#and he was like oh you’re clocked out - nvm I’ll talk to you when you’re back

[strawbabycowboy]

i left the floor today for a personal convo, and then lied abt it to my manager - who immediately called me on it. because he saw me leave . and while im like i shouldn’t have lied, absolutely, why didn’t you just ask me . why i left the floor during a busy time, and reprimand me from there? like , i realise you wanted to see if i would lie, but then you just made me panic .

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 296: Ngl, This One Pissed Me Off

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all, “p.s. I actually activated yet another quirk several chapters ago when Kacchan got stabbed.” Compress was all, “[gets captured and passes out].” Spinner was all “[rifles through Tomura’s pockets and slaps a random Charbroiled Hand onto his friend’s unconscious face].” Tomura was all, “SOMEHOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKED” and woke up again, except it wasn’t really him, it was everyone’s favorite Final Villain, AFO. AFO was all, “time to escape finally” and summoned a bunch of Noumu and Absconded with Spinner and the DabiMarble in tow. Skeptic was all, “Horikoshi forgot I existed, but I’m actually Absconding in marble-form as well.” Deku was all, “ATTENTION WORLD, I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT I OFFICIALLY WANT TO SAVE SHIGARAKI TOMURA.” And then the arc just sort of ended lol.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all, “but when you think about it, do we really need literally any female teachers at U.A. at all?” and for whatever reason doesn’t stop to wait for an answer. Midnight, who absolutely did not need to die, Dies, and I’m pissed about it. Ochako wanders the ruins of Jakku for what feels like hours, rescuing small children while her adult hero compatriots fall to pieces around her, because apparently the U.A. kids really are the only people who have their shit together. The citizens of Japan are all “damn that’s wild, wonder how fucked we are now,” but are actually super casual and chill about it which is oddly realistic. The chapter ends with AFO in Tartarus being all “lol time for the prison break arc,” without giving us so much as a chance to catch our breath, like holy shit. Are we on the clock or something now, goddamn.

lmao it’s like 7pm on a Sunday night and this is out already. this is like the worst possible timing lol. there goes my nice, relaxed evening. unless of course this turns out to be a nice, restful, soothing chapter, as chapters coming on the heels of traumatic, earth-shattering battles so often are. yeah, break out the Pina Colada song and the little drink umbrellas, I got a good feeling about this one

(ETA: I mean, I was obviously being sarcastic here but damn, Horikoshi.)

-- fff why did I laugh

it’s the crumbling city ruins in the background that really does it, I think. JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS THAT YOU HAVE MADE, EVERYONE. FOR SHAME

also, the title is dramatic af and I am so fucking excited you guys, like holy shit. BnHA’s In-Between arcs have always been my favorite part of the series, because it’s when all the character development and angst and/or catharsis happens. just, those little breathing spaces in between the action when everyone gathers to recuperate and compartmentalize their fresh new traumas lmao. bring on that angst!! but also, let’s please have some Comfort to offset all of this Hurt too, please and thanks

blah blah blah so the survivors were evacuated, good good, can you actually show us though?

AHHHHHHH

PIXIE BOB SURVIVED!!!! WASH IS STILL ALIVE LMAO HOW. THIRTEEN’S FACE, OMG SHOULD I LOOK AWAY. IS IT LIKE MANDALORIAN RULES. IDK HOW IT WORKS

HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY ALIVE. LOLS ANYWAY I’M HERE FOR IT. FEEL FREE NOT TO KILL ANYONE ELSE HERE HORIKOSHI, I THINK WE’RE GOOD

(ETA: it’s like talking to a brick wall.)

oh my god do we really need exposition about how the heroes tried to stop TomurAFO from escaping and OF COURSE failed completely because they suck lmao. oh my god I am shocked, that is such shocking news

wow they only managed to defeat three of the Noumus. holy shit. again, all of the Not-Kid Heroes are only slightly more useful than cardboard cutouts of heroes at this point, MORE AT ELEVEN

so Tomura may have lost the PLF, but he still more or less has an army then, huh. I really don’t know how anyone could expect a timeskip with that threat looming over everyone’s heads

oh nvm lol there are only seven Noumus left. wait so you’re telling me there were only ten Nearly High Ends in that last chapter?? felt more like fifty but whatever lol I’ll take your word for it

COMPRESS YAY YOU’RE ALIVE TOO

MAYBE THEY CAN EVEN REATTACH HIS ASS. I’M SERIOUS LOL, BECAUSE HE STILL HAS IT, DOESN’T HE? OR IF NOT, THEY CAN REBUILD HIM WITH A PROSTHETIC ASS. he’ll be more powerful than ever

WHAAAAAAT YEAH BOIIIII

WOOO, EDGESHOT, WOOOOO. THAT’S HIS WAY OF THE NINJA

YEAHHHHH SUCK IT, PLF

(ETA: for the record I don’t think Cementoss is dead here, just badly wounded. if he had died he would have been included in the forthcoming In Memoriam page along with the others.)

GET BENT LOL. TRUMPET I FOR REAL FORGOT YOU EVEN EXISTED. I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU LOSERS AGAIN PLEASE. ONLY INTERESTING CHARACTERS MAY PROCEED PAST THIS POINT

dsflksaldkh;l

that’s... holy shit. that’s a bigass mansion, that’s what that is. also so does this mean there are still eighty thousand PLF members still at large, because that’s a plot line I very much do not care about in any way whatsoever lol. can’t we just retcon to say that Re-Destro was exaggerating? I mean hell, a CEO criminal pulling some Enron-type bullshit is pretty believable, isn’t it? those poor bamboozled shareholders

“makeste, here’s an idea, what if you scrolled down to read the rest of the page” lol gtfo of here with your logic and your sense

well those 132 people have made it onto my enemies list, but at least it sounds like they more or less took care of the rest. good riddance

and Toga escaped, as we knew already, and is now on the lam. hopefully she reunites with the League again at some point. although her doing her own thing could also be very interesting. idk what I want lol

anyway so there’s another big panel showing how fucked up the city is, just in case it hadn’t already been hammered into our skulls yet. there’s a car dangling off a roof somehow. how does that even happen. did Machia pick it up and put it there or

NOOO OMG RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN IN PERIL WHAT IS THIS

OCHAKO PLEASE SAVE THEM OMG

“if it falls on me, I want you to have my Endeavor pouch” OH MY STARS. HIS MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION. NO MY CHILD YOU CAN’T GIVE UP HOPE YET

LMAO

“FOR THE LAST TIME NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR DUSTY-ASS POUCH, KYLE” fffff these children are dying and I am cracking up so hard my eyes are tearing up what is wrong with me

YAY THEY SAVED THEM

but listen. not that I don’t love seeing the girls kick ass, because you know I do. but I also really, REALLY need to know what’s going down with the Musketeers, and I’m not looking forward to waiting three whole weeks for that so please Horikoshi. please hurry this along so we can get to them

goddamn it Tsuyu is saying she’ll take the boy to the shelter to get first aid, and I was all “okay great because that’s probably where Kacchan and the others are too”, but now someone else is shouting for help and Ochako’s all “I’ll go” and it’s like OKAY BUT PLEASE? this chapter is already more than half over omfg. ‘bout to start wringing some hands here

oh my god

is this Toga again??? WHAT THE HELL, THIS CREEPYASS HALF-DEAD DUDE BETTER BE LEADING UP TO SOMETHING INTERESTING, I AM REALLY GETTING IMPATIENT

OR, I GUESS, WE COULD DO THIS INSTEAD

“SO AS IT TURNS OUT, NOT EVERY CHARACTER WHO NEEDS HELP SAVING THEIR SPOUSE FROM FALLEN RUBBLE IS ACTUALLY TOGA IN DISGUISE” HUH, OKAY. DULY NOTED. FILED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

but fucking... okay, look. I love Ochako, I do. but I like her a whole lot more when she’s interacting with other characters I actually care about, as opposed to running around in the rubble rescuing random people while the fate of my other children is still up in the air. like okay, I get it, shit’s bad, now if you don’t mind we really don’t have to spend all day here though

...anyways but nope, we’re still staying with her. she’s bouncing around rescuing all of these other people. omg. I literally have no patience here at all and it’s terrible, I know, but oh my god

omg finally something interesting is happening!!

look at that, an adult hero standing around being useless while the kids are busy getting shit done. why is this becoming a recurring theme

MY DUDE, THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE TIME THOUGH

I GET THAT IT’S OVERWHELMING AND THAT YOU’RE TRAUMATIZED AND SHIT, BUT GUESS WHAT, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE. THAT’S WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR. JUST LOOK AT OCHAKO! SHE’S SO EXHAUSTED HER HAIR HAS EVEN LOST ITS FLOOF, AND YET SHE’S STILL OUT HERE DOING HER BEST. ONE SAVE AT A TIME MY MAN. GET IT DONE. LITERALLY A SMALL CHILD IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CALLING FOR THEIR MOMMY AND YOU’RE JUST STANDING THERE ALL “WAHH IT’S TOO MUCH” LIKE COULD YOU PLEASE POSTPONE YOUR CRISIS UNTIL AFTER YOU SAVE THEM PLEASE

OH MY GOD

MAYBE YOU SHOULD!! oh my god I really cannot, like wow. oh no I actually have to save people and do my job, god forbid. jesus christ, at least the other heroes tried. but Moping Hero: Bellyache here is just throwing in the towel and fuck everyone who still needs his help I guess. you are like the anti-Deku my dude

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD NO OH FUCK

THAT’S MIDNIGHT’S HAND OH FU -- SHE BETTER NOT -- HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD --

I’M GONNA LOSE IT I REALLY AM!!!!

HOLY SHIT HOW INTENSE OF A RAGE DO I NEED TO BRACE MYSELF TO BE FEELING HERE. THIS CHAPTER WAS ALREADY TRENDING TOWARDS DISAPPOINTMENT, DO WE REALLY NEED TO GO AND COMPOUND THAT

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

you’re telling me Tomura wasn’t brought back by that electric shock, but by his “fuck you” attitude? why are you explaining this to us now, again??

......

HEY, SO UM, FUCK ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS, THOUGH. (: OH MAN. OHHHHHH MAN. I HAVE... I HAVE GOT A LOT OF WORDS FOR THIS AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM

FUCK

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO “SOME BULLSHIT”: THIS

FUCK

GET FUCKED HORIKOSHI

AND ALSO PLEASE FUCK RIGHT OFF!!

AND SERIOUSLY THOUGH FUCK YOU

NO BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THOUGH!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED OFF ANYONE. LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER. YOU HAD TWELVE FEMALE PROS. TWELVE. YOU COULD HAVE MADE MORE OF THEM. PROBABLY, IF THERE ACTUALLY WERE SUPERHEROES IN REAL LIFE, THERE WOULD BE MORE THAN TWELVE OF THEM IN AN ENTIRE NATION. BUT NO, YOU WERE ALL “TWELVE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.” AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TIME TO KILL PEOPLE OFF, YOU WERE ALL “WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, LET’S SEE, I PICK... THESE 18 RANDOM SIDE CHARACTERS WITH LITTLE TO NO DIALOGUE, PLUS THE ONE SINGLE FEMALE U.A. STAFF MEMBER WE ACTUALLY HAD. YEAH THAT OUGHTA DO IT”

AND BY THE WAY, HORIKOSHI, I PICKED SOMETHING UP FOR YOU ON MY WAY HOME, HERE IT IS, ┌П┐(・＿・) do you like it it was on sale. I saw it and was like, “Horikoshi would really like that.” so there you go. sorry it wasn’t gift-wrapped

p.s. I hope y’all can tell that that’s supposed to be a middle finger and not... something else lmao. er. anyway

(ETA: so I got a few asks from people who were really put off by this part of the reaction post, and so I’m just adding an extra note here to make it clear that I do not actually wish harm on Horikoshi in any way or even particularly dislike him. I wasn’t happy about Midnight’s death and I wanted to convey that, and so I went with my usual LOUD CAPSLOCK REACTION tone, but looking back on it I can see that it’s kind of a lot, lol. 

so just to be clear, the “fuck you” stuff is almost entirely tongue-in-cheek. that’s on me, I forget sometimes that there are people who share these sentiments unironically and so I didn’t think to make sure my intended meaning here was clear. anyways, killing Midnight was still a really problematic decision for numerous reasons but it is what it is. Horikoshi is not perfect, the story isn’t perfect, and I’m not gonna pretend like it is, but again just to be clear, I don’t harbor any actual ill will toward Horikoshi here.)

shit. and wow this man really went and killed off fucking Mystic too on top of that. have you ever seen a character fail so spectacularly at living up to their hype. r.i.p. Mystic you were like the Star Wars sequel of characters

(ETA: I have no fucking idea why I keep thinking Majestic’s name is Mystic lol. rest in peace you old scarecrowy bastard.)

and poor Momo, though. fuck. lost two mentors in a single day. and do not even get me started on Aizawa holy shit

so now we’re cutting to some random townspeople who are gossiping about the Todoroki drama. this is actually interesting in spite of my newfound determination to hate this chapter lol

ngl I am kind of heartened to see that not everyone fell for Dabi’s bs hook line and sinker though. Jeanist returning from the dead literally two seconds after Dabi was all “I SWEAR ON MY HONOR AS A VILLAIN THAT HAWKS MURDERED HIM” probably helped with that a bit! but there will doubtless be many other people who do believe him, or are at least still inclined to side-eye the heroes in general either way given how much they sucked in this arc. very, very interesting

so it seems though that even more than the whole Endeavor reveal, at the end of the day it’s going to be the heroes failing to live up to their end of the “put your faith in us and let us use our quirks and in return we’ll protect everyone and keep them safe” implied social contract that’s going to have the biggest impact on people’s opinions moving forward. basically this was always going to be a disaster no matter what

OH MY GOD FINALLY AHHHHH

Horikoshi really tapped into some of the real-life political energy of the past few years huh. Fuck Him Still for killing off Midnight, but I will admit that so far this is hella intriguing and I am really, really curious to see where things go from here

OH MY GOD THE LITTLE KIDS FROM THE BABYSITTING ARC

“FIVE PEEPEE MAN WOULDN’T LIE TO US” YES CHILDREN YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. at least the little ones still have faith

UM

 ( •̀ へ •́  )

that’s great. that’s really keen. all we need right now, amirite

GOOD FOR YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT

let’s just wait for him to explain what he feels. you know he likes to drag it out

is that Dabi crouched down there next to Spinner? looks like they got him out of the marble after all. but why has his hair changed colors again lol what

anyways. your turn to what??

:’) excuse me what

hahahaha are you fucking kidding me. and that’s where we’re going to end the chapter then. lol okay

so let’s recap. Midnight died. we spent ten hours watching Ochako dig people out of rubble for no apparent reason and were then introduced to my new least favorite character, and because Ochako is so nice she didn’t even punch him in the face even though she really should have. we did not get any Kacchan or Shouto. we got one panel of Deku, who is Finally Asleep. and the chapter ended with AFO ordering his Noumus to go set free, AND I QUOTE, HIS “MAIN BODY.” and now I gotta wait an entire week for Caleb’s translation to confirm that last part. omg

but it sounds like a prison break is imminent, which is very, very interesting. ...and actually, is it weird that I’m actually rooting for it to be a success? I have no idea what this guy is planning, but I do know that as long as the main part of his soul is still residing in Tomura’s body, Tomura’s chance of surviving the series is close to zero. and villain though he may be, I’m still rooting for his redemption (nice to have Deku on my side now too), and so yeah. so like if AFO feels like using some latent Exorcism Quirk or something that he’s been saving for just such an occasion, be my guest lol

meanwhile this doesn’t bode well for All Might though. or anyone else aside from Tomura, really. shiiiit

anyway. [slaps roof of chapter] this baby can fit so much bullshit in it

[tenacityreturns]

aomine and kagami have their first date ! nijimura is following them , very sneaikly, he's wearing a hat , sunglasses , fake mustache. when aomine get's up to go to the bathroom , nijimura texts kagami, " bro, why aren't you eating your food ? "

@peachmuses​

dating is so fucking awful, actually. neither of them know what to say! sometimes kagami will glance over and aomine's staring at him, but there's a frown on his face. expectant, waiting to hear why kagami's extra quiet today. waiting for an explanation that kagami himself doesn't even know the answer to! don't hold your breath, buddy! so they're at this bona fide restaurant because aomine said maji's makes for a shit first date even though kagami said that's where he wanted to go ( because it's familiar, they've been there before, and there's less of a date atmosphere - which apparently is required on a date ).

his leg bounces beneath the table. he ordered one dish, anymore and it would rack up a huge bill and he has this uncomfortable feeling that his dad really wouldn't want to cover the costs of his son's romantic life. almost certainly not where aomine is concerned. aren't dates supposed to be fun? people talk about the dating scene like it's a natural place to be in. like they want to be there.

aomine kicks him under the table to get his attention, which kagami hadn't even noticed wasn't on him. "what's wrong?" he asks confrontationally.

"what? you tell me! why are you asking that?"

"you're being weird."

"dick thing to say to your date," kagami grumbles.

shortly after a silence, aomine excuses himself to take a leak and kagami wouldn't blame him if he never comes back. he shoves his untouched plate further across the table and rests his elbows on it, one hand raised to shield his face. this is going so shit. why? why is it going so shit? there are hundreds of things to remember about dates. even jokingly delivered advice as nijimura's had ( kind of ) been, there's truth to it, right? this is so awful, though! no butterflies, no interest in conversation, and the weirdest thing of all is that he's shirking away from touch like it's poisonous. how come? as if driven by divine forces, he receives a text from nijimura who sensed a disturbance in the flatmate telepathic fields. bro, why aren't you eating your food? yeah, good question. he's too far in his head to go about the normal questioning route - how did he know, for instance! instead, he agonises over whether he was going to get into it, or keep the text reply brief and then never talk to nijimura about how he feels about aomine ever again because it's so embarrassing to admit that he fucked everything up! because he's so stupid, perhaps! eventually, he replies:

[ text: ] im the worst date ever [ text: ] i blew it man

moments later, a hand lands on his shoulder and it makes him jump. it doesn't move as he turns around. oh, it's just aomine, and... he won't make eye contact. oh, god. don't say it.

"this was a bad idea,"

oh no. "i was having fun," no he wasn't.

"no you weren't. c'mon, let's go. i paid already."

"you paid---??" they were going to split, or he expected aomine to pull his usual oops, forgot my wallet stunt! but if he leaves the restaurant, is that the last hope of the date? of any date? "where are we gonna go?"

"out, taiga. i said move your ass."

kagami's expression falls into a frown. his emotions ground him. being pissed off always does. once again, that’s a dick thing to say to your date. he grabs his jacket once slung over the back of his chair and leaves the building. aomine follows close behind, then walks beside him when outside. kagami’s fuming entirely at himself right now. he’s seconds away from blurting that he’s sorry for being so stupid, he just doesn’t know how to act and this is all really fucking stressful, when aomine dips inside a store kagami hadn’t even noticed. huh? what, fancy food isn’t good enough and he needs a dose of junk food too? surprised more than curious, kagami follows in the hopes that this was what aomine wanted too. if aomine had wanted to ditch, he would have done so already. right?

“what the fuck are you doing, man?” kagami questions.

“time will tell,” he replies infuriatingly calmly. just explain yourself! maybe this is aomine’s fault. maybe aomine radiates stupid fucking idiot energy and kagami thought he’d been attracted to him outside of basketball but he’s never met anyone like aomine before and his power, his magnetism had distracted---

“what’s that!” kagami demands as aomine picks something up off one of the shelves. 

aomine doesn’t verbally reply, he just sends him a questioning grimace. okay, so obviously it’s a cheap as shit basketball, but why the fuck is he buying one from here? this will pop in no time! 

kagami follows blindly as aomine pays for trash, and spins it on his finger as he leaves the store. it’s even a little flat. what’s the point of this? ( they still don’t notice the guy following them, who had been waiting outside the store. )

“so,” aomine begins in a casual tone, watching him out of the corner of his eye, “how long does it take your coach to get you outta your head in a game?”

“what?”

“you heard me. we’re gonna play a one-on-one.”

“why? right-- right now?”

“you’re too in your head, are you listening? your body can’t handle all this thinking you’re doing. i guess i wanna wake you up.”

“play? i-- i can’t--”

“can’t? okay, hold up,” aomine stops walking and sticks his arm out to stop kagami, too. he turns to him. it’s dark, they’re between streetlights, but his blue eyes are brighter than the moon. “did you change your mind about dating me or something?” that’s a pretty intense expression to be asking such an intimate question!

“i’m still here,” kagami replies uncomfortably.

“well i wanna date you.” aomine pokes kagami’s chest. “that place we went to was a bad idea, you shouldn’t have suggested it,” kagami’s about to defend that it wasn’t his idea, but aomine interrupts him. “look, if dating you means maji’s and basketball, like you do with everyone else, then fine. i’ll just have to deal with that. but you need to stop stressing so much. i like you, i don’t care about what we do. and if you think i’m gonna stop calling you on your bullshit just ‘cuz we’re going out then you got another thing coming.”

phew, that was quite the lecture there. kagami stares in stunned silence, mind unable to keep up with each perfectly fitting statement aomine had just delivered. maybe his problems were obvious, or kagami is just an idiot so aomine thought of the stupidest things to get stressed about and accidentally hit the nail on the head, but all of that made perfect sense. his frown dissipates, his eyes gleam with their own intensity, and aomine crumbles under the weight of it. he starts walking again. the audience would be justified in thinking the worst of this moment, but kagami doesn’t. he sees clarity and his true feelings reaffirm themselves in the form of butterflies in his stomach. kagami’s stumbling feet follow slowly at first, but his dead worries make him laugh and he runs to catch up. he slings his arm around aomine’s shoulders and pulls him in close.

“easy, tiger,” aomine fumbles to catch the basketball as it nearly shot away, but he moves it to his other hand so that the nearside one can wrap around kagami’s lower back.

“sorry about today. i was in my head too much. we can play, just don’t let your crush on me get in the way of going all out.”

“shut the hell up,” aomine retorts, but when kagami looks over, he’s smiling. the smile widens as kagami pulls him closer to kiss his cheek, even after they detach.

i like you a lot, too, goes unsaid by kagami. that much is obvious. instead, encumbered with the pent from frustration an hour of avoiding contact, he holds his hand out. aomine looks at it, raises an eyebrow, and looks quizzically at him. kagami deadpans. “give me your hand, stupid.”

“what are you gonna do to it?” who hurt him? what the hell kind of pranks led to aomine reluctantly holding his hand out, too? isn’t it also obvious what kagami wants to do?

“i’m gonna hold it?” kagami demonstrates, and in no time their fingers are interlocked between them. there’s no one about, no one but the man they still haven’t clocked behind them. and what trouble could one man cause to two huge guys like them, anyway? he suddenly remembers the sour tone of his texts to nijimura from before, and sends a quick message before they arrive at the outside court.

[ text: ] nvm :)

[themiraculousladyblog]

Adrien’s Crash Course in Girls

This all happened because of a conversation between me and one of my guy friends. I hope you guys enjoy!

(A huge thank you to @chanceuseladynoire for beta reading!)

---

AO3

---

Adrien sighed as he flopped on his bed. “What’s wrong with Marinette, Plagg? I just told her that her hair looked nice and she burst out crying.”

The black kwami let out a laugh as he scarfed down another piece of cheese. “Sorry, kid, but I’m here to help you save the world, not to give you a biology lesson.”

“Biology?” Adrien sat up quickly. “What does that have to do with anything?” Plagg didn’t answer, instead he shrugged and flew to his spot on the sofa. “Wow… Thanks so much… I know, I’ll just call Marinette and ask her what’s wrong!”

“Yeah, cause that won’t ruin your friendship at all.”

“Well, who else am I supposed to ask? Wait. What about Nino? He’ll know the answer for sure. I mean, he’s dating Alya.”

“Or you could just forget about it and eat some cheese…”

The blond ignored Plagg’s comment and reached for his phone, texting Nino.

A: Hey, Nino! Could you help me with something?

N: Sure thing dude! What’s up?

A: Well, lately Marinette’s been acting weird and I was wondering if you knew what was going on?

N: Weird how?

A: Like, moods changing constantly. Like she’s happy one sec then angry the next. Then cries out of nowhere. Did I do something wrong?

N: How long has this been going on? It probably doesn’t have to do with something you did

A: Ummm maybe 2 or 3 days.

A: I try to be respectful and give her some space but then she thinks I’m ignoring her. She acted this way last month too but I thought she was just having a bad week or something.

N: Ok well

N: Based on what I know from Alya it’s not really my place to tell you but

N: Let’s just say it’ll probably happen for a week every month then it’ll be okay again

N: Just give her a couple days and she should be fine

A: She’s usually really sweet and understanding but when she’s in those moods she’s hard headed but I try to just stay low and keep her happy

A: Wait, every month?

N: Yeah it’s got to do with hormones

Adrien’s eyes widened and a slight blush settled on his cheeks.

A: You know what, nvm. Okie dokie I’m not gonna dig in anymore.

N: You asked! I was just telling you what it probably was

A: So every week once a month?

N: Yep

A: Should I ask her what’s wrong?

N: NO

N: You can ask if she’s okay though

N: But don’t ask her about any of the stuff we just talked about. Some girls are sensitive about it for some reason

A: Ok. Girls are confusing

N: You can say that again

Adrien set his phone on his bed and leaned back again. “I don’t understand… but then again, maybe I don’t want to understand.”

“Eh, don’t worry. You’re not missing out on much.” Plagg shrugged as he flew over to his chosen. “It just complicates things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well—”

“Adrien, it’s dinner time.” Nathalie entered the room and the kwami flew into Adrien’s shirt quickly.

“Okay. Thanks, Nathalie.” Adrien followed the woman downstairs to the dining room where he ate his dinner in silence.

-----------

Adrien erased another math problem and looked at the clock before sighing in defeat. “I can’t do it, Plagg! I have to know what’s going on with Marinette. I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t know.”

Plagg rolled his eyes and tossed the blond his phone. “Fine but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

A: Hey uh question

A: Why does that thing happen to girls one week every month?

A: Is it something I should worry about?

A: Or should I not even be talking about it?

N: Oh

N: It’s uh

N: Got to do with reproducing

A: Oh

A: Wait, reproducing?

A: As in like, having kids?

N: Yep

The model thought for a moment. “Reproducing? Having kids?” He gasped and quickly texted back.

A: IS SHE PREGNANT????

N: What

N: GOSH NO

N: DUDE

Adrien’s ears burned with embarrassment. How was he supposed to know that reproducing didn’t just mean pregnancy?

A: Look I’m tired and confused and I don’t know why I’m still talking.

N: I mean

N: I’m not sure I should be the one telling you this

N: It’s not really my place

A: Oh

N: Your dad would probably do a better job at it

N: If you want me to tell you I can but I thought you’d already know

A: Know what?

N: About IT

A: Hm?

A: Am I supposed to?

N: Didn’t your parents ever give you the talk? My dad gave it to me a couple years ago

Adrien was confused. What did he mean ‘the talk’? He had never been told about what happened to girls once a month.

He called Nathalie into his room and asked her about it. The assistant’s face turned red and she gave a quick explanation before exiting the room quickly.

A: Well my father is always busy and I just asked Nathalie but she got all flustered and said it’s a conversation for him but he can’t really talk because of all the stuff he has to do

A: I’d appreciate it if you explained it but I don’t want to make you feel weirded out

N: Nah

N: I can try and explain it

Adrien slipped into his pajamas and got into bed as Nino began explaining what was happening to Marinette. Cramps… Uterus… BLOOD???

N: So that week is called a period, monthly visitor, or as I like to call it “Torture time”

A: Blood??

A: Torture??

A: So she’s losing a lot of blood???

N: Technically it’s just Mother Nature though sometimes Alya says it feels like torture

He cringed at the thought of Marinette being in pain. Wait, what if she died? Was she going to die? Did he need to take her to the hospital? Why wasn’t she already in the hospital if she was losing a ton of blood?

A: That’s not good

A: She won’t bleed out right?

N: Alya said something like it didn’t come out of your actual blood supply that you need to live so no

N: Marinette won’t bleed out

A: And it happens EVERY month??

N: Yep

A: That’s terrible!

A: And all I can do is just give her space and wait?

N: Yep

N: Maybe give her chocolate

N: But there’s not really anything you can do

N: Oh and never EVER ask if she’s on her period

N: I learned that the hard way

A: Gotcha

N: Anyway I gotta go dude

N: I need to finish this homework

A: Ok Thanks Nino

N: No problem

Adrien was astonished. How could girls go through that every month and still act so normal and calm. How were they still alive?!

He never knew exactly how strong girls were until that moment. They went through this thing every month and never complained. Wait, that meant that Ladybug probably had this thing too. Could she get any more amazing?

He should do something for Marinette. How fast could chocolate be shipped to his house? Maybe he could talk Gorilla into stopping by a store tomorrow morning before school.

Adrien couldn’t take the pain or suffering away from his friend, but he could at least try to make it bearable.

---

Tag list: @secretly-miraculous @miraculous-obsessed872 @areshasissues @pawsitivelymiraculous

[if-the-crown-fits-translate-it]

Discord pt 90

[Date: 17/03, 02.33 PM GMT - 17/03, 03.53 PM GMT]

[This conversation was going on in #arg, partly simultaneously to another in #general. The second is referenced later and was posted separately before this one.]  

[Direct continuation of pt 89]

[After Void pointed out the gdoc change, Fetch added another message:]

[Added was: “Please don’t tell them please don’t tell them please just pretend you never saw this just please.”]

Void: “nvm may be just my bad internet fucking things up ignore me”

Jack the Observer: “Oh. I see it.

Little sunflower seeds in green and yellow :)”

[Maxwell: “Where do you see that?”]

Jack the Observer: “Ask fetch, I think. He’s the one who edits the blog”

Jack the Observer: “But it’s there, if you look.”

Maxwell: “Fetch....”

fetch: “It isn't though?? I'm looking at the doc right now and there's nothing about sunflower seeds”

Jack the Observer: “I can send pictures, fetch.

If you would prefer?”

Maxwell: “i cant find anything”

fetch: “jack. after yesterday do you really wanna push me.”

Jack the Observer: “Yeah, i kind of do, actually

I could

I feel like it’s important and relevant information”

Void: “fetch knows best about what is there just ignore what i said,,,,”

fetch: “yeah. let's just ignore it.”

Maxwell: “but you all said...seeds”

donti (e): “... fetch please, this is serious.. it could endanger everyone here”

Jack the Observer: “Sunflower seeds :) leaves in yellow and green. You think if i won’t let Max hide it, I’ll let you, Fetch?”

fetch: “jack. drop it. right fucking now with that stupid fucking smile.”

Jack the Observer: “You are, in fact, just as important as Max is.

Unfortunately.

And it’s imperative that we keep all of you safe.”

Maxwell: “that...is one of the nicest things ive heard you say to us....”

fetch: “i know the doc better than anyone. i know what's there and whats not. if I say there's nothing there then there's nothing there.”

Jack the Observer: “You put it there, Fetch.”

fetch: “there's nothing there.”

Jack the Observer: “ Uh huh. /s”

jaynoblade: “he's right. there's nothing there. i just looked”

fetch: “im not ignoring anything there's nothing there.”

Jack the Observer: “Jay, what the fuck”

jaynoblade: “genuinely. i just looked. nothing”

donti (e): “hey hey hHEYyyyy chill”

Jack the Observer: “Is it gone — wait”

fetch: “check for yourself, jack”

[Context: Fetch deleted his edits about the seeds.]

Jack the Observer: “Oh, no i still have it”

fetch: “as i said. there's nothing there.”

Jack the Observer: “I still have it. And i have more pictures if you want to see them.”

donti (e): “... seeds?”

Maxwell: “thats just an image of a previous thing?”

fetch: “how do i know you aren't just editing shit”

[donti (e): “... seeds?”]

Jack the Observer: “I’m trying to have Fetch tell you first.”

kateza: “Hi good morning what’s going on?”

Mothbo: “Jack saw something no one else did”

[fetch: “how do i know you aren't just editing shit”]

Jack the Observer: “Fetch. You know I don’t lie.”

[Mothbo: “Jack saw something no one else did”]

Jack the Observer: “Haha :)”

fetch: “but you sure as hell spout a lot of bullshit.

now for the last time. There's nothing. there. Fucking drop it.

please.”

Jack the Observer: “And now instead of knight you sound like Max

Crazy”

Maxwell: “what?”

Jack the Observer: ““Oh no, i don’t want to tell them, please i just want to suffer by myself and not accept any help even though I clearly need it, no everyone else is busy, everyone else is stressed, they can’t know please don’t tell them”

That’s what you sound like

And that’s what Fetch sounds like too”

fetch: “you better watch your fuckin mouth, pal.”

Mothbo: “Jack, that's not going to help them all. I know you're hurt cos of Syd but don't take it out on them.”

Maxwell: “....”

[Mothbo: “Jack, that's not going to help them all. I know you're hurt cos of Syd but don't take it out on them.”]

Jack the Observer: “I’m not angry, I’m amused. And I’ll admit, slightly frustrated. What is up with these people and their self esteem issues.”

fetch: “what's up with you and your attachment to someone that doesn't exist anymore?”

Maxwell: “.....fuck off”

Jack the Observer: “If you don’t tell them within the hour ill see you in #img”

[fetch: “what's up with you and your attachment to someone that doesn't exist anymore?”]

Jack the Observer: “Oh, so you don’t exist when Knight is out? Shut the fuck up”

Maxwell: “i....”

Jack the Observer: “I’m glad you’re not all acting so goody goody and nice talking me anymore. This is refreshing.”

[People tell Jack and Fetch to stop arguing with each other. That just solved nothing and there’s no time to waste]

fetch: “i don't have the energy to fight anymore. there's nothing in the doc, whatever you have is edited bullshit, end of story.”

Jack the Observer: “Okay, we’re just going to ignore someone purposefully endangering their own health then. Sounds good to me /s”

[kateza: “I just woke up, I’m assuming something supposedly happened with the doc, I’m assuming the edit history was checked can we please stop fighting I don’t like this”]

Jack the Observer: “I can see something important. I’m being forced to keep imperative information to myself. You can see why I might take issue with this.”

fetch: “i thought you loved keeping information to yourself. that's what an observer does right. he just takes in information and does nothing with it. he doesn't get involved.”

Jack the Observer: “This is different.”

fetch: “of course it is.

just drop it.”

donti (e): “ah.”

Jack the Observer: “Yeah it fucking is different, Fetch. We fucking need you on this team. We’re meant to just ignore when you’re hurting? We’re meant to ignore when you’re endangering yourself?”

fetch: “i said. drop it.”

Jack the Observer: “Holy fucking shit not everything is about Syd”

Jack the Observer: “Maybe this is just about you”

fetch: “well maybe I don't want to be paid attention to. i'm not a fucking zoo exhibit. just leave me the fuck alone.”

Jack the Observer: “I don’t know how many times? I have to say this? But if I saw you as nothing more than a “zoo exhibit” i literally wouldn’t care about this at all”

Void: “fetch, people will learn one way or another. please at least take the chance to tell them yourself?”

Jack the Observer: “Clock is ticking”

fetch: “there's nothing to tell. im fucking fine.”

Jack the Observer: “There you go, sounding like Max again”

kateza: “wait, ok, so now fetch supposedly has the buds? Is that’s what’s going on? No one is catchinng me up everyone’s just arguing”

Jack the Observer: ““I’m fine I’m fine” you’re clearly not.”

[kateza: “wait, ok, so now fetch supposedly has the buds? Is that’s what’s going on? No one is catchinng me up everyone’s just arguing”]

Jack the Observer: “I can see something. Fetch isn’t letting me tell anyone.”

fetch: “well MAYBE I DONT WANT YOUR FUCKING HELP.”

donti (e): “HEEEEY HEY

jacks doing what he can”

fetch: “YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT? YOU CANT FUCKING HELP ME.”

Jack the Observer: “...”

fetch: “QUIT TRYING.”

Jack the Observer: “...”

Jack the Observer: “...

...

that was a bit too loud for me, actually. Ill be in #img in fifty minutes.”

Jack the Observer: “good luck.”

fetch: “fine. i need a nap anyway.”

Maxwell: “......”

[People talk about how important it is to share information, especially with how the situation currently is, and that they’d have to work together if they were ever going to resolve anything about this problem. They then note that if this in-fighting continues, more and more people might be dragged into Crown’s court. But then…]

jaynoblade: “okay, this is somewhat off topic, but.... do we even really know who crown is? because we thought he was ranboo in enderwalk, but then in that one ask he implied that he isn’t”

Maxwell: “hes something else then....”

Maxwell: “uh small problem”

donti (e): “prince read the backlog.”

[This refers to the conversation that had been simultaneously going on in #general2.]

A random Spark: “I know...which means Prince probably now knows the deal with the three court members and why they're gone”

kateza: “which means we'll be having another mind wipe probably :/”

LLyr: “D:”

Maxwell: “OH NO OH NO OH NO”

Maxwell: “i...”

donti (e): “if we had explained it fae would be wiped and then we'd be in trouble.”

Maxwell: “can we tell faem? fae already know....”

Maxwell: “he only brought up me and fetch....should we tell him about marcus?”

donti (e): “... maybe?”

A random Spark: “It's a good idea to.”

LLyr: “if the dam has already broken, i dont see a reason to keep it hidden. maybe ask marcus what he thinks about it?”

Maxwell: “i wanna say his name...”

donti (e): “you already namedropped him,

go for it

he might as well get the facts.”

kateza: “i don't like this

i don't like where this is going”

Maxwell: “jack what did you put in images”

Jack the Observer: “What i promised i would.”

donti (e): “fetches entry.”

Maxwell: “hes..oh god”

Maxwell: “i messed up i messed up i messed up--”

kateza: “no no no

you tried to help max. you did what you thought was right and even if it didn't have the outcome you want you tried to do what was right and that's good of you”

Maxwell: “i made it worse no no no no”

Jack the Observer: “You calm down too.

Panicking isn’t going to help prince.

It’s fine. Let faem remember.”

[dontgotothenetherworld]

ap psychology

anonymous asked:  Can I request readers putting all her studying off till the week before AP exams and she starts studying an unhealthy amount, like sometimes forgetting to eat all day because of it and even made herself sick from stress over it but reader refuses to complain because she did it to herself and Lydia's just there helping her review and making sure she takes time to care for herself ect? Bonus if Reader thinks she did bad and Lydia assuring her she did fine and has an 'i told you don't moment? 

anonymous asked: Totally didn't request that bc that's my situation-

for some reason when i tried to queue this w/ the original ask, tumblr wanted to put the cut in the ask and i couldn’t delete it

this is out of date now, but i was uninspired to write for a hella long time sorry. also! i’m going to draw from my experiences w/ ap this year, and the only ap exam i had to take was psych, so that’s also going to be the case for reader :)

also, i feel like my lydia is a bit out of character? idk it’ll probably take a while to get back to the way i used to write her.

1303 words

cw: femreader. food

you cursed under your breath. months ago, months! you told yourself you would start studying for your ap exam. you only had the one exam to study for, so you told yourself that if you just did a little bit everyday, you would be fine.

but here you were, about three days until your ap psychology exam, and you hadn’t studied any of it. you had hardly even watched the videos your teacher had posted as the digital learning content. but to be fair, the stuff he was talking about in them were the last unit or two of psych, and you wouldn’t have to worry about them, because you weren’t going to be tested on them.

you groaned and dragged your feet downstairs, to where you hid your backpack. the friday weeks ago, when your school told everyone that classes would go digital for a few weeks because of the coronavirus, your teacher had come prepared. he gave everyone that showed up to class, which, granted, wasn’t that many but still- a huge packet covering everything that you had studied this year. it was some forty pages long.

okay, it was, like, thirty five because you crossed out the pages about personality and disorders. which was a shame, because those are the units that everyone takes psychology to learn about. no one goes, “oh boy, i can’t wait to learn about how to test if a baby has depth perception!” or “i can’t wait to learn about all the different types of visual illusions!” but whatever.

you flipped to page thirty five, to see how many questions you were in for. just over 250, except that’s counting all the charts as individual questions. yeah, that makes sense. one and a half pages of listing what researchers discovered what is equivalent to answering which cortex of the brain processes visual stimuli.

wait a minute. lydia was also taking psych. studying sucks, but if you could do it with your girlfriend, that’d be so much less painful.

you texted her, “hey lyds, have u finished the psych packet yet?”

”yea i finished it yesterday, why?” she texted back almost immediately.

shit. looks like you’ll have to suffer through this alone. “nvm”

you looked at the time, 1:46. damn, already? it felt like you had only just woken up. you made yourself a coffee, and set up shop on the desk you have never used in your bedroom, with laptop open beside you. you planned on googling everything, rather than going through your notes, mostly because you forgot where you put them, but this would still take ages.

an hour passed, and you felt like you were dying on the inside. if you had to answer one more question about behavioral psych, you were going to scream. behavioral psych is by far the worst part of psychology! watson and skinner be damned! people are people not some computer code! people have feelings! you can’t just ignore them! and the feeling you were feeling right now was not a good one!

you wanted to stop, but you weren’t sure if you stopped now if you’d be able to finish the packet. so you kept on going.

you went another five hours, taking five minute tik tok breaks every hour to keep you sane. you looked at the clock, and realized you hadn’t eaten anything today. you grabbed a box of cheez-its and made your way back upstairs, and went back to work. this time, you ate a cheez-it every time you finished a question, or you filled out a row in a chart.

you didn’t know when you fell asleep, but you woke up in the morning with about half the packet filled out. considering the exam was in one day, and four-ish hours, you thought that was good.

as you made your morning coffee, you checked the messages lydia had sent you. “are you doing okay? normally we talk a lot but…” “wait, are you working on the study guide?” “y/n! please take breaks! remember! you need food!” “and water!”

you sent back, “if i eat my cheez-its, and i drink my coffee while i study, then i don’t have to take breaks.”

you went back to your desk, and plugged your phone in across the room so you wouldn’t be distracted. but also because you forgot to charge it before you passed out, so it was at three percent, because apparently you had kept it open to tik tok all night, and the video just kept looping. oops.

for a while, the studying seemed easier. you felt like you had less to do, and you didn’t need to worry about getting it done in time, because you had more than enough of it. but because you didn’t need to rush, you became more productive.

you finished the second half of the packet by six that evening. you do admit, you got a bit lazy in the last few pages, but it was done!

shit. studying isn’t just writing stuff down, you have to read it over, right? you don’t really study that much.

but you decided to take an hour or two’s break for… breakfast? dinner? maybe even lunch? whatever, leftover pizza, because you had just only now just realized the intense rumbling in your stomach.

you checked your phone for the first time in hours. you were actually kind of proud of yourself. you usually were on your phone every waking hour, which was probably a problem, but you had shown enormous restraint… by spending every waking hour staring at your laptop. it’s all about choosing your battles.

you quickly dismissed some twitter notifications before tapping on a new message from lydia. “babe, i’m getting really worried about you, please call me when you see this.” you furrowed your brows. worried? about you? why?

you called lydia, and she picked up nearly immediately.

”y/n!” she gasped with relief, “don’t do that to me again!”

you felt stupid for wondering what she was talking about, but you kind of needed to know, “what do you mean?”

”you’ve been offline for hours, and i couldn’t get to you! and then when i heard what you were eating, that got me worried. have you eaten today?”

”three slices of pizza right now.” you swallowed a bite.

”is that your first meal today?”

”unless you count coffee, yeah. i’ll do better tomorrow, i promise. speaking of tomorrow, we’ve got the psych exam, and i need to keep studying. i’ll call after the exam, so like three?”

”y/n.”

”yeah?”

”you do realize this exam is online, right? and at home?”

”uh, yeah.” you swallowed.

”and you have both a laptop and a phone?”

”lydia, what are you saying?” cheating. she was definitely talking about cheating.

”i’m saying, that you don’t really need to know the definitions, because our dear old pal google can be there to help you out with those. and you’re smart, so i assume you know the concepts.”

”you think very highly, of me, my dear.” you took another bite of pizza. “so, what you’re saying is, i wasted two days studying?”

”yes, that is exactly what i’m saying.”

”shit. wait, why were you studying?”

”ugh, because i am nowhere near as good as you at being able to understand things.”

”you know, definitions explain the concept too.”

”what are you saying?” asked lydia.

”i think we’ve both wasted a lot of time studying when we didn’t need to.”

”fuck.” lydia breathed.

”yeah, we’re both idiots. do you wanna watch something on netflix? you haven’t finished parks and rec yet, right?”

”no, i just finished an episode before you called me.”

”which one?”

”season four, episode seven.”

”wait, is the next episode smallest park? we need to watch that, like, now.”

@meangirlsx @meangirlmurphy @eliza-is-confused @boredomimi @book--butterfly

[baekbyunny]

Chanyeol's Valentine Disaster (II)

Part 1 is on my blog!

Chanyeol hears a couple seconds of silence before the phone clicks and he realizes Kyungsoo hung up on him.

“That little…” Chanyeol murmurs irritated. Chanyeol dials again and hears Kyungsoo pick up.

“What?” Kyungsoo asks sounding a little annoyed

“I’m serious!”

“How do you know?”

“I heard her on the phone. I think she butt-dialed me, but I heard her talking to a kid and telling him if he behaved he would get ‘nappy time’ early! And the kid kept calling her mommy!”

“Are you being serious?”

“Yes!”

“This isn’t some kind of joke you’re trying to pull on me?” Kyungsoo asks him trying to confirm what he just heard was really true.

“No! After I heard him call her that, I accidentally pushed the end call button! At first I thought there was no way she could hide something like this from me, but-,” Chanyeol pauses and bites his lip. “You remember that one time you helped me cook some ramen at her apartment and you got that blue towel from her closet in her bedroom after I spilled some of the ramen broth on the kitchen floor?”

“Yeah?”

“Well after I accidentally ended the call, I searched her room to see if there was any way she could be hiding some children stuff in there and then I went inside her closet and saw this brown box on the floor and I opened it and I-I found some baby powder, a baby blanket, and some kid-sized pajamas inside!” Chanyeol exclaims exasperated.

“Okay, wait. You’re really not playing with me?” Kyungsoo probes again.

“No!” Chanyeol shouts aggravated with how Kyungsoo doesn’t believe a word he’s saying. “I’m dead serious! Kyungsoo, I really think she has a child!”

“I-give me a second.” Chanyeol’s hears him shuffle in the background and hears someone talking to him. “Okay, I’m back. Let me get this straight, you think she has a son? How on earth could she hide something like this from you for a whole year?”

“Exactly! Her parents live somewhere near us. Do you think the kid lives there?”

“Maybe. But this is Y/N we’re talking about. She’s not the type to keep secrets like this from you.”

“Right?! I thought so too, but I remember there were times where we would fight and she would say I was being too careless and you know how I can’t keep a secret to save my life, so there were some times where I would accidentally tell people some of the stuff she told me to keep secret,” Chanyeol’s eyes widen as he comes to a realization. “Do you think she doesn’t trust me? Because she thinks I’m too immature and I talk too much?”

“Chanyeol, I don’t thin-.”

“And that’s why she would hide her child from me! She thinks I won’t be able to handle the truth and that if she does tell me about her son, I’ll somehow spill the beans and tell everyone about it!”

Ignoring Kyungsoo’s protests to his remarks, Chanyeol decides that he needs to come up with a plan. “Kyungsoo, I got to go. Keep what I told you a secret. I’ll text you later.”

“Chanyeol, what are you planni-.”

Chanyeol quickly ends the call and paces around the living room trying to think of a way to make you trust him.

Should I try and confront her about it? No, that might make things worse. What if she breaks up with me?, Eyes widening, he immediately stops pacing and feels himself start to sweat at the thought. Should I just tell her the truth and tell her what I heard on the phone? No, that could just ruin everything and she might really breakup with me. Oh man, What am I going to do?

Frustrated, Chanyeol ruffles his hair and sits himself down on the light blue sofa in your living room. Putting his hands on his face, he groans at his predicament.

She knows I love kids. Why in the world did she hide the fact that she had one herself? Does she think I’ll judge her for it? There’s no way I would leave her just cause she had one! It’s fine with me that she does! She means too much to me to let this stand between us and there’s no way in hell I wouldn’t love her child. And who was the bastard that left her to take care of a child all by herself?! Were they even married? Hell, I’d marry her in a heartbeat! He suddenly stiffens in his seat and gets up.

“That’s it!” he shouts. Grabbing his car keys on the dining table, he makes his way out the door.

_________________________________________

Forty minutes past and you begin to wonder where Baekhyun is. Surprisingly, Kyungsoo hasn’t been in his office for a while either.

I wonder if Kyungsoo caught him or something. You begin to think of all the possibilities that could of occurred when you left Baekhyun by himself and decide to text him.

Y/N: dude, where are you? it’s been thirty. minutes

kyungsoo isn’t here yet so if you hurry, so if you hurry I don’t think you’ll get in trouble

You hear the elevator door ring and you see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walking out of the elevator together and they’re…talking?

What in the world- what happened? Dang, Baekhyun’s smile is WAY too bright. Good lord, it’s as bright as the freaking sun, you think as Baekhyun walks towards you with a beaming smile on his face while Kyungsoo walks back to his office.

He crouches next your desk. “Y/N, you won’t believe what just happened when I went to go fix my hair in the bathroom.”

“Did something happen between you and Kyungsoo?” You ask him

Baekhyun nods, “He asked me if I wanted to hang out with him!”

“Oh wow! That’s great, Baek. You’ve been trying to get him to like you for so long! What changed his mind?”

“I’m not sure actually,” Baekhyun says and ponders the thought for a few seconds. “I just caught up to him when I got out of the bathroom and we started talking in the elevator. I’m surprised he didn’t ignore me like usual. Well, anyways we’re gonna get some dinner after work.”

“Looks like your goal to become friends with him is working. Congrats, Baek!”

“Thanks! Oh, he’s looking at us from the window.”

You see Baekhyun wave at him with a smile on his face and you turn around to see Kyungsoo look from Baekhyun to you and you see a strange look appear in his eyes before it disappears in a flash.

Did I imagine it or did he look at me funny? you question to yourself, but wave to him and you see him wave back and mouth out the words, “Get back to work” to the two of you. You give him a thumbs up and turn back to Baekhyun.

“Ok, let’s get back to work before Kyungsoo gets mad at us again.” You say while turning on your laptop.

“Aw, but I don’t wanna work. It’s so boring an-”

“Come on Baek, I can already feel him glaring at us.” you warn him as you sense the looming dangerous aura that’s growing from Kyungsoo’s office.

“Fine.” Baekhyun whines and sits down in his chair. You chuckle at his childish behavior and decide to text Kyungsoo.

Y/N: So you finally decided to hang out with Baekhyun huh

Penguinsoo: Yeah, he’s really pushy so I thought that if I just went to dinner with him, he would leave me alone

Y/N: Well he’s pretty pumped about it

Penguinsoo: Really?

Y/N: Yeah, it’s a little sad that he’s even this excited. He’s probably going to chat up a storm with you

Penguinsoo: …

I’m starting to regret my decision

Y/N: lol

You’ll be fineeee and who knows? Maybe you guys will actually become friends

Penguinsoo: I’ll try, thanks

Btw…

actually nvm

have fun on your date with Chanyeol

Y/N: ok? thanks!

Well that was odd, you think to yourself. Anyways, I should probably figure out what I should wear for the date tonight. You look at the small dark red box in your purse and smile. I hope he likes the gift I got him.

You two have been together for over a year now and you still can’t comprehend how fast the time has flown by. You loved Chanyeol. Being with him felt so right. He felt like the missing piece of the puzzle. You never thought you would find someone so sweet and charming, but somehow you did and you never felt so happy before. You’ve been in love with the man for so long, you couldn’t imagine a day without him and you truly believed he was the man for you and so you decided to get promise rings for Valentine’s to show him that you loved him and that you were ready to take a bigger step in your lives together.

Wait, I got to stop daydreaming. I got to get these papers done so I can leave earlier, you shake off the wandering thoughts inside your head and get back to work.

_________________________________________

You yawn as you complete the last piece of paper on your desk and check the time on the clock portrayed on the wall in front of you.

5:30, that’s probably the earliest I’ve ever been, you think to yourself impressed with how efficient you are just so you could leave.

“Hey Baek, I’m gonna head out!” You say as you pack your belongings.

“You finished work already?” Baekhyun asks surprised while swiveling his chair to face you.

“Yeah, I gotta get ready for my date with Chanyeol tonight.”

“Aw, that’s cute. Did you get him anything for Valentine’s?”

“Yeah, I did.” You reply.

“Well? What did you get him?” Baekhyun asks you curiously

“Promise not to tell anyone?”

“Cross my heart!” Baekhyun replies while making an ‘X’ motion near his heart

You quickly make you way over to him and whisper in his ear. “I got us promise rings.”

His eyes widen for a moment and then soften, he smiles at you and replies, “That’s so cute.”

“You think so? You can’t tell anyone yet though. I want to surprise him!” You explain to him

He nods and stands up to give you a hug. “I’m so happy for you guys. He’ll be ecstatic!”

“I hope so.” You say while hugging him back. “I got to go and get ready, but tell me how dinner goes! I really hope you guys become friends so call me when you’re phone gets fixed!”

“You’ll be the first I tell,” Baekhyun replies with a cheery smile on his face. “I wish the both of us the best of luck tonight.”

“Thanks, I think we’ll need it.” You say and smile after you see him laugh at your joke. “See you later!”

You wave goodbye to both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and make your way home to get ready for the date.

_________________________________________

You arrive at your apartment and get dressed for the date. Putting on your earrings, you hear your phone ring. You read the caller ID and see that Chanyeol’s calling you so you answer the phone.

“Hi, honey.” You greet him

“Hey sweetie, just wanted to remind you that the restaurant reservation is at seven. I had to go do an errand first, but I’ll meet you there.” Chanyeol replies sounding as if he was in a rush

“Okay! I’ll meet you there in about twenty minutes.” You reply

“Okay, great. I’ll see you later, babe. Love you.” He says quickly

“I love you to-,” You pause after hearing that he’s already hung up

I wonder what he’s doing. He sounded kind of busy. I’ll just ask him about it later. You think to yourself while walking out the door of your apartment.

_________________________________________

You open the door of the restaurant and walk to the waitress sitting behind the table.

“Hello, I have a reservation under the name, Park Chanyeol.” You say politely

“Oh, okay. Let me just find your name, give me one moment please.” She says with a bright smile on her face.

While she’s looking for his name on her computer, you look around the restaurant and see that it’s filled with people. There are roses and candles decorated on every table and you see a lot of couples in the room.

Must be because it’s Valentine’s Day. I wonder if Chanyeol is here yet. You try and look for him, but your search for the giant is interrupted when the waitress finds his name.

“Park Chanyeol right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

She nods as she confirms the reservation and stands up, “I’ll lead you to your table. Please, follow me.” You follow her lead and she seats you at a table next to a wall

“Here are your menus.” She says while placing one hardcover menu book in your hand while placing the other menu on the other side of the table

“While you wait for your date to arrive, may I serve you any drinks?”

“Water should be good for now.” You request politely.

“Alright then! Let me go get it for you.”

“Thank you.”

You smile as she leaves. After a couple minutes of waiting, you start to wonder where Chanyeol is. You start to worry and you decide to call him. As you take out your phone from your purse, you see Chanyeol walking towards you.

“Hey Y/N, I’m sorry for being a little late.” Giving you a kiss on the cheek, he seats himself down in his seat.

“That’s okay,” You reply. “What were you doing?”

“Just a few errands. Had to pick up a few things from the store and what not. I hope I wasn’t keeping you here by yourself for too long.” He says apologetically while picking up the menu.

“Oh, it’s okay. I just got here so don’t worry about it.” You reassure him

The waitress who seated you walks back to your table. “Hello, are you guys ready to order?”

You and Chanyeol both look the menu and then at each other and you both decide that you’re ready. “Yes, we’re ready.” You say

“Great! What would you like to have?” she asks you while pulling out her notepad

“I would like the chicken piccata.” You tell her.

“And I would like the steak. Oh! Could we also get the chocolate lava cake?” Chanyeol orders.

“Sure! I’ll be right back.” The waitress takes the two menus out of your hands and leaves.

“Chocolate lava cake, huh? Aren’t we being fancy today.” You tease.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, we should enjoy it.” He says and holds your hand on the table while looking into your eyes. “You look amazing.”

You feel your heart beats a little faster and you smile softly at him. “You’re quite handsome yourself.”

He smiles back at you and squeezes your hand. “So how was your day today?” He asks

“It was good!” You say as you try and remember if anything happened at work. “Oh, the funniest thing happened at work. I was trying to wake Baekhyun up and-,” You pause as you see Chanyeol shifting in his seat, looking around as if he dropped something.

“Chanyeol?” You ask him as he nervously looks underneath the table. “Are you alright?”

He quickly looks back at you and gives you a shaky smile. “I’m fine! Just fine. I’m just gonna use the bathroom for a sec. I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, alright.” You reply squinting at him suspiciously due to his odd behavior

Did he drop something?, You think to yourself and look underneath the table to see if there was anything there. Seeing nothing on the ground, you take a sip of your water and decide to scroll through your phone while you wait for him

______________________________________. Chanyeol quickly makes his way to the bathroom hallway. Shoot, shoot, shoot! Why am I so clumsy today of all days?! He thinks to himself and shoves his hand in his pant pocket. Taking out his phone, he texts Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol: DUDE

Satansoo: What

Chanyeol: I’M AT THE RESTAURANT AND I LEFT THE RING AT HOME

Satansoo: Dude

Chanyeol: I WAS IN SUCH A RUSH TO GET DRESSED FOR THE DATE TONIGHT AND I LEFT IT ON THE TABLE

Satansoo: Dude are you fr

Chanyeol: I KNOW I KNOW

Could you uh

Could you get the ring

Satansoo: I’m about to meet up with Baekhyun for dinner

Chanyeol: Just have dinner here!

please please please

Wait why are you having dinner with Baek?

I thought you said he was annoying

Satansoo: I thought this would stop him from asking me to hang out for awhile

And fine I’ll do it

I don’t have your home key tho

Chanyeol: There’s a spare under the potted plant next to the door

Satansoo: That’s not safe

Chanyeol: I KNOW

Just get it

P l e a s e

Satansoo: Ok ok im otw

Chanyeol: THANK YOU

Could you ask the waiter to put it in our desserts?

I can’t do it or else Y/N will get suspicious

Satansoo: Fine

Chanyeol: I ly bro

Satansoo: Yeah yeah whatever

Chanyeol: :’)

Chanyeol puts his phone back in his pant pocket and straightens his suit. You see him walk back to the table and sit down.

“You ok?” You ask him, curious as to what happened

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Chanyeol says trying to reassure you. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright” You reply. You’re still suspicious of him, but you decide to let it go for now and decide to change the subject. “Well how was your day? Did anything happen?”

Oh, you have no idea, Chanyeol thinks to himself while trying to find a way to answer. “Mm, I just did some songwriting, but I did watch an episode of a new television show.”

“Oh, really? What was it about?” You question him.

“Well, it’s called Baby and Me and it’s about a single mother trying to raise her child all by herself,” He explains while carefully observing you as he tries to see if there is any difference in emotion on your face. Seeing no reaction to his words, he continues. “It’s a comedy, but it has some drama in it. It’s pretty interesting.”

“Sounds interesting.” You state as you take a sip of water. “Let’s watch it together after dinner.”

“Right,” He says cautiously. “Yeah, let’s do that.” How can she be so calm?, he thinks to himself, She didn’t even flinch!

The waitress walks back to your table carrying the two dishes you ordered in her hands. “Here are your dishes. If you need anything else, please ask. Enjoy!” The two of you thank her and she takes her leave.

While the two of you are eating dinner, you discuss some new projects coming up in your work. Chanyeol listens to your explanations for each project until he spots Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walking inside the restaurant. They take their their seats at a table behind you and watches Kyungsoo excuse himself to use the restroom and goes to a waiter near the restaurant kitchen doors, while pulling out the ring and pointing to your table.

Yes! Everything is finally working out, Chanyeol thinks to himself while chewing on a piece of steak

“Chanyeol? Are you listening?” You ask him.

“Huh?” he replies and looks back to you. “Oh yeah, I am.” You give him a deadpanned look and he almost laughs with how done you look.

“Ok, I wasn’t.” he confesses. “I’m sorry, I’m just worried that something might go wrong tonight.”

You decide that you’ve had enough of his odd behavior so you try and pry the truth out of him. “You need to stop worrying, dear.” You tell him gently. “Everything is going well, don’t worry about it too much. But, you’re usually not this anxious, what’s going on with you?.” You try and ask him hopeful that he’ll finally explain his behavior as you hold his hand.

“It’s just-,” He pauses and bites his bottom lip. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper date like this and plus it’s Valentine’s Day. I just wanted to to help you de-stress today, you seemed kind of down this past month so I wanted to help you feel better, but I haven’t been much help to you have I?” Chanyeol asks you, sounding discouraged.

Your touched by his efforts to help you feel better and you squeeze his hand. “Chanyeol, you don’t have to do all this just to make me happy. The only reason I was feeling down was because of how busy we both are now. I just miss being with you.” Before you can continue, your chocolate lava cake comes and you feel Chanyeol’s hand twitch underneath yours

You’re train of thought disappears as you look at the mouth-watering dessert. “Oh wow, these look amazing.” You take your fork and cut into it and watch the melted chocolate slide onto the plate. Chanyeol looks at you with an intense stare as you bite into the cake. “Mm, Chanyeol this is delicious! Try it.” You cut another piece off and hold it out to him. “It melts in your mouth.”

He takes a bite of it while staring hard into the dessert, “It’s really good, Y/N. Here let me feed you some.” He pulls the plate towards him and digs through the chocolate cake.

Where is it? Why isn’t the ring in here? Seeing nothing inside, he looks up and glances at the table behind you. Don’t tell me..

_________________________________________

“Here are your desserts.” The waiter states and places each plate on each end of the table.

“Wow, these look really good. Thanks, Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun smiles and takes a bite of his vanilla cake. He chews on a piece of it while trying to speak, “You know, I think this could be the start of a beautif-. Ow!” Letting out a yelp, Baekhyun feels something hard on his tongue and takes out whatever is inside his mouth.

A ring? Why is there a ring her-, he pauses his thoughts and slowly looks at Kyungsoo. Seeing his face is completely frozen, he looks at the rose on the table and then back at the ring. Putting two and two together, Baekhyun awkwardly puts the ring on the table, pulls on his black tie, and clears his throat, “Kyungsoo, I’m flattered that you think of me this way. But, I’m straight man and I really just see you as a friend.”

While Baekhyun is talking, Kyungsoo looks intensely at the ring trying to figure out what’s going on. Understanding what’s happened, his eyes widen and he quickly stands up with panic in his eyes, “That wasn’t for you, you idiot! That was for Chanyeol!”

“Wait, what?” Baekhyun says confused

“This,” Kyungsoo says while holding the ring in front of Baekhyun’s face. “Was for Chanyeol’s table! He’s planning on proposing to Y/N tonight!”

“He’s proposing? Like, an actual wedding ring?” Baekhyun asks

Kyungsoo nods and Baekhyun stiffens and his eyes are wide with fear, “He can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because Y/N isn’t ready yet! She got him promise rings for Valentine’s Day, not engagement rings! Why is he proposing anyway?! It’s only been a year!”

“He thinks she’s hiding a kid from him because he accidentally heard her having a conversation with some child on the phone and she said something about if he behaved he could have ‘nappy time’?” Kyungsoo says questioningly trying to remember if those were the words Chanyeol told him. “Anyways, It made Chanyeol freak out and now he thinks she’s hiding the kid from him because she doesn’t trust him well enough to keep it a secret. So he asked me to tell the waiter to put it in their dessert as a surprise for her!”

“A kid?” Baekhyun asks thinking he heard Kyungsoo wrong.“Nappy time? What in the world are you-,” Baekhyun stops talking and looks at Kyungsoo with a look of realization. “Oh my god, are you kidding me? Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Why? What is it?”

“That wasn’t a kid! That was me!” Baekhyun exclaims while pointing to himself. “I was just playing around with her! Oh my god, I can’t believe he heard that and now he’s going to propose?!”

“That’s how you joke around with her?!” Kyungsoo exclaims shocked while looking at Baekhyun with disgust on his face

“It was only because I dozed off in the office and when she woke me up, I accidentally called her my mom!” he exclaims. “We made this whole joke about it!”

“You dozed off at work?” Kyungsoo questions him while glaring

“I mean sort of.” Baekhyun replies sheepishly, but shakes his head as he tries to focus on the situation at hand, “but look that’s not important right now! Oh, wait he’s looking this way!” They motion him to come over to where they are and watch as he excuses himself from his table.

“They gave you guys the ring?” He questions the two and shakes his head in disbelief. “Unbelievable.”

“Chanyeol, wait.” Kyungsoo says trying to stop him from leaving

“I got to go, we just finished our dessert so I’m just going to go with plan B and just propose.”

“Chanyeol, hold on a sec-.”

“See you guys later! Wish me luck!” He states and grabs the ring from their table and walks back to his own table, ignoring the sounds of protest coming from the two men.

“Shouldn’t we stop him?” Kyungsoo asks.

Baekhyun shakes his head and replies, “It’s too late. He’s already proposing." Baekhyun looks away and shuts his eyes ashamed he couldn’t do much to stop this disaster. "I can’t watch.”

“Just eat your cake.”

After watching your table for a few seconds, Kyungsoo slowly nods in agreement and they both sit down and finish eating their desserts in silence.

_________________________________________

You see Chanyeol come back to the table and before you can say anything, he stops right in front of you and kneels down on one knee.

What is he doing?, you think to yourself. A sense of dread slowly fills the pit of your stomach as you watch him look into your eyes sincerely and opens his mouth.

“Y/N, I know it’s only been a year since we’ve started dating, but I love you so much. You’re the light of my life and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been and it’s only been a year. I love how sweet you are and thoughtful you can be. I can be myself around you and I’m really grateful that you let me be who I am around you.” He stops his confession for a moment to take a breath.

“You always listen to my thoughts and you know I can be a bit childish sometimes and I may not be the best at keeping secrets. But I swear I’ll love and cherish you and your child with all of my heart.”

Your eyes widen and you feel your body stiffen. What did he just say? Did I hear that right?

“Chanyeol, what are you talking about?” You interrupt him. “What child?”

“The kid you have. I know you have one and it’s okay! It’s great actua-.”

‘No, hold on,” You stop him while holding up your hand to refrain him from opening his mouth. “I don’t have a child.”

“Yes, you do! Y/N, It’s okay!” He exclaims and holds your hand with both of his. “I love children and I know you don’t think I can keep this secret, but I can!”

Is he being serious right now?, you think to yourself bewildered that this is even happening

“Chanyeol, wait. I don’t have a child. Really. How in the world-. Where did you even come up with this conclusion?” You inquire him aghast that he’s not joking when you see the sincere look in his eyes.

“I heard you on the phone. You butt-dialed me,” He explains. “You were talking to your son.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Y/N, he called you ‘mommy’.”

You’re eyebrows are furrowed in confusion and you freeze as you recall what happened at work.

“Chanyeol,” You say slowly. “Did he sound like a toddler? Did I say something about giving him nap time early?”

You see him nod and you almost want to cry. “Chanyeol! Oh my-” You pause and laugh with disbelief. “That wasn’t a kid. That was Baekhyun!” You cry out.

A look of confusion goes across his face, “What do you mean?”

“We were just playing around! I made this whole joke about it after he accidentally called me ‘mom’!”

“What about the stuff in your closet?”

“You mean the box full of kid clothes?” He nods and you continue. “That’s for when I babysit, Yeol! Don’t you remember my friend, Joy? She asked me if I could babysit her kid?” You ask him in hopes that he gives you any sign that he remembers, but all you’re met with is a blank look on his face and a shake of a head. “Well, that’s what she asked me to do for her. She gave an emergency box full of her kid’s stuff just in case she had to leave for an emergency.” You explain

His ears turn red from embarrassment, “So you don’t have a kid?” He meekly asks you

“No, I do NOT have a kid, Chanyeol,” You state slowly and clearly. “And what were you talking about before? I know you can’t keep a secret sometimes, but I still trust you. I would never hide something like this from you.”

“That’s what I thought!” He exclaims while holding out his arms up from his sides. “I never thought you would hide something this big from me, but then I heard you on the phone and I saw the box full of children’s stuff and I guess I just assumed you did.”

Chanyeol says looking down at the floor while twiddling his thumbs for a few seconds. “So you trust me?” he asks you while speaking softly. “You don’t think I’m too childish or anything?”

“Of course not.” You tell him gently.

You move out of your seat and kneel with him on the floor while taking his hands and holding on to them with yours. “Sure you can be a little childish time to time, but you’re pretty mature when it’s time to be serious, you know? Hell, you even thought of marrying me when you thought I had a child,” You exclaim.

“I know I can get frustrated with you when you don’t act like your age sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t trust you and that I think you should change. I love how fun you can be like when we go to the park and how we can run around and play without a care in the world. You’re always so sweet to me and you make me so happy, Yeol. You mean so much to me and that’s why,” You say and turn grabbing the small red box from your purse. “I got us these.”

You open the box and Chanyeol looks closer at the box to inspect them.

“Rings?” he asks out loud while taking one of them.

“They’re promise rings,” You explain. “They’re not as fancy as engagement rings and it doesn’t mean we’re engaged or anything, but it’s more like a token of our love for each other. I know It’s a little cheesy, but I thought this would help ease us into taking a bigger step in our lives together.” You give his hand a squeeze and continue. “You mean the world to me, Yeol. Really. I love you so much to the point where I can’t even think about having a life without you,” You say while caressing his cheek. “So? Will you accept it?” You ask him hopeful that he’ll say yes.

He looks at you with big eyes completely shocked. You see them start to water and he pulls you into a tight hug. After a few seconds of silence, he answers you. “Yeah,” He says softly with his voice slightly shaky. “Yeah, I accept.”

You feel something wet fall onto your back and a small smile appears on your face.

After a few seconds of silence, you pull yourself away from his arms so you can see his face. Eyes slightly red with a few tears rolling down his face, you take a napkin from the table and gently dab his cheeks. After wiping the tears away, the two of you laugh realizing how ridiculous you guys must look being on the floor of a restaurant.

“Come on,” You say softly. “Let’s go home.”

“Okay.” He agrees.

Before you can stand up, he grabs your arm and pulls you into a kiss. With a sincere look in his eyes, he gives you a small smile.

“I love you.”

You smile back.

"I love you, too”

[shurisneakers]

espresso [6]

Summary: In which your best friend’s brother begins to set you up on dates when you mention that you haven’t been in a relationship in years, but things don’t go as expected.

Warning: swearing, near panic attacks, angst (?)

A/N: this is my entry for the exuberant @odinhson‘s writing challenge thank you to @samingtonwilson for beta-ing this for me

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous part- Part 5 || Espresso Masterlist

Becca: binch

Becca: if i don’t get my nourishment i will Wilt and Die

Becca: if i get out of this bed rn i will literally Cry

Becca: pls get me a coffee kind sir,,, i will be gr8ful

You: um

You: i’ll get it later ok lov u

Becca: wtf why

You: im going to meet fucky at the library

You: *bucky

Becca: youre going to meet my brother again?

You: yes he said he was studying there anyway so I could go meet him there

You: why

Becca: nothing it’s just

You: it’s just?

Becca: nvm it’s nothing go see that smelly bitch biscuit

Becca: but get me the drugs when u come back

_____________

The library was fairly populated for seven in the morning. And, though everyone looked like they could use at least a week’s worth of sleep, they trudged on.

Walking through the aisles, you let your fingers run over the spines of every book, relishing in the feel of their old leather under your touch. It didn’t take log before you found Bucky in the classics section, his back leaning against one of the bookshelves as he scanned the ones in front of him.

“Looking for something specific?” you asked quietly, making him snap his head towards you. He gave you a tired smile before reverting to his original state.

“The Catcher in the Rye. I wanted to borrow it again,” he sounded distant, like his mind was preoccupied.

“Again? You’ve read it more than once?”

“Three times,” he answered, eyes lighting up as he reached forward and grabbed an old, worn out book with a tearing paper cover. His fingers dusted it gently before he opened to the last page, his eyes skimming over the words.

“It’s your favourite book?”

 “I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite book, to be honest.” He flipped it, examining the cover from back to front. “Just the most memorable one. It sorta stuck with me throughout.”

“Why?” you asked curiously, watching as he flipped through the pages, seemingly searching for something within the lines.

“Don’t ask, it’s just gonna come off as pretentious as shit,” he chuckled, shking his head bemusedly, but you could detect a hint of something else behind his words. Bucky loved writing. He loved words. This book obviously meant a lot to him.

“I don’t know who hurt you Bucky Barnes, but I’d sure as fuck want to know why you love that book so much.” You heard a hush on the other side of the bookshelf, making you peep through the shelves only to catch the disapproving glare of the librarian who apparently caught you using unparliamentarily language.

“No one’s hurt me, it’s just-“ he paused to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly, letting his hand linger there. “I didn’t think anybody would care.”

“Oh.” You nudged his foot with yours, making him look at you in surprise. “Well, I care, so go ahead.”

He eyes never left yours and you could see a faint blush spread across his cheeks. Cute ass motherfucker.

Wait-

“Um, I guess it’s kinda because– the thing is– see, I–“ his mouth was moving at a speed much swifter than his brain, you could see it. It was like he had so much to say, almost too much. You gave him an encouraging smile as he took a deep breath to calm himself down before beginning again.

“I’ve read it three times. Every single time it means something different to me, you know? It’s like the words are familiar but everything’s changed,” he tried to convey what he was thinking, but it was clearly something hard to talk about because Bucky rarely ever ran out of words.

“‘Don’t ever tell anyone anything, if you do you start missing everybody.’,” he recited from memory finally showing you the page he stopped on. You shuffled closer to him, leaning on his shoulder to get a better look at the book in his hand. “It’s really hard for me to let others in. Everything becomes too intimate and when they decide to pack up and leave because they can’t handle my shit, it just—it hurts. It’s one of my favorite quotes.”

“It’s beautiful,” you said softly, as he looked at you for a few seconds in silence, not making an attempt to say anything.

“Right, so-“ he cleared his throat, pulling away to put the book back where it belonged. “His name’s Loki. He’s slightly difficult at first, but all he needs is just a little love and attention and he’s good to go.”

“Are we talking about a succulent or a person?” You remained where you were, feeling strangely lightheaded. Bucky glanced at the big clock overhead before returning to you.

“You’ll see.” He winked, shifting from one foot to another. “Now go! I have an hour to spend with calculus and you are going to be late for your first class.”

“You got a shift at the coffee shop today? I could come see you after,” you asked, facing him while walking backwards, your feet moving automatically.

“Not tonight, fam. I’m busy,” he said, looking down just for a second.

“Whatcha up to, barista boy? You got a hot date?” you teased him lightly, shoving your fists into your pockets, delaying your exit.

“I do, actually,” he fired back, making you freeze in your tracks.

“You’re going on a date?” you asked incredulously, your eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“Yeah. Met an old friend of mine last week and we’re going out tonight.” He shrugged, giving you a half smile.

“Oh shits.” Well, that was new. It had been ages since Bucky had gone out with someone. “Use protection, ya nasty. Don’t want any mini versions of you running around.”

“Yeah, totally. We’re gonna go grab something to eat and fuck behind the church in my pickup truck.” He rolled his eyes, laughing to himself as you snorted.

“You’ve always been a huge part of the Jesus fandom,” you called out, grimacing when you heard the librarian hiss a ‘Quiet!’ at you again.

“Have fun, James. I’ll catch you later.” You shoved your hands further into your pockets, turning around and jogging out before he could get another word in.

_____________

You didn’t expect the goth version of Sabrina the Teenage Witch at the entrance of your building that evening, sporting a look of disdain with a hint of boredom, gracefully covered up with a smile. He was dressed to the nines in all black, which matched his dark hair and starkly contrasted his fair, almost too pale skin.

“You’re Y/N, I presume?” you could hear the remnants of an accent that wasn’t common to your area. He sounded tired but it looked like he was making an effort, so you weren’t completely put off.

You nodded, giving him a small smile. “Loki, right?”

“That’s me. Did James tell you where we’re going tonight?”

“Bucky doesn’t take the effort to tell me anything useful, so I’m pretty uninformed.” You followed him as he walked towards the gate of the compound, his fingers toying with the hem of his sweatshirt.

“That’s weird because I swear he asked me for everything ranging from my birth certificate to my social security number. He wouldn’t even give me your dorm address without it,” he said drily, his smile actually making him look really nice.

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah, so there’s that carnival or a fair or something that’s come up. I figured we could go check it out.” He gestured to his car.

“Sounds fun.” You offered him a helpful smile, accepting his invitation without much hesitation. Maybe a distraction was exactly what you needed.

_____________

The whole fair was illuminated with lights from the different stalls and you could smell the calories in the air as kids ran around with cotton candy and popcorn and funnel cakes. The ratting of the roller coaster tracks and peals of laughter subconsciously made your heart lift and a grin settled on your face.

“What do you want to do first?” you asked loudly, trying to speak over the crowd.

“I don’t know. It’s so noisy. I wish everyone would just shut up.” He scrunched up his nose in disdain, leaving you to stare at him.

“How about grabbing something to eat first? I’m starving,” you suggested, earning a nod from him as you both made your way down to where most of the food stalls were.

Churros, funnel cake, caramel apples, popcorn and just about everything deep fried was put on display and it smelled pretty fucking great.

“D’you want to try out the hypertension or diabetes on a stick?” you laughed, eyeing everything separately.

“Uh—“ he paused, flinching. “I think I’m good.”

“Not even cotton candy?”

“Definitely not.” He shook his head, eyebrows crinkled in disgust.

“Well, okay, man.” You shrugged, not letting his preferences stop you from going ahead and buying the first thing that caught your eye and had your mouth watering.

He followed you silently through the entire process, only passing an occasional comment on how greasy it was or how unhealthy it was. You took it as a personal challenge to count how many times he nearly gagged.

“Rides or stalls?” You could already predict the kind of night you were in for and at this point you were too tired to not have fun with it.

“Rides, I suppose. We’re too old for the stalls.” He clicked his tongue, putting his hands into the pockets of his skinny jeans, staring disapprovingly at you.

“Oh, you are so right. Papa forbade me from playing games lest I fall victim to pride and immaturity. So pleased that throwing balls into holes is age restricted.” You threw some more popcorn into your mouth, feeling his stare burn into your face as you looked at him without any emotion.

“Didn’t you grow out of them after you turned, I don’t know, fifteen? How old are you?”

“You’re absolutely correct. We should hit the rides soon. I may not last fifteen minutes more. I’m practically decomposing as we speak.” You grinned at him making your way to the roller coaster, leaving him to match your pace.

“Roller coasters?” He called after you, rushing to catch up.

“Yes. Do you not like them?”

If this somehow greasier Tommy Wiseau said anything worse, you swore you literally would tear-

“I just think they’re too jumpy. And erratic. And noisy.”

You spun around wildly to face him, mouth dropping open. “What exactly did you expect from a fair, Lucky?”

“Loki.”

“Gesundheit. Have you ever been to a fair before or-“

You were just about to launch into a large rant when someone’s grip on your shoulder cut you off.

“Mario? What are you doing here?” The all-too-familiar voice made you instantly calm down as your best friend’s brother, your lord and savior, stepped near one of the most annoying people you could have met.

Which would be met with a more enthusiastic response had it not been for the presence of a girl with the most curly red hair accompanying him. She had her arm around his waist whilst his was secured around her shoulders and you immediately felt your words die down in your throat.

“Ah, James. We were just on our date.” He narrowed his eyes at you and you rolled yours at him, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Hey, man. I thought you were taking her to that restaurant down the road?” he questioned as the girl with him sent you a smile. Of course she’d have dimples.

“Thor told me this would better fit her,” Loki replied wearily.

“Wait a minute- you know Thor?”

“Know him?” Loki scoffed. “He’s my brother.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Given, we’re adopted siblings but I have to put up with his nonsense regardless.”

“Oh my fucking God, you’re the bitchy drama goth brother Thor talks about.”

“Bitchy drama goth— you’re lucky you got set up with me and not our sister.”

“I guess this date went super well?” Bucky piped up before you both clawed each other’s throats out.

“Simply wonderful.”

“Great.” He smiled awkwardly, before seemingly remembering who he had with him. “Oh shits, yeah—this is Dolores. Dot. Doll. I don’t know-“

“Dot is fine.” She smiled again, extending her hand in a shake. She had a flower tucked into her ear, matching the colour of her long skirt. Of course she did.

“This is Y/N, my sister’s best friend and that’s Loki,” Bucky introduced live-action Merida to you, as she gracefully replied with a small nod.

“You guys done?” Dot asked, switching her gaze between Loki and you.

“Yup, just finished. Loki was about to drop me off at my place. How about you?” You ignored your date altogether, instead focusing on how relaxed Bucky looked, none of his usual creases to be seen on his face. You liked it.

“I think we’ll hang around for a bit more. What do you say?” She looked up at him and Bucky nodded, a soft smile taking over his face.

“Sounds good to me. Text me when you get home, okay?” he reminded you, suddenly meeting your gaze. Your eyebrows furrowed at the intensity with which he was looking at you, but you gave him a thumbs up, agreeing.

“See ya tomorrow, Mario. Get home safe, please?” He waved one more time, as did Dolores, before they both made their way into the crowd, but not before Bucky threw you one more glance over his shoulder.

“Are you this hostile with every person your friends date or only James?” Loki sniggered from besides you, earning a sharp glare.

“One more word from you Severus and I will buy the oiliest piece of funnel cake and shove it down your throat.

But his words didn’t go over your head. You knew exactly what he was talking about and apparently it was so glaringly obvious that even others could see it.

Yikes.

Part 7