#but uh.. lately i realise i’m quite traumatised by it

[letterstotheflre]

didn’t realise how traumatising it is to have every single boy leave me at the two week mark!!!

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 209

209

The problem with supernatural senses was the ability to hear everything. Lance sympathised with Keith, cringing in second hand embarrassment for how his fiancé tried to talk to Pidge. Keith’s awkwardness was a thing of legend. There were a lot of “ums” in his sentence, and he’d twice assured Pidge “that it was okay if she didn’t want to”, before he finally asked if they could talk. The pair of them heading into the house as Hunk kept his eye on them.

“Catching” Hunk staring, Lance decided to say fuck it to manners. Hunk wasn’t upsetting Pidge on purpose. Shay wasn’t upsetting Pidge on purpose. They just weren’t quite clicking and though it wasn’t his place to say it, he didn’t want Pidge to feel left out because her best friend was dating the woman of his dreams

“Hunk, what’s up?”

“Pidge just went off with Keith... I thought they were going to check on Shiro and Curtis... I’m just... uh, I’m kind of wondering why they left”

Scratching the back of his head, Hunk stumped the other “adults” at the table. Allura and Coran both nursing empty tea cups, with Krolia kicked back and holding her half empty beer near her stomach

“It’s nothing to be worried about. They’ll be fine”

“Yeah, but... Dude, don’t you think she’s been acting weird lately? She doesn’t message me as much as she used to, and she didn’t defend how useful UV light could be to hunting vampires”

Hunk took the bait. Sure, Lance had been leading him

“Keith noticed Pidge isn’t happy and he’s gone to have a chat and make sure she’s okay”

Hunk gaped at him. Lance would have chuckled at his friend’s surprise if he hadn’t squashed his ego down. He didn’t want to hurt Hunk, nor did he particularly enjoy the conversation they needed to have. Shay pressed her lips together for half a moment in thought, before breaking her silence

“I can’t remember anything that would have upset her. Are you sure she’s upset?”

“Pidge is learning how much adulting sucks. We’re all in relationships now. We don’t do the fun things we used to do together. We don’t have games night anymore. We don’t hunt. Her best friend is moving in with his girlfriend and she wants to be involved. You guys haven’t done anything technically wrong, she just misses the old times. She’d decapitate me for the hell of it if she heard me. She’s feeling a little insecure right now, but Keith’ll calm her down”

Hunk immediately teared up. Nooo. Not Hunk tears. Whenever Hunk got teary, he did too

“I didn’t... I didn’t realise”

The first tear rolled down Lance’s cheek, causing him to sigh at himself mentally. He was so weak when it came to Hunk tears

“That’s because you haven’t done anything wrong. I’d be mad if you had and my face wound be all scary. Everyone grows and changes. Keith and I can hardly deny we’re very focused on each other. It’s really easy to do when you’re in love. Maybe at the end of the night you could suggest a games night? Or you could have her look at properties with you? She’d probably be able to blackmail the realestate agent into giving you cheaper rent...”

“I didn’t...”

“Dude, I know. I’m in no position to talk either. I let her down too. I let all of you guys down. I love you, bro. I love her, too. You guys are my family. Pidge just needs a little reassurance your still best friends for life... I kind of hope they’re not inside too long, I need to pee... I can’t wait for this pregnancy to be over... I want to meet them already”

Allura placed her hand on his shoulder

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon. We all can’t wait to meet them. You and Keith shall be amazing parents”

“Yeah. It’s going to be weird not having them inside me anymore...”

Lance loved it when they moved. He loved resting his hands on his belly and feeling them moving. Already so full of life. He loved belly rubs from Keith, and the way Keith cuddled into his stomach, peppering kissed to his stretched skin as if trying to kiss their twins through it. But everything else was getting too much. The joint pain. The fatigue. The constant heavy feeling in his chest. The last week of feeling constantly ill. His stupid yoyoing ego that couldn’t understand how a pregnancy had weakened him so much. The fits of anger. His overly active sense of smell. He was tired... and tired of waiting... but he... he also wanted to wait until he went into labour naturally so he could keep feeling them inside of him. For years he’d wondered how it’d feel to be human again. To fall in love and do all the other amazing things humans did... He’d never felt more human than in the last month of his pregnancy. He wasn’t sure he could mentally cope with his ego if he and Keith did chose to wait much longer. Mums to be were amazing. Movies just didn’t do justice to all the ups and downs of pregnancy. Feeling a tingling in his skin, Lance looked down at his arm, realising he was starting to burn under the lack of cloud cover. He wanted to give Keith and Pidge privacy, but if he stayed outside much longer, he’d go up in flames... Then again, Keith did say he was “smoking hot”.

*

Lance’s living room had also been transformed. The same bunting that hung outside, hung from everywhere it could inside. Stopping by the bathroom, Lance waddled in on Keith and Pidge mid-hug. Keith probably didn’t know what to do with being hugged so fiercely, still, it was a nice moment between the pair of them

“Hey, guys. Got room for one more?”

Breaking the hug, Pidge moved to make space between her and Keith. Lance waddling over to drop himself down between the pair of them. Yeah. Keith had a point. Maybe it’d be better to deliver early rather than feel cramping when he sat wrong, or sat too fast. He’d recognised that with fatigue came pain sensitivity. Small cramps had been happening more often over the last week, and he’d been reduced to crying over them more than once.

Leaning in, Keith kissed his cheek, Lance smiling at the action because he was so grossly in love with Keith that even a small kiss still managed to make him feel a million times better

“I thought I left you outside?”

Lance moved to show Keith the start of the sunburn on his arm. He’d run it under cold water to ease the burn, but it was still warm and tender to the touch

“You did. Apparently too much sun is bad for vampires... who would have thought?”

“I did wonder if I should find you an umbrella...”

“I’m fine. Plus, I’ve got my two favourite people here, so I thought I’d come stock up on some love”

Excusing himself to the bathroom, Lance knew he’d upset Hunk yet Hunk had to figure out how to make things right with Pidge without his meddling. He probably could have been more tactful about things, and picked a better time to bring the subject up. This was supposed to be party, not a counselling session. Feeling the twins kicking up a storm, he took Pidge’s hand, placing it on his belly. His friends were good about not just touching his belly without asking first, Pidge the one who seemed to hesitate the most when it came to feeling him being bashed up internally

“I think they know that their Aunty Pidge is here”

“Either that or they’ve inherited Keith’s inability to sit still”

Keith pouted, Pidge poking her tongue at him causing the werewolf to huff

“Lance is just as bad as I am”

“Lance has changed a lot since you came into our lives. You both have. You can tell you two are dating. You’ve got that old married couple vibe where you finish each other’s sentences and sound the same”

Lance couldn’t deny it. Keith had picked up so many of the expressions he used. And Lance had definitely picked up Keith’s habit of swearing openly.

“That’s what happens when you fall in love. Actually, Keith and I have something to tell you. We’re madly grossly in love, not just in love”

Pidge rolled her eyes at him

“I already know that. One bite between you and you’ve both turned into idiots”

“You know what they say, “Once bitten, twice stupid””

“Dude, it’s “once bitten, twice shy”. But I like your one better. You bit Keith to save his life and you both turned into love struck morons with a shared brain cell between you”

Keith frowned heavily at Pidge’s joke, Lance snorting due to how true it was

“He really does feel like the other half of me. I’d be happy to share a brain cell with him any day of the week. I know you’re worried about the future, but you’re always going to be a sister to me, and an aunt to the twins. No more sad, Pidge, not when she’s a scary little ankle biting gremlin that we all love”

Pidge pulled her hand back, looking to her lap

“Hey, you know I’m proud of you, Katie. You’ve been through a heck of a lot, like the rest of us. Things might have changed and they might be scary, but you’ll always have a home here with us... provided you don’t bring your work home and destroy my house with your experiments”

Pidge groaned deeply

“You blow up a circuit board once and they never let you forget it. And, if you call me “Katie” again, I’m going to give you a dead arm to go with that dead body of yours”

“Oh no! The gremlin’s getting angry. Quick, babe. You’d better make her a coffee before her wrath descends upon us”

“Fuck you”

“I’m flattered, but I’m in a loving and committed relationship... I mean, if I were two decades younger...”

Pidge punched his arm to shut him up

“You suck”

Lance continued with his shit stirring mood

“Quite well, don’t I, babe?”

“I’m not getting into this, but yes”

“See, my skills have got Keith’s stamp of approval”

“You’re going to have my footprint stamped to your arse if you keep traumatising me like this”

Wrapping his arms around his gremlin, Lance kissed her hair. Pidge trying to shove him off

“I love it when you’re mean. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you”

“Keith, help. Lance is being weird”

Keith hefted him back so Lance was laying awkwardly in his arms looking up at his fiancé. Bopping him on the nose, Lance went cross eyed as Keith let his finger hover

“Babe, leave the bitey creature alone. She’s fine. More importantly, did you put cream on your arm?”

Lance didn’t really prescribe to the use of burn cream seeing he healed on his own. Cold water would forever be the best things for burns

“Burn cream isn’t always good for burns, aaaaand the aloe vera is in our bathroom. Which is upstairs, and totally too much effort right now”

“You can’t ignore it. Where else got burnt?”

“I don’t know. Stop picking on me. I thought we were picking on Pidge”

“We’ve done that. I’ll grab the aloe vera, and Pidge can get you some blood. We have the whole day to relax... provided no one’s gone and planned party games”

Pidge burst that bubble. That tiny bubble of maybe fitting an uncaught nap in... This fatigue thing was ridiculous

“Oh, dude. There’s totally party games. We’re going to set up penalty beer pong under lunch”

Keith scrunched his brow. From how he was positioned, Lance kind of wanted to poke his finger right up Keith’s nose. It was like his nose was staring down at him, begging to be poked

“Should I be worried?”

Lance didn’t like to brag, but beer pong was his jam. His first time through college not so much, second time, he was pretty much undefeated. With how long it took to set up, it wasn’t usually one of their party games. Poor Keith had no idea what penalty beer pong had in store for him, Lance would have to defend his fiancé’s honour

“Seeing it’ll be you and Lance facing off, you should definitely be worried. Buuuut I totally didn’t tell you that. If you two are going to keep being gross, I’m going to go back to the party”

Whelp. Keith was on his own then... It was nice knowing him

“It’s okay, Pidgeon. Go forth and abandon us. Leave us... be that way... We’ll be back out as soon as I’ve had some blood and this sunburn starts healing. Maybe I should change into something longer, I don’t want to burst into flames at my own baby shower”

Keith bopped him on the nose again, before helping Lance sit back up

“That’s probably a good idea, babe. You’re smoking hot as it is. That’d make you literally flaming hot”

Pidge was completely right. They really did share one brain cell. The idea leaving a stupidly huge grin on his face that Pidge called “creepy” before leaving the pair of them.

*

Penalty beer pong... of all the things they could have played, they’d chosen some kind of abomination that belonged in hell. After lunch, Hunk had taken Lance aside, while Matt and Pidge took Keith inside. Both of them forced to wear headphones so they couldn’t hear each others answers to the questions for their friends had prepared. Keith felt very very dumb. 20 questions on Lance should have been easy... but their friends had really wracked their brains being creative and going for the odd, mostly unknowable things that he was supposed to know about his “boyfriend”.

With the living area the only place big enough to fit all of them, the coffee table was covered with a thick piece of plywood where the cups were set up. Keith didn’t like to admit that he’d never played beer pong. He’d never had the kinds of friends that did, nor did he go to college. One of the more popular games at Blade headquarters was darts with knives instead of darts, and vampire faces for targets. You took a shot if you failed to stick the knife in the vampire when it was your throw. He’d never been invited to play with James and the rest of them... He and Shiro used to have shooting target competitions, but that was just the pair of them with the winner getting out of some mundane house chore, that Adam usually scolded them about.

Kneeling across from him, they’d both avoided the penalty cups so far. Keith thought not getting the ball in one meant not having to drink what was it in. No. Instead the penalty was played out for each question they got wrong about each other. Each cup contained some kind of condiment construction Keith really wanted to avoid. It started tame, first with chilli sauce, then soy, then vinegar... slowly progressing in quantity and combination. The last cup was a grotesque mix of what seemed to be a little of everything from Lance’s pantry. Having swapped questionnaires, Hunk and Matt were their quiz masters. They were fifteen questions in, Keith not feeling the effects of the vodka he’d had to chug when Lance got the ping pong ball in his cups. His fiancé, not able to drink, was delegated water. Keith wasn’t sure that Lance actually won anything from playing against him seeing he’d have to pee the moment the game was done.

“Lance. What is Keith’s most annoying habit?”

Throwing the ping pong ball, his fiancé landed it perfectly in the cup. That’s how it went. Question, throw, answer, shot...

“His amazingly lacking self confidence since turning into a werewolf”

His damn fiancé got that one right... like the rest of them.

“Keith. How many years, combined, did Lance spend attending University?”

How the fuck was he supposed to know that? He didn’t know how long it took to be a lawyer... he didn’t know how long it took, or if Lance had any recognition of prior training to drop the amount of time he was required to study, plus his fiancé was a smart little shit... Lance looked sympathies and smug at the same time. Yeah. His questions were far easier than Keith’s had been. Tossing the retrieved ping pong ball, it landed in one of the penalty cups

“Um... I’m going to with... um... 12 years”

Lance groaned, Keith knowing he’d gotten the answer wrong. Matt delighted in telling him

“11 years and six months. Apparently being a lawyer in the early 90’s meant less time in class... Your first penalty shot is chilli sauce. Bottoms up”

If a jalapeño’s had sex with another jalapeño, then their offspring continued in breeding, that would only explain the fire in Keith’s mouth. His eyes running as his throat burned. That wasn’t simple chilli sauce in there

“God... it burns... what the hell is that?”

“Ghost pepper sauce”

Lance shot Matt a glare

“That’s not very nice. You guys are dicks”

Matt shrugged at Keith fanned his burning mouth

“Then he shouldn’t have gotten the question wrong”

“We didn’t really talk about it. Babe, you okay? Rieva, can you get Keith some milk, please. You guys are banned from giving Keith chilli ever again”

“Chill, dude. He’ll survive. Right, it’s your turn”

Lance plucked the ball from what looked to be soy sauce, unamused Keith’s ego wanted to flip the stupid board of cups over. Their friends were slightly laughing at his reaction to the chilli and Rieva hadn’t gone to get him a glass of milk

“Okay, Lance. What’s Keith’s deepest secret that he’s hiding at he moment?”

Keith had answered “He’d always believe in mothman until his dying breath”. Lance hummed at the question

“That he doesn’t hate Lotor as much as he says... it’s either that, something to with me, or something to do with his crush on mothman”

“Correct...”

No. That wasn’t correct at all! The game was rigged

“You two didn’t bother telling us that you’re engaged! Which is a secret to do with Lance, so technically correct!”

Suddenly Keith got the feeling that beer pong was less about what they knew about each other and more about what the group suspected and wanted to confirm

“They’re what?!”

From Pidge’s yelling, she mustn’t have been in on it... So this was all Matt’s idea to get them to confess to their secret engagement?! He could strangle him for putting them both on the spot like this. Right. He could play it cool... yep. No secret here

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, dude. We found the empty ring box in your bedside drawers. Why didn’t you tell us?! Do you know how happy we are for you guys?! This is awesome... Maybe not as awesome as Rieva saying yes to me, but we’re supposed to be your friends! We need to have a party to celebrate this”

Ahhhh. Keith wanted to laugh in relief. They hadn’t been caught yet, and now it seemed like a pretty fun idea to mess with Matt for going through their things

“That’s was from Krolia. There was never any ring in that box”

“You expect us to believe that?”

Keith glanced to his mother, Krolia shrugging as the others also looked to her

“Miriam and I both thought they’d make the cutest grooms. It’s not my fault he hasn’t proposed yet”

“What makes you think I’d be the one asking? Lance could always ask me, right, babe?”

“Yep. I totally could have been the one to ask him”

Sharing a look, Matt and Hunk both chuckled. Their “Sunshine Teddy” shaking his head

“Man, we all know Lance is the romantic one. He’d spend everyday waiting for you to ask, rather than asking you. Then, he’d expect the whole fairytale night. Dinner at a fancy restaurant. A bouquet of red roses as big as him...”

Hunk counted on his fingers, Matt adding as Hunk stalled mid-thought

“Don’t forget the champagne and the hotel room”

Hunk quickly counted those two on his fingers

“Yep. Lance is too much of a romantic”

Matt nodded quickly

“He’d drop hints too... Romcoms. Jewellery brochures... Though you’d probably miss them like you missed Valentine’s Day”

The pair were ganging up on him, Keith depressed about the fact they were right. Lance would have loved all that, but his fiancé didn’t need all that. He’d proposed in a horrible hotel room...

“Keith is romantic. Sure, his idea of good date is a trip to a shooting range, or some other combat related activity, but he’s very romantic. I don’t need all the fuss, I just need him”

Hunk faked feeling faint as he grabbed Matt by the arm, Matt playing it up and acting as if he were concerned

“Hunk?!”

“I’m okay... I never thought I’d live to hear Lance say something so unLance like. Pregnancy has changed you, man. Next thing you’ll give up watching your soap operas... Dude, my heart can’t handle the changes”

Keith mentally thanked Lance for trying to stick up for him. He wasn’t the world’s greatest fiancé, yet he felt better that Lance thought he was good enough for him. His fiancé had more to say on the matter

“You two keep picking on Keith. He’s awkward and he’s a little emo, but he makes me happy. We could get engaged in a room so dingy that Jesus couldn’t save it, and I’d still be happy”

Hunk waved his arm, kind of weirdly and kind of as if he were trying to gesture “how big this was”. Keith felt his lips turn upwards as Lance pretty much told everyone they’d gotten engaged while away, yet none of their friends would put two and two together

“But as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always been a sucker for those big movie engagement scenes”

“Movies aren’t real life. Matt, that box wasn’t any of your business. What were you doing in our room?”

“Helping Shiro and Curtis build your present. We were looking for an adjustable spanner”

Lance leaned back to rest his weight on his hands, bottom lip wobbling

“You know the tools are kept in the laundry, and you know you’re not supposed to be in my room...”

“We were...”

No one messed with Lance’s room, or his bed. Lance washed and changed the sheets alone, swapping the blankets whenever the whim took over

“I don’t care. I’m sorry, but I can’t... I need air”

Keith jumped to his feet before Lance started started struggling to his. As Coran went to help the vampire, Lance slapped his hand away with a sad “sorry”. Moving to Lance’s side, Keith looped his arm around his waist

“You guys can take over playing. No listening in”

[fandomwriter39-blog]

College - Dan Howell

"Hey Emma! You won't believe who I just saw at the libr- oh shit! Oh... eh... okay? I'll just leave now, yeah..." Aubrey slowly closed her dorm's room and stepped back. She stood where she was for a full minute, a frown plastered on her features.  "What the hell did I just saw there?!" She thought out loud as an image of her roommate with her boyfriend crossed her mind. She shook her head furiously, trying to get both of their naked figures off her brain. Soon, another thought took over the previous: where was she going to stay? She had been studying in the library until late, it was around 11:30 now, which meant Emma's boyfriend wasn't going to leave her room any time soon. And who was he anyway? Tony? Harry? Chris? She'd had so many boyfriends in the span of 2 months that she couldn't remember which was which. She somehow pictured seeing a law book in their room's table yesterday, so she assumed that's was he was studying.  "Did he ever mention who was his roommate?" She pondered as she walked through the endless halls. Maybe she could stay the night with them, since she didn't quite know anyone but Emma, and didn't feel like sleeping in the restroom or baths. As she walked she tried to remember said boyfriend's name, which came to her quite quicker than she had expected. "Matt!" She exclaimed, then covered her mouth with both hands as she realised most people were already asleep.

She crossed what seemed like hundreds of corridors, looking at the small whiteboards on each door to try and find any with the name Matt on it. Right before she was about to give up she saw one. 'Matt & Dan', those were the names, and she hadn't seen any other Matt until now, so she hoped it would be that one. Reluctantly, she knocked at the door. Some ruffling sounds were heard on the other side, and then the door opened. "Hi. Uh, you're Dan, right?" "Yes..." The boy answered confused. "I'm Aubrey. Emma's roommate, she's dating Matt." "Right. And you're here 'cause?" "Well... Let's just say Matt and Emma were having quite some fun in our dorm. And now I kind of have nowhere to stay." Dan looked back at her puzzled. Of course, this scenario was the last he could be expecting on a Wednesday at 12 am.  "I was just wondering if I could maybe stay here for the night?" Aubrey concluded, hoping that Dan wouldn't just kick her out. "Sure, yeah. You can stay." "Really?! Oh my god, I owe you one." Dan stepped aside to let her in, and signaled her in which bed she could sleep. "By the way, sorry for appearing all of a sudden. I hope I didn't wake you up or anything." "Nah it's okay. I was just doing some stuff on my computer."

The first awkward moments soon ended, and in a matter of minutes they were both laughing nonstop.  "But seriously, did you actually see them right in the middle of it?" "Yes! Don't mention it, I think I've been traumatised for life." "Ewww I'm just imagining it." Dan scrunched up his nose as he said this. "You should've taken some pics, we could blackmail them with those later." "I wish I had. I just ran away as fast as I could. I'm sure they didn't even notice I opened the door in the first place." "Oh I'm so gonna annoy him with it now." "You have to!" Aubrey encouraged, at this point exaggerating her movements to make it look more dramatic. "He's taken my dorm without permission, I'll need some kind of revenge." "I'll help you out with that."

She hadn't payed much attention to the room until that moment, and she scanned quickly what was there. The typical, she thought. A large, messy desk full of open books and notes, and the walls covered with posters. There was something odd though, a videocamera.  "By the way, what's that for? Aren't you studying law?" "I am, but I also make videos in youtube. For fun." "Oh you're a youtuber!" She exclaimed in realisation. "I gotta say I wasn't expecting that." During that time YouTube was still quite a brand new site, and only now the term youtubers had began to spread widely and gain popularity. "Now that I know it I gotta check out your videos." "I'm sure you'll like them." Dan said grinning widely.

           *time skip*

As Aubrey opened her eyes she was startled at the new surroundings. It wasn't until later on that she remembered the past night's events. "You finally woke up." Dan said, already dressed and packing the books he needed for that day. "I don't think I even heard your alarm." "Yeah, that's what happens when you stay awake past 3 am." She looked down, realising she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and seeing their state after having slept with them, she could imagine what a mess her hair would be. "Gotta go back now and get changed. Let's pray Matt has already left by now." "Yeah. Well, I'll see you around." "Yup, see ya!" With that Aubrey left the dorm and made her way to her's. She was a lot more lucky this time when she opened the door, as she was met with Emma apliying some makeup on. "Had fun?" Aubrey casually asked. "Why you mention it?" "I happen to have witnessed, sadly for me, some of last night's events." Emma's face grew pale after Aubrey's words."Oh my- How did you even-" "It's my room after all! I had to come back to sleep at some point, did you even consider that?" "Not... really... no..." Emma sighed defeated. "Where did you sleep?" "In Matt's room." Again, another comment that left Emma even more confused."Wha-" "He takes my room I take his! Plus, there's no one I know, so that was my best shot." "And his roommate, eh..." "Dan." "Right, Dan. How is he?" "He's a really nice guy." Aubrey said, smiling from ear to ear as she thought of him. "Guess the whole situation wasn't so bad after all, I got a new friend now."

           ~ ~ ~

They were reaching the end of their first year in college. Dan and Aubrey's bond had only grown stronger ever since that day. They'd had some of the best times together. But lately Aubrey had been getting the feeling that Dan wasn't exactly ok. He was a lot more quiet, thoughtful, as if there was something of great importance that was bothering him. At first she had let him be, thinking he wouldn't want to be asked about it. But in the end she couldn't contain it. She needed to know what was going on, she had to help him in someway.

Dan remained quiet at first when she asked. "C'mon Dan, you know you can trust me. Please, I'm really worried." She insisted. Of course, the last thing Dan wanted was to make her sad, and seeing her like this made him say it all in a rush, words tangling among each other. "I can't take it anymore." He started. "It's all too much. All the exams, all the pressure... All the effort and time wasted in something I don't really care about." Aubrey was confused at this. "That you don't care about? About what, your career?" "Yes. I didn't really want to study this, you know. It was a career many were choosing and my parents constantly insisted that it'd be a good choice for my future. But I can't get the hang of it. My interest have always revolved around scenic arts, videogames... Not law." "Are you planning to drop out then?" "Well, yeah, I hope so. I can't take being like this for much longer. I'll finish this year and then leave." His expression transformed into one of concern and expectancy, as he looked at Aubrey hoping that she would, in a way, approve of his idea. "If it's making you unhappy then you can't continue. It'd be stupid to do so. Though I'll have to say, I'll be missing you, so don't you dare regret it." "I'm sure I won't." "But, what will you do? I mean, after hearing your parents where so eager for you to study this they might not be too happy to see you back, have you thought of where you'll stay? Or where will you work?" "About that..." Dan took a moment to continue, replaying in his head all of the ideas he'd had over the last month. "I've already planned it all. You know the YouTube thing I'm doing?" Aubrey nodded as an answer, already perceiving where this was leading.  "You see, lately the idea of earning a living with it has becomed more popular. Seems like it can actually work out. And that's what I like. Making videos, sketches of my very own, editing them and all that sort of things, that's what I really enjoy." "Who would've thought that'd be a thing... But yeah, I've read some things about it, and from what I've seen you're really talented. I'm sure you'll be among the lucky ones." Aubrey said encouragingly.  "Let's pray for that. But I'll be living with an already lucky one, so that'll be some good help." "You're gonna live with a former youtuber?!" Aubrey's eyes opened wide, both surprised and excited about all this news. "Yup." Dan said smiling sheepishly. "AmazingPhil, one of the dinosaurs of YouTube, as he's called. He's just the nicest dude I've ever met, and he's helped me out so much. He lives here in Manchester and has an apartment of his own. I already asked him and he's eager for me to arrive already." "That's great news! He sounds like a great guy, you'll have to introduce us some time." Her smiled turned to slightly melancholic one as she thought of Dan having to leave so soon already. "I'm really gonna miss you." "Me too Aubrey. I'll miss you too."

          ~ ~ ~

It had been four years already. A 23 year old Aubrey closed the door of her new apartment, trotted down the flight of stairs and then began her daily afternoon walk, happily pacing down the busy streets of London. She began the half an hour journey that would take her to her favorite café. In exactly 30 minutes a beautiful pastel blue wall, contrasting with the rest of the dull façades, came into view. The tiny doorbell chimed with it's cheerful melody as Aubrey entered, smiling widely as the warm smell of coffee surrounded her. She greeted the waiter and went to her usual place, a fluffy cushion in one of the corners of the establishment, besides the window. In a matter of minutes she had her drink beside her. She didn't even need to order it, having that for the past 2 months it had been her only drink of choice, and she hadn't missed a single afternoon ever since she arrived to the city and discovered this small, cozy place. She took a sip of her hot beverage and pulled out from her bag a book she had been reading, or shall we say devouring, for the past days.The envolving atmosphere could have her lost in her own world for hours, losing any notion of time. Not that she minded, those peaceful moments made her the happiest. But today the routine was about to be broken.  The doorbell tinkled again. Usually, she wouldn't care to look, but this time she forwarded her sight to the new costumer. She could only see his back now as he headed to the counter: awkwardly tall body, completely black clothes and shortish chocolate hair which had been straightened, but because of the light rain outside it was now curly on the tips. There was something familiar in the male who she was staring intensively.  With his order in hand he turned, searching for a free seat. And that was when she finally realised it. It was Dan! After so many years, destiny had somehow given her a perfect chance to see each other again. She couldn't contain her happiness as she rushed towards Dan, tackling him and nearly making him and his drink fall down. Dan's shock was easily noticeable as he had not seen her yet, but right as Aubrey pulled back, what had been a sudden hug from an extranger wasn't from and extranger anymore.  "Dan! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in ages! I had no idea you were in London!" "Neither did I!" "Oh, we so need to catch up." Aubrey said as she dragged him across the shop back to her seat, pulling close to her another chair for Dan and preparing for all the stories they'd have to hear from one another. It felt weird in a way, but seeing him now after so long made her aware of how much she had really missed him. And just by looking at him she could see that feeling was reciprocal. There was no doubt that from that day on it'd be practically impossible to have them apart again.

[stardust-squish-blog]

the beginning ♡

member: vernon / hansol

genre: fluff

this wasn’t originally planned for vernon’s birthday it was just sitting around in my drafts but since it was feb 18 yesterday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

her tolerance was really low.

a few drinks, whatever it was that her friend gave her, and that was all it took.

vernon rested his chin in his palm. it was so different, so so different of her. a small smile ghosted his lips as he remembered his first drink.

ah, it was good.

he played with his sweater paws and looked to his right. seungkwan’s breath tickled his cheek, head resting on his shoulder as he lay peacefully. vernon smiled, almost fondly. the blonde boy had had one too many to drink.

truthfully speaking, all vernon had come to do tonight was drink water, play games on his phone and convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. oh, and to supervise seungkwan, who was known for his rather, well, wild antics when drunk.

today, it seemed calm. 

so, he turned back to her.

her being here tonight was a stroke of luck. he’d heard through the grapevine that she hadn’t intended to come. he was thankful she had come, though—she was way more interesting than crossy road or scrolling through twitter.

she turned to her friend. i’m going outside, he read. pushing herself up, she staggered to the door and carelessly slipped her feet into her shoes.

wait.

was she going to the backyard?

wasn’t there a pool in the backyard?

his eyes widened with alarm as the memory came flooding back. abruptly, he stood up, oblivious to the way seungkwan’s head dropped and flopped onto the sofa seat.

a puff of air escaped his lips. “i should follow her,” he mumbled, and then cringed. “ew no, not in a stalker kind of way, i just—oh man, i just really hope what happened last year doesn’t happen again.”

”vernon.”

nothing.

”vernonnn.”

still nothing.

“vernon!”

silence. absolutely no response whatsoever. 

“vernonieeeeeeeee!”

the boy in question groaned and smushed his head into a pillow. he really did not feel like doing anything right now. why had he agree to come? he was an under-aged child; he could’ve stayed with chan, and they could’ve been at the arcade and he could’ve been having fun. now he was just sleepy and itching to go back home.

to his dismay, the high-pitched shrill continued, followed by a weak slap on his head.

“let’s go outsideeeeee,” seungkwan trilled as he continued his relentless assault.

vernon sometimes wondered: why didn’t the words ‘stop’ and ‘shut up’ exist in seungkwan’s vocabulary?

in the end, he begrudgingly assented. the jeju boy shot up from his seat, his earlier lethargy gone. eyes as bright as stars, he (surprisingly) pulled the grumpy 18-year-old off the couch and dragged him to the door.

outside, the hyungs were gathered around a table. amused, they watched as a hyper seungkwan skipped out the back door towards the pool with a grumpy vernon in tow.

“well, someone’s enjoying their first drink,” jeonghan remarked.

soonyoung laughed in agreement. “seungkwan suits this kind of stuff.”

the only one who didn’t share the joy was joshua. “guys? don’t you think we should watch out for them? they are young and something might go wrong.”

however, his soft voice was drowned out by boisterous chatter and laughter of the other boys. joshua sighed as he wrung his hands together. “i have a really bad feeling about this…”

needless to say, joshua was right.

seungkwan had been running laps around the perimeter of the backyard when he suddenly decided that vernon, who hadn’t moved from his original position beside the pool, was an object of interest, and that the best way to get to him was to run across the pool.

he didn’t get very far.

long story short, the hyungs had to fish him out of the pool and give him mouth-to-mouth. that responsibility fell on seungcheol as the oldest hyung, who did not exactly enjoy the experience.

“i wanted my first kiss to be romantic! with the person i love! not like this!” seungcheol cried in anguish.

“hyung, don’t you love me?”

it was safe to say that vernon was scarred, traumatised even, by the incident. for the following 7 months or so, he couldn’t see seungcheol in the same light as he did before.

i’ll just go and make sure nothing happens, he told himself. i’m doing a good deed. yeah. i’m doing the right thing. 

but if something were to happen, then she would be his first kiss, wouldn’t she? and vernon knew he wouldn’t mind that.

the angel on his shoulder disagreed. how can you leave seungkwan here? alone? you’re supposed to make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy! 

his lip got caught between his teeth as he realised his dilemma. that’s true as well…

after giving it a bit of thought and giving the sleeping boy a few slaps, vernon decided that it would be alright.

he found her sitting on the steps, arms propped onto her knees and chin resting in her palm. exhaling breathily, he uncrossed his fingers as a wave of relief washed over him. at least she wasn’t running around squawking like a headless chicken. 

she looks so nice, he smiled to himself. so ethereal, like a mermaid. or an angel. yeah, an angel. she looks different from jeonghan-hyung though…

“hey, vernon right?”

“hmm?” she’s looking at me! and talking to me! omg omg stay cool vernon stay cool!

“yeah, that’s me. how’d you know?”

a smile graced her features, and oh how vernon wished that he could be the reason why the corners of her pretty lips turned up.

“chan talks about you sometimes.”

“oh, uh, same.”

she looked up at him, confused. “come again?”

profanities swam through his head as he realised how badly he screwed up. “same”? that was the dumbest thing he could’ve ever said! sucking in a breath, vernon hurriedly made the attempt to salvage his image.

“i-i mean, chan talks about you too, so like ‘same’. and so i kinda know you. like, chan’s a mutual friend.” laughing nervously, he carded a hand through his hair. did his brain have to shut down every time he conversed with someone attractive?

humming in agreement, she patted the spot next to her. bravely, he took the two steps down and settled beside her.

boy, she was so much prettier up close.

millions of thoughts raced through his mind as he tried (really hard) not to stare. should he start a conversation? would that seem too forward? what if she thought he did that to every girl he met? or should he just keep quiet?

but the atmosphere was so awkward with neither of knowing what to say or do. maybe he should just say something…

then he had an epiphany.

wasn’t she drunk?

huh. she’s surprisingly calm.

“what do you mean?”

shit. shitshitshitshitshit. did i just say that out loud?

“umm, i mean, aren’t you, y'know, drunk? i saw you inside and you looked pretty… drunk. but uh, now you seem quite sober?”

in response she laughed, an absolutely adorable laugh that reminded him of fairies from childhood tales sprinkling fairy dust on flowers. and right there and then, vernon decided that hotling bling wasn’t his favourite song anymore.

i could listen to her laugh forever.

“yeah, about that.” her words brought him back to reality from his lovesick trance. with a nonchalant shrug, she continued, “i was just, uh, faking. my friends were trying to get me to drink more but alcohol really isn’t my thing.”

vernon felt his heart jump. he didn’t particularly enjoy alcohol either. and it meant something considering how nearly everyone around him loved to drink.

maybe this is fate. i gotta find some more things i have in common with her!

“sa–i mean, me too. i don’t drink a lot. not that i hate drinking, i actually don’t mind it! just once in a while, y'know, to de-stress and stuff. not every friday at a social gathering. it’s a bit too much for me. most of the time i end up vomiting all over the bathroom—”

oh no. i’m rambling again.

vernon stopped abruptly and resisted the urge to slap himself. curse that wretched rambling habit of his! did he bore her? had he said too much? she wouldn’t think he was weird right?

ohmygosh you can’t just stop in the middle of a sentence! say something you nuthead!

awkwardly, he cleared his throat and sputtered out an apology. “sorry, i was rambling.”

to his relief, she smiled. a real, sincere, genuine smile. the thought that she smiled because of what he said made his heart blossom and his cheeks pink.

“no, it’s alright. i ramble sometimes too. i suppose it’s the excitement of finding someone who understands.” toying with the ends of her hair, she stared wistfully into the sky. “nowadays everyone just thinks i’m weird or weak or whatever. it gets annoying sometimes.”

“yeah. i know how that feels.”

they sat in comfortable silence, looking out to the stars. the minute hand on his watch ticked closer to 12. it was supposed to be a pleasant night, but with the loud party music booming in the background, it wasn’t exactly all peace and quiet.

both of them could feel it, too. tonight was the kind of night where you could stay up with your best friend and talk about anyone and anything. the kind of night where couples would go on late night drives to the beach to stargaze. the kind of night where the bed was extra fluffy, the soft toys on your bed were extra cuddly, the temperature was just right and perfect to dream in.

it was the kind of night where people could fall in love.

and so vernon summed up his courage for the second time that night.

“hey, wanna go for fro-yo?”

a/n: hoho i might have a second part for this :>

[milkguks]

Traumatising

953 words, Adoptive Parent AU

summary: Jeongguk freaks out at the possibility of you dating someone Age: 2 years

check out more of hyesun’s adventures here

“Hey, you free tonight?” You ask Jeongguk as he rushes into the kitchen, downing a cup of milk and grabbing the apple you’d set out specifically for the reason that he was always late.

“Huh? Tonight? Uh, yeah sure. I have a paper I need to do,” He said, brushing wet strands off his forehead as your eyes raked over his outfit. Mismatching socks, a hoodie 3 times too large with no shirt underneath and the old basketball shorts he uses as pyjamas.

“‘Gukkie, you look like a mess,” You sigh, placing your mug on the bench and tugging the hoodie over his head, pulling out a clean t-shirt from the laundry pile on the table and stuffing it over his head. He ignored the way your skin felt against his, smiling to mask the very prominent way his heart had sped up at your touch.

“Y’know I’d probably be dead without you, right?” He laughed, pulling you into a hug before springing around to grab his bag.

“Yes I do. I’m going out tonight so I need you back before eight,” You grin, picking up the mug as he nods.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Are you seeing that new movie with Lisa?” He asked, slinging the backpack over one shoulder as he checked his hair in the mirror near your door.

“No, I’m going with someone from my Lit class, Yoongi.” You replied.

“Yoongi? That sounds Korean, and male,” He replied, eyes narrowing at you through the mirror.

“It is, and he is. Now get out of here before you get kicked out of your course,” You laugh, shoving him out the door.

He laughed, shaking his head at the door before rushing towards campus. He only got through half of the apple before he reached his classroom, sliding behind a desk just before the lecture began. He quickly pulled his laptop and notebook out of his bag, opening a fresh word document before leaning back and letting thoughts of your earlier conversation fill his mind.

Tonight you were going out with someone, who was not him or Lisa or even Somi. It was someone new. Who was also a guy (not that that particularly mattered, one of your closest mutual friends was Taehyung, and no one could be more touchy than that boy). Someone who possibly isn’t aware that you’re in a legally binding ‘parental relationship’ with Jeongguk and that you possessed a small child most nights.

He couldn’t focus throughout the entire lecture, mind racing as he thought of all the possibilities. What if you two became serious? Would you want to move out of the apartment? Leaving him with a barely able to walk Hyesun and run off with this Yoongi guy? Will you stop sending him stupid texts like ‘buy more formula. she trynna succ me’ and start sending them to him? Who will he tag in memes once you’re gone? Who will give Hyesun the talk when she grows up?

He couldn’t sit still, leg shaking in anticipation as he waited for the class to finish. He was the first one out the door, almost sprinting home to catch you before you went to your class and handed him your child.

“Y/N!” He yelled, slamming the door shut behind him and dropping his bag on the ground, ignoring the loud thump of his laptop hitting wooden floors. You poked your head around the corner of the kitchen, smiling at him with a bowl of mashed potatoes in your hand.

“Jeongguk? You’re home earl-oomph,” You began, getting cut off by him throwing himself at you. “Woah! What’s this for?” You laughed, arms curling around his neck on their own accord after you dropped the bowl on the bench, ignoring the mess you were definitely going to have to clean up before you left.

“Please don’t move out and leave me with Hyesun and then stop sending me your stupid messages and please never stop cooking me dinner and putting up with my whining,” He rushed, burrowing his face into your hair. Your mouth was hanging open, confusion written all over your features as you hugged him back.

“What are you talking about, ‘Guk? I’m not going anywhere, well apart from my class which is in fifteen, but that’s besides the point,” You ask, fingers dragging through his still slightly damp hair.

“You say that now, but one day you might. You might find someone you want to be with more than me and Hyesun and leave and I don’t ever-” He starts rambling, somehow managing to clutch you tighter to his chest as you realise why he’s ranting.

“Oh, ‘Gukkie. This is about Yoongi isn’t it,” You sigh, feeling him stiffen under your touch. “I’m not going to get up and walk away from this family - ever, you got that? - I love you both to the moon and back,” At your words he released his hold on you slightly, pulling back to smile at you.

“Plus Yoongi’s boyfriend Hoseok is going to be joining us as well,” You add, smirking as Jeongguk stills, eyes wide.

“Yoongi’s b-boyfriend?” He stuttered, cheeks already warming as you laughed.

“Yes, you absolute idiot.” You said, pulling him back in for another hug. “You really need to stop over thinking this stuff. You two mean the world to me! How could you even think I’d leave?!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” He laughed, eyes lighting up at the sound of a familiar squeal, Hyesun crawling into the room with a wide gummy smile.

He scooped her up immediately, sandwiching her between the two of you as she giggled. “I love our little family too,” He said softly, smiling at the two of you.

“Yoongi, this is Jeongguk!”

“Oh, he’s the guy who thought I was going to steal you away?”

“Yeah, he thought he was going to have to single handedly raise a two year old,”

“It was very traumatising, alright!”

“You should’ve been more worried of Hobi stealing your child, to be completely honest, that’s actually still a possibility,”

“Yeah, I’d keep an eye on Sunny, Guk. She does like him quite a bit,”

“Does he have long hair?”

“What? No, he has normal hair,”

“... Goddammit Somi was right, Sunny just doesn’t like me.”