#but i’m mostly gonna have to spend time doing the actual job and i hate it

[yellowsubiesdance]

time to start the next gbbs collection

[allywthsr]

I‘LL NEVER LEAVE YOU | (l.norris)

part two to Finding Lando on Raya

summary: part two to Finding Lando Norris on Raya, how you spend the evening, flying to Spa for tire testing and a date in the evening

wordcount: 9.8k words

pairing: landonorris x fem!reader

warnings: SMUT! (p in v, oral, taking pictures while doing it)

notes: sorry for the delay, but I was kinda blocked! The end feels rushed, but I genuinely didn’t know what to write, sorry. Anyway, second smut so be gentle. And thank you for all the positive feedback!!!!❤️‍🩹

”You want to order some McDonald’s and stay over?“

You looked at Lando, how could he be so perfect? Only minutes ago he was buried deep inside of you and now he was a sweet angel.

”Sure!“

He grabbed his phone from his night table and opened Uber Eats.

”What do you wanna eat?“

You named him your go-to McDonald’s order and he chose a chickenburger menu.

”It should come in like twenty minutes. Enough time to repeat what we just did.“

”Let’s eat first, you tired me out, two orgasms are more than men normally become out of a woman.“

”I‘m just a pro, what can I say.“

You shoved his shoulder playfully and he laid down next to you. He opened his arm and you laid your head on his naked shoulder, pulling up the duvet to cover you both. He slowly caressed your shoulder with his fingers.

”So where are you from, Y/N?“

”I was born in Y/H/N and moved to London two years ago for this job. I meet new customers that want to buy some products from us.“

”Do you travel a lot?“

”Not really. Every now and then, yes. But mostly I meet them in London in our office. But tell me, what’s it like being a Formula One driver? Is it as luxury as it always looks like?“

”Sometimes, I mean we get to stay in fancy hotels and whatnot, but it’s hard work as well. The G-forces your whole body has to resist are heavy, so we need to train a lot, I hate it so much, you have no idea. The traveling is also tiring. I hate being away from my family and friends so much, but at the same time, I have more free time than you probably have. But that free time is mostly filled with training, it’s rare I have two weeks off in a row.“

”I get that, but it’s still your hobby, no? I can imagine that having your hobby as a job is the best thing.“

”That’s true, but I don’t know, I‘m super happy and grateful to be where I am but at the same time, sometimes I‘d like to have more privacy. It’s always dangerous for me to hit up women because they could always post it on social media and I‘m the asshole you know. Or when I’m in Monaco, I can’t go out with a woman, she‘s immediately my girlfriend. My cousin once visited me and she got death threats afterwards. That’s not nice. But it comes with being a ’celebrity‘ I guess.“

When he said celebrity he did quotation marks in the air.

”So you meet up with a lot of women?“, you asked him jokingly.

”I poured my heart out and that’s the only thing that stuck in your pretty head?“, he let out a laugh.

”But don’t worry, I never had such a pretty and nice girl before, you‘re truly special. Not one of them wanted to eat McDonald’s with me, claiming they‘re gonna be fat afterwards.“

”Don’t worry, I was just kidding. I can’t say I know what you’re feeling, because I don’t. I can wander through London and no one asks me for a picture, but I imagine it to be hard. Having no privacy I mean. But if you ever want to talk, you know who to call. And whoever turns down a free McDonald’s meal is just stupid. Especially if you have such a hot man next to you.“

You put your hand on his chin, caressing it, where a slight stubble grew.

”I actually don’t know who to call, I don’t even have your number yet. I’ve been inside of you and don’t even know what your profile picture looks like.“

You smiled up at him and chuckled.

”We can change that later, I‘m too comfortable right now“, you pressed a kiss on his neck.

”You said something about Pirelli tire testing earlier?“

”Yeah, tomorrow in Spa. I drive around the circuit in different cars and my F1 car, testing possible new tires.“

”Oh really? That’s fun.“

”You should come.“

”Isn’t that something only people from the team can attend?“

”You can sit in my garage, that’s fine.“

”Lando we barely know each other.“

”And? I like you, I think that you like me. Come as a friend, I won’t say you’re my fuck friend.“

You chuckled at that. But should you? What if people see you somewhere because someone posts it and you get the same treatment his cousin got?

”Won’t there be paparazzi?“

”No, at least not that I know of. It’s only an event for included people, it’s not even publicly announced.“

”But still, won’t it be weird?“

”Let’s get to know each other then, I won’t be weird.“

”Are you sure? I‘m just the girl you fucked because you needed it.“

”Y/N, you’re a human, not an object I am using. If you wouldn’t have stuck out to me, I wouldn’t have liked you. I would’ve never texted you.“

You stayed silent, didn’t know what to answer. Only your hand went to his neck and fondled it, wanting to show your affection somehow.

”What’s your favorite color?“

”Really?“, you chuckled.

”Answer it, then we won’t be strangers anymore and you can come tomorrow.“

”I like a light blue, but it changes. You?“

”I like a neon yellow, like the color on my helmet. Favorite ice cream flavor?“

You told him your favorite ice cream flavor and you asked him the same question.

”Vanilla Ice cream, classic.“

”Favorite Holiday?“

”I love Christmas, I get to spend most time with my family, and also presents. Yours?“

”Must be Christmas as well. I love it when everything is gloomy and stuff.“

”You‘ve ever been on a yacht?“

”No, I’d love to, but I‘m not rich.“

”Want to come with me on holiday?“

”Lando.. it’s the same with tomorrow. I can’t just go on your family holiday with you.“

”Why not?“

”Because I‘m not your girlfriend or something.“

”Want to be my girlfriend?“

You scoffed and sat up, ”You need to calm down.“

”I was just kidding. I‘m leaving in a week, but we still have enough time to get to know each other. Consider it. You‘re different, I can feel it.“

”Let me think about it.“

”Take all the time you need, but I before our flight takes off I need to know.“

”I need to buy a plane ticket then.“

”No, we‘re flying with a private jet, we still have a few seats left.“

”Boujee, I see.“

”I am collaborating with a brand, so I don’t have to pay anything.“

”That’s even more Boujee!“, you laughed.

”Well, we could join the mile hig-”

Before Lando could finish the sentence, it knocked on the door. He jumped out of bed and pulled his Boxershorts, which lay somewhere on the floor up to his hips. When he opened the door, a hotel employee stood in front of it, holding a brown bag.

”Sir, you ordered from McDonalds, is that correct?“

”Yes it is.“

”Then here you go, bon appetit!“

”Cheers!“

Lando closed the door and walked back to the bed, where he sat down and opened the back, giving you your food while he laid his‘ down in front of him.

You took the first bite and moaned: ”I needed this.“

Lando looked at you with a crooked eyebrow.

”What?“, you laughed, ”never saw a woman enjoying her food?“

”I‘ve never seen such a gorgeous naked woman in my bed enjoying her food, no.“

”You‘re a flirt, you know that?“

He only smirked at you and took another bite of his chickenburger, while eating a fries right after.“

”Are you more of a McDonald’s or Nando’s type of girl?“

”I enjoy McDonald’s more, to be honest, I feel like it has a bigger variety of things I eat.“

”Same, if I had to choose my last meal, it would probably be McDonald’s.“

He took a sip of his Sprite and thought about more things to ask you. He wanted to get to know you, it felt like you knew each other for years already, yet it only has been a few hours. He felt super close to you, as if you‘ve been best friends, he wanted you to meet everyone, his family, his friends, and even Zak.

”What’s you’re favorite free time activity?“

”I like hanging with friends or family, I love to play golf and I like gaming. A mixture of all of them. I could never choose my favorite, I also like to photograph, but I barely do it anymore. What’s with you?“

”Well, I like reading, watching sports, or just chill at home. Shopping is great too, I always wanted to watch someone golf professionally.“

”Well, I‘m not a professional baby.“

”But probably more than I am.“

”Alright, when you come with me on holiday, we‘ll play a round of golf.“

”Lando..“

”Come on, it’s gonna be fun! Everyone will love you and you‘ll love them.“

”Let me think about it, okay?“

”I can give you a week, we’re flying from Heathrow, so just text me and join us.“

You took the last bite and thought about it, should you go on vacation with him? What would you tell your family? ’Hey mum, I’m going on a holiday with a stranger I met on a dating app, we fucked and he invited me, I’ll come back in a week!‘ Not so much fun.

”What should I tell my family and friends? I can’t just leave with a stranger on a holiday.“

”Why not? It’s not like we‘re strangers. I’ve been in you thirty minutes ago.“

You scoffed, he was right, but you still didn’t know him at all.

”I still don’t know you.“

”Hi, I‘m Lando Norris, born in Bristol, twenty three years old. I have two smaller sisters and one bigger brother, my parents are together, and together with my sisters they still live in Bristol. My mum is from Belgium, which makes me half Belgian but I can barely speak it. I went to school and went karting, had to re-take my theory driving test, and moved to the higher formula classes on my own accord, not because my dad was rich. I currently live in Monaco because I wanted to do something new. That’s basically everything about me. I live and breathe motor sport, that’s all I have in my life. And now it’s your turn.“

So you did the same, repeating everything he just said, talking about your family, about your passions, your job, and yourself.

”You see? Now we know each other and you can join me for the holiday.“

”Take me out on a date and then maybe.“

”Alright, it’s a deal. Tomorrow after tire testing.“

”Okay.“

You smiled shyly at him, you couldn’t believe you actually said yes to tire testing, but in the end, you only live once and who would turn down a free paddock experience with Lando Norris? Even if it’s tire testing.

”So you‘ll come with me to tire testing tomorrow?“

He got really excited and sat up in the bed.

”Yes Lando, I‘ll come with you.“

”You’re the best!“

With that, he laid himself on top of you and kissed you on the lips, which you returned with a moan. You moved your foot to give him more space and heard a crinkling sound.

”Lando wait, the bag is still on the bed.“

You tried to say in between kisses but he only hummed, clearly already in a headspace where he didn’t care. He distracted you with neck kisses and the bag was long forgotten. He wandered lower with his kisses and stopped at your boobs, sucking your right nipple slightly and licking over the left one when he decided the right one has gotten enough love. With each touch, you gasped, grabbed his hair, and pulled at the strands. You could feel him hardening against your lower stomach and you clasped his shoulders, trying to get closer to him.

”Lando, I need more“, you pressed out.

”More already? God, you’re such a needy little baby.“

He grinned and his hand slipped towards your slit, slowly pushing his pointer finger through your lips. He felt your wetness and moaned at the sensation, he couldn’t believe how wet you were already, he barely touched you.

He pressed his thumb to your clit and slowly circled it, you let out different sounds that made Lando shake, in a good way. He couldn’t wait to be in you again. He inserted two fingers and pumped them slowly in and out, getting faster with every thrust.

”You‘re so wet baby, it’s crazy.“

”All for you Lando, it’s all for you.“

He moaned, kissed your neck, and slightly sucked it, leaving a faint purplish mark. He licked over it to claim his territory once more, tonight you belonged to him and only him, maybe for the next weeks as well. He already loved your company, he didn’t need to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. With you, he could just be Lando even if you just met.

His pumps and circles became faster the louder your moans got, the pleasure you felt was almost unbearable, you wanted to cum but you needed a little more.

”I need more, a bit more“, you pressed out and with that, he added a finger, now you were filled with three fingers and that was what you needed, after a few pumps you came around his fingers with a loud moan, clenching.

”Fuck Lando, you‘re so good at this.“

He smirked and pulled his fingers out of your pussy, looking at them, he pulled them apart and your juices created little strings that connected between his fingers. His eyes focused on your face watching you, as he put his fingers into his mouth, sucking the juices off. With your pussy still sensitive, you felt the next wave of arousal rushing towards your lower area, that was the sexiest thing he did and the way he moaned when he tasted you again, made you go wild.

”I need to be in you again, you have no idea how gorgeous you are.“

”I need you too Lando, I need your dick.“

He laid on his back and removed his underwear he was still wearing from getting the McDonald’s bag earlier, and his dick sprung towards the ceiling. You almost started drooling at the sight. He was perfect, not too long but also not too short, thick enough, and little veins covered his length, making him feel amazing inside of you. With a grunt he positioned himself on top of you, pumping his dick with his hand a few times, getting ready for you. He coated his tip with your juices, by moving his length through your slit and slowly pushed it inside of you.

”You feel fucking amazing, I hope you know that.“

You moaned and pushed his head to yours, pressing your lips on his‘ and sliding your tongue against his lips. He opened them and you fought for dominance, he won but only because you needed to catch a breath, he stole your breath, that’s it.

He deeply looked into your eyes, feeling more connected with him than ever.

With slow movements he began to move, the room getting filled with the dirtiest slapping sounds you could imagine, his thrusts making you feel on cloud nine again, you were so happy you met him, this was way better than sightseeing in Amsterdam. His hand found its way to your clit, rubbing slight circles to get you to your orgasm faster, which worked. You were stimulated by your many orgasms today, you didn’t need much to cum. Just after a few minutes of him thrusting into you and circulating your clit, you came with a loud cry, no one could make you finish like he did. He pulled out of you, and with a pout, you looked at him, how dare he do that, you now felt empty and missed him already.

”I want to cum in your mouth angel.“

With big eyes, you nodded and he got up and sat at the edge of the bed, you followed him suit and sat on your knees in between his legs. His length hit his stomach and you grabbed his dick with both of your hands, you loved how heavy he laid in your hands. With slow movements you started to satisfy him, pumping up and down while you looked through innocent eyes at him. That made him go even more wild in the head and his eyes rolled back, his hands found their way into your hair and he pulled slightly on your strands. You jerked him off and his tip started to leak pre cum, the slight white drops oozed out of his slit and your mouth watered. You opened your mouth and took him in your mouth, you could still taste yourself on his dick and moaned at the taste, the vibrations made him moan. Your tongue licked off the pre cum, the salty flavor wasn’t your favorite, but now you tried to get every drop. Lando guided your head a bit with the up and down movements, you couldn’t fit his whole length in your mouth but you tried with every stroke to fit more. You almost had it, but when you wanted to take the last bit, his soft tip reached your throat and triggered the gag reflex, you tried to ignore it, but you couldn’t.

With that, you pulled back to give yourself a second to breathe.

”Fuck, look at you. Eyes watery, makeup smudged, spit leaking out of your mouth, you look so fucking sexy.“

You grinned and darted your tongue out, licking a long stripe from bottom to top from his dick and with a swift move, you had him in your mouth again, but now only what fitted in without gagging again, jerking the rest of his dick with your hand.

”Such a good girl, fuck baby.“

His moans got louder and you could feel his member starting to twitch, you removed him out of your mouth and just jerked him on your tongue, and before he could warn you, his cum shot into your mouth, painting your tongue white. You looked up at him and he looked like a Greek god, his muscles prominent, head in his neck, and his eyes rolled back. You stroked him until he came back down and looked at you with a big smile, now you swallowed his cum while letting him watch you.

”You are something else darling, fuck. You look so pretty like this. Fucked out. Come here, I need to feel you close.“

With that he shuffled back and leaned with his back against the headboard of the bed, patting his legs, symbolizing you to sit down in his lap. And you did just that, you swung your leg over his leg and sat down, feeling his now soft dick against your pussy. This time there were no sexy feelings involved, you just went in for a hug, also needing the cuddle session you two had going on.

”Do you want to go and pee real quick? Then we can continue our cuddles, I just don’t want you to get sick.“

With a smile, you nodded and he helped you getting up from the bed, with an extra sway to your hips you went to the en-suite and did your thing, coming cleaned up back to see him looking comfy under the covers. You went to the living room where you first sat on the couch today and saw both of your phones laying on the table, you took them both in your hands and returned to Lando. He opened the blanket he was laying under and you slipped in, immediately you were pulled towards Lando, settling into his body nicely.

”You are really comfy, you know that?“, you said to him, he was the perfect mixture of trained but cuddly.

”You know that you are fucking gorgeous?“

You chuckled and gave him his phone you had in your hand.

”So we can exchange numbers.“

With that you opened yours and clicked onto the contact app, creating a new contact with the name ’Lan <3‘ and giving him your phone, at the same time he gave you his phone to save your number. When you saw the contact name you let out a quiet laugh, he saved you as ’Chicken nugget❤️‘.

”Chicken Nugget? Really?“, you laughed.

”Yes, the way you ate the chicken nugget earlier was super sexy. And also you are a chicken nugget. Small, the outside crunchy and perfect, the inside soft, and the taste perfect in general.“

You shook your head while laughing.

”The inside soft?“

”I could only feel you with my dick but you felt really soft.“

With that, he wiggled his eyebrows and smirked at you. You slapped his chest lightly and smiled, he‘s such a goofball, you were glad you met up with him.

You exchanged phones again after putting in your numbers and put them on the bedside table, wanting to feel close and you didn’t need your phone for that.

”So Y/N, tell me, do you meet up with random guys often?“

”Not really, I went on a couple of dates with guys, but nothing more, one or two led to a one night stand but I left as soon as we were done, no need to stay. They all didn’t treat me right, too much in their own head, only talking about themselves. What about you? Do you hit up girls often?“

”Sometimes, but the most girls only come to get a picture with me or to kiss me, you know, to brag about it on the internet or something. I rarely go on a date with a girl that is not interested in Lando Norris but in Lando. I‘m glad I found you, it feels like we have a different connection.“

”I feel the same, you know. It feels like we‘ve known each other for years already. And by the way, I‘m interested in you. Not Lando Norris the racing driver but the boy Lando, that lives in Monaco and loves spending time with his friend.“

He just smiled at you and kissed your forehead.

”I‘m happy you agreed to meeting me, I just wanted a quick fuck but I’m not gonna let you go now. I want to take you on actual dates and get to know you. I will schedule something for tomorrow night, yeah? After tire testing.“

”I‘d love that Lan.“

With that, he kissed your nose and you closed your eyes, kissing his chest.

”What do you want? Italien or something else?“

”Italien sounds good. Thank you.“

”I‘m gonna make a quick call.“

With that he got up, grabbed his phone, and went to another room to call a restaurant or something, you didn’t know. But with that short time, you grabbed your own phone and looked at the notifications, some from Instagram and other socials, and messages from friends and family. Your best friend's messages stuck out to you.

He returned, still naked and with his phone in his hand.

”We have a reservation at 7:00 pm tomorrow, wear something nice.“

”We have to get my stuff tomorrow before we go. When do we even leave and how? Spa isn’t exactly around the corner.“

”The helicopter takes off tomorrow at 11:00 am. That’s the easiest and fastest way. We can go to your hotel before we leave for the airport and gather your stuff, don’t worry.“

”And it’s really okay I‘m coming with you?“

”Yes baby, don’t worry. I invited you. What do they wanna do? Kick you out? Then I‘m out as well.“

”Okay“, you sweetly smiled at him and opened your arms. ”But now come cuddle again.“

He did just that, falling into your arms, and now he was the one settling on your chest, hugging you and you closed your arms behind his back as well. His arm reached for the nightstand, where he placed his phone and grabbed the remote control for the room. He pressed the button to close the curtain and then he turned on the lights, dimming them to create a nice atmosphere. Lando put the remote back on the table and caressed your side, which tickled slightly.

”What’s your favorite position?“

”Lando!“

”What? I need to know, this won’t be the last time I was in you“, he let out a laugh.

You giggled.

”Well, I like good old missionary. It’s underrated I think. Everybody is always saying that it’s boring, but is it too much to ask for that I want to look my partner in the eye or kiss him? But I also like speed bump, something where you are close to the other. If it’s just a one night stand I wouldn’t mind doggy. What about you?“

”I can only agree with you, I like missionary as well, I want to feel close to my girl or else I don’t need to have sex with her. As you said, a one night stand is a different story. But I also think that I‘m open to new things. I’d rather try out new stuff with my girlfriend rather than a stranger.“

”So I‘m not a one night stand to you? We fucked twice and it was only missionary. Technically I‘m a stranger to you.“

”But it doesn’t feel that way you know? As soon as you stepped through that door it was like meeting an old friend, I felt comfortable. And during sex, I just wanted to be close to you, hold and kiss you“, with that he left a kiss on your chest.

”You’re pretty sweet you know that?“

”How can I not when you’re around?“

You just smiled and combed your hands through his hair, enjoying the silence. After a while of just listening to each other's breaths you wondered what time it was, so you grabbed your phone and it was already 10:42 pm.

”Would you mind if I would get ready for bed? I‘m kinda knackered.“

”Go for it, I‘ll join you, I have to brush my teeth as well.“

With that, you both got up and you pulled your stuff out of your bag, putting the charger next to the bed and you took your toothbrush and your makeup remover with you to the bathroom, where you saw a through his phone scrolling Lando. When you walked in, he locked his phone and looked at you, smiling.

”I just asked Zak if it would be okay for you to come and he agreed, so you won’t be a bother tomorrow.“

”That’s nice, I‘ll thank him tomorrow.“

You both stood in front of the sink and you brushed your teeth together.

”It feels like we’re a married couple, brushing our teeth together“, Lando mumbled due to the foam that formed in his mouth.

You just nodded and noticed how true that was, it felt like a routine how you brushed your teeth together. When he spit the foam out and washed his mouth and face, he left with a kiss on the back of your head and the words: ”I‘ll wait for you on the bed.“

You took your makeup remover and removed everything you had applied to your face earlier, you indeed looked fucked out, smudged eyeliner and mascara, concealer that wore off due to you crying when you choked on his dick. You were a mess. So when your face was Makeup free and cleaned up, you returned to Lando in the bedroom, still naked by the way.

”Can I lend a T-shirt? I forgot to pack an extra.“

”Sure, you can grab the one I wore today, I swear I didn’t sweat in it.“

With a smile you looked for it and found it on the floor, you took it in your hands and pulled it over your head, secretly inhaling his scent that lingered on his T-shirt.

”You look cute in my stuff.“

You blushed and laid down next to him, plugging the charger in your phone.

”When is your alarm ringing?“, you asked, needing enough time to gather everything from your hotel room before taking off to spa.

”I think like 8:30 am? It’s pretty early but like that, you have enough time for packing your stuff in your hotel. I think it’s easier if I pack everything here and then we go together to yours. That way we won’t have to drive multiple times to our hotels.“

You nodded and cuddled into his side. He let his fingers slip through your hair, caressing it.

”Can I braid your hair?“

”What?“, you sat up.

”I want to braid your hair, I always saw my sister do it but I never was allowed to try it on their hair, they always said I would tangle it.“

”Do you even know how to braid hair?“

”Kind of? My ex girlfriend always asked me to do it but I never wanted to, but your hair is so gorgeous.“

You blushed at the compliment, he didn’t want to braid his model ex girlfriends hair but yours? Your hair hasn’t been braided in ages, it would be nice to feel that feeling again.

”Sure, it would be fun. I need to get my hairbrush first, they’re kinda tangled.“

You got up and went to your bag, where you kept a small hairbrush for emergencies. You quickly but carefully brushed your hair and sat on the bed, where Lando already waited for you.

”Three strands, and then just put one over the other, right?“

”Yeah, like that. Do you know in which order to put the strands over the other?“

”I think so, I‘ll just try it out.“

With that he combed through your hair with his fingers and created three strands, gently putting the right one over the middle one, repeating it with the left one.

”Can you pull it a bit tighter? That way it won’t be that loose.“

Before you could end your sentence he already pulled it a bit harder, now it looked better, he thought. He kept on braiding your hair until he came to the end.

”Do you have a hair tie?“

You grabbed one that hung around your wrist and gave it to him, feeling how he tightened it around your hair.

This moment felt so intimate, you found it hard to believe, you just met today. This was soulmate behavior, you got along perfectly.

”I think it’s decent.“

With that, you turned around a saw a smiling Lando.

”Wait let me take a picture of you.“

You blushed and mumbled an ’okay‘. He got his fancy photography camera out and instructed you to lie down.

”Lay down on your front, that way your face won’t be visible, just your hair and I can put it up on my jpg side.“

”You want me to be on there?“

”Sure, you’re a beautiful girl with an even more beautiful personality.“

”You’re a simp.“

”That’s not what you called me earlier tho.“

A grin slid across your face, when you thought about that moment. He wasn’t a simp when he was buried deep inside of you, that’s true. But the thought of you being on his jpg side gave you butterflies in your stomach, that meant you were a little special to him, you‘ve never seen a girl on there.

So you did just what he asked you to, laying down on your stomach, he made sure you could see your braid and you heard the camera click, indicating he took a picture. He took a few more pictures and then tapped your shoulder to tell you he was finished.

”Let me see!“

With that, he clicked on a button and the pictures he took appeared, it didn’t even look stupid, like a good Pinterest inspo even.

”You’re actually good at it. The braid looks good too!“

”Thank you love, but how can it be ugly when the muse is perfect?“

You pushed his chest and he fell down on the bed, the camera still in his hand. So before you could react he took a picture of you sitting on the bed on your knees and you let out a scream.

”What are you doing? I don’t look good, I‘m not even wearing makeup.“

”You don’t need makeup, you’re gorgeous without it, and I want to have a beautiful picture of you, is that too much to ask for? Pose for me baby.“

You let out a laugh and you heard the camera click. Next, you squeezed your cheeks with your hands, creating a little pout. Now he got up and put his left hand on your right cheek, cupping it gently, camera now full in your face, click. His thumb on your lips, click. You opened your mouth and sucked on his thumb, click. He put the camera away and removed his thumb from your mouth, pressing his lips on yours, his tongue entered your mouth and you fought for dominance.

”Baby you taste so good“, he whispered in between kisses.

A whimper left your mouth and you kissed him ever more, the more kisses that passed the filthier they got, creating loud smacking noises every time they met.

”I need you“, you moaned.

”You have me.“

You looked into his eyes and they got darker, now a lusty dark green. The excitement was very present in your pussy, due to you not wearing panties, you could feel your wetness forming and slowly dripping down.

”I want you out of my T-shirt and then I want to take a picture. Is that alright with you?“

You moaned at the thought of him taking pictures of you doing the deed. So the only thing you could do was nod your head.

”Words, baby, I need words.“

”Yes, Lando.“

”Good girl.“

With that, he pulled your T-shirt up and tossed it over his shoulder somewhere in the bedroom. He cupped your breast and kissed you. Taking the camera in his hand, while still cupping your boob, you heard the camera doing a click sound. Fuck this is so filthy.

”Look into the camera.“

You did what he asked you to, hearing a moan from him when you did.

”Fuck baby, you’re so hot and sexy, I hope you know it.“

He squeezed your nipple and let go of his camera, fumbling with his underwear, struggling to get it off. When he finally did, his cock sprung towards the ceiling, obviously being turned on by the filthy things you were doing. You laid on your back and spread your legs, he now got a good vision of your glistening pussy. Taking the camera back into his hand, he took a picture of you laying like that, and another of his thumb brushing through your pussy lips, collecting the juices you created again.

The room was filled with click sounds from the camera and your moans or heavy breathing. The sexual tension was almost unbearable in the room.

He now took his cock in his hand and smeared your wetness, that lingered on his thumb, on the tip of his cock, prepping it. Sliding into you, was one of his favorite things already. You could hear the camera click, taking pictures of his dick shoved inside of you, you couldn’t wait to see the pictures. He threw the camera to the side and now concentrated fully on you, moving in and out of you. With each thrust, you both came closer to your orgasm and when he circled your clit with his fingers, you were done for. Quickly he grabbed his camera and could take a picture of your face when you reached your climax. Eyes rolling back, mouth slightly open, and quiet little moans escaped your lips. Shortly after he pulled out and finished on your stomach, he rolled off of you and calmed down next to you. You wanted to clean his cum off of your tummy, when he let out a loud: ”No! I want to take a picture, give me a minute.“

You laughed and waited for him to recover, he snapped the picture and you got up and went into the bathroom, cleaning the mess up with toilet paper. Returning, you pulled the T-shirt from Lando over your head again and laid down, you were tired out from all the sport you did today. Lando also looked like he was tired out, ready to sleep.

”But now, let’s actually go and sleep, it’s late and we have to get up early tomorrow.“

You nodded and turned to lay on your side, facing Lando. He did the same, after turning off the light with the remote that laid on his bedside table and you both looked the other in the eye. Eventually, Lando pulled you close and you cuddled, until you both fell asleep in the other's arms.

—————————————————————————

The next morning you woke up lying on your back, with Lando lying on his side, facing you. The brown haired boy was still fast asleep, his face relaxed and peaceful. You took a deep breath, smelling Lando everywhere, it was like taking a bath in his smell, a bath that you never wanted to get out of. Turning around, you looked for your phone, tapping the screen gently it showed 7:49 am, great, you had another fifty minutes of sleep and you weren’t even tired. With that you turned around again, showing your back to Lando and shuffling close to him. When your back met his chest, he laid his arm around you, even in his sleep he wanted to be as close as possible.

You did fall asleep eventually, Lando’s scent lulling you back to sleep. But a loud beeping sound woke you up again, after what felt like two minutes of sleep. You groaned and pressed your back more into Lando, who let out the same sound as you did. He turned his body to snooze his alarm and cuddled back into you. With you being pressed tightly against him, you could feel something hard pressing in your lower back, you didn’t need long to figure out what it was. You wanted to tease him a little and wiggled around, acting like you tried to get comfortable.

”If you don’t stop, we‘ll not make it today“, he growled. Letting out a chuckle you stopped and turned to face him. When you looked into his eyes you let out a: ”Good morning.“

”Morning baby. How did you sleep?“

”Very good, thank you.“

”We sadly don’t have all day in bed, we need to get up in like thirty minutes, I need to pack everything, we go to your hotel, pack everything, and then we leave for the airport at 10:30 am, where we take off at 11:00 am.“

”Okay.“

You put your hand on his cheek and stroked it.

”You are very handsome, you know that?“

”Not as gorgeous as you are, tho.“

You smiled and pecked his lips, letting your thumb glide over his eyebrow. You both were startled by the loud ringing of his alarm, he ended it and clicked on a button on his remote control to open the blinds and let more light in. He laid down on his back and opened his arm to come closer to him. And you did just that, cuddling to his side and stroking his bare upper body, slowly but surely your hand wandered lower to where his dick was.

”Baby I swear, if you don’t stop, we‘ll never leave.“

”I can give you a handie or a blowie, I won’t need thirty minutes for that.“

”But it’s only a morning boner, he‘ll go away soon. And I don’t want our relationship to be built on lust you know? I genuinely like you, and not only because you are fricking hot and you give good blowjobs.“

”I really like you too, you know. And I don’t want it either, but a boner is a boner and it would be a shame to waste it.“

You looked up at him and blinked in a flirty way. When he didn’t protest, you positioned yourself on top of him and freed his dick, which sprung towards you when he did. Saliva formed in your mouth at the sight, you didn’t waste any time and got to work, spitting on your hand, wetting it to gently jerk him off. When you touched him he let out a moan, you were some kind of magician, he was sure, a handjob never felt better. After you got him fully hard with your hand, you put your mouth on him, swirling your tongue around the head and helping with your hand on the rest that didn’t fit in your mouth. The louder his moans got, the closer he was to a release, you wanted him to cum, so when you cupped his balls and slightly tickled them he came with a loud moan, painting the insides of your mouth white. You swallowed like the pro you are and came back up to him, laying down on top of him. His arms closed behind your back and he kissed your nose.

”You’re incredible, you know that? Not only a gorgeous soul but also incredibly good at giving blowjobs.“

You both laughed and he gave you another kiss on the forehead.

”We need to get up, or else we will be late. Breakfast is at the circuit, is that okay or do you want to order something from the hotel restaurant?“

”I‘m good, don’t worry.“

With that, you got up and Lando followed you into the bathroom where you brushed your teeth, hair, washed your face, and got dressed in the sweats and T-shirt you had on yesterday. You didn’t bring any makeup with you, so you had to go barefaced for now, but that wasn’t a problem. You packed your stuff in your bag, which you brought and sat back on the bed after asking Lando at least five times if you could help him pack, which was five times denied, Lando scattered his stuff in his suitcase. In between you went, folded the clothes, and packed them back neatly, as well as sorted out everything else so they would fit and it would have a system. After twenty minutes he claimed he had everything and when you reminded him of the bathroom he rushed there and gathered everything. You could only shake your head at the way his brain wasn’t fully working in the morning, but in a cute way.

So when he was finally finished and zipped his suitcase, he said: ”You didn’t need to do that for me you know? I appreciate it anyway, thank you love.“ And he gave you a kiss on the cheek.

You made your way to the lobby and then outside, hopping in one of the many taxis that waited outside. Lando named the driver your hotel address and paid him generously after arriving. Both of you went up to your room and you started with doing a light makeup for the day, you didn’t want to look too caked up but a little bit never hurt anyone. You also changed into something fancier and looked not too much. Lando chilled on your bed just like you did in his room minutes prior. When you had everything packed, it was 10:28 am, just like Lando said, you had to leave for the airport at 10:30 am.

”I‘m done!“ and with that he got off the bed and took both of your suitcases in his hand, rolling them behind him.

”You do know that I can take my suitcase as well, you don’t need to.“

”But I want to, I wish I had another hand to hold yours but sadly I don’t.“

You smiled and went to the lobby where you again, hopped in a taxi that brought you to the airport. Due to traffic, you arrived at 10:49 am, giving you only ten minutes until the helicopter was to start.

”Lando, why are you so slow? We need to catch it.“

”Will you calm down? I don’t think the helicopter, that is specifically rented for me, will take off without me“, he laughed and when you thought about it, it did make sense, now you could only laugh after slowing down as well. When you arrived at the VIP check in, you were taken to the place where the helicopters were, one guy loaded both of your stuff in the back and another guy showed you what and what not to do on a helicopter, just a safety check. And when you finally sat in it, with your headphones on, you got butterflies. You were really doing this, going to spa with a boy you met the day before. He could easily kidnap you now, nobody would know, well your best friend would know. You had faith that he wouldn’t do such thing and before you knew it, you took off and flew through the air to another country.

The flight was fun, you and Lando talked without a break and took funny pictures, but only selfies this time. Which reminded you, that you haven’t had a look at the ones you took yesterday evening. So when you landed, a car picked you up and drove you to the circuit, the butterflies only intensifying now. You were about to meet people that were holy to Lando, what would he say? Would he introduce you? And if yes, as what? Girlfriend? No, you guys aren’t together. As a friend? Technically you weren’t even friends. As the girl, he chatted up on Raya and took her to spa because she‘s a good fuck? No, he couldn’t. But you reached the circuit before you could think about it more, the door opened, Lando got out and held his hand out to you to help you get out. You took it gladly and hopped out of the car, you thought he would now release his hand, but no. He kept yours in a tight grip when he started walking toward the entrance. You followed him and smiled. Holding his hand was a good feeling, you felt protected and safe, especially in this new surroundings. Walking towards the McLaren hospitality, you now were shaking with nerves, you didn’t even know why. Meeting new people always made you feel this way.

”Are you okay?“

”Yes, Lan. I‘m just nervous. Meeting your people and all that.“

”Don’t be, they‘ll love you. I spend a lot of time with them and I know how they are, you will love them too, they’re just like me.“

”Just don’t leave me alone for the first ten minutes please.“

”I‘ll never leave you, darling.“

With that, you entered the building and you were met with a lot of people. He immediately greeted everyone that came up to him to say hi, he even took a few minutes to chat with them. So when you made your way to the offices of Zak and Andrea, you were shaking again.

”Relax love, there are barely any people here. It’s not a race weekend, only tire testing with Pirelli.“

”Barely any people? Lando that place was filled with humans!“

”Yeah, but don’t worry, the garage won’t be as filled.“

You reached the offices and Lando knocked on a door, when the door opened you were met with Andrea.

”Morning Andrea! I just wanted to let you know that Y/N will be joining me today, I spoke with Zak and he said it wouldn’t be a problem.“

”Of course not! Welcome Y/N! How are you?“

”Thank you, I‘m good, a bit nervous, it’s a lot to take in.“

”Yeah I get it! Why weren’t you there on the weekend? You missed a good weekend!“

”Well I uhm“, you looked at Lando for help, what should you say?

”She wasn’t free so I took her today, I wanted her to see what I do“, Lando said for you.

”What a shame! Maybe you can come to a race after the summer break, it’s way better than just tire testing.“

”I‘d love to, thank you.“

With that, he said his goodbyes and went back to work, and Lando was already knocking on the other door, which belonged to Zak.

He opened the door and was met with the same smile Andrea had.

”You must be Y/N! It’s nice to meet you.“

”Thank you for letting me come. It’s also nice to meet you!“

”Ah don’t worry, Lando always has free spots for a plus one. What exactly are you to Lando? I’ve never seen or heard about you before, no offense.“

”None taken, uhm I‘m uhm, a friend of Lando’s?“

You wanted to sound confident but it came out more like a question, because you really didn’t know what you were.

”Yeah exactly, she‘s a good friend and we met in Amsterdam, I figured why not bring her you know.“

”I get it, I get it, well have fun Y/N. Maybe we‘ll see each other again.“

”Thank you, I hope so too.“

You squeezed Lando’s hand and he said his goodbyes as well and pulled you to his drivers' room.

”Wasn’t that bad, was it?“

”It was fine, yes.“

”Come on, meeting the guys will be easier.“

Due to the rain, he pulled a rain jacket over his hoodie and gave you one as well. You pulled it over and it was too big on you, but you loved an oversized look. So you went to the garage where people stood and worked a little on the car, just cleaning the remainders from the weekend.

”Guys this is Y/N, my uhm friend.“

Lando did the rounds with you and introduced you to everyone. They were lovely, they all welcomed you with open arms and made you feel comfortable. When it was time for Lando to make his way around the track, you had no trouble with staying with the crew and chatting.

It did get uncomfortable when one of his mechanics asked how the two of you met, but you said online, and judging by their looks, they understood what you meant.

After two hours Lando was done, he had already done his meetings and now was fully released for his summer break. He, again, took your hand and held it until you walked to the car, picking you up to drive to a hotel. You thought he would let go of your hand once you were in the car, but you were wrong. He held it even when you sat next to each other, talking and getting to know each other.

When you arrived at the hotel, Lando checked you in and you both went up to the room. It was a rather small room, but enough for one night. It now was 4:00 pm and you still had three hours until the date with Lando. Lando removed his shoes and jumped onto the bed.

”It’s bouncy, the last bed was hard, what do you think is better?“

”I think hard, when you fuck me, the whole bed will shake.“

He smirked and patted the space next to him, on which you laid down. When you cuddled into his side you noticed you tired you actually were, you didn’t catch much sleep during the week due to you working late and having to get up early, and last night, Lando kept you up for most of it. You needed a nap, and when you looked Lando into his eyes, you noticed that he felt the same.

”Should we take a nap? I‘m fucking tired.“

You nodded with your head, ”I was about to say the same actually.“

You both removed the denim you had on and now laid down on the bed again, cuddling under the blanket. You were glad he texted you, it felt like he was the best company ever and you only met him a day ago.

Two hours later you woke up, feeling completely out of this world, you needed a few minutes to figure out who and where you were. When you saw Lando being asleep, you thought about waking him up. After all the date would start in an hour but did he need that much time for getting ready? You doubt it.

So with that you got up and started to do a little heavier makeup look, nothing bad, just a touch up and the eyeshadow got a shade darker. You picked out the clothing for later and after thirty minutes it was time to wake Lando. With your hand on his shoulder, you started to quietly shake him.

”Lando, baby, wake up. It’s almost time for us to leave.“

You felt him stir and look at you with the same expression you had earlier, he clearly was somewhere else, so you laid down next to him and let him wake up in peace. After five more minutes, he finally came back and started getting ready as well. When he saw you in your outfit, you just put on, he couldn’t help himself but stare. He‘d never seen such a beautiful girl.

”You look fantastic baby.“

You could only blush.

The restaurant he chose was only a five minute walk, so you didn’t need to catch a taxi.

At 6:50 pm you left the hotel and made your way to the restaurant, Lando held your hand and you couldn’t feel more safe than now. It didn’t even bother you, when you passed a group of young men, which normally would have freaked you out.

When you arrived, the nice lady showed you to your table, it was in a more secluded area, where you two could have some privacy. Sitting down, the waiter came and took your drink order, after a few seconds you both settled for a fruity cocktail. The pizzeria wasn’t as filled with people as you had thought and you were thankful for it. You skipped through the menu while talking with Lando, he couldn’t choose either, too many yummy things were listed, and you eventually both settled on pizza. You could never go wrong with a pizza, could you?

You liked how easy things were with Lando, you never had a silent minute, and you were always talking about something. Learning new things from the other with every word. He was such a goofball, always making you laugh and giggle, as well as he was a gentleman, paying for the meal and helping you with your chair. He complimented you with everything you did.

When the pizzas arrived you only stopped talking, when the mouth was full, otherwise, you talked about your future plans, family, your jobs, hobbies, and whatnot. You couldn’t remember anymore, it was so natural at this point, that it felt like your hundreds date.

Lando ordered the bill and paid the meal, not listening to your protests of wanting to help him with that, he only gave you a stern look, but in a funny way. When you made your way out of the restaurant and into a park that was nearby, Lando wanted to ask you a question, he had on his mind the whole day.

”So will you come with me and my family on holiday?“

part three

[coldbronzemoon]

Danny Fenton, Totally Mortal Hero Consultant (DPxDC)

Snippet for an AU I'll probably never fully write where Danny takes a job as a consultant for the Justice League to help with ghost and demon bullshit. It's a pretty good cash flow to help him with college, after all, and very flexible hours.

He just claims all his knowledge comes from his parents. Unfortunately, the JL has caught word of the elusive yet active hero Phantom, and want Danny to help them meet and assess him. Whoops.

Over the phone, Tucker sighed. “Good Christ, Danny, why do you keep doing this?”

“I’m not doing anything,” Danny said immediately. He winced at the vague sound of screaming below. Demons sucked. “I didn’t know the JL thing was gonna have me finding Phantom. How would I? They were talking about tracking down powerful ghosts, I was assuming Ancients!”

Tucker sighed again, which was really quite unfair of him. “Mhm. Well, Fenton Catcher?”

“Probably not. They know me pretty well at this point, and unlike what Sam says I can be professional. I’d confuse them with the… uh…”

“Stoner shtick?”

There was more screaming happening, but judging from the pitch it was a demon screaming this time. Danny checked the situation. Yep, demon getting their ass kicked. He didn’t need to get involved with a blaster. Yet.

Instead, he scowled at his phone. “Stop calling it that.”

“You’re gonna tell me flanny Danny wasn’t a pitch-perfect stoner, huh? With the chill vibing and the dopey look?”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too, bud.” 

The sound of a clacking keyboard that had underlined their conversation stopped. “But seriously, Danny, what the hell are you gonna do with this?”

“Uh, lie, probably,” Danny said, because it was very likely.

“Alright, smartass, what are you going to do when that lie backfires on you like literally every other one does?”

“That’s when I start gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing, babe.”

He had a hard time hearing Tucker’s distant groan of “Why am I still your friend?” on account of the sudden explosion. Danny checked again. Hm. Demon dude had a nasty fire thing going on.

Danny switched on his Fenton water gun—holy water included!-- and shot the demon in the face. They let out a cracking hiss of rage, but dropped the fire spell thing. He waited for them to stop looking around wildly for the culprit for a moment. 

He went back to the call. “‘Cause you loooove me, Tuck. From the bottom of your twice-dead heart.”

“Unfortunately,” Tucker deadpanned.

Danny just cackled. It was lost amongst the sound of supernatural bullshit below.

“Anyway, I’m still figuring out my plan A, honestly. Might bring in gray-man?”

“Amorpho’s an asshole, though. He’ll ruin the whole thing by taking the opportunity to shift into a JL member for a bit.”

Hm. True.

“Yeah, but he’s the main guy I know with that power set.”

“Ask after Desiree?” He could hear the immediate distaste in Tucker’s voice. “Ugh, pretend I didn’t say that. That’s worse than Amorpho.”

“It’s awful,” Danny agreed easily. 

Desiree was actually pretty alright nowadays, mostly on account of Danny remembering the last couple minutes of Aladdin and wishing she could refuse wishes she didn’t want to grant. That had made her happy enough to stop actively picking fights. 

Unfortunately, spending the entirety of one’s afterlife twisting the wording of wishes to their worst form made it hard to stop being an asshole. Who knew! So getting Desiree to split him in two for like a week had a 50/50 chance of fucking up his work relationship with the literal league of superheroes irrevocably. And this was his main cash flow right now.

So, no Desiree, no siree.

“Come up with something better then, asshole.”

Danny hummed and, since the heroes below were focused on the demon, lifted up a little and did a thoughtful back flip. What to do, what to do…?

Oh!

“My cousin!” he exclaimed.

“What cous—? Oh, Ellie.”

“Yeah, Ellie, Tuck. Which other cousins do I have?”

Tucker scoffed. “You literally have that whole Nightingale thing going on through your dad?”

Danny couldn’t help the face he made. The remaining Nightingales were worse than his parents somehow. “The Nightingales don’t count.”

“You can’t just say they don’t count.”

“I can say that, actually, and I will. They’re, like, cousins through my great-great-great-grandpa anyway.”

“Isn’t there a fight going on over there? Should you be shooting someone?”

 “Yeah, probably.”

He peaked down through the window once more. The heroes must have gotten the first demon to leave while he was talking, because the horned demon fighting them now was a truly unfortunate shade of yellow-green instead of purple. Or maybe it had transformed for some reason? They had it about as in-hand as the other one, though, so Danny definitely didn’t need to go down there. He shot the maybe-new demon in the face real quick.

“Anyway, Ellie can totally help out, she’s been practicing with changing up her looks. She’s also more, uh, malleable than me, what with her situation and all. Looking fully like Phantom shouldn’t be hard.”

Tucker hummed. “She’d try to embarrass you though.”

“Yeah, that’s a problem.” Danny spun in place. “I could bribe her?”

“With what? Her life doesn’t involve needing much cash.”

“She doesn’t get out to the Zone very much. Not many of the inhabited places, anyway. I can promise her the weird apple things Dora’s been growing with Sam’s help, she loved those.”

“If you think that’ll work…” Tucker trailed off dubiously.

Danny laughed. “She’s annoying sometimes, but she’s not gonna fuck over my job if I ask her not to. I’ll just bribe her extra hard for resisting the temptation to mock me.”

“Fair enough.” The clacking of keys resumed. “I’ve really gotta pay attention now, someone’s trying to stop me from getting into this database. Someone half-decent, actually, did they upgrade? Hm. Make sure no one died, yeah?”

“They’re alive. Bye, Tuck,” Danny said, and ended the call.

He shoved his phone back into his jacket pocket and made his way down the stairs. The fight outside he had been stationed for was basically over—Captain Marvel and Green Lantern (Danny was pretty sure he had accidentally learned the dude’s actual name at some point, but hell if he could remember)—had pulled out the magic restraints one of the other consultants had handed out.

That had probably been Constantine. Ugh. Constantine. Dude could stand to lighten up a little; skulking and smoking all the time wasn’t the base state of someone enjoyable to be around. Then again, Danny knew he annoyed the shit out of some of the league with his own attitude, so he maybe shouldn’t talk. But at least he was annoying with a smile!

Case in point: Danny grinned at the heroes. “Got it handled?”

“Suppose so,” said the Green Lantern, “though a little more help would have been nice.”

Captain Marvel was too busy getting in a minor tussle with the demon to say anything either way.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m like, pretty mortal,” Danny said. “I’m not fucking with demons right where they can hit me. And I did shoot him!”

Green Lantern rolled his eyes, but admitted the point. Danny cheerfully flipped him off anyway.

“I’ll be heading out, then, the hellmouth this guy crawled out of is like three miles away.” Captain Marvel said, hauling the handcuffed demon over his shoulders like a very angry backpack.

“Oh, one more for the road!” 

Danny hit the demon with a final water gun shot. Hissing and scrunching their face like a cat, the demon tried to lunge at him. It wasn’t very successful. Weirdly non-verbal for a demon, who usually had to talk to make deals and steal mortal souls, but Danny wouldn’t judge. Might be a minor demon. A really basic imp? Who knew.

“Stop being a little bitch and you won’t get spray-bottled, asshole,” Danny chided.

With a loud laugh, Captain Marvel sped away.

[wordstome]

the very first night (ntwdt pt 2)

tell me that you hate it hate that i'm no longer in your reach if i can't hear you say it maybe you can't change it, but if you never if you never put it on the line how am i gonna sign for it?

alpha colonel König x beta ex-lover reader

2nd person, no y/n, she/her pronouns, reader's callsign is Eden, reader speaks French, omegaverse, exes to lovers, fraternization, fantasy version of military protocol, probable incorrect use of "copy"

2.2k words

tw: mentions of dead bodies and vague violence, dirty talk, könig is in rut but no actual sex happens, mention of grinding

Do you guys still even remember this au??? 😅 I'm back to writing this fic with this specific format just like the last time I had bad writer's block. I'm sorry that I basically made you guys take a poll and then immediately disregarded the results :( metalhead König is going to be the next one published, and then kosovo maiden. Anyway, this is less of a foray into the omegaverse as it is into exploring a married couple's dynamic. Forgive me if it's inaccurate, I've never been married. (Several of the people who will probably read this are married so...I might be really embarrassing myself here lol)

“Two on your six, O’Conor.”

König watches as his colleague takes down his pursuants with practiced ease. “Good to have someone watching over me, Eden.” the man roughs into his comms.

“It was my pleasure, Declan.”

“Can you two keep the flirting off the main comms?” Fender huffs. König hears O’Conor snort before the line goes quiet.

“Steady,” Horangi says next to him.

“What?” König says.

“You’re breathing like an angry bull. It’s unnerving.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s obvious you’re mad O’Conor’s flirting with your ex-wife.”

“She’s not—“ König lets out a sigh of defeat and tips his head away from the scope. “She can do whatever she wants. I’m not her keeper.”

“Right, which is why you’re white-knuckling your rifle and giving off the most furious pheromones I've ever felt."

König gives his friend a deadly side eye. “Can I help you?”

“Nah. Just confirming what I already know”, Horangi answers, unbearably smug.

König rolls his eyes and returns to the task at hand.

The two of you avoid each other, mostly.

When you’re forced to interact, it's with stiff professionalism. Cold and distant. The way it was when it was really, really bad.

You spend your time becoming closer to the other operators. O'Conor, for one, is someone you find yourself growing close to. In your line of work, it's usually not a good idea to get too attached to someone who may not see the next day, but it's part of your job to know these people now.

They're so competent that you can ignore the obvious, anyway.

König's always been competent, but watching him work nowadays is strange, like watching a remake of a nostalgic childhood film.

His movements are the same. He flicks his wrist the same way, with a heartbeat's worth of pause before the movement. Him taking cover, leaning with that awful posture you always got on his case about.

But everything about him is more ruthless, more efficient. The unrefined brutality of his youth is replaced with a honed precision that is foreign to you.

It stings, though you know the feeling has no right to exist.

You can't keep yourself from reminiscing about the past, when everything about him was familiar. When you knew him so well, it was enough to save both your lives.

"We've lost comms with König."

Your heart drops into your throat. You've been on several ops with him at this point, but this has never happened before.

"What do you mean you've lost comms?"

"He's not responding."

"What?" Fear grips your heart at everything that implies.

"He's in your building, Eden. Find him and extract. Copy."

You move slowly, like ice is flowing through your veins. "Copy."

You will yourself to calm down. Lost communications doesn't mean anything but lost communications. Panicking that you're going to encounter his body will only ensure you end up as a corpse as well. Besides, who could ever take down a man like that, tall like a giant and quick like a viper as he is?

If you had lost comms, what would you do? Re-establish them, of course. Pick your way out of the building and do everything in your power to reconnect with your team. From where König entered, he'd be exiting the building on the east side. You turn to head that way, then hesitate.

König's not you, though. He's not like any other member of the team. Proud, arrogant, vicious König, far more so than other alphas. You used to be afraid of him while he was at work, but eventually you came to realize that was simply how he was in his element—a different persona he wore to battle. As much as you wished he would be sensible and take the safe route, König would never take the safe route. He'd be carrying on the mission on his own, moving towards the target at the center of the building.

But he's a professional. No matter how good he is at what he does, he's not a one-man army, and he knows the right thing to do would be to extract. It's a gamble. If you head towards the east exit and he's not there, you could be losing precious time to find him. But if you head towards the center, you could be walking right into a fight you can't win and become overwhelmed.

You let out a shaky breath and attempt to calm your mind. What would he do? What is he thinking? If you make the wrong call, if you don't know your lover as well as you think you do, one of you won't be walking out of here. You close your eyes and think.

You open them with newfound determination and turn towards the center of the building.

You'd been right, of course, judging by the fallen enemies you find as you move through the hallways. But you don't allow yourself to feel sure until the moment you lay eyes on him, securing the target—a hard drive containing sensitive information.

"König!" you hiss, just as he whips towards you, gun drawn. He relaxes when he sees it's only you. Despite the fraught situation you're in, you can't help yourself from dashing towards him and burying your face into his chest in a hug.

"Eden," he says, his relief evident.

"You stupid motherfucker," you hiss. "You should have extracted the moment your comms cut out."

His eyes crinkle up behind his mask the way they always do when he smiles. "You knew I wouldn't."

"Yes, because I am burdened with being one of the few people on this earth who knows you like the back of my hand. Atlas holding up the sky," you grumble.

"I know you're relieved to see me," he responds, joy evident in his tone.

You let out a sigh. "Can we just get out of here?"

"Aye-aye, captain."

You could do without those memories, you think whenever the two of you trade clipped exchanges during ops now.

König still has traces of the arrogance of his youth, but it shows through less now. He's wiser, more patient and far less reckless.

You catch yourself admiring how good of a leader he's become. His connection with his teammates is like muscles flexing a hand.

You're no longer a part of that nervous system.

In fact, he's always catching you off guard now.

The energy in the common area is weird today.

You can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s like everyone’s walking on eggshells, but at the same time, nobody’s mood seems to be that affected. It’s like you’re all mice living in someone’s walls: going about business as usual, but with some looming threat casting a pall over everything.

“Is it just me or does the energy on base feel off today?” you ask Calisto.

“Oh. Yeah, that. Don’t worry about it,” she says. She swings open the refrigerator and pulls out coffee creamer. “No need for concern. König’s in rut.”

You do a double take. “He is?”

“Yeah.” She’s casual about it as she dumps cream and sugar into her coffee. “Usually he has a pretty light rut—he just gets testy and irritated. But for some reason this time is bad.” She offers you the cream, but you shake your head. “Don’t know what’s up with him, but he had to barricade himself in his room. His scent is driving people up the wall.”

You stare at the table in front of you. It can’t be a coincidence that König’s rut gets worse as soon as you’re near him again, can it?

When you look up, Horangi is staring at you from across the room. Slowly, he raises his mug to his lips, never once taking his eyes off of you.

You swallow the lump in your throat.

Calisto was right. The scent is overwhelming, but it's also familiar. You can't blame the others for avoiding the area. If you'd never dealt with him in this state before, you'd be hightailing it out of there too. Which is why you're doing this despite...everything.

You hover outside his door, trying to gather yourself, or work up the nerve to knock, or anything. It doesn’t matter in the end, though.

“I can smell you, liebling,” comes his voice, deep and growling and verging on feral. A shiver runs up your spine. You haven’t been called that in a long, long time.

“I only came here to bring you things. Water and…snacks.” you stammer, instantly hating yourself for how weak you sound.

“All these years later…and you still smell the same.” He blows right past your feeble little excuse, not even dignifying it with a response.

“I’m just here to check on you,” you murmur.

“Is that so.” You gasp as you hear a loud thud against the door from the other side. Oh God, it’s him, his body heat almost burning through the wood, pressed so close that you can hear his heaving breaths. “How kind of you.”

“It’s the least I can do, considering…”

“Considering it’s your fault I’m like this in the first place?”

Your legs feel weak. “Yes.”

His voice is silky, dangerous despite the barely restrained lust behind it. “Good girl.”

“That’s not fair,” you whisper.

“That’s a shame. You used to like it when I called you that. Still do, according to my nose.”

You wish he wasn’t right, but he is. You’re so slick that you’re soaking your underwear.

“Do you want the water or not?”

“Are you going to come with it?”

“I—”

“Because I promise you, if you’re still standing there when I open this door, you will get fucked against it.” He sounds like a savage animal snapping his jaws in hunger, and fuck, your body feels hot and weak in response. Every cell in your body is screaming out for you to throw open that door and let him fuck you limp. If you told him to break down the door, you’re sure that he would.

“You can’t say that anymore,” you whisper, hating the words as they leave you.

That seems to bring König back to rationality. You can picture him now on the other side of the door, shoulders slumping as he withdraws back into himself. "I...I'm sorry."

You slide down to sit on the ground with your back to the door, gripping a water bottle in a clenched fist. "It's like no time has passed at all, huh?"

You hear him let out a shaky breath, clearly trying to collect himself and bite back words he can't say. "Yeah."

That's the thing, isn't it? Your biology and his got the two of you into this situation in the first place. Very little of that has changed. Even though you've grown distanced in your minds, your bodies haven't forgotten the connection.

You're still struggling with how to feel about that. So much of your life has been dictated by what your body needs and wants. You've spent just as much time bucking against those needs and wants, so much that it feels like second nature.

"All of this...it takes me back. Do you remember the first night I spent with you during a rut?" you say. For a while you don't think he's heard you, but then he responds.

"How could I forget? It's my most embarrassing memory."

"Still?"

"I swore I would never let something like that happen again."

You giggle a little. "It was cute, for what it's worth." That first time, you'd come prepared with water and food, just like you had tonight, prepared for a long night full of...strenuous exercise. Instead, König had gotten so overwhelmed at his first rut with a partner that he came by just grinding on your leg and immediately fell into a 12-hour sleep.

"Yeah, you've said that. Doesn't make me cringe any less."

"And I'll say it again, it wasn't as bad as you think it is." You idly trace the cap of the water bottle with a fingertip. "There's no shame between us."

Another long pause before he responds. "Was."

A dull, throbbing pain nestles itself below your sternum.

"It...doesn't have to be past tense," you put forth tentatively.

"Doesn't it? We've gone right back to being strangers. You're still on the other side of the door."

You bite your lip. You can't deny that, nor the distance that's grown between the two of you.

This is all happening too fast. You don't know if you want to close the gap. You don't know if you're ready to make amends, after what happened.

"You're in no condition to have this conversation," you say, to distract both him and yourself.

"Conversation with you is hard to come by nowadays."

"Well...let's change that. Starting when your rut's over. Let's try talking like normal people again." This time, you don't know if you can blame your stupid biology for the relief you feel saying that. Maybe this time it's nothing but you and your treacherous heart.

You hear a thump against the door, but not an aggressive one. More like he's leaned his head against it. "I guess we have to start somewhere."

More silence. Then he speaks again, his voice tremulous.

"Can you stay? It's easier when you're here."

You swallow, your mouth gone dry like a desert. You can barely manage your next two words. "Of course."

The rest of the night is quiet, but you know he's there. At one point, you can even hear his steady, even breathing. Somewhere along the way, you notice that your breathing has synced with his.

The two of you fall asleep like that, propped up next to each other with a single layer of wood between you.

I miss you like it was the very first night...

I only revised this once while exhausted out of my fucking mind at 3am, so forgive me if anything's awkward or clunky. I'll probably go through it again in the morning (and die of cringe). But there we go! I hope you guys enjoy. As always, I would love to see your thoughts and comments <3

Regarding my tag lists: I've had to leave out a few people, so if you see your url missing from this, please let me know and I'll add you back. Also, apologies if you're here despite not asking to be tagged for this particular story. I haven't gotten around to sorting out fic-specific taglists yet 🥲

@kneelingshadowsalome @danibee33 @crowbird @poohkie90 @cumikering @iytatsworld @papaver-decervicatus @anxietyrain @cookiepie111 @no1runawaymilkdad @chthonian-spectre @backwards-readings @yxllowtxpe @hexqueensupreme @violetstyless @her-majesty-theking @vegan-peppermint @peonytarian @ghostslittlegf @deaddainish @teehee-47 @catluvwr @keiva1000 @waves-against-a-cliff @channelsoph @cutiecusp @itsagrimm @dins-riduur-anthe @mantishymns @lexuria @complexivelovely @black-moon-bunny @kit-williams @shebibtedmypepnis @mafer383

[averyangrypossum]

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the

Flowerbroadcast AU!

Based on the two drawings I did of a fankid for the ship radiostatic.

The full-body one

And the one with both Vox and her

And now, I’m gonna tell you all about it and exactly who the fuck this little kid is.

Lotus is the daughter of Vox (as you can tell) and Alastor and is six years old. She was created shortly after Vox and Al broke up, oh yeah I should probably talk about their relationship status. Vox and Alastor, unlike in canon, weren’t only close friends but were dating at some point, mostly because Alastor wanted to manipulate Vox’s feelings to where he’d be more compilable but accidentally took it too far, and since Vox is a piss baby Alastor decided to entertain Vox for a while.

Was this relationship healthy?

NO!

Would Vox say these were the best years of his afterlife?

Yeah.

But anyways, in this au when Vox asks Alastor to “join his team” he was actually proposing and Alastor finally realized,

“Shit maybe this has gone out of hand” and breaks it off with Vox which leaves Vox heartbroken and with an incel breakdown. Now instead of trying to move the fuck on, he has our little darling Lotus, who he has trying to fill the hole that Alastor left.

So obviously having a child for that reason isn’t going to make you a good parent.

Lotus’ relationship with the Vees are as follows in the particular order.

1 Velvette: She does Lotus’s hair everyday and picks out outfits for her to post on her social media before Lotus immediately undos everything that Velvette does and just goes for pigtails and her nightgown. Velvette has wine aunt energy and is probably the only one of the Vees to know how to talk and get through to Lotus.

2 Valentino: Surprising I know, but Lotus doesn’t know what he does to his workers, she knows what he does for work but grew up with thinking that was just something normal since Valentino was never hush hush about his job around her much to Vox’s dismay. Valentino isn’t a big fan of children and doesn’t hang around her often, but sometimes he’ll draw along side her while bitching about a particular show she’s watching even though it’s literally made for kids.

3 Vox: Wow, how bad do you have to fuck up for a pimp who hardly spends time with her to be ranked higher than her own father?? Vox, despite making the conscious decision to have her, he isn’t around like at all. Hes a workaholic through and through, and mostly leaves her with nannies and Velvette. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t love her. Au contraire he loves her with all his heart and soul. Will give her anything except quality time. He uses her more of an accessory than a child.

Now how exactly Lotus was made is up to you.

A robotic creation Vox made? Sure!

Some voodoo magic shit? Yeah!

Some weird magic thing where she kinda just poofed into existence? Why not!

Mpreg? I mean, do what you wanna do ig?

Cuz it really doesn’t matter!

This whole au starts with Lotus running away from the Vee tower to explore hell since she's basically Rapunzel. She gets lost and terrorized by sinners until our deer Alastor rescues her. Seeing his chance to promote the hotel he takes her there where she is offered to stay there by Charlie when Lotus complains about how bad her dad is. She graciously accepts because shes only six but is going through her “My dad hates me and I hate him” era. Which I mean…I would get that impression too if I didn’t see my dad that much.

Wait my dad lives across the country…don't talk to me rn I’m busy dyeing my hair black and becoming emo 🖤

But anyways she stays there while Vox is loosing his fucking mind, and becoming more mentally unstable.

Meanwhile! She's having the time of her life with the hotel's residents and a new father figure who treats her well and pays attention to her! Alastor! Now Al doesn’t know she is his kid, but that doesn't stop him from being a better dad than Vox out of spite!

Anyways, thats all I have, for now! Stay tuned my friends~

[lordeemailarchive]

how I’ve been, revised

(20/09/2023) (Solar Institute Bulletin No. 22) (From London)

Aftershow quiet in Helsinki

Hey,

I just finished writing you a long letter, catching you up on how I’ve been. It ended neatly, tied with a little bow. I chose my words well, but I didn’t tell the truth. So I’m starting again, gonna type and not look back, and send what comes out.

I’m in London, have been since May. Things feel clear here. I haven’t seen many friends; mostly, I’m alone with my thoughts. I go swimming, I go to work, I walk home or take the train, I eat in my kitchen, I go to bed thinking about what I’m making. I’m starting to miss my friends and family, like a vitamin I’m deficient in. Soon I’ll be going back to New York, and then home.

I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself. I eat chocolate to try and manipulate the endorphins, bring back the sweet happiness of Easter morning. I sit in the time machine and wait for it to move, but it hasn’t been invented yet.

My body is really inflamed, it’s trying to tell me something and I’m trying to support it but nothing seems to help and I get frustrated. My gut isn’t working properly, my skin is worse than ever, I’ve gotten sick half a dozen times. I realised earlier this year that listening to my body is hard for me, it’s something I never really learned how to do. I’ve been trying to teach myself that this year, but it’s been hard actually, pretty confronting, has made me fully aware of all the times I ignored it or didn’t give it what it needed, shamed it for a fight or flight response, took a handful of pills and pushed through. The little yellow pill I took every morning for thousands of mornings since I was 15, I stopped taking it 5 days ago. Gonna see how it goes.

I go online and look at everyone. Beautiful people sing to me. Everyone’s gotten really good at the same thing. I look at arched backs and wet flower mouths, the right bag, the right sunglasses. I wonder if it feels as good as it looks, it’s been so long since I chose the best picture from a hundred, lined it up like pulling an arrow taut in a bow, and let it go. Everyone looks very thin. Just thinking that makes me feel tired and far away. I’m not sure if it’s having an effect on anyone else. I keep spending money, wondering if what’s in the package will make me feel right, but I guess I buy the wrong things. I was gonna go to fashion week in Paris, had all these grand plans, but this week I txted my manager and pulled out. At the start of my career I promised myself I’d never be one of the people in the light smiling if it wasn’t real.

Earlier this year, I ate two handfuls of mushrooms, solid doses that tasted like green dirt. I got a lot of information about what my body had been through in our time so far, what it needed, where God was and where God wasn’t; I felt in my bones how destabilising it is to leave home and start a new life the way I did. I also saw that my body is completely magnificent, and that hating it is as futile as hating a tree; that I truly, truly love doing my job, and that my life is like a beautiful tapestry, and every inch of it is precious and has meaning.

It might seem funny or be easy to forget, but I make records because I need to. The songs are spells; a spell to let go of something, a spell to unlock a door. Every time I put something into words just as I see it, set it to the right music, a knot comes loose in me. But it hurts too, confronting the knots. I’ve made enough records to know that this feeling of my skin coming off is part of it. I know I’m gonna look back on this year with fondness and a bit of awe, knowing it was the year that locked everything into place, the year that transitioned me from my childhood working decade to the one that comes next — one that even through all this, I’m so excited for. It’s just hard when you’re in it.

So in this state, I went out on a short European festival tour. We built a cool new version of the show in a couple days. It was good to change gears and get out of my head. I put effort into the show, changing the setlist and arrangements, it was cool how you picked up on that, and it felt good dancing to the new versions with you, looking out at you, all sweaty with your friends, all on the same drugs. I felt the throb of history that’s under this music now, how each year makes these songs feel more like collectively written and sung pieces. I left my body and merged with yours and it was ecstasy. Then I went home to a business hotel and washed the glitter and smoke out of my hair.

Lauren took some beautiful pictures — sharing a few with you here.

Backstage in Portugal.

Cute Polaroid series of the 6pm, 8pm, and 10pm versions of me on a show day.

I’ve read some great books recently, including Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Speedboat by Renata Adler, Motherhood by Sheila Heti, Rough Translations by Molly Giles (brought into my life by sweet angel bookworm Chris Chang), Birds of America by Lorrie Moore; am waiting on my copies of ĀRIA by Jessica Hinerangi and Te Ana Ata: Menstruation In The Pre-Colonial Maori World by Ngāhuia Murphy. Was given Wawata - Moon Dreaming by Dr. Hinemoa Elder which I’m loving looking to as the Maramataka evolves.

It was Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori last week, I loved listening to this from London. This vid from Hemi showing the similarities between te reo Māori and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi is so sick.

Been meaning to tell you about The Kindness Institute too, a mental health resource for Māori rangatahi that has recently lost government funding. Go check out the beautiful, necessary mahi they’re doing — I know the cost of living is cooked for Kiwis right now and pop stars asking people to donate sux, but if you work at a good sized company maybe you can wrangle a donation from your employers?! I’m gonna email my record company about it.

Other bits that have inspired lately:

Dieter Rams’ principle of “as little design as possible”. This fantastic interview with Thom Yorke. Maddie’s unbelievably beautiful Melo inspired tattoo.

Loving the beautiful new Troye songs and vids, Kelela’s Raven hitting right on the e-bike rides home, late to the magic of Frou Frou but glad I’m here, and the rest of my brain is M.T. Hadley, this great Te Whanganui-a-Tara based band Womb, and Talk Talk. And for those it concerns, have been pilled by parasocial big cousins Jason and Chris. My mum just sent me a Sylvia Plath poem that feels like it sums up the above, I’ll copy it here:

They thought death was worth it, but I Have a self to recover, a queen. Is she dead, is she sleeping? Where has she been, With her lion-red body, her wings of glass?

Now she is flying More terrible than she ever was, red Scar in the sky, red comet Over the engine that killed her— The mausoleum, the wax house.

Sylvia Plath, "Stings"

Hope you’re taking care of yourself. Don’t worry about me, I still laugh every day, it’s all moving, even when it goes slow. I’ve accepted the mission — I have a self to recover.

Speak soon, E X X X X X

(source: received this email)

[pandenewie]

Prom King

SYNOPSIS:

Y/n and their best friend Intak made a bucket list to make their final year of high school absolutely perfect. Although Y/n’s list of to-dos is now complete, Intak has just one more thing to tick off - win prom king. All is well, until they hear a certain Kim Sunoo is also running.

PAIRING: sunoo x gn!reader

GENRE: nonidol!au, highschool!au, enemies to lovers, slowburn (they hate each other for most of it) fluff, crack, ft P1harmony Intak, Itzy Yuna, Le Sserafim Kazuha, Ateez Seonghwa, Stray Kids Minho, TXT Beomgyu, Enhypen Jay

WORD COUNT: 18.2k

FRIDAY - 21 DAYS TILL PROM:

“Bestie!”

Part of Y/n regrets teaching Intak internet slang. The amount of “slays” and “side eyes” heard each day would draw any sane person to their limit. But they suppose the goofy smile on his face makes up for the near insanity. Just.

Y/n and Intak have been friends since middle school after he accidentally made them cry because their team lost dodgeball. One apology and a shared popsicle later, they were inseparable. Now, all these years have passed and he’s still the same 12 year old boy from back then, stealing their pens and waking up early just to carpool to school (he claims Y/n’s car’s a.c is better, but really he just wants to spend time with them.)

“You literally saw me an hour ago.” Intak can’t help but roll his eyes at his friend’s words, pulling Y/n into a side hug nonetheless. “That’s like… a whole 60 minutes.” He groans, causing Y/n to sigh. “Oh no! Poor little Intak… how are you gonna survive when we go to university? Or even worse, when we have actual jobs?” Intak lets out a laugh, attempting to brush his hair out of his face. “Bold of you to assume I’m not attached to your hip for life.”

Intak has always been clingy - or better yet, loyal. Once he opens himself up to someone, he attaches himself wholeheartedly to that person. It’s one of his many dog-like qualities that make him so easy to be around - so easy to adore. Stressing over homework? Intak will lend his mostly wrong answers. Crying over an ex? Intak’s over within minutes with movies and ice cream. Y/n feels very lucky to have someone like him in their life.

A lot of people at their school assume that the two are dating, which is honestly laughable to them. Obviously to an outsider, this sort of affection may seem a little odd but with Y/n and Intak it’s just natural. Their relationship is anything but romantic. Besides, Intak is just so… Intak.

“You know, I feel bad for your future wife.” Y/n sighs as they walk with Intak to their next class. The boy turns around to look at them confused, Y/n mentally cursing at his long legs as they struggle to keep up with his speed. “Why? She’ll love you too. We can be a cute little trio!” Intak gushes. “And be a third wheel for the rest of my life? No thank you.”

The rest of the day speeds by quickly and before they know it, the final bell rings, dismissing the students for the day. Students rush to get out of their seats but are immediately stopped by their teacher, Mr Lee.

“Before you run off, don’t forget you have your final presentations due next week. Try to meet up with your buddy over the weekend if you can.” A class of groans erupts at the teacher’s words - bar Intak and Y/n, who look at each other with a smirk. Pros of being partnered with your best friend.

“Oh, and the list of contenders for prom king and queen is up by the gym. Voting starts next week and remember you can only vote once so… yada yada no one’s listening. You’re dismissed.”

Before Y/n can even finish packing up their books, Intak grabs their hand and pulls them out of the classroom. “What the hell Intak? My car is that way!” Y/n groans as he pulls them through the halls, not so gracefully bumping into a few people along the way.

As they eventually come to a stop, Y/n realises that he has taken them to the gym. “Look, there’s my name!” Intak gushes, pointing at the bold Hwang Intak that’s written on the paper. Y/n smiles lovingly at their friends happiness but can’t help the gentle roll of the eyes that follows. “Did you just take me here to brag about running for prom king?” “No, I’m here to check out the competition.”

At the beginning of the year, Intak and Y/n each wrote a “bucket list” containing the things they wanted to achieve in their final year of high school. It was full of simple things, like having perfect yearbook photos, joining certain clubs, etc. Y/n ticked off their final one just last week, after they had finally gotten an A on Mr Park's “unbeatable assignment” they’d heard upperclassmen complaining about for years. Intak however, has just one more thing on his list. Win prom king.

Intak’s eyes vigorously scan over the list before his shoulders seem to deflate. “What’s wrong?” Y/n asks, immediately squeezing in next to him in order to see the list as well. Their eyes quickly scan the names before landing on the one right at the bottom… Kim Sunoo. “Well… there goes my bucket list.” Intak laughs, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. 

Sunoo has always been Intak’s rival of sorts. It all started years ago, when the two took the same dance class. Intak and Sunoo were each other’s biggest competition. When it came down to Sunoo’s fluid and flexible dance style versus Intak’s bold and precise one - Sunoo almost always came out on top. Intak was good, sure. But Sunoo had a natural charm to him that Intak just couldn’t compete with. The same thing happened throughout school, when they both decided to join the drama club. Intak once again, was in second place - constantly losing roles and opportunities to Sunoo. 

Finally, high school came around and Intak managed to find something he really shined in, which was soccer. Not only did he really enjoy it, but there was also no Sunoo around to steal his spotlight. That was until Sunoo joined the cheerleading team and once again, the spotlight became shared.

“Come on, I’ve got practice but I can walk you to your car.” Intak attempts to pull Y/n away from the list but they stay put - anger practically dripping from their body. “That selfish asshole.” Y/n scoffs, aggressively poking his name, as if proving a point. God, even his handwriting is annoying. “He’s already the captain of the cheer team, the lead in the school play, has nearly perfect grades and is on the student council. He just needs to have this too? Can’t stand someone else having the spotlight for one fucking night?”

Y/n is fuming. It’s no secret that they aren’t the most fond of Sunoo, especially due to what he put Intak through over the years. This is just the icing on top of the “reasons to hate Kim Sunoo” cake.

“Hey, it’s alright. I don’t care that much anyway.” Intak attempts to calm his friend, finally managing to pull them back the direction they came. “You wouldn’t have put it on your list if you didn’t care, Intak.” Y/n sighs. “Well yeah but I’m up against Sunoo! I’m not gonna win so there’s no point in making a big deal of it.” Intak mumbles. Y/n can tell that he’s disappointed. For whatever reason, winning prom king is really important to Intak. So in that moment, they mentally promise to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

MONDAY - 18 DAYS TILL PROM:

Intak doesn’t hate people. No matter what they do or say to him, he just can’t bring himself to do it. Y/n however, isn’t anywhere as nice as Intak. So they hate people for him. This is evident on their face as they make their way towards Sunoo’s desk as soon as class is over.

“We need to talk.”

Sunoo looks up from his book at the sudden presence, and his eyes light up with mischief as they lock with Y/n’s.

“Y/n! To what do I owe this pleasure?” His voice drips with sarcasm as he lays his chin in his palm, looking up at Y/n with a smirk. Violence is never the answer but god, does Y/n want to punch him right now. “Oh cut the crap Sunoo.”

Sunoo knows all about Y/n’s hate for him. And although he swears he’s done nothing to deserve it, he certainly isn’t opposed to biting back. What’s the harm in dishing out the same treatment? Besides, Y/n looks extremely cute when they’re mad.

“You know, you look so pretty when you smile, Y/n. It’s a shame I only see you when you’re scowling.” Sunoo teases, bringing his finger up to gently poke at the furrow between Y/n’s brows - causing them to push it away almost immediately. “Stop being such an ass and I’d have something to smile about.”

Sunoo can’t help but laugh at Y/n’s meaningless jab, only making them even angrier. “Why the hell did you sign up for prom king?” They spit, almost as if the words were venomous. Sunoo can’t help the confused expression that makes its way across his face. They’re upset over that?

“I don’t know, Yuna signed me up without telling me.” Sunoo shrugs nonchalantly. This answer only adds fuel to the fire that is Y/n’s anger. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. Do you even care about being prom king?” They scoff, causing Sunoo to shrug once more. “I think the whole thing is stupid to be honest.” He says. “Great! Drop out.” And with that, Y/n swiftly turns on their heel and walks out of the classroom.

The silence however is short-lived as Sunoo jogs up behind them. “Why the hell would I drop out?” He asks, causing Y/n to roll their eyes. “You said it yourself, you don’t care about it. And yet you running for prom king directly stops other people from having a chance.” Y/n states. Now it’s Sunoo’s turn to roll his eyes. “You’re acting like it’s a scholarship or something. It’s just a dumb plastic crown-” “-WOULD IT KILL YOU TO THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE FOR ONCE?” Y/n yells, cutting off his sentence.

“Kim Sunoo! Y/N L/N! Why aren’t you two in class?” Mr Lee pokes his head out from his classroom, looking at the two with a scowl on his face. “And what is so important that you need to yell in the halls?” He continues. Y/n looks at the ground sheepishly, mumbling an apology. “I want to see the both of you in my classroom at the end of the day, now get to class.” Mr Lee scolds.

Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Kim Sunoo across from a visibly frustrated Mr Lee is not exactly how Y/n saw their afternoon going. Intak waits nervously outside the classroom, pressing his ear against the door in hopes to hear what his best friend is in trouble for now.

“It’s not just today’s stunt that I’m upset with. You two have a knack for… disturbing the peace whenever you’re together. And honestly, it’s doing my head in.” Mr Lee sighs. “Now we obviously don’t expect all of our students to get along perfectly, you’re human beings after all. But is it too much to ask for you both to be civil about it? Or at least wait to scream at each other after school hours?” He continues. “No offence sir, but I would rather jump in front of a moving bus than see Sunoo after school hours.” Y/n says, causing Sunoo to scoff. “It’s after school right now, dummy.” Sunoo rolls his eyes. Mr Lee sighs once again, sensing that an argument is about to start.

“This is what I mean. When I don’t get along with someone, I go out of my way not to see them. It seems you two go out of your way to fight.” Y/n and Sunoo both mumble out apologies. 

“I’ve been talking to some of your other teachers and we all agree that something should be done about this. So, we’ve decided to sign you up with the community centre down the street. They needed new volunteers and it’s the perfect opportunity for you two to put this weird feud to rest and make some real change. And, it’ll look good when applying for college, which is a nice bonus.”

Y/n and Sunoo look at Mr Lee as if he’s just told them the worst news imaginable. In some way, he has. “Look Mr Lee, I’m all for helping the community and all but can’t Intak and I do it?” Y/n asks, causing Sunoo to roll his eyes. “That defeats the whole purpose if you do it with him.” He scowls. “I don’t want to hear any fuss about this. It’ll be two days a week, after school Thursdays and Sundays. And if I hear that either of you are acting up I’ll have no choice but to strip away your senior benefits - which means no senior trip and no prom.”

If Y/n hated Mr Lee a minute ago, those words that just came out of his mouth made them love him again. Poor guy doesn’t know that he’s just given Y/n a great idea… Sunoo can’t run for prom king if he’s been kicked out of the whole event. All Y/n needs to do is find a way to get Sunoo in trouble at this community centre without getting themself involved.

THURSDAY - 15 DAYS TILL PROM:

Waiting outside the community centre in the scorching heat is not how Y/n planned to spend their afternoon. And with no sign of Sunoo, their anger starts to boil up - much like the temperature outside.

Just as they’re about to give up and tell Mr Lee that Sunoo was a no-show, a familiar car pulls up in the carpark and none other than Kim Sunoo steps out.

“You have some nerve. I’ve been waiting for like 10 minutes!” Y/n scowls, causing Sunoo to furrow his brows. “What time were we supposed to get here?” He asks. This only frustrates Y/n more. He doesn’t even respect them enough to value their time?

“God, you really are selfish. The email said 3:30.” Y/n pulls out their phone to back up their point with the email, only for their face to fall. “3:45 babe.” Sunoo smirks, watching as Y/n’s face heats up in embarrassment. They were sure it said 3:30. “Were you just so excited to see me that you came early?” He asks, making Y/n scoff - avoiding eye contact. “You wish! I was just… showing my dedication to… y’know, serving the community and… stuff.”

For the first time in what seems like forever, Y/n feels small under Sunoo’s gaze. They are so used to butting heads, always having a snarky remark or point to make. It seems that this interaction has somehow managed to knock Y/n off their pedestal - at least a little.

“I’m sure you standing out here has done so much for the community. Now, I don’t know about you but I’m gonna go inside.” Sunoo says, playfully ruffling Y/n’s hair before entering the building. Y/n scoffs out a few insults before fixing their hair and following suit.

Inside the building is a lot cooler than outside, the cold air conditioning a stark contrast to the outdoor heat. The two stand awkwardly in the front reception, watching as the person behind the desk talks on the phone.

“Wait, I’ve got people. Go complain to someone else.” The person says before abruptly hanging up, his irritated expression flipping to an almost scary smile. “Hi! How can I help you?” He asks. Sunoo nudges Y/n, who rolls their eyes before speaking up. “We’re here for the volunteer thing.” Y/n says, glancing down at the name tag that reads Minho - with a small cat face drawn next to it.

“Cool, what department?” He asks, typing something on his computer. “Uh… what?” Y/n asks, causing Minho to let out an exaggerated groan, spinning in his chair for added effect. “What department are you in? It’ll be on the sign up email.” He clarifies. Sunoo scrambles to check the email from Mr Lee, not seeing anything about a department. He shows Minho the email, causing his eyes to light up. “Oh! You’re the trouble kids?” He asks, turning his attention back to the computer momentarily. “I wouldn’t say that…” Y/n mumbles, causing Minho to laugh slightly. “It’s not a dig at character, trust me. Nothing wrong with a little rule breaking.” He winks. “Don’t tell your teachers I told you that.” He adds before standing.

“Looks like you’ll be doing a little bit of everything. I’ll throw you in with Seonghwa at first, that way you can come to me when you actually know what you’re doing.” Minho says, unlocking a backdoor before gesturing for the two to follow.

Minho leads them down a nicely lit hallway, pointing out different rooms and doors as they go. “Since we mainly do goods distribution here, we’re split into department’s so it’s easier to manage. You’ve got Seonghwa for kids - so that’s everything from toys, baby products, anything else children need. Then Beomgyu is in grocery. That’s just your basic food items. And then finally I’m on clothes and pet stuff.”

After his little introduction, he stops at a door before loudly knocking, causing Sunoo and Y/n to jump slightly. The door quickly opens and the head of a man who looks around Minho’s age pokes out. “Fresh meat.” Minho jokes, gesturing to the two students. “I told you to stop calling them that! And you wonder why people say you’re scary.” Seonghwa sighs, opening the door fully. “I’ll take it from here. You can go back to your phone call.” He continues.

Minho bids his goodbyes before walking back off down the hall. “Don’t let him scare you. He’s secretly a big softie.” Seonghwa says. “Anyway, I’m Seonghwa. I run the kids department here. I’m guessing you’re Y/n and Sunoo?” He asks, causing the two to nod silently.

Seonghwa looks at the two suspiciously. “Are you sure the school sent the right kids? Your teacher said you’re at each other’s throats 24/7.” He asks. “I’m sure Y/n will start something soon.” Sunoo mumbles, causing Y/n’s eye to twitch. They bite their tongue however, if they want this plan of getting Sunoo in trouble to work then they’ll have to make sure they’re on Seonghwa’s good side. “I’m sure we can put our differences aside for this. Especially since it’s helping the community.” Y/n says, causing Sunoo to roll his eyes at their words. “I hope so. It’s amazing what can happen to a bond when you do something like this. You should’ve seen Minho and Beomgyu when they first started.” Seonghwa says. “Right, I guess I’ll give you a tour of the department.” He continues before walking them down the hall to the storage room.

FRIDAY - 14 DAYS TILL PROM:

“And we barely even argued! Which is weird.” Y/n exclaims, after reciting their experience at the community centre. Intak hums, shoving some of his lunch in his mouth. “Maybe you two are finally getting along.” He says nonchalantly. “Oh please, I’ll never get along with someone like him.” Y/n scoffs, causing Intak to roll his eyes. 

“I still don’t get why you hate him so much. You guys are more similar than you think.” He points out, causing Y/n to gasp. “First of all, never say that to me again. And second of all, he made your childhood miserable! Of course I’d hate him.” Y/n states matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t say he made it miserable. I’m already insufferable as it is, imagine how big my ego would be if I never lost anything! Plus, it’s not like he beat me on purpose. That’s just how stuff goes sometimes…” Intak rambles. The two lock eyes for a moment and for a second Intak thinks his little speech got through to Y/n. “I’m still gonna hate him.” Y/n shrugs, causing Intak to sigh.

SUNDAY - 12 DAYS TILL PROM:

By the time Sunday rolls around, the fact that Y/n will have to spend all day with Sunoo finally settles in. Sure, they’ll have loads of stuff to do to hopefully keep them busy, but that won’t change the fact that he’s there. His presence alone is enough to frustrate Y/n.

“Sunday’s are pretty busy since it’s the one of days we hand everything out. So we have both delivery trucks picking stuff up and individual people. I’ll probably keep you two on sorting for now, just so I don’t overwhelm you too much.” Seonghwa says, making Sunoo and Y/n nod. “We do grocery on a separate day from clothes, kids and pets because of the amount of stock. So Beomgyu will be wandering around if you need any help and can’t find me. He’s only a few years older than you guys so I think you will get along well. You can always ask other volunteers too if you’re stuck.” With that, Seonghwa dismisses the two.

“Why the hell would you do it that way?”

“Babe, Seonghwa literally said there’s more than one way to do it.”

“Stop calling me babe! And if he saw what you were doing, he’d change his mind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The sound of Y/n and Sunoo’s argument fills the sorting room. It all started with Sunoo deciding he was going to stack the lego boxes upright rather than laying them flat. His thinking being that it takes up less room and leaves space for other things. Y/n however, insists that laying them flat leaves plenty of room for things to go on top - as well as making the container easier to close. Both are technically correct, but that’s not an acceptable answer to them.

As the two continue to argue, Sunoo yanks the box of lego out of Y/n’s hands - causing it to fall, splitting open and scattering lego pieces all over the floor. “Oh you’re so fucked.” Y/n laughs, causing Sunoo to complain about how they started the argument.

“Who the hell is screaming in here?” A voice asks. The two turn around to see Beomgyu standing in the doorway, his eyes lighting up as he sees them. “Oh hey trouble. I should’ve guessed it was you two.” He says, his gaze then falls to the lego all over the floor. “Oh shit.”

Sunoo and Y/n quickly try to pass the blame onto each other, causing Beomgyu to wave them off. “No offence, but I don’t give a shit who started it. Let’s just pick it all up before someone stands on it. Stepping on lego might as well be a torture method.” He says, crouching down to grab the broken box.

He notices the quiet atmosphere in the room and awkwardly laughs. “Don’t get scared now, this kinda stuff happens sometimes. If it makes you feel any better, Seonghwa takes home the faulty ones to add to his collection.” He says. The thought of Seonghwa at home surrounded by lego sets makes Y/n and Sunoo laugh slightly.

“Just… try not to do this sort of stuff when you’re in my department, okay? Spilled lego is a lot easier to handle than food.” The two nod as Beomgyu places the box on the counter. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it, then. Maybe try to be a little… quieter with the next argument.” He winks before leaving the room.

MONDAY - 11 DAYS TILL PROM:

“So… how was Sunday?” Yuna teases, causing Sunoo to look at her with an unimpressed expression. “Oh shut up.” He mumbles, causing her to stifle a laugh.

“I just feel bad for Y/n.” Kazuha says. “Being forced to spend time with Sunoo would be hell for anyone, but especially them.” Sunoo rolls his eyes at his friend, flipping her off before turning his attention back to his food. “Zuha’s right, you’re gonna drive them insane.” Yuna says. “Hey! They do the same to me!” Sunoo complains, causing Yuna to roll her eyes. “Well yeah, but they do it because they actually don’t like you. You do it because you’re trying to live out some weird enemies to lovers fanfic trope.” She points out. “True, not sure why you thought that would work.” Kazuha jumps in. “We get it, I’m a dumb guy who doesn’t know how to communicate my feelings. You’ve said this all before.” Sunoo dismisses.

“Just saying… maybe if you, I don’t know… spoke to them like normal people do to their crush.” Yuna shrugs. “Cause that works out so great for you two.” Sunoo deadpans. “You’re bitter because you know we’re right.” Kazuha teases, causing Sunoo to roll his eyes again.

TUESDAY - 10 DAYS TILL PROM:

Speak to them like a normal person. The thought has been running through Sunoo’s mind ever since lunch yesterday. Given the nature of his and Y/n’s relationship (if you could even call it that), he never even considered talking to them normally to be an option. But as he spots them walking down the hallway as school comes to an end, he figures what better time to start than now?

“Y/n!” Sunoo calls out, jogging through the halls to catch up to them. “Go away.” Y/n replies. “Oh come on babe, would it kill you to give me two seconds of your attention?” Sunoo asks, grabbing Y/n’s wrist. “Let go of me.” Y/n snarls, despite making no effort to pull away. Sunoo chooses to ignore their request, opting to teasingly pull them closer. “I wanna show you something.” He smirks, causing Y/n to roll their eyes. They quickly pull their arm out of his grip, folding their arms securely across their chest. “Well make it quick, I’m going to watch Intak’s practice.” Y/n mumbles.

Sunoo rolls his eyes at the mention of Intak but chooses not to comment. “One of my neighbours was talking to my mum about a care package she got. Apparently she’s signed up with the community centre. My mum sent me a photo.” Sunoo says, grabbing his phone and showing the picture to Y/n.

On his phone, is a picture of one of the boxes they packed on Sunday. This one is one of Y/n’s (you can tell from the way the lego box is placed). Y/n’s eyes light up at the photo, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Sunoo. “She said her sons were super excited when it arrived. They made the lego set together almost immediately.” He says, swiping to show a photo of the completed lego set.

“Oh my god! That’s so cool!” Y/n exclaims, leaning closer to get a better view of the photo. Sunoo attempts to ignore the way his heart skips at the gentle pressure of Y/n’s shoulder brushing against his. “I know right? Obviously it’s nice to make a difference but… actually seeing it is just… it’s awesome.” Sunoo says, causing Y/n to nod enthusiastically.

It goes silent for a second as Y/n suddenly notices how far they were leaning into him, immediately stepping back. Sunoo can almost see the invisible wall being built between them as Y/n puts their guard back up - the sight causing Sunoo to frown slightly. “I uh… thanks for showing me that. I’ll see you on Thursday.” Y/n mumbles awkwardly before walking off down the hall.

THURSDAY - 8 DAYS TILL PROM:

With prom just over a week away, Y/n can feel their plans of getting Sunoo kicked out slowly start to slip through their fingers. Turns out, trying to get Sunoo in trouble whilst staying out of trouble themself is a difficult task. It’s not like they can just start an argument like usual, and Sunoo’s unfortunately not the type of person to easily fall for sabotage.

“Hey trouble!” Minho exclaims as the two walk into the community centre. “Are you ever gonna stop calling us that?” Sunoo asks, causing Minho to laugh at the slight pout on his lips. “Stop breaking Lego sets and maybe I will.” He teases. The two teens visibly tense at his words, causing Minho to only laugh harder. “I’m just messing with you, shit happens. But do that in my department and neither of you will reach adulthood.”

He’s joking. It’s a joke. But the downright evil smirk on his lips almost makes it seem like it’s not…

“Anyway, this week is your last week in the kid’s section so try to make the most of it. We’ll rotate you every two weeks so you get used to all of the departments, then you can pick which one to volunteer in for the rest of the program.” Minho explains. “Oh! And before I forget!” He adds, aggressively wheeling his chair towards a cabinet - pulling something out of one of the drawers before wheeling back to the two.

“Your very own name badges! I didn’t draw anything on them since we don’t know what departments you’ll be in but we can always add to them later.” Minho says, handing a name badge to each of the students. “The drawing is for the different departments? I just thought you really liked cats.” Sunoo shrugged. “While that’s also true, they have a professional meaning too. Cat because I run the pet department.” Minho states. “But don’t you also run the clothes department?” Y/n asks, causing Minho to sigh. “That’s just temporary. Used to be run by this dude called Jay but he… took an early flight. If you get what I mean.”

“He means an actual flight.” A voice interrupts the conversation. The three turn around to see Seonghwa standing in the doorway. “Jay went back to America to be with his family. You really need to stop telling people he died, dude.” Seonghwa clarifies, earning an eye roll from Minho. “He’s dead to me.” Minho mumbles, causing Seonghwa to scoff. “Anyway, I’ll get these two out of your hair. That lady from Goodwill is supposed to be dropping stuff off in an hour so try not to ignore her when she gets here.” Seonghwa says. Minho waves him off nonchalantly before going back to whatever it is he does on his computer.

As the three walk back towards the storage area, Sunoo takes note of the little drawing of a lego block on Seonghwa’s name tag. He nudges Y/n gently - subtly pointing it out to them, earning a gentle smile and quiet giggle in return.

“Since you’ve already mastered packing boxes, I figure I’d let you unload and organize today. All these boxes came from a delivery truck yesterday. You’ve just got to unpack them and put them on the right shelves. Easy?” Seonghwa asks, earning affirmed nods from the two. “Great, if the three of us work hard it should only take us an hour or two. Then we can go over some stock checks and maybe do some more packing if there’s time.”

There's not a lot to argue about when you're busy working. Especially when the two are working with Seonghwa - someone they absolutely don't want to annoy. But it's a weird feeling for Y/n, practically spending hours on end with Sunoo yet not even muttering an insult.

“Okay, that’s us.” Seonghwa announces suddenly, causing the two students to look up at him confused. “But we still have a few orders to pack?” Y/n questions, causing Seonghwa to wave them off. “I’ll finish these later - we get in trouble for keeping you after hours.”

The two collect their things and go to leave but get stopped by Minho and Beomgyu, who are chatting about something in the reception area. “Woah woah, where are you two running off to?” Minho asks. “Uh… home?” Y/n asks, causing Minho to narrow his eyes at them. “You got a ride?” He asks accusingly. “I drove.” Sunoo nods, before the attention shifts to Y/n. “Oh, uh I caught the bus.” Y/n admits. Minho sighs at their words, rummaging through one of his desk draws before pulling out a set of keys.

“Beomgyu will drop you off.” He says, placing the keys in Beomgyu’s hands. “Have you seen the state my department is in? I don’t have time to play uber driver.” Beomgyu argues. “So you’d prefer our little Y/n here to catch the bus at this time of night?” Minho argues. “Why don’t you drop them off?” Beomgyu asks, placing the keys back in Minho’s hand. “I’ve got a very important business call and Seonghwa will kick my ass if I miss it.” Minho shrugs.

“Well, I’m sure Sunoo can drop them off.” Beomgyu suggests, turning his attention back to Sunoo. “Uh… I guess I could-” “-Really, it’s fine. It’s only like a 10 minute bus ride.” Y/n clarifies,  earning a death glare from both Minho and Beomgyu. 

“Y/n, if you get on that bus and get kidnapped and murdered, I will personally study witchcraft and bring you back to life just to kill you again myself.” Y/n’s eyes widen at Minho’s words, causing Beomgyu to awkwardly chuckle. “What he means is, we don’t feel comfortable with you taking the bus alone and strongly advise you to get a ride with Sunoo.” Beomgyu reasons.

The thought of spending any amount of time alone with Sunoo makes Y/n want to pull the hair out of their scalp. But they suppose it is better than potentially getting kidnapped. And Minho and Beomgyu don’t seem like the type of people to budge on this sort of thing. So Y/n reluctantly agrees, and Minho makes sure to walk the two to the carpark and personally watch them drive away - for extra precautions.

The car ride is silent and awkward. Despite the lack of arguing that has been going on between the two, it is blatantly obvious that there is still a massive wall placed between them.

Sunoo doesn’t know what to do to break the tension. Does he just let the two sit in silence? Does he try to talk about his day? Does he turn the radio on? Deciding a conversation is probably the best way to go, he lets out a shaky breath before mumbling:

“So, how are you liking the community centre?”

With the silence that follows his words, he almost thinks that Y/n didn’t hear him. Either that, or they hate him so much that they’d rather ignore him than have one conversation. Considering it’s dead silent, the latter unfortunately seems like the more likely option. Sunoo’s thoughts however, are cut short when Y/n replies:

“It’s more fun than I thought it would be… and the guys are really nice.” Sunoo nods at their words, letting out a small hum of agreement. “I was a little scared of Minho at first.” He admits, his attempt at potentially lightening the mood successfully landing, as Y/n lets out a small, breathy laugh.

"Yeah… I don't think I've heard someone affectionately threaten murder so much before." Y/n jokes. They're still turned away from Sunoo, opting to stare out the window in order to avoid looking at him. But at least they're joking now. It's progress.

"What happened to your car, by the way?" Sunoo asks curiously. Y/n sends him a confused look, causing him to elaborate. "I mean… don't you usually drive Intak to school everyday? Why didn't you drive here?"

Y/n let's out a scoff, looking back out the window. "The idiot tried to cook a pizza on the dashboard. Some bullshit about it being the hottest day of the year. He saw it on tiktok." Sunoo's face scrunches up, mumbling a small ew. "Apparently it'll take a while to clean, too. I think melted cheese got into the radio or something." Y/n shrugs.

"Does that mean you'll need a ride on Sunday too?" Sunoo asks without thinking. He internally face-palms as Y/n visibly tenses up at his words. God, why does he have to be so stupid?

"Uh… Intak should be free on Sunday…" Y/n mumbles. Sunoo has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. A habit, he likes to claim - opting to ignore the tiny amount of jealousy boiling in the pit of his stomach at the mention of the other man's name. Of course Intak would be the one to take them. The two are practically joined at the hip.

The car is silent for the rest of the drive, with the two only mumbling short goodbyes as Sunoo pulls up to Y/n's house. He chooses to stay, watching as they walk up the driveway and into the building. Y/n doesn't look back.

SUNDAY - 5 DAYS TILL PROM:

“Oh, how's the plan going?” Intak asks suddenly, as he pulls into the community centre parking lot. "Huh?" Y/n asks confused - causing Intak to deadpan at them. "Your whole thing of getting Sunoo to drop out of being prom king. It's on Friday." He clarifies.

Oh right. That plan. Y/n honestly forgot all about it, especially after the awkward interaction they had in Sunoo's car on Thursday.

"I haven't made much progress." Y/n sighs. "Because you're making progress in other areas?" Intak asks, a small smirk spreading across his face. "Don't think I haven't noticed the tension at school, and different from the old tension." He adds, earning an eye roll from Y/n. "I think you need to get your eyes checked." Y/n retorts, ruffling Intak's hair before grabbing their stuff and getting out of the car.

"You're picking me up tonight, right?" Y/n asks. "No, I'm gonna abandon you." Intak deadpans. Y/n gives him an annoyed look, making him laugh. "I'll text you when I get here." He says, causing Y/n to wave him off. "No need, I can spot your shitty car from a mile away." Intak goes to reply but Y/n shuts the car door- making sure to slam it for added effect.

As Intak goes to drive off, he winds down his window. "Have a fun day at work my Pookie Pie!! I love you." He calls, blowing a dramatic kiss to add some flare. Y/n rolls their eyes, flipping him off before entering the building.

Sunoo is already there, signing in at the front desk with Minho and Seonghwa. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Y/n." Seonghwa says, earning a scoff from Sunoo. "Yeah, a shitty one. Where was he the other night?" Minho grumbles. "He was busy with soccer practice. And uh… he's not my boyfriend." Y/n says, awkwardly scratching the back of their neck. "Might as well be." Sunoo mumbles bitterly, his comment not going unnoticed by Minho and Seonghwa, who both mumble short apologies for the mistake.

The two share a knowing look before Seonghwa claps his hands, gaining the attention of the two teens. "Right, since today is your last day in my department we'll just focus on practising what you already know. And later on, Beomgyu will give you a tour of his department so you can get straight into things next week."

Minho watches as Seonghwa gets the two to work, immediately going to find Beomgyu and explain to him what the heck just happened.

There is something wrong with Sunoo - that much is clear. He and Y/n aren’t friends of course, but there hasn’t been this much tension between the two since they started volunteering. Y/n doesn’t understand what went wrong?

As Sunoo ignores their question for the umpteenth time, Y/n finally feels themself snap. They grab the box of toys out of his hand, shoving it back on the shelf before crossing their arms across their chest - effectively cornering him in the storage room.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Y/n whisper-yells, not wanting to gain the attention of Seonghwa. “What’s wrong with me? You just ripped a box out of my hands?” Sunoo rolls his eyes. “Because you’re ignoring me!”

It’s stupid, Y/n knows. They’ve spent their entire high school career wishing for the day that Sunoo would start ignoring them. But now that it’s here, they hate it.

“And why do you care? We aren’t friends, Y/n. Even if I try to talk to you, you just go right back to running off with Intak every chance you get.”

And then it clicks. Everything always goes back to Intak.

“Oh my god, Sunoo. This is all about Intak? He’s my best friend, dumbass. And your stupid grudge with him doesn’t change that.” Y/n is fuming, and their volume is no longer at the front of their mind. Sunoo scoffs, pushing past Y/n and picking up the box once again. “I think you’re the dumbass, Y/n. Because everyone but you can tell that you and Intak are not best friends.”

Before he can get back to work however, Y/n catches up and shoves his shoulder - causing the box of toys to fall to the floor. “You’re a fucking hypocrite, you know that?” Y/n scowls, earning another eye roll from Sunoo. “I’m not the one in love with my best friend.” “People can be just friends, Sunoo! You of all people should know that!”

Y/n knows they are yelling, but they don't really care. In fact, they hope that the entire building can hear every word they’re saying; maybe then Sunoo will understand how ridiculous he is being. Even if they were in love with Intak, which is so far from the truth, what the hell does it matter to Kim Sunoo?

“No one says shit about you and Kazuha. Or you and Yuna. How is this any different? Do you get like this when they talk to other people, or am I just special?”

Of course you’re special Sunoo wants to scream. But he holds back - knowing better than to dump all his emotions onto Y/n. Especially now that they’re this worked up.

“Are you two finished?” A calm voice breaks through the tension, and both teens snap their heads to look at the figure. Seonghwa stands leaning against the doorway, his face expressionless as he looks at the two.

It’s as if they’d seen a ghost, and Seonghwa has to hold back his laugh at this. Remembering that he is, in fact the grown up in this situation - he takes a deep breath before ushering towards his office. “Come on, let’s all have a little chat, shall we?”

Seonghwa is scary when he’s mad. Minho and Beomgyu would be too, if they weren’t spending their time trying to hold back their giggles. They can’t help it though - not with Y/n and Sunoo sitting there like two children being scolded by their parents.

“I have tried my best to not… interfere with the relationship between you two. Simply because it is none of my business. But when you are in our building, you must obey our standards, and whatever that was back there is certainly not the type of behaviour we like to see.” Seonghwa states, his voice clear and stern. “Isn’t that right, guys?” He adds, turning to the other two adults in the room - who clearly were not paying attention.

“Uh… yeah.” Beomgyu replies, his voice cracking slightly. This finally sets Minho off, his fit of laughter soon turning into a safety hazard as he begins to choke on his own saliva. Seonghwa can’t help the sigh that escapes his lips, watching in mild disappointment as Beomgyu pats Minho’s back in an attempt to help clear his throat.

“Anyway, we think it will be best to separate the two of you for a little bit, until the hostility goes down. Sunoo, you’ll spend the rest of the day with Minho and Y/n, you’re with Beomgyu. I’ll continue where you left off in kids.” Seonghwa says.

“Wait, so you can’t deal with them so you just pass them onto us?” Beomgyu asks, offended. “Be grateful you’re not getting both of them.” Minho rolls his eyes, letting out a yelp as Beomgyu pinches his side.

It’s weird to see them talk so openly about the two, as if they aren’t sitting in the very same room. Y/n can’t bring themself to look away from Seonghwa, a strong sense of guilt building up in the pit of their stomach. He looks stressed, and Y/n can’t shake the feeling that they’re a major factor.

“Well… is there anything you two would like to say before I send you off?” Seonghwa asks, the attention in the room turning back towards the two teens. Y/n gulps under the gaze, glancing at Sunoo from the corner of their eye - who is avoiding eye contact all together. The two mumble quiet apologies, which almost go unnoticed by the others. Seonghwa sighs once more, gesturing for everyone to leave his office.

MONDAY - 4 DAYS TILL PROM:

“You look like someone died.” Kazuha states, dropping her food tray on the table and effectively snapping Sunoo out of his thoughts. “His relationship with Y/n did.” Yuna snickers, letting out a shriek as Sunoo’s empty milk carton flies towards her head. “Resorting to violence, now? No wonder Y/n doesn’t like you.” Yuna teases, throwing the milk carton back towards him.

“Wait, what happened with Y/n?” Kazuha asks. Sunoo sighs in response, picking at his food. “Nothing, I just fucked everything up… like always.” The response earns some eye rolls from the girls. “Stop acting like a pick me and explain what happened. Or I’ll go ask Y/n myself.” Kazuha threatens, although her words are all bluff.

Sunoo lets out another sigh, deciding there’s no use trying to argue with his friends. “I got jealous of Intak and said some… things. Y/n got mad, for obvious reasons and now we’re not talking.” He doesn’t even need to look up at his friends to tell that they are rolling their eyes at him.

“You are one of the dumbest people alive.” Yuna scoffs. “I know.” Sunoo whines, resting his head in his hands. “What did you actually say to Y/n?” Kazuha sighs, mentally putting on her couples counsellor hat. Sunoo hesitates, knowing he’s about to get ripped into by the girls. “I said that there’s no point in us being friends if they’re just going to run off with Intak every chance they get… and that it’s obvious their relationship is more than that.”

The table is silent for a few moments as Sunoo’s words set in. “You are the reason I hate men.” Yuna groans. “No literally, do you realise how hypocritical that is?” Kazuha asks. “Obviously but I was angry and just said whatever came to mind.” Sunoo frowns.

The girls give each other a look before turning back to Sunoo, who continues to wallow in his self-pity. Sighing, Kazuha moves to sit next to him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Maybe it’s time to be honest and tell Y/n how you really feel about them.” She says, causing Sunoo’s head to shoot up from it’s position on the table. “Be honest?” He asks with wide eyes. “Yes, Sunoo. If you tell Y/n that you said that because you were jealous and you like them then maybe they’ll actually give you a shot. It’s a much better plan than whatever the hell you’ve been doing this entire time.” Yuna points out. “And if they reject you, at least you tried.” Kazuha attempts to reassure, only to be met with glares from her two friends. “Way to boost my confidence.” Sunoo mumbles, picking up a spoonful of his lunch.

THURSDAY - 1 DAY TILL PROM:

“So… I heard you’ve got prom tomorrow?” Beomgyu asks, trying to break the ice. He hasn’t been alone with Y/n before so he’s not entirely sure what to say. Judging by Y/n’s groan at his words - he definitely said the wrong thing.

“Not looking forward to it?” He adds. “Since Sunoo will be there, no, I’m not.” Y/n mumbles, trying to turn their attention to the box of cans they are currently unpacking. They have nothing against Beomgyu, he’s sweet and all but god, does he not know how to take a hint. 

“What happened between you two, by the way? I know you never got along but something must’ve happened to cause such a fight.” Beomgyu pries. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” Y/n sighs. Being met with silence, they think that Beomgyu has finally given up. Until he speaks again:

“You know, I heard that hating someone uses almost as much passion as loving them.”

This causes Y/n to choke on the air in their lungs, looking at Beomgyu with wide eyes. “I’m not lying! Hate sex is apparently really good… not that I would know, of course.” Y/n chooses not to pry at Beomgyu’s blatant confession and instead raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you really recommending hate sex to a highschooler?” They ask, causing Beomgyu to wave them off nonchalantly. “It’s an example, Y/nnie. I’m just saying that hate can be a confusing emotion. Sometimes you think you hate someone, when really you like them and just don’t know how to express it.” “That sounds pretty toxic.” Beomgyu waves them off again. “Just trust me. I know a lot about this stuff.”

“So… how are things going with Y/n?” Minho asks, his sudden words causing Sunoo to look at him with wide eyes. “I… huh?” Sunoo asks, confused. Minho rolls his eyes at this. “I’m not an idiot, I see the way you look at them. And judging by the way they treat you, they do not feel the same. So what’s the plan?”

Sunoo is overwhelmed by the sudden topic. “Uh… give up and go home?” He mumbles. This was not the answer that Minho wanted, judging by the look on his face. “I would slap you right now if Seonghwa wouldn’t fire me for it.” Minho threatens. “Listen, as someone who is basically an expert at this whole hate to love thing - I’m going to give you some advice.” He continues, placing a hand on Sunoo’s shoulder. 

“You need to be obvious enough with the flirting that they can pick up on it but subtle enough that they think you’re just trying to annoy them. Then, when the tension gets high enough, you go full on flirt-mode. Catch them by surprise and reveal your feelings while their guard is down. And if you’re too scared to talk, just kiss them. Works like a charm.”

Sunoo looks at him skeptically, causing Minho to roll his eyes. “You think I’m joking? Beomgyu would tell you the same thing.” His words are very clearly alluding to something but Sunoo chooses to ignore them. “What if they just end up hating me even more?” He asks - his words causing Minho to let out an annoyed groan. “Then you suck it up and move on. If you open up about your feelings and they don’t accept it, then they’re not the right person for you. Was I this clueless when I was a teenager?” Noticing Sunoo’s hesitation, Minho continues. “Look, you’re a nice guy and you seem to really care about Y/n. I’m sure they only hate you because of some petty bullshit and not because you’re a terrible person. Have confidence in yourself!”

Sunoo nods affirmingly at Minho’s words. Have confidence in yourself.

FRIDAY - PROM NIGHT:

“Can I look yet?”

“No.”

“How about now?”

“Still no.”

“...”

“Intak, I swear to god, if you open your damn eyes…”

“I won’t!”

Y/n rolls their eyes at their best friend, looking themself over once more in the mirror. Once they’re happy with the completed outfit, they turn towards Intak - who’s stood in the middle of their bedroom with his hands covering his eyes.

“Okay… you can look now.”

As soon as the words leave Y/n’s lips, Intak’s hands are flying away from his face. His eyes fall on Y/n’s outfit as they stand awkwardly in front of him. “Woah… is it wrong for me to say you look hot?” Intak laughs, letting out a scream when Y/n hits his shoulder. “Hey! Don’t crinkle the suit!” He whines, earning an eye roll from Y/n. “Then don’t say cringy shit.”

“I’m serious though, you look great. Everyone’s gonna go crazy when they see you.” Intak compliments, causing Y/n to scoff. “Yeah, right. If I look so good, why am I taking you as my date?” Intak frowns at this. “You’re the one who turned down my idea of you and Sunoo going together.” He points out. “Yeah, cause that would literally be considered a form of torture.” Now it’s Intak’s turn to roll his eyes at Y/n’s exaggeration. “You’re just pissed that you guys fought. It would’ve been a great way to make up, you know?”

“Can we not talk about Sunoo right now?” Y/n asks, almost desperately. Intak narrows his eyes for a moment before sighing. “Fine. But as soon as this thing is over, you’re explaining what the hell happened with you two.”

Prom - the supposed “best night” of a high schooler’s life. The glitz and the glam. Food, drinks, music. It’s everything a teenager could wish for.

As Y/n and Intak walk into the school gym, they look around in awe at the decor. “You know, this turned out a lot better than I expected.” Y/n comments, causing Intak to nod in agreement. “I know, right? It barely smells like feet in here.” He jokes, letting out a pained noise when Y/n jabs him in the side. “So… are we going to the dancefloor first or the snack table?” Intak asks, causing Y/n to look at him with a blank expression. “Snack table it is.” He adds, laughing as Y/n aggressively pulls him towards the assortment of foods.

“I’m just gonna head to the bathroom!” Y/n mumbles, their voice slightly muffled due to the music. Intak sends them a thumbs up, letting them know he got the message. After a few moments, Intak feels a sudden presence behind him and turns around to see Sunoo standing there.

“Looking for Y/n?” He asks, causing Sunoo’s eyes to widen slightly. “Uh… yeah. I thought they’d be with you.” He mumbles. “Bathroom.” Intak shrugs, earning a slight nod from Sunoo. Intak gestures for him to take a seat and Sunoo hesitates for a moment before sitting down.

“How did you know I was looking for Y/n?” Sunoo asks, causing Intak to shrug. “Well, you weren’t coming to hang out with me.” He jokes, earning an awkward laugh from Sunoo. “Are you still upset about… you know?” Sunoo asks. “Oh, god no. I got over that like, freshman year.” Intak says, waving him off. “Oh. Okay, well… I feel like I should apologise anyway. I wasn’t like… trying to compete with you or anything.” Sunoo says, causing Intak to laugh. “It’s all good, like I said, I forgave you ages ago. Y/n on the other hand…” Intak trails off, causing Sunoo’s eyes to widen.

Everything finally seems to fall into place. Y/n hates Sunoo because of what happened with him and Intak? He supposes it does make sense; they are best friends after all. But if Intak is over it, then why isn’t Y/n?

“Can I be honest about something?” Sunoo asks, causing Intak to look at him confused. “As long as you don’t confess your undying love for me. You’re cute but not really my type.” He jokes, making Sunoo laugh so hard he almost falls out of his chair. “Trust me, you’re not my type either.” He responds, causing Intak to scoff in feigned offence. “You know what? Maybe I do still hate you.” Intak pouts. He keeps the act up for a few moments before returning back to his smiley self, gesturing for Sunoo to go on.

“This is gonna sound really weird but… whenever I see you and Y/n, I can’t help but feel jealous. Like, you guys are so in tune with each other and… you’re close with them in a way that I can only dream of. I don’t know… guess it made me unknowingly hate you which probably added to why Y/n hates me.” Sunoo rants. Intak’s face doesn’t give much away, as he stares forward with furrowed brows. For a moment, Sunoo thinks he’s said something wrong.

“Y/n’s a complicated person. They like it when people are open and honest, but hate being open and honest themself. They’re also super stubborn… you probably already know that. They hate admitting when they’re wrong but really admire it when others do.” Intak says. Sunoo looks at him confused, not entirely sure what he’s trying to say. 

“Y/n’s basically a hypocrite, who looks for people that do and say the things they refuse to. That’s why we’re so close, we balance each other out. You, however, are more like Y/n, which is why I think you guys butt heads. You both want to be more open but your stubbornness gets in the way and you argue. I think that’s the difference between me with Y/n and you with Y/n.” Intak points out.

Sunoo’s face screws up at Intak’s words as he lets out a dry laugh. “Doesn’t sound like me and Y/n are a good match, then.” He mumbles. “I think you can understand Y/n a lot better than I do. Sometimes they do things and I just don’t get why. But if you and Y/n are going to be friends… or more, one of you will have to adjust a little. And judging by this conversation we’re having, it looks like you’re trying to.” Intak says, a genuine smile on his lips.

Sunoo is in awe. He’s never felt so called out yet reassured at the same time. “Where the hell did you learn to give advice like that?” He asks, shocked. Intak laughs slightly, scratching the back of his neck. “I watch a lot of couples therapy programs. It’s a guilty pleasure.” He mumbles. Just as Sunoo is about to ask what shows, the two are interrupted by Intak’s phone going off. He looks at the screen to see Y/n calling, immediately answering and putting them on speaker.

“Intak! You have to come outside and see this dog. It’s wearing a little bow tie!” Y/n exclaims, happily. “Outside? I thought you were in the bathroom?” Intak asks. “I move quickly. Now hurry up!” Y/n ushers, continuing to rave on about the dog as Intak waves goodbye to Sunoo.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if we could have you all to the dance floor to announce this year’s Prom King and Queen.”

Y/n is probably feeling more nervous than Intak - judging by the way they’re squeezing his hand. “I think you’re gonna break my knuckles.” Intak leans down to whisper, causing Y/n to roll their eyes. “Shut up.” They whisper back.

Has the principal's intro speech always been this long? No one asked about how proud you are of all the contestants, they just want to hear who won. After what feels like literal hours of talking, the drumroll begins to play throughout the gym.

“And the winner of Be Lift High’s Prom King is…”

.

.

.

.

.

“Hwang Intak!”

Y/n is probably more excited than Intak, too - judging by the way they practically scream in his ear. Intak grins widely as Y/n shakes him back and forth, receiving a few pats on the back and whoops from the crowd around them. Snapping out of his shock, Intak gently pulls away from Y/n’s grip and walks up to the stage to be crowned.

Despite Intak walking away, Y/n immediately feels another presence beside them. They turn to see Sunoo standing there, watching fondly as Intak accepts the crown. Y/n attempts to ignore him, turning their attention back to Intak. Despite this, Sunoo had already felt Y/n’s eyes on him and gently nudges their side to get their attention.

“He looks really happy.” Sunoo points out. His statement earns an eye roll from Y/n, who immediately turns to him with a smirk. “Jealous you didn’t win?” They asks snarkily, causing Sunoo to laugh slightly. It’s not the sarcastic laugh he usually does around Y/n. It’s a small, genuine laugh. “No, he deserves it.” Sunoo smiles before turning his attention back to the stage, where Intak is about to start his acceptance speech.

The smirk on Yn’s face immediately drops as they take in Sunoo’s words. Sure, he doesn’t have to be jealous… but Y/n at least expected a snarky comeback. Why is he smiling like he and Intak are friends?

“You look really good by the way.” Sunoo says, not taking his eyes off the stage. Y/n immediately scans his face for any signs of sarcasm or teasing. None. Awkwardly coughing, Y/n turns away from Sunoo and back towards the stage. They mumble a quiet shut up but the subtle blush that spreads across their cheeks shows they didn’t hate the compliment.

“And we’ll now announce Be Lift High’s Prom Queen…. Nakamura Kazuha!”

“Fuck yeah!” Yuna screams, immediately covering her mouth when she realised the rest of the crowd hadn’t started yet. She mumbles a few apologies before pushing Kazuha towards the stage.

With Kazuha now joining Intak on the stage, Yuna squeezes herself between Sunoo and Y/n - slinging her arms around both of their shoulders. “Do you think anyone heard me swear?” She jokes, causing Sunoo and Y/n to laugh. “Judging by the way Mr Kim is currently glaring into our souls, I’d say yeah.” Sunoo says.

The trio watch in amusement as Intak shuffles aside for Kazuha to give her speech, her sending him an awkward yet genuine smile. “They’re kinda cute, don’t you think?” Yuna asks, causing Y/n to scoff. “Oh please, she’s way too good for him.” They laugh. “I don’t know, Zuha’s taste in guys is…” Sunoo trails off. “Questionable.” Yuna finishes for him. Y/n shoots the two a confused look but chooses not to ask further questions.

“So, what were you and Sunoo talking about when I was on stage?” Intak asks as he and Y/n slow dance together. “Oh god, don’t remind me. Weirdest conversation we’ve ever had.” Y/n rolls their eyes, causing Intak’s to lighten up with interest. “Come on, spill the tea.” He says, laughing as Y/n physically cringes at his choice of words.

“I don’t know, it was just weird. Like, he was saying how you deserved to win and when I tried to tease him about it, he just didn’t react. And then he said I looked good… without being sarcastic!” Y/n rants, earning an eye roll from Intak. “You call that a weird conversation?” He asks. “Well yeah, it is for people who hate each other.” Y/n huffs.

“Y/n… you don’t seriously think Sunoo hates you, do you?” Intak’s question causes Y/n to look up at him, a confused expression painted across their face. “Uh… have you seen the way he acts around me? We’re like… constantly at each other’s throats.” Y/n points out. “Yeah, and who starts almost all of those arguments?” Intak asks.

Y/n falls silent for a moment as they think back to all their arguments with Sunoo. Sure… they’re often the one that takes it from teasing to yelling but… that doesn’t make Sunoo completely innocent.

“I think you should apologise to him.” Y/n’s eyes practically fall out of their skull as the words slip past Intak’s lips. “I think that’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said.” Intak raises a brow at Y/n, almost in a challenging way. “Y/n… you know how much I love you but as your best friend, it’s my job to tell you when you’re being stupid… and this whole beef you’ve got with Sunoo is stupid… maybe if you start seeing him as a person rather than as some annoyance in your life, you’ll start to recognise that.” Intak says, finally, before dropping the topic.

Y/n pouts slightly as they mull over Intak’s words over and over again… he’s right. Y/n hates it when he’s right.

THURSDAY - 6 DAYS AFTER PROM:

I think you should apologise to him.

Those words have been repeating in Y/n’s brain all week. It’s very rare for a piece of Intak’s advice to stick with them for this long - usually he just says a few quotes he stole from Twitter and hopes it does the trick. It doesn’t. 

Walking into the community centre, Y/n is surprised to see an unknown man sitting behind the desk instead of the usual Minho. As soon as he hears the door open, the man looks up and sends a small smile to Y/n.

“Uh… hi?” Y/n asks, walking up to the desk, puzzled. “Hey. You’re one of the volunteers, right? Y/n?” The man asks, causing Y/n to nod quietly. Their eyes quickly flicker down to his nametag - reading the name Jay along with a small drawing of some shoes. Jay? As in, the guy who used to work here?

“I thought you were in America?” Y/n asks, causing Jay’s eyes to widen slightly. “Oh… I was, yeah. But now I’m back.” He shrugs, passing Y/n the name tag box. Their eyebrows furrow slightly when they see that both Minho and Beomgyu’s name tags are still there. Just as they’re about to ask, they get interrupted by the door opening.

“Sorry I’m late, the coach tried to have an extra cheer practice.” Sunoo says as he walks into the building. He stops in his tracks when he spots Jay behind the desk. “Who are you?” He asks, bluntly. “Jay, and you must be Sunoo.” Jay says. Sunoo glances at Y/n, as if to ask what is happening. Y/n just offers a confused shrug back.

“Okay, as you can probably tell, I’m not Minho. Something happened and he had to take the day off which means, obviously, Beomgyu had too as well.” Jay says. Y/n and Sunoo aren’t sure why that’s obvious but they choose not to question it. “Because we’re down two people, things are going to look a bit different today. We can’t have you both in departments by yourself because, no offence but you’re not fully trusted to be left alone yet. Seonghwa’s still in kids, but he’ll also be checking on you two in grocery. I’ll take care of clothes and pets myself.” Jay says, earning affirmative nods from Sunoo and Y/n. “Cool, Beomgyu should’ve left you a note of what he wants done today but if you need any help, just ask me or Seonghwa.”

Beomgyu’s “note” turned out to be the computer password so they could access todays food pack orders along with the words “fuck things up and I’ll kill you” scribbled at the bottom. Not extremely helpful but Y/n expected nothing less.

“So we just… put the stuff on the list in a box?” Sunoo asks, making Y/n realise that he hasn’t actually worked in grocery yet. “Oh… yeah. We print off the order ticket, grab everything that's on it and put them in a box, stick the ticket on the top and then tick the packed button on the computer… it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it, and everything’s labelled so you shouldn’t have any trouble.” Y/n rambles, quickly demonstrating how things work.

The two quickly get to work, in complete silence. It’s a little awkward. This is the first time Y/n has actually seen Sunoo since prom, other than quickly passing each other in the halls, and the first time that they’ve worked with him in the community centre since their fight.

I think you should apologise to him.

Groaning slightly, Y/n turns their attention back to the order they’re currently working on. The last thing they need right now is Intak’s stupid face in their brain, trying to convince them to apologise.

“Hey, Y/n? Can you come check this for me?” Sunoo suddenly calls, snapping Y/n out of their thoughts. “Uh... yeah, one sec.” Y/n replies, putting the finishing touches on their order before walking over to where Sunoo is working.

They find him in the produce section, looking puzzled. “Everything okay?” Y/n asks, causing Sunoo to jump slightly at their sudden presence. “Oranges and mandarins are the same thing, right?” Sunoo asks, causing Y/n to giggle slightly. “Um… no. Mandarins are little and come in pieces that you peel off, oranges are big and you need to cut them.” Y/n says, causing Sunoo to nod. “We only have oranges, then,” He says, turning to look at Y/n. “And I need mandarins.”

Sighing, Y/n does a quick scan around the produce section. There are in fact, no mandarins. “We’ll have to check the back storage.” Y/n says, walking towards the door to find Seonghwa. “You coming? I can’t carry a bulk box of fruit by myself.” Y/n says, causing Sunoo to immediately follow them.

Once the two grab the key from Seonghwa, they make their way to the back storage room, where all the unneeded products are kept. It’s weird being in here again. Last time the two were in this room, they were screaming at each other. Walking past the kids and pet sections, they finally find themselves in the grocery area.

“Over there.” Y/n points in the direction of the fruits, going to walk towards them. They realise that Sunoo is oddly quiet and turn around to look at him. “Are you okay?” Y/n asks. It’s silent for a few more moments before Sunoo blurts out two words Y/n never thought they’d hear him say.

“I’m sorry.”

Y/n doesn’t know how to respond. It seems that even Sunoo is a little taken aback by his words, judging by his wide-eyed expression. “Um… what?” Y/n laughs awkwardly. Where was this coming from?

“I’m sorry for… everything, really. I’ve been giving you hell for years for basically nothing. I was just jealous of you and Intak and I took it out on you when I should’ve just-” “-Are you kidding me?” Y/n asks suddenly, interrupting Sunoo’s words. “I’ve been thinking about apologising to you all week and you beat me to it?” They continue, causing Sunoo to look at them confused. “It’s not a competition…” Sunoo laughs awkwardly. “But I’ve hated you for years because of something you did unknowingly as a kid… and you didn’t even do it to me! Why the hell are you the one apologising?” Y/n asks, a small pout to their lips. Sunoo can’t help but look at them endearingly… are they really upset that he apologised before they could?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Y/n asks, causing Sunoo to laugh slightly. “Sorry, you’re just really cute.” He says, causing their eyes to widen. A pink blush immediately spreads across their cheeks, earning a slight smirk from Sunoo. “Shut up.” Y/n mumbles, avoiding eye contact. 

“Would you feel better if I took my apology back?” Sunoo asks, half jokingly. Y/n pauses to think for a moment before silently nodding, causing Sunoo to break out into a toothy grin. “Okay, then… I'll take it back.” He says, his words causing Y/n to look up at him again. They bite their lip nervously as he quietly waits for them to speak.

“Okay so like… I’m sorry for being a bitch and hating you for something you didn’t do. It was really childish of me and I hope that we can be friends… maybe.” Y/n rambles, their eyes nervously flickering from Sunoo’s to various parts of the room. Sunoo smiles at their nervousness, his heart swelling slightly at their words. “It’s okay… when I found out you didn’t like me I started purposefully annoying you. If you can’t tell, I think you’re cute when you’re mad.” Sunoo says, the pink blush on Y/n’s cheeks turning darker with each compliment. “Stop calling me that…” Y/n mumbles.

“You don’t like when I call you cute?”

“Hate it.”

“Your blush says otherwise, babe.”

“Shut up!”

“So… are you just gonna ignore the fact that I said I was jealous of you and Intak?” Sunoo asks, causing Y/n to look at him confused. “Why?” Y/n asks. “Because I like you and I hated that he was close with you in ways I couldn’t be… thought he had a better chance with you than I did.” Sunoo mumbles, causing Y/n to scoff slightly. “Oh please, Intak wouldn’t have a chance with me if he was the last man on earth.” Y/n says, choosing to ignore the part where Sunoo said he likes them.

“What about me?” Sunoo asks, stepping forward slightly to minimise the gap between them. “Uh… what about you?” Y/n asks, attempting to step back but getting stopped by the shelf behind them. “Would I have a chance?” Sunoo asks, continuing his steps until he is directly in front of Y/n, their back pressed up against the shelves. “Um… if you were the last man on earth, you mean? I guess, I don’t know. I don’t even think I’d survive long enough for us to be the last people on earth. Especially if it was like a zombie apocalypse or something, I’d probably die super… early.” Y/n rambles, the last words trailing off as Sunoo gently grips their chin, lifting it slightly so they’re making direct eye contact.

“I mean now, Y/n. Would I have a chance with you now?” Sunoo asks, his grip on Y/n’s chin stopping them from looking away. Y/n’s breath seems to get caught in their throat as they see Sunoo’s eyes flicker down to their lips. “I don’t know…” Y/n breathes out.

Their mind feels fuzzy. Up until about a week ago, they don’t think they’d ever had a positive thought about Sunoo. And now here they are, trapped between his body and a shelf, as he confesses that he likes them? Y/n has no idea how to process this new information.

“Are you guys okay in here?” A sudden voice calls out, causing Y/n to immediately push Sunoo away from them. They shut down the part of their brain that immediately misses his touch and peek behind the shelf to see Jay looking around the room for them. “We’re fine! Just took a while finding what we needed.” Sunoo calls out, going to grab one side of the mandarin crate. Taking note of Y/n’s slightly dazed expression, Sunoo can’t help but laugh slightly. “Actually, do you mind helping us carry this? Y/n’s a bit out of it.” Sunoo calls out again, sending a teasing wink to Y/n who immediately scowls at him. Guess that his feelings for them won’t change the constant teasing.

“I saw you drove today, your car’s fixed?” Sunoo asks as the two walk out of the community centre. “Yeah, it is. Which reminds me that I need to get Intak to pay me back.” Y/n says, taking a mental note. “Well, if you ever need a ride again, just know my passenger seat is always free for you.” Sunoo says, his words causing Y/n to blush slightly. They mumble a small thanks, causing Sunoo to smile endearingly. “Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sunoo says, causing Y/n’s eyebrows to furrow. “School, babe.” Sunoo clarifies, making Y/n’s mouth fall into a small “oh”. Sunoo shakes his head with a gentle smile, ruffling Y/n’s hair affectionately. “Have a good night, Y/n.” He says before going to get into his car, waiting until Y/n has gotten in theirs and drives off before he leaves as well.

FRIDAY - 7 DAYS AFTER PROM:

“I told you so!”

Y/n reaches over to cover Intak’s mouth with their hand, shushing him as they look around the classroom. Thankfully, everyone else is busy with their own conversations to be listening in on theirs. Intak licks their hand, causing them to immediately pull away with a disgusted look. “You’re so gross.” Y/n mumbles, wiping their hand on Inak’s shirt sleeve. “I don’t care, you and Sunoo are getting together, I was finally right about something.” Intak teases, earning an eye roll from Y/n. “We’re not getting together, he likes me. There’s a difference.” “But you like him too!” Intak urges. “And how the hell do you know that?” Y/n asks, defensively. “Because we’re besties! I can basically read your mind at this point.” Y/n looks at him with a blank expression, clearly not believing his reasoning. “Plus you’re blushing, which is kind of a dead give away.”

Y/n throws their pen at Intak, who only pokes out his tongue in retaliation. He is right - they both know it. Which is what makes the whole situation more frustrating. Being confronted with the fact that you might like someone when you’ve spent years thinking you hate them is not a fun feeling. Y/n can’t help but think back to the conversation they had with Beomgyu last week. Sometimes you think you hate someone, when really you like them and just don’t know how to express it. God… did everyone see it but Y/n?

Obviously, they always knew that Sunoo was attractive (although they’d never admit it). And yeah, maybe a small part of them did secretly enjoy having Sunoo’s attention - good or bad. But does that really mean that they like him? Like, want to go on dates and hold hands and kiss and post cute couple pictures with cheesy captions to annoy their friends kind of like? Surely not…

…

Okay, maybe.

But liking Kim Sunoo and wanting to date Kim Sunoo are two completely different things. You can like someone and leave it at that - a hypothetical crush with no real drive to transition into an actual relationship. Just someone to watch from afar and dream about until you either get over them or fall for someone else. That is exactly what Y/n plans to do with this whole crush thing. Sunoo, unfortunately, is not making this easy.

“Y/n!”

The sudden call of their name causes Y/n to jump slightly. That doesn’t sound like Intak. And Y/n doesn’t speak to any other men at school because, why would they? Which means it has to be…

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?” Sunoo asks once he’s finally caught up to Y/n. They look like a deer caught in headlights, looking directly into the eyes of the one person they’ve spent all day avoiding.

Y/n is almost too distracted by the situation to process the words coming out of Sunoo’s mouth. He’s been looking for them? That should not make their heart flutter the way that it does.

“Where have you been?” Sunoo asks, his follow-up question finally breaking through the thoughts that are overflowing Y/n’s brain. “Oh, you know… around.” Y/n attempts to play it off, aimlessly waving their hand to appear as nonchalant as possible. Sunoo doesn’t buy it for a second, looking at Y/n with raised eyebrows. “Okay… well, I was wondering if you were busy this afternoon?” Sunoo asks. “This afternoon? There’s a game on.” Y/n says, causing Sunoo to chuckle slightly. “I know. I’m a cheerleader, remember? I was meaning before the game.”

They always get paninis with Intak before his games - something he claims gives him good luck. Despite this, Y/n can practically hear Intak screaming at them to say no, they’re not busy, and they’d love to spend the afternoon with Sunoo. But some part of them is holding back, scared of getting too close to Sunoo.

Sunoo notices Y/n’s hesitation and his face falls slightly, though he immediately covers it with an understanding smile. “Intak?” He asks, already knowing the answer. Y/n nods slowly, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over them. Why did feelings have to be so confusing?

Sunoo goes to walk away but Y/n suddenly calls out, their voice leaving their body before they even have time to comprehend the words. “You can come,” Sunoo stops in his tracks, turning around to look at Y/n once more. “If you want.” They add.

It’s silent for a moment before Sunoo smiles - not the sad one from before, a genuine smile. “Sure… how about I bring Yuna and Kazhua, too?” He asks. Sunoo’s not an idiot, he can tell how uncomfortable Y/n is in his presence. If he wants things to work out with them, he needs to give them time to get comfortable. If that means bringing their entire friend group on what he wanted to be a date, then so be it.

“I’d like that.” Y/n smiles.

“So uh… where are we going?” Yuna asks, curiously. Her grip tightens on Kazuha’s arm as the trio walk down the street. “That cheap Italian place down by the library.” Sunoo says, his words immediately causing Kazuha’s face to screw up. “Who gets Itallian before a game? Isn’t that more of a post-game meal?” She asks. Sunoo shrugs. “Apparently Intak needs his good-luck panini before every game and I’m not really in the mood to argue with our star player.”

“He plays like that because of a panini?” Kazuha asks, shocked. “It’s not the panini, idiot. It’s the fact that it’s his lucky food… think of it like manifesting.” Yuna explains. “But with paninis.”

Thankfully, the restaurant isn’t too far away from the school. It’s likely why Y/n and Intak started going. As soon as the group walks up to the little building, squished between the public library and a laundromat, Sunoo realises that it’s not as bad as he thought. Freshly painted with what looks to be a handmade sign hung carefully above the door and intricately decorated on the interior.

Stepping inside, the group’s eyes immediately land on Y/n and Intak. They’re the only customers in the restaurant, so it’s impossible to miss Intak’s wide smile and over-exaggerated wave.

“Wait, this place is so cute!” Kazuha exclaims, immediately going to sit down with Y/n and Intak. “How long have you two been gatekeeping this?” She continues, pointing her finger accusingly between Y/n and Intak. Y/n immediately raises their hands in surrender. “Ask Intak, he’s the one who didn’t want anyone stealing his luck.”

Intak’s eyes widen at Y/n’s statement. “Hey! Don’t turn this on me!” He exclaims, his face heating up slightly as the group laughs. “It’s okay, the golden boy just didn’t want anyone stealing his precious spot. No biggie.” Yuna teases, patting Intak’s shoulder with feigned sympathy as she moves to sit down as well - pushing Sunoo to sit in the spot next to Y/n before sliding in after him.

Sunoo attempts to keep some distance between himself and Y/n so as to not make them uncomfortable. Yuna doesn’t seem to get the message though, sliding into the booth and pressing Sunoo right into Y/n’s personal bubble. They don’t seem to mind though - judging by the subtle blush creeping up their neck and gentle smile on their lips.

“Is now a bad time to say that I’ve never had a panini before?” Yuna asks. ‘Oh god, don’t make him start.” Y/n mumbles. Their words fall on deaf ears, as Intak begins to ramble about paninis and all the amazing combinations you can have. Y/n zones out of the conversation, aimlessly flicking through the menu instead. 

“What do you recommend?” Sunoo asks, quietly. Y/n looks up at him with a raised brow. “Don’t trust Intak’s recommendations?” Y/n asks, jokingly. Their words cause Sunoo to chuckle quietly. “More like, I want to have your favourite.” Sunoo mumbles, playfully winking when Y/n’s face flushes.

This is going to be a long night.

“Oh, shit. What time do we have to be there tonight?” Yuna asks, pulling out her phone to check the time. “Practice starts at 5, game at 6. I’ve only told you, like, 4 times today.” Sunoo says, a not-so-subtle roll of his eyes earning him a slap on the arm. “Thanks, Kim Sunoo. Where would I be without you?” Yuna replies snarkily. “Not the game, that’s for sure.”

“Are you coming early too, Y/n?” Kazuha asks, finishing off the last bite of her panini. “I always do. Intak forces me to watch him practice.” Y/n says. “It’s not forcing! You can say no…” Intak pouts. “If I say no you get like this, which is not as cute as you think it is.” Y/n laughs, causing Intak’s mouth to drop in offence. “I am so cute! You’re just blind, clearly.”

“Maybe this time you can watch our cheer practice, instead.” Yuna suggests, “I know a certain someone would love that.” She continues, a little quieter so only Y/n and Sunoo can hear her. Y/n’s face heats up at the implication behind Yuna’s words as Sunoo nudges her in the side, his face telling her to knock it off.

“Or just watch boring Intak, whatever you want.” She finishes with a shug. “Since when was it International Bully Intak Day?” Intak asks, sulkily taking a bite of his (third) panini.

Intak gets pouty when Y/n doesn’t pay attention during his practice and games. Y/n has made that mistake far too many times, and now makes sure to keep their eyes on the field at all times. Why is tonight so much more difficult? Kim Sunoo… that’s why…

Y/n never really watched the cheerleaders before. Like they said, Intak got pouty. But tonight, their gaze can’t help but slowly drift to where Sunoo stands. They jump slightly as Sunoo tosses one of the smaller girls in the air, lifting her up like she’s nothing and catching her with equal ease.

He must be pretty strong.

Y/n immediately shakes the thought out of their head, looking back at the field. The game has long started since now, the bleachers filling up with loud, enthusiastic supporters all there to watch their team win. Intak’s on fire, as usual. The crowd roars with every point he scores, expecting nothing less from their school’s star player.

As Y/n fixates their full attention onto their best friend, they hardly notice Sunoo walking over to where they’re sat. Sunoo smiles down at Y/n, finding their concentration cute before playfully ruffling their hair.

“So, we’re pretending you weren’t literally staring me down a minute ago?” He asks, his words and action causing Y/n’s attention to immediately flicker to him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Y/n mumbles, swatting his hand away before fixing their now ruined hair. “Course you don’t, babe.” Sunoo replies, messing up Y/n’s hair once more before taking a seat next to them.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the field… you know… cheering?” Y/n asks, trying to make it seem like they’re annoyed by his presence. Y/n’s never been an actor though and Sunoo can read right through them. “You expect me to cheer for the whole game? That’s so tiring.” Sunoo frowns. “I should get to have a good time, too.” He adds, sending a playful smile to Y/n.

That’s how Y/n and Sunoo ended up watching the game together. With every scored point, everyone around them got more enthusiastic - their excited movements pushing Y/n and Sunoo closer together. Neither of them minded, though.

Sunoo suddenly lets out a groan when he spots Yuna calling him back onto the field. “I have to go back.” He mumbles, looking at Y/n apologetically. “It’s okay… go do your thing.” Y/n smiles. Sunoo can’t help the way his smile mimics Y/n’s, even the tiniest bit of their happiness is contagious to him. God… they’re so pretty. Before he can even realise what he’s doing, Sunoo leans in to press a quick kiss against Y/n’s cheek, ruffling their hair once more as he stands before running back to the field, yelling about how he’ll “be back.”

Y/n sits there, stunned, for a moment. Did that really just happen? Did Sunoo just kiss them? They bring a hand up to gently press against the spot where Sunoo’s lips just were. The skin burns slightly at the touch, likely from the ever growing blush that seems to be constant whenever Sunoo’s around. It takes Y/n a handful of seconds to snap out of the fluttery trance Sunoo’s kiss put them in - and he didn’t even kiss them on the lips! This crush really is going to be the end of Y/n…

“WE WON!”

Intak’s yell could probably be heard from the other side of town. But Y/n doesn’t care, as they run happily into his open embrace. Every win for Intak is like the first; it’s only fair that Y/n matches his enthusiasm.

“You did so good, Takie.” Y/n says, giving Intak a loving squeeze before pulling away. Kazuha is next, running to give Intak a hug - much to the surprise of the rest of the group. “Guess we’re all hugging Intak.” Yuna shrugs, running up to him as well - making sure to grab Y/n on the way and pull them into the, now group hug.

Sunoo watches the group with an amused smile on his face. “Bring it in, bro.” Intak winks, making Sunoo laugh slightly. “Okay, bro.” Sunoo says teasingly, before joining the hug as well - making sure to take a position next to Y/n.

“Why are we hugging?” Y/n asks. “Because I did so amazingly that you guys just wanted to show how much you love me?” Intak asks, hopefully. “Whatever you say, buddy.” Yuna laughs.

Pulling away from the impromptu group hug, Y/n can’t help the way their eyes naturally drift to Sunoo, who was already looking at them. The rest of the group immediately notice their two friends, Yuna giving Kazuha a knowing nudge.

“Hey, Intak. Didn’t you need to show me and Yuna that… thing?” Kazuha asks, suspiciously. Intak’s face lights up at this. He loves this game. “Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot. I’ll go show you now. Just you, me and Yuna.” Intak says. Sunoo has to stop himself from physically face palming at the performance. “I think they get the hint.” Yuna laughs, grabbing the two by the arm and pulling them away from Y/n and Sunoo.

“Well that wasn’t suspicious at all.” Sunoo jokes. “What would he even have in his car to show them?” Y/n laughs, looking back in the direction the three went, only to spot them not-so-subtly crouched behind the bleachers. “They’re watching us.” Y/n mumbles. “Of course they are.”

Silence falls between the two as Sunoo appears to have a sudden wave of nerves wash over him. Y/n looks up at him with slight concern - Sunoo doesn’t normally get nervous. “Look… I just wanted to say that I had a really good time with you today… it’s nice to just hang out without working… or yelling at each other.” Sunoo starts, causing Y/n to laugh slightly. “We do yell at each other quite a bit.” They agree. “That’s not stopping, by the way. If you do dumb shit I will call you out on it.” Y/n playfully warns, causing Sunoo to laugh. “Oh, 100%. Just like how I’m going to keep purposefully getting on your nerves.” Sunoo teases.

Due to the conversation taking a playful turn, Sunoo’s nerves start to subside. “Look, I know this is all very sudden for you so I don’t expect an answer straight away but, I was wondering if you wanted to-” 

“-yes.”

Sunoo’s eye brows furrow slightly at Y/n cutting him off. “Would you let me say it?” He asks, teasingly, causing Y/n to laugh. “Sorry, I got excited… keep going.” Y/n urges him to continue, looking at him with a playful smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date… with me… and not our friends, this time.” Sunoo asks, smiling gently.

Y/n can’t stop the giddy feeling that’s building up in their stomach. It’s almost like they want to start jumping around, they’re so restless. Never in their entire life would they have thought that they would have these feelings about Kim Sunoo… guess the heart works in mysterious ways.

Y/n nods enthusiastically, jumping to pull Sunoo into a tight hug. “This is new.” Sunoo comments, hugging back nonetheless. “Sorry, I’m just weirdly excited and I didn’t know how to say it in words.” Y/n mumbles against Sunoo’s shoulder. “Don’t apologise… I could definitely get used to this.” Sunoo says, tightening his grip around Y/n’s waist.

The two stand there for a few seconds, trapped in their own little bubble. Their precious moment is soon interrupted by the hushed whispers of their friends, who still haven’t left their hiding spot. Sunoo pulls away with a groan, shooting a fake glare towards the others. “Okay… let’s go get those idiots.” He says, wrapping an arm around Y/n’s shoulder to pull them in the direction of the rest of the group.

“So, just so we’re being clear… our next date is gonna be with our friends, too?”

“Without, Y/n. Without.”

“Sorry without… Yuna and Kazuha, but Intak is coming.”

“Bring Intak and you’re not getting a second date.”

“I’m just teasing. Besides, I doubt you can stay away from me after this.”

“You know what? I’m starting to regret confessing to you.”

As the two playfully bicker back and forth, Yuna, Kazuha and Intak notice them coming over and decide to leave their hiding spot. “So the lovebirds finally got together, huh?” Yuna asks, earning eyerolls from Y/n and Sunoo. “Nothing’s official yet so don’t jinx it.” Sunoo warns, causing Yuna to look at him with a teasing smile. “So I shouldn’t talk about how you’re madly in love with Y/n and it’s taken you literally years to-” Yuna’s ramble gets cut off by Sunoo charging at her, causing her to end her sentence early with a loud squeal.

“Zuha, help!” Yuna exclaims as she attempts to run away from Sunoo. As the three friends laugh and chase each other around the now empty field, Y/n feels the sudden presence of Intak resting his chin on the top of their head.

“You look really happy.” He comments, the simple words causing Y/n’s smile to spread even further across their face. “I am.” They reply. “Sunoo’s cool… he’ll treat you well.” Intak mumbles, yawning slightly due to it getting later. Y/n snorts slightly at his words, playfully elbowing him in the stomach. “Why are you acting like my dad?” They ask, earning a shrug from their best friend. “I’m just happy that you’re happy.”

SUNDAY - 9 DAYS AFTER PROM:

Walking into the community centre feels a lot different on this particular day compared to all the previous times. Perhaps it’s due to the fluttery feeling in Y/n’s chest at the thought of seeing Sunoo again. They haven’t seen him since Friday night, where they agreed to go on a date. They did, however, text throughout most of yesterday.

Minho is back in his position at the front desk, with Jay, Beomgyu and Seonghwa in various other parts of the reception area. Sunoo also stands in the reception area, signing in for the day.

“Y/n, come and clear this up for me.” Minho says as soon as Y/n makes their way through the sliding glass doors. Their eyebrows furrow slightly but oblige nonetheless, not wanting to piss of Minho this early in the day.

“This kid says that you and Sunoo didn’t argue at all last week.” Minho scoffs, pointing accusingly at Jay, who holds his hands up in defence. “I honestly didn’t even know they were the problem kids until like, 2 hours into the shift.” Jay argues. “We didn’t argue.” Y/n shrugs, causing all the adults to look at them in shock. Sunoo tries to hold back his smile as he finishes signing in, unfortunately not going unnoticed by Beomgyu.

“Did something happen between you two?” Beomgyu asks with a smirk on his face, throwing his arm over Sunoo’s shoulder and shaking him a few times. “Beomgyu, that’s none of our business.” Seonghwa attempts to scold. “I see blushing.” Minho teases, pointing at Y/n’s face. “Let’s just get to work, are we going back to the old schedule?” Y/n asks, turning their attention fully to Seonghwa. He almost looks startled by Y/n’s question. “Can I trust you two to work together properly?” He asks, looking at both Y/n and Sunoo suspiciously. The teens quickly nod. “Okay… we’ll go back to the old schedule. You two will be in with Beomgyu today and then you’ll start fresh with Jay in clothes next week.”

“Okay but like… you guys are dating now, right?” Beomgyu asks as he walks into the food storage room, a large box of bread in his hand. Y/n and Sunoo look at each other, both questioning his words. That’s not even something they’re sure of. They agreed to go on a date… does that mean they are dating?

Beomgyu notices the confusion and chuckles slightly. “We’re not labelling it, huh? I remember those days.” He smiles, placing the box on the table. “Just try not to let it get in the way of your work… no matter how hard that might be.” Beomgyu says, almost as if he’s speaking from personal experience.

WEDNESDAY - 12 DAYS AFTER PROM:

Going on a date with Sunoo is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Everything is changing… they went from spending all of their time with Intak, to suddenly being in a friend group with Intak, Sunoo, Yuna and Kazuha. What if this thing with Sunoo doesn’t actually work out? Their friend groups have already basically intertwined and Intak seems to really enjoy having the others around. The last thing Y/n wants is to ruin it for him. They really like Sunoo, too. This needs to work out.

“Stop worrying about shit that isn't going to happen." Intak playfully scolds, softly hitting Y/n over the head with his book. The act immediately snaps Y/n out of their thoughts, making them look up at Intak with a small pout. "You didn't have to hit me." They mumble. "Yes, I did. You've been like this all day. Your date tonight's gonna go fine. I don't get why you're so worried." Intak says. "I'm just scared that I'll mess everything up." Y/n frowns, shaking their head in their hands in an attempt to silence their negative thoughts.

"You didn't mess it up when you literally hated him… how could you mess it up now that you like him?" Y/n struggles to argue with Intak's logic. They know that their insecurities are irrational and yet there's still this tiny part of their brain, shouting about how terribly this is all going to go.

"Well, no time to be insecure, here he comes." Intak says, gesturing over Y/n's shoulder before walking off.

The sudden presence of an arm around their shoulder causes y/n's entire body to relax. They know it's Sunoo; it always is.

"Where's he going?" Sunoo asks. "You scared him off." Y/n jokes back, causing Sunoo to laugh slightly. "Hey! I'm not even remotely threatening, thank you." He argues, pinching Y/n's shoulder. Strange how as soon as Y/n is in the presence of Sunoo, all their negative thoughts from before seem to mysteriously vanish.

"Are you all good with going right now? Or did you want to head home first?" Sunoo asks. "Well I didn't bring my car today and my ride just abandoned me so, I guess now works." Y/n shrugs.

Dinner and a movie - the most timeless first date. There's enough time at dinner to talk and get to know each other whilst also being able to just ignore each other during the movie if the dinner part doesn't go to plan. Y/n and Sunoo don't exactly have to get to know each other, though. It's more just getting to know this new side of each other.

So far on the date, Y/n has learnt that Sunoo is quite the gentleman. They're not sure if he's just pulling out all the stops because they're on a date or if he usually treats his partners like this but the chivalry is spot on. Letting y/n choose the restaurant, holding open the door, pulling out their chair, the works.

"You know," Sunoo starts, pointing a fry in Y/n's direction. "You never actually told me that you like me." Y/n rolls their eyes at his statement. "Yes Sunoo, I agreed to go on a date with you because I don't like you." They reply sarcastically. Sunoo holds his hands up in defence. "Is it wrong for me to want to know how my date feels about me?" Sunoo asks teasingly. Y/n's heart flutters at the word date but they try to ignore it. "When you're only asking because you want to hear me say it, yes."

Sunoo looks at Y/n expectantly, making them sigh. "Fine… I really like you, Sunoo." Y/n says, the genuine tone in their voice makes Sunoo smile brightly. "I really like you, too." He replies. Y/n grumbles something about him being stupid, which makes Sunoo laugh before turning back to his food.

"Okay, they didn't have any mint chocolate left which is… honestly criminal, but they had your favourite so I just got two of them." Sunoo says, happily handing Y/n an ice cream cone. "How did you know cookie dough is my favourite?" Y/n asks suspiciously. They have had many conversations with Sunoo, none of which involved anything they liked.

"You always bring those little cookie snack bars to the community centre… so I just took a guess." He shrugs. Y/n's eyes narrow at Sunoo. "What else do you know about me?" They ask, making him laugh slightly. "I'm very observant, so, a lot. You'll find out eventually." Sunoo winks, causing Y/n’s eyebrows to furrow.

Once the two find their seats, Sunoo pulls out the rest of the snacks that he had snuck into the theatre (why would he buy a bag of lollies for $6 when he could get the same ones at the grocery store for $2.50?) Y/n’s eyes widen as Sunoo lays out the snacks he had brought, each one being one of Y/n’s favourites.

“Okay, you’re messing with me now. You asked Intak for help, didn’t you?” Y/n asks, skeptically. “I swear, I didn’t.” Sunoo says, only confusing Y/n further. “Then how did you know to get me all of this? Y/n asks, their eyes shining in awe as they look at Sunoo. “Y/n… I’ve liked you for… almost 2 years now? It’d be weirder if I didn’t know about these kinds of things.” Y/n’s eyes widen at Sunoo’s words. It’s as if all the air has been knocked out of their lungs. “You’ve liked me for two years?” Y/n asks, almost in disbelief. “Why didn’t you say anything?” They ask, going to hit Sunoo’s shoulder but Sunoo catches their hand instead, holding it gently in his. “Be honest, Y/n. Would you have liked me back 2 years ago?” He asks. Y/n falls silent. They both know the answer to that. “I don’t know what to say.” Y/n mumbles. Sunoo smiles, reaching over with his other hand to ruffle their hair. “You don’t have to say anything.”

Their hands stay intertwined throughout the entire movie. It just feels right, the coolness of his skin contrasting against Y/n’s warmth. The way they each tighten their grip whenever a particularly tense scene plays or how Sunoo’s thumb gently grazes over Y/n’s knuckles when a sad one does. Neither wants to let go. Even when the movie comes to an end, the lights in the theatre turn on and everyone starts getting out of their seats, their hands stay intertwined.

“Okay, turn right at the next street.”

“No, the one after that.”

“There’s like this big tree, remember? That’s the one.”

“You missed the turn off.”

“Has anyone ever told you, you’re really bad at giving directions?” Sunoo laughs, as he does yet another u-turn. “Why do you think I’m usually the one driving? I don’t give directions, I take them.” Y/n grumbles. “We’re going to your house, Y/n. Surely, you know how to get there.” Sunoo laughs. “I’ve never been this way so I don’t know the names of anything.” Y/n argues. “Babe… use google maps.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Y/n finally pulls out their phone and types their address into google maps. “There, since I’m clearly no help.” Y/n pouts, shoving their phone on the dashboard. Sunoo can’t help but smile affectionately as he watches Y/n sulk. He reaches over to playfully pull at their cheek, causing them to swat his hand away. “You’re so cute.” Sunoo coos, laughing at the way Y/n’s face immediately turns a dark shade of pink. They mumble a quiet shut up reaching forward to link their hands with one of his, once again.

By the time Sunoo pulls up outside of Y/n’s house, they’re no longer sulking. Sunoo puts the car in park, taking off his seatbelt before turning to Y/n with a smile. “I had a really nice time tonight.” He says, reaching forward to take hold of Y/n’s hands. “Me too.” Y/n smiles. “And I’d like to do this more… a lot more.” Sunoo says. “Me too.” Y/n laughs, feeling overwhelmed with the amount of affection they feel towards the boy in front of them.

“Can I be your boyfriend, Y/n?”

Time in the car seems to stop just as those words left Sunoo’s lips. Kim Sunoo… as Y/n’s boyfriend? Months ago, Y/n would’ve thought that to be one of the worst things to happen to them. A form of torture… they’d probably say. But now… as they sit in Sunoo’s car, their hands intertwined with his, after one of the best first dates they’ve ever been on… they can think of nothing they want more.

Well… maybe they can think of one thing they want more. As their eyes flicker down to Sunoo’s lips, Y/n can’t help the overwhelming thoughts of how they would feel pressed against their own. Sunoo seems to notice, with the way the corners of his mouth turn up into a slight smirk. Is he licking his lips subconsciously? Or is he trying to drive Y/n even crazier than they already feel?

Y/n realises they haven’t answered Sunoo’s question. With their mind racing a mile a minute, they don’t even know what to say. Y/n’s brain flashes back to what Sunoo said earlier in the night… You don’t have to say anything.

Y/n decides to communicate their thoughts through their actions, not trusting their brain or voice to formulate a better response. With a simple nod of the head, Y/n slowly leans in, their eyes fluttering closed as they finally feel Sunoo’s plush lips against their own.

Y/n hasn’t kissed enough people to know what makes the perfect kiss but they reckon this one comes pretty close. They were never one for cliches, but the sparks, the butterflies, everything’s there. Everything’s right.

Maybe Intak was right (this seems to be a pattern recently.) As their lips dance together, Y/n can’t help but think that nothing with Sunoo could go wrong. They know it’s unrealistic, that all good relationships run into problems along the way, but that’s for future Y/n and future Sunoo to worry about. Right now, they can just relax in their ignorant bliss.

THE END

[kdramacrybaby]

Okay so I’m gonna do something a lil different and talk about another show. I’ve put my dramas on hold for a moment to watch the new live adaption of Avatar, and I just wanna take a moment to give my thoughts.

The animated version will always be infinitely better than anything they could have ever created - but we already knew that. So I didn’t go into this expecting it to be able to live up to that.

And I think that’s where a lot of people may end up hating it before even giving it a proper chance. They decide ahead of time that any change is a bad one - but at this point, I think even with no changes, a lot of people would hate it. That’s what happens with adaptations of beloved stories.

I do have some comments that I’ll touch on in a moment, but overall I do want to say that I actually liked it. It’s definitely very pretty to look at, and I think it managed to do what they wanted with what they had.

Sure, the dialogue is a little… rough at times. And since a lot of actors are on the younger side, the acting is what you could expect (though I do think they all did a good job).

They change around with the timelines and fit some episodes together that were normally not a single story, but it mostly made sense, and that is usually a thing you see in adaptations to make it work for the new type of media.

The thing that probably annoyed me the most, is how fast paced it already is. Things seems to be happening at a lightning speed, and I have a hard time getting fully into the story cause it feels like they never let you dwell on the emotions they try to create.

With the animated version, it felt like a journey. You followed the team as they travelled around, and it felt organic how they came upon all the different plots. We see them train and have fun. And then as we get closer and closer to the comet, we as the viewers start to feel the urgency as well.

Here, it feels like we are constantly pushed to the next and then the next, without giving us time to stop and breathe.

I get that they had a lot of material to fit in, and it’s not an easy job… but why not then make it 10 or 12 episodes instead? Spend the time and money to get it better paced out.

So, yes, I do like this show for what it is - it does not deserve all the hate it gets (and certainly does not deserve to be called worse than the movie because that is definitely not true at all that movie was a train wreck).

But when I want to watch Avatar in the future, I will choose the animated version 100% of the times. You cannot improve on perfection.

[thevalleyoftriumph]

Since I reblogged it from you, here’s what I’m curious abt for your OC’s!!

MY ENTIRE EXPLANATION FOR 11 JUST GOT DESTROYED IM GOING TO KILL TUMBLR. anyways since last ask had an 11 im choosing a different ocverse for this one

11]

hi. um. roblox ocs :3 their lore takes forever to explain so im just gonna explain the characters instead of the plot.

basically theres 3 of them ok.

cody, a noob who loves playing fighting games and helping people get their footing in them. very silly, very kind, and has a bestie thats a guest named horns [horns is my friends oc :3]. cody ALSO has a bit of a slow moving "curse" that is the result of their arm being Fucking Cut Off. its a corruption in their code that is slowly spreading across their body, which will end up with their entire set of code and body being Basically unraveled from the inside out in a way thats Worse than death ! :D they spend most of their time trying to figure out a way to undo that while still being the same happy person. they see blade [other oc] as a brother figure once the two meet!

blade is a bounty hunter of sorts, who goes after exploiters to make the world safer for people, thanks to his own experiences as a kid with exploiters. he is VERY good at his job, having been training since he was a younger teen, and has been doing his job for anywhere from 15-20 years [havent decided.] his current target is inkcap, his childhood friend and previous crush. its a whole thing. also, hes the one who saved cody from being COMPLETELY killed during their exploiter encounter!

inkcap is . well. the exploiter mentioned previously. instead of their encounter with exploiters driving it to better itself and help others, its trauma [and also blade leaving it when they were both 15 to go on his first mission, and then just. never coming back] had led it to lean into its trauma, and learn the same exploits that hurt it, and more. it decides that if it couldnt be happy anymore, if it lost everything and everyone it loved, then no one else should be able to have these things - because no one tried helping it when it needed it. its the one who attacked cody, and the one blade is currently hunting down - but inkcap is sneaky, and good at its own "job," being the most infamous exploiter - and for good reason.

the whole story with these three is the different ways people deal with trauma, mostly the.. unhealthy ways, and their very, VERY slow path to healing and getting better. it has a happy ending! it just takes a long time to get there. they all have a Lot of stuff to work through.

12] pick a fav

OK THATS THE THING I GENUINELY CANT.

theyre all equally loved as a whole because i adore them, but in terms of different catagories, THEN theres favs, so just. choose whichever one you think is most valid.

for drawing, i LOVE cody. theyre so simple and cute to draw i have little doodles of them in Every notebook and sketchbook. i like drawing them with my friends oc. :3

for actual design, i LOOOVE inkcap. inkcap is my beloved their design is sooo <333 pretty

for LORE.... i love blade the most SORRYYY his whole deal makes me sick in the head

19] describe the sillies you think about that dont go in the story

I HAVE OTHER ROBLOX OCS FOR UMM. A THEORETICAL GAME. theyre not related to those threes^ story at all so they count for this question lol

theyre another noob/guest duo, agon and unnamed/default [both are interchangeable]. since i do one day wanna make their game a reality i wont go Too into detail but they live in a mountain town and are besties who have Something going on and theyre super sweet to each other and are bestest friends Ever ever but then default goes MISSING one day and NEVER COMES BACK and agon has to DEAL with it and gets all SAD and um. yeah :]

20] how have they horribly mangled your message/theme

they would either villainise inkcap to hell into an irredeemable villain, OR turn blade into a budget cop. i hate it so bad but thats just what would happen.

THAT or theyd completely IGNORE the message of the story being about healing from trauma and how some coping mechanisms are unhealthy and turn it into like. a classic "everyone just gets over it" thing and turn the whole trilogy into a shitty action film and ignore the characters trauma and their paths towards healing and it would be so bad and oh god oh god . puts my head in my hands.

theyd also probably turn inkcap into a girl and cody into a boy so like. not a story mishap but a general fuckup theyd do because of how inkcap is an it/they w a romance plot w blade [and also their character model has the "girl torso" from the blocky character pack on roblox] and cody is a they/them with a masc name.

[studentsorrows]

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.･ ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽

hii, i’m a 22 yo in 5th year of med school (if all goes well, graduating in ‘25); i love being a pharma “TA” & i work 2 extra internships (in anesthesiology and in an ACU/ER). and i hate studying. i hate class, i have a really hard time paying attention, and i genuinely don’t know how to study.

so i made this blog with the intent to romanticize the student life, and maybe that way i can work through my issues a bit more easily.

main: @vampyricc (she/her)

yes, i’ve tested for ADHD but every psychiatrist says it’s just chronic depression and PTSD. i think i actually love medicine, but my low self esteem and insecurity (caused by my bad grades — i unfortunately rely all my self worth on academics) make me build a wall around it and freeze / avoid it at all costs.

“TA” is the best term i could find to describe what i do in english. we’re students who teach a class we’ve already taken to the students taking that class — we mostly just go over topics the class is having trouble understanding and “pre-grade” some of their assignments. to become one, a student has to finish a 1 year long course with honors (i had a 97.5% GPA) and then take an exam to compete for the spots available for that class (pharma has 6 spots, i placed 3rd). it’s like the only thing i did right.

i’ve only got the 1 year in the TA/monitoring program as an official extracurricular so far, but i just need a few signatures to officialize the retroactive years in my anesthesiology internship. i can’t do that with my ambulatory/ER job, though — i do it for money and experience.

my 3ish y. academic plan: apply for 2 or 3 internships in state teaching hospitals and hopefully get at least one of them (which would be a 12 h shift during the weekend). aside from that, either apply for the pharma 2 monitoring program or join a league, and publish a paper related to it. start a course to help with residency exams, and drop everything to spend my last semester of med school 100% focused on that. after that, who knows, just survive, i guess.

i don’t have time to work enough to make enough money to live alone, so i live with my mom, and that’s how it’s gonna be for a long time. but my mom is a hardcore hoarder, there currently isn’t a single flat surface in the house where i could lay an open notebook, so sadly i’ll probably never be able to take any aesthetic studying pics of my own.

EDIT: this is really hard. i don’t have time for extracurriculars cause i have to work to have money to pay for med school. i’m drowning in debt (over 200k in debt to my name alone, not even mentioning my mom who’s also got bad credit because of me). fuck

[daddysprincess-things]

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? Yes yes yes

2. You talked to an ex today, correct? No

3. Have you taken someones virginity? Yes

4. Is trust a big issue for you? Meh

5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? Yessss

6. What are you excited for? i’m goin away this weekend and i am exciteddddd

7. What happened tonight? it’s morning silly

8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?nahhh girls can do whatever they want to

9. Is confidence cute? mostly but I hateeeee cockiness

10. What is the last beverage you had? smoothie

11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? a handful, maybe 3? Idk boys are so dumb

12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? No

13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? get ready for my trip

14. What are you going to spend money on next? buying pretty things on my trip 🎀🥰🛍️

15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? no

16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? hopefullyyyyyy

17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? mommy

18. The last time you felt broken? few months ago

19. Have you had sex today? no 🙄 kinda silly that I haven’t

20. Are you starting to realize anything? some things but then I get headaches because the thoughts are so big for my head

21. Are you in a good mood? I’m in an excellent mood today

22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? No!

23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?no my eyes are orange and his are blue

24. What do you want right this second? sex I’m so horny

25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? I don’t know but it’s unfair :(

26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color?well no? I was born blonde but it turned brown and now it’s dyed blonde so nope

27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? No mommy/daddy has to be funny

28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? situation at my job yesterday has me crying tears of laughter so that was cuteee 😋🥲

29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? yes

30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? everyone deserves opportunities for understanding. whether or not they deserve a second chance is relative

31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? not hate he just wasn’t enough for me

32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? I think she’s does but it’s very cat and mouse

33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? I drink Diet Coke allllll day longg but she won’t let me drink it around her because she says it’s so bad for me

34. Listening to? Taylor and Lana always and recently a lot of Renee Rapp

35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? Not unless it’s colouring pencils

36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is?yeah

37. Do you believe in love at first sight? that’s tricky

38. Who did you last call? mommy

39. Who was the last person you danced with? my work colleagues

40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? because I loved them

41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? yesterday

42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today?nope

43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? All the time in school

44. Do you tan in the nude? Usually with some kind of bikini on

45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss?no

46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? No I was watching rocky horror 😃

47. Who was the last person to call you?mommy

48. Do you sing in the shower?alwyas

49. Do you dance in the car?always

50. Ever used a bow and arrow? Yes actually

51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? A few months ago? For my job

52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? No I LUV THEM

53. Is Christmas stressful? No

54. Ever eat a pierogi? No?

55. Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry

56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Teacher or actress

57. Do you believe in ghosts? little bit

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? always

59. Take a vitamin daily? yeah 3

60. Wear slippers? no

61. Wear a bath robe? no

62. What do you wear to bed? usually a pretty slip or just an short and underwear

63. First concert? taylor swift

64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? I’m British

65. Nike or Adidas? Nike

66. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos

67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Peanuts

68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? All of it. (Anything off evermore, midnight rain, cowboy like me)

69. Ever take dance lessons? my whole childhood

70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?makjng moneyyyu

71. Can you curl your tongue? Yeah

72. Ever won a spelling bee? Yeah actually

73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Always

74. What is your favorite book? Currently the secret history by Donna tartt but overall, Gatsby

75. Do you study better with or without music? With some kind of instrumental or lofi or white noise

76. Regularly burn incense? yeah? couple times a week maybe

77. Ever been in love? Yeah

78. Who would you like to see in concert? wanna see Taylor again seen Harry Lana gaga…. Seeing Maisie soon Maybe Chappell roan is next on my list? And Gracie? And also Melanie Martinez? OH Ariana!!

79. What was the last concert you saw?lana del rey in hyde park

80. Hot tea or cold tea? I don’t drink tea but when I do hot

81. Tea or coffee? Coffee but mommy won’t let me drink it around her so I’ve been drinking a bit more tea

82. Favorite type of cookie? White chocolate and raspberry

83. Can you swim well? I can swim i just don’tlike it

84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? yeah

85. Are you patient? apparently very

86. DJ or band, at a wedding? Band

87. Ever won a contest? A few

88. Ever have plastic surgery? No

89. Which are better black or green olives? Green

90. Opinions on sex before marriage?fuck it give it all to me now

91. Best room for a fireplace? living room/lounge

92. Do you want to get married? yeah

[wiry-psychiatrist]

5/28/23

(CW vent as always)

So uhhhh, he/they pronouns, am I right? I think it’s time to reintroduce myself. Hello to the zero people that follow me, my name is Maxwell (Max) (yes, I stole my cat’s name, don’t worry about it,) I’m 20 years old from somewhere on the planet and I’m a trans man? I'm still workshopping the last part there but what do we think? 

Now here’s my problem: I’ve moved back in with my parents, an hour away from all my friends or anyone that would possibly genuinely support me, and my bedroom walls are pastel pink. I miss college, solely for the fact that I could mostly act and dress how I wanted, and I didn’t have to tell anyone anything I didn’t want to. I saw my parents maybe once a month, and I could put on a charade for that long. I enjoyed my job, I was actually friends with my coworkers, and some of them even used the right pronouns for me (I didn’t push it on purpose bc I’m not ready to defend my identity to bigoted customers yet.) I’m not gonna say I'm miserable at my first adult job, but it is definitely a stark reminder that the majority of the world is not as accepting as working at a coffee shop, and there's a very likely chance I won’t be respected in my identity at my workplace. I have absolutely nothing in common with any of my coworkers anymore, and now I see my friends as much as I used to see my parents.

I’m afraid I’ll never be able to live the life I want to live, I’ll never be able to be myself around my coworkers or leave the clutches of my parents (I don’t want to come out to them at all, I hate telling them anything but I’m the only child so I can’t just run away and never see them again, although that would be great.)

Pride month is rolling around again, and the irony is definitely not lost on me. Combined with all of the transphobic violence ramping up again, the last thing I feel right now is proud. I’ve never been to pride, but even though this is the first year I could probably get away with going, I’m not going to bother because I’m too scared. I wish I wasn't like this. I wish people saw me as a man in any capacity, I wish I could be around new people who only know me as how I want to be known, not as who I was forced to be. I wish I would be taken seriously if I did try any attempt to be myself. I feel like I’m playing a character 24/7 and it’s exhausting. I don’t have anywhere I can be myself anymore now that I‘m back with my parents. I need to move out, but my parents don’t see why I would want to spend the money on my own place, with furniture and everything, when I’m probably gonna travel for work (just to get away from them.) The only excuse I would have is to shorten my commute to my current job, but the city I work in is even more republican and bigoted than the one my parents’ house is in.

I can feel myself slipping back into depression, I didn’t realize how much better I felt when I was at school. It’s only amplified now that I know what some semblance of freedom feels like, now that it’s stripped away. I didn’t realize how much of a support system I had built up, of friends and a therapist nearby, until it’s gone.

This was supposed to be a happy post about me finally beginning to accept my identity in my own head, but the weight of the world stops for no one I guess. I’m gonna go research apartments now.

[thearvariblues]

The Mysterious Case of Jaskier's Immortality

Word count: 3601

*

“So nice to see you again, Yennefer,” Jaskier says, putting on one of his many fake smiles.

“Jaskier,” she replies with a smile that almost looks genuine but Jaskier is pretty sure that it’s not. Which she confirms a few seconds later by saying: “Shouldn’t you be dead already?”

“I see you’re as kind as always, my dear. But don’t you worry, Geralt is doing a very good job when it comes to protecting me.”

“Hm,” Geralt sighs resignedly, clearly regretting his decision to spend the night in an inn instead of the middle of a forest.

To be fair, it was Jaskier who suggested it, claiming that he refused to be eaten by angry drowners, no matter how many times Geralt tried to explain to him that the probability of finding a drowner in the middle of a very dry forest is extremely low.

If Jaskier knew they were going to run into Yennefer in the inn, he would have risked the drowners.

“I don’t doubt that,” Yennefer smirks. “But seriously, how old are you, bard?”

“No idea. I stopped counting after fifty, I think.”

“You know, you don’t look fifty,” she says.

“Oh, well, my mother had an elf lover before I was born, so there’s a fifty-fifty chance that I’m not gonna age anytime soon. Sorry,” Jaskier smiles again, sweetly – and this time, it’s genuine.

“As if,” Geralt grunts.

“I’m sorry, dear?” Jaskier blinks.

“Come on, Jaskier, it doesn’t work like that. You’re a viscount, that means your father must have been a viscount, too.”

“You don’t know much about nobility, do you, Geralt?” Yennefer snorts.

“Hm,” Geralt grunts. “Still, he’s not a half-elf.”

“Let me guess, you’re a Witcher, therefore you could smell it if I was? I hate to break it to you, dear heart, but you’re going to have your nose checked.”

“You’re not a half-elf, Jaskier,” Geralt repeats. “You’re not immortal, you just… look young.”

“Yeah, right, you got me,” Jaskier shrugs. “I just look good because I moisturize. Happier now?”

“Much,” Geralt nods. “See? You can be honest if you want.”

“Yup,” Jaskier nods. “Honesty personified. Now please excuse me, I need to go and moisturize some more. Internally. With ale.”

*

“I’m actually a mermaid, you know?” Jaskier grins the next time he’s asked, this time by a very confused and very old Valdo Marx.

“A siren, Jaskier. Not a mermaid,” Geralt sighs, praying to Melitele to give him strength. “And you’d know that, of course, if you actually were a siren.”

“Just so you know, the term siren is actually quite offensive to my people.”

“You mean idiots?” Geralt chuckles. “You’re not a siren, Jask.”

“Can you prove that I’m not?”

“Well, last week you tripped and fell into this creek that was like… knee-deep, and you nearly drowned.”

“I was in shock!” Jaskier proclaims dramatically. “But I have a proof that I am, or at least could be a siren.”

“What proof?”

“Well, my lovely voice, of course!”

“Not as lovely as you think it is,” Valdo Marx snorts.

“Come on, Jaskier,” Geralt sighs, ignoring the old troubadour. “You have much better voice that any siren I’ve ever heard.”

“Geralt of Rivia!” Jaskier gasps, clutching his chest. “Was that a compliment?!”

“Fuck,” Geralt mutters. “I didn’t mean…”

“Really though, Jaskier,” Valdo says. “How?”

“That’s a secret I’ll take to the grave, I’m afraid,” Jaskier grins. “Once I manage to reach it.”

“Keep on with the bullshit, Jaskier,” Geralt growls, “and you can reach it tonight.”

“Fifty years traveling with him, and he still thinks he can scare me. Cute, isn’t he?” Jaskier laughs. “Oh, Geralt you could never.”

“Try me.”

*

“All right, I’ll tell you my secret,” Jaskier winks at Ciri, who lifts an eyebrow. “I’ve got this neat… magic ring.”

“Hmmm,” Ciri observes. “Looks like a normal signet ring to me.”

“Well… Yeah, well, it looks like it, all right, but actually–”

“Jaskier, I was born a princess. This is clearly a Pankratz family signet ring.”

“Damn,” Jaskier groans. “Like father like daughter, eh?”

“Sorry,” Ciri shrugs.

*

“I got myself cursed.”

Triss Merigold lifts an eyebrow.

“Somebody cursed you to live forever, is that so?” she asks and her voice is almost dripping with disbelief.

“More like cursed me,” Geralt murmurs.

“Oh, shut up, Witcher, you know you couldn’t live without me,” Jaskier smiles brightly, and Geralt has to bite his cheek to stop himself from smiling back.

“Hm,” he says instead.

“Eloquent as ever,” Jaskier nods.

“Would you like me to...” Triss clears her throat. “You know, try to lift the curse?”

“No!” Geralt yells before he can stop himself.

“See?” Jaskier beams. “You could never live without me!”

*

“A bruxa,” Jaskier repeats to a young man who claims to be his son, but looks older than his supposed father.

“You’re not a bruxa, Jaskier!” Geralt whines.

“Excuse me, and how would you know?”

“Because I’m a fucking Witcher?!”

“Well, you’re clearly a fucking horrible Witcher if you haven’t noticed until now!”

“I think I’d notice if you tried to sneak out of the camp at nights to feed,” Geralt comments, crossing his hands. “You can’t even sneak out to take a piss, Jask.”

“Maybe I do that on purpose!”

“Besides, bruxae are mostly women.”

“Mostly being the important word here.”

“Fuck’s sake, Jaskier. You won’t even eat a piece of meat if it’s not so well-done that it’s almost cremated.”

“Do you know how disgusting the blood is, Geralt?!” Jaskier groans, and then immediately blinks when he realizes what he just said. “I meant…”

“Case closed,” Geralt nods, satisfied.

“Oh, dear,” Jaskier mutters. “I fucking hate you sometimes.”

“Uhm, my lords, if I may,” the young man says.

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but if you’re aging like a normal human, you’re probably not my son,” Jaskier shrugs. “Sorry. I get it why your mum might be confused, though. It was quite a night, with at least four–”

“And that’s enough,” Geralt says, grabbing Jaskier by the collar and pulling him away from the man. “You know, lifting the curse seems like a good idea now.”

“There isn’t really a curse, Geralt,” Jaskier laughs.

Geralt sighs, his lips curling into a tiny smile that Jaskier cannot see.

“Thank fuck.”

*

“You see, we were in a crazy mage’s tower and I saw this bottle and I thought it was slivovitz, so I drank it, but it seems that it actually was some sort of an immortality potion,” Jaskier explains to a lady at the ball, whose grandmother he’d apparently fucked once, when said grandmother was still a young, unmarried woman.

Geralt only blinks, because it’s the first truly plausible explanation for Jaskier’s mysterious immortality.

“Oh, that must be so horrible to watch everyone you love die!” the woman nods enthusiastically. “Perhaps you’d like to tell me about it in private?”

“Of course, my dear…” Jaskier smiles. “Just… wait a second. How old is your mother?”

“Forty-seven, why?”

Jaskier’s lips are moving silently for a few seconds while he counts, and then thy turn into a wide grin.

“No reason, dear,” he says, offering her his arms. “Shall we?”

When Jaskier and the lady flee the ball, Geralt pulls out his flask of White Gull and pours its contents into his empty tankard.

So, a potion…

*

“There is no such thing as an immortality potion, Geralt,” Yennefer shakes her head.

“How can you be so sure?” Geralt asks. “Maybe this mage really did find a way to at least make the human life longer!”

“And why would he do that?” Yennefer scoffs. She has been doing that a lot since she finally ended their relationship for good about twenty years ago. (He later found out that she had left him for none other than Triss Merigold, but Yennefer still doesn’t know that he knows, and he’s having way too much fun with it to break the fact to her. So right now, he is pretending he doesn’t notice that Triss is eavesdropping on their conversation behind the door leading to Yennefer’s bedroom, and that he absolutely believed Yen when she claimed that the loud thud a few minutes ago was caused by a cat.) “We are immortal, Geralt, unless killed. There is no reason for any of us to make a potion that would make a human live forever.”

“Well, perhaps this mage fell in love with a human and wanted them to stay with him!”

Yennefer pauses, inspecting Geralt from head to toe and back again, and then she sighs.

“Oh, Geralt. Really?”

“Really what?” Geralt blinks, genuinely confused.

“Oh,” Yennefer murmurs. “Oh, no. Really?”

“Really what, Yen?”

“You mean you don’t… Oh, dear gods. Really?”

“Yen, I swear that I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Geralt grunts, frowning.

Yennefer rolls her eyes and tries counting to ten to calm herself down. She doesn’t even get to three before Geralt’s eyes go wide.

“Oh,” he whispers. “Fuck.”

“Fuck, indeed, Geralt,” she nods solemnly. “Fuck, indeed.”

*

“I found a djinn, he granted me a wish,” Jaskier says when Geralt asks him, about five minutes after his meeting with Yennefer. (He agreed to use a portal to get to the bard as soon as possible. A fucking portal!) The bard is sitting in a tavern and eating his dinner, utterly undisturbed by the sudden appearance of an angrier-than-usual Witcher.

“You never mentioned a djinn,” Geralt growls. “And after your last encounter with one, I sincerely doubt you’d engage with another.”

“You clearly don’t know me at all–”

“Besides, Valdo Marx, as far as I know, had an apoplexy while fucking a young student on his desk, and I don’t think you’d ever let him die like that if you had a choice.”

“You see, that was kind of a my mistake, since I didn’t specify the time and the circumstances of his apoplexy in my wish, so…”

“What was your third wish?”

“Pardon me?”

“Your immortality, Valdo Marx dropping dead, that’s two. What was the third one? And don’t even try to mention the Countess de Stael, since you’d have to dig her up first.”

“That was disgusting, even for you, you know that, Geralt?”

“How are you immortal, Jaskier?!”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Jaskier puts a piece of bread in his mouth and grins.

“Maybe some other time, Witcher.”

*

“I am a fae,” Jaskier replies a day later.

“You’re not a fucking fae, bard.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you fucking lie, Jaskier. All the time.”

“Fuck. Didn’t think of that.”

*

“You see, there was this artifact–”

Geralt closes his eyes, turning Roach around.

“Let’s consult Yennefer about this.”

“Oh, mother of…” Jaskier whines. “All right, no artifact, there was no artifact! Geralt, I’m telling you, there was no…”

*

“You’re not a succubus.”

“But it would be a perfect explanation, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re not succubus, because if you were, you’d know that a male one is called an incubus.”

“Oh, you and your stupid Witcher terms again.”

“You’re not an incubus, Jaskier, because if you were, I could never let you near Eskel.”

“All right… Explain, please?”

Geralt grunts.

“I’d really rather not.”

*

“A dragon,” Jaskier grins victoriously.

“No,” Geralt says, shaking his head.

“No,” Jaskier agrees with a sigh.

“You know you could just tell me the truth and be done with it, right?”

“Hm… No.”

*

“All right, enough is enough,” Jaskier growls that night in their rented room, tossing his doublet aside. “You’ve asked me three times today, Geralt. Why the sudden interest in my immortality?”

“As you said, enough is enough. You’ve been traveling with me for what, a hundred years?”

“A hundred and four.”

“Yes, and you still look the same as the day I met you in Posada!” Geralt growls. “And it drives me mad!”

“It wasn’t driving you insane for at least fifty years, so why the sudden change of heart?”

“Fuck off, bard. You don’t have to tell me. I don’t care.”

“But you do, Geralt,” Jaskier says, taking a step towards the Witcher. “Why?”

He’s standing in Geralt’s personal space, his chemise half undone, and he’s watching Geralt with those sincere blue eyes, and Geralt can’t fucking think…

“Because I love you, you idiot!” he snaps. “Because I fucking love you and I need to know if I can love you, or you’re gonna just drop dead one day without a warning!”

“Oh,” Jaskier whispers, his lips forming into a huge, happy smile. “Oh, fucking finally.”

“Fucking… what?” Geralt blinks, his arms suddenly full of an enthusiastic bard.

“I love you too, you silly Witcher,” Jaskier laughs. “I’ve loved you for a hundred years! Well, a hundred and four, but who’s counting?”

“You…” Geralt mutters.

“Silly, silly Witcher,” Jaskier repeats, pressing his lips against Geralt’s in a kiss that could be described as chaste, or at least the chastest Jaskier has ever been capable of. “We’re going to Lettenhove in the morning.”

“We are?”

“Oh, yes,” Jaskier whispers. “See, I’ve told you the truth about the source of my immortality once. But I think you need to see it to believe me.”

“Wait, you have? When?” Geralt asks. “Was it the artifact? Just tell me, I promise I won’t make you consult it with–”

“Shut up now,” Jaskier says, kissing Geralt again with way less chastity than before. “And in the meantime, believe me this – you can keep loving me, and I’m not planning on dropping dead anytime soon. Also, I’ve spent the last hundred years imagining fucking you senseless, so if you’re not opposed to the idea, perhaps we could, well…”

The kiss that this idea gets him is as far from chaste as one could possibly get.

And Jaskier definitely isn’t about to complain.

*

“You sure this is a good idea?” Geralt asks as they march towards the Lettenhove castle’s gates. He tugs at his doublet’s collar, way too tight for his liking. He’d much rather walk in there wearing his usual attire, but Jaskier insisted that Geralt must look presentable if he wants to meet his family.

It turns out that it only takes a single I love you to turn the bard into a manipulative bastard. Who would have guessed?

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jaskier replies, grinning cheerfully. “And stop frowning, you’re gonna scare the servants, love.”

“How long it’s been since your last visit here, Jaskier?” Geralt says, his frown deepening. “Who rules Lettenhove now, hm? Aren’t you only going to be a distant relative, a great-great-uncle risen from the grave?”

“I sure hope not,” Jaskier chuckles, stopping in front of the guards by the gate. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Viscount Julian, here to see the Viscountess Madeleine.”

“How can you still be a viscount?” Geralt blinks when one of the guards promptly disappears inside.

“We kind of decided to, you know, share the title,” Jaskier shrugs. “Seemed fair. Besides, father, well, the former viscount, insisted that I inherit the title, but he never mentioned anything about Mads not inheriting it, so…”

“How could your father have known who the viscount is going to be in almost a hundred years?”

“He really didn’t,” Jaskier chuckles. “See, it will all start to make sense once you meet her.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for.”

*

The guard returns a few minutes later, telling them that the Viscountess will meet them in the garden.

Geralt, knowing a thing or two about nobility, think it’s a little weird, but isn’t about to protest. He only thinks he could have left the fancy clothes at the tavern.

“Oh, shut up, you,” Jaskier chuckles when Geralt voices this thought. “You look gorgeous.”

“I know. You’ve mentioned it a few times. But I didn’t have to look like that, because we’re going to meet the ruler of this land in a fucking garden, and–”

“Julian!”

A woman in a long white dress throws herself at Jaskier, who happily catches her. Geralt’s first instinct is to reach for his sword, only to realize that he (luckily) left it in the tavern – because Jaskier insisted, of course.

“Madeleine,” Jaskier chuckles. “You haven’t aged a day.”

“Oh, yes. Shocking, isn’t it?” she laughs, pulling away from him, and for the first time, Geralt truly looks at her.

The woman is shorter than Jaskier, slim, and her dress is much, much simpler than Geralt would have expected considering the fact that is supposed to be a viscountess. She has dark, long hair and her face is so beautiful that it almost – but only almost – takes the focus off her pointed ears.

“Lady Madeleine,” Jaskier grins, “may I introduce Geralt of Rivia, my Witcher. Geralt, this is Lady Madeleine, the current ruler of Lettenhove and my younger sister.”

“You’re…” Geralt blinks.

“A half-elf, yes,” she nods. “Julian! You haven’t told him?”

“Hardly my fault. I really tried,” Jaskier shrugs. “But he just wouldn’t believe me.”

“So you brought him here to prove it to him, rather than to visit your beloved sister? You are a horrible, horrible sibling, Julian!”

“Your… sister,” Geralt mutters, all his thoughts speeding through his head, colliding and falling down, one over another.

“Yes, we definitely share a mother,” Jaskier confirms. “Most likely a father, too, and trust me, it wasn’t the old viscount. Madeleine got the elvish looks, I only got the non-aging bit. Well, apparently.”

“But…” Geralt blinks. “Your father. The title.”

“Yen was right, dear heart, you really don’t know shit about nobility,” Jaskier snorts. “But I admit that even though our dear departed noble father knew that Mads wasn’t his daughter, obviously, it never occurred to him that I might not be his true son.”

“But you don’t age!”

“In his defense, that only became clear after his unfortunate passing.”

“And you aren’t going to start to age anytime soon,” Geralt mutters. “You really aren’t.”

“Told you so, didn’t I?” Jaskier winks, letting go of his sister and wrapping his arms around his lover instead.

“I… I…” Geralt stammers. “Fuck.”

“Maybe later, love,” Jaskier smiles. “Madeleine, my dear, wouldn’t you say that my return calls for a feast?”

“Absolutely. In fact, I have started the preparations the second my spies informed me that you have crossed the border.”

“Oh, so we have spies now?”

“It’s really only a net of nosy old ladies, but it works wonders,” Madeleine laughs. “I must admit, though, that I was only planning a feast to celebrate you coming home, but now I see we have a much better reason to party. Tell me, brother, did you finally get your stupid Witcher?”

Jaskier smiles brightly, turning his head to Geralt.

“Yes. I finally got my stupid Witcher.”

“Party,” the Witcher in question growls. “Is that why you made me dress like a pompous prick?”

“No, that was because while I find your usual self extremely attractive, you still look much better when your hair is properly combed and you’re not covered in monster blood.”

“Hm,” Geralt hums, but wraps his arm around the bard to hold him close.

“Oh, yes, about monsters,” Madeleine says with the most innocent expression Geralt has seen since Ciri broke Vesemir’s favorite vase at Kaer Morhen. “You see, we have a tiny problem with a cockatrice…”

“Right,” Geralt nods. “I’ll go grab my armor from the tavern.”

“That won’t be necessary. I have already arranged for your things to be brought to the castle. And your horse,” she adds before Geralt can even open his mouth. “You can leave for your quest as soon as the servants get here.”

“So much for you not being covered in monster blood,” Jaskier sighs.

“Hm,” Geralt grins. “Lady Madeleine, I suppose you happen to have a bathtub somewhere in the castle?”

“Of course. In fact, there is a private bathroom right next to Julian’s bedroom.”

“Geralt of Rivia,” Jaskier purrs. “You know me so well.”

“Yes, and I expect to get to know you even better. In another hundred years or so.”

Jaskier laughs, pulls Geralt closer to him and kisses him.

“Another thousand years, I’d say.”

*

“What… the… fuck?!” Geralt croaks, staring at the smouldering remains of the cockatrice that would have surely killed him if Jaskier… If Jaskier…

The bard looks at his hands, then at the cockatrice, and then back at his hands again.

“Geralt? I have a feeling that I’m not really… A half-elf.”

“No shit.”

“I think I might be… Uhm…”

“Oh, shit,” Geralt whispers.

“I suppose, uhm, you know…” Jaskier stammers, wiping his palms on his trousers like he could wipe away the feeling of literal flames shooting out of them mere moments ago.

“Yeah. We’re gonna have to consult this with Yen.”

“Splendid,” Jaskier sighs. “Can it at least wait after the feast?”

“After more than a hundred years of you not even knowing, I think one feast will be fine.”

“Thank the gods. Madeleine would kill me if I tried to leave now,” Jaskier chuckles. “Let’s go, then. We need to get the fried monster remains out of your hair.”

“You’re… I was fucking right! You’re not a half-elf!”

“Yeah, you’re a great Witcher,” Jaskier nods, grabbing Geralt’s arm and dragging him away from the monster. “Didn’t notice I was secretly a fucking mage, but otherwise a great Witcher.”

“Explains a lot, though.”

“Does it now?”

“Yeah. I always had a thing for mages, you know.”

“Oh, Geralt. You’re such a fucking idiot,” Jaskier chuckles.

“Made you laugh,” Geralt shrugs, smiling.

Jaskier shakes his head.

“I’m so, so gonna drown you in that bathtub.”

“My love,” Geralt grins, “you’re more than welcome to try.”

***

Tagging @lottelorelei - I’m sorry I always forget to reply to your lovely comments, but believe me, they always put a big smile on my face! :)

[cloudenthusiast2]

To be a human - Scaramouche x reader - Part 1

Synopsis: You knew committing to a relationship Scaramouche would be no easy task but you loved him dearly and unlike others, you believed he wasn't evil. But as a mortal and the devoted protector of your village you were too much of a good person, too much of a human compared to him and your differences slowly start to show.

Next: Part 2

Type: mostly angst, this part is still light tho

Warnings: none... yet

Length: not as long as it seems. I'll try to write the next chapters as soon as possible

Scaramouche turned his back to the mountains he's been staring at to look at the path leading to Qingce village. The sun shone through the fog above the rice fields, colouring everything in golden light. Trees sighed as the gentle morning breeze caressed them while glaze lilies slowly started to close their blossoms.

The view was absolutely mesmerising but it didn't absorb the exoticly dressed, short man even for a minute.

'Finally' he snorted unpatiently as you appeared out of the fog, walking towards him with a big smile. 'What took you so long?'

'Good morning' you answered in a calm, low-key but still visibly cheerful manner.

He mumbled some words to himself but you didn't even try to understand what he was saying. It was probably for the better anyway.

You were both happy you could finally see each other but Scaramouche would obviously never express such feelings, not even towards you. You didn't care so much about that though since the time you spent with trying to bare with him finally paid off. You could confidently say now that you actually knew him and his difficult personality well.

Yes, the constant need to search for clues that could tell you about his hidden emotions was a little tiering but you could usually put up with it.

You haven't been able to see him in a really long time as well. You were living in a small village in Liuye while Scaramouche was always travelling around Teyvat and could only visit you between two jobs. He wasn't the type to write letters so sometimes even months passed without you hearing anything about him.

He came back to you yesterday agter five weeks, to spend a little time in Qingce, the village you lived in and protected with your biggest gift, a Hydro vision.

'Where do you want to go?'

'Doesn't matter.'

'We could go to the forest! It's really pretty in the morning. And later we could pick some chili. I promised Pops Kai that I would bring some to him.'

He didn't react. You knew he didn't like you - his words - 'being a slave of those people' so he just ignored the fact someone requested something from you again.

'How did your last job go?' You asked as you two were slowly walking below the rice fields, watching the sun come up from behind the mountains.

'Could have been worse' he answered curtly. 'Inazuma is a pain in the neck. And there were some... unfortunate events I do not wish to discuss. But at least now I'm back.'

He looked up to the village and his piercing blue eyes narrowed as he took a glance of the neat but definitely archaic looking houses.

'Even this hick town is better than thet hell hole.'

Your facial expression strained for a moment as you heard him insulting the village which happened to be your favourite place all in Teyvat. You calmed your expressions but couldn't help and sting back a little.

'I thought you liked Inazuma' you retorted in a dry tone. 'It's where you're from after all.'

Scaramouche's face immediately darkened and you instantly realised the big mistake you made.

You knew a little about his origins, just enough to understand why he never told about it to you. Regret appeared in you for mentioning his past. At least Scaramouche didn't scold you for it but the air between you two visibly got heavier.

You continued your walk in silence and you couldn't stop cursing yourself for saying such insensitive things. It took two minutes for you to start bickering - this number made you feel sad and stupid.

But then again - he didn't even realise how hard he insulted your village and even if he did, he probably wouldn't regret it by one bit.

You lifted your chin and looked straight into the distance. You could see the various fatui agents scattered around the village, all standing guard for the sixth harbinger next to you.

You didn't like him being a part of the fatui at all but there wasn't much you could do about it. You only hoped and prayed that he one day would leave them after getting enough of the Tsaritsa and her overwhelming, suffocating power. After all, he only joined them because they 'seemed fun' and so far they were more of an annoyance then an genuine source of amusement for him.

'Unless he likes all the bloody tasks they're handing to him' you thought to yourself and then couldn't help but feel a little sick in the stomach.

You loved the man walking next to you but not every part of his personality. Not that part which screamed evil.

You weren't blinded by love. You knew he was indeed cruel sometimes. The part affecting you, his rudeness, his hatred towards any type of affection didn't concern you, it was actually kind of amusing. You loved to tease him about it and when he had an actual soft moment... it was heaven itself.

But you couldn't help but feel worried for others. What was he actually doing behind your back? Did he ever... kill someone? He seemed to be enjoying ending monsters a little too much. And he was quite open about his feelings towards humans. He hated all of them... you were probably the only exception.

'Say, Scara' you decided to broke the silence. He glanced at you, his face and movements still stiff. 'If there was a job suiting you in Liyue...'

'Stop tryna make me quit the fatui' he cut into your words in a harsh tone. 'It's not going to happen.'

'That's not what I was trying to do. I just... want to see you more often. Even after months I can only get a day or two with you... and we're not even alone.'

'If it's the Tsaritsa's order then I will follow it.' You averted your eyes. Barely a sentence in and you were already dejected by his words. 'Even though... I'd like to see you more too.'

You quickly rose your chin just to catch a glance of him rolling his eyes before he quickly turned his head away.

A wide smile lit up your face and you couldn't help but instantly start to gently tease him.

'Oh my, am I mistaken or is the almighty Balladeer actually admitting his oh-so-ridicoulus wishes to a mortal? Scara, are you okay? Yore getting soft, be careful before you get so weak even a slime could defeat you!'

'Just shut up, okay?' He growled at you but you just happily laughed. He's back. 'I'm gonna take my words back if you only show disrespect at...'

'Sure, sure' you smirked. 'Just admit you have a crush on me, Weeky-mouche!'

'Your nicknames are absolutely ridiculous' he claimed, ignoring the rest of the sentence.

'Oh, so what do you want me to call you then?' The temptation was too strong, you couldn't help but wink at him which made him growl in disgust again. 'Sweetheart, perhaps? Or honey?'

'I swear, you're as annoying as that damn red scum' he snorted, referring to his colleague, Childe.

You wanted to continue teasing him but as you turned right on the path you were walking on, a small shilouette - even smaller than Scaramouche's - appeared in front of you.

'Oh, little Yu!' You gasped, recognising the little 4-years-old girl.

Her dark hair was sparkling from the light of the morning sun and it put a tiny fire into her golden eyes as well. She looked like a magical little creature in the mystical forest, surrounded by old trees and young flowers.

A precious smile lit her face up as she saw you and the little girl reached out with both of her hands.

'Miss Y/n!'

You picked her up in an instant. Your favourite thing in guarding Qingce village was the people that lived in it and Yu always had a special place in your heart.

'Are you picking flowers?' You asked her and gently brushed her hair out of her face. 'For who?'

'Mommy' explained the little girl. 'It's her birthday tomorrow!'

'You're a very kind little lady, Yu' you praised her with a gentle smile. Holding a tiny, adorable creature like her was amongst the best feelings you've experienced, next to being with your lover, Scaramouche.

You didn't realise it was mainly because you were completely touch-starved.

Yu nodded but she didn't look at you. You followed her glance and you realised she was staring at Scaramouche.

The man was standing three feet away from you, with crossed arms and a hostile look on his face.

'Who is he?' Little Yu asked from you, fixing her eyes on the unfriendly expression of Scara's.

'His name is Scaramou... Just call him Scara.'

The man and the girl stared at each other.

'You needn't be afraid of him. He doesn't bite' you said jokingly but the little child's face remained serious.

'Why isn't he smiling?' She asked quietly. Scara glared at her.

'He's a little hard to make smile but he's still a good person' you promised her.

'Are you sure?'

Her words were innocent but they hit you really hard. Your breath stopped for a second and the fake smile on your face faded away.

'Now listen here you little...'

'I am sure. Don't worry' you cut down Scaramouche, sending a warning look to him.

He stayed silent but he looked like he could explode at any moment.

Maybe the child was able to sense it, maybe not, but she tried to get out of your hug all of a sudden. You put her down carefully, not forgetting to caress her hair and rosy cheeks even though her words upset both of you.

'I'm gonna go pick more flowers.'

'Yes. Be careful in the forest.' You warned her. 'Call my name if you're in danger!'

She nodded and ran away on her bare feet, looking like a little fairy among the old trees.

Leaving you alone with Scaramouche.

[i-like-turkey]

Since nobody has chimed in with context, here’s what I’m headcanoning to make this line not drive me up a wall:

The first time Kate sets her eyes on Lucy is when she’s walking into a coffee shop near the base. Lucy is standing outside with a tray of coffees talking to a man. They are both smiling and she can hear some laughter. Kate wouldn't normally spare them much of a glance but she's gay and she has eyes and she's a sucker for women with curly hair so her gaze lingers. All of a sudden Lucy sets the coffee tray down and absolutely decks the man. His head snaps back. There's a loud crunch. Blood flies everywhere. Lucy picks up the coffee and walks off. When they finally meet a few days later in the NCIS office, Kate doesn’t mention the incident. She just says, ‘nice to meet you Agent Tara’ upon Tennant’s introduction and hopes she’s managed to pull her face into something resembling a genuine smile. Of course she then proceeds to deny the team access to classified information and then Lucy jumps in to try and change her mind and Jane is standing there like 👀 and that is the beginning of their beautiful UST-filled work dynamic. Does Kate go into every NCIS meeting prepared for the possibility that Lucy might get a little violent? Yes. Does that work for her a little bit? Yes.

But what Kate doesn’t know is that the man Lucy decked was a huge creeper. He works on a different team at NCIS, so they don’t interact much. One day he catcalled her while they passed each other in the hall. She laughed it off, but resolved to deal with him if it happened again. Fast forward to the coffee shop. He starts off a friendly convo. But creepers are gonna creep, so sure enough he says something gross. And all Lucy can do is 🤜👃🩸

Cause here’s the thing. She knows HR is probably shit and filing a complaint rarely works out well for the complaining party. She also knows exactly who she’s dealing with; the kind of guy who is so misogynistic and fragile that he’d never admit to getting his nose broken by a ‘girl’ and who won’t even want to look at her again because then he’ll have to think about the beatdown. Lucy actually hates to use her fists—she’s not doing this job for the adrenaline rush that comes with fighting—but she knows their value and she isn’t afraid to use them when necessary.

The guy transfers out of the NCIS office within a few months and Lucy mostly forgets about it. Kate never brings it up. They barely talked when they first started their whatever and once they did start talking it was a bit awkward with neither of them knowing how much they could pry without scaring the other off. Then came the Cara reveal and a very slow rebuilding of their relationship and by the time Kate felt like she could talk to Lucy about anything, the punch is out of her mind.

But then at their rehearsal dinner, about four years later, Ernie stands up to make a toast. It’s a really sweet ode to two people he considers family; full of embarrassing anecdotes about them separately and together. At one point he asks if anyone in the crowd ‘remembers that jackass Dave’ and then gleefully reveals that Lucy is the one who gave him a massive black eye and permanently reshaped his nose.

Later Lucy and Kate are texting as they’ve been forced by friends to spend the night before their wedding separately because ‘it’s tradition’.

Lucy: I can’t believe Ernie brought up the punching incident. I haven’t thought about that in forever

Kate: Me either.

Lucy: ??????????

Kate: That’s actually the first time I saw you. I was heading into the shop to get a quick cup before work and there you were knocking out a guy.

Lucy: WHAT?!!!!!!!

Kate: Yeah.

Lucy: ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Lucy: WAIT

Lucy: When I came to your place that one night to apologize for getting you in trouble you said something about me taking a swing at you. Did you really think that I would do that?

Kate: Maybe.

Lucy: oh my god

Kate: I love you.

———————————————

Yes. Kate uses periods in text messages. She’s gotta have some flaws…well…besides the being shit at breaking up with women.

[writerbuddha]

George Lucas on attachment from 1999 to 2021

BILL MOYERS: Do you know yet what, in a future episode, is going to transform Anakin Skywalker to the dark side?

GEORGE LUCAS: Yes, I know what that is. The groundwork has been laid in this episode. The film is ultimately about the dark side and the light side, and those sides are designed around compassion and greed. The issue of greed, of getting things and owning things and having things and not being able to let go of things, is the opposite of compassion--of not thinking of yourself all the time. These are the two sides--the good force and the bad force. They're the simplest parts of a complex cosmic construction.

George Lucas and Bill Moyers 1999, Time Magazine (http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,990820-2,00.html)

GEORGE LUCAS: He turns into Darth Vader because he gets attached to things. He can't let go of his mother; he can't let go of his girlfriend. He can't let go of things. It makes you greedy. And when you're greedy, you are on the path to the dark side, because you fear you're going to lose things, that you're not going to have the power you need.

George Lucas to Time Magazine April, 2002 (http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1002323-3,00.html)

GEORGE LUCAS: In this film, (Phantom Menace) you begin to see that he has a fear of losing things, a fear of losing his mother, and as a result, he wants to begin to control things, he wants to become powerful, and these are not Jedi traits. And part of these are because he was starting to be trained so late in life, that he'd already formed these attachments. And for a Jedi, attachment is forbidden.

George Lucas to CNN, May 8, 2002 (https://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/07/ca.s02.george.lucas/index.html)

GEORGE LUCAS: Jedi Knights aren’t celibate – the thing that is forbidden is attachments – and possessive relationships.

George Lucas to BBC, May 12, 2002 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1989505.stm)

GEORGE LUCAS: Well, a lot of people got very upset, saying he should’ve been this little demon kid. But the story is not about a guy who was born a monster – it’s about a good boy who was loving and had exceptional powers, but how that eventually corrupted him and how he confused possessive love with compassionate love. That happens in Episode II: Regardless of how his mother died, Jedis are not supposed to take vengeance. And that’s why they say he was too old to be a Jedi, because he made his emotional connections. His undoing is that he loveth too much.

George Lucas to Rolling Stones, 2005 (https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/george-lucas-and-the-cult-of-darth-vader-247142/)

GEORGE LUCAS: The core issue, ultimately, is greed, possessiveness - the inability to let go. Not only to hold on to material things, which is greed, but to hold on to life, to the people you love - to not accept the reality of life’s passages and changes, which is to say things come, things go. Everything changes. Anakin becomes emotionally attached to things, his mother, his wife. That’s why he falls - because he does not have the ability to let go.

No human can let go. It’s very hard. Ultimately, we do let go because it’s inevitable; you do die, and you do lose your loved ones. But while you’re alive, you can’t be obsessed with holding on. As Yoda says in this one, [The scene in which Anakin seeks Yoda’s counsel] You must learn to let go of everything you’re afraid to let go of.’ Because holding on is in the same category and the precursor to greed. And that’s what a Sith is. A Sith is somebody that is absolutely obsessed with gaining more and more power - but for what? Nothing, except that it becomes an obsession to get more. The Jedi are trained to let go. They’re trained from birth, they’re not supposed to form attachments. They can love people- in fact, they should love everybody. They should love their enemies; they should love the Sith. But they can’t form attachments. So, what all these movies are about is: greed. Greed is a source of pain and suffering for everybody. And the ultimate state of greed is the desire to cheat death.

J. W. Rinzel - The Making of Revenge of the Sith page 213, published in 2005

GEORGE LUCAS: Anakin wants to be a Jedi, but he cannot let go of the people he loves in order to move forward in his life. The Jedi believe that you don’t hold on to things, that you let things pass through you, and if you can control your greed, you can resolve the conflict not only in yourself but in the world around you, because you accept the natural course of things. Anakin’s inability to follow this basic guideline is at the core of his turn to the Dark Side.

George Lucas to sci-fi online, 2005 (http://www.sci-fi-online.com/Interview/05-11-01_GeorgeLucas.htm)

GEORGE LUCAS: Love is a secret to the universe, which is compassion, which is love others, take care of others, help each other. (…) Struggle in Star Wars is about passion against compassion. Which is greed, against giving and giving up primarily and the whole issue is the flipside of greed is fear of losing. So you are either trying to get things or afraid to lose things that you’ve got and the idea is to let go of those things." - George Lucas, 2007, Devin Kumar Productions (http://www.devinkumar.com/interview-with-george-lucas/)

GEORGE LUCAS: The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he cannot hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn't willing to accept emotionally and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he'd have been taken in his first years and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he'd have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them.

But he become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation. And it feeds into fear of losing things, which feeds into greed, wanting to keep things, wanting to keep his possessions and things that he should be letting go of. His fear of losing her turns to anger at losing her, which ultimately turns to revenge in wiping out the village. The scene with the Tusken Raiders is the first scene that ultimately takes him on the road to the dark side. I mean he’s been prepping for this, but that’s the one where he’s sort of doing something that is completely inappropriate.

He’s greedy in that he wants to keep his mother around, he’s greedy in that he wants to become more powerful in order to control things in order to keep the things around that he wants. There’s a lot of connections here with the beginning of him sliding into the Dark Side.

(...)

Because of that, and because he was unwilling to let go of his mother, because he was so attached to her, he committed this terrible revenge on the tusked raiders.

George Lucas, Attack of the Clones DVD audio-commentary, 2008

GEORGE LUCAS: It’s fear of losing somebody he loves, which is the flipside of greed. Greed, in terms of the Emperor, it is the greed for power, absolute power, over everything. With Anakin, really, it’s the power to save the one he loves, but is basically going against the Fates and what is natural.

George Lucas, Revenge of the Sith DVD audio-commentary, 2008

GEORGE LUCAS: It’s pivotal that Luke doesn’t have patience. He doesn’t want to finish his training. He’s being succumbed by his emotional feelings for his friends rather than the practical feelings of “I’ve got to get this job done before I can actually save them. I can’t save them, really.” But he sorts of takes the easy route, the arrogant route, the emotional but least practical route, which is to say, “I’m just going to go off and do this without thinking too much.” And the result is that he fails and doesn’t do well for Han Solo or himself. It’s the motif that needs to be in the picture, but it’s one of those things that just in terms of storytelling was very risky because basically he screws up, and everything turns bad. And it’s because of that decision that Luke made on [Dagobah] to say, “I know I’m not ready, but I’m going to go anyway.

George Lucas, Empire Strikes Back DVD audio-commentary, 2008

GEORGE LUCAS: The core of the Force–I mean, you got the dark side, the light side, one is selfless, one is selfish, and you wanna keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the dark side is it goes out of balance and you get really selfish and you forget about everybody … because when you get selfish you get stuff, or you want stuff, and when you want stuff and you get stuff then you are afraid somebody is going to take it away from you, whether it’s a person or a thing or a particular pleasure or experience.

Once you become afraid that somebody’s going to take it away from you or you’re gonna lose it, then you start to become angry, especially if you’re losing it, and that anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. Mostly on the part of the person who’s selfish, because you spend all your time being afraid of losing everything you’ve got instead of actually living. Where joy, by giving to other people you can’t think about yourself, and therefore there’s no pain. But the pleasure factor of greed and of selfishness is a short-lived experience, therefore you’re constantly trying to replenish it, but of course the more you replenish it, the harder it is to, so you have to keep upping the ante. You’re actually afraid of the pain of not having the joy. So that is ultimately the core of the whole dark side/light side of the Force. And everything flows from that. Obviously the Sith are always unhappy because they never get enough of anything they want. Mostly, their selfishness centers around power and control. And the struggle is always to be able to let go of all that stuff. And of course that’s the problem with Anakin ultimately. You’re allowed to love people, but you’re not allowed to possess them. And what he did is he fell in love and married her and then became jealous. Then he saw in his visions that she was going to die, and he couldn’t stand losing her. So in order to not lose her, he made a pact with the devil to be able to become all-powerful. When he did that, she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore, so he lost her. Once you are powerful, being able to bring her back from the dead, if I can do that, I can become emperor of the universe. I can get rid of the Emperor. I can make everything the way I want it. Once you do that, you’ll never be satiated. You’re always going to be consumed by this driving desire to have more stuff and be afraid that others are going to take it away from you. And they are. Every time you get two Sith together, you have the master, the apprentice, and the apprentice is always trying to recruit another apprentice to join with him to kill the master. The master knows that basically everybody below him wants his job. Only way to overcome the dark side is through discipline. The dark side is pleasure, biological and temporary and easy to achieve. The light side is joy, everlasting and difficult to achieve. A great challenge. Must overcome laziness, give up quick pleasures, and overcome fear which leads to hate.

George Lucas, explaining the Force to the Clone Wars writing team, 2010 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nFMBBrliyQ&t=41s&ab_channel=StarWarsCoffee)

GEORGE LUCAS: When you start to care about yourself and the things that you own and the things that you have and you’re greedy and you want things all the time and you don’t want to give them up because you’re afraid to give them up, you turn to the dark side. And that’s what happened to Anakin.

George Lucas Q&A: Field Museum, Chicago 5/8/2010 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRaVjM_goKM)

GEORGE LUCAS: The thing about Anakin is, Anakin started out as a nice kid. He was kind, and sweet, and lovely, and he was then trained as a Jedi. But the Jedi can’t be selfish. They can love but they can’t love people to the point of possession. You can’t really possess somebody, because people are free. It’s possession that causes a lot of trouble, and that causes people to kill people, and causes people to be bad. Ultimately it has to do with being unwilling to give things up.

The whole basis here is if you’re selfish, if you’re a Sith Lord, you’re greedy. You’re constantly trying to get something. And you’re constantly in fear of not getting it, or, when you get it, you’re in constant fear of losing it. And it’s that fear that takes you to the dark side. It’s that fear of losing what you have or want.

Sometimes it’s ambition, but sometimes, like in the case of Anakin, it was fear of losing his wife. He knew she was going to die. He didn’t quite know how, so he was able to make a pact with a devil that if he could learn how to keep people from dying, he would help the Emperor. And he became a Sith Lord. Once he started saying, “Well, we could take over the galaxy, I could take over from the Emperor, I could have ultimate power,” Padmé saw right through him immediately. She said, “You’re not the person I married. You’re a greedy person.” So that’s ultimately how he fell and he went to the dark side.

And then Luke had the chance to do the same thing. He didn’t do it.

George Lucas, 2019 (https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace-oral-history)

GEORGE LUCAS: They (the Jedi) trained more than anything else to understand the transitional nature of life, that things are constantly changing and you can't hold on to anything. You can love things but you can't be attached to them, You must be willing to let the flow of life and the flow of the Force move through your life, move through you. So that you can be compassionate and loving and caring, but not be possessive and grabbing and holding on to things and trying to keep things the way they are. Letting go is the central theme of the film."

George Lucas, "Star Wars Archives 1999-2005" p. 72-73 (2020)

GEORGE LUCAS: Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with. Anakin says yes, and Luke says no. (…) We have the scene when Anakin decides to save Palpatine and join him, so they could learn how to save Padmé. The equivalent scene in VI is when the Emperor’s trying to get Luke to kill his dad so he can save his sister.”

George Lucas, "Star Wars Archives 1999-2005" p. 421 and p. 212. (2020)

GEORGE LUCAS: The secret ultimately like in Star Wars is that you have to not be afraid. Fear is the enemy; fear is the Dark Side. If you afraid, you are going to the Dark Side. The Light Side is compassion. As long as you love other people and treat them kindly, you won't be afraid. So, the secret is to just love everybody - I know that sounds very 60s but that's what I grew up in - but it its fear that cause the problem. So you have to stop being afraid and be kind to everybody.

(...)

The main theme of Star Wars is that compassion is the good side, fear is the bad side.

(...)

I kind of lost control of Star Wars so it’s going off a different path than what I intended but the first six are very much mine and my philosophy. And I think that philosophy sort of goes beyond any particular time because it’s based on history it based on philosophy. (...)

The thing with Anakin is that he started out a great kid he was very compassionate , so the issue was how did he turn bad. How did he go to the Dark Side? He went to the Dark Side, Jedi aren’t supposed to have attachments. They can love people, they can do that, but they can’t attach, that’s the problem in the world of fear. Once you are attached to something then you become afraid of losing it. And when you become afraid of losing it, then you turn to the Dark Side, and you want to hold onto it, and that was Anakin’s issue ultimately, that he wanted to hold onto his wife who he knew, he had a premonition that she was going to die, he didn’t know how to stop it, so he went to the Dark Side to find, in mythology you do to hades, and you talk to the devil, and the devil says ‘this is what you do’ and basically you sell your soul to the devil. When you do that, and you’re afraid and you’re on the Dark Side and you fall off the golden path of compassion because you are greedy, you want to hold on to something that you love and he didn’t do the right thing and as a result he turned bad.

Mellody Hobson, George Lucas - Virtual Speaker Interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRqVdcE5oyI)

GEORGE LUCAS WAS ALWAYS CLEAR ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOVE AND ATTACHMENT, AND HOW "PREQUEL-ERA" JEDI PHILOSOPHY WORKS.