#and smirked after the line in chicago that says 'i bet sometimes you still like to wear my jumper'

[larrylimericks]

6Oct23

With hues blue and green, Lou was tinged, Sang ‘7’ in Barça, then grinned Cos sharing is caring And H still likes wearing Lou’s jumper — Um, bro, they’re unhinged.

[thedeviltohisangel]

I Know It’s Too Late//1

There was something good about being with Jay. About being with Jay again. It was different than the good that was falling in love with him in the desert. That had been necessary for survival. It hadn’t been soft or romantic but raw. Like it was the most fundamental pieces of them that were coming together.

masterlist is my url/writing

let me know if you wish to see more of these two

There was something good about being with Jay. About being with Jay again. It was different than the good that was falling in love with him in the desert. That had been necessary for survival. It hadn’t been soft or romantic but raw. Like it was the most fundamental pieces of them that were coming together. 

She thinks that was why it didn’t work once they had returned home. There was less adrenaline and more time to be alone with their thoughts. It was hard enough as individuals to find a place back in society but as a pair it proved impossible. The shared experiences that had brought them together were ultimately what drove them apart.

Meg had heard that Chicago could be compared to a warzone. But she didn’t think she would ever be in the middle of it. She had taken the paramedic job as a way to escape. As a way to chase those happiest moments that she had had overseas. It was like an addict chasing their high. But she didn’t expect hers to come this close to killing her.

She and her partner had been called to an apartment where the person on the line suspected an overdose. Her neighbor was unconscious on the floor when she opened the door to leave and go grocery shopping. It was after Meg used the first dose of NARCAN that the shot rang out and the bullet whizzed above her head.

“Shit!” she cursed as she took a second to understand her surroundings. There was an open door a few feet away and that was the only semblance of cover she could see. “On my count, stay low and help me drag him over there.” Another shot rang out but Meg didn’t see the bullet this time. She counted to three before her partner lifted the patients feet while she dragged his torso towards the open apartment door.

“PD is on their way. Not sure how we get this guy out before the guy with the gun gets out,” her partner huffed. Meg peered out into the hallway but it was empty. The person pulling the trigger was behind one of the apartment doors. 

“Well he should be waking up soon-” True to word, the man lying on the floor began to stir. “Sir, we are with the Chicago Fire Department. You overdosed on opioids and we administered NARCAN but recommend you go to the hospital for further treatment.” Meg had seen someone going through withdrawal before. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“I don’t need no fucking hosptal.” She moved backwards slightly as he began to appear agitated. There was then the sound of footsteps in the hallway then a door crashing down. “You called the police?” Before she could even answer, he was now pointing a gun at her.

“One of your neighbors took a shot at us. We didn’t think we had a choice if we wanted to get you out,” she said with her hands up.

“The police aren’t here for you, man. No need for that.” It was then that Meg heard the absolute last voice that she was expecting to.

“Chicago PD. Put the gun down and lets talk, Aidan.” Jay Halstead. She wanted to turn around and make sure her ears weren’t betraying her but she was scared to. What would she do if it was him? That almost seemed like the harder task than getting the gun out of her face.

“I’m not talking. How about I shoot her instead?” To be fair, it was not the first time she had a gun pressed to her skin. But it was the first time since she had become a mother. So it felt a little bit different than it had last time. She could feel the air stiffen around her as everyone in the room adjusted to the change in circumstance.

“Safety’s on,” Meg muttered as she took a second to focus. It wasn’t a bluff or attempt to distract him. He had actually left his safety on. 

“What-” He pulled the gun from her in order to see if she was telling the truth, a look of confusion on his face, which she used as her opportunity to give him a piece of her mind. She swung her legs into his knees, which buckled, causing the gun to drop from his hand into her waiting one. When she turned to hand it to the cop behind her, she had forgotten her suspicion as to who it was.

“Meg?” 

“Jay.” It came out in a breath. Saying his name was as natural as breathing. It settled in her chest like it was meant to and warmed her from the inside out.

“What are you doing here?” He relaxed his stance as other cops swarmed into the room and put handcuffs around the man on the floor and her partner got taken outside to be looked at for injuries.

“Well, I got called here,” she said while motioning to her uniform like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He rolled his eyes.

“Sure. But why Chicago? Why now?”

“Why now? Is it a bad time?” He made it sound like something was going on in his life that her being here would complicate. Like she was doing this all on purpose.

“Just wasn’t expecting to see you again is all,” he said quietly as he offered his hand for the gun she was still holding.

“Yeah. Me neither.” She held his gaze as long as she could before someone called his name out in the hallway.

“Wait here. I’ll walk you down to get checked out.” Jay couldn’t stop himself. His hand moved without his knowledge and tucked some hair behind her ear before he pulled back like he had been burned. And it had felt like fire against her skin as well. White hot intensity that still lingered even after his hand was gone.

“I’m happy I was wrong,” she whispered in reference to their statements that they didn’t think they would see each other again.

“That’s a first,” he replied with a smirk. His conversation with Voight was quick, the sargeant noticing his detective’s eye drifting to the new paramedic in the other room more often than it was focusing on him.

“There something I need to be looped in on?” Jay was one of his best, a leader of the Intelligence Unit. If his mind was going to be elsewhere, Hank needed to know.

“We served together. Haven’t seen her in awhile is all.” Hank knew that wasn’t all, Jay knew that wasn’t all. But it was easier than trying to explain the history between the two. His relationship with Meg was tucked away with the rest of his stories and feelings from his time with the Rangers. Maybe one day.

They walked slowly and silently out of the apartment building and to the back of an ambulance so Meg could get her clean bill of health before returning back to her station. “That was smart what you did back there. With the safety being on,” Jay said as she took a seat on the bumper and he leaned next to her.

“Thanks. It all just comes back to me sometimes, you know? Like I never left and am still in it.” Jay nodded because he knew. And it was nice to hear someone say it out loud so he didn’t have to. Nice to know someone knew what he was going through without words. Nice to just be with Meg again. “You’re giving me that look, stop it,” she said as the paramedic took her vitals.

“The one where I ask if you want to get dinner with me tomorrow night?” he replied with a smirk.

“Good one. But I need at least a couple of days to get a babysitter.” That furrowed his brow.

“Babysitter?”

“Yeah. A lot has changed since the last time I saw you. Becoming a mother is the biggest one but also the best one.” 

“You’re a mom, wow,” Jay said with a smile. “I bet you’re the fucking best one ever too.” There had been a time when he thought he would be the one to make her a mother.

“I try. Her dad is a piece of shit so I just need a bit more leeway on dinner but I’ll make it happen.”

“Okay. You let me know when you’re ready.” Something stirred at the idea that the father of her child was less than perfect but it wasn’t his place. He had a lot of questions but asking them wasn’t his place. Jay couldn’t just jump right back in and pretend everything was normal and always had been. There was a reason they weren’t together anymore.

“I will, Detective. Be safe until I see you again.” Meg was genuine with her words. 

“You do the same.” Last time Jay had watched her walk away from him, his heart shattered into a million pieces. This time, it felt like everything was coming back together. 

[deathfrisbeeinthetardis]

Bliss 7 and 12 please ;-;

Thank you anon, I absolutely adored writing this prompt, but being me I ended up with more angst than I planned to write for such a sweet prompt, but the ending is soft I swear. I hope you like it

Prompt Bliss 7. “Look at you… Goodness, you’re so cute.”

Ryan doesn’t know what they are even doing at this point.  

This is the tenth time this month that he had lingered at the office after work, throwing himself into doing and redoing his editing as people trickled out and the buzz faded away. His neck is straining and his eyes ache, but he catches himself before he rubs them, not wanting to jostle the contacts. The office is not the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, but he would give up his bed and all his jerseys if it meant he could be spared from his mind.  

There is no use thinking about it really, what’s done is done, but he can’t help his reluctance. It’s just an apartment, his rationality says. But why does every empty space hurt to look at, his heart whispers.

There are so many of them now. 

So he had hung back, and Shane had stayed with him, the two of them editing their various projects side by side, a giant bucket of Chicago Popcorn™ Shane’s parents had sent between them.

The problem, as it usually was, is that Shane’s company and some good old fashioned sleep deprivation don’t mix well, and productivity took the fallout, their work ethic gradually sliding off the table until they’re positively undoing efforts that they’ve already put out. 

Yes, maybe Ryan had something to do with Shane’s elbow and back crashing onto his laptop keyboard and deleting nearly two hours of editing, but it’s Shane’s fault he doesn’t save the videos every two minutes like Ryan does, non-compulsively of course. 

So their nights aren’t the most productive, but it’s off-hours so no one can really tell them off. The office is empty, unflipped light switches plunging patches of desks into shadow between the bright spots in mesmerizing patterns. The warehouse desk layout leaves much space for the mind to fill, but Ryan’s worked here for so long that he knows every twist and turn. He’d bet good money that he’d win in a ghost race through this organized mess. 

Ryan’s pretty sure the only person doing actual work tonight has chosen to evacuate from their desk to one of the corners farthest away from the pair of them. He feels a little bad to bother him with the un-moderated volume of their conversations and the not-so-infrequent giggling fits, but right now he’s too relaxed and happy to care. It’s the only time he gets to feel like this anyway. 

The Unsolved title card flashes, pulling his attention back to the screen, a white bar inching through the multicolored blocks of carefully compiled video and audio files at the bottom of the monitor. Ryan’s quite proud of this one, the crew were able to get some stellar shots on-location and there was probably one of the clearest spirit box replies they’ve gotten, no matter how hard the other man tries to discount it. 

“Aww you cut that part out again?’ Shane pouts beside him, headphones perched precariously on his big head.

"You can’t just go and tell ghosts they’re gonna be on Youtube every time.” Ryan swivels his chair to face Shane, a lofty air in his voice as he does his best to look down his nose at the other man, even going so far as pumping his seat up a few inches. Shane’s lip trembles like he’s holding back a laugh. It’s an argument they’ve had before, and Ryan knows how it’s going to go almost down to the line, but it’s always fun, so he plays the game. 

“And why not?" 

"They’re not from this time, they don’t even know what electricity is!”

“So you are admitting the spirit box is wack.” Shane rubs his hands together evilly, smiling so wide he could have been in that truth or dare movie, no special effects needed. “Oh, this is very good.”

“I did not say that,” Ryan protests, nudging Shane’s leg with a foot and feeling intensely satisfied when the boot leaves a dirt mark on the other man’s dark jeans. Jeez, they are literal children sometimes, but Ryan never has this much fun. 

“It’s just, they’re ghosts, and they’re making the effort to reach out to talk to these two idiots, cut them some slack.”

“You’re the only idiot here. I, Shane Madej, am a man of science.” Shane doesn’t even have to level up his seat and he’s still taller than Ryan. It is so, so not fair. 

“This is science!”

“Uh-huh,” Shane says, deadpan. There is movement just out of Ryan’s periphery, and he cranes his head to see the guy leave, wincing internally. He should probably apologize for being loud, but that can totally wait a day. Maybe two.   

“There has been plenty of evidence on ghosts and you know it.”

“From what I’ve seen? You really want to go into that?” There’s a challenge in Shane’s posture, and Ryan feels a rush in his chest that overruns the empty ache there, sees the trap but he jumps anyway.

“Hell yeah I do, we’ve caught some pretty good stuff along the way, Waverly, ‘brown and white’?  The freaking Sallie House?" 

"We both know the whole flashlight test is horseshit, Ryan.” Shane smirks, leaning back in his chair languidly with his hands behind his head, “As to the rest of those, the demons and ghosties gotta work harder than that, cause right now they don’t seem very interesting.”

  “How dare you! They’re more than interesting. They were all people once.”

“Let���s list what they’ve done, hmm? Jostling toothpaste, nudging bouncy balls, whispers so gentle you can’t even–”

“Nope I’m not letting you trivialize the evidence, it was fucking creepy to hear those on location.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re a wimp.”

“Fuck you.” Ryan shoots back, but there’s no real feeling behind it. He pulls a serious face to match Shane’s, squaring his shoulders and oh watch how fast he folds now. 

The other man’s joy is infectious, and soon Ryan is joining him, their laughs swallowed up by the high ceilings and far walls. Ryan’s eyes catch on the lights shining down on Shane, tracing golden lines along the edges of his lanky figure against the shadowed monotony of conference rooms. Breathless and curling into themselves, their gazes meet and linger across five feet of space.

They’re just two guys working into the small hours of the night, just another aspect of their life that their ghost hunting career has bled into, it’s all normal. 

Except it isn’t. 

Neither of them needs to be here to work, least of all Shane, and really, Ryan thinks with a twist in his chest, it has just been the two of them spending time in each other’s company. And Ryan does genuinely enjoy it. He loves the ease of their interactions, how they can hound each other mercilessly and bicker, how Shane can poke that special unhinged laugh out of him and make him forget about everything else. 

And how he, in turn, can make the big guy’s eyes all curvy and bright like no one does. 

But there’s no use thinking about things like that. 

There could be, a small voice says, a light shining weak in the churning abyss. Ryan passes a hand over his face and keeps it there, not trusting himself to not let his heart spill right out. 

“Ryan?”

He had thought he found the one with Helen, the person in the world he’d like to spend his life with, but then things had started falling apart, and she had left. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, Ryan knows, but he had gotten used to having someone to come home to, someone who knows him for who he is. 

You can have that again, the voice goes on small and determined, and Ryan wishes he could block it out. Isn’t he always good at that on their investigations? It was basically in the fucking job description. 

You just have to let yourself see.

Shane is safe, someone to trust, someone to rely on. No one else would have born with him all the times he lost his mind in those haunted places. No one else would have hummed Mama Mia to him constantly in those first days when Ryan hid the pain so well on camera, knowing the familiar tune would take the tears away, if only for a minute. Just one Shane Madej hailing from the Land of Lincoln, his co-host, his best friend, and the most important constant grounding him while the rest of his world is turned up-side-down. 

“You okay buddy?” There is a sharp tone in Shane’s voice, and Ryan belatedly realizes his eyes are wet. Shane’s face is flushed from laughing, but now he leans forward and there is suddenly so much care in the slight tension of his shoulders that Ryan wants to cry. 

He can’t risk losing this, he doesn’t know what he would do if he manages to fuck up this last good thing in his life. 

“Yeah,” He gives the other man a small smile, turning back to his screen to start up the video again, and he feels Shane relaxing back into his chair reluctantly. 

Soon he’s leaning forward again, attention rapt on every little detail Ryan had painstakingly compiled. 

“Hmm, didn’t you make a face at that point?” Shane taps a finger against his chin, eyes narrowed in concentration as Ryan reaches out to pause the replay, the lines of blue and yellow stark against the black background. 

“Oh, that? I didn’t think it would anyone would be interested to see it.” Ryan’s fingers tap at the keys for a few seconds, pulling up the clip from the front camera and overlaying it on the video. 

"I didn’t know it was gonna scare ya.” Screen-Shane says, tipping his head to the side and schooling his face into an impressive mask of innocence as he batted his eyes at screen-Ryan.

In-real-life Ryan feels warmth coil in his chest at the memory, and he smiles as he watches himself sputter for a bit, finally settling on a determined, You know what you did. He actually huffs out a laugh at his piss poor attempt to look intimidating, when the camera angle in the VO booth put Shane so much clearly taller. 

On the screen, Shane’s looking down at Ryan with a grin, though he at least has the self-awareness to look a little sheepish. Their eyes lock, and with an appropriate pause for dramatic effect, “I do.”

The clip takes another few seconds to end, their raucous laughter sound from his speakers. Then Ryan’s left with the still of both of them looking at the camera, frozen grins bright on their faces, captured in time. 

And Ryan’s caught in fucking limbo again, his free hand flexing in on empty air at the edge of his desk.  

“Good stuff huh?” Shane’s voice is quiet. 

“Yeah.” Breathe, just breathe, how is that so hard? It shouldn’t be this hard. 

“You considering switching the text out for this?” There’s a smile in Shane’s voice, and Ryan clears his throat and drags in a shuddering breath. 

“No it's—I’ll uh, I’ll put it in.” He hears Shane wheeling close on his chair, but he doesn’t turn to look, locking his eyes on the monitor and busying himself with the familiar shifts and adjustments. He just needs a bit of time to clear his head, then he’ll recover the ability to be a half-decent friend again, he’s sure of it. 

Ryan’s got his cursor hovering over the clip, leaning forward to keep an eye on the time markings when Shane loses a soft breath, his voice an awed murmur. 

“God, you’re so cute when you’re focused." 

And Ryan’s world freezes over. 

Around the edges of his vision, he sees realization, surprise, and something like fear flit across the other man’s face. But Ryan doesn’t do much, just holds as still as he can, like he can stamp down the giddy hope in his chest before it even has a chance to rise, so he can convince himself that it’s all just a freakishly detailed fever dream, because Shane can’t have just said that. 

Shane saw him as a friend, nothing more. Ryan does want that to be true, he really should. 

Breathing is becoming such a fucking bother again, he thinks absently. Maybe if he didn’t do it, life would be much easier. 

"Oh-oh god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to spring it on you like that, what kind of shitty friend am I—just,” Shane breaks off, dragging both hands through his hair and tugging in frustration. When he finally speaks he sounds broken, voice thick as if he’s holding back tears, “I’m so sorry.”

It’s all too much, there’s a loud rushing in Ryan’s head. He bolts out of his chair, needing the freedom in space to think, to process. His chest tightens when Shane flinches at the sudden movement, eyes wide, fingers white where they’ve wrapped around the arm of his chair in a death grip.

He needs air, Ryan thinks, and his feet start carrying him away, faster and faster. But Shane follows him, and it has always been like this, he supposes. Ryan takes the lead and Shane hops on for the ride, for better or for worse, always a steady presence at his side when he needs him the most. Sometimes even when he doesn’t want to.

Shane’s steps close in and he catches at Ryan’s arm, “Ryan wait, please.”

Ryan blinks hard, but he doesn’t get to wake up this time. Shane’s fingers are burning points of pressure on his mind. 

He opens his mouth to speak but there’s a strange taste, two cool lines trace down his face and his vision is swimming, and oh wouldn’t it just be perfect if he blacked out, poor little Ryan, can’t even take a fucking joke without fainting—

“Oh god, don’t cry Ry, please, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“Was it a fucking joke.” Ryan bites out, voice barely louder than a whisper but it still comes out harsher than he means. He can’t look at Shane, so Ryan keeps his eyes down, stares at the mud on Shane’s boots from their last shoot. He needs to know. 

“No,” Hurt, that’s what it is, and there’s far too much of it in Shane’s voice for it to be right. “No it wasn’t.” Shane lets go of Ryan’s hand to curls an arm around himself, and Ryan aches for the burning contact like it’s a physical wound. 

“Oh.” It’s more a punched out puff of air than a word. Oh.

“I-” Shane swallows, eyes shifting then settling back on Ryan, “I was looking at you, and it-it slipped out, I’m sorry.”

The silence isn’t complete, of course it isn’t. The sound of traffic exists at all hours of the day here. But it still envelops Ryan, wrapping around his throat and trying to suffocate the words he’s struggling to form. 

“Don’t be."  

"What?” Shane breathes, hesitant, almost disbelieving, his eyes dart to search Ryan’s face, “you’re not saying—do you—”

“I think I can.” Ryan says, and he tastes truth on his tongue. 

Not now, not even tomorrow, but maybe next week, or the week after that.

“You do?"  

"I do.” He affirms, and Ryan’s throat closes up with something warm when a lopsided grin starts to form on Shane’s face, small and hopeful, a gentle flush creeping onto his cheeks. They’re just standing in the office looking at each other, and Shane’s hand lifts up a little as if to reach out, but he catches himself before it makes it into Ryan’s personal space. 

“You wanna head back home? I’ll pack the popcorn.” Ryan can’t really breathe, so he just nods and offers Shane a watery smile. 

Their fingers brush when Ryan hands Shane a blanket for the couch, the corners of Shane’s eyes are crinkling and Ryan is breathless. He’s been feeling like that a lot tonight, and it seems that life is determined to keep him that way with all the curveballs it’s been chucking at him. 

But this time it’s not a bad feeling. Not at all. 

He fiddles with his sleeve and watches Shane settle down, making his way around his apartment with a familiarity accumulated over years’ worth of movie nights and beers and popcorn. 

It’s still too soon, and he doesn’t think he can do anything about this whole thing he’s got himself into. But he’s got Shane with him, and for once Ryan’s not afraid he’s going to leave. 

And maybe, Ryan thinks. Maybe one day he won’t need to hide from his apartment and its empty spaces. 

[anotherkpopvictim]

All That You Are (Is All That I’ll Ever Need) - VHope Littlespace Drabble

(Source - taegidda)

Request from starbabiebangtan on tumblr: “Vhope bc i cant resist baby Tae sndjdjdjdj I’m sorry LOL But another Vhope, where Taehyung is insecure because of how he feels like he looks more like a daddy to Hoseok than the other way around bc of him being taller and having a deeper voice than Hobi. Hobi does his best to reassure him that he is his little baby no matter what, and continues to go ahead and love on his baby and it causes him to regress v young bc im a sucker for baby space as well 🥺 ”

A/N: this sounded very interesting! I hope I did your request justice :P And thank you for all the awesome ideas you’ve given me!!

Also, the title is from Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran.

Pairing: Little!Taehyung X Caregiver!Hoseok

Rating: T (swearing, panic attack)

Words: 3250

Hurt/comfort, fluff

WARNINGS: Taehyung has a panic attack in this. It is not very detailed, but I don’t want to trigger anyone.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Taehyung and Hoseok had been together for forever.

Okay, two years officially, but they had also gone through a phase of what the rest of the BTS members had dubbed “everyone else knew you two were together except you” for about four or five years (forever), which wasn't completely untrue. Jimin and Jungkook could vouch for that – they made sure their fellow maknae line member understood just how much pining they witnessed from Taehyung. Hyung line said the same about Hoseok.

But their incorrect feelings of unrequited love didn't matter anymore, because they were very happily boyfriends now. Sure, they had been through their fights just like any other couple did, but in the end, they loved each other in a way that no one could deny and they always orbited back to each other.

More than boyfriends, Hoseok was also Taehyung's caregiver when he slipped into littlespace. The older had a soft spot for the little and their friends always made fun of him for it, calling him “whipped”. Any time that happened, Taehyung would assure his hyung that he was very happy he loved little Tae so much (Hoseok would then puff his chest out like a gorilla, all proud, and it was so adorable honestly Taehyung couldn’t handle it sometimes).

As their Love Yourself: Tear album promotions came around, the two of them were in a place where they were completely comfortable and happy with each other. They hadn’t even had a real fight in months.

So, of course, just as they relaxed, something else came up that threw them off-kilter - this time in the form of insecurities.

It was during a fan sign that it really began. Taehyung and Hoseok just happened to be seated next to each other, and they were very careful to keep their closeness to a friend level. It wasn’t often that management allowed them to sit next to each other, and they weren’t about to mess up the chance they’d finally been given just because they couldn’t keep their heart eyes to themselves for a few hours.

A girl around twenty years old, who introduced herself as Jisoo, was in line to get their autographs and talk to them for their forty-five second time frame. When she reached Hoseok (the second last in the row of seats) she smiled brightly, showing off her cute smile. “You guys are so inspiring!” she gushed, “Thank you for promoting self-love, it's really helped me.”

The lead dancer couldn't help but grin back at her, “I'm glad. You guys have helped us achieve so many of our goals, and we want to use our success to spread a good message to everyone.”

Hoseok passed the girl's poster of all the members (now signed everywhere apart from below Taehyung's picture) over to the second youngest beside him, and they let their hands linger a little longer than they probably should have. Sometimes they really couldn’t help it.

Taehyung gave his hyung a quick side smile, more meaning behind the small action than anyone else could see.

“Oh my gosh! You guys are so cute! VHope for the win!” Jisoo held up a fist in a “fighting!” motion, a teasing grin on her face as she watched the two of them.

“Oh,” Taehyung chuckled, looking away to properly sign her poster. “Thank you.”

“And your size difference is adorable!” she said, now gaining Taehyung's sole attention as Hoseok moved on to the next fan in line. “Hoseok looks so tiny next to you, I bet you could pick him up without any trouble.”

Maybe it was a little odd to say something like that, a little straightforward, but Taehyung got the feeling that Jisoo was the kind of girl to speak her mind.

“Y-Yeah,” Taehyung silently cursed himself for stuttering, but he was a little taken aback by the comment. He knew Jisoo didn't mean anything bad by it, but it made Taehyung's brain start going into overdrive, just like it always did when all he could think about were his insecurities.

She was right; Taehyung and Hoseok were definitely different in size, but not like Jimin and Namjoon were. There was only about two inches difference in height between the lead dancer and the vocalist, but Taehyung was undoubtedly more broad than his hyung. So yes, Taehyung was naturally bigger than Hoseok was, but he'd never really thought about it before now.

Did Hoseok have a hard time picking him up sometimes, like he did quite often in littlespace? Did Hoseok think it was weird that the bigger person between the two of them was also the one to regress into a child-like headspace sometimes?

No, Taehyung told himself, stopping his thoughts abruptly, Hoseok loved him too much for that. He would never hold something so insignificant against him.

...Right?

“It was so nice to meet you, Jisoo,” Taehyung replied, the smile on his face feeling a little more put on than before. “I hope you continue to support us. We will do the best we can for you!”

Despite his best efforts, the thoughts plagued the second youngest for the rest of the day. He had to hide his mood from Hoseok and Jimin, and managed to evade them by saying he wasn’t feeling well and hiding in his room.

But that was it.

After that day, Taehyung was thrown headfirst into preparing for their repackaged album release and another tour. He didn’t have time to really think about anything, let alone the moment with Jisoo at the fan sign, but it was still there, admittedly, in the back of his mind.

------------------------------------------------------

“Jeon Jungkook, if you don’t get down here this instant!-”

A smirking maknae looked down from his spot on the tree branch...thirty feet up in the air. At the base of the tree stood an extremely unimpressed Seokjin with his hands on his hips.

“What are you going to do, hyung?” Jungkook asked tauntingly, “Are you going to put me in time out?”

Seokjin narrowed his eyes, “No, but I will take away your television rights for two weeks, in or out of littlespace.”

Jungkook gasped, looking a little more scared now, “You wouldn’t. You love little me too much.”

“Try me, bitch.”

With an overly exaggerated whine of annoyance, Jungkook began his trek back down the tree.

“Be careful!” Namjoon shouted, joining Jin at the base of the tree. “If you fall and get hurt management is going to kill me!”

“Is that all you’re worried about, hyung?” Taehyung asked, a smirk on his lips as he looked on from a nearby lounge chair, “Not that Jungkook could get hurt, but that management would kill you if he did?”

Namjoon turned away from the tall tree to glare at the younger and smack him over the head. “Brat.”

“My brat!” Hoseok burst out of the doors of their accommodations and pushed Namjoon out of the way so he could cuddle his injured baby in his arms. “Don’t hit him, Namjoon!”

As Namjoon grumbled under his breath and walked off, Hoseok pressed a kiss to the back of a pouting Taehyung’s head. It didn’t even really hurt all that much, as Namjoon hadn’t hit that hard, but Taehyung was enjoying his boyfriend’s attention too much to tell him that.

All the members of BTS were spending a rare few days off between tour dates, and currently, they were in Chicago. Management had rented a cabin-like house on the outskirts of the city for their three-day stay.

“TAEHYUNG!” Jimin screamed as he came running out of the house.

“SOULMATE!” Taehyung screamed, sitting up from his hyung’s embrace like a meerkat scoping out the land.

Jimin jumped on top of the Taehyung-Hoseok pile, causing the two on the bottom to grunt at the sudden added weight.

“Jimin...” Hoseok whined, weakly using his partially trapped hands to push the younger off of them.

The attacker backed off with a wicked grin, “Sorry, hyung!” (He didn’t sound all that sorry).

“What did you need, soulmate?” Taehyung asked, sitting up properly and fixing his messed up hair.

“Oh,” Jimin said like he just remembered why he’d come here in the first place, “Yoongi thinks he has a lower voice than you, so I need you to prove him wrong.”

“What?” Taehyung chuckled.

“You obviously have the lowest voice out of all of us! I just need you to sing a lower note than him so I can get my ten-thousand won.”

Taehyung shrugged, standing up from the lounge chair and starting to follow his eager best friend into the house. The others were only a few feet behind them.

“Taehyung’s voice is definitely lower than Yoongi’s,” Jungkook stated, “I’ll bet twenty-thousand won!”

Namjoon snorted, “You’re on, dumbass. Yoongi’s totally going to win.”

Jin and Hoseok rolled their eyes and looked at each other with matching expressions that said “Idiots”.

They all entered the living room to find Yoongi lounging on the couch, typing away at the keyboard on his laptop. The oldest rapper looked up at the sudden noise and frowned, unimpressed, when he saw all of them filing into the room. “You actually got them, Jimin? Seriously?”

“We made a bet and I’m eager to get some ice cream with the money I’m going to win,” Jimin replied, arms crossed and chin in the air.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, “Whatever. Alright, Tae, let’s go.”

Taehyung and Yoongi proceeded to have a low note battle, while five other pairs of eyes watched on in fascination. It started off easily, but as the notes got lower and lower, Taehyung noticed Yoongi beginning to really struggle to make a noise.

It was Taehyung who won in the end (much to Jungkook and Jimin’s delight and Yoongi and Namjoon’s disappointment) and he smirked as Jimin dragged a sulking Yoongi out the front door and to the corner store down the street. Namjoon slapped the twenty-thousand won into Jungkook’s awaiting palm a little harder than necessary, but the maknae decided not to say anything about it because he had some beautiful money in his possession. (A/N: bts forgetting they’re millionaires part 382750????)

“Ooh, listen to my baby’s sexy voice!” Hoseok exclaimed, sliding up to Taehyung from behind and wrapping his arms around his waist, lips pressing a kiss to his right ear. “So deep and hot as fuck.”

Taehyung chuckled and turned his head a bit so his boyfriend could kiss him on the lips, “Thanks, Seokie.”

The moment was ruined when a certain maknae fake gagged and yelled, “EW!”

All his bandmates (minus Jimin and Yoongi) began complimenting his deep voice. Taehyung accepted the praise with a smile and a light pink blush on his cheeks.

It wasn’t until later that night (because night was the time to reflect on the day) that Taehyung thought about it again.

He never particularly loved his voice like so many did, sometimes he wished that his voice wasn’t so low. Maybe it was because a lot of the comments he saw said things like “Taehyung’s voice is so sexy! He’s such a daddy!” and “V’s looks and his deep voice just scream “she calls me daddy too”” and other things that were a little more...explicit. Now, Taehyung adored these compliments, even the extremely dirty ones, because they were from his fans, but his little side didn’t like it one bit.

The moment with the fan (Jisoo, he recalled) from nearly half a year ago popped back up in his head. Hoseok was smaller than him, and Taehyung had a deeper voice too. Hoseok always told him how much he loved his deep voice, but Taehyung was a little, was it strange for someone in a four-year-old’s headspace to sound like a grown man?

Jimin and Jungkook, who were also littles, didn’t really have to worry about that with their caregivers - Jimin had a naturally high voice and Jungkook easily spoke in a tone reminiscent of a child.

Surely Hoseok had noticed their differences and probably thought about them. Did he hate them and was just too nice to tell Taehyung how uncomfortable it made him? Did he resent Taehyung for being so...strange?

Taehyung stood up from his bed and stumbled from his room to the bathroom across the hallway. He felt a tightness in his throat and a buzzing in his ears suddenly as he slammed through the door. He knew it was the start of a panic attack, and he tried his best to calm himself down with deep breaths. He splashed some cold water onto his face, uncaring that it wet his bangs. His hands then gripped the edge of the counter as his thoughts began to spin out of his control.

He needed Hoseok and he needed him now.

Like a miracle, a knocking from the door broke through the buzzing in Taehyung’s ears. He couldn’t speak, so he just made a sound, something that came out like a mix between a groan and a whine.

And then Jin was by his side on the ground (when had he fallen to the floor?) and holding his shoulders gently. The older was speaking to him probably, but Taehyung couldn’t hear him, could barely see him through the tears forming in his eyes.

Jin turned and shouted something over his shoulder and then a few moments later a frazzled looking Hoseok appeared in the doorway.

Taehyung’s eyes seemed to only be able to focus on his Daddy’s worried gaze as he hurried over to him.

“-Baby!” was the first word Taehyung heard from Hoseok, “I need you to follow my breaths, okay?” The older grabbed Taehyung’s hands and placed them on his own chest, beginning to exaggerate deep breaths for the younger to follow along to.

Taehyung tried his best to take in deep breaths and in a few minutes, he felt his heart rate decreasing from where it was in near hyperspeed. “’M sorry, Daddy” he said, his voice weak from his tense throat.

Hoseok shushed him and moved to wrap his arms securely around him, leaning them both against the bathroom cabinets. “You don’t ever have to be sorry for having a panic attack, Taehyungie,” he sounded a little out of breath, but completely sincere. “What’s going on, bub?”

“TaeTae sad!” Taehyung blurted before he could stop it - little him had always been more open about his feelings.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Hoseok replied, “Why are you sad, baby?”

“TaeTae too...TaeTae too...sexy...” the younger mumbled the last word in embarrassment.

Hoseok looked shocked, “What?”

“TaeTae b-bigger than Daddy...a-and he have low voice...TaeTae is bad little!” Taehyung burst into tears, moving to bury his face in his hyung’s chest.

“Oh, my baby,” Hoseok cooed, “You are not a bad little. You’re Daddy’s best boy.”

Taehyung stayed in his hiding place and shook his head vehemently, hands clutching the fabric of the older’s t-shirt.

Hoseok held him closely and pressed a fond kiss to the top of his head. “Do you think I don’t like you because of your deep voice and your height?”

“TaeTae weird.”

“No, TaeTae is unique,” Hoseok corrected, pulling the little away from his chest so he could see the sincerity in his expression. “Baby, I love you so much, exactly the way you are.”

“D-Daddy don’t think it’s weird TaeTae don’t look like a baby or sound like a baby?” the younger inquired, big eyes looking up at his hyung with hope.

Hoseok smiled and booped his nose. “No, sweetie, Daddy doesn’t think it’s weird.”

“D-Daddy doesn’t hurt himself picking TaeTae up?” he asked.

The older frowned jokingly, “Hey! I’m very strong, you know! Of course I can pick up my baby.”

Taehyung would have laughed if the situation were any different, but as it was, he couldn’t help but burst into tears once more - this time, though, they were happy tears. “TaeTae love Daddy.”

“Love you too, bub,” Hoseok replied, one of his arms moving so he could rub up and down the little’s back soothingly. “So, so much.”

Taehyung hiccuped through some more tears as the reassurance filled him with a familiar warmth and calmness. His eyes brightened just a little bit more and his hands shook as he grappled at the older’s shirt. “D-D-Dada.”

Hoseok’s smile grew at the new name, indicating that the younger had slipped into babyspace. Taehyung had to feel extremely safe to fall into such a deep headspace, and the older didn’t mind because baby Taehyung was just as adorable as every other Taehyung. “Hi, baby.”

The younger still had tears shining in his big, bright eyes, but he smiled through them cutely, “Dada!”

Hoseok attacked his face with kisses, causing the baby to giggle uncontrollably. When he pulled away again, the older said, “Now, TaeTae was supposed to be sleeping, but how about we go see if anyone is still awake and wants to watch some cartoons with us?”

Taehyung didn’t respond, but Hoseok had expected that - he was too young to fully comprehend his words. The other just looked at him like he hung the stars in the sky, like Hoseok was the younger’s everything (that wasn’t actually all that far off from what the baby was thinking).

After hitching the baby easily onto his hip, Hoseok stood up and made his way out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. He laid Taehyung on the soft bed and moved to grab a cute tan puppy onesie from the boy’s suitcase. He kept a close eye on the baby, who was beginning to wiggle around on the bed curiously.

After grabbing a pacifier from the emergency little bag (thank god he had remembered it) Hoseok returned to his baby and slipped the rubber teat effortlessly between his lips. Taehyung blinked up at him and suckled at the pacifier as he watched Hoseok change him.

The older secured a diaper around the little’s waist and worked on zipping him into his adorable puppy onesie.

When he was finished, Hoseok took a moment to look down at Taehyung. The baby looked so cute it was almost too much to handle...so, naturally, Hoseok snapped a picture and sent it to their group chat.

MEMETAN (MuscleBunny - Jungkook, SmolBoi - Jimin, Dimples - Namjoon, JHoe - Hoseok, TongueTechnology - Yoongi, MrWorldWideHandsome - Seokjin)

JHoe: anyone who wants to join baby taetae and me for some cartoons is welcome to come to the living room

JHoe: *attached image*

MrWorldwideHandsome: omg *gasp* he’s so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

SmolBoi: lol Jungkooks running naruto style there now and im right behind him

MuscleBunny: i csll dibbs on cuddlin the babu!111

Dimples: me too!!!

MrWorldwideHandsome: what about you yoongi?

TongueTechnology: yea ok I’m coming too

SmolBoi: dont act so tsundere yoongi

SmolBoi: we all know you have a soft spot for baby taetae

TongueTechnology: oh yea like you don’t all have one too

JHoe: taetae is very excited to see you all :)

Dimples: we’d better watch some good fucking cartoons or I’m out though

MrWorldwideHandsome: yea like Clifford or Paw Patrol!!!!!

SmolBoi: we all know taetaes gonna be the one to pick

JHoe: update:

JHoe: Jungkook has arrived in the living room and has slipped into littlespace

JHoe: he’s now cuddling with baby taetae

Dimples: OMG IVE GOTTA SEE THIS

TongueTechnology: IM ON MY WAY FOR THE OVERLOAD OF CUTENESS

MrWorldwideHandsome: uwu!

SmolBoi: those two will be the death of me with how adorable they are

JHoe: the cuddle pile is waiting :)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

A/N: not my favorite ending, but yeah.

Tell me what you thought of me adding some background couples and extra OT7 cuteness! I thought I’d try something a bit different this time.

If you would like to request a BTS littlespace drabble, you can go to my Request Guidelines page :)

I love you guys!

[fresh-outta-jams]

Can You Hear Me?- Part 8

Johnny x Reader

Author: MoRo

Prompt: Oooh okayy, I’d like to request some Johnny fluff please? Like maybe a soulmate au 

Summary: You were unconcerned about soulmate things because getting it was the end of your final year in collage and time was counting down until graduation. But what happens when your soulmate suddenly appears right before your finals exams and it turns out he’s been there for much longer than you knew? Having your soulmate in your head was not something you needed but the more you get to know him, the more you appreciate him being there. College!Johnny x reader

Note: Writing this fic has made me become Johnny trash like oof, (I also got carried away on this one... sorry not sorry)

Warnings: Y’all we’re still HELLA fluffy but getting a little bit spicer ;) Word Count: 2.5kish

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 

You wake up the next morning to light streaming in from Johnny's bedroom windows. You crinkle your nose and rub your eyes, trying to adjust to the light.

Sitting up, you stretch rolling out your neck then shoulders then arms before trying to touch your toes. You let out soft groans when everything stretches nicely.

"Sounds like you slept well." A voice teases from the door.

Johnny is there, arms crossed in his black sweatshirt, leaning against his door frame with a pair of black framed glasses on.

You squint at him and smile sleepily. 

"Yeah I did. I think the jet lag got me though." 

You groan again lightly before flopping back down, hair and arms sprawled out on the bed.

Johnny takes a running start and jumps onto the bed next to you. His weight makes you bounce slightly, causing you to laugh.

"Yeah it really did, it's already the afternoon. You slept through breakfast." He informs you while propping his head up on his hand.

You sharply look at him, eyes wide. "Oh my God really? I missed the breakfast your mom made me! Now I feel terrible!" You freak out, covering your eyes with your hands.

"It's alright babe. Eomma told me not to wake you. Her exact words were, 'Johnny let her sleep. She's had a long trip and we'll have plenty of more breakfasts later.' So," He takes a piece of your hair and curls it around his finger,  "I wouldn't worry your pretty self about that." You just look at him, not impressed and still feeling terrible.

"I still feel terrible though..."  You tell him.

He laughs softly and leans close to you. "There's no need to. She cares more about you sleeping enough." Then he gives you a soft kiss on your forehead. "Good morning baby."

You smile and cup his cheek with one of your hands. "Good morning Johnny."

He smiles back at you and runs a hand through that black hair.

"By the way you're like super cute in the morning. Like you're already the cutest thing in existence but in the morning you're so soft and sleepy and ugh." He confesses, cheeks lightly dusted pink.

You cover your face with your hands again and laugh. "Oh my God you're so cheesy, stop it."

He laughs with you. "But you love it."

"That I do." You say shaking your head at him.

Then he sits up and claps lightly. "So if you're not too tired I have plans for today."

You sit up too, intrigued. "Ooooh like what?"

"Well I wanted to take you to see some of the things everyone who comes to Chicago needs to see. Like the Bean, Navy Pier, the aquarium. Things like those." Johnny gives you a smile, crinkling his eyes again.

"Those sound like so much fun!" You smile back at him.

"Really? That's awesome! I've always wanted to show them to someone. It's nice to see things differently through someone else's eyes."

He spreads his arms open wide in excitement and you lean forward, ungracefully into his arms. Your chin hits his sternum hard and he lets out a soft oof before closing his arms around you. "I planned that better in my head." He chuckles lightly.

"I'm also not very graceful by the way."  You laugh, sound muffled by his chest.

You squirm up his body so your face is in front of his, then you plant a kiss on his nose. "I love you Johnny Seo."

"I love you too Y/N."

You give him one more big grin before sliding out of his arms and off the bed. "You said your mom made me breakfast?"

Johnny laughs and shakes his head. "You and your one track mind."

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After the late breakfast, you and Johnny head into downtown Chicago.

He holds your hand the whole time in the car despite you worrying about him not having two hands on the wheel. He made driving look so smooth and effortless which made you feel a bit better even if he didn't have two hands on the wheel.

Eventually he found a parking spot that was relatively near everything.

He looked like he could barely hold in his excitement to show you the first stop. He bounced on his tiptoes with his face half buried in his scarf.

"You ready babe?" He grinned big at you and took your hand.

You walk up with Johnny to this giant sculpture. It literally looked like a Bean. A giant silver bean. You could even see your reflection in it. You saw a bundled up girl next to a giant less bundled up man. Said man was still smiling big at you with his phone in his hand, taking pictures.

"So what do you think?"

"It really is a bean." You laugh, "But it's really cool looking. And it's so reflective."  

"And one of the other cool things is taking pictures in it." He holds up his phone and pulls you close. You both smile into the bean as Johnny snaps picture after picture, occasionally changing it up and making silly faces or planting kisses on each others cheeks.

Once done with pictures, you walk around the whole bean a few times just taking it in. Johnny trails behind you, watching you. You brush your gloved fingertips up against the cold hard surface, watching how the different angles of the Bean bend the reflection of you. You spend some more time looking until your shivering makes Johnny take you to the next stop he has planned.

"I haven't been to an aquarium in forever!"  You exclaim as you walk into the entrance. You bet you look like a kid in a candy shop. You just found aquariums to be so cool and whimsical at times.

Johnny laughs as he walks with you to the first exhibit. "You're so freakin cute."

You blush a little and hit his arm. He grabs your arm and brings your hand to his mouth, kissing your fingertips gently. Which makes you blush even more and you look away slightly.

He laughs at your reaction and interlocks your fingers before letting you take the lead.

You look just like a little kid sometimes the way you almost press your face against the glass at different exhibits. Johnny just chuckles softly and shakes his head at you all while taking pictures of you.

At one point you take off away from him and when he catches up to you, you're plopped down on the ground right in front of the glass of a huge tank that extends floor to ceiling.

You have this wide-eyed expression on your face. You're so enthralled by the fish and other sea creatures in the tank that you don't even notice when Johnny finally caught up with you.

"Oh my gosh she's so perfect." He says in his head to himself while looking at you.

"I can feel you..." You say softly still looking at the sea creatures. "I didn't know what you said, but I can feel what you're feeling."

"Oh?" That surprised him, "You can? What am I feeling?"

You look at him as if seeing him for the first time again.

"Love. Pure, undying love and adoration." The blue light from the tank tints your red blushed cheeks a light purple.

He walks closer to you and pulls you up to your feet. "Oh am I?" He nudges your neck with his nose.

You sigh lightly and lean into his touch. "Y-yeah, it's coming off of you in strong waves."  

Your breath hitches a little as he gently kisses your neck making his way up to your cheek then to your forehead. Your entire body flushes and feels warm.

"Y-you're such a tease." You breath out softly as he pulls away from you with an evil smirk.

He shrugs and hugs you close. "You're fun to tease baby. You give the cutest reactions."

Rolling your eyes, you hug him close too. "You're so annoying."

He throws his head back and laughs at you. "But you love me Y/N."

You snuggle into his chest a little more and laugh.

"Unfortunately."  

At the end of the aquarium, you go into the giftshop to look around. In there you see the cutest porpoise plushie you've ever seen.

"OH MY GOODNESS IT'S SO CUTE."  

You practically yell out while making a bee line for it.

The porpoise plushie has a soft pastel pink body and a white underbelly. It's cute little eyes were closed like it was sleeping. You hugged it to your chest.

"And it is so soft and huggable."  

You look up at Johnny who is looking at you with an amused look on his face.

"I'm getting him."  You tell him.

He just puts his hands up, "Alright alright." He surrenders, remembering how you almost beat him for buying you Starbucks.

Excitedly, you hand the cashier the money and hug your plushie once more. Then Johnny gets an idea.

"Hey babe can I see your plushie for a sec?" He has a ridiculous grin on his face. But you hand it over anyway.

"So why are you smiling like that?"  You quirk an eyebrow up.

"Because", he says looking proud as he boops you on the nose with the plushie's nose. "You give me porpoise." Then he cracks up and fakes wipes tears away from his eyes.

You just look at him and roll your eyes again before breaking into a smile. "I can't with you anymore."  

He looks back at you with that goofy grin of his that melts your heart every time.

"Onto the next place before it gets dark!" He yells out as he drags you excitedly from the aquarium gift shop.

You leave your new plushie in the car as you get out at the next destination. Navy Pier.

"Wow... It's so pretty! I've heard so much about Navy Pier! It's like one of the most famous things in Chicago!" You gush, holding onto Johnny's hand and bouncing on your toes.

"Can we go on the Ferris Wheel!?" You point to the brightly colored Ferris Wheel that is beginning to light up as the sky gets darker.

Johnny laughs and smiles at your giddiness.

"Of course we can! You don't think I already thought of that?" He flashes two fast pass tickets.

"Oh my God you're so amazing." You throw yourself at him and wrap your arms around his neck, hands clasped at his nape.

Looking up at him, you nuzzle your nose to his. "I love you Johnny Seo."

His face breaks into another smile and he nuzzles you back. "I love you too Y/N."

With a smile, you unclasp your hands from his neck and grab his hand, dragging him towards the Ferris Wheel.

On the Ferris Wheel, you sit in the spot with the best view. As the pod you're in rises into the air, the view of Chicago lays itself out in front and beneath you.

You can see all of Navy Pier down below you. To your side, the horizon takes you all the way out to Lake Michigan. Then to your other side is all of Chicago. All the criss-crossing roads and bustling people. The city has begun to light up with the impending night time.

"Oh my God it's even better than when I arrived..." You whisper to yourself.

You turn to Johnny with shining eyes and grab his hand. "Thank you so much. It's so gorgeous..."

Johnny gives you a soft smile. "Of course. Anything for the love of my life." He says quietly as if to not break the moment you two have made.

He gently places a stray strand of hair back behind your ear and cups your cheek with one hand. He then softly brushes a thumb against your bottom lip.

You glance up at him and he's biting his lip while his eyes are looking at your lips.

You lean into his touch, heart beginning to beat faster.

"Omg it's finally happening!!" You squeal inside as your heart beats a million miles a minute.

He leans in and you follow.

Closing your eyes, you feel his lips finally meet yours. It's a soft gentle ghost of a feeling before he deepens it.

His plush lips move against yours, hungry. Johnny takes one hand off your cheek and puts it on your waist to pull you closer to him.

You let out a little squeak when he pulls you closer but then melt back into the kiss. Your lips move against his, equally hungry for more.

Getting bold, your hands snake up to his nape and you tangle your fingers in his hair. This makes him let out a small groan before he kisses you harder, exploding your world.

His teeth drag slightly on your bottom lip, tugging on it a little. Now you let out a small groan before he swallows it and grips you harder as though his life depended on it. "Ungh baby..." He groans softly.

Soon the need for air becomes too overpowering and you're forced to part.

You look up at him, flushed and a bit dizzy from what just happened.

He looks down at you with a drunken smile and equally flushed cheeks. "So was it worth the wait?"

You touch your swollen lips. "Definitely... I would wait all over again."

He laughs and hugs you close, stupid in love.

After the Ferris Wheel, you two walk to the edge of the pier to watch the sunset.

Johnny stands behind you with his arms around your waist, hands tucked in your pockets, and with his chin resting on top of your head.

You both stay still in complete silence as the water engulfs the sun in a display of glowing colors splashed across the sky.

He kisses the top of your head softly and squeezes you tight.

"Time to go home?" He asks.

You sigh happily, "Yeah."

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Back home, you snuggle into Johnny's side with your new plushie as he goes through all the pictures and videos he took of you and him today.

"Thank you for today. It was a lot of fun." You thank him.

He leans down to give you a soft kiss. "You're very welcome baby. I had a lot of fun today too."

"Any plans for tomorrow?" You ask sleepily, watching him continue to scroll through and edit pictures.

"Hmmm..." he hums, "We can do our Christmas tomorrow."

"That sounds good to me. A nice relaxing day." You crawl onto his chest some, "Besides, I have more kissing that needs to be made up." You laugh out before planting a one on him.

He laughs into the kiss and sets his phone down to grab your face.

Feeling satisfied, you lay your head down on his chest before closing your eyes and falling asleep with a smile on your face.

You were so so in love with Johnny. 

[darwinism00]

Chapter three

CHAPTER 3 The butterflies sneak attack Keera shuts the back door to Bob's Wings and things with a deep exhale. It seemed like everything was testing her tonight. She is use to the drunks and witty responses she has to give to every drunk quip with sarcasm and a smile. However there is only so much a person can take. She is only human after all; right? She chuckles to herself at the ironic thoughts going through her head when she reaches for her Zig and lighter. “Fuck!” she yells a little too loud as she realises she lent out her lighter to a regular only to have them not return it even after her playful threats for their life if it wasn't returned. She bangs the back of her head on the back door leaning her body up against it at the same time and looks up silently cursing the Gods for what seemed to be an entire day of picking on her. She tilts her head looking to the outside lights for the cameras outlining the building. The jurisprudence requires businesses to have one at every angle outside of their building. Even Though Chicago was a Union state anything under Jurisprudence was a law that was universal between all territories in the United States. One, two, three, she counts to herself and guesses them to be about 10 ft apart on this side of the building. She walks down the ramp where a overhead light was out and there seemed to be a shaded area in the already dim alley. Since Summer was almost here it was still barely light out. Looking around to make sure she is still alone she then cups her hands like she has a lighter and lights her zig. Breathing in the fire deep she instantly relaxes. Was it worth it? She thought. Exposing herself and her illigal ability she was born with? Definitely, she thought. If she didn't get this drag in she would've lost it and ended up torching someone for sure. She has to keep herself cool so to speak. She wraps her over sized hoodie around herself tight. Even though it was Spring and the days where warm, the nights were still crisp and cold and in the windy city, unforgiving. She closes her eyes and tries to clear her mind. The buzzing of the pods on their zip lines filled with families in them polluted the city sky. Public transportation freaks me out. Keera thought to herself. Thinking about all the different traveling ziplines they had set up from skyscraper to skyscraper. Suddenly the door swings open and Doug the douchebag sticks his oversized head out. This was the name Keera liked to call him to herself or around corners to other servers. Seeing him instantly gave her stomach a sinking lurch before he even yelled the following. “Keera we need you in here we are starting to fill up!” His round head hung in a uncanny comparison to a bulldog with a patchy five o’clock shadow outlining it. His face was red with flush from the ten whole feet it took him to get up from his tiny office to the back door. He turns, seemingly out of breath, letting the door ease shut just to waddle back to his 5ft by 5ft office and sit in his well worn in computer chair so that he can pretend to work. Keera rolls her eyes. By we he surely means everyone but him. He most likely had the tragedy of someone asking him to actually do something for once. Keera complained in her head. In which case he managed to barely walk 10 feet for her to get in there and do his job along with hers. “Fucking fat ass.” She mumbles out as she exhales the drag. She learned a long time ago that relying on him to be functional in his duties was a far cry from reality and waiting on him to do anything only cut into her nightly tips and caused her blood pressure and keep it cool gage to go through the roof so to speak. Letting out another curse as reality sinks in she throws the lit zig into its 1 inch burn container which is one of the many things mandated by Jurisprudence. Keera ties up her thick blonde colored wavy hair in a tight pony. Then she takes a quick glance in her mirror on her phone to make sure her makeup hasn't sweated into a mess like it can sometimes do and puts what she like to call her game face on. “Girl can't have five minutes in this fucking place.” She mumbles as she aggressively swings the door open, annoyed that even after eight hours she can't get any kind of a break. She walks in glaring in Doug the douchebags direction which is in the office like she had thought playing a video game on the computer. “Worthless.” She mumbles under her breath while shaking her head in disapproval. Keera pulled her jeans up over her hips, takes the commuity hoodie off and hangs it on the coat rack mounted to the wall in back and pulls her Bobs wings and things shirt down over her large breasts and tucks it back in. She sprayed some vanilla body spray on so she smelled like fresh dessert and sighed pausing for a second like a runner waiting for the gunshot at the beginning of the race. She knew when she saw a server's shirt and it read (I am a server not your servant) on the back that she wanted to work here. However, some days it just seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth. That's life though, better than being in prison, dead or a camp she thought to herself with a shrug. A fraction of a memory of Albo flashed in her mind like it always did when she thought about being taken and she quickly shoved it behind her well built wall of emotions she had made so solid over the years that she had yet to meet anyone to even shake it. Keera got ready to go from peaceful serenity to super bowl crowd type noise. It's like jumping into a pool, but that pool is noise and chaos. All your senses just get drowned all at once and it takes you a second to get into the flow. “Keera!” Amanda called with urgent eyes. Deep breath! Keera thought to herself quickly as she dived in. “I'm so glad I found you!” Amanda says while walking away towards a P.O.S. which is a computer where servers ring their orders in. Keera didn't have to ask she automatically just knew. She walks with purpose flinging her soft pony back off her shoulder letting the loud yells and bar noise fade into the background of her mind. Amanda followed closely behind. “I tried asking the Douchebag but it was like trying to wake a bear from hibernation.” “Yeah I bet it was. His penguin ass actually had to get up to tell me to come inside.” Keera laughs sarcastically because even though he is the punch line to every joke when servers complain about anything at Bob's wings and things Keera knows that it's more of a joke to put up with it and stay. But like any place if she leaves it will only screw her friends long enough for them to find another person willing to do his job for him. She punches in Doug's manager numbers and proceeds to comp 50% off of one of Amanda's table’s appetizer for their meal coming out before it did. She then scans the bar and sees 10 tickets coming out of the printer and the new bartender, Duke trying to work on 5 other drinks. Crash! A glass breaks and the crowd goes wild. Amanda leans in; or up since she is a whole 5’2 and maybe 100 lbs and says. “You better save him girl. That's the 3rd glass since you went on break 5 minutes ago.” “Fuck me! Angel said he was ok to be left alone.” Keera mumbles to herself with a focused expression on her face people often mistake for resting bitch face and starts to half jog in his direction. Amanda yells her way while printing her newly corrected tickets. “That's what she said!” Amanda gives out a warm laughter and a huge bright smile. Keera smirked but was on a mission. On her way to the bar which couldn't be more than 20 ft she was asked for three refills on tables that weren't hers, two tv changes and someone asking if they were killing chickens in the back because their food was taking forever. Her responses were as follows. “What are you drinking piss water? Scott you better be saying a cheers to me cause you know better than to ask me to get you a refill when you don't sit at my bar rail. Didn't you hear the rookie back there just break your drink? Its Coors light it belongs on the floor. Yes the white sox will be on in 15, no I will not turn it on before then and yes we have to catch them, kill em and then we try not to kill ourselves in the process do you see this crowd?” She didn't know the last guy which was more rare than not; seeing how she practically lived there and this place was a native’s hang out but she didn't care. If he can't stand the heat than he can get the hell away from her and definitely out of Chicago. Even with her attitude and curse happy vocabulary she was considered nice in the windy city and if she pissed someone off Doug was more than happy with letting her pretend to be the manager and get her ass chewed out. This Duke guy was a fumbling idiot! She thought to herself when she almost reached the bar. Keera didn't get a chance to train him since he was going to be mainly on days which were usually pretty slow and she was the main closing bartender. This was supposed to be his final training shift and he was not cutting it. They were so quick to hire a penis that they didn't stop to actually ask if he knew anything about American sports or actual bartending. This guy had a British accent, which was surprising giving his obvious Indian heritage. It annoyed the piss out of Keera. She had been listening in on his first interview from behind the bar and told Douchebag not to hire him. So of course here he is breaking her shit and clogging up the traffic of drinks that needed to be going out of this bar in the first 20 minutes of his shift. Keera turns the bar corner pretty much flying in for the rescue. The 30 by 10 foot space was her safe haven. The bottles were displayed against the brick back wall, clean and neat in the order she places them every night when she wipes them down. Whiskey on the left and vodka on the right. The speed rails were filled with the various tequilas and attached to two glass chillers that were stainless steel coolers and fit snug under the 34 taps in the middle of the bar. Behind the taps was a mirror back splash and above that was one projection screen and four big screens lining up the rest of the wall behind the bar. The other speed rails were hidden behind the bar lining the sinks and ice bin filled with the bars cordials and bottom shelf liquors. The sink was filled with ice to cool the syrups and fresh cut fruit. One was open for dumping old drinks and the dishwasher sat to the right of that. The rest of the bar had sports posters and jerseys lining every square inch of the place. If there wasn't a tv it was a shelf with a signed baseballs in dusty case or a shadow box with a signed chicago jersey. The bar top had bottle caps of local beers lined up in a fancy mural picturing a baseball bat, basketball, hockey stick and chicago logo shellacked into a smooth surface. She was almost baffled that the place didn't get robbed for the merch hanging every where alone but seeing how one of the biggest mob families in the city had a daughter working here that thought explained itself away every time it popped into Keera’s head. Keera walks behind the bar and her performance begins. She plasters a smile on her face. “Awe Rookie no one can leave the baby for five minutes hu?” Duke turns around with panic stricken eyes. His glasses were foggy from sweat, his unusually well groomed hair was tassled and his too nice of a button up shirt had bar syrups and God knows what else on it and his hands were shaking. Jesus he'd only been back here for five minutes Keera thought to herself. She almost felt sorry for him. However he was now cutting into her tips and when it came to her money above all things she didn't screw around. She walks up to what they called the watering well which was where the servers all came to either gossip or pick up their drinks. She kicks the glass under the glass chiller and grabs 4 of the five tickets, spins on her heel and faces Duke. “Listen Rookie.” He interrupts her in his crisp accent. “My name is Duke.” He then holds out his hand. Keera being distracted and irritated by not only the gobs of people yelling requests at her but the fact that this guy couldn't handle a bar for literally 5 minutes for her to get a break in was infuriating. Keera snaps at him. “I don't care what your name is I need you to make these tickets.” She raises a fist of tickets between them and with hardly a glance to his eyes shoves them at his chest. “Snap snap rookie you're hurting my rent!” “Nice to finally meet you too. I've been looking forward to it all week.” Duke mumbles, pausing for just a second. She passes him by and heads to regulars from the left side of the bar so that she can work her way to the right which should leave the rookie with plenty of room to make those drinks and serve them to the now angry mob gathering at the watering hole waiting for their guest’s drinks. Not only did Duke step on every female's toes getting hired on straight to bartender but he was the only man employed there in a staff of men hating single moms, and he sucked for lack of a better word. Keera knocked out a Killer Koolaid, top shelf long island, blue mother fucker and a caribbean martini in about 90 seconds flat which is how long it took Duke to pour three beers and bring them over. Keera turns around dodging the clumsy tall Brit to see hardly a dent made into the tickets spilling from the printer onto the bar counter now touching the floor. “Seriously?” She says loudly then reminds herself to breath and keep a cool head. She had mastered the ability of not letting her anger expose her and this is the longest she had stayed at one job because of it. Keera turns to Duke and directs him to take care of the remaining customers at the bar rail. “Move that cute ass of yours and make yourself useful!” She yells loudly trying to make light of a stressful situation and calling attention to the fact that even though he's a shitty bartender at least he's good to look at. He smiles for a second before she points at the end of the bar where a few females, both decked out in white sox apparel from head to toe were sitting. They raised their empty glasses, smiling and giggling at Duke. Keera knocked the rest of the tickets out under five minutes. “Did you ever know that you're my hero?” Lynn, a mexican waitress says in her always sarcastic voice as she snags her drink and shuffles off to her tables. Keera was like a dancer and the bar was her dance floor and when it got busy it was her performance. She glided behind that bar like a ballerina in swan lake. Regulars had come accustomed to watching her light shine when she's in her element. She gets her bar rail some refills, cleans some dishes and puts the game on in time to shut any ridiculous baseball fan up. They act as if you are murdering their baby if you don't get the game on. Keera thinks to herself as she gives a signature eye roll. White sox, cubs, cardinals. They all sucked donkey dick! She thought almost every time she worked a game night. Chicago fans are crazy about Chicago sports. She didn't want to share her tips with a barback so she scheduled this to be Duke’s first and last night of training with her. She always gave the go ahead with a new hire. He'd get paid minimum wage and she could keep her tips and he would be put to the test. So far he is failing miserably. Keera thinks briefly flashing a glance his way while she poured a row of five beers from the tap. He had worked a few shifts this week with the daytime bartender and Keeras bestie Angel and she said he was doing great but thats Angel for you. Super positive even if this kid didn't deserve it. Angel was going on vacation in a few weeks to New Vegas and when she got back she was switching to nights. Daytime was just too slow. That and Keera got to see her best friend more so even though she didn't agree with Duke being hired she kept her mouth shut. That and Douchebag didn't listen to her anyways. It would interfere with his power tripping he does when he occasionally decides to work. It would be less of a hassle if she was on her own. But that's how Keera was with everything in her life. Can't trust anyone to do anything so she did everything herself. Another comp and a void for a few servers she danced behind the bar for four hours until it finally slowed down. She was on a double and that 3 minute break was all that she got. She was starving and running on coffee and Brio fumes. Although Brio is advertised to be full of protein, vitamins and caffeine she was sure it wasn't designed to be a full supplement to the human meal plan in a 24 hour span of time. “Ok Duke I have to go eat something. I'll be gone for five minutes. Will you be ok?” She talks slowly at him as if he couldn't understand English but after babysitting him all night she didn't care. This was the first time actually talking to him instead of at him. The game was over and the place was clearing out fast. He would be in charge of cashing maybe two people out and cleaning dishes. He takes off his foggy glasses and is rubbing the sweat out of his eyebrows when he stops and looks at her with dark puppy dog eyes. Not just brown but almost black. Like the kind of black holes you want to get sucked down. “That's the first time you've said my actual name.” He looks at her almost star struck. Her stomach flutters and she looks down. Keera is not used to feeling a flutter of any kind. That part of her was dead. It was taken away a long time ago when the first and only boy she had loved was taken. She goes to say something witty or smart ass in defense of her feelings and is instead left speechless and for the first time in a long time; she blushes. “What?” She shaked her head. “Never mind.” She mumbles and turns quickly away to hide her flushed face. Keera walks quickly to the back baffled by her own emotions. “I'll be right back!” She yells back not waiting for a response leaving Duke with a goofy smile on his face looking after her. In her 24 years she had taken care of her primal needs with one night stands in cars, party bathrooms and once in the woods in the mountains. She thought of her virginity as something to get rid of, like it was something of a burden to carry. She had never knew her father and what she knew of her mother this type of behaviour was normal. It was a way for her to numb herself and build her wall of emotions up. “What’s wrong with you?” Keera looks up startled torn away from her own taunting thoughts. Amanda stood there, bright red hair shining from a fresh dye job that was cut short in a edgy wedge. She had fair freckled skin and a crooked smile and an attitude that would put any kitchen cook in his place. She was the actual living definition of a spit fire. She snaps her fingers. “Hello earth to Keera! You aren't dipping on me are you.” a playful laugh escapes her. Dipping was the slang term for Heroin addicts when they dipped into a particular stash of Heroin known to the general public as “Dirty tar.” This was named to a specific batch of heroin distributed from Afghanistan between the years 2015-2021 that was cut with a unknown substance causing mutations in the human genome. It caused nerve degeneration at an accelerated rate. The user was so full of adrenaline and pain that they would be severely aggressive and dangerous. There hasn't been any new cases of “Dirty tar” for over 20 years but the offsprings of these addicts were mutated and were the cause of the genetic war of 2020. That is what caused martial law to be instated for seven years. Amongst all the fighting the people with abilities were either shot dead or gathered up like cattle. Now; after the civil war known as the gene war that arose because most of these people with abilities were children jurisprudence was created for peace, which is a mutated version of the law itself. It causes restrictions and regulations on everything and everyone for the so called safety and preservation of the human species as a whole. It was the only thing all three territories agreed on towards the end of the war. Amanda didn't know Keera’s secret so Keera couldn't let her see how close she hit home for her by saying what she said. “No I'm good. I'm just exhausted.” Keera says this while staring blankly at the white wall with grease stains on it and laminated safety signs plastered in random spots. She clears her throat taking a huge bite of a turkey sandwich. “Yeah girl it's been a ridiculous night, let alone day! I can't believe you have already been here 12 hours. Girl you are crazy.” Amanda is separating out her credit card receipts for the night and organizing her money on the metal stainless steel countertop where she had cleared a little space between the silverware that still needed rolled and the ranch and blue cheese containers that were wrapped in plastic but not yet stored away in the walk in cooler for the night. She pauses in counting her money. “Not to mention your tall dark and dorky back there.” She chuckles and though Keera has a mouth full of food she does too. “Yeah I guess he is dorky, and clumsy.” She glances at the clock, gut clenching at the thought of leaving him behind her bar again even though it had slowed way down since the game had ended. “You guess hu?” Amanda eyed her skeptically clutching her money in both hands stopping mid count. “You got a thing for the British Hindu or something?” She thrusts her hips and then pokes Keeras side playfully letting out a loud laugh. “No!” Keera said too quickly catching Amanda's scrutinizing look. “I just can't help but feel a little, small amount of pity for him.” Keera gestures animatedly with her free hand and then continues. “ He's hopeless.” She shrugs and glances sideways wishing Amanda would stop looking at her that way and God help her she feels heat paint her face again. Not the dangerous kind but warm tingling heat that she knew was giving her away. “Oh my God!” Amanda says way too loud causing Keera to drop her last bit of sandwich and walk away. “You have a thang for him don't you!?” She still didn't hush her voice what so ever, following right behind her like a pesky fly at a Summer picnic. Keera wanted to crawl in a hole. She didn't know why but maybe she was right. “Girl I have never known you to have a thang for anyone! In the four years I've known you or ever!” She put her fingers in quotation marks rounding the corner and passing the bathrooms after Keera. The thought flashes through Keeras mind of the actual logistics of such a small person carrying such a loud voice. It just doesn't seem possible but here Amanda was louder than ever. “Well I'm not starting now. I just feel sorry for him and that's it.” Keera says in a hushed voice turning towards her friend and holding her finger to her lips to hush her. “So you like the Geek type then? No wonder you never meet anyone here!” Her voice seems to almost be getting louder as she gestures around the bar within earshot of Duke now. “You feel sorry enough to… you know?” She puts her finger in a hole she made from her index finger and thumb with her other hand. “Jesus fucking Christ Amanda get your fucking head out of the gutter!” She yells too loud while grabbing a half full glass left by a customer long gone along with most customers that were clearing out just minutes before. Without skipping a beat Amanda yells back while heading back towards the kitchen. “Yeah well that's where your head usually is at honey but now I think it's floated to the clouds.” she gestures fluttering fingers towards the ceiling while looking back and then she lets out a loud cackle. Keera had never wanted this night to end as bad as she did right then. She walks behind her bar glaring at the corner where her friend had just turned only to smack directly in a solid, firm, lean figure. Before thinking she yells. “Jesus Christ!” Her nerves where more than shot but at least she didn't drop her glass. She makes note of the height of Duke. Looking up into his dark eyes once again. He towers over her 5”7 body a good 8 inches. He has thick hair pushed back; long on the top, shaved and clean on the sides. He has a mocha skin tone with a beard that normally would do nothing for her but as her eyes move to his full soft looking lips she wonders what it would feel like to kiss them. She notices them moving but doesn't hear a word. She glances at his white tank that he was now wearing noticing his broad shoulders and defined muscles that glistened with sweat over all his tattoos that went down his arms. There was an electrical charge between them that had her holding her breath. He moves to touch her hand and she is froze. Her instinct is to always move away or be on the defense but she couldn't move. She didn't want to move. He doesn't touch her hand but instead was trying take the glass out of her hand. Before she barely let go he drops the glass yelping in the process. “Bloody Hell that glass was hot! How in Gods name did you not burn yourself?” He is stepped back shaking his hand as to shake the heat off of it. Keera looks around to just see Kenny and Richard which were the bars most faithful regulars and usually pretty well done for the night especially since the white sox won. They cheered and clapped! “Good job rookie that's glass number 7 for the night! You should get a raise.” Kenny says sarcastically and they both laugh to each other. He half smiles at them and nodes. “Yup lads it's all good. I'm ok. Thanks for asking.” Keera goes to grab his hand but before she does he steps back a little too quickly. Does he suspect something? She thinks to herself. He is Indian right? Maybe he's a Samsaptaka? Keera thinks to herself. The Samsaptaka are a group of Hindu religious nuts that are also called hunters that believe that the people with abilities are cursed with demon blood or as they call it (KALI) which is a demon that that possessed Nala and need eradicated from this world for the survival of the human species. They use some special knife to pierce the heart and they believe save the soul of the tainted, or so they call them. They use a chaaku that is blessed by their Brahmans which are their appointed priest to their cause. Keera silently kicks herself for being so prejudiced. Hes British she scolds herself. Besides they haven't been spotted in years she continued her inner dialogue just to see him staring blankly at her with a look of anticipation on his face. Just as her mind goes blank words start to fall out of her mouth. “I barely have fingerprints anymore rookie. You need to grow a pair and get use to it. No pain no gain.” She smiles and grabs the broom and hands it to him. “Here Cinderella hop to it.” Duke hesitates, squinting for a brief moment and then smiles his brilliant 1000 watt smile and starts sweeping all the broken glass in the alley way. “And put on a shirt.” She says a bit shakily, avoiding looking in his direction what so ever. Awe there it is. The face and personality she wears at work. Sarcastic, witty Keera. Nothing gets to her. She is carefree and everything rolls off her shoulder and she most certainly does not get all girly, shy and giggly over a guy. She feels comfortable and safe now. Keera feels in control.