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mochikeiji · 3 years

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Looking Like U Got Me

Request: "Prompt no. 56 and 55 for Gojo ＼(^o^)／"

55. "You look like my husband/wife"

56. "Keep doing that and I'll marry you faster"

↠ Pairing: Gojou Satoru x Reader

↠ Warning: none! Simply fluff

↬ Word Count: 1.7k

↠ a/n: i accidentally mixed up prompts 55 and 57 ;-; but still hoping this turns out good!!

↳ from Go! Go! Gogatsu Event!

All he wanted was to wake up in bed, next to you— who would cuddle deeper in his arms even in slumber so he'd smother you with his kisses and tighten his hold around you and drift back to sleep longer, finally free of responsibilities for once and enjoy quality time with his only favorite person. But instead he wakes up with a groan passing through his lips, supporting his back side with his hand while shuffling to his side in a different position as the light sun rays shun through the window blinds, softly fanning his eye and forehead.

Gojo chuckles a bit before wincing. His lower back so tensed that he feels himself get older by the day. Pouting at the empty space next to him, he palms the cold sheet in wonder of where you are. Up so early in the morning when you could've just stayed in for him. How annoying. His eyes shut for moment when the scent coming from outside the room intruded his senses. Ah, you must be cooking breakfast. How sweet of you.

Thank goodness it wasn't another batch of dried crackers or cup of noodles that'll enter his mouth. He was never one to cook meals when he was on solo or when you weren't around. The very thought of not only the meal was awaiting for him outside, but also you excites him that it made him feel tingly inside. Call it dramatic, yeah, but it's not every day someone gets to wake up and immediately feel this full of love in the morning. You were the only and last love he's ever wanted to have in this world. It was so surreal even to him.

Sighing before pushing himself up, Gojo yawns out the remains of drowsiness in his system and stands. He didn't bother wearing a shirt since last night, claiming that he misses how his body rubs off yours in both comforting and suggestive ways. Plus it was just you and him home, he'd rather walk naked than wear the usual long sleeved uniform on a warm day.

The scent of coffee got stronger as he closes in his journey towards the kitchen. There was faint sizzling coming from the pan as you stood there in attendance. Stuck in your own little world, swaying to the sound of the radio playing, U got Me by Yung Heazy. It was one of the few songs that reminded you of Gojo back when you were both high schoolers. The exact song you remembered playing when you both hung out on a small cafe in Tokyo. Where he was so flustered, attempted to hide his blushes with his round glasses. The little things that reminded you of that memory never fails to make your heart race.

Of course Gojo knows this one as well. Because it was on that date as well he had call you, "his" after masking his embarrassment and from obviously checking you out every minute. How could he contain himself? He was a young man who was having trouble in the arts of love. Nevertheless he was glad to have grown up from those years. If his younger self could see him now, he'd be gagging at the sight of a softer version of his older self.

Snaking his arms around your torso carefully to avoid surprising you, he places his chin above your shoulder. Salivating at the sight of thick bacon in deep frying, shamelessly letting you know he was hungry from the sound of his stomach growling. "This is a nice way to greet me." you smile at the man behind you, who had his eyes closed in delight while rubbing his cheek against yours like a cat in need of attention. "Good morning to you as well, sweet cheeks." he says after pressing a kiss on your skin.

"You got up early." whining softly, his hair and nose tickling the side of your neck and shoulder, "I was hoping to stay longer y'know?" trailing his hands underneath the his shirt you were wearing, mapping out on all the skin he could squish and hold with his large palms. Noticeably pressing himself closer to your body, the much needed space gone but you weren't complaining. After all, this was Gojo, a man who knows no boundaries.

"I wanted to make breakfast for you. We haven't had one together since we're both busy." you say as you grabbed the nearby plate, turning off the stove as the now cooked meal sizzles softly from the pan before sliding down to the porcelain surface. In attempt to lick his lips at the now prepared food, his tongue grazes upon your skin, sending you to jolt a bit, hearing the joyous laughter from him as he places a kiss on the spot as an apology.

"W-why don't you go sit down, there's rice bowls and cooked eggs prepared already." stammering, you quickly excused yourself away from his embrace to clean out the mess from the counter. Gojo sighs out the adoration but obliges to your command. Not long after you had finally settled down in front of him. Seeing him in all smiles as he scarfs down on his food made you smile as well. Thank goodness his blindfold was off, they looked adorable twinkling in happiness.

This felt nice. To have an opportunity to be a normal couple once again. So many times you could only daydream of scenarios like this. He could say the same as now that you were present on the usual spot he'd come home to empty. Often dozing off during meetings thinking of where you were or how you were, the multiple times Megumi has fed up with his whining about how he never gets to see or have more time with you. Nobara even pointed out a fact saying, "You act as if you're both married." and Yuuji, being the happy child of the three had said something that always ponder in his mind, "Why don't you marry each other yet, sensei?"

It was a statement he's been considering for a long time. Marriage. Of course Gojo wanted to marry you after years of torment love. To have his precious students say that you both already looked as if you were married got him all heart racing, and very very happy. He's had vivid images of a life with you. Not far from what it is today, but imagine. Unlimited happiness after so long of fearing it. Perhaps maybe even tiny legs running around, giving him such big love as his grows for the family he's craved, watching you smile beside the doorway and calling them in for a meal.

If marrying you means he can have that every day, then the hell with it.

"You look like my wife."

The spoon drop echoes. Slowly his face erupted into a faint blush while staring back at your widened eyes and opened mouth. "What?" gulping down the stuck food in your throat, Gojo bites his lips watching you maintain your composure. So cute. "Y-you know you say funny stuff when you're out of it. Maybe some daifuku would help? Yeah! Wait a sec." quickly getting up from your seat and rummaging in your fridge, you breathed out the heavy puff of air from your lungs.

He did not just say that so directly towards you. Maybe you were dreaming? You wouldn't be if your heart wasn't practically being forced out. Gojo is always fun and games, right? He doesn't mean that.

Sad to think of it that way.

"Ow!" thumping your head above the fridge as you grabbed some of the take outs of Daifuku you got yesterday, closing the fridge back before returning shortly to Gojo, who seemed as out of it as you were. "You did say your brain functions best when you eat sweets. Luckily for you I bought these yesterday. That's why I cooked earlier now because I wanted to try it out with you!"

Gojo can't tell if he wants to be offended at the fact that you think he was joking or just now, cover his half of his face to hide his laughter and igniting squeals. God he wished he had his phone right now, the moment was just so priceless and precious as you were.

"...ter"

Muffles from behind his hand was heard. Tilting your head to the side, trying to process what he said but no avail. "What was that?" you moved a little closer next to him, tapping his hand away almost eagerly. When he does, you spot that knowing smile present on his lips and the uncharacteristic blush still painted on his cheeks.

"Keep doing that and I'll marry you faster, honey."

You've gotten more shy when his hand held yours in the most loving way while drawing patterns. Searching through his eyes if he was playing around, but you were met with ones you know of when they were full of sincerity. "I-i. You know, they were so cheap anyways and I figured you'd want them." he snorts before leaning his head on your arm and laughs hysterically. It was painfully obvious that you were in state of shock that you couldn't even process his words.

Up until now the effect he has on you was still there like before.

"Sweetie." he turns his body away from the table to face you, pulling you so that you were standing in between his legs looking down shyly on the floor. "I'm serious." his fingers reached for your chin to pull your head up to meet his features. His other hand still holding your smaller one; index finger tracing your ring finger in circular motions as if he was creating a make believe ring.

He should thank himself for falling in love and be trusting once again.

Because now, staring back at your eyes filled with the same amount of emotions as his. Reciprocating the exact thing he was feeling. Waking up just to start the day already wanting him to be there. Knowing all the littlest things he's shared. Hearing the erratic sound of both of your heart beats.

He knew he's made the right choice.

"You really do look like my wife. My future."

#gojo satoru #jjk gojo #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo satoru x reader #gojo scenarios #gojo x reader #gojo fluff #gojo imagine #gojou satoru #gojou satoru x reader #gojou x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff #raines: gogatsu event

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bqstqnbruin · 3 years

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Priceless

Ok so here I am somehow with a second fic in a matter of, what, two ish days? Anyway, this is one that I wrote and posted last year but I reread it and it sucked so I took it down and rewrote it. Hope you like it!

Word count: 5.5k

Warnings: none? swearing? Typos for sure.

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You loved him with your whole heart; there was nothing that you wouldn’t do for him, and you knew that he felt the same about you. At least, that’s what you used to believe.

Ever the one for dramatics, a three am alarm was what made you question not only your whole relationship but your whole existence. The witching hour was an ungodly time to be waking up and getting ready, no matter what the reason was. Even when it involved flying off to Europe for a destination wedding that involved Jake’s entire team.

“Babe?” you call to him, the shower just turning off. He pokes his head out, hair wet, droplets of water rolling down his face as he waited for you to answer, “We’re going to have time to stop at a Dunkin’, right?” you whine, doing everything in your power to not pass out then and there instead of finishing your packing.

“Maybe?” he says, ducking back into the bathroom before coming out with just a towel on, hanging on his waist. If you weren’t so exhausted, the things you could be doing right now, your mind wanders as he continues talking, “We have to get through TSA and I don’t think they would allow you to bring that through security, would they?”

“Fucking hell,” you mutter to yourself, throwing the last of what you needed into your suitcase, trying to find anything of Jake’s lying around that you knew he would forget. “What if I finish it in the car before we go through security?” you beg, hoping he’ll cave.

“Y/N,” he sings, “then you’re going to have to use the bathroom a million times and it’s going to be my fault.”

“Do I have to be pleasant before I get coffee in me?”

You hear him laugh from the bathroom as you lean back on the bed and close your eyes. “You wouldn’t be you if you were pleasant before your coffee, babe.” You do everything in your power to try to stay awake while he gets ready, him saying random things as he runs around getting dressed, you murmuring weak responses in return. “Hey, come on, sleepyhead,” he says, pulling you off the bed, “We’ve gotta get to Logan.”

You drive there in silence, praying for the moment you get coffee in you as you still struggle to stay awake while Jake keeps talking. The car stops, Jake pulling down the window when you finally open your eyes, seeing that you were sitting in the drive-thru line at Dunkin. “God, I love you,” you say, leaning over and kissing his cheek, a smile covering his face.

“Who’s paying, you or me?” he asks, not letting you answer due to the voice of the cashier inside coming through the speaker to take your order. Two small coffees, enough to hold you over for the drive to the airport before you get more coffee once you’re through the gate. He looks at you as you stare down at your phone, having to check your bank account to see if you even had the money to begin with. “I’ll pay for both,” he says, a calm tone covering her voice.

Money for you was tight. You had never really struggled to pay your bills and your share of the utilities, but you definitely didn’t have the amount of extra cash that Jake did because of the seemingly never-ending student loan payments you were making. “I’m sorry,” you say, taking the coffee from him so he can get to driving again. You hated having the money conversation; no matter who you talked to, they always seemed to bring up the fact that your NHL player boyfriend made more money in a single season than you had seen in your entire life. It always left things awkward, as the implication of you being a gold digger hung in the air between you and the person you were having a conversation with. “I can probably transfer some money from my savings for extra stuff, but I had really only planned on buying a few meals and a few other trinkets for my family,” you admit, staring at the low number that showed in your checking account.

“Hey,” he says, resting his hand on your thigh, not taking his eyes off the road, “It’s fine. Anything you want, I’ll pay for it.” You smile at him, hoping he couldn’t tell from the corner of his eye that it wasn’t sincere. That was another thing you hated: other people covering for you. You grew up being taught that if you didn’t have money for it, you either didn’t pay for it until you had the money yourself, or you forewent it entirely. Having to worry about paying someone back was unnecessary stress in your life. Or, if they were like Jake, then they would insist it was their treat, not taking the money you owed them no matter how much it was.

You look out the window, the empty, tree-lined highway lighting up as the sun rose over it, the sky turning from the dark purple night to a brilliant orange right in front of you. You had never been one to wake up for the sunrise, taking in the sight for what was probably the first time in your life. “It’s so beautiful,” you say, taking a sip of your coffee, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this calm and quiet before.”

“I’ve seen one thing more beautiful than this,” he says, a huge smile on his face.

“What?” you ask, bracing him for the cheesy comment you knew he was going to make.

“You,” he says, proudly, trying to find your hand without looking away from the road, bringing it to his lips before connecting his back to the wheel.

“God,” you moan, both of you laughing, “That was so corny.”

“Well, they call me Chef JD, gotta have some corn sometimes,” he says, resulting in you screaming.

“I will in fact leave you if you say something like that again,” you tell him.

“Yeah? Where would you live, then?” he teases, immediately regretting his words, “Fuck, sorry.”

“I’d figure something out,” you tell him, trying to match his teasing tone so that he doesn’t think you took it the way you did. The rest of the ride to the airport is in silence, you both finishing your coffee as you pull up, seeing some of the guys getting their stuff out of their car at the same time. “Hey, aren’t international flights normally at night?” you ask Jake, Charlie, and Matt coming over to help you guys get your bags.

“Bergy booked the flight for all of us and we don’t question him,” Charlie says, pulling Jake away from you, the two of them wandering into the airport with Kylie trying to keep up with her own boyfriend

“It should be more concerning to all of you that he has to act like your father,” you say to Matt, walking with him to security. Besides Jake, you were closest to Matt. He adopted you as a pseudo younger sister, the one who knew just as much, if not more about you than your boyfriend.

Matt shrugs, watching Charlie and Jake mess around with each other in line in front of you, “It just kind of happened that way. None of us ever questioned it, like Chuck said.” The two of you watch the boys, bickering about something as they seemingly all forget their girls were standing right around them. You and Matt fall into a mundane conversation, watching Jake and Charlie together as they pass through security. The five of you gather your things, trying to find which way your gate was so you could meet the rest of the guys before boarding the flight.

Matt figured out that you were supposed to head to the left, so naturally, Jake and Charlie veered right, leaving you and Kylie with all their stuff to lug to the gate. “Where are they going?” you ask Kylie, dumbfounded as you struggle to carry Jake’s bag along with your own stuff.

“Charlie mentioned he was hungry on the way here, so I’m just hoping that’s where they’re going,” she mutters, “Dealing with all of them together is like herding cats,” clearly as cranky as you were earlier that morning as you try to stifle your laughter. Just like you, Kylie was not a person to interact with before she had caffeine in her, one of the reasons the two of you got along so well.

You get to the gate, Jake and Charlie nowhere to be seen even though you were suddenly surrounded by the rest of the Bruins roster. From the looks of the waiting area, the flight was mostly the guys and their families, and thankfully so: you would hate to be on a plane with the Bruins organization if you were outside the organization itself. You loved the boys, but god, they were loud and annoying sometimes. Everyone else on the plane would definitely hate the group, but they didn’t care. The city was fueled by the hate of everyone who wasn’t them.

Jake and Charlie finally reappear, more coffee and now food in hand. Jake hands you what he got you as you reposition yourself so you’re sitting cross-legged on the seat, slightly uncomfortable due to how scrunched up you were so you could face him. You lean over, kissing his cheek before you start eating

He turns his head to smile at you as you catch him off guard and kiss him again. “What’s this for?”

“I don’t tell you enough that I appreciate you,” you say to him, taking a bite of the breakfast sandwich he got you.

Jake smiles at you, turning himself so he faces you. He wraps his hand around the back of your neck, gently pulling you towards him so he can kiss your forehead, mumbling something you can’t quite make out against your skin. Charlie starts chirping Jake over something, resulting in him leaving you to go argue with his teammates. You can’t help but smile as you watch Jake and his teammates. You knew he loved them, just like they loved him.

“You didn’t have coffee in you when I was talking to you before and you were actually pleasant?” Matt plops down next to you, taking your attention away from Jake.

You roll your eyes at him, even though you knew he was right, “Shut up, Gryz. Jake and I stopped for coffee on the way here. This is round two,” you say, raising the cup to him. The two of you watch some of the younger guys aggregate around Jake and Charlie, Jake telling them some story while they hang onto every word of his, laughing their heads off with every sentence. “God, he loves you guys.”

“Yeah, but you know he loves you more,” Matt says, nudging your shoulder.

“I think he loves Oreos more than he loves me sometimes,” you joke, knowing that it’s not true. Hoping that it’s not true, more like it.

“Trust me, JD loves three things in this order: you, hockey, then Oreos. He loves you more than he loves hockey. Nothing you can do will change that.”

You both laugh, the announcement for your flight to board interrupting the noise the rest of the guys were making. Jake rushes over to your side, picking up the bags both of you were planning on bringing onto the plan, practically pushing Matt out of the way. He kisses you on the cheek, a soft smile on his face.

“What?” you ask him, linking your arm in his.

“I love you,” he says, getting in line behind some of the guys.

“I love you, too,” you say, leaning your head against his arm.

“Ready for seven hours on a plane with these fools?” Jake asks, using his other arm to gesture to the rest of his teammates.

“I’m only ready because you’re with me,” you say to him in a sing-songy voice.

“Woah! So you can be corny, but I can’t?” he jokes, sending you two into a flirty bickering match as you board the plane with everyone. You get settled into your seats, resting your head on his shoulder to hopefully fall back to sleep despite the amount of caffeine coursing through your veins. You can hear the guys talking around you, probably annoying the rest of the passengers on the flight more than they intended.

You end up in that half awake-half asleep state while on his shoulder, the sounds of the rest of the guys fading in and out as you did. You could feel Jake occasionally kissing the top of your head, resting his on yours in an effort to go to sleep like you were. Both of you were woken up by the sound of the flight attendant coming through with food, the long flight warranting a hot meal, you and Jake being handed something different than the rest of the people around you.

“What is it?” you whisper to him once the flight attendant has passed by you.

“None of the free meals looked good so I got us something different,” he says, taking a bite of what looked like chicken covered in some sort of sauce.

“We could have just done the free meal so you wouldn’t be paying for me again,” you mumble, a little annoyed that he didn’t even ask when paying for food made things awkward earlier that morning.

You sit there in silence, eating the food that Jake bought you. Honestly, it was airplane food, not something that you had even wanted in the first place but you couldn’t let it go to waste now.

“I think I’m gonna go sit with Charlie,” Jake says, getting up without saying another word once the food is gone, leaving you to sit there by yourself with the other people in the row.

You try to find something to watch on the screen in front of you, only to be interrupted by Matt appearing and Jake’s seat, startling you as you rip out the headphones you had on while the first movie available was starting to play. “Your boy just kicked me out of my seat by sitting on top of me.”

You can’t help but laugh, picturing the other passengers' reactions around then as the grown men that were Jake and his teammates acted like absolute children. “I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that he did that or that fact that I’m not shocked that he did that.” You watch him with Charlie, your smile fading as his grows.

“Hey, what’s up?” Matt asks, pulling your attention away from Jake.

“Same argument that we haven’t really fought over yet.” Matt was the only one on the team that knew about the seemingly never-ending awkwardness that surrounded you and Jake when it came to money. “It’s not getting worse, but it’s more frequent. I’m just worried we’re gonna end up blowing up at each other and losing each other in the process,” you tell him, fixating on the screen in front of you.

You hear him exhale, looking over to see a sad look on his face. A single lock of hair falls down in front of his forehead, moving along with the rest of his head, “Couples fight. I don’t want to tell you that you should have this argument this weekend, but you have to talk about it. And I mean really talk about it, not just the vague undertones you two constantly have dancing around the subject.”

You stare at him, slightly confused at how something like that came out of him, “I don’t like how you said that so eloquently,” you laugh, Matt throwing his head back to join you.

“But you know I’m right,” he says.

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” you huff, waving him off.

Without another word, he hands you his other earbud, starting a movie on his screen that would hopefully last the rest of the flight. You rest your head on his shoulder to get a better view of the screen, picturing Jake in his place.

You didn’t remember falling asleep, but you must have at some point because the next thing you know, the movie is over, the plane is about to land, and Matt is trying to get you off his shoulder so he can get back to his seat. “Hey, Y/N,” he whispers, nudging his shoulder gently. “Jake’s coming back,” he says, acting as if he didn’t want to get caught with you asleep next to him.

“Hi,” you yawn, rubbing your eyes as he plops back down in his seat, him kissing your cheek as you now struggle to stay awake. “It’s like, the middle of the night now, isn’t it?” you ask him, having no idea the time difference between Boston and where you were.

“I think it’s like 10 pm. I didn’t realize I was dating an old woman,” he jokes, pulling a laugh from you.

“You wear me out, babe,” you say, everyone getting up from their seats, the boys making more noise than anyone on the plane as people anxiously waited to get off.

“And you keep me young,” he says, giving you a quick peck before handing you your bag.

You hear someone groan behind you, turning to see Matt standing there already waiting for the two of you to move out of his way. “I’m not going to hang out with you if you’re like this the entire trip” he teases.

You can’t help but scoff, playing into the teasing nature of his comment. “Sorry, bubs, you’re the only one who didn’t bring a date so that makes you our third wheel.”

“I could third wheel any of the guys here and you know that,” he tries to defend himself as Jake grabs your hand and starts to pull you off the plane.

“That’s a weird thing to brag about,” you tell him, the three of you walking in a line to go get your bags, you and Matt carrying a conversation while Jake stands off to the side, not paying attention to the movement of the unfamiliar airport around him.

Everyone waits outside for whatever transportation Patrice had arranged to the hotel, still unsure how he swung any of the details he did. The guys had way too much energy considering how many hours they spent cooped up on a plane. You were exhausted, the coffee practically gone from your system as you tried to convince Jake to just go back to the hotel room with you and spend the night in. “Please?” you beg him, draping yourself on his arm as he waited to get your room keys.

“But the guys want to explore the city,” he whines, jutting his lip out to you.

“I have no more coffee in me,” you whine back. He pouts at you, contemplating whether or not it’s worth it to try to convince you to stay in or go explore with the guys. “I will do anything you want.”

He raises his eyebrows, pulling you close to him, “Anything?” he asks, forgetting the guys surrounding you as he kisses you, his grip around your waist tightening as his teammates start teasing the two of you.

“Hey, JD! Save that for the bedroom!” Matt chirps, your face turning bright red at his words.

“Ah, fuck off and let me love her,” he says, his forehead against yours. “I think I like the sound of the bedroom.”

You ignore the chirps from the boys as he kisses you again, the heat in your cheeks not subsiding until the two of you get to your room. “Are you sure you don’t want to go out with the guys? Apparently, the nightlife is supposed to be awesome in the city,” Jake says, flopping down on the bed. You had been there all of two seconds, and he was already starfished on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.

You sigh, sitting down next to him. “I told you I don’t want to go out,” you repeat, a little more annoyed than you intended to sound. “I’m tired, and when we go out, we’re going to end up spending more money and-” you stop, cutting yourself off as Jake sits up.

“Hey,” he says, taking your hands in his, “I told you I would pay for you. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is, though. To me it is. I don’t need you to keep paying for me for everything. I don’t want you to.”

“What’s the big deal?”

Were you really about to have the fight you and Matt talked about on the plane in your hotel room? “Don’t you get it? You have so much money while I’m constantly struggling to make ends meet because of fucking loans. Do you know what it’s like to be a grown adult and live off someone else's money, the constant looks from people when I talk about you that say they think I’m just dating you for your money? That unless you’re home and go grocery shopping for us, I have to choose between food and gas until you get back? All I am is a fucking burden.”

“What, you think I don’t know about all of that? Why do you think I pay for you? So you don’t have to worry about food and gas,” he says, getting up.

“And I hate that you do that!” you snap, “That you feel like you have to. It’s like a slap in the face that I can never pay for anything and you have to pay for everything.”

“So what do you want me to do? Stand by and watch you struggle when I have the means to help you?” The volume of his voice matched yours, hearing doors in the hallway opening and closing, praying that it wasn’t other guests trying to figure out what room the screaming match was coming from.

“I don’t mind if you help out once in a while when I really need it but it’s stuff like the second round of Dunkin’ when I could barely get the first, the meal on the airplane when they give out free ones, or when you keep asking to go out, knowing that we’re going to spend money after I told you no.” Jake rolls his eyes, pushing past you and out the door. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going out with the guys. You want something, you can get it yourself, see if I care,” he hisses, leaving you standing there with the door propped open by your foot, watching him walk away. Matt gets off the elevator when he tries to get on, saying something you can’t make out when the elevator door closes.

“What the hell happened?” Matt asks, looking between you and the elevator.

You shake your head, trying to hold back the tears that were forming, knowing that there were other people in the hallway that had just witnessed the end of whatever that was. “Remember the fight you said we would have? We just had it,” you tell him, flopping down on your bed with your hands over your face. You let out a long groan, feeling the weight of Matt’s body sink the corner of the mattress down. You knew he was giving you that sympathetic look that was going to make you more upset, feeding into your already upset nature just that much more.

“What happened?” Matt repeats.

“We just finally snapped. God, of all places to have a stupid fight like this, we have at the night before your teammate is supposed to get married. I mean, fuck, we’re in Barcelona, for god's sake and you and I are here watching me mope instead of exploring like we should be.”

“Well, who says we can’t?”

“My bank account.”

Matt pries your hands off your face, forcing you to sit up despite you clearly not wanting to. “There’s so much to do in Barcelona at night that doesn’t involve spending money. We can find the guys no problem, probably doing something free.”

“And how do you expect we do that?” you ask him as he tries to drag you off the bed, grabbing the room key on the way out the door.

Matt waves his phone in the air, a smug look on his face. “I have the location of everyone on the team, past and present, on Find My Friends.”

You hesitate for a minute, your wallet and bag sitting right there by the door for you to grab to go join your boyfriend and his teammates and try to enjoy the night despite the fight you just had. “Matt,” you try to protest, your eyes darting back and forth between him and your bag. You didn’t want to worry about Jake on the night out, but you knew you couldn’t be spending a lot of money. You had been out with the guys too many times before when Jake promised they wouldn’t be big spenders, only to go home and have to worry about how you were going to survive to the next paycheck.

“If you want anything then I’ll pay for it and you pay me back with food or something. Y/N, Jake is wandering Barcelona with Charlie right now, probably just as upset as you are,” he tries to reason with you. “There’s no point in sitting here alone in your hotel room when you’re in a city that you’ve been talking about visiting for as long as I’ve known you.”

You let out a groan, knowing that he was right. “I can’t stand you,” you mumble, grabbing your bag and heading out the door with him.

Matt had his phone pulled out, trying to navigate the city based on a little dot that showed your boyfriend’s location. You had no idea where you were going, and, to be honest, you weren’t sure that Matt had any idea either. You had never been in a situation where the two of you had to wander through unfamiliar territory before, but something told you it was going to be a while before he figured out how to get to the rest of the guys.

“Matt, this is useless. We’ve been walking around for over an hour already,” you tell him, sitting down on the bench that was just off the path you had been taking.

“It hasn’t been an hour, you’re being dramatic.”

Matt sits down next to you as you pull out your phone. “We left the room at 10 pm. It’s 11. That’s an hour,” you snap at him, clearly hating that you can’t find them. “I just want to see Jake,” you mutter.

“Have either of you calmed down enough to have an actual conversation with each other? You know, not a screaming match?” Matt asks you, watching the small dots that represented his teammates move around his phone screen. “If you want to try to figure out your way around here, when neither of us speaks the language to ask for directions, we can. If not, we go back to the hotel.”

You stare at his phone, seeing JD, CM, TF, two JS’s, and a DP altogether, somewhere off the road where neither of you were able to figure out how to get to them. You shake your head, thinking about Matt’s words: you weren’t sure you were cooled off enough to talk to Jake rationally, and you had a feeling he was still the same. “Let’s just find our way back to the hotel,” you tell him, getting up off the bench.

You look at Matt, the look of sympathy covering his face as he follows you back the way you came. You probably could have easily found Jake and the rest of the guys, working out whatever the hell you needed to before the wedding tomorrow. If you couldn’t work it out, what did that mean for your future, though? If you didn’t live with Jake, you would be struggling way more than you were now, probably living paycheck to paycheck without the luxury of everything Jake did for you.

Were you wrong to be mad that he was trying to help?

The two of you get back to the hotel, the empty lobby eerily echoing with your footsteps on the marble floor. You hadn’t even noticed it before, the hotel you were staying at was probably the nicest one you had ever set foot in. You were tempted to sit on one of the chairs in the lobby, wait there for Jake and the rest of the guys to come back despite the fact that they would probably be drunk off their asses when you saw them.

Matt puts his hand on your arm, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Do you want to stay down here and wait?” he asks you, reading your mind, “Or, do you want to go back to either your room or mine?”

“I don’t want to impose,” you try to protest.

“So, you’d rather go back to an empty room and wallow alone instead of sitting on my bed, eating ice cream, and watching a movie,” he tempts you, raising his eyebrows with his offer.

“I don’t want ice cream.”

Matt scrunches his nose, letting out a laugh. “I never said the ice cream was for you. It’s summer, I can cheat on the nutrition plans a little more right now.”

He manages to pull a laugh from you, the two of you heading up to his room. You plopped yourself on his bed, your hands behind your head while you couldn’t take your mind off Jake. You really didn’t want him to be as miserable as you felt, but part of you also did want that. Was that bad?

You knew you had to set boundaries. You knew you couldn’t live without him, both financially and in life in general.

“You know,” Matt says, pulling you out of your thoughts yet again, “The guys are back here at the hotel. If you wanted to go back to your room, I’m sure you could talk to him now.”

You roll over, your back facing Matt. “I don’t think he would want to talk to me.”

Matt sighs, lying down next to you and staring up at the ceiling. “Like I told you in Boston, Jake loves you more than anything. If I know anything about him, he’s just as miserable as you are, probably back in your room panicking about where you are.”

You turn to him, narrowing your eyes. “This is your way of trying to get me out of here before the ice cream comes and you feel like you have to share with me, isn’t it?”

You both laugh, sitting up to get ready to go. “Oh, of course.”

You head out, opening the door, caught off guard by who was standing there. “Jake?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. “I thought you would be here.” You nod, both of you standing there in an awkward silence as you held the door to Matt’s room open. You didn’t know if you should speak first or wait for Jake to do it, and apparently, he felt the same.

“As much as I love just staring at you two,” Matt breaks the silence. “Would you be able to do this with my door closed? You can be in here, but,” his voice trails off. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear whatever it was you were about to talk about even though he already knew.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” you tell him, letting his room door close behind you as Jake took your hand in his, leading you down the hall to your room.

You don’t say anything until you get into your room, both of you sitting at the foot of the bed.

“I’m sorry I got mad,” he says, his hand still in yours but unable to look at you.

“I’m sorry I got mad,” you repeat, for lack of better words to say. “We need boundaries. I get that you want to pay for things, but I need you to ask me before you do, especially if it’s something we don’t necessarily need.”

“Ok,” he draws out, trying to figure out how to frame his words. “Would you be ok with asking me for help when you need it? You know I can help you, and it kills me seeing you struggle when I have the means to make this stop.”

“I just want you to ask.”

He smiles at you, raising his hand to cup your face. “I will,” he says, his lips finding yours for a soft, sweet kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You spend the rest of the night together, trying to figure out boundaries of what and when Jake can lend you money, what should be paid back, what he doesn’t want back, everything. It was the conversation you should have had years ago, yet never did.

The next morning, you get ready for his teammate's wedding, slipping on the dress, your back towards Jake while he put on his suit. “Can you zip me up?” you ask him while he adjusted his sleeves.

He comes up behind you, his fingers holding the small zipper and slowly pulling it up your back. Jake wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you in front of the mirror hung on the wall of the room, his head nestled on your shoulder. “I can’t wait until we get married.”

You laugh, craning your neck to kiss the side of his head. “That’ll be an expensive day, won’t it,” you joke.

“Yeah, maybe. But spending the rest of my life with the girl I love? That’s priceless.”

#jake debrusk #jake debrusk imagine #nhl #nhl imagines #hockey #hockey imagines

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lesbiansforboromir · 3 years

Text

Let me tell you all about a very personally satisfying HC I have that, whilst perhaps explaining some things within the books, is really just for my own enjoyment.

So, the idea originates in the concept that everyone in the Dol Amrothian line are very spooky. The close elven lineage and living near an old abandoned elven haven had particularly mysterious effects on the whole family. Sure there are Dunadain in Gondor and they can develop certain spooky traits, but the Lords of Dol Amroth start out spooky and usually stay that way. It goes up and down depending on the individual, but generally they are all uncanny at the very least.

Denethor can see into the hearts of men, yeah ok cool I guess. Imrahil goes down to the Dol Amroth harbour at dusk and whispers to the swans until midnight, he answers questions you were sure you did not say out loud, he can make you weep with genuine grief over a sadness he hasn’t even mentioned. Speaking with Finduilas sometimes makes you feel like time passes in an instant, or incredibly slowly, or not at all... except no... really... how much time has passed? Wasn’t it just morning? How is the sun setting already? Or, oh my gosh, I’m going to be late! Or... not..? it’s barely been a few moments, yet I feel like I just lived a lifetime...

Ivriniel insists this is all nonsense, doggedly, she refuses to acknowledge it, no matter how many political rivals raise her considerable ire and come down with a mysterious and debilitating illness the next day. Grandmother Duilindes is just straight up a witch. ‘It’s all for the honour of Eru’ she says placatingly, as she enters her rooms in the Palace that she forbids anyone else from entering.

Denethor had heard these rumours before meeting Finduilas and, sure, he sometimes feels like he is being hunted, only to turn and find Adrahil’s eyes on him. But Dunadain are just a little strange like that! Surely it’s been blown out of proportion. He believes this up until he comes to Dol Amroth as Finduilas’ suitor.

Denethor: Shall we take a walk after dinner? Everyone looks up from their plates in alarm Adrahil: Are you joking? Denethor: ??? Imrahil: It's the seventh day! The gardens aren't to be disturbed! Denethor, whispering to Finduilas: What does that mean?? Finduilas, chuckling: oh, Denethor!

He sees Imrahil whispering to the swans at one point and is about to call out to him before Finduilas quickly gestures him silent.

Denethor, whispered: What is he doing? Finduilas: Shh, if the swans hear us we'll surely be attacked. Denethor: But then shouldn't Imrah- Finduilas: SHH.

One evening Ivriniel sweeps in with a stormy countenance, muttering over Lord Garahel’s stupidity. The next morning Denethor hears Imrahil mention that Lord Garahel has been taken ill with some fainting sickness. The look he gives Ivriniel is enough for her to know his mind.

Ivriniel: Your imagination will run wild Denethor, I had thought you more reasonable. You think I, what? Cursed him? Don’t be ridiculous. Denethor, turning to Finduilas: Do you think... she knows she's doing it? Finduilas: Oh no, in fact she's determined to remain ignorant to it. Denethor: Can you... do that? Finduilas: I havent tried :)

At some point Finduilas had told Denethor that ‘Imrahil is the odd one of the family’ and by the end of the visit all Denethor can think is ‘by what metric??’

Denethor had to admit to himself privately that he was not at all put off by Finduilas’ nature, but he did have cause to worry what their children would be like. Finduilas came across Denethor, early after Boromir’s birth, rocking him to sleep and murmuring softly; 'I may have my failings as a father, I am sure I shall, but I swear they will be honestly meant, I love you so dearly my son... please do not curse me when you are older and I do not allow you everything you ask. I promise I only ever have your wellness in mind.' And she thought it was very sweet and proper, but she didn’t tell him he was wrong! And for very good reason!

Boromir was an unnerving child. He learned to speak just a little too quickly, and when he did he would often say uncanny things, too knowing things, indecipherable things that became daunting the longer you thought about them. He had such a powerful grasp of complex feeling that he would often solve arguments between adults, explain emotions back at his parents or offer reasons for another child’s behaviour that were so accurate it became uncomfortable.

3yo Boromir: (explains the reason Denethor’s secretary was distracted that day unprompted) Finduilas: (laughs) yes that's right! Denethor: It's.... TOO right. Finduilas: Oh well children are intuitive aren't they? Denethor, picking Boromir up: ... I feel under qualified to teach you things. Boromir: (baby-giggles but in a like way too knowing way)

And then sometimes Denethor would be sitting reading on a bench on a balcony in the early evening with Boromir contentedly playing with a fiddle-toy beside him, and suddenly his son’s voice would break the silence with; 'When I wasn't here I was colder, so I think I like it here, I'll stay. The air isn't as delicious but there's more to see.'

And then he’d go back to playing as though nothing was wrong whilst Denethor had an existential crisis.

Denethor: W.. where were you, before? Boromir: Well I didn't know, because I couldn't know, but now I can know things, just not that. I haven't decided if I like it.

He asks Finduilas about it as soon as he can find her and she just laughs, ‘don't worry he'll forget he knows that in a few years’ she says, as though that helps at all.

But in general this is as far as Boromir ventures into the ‘spooky Dol Amroth’ territory. Sometimes he mentions things he CHOSE NOT to do that suggests he is capable of more, but other than randomly forcing Denethor to consider his position in the universe and reading him for shit, the first five years of being a parent is fine for Denethor.

At one point, when Boromir was about two, someone asked Finduilas if they were planning for another baby soon. Finduilas laughed ruefully, as though everyone would know that was a foolish question. ‘Oh no, much too soon for that’ she said. Denethor knew he had to follow up on what the hell that meant later. But when asked, all Finduilas said was ‘Oh you know! If siblings are born too close then they align their powers. Haven’t you heard my father talk about my uncles?’ She says it with the same tone as reading something out of a parenting manual. Denethor doesn’t want to hear about Finduilas’ uncles, but accepts this is important and stops thinking about it.

And it’s a good thing they did wait because, whilst Boromir was unnerving, Faramir is straight up terrifying.

What Denethor realised was that Boromir had been showing restraint. Faramir however was very comfortable with his powers and saw no reason not to use them. Denethor would find himself lost in baby Faramir’s eyes, feeling unable to move simply because of the weight of his stare. Finduilas and Boromir would have to save him from Faramir’s grasp, an act that would make Faramir look very put out.

If people irritated Denethor when he was holding his youngest son, then just a glance from this child would make them drop whatever they were holding, Faramir grinning victoriously all the while. If Faramir did not want to take a bath then Finduilas would have to be present in case the baby decided to make Denethor relive his entire childhood.

Sometimes Denethor would come outside to see his toddler just surrounded by the street cats of Minas Tirith, conducting some kind of incomprehensible tribunal that all the cats appeared to abide by. At one point Boromir was holding Faramir when Faramir grasped his brother’s face and pulled so that their eyes locked. Boromir passively held Faramir’s intense gaze for a while in this charged and tense moment, before calmly looking away as Faramir pouted. Denethor once again begged Finduilas to explain, but all she had to give was a fond sigh and a ‘Aw, Faramir just wants to get to know him, but our Boromir is too canny, Ivriniel and I used to do that.’ Denethor is used to helpless bemusement and concern by now.

Now the SECOND part to this HC- YES I’M STILL GOING, THIS IS ALL IMPORTANT- the second part is that Dol Amrothians ALSO get a kind of ‘choice’. (This is likely not at all canon friendly tbh but uwu I can have a leetle canon noncompliance if it doesn’t effect the vast expansive canon... as a treat) It is far more unconscious and happens in childhood, but there is a point where a child will ‘decide’ to continue being spooky or to be more mundane. This never overrides ALL the spookiness, hence Ivriniel’s intermittent cursing and Finduilas’ occasional time dilation, but Imrahil still out spooks the lot of them. Amongst the family this is known as ‘settling’.

Boromir settles when he is eight. One day he comes to breakfast and Denethor looks into his son’s face and feels like he is suddenly more in the world, more in the moment. Boromir seems as himself as ever, but he makes friends easier afterwards. Whereas he had always been liked, now he is popular and has close relationships with children, rather than always seeming too distant. This also coincides with one of Gandalf’s rare visits. He had been trying to connect with Boromir, trying to engage him on very specific topics. Boromir had not been amused.

Denethor would never say that Boromir hating Gandalf’s vibes was the reason he settled for mundanity. Boromir had many good reasons, he is sure. But the fact that he chose that moment to settle, so that Denethor was allowed to watch Gandalf also realise that Boromir was no longer ‘apt to his hand’, well he might have gleaned some little pleasure from it.

The only aspect Boromir retains is his general resistance to such spookiness. Hence his frustration in both Rivendell and Lothlorien, the time distortion of those places not effecting him and the imposed rest not touching him, meaning he feels every passing day keenly. It also explains his resistance towards the Balrog’s doomful presence, as well as his heightened distress at Galadriel’s ability to see into his mind, where he had always been able to defend himself before.

Faramir on the other hand is seven when he settles, thoroughly content with his spooky powers and wanting even more command over them. It is with this settling that he becomes able to sometimes cause people pain for lying to him. Denethor... struggles as a single father for many reasons.

#erran vs tolkien #denethor #finduilas #imrahil #boromir #faramir #tolkien #lotr #urrr this isn't meta um...#it'll go into #soap operas in mannish sindarin #anyway #because it's fun #text post #long post

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hollyhomburg · 5 years

Text

Reasons Wretched and Divine (Part 3)

↪ Genre: hybrid au, polyamory au, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, pregnancy

↪ Pairing: dog hybrid! Namjoon x Reader x Golden Retriever! Jimin

↪ Summary: You live on an isolated but sprawling farm with your abusive husband. But things start to change for the better when you adopt a retired police dog hybrid named Namjoon.

↪ Tags: Mentions of psychological abuse, physical abuse, concussions, hurt/comfort, hybrid mistreatment, Jimin is a little hopeless, first time saying i love you, heavy kissing/touching over clothes, pregnancy, overprotective namjoon, romanticized farm life.

↪ Song rec: Zero o'clock ~ BTS

↪ W/c: 5.9k

🐾 PART 1 🐾 PART 2 🐾

- Taehyung’s smile, waiting to welcome any hybrid to the farm and offer them a bunk and a cup of tea or coffee, does wonders for your retention rate at the farm.

- Pretty soon more hybrids are staying more nights or asking you how long they can stay. And you always reply “as long as you need too” (though there are a few who just only stay a few days to rest and recuperate and then move on, the deer hybrids are particularly nomadic) but the bunk beds in the first finished barn fill up over the course of the first month.

- It's you who has the idea to put up ads in newspapers and at bus stops for humans who want to help hybrids but can’t take any in. You get quite a few calls from people who have seen their neighbors beating their hybrids, or who have found injured hybrids along the road.

- You even get a call from a hospital at one point. Pet stores call too- having picked up hybrids from the streets, or have hybrids that have grown too old- haven’t been adopted after a few months or like they call it ‘excess stock’. Even though it seems horrible to think of them that way, to most of the world hybrids are little more than possessions.

- You and Namjoon always drive and pick whoever it is up rain or shine. You get calls in the middle of the night and have to leave immediately despite the fact that you’re getting more obviously pregnant day by day, and your baby bump fully visible to outsiders, unconcealable under all but the baggiest of shirts.

- Namjoon’s slowly growing collection of red flannel shirts (really he only likes the red ones) is your favorite thing to raid on the days that you’re feeling particularly self-conscious about your body. And it always makes your puppy a certain kind of needy, wanting to have you close always (which is a plus, not that you’d ever tell Namjoon what his whines do to you)

- When it comes to giving up unwanted hybrids, Very few people argue with the crazy pregnant lady and her intimidating hybrid with the scarred face. And if they do argue, a stack of money is usually enough to convince even the most reluctant of people to part with their hybrids.

- The most you’ve ever had to pay an owner to give up their already unwanted hybrid is around 1,000 dollars, and too you- they’re worth much more than that. to see the way they change when they suddenly find themselves safe for the first time in their lives- it’s priceless to you and namjoon.

- It breaks your heart when you take them home, and the first few days, where they watch everything like it might disappear, when they walk on eggshells of their old lives, so worried that they’re going to be thrown out. When they hoard food worried it’s going to be taken away, flinch at every raised hand. it breaks your heart, but it also makes you feel accomplished when they slowly start to heal, start to laugh louder than they ever have, start to joke and play over meal times, seak you out for a reassuring heat pet.

- And although you hold more than a dozen certificates of ownership at a time, you’re clear to any hybrid that walks onto your property that they’re their own person, that they owe you nothing and that their freedom and autonomy will be given the second they ask for it.

- No matter who they are or where they came from, their age, what kind of ears they have on the top of their heads, they are given a bunk, a fresh change of clothes (or two) and at least 2 meals a day. though- mealtimes are easily the hardest part of your operation and the thing that gives you the biggest headache. Making sure you’ve made enough food for everyone after the bunk beds fill up very very quickly when word starts to get around in the stray community.

- luckily- you had the forethought to expand your kitchen, and now you have 3 ovens, a larger than average dishwasher, 2 sinks, and industrial-sized refrigerators in the cellar. Meals become the most important and most involved part of your day. You’re thankful that a few of the hybrid who has come to stay with you- particularly the cat hybrids, seems to have a knack for cooking who often let themselves into the first level of your house before the sun rises- their nocturnal inclinations useful for once.

- it’s quite the shock, the first day you walk downstairs at 6am, intent on starting breakfast, only to find 3 cat hybrids- one arrived yesterday- a middle-aged forest cat with little tufts on the end of her ears named Heesun, who is already pressing a warm cup of tea into your hands and telling you to sit down. The rest of the cats buzzing around your kitchen, the smell of frying vegetables and eggs already tickling at your nose. “are you sure you’ve got everything?”

- “of course! when the others told me that you usually cook the food in the mornings- i didn’t think that was right you see- you’re doing so much for us here- let us do this” you watch as she divides labor, the other two cat hybrids following her lead, you ask, and the hybrid tells you she used to be a cook for the family she used to live with. you don’t ask what emancipated her out of their care, Heesun had shown up on the edge of the farm yesterday with a noticeable limp.

- It’s not surprising to you that after a few days Heesun asks you if she can become a permanent resident of the farm. Any hybrid is free to leave when they want but most choose to stay and contribute. It’s a little surprising, the first day you walk out your front door to find one of the hybrids sweeping up some leaves, or when one of them comes to get Namjoon’s help repairing the side of one of the barns.

- At first- both of you are adamant apposed to them helping, but Taehyung helps mediate between the main house and the hybrids in the barns. And the 10 or so that have stuck around who express to you that it would make them feel more comfortable staying here if they could help out.

- And it’s not like you don’t need the help- because really, as the population of the farm exceeds 20, you really really do.

- They mostly run the chore system themselves, Namjoon and Taehyung keep a running list of chores that need to be done and guide a few groups in the morning that want to work. All hybrids who stay contribute in some way, Weather that is with the bunny hybrids that run around doing laundry and sweeping, and cleaning to their heart's content or the bear hybrids led by Taehyung. Everyone has their jobs.

- You have three bear hybrids in total, Tae, a small honey-colored bear named Beomgyu, and a panda hybrid named Jackson that help you collect the honey from beehives and sell it at the farmers market. Though Taehyung manages to eat more honey than they sell somehow and is constantly scolded by both Jackson and Namjoon (Even if the beehives where his idea). Most of the time when you see him- Tae has sticky cheeks.

- But Namjoon will basically let Taehyung get away with anything, seeing as the hybrid contributes the most to making the farm run smoothly. Taehyung is always egger to help you with anything that needs to be done unable to keep still. Whether that be runs to the store with you to buy mountains of food needed to feed everyone, Coupon clipping, or the general wrangling and organization. The more technical things, like fixing up some of the other buildings, like the chicken coop and actual animal barns that have fallen into disrepair, are left mostly to namjoon.

- You’re given nearly 30 chickens and half a dozen sheep by a local after the owners of them get too old to properly take care of them. As much as they’re a headache access to more than three dozen eggs a day helps to cut down the cost of breakfast significantly. And you’re happy with the chickens because at the very least they aerate the soil and keep it free of bugs too, even if it means you need to fence in the vegetable garden that you’re cultivating to keep them away from the tomatoes.

- Scrambled eggs with bacon, breakfast burritos, frittatas, and fried eggs are some of your breakfast staples. And you get more than a little help from some of the hybrids who have experience in cooking during meal times to feed the nearly 50 occupants of the farm by the end of the second month.

- You’ve accumulated a few dog hybrids as well, Wide-eyed collie Dahyun, chow-chow Yugyeom, and muscly great-dane hybrid Shownu who help Namjoon whenever something needs to be moved, as well as an assortment of rare breeds like the lone alpaca hybrid Seokjin who takes care of the sheep when you have to shear them and spin the wool into fine quality yarn.

- Seokjin is a quiet hybrid, uncannily taciturn despite his kind face. he can often be found in the workshop at the south end of the property, his hair blonde and poofy hiding his soft pink ears. Piling the mountains of wool into vats of dyes and setting others out to dry, whistling along to the radio as he weaves it. the hybrid is quiet- and prefers his space from the bustle of the center of the property. Namjoon likes to help him when he can, and you’ve seen the way that the usually taciturn hybrid turns smiley when namjoon is around.

- There is always someone volunteering to do the countless other little jobs and things that the hybrids do or make to help give back to you. Most of them want to do as much as they can, even though there are still days where there simply isn’t a lot of work to do outside of mealtimes.

- At night, when you retreat to your house after dinner with Namjoon, happy for a little bit of calmness in your kitchen so late. You’ll hold his hand, let him spin you to the tune of whatever plays out of the radio, and thank him for finding you again after you disappeared into yourself for a little while after your husband's death. You don’t feel quite so sad anymore, with the hybrids here- you have a purpose again.

- The large fortune you have from your late husband is barely dented by the start-up costs and day-to-day costs of running the farm. And since you got licensed by the state as a hybrid rehabilitation center you have no shortage of funding or generous donations by the countries rich looking to deduct from their taxes too. The same rich people that stop by in their fancy cars and barely used trucks to see the farm, often asking to adopt, as enamored with the hybrids as you are.

- There is a long judgment period before you sign over anyone, and more than once you have declined an offer after the hybrid in question tells you they’re unsure. Sometimes there are red flags, the way the children act almost fearful, and a lack of care shown during mealtimes or something else that leads you to believe that they will be neglected. The ones you do part with give you a hug, often almost not wanting to let go, some of them choking out ‘thank you’s’ and ‘please never close’ that make every bit of effort worth it.

- You keep a logbook, of every hybrid that comes to stay and when they leave, even some come back more than once, every now and then. At the top of the page is namjoon’s signature, and next is taehyungs, and then on and on. you fill up the first page, and then the second, and then the third with names.

- All the hybrids know that they won't leave with anyone unless they want to. You hold adoption weekends every month or so to help mitigate some of the influx, but you never turn anyone away who comes to stay. There are some hybrids that come stay at the farm and still want a home of their own, which is the primary reason why you start to have open houses and adoption weekends.

- You devise a system, red tags on clothing to indicate a hybrid that doesn’t want to be adopted, yellow for the ones that might be but need space, and green name tags for those who want to be adopted.

- The first time you have one of these weekends, 3 months after the death of your husband, you leave Namjoon’s choice of which sticker he wants up to him. He rolls his eyes at you before slapping 5 red stickers on his lapel just for good measure, really? Why would you expect any differently?

- “Whose going to love a washed-up old soul like me anyway?” Namjoon says over dishes, helping you finish up the few that are leftover from breakfast. The hybrids that normally help are out meeting with the ten or so people that have come to adopt today. The words sound so sour, much more than he wanted them too.

- You snort, rubbing at a dish harder, splashing the grease onto the front of your apron, angry, maybe it’s just the hormones. “I don’t know, me maybe.” Namjoon looks up abruptly; nearly dropping the dish he’s drying. You take it from his hands and put it on the counter, and you might be smaller than him by nearly a foot but he still feels shy. his cheeks pinking as he looks down at you.

- “No ones- no ones ever loved me.” Namjoon says in a rush, not sure why he’s saying it, because you know- if anyone in the world knows Namjoon it’s you. your batterd soul matches his.

- You tilt his chin down to yours, “no one has ever said it to me and meant it either. But I love you Joonie- you have to know that by now- of course I want you to stay for good.”

- And then suddenly Namjoon is kissing you feverishly, sloppily despite the fact that his body is brimming with careful intent. And it may not be the first kiss you’ve shared- there have been more than a few in the shadowed shared moments In the morning. Mostly chaste pecks of the lips or kisses to your forehead or the ones to your tummy that namjoon knows make you feel a little sad. But for all intents and purposes, this is the only kiss that matters. The kisses that come after the first “I love you” are always sweeter than candy.

- You thread your fingers through his hair and pull, making tingles erupt like starlight down his spine. Namjoon almost growls into your mouth as he reaches down to grip underneath your thighs where your ass meets your hips. Picking you up as gently as he can manage and placing you on the butcher-block countertop next to the sink.

- Your nails rubbing along the curve where his ears connect to his scull and he pulls you closer, always closer, dissatisfied with your nearness even though you’re pressed against him completely and he can feel the gentle swell of you through his clothes. your legs parted so he can step between them. Namjoon wants to not be able to tell where your skin begins and his ends. Your hands run up and down his chest, pushing his flannel off of his shoulders, so you can feel his biceps, the strength there in them taught.

- Your dress hiking up to the point where it’s verging on lewd as his hands grab fistfulls of your plush thighs. He grips the weight you’ve gained there through your pregnancy and almost groans as he smooth’s his hands up over your curves unable to get enough of the way his fingers press into your supple skin. “Fuck, do you know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that? To touch you? i love you too- so much it hurts sometimes.”

- You’re looking up at him, already looking needy and wrecked the spaghetti strap of your dress sliding off your shoulder, as you nod and Namjoon wants more than anything to keep kissing you, to never stop, he never will if you let him.

- He feels like he almost wants to devour you nipping lightly at the skin exposed by that fallen strap. As your fingers hover around the nape of his neck, answering his question with a broken whimper as he nips along your clavicle to your neck. Drunk on the smell of you, feeling like his soul is bare but safe in your hands. “I love you- god I love you so much, please can - can i- touch you?”

- You feel almost incredulous, you head spinning with the knowledge that Namjoon loves you, he loves you, and you love him. You nod your ascent, and After everything, you’d never honestly believed that you’d ever be kissed again, much less that you’d ever be kissed like this. You tug up the hem of his shirt to dig your fingers into hips, dragging them carefully down his stomach without using your nails, the gentleness of the touch making him groan.

- You can feel his heartbeat in your fingertips, the rapid rhythms of each heart beating in time as Namjoon kisses down your chest, mouthing roughly at your nipple through the fabric, careful not to nip, you’re already keening, your breasts so sensitive to his gentle but hungry ministrations.

- Before it can go any further a cat hybrid, a small tortashell cat named Irene whose missing the tip of one of her ears from her last owner opens the front door looking for you- announcing a few people come for the open house, shocked to find the scene before her. And before she can manage more than a squeak Namjoon is snarling at her to leave without words.

- He’s flushing so hard at being caught that you can’t help but laugh, as he turns from sultry to painfully shy. After a few more kisses and a frustrated groan on his part, you go back outside to join the adoption day festivities.

- You get the call to pick up a golden retriever hybrid much like you would get any other call.

- It’s the second you’ve gotten in the last week and it’s only Thursday, though the first hybrid of the week has been clear that she wants to be re-adopted as soon as possible. You get the call and a blurry picture as proof, a brutish man with a hand tugging a small blonde head with golden ears as curly as the rest of his head. the neighbor tells you he’d seen the man beat the hybrid out in the yard, heard his cries of stop- and though of your add in the paper.

- You and namjoon leave soon after dinner in your old red truck, before you go Taehyung assures you that he’ll make sure everyone cleans up from dinner and that the two child hybrids that came to stay last week will be in bed before 10. It honestly endears you that Taehyung takes on an older brother role with a lot of the younger hybrids, who during free hours, can be found bothering the bear hybrid to play games or let them steal spoonful’s of honey from the storeroom.

- The drive is long, the day fading into night as you and Namjoon take mile after mile to heart. He switches off with you on the straightaways. You’ve been trying to teach him how to drive over the past few months (with many quaint misshapes where he accidentally knocked over your mailbox and a street sign or two, it’s a good thing your old truck is incredibly sturdy).

- You whistle along with the song on the radio and namjoon smiles over at you, you're leaning your cheek on the door, hanging your head out of the open window the warm spring air tickling your long hair, your smile soft and happy. The love he has for you overflowing in his chest, thick and sweet like hidden honey. He might not say he loves you often, but you can taste it on his lips every time he kisses you, since the first confession, the kisses have come every day.

- Namjoon still gets a little misty-eyed if he thinks about it too much. How much better you’ve gotten in the past few months since you’ve opened your home and started helping hybrids. He knows what it means for you to be able to help others out of situations like this.

- With most pick-ups and house calls, you’re never sure what you’re driving into. Namjoon is always a little worried, unsure what kind of danger they’re going to find at the end of their journey.

- Namjoon always anticipates the day that the human owners become violent, and his protective instincts go haywire whenever Namjoon has to leave you near someone abusive. Dredging up memories from a time that you’re both desperately trying to forget, but he’d never ask you to stop coming on these runs.

- This is why when you get to the house on the edge of the city where Namjoon used to work he lets you handle the transactional part of this, it helps that you’re very convincing.

-The large jean jacket that was Namjoon’s at one point but has become yours pulled snugly over your stomach. You answer the door, talk to the owner weave a story of a widow who needs help on their farm. The man smells distinctly of alcohol and cheep cigars, namjoon sees you holding your breath- even as the conversation becomes less than cordial. Namjoon stops the door from closing in your face by shoving his foot into the door.

- “I’ll level with you asshole,” you say, “you can either take my money and hand over the hybrid now- or I can go to the police with this” you hold out your phone and the video. “The fine for abusing hybrids is just about as much as what I’m offering to take him off your hands. Either way he’s coming home with me tonight. You can either make 500 dollars tonight or lose it- your choice.”

- Through the whole conversation, Namjoon stands behind you, a silent sentinel even as the owner of the hybrid raises his voice. You argue more, but eventually, he agrees. Namjoon goes to retrieve the hybrid after a small nod from you; you’ve got this handled, Namjoon follows his nose.

- Over the past few years, Jimin has become accustomed to just about every kind of abuse there is.

- Even when he sleeps, adrenaline lugs it’s way through his veins ready to jump at the slightest indication of his owner coming down the hall. He knows he shouldn’t sleep right now, get it when he can, but the concussion he got earlier today makes his head feel heavy and nausea still rolls in his belly.

- He lies- hides- underneath his bed; an old military cot in the cold garage. Not that he ever sleeps on top of it- it’s safer to sleep underneath. That way if his owner comes in later at night he’ll think Jimin has fucked off to some other corner of the house.

- He knows the concussion is all his own fault- he’d been stupid- but he’d just wanted to shower, to get some of the grime out from under his fingernails, he hadn’t expected his owner to come back from wherever he disappeared to so soon. Jimin shivers as he remembers the jarring crack of his own head hitting the rocks outside where he’d been tossed outside. His memories after that were muddled with pain, though he was certain he’d vomited at one point from the taste in his mouth.

- You weren’t supposed to sleep when you had a concussion right? That was dangerous right? Jimin was trying to remember, lying on the side of his face that wasn’t bruised to all high heaven. He freezes when he hears the voices in the kitchen, but relaxes. If people are here that means his owner probably won’t bother Jimin tonight.

- he might be able to get to the bathroom later and dab some cool water on his face, maybe sneak a few handfuls of something from the kitchen. Always small portions so that his owner couldn’t tell Jimin had taken anything- he couldn’t handle another beating so close to this one. Hunger eats his way through his stomach.

- But then he hears the footsteps and thinks that maybe he isn’t so lucky tonight. he presses himself closer to the wall, tucking his knees up to his chest.

- But why are the footsteps a different pattern, what is that scent? it smells like another hybrid- a little spicy musk twined in with pine. Jimin doesn’t like strange smells. The door opens slowly, and the scent seeps in further, along with- what could that be? The scent of something delicate and sweet clinging to the hybrid as strong as his own scent, milky and soft, and inexplicably vulnerable.

- He watches as the stiff workboots come into view, At this point, jimin can tell that it’s definitely not his owner.

- Namjoon finds Jimin curled up under his bed in the garage, and beacons him out in his calm voice, careful not to get close and startle him. “Come on out pup- we’re here to take you somewhere safe, I promise I will let no harm come to you again.” jimin eases when he sees the hybrid ears- another hybrid like him! another dog, his tail gives a single wag. “mm not a pup- i’m just small,”

- Jimin pears out from under the bed at him, ears pinned to his head in fear. the hybrid looks fierce and intimidating with the scars on his face that jimin almost flinches back. But the wide worried eyes that he can see underneath those scars, the muted dimples stretching into a worried smile.

- Jimin has been so downtrodden on his entire life that he doesn’t really believe Namjoon when he repeats the words, “we’re here to take you somewhere safe?” jimin dosent believe him- but at the same time, he thinks that nowhere could be worse than right where he is.

- The other hybrids smile is kind, and dimply, despite the scars that mark his face as he sits on the ground so he dosent have to bend over to see under the cot. “sorry, it’s hard to get a good look at you, i’m namjoon, you’re Jimin right?”

- Jimin crawls out from under his cot in the garage slowly, the room spinning. half expecting the other hybrid to get tired of his slowness and yank him out. his owner did that sometimes when he felt like Jimin was being disrespectful of his time. Namjoon winces outwardly when Jimin’s left side turns towards the light, and Jimin knows that it can’t look good. He can barely see out of his eye after all the skin tender and swolen under his hands.

- He’s mindful of all the dust on his clothes and the tare in the left leg of his red shorts, brushing a dust bunny off his side, suddenly feeling lacking in front of the well taken care of hybrid.

- He follows a pace behind Namjoon back into the living room, his owner stands with you, you’re shorter but holding your own with sharp stubborn eyes. A human, so this must be Namjoon’s owner. The second your eyes fall on Jimin, on his swollen side of his face, your eyes turn softer and definitely angrier.

- The scent of flowers and cream hits Jimin like a wave so pungent that it fills his nostrils and overwhelms him a little, it’s not unpleasant- just unexpected- and when he sees you he understands why. Though you’re obviously trying to conceal your pregnant stomach your scent is a dead giveaway every hybrid in a mile radius probably can smell you.

- Jimin can see Namjoon straighten up a little, becoming more protective the closer they get to Jimin’s owner, who doesn’t look happy (not by a long, astronomical shot) Jimin shivers as he turns his eyes on him, his arms crossed, and Namjoon instinctually steps in front of Jimin to hide him from view. Jimin sways on his feet.

- You plunge your hand into your bag by your side, pulling out a stack of bills, for a moment jimin almost wants to stop you- tell you that he’s not worth that much, but Namjoon holds out a hand, almost pressing it to Jimin’s chest to keep him from doing so.

- The money is counted, “good riddance useless mutt,” his owner spits after he signs over the adoption documents to you. Jimin’s flinch is sobering, his owner laughs. Namjoon actually shoves him back The saliva hitting Jimin’s feet as he reels, and you lay a gentle arm around his shoulders, guiding him outside. Sending a final glare in the direction of the man.

- Jimin can barely process any of it through the spinning in his head, a spinning that moderately stops the second he gets outside into the cool air of the May evening. The scent of flowers and pine in his nose and the taste of blood in his mouth.

- You soothe him with a soft voice once they’re out of earshot and take a quick look at Jimin’s half swollen face. A cellphone flashlight in his face and thundering in his ears. Momentarily blinding him. Jimin closes his eye as the pads of your fingers turn his chin this way and that to assess his wounds. “Do you think you need to go to the hospital Jimin?” you ask, careful to stay quiet and delicate with him.

- In the window of Jimin’s old house, the curtain twitches, and Namjoon knows they need to leave soon. Bad will and money lead to safety that only lasts so long, and they definitely don’t need the cops called on them especially after Namjoon shoved him, hybrids have been sent to jail for less.

- “No, I think I’ll be fine” Jimin mumbles, unable to resist leaning into your hand, so soft, your scent making him feel almost hazy and out of it than his probable concussion does. And Namjoon freezes, reminded that not too long ago that you looked like this too- that he was the one leaning into your hands. The memory hits him so violently that he whines, low in his throat. Jimin looks up, ears flicking agitated like he’s asking what wrong, sending a panicked glance between the two of you defaulting to namjoon, the elder hybrid, to know what to do around you- his new owner.

- “let me- let's get you into the car” namjoon grips jimin around the top of his arms and lifts him in, his skinned knee resisting the bend that would be needed to pull himself up into the back seat. He sits tense and curled up before you remind him that he can stretch out. and he settles onto the seat with his his back up against one side, and his feet pressed against the opposite door. the back window open to let the night air wip in.

- You stop at the gas station and give Jimin ice for his black eye and some food and snacks, which he gobbles up hungrily. He’s so preoccupied with food, that he dosent notice Namjoon’s dimpled smile in the mirror after Jimin groans at how good the gas station burrito tastes, licking his fingers with a pop. You give Namjoon a soft, knowing look when his tail thumps against the seat. he tosses Jimin two more bags of chips and a sweet elecrtolite drink, and watches expectantly to see more of Jimin’s happy little whines and pleased grumbles. and you stifle a huffing laugh.

- Namjoon can’t help it, the hybrid in the back seat looks so thin, almost startlingly so; he’s smaller than average too- probably malnourished. Namjoon’s natural caregiver instincts flaring up and demanding to be satisfied so desperately that he even tosses his flannel over him when he sees the hybrid shiver. You sent Namjoon a curious look, and he hides his flush by turning to watch the roadside.

- Jimin stretches out across the back seat with Namjoon’s giant flannel thrown over his shoulders, checking to make sure neither of you is looking back at him before he presses the collar to his nose and takes a deep breath of your combines scents, trying to reconcile his senses with what surely must be a dream.

- This has to be just a concussion dream jimin decides, what else would his mind come up with, other than a sweet fantasy. Someone comes to take him out of the hell his life was, give him food. He wants to take in everything, the smell of the night air, the silhouette of your face in the headlights, namjoon’s ears poking out above the headrest.

- He hovers on Namjoon’s hand entwined with yours over the center console, the hand that Namjoon occasionally reaches out to rest against your swollen stomach, gently drawing lazy circles as you pull onto the main road.

- Yup, Jimin decides, this is definitely a dream, but he hopes it’s real. The last little bit of hope feels almost stupid to have, for hybrids like Jimin, there are very rarely happy endings.

- He falls asleep by the time you reach the highway, lulled by the thrumming road and the oldies song faintly playing out of the crackly speakers of the beat-up truck. His last thought before sleep takes him is hope.

- Jimin hopes with the last shred of himself that is joyful and kind and not purely concerned with survival that this is not a dream, and that where he is going will be a little bit better than where he just was.

- Even just a little bit better than this dream, he doesn’t even need anything like the affection burning in both of your eyes or the kindness you’ve shown him, if he can just lay his head down and rest without being worried he’ll be woken up with pain and fear again, that will be enough.

- To Jimin, the farm is an Eden.

( my Kofi )

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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 3 years

Text

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch2 Welcome To The Wonderful World Of Pokemon

(Semi-songfic chapter. The song used is I'll Be The One by NerdOut on youtube. I don't own a single thing and all rights and credits go to the original artists. Im only using it for the song-fic chapter. Link to song here.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5PjLhNsnaM

"BBBBBBBBAAAAAAAA!!!!"

A sheep's cry pierced through the air as the darkness swallowing you shifted. You groaned and the first sensation your body felt was the softness of cushions under your sore, stiff body. Your....bed? Thank goodness! You were sure that the nightmare you had the other night was one of the worse ones you could've ever had. The soft groans of your own voice reached your ears and like any other typical morning, you begrudingly got up. You still had college-..THAT'S RIGHT! You still had to get to dorm registration on time! Oh you hoped you didn't oversleep again! You went to move your arm- You sucked in a hissed breath of pain through your teeth as pain throbbed from the sore limb making you flinch and your eyes blink open. The first thing you noticed past your blurry vision was that it was still fairly dark. Not completely dark but as if the sun was just starting to rise or a faint light in the room was turned on. Confused, you blinked even more as your vision cleared up even more and noticed the white ceiling in the dim lighting. You blinked at the ceiling before slowly turning your head to the left to see what was around you. From where you were laying, you could see a pink wall, and on the wall was a window framed by pink curtains. The view outside was a forest and beyond that was the twilight sky with the sun just starting to peek out letting light go out to the world. Next to it was a couple paintings, a woonden cabinet under the window with a few things on it, a TV, a white radiator, coffee table, and a plant in a pot. This-....

This wasn't your house at all. No room in your home looked like this. Then...where were you?

You sat up- A hiss escaped your lips as a spike of pain and soreness ran down your back and you winced. ...You..Tried to sit up but only managed to prop yourself onto your elbows as you took a better look around the room you were in. Taking notice that the couch you laid on was a green color. As you did you noticed a white door right across the room from you, and the sight of another uncarpeted room from you to the left. Along with another bookshelf and radiator alongside the wall behind the couch. YEP. Definately not your living room. How did you get here? Your f/c eyes looked down at your body and you noticed you still had on your fuzzy but now dirty pjs and what looked like was a home made quilt was thrown over your body to keep you warm and a few patches of your exposed skin was covered in bruises and small scratches from last night- Wait! So it wasn't a dream!? That giant crow thing did chase you!? Then how did you get in a nest!? Where were you!? Who brought you inside!? Were you still just dreaming?! That's it! This is nothing but a wild dream and you're going to wake up any moment. The sound of a door from the next room over opening and closing made you jump and turn your head towards the noises. There was some shuffling from over there before footsteps made their way towards you. Your eyes widened and breath hitched in your throat as you could only lay there and watch as a shadow danced across the wall in the dim light and soon after a person appeared head looking in your direction.

"Oh goodness. You're finally awake," came what sounded like a middle aged ladies voice and as the person stepped into the morning light coming in from the room you finally caught a glimpse of the person. What you were met with was a woman who looked around the same age as your mother. Oval shaped glasses sat in front of her brown eyes as her grey hair was pulled over in a ponytail sitting upon her left shoulder, tied back with a green ribbon. As she stepped closer to you you took notice of the flower printed gumboots making the heavy footsteps and the plain grey t shirt and long overalls adorned her body. "I was worried you might've been really hurt from how we found you." You didn't say anything as she kneeled down next to you and gave you a concerned look over, reaching a hand out but not touching you. "How are you feeling? You're not hurt are you?"

"Uh..." You shook your head finally coming back into the moment and reached a hand up to rub your head. "N-No. I-I'm alright." Your eyes again looked around the room. "Where am I?"

She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Oh. Where are my manners? You're in my house. Munchlax found you passed out by the garden fence and I was worried you were hurt. I almost thought about calling the doctor, but luckily you woke up shortly after we brought you inside." She smiled wider in a motherly way. "Wait. How rude of me. I didn't even ask your name."

"Uh..My name is Y/n, Miss," you answered back before deciding to fully sit up. Which you immediately regretted as you hissed leaning your body up. The lady watching with a concerned look as you sorely sat up all the way and looked back to her. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you inside, which wasn't easy," she sighed reaching a hand up to straighten her glasses, "But if you mean how you got by my garden, I can't really say. I only found you after my munchlax pointed you out."

"I-.." Your mind rewound to last night remembering the giant crow thing that you had ran away from in the middle of the night through the darn woods. "I was chased! B-By this giant black bird thing with wings!"

The lady's brow rose. "A..bird? Well I'm not sure what a 'bird' is, but there is a wild flock of corvinight in the woods out back. They're very territorial of that area. It's the reason I don't let my children wonder too far in there." A small thing popped up next to her and gave off a small puppy growl sound. "Oh look who finally came in."

You jumped and blinked at the-....the-...whatever this small cat-..dog-...bear thing was that was looking up at you both before you pointed at it. "W-W-What the heck is that?!"

"Oh this is my pokemon." She smiled happily at the small thing before petting it between the ears. It gave off a pleased growl as she did. "He likes to follow me around my garden and sneak veggies when I'm not looking, but it looks like today he found something else. Isn't that right, Munchy?" It growled again happily at the affection she gave it.

"Wait. D-D-Did you say-...pokemon!?"

Pokemon!? As in-...The game pokemon!? No. That can't be right, this couldn't be happening! There was absolutely no way you were in a fictional world of a video game and anime series right now! Your eyes briefly went back to the munchlax who tilted it's head back at you curiously and blinked like how a dog would. ....If you weren't seeing it with your own two eyes, and your pain proving you were in fact awake, you would've sworn you were still dreaming!

The lady nodded. "Yes. Have you never seen a munchlax before?"

"Uh! N-No no! I have! Must've just...slipped my mind!," you quickly fumbled with your words and the lady hummed.

"Well, it seems since you were chased by a corvinight I guess you would seem a little frazzled. Do you want me to call you a doctor or anyone?"

"N-No! R-Really I'm ok." Even if she called a doctor you really didn't have any money on you to pay for it anyways. "C-Could you tell me where I am-" You paused...Wait. What were places in the pokemon series called again. "Uh...Region! Y-Yeah! Could you tell me what region I'm in?"

Her brow rose up more as she looked at you. "We're in the Galar Region. You don't know where you are?" You shook your head no. "Are you sure you're ok? You didn't hit your head did you?"

Galar Region. Why did that sound so familiar to you? "Uh-...W-Well you see the thing is-...I-...Um..I-I'm-" Your mind raced with some kind of excuse to give the woman. You couldn't just say you were inside of a video game! She'd think you were crazy or really did hit your head. Although you might've taking that tumble from the tree last night. "I'm uh-...Just visiting here! Yeah! I-..M-Must've forgotten because of last night."

The lady stared at you for a moment longer before slowly nodding seeming to understand. "I see. I guess anyone would forget certain things if they were chased by a flock of corvinight." She finally stood up from her kneeled position next to you with a smile. "Well I'm glad you're alright. Although it looks like you had quite the fright by how messy you are. Would you like some breakfast? I imagine you must be hungry."

"I-I mean- N-N-No thanks! I couldn't possibly ask you to do that for me when you've already done so much for me," you insisted not wanting to overstep your welcome.

"I insist. It's the least I can do for you. By the looks of it you lost your things to the wild flock." She gestured to your body and you looked down at yourself. Oh...She was right. You really didn't have anything other than the clothes on your back didn't you? Great- A sound of thunder from your stomach made you sheepishly look down at your own stomach's betrayl of showing your hunger but she just chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes then." She smiled. You went to interject again before hissing as your sore muscles pinched in pain, making her tilt her head at you again. "Oh dear. It seems you were a little more roughed up than we thought. Why don't you go clean yourself up?" She gestured to the white door you had noticed earlier. "There's a shower and bathroom through there. You can clean up and I can let you borrow an old pair of clothes from the back closet."

"Oh NO!" You held up your hands to stop her. "Breakfast is more than enough. I insist!"

"And then you'd go around all covered in dirt with filthy clothes looking like you're homeless?" She asked raising a brow and you took a moment to pause and look down at your dirt and grass stained covered pjs..Oh yeah. You really didn't have any of your other things from your home did you? "Mm hm. That's what I thought. Besides. Like I said it's not a problem."

Well considering you didn't really have any other options at the moment- You sighed and nodded your head in agreement with her to which the lady smiled and again directed you towards the washroom of the home. Well, it's not like you had anything better to do..Except hiss and groaned in pain as every muscle in your body ached trying to move with you literally forcing yourself to toss the quilt off and force your sore legs off the couch and onto the cool floor. Hissing and reaching up to carefully massage your dull aching muscles in your arms and neck and shoulders. Getting up was another thing in of itself. You felt like you did a ten mile hike with how sore your body was, but never the less you willed your self to shuffle towards the washroom. On the way there the lady had come back as you opened the white door and held out an old shirt and more overalls and explained that they were an old pair and she really didn't mind giving them to you when you tried to resist her kindness once again, but you ended up relenting and you ended up taking them into the bathroom with you. You were happy you did in the end because you ended up discovering more than you'd think.

The warm water of the shower helped to release more tension from your aching muscles and while scrubbing off any dirt it was like something clicked in your mind that halted your movements for a while. Pokemon-....You were INSIDE the world of POKEMON! Or having a very very very realistic dream or hallucination. But HOW!?...Well you guessed that question wasn't on the table for now. The more important one was how to get back!? You paused there for a little while pondering over all the questions and info you had just gotten in your head. Ok. Relax. You took a deep breath and exhaled trying to relax yourself and mind. Ok. Don't freak out. The first thing you rationalized was to figure out where you were, then you could go from there. The woman said this was the 'Galar Region' right? Alright. But since this is Pokemon, does that mean you were in the show or one of the games? And why did Galar sound so familar. A memory suddenly flashed by in your mind and you gasped as the memory of being back home. Of the box that knocked over and seeing the games and old consoles tumble out. Of the pokemon game case: Pokemon Sword and Shield- HOW COULD YOU HAVE MISSED THAT!? It was the very last video game you had completed and it took place in the GALAR REGION!! You wanted to smack yourself as everything came flooding back and you groaned. Great! Well at least you knew where you were now, nevermind the fact that going into a video game should've been inpossible unless dreaming. Now that you knew where you were...to an extent, you could try to process what to do next after this-....Wait a moment....Now that you thought about it. This home and that woman seemed familiar too. Had you seen them before? You shook your head, deciding it was enough thinking to yourself and got out. Thankful for the clean change of clothes you slipped on once dried although your (f/c) hair was still sticking onto you slightly wet. But the surprises didn't end there however. As soon as you excited the washroom you were met with another person just sitting on the couch, she looked up as soon as you opened the door and the both of you stared at each other.

You blinked in surprise and looked at her. Not expecting a person sitting there. The girl was younger than you by a few years, looked about 13-14 years old if you had to take a guess. Her dark brown hair was in a short hair cut above her shoulders with matching dark brown eyes, her body adorned a pink dress, grey jacket, green socks with brown boots, and a green beany on her head with a white pom pom sticking up from it. In her hands was a phone and the noises of a crowd cheering wildly came from it in the time you two stared at each other. Presumably what she was watching, and in front of her on the coffee table was now a tea cup on a saucer pan. Presumably what she had been drinking.

Eventually she asked, "Who are you?"

You jumped and blinked at the question. "Uh...I-I'm Y/n. Uh...I just....W-What's your name?," you asked back.

"Gloria. This is my house-"

"Oh there you are." You both jumped and turned around seeing the woman with the glasses once again making an appearance, Munchlax waddling at her side eyeing the plate she was holding in her hands and she sent another smile at you. "I see you finished just in time, and you met my daughter." She then looked to the young girl who looked back at her apparent mother. "Now don't be rude to our guest. She's already frazzled enough being chased by corvinight."

"Corvinight?," Gloria asked eyes widening a bit as her mother nodded. "Oh wow. That's a bad experience."

"And now you know why I never let you kids in those woods." She turned back to you and held out the plate. "Here. It's nothing fancy but it's good enough."

You agreed and nodded reaching for it. "Thank you." The plate as you could tell had a few eggs and some meat on it, but you didn't mind as your stomach rumbled and you happily ate it with the fork you were provided. As you ate, you noticed the sunlight through the window had gotten much brighter. It still looked early tho. Maybe seven, seven thirty in the morning. "This is good. Thank you." You complimented to the woman who smiled back at you.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm sorry I couldn't offer you more."

"N-No. You've already been too kind. I couldn't ask for anymore anyways."

"Well, if you wait around a moment longer I can at least get your other clothes all cleaned up before you go. It'd be cruel to let you go out in that condition, and you can keep the ones you're wearing now. I insist!" She cut you off as you went you counter. "I wouldn't let my own children go out with such things and it'd be cruel of me to do the same to you. You did seem like you lost everything during your scuffle last night."

That made you pause...That's right. You didn't literally have anything other than the very clothes on your back! No money. No phone. No car. Nothing!! And you doubted you could've called anyone with your phone anyways if you still had it. They were all a world- or game- away from you. ...So it's better to take what she offered right?

"O-Ok. If you insist."

She smiled. "That's the spirit. How are you feeling anyhow?"

"Better thanks. The shower helped," you answered before taking another bite of eggs.

"Im glad. Why don't you two sit down and talk while I finish up cleaning those clothes of yours?" She gestured to Gloria who shrugged now with a small smile before looking back to the screen of her phone, before turning and walking out of the room towards where ever you guessed she was cleaning your clothes.

You watched her go before you looked back towards the couch and the girl who was excited watching the screen the cheering noises were coming from. ....Gloria?..GLORIA!! You recognized her now! In the game you could chose between two trainers and considering if you didn't rename them or change their looks to yours, they were either Gloria or Victor. And that woman was their mother in game!! Now you recognized her! Which means in front of you was one of the playable trainers you played as during the game! So you guessed you really were in the game. You stared at her a bit more before clearing your throat grabbing her attention.

"Uh...S-So-..." What do you say to a video game character you play as?..You pointed towards the couch. "W-Would you mind if I sit down?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I don't mind!," she replied before looking back to the screen. You watched a moment longer before deciding to slowly walk over and sat down next to her- "YES!!" She suddenly yelled out doing a fist pump catching you off guard almost dropping your fork. "LEON WON!! Not that I'm surprised of course." She said to no one. "He's the champion for a reason."

You blinked and paused for a moment....Champion..Leon?? OH YEAH! Wow. It had been a while since you played this game. Couldn't remember everything in one day you guessed. Leon was the reigning champion of Galar's gym leaders and pokemon League. You wracked your brain for as much info you could remember at that moment about this Leon, but you weren't doing a good job on it except that you vaugely remember he had a horrible sense of direction and he was supposedly really nice. Your eyes tilted to her phone. Maybe if you looked?

"What are you watching?,'' you asked nodding to the screen and she turned smiling at you widely.

"It's not what but who!" She excitedly pointed her screen to you and you blinked. The sounds of people cheering greeted you as did the sight of some purple haired man waving to the crowds around him....and you blinked at the sight. Flashbacks from last night spearing into your mind like lightning. "HEY! I know that guy!"

"Who doesn't? Leon's been champion for years running! He's like one of the kindest most strongest trainers out there!," she spoke to you happily. "This was from earilier this morning during his latest match. I was asleep but thank goodness for news websites!" She brought the screen back to her again as the video stopped. "Raihan was challenging him for champion title again. But it's always so cool to see them both."

Raihan? Well now that you knew the game you were in you could definately remember some parts including some of the characters. Raihan including. "Isn't that the guy who flirts with everyone and takes too many selfies?"

"...PFFFFT- AHAHA!!" Gloria turned her head with a snort and a few bits of laughter. You weren't expecting that...but smiled at the light hearted laughter from the teen before she looked back at you with a bright smile. "I g-guess you could say that. Hehe. Although I haven't heard anyone refer to him like that before." She shook her head no. "Nah. Raihan's the strongest out of the Galarian Gym Leaders. Other than Leon of course. If Leon wasn't so powerful Raihan would've become champion instead, but since he is Raihan is the top among the gym leaders and likes to challenge Leon a lot for the title...Despite losing all the time. He likes to document everything and posts it all to his own website for everyone to see! ...He's actually a pretty fun guy by what Hop and Leon have told me."

You nearly choked on another bite of your food as you turned to look at her again. "....Wait. You MET Leon?"

"Well, yeah. I knew him ever since we were all little. He's from here you know."

"No I didn't know. Uh...Mind telling me where we are?"

She blinked. "You really don't know?"

"Corvinight chasing can make someone lose a sense of direction,'' you answered as an excuse.

" You're in Postwick. A farming town since days of old where people and their pokemon live in close harmony...or that's what they put on the post cards for the few tourists." She shrugged. "Not really an amazing place, but it's got pretty wildlife and lots of wooloos. So I guess I can't complain. Not when I'm about to start and finally challenge this year's arena battles for the title!"

You blinked. "The title?"

"For the Champion? How do you not know that?" She rolled her eyes. "Not everyone can challenge Leon for the official title other than a few with special titles themselves like Raihan, since he's considered the top strongest gym leader. But there's also the arena battles for the new trainers that begins once a year. It's so special you have to buy a pass just to join or else you can't and only after you get the gym badges before the actual event you can battle in. It's the Chairman's way of making sure only the best trainers can try to earn the title and battle Leon themselves."

"Wow," you muttered. You vaugely remembered all of that from the game but actually hearing Gloria explaining it seemed like it was much more harder outside your gaming experience.

"Oh yeah! And ever since Leon took the champion title from the previous one, he's been unbeatedable for YEARS! Last year he actually broke Galar's record for the longest standing champion yet!" She pointed towards the ceiling and smiled with a determined look in her brown eyes! "And when I get out there Ill show Leon and them all my years of training paid off! Victor's going to be so jealous!"

"Victor?" Wasn't that the name of the male trainer you could've played as in the game. "Uh...Where is he anyways?"

Gloria shrugged. "My brother was more interested in traveling and seeing things than battling. He left home on his own journey earlier this year but we keep in touch when we call or he sends us pictures."

Brother? So in the world you were sucked in Gloria and Victor are siblings rather than an only child the player could pick? Interesting. ..Was that the only change in the game? You tucked that info aside for later in case you needed it and nodded. The next few minutes were you and Gloria watching some more videos on the phone, the plate emptied soon after and placed on the coffee table next to the cup. Eventually Gloria pulled up a song and you instantly tilted your head towards it. The younger girl seemed to noticed the smile on your face now.

"Oh you like music?," she asked.

"Duh! It's like one of my most favorite things!,'' you comfirmed with a smile.

She smiled back. "Well then I don't suppose you know who Piers is do ya?"

Piers?...Piers. The name rung a bell, but you couldn't quite place a name to a face here. ..Wait a second- "Uh....He's one of the gym leaders right??"

"Yeah. Sadly not a lot of people know that or battle him really...In fact I don't think his gym badge is required at all to get into the champion cup?..But nevermind that. He's known throughout galar for something far more than just a Gym Leader! Most don't even know about the Gym Leader bit because of his other job!" She turned and began typing something into her phone.

Oh. So Piers was another gym leader huh? You really had forgotten a lot. Haven't you? "Other job?" You rose a questioning eye brow and Gloria finally pulled up a video and held up the phone to you.

A beat you had never heard began to play and she smiled widely. "Yeah! He's a rock star! The most popular in Galar! Watch and listen!"

On the screen was a stage. And on the stage was a band, but they were more hidden in the dark, the spot light mostly on a single person standing on stage and holding a mic to his mouth. His punk rock attire seemed to fit him well as he tapped his punk rock boots along with the music as it played. Long black and white bangs and hair flowed from his head as piercing blue eyes looked out at the crowd. Or whoever was filming.

"You know there's more to the chapter,'' the man sung out and you blinked at the sudden tender, gentle tone of the man it came from. There was a....an almost tired motion behind the tone, but you could've just been thinking wrong. "On the edge of the darkest day. To be the ultimate master. I'll take my story to any place. Jumped in a race, I was born to run! Fresh out the gate, I was born to run! I'm not look-ing back-wards! They'll yell my name through the stadiums when I'm gone!"

"Isn't he great?," Gloria asked and you blinked to her a bit in surprise, having been absorbed in the music for a bit. "I actually think this is one of his older songs, but he's always trying to put more out to attract attention."

You blinked but turned back to the man with piercing blue eyes as he continued.

"-I'll never be gone." There was a brief three second pause as he took a breath and closed hit eyes. "I'm. On. My. Way. A destiny as old as the sun! They'll. Stake. Their. Cla-a-aim. But I know that I'll be the one!" The beat suddenly picked up with a more rock theme mixed in and bright blue eyes popped back open as his soft expression from before turned into what you could only describe as Gloria's determined face from before as he sang after the brief pause for music. "But I know that I'll be the one!" Another brief pause of music as he began moving along to the beat. "But I know that I'll be the one!" Followed by another pause of music.

"Wow..He's really good." You spoke out loud not meaning too but Gloria nodded.

"I know! He's been singing for as long as Leon's been champion!"

Oh really? Man you really wished you had more time back home to listen to music instead of your mother constantly badgering you to study or work. ..But then real life wasn't like this. And any moment you were still expecting to wake up from your sleep with your mother demanding you get ready and head for the first day on Campus because you were late again.

"A legendary adventure. Out in the wild to prove myself. This power too high to measure. I'll go to battle, don't need no help!" He suddenly leaned the mic forward a bit repeating the chorus from earlier. "Jumped in a race I was born to run! Fresh out the gate! I'm not look-ing backpwards! They'll yell my name through the stadiums when I'm gone!" One hand darted out pointing up. "Straight to the top. Yeah. I'm. On. My. Way. A destiny as old as the sun. They'll. Stake. Their. Cla-a-aim." A smile graced his otherwise tired or determined face and you couldn't help but feel the happiness from it. "BUT I KNOW I'LL BE THE ONE!!" More rock now dropped in the back most likely from the band behind him, and he began moving more to the music. "But I know that I'll be the one!!.....But I know that I'll be the one! I'm! On! My! Way! A destiny old as the sun! They'll! Stake! Their! Cla-a-aim! But I know that I'll be the one!"

The music ended and you couldn't help but smile at the ending performace, the singer, Piers you guessed by what Gloria said lifting a hand to the watching crowd as they cheered. Piers huh? Hopefully you're old memories would come back soon enough to remember him and everyone else soon. Might be helpful.

"Thank you! Please give a round of applause for my marvelous band and consider visiting my own music capital Spi-" He spoke into the mic but you didn't get to hear him finish wait he was saying before Gloria pulled the phone away and turned off the video. A little disappointment filling your features at the end of the song.

"Wow...He's uh..a good singer,'' you tried complimenting to remain polite.

"HE IS! When I battle him on my way to victory Im totally asking him to sign something for me!" She smiled like a giddy teen girl her age would and you smiled. She seemed to have a lot more personality to her than her in game part you played as.

"Well it certainly sounds like you two are getting along." Both of you looked up and over to see that Gloria's mother had returned and in her hands was you could only describe as a very old worn looking back pack and a smile on her face as she walked in. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Hey, Mum! Nah. I was just showing Y/n some music videos." She nodded to the bag. "Whatcha got there?"

"Y/n's clothes I promised, and Victor's old school bag." She smiled as she held it out to you. "Here. I figured it would be awkward for you just to carry a pair of pajamas under your arms while traveling."

You stared at the bag before you..but it was placed into your lap before you could protest. "A backpack too?! Ma'am. It's nice b-b-but I can't accept this."

"Think nothing of it. That old thing was taking up space anyways. Victor never wanted it back after he got a new one before he left and it's been collecting dust ever since in the closet. You'd be doing me more of a favor if you took it." She reassured. "I'd be much happier knowing it's being used than becoming Munchlax's next chew toy. Besides, if you're going to start traveling, you'll need something to carry all your essentials in." Said pokemon yawned from behind her as the munchlax walked over to a carpet near the white door to the washroom and flopped over in a position for a nap.

Well....when she put it like that, it'd be much more useful to have. An old back pack was enough for now. "I...Thank you so much! ..for all of this! Im really grateful, Ma'am."

"Like I said think nothing of it. If I had lost everything being chased down by a flock of giant corvinight, I would've wanted someone helping me in the same way. And I can tell you're a good person." She smiled before turning her attention to the dishes left on the coffee table and picking them up. "You better be ready Gloria. Today's your big start you know."

"I know! I was just relaxing a bit." Gloria smiled and her mother rose a brow.

"We'll make sure you're ready," she said before turning and walking off letting Gloria groan. Kinda reminded you of your ma a bit.

"Oh. Are you going somewhere today?," you asked looking back to Gloria who nodded.

"Yeah! The Champions Cup! It's finally back and I'm feeling pretty lucky this time around! But I'm kinda waiting for someone still."

That's right! In the game is started out with the weird dream you had last night, which you now realized must've been the match between Leon and Raihan who must've been that other guy with the orange head band from said dream, before Gloria or Vincent went on their journey in game with...with...Another kid you were sure but you couldn't remember who. You went to ask her for a moment but the sound of a doorbell made the two of you blink and look over as the door just opened and you blinked as another teen walked in.

"Hello, Hello!," a younger male voice chimed out as the door closed behind him as he looked around. Before catching sight of Gloria sitting in the next room over on the couch next to you smiling as she smiled back.

"HOP!," she chimed happily. And your eyes widened.

HOP! That was his name! The boy who might've been the partner of the main player with how close friends they were, and the Champion's younger brother if memory served you right. The boy smiled and walked towards you both but your eyes blinked and went down to the fluffy companion by the boy's side. It-...It looked like a cheep with grey braids. It baaed in greeting following it's you guessed master into the living room.

"Oh, that your new flash phone, Gloria?," Hop asked noticing the phone in her hands to which Gloria nodded with a hum. "Were you watching Lee's exhibition match on it?"

"Sure was!" She burst with happiness! "It was so cool how he defeated Raihan!"

"But you can't cheer him on with your hands full!," Hop insisted followed my an agreeing bleat from his ...sheep pokemon, "You know the only way to properly cheer on Lee would be with his famous Charizard pose!" He then struck a pose that looked slightly familiar to you with his hand up and head tilted down. Gloria giggling and smiling and you not helping the smile on your face that came. Hop broke away from the pose and smiled again at Gloria...before blinking over at the lady beside her who oh so happened to be you. "Oh. Is that your friend?"

Upon being gestured at you paused and looked over him. He wore a blue fur-rimmed jacket, with a black shirt and pants, the latter with two purple stripes on the sides, along with black, white, and purple colored shoes, and a green bag thrown over his shoulder. His eyes were a gold yellow with a darker complexion, and dark purple hair. Like a younger Leon almost now that you remembered. Gloria however jabbed a thumb behind her at you.

"Who this? This is Y/n. She was chased by a flock of corvinight last night and Mum found her passed out by the garden."

You felt kinda embarrased about letting the lie go further and found it a lil more embarrassing that they thought you were chased by a flock of giant bird brained pokemon and fainted by a fence-....But you guessed it was better than them thinking you were crazy if you had said they were characters in a video game and you were somehow teleported here from the real world. But the way Hop looked at you gave you a more guilty feeling.

"Wild Corvinight?," he asked wide eyed, "How did you meet a whole flock of corvinight?"

"Uh-...." You tried to think of a good excuse of why they would chase you other than 'I magically woke up in a tree and saw a giant crow'. You settled on. "Camping in the woods??"

"...You mean you actually went camping in the Slumbering Weald?," he asked and you could only nod. "How are you alive?! There's lots of different dangerous wild pokemon there! How could you not know?"

You shrugged. "W-Well...Im kinda new around here."

Before he could say anything else an older woman's voice caught his attention from behind him. "Hop!," Gloria's Mother greeted him with a bright smile, "Didn't expect to see you here today, Dear. Isn't today the big day?"

Hop smiled and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah! That's why I came running over to get Gloria! Never mind watching the match now. I've got it recording at home anyway. I record all my brother's matches." He turned from he smiling lady and turned to Gloria still sitting on the couch. "Come with me, Gloria! He should be here any minute!"

Gloria gasped. "REALLY!?"

Hop nodded back. "And Lee always brings presents when he visits, so I wouldn't forget that bag if I were you. Now I've got to run! See you at mine later!" He turned and waved a hand at you. "It was nice to meet you Ms. Y/n!"

You could only wave as he and his pokemon quickly turned and exited the house with another squeaky noise from the door and Gloria quickly fumbled with her phone, shoving it into her grey jacket's pocket as she got up. And you blinked.

"Hey, where are you going?," you asked.

"To see Leon with Hop!," she excitedly answered looking at you, "Hop's been friends with Victor and me like FOREVER! Not to brag but I've known and liked Leon even before he was cool and we're like siblings! But I haven't seen him in forever and now he's seeing us before we start our own journeys! Im so excited to see him again!" She quickly turned and started towards the door-

Only to be stopped by her mother's voice. "Rushing off in that state, Gloria?," he mother asked raising a brow, "Didn't Hop say you should bring your bag?"

Gloria blinked. "OH! Right! I forgot!"

Her mother chuckled. "I last saw it in your room. And don't forget to grab a hat for the weather."

"I already have my hat!," she retorted back but ran past her mother and through the kitchen into through a door with a slam to where you supposed where you room was. Her mother shaking her head as she did.

You slowly stood up from your place on the cough, back pack in your hands as you slowly stepped away and through the living room entrance by the front door just as her mother turned back to you.

"Um..Y-yeah. I think I should get going too." You started but really...you were just not wanting to take anymore space than you already had. "T-Thank you for the clothes...and the food. I really appreciated it."

She smiled and waved a hand. "Not to worry a bit. It was the least I could do. Thank you for being so polite." She paused and blinked at you though. "But have you figured out where you're going next?"

You paused at her words. You hadn't even thought of that!! What WERE you going to do now? It's not like you could waltz right on home when you didn't even know how to get back!! You didn't even know where to go from here?! So to answer her you shrugged.

"Travel around more...I suppose."

"Travel around Galar barefoot?," she asked gesturing to your feet and you followed her pointing at your feet. ...Oh right. No nothing also applies to no shoes either. And before you could reply, the lady shook her head before walking towards you. "Here. You can have my old gum boots until you can get something better." You blinked and followed her with your head as she made her way past you and over to the coats handing on the wall by the front door. Reaching down and picking up a pair of green gumboots that looked the same as the flower print ones she wore, minus the pretty patterns. With a smile she turned back to you and held them out to you. "Here. Ever since I got the new ones I haven't used these at all. They have a small hole in the bottom of the left one's sole that leaks water in but it should work for you considering you don't step in water or any puddles."

You gawked at her for a moment but she placed them into your arms without a second thought as you gaped at her like a goldfish. "W-WHAT?! W-Wait! I just can't take your boots."

"Correction. Your gumboots with a hole in them that I definately can't use if I want to garden or use in the rain. Im serious when I say I can't use them and don't need them anymore. If you don't accept them, they'll just end up in the rubbage or recycling bin anyways. You're doing me a favor by taking them off my hands for me." She smiled. "And it'd be terrible if you had to walk around barefoot and stepped on a sharp rock or something and hurt yourself. It's better to have this in case."

Well....when she put it like that, it was probably best you took them. "I-....T-Thanks. I appreciate it." You smiled and bent down to put them on. The rubber boots squeaking as you did before you leaned back up and threw the backpack you were given. But there was still the question...What now? You could travel around you guessed since that's what you suggested..but you wanted to go home. How could you get home? You didn't even know where home WAS from here!...This reminded you of an old anime you watched a long time ago when a girl was sucked into a video game and she had to live through the whole thing trying to stay outta trouble-....Wait. Your f/c eyes widened. THAT'S IT!! In the game of Pokemon Sword and Shield the player who played either Gloria or Victor traveled around Galar for the Champion's cup to battle Leon and eventually defeat him and taking over the title of Champion themselves! And since it was Gloria going on this journey you assume this world has her to be the future champion. If she goes on her journey and defeats it as the game did, that would mean the game would be over! And if the game was won and over-...That means maybe..Just maybe whatever hallucination or dream or...or whatever fantasy realm thing happening to you would be over with too and you could go home!! Maybe..It was a long shot, but right now it was the only thing you could think of! So there was one thing you could think of now! To make sure Gloria succeeds on her journey and get home! Sounded like the cliche beginning of some fantasy show but what ELSE were you supposed to do now?? The sound of Gloria slamming open the door caught both of your attention as you both turned to her beaming and slipping her bag onto her back.

"I FOUND IT!!," she called and stopped in front of her mother who crossed her arms.

"Uh huh. And did you pack everything you need for a journey that could take days or even weeks to complete?"

"YEP!"

"Uh huh. Extra clothes?"

"Yes."

"Hygiene products?"

"Yes."

"Extra poke balls?"

"Yes!"

"What about food? That mini first aid kit? You PHONE?"

"MUM!!" Gloria puffed her cheeks out in a pout. "YES!! Can I PLEASE go now!? Leon's here!!"

...Her mom gave a smile. "Alright. But not before you give me a good bye hug, young lady." Gloria happily abliged and you smiled at the sight before she pulled away and patted her daughter's head. "You be safe out there ok? Don't forget to call me every so often. And say hi to dear Leon for me, alright?"

Gloria nodded and turned to you once she noticed you there with the back pack slung over your shoulders. "Are you leaving too Y/n?"

"Um..Yes. I remembered what I was traveling for. I was actually on my way to watch the Champion's Cup!," you replied and she smiled.

"Really? Wow! That's amazing but it's still pretty far off considering they have to give everyone time to complete the journey to get the gym badges. What are you gonna do in the meantime?"

You shrugged. That was a fair question. "I guess I'm going to travel around for a bit until then." After all there wasn't really anything for you to do in the meantime til then. And you shouldn't interfere in the events of the game just in case. You couldn't risk altering the events or Gloria's chances of becoming Champion herself.

"Hey! Why don't you come with me!?," she suggested and you blinked, "You seem like a cool person! And anyone who can make me laugh at Raihan is totally cool in my books!"

"ME! T-Travel with you?"

"Why not? I was planning on traveling with Victor or Hop, but considering Victor's already traveling and Hop might go a different path on his way to get the gym badges it could be fun to travel with someone! It'll be fun! Please Mum?!" She turned to her mother who hummed and glanced at you after seeing Gloria's smile. "If I travel with someone then you don't have to worry about me being alone! And Y/n is good. I can tell! And I've never ever been wrong before following my gut!"

She hummed again. "Well...It's true you were never wrong before..and Y/n's been nothing but a polite person." You were nervous as she rose a brow in thought. "And if you weren't alone I would feel better.....Oh. Alright. But at the first sign of trouble you call me immediately and get help."

"YES!! I promise, Mum! THANK YOU!! Not only am I starting my first journey but I got my own traveling buddy before I even start too!" She fist pumped. "Sucessful Jounrney to be champion is a go!!"

Wow. You didn't remember Gloria being so pumped up and energetic in game, but again, you shouldn't interfere so should you even go???....Well, it would be better to watch just to be sure thing's would progress like in game, and this way you wouldn't just aimlessly be walking around until you did go home.

"I....I guess I'm going with you then," you nervously smiled.

"YES!! Trust me you won't regret it! NOW!!" She pointed towards the door. "Onwards to Hop's house and to Leon! You'll love him! He's like the nicest, most chillest guy ever!...Even if he does have a bad sense of direction."

She smiled and went to the door and opened it, you following behind but stopping and glancing at Gloria's mother for a moment. "Hey..Um..I j-just wanted to say thanks f-f-for everything, Ma'am. I really, really appreciate it!"

Her mother smiled. "Not to worry. I know it must be difficult to lose everything to a pokemon. I feel the same way everytime Munchy chews up and destroys something of mine. You just take care and good luck to you on your journey."

You smiled before inhaling and exhaling and turning to the door. You had one goal ahead of you know. Travel with Gloria and help her succeed in becoming Champion no matter what. And get home...Easier said than done.

#piers x reader #reader x piers #pokemon swsh #pokemon piers #reader #pokemon piers x reader

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moon-yeongjun · 3 years

Text

Rabbit Asks Eeyore for Help || Moon Donkey

Summary: Jun plans for a trip away, and goes to Gregory for help. Featuring Eomma, who I love.

Follows: Dalmajung Cat Got Your Tongue?

@notmuchofatail

JUN: Jun was a cat.

Unfortunately, this fact had not changed despite Jun’s most fervent hopes that Ting-Ting’s, er, diagnosis of sorts was false. He had stubbornly clung to denial as long as he could that this horrible curse could only be lifted by the Royal Sorceress of the Nihon Court (a real thing...in a real place…). Maybe it was temporary, he reasoned! Maybe if he closed his eyes and wished very hard! When that didn’t work, he had bargained with every mysterious force in the universe to give him his human body back in exchange for a lifetime of good behavior. He’d never drink again! He’d go to church TWICE a week. Hell, he’d get married to a very nice Korean woman before the year was up! When that didn’t work, anger quickly dissolved into grief, and while he caterwauled for about an hour, at the end of it he only felt exhaustion, and a sense of dimming acceptance.

He had to go to Nihon.

Through the portal in the dumpster behind the Moon Market, where Haru had popped out over a year ago.

And he had to convince a sorceress (who was a CAT!) to have pity on him.

Dammit all to hell.

Now, Jun had never done this sort of thing before (traveling to other dimensions, dealing with sorcerers etc etc), so he really didn’t know how long it was going to take him. Which meant, before he left, he needed to sort out a plan.

Jun finally...revealed himself to Eomma first. It had been as terrible as one would expect. What mother wanted to hear their first-born son had been cursed into the form of a cat? The whole “Yes, I’ve been lying to you about Haru’s true origins all along!” and “Yes, she was actually a cat princess I’ve accidentally promised myself to!” went over just as well. But after convincing Eomma not to kill Haru, she of course agreed to run over the market in his stead, because what else were they going to do?

The answer was: Gregory Eeyore.

Jun had thought long and hard about it. Moons didn’t like to ask for help. Questions and rumours would spring up if they turned to Eomma’s church friends, and Vixey was just getting her own business off the ground! So, Greg. Of course, Greg. Eomma called him up and asked Greg to come to the farm for a little meeting.

Now here Greg was, sitting on the couch. Eomma put down a cup of tea for him before she sat down. “Now er...don’t be alarmed,” she said, as good-naturedly and calmly as she could. “You might find all of this a shock, but trust me, Junnie has it all under control. Erm, Jun-ah?”

Jun sighed and then hopped onto the coffee table. “Yes, hullo, it’s me, yes, really, yes, I am a victim of a curse! Just another day in Swynlake, isn’t it, eh!” he tried for humour, to bark out a laugh, but it came out a bit shrieky. Jun winced. “Oh, that was embarrassing.”

GREG:

It wasn’t too bizarre that Gregory had been contacted to come to the Moon Farm. He’d been coming three or four times a week ever since Mr. Moon had decided he was going to work there for his mental health or whatever, at least. Sometimes he stayed for breakfast - usually when Eomma insisted, and rarely he swung by outside of those times to drop things off for them from his own mother.

So Gregory hadn’t really batted an eye at the woman’s phone call, agreeing to swing by after he’d closed up Ruff to Fluff for the evening. The only difference was, of course, the lack of Jun.

At least in the moment. However, he figured perhaps he had to stay late at the Market or..was on a date or doing something important. Jun always appeared to have very little free time to sit around and do nothing, after all. He was a very busy man - and...Gregory was sure with all his issues (re: mental breakdowns, possibly curses, etc) that he didn’t help with that. He wasn’t going to question it though, even if he was curious on what Eomma could possibly need from him that didn’t involve the eldest son too - instead just agreeing to tea and thanking Eomma quietly when she placed it in front of him.

His brows furrowed almost immediately however upon her comment - knowing that despite the words themselves, they only ever elicited a concerned response from him. Now don’t panic, but… - don’t be alarmed! I’m sure it’s nothing but-

Words like that were never actually followed by good things, were they? Head tilted slightly as she continued, his lips parting slightly as if he was going to question her almost immediately when he found himself caught off guard again. Jun-ah? Wait...what?

Try as he might to avoid it - Gregory could have sworn his jaw hit the floor when the delicate little paws of a cat hopped up onto the coffee table. Greg’s gaze swept over it almost immediately, always having been drawn to animals of course - and for a moment - he might’ve thought it was a joke. That the… shock that his mother was referring to was the fact that Mr. Moon had adopted a cat! That alone would have been quite a shock to him too. Enough of a shock for him to handle, really…. But then the cat spoke.

The cat spoke and the cat sounded just like Jun. Acted just like Jun. Was Jun. “...Oh my god.” Came the words before he could stop them, his hand covering his open mouth as concern knit his brows deeply across his features. Mr. Moon…. Mr. Moon was a cat. A cat. What the f— “...What… what happened?” He finally questioned, gaze slipping between the (admittedly very cute and adorable!!) Cat-Jun and Eomma.

JUN: Jun grimaced. Well, he supposed not really, because cats did not have the same facial muscles as humans. So his lip curled a little and his eyes narrowed and he looked off a bit to the side, squirming in his own fur. Aish, he knew this was going to be embarrassing, but he was never ready for just how embarrassing! Every single time he had to reveal himself to someone (ahem, so far-- Tae, Ting-Ting, and Eomma) he was sent further down a hole of humiliation he never wanted to crawl out of.

With Greg, that hole was especially deep.

He was supposed to be Mr. Moon after all! Not many people called Jun that-- not many people respected him the same way Greg did. Now, Jun didn’t quite understand why and he definitely didn’t deserve it, but that didn’t mean Jun wanted to lose Greg’s respect either. Over the last few months, his quiet and steady presence had grown into the grooves of this place, as if he were one of Jun’s most beloved fruits. And my, wasn’t that an apt metaphor? When Greg had arrived on the farm, he was wilted; now, he had bloomed!

At least, he wasn’t threatening to disappear into the country sides of France or what-have-you. A marked improvement.

Would that all be lost now? Would Greg find the Moon Farm unsafe? Would he be horrified to learn of how Jun had lied? His ears flicked back and forward. He didn’t want to tell him any of it.

But Jun had to. If he didn’t, Eomma would.

“It’s-- it’s a bit of a story,” Jun chewed out after a prolonged beat of squirmy silence. His tail lashed again. “Agh, and it’s going to sound ridiculous, trust me, I know! I thought it was ridiculous the whole time--”

“진짜 !” exclaimed Eomma, followed by some more annoyed Korean that only Jun (thankfully) could understand. It translated roughly to: So you say, and yet you brought that beast straight into our home, let me feed her at our table--

“Eomma, I know!” Jun mewled in distress.

Eomma just sucked her teeth and picked up her cup of tea. “Go on then, tell him about the 걸레같은 년.”

Jun winced. Not going to translate that.

Whiskers twitching, he glanced toward Greg with a pathetic expression, struggling for another few seconds for the words and then finally bursting out--

“Yah, fine! Haru is a CAT! She was a cat all along, from a distant cat kingdom and I didn’t know, I tried to take care of her, eh, I thought-- oh, she was a stray! And then POOF! One day she was a woman! She didn’t know what to do, so yes, I helped her again, I signed her up for a cellphone and gave her a job, and then I thought, hey, what a good idea, I’ll pretend to date Haru so my eomoeni gets off my back! I didn’t know it would end like this!”

“You made a deal with a cat demon!” Eomma shot back at him.

“She’s not a demon, Eomma! She’s a normal cat! It’s a spell, it’s-- a weird marriage spell!”

“You really didn’t like Kim Do-yeon that much? Why, because I like her?”

“Eommaaaaaa, this isn’t about Kim Do-yeon!”

“My son made a deal with a cat demon and now look at him!” Eomma repeated to Greg this time, flourishing a hand. “Gregory, this is why you should always listen to your parents. I bet Gregory would go on dates with nice girls that his mother likes.”

“I AM A CAT, CAN WE PLEASE NOT TALK ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE!” Jun mewled, his fur puffing up.

Eomma raised her hands again, then sipped her tea.

Jun turned back to Greg, flattening his ears and crouching down. “...Does that answer your question?”

GREG: Okay.

...okay. That was… that was a lot of information that Gregory tried to follow in a very short amount of time. His head whipped back and forth easily between Jun and Eomma, like he was invested in a terribly long volley of a tennis match. Back and forth - the quick and sharp words between mother and son as Gregory felt himself tug his lip ring between his teeth, gnawing on the metal like the discomfort gnawed in his gut.

He tried to focus on the big picture. To...process it in his mind in a more simple and compact way. In his head, the story went something like this: Eomma wanted Jun to talk to a ‘nice girl’ that she liked by the name of Kim Do-yeon, and evidently Jun did not wish to do so. He hadn’t a clue where on the timeline that fell, but not important. Then Jun found a stray cat that he helped take care of (which was good!! Very cute that grumpy Mr. Moon would take in a stray!!) Not so cute was the fact the stray turned into a full grown woman. One that… as of five minutes ago Gregory had thought to just be the man’s girlfriend.

Oh - and said cat-woman (normal cat?? So… cursed...to be a woman??) was from a distant… cat kingdom.

...what?

Belatedly - Gregory realized quite a bit of time had passed since Jun last spoke. He’d simply been staring in his direction with that same blank look on his expression as he struggled to take that information in and form… any cohesive thought about it. Straightening up mechanically, Greg cleared his throat, hand moving to rub at his temple as his tongue wrapped around words a few times before he could only shake his head.

“...uhm---... n-.. No.” He admitted. If anything, it just opened up so many more questions for him to ask. There were a lot too!! However they were… likely not as important at the moment (even if Greg was… incredibly curious about a cat kingdom). Priorities though. Jun was a cute cat right in front of him. That was kind of a problem. “..I-... I still don’t uhm…. I don’t...see how that involves...you becoming a...cat. I--.. Did… did she turn you into a cat??” Is that why his mother kept calling her a cat demon? “...Or-- I-... I’m sorry I just..” This is a lot he almost said. However...if it was a lot for him he couldn’t imagine how Jun felt. Or..well, actually he could. At least an idea, given he thought he’d been cursed just recently too.

“I...I mean are you … okay?” Stupid question, perhaps.

JUN: “Am I okay?” Jun responded incredulously. And he stood up on all four paws again, fur puffing up. “Do I LOOK like I’m okay to you?! I could be stuck like this forever!”

Hopefully not. He was getting ahead of himself.

Luckily, Eomma chimed in. “Aish, hush,” Eomma said to him, swiping a hand through the air. “That’s no way to talk to a friend. Just answer his questions.”

Jun growled low in his throat. He didn’t want to.

The fact of the matter is that he had purposefully avoided the how. Part of Jun still did not understand himself. This was what Eomma kept forgetting in her quest to make Jun the bad guy here-- this was all news to him too! When Haru first appeared, she’d not explained the details of the spell that sent her to Swynlake. She hadn’t mentioned a mysterious cat sorcerer named Purrseph, who obviously had her own motives.

Maybe Jun should have inquired more deeply into these things. But he wasn’t a sorcerer, or a fairy, or a...a...animal shapeshifter! He was a gardener. A grocer. A mundus.

Just…Jun.

So to him, Haru’s story was something out of a faery tale. He wished it could stay that way. Why he of all people-- a gardener, a grocer, just Jun-- had been thrust into the narrative made no sense. Look at him! Did he look particularly heroic? He was no knight in shining armor. And definitely not a prince.

Aiya, at least the black fur hid the fact he was definitely blushing. His blood felt like it was on fire!

“Haru...did not mean to. She-- agh.” He grumbled again and swiped an annoyed paw over his whiskers like he was batting away an annoying fly. “I suppose I should have mentioned Haru is not just a cat, she’s...a Cat Princess.”

“HAH,” Eomma barked.

“And she...had to wed a Cat Prince in a different kingdom to unite the lands or… stop a war or something.”

“HAH,” another laugh from Eomma.

“But she didn’t want to--”

“Children are all the same,” sighed Eomma.

“So she asked a cat sorcerer--yes, very funny, Eomma, I know! Erm, anyway. She asked a cat sorcerer for help. According to her, the cat sorcerer cast a spell that would lead her to her own happiness. That’s how she ended up in Swynlake. And apparently, the theory is that once Haru and I … we… uh... ”

Eomma tsked under her breath.

“It isn’t like that!” Jun shot quickly toward Eomma. “We shared a moment of true happiness together! It was just-- a cup of coffee after Chuseok! We fell asleep watching a drama! It was nothing inappropriate or, or grand, or anything! But I woke up and poof, I’m a cat, and I’m supposed to go back to Nihon and marry her, I guess!”

“Over my dead body,” said Eomma.

“Obviously. I just need to get the spell lifted, that’s all. And then everything will go back to the way it was and we can all collectively agree to never mention this again!”

GREG: Gregory shrank back a bit almost immediately at the older man (cat’s) response. Half of it was because that tone that Jun used so easily made him uncomfortable in any situation - but the other half stemmed simply from the fact he….appeared as an angry cat. And while Greg had gone through a lot of things in his life, he’d always been incredibly good with animals. Never had one turn on him in anger in any walk of life. Even the scared dogs at the shop would never turn on him in anger. So it was… weird to see a cat angry. Weird to feel like he might reach out and try to bite or scratch him (and truly he didn’t know if he would).

Either way, the urge to reach out and comfort him like he would a normal cat was immediately ignored. He was not going to have the very first time in his life that he was attacked by an animal be from Jun.

So instead Gregory just leaned back slightly, putting a bit more distance between the pair of them as he listened with a deep frown to the hesitant explanation of.. What exactly had happened to cause this. An explanation, of course, that had him adding new little tidbits to that already too wild story in his mind. Cat Princess. Got it. Right… why not at this rate.

Though Gregory had half a mind to hush Eomma the same way she had Jun for him - though he didn’t dare. He didn’t find the humor in this at all. Even if he could tell it was… bitter humor, Gregory still didn’t feel any inclinations of a smile. Of a laugh or even the slightest shift of humor in his expression. If anything he felt his frown tug down even deeper as he rubbed his hand over his mouth in deep rooted concern.

His expression did shift slightly at Eomma’s tsk, his gaze lifting immediately to Jun’s own with raised brows - and he was just about to interrupt and tell him whatever detail he was about to share was… not important. Gregory didn’t need to know whatever Haru and him had done together to… seal whatever curse this was!!! Jun was quick to interject though, filling that gap quickly and Gregory cleared his throat lightly in relief.

So - ...alright,..Eomma → Jun+Kim Do-yeon=Happy Eomma, unhappy Jun. Caring Jun adopts stray cat. Cute. Stray Cat (Princess Cat) → full grown woman. Not cute. Fake couple. Not cute. In place of a true love’s kiss - a… true moment of happiness or something. (Cute) Poof, Jun is a cat and needs to marry the Princess Cat in the Cat Kingdom. (Not cute!). Again - as noted when Jun was originally helping him with his ‘maybe curse’, this wasn’t Gregory’s first rodeo. His boyfriend and him broke up to leave the country to find a way to break his curse and he hadn’t returned. Hadn’t...spoken to him.. Seen him. It’d been...well over a year. Honestly it was terrifying to never know what became of him. To think that.. Something like this could happen to Jun and that he’d just up and disappear forever too!

Blowing a deep sigh through his lips, Gregory leaned forward again as he swept both of his hands over his face - massaging his temples roughly. It was...a lot. A very large amount of things to process and Gregory didn’t know if he was mad at Haru for letting this all happen or for Eomma for blaming Jun so much for something that was clearly out of his control. Being angry wasn’t going to help though - and clearly he was called here for a reason..

“....———okay…. So… What can I do? How--.. How can I help?” A hopefully… less stupid question.

JUN: Finally! The reason they were all here.

If only Jun could have started here, but Greg had deserved the explanation, especially because the truth of the matter was-- Jun had no idea how long he was going to be gone. He hoped he could get everything sorted in a matter of days. Get in, find Purrseph, claw her until she listened, lift the spell, and poof! He’d wake up in his bed with thumbs and everything! Whatever happened to Haru, he didn’t know-- it was one of the thoughts he was pushing away. It wasn’t his business. Despite whatever friendship they’d been building… and maybe something more, or at least, he’d had that brief, ill-advised thought last night which was clearly part of the reason he was LIKE this-- it was probably over. Good riddance, and all that. He-- he didn’t care.

But he would need her up until the point he was human again. And he needed Gregory too.

He cleared his throat. “Right, yes. Er, see-- Ting-Ting told me the only way to lift this sort of spell is to go to the sorcerer who cast it. Very annoying. I’ve got to head off to Nihon later today with Haru, and I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be gone. Probably not very. Haru assures me she knows exactly where that cat sorceress is hiding. So, well, they don’t have boats and cars and things there-- it’s all wild terrain, you know, um, think Lord of the Rings, I guess-- so it might just be a bit of a trek… maybe a-- a week, tops.”

Eomma sighed. She had no comment for all this-- he knew it worried her. It worried Jun too, but he was trying to pretend like it didn’t.

“So I er, just need a bit of help with the store. Eomma will do most of the work, but...but well, if you could help her out. Mostly during the weekdays, er, opening it up--she needs to get my sisters to school, you know. It won’t be that hard, I can walk you through everything, and I created a whole manual of instructions after my um, my abeoji died, just in case, so-- it should all be sorted.” He licked his muzzle, eyes darting down and then up. “I know it’s quite the favour to ask. You...you have your store too.”

GREG:

I’ve got to head off to Nihon. I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be gone. Maybe a week, tops.

Gregory felt himself stiffen at that - straightening up a tad as that discomfort clenched again in his gut. Jun was leaving. Jun was leaving Swynlake to find a way to lift his curse. He still remembered that night his ex-boyfriend last flew into his window. The way he stood in his room and tried to explain that he was leaving - that he didn’t know for how long, but he needed to break his curse. That he was closer to doing it than he’d ever been before and that this would be it. The final steps. That he’d come back when it was over… I’m not really sure how long it’ll take.

What if Mr. Moon never came back either? What if he left to lift his curse and Gregory found himself alone again? He’d lost his boyfriend. His best friend left for University and never said goodbye. Hadn’t contacted him since graduation. He couldn’t lose Mr. Moon too - but he also couldn’t ask him to stay. It wasn’t fair - and it wasn’t… realistic. The man was a cat and… obviously had a very good idea of how to solve it.

But the thought still terrified him. He didn’t want him to go.

“I--.. It’s fine.” He said perhaps too quickly, offering a slight dismissive wave of his hand. “I-... Ian can..basically run my shop without me.” Any of his employees probably could. They were all incredibly trustworthy and he’d trained them to. They’d all learned quickly - but Ian covered a lot of the important business work aspects. Knew how to operate the books, to close up or open, how to handle appointments and customers and inventory. That was why Ian would always be the one to get the keys when the time came.

So Gregory wasn’t worried about that.

“It’s not..it’s not a problem. I uhm… I mean I can..I can just come here and help on the farm a little earlier - and then go back and open for her like you would. And uhm… - Go to class or my shop or Board stuff during the day and check in again near closing. It’s.. - it’s more than doable.”

JUN: People often thought that Jun was not a very emotional person, or that he wasn’t very empathetic.

This was a mistake.

Now, he wasn’t as empathetic as he could be, and yes, he did make decisions based on logic and facts. But Jun knew when people were upset. Maybe it was all the training in hospitals. Maybe it was growing up with three sisters, being raised by Haleomoni and Eomma before his abeoji was ever in the picture. Whatever it was, he’d become especially attuned to Gregory’s stormy emotional states-- and he saw the boy stiffen, and knew that this was not good news.

But Eomma had cried too. This annoyed, sarcastic version of herself was a shield she was putting up for Greg, so she wouldn’t cry again. But she had asked him-- how long will you be gone? How can I live without you, my Yeong-junnie?

Jun frowned a bit, squirming again as Greg looked away from him and, naturally, agreed, like the very good boy he was. How readily and easily he agreed too. It tugged Jun’s heart. It made him feel worse.

He was bringing so much worry to all the people he loved, when it was supposed to be his job to carry it.

And so that was why Jun hopped from the table onto the couch, where he situated himself next to Gregory. He put a paw on the boy’s leg. “That would be wonderful, Gregory. Really, from the bottom of my heart… thank you,” he said. “And… and look, it really is not as scary as it sounds. Haru tells me there aren’t even any predators where she’s from! They’re the, er, top of the food pyramid so to speak! So I’ll be back before you know it! I promise. Who else can keep this town in check, eh?”

GREG: The sudden blur in front of him startled him, a hand raising slightly away from his side as Jun hopped across the gap and settled beside him - a fuzzy little black paw resting against his thigh. Much like the gentle hand that would rest across his knee or shoulder in an attempt to comfort him - Gregory knew that even if it didn’t physically carry the same weight, it carried the same implication. Despite the fact Jun was the one in this situation this time around, he was still doing his best to comfort him. To make sure Greg was okay.

His fingers curled gently into a fist, if only to resist the urge to reach out and scratch the small kitty behind his ears - to pull him against his chest and hold him close like he might’ve Calliope or Faith at the shop. Maybe then he could stop Jun from going. Keep him safe and find a way to get him out of his curse without him having to leave.

Lips parted to say something - but the words caught a bit in his throat. Forcing him to swallow that small lump as his gaze shifted briefly to Eomma before it landed back on Jun’s own again.

Despite his furry appearance, his eyes were so incredibly telling. Still the same dark eyes. The same bright, expressive eyes that often told him more than Mr. Moon ever would himself. The conversations the other man could hold just in his looks - from the gentle assurance, to stern reprimands. Even now - he could tell Jun’s words were genuine. Even if he knew there was… uncertainty there. But...he couldn’t blame him. Who wouldn’t be uncertain about going to a cat kingdom to demand your physical form back - but… the promise was genuine.

A week tops.

“...Of..of course. It’s..no big deal. It’s like--...the least I can do after all.” He was still...forever in debt to the other man, after all. Whether Jun wanted to acknowledge that or not. Clearing his throat a second time before offering a quick smile, Greg shifted again slightly. “That’s uhm...that’s good though. I uhm… - I’m sure it’ll be fine. ...knowing you - it’ll just take a look and you’ll be back to..to normal and on your way home.”

JUN: Yes, Jun was trying to comfort Greg, but he needed to hear it himself. The more he repeated it out loud, the easier it became to believe the strange story of it all-- that he would go, do his silly little hero’s journey, and come back in the end. That was how it always went, after all! At least, in every book and tv show and movie he had ever seen. The hero always came home.

Some hero you’ll be, he thought sardonically to himself. But if Greg believed in him…

Jun glanced back at Eomma, who gazed on worriedly. He cleared his throat. “Well-- er now that that’s settled-- I can go over a few specifics with you. Eomma, you don’t have to stay.”

Eomma nodded. “Thank you Gregory. This is very kind of you.” She got up and then reached over to squeeze one of Gregory’s hands gently, a small, tight smile on her lips. “You are a good boy. Jun-ah, tell me before he goes, eh, I want to send him home with more leftovers!”

Eomma went back out to her pottery studio, leaving Jun to talk to Gregory about the second part of his favour-- the most important part, really.

“I just wanted to say-- if you could look after her too,” he said much more quietly. His ears flicked backwards, as the shame bubbled up from the pit in his stomach. This was his job. It was one thing to let the store down, all those customers, and another to leave his eomoni all alone. She was a capable woman, of course, but-- only a year had passed since Abeoji died. He could sense her dread, her fear, almost like it was a smell caught in his ridiculous cat nostrils. And it was all his fault.

When Jun came home, it was where he was supposed to stay, so he could care for her, and his sisters, and Tae-yah. What if he didn’t come back?

No! Of course he’d come back. It was not an option. And until then…

“She might come across as very casual about this whole thing, but I know it scares her. Please, try to keep her spirits up. An-anything you can do.” A note of pleading sharpened Jun’s words. “If you need any help at all, also, please don’t hesitate to lean on Yeong-tae as well. Remind him that he is the eldest son while I am gone. He has to take that seriously-- but not too seriously, he should--focus on his studies too, of course, that’s first--”

The more Jun spoke, the more panicked he started to feel. Best to just stop, and so he did, abruptly.

GREG: Somehow Gregory managed a smile for Eomma as she got up and squeezed his hand - his head nodding gently. “...s’no problem.” He dismissed easily one last time, letting that smile stay on his lips just until the woman stepped from the room, where it then quickly faded back into the same frown that was often etched onto his features. The very one that still carried the worry he held for the older man.

A worry that only seemed to grow tenfold when Jun spoke up again, Gregory’s gaze immediately falling back down to that black cat beside him. He looked so… small. Scared. The ears pressed back against his head, the uncertain movements of his tail. See, Greg had always been good at reading body language, it was one of his skills of knowing when people wanted nothing to do with him, but even better than reading human body language? Was Greg’s ability to read animal’s body language. A skill that became especially important with his job at the shop.

So...he could see the discomfort in Jun’s figure. The… anxiety that seemed to spike through his small frame, only confirmed by the way his words grew seemingly faster before they abruptly came to a halt in all.

Mr. Moon’s request was a valid one, of course. One that Gregory would agree to quicker than he’d agreed to watch the store. It was...a no question situation - but the hint of desperation in which Jun requested it made him nervous too, and in the end - his own empathy overruled his logic.

So his fingers uncurled from his palm as they gently reached out to wrap around the back of Cat-Jun’s neck - thumb softly petting behind his ears as he nodded in easy agreement. “...Mr. Moon.. You don’t have to worry about that.” He spoke quietly, letting his hand rest upon his neck before it moved down slightly to gently scratch against his shoulders and the stiff tension he might’ve held there. “...course I’ll watch out for her. ..Keep an eye on her, Tae and your sisters while you’re gone… - but..” He trailed off slightly, his brows furrowing again as he swallowed another slightly larger lump in his throat.

“...You--.. It’ll just be a week. You’re coming back.” He finished - firmly, even. It wasn’t a question. Mr. Moon would come back (and as a human, no less) in just a week tops. “You promised…” He reminded, a little softer before his fingers stilled in the other’s soft fur. “...You promised. N’I promise I’ll look after them.”

JUN: Yes, he promised.

And oh, it was humiliating, everything about this was humiliating, but Jun closed his eyes at Gregory’s touch and let himself relax, if only for a moment. He hated this body-- it wasn’t his-- but with his eyes closed, he could at least forget that. With his eyes closed, he did not have to be a cat. He did not even have to be Mr. Moon, not anymore. Though he didn’t know what that made him-- if he were not Mr. Moon, the eldest son of the Moon family, what was he?

But Jun did not have to answer that question, at least not in those few seconds where he was not Mr. Moon at all, because only Mr. Moon would have the answer, eh? Instead, Jun got to have a few seconds just to himself. He got to have a comforting hand, and let himself listen to a friend’s kind words.

When he heard a rumbling, like a gentle murmur of rain, he didn’t realize it was him, purring, until he opened his eyes again.

And then the purring abruptly stopped.

And Mr. Moon was Mr. Moon again. Mr. Moon did not purr. Mr. Moon did not need comfort. He had quite a lot of work ahead of him actually. Normally, that work was familiar and routine: get up, do farm chores, open the store, run the store, run the errands, close the store, wake up, do farm chores…

But really, what was so different about this if he thought about it as one long errand, eh? It was bound to frustrate him, as most of his errands did!

Yes, one long errand, and dealing with people-- er… cats he did not want to deal with, and plenty of red tape, but then: home.

Jun cleared his throat. “Er-- yes-- of course. Exactly. One week, and then I’ll be back,” he said confidently, like he’d never doubted at all. “...Thank you again, Gregory. It’s… very…” Jun cleared his throat, feeling the heat under his fur. “I’m glad I can depend on you.”

GREG: He wouldn’t mention it.

Not if he wanted to live, of course - but Gregory was always going to remember the way the cat in front of him seemed to relax. The way his eyes closed and that soft rumble of purring filled the empty space between them. Perhaps if it had gone on any longer, he might’ve even seen the jet-black paws curl against his leg and knead the material of his jeans gently. But it didn’t - quick as it started, the purring came to a halt as Mr. Moon opened his eyes again and Gregory quickly took that as his cue to let his hand slip off the other man’s figure and instead rest on his own thigh.

Greg wouldn’t dare be weird about it. It was a cat - but it was still Mr. Moon. Still his elder. Still a respected businessman - and still in a situation that Gregory could only begin to understand. So he wouldn’t mention this, likely ever in his life. He’d consider that another addition to the endless debt he owed to Jun. Keeping this secret safe with him for as long as he lived, even if the man hadn’t yet asked that of him.

“...please don’t mention it.” The younger man said instead with another dismissive shrug. “It-... it’s never even a question.” And while Gregory didn’t know if Jun could depend on him, ...well at the very least he could try for him.

No matter what he asked, he’d try for him. Which was perhaps why he was even still here in the first place. Mr. Moon had basically asked him to try. So he was. So he too would try with this - make sure he did his very best to keep an eye out on Mr. Moon’s family and his store. To help his mother open, close or anything else she needed in between. Hell - Gregory would have gone to a Cat Kingdom to fight for him too if Jun asked.

“...maybe uhm…” He cleared his throat then, knowing better than to let them get stuck in an awkward gratitude cycle. “...Maybe we should actually go over a few things, yeah? I wasn’t cool enough t’get the summer job at the Market like everyone else so.. We gotta touch the basics.” He teased with a small smile.

Anything to lighten the mood.

#para #moon donkey #i love these guys nobody gets it #just think there should be a moon donkey fanblog on this site tbqh #greg is so funny in this also i love him

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geminiwritten · 4 years

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i like you more ; draco malfoy

fandom: hp

pairing: draco x reader

summary: you’ve been ‘seeing’ blaise (and draco isn’t too happy about it) but you’re a little distracted by someone else and it turns out blaise is gross, so draco swoops (much to your delight)

notes: my first fic! sorry if it sucks, i’m a bit out of practice, but let me know what you think!

word count: 3285 (i’m sorry)

This morning truly wasn’t unfolding in your favour. You’d slept in, you had no clean tights, your dormmate’s overweight cat, Muffin, had shredded your Potions homework, and your shoelace had dared to trip you as you scrambled out of the dungeons with only a sliver of hope that you hadn’t missed breakfast.

Though of course, you had missed it, and your rumbling stomach decided to protest about it for the whole first half of the day. Which was exactly why Hermione couldn’t concentrate on the wriggly vine in front of her that she was supposed to be letting suckle on an unusually small bottle of grey milk that definitely hadn’t come from a cow.

“Are you alright?” she asked, earning a stern glare from Professor Sprout as she tried to seize the spindly vine between her fingertips.

“Yeah,” you replied, “Sorry, I slept in and it’s been a rough morning.”

She handed you the tiny bottle of milk, silently asking you to try feeding the arrogant little plant while she scribbled a quick diagram of it onto a piece of parchment.

“Were you up all night with Blaise, huh?” she teased, smirking up at you from beneath her long lashes.

Your cheeks flushed, “No, why on Earth would you think that?”

Hermione giggled, “Apparently the two of you are a real thing now.”

The little green plant finally began suckling on the tip of the milk bottle, to which Professor Sprout offered you a commending smile.

“We are not a thing,” you said, eyes flickering toward the boy in question sitting at the other side of the greenhouse, “We’ve only been on two dates, and I’m not even sure if like him like that.”

“Well, you better tell him that,” she nudged her head in Blaise’s direction, “Because he’s been telling everyone that you’re going to the Yule Ball together.”

“Excuse me?” this time, you weren’t even the slightest bit subtle about shooting a look his way, “He hasn’t even asked me!”

Hermione did the best to stifle her laughter in the shoulder of her robe as Professor Sprout called the class to an end. A few seventh-year students filtered through the greenhouse to take the plants away and remove the equipment while everyone else scattered off toward their respective next classes.

“Hey gorgeous,” Blaise greeted, falling into step beside you on your way to Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione staggered her steps and waited until she could start walking with Cho.

You kept your eyes glued to the ground, “Blaise.”

“Do you fancy roses by any chance?” he produced a blood red rose from behind his back, “Because I nicked this one from Sprout’s desk, just for you.”

The bud of the flower looked fairly normal, but the stem was abnormally thick and dark with what looked like blisters in the place of thorns. “That’s a Blooming Akhlys; those bubbles contain poisonous gas and if you inhale enough of it, you die.”

Blaise shrieked and dropped the flower, “Gross!”

You stopped short and rolled your eyes, gathering the hem of your robe to carefully retrieve the flower, “You can’t just leave it here.”

Before he could speak, you turned sharply and hurried back toward the greenhouses. Professor Sprout was relieved to see it returned, and more than a little embarrassed about leaving it unattended on her desk. She wrote you a short letter to pardon your tardiness to your next class and sent it fluttering in the form of a small bird toward Hagrid’s hut.

You set off once again across the grassy grounds, watching your scuffed shoes one after the other until a second pair appeared beside them. You startled a little, looking up to find familiar grey eyes above a cheeky smile, “Far out, Draco, don’t sneak up on people like that.”

He chuckled, “I wasn’t sneaking, you just happen to be particularly imperceptive.”

You rolled your eyes, “Why are you late for class, anyway?”

“Flitwick kept me back,” he replied, “Just wanted to congratulate me on being the most incredible student he’s ever had.”

His grin was making you blush, so you turned your attention back to your feet as you scoffed, “You’re so full of it, Draco.”

He definitely didn’t miss the rosy colour that blossomed in your cheeks, and he felt pretty proud that it was his doing, “Maybe so, but you-”

“Y/N!” Blaise’s holler echoed from further down the hill, interrupting Draco and dissolving his once charming smirk into a disgusted sneer. “I guess I’ll see you later then,” He muttered, and before you could respond his long legs picked up their pace and left you behind.

Blaise was oblivious to the look that Draco gave him as he brushed past, but you still noticed it. “Hey,” you said, “What are you doing? You’ll be late for class.”

Blaise shrugged, “Worth it if I get to spend a little extra time with you.”

He offered his hand, at which you stared with confusion before realising that it was for you to hold. You tried to hide your surprise as you met it with your own, shuddering at the feeling of his sweaty palm.

Through the trees and into a small clearing, Hagrid was organising the class into small groups for the first project of the term. He turned to you and grinned, waving Professor Sprout’s note in the air before turning to Blaise, “An’ why might you be late, Mr. Zabini?”

It was odd to hear Hagrid speak with the slightest bit of formality.

“I was with Y/N.”

Hagrid’s brows rose, “Not accordin’ to Professor Sprout’s letter.”

Blaise looked at you with pleading eyes, and though a part of you really didn’t want to save his ass, you spoke up, “Sorry, Hagrid, Blaise had waited outside the greenhouse just to make sure I got to class okay.”

Hagrid looked between you and Blaise, his gaze falling on your interlocked hands before sighing, “Alrigh’ then, you two can join Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Parkinson.”

Your stomach sank so low you worried for a moment if it was going to fall out of your arse.

Draco was half-sitting on a huge boulder, his long arms wrapped around the furry textbook that was nestled against his chest. His green tie was loose and lopsided, allowing for a few extra shirt buttons to be undone and exposing his milky-white skin beneath. How the hell did this boy manage to constantly look like an off-duty model?

The intrusion of ghastly pink nail polish in the perfect picture that was Draco Malfoy brought your reverie to a bitter end. Pansy was huddled beside him, talking no less than a hundred miles an hour while toying flirtatiously with the lapel of his robe. With the other hand, she twirled a piece of mousy brown hair and as soon as you met her gaze, she winked.

“Well, isn’t this lucky?” Blaise spoke first, “Not often that we get grouped with everyone from the same house.”

Draco’s eyes were trained on the ground, remaining there even as Pansy moved close enough to nearly bump him off the boulder, “How exciting!”

“Great,” you said, trying to force a smile through your half-assed tone of enthusiasm.

Just as Hagrid called the class to order, Draco peered up from beneath his lashes. His eyes were soft, and you could have sworn his pink lips were pouting. You wanted to ask what was wrong but before you could, Crabbe and Goyle appeared and Draco morphed back into his usual, cocky persona.

Hagrid started excitedly explaining the aim of the group projects while the class found various rocks and trees to lean against. Around the border of the clearing was a short brick wall, on which you took a seat seconds before Draco, who decided to sit unnecessarily close. Blaise quickly occupied your other side and slung an arm around your waist. It made you stiffen, and you felt a little uncomfortable but as you put your hand down to grip the edge of the brick wall, your pinkie met another’s. Warm tingles wriggled from your little finger up your arm, lighting a warm fire on that side of your body.

You kept your hand there for the rest of the class, and to your surprise, so did Draco.

“So,” Blaise said as you began your walk back to the castle, “The Yule Ball?”

You shrugged, “What about it?”

“We’ll go together, yeah?” he didn’t seem nervous in the slightest, which kind of annoyed you.

“Is that you asking me to go with you, Blaise?”

He chuckled, “Well, obviously.”

A part of your heart ached as you replied, “Then I suppose I’ll say yes.”

“I knew you would,” he said, wrapping his arms around you and planting a sloppy kiss on your cheek. You wanted to pull away but you couldn’t bring yourself to embarrass him like that. “What do you say we go back to my dorm to celebrate, hm?”

You couldn’t hide your surprise this time, “W-What do you mean?”

“You know,” he smirked, “Practice the kind of dancing we’re going to be doing after the ball.”

Your stomach lurched and you were suddenly glad that you hadn’t had breakfast, “Um, sorry Blaise but I have to get some study done before afternoon classes.”

As you hurried away you couldn’t have cared less about what Blaise might’ve felt from your rejection. You had no idea that he was so disgusting and pushy; he’d always seemed like a good enough gentleman until now.

Once inside the castle you swept through the Great Hall to get some food before setting course for the library. You knew you could find a friend in there to help you study and you figured that it would be the least likely place for Blaise to go.

Sure enough, Hermione was nestled at a table beneath one of the tall windows. “Hey,” you said, setting your books down.

“Hey,” she perked up as soon as she saw you, “I heard Blaise finally asked you to the ball.”

You sat down and sighed, “I guess you could say that.”

“Oh, no,” she shut her book, “What happened?”

You vaguely explained what went down on the walk back from Care of Magical Creatures and watched as her face slowly morphed into an expression of disgust.

“Oh, what a vile little git!” she hissed, dampening her angry voice for the sake of the library, “How dare he even suggest something like that, you’ve hardly been on any real dates let alone decided if you even want to be a couple!”

Tears threatened to fall, but you blinked them back and chalked the emotion up to how exhausting your morning had been. “I don’t know,” you toyed with cap of Hermione’s ink pot, “I want to like him, but something just doesn’t feel right.”

Something being Draco, of course.

“It’ll be okay,” she said as she packed her things back into her bookbag, “Just remember who you are and don’t let anyone tell you what decisions to make.”

Her smile was warm and for the second time that day, you felt comfort overwhelm the uneasiness that Blaise had bled into your body. “Thanks, ‘mione.”

She bid you goodbye to go meet Harry and Ron for lunch, so you opened your Herbology textbook and started idly flipping through pages.

For some reason – though you knew exactly what reason, you just chose to ignore it – you couldn’t get Draco’s soft, grey eyes out of your head. You’d always been good friends with him, not too close but definitely more than acquaintances, and you’d always had a crush on him, but recently it’s felt different.

About a month ago when Blaise first asked you out, you were ecstatic. Your crush on Draco started to dwindle and you found a new hope for love in the form of Blaise’s plentiful compliments and warm brown eyes. Though it all started feeling strange when Draco seemed to vanish from your day-to-day life. It hurt, actually; you never wanted to lose him, and he was still an important person in your life, but week by week he floated further away. You’d hardly seen him until he surprised you today outside of the greenhouses.

“Seat taken?” a familiar voice asked, startling you.

The devil himself stood beside you, grey eyes on full effect with the usual smirk quirking the corner of his pink lips.

“Um, no, y-you can sit,” you wanted to kick yourself as you tripped over your own words, hearing him chuckle softly as he took the seat.

He opened his Herbology textbook and laid out a fresh piece of parchment, “So- uh, I heard that you’re going with Blaise to the Yule Ball.”

Once again, your stomach sank, “Um, yeah, I am.”

“You don’t sound too excited about it?” the little crease between his brows was almost laughably adorable.

“Oh, I am, but you know,” you shrugged, “Blaise doesn’t want to make it a big deal.”

Draco had to suppress his smile, because he knew you weren’t excited about going with Blaise and that gave him an inkling of hope. “Oh, okay, that makes sense.”

A beat of silence swept over the two of you before you spoke again, “Who are you going with?”

“Where?”

“The ball?”

His heart skipped, “Um, I haven’t asked anyone yet.”

“Oh,” you were rather happy with that response, because you knew that the alternative answer would have enraged the green-eyed monster that lived in your belly.

An easy silence settled once again, only interrupted by the intermittent scratching of quill on paper or the turn of a page.

Slowly, Draco let his legs relax and the one closest to you bumped your bare knee. “What happened to your uniform today, hm?” he teased.

You blushed, “I didn’t have any clean tights.”

“And what about your tie?”

You gasped, fearing you’d forgotten it until you felt the silky material beneath your fingertips. You frowned, “I didn’t forget it.”

“No,” he chuckled, “But you clearly don’t know how to tie it properly.”

“You ought to talk,” you scoffed.

He rolled his eyes as he swivelled sideways in his seat, leaning dangerously close and bringing his slender fingers up to the lazy knot at your collarbone. Your breath hitched and got stuck in your throat, making a soft noise that brought a cheeky grin to his lips.

He wasn’t close enough, though. The smell of peppermint and fresh linen numbed your senses; you could feel yourself falling toward him but didn’t have the strength to stop. His fingers worked effortlessly on the tie around your neck despite his eyes staying locked on yours, hope filling them as he let his gaze stray toward your lips.

The unexpected sound of a book falling on the floor scared the both of you, making you jump apart and turn toward the aisle of books on the far side of the window. Then you heard a giggle and a grunt.

“What the hell?” Draco stood and strode over to see the other side of the stack, though he regretted it almost instantly.

You followed him, “What is- Oh.”

Between the bookshelves was a pair of dishevelled Slytherins. Blaise was struggling to pull his trousers back up to his hips while Pansy didn’t seem too concerned about her open blouse that exposed her lacy bra to the whole library.

“Y/N, I-”

“Um, no,” you raised your hand to silence him, “I don’t really care about an explanation.”

“But, Y/N, I swear-”

“Blaise,” you stepped back as he stepped forward, “I really don’t give a fuck.”

Draco snickered and Pansy looked utterly offended, finally deciding to button her shirt up. You turned sharply and grabbed the sleeve of Draco’s robe, tugging him alongside you as you left the stacks and hurriedly collected your belongings from the table. Once you slung your bookbag over your shoulder, the two of you left the library.

You sighed, feeling a strange sense of relief, “I honestly thought that the last place I would run into Blaise would be the library.”

Draco chuckled softly, “He frequents it more than you’d think.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said quickly, “That was really insensitive.”

“You definitely don’t have to be sorry, Draco,” you stopped at the top of the stairs that led down toward the dungeons, “I didn’t really like him anyway.”

Draco stopped only a step lower than you, making him just about the same height, “Really?”

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a jerk.”

Draco chuckled, “More than a bit.”

“Do you think Hagrid will let us change groups for our Care of Magical Creatures project?” you wondered aloud.

“I bloody hope so,” Draco mumbled.

A short moment of silence washed over you before you spoke again, “So,” you tugged on your half-knotted tie, “Would you mind fixing this before class, because I’ve already lost my homework and I don’t want to give Snape another reason to give me detention.”

The corridors were just about empty. Most students were still at lunch or studying for the remainder of the midday break; it was just you and Draco.

“Oh, of course,” he dropped his bookbag by his foot and started untangling your tie.

Once again he was close enough to completely overwhelm your senses, and you simply couldn’t stop yourself from speaking, “Hey Draco, since I don’t have a date and you don’t have a date, do you want to go to the Yule Ball alone together?”

Shades of pink flooded his pale cheeks, “Alone together?”

His eyes were focused on your tie while yours watched his tongue dart across his bottom lip. You swallowed thickly and nodded, “Yeah, alone together.”

Finally, he looked up, “Well, why don’t we just go together?”

Your heart skipped and you could feel the heat rushing from your neck to the tips of your ears. You couldn’t help but giggle, “Did Draco Malfoy just ask me out?”

He nodded, revelling in the soft sound of your laughter, “Is that a yes?”

“Definitely.”

Tightening his grip on the knot he’d just created, he pulled you close and pressed his lips to yours. Warmth and electricity spread through you, making your legs so numb you were worried you’d collapse, but all too soon, he pulled away.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said, chuckling quietly to himself.

You rolled your eyes, “Trust me, I do.”

He couldn’t help feeling giddy when you pecked his lips again. You laced your fingers with his and began moving down the stairs, but he tugged on your arm to stop you. “What if we don’t go to Potions?”

“Why?” you frowned.

“I’m just thinking, since you don’t have your homework and I would much rather not have this moment ruined by Snape, maybe we could just… go for a walk?”

“A walk?” you echoed, “Draco, there are many things I would rather be doing instead of Potions class, but a walk is hardly near the top of that list.”

“There’s a list?” he asked, smirking.

You nodded, “And it’s very long, so we’d better get started.”

The two of you began walking away from the dungeons. “Should we start with number one, then?” he offered.

“Hm, maybe not,” you replied, “I think we should save number one for a special night when no one will bother us.”

The red in your cheeks was enough to give your thoughts away, and Draco was almost embarrassed about how fast his heart began to race.

“I like that idea,” he said, pulling you closer and planting a kiss on your forehead.

You giggled, “I like you.”

“I like you more.”

END.

#draco malfoy #harry potter #tom felton #imagine #oneshot #one shot #draco malfoy image #draco malfoy oneshot #draco malfoy one shot #ron weasley #hermione granger

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busterkeatonfanfic · 4 years

Photo

Chapter 14

Buster caught it good from Natalie at breakfast the following morning. As soon as Connie collected the kids to wash them up and the room was empty, she let him have it.

He was made to understand that just before he reappeared inside the house after seeing off Nelly, Louise Brooks had exited the rear loggia, hair and dress rumpled and a nipple exposed, and dashed toward the bathroom. Natalie saw the whole spectacle and saw Buster too, strolling through the front door a minute later with a telltale smear of lipstick on his face. There wasn’t anything he could do to defend himself when she snapped, “I suppose you weren’t thinking about me at all when you went off with Louise last night? What everyone there would think?”

Oh, actually it wasn’t Louise, Nate, that was a crazy coincidence. It was this other girl, you see. Yeah, that’d go over like a lead balloon.

“I’m sorry,” he said, after giving his answer some thought. “I really am. I had too much to drink. I didn’t know what I was doing.” There was nothing else he could say. Whoever had been out there with Louise, whether George or another lucky man, had either slipped back in unnoticed or left unnoticed, leaving good old Buster to take the fall. He wasn’t convinced that anyone had put two and two together concerning Louise and him, but that hardly mattered to Nate. All the elements to humiliate her had been in place.

“You say you care about me, but that isn’t true at all. Otherwise you wouldn’t be two-timing me every time my back is turned,” she said. Her beautiful eyes were shimmering with unshed tears and he did feel terrible looking at her. He wanted to comfort her, this woman he’d loved since the day he’d stepped off that train in New York and gone to seal their engagement, but he knew it wouldn’t do a lick of good, even if she had allowed him to gather her into his arms and hold her close, which he knew she wouldn’t.

“You know about the two-timing,” he said. “I never lied about it.” He felt the futility of the argument as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“Yes, but you said it wouldn’t be public,” she said, breaking into a sob.

“Nate, I fucked up, alright!” he said. “I don’t know what you want. What do you want me to do, put on the hair shirt and get out the cat o’ nine tails? Jesus, I’m sorry.” He pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. Now he was angry and couldn’t quite grasp why. Something to do with his stupidity and carelessness but also Natalie’s long-standing refusal to engage in the normal rules of marriage as he understood them. He was angry at everything. He shoved the chair so the arms struck the edge of the table, hoping they’d dented the table’s pristine finish, and stormed out. Eleanor was mopping the checkerboard floor and he ignored her meek hello as he jogged up the stairs and stalked into his bedroom.

He yanked open his closet, pulled out a jacket, shrugged it on, and laced up his shoes. Before leaving, he collected his fishing poles and tackle box.

He ended up driving out to Franklin Canyon Lake where he could be alone with his thoughts. He found an isolated spot and parked the Duesenberg, then set up. The absurdity of it didn’t escape him, sitting on the grassy edge of the lake getting the seat of his pants wet and dirtying up a $200 pair of leather shoes with a $9,500 car behind him.

He had been pretty drunk last night, but not so drunk he hadn’t known what he was doing when Nelly kissed him. She’d made the first move, but he’d been getting ready to beat her there. His thoughts had been returning to her all morning. He’d grown to like her and there wasn’t much question as to why. She was pretty for starters and she had a backbone, which he’d always liked in a girl. He was amused by her sense of pride. Her stakes also seemed very low. She didn’t want to be the leading lady in a romance or even the leading lady in one of his comedies, for that matter. No, it was fusty old Shakespeare she had her hopes pinned on. His first thought upon waking up, apart from lamenting how ferociously his head hurt, was that he wanted to see her again.

Nate’s sad, pretty little face at the breakfast table rose up in his mind and guilt gnawed. She deserved a husband who would be faithful to her; he did believe that with his whole heart, even though he couldn’t (Couldn’t or wouldn’t? hissed a part of him) make that sacrifice. It wasn’t fair of him to treat her the way he did, to be thinking of Nelly and how much he’d wanted her last night. Still, the selfish part of him objected stridently. He had needs too and didn’t he deserve to get them met? Hadn’t he tried his best to make things better before going outside of his marriage? Didn’t he still do his damndest to make Nate happy, what with the Villa and parties and letting her control the purse-strings?

The fishing was good as morning wore into afternoon and afternoon wore into evening, but he threw everything back. Gone were the days in Muskegon where Myra cooked everything he caught, frying the fish up in butter and cornmeal. Caruthers bought the fish and other meat fresh every day and it was usually exotic, skate fillets and swordfish and the like, not the humble trout and largemouth bass his line was currently fetching. When he tired of fishing, he got back in the car and drove home. He would miss dinner, but he wasn’t hungry. He parked in the garage and headed to the east wing, where he climbed the stairs to his balcony and let himself into his room, not wanting to come through the main entrance and risk encountering Natalie. He kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket and trousers on the floor, and crawled into bed. The hangover had caught up to him and he fell fast asleep.

When he woke up, he had no idea where he was or what time it was. It took him a few seconds to remember the fishing trip, the fight, and the party. He grabbed the alarm clock on his bedside table and brought it up to his face. Almost nine o’clock. He’d slept for over two hours. He sat up, feeling groggy and hungry, and pulled his trousers back on. He padded into the hall. The house was dim, Caruthers having turned down the lights for the evening, and no trace of the previous evening’s festivities remained. He wondered if Nate had decided to go ahead with the barbecue tomorrow in spite of the fight. Even though he would have rather inspected the kitchen for leftovers, he passed the stairs and went on to the west wing. The door to Natalie’s bedroom was closed and he tapped on the door to announce himself before pushing quietly inside.

Natalie was sitting up in bed in a blue satin nightgown and a matching translucent wrap reading an issue of Colliers. She didn’t look at him as he sat at the foot of the bed. “Hi,” he said, giving her toe beneath the covers a friendly tweak. She withdrew her foot and turned the page of her magazine. The cover advertised the new Zane Grey novel and was subtitled A Story of Love and Adventure in Arizona.

He knit his hands in his lap. “I know you’re angry.”

No response.

“I’m sorry.”

Silence.

“I love you.”

Only then did Natalie put down the magazine and look at him. “A fine way you’ve got of showing it.” The expression on her face was cold.

He stood up and climbed into the bed with her, making himself comfortable against the mound of pillows on the vacant side. It was a risky move, but she didn’t object. “I wanna make things work.”

Natalie scoffed.

Her king bed felt as big as a steamliner compared to his double. Even if he had been permitted to sleep in the same bed with her, with its size there would have been no danger of them ever touching.

“You know I still care for you. I’ve never stopped.” Cautiously, he stroked her arm.

“You humiliated me,” she said, not looking at him.

“I know. I deserve to be castrated.” He didn’t think he deserved any such thing, but she was letting him stroke her arm, so he went on.

“Does the whole world know you’re stepping out on me? That I’m not enough for you?” Her voice was trembly.

He sighed. “I don’t think anyone noticed last night. We came from opposite ends of the house.”

“Yes,” she said tearily. “It was very clever of you. But I noticed.”

“Because you’re my wife. My wife who I love very much.” He threw caution to the wind and moved into her space, putting his arms around her and laying his chin on her shoulder. “I don’t want to lose you.” She was rigid, but didn’t attempt to pull away.

“What will it take for you to treat me with respect then?” she said, reaching up to dash away a tear.

Buster sighed again and nuzzled her shoulder. She smelled of flowers and baby powder. “I do respect you. You know what the problem is.”

The silence between them was heavy. After a while, Natalie said, “I could try again to like it, I guess.” She sniffled.

He looked at her, surprised. “Do you really mean that?”

She nodded. “I want us to be happy. I want Bobby and Jimmy to have a mother and a father. Under the same roof, that is.”

Apparently he hadn’t been the only one with the D word on his mind. “Okay,” he said, not quite believing she’d just said what she had. “Well, you know that would make me very happy.”

Natalie laid her hand on his forearm. “And you’d stay faithful to me, if …” She was so delicate, she trailed off instead of naming the unseemly act to which they both referred.

“Yes,” he said. “Of course.”

“I don’t want to tonight,” she said, sounding almost frightened.

“I don’t expect you to.” He leaned up and kissed her cheek. “We can take things at your pace.”

“Okay,” she said. He felt her relax in his arms.

She permitted him to linger cuddling her a while longer, and when she kicked him out so she could sleep it was with a kiss.

Standing in the kitchen eating a shaved-beef sandwich a few minutes later, he felt like the tide was turning just a little. The cutting of Steamboat was going well. The barbecue was still on for tomorrow and those always cheered him up. Natalie had done better than just forgiven him for his indiscretion, she told him she was willing to resume their marital relations. Even so, once he’d taken a bath and was lying between his sheets in his silk pajamas, he couldn’t sleep. He was thinking about the night before and the girl who had attended in her rented dress and had thrown away his flask of whiskey. He remembered too that she’d cried when he filmed the facade scene Notes: Thank you for your patience, Buster kittens, as I adjusted to some big life changes the past week. My therapy is this story, though, so I’m back at it again! A couple notes: Buster and Natalie had servants called Connie and Eleanor, which is a little confusing given that Natalie’s sister Constance was sometimes called Connie and Buster found his happily ever after with an Eleanor. According to Myra Keaton, Buster never stopped loving Natalie, and I do think that he genuinely wanted their marriage to work. What do you think?

#Buster Keaton #fan fiction #Actor RPF #RPF #silent film #golden age hollywood

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choco-exe · 4 years

Text

𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚔𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚝𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚞, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎! genre: fluff :> type: special one shot status: proofread pronouns: female word count: 1697 warnings: none

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °

“Kuroo-san!” The familiar voice hit Kuroo’s ear, like a melody tuning into his system. He pretended not to hear the girl calling to him, opting to continue making his way down the street. A tug on his shirt indicated for him to stop and turn, and he looked down to see a particular optimist that somehow knew exactly where he was at all times, trying to catch her breath. “My apologies, kitty.” He said teasingly, making her head snap up at the nickname. “You young people have much better hearing than me, so I suppose you tend to forget to speak louder.” Her cheeks dusted a coral red from his teasing earlier, she pouted as she looked up at him. “Stop acting like you’re an old man, Kuroo-san! You’re only seventeen!” Kuroo stroked his chin, as if he had a beard. “Only seventeen, you say?” He repeated, pretending to not be bothered by that statement. “That seems fairly old to me, wouldn’t you agree?” He leaned down, his nose lightly brushing against hers. Her face now blossoming into a deep shade of pink, she took a step back, away from Kuroo’s face. “Y-yeah! Only seventeen! You still have a long way to go before you’re a wise old man!” She poked his nose childishly, as if proving her point. Kuroo’s heart fluttered slightly at the contact, but his face was still bearing his teasing grin. “Are you calling me wise?” “Yes! I am!” Her reply made him pause; he didn’t expect her to actually agree to his comment. “You’re very wise when it comes to science!” “Is that so..” He murmured. “Well, if that’s all you wanted to say, I’ll take my leave now.” Leaning down, he took her petite hand into his own and kissed the back of it gently. He glanced up at her face and smirked, with his lips still barely lingering on her hand; her face was a mix between shock, embarrassment, and.. was that pleasure he saw? Nevertheless, he retracted away from her and spun around, waving goodbye as he began to become a smaller figure to her.. then immediately turned back, as if he forgot something. “It isn’t very gentlemanly of me to leave a girl as beautiful as you alone now, is it?” Kuroo stated. “Let me walk you to your destination.” When she was silent for a few moments, he frowned and leaned down to her height. “Did I break you?” He asked teasingly, poking her cheek. “Wha-” Her eyelashes fluttered as she came back into reality. “OH!” She hesitantly took a step back. “Um no it’s fine I can walk by myself my house is really near-” Her words came out in a single breath, and she scrambled away, like a mouse running away from a cat, leaving a confused Kuroo leaning down awkwardly. He slowly went back to standing up straight, furrowing his eyebrows. Did I go too far? He thought to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets, going back to walking along the streets of Japan. He ran over their conversation in his mind, frowning when he remembered her saying, “you’re only seventeen!” Judging her expressions, she probably didn’t know my birthday was tomorrow.. Kuroo let out a heavy sigh. Oh well.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Waking up from a heavy slumber, Kuroo rubbed his eyes as he slammed his alarm off. He went through his morning routine before checking on his phone, and he was bombarded with messages, varying from his teammates to people he’d only talk to once, and it was for one assignment. He chuckled as he scrolled through all of them, but his heart began to race as he saw a message sent from her. The captain stopped walking to his kitchen as he slowly unlocked his phone, bracing himself for whatever she sent him. His eyes widened as he read the message, and he quickly dashed to his front door. Wrenching it open, he ran like mad, only wearing shorts and a tank top (as he was going to go jogging after eating breakfast.) After a few minutes flew by, Kuroo was right outside her door. He tried to tidy himself up as he knocked on the door, and when he heard footsteps nearing, he took a deep breath. “Kuroo-san..?” She murmured, the door creaking open as she rubbed her eyes sleepily with her sleeve; he thought she looked like an angel, even in an oversized hoodie with saggy socks. “Wait.. Kuroo-san?!” Her eyes widened, as if the sleep evaporated from her body. “W-wha-?!” Kuroo ruffled her hair, trying to stay calm. “Looks like a little kitty just woke up.” He grinned, as if he didn’t just run to a girl’s house at six in the morning. “How about you treat me to breakfast, yeah? Then we talk.” “I- um, okay!” She stammered out. “My treat! Just let me, um, get changed and.. give me thirty minutes!” She quickly scurried upstairs, leaving Kuroo standing at her doorway. He let himself in and went to the nearest chair, plopping himself down and going through the other birthday wishes he received. He was just about done scolding Kenma in a very long text about being awake at three am, when she nearly leaped down the stairs. Kuroo’s eyes immediately looked at her outfit: her hair a bit damp from showering, she was wearing an oversized black t-shirt tucked into straight-cut jeans. “Do I look overdressed?!” She asked frantically. “Are the jeans too much?!” Kuroo shook his head, chuckling at her questions. “Your outfit is fine, kitty.” He replied. “I’m the one that looks like a mess; you look perfectly normal.” Her face flushed. “I’ll take your word for it. Also, can you stop calling me kitty?” “Why, of course, kitten.” He got up and walked to the front door, putting on his volleyball slides. “You know that’s not what I meant!” She retorted, right on his heels and pulling a pair of used sneakers on. “No more nicknames!” “It’s my birthday, kitten,” he said lazily. “Respect the birthday boy’s wishes. Don’t tell me you forgot who was the first to text me, hmm?” Her face grew incredibly hot after she comprehended what he said. “I-I just wanted to be first, okay?!” She sputtered, embarrassed. “Don’t get the wrong idea!” “Alright, tsundere.” He stopped in front of a cafe. “Let’s eat here, yes?” She nodded, her eyes full of curiosity, as she had never been in the place before. Kuroo opened the door for her, slightly bowing as well. “After you, m’lady.” “Um, thank you- wait, I am not a tsundere! And isn’t it your birthday, not mine??” The pair walked into the building and was greeted with the aroma of coffee and pastries. “Who could say..” Kuroo replied, musing over many of the food in display shelves. “Surprise me, kitten. I’ll eat what you pick out for me.” “What if I give you something nasty?” She grinned up at him, although her eyes showed no mischief whatsoever. “Then I guess I’ll just have to give you a taste as well.” He nudged her forward, as they were in front of the line waiting to order. “Shoo, then!” She pestered, lightly pushing him aside. “Let me surprise you, like you said!” “Okay, okay, I’m going now.” Kuroo said playfully, walking over to a table beside a window. He swung himself into the chair as he waited patiently for her to go to him, replying to a few more texts as he waited. It didn’t take very long before she found him, balancing a few things in her hands. “Here you go!” “Whoa, kitty, careful now.” He quickly helped her set everything down on the table so that she wouldn’t drop anything. “Why didn’t you just call me for help?” “A female doesn’t need a male’s help all the time.” She replied back, sitting down on the opposite side of him. “You were literally about to drop something,” he argued, examining what she brought to him. Two lidded cups of something he assumed was either coffee or tea, a cinnamon bun, and a cake slice that had fruits adorned around it. “If Newton hadn’t invented his Three Laws of Physics, you wouldn’t know the reason why!” She blurted out, taking one of the two cups and sipping it. “I don’t know if you can have coffee, so I got both of us some tea! It’s actually really good, too!” “Don’t make me lecture you about Newton’s Three Laws,” Kuroo said jokingly. “I’m assuming the cinnamon bun is yours, then?” She nodded and continued to sip her tea. “What a sugary breakfast..” Panic flashed across her face when he said that. “Oh, no, are you not supposed to eat anything sweet?” She asked worriedly. “I’m sorry-” “No, no, it’s fine.” He assured her quickly. “You could think of my birthday as a cheat day; although I won’t have that much, I’ll still eat sweet things.” He grabbed a fork and stabbed a piece of cake, then brought it to his mouth. “This tastes like heaven, considering I haven’t eaten cake in awhile.” Her face immediately showed a sign of relief. “Oh, thank goodness.” She said, chomping on her cinnamon bun. “For a moment, I was afraid I just screwed everything up.” “You’re fine, kitten.” Kuroo decided to switch the topic before it became awkward. “Can I taste that?” “Hm?” She looked up from her food, syrup smeared on the edge of her lips. “Oh, sure-!” She was about to stab her cinnamon bun, but instead, Kuroo lifted her chin with his fingers and gently leaned in. Her eyes opened in surprise at the narrow proximity between them, but he didn’t move any closer to her face. “..may I?” He asked slowly. She had nothing to say or do except nod, and he gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, before kissing her softly. It was like a dream; a very short dream, as he pulled away faster than she wanted him to. “Sweet.” He concluded, leaning back into his chair as he tried to hide his face with his hand. “Very, very sweet, Y/N-san.”

ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ 𝚎 𝚡 𝚝 𝚛 𝚊 ﹥*:ꔫ:*+ﾟ

#kuroo #kuroo tetsurō #haikyū!!#haikyuu!!#one shot #kuroo x reader #hq fluff #hq kuroo #kuroo x y/n #fanfics #kuroo tetsuro fluff #kuroo tetsurou

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musedblues · 4 years

Text

Born To Love You [Part: 7]

summary: When Gwilym ropes you into a lie, the truth becomes painfully obvious. When Joe makes things harder, there’s no telling if he even has a clue

a/n: I can't really believe I've finally finished this. If only you all knew how long this story sat in my drafts before I even considered sharing it. I'm eternally gratful to those of you who’ve stuck around and shared your thoughts and shown me and this fic such sweet love. I can only hope I've done some kind off justice in bringing this wild ride to a close. As always, and especially now, I really can't wait to hear what you lot think. So here you have it.... The End! 💖

w/c: 4k

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Even after all this time, not a moment passed that didn't dazzle you. No little gesture slipped by unnoticed, or underappreciated.

From across the room, you adored the way his eyes glowed as he laughed. How they shined and crinkled in a pattern you'd memorized long before you were brave enough to stare. How they always sparkled just so when he spun into a fit of giggles, a sound you couldn't help but turn toward.

Joe tossed his head back, letting out a hearty chuckle as James and Andy filled him in on the details of their recently disastrous road trip. For their anniversary, they planned to cruise around the countryside for a week. But a flat tire, and a run in with a couple wild animals sent them running back to London before the week was up.

You couldn't have gotten luckier, when you found the perfect house in the safest part of the city with the best schools; just a half an hour drive from where James and Andy had moved a couple years before- after living with you for longer than you could recall in a flash.

They helped you move boxes from your old flat, and stood with you in the empty place, taking a silent beat to say goodbye to all the life you each lived there. You'd fondly remember the parties, and even the tears. The day you found out about Olive. The room you brought her home to. The place you loved. But it was never the same after your dear flatmates found a home of their own.

On their generous drives to help you unload boxes in an all new place, that's when your pair of best pals really got to know Joe. They (like everyone else) laughed at most of his jokes, and beamed when he laughed at theirs in turn. When they weren't helping you unload boxes, they were off cackling with Joe, too awestruck by shared conversation to help you move your sofa into a reasonable spot.

And when you and your man with fossil colored eyes were settled, James and Andy still managed to stop by for plenty of surprise breakfast visits. And every time they stopped over, they each took turns insisting that their location was the sole purpose you'd been so keen to move to this part of the city. And while they might have been half right, you'd never let on that it was one of the many reasons.

London just made sense. It was closer to Gwil's new place. He'd been traveling to and from the city for work so often that he'd felt like his usual train car was more of his home than the one down the road from your old flat. So he found a cozy space just outside of London and loads more work within the first few days of settling in. When he wasn't busy on set, or away for an audition, he was just a few streets away- ready and willing to come and take Olive on days he hadn't planned to, at her beck and call.

Some days you missed when all Olive knew how to say were a handful of words. But you knew you'd soon miss all of the girls never ending questions, too. "Why can't cats talk?" "Where do all the badgers sleep at night?" "Why do I have to wear socks with my shoes?" She had a knack for asking the silliest questions when you least expected it. She'd come out of no place while you were busy making dinner. While she should have been practicing tying her shoes. In the dead of the night, at the edge of your bed. She'd stop everything just to ask a question or two, and some days you reckoned she fancied getting you to giggle more than hearing an actual answer. You always chuckled before you could muster the brain power to give any semblances of an educated response. And when you were too busy, getting ready for work, or hurrying about the market before it closed, Olive would ask Joe.

You loved the way Olive made him laugh then, too. Just like you. But before ever giving a reasonable answer, he'd always ask her the same questions back. "Well, what do you think is at the bottom of the ocean?"

And as she decidedly rambled about imaginary creatures and cities, Joe would listen. He'd even remember the names of some of those made up monsters long after Olive had moved through several more memorable questions. You couldn't believe how patient he was. It was astounding to you, the way Joe dropped everything to bend at Olive's will, as she wrapped her fist around his wrist and yanked him across a bookstore toward the children's section.

You'd find them after getting what you strolled in for, and join in for story time, before checking your watch and ruining all the fun. Joe was usually more disappointed for those moments to end than the kid who was hooked on his every fictional word.

You loved Joe's heart. How you could tell when it was in the right place. When he offered help and advice and suggestions to anyone who trusted him enough to pour their heart out to his open ear. How he at least pretended to be excited when your friends begged the two of you to join in a night out at the end of a particularly busy week. Neither of you were keen on letting them down, because you'd come to value those rare nights out with the people you loved. You'd made a sacred, personal decreed to never let your friends forget how vastly you'd cared for them. So you were right behind Joe each time another offer came to sit among your pals and listen to their lame jokes and drunken singing.

But it was no secret that nights in were your favorite. You might have marveled even more so, over Joe's heart, then. You relished how it hammered under your palm, as his pulse raced from your touch. You loved the sound of its steady beat under your ear, as you rested against his chest till morning. He'd run a lazy set of fingers through your hair while the quiet of the new day threatened to lull you to sleep again. Then he'd say something so ridiculously hilarious that you'd laugh your drowse away.

You never took for granted Joe's countless attempts to get you to smile, despite yourself. In the middle of movies, at the end of long hard days- and during times you wondered how much stress you could endure before your head exploded and your dramatic expiration ruined the upcoming holidays.

When you and Gwilym argued over Olive's imminent school year and how many summer holiday trips were one too many, Joe waited for the bickering to end. Then he'd say something that made stupidly perfect sense. He'd make you and Gwil apologize to each other, and you did with all the grace of two grumpy toddlers. Then you'd all go to some posh brunch place and try and enjoy the last of the perfect summer weather that crept into the first few weeks of London's picturesque autumn.

Olive would stop eating to ask one of her latest queries to the sweet elder waitress who dropped off another round of drinks. You'd all take turns giving the kid answers, and steal bits of the chips she'd left over. When your meal was finished, Joe and Gwil went off to see a game together, and you were left with your darling girl for a whole glorious day.

Times with just the two of you weren't very rare. When you could, you made sure to take afternoons off work and save the laundry for later to spend a day with Olive. Of course, some were just as difficult as ever. But between odd growing pains and missed nap times, were icecream dates and trips to the aquarium. The latter, a place she always begged to spend hours strolling through. So when you could, you'd be quick to take her.

And when Gwilym took Olive along to visit his mother's family in Wales, you'd gotten used to the tiny wave of melancholy that came when your girl wasn't attached to your hip. But unlike all the other times before, you weren't nearly as lonely.

When it was just you and Joe, and a handful of days to waste however you pleased, you had to stop yourself from wondering how you'd gotten so lucky. You knew if you thought too long, you'd start to feel bad about how everything came to be. But you learned to let go of the regret attached to the mess you'd made during your first month long visit to London. You realized that it was silly to wish for a redo. Because everything worked out anyway, didn't it?

Joe was always quick to remind you how lucky he felt, too. Sometimes he'd say so, when he worried about the future and stopped rambling long enough to let you promise everything was going to be okay. Or first thing in the morning, when you got to wake up with the sun instead of a blaring alarm. But most of the time, he showed it. He'd leave silly little notes for you to find while you brushed your teeth. He'd bring your knuckles to his lips while waiting in the queue at the market. He'd take photos of you walking through the park and pointing to a pair of birds flying close overhead. He'd upload them in the middle of the night- when he said he was staying up to finish writing a script, or memorizing lines of another.

You'd get the notification and smile to yourself while you pretended to be asleep in the other room. When it was just you and Joe, it felt too good to be true. But that feeling didn't go away when your time alone was over.

Ben asked you to fetch him from the airport after he'd spent months away filming in another country. You and Joe fought over who got to hug him first, but when the blonde materialized from baggage claim, his arms were too stuffed with packages to dream of embracing either of you. He'd collected far too many presents during his time away- all of them for Olive. You scolded him, reminding Ben of the article you read about how kids with fewer toys grew to become more creative and resourceful. Ben argued that since you weren't going to spoil her that he was just going to have to. He'd leave the dozen gifts in the back of your car, and drag you and Joe out to a pub until you could hardly keep your eyes open.

Life felt too good to be true on nights like then, too.

And the feeling remained when Lucy and Rami got back from acting their hearts out in America. They stole Olive away as you and Joe ambled behind them on trips through high end shopping centres. When that day turned to night, your remarkable friends settled onto your sofa to tell all the stories they'd been saving up. Then they crashed there, when the night turned to morning and the sun threatened to rise before you'd stopped giggling long enough to sleep.

Those times were cherished. When your friends came around. When you went out of your way to go and see them, because it had been too long. You knew you were lucky to have mantiatiend a handful of connections with some of the most adoring and admirable friends that must have ever existed.

And on some especially rare, but guaranteed occasions, everyone got together.

The thought of joining forces was usually a never ending sentiment exchanged through the group chat that kept you all in touch. But it was Lucy's eventual doing, of course. She went about renting that darling little cottage in the countryside- the one she'd found last minute for Joe's birthday.

She got there before everyone, before Rami, even. The paint was a little more chipped, and the trees seemed even more mighty, guarding the home nestled miles away from the nearest town.

"You're just in time!" Lucy squealed as you lugged a bag into the house that hadn't changed a bit since your stay a few years back. You snorted a laugh as you stepped closer to the den full of mismatched furniture.

"For what?" You wondered. No one else had shown up yet, the night was very young.

"To keep me company, duh." Lucy shrugged as she moved to wave out of the open front door.

"Does bigfoot live out here?" Olive asked, as she skipped inside, her beloved worn down stuffed penguin tight in her clutch.

"He might." You chuckled. Because hell, you'd come to believe anything was possible at this point. And you didn't realize Olive even knew about the mythical creature, but you had a hunch about who'd been the one to tell her.

"I can't believe this place is still standing. It's charming as ever." Joe marveled, shutting the door behind him. Lucy beamed, turning to glance around.

"Yes! Remember last time?" Lucy asked, like she really wanted to know. Like it wasn't something the lot of you thought back to often. And right when you considered responding, she spoke up again. "Well forget it because this time is going to be the best ever."

The bubbly blonde recruited Joe to help her finish unloading all the treats she'd brought along to store away for the entire weekend you planned to stay. Olive trotted ahead of you toward one of the dozen tiny rooms you remembered struggling to sleep in last time, finding no reason to bite back your smile now.

It was too cold to think of going out back to enjoy the chest full of sporting goods, or the tattered net that somehow still remained. Olive was already complaining about the chill, so you abandoned your bags and tossed her a sweater, deciding to start a fire in the stone place while you awaited everyone else.

Ben was the next to arrive, bringing his usual ton of liquor and a brand new set of books and crayons to keep Olive entertained. You flashed a middle finger his way when the kid wasn't looking, and called dibs on his most expensive bottle of booze he brought to decorate the counter tops much like the time before.

By then the kitchen had been stocked, and Lucy was on a new mission to make some Pinterest worthy snacks. You scolded Ben for encouraging Olive to dance around the countertops and banished them to find some new trouble to cause. Lucy kicked you and Joe out soon after, following close behind with her plate of savory treats.

Rami dashed in from the cold around then, chucking his bags away and rushing to join the rest of you in record time. The fire you'd maintained was starting to die, and the home was too perfectly warmed to dream of starting up another, for a while. So as the evening shifted, you and Ben offered to clean up and carry everyone's rubbish away, while Joe offered to pour everyone a drink. While you went about your duties, Olive was busy yanking on the strings of Rami's hooding, begging him to join in some imaginary game the two of them made up long ago.

"I'm really glad she's joined us this time around." Ben grinned, catching a glimpse of Olive, her curls peeking around the corner, her laughter floating from one room to another. You agreed with the sentiment as you tossed your collection of rubbish in the bin. And as he followed suit, Ben rambled about his high hopes to have a couple of children of his own one day. It was something you'd always suspected Ben was keen on, but a subject he'd only just ventured into discussing lately.

"You ever think about having anymore?" He wondered in passing.

"Sometimes." You smiled to Ben, offering an innocent shrug, before catching Joe's eye from across the kitchen. He balanced a trio of glasses of wine on his way out, shaking his head of coppery hair. He shot you a look you knew well, an eager grin below a set of fiery eyes. "Sometimes" was an understatment. But Ben didn't need to know everything.

By the time Gwil showed up, Olive was on cloud nine. She ran to attach herself to his ankle, so you took his bags while he bent to scoop her up. Then, you reckoned, that this might have been the first time everyone was together that Olive might be able to recall for years to come.

She bounced from one person to another, showing off nicely colored pictures in the books Ben had brought along. He shot you a wink from across the room before she fell asleep with a dozen sunset toned crayons in one fist. You gathered her from the floor and carried the girl to the room you'd chosen hours earlier.

And before you'd even finished tucking the kid away in bed, another set of feet creaked into the room behind you.

"Here's this. And some things she forgot last time." Gwilym extended Olives favorite stuffed penguin in one hand as he rested a bag decorated in cartoon drawn bats on the chair in the corner. Your tradition of trading the girls things might never end. You'd be rattled if it did, actually.

"Oh, thank God. I mean, I know I asked you not to forget that, but I'd forgotten." You chuckled in a whisper, tucking Olive's ratty old penguin beneath the covers at her side.

Gwilym chuckled too, saying something about how he'd nearly left her bag behind on his rush to get here before nightfall. And then a silence fell, as you both waited a beat to make sure Olive was out cold. It was second nature, something the pair of you became accustomed to after the first year, when leaving Olive alone for a minute was usually followed with unhappy, ear piercing cries. And as you thought back to then, you seemed to think back to everything all at once.

"Lucy said that last time we stayed here won't be worth remembering, because this time will surely be the best." You said with a lithe grin. "And I think she may be right, but last time wasn't so bad."

"It wasn't?" Gwilym turned to you with a quizzically raised brow, a hint of a smile on his lips. You knew he was asking if you were sure. If you remembered correctly. How he'd said things he didn't mean, last time you were here. How you hardly slept that night. How it haunted you for days afterward. How he knew that.

"It wasn't." You kept your smile, sure. It could have been much worse. You could have been alone through all of that shit. But you weren't. You had Gwilym. And you hoped he knew what you meant, now. How grateful you were for him, and the kindness he'd show you, how it still remained. You couldn't go on worrying that his company might fizzle away in the years to come. Because it couldn't. You wouldn't let that possibility come to pass. So you bumped your shoulder against his arm and nudged Gwilym to leave the room.

"Let's go have some fun." You whispered. Gwilym let his smile linger as he studdied you for a beat. Then he nodded, and led the way back to everyone else.

The coloring books had moved to rest on the mantel, and bottles of alcohol had moved to the coffee table for easier access. And then you all took turns cleaning up for the evening and flipping through stations on the telly till some classic film flashed across the muted screen. And it was lots better than last time, with familiar drinks mixed in fancy new ways, and favorite laughs decorating the old unchanged home.

By the time Ben had drunken himself into a fit of random laughter, and Gwilym was nodding off between Rami and Lucy, Joe was saying something about American traditions. He demanded everyone's attention, and insisted the lot of you confess at least one thing you were thankful for. And after Lucy shouted the name of the drink in her hand and Gwilym sat up to clink his cup to hers, you all started giving actual answers. Each revolving around family, and friends, and health and happiness. But before anyone could get too choked up, Ben stood to shift gears with his favorite game of drunk history that never really went the way he wanted it too.

But it wasn't till the next morning that you realized it must have been that silly American holiday. And when you rolled over to find Joe was already awake, you announced how poorly you felt for not realizing when he made everyone say thanks. You hadn't even said good morning before you started yammering promises about how you'd remember to have a proper celebration next year.

But instead of saying good morning, or acknowledging your apologises, Joe broke into a laugh. The kind of laugh that reaches his eyes, the way you love so much. Then he told you he loved you, and you said it back; and then you sprung into another lucky day among friends.

You spent the weekend watching Gwilym teach Olive how to bake and assisting her in passing around treats she helped pour spoonfulls of ingredients in to create. Rami was most often roped into her imaginary games, and he played along with ease. You and Joe were invited to join in one morning, but neither of you could grasp the ever changing rules to Olives satisfaction, and you were swiftly kicked out of the loop while she and Rami played on.

Lucy made sure Olive was perfectly content snuggled up with Ben to watch cartoons, before she pulled you into her room with a bottle of wine for each of you to sip from. You spent a whole afternoon there with her, taking turns spilling your guts over all things you could only discuss with your dearest darling Lucy.

And when the getaway was over, everyone left in separate hurries much like before. But unlike then, you weren't so worried about where everyone might end up. You weren't worried about where you were going, either. You'd all managed to keep coming back together so far, and with an established faith that your group would keep finding excuses to do so, you didn't despair.

You remembered everything, on your drive back to London. The time you'd closed your eyes on this ride, years before. How you and Gwilym survived the nonsense you'd swept yourselves up in. Lucy's unconditional friendship. Rami's strong hugs. Ben's strong feelings.

You thought of what Joe said to you, when you met. How he said he saw a future with you, before he even knew your name. And the thought tore you away from remembering everything to look ahead. To look over, and settle your gaze on Joe. His pretty profile, and the shine of his moonstone eyes. You couldn't quite picture the places you'd end up, but you realize that you couldn't dream of a day without Joe at your side. He was always meant to be there.

While you drove, he entertained every one of Olive's questions that echoed from the back seat. You turned a grateful smile his way every now and again and savored the way he smiled back, in the way you loved so much. In a way that you didn't have to wonder how he felt, or what might come next. Unlike before, Joe made up a million of your memories. And unlike before, you knew he always would.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

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#joe mazzello #joe mazello x reader #joe mazzello fanfic #joe mazzello imagine #gwilym lee #gwilym lee x reader #gwilym lee fanfic #gwilym lee imagine

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banashee · 4 years

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Day 1: Snow

When Clint wakes up before sunrise one day in december, he knows without looking or checking his phone that it’s been snowing at night. It’s just a feeling, not based on any facts yet, but he knows this with the certainty of a child who has been waiting for it ever since the last spring snow has melted.

He slides out from under the many blankets and from Natasha’s grip around his waist, careful not to wake up Lucky who is sleeping by their feet. Clint can’t hear it, but he knows that his dog snores loud enough that it is a miracle their furniture hasn’t turned to sawdust yet.

“Just like your human.” Natasha tells Lucky every time while gently scratching the good spot behind his ears. Clint laughs then, claiming that accusation to be entirely untrue. Every single time, without a fail. Natasha will laugh in response and god, Clint loves that sound. As it is tradition by now, she will reply that his opinion doesn’t count since he wouldn’t be able to tell now, would he?

It only makes him laugh harder and love her more.

The cold air of the room hits Clint. He’s still sleep-warm, but the bedroom is freezing cold. They never sleep with the window open - both of them are way too paranoid for that - but the building is old, and there are always cracks and crevices where the icy chill of winter can creep in.

Sooner than later, Clint knows he will curse up a blue storm when he has to fix the damn radiator for the billionth time, like every winter. But right now, the lingering warmth of his partners embrace and the sleeping dog keep him warm. When he peeks out of the blinds and into the early morning of New York, the street lights and neon signs reflect themselves in glittery snow on the ground. Even the streets are still covered, and the parked cars by the side of the road are half-buried under a fluffy white blanket.

Childlike excitement and a giddiness spark through him, and Clint smiles.

Silently, he creeps down the hallway. Chances are, Natasha already woke when he left because she always notices, but maybe she already fell back asleep. Only a few years ago, that would have been unthinkable. At that time, neither of them would have been able to find any rest unless they went to check on the other, just to make sure they’re okay.

Just to make sure there is no attack.

Just to make sure the other wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown.

Now, these days are less and less, and both of them are doing mostly alright. Enough to be able to go back to sleep when they wake up because the other slides out of the bed for any reason that isn’t urgent.

Clint is clad in only underwear and one of his ancient T-shirts. This one is a cheesy, cheap thing from some tourist attraction on the other side of the planet, but it’s well-loved and worn soft, and he refuses to part with it until it either falls apart, or, much more likely, it finds its way to Natasha’s side of the closet. Clint knows, if one item of his clothing is suddenly missing under mysterious circumstances, chances are he’ll find Natasha wearing it or squirreling it away to sleep in later.

Right now, the cold from the windows is creeping into him, and Clint takes a thick, woolen blanket from the back of the couch while walking past, wrapping it around his shoulders. He starts a pot of coffee in the kitchen, room still dark around him. It doesn’t make a difference - his eyes are good enough to see what he is doing.

While the coffee is running through, Clint makes his way over to the floor length window next to the balcony door.

He sits down on the floor, blanket wrapped around himself and with his forehead pressed up against the cool window. The glass is fogging up due to his warm breath and he wipes it with a corner of the blanket. Then he settles down to watch the snow fall in the dark.

It’s a beautiful sight, and he loses time for a bit.

Clint only moves to look away from the window when Natasha sits down next to him, with Lucky trotting after her, holding two large mugs of coffee and handing one over to him with a sleepy smile. He turns to kiss her good morning, and then the two of them settle down with Lucky by their feet, watching the streets of Brooklyn in silence. They simply breathe in each other's company, without a single word, but utterly happy.

The snow outside keeps falling.

By the time they have finished their first coffee of the day, the street lights have turned off, and the snow is glittering in the low light of the slowly rising sun. Natasha puts her empty mug down on the floor, then she wraps herself around Clint, snuggled up close to him and smiles happily.

She knows just how much he loves the snow. Even though she’s had more than her fair share of icy weather while growing up in Russia and many years following, she can’t help but let him infect her with excitement.

It amazes her sometimes, that people like them can find happiness in such small things, what with everything they’ve lived through.

The two of them have been home for each other for a long time now. It’s taken them longer than most, but now they are finally free to live and not just survive. Even after all these years, it feels a little bit surreal sometimes but they wouldn’t want it any other way.

By the time the sun is up, they get up from the floor to start making breakfast.

Lucky is crunching loudly on a bowl of kibble while Liho is inhaling wet cat food and their humans work together in the kitchen. Natasha and Clint move around each other in a familiar and well-practised way, and neither of them talks much.

Some days, one or both of them are particularly chatty in the mornings, but that’s rare. Especially on a day like this one, when they started it in such a romantic way.

Clint disappears into the bedroom to get his hearing aids at some point and soon after, the room smells of pancakes, eggs with bacon and another pot of coffee.

They stay in the kitchen, since the room has warmed up from their cooking and the rest of the apartment is still cold - Clint sighs into his half empty coffee mug.

“I’ll definitely have to take a look at the damn heat again.”

Natasha nods, running one hand through her messy red hair. She turns to face Clint so he can read her lips as she answers,

“Let’s do that soon. We’ll freeze our asses off when we come home from the-”

Natasha finger-spells W-A-L-K so that Lucky doesn’t run crazy at the word “walk” like he tends to do,

“- and the apartment is still cold.”

“Yup.” Clint nods, and shoots a dirty look in the direction of the offending appliance.

“Let me finish my coffee and I’ll get to it.”

Half an hour and many profanities later, the heat is running again and the apartment warms up rapidly. As soon as Clint is done with the work, Liho curls up on top of the radiator.

“You’re welcome.” he tells the cat, and strokes the shiny, black fur in between her ears. He can’t pick up the purr, but Clint can certainly feel it. Like a little motor, Liho is vibrating under his touch, leaning into it for a moment. Then, a pair of green eyes slowly blinks at him before Liho is drifting off to sleep in the blissful heat.

Natasha is already dressed in one of his hoodies when Clint enters the bedroom to put on some pants. Both of them layer up before they are ready to leave - they plan to spend a good amount of time outside, not just to get some exercise for Lucky and themselves, but also to enjoy the snow day. There are no other plans and they don’t have to be anywhere. The day is all theirs.

“Lucky! Come on boy, let’s go out for a walk!” Clint calls out and a second Later, the yellow mutt comes scrambling down the hallway, barking in excitement and running circles around his human. He waits for the dog to calm down so he can put a leash on him, as well as snow boots.

It’s freezing cold outside, and Clint wouldn’t want to be out there with bare feet - so why would he do that to his beloved companion? Besides, he doesn’t know if someone put road salt on their way yet.

As soon as they step out the front door, a biting cold wind hits them. The air smells fresh and clean, which is rare enough here in the big city, but they’ll take the magic for as long as it lasts.

The city is already covered in blinking fairy lights and all sorts of festive decor. Somebody is baking, and the heavenly scent of it wafts through an open window and down the street.

“Hmm, so good.”

“We could bake later. It’s about time.” Clint sounds excited about that, not only for the cheesy pre-Christmas-time-reasons. He likes doing it, and it’s been a while since he had the time to do so. Avengers business never sleeps for long. But right now, they have a small stretch of free time.

“You mean you bake and I steal your raw dough? Because I’m totally game for that” Natasha smirks - she is capable of many things, but baking isn’t one of them. She does, however, have a huge sweet tooth. Thankfully, her partner is able to produce what must be magic in the kitchen.

“Eh, same thing.” He wraps one arm around her shoulders, and they share a bit of body heat on their way to the park.

The sky is blue and bright, and there is another round of fresh snow coming down. When they reach their destination, Lucky can barely contain his excitement - he keeps running wild and digging up the thick white snow, again and again as if he is on the search for a hidden surprise.

Every now and then, he’ll return to Clint and Natasha for cuddles, but then he’ll get distracted by a snowflake and it all starts over, until they decide it’s time to go home.

A hot shower feels great, especially now that the heat is working again.

Cold and wet clothes are immediately tossed into the dryer, and they take their time. When they step out of the room, they make their way back to the kitchen. Natasha starts making hot chocolate, one of the few recipes she trusts.

There is an unhealthy amount of melted chocolate and heavy cream in it, as well as their special mix of spices that they tossed together just for this occasion. By the time their drinks are ready, Clint finishes kneading a batch of dough and waits for Natasha to pull away a piece to snack on before he puts the ball of dough into the fridge to firm up - this is going to take a while.

They are happy to curl up by the window again, wrapped up in blankets and with their animals close. Liho is curled up near Natasha, oblivious to the world around them and fast asleep while Lucky is snoring again, with his head pillowed on Clint’s lap.

Clint keeps running a hand through the thick, golden fur and leans his cheek against Natashas head, who has chosen his shoulder as her pillow. A lingering scent of orange flowers wafts up whenever she moves, coming from the shampoo that she uses for as long as Clint can remember knowing her. It’s so her, so very much familiar.

He knows it so well, he once managed to bring her a new bottle from the store just by smelling every single one on the shelf. He couldn’t remember the name of it to save his life, but that scent - he’d recognize it anywhere.

That day in winter, they sit together in silence and watch the snow through the window, which is still falling and creates a new layer of glittery white fluff on the ground. While the world outside is just as cold as it is beautiful, they are happy to be warm and happy at home.

Life is good sometimes.

END

*+~

Side note: while writing this, I’ve had this song on loop more than any other:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GScdfCKB7xA

Jeremy Renner - “Stereo Love”

It’s just beautiful

*+~

This is a writing challenge set up by AJ Woolfenden on Instagram, starting on December 14th. One word per day for a week. Works shared have to use #writingweek

https://www.instagram.com/p/CILEG_agRzF/?igshid=1p72flhf7lhzz

Day 1: Snow Day 2: Festive Lights Day 3: Santa’s hat Day 4: Gifts Day 5: Silent Night Day 6: Red Noses Day 7: Miracles

All cover photos 1-6 used from Pixabay , 7th from unsplash. Free to use photos

#banashee writes #marvel fanfiction #clintasha #fluff #x-mas writing week

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part VIII : I Don’t Wanna Be Just Friends

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

It had been 13 days now since Kai’s birthday party. 13 days since Yeonjun had asked her out, and so far she’s done a good job at making sure that things between them wouldn’t change. All it took was to avoid being alone with him.

At first, she was convinced that both of them would move on from Kai’s party as if nothing had happened between them, that is, until he made it a point to keep his eyes on her while he was performing onstage, even giving her a wink or two. That simple gesture flustered her so much that she made sure to never find herself alone with the blue haired boy again. Ryujin’s “Looks like Choi Yeonjun’s got his eye on you” remark didn’t help either. And it definitely didn’t help that she often caught Yeonjun looking at her, though she could never bring herself to meet her gaze, afraid that she might get even more confused than she already was.

During their daily lunches at the gazebo and their trips to Kang’s Kafe after school, she made sure that she always had Kai by her side. During the one class that she shared with Yeonjun, she made sure that Soobin was seated between them. On Saturday, 7 days after Kai’s party, the boys had invited her to hang out at Soobin’s house and still she was able to avoid being alone with Yeonjun, gluing herself to Kai’s side the whole time. She wasn’t avoiding Yeonjun per se, she still talked to him when necessary. She just wanted to make sure that no line would be crossed between them, that there would be no opportunities for him to leave her any more flustered than she already was. She wanted to wait until thinking back to the moment he winked at her onstage didn’t make her heart race or her cheeks heat up anymore.

She had managed to maintain her daily routine of walking to school with Taehyun, attending classes, going to Kang’s Kafe with the gang, and walking home perfectly fine until today.

Friday.

Friday was quickly becoming her favorite school day. First of all, it was their washday, so she could get dressed up and look pretty if she wanted to instead of having to wear the same uniform everyday. Second, ever since she joined the HTA club, she’s been able to spend most of the afternoon surrounded by the cats and dogs within the campus grounds. It wasn’t all cuddles and pets, since the club was responsible for caring for the animals, they also had to clean up after them, made sure their feeding stations were never empty, and ensure that all the animals were in good shape. Luckily the workload wasn’t too bad since Soobin and the rest of the club members were all very attached to the animals under their care.

She had also gotten much closer with the rest of the boys, especially with Soobin since they spent a lot of time at the HTA together, and they were constantly taking pictures of each other so they’d have content to post for their creative writing class project. Unsurprisingly, their social media posts for the week both included cats under the care of the HTA club.

This Friday morning, 13 days after Kai’s birthday party, B woke up as usual to the sound of her phone alarming. What was unusual, however, was how heavy her body felt when she turned over in bed to shut the alarm off, and how chilly she felt even though her body was drenched in sweat. She came down with a bit of a cold the night before and she figured a night of good sleep would make it disappear, but clearly she was wrong.

She dragged herself out her bed and started getting ready for school, taking a cool shower and getting dressed. Due to how out of sync her body felt, she didn’t have the appetite to eat breakfast or the energy to care about how she looked, so she quickly swiped some tint on her lips and cheeks. She saw a couple of red spots on her chin and thought about whether or not she should cover them up with concealer, but she noticed that the spots felt itchy and she was afraid that covering them up with makeup would irritate them more so she left them alone. She threw on a sweater and jeans before willing herself to step out of her apartment and meet Taehyun downstairs.

“Wow, B.” Taehyun says as she meets him outside, staring at her with a strange look on his face. “And I don’t mean that in a good way.” he says, concerned now. Last Friday, she had made an effort to look nice. Her face was vibrant and her outfit choice was stylish. Now, she looked a little worse for wear, and she looked tired, as she stood slouched over with her arms folded across her chest. “Are you…okay?”

B nods. “I’m fine. I just skipped breakfast, I’ll get something to eat after homeroom.” she said, thankful that they didn’t have any classes for the day. She told herself that she just had to survive homeroom, get some food to energize herself, and then she’d be able to power through the rest of the day.

“Are you sure?” Taehyun asks, taking a step closer towards her so he could examine her properly. “You look kind of pale.”

B gives him a look. “It’s just cause I didn’t put on makeup.” she says dismissively. “And I didn’t eat breakfast, but I promise I’m good. Let’s go.”

Taehyun gives her one last look of concern before turning away. “Alright, let’s go.”

•°•

Homeroom was a drag. Attendance was required, but the whole thing felt like a waste of time. It was supposed to be used by the class advisers to discuss school policies or events, but their teacher didn’t seem to have anything to discuss. B spent the first 30 minutes of the period with her head buried in her arms, lying down on her desk.

“Hey Tyun,” Kai whispers. “What happened to Baba? Is she okay?”

“She seemed a bit off when we were walking to school. She was quiet, and she looked really tired. I asked her if she was okay before we left, and all she told me is that she didn’t have breakfast and that she was fine.” Taehyun confesses. “You got any food with you right now?”

Kai shakes his head. “I always have breakfast before I go, no matter how late I’m running. Do you have anything?”

Taehyun reaches into his bag and pulls out a brown paper bag. “My mom always packs me a couple of sandwiches, just in case.”

The 2 boys smile at each other and nod before each laying a hand on B’s shoulders.

“Baba, hey, wake up.” Kai says, gently squeezing her shoulder.

B turns her head in her arms to face the boys, not sitting up. “Hm?” she mumbles.

“You said you skipped breakfast, right? Are you hungry?” Kai asks.

“I have a couple of sandwiches here, you can eat them right now if you want to.” Taehyun says soothingly, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“No, it’s fine, you should eat them. But thanks, Tyun.” B says, giving him a weak smile.

“Baba, c’mon, you should at least eat something.” Kai says. “No offense, but you kinda look like a corpse.”

“Gee, thanks.” she responds dryly. “You know what, it’s cause I didn’t wear makeup. I’ll just go to the restroom and freshen up real quick.” she says, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small makeup bag. She stands up and glares at Kai before saying “I’ll be back.”

She walks up to the class adviser’s table and asks for permission to go to the bathroom before exiting the room.

“Dude. Seriously.” Taehyun says, turning to Kai and whacking his arm. “Did you really have to tell her that she looked like a corpse? All I wanted was for her to take the sandwiches.”

Kai just shrugs. “Hey I was just stating facts. I thought it would motivate her to eat, I didn’t think she’d bring out her makeup bag.”

“You’re an idiot. You better apologize to her when she gets back.” Taehyun says, shaking his head at the boy.

Except B never returned to class.

•°•

Yeonjun walked down the hall, his hands in his pockets and his head full of thoughts.

Fridays were one of the busiest days of the week for him. First, as president of the dance club, he had to finalize club activities before the end of homeroom, and since they had new members, they would be focusing more on introductions. Next, he had to consider his role in the Jazzed club. They were impressed with the rapping he did during the showcase on club recruitment day and they wanted him to assemble a small group of members and start a rap line within the club, so he had to figure out which members had potential and how to develop the skills needed to be a rapper. Lastly, there would be the weekly family dinner he’d be having with his parents for the night.

It was going to be a long day. He decided to take a break from planning out his day during homeroom and walk around the hall to stretch his legs for a bit. He was on his way back to his classroom when he saw a familiar face coming out of the women’s restrooms.

He smiled as he saw Baby step out, her arms folded across her chest cradling a small makeup bag, her eyes on the ground. She was wearing an oversized sweater and a plain pair of jeans, but he noticed her face was done up really nicely. Without even thinking about it, he found his feet begin to change direction, walking towards her now. It was the first time he’d seen her alone in the past few days, so he figured he’d grab the chance.

“Hey, Baby.” he called, as he was about 10 feet away from her now. She didn’t seem to hear him, cause she still had her eyes on the ground as she took slow steps. He decided to call her again.

“Baby?” he says a little bit louder as he comes closer. She looks up at him then, and he notices how blank her eyes looked. She looked dazed, as if she were lost and confused.

As her blank eyes meet his, she opens her mouth and says “Yeonjun?” before her vision goes blurry and she stumbles backwards.

Yeonjun manages to rush to her side and gets a grip on her shoulders before she loses her footing and her body crashes against his.

“Whoa there, are you okay?” he asks, as his hand brushes against her neck, he notices that she was burning up. “Baby? You’re burning up.” he says, looking at her with concern. She had her eyes closed and was breathing heavily. “I’m taking you to the clinic.” he says, positioning her properly, cradling her in his arms before lifting her off the ground.

“Hold on, Baby. I’ve got you.” he says, securing her on his back before making his way to the clinic.

•°•

Yeonjun puts his phone back in his pocket and runs a hand through his hair. He sat in silence, counting the number of tiles on the floor, before the school nurse called for him.

“Mr. Choi?” the nurse calls.

He stands up immediately and enters the room that the nurse had put Baby in, knocking on the door before stepping in.

“Yes, nurse Sunwoo?” he says, standing by the door. Baby was asleep on the bed, and the school nurse was standing beside her with a clipboard in his hands.

“Is Ms. Han a friend of yours? It looks like she’ll have to be sent home. She has a high fever, her temperature’s 38.9 degrees Celsius, so it’s standard protocol that we send home students with fevers.” nurse Sunwoo explains.

Yeonjun nods. “Alright, sir, will you fill up a form? I’d gladly take it to her adviser, and I can also take her things from her classroom and get her a ride home.”

“Yes, I’ve already filled up a form for Ms. Han, and I’ll fill up a form that will explain your absence from homeroom so you can get her a ride home. You’re still expected to return to school afterwards, though.” nurse Sunwoo says. “But first, I have to ask, have you ever had the chicken pox before?”

Yeonjun’s eyes widen and his mind goes blank. The chicken pox? He takes a moment to think about it before answering “Yes, I had it when I was 3 years old.”

“That’s good.” nurse Sunwoo says, sighing in relief. “I’ve noticed that Ms. Han appears to have some rashes spreading across her face and neck. The school doctor isn’t in today so I can’t be too sure, but I looks like she might have Varicella, so it’s best that she avoids contact with other students just in case there might be someone who hasn’t had the chicken pox before. It’s a highly contagious disease, so it could spread quickly. Judging by her symptoms now, she probably contracted the disease about 2 weeks ago.”

Oh no, could it be? “We had a social gathering about 2 weeks ago. Do you think she could have picked it up from someone there?” Yeonjun asks.

“Again, I’m not a doctor so I can’t officially diagnose her. But if it is Varicella, then yes, it’s highly possible that someone at that party had it or at least came in contact with someone who had it and became a carrier.” nurse Sunwoo explains. “If other students were present at that gathering, then we’re likely to see more cases of this soon.”

Yeonjun nods. “I understand, Sir, and I’ll warn my friends about it too.”

“I suggest Ms. Han contact her family doctor so that she can be properly diagnosed as well.” Nurse Sunwoo says before handing Yeonjun the forms. “Submit this to Ms. Han’s class adviser and collect her things. Come back here and I’ll help you with transporting Ms. Han to her ride home. Once you’ve secured her safely in her home, come back to school and present this form to your class adviser.”

“Will do, thank you, Sir Sunwoo.” Yeonjun says, taking the forms. “Oh, a friend of ours says he’ll be stopping by the clinic to visit her, if it’s okay.”

Nurse Sunwoo shakes his head. “She may be highly contagious, so before any of your friends plan any visits, please make sure that they’ve already contracted the chicken pox before. Otherwise, they have a high risk of getting infected as well.”

Yeonjun nods and thanks the nurse once again before leaving, whipping out his phone to text the guys while he walked to her classroom.

After texting the guys, he sends a quick text to his driver as well.

Once he reaches her classroom, he knocks twice before entering the room and walking straight to the adviser’s desk. He could already hear the whispers from the class as he informed the adviser of Baby’s condition and gave him the clinic form. The adviser simply says “I hope Ms. Han recovers soon.” and signs the form before handing it back to Yeonjun. “You’ll find her things over there, she was seated in between Mr. Kang and Mr. Huening.”

Yeonjun thanks the adviser before making his way to her seat and collecting her things.

“Pst, Yeonjun.” Kai whispers. “Is it really chicken pox? How is she?”

“Nurse Sunwoo said he suspects it’s chicken pox, but he couldn’t be too sure since the school doctor isn’t in today, so it would be best if Baby contacts her family doctor.” Yeonjun says quietly, making sure no one else but Kai and Taehyun could hear him. “She fainted when I saw her, and when I left she was asleep in the clinic.”

“I hope she’s okay. I really should’ve known she wasn’t okay before we left this morning.” Taehyun said, a frown on his face.

Kai puts a hand on Taehyun’s back. “Tyun, seriously, this isn’t your fault. Thanks to you, she made it to school safely.” he says comfortingly.

“Thanks, Hyuka. I wish we could visit her though, make sure she’s okay.” Taehyun says wistfully.

“If you want the chicken pox, feel free to visit her then.” Yeonjun says, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll just take her things then I’ll bring her home. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her for now.” he says, clapping the 2 boys on their backs before excusing himself from the room.

Yeonjun heads back to the clinic and Nurse Sunwoo helps him bring Baby in a wheelchair to the north quadrangle, where sure enough, his driver was waiting for him. His driver opens the backseat and helps Yeonjun with loading the girl into the car. Yeonjun thanks the school nurse once again before entering the vehicle himself.

“Where to, sir Yeonjun?” the driver asks as they pull out of the campus.

“You know Kang’s Kafe, right Hwall? We’re taking her home to her apartment, it’s in the building across the café.” Yeonjun says. “This is Han Baby, by the way. She’s a friend of mine.”

“Alright, Sir Yeonjun.” Hwall simply says. “Will you be staying at her apartment for the rest of the day?”

Yeonjun shakes his head. “We’ll just be dropping her off, I have to be back at school for the afternoon.”

“Seems a bit dangerous to leave her alone in this state, sir.” Hwall comments. “Your friend doesn’t look like she’s in the best condition. Is she sick?”

Yeonjun nods. “She fainted and has a high fever. I wish I could stay and make sure she’ll be okay, but I have no choice. If I don’t go back and submit this form, then I’ll have an unexcused absence, which my father might hear about.” he says with a hint of bitterness. Yeonjun’s personal driver, Hwall, was one of the few staff members hired by his family that he trusted, so he felt safe confiding in Hwall about his problems.

“Whatever the situation, I’m sure you’ll handle it well, sir.” Hwall simply says, knowing Yeonjun.

Just then, the car takes a sharp turn, and Baby’s position shifts, somehow ending up with her head on Yeonjun’s lap. He tries to inch away from her so that her head would land on the car seat instead, but he was surprised when she reached out and grabbed the fabric of his jeans, causing him to freeze in place. He looks down at her and sees that she’s still fast asleep. He lets out a small smile and rests a hand on the top of her head, caressing her hair carefully. He snaps a quick picture before sending an update to the boys.

He ignores Taehyun’s message and locks his phone, tilting his head back, thinking carefully about what he should do for the rest of the day.

His gut told him that he shouldn’t leave her alone, at least not in her current condition, and he felt like simply making sure she got home safe wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to spend the afternoon watching over her, to contact her family doctor and have him come over to examine her, to stay by her side and make sure she wouldn’t wake up alone.

On the other hand, if he did skip school for the rest of the day, he’d fail to submit his excuse slip, and that would be another unexcused absence in his record.

He sighed, looking down at the girl sleeping on his lap, wondering if he should choose his head over his heart.

•°•

When B wakes up and opens her eyes, she’s surprised when she sees nothing, her view obstructed by something covering her face. She lifts a hand up to reach over her face, removing whatever was obstructing her view. She grabs it and realizes that it’s a face towel, and it was slightly damp. Why did she have a towel on her head?

She turns over in her bed, blindly reaching over the sheets in search of her phone, but she’s surprised when her hand comes in contact with hair. Human hair.

Was there someone else in her bed?

Her eyes immediately widen as she pulls her hand away and attempts to scramble away, but instead she ends up rolling over until she falls over the side of the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

“Ouch.” she says out loud, rubbing her the spot on her head that met the heaviest impact with the floor. Once she realizes that no one else had made a sound, she starts to sit up, slowly peeking over the sheets to catch a glimpse of whoever might be on the other side of the bed.

She’s surprised when she sees a head of blue hair, and she immediately stands up to get a better look.

It was Yeonjun. He was sitting on the floor at the other side of the bed, but he seemed to have fallen asleep, his head resting in his arms, which were folded across the bed.

B could feel her heartbeat start to quicken as she started to panic. Why wasn’t she at school? When and how did she get home? Why was Yeonjun here? Why was she alone with Yeonjun in her apartment?

She weighed her options. She could either wake him up and get the answers to all her questions, or she could simply sneak out of her apartment and continue to avoid him like she had been the past 2 weeks.

She sighed, knowing what she had to do. She got back on the bed and started to slowly crawl towards him, carefully putting a hand on his arm and gently shaking it.

“Yeonjun?” she says. “Yeonjun, wake up.”

To her surprise, the blue-haired boy stretches his arms out on the bed, gripping the sheets tightly for a second before he relaxes and lifts his head up, and for what felt like the first time in 2 weeks, their eyes meet.

And just like that, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter about again.

“Hey Baby, sorry I fell asleep.” Yeonjun says casually, sitting up on the floor. “Oh god, what time is it? I hope I wasn’t asleep for too long.” he says, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“It’s fine, no need to apologize. It’s 4pm right now.” she says kindly, checking her watch. “Um, Yeonjun?”

“Yes?” he asks innocently, his mouth quirked up in a smirk.

“How did we end up here exactly?” she asks. “What happened?”

Then Yeonjun filled her in. He told her about how she passed out in the hallway and he brought her to the school clinic, how the school nurse said she might have the chicken pox and she had to be sent home cause of her high fever, how Yeonjun brought her home, how Yeonjun found the number for her family doctor and had him come for a home visit, how the doctor confirmed that she did indeed have chicken pox and she would have to stay home for at least a week, and how Yeonjun watched over her the whole time.

How he carried her from his car all the way up to her apartment, how he removed her shoes before tucking her into bed, how he put a damp face towel over her forehead and replaced it every hour, how he checked her temperature every 30 minutes to see if her fever had died down yet and how relieved he was when it finally did, how he had constantly sent the other guys updates on how she was doing, how he had ordered food to be delivered to her apartment just in case she woke up hungry, and how he had fallen asleep while sitting on the floor.

How he had taken care of her the whole time, yet B pushed the thought of Yeonjun doing all that for her to the back of her mind.

“I have the chicken pox? Oh god oh god, I’m gonna have to miss school for a week?” B says, her head drowning from the sudden heavy load of information. “Why are you here, though? Did you skip school? Where are the other guys?” she asks.

“Yes, you have the chicken pox and yes, your doctor says you can’t leave your house for at least a week, depending on how fast you recover, so he’ll be checking up on you again in a couple of days. Lucky for me, I had chicken pox when I was 3 years old so now I’m immune, and unlucky for them, none of the other guys have had chicken pox before so they can’t really be here right now.” Yeonjun says, skipping over her question about him skipping school. “So it’s just you and me.”

B bites her lip, overwhelmed by the whole situation. It wasn’t even the fact that she had chicken pox that was made her nervous or the fact that she’d be missing a week of school, it was the fact that she was now alone with the boy she had been trying to avoid for the past 2 weeks, and the fact that she couldn’t have Kai or the rest of the guys come over so she could keep distancing herself from Yeonjun. It was the fact that she knew that she couldn’t keep avoiding him any longer. “So it’s just you and me.” she repeats.

Yeonjun smiles. “Lucky for me, unlucky for you, isn’t it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks suspiciously.

“Baby, come on. You’ve been avoiding me for the past 2 weeks, right?” Yeonjun asks point blank. “And let’s face it, I’ve been waiting to get a moment alone with you for the past 2 weeks. So this situation right now is lucky for me, and unlucky for you.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” she says weakly, caught off guard by how direct he was being.

Yeonjun shakes his head. “It’s okay, Baby. I guess I put pressure on you. If anything, it’s my fault that you felt so uncomfortable that you had to start avoiding me.”

“It’s not that, Yeonjun.” she protests. Upon seeing the confused look on his face, she bit her lip. Time to face the truth head on. “I’ll admit that I have been avoiding you, but it wasn’t cause I was uncomfortable with you.”

“Oh? Why then?” Yeonjun asks. “You know it hurts, right? It hurt to see that you never wanted to sit beside me, that you were purposefully avoiding talking to me, that you didn’t want to be alone with me, that you wouldn’t even look at me. I thought I lost a friend. I thought I lost you.” he admits, looking at her intently. “The past 2 weeks hurt.”

B felt an ache in her chest. She was so caught up in her own feelings and so engrossed in avoiding him that she didn’t realize what it might’ve been like for him. “Yeonjun, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” B says, climbing off the bed and sitting down beside him on the floor. “And it wasn’t your fault. It was just me, avoiding you and blocking you out like I did, it was all just me being stupid. I got so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even think about how it might have affected you or our friendship.” She puts her hand on his comfortingly. “I hope you know that I really don’t want to lose you, and I didn’t want to lose our friendship.”

He takes her hand, intertwining their fingers, and gives her a small smile. “And you know I really don’t want to lose you either. So why? Why have you been avoiding me?”

B takes a deep breath, bracing herself for what might happen once she told him the truth. “It’s because I was confused. To be honest, when you performed on club recruitment day and winked at me onstage, it felt like butterflies were born in my stomach that day, and I’ve been trying to keep them from fluttering around but they just seem to keep multiplying.”

Yeonjun smiles. “So I gave you butterflies.” he states.

B nods. “Yes, but after turning you down, those butterflies were very confusing. I told myself that it was nothing, and I figured that as long as I didn’t see you or talk you or even sit beside you, the butterflies would die out and our friendship would be saved. But I guess I was so afraid of losing our friendship that I ended up slowly destroying it, pushing you away and hurting you in the process.”

“But why were you so afraid? I get that you wanted to keep our friendship above all else, that’s the main reason why you turned me down in the first place, right?” Yeonjun asks. “But why were you so afraid? Why did you feel the need to stay away from me?”

“I was afraid that if I were to have a moment alone with you, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was afraid that if I looked at you for too long, the butterflies in my stomach would consume me completely. I was afraid that if I talked to you, I’d turn into a blubbering mess because you get me so flustered. I was afraid that if I sat beside you, my heart would start to pound so loud that you’d be able to hear it.” B takes a deep breath before continuing, her voice starting to shake. “I guess I was afraid because deep down, I knew I wasn’t confused. I was just too chickenshit to admit it, even to myself, but I think I was really afraid because a part of me knew that I had feelings for you.”

There’s a moment of silence as B’s words come pouring out. Yeonjun stays quiet, comfortingly tracing circles on her hand with his thumb while she collects her thoughts, putting them together and letting them pour out.

“I was afraid because I had feelings for you, and I was afraid that being alone with you would drive me crazy. But I feel like I’ve been going crazy anyway, ever since that night in the shed, I can’t seem to think straight anymore.” B confesses.

“You were afraid because you had feelings for me?” Yeonjun asks. “Had?”

B shakes her head. “Have. I’m afraid because I have feelings for you.” she clarifies.

“You know since then, I had the next 2 weeks planned out, right?” Yeonjun starts. “I told myself I had 2 weeks to change your mind, and I had it all planned out, starting with dazzling you during our performance on club recruitment day. But damn it, you never gave me a chance.”

“What do you mean?” B asks, confused.

“You started avoiding me, remember?” Yeonjun laughs, the mood feeling lighter after B finally unloaded all her thoughts. “This” he says, holding up their hands, which were still intertwined, “is the closest I’ve been to you these past 2 weeks. At first, I thought I’d fucked up, and I was ready to give up. But then I told myself that I’d try it one more time, give it one more shot, before I leave it alone forever.”

“What are you talking about? Give what one more shot?” B asks again. After finally letting go of the thoughts swirling around in her for the past 2 weeks, she was a little overwhelmed.

Yeonjun turns to face her then, looking right at her. He sighs as he says, “Let me make this perfectly clear. I have not been able to stop thinking about you since that night in the shed. Those 7 minutes kept replaying in my mind, and it killed me that I never got to spend another minute alone with you again. If I had known that those 7 minutes would’ve haunted me for the next 2 weeks of my life, I would’ve...” he says, trailing off when his eyes quickly dart to her lips. “Well, let’s just say I would’ve made those 7 minutes something worth remembering.”

B lets out an “Oh.” and starts blushing profusely.

Upon seeing her reaction, he laughs and squeezes his eyes shut. She was too god damn cute. After shaking his head and telling himself to focus, he continues. “Anyway, after you turned me down, I promised myself that I would try harder. I gave myself 2 weeks to do anything to change your mind, I was ready to fully turn on my charm, to show you that I was someone worth dating, and to show you that our friendship is just as important to me as it is to you. But then you started to ignore me, and I was about to give up and accept that you’d never be interested in going out with me, but then I told myself that if I didn’t try at least one more time, if I didn’t give it one more shot, I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.” he says sincerely.

B stays quiet, trying to absorb everything she was hearing. Yeonjun continues, moving even closer, her hand still grasped tightly in his.

“To be completely honest here, I have not enjoyed a conversation with any girl as much as I enjoyed those 7 minutes with you, and I want so much more than those 7 minutes. I want to take you out, I want to give you all the good things I know you deserve, I want to get to know you as much as I can. Yes, I want to be your friend, but God Baby, I don’t know if I can go on like this for much longer because being friends means staying platonic and I want you so much more than that.” he says intensely, lifting her hand up to his chest, right to where he could feel his heartbeat. “I want to show you who I am, I want to know who you are, and I want to be what you deserve. If you’ll let me.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her the whole time, but B took a moment to close her eyes and try to clear her thoughts. She didn’t know what to expect when she woke up this morning, but this definitely wasn’t it. As hard as it was, she was glad to finally express her feelings, like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. But after hearing everything Yeonjun just said, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up once again.

“Baby?” Yeonjun whispers after a moment of silence, looking at her intently. He was so close to her that she could clearly see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, her own breathing getting heavier the more he inched closer.

“Yes?” she finally asks, her heart pounding out of her chest as she kept her eyes downward. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye, because if she did, she felt like she would combust in front of him, like the butterflies she felt in her stomach would suddenly explode all at once.

“Baby.” he says again. Only this time, he bravely puts a finger under her chin and lifts her face up so that he could get a better look at her.

B lets out a deep breath and braces herself, knowing there was nowhere to hide now. She let her eyes slowly trail upwards from his chin, her heart skipping a beat when her eyes caught sight of his lips, up to his nose, and finally to his eyes. She was so struck by the intensity when her gaze finally met his that she felt her breath hitch once their eyes met.

He shifted his hand, sliding it further into her neck, from one finger under her chin to his whole palm against her skin, his fingers cradling the back of her neck as his thumb traced slow circles along her jaw. “Look at me.” he says softly.

“Yes?” she finally manages to say out loud, though it came out as a whisper.

The corners of Yeonjun’s mouth tip upwards in a small smile. He leans in closer again, his eyes never leaving hers, until he was so close that their noses were almost touching.

“Will you go out with me?” he whispers, his warmth breath mingling with hers, the tips of their noses gently brushing against each other with every word spoken. “Please?”

B lets out a deep breath, unable to keep her voice steady as she says “Yeonjun…” not really knowing what else to say.

Feeling her breath so close to his mouth, Yeonjun’s eyes flutter downwards, catching a glimpse of her lips, before he says “Fuck it” and pulls her face towards his, their lips finally crashing together.

B could feel a thousand butterflies in her stomach collectively combust as his lips meet hers. Her eyes close as she immediately responds and kisses him back, giving in to him. Her hands reach up to his chest, and she gently grabs his shirt in her fists.

Yeonjun takes it well, and he brings his other hand up to cup her face, holding it in place as his fingers entwined themselves in her hair, further tilting her head back for better access.

B could feel her whole body weaken, as if she were melting in his hands. Her hands relax as she lets go of his shirt and simply lays her palms against his chest, sliding them up to his shoulders and finally to his neck, her fingers tracing his sharp jaw.

Yeonjun pulls away then, separating their mouths. To his surprise, he was breathing heavily, his own heart pounding so loud he could hear it roaring in his ears. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and wonder, his hands still cupping her face. What was this girl doing to him?

There’s a moment of silence as they simply stare at each other, the sounds of their heavy breathing filling the room. Yeonjun’s eyes earnestly search hers for any sign of how she was feeling, hoping he didn’t overstep his boundaries or make her feel uncomfortable. He didn’t mean to kiss her so suddenly, but after pouring his heart out, he couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

Meanwhile, her eyes were fixated on his, her thumbs absentmindedly tracing circles on his jaw, her fingers tickling the hair on the back of his neck. It took her a moment to realize that Yeonjun really kissed her and that she kissed him back, and she was starting to become lightheaded, as if she were intoxicated.

“Yeonjun?” she says, finally breaking the silence.

“Yes, Baby?” he asks softly, his gaze never leaving hers.

She offers him a small smile before saying, “Yes. I’ll go out with you.”

Upon finally hearing her say yes, Yeonjun lets out a big smile, unable to stop himself. “Really?” He asks as he savors the moment, staring at her eyes and her lips trying to memorize every little detail, reveling in how small and fragile she felt as he cradled her face in his hands, marveling at the heat of her skin under his palms, and once again going breathless at the memory of their kiss.

She laughs a little as he smiles, noticing how his whole face lit up as soon as she said yes. “You happy now?” she asks.

“You know I’m always happy when I’m with you, right?” he says, smiling at her cheekily.

“And you know I have chicken pox, right?” she says teasingly.

“And you know I’ve had them before, right? I’m immune for life.” he reminds her.

“Okay, quick question then, how will you take me out if I’m sick and can’t leave my house for at least a week?” B asks. “Both of us have been struggling for the past 2 weeks and now that we’re finally here, I can’t even go out.” she laughs sheepishly.

“Funny though, if you never got the chicken pox, I don’t think we’d get to where we are now. You and me, dating.” he says sweetly. “Well, dates don’t always mean going to the movies or fancy restaurants.” Yeonjun begins. “I mean, we can always just stay here, hang out, maybe get a repeat of that kiss earlier.” he says, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She smacks his arm, suddenly flustered again, her cheeks going red.

“I’m serious! How will we be dating if I can’t even leave my apartment?” B asks.

Yeonjun just smiles at her then. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got something in mind. You’ll see.” he says with a glint in his eye.

When she gives him a confused look, he laughs and pulls her in closer again, brushing the hair away from her face before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He keeps her close, resting his chin on the top of her head, her scent making him wish he’d never have to leave.

“Thanks for saying yes, Baby.” he whispers, his lips moving against her hair.

B reaches up and takes on of his hands in hers, letting out a sigh. “I don’t think I could ever say no to you again, Yeonjun.” she says, smiling.

Yeonjun smiles, pulling away for a second, only to put a finger under her chin and tilt her head backwards, leaning in so he could kiss her once again.

“Uh, Yeonjun?” B starts again. “Quick question. Should we tell the guys that we’re dating now?”

Yeonjun leans back, thinking it over. “Well, I guess it’s something they should know about since they’re our friends.” he says rationally. “Do you want to tell them?”

As much as she wanted to believe that their friendship wouldn’t end up crashing and burning if things between them didn’t work out, she was still very worried about it. “How about we wait until I’ve recovered and I’m medically cleared to go back to school and see the guys again?” she suggests. “Let’s see how things turn out by the end of the week.”

Yeonjun nods, smiling at her. “Deal.” he says, once again planting a kiss on her forehead.

And to him, it didn’t matter that he skipped school for the afternoon just to look after her, it didn’t matter that he’d have an unexcused absent in his school records, it didn’t matter that he had to constantly text and call different club officers from the Dance club and Jazzed that day to give them instructions while he was away, it didn’t matter that he’d have to sit through another family dinner with his parents later that night. If going through all that meant he’d get to spend this one moment with her in his arms, he knew he’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

°•°

Author’s note: Quick question, dear readers... How do you feel about kissing scenes? I hope no one here is uncomfortable with graphic/detailed kissing scenes because there may be more coming up soon, especially since the characters in the fic are highschool students. Thank you for the likes and especially the comments! Reading comments motivates me to write more because it feels nice to know that people are enjoying my work. :)

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youarejesting · 5 years

Text

Quarantine.7

[Masterlist] Pairing: BTS x reader Friends2Lovers But as slow as you can go until the anticipation kills us all… Genres: friendship, drama, romance SLOWEST OF BURNS BUT IT WILL BE BURNING AN ETERNAL FLAME!!! Rating: PG-13 and above Summary: Your brother works with a few BigHit dance teams and whilst having permission to accompany him at work the city shuts down banning anyone from stepping outside for a whole WEEK while they disinfect the streets. If you step outside you might get arrested, shot or poisoned by the chemicals they are emitting through the city. Words: 2.7k Announcement: Sorry that I posted this late the reason why is I had this complete at 8:30pm but my google doc decided to take my edited version and my unedited version and layer them on top of each other so naturally, I wanted to knock myself out with a hammer. After a long shower, I painstakingly worked on it as even the google docs history hadn’t saved the edited version.

[Part 1] [Part 6] [Part 8] [Tag Yourself Here]

You had a major major breakdown. Why did it hurt so bad? Was it the disappointment on Hoseok's face? You crawled out of your makeshift tub and wrapped yourself in a towel. Slipping on clean underwear and a hoodie you trudged back into your little home if you will. Eyes which were swollen and red from your tears becoming heavy. The door to the storage room opened, there in the doorway stood Taehyung “Annyong,” his deep tone filled the room as you watched his tiny gestures. He had wrapped himself in his blanket and hugged his pillow.

“What is it,” You were finding it hard to be blunt with him as he was so gentle and innocent. He was a fully matured young man, he had his moments of perversion or pranks but overall he didn’t have a malicious bone in his body.

“Can I sleep beside you?” Nodding too exhausted and sad to say no. He shut the door and waddled over, laying down beside you and making himself comfortable. After a few minutes of fluffing his pillow and removing your blanket and laying his bigger blanket over you both. Despite the extra room his blanket gave, he pulled you close wrapping his arms around you. You fit perfectly in his arms, letting out an audible whine as your breasts felt so soft behind your hoodie. He tried to think about other things like his favourite painter’s while singing under his breath anything to distract from your presence. The plain vanilla scent that emanated from your skin had him pressing his nose to your neck.

Every time you started to fall asleep he would moan your name and hug you tighter. Only settling when you wrapped him in your arms. His face up close was so inhuman, his sharp jaw and angular nose, the ratios between his eyes nose and lips were perfect, the symmetry everything. It was too good to be true. His personality was so gentlemanly as well it was like he just stepped out of a romance novel. Not the fifty shades kind where they have a haunting and mysterious backstory no this was the kind that is always there and the female lead doesn’t notice how good he is until the end and everything has a happy end.

Except this wasn’t the case, there was no love story here. People as perfect and gentle as Taehyung, they end up with; kind, generous and drop-dead gorgeous people. Even you wanted that for him. When you finally managed to fall asleep you were trapped in some romcom nightmare. Where your hunky neighbour and best friend Taehyung was trying to get you to fall in love with him. You had given in towards the end when he had saved your life in the dream. Taehyung lent in to kiss you, however, an inch away he pulled back and it was actually Hoseok. He looked at you in disgust and hurt. “I guess we weren’t friends after all”

Ripped from your dream with a jolt you accidentally startled Taehyung. It was useless to try to get out of his grip, you were supposed to be forgetting about them. You weren’t supposed to be worrying about Taehyung’s need for skinship and you definitely weren’t supposed to be hung up on Hoseok who was all you could think about. Him repeating those words ‘I guess we weren’t friends after all’.

“I missed you, why have you been hiding from us?” Taehyung hummed, finally addressing the subject of your disappearance the days prior. His hands slid up under your hoodie and his soft fingertips drew soft circles on your back. You don’t know if Taehyung knew the things he did were very romantic gestures one might do with a lover. Or if he just did whatever he wanted because it felt nice. You didn’t stop his gentle caress’ it felt too amazing on your jelly-like muscles. Instead, you pretended not to particularly enjoy the time you spent with him. Not saying anything that could ruin his innocent and happy bubble so early in the morning.

“Tae I have to go for a shower,” You thought this time a hot shower was needed, your muscles were in quite a bad way. The journey to the bathroom and shower and the actions required to get there and undress seemed both impossible and daunting.

“No don’t leave, I want to hug you” Did he not realise he was already hugging you? Your resolve wavered for a moment with the idea that maybe you could let him in and be nice. But the moment passed quickly and you sat up out of his arms he had rolled onto his chest pouting and kicking his legs under the blanket. His fake square mouth crying almost made you laugh and he noticed sitting up with a smirk.

“Tae it’s just a shower”

“Take me with you,” he pinched your hoodie between his thumb and forefinger, you blushed causing him to beam a brilliant megawatt smile, maybe he knew what he was doing all along. You tried to get up eyes watering in pain, he held on firmly to the hem of your clothes. “Take me with you, it’s not the first time we have showered together”

“Fine come on let’s shower, grab some clean clothes,” you said trying to pull his hand off your hoodie without flashing your underwear. He was frozen, his mouth falling open as he licked his lip, the idea of showering with you had been stuck in his mind ever since his drunken ordeal some nights ago. You managed to slip away from his grip and ducked quickly to the bathroom, remembering to lock the door behind you.

You were shampooing your hair when you heard him try the door and whine “you're a liar!” His cry made you unknowingly smile from safe and unseen behind the bathroom walls. Your brassiere was still drying after you showered in your clothes. Dressing in black shorts and a white button-up you decided to go without, to be safe you threw on a black blazer. You didn’t want for any reason the shirt to become see-through and reveal your thing is if you were going without a bra it had to be a look.

You put your hair in a business-appropriate style, your makeup was done with a dark lip tint and a slight bit of contouring of your cleavage. Adding jewellery you had found in the boxes. Simple geometric chain earring and layered geometric shape necklaces that had a chain that fell between your breasts both in silver. After slipping on some black heeled boots and looked in the mirror.

This was the look. You were fierce and ready to take on anything. When you left the bathroom Taehyung wasn’t there. Walking down the corridor you called for the elevator checking yourself out in the stainless steel doors. You couldn’t stop the small amount of concern that coursed through you for the boys to be impressed.

The people in the cafeteria were staring at you. Acting like it was no big deal as you confidently strode across the floor. The servers looked you over, shifting almost ashamed in their tracksuits, You made sure to be polite and compliment them. You weren’t a total bitch, nor did you think you were better than anyone here. They were talking hastily in Korean. Collecting your meal you turned to face the room. Areum waved at you from across the cafeteria. She was such a nice young woman, she had a boyfriend who face-timed her daily he was stuck in their apartment with their cats. She listened to your problems and even gave you great advice.

Waving back, she looked pretty in the dresses you had given her which were too small for you. She looked a lot less dishevelled having access to your secret shower you had given her a time slot where she could shower, in hopes that it was never congested in the basement. You didn’t want people to start wondering why everyone was hanging out down there. For the safety of the bathroom, you removed the sign on the door. So if anyone happened to go down there it looked like just another storage room. Aiming to sit next to your brother for lunch. He had, of course, threatened you to come out of the basement or he would give your secret shower location away to all the employees.

You carried your tray, walking slowly across the cafeteria floor. Still not spotting your brother. You ignored Taehyung's wave from their table. Someone snatched your tray, looking at them you saw Jungkook running towards the band’s table. Yoongi and Jimin wrapped their arms around your shoulders and waist, leading you without a chance to escape. Sitting you down trapped between them. Namjoon and Seokjin sat across from you both scanning your face and outfit.

“Ya don’t pout we aren’t that bad,” Seokjin said pointing his chopsticks at you and snapping them threateningly. It wasn’t a real threat he looked rather amused, his eyes glancing to the unbuttoned section of your shirt every now and again. Hoseok refused to speak while eating his breakfast and whenever he was spoken to he merely shrugged. You ate your breakfast in mostly silence, answering them only when they asked you a question.

Once breakfast was over you handed your tray over to the kitchen helpers and when you turned you saw Hoseok tongue pressed against his cheek staring at your ass in the shorts you were wearing. Whoever Gfriend was? They had some cute and stylish outfits. The others announced they were going to go get ready for the day, You went to the dance studio followed by Hoseok who sat at the back of the room watching you. You danced for about half an hour before the rest of the boys came in sitting beside Hoseok and cheering you on. The song you were halfway through dancing to had a lot you could relate to in your current situation. Dancing out your feelings.

Hoseok had seen it the moment it started the regression and depression in your eyes, he knew when you stopped leaving the basement, that something was wrong. When you started hiding from them in the halls and dodging them he knew they must have said something to hurt you. He thought it showed how much they cared, how completely wrapped around your finger they were. When you came back from the supply run gasping and begging for water he was the one to get it. But hearing you say that they didn’t care because they were famous. He wasn’t expecting that at first, he was hurt and mad because none of that was true, but the more he thought about it he knew you were right about one thing. Without the quarantine, you might not have met.

He wondered how he could make you trust them, that they wouldn’t just leave you when this was over, but he didn’t know for sure if they would even have time to hang out after. You had a right to be upset. No amount of makeup you wore could conceal the puffiness around your eyes. And here you were again a few tears falling as you put your soul into your dance.

You spun a complete circle ready for the chorus, only to spot Hoseok in the mirror dancing beside you. Copying some of your choreography that you had been repeating every chorus and when you kicked your leg up he caught it. Pulling you forward to fall against his strong chest. They all didn’t look like much but they were all so very strong. While still holding your leg he wrapped his free arm around your back. Lifting you slightly and walking you back towards the mirror, you were both panting chest to chest your leg secure in his hand above your head.

You felt the stretch in your hamstring and groaned. Your muscles were still sore. Turning your head away, not wanting to be a part of whatever it was he thought he was doing. He whispered in Korean his thumb brushing your cheek which you hadn’t realised was damp from tears. Pushing him away you straightened up both feet firmly planted on the ground.

You grabbed your things and tried to leave, you were getting too emotional. They were trying to get close to you again. Didn’t Hoseok say that you weren’t friends? Namjoon stopped you grabbing your arm. “Did we do something wrong?”

“No” You refused to look at him and his grip tightened slightly as he tried to stop you struggling. “Look, I am just preparing for when the quarantine is over and we never see or speak to each other again because you boys are Korean celebrities and I am just a random foreigner who took your interest for a few days”

“Hey that’s not how we see you,” he said but you didn’t want to hear it, it could only make it worse if he actually said they thought of you as their actual friend. Because then you would get attached and when this was all over you would have to learn to cope never being able to see them again. Because of their crazy work schedule. What was the point of being friends? You knew you didn’t think this way, you would happily wait for them no matter how long their schedule was your whole life would be on pause for them. It was a dangerous way to live.

Passing Areum your head down, she called to you. Ducking into the elevator the doors closed on the shadow of a figure running towards it calling your name. The doors shut giving you a place to let your guard down, except when the door opened once more and you were met with the gorgeous sight of Kim Seokjin. He stepped inside and closed the doors. He hit the basement button and leaned back against the wall panting.

“I got to work out more” you passed the second floor and he turned walking over. “You are right we Korean idols, we aren’t allowed to date, or hook up with anyone”

He tucked your hair behind your ear. “But that doesn’t mean our feelings aren’t real we are human” he reached up his palm covering the Elevator camera and he tilted your head up with his free hand. His face was so close and his eyes burning in anger. Anger that you could only assume was aimed at the very same idol status that was holding back from life. His breathing shook either from the chase or from the raw emotion he was feeling. “That doesn’t mean we don’t want to”

You were struck once in the chest, it was like the strike of lightning. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it once more unsure of the right words. The problem with the service elevator is it moved slower than the others, so you finally passed the first floor. And like that his lips were on yours. They were so soft and slid with such ease across yours. His warm tongue joining in and he tilted his head deepening the kiss and pressing you further against the wall. You felt helpless like Seokjin and the boys were an ocean at high tide and what was once shallow water had risen up around your knees and pulled you in. But every time it pulled you in it pushed you back. You were going to drown you just knew it. He was breathing heavily and audibly. Not wanting this to stop as he was finally feeling free, he finally was able to act on something.

All too soon the elevator slowed. He placed his free hand on the wall beside your head and pushed against it, straightening himself back up. Looking up at him, he seemed to recall his blank demeanour now that his hand was removed from the security camera. Feeling your heart drop, disappointed eyes stinging as you tried to hold back tears. You punched Seokjin in the chest, you were too exhausted and weren’t particularly trying to hurt him. “Stop playing with my emotions. Is this funny to you?”

Storming off you went to your ‘home’ and curled up in your blanket, your hand drifting to your lips as you could still feel him there. You could still taste him. The memories wouldn’t stop replaying and you hated how it felt so good. You were having a panic attack and as luck would have it, your asthma puffer was four floors above you.

[Part 1] [Part 6] [Part 8] [Tag Yourself Here]

Tags: @bubbletae7 @lovemusicandotps @taetaeb @seveniefive @w0lfqu33n @anaiss97 @moccahobi @maddymal

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femmeharringrove · 4 years

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merry christmas yall have the first chapter of a fic i completely forgot about

It’s Christmas eve, and Steve hasn’t slept in at least three days but that’s fine.

It’s not, not really, but those are the two words the boy has learned to live off of: that’s fine. It’s the motto of complacency, his father said once, after hearing it on the radio. Steve was just twelve at the time and already knew then that his father’s opinion wasn’t worth shit. Steve isn’t complacent, thank you very much. If he has to label himself, he thinks chill is a better word. He’s a chill guy, he’s the most chill person he knows, and everyone loves a chill person so it’s fine.

It’s stupidly early and he’s on the stupid green sofa in his stupid big house and he feels like shit, which is a surprise to exactly no one. The living room is a mess – he should clean it, he thinks vaguely, but he doesn’t plan on making a move anytime soon. If his parents were coming home he’d do it; can’t have them knowing their son’s become a wallowing slouch as of late. But they’re not coming.

His mother called yesterday, trilling over the line in her unnaturally pitched voice about how Prague was just beautiful this time of year and she wished he could be there to see but someone had to hold the fort down and speaking of they just won’t be able to make it back for the holidays but how would he feel about driving to Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve to join them at one of his father’s business socials that would be fun right? And Steve just listened because what else could he do?

He hadn’t been expecting them, anyway. The family hadn’t celebrated Christmas together in four years.

And in those four years he’d had options. Tommy’s family was happy to have him over, he spent many a holiday with the Hagans and then he’d spent that one truly merry Christmas with the Wheelers, and it was fine, but now he’s got none of that. This year, it’s him and the big empty house and he sort of hates it but it’s fine, thanks.

Steve watches the shadows on the wall shift with the rising sun and feels some vague sense of relief; it’s easier to breathe when the sun is out. That’s what’s been bothering him, really. When he does sleep, his dreams are plagued with darkness and cold and danger, and when he wakes up it’s still darkness and he feels like he can’t breathe. Those nightmares have gotten worse, infinitely worse over time. It’s easier to avoid sleep altogether sometimes. And he has no obligations this holiday season, no parties to appear at or houses to crash, so he can afford the heavy circles under his eyes this year.

It’s fine. It has to be fine, so it is. Even if it isn’t really.

Hawkins got snow last night. Steve drags himself up from his seat and meanders to the back door, eyes gazing out over the endless white carpeting the ground outside. He used to love snow. Now anything cold makes him uncomfortable. He hates the winter, makes him think of the dark Upside Down.

Or that damned Soviet Union and their officers and their cold, cruel faces watching on as he tells them he’s not a spy.

Had that really been this year? It feels like a lifetime ago. It feels like just yesterday. He tears his eyes away from the snow and pads into the kitchen in search of something warm. Coffee? Definitely coffee. He waits in the kitchen while the dark beverage brews and since he’s here he figures he may as well get some food into his body. Steve can cook – it becomes a necessity when you spend most of your childhood devoid of parents – but he doesn’t really want to cook. Takes too much energy, and he’s not willing to put said energy into that. So he goes with toast, because you can never go wrong with toast, right? He even slathers the bread with copious amounts of butter. It’s not the most fulfilling breakfast, but he likes it well enough.

The coffee finishes brewing and Steve spills a good bit of his father’s whiskey into it before dunking three spoonfuls of sugar in and retreating back to the couch. He grabs the remote on his way over and drops himself gracelessly on the cushions before pressing a button. The screen flickers to life and he chugs half of the hot beverage, flips through channel after channel before settling on some feel-good holiday movie. He hates these movies, he really does, but if he’s lucky it might be enough to lull him to sleep for an hour or so.

Steve used to love Christmas movies. He watched families on television gather together and enjoy one another’s company, children waiting for the magic of Santa Claus while parents shared tender moments under mistletoe. It was everything a younger Steve had desired in a holiday. Even when he had his parents home for Christmas, things had been different. Their home was filled with strange adults, co-workers of his father’s and social acquaintances of his mother’s. Santa Claus never came to visit him – his parents would simply give him a gift or two gathered from their trips abroad. He used to enjoy it, but as he got older the presents got less and less interesting, less personal. He went from wishing for those perfect movie-esque holidays to resenting them. That being said, they have their appeal.

Even now Steve can’t help but get a sense of warm comfort and joy radiating from the film, a warm sensation wrapping around his chest. It’s a strange comfort to him, in spite of his bitterness. There’s something inherently warm about holidays, and yet Steve finds himself feeling cold. He wonders idly what his parents are doing now, if they’ll remember to call tomorrow. The boy sits and sips on coffee and wonders and he’s right about the movie because he ends up dozing for a little bit. He dreams of families and caroling and trees and the whole scene takes on a peaceful, golden haze. Something almost physical wounds around his body like a cat rubbing along his frame in a form of greeting. It’s the nicest dream he’s had in a long time.

Which is why, when the doorbell startles him out of his dreams, Steve feels like he’s capable of murder.

The boy is so confused at first he doesn’t realize it’s his doorbell. When the incessant ringing gets accompanied by an even more incessant knocking on the door, Steve groans. The warmth seeps away and he heaves himself up from the couch. The mug is drained of its remaining lukewarm contents before he sets it on the coffee table. Footsteps land heavy as he stomps his way to the door, yanking it open and preparing to bite off the head of whoever dared to disturb him so early on Christmas Eve of all days.

His face morphs from a snarl to a look of surprise. Dustin grins up at him, oblivious to Steve’s previous anger.

And he’s not alone, either. El is there, too, brown eyes sparkling at him, arm tucked in Max’s as they flash him identical grins. On Dustin’s other side, Will’s smile is something more timid than the rest of his co-conspirators. Steve’s shoulders drop.

“What are you dipshits doing out here?” he snaps playfully. “Not you, of course, Will.” Will’s smile widens while Dustin and the girls make faces of protests.

“Hey!” Dustin squawks indignantly. “I’m your favorite, that’s not allowed to change!”

“Oh yeah?” Steve’s hands settled on his hips. “Who rang the doorbell?” El’s hand shoots up. “Uh-huh. And who started knocking?” The younger boy shares a guilty look with Max, who kicks guiltily at the ground. Will blinks at him in innocent confusion. Steve smirks. “So, every single one of you played a role in waking me up from my nap with the exception of Will. Little Byers is now my favorite.” Max groans and Dustin makes another scandalized sound, while Will and El both try to hide their giggles. Steve feels a mix of fondness and frustration as he watches them; that seems to be his default emotion around these damned kids. Shaking his head, Steve opens the door wider. “Okay, okay, now why don’t you all come in so I can figure out what I owe this visit to?”

“No need,” El responds, her laughter dying down. That amused happiness never leaves her face, however. “Will you have dinner with us?”

“Mom and Hopper want you to join us,” Will adds. “You can help out with the tree and everything.”

“And baking and cooking and shit, because Hop and Mrs. Byers aren’t the best in the kitchen,” Max finishes, and even though Will makes a small attempt to protest he and El share a knowing shudder. Dustin bounces on his feet slightly as he looks up at the older boy.

“Plus, if you say yes I can ride back to the house with you!” He grins broadly. “Whaddya say?” Steve blinks.

What does he say?

It’s a nice idea, sure. He loves these kids, feels safe with the two adults in question, and spending the day with them promises to be interesting at the very least. But if they’re all there, he has little doubt about Nancy and Jonathan being there too, and he’s really not mad about it anymore but there’s a little bit of awkwardness lingering between the trio. And even if he did go, those lovebirds will have each other. The party has each other, Hopper has Joyce. Steve is bound to be left out eventually. He knows it’s not on purpose, of course, but he knows how this goes. How many times has it happened before? And he’s already a little bit pissy this holiday season, that truth isn’t likely to make this any more enjoyable.

But eight pairs of eyes watch him expectantly, hopeful looks etched onto their faces. Steve’s gaze shifts past them, down the driveway and he finds Hopper’s truck waiting at the end and he doesn’t have to see the man to know he’s also waiting for an answer.

He doesn’t like disappointing people. He’s chill, Steve goes with the flow as a matter of principle, and this is where the flow seems to be leading. He makes a show of sighing, theatrics making the kids smile even wider.

“I shouldn’t –“ A series of pleas and protests interrupt him and he has to work hard to keep from smiling. Damn, Steve should have run off to New York or Hollywood and becoming an actor, he’s good at this. “- Oh, alright. I guess I can come for a little while. Dustin pumps his fist into the air as the others grin widely. Dustin rushes to the Beamer and Max isn’t far behind.

“Get your keys, Harrington, let’s get moving!” he shouts. Steve can’t help but laugh.

“Hang on, you little gremlin, I gotta get real clothes on! And do my hair!” The two set on riding with him dart back over and duck under his arm into the house, and Steve waves Will and El off. “Go on, you two, don’t wait for me. Tell Hop I’ll bring the little devils with me,” he orders. Both nod eagerly before setting off back to the car. Steve sees them off before turning back into the house. Max is in the living room, face wrinkled into something resembling disgust.

“Jesus, Steve,” she says, “Do you ever clean this place?” It has gotten pretty bad over the past month or so. Steve tries not to wince at the judgement he feels radiating off of the redhead.

“Never, it’s a point of pride at this point,” he teases instead, and she makes another face, nose crinkling before she rolls her eyes and makes a snide comment about messy boys. Steve reaches over and ruffles her hair, reveling in her giggled squawk of protest. “Oh, be nice, Mayfield. It’s a holiday!” Dustin’s footsteps thud down the stairs.

“It is the holidays, so I know you got me a gift, Harrington,” he states, eyes narrowing. “Where is it?” Max perks up in interest now, spinning from the curly-haired kid to the taller boy, eyebrows arching up.

“Oh, uh, presents? Yeah, um -” Steve smiles sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. Dustin’s eyes go wide.

“You forgot?” He marches down the rest of the stairs. “I can’t believe you, Harrington! Party members are supposed to get gifts for other party members! How could you forget?”

“Steeeve,” Max whines, head falling back dramatically. “I can’t believe you!” And she shouldn’t. Neither of them should. Again, he’s sure he’s missed his calling in life with the whole acting thing. Of course he got gifts for them – tucked safely away in the trunk of his car. He doesn’t plan on outright putting his name on them, but he’s sure the kids will figure it out tomorrow morning, which ones he leaves for them.

Chuckling at their antics, Steve hops up the stairs two at a time and dives into his room. How did this become his life, dealing with more barely-pubescent teens than any nineteen-year-old should? Steve’s shower is quick, and he styles up his hair before digging out an ugly sweater his grandmother had gotten him four years ago. Back then people were convinced the boy would go through a growth spurt; he did, but he hadn’t beefed up in the way everyone anticipated. The sweater still remains baggy on his slender frame, but he wears it nonetheless. Jeans are hastily yanked on and socked feet are shoved into sneakers before he trips his way down the steps.

Max and Dustin are anxious by the door, and he grins at them as he approaches the hall closet and grabs a coat. He hears his keys jangle softly in the pocket as he pulls it over his shoulders.

“The two of you have no patience,” he teases, watching them dash out to the car. He follows at a slower pace, amusement tugging at his lips. The kids are practically buzzing with excited energy, urging him to speed up, and they clamor into the car the moment he gets it unlocked, Max beating Dustin out for the coveted shotgun position. The younger boy pouts at Steve in the rearview mirror. Steve smiles right back at him. “Don’t look at me, she won this round, buddy.” Max’s smile is smug next to him, and Dustin scowls before slumping in the backseat. Steve shakes his head. “Alright, everybody buckle – even you, slouch potato,” The kid’s sulking is immediately replaced with a displeased squawk, and Steve doesn’t bother to hide his pleased smile as he eases out of the driveway and out onto the road.

It’s an easy trip; Steve exits Loch Nora and cruises down Dearborn. From there it’s a turn onto Maple and he has Max dig out cassettes from the glove box now. Wham! sings about holidays and heartbreak as Steve drives carefully past the Sinclair home, then the Wheelers not long after. He’s sure the occupants of both homes are either not there or too busy to be peering out of curtains in search of their kids’ babysitter, but he doesn’t want to risk having them see him do anything remotely reckless, and so he adheres to the laws of the road. Once he turns onto Cornwallis Street, he relaxes, speed inching up as he goes. Dustin’s previous sour mood has all but evaporated and he talks in that loud way of his, leaning up so he can get a look at the two people upfront. Max is just as chatty, and Steve is happy to let them converse, offering small hums here and there to show he’s listening.

He’s not really listening, but he doesn’t need them knowing.

Whiskey eyes try to focus on the road as he makes another turn, this time onto Kerley. It’s been five months since Hawkins last had to fight off monsters. Five months since the mall went down in flames. Five months since the Soviets and their needles and their gate.

He has nightmares still, about the room and the faces and the pain. Sometimes Robin’s there, panicked eyes screaming at him to help. Other times he sees Dustin, the kid looking betrayed as the general smugly tells him about Steve’s slip-up in his interrogation. Some nights he has dreams that leave him feeling physically cold. Those are the dreams he can never remember – whenever he tries, his head aches in a sharp sort of way that quickly has him leaving the whole thing alone. Even now as he thinks about it a dull throb warns him against it just behind his eyes. His thoughts wander further as the Beamer rolls onto Mirkwood.

Robin thinks he needs help. She may be right. Two weeks ago he almost had a full-blown panic attack in the back room of Family Video after seeing someone who looked eerily like the so-called doctor that ended up tugging his fingernails out with horrific ease. Even Keith had been surprised, awkwardly giving him the rest of the day off. Robin, bless her soul, tried talking him down, but ultimately she just held him while he sobbed frantically. Every day after that she gave him this look and he felt like he was suffocating under the weight of her pity, the cold force of her concern, the bitterness of her remorseful anger.

He still isn’t sure how he knew she was feeling all of that so clearly. Steve’s not great at a lot of things, but he’s always had a knack for reading a room. You learned how to do that after witnessing your parents have screaming matches almost every night they actually spent the night in Hawkins; he had to decide whether the tension in the air was manageable or too electric for him to safely involve himself in. When you struggle up the social ladder of high school, you learn how to read people and earn their favor. It’s his thing, always interpreting. It’s been five months since that little quirk seemed to get more sensitive. He doesn’t exactly know how he feels about that, or if it’s a good thing at all.

Steve slowly tunes back into conversation as he turns off of Mirkwood and makes his way down a simple dirt path. From what he can tell, Dustin and Max didn’t quite miss his additions to their conversation during the drive. Easily the two chattiest people in the Party, the older teen’s convinced they could talk for a week straight, without pause, and never notice the lack of anyone else’s input. It’s impressive, if you ask Steve. Max’s electric blue eyes catch his for a moment and she grins widely. She looks for all the world like a normal girl, not like someone who’d almost lost her brother on the Fourth of July.

The Beamer finally comes to a halt. Steve laughs as the two kids scramble out of the car and rush up the driveway. He takes a moment to turn the ignition off and now he’s suddenly feeling rather hesitant.

Why did he let them talk him into this?

The boy slumps in his seat. He should go home. He should crawl onto the couch in the living room and hide under blankets the rest of the night. The kids would not be particularly pleased with him, he’s sure, but he’ll make up for it with the gifts in the trunk. But if he leaves, when is he going to have a chance to leave those gifts for them? He certainly can’t come back tomorrow, and after that he’s just going to feel bad. Up ahead, Dustin’s head tilts as he looks back at the car.

“Harrington! You coming?” Steve hesitates, waves the kid off, and as soon as Dustin turns again he drops his head against the wheel.

He really, really should leave.

The door is slammed shut with a nudge of his hip, and Steve trudges his way up the driveway. Joyce is at the door, all smiles as usual. In spite of his doubts, the boy can’t help but smile back.

“Steve! I’m so glad you came,” she greets, pulling him into a hug as soon as he gets near. Steve settles in her hold for a few brief moments before tugging away reluctantly.

“Hey, Mrs. Byers. I would have brought something with me, but -“ Joyce cuts him off, gentle hands waving about dismissively.

“Oh, none of that,” she chides, “And it’s Joyce, honey. Besides, you can still help in the kitchen.” Her smile turns almost sheepish. “Hopper and I could use an extra hand.” Both of them are stellar single parents, but Steve knows for a fact that neither can cook to save their lives. Steve’s been mastering the art since he was thirteen, he’s gotten quite good at it. He nods at the woman as he slips past her into the house and for a moment he’s overwhelmed by how homey the place looks.

Wrapping paper, string lights, and other festive odds and ends litter the floor. Hopper and Jonathan seem to be in the process of setting up the tree in a corner. A holiday record plays loudly, barely heard over the roaring chatter of the kids yelling and running around. It’s chaos, the very best kind. He’s surrounded by the inherent warmth of it all and the lingering trepidation melts away quickly as Steve lets his shoulders relax.

Eleven notices him first among the kids, and is quick to slip out of a confused Mike’s grip to greet him. Her hug is warm, and Steve holds her tight, one hand rubbing her back as he returns her embrace.

“Hey, kid,” he chuckles, ruffling her hair. Eleven beams up at him.

“You came,” she proclaims. Now Steve lets out a full laugh.

“Well, of course I did! I couldn’t just not show up. Besides, you and Will left me with the little hellions, remember?” Will comes next, shy smile creeping across his face as he tucks himself easily against Steve’s side. Steve pretends to give him a scolding look. “Had my ear talked off the whole way here thanks to you.” Will knows for a fact the older teen isn’t even remotely upset with him. The attempted glare melts into a grin and the boy relaxes, his smile growing easier as his slender arm squeezes around Steve’s waist, then retracts as he backs off. Lucas, already trapped on the ground with Max and Erica, waves in greeting. His teeth flash brilliantly in his bright grin and Steve tips an imaginary hat in his direction. Not too far off, Mike nods in his own greeting, gruff in his usual manner but maybe the holiday magic is working because there’s something unusually friendly about the gesture. Steve returns it in kind.

When Nancy makes her appearance, she falters at the sight of him and Steve’s body almost flinches with the strangeness of it all. Her eyes blink once, twice before she gives him that sad smile.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” Steve’s answering smile is painfully awkward.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t planning on coming. The kids roped me into this last-minute, you know how it is with them.” He becomes distinctly aware of Jonathan eyeing them from across the room and clears his throat.

Yeah, maybe this is a little bit of a mistake.

His escape comes in the form of Hopper, the man’s burly arm falling across his shoulders in a gruff greeting.

“Glad you decided to show up, kid. You’re the only competent chef in this house,” he jokes, but it isn’t really a joke. You’d think a couple of adults would know how to cook a decent meal – well, Joyce can cook a decent meal, but it’s just that. His smile is only slightly less awkward as he’s guided into the kitchen, tossing an odd sort of goodbye to the girl as he goes. Joyce gives him a relieved look as he enters the kitchen.

“Steve, do you think you could help me with this soup?”

He’s kept pleasantly busy after that. Between helping with Joyce’s mushroom soup, letting Dustin peel carrots for the pot roast, taking that job away after the kid hacked apart the vegetables beyond recognition, and attempting to restore some general sense of order to the lawless land of the kitchen, Steve barely has time to think about Nancy or Jonathan or the yelling all around him. He hardly pays attention to the pleasant buzz filling his body as a result of the warm atmosphere. It’s dark by the time all the food gets finished. He’s oddly proud of himself as he looks at the spread of food on the table. It’s nothing fancy, but beef and soup and biscuits on Christmas Eve isn’t a bad idea if you ask him.

He can sit at the table with the rest of the adults. There’s space, and Joyce asks him sweetly if he’d like to sit with them. Steve feels decidedly more comfortable on the living room floor with the kids, however.

And that just seems to be the bulk of his problems sometimes, doesn’t it?

Steve Harrington is almost twenty years old, and he has nearly no friends his own age. To top things off, he also has no idea what he’s doing with himself currently, his past haunts his sleep and his waking hours, and his future is all but nonexistent. He peaked in high school and his life has been in a steady decline ever since. But it’s not all bad – at least he’s got the tragic honor of babysitting the six toughest kids in all the world.

And they aren’t even kids anymore, are they? They’re creeping up on their fifteenth birthdays, all of them. Dustin’s is less than a month away already. Steve can’t believe it. They were kids just yesterday, it feels. He was a kid just yesterday, wasn’t he? Monsters have a funny way of forcing you to grow up, he supposes. And they’ve truly grown, his kids.

Eleven’s curls bounce as her head swivels back and forth to follow their conversation, smile warm and genuine as she leans against Steve’s right. Dustin’s always by his side, the little snot. He looks so happy all the time, his eyes crinkling around the edges as he talks animatedly on his left. Mike’s grown so tall, it’s crazy. Coltish legs are folded awkwardly under him as he sits by Eleven’s side. Lucas rivals Mike in height, though he looks significantly less awkward as he leans up against an engaged Max. She’s cut her hair recently; it’s not a bad look, though he knows she wants to grow it back out again. Something about her is tinged with a bitter sadness, something that makes Steve’s throat choke up in a most peculiar way. He gets it, though; Billy’s brush with death wasn’t that long ago, and she’s still struggling with her grief. But she’ll be alright, he knows. Billy’s getting better, her friends are too stubborn to allow her to struggle alone, even if Billy isn’t their favorite. And on Mike’s other side, simply enjoying the moment, sits Will. He’s grown too, but he’s kept much of his quiet mannerisms. He catches Steve’s eye and smiles a little wider, an action Steve mimics.

Sometimes, the calmer Will Byers is the one Steve claims as his favorite. In all truth, he doesn’t have a favorite.

He has different relationships with each kid, that’s all. His relationships with some are weaker than others, weaker than he liked them to be. Some of them share a bond even Steve can’t explain. But the one thing each relationship has in common is the boy’s love for each and every one of them. There’s no favoritism, even if he tells them otherwise. There’s no choosing, none of that. Each of these six kids have Steve’s whole heart.

It’s Eleven who catches him staring next, and she must see the fondness on his face because the smile she gives him is soft and tender and knowing in its own way. Eleven took to him surprisingly quick; he didn’t quite understand it yet, but he was glad the kid felt so at ease with him.

He’s dragged into the present by Dustin very suddenly collapsing against his side, snorting in laughter as Mike stares at Lucas, offense clear on his face.

“How do you not like the Beastie Boys?” he questions, and now it’s Steve’s turn to snort.

“No one likes the Beastie Boys, Mike,” he chuckles, trying to ignore the appalled look the younger teen gives him. “It’s just what you listen to when you reach the teen rebellion phase.”

“I’m not rebellious!” Mike huffs. Steve’s sure Karen Wheeler would beg to differ.

He doesn’t want to spend the night. Joyce already has her hands full with all these kids, and he doesn’t want to add on to that, so he goes out to the car once the kids have all gone to sleep in the basement and gets his sack of presents and he’s going to leave after giving them to Hopper, but Joyce stops him, a curious look on her face.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” she questions. Steve feels awkward now, shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

“You’ve already got plenty of people spending the night, Mrs. By-“

“None of that,” she cuts him off with a wave of her hand. “You’ll have to come back tomorrow anyway if you leave, you’re having dinner with us.” Steve doesn’t remember agreeing to that, but now he doesn’t have a choice. Hopper, setting a gift under the tree, grunts in agreement.

“She’s right, kid,” he confirms as he stands straight again. “Can’t get out of this one, the kids won’t leave your door until you come back with them. It’ll be much easier on everyone if you just stay.”

And he doesn’t want to because this is their tradition, this is something they’ve been doing together for years as one large family and Steve isn’t really a part of that, so he wants to give them space, but Joyce is already dragging him back inside with the gifts, then she’s off grabbing blankets and Hopper busies him with the task of wrapping last-minute gifts until he forgets wanting to leave.

The couch is his for the night. Joyce gets him some of Jonathan’s clothes and even kisses his forehead and wishes him a merry Christmas before retreating to her room for the night. Hopper wishes him a good rest, and he understands because it’s already ass o’clock in the morning and it’s only a matter of time before those kids come barreling up the stairs to yell about their gifts. The living room is dark, aside from the gentle blinking of the string lights on the tree. It’s a silent night, indeed. He feels warm, and not just from the blankets tucked in close around him.

For the first time in three nights, Steve sleeps. He’s blissfully without dreams.

It lasts barely five hours.

The basement door is opened quite aggressively, and a cacophony of feet thud in before he hears a loud hushing sound, followed by the loudest whisper he’s ever heard.

“Dudes, Steve’s asleep!” one of the little shits hisses. Steve’s fairly sure it’s Dustin. He prays they turn around and go back downstairs for another hour or two.

“Shut up, he’s gonna hear you!” a girl’s voice hisses back, and she’s impossibly louder than the first kid – undeniably Max, Eleven would never whisper that loud. Jesus, who taught them how to whisper?

“Both of you shut up, let’s just get to the target,” a third, quieter voice butts in, and they’re just quiet enough that Steve can’t tell who it is, which tells him it’s either Mike or Will. He’s betting on Mike.

He knows what their target is. Steve takes a moment to contemplate. Either he lets them poke around the presents until Jim or Joyce come in and stop them, which will definitely result in loud protesting and a permanent end to his rest, or he can get up now and get a little bit of sympathy from at least Will for them waking him up. Either way, he’s awake now.

He hears someone poking at a box and goes with the latter.

“Aren’t you little shitheads supposed to wait for your parents?” he groans, eyes peering at the group blearily. All six of them freeze.

“Abort mission?” Lucas whispers to Mike.

“Abort mission,” Steve confirms before the other kid gets a chance, sitting up and stretching. Eleven treads silently over to the sofa and finds her way under his blanket to press into his side.

“Merry Christmas,” she hums, as if she has nothing to do with the early morning shenanigans that roused him. Will joins them on the sofa, and it’s clear the other four are trying to decide how to best fit themselves on the piece of furniture with their babysitter. It’s about to get very cramped, he realizes.

“Yeah, yeah, bah humbug,” he grumbles in reply, but no one misses his fond smile.

Joyce makes her appearance thirty minutes after that, and of all the things she expects to see on a Christmas morning, this was decidedly not it. None of the kids on the couch notice her upfront, too caught up in their giggles and hushed conversation. Steve looks tired, she notes, but he’s not as pale or tired-looking as he was yesterday. He may not be her kid, but she worries about him nevertheless as if he was. Shaking her head slightly, she pads further into the room.

“I hope you all didn’t wake Steve up,” she tells the younger teens as she reaches the sofa. Guilty looks are shared and a few mouths open in hopes of explaining themselves, but Steve beats them all to the punch.

“They didn’t,” he covers, smiling softly up at the woman. “I was up before these hellions tried getting into the presents.” Joyce doesn’t believe him, not for a second, but she leaves it alone as she leans down and gives Will and Eleven kisses on their forehead. Max gets one next, followed by a gentle ruffling of Mike’s hair because he gets fussy about kisses. Lucas smiles as he gets a kiss, and Dustin responds in kind. Even Steve gets a kiss, and he smiles in spite of his surprise.

“Thank you, for keeping them out of the presents,” she tells him as she straightens up and sways off towards the kitchen. He thinks about going to help her, but he looks at the kids sprawled out on the sofa with him and he just can’t bring himself to make them get up, so he stays put. They whisper back and forth about present predictions (Dustin makes a passive comment about some people forgetting to buy presents, Max makes a face at Steve and it takes serious effort to not laugh), and by the time Joyce returns with coffee the six are practically bouncing with restlessness. Their excitement is downright infectious, Steve feels their giddy joy in his bones, his stomach twisting in a good sort of anxiousness. Hopper shuffles in soon after, makes his way directly to the kitchen and gets himself a mug of coffee. He brings an extra one out for a very grateful Steve. Mike makes a face when the smell of caffeine reaches his nose. Lucas doesn’t have to smell it before he gets that disgusted look on his face.

“I can’t understand why you drink that stuff,” he states. Steve inhales the warm smell, sips on the drink (and he’s got to give the chief a thanks because it’s got just the right amount of cream and sugar – not too much, but just enough to take the edge off of the bitter taste), and pauses for added drama before forming his response.

“Lucas, my friend, let’s revisit this conversation when you hit nineteen.” He rests the mug on top of Eleven’s wild curls and revels in her giggled protest.

Outside, the sun is just beginning to poke through the darkness. Steve glances towards the window, watches the black sky turning into blue, and couldn’t help but feel that maybe, maybe, this Christmas isn’t going to be so bad after all.

In an attempt to distract the gaggle of children from the glistening presents under the tree, Steve finally nudges the kids off of him and makes his way to his feet, and he stretches out his body with a few, satisfying cracks in his spine. He’s getting old.

“Hey. You little gremlins want hot cocoa?”

They do, of course they do. And they follow him like a line of duckling behind their mother as Steve trudges into the kitchen. They sit in a row and happily sip on the warm drinks as the brunette then sets about making breakfast. Joyce rubs his shoulder and says he didn’t have to, but Steve is happy to do it, he likes making himself useful. Besides, he’s good at this, the kids love his pancakes. He even whips up scrambled eggs and slices of wonderfully crisp bacon. The smell draws a bleary-eyed Jonathan from his room. He looks surprised by Steve’s presence, but offers a small smile.

“Merry Christmas,” he offers, ruffling Will’s hair on his way by. He pours himself a cup of coffee, and Steve smiles back at him.

“Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too.”

#steebie writes #steve harrington #stranger things au #stranger things fanfiction

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