#but been watching owl house on repeat to feel happy

[closetcasefabray]

didn’t wanna hijack that post about being afraid of getting wisdom teeth out bc laughing gas & the possibility of outting yourself, so i just made this overtired rambling post. tell me if i’ve shared this before...

but this post just knocked something loose & i remembered when i was figuring out how to come out to some friends at university. i expected ppl to be relatively okay, but i had never told anyone explicitly, & i did have some mild concerns re: friends (i wasn’t ready to come out to my family at the time & i had gotten my wisdom teeth out having only repeatedly annoyed my mother by coming in & out of sleep & each time demanding a chocolate milkshake).

so 20 yr old me made a plan: if you drink, you’ll have the recklessness & confidence to come out. also if you’re drunk & it doesn’t go over well you can just say, “haha! i was joking! i’m just super drunk rn.”

so i got hammered almost every night for a week & never came out. i just anxiously drank & ended up with some of my worst hangovers yet (i would give anything to have back my 20 yr old hangovers.)

the next week, i had a new (but really the same) plan: if you smoke a lot of weed, you’ll be mellowed out & everyone will be chill. also if you’re high & it doesn’t go over well you can just say, “haha! i was joking! i’m just super high rn.”

so i got ridiculously stoned every night for the next week & never came out. i got couch-lock & had a dumb smile the entire time my internal monologue aggressively debated itself about coming out.

then a bit later, the last month of the school year, i was so sleep deprived & stressed out, i just needed to tell someone in my life.

so i was chainsmoking cigarettes outside my dorm & my friend joined & we’re just quiet but internally i’m screaming at myself “JUST FUCKING SAY IT!” so in the middle of an extended silence i blurt out, “i have to tell you something! i’ve been trying to tell you for like two weeks now. so i just have to say it now” & he like laughed a little & said, “you’re a lesbian!” & i felt my lip tremble & he just said “oh shit. ok. that’s fine.” & hugged me. (also i identified as bi then, so i had clarified.)

then later when i told him my failed plans he was like “oh me & N had been wondering what was going on & if we should be concerned.” bc to them i literally was on a two week bender for no apparent reason.

so, kids, you don’t gotta drink & do drugs to come out. but if you do out yourself on laughing gas & it doesn’t go over well, try “haha! i was joking! i was just super high!” or not.

come out on your own terms. do whatever you need to do to exist & feel safe. if you’re really nervous about getting your wisdom teeth out, try to arrange it so a friend can take you—who you’re out to or who would most likely not tell other ppl & will handle it best. come up with a reason you have to go when your parents are working. if you are out to a sibling, see if they can either take you to the appointment or just be there to kind of mediate/deescalate.

also your mouth is full of blood & gauze so they tell you not to talk much & it’s p damn difficult to talk when you can’t feel half your face. in my head it was just easiest to not talk & just sleep. i was so out of it that i essentially had the mindset of “until there’s a milkshake in front of me, i’m sleeping.” i would bet you that (what you think at the time are) your immediate needs take over & if anything you’re distracted by your immediate surroundings.

[morhido]

I've been lost in the owl house sauce for about three years and as a result i've mentally compiled a list of the characters' speech patterns and body language. Then i realised i should probably do something with that information and decided to jot it all down :>>

This is just gonna be the hexsquad for now since my lists for other characters are fairly sparse but additions/requests are welcome! Mayhaps i'll add to it in the future sjdkshskj

(The 'other' category is for general quirks, or things that just didn't fit the other categories)

LUZ:

• Happy/excited: stamps feet with high knees, squeaks/makes high pitched sounds, makes fists and brings them to her chest/face

• Sad: will initially deny if she's upset, whether she fesses up is up to circumstance. Lowers her head, can become unresponsive, becomes tired, voice will generally remain quiet and flat even if something cheers her up, empathetic crier

• Stressed/overwhelmed: repeats phrases over ("no no no, you're belos, you're just belos!"), falls to her knees or puts on hood when overwhelmed, acts overly casual to compensate for her panicking ("yikes, my dude"), protective of others when in physical danger (usually holds amity's head). More comedically, can often make unnecessary/dramatic gestures (e.g. spinning, cartwheeling, flopping to the floor) when stressed

• Angry: gets louder, sometimes unwilling to hear the other person out, becomes very physical, loses volume control (often to her own detriment), sticks her elbows out to look more intimidating. More comedically, will sometimes make animal noises/gestures (e.g. hissing and clawing)

• Other: often prematurely assumes that people will react poorly to her ("she's gonna embarrass herself, i can't watch!" / "if amity sees this, she'll think i'm such a loser!" / "what if the palisman doesn't like me?"), can accidentally be inconsiderate of other people in favour of her impulse, resorts to violence quickly and generally doesn't try to make peace with adults, very easily becomes rambly with strong emotion and can repeat words and phrases, can become loud and panicky during combat if her goal is self-preservation but becomes much more focused if fighting with/protecting other people

WILLOW:

• Happy/excited: becomes very active and touchy, very straightforward, taps toes, will be oblivious if others are intimidated by her, voice pitches up when excited

• Sad: draws herself in, becomes quiet, looks down/closes her eyes, isolates herself, can become less responsive, talks to herself

• Stressed/overwhelmed: loses control of magic, covers hair, voice pitches up when extremely nervous, very rarely acts on impulse even when scared, high-pitched squeaks/screams when startled

• Angry: vines grow from the ground beneath her, shows vocal disdain for whatever is upsetting her, can become very sardonic ("you want me to give up? You want me to admit how stressed i am?"), can go from high and stern when upset ("you just met them, give them a chance!") to low and loud when fully angry ("what advice could you POSSIBLY give me??")

• Other: denial is default coping mechanism, very often does the gag of pretending to be intimidating and then doing something sweet/cute, will be oblivious to the other person's fear when this happens, love language is physical touch, makes her feelings known unless she's specifically not trying to upset people, can speak pretty formally ("enchanting!", "how dare you?"), talks to herself in second person when hyping herself up, takes offensive role in combat

AMITY:

• Happy/excited: voice can get louder, smiles with teeth when extremely excited, becomes more impulsive with what she says and does

• Sad: raises voice when trying to make a point, voice cracks, becomes quieter with remorse, remains very quiet and calm when comforting/confiding in someone else

• Stressed/overwhelmed: s1 amity would get extremely defensive if any vulnerability was exposed ("help? All you're doing is prying into your friends' lives!"), rambles when flustered, holds hem of skirt when she's nervous/doesn't know what to do, also generally moves hands a lot when nervous, attempts to leave situations that are upsetting her, high-pitched screams when startled (does this less throughout the series as she becomes more on-guard and impulsive)

• Angry: often gets louder and more animated (e.g. her trying to break out of the dome in clouds on the horizon), face turns red, pushes away the source of her anger, doesn't usually stay angry for long, moves her body forward (e.g. pointing, gesturing, or actually stepping forwards), will often stick her arms straight at her sides

• Other: generally uncomfortable leaving her comfort zone but extremely confident in fields that she already excels in, extremely accepting of change in other people, arguably the second most impulsive of the hexsquad (especially regarding luz's safety) and uses fire to solve a lot of her problems, will take control of a situation when she knows she's in the right ("you're gonna listen to me for once"), usually very perceptive to others' emotions

GUS:

• Happy/excited: draws fists up to face, big gestures (especially with hands/arms)

• Sad: self-blames/depricates ("yeah. It's all my fault"), curls up with his arms and head on his knees, usually very vocal about being upset with something, "you've done it again, augustus" (in the context of being tricked by someone), can remain in this state for a long time, draws in on himself but doesn't push other people away

• Stressed/overwhelmed: loses control of magic (finds it difficult to discern reality from illusions), often hides behind willow when scared, laughs/smiles nervously when anxious or flustered, can get tunnel vision on the thing that's upsetting him

• Angry: stays level-headed and doesn't often raise his voice, speech becomes more emphatic, can become snarkier ("hey belos, remember me?"), remains distant from the subject of his anger, usually stays in a stance

• Other: very eager to prove himself whenever he has the opportunity (love language is acts of service), most willing to resort to violence ("nobody's dying" "not with that attitude", usually in a joking manner), most annoyed by his friends' shenanigans but always willing to tag along, makes big gestures (especially when emphasising something), sometimes repeats phrases when feeling strong emotions ("gus? Nickname? HUMAN nickname?? GUS???" / "wait × 6, is this really what you wanna be doing with your life?")

HUNTER:

• Happy/excited: extremely animated with his hands, voice gets louder, becomes very confident. Is very playful and arrogant when in golden guard mode and will usually try to show off or start relying on empty threats

• Sad: voice goes quiet and airy, voice cracks, can become raspier

• Stressed/overwhelmed: doesn't like to be touched when upset, is overwhelmed by affection and will often start crying, goes silent and dissociates when processing upsetting information, voice cracks, becomes extremely snappy and irritable from long-term stress, freezes under pressure, draws in on himself when panicking, goes silent when flustered

• Angry: becomes grumpy when things don't go his way, is extremely animated and expressive when actually angry, can become sardonic, raises voice, makes small movements (e.g. shaking leg or pacing small area). As golden guard, would try to physically intimidate the other person (e.g. looming over or walking towards them)

• Other: doesn't tend to self-blame and will either pass the fault onto someone else ("you got us trapped in the emperor's mind!"), or acknowledge when someone else was in the wrong ("you were tricked. That's what belos does, he tricks people"). Almost never initiates combat and plays a more defensive role, extremely theatrical/expressive and talkative (will have to actively restrain himself to not talk about something), squeaks a lot

[wastelandmoony]

Déjà Vécu: Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen : It Ain't Easy

Summary: Sirius turns 13.

Characters: Remus Lupin/Reader, Sirius Black/Reader (no use of y/n), James Potter, Petter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, Marlene McKinnon

Warnings: Minors DNI, 18+ only!, angst, anxiety/overwhelming feelings, language, mentions of death and self harm, mentions of abuse, mentions of drinking.

Read on AO3

Companion Playlist

Déjà Vécu Masterlist

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

November 3rd, 1972

“—Let the children lose it!”

“Let the children use it—“

“—“Let all the children boogie!”

Sirius and James were perched on top of the table in the Gryffindor Common Room, scream-singing along to Starman while the rest of them watched in amusement. 

She leaned towards Remus on the couch beside her, “I’m beginning to regret buying him his own copy of Ziggy Stardust…” 

“You’re not the one that has to live with him—“ Remus deadpanned, watching carefully as Sirius launched himself off of the table, leaping gracefully onto the rug by the fireplace. His 13th birthday fell on a Friday this year, meaning the party in Gryffindor Tower was bound to be an all-night affair. School proverbially kicked her ass the past week, but she knew that Sirius needed all of them to be there tonight, whether he wanted to admit it or not. 

A week prior she had watched as Sirius approached Regulus about coming to his birthday party. They had some free time in-between classes, and took to lounging on the South Lawn in the unseasonably warm afternoon air. Mid-conversation, Sirius visibly checked out, staring off towards the castle. She caught his change in demeanor, following his eyes to find Regulus chatting with two other Slytherin first-years near the open courtyard door. 

She tapped him with her foot, “Go talk to him.” 

Sirius gave her a look, turning his focus back to the textbook in his lap. 

“Siri, he’s your brother—“

“—yeah and he’s made it abundantly clear he doesn’t want to associate with the ‘stain’ on the Black Family name,” the bitterness in his voice was palpable. 

She rolled her eyes; were all purebloods this dramatic?

“You’re gonna have to speak to him sometime, mate, Christmas holiday is coming up,” Remus didn’t even look up from his book. Sirius pretending to ignore him. 

 She tipped the front of his textbook down to get his attention, “Why don’t you invite him to your party? Tell him to bring his friends!”

Sirius glanced back over towards his younger brother, thinking the notion over. 

“What d’you have to lose?” She leaned back on her elbows again, closing her eyes and basking in the warmth of the sun. 

The sound of his book falling onto the grass caused her to look up, watching as he briskly made a beeline over towards Regulus. They were too far away to hear the conversation, but when Sirius turned back around, the expression on his face said everything she needed to know. As he sat back down beside her, she glanced back.

The two first-years were laughing in Sirius’ direction, Regulus standing stone-faced in-between. 

“What’d he say?” Remus asked.

Sirius picked up his discarded textbook, “I’d rather not repeat it.”

———

The morning of his birthday, Sirius received a roaring rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ at breakfast, eventually growing into an entire Gryffindor House serenade. As red as his face was, you could tell he loved the attention. He hadn’t received so much as an owl from his family, something she was already expecting, which led her to bring his birthday gift to breakfast rather than waiting until later that night. Ziggy Stardust had been released that summer, and after listening to the first track she knew Sirius would love it. He tore open the brown paper ravenously, and when he saw the name David Bowie emblazoned on the cover, his blue eyes flashed to hers. 

“I could kiss you right now—“

She made a face at him from across the table, “Please don’t, I’d love to keep my food down.”

Smirking, she went back to her breakfast, while Sirius handed the album to Remus for him to inspect. His excitement was short-lived, because the next time she glanced across the table he was staring longingly at Regulus. 

While she had stacked classes all day, the Gryffindor boys had a free day after morning Transfiguration. Remus let her know later that day that Sirius had apparently been blasting his new record over and over much to the disdain of Lily Evans, who’s record player he had completely commandeered. 

Ziggy was the soundtrack to the night, Sirius becoming more and more erratic as the party went on. Everyone seemed to be having a fun time, but she couldn’t help but worry about him. After a particularly sloppy rendition of It Ain’t Easy, Sirius flopped beside her on the couch by the fireplace, smiling ear to ear as he leaned his head back. She didn’t say a word as she watched his eyes close, humming along to Star.

“Having a good birthday?” She asked, voice low as Sirius lolled his head to the side. 

His eyes were slightly bloodshot as he grinned, “The best.”

She giggled, “What’re you so smiley for?”

“Wanna know a secret?” He whispered, the tiny glimmer of mischief that she knew very well was prominent in his eyes. 

“Uh…sure?” She was apprehensive when it came to one of Sirius’ ‘secrets’. They were usually something that would get them all in huge trouble, like that time last year when he surprised James with a “secret” pick-up game of quidditch for his birthday. It was all just an excuse to fly around in the invisibility cloak and throw dungbombs at the Slytherin team. 

Sirius grabbed her hand and led her up to the boys dormitory, turning around to shush her dramatically as the door creaked open. Making a beeline for his trunk, he began to dig through piles of clothes and other paraphernalia until emerging with a bottle of brownish-red liquid.

“Ta-da!” He presented it to her like a precious relic.

She took the bottle and read the label: Ogden’s Finest Firewhisky.

“Sirius—“ she whispered, “—are you drunk?”

He grinned devilishly at her, “Nicked it from my parents over the summer. Thought I’d start 13 off with a little bit of fun!”

Her eyes didn’t leave the bottle as she shook her head. 

“Wanna try some?” He quickly grabbed it back, taking a swig of the amber liquor as she watched in mild horror.

“Siri—stop!” She ripped it out of his hands, splashing some onto the floor by their feet.

“What’re you doing!” He glared at her angrily, reaching back for the bottle but ultimately failing.

“Me? What’re you doing?!” Her eyes narrowed as he swayed slightly on his feet.

“I’m trying to have a good time—“ he began to match her energy, adopting a similar prickly tone.

“—no you’re not, you’re hiding,” she tried to speak more calmly; upsetting him on his birthday was the last thing she wanted. 

Sirius scoffed at the accusation, “I’m not hiding, I’m right here, you know exactly where I am.”

“No I don’t…none of us do. Physically yes, you’re here, but mentally you’re—somewhere else that I can’t find you.”

“…what’s that supposed to mean?” His eyes narrowed.

She sighed, “I get it—you’re fighting with Reg, but you don’t need to shut us out—“

“—You don’t know shit about what’s going on with my family,“ his voice rose, a jolt of panic striking her body. 

“Because you won’t let any of us in!” She yelled, the frustration that was Sirius Black finally getting to her. 

“Fine! You wanna hear about my brother? About how poor little Reggie sits in the pocket of my mother, obeying her every command while she moulds him into the perfect little Black heir? Or maybe about my father, of how he pretends I don’t even exist anymore; I’m just a ghost, haunting the upper floors of the house when I’m home on holiday.”

Eyes wide, she watched him grow more irate as he went on.

“—and my mother. Oh, yes, you’d love to hear more about her. The proudest pureblood you’ll ever meet. What a shame she raised a filthy little blood-traitor, who spends his time running around with muggleborns and the lower class—“

“Siri, I—“ 

“—You met her, back in Diagon Alley, remember? Lovely woman, a bit too shrill in my opinion,” his voice was humorless as he smiled, walking closer towards her, “D’you wanna know what happens, when the heir to one of the oldest pureblood families in Wizarding history dares to stray?”

She couldn’t move. Every muscle had turned to stone as she watched Sirius rip his shirt over his head.

Scars, thin silver striations ran across his shoulders, some stretching onto his chest. They were small enough to hide, but those that knew what they were would stop in their tracks.

People like her.

The Lacero curse was mentioned in passing last year in her Defense Against the Dark Arts class, when they briefly discussed Unforgivables. Thought not illegal, cutting curses were very much frowned upon, especially when used against a living being. 

She reached out a cautious hand to touch the faint marks on his right collarbone, “Sirius…did she…did she do this to you?”

He looked at her, and all she could see was a blaze of resentment and anger, “Not just me…” he growled. 

Oh god, she thought, Regulus.

“I’m sorry,” she choked, tears beginning to form as she mapped the scars wrapping over his shoulder. As her hand traveled to his back, she pulled him closer and hugged him. For a moment he didn’t move, arms remaining tense at his sides, but after a few seconds she felt him melt. Sirius gripped tightly onto her, barely audible sniffles quickly turning into heaving sobs as he dug the tips of his fingers into her back. She held him for what seemed like hours, gently scratching down his spine while he let out every single pent up emotion that he’d been harboring since god knows when. 

Finally, as the sobs slowed, Sirius pulled away, eyes rimmed red and sniffling slightly.

“We were supposed to do this together,” he whispered, “Me and Reg. We always talked about what it would be like when we were both at Hogwarts, all of the fun things we’d get up to—”

Her heart broke as the devastation hemorrhaged through his voice.

“—when I went home for Christmas last year, he was…different. Then this summer, he wouldn’t even acknowledge me…” his voice broke as it trailed off.

She ran a hand through his messy black hair, “I’m sorry Sirius—for everything. Maybe…maybe Regulus will come around once he’s been at Hogwarts for a little longer? He’ll see what it’s like—“

He shook his head, “No, he won’t. He’s surrounded on all sides by pureblood elitists and you-know-who sympathizers…”

Her blood ran cold, “You know about him?”

His eyes flicked to hers, “Of course, it’s all my parents talk about. They’re always hosting some ‘secret meeting’ in the dining room, or entertaining foreign wizards in the parlor. I never stick around long enough to hear what’s actually happening though.”

James was right, the Black Family was involved with you-know-who. The thought made her sick, even more so when she looked Sirius in the eye. The normal piercing blue was clouded and dark like a storm. He knew what his parents were involved in, the full gravity of the entire thing, and he was just helpless in stopping it. Sirius was nothing like them, the Sorting Hat had seen that immediately, and up until this moment she hadn’t understood it fully.

He sighed, raking a hair through his knotty hair, “How mad d’you think James would be if I just went to bed?”

“If he wants to be mad at anyone, he can be mad at me. I’ll tell him I forced you to,” she smiled softly at his tired face. 

He stumbled towards his bed, shin making contact with the corner of his trunk.

“Need help?” She laughed as he held up two fingers in response, “Goodnight Siri.”

As she walked towards the door, Sirius rolled to face the wall, curling up under the scarlet quilt, “Goodnight Yellowjacket,” he mumbled as she shut the door.

Trotting down the stairs, the party was still in full swing, save a few first years that were now sleeping on the floor near the fireplace. Remus was leaning against the windows talking to Lily, who smiled as she walked up.

Remus’ eyebrows raised as she handed him the bottle of firewhisky. 

“I’m gonna go back to my dorm,” she said as Lily excused herself to join Mary by the reclaimed record player. 

Still staring at the bottle, Remus gave her a one-armed hug. 

“Please take care of Sirius, he’s asleep upstairs. Don’t tell James,” she whispered, and Remus instantly connected the dots, nodding in agreement. On her way out of the common room she quickly kissed James on the cheek, too enthralled by Lily dancing to formulate a verbal goodbye.

[seekinghelp-adhd]

We Deserve to be Happy

They had finished their patrol nearly ten minutes ago. Things had been fairly quiet around Paris all things considered, but things were quiet between the two heroes as well. Both were clearly still reeling from their fight with Darker Owl a week earlier, but Ladybug didn’t seem eager to talk about it, and Chat Noir wasn’t in any rush to confront that rejection again.

They had won. They were together. They were in love. They had built a family. They had lived a whole lifetime in the comfort of each other’s arms, and they were happy. Everything was perfect, and nothing was real. At least, that was the story they had chosen to stick to. Monarch must have found a way to manipulate the Jubilation somehow. He was trying to mess with their heads and throw them off.

That’s the only thing that made sense. Chat Noir had never been serious with any of his advances. He was just flirting. That’s what he does with everyone. Ladybug didn’t have feelings for her partner. She was in love with someone else. That couldn’t have been her vision. After all, if Chat had been serious with his advances and Ladybug had somehow finally fallen for him, that would mean they had been given everything they had ever wanted only to have it ripped away before their very eyes.

None of it had been real. Neither of them really felt that way. Neither of them had actually wanted any of that. Neither of them had been spending sleepless nights thinking about what they’d lost. Neither of them had been finding the same nightmare on repeat every time they closed their eyes.

None of it had been real. Neither of them missed going to sleep at the other’s side. Neither of them missed the face of their partner being the first thing they saw in the morning. Neither of them had been searching online trying to find the home they had lived in. Neither of them missed their children. After all, the children hadn’t been real. Their family hadn’t been real. The house hadn’t been real. Their marriage hadn’t been real. The years spent in peace and joy hadn’t been real. The kiss…

Surely the kiss hadn’t been real. It couldn’t have been. If the kiss was real, then their feelings were real, and that couldn’t be the case. They weren’t in their right mind. They had lived an entire not real life and were somehow being affected by Jubilation. Chat Noir hadn’t meant what he said when he told his lady that life with her had been a dream come true. Ladybug hadn’t really shed any tears when she told her kitty that they had to wake up. Neither of them really meant it when they both had said they didn’t want to wake up.

No, Monarch was to blame. He had played with their minds and, somehow, with their hearts so he could take them by surprise. He was just playing a terrible, evil game, and they couldn’t let him win. They had to stay strong, and they would. They had to keep fighting, and they would. After all, none of it was real anyway.

Yet, here they were, still letting it affect them, as if any of the hurt had been real. They couldn’t look each other in the eye. They couldn’t bring themselves to smile while the other was around, or much at all really. Not a single wisecrack or cat pun came to mind in battle. Because no matter how sure they both were that none of it had been real, neither of them could bring themselves to say any of it was fake.

They had finished patrol nearly 20 minutes ago. Normally, they would have gone back to their lives ages ago. Normally, Ladybug would have insisted that they keep things professional while Chat Noir begged for a little more time. Normally, they would have parted with a smile and a promise to see each other again. For the past week though, things had been anything but normal.

Now, here they were at the top of the world. Ladybug and Chat Noir sat in silence at the top of the Eiffel Tower, watching the world spin beneath them. Silence between them had always been comfortable, but now it was deafening. Both desperately wanted the other to say something to end the silence, but neither of them wanted to speak. So here they were, at the top of the world, in the most uncomfortable silence either of them had ever heard.

Over the 30 minutes that had now passed, Ladybug had finally found the courage to steal a glance at her partner from the corner of her vision. The sight of him confirmed her suspicions. She hadn’t been taking this well, and he had been taking it worse. He sighed, lowering his head a little to look beneath them. She knew he could feel her staring, but he was trying to brush it off.

He was trying to be strong for her. She knew that. She had spent long enough with him in that dream to know that. He knew that if he broke down in front of her, she would break down too. He knew that even if she was fine – and she wasn’t, whether he knew that or not – the sight of him broken over the dream would change that. To keep her from bearing the weight, he would hold the world if he had to. If the dream had been real – if she did love him – then that would have only made her love him more.

Seeing the look on his face, she knew he couldn’t do this alone. Realizing that he was barely holding himself together, she knew it wouldn’t be long before he fell apart. Suddenly, against her own will, her mind flashed to the last time she had seen this look on his face – the only other time she had ever seen this look on anyone’s face: Chat Blanc.

The future Bunnix showed her had been a nightmare. The world was broken. The whole of Paris underwater. Anything left untouched by the rising tides was turned to ash. The Eiffel Tower sat on its side under the remnants of a shattered, silver moon.

The destruction hadn’t been the worst part. Not even her own death had phased her, not really. If Monarch went down with her, she could come to terms with that. Chat Blanc had been the most disturbing part of her mission. The world could burn for all she cared; her partner was broken. He had looked so alone. There was a sadness and anger and grief behind his piercing blue eyes, but his expression never gave that away. He tried to feign apathy, but she could tell that he was still hurting. He did care; he had just given up.

Now, here she was looking at her partner for the first time in a week, and she saw the same pained expression that had haunted her ever since that day. She would probably have nightmares again tonight, but there were bigger things to worry about right now. At least her nightmares tonight would be different, but if she didn’t do something to pull her partner out of this depression, and soon, she wouldn’t have to dream about them anymore. She wouldn’t let that happen.

“Chat?”

She was worried that the prospect of a conversation would scare him off. She didn’t want him to leave – she couldn’t let him leave – but if she didn’t say anything now she might lose him forever. He flinched at the noise, being taken out of his thoughts by the surprise, but thankfully he didn’t run away.

“Sorry, I was… uh… I’ve been having trouble focusing recently.”

“I understand.”

She paused for a moment, relishing in the sound of his voice. It hadn’t been much, but that was the most she had heard him say in the last two days combined.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to, I completely understand if you say no, but I think I really need to talk to you.”

“I… I know, Ladybug… We should probably talk about it, it’s just… I-I don’t…”

“It’s okay, you won’t need to say anything if you don’t want to, and I completely understand if you’re not up for it. I just… There’s something that I should have told you a long time ago.”

Finally, he looked up at her, pain in his eyes. He was nearly to the point of tears, and she knew why.

“I’m sorry. I know. I promised I would be more open and honest with you, and I will be – I am. It’s just… This happened before we made that promise. I never told you because I was scared of what could happen. Bunnix was involved, and there was a lot of confusing time travel stuff that I still don’t fully understand. Mostly though, I knew that finding out would hurt you, and… I know I should have told you, but I couldn’t make myself say the words.”

“Then, why tell me now? I mean, I appreciate the honestly, but I think we both have enough on our plate as it is with… you know, Monarch… and stuff.”

 Again, he looked away, hiding his eyes.

“Honestly, I still really don’t want to talk about it, but… I think I have to. The future that Bunnix showed me was terrible. I used to have nightmares about it until… well, until about a week ago, I guess… I saw you there – in the future, I mean. You had the same look on your face. I could see the pain behind your eyes, but you were hiding it – trying to pretend like it wasn’t bothering you. I didn’t tell you because I never wanted to see you like that ever again, but...”

Slowly, he turned toward her, just slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. As he watched her turn away, his gaze shifted from concern, to understanding. He moved just a little closer to her, ignoring everything inside of him screaming at him to stop. It didn’t matter how much he was hurting. Right now, she was hurting more.

He only had to deal with this nightmare when he closed his eyes, but she didn’t have the comfort of that escape. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the same nightmare he did – she had all but admitted it – and when she opened them, she found herself living in a different one. Slowly… Gently… Carefully, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was helping. I guess my poker face isn’t as good as I thought.”

He struggled to make himself smirk and forced out a little laugh. He knew she could tell he was faking it, but when her shoulders fell, he could tell she had at least relaxed a little.

“It’s not your fault, Chat. You were trying not to upset me. There’s no way you could have known… That’s why I think I need to tell you now. In that future, you… The akuma that Bunnix brought me to fight… he was…”

She tried desperately to say what it was that was hurting her, but her mouth just wouldn’t form the words.

“M’lady.”

All at once, she froze. The use of her old nickname bringing back all the hurt that came with the memories of Jubilation, for both of them, but it also brought a kind of comfort she hadn’t felt since then. She knew he would always be there for her – that he would always be her partner. She didn’t need a reminder of that, but hearing him call her his lady despite all the pain she knew it caused him gave her a different kind of peace.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, she brought her gaze up to meet his, but she couldn’t hold it. She knew the pale skin and blue eyes in front of her weren’t really there, but she couldn’t help but squeeze her eyes shut and turn away. She knew how much that must have hurt him, but hopefully it would say everything that she couldn’t. Hopefully he would understand and she wouldn’t have to say it out loud.

“You can’t… You can’t even look at me… M’lady… It was me… wasn’t it?”

“No!” Her eyes shot open and met his once again, concern on her expression, and then fear as she turned away again. She kept her eyes open though, staring out at the city. Her shout had taken both of them off guard.

“M’lady, you don’t have to lie to me. I can handle it, I promise.”

“I’m not lying, Chaton. That wasn’t you.”

He kept silent, letting her gather her thoughts before continuing. She had voluntarily brought up this conversation. She would continue it when she was ready. He just had to be patient.

“There’s a reason we call the Akumas ‘victims’ instead of ‘villains.’ Monarch latches on to their emotions and takes advantage of them when they are the most vulnerable. He’s a manipulator, first and foremost; it’s what he does. You can’t blame yourself for the future I saw.”

He kept silent for a moment longer, processing what she had just confirmed. He had been akumatized. Somehow, he had let himself get so broken that he made himself vulnerable to Monarch. Somehow.

“How did it happen? I mean, you stopped it, right? How?”

She sighed deeply, squeezing the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Honestly, I have no idea. I wanted to give a gift to that boy I loved, but I was too scared to do it in person. I left it in his room and snuck off as Ladybug, but he saw me and found the signature I left on the card.”

“He figured out who you were?”

“Yes, he did. Somehow, that created a whole series of events years in the future that I’m not even going to guess at. It all ended with the moon being shattered, Paris being covered in water, you akumatized, and me and Shadowmoth, at the time, both…”

She fell silent, trailing off as her words started to fail her.

“Both… what? Ladybug, both… what?”

“Dead, Chat. Me and Shadowmoth were both dead.”

His eyes went wide as realization set in. Of course, he had been akumatized. His lady was dead, and he had lost her forever. He hated to admit it but losing her right now was probably the only thing that could push him over the edge.

“The earrings were damaged. They were unusable. No Lucky Charm, no Miraculous Ladybugs, and no wish. Everything was stuck that way. You were sad and angry and hurt and… and so alone…”

As hard as it was, he forced himself to look away from her. Seeing her like this was painful, but he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to hold her and make her feel okay. Unfortunately, as long as Monarch was around, someone crying meant someone else was on akuma duty. He had to keep an eye out for her.

“I never wanted to see you that way ever again. I promised you that I wouldn’t let that happen. After I saved you from the akuma, Bunnix brought me back and had me set things right. That fixed the future, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t understand how that boy finding out who I was lead to all of that. I knew there had to be more to it. So, I remembered everything I could about that future and made sure to make things as different as possible.”

Chat finally looked back down at her, no akumas in sight. She had stopped crying, but tears kept rolling down her cheeks. “How?”

“By putting as much distance between us as possible. By adding other team members so we’d spend less time alone. By leaving soon after missions pretending that I had to pick up their miraculouses right there and then… and…”

Chat stared at her, wide eyed. He couldn’t be sure, but if this conversation went where he thought it was going, he was not prepared for tonight in the slightest.

“and by… by pretending that Jubilation wasn’t the most perfect thing I’d ever seen.”

There it was. He never thought she would admit to it, but there it was. She was just as hurt by their dream as he was, maybe even more so. She wanted it. She dreamed about it. She said it was perfect. She… She said their life together was perfect… She loved him.

“I don’t understand, M’lady.”

She kept her gaze fixed on the ground. Her hands covered her face as she broke down again, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed desperately.

“Losing that Jubilation was the most painful thing I’d ever experienced, and you just told me it was perfect to you too. If you were happy i- if… if you love me… then why can’t we make that happen now? We do we have to hurt if everything we could ever want is right here waiting on us?”

“Because of Chat Blanc.”

He froze. Her words rang through his head, echoing, but he couldn’t make sense of them.

“What do you mean?”

“You knew my name. In that future, you knew my name. There were no more secrets – no more walls between us. It was just us. And we were together. And we were happy.”

“Until you died-”

“No-“

“That’s the only thing that makes sense-”

“That’s not it, Chat.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you told me!”

Silence. He looked back down at the ground below them, putting his hand back in his lap.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have screamed. I’ve just been keeping this bottled up for so long… You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you the truth – how hard it was for me to keep turning you down, over and over again, knowing that our future together could have been good. I keep every single rose you offer me, you know.”

He turned slowly to see her smiling softly at him. She was still crying, but she was being honest.

“I would wait until you were gone and go back to pick them up a few minutes later. They’re pressed in a heavy book in my closet.”

“Then why?”

Her smile dropped, but she kept looking at him. She was sad, but not for her. She was concerned and apologetic. Slowly, she moved closer until they were nearly touching and leaned toward him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Because the last thing Chat Blanc ever told me before Bunnix pulled me back was that our love broke the world.”

That’s why she had stayed away. That’s why she had been so scared. She was protecting the world. She was protecting him. She had been keeping this massive secret and all the weight it carried to herself because she knew it would keep him safe. He wanted to be angry at her for doing this all on her own, but he couldn’t help but feel like this was some sort of karma for every time she’d watched him die. Maybe this was what she felt like when he put himself at risk. He hated it.

“I’m sorry.” He looked down at her eyes as he spoke to see that hers were closed. In that moment, just being with him, she was content, despite the somber conversation.

“Don’t be, Chat. I already told you; you can’t blame yourself for what Monarch made you do. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe that wasn’t, but this is.” He gently wiped a tear from her cheek. “If I had respected your boundaries – if I had toned down the flirting and the roses like you asked me to… I can’t imagine how much worse I made it, what it must have been like desperately trying not to fall in love with someone who’s constantly trying to make you fall in love with them… The terror that must have sunk in when you realized I was winning you over…”

She linked her arm with him, resting her palm on his thigh to offer some support.

“I wanted my love to make you happy. I wanted to make you feel safe and supported. I wanted you to feel like you could handle whatever came your way because I would be there with you. I never meant to be something you had to be afraid of.”

“Does it look like I’m afraid, Kitty?”

He looked back down to see her staring up at him through her bangs. Her soft, sweet smile had returned. As he looked down, he finally registered the position they were in. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice how close she had gotten. As he took in the scene, confusion gave way to tears and he brought his head down to rest on hers. Carefully, he turned and wrapped his arms around her, gently holding her like she would fade away if he ever let go.

“I meant what I said earlier, Chaton. Jubilation was perfect. Losing that life with you hurt more than you could ever imagine. I denied it at the time because I thought I had to, but I was very aware of what we were doing when I pulled you in for one last kiss.”

She was hugging him back now, pulling him as close as she could manage and holding on tight. Chat sobbed as Ladybug’s own tears trailed down his back.

“I love you, Chaton. I want to build that life with you more than anything.”

“I… I can’t say it, Bug. You know how I feel, but I can’t say it knowing that I can’t have it. I wish we could, Bug, but… I- I really wish we could.”

He was right. She did know how he felt. This was the man who had been declaring his love for her since the day they met. This was the man who had thrown himself in harm’s way countless times – not to save Paris, but to save her. This was the man who loved her so much that he had given up his own life to keep her safe on more than one occasion.

There was no doubt in her mind: Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. Yet, despite that, he wouldn’t return her confession. Maybe he knew that if the words left his lungs, he would have to feel the weight of them all over again. Regardless of the reason, it was a choice he made. He had chosen not to say the words out loud because he thought they could never be together.

After hearing about Chat Blanc, he understood why she had kept him at such a distance, and he was making the same choice. Why, then, did everything feel so wrong? This was the smart decision to make, wasn’t it? How could they even consider the love between them if pursuing that love meant the end of the world?

Well, at least, it could mean the end of the world. The future is not set in stone, after all. Adrien learning her identity had set the whole thing in motion. Shadow Moth didn’t have the miraculous at the time. Bunnix wouldn’t say how far into the future they were, but so much had happened since then. So much had changed, that the outcome would be different. It had to be different. Though, whether it would be better or worse remained to be seen. Either way, Ladybug had come to a decision. Things would be different this time.

The whole situation had changed, and they knew what to be afraid of. They could lean on each other and support each other in ways that they never could have before. Normally, that kind of relationship would be dangerous. If Monarch knew they were close, he could use that to manipulate them. Now, though, the only thing they had left was each other. Monarch would be able to use that against them anyway. Would the nature of their relationship really be a problem if the relationship itself was already dangerous?

Then there was the issue of their masks. At this point, a single, magical domino mask was the last great divide between them. Confessions had been made, secrets laid out in the open, and hearts poured out over one another. They were in love. The dangerous future she had been trying to fight off had already come, but they weren’t happy.

Chat Blanc’s timeline had seen them happy and in love before his akumatization. When Su Han forced her to learn Chat’s identity, it had apparently been so wonderful that she had chosen not to reset time, instead having Sass do it on his own later without a holder when things fell apart. Everything she knew told her that they should be happy, but they weren’t. Hesitantly, she spoke.

“What if we can?”

Chat’s movements froze on the spot.

“You know how much I want this, Bug, but I don’t think we can risk it.”

Slowly, Ladybug pulled away from Chat’s embrace. The cold she felt where his touch left her was almost painful, but she had to look at him for this. He had to be able to see her. He had to know she was serious.

“Think about it, Chaton. In Chat Blanc’s timeline, our love destroyed the world. Back when Su Han tried to force me to learn your identity, I told Vipereon not to activate Second Chance. Sass had to do it much later without a holder once things had fallen apart. Every time we’re in love, disaster strikes –”

“You’re not giving me much confidence here, Buginette.”

“– but both times, we had been happy.”

Chat’s jaw clenched as his gaze hardened, locking onto hers.

“What do you mean?”

“Chat Blanc was so torn up over something in our relationship that he got akumatized. It must have been wonderful for something to hurt him that badly. If I chose not to reset after learning who you were, I must have thought it was well worth the risk. Both times, our love led to destruction, but both times we had been happy until the end. Now, here we are, hopelessly and helplessly in love, and we’re miserable. If our love never gets a happy ending, Chaton, then I think we deserve to be happy while it lasts.”

Somewhere during that speech, she had started crying again. Not a desperate sob as it had been, but a gentle, slow release of all the tension she had been holding back.

“If we’re marching toward the end of the world, mon Minou, then I want to face it together. I could never regret a single moment spent with you, but I will never forgive myself if the last moments I spend with you are spent in misery. I want to know you, Chat, and I want you to know me.”

Then, finally, the tension broke. Broken hearts came together as one as their lips pressed together in a warm, desperate loss of control. Each of them clung to the other like they would never get to hold them again, sending every ounce of love and fire and passion they held for their other half into the embrace. Years of denied feelings and unrequited love faded away as they both held each other close. Gasping for air, Chat Noir finally pulled his lips away, resting his forehead on Ladybug’s since he wasn’t quite willing to let her go yet.

Bright Blue eyes stared back at him with love and acceptance and adoration like he had only seen in that dream, and the reality of his situation came back to him. She loved him. She wanted to know him. She wanted to show herself to him. He was finally going to know his lady’s name after all this time. He stared into her eyes again, looking for any sign of fear or hesitation or regret, but he found nothing but joy and relief.

After pulling her into one last quick, soft kiss, he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and pulled her up to stand with him.

“Claws in.”

“Spots off.”

[night-market-if]

How are you putting these chapters out so fast?? Don’t get me wrong I’m so happy and grateful for it 😅☺️❤️

Because I'm a crazy person. LOL!

No, actually, I am just a very motivated person when it comes to the things I love. Plus, I think I was just primed and ready to write this much. During covid, I was pregnant. Then I had a newborn. So I was home bound for about two years. I started writing daily with a friend of mine to keep the boredom away. So I just got in the habit of writing in my free time every single day.

Then, when I decided to do the Night Market, I really examined how my family operated and when it was best for me to write. I am a night owl and most of my time was being spent on social media or mindlessly watching TV after my kids were asleep. It didn't really make me feel good about myself. So, I used those hours to write instead.

So now I have a crazy schedule. I still write every day for RP purposes because it is fun. But, every Monday I leave the house and spend about twelve hours writing for this game (with some breaks of course). Some Mondays I get a lot done. Some I get nothing done. But I still try. I also carve out time on Wednesday and Thursdays when my babies go to bed and end up working for 4 to 5 hours each of those nights. The consistency of a 20-25 hour writing week has really been helpful.

I also have an AMAZING group of beta's that call me out when my sentence structure is shit because I wrote everything too fast. Or when I am repeating myself. That has been helpful. I have also had to consistently remind myself that this is a first draft. Perfection is not important. Getting it out on the page is. That in itself is an incredibly freeing experience.

So really, I guess I am a little bit of a crazy person. I don't have a lot of free time between the kids and my work. But, I love my work so thankfully, it doesn't feel so terrible. And on the weeks it does, I let myself know it is okay to take a break.

[btsshiprecs]

take on the world

Summary: Taehyung’s life changes forever when he finds a naked man in a parking lot after work one night and for reasons he can’t understand, decides to take him home with him.Or; Taehyung is a skeptic, Jeongguk claims to be a demon, and hell breaks loose. Quite literally

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Taehyung loves his job, even if it means finishing at almost 8 PM from Monday to Friday. As someone who has loved being in the water since he was a kid himself, becoming a swimming instructor at the municipal pool is something that he finds rewarding. He loves kids, he loves the pool. It might not have been his dream job, but he’s happy where he is now.

Taking the late evening shift means that after his day of work he has to stay behind and tidy up, not leaving until way past eight. By the time he makes it home it's closer to nine, but he genuinely doesn’t mind. He leaves his work with wet hair and wrapped up in a big hoodie with the logo of the pool stamped on the back. He showered before leaving, and now he can’t wait to get home, cook himself some late dinner and relax. Taking the evening shift at work has made him turn into a bit of an owl, but even if he’s not sleepy yet, he’s tired; he needs a long evening sitting on his sofa doing absolutely nothing.

He’s fishing in his pocket for his keys, grabbing them in his hand when he hears something. Half empty parking lots where you can hear strange noises are never the most reassuring thing, which causes Taehyung to feel his heart in his throat as soon as he hears it. Taehyung speeds up his steps, walking to his car, but then he sees him, sitting behind a van. A man, who groans as he sits naked on the concrete. Taehyung frowns.

Taehyung stops in his tracks there, biting down on his bottom lip as he watches the stranger. He's running a hand through his long, dark wavy hair, sitting cross-legged. Another groan leaves his mouth, and Taehyung in all honesty doesn’t know what to do. The man doesn’t look… well, in a good state. Taehyung would feel a bit bad leaving him here alone. The least he can do is call someone, be it an ambulance or the cops.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

As soon as he says that, the man’s head snaps back up to look at him. His eyes seem wide, but there isn’t much that Taehyung can see in the dark. He takes a tentative step forward, half expecting the stranger to flinch, but he doesn’t. Taehyung takes another step closer, now able to see him properly.

“Oh—hey,” the guy says, immediately getting to his feet. Yep, very naked indeed. Taehyung is definitely not going to look. “I’m fine! Thanks for the concern, young man. I appreciate it.”

“Okay, that’s… that’s dope,” Taehyung replies, one of his hands going to scratch the side of his head. He isn’t quite sure of what to say now, feeling a bit awkward. “You shouldn’t be naked around here. There are kids around, you know. And it’s illegal.”

The man tilts his head, his brown eyes looking at Taehyung fixedly. “I think I might need some help in that department, since I don’t really have any clothes with me as of right now,” the man replies. Taehyung frowns. He’s not quite sure of _how _this man could make it here, to the middle of Seoul, without any clothes on. “Would you mind taking me to your home, perhaps?”

Taehyung’s mouth falls open, a choked out and disbelieving noise coming out. It’s more a strangled chuckle than anything else, really. “To _my home_?” Taehyung repeats, unable to believe what he’s just heard. The man doesn’t seem to be thinking in the slightest, which makes Taehyung scoff. “I’m sorry, but I don’t invite strangers into my house. Much less naked strangers. I can call someone who might take you to your own place, or even the police, but…”

“Please,” the guy says, staring into Taehyung’s eyes. Taehyung is about to open his mouth to reply that _no way in hell_, but something about the stranger’s stare makes him stop right there, listening. “I promise I won’t be a nuisance or bother you in any way. I just urgently need a place to stay tonight, as well as some clothes. Like you pointed out, I can’t walk around like this.”

Taehyung wants to say no, since like he said before, he wouldn’t let a stranger in his house. It’s dangerous, especially in cities as big as Seoul and especially with people as dodgy as this one. He knows all of this, he’s _thinking _about it. For that reason, it doesn’t make sense to him when he says, “Of course you can. I’ll give you a place to stay tonight.” As soon as he processes what he’s just said, he frowns. The stranger smiles at him, both terribly charming and devious. He can’t stop himself from talking, adding, “You can take my hoodie to cover yourself up.”

“Well, that’s very kind,” the guy says, at the same time Taehyung drops the bag to his side and starts to take the piece of clothing off. What the fuck? Part of him wants to stop himself from moving but _he can’t_. It’s like he’s lost control over his body and his brain, and the rational voice in him is being completely ignored and disregarded by… well, every other part of him. “Do you live far, young man?”

“Just fifteen minutes away. And the name’s Taehyung,” he adds, introducing himself. The guy hums, at the same time that he takes the hoodie from Taehyung.

“You may call me Jeongguk,” the guy replies, tying the hoodie around his body. Much to Taehyung’s relief, he covers his front with it. “Shall we get going, then?”

Taehyung doesn’t understand why he starts moving to his car, with the man trailing behind. He doesn’t understand why he feels overwhelming calmness, why he doesn’t feel nervous with a weird, naked man in his car with him. Taehyung starts the engine and starts driving away from the parking lot, waving good night to a coworker that he encounters on the way out.

While he drives, Taehyung steals a glance at the guy sitting next to him, who looks distractedly out of the window. What the fuck has he just gotten himself into?

✩

“You can sleep on the couch. I’ll give you a blanket but it’s so warm that I doubt you’re gonna need it,” Taehyung starts telling Jeongguk, as he looks around Taehyung’s place with some sort of fascination Taehyung doesn’t quite understand. There’s nothing remotely interesting about the apartment he rents—one kitchen joint to the living area, one bedroom, one bathroom. Nothing more. “Let me go get some pajamas so you can—”

“This place is rather small, isn’t it?” Jeongguk interrupts.

Taehyung’s lips part, feeling his face warm up. Part of him wants to be mad, because _what the fuck_? But the rest of him feels embarrassed and even a bit humiliated, so he’s really at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

“I wonder if you could do much better with the salary of a kids swimming instructor,” Taehyung mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s rather annoyed right now.

“No need to get angry—I just stated a fact, it _is _small,” Jeongguk replies, turning around to give Taehyung a plain look. What the hell is this dude’s deal? “It has a charm to it. I’ve never been anywhere like this.”

Taehyung scoffs because that’s just his luck. Of course he had to pick up a stupid rich kid who’s never seen an apartment as small as his. And of course, some stupidly soft part of him couldn’t just bring himself to kick the guy out or call the police on him, as he should have. Taehyung seriously has to wonder what’s wrong with him.

“Look—the bathroom’s just there. You can go wash up, and I’ll leave some clothes by the door for you, okay?” he instructs, using one hand on the small of the guy’s back to push him in the direction of the restroom. “I’ll have the couch ready and cook dinner while you do that. So please…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll wash up now,” Jeongguk agrees, as he moves to enter the bathroom. “I won’t be long.”

“Take as long as you want! It’s no bother,” Taehyung tells him as he starts pushing him inside the bathroom. The truth is that he needs a damn break from Jeongguk’s company to rearrange his thoughts on the situation. Because _what the fuck_. “Have a nice shower!”

With that, and without waiting for a reply from the other, Taehyung closes the door and walks away to his bedroom, refuging himself there. Taehyung closes his eyes, resting his back against the door as he tries to figure out what the hell he’s doing, and most importantly, _why_. He’s so confused by this whole thing and why he’s acting like this, so he guesses there’s only one person that he can talk to. The only person that can understand Taehyung and his motives better than Taehyung himself—Park Jimin.

**To: Jiminie – 21:22**

_Jimin, i’ve done something very stupid_

_Help_

_I think I brought home a freak_

✩

Taehyung wakes up after one of the weirdest nights of his life when he hears the doorbell of his apartment go off. He frowns because upon looking to the bedside table on his right he sees it’s nine in the morning and therefore too late for anyone to come visit him. But then, after a second of hard thinking, he remembers.

It was while he and Jeongguk were having dinner that Jimin finally replied. Taehyung, who was extremely weirded out by Jeongguk’s excitement to eat instant ramen, replied to Jimin’s text as soon as it arrived. It took a lot of convincing from his end to make Jimin believe that he wasn’t talking about a weird hookup he brought home, and just as much of him insisting to keep Jimin from coming to the apartment to check Jeongguk out for himself. Despite being bewildered by this guy, Taehyung wasn’t scared. He didn’t feel unsafe.

Jimin agreed not to come at night, but he said he would definitely drop by in the morning, and Taehyung couldn’t make him change his mind about that. It must be Jimin who’s pressing the doorbell now, so Taehyung forces himself out of bed and, still sleepy and rubbing his eyes, makes his way to the front door.

On his way there he walks through the living room, where he finds a deeply asleep Jeongguk. It’s probably for the best that he hasn’t woken up yet, so Taehyung finds himself feeling glad about his seemingly deep slumber.

When Taehyung gets to the door and opens it, he indeed finds Jimin on the other side. Before he has the time to greet him or say anything—he’s still a little slow—Jimin barges in, squeezing himself past Taehyung’s body and the door frame.

“Where’s the creep?” he asks, looking around himself. His eyes land on the couch then, taking one step closer. “Is that _him_?”

Taehyung closes the door quietly then, shushing Jimin. “Don’t talk too loud! If he’s still asleep he can’t give me a headache,” Taehyung says, which makes Jimin laugh lightly. “That’s him, yeah. Come to the bedroom so we can talk.”

“He’s kinda cute,” Jimin comments as he starts walking behind him. “Handsome, even.”

“Oh my god—don’t say that, please,” Taehyung tells him, entering his bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. Jimin, after clicking the door shut behind him, does the same. “He’s not cute. He’s so _weird_, Jimin.”

Taehyung hasn’t let himself look at Jeongguk like that, really. It’s undeniable that he’s attractive, both his face and his naked body that Taehyung saw last night, but Taehyung’s mind isn’t going there. _Nope_, not at all.

“What’s weird? You’ve been saying that since last night but wouldn’t tell me anything,” Jimin says, getting himself a bit more comfortable on the bed. “Oh! Does he have any weird kinks?”

“No! I told you it’s not like that. It’s not sexual, he isn’t a hookup,” Taehyung repeats, Jimin raising an eyebrow at him. “I found him at the parking lot yesterday when I came out from work. He was _naked_, Jimin. Groaning in the middle of the parking lot. And when I asked if he was okay or needed me to call someone, he just asked if he could stay at my place.”

“What. The. Fuck. What the actual fuck, Taehyung,” Jimin says, giving him a disbelieving look. God, Taehyung can’t believe himself, either. “What… how in the hell did you say yes? Are you out of your mind?”

“I—I don’t know! I knew it was dangerous, but like… for some reason, I couldn’t say no? Like, it didn’t feel like I could control myself? It sounds ridiculous, I know,” Taehyung explains, failing at voicing how he felt last night.

“You’re way too good,” Jimin accuses. Taehyung sighs, because it’s not like he said he could stay out of the kindness of his heart. It’s almost as if he lost control of himself, not because he was _too good_. “Did you ask him what was up last night?”

“I didn’t feel up for it,” Taehyung replies. Jimin, once again, looks at him incredulously. “I didn’t have the energy to deal with him for longer than that, Jimin. There’s just… something about the way he talks and acts. He seems so foreign? Like a different breed entirely.”

“Well, he looks very human to me,” Jimin says. Taehyung sighs. “Let’s wake him up.”

“Jimin, no—” Taehyung starts, standing up right after Jimin does.

“Taehyung, yes,” Jimin says, pulling the door open. “We’re gonna ask him what the fuck he was doing naked in a parking lot last night, and if there’s something remotely unconvincing about what he says, we’re going to throw him out. What if he’s dangerous?”

“If he were dangerous you wouldn’t be talking to me right now,” Taehyung says. Jimin’s lips part, but they close without saying anything when he realizes Taehyung has a point. “I just think… maybe he was confused, a bit disorientated? Maybe he was on drugs or something. He might have an explanation.”

“Fine,” Jimin sighs. “But we’re still waking him up.”

Taehyung is resigned but he doesn’t try to stop Jimin when he walks to the couch, placing one hand on Jeongguk’s shoulder and shoving him. When Taehyung takes a step closer he sees Jeongguk frown in discomfort, but it doesn’t take much more to wake him up.

“What the—” he grumbles, rubbing his eyes with his fists before he blinks them open lazily. His eyes fall on Jimin, who’s right across from him, and so he frowns. “Who are you? Where’s Taehyung?”

“I’m here,” Taehyung calls then, his deep voice causing Jeongguk to shift his eyes to him. Taehyung waves awkwardly at him then. “This is my friend Jimin. He’s visiting.”

“Exactly,” Jimin says then with a nod, Jeongguk looking at him once again. “And you are…?”

“I’m Jeongguk. Taehyung’s guest,” Jeongguk replies, starting to sit up on the couch instead of lying down. “He invited me to stay the night.”

“More like you invited yourself,” Jimin points out. The three of them stay quiet at that, Jeongguk not bothering to confirm nor deny. “So, _who_ are you? And what were you doing naked in a parking lot?”

“I’m not positive it’s a story that you humans are ready to hear,” Jeongguk says then, making Jimin scoff at the same time Taehyung frowns. _You humans_…? “It’s a bit of a complicated one.”

“Bring it on. We’re ready,” Taehyung says, taking a seat on the coffee table next to Jimin. Maybe they shouldn’t be sitting there, but Taehyung is sure his white Ikea table will be able to handle this. Or at least, he hopes so. “It can’t be any weirder than everything else has been up until now.”

“It’s not weird. Just simply unbelievable for the likes of you,” Jeongguk tells him. Taehyung, who steals a glance at Jimin to check his reaction at Jeongguk’s words, sees his friend lift a skeptical eyebrow.

“Just tell us, Jeongguk,” Jimin says, not interested in his spiel.

“Fine—fine. It’s where my portal dropped me,” Jeongguk says. Taehyung’s eyebrows raise at that. “I was naked because apparently my attire doesn’t seem to be able to change dimensions. Rather stupid if you ask me, but it is what it is. I had just come out of the portal when Taehyung found me, so I saw an opportunity to scathe any trouble with the police for my nakedness.”

Taehyung and Jimin look at each other then, sharing a confused look. Jimin mouths at him, _what? _Taehyung replies with _See? Drugs_.

“What are you even talking about?” Taehyung asks him then. “Portals, dimensions—what? What does that mean?”

“It means I came here from another plain,” Jeongguk explains. Taehyung wonders how he can stay so serious while spewing all this _bullshit_. “I came here from Hell. I’m a demon.”

Taehyung can’t help the way in which his face winces at that, and Jimin can’t hold back a chuckle. The latter says, “Yeah, come on. Now tell us the truth if you don’t want us to kick you out of here as naked as you arrived.”

“It’s nothing but the truth,” Jeongguk insists, still keeping a straight face. “Why do you think Taehyung brought me here, even despite his initial and very understandable wariness? I used my charms on him.”

“What are you even talking about?” Taehyung asks then.

“You felt like you wanted to say no but you couldn’t. That was me—I’m sorry about that, by the way. But desperate times call for desperate measures,” Jeongguk tells him then.

Taehyung can’t help but lets his eyes widen because that’s exactly what Taehyung felt happen last night. Jimin laughs again, but now Taehyung remains silent. It’s an explanation for what happened, and even if Taehyung is rather skeptical about demons and hell, it’s the only explanation he has found so far.

“You can’t be serious right now,” Jimin insists.

“I’m deadly serious, Jimin. Should we run a test?” Jeongguk asks. Jimin crosses his arms over his chest. “How about you tell me about yourself? Tell me your wildest dream. What’s your biggest aspiration? What do you wish you could be when you close your eyes at night and get ready to succumb to sleep?”

“Well, maybe it’s stupid since by now it’s obviously a dream out of my reach, but ever since I was little my biggest dream has been to be a dancer in the Paris Opera Ballet,” Jimin tells him. Jeongguk nods at the same time he raises an eyebrow, and Jimin’s lips part in horror. He turns to look at Taehyung and says, “What the fuck?”

“What?” Taehyung asks.

“I didn’t mean to tell him. Like—I don’t know why I did. I didn’t want to but I… I couldn’t stop?” Jimin tells, stumbling upon his own words. “Oh my god.”

“See? That’s what happened to me last night,” Taehyung replies. “What have you done? Is it one of those drugs—?”

“First of all, I’m a man of morals. I would never drug anyone,” Jeongguk interrupts. Taehyung presses his lips into a thin line. “Second of all, when could I have? Jimin just arrived and I was asleep. I don’t need any drugs. I told you—I’m a demon. I have my charms. All I need is for you to look at me.”

“Don’t do that again,” Jimin tells him. Jeongguk raises both arms, showing them his palms. “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean we believe any of that Hell bullshit.”

“How can you not when I’ve already proven myself?” Jeongguk asks, exasperated. Taehyung doesn’t say anything, and neither does Jimin. “Look, I wish I could spend the whole day here, trying to convince you two that I’m being honest. However, I don’t have the time. I believe I should probably go find some clothes for myself if you could give me some sense of where to go”

“Well, you need to go shopping,” Taehyung tells him. Jeongguk gives him a blank stare. “You know... at a mall. Do you have money?”

“Will I need money?” Jeongguk asks. Taehyung gives him an unbelieving look. “I don’t have anything on me right now. I can get some, though.”

“I can give you some clothes to go out and we can buy more when you have money on you,” Taehyung says, not bothering to ask where Jeongguk plans to get the money from. After his reply mentioning hell and demons, Taehyung isn’t sure whether he wants to ask more or not.

“Give me a minute, then. I need to get in contact with a friend,” Jeongguk says, at the same time he starts walking to the bathroom. “If you would excuse me.”

He disappears behind the door, and only then does Jimin pinch his thigh. “Does he have a phone?” Jimin whispers to him.

“No? He didn’t have anything on him at all,” Taehyung replies, whispering as well. He bites down on his bottom lip, then asks, “Did it happen to you, too? That you couldn’t refuse?”

“Yes, what the fuck. It’s so strange, Taehyung. I’ve never believed in any of it but… Do you think maybe…?” Jimin asks.

“It can’t be,” Taehyung says, firm and final. “There needs to be a logical explanation for all of this.”

“Is that why you’re still gonna help him? With all the clothing stuff,” Jimin asks. Taehyung shrugs. “You’re not under his charms now, right?”

“I don’t think so? Yesterday I was aware that I wasn’t saying what I wanted. Right now… I feel in control. He’s already here, so I might as well help,” Taehyung says, earning himself a nod from Jimin. “Plus, if he gets money and clothes he might leave sooner.”

“I guess you’re right,” Jimin agrees. Right as he says that, the doorbell sounds off. Both of them share a look then, going still. “Were you expecting anyone?”

“Jeongguk’s friend, I guess?” Taehyung asks.

“That’s way too fast,” Jimin says. “Kind of expecting to open the door and have an entire camera crew walk in. I’m convinced this is some prank show bullshit.”

“I hope so,” Taehyung sighs, standing up at the same time Jeongguk opens the door of the bathroom.

“That would be Hoseok,” Jeongguk says, starting to walk towards the door. Taehyung and Jimin share a look. _Way too soon_. “Mind if I greet my friend?”

“I’ll open it myself,” Taehyung replies, quickly making his way to the door in three long strides. He looks through the peephole, not sure of what to find. He wasn’t expecting to find a very smiley guy at the other side, black hair and happy eyes. “How come he made it here so fast?”

“Demons are fast,” Jeongguk insists. Taehyung and Jimin keep quiet. “Can you open the door? I bet he’s getting impatient now.”

Taehyung takes his hand to the handle of the door, hearing Jimin sigh. And then, still feeling the weight of Jeongguk’s eyes on the back of his neck, he pulls the door open.

There’s a slight feeling of disappointment when he opens the door and isn’t faced with a shit ton of cameras, and the guy behind the door doesn’t pull a mic from behind his back. It makes Taehyung’s wish that this whole mess was coming to an end. Jeongguk’s friend, Hoseok, looks at him with a wide smile that feels almost mocking.

“Hello there,” the guy greets. “Is Jeongguk here?”

“Hoseok!” Jeongguk calls, Taehyung turning around to see him make his way to the door. He pulls back a little, allowing for Taehyung to pull his friend in for a hug under the frame of the door. “How’ve you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I’m sure it felt like a lot less back there. Time goes by crazily here, man,” Hoseok greets him, giving him a friendly pat on the back. “How long have you been here for? And how come you’ve ended up at some human’s house?”

“Ran into him last night, right after I arrived here. Lucky coincidence, really,” Jeongguk explains, smiling wide. Taehyung watches the whole interaction in silent, until Jeongguk turns to look at him and addresses him. “Taehyung, do you mind if my friend comes in?”

“No, no, go ahead,” Taehyung says, unable to stop all the madness from happening. “This is all a mess already. May as well keep it going.”

Hoseok laughs but he still steps inside with Jeongguk’s arm around his shoulders. He seems surprised when he spots Jimin and realizes it’s not just the three of them here, waving at Jimin. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, demon,” Jimin replies, standing up from the coffee table. For some reason, that makes Hoseok laugh. “Are you going to try to convince us that you come from Hell, too?”

“I’ve been here on Earth for months now, but I do come from Hell,” Hoseok comments, one hand resting over the backseat of the couch. “I think I’ve been adjusting pretty well, though.”

Taehyung will have to agree on that one. With the cargo pants, chunky Fila sneakers and a big black tee tucked in, Hoseok doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. He looks like any other boy his age would look in 2019.

“You just look weird,” Jeongguk tells him, wrinkling his nose. Hoseok laughs again. “Did you bring the money?”

“I did, yeah,” Hoseok replies, digging into one of the big pockets of his pants. He pulls out a big, thick enveloped, saying, “This should be enough to last you for a couple of months. If you plan on staying here for longer than that you’re gonna need to find a job, and some more stable living arrangements.”

“I’ll handle that within the next few days. Thank you so much, I owe you one,” Jeongguk says as he takes the envelope from him, Hoseok waving dismissively. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Wait—you’re leaving now?” Taehyung says, turning to Hoseok. “Now that you’re here, shouldn’t you be his demonic guidance in the human world? I’m sure you can do so much better than me at showing him around?”

“I would love to but I have to be at work in less than one hour,” Hoseok replies. Taehyung’s mouth falls open. _Really_? “I’ll keep an eye on him but I’m not his babysitter.”

“Neither am I!” Taehyung exclaims, being met with silence when no one else says anything. “Seriously? Jeongguk, wouldn’t you rather spend time with a familiar friend? Someone you seem to have known for years?”

“Have spent way _too _many years with him, actually. A few thousand,” Jeongguk says, Hoseok chuckling at his words. “Plus, demons aren’t meant to escape hell and come to this dimension. If we stick together, it will be easier to find us and bring us back. We need to be discreet.”

“Exactly. Plus, Jeongguk is gonna be found so fast. He’s an important one,” Hoseok says as he elbows Jeongguk lightly. Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “You can let him go in a few days, Taehyung. He’ll get used to it quickly.”

Taehyung doesn’t say anything, just huffs. Jeongguk comments, “I’ll keep you good company, I swear.”

Taehyung huffs again, but it’s muffled by Hoseok as he says, “So… I’ll get going then, yeah?”

“I’m actually gonna leave, too,” Jimin says, earning himself an incredulous look from Taehyung. “I’m sorry, babe, but I have things to do today. I have work soon.”

“Fine,” Taehyung says, resigned. He guesses he’s the one who got himself into this mess, not Jimin. He’s a bit more pissed about Hoseok, since after all he is Jeongguk’s friend and it would make more sense for him to take care of Jeongguk, but he’s not going to insist anymore. He’s surprised by how well both he and Jimin seem to be taking all this demon stuff after the initial shock, wonders if maybe Hoseok and Jeongguk are charming them somehow so they’re more pliant, more relaxed. But, once again, it’s not like last night. He doesn’t feel the urge to disagree with his own actions.

Hoseok and Jimin both leave together, which leaves Jeongguk and Taehyung alone once again. When the pair disappear, Taehyung and Jeongguk look at each other, standing silently in the living room. It’s Taehyung the one who breaks the silence between the two of them.

“So… do you want clothes for shopping, or…?” he asks, unsure of what to say.

“That would be lovely as I don’t think going around naked would be appropriate,” Jeongguk tells him, with the envelope of money still in his hands. “I didn’t realize you had to pay for clothes in the human world.”

“Money moves the human world. I’m sure in hell you’ve seen a lot of money hungry people,” Taehyung tells him, at the same time he starts walking to his room. From behind him, he can hear Jeongguk mutter, _that’s true_. “I think my clothes will fit you for now. We’re more or less the same size.”

“That came as a big surprise to me,” Jeongguk says, earning himself an inquiring hum from Taehyung. “When I was back in hell, I was much bigger than the humans were there. But now I’m the same size as them. Jimin is smaller than us, though.”

“I guess that’s a good thing if you want to blend in, then. That you’re not a four meters tall monster,” Taehyung comments, making Jeongguk laugh a little. “Okay, let’s see. Maybe I’ll have something you like.”

Finding an outfit for Jeongguk turns out to be much harder than Taehyung thought it would be. He doesn’t like Taehyung’s slacks, asking for some skinny jeans like the ones Jimin was wearing today, but Taehyung doesn’t have any of those. All of Taehyung’s clothes are loose and oversized, and Jeongguk winces when he sees how they fit on him.

“Why don’t you buy anything your size?” he asks, turning around a little to see how loose the big shirt he has on is.

“That’s what it’s supposed to look like,” Taehyung tells him. “God, you complain so much.”

In the end, he puts on some jeans that Taehyung hasn’t worn for years and have a rip on the knees and a big black hoodie, with no embellishments or prints whatsoever. As for the feet, that’s where the problem comes. Despite being the same height, Taehyung turns out to have way bigger feet than Jeongguk. That makes it impossible for him to wear any of the closed shoes Taehyung offers him, so instead he takes some loafers even if he has to be careful as he walks, not wanting to trip and fall. And, well, even if Jeongguk calls them hideous.

The actual shopping trip turns out to be easier. Taehyung takes him to a shopping mall as soon as they’re both ready, and the two of them start raiding the shops on offer. The stuff that Jeongguk gets all goes down that very unexciting road—a few pairs of skinny jeans in four different colors, some plain t-shirts, hoodies, a leather jacket. He gets a pair of boots, but also some chunky sneakers like the ones Hoseok wore. Taehyung feels a pang of jealousy when he sees him spend all this money so freely.

They’re both about to leave when they walk past another shop, this one a fancier looking one. Taehyung doesn’t pay much attention to it, the mannequins are wearing suits and satin-looking shirts. However, Jeongguk stops in his tracks, Taehyung looking behind himself as soon as he notices.

“What now?” he asks. He wants to leave now since it won’t be long until he has to get to work.

“I want to check out this store,” Jeongguk announces. Taehyung gives him a disbelieving look. “What?”

“The clothes in this store couldn’t be more different to everything you’ve bought up until now,” Taehyung states, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well, it _is_, after all.

“I’m a very multidimensional… person, Taehyung,” Jeongguk reminds him. Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “Come on, let’s go inside. I’m sure I’ll also need some more formal clothes.”

“Fine,” Taehyung ends up agreeing, resigned. “But quickly because I need to get to work.”

Jeongguk ends up buying a few shirts, some dressing pants, a nice belt and a pair of dress shoes. After that, they’re finally able to leave, Taehyung driving them both home as Jeongguk looks around at the traffic.

Taehyung doesn’t say anything as he still isn’t quite sure of what to think. Is Jeongguk lying to him about the demon thing, or maybe there’s a chance of it being true? Taehyung has always thought there was more to the world than it seemed, but now when being faced with the real possibility of it being true, he finds it hard to believe. Is he going crazy just for even considering it? Probably. If he told any of his friends, they would look at him like he was losing his mind. Just like he and Jimin looked at Jeongguk at the start.

The ride is silent for the most part. They get back to the apartment and Taehyung unlocks the door for the two of them, entering the pin on the padlock. The two of them walk inside the apartment, and once inside Jeongguk flops on the couch with all the bags surrounding him.

“Well, that was good,” Jeongguk groans, a satisfied smile on his lips as he brings his hands to the back of his head and rests his head there. “I’m happy with what I got.”

“You should be,” Taehyung tells him. “That’s a lot of stuff. You have plenty of outfits to wear now.”

“No need to sound so terribly jealous. I could have gotten you something, too, if you wanted,” Taehyung says, making him scoff. “What?”

“Nothing. Just—nothing,” Taehyung replies, earning himself a shrug from Jeongguk. “So, now that you have clothes and money, are you leaving soon?”

“Wow, Taehyung. I thought we were enjoying each other’s company,” Jeongguk replies, giving him a serious look. “Will you give me a few days? I would like to acquire some other stuff, like a phone. And I don’t think I would like to go to a hotel after this. Maybe you could host me until I find an apartment of my own?”

“You really have no fucking shame,” Taehyung replies, making Jeongguk smirk. “No.”

“Please?”

“No!”

“You wouldn’t kick me out like that. I have nowhere else to go, and I’m so new to the Earth,” Jeongguk says. Taehyung crosses his arms over his chest. “Please. Listen here—I’m a demon. I know how to tell when someone has a pure or a rotten heart, and I can tell you have a kind and gentle soul. You wouldn’t throw me out like that.”

“What makes you think that I would be kind to a _demon_?” Taehyung asks.

“The fact that you still see humanity in me. Even if I have told you who I am and you’ve seen my charms, you still have trouble believing it. It’s that same skepticism that prevents you from just kicking me out,” Jeongguk replies. Taehyung arches an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

“I should kick you out just for saying all that,” Taehyung replies, for some reason annoyed by Jeongguk’s words. He might be good but he’s not a fool.

“But you won’t,” Jeongguk says. “Will you?”

Taehyung sighs. “Look, I need to get to work now,” Taehyung tells him. “We can talk later when I come back. You can stay here tonight, okay? We’ll figure the rest out later.”

“Thank you so much,” Jeongguk says, giving him a big smile. Taehyung rolls his eyes. “I’ll repay you for your hospitality, even if it’s reluctant hospitality.”

“Just don’t ruin or steal anything from me, okay?”

“I’m _not _a thief!” Jeongguk exclaims, wrinkling his nose. “I’m the punisher of those who do bad—lie, deceive, steal, abuse others, kill.”

“Oh, excuse me for not trusting a demon who I found naked in the street last night,” Taehyung tells him, earning himself an eye roll from Jeongguk. “Just promise you won’t do anything bad.

“Fine,” Jeongguk sighs then. “I promise. I swear on everything unholy—I won’t do anything bad.”

Taehyung feels himself loosen up a little at that. He doesn’t know how reliable the word of a demon can be—probably not a lot. But Jeongguk’s promise still makes him feel a little more at ease, somehow.

✩

When Taehyung agreed to let Jeongguk stay with him, he wasn’t sure of what to expect when he came back. The man claims to be a demon, so he either is a very evil mythical creature or a very dishonest and convincing man. Taehyung doesn’t have many things of value back at his but he’d feel really sad at his laptop disappearing. There’s just so much shit on there.

It comes as a pleasant surprise when he opens the door to his apartment and finds Jeongguk sitting on the sofa, a book in his hands. It comes as an even better surprise when he smells _food_.

“Did you order?” Taehyung asks, even before greeting him.

“Order?” Jeongguk asks, frowning a little as he lifts his gaze from the book. “And hello, by the way. Was work okay?”

“Order _food_,” Taehyung clarifies. “And yeah, it went alright. Not very eventful but that’s a good thing in my line of work.”

“Order food? So they, like, bring it to you?” Jeongguk asks. Taehyung nods. “Damn. I wish I knew that before going out.”

Taehyung is about to reply but then he analyzes Jeongguk’s words. _I wish I knew that before going out_. _Going out_.

“You did what?” Taehyung asks, his voice pitching up. “How did you even get back inside?”

“Because I saw you put the code in the keypad before,” Jeongguk replies to him, making Taehyung frown. “I bought this made in a store I saw earlier this morning. I thought maybe you’d like to have dinner ready for when you came back from work.”

Taehyung looks over to the food in the kitchen area, the meat and vegetables that are there on two big plates. When he looks back at Jeongguk, he finds the other boy looking at him with expectant eyes, almost as if he was nervous to see his reaction.

“Shall we eat, then?” he asks, watching Jeongguk light up.

And hey, who could’ve known? Maybe sharing his apartment with a demon has its perks.

✩

One day of living with Jeongguk turns into two, then three, and in the end, a whole week goes by without Taehyung telling Jeongguk to leave. He’s a bit surprised by it, yes, but the truth is that living with Jeongguk isn’t _that_ bad… Not only does he come home to cooked meals, but he’s also offered to contribute to the rent and bills. And well, Jeongguk is fun to be around.

It’s funny to Taehyung how he can be so familiar with certain aspects of human life, but so unaware about others. Taehyung teaches him how to browse the internet, of which existence Jeongguk knew of, even if he had no idea of how to navigate it. He also teaches him how to turn the TV on, discovering Jeongguk has a soft spot for historical dramas that remind him of times he—claims that—he has lived through. He also seems to love bubblegum pop, and knows the lyrics to more 2000s American pop songs that Taehyung thought were possible for a demon.

Maybe at some point Taehyung stops feeling uncomfortable, letting himself relax around Jeongguk. Maybe he finds him endearing, along with his inability to navigate the real world. Taehyung is a little skeptical, yes, but he puts it aside. And once he forgets about all that, he finds out that he likes this—being with Jeongguk. And he likes it a lot.

✩

“Hey, Taehyung,” Jeongguk asks him one night, after they’ve both had dinner and tidied up the kitchen. “You never told me what your job was.”

Taehyung lets himself flop back on the couch when he hears that, raising one eyebrow as he twists his head around to look at Jeongguk. Jeongguk has been asking him a lot of stuff about, well, everything. The topic of Taehyung’s job was bound to come up at some point, and the truth is that he’s even surprised Jeongguk hasn’t asked until now.

“Why don’t you try to guess it?” Taehyung asks. “I picked you up right after coming out of work. Didn’t you see where we were?”

“The only thing I saw that night was the parking lot, literally,” Jeongguk replies, making Taehyung hum. “But I see you come back with wet hair every day. Do you shower after work?”

“Yeah, I do,” Taehyung replies, sitting cross-legged on the couch. Jeongguk, who takes the armrest, hums. “Make a guess.”

“You are… a pilates instructor at a gym,” Jeongguk replies, making Taehyung cackle loudly.

“Pilates? Really?” Taehyung asks, a smile still dancing on his mouth. He has trouble imagining himself doing pilates, let alone teaching it to other people. “You’re warm. Close, but not quite right.”

“Okay, okay, let me think,” Jeongguk replies, scratching his chin. “Is it at the gym?”

“Nope, not a gym.”

“But you are an instructor,” Jeongguk says, getting a nod from Taehyung. “Dance?”

“God, no. Not my forte,” Taehyung replies to him. “It’s easy, seriously.”

“Is it some kind of sport?” Jeongguk asks him.

Taehyung bites down on the corner of his bottom lip to contain a smile, at the same time he says, “Yes. Getting hot now.”

“A team sports?” Taehyung shakes his head, negatively. “How about… swimming?”

“Bingo,” Taehyung says, sitting up as he curls his hands around his ankles. “And, um… What did you say you do in Hell? Punish people?”

“Pretty much, yes,” Jeongguk tells him. “That’s what we all do down there but I don’t like it. I don’t like to make people feel pain. I don’t like to punish.”

Taehyung gives Jeongguk a little smile because he believes that. After getting to know Jeongguk a little, Taehyung finds it hard to believe that Jeongguk would get joy in making someone suffer. That’s probably why he left, Taehyung thinks. Not that he has asked yet, and he’s not sure if he will. It seems like a bit of a personal topic.

Instead, he tries to break the ice with a joke. “That makes it sound like you’re a professional dom,” Taehyung asks, making Jeongguk laugh.

Just as expected, Jeongguk laughs. That is the aspect of human life that Jeongguk is eerily familiar with: sex. After all, he has been living in Hell. Taehyung guesses a lot of sex talk, and maybe sex itself, happens in Hell. Especially the nasty kind.

“Shut up, holy shit,” Jeongguk tells him, shoving Taehyung on the shoulder. “You’re such a mess.”

Taehyung laughs, throwing his head back and feeling his eyes crinkle as bubbly laughter erupts from his chest. It’s hard to tell when all of this started, when Taehyung started to feel so at ease around Jeongguk. What he knows for sure is that he doesn’t want him to leave.

✩

That time at Taehyung's apartment was the first time that Jeongguk and Jimin saw each other, but it certainly wasn't the last. Agreeing to live with Taehyung indirectly implies agreeing to have Jimin over more often than not. Jimin dropped by a lot, and Taehyung was delighted to see his best friend fall for the peculiar little devil just like Taehyung himself had. There is something so stupidly charming about him, once you get over the fact that he's... well, a demon.

Seeing how well Jeongguk and Jimin got along, it was only a matter of time before Taehyung introduced him to the rest of his friends. He comes to an agreement both with his best friend and his new roommate to keep two things a secret: first of all, that Jeongguk is a demon; second of all, that Taehyung has been sharing his apartment with him.

“I just think it would be hard for anyone to understand why we're sharing a one bedroom apartment if they don't know about your inability to exist by yourself in the human world,” Taehyung says, trying to explain to Jeongguk the reasons why he thinks things would work better this way. “Just say you met me at my work.”

“And say what? That I'm one of the little kids you teach?” Jeongguk asks, clearly a bit skeptical.

“They're not gonna ask that much,” Taehyung replies. “And if they do, then just say you went swimming there. We only teach on a few of the lanes, so the rest of the pool is free for the public.”

“Your story has too many holes,” Jeongguk complains.

“Then you just improvise. Put your little demon head to good use.”

After that, Jeongguk doesn't argue anymore, and Taehyung finds a date that works with all of his friends as well as with Jeongguk and himself. Not that Jeongguk has any places to be, really; other than Taehyung and Jimin, Jeongguk doesn't really have any human friends. He sees Hoseok sometimes, but Taehyung is sure they can work around that.

And then, he has an idea.

“Why don't you invite Hoseok to come with us?” he suggests, guessing it might be easier for Jeongguk to feel welcome if there’s more people he knows. From what Taehyung has seen of Hoseok, he doesn't seem to have much of a problem with new people, quite the opposite.

“Hoseok?” Jimin asks then from where he's sitting. Both Taehyung and Jeongguk look at him when he says that, giving him a curious look. Jimin sits up a little straight. “How come?”

“Because he's Jeongguk's friend. Why else?” Taehyung says, at the same time his gaze shifts to Jeongguk again. “You can do that telepathic thing you do to get in contact with him, and—”

“Honestly, that won’t be necessary at all,” Jimin says, making both Taehyung and Jeongguk look at him with a confused expression. “We could just call him? I have his number.”

For a moment there, Taehyung is just about to be like _much better then. let's call him instead_, as he still feels rather weirded out by this whole communication thing Hoseok and Jeongguk do. But then he fully processes what Jimin had just said, the words really sinking in. _I have his number_.

“Wait, what?” he blurts out.

“His number?” Jeongguk asks. “How did you get his number?”

“Do you guys remember on the day I met Jeongguk, how Hoseok came to bring him money and we left at the same time?” Jimin asks them, both of them nodding at the same time. “Well, we were talking in the elevator and one thing led to another and we ended up grabbing a coffee.”

“Jimin...” Taehyung starts, but Jimin keeps talking.

“And then we exchanged numbers. And maybe we've been talking a bit over the past few weeks, meeting up occasionally, too. He's really nice to be around,” Jimin tells them, starting to babble a bit. Taehyung's eyebrows raise. “And we have a lot of stuff in common, and we both make each other laugh a lot. Point is—I have his number if you need to call. Since I guess that's less invasive.”

“Jimin,” Taehyung calls again, making Jimin hum. “Are you going out on dates with a _demon_?”

Jimin lets out a strangled noise, at the same time Jeongguk starts chuckling and claps his hands, seemingly amused by the situation. Taehyung's eyes are wide in disbelief, because despite leaving together, Taehyung didn't think Jimin and Hoseok would casually go get a drink right after. There is nothing wrong with it, of course. Taehyung was just taken by surprise.

“The word date might have been mentioned a couple of times,” Jimin confesses, making Jeongguk laugh once again as Taehyung's eyes widen even more. “But you have no right to be mad! I'm dating one, you're living with another. We're even.”

“He makes a good point,” Jeongguk says, looking at Taehyung then. Taehyung shushes him.

“I'm not mad!” Taehyung exclaims, gesturing with his hands. “Just surprised. Didn't take you for the type to be into demons, you know?”

“Takes one to know one, Taetae,” Jimin tells him, at the same time a devious grin appears on his lips. Taehyung feels his cheeks grow warmer at the comment for some inexplicable reason. _What_?

“What are you trying to imply?” Jeongguk asks them. Jimin's grin widens even more, and Taehyung throws a pillow at Jimin.

“That's not true,” he says, making his best friend laugh as he catches the pillow in his hand. “Just—shut up. And call Hoseok. Ask him if he's free on Saturday evening.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Jimin replies, getting his phone from his pocket and moving back to the kitchen area to talk.

Taehyung buries his face in his hands, feeling his cheeks still warm against the skin of his palms. Right next to him, Jeongguk is quiet, but Taehyung can feel his eyes on him, scrutinizing. Despite Jeongguk's question asking Jimin what he was trying to imply, Taehyung knows that Jeongguk is aware of the intention behind that one comment. And for that reason, that only makes the blush on Taehyung's cheeks get even worse.

✩

Saturday evening does find Hoseok and Jeongguk meeting up with some of Taehyung and Jimin's friends. Yoongi and Namjoon's interest seems to be piqued when Taehyung mentions introducing to them a new close friend of his, but what _really _does the trick for both of them is the moment where he mentions that the guy Jimin has been dating will be tagging along, too. Of course, they weren't going to say no, but it's that piece of information that turns their reply into an easy yes.

At first, Taehyung is a bit worried by the fact that Yoongi and Namjoon are both a bit shyer and more reserved than Taehyung and Jimin, something that has the potential to make Jeongguk feel awkward. Jimin shares the same concern, so in the end they decide to go to the one place where everyone's inhibitions disappear, making it possible for everyone to unleash themselves and have the best night ever, for all of them.

They, of course, are going to noraebang.

Which is how the six of them find themselves in a rented noraebang room in Hongdae, with a collection of empty bottles of soju on the table at the back of the room. Hoseok and Jeongguk are on the small step that serves as a stage now, mics in their hands as they do a very out-of-tune rendition of TWICE's _What Is Love? _Taehyung, who has his phone out as he records the two of them attempting to follow the choreography, can't keep the fond smile off his face. From the corner of his eye, Taehyung can see Jimin laughing with his whole body, rolling on the couch as his shoulders shake with each of his chuckles.

Hoseok and Jeongguk have big smiles plastered on their faces and their cheeks are rosy from the soju, and for that reason, Taehyung's chest feels warm. Just in the same way that he feels when he notices the grins on Yoongi's and Namjoon's faces, seemingly amused by the pair.

And Taehyung likes this. Taehyung, who has always been fiercely protective of his friends, shouldn't allow for two boys who claim to be demons to merge so easily into his friend group, to get so close to the people he loves. Hell, part of him still wants to believe Jeongguk and Hoseok have been lying to them all along, even if he has the fact that they can communicate from miles away without Jeongguk having a phone and the charms as proof.

Taehyung feels surprised by how _badly _he wanted tonight to go well, how much he wanted all of his friends to like Jeongguk as much as he does. Taehyung's lips part in realization then, when he finds himself dwelling on that thought. It's much easier to admit it now, with his brain a little fuzzy and tipsy with the alcohol, than it was the other day, when Jimin brought it up. Maybe Taehyung likes Jeongguk a little bit.

✩

“You know what?” Taehyung distractedly asks Jeongguk when they're getting back home later that night. Taehyung feels tipsy as hell, his perception of the world and his balance now a bit questionable, but he's not drunk. He's just at the point of tipsy where everything is funny, and he feels light and happy. Jeongguk is the same, and so the two of them stumble across the streets of Seoul, trying to get back to Taehyung's apartment.

“I don't know what,” Jeongguk replies, followed by a hiccup. Taehyung giggles, finding the sound the funniest sound in the world. “What?”

“For some reason, when you said you were a demon, I imagined you'd have more resistance to alcohol,” Taehyung confesses, teasing him. “But you don't. You're a lightweight.”

“Oi! You're no better,” Jeongguk accuses him, making Taehyung laugh again. Jeongguk has made a point, and there is nothing remotely funny about what he said, but it seems far more comedic in Taehyung's alcohol-induced haze, he swears. “If anything, you're worse.”

“But I’m just human,” Taehyung rebates. “While you're a demon—well, you _claim _to be one. Coming from hell and all that.”

“What do you mean claim, huh?” Jeongguk asks him then, stopping in his tracks. Taehyung keeps walking a few steps, but he stops when he feels Jeongguk's arm curl around his wrist. “Wait up. I'll prove it to you.”

“Prove it to me how?” Taehyung asks, starting to turn around.

“Wait! Stay there,” Jeongguk says, making Taehyung freeze. “I'm gonna show you my demon form.”

“Your... demon form,” Taehyung repeats, a bit skeptical.

“What are you sounding so disbelieving for? It's a thing,” Jeongguk protests from behind him. Taehyung clicks his tongue.

“Because that sounds like a pile of shit. No offense,” Taehyung replies, his tipsiness making him a bit more vocal about his lack of faith in... well, the fact that Jeongguk is a demon. He tries to play along for the most part, because right now he has no idea what to believe. It makes him feel like a fool to even consider the possibility, but he thinks he believes. _Thinks_. Until he realizes that, well, he's probably being a fool. It makes no sense, not even to himself.

“It's a pile of truth,” Jeongguk replies. Taehyung rolls his eyes. “How do you think Hoseok got to your apartment the first time so quickly? He came by flying.”

“That's not true. Plus, someone would have seen—” Taehyung starts, but Jeongguk cuts him off.

“Turn around,” he interrupts. Taehyung's mouth closes. “Look at me, Tae.”

And despite Taehyung being skeptical, he still feels his heart in his throat right then and there. He clenches his fists to his sides, takes a deep breath, and then starts to move. And even if he has lived with Jeongguk for a long time, and he supposedly has known about him being a demon for quite some time, nothing could have been enough of a warning for what he sees once he swirls around on his heels. Nothing could have made him ready for the sight.

It's Jeongguk—same Jeongguk, same black hair, same face, almost same everything. His shirt is off now, but that's not what Taehyung is paying attention to right now. Because behind Jeongguk, Taehyung sees wings. Literal _wings_. They're feathery, angel-like. The only difference with those is the color. Jeongguk's wings are tall, big and black. And Taehyung, for some reason, can't bring himself to tear his eyes away from them. He is entranced, eyes widening a little when the wings move behind Jeongguk's back.

“When I was in Hell I towered over humans,” Jeongguk laments. It gives Taehyung a certain feeling of deja-vu, since it's something Taehyung has heard him complain about before. The only difference now is that he has Jeongguk in said demon form before him, and he just... well, he's having trouble processing it. “But now I’m so much smaller. I’m the same height I am in the human form.”

“Oh, shit, Jeongguk,” Taehyung tells him then, taking a tentative step closer. He's starting to feel a bit dizzy now. “You have _horns_.”

There they are, now that he takes a closer look. They're black, which is why at first Taehyung didn't spot them in between the locks of Jeongguk's hair. He almost wants to reach out and touch, but maybe demons don't like it too much when people touch their horns. Taehyung isn't an expert on demon protocol yet; he's been a bit too busy trying to teach Jeongguk human protocol, first.

“And a tail,” Jeongguk tells him, his eyes glistening deviously. And that is not just a saying—his eyes literally glisten then, a red ring appearing around the irises. Taehyung felt dizzy already, but now he really does feel like the world is spinning too fast and he can't keep up with it.

“And a tail,” Taehyung repeats, his legs starting to fail him. “Oh, my God.”

“Well, not quite,” Jeongguk replies. It's then that Taehyung stumbles, losing control over his own legs as he falls to the ground. He closes his eyes, hears Jeongguk's alarmed voice call, “Taehyung?”

But Taehyung can't reply, of course not. He's so shocked—by all of this, by Jeongguk's demon form, by the fact that he was telling the truth all along—that he promptly passes out.

✩

Taehyung wakes up the following morning feeling like a train has run him over.

It's strange, Taehyung thinks, because he doesn't recall drinking that much last night. His head still hurts, and so he groans as he rubs his eyes and tries to pry them open. On top of that, he had the weirdest dream through the night, the most unbelievable one.

It was a soft knock on the door of his bedroom that woke him up, so Taehyung isn’t really shocked when he hears Jeongguk's sweet, honey voice call, “Good morning, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?”

“Like hell,” Taehyung replies, earning himself a laugh from Jeongguk. Hell, _haha_. He rolls to his side, eyes still closed as he buries his face in the pillow. His head hurts sharply then, and so Taehyung groans again. “My head hurts so much.”

“Well, I'm not shocked. You hit your head pretty hard,” Jeongguk tells him, then. “I brought you breakfast, by the way.”

It's the mention of breakfast that really, _really_ makes Taehyung sit up on the bed, facing the world and the dreaded sunlight. He takes a look at Jeongguk, who is wearing a white t-shirt and some basketball shorts Taehyung gave him for sleeping. In his hands there is a tray.

“What did you make?” Taehyung asks, sitting cross-legged as Jeongguk approaches more and leaves the tray on the bed. Orange juice for the two of them, croissants, some sliced fruit—Taehyung feels his mouth water at the sight. Oddly enough, despite the hangover making his head hurt, his stomach is fine. It's then that he recalls what Jeongguk just said. “I hit my head?”

“Oh, my—you don't remember?” Taehyung shakes his head, softly as to try to avoid the same sharp pain from before when he moved too fast. “You passed out last night in the middle of the street. I had to carry you back here.”

“Fuck, no. No, no, no, that's so embarrassing, fuck,” Taehyung says, feeling his cheeks get warm. Did he really pass out drunk on his first night out with Jeongguk? He _swears _he didn't drink that much last night. He only felt slightly buzzed, but now Jeongguk is telling him he passed out. And now that Jeongguk mentions it, he has no recollection of getting home. “I didn't mean to get that drunk. God, what's wrong with me?”

“You didn't pass out drunk. Do you seriously not remember?” Jeongguk asks, making Taehyung frown in confusion. “Do you not remember how I showed you my demon form?”

Taehyung's frown deepens for a moment, but then he remembers the dream from last night. Or well, what he had assumed was a dream. He remembers he and Jeongguk standing in the street, and then turning around and seeing Jeongguk with wings, horns, a tail, some red his eyes. It feels like a blur. The memory isn't too clear in his mind, but now that he thinks about it... now that he thinks about it, he remembers. He remembers teasing Jeongguk about being a lightweight, and he remembers Jeongguk trying to prove to him that he’s a demon by shifting to his demon form. Taehyung's eyes widen, the memories rushing back to his mind.

“What the—I dreamed that,” Taehyung blurts out then, more to convince himself than anything. Jeongguk shakes his head at him, negatively. Almost as if he was saying, _nope, you did not, it was very much real_. Taehyung's lips part, he says, “You're fucking with me.”

“You saw it yourself. Your memories aren't lying, Taehyung,” Jeongguk tells him, from where he's sitting on the bed next to him. “I can show you again if you want.”

“Show me,” Taehyung tells him then, not missing one beat. The memory is messy, but the image is clear in his mind, and fuck—he needs to see it for himself again. When his mind is not clouded by alcohol, when he can be sure that what he's seeing is not a product of his imagination. “I want to see.”

“Close your eyes,” Jeongguk tells him. Taehyung doesn't hesitate, blinking his eyes closed. He feels the bed shift as Jeongguk stands, then hears the rustling of clothes in front of him. It's only a few seconds later that Jeongguk tells him, “Now look at me again.”

He opens his eyes then, only to have the air knocked out of his lungs. If the memory of Jeongguk standing in a dark street last night was enough to leave him speechless, chest tight, then this... this is something else, completely.

The t-shirt that Jeongguk was wearing is now on top of the mattress, lying discarded after Jeongguk took it off, probably to make space for his wings. And the wings, good—they're majestic. They’re massive, but they also look... so elegant? Maybe it's the fact that they're the color of carbon, so, so dark. Taehyung's lips part in awe, watching the feathers and the delicacy of them. He flinches a little when they move behind Jeongguk's body, not expecting that.

“Can you turn around?” Taehyung asks then, his voice sounding small even to his own ears. He's just so in shock that he can't bring himself to properly speak up.

“Of course,” Jeongguk replies, his wings retracting so he can comfortably turn around without hitting any objects in the room. “Do you believe me now?”

“I do. I do, fuck,” Taehyung replies, watching the way in which the wings bury themselves in Jeongguk's body. They're just... a part of him. A part of his body. Seeing the way they expand again, the muscles on Jeongguk's back moving when he does so, is just reassurance in that. Taehyung's heart skips a beat. “Can I get closer? Can I touch?”

Jeongguk laughs at that, which makes Taehyung feel a little better about the question. For a second there, after asking it so shamelessly, Taehyung was worried that he was being too invasive, breaking boundaries that he didn't know about. But Jeongguk laughing makes him feel better, knowing that he took no offense to it.

“You can. But be careful, they're sensitive,” Jeongguk indicates. Carefully as to not knock the tray off, Taehyung gets off the bed and places himself behind Jeongguk. He looks at the wings dumbfounded, tentatively bringing his hand up and feeling the feathers under the tips of his fingers. “Do you like them?”

“This is... this is amazing, Jeongguk,” Taehyung replies, his fingers travelling to the junction of Jeongguk's wings and his back. Jeongguk jolts a little when he brushes his fingers on there, the skin there probably more sensitive. Jeongguk swallows down thickly. For some reason, he can't hold a fit of bubbly laughter then. “You weren't lying.”

“I wouldn't lie to you, silly,” Jeongguk tells him then, almost as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Taehyung laughs, again. “You're my human, after all.”

Taehyung's stomach twists pleasantly at the words. _His human_. Taehyung thinks he likes that—likes the thought of being Jeongguk's human. Likes the thought of being Jeongguk's anything.

“And you're my demon,” Taehyung replies, Jeongguk laughing at that. “I'm sorry I didn't believe you for so long...”

“I know it's hard to believe something like this. You never knew about this... well, about this other part of the world,” Jeongguk tells him. “I would like some compensation, though.”

It's the way in which he says that, so soft yet so playful, that makes Taehyung smile, even if Jeongguk can't see it. “And what would you like?” he asks.

“A hug,” Jeongguk tells him. “Can I get one?”

“Come on,” Taehyung says. “Get your hug.”

Jeongguk spins around on his heels then, retreating his wings once again. When he faces Taehyung, there’s a wide smile on his face, one that doesn't falter when Taehyung surges forward and pulls him in for a hug. He wraps his hands around Jeongguk's neck, feeling the wings under the tips of his fingers and on the insides of his wrist. It tickles.

“Am I forgiven?” he asks, at the time he feels Jeongguk's arms wrap tightly around his waist. Taehyung feels butterflies inside his tummy, his chest resting flush against Jeongguk's.

“Of course you are, my Tae,” Jeongguk tells him. “I was never mad in the first place.”

Taehyung doesn't reply at that—just sighs, and lets himself melt into Jeongguk's embrace.

_His Tae_. Taehyung really, really likes that.

✩

Taehyung thinks that Jeongguk has proven himself to be a very considerate roommate—friend? A very considerate _person_, if demons qualify as such. A couple of weeks back he started to cook dinner for Taehyung, first with Jimin and Hoseok's supervision, but now on his own. He takes care of the grocery shopping for the two of them, as well as other house chores while Taehyung is out at work. Taehyung insists that he doesn't have to, that he feels bad with Jeongguk taking care of so much stuff, but Jeongguk is firm.

“I want to help you out,” he had told Taehyung when he tried to convince him. “You're helping me by allowing me to stay here, and teaching me how to pass as a human. It's only fair I help you out, instead of lazing around when you're out at work.”

Jeongguk has also proven himself to be very stubborn, so Taehyung doesn't argue with him further. Some help is nice, he will admit. Especially because with two people sharing the apartment, the mess is double what it was before. It's nice to not have to do everything on his own.

The point is, Jeongguk is considerate. He does plenty for Taehyung, so much so that he feels taken care of. Usually it's just stuff like that—cooking for him, helping him out, maybe buying Taehyung's favorite desserts after asking Jimin for a list of them. Taehyung is starting to get a bit used to them, used to being spoiled like this, but he didn't see coming what Jeongguk would do next.

Taehyung leaves work particularly tired today. As he walks out of the building, he daydreams about getting home, having some dinner and curling up on the sofa while he and Jeongguk watch something. Jeongguk has turned out to be a big lover of Netflix and literally everything the streaming site has to offer no matter the genre. Taehyung has lost count of how many times the two of them have sat on the sofa, watching movies or episode after episode of some random show until they both were sleepy. That, or until Taehyung realized he had work the following day and therefore should probably go to sleep.

His daydreams see themselves interrupted when, as soon as he leaves the building, he spots a familiar face. He stops in his tracks, hand still holding the door open as he asks, “Jeongguk?”

Jeongguk looks up from the floor, a smile spreading across his face. “Hi!” he greets, Taehyung stepping away from the door to let his co-worker leave. After a low _see you tomorrow_, Taehyung diverts his attention back to Jeongguk. “I came to pick you up.”

“Wait—really?” Taehyung asks, his face lighting up. Jeongguk nods. “Did you seriously remember the way? You haven't been here ever since the first night.”

“Demons are good at orientation,” Jeongguk says, making Taehyung laugh. “I have a suggestion to make, although I'm not sure whether you’ll agree to it or not.”

“Well, lay it on me, then,” Taehyung tells him, intrigued by what it might be that Jeongguk has to propose to him. “What is it?”

“I'm gonna take you home,” Jeongguk tells him.

Taehyung frowns in confusion. He doesn't see how this is not something that he would agree to. “Okay...?” he says, half-expecting Jeongguk to say something else.

“By flying.”

Taehyung's lips part. Then they close. Then they open again. “Jeongguk, _what_?”

“It'll be fun, you'll see,” Jeongguk tells him. For some reason, the mention of flying alone is enough to make Taehyung's heartbeat speed up. “I have a feeling you'll like it.”

“Jeongguk, I—” Taehyung starts. Jeongguk raises an eyebrow at him. He doesn't get to say anything else, though. Because before he can open his mouth, he feels tugging on his sweatpants and hears a squeal.

Of course, because Taehyung's luck is like this, it’s precisely as he tries to tell his demon roommate that he can _not _take him home by flying when not only one, but two of the girls he teaches show up. Mina and Miyeon are twin sisters, and they have been in Taehyung's beginner group for the last couple of months. Taehyung turns around only to find the two girls looking at him with wide smiles and bright eyes, their hair wet from the shower they took after spending all day in the pool.

The girls are four-years-old, and are also at a stage where strangers don't seem all that intimidating to them, as they're both outgoing and quite extroverted. That must be what makes them twirl around Taehyung's legs, one of them fisting the fabric of Jeongguk's own sweatpants and giving them a tug.

“Hi!” she, Mina, calls. Taehyung gives Jeongguk a curious look, wanting to see his reaction to this: it's the first time Taehyung sees Jeongguk interact with a child.

“Uh, I—hello,” Jeongguk says, giving Taehyung a horrified look. Taehyung raises an eyebrow, teasing. “It's nice to meet you.”

The girl giggles at that, her sister Miyeon leaving Taehyung to cling to Jeongguk's other leg. Taehyung notices the girls' parents behind him, so he politely turns around to greet them before returning his attention back to Jeongguk. Jeongguk, who is still awkwardly looking down at the kids clinging to his legs.

“This is my friend Jeonggukie,” Taehyung announces, seeing the girls look up at him before their eyes go back to Jeongguk. “He's a bit shy but he's very happy to meet you two.”

Jeongguk gives Taehyung another look, and this one is clearly asking for help. Taehyung just smiles, because he never thought Jeongguk would be like this with kids, but he guesses it makes sense. There are probably not many kids around Hell, which is a big relief to Taehyung. Jeongguk swallows down, looking down at the twins and forcing a smile.

“Such a pleasure to meet girls as, uh, adorable as you two,” Jeongguk hesitates, stealing a glance at Taehyung as he says that. Taehyung nods, as to tell him that he's doing well enough, and so Jeongguk adds, “Taehyung's friends are my friends.”

It's then that the parents of the two girls call them back, the two of them letting go of Jeongguk's legs and obediently getting back to their parents. They apologize to both Taehyung and Jeongguk for the enthusiasm of the twins, but the two of them reassure them that it's okay, and that it’s no bother. Taehyung, who has been learning how to read Jeongguk, can tell that despite his awkwardness, the other wasn't uncomfortable.

Once the family of four starts walking away, Jeongguk turns around and looks at Taehyung with urgency. His eyes are dramatically wide as he says, “That was hard.”

Taehyung laughs, slightly amused. He starts to walk in the direction of the car, hoping Jeongguk has now forgotten the flying.

“It really isn't hard,” he tells Jeongguk, seeing the other frown from the corner of his eye. He doesn't stop walking, adding, “You're just not used to kids, are you?”

[olivers-cocoapuffs]

I've already done this once but everything deleted because my phone had to go and die

So upset

Anyway, happy second of October

If I go radio silent, you know why

In continuation from last night's question:

Would you rather be a witch, Zombie or some guy called Casper?

(Some specifics:

Witches are a dying breed. They have council that watches over all practitioners of magic, that means no dodgy spells, okay, Ollie? Also there is no Hogwarts. We are taking The Owl House approach that is calling everyone a Witch, regardless of gender. Brooms are not a thing, and, frankly, quite a hurtful stereotype. If you purchase a black cat you will be boo-ed out of town. Just warning you. The council will know every move you make. You cannot hide from them.

As a Zombie you will have an almost constant craving from brains, but well, duh. Apart from that, nothing really significant. Well, I guess that depends on what you consider significant. How about skin occasionally peeling off? How do you feel about that? Anyway, just go see your local dermatologist. That's my advice. No green skin, by the way. Whatever is peeling off it just your own skin colour (!) so that's a point in the Zombie favour. You do not have to sing and dance. I repeat, this is not a Disney channel movie.

And Casper is... Well, Casper.

He works for a mail company which is most certainly laundering money. Lives alone in a one bedroom apartment with his two goldfish, Ophelia and Juliet. He has a degree in English from a very, very prestigious university. Unfortunately, it look him no where. He engaged to a woman a long time ago but she... Well, she came out as a lesbian as he was down on one knee but that's not relevant ((I'm lying. Lesbians are always relevant.)). Casper has been involved in six cults to date, founded two ((Not on purpose. He's just that gullible)). He spends his spare time at the local library, reading to kids or with his only friend, Mrs Dawson, the 90 year old librarian. She thinks he's her late husband. Once upon a time, Casper dreamed of a nice, little picket-fence, suburban life. Two kids and a Volvo. Dreams don't come true. Oh and there was a ghost in his attic as a kid. She was his only friend. Her name was Beatrice.

Wow. I had fun with Casper.)

Have a wonderful day and don't end up like Casper

hey

I have a very short fuse and that would be my downfall. Especially considering how much you wrote

I thoyght i started school today but it’s a kings birthday so public holiday

a witch no question

(i can see that)

I will refrain from proposing to any lesbians. Sweet dreams

[just-some-sad-kiddo]

I had an anxiety attack last night, but I was able to work through it pretty quickly by just repeating to myself out loud that I was okay. I’ve been very depressed lately. Everything just feels so hopeless all the time. I wish I could just be happy like a normal person.

Anyways, I went to McDonalds and watched the new Owl House episode on my laptop before heading over to Ding Tea for the ttrpg. The game was really fun and it seemed like everyone enjoyed the puzzle that I made for them. 

[sepublic]

It’s obviously in Luz’s good nature to automatically feel happy for Vee first and foremost, upon seeing her do well in a social situation that Luz would be terrified in… But at the same time, you can’t tell me it didn’t hurt a lot to see a literal demon excel better at human stuff in the human world than Luz, an actual native human herself; It must’ve been a little bit humiliating. Luz is glad on Vee’s behalf, but also takes this purely as a bad reflection on Luz’s part, and Luz’s part alone. 

And it makes Luz wonder if she simply didn’t try hard enough back home, because if Vee can do it, why can’t she? And Luz just won’t register that Vee IS a different person with different needs because she places too much burden and expectation on herself to do well, to make up for the stress she causes others. When Luz tells Camila that her mother was never the problem, I wonder if Luz meant the issue was with the human world and/or herself.

Getting rejected by the Palismen definitely added to Luz wondering if it’s really just a lack of conviction on her part that’s the problem here; If only she’d had more conviction, more determination and effort, in going to camp! She’s basically victim-blaming herself at this point. And not getting chosen by Palismen would additionally hurt because Luz LOVES found family, so seeing no Palisman choose to be with her sucks; Even Boscha got a Palisman!

Luz loves Camila but of course her mom loves her back, she’s her mom. Whereas it continuously amazes Luz to see her found family keep choosing her at all to begin with. Conversely, Luz didn’t get chosen by a Palisman, and has to just make one from scratch, and I can see her wondering if her palisman will only like her out of obligation, because she gave it life; And if the reverse applies between Luz and Camila’s relationship.

Luz isn’t ALWAYS doubtful and insecure; A lot of her character IS bold and unapologetic for who she is. It’s just that after several years of loneliness, even that will begin to take its toll and make Luz doubt herself in the furthest recesses of her mind. Her natural self is unabashed, and it helps that the isles has been more receptive and positive to Luz than the human world… But when Luz is afraid of repeating the same mistakes and rejection in the Boiling Isles, she basically flashes back to her time in the human world, and then dread takes over as she doubts her ability to move on from the past, if she’s still the same, weird girl as always. Not only that, how can Luz fail at being Luz, while this stranger does a better job at being her?!

And Luz begins to ask herself, if maybe all these people back home really DID have a point; If there’s still a problem and the constant is Luz between both of these worlds, then maybe the issue really IS her. And something like that can’t help but make Luz question if she’s truly taken like a fish to water in the Boiling Isles either (especially with recent difficulties in mind), or if she really belongs nowhere… Or even if she belongs just as much in the isles as the human world, that leaving home wasn’t necessary and thus a mistake and that caused her mother unnecessary grief; Never mind that what’s done is done and Luz IS happy here, so this place is no mistake and still a home too.

(But Luz wonders if she still can’t find a place to fit in, not even after exploring another dimension; So maybe Belos can create a new world where freaks like herself and Philip can belong. If she can create a place where everyone belongs, is that so bad? It’s like a bigger Owl House! Or maybe these weirdos should just resign themselves to that in-between realm, which is the only place that can make room for them; Philip might’ve been trapped/banished there after all, it’s only a fitting and deserved fate for existing like they have! Separated from everyone else, only able to watch and dream but never truly participate nor belong. It’s like a bigger Conformatorium!)

[ameliora-j]

twin flame ii // gw x reader

words: 2k

warnings: angst. like a LOT. bestfriend breakup, mention of blood

a/n: this one is significantly shorter than the first,, sry besties :)

part one | part three | part four

your heart twisted itself in pained knots, increasing the pounding of your head tenfold. it had been this way for days now. christmas with the weasleys came and went and the tension between you and george was thick. you could barely even look at each other without passing hard glares. you had all planned to go to the field at the back of the burrow and play quidditch, and you were currently tasked with collecting george. you knocked gently on the twins’ door before opening it. “hi georgie,” you beamed.

“hello butterfly,” he spat the nickname bitterly and you were taken aback. you ignored the twinge of pain in your chest as you stepped further into the room.

“um… we’re all gonna go and play quidditch. if you wanna join,” you offered a smile. “i need my broom partner,” you had never learned how to fly a broom. you figured life should be lived on the ground, the way merlin intended it to be.

“no thanks,” he grumbled.

“c’mon georgie, we’re the dream team!” you persisted.

“why don’t you ask charlie to be apart of your dream team. seems he’s already replaced me with everything else in your life,” the last part was muffled, not intended for your ears, but you still heard it. you furrowed your brows slightly before answering.

“don’t be silly georgie, i can’t play quidditch without my partner. you can’t break up the dream team,” you pushed, ignoring your confusion.

“yn, i’d really rather not watch you eye-fuck my brother. go ask him to be on your team. or better yet, learn to fly a broom. it’s truly not that hard of a task, even a simpleton such as yourself should be able to catch on quickly,” he seethed.

your heart skipped a beat as it sunk to your stomach and tears pooled at your bottom lash line. you nodded once and pivoted on your heel to leave the room. you sniffled quietly as you closed the door to his room and went downstairs. “george?” fred asked as you came into view.

“he doesn’t wanna play,” you murmured half heartedly as you pushed passed the group of people to go outside. you released a sigh as you plunked yourself down onto the grass, lying back and throwing your arms over your eyes as you forced yourself to keep your tears at bay.

“hey, ynn, c’mon you can fly with me,” charlie offered with a smile as he held a strong arm out to you.

“nah, ‘s okay charlie. i’ll watch with fleur and hermione,” you murmured softly.

charlie’s brows furrowed slightly. you had never called him ‘charlie.’ it was always ‘char char.’ “you okay?” he asked and you simply nodded in response. he released a sigh as he jogged to the center of the field where his other siblings, and harry, were at.

“what happened mon amour?” fleur asked you softly.

“he called me stupid,” you sniffled. “said i replaced him with charlie but i didn’t,” you whimpered softly as you confided in the two girls sat on your sides. “he hates me. this was a stupid plan. ‘m just gonna go home,” you sobbed softly, causing fleur to pull your head to her lap as she trekked her fingers through your hair.

“i’m sorry, yn. i didn’t know he would react like this,” hermione spoke softly.

“not your fault, mione,” you murmured half heartedly as you stood and wiped your eyes. “‘m gonna go home,” you released a shaky breath as you pushed yourself to stand.

you dusted your bottom off as you walked back into the burrow. you waved your wand, packing your stuff neatly in your bag before you wrote a note, thanking molly and arthur and left it on the counter. you grabbed your bag and headed to the fireplace, throwing the floo powder and taking yourself to your childhood home.

“hey yn!” your older brother greeted. “thought you were spending break with the weasleys?” he asked, confused.

“yeah,” you murmured despondently as you walked up to your room.

“okay?” his brows furrowed slightly. when you got to your room, you took out a pair of sweatpants and a gryffindor sweatshirt that you stole from george’s wardrobe and forced yourself to shower.

the water was hot. boiling even. you should have flinched at the heat. screamed. cried. something. but you didn’t. you couldn’t. you were uncomfortably numb. so you just stood there, unmoving, staring at the shower wall as the scorching hot water fell over your body. your breaths came out irregularly as you stood there. your body was screaming for you to get out. to turn down the heat of the water. to do something to stop the pain of the burns. but your mind told you that you deserved this. you needed to feel something other than the pain twisting around in your chest.

by the time you stepped out, your skin was tinted with a slight pinkish color. you took a ragged breath in as you dried yourself off and pulled on the sweatpants and sweatshirt. you didn’t even bother brushing through your hair as you pulled up the hoodie and tied the strings tightly. you whimpered soft as your tears made a trail on the floor on your trek back to your room. you crawled out of your window and climbed up to the roof. you ended up falling asleep on your roof, exhausted from the weight of your tears.

~~

you spent the rest of your christmas break—and longer—at your own home. you didn’t return untill fred had owled you telling you had three more days of paid vacation for the year. you flooed to your shared apartment with the twins and changed into your uniform, brushing through the knots in your hair that had accumulated over the days you laid in bed, sulking. you walked down the stairs into the shop as you pulled your hair into a ponytail and took your post at the till. “sorry ‘m late,” you murmured to fred, who appeared to be filling in for you at the present moment.

“you okay, bunny?” fred asked as he slid over so you could take over. you could only manage a despondent hum as you began working.

“thank you for shopping with weasley’s wizard wheezes, were you able to find everything okay today?” you asked the young wizard at the counter with a smile that didn’t reach your eyes.

that’s basically how the rest of your day went. forcing your tears back everytime george had to speak to you and being only half present with the customers instead of your usual lively self. when the day had ended and george locked the doors, you walked into the twins’ office and handed fred an envelope. “what’s this, bunny?” he asked you.

“my two weeks,” you murmured softly.

“you’re quitting?” he asked with raised brows.

“yeah,” you murmured. “found a job uh… closer to home. my brothers will be by to collect my stuff tomorrow,” you told him. “‘m gonna go pack,” you didn’t let fred say more as you quickly turned on your heel and walked back up to the apartment. “sorry,” you murmured as you bumped into george on your way up. he only gave you a distracted grunt in response.

as you walked up the stairs, you heard the argument brew between fred and george on your behalf. “fix her!” fred demanded.

“i didn’t do anything!” george defended.

“you broke her,” fred pushed back.

“she’s fine,” you could practically hear george roll his eyes.

“she’s quitting.” fred deadpanned.

“what?” george asked, shock lacing his tone.

“and she’s moving back with her brothers. so go and fix her. make this right,” you decided to end your eavesdropping here and rushed upstairs and into george’s room, where all your things were kept. you knelt on the floor as you took out your suitcases. you were halfway done when you heard the door creak open.

“butterfly?” your heart twisted and tears stung the backs of your eyes at the nickname you hadn’t heard in over a week. “whatcha up to?” he asked.

“packing,” you murmured softly, but he heard. and boy did he miss your voice like hell.

“for what?” he asked curiously as he sat on his bed.

“‘m moving back home. got a new job,” never once did you look up from your task, for you knew if you did, you would break.

“where at, butterfly?” he knelt on the floor in front of you as he began to help you fold your clothes.

“some muggle bookstore. ‘s close to the house,” your murmurs could barely be heard over the loud thumping of both of your hearts. however, george picked up on every word. he grasped your hands in his, effectively stopping your progress. “george please,” you whispered.

“look at me, butterfly,” he demanded softly.

“george,” you repeated a little bit louder.

“look at me. and tell me this will make you happy. and i will let you walk out that door.” you didn’t. you couldn’t. you knew that this isn’t what you wanted as well as he did. “you can’t, right? because it won’t,” he pointed out.

“i can’t be here, george. i don’t want to be,” you told him, still refusing to meet his gaze.

“why? because of me? because i will leave. yn, if that’s what it takes to make you happy, then i will walk out of that door and go back to live with mum. you only ever have to see me in a professional setting. and i’ll communicate with you through fred at work,” he spoke seriously.

“i don’t want that, george. and neither do you,” you told him.

“i don’t, but if it makes you happy then that’s what you’ll get,” he told you.

“no george!” you shouted.

“then what do you want?!” he shouted back.

“you george!” you yelled, finally meeting his gaze. “i want you! i’ve only ever wanted you but you’re too fucking stupid to see what’s right in front of you! i mean merlin’s beard george i’ve been in bloody love with you since fifth fucking year but you’re never seen it!” you finally released all the emotions you’ve been holding in for years. “i just wanted you,” you whispered softly, your voice cracking as tears fell.

you pushed yourself to stand from the floor and waved your wand, packing the rest of your stuff as you grabbed your suitcase. “butterfly, i-“ you quickly cut him off.

“don’t, george.” there was acrimony written all over your tone. “i don’t want your pity.” you sniffled and hastily wiped your eyes. you passed fred on your way out.

“yn?” he asked softly.

“bye fred,” you murmured softly. “i changed my mind. my resignation is effective immediately. i won’t be in tomorrow.”

“yn wait,” fred called.

“please don’t,” you shook your head. “d-don’t try and get me to stay. please just… just leave me alone,” you sniffled.

“i’m sorry…” he spoke softly. you just shook your head and wiped your tears away as you flicked your wand to apparate back home. when you landed on the road a few miles away from your house, you let out a wail of agony. your arm had splinched during the apparition process. you took a deep breath and pushed yourself through it. you knew this was a bad idea. every wizarding book in history advised against it. even a muggle would know not to. but you pushed past the thoughts to apparate into your living room.

“yn!” your older brother shouted as he saw you, blood pouring from your splinched right arm. you were only able to take two steps before you fell to the floor of your living room. you let out a soft groan and a whine of agony before closing your eyes, letting the feelings consume you. the pain in your arm cancelled out the pain in your chest as you let darkness overcome you, falling into the void, listening to the frantic screaming voices of your siblings.

stupid feelings. stupid boys. stupid george weasley. stupid twin flame.

twin flame. it’s almost laughable now. what a lie.

tags: @i-love-scott-mccall @ellerosie2332 @rmvb24 @astralpcrker @daisybloommm @maybeisthemoon @moonliightbabes @stormi-ames @jochim322 @coninl @melonoptimist @lunajoyce3 @clairdemoony @mangoberry99 @imclueless @enya-2004 @prongsyy @lol-whoandwhat-is-dis @burnfleur @anything444ourmoony @horrorxweasley @alicecullens-gf @theincredibledeadlyviper @georgeweasleyshoe3697 @narwhalebaby

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add yourself to my taglist

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[theowlhousesucks]

Sorry The Owl House Fans; Lumity Doesn’t Work

Prior to August of 2020, The Owl House was a modestly successful show. However, after the airing of Enchanting Grom Fright, a much broader audience was attracted to it. Much of this could be attributed to the episode confirming that romantic feelings were held by Amity Blight towards Luz Noceda.

This is part of a broader push in recent years to represent LGBTQIA+ people and their relationships in media, which is a genuinely good thing. Unfortunately, in this case, it is done in a way that is incredibly disappointing.

For those unaware, this development comes after several episodes of Amity exhibiting horrific behavior towards Luz, up to and including trying to murder her. And yet, despite this, our POC protagonist is forced to forgive repeated instances of abuse by a white character and later even return her feelings. This is all in spite of the fact that Luz has absolutely no reason to forgive Amity for what she’s done, let alone like her.

For the sake of refreshing our memories, let’s look a history of some of the standout interactions the two have had prior to Enchanting Grom Fright.

1. Amity watched on with delight as Principal Bump was about to dissect Luz. Keep in mind that this is after it’s established that Amity realizes that Luz is not an abomination, meaning she’s perfectly happy with the thought of another person being killed just so she can be better than Willow.

2. Amity attempted to crush Luz under one of her abominations in a duel. This is especially horrific considering she goes out of her way to point out that Luz isn’t a witch. She specifically knows that Luz is incapable of defending herself, but attempts to violently attack her anyway.

3. Amity called Luz a bully. This is an admittedly minor offense compared to all the rest, but it stands out as remarkably hypocritical considering not only the previous two examples, but that Amity is established as having gone out of her way to torment and pick on Willow, even though that was never anything expected of her by her parents.

4. Luz witnessed Amity burning Willow’s unguarded memories, which Eda confirms can cause permanent mental damage to a person. And what reason did she have for this? Oh, of course! She wanted to satisfy her own ego and not let anyone know she used to be friends with the girl she has been bully and dehumanizing for years.

Sadly, things don’t improve from here. Season 2 opts to pick up on a trend where Luz must suffer in order to have some kind of romantic or tender moment with Amity. We’ve already established that the relationship is not one that Luz should have any interest in, but let’s take a look at what Dana Terrace apparently thinks are okay things to put a POC character through in order to enjoy any amount of kindness from her white romantic interest.

We’ve already covered the viciousness at the witches’ duel, but we also have;

1. Luz nearly being sewn into a book against her will.

2. Being attacked by a slitherbeast.

3. Being nearly killed without Boscha by a ball that explodes.

4. Being repeatedly attacked by the Blights’ abominations.

5. Went through a bunch of dangerous trials to get back Amity’s job, which Amity lost after she was the one to insist they keep going even when Luz said they should stop. (This is also the episode where they majorly overshadow Gus, but we’ll get to how the show loves to that to its POC characters later on.)

6. Isn’t even given the autonomy to admit her crush herself, but is instead humiliated after Hooty reveals it without her permission.

Luz deserves better than this repeated narrative of suffering for the comfort her white love interest. But it’s not getting better. Instead, we as the audience are forcefully subjected to this continued and contrived romance which represents a greater trend of relationships that marketed so heavily as being progressive even when they treat the POCs in that relationship so terribly! 

It’s concerning and weird, and I desperately hope that the show stops beating down Luz while going to such strenuous lengths to coddle Amity, who clearly does not deserve it. A lot of people will immediately come to her defense to try and proclaim that she’s never responsible for her own actions, but don’t worry, that conversation is coming later on.

For now, let’s just say it like it is; this relationship fucking sucks. I really hope it improves later one for the sake of the LGBTQ+ kids watching. But, with the low remaining episode count, I’m not getting my hopes us.

[just-jordie-things]

Star Shopping - Richie Tozier

word count: 8116 warnings: swearing, light sexual themes summary: she’s his and he’s hers.  it’s how it’s always been and it’s how it’ll always be. + based on this song

___

[ wait right here, i’ll be back in the morning // i know that i’m not that important to you but to me girl you’re so much more than gorgeous… so much more than perfect ]

“What if we’re together forever?”

She asked the sweet and impossible-to-answer question one night when they were twelve.  They’d spent all day at the quarry with their friends, building a dam, looking for fish and turtles, and convincing their friend Stanley to swim in the water.

(y/n) was sitting in the grass by the water, enjoying the sounds of the sloshing waves and owls hooting, because she liked things like that.  Richie was picking up rocks and flinging them out into the water, because he liked things like that.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” He asked, looking back at her and smiling a big smile.  

(He’d lost a tooth last week, which made his grin a million times more precious)

She decided she liked that answer, and got up to help Richie find more rocks to throw into the quarry.  She helped him lift up a rather large boulder, and awkwardly swing the rock into the water.  It didn’t go far, and a lot of water splashed back onto them both, but they laughed enough that it didn’t feel cold anymore.

They ended up staying so late that it didn’t matter what time they went home, their parents would be furious either way.  So they ran around catching fireflies for what felt like hours.  Cupping the insects in their hands and admiring it before watching it fly away.  Only to run after the next glowing creature they could see.

It was mostly (y/n), Richie didn’t care so much about catching bugs, but she just looked too damn happy every time she captured one between her hands.  Her face lit up more than the insect did, she’d squeal with glee and grin and bounce a little.  She’d watch as the bug crawled over her fingers with nothing short of wonder, and then when it’d fly away, she’d give him this huge smile.  Like she was happy to have experienced such a thing.

And then repeat.

The pair were almost out until the sun rose, but Richie had decided that they should get home.  She rode on the back of his bike, and luckily he’d offered to take her home so that she didn’t have to walk.

Her arms wrapped around her waist and she pressed her face in between his shoulder blades.  It was quiet for a while, but a nice quiet.  The kind of comfortable silence that can only linger between you if it’s two in the morning, and you’ve spent all day doing nothing and everything together.  And he hoped that he could do this all the time, every day.  (y/n) was his favorite person.

Of course they’re gonna be together forever.  Why wouldn’t they be?

When he dropped her off at home, she thanked him, gave him a big hug, and kissed his cheek.  And then she was tiptoe-running up to her door, and crossing her fingers that her parents were asleep and had no idea that she’d stayed out way past curfew.

Richie pressed his hand to his face the whole ride home, trying to savor the warmth that her lips had left on his skin.  He fell asleep that way as well.

But there was a certain degree of warmth that couldn’t be saved, and it wasn’t the temperature.  The instant that her lips had pulled away from his skin, a certain feeling in his stomach, it disappeared.

(They were butterflies, he just didn’t know it then)

___

[  right now i’m not really worth it if you give me time i can work on it… give me some time while i work on it ]

They’re fifteen when (y/n) shows up at Richie’s house in the middle of the night.

She’s wiped her tears away, and cleared her throat so that when she tells him she’s fine and just can’t sleep, he can’t tell she’s been crying.

He knows, though.

He knows because her cheeks are flushed, and maybe her eyes aren’t glossy anymore, but they’ve lost the spark in them that makes her seem so lively.  She looked at him dully, desperately.  And he knows she doesn’t want him to worry, otherwise she would’ve been honest.  But nonetheless his concern for her grows tenfold.

He lets her inside, and offers her something to drink.  She declines him, and he watches as she rings her hands together.  Her back is turned to him as she stands in his living room, and he’s certain that it’s because she’s still trying not to cry.  It’s awkward, but he gives her a few moments of peace to collect herself before he can’t take it anymore.

“(y/n)?” His voice is gentle, and somehow stern.  He wants her to be forward with him, he wants her to want to tell him what’s going on.  “What happened?”

She hums, before turning around with raised brows.  He gave her a bored glare, wondering how she had the nerve to pretend like she didn’t understand his question.

You know better than that, he thinks.  I know you better than that.

“(y/n)”

This time, when he says her name, it’s missing the softness.  Instead, it’s solid, and his eyes are locked on hers in an intense stare, and she knows that he’s not going to ignore the tension that she’d brought with her into his house.

“Aiden- he- uh…” She trailed off, and turned her head away so that she didn’t have to look at him.

Of course.  Of course this is about her sort of boyfriend, sort of friend-with-benefits.  This was the only thing she’d been talking about since he’d asked her out.  If you could call it that.  Richie didn’t think that Aiden Ligerheid saying ‘I’m not emotionally available, but if you want to hang out and fool around, I’d be down with that’ was much a romantic invitation.  

Then again, he hated the guy’s guts, so (y/n) told him he was just being biased.

“What’d he do?” Richie took a few strides towards her, bracing himself for the worst.

She looked up at him in surprise and horror, shaking her head.

“Oh my god, Richie, no,” She stammered out before he could get the wrong idea.  “He just- um… decided he doesn’t want to… be with me anymore”

Richie was silent for a beat while the gears in his brain turned, trying to figure out what the hell that meant.  Didn’t want to be with her anymore? Aiden was a bigger fuck up than he’d previously thought, because who in their right mind wouldn’t want to be with her? It didn’t make sense, and for a moment he thought she was lying, that something else had happened and she didn’t want to admit it.

But the look on her face told him that was it, that’s what happened.  Aiden broke it off with her, and she’d cried over it.  Richie couldn’t believe that she’d wasted tears over that motherfucker.  He didn’t deserve a single one of them, and she didn’t deserve to feel so terrible.

That’s what he should’ve told her.  He should have said I’m sorry, he should have said he’s a prick, don’t beat yourself up over a prick.  

But the words that came out of his mouth were:

“Was he really with you in the first place?”

He meant well, he really, really did.

(y/n’s) mouth dropped open a little bit, and he instantly knew he’d said the wrong thing.  His brain was screaming it at him right now.  Abort! Abort! Take it back! But he was just as frozen as she was.

And then her eyes were glossing over, and she was walking past him, right out of the house, so that he wouldn’t see her crying.  And it was too late.

By the time he’d moved his feet to call after her, she was rushing back home to cry by herself again.  Her heart was broken enough, she didn’t need Richie to continue to hurt her too.

Fuck, it killed him that he hurt her. ___

She forgave him over time.

Actually, it was two days later.  And there weren’t any words said.  It’s just when she sat with him at lunch again, and struck up a conversation about the essay they had to write for English Literature.  He was surprised, but didn’t want to fuck up again, so he pretended like nothing happened the other night and complained with her.

She picked at her food and barely made eye contact with him, but the few smiles she gave him were genuine.  So at least she wasn’t angry with him, as far as he could tell.

Bill told him that night that he was overthinking way too much, and that he should just pluck up the courage to tell her what he was really thinking.  Richie told him that was the problem, but Bill just rolled his eyes and dropped the subject, seemingly too annoyed to talk about it anymore.

It was a week before Richie got to hang out with (y/n) outside of school, but he couldn’t whine because he was too happy when she told him her night was free, and that she missed seeing him.  

(They used to hang out every day before Aiden was in the picture)

He joked about missing her too, and asked how much she missed his body which made her giggle and blush, like most of his comments always did.

They spent the night trying to bake cookies from scratch, and then going to the store to pick up cookies, and having a movie marathon on Richie’s sofa.  It was nice that Richie’s parents were never home, it gave them the privacy to do whatever they wanted.  And (y/n) loved laying across the beat up couch cushions, legs strewn over his lap while he talked through the whole movie.

(Richie couldn’t keep his mouth shut for more than three minutes, she’d timed him.  But she loved listening to his comments, whether they’re calling out the predictable scenes or making dumb jokes, she loved them.)

One or both of them would always fall asleep, and some time in the night Richie would get her a pillow and blanket before going to his own bed.

Tonight, when she woke up, he was still asleep in the most uncomfortable position she’d ever seen.  She mustered up the little energy she had to sit up and maneuver him to be laying on the cushions so his neck wouldn’t hurt tomorrow.

Richie woke up (kind of, anyways, he wasn’t all too aware of his surroundings) and made a hum of approval at his much more comfortable position.

And then she crawled into the small space between him and the back of the sofa, wrapped her arms around his waist to keep her close to him, and keep her warm through the night.

Neither of them said anything, but that was mostly just cause they were barely conscious.  However, Richie was conscious enough to tangle a hand in her hair and play with the soft strands.

(Sometimes his fingers would scratch against her scalp, she liked that) ___

[ cause we only have one conversation a week, that’s why your friends always hating on me // fuck ‘em though i did this all by myself, matter of fact i ain’t never ask no one for help // and that’s why i don’t pick up my phone when it rings ]

She’s seventeen when she wanders into the woods by herself.  She doesn’t have to go far, because the doorway into the hideout Ben had built a few years ago is close by, she just has to find it.

It had been days since she’d last seen Richie, and at this point, she knew he was avoiding her.  And normally, she wouldn’t be chasing him down in hopes of forcing him to tell her why he was doing it.  But the Losers told her he wasn’t talking to them either, so she knew there was a deeper issue.

She knew she’d found him before she’d even climbed down the ladder.

It smelled like pot, and the air was smoky as soon as she opened the hatch.

And Richie knew it was her who had opened the door before she’d come inside, but only because she was grumbling as she stepped down the ladder.

He chuckled when she slipped on the last rail, and stumbled on her feet for a minute before catching her balance.  She wasn’t as amused as he was.

Hands on her hips and scowl on her face, she walked up to where he was laying in the hammock and smoking a blunt, and took the poorly wrapped cig right out of his mouth.

“Where have you been?”

Her words sounded much more concerned than she’d intended.  She meant to sound hard, because she should be pissed that he’s been dodging her.  But she can’t.  She cares about him too much and is too relieved to have tracked him down.

His lips push out into a pout as his eyes linger on his half smoked blunt she’s holding.

(y/n) groans, and throws it down on the ground before theatrically stomping it out with her boot.  Eddie will yell at her about it later, but she doesn’t care about that right now.

“What’s going on with you?” She asks him.  “You’ve been ignoring all of us, and now you’re down here smoking by yourself?”

Richie closes his eyes, and pushes his glasses up on top of his head as he pinches the bridge of his nose.  She scoffs at the action, and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Richie,” His name comes out of her mouth in a snap, and unlike every other time, it’s not sarcastic.  “I’ve been worried”

“Well stop worrying then, you found me” He tells her with a forced smile and jazz hands.

He’s a bit buzzed from the few puffs of his blunt that he’d actually taken.

She’s silent for too long, and he’s itching to fill the empty space between them.  With words or actions, he doesn’t know.  But it’s too quiet and they’re too far apart and he can’t admit it but he’s hurting.

He reaches his arms out towards her and makes grabby hands.

The girl makes a sound of surprise, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh, and he bats his long eyelashes in a pleading fashion, and waits for her to give in.

When she drops her arms from where they’re wrapped around herself, and he grins victoriously as she steps closer, just close enough that he can grab her hips and pull her down onto the hammock.

It swings a lot from the sudden movement and weight, and they both freeze because they think this might be the time this old thing finally breaks.

But it doesn’t.  It stills, and then (y/n’s) just laying on her side, her front pressed against richie and their legs tangled awkwardly to keep their weight balanced in the center.  Richie’s lying on his back, one arm folded behind his head casually, the other wrapped around her back.

Her head’s lying on his shoulder and she’s peering up at him from under her lashes, and he can feel her soft and steady heartbeat against his chest.  It’s enough to fix him, he thinks.  This is enough to make him feel better, to forget everything that had happened, to push down the thoughts that he’d been horrified to admit were true…

She’s waiting, he realizes.  She’s staring at him and waiting for him to fess up.

The truth! His brain screams.

“What?” He plays stupid, but he must not have been good at it, because her lips pull into a small smirk, silently saying you know what.

She wiggles a little closer, and leans up so that she’s looking down at him.

“What’s going on, babe?” She hums, and the words are so soft, and the nickname is so sweet, that he’s about to explode, he’s sure of it.  He knows it.  If she calls him babe one more time like that, he will drop fucking dead, in the best of ways.

(He decides then that that’s the ideal way to go, with his heart in her hands and that sweet word rolling off her lips like honey.  He maybe fantasizes about this many times later on)

WIth a sigh, he concludes that he can’t lie to her.  Even if he wanted to, she knew him too damn well, and she would be able to tell.  Telling the truth doesn’t look too good, but what choice does he have? Besides, he has to get it off his chest at some point…

“(y/n/n)?” He whispers her name, and right away, she knows he’s scared.  Not, nervous, scared.  And Richie Tozier might be a rather anxious boy, but he doesn’t get scared that easily.

She takes his hand, clasping her palm against his and giving it a light squeeze, hoping it’ll reassure him.  I got you.

“You have to… promise me you won’t tell anyone, okay?” His words are slow, and his eyes are staring down at their hands.

She nods.

I promise.

“I… I’m…”

And he’s trying, and the words are right there in front of him but he can’t seem to find them, and his heart is beating so fast that she can feel it against her own, and she hears it in the empty space between his words.

He sucks in a sharp breath, and when he exhales it’s shaky and he’s so goddamn scared.

She squeezes his hand once more, and his eyes finally meet hers.

She’d never seen him look so nervous around her before.  

(Not even at homecoming last year when he’d asked her to dance (to a slow song!!))

“It’s okay,” She murmurs, and her free hand, the one that isn’t tightly wrapped in his, reaches up to his face.

She adjusts his glasses and messes with the dark curls that lay against his forehead until they’re placed away from his face so she can look at him, really look at him.

His heart has slowed down, and it’s gotten a bit quieter as well.

“Whatever it is,” She adds after a few beats, and after his breathing seems to have evened out.  “It’s okay”

He closes his eyes for a minute, wondering if it would be easier if he wasn’t looking at her.

He realizes that it’s her gaze that actually calms down, and his eyes open again, meeting her curiously concerned (y/e/c) ones.

“I’m bi”

It’s so short, the two little words, but it feels like it took him ages to get out.  He wonders if he spoke in slow motion, or if she’s even understood him because it’s quiet and all at once he’s terrified again.

“Bisexual” He says, like she needed the clarification.

What feels like another few years is really only a second.

She smiles at him sweetly, and presses her palm against his cheek before leaning down so she can kiss his cheek.

Her lips brush just under his glasses, and he can’t help but flutter his eyes shut for those few seconds that it lasts.  For those few seconds he’s in bliss, and hopes that he can remember every part of this moment so he can replay it in his mind whenever he wants.

“Thank you for telling me”

She doesn’t tell him that she knew (or thought she knew), because it didn’t matter.  This was his moment, just his.  All she does his pat his cheek with her hand and smile at him, so he knows that she’s okay with it, because she loves him beyond comprehension.  

He knows he’s safe and he’s loved, and fuck, the way she cares about him is something that consumes his every thought.

He wraps both of his arms around her, and hugs her tight.  She giggles a bit as her face is pushed into his chest, but the giggle dies to a hum of delight as her own arms curl at his sides and she lets her eyes close.

They were both so blissed out they didn’t even need his weed.

(They smoked the last blunt he had anyways though, but that’s not until after a short nap they accidentally took) ___

[ i think it’s funny she opens up to me get comfortable with me // once i got it coming // i love her, she love me ]

When he kisses her for the first time, they’re eighteen.

It had been a normal day, if not a little boring.  All they’d done is hang out at the quarry.  Doing all the same things they used to do as kids, like skipping stones and catching fireflies, with a few added elements.

(Like the booze Richie might have stolen from his parent’s liquor cabinet)

When it started to rain, they thought they could sit in the car and wait it out, because rain usually didn’t last long in Derry’s summers.

Twenty minutes later, Richie turned on the car to blast heat into it, because they were getting cold just sitting there.

“Should we leave?” (y/n) asked defeatedly.

Rain pelted the car in a harsh downpour.

“Uh…” Richie looked down at the half empty bottle of vodka, and that was enough for her to realize they weren’t driving anywhere anytime soon.

They laughed, because it was hilariously sad that they were stuck here.  If they drank any more, it would put off when they can drive home, and if they didn’t drink, they’d be bored and forced to sober up.

(y/n) snatched the bottle from him, and took a rather large swig.  Richie scoffed and exclaimed something along the lines of that’s to share! Which made her giggle and lick the remaining liquid off her lips.

“What, I’m not the one driving home” She told him with a playful (and tipsy) grin.

He can’t argue with that, so instead he turns on the radio and enjoys watching (y/n) try to drink more.

(She takes maybe half a shot before capping the bottle and stuffing it in her backpack)

She’s sitting sideways on her seat, legs criss crossed, and Richie’s sitting upright but his body is turned to face her.  One of his knees is pulled to his chest, his shoe planted on his seat.

She was laughing right now, loud and seemingly endless.  He’d made some crack about how it sucked that they couldn’t make out in the rain, in a very end-of-those-shitty-romcoms-you-like sort of way.

“They’re not - shitty!” She said defensively, but Richie rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “Okay, most of them are, but that’s not why I like them!” She was laughing so much she could barely get the words out, which only made Richie laugh with her.

And they sat there, laughing their asses off, and drowning out the sound of the pelting rain outside.

When their laughter finally begins to die, he’s just looking at her, a dumb smile on hier face that tells her he’s thinking, which can occasionally lead to something dangerous for him.

“What?” She asks him, leaning her head against the headrest of her seat.  “What?” She asks, this time more demanding so he’ll spill whatever it is he’s thinking about.

He still doesn’t say anything, but his eyes don’t look away from hers, and there’s a small smile on his lips that’s growing and suddenly there’s butterflies in her stomach and she can’t really explain why.  She’s convinced that she knows everything and nothing about this boy.

“What?” She asked a third time, this time in a murmur.

“I’m gonna miss ya when I go to California,” He told her.  “It’s just… gonna be hard,”

She felt herself soften at the words, and a smile pulled on her lips.  But that was normal.  Richie had a knack for accidentally saying the sweetest things she’s ever heard.

“Like, really fucking hard” He added, and a small laugh left her lips.

“Yeah, I know,” She hummed, and then reached forward to take his hand.  “But we’ll figure it out”

To be honest, she hadn’t thought of it.  At least, she tried not to think of it.  Richie left for California in a month, and that wasn’t nearly enough time to have left with him.  She’d hung out with him every day for the last week, in denial that there’s going to be a few months that she’ll have to go without seeing him.

Suddenly it felt like their was a weight on her shoulders, the pressure of having a good time with Richie while she still can had set in, and it was slowly killing her.

“We don’t have enough ti-”

“I know,” Richie cut her off before she could freak out too much, because he knew that she was starting to.  “But think about it, no amount of time would be enough”

Her heart melted.

“I guess,” She huffed.  “We did spend our whole lives together so far”

Richie chuckled and nodded.

“That’s true.  You’re lucky, in a month you won’t have to deal with me anymore” He joked.

She frowned, and her brows creased, and he knew that he’d said the wrong thing.  He gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand before letting go of it.

“Come on, you deserve the break,” He told her, hoping to make her laugh at least a little bit, but she still looked down.  “You’ll love it way more than-”

She cuts him off, shaking her head and telling him no, that she’ll hate it, and won’t know what to do without her best friend.

Richie cracks a few more jokes about how anyone would be lucky to get a break from him, and (y/n) tells him to stop talking like that, because it broke her heart to hear him say such awful things about himself.

(She was still a little tipsy, but her words were sweet nonetheless)

He smiled at her, leaning his head against the headrest as he admired how goddamn adorable she was.

“Do you remember Aiden Ligerheid?” RIchie asked.

The question confused her, because of course she remembered, that’s not why he was bringing it up.  But why Richie would mention that shit-for-brains guy right now, she didn’t understand.

She nodded.

“And you remember coming over after-”

“- he dumped me, yeah, thanks for that brutal reminder, Tozier.  What’s the point of this again?”

Richie leaned in a little closer, enough that he could hear her breath hitch in her throat.  Her eyes widened a little bit, and she froze up under his gaze and close proximity.

“Rich-?”

She barely gets the chance to ask him what he’s doing before he’s speaking, and she shuts up right away.

“That night I told you he wasn’t with you in the first place,” He reminded her

(Not that she needed reminding, she remembered it clearly, because it was the first time that Richie had actually hurt her.  And the cruel comment had made her feel ten times worse than she already did)

She’d known he hadn’t meant it that way, she knew that he had only spoken without thinking, and that he would never intentionally hurt her.  But she was already so embarrassed and down about her breakup with Aiden that she didn’t want to deal with it from Richie too.

“I didn’t mean it- well I did- but I didn’t mean it like that” He told her in a jumble of words.  His hands were moving too much, she noted.  He was nervous.

“I know” She answered gently.

Her brows furrowed while he tried to collect his thoughts and figure out what it is he was really trying to say to her.  She didn’t know where this was coming from, but it was clearly important to Richie, so she sat patiently and waited for him.

“I meant that he was awful, and that you didn’t deserve him, and he sure as fuck didn’t deserve you”

(Even with the three and a half minutes he’d taken to gather his thoughts, his words were still choppy, and unsure)

She nodded, because she knew.  She’d realized it the morning after she’d stormed out of his house.  What she had thought was a hurtful statement really was just Richie’s way of telling her he cares.  His language is just different from hers.  It didn’t take her long to crack the translation, though.

“Yeah, I know,” She said softly.  “It’s been three years, Rich, you’re not still hung up on that, are you?”

Now she was just worried that he’d spent the last three years overthinking and worrying over their little fight for nothing.  She’d forgiven him ages ago, and didn’t hold onto the past.  But had he? All this time?

“No- well, not really, it’s just that… I wished I’d come after you, is all,” He shrugs, and it feels like a weight on his chest is lifted, just a little bit, for finally speaking his mind.  “I shouldn’t have let you leave- holy shit that sounded terrifying-”

“It’s not terrifying,” She tells him with a giggle, and leans over the center console to grasp onto his arm.  “I shouldn’t have left, that’s on both of us, alright?” She speaks so sweetly he wonders if she ate cotton candy before he picked her up.  “But don’t worry about that anymore, it’s in the past, and I’m fine”

Richie doesn’t say anything, and his long moments of silence today are making her wonder what he’s really thinking.  He’s obviously holding something in, and all she can do is hope that he confides in her about it.

“Can I do it over again?”

He asks her quietly, so quiet she can’t quite hear him over the heavy rain, but she reads his lips and nods her head.  She doesn’t need him to, but she’s still unsure of what’s going on with him and he’s been having these weird moments for a while now, and maybe this will finally be the last one and he can feel like himself again.

(So she can feel like he’s himself again)

Richie nods his head back at her, and shuts his eyes before letting out a deep breath.  (y/n) prepares herself emotionally for whatever it is that’s about to happen.

When he opens his eyes, he speaks more clearly than he has all day.

“I’m sorry he hurt you,” He says.  “And I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to stop him, or to stop you from giving him that much power over you.  And in all honesty, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop you from going out with him in the first place.  He’s a douchebag, and a girl like you shouldn’t be with a douchebag,”

He keeps going, and even if she wants to speak, she can’t, because her throat is burning and closing and she knows that it’s because tears are springing in her eyes.

“And I’m not saying I’m much better, but I’m certainly not a douchebag, and I would never, ever, do anything that hurts you.  Not on purpose anyways, I know I slip up, but that’s- that’s not my point right now”

She blinks, hoping that it makes her eyes stop glossing over.

“And what’s your point?” She murmurs.  Her breath hitches in her throat again, and again, he notices.

“My point is that…”

He can’t remember his point, not when she’s looking at him like that, like he’d just reached up into the sky and given her a handful of stars, like he’d just hung the moon, or made the sun rise.

“It’s…” He trails off again, too lost in her round and sparkling eyes, mesmerized at how it almost looks like the colors of her irises are swirling.

(They look like a Van Gogh painting, he thinks, but he’s too lost in them to find his voice and tell her)

She smiles, because she knows what he’s thinking just from the look on his face.  And she realizes just how well she really knows him.  She can read him better than anyone, maybe even better than himself.

His hand slides up her arm, and then over her shoulder, resting against the side of her neck.  He was looking at her, but his eyes weren’t meeting hers.

“Richie?” She hummed, dying for him to say something, do something-

“It stopped raining” He murmured.

Okay, maybe not say that.

She realized now that he’d been staring at her lips this whole time.

A part of her wants to look outside, to see if it has stopped, but she was too worried of breaking up the moment she was in right now.

Her eyes wander downwards, but as soon as they land on his lips, he smirks a little bit, and she bashfully looks back up to his eyes.

When his hand travels from her neck to her cheek, she leans forward a bit in anticipation.  He smirks again, because he knows she wants to kiss him, and he knows she won’t be the one to make the first move.

And so he does.

In one swift move he leans in the rest of the way, and pulls her in closer so he can plant his lips on hers.

It’s exciting because it’s new, and (y/n) had never felt like she’d melted into a kiss before today.  And melt she did.  Her hands tangled in his hair while her lips moved in sync against his.  She had to admit, she’d thought about what it would be like to kiss Richie rather frequently, but no daydream could compare to this.

She’s not sure how long they sit there and kiss, and she’s not sure she wants to know because she doesn’t want it to stop.

Richie’s got his hands on her waist and his fingers are barely skimming under the material and leaving a chill on her skin.  When she shudders a bit, his hands slide under her shirt to grip her waist.

And then, all at once and out of nowhere, he’s pulling away.

Her eyes fluttered open to find him already looking at her.

Neither of them said anything, not that there was anything that needed to be said.  Richie smiled softly at her, before letting go of her hip so he could cup her face in his hand.  She couldn’t help but smile back as his thumb stroked over her cheekbone.

Her fingers are still playing with his curls, and his heart is still close to bursting out of his chest.

And fuck, suddenly a month seems like a few days, and she was right.  There wasn’t nearly enough time.

He kicked himself for not being forward about his feelings all this time.  He’d had years, and they felt wasted.

He thinks about telling her so, but before he can gather the courage (and his voice) to do so, she’s carefully taking his glasses in her fingers, and pulling them off his face.  Richie watches as she folds them and carefully places them in the cup holder so they won’t get smudged or damaged.  And then she’s cupping his face in her hands, and she’s kissing him again.

But this time it was different.

It wasn’t experimental, it was as if she’d been kissing him forever, and his lips remembered hers.  She was smiling against his mouth, and it was his new favorite feeling.  She was happy, he was making her happy.

(Of course, he’d been making her happy for the last twelve years, but this was much different)

His arms wrap around her waist, and tug her upwards a bit, prompting her to climb over the center console and plop onto his lap.  She concurs that making out with Richie in his car at the quarry is now her favorite thing, he favorite memory.

She jumped when she leaned back a little too far and hit the horn on the wheel.

Richie just laughed, because when she’d yelped and jumped, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and she had pressed herself completely against him out of shock.

When it wore off, she looked down at him with a playful glare, which he returned with a grin and a wink.

“Don’t even say-”

“Don’t even say what, babe?” He asks her with the slyest grin she’d ever seen on him.  But she had to admit, it was pretty damn cute.

Her arms snaked out from around his neck so she could splay her hands over Richie’s cheeks again.  She notices he’s squinting just a bit without his glasses on, and it makes her want to lean in closer to him so that he doesn’t have to narrow his eyes to see her.

She leans closer.

“What?” Richie asks, when he realizes that she wasn’t leaning in for a kiss, and she’s just smiling and looking at him.

(It’s adorable, but it confuses him)

“Now I’m not all blurry,” She tells him, her smile ever-so-present.  “Right?”

And fuck, he couldn’t say it, but he loves her.  He loves her so goddamn much in this moment that he can’t even speak.  He shakes his head and he’s grinning and he loves her he loves her he loves her.

“Right” He finally answers, and he cups her face in his large hands.

She beams, and then leans in the rest of the way to connect their lips again. ___

[ look at the sky tonight, all of those stars have a reason // a reason to shine, a reason like mine and i’m falling to pieces ]

She’s sitting on the railing of the kissing bridge, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the peacefulness.

Richie left a week ago, leaving (y/n) to have all of her nights free, only to waste them sitting here.  Sometimes she really hated sitting here.  

But most nights you’d find her here anyways.  Cigarette between her fingers and a more than disappointed look on her face.  More than once one of their friends would come down late at night in hopes of keeping her company.  But not even Beverly could comfort the girl.  She was lost, and she was stuck here.

It was nice tonight, which was unusual for Derry.  It was still August-hot, but there was a cool breeze in the air tonight that would occasionally make goosebumps rise on her skin.

Richie’s jacket was two sizes too big, and had slumped off her shoulders to hang at her elbows.  But now it was chilly enough that she pulled the material back up so that it covered her properly.  Tears sprung in her eyes as she wrapped it tightly across her chest, and buried her nose into the cotton.

(It still smelled like pot and mint and the body spray Richie used to wear to try to cover the smell of pot)

She stumped out her cigarette, even if she had only taken three puffs.  And then shut her eyes to try and force back the tears.

Saying goodbye to Richie at the airport was probably the hardest thing she’s ever done, and she didn’t even say a single important thing.  “Go fuck it up out there, California’s lucky to have you, babe.  See ya at Christmas” she wished she could retract every single one of those words.  Tell him she loves him, and beg him to stay.

But it would’ve been wrong to ask that of him, to make him give up his dream just for her.

That doesn’t mean that she didn’t regret saying something before he left, though.

“Alright kid, I’ll send you a postcard when I’m settled” Richie had told her.  And with a ruffle of her hair and a kiss on her cheek, he was walking off to airport security, leaving her standing in the corridor, and trapping her in Derry.

He didn’t know that by him leaving, she would be stuck here.  She didn’t see it coming either, but a week later it had dawned on her that there was nowhere else for her to go.  Nowhere to escape, or even travel to.

And she was flaking on her friends so much she soon wouldn’t have them anymore.  By the end of this week, she was pretty sure she’d only have Richie’s jacket and a pack of cigarettes she can never get herself to finish.

She pulled the pack out of her pocket, cupping the little red box that read Marlboro in her hands as if it were something more precious than it is.  After gazing at it for a few longing, heart broken moments, she chucked it onto the ground behind her.  

Fuck the ten dollars she spent on those cigarettes that she was never going to smoke.

“Well that’s a fucking waste” A voice snickered.

She almost fell off the bridge, and she would’ve had she not thrown her legs over and behind her so she could spin around and face Richie Tozier, who was standing right there in the middle of the bridge, looking like he was a figment of her imagination.

This is probably what led her to calling out his name softly, just to test if he was actually there.

“Richie?”

He grins, shrugging his shoulders and stuffing his hands into his pockets.  He starts to make a comment about how fucking chilly it got here and asking how she could just sit here in this weather, but she cuts him off with her own, much more pressing, question.

“What are you doing here?”

She’s murmuring, still worried that he isn’t even real, because there’s just no way he’s standing in front of her right now.  He’s supposed to be five thousand miles away, not five feet.

“Well, hopefully picking you up” He tells her, and she smiles at him, and hops off of the railing she’d been perched on.

“Okay,” She agrees without hesitation.  “Where are we going?”

He looks away for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face that baffled the girl.  She could always tell what he was thinking, what he was about to say.  But maybe the week they’d spent apart had put a damper on her powers, because she couldn’t figure him out in this moment.

A crease settles between her brows, and she cocks her head to the side a bit.  It’s not the first time that Richie’s baffled her, but it sure seems important this time around.  Especially since he’s not supposed to be here.

“I was thinking… um… Los Angeles?”

Her jaw drops open, but no sound comes out.  She’s staring at him, wide eyed, blank minded.  She knew there should have been a million things running through her head, but it was like all her trains of thought had derailed and crashed into one another, causing her brain to just turn to static.

She must have been silent for too long, because Richie leaned his head forward a bt, expectantly.

“Well?” He asked, his nerves seeping into his voice.

(He thought she’d either straight up reject him, or jump into his arms out of excitement.  So far she’d done neither and it was starting to make him anxious)

“Okay” She whispers at first, soft, and a bit unsure.

“Okay?” He repeats, and she nods, a smile slowly forming on her lips the more she thinks it over.  

She nods a bit faster, repeating the word over and over until he embraces her in his arms and picks her up off the ground to hold her even closer and tighter.

“Okayokayokayokayokay” She’s mumbling hastily against his chest, as though to convince him she was absolutely certain.

“Alright, I get it,” Richie laughs, and sets her dow, but he keeps his hands on her shoulders.  “You really want to come back with me?” He asks, and she nods her head and rocks on her feet excitedly.

“Absolutely” She says.

His grin is larger than life, and his hands cup her face.

He’s about to ask her something, or maybe say something inappropriate, but she doesn’t care.  She leans up and places her lips against his.

(In all honesty, she couldn’t wait any longer)

When she leaned back down to stand flat on her feet, he followed her so he didn’t have to disconnect their lips.  Her mouth curved into a smile against his, and it wasn’t until he felt something wet against his cheeks that he parted from her.

She was crying.

Richie’s brows furrowed, because she was smiling, but there were tears streaming down her face, seemingly nonstop.  

“Damn, am I that bad of a kisser?” He asked, knowing full well that that’s not why she was crying.

(y/n) let out a choked laugh, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around his neck.  She sniffles while Richie tries to wipe away her tears with the pads of his thumbs, and his eyes don’t stray away from hers.

“I love you” She said softly, and her voice cracked from the tears.

Richie grinned, and pecked her lips before finally releasing her face.

“I love you too, sweets,” He said, and her heart melted into chocolate at how gentle and affection he sounded.  “Not gonna leave you behind okay?” He asks, pressing his nose into her temple as he holds her in his arms.  “Forever, from here on out?”

She nods, and hugs him back tighter.

“Forever, from here on out” She repeats.

They stand there like that for a few moments, enjoying the peace between them.  One week had felt so much longer.  She squeezed him tighter.

“We fly back tomorrow” He says, and she practically springs out of his arms.

“Tomorrow?” She screeches.  “Richie Tozier you’ve given me less than a day to pack- and- and to tell my parents that I’m moving across the country and say goodbye to our friends?”

He’s laughing, even though she’s losing her mind.

“We have to go! We need to go right now!” She shouts at him, and grabs his hand to pull him along towards her house.  “You know we’re gonna lie right?” She asks.  “We’re gonna tell them that I’m going to school there”

“And you won’t be?”

“I don’t fucking know Richie, and I don’t have the time to figure that out right now!”

He’s still laughing, and she should probably be upset with him, but she just can’t be.  Her adrenaline is pumping too fast and she’s far too excited to really care that Richie only gave her like twelve hours to jump into the biggest decision of her life.

(The easiest decision of her life)

He interlaces their fingers and convinces her to stop for a minute, because he forgot something and wants to go back.

“Richie if you pick up those cigarettes I swear to god-”

But he doesn’t pick up the Marlboros.  Instead he pulls out a pocket knife, crouches down to an empty space on the carved up wood.

For as long as she’d lived in Derry, (which was her whole life) the Kissing Bridge had been a place where couples go to carve their initials into, and the action was often followed by a kiss, at least, those were the rumors (y/n) had heard growing up.

Seeing Richie carving their initials into the wood was something she’d never expected from him, he wasn’t exactly the cheesy romantic type, but it made her heart thump thump thumpthumpthumpthump in her chest.

He turned to her after he dusted off the wood shavings, presenting his work to her with a proud smile.

She walked over to him, crouched down to meet his level, and kissed his cheek.

“You’re a dork, babe,” She says with the prettiest, and his new favorite, smile.  “Come on, let’s go”

He kisses her cheek back, and then pecks her lips just cause he feels like it, and then with one last swift kiss to her nose, he stands and takes her hand to pull her with him this time as they head off to her house.

(She’s not running this time.  Instead, she just takes her time and walks alongside him)

She rests her head against his arm and she just can’t wipe the smile off her face.  Her parents are sure to disown her when she tells them she’s leaving tomorrow, but she simply couldn’t be bothered.

This was everything she’d ever wanted, I was just too bad that it took so long for her to figure out.

[ look at the sky tonight, all of those stars have a reason ]

___

taglist: @thegr8kush​

xoxo ~ jordie

[superhero--imagines]

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here! / Part 13 Here! / Part 14 Here! / Part 15 Here! / Part 16 Here! / Part 17 Here! / < This is Part 18!>

Donate to Move to Higher Ground HERE!

* Your eyes open, and your hand flies to your throat 

* You’re thirsty

* You sigh as you sit up in your bed a little annoyed, you were having such a good dream too

* Only when you look to your night stand to grab your blood bottle, past it you see Edward sitting in your desk chair 

* “What are you doing?” Your voice is gravely, and you don’t wait for a response before uncapping your bottle and taking a sip

* Edward fidgets, his hands tugging with the sleeves of his shirt 

* “I like watching you sleep” he admits with a shrug and a boyish quirk of the lips. 

* Of course the dork likes watching you pretend to sleep

* Somethings haven’t changed from the books at least

* Maybe he’s part owl or something

* “Ugh, it’s already Sunday where does the weekend go?” You mumble, it’s around 3 am right now

* To be fair you know  half your Saturday went in self loathing in a tree, and the other half spent with your entire coven congratulating you and Edward on your new relationship

* “I call (Y/N) as my sibling the next time we move!” Emmett grins

* “That’s not fair, I was going to make them my sibling.” Jasper pouts

* “You already have Rosalie don’t get greedy”

* And then they all basically tried to plan out your wedding. 

* So the pressure is on

* At least you still have all Sunday before you have to face everyone at school though. You haven’t even tried to look at your phone 

* “Edward,” he perks up at the sound of your voice “were they really thinking vile thoughts about me?”

* His eyebrows thread together, head tilting to the side

* “Mike and Conner, you said they were thinking vile thoughts when you...came to get me.”

* It’s been bothering you for some time, Conner you can understand, but Mike? 

* You feel....betrayed 

* Edward averts his eyes, you’re half hoping he was lying to you and that he was just upset you were kissing other people

* “Were they thinking of r*ping me?” The second the words fall out of your lips he scampers closer, the chair screeching behind him.

* “No! No of course not-at least I don’t think so-“ His hand cups your face, the other cards through your hair. He sits on the edge of your bed carefully

* “They were thinking of taking you...” 

* oh well that’s no so bad.

* “At the same time”

* So that’s a little worse

* “So they were thinking about a threesome?” Edward winces at the word but nods

* You let out a sigh of relief, a threesome is still kinda sketchy but that’s just normal teenage boy brain for you 

* “At the time I didn’t appreciate their...vivid thoughts but” he looks into your eyes, like two pools of gold. “Maybe you wanted that.” 

*  He had acted instinctively upon seeing their thoughts, but in reality he wasn’t much better

* He had imagined that same needy expression on your face dozens of times 

* Maybe... you might have enjoyed an experience like that. After all two lovers are better than one

* He’s stuck in his own self loathing until he hears you laugh. 

* You’re actually laughing at him!

* He’s worried that you missed out on a vital human experience and you’re laughing!

* The nerve

* And yet, he feels his heart flutters when he see’s you smile at him

* “No, I’m good.” You laugh, and he feels himself let out a sigh of relief.

* “What about Jessica? Does she hate me now” Edward shakes his head

* “I think she might have a bit of a crush on you now.” He grins at your confused expression

* Well that’s unexpected

* You know you can’t really sleep but you feel exhausted, completely emotionally drained

* You snuggle back into the covers  And pat the space on the bed beside you

* “Sleep with me?” 

* Your face feels uncomfortably hot when you realize what you just said. “I just meant like-dream with me-not um no-“

* “I know what you meant” Edward says with a small smile

* He lies down on the other end of the bed, at least five feet away from you

* “You can come closer, you’re my boyfriend now, boyfriend privileges”

* Boyfriend 

* He’s always thought the word was garish. 

* A boy who was your special friend, how idiotic. But hearing the word tumble from your lips makes him unbelievably  happy 

* “What are boyfriend privileges?” He repeats carefully. Shifting so he is lying beside you

* “Normal couple stuff I guess, kissing, hugging, public affection-“ 

* and sex stuff

* “So I get to be as greedy with you as I want?” 

* You feel your face grow warm at the thought of Edward being as greedy with your body as he wants

* The way his hands would feel as they ghost over your body, his sweet rosemary and argon scent filling the air

* You can’t manage to get out words so you just nod, and he grins

* “Let’s go out tomorrow” 

* To like a hotel or?

* “We can go to the aquarium in Seattle, I think it’s supposed to rain so something indoors would be good.”

* Oh like greedy with your time

* That seems more on brand for Edward tbh 

* “The aquarium sounds nice”

* You curl into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply. He feels warm, not as warm as a human, but soothing in its own right. A gentle warmth, like the warmth from a candle

* You feel so safe here with him. You feel yourself drift off into sleep, and Edward’s arms tentatively wrap around you

* Your weight is pressed against him, and he can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have you pressed against him even more

* Your hands clawing at his chest as you plead

* “Great now I’m the one having vile thoughts” he murmurs to himself 

* You both sneak out early in the morning, while all your other coven members are still preoccupied 

* “Grab a couple blood bags and I’ll get some tumblrs” you nod, shoving it all quickly in his nike backpack, and you both practically jog to your jeep.

* The drive feels a lot shorter than you remember, it’s only 10 when you get there. 

* You sigh as you get out, you’re wearing faded blue jeans and a black coat that cinches at the waist

* Edward is dressed in a similar fashion, faded blue jeans, white shirt and a leather jacket

* Both of you wearing sunglasses 

* You don’t miss the looks you get as you walk across the parking lot. You already get a lot of attention as is  with the hot pink Barbie jeep

* But you and Edward together look like something straight out of a magazine catalog 

* “Did you already buy tickets?” You ask, your arm linking through his. 

* “Yeah, we just have to pick them up at the box” 

* It’s actually pretty busy, it is a weekend day though so it’s to be expected 

* “(Y/N)?” You turn to the voice and feel like the wind got knocked out of you

* “Jessica, Bella...” and there’s someone else with them, brown skin and long dark hair.

* Well he’s kinda hot, for a human that is

* “What are you doing here?” 

* They’re like the weirdest group for a Sunday hang out

* “My Dad had some tickets, he was going to come with my mom but I guess they got in a fight or something.” 

* You get the feeling that there’s more to it than that, but you’re just happy she’s talking to you after you kissed her without consent 

* “Oh um , this is Jacob we’ve been friends since we were kids.” 

* So this is Jacob, he looks older for his age.

* “Hey Jacob nice to meet you, I’m (Y/N)” you extend your hand and you see him stiffen for a second

* Yeah that sounds about right. All humans get afraid when they first me et you, you are technically their natural predator after all. He seems to get over it and grasps your hand

* “Hey, nice to meet you” 

* “Do you go to school with us?” 

*You know he doesn’t, but you’ve found it best to pretend in this situation. 

* You glance at Edward who hiding a twitching smile, looks like he heard something interesting

* “No I go to school on the res, I’m a sophomore.” 

* Oh a sophomore, younger man is more her speed huh? And they’ve been friends for years, he’s to her what Edward is to you

* You ship it

* “Do you guys want to join us?” 

* You can feel Edward’s eyes piercing you in the back. Yeah you know this is a date, and he probably wants some quality time with you or whatever-

* But it’s not like you’re f*cking after or anything

* And honestly you kinda wanna see how this whole Bella-Jacob ship plays out 

* “Well I don’t-“ Bella starts

* “We’d love to!” Jessica interrupts, and then taking a nervous glance at Edward she adds:

* “That is if you don’t mind?”

* Queue everyone looking at Edward. He looks at you, a small pout bowing onto your lips and let’s out a deep sigh

* “No of course not, I’ll get the tickets and meet you at the gate.” He says with a resigned smile

* He leans down, catching your lips in his. You know you don’t have a beating heart, but you feel it stutter when he pulls away and smiles at you

* “See you in a bit daring” and then he walks towards the empty “reserved pass” line

* Darling?

* DARLING???

* (Y/N).Exe is broken

* And you would stay broken if Jessica and Bella didn’t each grab a shoulder and shake you.

* “Oh my god what was that?!?!” Jessica shrieks

* “Are you guys like...dating now?” Bella grins

* “Yeah, I guess we are?” The human part of you understands that you’ve just agreed you feel the same, and that you have just started a relationship

* But the vampire part of you, the primal part, knows it’s so much more than that

* He’s your mate

* And saving any major changes, he is yours for as long the universe will permit 

* “Wait are you guys on a date right now?” Jessica asks, and it pulls you right out of your thoughts

* She’s worried she’s intruding

* “No-I mean maybe? Honestly we both just wanted an excuse to get out of the house.” You sigh

* “Are the rest of the Cullen’s not taking it well?” 

* You do live together, and you’re at that age. Sure Emmett and Rosalie and together, but that seems to be under more transparent circumstances 

* So imagine her surprise when you card your fingers through your hair

* “No they’re taking it too well!” 

* Last night you basically rotated between coven members as they all told you how happy they were you were with Edward now

* “Honestly I thought the nerd would never find the nerve” Emmett confided in you

* “Eleazer you’ll never guess what happened....we’re going to be brothers!” You had heard Carlisle tell Eleazer over the phone before breaking down into tears

* “Carlisle stop crying, the venom is going to make a hole in the floor.” Esme shouted before turning her attention back to you

* “So what colors do you like (Y/N)? I’m partial to gold and white myself-“ she said pointing the color combination examples in her wedding book 

* They were driving you crazy.

* “Carlisle keeps rotating between smiling and crying because ‘two kids are leaving the house’ and Tanya called to give me the most smug speech about it- I just need a break.”

* You sigh

* “Wait-did all of this happen after the party?” Bella asks with a smile creeping onto her face

* Before you can answer though, you see Edward walking towards you

* “We’ll talk about this later” Jessica whispers, not that it matters, going on the smirk on Edward’s lips he already heard everything

* “So Tanya called you huh?” He whispers in your ear when the others move ahead

* His breath fanning against your ear causes your stomach to flip. You’ve been around him so long, you almost started to forget how hot he was.

* “Yeah, she’s basically hoping I crush your heart so she can get revenge.”

* You’re mostly joking, but given past history, you know she wouldn’t mind if that’s how things turned out anyway

* “That’s fair.” He looks almost sad. What the hell happened between them to make him like this?

* You want to ask, but you feel like now isn’t the best time. Not when Jessica and Bella are a mere five feet away arguing about whether to see the jellyfish or penguins first

* So you do the only thing you can: You reach out and hold his hand, squeezing it slightly. Edward doesn’t say anything, he just squeezes back

* It’s a pretty nice day, Bella’s dad bought her a digital camera so you take a bunch of cheesy pictures around the aquarium

* “Oh try to get one like a shark is eating us! Like I’m in Jaws!”

* “You know they’re an endangered species and that stupid movie doesn’t help right?” 

* “There is no ethical consumption under capitalism Bella”

* Edward just makes a pained expression as he holds up the camera. All he wanted to do was go on a date with his significant other

* “Girls am I right?” Jacob asks, extending his bag of popcorn

* For a second you think Edward might hate him, but instead a smile arch’s onto his face

* “You have no idea.” He smiles, taking a few kernels.

* Aw, it’s Edward’s first human friend 💖

* You kinda wish you were the one with a camera now, or at least a smart phone

* Instead you settle for a grainy picture on your flip phone. They both look at you like confused puppy's when the shutter clicks 

* “Aw that’s a cute one” Jessica coo’s

* “You even got a shark in the back” Bella says pointing to a blurry gray blob in the background

* It’s a good day 

* You’re almost sad when you have to part at the end 

* “You sure you guys don’t want to come with us? Jessica’s dad is letting us have his reservation at the revolving restaurant in the space needle”

* You and Edward exchange a look

* “Nah it’s fine, I’m pretty sure Esme is wondering when we’re coming home” 

* “She’ll be pissed if we eat there without here.” You add for good measure 

* “Well alright we’ll see you at school tomorrow” Jessica says with a wave, and you smile

* “See you tomorrow”

* Looks like things are back to normal

* Edward drives on the way back

* You hold the plush sea turtle close to your chest as you watch him

* He really is handsome, chiseled cheekbones and full rosy lips. To add he has that mane of auburn hair, and that irresistible splatter of freckles across his nose 

* The prettiest boy you’ve ever seen

* “I can feel you staring” he says with a smile twitching onto his lips. Oh god you want to kiss that stupid smile right off his mouth

* “What went wrong with you and Tanya?”

* Way to kill the vibe

* “I’m sure Tanya told you all about it.” He shrugs. There’s that sad look again

* “I want to hear about it from you though” 

* And Edward might have denied you if your hand hadn’t found his, resting on top of it 

* He grins

* You don’t play fair, do you?

* He sighs, squeezing your hand while keeping his eyes on the road

* “I just...didn’t like the way she thought about me”

* “Like you were a piece of meat?” 

* He laughs

* “Like I was some charity case besides-“ he stops abruptly, looking at you before swallowing hard. “Never mind”

* “No tell me!” You lean forward cradling your hand intertwined with his against your chest and he chuckles, you really don’t play fair

* “ I didn’t-I don’t feel attraction to people unless-“

* He looks into your eyes, and you feel his fingers squirm against yours 

* “Unless we’re friends first” 

* Oh, he’s asexual. 

*Or  demisexual. 

* Somewhere on the spectrum for sure

* Is he coming out to you right now? 

* You give his hand a squeeze 

* “I get that.”

* You want to smack yourself. 

* The boy you love just came out to you about his sexuality and all you can say is ‘I get that’ 

* You feel so useless

* But Edward doesn’t let you feel useless for too long, he squeezes back looking at you with such warm eyes

* And again you can’t help but think that even though his heart doesn’t beat anymore, he looks so human

* He’s just pulled into the driveway at the house, the car parked. He’s about to say something when you cut him off, tugging him closer to you and placing your lips on his

* If he’s surprised he doesn’t show it, placing his free hand on your shoulder and leaning a bit closer to you 

* He’s so careful and gentle...and dazzling 

* He’s barely touching you but you can feel yourself seeing stars

* That thing he does with his tongue-it’s indescribable 

* Are you sure he’s a virgin?!?

* You can’t help the sigh that passes your lips when he pulls away. You’re still in a daze when he pulls you into his lap, one leg straddled on each side 

* His head is tilted back, an easy smile on his mouth. 

* You suddenly feel shy, that look in his eyes should be illegal 

* “So-“ you lean back a bit “do you-um-do you have feelings like that for me?”

* He tilts his head to the side in confusion and you gulp

* “Y’know sexually speaking” 

* He actually laughs at you

* Right there, when you’re only a handful of inches away from his face

* But you’re not annoyed, instead all you can feel is a rush of affection

* His eyes crinkle at the ends, his pearly white fangs sparkling as he grins. Your hands cup his face as he looks up at you with adoration 

* You can imagine the rosy blush that would light his face so clearly, the deep emerald green of his eyes. You’re almost starving for the image you see in your mind to be real

* He pulls you out of the image with a simple touch. His arms wrapping around your waist to pull you closer

* “I - like the rest of the entire student population at Forks High School- find you absolutely bewitching” 

* The way he says it makes you shiver, and Edward’s hand trails up your back. 

*He sits a little straighter, bouncing you slightly in his lap as he does, so you’re looking straight into his eyes

* “I find it hard to believe you don’t know that I have been dying inside everyday watching you walk around in those short shorts you love so much,” he whispers in your ear. 

*“That I haven’t been dying to absolutely ravish you .”

* You gulp.

* It’s all you can do when he’s looking at you like that

* If you thought Garrett’s bedroom eyes were intense, then Edward is on an entire different level

* You feel your heart stutter, butterflies erupting in your stomach...and something else

* A certain heat you haven’t felt in a long time

* You’ve never seen him look at anything like that, like he’s hungry- 

* Starving even 

* His lips brush against your neck, trailing down to your collar bone and you sigh

* He really knows everything about you doesn’t he? All your sweet spots, all your stories, every one of your secrets.

* Your hand trails up his chest, entangling in his hair and a low gasp tumbles from his lips

* And then your phone rings

* You hear him groan, and you shake your head

* “Ignore it” you mumble, your mouth meeting his once more 

* And you continue on for a few moments, until his phone rings

*He pulls away from you with a groan

* “Rosalie’s calling me a long list of profanities right now” he mumbles, you sigh pulling away to lean against the steering wheel 

* It’s probably for the best, no point in getting too turned on when you knew he was going to say ‘you should wait until marriage’

* Like honestly, he died, and you died, and now you live an alternative lifestyle where literally nothing matters anymore 

* But you’ll respect his wishes 

* “Guess we should go inside” You sigh, you move to get off of him

* But just as your about to crawl off, he tugs you to face him once more

* His thumb brushes over your cheek, and those deep gold eyes bore at you with that same intensity as before 

* He pulls you in for one last kiss, before getting out of the car and closing the door behind him

* “We’ll pick up where we left off later.” 

* (Y/N).exe is broken

* You walk to the house slowly, like humans do 

* “Are you ready?” He asks, holding out his hand

* You smile, placing your hand in his and nodding

* “Ready”

* So imagine your surprise when you and Edward get inside, hand in hand, to find the entire coven is laughing in the living room. 

* From where you’re standing you can only see Carlisle 

* “Ah your home! Come, I want you both to meet someone-“ 

* You move forward but Edward stays rooted to the spot

* Three people come into view, a woman with flaming red hair, a man -no older than 25- with rich mahogany skin, and a dazzling young man with hair the color of the sun.

* “Meet our new friends, Victoria, James and Laurent” 

* You turn to look at Edward, his mouth pinched into a frown

* Well F*ck 

Tags:  @moonlights27​ @thebluetint​ @the100thtwilight​ @awesomebooklover17​ @oneofthepotterheads​ @smileygirl08​ @imdoingathingmom​ @iconicgguk​ @yrawn​ @alyciaswhore​ @little-horror-show​ @wicked-watering-can​ @lazydreamers​ @ xxxmuxxx @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​​​ @poisoinedhope @maryleigh8796​​ @moose-squirrel-asstiel​​ @hotmessgoodness​ @jaimewho​ @corabmarie​ @what-am-i-doing10​ @alluring-venus​ @imdoingathingmom @anotheryooniverse​ @im-tired-not-sleepy​ @emmettcullenisahimbo​ @my-super-musical-life​ @smolvampiregirl​ @it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream​ @mihikaahujaaa @werewolflover3252​ @teenagezombiekryptonite @shynz​ @reclusive-chicken-nugget​ @monkeyluver4546​

[thegryffindorprincess]

Too Hasty//Draco Malfoy x Reader

A/N: OKAY I’M SO SORRY I JUST LEFT THE WHOLE PLATFORM FOR LIKE A MONTH! Basically, I caught covid-19 (lmao) and have been dying for a few weeks, but today was my first day out of my uni halls and first day back in lessons so I’m back for now. Here’s a cute ass little story for you all, I will be back x

Word Count: 1,818

Set: Post War

Warnings: Literally none, just cute

Harry Potter stood in the door way of the dining room at the back of Grimmauld Place fondly, looking at the people sitting around the table. Hermione and Ron were sat together reading, him noticing her grinning slightly when Ron needed to read a passage of text out loud to understand what it was he was reading. His eyes shifted to George, Luna and Neville who were attempting to balance as many goblets on top of each other as possible, erupting into a fit of giggles when it fell, Luna casually flicking her wand before they made a large bang on the table. He also watched his fiance, Ginny coo at Teddy Tonks who was babbling away in his high chair, using the few words he knew to communicate that he was demanding more pumpkin juice. And finally, Harry smiled as Draco Malfoy attempted to spoon feed Teddy some very odd looking green paste that he’d read encourages toddlers motor skills. When their eyes met they shared a very understanding glance. Teddy giggled as the goop touched his nose, spraying some of it onto Draco, causing the blonde man to grimace slightly but smile at the small boy instead. Harry moved towards the table and began to stack the plates onto one another, moving them into the kitchen.

“Hey Harry, let me help you.” Draco said, wiping Teddy’s dribbling mouth, going to stand, starting to pick up a few of the plates. Harry smiled at him thankfully and the two of them began to wash up the dishes in the kitchen. Harry Potter liked this Draco Malfoy and was amazed at the man he had grown up to be. Since the war- and since Harry had saved him from a stint in Azkaban, Draco had devoted himself to things that brought the world good. He’d trained long and hard to become a Healer, helping to care for vunerable people who were affected by the war, he’d taken on Teddy as his own son, moving in with the Order of the Pheonix to not only care for his second cousin every day but to help his new found friends with their fight against dark magic. Everything about his new life appeared to be perfect, except one thing. As Draco and Harry finished off drying Teddy’s “Chudley Cannon’s” bowl, brought for him by Ron, the shrill sound of the door bell sounded throughout the hall. Harry jumped a little, excusing himself from the others and walked towards the door, right hand resting on his wand that was stuck out of his pocket. He flung the door open. The cool air from the evening night hit his face and a figure that had been waiting patiently away from the door turned to face him.

“Harry!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in. Y/N Y/L/N was stood in the weak evening sunlight, her skin glowing. Her features were so gentle that they seemed painted, her hair was done up, wand stuck through it. She was grinning from ear to ear, skin tanned. 

“Y/N! Come in, come in. You must tell us where you’ve been!” Harry helped her in, taking her suitcases and resting them by the staircase. Y/N entered Grimmauld Place, taking in how much it had brightened up and changed since the last time she’d visited. She wondered into the dining room, exchanging hugs and greetings with her friends, all of them exclaiming how amazing she looked and how much they’d missed her. She smiled back at them all, thanking them for their kindness. 

“Oh it’s been amazing! Paris was just beautiful I am so glad I went. I feel like I’ve finally got over-” Y/N stopped suddenly, looking over to the figure who’d just emerged from the kitchen. Draco had been hiding in the darkness of the kitchen, but now was stood awkwardly in the dining room’s light. “Draco.” She breathed, finishing her sentence. He waved a little, throwing her a tiny smile. She didn’t respond. Pretending she hadn’t seen it, she continued with her anecdote, animatedly telling the group about her world traveling, her visit to most of the wizarding Ministries of Magic and her new career editing the Daily Prophet. The group listened intensely, hanging on her every word, Hermione keeping her eye on Draco as he stared nervously at his feet, remaining at the door. Y/N also told Teddy about the creatures she’d met from other countries, taking pride in the way he glowed. The conversation came to an end.

“Will you be staying Y/N?” Ginny asked grinning, “please say you’re staying!” Y/N laughed at her best friend.

“If it’s not any trouble, I can always go to the Leaky Caul-”

“No way.” Hermione said firmly, “you must stay here.” With that, Hermione took Y/N’s hand and led her up the stairs, Ginny and Luna following behind. Hermione took them into one of the spare bedrooms, where Luna’s bed was already set up and waved her wand, creating a new blow-up style bed on the floor. Y/N thanked her gently, throwing her heavy bags down by the dresser. The girls stayed for a while, making themselves comfortable in the room. They sat in silence.

“I didn’t know Draco was living with you now.” Y/N said quietly, making sure her face remained neutral. 

“Yeah,” Hermione said, fidgiting with her sleeves, “he’s lived with us ever since his charges were dropped.” Y/N nodded quickly, going back to unpacking her bags. 

“I’m sure Y/N doesn’t want to be bored by chat of her ex fiance.” Ginny slightly snapped, pulling Hermione with her, nearing the door. “We’ll let you sleep now, goodnight girls.”

Once they left, Y/N and Luna got ready for bed, exchanging slight chat as they did so, Luna very interested in Y/N’s travels.

“You know,” said Luna quietly as they both snuggled up into the covers, “Draco really is quite different now.” Before turning over and closing her eyes dreamily. Y/N huffed a little, turning over herself.

“Let’s not be too hasty.” Y/N mumbled, huffing again before going to sleep.

XXXX

The morning came quickly for Y/N who’d spent most of the night awake. At five in the morning, she slipped out of bed, putting on her dressing gown and gently plopping down the stairs. She wandered into the kitchen quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping house. As she went towards the kettle, a figure moved out into the light, causing her to jump slightly. 

“Draco!” She whispered, clutching her chest. He smiled at her softly, a small baby bottle in his hand, which he was shaking. 

“How are you?” Draco asked, running a pale hand through his platinum hair, letting it hang messily in front of his eyes. “I feel like yesterday was a bit of a um shock for us both.��� Y/N looked awkwardly, filling the kettle up with water, tapping it with her wand.

“Yeah it was a little odd, I mean last time I saw you you were a death eater and now you’re some kind of fucking saint.” As the words left her mouth, she watched his face fall. Her hands shot up to her mouth. “I’m sorry....I-”

“I can hear Teddy crying for his bottle,” Draco whispered horsely, pushing past her as he left the kitchen, “I’ll see you later.” Y/N watched him leave, unsure of what to say. She continued to make her tea, eyes threatening to spill tears as she sat at the table. Her owl flew in through the window, dropping the Daily Prophet onto the table top. She thanked it, before settling down to read in the morning sunlight.

XXXX

When the rest of the house arose, they were rushing around getting ready for work. Knowing Draco would be staying home all day with Teddy, some of the gangs attempted to haul her to work with them, George explaining how much he’d love to have her at the shop, Ginny saying that Y/N would be more than welcome to help referee, but she politely rejected all of them. They left one after another, all looking very important and busy. As Ron shut the door behind him, the last one to leave, the house fell into a sudden silence. Y/N watched from the dining room as Draco played with Teddy, teaching him letters from a small leather bound book. His face was painted in a gentle happiness as he watched the small boy fondly, running his hands through his dark locks. She watched closely as Teddy’s eyes began to flutter close, Draco hauling him up onto the sofa and covering him in a blanket from the chest on the floor. As Draco placed a small kiss on his forehead, Y/N entered, settling on the living room floor and tidying some of Teddy’s toys away.

“Leave that,” Draco said, swatting her away, “I’ve got it.” Y/N shuffled awkwardly from him, letting him squish past to grab the toys. 

“I wanted to say sorry.” Y/N began, looking Draco in the eyes for the first time since last night, “You didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have spoken to you in that way.” Draco nodded, continuing to tidy up the floor. 

“I’ve not stopped thinking about you.” He slightly whispered. Y/N felt like she’d stopped breathing for a moment. “Not dated, not kissed, not,” he lowered his voice, looking over to Teddy to ensure he was asleep, “fucked anybody else.” 

“Really?” She asked. “Neither have I for the record I couldn’t.” Draco swallowed, looking down at her, where she sat on the floor. 

“I kept my promise to you.” Y/N cocked her head a little confused. He rolled up his sleeve, showing her the nearly faded dark mark that still lay in his skin. “I will counter act my evil until my mark disappears for you.” Her mouth fell open as she watched how he flinched at the sight of his arm. She leant up, Draco allowing her gentle fingers to stroke the mark. 

“For me?” She repeated. 

“You.” Draco watched her carefully as she stood from where she was standing, moving closer to him. He automatically pulled her into him, just like he always had. 

“Kiss me idiot.” She said grinning, allowing him to grab her jaw softly, pulling her into a glowing kiss. She felt her skin heat up as her pressed closer to her bringing her closer and closer. 

“Uncle Dray?” A tiny voice squeaked from the sofa. The two shot round just in time to watch Teddy looking confused at them. 

“Yes Ted?” Draco quickly said, regaining his composure. 

“Is that your new wife?” Teddy asked innocently, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Y/N began to giggle a little, covering her mouth with her hand. Draco began to laugh to, walking over to Teddy and pulling him into a cuddle.

“Let’s not be too hasty hey Ted.” 

[another-fantasy-world]

hi could you please make another alice cullen x fem!reader?? i really really love your last one you made, it was so beautiful <3

||AN|| Thank youuu! I'm happy you enjoyed my last one, also, thank you for requesting!

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Pairing: Alice Cullen x Fem! Reader

Summary: Alice with a human girlfriend who’s more vampire-like than her.

Warnings: None? Fluff. Happy Couple.

Word Count: 2,084 words

GIF isn’t mine

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆      ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

You were always the night owl, lived off coffee and good books and you only wear dark colors. Your routine includes waking up at 10 pm, Cooking and eating your dinner at approximately 11:30 pm, Studying until 6 am, Taking a shower, Make your coffee, and be at school at 7:00 am where you meet up with you too-bright-and-jolly girlfriend, Alice Cullen. After school you then either head home to your own house, or to the Cullens household, either way you crash into anything soft and just ultimately pass out, and your cycle repeats. Sometimes your girlfriend would join you in studying even if she didn’t need it, Sometimes you’d do other things with your girlfriend, some of the things you do aren’t appropriate for a house full of vampires with super hearing, and not to mention her nosy brother who had the ability to read minds. 

“Get out of the way before I pummel you to the ground asshole.” You grumbled to the guy who’s blocking your way and was staring at your girlfriend like she’s a piece of meat. You hated that but you couldn’t do anything. One, pretty sure it’s illegal to kill someone even if you’re thinking about all the ways you could and Two, you miss you girlfriend’s cold hand holding yours.

You see him shiver before grabbing his things and scrambling away, his goons hot on his tail. 

“You have the most creative mind I have ever come across. Really? Using his blood as paint after you use gamma rays to blow up his uhm. Yeah. Where would you even get gamma rays?” Edward scrunches his face as they all approach you.

“Pretty sure Carlisle would hook me up with some.” You smirked then kissed your girlfriend’s forehead, You held her hand in yours as she giggled, getting out of her trance like state.

“Carlisle denied.” She kissed your cheek before dragging you inside the school, where they all separated like the goddamn sea in that one bible story.

Safe to say, you were pretty feared in the whole town. Socially isolated, always has a cup of coffee in hand, dark marks under your eyes, a blank looks often settles on your face,always had earphones in, glared at people who made your family uncomfortable, scared people without trying and a student could’ve sworn he saw you drink someones blood which he says was inside your coffee cup. It was beetroot juice since you ran out of coffee but needed something hot to drink, so you made beetroot juice, with lots and lots of sugar. You were dubbed as a vampire or a witch, which was hilarious considering your girlfriend is a vampire. A bright, happy, sparkling vampire who doesn’t sleep in coffins whatsoever. 

“Have a good day baby, see you at lunch.” Alice kissed your cheek before bouncing in her classroom followed by Emmett who winked at you and Rosalie who raised her brows at you and told you to behave.

“I always behave!” You argued with a small pout on your lips, barely noticeable but Rosalie just smirks before walking gracefully into the room, sitting in between Emmett and Alice who just shooed you away. 

“It’s never a good day.” you whispered while walking away, fully knowing that they could hear you.

Lunch came so slow that by the time you sat at your usual spot, you already had thoughts on murdering your history teacher who ‘unintentionally’ spat at your face and drizzled her spit on your face like a waterfall.

“It’s only been half a day Y/LN, You’ll get through it.” Rosalie slides her tray of food over to you while petting your head.

“i don’t understand why you choose to go through this over and over again.” You groaned, laying your head on Alice’s shoulder. They just laughed and proceeded to talk about things that you don’t even bother to listen to.

“You’re coming over today right?” Alice asked you with that bell like voice that you so loved

“Hmm? Oh yeah, Cuddles?” You whispered to her, internally groaning at how soft you’ve become for your girlfriend. 

“Yes please. You’re warm.”

“And you are freezing cold.” You retorted, stealing some of her fries

“It comes with the package. Now come on, I’ll walk you to your room.” She pats you head while moving away, packing her things. Which low-key made you whine.

“But I always escort you to your room.” You complained

“That’s true, but I figured you wouldn’t be opposed to change.” She smiled, offering her hand which you took.

“Edward?” 

“Nope. Not telling you. I am not going on another shopping spree with that little devil of yours.” He sped walked away, dragging Bella with him

“I think you traumatized him real bad, Ali.” You chuckled

“Good.” She exclaimed

12 midnight, and you just woke up to Alice holding you while reading a book, She smiles at you before tapping her lips, asking for a kiss. You shook your head no, trying to get out of her arms to brush your teeth.

“Nope, kisses first before brushing.” She grips you tighter

“Eww. Morning breath. Alice please!” She just grins before showering your face with kisses.

“There. You can go now, Esme just finished your dinner.” She beamed at you, pushing you into the large bathroom that she has before sitting on the sink.

“Uhm...” You stare at her, confused

“What?” 

The both of you took an hour long shower, you didn’t even need to shower, Alice just persuaded you into doing so. Earning you different looks from different vampires the moment you walked down the stairs.

A suggestive smirk from Rosalie and a laughing Emmett A smirking Jasper A confused Bella with a disgusted looking Edward A smiling Esme holding a bowl of food  And lastly, A laughing Carlisle.

“Oh my God.” You groaned, walking to the dining room, thanking Esme for the food. 

“Really Y/N?” complained Edward who’s cuddling a still confused Bella

“What? Just because you decide to wait until marriage does not mean I have to.” You smirked, winking at Edward who would be blushing if he was human.

“Don’t talk while your mouth is full.” Scolded Esme who’s also trying to keep her laugh in

“Yes Mom. Anyways, Bella I love you, but you look like you’re about to shut down and ready to be pawned like an old computer.” You told her, biting into a chicken leg

“i’ll take her home.” Edward says, grabbing his keys and waits for Bella.

“Why is she here anyways” Grumbled Rosalie, who everyone ignored while you just tapped her head

“Let’s play chess when you get back!” You shouted after him

You finish your food quickly and washed your plates, much to the distaste of Esme, leading your giggling short girlfriend to the couch beside Jasper.

“Jasper~ Wanna watch documentaries of wars and judge everything they did wrong?” You ask Jasper who’s nodding at your request. Alice plopping herself on your lap as she stares at you laughing and smiling with her family.

She’s really happy to have found you the way she did, She reminisced the time when the two of you first met. You were browsing racks and racks of clothes, taking black colored blouses, shirts and button-ups that are your size before walking into a dressing room. While you were in the room, she started to have a vision about the two of you together, having dates and you carrying her shopping bags in this same store, making her all giddy. She was with Rosalie at that time, who just stared at her with a look of slight confusion as she basically bounced to you. You at first was taken aback that someone was actually talking to you, and it was a cute girl at that. Alice greeted you with a smile and a hello before handing you a green blazer and tie, telling you emerald green compliments your eyes and outfit before paying for what you were buying, writing her name and number on the receipt, leaving you dumbfounded at the store

At first she thought that the both of you wouldn’t work out, especially because of all the chaos that recently happened to her family and leaving forks. But you made the effort of always texting her little notes and telling her how your day was, even if she didn’t reply, slowly she felt herself fall more in love with you, letting herself reply and indulge in the visions that she had that involved you. Once she told her family about you, they were a bit skeptical, especially since Carlisle tended to your knuckle wounds one too many times. But upon seeing the love sick look on both your eyes and the loud complaining of Edward at how sickeningly cute your thoughts were of each other, they eventually accepted you as one of their own despite being human. 

And now she stares in awe as you spent about 2 hours criticizing documentaries with Jasper before Edward comes home, and when he did, you played a couple rounds of chess (You always lost, which made Edward laugh every time.) before she decided that she’s bored with you losing to her brother every round and just decided to pick you up and dash to her room. 

“What was that for love?” You ask her when she settled herself in your arms

“I just. I was bored and I realized that it’s been too long since we cuddled.”

“It’s literally been 4 hours since I woke up bumblebee.” You ran your hand through her hair

“I missed you. 4 hours is too long.”

“Awe. I missed you too. Want to pick up where we left off on How to Kill a Mockingbird?” You ask her

“Yes please, I love hearing your voice.” She puts her face on the crook of your neck as you read to her, one of your hand intertwined with hers.

Even though she can’t fall asleep anymore, she loves the way your voice sounds, it calms her down and she could easily compare the “peace” she feels right now to the “peace” she could remember feeling when she was asleep. She really did love you and she doesn’t hesitate to let you know. In multiple various ways. 

Like now, she cut off your reading when her soft lips touched yours. You immediately let go of the book to hold her face lovingly as you put all your feelings into the kiss like you always do. You always felt like your words are never enough, so you always try to express your feeling through physical affection.

As if remembering you need your air, she slowly pulls away, her forehead touching yours as you catch your breath.

“I love you” she whispers, kissing your nose

“I love you too.” You smiled, pecking her lips

Your moment was then ruined when Emmett started banging his fists on the door, loudly exclaiming that you all have to get ready for school. You growled lowly, rolling your eyes.

“Alright! Geez.” You grumpily picked up the book that was tossed to the floor before walking to Alice’s closet where you also keep some of your clothes in...

Only to see that they weren’t there.

“Uhm Alice? Darling? Where are my clothes?” You ask her

She walks to where you are, peeking in slightly before pecking your lips.

“Oops. Accidentally sent all them to your house. Guess you have to wear my clothes then.” She smirked at you, pulling out a lemon yellow trench coat, a rosy pink turtleneck and hot pink pants with a blue belt.

“Baby, Alice. Love. Darling. Bumblebee. Please don’t do this to me.” You pleaded but she just shook her head, handing you the clothes before threatening you with no kisses and cuddles for a week if you refuse.

Your shoulders sag with defeat as you change into the clothes Alice gave you, pouting while walking down the stairs of the Cullen Household. Alice smiles brightly as she hooked her arm around yours. Chuckles and giggles erupted the moment they saw you which made you grumble and murmur underneath your breath as you sip your cup of coffee made by Esme.

“You-” 

“Not a word.” You growled out, blushing furiously as you laughing girlfriend holds your hand while walking through the halls of Forks High school. 

Your girlfriend can be annoying at times, add that to her chaotic family, but you would never trade it for anything. Ever.

[justaweirddruid]

Fjorester Week - DAY 5: WATER

This is my first time writing a fic, but I had this idea a while ago and when the fjorester week themes were annouced I thought it’d be great with the theme for today so I had to try writing it. 

So here it goes

The Blooming Grove

“You can hold my hand now”, Jester says with a big smile, looking at Fjord.  “I’m holding your hand! I’m checking you out”, he smiles back at her.  

“I’m checking you out”.  

They start walking back to Caduceus family’s house, holding hands, laughing and making small  talk, until Jester stops suddenly and looks at him, wide eyed.  

“I almost forgot! I wanna show you something!” 

“What?” 

“Here!”, Jester says and starts pulling him in another direction, further away from the house.  “Caduceus showed me this earlier and I thought you would like it”.  

Fjord follows with a confused look and thinks about asking for more questions, but who is he kidding? She can take him anywhere and he would follow her without thinking twice. Jester takes a small path, hidden between the trees, using one hand to move the foliage away  from her face while the other is busy pulling Fjord behind her. The way her tails is wiggling from  side to side shows her excitement and only makes the half orc even more curious to where she’s  taking him.  

After another minute or two, she stops and turns back to him.  

“Look!” 

She steps forward, still pulling Fjord by the hand, and he sees what she’s talking about. They’re  in a clearing surrounded by the dense vegetation of the Grove, flowers of a multitude of colors,  vines, green bushes and small trees. In the middle of the clearing, there is a small lake of clear  water reflecting the moonlight, with a spring that flows down into smaller shallow pools below.  It’s one of the most beautiful places he’s ever seen.  

“Isn’t it great?”.  

“It really is, Jester”.  

“Caduceus showed me these hot springs earlier and said he’ll bring everyone here tomorrow,  but I thought we could check it out before. You know, just the two of us”.  Fjord notices how she looked away during that last part and he can swear he sees her blushing  a little, just a slightly darker shade of blue in her cheeks.  

“That was a wonderful idea”. Still holding hands, he walks with her towards the bigger pool, “It’s  been a while since we’ve had a quiet time for ourselves. Not since… not since that night in  Caleb’s tower”.  

It’s his turn to look away now. He shouldn’t be this nervous when talking about the night they  had their first kiss, he knows this. Jester has shown nothing but affection towards him since that  night and every time Fjord remembers how happy and giddy she looked after the kiss, he can’t  help but feel his heart growing in his chest. However, there’s still a tiny voice inside his head  trying to convince him it will all be over soon, no matter how hard he tries to shut it down.  

“You wanna sit by the water?” Fjord asks.  

“Sure!” Jester notices how quickly he changed the subject but doesn’t say anything. They’re  finally alone now, they can take their time.  

She takes off her shoes and stockings, and sits with herlegs inside the pool. The water is so warm  and it feels so good that it makes her relax almost instantly.  

“Hurry up, Fjord! It’s sooo good” Jester sighs happily and wiggles her toes, watching them move  underneath the clear water. 

“I’m ready! I’m ready!”.  

He wasn’t.  

Still rolling up his pants, Fjord trips and almost falls down in the water, which prompts the  loudest laugh from Jester.  

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it”, she says, still laughing and not looking sorry at all.  Part of him hates how often he makes a fool of himself in front of the woman he adores, but an  even bigger part would happily make it all over again just to see that smile. The smile he loves  so much.  

He smiles back at her and laughs too, he can’t help it, Jester has this effect on him. It’s impossible  to be anything but happy when she’s around.  

They’re both with their feet in the water now. The grove is quiet around them, only the sound  of the spring flowing to the other pools and an owl hooting in the distance.  “What were you talking about before? About that night in the tower?” Jester tries to be as  nonchalant as possible, as if that night isn’t what she wanted to talk about in the first place and  the reason she was looking for more alone time with Fjord.  

“I- I just said… Umm” he almost chokes on his words and Jester laughs again. “I was just saying  that we haven’t had any alone time, just the two of us, since that night. Since…” “Since you asked to kiss me?”  

“…Yes” he’s blushing now, he can feel it.  

Fjord takes all the courage he can gather and looks back at her. Jester’s still smiling, looking up  at him. She takes his hand again and holds it in her lap.  

The way she looks at him… it takes his breath away, it always does. Her eyes are sparkling and the moonlight reflecting on her blue skin almost makes her glow. Only now, he realizes she got  a little closer, so close he can count all the freckles on her nose and cheeks. Gods, he wants to  kiss her again.  

“I- I’ve been thinking about that night, you know” Jester says.  

“You… you have?” 

“Yeah. A lot” she looks nervous now, drawing circles in his hand with her thumb. “I was a little  surprised when you did that, I- I didn’t really know what to say”.  

Fjord’s heart starts racing and he thinks for a moment that he made a terrible mistake and she  doesn’t feel the same way. But then he notices how she’s still smiling at him and holding his  hand even tighter.  

“I care a lot about you too, Fjord” she continues. “More than I ever thought it was possible to  care about anyone”.  

“You do?”  

His heart is beating so fast he’s afraid it might jump out of his chest. Can she hear how loud is it  beating? He think she might, he definitely can.  

“I always did, Fjord. I didn’t understand what I was feeling before and there was some stuff I had  to figure out by myself, but yeah. I’m sorry it took me so long so realize it”.  “No no, don’t apologize! Please”, he’s fully facing her now, getting even closer. “We both had a  lot to deal with and I also had to take time to understand what I was feeling. In case you haven’t  noticed, I have no idea what I’m doing”.  

Jester laughs again and gives him a little bump with her shoulder.  

“No, Fjord, you know what you’re doing”.  

“I truly don’t” he laughs too. 

Fjord looks at the clearing and at the water. There’s still so much he wants to say, so much he  wants her to know, and he can tell she wants to say more too. But that’s okay for now, they still  have time.  

Suddenly, an idea comes to his mind.  

“What are you doing?” Jester asks.  

“Wait, you’ll see”.  

He raises his hand towards the water and she can hear him muttering the words for a spell. The  tiefling looks at the pool again, trying to understand what he’s doing but nothing happens.  Then she sees it.  

It starts as a faint light coming from the bottom of the small lake, slowly spreading throughout  the water. Jester lets out a small cry and covers her mouth when she realizes what it is, looking  at Fjord with a surprised smile.  

“A jellyfish bloom!” 

“Yeah. Not a real one, though. It’s just an illusion” Fjord answers.  

The entire pool is now filled with hundreds of colorful jellyfish. Every shade of blue, purple, green  and pink, swimming in all directions.  

Jester is beaming, her face reflecting all the colors of the jellyfish as she watches them. She puts  her hand inside the water and one of the creatures passes through it, revealing the illusion for a  moment.  

“Jester… why are you looking at me like this?”  

She has her trickster face on now, the one he also knows very well.  

“You knowww, Fjord” she says. “The last time we saw a jellyfish bloom, you talked about how  you can’t go in the water with them because they sting”.  

“Yes...” he can see where this is going.  

“Wellll, these are illusions, so…” Jester raises her eyebrows, the question she didn’t even need  to ask up in the air.  

“I don’t know what you mean, Jester” he pretends, faking a look of confusion.  “Yes you do!”.  

Jester starts poking at him, also pretending to be mad which is exactly what he wanted. Using  her moment of distraction, he puts one hand underneath her legs and the other on her back and  lifts her up. The half orc knows very well he’s not the strongest one of the two, but getting her  off guard was enough to give him the edge.  

“Fjoooord” Jester yells as he throws her in the water.  

She reappears a few seconds later, the jellyfish swimming around her.  

“I can’t believe you did that” she looks at him, narrowing her eyes. She’s trying to look mad but  her smile is betraying her.  

“I’m sorry, Jester, I couldn’t help it” he repeats what she’s said to him earlier. “Do you want  some company?” 

Fjord offers his hand to her and it takes her less than a second to pull him inside the pool with  her, taking him by surprise at how fast she was.  

The water feels even hotter, but still very pleasant. They both swim to the middle of the lake  and watch the jellyfish surround them, touching them without having to fear their sting.  “You wanna see how it looks under the water?” Fjord asks.  

“Let’s do it”.  

“Wait” he stops her before she goes. “Let me help us a little more”. 

She hears him casting another spell and feels the familiar sensation, they can breathe  underwater now.  

Smiling, Jester gives him a wink and dives under the water. Fjord quickly following her.  The jellyfish bloom looks even more beautiful than on the surface, their glow illuminating the  entire pool.  

Fjord was so taken back by the view that he lost track of the direction Jester went, not able to  see her through all the jellyfish. He looks around for a few seconds, trying to decide where to  go, when she suddenly reappears in front of him. He thought the illusion looked beautiful but  Jester looks absolutely breathtaking surrounded by the colors and the glow of the bloom. She  can probably see what he’s thinking in his face because she blushes a little and looks away, not  being able to hide her smile.  

He takes her hand and they swim together, admiring the effects of the spell and looking at the  natural beauty of the lake. After a few minutes, Jester holds him back by the hand and stops  swimming.  

“Everything okay?” his voice comes out a little distorted from the water.  ”Yes. I- I was just thinking about something”.  

“What?”  

Jester doesn’t answer.  

Instead, she swims until they’re facing each other. She puts her hands on his shoulder and stares  into his eyes for a few seconds. Getting even closer, inch by inch, slowly, so he has enough time  to stop her if he wants to.  

If only she knew how much he’s been waiting for this moment, how much he wanted to be this  close to her again… 

He puts his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. He doesn’t want to wait anymore. She brushes  her lips to his, gently. Fjord can hear his ears ringing now and his heart is beating faster than  ever. He puts one hand behind her head and presses his lips into hers a little harder, and it’s like  something clicked inside of her. Jester puts both hands around him and fully kisses him, parting  her lips. 

They kiss while the jellyfish swim around them. They can feel a very faint warm sensation  whenever one of the illusions passes through them, but both have so many different thoughts  racing through their minds right now that they barely notice.  

After a while, they separate their lips, still holding each other close. Fjord closes his eyes and  rests his head on hers. It’s still so surreal to think he gets to do that, he gets to kiss her and be  with her and tell her how much she means to him. It’s almost overwhelming.  Jester gives him another quick kiss, takes him by the hand one more time and starts swimming  back to the surface. They get out of the water and sit by the edge again, a little closer now.  “Good thing it’s not cold here” he says, trying to break the silence.  

“Yeah” Jester rests her head on his shoulder, still holding his hand. “You know, kissing  underwater is pretty fun too”.  

“It is” Fjord laughs. “Although I think being able to breath under the water makes it way easier”.  “Good thing you always have this spell prepared, then” she says and gives him a wink.  “Anytime you want, Jester”.  

They still have a couple more minutes of the illusion, so they snuggle quietly, looking at the  jellyfish.  

“This place is amazing, isn’t it?” he asks. 

“Yeah. It’s beautiful” Jester answers back, smiling. She’s not looking at the lake, though, she’s  watching Fjord as he runs his fingers through the water, seeing how calm and happy he looks  now. 

He doesn’t notice.