#anyways. soon it will be bag time>:3c

[gibbearish]

theres a kickstarter i backed back in march 2021 thats been going through issue after issue during the production process but has been keeping backers updated the whole time and a couple months ago they announced they were finally able to start shipping orders im excited

[heethera]

˖*°࿐ •*⁀➷ 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧!

➜ summary: you just moved into a new building, right across from three loud guys. two said sorry and the third couldn’t care less.

pairing: pshx f!reader,wc: 14k words , genre: enemies to lovers ish, neighbor!au, fluff, romcom w: rude jokes, cussing, kissing

The elevator doors swung open, and soon you stepped out into the third floor hallway. You looked like you were moving in, which in your defense…you were. The oversized hoodie slipping off one shoulder, arms hugging a stack of takeout containers and a cactus you had that had pricked you far too many times, but that didn’t matter. You were finally on your own.

Unit 3B. That was you now. 

Your keys jingled in your palm as you found the door, nudged it open with one knee, and stepped into the apartment you’d stared at for months on rental listings. It wasn’t huge, but it had a little kitchen with enough space for your mum’s rice cooker, and a balcony that caught the sun in the morning. You spun around in the centre of the room, grinning, almost knocking the cactus you had just placed on the counter in the process.

And by nightfall, the place felt like yours. Your fairy lights were strung up across your living room. Your fridge held exactly a bottle of soda, some tuna you had eaten an hour ago and a bag of unwashed grapes. You lit a vanilla candle, the one your best friend, Jungwon, made you promise to use so you'd remember him… even while being so far apart.  But Jungwon hated travelling, so in his mind, you'd basically moved to another continent. 

Jungwon dramatically declared, “You’re practically moving to another country.”

“Jungwon, I’m literally a two-hour train ride away.”

“That’s basically Europe.”

You rolled your eyes at the memory, smiling to yourself.

Still, you were glad you’d made the decision to move. Three years ahead of you… of being on your own, of learning to be independent, part-time jobs, and what you hoped…a future incoming relationship. It should be easy. It should be peaceful. It should be—

“DUDE!!!”

A scream ripped through your wall.

It came from the wall to your right, a thin wall nudged between you and your neighbours. You could hear celebrations. A voice shouted, “THAT WAS INSANE!” followed by a loud thump like someone had jumped off the sofa.

You tried ignoring it at first, burying yourself under the blanket like it could block out noise. But 20 minutes in, another screamed “HE’S OFFSIDE, YOU DUMB—” loud enough to rattle the walls, you snapped.

You threw on your hoodie, jammed your feet into slippers, and marched out the front door like you were storming a battlefield. The hallway was dim and quiet, except for the muffled party behind door 3C. You knocked, hard, but polite.

The door creaked open mid-laughter, revealing three guys mid-snack, mid-game.

“Hi,” you said, tight smile. “Sorry to bother you, but… would you mind keeping it down a little? I’ve got a test tomorrow and it’s kinda hard to focus with all the screaming.”

The one with fluffy hair, cute little eyes, nodded immediately. “Shit. Sorry, sorry. Totally our bad.”

Another one, long lashes and a goofy smile, actually winced. “Didn’t realise it was that loud. We’ll keep it down, promise.”

“Are you new here?” the first one asked.

You nodded. “I just moved in today, actually.”

“Oh shit. Mrs Kim moved out?”

“Damn, we’re not getting her kimchi anymore, that’s for sure.”

“We gotta eat those store-bought ones that taste like ass.”

The second boy looked at you again, more focused this time. “Oh right! I’m Jake! It’s great to meet you! I’m sorry it happened under… unfortunate circumstances. But we’ll be quieter!”

“I’m Jay, by the way,” the first one added with a small grin, pushing his hair back.

You nodded, smiling slightly. At least they were nice about it. Well, two out of three, anyway.

You glanced past both of them, eyes landing on the third boy slouched on the couch, still holding the controller, gaze fixed on the paused screen like you weren’t even there. His jaw clenched once. No name. No hello. Just a subtle, annoyed glance in your direction before he looked away again.

Cool. So he hates you. That’s cool with you.

The third guy didn’t say anything. Just glanced at you once, then turned back toward the TV.

“Uh, thanks,” you said, lips tight, already backing away.

You returned to your apartment and for a blessed thirty minutes, it was quiet.

Then someone scored a goal and the wall shook again.

You blinked slowly at your ceiling, arms folded under your head like the weight of your patience was finally starting to crush your ribs. Okay. So that’s how it was going to be. You frowned.

And that was literally… how war started.

The next morning, fuelled by petty vengeance and two hours of sleep, you grabbed your pastel pink sticky notes and wrote:

“Dear 3C, I’ve played FIFA before. It is not that damn fun for you to be out here screaming. Please tone it down. Regards, the zombie in 3B.”

You slapped it on their door. Nothing changed.

And the next day:

“Dear 3C, I can’t sleep. Kindly shut up <3 With love, the girl one more sleepless night away from writing to the landlord. 3B.”

You half expected them to ignore it. Instead, you found your note missing by mid-afternoon. Gone. 

For a moment, you felt powerful. Maybe they’d actually listened.

Then 8:43 p.m. hit and someone in 3C scored a goal so loud you swore the bass from their TV made your candle flicker.

Alright. So it was personal now.

You stormed over to their door again, hands on your hips.. It wasn’t that late. You weren’t unreasonable. You believed in joy. In freedom. But right now? Rage was the only thing pumping through your system.

You shuffled down the hall with your bunny slippers slapping against the floor, hair in a claw clip that was giving up. You looked deranged. And for the first time, you were fine with that. You banged on their door.

The door cracked open a second later, revealing Jake blinking like a deer in headlights. His hair was messy. He looked mildly afraid.

“Were… we being loud again?”

You stared at him, deadpan. “Ya think?”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, okay. I’m so sorry. It’s Sunghoon. He keeps saying it’s not that loud and we were mid-tournament and—”

“Tell Sunghoon that his ego’s not the only thing echoing through these walls,” you snapped, arms crossed. “Some of us are trying to study.”

Behind Jake, you heard a familiar scoff followed by a smug voice yelling, “God, she’s so annoying. We were literally whispering.”

You leaned to the side, locking eyes with the third boy slouched on the couch, controller in hand, feet on the coffee table like the world owed him something. He didn’t even pause the game this time.

You didn’t know what it was about his stupidly symmetrical face but your blood boiled.

“Tell this Sunghoon guy…his whispering sounds like a screeching cat,” you said flatly, before spinning on your heel and marching back toward your door when you heard his aggravating voice.

“Tell her she’s overreacting over a couple of friends simply trying to have fun,” Sunghoon fired back from the couch, not even raising his voice. 

You turned your head just enough to glare over your shoulder. “Well, tell him, his shirt doesn’t match his fucking pants.”

Jake looked helpless, standing between you both like a middle child caught in a divorce.

And then, with that same bored tone, Sunghoon called out again, “Well, tell her… those slippers are the best thing she’s worn all week.”

You stopped.

Jake sucked in a breath.

You slowly turned, eyes narrowing. “Tell him he wouldn’t know good fashion if it came with a user manual and punched him in his freaking face.”

Sunghoon finally glanced away from the TV, meeting your eyes for the first time that night. His lips curved into the most irritating half-smile you’d ever seen.

“Tell her–”

Jake stepped in between again, hands raised. “Okay! Okay. We’re gonna turn the volume down. Like, way down. Like you can’t even hear us tiptoe. Right, Sunghoon?”

Sunghoon leaned back against the couch and shrugged. “Whatever. I’m not the one annoying my neighbors at 9pm on a Friday night. Get some friends.” 

You slammed your door shut.

War was back on.

-

The next morning, your plan was simple. A little petty, sure, but necessary.

You stood outside their door in your pyjamas, holding a fresh pack of neon yellow Post-its since your previous ones were used up by the ongoing Post-It war.The hallway was empty. Your bunny slippers made no sound as you padded up to 3C and stuck the first one of the week dead-centre on the door.

“Dear 3C, just a gentle reminder that FIFA will not feed you, clothe you, or give you money. Kindly shut up. PLEASE. Warmest regards, 3B.”

You smiled to yourself and floated back to your apartment.

That night? For the first time…? Silence. Beautiful, blissful silence. You actually managed to revise two chapters and fall asleep before midnight. You woke up in the morning feeling like a changed woman.

But then you opened your front door.

There, taped neatly to your door, was a blue sticky note with surprisingly neat handwriting.

“Dear 3B, you sound like you narrate your life out loud. – 3C.”

Your jaw dropped.

“Narrate your life out loud?” you muttered. “That’s literally called thinking.”

You marched back into your apartment, flung open your stationery drawer.

“Dear 3C, apologies if my internal monologue disrupted your daily FIFA championship. I only talk to myself because your volume settings make it impossible to hear my own thoughts. With all due respect (and ear damage), 3B."

That afternoon, Jay knocked on your door. You hesitated, then opened it a crack. He was holding a bag of convenience store pancakes in one hand.

“Peace offering,” he said. “Also, I think your notes are hilarious. Jake’s been collecting them. I think he’s making a scrapbook.”

You blinked. “Is this a joke or something?”

Jay shrugged, leaning casually against the doorframe. “No! Honestly, it’s kinda refreshing.”

Jake popped his head in from behind, grinning. “Also, your handwriting’s really neat.”

You opened the door a little wider, cautious then shrugged. “You want some… uh… spaghetti? I made it this morning.”

“Spaghetti?” Jay tilted his head.

You nodded. “Yeah. I usually experiment with food. I’m…uh…in culinary school.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “Wait, so you’re like… a chef?”

“Trying to be.,” you said with a shrug, suddenly a little self-conscious.

They exchanged a quick look before barging in like you'd personally handed them invites at the door.

“That’s so cool,” Jake said, practically bouncing as he flopped onto your beanbag. “I burnt instant noodles last week. Twice.”

Jay wandered deeper into your living room, his gaze landing on the dusty old guitar leaning against your bookshelf. “Dude, check it out! She plays the guitar.”

You rubbed the back of your neck, awkward. “It’s just for fun. I’m not that good.”

“I’m sure you’re great,” Jake said, already chewing through a mouthful of spaghetti he’d somehow found, and served himself in a bowl you didn’t remember offering.

You blinked at him. “Did you just—?”

“Plate was right there,” he said through a mouthful. “I took it as a sign.”

Jay nodded solemnly. “She feeds us and plays guitar. She’s better than Mrs. Kim already.”

You sighed and closed the door behind them. “I’m starting to think Mrs. Kim left because of the three of you.”

In between bites, Jake nodded without hesitation. “I think so too.”

“We can be loud,” Jay added, helping himself to another serving.

“Have you thought of… not being loud?”

“We do,” Jay said. “But then we get loud again.”

You rolled your eyes. “Guys, some of us have school and—”

“We have school too,” Jake chimed in, mouth full.

“Okay… some of us care about sleep.”

Jay perked up. “That’s why we got you this.”

He dug into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a tiny box, dropping it into your hands.

You squinted at it. “What’s this?”

“They’re sleep buds,” he said proudly. “They go in your ears and play white noise and, like… ocean sounds or something. Blocks everything out. Even us.”

You stared at the box, then at them.

“Instead of compromising, you got me gear?”

Jake grinned. “Yeah. We like you. We want you to be able to sleep… through us.”

Jay gave you a thumbs-up. “It’s called adaptation.”

You looked down at the sleep buds in your hands and then back up at the two of them absolutely inhaling your spaghetti like they hadn’t eaten in weeks.

You didn’t know whether to kick them out or thank them.

So you just sighed, defeated. “You guys are the weirdest neighbours I’ve ever had.”

Jake beamed. “Aww. You’re the weirdest too.”

And somehow… the next day… they were back.

You opened the door mid-knock, confused, only to find Jay grinning at you.

“What’s for lunch today, boss?” he asked, already halfway through the doorway.

You blinked. “How’d you know I made something?”

“We could smell it,” Jake said, stepping in right behind him, holding up a comically large spoon. “Smells so good. Brought my big spoon today. Came prepared.”

“Uh… I made chowder?”

Jake’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, I love chowder.”

Jay had already plopped onto the floor cushion, flipping through your Spotify like he owned your iPad. “What kind? Clam? Corn? Pumpkin? Wait… do people put pumpkin in chowder?”

You stared at them, ladle in hand.

“Corn,” you muttered, shuffling back into the kitchen.

Then the day after that… they came again. At this point, it felt less like a surprise and more like a recurring appointment.

“No fucking way. Kimchi stew? This shit is so good!. Jay, you need to try the beef. It’s so soft. How— how’d you get it so soft? Is this like one of those expensive beef? Wakoo?”

“It’s Wagyu, Jake.” You corrected.

“Wagyu~” He sang.

Jay, already mid-bite, nodded with a full mouth. “Can I havefth thefth reshepee?”

You wiped your hands on a dish towel, leaning against the counter with one brow raised. “Do you guys ever eat in your own apartment?”

Jake didn’t miss a beat. ���Not when you cook like this.”

Jay pointed his chopsticks at you like he was making a closing argument in court. “This is technically your fault. You fed us once. That’s basically a binding contract. We’re best friends now. Aren’t we, Jake?”

Jake nodded, mouth full. “Mhmff. Whatever he said.”

You sighed, setting your elbow on the table and dropping your chin into your hand. “If you’re gonna keep doing this, at least wash the dishes after.”

Jake saluted you with his spoon like you were the captain of a very tiny, soup-based army. “Yes, chef.”

You looked at the two of them, one already on his third helping, the other stealing more beef straight from the pot, and shook your head.

This wasn’t how your independent, put-together, college life was supposed to go. You were meant to be focused. The mysterious girl on the third floor who only ever came out for groceries and exams.

But maybe… with the two of them barging in uninvited, eating like they hadn’t seen food in years, and treating your living room like it was theirs…

Maybe you wouldn’t feel so lonely after all.

-

It was 9 p.m. Strangely quiet.

Usually, by now, there’d be at least one goal celebration shaking the walls or someone shouting about a missed penalty. But tonight? Nothing. You didn’t let it bother you. You took it as a win.

The balcony door slid open with a soft scrape. You stepped out into the cool night, cradling your little scissors and spray bottle like sacred tools. Your succulents were arranged in a neat line. A few leaves had started to curl. You knelt down, snipping the dead ends carefully.

You should’ve felt peaceful.

But tonight, something tugged at your chest. 

You missed Jungwon. You missed your mom’s mismatched cutlery and the way your dad always forgot he’d already asked about your grades. Maybe even your pet fish, the one that never did much except float around looking confused.

Jay and Jake were friendly, sure. But they weren’t yours. They weren’t part of your before. They didn’t know the town you came from or the versions of you that existed before now.

And even though you thought you’d settled in... even though you were coping...you were lonely.

Without meaning to, you started speaking out loud — just like you always did.

“It’s fine. You’ll do better tomorrow. Tomorrow you won’t feel as lonely,” you said softly as you misted the leaves. “You’ll be stronger. You’re gonna get used to this. You can do it.”

But the lie caught in your throat.

Because you were crying already.

You wiped your cheek with the sleeve of your hoodie, frustrated, betrayed by your own body. You reached for your phone without thinking and hit the contact you swore you wouldn’t keep calling every time you got overwhelmed.

Jungwon answered on the first ring.

“What’s up?” he asked, casual as ever.

“Won…” you breathed out.

There was a pause. Then: “Are you crying?”

“No?”

“I can hear you sniffling, you shit.”

“It’s just—” your voice cracked. “It’s hard. I’m alone all the time. I’ve got no friends. I’ve got no one to talk to. I’m alone, Won.”

“I know,” he said gently. “I know…”

There was a pause. You could hear him shifting in bed, his voice soft and serious now. “But think about it this way, okay? You’re barely in your first month. You’re gonna get used to it. You’re gonna find people. You’re gonna build something here. It just takes time.”

You bit your lip. “You’ll visit if you can, right?”

“I’ll visit,” he promised. “Even if it takes two bloody hours.”

“But you hate traveling.”

“For you, I’d suffer.”

You sniffled. “You’re just saying that so I’ll hang up.”

“You’re right because I’m exhausted from basketball. But also… I love you.”

“Fine,” you mumbled. “I love you too.”

“Chin up. You’re talented and you deserve to be there. You can do this. We’re all counting on you.”

“I know.” You exhaled slowly. “Goodnight, Wonnie.”

“Night.”

You ended the call and sat in silence for a moment, letting the cool night air settle on your skin. The tears had stopped. Your hands still smelled like mint and basil and the faint sweetness of the spray bottle. You stared at your succulents, wondering if they ever got lonely too.

Unbeknownst to you, just a few feet away, out on the connected balcony, hidden by the divider, someone had heard everything.

He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. He’d stepped out earlier, just needing air, needing quiet, needing to be somewhere still for once. And then he’d heard your voice. The words that were not meant for anyone else.

And for the first time, Sunghoon didn’t roll his eyes or make a sarcastic comment.

He just stood there in the dark, one hand gripping the railing, heart a little heavier than before.

He understood more than you thought.

And somewhere between your tears and Jungwon’s voice, he changed his mind about you.

-

The next few days, there was absolute silence. Maybe the food had finally worked some psychological warfare on Jay and Jake. Maybe it was their way of returning the favour. Either way, you weren’t about to question it.

You were grateful, to say the least.

Because for the past week, you’d been moping around your apartment. Living alone and striking out as an “independent bachelorette” sounded empowering in theory, but in practice? Maybe you weren’t one of those girlies after all…y’know the ones on Instagram who made solitude look like a season of self-discovery instead of a series of breakdowns.

It was Saturday. You’d spent the entire morning in bed watching a Netflix documentary about some guy swindling people on Tinder, surrounded by crumpled tissue and scented candle smoke that had long turned suffocating. You were still in yesterday’s hoodie, blanket tangled around your legs.

Three knocks echoed at the door.

You lifted your head from the pillow with a groan, barely alive. The sound came again.

Dragging yourself across the living room, you cracked the door open just a sliver, just wide enough to peek through but not enough to reveal the disaster that was your face, your hair, or your pride.

“Uh.” The voice was hesitant. Familiar.

You squinted.

Sunghoon.

You blinked. “What are you doing here?” you asked, your voice hoarse from crying and a full night of narrating your own spiral.

“There was a mix-up with the mail,” he said, holding up a small stack of envelopes.

“Oh.” You extended your arm awkwardly through the tiny gap in the door and grabbed the letters. “Thanks.”

There was a pause, “I can see your puffy eyes through the gap.”

You scoffed, immediately pulling the door closer. “You just have to be a smartass about everything, don’t you?”

He shrugged, completely unbothered, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Still standing there. 

“…Are Jake and Jay home?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

His expression twitched, almost amused. “Why? Trying to steal my best friends again or—”

“No,” you deadpanned. “I was just wondering. It’s been… quiet this whole week.”

“They went home to visit their families.”

Oh. Right. Come to think of it, maybe that explained why everything felt extra heavy lately. It was the time of year people usually went home. People surrounded themselves with comfort and familiarity. And here you were, stuck in the city because the train ticket home was just slightly out of budget.

“You didn’t go?” you asked softly.

“Can’t,” he shrugged.

“Oh.”

There was a beat of silence. Then he tilted his head.

“Well,” Sunghoon said slowly, “if you ever need someone to emotionally rejuvenate you by pointing out your hair looks like a rat’s nest, you know where to find me.”

The words came with the usual venom but the message behind them landed differently.

You stared at him through the gap in the door. You couldn’t tell if he was trying to be funny, or… sincere, in his own weird, backhanded way. It was strange. You’d only had  three full conversations with the guy. And every single one ended in a WWE tournament.

You narrowed your eyes slightly. “Are you… being nice to me?”

He clicked his tongue. “Don’t ruin it.”

And with that, he turned and walked back.

-

You finally got up.

There was no movie-worthy breakthrough moment. Just the dull ache in your head from crying too much and the feeling that if you shed one more tear, your eyeballs might actually eject themselves from their sockets. So you moved. You stripped your bed, tossed the mountain of tissues into a trash bag, sprayed half a bottle of disinfectant in the air, and opened every window.

Your apartment looked like it had survived an apocalypse, which, to be fair, was accurate. But you scrubbed it back to life.

By the time you were in the kitchen, your eyes were still a little swollen, but you’d pressed them with cool spoons and a sad little compress until you could see straight again. Kind of.

You pulled out ingredients from your fridge one by one, lining them up like you were preparing for war. Slicing, boiling, julienning, stir-frying. The sound of the pan crackling beneath the glass noodles filled the silence of your apartment. It smelled exactly like it did when your mom used to make it.

You plated it in a wide, shallow bowl. It was delicious. Of course it was. You took pride in it. You always had. Jungwon used to tease you, calling your hands “blessed by Gordon Ramsay” like everything you touched turned into comfort food. You’d swat his arm, trying not to smile as he reached for second helpings before you’d even sat down.

You missed him. You missed your family. You missed not having to eat alone on a day like this.

Your eyes drifted to the door.

Would it be stupid? To bring food to Sunghoon? You’d never really done anything kind for him. Most of your interactions were lined with sarcasm and insults. And yet… that one line of his kept replaying in your head, “If you ever need someone to emotionally rejuvenate you by pointing out your hair looks like a rat’s nest, you know where to find me.”

So maybe…maybe he meant it. Or maybe you were just desperate for company and your noodles were starting to get cold.

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you packed the noodles into a clean container, wrapped a rubber band around it, and found yourself standing in front of 3C. Your feet had walked you here without permission. Your hand hovered in the air, ready to knock, but now… you hesitated. You weren’t here to complain. You weren’t here to yell. And that made it harder.

And just before your knuckles could land on the door, it swung open.

Sunghoon stood in front of you, coat already on, scarf looped lazily around his neck. There was a little shine to his hair like he’d styled it, and he looked surprised, mildly confused to find you on his doorstep without any anger evident in your eyes.

“What?” he said, voice dry.

You blinked, staring at him. You’d never really looked at him properly before. Not when he was this put-together. The gel in his hair, the sharp line of his jaw, the way his scarf sat slightly off-center like he’d thrown it on in a rush. You knew he was attractive. You weren’t blind. But seeing him now?

Sunghoon was actually… pretty handsome.

“I—uh—” you stammered.

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Spit it out.”

“I—uh—I made some… stir-fried glass noodles,” you said, stumbling over every syllable. “And I know how much it sucks being alone on a day like this, so I thought… maybe it’d bring you some kind of familiarity. From home, or something.”

You didn’t let yourself overthink it. You shoved the container into his hands, heart pounding.

“Bye,” you mumbled, before immediately turning around and marching back to your apartment like you’d just robbed a bank. The door clicked shut behind you.

You pressed your back to it, eyes wide.

Shit.

Was Sunghoon actually hot?

-

Sunghoon stood in the hallway, unmoving. The container in his hands was warm and he stared down at it for a couple of seconds longer than he probably should’ve.

Jake and Jay had been raving about your cooking for weeks. At first, he thought they were exaggerating. How good could someone’s food be that it made two of the loudest people he knew voluntarily whisper through a FIFA match?

But he’d seen it with his own eyes, Jake silently fist-pumping the air, mouthing “LET’S FUCKING GO” after a goal, and Jay barely reacting as he scored. They even created a rule: first one to speak puts a dollar in the Silence Jar. A literal jar. With money.

Sunghoon didn’t get it.

And he didn’t particularly care to. Not then.

But now, standing in the hallway in his coat and scarf, staring at the gift you shoved into his hands with flushed cheeks, something felt different.

He had been on his way out, actually. There was a bar nearby, nothing special, just a dim-lit spot with quiet music and decent food where no one bothered him. He usually went there whenever Jay and Jake went back home, like they did this time every year. It wasn’t that he didn’t have family—he did. It just wasn’t… warm. They were always busy. Always somewhere else, even when they were in the same room.

He peeled off his scarf, feet dragging a little as he headed back into the apartment, the door clicking shut behind him. He set the container on the kitchen counter, grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the drawer, and opened the lid.

Steam wafted up instantly, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, something subtly sweet he couldn’t name. The noodles glistened. They looked homemade. No, they felt homemade.

He picked up a strand and gave it a tentative taste.

His eyes widened before he could even help it.

It was good. Like stupid good. Like how the hell is this girl not running her own restaurant kind of good. Better than anything he would’ve paid for at that bar tonight.

He stood there in silence, chopsticks hovering mid-air, thinking back.

He wasn’t proud of how he’d treated you. Three encounters, three arguments. He remembered each one too clearly. The snark in his voice. The way your expression hardened. The notes on the door. 

But it wasn’t really about you.

He hated being called out. Hated being the problem. Maybe it was ego, or maybe it was the way he’d always felt like he had to be put-together or to say the least…controlled. Your presence threw him off. You were loud in a way that was sincere. You didn’t filter your emotions. You wore your annoyance on your sleeve and your feelings on your face.

It irritated him. It also… made him feel something.

And then there was that night on the balcony.

He hadn’t meant to listen. But when he heard your voice cracking through the divider, talking to someone…maybe it was your boyfriend? Your best friend? Whoever it was about how lonely you were, it hit him harder than it should’ve.

Because he got it.

He felt it too.

Being alone in a crowd. Having people around but never really with you. That weight in your chest that didn’t come from sadness exactly…just the absence of warmth.

Sunghoon felt it more often than he cared to admit. He loved Jake and Jay, loved them to pieces. They were the kind of people who filled a room with noise and an energy he couldn’t really place and who made him laugh even when he didn’t want to.

He wanted something more. Something real.

Someone who just… saw him.

He sat at his kitchen counter, staring at the container of glass noodles still warm with steam curling from the lid. He wasn’t usually impulsive. He didn’t do gestures. But maybe tonight called for something a little uncharacteristic.

He stood and reached up, opening the top cupboard where Jake and Jay kept what they called their “emergency date plates.”. The kind of plates you used to impress someone. They only ever brought them out when trying to convince girls they were not, in fact, living in a borderline condemned apartment flat.

He grabbed two.

And then, before he could second guess it, he walked out into the hallway and knocked. 

Your door creaked open a few seconds later.

You blinked at him, confused. “What?”

It almost felt like deja vu. Except now, he was you…awkward at the door.

And then it hit him.

He looked at you…like, really looked at you, and for the first time, he realised he’d never actually seen you before. 

You were wearing a soft pink sleeveless dress, the fabric loose and falling just above your knees, cinched slightly at the waist. Your hair was tied into a side braid, fringe swept slightly to the side, with a few delicate strands left loose to frame your face. You looked like you belonged in a pastel painting.

Shit.

Were you actually—pretty?

Nope. Nope. Stop that. Sunghoon blinked hard, trying to erase the thought.

Damn it.

You probably had a boyfriend. Someone smart and warm and emotionally available who FaceTimed you every night and wrote you good morning texts. Someone who missed you from back home.

And besides…someone who could cook like you? You could probably bag Jake and Jay at the same time in under a minute if you wanted. Not that you would. But still.

He cleared his throat.

“I, uh…” He held up the plates slightly. “I thought maybe… you could join me?”

He wasn’t good at this. But his voice was steady.

“Only if you want to,” he added, quickly. “I just figured. Y’know. Glass noodles taste better on… plates that aren’t plastic.”

His eyes met yours.

He was trying.

And this time, it was your turn to blink in disbelief.

-

Sunghoon had returned with the container of glass noodles, now a little colder, a little stickier, but still giving off the faint aroma of sesame oil and soy sauce. You’d reheated it and plated it up, slightly embarrassed that the presentation wasn’t what it had been fresh off the stove, but he didn’t seem to care. Or maybe he did, but you couldn’t tell, because for the first five minutes, you didn’t look at each other.

The clink of chopsticks, the occasional scrape of ceramic, and your ceiling fan. It was awkward. You wondered why he even came. Why he asked in the first place, if he was just going to eat in silence.

“So,” you said.

“So,” he said.

You paused.

“You first.”

“No, you—”

“Okay, I’ll go first,” he said, cutting himself off. He cleared his throat and set his chopsticks down. “I—uh—I just wanted to say thanks. For the meal.”

You blinked. “Okay.” You nodded slowly. “You’re… shockingly formal when you’re not pissed.”

“I—” Sunghoon let out a breath and leaned back a little in the chair. “I was never pissed.”

“Mhm,” you hummed, nodding, eyes narrowed. “Sure.”

“I was annoyed, sure. Who likes being called out?”

“I wasn’t trying to call you out,” you said, tilting your head. “But put yourself in my shoes. I have to wake up at stupid o’clock to learn how to make a soufflé or whatever, and meanwhile, I’m treated to surround sound yelling and the occasional ceiling vibration.”

He gave a small shrug. “Well, we haven’t done it in a while.”

“And I’m grateful,” you replied, lips twitching. “Truly.”

“We got a silence jar and everything,” he muttered, almost like he didn’t want to admit it.

Your eyebrows shot up. “A silence jar?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Jay implemented it. He said if we keep it up, we’ll have enough for extra toppings on our next pizza night.”

You burst into laughter, the sound surprising even yourself. It came out light and real, and you covered your mouth halfway through. “That’s… honestly? A decent plan.”

“It can be,” he said with a grin starting to pull at the corner of his mouth. “Until everyone starts trying to play FIFA like it’s an ASMR video.”

“You guys actually whisper?” you asked, incredulous.

“Well, yeah. You told us to.”

“I didn’t think you would listen,” you said, pointing your chopsticks at him.

Sunghoon shrugged again, his eyes dropping to the plate in front of him. “Well… they changed my mind, so.”

He didn’t say what he was really thinking.

That it wasn’t Jake or Jay who changed his mind. It was that night. The way your voice had carried through the gap in the balcony, fragile and cracking. The way you’d said I’m alone, Won like it was something that had been sitting inside you for too long, waiting to spill. He’d realised then maybe he wasn’t just an annoying neighbour to you. Maybe he was part of the problem. Maybe he’d been making things harder for someone who was already trying to hold it all together.

“So…” he said quietly, eyes on his plate, “why are you alone during the holidays anyway?”

“Couldn’t afford a train ticket,” you said eventually. “I mean—I could have, technically. But that’d mean I wouldn’t have enough money left to buy ingredients for my assignments the next few weeks.”

Sunghoon winced. “Oof. That’s rough. Must suck.”

You gave a little shrug. “Yeah. It’s fine though.”

He knew it wasn’t.

There was a pause. He glanced sideways at you.

“If you ever… feel like you need someone to talk to,” he started, voice casual, “you could just knock. I have FIFA.”

You snorted. “Oh, like I’d willingly join that mess.”

“It’s actually really fun.”

“How fun can flinging a ball across a screen with your thumbs be?”

“It is!” he defended, turning fully toward you.

You raised a brow. “I tried once with my friend and it was so boring.”

“That’s ‘cause you weren’t playing it right,” he insisted, already standing up. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

“I’m not playing FIFA with you.”

“Come onnn,” he whined, grabbing your wrist and tugging you lightly toward his door.

“God, this is gonna be so stupid,” you muttered, dragging your feet even as you followed him out.

Inside his apartment, the lights were warm, the couch sunken in like it had been through a war. You sat reluctantly, tucking your knees up as he handed you the controller.

“Alright,” he said, sliding in beside you. “This is you—Team Two. All you have to do is use the left joystick to move, the right one to look around. This button to pass, this one to shoot.”

You blinked. “So many buttons.”

“It’s easy! Just follow what I say.”

“Okay… so now I just—?” You pressed a button and immediately kicked the ball out of bounds.

“No, no—move left. Left.”

“I am moving left!”

He glanced over. Your tongue was sticking out slightly in concentration, eyes squinted, brows furrowed. He chuckled before he could stop himself, quickly looking away.

Then you screamed, “I DID IT! DID I DO IT?!”

He turned back just in time to see you score.

Sunghoon yelled, jumping up. “Yeah! That was it!”

You stared at the screen, jaw dropping. “Holy shit. I’m amazing.”

He looked at you again, this time longer. Your eyes were glowing, still locked on the TV. Your fingers tapped at the buttons like you already got it down. You bit your lip when you were focused, tongue sticking out just slightly when you were thinking.

And you were cute. So fucking cute.

The match picked up pace. Suddenly it was 2–2, and both of you were leaning in like your lives depended on it. You were yelling at the controller. He was shouting advice. At one point, your knees knocked, but neither of you noticed. The room was loud, just your voices and the music from the game and the way your laughter filled every corner of his flat.

Then it happened.

You scored. 

You screamed, controller tossed onto the couch, and before Sunghoon could register what was happening, your arms were around his neck, squeezing him tight as you jumped slightly in place.

“I WON! DID YOU SEE THAT?!”

He froze. Your cheek brushed his jaw, your warmth right up against him. His hands hovered midair like he didn’t know whether to hold you back or not.

And then you let go, plopped back onto the couch, and grabbed the controller again like nothing had happened.

Sunghoon didn’t move.

For the first time in what felt like forever, his heartbeat stuttered. Sped up like it had been woken from a long, indifferent sleep.

He sat there, silent, staring at you as you shouted at your pixelated team.

And all he could think was well that…he hadn’t planned on crushing on the new girl based on one single positive interaction.

God, he was so screwed.

-

The next few days passed in a blur of almost-conversations.

You and Sunghoon didn’t talk much. Not like that night. Just a few polite waves across the hallway, a quiet “hey” if you caught the elevator at the same time. Respectful nods. The occasional awkward glance if your eyes met for too long.

And then Jake and Jay came back.

And of course, Jake being Jake, invited himself into your apartment before you could even say no.

“I missed your cooking while I was gone,” he sighed dramatically, sinking into the dining chair like he’d returned from war.

“Well, today’s your lucky day,” you said, flipping through your assignment folder and squinting at the week’s task. “Because for today’s assignment, I’m supposed to…” you paused. “Make a really mean chicken pot pie.”

Jake’s eyes lit up. He clapped his hands, nearly tipping his chair over. “CHICKEN POT PIE?!”

Before you could even blink, he leapt up, yanked your door open, and sprinted into the hallway.

“JAY! IT’S CHICKEN POT PIE!” he yelled like it was a fire drill.

From across the hall, Jay’s voice rang out. “WHAT?! NO WAY!”

And then—another voice joined them.

A quieter one.

“Chicken pot pie?”

You didn’t even have time to react before you were suddenly hosting three grown men in your kitchen, all leaning over your counter.

“Guys,” you said, elbow-deep in flour. “I can’t focus if you’re all staring at me like that.”

“We’re just excited,” Jake grinned, chin in his hands.

“Well don’t be. I’ve never made this before. It might taste like ass.”

“Your hands are basically blessed by Gordon Ramsay,” Jay declared, grabbing a slice of carrot from the cutting board. “It’s impossible for it to taste like ass.”

You laughed, the sound soft and unexpected even to yourself. “Jungwon used to tell me that all the time.”

“Oh he did?” Jay echoed, voice teasing.

Sunghoon stood a few steps back from the others, arms crossed loosely, leaning against your fridge. He hadn’t said much since stepping into your place, but now he watched the three of you.

The way you smiled when Jay made a joke. The way Jake knew where you kept your mixing bowls. The way your eyes sparkled, just slightly, when you laughed about something from home. The way they got it. The way they knew you.

And the way he didn’t.

Sunghoon couldn’t explain it but it made his stomach twist. Tight and strange and uncomfortable.

And then he heard it again.

Jungwon.

Who the hell was Jungwon?

His name sounded too casual. Too affectionate. The kind of name you didn’t just drop without meaning.

Sunghoon didn’t say anything. He just looked down at your countertop, at the flour dusting your hands and the delicate way your fingers shaped the crust, and all he could think was—

Why the fuck did he care so much?

You moved around your kitchen with the kind of ease that made it impossible not to watch. Sunghoon’s eyes were locked on you, the way your hair swayed behind your back as you leaned forward to stir something in the pot, the way your sleeves were pushed up. 

His heart pounded harder than it should’ve. He tried to brush it off. Maybe he was just hungry. Maybe it was just the smell of garlic and butter making him lightheaded. That had to be it, right?

Except no.

He hadn’t planned on feeling like this today. Not when he woke up. Not when he brushed his teeth and went on his phone and told himself he’d stay in his apartment. He hadn’t even planned on coming over. And that night the two of you shared noodles? He’d chalked it up to vulnerability. Nighttime feelings. Nothing serious.

But now it was noon. He was awake. Sober. And you were still somehow making his chest tighten just by existing within ten feet of him.

God. He hated having a crush.

He didn’t even realise how lost he looked until Jake spoke up from the side, breaking the spell.

“So, is Jungwon finally coming?”

This guy again.

Sunghoon’s head whipped toward Jake so fast it might’ve snapped his neck.

You perked up at the mention, a smile blooming across your face without even trying. “Yeah! He’s coming in two weeks! I actually told him about you guys. He’s kinda excited to meet you.”

That smile. It wasn’t fake. It wasn’t forced. You looked like someone who meant it. Someone who missed this guy. Someone who talked to him often.

Sunghoon clenched his jaw and looked away, grabbing a water bottle off your counter just to do something with his hands. He twisted the cap a little too hard.

He didn’t know who the hell Jungwon was.

But he already didn’t like him.

“He’s coming over?” Jay asked, his mouth still half-full of pie filling.

“Yeah,” you said casually, brushing a stray hair behind your ear as you peeked into the oven. “He’s staying at my place for the week he’s here.”

Staying at your place?

Sunghoon blinked.

He looked around your apartment, eyes scanning every corner like they were going to magically reveal a hidden guest room. But there wasn’t one. You lived in a studio. Everything was in one space. Your bed, your desk, your kitchen, your couch. Except… there wasn’t even a real couch. Just a throw-covered loveseat that barely seated two.

No air mattress in sight. No hidden folding cot. No suspicious lumpy bags that might hold a spare futon.

Just one bed.

His chest tightened.

Where the hell was Jungwon gonna sleep? With you?

He picked at the label on his water bottle, teeth grinding quietly as he stared down at the floor, like it held answers. It didn’t.

He wasn’t even involved with you. This shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t bother him.

But it did. In the most uncomfortable, teeth-clenching, mind-racing kind of way.

-

You stood in front of the three boys, arms crossed, heart racing slightly under your apron. The chicken pot pie sat on the table…golden brown crust, just the right amount of bubbling over on the sides, the smell of thyme and butter and garlic filling your apartment.

Jake, Jay, and Sunghoon each took a spoonful at the same time like they’d rehearsed it. You watched them, nervous, scanning their faces.

One by one, their expressions lit up. Jake’s eyes widened, Jay let out a satisfied groan. Well… except Sunghoon. Of course.

He stayed still. Always unreadable. But you caught it. The tiny pause, the way his brows lifted just a fraction. He liked it. He just didn’t show it like the others.

“So—” Jake started.

“Good,” Jay finished, already reaching for more.

Your eyes flicked to Sunghoon. Somehow, his opinion was the one you were waiting on. The one you needed.

“So?” you asked, staring at him.

He blinked. “What?”

“How is it?”

“It’s good,” he said, nodding once, tone flat as ever.

Your smile dropped. You frowned. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

“What? I just said it’s good.”

“No, you said ‘good’ and then frowned and put your spoon down. Usually it’s ‘It’s good,’ then a second bite. Right, boys?”

Jake nodded enthusiastically, chicken still in his mouth. “She’s right.”

“Totally right,” Jay added, already helping himself to more.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes, leaning back slightly. “You’re all being dramatic.”

You scoffed, insulted. “I guess you don’t want seconds then. Tch.”

You clicked your tongue and turned on your heel, storming off toward the kitchen, grumbling under your breath. Your apron fluttered behind you as you moved, and you didn’t look back.

Sunghoon watched your little pout, the way your shoulders stiffened, how you exaggerated every step. He didn’t know why, but he liked your reaction. No, he loved it. He found it ridiculously cute. Too cute, actually. That slight wrinkle in your forehead. The way your voice got higher when you were mad. The tiny stomp in your step.

The moment your back turned, his lips twitched upward. 

When lunch ended and the three of them stood by your front door, Jake and Jay turned to hug you dramatically.

“Never move out,” Jake said into your shoulder.

You rolled your eyes. “You’re just saying that because you get free food.”

“And precisely why we don’t want you to move out,” Jay replied, squeezing you once more before the two of them shuffled out, bickering as they made their way into their apartment across the hall.

Sunghoon lingered. Just behind you.

You turned, raising a brow. “Aren’t you leaving?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He stepped back slowly, hands in his pockets, gaze flicking to the floor before settling back on you. Then he paused. Like he wasn’t sure if he should say what he was about to say.

“The chicken pot pie was good. I think…” he exhaled, voice quieter, “I think it was one of the best things I’ve ever had.”

You blinked, caught off guard.

“It reminded me of home,” he added, eyes still on you now, a little softer than usual. “Not in the way where it’s about the taste or anything… it’s just… you cook like home. If that makes any sense.”

You hadn’t expected that.

Your cheeks flushed immediately. You turned away before he could see it, pretending to fiddle with a dish on the counter, fingers uselessly adjusting an already-clean plate.

“Thank you,” you murmured, voice low, almost shy.

He lingered for a second longer like he wanted to say more. Then he gave a quiet nod and walked out the door.

-

It was raining.

It was only 4 p.m., but the sky had turned an eerie charcoal grey, clouds rolling thick above the city. Thunder cracked so loud you felt it in your chest, and the wind howled between the buildings, slamming against your windows.

You hated this.

You hated how much you still feared storms even at your age. How useless independence felt when you were stuffing tissues in your ears and jamming earmuffs over your head like you were five again. You turned on every single light in your apartment, lamps, fairy lights, even your microwave light and cocooned yourself under your thickest blanket, barely breathing, eyes wide.

Then the whole building shuddered.

The lights flickered.

And then everything went dark.

You screamed.

Your apartment disappeared into a blanket of pitch black, shadows curling up the walls like ink. Your heart pounded. You scrambled up from the couch, tearing off your earmuffs and patting the walls with shaky hands, trying to find a light switch like that would fix anything.

“Shit,” you whispered, voice trembling. “Shit shit shit.”

You fumbled for your phone. A message popped up from your landlord.

“The building is experiencing a temporary blackout due to the storm. Electricity should resume in an hour. Thank you for your patience.”

An hour? Alone? In this? In the dark? Absolutely fucking not.

You jumped at another violent crack of thunder and instantly rushed out into the hallway. Your blanket trailed behind you like a cape. You beelined for the only door you knew.

You knocked. The door swung open almost immediately.

“No time to explain but I’m shitting bricks here,” you said all at once.

It wasn’t Jake or Jay.

It was Sunghoon.

His brows raised. “The thunderstorm?”

You nodded frantically. “Are Jake or Jay here?”

“They’re asleep.” He glanced behind him, then back at you. “But I could… stay with you. If you want. Until it passes.”

You hesitated.

Then thunder cracked again, louder this time, right above your building.

You flinched. “Okay,” you breathed, defeated.

The two of you sat cross-legged on your couch, sharing a single candle as your only source of light. It flickered between you, casting long, warm shadows on the walls.

“Seems like you’re scared of the thunder,” he said gently.

“Well,” you sighed, voice tight. “I’ve been scared of it since I was younger. It just… gets to me.”

He nodded. “It’s okay.”

You noticed it then…the subtle tremble in his shoulders. He was shivering. From the cold, probably. Your heater wasn’t working without electricity, and the apartment was steadily turning into a fridge. You were wrapped up like a burrito, but he’d come in without anything but a hoodie.

Feeling guilty, you shifted toward him and lifted one side of your blanket.

“Uh…” he looked at you like he wasn’t sure if he was being pranked.

“Relax. I can see you shivering like a dog,” you muttered.

“Oh.” He blinked, then grabbed the other end of the blanket and scooted in beside you.

Now under the same blanket, his body heat pressed faintly against yours. You sat side by side, knees pulled to your chests.

And then, in a whisper, he said, “You know…”

You looked over at him, startled by the sudden softness in his voice.

“I know I’m not as close to you as Jay and Jake are,” he said, eyes trained on the candle, “but… you don’t always have to find them for help.”

You blinked. “Huh?”

“I’m saying…” he sighed, eyes flicking up toward you, and then away again. “Never mind.”

“No, what? Just spit it out.”

He exhaled through his nose like it physically hurt to get the words out. “I’m just saying… you could ask me for help too.”

You stared at him, your eyes adjusting to the candlelight flickering between you.

“Oh,” you said softly.

There was a beat of silence. You weren’t really sure what to do with that. But you didn’t want to leave it hanging either.

“I’ll be sure to think of you the next time,” you mumbled, barely louder than the rain still pelting the windows outside.

You felt him nod beside you.

You turned your head slowly, resting your cheek against your knees, eyes drifting toward him. His face was tilted down, lashes long and dark as they blinked now and then, just slow enough for you to notice. His jaw had softened a little. He looked calm, in a way you weren’t used to seeing him.

“Would you rather have a million dollars,” you said suddenly, “or have no problems in the world?”

He blinked, confused for a second, then turned his head toward you. His chin was on his knees now too, and with the two of you curled up in the same blanket, inches apart, it felt almost like whispering under covers at a sleepover.

“What kind of question is that?”

“A good one,” you replied, lips twitching. “So answer it.”

He scoffed a little under his breath. “Uh… maybe no problems in the world?”

“Smart answer. Why?”

He paused, “I think people ruin themselves trying to solve problems that shouldn’t be theirs. If I had no problems, maybe I wouldn’t waste time worrying about all the stuff that doesn’t matter.”

You blinked at him. That was… not the answer you were expecting. It was a good one. Way too good, actually.

“Right,” you said softly, giving him a small nod.

He looked at you for a second longer before his eyes flicked down. “Your turn. Would you rather go back in time or go into the future?”

You puffed your cheeks out, thinking. “Hmm… that’s a toughie.”

Then your eyes widened, the way they always did when you had a lightbulb moment. “Go back in time!”

“Why’s that?”

“So maybe I’d really weigh the pros and cons of moving to a city where I know no one,” you said with a grin, but it faded slightly at the end.

Sunghoon stayed quiet. 

“You must really feel alone,” he said.

You blinked, startled. “What?”

“I hear you talking about it sometimes. On your balcony. When you think no one’s listening. You talk about how moving here feels like a mistake.”

You looked away, embarrassed. “It’s not a mistake. I just… miss everything back home.”

“I get it,” he said after a second. “I was like you. Back when I was home, I wanted to leave so badly. Thought being somewhere else would fix everything. But now that I’m here… yeah, I have Jay and Jake, and they’re great, but sometimes I come back to the apartment and everything’s fine and normal and still—I just feel… empty. And I don’t even know why.”

You didn’t say anything for a long time.

You just watched him. His face had turned thoughtful, distant. His eyes unfocused, drifting somewhere past the flickering candle, past your walls, like he was staring right through the quiet that lived in his chest.

You mumbled, “Well, yeah. But… I also don’t regret it. Not one bit.”

“Really?”

You nodded. “Yeah. I mean—I’m here doing what I love. Not many people get to do that. And I made friends with three incredibly annoying people in this building.”

He turned toward you again, eyes narrowing playfully. “So we’re friends now?”

Your cheeks heated up instantly. You glanced away, pretending to roll your eyes. “Are we not?”

He let out a low chuckle, the kind that rumbled softly at the back of his throat. “I’m glad you think we are.”

“So,” you said, tilting your head, “does this mean you’ll finally be nice to me now? Or is that too much character development for one night?”

Sunghoon smirked, eyes flicking to you with a teasing glint. “You want nice? From me?”

“Yeah. Like a full sentence without sarcasm. I feel like that’s a reward I’ve earned by now.”

“You earned a participation medal at best.”

You laughed, nudging him with your knee. “Unbelievable.”

He was already looking at you again—closer this time.

“Hold on,” he said softly, “you have an eyelash on your cheek.”

You blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

Before you could move, he leaned in.

His face hovered inches from yours as his thumb brushed gently against your cheek, his touch soft but sure. The pads of his fingers were warm. His eyes, now impossibly close, scanned your face with a kind of quiet focus you hadn’t felt from him before. You swallowed.

Neither of you moved.

Your gaze locked, and the space between you slowly disappeared…inch by inch, breath by breath. It wasn’t planned. It just… happened.

Then suddenly, his lips were on yours.

Then it deepened. His other hand pushed the blanket off his head, dropping behind your neck to pull you in, and your hands found their way to his thighs, then to the curve of his jaw. His lips parted just enough, and your pulse jumped as he moved against you.

His hands slid to your waist. He lifted you slightly and shifted you into his lap in one smooth motion. You were now straddling him, knees on either side of his thighs, and he didn’t stop kissing you, not even for a second.

The kiss grew stronger. He tilted his head, hand moving to your chin to pull you even closer, his mouth parting yours with a low inhale as his tongue brushed against yours.

Your hands moved back down, gripping at the soft cotton of his hoodie, when—

Click.

The lights flickered on.

You both froze.

Your faces were still inches apart. 

You slowly pulled back, still on his lap. He blinked, eyes searching yours like he wasn’t sure what just happened. Like part of him wanted to keep going, and the other part… couldn’t believe you just kissed him like that.

You stared at each other, the silence heavy now.

His hands were still resting lightly on your waist. Yours were still fisted in the fabric of his hoodie. Both of you breathless. 

“I need to go back home,” Sunghoon said suddenly, voice low but rushed. His eyes darted everywhere except at you.

You blinked. “Right. Of course!” you said quickly, nodding way too fast. “Yeah. No—totally.”

He shifted awkwardly underneath you, face flushing as he cleared his throat and muttered, “Probably… need a pillow or something.”

It took you a second.

Then you saw the way he was subtly covering his lap with the edge of the blanket.

“Oh.” Your voice came out small. You quickly scrambled off his lap, cheeks burning so hot they could’ve powered your apartment during the blackout.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, already halfway to your door.

And then, Sunghoon stormed out of your apartment.

-

It had been a couple of days since you last properly spoke to Sunghoon. Not for lack of trying. You had…more than once. But each time, he’d give you a quick nod, maybe a polite smile if you were lucky, before promptly power-walking away.

Maybe he just wasn’t feeling what you were feeling. Maybe that kiss was a fluke, something in the heat of the moment. Maybe your little new crush was painfully one-sided.

But you pushed it aside. You had bigger things to focus on.

Jungwon was coming today.

You’d spent the entire morning rearranging your apartment, cleaning it from top to bottom, fluffing cushions and spraying perfume not just on yourself but into the air like it could somehow mask how nervous you were. You even did your hair the way he liked it, soft curls and a side part.

And then, there he was.

The door swung open and your best friend stood in the hallway, suitcase in hand and a grin already on his face.

“WON!” you squealed, running up to him and leaping into his arms.

“Hello, idiot,” he said, his voice fond as he hugged you back, lifting you off the ground with ease.

The shout must’ve startled the boys in 3C, because right on cue, the door across the hall creaked open and out came Jake and Jay, both peeking out.

They spotted you clinging to Jungwon like a koala.

You beamed. “Guys! It’s him!”

“The famous Jungwon,” Jay said, nodding in approval as he stepped out.

“And you must be Jake and Jay,” Jungwon said smoothly, setting you down.

Then came the third.

Sunghoon.

He didn’t move from the doorway. Just stood there, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

Jungwon turned to him, a friendly smile still on his lips, chuckling. “You must be Sunghoon, then.”

Sunghoon’s gaze narrowed slightly. “What’s so funny?”

Jungwon blinked, caught off guard. “Nothing,” he said, clearing his throat. “She just… told me you were like this.”

“Like what?” Sunghoon asked sharply, the scoff nearly audible in his tone.

Jungwon scratched the back of his neck. “Nothing. She just said you were cool,” he said with a shrug, throwing you a teasing look.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes.

You stood there, suddenly awkward, unsure what the hell had crawled up Sunghoon’s ass. The hostility was as thick as the tension in the air and you hadn’t done anything. Not really.

At least you didn’t think you had.

Just stood there, arms crossed, a stiff expression on his face while Jake and Jay welcomed Jungwon like he was already part of the group. Jungwon, ever the social butterfly, fit in easily, throwing a few jokes around, complimenting the apartment despite its questionable decor, and even teasing Jake about the ugly dinosaur pyjamas he was wearing in broad daylight.

But Sunghoon?

He was frowning the entire time.

You couldn’t figure it out. His jaw was tight, his responses were clipped, and every time Jungwon so much as glanced your way, you saw Sunghoon’s eye twitch.

You walked back to your apartment with Jungwon beside you, chatting excitedly about dinner plans and all the places he wanted to visit during his stay. But when you turned back, just for a second, you caught Sunghoon still watching. Still standing in the hallway.

His arms were still crossed.

And he didn’t look away.

-

Sunghoon stood there, arms folded across his chest like they were the only things keeping him together. He stared ahead blankly, jaw tight, doing everything in his power not to glare a hole through the wall. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

Sure, he knew he had a crush on you. He’d known since the chicken pot pie, probably. Or maybe since you wrapped that blanket around his shoulders. Or maybe long before that. But what he didn’t know was who the fuck Jungwon was, and why he was walking into your apartment.

“Dude,” Jake muttered, throwing him a sideways look. “You could’ve at least smiled.”

“I did,” Sunghoon growled, not bothering to hide his scowl.

Jay snorted. “That was barely a smile. You looked like you were in the middle of passing a kidney stone.”

“Why do I even have to be nice?” Sunghoon snapped. “I don’t know him.”

“Because your crush’s boyfriend just came into town,” Jake replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sunghoon's head snapped to him so fast you’d think he got whiplash. “Boyfriend?”

Jay raised a brow. “Not denying the crush though.”

Sunghoon ignored him. “Let me ask you again. Boyfriend?”

Jake shrugged. “I mean… yeah, I guess?”

“What the fuck do you mean you guess?” Sunghoon hissed, dragging a hand down his face. “He can’t be her boyfriend.”

“But he is,” Jay said with a shrug and an infuriatingly smug smile.

“No, he’s not. He can’t be. Because she and I…” he paused, realising too late what was about to fall out of his mouth. “…kissed. Three nights ago.”

Jake’s mouth dropped open. Jay blinked.

“I’m sorry, what?” Jake finally blurted.

“Nothing,” Sunghoon muttered quickly, suddenly desperate to eat his words.

“You can’t say nothing when you just said everything!” Jake shouted, grabbing Sunghoon’s shoulders and shaking him.

“Tell us right now!” Jay begged dramatically, gripping his own hair.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes, flustered. “I—we—kissed. That’s it.”

Jay blinked. “You know we were kidding about the boyfriend thing, right?”

Jake grinned. “Jungwon’s just her best friend.”

“We just wanted to see if you’d admit you liked her,” Jay added, eyes sparkling with way too much joy. “Which you did.”

“No, I didn’t,” Sunghoon argued weakly. “I just said we kissed.”

“Okay, Mr Visceral Reaction every time we mention Jungwon,” Jake teased.

Jay smirked. “Say it. Say you like her.”

Sunghoon groaned, eyes shut tight as if the ceiling could swallow him whole. Then, finally—quietly, begrudgingly—

“Okay. So what if I like her?”

Jay and Jake immediately turned to each other with identical gasps, smacking each other’s arms excitedly.

“Oh my god, he admitted it,” Jay whispered dramatically.

Jake clutched his chest. “It’s happening.”

“You guys are disgusting,” Sunghoon groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And if you keep acting like this, I’m never telling you anything again.”

“Okay, okay.” Jake raised both hands, trying to suppress a grin. “We’ll behave.”

“BUT I’M SO EXCITED,” Jay squealed.

Jake smacked him on the shoulder. “Starting now.”

Jay nodded solemnly, rubbing his arm. “Sorry. That one slipped.”

Sunghoon sighed and leaned against the counter, arms crossed again. “I started liking her last month… when you guys went back home for the week. She cooked me stir-fried noodles, and we ate together. Played FIFA. I don’t know. I just… developed a crush on her.”

“That’s so cute,” Jay and Jake said in unison, stars in their eyes.

“Seriously, can the two of you act normal for like three minutes?”

Jake shrugged, still smiling. “I just didn’t expect you to have a girlfriend before me.”

Jay patted his shoulder. “You’ll get there, buddy.”

Jake tilted his head. “You think?”

“Yeah, you have nice eyes. Great personality.”

Jake beamed. “That’s so kind.”

“Can we please get back to my problem for like a minute?” Sunghoon cut in, glaring at both of them.

“Oh. Right.”

Jay cleared his throat and finally looked serious. “Look. We like her. She’s hilarious, and she makes good fucking food. And let’s be real, you’ve never liked anyone. We’ve been trying to get you to double date with us for years and you just stare at your phone all the time. But with her? You’re like... a guy with actual feelings.”

“But now I’m losing to Jung… whatever his name is.” Sunghoon sighed.

“Jungwon,” Jake said. “And no, you’re not.”

“How do you know she doesn’t like him?” Sunghoon muttered, staring down at the floor.

“Because,” Jay said, “if she did, she wouldn’t have kissed you.”

“Unless she’s indecisive or confused or something. I don’t know.” Sunghoon exhaled hard, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe I was just… a moment. And he’s her person.”

Jake shook his head. “I’m telling you—just talk to her.”

“Yeah,” Jay added. “Before you spiral even harder and start writing love songs about her. But if you do, I haved like a couple of guitars you could borrow.”

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. But somewhere, deep down… a part of him hoped they were right.

-

You were pacing back and forth on your cheap IKEA rug, while Jungwon was laid out dramatically on your bed, arms folded behind his head, thoroughly enjoying the show.

“I’m telling you, he’s avoiding me,” you snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at no one in particular. “We kissed—KISSED, Jungwon—and now he won’t even look at me! I wave, he nods. I say hi, he nods. I breathe in his direction, he—guess what—nods!”

Jungwon hummed, annoyingly calm. “Maybe he’s nervous. Or maybe he wants you to go to him.”

“I do go to him! And then he speed-walks away like I’m the plague!” You groaned, pressing your fingers to your temples. “I’m gonna lose it.”

“Maybe…” he tapped his chin thoughtfully, “you’re just a shit kisser.”

You whipped around and chucked a throw pillow directly at his smug face.

“Asshole.”

He caught it with a grin, clutching it to his chest dramatically. “I’m just saying. Maybe you scared him off.”

“You’re lucky I haven’t strangled you with this blanket,” you muttered, grabbing another pillow just in case.

Jungwon sat up, brushing imaginary dust off his shirt. “You know, sometimes I forget we grew up together because you’re so unpredictable now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He snorted. “You used to be fearless. Remember that Heeseung guy you had a crush on in middle school?”

You blinked. “What about him?”

“You were six, and you walked up to him at recess, said ‘I like your lunchbox,’ then kissed his cheek and ran off.”

“Ah,” you said flatly, “the good old days. That girl’s dead now.”

“She’s not dead,” Jungwon argued, grabbing your wrists and tugging you to sit beside him on the bed. “She’s just… overthinking everything. Look, if Sunghoon doesn’t like you—whatever. But if he does? You’re missing out just because you’re too chicken to tell him.”

You glared. “I hate it when you make sense.”

“I know.” He grinned. “It’s my worst trait.”

“I just—” you exhaled, flopping back beside him. “What if it ruins everything? We literally just got closer. What if I say something and it all goes to shit?”

“Okay, counter-offer.” He sat up straighter. “You tell him, or I will. I will walk down the hallway, knock on his door, and go ‘Hi, my best friend has feelings for you, she also has performance anxiety but can cook a great bowl of chicken noodle soup.’”

“You wouldn’t,” you hissed, swatting at his arm.

“Then do it yourself!” he laughed, dodging your attacks. “Before I start printing flyers and pasting them in the apartment lobby.”

God. Why did he always have to be right?

“Fine.”

Your hand was already on the doorknob, breath caught in your throat, just about to leave when the door across from yours had swung open at the exact same time.

And there he was.

Sunghoon.

You both froze, hands still gripping the doorknobs, blinking.

You cleared your throat first. “Sunghoon.”

He blinked like he hadn’t already been staring. “What?”

You squinted. “Is that the only word you know how to say when I call your name?”

He paused. “Sorry.”

You opened your mouth to say something else but were rudely interrupted by muffled snorts from behind Sunghoon. Jay and Jake’s heads popped out from their doorway like nosy meerkats.

“Hoon,” Jay said in a loud, exaggerated voice, “we need more eggs.”

“Desperately,” Jake added, nodding like this was a national emergency. “Go to the store.”

Then Jungwon peeked out from behind you with an equally suspicious grin. “Oh, and while you’re there, can you grab some ice cream too?”

You and Sunghoon looked at each other.

“What is happening right now,” you said flatly.

Before either of you could respond, four hands shoved the both of you toward the elevator. You stumbled in, the doors sliding shut just as Jay yelled out, “Don’t come back without snacks!”

The elevator stopped at your floor.

Your shoulders brushed as you stood side by side, awkwardly watching the floor numbers light up.

Then, finally, you broke it. “About that day—”

Sunghoon shook his head quickly. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell Jungwon.”

You blinked. “What do you mean you won’t tell Jungwon?”

He looked away. “Well, aren’t you like… crushing on him? I wouldn’t want what we did to, you know… ruin your chances or something.”

Your entire face scrunched up. “Won and I? What? Ew. God, no. We’re friends. We grew up together. Thinking about him that way would be like incest or something.”

And just like that, Sunghoon felt like he’d been hit by a shooting star and given a second chance at life. His heart did a full backflip. You were single. You were available. 

He couldn’t help it. He smiled.

“Why do you suddenly look so happy?” you asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“I’m not.”

“You’re literally smiling.”

“I’m not.”

“We’ve hung out a couple of times and if I’m being honest, I’ve never seen you smile this—”

“Cut it out.” He tried to brush it off, biting back the grin. “I’m just glad.”

“Glad about?”

“Glad that I didn’t ruin your chances,” he said nonchalantly, looking up like he hadn’t just panicked thirty seconds ago.

“Mhm.” You narrowed your eyes at him, the golden-orange glow of the sunset casting warmth across his cheekbones. He was handsome. Frustratingly so. “Well… because I actually like this other guy.”

Sunghoon’s smile faltered.

“I haven’t known him that long,” you continued casually, “but he seems cool. I don’t really know much about him yet.”

“That’s… nice.” Sunghoon turned away quickly, jaw tight. He was definitely grimacing. Please don’t let her see that I’m grimacing, he begged internally.

“Yeah, he’s really tall. Really handsome, too.”

“That’s just…” he exhaled. “Great.”

“He doesn’t seem super friendly but he has a big heart. Even if he tries really hard not to show it.”

“Seems like a swell fuckin’ guy,” he muttered bitterly.

“It’s a pity though,” you sighed dramatically, still watching him. “I wish I could get to know him better.”

“Well… anyone’s lucky to get to know you.” He tried to smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. “I know I am.”

You tilted your head. “Not to mention… he lives really close to me.”

Sunghoon’s eyes darted to you. “He does?”

“Mhm.” You nodded, heartbeat accelerating.

“Like how close?”

You took a slow step toward him. “Like… just across the hall close.”

“Oh.” He blinked. “That close.”

Silence settled in the small elevator. You both just stood there, not looking at each other, tension hanging in the air like humidity.

Then, out of nowhere—

“I’m just saying,” Sunghoon said, dead serious, “but Jake sleeps with the lights on and Jay doesn’t wash his hair as often as you think he does.”

You blinked. “Huh?”

“I sleep normal,” he added quickly. “I wash my hair. I do proper haircare—shampoo, conditioner, mask, mist. I could do your routine too. For you. If you want.”

You stared.

“I can’t cook, but I’ll try. I can figure skate. I can spin twice in the air. Jay and Jake? Not even one spin. Jay can play guitar, Jake can sing but I can spin, okay? Without getting dizzy too.”

“Sunghoon.”

“And those idiots never clean up after eating your food. Jay doesn’t use coasters. Jake never makes his bed.”

“SUNGHOON!”

He looked at you, breathless. “What?”

You stepped forward. Slowly. Then, you mumbled, “It’s you.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I like you.”

And for once, Park Sunghoon had absolutely nothing to say.

“Okay,” he said. “Cool. Okay. I—wow. Okay.”

You raised a brow. “That’s it?”

He nodded dumbly. “No. Yes. I don’t know. I just—holy shit. You like me.”

You smirked, the smile slowly stretching across your face. “Yes. I like you.”

The elevator dinged. Neither of you moved.

He looked at you again, still dazed. “Hold on, I kinda need a minute.”

You both stepped out into the empty lobby. The sun outside had just dipped below the skyline, casting a pinkish-orange glow through the glass doors. The streetlights flickered on. But you waited.

“It’s been a minute,” you said.

“I know,” he exhaled, hand raking through his hair. “But you like me back, so I kinda need, like… a long minute.”

“Back?” You grinned, the corners of your mouth lifting all the way to your eyes. “So you like me too?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I thought it was obvious from the, uh… word vomit.”

“Well yeah,” you shrugged. “But I didn’t want to assume. Didn’t wanna be narcissistic.”

“I think even if you were,” he muttered, “I’d still think you were pretty cute.”

You blinked. “Did you just—”

“Gross, I know,” he said quickly, face flushing. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”

You laughed. “Yeah. But you kinda can’t take it back now.”

“Fine,” he said, pretending to groan. “You’re cute. Ugh. I said it again.”

-

A MONTH LATER

Jay and Jake found it fundamentally unfair. They were the ones who got close to you first. They were the ones who complimented you, made you laugh, showed up when you needed help. They loved you first or at least, that’s what they told themselves. But here you were, doors locked for the first time in three months, cooking a full-course meal for Sunghoon to celebrate your one-month anniversary.

“You’re not allowed to come,” Sunghoon told them flatly before slamming the door shut.

“But—!” they shouted in unison, already mourning the steak they wouldn’t get to taste.

Word on the hallway was that you were cooking the perfect medium-rare T-bone steak, paired with your signature brown sauce and a vegetable medley so crunchy and flavourful. Meanwhile, Jay and Jake sat hunched on the couch, scrolling through a food delivery app.

“Isn’t it funny,” Jake said, arms folded, “how we were the ones who befriended her first, and now we’re stuck with Burger King?”

“Life’s unfair, bud.”

Back in your apartment, things were a little more romantic. You’d decorated with fairy lights and candles, the room dimly lit. You were still being frugal, splitting every cost you could. But you’d managed to steal two T-bone steaks from the diner you part-timed at.

Sunghoon showed up in a black and white tuxedo, looking like he’d taken the prom theme you had placed as a joke a little too seriously.

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

“And you look absolutely handsome,” you grinned.

He walked over to the table and took in the spread. “Okay, what do we have?”

“I made the steaks, obviously, and then there’s the vegetable medley… and your favourite—mashed potatoes,” you giggled.

Sunghoon exhaled, shaking his head with a disbelieving smile. “How did I get so lucky?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know either.”

He laughed. “The guys are pissed, by the way. You made me all this, and they’re over there with cold fries.”

“What?” you said, surprised. “I made them something too! Don’t worry.”

“You did?” he raised a brow.

“I had a feeling they’d be hungry if you were over here.”

“Babe, you didn’t have to do that. They’re grown men.”

“Yeah, but technically my assignment this week was pasta and I have too many leftovers.”

“They’re spoiled by you.”

“And so are you.”

“True, but I’m your boyfriend. They’re just two annoying shitheads constantly trying to butt in.”

“I’ll be quick. I’ll just drop the dish off and come back.”

“No,” he said, standing. “I’ll do it. You stay here.”

He kissed your forehead, grabbing the lasagna you’d tucked into the fridge. “You’re too sweet, you know that?”

“He walked across the hall and opened the door to Unit 3C.

Inside, Jay was mid-rant. “I just don’t get it. Sunghoon isn’t even that hot.”

“I mean, he is,” Jake added, “but she deserves better, you know?”

Sunghoon cleared his throat. “I can hear you two idiots.”

They both froze, turning around sheepishly. “We were just joking. We love you, man.”

He held up the dish. “And to think I came here bearing gifts from my girlfriend.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “Wait—is that lasagna?”

“She felt bad we were eating good without you, so she made you dinner.”

“Oh my god,” Jay gasped. “Sunghoon, I don’t mean to be pushy, but please marry her.”

“I can’t,” Sunghoon muttered. “Not when you two are constantly inserting yourselves into my relationship.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll back off. Just—can we have the lasagna?”

“And can you tell her we love her?”

“I am not telling my girlfriend you love her,” Sunghoon snapped. “I’ve barely worked up the nerve to tell her that myself.”

“Wait,” Jake said suddenly, “you haven’t told her you love her yet?”

“It’s only been a month.”

“So… you don’t love her?”

“I do,” Sunghoon replied, almost too quickly. “I just don’t want to come on too strong if she’s not ready.”

Jay and Jake shared a glance before shrugging.

“What?” Sunghoon asked, frowning. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jake cleared his throat. “It’s just… she already said it.”

Sunghoon looked up. “What?”

“Yeah,” Jake replied casually. “You texted her about picking up those heat packs for her cramps, and she went all soft and whispered, ‘God, I love him so much.’ Her words. Not mine.”

Sunghoon stood frozen in the doorway, the dish in his hands suddenly weightless.

You loved him.

“So… you’re saying I should tell her?” he asked, voice quiet, almost unsure.

Jay and Jake both nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely. Especially if it makes her our sister-in-law,” Jay added, grinning.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “God, the two of you can be so annoying.”

“But you still love us,” Jay shrugged. “So what’s the point of complaining?”

He hated that Jay was right.

Back in your apartment, Sunghoon sat across from you, completely transfixed. You were dressed in a soft pink satin dress that shimmered every time you moved. It hugged your shoulders delicately, the neckline simple, elegant. Your hair was curled softly, pinned loosely on one side with a vintage clip, and your lips were glossed just enough to make him stare longer than he should’ve.

And God, you looked so beautiful.

He tried to pay attention. He really did. But his heart was too loud, his thoughts too full. How was he supposed to say it?

Sunghoon had never told anyone he loved them before. Not seriously. Maybe to his mom years ago, right before he left for the city. But this? This felt entirely new.

Because sitting in front of him was someone who made every quiet part of his life feel loud again. You filled in the spaces he didn’t even know were missing. You made his apartment feel less cold, his world a little less grey. And the way he loved you—God, it wasn’t something small. It wasn’t a flicker or a passing crush. It was all-consuming and terrifying and the best damn thing he’d ever felt.

He loved you like it was muscle memory. Like even if he forgot everything else, his hands would still reach for yours and only yours.

“Hoonie,” you interrupted gently, frowning. “You’re not listening.”

He blinked back into focus. “Sorry,” he murmured, smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I was just thinking about something.”

“What?” you looked up at him, ur big eyes shining. 

Sunghoon unknowingly smiled, his eyes dripping with honey, god he loved you. He wanted to say that. So badly.

“I…I just–uh–feel…that,” His voice trailed off. “You look really beautiful tonight. I mean, you always do. But especially tonight.” He hesitated, the words stuck behind his teeth.

You smiled. “Thank you. You look very handsome too.”

-

Later that night, the two of you were in Sunghoon’s apartment along with Jay and Jake for the usual game night. 

You were sitting cross-legged on the floor, your prom-night dress bunched awkwardly around your knees, mascara slightly smudged from earlier laughter, hair pinned half-up. Sunghoon sat slouched in the beanbag beside you, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up, brow furrowed in concentration. Jake was lying on his stomach, legs swinging in the air, and Jay had somehow made himself horizontal on the couch.

You and Jake were a team. Sunghoon and Jay were not handling that well.

“Revive me!” Sunghoon yelled.

Jay shouted back, “I’m busy trying not to die, dumbass!”

Button mashing intensified. Trash talk flew across the room.

“VICTORY!” Jake screamed, leaping up like a madman.

You followed suit, springing to your feet and clambering up onto the coffee table in your dress. “GET WRECKED, LOSERS!” you yelled, pointing dramatically at Sunghoon. “THAT’S RIGHT, LOSERS!”

Jake joined you on the table, doing a badly timed robot dance. The two of you jumped in sync, yelling in triumph, while Jay groaned into a throw pillow and Sunghoon watched with a hand covering his mouth, half to hide his smile, half to suppress a laugh.

“You’re all bark, no bite!” you called, face flushed, hair falling loose. “Your character died fourteen times, Hoonie.”

“I let you win!” he shot back, grinning as he sat up straighter. “I was being a gentleman.”

“Sure,” you scoffed, sticking your tongue out at him. “Real chivalrous of you, sir died-14-fucking-times.”

He chuckled under his breath, eyes lingering on you for a second longer than usual. Then, without a word, he stood and walked out of the room.

You blinked. That was...odd. 

You gave Jake a gentle shove off the table and followed Sunghoon into the hallway. He was pacing outside, one hand in his hair, the other fiddling with the watch on his wrist.

“Hoon?” you asked, stepping out and gently closing the door behind you.

He jumped slightly, turning toward you. “You scared me.”

“You okay? You just left so sudden…”

“I—uh—yeah. I was just trying to figure out how to say something.”

You tilted your head, arms crossing over your chest. “Say what?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled with a shrug.

Your expression softened. “Are you mad at me?” You sighed. Maybe your little victory dance had been a bit much. “Hoonie?”

“No, baby, I could never be mad at you,” he said quickly, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just…”

You stepped closer, teasing lightly, “Do you want me to redo my victory dance? I could. You just have to beatbox, and I’ll take it from there.”

That made him laugh.

“Come on,” you grinned, starting to move your body in the most ridiculous way. “I’m pretty sure I should’ve been a dancer instead of a chef.”

He laughed again, this time louder and then, before he could stop himself, the words slipped out.

“Oh my god, I love you.”

You blinked. Your smile faded. Your brain, for one impossible second, completely short-circuited.

“Did you just say you love me?” you asked, heart hammering.

His eyes widened in sheer panic. “No?”

“I heard it.”

“You misheard.”

“Oh my god,” you gasped, practically vibrating. “You love me. You love me!”

“Fine!” he burst out, throwing his hands up like he was under arrest. “I do! I love you, okay?”

You smiled, “You do?”

“Of course! I love the way you talk too fast when you’re excited. I love how you make my idiot friends feel like they matter. I love that you make me feel whole. That when I’m with you, I don’t feel hollow anymore. You… you make me feel like I’m not empty.”

You grinned so wide it hurt. “That’s because you’re not.”

“I used to be,” he said helplessly, gesturing vaguely like he was mourning his past self. “I was mysterious. Brooding. Sexy, even. And now? Now I smile at cat videos you send me on TikTok. Look what you’ve done to me. This is all your fault.”

You scoffed, “My fault?”

“Yes! Who else could it be?” he said, breathless, like the truth had been waiting at the edge of his tongue for too long. “You walk into my life with that stupidly perfect smile, that laugh that makes everything feel lighter, those eyes that somehow hold the whole damn sky and now I’ve got feelings. Big ones.”

He took a shaky breath, pausing for a minute.

“I used to think I was fine on my own. But now? I get out of bed just because I know I might see you. I hear your knock and my whole day lights up. For the first time, I feel like I know what living really means. It’s you. Loving you. That’s it.”

You leaned in and kissed him right in the middle of his rant.

He blinked, dazed.

“You sure talk a lot for someone who usually says nothing,” you murmured, forehead resting against his.

“I do it when I’m nervous,” Sunghoon whispered, and then kissed you again.

“I find it cute,” you mumbled between kisses.

Sunghoon grinned into the next kiss, backing you up step by step toward your apartment door, his hands finding your waist. “God,” kiss “I love you,” another kiss “so much.”

You let out a breathless laugh. “You’re very handsy for someone who claimed to be brooding and mysteriou.”

“I told you,” he whispered, lips brushing your jaw as he reached behind you, fumbling for the door handle, “you ruined me.”

Your back hit the door with a thud. He fumbled with the knob like he was drunk on you, eventually pushing it open and guiding you inside.

He kicked the door shut with the back of his foot.

You were still laughing into his kiss. He walked you backward until your knees hit the bed and you dropped onto it with a squeak.

He climbed over you, hands on either side of your waist, face flushed, heart in his throat.

“I fucking love you,” he said again, like it wasn’t real until he repeated it.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, eyes sparkling. “I love you too.”

[gigiii1sblog]

DORM-ROOM DEVIL 001

Warnings: mature content, fluff, sexual content, teasing, dirty talk, unprotected sexual content.

Chapter One: Close Enough to Run, Far Enough to Breathe

Y/N POV:

The Boston skyline came into view just as the sun dipped behind it. The kind that makes even the ugliest gas stations look poetic. My fingers tapped on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever The Weeknd song had taken over my playlist. The bass hit harder the closer I got to campus, and I didn’t turn it down when I hit traffic. If anything, I turned it up.

One hour from home, door to door. I knew every turn, every gas station, every Dunkin’ on the way. I’d been doing this drive for months now , train sometimes, car when I could sneak it, but this time felt different. Permanent. Or, at least, long enough that I didn’t need to keep a suitcase by the front door anymore.

No more commuting. No more mom yelling upstairs asking if I’d eaten. No more quiet curfews or sneaking back in at 2 a.m. with heels in my hand. This was mine now.

My own place.

Okay — half mine.

The housing office had emailed me two nights ago. Someone dropped out. Medical leave. A roommate slot opened in a two-bedroom apartment-style dorm on the edge of campus, and I was next on the list. I didn’t ask questions. I just packed.

I pulled into the back lot of the building, heart ticking fast even though I looked calm as hell. That’s the thing with me, I never look like what I’m feeling. Learned that early. Let people underestimate you. Smile soft. Speak only when it matters. And then, when the lights go down, remind them exactly who they’re dealing with.

I got out, adjusted my hoodie, and pulled the first suitcase from the back. Not the one with my books, the one with my vinyls, candles, heels, and backup makeup. Priorities.

The halls smelled like weed and Febreze. A group of guys passed me as I headed for the elevator, one of them glancing at me just a second too long. I didn’t flinch. Just tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, kept walking.

Third floor. Apartment 3C.

I stood outside the door for a second, key in hand. My heart beat loud enough to make my ears buzz, not because I was nervous. But because change always feels like freefall at first. Even when you jump on purpose.

The lock clicked.

I pushed the door open.

No one.

Not completely silent, I could hear faint music playing from behind one of the closed bedroom doors, but the main space was empty. Kitchen to the left, small but decent. Living room to the right, couch pushed against the wall, TV mounted slightly crooked. My shoes clicked against the tile as I stepped in, dragging my suitcase behind me.

Two doors. One was already shut, bass from a speaker humming through it faintly. The other door was wide open. Clean. Empty. Waiting.

Mine.

I rolled my suitcase inside, taking in the simple layout, a bed, a desk, a closet. My window overlooked the quad. I tossed my bag onto the mattress and took a slow breath.

I’d find out who he was soon enough.

Because yeah — he. The girl at the housing desk blinked twice when she saw the assignment.

“You sure you’re okay with a co-ed room? It’s a two-bedroom, shared unit.”

“Does he snore?”

She laughed nervously. “No idea.”

“Then I’m good.”

I wasn’t afraid of boys. I’d been around enough of them to know most of them were all talk anyway. Loud voices, cheap cologne, and soft hands that didn’t know what to do when they were finally handed something real.

But I could play nice. Quiet. Polite. Vanilla, if I had to be.

And if he ever crossed a line, I’d draw one in something sharper than lipstick.

For now, I opened my window to let the city air in. It smelled like late summer and cheap beer, like somewhere between freedom and trouble. I lit my vanilla linen candle, against the rules, but I’d never been great at following those even if I had a 4.0 GPA.

My heart had finally stopped racing.

I had time. I had space. I had my own bedroom and a locked door between me and whoever he was.

Let him walk in.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

I was halfway through hanging up my favorite jackets, the oversized leather one, the cropped fur-trimmed one, the cardigan that looked innocent but was barely buttoned, when the front door clicked.

Heavy footsteps. A duffel bag dropped to the floor. Then silence.

I froze, hanger midair.

He was here.

I didn’t move right away. Part of me wanted to wait him out.

Than there was a knock, two sharp raps on my door, not urgent, not shy.

Then the voice.

“You’re not stealing my bedroom, right?”

I blinked, paused for a beat to make sure I heard right, then turned the knob and opened the door.

He was already leaning against the frame, arms crossed like he owned the entire third floor. Backward hat. Hoodie that probably cost too much. A single silver chain that caught the light just enough to make me notice.

Blue eyes. Pale skin. That lazy kind of smile boys like him were born with, the kind that got girls in trouble and then blamed them for it later.

He looked me up and down once. Not subtle. Not creepy either. Just… bold.

“You’re the new one?” he asked.

“Guess so.”

He let out a low whistle, more amused than impressed. “They didn’t say you’d be—”

He stopped himself.

“Be what?”

He tilted his head slightly. “Just… not what I was expecting.”

I raised a brow. “What were you expecting?”

He smirked. “Some dude with a stash of protein powder and four different vapes.”

“Well,” I said, folding my arms, “sorry to disappoint.”

That grin again. “You didn’t.”

The silence stretched for a second, like we were both trying to figure out what came next. He stuck his hand out, and I hesitated, not because I didn’t want to shake it, but because I could already tell touching him was going to be a problem.

“Chris.”

I took it, cool and clean. “Y/N.”

His grip was warm. Confident, but not overcompensating. Just long enough to make my pulse flicker. Then he dropped it like nothing happened.

“Well, Y/N,” he said, stepping back slightly, “you want a drink?”

I leaned against the doorway. “It’s 4 p.m.”

“And?”

I almost smiled. He didn’t flinch.

He turned toward the kitchen, opening the fridge like he’d done it a thousand times. “I got tequila. Or tequila. Or, if you’re trying to keep it classy Pepsi and Red Bull.

Tempting. But I shook my head.

“Unpacking first,” I said. “Then maybe.”

Chris closed the fridge with his hip and leaned against the counter, his eyes never really leaving mine. Not like he was obsessed. More like he was intrigued. Like I didn’t fit the picture he had in his head, and he wasn’t sure if that made me a problem or a puzzle.

He nodded toward the hallway. “You taking the left room?”

“Already claimed it.”

“Good.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Last guy was weird. Snored like a dying bear and never left the apartment.”

“And now you have me.”

His grin widened — crooked, dangerous.

“Yeah,” he said. “Now I have you.”

He disappeared down the hall before I could answer.

And I stood there in my doorway, heart beating a little too loud in my ears.

Great.

Exactly the kind of boy I should be avoiding.

And exactly the kind who always finds me.

CHRIS POV:

She opened the door like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

And when she did — holy shit.

Definitely not what I expected.

Long dark hair, hoodie that didn’t hide the curves, lip gloss catching the light like it had a personality. Calm. Composed. Too calm. The kind of girl who knew exactly how she looked standing in a doorway like that and wasn’t about to apologize for it.

“You’re the new one?” I asked, mostly to confirm she wasn’t some lost upperclassman who’d wandered into the wrong apartment.

“Guess so,” she said. Voice soft, steady. Kinda smug. Like she wasn’t here to impress anyone, least of all me.

I almost said it. They didn’t say you’d be hot.

But I bit it back. Smirked instead.

“They didn’t say you’d be—”

I stopped. No need to sound like a walking cliché.

“Be what?” she asked, arms crossing. Defensive. Cute.

I covered with a joke. "Some dude with a stash of protein powder and four different vapes."

She smiled — not a real one. Just the kind that says don’t play with me.

“Sorry to disappoint,” she said.

I grinned. “You didn’t.”

I meant it.

She had that look. Lip-glossed mouth, unreadable stare. Like she belonged in a soft or rap song and would ruin your life before breakfast. I’d seen girls like her at parties, tequila in one hand, some loser’s heart in the other, but none of them lived under the same roof as me.

I stuck my hand out, trying to look casual.

“Chris.”

Her hand was small. Cold. And something about the way she said Y/N made me want to say it again just to hear it roll off my tongue.

“Cool,” I said. “You want a drink?”

She arched a brow. “It’s 4 p.m.”

“And?”

No reaction. Not even a smile. Which made me want to earn one.

I turned to the fridge and opened it just enough for effect. “Tequila. Tequila. Or Pepsi and Red Bull if you’re trying to keep it classy.”

“Maybe later,” she said.

I leaned against the counter, watching her.

She didn’t fidget. Didn’t look away. Most girls would’ve tried to fill the silence with something, small talk, nervous laughter, fake politeness. But she just stood there, one hand on her hip, like this is my place too now, deal with it.

I nodded to the hallway. “Left room?”

“Mine.”

“Cool,” I said. “Last guy was a pain in the ass. Snored all night. Never left the couch.”

She didn’t respond.

So I gave her one last glance. Memorized the way she looked in that doorway, all soft skin and hard eyes, then turned to head back to my room.

“Now I have you,” I said without thinking.

And closed my door before I could see if she reacted.

Because if she did, if she smiled, or bit her lip, or looked back at me at all, I was already fucked.

Y/N POV:

I couldn’t sleep.

I never really did the night before the first week of school. My brain didn’t quiet easily, and Boston buzzed even when everything else was still. It was past midnight and I was sitting cross-legged on top of my bed, listening to Lana whisper through my headphones, watching the skyline blink like it had secrets.

My new room was barely unpacked textbooks in neat stacks, perfume lined up like armor on the dresser, lipstick tubes organized by shade in a clear tray. Everything had its place. Even me.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Chris.

The boy in the doorway. The messy-haired, cocky-lipped one with the Casamigos in his hand and a smirk that said, I get away with things I shouldn’t.

I could spot boys like him a mile away. They were the reason I wore backless dresses and lipgloss that didn’t smudge. They were the reason I danced like I didn’t care who was watching.

But this one was different.

Because he wasn’t at some party. He was twenty feet from me, sharing a kitchen, living room, walls.

I stepped out of my room, wearing an oversized shirt with nothing underneath. The kind of look that said I didn’t try, but I always knew what I was doing.

The light was low. Music played — familiar bass-heavy chords.

Lil Skies. Of course.

And there he was. Chris. Hoodie gone. Black tee. Gray sweats. The soft kind that made girls stupid.

He didn’t look surprised to see me.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” he asked, voice like gravel and heat.

“Something like that,” I said, already walking to the kitchen.

I didn’t ask. I just grabbed a glass, found the tequila. I wasn’t some shy freshman. I’d walked out of more frat houses at sunrise than he could probably count. He didn’t need to know that yet.

When I turned, he was watching me. Relaxed. Barefoot. But sharp underneath it all.

“Do you always drink alone in the dark?” I asked.

“Only when my new roommate’s hot and mysterious.”

I didn’t answer. Just took a sip and let the burn settle on my tongue.

He patted the floor beside him. “Sit. I don’t bite unless—”

“Unless I ask?” I cut in, arching a brow.

His grin widened. But he didn’t say anything else.

I sat, legs folded beneath me. My knee barely brushed his. I didn’t move it.

There was a silence after that. Not awkward. Just stretched. Like we were both waiting for the other to give something away.

“You from around here?” he asked eventually.

“An hour out. Close enough that my parents still think I’ll come home for dinner.”

He nodded. “You seem like the type who’d escape the suburbs the second she could.”

I turned to him. “You don’t know me.”

“I’m figuring you out.”

Good luck, I thought.

But I let him try.

⸻

CHRIS POV:

She looked like a dream girls tried to fake on Instagram.

Hair messy in the right way. Oversized tee, bare legs. Lip gloss still perfect. She walked into the living room like she wasn’t surprised I was still up, like she expected me to be.

And I was. Not because I couldn’t sleep.

Because I couldn’t stop wondering who the hell she really was.

Earlier, she was quiet. Polite. That cardigan-clean-perfume type. Now? She moved like sin and drank straight tequila like she’d done it a hundred times.

I patted the spot beside me and watched her consider it. When she sat, it felt like gravity tilted a little.

She didn’t lean into me. Didn’t flirt, not really.

But she didn’t have to.

Her presence was heavy in that way. Like the kind of girl who throws parties in penthouses she doesn’t own and disappears before sunrise. Like the kind who laughs with red Solo cups in hand and never texts back.

You don’t meet girls like that in your college dorm.

“You party a lot?” she asked.

I smirked. “Yeah. Pretty often.”

She nodded like she already knew. Like maybe she did too.

I stared at her a second too long. “You don’t look like the type.”

Her lips curved, slow. Not quite a smile. More like a dare.

“I get that a lot.”

I looked at her, really looked. The perfect gloss. The confidence. The way she looked like she could wreck a guy and still ace her chem midterm the next morning.

“You’re one of those girls,” I said quietly.

She raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“The kind people call angels…until they find out you’re not.”

She looked at me — hard, eyes sharp, glittering.

And for the first time, she smiled.

A real one.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t get too comfortable, roommate.”

I didn’t answer.

Because she was right.

I already was.

The silence between us cracked.

Not because we ran out of things to say. But because we both stopped pretending.

I looked at her again really looked. Not just her legs folded under her or the perfect gloss on her lips. But the way she sat like she wasn’t afraid of anything. The way she stared back like she wanted me to say something stupid just so she could gut me with a look.

She was calm. Too calm.

Like she’d been around guys like me before.

“What?” she said, catching me staring again.

“You’re just…not what I expected.”

“Oh?” She took another sip of tequila. “And what exactly did you expect, Chris?”

Her voice dipped when she said my name, like she already knew it would stick.

“I don’t know,” I said, stretching my legs out in front of me. “Something quiet. Sweet. Maybe nervous. Freshman energy.”

She snorted. “You wanted a pushover.”

“I said nervous, not stupid.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Well, that’s where you messed up,” she said. “I’m not here to impress you.”

I laughed under my breath. “Didn’t ask you to.”

“But you expected it,” she said quickly, turning her body toward me. “You thought I’d be flattered. That you could give me one of those lazy frat-boy smirks and I’d melt. But I’ve met a hundred of you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know the type.”

Her voice was steady. Casual. But I felt the challenge underneath it.

And I hated how much it turned me on.

“You always this cocky?” I asked, watching the tequila slide between her fingers.

“You always this basic?” she countered.

I blinked.

And then grinned.

Alright then.

So that’s how she wanted to play this.

I leaned back against the couch, arms draped behind the cushions like a king on a throne.

“This will be fun.” I murmured.

“What will?” she asked, not bothering to hide the eye roll.

“Living with someone who thinks she’s too good to fall for me.”

She looked at me — slow, cold, dangerous.

Then stood up, walked toward the kitchen, and poured another shot.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Chris.”

She took the shot, clean. No wince. No chaser. Then turned around, hair falling over one shoulder.

“I wouldn’t fall for you if you paid me.”

That one stung a little. Just enough to rile me.

“Good,” I said, standing too. “Because girls like you? Lip gloss and fake confidence? You break easy.”

Her face didn’t even flinch.

But her eyes darkened.

She stepped forward, close enough that I caught the vanilla-clean scent again, subtle and sharp.

“I don’t break, Sturniolo,” she whispered. “I shatter people.”

And then — she walked past me.

Didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t look back.

Bedroom door shut. Clicked closed like punctuation.

I stood there for a full minute, heart still pounding, adrenaline high.

She thought she won that.

Hell, maybe she did.

But that was the last time I’d let her get the last word.

⸻

Y/N POV:

I went back to my room, I didn’t sleep.

Not because I was nervous.

Because I was pissed.

Who the hell did he think he was?

That lazy, lopsided smirk. That frat-boy arrogance wrapped in a hoodie. Like he could wear gray sweatpants and get away with saying anything.

I’ve met a hundred guys like Chris Sturniolo.

But none of them had lived down the hall from me.

I could still feel the tequila burning at the back of my throat, and the way his voice dropped when he said “girls like you.” Like he had me figured out. Like he thought I was a challenge he could win.

Wrong.

He didn’t know me.

Didn’t know I grew up with three older brothers. Didn’t know I could down a bottle faster than he could throw a lacrosse ball. Didn’t know I once made out with a guy in his own frat house and ghosted him before the next round of beer pong.

This year was mine. I didn’t come here to flirt, or fall, or feed some frat boy’s ego.

I came here to win.

Dean’s List. Law school. Maybe a little chaos on the weekends.

And I sure as hell didn’t plan on letting some cocky roommate with a pretty face get in my way.

I turned off the lamp. Pulled the sheets over me. Stared at the ceiling while the bass from his playlist thumped faintly through the wall.

Enemies.

Yeah.

That worked for me.

Because if there was one thing I was good at —

It was making boys regret underestimating me.

Im sorry this isn’t the best but I promise it will get better 🌷

hope you guys enjoy, sorry for how long it took to start I was really going through every detail trying to make this as good as I possibly can.

@izzylovesmatt @riggysworld @amiraisafreakokaysorry @ansteeze @pair-of-pantaloons @kitty-meow-meow44 @sturnslux3 @kalel2005 @sarahsturnn @teheabrams @needchrissturniolobad @julessspoetry @sturniszn

[veilody]

A gift to remember

[ OC MASTERLIST ]

Shipping: Vin Jin (Lookism) x Otsuyu Murasaki (OC)

Genre: hurt/comfort; big on fluff; Lookism x OC

CW: some suggestive comments, mentions about deceased Parent

Words: 1799

Timeline Placement: Set somewhere inbetween 482 (Cheongliang) - 530 (Busan Arc) 

A/N: And that concludes my three part fic on how Vin Jin caught feelings for Otsuyu :'3c honestly, I had lots of fun writing that, because it's been stuck in my head for such a long time ;3c I even told @notpoisonousivy the whole plot beforehand hahah~ but it also helped me to get a good grip on the emotions, so big thanks for letting me yap a lot about them :'D

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Sweaty palms clutched the gift bag nervously, as she waited for her boyfriend to pick her up. The lively atmosphere of the lounge did little to dim her nervosity, but listening to the different subjects that were discussed made waiting a little more bearable at the very least.

Currently Grimm was the translator of a conversation between Kurage and Mi-Yeon – or well, mistranslator would fit the situation better. While Mi-Yeon talked about building a gadget that would enhance the water quality of the Sushi bars fish tanks, with less maintenance, Grimm translated that she wanted a bowl Chirashi Sushi with every fish-kind of every tank… Which was exactly what Kurage worked on for her. 

On the other side there were the three oldies, that were always hanging around in the lounge. They recently heard of some advertising, something like Poundmates? You just have to make a quick phone call, and the woman of their choice will come to them for a steamy session… Sounds a lot like scam, if she’s being honest. 

Akemi was currently on the phone, but talked so quiet, that Otsuyu couldn’t make out the context. Then again, she might not want to know. Her cousin carried many secrets, most of them not even her own, it would be bad if they spilled, and Otsuyu doesn’t want to be held accountable for that.

In hopes to shut out whatever Akemi was talking about, she let her eyes wander the interior and they stopped at the empty seats that were often occupied by her friends Sameko and Gintoki… It’s been a while since they returned to Japan… She heard they plan to come back to Seoul soon, something about helping ‘a friend’, but she didn’t know the specifics.

“Surely their minds will be blown if they find out Vin and I started dating… Kinda hard to believe they’ve been away for months now, so much has happened in that time…”, she silently mused. 

A thud from the entrance caught her attention and she realised that her boyfriend arrived… Well, not quite arrived. He kinda walked into the revolving door… Again.

It prompted her to stand up nonetheless, and she had to withhold a laughter when his grumpy face came closer and he complained: “You really need to get a different door, Manager, this one sucks ass.”

He then bent down to peck her lips. A satisfied hum escaped Otsuyu, and she smiled when he stood straight again.

“I’m working on it, for my ever-blind favourite guy.”, She half-joked and received a cocky grin - for calling him her favourite. In truth, she’s been wanting to enhance their Japanese traditional image anyways by changing Vin Jins nemesis of a revolving door into an artistic gate, maybe with some Fu Dog statues guarding the entrance? 

“What’chu got there?” Vin suddenly asked and his hand darted to the bag, which she quickly drew away from him, answering: “A surprise. But it’s for your eyes, only.” 

Now his grin became somewhat dirty, and his brows rose in expectation. He leaned in and whispered, “So, we can finally-”

“AHEM!!”, a loud cough interrupted him and when he looked up, he noticed her guardian Kurage send him an intimidating stare. Next to him the whitehaired pretty boy called: “FOLLOW THE THREE FOOT RULE, YA NASTY!”

Her boyfriend lifted his hands in mock defence, but his grin showed no remorse, his head even tilted in a way that made her think he just winked at her. 

In the background, Akemi was already walking up to her husband – the phone call obviously ended - grabbed him by the sleeve to pull him down and whispered something into his ear. 

Otsuyu took this as the perfect opportunity to take Vins hand and slip out of his view, towards the staff elevator. He was chuckling when they were inside of it and she felt his hand hold her closer to him, softly stroking up and down her side – his thumb softly caressed her scarred back through the cloth, which gave her goosebumps.

“Vin, babe, I need you to be patient.”, she complained as she typed in the code to get onto her floor. He hummed amusedly in response and answered: “Ohh~ I am patient, dunno if you can be patient yourself and resist me after today though kekeke~”

His girlfriend huffed and rolled her eyes, but as soon as the elevator started moving, she rested her head onto his chest. She wanted to relish his good mood as long as it lasted, since she was nervous on how he will react to her gift… In worst case, he might even end their relationship. 

Vin Jin hummed a melody, probably for a new track or even something from Duke? He was always up do date when it came to Duke latest releases, although he’d never admit it. The melody did help to ease her anxiety though, so she just listened to his hums until they arrived at the top. 

As the elevator came to a stand, her grip on the straps tightened and she took a deep breath before she led Vin into her own domain. 

He was as nonchalant as ever, kicking of his shoes and getting comfortable on a cushion. 

“Sooo~”, he started expectantly and eyed the bag she was holding as she followed him. 

“Sooo…” Otsuyu repeated, her tone nervous in contrast and she took a deep breath.

His palms were open, ready to receive the item and she steeled herself for every possible outcome of this situation. Of course, she wasn’t in danger, but she might’ve overstepped a boundary…

She bit on her lip as he made grabby hands and then she finally handed the bag over. 

With the enthusiasm of a child, he looked into the bag and saw a wrapped box inside of it. As he turned it over several times and tried to feel out what it was, Otsuyu sat down in front of him. Her hands found something new to claw in, the hem of her skirt. 

“So… Nothing soft… No lingerie then, huh?”, he teased and Otsuyu laughed nervously. 

“Why don’t you just… Open it?”, she offered. She felt like she had to puke, with the whole situation building up… And her boyfriend was none the wiser.

“Now you’re being impatient, babe~” he mocked, and she felt like there was another wink behind the sunglasses, but at least he followed up by removing the ribbon. 

Vin was deliberately unpacking the gift slowly, just to annoy her. Usually, he’d just rip it open and reveal what’s inside but today he had all the wrong ideas. Her heart was racing in her chest at the aspect of him getting upset… Especially after his spirits are so high right now…

It didn’t take long until he revealed the hard wooden edge of a black frame. She saw how one brow rose, and his lips drew to an inquisitive pout. In that moment, his patience ran out and he tore the wrapping off.

Otsuyus heart jumped, and she held her breath, while he inspected what he saw. A frown appeared on his face as he drew the gift closer to his face. Not a second later, an annoyed grunt left him, and he took off his glasses. Again, his eyes landed on the gift and this time, he sat up straight when he could see it clear.

Silence settled in between them. His girlfriend has never seen him speechless. Even in the toughest situations, he was always ready for a sassy remark. 

In anxiety she averted her gaze. She thought that she ruined everything now, her lips wobbled, while she tried to keep calm. The room felt colder as the silence started to stretch between them…

Just as she was about to apologize, she caught a glimpse of his face. Vins eyes were wide as he took in the picture in front of him, pupils darting all over the image, taking in the details as his thumbs mindlessly caressed the frame. 

When he looked up, disbelief, wonder and sadness were mixed in his expression, as he met her gaze, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Was he insulted? Was he astounded? 

“Vin, I-”, she started, but then his hand grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to his chest, into a tight embrace. She yelped in surprise and found the hug to be uncomfortable, but the moment she noticed how he trembled, how hitched his breathing was, she decided not to complain.

He hasn’t seen his mother in ages, after all. 

Otsuyu wished she could’ve gotten a better picture than some passport format, but that was too private to find, even for Akemis vast resources… 

Time passed while Vin held her close and pressed his face into her shoulder. She noticed that the fabric of her shirt grew damp and decided that she won’t comment on that. Her own hands were on his back, stroking up and down, sometimes stopping to draw circles on his shoulder blades. One of his hands held onto the same shoulder he was hiding his face in and the other pressed the picture into her body. 

When he finally relaxed, and lifted his head, she turned towards him. Though, she couldn’t get a good look on his face, because he captured her lips with a passion she didn’t know he had. It felt completely different from every kiss they shared before… Exciting, to be honest. 

Otsuyu clutched the fabric at his chest as she reciprocated – his heart was beating rapidly, just like her own and she heard him curse under his breath against her lips. 

Okay, maybe there was an outcome of today, she wasn’t prepared for… But she liked it… A lot.

The way Vin felt, how his fingers sank into her clothes to hold her close, how his lips moved against hers and how focused he seemed… It felt different to everything else they’ve had. More genuine, intimate… Vulnerable.

When he broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead to hers and cursed several times – the corners of his lips were tugged upwards. His fingers wandered upwards, and he cupped her cheek, as he looked into her eyes with a resolve she couldn’t pinpoint.

“Something on your mind?” she softly asked, afraid to burst the bubble they’re in, if she’s too loud. Vin smile grew lopsided and he half-joked: “You just doomed yourself.”

A hushed laughter escaped her, and she tilted her head, “Why’s that?”

Her answer was another kiss. One that was more playful than the other, and she felt him smile against her lips. 

Ah~! she got the message. 

Her boyfriend found something that made him want to stay. That something? The feelings he caught for her.

Gintoki, Sameko and Kurage belong to @mandarinasart

[m1lflov3rrr]

Hi hiiiiii! Firstly, lemme just say I absolutely ADORE your fics on wattpad and im SO thrilled you're also here on tumblr now??!?!? An absolute treat, this is <3

Anyways as for requests— can I request Larissa and/or Marilyn dealing with Y/N who's got a really bad sleeping schedule thanks to having the WORST case of insomnia? (fluff most appreciated, but IF you want somth more spicy to deal it, I wouldn't say no to it hehe 💕 :3c)

Thank you sm <3

Thank you for the request and so sorry it took literally MONTHS!!! But here it is now!! And thank you for your kind words, means so much to me <3 I really hope you enjoy this, I made a few changes to it. I don’t have that much experience with insomnia, but with sleep deprivation so I wrote about that, I hope it is okay!

No Rest for the Wicked

Pairing: Larissa Weems x fem!reader

Warnings: sleep deprivation, health issues, fainting, worrying, fluff

Word count: 2.5k

Summary: Larissa tries to help you when she notices how little you’re sleeping…

You sighed deeply as you raised your gaze from your laptop and looked out the window. A heavy fog had descended on the school grounds, reaching as far as the tired eye could see. 

The fog was persistent, it was thick. 

You felt like your thoughts were similarly clouded. You smiled at the irony. 

Returning your gaze back to your work, you looked at the time, it was way past 4 am already. Larissa would wake up soon. 

For the past few weeks it had been like this. You were staying up late, only getting a few hours of sleep a night. And sometimes, like tonight, no sleep at all. 

You felt that you didn’t have enough time. The work load you had felt like the weight of the world rested on your shoulders. You had stacks of ungraded papers, lesson plans to finalize, and a curriculum to update. 

You were exhausted. 

You tried your best to hide it, you didn’t want Larissa to get worried. Because her concern would’ve broken your heart. 

Every day went like this: You ’got up’ at 6, prepared for your lessons of the day and started at 8, taught for 8 hours straight, got back to your shared quarters and spent the rest of the night with Larissa. And after she had fallen asleep, you’d finish your work and prepare for the next day. 

You didn’t have the heart to tell your wife how much workload you’d had recently and how overwhelming it was for you. You had had difficulties in the past finding time to spend together, and after months of you both trying to work it out, it was, indeed, working. 

But lately, it had become too much. With the work, of course. You knew that Larissa would get concerned and start panicking and rushing things to make it better. You didn’t want that. She had her own job to do, which definitely had a workload twice as big as yours was. You felt pathetic. Your wife does three times the work you do in a day and you’re still stressed? Yes, pathetic. 

You finished your lesson plans for the day, just to save yourself some time later. 

It was 5:13 am when you were done. You rubbed your temples to ease your already growing headache as you got up from the desk, swayed there for a bit before making your way to the bathroom. 

You winced at your reflection in the mirror. Your dark and puffy undereyes were still there, if not even more bad and noticeable. This was the first time in your 25 years of living that you had had eye bags. You knew it was bad. 

You hopped in the shower to keep yourself up and maybe gather some energy to get through the day. At first the cold water did wake you up a bit more. Then, when you turned it a little bit warmer, you realized how bad of an idea it was. The warm water relaxed all those tense muscles in your body and you closed your eyes to enjoy the feeling. 

And your eyes stayed closed for a bit too long. If you weren’t so tired, you would have laughed at yourself. The image of you half asleep, standing in your shower. What in the actual fuck, really? 

But something made you jump and push your body’s cries for help and sleep to the back of your mind. 

”Darling?” You heard Larissa’s hoarse morning voice call out to you from the door. 

”Mhm?” You hummed as you turned the water back to cold to not almost fall asleep again. 

”Nothing, just wondering how you’re up so early every morning this week, usually it’s a task itself to get you up,” She chuckled at her own words. 

You smiled to yourself and turned the faucet off, stepping out of the shower so you could see her. 

You noticed how she was checking you out, biting her lip as her eyes roamed across your body. You smirked at her as you took your towel and dried yourself, about to wrap it around your bare body. 

She quickly snapped out of her trance and stepped forward, taking the towel in her hands and unwrapping it, causing it to drop on the floor. 

”I don’t think we’ll be needing that.” She said in a low tone as she pulled you flush against her body by your waist, attacking your neck with her mouth. 

You hummed in delight and closed your eyes in satisfaction at the sudden move, wrapping your hands around her neck. 

You let out little gasps, you couldn’t even let out a simple moan because of your sleep-deprived state. 

And it felt so good, feeling your wife’s lips on your neck, still keeping your eyes shut, leaning into her, maybe leaning too much, starting to drift off, losing your balance… 

Your eyes snapped open when your heard Larissa’s sudden, loud gasp, as she had her arms tightly wrapped around your torso to keep you from falling to the hard floor. 

”Darling, what on earth just happened here?!” She asked in shock as you stood up. 

You took a moment to process what she just said, just because you couldn’t think as fast as usual. 

”What? M’sorry, just got a little.. distracted there, I think..” You responded hazily, trying to focus your eyes to look into hers. 

She ducked her head a bit, trying to get a closer look of you and inspecting your condition. ”Are you alright? You had me worried there, are you sure you want to go to work today? You can take the day off, okay?” 

Your eyes widened in panic, ”No, no, Rissa I am absolutely fine, and I will not be taking the day off. You shouldn’t be concerned, I am okay.” You said hurriedly and walked away, leaving your wife standing in the bathroom, extremely confused and concerned. 

-

”Okay, I think it’s time we all head for lunch, see you guys tomorrow!” You announced the class with a smile, packing your things and leaving for the dining hall. As you entered the hall, you seached for your wife with your eyes, as you always ate lunch together. She wasn’t there. 

You yelped loudly when you felt someone grab your shoulder from behind, causing some people nearby to look at your weirdly. You turned around, ”God, you scared me, Rissa,” You breathed out. 

She just responded with a laugh, sliding her arm to the small of your back and guiding you to walk together to get the food. 

As you sat down, you began eating in silence. You opened a can of energy drink, something that you’d been drinking a lot these days. You didn’t usually even drink those that often, but you needed something to keep you up and awake. 

Larissa sent you a scolding look, a frown tugging at her lips. ”Y/N, what’s this?” 

You widened your eyes, you didn’t want her to find out like this. Or any other way. ”Oh, that’s just an energy drink. Thought it might give me a little boost.” 

She narrowed her eyes slightly, ”A boost? Y/N, darling, this isn’t healthy. Are you not sleeping enough?” 

You smiled, but it was forced. ”Rissa, I’m fine. It’s just been a busy week.” 

She sighed, looking at you with worry-filled eyes. ”Y/N, I can see something is going on, don’t shut me out. Whatever it is, I’m here to help you. We’re a team, remember?” 

Your gaze softened, you were really lucky to have her. But you didn’t want her to know. You didn’t want her you worry about you, because when Larissa got worried, it was all she could think about. She couldn’t work, rest, do anything. She’d have to get to the bottom of it. 

You pursed your lips and took her hand in yours, ”I know, and I appreciate that. But I’ve got this, Rissa. Trust me.” 

-

It had been a few days since that, and your condition and fatigue were only growing worse. Your work load seemed to have doubled since that day. You were trying (and struggling) to stay awake with the constant consumption of caffeine. 

The fog was growing thicker and thicker. You barely could see where you were walking. 

Larissa had had enough. She had been watching your extremely concerning situation unfold in the past few days into something much more worrying. She couldn’t bear seeing you suffer like this for a moment longer. This had to end now. 

You were sitting in your classroom, head buried in your hands as you tried to take a deep breath so that the pounding headache you had recently gotten would go away. You’d taken more aspirin than you probably should have, but it didn’t do anything. You were feeling miserable, physically, and that way, emotionally, too. 

Your eyes began to feel heavier and heavier, and you almost didn’t hear the sharp knock on your classroom door. You flinched harshly at that, squeaking a quiet, ”It’s open.” 

You heard the door opening and the familiar clacking of heels filled the room. 

”Darling?” 

Her voice was soft, almost a little wary. 

You raised your gaze to meet hers, ”Yes?” 

Her eyes were filled with concern, barely hidden. ”I’m worried about you. I can see that something’s going on, and if you’d just please, please let me in, I could help you. Okay?” 

You pursed your lips. You knew this was coming. ”Larissa there is absolutely no reason for you to worry. I am fine, okay?” Your voice was a mixture of frustration and exhaustion. 

”No, you’re not.” She snarled, her tone of voice contrasting the one she had just moments prior. ”You’ve been running on fumes for days! Darling, this… this can’t go on any longer.” Her voice broke as her eyes held a silent plea. 

Your jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the floor. ”I can handle it.” Your voice was barely above a whisper, and it was becoming harder and harder to keep convincing yourself that. 

”Y/N you almost collapsed earlier! This can’t go on.” She stepped closer, reaching her hand out to touch your shoulder. 

You shrugged off her touch, ”It was nothing. Just a moment of dizziness.” 

Larissa scoffed, her patience was wearing thin. ”And what happens when it’s not just a moment? What happens when you can’t get back up?” 

Something in that comment did it. Your eyes flashed with fury as your tone of voice turned into one laced with venom.  ”You just don’t get it, Larissa! I can fucking handle myself!” 

Her brows furrowed and you could’ve sworn you almost saw her flinch a little. ”Look, I am not trying to belittle you. I just want and need you to take care of yourself.” 

Your head tilted as your eyes held nothing but defiance in them. You felt your breathing pick up, uncontrollably, and how that pounding headache seemed to double, you started feeling a little lightheaded. But you chose to do what you’d been doing for god knows how long now. You ignored it. 

”I don’t, I don’t need you constantly watching over me.” You said, out of breath. 

Your wife’s expression dropped as she realized your condition and what could be happening next. She approached you cautiously, attempting to try and calm you down. ”Y/N, darling, this is not about control. It’s about caring for you.” She told calmly, cupping your face with her soft palm. 

You shook your head, ”You suffocate me, Larissa! I can’t breathe with you hovering over me all the time!” 

Larissa’s heart sank at that. She never meant for it to come to this. She only wanted the best for you, to protect you. 

”Y/N, please, I…” 

Your breathing laboured and before she could finish, your legs gave way and you collapsed on the cold, hard floor. 

”Y/N!” Larissa’s voice came out as a terrified cry as she rushed forward to try and catch you, but she was too late. 

Tears welled up in her eyes as she knelt beside you, shaking you gently and trying to wake you up. ”Y/N, can you hear me?! Please, say something..” 

Your eyes fluttered open, but you couldn’t focus on anything. Your breathing was still laboured and the words you tried to speak came out as a strained whisper. 

”Y/N, I’m taking you to the infirmary.” She breathed out as she scooped you up in her arms and rushed out the classroom. 

-

Since then, you and Larissa made an agreement. Well, you didn’t have much say in it, since Larissa demanded it. 

Larissa began monitoring your schedule, making sure you were following the new schedule she had made for you. And there was no room for negotiaton, absolutely no exceptions. 

Larissa also began cooking more, preparing the meals with care and love, making sure each one was balanced with important nutrients to get your energy levels for the better. 

Bedtime was the most strictly monitored. As evening approached, Larissa would guide you through a calming routine. She’d prepare a warm bath with your favourite scents, she’d slip in as well and wash your hair for you, massaging your head to calm you down. Then, she’d dress you into comfortable pyjamas and lead you to bed, prepare you a nice cup of tea and dim the lights. 

And she’d lull you to sleep with soothing caresses and words of affirmation, telling you how much she loved you, again and again, kissing your whole body as she did so. 

And it worked perfectly. You were feeling both, physically and mentally better. The dark circles under your eyes were slowly fading away, your energy starting to gain back. You also growed to appreciate your wife a thousand times more.

One evening, you were sitting in your shared bedroom, by your desk. Your laptop was open and you were determined to finish grading some papers for your students. Then, Larissa entered the room, the stern look on her face telling everything. ”Darling, it’s time for dinner.” 

You sighed, closing the laptop as you didn’t want to argue about it. And you were starving too. 

You ate in silence with her, you occasionally stealing glances at her. The way she fussed about your portion sizes, making sure you got the right nutrients for your health - you heart warmed as it was all an expression of love. 

Once you were finished, she led you to bed, undressing you and helping you with your pyjamas. I could’ve done that myself, you thought. 

”Now, off to bed. You need your rest, dearest.” 

You smiled as she laid down next to you, caressing your hair and kissing you softly. And you kissed her back, again and again.  Soon, you fell into a peaceful slumber, under Larissa’s loving gaze. She laid a final kiss on your forehead, ”I love you, my darling.” She whispered before drifting off as well. 

And if you looked outside, you’d have noticed that the fog had finally cleared. 

[crystalninjaphoenix]

The Temporary Normal

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 37

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Here's a chapter that basically all takes place in one location fhdsjakl But! It has a bunch of character work and small set-ups in it that are really necessary for future arcs :3c With JJ stuck in the safe house with no technology, all his friends have to travel there to talk to him. Marvin, Schneep, and Jackie all stop by at different times, giving him updates and seeing what they can do to help. Pretty simple chapter, really, but honestly I'm proud of it, especially the stuff with Jackie. Hope you enjoy! :D

===============

So this was the safe house, huh? Marvin glanced it over. It looked perfectly normal. Which was the point, he supposed. If it stood out too much, the League of Heroes could catch onto the fact that, you know, a pair of villains who’d broken out of the most secure prison the League ran. Marvin shook his head, scowling, and walked up to the front door, knocking on it.

After a moment, the door opened a bit, and JJ peeked out through the gap. Marvin? I wasn’t expecting you.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marvin asked, smiling a bit. “Not happy to see me?”

No, that’s not it at all, JJ said. I just... thought you’d want to stay away, just to be safe. You’re... rather paranoid.

“Yeah... I know.” Marvin sighed. Maybe he should work on that. But also, his paranoia had helped him so far. “I just wanted to pop by and check on things. Can I come in?”

JJ nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Marvin into the living room of the safe house. Henrik is probably going to stop by soon, he said. He promised he would.

“Oh good, that works out, I wanted to talk to him anyway,” Marvin said. “You mind if I stick around a bit until he shows up?” He took off the bag he was wearing. “I brought some books. No electronics, of course.”

Really? Thank you. JJ smiled. We don’t know how long we’re going to be here, so more entertainment is always welcome.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. I also bought you some clothes.” Marvin patted the bag. “I had to guess at both your sizes and I didn’t want to guess your styles as well, so it’s just plain T-shirts and jeans.”

Thank you! JJ smiled. I asked Henrik to get some of my stuff from my flat, but new clothes are always welcome.

Footsteps approached as Soren walked down the hallway. “Ah. You’re Spitfire Cat, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Marvin nodded slowly. He wasn’t wearing his costume or even his mask, and he felt a bit vulnerable without them. Especially in the face of Pathos, a known supervillain. Sure, Marvin himself had done some not-usually-considered-moral things in his past, but he’d never thought he’d come face-to-face with a crime lord. He wasn’t that deep in the criminal underworld. 

“Gwen told me a lot about you,” Soren said.

“She did? When?”

“During the boat ride out of prison,” Soren chuckled. “Can I talk to you for a bit? About her.”

Marvin paused. “Sure.”

JJ looked back and forth between them. I’ll leave you two alone, then? 

“Sure. That’s fine.” Marvin carefully schooled his expression into a neutral one as he took his bag off and put it down on the sofa.

“Thanks, James.” Soren smiled at him. “This won’t take too long, I promise.”

I’ll just be in the dining room, Jameson said, heading down the hallway. Leaving the two of them alone.

Soren leaned against the wall. “So... forgive me for a moment, but I have to play the protective uncle,” he said. “If you’re familiar with Gwen’s parents, you’ll know that they... don’t exactly discourage her from getting involved in things, even if they don’t encourage her, either.”

Marvin nodded. He knew this. Gwen’s parents made a career of selling villain tech, and they carried on with that no matter what.

“So I’ve always felt like...” Soren gestured vaguely. “Like I have to be the one who tells her that this is dangerous and also not the normal way people live.”

“That’s ironic,” Marvin said. “Considering you were a household name in terms of Daindover supervillains.”

Soren grinned. “Well, yes. But that doesn’t mean she has to be, you know?” The grin faded as Soren tilted his head back, looking down at Marvin. Wow... he’s tall. Marvin had noticed that the other man was quite... Well, now that he was standing at full height, there were only a couple inches between the top of Soren’s head and the bottom of the front door’s frame. But Marvin hadn’t quite realized how... looming his presence could be.

Marvin swallowed an unexpected lump in his throat. “Yeah. Of course I do.”

“Right. So... you don’t drag her on missions like that often, do you?” Soren asked in a low voice.

“N-no, of course not.” Marvin clenched his fists. Were his hands shaking? “That was an exception. W-we thought a technopath like her could, uh, help. With a high-tech prison.”

“Makes sense.” Soren nodded. “And... how did you meet her?”

“Um, through this friend of mine, Kanchana? Do you know her?” Marvin laughed. “I mean, o-of course you do, you met her, th-this is her safe house. And you seemed to know her before. Or at least, uh, know of her? You know.” Why was he rambling? He doesn’t ramble.

Soren nodded. “I didn’t know Kanchana Yang and my niece were acquainted. I suppose I’ll have to ask her on the details of that. But for now, I’ll just ask you for details about your own meeting.” He flashed his teeth. “Where’d you meet in the first place?”

“Um... a-at a deal with her father,” Marvin said. “Kanchana directed me to him for some, uh... resources. Y-you should know what sort of resources he sells. I, uh, designed my gloves from a base he provided. Gwen was there, and we chatted for a bit because I was curious why there was a teenager there—”

“Why were you curious?” Soren interrupted.

Marvin flinched. What the—that wasn’t like him! How unnerving could this guy be? “Well, if there’s a teenager at a black market tech deal, that’s not... normal. I-I wanted to make sure she was safe, you know...”

“And you kept in contact with her?”

“Y-yeah, I, um... told her to contact me if she was ever in danger,” Marvin said, shifting his weight. “She ended up contacting me for, uh, not-dangerous reasons? Asking me about my powers and stuff at first, and I, uh, answered her questions because... I-I didn’t want to be rude, a-and... yeah. I-I also stopped by that meeting place a couple times and she was there, so I just thought to check on her... you know?” Stop rambling! Stop rambling! What was wrong with him?! Why was his heart pounding? Why was his stomach leaping about anxiously?

“Hm...” Soren narrowed his eyes. “Alright... I know how to read people, and I’m pretty sure you really were concerned. But if I find out that you turn out to be the danger you’re claiming to protect Gwen from... well, my power might seem too aggressive, but I know how to use it. As well as a wide variety of weapons.” He grinned.

Marvin shivered and took a step back. What was up with him? He’d faced down many dangerous situations, he’d even been brave enough to stick his hands in a fire and hold them there! Why was this situation making him so—so—

Afraid.

That realization shook the hold that the fear had on Marvin, and then gave way to a surge of anger. “Are you using your power on me now?!” He snapped. “To intimidate me?”

Soren blinked and looked confused. Then... delighted. “Oh! I wasn’t doing it on purpose, but I was!” He pressed his hand to his chest, smiling. And he spun around. “Jameson! My powers are returning! It’s wearing off!”

Quick footsteps, and JJ appeared down the hallway. Do you feel better? Or are there still side effects?

“I was feeling better when I woke up, that’s probably a good sign!” Soren said excitedly.

Marvin took a step back, shaking off the remnants of the fear. Strangely, there was no lingering chill or anxiety that there normally would be. Nor any relief. The fear had simply faded away, like waking up from a dream. “You’re... talking about neutrinalin side effects, right?”

JJ nodded. I’m still feeling some of it... A bit sick and… off. He paused. And of course, I still have these. He tapped one of the pow-sup bracelets on his wrists.

“...h-how do you get those off?” Marvin asked, worried. 

“Miss Kanchana said she’d figure a way,” Soren said. “But also, she said that the radio signal probably wouldn’t reach this far.”

“Okay.” Marvin nodded. “I-I just hope there aren’t any side effects from the cuffs.”

If there are, they’re small and unnoticeable, I think, JJ said. At least in the face of the side effects from the— He made a sign like he was pushing something down. That must be the sign for neutrinalin.

“Are your powers beginning to return?” Soren asked. “Maybe try it out.”

Jameson went pale. He shook his head furiously. It’s fine. I’m not going to use them again, anyway.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to,” Marvin assured him.

But Soren frowned. “You... shouldn’t avoid your powers, you know. They’re part of you, whether you like it or not. Hating them will just make you hate yourself.”

I don’t hate myself, Jameson denied. I just... don’t want to use my powers again.

Now Marvin frowned as well. “You don’t have to... But... I-I think I get what Soren is saying, though. You did bad things with those powers, but you were forced to. That doesn’t mean you are a bad person, or even that the powers are... e-entirely bad.” It was hard for him to say that. The night and day he was controlled by those strings was... He never wanted to feel so powerless again. But he’d forgiven JJ for that. He understood why he’d done it. And now... Jameson needed to forgive himself.

Jameson didn’t look directly at either of them for a moment. Then he nodded. So... what books did you bring?

They passed the time reading and talking about books. A novel experience for Marvin, as he was never too much into books. Not since he was a kid, at least. He liked TV more. That opened up a discussion about TV shows from childhood, and soon they’d all been talking for an hour.

Knock knock.

Marvin stiffened.

Don’t worry, that’s just Henrik, Jameson said. I recognize the knock. He got up to answer the door, peeking through before pulling it open wider.

Two people walked in. Not just Henrik, but also Kanchana. “Mar—Spitfire?” Henrik asked, surprised. “I did not know you would be visiting.”

“Well, it’s hard to let you know about this stuff,” Marvin said. “We can’t exactly text about it. How did you two manage to meet up?”

“It was coincidence,” Kanchana said. “We both took the same train.”

“A train?” Marvin blinked. “With that bag?” He pointed at the heavy duffel bag hanging from Kanchana’s shoulder. “That looks suspicious as fuck.”

Kanchana grinned. “Well, maybe, but it’s not illegal to have a big bag on a train.” She put the bag down on the coffee table and unzipped it. “This is for your cuffs by the way.” And she pulled a tool of some sort out of the bag, something that looked like a pair of bolt cutters.

Jameson instinctively leaned back. You know what? Nevermind, I’ll deal with the bracelets.

“Those do look rather frightening,” Henrik commented. “How about we work up to that? I also brought some things.” He was wearing a backpack, which he then took off and dropped on the table. “Some clothing, mostly, and some keepsakes like your watch, and also... okay, this is going to seem strange, but bear with me on this.” He reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a small doll, like something an artist would use to get reference of poses. It was made of polished dark wood. One of the hands was replaced by a wooden ring, and in that ring was a pen.

Jameson leaned even further, and then took a step backwards to balance himself out. You brought a second one?

"What's that?" Marvin asked.

“Well, according to the tag on it, it is a ‘Silhouette Pen Holder,’” Schneep said.

I know what it is, Jameson said. Monique makes them, and she gave them to me to sell in the shop. But why is it here? You took it from the shop when you got the other things, didn’t you? Why? Why?

Now it was Schneep’s turn to lean back. “Please relax, Jamie. I just... I forgot I brought you one earlier. But my reasoning hasn't changed. I-I thought that perhaps it would be something for you to test your powers on, to make sure they are returning after the neutrinalin.”

JJ swallowed a lump in his throat. Thank you for the thoughtfulness... but I’m never going to use my powers again.

“...a-ah.” Schneep slowly put the wooden doll down on the coffee table. “I... am sorry, then.”

No, it’s not your fault. You had good intentions. I just... don’t want to do that. JJ took a deep breath. Miss Yang? Can we try to break the bracelets now?

Kanchana looked mildly concerned, but nodded. “Alright... we have to make sure your hands are still. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

Jameson kneels down next to the coffee table. I’ll just put my wrists flat on here.

“No no no, the counters are much more durable,” Soren said. “Let’s go in the kitchen.”

Do you really think durability will be an issue?

“Better safe than sorry.”

A short while later, the five of them were crowded into the safe house’s kitchen. They’d debated for a while about how still JJ’s arms needed to be, and how they could go about keeping them that still, and eventually ended up in a strange position. JJ leaned on the counter—specifically on the peninsula that extended out into the middle of the room, with his arms extended forward, palms pressed on the counter surface. On top of his forearms was a cutting board, and on top of that was a small stack of books. Hopefully the weight would keep his arms very still. It would also prevent him from talking, but to be fair, he wouldn’t be able to talk while Kanchana did this anyway.

“Okay.” Kanchana carefully held the pair of giant pliers in her hands. She was standing across from Jameson, on the other side of the counter. “You ready?”

JJ nodded, looking down at the cuffs on his wrists and visibly bracing himself. Schneep looked away, covering his eyes, but Soren and Marvin stared intently.

“Alright. Remember, stay very still.” Kanchana opened up the mouth of the tools. She got on her tiptoes to get a good angle from above and carefully gripped the edge of the cuff. JJ could feel the tip of the metal tools, cold on his skin. “Normally this would be easier to do the other way around,” Kanchana said. “But the cuff is so tight to your skin that I can’t slide the breakers beneath it.”

Jameson nodded again, and very deliberately flicked his eyes down to his wrists, a silent ‘just stop talking and do it.’

“Right.” Kanchana grinned. “I’ll tighten them on three. One... two... three!” She squeezed the tool—the breakers—tightly.

Metal squeaked, and then crunched as the metal of the bracelet started to compact, scrunching up and folding like a piece of paper. Jameson’s hand involuntarily twitched as the sharp bits of metal dug into his flesh. Then scraped against it. He gritted his teeth—

Snap! The cuff broke, two seams forming on the left and right, the sides with his pinkie and his thumb. Kanchana immediately withdrew. “Okay, good. I was hoping that would happen.” She reached down and tried to pull the cuff apart. Inside the cuff itself was a series of wires, clear glass-like tubes, and all sorts of circuits. They held the two halves of the cuffs together, but stretched enough for JJ to easily pull his hand free.

Schneep peeked back at Jameson. “A-are you okay, JJ?”

JJ nodded, smiling at him reassuringly. He couldn’t move his cuffless arm, as it was still pressed in place by the cutting board, but he looked at Kanchana and gestured at his still-cuffed harm with his free hand.

“Now?” Kanchana asked. “Okay.” She got on her tiptoes again, putting the breakers back in place.

The second cuff broke the same way as the first, and Kanchana then removed the cutting board and books, setting them to the side. JJ examined his now-free wrists. There was a visible band of pale skin around each, a tan line showing where the bracelets had been. His skin was also scraped a bit by the crunching and breaking metal, but the cuts weren’t bleeding too badly. He sighed, feeling like a weight was taken from his shoulder. Thank you so much, Miss Yang.

Kanchana smiled. “Happy to help!”

“You are a lot stronger than you look,” Schneep said, impressed.

“Thank you.” Kanchana rolled up her sleeve and flexed her muscles. “I try to work out in my free time. You never know when you’ll need to be strong.” She unrolled the sleeve. “Admittedly, that took a lot.” She then set the breakers down on the counter and shook out her arms. “Don’t ask me to do any heavy lifting for the rest of the afternoon.”

“We should bandage up those cuts,” Schneep said, looking at JJ’s wrists. “Do you have a first aid kit?”

Probably, but we haven’t found it yet, JJ said.

“Beneath that sink,” Kanchana said, pointing at a pair of cabinet doors under the kitchen sink. “I thought I told you that when we got here?”

“I suppose we were too exhausted to remember,” Soren said, leaning over to open the door, carefully holding onto the sink as he opened it up. “Aha! This white box?” He grabbed said white box and pulled it out. It looked sort of like a cloth lunch box.

“Yeah.” Kanchana nodded.

“A few band-aids should suffice for these cuts,” Schneep said. “I am... so sorry you had to do that. I am so sorry they put those on you at all.”

JJ smiled at him. It’s fine, Henrik. It’s not your fault. You did everything you could to stop me from going there in the first place. It’s my own fault that I didn’t listen.

“It’s not your fault, either, Jameson.” Marvin folded his arms. “It’s only Anti-Virus’s fault, no one else’s. If he hadn’t kidnapped your sister from her fucking hospital, none of this would’ve happened.”

Schneep’s expression darkened. “Very true.”

“Which reminds me.” Marvin looked at Schneep. “I wanted to talk more about our investigation into McLoughlin.”

Soren raised an eyebrow. “McLoughlin? Okay, that’s a pretty common name, but we live in Daindover, so I’m guessing you mean the one from SepTech. Why are you investigating him?”

“Yeah, this is the first time I’m hearing of this, too,” Kanchana said.

JJ blinked... and then narrowed his eyes. Do you think the head of SepTech is Anti-Virus?

“I think he’s very suspicious,” Marvin said insistently.

JJ bit his lip. Explain why you think it’s him, he said. Maybe I’ll have something to support or refute your theory. He pulled the first aid kit closer and started looking for band-aids.

The group slowly migrated to sitting around the dining room table, each taking up one of the five chairs. Marvin explained all his suspicions about McLoughlin, how it would make sense why SepTech was attacked if it was an inside job, how Jackie reported some suspicious behavior from him, and how Schneep found a room full of weaponized SAMs in his lab. “No matter how you slice it, it’s suspicious,” Marvin insisted. 

Soren folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I’d never heard of any rumors of McLoughlin and criminal activity. If he’s had this planned for a while, it must’ve happened after I was arrested. Otherwise I would’ve known.”

Would you? Jameson asked, interested.

“Oh yes. While I was working as Pathos, it was rare that there was something happening in the criminal world that I didn’t know about.”

Fascinating, Jameson said. He idly tapped a pattern on the table for a moment, thinking. I don’t know if I have... CLEAR proof that Anti-Virus is this McLoughlin man. He was always very careful to hide anything about his identity. But... This man would have access to a lot of resources, right? More resources, more ways to kidnap Dahlia. And more places to keep her hidden. At the very least, it would make sense if Anti-Virus was someone with resources like that.

Marvin nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking. And also, there’s no good reason for him to have those weaponized SAMs. There really isn’t.” He shook his head. “The news is reporting that someone snuck in to hide them there. Fucking... what?”

“Yeah, that sounds like an elaborate cover-up if ever I’ve heard one,” Soren said.

“I do not know if McLoughlin is Anti-Virus, but he is certainly involved in something,” Schneep said.

JJ stared down at the table surface. I... don’t want to jump to conclusions. Maybe McLoughlin is just... being... taken advantage of? Maybe he has a trusted friend who’s using his supplies?

“I don’t think Dr. McLoughlin has friends,” Marvin said. “He’s known to be a recluse.”

Well, maybe he’s being forced into criminal activity, JJ said. I... I don’t want him to be... judged unnecessarily.

Schneep looked at JJ and his expression softened. “JJ... you do not know that his situation is the same as yours.”

You don’t know it’s not, JJ pointed out.

“Well... that is true. But I think this is a good thing to investigate. Marvin?” Schneep looked at him. “We should probably look into it some more.”

“I was planning on it.” Marvin nodded.

Well... that’s fair, JJ said. Just... try not to... be too harsh.

“I promise to try,” Schneep said. “Spitfire here will have more difficulty, I think.”

Marvin folded his arms. “I just think people are downplaying the idea of weaponized SAMs.”

“Well, that shit is freaky, from what I know about these Semi-Autonomous Machines,” Soren said. “But speaking of weapons—do you three know where’s a good place to get some?” He looked at Kanchana in particular as he said that. “You’ve been quiet.”

Kanchana laughed. “I don’t have much to contribute to this discussion. But yeah, I think between the three of us, we can hook you up with some things. For defense?”

“For defense,” Soren confirmed.

They talked some more, but eventually, all three of the visitors left. Kanchana first, then Marvin, and finally Schneep. The rest of the day passed without anything happening, and then JJ went to bed early, lying under the blankets and staring up at the ceiling of the otherwise empty bedroom for what felt like a long time. Trying not to think the thoughts lurking in the shadows of his mind.

===============

Jackie double-checked the note with the address. So... this was the safe house, then. Schneep had stopped by his and Chase’s apartment and given them each a sticky note with the location on it. “I know Chase has work a lot this week, but I hope you can both visit soon,” he said. Jackie promised he would go see JJ that day, and so, here he was. He’d gone on a brief patrol, but ended quickly, in a different part of town than this, and changed into his street clothes, taking the train the rest of the way. Maybe it was a bit paranoid, but he didn’t want anyone to see Windstorm anywhere in this area.

Hesitantly, maybe trying too hard to act cautiously, Jackie walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the door opened—but Jameson wasn’t on the other side. Instead, it was a tall man with red hair and purple eyes, wearing an overly large black jacket. “Windstorm, huh?” Soren grinned. “So that’s what you look like without the mask.”

Fuuuuuuck. Jackie had forgotten that JJ was also rooming with a super villain that Jackie himself had arrested. Well. Too late to back down now. Clearly, Pathos recognized him. “Yeah, this is me.” Jackie nodded. “I’m here to see JJ. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.” Pathos stepped to the side.

Jackie walked in. JJ was rushing down the hallway towards him, but stopped, realizing that Soren got there first. For a second, the two of them just stared at each other. The last time they’d seen each other, it had been on either side of a pane of glass. Before that, it had been on the roof, when those other Heroes were taking them away. Both times, they hadn’t really been able to... talk about this. About the huge elephant in the room between them. About being a hero and a villain. About... any of it.

“H-hi.” Jackie gave a small wave. “Nice to... see you again.”

JJ waved back, laughing a little at the absurdity of it. Then the laughter faded. They stared at each other for a while more.

Soren closed the front door. “Well, happy reunion times. The man who arrested me and the man who’s the reason I’m out of prison.”

JJ looked over at him. Excuse me? I didn’t do anything to get us out!

“Hey, you stood up and insisted that I be included. You really didn’t have to do that.” Soren smiled.

Well if you’re so grateful, you can take the bed, JJ said, then folded his arms.

“What? No, you have it the other way around. You getting the bed is how I’m showing you I appreciate it.”

“Why don’t you both share the bed if you’re so insistent?” Jackie said jokingly.

JJ started, and so did Soren. They both stared at him. What? Did he say something wrong? After an awkward moment, JJ coughed. It’s good to see you, Jackie, he said. Really. He paused. I’m... sorry.

“Sorry?” Jackie blinked, surprised. “For... what?”

For everything. For all the Puppeteer stuff. His hands shook. For giving you those trick bracelets. For... controlling you, that day on the SepTech roof. I am so, so sorry.

“O-oh.” Jackie went quiet. “JJ, I... I-I forgave you for that a while ago. I guess... I guess you’d have no way of knowing that, though. Jameson, it’s fine. I-I know you were in a tough position. I’m just... relieved that... I’m just relieved.” He smiled slightly.

JJ nodded slightly. His eyes looked a bit watery. The others said you’ve been looking for flower-time.

“Flower time? Oh! I-is that your sign for Timekee—for your sister?” Jackie asked. “Y-yeah, I’m looking. I haven’t had too much progress... but I’m pretty sure she’s still in the city somewhere.”

The water in JJ’s eyes rose to the surface, threatening to spill over. Really? She was that close, the whole time? His whole body is trembling.

“Y-yeah.” Jackie nodded. “That’s—that’s a good thing, you know. It means that there’s a smaller area to cover.”

I know, it’s just... Jameson shook his head. She was so close, all this time. Maybe I could have done something...

“James,” Soren said gently. “You really can’t blame yourself forever. Your guilt isn’t going to change anything.”

Jameson looked at them, then away to the side.

“I-I’m sure Anti-Virus would’ve figured out if you went looking for Dahlia,” Jackie said. “Did he... check on you often?”

JJ pursed his lips, nodding. At least once a day. I had to answer right away or he would get suspicious.

“Well, there you have it,” Jackie said. “If you left your phone at home, he’d probably notice if you didn’t answer his call or text or whatever he did.”

That... makes sense, Jameson said slowly. He was very... on my back. And never at the same time of day. Sometimes he even called me in the middle of the night, waking me up.

“Fucking god,” Jackie muttered. “Did the guy never sleep himself?”

Jameson shrugged. I don’t know. Maybe he had a very irregular sleep schedule. Or maybe he set an alarm. I just don't know, and I don’t know if I ever will. He took a deep breath. Can I show you around, Jackie? It’s a very small house.

Soren coughed.

JJ looked at him in alarm. Oh, of course, I should ask you, too... with your history and all.

“History? What’re you trying to imply?” Soren said jokingly.

You know what I mean.

“Ohhhh, right, of course you mean how I got arrested and all.” Soren chuckled.

Jackie tried not to squirm. He was used to Pathos being threatening. Or if he wasn’t that, he was always trying to distract Jackie or convince him that this illegal endeavor surely wasn’t worth his time. So even with this casual attitude, he was still on edge, instinctively keeping his guard up.

“It’s fine,” Soren said. “I know you were just doing what you thought was right. Though I wish you were a bit more careful dropping me from that balcony. I’m lucky I didn’t crack a rib from that height.”

“Sorry,” Jackie muttered. “I was... a bit more rough than necessary, I guess. But it’s hard to fight a guy who keeps manipulating your emotions! I—I-I had to—” He stopped. “Sorry... I should stop making excuses.”

Soren tilted his head. “You’re... very different than I remember you. Is it just the last of a mask?”

“I’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff,” Jackie said vaguely.

“Hm, I can tell. But no need to explain. You were doing what you needed to. If I was a superhero who’d been fighting a crime lord for two years, I’d get frustrated eventually, too.” Soren chuckled. “No hard feelings.”

“O...kay.” Jackie nodded.

“I’m going to lay down for a bit,” Soren said, heading down the hall. “James, feel free to give him that tour.”

JJ nodded. He looked at Jackie. Well, let’s start with the bedroom, then.

A very short tour later, they stopped in the hallway. “It’s a nice place,” Jackie said, looking around. “Just kind of small.”

I know, Jameson said. But it’s bigger than the Vault, so I don’t think I’ll get tired of it for a while.

Jackie winced. “I... I’m sorry about that. Getting you arrested, and all. I-I didn’t know the Vault was... so bad.”

Jackie, if you can forgive me for the Puppeteer, I can forgive you for the arrest, JJ said. You didn’t know it was me, anyway. Not until it was too late. And I imagine you were thinking about a lot of stuff afterwards. I don’t blame you at all.

“Yeah.” Jackie nodded slowly, then lightly elbowed JJ. “Guess you just gotta give yourself some of that grace, huh?” He grinned when he saw JJ smile a bit. “Okay. One question. The note Schneep gave me with the address had a note about a secret way in and out of the house.”

Right beneath your feet, JJ said, pointing down at the ground.

Jackie looked down. Now that he was looking closely, he noticed that he was standing on a square in the middle of the carpet, as if part of it had been cut out of the main body of the carpet and then put back in place. He lifted his feet up, hovering in the air. “Trapdoor?”

Trapdoor, JJ confirmed. He crouched down close to the ground and dug his fingers beneath the carpet square, slowly heaving it open to reveal a ladder going down into a dark concrete tunnel.

“Well that’s mildly terrifying,” Jackie muttered.

JJ laughed. He slowly lowered the trapdoor back into place—but accidentally let go, causing the trapdoor to fall the last few inches with a loud slam. Both he and Jackie flinched at the sound. I understand it leads to a disguised manhole cover in some street, JJ said.

“Nice. In the future I’m probably going to come through that way,” Jackie said. “So, uh... don’t leave it locked, I guess. Or—well, you probably should keep it locked. Just in case. I can knock and hopefully wake you up.”

Sounds good. JJ pulled himself to his feet with the wall. He stood up straight, stumbling a bit in the process. Jackie reached out to steady him. Thanks, JJ said, taking a deep breath.

“You’ve been pretty off-balance,” Jackie whispered. 

I haven’t done much walking in a bit, JJ said, heading down to the living room. Anyway, do you want to hang out for a while? Or are you busy?

“Um... I-I’ll be honest, my usual way of hanging out means playing video games.” Jackie laughed a little, though it wasn’t as enthusiastic as he wanted it to be. He was still concerned about JJ’s stumbling. But... JJ would be fine with time, wouldn’t he? “Um... what have you been doing with Schneep when he stopped by?”

We usually just chat, or sometimes we read books together in silence, JJ said.

“Ah. Well, I-I don’t read much... except for comic books.”

What’s your favorite comic book? JJ asked, sitting down on the sofa.

“Well, I always liked the ones the League made about Moonstone. But for non-Hero, non-League stuff, uh... There’s this sci-fi series that takes place in the distant future, where humans have met aliens and learned a bunch from their technology. It all takes place on a space station in Earth’s orbit—but also it’s not really Earth, it’s like an alternate universe where it’s called Terra... a-anyway, it’s all about this small group of humans and aliens uncovering the dark secrets of the space station.” He started to sit down. “The main character is a human named—OW!” He immediately shot into the air, hovering cross-legged as he looked back down at the sofa.

Are you okay, Jackie? JJ asked, alarmed.

“Yeah, I just sat on this.” Jackie reached down and picked up a small wooden doll with a pen in one hand. “What’s this? Looks like something an artist would sell in your shop.”

JJ pursed his lips. That’s exactly what it is. Henrik brought it so I could... see if my power is returning. By testing it on the doll.

“Oh right, your powers work on anything human-shaped,” Jackie said. “Like those crash-test dummies.” He paused. “Hey... I have an idea. Your range of control reaches basically all across the city, right?”

Jameson nodded slowly.

“If there’s an emergency, you guys will have a hard time contacting us, without any electronics. But this little wooden doll had a pen. Maybe if you put your strings on it, and then I keep it in mine and Chase’s apartment, you can make the doll write a note in case you need to tell us something. On like, a sticky note or something!” Jackie grinned proudly.

...that’s a good idea, Jameson said. Except that I’m never going to use my powers again.

“Huh?” Jackie looked up, surprised.

JJ sighed. I know, you’re going to say I shouldn’t think of my powers as a bad thing. I know. Henrik, Marvin, and Soren have all said I shouldn’t be ashamed of them. But... I’ve only been able to hurt people with them. I can’t just... not think about that. About all the things I’ve done.

“I... I wasn’t exactly going to say that,” Jackie said slowly. “I... JJ, I’ll be honest. Your powers... still kind of freak me out. I... I get where you’re coming from. I really do.”

Jameson clearly doesn’t know what to say to that. His mouth just forms a small, silent O.

“I get where the others are coming from, too,” Jackie said. “I don’t want you to hate yourself, you know.”

I don’t hate myself, Jameson protested.

“You hate that part of yourself,” Jackie said. “And... well, like I said, I get why your powers would make you uncomfortable. But they’re not going to go away. Unless you take a bunch of neutrinalin all the time, but I think you know why that’s a bad idea.”

JJ shuddered.

“You can’t just wish away something that’s part of you like your powers are,” Jackie continued. “Even if they led to you doing bad things in the past. They won’t disappear because you ignore them. So the only way to carry on is to make peace with them... with yourself. And your past. I-it’s going to be difficult.But I think you can do it.” He smiled. “You’re... you’re a good person, JJ. I believed it even when I found out you were the Puppeteer. I knew there had to be an explanation. Marvin would probably say that I’m too trusting, but... hey, it worked out, didn’t it?”

Jameson laughed a bit. The sound came out choked, though, as his eyes were filling with tears. Thank you, Jackie, he said. That... that means a lot.

“Hah.” Jackie grinned. “Hey man, you’re my friend. I’m there for you. And so is everyone else. I know Chase would say the same thing if he was here, and you already said the others talked to you about it. Even if it sounds like they didn’t do as great a job.”

Oh don’t throw them under the bus like that! JJ said. They tried their best. I think... I think I just needed to hear it from you, maybe. Out of all of the group, you’re the one I hurt the most with these powers... aside from the time I accidentally caused Chase to fall from the roof.

Jackie winced. “Yeah, we, uh... haven’t really... talked about that. I-I’m guessing it was an accident?”

Of course! And the moment I realized what happened, I... I wanted to rush after him. I’m glad you managed to shake off the control long enough to fly out and grab him.

Jackie shrugged. “You must’ve lost concentration or something, I don’t think I would’ve done it otherwise.”

That would make sense. It was... very shocking to see. JJ paused. Anyway... maybe I’ll try that doll idea. Soren’s powers are coming back, so mine probably are, too. Maybe I’ll... see if I can make some strings later. I don’t really want to try yet.

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Jackie said. “But if you decide to give this idea a try, let me know next time I check on you. For it to work, I’ll need to take the doll home, after all.”

JJ nodded. Thank you, Jackie. Now... what was that comic book you were telling me about?

They talked for a while more before Jackie decided to leave. He promised to visit again soon, and to make sure Chase did as well. Then he went home through the secret tunnel. JJ waved him off, then went into the bedroom.

Soren was lying on the bed, reading a book. He looked up at JJ as he walked in. “Is everything okay, James? You look a bit teary.”

It’s all fine, I think, JJ said. He paused, and then walked over and laid down next to Soren on the bed. I think Windstorm has a point about sharing. We have limited space, after all.

“Ah.” Soren paused. “So... you’re alright with that? I-I just wanted to be sure... that things wouldn’t be different once we got out.”

JJ nodded. Yes, I am. And no, they won’t be.

After a moment, Soren smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

The two of them went quiet, spending the rest of the day in comfortable silence. The thoughts in the shadows didn’t rear their heads again that night.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Inner City Blues

Syverson x Fem!Reader

vignette: Ethan Syverson was a country boy through and through. But maybe there's one woman who can finally convince him to give the city life a chance.

words: 6,500+

a/n: once again, shoutout to @just-chirpin for her help.

masterlist

Syverson didn’t know what had come over him.

The only thing he understood was that he missed her.

God, he fucking missed her so much.

It had been just over a month since Y/N had left.

And Syverson’s life had gone to shit. He hadn’t slept a full night since. He was in such a foul mood, that his workers on the farm tiptoed around him. His friends didn’t tease him when he drank twice as much when they went out. Other women were practically invisible to him. He ate the same meals every day because it all tasted bland to him anyway.

Now Syverson stood at LaGuardia airport, waiting in line for a cab.

He had to ask Layla for Y/N’s address in New York City. And to his surprise, she didn’t say a word or ask a single question, just gave him a sympathetic look as she wrote it down and handed it to him.

It was a Saturday morning. Traffic wasn’t great. As soon as Sy’s cab pulled away from the airport, he was met with pollution and noise.

He didn’t realize he was holding his breath in until he saw the city’s skyline and he let out a giant exhale.

In that moment, he understood. He understood what drew people here, that other places couldn’t give them. Hell, there wasn’t anything even remotely similar in Texas – not even in the major cities.

When the cab pulled over, Sy handed the driver a wad of cash and tried not to think about how much a 20-minute ride cost.

Sy looked up at a sixth-floor walk up. He knew Y/N lived on the third floor, and Layla gave him the apartment number.

Fuck. What if she hated that he came?

Why hadn’t he thought of that before making such a ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment decision?

That wasn’t like him. Sy thought through everything. It was what he was trained to do and what had been conditioned into his already prepared personality.

But he was also trained to ignore his fear, to fight through it.

Sy buzzed 3C.

There was no answer.

Maybe she wasn’t home.

Sy decided pretty quickly that he was just going to wait.

So he sat on her stoop, laying his duffle bag at his feet.

He told himself he’d give it an hour. Any longer, and he would feel like a creep.

Y/N was her own woman. She didn’t owe him anything. It’s not like he told her he was coming. He was about to thrust this surprise onto her.

As he waited, Sy thought about the last time he’d seen Y/N.

He’d gotten too used to saying goodbye to people. But saying goodbye to her had been the hardest one in his life.

——

Y/N had felt sick since she’d woken up.

She was leaving.

How could a year go by so quickly?

Layla sat on Y/N’s bed as she packed up.

“You know, you can stay another year,” Layla frowned. She was taking this even harder than Y/N was. “You can stay forever!”

Y/N smiled at her cousin’s ridiculousness. “I really can’t. My sublet moved out two weeks ago. I’m gonna have to start paying rent again.” She sighed. “And you’re gonna have to start planning a wedding soon.”

“Exactly!” Layla argued. “I need your help!”

“No, you don’t.”

Layla sighed in disappointment.

And then she decided she wanted to talk about something else. “Have you two talked?”

“Who?”

“Don’t you play dumb. You and Sy.”

“He’s driving me to the airport, isn’t he?”

Layla glared at her cousin. “Y/N.” Her voice was stern and serious.

Y/N threw up her hands in frustration. “What is there to say, Layla?”

“I don’t know,” she sassed back. “Maybe how you feel about him? Or maybe what ya’ll are gon’ do now?”

“There’s nothing to do,” Y/N sighed in annoyance.

To her surprise, Layla didn’t respond.

It made Y/N look up at her cousin.

“It ain’t a sin to admit the truth, Y/N.” Layla sounded sad.

Maybe it was hard for people to believe, but Layla was really rooting for Y/N and Syverson. She wasn’t just trying to stir the pot and give herself entertainment. She saw the way Y/N looked at him and she had never seen Y/N act that way around a man before. And Layla had known Sy almost as long as her cousin. And he had never seemed happier. The two made sense – despite their now geographical struggles.

Y/N cleared her throat, stopping her emotions from coming through. “I can’t. OK.”

Layla give her a sympathetic look and just nodded.

“Can we stop talking about it now?” Y/N begged.

Layla nodded again.

“I really loved having you here,” she told her instead. “I feel like everything’s ‘bout to change.”

Y/N looked at her with concern. “What do you mean?”

“I’m about to get married. My life is about to change. You ain’t gonna wanna hang out with me after that.”

“What?!” Y/N laughed. “What are you talking about? You and Aiden are practically married already. What could possibly change? Of course I’ll want to hang out with you!”

“It’s strange,” Layla mumbled as she looked around at her house. “I’ll never live alone again. I won’t be a single girl. I’ll be somebody’s wife. Eventually I’ll start popping out babies. And I’ll look back at this time as if I was a different person.”

“Do you not want those things?” Y/N asked carefully.

“Of course I do. I want everything with Aiden. But sometimes I hate that I can’t have both, ya know?”

“I think I do, yeah.”

They heard the front door jiggle open.

“That’s Aiden,” Layla told her. “He’s here for damage control once you leave.”

“Dramatic,” Y/N laughed.

“Hey! At least I ain’t scared of my feelings!”

Aiden knocked on the door frame as he appeared. “You ladies saying your goodbyes?”

Layla practically wailed. “Don’t remind me!” And threw her face into a pillow.

Aiden tried not to laugh at his fiancé and switched his gaze to Y/N. “Sy takin’ you to the airport?”

Y/N just nodded.

The time to leave came far too quickly.

Layla was a puddle of tears by the time Sy got there.

When the bear of man got out of his truck, he was his usual stoic self.

Y/N didn’t know what else she had expected.

“Those ready to go?” He asked her as he pointed to the bags at her feet.

Y/N nodded.

Sy just nodded back and silently started loading them onto the back of his truck.

Obviously he was trying to give her space and privacy to say her goodbyes.

“Come back whenever you want. I mean it. Even if it’s just for a week,” Layla managed to tell her through her tears.

Y/N gave her hug, trying to soothe her cousin.

“And that offer still stands once she’s at my place,” Aiden added with a shy smile.

Y/N gave him a grateful smile and gave him a hug next.

Sy had been watching from a distance, leaning against his truck with his arms crossed.

Y/N slowly walked over to him, tears already drying on her cheeks.

“Ready to go?” He asked her gently.

She just sniffed and wiped from of her tears away.

Then Y/N felt her backpack being removed from her shoulder.

That damn man. He couldn’t even let her carry a backpack.

When Y/N got into the passenger seat, Aiden had his arms wrapped around Layla on the porch as she cried and waved at them.

Just as they pulled out of the driveway, Sy turned to Y/N and said, “Darlin’, I ain’t afraid of your tears. Don’t gotta go and hide ‘em from me.”

There was no middle console in Sy’s pickup. So Y/N slid all the way over to his side and wrapped her grip around his right arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. When she first settled there, Sy kissed the top of her head, silently telling her that he had no issue with it.

They didn’t talk, just drove in silence, awaiting the end of it all.

To Y/N surprise, Sy didn’t pull up to the departures ramp, instead going down to the parking lot. Figured the man wouldn’t just drop her off and go. He wanted every last minute he could with her, even if it cost him overpriced airport parking.

Sy only let Y/N carry her backup and carried the rest of her stuff to baggage claim.

As soon as all her luggage was checked, Y/N felt the weight of their inevitable goodbye.

Sy walked her to the security line, but she didn’t join it yet.

All of the sudden, Y/N was crying.

He instantly responded by pulling her into his arms. He didn’t tell her to stop crying or that everything would be OK. He just held her and rubbed her back, allowing her the safety of his arms as her emotions escaped.

Eventually Y/N had to pull away, even though her heart was screaming at her not to.

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes.

‘I love you': It was hovering over them, taunting them and pressuring someone to finally say the words aloud.

But they both couldn’t do it.

“Thank you for driving me,” Y/N said instead.

He sighed, “Don’t gotta thank me.” Then he pushed some hair off her face and wiped a few of her tears away.

“Can you do me a favor?” Sy asked seriously.

She nodded.

“Call me once you get back to your apartment,” he requested. “Just wanna make sure you get back safely and there ain’t any issues with your place.”

Her heart quivered with the request, but she nodded again as she tried not to burst into tears once again.

“Go on, now.” Sy nodded towards the security line. “You got a plane to catch.”

Y/N looked at the line and then back at him, almost as if she were scared.

And before she could change her mind, Y/N leaned up and kissed Syverson.

It was their last kiss – and it felt like it.

“I hate this,” Y/N whispered into his lips after they pulled away.

“I know, darlin’.”

Then, to her horror, he gave her a quick kiss to her head and started walking backwards, separating himself from her.

“Go on,” he nodded to security.

‘Go after him. Stay,’ a voice was screaming at her.

But Y/N couldn’t do it.

So, she took a deep breath and headed towards security.

—

The skyline was the only comfort waiting for Y/N back in New York.

It felt like no time had passed, the city was the same.

It took Y/N a moment to realize that she was the one who had changed.

Y/N waited for that typical wave of comfort and relief when you walk back into your home after a long trip.

But it never came.

It didn’t smell like her anymore. Her subletter’s perfume or candles or overall pheromones had erased Y/N from the apartment.

She sighed, nearly falling onto the edge of her bed and looked around.

“Home sweet home,” Y/N mumbled to herself.

Then she remembered her promise to Syverson.

She grabbed her phone and pressed his contact.

“Hey, darlin’.” He greeted on the second ring.

The pet name almost felt wrong now. Like it had expired – or like she wasn’t deserving of it now that she’d left.

“Hi,” she said slowly.

Y/N hadn’t expected that just hearing his voice would make her feel so terrible. Fuck. She already missed him and it hadn’t even been 12 hours.

“Feel good to be home?”

Y/N hesitated before simply humming, “Mhmm.”

She knew if he tried to actually speak, she would burst into tears.

And what good would that do?

“You alright?” He asked her.

God, she was so selfish. All he did was worry about her. It’s not like this was any easier for him. But all he worried about was her.

“I don’t know how to do this, Sy.”

She heard him let out a heavy sigh.

“Y/N, I don’t have to disappear from your life.”

“It’s just…fuck…I miss you already.”

“You once told me you can get any food you want at any time of day

“Yeah,” she sniffed.

“So hows about you order something you’ve been craving for the last year? I think we both know that would make you feel better.”

The food didn't make her feel any better. Neither did the bottle of wine she drank by herself.

———

15 minutes after Sy sat down on Y/N’s stoop, he saw her.

She had chunky headphones on and had two canvas bags hanging off each shoulder, nearly overflowing with groceries. He could tell they were heavy and digging into her shoulders.

Y/N was zoned out, only walking quickly to reach her apartment faster and to be done with such an annoying errand.

It wasn’t until she’d crossed the street in a jaywalk that she noticed Syverson.

Y/N stopped dead in her tracks, clearly in shock.

Was she imagining this? Had she completely lost it?

All Sy said was, “Hey, darlin’,” and she was snapped out of her trance.

Y/N dropped her groceries to the ground and ran to him.

Sy chuckled as he lifted her into his arms and spun her around.

“What are you doing here?” She finally managed to ask, almost in a whimper.

“I just…” Syverson suddenly realized he hadn’t come prepared with an answer for this question. “I missed you,” he admitted.

Her face softened, and she hugged him again.

“I missed you, too.”

She mumbled it in his chest and it was as if she was releasing a tension in her body that she’d had since leaving Texas.

“Listen, I know this was all a surprise. You weren’t expecting me. And you got a life,” he began explaining. “I have a military buddy who lives in Queens. Said I could stay with him no problem.”

Y/N laughed at him. “Sy, shut up. You can stay at my place. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Did you just tell me to shut up?” He tilted his head to the side.

“I did,” she giggled. “Welcome to New York, Ethan Syverson.”

Then she started walking towards her discarded groceries.

“I got ‘em,” Sy came out of nowhere and picked up the two reusable bags, as well as his duffle bag.

She gave him a playful glare.

“Ain’t gotta give me that look,” Sy sighed. Then he nudged his head towards the doorway. “You gon’ let us up or what?”

Y/N shook her head at his southern manners and walked past him, up the stoop.

Just as she opened the door to the building, she hesitated and turned to him nervously.

“It’s…ummm…not much. My place, I mean. It’s really small.”

“Y/N, it don’t matter to me,” he told her gently.

Was she expecting him to make a rude comment about it? Did other people from out of town do that?

Sy would never. Not that he even cared, but it was rude above all else.

Three floors up and Y/N opened the apartment door, walking in first and quickly turning on lights.

It was a studio apartment. And she was right: it was very small. But most New Yorkers would consider her lucky.

“Home sweet home,” Y/N sighed with a nervous laugh.

Sy could tell that she liked her place – and it was so…her.

He was so used to seeing her in Layla’s home, that he didn’t realize he’d never been lucky enough to see the intimate and personal side of Y/N’s life: her home, her oasis, her escape from the world.

“Cozy,” he answered. “I like it.”

Y/N stared at him for a second as he carefully laid her groceries on the kitchen counter.

Sy noticed her watching him. “…What?”

“Nothing,” she laughed softly. “You just…You look so much bigger in my apartment. Or my apartment looks so much smaller with you in it. Can’t decide which one it is.”

“Pretty sure it’s me,” Sy joked as he smirked at her.

“You must be starving. What do you want to eat?” Y/N asked, clearly wanting to keep their conversations light. Her eyes lit up. “We’ve got every type of cuisine in the world at our fingertips. Anything that you’ve always wanted to try?”

“You pick.”

“Nooo!” She whined. “Come on! You have to be craving something.”

“Ummm,” he rubbed his beard. “A burger sounds nice.”

Y/N’s disappointment was evident.

New York had Ethiopian, Indian, French, Romanian – literally anything anyone could ever want.

“Burger it is,” she sighed, trying not hide her disappointment now.

But she quickly changed the subject.

“Listen, I have a friend's birthday thing tonight. It’s super casual and just at a dive bar. Would you come with me? We can grab dinner before and head there after.”

“I ain’t trying to impose,” he scratched the back of his neck and shifted his weight. “Guess I didn’t think this whole thing through, huh?”

“Hey,” she stepped close to him. “You’re not imposing. It was a good surprise. The best, actually.”

“Sure I won’t be intruding if I come?”

“I promise. My friends know about you,” Y/N didn’t meet his gaze as she admitted that. “They’ll probably interrogate you once they realize who you are.”

“Think I can handle a bit of interrogation,” he chuckled.

Sy tried not to dwell on the fact that all her friends knew about him.

What had she told them? Would he agree with all the facts she gave them? Or would he be upset with Y/N’s retelling of their story?

“I’m gonna shower real quick. Feel free to make yourself at home. TV has pretty much every streaming service.”

He just nodded.

Since the studio had no walls besides the bathroom, it left little room for privacy.

Sy noticed that Y/N had tried to subtly grab clothes to change into and bring them to the bathroom with her.

He had seen her naked more times than he could count. But it was like they had moved backwards. There was an awkward uncertainty between them now.

Had all that trust and vulnerability, that Syverson had slowly earned, vanished already?

When Y/N emerged from the bathroom, she was fully dressed.

And Sy couldn’t help but notice that her clothes were not the ones he had grown used to over the past year.

He quickly realized that he was seeing the New York version of Y/N. And she looked much different than the girl he met, who desperately tried to fit into the new and strange environment of Texas.

Sy tried not to stare as she did her hair and makeup. But that was a bit of a challenge.

Y/N seemed tense and nervous.

‘Was this a mistake?’ Sy wondered. ‘Was he making her uncomfortable and she was just too polite to tell him?’

“Ready?” Y/N finally asked as she shoved some things into a small purse.

He stood up from the couch.

“You look very pretty,” he commented lightly.

Y/N blinked at the compliment and looked down at her outfit. “Really?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” He asked with a bit of a smirk.

“I-I don’t know. Just caught me off guard, I guess…”

“Come on, darlin’. Let’s get something to eat.”

As they walked to the subway, Y/N gave her survival tips to Syverson. “Treat the sidewalk like you would a highway. Don’t slow down for no reason. Don’t stop out of nowhere. Stay on the right. And walk fast.”

Sy grinned as he watched Y/N walk with such purpose, swerving past the crowded Manhattan sidewalks.

Y/N smiled back at Sy when she caught him watching her.

“Come on, handsome.” She teased before grabbing onto his hand, weaving their fingers.

He expected her to let go once they were through a crowded area, but she didn’t. And her grip was firm, making it clear that she wanted to hold his hand.

“There’s no such thing as personal space with public transport. Just gotta shove your way in,” Y/N tried to warn him as the subway doors opened.

And Sy hated it instantly.

But he didn’t mind that Y/N leaned close to him as she held the bar above her, their torsos practically attached. He could smell her perfume, and it was a relief to know that at least that felt familiar.

They were only two stops away when a man shoved his way past them to get out. He knocked Y/N’s shoulder so hard that she actually stumbled a bit, causing Sy to quickly grip her waist to steady her.

Y/N didn’t even seem to notice or care.

But she looked up to see Sy’s jaw clenching and him glaring at the back of the man’s retreating figure. And she realized what had upset him.

Y/N placed a hand on his chest soothingly and looked into his eyes, silently telling him that it was OK and he could relax. She added a quiet laugh as if to make light of the incident.

Once they got to the restaurant, Syverson seemed to finally relax a bit. He felt more in his element. The restaurant drowned out the overwhelming sounds of the city.

Sy noticed how no one paid them any mind as they walked in. There wasn’t the nosey gawking that happened everywhere in Texas, because you were bound to run into someone you knew.

But not here. No one knew who he was and no on seemed to care.

It was oddly refreshing.

And it finally seemed like Y/N and him had returned to their old selves.

Y/N asked a million questions about his friends in Texas, the farm, the construction zone Layla had turned his house into.

And in return, Sy asked her about work, being back in New York, and all her friends there that he had managed to remember from her telling stories in the past.

There was a lull in conversation – but not awkward.

Y/N leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She seemed to be studying him from across the table.

“Got somethin’ to share, darlin’?” He teased.

She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re here. In New York.”

He just cleared his throat and took a sip of his whiskey, not really sure what he was supposed to say to that.

She let him stay quiet.

“Ready to head out?” She asked.

“Plannin’ on dinin' and dashin’?” He looked around for their waiter so they could get the check.

“Oh, I already paid,” Y/N smiled mischievously as she stood up. “I snuck my card to the waiter when I went to the bathroom.”

Syverson gave her a glare.

Y/N leaned up to whisper in his ear, “You’re in New York now, baby.”

And she kissed him on the cheek.

As she started practically skipping away in victory, Sy managed to subtly reach just beneath her skirt and pinch her ass.

Y/N couldn’t stop the yelp that escaped.

But still no one in the restaurant looked at them.

It wasn’t until they were back outside that Y/N smacked his chest and cried out, “You ass!”

But it was all through a smile.

Sy just chuckled and put his arm around her shoulder.

Maybe he didn’t mind the invisibility that New York offered.

When they got to the bar, Y/N was holding Sy’s hand once again.

Instead of making him feel out of place and awkward, she instantly introduced Syverson and everyone seemed to be so excited that he was visiting.

But in her efforts to wish her friend a happy birthday and say hello to her other friends, Y/N had accidentally left Sy on his own.

He should be able to handle it. Really, he should.

Y/N didn’t have issues with it when she was in Texas.

But Sy realized, he had nothing to talk about with these people. The only connection was their love for Y/N – and that could only take a conversation so far.

And the setting didn’t exactly make it any easier for Sy.

The music was loud. Everyone was dressed to make a statement. The drinks were expensive. The bar was tiny and overcrowded.

Sy’s accent got commented on at least a dozen times. And while it’s not exactly rude, he quickly became sick of it. There was a subtle teasing underneath it all.

There are a few other guys there and they don’t seem to have any interest in talking to him either. Y/N must’ve mentioned in passing that he used to be in the military, because they seemed to be intimidated by him.

Or maybe they were waiting for Sy to pick a fight and show his true colors?

It didn't help that the men in New York were just…smaller. And because of that, Syverson stood out even more. Not only because of his height, but how broad he was, too.

Despite just wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and boots, there was just something about Syverson that screamed he wasn’t a city boy.

The situation was even worse when Sy had quickly observed that one of Y/N’s male “friends” clearly had a thing for her. Sy caught him checking Y/N out every time she was focused in a conversation. His entire body tensed when he saw the guy put his hand on her lower back at one point. But Sy relaxed when Y/N stepped away from it – whether it was intentional or not, Sy didn’t know.

His distance and silence doesn’t go past Y/N after awhile.

She tried to check in on him every once in awhile. But when she asked how he was doing, he would just brush it off and say he was fine.

Eventually, it became clear to Y/N that Sy wasn’t having any fun. Luckily, her friends didn’t seem to notice. All they told her was how polite and quiet he was.

“I’m gonna get a car. Ready to go?” She asked evenly.

“No subway?” He asked, not that he really cared.

“No. They don’t run as frequently after midnight – and the express trains stop, too. It would take twice as long. And it looks like cars are cheap right now.”

Sy just nodded. “I can pay for it.”

“You don’t even have any of the apps,” she argued.

He just sighed, not wanting to turn this into an argument.

They said their goodbyes and got into the car Y/N had requested.

Sy had used car services before – usually while traveling – but they always felt weird to him. He would rather drive himself around.

“That boy’s in love with you,” Sy muttered a few minutes into the drive.

Y/N didn’t miss that he referred to him as a ‘boy,’ and not a ‘man.’

“Who? Colin?”

“Fuck if I know his name…”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “He’s not in love with me. Maybe he has a crush on me. But it’s not like it matters. I have zero interest.”

Sy didn’t respond.

“Is that why you’re being a grump?” She challenged.

He looked at her and then at their driver, silently telling her he didn’t want to talk when they had an audience.

The rest of the 20 minute ride was dead quiet. And that silence continued as the two walked up the stairs to Y/N’s apartment.

“You know what I don’t understand?” Y/N began, as she took off her heels, letting them hit the floor loudly. “Why is it that I can have a conversation with any of your friends? But you can’t do the same in return?”

Sy rubbed his face. But he didn’t even know what to say.

How pathetic was it to say that he felt out of place? That he was overwhelmed and unsure of himself?

“I thought maybe you would want to see my life. But clearly not,” she mumbled.

“I did,” he sighed. “I mean, I do.”

She threw up her hands. “So what’s the problem, Sy?”

“I don’t…I don’t fit in here.”

Y/N stopped moving around the world to look at him. “Why did you come here?”

Sy crossed his arms and looked at the ground. “I needed you.”

“That’s not all. And you know it.”

“Y/N, I love you." He finally lifted his head. "I shoulda told you before you left. I should’ve told you every day since I figured it out.”

“Fucking hell,” Y/N hissed. “Don’t tell me that.”

“Why not?”

And with that, Y/N finally exploded and yelled, “Because we can’t be together!”

“Says who?” He challenged, taking a step towards her.

“Ethan, what world are you living in!?” Y/N cried out desperately. “Don’t you get it? There is no winning for us!” Her fingers ran through her hair. “You hate it here. You can pretend not to all you want, but I can see it. I can’t ask you to move here.”

“You never asked,” Sy interrupted.

She paused. “W-What?”

He crossed his arms. “You never asked me to move here.”

Y/N studied his face for a moment before quietly telling him, “Because I didn’t want to hear you say no.”

Sy frowned, almost as if he was offended. “Why are you so convinced I’d say no?”

“Are you kidding?” She gasped. “You’ve been here for less than 24 hours and it’s so obvious that you fucking hate it.”

Sy wanted to fight her on it, but she didn’t deserve to be lied to.

Y/N was right: the city life wasn’t for him. No amount of time or effort would change that. Ethan Syverson was a country boy through and through.

“Long distance,” he finally stated as he put his hands on his hips.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” she argued.

“I don’t? It’s not exactly unfamiliar territory, darlin’.”

Y/N scoffed. “You’re not in the military anymore, Ethan. And I’m no military wife.”

“So that’s it then?” He sounded angry now. “You won’t even try.”

“I don’t…” Y/N had to stop as her bottom lip trembled and she started to tear up. “I don’t want to spend more time missing you than loving you, Ethan.”

The tears couldn’t be stopped anymore.

And Sy could never stand the sight of her crying.

Without asking for permission, he pulled her into his arms.

And Y/N cried into his chest.

“You never asked me to stay,” she whispered, still holding onto him.

“What?” He looked down at her.

“You never asked me to stay with you. Just like I didn’t ask you to move here.”

“I couldn’t do it,” he sighed and pulled away, but still held her face. “You ain’t wrong, I did want to see your life here. But now I know that I can’t offer you the same things your life here can.”

Y/N didn’t tell him differently.

“If I asked you to move to Texas," he continued, "and you did…sooner or later, you’d miss your life here. And eventually… you’d resent me.”

Y/N couldn’t deny or confirm his theory. It was all built on hypothetical futures. But there was something inside her saying that he was right.

Yeah, Y/N enjoyed her time in Texas. But it was a fixed amount of time. She wasn’t meant to stay there forever.

There were things about it that she would always have problems with: the conservative bigotry, the religiousness, the government’s blatant attack against women, the racism, the sexism. People could say “ma’am” and “miss” all they wanted, but that didn’t make up for all the issues with the state’s regressive beliefs.

“You’re going to find a woman who can give you the life you want,” Y/N finally whispered. “I’m sorry I ever got in the way of that in the first place.”

“You ain’t in the way of nothing,” he corrected her. His thumb lifted her chin. “Who’s sayin’ you can’t give me the life I want, huh?”

“Sy…” she breathed in frustration.

“Do you love me?”

“Stop.”

“No. I ain’t lettin’ you hide from it any longer. Do you love me or not, Y/N?”

“Yes! OK?!” She gasped. “I love you.”

Sy couldn’t keep his hands to himself any longer. He grabbed her face and pulled it to him. It was rougher than usual, and he couldn’t help it.

They were both desperate. It was no clear what 30+ days apart had done to them.

The entire day had been them trying to figure out how to move through the world together again. And it had been awkward and confusing.

But now? Now they had no issue being connected.

Syverson finally pulled away from her lips so they could breathe.

Their faces were still so close.

“Us loving each other isn’t enough,” Y/N gasped as they both tried to catch their breath.

“It’s enough for tonight, darlin’.”

————

Y/N couldn’t remember the last time she had a man sleep over at her apartment.

She also couldn’t remember if there was ever a time when Syverson was still in bed when she woke up.

That man required half the amount of sleep a normal human being did.

When she slept at his place – which had been quite often – he was always already up doing work on the farm.

So Y/N was shocked that Sy was still asleep beneath her, as she woke up against his bare chest.

That didn’t last long. Because as soon as she started stirring, he was up.

“You feeling OK?” She teased.

“What?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wake up before.”

He pinched her sides to pay her back for the teasing.

“Kept waking up,” Sy mumbled. “Felt like a damn siren went by every 30 minutes.”

When he was in the military, Syverson had slept in conditions that were far from ideal. Sometimes they used rocks for beds. Sometimes they were in a freezing desert.

But he was also conditioned to wake up at the smallest sounds. So the city soundscape was not something his ears or body could ignore.

Y/N laughed, “You get used to it.”

She watched him for a moment.

“What?” Sy asked. “I makin’ your bed look small now?”

She laughed. “Something like that, yeah.”

Holding up the sheet to cover her naked body, Y/N leaned down to kiss him.

Last night was a bad idea. Both of them understood that to a degree.

Because their situation hadn’t changed, but they had still acted on their feelings.

“Wanna be a tourist today?” Y/N asked with a teasing smile.

Syverson wanted to tell her no, that he wanted to just spend all day in bed with her.

But he saw the sparkle in her eyes. She wanted to show him New York. Maybe she was hoping that she could change the way he felt about the city life.

So, instead, Syverson rubbed up and down the side of her ribcage and answered, “You take me wherever you want, darlin.”

“I gotta shower real quick,” she told him with a peck to his lips.

“Guess I have no choice but to join you,” Sy laughed.

But Y/N cringed. “Sy, my shower is a so tiny. There’s no way we can both fit.”

Sy laughed and shook his head. New York problems.

“Alright then,” Syverson sighed as he put an arm behind his head. “I’ll just watch you walk around naked from bed then.”

Y/N rolled her eyes at him and hurried to the bathroom.

--

Syverson couldn’t remember the last time he walked around so much. Yeah, he worked on his farm. But it wasn’t spread out like the boroughs of New York City – not to mention, he rode a horse a lot of the time, too.

Y/N dragged him to her favorite cafe, to an art museum, to the best neighborhood for vintage shopping, to the river front, and finally to a brewery.

It took Syverson a moment to realize that she was trying to distract the both of them from their next goodbye.

He had seen Y/N’s face drop a bit when he told her he had bought a return flight for early Monday morning. But he had no idea what he was walking into, so he figured the shorter the trip, the better.

“Who’s taking care of the farm while you’re gone?” Y/N asked at the brewery.

“I paid the farm hands overtime to look after the place for the weekend.”

Y/N nodded.

But it was clear her mind was racing.

Sy leaned forward on the table to get closer to her. “You worried about my farm, darlin?”

“It’s your home and it’s how you make your living,” Y/N mumbled, playing with the handle of her beer mug to avoid looking at him.

Sy leaned back as he realized what Y/N was thinking: In a magical and perfect world where he lived in New York, what the hell would he even do for work here?

“You can’t exactly stay away for long periods of time,” she finally thought aloud.

“No, sure can’t,” he admitted in a gruff voice.

Then Sy cleared his throat, wanting to change the subject so this conversation didn’t lead to a fight – or worse, with Y/N crying.

“So what do you want to do tonight?” He asked.

“Would you want to just – I don’t know – order takeout and relax at my apartment?”

He gave her a grin. “That sounds like a mighty fine idea.”

Their night was quiet and cozy.

The two of them both seemed utterly disinterested in talking.

What more was there to say?

They hadn’t found a solution to their problem. And Y/N had made it clear that she couldn’t do the long-distance, scared that it would end up breaking both their hearts.

And it was hard for Syverson to defend it. Especially when he remembered all his military buddies that had them: almost half of them ended in breakup or infidelity – or both.

So they just held each other, savoring every last minute they had together.

The night ended with them in bed together, both of them knowing being with each other like this would only make the morning harder. But them silently agreeing that they didn’t care.

–––––––

So that's the last vignette I had planned. Let me know if ya'll want more – and be specific. 😏

[aceofshitposts]

All Roads To The Sea - Chapter Three

okay so, super late BUT i mean it's here!! so, this is technically out of order with the jaytim week prompts cuz this is actually for Wet Clothes rather than Shooting Star/Eclipse cuz it made more sense for the story progression to go this way 😂 so next chapter will be shooting star :3c

JayTim Week Day Three - Wet Clothes

[ONE] [TWO]

-

Tim manages to turn the SUV around in record time, Chrys and Danger's figures blurring in the rain as Tim begins to speed away. There's a loud PING from a bullet hitting the bumper causing Jason to jump where he's twisting around in his seat to see out the rear window.

He turns back to Tim, reaching out to grab Tim's wrist and it's a good thing Tim is a good driver because otherwise he might have swerved at the sudden contact.

BACK, is the immediate thought he gets from Jason, concern and fear bubbling over like a tidal wave.

"We can't," Tim says, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. They're too far to see anything except the vague shape of the overturned truck in the distance in the torrential rain. "It's too dangerous."

Vicious fury rips through Tim, Jason squeezing his wrist hard enough to bruise.

“I don’t want to leave her either! But how, exactly, are we going to take down Danger? He’s covered from head to toe and how would you even make it far enough to touch him anyway? He’s got a gun, several actually. If we go back there, you’re never getting out and you’ll never see Chrys again anyway.”

Jason withdraws his hand, leaving Tim with one last pulse of bitterness, and crosses his arms over his chest. Tim dares a quick glance towards him, his displeasure at the situation evident by his expression.

“I’m sorry, but she told us to go. She wouldn’t want to put you in more danger by coming to rescue her.”

Jason huffs in response, turning his head to stare out the window.

He hopes Chrys is okay. That she found something she could do and got away from Danger. It was no use dwelling on worrying about her now, though. Tim had a mission to fulfill and he intended to see it through.

They needed to ditch the SUV as soon as possible and Tim needed an easier method of getting Jason between cars and motels.

Evanston is a quiet town at almost midnight, few cars looming on its roads. It’s easy enough to follow a few road signs and find the city’s hospital.

The parking lot is about half full with cars of various types and it doesn’t take long for Tim to find one someone has fortunately left unlocked. He parks so that the two passenger sides face each other and begins helping Jason maneuver into the smaller car. Despite the direct contact, Jason is uncharacteristically quiet; the little Tim gets is muted and feels far away.

Jason is still mad and Tim doesn’t necessarily blame him. He was probably not the one Jason would have chosen to be stuck with if given a choice, after all he had only known Tim for two days. Barely.

Once safely inside the new car, he leaves Jason to curl in on himself, leaning against the window.

The last thing he needs is thankfully easy to get. He stalks over to the entrance of the ER where there are several folded wheelchairs leaning against a wall for people to use. Walking up and taking one isn’t a problem, any nurse watching from the lobby thinking he’s simply going to return with a person.

By the time they realize he isn’t coming back he’ll be long gone.

After putting the wheelchair away in the backseat and removing the duffle bag Chrys left from the SUV, Tim gets to work getting the car to start. It takes him longer than he would’ve liked but eventually the engine roars to life and Tim is peeling out of the parking lot and back onto the road.

The rain peters out a few hours North, the clouds breaking to reveal a waxing moon and a brilliant display of stars. Jason’s breathing has evened out, head pressed against the glass window when Tim looks over.

With the immediate danger behind them Tim can feel his own exhaustion beginning to take over. His body aches from the car crash and a headache simmers behind his eyes.

But Tim refuses to stop.

Not yet.

Paranoia nips at his heels just enough that Tim keeps driving through the night, turning into a roadside motel just before dawn. They’ve put a lot of distance between them by now and Tim hopes that Danger will assume they’ve either continued along the original route or doubled back towards the west coast rather than meandering northwards.

Either way, Tim is exhausted and needs rest.

The motel seems quiet, few cars parked in front of the small individual units, tucked away between towering pine trees. The boy working the intake office happily gives Tim the key to the unit farthest back in the lot when Tim tips him an extra fifty as a tip.

Early dawn light filters down through the trees, too early for most people to be awake. A row over Tim can hear the sounds of someone packing up their own car and getting ready to leave.

Getting Jason into the wheelchair is easy enough, although Jason is evidently still mad at Tim from the glare he gives him. 

Tim is grabbing the duffle bag from the back when there’s a sharp gasp coming from nearby the car’s bumper. He scrambles backwards, looking to see a little girl with blonde pigtails staring wide eyed at him and Jason.

“Uuh,” Tim says, somewhat uselessly. Jason swats his arm.

“Oh my gosh,” the little girl breathes, beginning to look a little like Christmas had come early. “Are you a real mermaid?”

To her credit, at least, she keeps her voice low.

“Yes,” Tim says slowly as an idea forms in his head. He walks over, kneeling down in front of the little girl who shuffles backwards a step. “But a Sea Witch stole his voice.”

She gasps again before clapping both hands over her mouth.

“Do you think you can keep a secret? The Sea Witch could be anywhere.”

She nods rapidly, both hands still over her mouth. She opens her hands slowly, mock whispering, “I promise I won’t tell anyone, mister mermaid.”

Tim looks over his shoulder at Jason, who smiles gently at the little girl and waves. She giggles, gives a mock salute to Tim and runs off; heading in the direction Tim heard the other people packing up for the day earlier.

When Tim starts to push Jason towards the open door he reaches up a hand, lightly touching the top of Tim’s, sea witch?

Tim chuckles, “there’s this Disney movie… I guess you won’t know what Disney is, huh? It’s a story about a mermaid and she saves this prince from drowning and falls in love with him. She tries to become human by making a deal with a sea witch, her voice for legs.”

Jason hums, a low sound that also reverberates in his head. Tim can tell Jason retreats, just a little bit, the connection going muted as Tim continues to maneuver the wheelchair into the cramped motel unit until Jason drops his hand into his lap entirely. Just as Tim locks the breaks on the wheelchair Jason reaches back up, tell me more? 

Which leads to Tim trying to retell the plot of The Little Mermaid while filling the motel bathtub with water. He tries to remember all the details the best he can, hoping Jason is picking up on the spotty memory of the movie as he goes. The rendition of Part of Your World in his head repeats a verse where Tim finds he can’t remember the exact lyrics but the point gets across well enough… hopefully.

Jason settles in the tub, water splashing over the edge, the end of his tail fin hanging over the edge of the tub while his torso is only partially submerged.

“It’d probably be easier to just show you the movie, you know,” Tim muses as he struggles to remember what happens between Ariel getting legs and the Kiss The Girl song. “Most of these motels have vcrs and video rental stores are everywhere.”

Jason’s tail slaps the edge of the tub in the merperson version of tapping their foot. He tilts his head to the size, grinning lazily at Tim. It’s so much more fun listening to you struggle.

“Ha ha, okay that’s enough for now then,” Tim says, standing up. As he moves, slipping his arm from Jason’s touch he feels the fading echoes of mirth.

Tim retrieves the duffle bag, digging through it to find two capped syringes and seven fist sized white tablets. Tim picks one up, the texture lightly crumbles against his fingers. For one insane moment Tim wonders if Chrys packed a bunch of cocaine before he remembers– Jason needs salt water. A quick taste off once finger confirms, these are black blocks of salt. 

“Uh, do you know how many of these are supposed to go in the water?” Tim asks, holding up a tablet.

Jason looks at him blankly and shrugs.

“Okay, one it is since we only have six after this.”

He drops the tablet into the water, half expecting it to fizz but it just sinks, rolling off Jason's tail and sitting at the bottom of the tub beside him. Jason rolls his eyes and picks it up, crumbling it between his fingers and dispersing it as best he can. 

"Huh, I guess I should have put that in when I was filling the tub."

Jason gives him a withering stare.

"Okay, uh, I've gotta take a nap"–and a shower if Tim was being honest but that could wait–"will you be okay?"

Jason glances around the sparsely decorated room, giving a shrug.

"Oh, I know, can you read English? I have a book?"

Jason perks up slightly, wiggling a hand back and forth in a "kind of" motion. Tim grins, grabbing an extra pillow from one of the twin beds and digging through his backpack to find the other paperback he'd bought. Unfortunately, he didn't remember to grab his murder mystery from the floor after the crash but he did also have some sort of mushy looking period romance that he grabbed entirely by accident. 

Jason settles in with his head against the pillow after drying his hands off on a nearby towel. He makes a shooing motion with his hand when he notices Tim still standing beside the tub.

He'll sleep for a couple hours. That's all. The room is quiet except for the faint sound of water lapping in the tub and the sound of pages being turned. Tim falls head first into the pillows and passes out.

It should be no surprise that Tim wakes with a start over six hours later, the analogue clock on the wall reading 12:23. Panic arcs through his veins, causing him to scramble off the bed, stalking over to the sidelite to look into the motel parking lot.

Heart pounding, Tim looks outside. He’s convinced that he’s going to see Danger, staring him right in the eye with the barrel of his gun. That the parking lot is going to be filled with government vehicles, all ready to take him and Jason away forever–

The parking lot is quiet. Midday sun casts shadows from the towering pines, not a single person to be seen.

Okay.

Okay.

They’re still okay. They’re fine, they haven’t been found, it's– It’s all okay.

Tim sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face and goes to check on Jason. He finds Jason with his nose still in the book, tailfin thumping lightly against the edge of the tub along to Jason humming Part of Your World. It’s a low, slightly gravely and broken sound, reminding Tim of times he would get sick and go without talking for days at a time and any sound he made came out sounding like a paper shredder.

“Still reading?” Tim asks, leaning on the doorframe.

Jason doesn’t even look up, nodding his head once and holding up his hand in a victory sign…

“Oh, you’re rereading it?”

Jason nods again, turning a page.

“I’m going to go get some food and other supplies, are you alright here?”

Return of the shooing motion. Alright then.

The nearby town is a short drive away through a single narrow road flanked by towering trees. There’s a singular main street that contains all the town’s major stores, a number of which appear to be kitschy tourist gift shops centred around the town’s only attraction: fishing at the nearby lake.

As Tim is driving past the residential area, a smattering of small wooden houses, he sees an old looking, beat up Jeep parked along the side of the road with a red FOR SALE sign in the back window.

Tim slows to a stop, giving the slate gray vehicle a quick look over before reversing back the way he came. They’ll need a proper vehicle, one that Tim isn’t risking burning his fingers on everytime he needs to start it and hasn’t been reported stolen. But first, to get rid of this one. Tim drives along the abandoned stretch of road, finding an old dirt path into the woods. The Sedan wasn’t really built for off roading but Tim pushes through anyway, looking for a good spot that’s far enough away from the main road the car was unlikely to be seen.

Tim abandons the vehicle as it rolls forward down a short decline, enough of a distance that nobody was going to see it if they weren’t looking down. Somebody would find it, eventually, and if Tim ever found out who it belonged to he would have to repay them but he had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

After half an hour of hiking he finally makes it back to the house with the Jeep in front of it.

In hindsight, Tim realizes he probably should have checked that somebody was home before abandoning his vehicle to the woods.

Welp. Too late now.

Tim knocks on the door.

The woman who answers has white hair pulled back in a loose bun, strands of hair falling in her face, and manages to be shorter than Tim is. She looks up at him with a single raised, white eyebrow.

“You here to spread the good news?”

Tim blinks, straightening his back slightly. “No, ma’am, uh, I saw the for sale sign on that Jeep?”

“You’re interested?”

“As long as it works” –another thing Tim probably should have checked before getting rid of his car–”I’ve got cash.”

“Huh,” she says as if that were particularly interesting. It makes Tim want to squirm. “Why don’t you come in?”

He tries to refuse but the woman pins him down with a glare and leaves the door open when she moves further back into the squat building.

At her kitchen table she sets a glass of lemonade down in front of Tim, a noisy fan clunking away in the background to provide a palty breeze in the midday heat. Tim learns her name is Ophelia.

“Now, what is it you’re running from, boy?”

Tim grimaces, is he really that obvious? Ophelia simply takes a sip from her drink, patiently waiting for an answer. He can’t tell her the truth, that much is for certain. Besides endangering him and Jason, it might endanger her, and Tim had enough peoples’ blood on his hands.

“My parents,” he blurts out, grasping for anything that would sound plausible, “they wanted me to take over the family business and if I didn’t they’d kick me out. So, I called their bluff. They… aren’t really happy about it.”

Eh. Not Tim’s best lie but good enough.

Ophelia nods along. “Sounds like a bitch,” she says amiably. “The car works, she’s just old. How much cash you got?”

“Seven hundred,” Tim says automatically, knowing better than to tell anyone the full amount.

“Five hundred, then, and she’s yours. We got a deal?”

Ophelia sends Tim away with the car keys and, on her insistence, a tent and camping stove tucked into the back along with a package of chocolate chip cookies. The engine rumbles to life, just as Ophelia said it would, and Tim heads into town; Ophelia waving at him in the rear view mirror.

It’s over an hour before Tim gets back to the motel, hands full of plastic shopping bags and take-out from the single diner.

Jason is lounging in the tub when Tim returns, book left on top of the toilet seat. His eyes are closed but he perks up when he hears the rustling of the paper bag Tim is holding.

“Sorry that took so long”–Tim passes him one styrofoam container filled with chicken strips and fries–”but I got a new car, not even stolen, and a bunch of supplies that should last us a little while at least. Especially if we can’t stop at a motel.”

Tim spent most of his time shopping thinking about what to do next. With any luck Chrys had hopefully told Danger they were going to head back west, buying them time to put more distance between them. Tim had also dropped his credit card before the convoy had left the last motel in the hopes someone would start using it elsewhere, further obfuscating their location.

“And,” Tim says, dropping the two plastic bags that had been cutting off the circulation in his fingers on the floor, “I figured you were bored so I got a bunch more books in different genres and” –Tim can’t help the grin that splits his face– “a disguise for you to wear.”

Jason raises a single eyebrow at Tim. The effect is slightly marred by the way his cheeks are puffed out from stuffing an entire handful of fries in his mouth at once.

They wait for nightfall before leaving, Tim sitting on the closed toilet seat and reading to Jason, clarifying any terms he’s unfamiliar with or other human mannerisms he doesn’t understand. It’s a quiet evening, Jason relaxing further and further as Tim reads out loud.

When the sun has finally begun sinking beneath the horizon, Tim sits out to get the car ready. He fills a large square bucket halfway with water and fits it into the footrest on the passenger side seat and lays down a plastic seat cover to protect it from water. 

Jason is less thrilled about Tim’s other present.

He looks down at the hoodie Tim had soaked under the tap before handing it to him and then back up at Tim, who’s desperately trying to keep his giggles under control. 

BORN TO SWIMOCEAN AS FUCK

Declares the hoodie, underneath a simple black line drawing of a carp, which Tim’s fairly sure isn’t a species of fish that lives in the ocean to begin with.

“C’mon, it’s perfect for you,” Tim says, voice shaking under the effort to not burst into laughter.

Jason frowns deeply, crossing his arms over the large carp emblazoned across his chest.

“And this hat!” Tim ignores Jason’s sulking to fit the black baseball cap over Jason’s head.

Jason bats Tim’s hands away, sitting up straight in the seat and turning the cap in order to read the front:

WOMAN WANT MEFISH FEAR ME

The look on Jason’s face is so unimpressed that Tim finally loses his composure, one hand clutched across his stomach as he laughs. Jason huffs but fits the cap back on his head, brim low over his eyes, and turns away from Tim.

It takes Tim a full five minutes to get himself under control enough to start the car.

[lychniis]

Heres a whole grab bag for that tag game: every tenth question >:3c

you're really putting me up to this huh-

10 - do you work on multiple wips or stick to one fic at a time?

multiple. i will chose any route that will eventually fuck me up because my brain has many idea and wants to write n o w. i do have casual fics at the side that i don't feel half as pressured to update...they're more of 'writing practice' in a sense.

20 - do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

b o t h. you cannot make me chose, i shall chose both, they're both my babies, my babygirls. but i do like diverging from canon sometimes, even though it's mostly unintentional at first ( with genshin's lore being far from complete ).

30 - how much do you edit your fics?  do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

the sole reason why memory took as long as it did was because i edit as i write. i mostly finish the first draft, but if the length o the fic is longer, i tend to edit as i write it down. it saves time having to scour an entire document for errors since my attention span is non existent XD.

40 - what is your favorite world that you’ve created for a fic?

...for fanfics, i'd say it's what i have in store for memory ( there's one chapter with a hidden market run by scam artist apsaras and it is glorious XD ).

for original fics, it would have to be the 'small city with no name' from my original concept 'and here the city ends'. the place is set right on top of a seraphim graveyard with a creepy magic wood and one eldritch subdimension created from a collective hivemind and the souls of dead animals.

the wild hunt is also a thing in said fic. i always entertained the idea of tired dad gwyn ap nudd whose wild hunt is now posing as a motorcycle gang with the onset of urbanization. ( you know all about it, moth- )

50 - how would you describe your writing style?

inconsistent. a lot of people say it's poetic, but i say it's inconsistent. sometimes it's short and snappy. sometimes it's flowery. sometimes it's descriptive...there's a lot going on, chief. but i'd like to find one that i'm comfy with writing soon though.

60 - in [insert fic], what inspired the idea for the plot?

i had to hunt you down in discord for this. hmmmm, okay so it's a funny story. i like listening to carl sagan's talks on the universe, even if i don't understand a few concepts. he always has something really cool and philosophical to say, y'know?

anyway, this was actually a favorite quote of his, and after some research, i did read up about how the base elements were created and scattered through supernovas, and how our atoms were made from old stars.

and my brain went "lol, imagine getting yote into genshin and spouting this out, your partner would be so confusion' and since it was a little past diluc's birthday, i mulled over the idea of a reader who misses their home world and it went nuts from there.

70 - are you subscribed to any writers on AO3?

yes, quite a few. you're my first XD.

80 - free space - asker can come up with any writing or fic-related question they want!

i will forever stay loyal to li.

but xiao is one, along with diluc ( i like my boys angsty sometimes too ). amongst the girls, shenhe is a definitely because of her very straight laced, deadpan attitude as well as ei XD ( i actually have a wip featuring ei in the works ).

i am interested in writing capitano and itto ( since simp for one and covet the other ). wanderer is also growing on me so him too XD.

in demon slayer, it's kyojuro. definitely kyojuro along with sanemi and inosuke.

ask game

[mandalorianbrainweasel]

Older Boba/That One Cadet?? I like that very much!! How about a first kiss? :3c

Thank you for prompting this because it made me look up his name. Jax! His name is Jax. I love him. I'm sorry for what I put him through in this.

They're like fifteen and this didn't go how I expected, they took over. As you'll see by the word count.

a taste of wasting time

T. Boba/Jax. 1580 words. Inspired by every summer camp I've been to, but the kids have actually been taught weapon etiquette which unfortunately includes the Bullying. Dumb teenagers, mean kids, Boba's potty mouth, survival training but fun, mushrooms, first kiss.

Boba likes the nights on Concord Dawn.

Staying back on Mandalore, in Sundari, is fine. That’s where most of his family is. Para and their riduure, Paz, Kix and Fox, Sati’bu, Ba’tat Arla, the Babas.

He loves his family and he doesn’t really feel a desire to be spending all his time in the Slave I for another couple years straight and he doesn’t really ever feel like spending more than a couple weeks up here with the Mereel side of the family.

And he’s not even here with them, right now. Out of all of the family members he’s stuck with right now, it’s Omega. Sure, a few of the counsellors for the training camp are clones, and more than a few of the other verd’ike are clones, but that doesn’t mean a lot. Most of the other clones that Boba even knew before Para’s quest were Alpha class or Commandos. A few others he’d seen, yeah, but no one is really family-family instead of clan-family.

He’s in a squad with two other clones and three kids from other clans. Omega is off with her squad, well away from Boba, and it’s funny how a training camp that they were both at is the only time in the last two years that he’s gotten space from his sister.

He pokes at the fire in front of him, mostly occupied with staring at the sky while his squadmates are off setting up camp. He got teased for being the spoiled one and how this was probably all he could do.

Omega would probably have tried to take their faces off with her teeth.

He’ll show them, later. This is their first night in the wilds and he’s a damn good shot and Be’baba has been running him through training almost every day since Ursa Wren dragged him to Mandalore. And that didn’t stop after he got his first beskar, like he knows some of the other clans do, leaving training to the Academy clubs and these training camps.

He doesn’t know about what the other clones will have been used to since leaving Kamino, but he knows he’s been shooting and camping long before they ever got to.

“Oh, hey, you got the fire going,” one of the other clones in his squad says, dropping down beside him. It’s the one with the red tint to his hair—Jax—instead of the one who has her dark hair buzzed low—Vril, he thinks.

“What, think I couldn’t even manage this?” he asks, glancing at him derisively.

Jax shifts uncomfortably.

“You didn’t,” he realizes, furious.

“You like in a palace,” Jax points out.

“And you either live in a really nice apartment or on a clan compound,” he points out. “I learned how to start a survival fire when I was four. And I learned how to cook on a fire a couple years later when Buir decided I wasn’t going to fall into a soup pot.”

Jax snorts and covers his mouth before he breaks into giggles.

“Seriously, my squad last year wasn’t nearly as” mean “shitty.”

Jax at least ducks his head, ashamed.

“You do realize I live with my ori’vod, right? The Mand’alor? Do you really think they’d leave me defenceless and unable to take care of myself? We may be a family, but shit happens to everyone.”

“Hey,” Vril shouts, “Stop yelling at Jax.”

Boba and Jax both swivel their heads to her and Boba.

Well, Omega is preferable right now. Even if she might insight a feud over this. And she’s still a last ditch place to go. This area of Concord Dawn is pretty safe for someone wandering on their own.

He tosses the stick into the fire and heads out into the trees, strolling until he’s far enough they won’t hear him break into a run, angry tears prickling at his eyes. He wants the Lieutenants, and Para and Mij and Fordo and Ven’ti, and the Babas. He wants people who don’t want to see the worst in him. He remembers Korkie talking about this kind of thing, when Boba first started going to the Academy. Hell, he remembers stuff like this himself from his first months there.

He makes himself another fire when he comes to another clearing and has made sure none of the animal tracks around it are the kind of things that would bother him or be bothered by him. No tent, but he’s slept without a tent or a sleeping bag plenty of times.

Maybe an hour has passed when he hears more human-like footsteps, and he unholsters the blaster he brought—not one of Buir’s blasters, not for a few more years—and fires a warning shot.

The bolt of plasma sends a tree branch cracking down, and a clone yelps.

He doubts it’s Vril.

He sighs and reholsters the blaster. “I’m this way,” he calls, making another skewer of friendly-familiar mushrooms he’d found around here and setting it at the edge of the fire while he grabbed his own from where it had been roasting.

Jax steps through, rubbing his head. There’s a little scratch on his cheek that looks like it might bruise. “Hey. You...really got far out here. I don’t think I’d have gone this far.”

He shrugs. “I’ve always had to be kind of alone.” He peeks a mushroom off of the top of the skewer and pops it in his mouth.

Jax stares.

“There’s more,” he points out, motioning to the pile he’s made and the roasting skewer. “Wait for it to get brown, though.”

“Oh, uh. Okay.”

Again, Jax sits next to him.

“Sorry about, uh. All of that. I set her to rights about what we’d been talking about. The others, you know, they didn’t believe you?” Jax laughs hollowly. “They told me to come get you back because they’d get in trouble if you died out here, and Vril was too stubborn to come apologize.”

“I’m not going back until in the morning, then,” Boba decides, smiling as he eats another mushroom. “Let them sweat. I have my comm and I was going to ping our counsellor soon. Probably my ori’vod, too. Need to tell some member of the family, but if I tell my sister she’s liable to commit homicide. If not get her squad to join her.”

Jax laughs and finally it sounds like something that he’s letting himself be fully amused by.

Boba averts his eyes and goes back to munching, but he picks the skewer he set for Jax up as soon as it’s hitting the perfect shade and passes it to him.

Eventually, Jax eggs him into an actual conversation, and they chat about education modules—though Boba doesn’t mention his are for university classes. They give a report to the counsellor who agrees with Boba’s decision to let them get anxious with a kind of vicious smile that makes Boba wonder what happened last year. When the counsellor commends Jax for avoiding getting drawn in by bad influences, he really wonders.

But he doesn’t ask, not when Jax looks so beat up about it.

The next morning, after a night where they’d doze until an alarm warned them to check the fire, then doze some more again, they head back to their squad’s initial camp, after bagging up the rest of the mushrooms that they don’t eat for firstmeal.

When they get to the camp, they watch from the woods as the counsellors are scolding the rest of the squad about losing two members and how they’re going to have to send out a search party! Now why would those two have run off, hmm? Did this have anything in common with last year, hmm?

Jax finally has enough and Boba shrugs and starts whistling as they head into camp, the bag of mushrooms over his shoulder.

“Hey, Ordo, I got some of those mushrooms you like,” he tells the counsellor who had been in charge of his squad last year.

She grins, pushing the other young teens out of the way and going for them. “I don’t get how you always find these, Fett’ika! Seriously. I should never have told you they were my favorite, now you have bribery available.”

He sticks his tongue out at her.

“Anyways,” she adds, “We’re adding you two to Squad Beta. It’ll be fine.”

Boba raises an eyebrow. That squad is one from the above year. “If you say so.”

“Saxon’s in charge of them,” Ordo adds with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh, yes, then it will be fine,” he agrees.

Jax looks between the two of them. “Really?”

“Yeah, Aden’tra likes me best,” Boba says.

The rest of the camp goes fine, though Boba doesn’t find out what happened to the rest of his first squad of the year. They’re all packing up to leave when Jax takes him aside, then knocks him back into a tree and kisses him.

“I, uh, sorry. I hadn’t really said that. About the first night,” Jax says, looking down as Boba stares, shocked at him. “I, uh. Really like you. I’m sorry, if that was, uh!”

Boba kisses him this time, then grabs his comm and types in his code. “That’s me. You can ping me whenever.”

“Boba!” Aden’tra hollers. “Come on, Korkie promised to make the fritters if we get back before nightfall!”

He snorts. “I gotta go. Send me a message, okay?”

“Yeah,” Jax says, “Okay.”

[scorpio-skies]

OC as a Companion Meme!

NAME: Nora Hart

FOUND: Near Sunshine Tidings Co-Op, fighting raiders at the church. 

COMPANION PERK: The Bear Necessities - Acquire Honey the yao guai as an extra companion.  

ROMANCEABLE:  Yes 

(I was tagged for this a very long time ago, but always wanted to do it! Tagging: @eluvisen​ @mrninjapineapple​ @ariejul​ @sociallyacceptablemadness​ @lothrilzul​ @slothssassin​ @mars-colony​ @lookbluesoup​ @tarberrymentats​ @leporidaefluff​ @charomiami​ @beckiboos​ and anybody who’d like to do it! If you’ve done it before feel free to rb your original unless you wanna make another for a diff OC >:3c but no pressure at all!)

 WEAPON OF CHOICE: 

Lucky (.357 magnum revolver from FNV ;p)

Combat rifle

 I THINK WE SHOULD TRAVEL TOGETHER:

“Then let’s hit the road!” 

“Time for another adventure? Count me in!”

“You can count on me, boss!” 

“Let’s get going, then!”

“The road’s a-calling.” 

“Sounds like fun!” 

(Romanced) “Good! I was hoping for some quality time with you.”

(Romanced) “I’d follow you anywhere, love. Lead on.”

 USE MELEE:

“This is too close for comfort!” 

“Let’s hit ‘em hard and fast!” 

“Just go down already!” 

“It’s about to get messy!”

 USE RANGED:

“I’ve got your back!” 

“They won’t get past me.” 

“Nothing like a long-distance relationship!” 

“Got it!”

 OPEN INVENTORY:

“That’ll be twenty-caps. Just kidding!” 

“What do you need?” 

“Here’s what I’ve got!” 

“Sure thing -- just don’t mess up my pack.”

(Romanced) “Oh? Did you get me something nice?”

 IF OVERENCUMBERED:

“See, this is why caravans have carts and brahmin.” 

“Shame Honey isn’t here to carry that for us… / Why don’t you see if Honey’ll carry it for ya?” 

“I mean, I love junk as much as the next gal but... don’t you think you’re overdoing it?” 

“Let me carry some of that for you.” 

“You’re gonna hurt your back like that!” 

“Your pack’s gonna pop…”

 STAY CLOSE:

“I’m with you.” 

“Right beside you.” 

“I’m here.”

 KEEP DISTANCE:

“Gotcha.” 

“You got it.”

"Sure."

STEALTH:

"The sneaky way, huh?" 

"Like shadows." 

"Alright, let's go quietly." 

"They won't know what hit em." 

 BACKUP:

“Oh! Sorry."

"I'll give you some space." 

“Sorry -- don’t mean to be stepping on your toes!”

BE PASSIVE:

“Always worth negotiating!” 

“I definitely prefer talking to violence.” 

“Sounds good to me, boss. I’d prefer not to shoot if I don’t have to.” 

“Turn on the charm!” 

“You’re quite the people person.” 

“You’re a real charmer, ain’t ya?” 

(Romanced) “That’s my hero!”

 BE AGGRESSIVE:

“Just say the word, boss.” 

“I’m ready.” 

“Guess it’s too late to ask them nicely?” 

“Alright. Let’s bring the mayhem.”

“Well, if we can’t talk them down…”

 USE STIMPAK:

“Ow… thanks, boss.” 

“Ugh, needles… remind me not to get shot again.” 

“Phew that’s better.” 

“Thanks -- I’m good.”

“Back to it!”

WAIT HERE:

“Don’t go too far, okay?” 

“Alright. Hurry back before I get too bored though, yeah?” 

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

FOLLOW ME:

“Welcome back, boss!” 

“Alright, let’s get back to it!” 

“Lead on, boss. I’m with you.” 

“Glad to have you back.”

LOVER’S EMBRACE: 

“That was a good roll in the hay…” 

“Jackpot!” 

“Now that’s what I call a rodeo...”

“Morning beautiful/handsome!” 

“Could stay all day in bed with you…” 

“I love you. I want you to know that.” 

 DISMISSED:

“Well, you know where I’ll be.” 

“Alright then. Take care of yourself, boss. You know where to find me.” 

“Okay then. I’ll tell Kammie and Honey you said hi.” 

“Alright -- you be careful, though. You hear me?” 

“Time to head home then -- come and see us soon, yeah?” 

(Romanced) “If that’s what you want, just… come home safe to me, alright? I’ll be waiting for you.”

 ENEMIES (LONG RANGE)

“Today is not your lucky day!”

“You’re gonna regret this!” 

“Shouldn’t pick fights ya can’t finish!”

“Hope you’ve made your peace!”

(Raiders) “You’re not gotta loot us!”

(Raiders) “You’re not hurting anybody else!” 

(Raiders) “Time to answer for your crimes!” 

(Gunners) “Let’s teach these thugs how to shoot!” 

(Gunners) “I ain’t losing to the likes of you!” 

(Gunners) “Hope those caps were worth your life!”

(Insects) “Ugh. These things creep me out!”

(Insects) “Buzz off!” 

(Synths/Robots) “I’m gonna sell you for scrap!”

(Synths/Robots) “Time to shut you down permanently!”

(Super mutants) “Why are they always so big and angry?”

(Super mutants) “We’re not on the menu!” 

(Super mutants) “I’m not going in some meat bag!”

(Behemoth/Mirelurk Queen) “Holy shit!” 

(Behemoth/Mirelurk Queen) “The bigger they are, the harder they’ll fall!”

(Feral ghouls) “These things creep me out.”

(Feral ghouls) “Boss! Ferals!” 

(Deathclaw) “Deathclaw! Run!” 

(Deathclaw) “Deathclaw! Look out!” 

(Yao Guai) “Don’t tell Honey!” 

(Yao Guai) “I’m sorry bear!” 

(Dogs/Radstags/Brahmiluff) “God I hate having to do that.” 

(Dogs/Radstags/Brahmiluff/mole rats) “I’m sorry -- you left me no choice.”

(Critical Kill) “WOO! Nice shot!”

(Critical Kill) “Lucky hit!”

ENEMIES (CLOSE RANGE)

“Bring it!” 

“Let’s dance!” 

“Look out!” 

“They’re on us!”

(Insects) “Ugh -- I hate these things!”

(Insects) “Disgusting!” 

(Insects) “You’re really starting to bug me!”

(Synths/Robots) “Where’s the off switch?”

(Children of Atom) “Hope you said your prayers!”

(Super mutants) “Wow, you’re a big fella.” 

(Super mutants) “What do these guys eat? No -- don’t answer that.”

(Super mutants) “I am not a snack!”

(Feral ghouls) “Get away from me!” 

(Feral ghouls) “Shit!”

(Feral ghouls) “Way too close!”

(Mirelurks) “These guys sure are crabby!”

 WHEN ENTERING:

GOODNEIGHBOR

“Well, this looks like a good place to get mugged.” 

“Ah, Goodneighbor. Crime capital of the Commonwealth -- watch your back here, boss.” 

“Yeah, Goodneighbor has walls but it’s got plenty of cut-throats within them. We’ll need to watch our backs. Also our caps.” 

“Oh, boss. You always take me to the ‘nicest’ places.” 

“Is everyone’s staring at us, or is that just me?”

 DIAMOND CITY

“So, this is the great green jewel of the Commonwealth… I’ll have to get Kammie a souvenir.”

“Hey -- mind if we stop by the market? I wanna see if I can wrangle us some deals.”

“Noodles? Served by a robot? Kammie is not gonna believe this...”

“Do you think these people ever get tired of looking at the walls?” 

“So this is the infamous Dugout… You hear a lot about this place in the caravans. Home of Bobrov’s Best! Fancy getting a bottle?”

 BUNKER HILL

“These guys are miserly, even by trader standards. If you need anything, let me do the haggling, yeah?” 

“Bunker Hill’s a popular stop for caravans. Me and Kammie were planning on stopping here, but I’m not sure they’d let Honey through the gate…”

“I’ve been here before, you know. But it was a long time ago.”

 BOSTON AIRPORT

“Do you really think those wrecks could fly? I can’t even imagine what that’d be like…” 

“If we could still fly like that… think of all of the places we could see.”

(After Reveille has triggered) “Wow… Just look at that airship!”

(After Reveille has triggered) “Looks like the Brotherhood mean business. Maybe we should move on?”

(After Reveille has triggered) “I don’t really wanna tangle with the Brotherhood, boss. They’re bad for business.”

 THE PRYDWEN

“Wow -- just look at that view!”

“This ship is amazing -- and look at all the power armour!”

“Hey, do you think they’ll sell me a suit if I ask nicely?”

 THE CASTLE

“The Castle must have been a sight to see when the Minutemen were in charge. Shame about the current tenants...”

(After Castle is restored) “It’s great to see the Castle back in Minutemen hands!”

(After Castle is restored) “The Minutemen have done a great job fixing the Castle up again!.”

(After Castle is restored) “I bet the sunrise is something to see from those walls...” 

(After Castle is restored) “Me and Kammie were talking about whether we should join the Minutemen or not… do you think they accept bears?”

 QUINCY

(Before clearing Quincy) “I heard about what the Gunners did to Quincy… nothing but a bunch of murderers.” 

(Before clearing Quincy) “Look at what they did here… The Gunners are no better than raiders.”

(After clearing Quincy) “I really hope Quincy can rebuild and recover someday.” 

 THE GLOWING SEA

“So… which of us will turn ghoul first?” 

“Is there a way to turn the Geiger counter off? It keeps reminding me we’re dying and I don’t like it.” 

“This place… it’s like we’re in a nightmare.” 

“I keep seeing things moving in the fog…” 

“Do you think they really knew what they were doing when they dropped the bombs?”

“We’ll have to drink a few pints of radaway after this…”

 CONCORD

“That vertibird makes an interesting installation...”

 LEXINGTON

“I heard Lexington is overrun with ferals… are you sure we can’t go around?” 

“I feel like there’s something around every corner...”

“Why can’t the ferals just eat the raiders?”

 SALEM

“This place belongs in a horror comic.”

(Devil’s Due) “I don’t like the sound of that...” 

(Return egg to the deathclaw) “I’m proud of you, boss. Those deathclaws deserved better… now, let’s back away nice and slow and leave them to it, yeah?”

 LYNN WOODS

“Those claw marks on the rock… Deathclaw territory. Stay alert.”

“Try not to make too much noise. If a deathclaw comes after us, I don’t know if we can stop it.”

 NAHANT

“Keep an eye out. There’s a floating raider fortress nearby.”

“Caravans have disappeared around here, and the survivor stories...? They’re not good.” 

“I don’t think we’ll find anything other than crabs and scrap around here.”

“I hope there’s no big mirelurks around…” 

“What kind of maniac wants to live out by the sea, anyway? You don’t know what’s out there!”

 CAMBRIDGE

“That police station’s well fortified -- here’s hoping they’re friendly.” 

“Why is this place so quiet…? I don’t like it.” 

“I thought raiders had taken over the place… not that I’m complaining.” 

“Oh. Ghouls. God I wish it was raiders.”

 SANCTUARY

“So this is your old home, huh?” 

“We should set up a supply line between here and Sunshine! We can help each other out.” 

“This is quite a nice place!” 

 SUNSHINE TIDING’S CO-OP 

“Home sweet home!” 

“You think we can stop by for some of Kamal’s lasagne?” 

“I’ll check in on the animals while we’re here.” 

(when greeted by Honey) “Hey there, Honey bear! How’re you today?” 

“I’m gonna go check on Kammie.”

“Home is where you keep your bear!”

 AGGRESSION: not aggressive/aggressive/very aggressive/frenzied

CONFIDENCE: cowardly/cautious/average/brave/foolhardy

ASSISTANCE: helps nobody/helps allies/helps friends and allies

 LOSE AS COMPANION PERMANENTLY:

Too many dislikes

Siding with the Institute 

Choosing Institute option in personal quest 

Destroying the Railroad

Selling Billy to slavers in Kid in a Fridge

Killing Kent Connolly in The Silver Shroud

Siding with Covenant

Destroying Acadia 

Destroying Far Harbor 

Siding with the Nuka-World raiders

Raiding the Commonwealth for Nuka-World 

Bringing X6-88 near (will turn Nora, Honey and Kamal hostile) 

Attacking Honey or Kamal 

Killing Phyllis Daily 

Killing Paladin Danse in Blind Betrayal

Killing Jules in the random synth encounter

 PERSONAL MISSION: Override 

Nora can be found fighting raiders at the church near Sunshine Tidings Co-op with Kamal and Honey. After the player helps them dispatch the raiders, they introduce themselves as traders seeking a safe place to set up their business. If the player has unlocked Sunshine as a settlement, they can send them there. This unlocks Nora as a companion, and Kamal as a trader. Honey operates as a guard-bear. 

After the player unlocks the Institute for the first time, they return to Sunshine to find the settlement under attack by coursers. 

Once the coursers are dispatched, Nora and Kamal have a panicked discussion where Nora worries that the Institute is on to her. Nora and Kamal lead the player to a quiet area of Sunshine and Nora tells Kamal that she trusts the player. 

She then confesses that she’s an escaped synth, and that the coursers were after her. She doesn’t know much about her past other than her time with the caravans, but over the years has been the victim of attempted reclamation by coursers. She and Kamal returned to the Commonwealth to try and learn how to stop it. 

If the player has not taken Nora to the Railroad or discovered them, Nora and Kamal mention that they’ve heard of the Railroad and were hoping they could help them. The player can then offer to find out more. 

If the player has taken Nora to the Railroad before, she will ask the player if they can convince the Railroad to help her. 

If the player goes to the Railroad, Tinker Tom provides a holotape. If the player uses it in the Synth Retention Bureau, it wipes Nora’s record from the system as well as some other escaped synths. 

After the player wipes Nora from the Institute’s records they can assure her that she’s safe and doesn’t have to run anymore. Nora and Kamal are overjoyed that they don’t have to keep running, and they agree that they want to set up a ranch at Sunshine. 

Nora will mention that Honey’s overjoyed too and has taken a liking to the player. The player has then unlocked Nora’s perk, The Bear Necessities, and Honey shall accompany Nora when the player character recruits her. 

Honey can be ordered much the same as Dogmeat, but she has a greater carry capacity, health and damage. She can be told to stay at Sunshine. 

The player can, however, choose to instead inform Ayo of Nora’s location. 

When the player next returns to Sunshine, they’ll find Kamal waiting for them with Honey. He’s injured and frantic, informing the player that coursers took Nora. If the player admits they handed Nora over, both Kamal and Honey will turn hostile.

 If the player feigns innocence, Kamal will insist he knows something’s not right. 

If the player tries to convince Kamal Nora’s gone forever, he’ll swear to keep looking for her no matter what it takes. 

When the player returns to the Institute, Nora can be found but renamed with her synth designation, C9-42. She reacts to the player character with the same deference as other synths, but knows them only as Father’s parent. Although she has the same bland smile as other synths when talking to the player, outside of conversation she will have a sad expression.

[namelessthirst]

Surprise

[ A gift fic for @lady-bakuhoe ! I intended this to end a certain way but I hit a good line to end this so I guess this is a part one and expect the rest soon??? I’ll tag @ikinabi too since they mentioned liking pegging >:3c

As always lemme know if you spot any errors I missed! <33

Ao3

Reader/Kirishima/Bakugo

2k and some change

Pegging, Anal, AttemptingToDom!Reader, No pronouns are used but Reader usually has a cooche, But Not This Time ;) ShapshifterQuirk!Reader]

Momo blessedly did not ask details when you asked her to make several floor mats like the ones in gyms, nor when you asked her, as a follow-up, to make a king-sized bedding.

You knew you had a couple hours to prepare before the boys came back from their evening training, though you didn't expect to take that long.

The setup was mostly simple, your dorm furniture pressed away from the middle of the room, giving as much space as you could to the affair you had planned. Placing the gym mats was a bit of a squeeze anyway, but with some effort they pressed down well enough between your bed and the desk. Getting the bedding on was a different ordeal, trying to pin the corners of the sheet on by yourself was far from an easy task even when the object being dressed was all in one piece, let alone multiple slats of mats. You could have asked your boys to help, but that would have given away the surprise unveiling for the evening. But, eventually, you did get it all on; with the help of a desk chair, a beanbag, and some textbooks, holding down the other corners.

Next was decorating the room in candles, more for mood lighting than scent; you didn't expect to mind the smell of the aftermath at all. Besides, the boys had insisted on showering before coming over anyway, even though you said it'd be kinda silly to get all cleaned up just to get dirty again.

Lastly was organizing your inventory for the night- lube, the warming pad for the lube (which you intended to go and warm up a bit later, so it'd be sure to keep until the boys came), water bottles, some light snacks, some small towels that you'd bought specifically for times like these, and a pack of sanitary wipes. Oh! And lastly, a pair of lovely metal butt-plugs, adorned with red and gold sequins on the backs. These, you were sure to hide separately from the main stash.

With everything prepped and cleaned, all you needed to do now was wait.

It was unexpectedly calm, the time spent idly studying or lounging. When it came closer to their arrival, you meandered into the communal kitchen to warm the heating pad in the microwave. Sure, you got a couple odd looks from your peers, but nothing about it was too unusual.

Your relationship with Eijiro and Katsuki wasn't a secret, sure, but you didn't exactly call out your sexual escapades to the sky either. Not that you would have minded bragging some, with welcoming company, but you're fairly certain the noisiest of your trio would have a right fit about it if you did.

After tucking the lube together with the pad in with a normal towel, you heard your phone go off lightly, your set alert tone specifically for Eiji's texts.

You couldn't help the little gleeful wiggle that was elicited at the ETA you were given. Almost there!

Just before you expected them, you dashed around to dim the lights, leaving only a lamp in the back to offer just enough light to see by, and of course, the candles.

There was a soft knock at your door and a jingle of keys (you'd given them copies to your room a while ago), and you took a moment to take a breath before the door opened. Composure was certainly something you could bring to this, for the moment.

Eijiro was first in, squinting into the darkened room as his eyes adjusted from the lighting outside. Katsuki followed in in a similar fashion, shutting the door behind himself gently, for once.

"You have enough fire in here to put icy-hot to shame."

Not exactly the most romantic greeting, but you couldn't exactly deny Katsuki's claim either.

"Maybe- Doesn't it look pretty though?"

Eijiro set his workout bag aside, having brought himself and Katsuki straight over after their shower, "I think so! Romantic lighting is always a classic move, isn't it?"

You hummed in consideration, making grabby hands at the two, "Maybe. I just thought it'd be...relaxing."

Katsuki joined you and Eijiro on the makeshift king-bed after dumping his own bag in the designated spot, "Nothing like a little fire hazard to set the mood."

You snorted, breaking the light kiss with Eiji to give Katsuki a look, "Says the guy who lights off his hands at any given opportunity, in any indoor space."

You knew his remarks right now were mostly due to nerves, but that didn't mean you'd let him get away without a good sassing.

All the same, you pulled him in next to press a more tender kiss than he'd usually prefer to his lips, "Mm, so. Do we wanna kick things off?"

You shifted back a bit toward the mound of pillows you'd placed at the top of the 'bed', having snatched your own and theirs, and perhaps a few from the storage closet; if the night went as you'd hoped, you'd be keeping them, for your sake and everyone else's. "Or we could just...warm up for a bit? Talk?"

You wanted to take things slow, or at least slow enough that Katsuki wouldn't lose his shit so soon. You tried to work this want into him with your hands, rubbing firmly up and down his biceps, which did happen to feel awfully nice after a workout.

Eijiro shuffled up behind you, caging you in against the bedroom nervous-nancy, "Why don't we play it by ear?" He perhaps didn't mean it so literally, but the temptation was too prominent as he leaned in and nipped at the shell of your ear. You offered him a sweet shiver and a tilt of your head in agreement, slipping your hands up Katsuki's shoulders and into the edge of his hair to play and comb through it while Eijiro danced his teeth over your pulse.

With a soft huff, Katsuki shifted himself, gripping your thighs to lift you a bit till he had you seated neatly on his thighs, Eijiro's pelvis providing a nice back to brace on. The pretty pearly whites you so loved to see Katsuki flash in pride and excitement found their way to the open side your neck, wasting no time in catching up to his sharper counterpart.

You let them mark you up for a bit, praising them with slow grinds against their laps. You knew what they expected this to be, that you wouldn't exactly be participating through the main event, so surely this was not just warming for them, but reassurance to their pride that you were having pleasure too.

Still though, their focus was meant to be on each other, at least at the start.

So with a small whine and a wiggle for their attention, you took their chins to aim for each other. With your insistence they pressed heated kisses together, nipping and pulling at each other’s lips, putting a show on for you.

It wasn't as though they didn't care for each other as they did you, they just weren't as quite quick off mark with each other as they were with you. They seemed to carry their feelings more like a teammate, the fight addressed usually being just how well they could ruin you by the end of the night.

You kept them close for a bit, pressing encouraging kisses to their bared cheeks and shoulders, feeling their mutual arousal being ground against you. With a squeeze to Eiji's shaft and quick work of his fly, he sucked in a breath against plump, pouty lips, and ground all the more readily against your touch.

Katsuki was a different beast to tame, a wanting palm run over his length, surely, but more so as you pressed your fingers into the back of his pants to tease a grip at his ass cheek. His grip on your hips gave you all you needed to know before you slipped from between them to fetch the warmed lube from its nest.

"Strip?"

They obeyed, gladly ditching their already dampening tops- the candles really did make the room warmer. You were glad to look back as they did, catching the candle-light shimmer of saliva strung between their lips before it was taken with their shirts.

It didn't take long for Katsuki to beckon you back over to him once he'd bared himself, laid out against the pillow-mound while Eijiro sat between his spread legs, slowly pumping his length and smearing the pre over his tip.

You dribbled lube onto your fingers while you let Katsuki hold you in for a deep kiss, waving your free hand over for Eiji's to apply the same to his.

'Suki's soft gasp into your mouth as you spread the lube over his puckered hole made you wobble in your desire to see your plan through, loving the idea of just seating yourself on his twitching dick already. But, no, you planned too much for this to fall through.

On you pressed, both figuratively, and literally, as you slid the first finger into him. You couldn't help the grin that spread on your lips as you felt his asshole flutter around you. But you'd have your fun soon enough, so you cooed for him to relax, dancing pecks over his lips and cheek as your finger worked in and out.

With a glance at Eiji in signal, he brought his slicked fingers beside yours, pressing the longer digit in with a swallowed groan from 'Suki.

"Baby, take his leg up?" Eijiro complied, your hand replacing his on his wanting cock as he took Katsuki's knee up higher.

It didn't take long before Eijiro's touch found your love's prostate, he'd know where it was best, of course.  Still you kept yourself in, pressing the opposite way to stretch and tease him inside.

Your touch on Eijiro's need was not quite feathery, you didn't want him too close before he made it in. Before Katsuki's clenched moans turned sweet and as pliant as his slippery asshole, before yours and Eiji's fingers gained in number for him.

"Is it time baby?" You asked, tone full of sugar as you kissed at his flushed cheeks. "Can he go in?"

With his untouched leg spreading further without input, you gave Eiji's cock a firm squeeze, and he wasted no time in shuffling closer as your fingers slipped free.

Your clean hand brushed into Katsuki's hair as you watched Eijiro's arousal slowly disappear into the love under him, using his fingers as a guide until he was seated sturdily in.

After wiping your used hand off on the bedsheets, you wrapped it around Katsuki's cock, his own hands busied in gripping Eiji's arm and the pillow under him.

"Is it good sweetie? Do you wonder, now, if this is what I feel like when you two go to town on me?" You were almost laid out beside him now, watching his lips part in caught moans, his chest rise with every inch Eiji pushed in, not quite fucking him yet, just adjusting. Your hand stroking him languidly, thumb pressing his pretty, glistening slit as you spoke.

With the first roll of Katsuki's hips up to his partner's touch, Eiji met him fully and thrusted, though it ended up being more of a grind when he was already so deeply within him. Still, they'd found their comfort and the sound of strong hips meeting a heavy ass had you dripping in want. You couldn't wait much longer.

They didn't ask when you disappeared behind Eijiro, the grip of each other keeping them preoccupied while you coated your hand in lube once more.

"Eiji, honey, hold in for a bit?"

He grunted in question, but still pressing his hips flush to Katsuki's squirming ass all the same.

When Eiji's hips lurched forward even more, 'Suki swore into a groan, "W-Why're we stopping?"

He couldn't see, how your fingers danced into Eijiro's untouched asshole, repeating the treatment given to the bottom-for-the-night earlier.

"Mmh, I know I said I just wanted to watch, but...then I got an idea!"

Eijiro was caught, stuck between wanting to press his ass onto the fingers teasing so close to his favorite spot and keeping his cock buried in the hot hole it'd been warmed up in. He nearly whined when your fingers left and you climbed back into view of both, your clean hand buried almost out of sight into your own sopping hole.

"I mean, you two always have so much fun plowing into me, I thought- maybe I'd like to give it a try too?"

Their eyes trailed the slick strings carried from yourself to your soaked hand, almost not catching how your soft mound disappeared, something far more prominent taking its place.

"S-so, what do you think? Can I try too?" Your voice wasn't quite as domineering as you'd have liked, too used to your spot between and under them. Still the sight of you using your own arousal to lube up your freshly formed cock had Katsuki clamping down on what was already inside him, giving Eijiro a run for his money to not rut into the tight heat and cum right there.

It was Eijiro's affirmation you were mostly waiting for, as he'd be the one taking you. At least at first.

When you didn't move, he nodded, swallowing thickly between his words, "Y-yeah, babe, god."

With a grin you came around behind, running your hands over his back, "Press 'Suki's legs all the way up, baby? So I can get to you too."

He did as told, caging over Katsuki that much more, hands pressing his knees practically up to his ears, his own ass lifting to give you a pretty view, and a prettier angle to take him in.

You bit your lip in glee as you pressed your slicked cock against the sweetly presented hole, pushing in inch by inch with gentle thrusts until your purposefully over-sized length was buried in to the hilt. You hadn't gone too overboard, but the idea of taking them with something even they couldn't give was just too tempting of a chance.

Eiji was practically drooling when he felt your hips flush to his ass, cock throbbing inside Katsuki who watched his partner's mouth hang open with tongue and drool, and he could only imagine how it must feel.

You moaned soft, rubbing Eijiro's sides as the new sensations took over your sense and you gave a sharp snap back into him, having only pulled back half way- but it was enough. Shoving his hips back into Katsuki as they'd followed your cock back out.

You leaned over his strong back, and Katsuki could just barely catch the filthiest grin he'd ever seen you make as you almost whispered to them.

"I'm going to make you both my bitches tonight."

[theshatteredrose]

Relic Keepers: Awakening of the Red Lily (Chapter 17) - Original Fiction

AN: Since I’ve decided that this year I’m going full force into self-indulgence with my writing, future chapters are going to be fun :3c Anyway, please enjoy~

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FictionPress

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 17:

Eishirou glanced around at the darkness around them nervously. Yet, no matter where he looked or how hard he squinted, he couldn’t see a thing. He hadn’t realised how dark night could be. He truly could not see a thing beyond the campfire’s glow.

From the incoherent grumbling heard from Zayne, it was safe to assume that he couldn’t see anything around them either.

It was hard to describe just how dark it truly was. There was no ambient light from the city. The sky was overcast, hiding the moon. Their only source of illumination was from the campfire. And its light could only reach so far.

They were like a ship in an endless pitch-black sea.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to camp on a peak in front of a tall white building. Though, with how dark everything was, camping anywhere in these woods would be dangerous. They were going to stand out anyway. Even in the tunnels.

“Move toward the tent,” Zayne instructed quietly.

“Ok,” Eishirou replied simply.

He turned on his heel and moved slowly so not to draw attention to himself. He pulled back the flap of the tent and looked inside. Mikiel hadn’t moved and it was probably for the best. He was worried about having to move him, though. The guy was more muscular and taller than he was.

There was no way Eishirou would be able to carry him. He wouldn’t even be able to lift him. Not a dead weight like that.

He crouched down in the opening of the tent and turned his attention outside. The only thing he could do was to wait for instructions. And be ready to either run or to heal. Maybe both at the same time. Which he hoped he wouldn’t have to do.

Be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.

Zayne quickly but quietly walked over to Leon as he slept haphazardly on the ground. He nudged him in the side with his foot. Leon snorted quietly as he startled to semi-consciousness. He blinked blearily as he turned his head toward Zayne.

“We’re surrounded,” Zayne said simply. “Wake the others.”

Leon snapped into full wakefulness in that instant. He didn’t ask any questions. He just quietly leapt to his feet and set about waking the others. As he did that, Zayne focused his attention back at the darkness around them. He paced close to where the tent was, his movements slow, his back tense. He gripped his holsters tightly, ready to summon them for battle at a moment’s notice.

Eishirou tried to suppress a wince when he heard another noise. The distinct sound of breaking of a tree limb. And it was louder than previous noises. Which meant that whoever or whatever was making all the noise was moving closer.

And they still couldn’t see a thing.

But it was pretty clear that whatever was out there could see them.

The entire Team 3 stood in a circle around the campsite. And they were silent. From what he had witnessed previously, they enjoyed sharing a quip or two while anticipating battle. But they were seriously silent. Postures tense, mana holsters fully charged, and their gazes focused entirely on the darkness around them.

Man, he really hated the stifling silence and anticipation that hung in the air.

He’d say ‘just get it over with’ but he’d prefer the ShadowDwellers just leaving them alone. Though, that was highly unlikely.

A loud crack suddenly resounded through the silence. That sound was that of a felled tree. And it was close. Tatsu, the Elite closest to the sound, immediately whipped around and raised his mana guns. He fired two shots into the darkness, momentarily lightening up the area.

They caught a glimpse of tall shadowy creature before the light faded. A loud shriek was heard immediately afterwards, indicating that not only had the shots allowed them a glimpse into the darkness, it also took out the very creature they had seen.

One ShadowDweller down, who knows how many more.

But at least they knew what kind of ShadowDwellers they were dealing with; Scorpions. They were something Zayne and his teammates had encountered before. And those ShadowDwellers were likely to be the ones making all the noise.

And yet, that didn’t quite sit right. From their previous interactions, these ShadowDwellers didn’t care how much noise they made. They were ambush predators, sure. But they reckless. They weren’t shy about crashing into or onto the battlefield.

“Here they come,” Ernesta warned.

As soon as those words left her lips, several towering Scorpions scuttled into the light of the campfire. Pincers snapping, tails flailing, and uttering high-pitched shrieks of anger. They were agitated by something. And it was likely that they wouldn’t stop fighting until they found whatever that was.

“Remember; we must protect Eishirou and Mikiel, no matter what!” Ernesta commanded.

The team then launched themselves into battle against the ShadowDwellers.

It was always so awe-inspiring watching Elites in battle. Their movements were sleek and slick. Ernesta was rather sophisticated in her movements and motions. She retained the placid smile, even as she sliced through the ShadowDwellers with ease.

Tatsu was incredibly efficient in his attacks. His aim impeccable; never missing. Not once. Each shot was straight to the weak point. Taking out the ShadowDweller from a distance. Everything he did appeared so effortless. The smirk he wore on his lips indicated that he knew he very confident in his skills.

Leon was a brawler and seemed to enjoy the thrill of battle. He was extremely powerful, though. Just punching through the ShadowDwellers with little to no resistance. He was quite a big man, his muscles obvious and maybe even bulky. But he was quick on his feet; avoiding all attacks.

It was always so disconcerting watching Rinka engage in battle. She struck down any and every ShadowDweller in her path without mercy. Normally she was shy, quiet, and rather meek. But the moment she entered battle, she became cold, ruthless, and fierce. He wouldn’t say she had a split personality. But there were definitely two sides to her.

Zayne seemed to be a combination of all four. He was agile, strong, efficient, and brutal should he need to be. He would…adapt to the changing situation. Fall back from battle when necessary. Lunging forward with a barrage of attacks at the right time. Attacking efficiently, taking out the foe’s dangerous limbs and claws.

However, no matter what method of attack Zayne used, he never strayed too far from the tent. And ultimately from Eishirou. He always, always made sure to put himself between Eishirou and the advancing ShadowDwellers.

Eishirou still found himself instinctively ducking whenever a ShadowDweller ventured too close. They were always swiftly defeated by Zayne, but he still couldn’t prevent a grimace.

Things were getting really rowdy. And there were a lot of them.

Eishirou turned away from the sight just to snatch up his tablet and his carry bag. He lifted the strap of his back over his head and rested it on his shoulder. He best get himself ready to move. For any reason.

“This is getting ridiculous!” Leon complained. “Are they drawn to the fire? Or the tent?”

They…did seem to focus in on where the tent was located. Why, though? Were they after Mikiel? Again, why?

“Eishirou! Try opening the door!” Zayne suddenly shouted.

Eishirou blinked. To the lighthouse?

“R-right!”

He really was not in the best position to stop and ask questions. He just assumed that Zayne wanted him and Mikiel in the lighthouse for their protection. It was, after all, far sturdier than a nylon tent.

If he could open the door, that was.

Eishirou ran straight for the door, trusting Zayne to ensure that none of the ShadowDwellers followed him. He skidded to a halt in front of the stone white door and plunged his hand into his back pocket. He wrapped his hand around the white triangular object and pulled it out.

There really wasn’t time for hesitancy. Eishirou took a second to examine the small keyhole just so he could ensure he inserted the key properly.

He then slid the key into the opening.

Before he could press it all the way in, it seemed to pull itself in automatically. There was a rather telling ‘click’ when the key disappeared into the keyhole. Suddenly, a neon green light filtered out, skittering across the stone door, creating eccentric designs that Eishirou found mildly familiar.

He was unable to read any of them, however, as the light moved too quickly.

Small flakes of stone began to break away, revealing dark-grey stone underneath. And upon that was another eccentric feature.

Eight dots. Four colours. They sat on a stone grid.

It was…a puzzle?

He placed his hand against the door and attempted to search for a recording. Soon, instructions bounded around in his head.

He needed to…connect the coloured dots within the grid. Red to red. Yellow to yellow. Blue to blue. And green to green. But the paths could not touch or overlap. And he had to fill in all the squares. That was what he felt he needed to do.

Well, he had better find out whether or not he was right. And he had better do it fast!

He placed his finger on the yellow dot and then slowly traced a path that would link it to the other. As he trailed his fingertip across the stone, the grids he moved across turned yellow, too. The same occurred as he linked the other coloured dots, the grids shimmering the same colours as the dots that linked them.

It took some finicking, but Eishirou was able to find a way to link the four different colours to each other while the paths crossing.

The moment he linked the last colour, the stone door unexpectedly trembled. A grinding noise was heard as the tremors grew in ferocity.

The door then shuddered to the side, grinding loudly as it slid on an unseen track.

It opened…?

Eishirou spun around and immediately searched for Zayne amongst the chaos. “It’s open!”

“Good!” Despite the distance between them, Eishirou could see that Zayne wore a half smile of satisfaction. “Leon, get Mikiel and take him inside!”

Leon was momentarily startled by the response. “R-right!” But he didn’t argue. He spun on his heel and immediately raced over to the tent. It took a few frustrating moments to get through the tent and to Mikiel. And then to heft him onto his shoulder.

Thankfully, Leon’s physical strength was exceptional. He was able to get Mikiel over his shoulder and keep him there with a single arm. As soon as Leon got Mikiel out of the tent, a ShadowDweller suddenly appeared and trampled it.

Eishirou smothered a wince. He was glad he had the foresight to gather his own belongings from the tent before that happened. And, of course, he was thankful he wasn’t inside!

He stepped to the side as Leon darted past him and into the lighthouse. Leon stopped a couple of feet inside and did a quick surveillance of the area. When he lowered himself to his knees and lifted Mikiel off of his shoulder, Eishirou assumed that the coast was clear.

So, he made his way inside, too. And over to where Leon had lowered Mikiel to the floor. He attempted to help him, though all he could really do was to cradle Mikiel’s head as Leon laid him down on the floor.

Ugh, he was right. There was no way he’d be able to lift Mikiel by himself!

“Be right back,” Leon said simply as he jumped to his feet and darted back outside.

Eishirou rested Mikiel’s head on his lap and offered him a small bit of healing. It was pitch-black inside. The only source of light was from the campfire.

“There. They’re in a safer location,” Zayne stated.

“Very well,” Ernesta was heard uttering in return. “We must ensure that no ShadowDweller enters the lighthouse.”

He couldn’t see anything around him. He couldn’t tell how big the room was. He could barely see anything that was occurring outside. Just fleeting images of Elites as they darted past.

He could hear all sorts of noises outside, though. The shrieking of ShadowDwellers. The utters of satisfaction or annoyance from Elites. And, of course, the sounds of battle. It was quite unnerving being able to hear everything but unable to see anything.

As unnerving as that was, the sudden silence that fell over the battlefield was frightening.

Eishirou subconsciously held his breath as he stared out the door. He jumped when a figure suddenly stepped in the threshold of the door.

However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he recognised Zayne. “Are they gone?”

Zayne nodded his head as he walked over to stand next to him. To stand guard over him once more. “We’ve defeated them. For now.”

The other members of his team soon entered the lighthouse, too. All of them without injuries. Though, they all appeared rather irritated. Perhaps even baffled.

“I knew we were too out in the open,” Tatsu immediately griped, his usual stoic façade lifting for a moment.

Ernesta uttered a frustrated sigh as she folded her arms across her abdomen. Instead of responding to Tatsu’s comment, she turned and levelled him with a pointed stare. “Help Rinka to bring our belongings inside, too. Make sure you bring lanterns.”

Tatsu’s right eye gave a telling twitch. He, however, did not respond. He simply turned on his heel and stalked out of the lighthouse with Rinka right behind him.

Leon moved forward and unexpectedly crouched down by Mikiel’s side. “How’s he doing?”

Eishirou briefly wondered if Mikiel was a close friend of his as he seemed to be the one who was constantly hovering over him. Instead of prying, he decided the best thing he could was to be honest. Not overly honest, mind. Just…honest enough. If that made sense.

“He’s stable,” Eishirou finally replied. “Unfortunately, he’s fallen into a coma.”

Leon looked over at him. Though he tried to hide it, he was obviously concerned. “That’s bad, right?”

Eishirou tried to give him some reassurance. “Depends. He’s not suffering. It might be his body’s attempt to heal itself.”

That seemed to offer Leon some comfort as he nodded his head idly as his gaze shifted back toward Mikiel. He only lifted his head when Tatsu and Rinka returned with their camping gear. He pushed himself to his feet to take hold of the sleeping bag and then laid it down on the ground next to where Mikiel lay.

Eishirou once again helped Leon to rest Mikiel onto the sleeping bag. While he was unlike to feel anything, being unconscious and all, they still wanted to ensure that he was comfortable. Lying on the cold, hard ground was never pleasant.

As Eishirou checked on Mikiel’s health, the Elites set about setting up bright lanterns around them. The room soon began to brighten, allowing for Eishirou to view their new surroundings.

The interior was expected of that of a lighthouse; a spiralling staircase that was attached to the interior wall and spiralled upwards. The light could only reach so far, so it appeared as if the staircase just disappeared into a dark void. The room that they occupied was likely that of a foyer. Yet, other than a couple of antique tables, there was no other furniture.

“I thought entry into the lighthouse was impossible?” Tatsu suddenly commented. It was framed as a question, but it felt more like an accusation.

Zayne must have felt that way, too, as he turned to send scowl in Tatsu’s direction. “We didn’t say that. Eishirou just needed to do more research.”

That…was half true.

Ernesta turned her attention toward Eishirou and raised a curious eyebrow. “How did you open the door?”

They were suspicious of him. He couldn’t blame them. And in honesty, he was a little…cautious of them in return. Especially of Tatsu. That guy made no attempt to hide his distain for him. And it was hard to read Ernesta at the best of times.

“There was a puzzle that needed to be solved before the door could open,” Eishirou answered simply. He would have to explain more later. But right now, they just needed the quick facts.

That seemed to satisfy Ernesta for now. Though, he doubted Tatsu was satisfied with the answer.

Eishirou resisted the urge to sigh as he reached into his bag and pulled out his communicator. Instead of contacting anyone, he checked the time. And this time he did breathe a sigh. A sigh of relief.

Sunrise was only a couple more hours away.

“Wh-what’s up there?” Rinka suddenly asked as she pointed to the dark void that the stairs disappeared into.

Zayne shrugged casually. “Who knows,” he said simply before he reached down and grabbed EIshirou by the elbow. With a slight tug, he urged him to his feet. “Since we’re here, let’s have a look.”

Eishirou allowed Zayne to help him to his feet. They had a few hours before they had to plan their evacuation. He also couldn’t help but wonder if the ShadowDwellers actually want to get inside, too. He wasn’t sure why he thought of that possibility, but it was quite clear that the ShadowDwellers were agitated and after something.

“Rinka, I need you to stay here,” Ernesta ordered.

Rinka immediately pouted, which was rather unexpected. But it was actually kinda nice to see. She was curious, interested in learning things for herself.

But orders were orders. So, Eishirou sent Rinka an apologetic smile.

“We’ll be quick,” he promised as he followed Zayne to the stairs.

[ink-and-flame]

I loved your Anduin+Thrall fic! Would you ever considering doing any Grom+(sub)Thrall? That’s my favorite WoW pairing and it’s incredibly rare. I think it has a lot of potential. Just something to consider :3c especially if there’s a daddy prompt <3

The cat is clearly out of the bag. I am an avid Warcraft player, which is where a lot of my spare non writing time goes. I try to stick to mostly original stories on this blog, but I have a couple of fandoms that I enjoy writing for too much to ever give up. Warcraft, and Bright are two of them.

As for the Anduin + Thrall fic. Today’s entry is going to be part two of that so I hope you enjoy it just as much. Honestly this message brightened my day.

As for Grom+(sub)Thrall. Oh I can write it. I have some extensive Grom stuff I have written before and I have RPed as him. I have been told I am pretty good at getting in his head. Thrall isn’t as easy. But Thrall subbing to Grom? Oh yeah, that, that is beautiful.

I am looking at the prompt list and so far none of them really fit, but you know what I may try to work some stuff around to cram it in there anyway. Because now I like this idea and want to do it.

In reality, I am one of those crazy people that loves Garrosh more than the sun, moon, and stars. And I adore his daddy. So yeah, I think writing Grom may be in the future, but i have the next 5 stories already planned out so it wont be soon unless I decide to do it as a little extra treat.

Stay tuned my beautiful nonnie, I have more plans for Warcraft stories in the works.

[easyfella]

plaudite. acta est fabula: thots on my third vlr playthrough

annnnnd done

with all the alt timelines down and all but two secret files obtained, i’m feeling pretty good ending my 3rd (and probably last for at least a long, long time) vlr playthough at a slick 20 hours. i’m pretty excited for my dual phds in metaphysics and philosophy, earned from completing the famed “tripletion” (triple completion), to come in the mail!! anyway, i enjoyed the game, but holy shit, do i have some things to say (spoilers and everything else beneath the cut as always).

i guess i’ll start with the fact that this is a hell of time to pick this game up again, concerned as it is with quarantines and pandemics and plagues and all that. Radical-6 I think hit me harder than it did when I first played this game when i was 15 (context: i turned 21 this last december), for obvious reasons. I remember at one point the game says that 100,000 people died from R6 and it was a huge, global tragedy ... weird to see that so directly mirrored in just the US headlines alone. I don’t have much more to say about the pandemic aspect of the game, but it was a weird thing to start off my playthrough confronting. 

Like I mentioned, my first playthrough was when I was 15, my second I think I was 17, and here I am 4 years later. So why do I keep going back to this game? Well, for one, the plot is dense enough, and my brain is sparse enough, that i find myself surprised by one aspect or another every time. This time, Dio’s blackmailing Sigma to get the Axelever (sp? who cares), how much I liked K, and a lot of the plot after the final puzzle room were surprises for me. That being said, there were also things I dreaded and did not want to revisit: Quark’s and Alice’s suicidality, the part after the first AB game where you go to three different rooms and people info dump on you, most of the puzzle rooms tbh, and good god the part where Luna’s face melts off. I hate it. I hated it at 15, I hate it now. 

And, though my memories are quite fuzzy on ZTD, I’ll say (expanding on Luna’s face melting off) that this is the only game in the series that inspires genuine dread from me. I think, honestly, that it’s 70% how uncanny the models are. K is the only that looks remotely OK, and that’s because he’s a big silly suit of armor in a monk robe. On the flip side, though, this uncanny valley I think works tonally very well for the game. It makes me feel uncomfortable to look at the visuals. Half the environments look like they’re from the original Silent Hill, for God’s sake. It’s not good, but it’s serviceable, and even functional in an accidental sort of way. However, the visuals are the reason I’ve never been able to recommend this game to other people (that and the walls of text, the obscure psuedoscientific rants, the way Alice’s tits are just out ...). 999 is far-and-away the more charming game visually, but I think VLR in its own way has carved out a visual style that works, though it’s jarring initially. Though, I do wonder how approachable the game is in 2020 compared to in 2012, or in 2014 when i played it. I think our need for quality graphics and disdain for poor graphics (especially this sort of ugly, gumby shit) have only increased since. I guess if anyone has any more thoughts on how they feel about the graphics and how approachable it makes the game, pls feel free to dm me. I’d love to talk about how weird this game is.

Changing subjects, I remember liking the music quite a bit more on my earlier playthroughs. Maybe that’s nostalgia talking, or maybe I’ve just grown as a music listener since high school. Probably both. I think it’s really appropriate for the game and great for setting a mood (and I love, love the twist in the credits track), but I think some tracks were overused. “Dun dun .... Dun dun ... Dun dun”  ad nauseam. Uh oh! I know that track! Looks like something deeply horrifying is about to happen! ^_^ I sure hope it’s not that same ugly rendering of Alice being stabbed in the chest :3c (it is. it is the same ugly rendering of Alice being stabbed in the chest.)

Maybe I’ve come across as overly critical, but I do have a deep appreciation for this game. I think that it easily has the best premise I’ve ever, ever come across in a video game, and, no jokes, every game I’ve played since I first came across VLR has failed in comparison to how absolutely genius i think this game is. I’m not exaggerating. The way the plot mirrors the actions of the player, the unique incentivisation of replaying, the way it lets me just be straight up evil occasionally, the twists, the turns, the way i had to cut off my own arm using a warehouse door. the list goes on. The reveal of Zero Sr. is, I think, the most impactful twist in a piece of media i’ve ever experienced. Perhaps I’m a buffoon, but i think this game slam dunks it in terms of pure plot showmanship. that said, i think the exact details of what’s going on where and why (especially at the end irt Kyle, but that’s more of an issue to do with ZTD, and we’ll come to that when we come to that) can get quite murky. 

Admittedly, the game does explain what’s happening; in fact, oftentimes it takes an infuriating amount of time walking through the minutia of what was going on where (the infamous door and map animations are infamous for a reason), but i think that a vague gesture toward the plot is all i need, or really all i get from the game at the end of the day. For me, the plot is more of a vehicle for the scenarios of the nonary games, not the other way around. In a sense, I could care less who’s at what point in time where -- just let me brutally betray this old man in a prisoner’s dilemma situation.  And the game, after pontificating, eventually does. and I fucking love that. God, I adore just smashing that betray button. 

And that’s the fun of the game. Past the over-detailed plot, the predictable music, the gummy looking character models, I love vlr because of how it lets me interact with its world and its characters. I always get to choose either ally or betray, and what happens happens because of that choice that I made. I wish more video games operated like that. Also, I just love Phi. I know this paragraph isn’t about her, but i love rude girls. 

So, I think that’s that. VLR is a mixed bag, but I’m ecstatic that it evens exists, bizarre as it is. 

i’ll be starting my ZTD playthrough probably soon. I don’t remember much about the game besides playing on launch day, finishing it within 48 hours, and being vaguely disappointed, but it’ll be good to move on from all this murdering in VLR to a whole different set of murders.

[withlove-so]

lets try spicing things up since i don’t see too many Ferdinand stans and Ferdinand posts on here besides HCs. can i requesteth someth Ferdinand x Reader pleaseth? thanketh thou

:3c Him

I went for post timeskip because I’m in love with his long hair, I hope that’s okay!

Take a shot after every time I say hair

— — —

“You grew your hair out. That’s not really what I expected.”

“Long hair is a fantastic way to look more gallant! Don’t you think it makes me look more noble?” Ferdinand chucked at you surprised expression. You supposed it did make him look more handsome, not that you’d ever tell him that. He’d never shut up about it if you did.

“You’re a lot more vulernable on the battlefield with hair like that. What if the enemy grabs it from behind and restricts your movement?”

“Maybe I could cut it in a dramatic fashion! That seems to be a common trope in plays after all, and other people go wild over it.”

“Or, and this might sound crazy but, maybe dont do that?” He just had to over complicate things... the solution could be much simpler, “Just put your hair up before battle. It’ll be much harder to take advantage of then.”

Please let me do it. Please let me do it.

“Hmm, you make a fair point. But I’ve never even tried to do something like that. Do you have any-“

“I could do it for you!” That probably sounded too eager. Gods you’d even interrupted him while he was talking. But his hair looked so soft, and you desperately wanted to touch it. In a perfectly normal manner, of course, “Er, that is, if you’re alright with that.”

“Why, Y/N! Of course! If you would be so kind, I’d love it if you could help me.” It didn’t seem like he’d even noticed, or if he did, he didn’t mention it. You agree to do so, even though you had been the one to offer in the first place. You quickly position yourself behind him and began working.

Though, when you run your fingers through his hair to check for tangles, you could swear you’d heard Ferdinand make a small sound. Had you hurt him? Surely he wasn’t so tender headed he couldn’t handle a little hair pulling. It didn’t really sound like he was hurt, but better to be safe than sorry.

“Ferdinand? Sorry, am I being too rough?” You tried to meet his face, but he quickly turned away once he noticed you begin to move.

“Not at all! It’s just, maybe you should use a brush instead. That is the intended tool after all.” His voice seemed to waver a bit, like he had something else to say but couldn’t find the words.

No matter, you want to keep Ferdinand comfortable, otherwise he might not let you finish! So you begrudgingly comply, rummaging around your bag. Once you find one and begin running it through his locks, it quickly becomes clear that it’s very well kept, the bristles flow through so cleanly! You made a mental note to ask him what he does to keep it like that.

After brushing it thoroughly, you begin to think of some suitable styles. Perhaps a bun? Or a ponytail that sits over his shoulder like Linhardt’s used to? Maybe even twin tails...

Eventually you decide to do a braided bun, it was bound to not only work the best but also look the best.

“I think I’ve got the style for you! But it’s probably gonna take a while. Are you going to be able to sit there for long?”

“Of course! You’re talking to Ferdinand von Aegir here!”

“I know, that’s why I asked. I don’t think I’ve seen you sit for longer than 30 minutes.” As you laughed at your own tease, you began to separate his hair for the starting braid. This seemed to cause Ferdinand to tense up again, with his shoulders raising up and his neck falling forward. His movement made his hair shift around and immediately messed with the partings. You grab a small strand and give it a light tug, grimacing, “Hey, don’t move! If you move, you’ll mess it up. And if it messes up, I’ll just have to do it again anyways.”

You heard the man give a small voicing of apologies as he sat back up, and you couldn’t help but notice his hand gripping at his knees. His nails were practically digging into his skin, or at least they sure looked like they were. While you began braiding the three large sections of hair, you slowly, slowly began creeping around. Just enough to where he wouldn’t notice.

After all, he’d been hiding his face this whole time. The only way you could even read his emotions was his body language so far, and that can only tell you so much. Was he angry? In pain? Nervous? You couldn’t tell! And you’d never know if you didn’t investigate.

But impatience got the better of you. You only got about halfway before just bolting around then facing him directly (still holding the braid, unfortunately. You noticed Ferdinand cringe from his hair suddenly getting yanked so violently). You couldn’t even suppress your giggle.

The little Dukeling has such a warm glow to his face! His cheeks were a soft shade a pink that danced up his face as he realized you were sat right in front of him. He tried to look away, to the sides, even to the sky, but it was quite difficult to do so. Since you still had his hair gripped in your fist, his movements were extremely limited. So he simply looked forward, which only seemed to embarrass him further.

“Y/N! By the Goddess, at least warn me when you’re going to do that. You nearly scared me half to death...” His breathing was certainly a bit unsteady. Perhaps you’d frightened him a bit too much and yet, it was probably worth it to see his cute-

Ah, wait. Gods, you really needed to stop thinking like that. This whole time you’d let your mind wander, but... perhaps it was getting out of hand.

“Well, you’ve been avoiding looking at me! I thought maybe you were upset, so I just wanted to make sure. But, you seem more than fine to me.” A soft smile creeped onto your lips, “I’d even say you look pretty happy. Oh, wait! Your hair!” You’d been distracted for so long, you’d completely forgotten about his braid! It was still in its form, thank the Goddess, so you simply went back around and continued working quietly.

But of course, silence can never last for long. You quietly mused a thought, one you had intended to keep to yourself, “Why is it that you looked so embarrassed? I know having your hair done up isn’t typically the most manly thing, but you didn’t seem embarrassed at the thought before. Is there something else? Maybe...” Is it me? You quickly throw the thought out. What silly self indulgence.

“Well... I suppose it’s because of- because of you.”

Your hands freeze as you were tying up the now complete braid into a bun. Was he being serious here? You thought back to make sure you hadn’t spoken out loud.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t even done anything to embarrass you.” A nervous chuckle barely slips through your lips. Of course, that’s probably not what he meant. But in that moment of panic, what else could you think to say? You hurriedly try to tie up his bun, trying to avoid the conversation.

“Yes, of course not. It’s just that, your hands are very... soft. I didn’t expect it and, and when you did that thing with your hands, running it through my hair I just kind of, um.” Now you both fell silent, and neither side made an attempt to break it.

As soon as you tied up his hair fully and gave an awkward “Finished.”, Ferdinand turned around to face you. His face was even more flushed than before, and when he met your gaze a light, breathy laugh came out. Without his hair framing his face, you really could see everything. And by the Godess, it really was breath taking. No word to describe beauty seemed to be able to match the wide grin plastered across his face, or the soft look his eyes were giving you.

“Thanks Y/N. Knowing you, I’m sure it looks perfect.”

He was blinding.

You push his face to the side, grumbling, “Don’t look at me like that. Or I won’t be able to...”

Resist.

You leave the field in a hurry, making up some excuse about having to prepare for the upcoming battle, even though you’d already prepared weeks in advance. You just had to get away from that man, just for a moment, to regain your composure.

In your rush, you failed to notice that, just behind you, that same man watched you retreat with such a fond expression, almost wanting to call you back but decided it best to leave it be.

There was always next time he had mused, another time when he held just a bit more confidence to truly tell you how he feels.