body as he could see the shape of it and the appearance of your revealing bump. heeseung let out a groan as he said his username.

“which is your full name?” you raised an eyebrow.

“hey, it’s for personal branding and it’s rare to have a username to be your name…”

you snicker as you hit the follow button, seeing the three-digit number on top now becoming four.

“really? i’m your 1000th follower?” you playfully grab something out of the chest pocket of heeseung’s unbuttoned shirt, placing it near your heart like a badge of rare achievement.

“i’m honored.” your face scrunches, forcing out a tear that is not showing, making you blame your current stable hormone for that not happening. heeseung looked at the notification showing up, a snort coming out of him as he leaned his head closer.

“for fucking real? you’re asking me about why my username is like that while yours is mu- mune ga-“

“mune ga hachikire-sode, ‘my chest seems like it’s going to burst’.” you answered so quickly it’s like you have talked about it before that it became an automated response, earning a pregnant pause as you tilted your head towards him while he stares towards your vicinity. a small gap in between his lips as time passes by without sound between the two of you before he closes the gap and smiles.

“must be a freaking mitski lyric.”

you snorted out a laugh, wondering why he knows you so well.

heeseung gazes at how his friends and your friends seem to thrive under your hyper-ness, even making ryujin jokingly angry because you were unintentionally supporting the other team, making you let out the pout that he doesn’t expect to witness so much from when the semester starts. and now, as it approaches the end with the new year’s coming alongside the gender reveal party coming soon and the last matches for the tournament near the end of the year. life seems to go so fast for him, yet here you are thriving in it. as if you are influenced by some kind of deity that is making people around you notice and care about your presence, frolicking around as you seem to make their lives a tad bit easier to face with your motherly care and, what he acknowledge, your emotional intelligence.

something heeseung had also grown for the past 3 months since you told him you're pregnant with his kids.

the boy realized just how quiet he was when he sensed your shoulder touching his as you leaned back against the sofa to just stare at the screen of jimin screaming how he had to get another star, making him now in first place. a soft smile on your face as you glance at your friends having fun before you feel the trembles against your thigh when you catch heeseung’s leg jittering from how he is moving his achilles’ heel in a random rhythm.

“you alright?” heeseung looks down to find your hand on top of his pant-covered thigh. you give him a thin lip frown as you let your touch soothe him down, seemingly not minding the entire history you have with him. the boy is suddenly too embarrassed to see you as you watch the redness growing on both of his cheeks. you wanted to tease him about it—maybe it’s the awkwardness cause he was not there when you started to get close to his friends—that is showing up now.

as you look at your hand against his thigh, courtesy of your muscles' memory telling you to try soothing every nervous child in your way, you retreat it back to your space before beomgyu wraps his arm around your back to pull you into his embrace while you see the stars and coins are being tallied up alongside additional stars that are given. beomgyu has both hands around your and ryujin’s shoulders as you follow with the momentum, seeing that ryujin got last place–making your team win the first round of mario party.

beomgyu handed the switch controller to his best friend as the game resets for the second round where it is you and heeseung vs. minjeong and jeongin—said girl is focusing on the chat because she is convinced that she caught sungchan’s username there. your cursor instantly picks at rosalina whilst heeseung moves his to pick bowser. peeking to the side, you recognize the competitiveness that is shown from how heeseung is glaring towards the tv screen as you try to flick that same emotion on in your mind. when you feel it tainting you, you give minjeong a sly wink from where you are sitting. that even though she’s one of your best friends, you’re not taking her lightly.

the second game was a tad bit chaotic as physical play was done when jeongin seemed to make mind games by positioning himself behind where you and heeseung sit. yet, the rivalry doesn’t just create between your team and the other team; heeseung has also started playing dirty when he grabs onto your controller to stop you from failing the task.

“ughh!” you groan out as you hear the laugh coming from jimin on the other sofa, making you answer by covering heeseung’s eyes as he couldn’t see where his bowser was supposed to fell off the platform, proclaiming him to win the match and increase the ever-loving coins he owns, making him have to buy the star if he came across it: only five more spaces to go on the board. the way you hinder him from failing and he does the same to you creates a slapstick that jeongin’s chat seems to revel in as you spot jimin reading the text that is running to the top of the monitor as fast as the light goes.

“woah!” he proclaimed as you noticed chaeryeong snickering from the rapidly moving chat. “people seemed to ship you and heeseung, (y/n).”

“no kidding.” you reacted as you stared at the way your rosalina was three spots closer to the star—no choice but to buy one as you got over 20 coins. your body forces you to stand up as you kneel to see the chat, eyes glancing between four points on the screen of jeongin’s laptop: the chat who is now arguing on who are the “correct” ships within the people here, the screen as minjeong rolls the dice for her shy guy to move, beomgyu who leans back against the sofa’s backrest, and heeseung who is leaning forward to the screen before you caught his eyes for a few milliseconds.

“come on, chat. really? me and heeseung?” you audibly scoffed, glancing at your friends that is showing on the stream a few seconds later from the latency. “what about me and beomgyu? he’s also nice to me.”

“I SURE DO, (Y/N).” he said as you could detect him grinning with two thumbs up before he rested his hands behind the sofa by your empty seat. but you could see heeseung’s very obvious scowl as he didn’t say anything. the determination to lose against you may now be influenced with an even more push—because you did say to him that you’re the one losing in your battle.

“not your mods creating a poll for who shipped (y/n) with whom and the fact that (y/n) x jeongin is pretty high too.” chaeryeong stated as you tried to hold back your laughter. with the knowledge; which you’ve just known as you started hanging out with the boys; that jeongin’s mom is an ob-gyn doctor also, he has let you talk to his mom when it’s jeongin’s turn to “babysit” you—"per heeseung’s request" he said—making you show up on jeongin’s stream more often than the other girls as you and he create a more sibling vibe where he teaches you how to game. with the help of every woman around you including jeongin’s mom, you could say that you can expect what you’ll expect for your second and third trimesters and your birth. how jeongin’s mom and doctor park’s sayings are pretty much similar in a way as they remind you that you have to give birth to your twins before week 40 so that they could fit through your hip bone since you want to do it the normal way.

you were glad beomgyu had invited you to meet up. because you felt like you’d met brand new people with whom you seemed to have a sense of familiarity. like old friends having a reunion.

“WOAH! (y/n) x heeseung is no.1!” jimin reacted as all of you heard the chime of a gift sent to jeongin followed by a text-to-speech sound.

“(y/n) and heeseung’s bickering is something i aspire to have with my significant other.” the robot voice sounds as you watch ryujin’s wide eyes getting larger, knowing your real-life relationship as she has been there the longest as of right now alongside beomgyu who is just holding a subtle sheepish smirk.

“bickering because we aren’t compatible with each other? yeah right,” you give a verbal jab as you can see the comments updating a few seconds later when your words are streamed, making people send the sus emote in the chat column but also a few “opposites attract” and “you can get to know each more” comments as you looked at heeseung. the corner of his lips rose as you gave up on reading the chat before sitting down back to your empty seat. your body was instantly ignited in surprise as you could feel how beomgyu was holding your shoulder, stretching his arm behind your shoulders as you were trying your best to use your special dice to lose. then, you sensed a shift on your thigh as you find heeseung’s moving his against yours, either to distract you… or to tell you something you haven’t realized.

-

heeseung was heaving as the coach took him out of the court to the sidelines to bring sungho in as his replacement. drops of sweat are forming on his exposed forearm while he watches the score of his team nearing 50 in the game's last quarter. sunoo gave him a small towel as he looked to the back to only see none of his friends on the bleachers. other than ryujin, all of them are watching the want2dance crew showcase—you and beomgyu have no information circulating even though his turn to take care of you. heeseung should’ve been ecstatic that he got the ticket for the finale that easily. sure, the rival is strong enough, but with niki now standing as a center alongside sunghoon, they’ve been able to block the shots of the other team with their long limbs and agile jumps.

yet, all he could worry about was how much he had learned for the next appointment with the doula as he was trying to beat you with the advantage you had by the women all around you—including jeongin’s mom he had hidden as a wildcard now exposed to you.

he tried to familiarize his hands with how to hold a baby with a plushy jeongin still owned in his room before he tried using the full 2-liter water bottle he had that was identical to the real weight. heeseung had read the books that the doula recommended to him—well, heard the books that doula had recommended as he worked out with the audiobook version speaking to his ears. yet, the only thing that miss haseul said that he is stuck in his mind as he looks at you who is closing your eyes whilst you stretch your back because of his babies is…

“don’t just stand there.”

heeseung doesn’t just stand there, he does things he tried to help; preparing groceries so that you don’t have to worry about that, carrying your bags around so you don’t have to walk as your stomach is getting bigger than ever from the growing fetuses. yet he knew what the phrase actually implies.

“don’t just stand there.” take care of her, be there for her, love her.

but how could heeseung love you when you’ve been such a pest in his life? sure, that night at the basketball court is a step of progress towards normalcy in your relationship, but, just like you said. baby steps are needed as you both had hurt each other so much; after he now knows of what you feel in the catalyst of why you hate each other and how you also know of his.

the coach’s board is pushed in front of him as he traces the magnetic jersey symbol with the number 3 representing his position as the small forward if he got to be put on the court once again. since jake is playing as the point guard and how he had been killing it in slipping through the rival’s defense, heeseung’s job is to find an opening so he can throw the ball to either jake or sungho who will stay nearer to the half-circle if heeseung got put in.

“or just try to shoot as many 3-pointers as you like. we have the advantage here and our goal is to make that gap wider. passing 50 would be great.” coach min said, making heeseung turn his head towards the scoreboard, seeing the 45:36 bold in the red LED lights. and with his mind not wanting to wait more for his appointment, his gaze changes as he sounds his understanding to the coach. heeseung stretched his neck when he viewed the coach walk to the side referee so he could be switched back in.

heeseung explains as best as he able to the other four of the court about the plan, making jake and sungho nod their heads and niki with taesan at the back of their side of the court showing their own styles of understanding. the ball was thrown by the rival as taesan snatched it, pivoting on his legs before giving a bounce pass towards heeseung who was running pass the center line near the 3-pointer curve. his head is going into alert mode as he maneuvers the ball so that the rival who is pinning on him won’t steal it. a few passes between him, taesan, and niki; heeseung found an opening to go inside near the basket as he surged forward like a tank, making his own opening as he passed the ball to jake who scored a layup. heeseung recognized the rival could get a free throw chance, but he doubted it would go in as jake and sungho were prepared for a rebound with the second free throw.

the score is now 49:38 as he could see the time is now under 60 seconds. heeseung took control of the ball the most while he tried his best to find an opening for either jake or sungho, but with the change of two players from the other team coming in: they seemed to know his strategy as not one of them was bamboozled by how fast the passes are between him, niki, and taesan. the others figured out they had only one chance left to do a foul. they knew they only had 15 seconds till the shot clock ran out and under 30 seconds on the time of the scoreboard. heeseung realized something, something that can be stupid but will have a better chance of a happy ending in the end.

as heeseung bounces the ball on the ground towards niki—not strong enough like the last few times—the rival successfully robbed the ball as the shot clock resets. all the boys retreated as heeseung was the first one to hold off on the guy who was holding the ball, seemingly not knowing what to do with the ball in his possession. heeseung knows that they’re doing this to play defense against decelis because they don't want the gap to get even wider.

their passes aren’t as quick as his team's when taesan successfully clutches the ball and passes it to heeseung. the clock is under 5 seconds and he heard the growing sound of people counting down from the seats. he knew he couldn’t lay up as it would be too far or even shooting in the safer throwing area even if it gave a higher chance is risky. no, heeseung flung the ball as best as he could after passing the center line. the buzzing sound signals the end of the game as heeseung stares at the ball falling in an arch so perfectly that it gets caught by the net and instantly falls through with no theatrics, making everyone roar.

“there it is, folks. lee heeseung, number 1 from decelis, makes the game as he scores a 3-pointer buzzer-beater. AND SUCCEEDED. congratulations to hybe’s decelis. you will enter the grand finale after the new year’s celebration.”

he could sense the embrace of his teammates around him. jungwon is the closest as he playfully brushes his sweaty hair, making him glare, and wants to go out of the embrace when it’s two layers of players deep. coach min comes and gives his own thumbs up before guiding him near the referee's place as he and his team are met with the rivals, who show their sportsmanship by shaking their hands. heeseung recognizes of one of the players when said player wraps his arm around his shoulders. the announcer with a small bundle full of snacks.

“and here he is. player of the match, lee heeseung of decelis!”

heeseung hears the ovations coming from the decelis side of the bleachers as he receives the bundle, knowing that he would ravish this in one go because, my god, is he starving. congratulatory talks are spoken among the players as if it’s more of a friendly match rather than in a tournament setting, yet as heeseung walks around to meet the team he had his match with, the reminder of the appointment pinned on his mind rings once again.

pulling up to the assigned locker room, he pulls off his jersey so he can wipe his sweaty body using a smaller towel that is wet with water cause he doesn’t think that he has enough time to shower when the appointment is in an hour. feeling the clean wet towel getting rid of the stickiness on his body, he eyes his teammates who are still gleaming from their win of the ticket to the grand final. yet, for heeseung, he had been numb to the feeling. of course, he had to do well with basketball because it was for his scholarship, but knowing that he had possibly secured the scholarship for his final semester, he could actually relax from it and focus on other things in life.

his desire to be a sports journalist and, now, his preparation to be a dad.

“guys, i’m not gonna join to eat after this,” he spoke out after he heard jake asking him. a regular post-match meal is a tradition with the decelis guys. but heeseung has other places to go as he uses his body spray all over his torso and tucks his head and arms into his clean t-shirt, the decelis jersey’s bottom with the #1 still in place, and a pair of recovery sandals to let his feet breathe. heeseung gave the guys his bag of cheetos from the ‘player of the match’ bundle as little cookies and chocolates are enough to satiate his needs, knowing that he could buy takeout as he returned to his apartment, or if you also wanted to grab something to eat after meeting haseul.

the engine groans as the car turns alive. heeseung pulls out of the parking lot of the arena as he drives towards the office, the radio playing his own bluetooth-connected music as he recovers himself from the euphoria of the match, returning to the reality of his other responsibilities. he hadn’t heard from you for a while—when usually you are the one to nag if he has arrived or about his whereabouts as you prepare yourself to meet him. he was glad that he could enjoy the calmness even for just a few minutes, seeing the various silhouettes of the outside world passing by when the office building shows up in his sight from his windshield.

heeseung presses the button to lock the car as he approaches the office in his post-match outfit, a tote bag hanging from his shoulders that is filled with the notes haseul, doctor park, and jeongin’s mom gave to him printed as he might ask for some elaboration about it. though most doulas focus on the mom, he is glad that haseul can also handle first-time fathers as well because, as she said, “sometimes the dad is the more anxious one out of the two.” he acknowledges this because, as he had a talk with his own dad about this, the pregnancy is out of the dad’s control most of the time. especially in giving birth, as the only thing that they could do was to observe how the birthing was going. which means that he has to trust you to do your deed.

he recalled haseul given him and you a “bonding” exercise which is filled with laughter instead as both of you couldn’t be serious enough about this. how you both had to stay in eye contact for 5 minutes to “feel your connection getting tighter”. sometimes, he had to blink or look away from your eyes cause it was piercing with unknown emotions. but he got reminded of when both of you had sex, that final part when he is just staring at you as you sit on his shaft, grinding to find out who will cum first to break the tie. the feeling was similar—an unspoken bond created between the two full of complex history and emotions he has to untangle one by one.

heeseung’s knuckles knocked on the door as he heard the movement inside. the door opened to let him see haseul in her professional clothing.

“heeseung! come in.” she steps aside as he is met with haseul and…

nobody else.

“where’s (y/n)?”

haseul turns her head to him, “i thought you knew, she didn’t say that we’re cancelling today’s appointment.”

“hmm…” heeseung replied as he grabbed his phone, seeing the instagram notifications from the people who tagged him in the match for being the ‘player of the match’. but, when he sees your account profile flashing on the top—the newly followed account as you both did a follow-for-follow—he taps the icon to see you and beomgyu in your instagram stories, how you hooked your arm with beomgyu’s as you walk down a sidewalk, how you recorded chaeryeong dancing with her crew and tag her, how he had seen a photo of you, beomgyu, minjeong, jeongin, chaeryeong, and jimin after the show, and a photo of food at the end as he sees you tag all of his friends and yours, including ryujin who seemed to be available to do a get together because of her modeling appointment.

all except him.

to say that heeseung is heartbroken by that is an understatement. sure not all of his guys are available to watch him play all the time—only jeongin showed up to his quarter-final match last time, but to realize that the change of dynamic happened because of you is making the flint in his heart move faster to ignite the fire. and to know that you didn’t even cancel the appointment, to leave haseul hanging, when you have babies to take care of as you have used your own money to pay for the appointment, while you do a get-together that can be done anytime during the rest of the 3 months of your pregnancy. the changes within the dynamic for the past two months are ridiculous and heeseung…

all he could do was sigh as he closed his phone, glancing up to glance at haseul who had a warm smile on her face.

“well, i have a few things i hope you elaborate on.” the boy said, using this appointment to help him be the better parent.

-

“shit!”

you had to stop yourself from walking as you perceived the contractions coming from your uterus, the same feeling when you had your period, yet it’s dimmer and longer. as the weather gets colder, you tucked your coat that is draping outside of your maternity dress and legging on. you have to thank chaeryeong once again for helping you put it on. the two of them continue to grow inside you as you walk the familiar path towards the boys’ apartment, as per heeseung request cause jeongin told him they wanted to play a game together and you, being the new addition to jeongin’s stream, seemed to be asked to join in.

you could deny it. but you can join cause you have nearly all of your class projects finished, especially the marketing research one as you use the daycare as the protagonist of your case study to figure out how to market a product to different parents. you still have two exams for the two other classes you took this semester and then, it’s all done for you. and with the warmth you receive from the boys, you want to give it back to them too.

you give a small nod to the security guard as you press the button for the elevator, seeing one of the two open as you are greeted with the empty elevator with reflective sheets of metal surrounding the side walls. as you practically waddle inside the elevator and press the correct floor button, you gaze at yourself through the mirror-like surface. turning your body to the side, you view how your coat protrudes from the front as it creates a right triangle shape. moving one side of the coat behind, you observe how your maternity clothes are stretched by your belly to show the growing lives inside of you. the growing lives you can feel are moving around, but haven’t reached out to you as you can only sense them within you. you need to blame heeseung because of the way they push up your intestines, making you very much nauseous all the time after you eat.

the ring of the elevator dings stayed as you walked and arrived at the front door of the boys’ apartment. no sound is heard from the other side—maybe jeongin is waiting for you to arrive so he can start the stream together. the sound of the doorbell is picked up as you gaze at the camera lens connected to the intercom inside before you to the door when you catch the footsteps approaching from behind the door.

appearing before you is heeseung in a white graphic t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. he seems to have a slight pant with his breathing—like he was working out. you’ve opened your mouth as you saw, wanting to talk about something, but you forgot what as you see him rolling his eyes and a “come in” is spoken, leaving you alone by the cabinet for their shoes as you tried your best to slip out of it without the help of your hands.

the apartment is in the regular state rather than the group stream set jeongin had to do. a duffle bag of what looks like to be heeseung’s has a few pairs of basketball shoes—known for the tall shape as it guards your ankle more than regular sports shoes. the wooden floorboard is warm as you guessed he had to turn the heater on, making your way towards the hallways where heeseung and jeongin’s rooms are across from each other.

that’s when you hear a sound.

the sound of nothingness as you approached jeongin’s ajar bedroom door, seeing it empty.

“where’s jeong-?”

“we have to talk, (l/n).” heeseung cuts you off again as he turns his head to face you, his hand on his door so he can just push it open as you stare at him, agape.

“jeongin’s with his stray kids guys doing a group stream,” he added as he knows you wouldn’t stop asking if you don’t know, especially cause jeongin’s the one who invited you—which makes you finally think about how it’s so weird that he had to go through heeseung to invite you when he could just message you through the instagram dm. heeseung gave you one more gaze before going inside his room, leaving the door open as you could feel the swelling tension that was heavier than what your usual banter had been for the past few months.

walking inside, you were met with the wrinkled mattress and comforter of heeseung’s bed. the same bed that you and him copulate and in return, create the babies inside you. the last time you went into his room fully—cause you never went inside his room even though you visited often either beomgyu or jeongin’s invitations—was the night you and him fucked. you didn’t recognize the amount of basketball paraphernalia that is sticking to his walls last time as you finally view it, a poster of what looks like alternative rock bands cause you recognized the paramore, the arctic monkeys, and even the american football posters.

heeseung’s figure reaches his desk and he sits on the chair by it, caressing his face with his hands as you can see the way his facial muscles contort around his eyebrows and forehead.

“what are we talking about?” you lightly scoffed as you stood in front of heeseung, who lifted his head with a tenacious look on his face.

“where were you in the past three weeks?” you can pick up how he spoke with his teeth grinding against each other.

“why’d you care? you’ve seen me all the time. heck, i saw you last week when i came to visit beomgyu-“

“NO!” he stood up after you jumped from his sudden, unprovoked shout. taking a few steps, you are frozen on your feet as he approaches.

“you really don’t fucking care, huh?” heeseung now lets out a huge scoff as he rolls his eyes, very obviously. instead, he was met by another confused and offended look by you. "what does he mean by i don’t fucking care?” you spoke to yourself as he then reply, adding a needed context.

“the fucking appointments, (l/n)(y/n).” his nostrils are so wide that he might as well breathe fire out, making you stunned as your defenses are crumbling down when you realized what he is going to talk about.

you recall the past three weeks, jogging your mind through the endless activities you’ve done such as going out with the girls, going out with ryujin, beomgyu, and jeongin, busying yourself as your interviewing yoonah and the other coworkers for your study case, helping sungchan recover from his hangover as he stayed a night at your apartment—his frat house is overwhelmingly full so that he went back along with minjeong so they could fuck all night, helping ryujin styled for her photoshoot, helping chaeryeong bring the food to her dance crew so they could eat, meeting jimin whilst there, remembering the dance crew show-

the dance crew show you watched with your friends.

trying to comb the calendar in your mind, you’ve just realized that you missed that appointment that day. and then another one last week, the week when beomgyu introduced you to his bandmates as you visited their studio.

“oh fuck…”

“oh fuck, indeed.” heeseung sarcastically mimics you. you tried to hold your head up, but with the way the guilt for not showing up to your doula’s appointment, you could see the slight smirk that was threatening to grow on heeseung’s lips. but he seemed to hold it back as he let out a sigh, a shaky one.

“i’ve been trying, trying to be kind towards you. to give you the fucking benefit of the doubt with what you told me at the basketball court and i believe it. i believed it yet you don’t think about anything after that.” his hand reaches to be placed on his chest as you hold yourself still, fist pushing down to make you stand tall.

“you don’t think i don’t sacrifice as much as you do for them? i sacrifice my time and my friends' time to cater to you who is growing my babies inside you. yet you started to not think about them when you seemed to get everything on your way.” the man says as you can see the way he is grinding his teeth down, yet it still sounds so clear as you get your mind to think straight. heeseung is shaking his head as he can’t hold back the smirk that is slowly growing.

“you don’t think that i don’t realize your crush on beomgyu, don’t you? with the way you’ve been pining over him ever since he brought you to the doula’s office. even if i still harbor unsavory feelings towards you, i’ll allow it cause it’s fucking natural when you interact with him as much. but to then see you slut yourself out to my friends-“

“WOW! OKAY!” you take a step back as the spreading shock of what he told you were triggering the same ever-fiery feelings you also have inside. “that’s a fucking low blow, lee.”

“what other word should i say it with? you’re having my babies, yet here you are being touchy with my friends and forgetting your freaking responsibilities-“

“but slutting myself is such a fucking wrong word to use. that’s too fucking much.” you retaliate back, crossing your arms in front of your stomach as you feel the instinct kicking to protect them. “other than me carrying your babies, you don’t fucking own me, lee heeseung. i can establish whatever relationships that i want and you’re just making yourself look like a jealous boy who can’t seem to make his, fucking, whatever, partner be happy yet the people around you can.”

it is now heeseung’s turn who is stunned, yet his scrunch face still telling him that, even though the word he uses is such an overkill, he is still telling the truth. the truth that seemed to make you fired up to do the offense on him.

“heck, i could’ve terminated them if i didn’t consider you-“

“don’t you fucking dare say that, 'cause,” he says as you looked at him exhaling, the tears of anger brimming in your eyes as you let your mind analyze what you say and how messed up it is. “don’t you see? you thought you were the losing one here? no, (y/n).”

he lets his muscles relax, yet you can recognize just how glassy his eyes are also, mirroring yours. “you have much more powerful control over this relationship than me. you have the fucking right to do whatever you want with yourself. but what’s in it for me? i gave you my savings and we are paying for the appointment together and you become so ungrateful as time goes by not going to them. like i’m just a wallet to you.”

heeseung’s hand reaches towards his cheekbone, his fingers grazes near the corner of his eyes as you watch the whites becoming pink—holding the emotions that he wants to let out but knowing that his friends could be collateral damage to it too now that they have a good relationship with you and your friends.

“i don’t even know what will happen after you give birth to them? are you still going to ignore me and raise them on your own when i have sacrificed even my savings money to pay for this stuff we have to do?”

your throat is dry as you listen to heeseung’s little sobs and sniffles, sensing the way your heart has dropped until it reaches the depths of your being. to then being told the truth that, yes, you are selfish for getting everything you have at the expense of heeseung, who you just now realized is retreating. how the glances at you when you’re with beomgyu, jeongin, or jimin give an annoyed but also a tinge of sadness in them. you now realize that even with heeseung being their roommate, he might not have much time with them anymore because of his basketball practices and with the way you and your friends are hoarding them from him.

“i-“ heeseung’s eyebrows raise as he hears you speak, “i gotta go.” you shake your head, not wanting to openly bawl in front of heeseung as you quickly exit the suffocating space.

the way his voice is calling your name echoes and makes you move faster as you slide your feet inside your shoes before opening the door and quickly and uncomfortably running toward the elevator. pressing the button as fast as possible as the elevator dings, pushing the close button as fast as you can as if you can pick up heeseung’s approaching footsteps.

the elevator door closes as it will bring you to the lobby. you lean back against the wall as you feel the uncomfortable folded-back part of the shoes you wear. damn you for deciding to wear a high-ankle one. you knew it would be hard to fold your leg to just slip the back to cover your heels. but the only thing you could resort to is to sit down on the elevator floor to put them on. quick!

you curse to yourself when your belly is the thing that makes it hard for you to slip it on. you still eye the ever-decreasing number of floors as you are reminded to try sitting with your knees so you can reach the back more easily. your body is doing acrobats more than the exercises haseul has told you to do, but when you feel the flaps now resting behind your feet, you can just stand up and go your merry way-

the elevator door opens when you hear the familiar exclamation of your name before buff arms are helping to make you stand up on your feet.

“did you fall?” jimin is looking at you with worry, leaving his bag outside as you can predict he has finished his class for today. but, with the way that heeseung told you of his friends, the guilt boils up to burn you once again.

“ji-jimin, i gotta go fast. so sorry,” you replied as you pushed yourself out of jimin’s grasp. sure, you could talk to him on what his opinion of you and what heeseung thinks of you. but, you aren’t as close to him as you are with beomgyu.

and that’s where you are bringing yourself.

remembering the band practice he had talked to you about through chat, you walked into the familiar studio area of the campus where he usually is. the hallway inside was getting darker as you entered, the evening time reminding the students to rest for the day as you watched many of them going towards where you came from. the hallway by the door of the studio is dark with only the light and sound of a guitar coming from behind the door’s window. taking a glimpse, you can see beomgyu who is riffing on one of txt’s songs. his long hair shielded his face enough to cause your heart to beat faster than before. well, before remembering what heeseung has told to you. yet, here you are, trying—in a way—to validate that the reason you’ve neglected your appointment is for a good cause for yourself.

beomgyu’s head is lifted as he hears the knocking, looking at the window as his smile widens to see you. you want to reply with the same—you always have been able to—but the underlying emotions you’re experiencing stop you as you try to give the widest smile you can at that moment. the handle turns as you push inside, sensing the warmth of the studio competing against the breeze of the cold weather.

“why are you here?” beomgyu said, his guitar dangling in front of him by the strap.

“so, i can’t be here?” you try to banter, a frown on your face that you usually share with him now has a different reaction as he pulls off the guitar and places it on the speaker before approaching you.

“no, no. of course you can be here,” he replied, the giddiness fell out of him as you noticed why he did that: the swollen eyes that you probably got from tearing up on the way here. remembering your wrongdoings that hurts more than what you and heeseung have gotten through in ages.

as beomgyu leaned closer, he opened his embrace to you, letting you in his arms as you felt the warmth enveloping you, trying to brush away every cold patch that touched your body. yet, it couldn’t touch your heart as much as you want. you wanted to bawl. maybe beomgyu can allow you to bawl into his shoulders. but with what you are doing next, the probability of that will be split.

you were the first one to lean back, hands holding onto his shoulder as he gaped at you with a curious smile before it slowly droops down as you gaze between his eyes and lips. leaning forward, you lean your head and let your lips meet his. the grip on his shoulders was strong as you tried not to tremble. finally. finally, giving in to what you wanted for a long time now.

you could feel the familiar tingling feeling warming your heart as beomgyu just… stands there. for you, that’s enough because at least you told him what you feel based on your actions. but the pausing was too much for your liking, and you can perceive the warmth in your heart getting hotter, too hot, that is giving you searing pain once again.

leaning back, you can see the blank face that is showing on beomgyu’s face. with a heavy heart, you still try to give an optimistic smile that isn’t reciprocated with what you expect. instead, beomgyu is shrugging, a normal expression on his face and you can sense the tears once again forming.

“please,” you whispered, “please tell me you feel the same way as i do for the past few months.” you silently cry.

the boy in question, beomgyu, gives a solemn smile instead. “i’m so, so, sorry (y/n). but i don’t feel the same way.” he is shaking to signal to himself that yes, he doesn’t reciprocate.

however, this is making you question everything.

“then why are you so nice to me? why are you always asking about me or my friends? why are you always joining us?”

“i do like you, (y/n). but, i can’t like you like that-“

“why?” the sound of everything seems to pause as you see beomgyu glances away at something before an unknown yet warm smile that exudes from him startles you.

“first, you’re pregnant with my best friend’s baby- sorry, babies. plural,” he corrects himself, “and second, the night that you and heeseung hooked up. ryujin and i also hooked up-“

“wait WHAT?” your heart is already hurting from the denial because you are heeseung’s baby mama. but the thing about ryujin shocks you.

“so yeah. we both hooked up at your apartment and i got more hooked. i was already hooked when we all were in high school and,”

you couldn’t continue hearing him ramble about ryujin just like how you ramble to the same girl about beomgyu since freaking high school. gosh, that fucking hurts. to know that your crush has a crush on your best friend really hurts. your crush who is best friends with your rival. you want to get a grip on your high school self so she could find out about it because you were too lovesick about beomgyu but despised heeseung as best as you can to not see that. now it just depends on ryujin, but you don’t want to pressure her like that. she’s discovering her queerness and you love her for that and you don’t want a boy to get in between you.

but between you and the boy… well…

you actually let out such an unserious laugh as you realized how totally bamboozled you have been for the past few months. it is helping you spread the pain so that it doesn’t hurt your heart and brain so much.

“you’re using me, ME, so that you can get closer to ryujin,” you sounded with exasperation as while you laughed, you could feel the tears free-falling on your cheek. “to use the attempt to bring boxes of ingredients, picking me up, just to have a glimpse of ryujin once in a while.”

with the quick succession of changes in your emotions, beomgyu just realized what eldritch horror he is summoning: a girl with a broken heart.

“you must be so fucking happy when i say yes to going out with you. a hook, line, and fucking sinker as you get the fish that will lead you to ryujin. yet you’re fucking stringing me along all this fucking time.” you got reminded of the group streams yours and beomgyu’s gang done twice now, to finally noticing just how touchy beomgyu is with ryujin—wrapping his arm behind where she sits—that when you lean against him, you didn’t realize that he was leaning against her too.

“fuck you, choi beomgyu!” you exclaimed as you retreated, tucking the front of your coat to cover your belly once again as the feelings hit you one by one, rushing out of the studio as you run. your tears clouding your sight as you don’t care where you are going. rushing past people as you are met with the pink evening sky as the sun is setting.

you stood by a sidewalk, the tears falling out as you sobbed into the space in front of you. looking downwards, you can see the babies you are holding. you just want to be alone now to wallow in your sadness that is kicking harder because of the hormone you must have to grow them inside them, holding them so you know they are there with you. it really is just you and them against the world.

and they agree with the thought of you buying fried chicken because you can feel them kicking against your touch.

-

it actually worries ryujin that you didn’t go out of your room for anything other than work, exams, or appointments.

her eyes gaze at the door to your room that has been haunting her mind for the past two weeks. a systematic cycle was built as, even with chaeryeong’s persuasions as your mood maker, you won’t go out of your room to even eat.

it started on the day when she and the rest of the girls were worried when you weren't home by midnight. ryujin believed they blow your phone up so bad that it makes you more reluctant to go home, but she remembered she got your phone saved on her find my phone app and they decided to track you using it. their discovery leads them to find you sleeping in a booth of a chicken fast-food restaurant as the leftover bones are left behind. the restaurant is nearly empty with only the employees who work the graveyard shift remaining there to cater to the night people. ryujin doesn’t mind carrying you into the backseat of chaeryeong’s car, but she can definitely feel the heat that is growing on your forehead as the car skidded home.

she heard you grumble as they helped to place you on your bed, making you lay down as they helped you change your clothes. minjeong comes in and brings a wet towel to be put on your forehead before chaeryeong gives you a bowl of cream soup that she hopes you will eat when you are awake. ryujin couldn’t get mad to see you like this—she recognized the dried tear marks fallen from the corner of your eyes. but, the way it spilled into your everyday life for the next two weeks is something she couldn’t comprehend. because you have never been this depressed before.

every time she hears the clicking of your door, she lets out a smile and a warm greeting to then meet you who gives her a small smile yet with no spoken reply as you carry your backpack to wherever you want to go that day. minjeong tried to come along with you, but with a stretch of a hand forward and an open palm; still showing the same small smile, you mouthed a no to her as you went out of the apartment.

because heeseung was busy in doing his exams, beomgyu is still coming by to give the box of ingredients for the week. but ryujin sees that something is bothering him as much as it bothers her. he replies with the same smile and greeting to her—maybe a bit more forward than what she used to—but it feels different when she is used to hearing your greetings towards him as you stood beside her to pick the box up.

this week, it wasn’t even beomgyu who is at her front door.

heeseung stood at the door with the box as he took a glimpse in as best as he could, asking for your whereabouts and why you didn’t answer his texts. ryujin wants to tell him the truth—that you’ve begun your hermit arc as you stay in your room. but she knows how sophisticated your relationship is with him that she can’t bear to let out the truth, saying that you’re outside at that time. but then heeseung told her something.

“help me reach her. she’s been rescheduling all the appointments with both the doctor and doula without me knowing and canceling the ones that we have scheduled together.”

“the receptionist doesn’t tell you anything?” she asked.

“patient confidentiality. and haseul is also by her side cause she won’t tell me when is (y/n)’s appointment.”

ryujin thinks that, if you are not with a child right now, you might not even open the door to get your meal in and you might never even go out other than for your work and exam. it seems that you are preparing yourself to be the vessel for your babies so you can give birth to them healthily, eating and drinking for them, but not for you.

she knows just how sad you are by the way you are wailing with the sound of your guitar muffled in your room. she listens to your rendition of mitski songs from behind the walls that are still small enough to not annoy the neighbors on all sides. with the exam season nearly done as you are there to finish up your research project, it makes you not go out of your room at all unless it’s for the bathroom. nobody is ever asked to pick you up for appointments or work at the daycare because you will then arrive and go back to your room all by yourself.

it’s sad to see you like this. so ryujin hopes what minjeong is doing could help you.

the guitar wailing is still heard as chaeryeong and minjeong walk from the kitchen with the buckets of popcorn, a homemade burger just for you, and juices around them as they still promise to follow your diet—though not as strict as you. minjeong walks towards your room as chaeryeong reads the synopsis of the cd cover of tonight’s movie.

“hiya, (y/n). i know we have been so busy for the past two months or so,” ryujin listens to minjeong words after her knocking on your door killing the sound of the guitar from your room. “we’re having a movie night and it’s one of the japanese movies in your watchlist. you are very much welcome to watch with us.”

there’s a long, pregnant pause as minjeong says the last words, turning her head towards ryujin who gives her a tight-lip smile as she looks at the hallway from the end of the sofa. minjeong lets out her own small smile as she turns her head towards the living area to grab the cd from the table and crouches down to put it onto the player. ryujin glances at chaeryeong who gives her own solemn smile, whispering, “just by the look of the cover, i know we will be crying.”

just then, they heard the sound of a door opening. all of their eyes turn towards the entrance of the hallway to see you emerging. no words are spoken because all of them still want to give you space as you’re the one now reaching out to connect to them after their trials and tribulations.

chaeryeong pats the seat between herself and ryujin as you let out a chuckle, letting them see just how big your belly is getting for carrying your still ever-growing babies. ryujin gives you the burger plate as you give a warm yet solemn smile, making chaeryeong lean close to you as minjeong turns off the lights and lets chaeryeong press play.

the movie starts with a scene on a train. a green filter filled the screen as only the white noise from the moving train filled the room. a young girl and young boy sit across from each other, a large suitcase in between them. and the boy whose clothes are similar to the suitcase—tattered—clutches onto it so gently.

to say that the movie is profound is an understatement. it is filled with wholesome scenes of children—siblings—playing with each other. that is, before the realization hits all of you as they had to fend for themselves to live. but it definitely hits you hard as you lean against ryujin’s shoulder, her hands in fist because of how furious she is while watching everything is going badly for the children. while you, you are actually sobbing. maybe because you have a profound relationship with children, and are a future mom yourself, your emotions exploded as you felt the despair, happiness, and rage all throughout.

it definitely is cathartic to you because you have been burying your feelings back. to see the children being abandoned is hurting you because you have seen children like them firsthand when you are volunteering in your second year. you definitely are mad at yourself for putting nobody knows in your watchlist, but you can now say that you’re grateful for minjeong to remember it because it is definitely the cathartic release you need after burying so many emotions at the same time.

as the credit rolls, you can feel the way your babies are moving inside of you. as if to remind you to at least, please, don’t abandon them.

the waterfall of tears as you sob caught the attention of your friends, who are also in various levels of tearing up in the eyes to full-on bawling with rage. you can only let out a small smile as you hear minjeong sniffle before standing up, making you open your arms to let her into your embrace. you can sense actual warmth for the first time in a while as it shields you from the cold, literally and figuratively. more arms come to wrap around you as you felt both ryujin and chaeryeong’s faces beside your ears. to know that they understand it hits you more because you are with a child.

maybe, there is still warmth in life than what you expected. after contemplating so much about the actions that you’ve done—ranging from the earliest memories of when you and heeseung were young to the way beomgyu broke your cracked heart into pieces when you confessed—you realized that you are selfish. that you haven’t got the ability to step back and take in everything and to find your priorities, because now with babies growing inside of you, your priorities are changing as you start to love them more and more.

the pettiness that you and heeseung have for each other really shielded you from what heeseung truly is: a good man. a man who cares for others. a man who is willing to trust you, even with the amount of history you both have. how he also has his own priorities and needs, but he decided to give them to you—well, your babies. sure, he’s not perfect. his anger making him say something that is so out of line in your relationship. but you understand where he is coming from. you understand the amount of jealousy seeping through when the doula gives you instruction yet he is just there, doing nothing other than being reminded to always have a good communication line with you.

maybe, it is the time for change. because if you can allow yourself to have his children, you should also allow yourself to let him into your life.

so that your children will not be abandoned by both of their parents.

-

to learn that his mom is so excited is an understatement. to know that both his and your moms have been planning for your joint gender reveal and baby shower—because of your busy schedules—is like seeing them being kids once again.

heeseung looks to the backyard of his house, the venue of the event, which is filled with more neutral earthy color from the theme that they asked you about. he didn’t chime in because he is busy—but he also wants to at least forget the way genuine hurt show up on his face when he called you a slut. to then lose contact with you for the past month as he is frustrated. yet again, you were the one blocking him from the information he has the right to know. and with the way you try to avoid him as much as possible on campus, you are now entering your third trimester, the end of the year is near, and both of your families believe that you both are together, all of those complexities are swirling in his head as he has to try his best to face one by one.

“heeseung!” he heard his dad speak loudly from outside the room, “the guests are here, come greet them. it’s your party to host.”

“coming.” he took one last look at his outfit, a simple creme-colored shirt tucked into his black jeans, as he walked outside of the door towards the living area and the backyard when he caught the appearance of the table with shiny bracelets and flower-charmed bracelets: a jewel for a boy and a flower for a girl. he could see that some of his boys were there, picking between two types of bracelets so they could guess what are the genders of both of his babies.

“come on! the idea of heeseung hyung having two boys will be scary.” jake says towards jay who picked up gold and silver bracelets, respectively.

“but it’s plausible…”

“so is hyung having two girls, right?” jake replied as heeseung looked down to find the different color flower-charmed bracelets in his hand. the other guys are also talking to each other as sunoo was the one who approached him first.

“hey, heeseung hyung. how are you feeling?” the kind boy asked as he could feel his emotion lighten up when seeing the younger boy’s eye smile.

“oh… you know, a bit nervous actually.” heeseung chuckled as he looked at the boy’s wrist, seeing both kinds of bracelets on each of his hands.

“i’m team ‘heeseung hyung is boy-girl dad’ and the guys don’t believe me actually.” sunoo replied, seeing sunghoon turning to him and saying, “that’s cause it’s rarer, sunoo-yah.”

“i know,” said boy replied as heeseung chuckled, looking towards another table that is full of gifts often found in baby showers. since nobody knew of the genders of his babies, he saw all different types of clothing of all colors there, a few baby diapers, and essentials that would be helpful to stock at home. most of them are gender neutral but he sees a few of specific gender ones he has to think to give away if his pair of kids will be only gender specifically–or he could hold on to it so that he can make them dress neutrally.

“we didn’t give much other than two sets of baby clothing. broke college students, after all.” sunoo speaks as if to explain the situation he recognized so much.

“that’s definitely enough, sun.” heeseung chuckled as he patted sunoo’s shoulder. that’s when he heard the commotion from inside the living area from behind the glass doors, the room where his mom is with his extended family and a few mutual friends of his. he looked through it to watch a crowd coming inside; what looked to be your side of the people—your friends from college like yunjin and kazuha, your roommates of course plus sungchan who is bringing eunseok too, to what it seemed like your extended family before he sees you coming in: taking his breath away.

you are bigger than the last time he saw you. you are also wearing a color similar to his, but in a midi dress style, and he sees his mom hugging you before holding onto your belly. he let his eyes watch you comfortably as you looked around the familiar and unfamiliar faces before you connected your own sight with his.

heeseung thought you had almost forgotten the fake dating aspect of this whole fiasco you are in with him. but when you open the sliding door and in a one-way direction towards him, he lets himself being embraced by you as his hands automatically move to wrap around you. he couldn’t lean in closer because of your pronounced baby bump, but you moved back a little to look at him. a smile on your face as he sees you seemed to be more at ease, maybe because of your classes being finished and such, but you are on a completely different side of the spectrum because he is here, still struggling to juggle all the things.

“you okay?” you are the one that asked as you gaze at heeseung’s unreadable expression, making you chuckle as you can’t help the influence you have on him, but also the influence he has on you as you could pick up your heart beating faster.

“yeah…” he replied, making you lean in.

“follow my lead 'cause your mom literally introduced me as your girlfriend. unless you get a grip to know what it implies, hee,” you whispered as his eyes changed, his hand now traced down to your lower back as he stayed by your side.

acting with himself is something so easy for him. after all, he has to act while in front of your parents when he is facing you, which he has done since he knows how. but, now, acting with you seems so natural. too natural, actually. how you’re bringing him around as he introduced yourself to your aunt and your now first-grader cousin—"that’s the kid that i babysit for the first time" you added—and the way you acted like nothing happened for the past month stuns him so much.

the way your facial expression moves along as you and his friends seem to be low-key teasing both of you—he caught a glimpse of jimin recording him being dragged by you past the crowd on video—just seemed so much more than acting. but you are acting, correct?

well, that was when you caught onto beomgyu’s gaze that he could see your expression chipping away; when you returned him with only a small smile before pivoting towards heeseung as he could see your nose crunching while smiling. with that, lee heeseung actually kind of regrets by telling that to you. he kind of regrets that he hurt you.

the festivity was very modest to say the least, especially since both of your parents are the ones paying cause they’re just too happy to have grandchildren with each other. the pile of baby items is stacking up as more people are picking their guesses. all the party needs is the arrival of your coworker and it’s done.

when said coworker arrives with what looks to be a bag of crowns: a pair of faux gold crowns and a pair of flower crowns. he looks towards you who is smiling before biting your lips as you approach her and give her a hug, bringing her to him.

“this is yoonah from the daycare, well technically, she’s my boss,” you spoke, introducing the woman who is older by a few years.

“and this is heeseung, the baby daddy.” yoonah pulls out her hand as heeseung shakes it, pain surging through his hand as the grip on it is so hard.

“listen to me, heeseung. if you ever hurt her again, i swear to any kind of god out there that i will hurt you first.” yoonah said with gritted teeth and menacing eyes before pulling back, making heeseung’s doe-like eyes turns towards you who was giving him a shrug as you tell your mom on the main event.

“gather around, friends and family. the main event is going to start!” she said so giddily as his mom brought both of you to the other side of the backyard, facing towards the house where the people you invited were in front of both of you.

“thank you so much for everyone for coming to the baby shower/gender reveal combo for (y/n) and heeseung’s babies.” yoonah hosted with both poise and excitement in her voice—no wonder that she also works in a daycare. “i have here two pairs of crowns that will show the genders of both babies, which i know since (y/n) asked me to be with her for her latest appointment. i will put the corresponding crown on the two parents’ heads.”

heeseung can see the crowd gleaming at the thought of seeing both you and heeseung wearing the corresponding crowns according to their guesses. he glances at his boys who are sporting all the flower-charmed bracelets; except for jeongin, who has one silver bracelet and one flower bracelet on his wrist. and then to your girls who are sporting mostly both kinds of bracelets except for ryujin who wears two gold bracelets.

“(y/n), heeseung, please close your eyes and take a bow,” yoonah said as he turned to you, who gave him a subtle nod. your hand reaches to grab his as you both face forward and he closes his eyes before bowing his head forward.

all he could feel was the way the cold breeze blew against his skin and how his grip on yours tightened as he could feel something on his head, making the sound of the crowd growing before the grass ruffles in front of him to where you at as the crowd lets out a huge ovation. he can hear his friends’ laughter when he picks up yoonah saying, “you both can open your eyes.”

lifting his eyelids, he lets the shiny view come in as he turns towards you, seeing the shock on your face as he gazes at you wearing a golden crown. he grabs onto his own crown as he touches the petals of flowers on it, picking yours up also to show you what’s on your head. you can’t help but step towards him, taking in a big embrace that heeseung reciprocates as he sees both crowns on his hands behind you.

a boy and a girl.

heeseung was actually speechless when he retreated, letting you take the flower crown before placing it on his head, scrapping around his hair so that it looks better as he lets the gold crown glide on top of your hair where he puts it.

he could see the way his friends crumble and glee in excitement because of the revelation. sunoo’s cackling comes from the basketball guys and it combines with jeongin’s who is also recorded jimin and beomgyu, jokingly weeping because they’re wrong. your friends are also teasing ryujin for picking the wrong combination as heeseung rests his hand on your back.

“ok, sorry, one last thing everyone.” your mom interrupts the total chaos of emotions being spilled before turning towards you two. “i know that we have the gender reveal and baby shower together and we have so many outfits and items that will be useful for you to raise both of your babies. but you might be asking ‘where are we going to put this?’ well…”

your mom opens her arm so that his mom comes into her hold. the grin that they are trying to say signals that they're now fully loaded for something.

“we don’t want you two lovebirds being apart while raising babies. well… let’s just say that your parents and (y/n)’s parents have paid the down payment on a new apartment…”

heeseung actually reacted the same way as you, jaw dropped, eyebrows scrunched as you and he turned your heads at the same to face each other. you mouthed a ‘what the fuck’ towards him as he shakes his head, saying to you he also don’t know shit about this.

you and he are going to live together.

he could actually read your face this time, the face that he has already recognized for a long time—the face of when you want to refute. but, with the way your eyes seemed to crease as the rest of the bafflement poured out, you realize you couldn’t refute back to them unlike how you do to him. your eyes, though with the same sparkle in them as he sees you throughout the day, seemed to tell a different story. a story that he also seems to recognize.

that’s what he thinks as he says the goodbyes to the guests departing, leaving only your family, his roommates, and your roommates behind as they all gather to help clean up the props and bring the stuff inside. heeseung carried the last of the two baby carry-ons for the car inside the house as it is stacked by the garage door so he could pack them up and carry them to your new shared apartment.

“i swear, gang. i don’t know shit about, fuck, this,” he says as he walks back and forth to the two groups sitting in his proximity.

“also, ‘lovebirds’? the last time i met you, i don’t think (y/n) is dating you.” ryujin called back to what his mom said. but she still understood it was the message you and he sent when you were walking around together to greet the guests.

“well, we imply to them we are together to let them know of our situation so that’s where that actually came from…” heeseung replied when he caught beomgyu who was looking at ryujin’s curious and furious combo face as he could feel the awkwardness of the moment is. since the last time you left his room, he never hangs with your roommates anymore, nor did they come to his apartment to play. sure, he has met all three of them as he became the one to give the box full of ingredients, but the situation is so awkward that after he asks for your well-being and is given the answer, he instantly speed walks to the elevator because it triggers him so much.

he really realized just how interconnected you are to everybody. he can see with the way beomgyu arrived home on the same day you left from him—whom you presumably talked to—and discover how his usually giddy face now has a small stain of sadness in it before going back to ignorance. how jimin never heard of chaeryeong again as she is working with her main crew on a routine whilst jimin is focusing on creating a choreography. all because he wants you to explain from your side.

to heeseung, he had let the things that created a plaque in his heart alone by themselves: seeing you being too selfish of your own self that you couldn’t find any priorities for even your babies and how he said it to you seemed to besmirch him more. yet, he also takes to the heart what you say on the basketball court: that he is miles ahead in front of you and how tired it is staying in the rivalry. that there is a side of him capable of competing, yet he pours it into your petty rivalry. he has already implemented the side of him you were talking about on his day-to-day after it, mostly during basketball, as he seemed to be some sort of assistant coach to coach min as he helped with training the junior players. he sure hopes that you get what he meant on why he asked for you two to talk after every factor created changed him in a way.

because he cares for you.

“the boys are staying with me,” beomgyu said as he stood up along with the others while the girls also stood up, presumably to stay the night with ryujin because she is also from here—alongside heeseung, beomgyu, and you. heeseung brought them out of the front door as they went their separate ways, closing the door as he walked deeper into the house.

he heard the sound of the sink running when he found his mom cleaning the utensils. your mom is packing up the leftovers as the sound brings him towards the kitchen.

“hey, bambi.” his mom greets him as heeseung lets out a small smile. your mom opening her arm so he could come into the conversation that is now being talked about.

“i sure do hope that you and (y/n) like the apartment we picked. it’s a two-bedroom one, but it is big enough because i know you have your exercise equipment and that gaming pc of yours that you will have to reassemble,” his mom said from behind him as he stared at the leftover food on top of the kitchen island, standing beside your mom.

“that’s more than enough, mom. thank you.”

“you gotta have to say thank you to auntie as well. she helped to pick the location so that it is pretty close to your campus and your friends.” his mom told him as he took a peek to see your mom, catching onto the similarities both of you have.

“we have the rent up for a year so we can give you freedom if you wanna move away from it after it is done.” your mom continued to talk as heeseung nodded. his head turned downwards as he tried to pick out the right words to say. instead, he literally blurted out something that came out first from his mind.

“(y/n) and i don’t get along with each other.”

he stares at the two women who turn their heads to face each other. both of them sharing a look before your mom replied, “we know.”

“well… both of you used to get in trouble with each other a lot at school that it makes us realize that you both don’t get along with each other.” his mom added, making heeseung’s face return to the shocked face as he can’t help but laughs. why would he and you hide it if they already know? oh, young minds…

“i, i, okay…” his stammers died down as he couldn’t help but bite his lips, “then why i do seem to care for her so much?”

he’s able to hear his mom chuckle as she turns the water tap off before standing on the other side of his figure, seeing how he is taller than both moms who are looking at him so expectantly.

“the line between love and hate is so thin it’s actually near existence.” his mom said first, “and don’t worry about that, the rivalry doesn’t actually start with you.”

“what?” he retorted as he watched the two women communicating through a glance shared between them.

“your mom and i are actually rivals in our school basketball athlete days.” your mom said, “we used to trash talk so much at each other that our teacher had the smart plan for us to do something for detention together.”

“cleaning out that forsaken storage filing room.” his mom cuts in as she helps to collect the leftovers and grab the plates they were on so she could wash them.

“arranging them up and all. good thing during your time now you have online databases because, i swear, those teachers just blatantly putting the documents down so that they can make a student clean it up somehow as punishment.” your mom adds as his mom just laughs about it, thinking of said memory as heeseung could picture a large dim room full of shelves with stacks of papers on them—not arranged into a certain manner at all.

“but it works. after that, we became closer and we don’t see each other as rivals, but as equals.” the tap is turned off as his mom’s words go back to his ears, “and we become the best friends you now see us as.”

heeseung can’t hold back his laugh as he imagines his mom being in the same position as he is during school—cursing your mom’s ears off or even tugging the ball from each other to show who is the better player. but to know that they resolute it so fast makes him feel shame for actually allowing such rivalry to grow for more than a decade. it’s because you and him don’t see eye to eye, but sometimes you do. it’s because of the ambition you both have to also be like your parents. but growing up changed that. there are many ways to resolve such rivalry, yet he chooses the having-a-baby-together-route; the extreme challenge mode out of all.

“since you stayed at our house, (y/n) is now staying in your room for the night, heeseung.” your mom said as she gathered the leftovers, which were divided into two for each household. “also the apartment already has a bed complete with the frame and mattress and a wardrobe big enough for both of you. so you can move in if you want by tomorrow as you gather your items from your rooms at each of your apartments.”

“alright, thanks for telling me,” he said before your mom jumped with realization one last time, picking up the white envelope that he remembered yoonah brought.

“this is from the last doctor’s appointment (y/n) went to with yoonah. she knows you will ask her for your own copies.”

the word “third trimester” is spelled out on the front as heeseung pulls out the content. a few ultrasound pictures grace his vision as he gazes at the visual of his babies inside of you, the word markings at the top now assigned them as baby a and baby b grazing his touch as he sees one of them each in their own scan and both of them together by their heads. he felt someone standing behind him and a finger pointing something out in one picture of the individual baby.

“you can see baby a has a nub protruding. that’s the penis, so he’s the boy.” his mom has spoken, making him let out a small “wow” before seeing that baby b has no nub. she’s the girl.

“well, all the leftovers are split up, so i think we’re going to get going. we don’t want the husbands to smoke one more stick of cigarette.” your mom says as his mom laughs in reply.

heeseung adds after tucking the pictures in the envelop, “i also want to go to bed.”

“you absolutely should. you have to pack the baby shower gifts and bring it to your new apartment in the morning. or let it stay in your trunk until you move it in. you’ve done so well as a host,” his mom responded as he nodded, saying his last “good night” before retiring to his room.

his nightlight on the bedside table is on when he gently opens the door, he looks at the silhouette of you lying down on your side facing away from him. a duffle bag stands in front of his wardrobe which he presumes is filled with your clothes as he can identify you wearing a headset while the light of your phone shines your face. for him, it’s the correct time to freshen up as he had to come to terms that you will stay in the same bed as him—because he couldn’t bear himself to push you off his bed especially with you being in the third trimester, where he has learned from haseul is when your back pain is at its worst.

drying the droplets of water and tucking his sleeping outfit on, he walks back into the dim room to find your headset and phone on the bedside table. you have moved to sleep with your left side up; the only space for him is on the right of the bed beside his desk. though the weather outside is cold, the heater is still on as the heat exudes out to balance the temperature. he walks towards the empty bedside when he can’t help to make out the sound that is so much more noticeable in the quiet air’s white noise.

the sound of sobbing.

heeseung sits down on the bed, his back facing you while he looks one last time at his phone before putting it away when he hears you talk.

“do you know about beomgyu liking ryujin when we talked a month ago?”

his head turns to the side, taking a glimpse behind his shoulder. he can see the fragment of your expression in the darkness, making him want to make his eyes adapt to it faster.

“ever since high school, (y/n).” he acknowledged. of course, he knows. he had seen that lovey-dovey look every time he and beomgyu moved past you and ryujin in the hallway. he still has it—the subtle version of it—when his gang hangs out with yours. to be that naïve wasn’t heeseung’s forte, but he does realize just how naïve you could be.

“and is that why you commented on my crush on him? because you know that i’ll be hurting at the end?”

heeseung let out a small hum as he pushed himself off the floor and looked to the front, extending his legs as he sensed the similar, albeit lighter, pain from walking around and standing up too much as he let his legs stretch out to make him relax and let the blood flow clearly. you chuckled as he helped to pull the comforter on his childhood bed on top of him and your figure. if he could communicate with his younger self that he has you in his room and in his bed, he could see young heeseung strangling him, complaining to his older self about why he allowed that person to even be in his room.

he sees movement from your end when he lets himself lay down on the mattress. your hand brushing against your face as he turns his head towards you.

“well… you won, lee heeseung.”

your words caught his attention as he let his head be on the same level as you, shifting so he could finally see your face clearly with the nightlight still on. you have another pillow wedge between your legs, something he knows can make you feel more comfortable as he had also learned about pregnant woman’s sleeping positions. yet, your face tells him and the world that you aren’t 100% comfortable.

“i went to him, wanting to make what i felt come true because i truly, truly thought that he felt the same way. then bam! another gutter punch to me and that’s a freaking k.o,” you informed him, letting him experience the rest of the day from your view as, at that time, he was wallowing in disappointment and shame for using a wrong word to describe what you are doing with his friends.

“that fucking broke me. and i still remain in that belief even with the catharsis of watching a japanese movie about child abandonment makes me fracture and heal myself at the same time. now, with our parents renting us an apartment…” he could hear the pitch of your voice rising alongside how many words you had spoken. heeseung turned his whole body to face you, making you exhale and inhale, “i think it’s going so fast. too fast, i mean.”

your breathing makes you a bit hyperventilating as you want to turn some other way from him because you can’t bear to see his doe-like eyes staring at you with concern. you try your best to calm down, looking at the slam dunk poster on one of his walls while blinking your eyes to get rid of the glistening eyes. that’s when you sensed a hand on your cheek. heeseung’s hand reached out as you let his fingertip graze near your eyes, wiping away the single tear that came out after enough of them accumulated on the corner of your eye.

“you don’t think i’m not also scared? that my life is also going too fast?” he asked in such a warm tone. “you think that i’m not also broken? with how you and the world had shown me so much knowledge i have to expect to understand quickly, it also broke me. i can see what a positive influence you have over our friendship as a group and with you being idle for the past month, it has affected everyone. it affects beomgyu too, you know?”

you push your lips to one side, feeling your cheeks getting warm as you frown while taking in the words he had meant. that even if you confess just how much you have lost in this eternal battle with him; for the first time, he confesses he is the same.

that you are now equal to him.

“i don’t know. i retreated to being an egotistic antisocial while thinking about all of that. i’m glad you’re not like me then.” heeseung giggles as he overhears you uttering such a depressing sentence. but he continues to caress your face as he tugs himself closer to you, sensing his bent knees touching your own and the pillow that is wedged between the legs. he is the one to lean in first.

the kiss feels all too familiar now, the same as the one you had while conceiving your babies, the same as the one at the basketball court. but months have passed since those two moments, yet it only becomes richer as it goes. your hand lifts to grab his luscious locks and cradle it so you can bring him closer, tilting your head as you feel his breath right against your philtrum. yet, when you let go to take a breather, he leans in closer to connect your foreheads, lips right in front of each other’s—hovering so close that no one could able to steal each other away from the moment.

“you have me, (l/n)(y/n). we can heal together, if you want, of course. or else, i just take care of myself better an-“

you playfully roll your eyes as you meet his lips once again, feeling both of your pairs already knowing the right ways to satisfy both of your needs to sense each other. you nodded your head—hoping he felt it too—even with your lips on his. and he seemed so as he traced his hand down to your side.

“let’s heal together,” you answered, breaking the string of saliva that connected both of you as you grabbed heeseung’s hand on your body to let him touch your bump. sure, you are used to them kicking inside you now. but, heeseung never felt them when you discover them during your hermit days. to see just how the sparkles in his bambi eyes increased when you could feel one of them kicking to your uterus wall so hard, you let out a chuckle as he let you move his hand and press down to sense the movement inside you.

“i have to be angry at you because both of your babies are kickers. it triggers me to vomit just how much they kick me.”

“sorry for that!” he takes responsibility with a grin as you let his hand go, letting him have the free rein to press up against your womb where your babies are in.

“also, you’re going back with me to campus tomorrow. should i just bring you back to your apartment? the parents expect us to set up the place with the baby shower gifts.” heeseung asked as you let his hand roam to press against the bump. at the same time, it was your turn to caress his cheek, feeling how he wanted to stay in your touch when he unconsciously leaned in, but his head seemed to be too heavy to lift from the exhausting day that is today.

moving in with him is going to be hard. other than the knowledge that you learned about him which you can take advantage of, you don’t know who heeseung is as told by himself; only from his friends and parents. but with the more contact you both have with each other during this phase of both of your lives, you can tell that he is decent. you can already figure out how to rearrange the domestic chores you and him have to share. and to learn that the apartment is semi-furnished with the kitchen, bathroom, and main bedroom in place, you could actually go and live with him as fast as possible.

you’ve made up your mind.

“you know what? you don’t have to bring me back to my apartment.”

“hmm?” he questioned, lifting his eyebrows.

“i’ll help you unpack the baby shower gifts at our apartment.”

-

4. mended broken hearts

“thank you so much!” heeseung spoke with a sense of gladness as he took a last glimpse at the crane beside the balcony, watching it being retreated down to the truck that is part of the moving truck ensemble for his apartment. the officers there were so helpful as they didn’t mind being moved around between three different apartments since the morning. the machinery always fascinated heeseung as it’s not the same when it comes to houses. to use a crane to help move boxes easier at the same time is stunning heeseung; because he didn’t get the same luxury when he moved into the boys’ apartment. that’s when you told him that that kind of service actually exist too.

turning around inside his still blank living room, heeseung scans boxes upon boxes of his and your stuff, some are inside suitcases—which is mostly clothes—and boxes are filled with stationary and other items you both owned. the kitchen where the island counters are and a few sturdy boxes you both haven’t unpacked become your dining area as—other than the bed frame, mattress, and wardrobe both your parents have bought alongside the apartment rent—they want you two to decorate the apartment to your heart's content. that means buying pieces of furniture and assembling them yourselves.

heeseung still remembers how his dad arrived to tell him the different tools in the toolbox that he gave him as they both assembled a few pieces themselves. you stood on the side, sometimes helping with bolting something with a screwdriver in your overall get-up that he seemed to not get enough of. with your shelves done for the living area, you both focused on the babies’ room rather than your own room first. knowing how to assemble things now, you both choose the cribs, changing station, and cabinets for your both of your babies’ needs. viewing the room in the default look without more color is enough because you don’t know if the landlord allowed for any modifications of the apartment. so you both waited for customizations when you decided on a much more permanent residence after you graduated.

but, overall, the way you and him work together in creating a liveable place for yourselves for the next year is something to be proud of. how you and he bounce each other’s thoughts as you think of using the boxes of the new furniture bought to your advantage, making a makeshift cabinet you can put the unnecessary stuff you have while you allow heeseung to buy a desk for his gaming pc setup and some stools in making the kitchen island your permanent dining table. none of you are thinking about buying tvs or sofas, so a few beanbags and a futon is enough with a mini projector that can be useful for projecting the movies or shows you want to watch.

it’s admirable honestly, just with how open you are with each other after having such an emotionally charged seven months along with years upon years of bad blood to see you and heeseung actually working together and not complaining much about it. your friends even tease that maybe bodysnatchers caught both of you and you both are some alien species who don’t know the complex history of the humans they’ve abducted. yet, you both beat the allegations when you still have fits against each other in front of your friends. though in your domestic life, you try to dim it down by doing the relationship exercise haseul has taught you. twice a week, just you and heeseung sitting across from each other on your bed, holding hands, and looking at each other—building that connection.

heeseung placed the aptly label pc box on top of the desk he had assembled yesterday after he and the moving worker helped in organizing which boxes were yours and his. two beanbags are sitting by the front door as he will wait for you to discuss how to rearrange them for both of your liking. the boxes create some sort of half-wall maze he has to navigate to find your shared bedroom, the babies’ room, and the bathroom where some of your dirty laundries are piled he has to remember to bring it to the laundromat. he remembered that you have your own ironing kit so that you don’t have to pay more to iron out the creases of your clothes. he had already talked to the landlord about how to connect to the internet as he has his own router that he just needs to connect. and voila, a living place enough until the next year as you both awaited your graduation and your babies.

the sound of a muffled ringtone rings from another room as he walks towards his bedroom, seeing the tall box from the crib becoming your bedroom table as it rattles against the material. he looked at the screen to see the alarm reminding him of what you told him. picking the phone and some necessary items up, he left the apartment to go to his car in the basement, turning the engine on as he left the building.

the road is empty enough for him to arrive early to the daycare—even earlier than the guardians of the children who are finishing their day so they could pick their kids up. heeseung turns the car off as he stares at the entrance because you’ll probably be far from being done, yet something in his mind tells you to just wait inside rather than be left in the cold in the car; also to save the gas. locking the car with the remote key, he walked towards the daycare as he stared at the trees around that were shedding their leaves in the mid to end of december date it is currently in.

he hears a twinkling jingle when he steps inside the heated lobby area of the receptionist area, seeing it empty as he could observe the walls of the various playrooms that are there; all of them leading towards the outdoor playground that seemed to be closed out because of the snow falling a few days before. heeseung sees the children doing their various activities, some are playing around by drawing and some are playing with dolls and figures while an attendant takes care of each area. that’s when he saw you, sitting cross-legged in another overall outfit as he could see the large bump you’re sporting whilst sitting, reading what is supposed to be a children’s book for your audience of 4 to 6-year-olds—though you also have the experience of taking care of younger when you told him of your babysitting experience.

your eyes gaze between the writing of the book and your audience of children intrigued by what you are saying. your free hands move animately whilst describing what you are reading, making a few kids holding onto their plush or blankets so hard as they imagine what you’ve said. every time he sees you like this, he can’t help but be enamored like you. like you are a goddess of storytelling and your stories capture people’s attention in such the right way that it influences them too. why did he think about that? because he had seen it. he had seen his friends being influenced by it, and he had felt it himself.

your gaze breaks between the two planes of existence towards the window where heeseung is standing behind, making him chuckle as he sees you startled. eventually making some kids turn around to look at him. he can read the changes in your face as you realize the time, looking at the other areas, before pushing your hand as you point to where you at, mouthing,

“you want to come in?”

“right now?” he also expresses as you read his mouth and answer by nodding. he slowly tugged his shoes off and put them beside the shelf where the employee’s slippers were as he pushed the door open after turning the handle. softly—from the little pairs of eyes looking at him—he settles down beside you as some kids are looking at him with differing emotions, some with admiration, some with jealousy, some with timidness; especially because of how much of a giant his own body is compared to them. that is before one boy spoke up,

“miss (y/n), is that your king?” he says, making you puff out laughter as heeseung’s eyes widen before looking at you. with the way the other children seem to realize what the boy implies, he realizes you have told them something before about that.

“i think you’re right, woonhak oppa.” a girl said before she reached her hand out, “queen (y/n) is going to have her babies soon.”

“okay, kids. hyunseo…” you gaze at the kid who is giving you a cute eye smile. you know just how brutal it is for kids to tease you about your relationship; even kids are having a more dramatic love life than you are here. but with heeseung here, after they believe you don’t have your own king or queen, you understand just how confused they’ve become.

glancing toward him, you open your hand and whisper, “the floor is yours.”

he gazes at the kids before letting out his signature charismatic smirk, “well, you are correct, woonhak and hyunseo.” the two names mentioned now have sparkles in their eyes. “i’m queen (y/n)’s king. my name is heeseung.”

“heeddeung?” you listen to hyein trying to pronounce the name, making you chuckle.

“it’s heeseung, hyein. with a sssseu…” you tried to help her pronounce the s sound in heeseung’s name as the kids were now singing the chorus of heeseung’s name, making him giggle.

“you’re so cool, mister.” another boy spoke out as heeseung seemed to be taken aback, doing some theatrics with his expressions before bowing down and saying a “thank you”.

“then, you have been lying to us, miss (y/n)?” rami’s question makes your eyebrows crunch as you don’t know how to word out your complicated relationship in simple words.

“king heeseung has been here the whole time, actually.” you lean forward with your hand covering one side of your mouth so that heeseung can’t see, “but i hide him so that his awesomeness doesn’t compete with mine,” you said yet still with your normal volume, making heeseung snicker before he tried to remove your hand. the children nod their heads as they’ve been in on a little secret of yours.

“both miss (y/n) and mister heeseung are awesome.” you heard a girl said at the back, making you let out a thumbs up before you saw the boy beside her refute her answers; making them bicker about who was more awesome between the two of you. you exhale such a big breath as you shift your head to face him when he sees you with a look of horror—him realizing just how loud children do when bickering with each other. you stretch your arm upwards before slowly scooting yourself towards heeseung and place your head on his shoulder, making you pick up his giggle as he brought his hand behind you to stabilize your gravitational pull because of the weight.

“let’s hope that our babies are not gonna argue like that when they can talk.” heeseung mumbled, making you glance at him.

“arguing like us too, you mean?” you nudged his rib, finally knowing his opinion on the topic you voiced out months before. “i know you’ve felt tired of that like i am.”

heeseung hums before he sees a boy raising his hand toward you two, making you say a "yes" as yujin asked you an unexpected question.

“since queen (y/n) has king heeseung and they have the baby on the way…”

“oh no…” he caught your mumble.

“where does the baby come from between the two of you?”

if heeseung’s horror gaze doesn’t turn into dread, he must be sick or something because you even have a similar look showing on your face before it went away a few seconds later. that’s when you heard your own alarm from your phone ringing; making the kids let out such a chorus of disappointment because they have to go home.

“your family can definitely help you answer that, kids. let’s prepare your belongings so you can go home, okay?”

“okay!” they said in their various voices as heeseung sighed so large, avoiding such a lightning bolt because if you couldn’t answer it, then how could he do that? of course, he doesn’t want to imprint the idea of copulation on them at such a young age. and he is glad as the bell saved him.

heeseung helps to stand you up and you walk towards the lockers for the kids before glancing outside to see the familiar faces of their guardians picking them up. he even helped with a few of them before he felt a tug on his shoulders when crouching down. turning around, he sees the same girl that had pronounced his name wrong giving him a paper. he remembers the girl has a few sheets of paper and crayons when she is there with the crowd, hearing your stories.

“for you, mister heeseung…”

he sees the picture of a simple drawing of three figures: a smaller triangle with a circle and smile and hair, a larger one with the same as the little figure with a crown on her head, and beside it, a stickman with a black rectangle filled and the same circle as a head with face and another crown. the color of their triangles corresponds to the girl’s purple outfit and your own light blue denim.

the girl, you, and himself.

“thank you, uhh…”

“hyein.” she smiled.

“thank you, hyein.” he replied correctly before turning around as he saw her retreating body to you who was holding her purple backpack strap, giving him a knowing look before you focused on hyein as he stared at the drawing in his hand.

after you send the kids to their respective guardians with coats that appear so big on them as they have to traverse the cold weather, you say goodbye to yoonah and your other coworker; seeing her nodding her head at heeseung who is picking you up as she mentioned, “you almost forgot to send me the complete research so i can give it to sohee in marketing.”

“will do it right away,” you said as you tugged your puffer coat, said your goodbye to her, and entered the warmth and comfort of heeseung’s car.

after sending yoonah the file of your final research work that could help with helping in promoting the daycare, you lean back on the seat as you let heeseung’s r&b-based playlist flow through the speakers.

“what are we having for dinner?”

“what are you craving?” he asked before turning to you, who had a smile on your face. he already knows what it is.

“what’s with you and jjampong?”

“gochujang is my craving now and jjampong, being the soup food it is, helps with making my insides warm from this cold weather.” you hummed, thinking just how satisfying to consume jjampong again for the past three days. well, what gives. it is what you are craving.

“yet, you don’t want kimchi jjigae? they’re similar.”

“but jjampong has seafood, heeseung. plus jjigae is too thick and it’ll feel weird on my tongue.”

heeseung could only sigh as he smiled to himself, knowing that he had to call the chinese food delivery when you arrived at the basement of your apartment building.

a shower and the clean empty bowl of chinese foods you and him bought later, you and him are doing your nearly-regular routine of sitting and staring at each other. because it is nighttime, you let your lamp light the room in its own dim brightness as you see it being reflected in heeseung’s eyes.

when you smile, he follows. when he moves his lips a certain way, you follow as best as you can. but you can feel how both of your pulses are syncing up from you both holding your hands. thoughts are running in your mind about him, mostly the ones you have an obvious answer to. but there is one that is stuck that you just remember.

“why?”

“hmm?” he hummed, eyebrows lifted.

“why did beomgyu mention to me that he can’t be with me because of you?”

heeseung tries his best to not break eye contact even if he wants to, having the answer showing up clearly in his head because of the vulnerable stare he is in.

“did you tell him something, seung?”

but he just can’t say it, still holding it back even with the way you stare at him with such glistening eyes. your hormone seizing the wheel as you let go of your hand to wipe it before holding it again. he shakes his hand as you just let out a disappointment tight-lipped smile. but you didn’t expect heeseung to also ask,

“why didn’t you stop me that night?”

your eyebrows are lifted. that night has been a while and the last time you spoke of it is when you mentioned how you are pregnant with his child. sure, why didn’t you stop him? why didn’t you stop yourself? you are also wondering that.

and because of that, you lean forward as your lips meet heeseung’s. the kiss is so light yet loving. and even that, it’s enough to answer the question for your own self. well, it’s now his turn to think…

“why didn’t you stop me just now?” you questioned back.

near the end of the 5-minute-ritual, heeseung finally understands why he didn’t stop himself today and why didn’t he stop himself and you that night.

-

the end of the year is today and here you are, tucking yourself in one of your flowy maternity dresses as you pull the straps up so you can put your hands through the sleeve and tug the dress so it adjusts to your own liking. your makeup has been sitting on your face for five minutes now as heeseung is preparing himself in the bathroom. you tie the strap of the back of the dress as best as you can when you can feel yourself stretching your back, making you groan at how satisfying the feeling is. the sun has already set outside as you clasp your small black-colored chain necklace at the front before rotating it behind your nape. you glance at how cute you look as you can’t help but take your own photo in the mirror that you brought from your old room that is leaning against the wall corner.

the door of the bedroom opens and you find heeseung in a white shirt and black trousers ensemble, “you ready?”

“i guess, can you check if the ribbon of my dress is straight?”

heeseung steps closer to you as you puff out the sleeve of your dress so that the seam can be placed correctly. a slight tug comes from behind you as you glance at heeseung repairing the ribbon of your dress. after it’s done, he leaves the ribbon as he looks up at you, who is staring at him from the mirror, a sheepish smile on his face as he glances at your phone in your hand.

“you want to take a picture of the occasion?” he asked, gently tucking his head on your shoulder.

“if you want to,” you reply as you catch him nod his head. his hands that are on your back move forward and rest on your large pregnant belly. you took a few pictures of the two of you—something that past you couldn’t see yourself in—as you put it on your instagram story and typed the caption, “night out (+ 2)”.

“you want me to tag you too?” you peek at heeseung, who has moved one of his hands to be in front of your clavicle, seeing the black necklace adorning your skin next to the rolled-up sleeve of his white shirt and the veins protruding on his forearm.

“of course,” he said as you typed in heeseung’s username and pressed send.

“we haven’t updated much of our instagram and i surely know that our old friends will be shocked to see us together.”

heeseung’s muffled laugh comes from behind your head as you follow, wiggling yourself out of his hold as you pick up your bag and strap it on across your body. you glance at the living room that still has boxes left but with the beanbags and projector set for your usual game night set up—courtesy of heeseung’s nintendo switch—as you see his rgb light inside his pc crate lighting the dim living room by the balcony. walking to the fridge, you open its door and pull out a flask of your own lemon-infused carbonated water so you can pretend to at least be drunk for the new year’s night. you feel your coat being hanged on your shoulders by heeseung as you tuck the flask inside your bag; slipping on a pair of ballet-style shoes as you both walk down to the lobby.

“you sure we don’t have to use a car? don’t want to make you too tired…”

“yeah, i’m sure. i gotta have to stretch my body to exercise, hee.”

you were glad that it hasn’t snowed for the past few days as the pavement is all dry and safe for you to walk. the apartment complexes are close enough to each other and you want to use that as an advantage to move your body so that it doesn’t lock and make you too stiff. your fingers are interlocked with heeseung’s as he allows you to guide him through the shortcuts on your way to your old apartment; where the new year’s eve party is at.

“one last reminder: you’re allowed to drink tonight. you deserve to have a break time,” you said as heeseung glanced at you.

“then, who’ll be taking care of you tonight?”

“i can take care of myself, you doofus,” you replied to him, “and i’m most certainly could take care of you too.”

you glanced up at the apartment you moved from as you greeted the security guard, who is still greeting you even if you’re not the tenant here anymore. bringing yourself to the elevator as you press the familiar button, your eyes stare at the changing numbers on the way to your floor as it opens when you both arrive. you could hear the muffled loud voice that you’re hoping would be alright—"it’s okay! the neighbors are away for new year’s eve so we can party all we want" minjeong reassured you—as you approached the familiar door and put in the keypad: they still didn’t change it.

the door opens as you pick up the speaker playing in your small get-together with your people. you can hear the shout of yours or heeseung’s names as you slowly pull your shoes off by the door that has already littered with so many shoes of other people. the get-together is only for the seniors in hybe uni who are linked to your friend circle and, not going to lie, you didn’t expect for it to still be this many.

you see chaeryeong approaching you as she tugs your coat off before hugging you, already knowing that she is tipsy just by looking at her.

“you’ve come back, mama,” she teases you as you hug her too while you can pick up jeongin’s voice greeting heeseung with their usual bro hug. ryujin comes in as she brings a bucket of popcorn to be given to the crowd gathering by the tv that is playing a playlist of kpop songs. minjeong and sungchan come to hug you together as you find eunseok and chenle behind you.

“i’m so sad that you can’t drink.” sungchan said as he gently touched your bump. “she’s carrying my niece and nephew, of course, i don’t want her to drink,” minjeong cuts her boyfriend off as you playfully pull out your flask, making them widening their eyes before you say, “it’s just lemon soda water. i’ll be okay.”

you let them move away as you glance at yunjin, who is now using your room after you moved. she seemed to scream when she saw you as you instantly hugged her, “look at you, mommy.”

“thanks, jen.” you replied, “how’s it been living here?”

“fun as fuck. i don’t care that i only have 6 months of uni to live here but anything i would do to allow boys in my room-“ you playfully nudge her forehead as the laughs between the two of you combine with the sound of the people talking in the apartment. the boys greet you now as jimin and jeongin let heeseung talk with keeho, jiung, and theo.

“how have you been with heeseung?” jeongin asked genuinely as he got cut off by jimin, “hopefully his snore doesn’t turn you off much-“

“aish. YA! don’t cut me off.” jeongin nudges him away as jimin shows his own grin towards you as you ponder.

“he does snore, but i’m getting numb to it-“

“i don’t snore, (l/n)(y/n).” heeseung shouted from the other side of the room.

“you do!” you heard yourself, jeongin, jimin, and somebody—somewhere in the apartment—replying. knowing the strength in power, you and jeongin giggled as you continued to catch up.

“who’s having heeseung’s room?” you questioned, making jeongin pull someone out of the conversation as you see the familiar face that makes you giggle.

“yoon jaehyuk?”

“hey, (y/n)!” he hugs you as you pull back, confusion on your face.

“i thought you were still rooming with asahi…”

“ahh… yeah… so he decided to do an internship back in japan and he’s not coming here often unless so that’s why i room with the boys. gotta have to thank seung again for telling me the vacancy,” he said as you saw him smirk. you nod your head as you allow yourself to be taken by the flow of the conversation. conversing with the likes of hyeju, yerim, wonjin, and hyunsuk, before you can feel yourself getting tired as you walk towards the sofa, seeing beomgyu being left alone with one plastic cup in his hand and the other on the remote control—as if he is the music man of the night—as you can see him changing the playlist to play a sing-along playlist for songs of 2000s emo alt-rock.

“can i sit here?” beomgyu lifts his head from your question. you want to ruffle his hair for it being too messy, but knowing the aftermath of your last duo interaction, it feels totally different.

“of course,” he replied as you sat on the space beside him. he seemed to notice just how messy his hair was as he moved it so you could notice his flushed face from the drinking.

“oh yeah, apologies. you can’t drink-“

“nah, i can.” you pulled the flask out as beomgyu widens his eyes. “lemon in soda water. so that i can feel the festivity alongside all of you.”

beomgyu lets out a sheepish smile as he nudges his cup out, “cheers?”

“cheers.” you meet the cup with your flask as you both drink from it, feeling yourself sigh as you thank yourself for finding such a safe remedy so that people know you can still “drink”. but when you retreat your thoughts back to beomgyu, you can still see a familiar tinge of sadness on his face.

“what happened?” you decide to throw away any leftover feelings just so you know he is alright. beomgyu scoffed as he wanted to answer.

“i confess to ryujin and guess who got denied?” he points his thumb toward himself and you can’t help but let out a pout. you can think of so many reasons why she rejected him, but you know she might be doing that because of you and your unresolved feelings for him—especially since you’ve learned she is sexually attracted to him because they hooked up.

“you gotta have to be patient with that. she’s a demiromantic, so you have to coax her into that part of the relationship. make her trust you enough.” you decide to lecture him. many people have been trying to get with ryujin even when you both are in high school, but because of terrible experiences, you understand how she realized who she is now. you were with her through thick and thin at that time and you know that if beomgyu is the one asking her out first, it’s definitely a legit attraction from his side because ryujin remained romantically single for her nearly 4 years of college life.

“and i should tell her i gave the blessing. she might still be holding back because of me and my feelings towards you,” you say what you thought out loud, showing beomgyu just how effective his rejection is not only to you but also to himself.

“i’m sorry once again, (y/n). i shouldn’t have used you like that,” he said as you blinked your eyes, letting out a hum as your answer.

“but truly, i couldn’t reciprocate your feelings because-“

“because i’m your best friend’s baby mama. i remember.” you slice his sentence and put in your own. but you didn’t expect him to add to it more.

“yeah, that but also,” beomgyu lifted his head towards one point in the room as you followed, finally letting the sound of the fall out boy song in your hearing as you listened to heeseung singing along with it with a similar cup in his hand, taking a deserved break just for the night to let loose. that is when after he sang the high note that he caught your gaze and you see the corner of his lips tugging upwards.

“it’s heeseung too. he had never been this caring towards someone. even to his previous girlfriends where he only dated for like three months top.” he said as you can remember heeseung dating in high school and he had only had a girlfriend for like a month before they broke up. it’s a teasing material you and ryujin used and you can remember how fuming he became before beomgyu calmed him down. beomgyu’s word makes you realize something as it definitely is a fragment of the answer that he couldn’t answer when you asked him nights before.

“i have a guess that he has been having feelings towards you that he is willing to monetarily fund you throughout your pregnancy. it’s hard to find a guy like that unless he is honest and sincere.” beomgyu continued as you jumbled the words to find the answers hidden in them because—true to what the boy beside you said—if he is not sincere, he wouldn’t be leaving you alone to face this phase of your life. your mind suddenly thinks of a world when you say nothing to him about you being pregnant, letting it be a secret that he might only know after you give birth to the twins. but, you still won’t lie the sexual attraction is there to make them in the first place.

“thanks for answering the age-old question, beomgyu.”

“you’re welcome,” he said as he saw heeseung approaching the two of you. you can see with the way he has a little sway in his movement that he is definitely tipsy: nearly drunk. he pulls you up before sitting down on your previous space and tugging you down so you sit on his lap. his hand moves towards your bump and you can feel the babies reacting by kicking around the skin where he puts his palm.

“oh yeah, txt’s coming back with a gig. would love to see you both there cause we might spoil a new single for our next album.” beomgyu said as both you and heeseung stared at him.

“no shot. we’ll be there, right, hee?”

“uh huh,” he replied as you could see the cringe on beomgyu’s face, not used to seeing his best friend being disgustingly lovey-dovey towards his partner as he stood up from the couch.

“i’m gonna grab more snacks. hold the remote for me, won’t you?”

you picked the remote from his hand as you replied, “good luck on ryujin. be patient.”

“i will!” you heard beomgyu reply as heeseung’s nose seemed to distract you by tracing it against your cheek.

“what was that?”

“you know the love triangle i mentioned?” he hummed to your question.

“beomgyu got rejected by ryujin, so i was giving him tips to get into her heart romantically and i have to give a blessing to ryu if she wants to pursue him.”

“ah... that. well finally. beom’s brave enough to actually confess.”

“how is he like about her during high school?” you turn to examine heeseung as he sways your body on top of him.

heeseung chuckles before answering, “he is definitely whipped for her. he was so angry for being late to confess when ryujin suddenly got a boyfriend…”

“that guy was a bad boyfriend in the end.” you fill out heeseung’s story as he let out another hum.

“speaking of high school, i’m guessing i’m not the only that is having my phone setting off so much from the story i repost?” he squinted his eyes, making you let out a sheepish smirk.

“ooh, let’s actually see how they react!”

you and heeseung see the messages that are being exchanged of how you both are together and some congrats to the people who notice the baby bump. but still, the overwhelming census says “HOW ARE YOU TWO TOGETHER” exactly with the caps on. all you and he could do was laugh as you waited for the next year to start in just a few minutes.

the new year that you are ready to face with him.

-

you are rummaging through heeseung’s side of the wardrobe as you hopefully don’t want your expectation to be wrong. that he, AT LEAST, still has the uniform from the last season in his wardrobe.

heeseung left hours before to train some more for the championship finale tonight and as a former basketball player and his “partner”, you gotta have to show him support—"or i will actually kick you out" he jokingly said. you knew of his predicament so well, being the captain of the team but also as the versatile player who his teammates have to rely on. but you definitely can trust him for this because, of course, he wins against you when it comes to the basketball category.

you can feel the vibration of the notifications on your phone, telling you that your friends are here to pick you up at the arena as you let out the breath you were holding and tug your tank top lower to cover your bump. you have finally found last year’s decelis basketball uniform as you see the words “h.s. lee 01” so clearly on the back. it still smells so clean because he probably has not worn the top in a long time—but you have seen him wear the bottoms as some house clothes. you tug your head through the collar and put your hand through the sleeveless strap as you pull the top down, seeing the excess of his clothes covering the rest of your bump as it hangs on the end.

when you hear the sound of the doorbell ringing, you quickly walk to the door and open it, turning off the bell from the intercom before you are met with ryujin hugging you.

“you look sexy. i didn’t know you were that possessive, (y/n).”

“oh shush, the babies have to know that i’m also rooting for their daddy, of course. now, can you help me put on my shoes, please?”

after all of that is done and none of your things are left behind, you tuck your jacket as you enter charyeong’s large-ass van—probably from switching the car she brought from the previous semester back home during the break—as you are greeted by the whole gang when you enter with beomgyu driving and ryujin on the shotgun, noticing just how comfortable they are in conversing with each other now. you could see just how fast they’ve been getting it on as you don’t want to comment on it that much.

“tickets are with me.” jimin said in reply ryujin’s worrying scold when you let beomgyu drive the van towards the arena. you recognize the large arena from the many times you went by it, but also the distinct yellow neon color of hybe uni’s university color as it is the town’s signature arena. stepping out of the car, you felt the winter air hitting you as you and the rest are going inside the arena with jeongin holding some banners they made for heeseung that you don’t know shit about.

but the thing is: heeseung doesn’t know all seven of you will be here. because you didn’t tell him you don’t have work today when he thought you had.

well… that’ll be a major surprise for him.

you greeted a few of the juniors you recognize as the people who you worked with for in uni events or your junior in the business major. many of your peers’ juniors are also here as you discover some of them fangirling about beomgyu and how they are excited for his next album coming soon from the single they have released. even jeongin got recognized even if he is a small-time streamer. but he was raided by a bigger streamer during his subathon at the start of the year and has more collabs with the stray kids collective. safe to say he is set in his pursuit to be a streamer—"or a pro gamer if that doesn’t work," jeongin had said to you.

you recognized some of the cheerleaders as you have pretty good ties with them too when you helped one of them in bringing them to the hospital because of an injury during outdoor practice. though, you might not be as famous as your friends—you and minjeong actually—you are pleasant enough to recognize the satisfaction of your balanced socialization but also be at home watching movies with her for your 4 years of college.

“gosh, has it gone that fast?” you think to yourself. there’s a sense of melancholy towards it as you are here to do your last semester. to separate from the friends you made whilst being here as you open a new chapter, which you decided it will be with heeseung as you only have a month until your babies arrive.

the arena lights dim as you can hear the mc introducing the teams, both universities are cheering for each of their team until it’s decelis’ time.

“decelis number 1, playing in his last season before graduating, it’s lee heeseung.”

you actually let out a scream that shocked your friends as you watch heeseung coming out and stand in front of the opposite’s no. 1. then you pick up the recognizable names of heeseung’s teammates, mostly the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, coming to take their place beside him. the names that you’ve heard so much is because of heeseung who was asking about on how to position his teammates in the right way with you—who will be ones in the court first and how can they do in facing the opponent. you actually had to use the basketball insight you haven’t used in a while to help him strategize, making you recognize just how well the players are in each category.

with his hands behind his back, heeseung’s gazes at the bleachers where the decelis supporters were. he was hoping he could see jeongin on the right side of the bleachers, but not going to lie, he wanted to see you in his game—answering the joking taunt he gave. the strategizing you help with is being taken seriously by coach min as he agrees to let the first people you helped him pick to be the one on the court first. the spotlight blinded him but he could see someone wearing darker clothing than the yellow and white colors of decelis is using this season.

as the light’s brightness increases, his eyes stay on that certain spot as he recognizes it is you. he can feel his heart pulsing swiftly when he recognizes the top you are wearing, scanning the number 1 on the front: his last season’s uniform. you stood right beside the aisle of the bleachers just three rows back from his own benches. he could definitely bring himself to you right after if he wants to.

after the players shake their hands and return to their benches, you finally notice how heeseung recognizes you as you catch his sight, but then he lets his eyes trail to the people beside you to see the gang fully completed when he actually does a face-palming motion. you turn to view the banners the boys are lifting, “DECELIS’ KAEDE! ALL OF US ARE HERE NOW!” the little inside joke that you and the girls also understand as none, and yes, none of the games heeseung played has all the gang there to watch. only this one: his final one.

heeseung steps out first alongside jaehyun, niki, jake, and sunghoon. niki is at the front as he waits for the referee to blow the whistle. he jumps and uses his long limbs to push the ball towards the decelis side as heeseung gets it and immediately passes it towards jaehyun. the screeching sounds from the shoes make the quick side stepping and pivoting be picked up as you listen to the sound of the supporters fighting against each other in how loud and united the support is. jake got the ball as he easily slips under the reach of the opponents and he halts and quickly shoots, an easy two-pointer at the start. but the opponents: they are not that easy to beat.

8 minutes in, the score is so tight at 17:15 to decelis. niki and sunghoon have such a good time as they successfully dunk an alley-oop together. jake is killing it with the lay-ups while heeseung has gotten one three-poin- wait no, make it two three-pointers as the score rises to 20:15. but you realize just how weak the defense is as you can actually hear coach min saying to focus on offense on one timeout still in the 1st quarter. and they still focusing on the offense, making the current score for the 1st quarter being 20:17.

heeseung rested out for the 2nd quarter as coach min let a few nimble ones play on the court such as jungwon and sunoo. lay-ups and shoots scored the most in this round but jay was the primary target of the opponent as he always got free throws. maybe because they just recognize how good jay is at scoring three-pointers but if he is inside near the ring, he could do a backboard bounce or even a dunk. you actually feel your body sweating as you understand just how worrisome the situation is. it makes you pull off your outer jacket as you can pick up gasps and surprises to your wearing heeseung’s uniform. you look at his side profile as you sit behind him, discussing with taesan on what to do about this as coach min seems to get taesan out after calling another time out. the score at the end of the 2nd quarter is 34:32.

“i swear to god, (y/n).” you heard minjeong said beside you, “why is this so high school musical 3 vibe?”

you actually let out a pout whilst holding your laughter, because what she’s saying is so true. during your winter break—because you and heeseung are “home”—you and him binge-watch the high school musical trilogy. the way, you remember, heeseung cackling as he watches how the bleachers sit down to show gabriella as troy was having this existential moment when they only have 16 minutes on the clock is ridiculously funny. but you can see him bopping his head to the basketball practice song that is “get’cha head in the game” that you might believe it’ll be his guilty pleasure practice song. “please, bet on it is so good though.” he also said as you watch the second movie, and how he is shocked to watch you remember the lyrics of “gotta go my own way” with how you karaoke the shit out of it. yes, both troy and gabriella’s parts.

to experience similar moments being imitated in life makes you rethink how it happens in the first place. like, no, you aren’t gabriella and heeseung isn’t troy and you both are not in high school when all of this is happening. but you’re thinking about what could’ve been. but, as many people have said, high school isn’t like high school musical.

the 3rd quarter started and you watch heeseung playing once again, focusing on his part as a forward but also helping in defending because of his tall body that can shield the hoop from the opponent. but, the morale seemed to have dimmed down as you see the way the opponent’s score now flips over decelis’ even by one point. but then the gap widens as both teams are doing well with defenses. however, decelis seemed to have some slip-ups. you can see the opponent’s player with number 2 on their back—seemingly the ace of the team—that is put in this round is turning the tides, focusing on quick motions, passes, and attacks. and just like that, the 3rd quarter ends with a score of 42:44. just one shot of difference.

and, unlike those 2000s rom-com movies you watched that have a couple with one of them being an athlete, you go down the bleachers as heeseung watches you when coach min is telling of the plan with the rest of the team. you grab his hand towel and help to dry the drops of sweat dripping down his head. a loving gesture that is hiding something as you lowly whisper to only him.

“target number 2. making him tired.”

heeseung nods his head—as if he is thinking of the same thing—when you let yourself lean in and give him a kiss on his forehead before letting the towel go so you can return to your seat. his eyes follow your retiring figure before turning towards his coach, who is tracing the board with a marker.

“i think we also have to target their number 2. if he plays.” heeseung said, making the others turn to him.

“we need someone with a wide reach and nimble enough to catch up to him. someone who hasn’t had a foul yet to stick right to him. he’s good with his lay-up but he has taken a few inside shots and misses, which means he might be weaker at free throws. so you need someone who doesn’t have any fouls who isn’t scared to bump into him when he starts doing lay-ups, then we can score through rebounds,” he stands beside coach min as he puts his forefinger on the board, tracing the path of one of the pins as he continued, “we do a two-time pass and maybe the forwards will be on standby as they can do a layup or dunk.”

the coach glances at him, rethinking of the new information the captain gave him as he nodded, “who doesn’t have any fouls?”

heeseung sees sunoo, riwoo, and leehan raising their hands as the coach continues, “i’ll be switching you up every four minutes, and remember what heeseung says: take the foul. as long as you don’t have five fouls, you are alright. we have to be brave enough to play dirty. i’ll be having taesan, sunghoon, and niki switching between each other for the center and power forward positions. jake, sungho, and jungwon will take over for point guard and heeseung, jay, and jaehyun for shooting guards, okay?”

“yes, sir!”

“team!” the coach pushes his hand in the center as the rest put their hands on top of his. coach min nods towards heeseung.

“decelis!”

“dece- dece- fighting.”

the supporters roar as he see the opponent doing the same thing to taunt them. heeseung has his eyes on their number 2 before looking back at you who is standing up as you give him a thumbs up.

10 more minutes.

1 time of 10 minutes and it is done. for heeseung, it will be the last time he played as a college basketball athlete as he will graduate later in the year. for him, it is now or never.

“heeseung,” coach min’s hand on his shoulders, “thanks for telling me about number 2.”

he lets out a smirk before answering, “you should thank my girlfriend for that.” and he walks to the court, seeing leehan placing himself right by number 2 with the ball at their side as taesan passes it to niki. niki dribbles forward as heeseung and sungho is at the front near the ring. leehan sticks by number 2 with taesan now by the ring, but niki notices how sungho is empty as two people are trying to defend taesan. he passes it towards sungho who immediately dribbles inside, not scared to move in as he finds the right path to the hoop and does a layup.

score!

heeseung pushes his hands out so he can high-five sungho as they retreat behind the center line. he notices the opponent’s forward passing to number 2 who is so fast and already in a way to do a layup where leehan pushes him, making him prematurely shoot and miss the backboard. a foul given by the referee.

heeseung stood near number 2 as he hoped his theory would come true. number 2 shoots his first free throw and misses. his eyes are on niki and taesan nearest the ring, telling them to pass the ball to him as they read his signals, nodding in return. number 2 shoots his second free throw and misses when taesan rebounds the ball and passes it to niki as heeseung runs backward to the outside of the half circle. the ball flies up as niki passes towards heeseung, who feels someone near him as he jumps and quickly pivots away from the opponent behind him. he sees the small sliver of empty space outside of the half circle and dribbles there before shooting his shot.

a three-point score!

with the opponent’s plan to use number 2 becoming a failure as there is a three-score gap in the scoreboard, the decelis team remains in the same strategy of guarding number 2 and fouling to fail their attempt to shoot. heeseung sees coach min tally up their scores when he calls for a timeout, changing all five of the players with their replacements in their assigned positions. heeseung sits down on the bench as he stretches his legs, wanting to look back to gaze at you before he feels a tap on his side to see jungwon smirking.

“girlfriend, huh?”

heeseung raises his eyebrows.

“you said to coach to thank my ‘girlfriend’, since when is (y/n) noona your girlfriend?"

“honestly, i don’t know.” he looks to find you before fully focusing on jungwon, “something just tells me that it’s correct to refer to her as that.”

“also, did she play basketball? how does she know that number 2 is their ace?”

“well…” heeseung smirks as he leans towards jungwon, basking in the way his team has found the right way of play as the gaps between the teams are getting longer and longer. jungwon also has an air of surprise when heeseung tells him that you were a former basketball player—a point guard like the boy he is talking to.

“but why did she stop?” jungwon genuinely asked, making him chuckle.

“let’s just say that she knew she wouldn’t beat me when it came to playing basketball.”

the opponent team did a timeout as heeseung said “good luck” to see jungwon now being called to play on the court. seeing jay, the three-point master playing on the court when there are 2.5 minutes of the match is done as if to terrorize them more. not only did they have riwoo who hadn’t had a foul yet, sunghoon and taesan are now playing as they have used their tall arms to defend and attack successfully, and jungwon who is ready to be the point guard. heeseung can feel the pride oozing out of him at how unstoppable his team is. coach min seems to contemplate whether to put him on or not, but heeseung shakes his head.

“let them be. it’s their chance.”

and it’s their chance indeed, as he sees the time counting down at rapid speed. when it is under the 30-second mark, the opponent successfully gives another score but they are too far from decelis as all they have to do is defend the hoop. one of them takes their last chance, watching the ball hitting the rim as sunghoon grabs it—10 seconds left—before passing it towards riwoo who is moving on the court, doing an ankle-breaking turn to his opponent before passing it to jay, who instantly shoots the ball as heeseung sees the perfect arch. he heard the siren calling the end of the game and the ball falling perfectly into the opponent’s basket.

they won.

all the decelis players approach jay on the court as they hug him, but heeseung is nowhere to be found.

instead, he jumped from the bench and climbed up the bleachers where he saw you cheering. your expression changes when you notice him approaching, a euphoric smile on his face as he grasps your cheeks and brings his lips to yours, making you instantly close your eyes as you move your hand to caress his sweaty-ass nape. you can hear the cheer of your friends beside you as you remember they were recording, making them record both of you as you felt heeseung’s hand drops to give a gentle grip on the bump.

you could see heeseung’s hooded gaze as he didn’t hesitate to crouch down and give two kisses to each side of your bump—for his two kids—before he stood up and gave you another peck on the lips.

“go down to the court!” you push him away from his celebration as he sees his team already gathering, waiting for him. he approaches the court with a sheepish smile as they seem to chuckle while seeing their captain so in love.

you wait as you eye heeseung’s figure that is being embraced by his teammates. minjeong showing you her point of view of the kiss as you can sense how passionate the two of you are; reminding her to send it to you as sit down and lean back, feeling a weight from you also falling down alongside heeseung’s.

the mc talks about who the player of this match is and the team was so excited to know that jay won for his numerous scores in the three-pointers—he deserves it after all. but he also had one more thing.

“at the end of every season, we also have the most valuable player of the season and for this year, for the third time in a row, mvp is decelis’s no. 1, lee heeseung!”

heeseung does a deep bow as he gets the mvp trophy and he sees some package for him that he could give to his teammates and bring the rest home to share alongside you. his vision looks at the mvp trophy, tracing the figure of a basketball player in action when he sees his reflections on its golden sheet surface. his smiles dropping as he can feel contempt.

“any words?” the mc asked as he was being offered the mic.

heeseung grabs the mic and rests it in front of his lips, finding the right things he will say as he utters, “i would like to thank my decelis family for being with me since i started my college basketball career, the hybe uni supporters for cheering us on, and to my friends who are here all complete with all 8 of us here.”

he sees how beomgyu seems to shrug as he wants to hide–cause beomgyu, especially, has only been to heeseung’s game once every season.

“to our opponents, you have done such a terrific job and i see you, number 2. you’re going to do so well.” said number 2 also bowed his head, knowing just how highly regarded heeseung is—one for the legends.

“this is also my last season with decelis as i’ll be graduating this year. thank you for having me and i’m sure the decelis will be in safe hands with them.” he turned towards his teammates as they looked at him with glimmers in their eyes and flatters in their hearts. heeseung gave one more deep bow before giving the mic to the mc as they waited for the medal ceremony.

heeseung could sense the festivity floating around in the locker room as he felt the hug of each of his teammates. he could see the enormous bags of snacks from the package beside him on the bench, as he knew he wouldn’t be eating them all anyway, giving it to the rest of the team as he packs a few of the little snacks in his duffle bag.

jake approaches him and asks, “so you really aren’t going pro?”

“hmm… nah… but i might be still seeing you if i got the right job to discuss college basketball.” heeseung answered as niki approached, “gosh, you are light years older than us, old man.”

“i’m only 4 years older than you, nishimura. you were supposed to be in high school if you didn’t have an accelerated class.” he nags as the others still basking in the euphoria of winning the medals. he, of course, wants to celebrate, but he has another thing to do in his mind that is much more important than celebrating with the guys.

“the victory party is tomorrow, right?” heeseung asks.

“yeah, it is hyung.” jaehyun answered, “all of us needed a rest after that shit.”

“i need a soak!” heeseung hears taesan complaining as all of them change from their shoes to their respective sandals.

“rest well then we can have fun tomorrow,” jay answers as he gently grabs his player of the match package and puts it in his duffle bag, making heeseung pat his shoulder. while preparing their bags as they left the arena to go home for the night, heeseung glanced at his phone to see the numerous notifications from social media of his victory and retirement speech before he landed on your simple notification.

(y/n) :P : i’m by your car.

he lets his feet bring him to where he parked his car hours prior, seeing you leaning against the front of it with the light of your phone shining on your face. you lifted your head as you heard the sound of his footsteps approaching. put the phone away, you brace for his hand holding onto yours, gripping you hard as he gives you a long, breath-taking kiss.

“congrats,” you say to him as his nose touches yours, bringing you in for another kiss as both of you are moving your lips around to adjust, earning a muffled moan from you as he felt your hands scouring around on his body.

“where’s your car key?” you whispered to him as you saw him shake his head, making you frown.

“if you genuinely want to take me tonight, you have to be strong. let me drive, heeseung,” you asked with your voice tone lower, making him flow into a dazed state as he zips open the front of his duffle bag and dropped the car key in your hold, making you push past him as you open the driver’s seat. heeseung instinctually walks to the backseat as he places the bag in the center. the sound of the car engine starts after you push the start button. heeseung closes the door and gets in the passenger door as you still adjust your seat. you knew you wouldn’t see your legs, but driving is a muscle memory thing so you hoped it would kick in you.

from your perspective—and because you have a smaller car—his car is massive. but as you adjust all the mirrors to your liking and with the new sensors on the side mirror to help detect blind spots, heeseung’s car is definitely more technologically advanced than yours.

moving the gear to drive, the car stumbles forward as it pulls out of the arena’s lot with headlights switched all the way on. heeseung has his seat leaning back, cannot wait on what he’ll get and be getting back at your home as he places his hand on your thigh.

-

why is the elevator ride so long?!

you stare at the rising number with both of your hands behind you, not even minding slipping on the coat that you were wearing because you can feel how hot heeseung’s touches are the whole time you’re driving back to your apartment.

speaking of heeseung, you took a peek from the corner of your eyes to see him staring at you, not breaking away as he trails behind you after parking the car in the basement and going to the elevator. both of you in your decelis’s lee heeseung basketball paraphernalia when you can feel the tension steadily building. because you know from the hooded eyes he gave you in that arena that he wants to celebrate his last victory with you.

the sound of the medal hanging on his chest creating thuds that harmonically tie with both of your footsteps. none of you said anything as heeseung lets you lead the way to your shared apartment. you can still imagine the distinct image of when you turn your head towards heeseung to see him biting his lip lower lip under the shining red traffic light, teasing you throughout the drive as he trails his hand up and down your thigh, closer and then farther to your core.

you can sense him leaning his figure on the wall beside the door, enclosing you with his body as you type in the keypad to unlock the door. the ringing chime tells both of you that the door is unlocked as you push open, already swiftly pulling your shoes off because you just know that it might slow you down with whatever you’ll be doing if you take your time. tugging your bag off of you as you walk and drop it with your coat on the nearest beanbag, the eerie silence makes you alert on every step you take.

“heeseung-“

you felt your body being turned around as heeseung pushed you to the wall. your breath being taken away by the small thud as he pushes his lips to yours, finally showing that passion he is holding back when he gives you his victory kiss. his hold on your cheek is gentle, but the way his lips mesh and move against yours is the opposite. you can feel the desperation and pent-up emotions flowing out, maybe because that’s one reason you never heard of him hooking up with someone as you can sense the frustrating grit of not getting off showing in his performance during his ball game.

your hands reach for his back as you playfully caress and tug the hair falling on his nape, making him gasp and let out such a hot low-toned chuckle before slipping his tongue into your gaping lips, exploring your mouth and trying your best to hold you close. to hold you and both of your babies close to him. he leans back and lets his forehead and nose caress against yours. both of your eyes close as you bask in his touch.

“you look so fucking good in my uniform.” he pecks your lips before giving kisses all over your face.

“your uniform is so comfortable to wear,” you reply as he groans, trailing his hand down your sides before resting by your waist with the bump, gripping it hard.

“all of my babies look so beautiful in wearing what’s mine.”

his words making you giggle as you grip his chin to make your lips connect, biting lightly on his pouting lip as you can sense his hands now underneath your top, feeling his touches on the skin that is two layers deep of tank top and bra you are wearing.

“sorry, kids. but i just have to thank your mom for sticking right by me,” he says a bit loudly as he caresses the bump before his hands move to your hips and thighs, lifting it up and making you gasp as you can feel how you are slightly lifted off of the floor.

“heeseung, aren’t we too heavy-“

instead, he lifts you higher against the wall and you can feel your top being dragged by it. cutting your words off as he connects his lips and grinds his crotch against yours.

“i can definitely lift heavier than you, woman. believe me and wrap yourself around me so i can ravage you.”

“shut the fuck up, you aren’t a literature student.” you giggle at his uncalled pretty words when you wrap your legs and arms around him, taking all three of you with him to your shared bedroom that is only being lit up by the orange-tinged lamp—making the entire atmosphere a bit more romantic. you try to move your weight to help him balance before he drops you down in front of your shared bed.

linking his lips with yours once again, his touches becoming more vulgar as he is not embarrassed to touch your breasts, making you gasp as you caress the exposed side of his uniform to feel the ridges of his ribs. his hands are raised as you tug his uniform off of him. the last time you looked at him this way was that night you two fucked and he look a bit more ripped than 8 months before—his muscles seemingly thicker from the workout he had to endure to maintain his body. his biceps and triceps are more pronounced from dribbling and shooting the ball to the basket as you can feel the cool traces of his skin because of his sweaty sheen meeting the cold weather. your lips trail from his to underneath his jaw, giving little suck as you trace them to his pronounced clavicle, remembering his sensitive nipples from the last time as you can hear his small moans from the combination of light pinching and sucking that blooms small but many amounts of your marks on him.

you turn both of your figures as you sit on the bed whilst heeseung peers down; him shaking his head at realizing what you're doing as you trace your fingertips on his abdomen.

“it’s your fucking victory, heeseung. you deserve it,” you mumbled as you give a kiss to his growing cock before tugging the band of his underwear down, seeing it bounce up in its semi-erect glory. you didn’t hesitate to spit on your palm and wrap your hand around it, stimulating his tip as he could feel the shivering spreading in his body.

“fuck-“ he spoke near a whisper as he leans his head back, showing the expanse of his neck from your position because you also can’t wait to ravage it with your marks. one hand stroking him and the other stimulating his own balls, he hisses as he felt your warm mouth taking him in, making him looking down to see you with your eyes close as you wet him, opening your eyes as you move your head back to examine his cock glistening with your saliva. his hand caressing softly of your hair as you continue to take him.

“ah hah…” heeseung moans as he has one hand on your head and another by your cheek, feeling it hallowing as you take him. the way you gag before pulling back as you cough makes him lean down to kiss your spit-covered lips before you push him away as you take his dick in your mouth once again. you can sense him getting longer and thicker as the blood flows into his dick when you push him deeper into your cavern once again, feeling the tip of your nose brushing his pelvis as you heard his groan getting louder, making you moan as it also stimulates him more.

the hand that was pushing your head suddenly pulled you away as heeseung went down on his knees to connect your lips, making him taste his own pre-cum that was ever-flowing as he felt the sliver of skin when both of your tank tops rested just above your belly. he lifts both his uniform and your tank top underneath off of your body as he is met with you in your black maternity bra and your bump where you have been incubating his kids for the last 8 months.

“ah…” you moan out as heeseung’s hand caress your sensitive nipple while he focuses on kissing your bump and the stretch marks it produces. he remembers clearly how you are always wearing the skin lotion that could help with your stretch mark after showering before going on your bed, making him stare at you who is in front of the mirror as he sees you gently spread the remedy on your skin. he also remembers how your face sometimes falls as you see the thick stretch marks, making him also pull out a little frown.

“you’re so fucking beautiful.” you heard his muffled words against where your stretch marks at as you reached behind you to unclasp your bra, letting your girls breathe as you try to rub them as you sensed how tender they are. dr. park said that it’s because you are on your way of producing milk and it is very normal to feel it so tender and full.

putting your hands behind you to support you upright while you push your upper body towards the bed, heeseung’s hand playfully snaps your underwear band before tugging it down along with your socks, taking in your naked self that he couldn’t help but think even in such situations as when he is practicing and even during the doctor's appointment as he sees you getting your ultrasound done.

“lay down for me,” you caught his voice as you turned your body and stretched to get a pillow so you could support your head. his touches and kisses litter your thighs as you feel his fan of breath on your moist core that dripping down your essence. you felt one of his fingers picking the dropping pre-cum before pushing into your opening.

you can’t see him from this angle—the baby bump not allowing you—as you can only feel and listen to what he is doing to you. the finger pushes past the opening and you can hear him let out an exhale from the way your walls engulf him.

“how are you still so fucking tight?” heeseung seemed to also wonder as he felt his finger being covered in your natural lubricant, hearing you say from the bed.

“it feels so wrong to fuck people when i’m pregnant with your child.”

“me as well.” your eyes widen as you hear his nonchalant confession before you can feel him pushing in and out his sole finger from your core. that is when you feel the wet muscle of his tongue flicking your clit before giving the nub its own suck. your legs curl as you put your legs on top of the mattress, making him groan as he pulls your hips so your legs don’t have anything to support on before he lets you wrap them around his shoulders.

your bump doesn’t allow you to tug on his hair as he deliciously devours you, making you grab onto your sheets until your knuckles turn white while one of the hands stimulates your lips to make it seem like he is kissing you. another moan is out of you as heeseung adds another finger and interchanges his fingers and tongue into your hole. you can feel yourself getting tight as the band of your stomach is so close to being snapped.

“i’m going to fucking cum-“ you said in such a raspy voice as heeseung doesn’t stop, teasingly adding a third finger as you feel the band snap and you cumming on three of his fingers, making it much easier for him to penetrate you when you heard him hum as he licks the spillage from your cum. the sound of his heels planting on the floor makes your breath hitch as he rises from the floor, wiping the corner of his mouth as you can’t help but giggle and roll your eyes.

“take me like this.” you moved the pillow from your head to your hips as heeseung stood in between your legs that he was holding in both of his hands before leaning it against his torso. you can finally feel the head of his cock as it nudges your entrance, making you roll your eyes back as he kisses the calves of your outstretched leg against his body. when you sense his head pushing to stretch your lower lips, you let out a huge exhale and feel your arousal slowly being satisfied. your natural lubricant easily takes him in as he moves his body forward. both of your jaws slack as you sense him inside you, making you feel full once again after a long time.

“you’re so tight, mama,” he spoke in such a pet name that you could feel your warm face getting warmer with the rush of blood. heeseung’s gentle touches contrast with the rough ones he gave during your one-night-stand as he is reminded of the babies now existing between the two of you. you nodded your head as you reached for his hand that was gripping your waist, making him move in and out of you at a faster pace.

“fuck, you make me full, daddy.” you see how heeseung grins as he continues to thrust into you. he has his lips move from fully open to biting as he looks at your face reacting to each movement, wanting to kiss your delectable lips but knowing that he can’t because he doesn’t want to press up his kids. so, he lets his body move that thought to how he thrust in you and feeling how you reacted to that. your legs curling from the sensation as he moves his hand to your boob, groping it as you grab the hand to lock it with yours. you let out similar doe-like eyes like what he usually shows as you let out a raspy sound every time he plunges deep inside.

with your mind slowly floating from your head, you can feel the dizziness associated with laying down on your back for too long as you let your fingers out from his and wrap them around his wrist, hard.

the tight grip alerts heeseung as he sees you trying to push yourself up to sit down. pulling himself out as you felt the air in your gaping hole from his thick dick, you sit on the bed and grab his cheeks to bring his lips to yours. finally tasting him once again as you both tease the heck out of each other when both of you bite your respective bottom lips to make you both counter with something else. heeseung doesn’t hesitate to let his teeth bite your bottom lips before you let your tongue slip in and push into his mouth so you can battle each other.

letting him go and with a push so he steps away, you turn your body around and fold your body as you rested both of your feet on the ground and your upper body on the bed. your belly hanging from the suspension as you present yourself to heeseung who is groaning behind you.

“look at you, nasty girl who is slutting yourself for me,” he words out as you feel his slap on your ass, making you wiggle your hips.

“i’m your fucking slut, hee,” you said with your head turning towards him, a smile growing on your face as you felt the familiar sensation of his head plunging through your lower lips. you lean your head down on the pillow as he drives into you, making you let out a muffled moan as heeseung traces his hand down your spine.

“my slut who allows me to breed her.” you moan out as you listen to how his breeding kink is coming back. your belly jiggles along with each thrust as you lay your head on the pillow, turning your head to the side to watch your hand forming a fist before a hand reaches down to open the curled up fingers and place it down flat on the mattress: his hand enveloping yours as he curls his fingers into you. you can feel breathing against your ear as heeseung bites into your shoulder, marking you down as his while his thrust doesn’t stop.

“i’ll gladly breed you again and again.”

“fuck, daddy.”

“yeah, you like what daddy tell you, mama?”

you hummed as heeseung had his other hand pressing down your upper back so you could feel his tip kissing your cervix that is protecting your babies. yet, it still stimulates you so much that heeseung sees tears falling down the corner of your eyes, licking it up with his tongue.

“don’t hold back, shit, breed me, hee.”

heeseung—excited—grasps underneath both of your elbows as he pulls your limp body back, making you arch towards him as he makes his pace faster. your head leans back as you can’t even close your jaw, silent screaming coming out of you as he takes you in its entirety. you feel his lips kissing your head before you limp forward to let your head hang as he rests his own just behind your nape.

“you’re taking me so fucking well, (y/n). body just for me.”

he spoke as you felt your walls clamping up against him when his kisses contrasted with his thrust. heeseung feels your body trembling as he reaches his hand around to rub your clit, making you squirm once again as you mumbled, “c-cum…”

“cum for me, baby.” that is followed by your exasperated, pornographic moan as you can see white flashes while you cum, feeling heeseung’s thrust slowing down as he wraps his hand across your body now. with his own moans entering your ear, you can feel his cum staining your walls. both of you have to slow down to breathe well when you felt him kiss your shoulder blades before he pulls out, making a few of both of your cum fall down to the floor and trail down your thighs.

yet, your libido is still ongoing as you tug on his hand that is wrapped around your body. you turned around between his arms, thighs closing in on each other as you kissed his swollen lips so none of your essences would fall out again—because of your kink.

“sit down against the headboard for me,” you whisper against his lips before lazily kissing him once again as you let go to see him climbing on top of your shared bed and resting right in the middle of it. sheets already crumpled as he rearranged the pillows for his head and back on the headboard. his legs are stretched out in front of him and his arms resting behind his head. his face tells you to take him like he takes you, especially with his cock that is getting erect once again after seeing your hungry eyes.

you slowly crawl up to him on your hands and knees and widen your legs to slot him in between you. in the kneeling position, you crawl to his lap as his hands shoot to grab your waist, helping you as you grip his thick cock in your hand and bringing him to your entrance, slowly sinking down as your hands move to grip his upper arms. with such a fast pace coming from the last round exhausting both of you, you wanted to make this one slow—reminiscent of the unspoken tiebreaker between you two when you can feel a different feeling you have of him from the familiar ones you always get when you argue the hell out of each other. that feeling has bloomed throughout this journey as labels changed in so many turns and iterations. and here you are, sitting with heeseung inside of you, just taking in your feelings for each other as your zen mindset comes back to the ones you usually have during your daily ritual.

your hands wrapped around his back as you slowly move against him, not breaking eye contact even with how good the feeling of him rearranging your walls again, feeling every ridge of him against you. this position finally allows him to caress your body more, allowing his hand to softly soothe your bump as he can’t imagine how shocking this might have been for the babies. it allows him to hold on to your growing breasts that are producing milk for them, making you hiss as you continue to let him message them so that they’re not too stiff. it allows him to lean forward and kiss your own swollen lips with his, seeing the excess of your eyeshadows being smeared by your tears from how hard and delicious he had fucked you. it allows him to make hickeys on you, indent from bite marks alongside the skin turning dark littering the neck and collarbone, showing people you are his. it also allows you to do the same, creating abstract art between the two planes of his skin from the promise you made to yourself.

when he leans back to rest his upper body against the headboard, you ask him the dreaded question—not even slowing down your pace as you still continue to move.

“what are we?”

heeseung stops you from moving, knowing the severity of the question as he seems to read your face. you could see his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed down, all of your senses seemed to become so hypersensitive that even you could feel the small pinprick of pain in your skin cells at the way heeseung broke it to create one hickey on your neck. you see his eyes darting to different points of your face, also trying to read what you’re thinking.

“from the rivals to future parents to fake dating, i, i can’t pinpoint one.” you tried to voice out your answer, making heeseung seem much more comfortable in doing his bid.

“i refer to you as my girlfriend multiple times since it’s easier for naïve people to understand. but, i agree with you 100% that defining us.” he points between the two of you, “it’s hard.”

“hmm…” you nodded your head before lolling to the side, moving your hips so slowly just so that you also don’t make limbs too numb. “well, do you actually like me?”

“like you?”

“romantically, do you?” you let out a pout that makes him poke his finger to your cheek before you return it by scowling. it takes long for him to reply. a few breaths are taken and leave as you also allow yourself to match his rhythm as you slowly chase both of your highs. the way your facial changes expresses what emotions you are feeling: wonder from the way your eyes seemed to sparkle, fear as he sees that light dimming down, anger at how long he replied as he sees you wanting to poke tongue to your cheek. it switches even in such a minuscule way. but heeseung got to be reminded as to why he didn’t stop you or himself from following on this path.

“i do like you like that. romantically.”

you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, feeling the weight transfer to yours as you think of the past months, the ever-changing label, and the ever-changing feelings you have for him.

“me too. i do like you like that too.” you start to move faster as your grip on his torso tightens, “but calling us boyfriend and girlfriend will be too inappropriate cause we don’t have dates.”

“what about when it’s just the two of us?”

“the appointments, really heeseung?” you can see his smile widening, “you call those dates?”

“i can call that a date because we usually eat after each appointment,” he answers with the right vigor as you change the way you see. that, hey, maybe they are dates.

that’s when you laugh right in front of him, “we’re really doing it backward. the have-a-baby to can-i-have-this-date route.”

heeseung also laughs at your new phrasing, trying to define what your relationship is as he helps move your hips faster with his hold. yet, not wanting to make you two seem so haggard to discuss something so vulnerable.

“maybe companionship is the right word,” he said, lifting his hand to brush away the hair that is sticking to your skin. he sees you gnawing your lips as you nod, bringing him to your embrace as you move faster, feeling his shortness of breath by your skin as you nip on his earlobe.

“companionship is a great phrase,” you sense heeseung’s head nodding beside your own head. yet, you continue, “but i’m also ready to fall in love with you.”

heeseung pulls your chest off of his as he looks into your eyes, your lips parted as you breathe out, not wanting to stop because you can feel just how tight your walls are sticking onto him. he leans his head close to you, rubbing his forehead on yours as he brushing his nose tip with yours, one of his hands moving from your hip to your belly that is carrying his children. your children.

our children, heeseung corrects himself.

“i’m also ready. if you let me,” he replied, making you nod your head as you leaned forward to connect your lips to his. he leaned back and brought you along so he could sit against the headboard, helping to hold your hips as he helped his hips move to chase down both of your climaxes. you stare at each other in proximity, a smile growing on your face as you kiss his temple, enveloping him in your arms.

“i’m close-“ your breath hitches as he doesn’t stop. you helped by rubbing your fingers to your clit as your mouth widen, a silent moan coming out of you as you kiss him while you heard his muffled groan, feeling your walls a tad bit relaxed as he rides your climax and chasing his own. his grip on you is so tight that you can sense the weight of gravity that seems to bring you and him down, feeling his release within your walls as it drips onto his lap. you lap his lips with your tongue like before when heeseung then connect it with his, pouring out the remaining unspoken emotion you felt for each other before you both retreated, feeling his breath combining with yours.

“whose gonna shower first?” he asked.

“of course you. you are so grimy it’s actually disgustin-“

he pushes you so you fall from his lap and land on the empty space on the bed, making it easier for you to push him out as he had tired you, body and soul. as you see his butt naked self walking towards the bathroom outside of your room, you still think that you can’t believe he calls you his and how he allows you to call him yours.

-

5. that's our lamp and that's where you love us

you know that you’ll not be getting the whole 40 weeks of pregnancy experience when you have twins. average twins are born in week 37 to 38. well… you are now in week 36 and you just want the babies to come out!

the braxton hicks contraction is driving you crazy as you can see heeseung panicking beside you whenever it comes. with the postponement of your internship—allowed by the uni—you just want the babies to come as fast as possible that you might want to come to the hospital so that dr. park can break your water. heeseung sits beside you, letting out his hee hee hoos as you follow along with the exercise before you change your sitting position to feel it disappear.

“another fucking braxton hicks, goddamnit.”

heeseung can only shake his head, seeing his companion wanting to let it end and actually getting crankier every day when it is getting closer to the due date. he has been helping with the living situation, especially when it comes to cooking based on the recipes ryujin gave to him when you just seemed to not be able to cook anymore because of the sudden contractions. but your appetite is getting lower because you don’t have the thought of it with the pain you are in. he has tried contacting the doula for questions but her answer is to try to calm you down and make you relax. or to distract your crankiness towards something else. for him, his answer is mario kart 8.

“can it get any faster?” you are practically screaming as you sit on the beanbag with heeseung sitting on his own. the projector between you projecting his pc’s desktop of mario kart 8 as you race through maple treeway track.

“babe, we’re already in 200cc. you’ll get a bullet bill and it’s going to be okay.”

“i fucking know,” you answered, but he didn’t reply as hard because he knows that it was just your hormone reaction. you can watch your wiggler racing through the position as the number rises. the box on the corner shows that you’ve gotten a star and you don’t hesitate to use it; making the likes of donkey kong, mario, and baby bowser bounce out of the way as you are approaching heeseung’s yoshi who is in 1st place. going up the half-pipe of the maple treeway track is when you get the three red shells by being in 3rd place, knocking princess peach out of 2nd place as this is the final and tiebreaker course for both of you.

you almost want to press to throw your red shell when you see a blue shell flying, aiming towards heeseung.

“blue shell!”

“oh fuck-“ heeseung can’t avoid it as the blue shell hits him while he is gliding to the last section of the course, making you fly past him as you have the red shell prepare to throw backward. you quickly drive above the tree roots and throw your red shell behind you, hitting heeseung one last time before crossing the finish line.

“YES!”

you cheer from your beanbag as you lean back, feeling it soften your impact as you close your eyes and rub your face with your hands. you can hear heeseung’s voice when he tells you “good game”.

“gg to you as well, babe,” you replied, feeling yourself much more relaxed than ever as you felt the fake contraction gone.

but that’s also when you feel your crotch is wet.

as you see the projector showing you the trophy of your win, you don’t hesitate to plunge your fingers in between your thighs inside your pants as you can feel the overwhelming wetness coming out of you.

“heeseung?!”

“what? you’ve won-“

his eyes gaze at your glistening fingers to your shocked yet measured face.

“it’s time.”

“it’s time?” heeseung asked, his mind’s wiring not right as he saw you standing up, wobbling from your weight. but he also sees the front of your crotch all wet and the beanbag being the collateral damage.

“oh fuck, it’s time- okay.”

he rapidly moves to the babies’ room where he already has the bags packed for your hospital trip as you turn off his nintendo switch. he helped you wear one of his sweatpants to cover the stain as he brought you out of your apartment and brought you to the elevator. you can feel one contraction coming as you hold on to the elevator wall, eyes on your phone as you count the seconds in your head.

“40 seconds…” you mumbled as you arrived in the basement, “remember it’s 40 seconds…”

“yeah yeah. stay here, i’ll bring the car to you.” heeseung ran towards the car as you stood there, eyeing the phone as you called dr. park to tell her you were on your way to the hospital. you can hear the ringing of the phone by your ear before the call is picked up.

“hi, (y/n). i was just going to go back home-“

“my water broke, and, and, we’re on our way to the hospital.”

“oh my- okay, we’re having the room prepared for you.”

“thank you.” you hang up the call as you then move to call haseul when you hear the wheel skid in front of you as heeseung helps you in the car before scurrying away to the hospital.

“how’s your contraction?” you hear her ask.

“it’s in 40 seconds and- ugh…” you can feel another contraction coming as heeseung takes one glance at you before going to the road. you see the minute from the clock on the center dashboard of the car console as you mentioned to haseul, “10 minutes.”

“you’re in early labor. i’ll meet you at the hospital, okay?”

“great, thank you.”

heeseung had his eyes on the road as he overheard you calling your parents and his parents, not stopping until he had parked in front of the ICU to call one of the staff.

“my girlfriend’s in labor.” he voices out in panic, seeing a few staff gathering around you as heeseung leaves you alone to park the car.

you were brought into the vicinity by a wheelchair as you mentioned your name to the receptionist. recognizing your name, one staff told you that your hospital room is currently in preparation as two nurses come to take care of you. the nurse brings you to the room as you are greeted with dr. park who is asking you for your contraction, which you have counted to make you sane as you can feel the expanding pain across your body now.

“last time, it was 40 seconds and 10 minutes. the last contraction is 35 seconds-“

“okay, okay. let me check your dilation okay? your bathtub is being prepared as well as the midwives,” the doctor said, making you nod your head as she helped undress you and put you in the hospital gown.

now you understand why people want a fast and safe labor. it fucking hurts as hell, like a tiger munching away through your hip joints kind of hurt—not that you have experienced it yourself, but any kind of hyperbolic phrase you could think of cannot compare to this amount of pain. you had no other choice but to exaggerate because this is the most pain you have ever felt in your life.

“3 cm in dilation…” dr. park mentioned as you see one nurse helping you with checking your pulse when you feel yourself getting another contraction, sensing your womb’s clenches so hard against itself.

“8 minutes…” you voiced after looking at your phone. the doctor nodded her head as she went out of the room to check on the other things for your active labor. the nurses helping in prepare the room as you asked one of them, “when is it the right time to move to the tub?”

“usually when you’re in active labor, it’s 10 cm in dilation. but we can put you in the tub by 7 cm,” she answered rapidly, preparing the machines near you for later as you are prepared to go to your waterbirth room soon. you hear the swift footsteps approaching your room from outside as you see haseul alongside heeseung there. he instantly drops the bags to the side as he grabs your face, giving you a few kisses to pacify you as you can actually see tears also running down his face.

“what’s the dilation?” haseul questioned, furrowed eyebrows showing as she sees your body curling up from the pain.

“3 cm,” you replied, holding onto heeseung as you could feel another contraction incoming.

“we have to make her dilate faster cause she’ll be going into active labor in minutes now. can you dance with her, heeseung? just slowly.”

“i’ll try,” he said as he held you by your waist, swaying you from side to side as you heard him hum a song.

ever since your revelations towards each other, most of your time has been spent with him. sometimes you even dance around in your living room just because you want to, letting him know the mitski songs you have inherited in your mind and heart. how you also cathartically sing to them as heeseung has to take in the lyrics, because of how complex it is with its layers of analogies and metaphors. though slower, you let him guide you into a state of lull as your face shows him just how in agony you are to him.

heeseung feels guilty as fuck seeing you like this, knowing that you are the only one who holds onto the pain to deliver his children. he had wished there is some technology out that could let him share the pain to help alleviate yours because seeing you only mumble out words as haseul help you sip on your sippy cup while trying to make you ready is hard to look at. heeseung holds you so close, feeling your body quivering as you let out another moan from another contraction. with haseul beside you, she helps in counting down the contraction while the nurse you asked for information is standing by as they will help in checking your dilation. he could help distract you by nipping your earlobe as you gaze at him, making him caress your face so softly when he can hear the vibrating phone coming from his and yours as your family and friends are on their way to the hospital.

“6 cm.” the nurse checked your dilation as haseul added, “50 to 60 seconds every 4 minutes. do you wanna go to the tub, (y/n)?”

“yes, please.” you take a sharp intake as the nurse helps to bring you to the waterbirth labor room. haseul walks beside you as she elaborates on a few more important things because she can’t be with you during it as it is only family, talking to both you and heeseung.

“since you’re going to have twins, they’re will be a 3 to 30-minute interval between your labor. i’m hoping that after baby 1 is born, you can push out baby 2 immediately if the midwife gives you the ready sign to know if the baby is positioned correctly. we will be more concerned with baby 2 and we can give you an option to do partial waterbirth so you can birth no. 2 outside the tub. luckily, the midwives here have numerous water birth experiences and have the skill to give birth to multiples with water birth. will that be okay for you?”

“most definitely okay,” heeseung replied for you as the nurse sped to the room first when he stopped haseul, “how can i help?”

“when it comes to water birth, the midwives usually allow the partner to step inside the tub to help them. an advantage for the partner that normal or caesarian birth doesn’t give. are you okay with being in the tub with her?”

“i’m okay with that.” heeseung doesn’t hesitate to reply, making haseul taps his shoulder as she tells him to call him when you’ve given birth before she is leaving. heeseung watches the woman who has helped both of you so much walking away before bringing himself to you once again.

inside the labor room, he could see the hecticness of the midwives and nurses as they helped to pull your gown off your body, leaving you in your bra as he saw dr. park giving you an injection in your lower back before turning towards him.

“this is anesthesia to help her feel less pain. are you here to be with her?”

he nodded before saying his complete answer, “please let me in the tub with her…”

“of course, you can. we can help bring you water and such for her.” dr. park said as the nurses seemed to pick up what she was saying—already on their way to prepare for the stuff that can help him and you. heeseung walks to where you are, seeing one midwife checking your dilation before nodding her head to the doctor. he takes off his top and lets his shorts on as you feel his touch from behind you, seeing him stepping inside as well after you.

“slowly…” he whispered to your ear as you tilt your head to him, seeing him guiding you to kneel into the bathtub.

“hi…”

“hey,” he replied to your weak greeting.

“i don’t think you want to join me in the tub. it could get bloody and it’ll be pretty disgusting.” you slur out your words as heeseung sees the midwives preparing on the other side of the tub. both of you kneel as you feel the water rising to your waist before he is the one laying down first, tapping his thighs so you can sit down on them.

“i’ve seen you bloody before when you got a nosebleed after i threw the basketball too hard at you and we have showered together before. this definitely will be the highlight of our relationship,” heeseung jokingly said before tugging you into his embrace, feeling your body shaking as another contraction is currently ongoing.

“remember your hee hee hoos, babe,” he whispered to your ear as you nodded, the midwives checking in on you as you are now in active labor.

“i will signal you to push when it is time, miss (l/n). do your breathing exercise,” the midwife says beside you as you see dr. park in her surgeon outfit, ready to help you as best as she can. your tired eyes are now wide open as you feel a surge of force within you from hearing what she said, enough force that turns into strength as you have one mission blaring in your mind.

to deliver your babies as safe as possible.

“okay, when you feel your muscles contracting, count down and push okay?” you nodded your head as you felt heeseung kissing your temple to soothe you. his eyes full of admiration as he can see your face being alive once again. you grunt as you feel the contraction—starting your breathing exercise.

“this one is a push. 1, 2, push.”

you let out a scream as you can feel the movement from underneath you, trying your best to push with your might as you can feel the weird sensation of pushing out like you were called by nature. but this, now this actually hurts.

“good job, two more pushes. ready when you are,” the midwife continues as two of them inspect from the side. heeseung has his lips near your ear. you can hear him whisper.

“they’re almost here, you can do it, (y/n).” his voice sounded so soft, rather low timbre as he helped you relax.

you’ve gone through the next two pushes, and are now on a pause as you awaited your next contraction before pushing again and again. right now, you feel both the most powerful and most helpless you have ever been. everything depends on you and the way your body’s primal instinct kicks in as you just want baby no. 1 to get out. blood has mixed with water as your mucous plug broke making you feel helpless once again because you are the only one being able to deliver the birth. all the others—including the midwives, dr. park, and heeseung—are there to support you in your painful moment. that’s when you feel it, the dreaded ring of fire that haseul has told you about.

you let out such a primal scream that you can feel your voice box getting sore as the ring of fire burns with your skin stretching from it, hearing the midwives and doctor talking about the crowning as heeseung focused on giving you water to drink from behind you. he could only be there as a hand to hold from you, feeling your nails breaking through his skin as he also bleeds. but he has all his focus on you.

the burning hurts so bad but when you feel the big part coming out from one final push, the rest feels like a slug as you see one of the midwives have their gloved hands inside the crimson water. your head leans back against heeseung’s shoulder as he sees the other midwife bringing the surgical scissor when he sees a blurry small silhouette of a grayish being. the other midwife immediately clamps the cord that is hanging out of your canal as you are reminded of how twins share a placenta.

heeseung’s eyes seemed too focused on the small figure being carried away when he felt your trembling body slow as the other midwife pressed her hands up against your belly, feeling if baby 2 was in the right position or not. the midwife gave him a nod as he looked down to see you nearly passed out; your eyes were blurry as you looked at the shining light from above you before it was covered by his face.

“you’re doing so well, baby. one more left,” he said as he eased to pivot your head, letting his lips placed against you as you could feel yourself waking up. that and the loud sound of a baby crying as you and heeseung look towards the source. seeing the crowd opens up as the midwife and dr. park helps examine the baby to see if they’re healthy. he can hear your exasperated laugh as you let out such a wide smile that makes his heart calm, making him rub your bump carefully as he also stares at the location of where his baby is.

the midwife responsible for them approaches you with a bundle in a towel, making your weak body sit up as you carefully position your hands so that she can put the baby into your hold. when you look at them, you can’t control your tears as the midwife helps to push the towel to let your skin touch the baby’s.

“it’s the boy…” the midwife says as the other ones are talking with the doctor about your second twin’s condition. his eyes are open and you can’t help but coo when you look at him, hearing his cry calming down when he senses your skin. the color coming to his skin as you heard heeseung gasp from behind you while you felt your heart beating faster as you watched his little face. heeseung’s head rested on your shoulder as both of you were speechless.

his head nudges to yours as you can feel the familiar contraction building up once again. your head already has one thing in your mind as you stare at baby no. 1. that you are going to deliver his sister as safe and clear as he is.

-

“she’s sleeping right now.” heeseung said as he turned around to see you sitting with your back leaning against the lifted upper half of the hospital bed, suspending you as you unconsciously hold on to both of your babies who are resting their cheeks against your skin.

your parents and his parents arrived on time when the nurses escorted your sleeping self to your room. heeseung beside the two incubators with a towel around his torso, gazing at the two newborn babies as they move around and wiggle their limbs, seeing their chubby cheeks as they gaze around the room with both confusion and wonder. to see the light outside of your womb for the first time while the nurses and midwives check their conditions and record them as part of society. he sensed his mom’s hand wrapped around his shoulder, hearing her sniffles as she cooed at the baby.

“be patient, dearest. you’ll be brought to your mama soon,” he recalls hearing his mom say while her son can only stare at them, a smile urging to come out as he can feel the tears of joy forming once again.

turning to face the people, he watches the faces of his friends gazing at their new niece and nephew with various versions of happiness—some including tears. he sees ryujin having both arms behind chaeryeong, who is looking giddy, and minjeong, who is snorting into the tissues she’s holding.

“what are their names?” he hears jimin say, seeing his rare pout as he eyes all three of the sleeping figures.

“we’ve decided on it and we named them siwoo and siah,” heeseung replied with the names you and he had chosen together nearly two weeks before their arrival.

“lee siwoo and lee siah…” minjeong mumbles out, hearing the pitch of her voice rising before she weeps once again to her tissue, making ryujin tug her head to the crook of her neck.

“how are you feeling, hee?” jeongin innocently asked before beomgyu cut him off.

“what do you mean ‘how is he feeling’? he’s freaking crying,” the boy pointed out as heeseung sensed the dried tear tracks on his cheeks before another set seem to threaten to fall. yet, it is still vague for them to actually read what they meant.

“aww, heeseung…” chaeryeong coos as heeseung walks to the extra bed beside yours and sits down, rubbing the areas near both of his eyes with his hands as he felt chaeryeong sits beside him and soothing him down with a hand on his back—he now understands why you seem to love chaeryeong’s hugs so much. he bites his bottom lip to hold himself to not let a tear fall again. yet he failed once again when he looks up to see you holding both of your babies in your arms.

“i’m so fucking proud of her and i just feel awful that she’s the only that could feel that immense amount of pain,” he said his truth, wiping the tears with the hand that has a bandage brandishing his lower arm from the scratch you gave him as you gave birth. the only physical evidence of your pain that he can fully feel. chaeryeong’s soothing hand continues to calm him down as he senses another weight sitting by his side when a hand comes to push him closer to that side, smelling the familiar fragrance of beomgyu as he tucks heeseung’s head to his crook while he lightly messaged his arm.

“you’re going to be the best dad, hee,” beomgyu said as he watched the rest of them nodding their head. yet his eyes are stuck to your sleeping form, feeling the spark now catching fire as he had found the light at the end of the tunnel of guilt, shame, and despair for not being there enough for you for the past months and especially today.

to be the same dad for them and the best boyfriend for you.

-

the same thing couldn’t be said to you as you can feel your mood swinging about when you come home with the babies.

haseul has been helping you within the apartment as she teaches you to use the milk pumper and prepare the breastmilk for them, teaching you various tips to get your pre-pregnancy body back as you felt the belly wrap bound tight around you when you sleep in your shared bed. that’s when the baby monitor turns on when you hear the sound of one of the babies waking you up from the room across yours.

you sit up on the bed, no wick of sleep clear on your face, as heeseung stirs in his sleep when the baby’s cry gets louder from the speaker.

“whose turn is it?” he mumbles, as you stare down at him beside you. you have done graveyard shifts of taking care of your babies numerous times as heeseung couldn’t keep schedule because of his internship. so it is supposed to be his turn now to care for them.

“it’s my turn,” you replied, letting him sleep once again as you heard him hum and slip away into the slumber. his hand reaching to grasp yours before letting out a “good luck” that he has always given to you when it’s your turn to take care of them on the latest of nights.

you step out of your shared bed as you make your way across to the babies’ room to see siah wriggling in her crib, making you walk quickly so that she doesn’t wake her brother up. slowly picking her up, you lift your oversized t-shirt as you brought her lips to one of your nipples.

“come on. latch,” you mumbled as you support siah’s head as best as you can when you felt her latch onto your boob, sucking on the nipples as you feel the milk coming out so she could consume it.

“you’re a hungry, hungry baby, are you?” you lightly nagged her as you stood still, looking at siwoo who was sleeping peacefully with his pacifier even though his sister was crying her heart out. you eyed the room that you and heeseung had decorated as best as you could with the budget you set and your unpredictable schedule of staying here longer or leaving within the year of the rent. in one corner of the room sits the baby gifts people brought to the baby shower. you see the silhouette of the baby car seats you can imagine them using when they’re older so you can take them out and the set pajamas that were bought by heeseung’s family member before you turn to look at the decoration hanging from both of the cribs of animals and stars. another gift from the pile of gifts.

you rested siah’s head on your shoulder and you lightly pat her back, helping her to digest the milk she was drinking—doing everything haseul, mama, heeseung’s mom, and jeongin’s mom have told you. hearing the small burp coming out from her, you wanted to put her down so she could sleep when you sensed her gripping onto your lifted shirt, not wanting to let you go just yet. you sigh as you step to one of their cabinets to find the baby wrap, placing her on the changing station as you wrap the soft, stretchy fabric around your upper body before placing her in her designated slot; securing her legs with the wrap holding onto you tight as taught by haseul who teaches you the right way to use it.

heeseung’s hand reaches for your side, expecting to meet your body or at least your hand in his touch when he feels... nothing.

nothing but your unkept side of the comforter and the creases of the bedsheets as they are the remaining of your being.

he remembered he was woken up by the sound of the baby crying from the monitor. but with it now gone, he was already expecting you to come back to him. yet when he taps more around the surroundings of your supposed side of the bed, his eyes instantly open to see the dark empty space where you should’ve been. he doesn’t care that he has such heavy lids and wobbling steps, he just wants you back in his arms as he sleeps through the night.

opening the door to the babies’s room, he didn’t find your apparatus by the crib soothing one of the babies. heeseung lets his body glide towards the cribs, rubbing the edge of his eyes to make him awake. he eyes siwoo’s crib to find him there, looking like a cute sleepy angel. but he can’t call the same about siah’s as he finds it empty.

“(y/n)?” he calls for you, voice so small with a raspy throat as he didn’t hear your answer, waking him up with a jolt as he realizes that both you and siah aren’t here in the room.

his feet—still wobbly as fuck—brought him to the hallway as his eyes adjust to the dark; seeing the nightlight and his rgb light turned on in the living area helps him to search easier. that’s when he picked up such a clear gush of wind when he turned towards the balcony to see its sheer curtain flowing inside. he then scanned the room to discover one beanbag missing from the other as he approached the window to see it being sat by someone. someone who is sobbing.

drifting the sheer curtain away to the side, heeseung finds the face of his daughter on top of the shaking shoulder wearing a familiar pajama set. head leaning down to the front as the figure adjusts its weight on the beanbag. your hands covering your face as heeseung figures out the sound of the muffled sob coming from you.

“(y/n)?”

you jumped and turned your head around to find heeseung’s alert figure, feeling the weight of siah on you as you wrapped the cloth so tight that it was secure for you to move safely before turning back to gaze at the 3 am sky on the balcony.

“go to sleep. you have work in the morning,” you mumbled out, rubbing your hands against each other.

“i will not sleep if you aren’t,” he answered, joining you as he stepped forward to lean against the railing. the cold wind woke him up as he heard your remaining sniffles, eyes gazing at you as the tranquility seemed to turn your tear’s faucet on once again. he hasn’t noticed just how deep your panda eyes have become, knowing that the babies have awoken you for feeding time at ungodly hours. but that’s when realize how jittery you also become, how you don’t eat as much as you focus on returning your body back to how it was before you’re pregnant; how you can’t seem to define yourself after giving birth.

“i don’t think i’ll be anything other than a mom.”

his ears perk up and he swallows his saliva, processing just how concise yet poignant your words are. reminding him that you have your own perspectives, too.

“i, i don’t know. how can i be anything other than a mom when i’m here, even with all the preparation we've done, still isn’t ready to face it…”

baby blues, he remembered the doula told him as he saw you taking care of the two babies while haseul helped in cleaning the baby bottles up for you.

“you have to be prepared if she got baby blues, heeseung. especially since she’s taking care of two now. she may be hiding some things for you, but you can see it when you see it.”

“how could i help her?” heeseung said, seeing you with siah wrapped with the stretchy cloth on your back as siwoo is currently feeding off of you. a slight glow on your skin as you seem to lightly rock your body to satisfy both of them at the same time.

“help her make time for herself. she is also human with her own mind, body, and soul. help her take care of herself first by taking charge to care for both siah and siwoo.” haseul replied, turning her head so he could see her smirk of acknowledgment—heeseung is one of her students that she is proud of alongside you.

“i know you can.”

“you are also everything including being a mom, (l/n)(y/n),” he spoke, kneeling down beside your figure on the beanbag as he watched your eyes swell.

“you are your parents’ daughter. you are getting a degree in business. you are part of the most chaotic group of friends in the existence of the world. you are a caretaker of so many children who would remember just how fun you are. you’re a guitarist who can keep up and jam out with musicians. you’re a mitski fan who likes to cathartically sing your heart out to her songs. you’re a film watcher and you love japanese movies so much.” heeseung gently grasps both of your chilly hands as he monologues, seeing your swollen eyes closer under the light from the balcony’s ceiling.

“and, you’re my girl. i’m your boy. and i do think you need to embrace that more. let me take care of you.”

you let out a big exhale as a smirk pulls out of you. “if you do, well, take care of me. who would take care of the babies?”

“i would, your parents and my parents would,” he answered, big doe-like eyes trying his best to convince you, “share your burden with me, especially when i’m under your arsenal. i can definitely ask my supervisor to allow me parental leave so i can have time to take care of you and the babies. you can even apply for work-from-home internships during that.”

“then our rivalry will just… stop?” you jokingly asked, but genuinely.

“make it more of like a friendly or romantic rivalry,” he says, leaning upwards as he pecks on siah’s sleeping head on your shoulder. “besides, how could i compete with you if we aren’t on equal terms?”

you hummed as you felt him moving towards your face, kissing your forehead before trailing down to your nose bridge, your eyelids, your cheeks, then your lips—feeling the flattery jump-starting inside you.

“you’re stuck with me now, lee,” you mumbled against his lips, feeling his hand helping you to stand up from the beanbag as he gently held you, foreheads connected as he stared into your eyes that are also sparkling like what the night sky has.

“i’ve been stuck by you for years now and i’ll gladly stick onto you until the fucking heat death of the universe.”

epilogue: one year later

taglist: @raeyunshm @leilasmom @evidive @boba-beom @kwiwin @heesw1fe @aloverga @endzii23 @fluffyywoo @camipendragon @hiqhkey @wccycc @cha0thicpisces @y4wnjunz @yeehawnana @beansworldsstuff @kimipxl @blurryriki @amazzwon @reallysmolrenjun @stelanity @deobitifull @mheretoreadff @gandaengene @amaraeofsunshine @possibly-zoe0218 @enhypenilycometoaus @jaysupremacy @jungwoneez @iwuvjay @erenshawtybae @nctislifue @vixensss @smilefordongil @lhspeachie @b9chira

© writingmochi on tumblr, 2021-2025. all rights reserved

[bewitched-hours]

Forsaken | Elliot x Cryptid!Reader

I had this idea after talking with a friend about what kinda cryptids we'd wanna be but hopefully it works and although I was tempted to make a yandere or at least killer version, I decided to stay tame for now lol (^▽^)👍 (As a side note, I don't usually proofread my own writing so forgive me for any spelling mistakes)

The reader will be referred to by they/them for this one!

Despite what you looked like, you weren't corrupted.

You weren't even a normal Robloxian most of the time. Instead, you were a Cryptid. Or a Monster, as some liked to put it.

You had thick black fur that made you blend in with the shadows and a pair of red eyes that had a gentle glow to them. With a pair of furry antennae and a large fox-like tail you kept strangely well groomed.

You were a quiet creature, able to roam cautiously unless you manage to get ahold of your Robloxian self. It didn't stop you from looking off to others but most seemed to buy the whole "Birth Defect" story you had made up.

But at night, you allowed yourself to roam as your true self. Sometimes you even enjoyed scaring some kids that were being too loud for your liking by whispering ghostly threats into the air and using the shadows to give them a sense of danger whenever they found your red eyes watching them.

Sure, it made you a bit of a threat to most but it's mainly children that fear you since you never showed yourself to adults. That way, your stories could be shrugged off as nothing more than hallucinations and children's tales.

But your favourite nighttime activity had to be when you would terrorize a particular man at his work place. He intrigued you ever since you first met him as your Robloxian self. You had been hungry but didn't dare to go hunt since there were people around and he was the only one noticing. He gave you a whole pizza and a bloxy cola and talked with you as you ate. It felt... Nice.

He didn't even seem to mind the fact your voice was a bit messed up. You were still a Cryptid after all and not good with sounding normal at all. Sometimes it even felt painful to try to speak.

Naturally, you begun visiting him in your true form after his shifts. He was naturally terrified since even on all fours did you manage to at least be on level with his chest. He had been convinced you would tear him to shreds but his frozen up state made it possible for you to show that your claws weren't meant to be a threat to him and the more you visited, the more he started to understand and talk to you.

You obviously didn't answer but you showed him that you understood him and did your best to communicate without words. Even when you started accompanying him to his home and making sure he got through the door before you'd disappear again. How lucky that his routes were never busy at such hours.

You were quite upset when he stopped showing up to work. You were worried that he'd quit but even sniffing around his home, his scent was so faint as if he had moved just days prior.

Was he sick of your company? Did something go wrong? Was he kidnapped while you weren't watching him?

Well, that last one proved to be true when you suddenly opened your eyes to find yourself inside a large cabin. There were others gathered around you which made you quite timid as you never had so many eyes on you at once but they seemed equally confused and scared of you.

You didn't blame them but some tried to comfort you, noticing your shaking figure and panicked stance. You weren't showing any signs of aggression and they seemed to understand that at least. They just took it as an invitation to explain your situation...

Which you only half-listened to...

You were about to run when a familiar scent had caught your attention and your head practically snapped towards its source. Confusion outweighed the fear at this point as the survivors watched you stalk away from them for only a moment before a raspy voice quietly called out from deep within you.

"Elliot..." You could only get out his name before your vocal chords made you shriek a little out of pain. You shouldn't even really be able to talk but couldn't care less when you saw his figure come into view and seemingly recognize you.

"It's you..." He'd quietly remark, slowly approaching you as your wagging tail told him all he needed to know right now. You were happy to see him again. And he was oddly happy to see you too.

You didn't even notice the others checking out your role as you practically smothered Elliot with affection like a dog who missed its owner. He couldn't tell if he found it more cute or strange.

"Heh, guess you got yourself a tank there, Elliot." One of the survivors remarked, showing Elliot and you your stats and abilities.

It was clear you were able to take hits and your attack was pretty good too but in return you weren't really fast or good with your claws... Obviously...

But your abilities did pique your interest.

For one, you could simply teleport to the nearest survivor or behind the killer while in contact with a shadow. It might prove useful if you want to protect someone(Elliot) or land a surprise attack.

Your second ability allowed you to mimic voices. You weren't sure why you were given such an ability but perhaps it was to distract and pull attention to yourself. Although, you could just as well shriek at killers if you wanted to. Oh well, it gave you the ability to talk so why complain?

But your third ability was to... Spit Acid??? Apparently if would make the killer nauseas and with luck, they hallucinate an ominous darkness envelop them with your read eyes shining onto them threateningly... Neat-

But you could care less about that right now. What mattered more to you was Elliot. Your favourite. You weren't even trying to hide it.

Even during rounds you made sure to stick by him as much as you could and protect him the most. The other survivors weren't exactly thrilled but it wasn't like you only protected Elliot. The other survivors got their fair share of protection too since they weren't really all that bad to you.

Though, you definitely took more to Elliot and the Killers hated when you worked together. With Elliot healing the other survivors and you attacking and body-blocking to make sure the killers had little chance of getting him.

But when he was dead? Oh, you did not go easy. You'd go fully feral on the Killer and try to practically(or literally) claw their faces off. Killers learned quickly to be on guard around you.

But when you tried to turn into your Robloxian self in front of Elliot for the first time?

It was painful. You were shrieking from the way you could suddenly feel bones shifting. It never hurt like this before but you figured it was because at that point you'd been in your regular form for months. At least it seemed to have been months. It was pretty hard to tell time in this purgatory.

But Elliot held you. He was there to reassure you that you wouldn't hurt him on accident with your body jerking around like a feral cat in a cage.

And you were grateful. The cage of his arms did ease your worries and you happily snuggled against him, somehow being smaller than him in this form now. Did he grow or did you shrink? Whatever...

And today was one of those times where you carried him gently with your teeth by the collar of his shirt like a cat. With you standing in your Cryptid form, you had to obviously duck for the doorframes but you luckily still fit in the cabin overall.

"Alright, there you go..." He muttered softly as you turned again and used him as a pillow. You were tired and just wanted to rest now. It had seemed the Spectre allowed you all to just take it easy for now.

You've also been training to talk a lot more with everyone. Your voice was finally able to take on a semi-normal sound without pain and you were more than happy to use it. Even if you were still limited to short phrases.

"Warm..." You sighed softly, feeling something inside you warm up as well when your hair was suddenly being groomed.

Elliot seemed to enjoy brushing your hair for whatever reason but you didn't mind. It felt nice and you even let him brush your fur from time to time. The gentleness he put into it and the feeling of the brush on your scalp or your skin felt oddly soothing. Like you could fall asleep right then and there.

"Is it too warm or good warm?" He asked with a slight chuckle, though you shook your head. That's when he stopped brushing to get your attention.

"Sorry, what did you mean with warm then?" He was patient, going back to brushing your hair as you just stared into his eyes. He knew you were gathering your thoughts to speak.

"Feel warm in my chest..." You murmured, oblivious to this feeling. You didn't understand it but figured Elliot might be able to help.

"In your chest..?" He seemed to catch on quickly, a dusty pink spreading over his cheeks as he stopped brushing again.

"I feel specially warm around you..." You let your tail wag a little, watching him get flustered. Did you say something wrong?

"When... When you say that, where is the warmth exactly?" He sounded unsure, sitting up with you still on him. But now you could move back a little on his lap as you pointed at your chest, where your heart is.

Elliot grew silent at that, his cheeks flushed red as you had basically just confessed to him without realizing it but he needed to check one more box before he could be sure...

"Do you have any dreams or imagine anything about me involuntarily?" He asked hesitantly, leading to you thinking for a few minutes before nodding as your own cheeks began to gain a dusty pink colouring.

"I like to think about us having a nest..." You muttered in admission, knowing you never had a nest of your own before but knowing how birds do it. You were confident you could make it work like the birds do.

That seemed to be all Elliot before he tried to muster a soft but weak smile and gently held your chin, making your heart race and your mind question itself.

"Would it be okay if I taught you how to kiss then...?" Was his final question, making you remember how Chance once told you about 'romantic vs platonic affection' so you wouldn't do anything stupid on accident.

Yet, you couldn't get your eyes away from his as he hovered mere inches before you, making you feel so light and fuzzy inside. You just nodded, almost feeling like you were in some sort of trance that wouldn't allow you to speak before feeling him gently part your lips and kiss you. Even now was he being gentle, treating you like a fragile doll that threatened to shatter from any wrong moves.

But once he pulled away, you were both the same shade of red in the face and staring at each other like nothing else mattered. "I think we're both feeling the same..." He chuckled lightly, noticing as you subconsciously held one hand over your chest and began caressing his face with the other.

Of course, you noticed it too but he didn't seem to mind so you decided to ask why you felt this way.

"It's called love... I'm not that good at explaining it but it's a natural feeling, don't worry..." You listened intently as he rambled for a bit, sneaking in compliments towards you all while you were considering asking the other survivors about this strange new feeling.

But before you knew what had come over you, you pushed both of you back down on the bed and went back to cuddling peacefully. Elliot took it as his cue to shut up and continue brushing your hair until you fell asleep in his arms and he made a mental note to teach you more about relationships when you woke up...

I admit I got a little carried away with this one because I love Cryptids/Non-Human creatures being intelligent and stuff o(≧▽≦)o Anything you'd like to request/ask? Check out my pinned post first and I'll be happy to write up whatever you want!

[keen-li]

What you need | 07

Chapter title: You need...a hobby

Synopsis: Everybody needs, but how do you define need? do you even know what you need. The simple answer is no. But Jungkook knows what you need. he just wants to help you realize it.

Genre: best friends au, angst, fluff, smut, slow burn. Friends to FWB to Lovers

Jungkook x reader.

Wc: 10.3k+

Prev | next

Index

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

Jungkook sighs, making a mental note to go grocery shopping after opening the fridge to disappointment. He's quick to pull out the only egg he has and shuts the fridge, the bottles inside hitting eachother.

How did he forget?

He's definitely been cooking more than he's used to, but unfortunately, he hasn't been keeping track of his groceries. With you around, he feels like he has a reason to cook more. He always cooks more when people are around. He'd hate for a visitor to starve in his home (his mother would kill him).

When he thinks about it you should starve, he could let you starve. You're more than a visitor now, so you should be up here making your own food. He doubts a visitor would go into his closet, pick one of his graphic tees, and make an outfit for the day just because it looks better than anything she has.(what was the point of going to pick up clothes from yours?)

But it's all in good humor; he'd never let you starve. He likes to cook anyway.

"You need to tell me where you buy your shirts. They're so cool," you enthuse as you walk into the open kitchen, your eyes still on the details of the shirt, not bothering to look where you're going. You're too familiar with Jungkook's floor plan to need your eyes to navigate.

His lips fall into a smirk when he catches your words. But with his back to you, you don't see much of the way he shows his teeth. What you do get is a good view of his back.

The days are getting hotter, so it's not surprising for him to be shirtless. You'd be in your bikini top if you could, especially if you had the female equivalent of Jungkook's body.

You've never minded Jungkook's Baywatch cosplays. I mean, you're not in medical school, but it's never not been beneficial to study the male anatomy and differentiate each muscle group. Right?

He's got a great body, to say the least, but a back should not make you this flustered.(Its the last part of a man you look at when you you get the chance.)

It's just a back—Jungkook's back. Your best friend.

It's your best friend's back.

A very nice back that tenses every time he moves to perform another action. It's like a wall, those you find in gyms or play places. It stares back at you like a challenge: "Climb me, Y/N, climb me." Honestly, it's more like a mountain; its large form blocks everything in sight and takes your eyes captive. The clouds at the top of a mountain would be his hair. They may contrast in color, but they'd probably feel the same.

You avert your eyes from the landscape.

You've never touched a cloud, but you've touched Jungkook's hair, and all you can say is that's what the clouds wish they could feel like. They envy him.

Shit, fuck. Get yourself together.

You've never paid this much attention to his figure, so there's some kind of shame that blossoms.

Why the heck are you thinking like this?

He's being sarcastic. He doesn't mind it, as long as you return them. And you always do, but this one, you might not. And the way you caress it tells him that.

Pan in hand, Jungkook turns to the counter, and you're quick to shift your eyes elsewhere again.

"Why? Then I wouldn't have anyone to steal from me," he lets out humorously as he scrapes the egg onto the china he set out.

You round the counter to try to hover over his shoulder to see how he makes coffee, as though you have no clue how to do it by yourself.

Even though you aren't super short, you just can't seem to look over his shoulder fully. Being reminded of that moment in the kitchen, you decide maybe you should walk away from any form of heat in the kitchen.

One of your childhood flaws is coming to haunt you. If it wasn't for your mother's quick instincts that day, the hot soup would have fallen on your head. You were too jumpy in the wrong places. You could never sit still. Your mother understood that maybe you were just trying to help and got excited, but since then, she's never let you in the kitchen. The only time you got to see the food was at the table. It made you sad because you never understood, but you got used to it.

"It's not stealing if I'm going to return it."

If. Big IF.

You choose to sit on one of the kitchen stools and lean on the counter.

When silence settles, your mind continues to bug you, not wanting you to forget a single thing.

You thought Jungkook was going to say something about it; you were hoping he would. Then maybe you'd get some type of reason that it was just some silly action. But from the looks of things, it's only affecting you. Little do you know, Jungkook feels like he can still sense the sensation of his hand on your skin.

You shake your head. It doesn't mean anything anyway; you're just grateful it didn't bruise. Though a bruise would have been much better than the mark it's left on your mind.

Jungkook continues to walk around making breakfast. Every action he makes is necessary to reach the end goal.

You find unnecessary the touches on your waist as he passes by you. With all the space in the kitchen, he wants to act like you're taking up so much of it that he can't pass by without brushing past you.

He started it when he chose to kiss you. Well... maybe that was your fault. But he definitely made it worse with the smack. You know what? This has nothing to do with him and everything to do with you. Jungkook is just being the playful friend you know him to be, and here you are, leeching on every drip of contact from him.

You wonder if he can feel you stiffen when he does so.

You blame your reaction on this stage of being single—feeling touch-starved. And Jungkook is only making it worse.

In this stage, even the smallest, most meaningless gestures can feel big. They can feel like something they're not. In the past, when you felt that way, you'd hook up with somebody (not that it ever was enough or what you truly needed; it just got you momentarily satisfied), but you want to stay away from that. You can't let yourself do or be that. And you won't let Jungkook be a victim of it too. He's your best friend; you'd never want to cross that boundary with him. You like being friends with him. But that can't stop you from seeing him as the attractive man he is. Why the hell is he so attractive?

You shouldn’t be so caught up in physicality, but you’ve been so used to being in a relationship or jumping from one to the other that being alone and "on a break" feels uncomfortable. And you just want to say "fuck it" and jump onto the next, but you know Jungkook keeps records of your words, and he'd bring it up if he caught you.

So he just doesn't have to catch you?

Anyways...

You like compliments. It feels good when someone compliments you, especially in your stage of questioning yourself or your faults. It feels good to have someone bandage your insecurities wiht sweet words. It just happens to be Jungkook right now on that job. So it doesn't change anything.

"It looks good on you, though. I'll give you the guy's number." You blush when you finally meet his warm, dark eyes.

You can blush; you're allowed to. It doesn't mean anything. You blush when Jimin or Willow compliment you. For fuck's sake, you even blushed when Hoseok told you you were doing a good job. It doesn't mean anything—just an expression of gratitude.

"You good?" Jungkook pauses, walking from the counter to the cabinet when he sees your face fall. You do look gloomy when you wake up, but it's more when you're still stuffed under the sheets, not when you're fully freshened up. You're usually all smiles, so to see your face fall means you're thinking of something. You're overthinking something.

Jungkook has never considered himself a therapist or able to heal somebody, but he's always tried by doing what he can: cooking, offering words of affirmation, going out to do some activities—just anything to make the person feel better. He always tries to learn what makes the person feel better and then do it, and that's what he's always done for you. And it's what he'll do. He knows little touches make you happy, so he tries to get in every chance he gets. He makes sure to do things that make you comfortable.

He knows you don't like to talk about what's bothering you, so he won't ask. When you're ready, you always tell him.

You stare a little too intensely at his marble counter before you lift your head and speak. "Yeah, I'm good." You smile, but it doesn't reach your eyes, and he sees that.

He nods, waving away any more questions he has. He'll take your word for it.

"I'm sorry I only had one egg." He slides the plate to you. You're taken aback when the plate reaches you. You stare at it. You hadn't realized he was making it for you. You stay here so often that you thought Jungkook was over and done with making you food. But maybe he feels an obligation to make you feel happy. Here you go, feeling like a burden again. "Remind me to get some more groceries." His voice pushes your thoughts away.

He knows that he's more likely to remember than you are, so maybe he just wants to give you something to do. Do you need something to do? Maybe. You nod anyway, accepting the request. It's the least you can do while you're here.

You watch him as he grabs his shirt from the couch and swiftly runs it over his head, covering his torso. This is sad—really sad and pitiful of you. "Enjoy." You've barely touched the plate, having been distracted and confused by how fast he's moving.

You don't think you will, not after you freeze up when he walks up to you and suddenly places a goodbye sort of kiss on your temple. He used to do it before you started dating Yunho. You guess the habit is back.

"And you?" You furrow your brows and turn your head in confusion when you watch him grab his training shoes.

But again, meaningless touches drawing harmful thoughts.

Is he going to have breakfast too, with whatever he has in the fridge? You don't think working out on an empty stomach is good, but knowing a fair share of gym guys, you know they only get off on their protein shakes.

He's going to stop by a café and get himself something afterward. But it's cute that you're worried.

His fingers play with the string of his water bottle. He forgot to tell you beforehand, but he hopes you don't mind and that you don't feel like he's running away from you. Because he knows that's what you're thinking. "Uh... I'm going to hit the gym a little. I'll have something on my way back."

You nod. You're aware of his routine: gym every morning. He usually goes earlier than this, so seeing him still here made you think he ditched the idea. But just staying longer meant you could be awake when he makes you breakfast. You would hate to eat cold food, even though his microwave works fine (you've told him that a hundred times).

It's childish, but why does your heart sink at the thought of him leaving? He's not going to be gone forever. It's so childish and needy, and you hate feeling this way. It's just that you fear being alone with your thoughts; Jungkook's always there to distract you. So even a split second away feels like you're about to slip into a dark place of wonder, questioning, and self-doubt.

"You're gonna be okay alone?" He knows.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" But you try to pretend. You grab a toast and bite into it, just to keep your mouth busy and not beg for him to skip the gym today. That would be selfish and embarrassing.

You brush him off with a wave of your hand and pretend like you aren't a little sad you're not coming along. Even though you dislike the gym, you only like the gym when he’s there, though you wouldn’t utter those words yourself.

He squints his brows playfully. "Well... maybe because you look like I just told you I don't want to be your friend." He laughs.

Jungkook notices even the tiniest muscle changes you make; it's like he's got x-ray goggles that can see every part of you, even your emotions. He's the only one you'd let own such a device if it existed. But a feature it lacks, which you're glad about, is the ability to read thoughts. Jungkook wishes he could, but for the sake of everything, you're glad he can't.

"I'll be fine, Kook. Go sweat at 9 a.m." You sound kind of bitter as you playfully roll your eyes, but whatever.

He chuckles, walking over to grab a toast from your plate. He is kind of hungry. You deadpan him and he shrugs.

"I'll be back in no time. Okay?" His hand glides past your hip in a temporary goodbye. You wish he could've just waved. "Do me a favor and write a grocery list for me."

You let out a short, sharp laugh. "Dumb of you to trust me with such a task."

"Then i'm the dumbest...I trust you tho." He winks at you before walking out, leaving you staring at the door.

You roll your eyes playfully and chuckle. He shouldn’t trust you.

A few minutes after, just out the door and probably in his car, your phone dings.

kook: You can add whatever you want to get for yourself too.

You: Already ahead of you. 😌

kook: My bad.

kook: Guess I don't know you as well as I think. 💀

You smile at his text. Jungkook might be the only one who knows you best, or on a different level. And he knows that.

While Jimin and Willoe know you well too, since they started dating, you spent more time with Jungkook (not that he was a rebound). Because of that, there are just some things that he knows more and better, like the way you're probably looking around his apartment for what to do.

That's why he's given himself an hour at the gym—an hour less than he usually does.

You don't respond; instead, you return to your breakfast. Why the hell does Jungkook do these things? You blush... hard. Or maybe it's because you're easily impressed. That’s why you always seem to choose the most unsuitable guys. Jungkook's just being hospitable, and it has you squeezing your thighs.

kook: Be back in an hour, nothing more. ❤

You need to raise your standards... and find something to do.

---

As much as he enjoys your presence, it was a good idea to go to the gym alone. He needs time to think, to not be distracted, to reflect on everything he's doing. A temple kiss?

What the hell was that? He usually likes to think things through, but lately, he’s been getting sloppy.

He rubs his face in frustration.

He wants to be there for you, and he wants you to feel that he's there for you. So the touches and breakfast—even though he'd still do it on a normal day—are his way of reassuring you of his presence, making sure you don't detach.

He shouldn’t have done that. It was too much. It makes him wonder if he knows what he's doing. His intentions may not be coming across as clearly as he thinks.

So why does he feel like he's crossing a boundary? Like it's illegal for him to be that close to you when you're nothing more than friends?

Fuck... he shouldn’t have kissed you. What a dumb move.

He could have gone on pretending. He was doing so well before, but that was before he had the luxury of tasting you, of feeling your warmth. It's killing him. He never thought it would affect him this much.

Every time he shuts his eyes, even just a blink, every lick of his lips, all he can think about is that moment—your lips on his.

He feels guilty; he feels like a liar. His intentions were genuine. He just wanted to make you feel better. He's a fool for thinking it wouldn’t trigger something he’s been hiding—something that could scare you and push you away.

He's a fucking dumbass, really. He doesn't want to push you away. He would lose his mind if he lost you as a friend.

But maybe if he wasn't around, you would have been better off. He can't even begin to imagine life if he hadn't met you.

Jimin was right, and he hates to admit it. But if he had listened to Jimin, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to experience what it's like to be your friend—your warmth, your comfort, your understanding. He wouldn't have had that. And honestly, who knows who would have been there for you if he had listened to Jimin? Who would have been there to take your mind off things? Of course, Jimin and Willoe would be there—and it’s arrogant for him to think this—but he believes he's better at being there for you.

It's not a competition, but he prides himself on being there for others. And lately? Especially for you, for the past three years.

Unfortunately, there's no exercise he can do to sweat off every feeling, especially the feeling of knowing he’s going to go back home, find you spread across his couch like you share a lease, filling his Netflix with dating shows, and have to keep pretending. Jungkook will smile and ask what you're doing like he doesn't know. You'd tell him, and he'd walk away or talk about something else. That’s what he should do—not tease you in any way. Even teasing you feels like he's pushing you away.

Jimin is going to kill him. He'll kill whatever Jungkook hasn't already killed of himself.

Jungkook knew one hour was enough to do everything he needed, but it still felt insufficient. He usually does more than just train his body or distract himself. He trains his boxing too, with Yoongi. The older is very particular about Jungkook’s training.

As well as you know Jungkook, there are just some things you might not know.

Yoongi doesn’t let Jungkook train on game day; that’s why he wasn’t there to bug him about only spending an hour. He is there to bug him about coming into the arena, though.

He parks his car in the parking lot of the apartment. As he's about to get out, he finally decides to address the text he's been ignoring. It’s better if he answers now rather than when he’s with you. He hopes it will work, but one thing about Yoongi is... he’s persistent.

He should, but he can't right now. It's a hard decision for him to make. But you're alone, and you'd get worried if he was gone for any longer.

Yoongi: There's a game today; you should come in.

Plus, he promised you one hour—nothing more. And he plans on delivering just that.

Yoongi: I can get you a spot.

Jungkook glides his tongue over his teeth in thought. He can wait until next week. This week is about spending time with you; his other endeavors can wait.

There's really nothing to think about, but Yoongi doesn't like to hear the word "no." So he’ll just stick with ambiguity.

Jungkook: I'll think about it.

"Whatcha watching?" is the first thing Jungkook says when he walks in and spots you folded up on his couch, looking comfortable as hell. You look so good and blend so well into his home (and life) that it makes him feel a little unwell. But he has to shake it off.

---

You're going to have to chip in for his Netflix now.

Your eyes shift to watch him instead. His muscles look a little more defined; it’s probably just your brain messing with you. You took biology and have common sense—he can’t grow muscles from just one session. You fold your legs to yourself.

“Just some dating show.” Not the best thing to watch, but it’s comforting to see others pick shitty love partners as well. "How was the gym?" You choose not to look at him as he stands over you, chugging down a bottle of water. You can’t see, but you assume his Adam’s apple is doing that thing—bobbing.

"Draining. Like always." But he still goes. At this point, the gym is less about health or his body; it’s a distraction. An addiction. He wipes the drop of water that runs down his chin.

"Don't sit down; you'll make the couch smell. Take a shower first," you scold, stretching your arms out to block him. Even after the gym, you can still catch a whiff of his cologne but its mixed with sweat so it's no good.

"Just joking. Did the gym drain your funny bone too?" You look at him, frowning, and he chuckles.

Jungkook furrows his brows, his lips pulling into a smile. “Why are you so worried about my couch?" He emphasizes the word a little too hard for your liking.

He should go take a shower. That's what he should do—not linger around you and fight with himself.

He loses. He always loses when it comes to you.

"Fine, I'll take a shower... right after I..."

Now, all he'll think about when he tastes cherries is you. Or whenever the sun dances warmly on his skin or the wind whirls by his ear, all he'll think about is you.

Jungkook swiftly takes you into his arms and rubs his 'sweaty' body against you. In the act, he inhales your scent—he knew he should've just gone to take a shower. Now you've fully invaded his senses.

He's felt you, tasted you, smelled you, and heard your soft snores and he can't stop seeing you in everything.

"Jungkook!..."

He pulls away with a proud smile, and you're stuck rolling your eyes. "Now I can take a shower."

"You're so messed up." You whine.

"See? I still have my funny bone."

"That was not funny. I was clean," you whine harder. "Now I'm going to keep this shirt." You say it like it's a threat.

Jungkook laughs, his voice lowering as he speaks. "It was yours the minute you wore it, baby." He confesses softly. "But that's not an invitation into my closet. I just like that one on you."

You roll your eyes.

“You did what?” After he forced you to switch what you were watching to Law and Order, just because he can't stand dating shows, you happened to land on an episode about a guy who physically assaulted another guy. At that, Jungkook thought it fit to share his own experience with you.

He's so ridiculous. But he's the only one you'd let get away with this. At least you've got the shirt now.

Win-win

---

“Oh my gosh, Jungkook, did you really?” You turn sharply to face him. When he nods, you smack his thigh.

He winces. “You’re upset?” He rubs the spot you hit, since you're too distracted to show him the same care he showed you.

“No, but… he could've pressed charges against you.” Jungkook didn't think that far; he never does in those moments, which is not a good trait. He’s not proud of that. “I just didn’t expect that from you. Willoe suggested the idea, but I never thought—” you ramble thoughtlessly, forgetting you have your own secrets.

“Willoe…?” It looks like you're both spilling the tea, so you might as well.

“Oh yeah. Uhm... I have a secret of my own.” Jungkook turns to you, intrigued by what you could be hiding. He thought you told him everything.

“Before Yunho and I broke up, he told me to choose between you and him.” Jungkook raises his brows in shock. You can't tell what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t look upset. Why would he be? You’re here, aren’t you?

“Seriously?” Jungkook processes this. Why didn’t you tell him? He wishes you had. Why? No clue. But he can only assume how hard it was for you. Would he have made you choose Yunho if he knew? “So, he’s more of an asshole than I thought. Now I don't feel bad." Not that he ever did. Maybe if he knew, then he’d have another reason to go harder. You didn’t deserve a guy who would put you in such a difficult position.

“So, you picked me?” Jungkook leans his head back and gives you the most childish smile. You roll your eyes and turn away.

“Close your mouth, Jeon.” You say when he doesn’t stop smiling and keeps looking at you.

“He could've pressed charges, stupid.” He seems to be forgetting that fact.

He smiles softer, pulling your legs into his lap. The action rake you by suprise but you compose yourself.

“I’m so glad to get to hang out with you now.” His voice is softer, his eyes larger, and his pupils dilated. He tries his best to keep his eyes on yours. You have on the same cherry lip gloss.

He shifts you closer.

You’ve changed out of his shirt, and he frowns, noticing you’re now in a light purple dress with darker polka dots. You’re sitting down, but he can tell it’s one of those that hugs your figure. Some men just don’t know how to keep good things huh?.

“All to myself,” he whispers before you clear your throat and pull back slowly. He pouts at the loss of contact, but he soon realizes it’s for the best. He’s getting carried away. He shouldn’t be doing this. You’re still not over the guy yet. Probably.

Jungkook clears his throat rearranging himself in his seat. "But he didn't. The bozo can't think that far."

You roll your eyes at how arrogant he is about it. You’d be in a different situation right now if Yunho had decided otherwise. You’re not sure if he still could, but the thought of it makes you anxious. You appreciate how caring Jungkook is towards you, but threatening his freedom for you is too much. "You should be thanking him." You’re not sure why Yunho didn’t press charges, but you’re glad he didn’t.

"That was stupid." The fear sinks deeper into you. Jungkook sits up when he sees you sink into the couch, more affected than he thought you’d be.

"For what? Breaking your heart? Cheating? I'm good." He scoffs, and you lower your eyes at him. When he catches your concern, which he’s been ignoring, he softens his features. He really didn’t think about it, which was stupid, but it felt good.

On a more serious note, he doesn’t know what he would do if Yunho had pressed charges; there was a witness. He wonders why he didn’t. So maybe he is a little grateful, but only because it would break your heart to see him in cuffs more than it would to see Yunho cheating on you. And he’d never want to do that to you. He’d never forgive himself if he was the reason for your heartbreak.

"Look. It's over now." He takes your hand into his, interlocking your fingers, and places kisses everywhere he can. You can't deny the way each smack of his lips against your skin has you crossing your ankles. This is what you meant; you're just touch-starved.

"It is. But I don't want you doing it again—to or for anyone." You rub your hands, and Jungkook pretends like you’re not rubbing away his kisses. "I don't like seeing or hearing about you in a fight."

It doesn’t soften the look on your face, but it warms your heart.

Realizing you’re getting carried away in his hold, you pull your hand away, though Jungkook is slow to let it go.

There’s a mutual silence as you both stare at the screen but aren’t really paying attention. An underlying tension holds you captive. Has Jungkook always been this touchy even before you started dating Yunho? You both aren’t sure. But it’s something you don’t want to address.

After many beats of silence, you feel it’s your responsibility to fill the air. "On that note, don't ever bring me to watch you practice with that friend of yours." You’d stopped thinking about it, but now that he brought it up, you can’t help but get flashbacks.

Jungkook holds himself, his voice soft and careful as he speaks. "Why? don’t you like it?" You don’t have to answer, but he’s just curious why you detest it so much.

"Why?" He doesn’t want to bug you because it looks like it’s affecting you. But he needs to know why. Did something happen to you? Maybe you both don’t know each other well enough to call each other best friends. He wants to reach out, but you hold yourself far from him.

"I don't like fighting in general, real or fake." Your hands caress your forearms, and Jungkook checks if he turned the cool air too high.

It’s just alright.

"I don't want to talk about it, Kook." Jungkook may know you well, but there are just some things he doesn't know at all, and you're not sure if he'll ever know them. You don't want him to see you differently or pity you, like others did. Or even worse, tell you, It’s not that bad.

"Okay then. We won't talk about it." He says. "Come here."

Yout shake your head and stand.

Surprising yourself, you actually wrote the grocery list, and Jungkook liked it. No offense to you, but he had a backup prepared just in case you forgot. However, looking at yours, it’s better than his.

"I need to use the bathroom. "

---

Later that day, you both decided to head to the store. The air wasn’t tense anymore; the good thing about you two is that you bounce back from things easily.

"While you were at the gym, I was thinking..." you say, making sure the vegetables you’re picking up are the same ones on your list. One by one, you drop them into the trolley that Jungkook pushes. He leans on the handles, hunching his back when you stop by a section for a little too long.

He doesn’t rush you, though, even when the thing you’re looking for is right in front of you. It’s amusing to watch you so focused on something. Or maybe it’s amusing to watch you in that dress.

You called it a bodycon when he asked, but he can't be sure because he wasn't paying attention. He also lied that the reason he was asking was curiosity and not for a Christmas list. Is it odd?

"Oh oh," he chimes, as if your thinking is a threat to national security. When you deadpan his way, he retreats with his hands in the air. "What were you thinking about?" he finally asks, and you turn to drop the last vegetable in, confirming it’s the last one you need from that category.

He likes how you arranged the list in categories; it makes shopping more linear. He's going to have to start doing that too.

"I was thinking about getting a hobby." Jungkook raises his brows and halts playing with the bracelet on his wrist. He's silent, so when you turn to see his facial expression, he nods for you to go on. He’s curious. "You're into boxing and mechanics or whatever... Jimin's good at art and crafting. And Willow has a garden..." You could go on to list other hobbies they have, but Jungkook gets the point.

You, on the other hand, are stuck working out of obligation.

Another thing you envy is how they all managed to turn their hobbies into something that earns them money. Jungkook works in mechanics, Jimin's a goddamn architect, and Willoe, though she works in real estate, has a plant (side)business (that’s where you get any plant you gift someone). You assume it makes going to work much more fun.

"You guys have stuff, and I don't." You move to the fruit section, and Jungkook rolls with you, not even paying attention to where you're going, so he has to remind you.

"I'm sure you have something..." He reaches out to pick up the citrus you dropped and apologizes to the worker who'd been eyeing you, frustrated.

"What?" You question him when he’s back in position, holding your hands at your waist in an interrogative stance.

"You have that thing..." Jungkook stutters. You must have a hobby... you have one. At least that’s what he thinks. He should shut up. He needs to do better. "That thing..." He tries to keep thinking, but you’ve already clocked it.

"See? I have no hobby. I've been so focused on the job and Yunho, and now that I don't have them, I've realized I'm nothing." You confess, just low enough for Jungkook to hear your frustration but not loud enough for others to hear how insecure you are. Should you even be talking about this here? "Yunho was my hobby." Probably not a compliment to the guy or any of your exes, but it’s something. It’s a realization for you.

"You're not nothing, Y/N." Jungkook comforts you. "You'll get your job back." That’s the only thing he finds himself able to say, and honestly, he’s not proud. He's better at this.

"Okay, if I get it back, fine. But... what will I do in my free time?" You continue to talk, and Jungkook doesn’t mind listening. He likes when you tell him what you’re thinking. He thinks you look cute when you get lost in your ramblings, the way you bite your lip unconsciously or how you touch the necklace that hangs low on your chest...

"Everything I used to do was with... that guy." He snaps back to you picking stuff. You grip the box of grapes too tightly for his liking.

"Well, you’ve got me." He takes the box from you, bringing you back to reality.

"I know. But you're my best friend, and we do best friend stuff." You don't want to add that he might not always be there.

Jungkook wants to be offended, but he doesn’t have the standing ground. "Okay. So, what did you and that guy used to do that you and I can't?" He straightens his back. He probably shouldn't have asked that.

And you’re about to remind him why he shouldn’t have asked. “Well, we kissed, we cuddled." It's like his ears are being roasted, but you don’t notice and go on. "We had sex..."

"Okay," he jumps in a little too quickly.

Jungkook gets it; he understands you. And getting a hobby is a good thing. Seeing that he’ll be going to work soon and you won’t be glued at the hip forever, you'll need something to keep you company. "Okay. If you want a hobby, you can get one." He hates how he sounds like you need his permission. "What did you have in mind?"

You laugh at his reaction. "See? That's why I need a hobby. I can't depend on other people forever. I did that enough in high school..."

You spent too long with girls who never really liked you but stayed because they were the only ones you had. “...and college. Did me no good."

In college, when you got into dating guys, you should’ve learned then, but by the looks of things, you did not. You have no clue what your problem is. Maybe if you focus on yourself and time alone, it’ll do you some good.

He sees the smile grow on your face. You're now by the fridges picking out drinks, and Jungkook is quick to pull some beer cans into the cart. "I was thinking about gardening too. Get a little plant pot and whatever." Jungkook is silent, and when you turn to look at him, he has this unsure look on his face. "What?" you question him with knitted brows. What? Does it not suit you?

"I was just thinking... are you committed enough for that? It takes time, you know?" What, like you didn’t know? Willoe tells you about it. But unlike you, she isn’t impatient and grew up with parents who liked to garden. But you don’t need to have a childhood attachment to it, right?

"Woooow, you think I have commitment issues?" You hold your hand to your chest.

Jungkook lets out a breath. Even though you’re just playing, he wants to tread lightly. "All I'm trying to say is... you can be really impatient."

So that's how people see you?

"Wow, way to be supportive, Kook." You tease him, knowing he’s going to panic.

And he does. "Me telling you your faults is me being supportive. I don't want you to start something, and when it doesn't work out, you get frustrated."

"I won't be frustrated," you say in a barely audible tone, avoiding his eyes.

"Jungkook, my plant won't grow, and it's only day two." You pause and hold back a laugh when he mocks you. He knows you, doesn’t he?

"I don't sound like that." You chuckle lightly, still wanting to stand your ground.

Jungkook watches you laugh, and he knows you know how right he is. "Sure." He rolls his eyes playfully.

"Okay, what about something else?" You give in. Maybe he is right; you would get impatient. So you put your thinking cap back on. "I've always been interested in sewing and fashion."

"Now we're getting somewhere."

You have been, and you thought about it. "But I've seen some prices on sewing machines, and I felt like gauging my eyes out, so maybe not that." You don’t have the funds for the machines that require you to spend. You can wait, and when you do get your job, then you can save for it.

"What about crocheting? You can still do fashion with that?" He states bluntly.

You turn to look at him over your shoulder. You’re now standing in line to finally pay for these things and get out. You raise a brow at Jungkook, who looks away awkwardly, knowing what words are about to come out of your mouth. "How do you know about that?"

He’s reluctant to open his mouth, but he eventually does. "My ex..." You raise your brow higher than it should be going, paired with a wide smirk. “...she was into that."

You get it now. You think you know who he’s talking about, but you can’t be sure. You’ve never paid attention to Jungkook’s girlfriends. “Is it that sweater?" He’s not slow with the answer. "I knew it was too unique to be bought in a store. You liar."

"Is that why you won’t let me wear it? Because she made it for you?" Your voice has a little mocking tone to it, and Jungkook continues to avoid your eyes but you continue to bug him. "Oh gosh, are you even over her?"

"Yeah..." He clenches his jaw and holds the cart a little tighter. Weren’t you talking about wanting a hobby?

Thankfully, you don’t press into it; otherwise, he’d hate to see the face you make when he ignores you. “Anyway..." You move to bag the groceries, and Jungkook pulls out his wallet.

"So I'll do crocheting," you decide, and he nods in agreement, though he regrets bringing it up. For a second, he thinks of suggesting something else, but you’re already dead set on this. "And then I can make my own sweater."

"You can make me one too." He pockets his wallet.

"I'm not making you anything." This time, you’re the one taking the cart and walking into the other part of the mall. "Let's hurry before the yarn store closes." You’re glad there’s a yarn store just across the mall. It only makes things easier.

"We still have time."

"I know, but I'm just so excited."

"Who was that?" You ask, wondering when Jungkook's phone keeps ringing and why he won't just pick it up. And even though his ringtone isn't the worst, it's irritating. Why can't he just answer it? He rarely ignores calls unless he's busy, but he's not busy right now.

---

"Yoongi," he says, turning it to silent mode. You watch how he fumbles with stuffing it into his pockets. "It's nothing important, I'll answer it later." He continues when he sees the suspicious look you have on your face. This is exactly what he didn’t want. But he expected Yoongi to call, so he should’ve just turned it off earlier.

You relax your brows and turn back to find which yarn to pick. "Okay... but if it is, you can take it, I don't mind." Maybe he thinks it will bother you, even though it won’t.

"It can wait. It's cute you care, though." He pokes at your side with a smile.

"I don't care; you just don't have the best ringtone in the world." You poke back.

He scoffs. His ringtone is nice.

You ignore the moment and switch back to what you were doing. There are so many colors and textures to pick from; you have no clue where to start. You feel like a kid in a candy store.

"So, what colors do you think I should get?"

Jungkook really wasn’t much of a help, unless when it came to holding the basket. But it's a good thing you could go on the Internet. And after a quick search, you budget for all the essentials you'll need.

"I don't know what the first thing I'll make is." You squeal, walking into the line and running your fingers through the things you’ve picked. Fingers tingling with excitement.

Since the time his phone started ringing, Jungkook seemed distant and off. He wasn’t responding as quickly as he does when you said something. He responded in short hums and yes. You have no clue what could’ve changed in the short moment. Even right now, as you reach the counter, he doesn't look your way or even respond at all.

“Jungkook, are you listening to me?"

You walk to the front and lay your basket on the counter. Jungkook’s eyes look beyond the horizon. You're about to question what's wrong with him before he speaks.

"Leah..." You look up at him, and when you see him look elsewhere, you follow his vision to the cashier.

Her light pink wavy hair is the first thing you catch. It's long and dances past her chest. Not to be prejudicial, but she definitely fits the aesthetic of someone who'd work in a yarn store or any art-related store, honestly.

As you analyze, you squint your eyes. You know her from somewhere, but you can’t put a finger on it. Wait... did he say Leah?

You thought she moved out of the city to start a business elsewhere. That’s why she and Jungkook broke up, right? You couldn’t be too sure; you were caught up with Yunho during their relationship.

They only dated for what? 8 months. But those months definitely affected Jungkook. You were happy to see him with someone who made him happy; she did that, and when they broke up, it broke him. Even though he was tough around you, you could still tell how affected the man was.

He barely wanted to leave the house or hang out, and honestly, that’s when he got a little bitter towards Yunho, but you let him have it; he was sad. And now, as he stares at her, it’s like all that time of hard work learning to live with it is unraveling.

During that same time, you tried to spend as much time as you could with him, but it's not as good as he does for you now. But to be fair, you were in a relationship by then. And Yunho honestly hated you going over to visit Jungkook; you assume that’s when the insecurities began.

You weren’t too familiar with her, and honestly, you got a vibe that maybe she didn’t like you then. You're not sure.

"Jungkook..." Leah says, equally as shocked to see him here. She knew he still lived in the city, but she thought he’d never step foot into a yarn store, at least that's what he told her when she asked him to go along with her. He was so fussy about it, but it’s shocking to see him here... with you. So easily, she assumes.

She scoffs internally. It still bothers her because he couldn’t admit it.

She moves her eyes away from you to look at the objects you have spread out on the counter. One by one, in a slow, almost deliberate action, she scans each of your objects.

"H-hi. What are you doing here?" Jungkook continues, still in awe of the sight before him. It was a stupid question, but between them, it's deeper than that. She swore that she’d never come back to the city, and if she did, she would tell him. But here she is, back, and he never knew a single thing.

"Working," of course, she's working; that's not what's surprising him...

"I mean in town." You stand there awkwardly, purse in hand, waiting for her to finish scanning the items. There's nothing more awkward than being the one in between the tension.

She doesn’t look up at him, but Jungkook is all she stares at. "Oh, uh... I came back." She continues to scan, and you watch as Jungkook’s jaw clenches. If you thought he was tense before, he’s going to be worse after this.

"And you didn't bother telling me?"

She rolls her eyes when his tone gets tighter. It’s expected; she expects this from him.

"Wasn't necessary, honestly." He can't believe she's still the same. She can’t bother to see how he may be feeling. "You two are..." she points with her eyes at you and Jungkook, and immediately you scoot away from him as not to give the impression she may be having.

"Still friends." You laugh out awkwardly. Jungkook rolls his eyes.

"You're the one getting into crochet, I assume?" Leah's attention is now on you, and you've never swallowed harder. She always had a side-eye for you when she was dating Jungkook, but at that time, she never knew you were in a relationship.

"Yeah." Out of pure nervousness, you begin to bag them on your own. The line isn’t super long, but you assume their conversation and tension are holding up the only counter. "Do you have any suggestions on some beginner stuff to make?" Why do you keep talking... Jungkook watches you pack in a slight awkward panic. He hates when people insinuate you're dating, even though it makes his heart flutter; it makes you pull away from him.

He hates that. Makes him realize he has to keep pretending.

"Sounds great, thanks." Finally, you snatch the plastic bag and turn to Jungkook. "I'll just see myself out. Meet you in the car?" It’s your way of telling him to talk more with her and not worry about you, because you know he is.

"Uhm, headbands are the best, but you could also make some plushies. Granny squares maybe." You nod at each suggestion she gives. You will probably do that; she's the pro.

How weird you bumped into her.

You lean closer to him. "Ask her out." You whisper to him, even though you should’ve just shut your mouth. Jungkook isn’t at odds with the idea; he thought of it. He just wants to talk things out, know why she came back and didn’t tell him.

"Anything else you want to get?" She asks when Jungkook stands awkwardly after you leave.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back?" He continues, even though a queue stands behind him. They don’t fuss, though.

"Somethings are better left alone." She’s the one getting frustrated with this now. "I have customers, Jungkook.” Like he didn’t fucking know.

He breathes out and decides maybe he should end this quicker. When he reaches into his pockets, he finds his keys; he forgot to give them to you. So, you must be standing outside awkwardly. So, he should definitely hurry. “We should grab a coffee or something. To catch up."

"Kook..."

"Just one."

She looks behind him, thinking. "Fine." Just to shut him up, because he won't stop. And she wants to end it; her shop isn’t a place she wants Jungkook to frequent now that he knows about it.

"Nice seeing you..."

"You too."

When Jungkook walks to the car, you’re leaning against it, like he thought you would be. You don’t look as upset as he thought you would, seeing it's hot, and he forgot to give you the keys. You don’t blame him, though; he was too caught up.

"So, did you ask her out?" He nods. As he opens the car, "Good. That's good." You say more to yourself. It’s good for Jungkook to go out with someone or rekindling something. It’s what you’ve been wanting.

When you’re finally settled, you speak first, seeing his lost expression. "Why do you not look good?"

He holds onto the steering wheel but doesn’t drive. "It's just weird seeing her, after so long." He picks at his lip ring, still trying to put his thoughts together. He’s angry that she didn’t tell him, but there’s much more he’s thinking of. "Maybe I missed her."

It's not certain, but it could be. This all interaction was random and not expected; heaven knows what he should be feeling right now.

"Wow, uh, that's good. I'm happy for you." You are. "It's like we're switching. I'm single, and now you're about to get a girlfriend." You lean back into your seat and look forward with a weak smile. Gosh, are you going to be the only single one in the group now?

Jungkook scoffs, bouncing back to his normal self a bit. He turns to look at you. "Who said anything about getting a girlfriend?" He points to the seatbelt, and you’re quick to pulling it over yourself as he does the same. "I just want to talk things out." Just get some questions out of his mind.

"That's how it starts."

"Come on, I'll still be here for you." He reaches to cup your hand in his, an action you're getting more acquainted with and unknowingly wanting more of.

Still, you pull away from him, trying to be playful, but Jungkook takes it as the opposite. He can’t help himself but do so when you won't even look at him.

"Yeah, sure... Let's just go home; I wanna unpack my stuff." You say not sounding as excited as before.

Jungkook groans and moans internally as you wrap yarn around his wrist. The tutorial said you should unwind your yarn and you thought jungkooks wrists would be the best for that. They are, the colour of the yarn looks great in his skin and even though he’s not strict about colours he wears, cause its rare, he makes not to get more of this one.

---

You don’t wrap it tightly but he feels like a prisoner the way you have his arms stretched out. Everytime he tries to relax, your hand is quick to pulling him back in place. He listens. It’s nice to see you passionate at something even though its at the cost of the movement of his arms. He’s happy To see see interest Ed jn something other than a relationship,  he hopes it stays like this, so you can focus 8n yourself.

He smirks watching you items down on yiur tongue too focused on perfectly wrapping the string around his wrists. You switch from biting down on your tongue to on your lips, your lips....

"i'm gonna be your bitch now huh?" He speaks so that he’s thoughts have no room to flourish

You chuckle at the terminology. “Yea. Very much my bitch." You say the last part a little too passionately. As much as he’s down to helping you he doesn’t know how much of this he could endure, the gym has taught him endurance, but this is a new kind of patience. But if it’s helping you he’ll learn to endure. "but if you're lucky you'll get a sweater."

He nods accepting the deal.

"You still want that sewing machine?" Hes voice grows lower, like he’s contemplating on promising what he’s about to promise.

You pause and look up at him wiht a raised brow. "Yeah, but it can wait." You return.

"You know what? "

"What?"

He smiles kissing his teeth not believing he’s about to say what’s he’s about to. "If you stay consistent with crocheting for 3 months, I'll get you one."

You freeze and slowly lift yourself to eat his gaze already on yours. Would he actually? No...jungkook a more well off than you from his stable job but would he actually? Gosh you’d really appreciate that. He’s gotten you gist before but this would be big.

"What a sewing machine?" You repeat in disbelief. "eally?"

"Yeah, if you stay consistent. A birthday gift."

"Now I will." You cheer wiht a determined scoff. You were always planning on staying consistent. Maybe to prove to you jungkook, you can but mainly to yourself. That you didn’t need to depend on anybody but yourself to get you through this.

The familiar tune of his phone pulls you out of your thoughts.

"That should be Jimin. Answer it." You’re about to question why he can’t do it but when you realise...

"Hey Jimin. Gosh I've missed you."

"Missed you too." Jimin replies voice calm but excited to be hearing from you. "I assume you're with jungkook." Seeing that you’re on his phone, yes you are wiht jungkook. Its not unusual for you two to be together right now.

"Hiii." You exclaim when you add willoe to to call trying to match her ecstatic energy when ou add her to the face time call.

"Hi- oh are we interrupting something?" Shes quick to analysing you and jungkook. She has a curiouslook on her dade but it all play. "never took jungkook to be the one getting tied up."

You cringe at the idea and jungkook smile at your reaction.  "Oh no. god no." Jungkook almost takes you defending yourself a little too hard to heart.

"I'm fucking with you." Willoe adds a laugh,

"He's just helping me with crocheting." You explain  like it wasn’t obvious,  wjat else would you be doing wiht yarn,

Jungkook continues to hold his hands out like a sub p, not making the situation anymore explainable. Bur he relishes in the reaction cause you. This time when you smack his arm its for him to put his arms down.

Finally his muscles can relax.

"Ohhh, your crocheting? make me a sweater. "

"Me too. " Willoe follows after. You can’t help but scoff off their requests, how long dot hey think you’ve been doing this. It makes you blush how much they have hope in you.

"Guys, she's not making sweaters for anyone." Jungkook shines in bitterly.

"No. I'm only not making you a sweater."

He scoffs.

"Anyways, guys I can barely make a knot, I won't be able to make a sweater anytime soon. " You return to wrapping  the yarn around his wrist. You’re almost done. "But maybe if I stay consistent, I'll have your Christmas gifts sorted." You never thought about it but crocheting  would make getting your friends gifts easier.

"just don't make it Christmas themed." Jimin jokes and you all laugh.

"noted." You’d want them to actually  want to wear what you make them.

"you can make mine Christmas themed." Yiu side eye jungkook when he speaks trying to warm you up in the idea of making him a sweater. You probably will, if he keeps up wiht those doe eyes.

"shh"

Your focus is now on the screen, jimin and willoe were probably of talking as you bickered wiht jungkook. Tlking and making of yiu two. "It's good you're keeping yourself busy." They try their best to avoid the larger topic. Of course ythwy knew through the group chat and honestly you’re glad they aren’t  bringing it up. You still want to desire desire consistent in crocheting.

"Yeah." You mumble looking down and the shrink ball of yarn.

Jungkook sensing cuts in. "How's the project going jimin."

"My jobs done in a week. The bar restaurant is coming out nice."

"Ooo so will it be open soon?"

"Yeah I think so, the owner's gonna come and check the place out,  then we'll know." You’re  happy that something good is happening  in our friends life."Still has to get furnished though."

"Send some pictures babe."

The call ends and you and Jungkook are back to YouTube. Now you're practicing how to single crochet.

"Will do."

---

You stare at what you've gotten done and its okay. it's only day one, so you can't be too hard on yourself.

Jungkook watches you closely. Watches how you lift the porous cloth to his ceiling lights. The light seeps through and glitters your irises. He watches the way you pout when you look back at the tutorial and yours doesn't look the same. He wants to tell you it looks good, but he'd be lying.

He watches the way you start over and closely and slowly you work.

You're concerned that he's getting bored but he assures you he's not. how can he.

You don't see the way he looks at you and he doesn't realise the way he enjoys it.

“I’m serious about the machine, you know,” he says quietly, voice not teasing this time.

You nod, distracted. “Yeah, I know.”

He watches you play with the yarn, twirling it around your finger, to hook. “I just think... you need something that’s yours.”

“Crochet?” You ask, half-joking, but he's serious.

“No,” he says, eyes not leaving yours. “Something that makes you feel like you again.”

You freeze.

“You haven't been yourself lately.”

You look down at your lap, not trusting your voice. Of course he noticed, but how far has he noticed.

“But,” he adds, softer now, “you’ll figure it out.”

“How do you know?”

You turn to look at him and your eyes meet his.

if Jungkook's back is the mountain, then his eyes are the sun that sets behind it at dusk. The orange, pink and blue in the sky and eventually the deep darkness. How can one person contain so much of nature's beauty and not be a god. It's clear to say you have the most attractive bestfriend. what makes it better is that his attraction goes deeper than his body.

But any girl is blessed to have him as a lover.

He's caring, great listener, he's supportive...you could list it all. The world doesn't own enough stones for you to write down all his good qualities. As much as you admire them, they've never been for you. The type of guys you go for and jungkook are two different people. His qualities make him a good friend and maybe a good boyfriend for somebody. You were never into that. Not that you'd ever think of you and jungkook as more.

You don't think you'd get along as lovers. You like them a little more distant. You don't like knowing much about your lovers. Makes it easier to leave

You're losing your mind.

You love your best friend...truly. As a bestfriend.

“Because you always do.” He encourages.

you always do but it's always with his help.

who helped you find your job? Jungkook. who's helped you through your breakup? Jungkook. who's going to make you cry right now? Jungkook but who's going to the one to hold you and tell you its gonna be okay?...jungkook.

You look at your yarn trying to go back to your project but the conversation's pulling both of you in. You blink any tears away.

Yes you can always do it... but with him. And you hate that. You know its only cause jungkook is the closest friend you have. If you had another friend maybe he wouldn't be so prevalent in your life.

For a second, he looks at you like—Like maybe he’s the one who needs you to figure it out for him. Tell him whatever and that's what it's going to be.

The ball is in your court. It will never be in his.

He checks it, stands. The day is over, night has fallen and he knows the games are over. So, there's no yelling Yoongi could do to irritate Jungkook. “Let me take this.” he stands his hand already set free.

Before you can say anything, his phone buzzes again.

incoming call from Yoongi

You saw the youtuber using a yarn unwinder to hold the yarn, so maybe you can go back to the store and check for that and not bother Jungkook. even though he says otherwise you know this boring for him.

“Okay.”

He heads towards the front door, why does he have to take the call outside?- you ignore it.

He hesitates at the door with his hand on the knob.

“Three months,” he says over his shoulder. With a smile trying to lighten the mood and leave you smiling and not question why he's going downstairs to pick up the phone. “I’m holding you to it.” he points at the yarn.

“Yeah?” you smirk. You will make it to three months.

He turns his head just enough to showyou his teeth. “And if you’re lucky—maybe I’ll get you something else.”

The door clicks shut behind him.

🥊

taglist: @jksusawife @mother2monsters @gimeow @nikkinikj @jxeonlux @7thsthings @erisuna @kookietkk @revolutionbreez @kookiesncreamri @notsevenwithyou

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

So what you think? Let's discuss in the replies.📩

Also what are you guy's hobbies? I'd love to know❤. (Of course mine is writing, reading and art.)

A/n: I'm becoming in love with these two only, if you knew what I have planned. I hope I keep writing and you keep reading and supporting. I appreciate all of you.

All positive reblogs and replies are appreciated. Thanks 😊

If you want to join the taglist just ask.☺

[clairewritesfanfics]

if there were enough supplies in the wasteland for the marks to survive until angstrom got back on his bullshit what do you think wouldve happened?

(I will be basing my answer on my headcanons about the Marks' personalities and mainly the TV show variants.)

First, I'm going to rank them from most to least reasonable: Omni-Mark, Viltrumite > Full Mask, Maskless > Shiesty, Target, Sinister > Prisoner.

Omni would try to lead the group, he has strong big brother/dad energy and from what we've seen in his fight with Main!Mark, he has great control over his powers, which implies discipline, which implies patience. I imagine he would be very willing to wait things out. He doesn't seem like someone who would go around murdering everyone else right off the bat, the risk-reward ratio would be too low because the others would surround him. The same thinking can be applied with Viltrumite. However, taking a leadership role means that he (just Omni here) has all the power and most of the trust. Backstabbing is not out of the question once the numbers dwindle.

Full Mask and Maskless would be antsy but also cooperative. (I still haven't fleshed them out in my head so I'm afraid that's all I can say.)

Target comes off as an impudent thing, very childish, but not to the same extent as Shiesty. I feel like his "I won't keep you as a slave in my empire" was more like a disappointed superior than a kid throwing a tantrum, so while he doesn't like the situation, he's going to cooperate.

Sinister is manipulative and while a little arrogant, he isn't stupid. He's going to play nice to ensure his survival.

Shiesty maybe immature, but he gives off spoiled baby brother vibes. He is the baby of the bunch (even if they're likely all the same age), and like all babies, he may cry and whine, but he is still going to obey his older "siblings."

Prisoner, my darling, my baby, he would be furious and upset. He went straight from one prison to another. He'll pick fights and fly around screaming, trying to find a way out. The others have to wait for him to calm down before they can start conversing properly.

edit: I forgot about Mohawk. Having a harem is harder than it looks. I need to make a checklist.

Omni-Mark, Viltrumite > Full Mask = Maskless = Mohawk > Shiesty, Target, Sinister > Prisoner

Mohawk isn't an idiot. He knows that banding together, even if temporarily, is smarter than fighting or leaving the group. He doesn't want to murder anyone for no reason, so when he works with the others, he isn't pretending, he's genuine in his efforts to stay alive. Hopefully, everyone would still be alive so they can kill Angstrom together.

inside the little theatre (random scenes that form in my head, you may ignore them if you want)

You/Me: I love them!

The judge holding my harem responsible for their actions: They murdered over a million people across the multiverse.

Us: *shakes head dramatically* If they died then that's a skill issue on their part! They're just NPCs!

[tgmsunmontue]

You look like a bad idea... 17/? WIP

Explicit Hangster - based on this idea here. Bradley is not a naval aviator. Canon deaths (it starts at Ice's funeral). Addiction and alcoholism (and recovery) mentions.

PART ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

                “What else do you remember?” Jake asks.

                “Oh… he loved music. He was self-taught, could pick up a tune and just… bang it out. I’m apparently just like him in that regard, which is nice considering I wasn’t able to become a pilot.”

                “Did you want to?”

                Jake feels the shake of laughter, or what he assumes must be amusement. He looks at the few bars of music which are also tattooed into Bradley’s skin and knows know every single piece no doubt has a story behind it, and it is unlike that any of them aren’t laden with heavy meaning.

                “I did. But life doesn’t work that way sometimes. Captain Mitchell pulled my USNA papers.”

                “What the fuck…” Jake says, and he adds it to the tally of things he doesn’t know about Bradley, but which he might get to find out. If he wants to.

                “Shit. Sorry. I don’t want to bog you down with all my family drama. You were asking about my ink… then my dad.”

                “I… yeah. Anything you want to share with me is good.”

                “Sweetheart… I’d share everything if you wanted.”

                “Yeah?”

                “Yeah…”

                Jake goes quiet, just lets himself breathe for a moment, because while the words were said lightly, they carried a weight to them, and he knows it’s a tipping point. He’s either in this or he’s walking away. Doesn’t know yet what he’s going to do. There’s an emotional journey he’ll have to commit to, and he’s never been afraid of hard work, but he’s not sure if Bradley is even interested in anything more than hooking up. Fuck. He’s going to have to ask.

                “Bradley…”

                “Natasha…”

                “Making yourself comfortable I see.”

                “Don’t see anyone else offering to keep me company.” That earns an eyeroll from Phoenix and Jake wonders more about their relationship. “You invited me and then ignored me when I got here. I decided to catch up with Seresin…”

                “And I’m sure Hangman is really suffering…”

                Jake doesn’t bother saying anything, simply keeps his expression passive and gives her the finger. The level of exhaustion is creeping up, eyes feeling heavy, struggling to stay awake as he’s warmer with Bradley’s body heat and fire.

                “Hangman?” Bradley asks, and Jake fights the urge to just let his head thunk back and nuzzle into Bradley’s. He’s definitely getting tired, wants to curl up and sleep with increasing urgency. Maybe the fatigue and recovery from his concussion is still lingering.

                “His callsign…” Phoenix provides.

                “Hmm. Appropriate…” Bradley says whisper quiet, for Jake’s ears only; Jake feels his nose nudge at his hair line just behind his ear and then the softest of kisses brushed against the bony part of his skull.

                “You look beat man, you want me to take you home?” Javy offers and Jake’s eyes fly open, hadn’t even realized they’d slipped closed.

                “I can take him,” Bradley offers.

                “I bet you can…”

                “Natasha!” Bradley’s voice is sharp, sounds pissed off and he forces himself to standing, sand shifting beneath his fingers and stumbling a little. Reaches for his sweater and pulls it on, missing the warmth of Bradley and the fire already.

                He hates this. Hates seeming weak in front of his colleagues, but also he hates that he doesn’t want Bradley taking him anywhere and thinking… well, expecting, anything. Fuck. At least he can get a ride home.

                “Yeah… take me home.”

                “Come on baby…”

                “I’m not a baby,” Jake mumbles a little nonsensically.

                “Oh trust me, I’m well aware…”

                He waves off Javy’s concerned interjections, let’s himself be led toward the same blue Bronco he recognizes Bradley as driving at Admiral Kazansky’s funeral. He winces, ribs protesting and breath shallow as he pulls himself up a little and does up his seatbelt; he’s fairly certain Bradley has caught it. Well at least he won’t be surprised when Jake directs him to the base. Bradley starts the car, reversing out of the park and despite everything Jake finds himself drifting off back to sleep.

…            …            …

                He wakes up a little bit later when the car stops and he’s not anywhere he recognizes and he freezes, looks around, but then his eyes fall on Bradley who is watching him with concern, eyebrows pulled down into a frown and expression the saddest Jake’s ever seen, which is saying a lot considering he first saw him at a funeral.

                “This isn’t my base assignment…”

                “No. It’s not. It’s my apartment block. If you want to go back to base I can drive you, but my bed is much more comfortable…”

                “I’m… I’m sure it is. Plus it has the added advantage of you being in it,” Jake starts, pauses and pulls a face.

                “But?”

                “But I’m currently sporting some bruised ribs and a mild concussion and have strict orders to take it easy. So you might just want to take me back to base. Not much use to you like this.”

                “You don’t have to be useful to me for me to want you around…”

                Jake licks his lips, because that’s a little declaration in and of itself.

                “Well. Then I guess you’re showing me your apartment.”

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Only..... She didn't know how to do that. It wasn't enough to just leave the restaurant she needed to leave Hell. Which she couldn't do......

Adele slammed her fist down on the sink, fuck!

-

Lucifer jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, it was Ozzie himself.

Ozzie: They there Lu..... You know, for someone who's on his honeymoon you don't look too happy.

Lucifer swallowed a hard lump in his throat, it felt like a boulder was logged in there.

Lucifer: I..... I think I jumped the gun on this. I don't regret marrying Adele I love her so much but...... I don't think.......

He couldn't say the words, that she didn't love him, probably didn't even like him and more likely tolerated him and wasn't happy with him. It was a hard pill to swallow.

But hearing her dreams? Knowing she could still make them come true? Lucifer couldn't do that to her, his dreams died long ago and the dream of being with the woman he loved...... It wasn't what he thought it would be. She didn't like anything he did and just when he thinks he's making positive progress something happens and she's angry at him again.

Lucifer: We..... We need to go okay?

Ozzie nodded, he didn't want to say anything going against his King and hurt his Pride. That's the last thing anyone wanted to do.

When Adele came back out, the look on her face said it all. He had to let her go.

Lucifer: Come on, we're leaving......

Adele frowned more, they hadn't even gotten their food and they were leaving? She followed Lucifer back to the hotel, the King didn't say a word the whole time and when they got to the room Lucifer turned to her.

Adele flinched when he raised his hand and it only made Lucifer feel worse. Slowly and gently, he removed the crown from her hair. But he left the ring.

Lucifer: Adele...... I..... I want you to be happy. And I know one way for that is for you to achieve your dream of playing in your band. I want you to fulfill your dreams....... Even if that's without me. I was blinded by my feelings for you that I didn't see that you weren't happy. And I'm sorry I couldn't make you happy....... Even just a little.

His chest felt so tight, this was so hard for him to do. He opened a portal to the street that was near her home in LA.

Adele still couldn't remove the ring...... That's fine, at least it was nice.

But she could go home.....

Adele: This is a trick.

Lucifer: No. No it's not. But, I would like you to want to stay here with me. If you ever want to come back or need me just rub the diamond on your ring.

Oh, so that's why he's leaving it.

Adele looked between Lucifer and the open portal. She walked for it not wanting to seem too eager. Once she was on the other side she turned back as if waiting for the devil to pull her back.

But he didn't, Lucifer stood there and closed the portal.

The King of Hell felt his heart shatter having his wife gone....... Maybe it's what he deserves.

It hurt too much to stay in the room where they were supposed to be happy. So, he opened another portal to the manor into the bedroom where he flopped down on the bed and sobbed.

Sacrificial Bride

@things-arent-what-they-seem66

Once upon a time when the Earth was still young and new, a great and glorious being, who everyone referred to as God or father to his children, looked over the planet and sighed. While he was finished with everything else to complete Earth it was still missing something. Something that he just couldn’t figure out what to create. It had to be something unique just like Earth. But what? Looking towards his children he smiled when he saw his most beloved son Lucifer with some of the younger Heaven born. He saw that he was showing off his skills in magic causing the young ones to awe.

It was then when watching his son who was so full of life and curiosity towards all things around him that inspiration finally hit him, and he understood what was needed for his final creation on Earth. Grabbing a handful of the elder angels, they entered God’s most beautiful garden on Earth, Eden. The sky was dark and littered with stars, the air was warm but had a nice breeze to it, a perfect time for creation. As the angels surrounded the powerful being in curiosity he grabbed a handful of soil and breathed life into it, creating life. From the dust of the Earth, a new being was created, the very first human. 

As the being formed into its body, the angels could tell that it was like the female angels in certain areas. God smiled and explained to them that she was a woman. Her skin was pale and flawless, and her hair shined like the hidden sun, and when she opened them her eyes looked as if the blue day sky was put into them with the little whites in her eyes resembling clouds. She truly was beautiful, as she should be since she was created in her creator's image. Kneeling to the woman God gently took her hands in his and welcomed her into the world. Looking at her he realized that she needed to be given a name, other than just woman. 

He turned his head up towards the dark sky, the moon shining on them both and back to the woman who looked as if she belonged to the day. A moment passed and with a slight grin, he turned back to her and gave her the name, Lilith, which meant to belong to the night. He then explained who he was and that this garden was her home. A home that was free of any evil, where she would never want anything and would always be content. So long as she followed this one rule, to never eat nor touch the tree that held the forbidden fruit of good and evil.

For if she did she would surely die. With that, he pulled her up and pointed to the vast forest that lay before them. With a grin spreading across her lips, her eyes sparkling with a newfound purpose and excitement she took her first steps forward. And ventured off into the vast green where she would spend her days discovering the wonders the garden had to offer as well as naming each of the wonders she found. As was commanded by God. All too soon as it seemed a minute ago that Lilith had finished naming everything in Eden. 

Afterwards, she began to grow lonely with all the beauty of Eden with no one to relish and joy with. She may have had the animals, but it still wasn’t what she wanted. One day sitting in the garden she looked down at her reflection and sighed wishing for someone like her. Suddenly a bright light appeared in front of her and she gasped in delight at the sight of God once again in her presence. Along with one of his angels who he introduced as his son Lucifer.

After hearing about her progress in finishing her duties, God came down to see and check on his creation. However, he was surprised that she looked forlorn after completing such a major task. He asked her what was wrong and she explained her loneliness with no one to talk to or be with. Her creator had thought and thought about what to do and then it hit him simply and quickly. He turned to his son and instructed him to dig a hole in the ground. 

Though confused Lucifer did as his father commanded. When his father was satisfied with the hole and how deep and wide it was, he took Lilith’s hand, placed it over the hole, and without feeling any pain on Lilith’s end cut her hand open and let the blood flow over. Once enough blood had filled the hole he healed Lilith’s hand and covered the hole with dirt. Not even a minute had passed before the ground began to shake and rise. Standing in front of them caked in dirt was another human, another woman. Even though she had the same parts of Lilith that made her a woman she was completely different in every way in appearance. Though she was tall she was about a head shorter than the other woman. 

Her hair and eyes were as brown as the soil she had come from. Her body was even slightly curvier than Lilith’s shape. The only thing that seemed to be the same in appearance, sans the parts of a woman, was their skin. Though even then while Lilith had a slight kiss of a tan this other woman was incredibly pale; not as white as the angels but still. God gave a grin to Lilith and said to her that this other woman, the second one made, was to be her sister. He turned back to his newest creation and smiled welcoming her to life and Earth and giving her the name, Adelle. 

He explained to the two women that they were both equals and would never lord over the other. That being said, it was Lilith’s new duty to protect Adele and make sure she was always safe. That included keeping her far, far away from the forbidden tree and the fruit that it bore. He explained to Adelle as he had to Lilith when he caught her getting a little too close to it, that if it was a hidden evil if one ever took even a single smallest bite of the fruit it would make one surely die. With that, he sent the two off into the garden to get better acquainted with one another. 

Lilith with a large smile thanked God for giving her someone to finally cease her loneliness and gently grabbed her new sister's hand. With a fast pace, she walked her sister into the vast green and explained what everything was. That day on Earth in that garden would forever be marked by how the sisters of Eden came to be. When God turned back he expected his son to come with him but he saw that Lucifer was staring at the retreating forms of the two, but more specifically at the second woman. From the moment he saw her, he couldn’t stop staring. He didn’t know exactly why but there was just something about her that made him want to know more. 

When he heard his father beckon him over Lucifer explained that he wanted to make sure the sisters would be ok and would cover them for a while. However, he promised his father he would do it from a distance to give them their space and to allow them to bond with one another. His father accepted and left back for their home leaving Lucifer behind in an excited state. Flying overhead he tracked the girls over to one of Eden’s many lakes and saw the two bathing in the water. Carefully he flew down and hid in the trees without being seen. 

He watched with a soft smile as Lilith helped scrub the dirt away, occasionally asking her sister to go underneath the water for a second. When all the soil was washed away and Adele was fully clean she stepped out of the water and what she had before the archangel was truly a sight. He didn’t know why he hadn’t seen it before. Perhaps it was the lighting but if he thought she was something to behold before then he didn’t know what true beauty was. Her skin was now clean and pale like Lilith's but more creamy as it had no traces of the sun. 

Lucifer couldn’t help but wonder how soft it would be if he were to touch her. Her long hair slightly flew in the soft breeze it appeared to. Lucifer wondered what it would smell like if he were to inhale it. However, the most prominent of this gorgeous creature's features were in his honest opinion her eyes. While still, the color brown had a sort of golden shine to them, making them look angelic in an earthly way. 

That was the moment that changed history and its course forever. That was the moment the Archangel Lucifer, the son of God, had fallen for the second woman, and he fell hard.

Days blended into weeks as he continued to watch the two sisters for wherever Lilith was Adele was not far away. Watching them he saw that though they were similar in a few certain ways their personalities were stark contrasts. Lilith was calm and composed while Adele was wild and rampant. Lilith was fiercely independent and Adele was a bit the same in her ways, preferring the company of Lilith from being alone. All of that though made him fall even harder as each minute passed. 

Observing her play with her sister, tending to the garden, and he especially loved how kind and expressive she was to the animals whether it be a tiny mouse to a mighty lion. Lilith while she was enjoying the company of her new sister always felt another presence that was watching her every move. Yet every time she tried searching for it she never found it. It wasn’t until one day when she was by herself gathering fruit for breakfast did she discovered that their little stalker was one of Heaven’s angels. He introduced himself as the son of God himself Lucifer and stated that he watched the two because he was simply curious. 

For, after all, they were the very first of their species. Lilith accepted that and they began to converse with one another. By the end of the day, a friendship had fully blossomed between the two. Lilith eventually introduced Lucifer to Adele, much to the archangel's delight, and the duo became a trio. They would spend their days together in the garden discovering any new treasures, languishing in its beauty, and eating any of the delicious fruit that grew. 

All in all, they were quite a close fit. However, Lucifer wanted more with Adele. He wanted her to be his for all of eternity. He tried in every way to impress her to earn her affection but she refused each time. Choosing instead to stay by her sister's side. but he didn’t let that discourage him from trying. 

However, there was still the matter with his father as well as the elder angels. For he knew deep down that if the elder angels had found out about his feelings for the second woman he would be forbidden from ever seeing her and Lilith again. Whenever he was with or near the elders they would all talk about how Father’s creations were perfect and must remain perfect forever. He felt that all the two humans in the elder’s eyes were dolls and Eden was their playhouse. He wanted to free them. They were songbirds and he tried to open up their cage. 

So that is exactly what he did. Going to Lilith he convinced her in his quest for free will and had her give the forbidden fruit to Adele as a gift. For which Adele gladly accepted from her sister. 

However, this gift soon became the beginning of a curse. 

As God had stated even the smallest bite would bring death and evil. Though Adele had not died in body her innocence was no longer as she understood the world around her. Lilith had also felt something shift inside her, a feeling mixed that felt wrong yet felt so right to do. As for Lucifer, he was simply glad that Adele’s eyes were finally open and they would finally look his way. That feeling quickly went away as the only emotions that were visible in her eyes were fear and dread. 

It soon became worse as all of the elders and his father discovered what he had done and confronted the three. For their reckless acts, all three were punished. Lilith was separated from her sister and thrown into the dark pit which she created with Lucifer. As for Adele, she was banished from the garden for her disobedience. However, God saw that she was suffering already and decided that she needed someone to protect her in the cold and harsh world outside of the garden. That was how the first man came to be, Stephen. 

Then he sent them on their way, to find a new home somewhere. But not before telling them to be fruitful and multiply to help populate the world they share. That is what the first husband and wife did, they found a batch of land where they settled and made a home. A home that was filled with children and more children after that and more children after that. Until they had a whole village filled to the brim with their children and eventually their children procreated with the other humans created by God to help with the population of Earth. Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren flooded their village, and others were created. While it wasn’t Eden Adele and Stephen had done God’s command and thrived together. As for down in the pit that was now called Hell, the first demons had also created their village. However, theirs were a little bigger and they did them by themselves without help from either. The reason why is that when they fell and Lilith was separated from Adele she put all the blame onto Lucifer for what had happened because she trusted that what they were doing was the right thing. 

All it ended was her losing her sister and the friendship she and Lucifer once had lost bloomed and died like a withering flower. It all changed though when the first fully dead mortal soul had wound up in their home. After that, more and more sinners flooded their homes Lilith had found a new purpose, empowering her people with her voice and her songs eventually separating a part of Hell into her territory becoming the queen of her kingdom. As for Lucifer though it was a whole different view for him. He saw those sinners all as just that, sinners, and barely glanced at them even when it was his job as their king to do so. It also didn’t help that they were the descendants of the woman he loved and lost, as well as the fact that she had a husband. 

That thought alone was enough for the king of Hell to go out and create the name his subjects called him, the devil. Years had passed on Earth and in Hell and Adele had eventually grown old with her husband and lay with her family surrounding her as she closed her eyes one final time. Now one might think that would be the end of the story, correct? Sorry to say that is far from the truth. When Adele finally died she did not go to Heaven, Hell, or even back to the Earth where she was created. 

No, as soon as she closed her eyes she opened them again as a newborn. 

For Adele was alive once again. 

When Adele’s soul didn’t go to either afterlife both realms were in disarray. Adele had repented in Heaven’s eyes and should have been here with them. While down in Hell Lucifer had always held onto the hope that maybe she would arrive down here. At first, they assumed that she hadn’t died yet but that wasn’t the case as God had called both Heaven and Hell into a meeting. Both realms were shocked as ever since the separation he had wanted nothing to do with Hell.

When agents of Hell and Heaven had descended onto neutral ground he informed all of them that Adele had passed but her soul was lost.

It was somewhere still on Earth. But where they did not know. Only that she still amongst the mortals. When Lucifer heard of this predicament he almost set the entire room they were in on fire.

Adele was meant to be here by his side as his queen! Not being forced to trudge amongst the rest of those swine.

However, his father was not done speaking. Though he never explained why this happened he declared a wager to be made between Heaven and Hell. If either realm could find Adele and bring her to their plane then that would be the place she would reside until the end of time itself.

After much discussion, the king of Hell Lucifer, and the high Seraphim Sera had agreed. If Lucifer would bring Adele into the darkness then the second woman would become his queen and rule beside him for all eternity. However, if Sera could bring Adele into the light then Adele would become Heaven’s top soldier and would lead an army to keep Hell in line for the rest of eternity. 

With a firm handshake, the wager was set. For centuries that was how it was: Heaven and Hell would send their best agents to find the first woman’s soul but unsuccessful with each attempt.

It was almost as if she evaded them at every turn.

It eventually got to a point where both sides were recruiting humans to try and watch out for Adele. Thousands of years have passed since then and still no such luck from either Heaven or Hell. 

Until one day Lucifer, when his patience ran out, decided to take matters into his own hands.

[suevi-if]

Meanwhile you've made aome valid and true points in that anon post thing, whyyyy would you write out some sentences that sound like an anime villain thats going crazy with their maniac laugh deafening everything and why check it in red .......it kills the seriousness of your arguments making it UN-serious (in my view, anyway) and at some point i genuienly found that extremely difficult to read and understand what you even meant, it just seemed like a childish 1:1, sorry for the comparison but that's the only way i could of compare it.

Im really not hating, wanting to come off disrespectful or at least that wasnt my true intention - just saying objectively

Okay.

I highlighted some things in red to make them stand out more, and so people who are only skimming through also get the full picture. And because some sentences got very long and convoluted, but in the heat of the moment, I just didn't know how to better express myself, so I kind of "connected" them by marking them red.

If I sounded childish or like an anime villain to you, so be it. Can't change it.

But hey, feel free to criticize me all you want. Just be aware that I don't really care about how other people feel about me dealing with harassment (that at first wasn't even directed towards me, but another writer, and became more and more personal over time).

I genuinely wonder how you would have dealt with harassment and attempted manipulation like that.

And clearly, a calm discussion, or trying to invoke compassion in the hateful anon has not worked, and neither has me being "childish" or "an anime villain", because he has been back in my inbox just two hours ago. I blocked him now because I am beyond exhausted dealing with him.

Additionally, I want to say that "objectively" and "my opinion" do not go together, anon. It is, legitimately, only your opinion, and it's not objective. It's in fact your own subjective perception of things.

I sincerely hope this answer was mature enough for you. Have a nice day.

[aranarumei]

You already gave your thoughts on Miya and Kagi friendship so now I gotta know, what about Miya and Niibashi?

[ask me about any two ssmy charas and i’ll give my thoughts on their dynamic, real or imagined]

this ask response is under a year later so i should be commended. and i AM doing it soooo. so. i actually really like doing these. if anyone would still like to send any two ssmy charas in you are so welcome to do so.

anyways! miyano and niibashi. this is very interesting, because I actually feel like niibashi is one of the more mysterious ssmy characters to me. so I'll do my best here. niibashi actually has interacted with miyano before and it's Very Interesting so here's some choice quotes from sasaki and miyano: second years:

The teacher did most of the instructing, with one student helping out as an assistant—Niibashi, a second-year from Class A. I knew him for his refined good looks.

here's kuresawa's impression of niibashi. i know u said miyano but this is too funny not to mention. like either this is a thing everyone knows niibashi for (which, yay, new fact acquired, along with his cooking proficiency, which is a natural extension considering he keeps a sewing kit on hand. total home ec kid.) or kuresawa's just developed a hot guy radar by proxy of his gf, since that's what she's into BL-wise.

Miyano looked up, dazed for a second, but then he seemed to remember why Niibashi was around and nodded. "Oh, yeah. Sure, go ahead." The expression on his face had been—well, not quite what you might call love at first sight. It was close to the kind of look you gave someone when you saw them in town and were trying to remember whether you knew them. I would have to ask him about it later.

okay so can we all agree this is crazy. like if kuresawa had just said smthing like "hm it was like miyano was trying to remember him from somewhere" that'd be one thing but we're starting with a denial of love at first sight? what kind of expression is miyano making that a denial is even in the conversation here? I mean I'm sure that miyano is prone to like... more intense expressions than the average populace, but still... it's Something.

We were at the front door when I said to Miyano, "Hey, I saw you looking at Niibashi like you were gonna burn a hole through him. What's up with that?" I wasn't exactly bothered by it, but the image wouldn't quite leave my mind. "Oh, uh, nothing. I just think he has a pretty face..." "Listen, you—" Miyano was quick to object. "That's not what I mean! I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."

here, too, miyano begins by calling niibashi pretty, before saying he feels like he's recognized him. again why they hell are we starting with some form of attraction before moving into vague recognition? i actually can't think of where or how miyano would've noticed him too... just hanging around kagiura? we know that miyano has seen enough to notice hirano's roommate, but it's pretty clear that (at least at this point), he hasn't met kagiura, and doesn't even know his name, since he doesn't have any special reaction to sasaki asking about a "kagi-kun" until sasaki mentions the hirano connection. i need to know what this is about...!

okay. outside of that. we do actually see miyano and niibashi interact proper, when miyano's fussing abt his cookies having turned out bad and niibashi's like. they will be fine. I think niibashi's a blunt yet kind person, and we can definitely see that through the way he interacts with kagiura. I do think he's also fiercely protective of kagiura though, so his relationship with miyano on that front would be interesting? it's very situational. depends how miyano knows kagi and what stage both of them are at regarding everything. it might be nice to have another guy to confide in regarding kagi's situation, though. in the sasaki and miyano: second years novel, it's actually mentioned that niibashi's akin to the kuresawa of hirano to kagiura, so it wouldn't be too surprising to see him taking a similar advice role, though that might be a bit weird if they're recent friends...

i do also think though, because niibashi seems so confident to me, I wonder if they'd have an interaction that's kind of similar to miyano and ogasawara? like, at first miyano overhears ogasawara complaining abt BL and it's like ack! someone who dislikes me... but then he meets him and it's like oh the guy is just squabbling with his gf. and ogasawara is blunt and rude but not unkind. i could totally see a situation where niibashi comes off... not even rude, but a bit standoffish or hard to talk to, but then they work it out eventually.

as for personal wishes. I'd love to see miyano explore like. fashion with niibashi, a bit? miyano dresses pretty... Averagely, I'd say, and I don't think he has many thoughts abt it past "I'd like to look nice and want to dress Like A Guy." meanwhile niibashi has hot pink hair and there's that one cover art pic where he's wearing heels. considering the fact that he's good at home ec stuff, one has to wonder if he'd experienced anything similar to miyano... miyano "looked like a girl" but didn't dress or act like one, and for niibashi it's kind of the flipside, isn't it?

[ronearoundblindly]

For your event, this could be 4 or 8. Or both really. Dealer's choice! Johnny Storm, eternal playboy, falling for someone for real. Not buying it, she says no when he makes a move. How does he turn this around?

Warnings for verb tense being a thing I couldn't handle today--it bothers me, but I gave up, sorry--and I think that's it!

NO because it wasn't special

A party. He goes to a lot of them. He goes to them all the time. He's got his lines to use on women. He's very showy, but that has become exactly Johnny's MO. In a way, it's what women expect of him.

To you, however, it just looks like he's putting in zero effort.

You've noticed him: first since he's famous and there, second since a woman he already hit on laughed so freaking loud while shrieking "oh, Johnny, you're so bad," and third since he stared in your direction. He was obvious. The obviousness wasn't the weird part, though, because he's Johnny Storm and known for being on fire. What was weird is the staring being AT YOU.

His behavior earlier in the night, combined with your anxiety at being singled out, makes exactly what he said to you pretty fuzzy. You weren't rude, but you were dismissive. Other than saying your name, you basically shut him out. You could tell there were other eyes on you now like yours had been on him.

You're sure he'll find someone else. He won't even remember you. Johnny takes it in stride, and that basically proves your point.

2. NO because it wasn't just you

You're out at dinner. This is a fancier restaurant, and no one is with you at the two-seater booth. You just craved several things they offer. Since takeout isn't quite the same, you splurge and have that beautiful trifecta of appetizer, entrée, and dessert all to yourself.

Mid-main course, right after you thank the server for taking your dessert order, a smiling face pops around the corner.

"Hey," Johnny beams, "I know you. Small world, huh?"

A distinctive blond comes to stand behind him.

"Let the woman eat her dinner in peace."

"Right, sorry, Sue, this is my friend--" you were wrong that he wouldn't remember your name "--and..." He eyes the empty edge of table across from you.

"It's nice to meet you--"

"Are you alone?" Johnny blurts over his sister's kindness.

Suddenly, you're the one who could burst into flames from sheer embarrassment.

And then there's Reed Richards, openly scolding Johnny in a nice restaurant that you will never be setting foot in again.

"No, I just meant..." Johnny tries, far quieter than before. He even slides into the free side of the booth. "I meant you should eat with us instead."

It's not really a question, but you're beyond put off your food.

"I would rather crawl into a hole right now," you hiss, flustered as you catch the curious eyes of other patrons.

Sue and Reed dismiss themselves, thank the gods, removing themselves as an obstacle trapping more onlookers in the gap between tables.

You flag down your server, begging for you check and dessert to-go, as soon as humanly or inhumanly possible.

"Wait. Wait. You don't have to leave."

"I don't have to but I want to," you retort.

Johnny puts his hand on the bill which you rip out of his grasp. "At least let me get this. Please, I--it's my fault. You--"

But you've already slapped down your card and told the poor, confused server that you'll pick it up at the hostess stand along with your coat.

3. NO because you didn't feel safe

To say you were alarmed when Johnny Storm showed up at your job not long after the restaurant would be an understatement, but apparently, someone took photos of what they thought was a lovers' quarrel and mailed them to the Baxter building. The person's note threatened your life for 'treating' Johnny that way, and now he has come to make sure you're okay until the person is found.

He suggests the security of his home rather than yours. Doesn't seem to bother him that the secure building is also where the threat was sent, but on the elevator ride to the top of the Baxter, Johnny admits that if you're here then The Four can easily catch them.

You're bait.

Excellent.

Johnny makes the whole thing feel like a planned game night with friends, a sleepover of sorts, but the mood is heavy and swept through with the undercurrent of danger.

He confesses at the door to your temporary bedroom that he'd like to go on a real date with you. His biggest regret for the situation is that you two didn't have any of the 'benefits' of being together before someone tried to pull you apart.

He is genuine. He seems genuinely sad. He's authentically comforting, it's true, but you can't see this as a good life for you. If this is the life, Johnny's too hard to go out with.

The threat is caught in the small hours. You tossed and turned, never knew any of the capture was going down, and were told later in the morning, promptly returning to your regular world.

4. YES when he stops trying so hard

He waits a few weeks before coming to your home to check on you.

"I'll leave," he promises, "just tell me your okay. Sleeping alright? Going out normally? Whatever it is that made you happy before, you're doing it, right?"

He waits some more for your response, stuck at your threshold, a box in his arms.

Literally, nothing has been normal. You sleep horribly, you get distracted at work constantly, and you haven't accepted any invitations to even the tamest social events, let alone eaten out since.

"I swear, I'm not trying anything. It's not a date. I brought this to give you. Not expecting anything." Johnny's puppy dog expression makes you smile, the first one you can recall this week.

"I don't know... I'm really tired."

He stands up straight and cheery. "I got movies for that." He rummages in the box. "I've got flicks to keep you awake, flicks to put you to sleep, and popcorn to eat until...whenever."

He produces a stovetop popping pan.

"No," you sigh, and Johnny deflates instantly. "No. You said it's not a date, but I'm disagreeing with you."

You step out of the way and push the door wide open.

He soaks in the victory for a moment, then passes you, leaning to kiss your cheek quickly as you hear the popcorn start rattling to life in his hot palm.

Johnny--solo--is adorable and comfortable, normal enough to forget who he is. When he's relaxing, when he's focused on you, it feels completely different to the pickup lines and the parties. The most daredevil thing he does is hold cornels on his tongue until they pop, trying to catch them in his mouth as they jump away. The most playboy thing he does is critique bad dialogue in the movie.

It's during one of the 'stay awake' movies that you're knocked out cold on his toasty shoulder.

Without making any moves, he made just the right move for you.

[Main Masterlist; Sleepover Masterlist]

@supraveng @patzammit @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @yiiiikesmish @ashesofblackroses @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @brandycranby @buckysprettybaby @ellethespaceunicorn @late-to-the-party-81 @bigtreefest @mistressmkay @astheskycries @veryprairieberry @bitchy-bi-trash @rogersbarber @blogbog710 @yenzys-lucky-charm @thiquefunlover63

[haemey]

Et resurrexit tertia die - Chapter 14: Little Talks (6.2k, for a total of 84k so far)

Chapter summary:

Several talks, leading to realisations and small triumphs.

Excerpt:

Nina eyed the label. “Looks expensive. Are you sure you should be gulping it down like that?” “Eh, ‘s fine. Wine’s made for drinking, ‘s what it’s for. Y’should see what,” he swallowed a burp that had not quite been ready to come out yet, “should see what’s in the bookshop. Now that’s expensive wine. Nowadays, anyways. Din’t necesse…ce… uh… din’t use to be. Some of it, anyway. But most of it’s now sooooo old, ‘s gotten all valuba- va- worth a lot.” “In the bookshop? You mean Mr Fell’s?” “Yeah. Not many other bloody bookshops around here, right? I mean, not ones I hang around at, anyway. Now, London, now that’s a different story right there. Looootsa bookshops in London. Still don’t hang around them.” He leaned over the table. Fine, he almost lay on it. Looking up at Nina, he told her: “‘M not much of a reader, me. Modern litrashur’s shit. Now, the Divine Comedy, that’s a hoot, that one. They jus’ don’ make ‘em like that anymore.” “Didn’t read it,” Nina said and drank some of her own wine, probably still from the first bottle.

This one is a little bit funnier than the last one. And a little bit sweeter. And a little bit... meaner, but in a good way. Ehehe

Fic summary, tags, and tags under the cut.

Fic summary:

Half a year after Aziraphale left, Crowley is trying his best to come to terms with the fact that the world is going to end in just seven weeks and that he will likely have to face that end alone. Having done all he can, all that's left for him to do is to distract himself while he waits. Teaching a too-nice-for-their-own-good human not to take in random strangers might be just the ticket. Meanwhile, up in Heaven, Aziraphale is receiving some troubling news about the Second Coming. Troubling - but possibly the best chance he is ever going to get to set things to rights. Now, if only he could get Crowley aboard, but that seems to be much more difficult than he would like. The solution to all their problems is much closer than they think. If only they'd remember the elephant... OR: Just another post-season 2 fic. But with more glitter.

Tags:

Post-Season/Series 02, Canon Compliant, until S3 is out at least, Angst, Fluff, Comedy, sfw, The Second Coming (Good Omens), Jesus took the Crucifixion personally, Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), They Are Not Talking, until they are, canon typical drinking, Crowley is a Mess (Good Omens), Crowley is a Little Shit (Good Omens), Aziraphale is "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" (Good Omens), Jaded Millennia old beings vs jaded Millennial, Original Character(s), Symbolism, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Bad Puns, Innuendo, Ineffable Idiots (Good Omens), Miscommunication, actual communication, Unlicensed and Unintentional and Involuntary Therapy, Rated M for heavy angst towards the end, POV Alternating, Additional Tags to Be Added, Betaed, Glitter, Footnotes

As always, my wonderful betas are @bellisima-writes and @lickthecowhappy. Thank you two so much for giving me a hard time over this one, it needed it.

Tagging @goodomensafterdark and @di-42. Let me know if you want to get on or off the list :)

[cornfieldthevastavatar]

alright one (1) person asked to hear my reasoning for these so here you go! (Extremely detailed rambles below the cut)

Shadow Milk is pretty cut and dry, I don’t think I need to explain why the former Fount of Knowledge is incredibly Eye-aligned, nor why his descent to becoming the embodiment of Deceit aligns nicely with the Spiral. He watches and seems almost all-seeing, he absorbs so much knowledge it literally drove him insane, he’s the only person outside of White Lily (and her other half I guess) who knows why they exist. And he’s also a divine trickster, a master manipulator, whose territory is constantly shifting and changing to the point where he can convince a near-godlike being that his whole life has been a lie and he doesn’t even know himself, purely by messing with a few of his memories.

(In that vein, you could make a case for him also being Stranger-aligned, what with him and his followers (i.e. Candy Apple) having shapeshifting abilities, but I’d argue he leans more Spiral. The way I see it, the Stranger shows you something that looks familiar/safe but is actually something completely different, while the Spiral is more focused on insanity and not even being able to comprehend the thing in front of you. Obviously they intersect, the lines between the Fears are blurry at best, so you could still very well argue he fits the Stranger.)

Mystic Flour is an interesting case because it’s very difficult to argue for any of these guys fitting the Flesh - at least as humans or animals know it. Since, obviously, these characters are cookies. They’re dough and butter, not flesh and blood, so basically everything we commonly associate with the Flesh (gore, viscera, body horror) is out the window. That being said - the Flesh is the fear of being reduced to your parts. Being nothing but your body and the components that make it up, no indication of humanity, of sapience, just a shambling pile of ingredients. To a human, that would mean being reduced to skin and bone - to a cookie, reduced to a featureless lump of flour. You know. Just like what Mystic does.

As for the Corruption, that one’s more in the motifs than the themes. The Pale Ailment is a disease and treated as such, and Mystic Flour’s cocoon she hides away in bears a resemblance to Jane Prentiss’ wasp nest (at least to me). Then, of course, there’s the central theme of Apathy, detachment, all-consuming insignificance, which I personally feel is exactly where the Lonely and the Vast intersect. I ultimately went with the Lonely, mostly because the flour fog feels very similar to the fog that surrounds everything related to the Lonely. And because the actual Vast-ness of the Vast is conspicuously absent from Mystic’s storyline, even if the metaphorical aspect is still there.

Burning Spice (the best Beast, don’t @ me) is probably the one I feel most firmly about for all four of the Fears I gave him. The Desolation and the Slaughter go pretty hand-in-hand here - Bice has made himself into a being of destruction, brute strength and violence, laying waste to civilisation after civilisation after going mad from watching them grow and wither and crumble a million times over. There’s no rhyme or reason to his viciousness, it simply is (just like with the Slaughter), and seemingly nothing is out of reach, as entire kingdoms, along with all their people, history, treasures, their culture, languages, customs, everything you can imagine, are obliterated by him without a second thought. That, and the Desolation is one of the fears whose followers tend to be the most overtly cult-like, and Bice’s followers literally worship him as a god. Which admittedly applies to most of the Beasts, but still.

So why the End? Well, like I said, Bice went mad from his position as the Herald of Change, literally the embodiment of the cycle of life and death itself. He became unable to see value in life due to his hyper-awareness that it would all End eventually - so decided to take matters into his own hands, and speed along the process. Driving everything towards the End because the tormentous dragging-out of life just irritates him that much.

Ironically, since they’re quite different, this is where the Hunt comes in. Bice is furiously disappointed when Golden Cheese can’t best him in their first fight, and ravenously DELIGHTED when she comes back swinging. He takes such joy in hunting her down, fighting her, even being beaten by her - finally, something that won’t die the second he whacks it with his axe! A key characteristic of the Hunt is, well, not wanting it to end. Bice wants the fight to continue. He knows it’s indefinite, like everything else, but he wants it to LAST, and that’s why he’s so overjoyed when Goldie gets away. Their cat-and-mouse act can carry on for far longer than he’d anticipated.

Eternal Sugar is a little harder to talk about because we only have half her story so far. (Watch this sentence become outdated in like 3 days, lmao. I’ll definitely update this with More Thoughts when we get the second half of her story, same with Silent Salt when he’s eventually released.) Anyway, she’s incredibly Web-aligned to me. What is her luxurious Garden of Delights if not an elaborate prison designed to keep the prisoners coming back ‘of their own free will’? Controlling their actions without them even realising, and playing directly into her hands? She’s constructed this perfect gilded cage like only a master manipulator can (eat your heart out, Shmilk) and projects a facade of sweetness and kindness so convincing that she herself seems to believe it. I do genuinely think Sugar believes everything she does is for her prisoners’ own good. She’s giving them happiness, after all. And the best part is, they never even have to realise that none of their decisions keeping them there are truly their own! Yeah, that seems like the Web to me.

The Stranger for her is a tad more surface level, but I think there’s merit in interpreting an element of the Stranger as someone putting up a mask of kindness and familiarity to lure you into their clutches. Is that not a simplified version of how the Anglerfish and the Not-Them work? The Stranger ‘conceals’, after all, and Sugar definitely seems more bent on concealing the true nature of her paradise than outright lying. As for the potential alignment of the Buried, you could make a case that both the ‘general entrapment’ angle, as well as ‘burying the truth’, can be applied here - though like with the Vast for Mystic, the actual literal Burying isn’t really a thing with any of the Beasts. So, next best thing.

Full transparency, my guesses for Silent Salt are entirely based on Vibes™️. Darkness and silence are both rooted in obscurity, emptiness, and the general unknown and unfamiliar, a cold, isolating void (which is where the Lonely could come in once again). That, and the Dark is the only one left, but I do think it could genuinely fit, I don’t just want to throw it at Salt without justification. But in my defence, we know jack all about this guy right now, this is the best I can imagine so far. Maybe also the End - but the quieter, more patient angle of the End rather than the searing, violently inescapable End that Bice levels with. We’ll see!

because my brain won’t ever ever ever let me enjoy something without linking it to something else:

crk nation what do we think. I am ready + willing to explain all of these placements

[justablah56]

finished VR-LA's party outfit !!

here's links to Kyana , Dani , and Finbar's outfits !