#but then I realized 'hang on I combined all their last names for the grocery store'

[victorluvsalice]

We've hit Fall Saturday in the Chill Save, and instead of more store times today, we instead have a party! Because Smiler needs to have more parties, and I wanted the specific rewards you got from this specific party. :D However, before we had party times, we had to get through a few things --

-->Firstly, Victor had to discharge again upon waking up -- wouldn't be good if he magically exploded during the party! He and Alice hung out with the cats for a little bit -- Victor getting a song from one of the kittens by the phonograph (as said kittens are very Talkative) and Alice giving Kelly some time with the laser pointer -- then I sent Victor to the mirror to make an important change. Not to his wardrobe --

But to his, and everyone else's, last names. I THOUGHT I might have to go into "Manage Worlds" to change this, but as it turns out, you can update a Sim's name right from the mirror. So everyone in the household is now surnamed "Van Liddelton," like their grocery store! :D I was very happy to be able to do that -- while I wasn't exactly UPSET with them all ending up with the last name "Always" from the web of weddings we've had in this save, I genuinely prefer being able to give them a name that reflects all of them. :)

-->With THAT sorted, it was time to get to chores! Smiler set up the party, then popped into the greenhouse to make some sadness alleviation lotion before heading back to their robotics bench to tune up Bugs and Elmer. Alice spent a little more time slathering Kelly with love (gotta make sure mama cat is content), then headed to the computer to start a new Playful book ("What's One And One And One And," a book on Wonderland mathematics -- think those Wayside School math puzzle books), and Victor bought a bunch of dyes and started making more candles to put in the store later -- before getting distracted by Shadow wanting some attention. Victor felt the love from the dog, then decided to continue "Play Dead" training. As you can see, Shadow's got it down pat! :) Good girl, Shadow!

[hoshinasblade]

hoshina soshiro boyfriend headcanons

coming from a hard week so i gotta write this to destress. this might also be my last post until i have finished writing the fic i am putting out. i also might close my requests and asks for now so i can reply to everything first (i have a backlog, sorry). once im not too busy, i will write a part 2 and an nsfw version of this lol.

he's a light sleeper. sometimes, he couldn't get back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. whenever he's in the base his routine is to train or workout and tire himself out so he can sleep. when he's with you, it's a bit easier - he'll just cuddle with you and hog all your warmth.

hoshina is definitely the big spoon. he likes slotting his head on top of your shoulders and falling asleep. when he's super stressed though, he will never say no to being the one embraced.

date nights are scheduled. it's not just because he's busy at work though that is of course one of the reasons - hoshina is also the type who wants things to be perfect, so he wants date nights to be planned. he's super strict with his timing too by the way, so he's even got reminders in his phone and if he knows it is not going to be for a life-or-death situation, he will never cancel anything that you guys have planned prior.

extremely loyal to a fault. this goes without saying, considering all his life he's been shelved as secondary compared to his brother and had been told to give up on his ambition, the person who will love and trust him will have the love and trust returned... tenfold.

definitely a cat person. hoshina will prefer a cat over any pet if and when the two of you decides to get one. he would say it's because cats are affectionate and sweet and cuddly, and at the back of your mind you would realize that he is probably describing himself too.

his love languages are definitely words of affirmation and physical touch which works really well because he believes in the combination of both words and actions in how he express his feelings. pet names are customary once you guys settle in the relationship. he's the type to create a special nickname for you and would get upset if he learns someone other than him calls you that. hoshina is also the type to always have to be touching a part of your body whenever you are together. hanging out? his arm is in your shoulder. out in the groceries? he's holding your hand while pushing the grocery cart. sleeping? he has to be holding you or he is not gonna get a good night's sleep.

has a document in the notes app of his phone that's got details about you. he started this when you were in the early stages of dating so he does not get overwhelmed with information about you. he's listed all your favorites, along with important dates for the two of you, and a bucketlist of the things he wants to do with you.

quickly tagging my bestie @umafanfiqueiraqualquer

[sawdust-emperor]

I watched I Saw The TV Glow a second time, and I have a better idea of the meaning of the colors picked for the movie.

The first and most obvious is Pink - what's "real", what's material, what's joyful, what is wanted.

The second is Green - fear and shame.

Third is Blue - for melancholy.

Fourth is Yellow - although we barely see it, I think it represents halted change.

Maddy's basement, his sleeping bag, the glow of the TV when the show is on, Isabel's magic prom dress, the psychic link tattoo, the name of their show, the red room where the sign "safe to enter" hangs and he gets his tapes from Maddy, the first singer at the Double Lunch when they're together again, his sweater, it's all red and pink.

Owen's room, the aquarium once the TV is off, the grocery store after Owen's manager makes fun of him, the lawn he crosses holding his sleeping bag to visit Maddie, the football field they cross together to get to their real bodies, the general theme of 'suburbs' and their green grass, the hallway to get to the planetarium whare Tara is waiting for him, all green.

The planetarium, the movie theater, the fun center, the carnival, the high school on voting night, the TV flickering on Owen's dad's face, all blue.

Yellow, like flames, presumably Maddie diving into the TV like Owen would later, catching it on fire, but not fully leaving til years later. Owen, dumping water on the fire we see him narrating by, not making a change. Owen's bathroom is yellow after his dad rips his head out of the TV and forces him under the running water. The vests at the play place are yellow.

The combinations of colors and how they change in scenes send whole messages by themselves. So often Owen is split between his fear, the green, and his desire to be free, the pink. The points between these periods of joy and fear are often dull, and blue.

The first song that plays at Double Lunch (Claw Machine) conjures the imagery of a teen boy drifting between golf lawn and home lawn, digging holes in it, trying to find something real underneath, the same kind of lawn Owen crossed back and forth to sneak to Maddie's house, "The Suburbs". He carries pink things with him, rolled up, under his arm or on his back in this ocean of green. Their last time watching the show together onscreen, Owen is sat on the couch in front of the very green aquarium. The TV glows pink from ahead, and there is green cast behind him, but not Maddie. It's also the last time he wears the pink sweater.

The first episode of The Pink Opaque he gets to watch with her, we see a green ice cream truck engulfed in pink smoke, visualized on screen. He is having a realization, but he won't know it til later.

When Maddie finds him in the grocery store, the entire store is green, but she's in front of the meat section, which is pink, and holding a pink handkerchief. He runs to her, crossing a dull and depressing grocery store floor, lit in green.

His drive home, interrupted by a downed power line, is mostly blue, but there's a single red streetlight over the section of street he can't cross because of the downed trees. The season six premiere pamphlet is there.

In Double Lunch, while he's talking to her, things are red behind and in front of them, except for a small bit of green lighting behind Owen, and thanks to the way the camera moves during that section, that green slowly engulfs him as Maddie tries to tell him the truth. Maddie, Tara rather, is surrounded by red in that segment - she has what she wants, but she's afraid he won't come with her.

The inside of the freezer is green. The hearts are red.

The planetarium is mostly blue, punctuated by streaks of green and yellow crossing Tara's face as she talks, and the door, which is red, sits behind Owen. At this point, he tells her this isn't the Midnight Realm, it's just the suburbs, linked in with the song from before. It's not much better. They leave, and everything is green, because he realizes she's serious. He runs away, back to his green room. His dad is not on the green couch, flickering blue and white from the TV.

At the end, the movie theater is black and blue, but the door is highlighted by the light outside, and it's red, with a glowing red exit sign hanging above it, the only red that isn't on the movie screen's exit card. The Fun Center's backroom is blue and gloomy - Owen cuts open a box, struggling for air, and inside the box is yellow balls. After that, Owen's panic attack happens in a blue party room, and he stands under a light cycling between the three main colors until he screams, and then it sticks on green, the color of fear. His vest is yellow, the vest he puts back on after literally cutting himself open.

The actors do a phenomenal job, and the colors allow the set itself to show feelings and general sentiment in a really lovely way.

[lacheri]

|| moon river. || part viii. ||

|| masterpost || taglist form || part vii. || part ix. ||

pairing: Levi x fem bodied reader

chapter content: modern au, coworkers au, neighbors au, suggestive themes, oral sex (f receiving), overstimulation, mentions of virginity, Halloween mention ooouuu, alcohol/drinking, minors/ageless blogs do not interact.

summary: in which you try to figure out your feelings, old and new.

wc: 8.4k

a/n: this was not in the outline BUT HEY LOL thank you to @esroh06 and Mochi for betaing as always <3 hope u guys enjoy!

It’s probably the last warm-ish day of the season, you realize. You can feel the sun’s weakened rays against your bare legs, the wind carrying away the comfort of the pleasant brightness. It leaves goosebumps scattered across your exposed flesh, but you pay it no mind, snuggling further into your sweatshirt. It doesn’t make the best barrier (or the most sense; a sweatshirt and shorts combination makes for little logic), your sleeves pushed up to your elbows to avoid getting paint on the clothing, but it’s a barrier nonetheless.

You feel like a proper adult today. After collecting your weekly groceries and buying yourself a stack of medium sized canvases, you feel proud. Proud enough to prop up one of those blank canvases on your brand new adjustable easel and paint on your balcony. The street below proves to be an excellent reference, orange and yellow leaves line the pavement from origins you can’t fathom, as there are no trees in the vicinity. You find it sort of funny how the leaves seem to end up anywhere, and that’s what ultimately gets you to paint.

The city seems more alive than usual, the cafe packed and dozens of people walking along the sidewalk. You don’t know this for a fact, but they seem happy. You can spot glistening teeth and hear jovial laughter, couples conjoining their hands, swinging their arms as they walk. You smile to yourself. Seems like everyone’s in a good mood today, even you.

You call it quits on your painting when you hear your cell phone ring from inside your bedroom. You place your paint brush in a mug filled with murky water, and wipe your hands across your shorts. You leave your balcony doors open as you walk inside, the breeze following behind your form. You pick up your device, and answer your incoming call.

“Hello?” you ask.

“You went on a date with Levi and didn’t tell me?” Petra screams over the line.

You chuckle, “It wasn’t a date! How’d you even find out?”

“Hange cornered him when we came in and asked why you guys left and what had happened! He got all blushie and started stuttering! Did you kiss?”

You bite down on your lip, playing with the ends of your hair, “Aren’t you supposed to be working right now?”

“Answer the question!”

“No, we didn’t,” you sigh, sitting down on the edge of your bed. “Well, not technically.”

“What’s technically?” she shouts.

“He kissed my cheek?” you tilt your head, staring at your ankles.

Petra yells your name, “He kissed your cheek!”

“Yeah! What does that even mean?” you groan, falling back onto your mattress. “Oh my god, did we go on a date?”

“Yes! You beautiful moron!”

“No, I think he was just trying to be nice and apologize for being a jerk.”

“He was being a jerk because he likes you! Fuck! I’m going to lose to Hange!”

You roll your eyes, “Can you guys just admit you’re betting on whether or not Levi and I get together already? Both of you had made comments about it to me.”

“It’s not an if, it’s a when and a who,” she clarifies. You can picture Petra now, pointing her finger at nothing while she speaks.

“We’re just friends, Petra, I think!”

“I’m coming over when I’m done with work. We’re sorting this out, I need every last detail. Fuck knows Levi’s not gonna tell me.”

“There’s not much to talk about,” you frown. “If anything, I’m more confused about him than ever.”

“Which is exactly why you need a friend to come over and help you figure this out,” her voice is stern, though you can hear a smile as she speaks. “He’s been fucking pleasant all day. Pleasant! Happy! What the fuck did you do to him?”

You laugh, “I didn’t do anything! Fine, I’ll tell you everything that happened.”

“As you should. I’ll bring food as payment for these juicy details.”

“I can cook something if you’d like!” you glance over to your kitchen, a prideful feeling budding in your chest knowing your refrigerator is full and your cabinets are stocked. “Whatever you want!”

“Nope, this requires take away and Pinot Grigio. Hange won’t care if a bottle goes missing.”

“You better not steal a bottle from the bar. Besides,” you close your eyes, knowing Petra is going to scream. “Levi left a bottle of wine here.”

“Oh my fucking god!” she screams, as expected. “I can’t believe you- oh hey Levi, oh nothing, yeah I’ll be back in a second! No one! You fucking bitch I swear to god, he was in your apartment?”

You snort, “Get back to work!”

“This isn’t over,” she hisses, and you hear a distant closing of a door. “I’ll be over ten minutes after six. Don’t you dare leave out a single bit of the night.”

Before you can answer, Petra hangs up, and you chuckle quietly to yourself.

It’s funny how naturally your friendship has blossomed with the strawberry blonde — well, with everyone. It feels as if you’ve known them for lifetimes. Petra, with her bubbly personality and strong vocabulary. Hange, with their inviting smile and comforting aura. And Levi, with his—

With his—

Well, what’s there not to like about Levi?

“I like his laugh,” you think out loud, taking a deep breath. “I like the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles. I like his humor, the way he makes me laugh. I like how easy conversation is with him. I like the way he makes me feel. He makes me feel-“

You pause.

“Happy,” you groan. “Levi makes me fucking happy. God dammit.”

You hate the way your heart squeezes at the confession, hate that you sigh dreamily at the thought. Because that means you like Levi, in more than just the friend way. It took nearly a month to earn his friendship, how the fuck are you going to earn his adoration as well?

You sort of feel guilty, too. What if Levi truly is just trying to be friendly? But why would he take you out and then entertain the idea of you potentially kissing him? Does he like you too? Are you taking advantage of his friendship? Is Levi simply taking pity on you?

You throw yourself out of your bed, grumbling to yourself, “And this is exactly why I don’t date. This is so fucking annoying.”

Because attachment is one thing, commitment is another. And if there’s anything you know about commitment, it’s how exhilarating it feels to leave it behind.

You distract yourself by cleaning up the mess of supplies you’ve left outside, and tidying up your apartment.

Petra is true to her word, showing up to your front door exactly ten minutes past six o’clock. Take out bags in hand, she glares her beautiful amber eyes at you as she barges into your apartment.

“Forks. Talk.”

Your mouth falls open, your teeth clicking as you snap it shut, “Oh, okay?”

She’s a fiery girl, spreading the bags’ contents across your coffee table, seating herself on your floor with a huff. She didn’t come here to play around, that you know for sure. You collect the utensils from your kitchen, and take a seat on the opposite side of the table. The only gentleness she portrays is how softly she takes the fork from your hand, speaking a soft “thank you” before digging into her food, eyes solidified in that glare.

“Guess it’s time for the talk portion?” you joke, and it does not land the way you want it to. Petra chews angrily in response. You gulp, “Okay, I’ll tell you everything.”

And you do. You don’t leave out a single detail, going into the way Levi gazed at you the entire night, all the way up to the almost kiss, if you could call it that. She eats slowly, hanging onto every single word that falls from your lips. She nods, her face scrunches, she chuckles, she hums. When a sigh leaves you, her mouth opens, but you end your story with one last thought.

“Petra, I think I like Levi.”

“Oh yeah, big time,” she mirrors your sigh, her back meeting the bottom of your couch. “If it helps, he definitely likes you too.”

“But, why hasn’t he made a move then?” you fiddle with your thumbs. “I mean, he never said last night was a date. And honestly, up until last night, I thought Levi didn’t even like me. I thought he just felt bad. I still think he just feels bad for me.”

“Listen,” Petra starts. “You have to cut that out. No one feels bad for you, especially not Levi. When has he ever cut you a break? Or anyone for that matter?”

You recall your first shift at the bar — how angry Levi had been with you, how he had tried his best to manage your nervous behavior and fumbling hands. You remember how he called you out on your mistakes, and how you promised him you’d do better next time. That was a break. Offering you the job in the first place was a break.

She continues, as if reading where your mind has gone, “Levi isn’t like that. He’s kind in his own special way, sure, but he’s not sympathetic. Empathetic is more like it. We all know how hard adjusting to a new life is, and it’s so fucking hard. If I were Levi and I had some foreign woman just move in next door with no job and saw her clearly struggling, I’d help out too. It’s called being a good person. People don’t just do things for others to make themselves feel better, they do it because they want to. Whether or not Levi felt bad doesn’t matter, because he didn’t help you out with the intentions of getting something out of you. He wanted to help, and that’s it.”

“When I was in highschool, I got invited to go to prom with this boy I really liked,” you smile sadly to yourself. “He was kind of popular, I kind of wasn’t, but I had my close group of friends. Anyways, turns out it had been a prank, and I got stood up. My best friend, Eren, ditched his own date because he felt bad for me. Long story short, we tried the whole friends with benefits thing, which didn't work out, but we still ended up being really good friends. Actually, the girl he ditched ended up being the closest friend I ever had. That’s probably the most experience I have in the love department. Everyone else I’ve been with have been hookups or one night stands. I’ve never properly dated someone.”

“Why didn’t you and Eren work out?” Petra asks, and it sounds weird having his name come out of her mouth.

“We grew up together, it was just weird,” you chuckle. “Eren’s a great guy, we just, weren’t compatible romantically, I guess.”

“You have a really bad habit of making your friends turn to lovers,” she points out teasingly. “You gonna romance me next?”

“Keep bringing me dinner and we’ll see,” you wag your eyebrows suggestively, the two of you falling into a fit of laughter. “I’m just super inexperienced, Petra. I don’t really do commitment.”

“It’s scary,” she empathizes. “But it’s worth it, to be in love and be loved. It’s terrifying, but the good kind of terrifying. Why do you think people write books about this kind of stuff?”

You snort, “True. I just don’t want to fuck anything up, you know? I really like Levi, I like all of you. What if we don’t work out? We’re not only coworkers, but he literally lives next door. I can’t avoid him. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“What if it’s not though? What if he’s like, a soulmate or something?” her eyebrows come together, a frown etched on her face. “You can’t predict the end of something that hasn’t even started yet.”

You nod, agreeing with her logic, “You’re right. It’s just-“

“Scary,” Petra finishes your sentence in understanding. She smiles softly, “It is. But it’s also one of the greatest feelings in the entire world. You’d be denying yourself of that if you don’t go for it with Levi.”

“This might be a stupid question,” you sigh. “But, does Levi date? Have you ever seen him with someone before?”

“Honestly, no,” she confesses, laughing under her breath. “I’ve never heard him talk about someone before. He’s never brought anyone around, a partner or any family. That’s why I know he likes you. He talks about you. He lights up when he says your name. Just like you do when you talk about him.”

“Why is this so complicated?” you lean back into the heels of your hands, tucking your ankles under your calves.

“Because you’re making it complicated. Okay, here’s the facts,” Petra stands up, waving her arms as she speaks. “You like Levi. Levi likes you. No if ands or buts, these are the facts. You’re scared of commitment, so you’re getting cold feet and trying to bolt before anything even happens. Levi has his own baggage, probably, and doesn’t even entertain the idea of a relationship. He took you on a date — and don’t give me that look, it was a date — and opened himself up. You saw that, and now you’re scared of furthering your connection because of the what if’s. So, we have to look at the options.

“Option one,” she holds out one finger. “You pursue a relationship with Levi. It either ends badly, or, it doesn’t end at all. Option two! You stay friends and pine over each other and nothing ever happens and you get to watch each other move on with other people and be completely miserable.”

“Completely?” you muse.

“Completely.”

“Okay,” you smile, shaking your head. “So, what’s the game plan? What should I do?”

Her amber eyes widen, a beam spreading on her lips, “Okay! So, tomorrow night is Halloween.”

“Yes?” you narrow your eyes.

“I know what Levi’s being, because he’s it every year,” her pupils twinkle with mischief. “So, I have just the costume to kick start mission ‘let’s get these two idiots to admit they like each other’!”

Petra tells you all about her costume idea, and you sit across from her with stars in your eyes. You don’t hesitate to thank her for everything — listening to your worries and giving you some of the best advice you’ve ever heard.

“It’s what friends do.”

Nervous doesn’t begin to describe your current state.

You’ve been standing in the bar bathroom for ten minutes, glaring your reflection down. You’ve washed your hands, fiddled with your makeup and hair, twirled and inspected your form several times. You don’t hate your costume. No, you think you actually look really cute. That’s not why you’re nervous.

You’re nervous because Petra didn’t tell you what Levi would be, just that you were going to match. She didn’t tell you that Levi dressed up in devil horns every year.

You adjust the feathery white wings strapped to your back, and groan. If there’s an art form in being subtle, you wonder what chaos being painfully obvious constitutes.

Sundays are usually your quiet shifts in the bar, but Halloween calls for a different kind of night. The building is packed with customers — ghosts, witches, Pitbull impersonators, you name it. They fish out cash from their wallets in exchange for a night they will probably not remember, to swallow drinks they will not taste as the liquids go down. You, in your crystal clarity, will be cursed to remember every single detail of tonight — whether you want to or not.

With one last determined glance to your reflection, you take a deep inhale through your nose, and force your legs to walk out of the restroom.

The sounds of voices and music flow unrestrained by the barrier of the bathroom door, and every step closer to the main floor only amplifies the incoherent noise. You can’t hear your footsteps against the floor, nor a single thought in your mind. Call it perseverance, call it ignorant bliss, but the distracting sounds provide instant relief to your anxious state.

Passing through the last stretch of the corridor leading to the public restrooms, your eyes search immediately for the bar counter. Levi and Petra’s forms are shadowed by the crowd lining the oak, you see slivers of their faces through the silhouetted limbs and torsos of customers. Neither of them have seen you yet. You’re perfectly on time for your shift, early even.

Your white dress flows against your kneecaps as you continue your journey forward, Petra’s borrowed champagne colored pumps on your feet. They’re not ideal for work, of course, but the strawberry blonde had aggressively insisted you to wear them. She’d be disappointed if you hadn’t, plus you had to admit, they really did complete your look.

You’re nearly positive that you will be barefoot in the next hour, your angel wings discarded elsewhere.

It feels as if eons of time have passed when you finally circle around the edge of the bar, floating over to Petra and Levi with a timid question, “Hey, where do you guys need me at?”

Levi looks incredible, to say the least. As minimalistic as his costume may appear, it suits him well. He looks good in red. A scarlet headband stabilized on the crown of his head, the ends tucked behind his ears, two devil horns poke through his raven colored locks. A tight black long sleeve shirt clings to his torso, tucked ever so neatly into the belted waistband of his slacks. He’s beautiful, he’s always beautiful.

And of course, Petra looks stunning as well — a pointy black hat perched atop her strawberry blonde hair, a tight black dress matched with black tights and boots. You want to give her bra a standing ovation, the support of the underwire pushing them up and out. Seems as if everyone’s staring at Petra too. But you? Your eyes can’t seem to leave Levi.

His eyes can’t seem to leave you either, when he finally looks up from his cocktail.

Realization strikes his expression like a hard slap to his cheek. You’re an angel, and he’s a devil. It’s easy enough. To him, it probably seems like a coincidence. Unbeknownst to everyone apart from you and Petra, it’s not. Instead, it’s a carefully crafted plan, all credit due to the bubbly girl. You don’t know exactly what this means, to match with Levi accidentally by Petra’s intentions, but it means something. It has to, his silver orbs hold a glimmer not previously there as he observes you. Maybe you look pretty to him, maybe he finds this humorous. Regardless, it finds him, and you suppose that’s what the end goal of all of this is.

“Switch with me! I’ll go man the floor,” Petra perks, quickly passing out the last requested glass of her creation to a customer.

You nod, smiling at her as she passes. She wags her eyebrows at you, and disappears into the crowd of patrons. You gulp, and replace her.

“You look nice,” you say smoothly, getting to work on taking drink orders from across the counter. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Levi’s cheeks flush.

“Seems as if we match,” Levi ignores your compliment, focusing on what his hands are doing at the moment.

“Seems as if we do,” you flirt, smiling down at the cocktail shaker in your hand. “What do you think about it?”

“I think you must’ve known,” he mumbles. “Did you go snooping through the pictures in the back?”

Caught red handed, “Actually, no, Petra’s idea.”

Levi exhales through his nose, shaking his head in amusement, “Looks like we’re not actually wearing costumes this year.”

His words flutter your heart, and you dip your head down to conceal your grin, “Levi, are you flirting with me?”

“And if I am?” his elbow brushes against yours, his tone light and airy.

You send him a knowing glance, “Then I’ll tell you I don’t flirt with devils.”

“Using my own words against me, how cruel.”

“Not very angel-like of me I suppose,” your tongue feels witty and you surprise yourself with how easy these replies leave your lips.

“You have no idea-,” he gets cut off by a demanding customer dressed as Luke Skywalker, his attention stolen.

You end up getting swamped in orders, all three of you struggling to meet requests during the next hour. If this were your first week, you’d be drowning under the pressure. However, today marks your fourth week here at the bar, and your official one month and some change of living in the city. You feel like a pro behind the counter, gliding easily between familiar French words and broken English.

You realize now that every single struggle to get here was worth it. You understand Petra’s advice now. You even come to a new perspective, lost in your thoughts. It grounds you, and you ask yourself: when have you ever been afraid of the unknown? You crossed land and sea to be where you are now, a place previously unknown. You met friends who were previously unknown, and formed bonds that to you seem practically unbreakable.

If you hadn’t left home, you wouldn’t know the exhilarating freedom of independence. You wouldn’t have conquered your fears and the odds stacked against you. You wouldn’t be so honestly happy.

Watching Levi from the corner of your eyes, you suppose maybe taking the risk of getting your heart broken is a risk worth taking.

The rest of the night goes by without a single problem. Petra works the dwindling floor, you and Levi slow on your drink making and turn to cleaning instead. The strawberry blonde flips the lock on the door when the last customer leaves, and turns to the two of you.

“I can lock up if you guys want to head out,” she offers, looking you directly in the eye. “I don’t mind cleaning up!”

Levi’s face falls, concern lacing through his expression, “There’s a lot of cleaning to do.”

Petra simply waves her hand, “I got it. You both look exhausted, and I may have had a bit too much coffee today. You’re doing me a favor by leaving, really. I gotta burn off this energy somehow.”

The ravenette shrugs, “It better not be a mess when I open in the morning.”

“No promises!”

You hide a snicker behind your palm, and Levi diverts his attention to you, “You ready to go then?”

“Yeah,” you bite down on your lip, keeping your growing smile at bay.

Before the two of you pass through the front door, you spare a look at Petra. She hooks her big thumb up in a fist, a bubbly beam on her face. You roll your eyes and giggle under your breath, and close the door behind you.

“You really don’t own a jacket, do you?”

The cold midnight air nips at the surface of your exposed arms, and you sigh, “I keep forgetting to buy one.”

You watch as his eyes fall up and down your frame and — is Levi checking you out right now? You stand straighter, and hope your goosebumps flatten in the time it takes for you to talk home.

You feel fingertips ghost the small of your back, and that hope is gone. Those goosebumps will stay on your flesh forever.

“Keep forgetting, or you just want me to touch you on our walk home?” Levi leans in, whispering into the shell of your ear.

You swallow, “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

“Funny,” he chuckles under his breath. “You know, I never got to finish my thought earlier. About you being not so angel-like.”

“You didn’t?”

“No,” if Levi keeps breathing into your ear, you’re going to pull him into the closest alleyway and have your way with him. “I think it suits you.”

“Yeah?” you stutter.

“Yeah,” his fingers trail upwards, nails bumping along the seam of your dress zipper. “Bel ange.”

(Beautiful angel.)

“Levi,” you gasp. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you home,” Levi’s lips tease your earlobe, so close to a kiss. He pulls away, his touch falling from your back, “C’mon, it’s cold.”

You want to scream the entire way back to your apartment. The pounding in your ears and your core have you gripping the edges of your dress, wanting to abandon any last shred of control you possess. You want Levi. You want to grab him by the back of his neck and pull those pretty lips to yours. You want to undress him, shove your greedy hands all over his skin and fuck him until the sun comes up. You want it so bad.

Fuck the consequences. Fuck the heartbreak. Fuck Levi for making you feel this way.

You’d be an idiot to think now that he doesn’t want you either. His hand bumps the back of yours, teasingly and temptingly. When your fingers extend to intertwine them together, he shifts, walking a centimeter away. Your hand goes limp, and he’s back, brushing against you all over again. It’s infuriating. You feel as if you’re going to lose control any second.

You’re standing in your hallway before you know it — Levi’s unlocking his door, ready to part ways. He’s been talking to you the entire time, but you’ve been so focused on how badly you want him you’ve tuned him out.

So what if Levi feels bad for you? You don’t feel bad for yourself, for anyone. You worked hard to be where you’re at now, and you won’t let anyone make you believe otherwise. So if you like Levi, it’s because you like him, no other reason. The same standard should be held to the ravenette too.

It’s impulsive, but you’re tired of holding back.

You launch yourself away from your front door and stomp over to him. You circle your fingers around his wrist, positioned on the lock, and you tug. Levi releases all tension in his muscles, his arm limp in your hold. Those beautiful silver eyes of his stare at you, and you stare back.

“I don’t want to be friends,” the words fly past your lips.

“It’s a little too late for that now, don’t you think?” Levi rasps, his other arm navigating you by your waist. Your back presses against his door, and he steps between your parting thighs, “I quite like having you as a friend.”

“Do friends shamelessly flirt with each other? Do they take them out on dates?” you feel bold despite his physical advantage. You’re caged between Levi and his door. You feel like you’re on fire.

“We do,” his tongue slides over his bottom lip, and your fire ignites into an inferno. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” you can’t seem to catch your breath, the puffs leaving your lungs rapidly.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Levi confesses, laughing breathlessly. “I tried to get you out of my head, I thought not talking to you would work. It didn’t. And then tonight, you look fucking — beautiful. You always do. It’s frustrating, you’re a fucking temptress.”

“Levi,” you whine. “Kiss me, please.”

“I can’t take it back if I do,” his forehead presses to yours. “And this is a terrible idea.”

You nod meekly, “It is, and you can’t. We shouldn’t.”

“We shouldn’t,” he repeats, yet his head dips in further. His nose brushes against yours, his breath fans your lips, “Tell me to stop.”

“I can’t,” you whisper, terrified to move a muscle. “I want you.”

“You’re going to be the death of me,” his lips hover directly above yours now, the skin barely touching. “Last chance, tell me.”

You do, just not with words.

Your hands slide to Levi’s neck, and you pull. Air escapes the both of you as your lips finally collide. Your jaws flex as your mouths move, deeply and passionately. Levi tastes like mint. Suddenly, it’s your new favorite flavor.

Levi’s fucking good at kissing.

Your thighs close around his hips, his torso flushed against yours as he lifts you off the ground. Your ankles hook around his back, his palms sliding and gripping the undersides of your bare thighs. You’re pounding again, though you suppose it never stopped. It’s stronger now with the knowledge that the only thing separating Levi’s length and your center is a thin strip of panties and his bottoms. You cart your fingers through his undercut, and tug on the roots of the hair above.

A moan ricochets through your throat when, whether intentionally or not, his bulge catches the fabric concealing your clit, and he rolls his hips. All thoughts fly out of the preverbal window, and you’re a goner.

“I heard you that night,” Levi’s voice cracks, never ceasing to stop kissing you. “Your moans through the wall. You sounded so fucking pretty, and then, you said my name. Ça m'a rendu fou. Tu pensais à moi? A ce que je te ferais — fuck.”

(It drove me insane. Were you thinking about me? What I would do to you?)

“Need you,” you gasp, desire flooding in your core at his words. “So badly, I need you.”

“Tu ne sais pas combien de fois je t'ai imaginé comme ça. Me suppliant, m'embrassant. J'ai baisé mon poing en pensant à toi, juste comme ça,” Levi’s teeth tug at your bottom lip, releasing it to watch the flesh snap back into place. “You need me?”

(You don’t know how many times I’ve pictured you like this. Begging for me, kissing me. I fucked my fist thinking of you, just like this.)

“Yes!” you cry, rocking your hips to seek out that sweet relief of his clothed erection.

Levi’s hands travel past your thighs, cupping and groping your ass as he groans into your mouth, “Your apartment.”

“Don’t wanna put on a show for the neighbors?” you giggle as he allows your wobbly legs to meet the floor.

The ravenette crouches to his knees, fingers never leaving the skin from underneath your dress, “Figured you wouldn’t want our neighbors to watch you cum on my tongue. Unless, you do?”

To prove a point to his words, his mouth presses directly above your right knee, his tongue rolling little circles into your flesh. Heat swarms your lower abdomen, and your fingers lace through his hair.

“Levi,” you choke, head lolling back. “Let’s go, please.”

“You don’t want me to eat you out right here in the hallway?” the ravenette reluctantly pulls away, standing to full height. His fingers wrap around your waist as he walks backwards towards your front door, “I’ll admit, I’m a bit selfish. I want to be the only one to watch you fall apart.”

Your hands scramble to unlock your door, Levi’s lips attached to your neck, “You’re driving me crazy.”

“Good.”

The cedar opens and slams within seconds, his mouth desperately returning to yours. His kiss leaves you breathless, and you’re kicking off shoes messily, fumbling with the wings on your back. They fall to the floor, your apartment in total disarray as you make your way to the bedroom. You think you hit every wall on the way there, pressing Levi against the white surface, rolling around so he’s the one caging you against the wall. Hands fly wherever they can meet skin, lips land where they may — his neck, your neck, your mouth, his mouth.

With one swift motion, your back hits the mattress, Levi crawling on top of you. The bottom of your dress is pushed up above your breasts, and he moans low and deep.

“Fuck, so much more beautiful than I imagined,” he breathes, lips trailing down your exposed midsection. His hands cup your bra clad breasts, his thumbs rubbing your perked nipples through the fabric. They don’t stay there long, only enough for Levi to memorize the way your breath catches in your throat.

He’s between your legs in an instant, fingers tracing the material of your panties. His eyes flicker up at your expression, the greys fucked out and carnal, and you gulp.

“You want this? Tell me,” his head falls to your left thigh, peppering sloppy kisses along the skin. “Tell me you’ve thought of me.”

“I need you, Levi,” once again, your fingers lock into his hair, your hips bucking. “I need you so bad. You’re all I’ve thought about, please.”

“I know, walls are thin, remember?” you feel his smirk against your inner thigh. His right thumb swipes over your clothed slit, and he chuckles darkly. “So wet, I’ve barely even touched you.”

You whine in response, “Please, touch me.”

“With pleasure, mademoiselle.”

Both of Levi’s thumbs linger on your cunt, massaging the outer lips just outside the lining of your panties. You weap arousal, the ache in your core strong and prominent. It’s not stimulating enough, but it’s something, so you choke out a weak moan. His pointer finger hooks the left side, pulling the soaked fabric aside, exposing you to his hungry gaze.

Levi looks almost dumbstruck. His mouth parts in awe, his eyes widen. You’re soaked. How can you not be when this exact image is what’s been getting you off at night? Alone in your bedroom, fingers working delicious magic against your folds, whimpering his name into the dark as you try to deny your feelings for him.

If you had common sense, you’d use it to come to the conclusion that you’ve never been more attracted to a person before in your life. With his beautiful icy eyes and smart mouth, the way he makes your soul feel on fire. He’s consumed your thoughts, you fucking dream of Levi. But dreams and reality are drastically different — and the ravenette lies between your shaky thighs right now. It’s real, and so are your feelings for him.

You don’t need instruction to spread your legs. Despite the nerves rattling through your body, your knees part, your cunt on fully display. You watch in your own awe as Levi licks his lips, and finally presses his mouth to your clit.

It’s an instant reaction, the way you buck into his mouth and release an earth shattering moan. His thumbs continue to massage your outer lips, his tongue trailing up and down your folds. This action could get you off alone, but you know Levi has more planned. You can tell by the way he smiles against your clit, his fingers dancing closer and closer to your clenching hole.

His lips suction around your bundle of nerves, and his tongue starts flicking and caressing the nub. Rolling the muscle in a deliberate pattern, he groans. You can’t hold back the string of moans and needy whimpers from your throat, your eyes roll back into your skull and your body goes into autopilot. Your legs vibrate, your hands yank on Levi’s hair, and your brain turns to mush.

It’s sinful how good at this he is. You feel like a virgin again. How appropriate are your costumes now? His devil horns are still positioned on his head — you accidentally knock them off with your fingers. You sort of wanted to keep them on, but the thought leaves you quickly. With Levi quite literally making out with your pussy, it’s hard to keep a thought front and center.

And then, Levi positions his fingers at your entrance, and presses one single digit inside. You nearly scream.

He does it so slowly, sinking in his finger knuckle by knuckle until your walls hug him tight, “Fuck, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

His words vibrate against your clit, and he hooks his finger directly into your sweet spot. He strokes the spongy spot languidly, not even thrusting inside of you. You could honestly pass out from the pleasure.

There’s a bubbling in your core, hot and demanding of attention. It starts small, but as Levi rolls his tongue at an expert pace against your cunt, it grows rapidly. You feel as if you’re going to explode, your soul bursting through your skin the second you cum. It’s almost a spiritual experience — Levi’s mouth devouring at your clit, edging his second digit into your hole. You think you find enlightenment when the two fingers begin to stretch you open, scissoring your slick walls. You pulsate against them, your cunt clinging to the actions with such vitality and grip. You feel your arousal slip around his fingers, beads trailing down and joining Levi’s salvia at the seam of your ass.

And when he starts thrusting, you can no longer contemplate the meaning of life. Because you’ve found it. It’s pleasure, it’s the reasoning found on the tongue of this man, it’s the air in your lungs that expands and dissipates shortly after. It’s indulgence. It’s coming to the conclusion that no amount of happiness or sorrow is even comparable to the experience of true, passionate pleasure.

“Oh my fucking god, Levi!” you babble, not entirely sure it’s even coherent. “So good, feels so good!”

You feel the bubbling start to tip over, and you realize something about Levi. You think you love him.

It’s so sloppy, all of it. The only precise motion of his constantly moving tongue, swirling and stroking at your throbbing clit. His fingers are messy, desperate thrusting that you can only imagine that he’s thinking about something else — his cock slamming into you over and over. Levi has to be. He hasn’t stopped moaning himself.

You can’t look away from him, he looks as if he’s in heaven. Levi ruts into your mattress, using every muscle in his body to devour you with his tongue, fuck you with his fingers. His toes are curling. You can’t stop thinking about what he’d look like plunging his cock into you, how crazed and passionate Levi would be. The pulsing in your abdomen only increases at the thought, your noises increasingly becoming more high pitched and needy.

“Getting so tight, you close?” Levi moans, tongue lolling out of his mouth. “Fucking squeezing on me, that’s it angel, cum.”

You thank whatever forces created the man between your legs. Between his tousled black locks splattered between your knuckles, to his blown out pupils and desperate expression — you think maybe Levi should’ve been the one dressed as an angel.

You roll your hips against his tongue once more, and your climax slams into you like a freight train. You scream breathlessly, gasping and fighting for oxygen. Levi’s knocked the wind out of you. Pure white surges through your vision, but you don’t miss the mesmerized gaze he sends you. Your thighs clamp around his head, he lets you ride the waves of release, rocking yourself against his face and fingers.

You slump completely against your mattress with rapid inhales of air, a stupified chuckle heaving from your lungs. Levi licks at your nub through your last pulses of orgasm, until you’re whining and pulling away from his attention.

His face is drenched in spit and your juices, and you think Levi has never looked more beautiful than he has in this moment. Soft eyes, a satisfied smile on his lips, he crawls up your body. A gentle kiss is placed on your swollen pout, and he hums.

“Not bad?” he chuckles at your lifeless form.

“Not bad? You just fucked the common sense out of me,” you sigh. “Holy shit, Levi, I don’t think I’ve ever came that fast before. What the fuck?”

“Who said I was done?”

Your sleepy eyes widen, looking at him in confusion, “Huh?”

“That was reckless of me,” his head dips down, attaching his slicked lips to your collarbone. “I should’ve taken my time with you, got carried away. Encore une fois, une autre.”

(Again, one more.)

You shake your head, trying to get the words out before Levi falls between your thighs again. You fail.

A long, slow stripe up your folds sends your mind reeling. You weakly yelp, too tired to protest, the ache in your core reigniting.

Ever so gently, the tip of his tongue circles the outer rim of your clit. He teases the hood, stroking downwards to avoid going all out on the exposed nerves, your walls clamping down at the pleasure. You’re out of reasons to stop him, it feels way too fucking good, so you don’t.

“Could do this for hours,” Levi mumbles huskily, bringing his drenched fingers to your cunt once more. He swipes, gathering your arousal and sticky release, and sinks in his two digits once more. You groan in synchronicity, your pussy squeezing around him as he pushes in. It’s too slow compared to the fast pace he had set before, every nerve in your body screaming in electric pleasure.

“Levi!” you cry, fisting the sheets beside you. Your back arches, bones aching in rejection to the movement, you whimper, “Can’t, ‘s too much.”

“Not enough,” he disagrees, attaching his lips once more to your throbbing clit. Levi sucks the flesh between the plush of his lips, and you’re past the point of no return. Embracing it, you dig your fingers into his scalp once more.

Levi allows you to rock your hips into the heat of his mouth, allows you to bounce yourself on his fingers. His hand hardly moves, letting you hit all your sweet spots on your own accord. His eyes never waver from yours, his expression drips in longing and lust. He speaks to you this way, you can hear every word behind those greys. He wants you. He needs you. And that’s enough to bring you to the brink of your second climax.

His muscle stays the same lazy pace, and you’re about to lose your entire mind. Not even a few minutes ago, you were telling him it was too much. Now, it’s not enough, just as he had said. Your pussy grips his digits with such a ferocity, you’re worried he may lose feelings in his hand. If you were wet before, you’re now an entire ocean of yearning. You can hear it, how absolutely drenched you are. With every thrust of your hips, the squelching reaches your ears. You could burn with embarrassment, if you were in a coherent state of mind.

But you’re not, and Levi’s about to deliver you another toe curling orgasm.

“Fuck, fuck,” you heave, going cross eyed. “Levi, I, fuck, shit!”

“So soon?” Levi sounds disappointed, but his tongue finally moves faster. “C’mon, give me another.”

Your scream is loud, and for a split second you’re worried your neighbors might think you’re being murdered. The bubble in your center bursts, and you’re cumming your brains out. Stronger than the first, longer than the first, you can feel the gush of fluid leak around Levi’s fingers. He scissors you through it, pushing back against your convulsing walls and licking you clean. You feel a single tear slip down your cheek, your body and mind completely spent.

Thankfully, the last squeeze of your climax pushing his digits out of your aching cunt, Levi seems satisfied. He places a chaste kiss to your clit, as if saying goodbye.

“No more,” you mumble, afraid that if he continues, your brain will leak out of your ears. “‘M tired.”

His hands smoothe over your thighs, massaging the skin with his thumbs, “You really are beautiful, you know that?”

You smile lazily as Levi eases himself onto his side, crawling up to lay next to your form, “So are you. Thanks, needed that.”

“What are friends for?” Levi captures your lips in a kiss, gentle and sweet.

You laugh, closing your eyes, “Oh fuck, guess we have to figure that out now, don’t we?”

He only hums, brushing stray strands of hair from your forehead. The action lulls you into a sense of security, of comfort. You start to slip into a dream, the warmth from his body welcomed and wanted. It’s only when it disappears you come to, watching through half lidded eyes as he pulls your dress back down, adjusting your panties back into place.

He must think you’re fast asleep, as Levi does not say a word. He tugs your comforter up over your body, tucking the material in around your waist and shoulders. He kisses your forehead, picks his horns off the floor, and he leaves.

You want to call out to him, ask him to stay. You imagine waking up to Levi would be a vision comparable to art — every part of you wants to appreciate the morning sun lingering on the plains of his face. You want to kiss him good morning, reciprocate the pleasure he’s bestowed onto you, have him moan your name.

Your front door locks, and you’re knocked out.

The next week goes by surprisingly fast. You blink, and it’s Friday. Unfortunately, you haven’t seen much of your favorite ravenette, but you've seen too much of Petra.

Of course, you tell her everything. How you’ve come to the realization you have strong feelings for Levi, how he made out with your pussy for nearly an hour. How you’ve barely seen him since, but when you’ve relieved him of his shifts at the bar he’s given you that look — the same one he burned into your memory, the heated lustful gaze from between your thighs.

He’s all you’ve been thinking about. Petra seems to think you’re in love. Maybe you are. Maybe you just really want to fuck Levi. Who knows?

Still, you can’t ignore the thrumming of your heartbeat every time you think about him. Not even dirty either, just in general. You picture his smile, you hear his laugh, you smell his cologne — you’re hopeless. He’s fanned this fire inside of you, and now it’s out of control.

This is why you don’t date. You can’t seem to get them out of your mind. In your spare time, you paint. They always end up being a hazy rainbow of his lips, his eyes.

So, to distract yourself, you Google art schools in France.

You’re laying in bed, belly full of dinner, teeth freshly brushed, browser on your phone opened to numerous pages informing you about costs and tuition. You could get a loan, seek financial help, once you’re ready of course. There’s a particular school that catches your fancy, illustrious and highly praised. They offer introductory classes, for a fairly high price, but the idea of getting back to school kind of makes you excited.

You’ve worked hard to be where you’re currently at. Potential lovers and friends aside, you’re genuinely optimistic about what the future may bring you. Of course with this brings the past clawing at the back of your mind, casting self doubt in all those positive places.

You hadn’t flunked out of college because you weren’t doing well. You did it because you couldn’t stand to be miserable anymore. Your art had no meaning, you felt caged in a place where you felt you couldn’t truly be yourself. In a way, you’ve found yourself in your struggle. You can appreciate these parts of you now — your strength, your courage, your perseverance.

You wanted to find meaning, and you found it. Well, you’re still finding it. But purpose means something different to you now. Before, it meant belonging to something. Belonging to a perfect family, belonging to a perfect friend group, belonging to a constant state of happiness and creativity. Now, the idea of purpose looks more like searching. Searching for expansion, searching how to be a better person, searching for the things that move your soul. You’re reminded of how amazed by yourself you are — whether or not that sounds narcissistic is up for debate, but you’re content in knowing that your soul is as vast as the ocean itself. Your depth is admirable, and your insight has allowed you to find these traits in others. To appreciate them. The grass is just as green on your lawn as it is on others.

You can conquer anything, art school included. You’re ready to try again.

As you start to delve deeper into your research, a knocking interrupts your train of thought. You glance at the time at the top of your screen. It’s late in the night, just past ten o’clock.

It can’t be Petra at your door, she usually calls before showing up. She’s been making many trips to your apartment as of late, indulging you in girl talk and deep conversations. You’ve gotten to know the strawberry blonde so well over the last two weeks, down to her favorite color and why she refuses to eat mushrooms. The texture bothers her, and she’s very passionate about the fact dishes seem to taste better without them.

With a reluctance to leave the comfort of your bed, you groan. The knocking sounds again, and you stand, ready to give whoever’s at your door a piece of your mind.

Your bare feet pad along the floor, your silk robe brushing against your shins as you walk. Your apartment is warm, thanks to your endless search for the thermostat. Your dwelling is painted in mostly darkness, ready for the end of the day and the promise of a peaceful slumber. You flick on a lamp in your living room, and unlock your front door.

Levi stands, fist paused in the air, as if he had been prepared to knock once again. You freeze, tilting your head in confusion.

Your breath is caught in your throat. Levi looks as if he can’t stop breathing. His chest rises and falls like he’s out of oxygen, his muscles tense and halted.

Neither of you are speaking. It feels as if time is frozen. He’s staring at you, swirling eyes and clenching jaw. You’re confused, but you know why he’s here. You can see it written all over his face.

Levi isn’t going to tiptoe around his feelings anymore. He’s here to prove this to you.

Lightning strikes, and the two of you are hurtling towards each other. Clashing like thunder, your torsos collide in your threshold, and Levi’s lips press to yours. His hands circle your waist, sliding up and down your spine as he walks you backwards, kicking your front door shut with his heel.

LACHERI © 2021: all writing content belongs to LACHERI. I do not allow reposts or translations.

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[kodzuvii]

CLUB STUPID [EXTRA: there’s a pretty girl in our kitchen]

PAIRING - suna x fem!reader ft. suna rizu aka the little sister :)

GENRE - crack + fluff

warning - just grammar and spelling mistakes lol + y/n cuts her finger + y/n is implied to be really short + suna is a bit ooc but that’s because he’s a simp for you <3

wc - 7k

SYNOPSIS - Club Stupid, an anonymous podcast meant for the dumb and dumbest to send in unspoken and nonsensical thoughts about issues they face in their day to day lives and for Y/n to speak out and give her opinions and feelings. Normal feelings though, nothing romantic like how she thinks this lazy guy with questionable hair in the volleyball club is actually pretty cute.

a/n: bringing this baby back because we recently hit 5k notes :D this is also my peace offering for my sudden absence on this blog LMAO sit back and enjoy as we catch up with suna and yn as well as witness whipped!suna 

[Somewhere at the start of December]

“I don’t understand”

“Don’t understand what?”

“You’re the one who failed your test, why am I the one buying groceries?”

“Because I paid during our last date”

“Rin, I’m helping you study. Does this even count as a date?” 

You looked down at your hands that were holding bags full of ingredients you needed to make some sukiyaki. With the boys being on break from volleyball, Suna had texted you after school asking for help to review for a retake on a test he failed. 

You had to take a double-take while reading the text because, Suna? Studying? Willingly? A rare combination.

The original plan was to go straight to his house since his family owned a really nice kotatsu table that also acted as a couch. With winter settling in and the weather starting to get much colder, you and Suna quickly realized that neither of you enjoyed going out during this time of the year. Sure, the snowflakes were pretty, but sitting comfortably under a warm kotatsu surrounded by snacks while you tried to get his mind around trigonometry sounded more appealing

Suna looked down at you, “You’re acting as if you’re not craving a hot pot right now,” You rolled your eyes, “I never said I wasn’t craving it, I just know that I’m gonna be doing most of the work because your ass can’t cook” you reasoned. Suna shrugged, “not my fault you decided to upgrade your cooking skills during the past 5 months we’ve been together” You rolled your eyes and buried your face deeper into Suna’s scarf that was wrapped around your neck in an attempt to cover up the blush rising up on your cheeks. 

A smug smile came upon Suna’s lips as he watched you get embarrassed. You two were still going strong and had hit 5 months just a week ago. Even though you both had your minor little arguments here and there, you were both still content and happy with each other. 

With 5 months flying by, Suna didn’t think that it was possible for him to fall for you even more. By now, you had both settled into a comfortable state in your relationship. Regular dates about once or twice during the week with a couple of sleepovers and late-night facetime calls thrown in between. Since it was colder, he had at least two hoodies on him at all times. One for you and one for him (but he wouldn’t mind if you took both.) He enjoyed seeing the sight of you curled up in his hoodie when you stayed over at his place or when found himself keeping you company as you edited your podcast for the week.

Once the second semester of the school year started, you started to branch out a little bit more on your own and found yourself being busier as you started joining clubs of your own interest. 

Sure Suna was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be seeing you sitting by the bleachers anymore during practice, but he understood that you had your own passions and needed your own group of friends outside of the boys on volleyball team.

He liked seeing the smile on your face when you talked to him about something your friend had said or about how fun of a day you had after hanging out with them. He had to reassure you many times that he didn’t mind you hanging out with other people at all, you both knew and did your best to balance your time with friends and each other anyways.

Plus, he thought it was quite cute that you’d always give him a quick kiss on the cheek when you’d walk by the water fountain before running off with your club members.

[“Suna hurry up!” he heard Atsumu call for him by the entrance of the gym. 

Suna spared him one glance before straightening himself up and lifting his palm off the button of the water fountain. He gave the setter a nod as he wiped the corner of his lip with the back of his hand. 

Just then, he could hear a familiar voice calling for his name behind him. Not too long after that, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and a chaste kiss pressed on his cheek. The corner of his lip twitched up and he looked down to meet your e/c eyes. “Hey bub, don’t you have club activities?” he asked. You nodded, still not letting go of his waist, “just wanted to come and say hello, so...hello” you grinned. Suna smiled and pressed a kiss to your temple, “well hello to you too” he muttered before wrapping his arms around you and embracing you with all his warmth. 

“Y/n you piece of shit there you are!” 

You jumped back at the sound of your friend’s voice from around the corner. You pulled out of Suna���s embrace and gave him an apologetic smile while rubbing the back of your neck, “Sorry Rin gotta run, see you after school!” you didn’t even give him a chance to respond as you placed one last kiss on his jaw before running off to your friends. 

Even though he could hear the faint yelling of Atsumu’s voice calling for him at the back of his head, his eyes were focused on the way your face turned red as your friends teased you. 

God, who let you be so damn cute]

Suna took out one of his hands from the pocket of his coat and wrapped it over your shoulder and pulled you a bit closer to his side. You leaned into his side and let your hair rest lightly onto his chest.

“You’re so annoying, I’m not making any hot pot for you”

“I will lock you outside of my house”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

Stepping inside the Suna household, you were instantly met with warmth. Suna flickered the lights on as you slipped off your shoes. Suna slipped off his own jacket and motioned for you to give yours to him as well so he could hang it up inside the coat closet. You smiled and put the groceries you were holding in one hand and let him help you shrug off your coat. 

“Here give me your bag, I’ll place it by the couch,” he said with his hand out. You nodded and handed him your backpack as you slipped on some house slippers and made your way towards the kitchen and settled the bags down onto the island. 

As you took the ingredients out of the bag, Suna walked into the living room and turned the TV on to a random show. You were way too invested in deciding which vegetables you wanted to include in the hot pot that you didn’t hear Suna walk towards you with his phone in his hands and the camera app open.

“Babe smile”

“Huh”

Just as you looked up, with mushrooms and green onions in your hand, you hear the sound of the camera shutter go off and Suna snicker. “Cute” he grinned. 

You rolled your eyes, “I thought you only took blackmail of the twins” Suna put his phone down and raised his eyebrows at you, “would you rather have your face or Atsumu’s all over my gallery?” he asked. You thought about it for a minute before nodding, “yeah no never mind you have a point” he chuckled and walked over to you and placed a kiss on your cheek. 

“I need to grab my charger really quick, you know where everything is right?” you nodded, you’ve been over at the Suna residence before and this wouldn’t be the first time you’ve cooked there. 

“Do you need anything upstairs?” he asked. Your ears perked up at the sound of his offer, “Can I borrow a hoodie?” you asked. Suna eyed you up and down, “you’re already wearing one of my hoodies” he stated and narrowed his eyes on the navy blue hoodie over your figure. “No, no, I mean can I wear the really soft one? The black one with the embroidering and cool design on the back” you smiled and gave him a look that you both knew he couldn’t say no for. 

Suna knew what hoodie you were talking about, it was a hoodie that you often wore of his that he hasn’t brought to school in a bit since it was in the laundry. “Think of it as your payment for me since I’m cooking you a meal” you grinned. Suna sighed, “fine, hands up,” he said as put his phone into his pocket and made his way over to you. 

You giggled and did what you were told and lifted your arms up and watched as he held onto the ends of the hoodie and lifted it over your head. Once you felt the sleeves of the hoodie be pulled off your arms, you put them down and straightened your hair and your shirt and smiled up at him, “thank you~” he rolled his eyes “you’re lucky you’re cute” he muttered and looked away which made you laugh. You made your way back to the kitchen and heard his steps going up the stairs.  

You sighed as you eyed down the ingredients, you forgot to ask him if his parents may have wanted some. You didn’t wanna cook too much and not have the means to finish it all but you also didn’t wanna make too little and leave you both hungry. “Better more than less” you thought. 

You turned around and grabbed the cutting board from one of the cabinets and a knife from one of the drawers. Placing the cutting board and the knife on the marble island, you grabbed the bagged vegetables and placed them on a clean plate and discarded the plastic in the trash bin beside the fridge. You ran the vegetables under some water from the sink to clean them before placing them back on the plate and setting them to the side so you could grab another pot and start boiling the water on the stove.

You were silently thankful that Granny and Shin had helped you learn how to make a proper hot pot. As you opened the packet of udon noodles, you were too much in your zone to notice what was happening around you. 

Your cooking was sometimes a hit or miss and with the day you’ve had, you were hungry, and the last thing you wanted was for the meal you took some time to make to taste terrible and leave you hungrier than when you started. The sound of the TV playing in the background drowned and you focused your attention on the cabbage you were cutting. 

You were way too concentrated on making sure that each cabbage slice was the same in length as the rest that you failed to hear the sounds of the front door opening and closing and a female figure walking into the home. 

“Nii-san~oh what the fuck since when did you cook-”

The sudden voice coming into the kitchen and cutting through your concentration made you jump and unfortunately for you, your finger slipped off the cabbage and met the blade of the knife you were using. 

“Oh shit” you hissed in pain and lifted your finger off the cutting board. However, instead of immediately tending to the cut, you looked up at the figure to whom the voice belonged to. 

You looked up and made eye contact with a little girl who was definitely not that much shorter than you. Judging from her middle school uniform, she was definitely between the ages of 11-13. She had brown hair tied into two pigtails, rosy cheeks that were the result of the weather outside, and slim grayish-yellow eyes that were awfully familiar. 

Your brain must’ve short-circuited as two and two didn’t click in your head and a good couple of seconds passed as you both stared at each other in complete silence, mirroring the shocked and confused expression both of you had on your faces. 

Just as you were about to open your mouth and say a word, you watched her face become completely red and she dashed up the stairs leaving you stunned and completely lost while your finger continued to bleed. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

Suna hummed to himself as he rummaged through his closet and tried to find the hoodie of his that you were asking for. He had changed out of his uniform into some more comfortable clothes and had his back towards the door. 

“Shit, where did I put it?” he muttered to himself and closed the doors to his closet. Just as he turned around, the door to his room opened making his eyebrows furrow in annoyance at the amount of force that was used to open his door. 

“Babe did you need something-”

“Nii-san! There’s a pretty girl in our kitchen!”

Oh, that was definitely not the voice of his girlfriend.

Suna sighed and went back to his task of finding the hoodie that you wanted, completely ignoring the sudden appearance of his little sister. However, a small smile tugged on his lips as he heard his sister call you pretty. 

His sister came into his room and looked at her brother in annoyance as she noticed how nonchalant he looked, “hello?? There’s a pretty girl downstairs that is definitely not ‘kaasan so who-” “Idiot. That’s my girlfriend”

His sister blinked at him once,

Then once again,

And one last time just for good measure.

“HUH??” she yelled with a face of disbelief. Suna looked at her weirdly and watched as she flopped down onto his bed with a bewildered expression as she tried to wrap her mind around the new information she was just given. 

“You? Girlfriend? For real?” she asked in shock. The concept of her brother actually getting a girlfriend not clicking in her head. “Are you sure she’s not some group project partner or something?” Suna scrunched his face, “Why do you look so shocked, I told you about her before-” “Nii-san I thought you were lying!” she exclaimed. Suna gave her a blank look and sighed, a part of him not even surprised that his sister thought he was joking.

He rolled his eyes and walked over to slap the back of her head, “Stupid. Why would I lie about that” She gave him an exaggerated shrug, “uh because she’s too pretty for you! She’s even cooking for you! I’m calling it right now that she’s too good for you” she stated and crossed her arms. 

“Rizu, you’re so stupid I swear to god-” he asked. Rizu shook her head “Don’t blame this on me!” Suna gave her an unamused look, “even ‘kaasan and ‘tosan know” Rizu rolled her eyes, “I thought they were in on the joke too!” she exclaimed.

Suna shook his head but took a sigh of relief as he finally found the hoodie he was looking for hanging on the back of his chair, “You’re such a twerp. Did you at least say hi to her?” he asked as he looked down at her once he got the hoodie. Rizu’s face flushed in embarrassment and she scratched the back of her head, “Kinda I guess” Suna narrowed her eyes as he caught on to how nervous she got. He suddenly got suspicious, “what did you do?”

“Nothing bad! I think? just don’t get mad ‘kay?” Suna already began to worry about what she was gonna say. 

“I came in and called for you, but I didn’t know she was cooking so she must’ve been startled and then next thing you know I come in, and we make eye contact and -oh yeah good job Nii-san, you might be stupid but you’ve got a good eye. She’s wow, took my whole breath away you know?- anyways I had to take a sec to admire her, but I think I startled her and I think she cut herself because her finger was bleeding and then I panicked and yeah now I’m here,” she said all in one breath and met eyes with his blank once as she gave him a bright smile. 

“Rizu”

“Hm?”

“I’m gonna throw out all your posters”

“Wait what?! No Nii-san come back!!”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

“Rizu say sorry”

Your eyes shifted from your boyfriend who was wrapping a paw patrol bandaid on your finger to the same little girl who stood beside him and was sheepishly looking down at the floor and avoiding all eye contact with you. 

Suna sat you down on a chair in the dining room and a part of you was zoning out as you tried to wrap your mind around what was happening. Looking at the girl who has a striking resemblance to Suna, it didn’t take a genius to know that this was his sister. They had the same striking eyes, cocoa brown hair, and she was even a bit taller for her age. 

There was no denying it, this was definitely his sister. 

But for the life of you, you can’t remember if your quiet bean pole of a boyfriend ever told you of her. Surely you would’ve remembered if he had told you. Did he forget? Or maybe you just failed to notice her presence. Then again you had been over multiple times but you don’t ever remember seeing her. 

“Sorry” she muttered quietly and began to play with the material of her school uniform top. 

Suna rolled his eyes and nudged her with his elbow, “at least look at her when you’re gonna say it” Just as you were about to interject and say that it was okay and it really wasn’t a big deal, Rizu looked up at you, her eyes glassy and her lip slightly jutting out as she puffed her cheeks, “I’m so sorry! You’re very pretty! My head malfunctioned! Please don’t break up with Nii-san! He’s lonely!” she cried. Your eyes widened, taken back by her “apology” and Suna only rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue in annoyance.  

“I-it’s fine really, it’s just a small cut anyways, no biggie Rizu-chan” you assured.

At the way you said her name, Rizu’s whole mood flipped. Her eyes instantly sparkled and she looked up at you with a face of adoration. She wiped away her tears away with the sleeve of her top and harshly pushed her brother to the side making him let go of your hands as he stumbled over. Your eyes widened at the amount of strength inside the little girl in front of you as she managed to push away your 6ft tall boyfriend to the side like it was nothing. 

“Really? Are you sure it’s okay? Y/n right? I’m gonna call you Y/n-chan! I think we’d make great friends” she beamed, her eyes still twinkling as she looked at you with an excited daze. “How come we’ve never met before? I thought Nii-san was lying about you. Do you like drama? how about musicals? You can come to my show next week! And are you sure you’re dating Nii-san? You can run now I can distract him for you-” your mind couldn’t even process the words she was saying with how fast she was talking. You felt your palms starting to get clammy and a part of you began internally panicking at how overwhelmed you were feeling.

In Rizu’s perspective, she had always wanted an older sister but was instead cursed with (in her words) a musty older brother. Now that she knew of his girlfriend, she wasn’t gonna let the opportunity slip away. They were gonna become the best of friends. She knew it.

You laughed nervously and nodded along during her incoherent ramble before turning to Suna with a slight look of panic as you didn’t know what to do or how to handle her sudden change of emotions and the never ending fountain of words leaving her mouth. 

Suna sensed your need for his help, he knew that little kids were never really your strong point. Along with Kita, you also lived with his little siblings who were your little cousins. They were the ages of 4 and 9 and you often complained to him about how they gave you a headache with how loud and rambunctious they were. 

He had to hold back a laugh at how panic you began to look when his sister began to talk your ear off. She kept switching topics and was now rambling on about how pretty you were and asking what moisturizer you used because your skin looked so soft and why you decided to date her brother who she considered looked like a malnourished raccoon. 

Shaking his head and holding back a smile, he walked over and flicked his sister’s forehead making her stop midway into her sentence and whine. “The hell was that for!” she cried as she rubbed the sore spot on her head. 

Suna rolled his eyes at her dramatics and stuffed one of his hands into his pockets while the other found its way to rest on the small of your back, drawing shapes on the cotton fabric of the black hoodie that he slipped onto your figure when he got back downstairs. “Stop being so rude brat. Relax and introduce yourself first before you start thinking about getting buddy-buddy already” he scolded in his usual bored tone.

You were baffled. Seeing your boyfriend act like a responsible big brother was something you were definitely not prepared to see today. 

Hell, you didn’t even know he had a sister until literally a couple of minutes ago. 

Suna felt you staring at him and looked down at you with one of his brows slightly raised up as if he was asking if you were okay. Before you could reassure him that you were fine, Rizu cleared her throat and took a step back from you. 

She put a hand on her hip while she proudly pointed her thumb to her chest as she looked at you with a confident and prideful smile. “Suna Rizue, Rizu for short, Class 2-B Representative and Vice president of the Nobara Middle School drama club” she exclaims proudly. She flipped away one of her pigtails back behind her shoulder before crossing her arms, the same prideful smile never leaving her lips while her eyes had a flash of mischievousness in them. “I’m also known around this household as the prettiest Suna sibling. ‘Kaasan said so herself” she spoke triumphantly. 

You stifled a laugh as Suna clicked his tongue and muttered “dramatic brat” under his breath. 

As you felt yourself slowly relax, you stood from your seat, realizing not too long after that you were barely taller than his little sister but chose to ignore that minor detail, you extended your hand out to his sister and watched the way her face lit up. “L/n Y/n, Class 2-5 and member of the Inarizaki art club. While your brother is cute, I have to agree that you are the prettier Suna sibling” you joked and turned to Suna momentarily with a teasing glint with your eyes. Suna only narrowed his eyes at you and furrowed his brows which made both you and Rizu laugh. 

You turned back to Rizu and smiled, “It’s nice to meet you Rizu-chan, Rin doesn’t really bring you up much-” or ever “so I’m sorry it took so long for us to meet.”

Rizu shook her head, “It’s okay! Nii-san talks about you sometimes but I thought he was just lying. He’s kind of lame and he zones out a lot so I thought you were just some weird figment of his imagination that he made to cope with his loneliness” your jaw dropped, were kids always this blunt? 

Rizu shrugged and pulled her phone out of her backpack, “But whatever, I guess the universe felt bad for him and decided not to make him some lonely loser. Anyways, can we exchange numbers Y/n-chan? I wanna send you Nii-sans baby photos” she smiled and looked up at you hopefully. At the sound of Suna’s baby photos being offered up on the table, you quickly nodded and typed in your contact info into her phone. 

Suna’s jaw dropped ever so slightly before scoffing and looking away as he crossed his arms. “Can’t believe my own girlfriend is ganging up on me with my sister” he thought in disbelief. 

“Rizu-chan you’re brother and I are gonna make some hot pot, want some?” you asked as you handed her phone back into her hands. Rizu nodded enthusiastically, “that sounds great! Can I help? Please!” she asked in a hopeful tone as she brought her hands together. You laughed and nodded and watched her beam and skip away to the kitchen. 

Before following her, you turned around to look up at Suna with a frown on your face and your arms crossed over your chest. Suna looked back at you, unsure of why you were giving him that look. “What?” he asked, which only made you look at him in disbelief at his cluelessness. You scoffed and rolled your eyes before making your way towards him and slapping his arm, “You idiot! You never told me you had a little sister” you hissed. 

Suna blinked at you, “I didn’t?” he asked, genuinely confused, while raising one of his eyebrows. You looked at him incredulously and shook your head, “no!” you exclaimed. “God I can’t believe you didn’t tell me” you muttered and looked away, cheeks warming up in embarrassment.

Suna eyed your actions and sighed knowing that he must’ve upset you. If he’s being honest, he didn’t mean to keep you in the dark about his sister. He just always had his mind on you whenever the two of you would hang out so he truthfully forgot about his sister whenever you two were together. He sighed, he leaned back to sit on the edge of the dining room table before grabbing your arm and pulling you closer to his chest. 

When you didn’t budge against him, he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and he leaned his head on your shoulders before muttering a quiet, “sorry” into the fabric of his hoodie. A couple seconds passed before you gave in and wrapped your arms around his waist, embracing his warmth. 

Truthfully you weren’t upset or mad at him, just a bit embarrassed that you never knew about his sister until literally a couple of moments ago. You remember how nervous you were when you first met his parents and felt all those nerves coming back because you wanted to impress his little sister. 

You pulled away first and scratched the back of your neck, “It’s fine Rin I’m not mad. If anything I’m just a bit embarrassed that I never noticed. I mean I’ve met your parents and been over multiple times. Plus I’ve slept over like twice already!” you exclaimed. 

Suna moved his arms off your shoulder and used one to support his weight on the table while the other moved your hair away from your face and tucked some strands behind your ear. “It’s not your fault, The brat is always away doing her drama club stuff or whatever so she doesn’t get back until I’ve already walked you home for the night. For the sleepover, I think it’s just a coincidence that she would be away while you were over” he said and you nodded. 

Suna stared at you for a moment, he caught onto how uneasy you looked and immediately figured out why. “Babe, don’t worry about impressing Rizu too much. Trust me, she already likes you a lot” he said while using his thumb to rub the side of your neck gently. 

You nodded slowly before looking up at him with a confused expression, “how did you forget to tell me huh?” you asked. Suna thought back for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly, “I only think of you when we’re together, the brat is old enough to take care of herself” he admitted bluntly.

Your cheeks warmed up and you chuckled making Suna’s chest erupt in butterflies at the sight of your smile. “Calling your sister a brat is kind of rude you know?” you teased. He looked at you with an unamused expression, “you call your little cousins' demon spawns as if that’s any better” he pointed out. You opened your mouth but quickly closed it as you realized he was right. 

Suna pushed himself off of the table and walked towards you and you already saw the mischievous look in his eyes. He leaned down, his lips just barely brushing over yours, “am I forgiven?” he asked in a hushed tone. Your face quickly turned into a bright shade of red once you realized how close he got. While the offer was tempting and his lips were right there, you remembered that his sister was only just a couple feet away from the two of you and you didn’t want to risk her seeing anything. 

You didn’t answer and only looked away, flustered, which made Suna chuckle. He pecked the corner of your lips before straightening himself up, “I’ll take that as a yes” he smirked, making you roll your eyes. 

Suna then grabbed your shoulders and turned you around as he pushed you into the kitchen where his little was sitting on top of the counter wearing a blue apron while a pink folded apron was in her hands. 

She looked up at the two of you entering the kitchen, she smiled at you and noticed how flustered you. She shot her brother a look of disgust. “Ew don’t tell me you were making out in the dining room. So gross Nii-san” she commented as her brother walked towards her to grab the extra apron in her hands. 

Suna looked at her with his normal bored and lazy expression, “shut it brat” he said before turning his back and making his way towards you. Rizu rolled her eyes and turned her attention back onto her phone. It wasn’t until she started to hear the two of you banter when she put down her phone in her lap and watched the way you and her brother interacted. 

She listened to you ask about what vegetables he would want in the hot pot and watched as he moved behind your back and pushed your hair over your shoulder so he could tie the strings of the pink apron behind your neck. 

The sight was strange and oddly sweet. Rizu always thought that her brother would be a terrible boyfriend. He was quiet, borderline lazy, and had no romantic bone in him. He seemed like the type of partner who would do nothing but the bare minimum when they’re in a relationship. He was often annoyed at the sight of other couples and he never had much interest in being in a relationship himself which was partly the reason why Rizu didn’t think to believe him when he told their parents that he had a girlfriend out of the blue one day.

[“Rintarou stop playing around” Their mother chuckled. 

“No for real, I have a girlfriend and she wants to go stargazing so I’ll be home late” he said monotonically before slipping on his shoes and heading out the door.

Rizu watched as her parents exchanged a lost expression with a mix of disbelief towards each other. Part of them were surprised, part of them were happy, but part of them didn’t know if he was playing around or not. 

“Did you know about this?” Their mother asked their Dad who was grabbing a glass from the cupboard. Their Dad only shook his head, “No. You think that’s why he’s been so busy lately?” he asked only to receive a clueless shrug from his wife. 

Rizu rolled her eyes and jumped up from the couch to face her parents. “Come on this is Nii-san we’re talking about. He’s probably just lying. He can’t even talk to girls, let alone get a full on girlfriend”]

“That statement didn’t age well” Rizu thought.

Her eyes followed the way he had the smallest smile on his face as he adjusted your apron, asking afterwards if it was comfortable or if you needed him to adjust it better. Once you told him it was okay, he moved onto gathering your hair into his hands and tying it back with the small black silk band he had around his wrist. Suna placed his hands back onto your shoulders to turn you around to face him. He brought his hand over your face and moved the fly-aways to the side while tucking the loose pieces behind your ear. 

After he was done, you stood on your tippy-toes and pressed a kiss onto his cheek and whispered a quiet “thank you Rin Rin.” She narrowed her eyes and had to hold back her urge to laugh at how the tips of his ears lit up into a bright shade of red. It was then that she concluded one thing:

“he’s so fucking whipped” she muttered under her breath.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

“Wait are you serious? He really gave you a can of lemonade for your birthday?” you asked looking up from the meat you were slicing in bewilderment as Rizu nodded. “Mhm! It wasn’t even the brand I liked, it was the generic ones that had too much sugar” she explained as she moved past you to set the bowl of mushrooms she had cut up with the other vegetables. 

You turned to look at Suna who was sitting on a stool by the kitchen island with his attention fully on his phone. “Is this true?” you questioned. Suna didn’t even look up from his phone as he simply replied, “she likes lemonade.”

 You stifled a laugh at his answer and Rizu only scowled. She nudged your arm and whispered “I dunno how you put up with him” into your ear making you giggle. 

Cooking with the Suna siblings was definitely interesting, to say the least. You weren’t surprised to see that Rizu was a complete polar opposite from her brother. Judging from her first words to you, you knew that she was a lot more outspoken than her brother. While Suna was quiet, Rizu spoke as if she had a microphone taped onto her mouth. She was talkative and energetic while Suna always seemed like he was close to shutting off at any given moment. 

Their dynamic was different, to say the least. Rizu lived up to the annoying little sister type while her brother looked as if he could care less about whatever she did. However, all siblings had at least one thing in common and between them, and you figured out what that thing was quickly. 

They both shared a high level of pettiness. 

If one said something the other didn’t like, they’d find something expose worthy to embarrass the other person. It was a constant back and forth of how could embarrass the other person the worst. 

When Rizu told you that Suna didn’t learn how to tie his shoelaces until he was 8, Suna told you that she failed her math test. When Suna told you that she once slipped on stage mid-performance, Rizu told you that Suna came to their mother when he needed dating advice. 

[ Nii-san shut up! The stage was slippery and my costume was a long dress!” Rizu cried out dramatically. Suna rolled his eyes, “the costumes of your classmates were long but you didn’t see them tripping all over the stage” he teased. Rizu’s jaw dropped, a fire inside lit up as she felt herself getting angry with her older brother. ‘Two can play at this game’ she thought. 

Rizu scoffed and turned to face her body towards you as she leaned onto the counter. “You know Yn-chan, Nii-san always asks ‘kaasan about what he should do to impress you! You know that sunflower field date? He and ‘Kaasan planned that whole thing together ‘cause Nii-san is a clueless idiot and didn’t know what to do” You turned your head to the side and looked at Rizu with a curious expression before briefly looking at your boyfriend who had tensed up. 

“Really now? Rin had me convinced that he did all the planning himself” you teased as you narrowed your eyes at him. Suna huffed, “she just let me use her card to pay for the stupid tickets, I did everything else.” he muttered. 

You chuckled, noticing the way his cheeks puffed out and how the tips of his ears started to turn red. You smiled as you nodded at what Rizu saying, momentarily glancing at him every so often. 

How cute.

Suna then looked up from his phone, a devious smirk on his lips as he knew the perfect moment to us in order to one-up her previous statement.

“Babe did you know that Rizu sleeps with an Eren body pillow-”

“shut up!!” ]

It was a never-ending petty battle between the two siblings. 

Nonetheless, you could tell that they still cared about each other. Albeit in their own special way. 

Rizu rolled her eyes and turned to you and leaned closer, whispering loud enough so that her brother could hear, “Y/n-chan are you sure you’re actually his girlfriend? Like willingly? If he’s paying you then I can guarantee that he’s not paying you enough. Blink twice if you need help-hey!” she whined as she felt a mushroom hit her arm. You both turned to Suna who had a smug smile on his face, “stop talking shit about me brat.” Rizu narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, “or what Nii-san?” she challenged. “I’ll tell ‘kaasan that you walked home with that boy yesterday,” he shot back. 

Rizu’s smirked dropped, “hey! You promised you wouldn’t tell her!” she whined. Suna shrugged his shoulders, “I lied” he replied simply. Rizu scoffed, “I can’t believe you’re dating such a meanie!” she exclaimed and began to angrily stir the broth in the pot.

You watched her actions momentarily before walking around the kitchen island and towards Suna and whacking his arm with a towel you were using to dry your hands. “Stop being so mean to your sister!” you scolded. He looked at you with an unamused expression as he rubbed his arm, “she was mean to me first,” he defended himself bluntly. You rolled your eyes and turned your back to go and start frying the beef.

A comfortable silence came into the kitchen as you and his sister continued cooking. Of course, this silence didn’t last long as the two siblings would go back to their back and forth bantering but nonetheless, there was a comfortable and homey aura in the atmosphere. 

The hot pot was coming together and you occasionally would have Suna try the meat and make sure that it tasted okay. Suna may not be the one cooking, but he had offered his assistance early on by cutting some of the tofu and cooking the udon noodles. You and Rizu would trail off and have your own conversation, missing the way Suna would glance up at the two of you, his hands propping up his phone as he took photos of the two of you laughing and joking around together. 

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Once the hot pot was ready, you asked Suna to prepare the table while you and Rizu set the food down. Since it was nearing 6pm by the time you and Rizu had finished cooking, you all considered this an early dinner. You sat beside Suna while Rizu sat across from you as you all enjoyed a warm bowl of hot pot during a cold winter night. 

Suna watched as you and Rizu talked about a certain anime you both had been watching and took everything within him to not smile at the moment. Seeing you interact with his sister warmed his heart and a part of him was relieved that you two got along well. 

He knew that Rizu was a bit overbearing and you weren’t a big fan of younger children so he was worried that you two would clash. 

But alas, seeing that two of you laugh together put him at ease. 

After dinner, Rizu knew better than to try and third wheel you and her brother. She could see from the way his shoulder kept brushing past yours and how his hands kept getting closer and closer to yours during dinner that he was itching to get any sort of alone time with you. 

She could be a little shit and steal you from him during another day.

Before scurrying off to her room, Rizu gave you a high five before exclaiming once again that you’re really pretty and way too good for her stupid brother while also saying that she would text you his baby photos later. You laughed and nodded along and she flashed Suna a cheeky smile before running up the stairs. 

Once his sister was finally gone, Suna grabbed your wrist and dragged you over to the kotatsu sofa in his living room and practically dragged you down. “Well aren’t you clingy” you teased as he pulled up the blankets over your legs. Suna rolled his eyes, muttering a quiet “shut up” as he laid down and made himself comfortable under the blankets. 

You mirrored his actions, shuffling under the blankets and finding a comfy spot to lay on. Suna’s hands found their way around your waist and he moved you closer to him, letting your head rest against his chest. You couldn’t help but laugh at how clingy he was being as you watched him shift so you were laying on top of him while he hugged you as if you were a teddy bear. 

Suna leaned his head back comfortably on the couch cushion as closed his eyes and a content smile came over his face. “You’re so warm,” he muttered quietly. You smiled “I think that’s just the kotatsu heating Rin,” you said quietly muttered into his chest. “No it’s definitely you, I always feel warm when I’m with you” he whispered. 

You smiled, not failing the way his words made butterflies erupt in your stomach “how cheesy” you teased while momentarily lifting your head so you could poke his cheek. “Whatever” he sighed, his arms around your waist slowly holding you just a bit tighter. “I thought we were supposed to be studying Rin” you said quietly. “Tomorrow, too comfortable right now” he answered back. You giggled, “you just want me to come back huh.” Suna didn’t even bother to deny, only simply nodding and humming a faint “mhm” before relaxing his body. 

A wave of comfortable silence came once again as you two embraced each other's warmth. Your ear was pressed against his chest and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling you into sleep. Slowly but surely you found yourself getting drowsy from your comfortable position and you no longer had any energy left in you to stop your eyes from closing.

Suna wasn’t surprised to hear the faint sounds of your gentle snoring not too long after. For a moment he sat up, careful not to wake you, and he took a moment to just admire you. How soft, gentle, and unbothered you looked in his arms. He removed one of his hands from your waist and gently rubbed your arm, he stiffened for a moment as watched as you shuffled slightly before relaxing against him once again. His body loosened up and a small smile spread on his lips, ‘How could someone be so damn pretty’ he thought. 

He admired you for a moment longer. His head replaying the memories you two made in the past 5 months while silently looking forward to what you two had in store together in the future. 

He petted your head gently as he wondered starting about what he should do for your 6 months. You’ve been talking about ice skating after seeing it in a movie so he considered that as an option. The idea of seeing you excitedly skating under the twinkling lights of the ice rink made Suna excited. He knew he couldn’t skate, but he didn’t really care. Just sharing the moment with you was enough for him. 

Slowly, his own exhaustion from the day soon caught up to him and soon enough he was getting tired as well. He shuffled back down and rested his head on the cushions. He lifted his hands off your waist to adjust the blanket over you two, make sure you were all snuggled up and warm. 

Just before he surrendered himself to sleep, he pressed a soft kiss on the top of your head and another one on your forehead. Whispering a faint “love you” before closing his eyes, failing to notice the small smile that grew on your lips.

However, he didn’t fail to feel the heart that your finger softly drew on his chest. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

Bonus Scene 

“Nii-san can I borrow a pencil?”

Suna looked up from his phone and narrowed his eyes at his sister who was standing by his doorway. Suna looked at her blankly, for a moment he grew suspicious of why she suddenly wanted a pencil but he was honestly far too tired to even try and figure out what she really wanted. “It’s on my desk,” he said plainly as he nodded his head over to his desk on the other side of his room. 

Rizu nodded and made her way over to his desk that was placed in front of his window. Rizu came in front of his desk and scanned the surface for what she needed. He had an open notebook with unfinished work displayed in the middle while his pen holders lined up the top of his desk. 

Rizu saw a pencil sitting inside his pen holder and reached out her hands to take a hold of it. Just as she was about to turn around and leave his room so she could finish up her work, she noticed something taped on the side of his wall that was being covered up by the curtain blowing in front of it. 

While she knew it was wrong to snoop around other people's things, she was empty of blackmail against him and that reason alone was enough for her to justify her actions. She turned around to look back at her brother and saw that he was fairly distracted and took that moment as an opportunity to push the curtain aside. 

However, instead of finding incriminating blackmail, all she saw was a picture of you and him taped from what looked like to be the inside of the photobooths at the movie theatres. The first picture was of you two smiling (well more you than him), the second was you kissing cheek, the 3rd one he had pulled you to sit on top of his lap and he was now the one kissing your cheek, and the last photo was the two of you smiling genuinely to each other, paying no attention to the camera as you both got too caught up in the moment. 

“I hate how they're so cute,” she admitted in her head.

Rizu’s eyes then drifted from the wall that had a bunch of other taped printed photos of you and him to his window sill where a bunch of little trinkets were displayed along with a singular photo frame. 

Her eyes looked over the little trinkets. He had some action figures and random knick-knacks. Nothing interesting in her opinion. “Typical boy stuff, nothing I can use against him,” she thought. Looking past the small transformers' action figure, she kept looking at his window sill until she stopped and stared at a paper box full of little things inside. She squinted her eyes, her eyes having a hard time seeing what it was with how dark it was in his room. She leaned closer and upon further inspection, it finally dawned on her what was inside the box.

It was a bunch of little origami strawberries. 

A bunch of little origami strawberries piled on top of each other, some had wrinkled leaves while others had bent corners. Rizu then looked back at his desk and saw a small stack of red and green papers neatly set on the corner of his desk. 

“weird,” she thought. 

Her eyes shifted from the paper box to the small white square frame where there was a photo of you inside sitting at the edge of the window sill. 

Surrounding you were rows and rows of sunflowers that were facing towards the sun. You were clad in a pretty dress with small floral patterns along with a small sun hat on your head that was tipped back so the sun was hitting your face. Your hair was blown back behind your shoulder, your left hand was holding a bunch of sunflowers while your right hand was resting on top of your hat, holding it down so it wouldn’t be blown away by the wind. Your eyes were closed and you had the warmest smile on your lips as you were basking into the afternoon sunshine. The sunlight was kissing your skin so perfectly that she swore you were glowing. You looked so peaceful, relaxed, and content. It was clear that you weren’t trying to pose for the camera, this photo captured you and all your natural beauty. 

You looked ethereal. 

She looked back at her brother and back at the basket of origami strawberries and the photo frame and concluded one other thing.

“what a fucking simp”

a/n: yes it’s may but this story takes place in december oops

UGH WORDS CANT DESCRIBE HOW SUNA AND Y/N MAKE ME SO HAPPY. DEADASS THIS EXTRA WARMED MY HEART AND SO I HOPE IT WARMED YOUR HEART TOO. 

I promised a while back that I was going to make an extra that featured suna’s little sister. Personally, I feel like Suna’s sister with be the complete opposite of him. Hence why I wrote her to be very dramatic and enthusiastic. He’s probably able to put up with the miya twins bullshit because his sister already made him go through so much LMAO

I’m uncertain if this is going to be my last extra for club stupid. I have one last long fic idea in mind but truthfully I’m not sure when I’ll get to writing it </3

Regardless, thank you guys so much for the love and appreciation for this series. It really means a lot to me and I’m glad to see people continue to enjoy it :)

a/n 2: ayo where do i find myself a suna? genuinely asking and in need of help. 

taglist! [CLOSED] @aircorumble​@elianetsantana​ @versatilewindow @introvertatitsfinest​ @aristatrois​ @mizukisonoda​ @amberisnotcrazy​ @kritiiiii​ @iloveyouasmuchaspoohloveshoney​ @a-moon-fairy ​ @akaasht​ @lotusweebs​ @marvelous-maxi​ @laughingismorefun​ @hhmnvm​ @sweetyrina​ @honeydrip​ @miracleboy420​ @rachelexe​ @charsdummb​ @mjoork @loser-keiji​ @dinablossom​ @ntimacy​ @kac-chowsballs​@unhappyraspberry @sbaepsae ​ @doebopeepeebbod @missalienqueen​@ssuna​ @violenthead​ @unstableye​ @tycrackculture​​ @a-applepi​​ i @lollyzen​​ @aisawa-reo​​ @ashybitch89​ @sunflowerirl​ @sapphicstarss​ @melodiamore​ @valrubiii @urbasicaveragegirl @mint-mai @4kaashl @sugawsites @anngelllla @applekenm @bumblebeesofspace @dreamstormings @milkingkageyama @tsumu-core @luvelyxp @aquariarose

[it’s been a long time since I updated this series so i apologize if I am unable to tag you 🥲]

[noladyme]

You and Me makes Three - Part 1

Lyla moved to San Fransisco for work, and for a fresh start. The standoffish guy across the hall of her sublet peaks her interest in more ways than one; and when he finally opens up, she jumps at the chance to get to know him; and whatever it is his dark secret is.

Eddie Brock x OC Lyla

TW: smut and fluff

1.

I’d found the sublet on craigslist; which I came to regret, when meeting the current tenant. Ziggy – as the guy called himself – turned out to be a long haired ultra-deuche; who’d spent most of our first meeting looking down my top, and talking about his upcoming tour of Illinois, with his band; Dirty Riders. I’d had my share of adventures with guys in bands; but in Ziggy’s case, I could literally smell the perfume from the chick he’d probably banged the night before.

After spending 20 minutes trying to distract me from the task at hand; I finally got him back on track, and we’d come to an agreement on the rent for the 3 months I’d be using his place. It was steep, but after having landed the job at a private school – and having been asked to start the week after – I needed a home; if only temporarily, while I looked for something else.

With most of my stuff in storage; all I had with me the day I was supposed to move in, was a couple of suitcases; and three boxes of essentials – like my books, pens and notes. And of course, my computer – my lifeline.

The neighborhood wasn’t the greatest; so, when I realized the door phone wasn’t working, and the Zigster wasn’t answering his cell, I was lightly panicking. I was standing alone on a street in a new city; with my most valued belongings, and no way to get out of there; as the cab that had brought me, took off as soon as the driver got my last box out of the trunk.

I kept calling Ziggy, and pounding the button for the apartment; but nothing came of it. I sat down on the doorstep, and was just about ready to cry; when a guy in his 30’s, wearing a casual leather jacket, walked up to the door with a key. “Excuse me”, he muttered, pulling out his keys. I looked up at him. It was hard making out his eye-color – blues, greens and browns meshed together to make a color all of its own. I found myself caught up in trying to distinguish the different shades in them; when I realized that he was about to unlock the door, and walk in.

“Hey”, I said. “Do you live here?”. He sent me a friendly but reserved smile; making me also notice his full lips; and the way his front teeth were just a little bit crooked – just enough to make him look interesting. “Yeah”, he said. “I do… Can I help you?”. I let out a relieved smile. “I live here too”, I said. “Or, I’m supposed to… I’m subletting from Ziggy”. He raised his brows. “You’re a friend of Ziggys?”. “Not exactly”, I scoffed. “He’s leaving town for a few months, and is letting me use his place… but the door-phone isn’t working, and he isn’t picking up his cell”.

The man seemed to be having an internal dialogue, before coming to a conclusion. “Yeah. Ok… come on in”. “Thank you!”, I smiled; almost crying in relief. I picked up my suitcases, as he unlocked the door, and carried them inside; after which I got the first two boxes – the man holding the door for me. I thought I heard him mutter “Fine!” under his breath, before he stepped outside, grabbing the last box for me. “Oh crap! Careful, that’s heavy”, I managed to say; before he groaned from the weight of the many books, I’d stored in it. “Shit, no kidding”, he grunted.

He put the box down just inside the door. “Do you need help up the stairs?”, he asked; obviously hoping for me to say no. I smiled and shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. But thanks!”, I said. I stuck out my hand to shake his, and told him my name. “I’m Eddie”, he answered. “I guess we’re neighbors. I live across the hall from Ziggy”. “Thanks for the help, Eddie”, I grinned. “I’m Lyla… by the way”. “Nice to meet you”, he muttered. He walked up the stairs, sending me an inquisitive look over his shoulder.

Five trips up and down the stairs later; I finally had all my things outside Ziggys door. I tried calling him again; and heard a phone ring behind the door. You’ve got to be kidding me! I banged the door. “Ziggy! I’m here”, I yelled. “Open up, you dick”, I added, below my breath. I looked behind me, at what was apparently Eddies door; and saw something move behind the peephole.

I banged the door again. “Ziggy?”. Someone coughed and moved around some stuff behind the door; and Ziggy finally opened; looking at me with a seriously hungover expression. “Fuck. What’s today?”, he rasped. “Wednesday”, I said exasperatedly. His eyes widened. “Shit, beautiful. I’m so sorry!”, he said smilingly. “Come one in!”. “My name is Lyla”, I reminded him, and stepped in behind him. “Lyla-licious”, Ziggy sniggered; making me want to barf violently.

The studio apartment was, if possible, worse than I had imagined. A heavy smell of incense, weed and stale beer hung over the room; and a collection of bongs shaped like female torsos sat on a shelf. Ziggy had decorated the wall over his bed with posters of his own band.

Ziggy scrambled to get his things together. Apparently, he’d not packed up his things for the upcoming tour of steakhouses, coffeeshops and dive-bars throughout Illinois. “Let me just get this…”, he smirked at me; before rubbing himself as close as possible to me to get to a pack of xxl-condoms on a shelf in the kitchen area. “You know, if you need it, you’re welcome to hang around after I get back”. “I’m gonna be pretty focused on getting something permanent set up”, I smiled; swallowing bile. “Absolutely, yeah. That’s so cool”, he said; leaning against the counter I was standing by. “Just let me know, ok?”. He put his hand on my shoulder, and squeezed it. “Sure…”, I said, and stepped back; going to check out the rest of the space.

It was one room – combined livingspace/bedroom/kitchen. A small bathroom with – thank God! – a bathtub; which was going to need some serious cleaning before I’d even put a foot in it. But it was mine… at least for the next three months. It’s not a lot, I thought to myself. But I can work with this.

Ziggy seemed to have his stuff packed up; and was standing in the doorway to the small bathroom; blocking my exit. He had a guitarcase casually hanging from one shoulder. “So… I’m ready to go”, he smirked. I nodded and half smiled. “Keys?”, I said. “Right. Here…”. He handed me a set of keys “If I get any mail…”. “I’ll let you know; once a week, like we agreed”. “Yeah”, he smirked and nodded; looking me over like I was edible. “So, I’ll call you?”. I swallowed bile again. “Yup”, I said, and reached out my hand to shake his. He took it; and held on to it; letting his thumb stroke my fingers. I will tear off your arm if you don’t let go, I thought to myself.

“Take care, Lyla”, he said; and winked at me; before finally moving away from the doorframe; and grabbing his bags to leave. “Shit, I forgot. The guy across the hall… he’s kind a of weird. Be careful, ok?”. “Sure…”, I muttered, and walked after him to the door, closing it behind him. I let out an audible sigh of relief, and put on the door chain.

---

I opened the windows, and got to cleaning. An old ashtray shaped like an avocado, turned out to be an actual shell of an avocado; and for the third time that day, I almost vomited. Riffling through some old dusty cd’s of Ziggys, I found a Fleetwood Mac album. “Yes!”, I cried out. At least you have that going for you, Ziggy, I thought – until I realized he’d never unwrapped the cellophane around the cover. I unwrapped it myself, put on the album; and skipped to my favorite song; singing along to the lyrics. “… well, I’ve been afraid of changing, ‘cuz I built my life around you. But time makes you bolder, even children get older…”.

Someone knocked on the door. For a second, I was afraid Ziggy had changed his mind about touring, and had come back. I opened the door slightly, leaving the chain on. Outside stood Eddie. “Hi”, I said cautiously. He seemed warmer. “Hey. I think you dropped this in the hallway”. He was holding one of my notebooks. I unlatched the chain, and opened the door fully, taking the book from him. “Weird”, I said. “I could swear I’d packed it in the bottom of one of the boxes”. Eddie smiled nervously. “Well… maybe it jumped out”, he said. “Maybe”, I chuckled. “Thanks”.

He lingered. “The music…”, he said. “I’m sorry. Is it too loud?”, I asked. He shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine”, he said. “Just different than what usually comes out of this apartment”. I laughed. “Yeah… The Zigster seems to have a very specific taste”. “Yeah?”, Eddie smiled. “You should see his collection”, I said. He nodded and smiled crookedly. “Maybe… sometime”.

I noticed the door to his apartment was open. It seemed like the mirror opposite of mine. Just less disgusting. I met Eddies eyes. I still couldn’t figure out the color of them – all I could conclude was that they were… kind. I would have lost myself in them, if he hadn’t turned to walk back into his own place. “Uhm, Eddie?”, I said. He looked at me again. “Could you point me in the direction of a good… grocery store?”. Idiot… He scratched his head. “Yeah, I mean… I do most my shopping at Mrs. Chens, down the street”, he said. “Just don’t tell her you know me. She’ll try to sell you meditation tapes and scented candles”. I laughed. “A scented candle wouldn’t hurt this place”, I said. “Ziggy left behind some pretty gnarly smells”. He laughed. “He’s a… special guy”. Our eyes met again for a moment. Eddie seemed to want to say something else, but then his eyes moved, as if he was listening to something. “I gotta go”, he said; and went into his apartment, closing the door. He's strange, I thought. But something inside me wanted to figure him out.

---

The next few days went by without much happening. I finally finished cleaning my new living-space – except for the mattress. I couldn’t get myself to sleep on it, after I’d taken of the old bedding left behind by Ziggy; and finding quite a few stains I didn’t even want to touch with rubber-gloves – so I’d slept on the couch so far.

Once, I’d run in to Eddie by the mail slots; exchanging a friendly helloand a smile. He seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the door, carrying a messenger-bag and a motorcycle helmet. I noticed him opening his own slot. It had E. Brock, written with bold letters on it. Watching him walk away down the hall to the door; I couldn’t help but bite my lip and smile. He moved like he was late for something; but at the same time didn’t want anyone to tell him when he was supposed to get there. Like some kind of internal struggle, I just wanted to unwrap and explore.

Saturday morning, I woke up early for once, craving coffee and carbs. I had neither of those things in the kitchen; so, I got dressed in my favorite jeans and a light, loose t-shirt, to head out and track something down. As I was still new to San Francisco, I wasn’t sure about how the weather would be in October. I brought my short leather jacket. Just in case. I put a notebook and a pen in my shoulder-bag, and was off.

Outside the building I grabbed a free paper to have something to read. I took a streetcar towards the Mission District; enjoying the sunshine and smells from food carts we passed. Hunger was about to take me over; and I opened my paper, to distract myself. The headlines were mostly fluff stories and ads; except for a couple on the murder of a local politician, and animal attacks by the harbor. Some drug dealers had been found with their heads bitten clean off. I winced at the thought; before turning the page, and a new header caught my eye.

Home robberies in Downtown Oakland – Gangs or criminals on city payroll? - Story by Eddie Brock.

I was surprised for a second. He didn’t strike me as a journalist in the traditional sense.

The story was mostly an opinion piece, but was based heavily on facts he’d dug up from interviews with victims, and homeless youth in the area of the robberies. Eddie was questioning the arrests made on young gang members for the crimes; and in stead suggesting that city-leadership was paying crime syndicates to commit the robberies, to be able to gentrify the area. If he was right; this was a big story; so, I was finding it strange to see the story in a free newspaper.

I arrived near Mission Dolores Park; having read about a nice, upmarket coffee shop there; with donuts that the blogger had written were to absolutely die for. They turned out to be less so. After standing in line for 30 minutes; I was handed a stale cup of organically sourced, fairtrade coffee; and a donut that was hard enough to break a window. Stepping outside the shop; I decided to give it a chance; and bit in to it – instantly almost choking on the floury consistency of the pastry.

“They’re not very good, are they…”. I turned to face Eddie; standing with an amused smile on his face. “Nope”, I answered, and spat out the donut-bite into a napkin. “Sorry…”, I said embarrassedly. “No worries”, he chuckled. “If I’d known you were coming here, I’d have told you. They’re vegan…”. I raised my brows at him. “Shit, sorry! Are you vegan?”, he asked. “No”, I shook my head and chuckled. “But I’ve for sure had better vegan food than this”. He sighed and seemed to ponder something. “Come on”, he said, and gestured for me to follow him.

We walked down a narrow street; passing smaller shops and street vendors – some of which seemed to know Eddie, and sent him friendly nods. “You’re popular around here”, I said; walking next to him. He chuckled in response. “I dunno. I prefer buying from smaller shops. Personal touch, you know?”. “I get it”, I said. “Locally sourced, and eco-friendly; right?”. He shrugged. “Something like that”.

He stopped by a small storefront; displaying pride-flags and caricatures of politicians in the window. I knew already that I would like this place. The man behind the counters face lit up. “Yo, Ed! Back so soon, man?”, he grinned. “I know you got that parasite thing, but seriously…”. Eddie looked uncomfortable for a second. “Yeah, Don… this is my new neighbor”. He introduced me, avoiding my eyes. “She went to La Boulange”. Don inhaled sharply through his teeth. “Yikes… New in town?”, he asked. I chuckled and nodded. “Coffee black?”, Eddie asked me. I nodded. “Give us two blacks and a couple of glazed yeast”. “I’ll add some sprinkles for the lady”, Don winked friendlily. Eddie groaned. “Just… don’t make them the green ones”, he said. “I was high for 12 hours straight last time”. I laughed out loud.

We left the store; Eddie politely having paid for our coffees and donuts. Through the window I saw Don point at me, and give Eddie the thumbs up and a wink. “He’s a character”, I smiled. “He sure is”, Eddie answered. His voice was deliciously raspy, and watching him speak I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trouble his lips could get in to with mine. I had to shake myself out of the thought. “Thanks for this”, I said. “You haven’t tasted it yet”, he said.

I bit in to my pastry. It was carb-heaven in my mouth. “Oh. Oh my God!”, I said, mouth full. “I know, right?”, Eddie smiled. I raised my brows and nodded fiercely. “It’s why I go out of my way to come here every morning”. “Don’t journalists work all over?”, I asked, covering my mouth with my hand, as I was still chewing. He scrunched his brows at me in question. I pulled out the newspaper from my bag. “Oh, yeah”, he said. “I do freelance stuff mostly; but I have a position at a newspaper downtown. Used to write for The Globe”. “New York?”, I asked. “So, why move to San Francisco?”. He shrugged. “I lost the position for… being what I am. An honest reporter”.

I half smiled. “So, a new life”. “Yeah, and a girl”, he admitted. “My fiancée”. My heart dropped; and I did my best not to show it on my face. “Oh! You’re engaged? That’s great!”. “Not really”, chuckled. “I messed that up too… by being what I am”. “An honest reporter…”, I muttered. “And at times a little too cutthroat about it”. He sighed. “It’s good though. She’s good. I’m good. We’re good”.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why am I telling you all this stuff?”, he said and laughed. “Are you sure you’renot a reporter?”. “Nah. I’m just an elementary schoolteacher”, I said. “I do write, though. But not articles”. “What?”, he said earnestly. I shook my head. “Another time. I’m sure you have somewhere to be”. He looked at his watch. “Shit, yeah!”, he said. “Sorry, I gotta run”. “It’s fine. Thanks again”.

He nodded and smiled. “You take care, teach’”, he said. “See you around”. He walked away; scratching his head, and looking back at me a couple of times. I took my time enjoying my donut and coffee; and walked in the opposite direction. Eddie – Be still my beating heart.

---

I spent the rest of the morning trying to map out the best way to and from work. As I was starting the next Monday morning, the nerves were getting to me. They’re just 5-yearolds, I kept telling myself. 5-yearolds attending a private school funded by their very rich parents; and some pretty serious sponsors from Silicon Valley. And me without my degree from MIT…

I stopped at Mrs. Chens for some light groceries. Although I’d loved Don’s donuts – and his coffee had been heavenly – I was to anxious to see myself making my way all the way to the Mission District the next day; and I always needed caffeine and access to some kind of breakfast in the morning. The lady behind the counter – Chen, I assumed – seemed nice, though a bit standoffish; and quickly checked out my coffee, bacon, eggs, cheese; and other essentials. “You’re new here”, she said. “How did you know?”, I asked. “I usually only get regulars”, she answered, and narrowed her eyes at me. “I moved in down the street. My neighbor recommended your shop”, I smiled. “Who?”, she demanded. “Eddie…”, I answered timidly. Her face instantly became warmer. “He’s a good boy”, she said. “Tell him to pic up my cousins latest cd. It’ll do him good. As well as his parasite”. That parasite thing again. Weird. I thanked her, grabbed my stuff; and left the store.

I made my way back to the apartment; cranked up the Fleetwood, and danced it out for a while. I’d always done that; when I needed to get something out of my system. It was better than drinking myself into oblivion – and I was out of whiskey.

I was completely oblivious to anything around me, when I heard someone clear their throat. I turned around, arms in the air; and almost died from embarrassment. The door was open; and in the opening stood Eddie.

“Sorry, it was open”, he said; trying to stifle a smile. “Ziggy had a crazy ex kick it down once. It’s always needed an extra push and pull to close properly, since then”. I nodded, blushing. He held up a carton of eggs. “Chen said you forgot this”, he said. “Thanks…”, I said, taking the pack from him. I grimaced. “So… this is embarrassing”. He laughed. “What? The eggs, or the dancing?”, he chuckled. “Ha, ha. Laugh it out”, I said, stifling a smile. “I was enjoying the view”, he said; and glint to his eyes – before grimacing himself. “Sorry… that was… probably crossing a line”. “It’s fine… you’re fine…”, I said; realizing what I’d just said. “Good, I mean. Shit… I do this to clear my head, sometimes. Dance. It relaxes me”.

He laughed. “I just got back from… a thing”, he said. “I need to clear my head a bit as well. Was gonna take a ride up to Coit Tower”. I smiled; my blushing beginning to fade. “That sounds nice”, I smiled. He exhaled. “Yeah… do you wanna come?”. My jaw dropped. “Uh… yeah. Sure. I’d like that”, I said. What the hell, Eddie? Are you asking me out? “Great”, he smiled. “I was gonna take my bike; are you good with that?”. “I don’t have a bike”, I said. He chuckled. “Not that kind of bike”. Right. The motorcycle helmet. “And now I feel like an idiot”, I muttered. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve met the biggest idiots in media, politics and sports; and you look nothing like them”, he said. “You do look like someone who needs to get out of this place for a while”. I smiled; grabbed my jacket; and followed him out the door – making sure it was properly shut behind me.

Eddie grabbed two helmets from his apartment; giving me another chance peak into his place. It smelled nice. Like tater tots and musky cologne. I didn’t know why, but suddenly it was my favorite smell. “Let’s go”, Eddie said; handing me one of the helmets; and we made our way down the stairs.

Outside the building stood a motorcycle. It was clearly well cared for. Eddie got on it, and put on his helmet; gesturing for me to get on behind him. “You should hold on”, he said. I searched for something to grab; and he took my wrists; pulling my arms around his waist. Wow. Ok. Firm. “You good?”, he asked. “Yeah”, I squeaked. He chuckled behind his helmet. “Sit tight, teach’”. He started the bike, and revved the engine; before taking off. “Oh my God”, I yelped; feeling his body shake in laughter in front of me.

I was convinced he took the steepest roads; scaring the shit out of me for the first few miles – before I finally got comfortable behind him. I relaxed my body; and let myself enjoy the view of the city in the dusk – and how close I was to Eddies warm body. I felt his calm breathing; and matched it – soon feeling completely relaxed. We hit a bump, making the bike jump a bit; and I laughed in glee; hearing him laugh along with me.

The drive was over way to soon for my liking. We’d made our way up Telegraph hill; and I got off the bike, taking of my helmet. “You liked that, huh?”, Eddie grinned at me. “Yeah, it was fun!”, I smiled. He looked at me; almost in wonder. “Was that your first time on a bike?”. “I tried it once, for like five minutes; when I was a kid, but kind of. Yeah”, I admitted. “I couldn’t tell”, he smirked sarcastically. I frowned in mock annoyance. “Shut up”, I said. “You’ve never had a better passenger”. He laughed. “Yeah… come on”.

The sun was going down; and we were too late for tickets to get up the tower; but Eddie seemed unfazed. “There’s a good view over here”, he said; putting his hand on my lower back, to lead me over to a railing. “You gonna push me over this thing?”, I joked. “Nah, would be a poor move for a first date”, he said. I looked at him. “This is a date?”, I smiled. He seemed to have an internal dialogue. “I… don’t know”, he said. “Do you want it to be?” I bit my lip. “Let’s see how good this view is; and I’ll let you know”.

The view was stunning. I could see both the lights of the city as well as the Golden Gate bridge. My jaw dropped at the sight. “Wow…”. Eddie looked at me. “Yeah, it’s pretty special”, he said.

I stepped towards the binoculars; searing my pockets for change. “I don’t have a quarter!”, I heard Eddie whisper. “It’s fine”, I smiled at him. “I can see pretty clear anyway”. He looked me, caught off guard. “Yeah. Sorry…”. I leant against the railing. “I could fall in love with this city”, I proclaimed. Eddie smiled warmly at me, walking up next to me – close enough for me to feel the heat radiating from his body.

We looked at the views for a while, talking about this and that. I told Eddie about my hometown, and how I’d loved it as well. “So, why did you decide to come here”. “It’s a long story”, I muttered. “Come on, I’ve already seen you dance!”, he chuckled. “You don’t like my dancing?”, I gasped in jest. He smiled. “You really put the oogie in the boogie”, he said. “You’re the most graceful elephant in a porcelain shop, I’ve ever seen”. “So now I’m an elephant?”, I raised a brow at him. He grimaced. “I walked right in to that”, he muttered. “Sorry…”. I smiled at him in forgiveness. “Seriously though. Why’d you make the move?”

I couldn’t help myself. I had to mess with him. “It’s embarrassing”, I said. He smiled encouragingly. “Ever since I was a kid… I’ve always wanted to act. Be in the big movies”. His lips parted, and he looked really uncomfortable. I continued. “So… I decided to give it a shot. Come here; and be near Hollywood, you know?”. I smiled earnestly. “I think I’ve finally got a shot; now that the studios are just down the street”. Eddie looked genuinely sorry for me. “Lyla… I don’t…”, he began. “Eddie…”, I smiled. “I’m kidding”. He exhaled in relief. “Thank God. I really didn’t want to be the one to tell you… You know?”. “I know”, I smirked. “’Cuz we’re a way off from Hollywood here”. I nodded. “About 400 miles. I realize that”. He began laughing, and shook his head. “Is this payback for the elephant thing?”, he said. I shrugged. “Maybe”, I smiled.

He bumped my shoulder with his own. “You’re bad news, darlin’!”, he laughed. “You’re not, though”, I answered. “Tell me; why did your article on those home robberies end up in a free newspaper, instead of some big ass media outlet?”. He sighed. “Not everyone wants to run the hard stories”, he said. “As long as it gets out there…”. I nodded. “I get it”, I said. “Besides, in a free paper the story will get a broader audience, right?”. He shrugged. “I hope so”, he said. “I think it’s an important story”. “Me too”, I agreed.

I told Eddie about my new job. “Private school?”, he grimaced. I laughed. “Yeah, I know”, I said. “Not very socially conscious of me. But the pay is good. And I needed a change”. “What made you move here? The truth this time”, he smiled. “It’s got to be more than the job. You don’t strike me as someone who does things just for money”. I chewed my lip. “I wasn’t in a very good place in my job, or my life”, I admitted.

He looked at me with warm eyes – the color even more indistinguishable in the dusk. I bit my lip; wanting desperately for something to happen. “How’s your head? A bit clearer?”, he said quietly. “Not really…”, I admitted. He let out a quiet laugh, and wrinkled his forehead. “Yeah, me neither”, he muttered. “Can I kiss you? I just feel like I should, you know...?”. I interrupted him by taking his hand. “Yes…”. He nodded and sighed in relief. “Ok. Then… I’m going to do that. Now”. I chuckled; and laced my fingers with his. He stepped closer; putting a lock of my hair behind my ear; before placing his hand on my cheek; letting his thumb stroke my cheekbone. “I like your eyes…”, he said. “Stop talking, Eddie”, I smiled. “Ok”, he said; and finally let his full lips meet mine.

It was soft. Gentle. I parted my lips; letting the tip of my tongue meet his. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me close; and I slid my hands around his neck – letting my fingertips play with the hair there. He pulled his head back a bit; letting our foreheads meet. “You’re… something else”, he smiled. “Something good, I hope”, I answered. “Yeah”, he breathed. “Can I… just… one more time?”, he muttered; before pressing his lips to mine again. I chuckled against his kiss; and returned his enthusiasm. This time there was a bit more heat to our connection. He held on to me; making me stand flush against him. I felt a rush of blood to my core; and my breath hitched.

Someone cleared their throat. Our lips parted, and we saw that we we’re being watched by an elderly couple. “You kids should take that somewhere else”, one of the men said. I flushed red, and Eddie took my hand. “Yeah. Let’s… go”, he smiled.

---

Once back at our building, Eddie gave me a hand to get off his bike. We walked up the stairs together, and paused in front of our doors.

“Thanks for this”, I said. “I needed a distraction”. “I’m a distraction now?”, Eddie asked with a smirk. “A good one”, I chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. “Thanks for the… kissing part. I liked that”, he said. “I did too”, I said, before chewing my bottom lip for a moment. “We could do it again… If you want to”. Eddie looked relieved. “I really do”, he smiled, and took a step closer to me. I met him halfway, and leaned in to him, as he cupped my cheek, and our lips met. He took my bottom lip between his own; softly tugging it – and the repeated the process with the top one. My tongue brushed against his lips, and he met it with his own; letting them reacquaint themselves with each other.

Eddie put his arm around me, and I shivered in pleasure, as our hips met; and I felt his body’s very obvious reaction to our kiss. He let out a soft groan; a sound that sent electricity straight to my core. Grabbing on tighter to me, he almost had my knees give in. In spite of his normally withdrawn and almost aloof demeanor – which he’d relaxed somewhat, curing our evening together – he now seemed like he couldn’t get me close enough; almost hungry in his kiss. I was right there with him; ready to throw all inhibitions out the window, and let him take me in that hallway. I literally had to dig my nails in to my palm, to tear myself from the heated moment.

I put my hands on Eddie’s shoulders, and pushed him away as gently as I could. “I’m sorry… Did I hurt you?”, he asked, in a surprisingly concerned voice. “No, Eddie; I’m…”, I tried. “I don’t always know my own strength. I’ll be more careful…”. Eddie seemed unable to stop talking. I put my fingertips to his soft lips – for a short second considering slipping one into his mouth; just to feel him suck on it – and took a step back. “Eddie, you didn’t do anything wrong. Really!”, I smiled. “But, I have this rule… I don’t have sex on the first date”. Eddie’s eyes widened, and he took a step back himself. “No… Of course! I don’t want you to think, I see you as some kind of… I mean, if you were, there would be nothing wrong with that… People can enjoy sex, that’s completely normal… But I would never expect you to just…” I couldn’t help but smile at his flustered babbling, but in the end, I decided to put him out of his misery. I leaned in, and gave him a short kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight”, I said. “Yeah… goodnight, Lyla”, Eddie said. He watched me as I unlocked my door, and I gave him a final smile, before stepping inside, and closing it behind me.

I leaned against the wall, and sighed frustratedly. It felt like everything below my bellybutton was literally screaming at my brain, saying; open the door, and stop thinking so much, you stupid blob of fat and water! I want to play!. I peeked out of the peephole, and saw Eddie beginning to fish out his keys. He looked like he was having a frustrated conversation with himself. He turned and looked at my door, and I quickly pulled back from the peephole. “You’re being an idiot”, I whispered to myself.

Before I knew it had happened, I had opened my door. “Eddie…”. He dropped his keys in chock, and scrambled to pick them up. His jacket and shirt rode up slightly, letting me get a peek at his tattooed torso; only making my resolve stronger. “Yeah! Hey… Hi”, he said, and got up to stand again. “You know, when I said I’d let you know whether it was a date or not…”. “Yeah?”, Eddie muttered. I chewed my lip, and took a deep breath before continuing. “I decided it wasn’t a date… So, technically, I wouldn’t be breaking my rule”. Eddie looked confused for a moment, before his eyes lit up. “Oh… Oh! You mean…”. He seemed unable to finish the sentence; and I felt my cheeks beginning to burn. “I mean, unless you changed your mind”, I muttered. “No!”, Eddie said, taking a step towards me. “I’d like that”.

I let out a pleased sigh, and was even more relieved when Eddie decided to take the lead, and step over to me; instantly capturing my lips in a warm kiss. I put my arms around his neck, and let myself float away in the pleasurable sensations his soft, full lips sent through my body. I’d known this man for less than a week – I could hardly say that I knew him at all – but everything in that moment was perfect; as if we were made to do this. Eddie pressed me against the doorway to my apartment, and let out a guttural groan when I ran my nails through his short hair. He pressed his tongue into my mouth, and once again I relished in his taste.

I looked out the corner of my eye at the main living area of my sublet, and frowned. I pulled back slightly, to be able to speak. Eddie moved his kisses down to my neck, and I gasped audibly. “Eddie… Oh, god. That’s… No, stop!”, I rasped. He pulled back instantly, and met my eyes. “What?”, he asked. “The bed in there is kind of gnarly… Can we do this at your place?”, I said. “Yeah, of course”, he smiled, and tore himself from me, to run over and open his own door. I closed the door to my own place – giving it that extra yank it needed – and stepped up behind Eddie. He looked at me over his shoulder. “Sorry about the mess", he muttered apologetically, and opened his door.

Eddie’s apartment was cluttered, but not dirty. I could have sworn I saw a few unwashed dishes by the sink, but when I blinked, they were gone; as if a shadow had whisked them away. He had post-it notes hanging with ideas for stories, and a couple that read things like If you eat it, replace it and Pigeons are not food. “Do you have a roommate?”, I asked. Eddie chuckled nervously to himself. “Nah, I… forget things”, he said, and tore down a note reading No roadkill in the tub!.

I decided against asking, and simply made my way over to the couch, letting my finger run along the back of it. “Do you want some coffee? Or a beer?”, Eddie asked, and moved towards the fridge. I bit my lip, and shook my head. “Maybe… after?”, I said, trying for seductive; and failing miserably, when I tripped over a stack of papers on the floor. Before I knew what happened, Eddie was next to me; catching me before I hit the floor. “Wow… you’re fast!”, I said. “I… did track in high school”, he said. “You were all the way over…”, I began.

Eddie pressed his lips to mine, to shut me up, and soon I was forgetting all about the ten feet he’d traversed in less than a second. As quickly as I could, I shed my jacket, and Eddie’s lips once again travelled down my neck. I pushed his jacket off his shoulders, and couldn’t help put squeeze his biceps; finding them as firm as I’d imagined. As Eddie latched on to my pulse-point, I let out soft moan; and was rewarded with his hands moving down to my butt. Giving them a tight squeeze, he suddenly lifted me up, and made me put my legs around his waist. “Let’s move over here”, he muttered, and walked us over to the bed in the corner; gently setting me down on it.

We both began tugging at each other’s tops at the same time, but after chuckling at each other; we silently decided to take care of our own clothing. After I’d shed my tank-top, I kicked off my sneakers while Eddie took off his boots. We kept eye-contact as much as possible, and I saw nothing but appreciation in his gaze, as he saw me get more and more undressed. I was enjoying the sight of his bare torso as well; wanting nothing more than to bury my face in the soft hairs of his barreled chest. I pulled off my jeans – leaving me in socks, bra and panties – and moved back on the bed. Eddie raised a brow at me, and shook his head; and once he had gotten rid of his own pants, he grabbed my ankle, and pulled me closer. I yelped in glee as my groin met his, and he pushed me to lie back. I managed to reach down, and hook my finger into the waistband of his boxer briefs; but Eddie grabbed my wrist. “We got all night…”, he said. “But…”, I said. “Relax”.

He smirked mischievously, and kneeled down at the foot of the bed, and ran his palms up my thighs; leaving goosebumps in their wake. As he left a soft kiss on the inside of my left thigh, while his fingertips stroked circles on my right one. My breath hitched, as his warm breath travelled up to my warmth. I was ready to scream by the time his soft lips left an openmouthed kiss on my covered folds. “Please…!”, I whined. Eddie chuckled, and I felt his tongue lick a broad stripe against the lace covering my throbbing, most sensitive parts. Once again, I tried to take charge, by grabbing his head; but he grabbed my wrists, and forced them down my sides. “I really don’t want to have to hold you down”, he chided. “I kind of need my hands for what I’m about to do…”. I let out a frustrated groan, and relaxed my arms as much as I could. “Good girl…”, Eddie hummed, and let go of my hands. I threw my arms back, and grabbed for one of the pillows above my head, and dug my fingers in to it, to keep from getting in the way of Eddie’s work on my privates again.

With agonizingly slow movements, Eddie hooked his fingers into my panties, and pulled them down my feet. He held them up with one finger, and gave me another smirk, before flicking them away. They landed over his open laptop, and we both laughed for a moment; before Eddie once again lowered his face. The last thing I saw before throwing my head back in pleasure, was Eddie’s pleased eyes widening at his upcoming feast. His perfect mouth closed around my folds and clit, and he gave me a deep suckle, before flicking his tongue over my clit. “I know…”, he muttered. “Come again?”, I croaked. “I’m just enjoying my meal”, Eddie replied, blushing adorably. “Ok… Uhm… well, contin… Oh my god!”. Eddie had entered me with two fingers, and began moving them in a come-hither motion, while sucking hard at my nub. Letting out a growl against my wetness, Eddie soon had me seeing stars. As his fingers worked on my most sensitive spot inside, his tongue moved in a zigzag pattern between my folds; going up and down, and never forgetting to give my clit a languid stroke when he reached it. I put the pillow over my face, and cried out in pleasure, as Eddie worked me towards a mind shattering orgasm. Everything went white, and I’m pretty sure I floated above the mattress for a few seconds; as if something was lifting me in the air.

I was panting into the pillow and shaking all over, as I came down. “Don’t do that!”, Eddie grunted. “What?”, I muttered through the pillow. Eddie climbed up my body, and pulled it away from my face, looking flustered. “Just… don’t cover your face. I want to see you”, he said. “Ok…”, I said.

We smiled at each other, and kissed again. I could taste myself on his tongue, and enjoyed it more than was proper. Eddie laid down between my legs, and pressed against me; making me leave a wet spot on his boxers, from my still glistening folds. “Let me just get these off”, he smiled, and pulled down his underwear; and letting his erection spring free. I smiled in appreciation, and took a hold of my new friend; gently beginning to stroke it. “That’s… that’s nice”, Eddie said, straining to keep his composure. “A bit harder, please”. I tightened my hold, and received a deep moan in reply. “Condom?”, I asked. “Shit, yeah”, Eddie said, and reluctantly pulled himself out of my grasp. As he got off the bed, and ran over to search one of the drawers in his dresser, I snapped open my bra, and took it off. When he turned around to face me, with a foil packet in his hand, his jaw dropped at the sight of my mounds. “That is… Those are very nice”, he croaked. I chuckled, and pulled off my socks; wanting to be completely naked. “Oh, right!”, Eddie said, and tugged his own socks off, one at a time; losing his balance, and falling on to the bed next to me.

I nabbed the foil packet from his hand, and opened it carefully, pulling out the condom. Straddling Eddies legs, I closed my fingers around the tip of the rubber, and held it to the head of his penis. I rolled it down a little, before lowering my head, and closing my mouth around it; rolling it the rest of the way with my lips. Eddie let out a gasping groan, and looked down at me with wide eyes. Once the condom was all the way down his hardness, I released him from my mouth, and sat up; smiling sweetly. “Where did you learn that?”, he asked. “While you were doing track in high school, I was under the bleachers; doing other kinds of workout”, I shrugged. “It’s an interesting talent”, he chuckled. “I have many more”, I said, raising a brow at him. “I’m sure you do”, Eddie smiled, and grabbed the back of my head; pulling me in for a hungry kiss.

I was flipped onto my back, and Eddie placed himself at my entrance. “Yeah?”, he said, searching my eyes for the go-ahead. “Please”, I said, unable to hide the pleading tone in my voice. Eddie gave me one more deep kiss, and as he did, he pushed himself inside me; bottoming out in my warmth. We both moaned deeply as we were conjoined, and Eddie began moving slowly in and out of me. “You’re so warm… and tight!”, he gasped into my ear. “You fit perfectly”, I panted, and moved my hips to meet his every thrust. “I do, don’t I…”, Eddie chuckled. “Holy… wow”. I locked my leg around his hips, and Eddie grabbed my other leg; hooking his arm under my knee. With ever thrust, the head of his penis brushed against my g-spot; but even just the friction against my nub, and the feeling of his velvety hardness brushing against my walls, were enough to make me whimper in pleasure.

After a while of moving together slowly, I felt my walls beginning to quake; and Eddie’s face lit up. He began thrusting faster and harder, and soon I was crying out in ecstasy again. Every atom in my being felt like it was exploding, and I came around him. “Yes!”, I cried out, and Eddie laughed, seemingly overjoyed that he could make me feel this way. “Fuck, you look beautiful when you come”, he grinned. My hair was a tussled, and I was pretty sure my makeup was a mess, but I took his words as truth in that moment; convinced from the expression on his face, that there was no way he could be lying. “Thank you… for that”, I gasped. “And for the orgasm. That was pretty awesome too”. We laughed together for a moment, before Eddie leaned down, and kissed me. “Are you good to continue?”, he asked. “Don’t you dare stop!”, I exclaimed. “Ok… Turn around, then”.

He pulled out of me – leaving me feeling empty and wanting more – and grabbed my hip, to make me turn over. I got on all fours, and once again felt Eddie probing my entrance. He pushed into me with a pleased sigh, and began moving again. He shifted between fast and slow; as if every time he picked up speed, he willed himself to slow down again. “It’s ok. I can take it”, I said. “Alright”, Eddie panted, and let out a groan, as he slammed in to me. I feel forwards on the bed, landing on my chest; and felt my backside lift with every one of Eddie’s thrusts in to me. “… just go to sleep!”, I heard Eddie behind me. “I’m not…”, I said. “What?”. “I’m not asleep. How could I be?” “Oh… No, yeah; of course!”.

He snaked a hand underneath me, and expertly began stroking circles against my clit. I was soon, once again, feeling the familiar rush of an impending orgasm. “I’m gonna…”, I rasped. “Again?”, Eddie panted; still thrusting in to me, and having found the perfect rhythm for the both of us. “Uh huh…”, I whimpered, and turned my face into the mattress; crying out in pleasure. My walls contracted around Eddie’s hardness, and moments later, he let out a rasping groan; and came.

I was trying to regain my breath, and still feeling my muscles clenching throughout my body; as Eddie pulled out of me. He placed a soft kiss to the back of my neck, and got off the bed, to rid himself of the condom. I pulled at the sheet, wrapping it around me, as he returned to the bed and slipped his boxers back on. He looked satisfied, but also a bit frustrated, and I quietly excused myself to the bathroom, to clean up.

Through the door, I heard him shuffling around the small apartment, and seemingly talking to himself. “… stay out of it… was a me thing… I don’t need that”. I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable at the situation; and must have been stood for quite a while in the small bathroom, because suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Are you ok in there?”, Eddie called out. “Yeah!”, I replied, quickly finishing my cleanup, and washing my hands. I stepped out into the living area again, and gave him a half smile. “Uhm… are youok though?”. Eddie leaned in, and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, before stepping over to the fridge. “Of course… I’m awesome”, he said, and got out two beers. “That was great!”. I examined his face, and couldn’t help but frown. “Ok… You just seem a little out of it”, I said, and accepted the drink. “Are you regretting…”. “No!”, Eddie exclaimed, his eyes wide and earnest. “Not at all… I just get in my head sometimes”. “Ok…”, I muttered.

Eddie sighed deeply, and took my hand. “Come on”, he said, and pulled me over to sit on the couch. “That… what we just did; that was really great. You were great”. “So were you”, I smiled, biting my lip. “Yeah?”, Eddie said; a slight pink hue to his cheeks. “Thanks…”. As I took a welcome sip of my beer, he merged his fingers with my free hand. “I’d like to do it again… If you’re good with that”. “I’d like that”, I said. We sat for a moment in silence. “Do you wanna stay the night?”. “I should get going”. We’d spoken at the same time. “Oh… Well, if you wanna go…”, Eddie said. “I just thought – seeing as you said the bed at your place wasn’t that great – maybe you’d want to sleep somewhere else”. “The couch isn’t much better”, I chuckled. “Are you sure though? I don’t want you to think you have to…”. “I’d like you to stay”, Eddie said. I felt my cheeks burn. “Ok… I’ll stay”, I said.

Eddie lit up in a grin, and leaned in to give me a warm kiss. “I’m happy you moved in across the hall”, he said. “Me too”, I smiled. “Me three…! Too!”, Eddie said, his voice having shifted from deep, and back to his raspy tone within seconds. He cleared his throat. “Sorry… My throat is a bit dry”, he said, and took a deep swig of his beer. I frowned in confusion, but decided to let it go. We had just spent a good while exercising, and my own throat was a little dry as well; and I took another sip of my beer.

We sat for a long moment in silence, sipping at our bottles, and smiling warmly at each other; before Eddie frowned deeply. “I have to tell you something”, he said. “And… You might change your mind about staying”. I felt a shudder go through my body, suddenly worried where this was going. “What is it?”, I croaked. Eddie took a deep breath, and blew it out. He took my beer from me, and put it down on the coffee table, next to his own. Taking both my hands, he looked deeply in to my eyes. “Here goes… Uhm… Wow, this is hard”, he said. “Just tell me”, I said, trying for calm and encouraging. “Ok… I snore… And not in the cute way”, Eddie said. “I give the streetcars a run for their money, when it comes to noise”. I instantly began laughing in relief. “That’s it? You should hear me!”. Eddie raised his brows at me. “I’ll bet you 20 bucks and a donut from Don’s, I can outdo you”, he said. “You’re a journalist. Don’t you have a Dictaphone?”, I asked. Eddie sprang over to his messenger bag, and pulled out a small recorder. “Let’s do this!”, he exclaimed.

I got to my feet, and followed him over to the bed. Unwrapping myself from the sheet, Eddie gave me a sly smile, and pulled me in for a deep kiss – running his hands up and down my sides – before he let me crawl onto the bed. Once I laid down, he crawled in next to me, and put the sheet over the both of us. He clicked the record button on the Dictaphone, and put it by the bed: before pulling me in to his arms. I cuddled up against him, and let his warmth lull me; feeling suddenly very tired. “Goodnight, Ed”, I whispered. We gave each other a soft kiss. “Goodnight, Lyla”, he replied.

I was already halfway asleep, when something tucked us in; pulling the covers over us. “Eddie?”, I yawned. “Yeah?”, he asked hesitantly. “Was that you?”. “Yes!”. “Ok. Goodnight”. I was out.

---

[cxsmicmyeon]

SURPRISE! , kms

kim minseok x fem! reader

IN WHICH minseok wants to spend his 31st birthday at home with his wife and cat but you have other plans that may or may not involve a surprise birthday party. (based on the second prompt from this post by @creativepromptsforwriting​)

genre: married/domestic & non-idol au! fluff, humor word count: 3.0k warnings: swearing, light sexual references/jokes, implied sexual content (it gets a tad spicy at times but nothing explicit), chaos, minseok’s butt being The Bomb Dot Com™ (sorry not sorry)

author’s note: happy birthday to my ray of sunshine, kim minseok! i love you so so much darling, i hope your day is filled with so much happiness and celebration. hope this lil piece can help y’all celebrate min’s 31st with me <3 it’s not the 26th yet where i live lmao but it is in korea so yeah! once again have a happy happy birthday minseok, i love you endlessly and forever. <33 MOODBOARD MADE BY ME. I DON’T OWN THE IMAGES, I ONLY OWN MY EDITING. feedback and notes are greatly appreciated <3

One day.

One day until Minseok’s birthday, and you were scrambling from bakery to bakery to try and get the perfect cake for him. There were flaws in every place you’ve been: too expensive, the designs were not creative enough, blah blah blah. You wanted his day to be as perfect as possible, and what would be the point of that if the cake was nothing but?

Everything else was all ready. You invited all of yours and his closest friends to your house the night of Minseok’s birthday for a surprise party. You planned on keeping Minseok out of the house for the entire day as your friends decorated the house. 

He didn’t want a party. He made that abundantly clear to you as soon as March began. He incessantly told you that all he wanted was a day off from teaching so he could spend the whole day with you and your cat. All he wanted was a nice and relaxing day with his wife. You understood, obviously. But you also wanted to go all out and throw a surprise birthday bash for your husband celebrating his thirty-first year on Earth. Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae’s incessant whining and begging for an excuse to have a party only aided in your need to have a party.

You ended up settling with a simple Carvel ice cream cake from the frozen section of the grocery store. You made a mental note to ask Yixing to write out “Happy Birthday Minseok” the next day as you left the store.

You came home to your husband holding a feather toy over your cat, Tan’s head. She pawed at the red feather, always at the cusp of grabbing it before Minseok moved the line away from her. He cooed at the animal, making soft kissing sounds as he continued to play with her.

Realizing that he may see the cake, you tucked the grocery bag under your shirt in an attempt to hide it from him, shivering at the cold contact the frozen treat made with your skin. The rustling of the plastic bag caused Minseok to look up at you. He gave you a gummy smile as you walked past him and Tan.

“Well hello to you too, honey. What’s under your shirt?” Minseok asked playfully, wiggling his eyebrows as he made eye contact with your chest. You realized that hiding the bag did not do much to hide the cake, as the shape of the large box combined with the plastic grocery bag greatly protruded from the fabric of your shirt. 

“Nothing, it’s for tomorrow. Don’t wanna ruin the surprise, hm?” you mused, blowing him an air kiss before retreating to your office. He "caught” your kiss with a smile before going back to playing with Tan.

You entered your office and placed the plastic bag onto your desk. You ran to lock the door before opening the bag and taking the cake out, sighing in relief that the cake did not get ruined. You bent down to your mini-fridge and opened the small door of the freezer compartment and placed the cake inside, glad that it could fit inside. After locking the fridge, you exited your office and made your way downstairs to spend time with your loving husband.

You awoke the next day curled up in Minseok’s arms. You cuddled closer to him before jolting upwards in realization. Today was finally the day! You bent down and began showering your sleeping husband with excited kisses, trailing a hand down his bicep. He let out a sleepy groan as he stirred, wrapping his strong arms around your figure.

“Aah, what’s gotten into you baby?” he asked, his voice hoarse from just waking up. 

“Happy birthday, Min!” you beamed, pecking him on the lips. He grinned tiredly as he kissed you on the lips.

“Mmmh, thank you honey.” You grinned as you kissed him again. This kiss lasted longer than the previous ones and slowly yet surely grew more heated. You moved yourself so you were straddling him, not breaking the kiss. He hummed against your lips as you slid your hand underneath his shirt, fingertips grazing his toned stomach. He groaned as his hands made their way down to your ass, squeezing harshly. You bit back a moan as you slowly slid his shirt up his chest, breaking the kiss to ogle at his abs.

“Babe... don’t we need to get ready?” Minseok groaned as you pulled the shirt over his head. You latched your lips onto his neck and softly bit down, eliciting a raspy moan from your husband.

“Shh, let me give you your first gift.” you purred, moving your hands toward the waistband of his boxers.

The mall was packed to the brim with people from all different walks of life. Gossiping teenagers, sleep-deprived parents following their energetic kids around, old couples window shopping, you name it. You walked through the giant Macy’s and into the main hub of the mall hand in hand with Minseok. 

Since you started dating, it has been a tradition for you to buy each other’s gifts the day of your respected birthdays. You’d usually scour Amazon or websites of your favorite brands all day and end up splurging half your monthly paychecks on each other. But on occasion, today included, you’d take your shopping day to the local mall as a means to get out of your apartment and actually go out for once. 

After an... eventful... morning, you rushed to get dressed and usher your husband out of the house, since the boys were coming over at 11, and it was 10:55 by the time you got into the car and sped away toward the mall.

You pointed out a newly opened jewelry store and pulled Minseok inside with you. You looked at him lovingly as he browsed the display of a multitude of different rings. He’d softly mutter to himself as he picked up ring after ring: trying to see what would look best next to his wedding band, what the right price was, if the store even provided the correct size. You loved how organized he was.

Your silent admiring was interrupted by the familiar chime of your phone, indicating you got a text message. You let out a sigh as soon as you saw who the message was from.

operation minseok’s 31st🥳

jun-bug: (y/n) we have a problem (y/n): oh god what happened yee-xing: baekhyun dropped the cake (y/n): he did what bacon: cant u read (y/n) i dropped the fucking cake 11 minutes late: no need to be rude xoxo (y/n): yeah baek u don’t want me to leave my stunning husband inside the jewelry store, come home and mutilate you for dropping his cake and get arrested on his special day (: kyung-soup: oddly specific but i’m here for it jong-waeeee: off topic but the sign says “minseop” instead of “minseok” (y/n): jun, yixing and kyungsoo you better get this settled or else i’m gonna kill all of you nini bear: yes ma’am ofc ma’am we will do this correct chain-yeol: yeah i don’t wanna die today

“Everything okay?”

You quickly locked your phone and threw it inside your purse before making eye contact with Minseok. You nodded a bit too quickly, panic washing over you like a giant wave from the ocean.

“Yeah, everything’s dandy.” you sputtered. Oh, why did this have to happen right now? You silently prayed that everything was going to go well. It had to.

“You sure?”

“Positive. Did you choose something?” Minseok nodded as he handed you a box with a simple black titanium ring. You nodded in approval as he led you to the register.

Your next stop was at Express. You were dying to pick out some new work clothes for him to try on. You assured him (and yourself) that he needed these new pants and this was totally not an excuse for you to check him out.

“Okay, I’ve got three pairs of pants that I think would look absolutely amazing on you and I want you to go try ‘em on.” you said, handing Minseok three hangers. Each hanger had a pair of slacks in different colors hanging from them. He took them from you, shooting you a smirk before walking inside the fitting room stall.

Your eyes widened as Minseok opened the door of the stall. The pants fit absolutely perfectly. The way the fabric hugged his perfect thighs, the color complimenting his white undershirt (which you imagined to be one of his famous white button-downs), it left you practically swooning.

“What do you think?” 

You let out a hum in approval before motioning for him to turn around. “Lemme see the goods, hun.” He rolled his eyes before turning around. Your eyes landed on his butt, making you swoon for real. You covered your mouth to hide your obvious enjoyment of the sight before you. And it didn’t help when he gave his butt a mini shake. Still, you couldn’t help but squeal softly.

“You sure today’s not your birthday?” Minseok teased. You tutted as you stood from your spot and walked up to him, giving his butt a light pinch before wrapping your arms around his neck.

“With you, every day’s my birthday.” you answered, giving him a peck on the lips.

“Ugh, I think you ate too much of that egg and cheese for breakfast today.”

“You know you love me.”

“That I do, darling.” Minseok mused before closing the distance between you two. You tangled your hands in his silky black hair as you savored the heavenly taste of his lips. You felt his hands grab your ass as you deepened the kiss, tugging at his hair in response.

As you kissed, you heard your phone chime the same chime that indicated a text from the boys. You decided to ignore it and continue making out with your husband until the phone went off four more times. You scoffed as you broke the kiss, fishing inside of your purse to grab it.

“Is everything okay, hun?” Minseok asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just crap from, uh, ‘work,’” you lied, unlocking the phone. “Go try on the other pants.” Minseok nodded before walking back to the stall. Once the door was closed and locked, you looked down at your messages, worry washing over you once again. What the hell happened now?

operation minseok’s 31st🥳

yee-xing: oh christ yee-xing: (y/n) (y/n) (y/n) jun-bug: you gotta help us yee-xing: please kyung-soup: i am going to kill park chanyeol like my life depends on it (y/n): what the everloving shit happened this time chain-yeol: um i sneezed all over the cake kyung-soup: the custom one u got on wednesday btw (y/n): you. sneezed. on. the. CAKE????? chain-yeol: IM SORRY chain-yeol: I WAS TRYING TO STOP BAEKHYUN FROM KNOCKING IT OVER AND I SAVED IT BUT THEN I SNEEZED nini bear: ur so gross chain-yeol: you too (y/n): i spent 100 dollars on that cake and you fucking sneeze on it?? (y/n): jfc i’m here busy admiring my husband’s sweet sweet ass and u guys are telling me the cake’s ruined? i will murder u all i swear jong-waeeee: ew i don’t wanna hear about minseok’s ass (y/n): shut the fuck up sign ruiner jong-waeeee: I GOT A NEW ONE THOUGH jong-waeeee: YOU’RE SO MEAN bacon: WAIT bacon: (Y/N) WE’LL PAY FOR ANOTHER ONE  (y/n): baekhyun you sweet summer child (y/n): I HAD TO PRE-ORDER THAT CAKE 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE YOU WALNUT bacon: oh bacon: my bad 11 minutes late: W8 W8 I GOT U 11 minutes late: WE CAN STILL EAT IT 11 minutes late: I’LL SPRAY SOME LYSOL ON IT jun-bug: SEHUN DON’T YOU DARE (y/n): sehun honey that just contaminates it even more (y/n): but thank you for trying 11 minutes late: xoxo i try my best yee-xing: how ‘bout we just buy more carvel cakes to match the one you got yesterday up to 100 dollars so it maxes out (y/n): yeah alright fine (y/n): thanks xing ur a life saver (y/n): but don’t throw away the ruined cake i wanna show min what he could have missed out on if CHANYEOL DIDN’T FUCKING SNEEZE ON IT (y/n): WHO SNEEZES ON A CAKE nini bear: only chanyeol (y/n): yep, only chanyeol chain-yeol: y’all are mean. kyung-soup: what u get for sneezing on the cake

You locked your phone, letting out an exasperated sigh. You swore if anything else happened today, you were going to march all the way back home and kill those men. You massaged your temples with your fingers as a means to alleviate your stress. All you wanted was for everything to be perfect for the party; Minseok deserved nothing less than that. 

The door of the stall opened, revealing Minseok wearing nothing but the new pair of navy slacks and a devilishly handsome smirk. His smile faded when he saw you with your hands over your face, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down from your stress. He quickly pulled his undershirt on and rushed over to you, wrapping his arms around you comfortingly. With a sigh, you buried your face in his chest, your stress starting to wash away as he began stroking your hair.

You stayed like that for about ten minutes. You eventually calmed down, silently reassuring yourself that everything was going to be fine. You were glad that Minseok did not try to ask you anything since you were afraid you were going to let slip what was waiting for him when you arrive home later in the day. 

You let out a small sniffle as you pressed a small kiss on your husband’s exposed shoulder. “I’m so sorry I brought down your mood, Min. The p- ‘w-work,’ is just annoying right now. It’s your birthday, it’s supposed to be a good day.” you mumbled, looking down at your hands.

“Shh, don’t you worry your little head about it,” Minseok assured, kissing your forehead. He tilted your head up and pressed his lips against yours. “All I want is for my baby to be happy today.” You gave him a weak smile and wrapped your arms around his waist, feeling so lucky to have him in your life.

“C’mon, let’s go to the food court. All this stress made me hungry.” you joked, standing from your spot. 

“Good idea,” Minseok gave you another kiss before walking back into the changing stall to change back into his regular clothes. “Oh, by the way, buy the pants.” You pumped a fist into the air as you took the hanging articles of clothing into your hands.

You were lucky (and frankly surprised) that nothing else had managed to go wrong today. You were suspicious that you hadn’t gotten any panic-stricken texts from Yixing or Junmyeon, but you couldn’t complain about that. Just to be sure though, you quickly texted Kyungsoo to give you a final update on the state of your house. You sighed in relief when he responded with pictures of your living room, kitchen and backyard decorated just how you envisioned it to be. You sent Kyungsoo a text back thanking him and everyone else profusely for their help.

The clock struck 5, indicating that it was time for you and Minseok to go home. The two of you exited the mall, arms filled with different shopping bags from all the stores you went to during the day. After putting your bags into the backseat of your car, you opened the passenger side of the car and slid in.

“Hm, I was thinking of ordering from that ramen place we tried last week. It was really good, don’t you remember?” Minseok suggested, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

“How ‘bout we wait ‘till we get home to... eat.” you responded, a shit-eating grin almost making its way onto your face.

Minseok hummed softly. “I just wanna spend the rest of the night with you and Tan at home, I hope no one’s planning a surprise party for me,” You tensed slightly at his words, looking out the window to avoid his gaze.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, hun.” You lied. He shrugged, intertwining his fingers with yours. 

When Minseok pulled into your driveway, you shot a quick text to the boys, telling them that you were home. You exited the car quickly, grabbing most of the shopping bags and taking Minseok by the arm, dragging him to the front door.

“Whoa, what’s gotten into you?” he chuckled as you struggled to get your keys out of your purse. Once you got them out and put the house key into the lock, you turned to Minseok and pressed your lips onto his.

“Happy birthday, Min. I love you so much. And I’m so sorry.” you unlocked the front door and pushed it open. You saw Minseok’s eyes widen at the sight of your home. It was filled to the brim with decorations and all of your closest friends holding gifts, balloons and tons of different ice cream cakes. 

“SURPRISE!” everyone exclaimed. Minseok’s jaw dropped as he fully took in everything that was happening. He looked over to you with a sly smile, to which you responded with a small shrug.

“I had to, come on.” You giggled, kissing him on the cheek. 

“It’s okay, hun. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.” Minseok cupped your face into his hands and pressed his lips onto yours.

“Gross, get a room!” you heard Baekhyun scream. You pulled away from Minseok to flip the younger off.

“Oh! I need to show you the cake I initially got for you but was unfortunately ruined because Chanyeol sneezed on it. Jun, is it in the fridge?” you pulled Minseok in the direction of the kitchen as Junmyeon confirmed the location of the cake.

“He... huh?”

“It was an accident!” Chanyeol whined. You laughed softly to yourself at his childish reaction.

Tonight was gonna be fun.

[sunqyu]

~ Treasure realizing they love you and the first time they say it pt 1.

Request 1: “ hmm im all in cute feelings, so FIRST I LOVE YOUS with treasure reaction thingy, would be super sweet 🙊💗🌼🌼 “ - anon

Request 2: “ i love your writing! treasure realizing theyre in love with their s/o🥺 “ - anon

These requests are both so adorable and fitting so I decided to combine them. Hope you enjoooy. Also, buckle up ‘cause ITS A LONG ONE AGAIN. Got carried away as usual so it’ll be in two parts. K BYE <3 - Nova

Hyunsuk

realizing it

it doesn’t take much to make Hyunsuk like you

but to actually fall in love with you

that’s a different story

he’s alone at the studio, trying to get his verse right

every time he fixes something he didn’t like, he notices something else

he’s sat at his desk, elbows next to the keyboard

head hanging down with his fingers tangled in his hair

a sharp inhale

a shaky exhale

then his phone lights up, a message from you, asking if he’s home yet and how his day went

2.30am, he reads

he starts typing, frantically, on and on as the chaos in his head makes it’s way onto his phonescreen

only for him to stop and delete it all because he knows what he really wants to send you

but it’s too late and he doesn’t want to be a burden, you need your sleep too

when he looks up and sees his own reflection in the, now dimly lit, screen of his computer

another sharp inhale

‘Not so great to be honest, can I come to your place?’ sent.

on the way to your house he’s still thinking about turning back

but all those thoughts are long gone the moment you open the door

your eyes beaming at him, messy bun wiggling side to side and you’re wrapped up in a blanket

his heart melts as he feels the tightness in his temples and neck from the stress subside

‘Hi- I missed you.’

you probably didn’t notice but he almost said something else

he snickers to himself, that would’ve been a bit early

saying it

definitely the type to say it without realizing what he’s saying

you two are getting groceries

which, even though it’s not a special thing, is always so much fun

this time you ended up playing hide and seek

it wasn’t really discussed, you just lost Hyunsuk at one point and decided to turn it into a game instead of calling him

which means it’s your turn now

it had been over 20 minutes and he was getting worried

very impressed with your skills

but worried

in the end he decided to call you

to his surprise he hears your ringtone behind him

he turns around

the ringtone is still behind him

he turns around

what the-

he turns around but really fast this time

his eyes meet yours a second before you start dying from laughter

‘How long where you doing that for-?’ he laughed in self-pity and disbelieve

when he finds out you never left he sighs

‘Ugh- I love you.’ he mutters inbetween chuckling

for a second he freezes, a thousand things running through his mind

but y’know what? fuck it.

‘Yea- it’s true. I love you.’

Jihoon

realizing it

also seems like someone who does not fall in love quickly

mostly because he’s not looking for it, he doesn’t feel the need to be in love to be happy

but once he does

oh boy

so when you came in his life he wasn’t thinking about a potential relationship

or wondering if you two would be compatible

he simply enjoyed your presence and you two got closer as friends

because of this the moment he realizes he has feelings for you will be overwhelming for him

wasn’t ready

you weren’t even doing anything different than usual

just eating in the yg cafetaria, both rambling about things

subjects that made people walking by look up because they didn’t get the full story

out of nowhere he fell hard

the mechanism that’s supposed to be his brain malfunctioning

croissant in mid-air

it all just made sense

the reason why he could never be sad around you

the reason that made your eyes twinkle more than anyone elses

the reason you saying his name sounds different than when anyone else says it

the reason he’s now sitting with his mouth wide open staring at you without really looking at you

‘Y-yea, I was listening. Ofcourse I was.’

saying it

probably says it on a special occasion

not planned or anything

it just seemed fitting in that moment

he realized before you two were even dating so it’s not like there’s any doubt left

still, expressing it feels like a very big step

it was quite a warm autumn evening

you were sitting on the floor at the salon table

filled with food from different places

‘I’m so proud of us.’ he beamed

you had just finished a very important essay which is going to be a great advantage when looking for an internship

he had just ended filming their third music video

‘I wish I could show you, you’re gonna love it.’ he mumbled before grabbing another bite

it looked like a feast but takeout-style

you continue eating, enjoying each others company

all the windows were open because of the nice weather

a soft breeze would ruffle the curtains

the subtle sound mixing well with the music

Jihoon had looked for just the right playlist for almost half an hour

and it couldn’t have been more perfect

the warm light of the candles was accompanied by a desklight

you got it out of your room because the ceiling light wasn’t cozy but the candles weren’t enough to see each other’s face (or the food)

the topic slowly drifts to more nostalgic memories

dates to the beach, your weekend in Japan, meeting his friends

‘You know what’s funny? out of all of those memories the one that is most special to me was a really simple one.’ something in his expression changed and you sat calmly, waiting for him to continue

‘It was a few days before I asked you out on our first date. We were at yg, eating something.’ he grabbed another bite of food, chuckling at your impatient response

‘I don’t know what it was but out of nowhere I realized I was in love with you.’ the words came out while he looked at his plate, looking up only a second before he continued

‘I still do. I love you-, even more each day.’

Yoshi

realizing it

there’s not really a specific moment where it hit him

his love for you grew gradually

which is exactly how he liked it

from the moment he met you he was never nervous around you

he never felt like he wasn’t good enough or like he had to try harder

everything made sense from day one

there would be moments where is heart could burst from it

like the time you tried to fix his broken jeans with a youtube tutorial

or when you first fell asleep on his chest

the worst was when he couldn’t see you for a few days

as if the love in him grew and grew but he couldn’t give it to you

he just felt like he was going to explode sometimes

the other boys would notice very easily

‘I know it’s only a few days, you guys are right.’

his mind didn’t listen to his own words

‘I’m fine- I promise.’

but if it’s a few more hours he might not be

he would go to bed quite early these days

after he noticed that trying to distract himself wasn’t working

he’d scroll through photo’s you took together

and photo’s he took of you

he’d sent you another text, hoping your phone was off so he wouldn’t wake you up

a strange mix of happiness and sadness

luckily once he realizes his sadness is temporary and it only shows how special you are to him he’ll be able to focus on the happiness

thinking about all the memories you’ve made and will make in the future as he slowly drifts to sleep

saying it

finally

finally he was going to see you again

it was only like three days but boy was he DEPRIVED

he was the first done packing

the first in the car

the first to run into the dorm and put his bag away

aaaand the first to run out the door again

you two had been texting all day about movies to watch and all the stories he wanted to tell

his knee bumped up and down in the bus

he couldn’t remember the last time he was this hyped

only three more stops

he gazed out the window chuckling at himself

who would’ve thought someone could make him feel like this?

his hand clutched on to the souvenir he got you

two more stops

an old couple got in

yoshi always had a weakness for happy old couple

but now especially

he smiled politely at them

admiring how in love they looked

that would be you in the future, he thought to himself

one more stop

his smile was still on his face

recognizing restaurants you two went to

clothing stores where you complimented his style

and then

the bus stop

it’s the one where you two met

he still can’t believe he managed to strike up a conversation with you that day

but it must’ve been meant to be

he looked around frantically as soon as his foot hit the sidewalk

the sound of your shoes on the floor came closer

he turned to face the sound and before he could even see your face he was holding you in his arms again

tightly as if to tell the world you were his

a deep sigh left his mouth before he mumbled into your hair

‘I love you- I missed you so much. I’m so happy to see you.’

Junkyu

realizing it

‘stop being weird-’ ‘says who?’

you and Junkyu were laying on his bed

both with your limbs spread out, staring at the ceiling

you weren’t sure how long you’d been there

he hummed along to the song you just put on

before being interrupted by the sound of his own stomach

‘Oh wow- sounds like it’s time for lunch.’ 

you nodded in agreement as you grabbed your phone

he started thinking about what to get, watching you tap away on your phone

your hair was laying in a circle around your head

a shadow from the ceilinglight behind your phone over your eyes

he noticed how you pupils dilated as they adjusted to the light everytime your moved your phone a bit

your eyes are cool af, woah

he turned to his side, still looking at your features while you scrolled on your phone

the song changed and this time it was you humming along

your voice is so nice, he thought to himself

his dreamy moment was interrupted by you looking at him

oh right- food

‘Uh- I want uh-..’

to his surprise you tell him you already ordered

‘What- what about me?’

you listed the things you ordered for him, saying how you definitely knew what he wanted by now

he was shocked

if you aren’t the SWEETEST MOST THOUGHTFUL HUMAN BEING

then he wouldn’t know who is

his dreamy moment continued, even though you were staring right back this time, confused

he never felt like this before

like he wants to fast-forward and sit in a rocking chair with you, grumbling about youth

wait

fuck

this is love isn’t it?

saying it

he promised

he promised he wasn’t going to fall asleep during the movie

but look at him now

soft deep breathing, lips slightly parted as he was laying against you

even though you didn’t want to wake him up you had already seen this movie with friends and the remote was all the way on the table

you reached forward in slow motion

slowly

sloooooowly

Junkyu moved, rubbing his cheek against your shoulder before mumbling under his breath and laying still again

that was close

the journey continues

slooooooooooowly

you were only 10cm away from reaching the remote

‘N-no hh.. stay h- ple ase.’

a dilemma

lean forward a bit more or sit back and just let the man sleep?

bit more

sloooooooooooooooowly

your fingertips grazed the remote and it wobble side to side

‘Babe?-’ that definitely sounded more awake then earlier

but when you look at him you see he’s definitely not fully awake yet

‘Come back to beeed-’ he whined

bed? boy, we’re on the couch

you didn’t mention it and instead quickly grabbed the remote before you sat back down a little faster

‘Th-nk yo-’ he held you tighter

‘Love you-’

wait what?

Mashiho

realizing it

seems like a hopeless romantic to me

so might realize quite fast

this man has been fantasizing and imagining his future love life for so long

not to the point where he’s yanking flowers apart to find out if you love him or not

but he sees the beauty in so many things

enjoys the warmth of the sun on his skin

likes to watch people going about their day and thinking what their life is like

leaves sweet notes on receipts for hardworking employees to find when they come clean his table

little things but a lot of things

he has an eye for beauty and knows exactly how to use it for his own happiness

so he quickly noticed how happy you made him

it was again, the little things

but so so many

how your pinky finger was always a little higher than the rest when your hands were relaxed

how the cute baby hairs on the back of your neck would always leave your ponytail within minutes of putting your hair up

how your foot would bounce up and down when you sat with your legs crossed, even if there was no music

how every time you called him cute he had to keep himself from calling you cute because he knew you’d hide your face in your hands right after

the way you sat against the mirror when you came to watch him practice

sleeves of his sweater to long for your arms as you clapped after each song

loving you wasn’t something that happens at one point

it’s built within him since the moment you met

it just grows and grows as you take care of it with your cuteness and love

saying it

so much snow

everywhere

the snowflakes were most visible under the light of the streetlanterns

appearing and disappearing as they went back into the dark nightsky

the crisp sound from under your shoes was relaxing

you and Mashiho had a snowballfight after finishing about 20 snowangels each

it had gotten dark before you knew it so now you were walking home

his arm around your shoulder, rubbing softly to keep you warm

you felt the cold water through your gloves but sharing bodyheat was all you needed

both of you had soft smiles on your faces, walking in content silence

and you were also just EXHAUSTED so the quiet evening was a nice change

in some of the houses you walked by you could already see christmaslights and trees

he noticed you looking

‘Lets get our own decorations soon.’ 

you nodded happily, leaning against him a little more

this was going to be your first christmas together

you never expected to celebrate it with someone this year

the idea of setting up a tree together and the coziness it would bring made him feel warm inside

you discussed fun things you could do for christmas

ways to surprise the boys or what you wanted to eat

he listened to you talk about memories and future plans

when he noticed how clearly he was already involved in those future plans he couldn’t help himself

‘Hey-’ he gave your shoulder a squeeze to make you look at him

‘I love you, so so much-‘

Jaehyuk

realising it

it was the first time you were going to meet the rest of Jaehyuk’s group

a little nervous but mostly excited you walked to the front door

he told you to text him when you got there so he could see you before the rest did

a few second after you saw he read your message the door opens

you get a kiss on the lips, a tight hug and a kiss on your forehead all after each other

he wanted to show you love but also wanted to mentally prepare you for what was about to him

don’t get him wrong, he loves the other members with all his heart but he could imagine them being a little.... overwhelming.

before he could even ask you if you were nervous the yells from the living room began

curious heads peeking out from behind his back, 11 hands reaching out to you as they all wanted to introduce themselves first

you could make out some teasing to Jae followed by someone’s voice trying to keep the peace

he looked at you with slight worry in his face, only to be greeted by a cheerful smile

before he knew it you were bashing out jokes left and right

even standing up for him a few times in the funniest ways

he couldn’t be happier

so many people he loved in one room

one in particular though

he took a moment to sit back against the couch and look around in awe

so happy

after a few hours and some good food it was time for you to go home

he watched you end your conversation with Asahi

who, to his surprise, seemed like he didn’t want the conversation to end

you waved goodbye to everyone and got loads of no’s and why’s in return

‘It’s late guys, she still has to go home.’

saying it

you still heard the whining when you and Jae reached the front door

you talked a few more minutes about how much you enjoyed yourself and the funny and awkward moments you two noticed

‘Apparently you don’t only make me happy but my friends too.’

you beamed at the compliment

even though you enjoyed the night as well, the validation that they did too meant a lot to you

‘So I’ve been approved?’ ‘Clearly.’

he insisted on walking you home 

you discussed the evening even more

he explained more about their personalities and memories he has with them which now made so much sense to you

your fingers were intertwined, arms swinging back and forth playfully

for some reason he felt a lump in his throat

but he couldn’t quite figure out why

it even distracted him from your conversation a few times

which is very unlike him so you noticed quickly

when you stopped walking to ask him what was wrong

looking him in the eye to show you you were not taking nothing for an answer

the determined look in your eyes made him realize what it was

what he had been holding back

but he didn’t say it

not yet

after a few minutes you reached your frontdoor

‘Thank you for the great evening, I’m sure they’ll want you back as soon as possible.’

he leaned in for a goodnight’s kiss, holding you close a little tighter than usual

for a second he pulled back

‘I love you-’

before connecting your lips again

[voiceless-terror]

(if you feel like it) what about “snowed in” or “comfort” with jontim for the tma december bingo? my jontim brainrot never stops and I’d love to see what you come up with (I’m sure it’d be amazing as always) thanks so much !

The JonTim brainrot is real and appreciated! I combined this prompt with one of @balanced-to-a-tea‘s, who asked for Secret Santa with the season one archives gang! Here there be 3.5k words of gifts, pining, and kisses of the Jon/Tim variety :)

“It’s a mess out there,” Tim reported, plopping down in his office chair and looking strangely cheerful, given the situation. “Looks like we’re stuck here for the time being.”

There were audible groans all around, though Jon’s was quieter than the others. If he were being honest, their current situation was his fault- he asked them to hang back at the end of the day and help him with some unreachable boxes (unreachable for him, that is). He was trying to get into the habit of checking the weather in the mornings, though he never managed to actually do it until he was too far from his flat to get an umbrella or a heavier coat. This resulted in a few sticky situations, including several occasions of arriving late, looking like a drowned rat. 

“And here I was going to tuck in for the night, have a glass of wine, blast the heat at unreasonable levels,” Sasha complained, doing a half-hearted twirl in her chair. “Terrible!”

“What if we lose power?” Martin fretted, still outfitted in his coat and scarf. “I heard there’s going to be high winds. High winds!” Jon’s guilt increased. Being stuck with his (likely angry) staff in the Archives was not a great start to his career as Head Archivist. And just when we were getting along again…

“I’m sorry,” he began, his hands fidgeting. “I shouldn’t have started this project so late, I didn’t realize the weather would get quite as nasty as it did…”

“Don’t worry about it, boss!” Tim grinned, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on his desk, an act Jon would usually scowl at him for. “Should’ve told you ‘bout the storm. You never check the weather reports.” Jon flushed; Tim knew him too well. “Besides, I can’t say I was expecting it to get this bad; London’s not known for its prodigious snowfall.”

“You don’t seem too put-out by it.” Martin eyed Tim suspiciously as he began to unwind his scarf. “You’re smiling.”

“Well, yeah!” Tim swirled around, eyeing them all with an unfettered glee. Jon wondered what he had in mind; there was never a dull moment when Tim had free time. He’d learned that the hard way. “There’s something so romantic about being snowed-in, don’t you agree, Jon?”

Jon did not agree; being trapped, even in a big building like the Institute, left him feeling anxious and restless. Sasha agreed, if her rolled eyes were anything to go by. Martin seemed to be considering it, though.

“I suppose there’s something poetic about it?” he mused, leaning back against the wall. “The snow falling, blanketing the ground in white…” All eyes turned to him and he blushed under the scrutiny.

“See! Martin’s got the spirit.” Tim clapped his hands and got to his feet. “We’ve got leftovers from lunch in the fridge. Between that and Martin’s stash of tea biscuits, we won’t go hungry. And there’s that weird frozen lasagna in the back of the freezer…”

“We don’t have an oven, Tim,” Jon pointed out. “And I’m fairly certain that’s been in there for more than a year.”

Tim continued, impervious to any criticism. “And if we have to stay the night, Jon’s got that cot he thinks we don’t know about-”

“Hey-!”

“-and we can raid all the break rooms for their gross cushions-”

“I am not sleeping here,” Sasha said, punctuating the statement with a slam of a hand on her desk. “The weather report says it's supposed to pass over soon. We’ll only be here for a few hours, tops.”

“Weather reports are wrong all the time, Sash! Think of the fun we could get up to.” Tim smiled and Jon’s heart stuttered without his permission, most likely due to the idea of what Tim considered ‘fun.’ With the way his eyes lit up, however, Jon couldn’t fight a small smile. “Ooh! We could do Secret Santa, like we used to do in Research. Remember?”

Jon did remember. He still kept some of the gifts he’d received, mostly small trinkets from Tim and Sasha that somehow managed to give him a small thrill of happiness whenever he saw them. Still, he didn’t know how they could do such a thing in the Archives, with nothing around that could constitute a gift.

“How’re we supposed to do that?” Martin asked, sharing Jon’s concern. “Statements and office supplies are the only things we have access to.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Tim replied, nudging Martin with his foot. “We’ll get creative! I’m sure with a little thought and effort, we can all find something suitable.” He’d already begun to scribble their names on a piece of paper. “C’mon, it’ll pass the time. Please?” Jon sighed, unable to argue when Tim used his most pathetic puppy-dog eyes. 

“Fine,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at Tim’s whoop of enthusiasm. “But don’t expect anything extravagant. I’m not feeling particularly creative.”

“I guess it could be a good distraction,” Sasha acquiesced, with Martin nodding tentatively. “How long do we get to find a gift? Or make one, I suppose.”

“An hour? Two? Then we can all meet back here and exchange!” Tim nodded, and without waiting for any agreement he crumpled the pieces of paper into a cup and stood up. “Martin, you first. No peeking!”

“I won’t,” he mumbled, reaching in with one hand with his head turned pointedly away. He pulled out a slip of paper and immediately turned red upon opening it. “Um, alright. Yeah.” Maybe he got Tim, Jon mused. 

Sasha picked next, her face giving nothing away. Tim held the cup out to Jon, waggling his eyebrows. He ignored this, reaching in to pick one of the remaining two slips of paper. Tim!! It read, with several smiley faces and hearts. He felt his own face heating up and shoved the slip into his pocket, staring at the floor.

“And last but certainly not least, me!” Tim took the last slip with a flourish, grinning at what he read. The four of them stared at each other for an awkward beat until Tim broke the silence with a shrill whistle.

“What are you waiting for? Clock’s a tickin’!”

Fuck.

________

It had been an hour and a half. As far as Jon knew, Tim and Sasha were waiting in the break room, steadily demolishing Martin’s stash of sweets, the man himself having locked himself in Document Storage and thereby eliminating one more place for Jon to scavenge for a gift (not that there was anything in there, but it was the principle of the thing). So now here he sat, moping in his office with nary an idea for what to give Tim.

Tim. He was glad they’d started talking again, albeit not with the same frequency as before. There was of course an adjustment period, that was to be expected- especially when someone younger and arguably less qualified than quite a few candidates suddenly became your boss. But Tim had always been there for him, tolerated his quirks, helped him through a breakdown or two. He stuck by his side when most people in the department couldn’t stand him. Perhaps, with some time, they could go back to being as close as they were. Or closer.

Jon tamped that thought down- it was ridiculous to even think about, now that he was his boss. Professional boundaries aside, what would Tim even see in him? It wasn’t his fault Jon read into every wink, every casual word of praise. A hug or a warm arm around his shoulder that he leaned into instead of turning away. Tim did that with everyone, Jon wasn’t special. He wasn’t Sasha, with her beautiful laugh and her razor-sharp wit. Hell, he’d probably pick Martin over him. Someone nicer, with less sharp edges. Someone who laughed as easily as he did.

Someone who wasn’t Jon.

He shook himself from these thoughts, attempting to concentrate on the task at hand. What did he have that Tim could possibly want? Not his rubber band ball, though he knew that Tim was jealous of its now astronomical proportions (he added to it when he was stressed, which he always was these days). Not the stale packet of crisps in the bottom of his drawer. He thought vaguely of getting a book he thought Tim would like from the library, but that was more of a loan. Maybe an article he found interesting? Tim always used to read the ones Jon forwarded him, and even had a thing or two to say at the end of them. But maybe he found them annoying. Maybe he just did that to shut Jon up. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Jon’s thoughts kept straying to the foyer of the institute, where festive decorations had been set up at the start of the month, most likely Rosie’s doing. There was a beautiful handmade wreath, filled with pinecones and red flowers and other seasonal flora. He remembered back in Research, when Tim would terrorize them all with stupid little pranks and games, his main target being Jon. Jon would always duck away, grumble and complain, and Tim didn’t take it personally. Maybe I’ll indulge him just this once.

Mind made up, he slipped out of his office.

________

Tim watched his three friends with undisguised amusement.

Martin was fidgeting in his seat, constantly crinkling the grocery bag he’d decorated to look more seasonal. Tim knew at once that he’d gotten Jon; he wouldn’t have turned that red for anyone else. Poor sod. Tim had Sasha, a gift he wouldn’t sweat over. She appreciated a good gag. He was fairly certain Sasha got Martin, judging by her neutral, unbothered expression.

Or maybe he just hoped she did. Because that would mean that Jon got Tim.

Not that it would mean anything. He was just interested in what Jon would pick out, that’s all. He could be surprisingly thoughtful, if past gifts were anything to go by. He still had the small box of fidget toys on his desk, where they got regular use.

He clapped his hands decisively, attempting to clear his mind of any more Jon-thoughts. “Well, then. As the emcee for this event, I’ll go first. Sasha, may I present to you the Tim Stoker Coupon Bonanza, valued at over one thousand dollars- but for you? Free!”

He revealed it with all the fanfare of a marriage proposal, bending down on one knee to hand over a binder of hastily drawn nonsense that Sasha would surely appreciate. She took it just as delicately, thumbing through the pages with a delightful smirk.

“One free coffee from the place around the corner?” She put a hand to her chest in faux- surprise. “Tim, you shouldn’t have!” Never mind that he already got her coffee every morning.

“I know, I know. I’m too generous, really.”

“One three hour lunch break. Don’t think Jon would like that.”

“He can come along. Marto too!”

“One date to the Jade Buffet, where we will split the check- Tim, the rest of these are more for you than they are-”

“Moving on!” He interrupted. “Sasha, why don’t you show us what you’ve got?” She ignored his  wink, shutting the book with an over-exaggerated sigh. She reached out for a small bag on her desk, which she handed over to Martin. He thanked her quietly, unwrapping a mug- Sasha’s favorite, with a cartoon of a dog that she’d hand-painted (Sharpie’d, would be more accurate) to look like one of those highland cows Martin was always going on about. The entire effect was monstrous, but Martin seemed touched. Tim was happy too, as this meant Jon must have drawn his name.

“Oh that’s- that’s so nice, thank you Sasha!” His smile was infectious, even Jon wasn’t immune to it (though he tried to hide it). 

“It’ll probably come off if you wash it, so I wouldn’t actually use it,” Sasha advised. “But it could make a nice pencil holder.”

“Oh! That’s handy-”

“Ahem!” Tim once again interrupted; he was eager to see what Martin had whipped up for Jon, considering he’d holed himself up for about two hours. “Martin, I believe it’s your turn?”

“Um, y-yeah.” He put the cup down with some reluctance, picking up the bag he’d decorated with snowflakes and trees and handing it over to Jon, who looked surprised that anyone had gotten him anything. It was an expression Tim was used to; Jon never expected kindness, even in circumstances when he would very clearly receive it. Silly man. 

As soon as Jon began to reach into the bag, Martin stumbled through an explanation. “You don’t need to keep it, n-not if you don’t want, but y-you’re always saying you’re cold and y’know, I have extras, so-”

Martin had given Jon one of his many scarves, this one a worn, dark green that was sure to look lovely with his skin tone. He spent two hours deciding on that? It was a nice gift, for sure. Jon held it in his hands like it was completely foreign to him, though Tim could see him running his fingers over the knit appreciatively, looking at it with wide eyes.

“B-But this is your scarf, Martin,” he said, once he found the words. “I can’t-”

“Well now it’s yours,” Martin replied, his voice steadying with resolve. “Anyway, I um- it’s got your name on it. Or your initials, at least.” He gave a nervous laugh, his face turning even redder if possible.

And sure enough, at the end of the scarf was a small, messy embroidered J.S., along with a crude attempt at a small cat face. The effort was adorable, and it sent a pang through Tim’s chest for several reasons he didn’t want to name.

“T-That’s- well, thank you, Martin.” Jon ran his fingers over the small ‘J’ as if it would disappear if he looked away. “That’s very thoughtful of you.” Jon placed it almost reverently back in the bag, giving Martin a rare, genuine smile, one that Tim wished he had put on his face. Stop that.

“Jon’s turn!” he said, mustering up his last bit of enthusiasm. “I for one have no idea who Jon got, so this is going to be a real surprise-”

“S-Shut up, Tim.” Jon muttered, reaching for something behind him. He hesitated, his hands trembling slightly as he pulled out a small sprig of what looked to be pine needles, because it couldn’t be what Tim thought it was, no sir, that wouldn’t make sense-

He watched as Jonathan Sims moved closer and with shaking hands and a beet-red face, moved up on his tippy-toes to hold a tiny sprig of mistletoe above their heads. And then, in what surely must have been a hallucination or a dream sequence, two lips met his in a tiny peck of a kiss that was over before Tim could truly register it. 

He stared unblinking as Jon sank back on his heels, his eyes still tightly shut from the kiss. Tim brought a hand up to his mouth, the warm tingle of slightly chapped lips on his still fresh in his mind. Jon began to stutter in the absolute silence of the room, stumbling backwards without looking up from his feet.

“I’m, um- I-I have to. S-Sorry! I’m going to... goodbye now.”

And with that Jonathan Sims fled the room, leaving three stupefied assistants in his wake. 

_________

“Knock Knock!”

Tim tried to keep his voice as light as possible. He didn’t think Jon could stand anything more than that right now.

He’d given him a half hour of solitude, enough for him to overcome whatever embarrassment he felt over the encounter. Martin was stewing in a corner, looking shell-shocked and mopey over the turn of events. Tim was just as shocked as he was. Little Jonathan Sims, grumpy researcher and now even grumpier Head Archivist, giving Tim a kiss? Under the mistletoe?

“Go get him,” Sasha smirked, kicking his chair. “Bring him some food. And maybe return the favor.”

So he took a plate of reheated Pad Thai and a bottle of rum he kept under his desk for special occasions, hoping to win Jon over. Let him know the kiss was much appreciated, and that perhaps he’d like another if Jon was so inclined.

The man jumped up from his desk, where he’d had his head pillowed in his arms and his chunkiest cardigan wrapped around him for warmth. It was getting colder, and Tim hadn’t checked outside recently, too distracted by current events. His face was still flushed red, and he wouldn’t meet Tim’s eyes. I’ll have to change that.

“Thought I’d come bearing gifts.” He waved the bottle of rum around for Jon to see as he walked into the room. “Of the food and drink variety. But I wouldn’t mind a repeat of what happened in the break room.” He threw in a wink for good measure- God, why couldn’t he ever be serious? He always fell back on jokes and teasing words.

“I’m-I’m sorry, Tim,” Jon groaned, reaching out for the rum and pouring a liberal amount into a mug that previously housed tea. He still avoided Tim’s eyes. “That was completely inappropriate, I-I just couldn’t think of-”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he placed the food down on Jon’s desk, ignoring the pain in his heart at the apology. So he didn’t mean it. He plopped down on Jon’s couch, trying to feign a lightness he didn’t feel as he drank straight from the bottle. “No harm, no foul. It was nice.” He shrugged. Jon moved from his desk to join him on the couch, looking so adorable and cozy that Tim had to restrain from taking him in his arms. He watched as Jon took two large mouthfuls of the rum, knocking it back like a champ. Jesus. And then he raised his eyes to his, meeting them with a wide-eyed hopefulness that made Tim’s heart stutter in his chest.

“So- so you didn’t mind?”

“Nope.” Tim took another sip of the rum, wondering where this was going. He wouldn’t…

“Then you-,” Jon gulped, seemingly gathering his courage. “You wouldn’t mind if we- that is, if I maybe did it again?”

Tim stared.

“I-I still have the mistletoe.”

Jon sat there, so earnest and vulnerable, his hands fidgeting with the drink in his lap. Tim remembered the first time he laid eyes on him, the taciturn young researcher with a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. He imagined asking him on a date, getting to know the man under that prickly exterior. Making him laugh, getting that rare smile that Martin got today. But he didn’t seem interested and Tim never wanted to push it, too respectful of his boundaries.

But maybe he hadn’t imagined the way Jon leaned into his touch. How he laughed at Tim’s shitty jokes a bit longer than necessary. That the looks he got in the library weren’t ones of annoyance, but fondness. So he set the bottle down, took the drink out of Jon’s hands and replaced it with the warm grip of his own. His voice came out low, quiet and serious and utterly unlike him.

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” And he leaned in and kissed Jonathan Sims, just like he wanted to do all those years ago.

It was a sweet, lingering thing- the taste of rum on his lips, lips that parted so easily for Tim like he’d been waiting, wanting this for so long, maybe even as long as Tim had. And when they finally parted, Jon stared at him with those deep brown eyes and gave him the smile he’d been wishing for and it was just for him. He put that there.

“Was-was that okay?” he murmured, feeling nervous and open under Jon’s intense gaze. 

“Yes,” was the whispered response. He let out a small, charming laugh that Tim would always remember when he thought back to this night, the first night of many stolen kisses and secret smiles. “I-I liked that.”

“Well, good!” Tim could no longer contain the urge to have Jon in his arms and pulled him to his chest, appreciating the small squeak it earned him. “Because there’s more where that came from.” Jon leaned into his touch, as if trying to leech every bit of warmth from Tim that he could. It felt so utterly right to be here, on this uncomfortable couch with an armful of the man he’d been pining over for the last three years. Score, a giddy part of his mind yelled. They laid there in silence for a few minutes, reveling in the feeling of affection finally realized when Jon’s head perked up from his chest, a concerned look in his eyes.

“Do you think Rosie’s going to notice I nicked her mistletoe?”

Tim snickered. “Oh, absolutely. But I’ll take the fall. She’s not getting that back.”

Jon was always thoughtful with his gifts. And this was one he intended to keep.

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201134

[jinkicake]

Seeing Them After A Breakup

Running into Oikawa/Tendou/Kuroo/Ushijima after a breakup.

I am president of the post-breakup company, the amount of iwaoi fics I have read with this trope is more than all of my current textbooks combined. 

Also. Please stay safe wherever you are! I hope you’re alright! </3

WC - 2,213

~~~

“Oikawa?” A soft voice Oikawa keeps hearing in his dreams calls out to him and he nearly trips on his face as he turns around to face you. His light eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees you actually standing in front of him, looking as timid as the day he met you. The sour thought that it shouldn’t be like this runs through his brain and he smiles at you to try and hide the hurt he is facing. 

“What are you doing here?” You ask quietly, gripping the bags in your hands tightly. Oikawa looks down and notices the grocery bags in your hands, making the realization you must’ve come back from shopping after school, it truly is a small town.

“Just dropping Takeru off at practice.” His voice comes out hard and you slightly flinch. Oikawa mentally slaps himself at how cold his tone sounds and he notices you twirl a strand of hair around your finger, something you always did when you were nervous. It shouldn’t be like this.

“Oh, you’re not watching his practice today?” Your voice keeps drawing Oikawa back from his thoughts and he reaches to take the heavy bags out of your hands, surprised that you actually let him. 

“No, I was going to go and practice by myself.” Oikawa has had the problem of pushing himself lately, he puts his all into volleyball practice and when he’s not actually practicing he’s thinking about practice. If he stops to think about anything else then his thoughts will drift back to you and that won’t end well for the setter. Guilt fills his chest when he hears your disappointed sigh and he notices your stare on his knee, his injured one. He can tell by your irritated expression that you want to tell him off and he is internally begging you to do so, one last time for his sake. 

“Y-you shouldn’t push yourself so hard To-“ Your eyes fall to the ground and you quickly correct yourself. “You shouldn’t push yourself so hard Oikawa.” Crossing your arms over your chest you look away from him, embarrassed at your slip up. Even at the utter of his name the boy nearly collapses begging you to take him back, if only he could be so selfish. Baby steps, he tells himself. 

“(Y/N) can I walk you home?” The handsome boy asks you and you feel your heart flutter in your chest, holding onto hope that something will rekindle between the two of you. That idea is stupid and you keep telling yourself that but, with a bright smile you nod and take Oikawa’s extended hand in yours. 

~

Tendou drags himself into the convenience store, looking for something to fill his after-practice monster appetite. His eyes lower to the shelf of hot meals and his long taped fingers reach out to place two different meals in his basket before turning around to the ice cream cooler. He fails to notice the girl on the other side of the cooler, just as she fails to notice him. 

Tendou reaches out to grab the last chocolate ice cream and instead of grabbing the cool plastic he meets a smaller hand. With an annoyed sigh, the middle-blocker rolls his shoulders back, standing up to his true height to try and scare whoever is in front of him into giving him the treat. When his red eyes finally lay on your shocked face they widen and he has the same level of shock twinkling in his eyes. A deep pang settles in his chest when you shyly laugh at the ground, clutching your skirt in your fist before holding the ice cream out for him.

“Here, it’s your favorite anyway. I was only getting it because-“ Confusion etches onto the boy's face when he notices your smile falling and your eyes dropping back to the ground. Because I was thinking of you, you wanted to say but, how weird is that to say to your ex-boyfriend.

“Oh, thanks.” You visibly flinch when his taped fingers brush against yours to take the now, probably, unfrozen ice cream cone. 

“Volleyball isn’t treating you any better huh?” You finally look back up at the redhead and give him a smile, hoping to hear his laugh one more time. 

Tendou only looks at his fingers before looking back at your face as he lets out a shaky laugh. God he is pathetic, the boy scolds himself. Despite all the negative thoughts flooding into his mind just telling him to leave, to leave you alone, he can’t help but need to have you in his arms again. 

“You can’t get any more injured, it’ll be a pretty boring game if you’re not on the court.” You tell him, trying to mask the pride you feel for him during his matches, as you wave and walk towards the counter. Tendou only stands frozen as you walk away from him and he feels his mind slowing down as he can only focus on one thing. He notices the rice ball and drink in your hands and his eyes shine bright. 

“Do you want to eat together?” His voice surprised you and you can’t help the smile that breaks onto your face when you notice him holding up his basket way too high. With a more than necessary nod you finish paying and wait for him to do the same. 

~

The warm spring air kisses Kuroo’s bare skin as he walks towards the train station. How he got roped into hanging out with Yamamoto in the city, he doesn’t know. The night is still young and the stars are starting to brighten as the moon lifts higher into the sky. Kuroo releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he looks up at the night sky, something you used to make him do all the time. He lets out a low laugh because once again for the umpth time that day you stormed into his mind unannounced. It's been like this for two weeks, he just can’t get you off his mind. 

“Yes, mom I’ll be home in like thirty minutes.” Kuroo saw you before he heard you, your small frame brushing past him like he was another stranger amongst the crowd. “Yes, I was hanging out after school with friends. What were we doing? Mom we were studying.” Kuroo can hear the irritation in your voice, your mom always had to ask more questions than necessary. “No mom he was not there.” He watches with curious eyes as your shoulders fall and you practically slouch over. 

“No mom I am not going to invite him over because you want to see him, we broke up!” Kuroo knows for a fact you’re talking about him, he almost feels bad for eavesdropping but that doesn’t stop him from blending into the busy train station. “Huh? Yes, mom, I do miss him but,” You let out a sigh and shake your head. “Whatever it doesn’t matter, I’ll be home in thirty.” 

Kuroo can’t help the laugh slip out as he watches you violently hang up and throw your phone into your bag. The small smile etches onto his face as he stares at your back and thinks about the relationship the two of you shared. It seems impossible but every day Kuroo knows he falls in love with you more and more, even broken up. Despite his cool head, he can practically feel his heart jumping in his throat as the train approaches. Remain cool, remain cool. He tells himself over and over as the crowd moves into the packed train. 

An elbow is shoved into his side and he lets out an annoyed sigh to glance down at the drunk old man jumping off the train at the last minute. Kuroo looks around the train car again to try and find you but he loses you, if he doesn’t feel like a complete idiot right now. Rolling his eyes the tall boy leans against the door of the train, failing to notice your small frame already there. 

“Hey!” You squeak out pushing away his side that is crushing you against the door. Your glare falls when you meet Kuroo’s eyes and a blush paints over your cheeks. Nervously you drop your gaze to the floor and grimace at your shoes. 

“Sorry you’re so small I didn’t even see you.” The teasing tone causes your eyes to narrow as you try to hide the smile on your face. Kuroo nearly kicks himself but your smile is worth it, it will always be. You cross your arms over your chest and let out a sigh, knowing that your eyes show the exhaustion you’re facing. “Rough day?” Kuroo has to ask, drag the conversation along no matter how stupid he will look. His shoulders drop in relief when you laugh and shake your head.

“One like you wouldn’t believe.” You run your fingers through your messy hair, freezing when your fingers get caught in the knots. Subtly you try to release your hand from your hair but it doesn’t go unnoticed by Kuroo. He tries to mask his laughter as he gingerly untangles your fingers out of your hair and you give him a pointed look. “Don’t say anything when your hair looks like that.” The teasing nature surrounds the two of you in a close bubble, and your heart starts to relax at the comfort. Kuroo wraps his hand around your own and you raise an eyebrow at him.

“Do you wanna, maybe, look at the stars?” His question causes an embarrassed flush to spread across your face as you recall your first efforts to try and ask him out. Instead of instantly hitting his arm like you normally would, all you can do is smile and nod.

“I’d like that Kuroo.” 

~

With an annoyed sigh, you drop the heavy bag to the floor, ignoring the empty water bottles clashing around inside of it. Sakunami comes up beside you and grabs the bag, hiking it over his own shoulder.

“Sakunami, it’s okay, give it to me.” You try to get the bag back from the first year but he only shakes his head. Sakunami was always helping you out whenever you needed it, he picked up on most things the other players didn’t when it came to you since you were closest to him on the team. 

“Manager let me help.” He stubbornly yanks the bag from your reach causing a sigh to drop from your mouth as you let out a soft ‘fine’. Sakunami wanted to press and ask if the reason you were upset today was because of your ex-boyfriend. Before he gets the chance to ask you, a tall figure looms over both of you. The tiny first-year instantly steps in front of you protectively and looks completely stupid trying to take on Ushijima. The ace only stares down at you, waiting for you to look back at him but your eyes remain glued to the ground. “Manager I can-“ Sakunami tries to stand up for you but is instantly shot down by the bigger player. 

“Leave.” Ushijima wasn’t going to ask twice and his glare pierced the first year on the spot. The tone of his voice causes you to look up at him, an anger in your eyes that is rivaling his own.

“Don’t be such an ass Ushiwaka.” You practically spit before lightly placing your hand on Sakunami’s elbow. “It’s okay, I’ll meet you out front in a few minutes.” The first year looks between the older pair and his eyes filled with worry. “Don’t worry.” You softly consult him and he walks away, but not without another glance back at the two of you. 

“What do you want, Ushijima?” Crossing your arms over your chest you stand defensively, not wanting to hear anything come out of his mouth. It’s hard looking him in the eye so you resort to looking back down at the ground.  

“I’m sorry.” His apology is crystal clear and your eyes widen in shock slightly but remain to stare at the floor. “I never meant to neglect you the way I did. I let you down.” Disappointment is heavy in his voice and you bite the inside of your cheek, slowly raising your gaze to look up at him. Ushijima has the same rest face full of intimidation but his eyes hold regret, hurt swirling around his olive eyes. 

It’d be a lie to say that Ushijima treated you as his top priority last month, things began to slip and he treated you like a background figure. When you finally dumped his ass he took it hard. “I hate having you mad at me.” His low voice turns soft and your frown deepens, itching to reach out and grab his hand. 

“Ushijima.” The sigh leaves your mouth and you’re biting the inside of your cheek, wondering what to say next. “I accept your apology. I miss you.” His eyes widen as a flush paints over your cheeks. Gently his hand scoops up your own and you smile softly at the action of his skin brushing against yours. “You should call me later tonight Wakatoshi.”

[drusb]

You're Not Here (Silent Hill 3) AU

(SPOILERS FOR SILENT HILL 1, 2 AND 3)

Alright, since people seem to enjoy my Silent Hill 2 AU, which I will now rename to the Restless Dreams AU, I'm continuing the story, this time with Silent Hill 3.

Quick recap of the Restless Dreams AU:

Sam, a detective in Maine who's wife recently passed away goes to Silent Hill because apparently his wife, WHO IS DEAD, is there. Sam proceeds to have wacky adventures in the town where he shoves his hand down a dirty toilet to get a safe combination, goes through a building that obviously has violated many building codes, and bashes a bunch of monsters that represent his greatest fears in with a wooden plank. He also meets a 12 year old girl named Geek and a white lagomorph named Max, who wears a wig and is in drag. Max claims to work at the local club, Heaven's Night, but that's all he remembers. The two go together and go through a hospital, prison and hotel. Max goes missing in the hotel, Sam watches a video tape and remembers how abusive his wife really was. Sam and Max reunite and Max is revealed to be Silent Hill's god. The two confess their love, and leave with Geek. They get married, Max becomes Sam's partner, and they adopt Geek.

Alright, now on to the main part.

It's been 5 years since Sam came back from Silent Hill. Life for him has been pretty good. One day, when out grocery shopping, (Max was barred from the store after an incident involving Glazed McGuffins and some Lovecraftian being) Sam is approached by a woman named Claudia. She wants him to find her childhood best friend, a woman named Heather Morris. She promises a good pay, and gives some in advance. After this, Sam heads home, and tells Max about their next job. All they know about Heather is that she's a teenage girl, so they decide to go to the place where a teenage girl in the early 2000's would obviously go, the mall in the afternoon.

When they get to the mall, they decide that the best course of action is to ask every teenage girl in the mall if they know Heather Morris. By pure luck, the first girl they ask just so happens to be Heather. They tell her that they're detectives and that they were looking for her. Heather tells them to go away, and she goes into the women's washroom to get away from them. The two then realize they've overstepped their boundaries and Sam goes to apologize to Heather, but she's already escaped through the back window. They then decide to just head back to the entrance of the mall and tail her back to her place to talk with her parents. When they exit the washroom, they realize that the mall is deserted, and the way to the entrance has been blocked off. Realizing something supernatural has taken over, the two decide to explore the mall. While there they rage over Shakespeare, make cracks about walnuts, realize that something has put the Other World into the mall, and watch as Heather kills a weird snake monster. Eventually they meet Heather again at the entrance. Heather accuses them of working with Claudia. Sam says that she hired them to find her, and nothing else. Heather then tries to ditch them by going into the subway. Max then points out that the doors to the parking lot are all locked, so the only way out is through the subway. Whether Heather likes it or not, they have to stick together.

In the subway, the three almost get run over by a train. As well, Heather starts to warm up to Sam and Max. Their journeys take them though a sewer, where Max electrocutes himself and throws himself into water to kill a monster, and they meet some fairy after Heather accidentally drops her pipe she was using as a weapon in the water. Max proceeds to shoot it because it startled him. They make their way through a construction building, and then into an office building, where they kill a mysterious being by reading a fairy tale. Also they meet some guy named Vincent, who creeps them all out. They then leave and head back to Heather's apartment building only to find out that Heather's father has been murdered. Heather realizes that Claudia was the one who did it, and is up on the roof. She then runs to confront Claudia. Meanwhile back in the apartment, Max realizes who Heather's father is. It's Harry Mason, the man who stopped the cult in Silent Hill and freed Max. Max is not happy about this, as he owes a great deal of gratitude to him. Eventually Heather comes down and reveals they have to go to Silent Hill. After a makeshift funeral where Max and Heather speak, the three head off to Silent Hill for revenge. The DeSoto was in the car parking lot, Max just used some of his power to summon it to where they were.

On the car ride, the three talk about their pasts. Sam and Max learn that Heather is the reincarnation of Alessa, the girl used to corrupt Silent Hill, and that Claudia is a member of the cult, and wants to bring what she thinks is paradise by having a corrupted god be born via Heather. They also realize that the cult is on it's last legs, and this attempt at bringing "paradise" is their final attempt at their goals before they get wiped out. When they reach Silent Hill, Vincent is there to tell Heather that she must gather a seal from the hospital. After this, Heather sets off to the hospital, and Sam and Max decide to go sight-seeing. They check out the historical society and find Lorne's corpse still there, they go hang out at Heaven's Night, and Max does a dance on the pole for Sam, and then they return to find that they have to go to the Lakeside Amusement Park.

When the three get there, they find that the park has been shrouded in the Other World. Heather feels deja vu, and finds a key for the roller coaster. Sam points out how it's odd how the mascot of this place is a rabbit. Max says that due to a subconscious influence, most of the mascots of Silent Hill businesses and attractions were lagomorphs. After jumping off of the roller coaster, they get separated. Although Sam and Max are still together. Eventually, the two manage to confront Claudia, and she attempts to use one of her monsters to kill Sam. Max then proceeds to utterly destroy it, with extreme fury. Claudia then realizes that Max is the god of Silent Hill, and she's pissed him off by trying to kill his husband. So Claudia decides to do the most logical thing, and runs away. Sam and Max try to chase after her, but Sam trips and twists his ankle. Heather then comes along and thinks that they got attacked, but they're actually fine. Max says he'll stay with Sam and that it's Heather's job to stop the cult now.

Eventually the Other World fades, and the Fog World returns to the park. Heather returns with news that the god has been killed. Sam and Max are proud of her. Max then reveals that Heather has some power in her, left over from her past life as Alessa. He then tries to get Heather to use some of that power, and she turns into a white lagomorph. Apparently that's something Silent Hill deities can do. Except for Sam. She then turns back into a human. Afterwards, Sam and Max become Heather's legal guardians until she turns 18. They also become her mentors, and teach her how to use her powers for good. They part on good terms, and Heather becomes an artist when she grows up. She still visits Sam and Max occasionally.

THE END

[thiswasinevitableid]

Have you seen the post going around about the zoom class with one guy and his full streamer setup vs the guy whose just in the middle of the woods? I know you have a prompt list rn but I’m just saying there’s a sternclay fic in there somewhere...

It is! Here you go!

Life is better with order. Or, at the very least, with some attempt at patterns, organization, or consistency. 

Which is why Stern has carefully arranged his desk, his chair, and his equipment in the background. Streaming as a hobby and a side hustle means he has some (okay, a lot) of practice making his digital self look just right. He needs to make a good impression on the first day of the semester.

Unlike some people. 

“Holy shit man, are you in the woods?” Duck, the guy in a “Monongahela National Forest” shirt, grins as he asks this of another student whose screen consists of a forest clearing, a log, and the name “Barclay.”

“Yeah. Hang on, lemme finish getting the phone balanced.”

“Dude, that’s like, way better than my background” this comes from Jake, in front of a poorly rendered half-pipe. 

“Can’t really take credit for it, just where I ended up.” Barclay sits down, and Stern gets his first look at a man so tall he barely fits in the frame, with a short, coppery beard and an honest-to-god man-bun.

Damn west coast schools. 

“How is your battery going to last long enough for class?” Stern leans back in his chair, certain Barclay will have “battery trouble” halfway through as an excuse to cut out early.

Barclay smiles, lifting up a small green and black rectangle, “solar battery. Not everyone needs fancy gadgets for school.” He aims a pointed stare at Sterns set-up. 

“It’s important to have the right equipment.”

“Whatever you say, man.” He lifts a cup of iced coffee into the frame, sipping it through a straw. It’s the picture of relaxation, as if nothing is wrong in the world. As if this is all totally normal. 

Stern wants to reach through the  screen and slap some sense into him. Preferably while he’s shirtless.

He chalks that thought up to not having gotten laid since last December and pulls up his note taking software as Professor Chicane enters the room.

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

Private Chat 9/20/20

Duck (he/him): I timed it, we’re already at ten minutes of arguing.

Indrid (he/him): I know Ned enjoys their demonstrating the different modes of rhetoric, but this is a bit extreme.

Duck: To be fair, Joe does seem kinda uptight.

Indrid: Yes, but Barclay should know by now that zeroing in on him during our practice debates only results in this.

Duck: Yeah. Oh shit, are they for real wrapping up you think?

Indrid: We can only hope. Skype me tonight?

Duck: Of course, sugar.

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

What is Joseph’s problem? He’s got a set-up that would make a pro-vlogger jealous, what looks to be a well-lit apartment with some houseplants and the kind of coffee-cups that are weirdly lacking in personality. His clothes are immaculate, his hair slicked back as if he;s in a business meeting rather than an online class in the midst of a chaotic world. So why is he acting like everything is terrible? And why is he always arguing with Barclay, when there are plenty of other people in the class to disagree with?

“Now” Mr. Chicane’s voice booms through the tiny speaker on his phone, “if you all had a chance to read over the instructions, we will begin the first mock debate. Do we have any volunteers?”

He and Joe raise their hands at the same time. Mr. Chicane raises an eyebrow.

“While I appreciate your eagerness, gentlemen, I would like two other volunteers this time.”

That’s fine by him. It’s not like he likes listening to Joseph get all wound up and passionate, making everyone on the call sit up and take notice of him. It’s not as if he enjoys being the center of his focus. 

Nope, not at all.

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

Private chat 10/11/20

Jake (he/him): Dudes, did you see who got paired up on the final project?

Aubrey (she/her): Chicane must be getting them back for all the times they’ve hijacked discussions. 

Duck (he/him): Man, for their sake I hope it works out.

Indrid (he/him): This is going to be a disaster.

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

“Are you out of your mind!” Stern is talking before Barclay’s video is fully on. 

“Nope. And you don’t have to yell, my speaker works just fine.”

“You’re outside, for all I know there’s a ton of ambient noise.”

Barclay, phone obviously in his hand as he walks through the trees, groans.

“And don’t try to derail this; how can you possibly suggest I come out there so we can do the project in person? We’re supposed to be limiting travel and gatherings.”

“Look, Joseph, we both agree that trying to generate our own cryptid hoax is the best way to demonstrate all the techniques Ned wants us too, right?”

“Yes” he hides his answer behind the rim of his coffee mug. 

“We’ll do a way better job if we work in the same space. And if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had any human contact in three weeks; all quarantined up, unlike whatever you’ve been doing in the city.”

He sets the mug down with a thunk, “I haven’t been out in a month. And before that was only for one grocery run and a hospital visit.”

“Uhhh-”

“I cut my hand cooking. So. Yeah.”

Literal crickets chirp, courtesy of Barclay’s end of the line, as the silence stretches on.

“If it helps, it’s real easy to stay isolated here, and I’ve still got utilities and everything.”

“And you’re not subsisting only on MREs or granola or something?”

A deep chuckle, the kind that makes his skin prickle, “Nope. That much I can promise.”

Stern glances around the studio apartment, clean and empty. 

“What’s your address?”

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

Look, all Stern is going to say is that he’s seen and read plenty of stories that start with a cabin in the woods and none of them end well. Which is why he’s still sitting in his car, parked beside a beat-up Subaru, rather than knocking on the door. 

Breathe in, five counts. Out for four. Repeat four times. 

Waiting for him on the door is a note.

Joseph,

Key under mat, make yourself at home. 

Barclay. 

He brings in his bags (a matching set of three, a gift from his aunt last year), placing them in the tiny guest room. It’s not much more than a bed, a dresser, and a tiny table. But there’s a heating unit below the window looking out into the woods, which is pretty pleasant. He’ll be keeping the blinds closed at night, though; he hates the thought of something being able to look in. 

Stern’s busy evaluating the laundry closet when the front door opens. 

“Hey, glad you found the place okay.”

Barclay stands in the doorway, a basket full of fruit in one hand. He’s remarkably kempt for a man living in the woods and that, combined with the deep voice being even richer in person and the fact Stern has to actually look up to meet his eyes, has him stumbling for words. 

“Your directions were very thorough. Thank you. Um. I put my things in there, should I, um-”

“I can give you the grand tour.” The taller man sets the basket on the dining table, notices Sterns puzzled expression “there’s a piece of property about a mile thataway that has orchards they don’t really use. They let me come and pick whenever i want, less for them to clean up.”

Barclay keeps up a steady monologue as he shows him the cabin. The lower level is the living room and dining area, a kitchen which leads onto the back deck, Sterns room, and a bathroom. As the cabin is A-frame, the upstairs is Barclay’s room, all dark wood and pine colored plaid. It’s as Barclay is telling him about the woodpecker that sometimes nests in the eaves that he realizes why he’s talking so much.

He’s nervous. 

Neither of their nerves improve when he gets to his last point of order. 

“Uh, so, the bathroom downstairs is only a half-bath.”

“So...if I want to shower, which I do, I have to come up here.”

“Yeah.” Barclay scratches the back of his neck, “sorry. I don’t, like, sleep naked or anything so we should be fine.”

“Disappointing.” Stern sighs, only to sail past sarcastic and land face first in sincere. 

Barclay blushes, then shrugs, “Trust me, after the first night, you’ll see why.”

Stern does. He’s warm as long as he’s in bed, but the moment he ventures into the bathroom in the middle of the night he’s cocooned in cold. 

The morning brings cinnamon and coffee on the draft coming under the door. He plods into the kitchen in search of caffeine, finds Barclay in an pron, the counter covered in trays of dough. 

“Morning!”

“Morning. Coffee-”

“Right there, sugar and stuff’s in the cabinet above it, cream and such is in the fridge.”

Blessedly, there’s heavy cream to be found, and soon he’s sipping from an enamel mug emblazoned with a UFO made of veggies. 

“Is this all for your job?” Barclay mentioned he was a cook during an icebreaker. 

“Yep. Way it works is I bust my ass baking once or twice a day, and Thacker, who works with Mama at the Lodge in town, comes and takes them over there. Normally I’d just be there but, well, y’know.”

“Everything is on fire? Figuratively, I mean.”

“Sometimes literally too, but yeah.”

As he’s turning to grab his clothes and head showerward, Barclay adds, “You a scone man, coffecake man, or a cinnamon roll man?”

“Coffeecake?” It comes out hesitant. 

“There’s no right answer, man.” Barclay sounds amused, “what do you want?”

“Cake, definitely.”

“Cool. I’ll save you a slice.”

Once he’s showered and on the wi-fi, his day runs like normal; one lecture, reading, a research paper, his initial half of their project, and working either his copy-editing or transcription job in between, and planning his next stream. Barclay comes and goes, stops now and then to see if he needs anything, leaves a sandwich in front of him around dinner time. Then it’s time to crawl under the covers and dream of a less-stressful world. 

The next day, just before one, Barclay taps him on the shoulder. 

“Ready for class?”

“Yes…” He gestures to his laptop and notebook. 

“C’mon, join me out here, it’s way nicer, and we can share the phone.”

“Barclay, it’s  a nonsensical way to attend class, just stay in here with me! Even this set-up has to be better than the woods.”

“This set up. You mean my house?” All the friendliness leaves hi voice. 

“Yes. Look, I agreed to come out because you’re right, if we want to ace this thing that’s worth sixty percent of our grade, this is the place to do it; I don’t have to go along with the whole self-sufficient woodsman aesthetic while I’m here. “

“Yeah, I’d say you’re pretty far from self-sufficient. See you in class.” 

Stern stews through the entire session, but where he’d usually find something Barclay says to latch onto, he instead gnaws on himself. Why didn’t he just go with him? Why snap at someone who’s been nothing but nice since he got here?

Whatever the answer, how can he fix it?

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

Barclay tromps back through the twilight, done with his second class of the day. If Joseph is in the main house, he plans to ignore him until tomorrow morning. That all goes out the window with the clank of dishes from the kitchen. 

Peering in reveals the other man bent over, pulling a casserole from the oven. He waits to announce his presence until Joseph is out of the danger zone, enjoying the view as he does. 

“Smells good.”

Blue eyes flick over to him as Joseph opens drawers, “it’s mostly cheese and chips, so I’m not surprised.”

“Servers are in that one.”

“Thank you. Nacho pie?” He scoops some into a bowl, holding it out. 

“Sure. Uh, look, Joseph I-”

Joseph holds up the server, “Wait. Before you apologize I, um, I wanted to say I’m sorry for my comments. And for being so...me-ish.” He sighs, staring at the utensil in his grip, “I’ve always been a little bit tense, tried to be polite and effective and friendly in spite of it. The last six months made that harder to do. I don’t love it when I can’t be organized, when normal systems go out of place. But that’s no excuse for being rude to you, even before you invited me here. You’re just so...you’re always so calm and relaxed, like nothing was wrong and I just honed in on that way more than made sense. I’m sorry.”

“If it makes you feel better, I kinda did the same thing. You’re always so put together, it looked like you had this organized life in the midst of this whole shitstorm. I feel lik everything is slipping away, like my world is just this cabin. I mean, I assumed you were seeing friends in the city, while I haven’t seen Mama in person since April. So” he sets the bowl down, rests his hand on Joseph’s shoulder, “I’m sorry too.”

Joseph laughs, softly, “turns out we both had failures of imagination, huh?”

“Yeah” he runs a hand over Joseph's back, “now come on, this dinner’s not gonna eat itself.”

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

“You sure you don’t wanna wear the bigfoot costume?”

“Positive. Besides, it suits you.” Joseph finishes styling the fur on the head of the costume to look more realistic, “I just hope we get this done before that storm comes in; as mush as the rain would add to the mood of the scene, that’ll be hell to dry and you’ll be miserable. So, go lurk over there while I finish up getting the camera settings where they need to be.”

“Yes sir” Barclay pops the head on, leaves crunching as moves to his appointed tree. He smiles as he watches Joseph fiddle with the camera; things have been so much better between them these last two weeks. They trade off cooking dinner, study side by side, and watch movies or play games in the warmth of the heater. They have a similar sense of humor and taste in books, and are tidy to boot.   Joseph’s even come with him to listen to lectures in the woods, the pair sharing a thermos of coffee under the astonished gaze of their classmates. There’s just one problem. 

Barclay’s buried crush is now blooming in every direction. Animated, argumentative Joseph was attractive. Joseph, in all his moods and mannerisms, is devastatingly enchanting. He’s come close to telling him this, but the other man is his guest and also only here for another two and a half weeks, so a confession is setting himself up for heartbreak at worst and awkwardness at best. 

He almost blew it last night when they were washing dishes (Joseph scrubs, Barclay dries and puts away). 

“Last one.”

“Thanks, blue eyes.”

“What was that?”

“Uh, blue eyes? Like a, uh, a nickname?”

Joseph laughs, “Sounds like something from a Raymond Chandler book. I like it.”

On the plus side, if Joseph thinks it’s just a nickname and not a pet name, maybe Barclay can keep using it.

“Are you ready?’

He sticks up a hairy thumb and calls, “you know it, blue eyes.”

That same laugh as Joseph takes up his position. Maybe it’s the weird film over the costume’s eyes, but Barclay swears he sees a blush.

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

Stern trawls through the search results. Their video is getting some traction, with two cryptid hunter sites claiming it’s credible footage. He’s making note of how the information spread, which threads lead to belief and which to doubt, when Barclay calls from upstairs. 

“Joseph? Little help?”

The other man is in the bathroom, and when Stern knocks he says, “Think the pilot light on the water heater went out again, all I’m getting is cold water. Can you go relight it?”

“Sure.” He gets to the stairs then, stops, “where’s the key to that closet?”

“Huh? Oh, shit, right, hang on” Barclay says at the same time as Stern’s “don’t worry, I can find it.” 

Which is why the instant he turns back into the bedroom is the same instant Barclay steps out of the bathroom, blue towel around his waist. 

Any blood that doesn’t head south goes instantly to Stern’s cheeks. 

“You okay there, blue-eyes?”

“It’s completely unfair how good you look without a shirt.”

He clamps a hand over his mouth.

“Idn’t ean to ay at out oud” The mumbled explanation makes Barclay smirk. 

“You like this, should see what’s under the towel.”

The unusually bold statement from Barclay kindles his own confidence.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, big guy.”

“Who says I won’t.” Barclay sits down on the edge of the bed, nonchalant and leaning back on his hands, “got plenty of time to make good on them.”

“We literally don’t. I go back in a week and two days.”

Barclay toys with the lint on the towel, “you could stay. Through break, through next semester, for however long you wanted.”

“Do you mean that?”

A shy nod, “I like having you around, Joseph. Even beyond the huge fucking crush I have on you I...everything is a little better when you’re around.”

“I, um, I guess it could work. We know next semester is online too, and so is work, so…” there must be variables missing, something he’s not seeing, some reason this is too good to be true.

“You want some space away from shirtless me to think about it?”

“That’d be great.”

Barclay stands, hesitates, then plants a quick kiss on his forehead, “take all the time you need, blue eyes.”

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

Private Chat log 1/11/2021

Barclay (he/him): Did you see the look on Duck’s face when we turned up in frame together. 

Joseph (he/him): Yes. Pretty sure Aubrey yelled something about him needing to pay up. I wonder what the bet was. 

Barclay (he/him): Whatever it was, pretty sure I came out the biggest winner. 

Stern snorts, trying not to blush on camera, and leans over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. 

[angeltrapz]

hey dude 💚 sorry yr having a shit night too— chainshipping ask tho! I’m always down to head more thoughts abt just. things they do to make th other person smile. but also favorite things to do together? not necessarily Big Activities but the lil domestic stuff (like cooking, maybe chores they do together, etc) that’s just better bc they’re Both doing it

Yeah it was a. rough one kdjks... ty <33

I'm always game to talk abt things they do to make the other smile!! One I think about all the time is the simple act of getting things for each other? Maybe sometimes before they even realize they want said thing, or that they need said thing. As you've mentioned b4 I do think Adam has one of those lavender-scented stuffed animals that you can put in the microwave (I have!! the celebration bear one, who naturally is named Lawrence bc he's blue... and uh... I associate teddy bears. w him) and sometimes, when Adam is doing poorly and has gone nonverbal, Lawrence will just be like "Oh! I know what might help!” so he’ll grab the husky from the bedroom (got Rlly attached to that idea when you mentioned it <33) and pop it in the microwave for a minute, rounding back to the couch to hand Adam one of his shirts to snuggle in and a kiss on the forehead. When he gets Adam’s husky from the microwave and hands it to him, Adam just kinda has a moment like oh... I didn’t even have to ask... and he smiles, for the first time that day, and honestly? It rlly does help, to have someone who knows what might comfort you/knows what types of things do, and who just. Does those things when you need them, sometimes without prompt. It’s an intimate kind of knowledge, and it makes Adam feel all warm on the inside.

Another good example of this is Adam making sure Lawrence has his cane while he's walking around the apartment, esp those first few months when he's just getting used to using it - because he's still learning + trying to get used to walking with his (properly fitted) prosthetic, he often left the cane in random places because Adam would often offer his arm if Lawrence needed it (which, again, took some time for him to be okay with, but Adam always tells him it's okay to need help sometimes), and it would frustrate him because he'd be sitting on the couch like "I. I don't know where I put it." but Adam will be like "It's okay, I know where it is!" and it's as simple as that! Lawrence can't help but smile when Adam hands it to him because Adam just. He gets how hard it is. It's so simple to Adam but to Lawrence it means a whole lot. <3

Something else is that Lawrence will remind him to eat. I've touched on this a little bit b4, but Adam has issues with food that extend past textures and tastes and such - his eating is very disordered, and has been since childhood. He doesn't eat three meals a day, sometimes he hardly eats anything at all (usually the bare minimum that will allow him to take his medications without getting sick), he tends to gravitate towards snacks/easy foods that aren't necessarily super healthy, and combined with him already being underweight + having spent the last seven or eight years since leaving his parents' place at 18 getting by on very little, it causes him frequent dizzy spells/fainting episodes. It also takes him a while to realize that hey, I don't have to spread my meals out anymore, I don't have to worry about getting food, and I don't have to feel guilty about eating when I'm hungry. I think Lawrence is a very observant person by nature, and while he might not understand it fully right away, I think he'd definitely realize that some of these issues are tied to the state of the apartment he'd seen only once + Adam's life from before.

So he doesn't force him to eat, obviously, because that doesn't work and helps no one, but he will definitely be like "Hey, I know you're not feeling great today, but why don't I grab you a granola bar or something? We have those oranges you like too. I just want to make sure you don't give yourself a headache or get sick." and admittedly Adam is. Not used to that kind of regard whatsoever. But it feels so much easier to at least eat something small when he knows Lawrence sees him, understands that it's hard and isn't forcing anything out of him. I do think that once they settle into a routine after moving in together, some of that becomes a little bit easier because hey, he's not living paycheck to paycheck, he doesn't have to survive off of ramen and monster energy, he's allowed to eat and not worry about what happens after. The stress of worrying about groceries is definitely nonexistent with Lawrence, and that takes so much weight off of Adam's shoulders; not to embtion the fact that Lawrence is also conscious about his same foods, and makes sure they've always got some in the kitchen. It's not easy, but having someone care about him so much, someone who wants to make sure he's eating right and caring about him like that always makes Adam smile a little bit.

For Lawrence, I think a big thing is just like... seeing Adam hanging out with Diana? There's nothing that will put a smile on his face faster than coming home from work to find the two of them in the living room, a Disney movie (or The Princess Bride!) playing in the background while Diana paints Adam's nails bright glittery blue and pink, because she wanted to practice patterns and she really likes the glitter. Her nails are already painted black with a glitter coat on top - "Adam's nails always look so pretty like that, and he said maybe I couldn't do full black, so he put glitter on them too!" - and he's sitting there, hand spread out on the coffee table while they both sit on the floor, talking about anything and everything that pops into Diana's head, and Lawrence just kind of stands there and watches for a little while. His two favourite people, relaxing together, enjoying each other's company. Adam turns around and Lawrence has always got this huge grin on his face, just like, "Oh, don't mind me. What was it you were talking about, Diana?" which of course prompts her to jump up to give him a huge hug, but after that she's right back to painting Adam's nails, and Lawrence is more than content to just sit in and listen. (He also absolutely adores finding Adam reading to her before bed, because he does voices and everything. He gets a little bit embarrassed about it at first, but once he sees Lawrence watching them with the most loving look he thinks he's ever seen, he just blushes, smiles back, and continues. Sometimes Lawrence joins in, but not always, because then it becomes a competition of voices and they'll never get Diana to bed if she's laughing too hard!!)

Another is that Adam is really good at pulling him out of his own head. He can usually tell when Lawrence is thinking way too hard about something, or when he's beating himself up for some perceived slight he feels he's somehow performed, or when something is bothering him and he's debating whether or not to bring it up for fear of bothering Adam. Often times he'll just sit beside him wherever he is, or lead him somewhere to sit down if they're standing, and he'll just guide Lawrence's head to rest on his chest and he'll just talk softly, making sure Lawrence isn't sitting in silence, knowing that Lawrence doesn't typically feel up to talking himself right away. He'll run his fingers through his hair and tell him about his day, or something he saw while scrolling through his phone/on TV, sometimes he'll read to him, basically just letting him know that hey, I'm right here, I know you're not doing great right now, and that's okay. I'm here for you. Lawrence cries sometimes when Adam does this, the relief of being held + feeling safe enough to express his emotions making it easier, but he smiles by the end of it because he knows how much Adam loves him + wants to make sure he's okay, and he knows that Adam isn't going to judge him. It's the safety of it all. <3

Favourite things to do together!!! Like you mentioned I like to think they do chores together! It’s just more fun that way. Again as you’ve mentioned b4, I think Adam has some difficulty with the dishes despite liking the repetitiveness of the task, both because of textures and because of his shaky hands - so what they do is Lawrence will wash the plates themselves and then hand them off to Adam, who will dry them and put them away/the strainer! They both find it helps a lot to just be around each other like this, listening to the radio above the stove and bumping hips, tapping their feet, sometimes humming along if they know the song well enough. It’s just a nice little routine. (Sometimes they dance in the kitchen after, and sometimes to the goofiest pop songs Adam has ever heard, but if you heard that, no you didn't.)

They like folding laundry together, too! That one is just because it's fun. Lawrence will toss him one or two of his shirts while they're warm because he knows Adam likes the feeling + stealing Lawrence's clothes, and every now and then Adam will throw a washcloth at him just 'cause he thinks it's funny (it is, especially bc Lawrence's gut response is to throw it back?? so they look like two dorks bc they're just throwing it back and forth???), and it's just a nice way to share space. Sometimes they get a bit too caught up in whatever is on TV (its on bc they both need background noise) and end up just sitting against the couch, two baskets of laundry on either side of them, and then eventually Adam will be like "Okay babe I think we should probably finish folding clothes now," and Lawrence will just groan like "I forgot that's what we were doing. Damn it." and they take a moment to laugh before they finish up. (Adam Loves hearing Lawrence swear bc he doesn't do it often, so even smth as simple as "damn it" cracks him up for a good minute lmao!!)

I do think they also enjoy cooking together!! Adam will hand him ingredients/assist in cutting vegetables/what have you; I think, for the most part, that Lawrence does the majority of the cooking, but Adam does help where he can! Sometimes he'll just hop up onto the counter and hand Lawrence things as he needs them, and Lawrence thanks him with either a squeeze to his hand or a kiss on the cheek, and Adam will joke about how he's basically just sitting there looking pretty, but he learns very quickly that Lawrence will just be like "Well, you DO look very pretty, so I think that's fine," and it ends with Adam red in the face but smiling into his hands anyway. The payoff is always a nice meal that they can sit down to together, and it's just such a peaceful, enjoyable thing for them to do together!!

Other than those three they'll take turns doing chores for each other - sweeping, dusting, tidying up the bathroom, things like that just to help each other out <3

[nose-bandaid]

Smitten

hihi !! are your requests open? sorry, i was looking around your blog but I couldn’t find anything ;; if so, would you be open to writing a fluffy boy next door for joshua? (svt) hope you have an amazing day <3

Joshua x (gender neutral) Reader | boy next door AU fluffy fluff:) | 3.3k words

synopsis: you’ve got a new neighbour — as you’ve been expecting for the past few months. what you didn’t expect was for you neighbour to be the most polite, kind hearted, and not to mention beautiful, man you’ve ever met. alternatively:

“when your pet dog does a better job at getting you a date than all of your friends combined.”

a/n: for my lovely bunny anon! i hope it’s to your liking and that it’s at least somewhat similar to what you had in mind:) i had a lot of fun brainstorming the ideas so i’m really hoping my writing does it justice lol

You almost dropped the bag in your hand when you turned the corner to your street and saw a party going on right beside your house. You even did a double take to make sure you didn’t make the wrong turn earlier, but nope, you were on the correct street alright. And the group of people milling about didn’t seem to be planning on going anywhere, anytime soon.

It baffled you, how such a ruckus could’ve emerged within the hour that you were gone to get some groceries. Sure, you were expecting a new neighbour — the house had been on sale for the past few months — but you weren’t expecting, what, ten? Twelve? No, thirteen people? How were they planning on fitting all of those bodies into such a tiny house? 

Even from afar, you could tell that they were a rowdy group, and their loud voices reached all the way to where you stood. Your stomach squirmed at the thought of having to deal with a bunch of chaotic people living right next to you for the next who-knows-how-many-years, and you took slow steps towards your own house. The old couple that lived on the other side of you had all of their blinds drawn, which was unusual of them to do, considering they loved the sunlight, and you wondered if they’ve made a noise complaint yet. 

When you finally reached your own yard, the energy within the party died down a little and some of the boys cast curious glances your way while whispering and snickering to each other. You just stared back at them until one broke from the group and approached you with a bashful smile.

“Hello!” He radiated such a soft, friendly aura, your initial spite towards the group melted away and you willingly accepted his handshake.

“Hi.” You managed a tight smile. “I suppose you guys are my new neighbours?”

His eyes widened and he turned back to the others, who had already found something else to engross themselves in. “Ah... no, no.” He turned back to you and gave you a sheepish look.

“Sorry, those are my friends, they all insisted that they visit me on the day I moved. Even though they probably won’t be helping me with the actual moving.” He rolled his eyes childishly at that last part.

“I see...” You watched the group together, as they began screaming at what seemed to be a funny video on someone’s phone. Judging from your neighbour’s deadpan expression, he was just as tired of the noise as you were.

“So yeah, it’s just me that’s your neighbour, don’t worry. I’ll try to make sure that it’s not this chaotic the next time they visit. I’m Joshua by the way.”

“Y/n.” You responded, and he echoed it quietly before nodding. “And it’s not much of a problem, I don’t really mind the noise. I guess I’m just not that used to it being lively in this neighbourhood.” You gestured to the empty streets as you spoke.

Before he could respond, one of his friends loudly called out his name and Joshua gave you another apologetic look.

“I probably shouldn’t ignore them. I’m sorry that this introduction wasn’t the best out there, but let’s try to redo this again later.”

You bid him off with a wave and made your way into your own house as the group of boys started shouting once again. Giving them one last glance, you laughed quietly to yourself and wondered how they could possibly store that much energy into their bodies. Even just watching them goof around like that made you exhausted.

You were greeted with your own bundle of energy to deal with when your dog, Mittens, dashed towards you upon your arrival. The sound of your keys jingling never failed to catch her attention. Dropping to the floor in defeat, you let her gift you with a flurry of kisses and you returned the love with some scratches behind the ear.

“Hey, Mittens.” 

She barked, and you were grateful that most of your conversations with her didn’t end up being one sided. Though you weren’t able to understand a single thing she was trying to tell you, at least it seemed like she was trying. 

“We got a new neighbour today, and guess what?” 

Another happy bark.

“He’s kinda cute, you know?”

=====

You saw Joshua again the next morning when you took Mittens for her daily walk. Or at least, that’s what you tried to do. The moment you stepped outside, she abruptly bounded towards him, yanking the leash straight out of your hands.

“Mittens—!” Before you could react, she had already tackled him to the ground  and was delivering her usual round of kisses, the boxes previously in his hands scattered all over the driveway. You ran up to them and quickly heaved her off the man, letting a string of apologies fall out of your mouth. As friendly as he seemed to be, you didn’t think that having your dog attack him with her love was the best way to make your first impressions.

“I’m so sorry she’s never acted this way towards anyone before I don’t know why she did it.”

Joshua laughed and dusted off his pants. “It’s alright, I take it that this is your dog?”

Lending him a hand to help pull him back up, you answered. “Yeah, her name is Mittens.”

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of her name. “Mittens?” 

You pouted. “Hey! I think it’s a cute name... And it’s because she kept on stealing my mittens when I first adopted her.”

“Just curious,” He shrugged. “Y/n and Mittens... yeah, that sounds like a cute pair.”

You frantically tried to distract yourself from the blush blooming on your cheeks and remembered the boxes laying on the ground. “Right! Your boxes I’m so sorry about that too, I hope they weren’t anything that important?” The last thing you wanted to do was destroy your neighbour’s property on the second day of knowing him.

“Oh, these? They’re just my clothes, it’s all good.” He answered, dismissing the boxes with a wave.

“Thank goodness,” You let out a sigh in relief as your pet struggled in your arms, trying to go back to Joshua. “Do you need any help with moving in?”

He shook his head in a polite denial. “There’s only a few things left to bring in, I should be done in a bit, thank you though. However...”

You perked up when his voice trailed off. “Yeah?”

“I might need some help with getting over how cute Mittens is.”

You burst into a fit of laughter at his confession. “She’s usually not that friendly to new people, but she seems to like you a lot. You’re welcome to hang out with her anytime you’d like, if we’re both free. I trust you, you seem like a nice person.”

“Really? Thanks for that.” He bent down to pet Mittens and gave her a longing look. “I had to leave my own dog back home with my parents because of some vet stuff that needs to be completed, so I really appreciate it. It’s like a little reminder of him.” As he got back up, he retrieved one of the fallen boxes and gave you a smile. 

“I’ll look forward to getting to know you two better then.”

=====

Over the next few weeks, you realized that the time you took Mittens out for her walks aligned with the time Joshua usually set off to work. Which was a clearly a win for your pet, who still treated him like a brand new friend every time she saw him. You weren’t complaining either, the perfect schedule meant that you got to see his gorgeous face and listen to his sweet voice every morning — a wonderful way to start your days. But you weren’t quite sure how good that was for your heart, because you were well aware that you’ve begun to fall for him. 

Hard.

Once in a while, the two of you would meet up in each other’s backyards so that he could spend some time with Mittens, who would practically refuse to eat her dinner when he’s around, because she’s just that happy to play with him. These meetings also allowed you to learn more about each other, and to you, everything about him just seemed so perfect in your eyes. You learned about how he moved here to be closer to his new job, and how some of the friends he grew up with — the ones at the party — were starting up a band in the city. You learned that he played the guitar in his free time, and that he used to teach little kids at a music school. He also grew up in a very quiet town with a small family, explaining his down-to-earth, endearing personality. Honestly speaking, if you were him, you’d find it hard to not boast about all the talents you had.

As time continued to pass and your crush on him continued to grow, you found it harder and harder to look at him in the eyes when he passed by. Heck, even conversations with him had gotten more difficult, and you could barely hold one without stuttering out some barely coherent words. But being the polite man he was, Joshua never showed a single sign of annoyance towards your change in character. Which honestly, just made you fall for him even harder.

It eventually got to the point where you had no choice but to alter your schedule. If you didn’t create an opportunity to compose yourself, you swore you would literally combust in front of him. And so, you held off on walking Mittens so early in the morning, and opted to taking those walks when you got home from work instead. Though it didn’t eliminate your encounters with Joshua, you were grateful to have more time alone to think about your feelings because you had no damn clue what to do with them.

Mittens however, seemed to notice the way you’ve been avoiding the man in question, and had been sending knowing looks your way (how she does that as a dog, you don’t know, but her message is strong and clear) every time she saw Joshua outside. And on one particular day, she was adamant on getting you to see him. She didn’t stop barking at the harmless window until you joined her in the living room to check out the sight that’s been provoking her.

And of course, it was just Joshua lugging a guitar case back into his house. He must’ve returned from visiting his friends in the city, judging from the way he was dressed the slightest bit fancier than he usually did. Though his clean and casual style suited him very well, you had to admit the button down shirt he had on made him look incredibly refined. As he unlocked his door, he looked your way and sent a small wave.

Your ears burned when you realized he must’ve caught you staring from the window and you could barely muster a wave back before flopping onto the couch with a sigh. 

Your dog plopped herself onto the carpet nearby, finally calm, and you glanced at her.

“You have it good Mittens... So lucky.” 

She simply stared at you happily, not understanding the reason for the downcast tone in your voice. Nonetheless, you continued your miserable rambling.

“Like really, I’m so jealous. So you can express your love for him at every passing minute but I can’t? And you have permission to give him constant kisses, but not me?” You paused. 

“Wait, I take that back, that sounds so stupid now that I’ve said it out loud. Of course it would be weird if I went up to him like that. I have to be a decent human being and neighbour.” You muttered into the arm draped over your face in an attempt to hide your embarrassment.

You rolled onto your side and scratched her head in an attempt to apologize for your harsh comments. Mittens gave you a small lick on your other hand in response. What am I going to do...

“Ah... I’m smitten aren’t I?”

You laid there for a good ten minutes, moping about your one sided crush and how unfortunate it would be if you did confess to him, only to get rejected. You’d still be forced to face him pretty much every single day, being neighbours and all, wouldn’t you? Oh how awkward that situation would be. You let out a long groan until you felt a nip at your fingers.

“Ow!” You frowned at your pet who playfully growled back. “What was that for?”

She scurried toward the front door and once again, barked at you endlessly until you hefted yourself into a sitting position on the couch. “What is it?”

She began scratching at the door — an act that she knew you didn’t really appreciate. You thought the two of you had already reached a mutual agreement to have her use other methods to announce when she wanted to be let out. 

Then it hit you.

She’s doing this on purpose isn’t she?

You sighed, not even bothering to fight her antics, and got up to open to door. “You want to be let out? Is that it?”

She let out a joyous bark the moment she was free, and dashed towards the other houses across the street. 

“Hey!”

In a rush, you hastily slipped on your shoes to catch up to your runaway pet. Your stomach churned with worry, what if she messed up someone else’s property and got you into trouble? Or even worse, what if she got herself into trouble? As empty as the streets usually were, you couldn’t bear the thought of her getting injured.

“Mittens! Come back here!” You desperately called.

And she did. 

Your dog returned to you with a happy smile on her face, as if her only motive was to lure you out of the house and into the bitterly cold wind. You didn’t even get to even spit out a lecture about her dangerous behaviour before she was on the run again, and this time, she made a beeline to Joshua’s backyard. If any of the other houses were looking out their windows that day, they must’ve thought it was quite silly to see their grown neighbour desperately chasing after their energetic dog, but you didn’t care. She was clearly up to no good, and you had to put a stop to that immediately.

The door to the backyard was left wide open that day, and she took full advantage of that, slipping easily into his property. You just stood there, mouth gaping at the audacity your pet had to pull yet another stunt, and she simply stopped in her tracks to smile at you in the safety of his garden. With dumfounded steps, you made your way towards her and hesitated before entering. As much as you wanted to snatch your dog and flee back into your home as quickly as possible, you didn’t want to enter his yard without permission. What if he happened to see you randomly lingering in his backyard? He’d most likely understand your reasoning behind it, but you wouldn’t be able to stand the embarrassment that was sure to come with the confrontation. After taking a moment to weigh your options, you decided it was best to try and coax her out of there without actually entering. You even considered offering extra treats for a week, despite her bad behaviour.

Before you could even utter out a single word, Mittens began nudging the wooden door with her body, and a strong gust of wind completed the task, shutting (and ultimately locking) the door in front of you.

All alone, you almost screamed out loud at all the unfortunate events that just had to happen to you. It felt as if everything really was scripted by someone else, and you were the unlucky protagonist who had to deal with it. The only option you had now was to get Joshua to help you out, or else Mittens would either A) hang out in his backyard until she gets noticed or B) dig her way through into someone else’s yard. You definitely didn’t want to risk having to deal with the latter, so you begrudgingly made your way to your lovely neighbour’s door to finally give in into Mittens’ plan. Letting out a sight, you tried to compose yourself before ringing the doorbell. You certainly weren’t in the ideal state to present yourself with, but you had no other choice. 

It took about a minute before you heard some shuffling on the other side, and the door opened to reveal a sinfully good looking Joshua. He looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower, with his damp hair hanging over his eyes, small towel wrapped around his neck, and loose fitting t-shirt that exposed way too much skin for your own good. Stray water droplets still ran down his face and he wiped them away before greeting you with that goddamn cute smile.

“Hi y/n! Sorry that took a while, just got out of the shower.” He gestured to his appearance and you merely nodded, at a loss for words. “What brings you here?”

Tearing your eyes away from him, you stared at the fuzzy pink carpet at his front door instead, and reminded yourself of the reason why you were talking to him in the first place.

“Ok, so believe it or not, Mittens was being sneaky as usual—,” He interrupted your sentence with a small chuckle. “—and she somehow made her way into your backyard and shut the door on me before I could do anything about it.”

His expression morphed from understanding to astonishment. “She really did that? So like, you’re telling me she’s in my backyard right now?”

“Well, hopefully, she’s still in your backyard and hasn’t run off yet. It’s almost as if she’s trying to play games with me, I can’t with this dog.” You muttered, and Joshua gently patted your shoulder in consolation.

“No worries, I’ll go check right now and if she’s there, I’ll let her out through the backyard.”

When you nodded in agreement to his idea, he shut the door with a soft click and you anxiously paced the front yard, waiting for the arrival of Joshua, and hopefully Mittens in tow. It took a while — much longer than you thought it should’ve taken, but you also knew just how difficult she could be, so you waited it out patiently and hoped for the best.

After what felt like eternity, the backyard door opened again and Mittens came bounding into your arms, tackling you the same way she did to your neighbour when she first met him. Shouting a quick “Thanks!” at Joshua underneath all the fur you were buried in, he simply sent you a small thumbs up before disappearing behind the fence. It a bit odd that he left so quickly without a word, but you quickly dismissed the thought to turn your attention back to the happy troublemaker. 

As you lightly scolded your pet for pulling off a stunt like that, you noticed something unusual dangling from her collar and gently took it into your hands. 

It was a small guitar keychain with a piece of paper taped to it, definitely not something that you owned. And from the way it was attached, it was obvious that it didn’t accidentally cling onto the collar in the midst of her adventure. Someone had put it there.

Taking it off, you curiously unfolded the paper to read a beautifully handwritten note.

Hey y/n! 

Ever since I moved in, I’ve been having a great time getting to know you and such. I’ve learned that you’re a wonderful friend and neighbour:)

I feel like Mittens is trying to scheme up something here haha, maybe she knows more about life than we both do? Things can work out in pretty funny ways. Anyways, I can’t just let her do all the work so... How about we grab a cup of coffee this weekend, if you’re free? My number’s on the other side of this so let me know:)

— Joshua ♡

Burying your face into your hands, you gushed at the note and gave your loving canine a big hug.

“Ok Mittens, I’ll have to thank you for this one.” You whispered, unable to wipe the stupid smile off your face. 

=====

i’m sorry if the plot felt a little rushed askhfddkjgf if i continued rereading this i think i would’ve ended up making it worse.

but despite that, it was still written with love, so i hope you enjoyed it! ♡

~ tiny

[pixiegrl]

I’ve Got The Recipe

Michael keeps going back to the same coffee shop and no, it has nothing to do with the cute barista.

Or 3 times Michael went to Luke's coffee shop to see him and 1 time Luke visited Michael at his job

This is for @redrattlers! Happy birthday darling! You're a sweetheart and lovely, fellow Luke fan and Muke lover. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and getting to hang out with you in The Club. I wish you the happiest of birthdays and the happiest of years! Enjoy your day you deserve it!

On ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29146482/

It starts on a Wednesday. Michael’s bored, scrolling through his phone at the front desk, trying to avoid doing work. He knows he should go shelve some books, or do a lap around the library to check on things, but he can’t focus on anything. He’s trying to kill time until it’s acceptable for him to go on his lunch break and grab something to eat or drink.

“Oh god, I found the perfect drink for you,” Calum whispers next to him, tugging lightly on Michael’s sleeve. Michael frowns, glancing over at Calum, getting a phone shoved into his face in response. Michael pulls his head back, grabbing onto Calum’s wrist and trying to adjust it so he can see the screen better. It’s an instagram post on Calum’s feed, advertising a coffee from the local coffee shop. The caption claims that it’s a vanilla rose latte. Michael hates that Calum knows him well enough to know that Michael will 100% drink anything with floral flavors in it.

“Don’t act so disgusted,” Michael mumbles, shoving Calum’s phone back to him. Calum laughs.

“It’s just weird that you want to put florals in your coffee. It tastes like soap.”

“It does not. Stop insulting my taste,” Michael says, voice rising a little bit at the end of the sentence. He ducks his head when one of the reference librarians looks over at them. Calum raises his hand in apology, turning to face Michael.

“You like weird coffee. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just thought you might be interested. It’s that new place too. Down the road.”

“Is this your way of trying to bribe me into getting us sandwiches from the Vietnamese place for lunch?”

“Pretty please?” Calum says. Michael sighs, pretending to be put out.

“Fine. Text me your order. I’ll swing by. You owe me dinner though,” Michael says, standing up. Calum brightens up, smiling. Michael heads into the back, clocking out for his break and telling his supervisor he’s going to grab lunch. They nod, waving him out when Michael grabs his bag from his little station and heads out to his car. Michael calls in their lunch order from his car and decides to stop and grab coffee first on his way there.

Luckily, the coffee shop is a quick drive. Their town is small enough that everything sits within a ten minute drive of each other. It makes it easier to pop out and grab lunch on the days he’s too lazy to make it. Michael knows where the coffee shop is, even if he hasn’t been yet. It’s only been open for a few weeks and everytime he and Calum mean to go, they get distracted and go somewhere else or forget. Today though, Michael is determined to get his rose coffee from this place. 

Michael parks in the lot, grabbing his wallet from his backpack and leaving his car, locking it behind him. He pushes open the coffee shop door, relieved to see it’s still empty and quiet inside, little bell over the door jingling. 

A tall blonde man, pops his head out from behind the back area, grinning widely when he sees Michael.

“Hi! What can I get you today?” he asks, coming up to the counter, beaming. Michael’s offended that the barista is pretty and therefore, Michael has completely forgotten his order. It’s not his fault the guy is tall and blonde, with blue eyes and dimples, curls pulled back into a messy bun. His name tag reads Luke. Michael doesn’t stand a chance.

“Um, I saw your post. About the vanilla rose latte. Do you still have it? I know it’s been a few days.”

“Yes! You’re the first person to order it. I got these little sample bottles of different flavors, but so far no one has asked for it,” Luke says, beaming widely as he grabs the bottle and holds it up. Michael blushes.

“Well, I’m your guy. My friend teases me endlessly about the fact that I like adding weird flavors into my coffee.”

“You’re just the kind of guy I need then,” Luke says, winking. Michael blushes. He’s never going to be able to come back here.

“Can I get a small?”

“Sure. Regular milk fine?”

“Yeah,” Michael says. Luke rings him up, rattling off the price. Michael swipes his card, signing on the screen as Luke starts to make his drink.

“So, do you work around here?”

“Yeah, I work down the block at the local library at the front desk. Wanted to stop in on my lunch break.” 

“Well, I’m glad you stopped in. I can finally tell Ashton someone likes my drink, ” Luke says, moving around behind the counter. 

“Ashton?” 

“My partner. Business partner. I am very single,” Luke rushes out, blushing red and turning his attention to the coffee. Michael blushes too, worried he’s been caught out staring at Luke. Just because he's a pretty guy and Michael never gets the chance to see anyone under the age of 60 who isn’t a child doesn’t give him the right to stare at Luke. 

“Well, it’s a good thing you have him,” Michael piped up, blushing harder when Luke glances at him over the espresso machine, smiling. 

“Yeah. He’s a wonderful friend. Terrible coworker,” Luke says. Michael laughs, earning him a wide grin from Luke. 

“Well, here you go! One vanilla rose latte! You’ll have to let me know how it is,” Luke says, sliding the drink across the counter. Michael takes it, sipping from it. 

“Good. The rose isn’t too overpowering. Just the right blend,” Michael says. Luke beams and it fills Michael’s chest with a flare of something. He checks his phone, swearing when he sees the time. 

“I gotta go, break’s gonna be up before I know it. Thanks for the drink Luke,” he says, turning to the door. Luke calls out a goodbye behind him as Michael rushes out so he can get their sandwiches on time and make it back to work. 

Michael manages to make it back to work on time with enough time to finish his sandwich. The coffee sits with him the rest of the afternoon, keeping him warm and reminding him of Luke’s smile. Maybe Michael will have to go back more often for coffee from the shop. 

***

Michael lasts about three days before he goes back. It’s late Saturday morning and Michael’s finally dragged himself from his bed and his apartment to run errands on his day off. Well, run errands once he gets some coffee, which has nothing to do with wanting to see cute barista Luke again. Even if Michael’s foregoing Starbucks and Dunkin’ just to go out of his way for Luke’s little coffee shop. 

Calum has teased him endlessly for the last few days about it. All it had taken was Michael mentioning that maybe the barista was cute and Calum had lost it. He keeps teasing Michael about going back just to see Luke or making dumb coffee puns for flirting. Michael’s relieved that Calum’s working today, so he can go to the coffee shop without being teased for it.

The shop is empty when Michael shows up. Granted, it's mid-morning but it’s still a Saturday. Michael was expecting a least a bit of a crowd. Not that he’s complaining. More personal time with Luke. Which, maybe Michael shouldn’t be thinking like that about the barista.

Luke’s behind the counter already this time, head popping up when he hears the bell ring. He beams widely when he sees Michael, bouncing on his heels.

“Hi! Vanilla rose guy!” He says brightly, waving as he does so. Michael blushes. 

“Michael. It’s Michael. Only fair since I know yours,” Michael says, embarrassed immediately. Luke smiles, dimples popping on his cheeks. 

“Nice name. Now I don’t have to call you vanilla rose guy. Ashton was starting to think I made you up just to prove my drink idea was good.” 

“All real. Just back for more coffee,” Michael says. Luke’s got his hair down today, curled around the base of his neck as he grins. He has butterfly wing eyeshadow on today, orange and blacks swirled together and drawn on. It’s so enchanting, Michael can’t take his eyes off of Luke. It’s distracted him completely from placing his order, going red when he realizes he’s been standing here for a few minutes in silence, staring at Luke. Luke giggles, tucking a curl behind his ear.

“So, coffee?”

“Yes. Coffee. The thing I am here for. What flavors do you have today?”

“Vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, raspberry, caramel, and the rose one. A few other floral flavors. Nothing too exciting.” 

“Will you combine something?” 

“Oh?”

“The mocha and the raspberry. In a small iced coffee.”

“Oh! Yes! That sounds really good actually. Why didn’t I think of that?” Luke says, grabbing a cup and spinning around to start making it. 

“I just like weird flavors is all.” 

“Not that weird. Sounds pretty good. Maybe you should work in the coffee shop, not me.” 

“Nah. They need me too much at the library. Who else is going to help stressed parents find the last copy of Frozen or show someone’s grandma how to use the computer?” Michael says. Luke laughs, pouring coffee from a pitcher into the cup. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ve saved many a tired parent whose daughter wants to hear Let It Go for the 100th time. Are you on break today?” 

“Day off. Wanted to run some errands while I’m alone, but figured coffee would be a good place to start. Library can survive without me for two days.” 

“What if someone needs the last copy of Frozen?”

“Calum can help them for a day,” Michael says. Michael likes working and living with Calum, but he likes the misalignment of their off days. Michael usually gets Friday and Saturdays off and Calum usually gets Sundays and Mondays. It gives them a few days to breathe without each other and it means that for a couple days, they get to alternate who cooks instead of them rushing to finish cooking one meal together. Michael has to go to the grocery store after this to get the ingredients for cheese quesadillas, his promised meal for the night.

“Calum?”

“Co-worker. Roommate. Pain in my ass.”

Luke giggles, shaking his head and sliding the coffee across the bar, “Well, I’m glad you get the day off, so you can come visit me and get coffee. You certainly keep my day interesting and exciting.”

“You’ve met me twice,” Michael says, taking the coffee and biting at the straw. 

“Yeah, but you have the most interesting coffee orders. Who else would think to combine chocolate and raspberry? I didn’t.”

“I’m just a librarian with terrible taste.”

“Hey, no mean talking about yourself. You have interesting and exciting taste. How’s the coffee?” Luke asks. Michael takes a sip. It’s good, rich without being overpowering, the raspberry a subtle aftertaste in it. 

“It’s good,” Michael says. Luke beams, smile lighting up his whole face with cheer.

“Good! I’m going to put it on my February drink list. It’ll be a good drink for Valentine's Day.”

Michael checks the time on his watch, frowning when he realizes how late it is, how much time he’s spent here with Luke chatting. He really needs to get to the store so he can buy food and start cooking. He was supposed to clean the apartment too today. Calum’s gonna chew him out if he doesn’t at least get something done because he’ll certainly realize Michael went to get coffee and he’ll mention Luke again.

“Do you have to go?” Luke asks, voice sad. 

“Yeah. Gotta go buy dinner and then cook it. My turn to cook for the evening. Perks of having the day off.”

“Well, thanks for coming in again. You should come back when you have more time.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I’m co-owner. I can take a break to talk to my favorite customer,” Luke says, resting his elbows on the counter and grinning, leaning forward just a bit. It gives Michael a good view of his collarbones where the collar of his shirt dips low. Michael swallows, mouth dry.

“I have Fridays off. Maybe I’ll come in next week.”

“Please. I’ll try to come up with a drink for you to try,” Luke says. He smiles, biting the corner of his lip as Michael walks towards the door. He walks into a table nearby, stumbling when he’s distracted by Luke and blushes as he darts out the door. God, maybe one day Michael will stop making a fool of himself in front of the cute barista.

***

It’s been almost a week since Michael went to the coffee shop on his day off and he’s been psyching himself up to go back. He’d gone a couple other days during the week on his lunch break again, but Luke hadn’t been there. Instead, Michael met Ashton who had raised his eyebrows and gone “Oh you’re Michael,” causing Michael to blush and avoid the coffee shop for a few days to get over his embarrassment. 

It’s Friday though and Michael can’t deny that he wants coffee. He wants coffee and he misses Luke and he wants to go in anyway. So, Michael sucks it up, puts on his best jeans and nice t-shirt and brushes his hair before going on his mission for coffee. He brings a book with him this time, promising himself that he’ll sit around and actually spend time at the store.

He gets lucky today, pushing the door open and seeing Luke behind the counter, humming along to the pop song on the radio as he dances around behind the counter. He brightens up when he sees Michael, grinning and waving, curls falling into his eyes.

“Hi Michael! It’s been a few days. Ashton mentioned you came in a couple times.”

“Yeah, I needed my coffee fix. Kept missing you though.”

“Yeah, it was a weird week for me, but I’m here now. I know it’s your day off and I couldn’t risk missing you,” Luke says, earnest. Michael blushes.

“Well, I brought my book with me, so I can hang around for a bit today,” Michael says, holding the book up.

“Lovely. I’m here all day for coffee while reading needs. What can I get you?”

“Caramel vanilla iced coffee. The larger size,” he says. Luke nods, going about making the drink.

“You must know some good books, being a librarian. You get to see all the new releases.”

“Most of them are those cheesy romance novels. So if you like reading about running away with a duke, I’m not sure what I can recommend. Unless you like horror novels.”

“I like fantasy. And mystery novels.”

“You should read A Cosmology of Monsters. It’s mystery and fantasy with a dash of horror. A good twist. I read it in one night,” Michael says. Luke hums, snapping the lid onto the cup.

“I’ll have to give it a look. What are you reading now?”

“If We Were Villains. Murder mystery novel, very who done it. But they’re theater students, so it’s an interesting read. Even though it’s very predictable.”

“Well, don’t tell me! What if I decide to read it?”

“Hey, I’m just giving you the plot summary. I just think it’s a little predictable,” Michael says, taking his coffee. Luke rolls his eyes.

“Well, take your coffee and your spoilers and go read your book. Don’t give it all away.”

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Michael says, teasing. He takes his cup, finding a table in the corner and sitting down so he’s facing Luke. Usually, Michael wears headphones and listens to music while he’s reading, but this time he doesn’t, preferring to keep them in his bag, so he can talk to Luke. It works, Luke commenting on the music playing over the coffee shop speakers or asking Michael for his opinions on muffins. Eventually, he takes his break, coming to sit across from Michael with two muffins, blueberry and chocolate, and his own cup of coffee to share with Michael. They exchange stories about their families and their jobs, until Luke has to go back to work and Michael realizes he has to head back home to finish cleaning and start on dinner. Luke looks a little sad to see Michael go, but he waves him goodbye as always, sends him off with a couple of chocolate chip cookies he’s made for Michael to take back to his place. Michael tries not to read into it too much, that the cute barista is giving him baked goods and hanging out with him and that Michael has spent a whole afternoon with Luke. He knows Calum is going to tease him when he goes home with the cookies, that he spent the whole day with Luke, to the point he’s running behind on his chores, but Michael thinks it was worth it to get to spend some more time with Luke and his curls and his laugh and his dimples. It’s always worth it to spend time with Luke and getting to see his smile.

***

It’s Tuesday and it’s boring. Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday. Which, sometimes is nice at the library. Yesterday, Michael had to deal with telling someone who was watching porn to get off the computers and arguing with a mom that no they didn’t have a movie in stock and no, Michael can’t go to another library to get it for her. It had taken Michael’s supervisor to step in and take over before the woman finally got it and left. Michael likes his job but god, does he hate people sometimes.

Calum’s been put on shelving today, leaving Michael alone at the front desk. He’s resisting the urge to spend the chair around in circles to combat his boredom. He could probably read a book or do something else productive, but Michael can’t get away with reading at the front some days and if he pulls his phone out, someone will probably walk by and comment on it.

Michael’s in the middle of making faces at Calum across the way when the doors to the library slide open and it pulls Michael’s attention over. He’s startled to see that it’s Luke coming through the doors, cheeks pink from the wind, and carrying a cup of coffee in his hands. He looks nice today, now that Michael can see his whole outfit. He looks nicer than he should, wearing leather trousers, heeled boots, and a leather jacket over a plain black shirt. He has no right looking this nice at a public library. Michael can’t physically take it.

Luke spots Michael, eyes lighting up and face breaking into a grin when they make eye contact. He makes a beeline for Michael. Michael looks over at Calum, frantic. Calum raises his eyebrows, mouth forming an “o” as he watches it all unfold.

“Hi. So this is your natural habit,” Luke whispers when he gets to the front desk.

“Here it is. Me and all the grandparents and small children.”

“Should I leave and come back so I can watch your heroics in action?”

“Could be awhile. Slow day today it seems like.”

“Too bad. You sold me on you being the big librarian hero.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Never,” Luke says, grinning. 

“Can I help you find something today?” Michael asks, figuring he should redirect them back to the fact that Luke’s at his place of work and eventually his boss will ask if he’s goofing off.

“Actually, I wanted to bring you a treat. You keep coming by my place of work, so I wanted to come visit you. Return the favor.”

“I come to your place of work to buy coffee. My work is pretty boring.”

“All I do is make coffee. You get to help people all day and see all the kids. I’d call that exciting.”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Michael mumbles. Luke stands there, cocking his head to the side watching Michael. It reminds Michael of a puppy dog staring at him. Michael glances at the clock on his computer, figures it’s close enough now for him to take his break and talk to Luke outside.

“Let me punch out for lunch. We can sit outside on the bench and talk,” he whispers. Luke nods, heading off to the outside to wait for him. Michael darts to the back, letting his boss know so someone else can go sit at the front. Michael makes a point to avoid looking at Calum as he leaves.

Luke’s sitting on the bench by the door, ankles crossed and coffee sitting next to him. Michael crosses over, taking a seat next to Luke, who beams when he notices Michael. 

“I was worried about coming to see you at work, but I thought it might be nice to bring you an afternoon pick me up. Mid week blues are always the worst.”

“Thanks. I need this. What’d you make me today?”

“Mocha with caramel sauce and coconut milk. I remember you ordered it last time. Thought you might like the sweet and warmth today.”

“I do. How do you know me so well?”

“Perks of being a barista. Good at reading people,” Luke teases. Michael huffs, closing his eyes as he takes a sip of the drink, humming his appreciation when he gets a taste of it.

“Good?”

“Just what I needed. The best yet.”

Luke claps in excitement, curls bouncing with him. Michael takes another sip, closing his eyes again to savor the taste.

“How much time do you have?”

“Can probably get away with 15 minutes before I should head in and actually eat my lunch.”

“Tell me how your day’s been going,” Luke says, turning to face Michael. His face is earnest and open. Michael blushes, launching into a story about trying to run the children’s reading group this morning. Michael would take any kid over their parents anyday. The parents are the kicker, always trying to one up each other to prove their kid is better. Michael gets so lost in the story, caught up in Luke’s laughter and snorting that he doesn’t realize how much time has passed until he catches sight of Calum waving at him through the door.

“Shit I gotta go. Breaks almost up,” Michael says, rushing to stand. Luke looks crestfallen and a little sad.

“Oh really? I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I’m sorry.”

“No, no it’s not your fault. I need to get better at time management. You always distract me,” Michael confesses, blushing a little at the admission. Luke blushes too, cheeks and nose a little red.

“Well good. I like being a distraction. I mean...hmmm...you know what I mean,” Luke says, blushing harder.

“I do. Thanks for the coffee. I’ll come by the shop tomorrow?”

“Yes! I’ll be there. Enjoy the coffee Michael,” Luke says, waving as Michael rushes back in. 

“Have fun with Lukey?”

“Shut up. Which of us got free coffee?” Michael says, sticking his tongue out and holding out the cup for Calum to see. Calum squints, leaning in to look at the cup.

“Oh shit,” Calum whispers, pointing at the side of the cup. Michael turns it around, eyes going wide when he notices the handwriting on the side.

“You really grind my beans. Text me- Luke,” the handwriting says, a number written out next to it.

“You have to text him,” Calum hisses.

“I cannot.”

“Do it! The cute barista came to visit you at work and gave you his number! He wants you to visit,” Calum says urgently. Michael looks at the writing, brow furrowed. It’s impossible for Luke to like Michael, but this says otherwise. Maybe Michael should take his chances and text Luke. See what happens.

(It gets him a date on Friday with the prettiest blonde barista in town. It gets him breakfast on Saturday with the same boy. It gets him a cheeky grin from Calum when he goes home Saturday night, covered in hickies. It gets him a boyfriend, who brings him coffee on his lunch breaks with silly little coffee puns. It gets Michael happiness.)

[hmsjiara]

‘cause you’re amazing (just the way you are) jj + kie

request by @love-life-always​: We never really hear anything about Kiara's kook year, so I was wondering if you could write a story where Kiara had an eating disorder during her kook year, while trying to fit in and stuff but she managed to recover when she became friends with the pogues again, but then for whatever reason it starts to affect her again and jj/the other pogues notice.

this turned into one big angsty mess real quick lol. but protective!jj is my kink, so... here you go lmao. thank you so much for the request, i hope you like it :)

read it here on ao3.

disclaimer: i understand that eating disorders are a serious/complex issue and am NOT trying to romanticize them in any way. and while i did some research before writing this, i am in no way an expert nor have i ever experienced something like this. so, if any part of this is inaccurate or ignorant i apologize. if this triggers you in anyway, please do what’s best for your mental/emotional health.

trigger warnings: eating disorders, panic attacks, brief mentions of abuse.

                                      •••

It was an unspoken rule among the Pogues that they didn’t talk about Kiara’s Kook Year.

It hadn’t always been that way. When Kiara had returned to the Chateau with a years worth of apologies and a case of Miller Lite, John B and Pope had forgiven her almost instantly, but not JJ. Weeks of veiled insults and sharp glares had followed, and despite John B and Pope’s efforts to sway him, JJ seemed determined to hate her forever.

But eventually, even he managed to forgive her for abandoning them. Kiara assumed that it was a combination of her constant presence, and the boobs and curves she’d developed during her Kook Year. She couldn’t really blame them for noticing, since they were horny teenage boys and she spent the majority of her time in a bikini.

So, things went back to normal, and the Pogues caught on to the fact that Kiara didn’t want to discuss her absence, or her exile from the Kook Academy. It was easier this way, she told herself. Talking about Sarah still hurt too much, and as for everything else... well, it wasn’t important.

So, she doesn’t talk about Sarah, about how they got drunk and watched movies and saved baby sea turtles together, how her heart aches when she thinks about her. She doesn’t talk about the girls at the Kook Academy who spread rumors behind her back, who shove her in the hallways and on one occasion dump a smoothie on her head in the cafeteria. She deletes the mean comments under her Instagram posts before the Pogues can see, because she doesn’t need them to defend her, and the last thing she wants is to explain why everyone hates her so much.

Because she just got her friends back, and Kiara isn’t going to burden them with her problems, not when they have it so much worse.

                                        •••

The words eating disorder cause a certain kind of alarm to go off in Kiara’s brain.

Because yes, there’d been those months at the Kook Academy where she’d gone from diet to diet, weighed herself after every meal, looked at the girls in her grade with their flat stomachs and thin, long legs and hated her curves and muscle-toned limbs. She’d followed all the trends— juice cleanses and swearing off anything over a hundred calories. She even stopped surfing, switched to running, wondering if it would make a difference.

Her mother’s comments hadn’t helped. Once Kiara was going to parties and sleepovers with Sarah, her mom started buying her clothes that were two sizes too small, handing her grapefruit halves in the morning when Kiara asked for eggs and bacon, shot pointed glares at the half-eaten box of cookies on her dresser.

So, she started just... not eating. It was almost too easy to do. All she had to do was say that she was running late for school and skipping breakfast, snack on celery sticks for lunch, tell her parents she had homework to avoid coming to dinner. And it had worked: she’d gotten thinner, and her mother smiled when she started wearing the clothes she’d bought her, so Kiara assumed it was fine.

It was a visit to her doctor that made Kiara realize that what she was doing to herself was wrong. There’d been no official diagnosis, just a few pointed questions about her daily food intake, a suggestion to incorporate more protein into her diet. But Kiara had read between the lines, and she’d gotten over it, moved on, recognized that what she was doing wasn’t how she wanted to live her life. And she hadn’t told anyone, especially not the Pogues, because it was her business and they didn’t need to know.

The problem is that sometimes Kiara forgets to catch herself.

Like when she spends a little too long looking at her stomach in the mirror, or when JJ offers her the rest of his fries at the Wreck and she wrinkles her nose and says too many carbs.

He frowns, presses a hand to her forehead, as if checking for a temperature. “Too many carbs? Who are you, and what have you done with Kiara Carrera?”

She laughs, shoves him away from her, goes to get another beer from the fridge, but JJ is still watching her when she gets back. “I didn’t know you cared about that sort of stuff.”

“What do you mean?” She asks, avoiding his gaze as she knocked John B’s feet off of the counter.

“Calories and shit,” he said with a shrug, and it was a perfectly reasonable remark, but Kiara didn’t like the direction their conversation was going in. “Is this something you picked up from the Kooks? You turning into one of those soccer moms who meal plan and don’t let her kids eat sugar?”

It hits a little too close to home, so Kiara snatches a fry from his basket and makes sure that he sees her eat it.

“There,” she said, chewing somewhat obnoxiously. “Happy now?”

JJ rolled his eyes, turned to listen to whatever Pope was saying about his internship, but Kiara couldn’t help but feel like she’d dodged a bullet.

JJ couldn’t find out. Not now, not ever.

                                       •••

Being forced to attend Midsummers is the last thing Kiara needs or wants, but her mother doesn’t care.

She thinks it’s how she copes. Kiara can hang with whoever she likes, as long as her mother can put her in a pretty dress and show her off to the Kooks.

The subtle, pointed comments start again.

Take it in a bit on the hem, Silvia. I’m not used to this, you know. I never had Kiara’s curves when I was younger.

I know that your friends don’t have to worry about this, Kiara, but you have a figure to maintain. Eating at the Wreck every night just isn’t going to fly.

Maybe a side salad instead, sweetheart. I’m paying the seamstress by the hour.

Kiara’s not proud of it, but she does go along with her mother, because she’s tired of fighting with her, and the idea of her daughter going to Midsummers with all the Sarah Cameron’s of the world has made her happier than Kiara has ever seen her.

She tells herself it’s only for a couple of weeks, that she can get through it, but it’s getting harder to ignore the comments, to resist the urge to weigh herself after a bag of popcorn or a sandwich from the Wreck.

Before, when she was friends with Sarah, it was easier to hide. Sarah didn’t really notice other people— it wasn’t her fault, just how she’d been raised.

The Pogues are different.

At first, they buy all the usual excuses. She’s not hungry, she already ate. But then John B asks her to split a burger with him at the Wreck, or Pope roasts her a s’more and she refuses, and they start to notice.

One time, Kiara buys a new kind of green tea ice cream from the grocery store, and she eats it all in one sitting, calories be damned.

JJ laughs, nudges John B. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Damn, Kie.”

It’s a joke, a passing comment, but Kiara flinches, feels a sudden surge of regret. Shit. Her mother was going to kill her.

JJ sees it, because of course he does, and then his teasing grin disappears and he gives Pope and John B a knowing look.

Pope looks instantly uncomfortable as John B clears his throat, and Kiara doesn’t like it one bit. She feels cornered, suddenly on edge, as John B opens his mouth and says, “Kie, is everything okay? With you, I mean?”

“Of course,” she says, shrugging, the deflection easy. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, it’s just—“

“You’re not fucking eating.”

Kiara flinches for real this time at JJ’s harsh, blatant tone, her stomach hollowing out as John B hisses JJ’s name and says this isn’t what we talked about.

Oh, so they’re talking about her now. Wonderful.

“Fuck this,” she says, springing to her feet, the empty ice cream cartoon and metal spoon clattering to the floor. She feels sick just looking at it. “Y’all are— y’all are delusional, okay? I’m out.”

“Kie, it’s okay,” Pope says, his eyes on the floor. “Millions of people have, uh, stuff like this, you know, it’s not—“

“I do not have a eating disorder,” Kiara growls at him, ignoring Pope’s own flinch, how he curls in on himself at her words. “Your statistics don’t apply to me, okay, Pope? You have no idea what’s going on.”

“Kie, we’re just trying to help—“

“Fuck you, John B,” she says, turning to leave, not able to stand the pity on his face.

“No,” JJ snarls, rising from his chair, clutching the neck of his beer bottle so hard she thinks it might shatter. “I’ve had enough. Do you know that’s the most I’ve seen you eat in weeks? Something’s wrong, Kie, we’re not idiots, okay? So just tell us—“

“I don’t have to tell you shit, Maybank,” she snaps, the pit in her stomach filling itself with something cold and bitter. “This is my business, just like whatever the fuck is happening with your dad is yours. So leave me alone.”

She regrets the words as soon as she says them, but it’s too late, because JJ’s beer bottle shatters and John B yells as alcohol and shards of glass scatter across the floor, and Kiara is out the door before any of them can make her stay.

They’re just worried, she knows that, but it’s fine. She has it handled.

                                      •••

In reality, it’s the opposite of fine.

Kiara avoids the Pogues in the week leading up to Midsummers, ignores the texts they send her asking her to meet, actually hides when John B comes to find her at the Wreck.

She tells herself she just has to get through Midsummers, and then it’ll all work itself out.

The stress makes it worse, she thinks, and in between her anxiety over the Pogues and her mother’s pre-Midsummers prep, Kiara doesn’t realize that she can’t remember the last time she ate until she’s pulling up to the club with her parents.

It’s kind of like a wake up call, the shakiness in her limbs and the empty feeling in her stomach, and the next thing she knows, she’s hyperventilating over the sink in the girls bathroom.

It’s hard to breathe, and the heavily perfumed air definitely isn’t helping, and her mother is going to kill her, and Kiara doesn’t even know how it got this bad again. She doesn’t look too thin in the mirror, at least not to her, but what do other people see?

She’s not quite sure how, but she manages to find her phone in her clutch, to fumble through typing in her password and locating Pope’s contact.  

He answers on the first ring.

“Kie? Is everything okay? Where are you?”

He’s obviously concerned, and she feels like such an idiot, because she spent the past week pushing him and everyone else away when all they wanted to do was help her.

“Bathroom,” she manages to say, fighting to speak past the tightness in her throat. “In— Inside. Pope, I can’t breathe, I can’t—“

“Okay, Kie, it’s okay,” he murmured, sounding surprisingly calm. “Fuck, I’m working, I can’t leave. But I’m gonna help you, okay? Just breathe. Give me one second—”

The call ended, and Kiara tried not to panic anymore than she already was, but it was a relief when Pope’s name appeared on her phone screen again.

“Pope?” She asks, his name more of a sob than anything.

“Yeah, it’s me. Listen, Kie, you’re gonna be fine. You’re not hurt, right?”

She shakes her head, then remembers that he can’t see her, and confirms that she’s fine (physically, at least) through the phone. Pope keeps doing that, asking her questions in a low, level voice, until she hears a knock on the bathroom door.

“Pope, is that you at the door?” She asks, clutching her phone tighter in her hand, any sense of control she’d managed to regain vanishing.

“No, it’s—“

“Kie? Kie, are you in there?“

She doesn’t know why, but the sound of JJ’s voice makes her crumble. She can still hear Pope talking to her through the phone, hear JJ on the other side of the door, but it’s like it’s all coming from very far away. Her breathing picks up again, and she barely registers JJ’s fuck it, I’m coming in.

His knock on the stall door jerks her back into reality. “Kie? It’s JJ, can you open the door?”

With shaking hands, she grapples with the lock, automatically shrinking away when light floods the stall and she sees JJ staring down at her.

She must look like a mess— sitting on the floor of the bathroom in her dress, mascara running, like some girl who just got dumped by her boyfriend at a party. But she can’t really bring herself to care about that, because she still can’t seem to get enough air into her lungs.

“JJ,” she whimpers, because he’s just standing there like he doesn’t know what to do, some raw emotion in his eyes she can’t bring herself to decipher right now.

“Hey, hey it’s okay,” JJ says, snapping out of whatever trance he’d fallen into at the sight of her, his movements slow as he crouches down beside her, his hands raised in mock surrender. “Take it easy, okay, Kie? Just breathe.”

He takes the phone from her, has a brief conversation with Pope, then hangs up and pockets it. Kiara doesn’t object, staring at her hands and trying to stop herself from shaking.

“Can I?” JJ asks, and she realizes he’s asking to hold her hands.

She nods, and then his warm, calloused fingers are brushing against her skin as he rubs soothing circles into the back of her palms. Her heart rate isn’t slowing, though, her breaths coming quick and fast again, but then JJ’s arms are around her and he’s pulling her back against his chest and murmuring reassurances into the top of her head.  

He tells her to copy his breathing, and she does, focusing on the steady beat of his heart against her shoulder, the fact that his hands are still holding hers.

Eventually, her breathing returns to normal, and her anxiety is replaced by exhaustion. She sags against JJ, closes her eyes, relaxes into his warmth.

The next thing she remembers is JJ guiding her into the passenger seat of the van and bucking her seatbelt. It’s easy to trust him, to let her eyes slip closed and listen to the steady, familiar hum of the engine.

Kiara doesn’t ask where they’re going, and she must fall asleep at some point, because then she’s waking up in the driveway at the Chateau. She ignores JJ’s offered hand and stumbles out of the van, tugging off her heels the moment she gets inside and collapsing onto the pullout couch.

She doesn’t want to move ever again, content to fall asleep right there, exhaustion heavy in her bones, but JJ takes one look at her and pulls her to her feet. He takes her to the bathroom, turns the shower on and places a hand on her back to guide her inside. He asks if she wants him to stay. She says no, because JJ’s already looking at her like she’s a wounded animal, and she doesn’t want him to think that she can’t do anything by herself.

Even if she almost has another panic attack once he leaves, has to remind herself to breathe as she undresses and steps into the shower. The hot water helps, and she loses track of time standing in the spray. She never hears the door open, but when she gets out there’s a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt on the counter.

She puts them on, drys her hair with a towel but leaves it down, too exhausted to do anything else. The sweatshirt smells like JJ, and she breathes it in. She doesn’t want to think about what it means. She can have a pass tonight, she figures.

When she opens the door, the hallway smells like cooking oil and burnt toast. She wrinkles her nose, pads into the living room on silent feet, and she thinks JJ might be right to treat her like a skittish animal, because when she walks into the kitchen and sees the plate of eggs and toast on the table, she wants to run back inside the bathroom.

JJ seems to recognize her urge to flee, because he pats the seat across from him and gives her a pointed look. “Sit down, Kie.”

She complies, because she kind of owes him, and JJ actually managed to cook something without burning the house down, so that’s a miracle in it itself.

“It’s no five-star Kiara Carrera creation, but it’ll have to do,” he tells her, smiling at her as she sits down. “I only know how to cook breakfast— sorry.”

He seems almost embarrassed, but Kiara doesn’t see why. “No, I love it,” she tells him, and he just stares at her, as if he thinks she’s lying. “Really, I do.”

He grins at her then, his blue eyes sparkling in the dim lights of the Chateau, and then JJ’s digging into his own food like a starving stray dog who hasn’t had a real meal in weeks.

It smells great, even though the toast is a little burnt, and Kiara is starving, but she still hesitates before picking up her knife.

JJ notices it, because of course he does. “Eat, Kiara,” he says, his tone soft but firm. “You need it. Please.”

It’s the please that gets her. She takes a cautious bite of toast, which is burnt on one side by covered in butter. It settles in her stomach, warm and filling, and before she realizes it, she’s scraping her plate clean.

JJ doesn’t say anything, but there’s a gleam or triumph in his eyes when he takes her empty plate from her and places it in the sink.

She was exhausted before, but the food’s made her drowsy, and Kiara stumbles into John B’s room while JJ is washing the dishes. He’s not home, but she decides to wait until tomorrow to worry about it, if she has to. As well as a bunch of other things— like what the hell her mother is going to do with her.

Kiara’s muscles feel like they’re made out of lead as she collapses onto the bed. She’s exhausted, but her thoughts aren’t stopping, and it’s a relief when JJ appears in the doorway.

“You good?” He asks, and she hums into her pillow, not opening her eyes.

But then the floorboards creak as he turns to leave, and she doesn’t know what makes her do it, but she calls his name.

“Yeah?” JJ says, and she opens her eyes this time, studying his silhouette in the doorway, all soft lines and tousled blond curls.

“Will you stay?” She asks, before she can consider what it means, how he’ll interpret it. “I just... I don’t want to be alone right now.”

But JJ just nods, moving to the other side of the bed and lying a respectable distance away from her. He closes his eyes immediately, but Kiara can’t seem to relax. They’ve slept in the same bed before, but this feels different. Heavier.

“JJ?” She murmurs into the silence, and he hums to show that he’s listening. “Thank you. For tonight, I mean.”

“S’ no problem, Kie,” he says, his words slurred by exhaustion, eyelids drooping as he turned to look at her. “You know you can talk to me, right? About anything.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, picking at her nail polish to avoid meeting his gaze. “I know. It’s just... it’s hard, ya know? I didn’t want to bother any of you, God knows you have enough shit to deal with without me piling my own on top of it, and it wasn’t that big of a deal, I swear—”

“Kie, your shit is my shit,” JJ said, his voice firm as he reached out to take her hand. She brushed her fingers over his knuckles, comforted by the familiar pattern of the cracks and scars that had stayed there even after his cuts had healed. “I’m not going anywhere. And this... whatever it is, we’ll get through it together. All of us— John B and Pope too.”

Kiara nodded, and it was silent for a while, but then she said, “I’m sorry. About what I said, about your dad. I was out of line, and I—”

“Don’t worry about it,” JJ said, shrugging, his fingers squeezing hers in reassurance. “I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, but... it’s just scary, Kie. It was like I was watching you slip away right in front of me, and I didn’t know how to stop it.”

Kiara didn’t know what to say to that, so she just tucked herself into his side, pressing her face into his shoulder as JJ wrapped an arm around her. Their fingers were still intertwined, resting on his chest.

“Kie,” he said after a while, when she was on the brink of sleep. “I shouldn’t have to say it, but... you know you’re fucking beautiful, right? Just the way you are. You don’t have to—

“Thanks, JJ,” Kiara whispered before he could finish, her voice catching. She told herself not to cry, but a few tears escaped anyway. JJ wiped them from her cheeks, wove his fingers into her hair, running them through her wet curls.

“No, I’m serious, you’re like really hot, I—“

Kiara laughed, swatting at his arm, even though there was no real force behind it. There was a certain warmth rising in her chest, as she breathed in JJ’s scent and fell asleep in his arms. She didn’t quite know what it was, but it was new, and she liked it.

Far more than she should have.

                                      •••

It’s better after that. Not perfect, not right away, but better.

She explains everything to the Pogues eventually, and they take it all in stride, as if she’d just told them that she had decided to take up knitting as a pastime.

John B is always there, offering to drive her to get dinner, insisting he hasn’t eaten in days. He insists that Kie teach him how to cook fish the way they do at the Wreck, makes her taste-test each batch and critique them.

Pope does research, because that’s how he copes with this sort of thing, and after a while he starts bringing it up with her. JJ glares at him at first, asks Kiara if she wants him to stop, but she likes it. She likes knowing she’s not alone, that this is normal.

JJ’s approach is more subtle. He’s always making her food (he still can’t make toast without burning it, but she eats it anyway). Honestly, when JJ pouts and bats his eyelashes and flashes that devilish smirk of his, it’s hard to say no to anything he offers her. He makes it easy though, and that’s what she loves. It’s not awkward or forced, just them sharing a basket of fries at the Wreck, or visiting a local food truck festival in town.

She doesn’t know why she thought telling the Pogues would be a bad thing, because it’s nice not having to hide this from them, to know they’ll be there if she needs them.

Kiara doesn’t need perfect, she decides. She just needs her boys— if she has them, she’ll be fine.

No matter what happens.