#better set that timer to the high side

[requiemforthepoets]

overcooked 𖦹 LN4

PAIRINGS: lando norris x female!reader

SUMMARY: play overcooked they said, it’ll be fun they said.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: i just can’t help write about the idea lando playing overcooked, so i did. hope you’ll enjoy this! :)

REMINDER: this is purely fiction, the way how the character is portrayed in my story does not reflect the person that is portraying my character in real life. always separate fiction from reality, and do not repost or copy my work in any way.

WORD COUNT: 1k

WARNINGS: typos and ferrari strategy meme

Lando’s twitch stream was in full swing, and the chat was buzzing as you settled beside him, controller in hand.

“Alright, babe, let’s see how well we work together,” Lando teased, flashing you that signature grin. You rolled your eyes, already sensing that this game of overcooked might be more than what you bargained for.

You both dove into the first level, the kitchen chaos unfolding on the screen as you both tried to chop, cook, and serve orders with as much coordination as two people shared a life, but perhaps not a kitchen.

“Lando, the onions! You missed the onions!” You shouted, pointing at the screen as the virtual kitchen teetered on the brink of disaster.

“Relax, I’ve got this!” Lando replied, but his character was already running into walls, the pot burning on the stove. You could feel the frustration bubbling up, your competitive nature kicking into high gear.

You took charge of the kitchen, barking orders like a seasoned chef, while Lando scrambled to keep up. “Chop the onions faster, Lando!” You yelled as the kitchen timer ticked down. Lando, flustered, accidentally tossed the onions into the trash instead of the pot.

“Oops,” he said, trying to suppress a laugh.

“Oops?” You shot back, incredulous. “Lando, we’re running a restaurant, not a garbage disposal service!” The twitch chat exploded with laughter, and Lando couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of trying to manage orders, avoid fires, and stop Lando from accidentally throwing perfectly good ingredients into the trash, you both managed to complete the level. The result? Two stars. You stared at the screen, eyes narrowing.

“Unacceptable.” You muttered, “this is unacceptable!” You declared, your voice suddenly dropping into a perfect Gordon Ramsay impression.

“Oh look, baby we got two stars! That’s not bad!” Lando said excitedly as he pointed on the screen.

“Not that bad? Are you kidding me, Lando?” You snapped, fully embodying the spirit of Gordon Ramsay. “We were all over the place! No communcation, no strategy. Honestly, what was that—your best effort? Do you want to serve that to people? Do you?!”

Your sudden intensity caught Lando off guard, but before he could say anything, you were now pacing back and forth in front of him. But before he could say anything, you were off on a tirade, launching into an elaborate explanation of your strategy. You gestured wildly, pointing at the screen, completely absorbed in your monologue.

“Okay, listen. First, you need to stay on your side of the kitchen. I’ll handle the chopping and the prep work—because clearly, you’re incapable of doing both without setting something on fire. We need to streamline the workflow. I’ll chop, you’ll cook, and we both plate. But!” You pointed at him, your expression deadly serious, “no more improvisation. We need to stick to the plan. No more running around like a headless chicken.“

Lando blinked and nodded at you, clearly taken aback by your sudden switch into full-on chef mode. He opened his mouth to respond but then quickly shut it, his eyes darting between you and the camera that was still live streaming every second of your tirade. The chat was exploding with messages, his fans throughly entertained by your unintentional transformation into a culinary dictator, and Lando knows better than to interrupt you when you’re in the zone.

“And another thing,” you continued, pointing to the screen like you were delivering the world’s most important TED talk. “Timing and synchronization is crucial. We need to strategize and work like a well-oiled machine, not a circus act, okay? I handle the chopping, you’ll cook, and we both plate. We’ll divide and conquer!”

The chat exploded, the fans losing it as she continued, hands flying everywhere in wild gestures. Meanwhile, Lando was trying his hardest not to crack up, the corners of his mouth twitching as he watched her go on.

“Babe…baby,” Lando finally managed to interject, struggling to keep a straight face. “You realize we’re live, right?”

You froze, eyes widening as you remembered the twitch stream, the hundred of his fans who had just witnessed your unhinged rant. Slowly, you turned to the camera, a sheepish grin spreading across your face.

“Oh…hi, chat,” you said, your voice suddenly much softer, the intensity draining from your expression. “I’m sorry for that. That was not very demure, very cutesy, and very mindful of me.”

Lando burst out laughing, nearly doubling over as he clutched his stomach. “I think you’ve been watching too much Hell’s Kitchen, love. Gordon Ramsay has become your new personality,” he teased, pulling you back down and sat you on his lap. You groaned, burying your face on his neck, as he put an arm around your waist, but even you couldn’t help laugh at yourself.

“Come on, let’s get you that three stars.” Lando said as he chuckled again. You settled down beside him and gave you a kiss on your temple.

The rest of the stream was just as chaotic as when you both started playing the game, filled with rage, frustration, and hilarious uncoordination. Orders were still missed, pots were still burning, and Lando’s character even managed to fall off the kitchen at one point, but you were both too busy laughing to care. By the end of the game, you hadn’t earned a single three-star rating that you had intentionally wanted, but the stream had been a massive hit, and the chat was flooded with memes of your intense strategy session.

As Lando ended the stream, he leaned over and kissed you on the lips, still chuckling. “We may not be the best team in overcooked, but I think we’re the most entertaining,” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

You rolled your eyes, but a smile played on your lips as you rested your head ok his shoulder. “Yeah, well, next time we’re getting three stars. I don’t care how long it takes.”

“Deal.” lando replied, wrapping an arm around you as you both relaxed, your own competitive sprit finally at peace—for now. “And can I say, it really turned me on when you started yapping.” His eyes wiggling, suggesting something that you knew fully well as you slapped him playfully on the chest.

“Oh shut up you.” You both laughed.

The kitchen might have been a disaster, but at least your relationship had survived the heat—well, barely.

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[circeyoru]

Your Special Shush Muse = Requested

The Request

[Sung Jinwoo x A-Rank Hunter Artist!Reader]

There was something you’ve been doing outside of your Hunter business. A calmer and less active activity. That was drawing. You love to just sit at a high place and just observe the people and their livelihood in the city. You used your <God’s Eye> to watch over people and see far, it was because of your hobby that you mastered your Hunter’s skills after awakening so easily. 

Your eyes would glow a faint aura with smokey wisps at the corner of your eye extending to your ear. The deeper the colour of the aura, the more concentrated you were at something or someone. Usually, it’d be faint to the point no one noticed because you didn’t need to doom in on the details. Once you had a basic view and some inspiration, your hand would move over the blank page, and a drawing slowly formed.

Being in high places also gives you the advantage and privacy needed for an artist such as yourself. Before awakening, you were content with being on the roof, now you could sit on the edge of a high building or the ledge of a roof. It’s mostly due to your <Wormhole> ability to create a vortex that gave you the power to teleport, but only in spaces where you could see. You had convenient abilities, but that’s not all you could do; they were abilities you were most familiar with compared to the others.

Your pencil scratched through the paper in a thick black line when your music was suddenly interrupted by an ear-piercing ringtone. You growled at the destroyed drawing in front of you before sighing, life of a Hunter is so annoying, but it was easy money as long as you’re ranked high enough and careful. You placed your pencil to your side and tapped on the side of your headphones to answer the call then reached for an eraser. 

“Hello? State your business…”

“Where are you?”

You frowned at the lack of greeting or small talk, well, it was good for you since you wanted to get back to your drawing. You carefully tried to erase the accidental line on the page. “Somewhere high in the city, not sure where I am. Why?”

“Your presence is needed for an inspection after a report of a Double Dungeon. I’ll send you the location, head there immediately. You know what to do.” And the call ended.

You cursed Woo Jinchul and his workaholic habits, if he wanted to work so much, don’t drag others into it. Still, a Double Dungeon was rare. So maybe you’ll get some inspiration from that? You shook your head and went into a Hunter mindset. After putting away your sketchbook and stationary, you checked your phone for the location while creating vortexes for you to travel down from your current location.

“What?!” Your eyes widened as you stopped mid-travel at the words your eyes landed on. This location was where Sung Jinwoo would have his D-Rank dungeon raid. Something happened? No way, why was it always Jinwoo?

Your hand raised as you ran through vortex after vortex, your heart and mind racing just as fast, if not even faster. You reached the site in record time, finding some members of the Hunters Association scattered around doing their work. You looked for Jinwoo among the survivors making their brief statements before being sent to the hospital. When he wasn’t among them, you went to question the more healthy-looking survivors. 

To your horror, they only looked away when you asked for Jinwoo. They couldn’t admit it, but their faces says it all. They abandoned Jinwoo in that dungeon. You don’t know how, but you managed to hold yourself back from punching them or lashing out. There was a glimmer of hope; Jinwoo always have some way that let him survive at the worst odds. 

“I’m going in.” You told Jinchul firmly. 

Jinchul nodded and gestured for his men to follow after you into the gate. “There’s not much time until it closes. The boss was already defeated. You have 15-20 minutes, tops.”

“I’ll use <Wormhole> if I run out of time.” You set your phone with a timer of 15 minutes; better safe than sorry. Once you entered through the gate, you immediately activated your two skills. Swiftly bringing the team to the Double Dungeon and looking for any clues as to where Jinwoo would be, the least you could do was bring back his body for a burial. 

You took a step back and readied your bow and arrow for anything while the men pushed open the double doors. When nothing happened even after a few seconds, you used your <God’s Eye> to survey the inside from a safe distance. Your view landed on the altar, but flinched at the amount of blood that pooled at the bottom. Looking up, you were met with Jinwoo’s unconscious body laying there.

“Hunter Sung Jinwoo is inside!” You shouted at the men and put away your weapon in favour of heading straight for him. “Jinwoo! Jinwoo!” You tried to shake him awake, but he remained unresponsive. You placed your ear against his heart and listened for something. His body was still warm and there was a heartbeat, albeit weak. “Thank goodness…” 

After confirming that Jinwoo was alive, you let Jinchul’s men bring Jinwoo out and to the hospital. You scanned the area again to mentally catalogue the surroundings so Jinchul could put it into a report. Another ability of yours was to transcribe what you see and recall on paper, like you were a human instant camera. You call it <Photoshot>. 

While you waited for Jinwoo to wake up, your mind went blank, and your hand moved across the blank page. Your eyes stared dreamily at Jinwoo’s peaceful form, sighing from time to time. You couldn’t explain the relief you had when Jinwoo was still alive after all that blood you saw on the alter. The torn pants leg must have meant he might have lost part of his leg, but it was still there. You have to thank whoever healed him as the first responders. 

“Drawing your crush again?” Jinchul’s voice snapped you out of your daze.

“Hello to you too.” You greeted without giving the man a glance. Yes, you have a crush on Jinwoo and you never once told him or anyone. You’ve had it since school before he dropped out due to needing money. You even had a separate sketchbook with all forms of doodles and drawings of Jinwoo. What can you say? You have dedication. “You know that’s better than me lashing out at the survivors…”

“It is.” Jinchul nodded in agreement. You were always touchy when it came to subjects regarding Jinwoo. Because you were of a higher rank than him, the two of you were worlds apart and your work was more valued than his. You saw this prejudice as something that belonged to the deep end; anyone that says otherwise belonged to the deepest part of the Earth. 

As for how he found out about your little crush… He walked in on you hugging a drawing of Jinwoo. He can’t say anymore nor could he mention to anyone else. Unless he has a death wish. He doesn’t want you vortexing him into some acid or killer contraption. 

Another thing was your darker side that you kept at bay. Whether it has been there since the beginner or emerged after your awakening as a Hunter, he’s not sure, but it wasn’t a pretty sight. As if you turned to another person when triggered, your bloodlust and cruelty was another level from the criminals. You could give them a run for their money. The saying goes, ‘Don’t offend the Quiet Hunter’.

“It’s been two days; you should rest.” Jinchul tried to get you to leave the hospital multiple times already. Judging by the number of balled-up papers on the floor to your side, you’ve been in the same spot for a long time. 

“What if he wakes up when I leave and goes into another dangerous dungeon?” You pouted as your hand stopped. Your eyes turned their focus to your drawing, and your fingers brushed through the drawing of Jinwoo’s cheek even though he was right in front of you. Perhaps you didn’t want to touch him since your fingers were dusted with the graphite powder from the pencil and drawing.

“It’s his choice as a Hunter.”

With that, you left Jinwoo in Jinchul’s hands. You didn’t want to, but you had to earn money for your family too, plus you wanted to help Jinwoo while it was out of commission. During the time you were gone from Jinwoo’s side, he grew. You didn’t notice it until you compared your drawings page by page. From an innocent childlike to a mature adult. You never outright observed him while you were in his range, but used your cheat skill. To say you weren’t flushed like a red tomato was a plain-out lie. 

Once, you peeked in on him doing exercises and saw him half naked. You fell off the roof and nearly dropped to your death if not for your sketchbook falling on your face to snap you out of it. You made a vortex to land yourself on the roof again. You clenched your heart and felt it beating like crazy. Curiosity killed the cat and you wanted to look again. Within seconds, you were falling again. Literally.

Over time, you had gotten used to it and didn’t shy away from Jinwoo’s new and incredible view. In fact, you drew it all in your sketchbook. Completely unaware of the Shadows that were staring at your actions with glee. You did, however, find it odd that there were times when you couldn’t observe Jinwoo with your <God’s Eye> and you had asked him what he was doing during those times. 

“I was just in the dungeon. Why?” Jinwoo nonchalantly answered your question before sipping on his coffee.

“Oh, nothing at all.” You flinched, you looked away while cupping your cup of drink, “I was just looking for you and you weren’t around.”

Jinwoo placed his cup down, leaning over the table, “What for?”

You gulped, leaning back into your chair unconsciously. “N- Nothing. Just Hunter business and see if you wanted me to bring you to some weapons shop for a discount.”

Jinwoo grinned and ruffled your hair in a brotherly manner. “I got some nice drops, so I don’t think I’ll be needing new weapons or gears for a while.”

“Oh. Okay…” There goes your chance to go out with him. 

Nevertheless, you love times where you and Jinwoo would just sit in a cafe or quiet restaurant just chatting and catching up with your life. You love how Jinwoo appeared more confident and prideful in a way that you couldn’t explain. It was his overall aura and imagine. Plus, the aura around him practically screams to you that he was no long an E-Rank or The Weakness Hunter of All Mankind. How you craved and prayed for such a day to be true. If it were a dream, you hpoe and wish for it to last as long as you and he lived. 

At the top of a tower, you were giggling to yourself at Jinwoo’s appearance on TV. The silliness and ignorance of him was worthy of a cute doodle and a drawing of him showing off his power. Your hand moved over the pages like you were possessed, even the weather couldn’t deter you from your mission. “Jinwoo’s so cool.”

“Thanks.”

“Ahhh!!!” You hugged your sketchbook to your chest and turned the direction where the voice came from. You knew that voice anywhere. “Jinwoo! When did you get here?! Weren’t you at the Hunters Association seconds ago?!”

“You know I can travel quickly and wherever.” Jinwoo tilted his head to the side innocently. His eyes traveled down to your sketchpad in your arms. “So, what are you drawing that got your soul split from your body?”

“Nothing! Not something you can see.” You claimed with the fiercest face you could muster. “So leave, this is my spot, I came first.”

Jinwoo still smiled, “But I seen it before.” He yoinked the sketchbook from your arms effortlessly, he was an S-Rank Hunter. He flipped through the pages and made comments at every page while you withered away in the corner. “Wow! These are so good! You make me look like some god.”

You mumbled how he was practically one in your mind, but you didn’t want to when you were dying of embarrassment. He knows… He migth as well know with this…

Jinwoo chuckled at the hearts doodled around the page. His eyes traveled to you and he closed it, holding it in his arm dedicately. He kneeled down to your level and tapped on your shoulder to make you turn around.

“What… I’m so embar—”

As smooth as your pencil over your page, Jinwoo took your chin in his fingers and leaned in close to you. Giving you a soft kiss on your lips. You blinked twice while Jinwoo stared with your eyes as if he was looking into your soul. You heart beat like a drum while Jinwoo still appears as calm and collected as ever. 

Jinwoo finally backed up and grinned at his handy work. He waved your sketchbook in the air, “I’ll take this as your confession and you can take this,” His finger tapped your lips playfully, “As my way of saying ‘I’m yours’. It applies both way okay?”

Thank whatever god there is, because you managed to nod. 

Jinwoo got up. “Good.” He dragged you along with him, pulling you up but your legs gave up from your crouching so you fell into him with a face full of muscles and hotness. His chuckles made your face light up with heat and redness. He gave you a hug, speaking right into your ear, “I’d appreciate if you’d only draw me in your sketchpad and not some other unworthy muse.”

Note: Yup this is it! It was in my story file for a while and I just decided to post it. This is I think my third request for this fandom? There are some other requests in my inbox that are ideas that I've drafted already so no complains when I tweak it a bit or don't fulfil the request 100%.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!!

Circe Y.

My Works: MASTERLIST

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@momut

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

How about... Wolverine with a sugar baby type dynamic with his partner 👀 get those princess vibes going

Logan let his head loll back in his chair and just listened.

Today, you were doing your level best to hide something from him. You were upset. Though- if he listened to you singing and decorating cupcakes like all was right with the world, like any other idiot, he'd never know it. But he knew better. When you were really happy, you didn't sound like a cartoon Princess.

It wasn't a show. Even if the words weren't all there, you lost yourself to it. And it DIDN'T sound like a high school chamber choir.

"Princess," he grumbled, "come here."

The tentative patter of your steps made his eyes narrow. Your smile was too brittle when he looked up at you. "Is something-"

"Come here," he ordered, patting his lap with one hand, taking a drag on his cigar.

Your oven timer goes off and you glance from him to the kitchen, biting your lip. "Sorry, Logan, I-"

"Go get them and shut the damn oven off, baby girl," he said, smiling a little. You nod and he watches you go. Listening when you disappear around the half wall. He can hear you pouring him a fresh drink. That makes him frown too. You're unhappy- not just that but you're feeling off balance.

When you come back, bringing him his fresh glass and set it on the side table, Logan regards you. Assessing you. "There's my Princess," he hummed. You need careful handling if he's going to get to the bottom of it. He pulled you into his lap gently. Not straddling him, not yet- that was for later. "You're all tensed up on me, kid," he scolded.

"Can't help it," you murmur, hiding your face in his neck.

He tutted and stroked your back. "So tense and upset you're not even horny for me," he chuckled. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were pissed at me. Now I wanna know who's ass I gotta kick."

"I just don't feel good," you murmur. It's a lie. And Logan knows it. He can feel it.

"C'mon, bub," grumbled, tilting ting your chin up to look at you. "I can't make it better if you don't tell me about it."

[sacredtime]

If the boys had a chronically ill mate:

Possibly ooc

David: the minute he’s told (or realizes) Angel is chronically ill he internally panics and frets about them and how they treat themselves and how he treats them. He knows Angel has been living with this for a long time knowingly or not, their usual laidback attitude and usual lack of thought towards how they take care of themselves makes him concerned. He’ll focus more on making sure Angel is accommodated for in the home and they can be as comfortable as possible in their house.

David makes sure Angel is also treated well in day to day life. They come home complaining of how they’re getting treated or how they have to go into the doctor and how shit the doctor was to them when they told the doctor their problems he’ll come in next time as scary dog privilege and back up bullshit detector since unfortunately they’ll listen to him better than Angel. David is also on top of any medications and the conditions and location of possible mobility aids. Angel will never run out of medication or misplace any aids they need. If any of their medications have bad side effects or reactions with Angel David’s written it down in detail along with when they started it. Anything needs maintenance or needs to be replaced? There’s already an appointment set before Angel can forget or procrastinate about setting one.

Asher: Asher doesn’t worry like David, Babe is responsible and has their shit together out of the two and they probably have a steady routine; and despite his goofball, carefree personality he’s extra attentive to Babe once he’s told and help them see the positive side of things. Yeah he might try to get out of things but he’ll become their personal runner for anything, he’ll even ask David to try and teach him how to cook again so then Babe doesn’t have to make meals when they’re not up to it or has to power through making meals because Asher can’t really be trusted in the kitchen. He’ll also move anything around to make things manageable for Babe, he’ll also carry them and any mobility aids around if need be any time they ask.

Asher isn’t as intimidating as David off of looks alone, he lacks David’s murderer face, but he is very much a people person and I think he’s able to guilt trip people very well. Someone talks down to Babe or touches their things he makes the person feel so bad the person can’t help but apologize and depending on the situation avoid the two. He’s also naturally Babe’s biggest hype man, things are getting hard for Babe and he can’t do anything? He’s there encourage them and then comfort them after. Physio? Asher’s right beside them being literal support and not backing out no matter how hard they hold onto him or how much of their weight Babe puts on him. Asher is also great with positive reinforcement, if Babe struggles to take or remember to take pills he has a timer and little treats to make it all worth it and bearable few minutes.

Milo: Sweetheart is pretty self sufficient and tries to work through hell and high water so when they crash, they crash hard. When Milo realizes they have a chronic illness he makes it his mission to alleviate their stress and pain. He knows sweetheart is a workaholic and they are set well in their ways no matter how unhealthy it is. He has pain killers, massages and a good show/movie on hand. Even if Sweetheart tries to keep going despite everything Milo will pull out the big guns: ✨Aggro✨. He’ll plop the cat on their lap and sweetheart can help but stay put for as long as possible no matter how frustrating it is to be kept from their work. Milo also makes sure that in sweetheart’s work frenzy they eat well so they don’t feel even worse. He has ice packs, heating pads, pain killers and if worst comes to worst his mother to help manage sweetheart’s conditions.

Milo also makes sure he that they keep any mobility aids in arms reach for them. It’s not that sweetheart doesn’t acknowledge that they need them, it’s just that it’s another thing they have to bring with them that they also can’t cloak the aid so they try to go for as long as possible without it. He’ll start to nag if they’re at home and refuse to use it. Milo will also get sweetheart excellent comfy formal wear for work so they don’t have to wear anything uncomfortable or if they have braces they can wear them comfortably under their clothes and are able to look fashionable. I feel like sweetheart carries enough respect naturally with their job and just the attitude they have on their own they don’t need Milo’s help when it comes to disrespectful people and doctors in the empowered world but both would bounce off each other excellently and damn near kill someone with their words alone.

Sam: in short he is stressed. When Sam finds out Darlin has a chronic illness they shrug it off as ‘not that bad’ and that ‘everyone’s bodies do this.’ that if Sam weren’t a vampire and immortal he’d have had so many years taken off his life by the stress of this revelation alone he’d probably be on his deathbed. In the early stages of their relationship Darlin has nothing but a sketchy ziploc bag of Tylenol/Advil and a brace and/or cane from like Walmart. He goes all in looking for their medical history to confirm what they have if it’s there and if they should be on medication and then takes them in to the doctors for various tests whether they think it’s serious or not. Sam is there no questions to make sure Darlin goes to their appointments and he makes sure Darlin gets answers and proper treatments, he is unbelievably persistent and determined to get their health back on track. He is the ultimate mother hen early on and focuses on getting Darlin into better habits while also keeping them safe from their own recklessness.

Sam later in the relationship is far less stressed since Darlin is considerably more stable. He keeps tabs on their medicine still and can’t help but monitor their condition just incase they try to hide it again as to try and not worry him. In the rare time that Darlin finally crashes Sam comes in with old man comfort as they sit on the couch under a blanket. He uses his lack of body heat as a human sized ice pack, putting his hands on the areas that ache the most and apply subtle pressure while murmuring affirmations of how they’re still strong and how he doesn’t see them as lesser or love them any less for times like this.

If darlin has a cane and Sam picks it up Fred and bright eyes joke that it’s his now and to not rush his weary old man body and a whole bunch of grandpa jokes.

[yn-honeybun]

Sleepover at the Thundermans😴

You, Phoebe, and Max have an arrangement for sleepovers. You spend Saturday with Max and Sunday with Phoebe. This morning is no exception, except Max wants to make it one.

Max Thunderman x girl!reader

Word Count: 791

The sun was shining, birds were chirping on this beautiful Sunday morning. You had spent the day and night over at the Thunderman’s house. During the day you spent it with your boyfriend, Max, who always made it his job to keep your energy high when you were there. Now it was time for you to say goodbye to Max and spend the next day with Phoebe, however there was one thing, or rather one person, getting in the way of that.

“Good morning Max,” you yawned, stretching your arms out.

“Good morning gorgeous,” your boyfriend let out watching you, almost as if he was studying your actions.

You took a deep breath through your nose and out your mouth, ready to start the day.

“Alright time to get ready to hang out with Phoebe!” you exclaimed, taking the covers off of you.

“Wait, no,” Max whined, grabbing the hand closest to him, “please don’t leave me especially for, ugh her” he said, making a barfing noise.

“Oh come on Max, I have to go. Phoebe is going to get mad if I’m not up there in the next 15 minutes,”

“Oh yeah, how do you know?”

“Because she won’t stop texting me,” you said grabbing your phone from the bed-side table, “Good morning bestie. Can’t wait for you to come over. I know you’re awake. You have 15 minutes to be up here before I come down there. I know you’re reading this I can hear you,” you read the text messages out loud for Max to hear, urgency in your tone.

“But I don’t want you to leave” Max pouted, shaking and kicking his legs in dismay.

You got up and out of the bed and grabbed your overnight bag, making your way to the bathroom to freshen up. Soon after you walked out in a new outfit, comfortable and practical for whatever Phoebe had planned for today.

“I have to go Max, this was the deal. I spend Saturday with you and then I spend Sunday with Phoebe. That’s how this works,” you noted.

“Yeah but it’s not fair,” he grumbled getting out of the bed to come over to where you were standing, “You’re my girlfriend,” he said emphasizing the *my* part of his statement.

“And I’m her best friend,” you said mimicking the way he emphasized my, with *her*, “I have to spend my time with you guys fairly. If I spend all my time with you, Phoebe gets jealous. And if I spend all my time with Phoebe, you get jealous,”

“Yeah but-”

“But nothing,” another voice interrupted, “you had your fun with your girlfriend, now it’s time for me to have fun with my friend,” Phoebe instructed with a stern voice.

You turned to face the brunette girl. “I’ll be right there in a minute, just let me say bye to Max,” you waved at her and gave her a small smile.

“Oh yeah no problem,” she said, giving you the thumbs up, while still standing her place on the stairs.

“She means you need to leave,” Max snapped, shooing her off with his hands.

Phoebe rolled her eyes and looked at you, “I’m setting a timer for 2 minutes,” she explained tapping rapidly on her phone, “after that I’m coming back down here and y/n will come upstairs with me no matter what,” she declared looking Max in the eyes with a serious look. The other twin made her way back up the stairs to wait for you, once you heard the door shut, the both of you exhaled.

“She sounds serious, I better go now before she comes back” you said, grabbing your bag and making your way to follow Phoebe to the living room.

“Okay, okay,” Max gave in, “just one last kiss,” he said, putting his hands on your waist to pull you close.

“Fine, just one last kiss,”

Max dipped his head in to kiss you, putting his lips on your much softer ones. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss. You took in every second of this moment almost as if it would be your last chance to make out ever again. The two of you embraced each other tightly. Only pulling away when you heard frantic knocking on the other side of the door.

“That’s my cue to leave,” you let out sighing, turning the handle of the door to greet a very angry yet excited Phoebe. You gave her a quick hug, “I’m all yours for the next 24 hours” you smiled, turning back to wave your boyfriend goodbye.

Knowing Max, he will most likely come upstairs to disturb your time with his twin sister, but for now Phoebe has you all to herself.

[ultimate-chickennougat]

| Your Salaryman Husband | (Vol 4)

Vol 1 Vol 2 Vol 3 (Not Required) Vol 5 Vol 6 Vol 7 Vol 8 Vol 9

Salaryman!Kento x Housewife!Reader

When you get sick...

Word Count: 1.1k CW: SFW, Domestic Fluff, fem!Reader, Y/n is sick, Nanami takes off his shirt (nondescriptive)

A/n: Maybe you should meet Gojo sometime soon... idk... thoughts.

You mostly stayed inside the confines of your home, so getting sick wasn’t a common occurrence. 

Food was always prepared well, with vegetables washed and meat cooked properly. The house was regularly dusted and vacuumed, sheets and pillowcases thrown in the washing machine at least once per week. 

Nanami’s routine had certain protections as well, sitting a comfortable distance away from clients and coworkers while at meetings, and being in a partitioned office space in a quiet corner of the building during the work day. 

Despite these things, the sudden cold front seemed to disagree with your immune system, as you were now snuggled up in bed with a box of tissues. 

“Kento, darling, I can sleep in the guest bedroom, it’s fine,” you argued through your sniffles and occasional cough. He walked over to the side of the bed and pushed a few more pillows under your head. “It’s fine, it would take too much work to move things. You’re tired, so go to sleep,” he muttered, a slight chuckle leaving his mouth at your willingness. “You know I’m perfectly alright with sleeping here with you, you know,” you lightly pushed him away as he sat on the bed. “You’ll get sick too, and you have work,” you grabbed another tissue.

“I could always take some time off, I have some sick days in my contract,” Nanami smiled, feeling your forehead. “I’m glad you can still take care of yourself, but I’m here too. Just rely on me a little, Y/n,” he stood up and left to grab you some water.

It was the evening after a long day at work, when Nanami found you in an unwell state. Dinner on the stove was half cooked, sitting there, as you had quit for his sake when the sneezing onset. His poor wife, already asleep and shivering on the couch by the time he got home.  

Nanami picked you up, your arms wrapped lazily around his neck as he carried you to your shared room and laid you down. You woke up shortly after the covers were pulled over your body, head peaking out from the growing mass of blankets and pillows surrounding you. Two more were still awaiting their place behind your head. 

Now he was in the kitchen, turning on the stove to medium high and clicking the start button on the timer, which was already set to the final 15 minutes it needed until done. You had already felt a bit off that morning, something that he kept in mind all day, especially as he rushed home. Hence, a simple chicken soup was on the menu. 

He filled up a big glass with water, and took out two bowls from the cabinet, moving back to stir the soup that was bubbling.

You closed your eyes, enjoying the smell of soup that floated through the air. Dinner would be ready soon, so there was no point in going back to sleep, not that you weren’t close to dozing off already. Nanami came back clearing the nightstand of clutter and setting the box of tissues on the bed next to you. A chair was pulled up next to the nightstand, and two bowls were placed on it. 

You sat up comfortably, still surrounded by cozy blankets as you met your husband’s gaze. “I hate to admit it, you seem so miserable, but you’re very cute when you’re sick,” he laughed as you blushed. “I am not, I’m quite disgusting actually, darling,” you pointed to the pile of used tissues sitting in the garbage can. “I don’t think it’s disgusting at all, my love,” He grabbed your hand softly, and guided it to your spoon. 

“The soup is delicious, you’ll feel better if you eat,” he watched as you brought a spoonful to your mouth, a soft hum left your lips in agreement, it was quite good and easy to finish.

“Thank you, Kento,” you smiled, pulling the blankets off as you stood up to get ready for bed. “No you don’t,” he grabbed your waist and pulled you back onto the mound of pillows. “If you need something, I can get it for you,” you frowned, letting out a few coughs. “Besides I won’t be here tomorrow during work, so you should rest up while I am.” He stacked up your dishes and left, returning shortly.

“Which nightgown?” he asked, rifling through the dresses in your closet. “The pink short one,” you replied softly, voice slightly rough from your sore throat. He grabbed it and brought it over to you. “Do you need help changing?” He asked plainly, as you laughed. “I can do it myself, Mr. Nanami,” He sighed in defeat, unbuttoning his shirt to get ready himself.

“Well I don’t want you getting off this bed.” You shook your head in disagreement. “I still have to brush my teeth,” you whined, as he left you to finish getting ready in the bathroom, on your own, as he wiped down the nightstand with a wet cloth and changed. 

You came back, dressed for bed with your hair tied up in hopes of keeping cool throughout the night. Tossing yourself onto the blankets, you crawled under the covers enjoying the comfortable mattress the two of you had bought together. 

Nanami leaned down from beside the bed, his hand under your chin lifting your face, as he gently kissed your forehead. “I’m glad you don’t have a fever,” He murmured, lips still close to your skin. “I probably just have a cold, I guess,” you responded, snaking your hand down to grip his free one. “You should still stay away from me,” Nanami backed off from you, sitting down. 

“I don’t mind getting sick, it causes no problems,” he offered with a smirk. “But if you do really care so much… I’ll offer a compromise,” a look of surprise overtook your face as you awaited his proposal. “At least I get to sit here until you fall asleep, hmm?” you nodded, still longing for his presence, even at a distance. 

He kissed your cheek as you drifted to sleep, a smile still on your face and your breath slow and heavy as he could hear the congestion. 

“Goodnight, my love,” he sat still, lounging back into the chair. Little did he know it would be two more hours of watching you before he himself fell asleep, still sitting in that chair by your side.

[hyunfilms]

blue side of the sky (lmh) | twenty one. (final)

♡ spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: waking up after 3 months with no recollection of your past, your friends do what they can to help you remember. except, they omit an important piece to the puzzle - afraid you would remember the heartbreak and hurt all over again.

—pairing: lee know x f. reader

—genre: (18+) exes to lovers, bestfriends to lovers au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 4.4k

—chapter content/warnings: not much, really just wrapping everything up mainly for these three, some crying, overwhelming feelings of nostalgia and missing someone, two cute flashback scenes

☁︎ on rotation: magic hour - jhene aiko

—a/n: thank you again for coming along on this journey <33 i appreciate you, and the support always means so, so much to me 🩵 i'll be back with chan's fic soon. 🥰

As the days go by, you find yourself feeling better in your own skin than you were a year ago. Despite the troubles you had endured, you feel like you're finally where you need to be. Things feel settled, time seems to be moving slower, your relationships traversing on calm waters. Because the flower shop had been booming with more customers and clients, Mrs. Pak made you lead florist while she hired another part-timer, Bora, who helped in between her classes. You're mainly at the shop, preparing pre-ordered bouquets and setting some aside for grabs at the store; while the other half of your time is now spent traveling to venues to set up for special events. You've greatly appreciated the bump in responsibilities, enjoying that most of your time is spent doing what you love. During nights or weekends that you are free, you occasionally head to the pottery studio to continue creating pieces to add to your collection or sell.

As for Minho, the time felt like it did you well. But in a sense where you were able to say your peace to the past, where you were able to process the highs and the lows in that chapter with Minho. Though things changed the trajectory of everything, Minho has never left your side. He continued to create enough distance until you were ready to bring him closer, always ready to support you in any way that he could. But, there was never any pressure to be more, to be less. Minho let you be and that's because he loved you;

And he loved you enough to let you go.

Loved you enough to let you properly conquer this world without him holding you back.

In the end, you will always love Minho, but you're realizing that loving him as who you are now, as where you are now, as his bestfriend, will always be more than enough. So you let it sit the way it is now, afraid to force something that wasn't meant for the next chapter of your life.

In the end, you will have Minho the way the universe allows you to, and vice versa. 

In the end, you'd rather have a part of him than lose him at all. 

"Hey." You pick up the call, gathering some last minute items and tossing them into your bag.

"Hey, I'm out front." Minho says on the other line while he shuffles around in his car.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"Take your time." You purse your lips together before ending the call. You run your chapstick across your lips once more before grabbing your bag and heading out of the door. You walk through the side door seeing Minho relaxing in the driver's seat— scrolling through his phone. Since it's been a good amount of time, your stomach no longer drops when you see him, heart no longer feels like it's beating out of your chest, palms no longer wet and sweaty from anxiety. 

And it feels nice. 

Refreshing.

Peaceful.

"Hey." He says, turning to you as soon as you swing the door open and settle into the passenger's seat. You give him a tiny smile before buckling in your seatbelt. "All good?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Is it too warm?" Minho adjusts the heat slightly.

"No, it's good. It's perfect." He nods, driving off to your childhood neighborhood. "Cafe is okay? Surprised you were able to run off." 

"Mhm. Yeah well, JJ's got it, plus we hired another person to help out. It's been pretty smooth lately."

"That's good. Then, you're able to do more for your dance group and the studio, right? Just like you wanted?" He nods.

"Yeah, I am. We're finishing up for our competition next weekend."

"I'm glad you have more time for that now. I'm sure it'll go great."

"How's the shop and Mrs. Pak? Still busy, I'm assuming?" You sigh and let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, it's booming lately. But, Bora's been a lot of help when I can't be around so I'm grateful for her. I was just afraid of Mrs. Pak having to handle a lot on her own again."

"I'm sure she appreciates everything you do for her and the shop." You nod.

"I have to travel next weekend. The client that hired us for the event is about 2 hours away."

"You'll be okay?"

"I'll be okay. I know I can call you guys if anything comes up."

"Okay." He looks at you, content with your answer. And when Minho looks at you, he still sees love, feels love. 

He always will. 

But, he's also gotten to understand what it truly means to put you first, to put your needs above his own, to be your bestfriend. For a moment, he felt lost when you distanced yourself; no longer by his side like you used to be. He wondered how he could salvage everything and fix the problems overnight to bring you close again. He wondered what he could do differently this time, wondered how he should act, how he should talk, how he could paint himself in a different picture. He felt exhausted from trying to control every single aspect of life, micromanaging every little detail he could. 

Then, he realized the answer was in front of him this entire time. He realized how much he was holding you back when you started to smile more, when you started to laugh and move with grace more comfortably; dancing along with the wind, while your eyes held more life than they used to. He realized you needed to shape your own life outside of him, outside of Jisung and your friends, outside of Uncle Adrian.

Create your own version of the greenest grass, the bluest skies, the starriest nights.

This is the unconditional love you needed, even if it was from a distance.

As he continues to drive, he peeks over from time to time, watching as you keep your eyes glued to the surroundings as it passes by. He can't really tell if things are starting to feel familiar, or if you are trying to dig deep within yourself to find that familiar feeling. Overall, you seem to be content, and you don't seem to be regretting your decision of asking Minho to take you here.

When Minho finally drives down a familiar street, he slows his speed a bit; pointing towards certain places while telling you as much as he remembers from his own memory. Although Minho wasn't a part of your life during this point of your childhood, you and Jisung used to take him to this neighborhood pretty often— bringing you to the convenience store you always hung out at, the grocery store your families frequented, the park that had the monkey bars you and Jisung used to fight over. Even though he wasn't there, he felt included. Always.

"You guys took me here quite a few times." Minho points at the convenience store. "We'd go in there and spend our spare change because they had $1 surprise gifts." Minho chuckles a bit. "We'd get a range of things, like random sticker books. Bracelets. Keychains. You even got lucky once and got your favorite pink pencil case out of that." You giggle.

"I still have that sitting on my desk." He nods.

"Yup. We'd spend so much visiting there. They always had our favorite snacks. Sometimes, there would be a hotteok cart nearby. It stopped coming after awhile though." He turns down a road that leads into a residential area. Most of the houses were designed similarly, probably having the same layouts and just enough rooms for families to live comfortably. It's a quiet street, barely any kids playing out front or around on the block. Minho parks his car along the curb, pointing at the park that's a bit of a walk down a path into the middle of the area. "Wanna talk a walk to the park with me?" He looks at you as he unbuckles his seatbelt.

"Sure." He gives you a small smile before heading out of the car, finding his place next to you as you stand and breathe in the crisp fresh air. He digs his hands into his jacket pockets, careful to not walk too quickly. You finally catch wind of a few kids playing around at the park while their parents hang around. Minho chuckles a bit when he hears a child screaming and laughing while their father spins them around on the roundabout; pleading for their dad to go faster.

"Jisungie hated that thing. Even when we'd come here in high school."

"Let me guess, he almost fell off of it." 

"Yup." He lets out a breath. "Anyway, you and Jisung grew up at this park. When we came here all together, we'd play around on the monkey bars and wait for the ice cream truck to come. That ice cream truck sold the specific brand of strawberry shortcake ice cream you loved so much. You refused to buy anything else."

"You know, now that you mention it, I haven't had that in awhile." You giggle and kick at the leaves beneath your feet, eyes now darting to the kids chasing each other around the park.

"You loved that ice cream." He walks over to the tree on the opposite side. "We used to play the dumbest games here, like tag. Hopping from bridge to bridge, trying not to step on the ground or else we'd be out." You laugh.

"Everything sounded so fun."

"And chaotic." You watch as he looks at the tree bark, running his fingers across the surface before calling you to his side. "Come look at this."

"Hm?" You hum, walking around to stand next to him. You let out a small gasp seeing your names carved messily onto the bark, the 'o' shape on your mouth slowly forming into a tiny smile. "This was in high school?"

"Yup. We spent a lot of good times here." You look at him. "Ready to walk to your house? It's just down this way." He points towards the ongoing path behind him.

"Mhm." You nod. 

The walk is quiet, but it's a comfortable silence that falls between you and Minho. It's quick anyways, especially being that you thoroughly enjoy taking in the fresh air while observing your surroundings. You can hear the birds chirping amongst the trees that line the pathway, the dirt beneath your feet with every step. You follow Minho as he turns down the corner and stops, pointing at a dark brown, ranch-style family home. It's not small, but not the biggest; obvious that the maintenance wasn't a high priority over the years, the paint chipping off in certain areas.

"That's it." You stand and stare, taking in the small, quaint house sitting by itself— a good distance separating it from the next house over. 

"Hm." You hum. "It does feel like home." You say, unable to explain the huge wave of nostalgia that suddenly overcame your senses. "I can't put my finger on it, but it certainly feels like home." Minho nods. "I can't believe we were here. This is where I grew up."

"Yeah."

"Wish I could remember it." At this point, an elderly lady comes out— walking onto the small porch with her cane. She notices you two and gently smiles, heading towards the flowers planted along the walkway into the house.

"I don't usually see pretty faces like yours come around. Are you from here?" She asks with a sweet smile, tending to her growing rose bush.

"I, um, grew up in this home when I was really young. I just wanted to come by and see it. I hope you don't mind that we're standing here looking at the house." She chuckles.

"Nonsense. My son bought this house but eventually moved out of the country, then had us move in here."

"That's nice."

"Does it look the same as you remember it?" Minho looks at you, but before he could intervene, you respond simply with a :

"I think so. Feels like it."

"I'm glad." She looks at her door then back at you two. "Do you, maybe, wanna come in?" You shake your head, afraid of it being too overwhelming, too much. Especially for someone like you, who is still learning life and the world.

"Oh, no. Thank you, though. We're going to leave soon. Seeing it from here is enough."

"You sure?" Minho asks quietly. You look at him and nod.

"Okay, sweetheart. If you ever change your mind, please knock. My husband and I are just around in the house."

"Thank you." You give her a small, curt bow before turning to Minho. "Let's go."

"Okay." Is all he says before following you down the path, creating enough distance between you and the house before chiming in again. "You sure you don’t wanna go in, Y/N?"

"Mhm. I'm just afraid it'll be too overwhelming for me, and I won't even know why. I'll have nothing to compare the feeling to.” You pause. “I promise. I'm okay seeing it that way. I think—" You sigh. "I think that feeling of seeing it and having it feel like home is enough. I don't want anything else to take over that."

"Okay." He pops his arm out for you to take and hold onto it. "That sounds good to me. We can make our way to the cemetery at a good time."

"Thanks, Minho."

"Course." The two of you continue to the car, laughing and smiling at the kids that are still playing in the park. You plop into the passenger's seat and buckle your seatbelt, rubbing your hands together to get rid of the morning cold. Minho checks on the flowers in the backseat, making sure they're still sitting prettily before hopping into the driver's seat.

"Good?" You nod. "Ready to go see your mom?"

"I am."

"Mmkay." Is all Minho responds with before pulling away from the curb. The cemetery is close to an hour drive in the opposite direction, and Minho makes sure you're comfortable for the ride over. He keeps it rather lowkey, playing soft music in the background while keeping the heat on. He doesn't really try to make small conversation not only because he's not much of a person for it, but because he can also tell your mind is already occupied. He does ask you from time to time if you're hungry and if you'd like to eat first, but you respond with a soft 'no;' reassuring him that all is well through a smile before leaning your head against the window.

Uncle Adrian was caught up at work, but he lets you know he'll meet you at the cemetery as soon as he's able to slip away and pack it up for the day, telling you to take your time and sit with her for as long as you'd like. You aren't really sure what you're gonna do when you get there though, to be honest. You're not even sure how long you plan to stick around. But, thankfully, Minho doesn't mind. He knows you need this right now, and he'll do whatever he can to help ease this.

To ease the transition in closing this chapter, in moving forward.

☁︎ FLASHBACK | EARLY COLLEGE

Minho is woken up in the middle of the night when he hears you giving off small whimpers. You're still snuggled against him, enveloped in his arms; though, he feels you twitch every now and then. He looks down at you, brushing the hair away from your face when he realizes you're still asleep and probably having a bad dream.

"Y/N." He says softly with a gentle shake at the shoulder. "Baby." He says a bit louder when you don't budge. He's a little bit rougher with his shake, finally getting you to slowly pry an eye open before the other follows suit.

"Hm?" You sleepily ask, rubbing at your face.

"You were having a bad dream."

"No."

"No?"

"My mom visited me in my dream. I was crying for her."

"I'm sorry, love."

"Nothing to be sorry about."

"Do you remember if she said anything to you?" You nod and wrap your arms around him, hugging him tightly as you recall the best parts of your dream. Although it was a happy, beautiful dream, you found yourself tearing up at the thought of how angelic and peaceful your mom looked. At least, you could confirm that she was okay and that she was happy— wherever she was at.

"Mhm. She said she missed me, and that she was really happy to see me. She said she thinks about me all the time and that she's always by my side no matter what." You sniffle. Minho lifts your chin with his finger, wiping away at the tears that manage to slip down your bottom lid and down your cheeks. 

"I'm glad she visited you."

"I am, too." You begin to cry a bit harder as reality hits you, the thought of not actually being able to physically hug your mom feeling incredibly painful tonight. "I miss her so much, Min. I wish I could hug her."

"I know you do, baby. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just got scared. I wish I could do more to help."

"No, it's okay. Just really miss her. But I'm glad she seems to be happy."

"And I'm sure she's very happy because she can see you doing well and being so strong."

"I hope so."

"I know so." Minho gives off a tiny chuckle before pulling you close and hugging you tightly. "Let's get back to sleep, yeah? We've got a couple of more hours before we need to be up."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." You whisper against his chest, shutting your eyes in hopes of finding sleep again.

☁︎ END

It's a bit past lunch time when you arrive at the cemetery, and you still don't feel hungry. You do feel nervous for whatever reason, somewhat anxious, even. Minho parks in a free space, shutting off the car while letting out a breath.

"You okay?" He looks at you while you stare out of the window. All you can do is look at him and nod once more before unbuckling your seatbelt and stepping out of the car. You grab the bouquet of flowers from the back seat, hoping to rearrange them at her grave. Minho takes lead down the grassy field, stopping a few feet away from the car. He stands above a grave, looking down at the flat headstone before laying down a blanket and turning to you. You slowly approach him, letting him throw an arm around you and give it a soft squeeze.

"It's her." Is all he hears you say before you kneel to the ground and place the flowers down. It takes a moment before you register what's happening, before you realize that you're finally meeting her after all this time. 

Again.

You take another moment just to observe, to sit and be still. Then, you look at her picture, and you just cry. You cry, and cry. Because you miss her, because all you feel is overwhelming love for her.

You shakily run your finger down the picture, her smile so beautiful, so calming.

So peaceful.

You wish you could hug her tightly.

"I wish I could hug her." You say softly, and Minho can't help but gently rub your back to help ease your crying. Though, it's nice to know that you aren't alone, and you know you never will be. You do believe that your mom has been here with you, never leaving your side— especially throughout everything that's happened.

"We can stay here for as long as you need to." Minho adds. You quietly begin to arrange her flowers, Minho sitting back after he's added the bowl of oranges to the headstone. He watches as you delicately fix each stem, each flower, helping them stand tall and long. 

"Do they look okay?"

"They're beautiful." You give him a small smile.

"Mrs. Pak just got these in a couple of days ago. The baby blue Baby's Breath? They're so pretty."

"They are." 

"I hope she likes them."

"I'm sure she does." You sit back contently, hands falling to your lap. 

"Minho, I really wish I could remember the moments I've had with her. I think that's been the most upsetting part about everything. Not remembering the times I've had with my mom. Cause I can't get those back, and I can't necessarily make new ones with her."

"I'm sorry, I know. But, I know Uncle Adrian would be more than happy to walk down memory lane with you whenever you're ready. And I know she'd be happy to see you making new ones with him. She's with you everywhere you go, and she's in everything you do. You know that, right?"

"Mm, yeah. I just.. I don't know. I wish I could have a pass to go back in time to talk to her, or see her in my dreams." You sigh. "At least I can talk to her here, though. I hope she hears me."

"She does." Minho responds softly, watching as you stare at your mom's photo. He doesn't interrupt, gives you a moment to let your thoughts be.

To let you hold space. For you, for your mom.

And it's like this for awhile. Minho doesn't mind, especially since the weather has cleared up a bit and gotten warmer.

"Yo!" Jisung suddenly comes up the path, hands dug deep into his jacket. "Sorry I'm a bit late, I got caught up with some work stuff even though I told them I was taking off early today." He lets out a sigh as he sits next to you on the blanket. "You guys okay?"

"Mm yeah. I think so." You murmur.

"You sure, cielo?"

"Mhm. I just miss her, is all." Jisung pulls you into a hug and rubs at your arm while looking down at her headstone.

"Whenever we went on trips, your mom would always buy me bags of my favorite gummies. She'd always take us to get ice cream, or to the local convenience store to buy whatever snacks we wanted. Sometimes, she'd sit outside with us just to get some air and people watch." Jisung chuckles. "Your mom was really like my second mom. She was the nicest person. Always smiling. Kinda like you, I guess?" You laugh.

"Wow, you guess?" He shrugs. 

"Twins, for real." Jisung continues to tell you stories about the trips your families have taken together— how she would never let you two be unhappy, always willing to take you two to the places you wanted to visit even if everyone else was tired. She'd patiently wait for you two to finish playing, swimming, whatever it was— as long as you two were happy.

Then, the three of you find yourselves sitting quietly in front of her grave, looking out at the hills beyond it. The sky is bright and blue with no clouds in sight, weather warm with a very gentle breeze. The trees around you are full, showing off their healthy green leaves.

You sit, you breathe, you feel.

You turn to Jisung who is quietly dusting off your mom's grave, picking at the old, tiny, brown leaves that have accumulated in the corner. A small smile grows at your lips when you notice how focused he is on the small, tiny details; finger tracing the edges of the flat headstone. Then, you turn to Minho, who quietly sits by your side, looking out at the distant city view ahead. He suddenly meets your gaze, a smile growing at the corners of his lips. He pulls you into his arm, letting you rest your head on his shoulder.

No words being exchanged, no words needed to be said. 

Nothing.

You've come to know what the blue side of the sky truly means, what it truly feels like. Because there is so much pain, anguish, hurt in this world, so many grey skies and loud, aggressive storms. 

But not in this moment.

In this moment, there is only happiness, comfort, peace. Blue skies and warmth. 

In this moment, there is only love.

☁︎ FLASHBACK | EARLY CHILDHOOD

"Y/N." Your mom says as she holds your hand as you attempt to walk in a straight line on the curb. You giggle when you almost lose balance, your grip around her fingers tightening as you regain it. "Y/N love, are you listening to mommy?"

"I am, I am." You giggle and look up at her, flashing her that million-watt smile she adores.

"Okay, good. I just want you to listen to me for a second."

"Okay, mommy."

"You know, the world isn't a scary place, but it isn't perfect either, love." You continue to walk silently along the curb, listening to your mom. "You know mommy is always doing her best to raise you well, right?"

"Mhm, mhm!"

"I don't want you to grow up fearing new places, new adventures, new people. But, I also want you to protect yourself and save yourself for those that really deserve you. Every bit of you. Okay? I'm trying my hardest to raise you to be brave and strong, and I know you will be. But sometimes, you can't be. And that's okay. That's why it's so important to have good people around you. Good friends. People that care about you and love you no matter what. Always surround yourself with love."

"I have friends." You smile at her and she smiles back. "Like Jisungie."

"I know. And Jisungie is a perfect example of a good friend who will never leave your side. But sometimes, Jisungie might not always be there. What are you going to do?"

"Be strong! Because I am strong!" She laughs when you raise your arms to show off your muscles.

"Right, be strong. You're my brave girl. You will always be my brave and strong girl. Life may not always be that kind to you, but I know you'll be able to overcome anything. You deserve the very best, always. Never let yourself believe otherwise."

"Is it because I'm like you, mommy?"

"Yes." She giggles. "Yes it is. You're just like me." She scoops you into her arms before planting a kiss on your cheek and pointing upwards. "You know, if you ever have bad days, or if you ever need a reminder. Just look up at the blue sky." She pauses and taps the tip of your nose. "Because no matter what, that blue sky will always come back after the rain. It'll never let those grey skies completely take over no matter how hard the rain comes down. It will always come back and be there for you."

☁︎ END

♡ taglist: @ppiri-bahng @jihanlovic @meloncremesoda @sweetlikecherry @asjkdk @hoes4lino @skzddicted @skzho @edgaralienpoe @harui-zen @bestleeknowstan @havenwithleeknow @septicrebel @heesdazed @borahae-reads @yoontaethings @pearbunny @bintificreads @lukeys-giggle @ajxreads @everglowdaisies @allaboutsan @endzii23 @leeknowsramen @heres-your-ramen2000 @morningstardada @mal-lunar-28 @downbadreading @lilysophie @feelikecinderella @urmomma0324 @ddazed-lhs @djeniryuu @melanctton @i8rsie @maru-matt @sleepyleeji @taerifin @nattisbored @jisunglyricist @m111nho @drhsthl @nixtape-foryou @arminseas @guiltycoco @syuuji @sulkygyu @cadihyo @reianagarcia @leeknowyah @smndjdufuehr @dprkbyn @xxibreinaxx @mxnsxngie @reiheis @mellowmentalitydragon @vixensss

[cumxfairy]

synopsis: businessman!toji visits the strip club for the first time in his life and has quite the experience (short asf, testing this new format hehe)

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businessman!toji who decided to say “fuck it” and go to the strip club with his coworkers this weekend instead of going home to his nagging wife and the six month old baby’s loud cries. his colleagues would always invite him, but toji constantly refused, as he was sure it would cause a strain in his marriage. this time, one of his coworkers and close friends, satoru gojo was able to convince him.

businessman!toji who is thoroughly impressed by the club’s interior design. he expected it to be trashy and stinky, but it was quite the opposite. his emerald eyes scan through the place and watch how men leaned back into the comfortable seats as the sexy, barely clothed dancers grinded on them and danced on the poles. “hm, not bad”

businessman!toji who’s friends try to talk him into requesting a private session on their tab. “since it’s your first time, y’know?” he’s hesitant as he glances at his friend’s blue eyes and then back up to the many women performing stunts on poles. his wife wouldn’t like this at all, but she isn’t here is she? “alright, get me a good one though”

businessman!toji who sits calmly in the dimly lit private room with his legs widespread and arms folded, awaiting his service. he slightly taps his feet to the faint music and decides to pour himself a glass of the high quality whiskey. one sip and he could already feel his tense muscles relax, which was perfect since his service had finally arrived.

businessman!toji who stares at you intently as you slowly make your way towards him. your body already had him thinking wild things. “so, first timer, huh?” the sultriest voice he had ever heard asked. he smirked at the young woman before him in her maroon lingerie set, which barely covered her private areas. her pussy lips were practically hanging out, the areoles around her hard nipples peaked through the thin fabric and her plump ass was on full display.

businessman!toji who can’t help but release some grunts here and there while you danced on him to the tune of a sexy, slow jazz song. he could feel your throbbing bud on his hardened bulge and your nipples grazing his torso with each smooth whine. “damn, how many men do you do this for? ya seem like a veteran..”

businessman!toji who’s had enough of your teasing and pulls out a hefty tip from his wallet, slides into the side of your thong and orders you to “take it off”, nodding at your bra. he chuckled when u instantly obliged “ what a money loving, obedient little whore you are.”

businessman!toji who’s aggressively sucking on your buds while his big, manly hands knead your ass cheeks. he enjoys hearing your pathetic whimpers and moans “oh yes daddy!” that one almost made his cock spring out of his slacks.

businessman!toji who has you in a deep arch as he drills into you on the black leather sofa. he holds both your wrists to your lower back with one hand as the other tightly held your head into the couch, muffling your cries and screams. the sounds of skin slapping, leather scraping and the dirty smell of your arousal have him in a daze, one that’s only contributing to his insane stamina.

businessman!toji who releases a thick load into your pussy without giving a fuck about a possible pregnancy “there you go, better fuckin’ take it all bitch”. he lets go of you and sits back, watching your pussy twitch and the liquids ooz out of it. “that’s good..”

businessman!toji who’s putting his clothes back on, not providing you with aftercare at all. this is your job, being nothing but a tool for his pleasure so why should he care? he takes more cash out his wallet and throws it at your sad, fucked out, cum filled body. “thanks, might come back with my friend next time.”

[waves-against-a-cliff]

Buttercream Frosting - Gaz x Reader Bakery AU

Content Warnings - Mention of masterbation and sex, yearning, sexualization, domestic fluff.

Previous Part Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

A/N - Whoops, I put this off. Anyway, I'm taking up a small writing challenge in April and have 6 chapters (not including this one) planned.

Gaz can’t remember a time, at least in the last few years, that he’s ever been this excited to go over to someone’s place. Evening could not come fast enough despite the fact his small leaves always seemed to speed by. Gaz grunts as he lets the weights drop to the ground and grabs his water bottle, taking a big drink of it. It feels like his body was producing enough heat for it to roll off him in waves, sweat across his forehead and biceps. He glances at his watch again and has to stop himself from groaning. Gaz puts the weights away and wipes down the equipment he had used all while thinking about tonight. You had invited him over. For taste testing.

He wasn’t sure if that's your way of suggesting something or if you really want him to try a recipe. Gaz washes the sweat on his face away with the sinks in the gym locker room as he debates this in his head. He had listened to you get fucked and left high and dry by whoever it was who failed to use his damn dick right. He had jacked off to it on top of listening to it. And you weren’t really moaning. He groans and looks at himself in the mirror as he feels blood rush south fast. Was he a teen boy again? Sure fucking feels like it because any thought linked to you turns into something lewd.

His mind drifts to the bakery and cafe, to the idea of stopping by there if not to just get a look at those pants that seems determined to become your second skin. He decides not to. He’ll be seeing you later, in your own flat in whatever clothes you wear outside of work.

He knocks on the door an hour after he heard you arrive home. Enough time to shower and change he figured. He didn’t need to be tortured by your work uniform. He fears his self restraint might snap in half like a twig if you were still wearing it. You open the door and Gaz feels himself relax a little. Sweatpants and a baggy shirt. He could handle this. “Ready to taste my cupcakes?” You ask. Fuck.

For apparently your first time using this recipe, the cupcakes weren’t awful. Although that might just be his massive sweet tooth talking. You watched him with your bottom lip between your teeth, you’re trying to kill him, he concludes as he licks off stray frosting from his fingers. “How was it?” You ask eagerly and Gaz has to think about it for a second. “And don’t hold back.” You say firmly.

“The frosting could do with some more sugar and the cupcake itself was a little dry.” He says after thinking about it for a moment. You scrunch your nose, clearly in thought as you went through the steps in your head to see where you could have gone wrong to make the cupcake a little dry. You wander over to the piece of paper that was the recipe, you cross out a few things and add new measurements.

You turn to him with a grin, “Wanna help me make this batch?” You let out a laugh at how quickly he nods his head. He decides he would like to hear that laugh all the time. He helps with the measurements and lets you handle everything else, at your insistence of course. You hand him one of two frosting covered spoons and he’d have to be blind to realize you were staring as he licked the frosting off, yours untouched. Gaz stands there with you, looking like a deer in headlights before he moves in a little closer. He sets the now licked clean spoon to the side and tilts your head up with two fingers under your chin. You visibly swallow as he leans in, he can still taste the buttercream frosting on his tongue.

Then the timer goes off for the cupcakes in the oven. You practically jump away, “Better get them before they burn.” You sputter out as you rush to the oven and slip on the mitts set to the side. The batch of cupcakes turn out perfect.

[sentmail]

Sea salt in the air, the air warm with the lingering presence of the sun slowly beginning to lower towards the horizon, lively chatter sounding in the streets as the old timers sit around with their drinks at the local cafes… He was at Costa Del Sol alright.

It was hard to call it home after being gone for so long, but the saudade of it all never left him, a melancholic longing for the simpler times he'd spent here and what now could never be.

Well. No better time than the present to get himself reacquainted with the town, needing to cash in about 5 years worth of vacation - in a weekend, preferably, as he was technically on business here, but it could wait a day, no?

He's woefully under prepared for a beach day, but a man on the move makes do; dressing down and heading down to the shore, lingering around one of the beach-side bars. He makes small talk, catches the barman's attention and laughs along with someone who ends up recognizing him from the days before - it's a good time.

But. As conscious as his efforts to relax might be, his subconscious mind continues uneasy, never letting go of the reason why he's come to this continent - he's supposed to meet with another ex-SOLDIER over in Rocket town.

There's been hit jobs taken out on them as a group, although no rhyme or reason has been found as to who is attacked… except for one detail:

They've kept in contact with Kunsel. And they've helped him with his current little project.

He's uneasy, and it shows in how his smile only reaches so high, eyes scanning behind the faces he was making conversation with, glancing across the once familiar rooftops he used to climb as a kid and —

A glint of reflected sunlight. The flush of adrenaline. The way very expensive liquor bottles shattered as he rolled across warm sand after a dive. The panic that sets in as people scramble, and how his immediate reaction is to try and mitigate the situation.

"FIND COVER AND STAY DOWN!"

— plotted starter with @meteor-shots

[mrsmikaelsxn]

Christmas Shenanigans

masterlist

pairing: kol mikaelson x female reader

warning: fluff, kissing, kol being his child self

summary: you and kol spend the morning of christmas together

a/n: kol would be such a fun boyfriend oml, also I was listening to christmas music while writing this and it made it so much better

song: angels we have heard on high - james chadwick

"Wakey, wakey, darling"

You slowly open your eyes to see a giddy Kol looking down at you while poking your side.

"What time is it, Kol?"

"Uh- 5:18," he says looking at the clock on your nightstand. You groan and roll over, pulling the blanket along with you.

"Get up!" Kol jumps on the bed and lays on top of you.

"Get off of me you big baby!"

He rolls off of you and you sit up. You grab a pillow and wack him in the head with it.

"What was that for," he pouts.

"For waking me up at five in the bloody morning," you roll your eyes.

"But it's Christmas, don't you want to open presents," he dramatically sighs.

"Well, since I'm up now anyways, let's go downstairs," you grin.

"Race you down!"

He speeds downstairs and you jump out of bed to speed down as well. By the time you get to the living room, he's already there with his arms behind his head as his sits in front of the fire.

"Finally! You made it!"

"That's not fair. You cheated with your original speed, and you didn't even do a countdown"

"Awh, don't be a sore loser," he winks at you.

"Whatever, go on and open your presents, I know you're dying to"

Christmas music was playing and wrapping paper covered almost every inch of the floor. Gifts were scattered around the room as well.

"We made a mess," you say looking around. You look down at Kol, who was laying his head on your lap while you played with his hair.

"Good thing we can clean it up fast"

"Touché," you grin.

"Did you like the gifts I got you? Bekah helped me- actually no, she picked most of them out. I'm not good at girl stuff," he admits.

"I did, thank you," you pecked his lips. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to shop for you, it was practically impossible to think of things you don't have," you tell him.

"Welp, when you're over a thousand years old, there isn't much that I haven't had"

He sits up and goes into the kitchen. A minute later he walks in with two mugs of hot chocolate in his hands.

"Here you are, milady"

"Why thank you, kind sir"

You lay on the couch together and play 'Home Alone' for the millionth time.

"This movie will never get old," you laugh.

"You're right, it's too good," Kol agrees.

Once the movie and drinks are finished, you both work together to quickly clean up the room.

"I say we make some desserts for the party later," you look at him.

"I say that's a fantastic idea, darling," he kisses the side of your head.

"Okay, now slowly pour the flour in," you instruct Kol as he held the measuring cup above the bowl you were mixing.

The cookies you had made were in the oven and you two were now baking a cake in your matching pajamas and aprons.

He listens and slowly shakes some in. That was until he had to sneeze. As he turns to sneeze away from the batter he accidentally pours the whole thing in at once, powder flies up into your faces.

"Kol," you groan.

"Sorry, darling," he looks at you sheepishly.

"It's okay, it should still be fine," you assure him.

As you finish mixing the ingredients in, Kol walks over to the bowl to pour it in the pan.

"Walk slowly, and don't drop the bowl," you tell him.

"Have some faith in me, pretty girl," he grins.

He was able to get the cake pan into the oven and you set the timer.

"We make a great team," Kol smirks, looking around the room filled with powder and previous burnt cookies that caught on fire and almost burnt the kitchen down.

"We do," you hold your hand up for a high five, he happily gives you one.

"Should we give Elijah the burnt ones?" Kol asks you.

"He would know, wouldn't he?"

"Not if he's blind folded," he grins.

"Good luck with getting him to wear one," you pat his back.

"Kol!" Elijah yells after he spits out the burnt cookie.

"Yes, brother?"

"What did you put in my mouth," Elijah asks, disgust in his voice. He still had the blindfold on, to both of yours and Kols surprise.

"What do you mean? It was a cookie"

"That was not a cookie, that was- I don't even know what that was," Elijah grimaces.

You pat his shoulder taking the cloth off of his eyes.

"Technically it was a cookie," you say.

"A burnt one!" Kol exclaims.

"Hm, I see. I would tell you to throw them out but I'd prefer you to give them to Niklaus first," he smirks.

You and Kol look at each other and nod.

"Nik!"

As you wait for him you hide against the wall next to the door frame. Kol standing a few feet away from you. Elijah was giggling like a little kid as hid behind the counter with the camera peeking out to film.

Klaus gets to the room you are all in and goes to walk towards Kol. He opens his mouth to say something and you shoved two of the cookies in his mouth.

He freezes and moves his eyes to look at you while you put your hand on his jaw, pushing it up and down.

"I made cookies!" you smile up at him.

Klaus adored you, he didn't spit it out yet because he didn't want to hurt your feelings. So he swallowed the cookies as his eyes watered from the taste.

"Is something wrong, brother?" Kol asks him with a grin.

"Uh- n-no, nothing. I- um- gotta go ask Rebekah something," he excused himself. You all laugh as you hear him gag in the bathroom.

You both turn to Elijah as he stops the video.

"Send that to us"

"Jinx"

"Double Jinx"

"Stop copying me"

"Hey! St-"

"Enough! Children," Elijah rolls his eyes, walking out of the room.

Kol looks up and smiles.

"Look at that, darling. A mistletoe"

"I wonder how that got there," you look up at him with a knowing look.

"It wasn't me!" Kol holds his hands up. "Okay... maybe it was me," he admits.

"Knew it"

"I still want my kiss though"

You laugh and pull him to your lips. He wraps his arm around you and pulls you against him.

You pull your head back and look at him.

"Merry Christmas, my love"

"Merry Christmas, my angel"

[captaincapsicle83]

At First Sight ○○ Bucky Barnes x reader

Pairings: Natasha x reader (platonic), Wanda x reader (platonic), Clinton x reader (platonic), Bucky x reader

Plot: Your roommates set you up on a date with their coworker, and you two hit it off right away. (Most of this story is silly little platonic fun, but I like it anyway).

(The little gif of him drinking water is funnier after you read the story)

“He has a cat.”

“Well, whoop-di-do,” You huff monotonously. Wanda scrunches up her nose at you, before sighing and shaking her head.

“I think you should go,” She says. You risk rolling your eyes, even though she could very well kill you, then and there.

“‘I think you should go’” You say, making your voice go higher, in a mocking tone. “If he’s so great, you go. I have a ton of work to do.”

Just last year, you landed a teaching position. It had been in May, and you were given hardly any time at all to prep. School started again in a week, and even though you’d been preparing loosely all summer, this week you were locked in.

So why the hell did Wanda need you to go on a stupid date?

“If you don’t go, there’s a good chance you’ll die alone,” She crosses her arms, eyebrows raised.

“You’re here, and so is Natasha,” You point out, finally putting your laptop to the side, and uncrossing your legs, stretching them out.

“What about when we go get married and have lives, and have jobs, and you just…die of boredom,” What was this a Sims game? Was she gonna lock you in a room with a radio next? Put the walls up around a pool?

“Clint’ll be here. Poor little shit’s never getting married. No one wants the little scrapper,” You pull your coffee mug to your lips. You must’ve left it idle longer than intended, because instead of warm, silky, and smooth, it was starkly cold, and felt thin beyond your lips.

“You want him?” Her eyes were annoyed, but her face was bemused.

“He’s low maintenance,” You shrug.

“Who?” Someone says, coming through the front door with an armload of groceries, and a red-haired friend behind them. While Clint had about ten plastic bags of things, Natasha sipped an iced coffee from a straw, looking awfully unbothered.

“Why does she still look homeless Wanda?” Nat questioned. “You said you were gonna drag her kicking and screaming.”

“We were getting there.”

Four people in one New York apartment, in upper Manhatten. It was expensive as high hell, but you all made it work.

So why am I gonna put my job on hold for something stupid as this-

You’re sitting on Wanda’s bed, Natasha’s fingers in your hair, Wanda in her closet, and Clint tasked with the job of “make-up artist”.

“I have my hobbies.”

You’re just about at the end of your rope with them, Wanda picking something out and Clint huffing and puffing that it doesn’t go with the look he’s going for, Natasha yelling at both of them like children. Finally, the timer that means, “We better be ready now or we’re gonna be late” sounds off. Wanda’s best idea today, the worst being, obviously…

Natasha and Wanda have tickets for an art gallery opening, so they’re both driving you, Clint tagging along for “moral support.” Groans were elicited.

Natasha was giving you a run down the whole way there.

“He’s a little quiet at first,” She says.

“Good thing you’re not,” Clint whispers to you.

“I don’t know if he’ll get there first, or not, but he’s got dark hair and will probably be wearing dark clothes, he does around the office all the time.”

“Emo bo-” Clint cuts himself off from his whisper, snapping to Natasha. “He works with us.”

“Yes.”

Silence…

“Well, who is it?” Clint asks, rather boisterously.

“…No.”

“No?” Clint, clearly offended, turns to you. “What’s his name?”

Your mouth opens, before shutting again, realizing no one had told you. You lean forward in the backseat.

“Who is it, Nat?”

“You’ll see.”

“No-” “Nuh-uh!” You and Clint both protest.

“I’ve been to your guys’ office I wanna know,” you say.

“Better pray it’s Steve,” Clint says.

“Oh, Natasha it better be Steve.”

Natasha turns around in the passenger seat, to face you and Clint in the back.

“Steve is engaged,” She starts.

“Yeah, so?” Clint says, and the car is quiet for a moment. When you make eye contact with Clint’s green eyes, the silence is cut by both of your laughter.

Unfortunately, this put a dent in the interrogation, and now you were outside of the diner. Your friends had told you good luck and left you here. You did notice Natasha whisper something to Clint as you got out, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. She covered his mouth and basically strangled him down when he tried to tell you.

Since they were gone…no one could force you to go in…

You couldn’t do that. Morally, you would feel horrible to just leave whoever this is sitting alone, waiting for you.

And the girls might evict you.

You walked through the doors of the diner. The diner was a cute little place, albeit a strange theme. It was based on Norse Mythology, called “Odin’s Sons.”

You were greeted by a blonde man, who was the hostess. You told him you were here to meet a date and he broke out into a smile. He said a man had arrived just a little while ago, here to wait for a date.

He led you to a table, where you were greeted by-

before

“I think you’ll like it,” Sam was saying. He was helping his friend, coworker, and roommate, get ready for a date Sam had set up for him.

“Who is she again?” Bucky asked, his voice strained.

“You don’t know her, but she’s Nat and Clint’s friend. She’s in some of the pictures on Clint’s stupid little desk of picture frames,” Bucky rolled his eyes at the mention of the pictures. Clint took many unauthorized pictures of Bucky himself (among others) and they ended up in frames. Clint claimed that, being an art major, and having taken many photography classes, he had the ultimate right.

As Sam described what you looked like, Bucky felt like he did sorta know who he was talking about. You came into the office sometimes, to bring whiny Clint and grateful Natasha food and coffee.

And you were probably the same girl Clint tortured and made fun of him for having a “crush” on.

Bucky arrived at the restaurant about half an hour before he was due. He wanted to be early and to have time to shake away all the nerves.

Well, maybe all was a bit much to ask. There were definitely a lot of nerves to cover.

He was greeted by Thor, the host who gave him a seat. A teenage boy with light brown hair and a bubbly personality brought him a glass of water and some bread. And another glass of water. And another. And a refill of bread.

“Thanks, Peter,” Bucky said again. No matter how many times the boy had to come back, he didn’t seem to stop smiling or being glad to get Bucky yet another glass of water.

As Thor came around the corner again, just as Peter was leaving, he was accompanied by the very girl Bucky had guessed it would be.

You were laughing, he could see, something Thor had said. Time felt like it was slowed as you met his eyes with yours. They seemed to sparkle with your joy, and his heart fluttered at the sight.

He hadn’t seen you so elegant before, but to him, you looked just as beautiful with or without. The makeup that defined your features seemed to have been applied with a steady hand. The dress you wore seemed to almost go with the makeup, and he wondered if it was planned or if you were just…perfect.

He had barely any time at all to gather his thoughts and put his ducks in a row before you sat across from him, smiling warmly. He smiled back, unable to say or do anything but sip his water.

“Hi,” You said. Your heart was pounding, and your heads were sweaty with nervousness. He set down his water glass that he had been holding since you came around the corner with Thor. He was barely finished saying hi back when the young waiter came to take your order.

He ordered first, and you quickly scanned the menu and picked something. The boy smiled warmly as he collected the menus from you, with the promise your food would be out soon.

“So,” The dark-haired man cleared his throat. You were entranced by the blue of his eyes as he said, “You…your name’s Y/n, right?”

“Hmm? Oh!” You realized you were basically questioning your own name, only a second too late. “Yeah, yeah, uh…Nat…asha, didn’t really tell me…your name.”

You decided on the long version of Nat’s name, taking a pause beforehand. You were grateful when the waiter, Peter, popped up out of nowhere with a drink you ordered, and more water for your date.

“It’s Bucky…Well, I mean, it’s James, but everyone calls me Bucky,” “Bucky” gave you a lopsided smile, which you returned.

Peter wasn’t lying when he said your food would be out right away. It seemed like you had barely taken the time to talk before your plates were in front of you.

“So you have…?”

“Three roommates,” you said, laughing a little.

“Oh god, and one of them’s Clint?” His face was twisted in genuine concern, which made you laugh a little harder. Bucky was hot and Bucky was funny and you could hardly take it.

“What about you?”

“It’s just me and Sam right now…and we have a cat,” He adds the last part after taking a sip of his drink.

“You don’t look like a cat person,” You shake your head, taking a bite of your food.

“If I wear clothes that haven’t immediately come out of the dryer, I look like a cat,” He says, and then seems to pull a white cat hair off of his black shirt.

“You need lighter clothes.”

“Not really my style.”

“You’re eternally a goth kid?”

He lets out a loud laugh at that, making you smile even harder.

~~~

“She was hot, and she was funny,” Bucky was saying to Sam. Sam was lying stretched out on the couch, Alpine laying pristinely on his chest, all her legs tucked under her fluffy body.

“That’s nice Bucky,” Sam says, only half paying attention. He coos at the cat, scratching her chin, “Isn’t that nice baby?”

“Okay, you’re not listening.”

“What makes you think that?”

~~~

You were laying on your couch, your feet in Clint’s lap as he prodded you with questions. Natasha shushed him, smacking him upside the head, as she handed you a drink. And by drink, that refers to an entire bottle of wine.

You were fiddling with the cork as you droned on about the date. About what Bucky looked like, and about what you talked about. More about what he looked like…

You let yourself trail off as Natasha and Clint shared a knowing look, and Wanda was smiling to herself as she played on her phone.

“What?” you ask, eyes full of innocence.

“Noth-” Wanda starts, but Clint cuts her off.

“You’re whipped,” he laughs.

You smile to yourself, shaking your head.

Maybe you were.

[attendsquoi]

Thea's Quest ~ Ch. 5

Chapter 5: Downtime

Summary: Thea and Kaldur have a heart to heart after a long mission.

Warnings: No warnings for this one. 

A/N: Short chapter bc this episode is so Kaldur-centric, but I already have the next chapter written, so I'll be updating soon. So sorry for the delay in posting this, I’m so happy that people are actually reading lol!

Word count: 1.3k

~~~

Thea preferred living in the cave to Diana’s apartment. It’s not that the apartment was a negative space, but it had been a long time since Thea had left camp, and as much as she relished the privacy of having her own room, the quiet was often too much. As a result, she moved many of her things into a room in the cave. Living with M’gann and Connor was still a far cry from Camp Half Blood, but it was better.

After the team’s unfortunate mission with Clayface, M’gann and Connor had retreated into their rooms. Everyone needed time to decompress and clean off from the fight. Thea had taken a long shower, working to rid her body and hair of any possible remnants of clay, but afterward she quickly found herself restless and bored. She didn’t have to meet Diana to attend to other hero duties until that evening. Searching for something therapeutic to do, Thea decided to bake some brownies as a treat for the team.

The demigod got to work, pulling together the supplies she needed and climbing on stools to reach ingredients in the high counters.

“Damn martian telekinesis, putting the flour on the top shelf.” She muttered to herself with a chuckle.

As she worked – mixing the batter, lining the pan, putting it in the oven – Thea’s mind wandered to Kaldur. He was clearly off his game, making hasty decisions and appearing distracted. Thea had only been with the team for about a month, but she and Kaldur were friends, and she worried for his well being. Not to mention whatever lecture he got from Batman after the rest of the team hit the showers. 

“What are you doing?” 

Thea jumped. 

Speak of the devil… She thought to herself.

“Making brownies.” She replied as calmly as she could to the Dark Knight. 

Thea couldn’t help but notice how out of place he looked in the cave’s small kitchen. Batman nodded but said nothing as he walked through the room and into the mission area.

Thea let out a breath, checking the timer and seeing just a couple minutes left. Just then, a zeta tube in the other room announced Aqualad’s arrival. Thea busied herself by wiping down the counters, working hard not to eavesdrop. Even so, she heard them discussing Kaldur’s alliance to the team. When she heard the zeta tube signifying Batman’s departure, she paused, then walked over to the doorway to the mission room. Kaldur was standing in the room by himself, eyes closed, taking a deep breath.

The kitchen timer went off with a shrill ringing, startling Kaldur and Thea out of their thoughts. Thea smiled at him sheepishly.

“Would you like a brownie?” Thea asked.

She didn’t wait for a response as she turned around and beckoned him into the kitchen.

As Kaldur walked into the kitchen, Thea had pulled the brownies out of the oven and was grabbing two bowls. She spooned some just-too-warm, melty brownie into each, setting Kaldur’s down in front of a stool by the kitchen island, then leaning on it from the other side. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Then Thea stood up to fill a glass of water.

“So, you’re staying with the team?” She asked, breaking the silence.

Kaldur looked up at her.

“Yes,” He said after a beat, “I am.”

Thea felt relieved.

“I’m glad.” She responded, moving to rest her elbows against the island.

“If it’s okay, can I ask why you were considering leaving?” Thea asked.

The question hung in the air for a few moments, but Thea knew Kaldur wasn’t ignoring her. He was deep in thought, and Thea let him be.

“There are multiple reasons, I suppose.” He began, looking down.

“Stress from leading the team, and a lack of confidence in my ability to do so –”

“You are a great leader, Kaldur’ahm.” Thea interrupted.

“I may be new to the whole “superhero” world, but the Greek warriors of history are far from lacking in both positive and negative examples of leadership. You’re doing a good job.” She concluded.

“I am grateful for your kindness, and your approval,” Kaldur responded. “But it wasn’t just that.”

Thea said nothing, but raised her eyebrows warmly.

“I won’t push. But you are my friend, Kaldur. And I’m here if you want to talk.” Thea said.

There was a peaceful lull in the conversation and Thea moved to refill her glass of water. Kaldur stood up, walking to grab his own glass from the cabinet and filling it as Thea stepped back from the sink. He leaned his back against the island and Thea hopped up to sit on the counter across from him.

“When I came to the surface, I left behind my family as well as my friends.” Kaldur said, still deep in thought.

Thea smiled knowingly. She knew that look.

“As well as your more-than-friends.” She guessed.

Kaldur ducked his head and chuckled; Thea grinned as he blushed.

“I suppose that too. Her name is Tula.” He admitted.

Kaldur told Thea the story from the very beginning – studies of sorcery at the conservatory, a growing crush on his classmate, saving Atlantis with Garth, becoming Aqualad, leaving everyone behind, returning only to find his two friends had gotten into a relationship without him knowing. Clearly, the pain was still raw, but Thea could tell he was at peace with his decision to stay with the team.

“That’s hard.” She acknowledged first. Then she paused. “I can relate – in some ways at least. Complicated relationships with childhood friends, secrets getting in the way.” She summed up vaguely.

“Your offer extends from me as well.” Kaldur said.

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t push, but I am here if you want a friend to talk to.” Kaldur echoed her words from earlier. 

Thea’s face softened.

“It’s a long story.” She warned.

“My schedule is free.” He replied, not missing a beat.

A moment passed.

“When I was 12, I ran away from home. That’s when I met Luke.” Thea began, looking down at her feet. 

She proceeded to tell Kaldur her story – many parts of it which she had never said aloud before. Meeting Luke in the alley, traveling to camp together, fighting monsters and protecting each other, losing Thalia, their quest battling the aurae, their first kiss during capture the flag, running the Hermes cabin – an unstoppable duo. Then things changed. First it was Luke’s failed quest, then the nightmares which he refused to talk about, the lies he started telling, the way Thea felt she was going insane – losing her closest friend and unable to do anything to stop it. She told Kaldur about the breakup a year prior, and finally the fight that made her leave camp. 

“It’s going to sound dramatic, but it feels like he pushed me out of my home.” Thea concluded, glassy eyed.

Kaldur had been listening attentively, nodding along to her account, humming to let her know he was listening. Now, he didn’t say anything. He set his glass down gently and stepped closer to the other counter where Thea sat atop it. Kaldur rested a hand on her knee. Thea slid off the counter to stand, still looking down at the ground. As soon as her feet touched the floor, Kaldur pulled his arms around her shoulders, wrapping the girl in a hug. No tears were shed, but the two clung to each other, each an outcast in their own way. They stayed like that for some time, just resting in the solidarity and gentleness of the moment. Finally, they pulled away, Kaldur’s hands still tracing circles over Thea’s back. 

“Thank you.” She whispered.

“Thank you.” He whispered back.

Thea fully stepped back, rolling her shoulders and standing straight. Glancing at the time her eyes widened. 

“I need to go meet Diana.” She said regretfully.

Kaldur looked over his shoulder at the clock, equally taken aback.

“I will see you tomorrow.” He said quickly, turning around to observe Thea gathering her things.

She glanced up at him and waved as she walked toward the zeta tubes. 

“Thea!” Kaldur called, causing the girl to turn back in surprise.

“Thank you for the brownies.”

Thea smiled.

“You’re welcome.” 

[homura]

drop the back posture routine 👀

i incorporate a mix of a few of these back and core exercises when i exercise to train those muscles to better support my upper body. people with poor posture tend to have very underdeveloped back & core muscles. some of these require equipment and some do not

BACK: rows, lat pulldowns, floor angels, swimmers, dumbell pullovers

CORE: planks, russian twists, shoulder taps, twisted ball lifts, bicycles, crunches, weighted side bends

i work out about 4-5x a week and do at least SOME core every time but i don’t do back every time, i’ll do back stuff only about twice a week. you definitely do not have to work out this frequently to achieve results. doing just a couple of the above exercises a couple times a week + posture stretches is also sufficient but consistency is the ultimate key

after every training session i’ll do a posture stretch before i move to the treadmill so i can spend my cardio time practicing walking upright/correctly

the stretch i like to do the most is:

1. stand completely flat against the wall, including your shoulders

2. walk your feet out about a foot from the wall so only the back of your head is touching the wall. if you have poor posture your arms will usually start off wanting to rest in front of you/on your thighs

3. set a timer for one minute and focus on letting your shoulders and arms hang back more perpendicularly to the wall/fingers pointing to the floor instead of resting them on your thighs or having them pushed too far forward (you should feel the stretch in your neck and shoulder blades as the minute goes on)

4. when the time is up, DO NOT pop off of the wall. slowly walk your feet back to stand in starting position with your heels and shoulders back against the wall. slowly walk off the wall with your back straight, head held high, and shoulders back. the first time i did this stretch it felt soooo good and the difference was obvious

5. you can repeat up to 3x throughout the day. but i honestly only do this 2x a day on workout days

there are also other posture exercises out there that will achieve a similar effect/result. the key is finding one or two that’s easy to set up and that you LIKE to do so you’ll WANT to do it. consistency and habit-building are paramount. try out a bunch of stuff til you find something that clicks and don’t be afraid to switch things up if you start to get bored!

[kg-apocalypse-au]

Chapter 2 - Lockdown.

14 year old Kidd set up a camera, putting the timer to 15 seconds then stepping back. Everyone was posing in their own way, until Jerome accidentally tripped over. Making everyone fall mid-picture.

The weaponry group were stuck throwing knives and practicing their shooting in the training rooms. The tech group was figuring how to get a set of old radios working up again for everyone. The agriculture group were harvesting some veg they were growing on the roof of the school. The healthcare group were sorting certain vials and items into sections of the medical room. 

Kidd stared at the picture hung up in his office of everyone falling. He missed when he could fall and have people laugh and joke, instead of panic and run. They all missed it. They got their high school years taken away. Fuck, basically none of them had childhoods. Madison was the only one with no form of family issues.

Carla threw was throwing knives, with Austin next to her. Meanwhile, Buggs and Jerome were practicing fighting on the other side of the room. Carla felt a knife chip a corner of her arm, from Austin. "Sorry carla." Austin added, but Carla just rolled her only working eye behind her bandages and left the room, heading towards medical care. 

Monty and Felix were tampering with some old radios they found, if they just managed to find a way to connect it to something, they could find some form of help. Ron and Davey were sat doing not much, just talking. Monty got a signal from across the school, and told Felix he was going to check it out, leaving.

Lily, Billy and Nugget were sat on the tiles around the school roof, talking and laughing. Billy and Nugget always managed to make everyone's point of views so much better on everything. Emmy was humming to a song as she planted more flowers. Cindy looked at the group, for once she didnt fit in fully, they were all kind and caring people.. but what was Cindy? Then she looked to her girlfriend, Emmy, and realized that maybe she didnt fully fit in, but did any of them?

Penny was swinging her feet around the spinny chair, causing the chair to spin with her. Ozzy and Madison were organizing a box of medicine, coloured coded. Meanwhile Alice was adding labels to all the different Medicines they had, making sure none of them got mishandled. Penny eventually stopped spinning and turn to Ted, who was staring at her. "How do you not get dizzy?" He asked, looking the blonde girl with curiosity. In response she knocked her hand onto her head, making a metal noise, earning an understanding nod from Ted.

The school was quiet, calm, Kidd felt off.. something was gonna happe- 

"THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH IN THE SYSTEM, PLEASE EVACUATE TO THE GARAGE ROOM BEFORE THE DOORS SHUT. EVERYONE HAS 10 MINUTES. 600, 599, 598-" 

"I fucking jinxed it." Kidd got up, picking up his jacket and a picture off his board. He peeked outside to an corridor, one side was empty and the other had a horde of zombies charging down. Kidd sighed and realized he had to do this. 

"538, 537, 536.."

Kidd ran out the office, the horde being directly behind him. He saw the gardening group run behind him, clattering down the stairs. 

"417, 416, 415.."

"FUCK- HURRY UP!" Kidd yelled, his head snapping around to the 5. 

"365, 364, 363.."

"WE WONT MAKE IT! JUST GET TO THE ROOM, WE CAN TAKE THE END STAIRS!" Lily yelled back, ushering the group upstairs, giving Kidd the ability to keep running.

"301, 300, 299.."

He turned another corner, seeing the weaponry group run out their room as he walked past. Austin threw his knives at the horde, killing off a few at the front. 

"256, 255, 254.."

Buggs and Jerome each had a bag fully of weapons each, passing one to Kidd who helped try to shoot a path for The agriculture group to run past. 

"179, 178, 177.."

Once they did, Kidd sped up with the two groups. Catching up with the medical team who were carrying multiple bags of stuff each, Ozzy was slow as shit, meanwhile the other 4 managed to run pretty fast.

"123, 122, 121.."

Kidd tripped over, watching as the others ran ahead. He felt his body tense up as a zombie runner grabbed his foot. He tried to kick it, he tried to scream, move, speak. Anything. But he couldn't, he was frozen.

"65, 64, 63.."

He looked behind the zombie and saw the tech team running towards him. Just before Kidd could get bit, scratched, or a slow and painful death, he saw a blonde boy kick off the zombie and shoot it twice, enough to kill it.

"32, 31, 30.."

"Fuck, we gotta go!" Felix yelled, running whilst holding Kidds arm. The rest of the tech group ran behind the two, shooting at whatever they could to buy some time. 

"20, 19, 18.." 

Kidd saw the group, yelling for them to hurry up. He felt the numbers blur in his mind, barely able to make out what was being said. 

"10, 9, 8.."

Ron and Davey ran ahead, collapsing into the garage room. Felix and Kidd kept running, they just needed to get there before-

"3, 2, 1, closing doors..." 

"FUCK! JUST RUN AHEAD!" Kidd yelled, trying to get to the door before it fully shut, but in all honesty, he couldn't careless if he died.

"IM NOT LEAVING YOU, HURRY UP!" Felix yelled over the red lights and blaring alarms.

Just as the doors hit a metre in height, Felix managed to slide under the door before it shut anymore. All Kidd heard was some yelling, then without even thinking he slid under the door, his jacket getting caught on the underneath, but still making it in. 

"What.. the fuck.. How did they get in!?" Kidd asked with a slightly shaking, he looked at the other 15 kids in there with him.. wait 15? Theres meant to be 17 + Himself..

"We don't know, none of us do." Lily spoke up, her hair was cut a lot shorter it used to be, she always made sure it never went below her shoulders.

Kidd stood, counting the group over and over in his head, slightly ignoring what Lily said.. "13.. 14.. 15.. 16.. Penny, scan to make sure everyone's here." Kidd suggested, once he said that, Penny's eyes went to a dull colour and her face look a lot more robotic like..

"Did anyone leave anything open? Like a window, door, the roof door?" Kidd asked, waiting for Penny to finish registering everyone.

Everyone shook their heads, no one remembered leaving anything open that could cause a security breach. Then Penny finished scanning, her eyes turning from a void of code, back to a young "happy" girl.

"We're missing Carla and Monty." Penny said, her face slightly filly with worry, they were two of her closest friends.

"Oh they're fine, each of them could take down a horde alone with their eyes closed." Kidd stated, his breathing calming down slightly and sitting down. 

The room they were locked in had no windows, it has a massive garage door that was already shut, a small door that wasn't safe to open, a massive run down car and a bunch of oil. This was gonna take a while.

With Monty and Carla.

"WATCH OUT!" Monty yelled, causing Carla to duck instinctively. Even though she was blind, her reflexes were still on point.

 Monty wasn't far, only a couple metres away from Carla. He kept shooting each Zombie in the head one by one, slowly backing himself out the corner. 

Carla kept throwing knives and shooting the zombies with arrows whenever she got the chance. Her sight issues made it a little hard for her to know what she was hitting, but from what she could hear and smell, she knew she was hitting the right thing.

"Carla, theres a path open!" Carla spun her head around, running towards the direction that Monty went in, he grabbed her hand, making sure that she didn't fall or hit anything on accident.

Eventually the two ran up the stairwell to get onto the roof. The horde followed them up, leaving the two stranded on the roof with a group of murderous corpses. 

"..We're on the roof right?" Carla asked, backing up slightly near the edge, using the rocky-ness of the floor, she could tell how close she was to falling.

"Yeah, be careful." Monty answered, he stepped back too, wielding a gun.

"Lets jump off."

"What."

"Its our only option." Carla replied, stepping back onto the very edge. "If we fall at just the right speed, we can survive. Its only 2 stories up, we could probably survive it."

"Carla, I already broke my actual legs, I'm not breaking my fake ones too." Monty sighed, stepping back to the edge.

"Well, I might." Carla took a final step back, falling. Before Monty could react, a zombie charged at him, knocking him off the roof as well as Carla.

[ladylooch]

We need Luca proposing to Liv.

A/N: Oh my favorite proposal I have ever written??? yeah it's this one!!!! 😭😭

The soft clicking of Liv’s keys fill her office in her and Luca’s lux California condo. The sun is beginning to set on the ocean in front of her. She didn’t mean to work this late, but got inspiration from their walk to brunch this morning. What once was fuzzy became clear in her mind for where she wanted the next part of her second book to go. Her and Luca are supposed to be leaving soon for dinner. She will have to skip a shower. She hopes her dry shampoo can help save her wilted, unwashed hair. 

The timer on her phone goes as a reminder of her to get ready for dinner. She snoozes it, continuing to rapidly outline the remaining thoughts in her brain to come back to. Then she pushes back from her desk, reaching high to the sky to stretch out her shoulders. She rolls her head gently from side to side, working her tense neck muscles loose. She uncrosses her legs, realizing her left leg had long ago fallen asleep. She shakes out the tingles, standing and stomping her foot around a bit.

Wow, she was really in a trance there. 

Liv taps the screen of her phone, moving it off do not disturb. She sees a few texts from her brothers. Nothing from her parents. But a cookie recipe from Luca’s mom, Sam, that she had asked for. She ignores her brothers, but sends Sam an animated thanks. She softly opens the door, hearing soft music coming from the main area. She peers down, seeing red littering the floor. Confused, her timid footsteps push her forward. As she reaches the main area, her fingers begin to pull her blue light glasses off. Her breathing hitches when she sees Luca standing in the middle of the living room. Behind him, hung across their fireplace is a banner with one question:

Will you marry me?

She slowly pulls her blue light glasses the rest of the way off. Her teeth dig into her bottom lip at Luca in a suit, ring box obvious in his pant pocket, looking both nervous and excited.

“Are you….” Liv trails off, looking in awe around the apartment.

Candles and rose petals line a clear path for Liv to walk to him. White and silver balloons fill up the ceiling above them. To Make You Feel My Love sung by Adele coos from the sound bar under the TV. Liv purses her lips. Luca steps forward, around the couch, bringing her into his arms. Liv covers her face with her hands trying not to get tears on his expensive jacket. She’s in baggy sweatpants and a crewneck sweatshirt that is falling off her shoulders, showing her ratty, old sports bra. But Luca Fiala looks at her like she’s walking the red carpet. 

“I had a completely different idea for tonight. It included dinner on the water and a private sailboat tour and a photographer… then the sun started setting out here and I scraped that all. I only want this to be me and you.” He strokes her neck. “We will make plenty more memories together. But tonight, I want to walk down memory lane with you.” Liv shakes against him as she sobs. “Should we go back to the beginning?” He murmurs, pulling her back from him with a grip on her biceps. She sniffles and nods, letting him lace their fingers together. 

“It all started with a banana bread recipe.” He shows her the loaf of bread he made by himself yesterday evening before they went to bed. She smiles. “I couldn’t even crack an egg before you.” He jokes. He pulls off a bite of the bread for her, then tucks the piece between her lips. She chews, letting her eyes close to savor the full flavor.

“You made my recipe better.” Luca beams at her words of affirmation. 

“It needed chocolate chunks, not chips.” She nods in agreement. He squeezes her fingers, then guides her a foot to the left. “As hopeless as I was in the kitchen, I was somehow worse in the art department.” Liv laughs loudly, looking at the awful attempt at a mug Luca made from their first pottery class. “Remember what you said to me?”

“Stick to hockey.” Liv answers. Luca tucks a chunk of falling hair from her bun behind her ear. 

“Yeah. I thought… I don’t even care that I suck at this. I’m having so much fun with this beautiful girl. I didn’t want this night to end.”

“I know… you lingered on the steps.” 

“Down bad for a kiss from you.” He leans forward. He kisses her like he did that first night. Questioning, hesitantly, wanting her to take it to that next place so he could feel her desire for him too. Liv wraps her hand around his neck like she did then, guiding her tongue through the seam of his lips.

“Ooo. That brings me to our next thing." He reaches into the mug, pulling out the silver wrapped condom she brought the night she lost her virginity to him.

“No!” She screams, laughing hard as her face turns red. “Now I want to run away.” Luca throws an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, so she can’t. He kisses her again, both of them laughing to each other.

“I kept it, so you know how lucky you are to have a big boy.”

“Lucas James.” She slaps his butt. 

“You like big boys, baby. And you didn’t even know it then!” 

“We haven’t used those in years.”

“I know. Thank you for trusting me.” He brings the mood serious again. “That night and every time we have made love since then. I never take having you for granted.” She hugs him tightly, then he walks them backwards together towards the next memory. 

“I was so proud of you this night.” He says as he delicately trails his fingers over the cover of her first book. It’s his special one. The one she signed right under the surprise dedication of her book to him. For Luca.It was risky for her to do at the time. They had not been together for long, but she leaped into what she felt in her gut then. He was her forever. “I’ll never forget what it was like to see those two words… a whole masterpiece dedicated to me. What did I do to deserve you?” She puts her cheek on his chest. He sways them gingerly from side to side. 

The song coming through the speakers changes to Yours by Russel Dickerson. Luca moves them further down again. It’s her guest pass from the first time she watched him play against Lio. She had been so nervous and conflicted. Luca had told her it was okay if she cheered for Lio. Instead, Liv asked Luca for tickets and a pass for downstairs rather than her brother. Luca lost that night, but had been so excited to see her, he didn’t really care. 

They work through the next four years of memories until they get to the picture of them moving into their apartment here in L.A. Liv is on Luca’s shoulders, arms in the air as they cheer excitedly about getting the final box in. Lena had taken the picture of them. It is usually in a frame by the front door. 

“The best day… Finally living together in the same state, in the same place. After a really hard year for us.” He strokes across her lips. Liv stares into his brown eyes earnestly. “Thought I would lose you a few times.” Liv nods, remembering. “But we found our way back. You brought us back.” Luca steps back from her, only one of their hands tangled together keep them connected.

“I came to life when we met. Whatever I was before then was just passing time until I got to you. Wanna spend the rest of my life making beautiful things with you, babe.” He is breathing nervously as he gets down on one knee. He opens the box and Liv gasps at the beautiful ring nestled in the red, velvet pillow. “Will you marry me? Please? Let me spend the rest of my life loving you.” Liv grins down at him, then falls to her knees in front of him. She kisses Luca hard, almost knocking him backwards with her force. He smiles, breaking their kiss. “Yes?” He mumbles against her lips on his teeth.

“Yes!”

Luca wipes Liv’s tears away from her cheeks with soft brushes of his thumbs. Then, together, they work her ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit.

“That jewelry making class this Winter was useful.” Luca quips. Liv drops her mouth open.

“I thought it was so weird you wanted to go so bad. And so insistent on me making a ring.”

“Now you know.” He kisses her temple. “How did I do?” He asks for immediate performance feedback.

“10 out of 10. Could have been a 15 but you didn’t let look nice or have my nails painted.”

“You were supposed to go with Lena yesterday. Not my fault you bailed.”

“Yeah, shit. I got so focused on writing.” She trails off. “Are you sure? You wanna marry this?” She gestures to her dilapidated bun and overall unkept appearance. 

“Beyond any shred of doubt.” Liv squeals, kissing him hard again. This time, Luca lets her take them to the floor. His hands come to rest on her hips. He moans as she nibbles on his ear lobe. 

“Quick, baby. We still have plans to get to.” 

- - -

The private room at their favorite cocktail bar is filled with family and friends. The staff members cheer when they walk in, happy to see their favorite patrons are getting married.

“You knew!?” Liv laughs at the cheering reception. They yell louder. “Liars! All of you!” She teases, then allows Luca to guide her through to the back room. 

Emma, Timo, Sam and Kevin stand in the front, their siblings behind, all with glasses of champagne.

“Mama!” Liv yells, immediately flying into Emma. Emma gathers Liv into her arms, crying immediately at how tight her baby hugs her. She’s so happy. Timo steps forward, holding them both. “Hi daddy.” She murmurs. “I’m going to marry Luca Fiala.”

“Yeah you are, baby.” He kisses her cheek. “Congratulations. We are so happy for you.” He rubs her back as she embraces him fully. 

“Thank you. I’m… over the moon.” Timo smiles at his only daughter, ignoring the searing pain at what he knows is coming: giving her away.

Liv steps away, moving to Sam and Kevin. They both embrace her lovingly. They are thrilled for Luca to be making everything official. While she does that, Luca receives a hug from Timo and a big smooch from Emma. A slight, annoyed twitch trembles Timo’s left eye lid. Just a bit. His hatred for Luca is well in the past. 

“Dad?” Luca opens his hands, palms up in question.

“No.” Timo scoffs.

“Yeah, my dad was better than you so it makes sense.”

“In what way?” Timo asks. Luca just laughs, walking away. 

“Every way.” Kevin fills in with a smug smirk. Then he embraces one of his oldest friends from school. They hug tight, neither of them believing this is where there are in life. Or that their kids fell in love. 

“You gonna make it, bud?” Sam jokes next, slapping his back heartily at the thick tears lining his eye lids.

“Funny.” Timo grumbles. 

“He’s a good boy. I mostly raised him. Kevin barely helped.” Kevin rolls his eyes at Sam’s mocking.

“I know. I’m happy for them.” Timo tells Sam. He tosses an arm around her shoulder as they look at their kids. Liv excitedly shows her older brother her ring. Her smile beams, filling the room with more light  than a thousand candles could.

In a room filled with love, the Meiers and Fialas cheers a tradition Swiss toast to the joining of their two families.