#but yeah i promise im going to complete this challenge even if it drags all the way into next year jgklfdgjldf

[exandrothinadresseveryday]

DRESSTOBER DAY 6 ✧ “SHARK”

DAY 125: Heyyy I have returned!! I really wanted to get back into the swing of things but I was having a lot of difficulty starting up again, and I realised it was 'cos all my existing WIPs were too big in scope.. So I hope you don't mind that this is not refined or anything, I just needed to dial things back a notch!! I will of course still be accepting one word prompts until I've finished all 31 days, so please send some in if you would like!!

[currently-hyperfixating]

Danganronpa Imagines #3

Danganronpa V2 Boys With An S/O That Has Trouble Getting Out of Bed

I'm not writing Teruteru because he makes me uncomfortable

Hajime Hinata:

Hajime will always get up in his own time, usually fairly early when compared to you

he will never rush you out of bed, though. he’ll get ready for the day and then come right to you

he’ll just kinda sit with you for a while, making sure that you stay awake more than anything.

after a while you’ve almost completely woken up, but actually getting out of bed is still a challenge

Hajime understands this, and leaves the room for a moment to bring to you breakfast. 

he’s not the best cook in the world, but as long as you have something to eat, he’s happy

“here you go, S/O. it’s not much, but I thought you could do with some food to give you energy” 

his food is actually quite a bit better than he tells you it is

after eating, you’re usually sat on the edge of the bed for a while, before you’re finally able to stand up and start the day.

Ultimate Imposter:

They usually wake up super early, as they’re used to it taking hours for them to get ready each morning

they arent quite sure what to do with all the free time they have now that they don’t have to spend ages putting on a disguise

so they come knocking at your door

all they hear on the other end is a very tired sounding “come in”

they walk in to see you, still huddled up under your covers

you let them know that you’ve acctually been trying to get out of bed for a while now. 

they look at you for a second before excusing themselves, promising to be back as soon as they can

they come back with a tray piled high with all different kinds of breakfast foods

“Teruteru was in the kitchen and was kind enough to make you a breakfast.”

they leave it on the desk on your room and bring you small pieces of food every now and then, sat on the end of your bed just talking to you

after a while you start to get up and get the food for yourself

and soon enough, you’re walking back to the kitchen with them to return the tray.

Fyuhiko Kuzuryu:

he doesnt really understand whats so hard about waking up, surely you just stand up out of bed

he thinks you’re hurt the first time you tell him that you cant

once you’ve convinced him that your fine (which takes longer than you’d expect) he just kinda sits with you for a minute

he eventually stands up. 

“well, im not going to let you sit here and pity yourself, if you cant get yourself out of bed, i’ll just have to help.”

he tries to lift you at first, this does not go well. 

then he decides to take it one step at a time by helping you sit yourself up. 

he talks to you the whole time about all the things that he has to do today

turns out the clan expects a lot of him

gradually, bit by bit, you’re sitting on the edge of the bed, just listening to Fuyuhiko talk. 

eventually, he runs out of things to say

“well, im gonna go get breakfast, you coming S/O?”

you decide that you might as well, and it never even crosses your mind that he managed to get you up so effortlessly. 

Gundham Tanaka:

he thinks you’ve been cursed like sleeping beauty and instantly tries finding a spell that could break it

he also lets the devas help, though they mostly come up to you begging for attention, at least its keeping you awake

he tries spell after spell, marking different magic circles in the carpet with his feet and proclaiming all sorts of incantations

you know that theres no use in trying to tell him that it wont work, so you just watch him

he seems so focused and in his element, like he had been waiting for this moment for forever. 

after what seems like forever, he finally gives up.

“i have tried every spell i know, S/O. it seems that this curse is too powerful even for me to break

you assure him that its fine, you actually feel a bit more woken up, and ask if he wants to go get breakfast

it takes him until after you’ve eaten to realise that the spells worked.

Kazuichi Soda:

kazuichi isn't really one to remember things like knocking all the time

so when he comes barging into your cottage as you try to will yourself out of bed, it does startle you a bit 

“woah, S/O, are you like. okay? are you sick or something”

you reassure him that you arent sick, you just have trouble getting out of bed sometimes

surprisingly, he says he understands. some days it just feels like the days gonna suck, so you dont wanna go through with it.

“but if you never actually get up and try to make the day a good one, then how are you going to prove those feelings wrong?”

he does have a good point, but you’re still finding it difficult to summon up the energy

he decides that if you cant get out of bed, he’ll do it for you

before you can even protest hes picked you up and carried you outside

it’s embarrassing, as you can see other classmates on their way to the restaurant 

he is also readily showing Sonia how strong he is by making sure she can see the two of you. 

eventually you get him to put you down, telling him that you would get out of bed if it meant he never did that again.

Nagito Komaeda:

he fully understands, of course he does

he also understands that you wouldn't drag yourself out of bed for someone as worthless as him

but he starts telling you that you should do it for yourself. 

you’re a shining beacon of hope, and you shouldn't feel like you arent even worth getting out of bed. 

his speech, as usual, isn't very effective and leads into him just being self deprecating

but this time he get’s really deprecating

to the point that you are actually beginning to grow worried

you shoot up out of bed to give him a hug

“ah, S/O is finally awake. did my little motivational speech work then?

you tell him that he can think that if he wants, you just dont want him saying those things anymore

you remind him that he’s an ultimate too, no matter how insignificant his talent may seem

you decide to go grab breakfast together, if anything just so you can make sure that Nagito’s okay.

Nekomaru Nidai:

This man has so much energy

you arent even sure if its energy anymore, he might just be that loud.

you know that its him knocking right away and sleepily call for him to come in

“hey S/O. i didnt see you at the restaurant so i thought id come see if everything is alright

you say that yeah, you’re fine, you just cant really find the energy to get out of bed

he knows just the thing. yell.

he tells you that it doesnt matter what you yell, just yell something as loud as you can and the adrenaline will start rushing in no time. 

it takes you a minute to grow comfortable with the idea, but eventually you do loudly tell him good morning.

it turns into a game, you two just yelling good morning to each other

eventually you go from sitting up, to sitting on the edge of the bed, to full on standing and jumping up and down

he was right, the adrenaline really does come rushing

you both head to the restaurant laughing, you a little more smug now that you know the key to his energy

[kn1feinthec0ffee]

love me love me (say that you love me) - spencer reid

spencer reid x fem!reader

title from lovefool by the cardigans 

summary: after a close brush with death in the field, y/n visits an injured spencer in the hospital to have a heart to heart.

warnings: a lil bit of angst, fluff bc im incapable of writing pure angst, descriptions of injury

word count: 1,987 

notes: this is my submission for @veraiconcos​‘ fic writer challenge, i spent a super long time on this and i really hope you guys enjoy it as its one of my favorite things i’ve ever written ☺️

********************

settling in to what would be another evening of unfortunate, unwanted solitude due to your boyfriend having yet another late night at work, you stretched out across the sofa, wine glass in hand, ready to relax after a hard day’s work.

that was until your phone began to ring and vibrate obnoxiously across the wooden coffee table.

“jj? hi, what’s up?” you inquired, curious as to why she was calling you during a case.

“we got the guy, but spence wasn’t so lucky.” she began hesitantly. “he almost got shot, but he was stabbed a few times.”

she heard your stifled gasp through the speaker, cutting you off before you would inevitably begin rambling off questions, a habit of spencer’s you’d acquired after a long while of knowing him. “don’t worry, he keeps telling everyone he’s fine. doctor says the wounds might scar, but overall he should be alright.”

you scrunched your eyes closed, willing your racing heart to slow with the news that spencer would be okay. despite jj’s calming tone and the relatively good news from the call, you couldn’t help the nagging feeling that your boyfriend was not, in fact, okay.

“thanks, babe. would you mind telling me where you guys are? am i allowed to come visit?” your voice took on a hopeful tone that your hands betrayed, anxiously twirling a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of your bun.

“visiting hours ended a little while ago, but i’m sure i can pull a few strings for you.” your chest deflated with a relieved sigh at the thought of having visual confirmation spencer would be fine. “i just texted you the address, see you soon, y/n.”

“you too. bye,” the phone dropped onto the table with a hollow clatter. you downed what little was left in your wine glass before standing up from the sofa to get ready. you still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up with spencer so you put in an extra bit of effort to wear some of his favorite pieces of clothing of yours, just to bring a smile to his face.

———————————————

after receiving special clearance from jj at the front desk, you headed down the hallway. you never liked hospitals; you found something about about the stark white, sterile halls cold and off putting.

the door slowly opened, a gentle creak emanating from its well-used hinges. you had hoped your entrance would be quiet enough to let the boy wonder rest, but alas, he had woken up.

though the way his irises glistened in the artificial light when he saw you was just as gratifying.

“y/n, what are you doing here?” the interrogative sounded less like a question and more like an exclamation of awe, but you weren’t complaining.

“what, you didn’t think i’d show up when a little birdie told me my boyfriend was stabbed on duty? some girlfriend i’d be,” you scoffed sarcastically.

the plastic legs of the chair skidded across the linoleum as you dragged it next to the bed. spencer held out a hand towards you to hold, a sure fire sign something was wrong.

he loved affection, especially from you, but he only seemed to initiate it on blue moons.

you gratefully slipped your fingers in between his and gave them a quick, reassuring squeeze. “what happened, hon?”

his amber hues flicked to several spots around the relatively uninteresting room before landing on your intertwined digits. “we raided his apartment just like we usually do and i happened to be the first one to come across him. i saw he had a gun and i’m lucky i ducked pretty quickly or else i might not even be here at all.

“morgan and i moved in on him to make the arrest, but it slipped our minds that the profile said he was hyper-vigilant and paranoid, and i failed to notice knife he had in his other hand and he stabbed me a few times before emily pulled him away from me.” spencer recalled with an expertise that came as a surprise to absolutely no one who knew him.

“you say that like you’re reciting a poem,” you frowned, rubbing a thumb across his knuckles. “you could’ve died, spence.”

“i guess it’s just not that big of a deal to me?” he seemed to question his own statement as it passed through his lips. “i think i’ve grown so accustomed to putting my life on the line that i just doesn’t even faze me anymore.”

“i get it, but don’t you ever - i don’t know - get worried you won’t come back to me one of these days?” you averted your eyes to the floor.

his grip on your hand tightened exponentially, causing your gaze to snap up to his. “of course i do, i worry about you all the time. isn’t it normal to worry about the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

his admission of love brought heat to your cheeks and tears to your eyes. “good, good, i’m glad we both agree on that then.” you smiled sadly.

the presence of an oddly heavy silence weighed down on both of you as you sat in thought. “do you ever get tired, y/n?” the genius queried quietly, elaborating when he noticed the confusion etched across your features. “i mean - well - tired of me? of my life being on the line every time i go to work? of thinking that maybe that time you said goodbye to me when i left would be the last time? doesn’t that exhaust you?”

this was exactly what you had been anticipating since jj called. the drawn-out periods of unusual silence, less eye contact than normal, the anxious fidgeting. not that you’d tell him, but you’d subtly began subconsciously profiling as well. 

  “if you’re asking if i get tired of those things, then yes, i do,” you murmured softly. “but if you’re asking if being with you while i have to deal with all those things is exhausting, then my answer is no. absolutely not.”

another pause. spencer played with your fingers, fiddling around with the ring he’d bought for you as fond memories swirled through his mind. “wouldn’t it be easier if you were with someone else? i don’t know, maybe someone with an average career where they don’t look at dead bodies and arrest serial killers all the time? maybe a barista or something less traumatizing than what i do?”

your lips curled up into a smile as you giggled. “yeah, i mean, of course that’d be easier, but when has life ever been easy? and besides, why would i want a barista when i could have a badass, genius iq level guy like you?”

he grinned, holding eye contact for the longest period of time since you passed through the door. “i think those attributes directly contradict each other, but whatever makes you happy, love.” 

the tension had lifted, conversation flowing with ease, yet you could still tell there was something off about reid. something left unspoken.

“hey,” you murmured, brushing a stray strand of hair out of his face. “you sure you’re alright?”

a moment of hesitation flickered through his eyes before he answered. “of course i am. didn’t i say i was?”

“you did, but you don’t have the best track record when it comes to being honest about your emotions.” you watched several emotions pass through his eyes - one of his tells; those hazel hues could be read like a book.

he seemed to take a deep, collective inhale before he spoke in a small voice. “i know you said you weren’t tired of me, but i’m just scared you’re lying. n-not that i think you would ever be untruthful,” he immediately corrected himself upon understanding how his words could be perceived.

“i-” tears brimmed his coffee colored optics, terrifying you for what he might say next. “you’re the most important thing in my life- in the world even- and i’m just worried you’ll leave me. i’ll come home one night when you’ve decided you’ve had enough of this life and you have all your bags packed, ready to leave. i don’t want to lose you. i can’t lose you.”

noticing a few drops had landing on your lap, you realized you’d been crying as he admitted his insecurities to you. “i love you so much, spencer. more than anything in the world. and i know how hard it is to quiet those voices, and i know whatever i say will only be enough to quell them for a while, but you’re everything to me. just know i would never, ever even dream of leaving you.”

you sniffled, wiping the tear tracks from your face when you looked over to spencer. he held eye contact with you, something you knew was challenging for him to do.

“y/n,” he moved a hand to cup your cheek. “if i asked you to stay, would you?”

you let his words sink in and nodded nearly imperceptibly. you laid a kiss on his palm before turning to him again. “absolutely. i am wholly and completely devoted to you, spencer reid.”

his cheeks burned and his brows furrowed, almost as if he was having trouble accepting your straightforward answer. “do you promise?”

you debated a sarcastic response, but you were unsure what his reaction might be in such a vulnerable state, and you didn’t want to find out.

“i do, my love.” you murmured, crossing your pinky with his. he settled, visibly, too, at your admission of adoration. you knew he struggled with fully trusting those around him and you were immeasurably proud of him in this moment.

“are you heading home?” his soft lilt broke the silence that had blanketed the room with its persistent presence. “i wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“are you kidding? after all that rom-com sappiness you think i want to leave?” you both laughed, basking in the positivity of the moment. “i’m afraid you’re stuck with me. look, i even brought a change of clothes and everything.”

while you loved the adorable look of surprise on his face, you almost wished you could wipe away any doubts he may harbor in his mind about you and your unwavering loyalty. you looked up at him again as he spoke. “are you going to sleep in that chair?”

“i’d lay with you, but you’ve got wounds everywhere and no way in hell am i risking re-opening anything that’s been sealed.” you held your hands up in mock defense, earning a chuckle from the doctor.

“you could, um, put your head on my chest,” his cheeks tinted pink. “i love it when you do that.” you planted a quick kiss on his cheekbone before pressing a longer one to his lips.

every time your lips met, as cliched as it was, it felt like the first again. not in every way, they were missing the same awkward teeth clashing and spit swapping as the original, but you could almost feel every ounce of passion jolting all the way through your being. and most assuredly, spencer reciprocated your feelings as he chased your lips every single time they made to retreat from his.

you pulled the chair as close to the hospital bed as you could and rested your head on his chest. the lyrical, constant beat of spencer’s lulled you to sleep, creating a symphony just for you.

before your eyes closed, you intertwined spencer’s fingers with yours, prompting him to look down at you. “i’ve got promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep.”

though he knew it was medically impossible, spencer reid’s heart leapt a mile in his chest at the irrevocable love he felt for you, both in that moment and always as he completed the line, “and miles to go before i sleep.”

********************

guys wait i think this is the first ending i’ve written that i actually enjoy and i just finished this at 1am last night and i am so sleep deprived

please let me know if you want to be added/removed from my taglist!! 

tags: @sojournmichael @stinkyelf​ @crazyfore3​ @cal-ifornication​ @eggygorl02​ @howdycharlie​ @eosprincess​ @mortallythoughtfulgurl​ @illuxions-x​ @unlikelyempathpruneauthor​ @blankets-for-bees​ @holycandypizza​ @flyingbabyunicornnamedangel​ @lovelyrdjr​ @minnie-bby​ @fantastic-fans​ @ashwarren32​ @rexorangecouny​ @elitereid​ @keomoon​ @achieveonyourown​ @whogirl7​ @jjtheangel​ @carol-danvers-wife​

[haleigh-sloth]

you were talking about something a bit similar yesterday so I'm sorry for being late to the conversation, but I just do not understand people who are fans of the LOV and yet are so vehemently hateful towards Midoriya, and in turn most of the other kids. I understand the criticism that sometimes the kids get things handed to them by the story, but tbh that is just to be expected of the protagonist characters in a shonen manga like this one. even so however, it's not like Midoriya gets off free of everything that he does? his actions and his sacrifices and very actually very rarely ever truly appreciated within the story, just because he is successful in most of his feats doesn't mean that the people around him necessarily Notice (him only getting one internship request after the sports festival despite displaying amazing power and critical thinking skills, the Stain Hosu incident, even in the VERY BEGINNING of the series when he runs forward to save Bakugou he says himself that he was only reprimanded for being so careless in his actions).

I see so many people who are (so ironically) only seeing the story in black and white, when in reality these kids, and Midoriya especially, are being negatively impacted by hero society just as much as the villains are, they're just experiencing it from a different angle. (Which adds a whole other layer to the Midoriya becoming the greatest hero plotline, because the society that he is also fighting against is the one that was shaped that way by his predecessor- albeit unintentionally.) Midoriya is going to be the one to try to save Shigaraki, Midoriya has already become the greatest hero by actively looking past the actions of Shig and the League and wanting to help them.

- I didn't get to finish my thought from the FULL ESSAY I sent earlier (my bad about how long that ended up being lmao) but...yeah I was saying about how Midoriya is already a better hero at 16 than most other pros because he actively wants to help the League. Midoriya is exactly the kind of hero that the villains, and Shigaraki in particular, needs in order to have the happy ending that so many want for him. I agree that the manga has been a bit of a drag-along for the past few...months tbh, and I am absolutely Livid at the way that Bones has structured the story, and it's causing a lot of boredom and Tons of tension with people, but I feel like a lot of villain fans are taking that out on the integrity of the characters themselves, which is causing a lot of the mischaracterizaton of Midoriya in particular. n idk, I just find it sort of ironic, DEFINITELY annoying, and in general just.... :/ yknow. just :/

I think it's completely valid for people to just simply not like certain characters for whatever reason they might have, im not here to police people's opinions, but when people's opinions come at the expense of misunderstanding pretty key elements of the characters / story they're talking about, that's when I have a problem. FINAL MESSAGE I promise lmao sorry again for the 600 page essay

You're good lol. In fact, I've discussed some of this in-depth in private with a tumblr friend. Again, I feel like my DMs are being read 👀 anyway lol

So obviously this is going to be a long ass post so I'll add a cut toward the top. But I wanna start off with: there's a lot to unpack here and I'm going to preface with, I agree with you. But I also have to say that I see both sides, but when it comes to vehemently hating a character and letting that hate for that character lead to bad takes (which I see for Deku and another character that I'll get to under the cut) I feel like the overall point people are trying to make loses its grip because it starts to just turn into bashing, and doesn't actually hold water with what's actually in the story.

"I just do not understand people who are fans of the LOV and yet are so vehemently hateful towards Midoriya, and in turn most of the other kids. I understand the criticism that sometimes the kids get things handed to them by the story, but tbh that is just to be expected of the protagonist characters in a shonen manga like this one."

I'll be honest, I see a lot of people love on the UA kids. Especially ones like Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, Tsuyu, basically any of the ones with personalities that are beyond "I have to get stronger! I have to catch up with my classmates and live up to everyone's expectations!" Which I personally feel like pretty much all of the UA kids have as personalities, save for the main five, and the few above that I listed. But for the hatred toward Midoriya....oy. Where do I begin.

Well, I actually don't see a lot of Deku hate on my dash. I follow a very small number of blogs, most of which are pretty in line with my POV of the story and therefore, I don't see a lot of bad takes.

A little baby rant inside of this monster post:

Yes, I have come across extremist villain-stan blogs that, while I agree with some of their opinions on the villains, I don't agree with their opinions on the hero characters. I've unfollowed blogs like that, because they started exhausting me and making me upset, tbqh. Like yes, the villains are the best characters in the story. But guess what? They aren't the only ones in the story. We have other characters that are important to the overall themes and messages. I, personally, really like the hero kid:villain set up. Others I've seen want the heroes and villains completely separated in the story and for the villains to save themselves without any help from the heroes?? Makes zero sense because the story is about these becoming true heroes, and in order to do that they need to challenge themselves by saving a villain. So...blogs that were spouting that nonsense, I've unfollowed and stopped engaging with.

But back to Midoriya. Okay, I genuinely, genuinely like Midoriya! I've liked him from the beginning. He's not favorite, he's not even my second favorite. He's in my top 5 though. But the only dislike I personally see toward Midoriya on my blog is for these problematic things that have occurred:

Telling Shouto he thinks he's going to forgive his father because he's kind, making Natsuo feel bad for not forgiving his abusive POS father.

Trying to "reach" Dabi the same way he reached Shouto, only to just cause more harm.

Saying Endeavor is a mentor who made him stronger??? TO Dabi??

Teaming up with the fucking top 3

So....basically...any time Midoriya has been interjected into the Todoroki plot line, he's been less than likable--AFTER what he did for Shouto during the sports festival. That was a positive thing, and it actually kicked off the Todoroki plot line really really well. It got us into Shouto's inner world and started his story off nicely I think.

And you can argue that Midoriya's flaw is being blinded by hero society and seeing the good in everybody, BUT--

This was LITERALLY THE FIRST INTERACTION between Midoriya and Endeavor. THIS set the tone for the Todoroki plot. So....all that stuff up there that people hate about Midoriya, is definitely valid. I mean...I don't think it's worth hating him for but people can like and dislike who they want. But this just reiterates my belief that so many things in BNHA come to a fucking halt for Endeavor's bitch ass. The main character included.

"it's not like Midoriya gets off free of everything that he does? his actions and his sacrifices and very actually very rarely ever truly appreciated within the story, just because he is successful in most of his feats doesn't mean that the people around him necessarily Notice (him only getting one internship request after the sports festival despite displaying amazing power and critical thinking skills, the Stain Hosu incident, even in the VERY BEGINNING of the series when he runs forward to save Bakugou he says himself that he was only reprimanded for being so careless in his actions)"

So, I don't entirely disagree but I do have to disagree to an extent. Midoriya's consequences have been a topic for a while now and everyone says the same thing. Nothing ever comes back to him, he doesn't ever actually fail at anything. His failures don't actually hold him back or push him to challenge his beliefs. Like...narrative consequences here is what I'm talking about. Midoriya only got one offer after the sports festival, yes that's a consequence of putting your body through ridiculous strain and self-destructing in front of everyone like that. But it ended up working in his favor because he went with Gran Torino who taught him his next big move, full cowling, which I think we can all agree was a major power-up for him. So...it wasn't much of a consequence in the long run. It wasn't a set back. And you're right, he was reprimanded for rushing in to save Bakugo in the beginning, which is coming into play now when we see that it's actually hard for people to step in and save others because everyone is so trained by society to just let heroes handle everything. Even though Bakugo would have died if not for Midoriya. BUT--what happened next? All Might gave him his power. That was a reward by the narrative. Granted that HAD to happen for our story to kick off, but I'm just trying to show how Midoriya doesn't ever actually have any set-backs.

"Midoriya is going to be the one to try to save Shigaraki, Midoriya has already become the greatest hero by actively looking past the actions of Shig and the League and wanting to help them."

"but...yeah I was saying about how Midoriya is already a better hero at 16 than most other pros because he actively wants to help the League. Midoriya is exactly the kind of hero that the villains, and Shigaraki in particular, needs in order to have the happy ending that so many want for him"

Fully agree here. I'll say that recently I've seen a lot of people making posts about how they don't think it'll be Midoriya doing the reaching and saving. How they think it'll be the LOV saving each other without the help of the heroes, how they'll reach each other's hearts?? Which...I don't even know what to say besides ask people who think that what they think the purpose of all these parallels and similarities drawn between him and Shigaraki are for, if not to bring them together in the end (and stay connected too--not just be yeeted from each other's lives), the two brothers who were separated from each other, and a teenage girl who was never accepted by her peers and basically forced to find family in a group of adult men lol. I'm not sure if you were responding to my rant yesterday with this ask lol, but if you are, I mean yeah I'm on board here. Midoriya is supposed to be that "true hero" that breaks through even the toughest, strongest walls, who in HIS case is Shigaraki. But not just him, Shouto, Ochacko, and Bakugo too. There's a kid:villain set up for a reason, so people who don't want that set up are either just....super super one-sided in how they're reading it, or it's just their preference and they're not actually caring about what the story itself is going to do. (Bakugo is kind of a seventh wheel....lol)

Again, I can't say I've seen too much irrational Deku hate on my dash. I avoid stupid shit for the most part. Most of the blogs I follow, while they may not like Midoriya, they still see the redeeming characteristics in him and still make valid takes on the story and take his actual character into account. But I have seen the irrational hate you're talking about, I've just successfully yeeted it from my dash.

Another character, and I know you didn't bring this character up but I feel this issue applies to them as well--is Hawks. Now...I do not like Hawks. I don't hate him, but I seriously just cannot bring myself to like him. I can't tell if it's his fans that have just ruined him for me, or just his overall vibe in the story. I don't even know at this point I've spent so long avoiding getting to know his character. But--I've seen villain-stan blogs hate him so much to a point where they completely forget that he is also a victim of society and has his own issues. And their takes on him come at the expense of....well, a clear understanding of the story. Now right now Hawks is being handled not-so-great, but even before this. Of course nobody has to like him, I mean I just said that I don't, but this irrational hate that comes at the expense of his actual character is annoying to me.

"I think it's completely valid for people to just simply not like certain characters for whatever reason they might have, im not here to police people's opinions, but when people's opinions come at the expense of misunderstanding pretty key elements of the characters / story they're talking about, that's when I have a problem"

Yep yep yep. I agree here too. So in a nutshell, no matter what character it is, if people irrationally hate them to a point where their takes on the story just stop making sense, yes I agree that it starts to wear away at the integrity of the character, and it also annoys me and I end up just unfollowing and I no longer take anything they say seriously. And there are a couple of blogs I follow that really don't like Midoriya at all, but they don't waste their time talking about how much they don't like him. They simply just...don't talk about him. That's what people should do because otherwise it fills EVERYONE'S dash with negativity that we didn't ask for. That's why I'm glad I've stopped getting so many asks about Hawks because I have never really had anything nice to say about him and after so many people sending me stuff asking to talk about him I started to feel like a shitty person for filling peoples' dashes up with that. I mean...I'm seriously mean to Hawks lol. I am. So yeah.

I don't particularly understand the extreme hatred either. I totally get not liking a character but that extreme hatred you're talking about I've made a successful effort to distance myself from. Thankfully.

[yslkook]

#risk averse (6)

#corporate masterlist

summary: the last day of being in tokyo consists of: workshops, breakfast, dinner, and an airplane ride back. oh, and you finally have some ice cream with jungkook. properly. word count: 5570 warnings: cursing, parental death, discussion of mental health, im not a psychologist so if what i write doesnt make sense dont @ me a/n: this is part 3/3 of being in tokyo!

TUESDAY

Tokyo is probably one of your favorite cities in the world, and yet you’re itching to get out as soon as you can. It’s the last day of the workshop kick-off meeting, and while you’ve enjoyed being back in this city and getting to know new people… You’re exhausted. Your mind has been running on overdrive since Friday afternoon and now it was Tuesday. You’ve never been on for this long, but you suppose it comes with the territory.

Truthfully, you don’t mind the work. You mind Jungkook and how things are still in a strange state of limbo with him. The memory of Saturday night still plagues you and the fact that you still haven’t talked to him pokes at you like a barbed wire.

You scratch your chin, masking your invisible spiral. Jungkook and Sana have set up breakfast for the team in the conference room, complete with steamed rice, fried egg, fruit miso soup, coffee and pastries. You eye the pastries with a gratuitous lick of your lips, your sudden sweet tooth making an appearance. That chocolate cornet in the small basket next to the sweet rolls is calling your name.

You focus on the decadent taste of chocolate rolling over your tongue paired with coffee rather than the anxiety you feel over leaving things between you and Jungkook in limbo. 

A shadow casts over your plate next to you and when you turn your head, you’re surprised to see Mark take a seat next to you.

“Morning,” He chirps, “Your guys did a good job with breakfast, huh?”

“They did a good job with everything, Mark. As they always do,” You say fiercely, with a quirk of your eyebrow, “And good morning to you, too.”

“This week went by fast, huh?” Mark says, taking a sip of his own coffee. Yeah, not fast enough.

Today’s workshop was mainly to finalize the project plan, assign subteams, and deliverables. And to determine when the next workshop would be- Namjoon had suggested that the Tokyo team come to Seoul next time. Which you had wholeheartedly supported. Mark had let his eyes slide over to you, catching your eye and smiling at you. Maybe he’d be able to see you outside of work in Seoul.

You had smiled back, a little obliviously.

And now, you stand up next to the whiteboard to write down your smaller sub teams and your deliverables as Namjoon reads from his notes. For everyone to be able to visualize. You were a firm believer in visual aids.

And so was Jungkook- after all, the way your plaid pencil skirt sits on your ass and hugs your hips is quite the visual. He lazily allows his eyes to roam your backside, enjoying the way your skirt moves with every small movement. Your sleeveless blouse is tucked into your skirt, leaving a hint of your tattoo poking out from the thin exposure of your shoulder. Your beige blazer neatly hangs off of the headrest of your chair. Jungkook counts his blessings, watching every inch of your tanned, inked skin as you continue to write on the board.

Namjoon and Mark spend the rest of the morning outlining expectations and brainstorming for the first deliverable. You challenge them sharply, not afraid to voice your thoughts when you don’t agree with them. 

Irene and Lisa look on with awestruck eyes, chiming in when they feel necessary. You have this way about you, Jungkook thinks. That when you speak, people just listen and people want to be heard by you. Your voice is magnetic, your eyes dark and fierce and he wants to know them. He wants to peel you back layer by layer, if you’d let him.

Not for the first time, he wonders if you have any other tattoos hiding under your meticulously crafted layers.

You catch Jungkook’s lazy gaze, shooting him a small smile. Jungkook swallows and reciprocates. He leans back in his chair, still not taking his eyes off of you. You maintain his gaze, feeling your cheeks heating up at the intensity of his stare. He unwraps you with his eyes, as if you’re a present wrapped up all pretty just for him. Dark brown eyes dart from your face to your neck to your hands back up to your lips. A smirk ghosts his face, but it passes as quickly as it comes. 

You can play fire with fire, too. Something bold blazes in your own eyes, your tongue poking out to lick your bottom lip as you check him out in the same unabashed way that he had been checking you out only moments before.

This time, Jungkook is the one feeling a little heated under his collar. Mark’s voice pierces through the air, pulling you both out of your rose-tinted bubble and you both plaster your obedient gazes to Mark.

The moment dissolves with the sound of Mark’s voice- has it always been that annoying? Or was it only that annoying because Jungkook can see the barely hidden heart eyes he throws you when he makes eye contact with you?

Why does it matter? Because he likes you, and the epiphany doesn’t hit Jungkook like an unseen collision. It washes over him in soft, gentle waves. Comforting him and wrapping around him warmly, only lending him the courage to slide his eyes over to you once again.

His tongue pokes the inside of his cheek in annoyance. Annoyance that you’ve wiggled your way into the crevices in between his veins and he is powerless to stop it.

The rest of the afternoon goes by just about the same, with lunch from the cafeteria and finishing up your plan of deliverables. You’re thankful that the day is coming to a close- these workshops are taking a toll out of you, needless to say.

You stretch your arms, opting to stand rather than sit. You hate how your ass goes numb after hours of sitting.

Jungkook doesn’t mind. It gives him a wonderful view of the slope of your chest that he has no qualms appreciating. You catch him a few times, obliviously giving him a small smile or a nod of appreciation.

It makes Jungkook wonder if you even know how pretty you are. If anyone’s ever told you that you were beautiful, with all of the conviction that you deserve.

You scribble in your notebook while leaning against the windowsill as a surface, your brows furrowed together in concentration as Namjoon and Mark speak. You resist the urge to yawn. What time is your flight again?

Namjoon had requested that your flights be at 4 AM on Wednesday morning, so that you could go straight into work. That was the tradeoff for giving the team the extra day in Tokyo. At the time, it sounded like a nice idea. Now, the thought of a 4 AM flight makes you want to keel over.

You start to drown out their voices, instead making a mental checklist of what you needed to do before leaving for the airport tomorrow morning. Call Grandma, pack your suitcase, arrange your makeup, leave your sweats for the morning out, text your therapist for an appointment when you returned to Seoul… 

You’re lost in your thoughts, chewing intently on your bottom lip and absently picking at your cuticles every so often. Mark’s voice cuts through the air again, finally dismissing you.

“It was great seeing all of you,” Mark says, his eyes lingering on you for a second too long.

“Yeah, we’ll be in Seoul soon. You’ll have to show us all the best places to eat,” Irene winks at you.

“Yeah,” You chuckle, rubbing the back of your neck, “See you soon.”

You exchange handshakes with them, with promises from Minhyuk and Lisa that they’ll set up biweekly calls for the Seoul team to have touchpoints with the Tokyo team. Namjoon nods in appreciation.

Jungkook doesn’t miss the way Mark squeezes your hand and pulls you a little closer by the grip of his handshake either.

Mark promises you, for your ears only, that he’ll text you when he gets to Seoul for the workshop. He asks if he can see you, maybe, if he can take you to that restaurant you had told him about. With the best seafood you’d ever had in your life.

You say yes, because you think nothing of it.

The minute you got back to your hotel room, you took your makeup off, moisturized, sprawled out on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a good fifteen minutes. Then you changed into leggings and an oversized hoodie, one of Jin’s that you had stolen years ago.

You’re aware of your phone going off, likely the work group chat as well as Jin texting you. But you ignore it for now, instead closing your eyes and letting silence lull you to sleep.

You must have fallen asleep for a few hours- when you wake up, the moon is out and the sky is dark. You had likely slept through dinner.  Moonlight filters into your hotel room and you sigh, rubbing your eyes. 

What had woken you up? You hear the noise again, the sound of knuckles knocking gently against your hotel room door. With a soft groan, you rub your face and drag your feet to the door, not bothering to check the little peephole.

And you’re face to face with a nervous looking Jeon Jungkook, holding a bag in his hand. It smells great, mouthwatering, even.

“Hi,” You croak, clearing your throat of your post-sleep voice.

“Hey,” Jungkook says weakly, “We were texting you earlier for dinner but figured you’d fallen asleep or something. Looks like I was right.”

“Yeah, I accidentally fell asleep,” You murmur with a laugh, “You brought dinner for me?” You ask the question in wonder, as if it’s hard to believe.

“Uh huh,” Jungkook says, scratching the back of his neck, “Well, uh, here you go-”

You take the bag of food in your hands, enjoying the warmth that it radiates. You bite your lips in nervousness, suddenly deciding that you don’t want to have dinner alone. You hate having dinner alone.

“Jungkook,” You say softly, “Will you have dinner with me?”

Jungkook’s heart skips about five beats and he’s nodding at you with big, sparkling eyes. You’re floating, somewhere in the clouds when he looks at you like that. Jungkook thinks you’re pretty, with your messy hair and sleepy eyes. Whether you’re in a sharp pencil skirt and a blazer or in pajamas, he thinks you’re so pretty.

You welcome him inside, gesturing for him to get comfortable in your hotel room. You know you have so much still to talk about with him, to explain your actions from Saturday night. But neither of you can deny the company that comes with a meal. So you set some food aside for him, thanking him for thinking of you.

And you eat, knees knocking into each other as you talk softly with only the moon as witness of a blossoming friendship.

WEDNESDAY MORNING

Jungkook doesn’t leave your mind all morning, from when you had woken yourself up at 1:30 AM and even now as you’re in line to board the airplane. Having dinner with him felt so nice and left you feel warm all over.

And now, a seed of relief settles in your belly, knowing that you’re seated far away from Jungkook. So that you can think about him in peace, and think about what you’ll say to him when you finally get the chance to. You could have apologized to him last night, but it just didn’t feel right. 

You can’t even see his fluffy head of hair from here. Maybe you’ll even be able to sleep a little, considering how on edge you’ve felt for the last four days. You’re exhausted.

Just as you’re about to close your eyes and rest your head on the window, someone taps your shoulder politely.

“Sorry to disturb,” The flight attendant says, sounding genuinely apologetic, “But I believe there was a seat mix up. We have a couple here requesting to be seated together. Would it be alright if we swap?”

You peer behind her to see an elderly couple. You sigh. “Of course, no problem.” You think nothing of it, heading to the seat that the attendant had requested you switch with, until you see a familiar fluffy haired man within your range of vision.

Of course. Because why wouldn’t the universe seat you next to Jeon Jungkook on this crowded plane? Of all the seats, of course you would be told to sit next to him.

“Um,” You say, waving at him a little nervously, “Hi. Is this seat taken?” You try to keep your voice light. He can probably pick up on the awkwardness.

“Oh! No,” Jungkook says quickly, standing up and hitting his head on the roof of the cramped plane. He winces and you suppress a laugh. “Let me put your suitcase up-”

“I got it, Jungkook,” You murmur, easily lifting the suitcase into the overhead compartment. Jungkook’s eyes immediately fall to the small sliver of your belly as you lift your arms above your head.

Taking a seat next to him, you try your best not to bounce your leg incessantly. Your bottom lip is lodged in between your teeth, as if you’re afraid to say the wrong thing.

“Ready to go back home?” Jungkook asks, desperate to alleviate the awkwardness in the air.

“Yeah, I always need an extra day off after traveling,” You reply, letting out an airy chuckle, “How about you?”

“Yeah, me too. And it’s only Wednesday, too. Can’t believe we still have to work.”

“That’s what’s shitty about leaving so early in the morning,” You yawn, “Still have plenty of time to work later in the day.”

Jungkook nods in agreement and yawns. The silence that falls between you both isn’t uncomfortable. It’s too early in the morning to contemplate it any further.

At some point, your eyes begin to close and you can’t stop the sudden wave of fatigue that washes over you. Fatigue from being anxious for the last four days. Somehow, around Jungkook, it dissipates slightly. Slightly enough for you to succumb to sleep. Jungkook doesn’t have the heart to shift when your head falls onto his shoulder. He wants to brush the hair out of your eyes but keeps his hands in his lap. His face is burning. 

A small smile graces his lips when you shift further, sink into his shoulder and wrap an arm around his upper arm. Jungkook pretends like his heart isn’t about to beat right out of his chest, especially when your nose is pressed against his shoulder and he can feel your soft, even breaths as you fall even further into sleep.

Pillowy warmth surrounds you, gently tugging you back down to sleep. But the sound of the pilot over the intercoms forces you to open your eyes. A low groan leaves your lips, you want to bask in your newfound warmth for a little longer.

Wait. Where is this warmth coming from? You look up, seeing a head of dark hair brushing over your forehead.

Your heart immediately accelerates, slamming straight out of your ribcage.

Jungkook feels you shifting before he opens his eyes. You feel so warm, tucked into his side. Even if it’s uncomfortable for both of you, he likes the way your cheek presses into his arm and how he could feel your soft breaths against his neck. The soft groan that escapes your lips sounds like honey in his ears, his cheeks warming.

You have to resist the urge to push his hair back. At least he’s still asleep, you think. What a precarious position to be in. With your coworker who you have unfinished business with. What a cliche, you nearly scoff out loud.

But then you see his warm, doe eyes blinking up at you curiously and you panic. You yank your arm away from him, lifting your head up so quickly that he’s surprised you don’t get whiplash. 

“Sorry,” You mumble, “How incredibly inappropriate. ‘M sorry-”

Before he can reply, the pilot and flight attendant give the all clear that people can begin exiting the aircraft. You’re out of your seat in record speed, ignoring the heat and embarrassment in your cheeks as you nearly run over the elderly couple behind you to get your suitcase. 

It’s the second time you’ve made a fool out of yourself in front of Jungkook. The memory is seared into your brain as you struggle to hold back tears. You sprint out of the airport in record time, and into Jin’s waiting arms.

You’re breaking Jungkook’s heart and you don’t even know it.

The minute you got home and settled in, you made an appointment with your therapist. You finally feel the edge of anxiety beginning to quell. But you’re exhausted, so exhausted. You contemplate taking a day off, but you don’t have a busy day at work today.

You opt to work from home once you let your boss know. Jin also decided to work from his apartment after picking you up. Maybe you can sneak a nap in during lunch.

At your therapy appointment, you finally cry. You can barely speak through your tears, telling Dr. Lee how being in Tokyo felt so cathartic and so heartbreaking at the same time. You tell her about Jungkook, about the friends that you had reconnected with after years. And then you tell her about how confused you are, how you had all but run out on Jungkook on the airplane.

“This is so stupid,” You sneer at yourself, wiping your cheeks angrily, “When did I become so pathetic-”

“Stop,” Dr. Lee says sternly, “There’s nothing pathetic-”

“I’m almost thirty and I’m acting like a selfish teenager! Who does this?” You snort derisively.

“What does age have to do with how you’re feeling? Don’t beat yourself up for feeling things that you’ve never felt before,” Dr. Lee says, “You’ve been closed off for this long. It’s okay to be a little selfish. You’re only human. Don’t punish yourself for feeling. I’m proud of you. For allowing yourself to feel.”

“It’s like… I know what I should do. But I keep doing the opposite. Or I just do nothing at all. What’s wrong with me?” You groan, holding your head in your hands, “I’m a terrible person, all I do is hurt everyone around me-”

“Bad people don’t wonder if they’re bad people or not,” Dr. Lee says kindly, “Making mistakes does not make you a bad person.”

“Am I a bad person, Dr. Lee? I feel like I’m faking it in my own skin sometimes…”

“Bad people don’t want to fix the things that they’ve wronged. Admitting when you can be better is the first step to fixing it. Let yourself fix it. Let yourself lean on other people.”

FRIDAY

Today, you’re on a mission. You have to get that sad look out of Jungkook’s eyes, the one that you see whenever you happen to glance at him in passing and he catches a glimpse of you. You’ve hurt him repeatedly over the last few days and you need to make it right. Before you lose your nerve, you down an entire cup of coffee and march over to his cubicle.

You don’t even know if he’s in a meeting or not. But it doesn’t matter, you’ll wait. You’ll wait for his undivided attention.

Your courage begins to wear off the closer to get to his cubicle. But nevertheless, you persist.

“Jungkook,” You say clearly, “Hi. Good morning.”

Jungkook swivels in his chair, eyes nearly bulging out of his head when he realizes that it was you. Voluntarily at his cubicle, looking like a vision in your jeans and your plaid blazer.

It was a Friday, after all.

“Uh,” Jungkook says nervously, “Hi.”

“I have to talk to you. But not here,” You rush out, “Willyougeticecreamwithmelatertodayafterwork?”

A sigh of relief. But he’s looking at you like you have ten heads.

“Sorry, what was that? Didn’t catch what you said,” Jungkook says with an arch of his eyebrow.

“Uh. I want to talk to you. But not here at work. Will you get ice cream with me later today after work?” You mumble, looking at the floor before chastising yourself and meeting his piercing gaze.

Jungkook thinks he must be dreaming. There’s no way that you are asking him to get ice cream. He thought that you were done with him, that you disliked him even. Maybe he doesn’t know you at all.

“With me?” Jungkook sputters.

“Yeah. With you,” You nod with a small smile, “I know a place.”

“You know all the good ice cream spots on this side of the world, huh?” Jungkook says airily.

“I don’t think you had the opportunity to enjoy it in Tokyo,” You say softly, “So I want to make it up to you.”

“Oh. Okay,” Jungkook nods as his heart sings, “Text me the place and time, and I’ll meet you there?”

“Y-yeah. Okay,” You reply, pulling your clammy hands out of your pockets.

“See you soon, then,” Jungkook says, flashing a bunny smile at you. You haven’t seen that smile from him in a while and it surprises you how much you missed it. How it makes you want to smile back at him.

Your jitters are parallel, if not worse, to first date jitters, except it’s been a long time since you’ve been on a first date. These jitters are so much worse, considering that you think you have a lot to apologize for and explain to Jungkook. Your stomach is twisted in knots, your leg bouncing as you mindlessly scroll through your phone.

You’d arrived at the ice cream shop about twenty minutes early. Another nervous habit. You hate being late to things.

Jungkook walks in and you knock your knee into the table as you get up from your seat. “Hi,” You wave weakly, “Thanks. Uh. For coming.”

You feel a little dizzy, lightheaded as you take him in. Long sleeved black shirt tucked into black jeans- he looks handsome. But more than that, you’re nervous to face him and bare your heart to him.

“What’s your favorite flavor?” Jungkook asks, peering at the buckets of ice cream behind you.

“Huh?”

“Ice cream? What’s your favorite?” Jungkook asks.

“I like chocolate. I’m easy to please,” You shrug, “Maybe chocolate raspberry. Mint chocolate, too. Oh, and orange chocolate-”

“Mint chocolate,” Jungkook exclaims, scrunching his nose, “Ugh. That’s gross.”

“Oh, whatever,” You roll your eyes playfully. Jungkook gestures for you to order your ice cream first, and then you both sit at a table towards the back near the windows. The sun has long set, blanketing the city in the night sky.

“Do you like it?” You ask, pointing at his selection of cookies and cream. He looks like a deer caught in headlights when he looks up at you, eyes gleaming and lips parted. He nods enthusiastically. 

A few more seconds of comfortable silence go by.

“Jungkook,” You say softly, “I think… I should explain myself. For Tokyo.”

He nearly chokes on his ice cream. “No, it’s-”

“Jungkook,” You say firmly, reminding Jungkook of why he is intimidated by you even still, “I asked you to meet me for ice cream because… I’m sorry for blowing up at you that night. You didn’t know, and it wasn’t fair to take it out on you. It’s not fair for me to keep one foot in the past and have this chokehold on a time that doesn’t exist anymore. So I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for just… running out of the airport without saying a word to you. I understand if you don’t want to have anything more than a workplace relationship with me- not that we’re in a relationship, oh my god,- I just meant, I get if you don’t want to be more than acquaintances.”

You cut off your own rambling, wanting to pull your eyes away so he can’t see your heart on your sleeve, but you find yourself unable to. Jungkook has never seen you this nervous before. It’s different. He’s only ever seen you be swift and confident, always sure in yourself. There are more layers to you than he knows, and he wants to peel them back.

“I’m sorry, too,” Jungkook says, “I didn’t… I didn’t know, but I can’t help but feel like maybe I should have. And I’m sorry. That you haven’t been happy, and that I remind you of-”

“No,” You shake your head, “What I said was wrong. I’m happy now, too. Happiness is dependent on the circumstances. It’s not the same, but it’s there. And I never… meant to make you feel like anything I was projecting onto you was because of you. I mean, we just found each other again after what? Five years? Isn’t that funny?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods, as if he doesn’t have the memory of the last time he saw you before you had disappeared all those years ago stamped into his brain, “And I mean… We don’t have to just be acquaintances. If you don’t want to be. We don’t have to just have a workplace relationship, as you called it.”

He shoots you a teasing smile and you shrink in your seat, with a nervous laugh of your own. “O-Okay. I’d like that. To be friends, I mean. To be friends like we were when we were younger.”

“It wasn’t that long ago,” Jungkook says, his tongue poking out to swipe at his bottom lip, “Makin’ it sound like we’re old as hell. And we don’t have to be friends like that-”

Your heart drops, and you can’t hide it-

“We can be better. Than what we were like when we were younger.”

Your face feels warm, the sincerity dripping in his eyes makes you shift in your seat. You smile at him, bright and bold, and he smiles right back. When you both leave the ice cream shop, you can’t deny the flutter in your belly at the thought of a new (but old) friend back in your life after so long.

And it feels nice.

[chrysalizzm]

Do you have fic recs or head canons? please ramble for paragraphs im bored and looking for something to read.

oh boy do i have some fic recs for you (and everyone who sees this), my friend! this one is quite long because there are a lot of fics i like and this isn’t all of them, so if you’d like more, you can check out my bookmarks page ^^

The Run and Go by Numanum 

“That’s not fair,” Bad protests. Dream raises an eyebrow at him and jerks his tied hands in emphasis, clearly saying that none of this is fair.

“Look, you keep running! Who runs if they’re not guilty?” Bad challenges, staring him down with obvious distrust from the generous distance of exactly five feet. It’s fair, as much as Dream hates to admit it; it’s not like he’s been the most honest hostage in the past, with all of his escaping and running and framing himself for his own murder, apparently.

“Only the good die young, and only the guilty run,” Technoblade chimes in, holding his own potato and sitting in the snow like it’s not cold at all.

A hot flash of irritation burns through him.

“Someone being chased?” he counters sarcastically, jerking his tied wrists up again to wave them in front of the group. Sapnap laughs so hard that he almost chokes on his potato, but it dies off when Dream gives him an icy stare.

Or: Dream is having a hard time, and the hunter just want to adopt him like a stray puppy that bites you at every opportunity.

multi-chapter, ongoing.

a manhunt with plot-style fic! exquisitely written, visceral in the emotions it evokes. it’s the kind of fic that makes me feel all shaky with anticipation, the kind that i have a physical reaction to; you can’t put it down.

pain. all-consuming pain. this one feels bad, man

and as he fell (you walked away) by Teahound

Once upon a time, there were three hunters.

They were good at what they did. If you wanted something-- or better yet, someone-- found, discovered, or destroyed, they were the people you asked. They didn’t have much to their name, besides a formidable reputation, but they were a team, and that was enough for them.

Once upon a time, there was a king in the forest.

He wore a mask, but it didn’t matter. That deep in the forest, in a hidden fortress, buried behind leaves and monsters and broken stone, no one could see his face anyway. He had been there a very long time, and he was alone.

Being a king can be a very lonely thing. So one day, the king left the fortress.

A Minecraft manhunt AU, with a fantasy twist. Dream is a cryptid, and Hunters are idiots.

multi-chapter (11), complete.

tea’s fic!! a manhunt-with-plot fic, featuring a forest spirit dream and circumstantial hunters and friendships that feel both intensely real and desperately melancholy because they can’t last.

or can they?

The Real World by Cinammonzoa and Fire_Fly464

"Ten, paces fire!"

Time stopped.

Tommy’s entire body went numb. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but his body was determined to keep him silent. His vision went dark, and he could no longer feel his headphones over his ears. The mouse in his hand. The slight breeze of his ceiling fan. For a few seconds, he couldn’t feel anything.

His senses came back to him all at once. The first thing Tommy noticed was the weight in his right hand -- a bow. His nostrils stung with the lingering scent of gunpowder. In front of him was a masked figure. Their right arm was bent, their elbow by their face. In their left hand was a bow, aiming directly at--

~~~

Aka Dream and Tommy get transported into the SMP world and have no idea what the fuck is happening

multi-chapter (23), complete

you’ve probably seen this one if you haunt the video blogging rpf/minecraft tags of ao3 often! an irl!dream and tommy replace their smp counterparts type of beat, very upbeat in dynamic and fun to keep pace with, great read.

staying alive (though the city is dead) by Alice_Not_In_Wonderland

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Schlatt smirks, his words lilting, almost song-like. His eyes seem to glow brighter. "Tell me, Dream, when did you realize that you could talk and talk and talk and no one would ever believe you?"

---

or: if dream's damned to be a villain in every story he's in, then he's going to show them exactly how much of one he can be

one-shot, complete.

the gratuitous greek mythology references are truly everything and this fic is such a good dissection of dream and schlatt’s motivations and how their goals intersect, and dream’s likening to cassandra really hits different 

Green & Gold by HognoseSnake

George’s legs ached.

His lungs felt tight and too small.

His breath was loud in his ears.

His pack bounced uncomfortably on his shoulders.

George, homeless and adrift, is an outlaw of the Mad King's reign. He'd spent the last two months being hunted across the wilderness at the fringe of society by a ruthless killer in a smiling mask and bright green coat. This, he understood.

What he didn't understand is why such a ruthless killer kept letting him go.

multi-chapter (8), complete. sequel ongoing.

a breathtaking pseudo-manhunt-with-plot fic, with george and dream running from a kingdom that wants them dead for perceived transgressions. this shit hurted, and the sequel hurts even worse ;-; snake please i beg

We’re Only Young series by ImperialKatwala

It's easy to forget amid the chaos and bloodshed how similar - and how young - Dream and Technoblade really are.

collection of both one-shots and ongoing multi-chapter fics.

((bangs on table)) please read this series it is dream and techno friendship fics that alternate between lighthearted and heartwrenchingly comforting and imperialkatwala’s characterisation of them and their respective groups of family and friends is so frickin’ good i read this series when i’m not having a good day and it never fails to make me crack a smile

kept promises and old ruins and names carved into stone by verecundiam

"Would you... would you want to stay here?" Bad wrings his hands, looking away. "Like, like actually stay? I know it's not, ah, not exactly comfortable, or all that homey, but I don't want you two to get hurt out there on your own, and I just... I think maybe you could stay? If you want?"

"That sounds nice," Sapnap says, because it does.

(Or: How four kids managed to build a family, against all odds.)

one-shot, complete.

muffinteers found family that makes me want to go to the smp writers and beg it to be made canon. unbelievably soft yet excellent at parsing out the younger counterparts of the four and creating backgrounds that feasibly form them into the people they grow up to be.

in the age of icons by BananasofThorns

“Yeah, keep digging,” Tommy crows.

The pickaxe hesitates on the downswing. The air shifts; Dream’s aura bursts into visibility, brilliant green and jagged. Ozone hums on Techno’s tongue and Bad stutters in the middle of his sentence. Up on the wall, silhouetted by the sun, Dream stands frozen and furious.

L'manberg messes with something it shouldn't. Techno watches the repercussions and tries not to laugh.

one-shot, complete.

i love deity aus (figures, i wrote one myself akjdfh), and this one hits. there’s something exquisitely delicate about how dream and the repercussions his godhood both on himself and on the people who are exposed to him in that moment of unbridled rage.

that's how we keep going (we make the best of things) by lieyuu

[ i can’t decide if this is heaven or hell. the walls keep closing in and we’re running out of space, but you’re pretty cute ]

“So, do you want to build a flower shop, a cottage, or a coffee shop?” Puffy asks, smiling like just Niki’s presence is enough to light up her world.

Niki looks at her, thinks, I want to bend nature to my will and weave tapestries in your name, says, “I think I might like the flower shop best.”

one-shot, complete.

a niki/puffy fic that crushed me in its hands in just six hundred words.  the delicate love and wonder and beauty of this fic killed me softly and i welcomed it. it’s girls in love rendered by lieyuu’s masterful hand, what more could you want

i need it to be known that as i was typing up my thoughts midnight love by girl in red started playing from my playlist if that’s not a shining endorsement i don’t know what is

did i ruin the moment? by itisjosh

Ranboo drags himself through the snow, burn wounds going up and down his body. His suit is crumpled, half of it discarded as he crawls along the ground. His eyes are firmly pressed shut, and he refuses to open them, just in case he sees him, Dream, again. Ranboo sobs as the snow melts on his skin, the water scalding him as it trickles down his arms and chest.

one-shot, complete.

it’s character death, i do need to put it out there because it felt like i was punched in the stomach at the end even though i knew. josh knows exactly how to drag his readers kicking and screaming into angst hell, as always - a ranboo is rescued by phil fic wherein ranboo ends up convincing himself that the only reason for his presence in the nearly-empty anarchist commune is because phil sees him as a placeholder for his sons ;-; pain

Frame The Halves, And Call Them Brothers by MusicallyActive

"Let's go!" Quackity roared. "Let's fucking go!"

The anvil dropped, and Techno reached for his totem of undying. This was going to hurt like a bitch.

Phil screamed something, and instantly a crushing force struck Technoblade's skull. It rattled him to the core, doused his vision in red, and then all he knew was black.

He gasped awake moments later to the sound of his communicator pinging softly at his bedside table, and when Technoblade opened his eyes, New L'manburg was nowhere in sight.

one-shot, complete.

a techno timeloop fic that shows off the unintentional cruelty of the children who run l’manberg and techno’s own inability to allow the people he tries so hard not to love to come to harm. techno’s rendered in painstaking detail; this one was cathartic in the best way.

on i go (move to move) by Aenqa

If you ask someone whether they’ve ever experienced real, severe physical pain, you’ll learn a lot from their response.

Techno knows what it means to be in pain. He’s accepted it as a necessary consequence of keeping his family safe. But when the pain he's experiencing starts to become too much to bear alone, it takes his family to show him what it might mean to feel better.

one-shot, complete.

chronic pain fic featuring sbi!! it’s really good - aenqa wrote chronic pain well, and incorporated respawn mechanics into it well, and the dynamic between sbi is impeccable.

Yellow and Blue and- by nic_takes_Ls (nic_L)

It’s another gorgeous day in New L’Manberg. Tubbo’s stilted streets of deep toned spruce and honey-touched oaks are warm under his feet from the sun, and a sign and a small banner proclaim the country’s name in front of his face. Wilbur is so happy to let the ‘L’ roll of his tongue as he says it, ‘Manberg’ was harsh and too guttural, but the two extra syllables make it something that could fit on a melody, a four-note beat he could set the pace of his unbeating heart to.

The citizens of New L’Manberg track him with cautious eyes at first, until Tubbo changes his eyes to slightly sad ones, listening along to Wilbur’s rambles, warming up to the truly soot-grey sight of his face and sunshine yellow of his ever-present sweater. The rest of the population soon follow, laughing at Wilbur’s strange innocence and telling him what he��s done with only a little bit of spite in a pitying mask and fixing their mouths in a line when he suddenly forgets what he’s doing or stares into space or laughs at nothing.

But all the people who get sad when Wilbur starts laughing after shock-still silence are dumb.

Because Wilbur’s not laughing at nothing.

one-shot, complete.

a ghostbur fic from quite early on! it includes references to wilbur and schlatt’s older videos/smp experiences and has a super interesting take on the nature of wilbur’s amnesia i enjoyed this fic a lot ^^

east of eden series by subwaywalls

Philza protects his home.

(An angel with a singing blade of fire guards the gates to paradise.)

two one-shots, one ongoing multi-chapter fic.

READ IT READ IT READ IT. the eoe series is exquisite in both content and presentation, centering around sbi and the powers they all respectively have but also bringing in people like grian and dream, and subwaywalls is a master of packaging her words ever so delicately to create an experience that is ethereal.

[baroquebucky]

pls write something 4 timmy abt that new tiktok challenge where girls are getting bags out of the backseat, and smack the boys heads both times!!! if you know what I’m talking about! just like how’d he react and stuff 🥺🥺🥺

a/n: this is so funny oh my god the way they just sit there like ._. SENDS ME FKFNDJSN hope you enjoy !!!

Timothée was picking you up in a couple of minutes so the two of you could go hiking since you had always bothered him about wanting to go with him. After chipping away at him for a couple of months he finally gave in, finding a nice trail not too far from where the two of you lived.

While you waited in the living room for him to come back home from readinf a script you scrolled through tik tok, laughing as you saw the trend of girls hitting their boyfriends with their things to get a reaction. You had a feeling timothée would look at you in confusion and react just like every other boy, “you good?”

You heard the sound of keys at the door and you smiled, excited to go on a hike with timmy, you promised him it wouldn’t be too bad but he was willing to bet that he wouldn’t be able to complete the trail.

“mon amour im home!” He called out, setting his keys on the table and looking for you. You got up from the couch and hugged him, placing a soft kiss on his lips, he kissed you back quickly, smiling.

“go get changed! I wanna go hiking already” you smiled, pushing your boyfriend off you and he groaned. “do we have to? I mean i think it’s gonna rain” he spoke, you looked out the window.

“oh yeah, that one cloud is very threatening” you replied, placing a kiss on his cheek. “don’t be a downer! Itll be fun i promise” you giggled as he dragged his feet to your room, shouting protests as he changed.

Finally he finished changing and you handed him a backpack full of snacks and water for him. “You’re telling me not only do I have to walk for miles, but i also have to carry this?” He exclaimed, “cant we just stay in and cuddle” he pouted, putting on his puppy eyes.

You gave him a sympathetic smile, slipping one of the straps of your backpack on. “angel please? Tomorrow we can cuddle all you want i promise, we can even order your favorite food and watch movie all day” you sighed, now it was your turn for the puppy eyes.

You hopped in the passenger seat, putting your things in the backseat, timothee leaned over and gave you a kiss. “hi” he mumbled. You smiled at him, “hello handsome” he blushed at your compliment. “whose turn is it to choose the playlist?” You asked, he looked at you for a second before checking his phone.

“yours i think” you whispered a ‘yes!’ that made him giggle, “okay can i put on a CD i have?” You questioned and he nodded. As you were getting your bag from the backseat you decided to try the famous tik tok trend of hitting your boyfriend with a bunch of things. A smile appeared on your face as you brought the bag to your lap, hitting the curly headed boy on the back of the head.

You searched the bag only to come up empty handed, “hm it’s not here, maybe in the other one” you spoke, seeing his brows furrow, you kept a straight face as you hit him again with the bag as you set in the backseat again. From the corner of your eye you could see him furrowing his brow more, rubbing his cheek before looking at you with a small smile.

You smacked him with the other bag before muttering a small ‘ow’ you looked at him and he stared at you, clearly upset and confused. “You good?” He asked you, before you could stop yourself you burst out into a fit of laughter, covering your mouth as an attempt to stop yourself.

“i don’t get it why are you laughing, you hit me” he pouted and you stopped laughing, smiling at him softly.

You swung the bag back again, hitting him again causing him to let out a huff and stare at you. “mon amour!” you turned to look at him, a small smile on your face, “why are you smiling?” he spoke, his omce serious demeanor changing as his expression softened and a small smile formed on his face. “it’s a trend on tik tok, i wanted to see what you’d do” you giggled and he frowned. “did i pass?” he looked at you with a smile and you stopped for a second, you nodded and kissed him on the nose, he smiled brightly, kissing you gently before smacking you with the bag that was once in your hands.

“guess the CD wasn’t in there” he giggled and you scrunched you’re face up, smiling at the curly headed boy.

“just remember that I’m the one with the water” you stated, settling into your seat as he drove out of the parking lot. You heard a small whine escape his lips and you couldn’t help but giggle.

[letswritebangtan]

132 with namjoon😊 please 💟

“For the millionth time, y/n,” Namjoon groaned. 

“Why not?” you huffed, tugging onto his right arm. 

“I was piss drunk when I said that and you know better than to take me seriously when I’m drunk,” he complained. 

“You promised me, Joon.”

Namjoon was starting to regret ever agreeing to the after-party of last night’s award show. He insisted on staying sober so that he could keep an eye on all the boys to make sure they weren’t stepping out of line but curse Jin for daring him to drown a whole pitcher of beer. It wasn’t a wise decision, especially for someone like Namjoon, but leaders make mistakes. And now he had to face the consequences. 

“Just one round,” you pleaded. 

“We’re not playing strip poker. I don’t care what I said when I was drunk. I have to get to the studio, so I’ll see you at 7 for dinner, okay? I love you, take care,” he said as he gathered his things and tried to leave. 

You huffed and grumbled and protested but eventually, Namjoon slipped out of the apartment, leaving you with a deck of cards and no one to play strip poker with. Just then you heard your phone ring, seeing Taehyung on the caller ID, you answered. 

“Hello?” you sighed. 

“y/nnn, why so sad?” he asked noticing your tone. 

“Hm, it’s nothing. So why’d you call?”

“Oh just wondering where Namjoon hyung was. He’s late and I tried calling him but he isn’t answering,” Taehyung explained. 

“Oh, he’s on his way. He just left the house,” you mumbled, stomping sulkily up the stairs to your room. 

“Aw, y/n, come on, tell me what’s wrong. Was it Namjoon?” he asked. 

“He broke a promise,” you huffed. 

“Oh, that’s not fair. What was the promise?”

“He said he’d play strip poker with me. But today he said he wouldn’t,” you grumbled.

You heard Taehyung laughing on the other end of the line. “Let me guess, he said that when we were all drunk yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, and now he says that he was drunk so it’s not counted or some bullshit and he leaves for the studio,” you complained. 

“Well, a promise is a promise….” Taehyung said. 

“Yeah well it isn’t gonna happen I guess,” you said as you flopped onto your bed. 

“Tell you what, I’ll call Namjoon hyung and talk to him. I’ll also tell the boys that recording is off for today,” he said. 

“You can do that?” you asked surprised. 

“Well, if I tell the boys all Namjoon has to do is go home and play some strip poker, they’re gonna laugh so hard and will most probably let it slide.”

“Won’t Namjoon kill you if he finds out you told them about this?” you asked giggling softly. 

“Ah, he’ll get over it. Now shoo, I need to call him,” he ushered. 

“You shoo,” you retorted. 

You could hear him rolling his eyes and it made you laugh. “Okay, bye Tae. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem at all, y/n.”

You rolled around in bed for about twenty minutes just scrolling through Instagram and watching videos. Then you heard the door slam open and you sat up in shock, rushing to the door of your bedroom. You saw Namjoon running up the stairs and he stopped momentarily when he saw you. The two of you had a staring contest for ten seconds before Namjoon stepped forward and dragged you into the room and made you sit on the bed. He then pulled out a deck of cards and started shuffling. 

“Namjoon-”

“You wanted to play strip poker, y/n?” he asked amused. 

You went speechless for a while, before trying to say something again. 

“Why are-”

“Let’s play.”

So, halfway into the game, you were left with your shirt and underwear on and Namjoon, well, he was winning. He had only taken a sock off. One damn sock. 

“This isn’t fair!” you exclaimed. 

“We’re playing strip poker just like you wanted, babe. What’s not fair?” he asked teasingly. 

“You’ve only taken off one sock. And it’s been an hour.”

“I’m playing fair and square aren’t I?”

“Nope, you’re cheating and I know it.”

“y/n, I didn’t drop my work at the studio to come home and cheat at strip poker.”

“Can you at least take your shirt off?” you pleaded. 

“You gotta win first, sweetheart.”

You groaned in exasperation. “Okay, you win. No more strip poker,” you huffed as you took your shorts from beside you and began putting them on. 

“No don’t put those on! Okay tell you what, let’s spice things up. Bonus round, loser strips completely bare, and the winner decides what to do with the loser. Deal?” he asked.

“Oh, hell no, Joon. You’re gonna win and then it just isn’t gonna get any better-”

“Don’t be a sore loser, baby,” he teased. 

“What did you just call me?”

“A sore loser.”

“Grab your cards, Joon. We’ll see who’s the sorest loser of them all,” you challenged. 

And in the next round, who won? 

Actually, the both of you did. 

You ended up losing the round ahem sore loser ahaha im jk jk im the sore loser cuz no one laughs at my jokes :,)

And so you stripped bare and guess what Namjoon did? He teased you a whole lot, before lowering you onto your back and taking this chance to explore every inch of your skin aaand the end is self-explanatory wink wink. 

extra

“So who won?” Yoongi asked when Namjoon entered the studio the next day. 

“Can’t you tell? Look at those things on his neck, damn, she did all that?” Jungkook asked, earning a smack from Jin. 

“Shut up, you’re too young to talk about these kind of things.”

“I’m 21!” Jungkook exclaimed. 

“If you guys say another word, I’ll make sure you memorise inappropriate English phrases for your interviews and you won’t even know it,” Namjoon threatened. 

“Aw, someone’s shy-” Tae began. 

“Sex porny star is definitely known as shy in English, Tae,” Joon said smiling sarcastically. 

“I have a bad feeling about that,” Taehyung said skeptically. 

[loveseungs]

home

happy birthday to our favorite dancing gem with a 4D personality !!

↠ pairing: violinist!lee know x pianist!reader ↠ word count: 12.8k words [yes,, indeed,,,,,] ↠ warnings: female reader ↠ genre: enemies to lovers au, absolute tooth-rotting, cavity-inducing, heart-fluttering fluff ↠ summary:  In all his life, lee minho had never been desperate. But, in the moment his accompanist had ditched him, it was as if desperate was all he felt.

- you were part of the top students of your level, notorious for being one of the most hardworking and competitive people there were - often times, you’d decline invites to hang just so that you could study for upcoming tests. acing them was a must for you despite your looming desires to get some spice in your life - but honestly who has time for drama lol - anyway one time in class you were finishing up a project wherein you had to build a diorama of some sort out of trash objects - yours was turning out to be quite nice. it was a beautiful structure of a traditional korean house, and you were really proud! it took u days to finish the project and it really felt like your hard work paid off - when the bell rung, your teacher told you to pack away and allowed you to bring your projects home to work on them - with the utmost care and gentleness, you carried yours out of the classroom, thinking about what other lil’ embellishments u could add to make it dazzle - if you could find some spare, broken jade pieces you could form into some nice designs for the exterior, that’d really float ur boat - halfway into mentally designing some accents for your project, you could hear the quick and erratic tapping of school shoes on the floor. - your first instinct was panic because u knew people were running and did not plan on letting them destroy the product of ur blood sweat and tears for the past week - you stood aside quickly in attempts not to get in the way of those running in the hallway - when you looked up, lee minho and some other people were rushing through - it wasn’t like it was hard to know something about lee minho. he was only the top student of your level and one of the best musicians in your school’s orchestra - you worked so hard just to surpass him, but somehow, he was able to maintain his monster of a rank in the academic ladder. - plus, it didn’t help that he was your classmate and that your competitive spirit ignited three times more passionate when he scored the best in class - being second sucked, but what could you do except work harder, right? - anyway, his entire face looked panicked and the least you could say about his hair was that it was disheveled, but he was running towards you and he was running fast, violin case in one hand and a bunch of books in the other - would this be an interesting fic if nothing happened - of course not - you guessed it fellas - with that atrocity of a violin case came the demise of your beautiful korean house - bam - he’d accidentally toppled over your project and just like that, it shattered to the floor - rest in pieces haha literally - completely flabbergasted, it took seconds for you to realize the implications of your current situation. - if things could not get worse, that jerk of a boy did not even stop and proceeded to turn a corner in a rush - you were unsure of how to react - watching the whole situation unfold, your best friend, changbin, hurried over to you to help you pick up the remnants of what’d once been such a beautiful diorama - “holy heck, [y/n]! you alright?” changbin asked in a panic, bending down to scoop up whatever he could - tears started to form in your eyes as the thought of having to redo your project all over again danced in your mind. You had a test tomorrow and didn’t even know if you’d have time to study for that now that your project (which, mind you, was due in TWO days) practically didn’t exist. - was sleep even an option? as the seconds flew, you were paralyzed in the moment. Stress began to hit you like a brick and you wanted to shoot lee minho and then yourself - “[y/n]! please don’t cry, we’ll do something about this—I promise. That absolute jerk! Let’s talk to Mr. Park, I’m sure he’ll understand,” Changbin assured you, looking up from the floor. “Do people not even have common courtesy nowadays? The least he could have done was apologize! Damn, I’m so pissed! I’m so sorry this had to happen.” - it was so difficult to speak. You eventually bent down to help Changbin pick up your fractured Korean house. - “Thanks Changbin,” you mumbled, letting out a deep and frustrated sigh. “Come with me to Mr. Park? I’ll ask if I can get an extension.” - Changbin nodded, taking a half of your load with him. “Yeah, yeah. What happened? I heard some running, then a crash, and next thing I know, my best friend’s project’s been jeopardized. Do you want me to help you rebuild it? I’m already almost done with mine.” - “That son of a—” you began, cutting yourself off. “I don’t know. His violin case bumped into my diorama and before I knew it, I no longer had a diorama. I bet you that was on purpose. Just because I beat him in the last test? I didn’t know he was so petty. I swear, he’s always trying to one-up me!” - Once you got home, you gently laid down the broken pieces of your project on your desk and threw your bag on the floor. Before you decided to pull an all-nighter in attempts to do a two-week project in only a couple of days, you flipped open the cover of your piano and started to play, letting your anger and frustration out as you pressed on the ivory keys. - it was going to be a long night. You might as well’ve started it off on a good note.

〔✿〕

-“Ssaem!” Minho groaned, not comprehending his current situation. “You can’t just deduct points from me like this! It was an accident!” - if mr. park was going to deal w someone today, it was not lee minho fellas - “You didn’t even bother to say sorry or help me, at least!” you shrieked, shooting daggers at Minho with your eyes. - “That’s—” the boy started, “well, I’m sorry! It was an accident! I was in a rush!” - “And now, thanks to you, I’m also in a rush! Do you know how many points this project is worth? Thirty percent!” you yelled, exasperated. - “Students!” Mr. Park cleared his throat. “Mr. Lee, I’m expecting you to either spend one hour every day for the next three days after school to help Ms. [L/N]. Otherwise, I’ll have to transfer your points to her.” - “Ssaem!” Minho grumbled once more. - Your eyes widened at your teacher’s suggestion. “Ssaem, I’d rather get only one day of extension rather than three days stuck with him!” - “Do you really mean that, Ms. [L/N]?” Mr. Park challenged, adjusting his glasses. - “I-I…” you trailed off. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m just quite stressed. I’d be glad to take those three days of extension. Thank you for your consideration.” - “And you, Mr. Lee?” - Minho sighed, rubbing his temples. “Ssaem, I have practice! The concert I’m representing the school in is soon, you know that!” - “Okay, then I will simply transfer 5% of your final project grade to Ms. [L/N].” - “Alright, alright!” Minho snapped. “I’ll do it, sir! Please don’t deduct points from me—I am sorry for my behavior. May I get to practice now?” - “You are both dismissed. Ms. [L/N], I will meet you in the faculty room on Friday for your presentation. Mr. Lee, I will ensure you that I’ll be checking if you’re truly helping her. Go now, it’s going to get late.” - With that, you two bowed respectfully and headed out the faculty office. - “You don’t need to help me out. I just complied because I really need that three days of extension. I’ll tell Mr. Park that you helped me out or whatever. Just go and do your practice thing,” you mumbled, not daring to meet Minho’s eyes. - “Whatever. If you weren’t standing in the hallway that day, we’d not be in this situation,” he snarled, shoving his hands in his pockets. - “Excuse me?” you piped up, folding your arms. “You were the one running! Running isn’t even allowed in the halls!” - “I—” Minho attempted to retort, but ended up fumbling with his hair in frustration. “I’m going! I need to practice.” - “Jerk.” - “What did you say?” - “I thought you had practice? If you won’t go first, I will. Don’t bother thinking about this anymore, since you clearly don’t care about anyone but yourself. Bye, Minho.” - In that moment, something inside Lee Minho snapped open, the strings of his heart aching in fury. If words were weapons, yours was a dagger, slowly but surely inflicting great hurt to the boy. Minho dragged his feet into the opposite direction, clenching his fists until he could feel his nails digging into the top of his palms. 

〔✿〕

- you waited patiently in the library for Changbin to come help you fix your project, but time was ticking and you didn’t want to waste it. - so, as you waited, you started mending the cracked fragments of one of the Korean house’s walls, gently gluing two pieces together. To give it a cleaner finish, you used craft glue and white paint to conceal the cracks. - just then, a message appeared on your phone. - binnie boy: sorry, [y/n]. don’t hate me for this, but I need to go home early. noona came home from college and my parents want to me spend time w/ her. Im so sorry ill help you tomorrow - you couldn’t blame him, but your heart sunk in your chest - there was just so much to do. after fixing the walls, you needed to replace all the furniture inside the house and fix the exterior. you didn’t even want to think of your upcoming math test—you still couldn’t even understand some of the lessons. if you flunked that, you might as well’ve said goodbye to your high ranking on the academic ladder. could you bear to deal with the disappointment when your report card came out? stress gnawed at you; tears threatened to start filling your eyes. this week was going to be utterly horrible and it’d just started yesterday. there was too much to do in too little time— - “move over,” came a low voice, a hand tapping you from behind. - you mustered all your strength to conceal the looming impulse to start crying and turned your head to the owner of that voice - goodness gracious u wanted to scream !! - why the flippity flop was lee minho standing behind u ???? why was the world against u :((((( - “the hell are you doing here?” you snapped, not budging. “thought you had practice.” - minho sighed, “look, i just don’t want to be that guy who messes people up and doesn’t take credit for it. i don’t particularly like feeling like a jerk.” - “if you’re here to satiate your own moral codes and do something so that you can feel all heroic about, just forget it. I don’t want your pity party, and frankly, I don’t want to uplift you into thinking you’re less of an atrocity than you really are.” - “no, that’s not what I meant. I just really feel mean and I thought about what you said about me being selfish and stuff, so I want to help you. I’m willing to sacrifice at least thirty minutes if you’ll let me help you. I’m planning to be late for practice today. but sure. if you really don’t want my help, then don’t take it.” - you were taken aback. minho? everyone knew that he’d always turn down any after-school activity to go play the violin, even if it was an activity no one would wanna miss. this was some big stuff, chief - “do what you want, but I’m still mad at you. I still have to study for math after this to make up for my pathetic lack of knowledge, so if you could help me cut the time in two, just start helping me repair these walls,” you mumbled, scooting over a little bit to make space for the boy. “glue the broken ones together and then coat them with glue and paint to conceal the cracks.” - he nodded. “you still don’t understand math?” - “are you mocking me? sorry for not being the top one, Minho.” - “would you stop antagonizing me? i was going to ask if you want me to explain it to you while we fix these walls. I know you want to do well on the test.” - you raised a brow. “I thought you didn’t pay attention to anyone? I mean, you’re never around for long.” - minho looked at you with offense. “do you really think me to be that self-indulged? besides, I’m highly aware of those in the top of our class. you need to know who competitors are, you know. just because I don’t hang around with our classmates much doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about them.” - “my bad,” you answered. “you kinda like, don’t talk to anyone except the people in the music building.” - “I just… don’t see the need to converse.” - “I like the theory that you’re married to your violin better, though.” - “Look, do you want help in math or not?” - “No, as a matter of fact, I don’t. I’ll figure it out myself, thanks.” - “You sure? Last time I checked, you barely passed the seatwork we had last week.” - “How do you know that?” - “Oh, I keep tabs on people who threaten my ranking.” - “Aren’t you a sweet little snowflake?” - “I’m just trying to offer you assistance, so there’s no need to be so uptight. But, if you’re so insistent, at least I’ll be able to maintain my top spot when you flunk.” - You rolled your eyes. “Don’t get so cocky. Just because I don’t get it doesn’t mean I won’t by the time the test comes around.” - lmao who were u kidding tho u lowkey needed his help but u didn’t want him to know that - pride is a thing folks - u both were full of it - anyway u continued fixing the walks of ur project while casually speaking in the corner of the library, making sure not to make too much noise as you worked - even if you were still quite uncomfortable with minho because of his attitude towards being a top student and the fact that he was the cause of your extra stress for the next few days, the whole meetup went surprisingly well - after what seemed to be an hour of endless banter and project mending, minho checked his phone and almost jumped in his seat - “!! i’m late for being late to practice!! hell!! bye!!” - you didn’t even get the chance to bid farewell to the boy who quietly fast-walked to the exit of the library - he almost hit a shelf and the librarian glared at him, but he still ended up bolting towards the music room as soon as he stepped out - you rolled your eyes - he was still annoying but more tolerable, at least

〔✿〕

- “bin, please u gotta” - “[Y/N], bold of u to assume I even understand the lesson” - “wdym??? Aren’t u good at math??” - “screw math!! Why do u think I pursued music and not numbers??” - “but u got high scores last time!!” - “we all did, though??? The topic last week was easy!!” - “im so screwed I still have a 20% chance of making mistakes!!” - “damn!! what r u so worried about?? at least u’ll pass” - “no but I have a rank, fam!! Holy crap im going to go insane” - “mm? what’s this?? Oh, is this your so-called ‘understanding’ the lesson, [y/n]?” - you turned around and there minho stood, a simper dancing on his face. U wanted to punch him - “shame, really. If only someone could help you” - changbin eyed the newcomer. “what’s he doing here, [y/n]?” - “he’s supposed to be in practice, so I’m not sure,” you answered, glaring at minho - geez let the man live, reader - “oh, I’m supposed to help [y/n] fix her project” - “go practice or whatever, minho. changbin’s here anyway” - “only for another ten minutes, though,” changbin mumbled, and you whipped ur head to him faster than lighting - “what?!” - “i told u!! noona’s home for the next few days and my fam wants me home as much as possible!! I love u [y/n] but duty calls” - “I thought you were my best friend,” you sulked, shoulders drooping. “whatever,, I’ll just,, fix this on my own I guess” - “are u guys really gonna just ignore my presence like this or??” minho piped up, still standing- “bin please don’t leave me here with cocky instrument man”

- “to be fair, you can get cocky and you play an instrument, too,” changbin teased, ruffling your hair. “I have ten more minutes, so let’s make this worthwhile?” - “guys?? Hello?? are you guys really this rude usually??” minho interrupted once again, scratching his head. - “you’re the one who busted [y/n]’s project up without apologies,” changbin began in your defense. - you panicked, not wanting to be mean. “uh!! No it’s okay he apologized and stuff. Um, he’s just here because Mr. Park made him. It’s okay, he was tolerable yesterday” - “he came to you yesterday?” changbin made a face, - “only because you ditched me, changbin,” you rolled your eyes. - poor minho was starting to feel awkward - “if you don’t need me—” - you instantaneously grabbed his wrist by reflex “nO!! hold up!!” - WHOOPS - you let go immediately and waved ur hand in front of you. “just sit there!! It’s going to take forever if I fix my diorama by myself. i really need to buy time, sorry.” - “what’s on your plate anyway?” minho questioned, a smirk creeping up on his face. You, whose eyes became glued to your project, didn’t notice though. - “This, proofreading the ten-page essay to accompany it, and studying for two tests. It’s a busy week, I guess,” you answered, sighing. - “I finished putting these two walls together. Gotta run, [Y/N], Minho. See you both tomorrow,” Changbin announced, standing up. - “Already?” you pouted. “Fine. Thanks, Binnie. Say hi to your sister for me!” - And with that, it was once again just the two of you - “If I finish all the repairs today in under thirty minutes, I’ll be able to get an extra thirty minutes to study for math…” you mumbled carelessly, attaching the two walls Changbin’d fixed up to the base of the diorama. “Ooh, but I need to continue to write that cursed essay…” - your eyes trailed off to minho, who was quietly working on the pieces you’d told him to fix - I mean, u could just,,, ask him - ASDLKJKJKJLKLSKSKS - NO - FOOL!! - s IMPLE, BASIC RULE #1: ENEMIES DON’T FEED U BREAD - u couldn’t. he wouldn’t, anyway. but you were growing desperate and if there was one person who’d know— - “I’d like to think you’re staring because I’m attractive, but the more you keep your eyes on me, the more I feel that you’re boring a hole in my forehead.” - FLIPPITY FLOP U NEED TO STOP, LEE M I N H O - asdfghjkl if u didn’t ace the next math test tho,,,, u might be overtaken by the people in the lower ranks - golly why were u born competitive - “ifisaidineededhelpinmathwouldyougivemefifteenminuteofyourtime??” you grumbled quickly - “if ur gonna speak u might consider making urself understandable” - “im sorry but I need your help in math” - “again?” - “I don’t understand this one particular math lesson, and would appreciate it if you could help me because our math test’s tomorrow. I don’t wanted to be screwed.” - “I couldn’t quite catch that.” - at this poINT, U WERE READY 2 THROW HANDS, SIS - “I NEED YOU TO HELP ME IN MATH!” - the librarian shot u both a glare and put a finger to her lips - hhholy crap - that simper minho wore a while ago was BACK AND THE SMUG LOOK WAS ONCE AGAIN DANCING ON HIS FACE LIKE A TAUNT - U WANTED TO SHRIVEL UP IN A HOLE AND SLEEP FOR LIKE A MILLION YEARS but also dropkick him (✿◉‿◉)🗡 - “u know what,, forget it just go to practice—I’ll finish this up myself.” you slumped back in your seat, wanting to crawl into ur bed and scream in ur pillow - “you get impatient with equations. listen, if you stop rushing, you’ll get there. look at this problem.” - slowly, he started explaining the questions one-by-one and you began to… understand - WHAT??? KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING?? IN M Y HOUSE? - “go check with your calculator,” minho urged, painting the last wall piece for your diorama. - you punched in the numbers and lo and behold, u managed to perfect every problem minho gave you to practice - except one because u can get stupid sometimes and u simply forgot that 6 times 8 was 48 and not 42 - lmao mood - ur face lit up and u started quietly clapping ur hands together - “minho!!! i did it!! look!! holy heck,, they’re right!!” ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ - “yea but not perfect bc ur dumb” - “stop,, u know how fried brains can get while working w numbers,,,, im H UMAN” - “Well,” Minho began, attaching the final piece to ur diorama, “I finished up the structure of the diorama. Gotta go, I’m fifteen minutes late to being late.” - u glanced at ur phone and voila he was right yall’d already spent like,, forty-five minutes - ???? already???? - time flies when ur having fun i guess lmao ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) - “!!!!! Okay!! By the way, since the music room’s near the campus store, can you buy some paints for the diorama?? Let’s spend tomorrow decorating it. I’ll bring embellishments.” - Minho slung his backpack on one shoulder and his violin case on the other. “You finally want me to come over and help, huh? It’s only been two days since you wanted to stab me and now you’re already looking forward to seeing me. Ah~ I have irresistible charm.” - You rolled your eyes, scoffing. “You’re disgusting. Don’t forget, I’m still holding a knife to your neck. I’m awfully close to getting top one.” - “Once you stop being careless while multiplying, maybe I’ll be threatened.” - “Get to practice, Lee Minho.” - “No ‘thanks so much for helping me, minho!!’?” - “You’re the one who broke my project. If it wasn’t broken, I’d have plenty of time to find someone else to help me.” - “Yeah right, like ‘Binnie’ will increase your chances of overtaking me.” - “Goodbye, Minho.”

〔✿〕

- when you arrived home, your mom held up a piece of colored paper with printed details on it - “what’s this?” she asked, watching you untie your shoelaces. - you squinted at the paper, trying to make out what it was. “ah, that’s just a flyer someone gave me. that competition’s in four months and it’s for serious musicians. i was going to ask you if it’d be fine to watch it with my friends.” - she shook her head. “honey, don’t you want to compete?” - you set down your backpack and took off your socks. “n-no? i’ve barely prepared for it. it’s too late now. Even four months of preparation would be rushing it.” - “but you’ve been working hard on your latest piece. don’t you at least want to show it off?” - LMAO NO - you laughed. “mom, you know I hate playing in front of people.” - “you’re fantastic, though!” - “and you’re my mom!” - she smiled. “well, if you insist. who’re you going to be with and how are you going to go?” - “Changbin and his friends can take me. What’s for dinner?” - “I was going to whip up your favorite, but I actually wanted to make my favorite more.” - “mom!!”

〔✿〕

- “your score?” - “perfect. and you?” - “we tied,” minho announced, holding up his paper. “not bad. but then again, this is still technically my victory, since I taught you.” - “it was out of convenience, really, that i asked you. and you owed me big-time,” you fired back, painting intricate designs on your still-unfinished Korean house diorama. - it was the last day before your big presentation for the diorama project that the boy in front of you so conveniently broke the other day. which means this was the last time you’d ever need to hang out in the library with him,, thankfully - he chuckled. “whatever you say, miss multiplication.” - “I checked my answers three times! I deserved this perfect score just as much as the next person! Just because I made a mistake once doesn’t mean I’ll make it again.” - “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Anyway, Changbin mentioned before that you play an instrument. I’ve been curious. Which one?” Minho inquired, resting his chin on his hand. - a drop of sweat trickled down your forehead. you didn’t really like flaunting that particular fact… - “um. piano… I don’t really like to show others, though. The only sorta public thing I’ve ever done asides from play in front of my family for gatherings is play some keys for Changbin and his band because the keyboardist fell sick during their gig.” - “Classical or contemporary?” - “both?? i’m trained classically so it’s not hard to switch to contemporary.” - “interesting,” minho nodded, “favorite composer?” - “I love most of the romantic-era pianists and Fritz Kriesler.” - “kriesler’s a violinist and not a pianist, though.” - “who cares? jus sayin’ classical music SLAPS. Libestraum?? a boP. Chopin’s waltz op. 69 no. 1 in a flat major??? complete BANGER!! kriesler’s schon rosmarin????? MmMMMM,,, good stuff. Pianist, violinist, cellist—I give 0 damns. music is music” -Minho’s eyes watched your face as you spoke. ur eyes kinda crinkled as u smiled while talking and he found it quite intriguing -  lmao intrigued - “How about you, Minho? Which composers do you like?” - “I like the classical era composers. Mozart, Bach—call them overrated, but I do love them. And even if his pieces are monstrous, I love Paganini.” - “Ah, would you look at that. We’re almost done. You can leave now, if you want. You can be a whole ten minutes early to being late. I can finish this up, no big.” - Minho checked his watch. “Oh, you’re right. But I actually have violin lessons today, and they’re still at six. I’m leaving school at five-thirty anyway because the academy’s just fifteen minutes away. I can stay with you until then, so you can finish this faster.” - “It’s only 4:46, though,” you begin to smirk. “Maybe you’re the one who wants to be with me and not the other way around, as you claim.” - “Are you trying to tease me?” he leaned forward, staring at you. “It’s not working.” - You dared to match his stare with a rivaling amount of intensity. “Mmm, but I’m quite competitive.” - oh holy crap what’s with this tension im screaming where’d u get that confidence from, reader hskskskkdkhdkdh - “Do what you want. I’m going to keep my top one title,” he rolled his eyes. - for the next couple of minutes, you both continued painting pretty designs on the bare walls of your Korean house diorama while talking about each other’s interests - turns out Minho also liked to dance, a fact that’d slipped unexpectedly - he made you swear not to tell anyone and you felt proud bc u had dirt on him (◕ ˬ ◕✿) - there were so many weird sides of him that you hadn’t noticed before - lowkey u liked his sense of humor - lol at some point he admitted that he had random urges to just scream for no reason - “???? Minho u ok???” - “bold of u to assume I have the capability to be ok” - “???????????????????” - “lol im joking,,, the look on ur face is priceless” - “ah,, u like the look on my face?? Can’t help it if im pretty~” - “u wish, sis” - “can I call u MEANho bc ur being rlly mean rn” - “wtvr u want bro. sorry that the truth hurts” - “RUDE” - u continued to banter like this until minho had to leave and u decided to walk out together because yall were finished anyway - wheeze!! Ur newly refurbished house was… u’d daresay,,,, quite a candy to your eyes - with the help of Changbin (though he only contributed like,, 2%) and Minho, your project was back to its good state - it might’ve,, even been better than it used to be - minho gave u helpful insights while u worked on it, too - (◕︿◕✿) (◕︿◕✿) u had to admit, ur project turned out supernice - “uh,, I just wanted to say…” you began, gripping the sides of your diorama’s base, “thanks. I know it must’ve been a lot to sacrifice practice time to help me out. I forgive you for dropping it, even if I never got that apology.” - Minho looked at you indignantly. “Hey!! I did give you an apology!!” - You grinned. “I don’t recall.” - “Alright, I’m sorry, again.” - “Could you repeat that, please? I couldn’t hear you.” - “I said sorry, [y/n].” - “Again?” - lmao get played,, lee minho - “whatever, bro. I’m leaving. don’t wanna be late,, see you tomorrow.” - “Hey, but I’m serious. Thanks for your help. Also for math, y’know, since I was able to perfect it.” - “ok hold up don’t get sappy on me now,, that was a one-time thing and im totally going to clobber whatever chance u have of beating me on the next test” - “we’ll see about that”

〔✿〕

- few weeks’d gone by since then and whenever u’d see minho, u’d wave amiably instead of shooting daggers @ him w ur eyes - sis we love character development 😤😤 - sometimes u’d have some small talk but it’d never get further than that, even if u were classmates - usually it’d just be about borrowing smth - but u guys were still SUPERMEGA competitive towards each other - like whenever test results came out u guys were the first to rush to the board - the few times u were able to one-up minho made him !! super mad - he’d always study extra so he could ruin ur chances of getting a win streak - LMAO BUT THE FIRST TIME U WERE ABLE TO TOP HIS SCORES TWICE IN A ROW JUST MADE HIM INTO A MONSTER - suddenly nobody saw lee minho for like,, three days - and so when test scores came again after that and he was #1 once again, all he could do was smile smugly at u with that Minho SmirkTM - frankly u found urself powerful for being able to cause minho to disappear like that - u thought to urself if u kept getting #1 maybe minho’d disappear again and u wouldn’t have to see him (  ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ) (  ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ) - reader that’s not how it works damn it - chief called, he said THAT AINT IT - A N Y W A Y - one day minho came to class looking like a zombie - y’all have heard of zombie!bang chan when he was featured in twice’s “like ooh-ahh” but fellas minho looked worse than that - eyebags?? Like a racoon - hair??? You wondered if he had a comb in his house?? - expression?? hoooo babe we don’t wanna go there - it felt as if anyone who talked to him would face the wrath of the Lee - but he had reason as to why he was looking so miserable - just the other day, his accompanist told broke their arm in a PE accident and couldn’t play with minho for his upcoming concert/competition - like bro what kind of musician breaks their arm??? Um?? u know u have a concert so TAKE CARE OF URSELF??? - he was furious because the concert was like,, just around the corner and he couldn’t find another accompanist - he’d asked everyone he knew but to no avail - they all had different excuses. family affairs, too soon, whatever reason people’d find to reject his asking - In all his life, Lee Minho had never been desperate. But, in the moment his accompanist had ditched him, it was as if desperate was all he felt. - it was all he could think about during class - like the teacher was discussing history and mentioned something like “duet” and minho wanted to scream - poor boy - he tried to look elsewhere—anywhere but the board - u were just drumming ur fingers on ur table,, imagining an invisible piano bc lol ur teacher was boring u half to death on a lesson u already understood - that’s when minho’s eyes stopped, watching u mindlessly press on the keys of your little desk-piano - he could… - it was possible… - but at what cost…? - ‘no no no’ he thought, shaking his head. - he had too much pride to ask u for help at this point - he didn’t even know how well u could play the piano - but I guess in times like these, desperation trumps pride and before he could think of the logical implications of his actions, minho found himself rushing towards u as u packed up ur things - “hey,,, uh… [y/n]…” - “if you’re going to ask for my history notes, forget it. they’re just messy pointers and I doubt you could understand it.” - “ew no. what makes u think I’d ask u for such a thing?? I don’t even think YOU’D be able to understand it. besides, I’m covered for that.” - “so why r u like,,, so eager to go to my desk?? oh?? wow, do you miss me already? mm, lee minho. didn’t know you were so straightforward~” - U WERE MAKING THIS SO HARD FOR HIM - MINHO WAS HIGHLY CONSIDERING JUST THROWING IN A SNOOTY REMARK AND LEAVING - BUT HHHH WHEN WOULD A CHANCE LIKE THIS COME AGAIN?? - “I didn’t come to boost your ego—that’s-“ he stopped himself before he could pour out an insult. He didn’t want to piss you off before asking you a favor. “Listen, I need a favor from you. Please. I’ve asked every single person I know.”

- minho?? politely asking u a favor?? Shocking - “If this is about lessons—” - “How well can you play the piano?” - “Minho, I already told you. I hate playing in front of people.” - “No, but I came here to you already knowing that. I know you literally have every reason to tell me ‘no’ right now, but I don’t want to miss a chance. There’s this competition happening in around two and a half months. If I back out now—let’s not even talk about what’ll happen if I back out now. Anyway, bottomline is that I really, really need an accompanist and you are my last resort.” - “u realize how much of a rush two and a half months is,, right” - the thing is though, you’d been practicing some pieces for some months now, in the secret hopes that one day, maybe you’d gather courage to play it somewhere - “Changbin told me you’ve been playing piano a lot.” - traitor - u looked into minho’s eyes and at this point they were pleading you with such vigor that u even considered saying yes - you always wanted to perform onstage, even once in your life - “…What’s the piece?” - “We can play anything you want. But let’s confer and choose a piece we both already know, if possible. Don’t worry, because I’ll help you. If you’re down, let’s practice during breaks and after school. Days before the event, we can get an excuse slip from the faculty so that we can practice, since we’re representing the school.” - ur stomach did a flip - “w-we’re representing the school???” - “uhh… yes???” - rhfekwnkjfsekfn you literally had every ounce of reason as to tell him no and carry on with life - but minho had never asked people for help, not even when he looked like he could really use some - you wondered just how bad it was for him to be on his knees like this - “I’ll try?” - minho’s face literally switched from zombie to the mcheckin’ SUN bc he started to gRin liKe A fOoL - “yesyesyesyesyes thank u!!! thank u so much!!” he placed a hand on your shoulder. “you don’t know how much this means to me. i’ll be sure to repay you well!!! let’s meet during breaks tomorrow so we can start?” - “if you can repay me by letting me be #1 for the rest of the year—” - “,,,, [y/n],,,,” - “im ½ kidding anyway sure see u i guess”

〔✿〕

- “okay, I’m going to need u to do more crescendo on this part” - “what do you mean” - “like, swell it more.” - “like this???” - you attempted to play the part minho’d instructed you to practice, but your hands were trembling - askjhfgdfjhahdsbjhasdjhad hoW DO U EVEN NOT SHAKE WHEN THE VIOLIN PRODIGY OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL WAS RIGHT THERE - LIKE SURE U WERE RIVALS BUT NOT IN MUSIC,,, - u felt like u were WASTING his tIME - “uh, [y/n], your playing sounds too soft and hesitant” - “im so sorry aghhh” - gosh u didn’t know what to do like - u were panicking bc u kept messing up for the past 30 minutes,, ur hands were everywhere and u just couldn’t play properly - which made u even more panicky bc !!! u were fine when u were at home but suddenly u felt so inferior to the keys - “your hands are… shaking…” minho pointed out, tilting his head. “what’s wrong??” - EVERYTHING - “nothing!!” you lied. “just probably not my day,, I guess” - “[y/n] you’ve been trembling ever since we started this practice session.” - what even do u say to that - like,, at this point u just wanted to tell him sorry but ur too much of a wuss - that’s so embarrassing tho esp bc he might never let u live that down - ughhh u were conflicted and u couldn’t even hear what minho was saying - “[y/n]! you’re not paying attention!” - “I am!” - “I asked you what was wrong, and you’ve been staring at the piano for a full two minutes.” - “I’m sorry!” - “Stop apologizing if you’re not going to do anything about it!” - golly those words cut thru ur chest like a knife - hhhh as if you weren’t already so afraid and insecure - “I’m trying my best! Look, maybe you should just find a better pianist. I told you, I’m not cut out for this. Honestly, you’ll save yourself time.” - minho frowned. you were always so confident in everything else you did—academics, hobbies—but now you were so readily admitting defeat + bringing yourself down - lee knows when something’s up so he immediately places his violin down. “let’s take a walk.” - you sighed and closed the piano before following the boy outside - the sky had darkened already and the streetlamps illuminated the campus ground - minho tried to observe u but all u were doing was walking w ur hands in ur pockets, eyes fixated on the ground - your unconfident demeanor concerned him a little,,, - “hey, you sure nothing’s wrong??” - lmao he knew something was up but like,, he didn’t wanna seem imposing - “no, not really, but i’m telling you. you’re better off finding another accompanist…” - “you have to give me good reason as to drop you, if you’re so insistent.” - “Well!” you started. “look, I’ve practiced that same piece for two whole hours every day—just that piece—for the past three weeks and yet I can’t even play the first part without messing up somewhere. I know two hours might mean nothing to you, but I’ve been trying really, really hard, I swear. It’s so embarrassing because I’ve been able to perfect until the second page during my time, but whenever we meet, my hands literally betray me and won’t allow me to get past the third measure.” - you didn’t want him to see your face because you were actually this close to crying of frustration. “I’m sorry. I usually don’t give up so easily but I don’t want to hassle you for such an important thing. Sorry for wasting three weeks of your precious time,” you mumbled, trying to conceal your shaky voice. - oooohhh wheeze u wanted to bop yourself in the head bc ur eyes!!! were doing The ThingTM!!! the teary teary thing!!! in front of ur arch nemesis, lee minho !!!! ur pride !! was on the line !! - minho noticed u trying to avoid his gazes so he just stopped walking altogether - “Do I scare you?” he asked, halting his steps. - “What? Ew, no.” - “Then why are you so afraid to play?” - “I’m not afraid!” you insisted, pretending to scratch your eye in attempts to clear them of tears. - “Your hands shake and your notes sound unsure all the time. Do you expect me to believe it’s not fear? If it isn’t, then what is?” - “So maybe I am scared, what’s wrong with that?” you shot back, facing him this time. “Alright, fine! Maybe I feel inferior every time I lay my hands on the keys. Maybe I’m really insecure of the fact that I can’t seem to get things right. Maybe I am afraid!” - “You can’t just be afraid to make mistakes! That’s what’s making you hesitate every time we meet up, that you’ll mess up somewhere in the middle. You can’t keep thinking like that!” - “I know that! But it’s getting increasingly difficult to get that out of my head. I can’t help but think that if this whole thing flops, it’ll be because I messed up your flow.” - “Would you quit thinking that you’re below me?! Quit thinking you’re mediocre. If that’s your mindset for this competition, then mediocre’s all you’ll ever be. Give yourself a break!” - “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t screw up!” you yelled, gripping your fists. “I have to go, Minho. It’s getting late. Find yourself another pianist, please. I would not like to waste your time anymore.” - “[Y/N], I—” - “See you around.”

〔✿〕

- aghhh minho was so conflicted the next day - he didn’t know how he was going to find another accompanist but most importantly he didn’t know what he was going to do about you - he wasn’t the type of person to just drop people - he rlly wanted to talk to you but he couldn’t find you after classes - every time class would end, you’d bolt outta there with changbin - and when minho asked changbin where you’d went, changbin would make up some excuse that he didn’t know - !! he really needed to get you to get a grip, and fast - the competition was nearing already and it was too late to back out - deep down, minho knew how you were feeling and it made him even more determined to find you and get you out of your own head - he knew how it felt like to be afraid of the instruments - seeing how hard you worked but having it all washed away by insecurity made him really wanna throw hands @ those said insecurities bc he knew u !!! didn’t deserve this - but he couldn’t get a hold of you - he even tried to talk to you in class but u pretended like u were sleeping - “hell, woojin!! what do I do??!!” minho asked, fussing up his hair in frustration.

- woojin was part of the acapella group and mmMPH GIVE ME THAT MUSICIAN SOLIDARITY 😤😤😤😤😤 - woojin wisdom hours = open - “be gentle with her,” woojin spoke, taking a bite of his chicken lunch. “i think she’s the type of person who really needs gentleness at this point in your situation.” - “oh, for sure. but how do i even do anything if she won’t even talk to me??? she ‘slept’ in class, woojin. she never sleeps in class because the teacher might get mad and that would affect her grades. i checked out all her usual spots, but nothing!! before i came here, i even asked the lunch lady if [y/n] passed by, but she didn’t. which is totally weird because she always gets those little rice ball snacks from the lunch lady when its available!!!” - woojin squinted his eyes. “you sure know an awful lot about [y/n].” - “?? Of course?? I keep tabs on my enemies??” - “…chan is in third place in ranking. do you know what he eats during lunch??” - minho started to sweat. “w-we worked on a project in the library, okay?? [y/n] and I have had some time to talk!! in my defense, i know all of chan’s test scores!!!” - “you know everyone’s test scores, minho.” - “what even are you trying to get at??” - “I’m just saying, you know lots about [y/n] for being her archenemy.” - “Oh, he was watching her like a hawk during class earlier. It was weird,” Chan announced, taking a seat on the floor next to Minho. “And for the record, I usually have rice toppings for lunch. But that’s not something I usually tell people.” - “I wasn’t watching her like a hawk!” - “why u always lyin,,,” - “chan i am going to vore you” - “Calm down bro, you know it’s true. Why’re you so adamant, though?” Chan questioned, stuffing his mouth with food. - “I just need to talk to her. She wants to back out being my accompanist because she’s insecure about her playing. But where else am I going to get an accompanist this late?” Minho sighed, taking a bite of his sandwich after. - “What piece are you playing?” - “Romanze Op. 4, Kriesler.” - woojin raised a brow and chan had to restrain himself in attempts not to choke of laughter - “You must be desperate, considering you’re fighting for your nemesis to talk to you,” Chan commented, biting his lip. - Minho gave Chan a playful shove. “Don’t word it like that! You know that this competition is important!” - “Shoot her a message. Get a teacher to help you. Bribe Changbin with food,” Woojin suggested. - “Whatever… I’ll figure it out. Let’s get going. Class is about to start.” - the rest of the day passed and minho thought of a plan to corner u after class - he just - he could not just !! let u go off like that. to see his rival being this defeated was kinda concerning - but just as classes ended and he prepped himself to go to you - the last subject teacher approached him to discuss something - rip minho n his plans - press f to pay respects - f - after being the last one out, he just kinda slumped back and slowly made his way to the music room - he really needed to talk to u but his chances flew out of the window - just as he stepped into the music building, he heard some piano playing from the main music hall - it was odd, minho thought, because rarely anyone would touch the grand piano there - before going in, he listened to the playing and wow,, he was impressed - the lee minho, violin genius boy, impressed - the way the majors and minors danced together to one melody sounded just - ugh - beautiful - it was tchaikovsky’s December, the waltz - the playing felt lighthearted, as the player took some expressive liberties - but even so, the interpretation of the piece was really fantastic and even made minho grin a little at the memory of Christmas -his heart did a little leap bc yes!!!! He could ask this person to play for him considering the chances of u coming back to him was sorta crushed… and this person had wonderful playing - just as he peeped into the main music hall, a familiar sound resonated throughout - it was the accompaniment to the piece you were supposed to play with him - and the person who was sitting behind the piano playing it… was ofc none other than you - let’s get it reader babe - he didn’t want you to stop, so he hid behind the wall once again and just listened - you started to play, letting the music fill your soul and overflowing to the tips of your fingers - e v e rything was on point - the proper tempo, the proper feel - minho was surprised because this - this person playing behind the wall in the music hall wasn’t the hesitant, doubtful pianist he practiced with - this was a free musical spirit in full control of the instrument - of course, your playing got a little wonky once you carried on, but you still managed to continue reasonably until the end. Some of the latter parts needed lots of work, but it was okay!! - you managed to hit the right end note, too!! WHEEZE U WERE SO HAPPY U DIDN’T FAIL MISERABLY @ THAT END NOTE - when you finished, you started going over the parts you needed work on - you didn’t notice minho approaching you until you heard a voice come - “I thought you said you only perfected until the second page?” minho asked, resting his elbow on the top of the grand piano - you were REALLY STARTLED - U ALMOST FELL OUT OF THE PIANO SEAT - AKAJDSKDHASJDHKASHDS WHAT WERE U GOING TO DO - “h-how long have you been listening in?” - “From the start of your Tchaikovsky piece.” - AJSLDKJAKSJDKASDJKASK U WANTED TO HIDE IN A HOLE - U COULDN’T EVEN COME UP W A COHERENT REPLY??? - luckily ya boi lee knows what to do ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) - sorry I cant go 1000 words w/o mentioning that pun im sorry - minho opened his violin case and took out his instrument. “let’s start from the beginning, shall we? don’t be afraid to make mistakes. i’ll just be here, and we can go over the parts you want to as many times as you want, okay? slowly first, one, two…” - you guys started out okay, but you fumbled up a bit on the second page and minho noticed that your shoulders were kinda riding up - he stopped and walked over to you, placing a hand on your shoulders and giving them a gentle pat. “relax your shoulders. they’re tense. don’t worry, we’ll fix it. again,” he instructed, standing right beside you - even if he was beside you, you suddenly felt all anxiousness lift off - there was something about his tone and his demeanor that just!! made u feel sorta safe ?? - u ended up doing well until minho said to repeat the part!! To which u did well again!! - U SMILED A LIL’ AND MINHO SAW IT BUT HE SAID NOTHING N CONTINUED - did he resist the urge to smile, too??? HELL YEA BROTHA - you guys practiced and practiced and practiced anD PRACTICED - nonstop nonst00p - you decided to take a break and checked the time after a long time of just repeating and repeating certain parts then playing all those parts together - ur eyes widened when u saw that a wh0le tw0 hoURS HAD GONe By - like b r o u DIDN’T EVEN FEEL THE TIME PASS - WERENT U FLUSTERED BY MINHO’S SUDDEN APPEARANCE LIKE,, 2 MINUTES AGO - wHy diDN’t U NOTice - ur arms and fingers were kinda tired so u both decided to take a break and walk around campus - lmao it was already like 6 o’clock and it was getting dark outside - “we need to polish the notes after the piece’s halfway point,” minho told you, walking towards a vending machine. “there are still lots of phrases where we fumble up. On page four, where your left hand does the arpeggios, you forget to do the dynamics.” - “Sure, sure. Oh, and in the part where you have rubato, you kinda sound angry.” - “I do?” - “Yeah. I mean, I don’t really know, but like, that’s just the vibe. I could be wrong, though,” you told him, stopping in front of the vending machine. - “No, no, I’ll keep in mind. Want anything?” he offered, pointing to the vending machine. - “Can you press for grape soda? Hold on, I’m just going to fish for my money,” you answered, reaching into your pockets. - Minho pressed one button for grape soda and one button for strawberry milk. “No, it’s okay. I put my money in already.” - “Take it, it’s not like I can’t pay you back.” You held out your money. - Minho reached for the drinks that fell out. “I refuse. This one’s on me.” - u almost droPPed UR MONEY - “bro??? u ok, pal?? r ok w/ u treating ur arch nemesis???” - he let out a little minho laugh (HIS SOFT MINHO GIGGLE OMG). “well, you’re kinda my partner now, so…let’s put the nemesis title on hiatus.” - he placed the cold grape soda can in your hands. “u-uh,, thanks minho!!” you said, flabbergasted @ his actions - WHY WAS MINHO BEING SO NICE??? (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) - lee minho?? n i c e??? in THIS economy?? - U WERE SO CONFUSED - lmao phat mood sis - you guys walked around in comfortable silence for a little bit, enjoying the bit of breeze and fresh air while sipping on your drinks - y’all ended up sitting down on a bench in the courtyard, jus chillin’ - minho decided to steal a glance from you for a bit - BIG MISTAKE -  a small smile was playing on your lips as you looked up at the sky drinking your grape soda - you tucked some stray hairs waving in your face because of the wind, and hhhHHHOLY HECK MINHO’S HEART STARTED TO DO THE TTUGS TTUGS BOOM BOOM - were u always that attractive before??????? like??? Maybe ITS JUST THE STREETLIGHTS PLAYING TRICKS ON HIS EYES - u felt the power of his stare and u turned to face him. In a quiet voice, you mumbled, “minho? is there something on my face?” - beauty, probably - “u-uh!! No!!” he blinked, whipping his head literally anywhere else - “oh, alright then,,” u were kinda bashful bc like?? Uh,,,, why was he staring at u - MINHO WANTED TO BOP HIMSELF IN THE FACE LIKE !! WHATS THIS - HE WAS PANICKING BC HE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS WHAT THESE HEARTBEAT SHENANIGANS ARE IMPLYING - too soon, heart, too soon - !!! FEW MONTHS AGO HIS HEART BEAT IN ANGER TOWARDS U BUT THIS,,, DIDN’T FEEL LIKE ANGER - or maybe it did?? BC U WERE DOING SMTH 2 HIM N MAKING HIM FEEL THESE E M O TI O NS - he felt like he betrayed himself!!! why couldn’t he come up with some genius, witty remark at this time?? WHERE WERE HIS FLIRTING POWERS?? - “let’s head back!!” he said, standing up and walking towards the music building - he squeezed the last remaining bits out of his milk cartoon and SUCKED WHATEVER LAST DROPS HE COULD GET - ‘mmMMM STRAWBERRY MILK IS DELICIOUS,, ITS NOT LIKE MY HEARTRATE’S GOING LOCO RN MAYBE I SHOULD TAKE MY BLOOD PRESSURE WHEN I GET BACK HOME’ was all he could think - ?? u were so bamboozled. “minho, you’re walking too fast,, wait for me” - “i’m not fast, you’re just really slow!!” - when you two reached the music hall again, minho zipped UP HIS STUFF LIKE LIGHTINING - “See you next Monday, [y/n]!!! practice well!!!” - he z00000med outta there - yeeted outta that place - that night, he threw himself on his bed, screaming incoherently - soonie and doongie didn’t even know what to do with their human brother - but?? They tried?? To console him with small ‘meows’??? - “Soonie, Doongie, your brother’s super mad. [y/n], my rival, did something really bad again today. She just!! decided that it was okay to look cute under the dim lights of the campus??? Like??? excuse??? Me?? that was so rude, don’t u think??” - soonie gave a ‘bro-u-srs’ face and doongie just meowed in disappointment - big same soonie and doongie - “doN’T GIVE ME THAT FACE, SOONIE!! U KNOW THAT IT’S UPSETTING!!” - soonie just… hopped off minho’s bed - ‘i-can’t-take-u-any-longer-hyung’ - “NOO!! SOONIE COME BACK!! Doongie, help me!!” - doongie meowed again, crawled to the foot of minho’s bed, and took a nap - “why won’t my siblings love me???” was all minho could say before shutting off the lights and drifting off to dreamland

〔✿〕

- “you’re starting to like him, aren’t u” - “shut ur mouth hole changbin and help me pick out an outfit for the concert!!!” - “the concert’s two weeks away, why r u doing that now??!!” - “BECAUSE ITS 2 WEEKS AWAY??” - “anyway stop dodging my statements. Minho’s warming up 2 ur heart n u know it” - “changbin u wanna like,, get out of my house” - “uhhh?? Do u wanna like,, start admitting that ur rival isn’t even really ur rival now considering that u guys literally do everything together now” - “excuse me I do everything with you!!” - “not anymore u don’t” - “what are u talking about??” - “u study together,, take breaks together,, spend after school together,,,” - “that’s because u don’t like helping me with acads and I need to spend as much time as possible practicing for the compet!!” - “k but r u sure u don’t have a thing for him. Like, u don’t consider him cute??” - “changbin, no one could be cuter than u.” - “um,, of course?? I’m your binsual always and forever, but that doesn’t mean you don’t think minho’s cute.” - “t-that’s!!!” - you turned to face changbin, cheeks warming up. U could not lie 2 ur best friend,, he’d know immediately - “don’t even think of lying to me, [y/n]. u know its physically impossible.” - “so what if he’s cute?? Chan’s cute, Woojin’s cute,, you’re cute. Do I like any of you?? no!!” - “whatever, [y/n]. once u admit to me that you’re starting to catch feelings for violin boy, u owe me a chicken night out.” - “no I don’t!!!” - “but you’ll want to because u’ll wanna ramble about ur undying love for ur arch nemesis” - “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, SEO CHANGBIN” - “no thank u”

〔✿〕

- your breath was hitching and your palms were excreting buckets of sweat the more time passed on - once you got to the venue for your performance, you kinda just - f r o z e - today was d-day, love, and u were just,,,, so unsettled - you tried to shove off your nervousness away but it wasn’t that easy - anyway, minho saw you from a distance and started to approach you - but like,, the nearer he got, the clammier he felt f0r some REASON - HHHHH HOLY CRAP YO - “[y-y/n]?” his words came out with a little bit of a stutter and he wanted to scream - minho fighting - you turned around and hollllly moly did lee minho always look THIS gorgeous?? - his hair was fixed so his forehead was seen and overall gave off a fresh, clean look - the first few buttons were undone on the black polo he wore, showing off a lil’ bit of his collarbones - oooo my heck sklkaslklaklsklskldsklaskdajkdljk he looked spicy - “oh, hi minho,” you greeted, waving - “you look rather pretty today,” he grinned, giving you some kinda smug look - but inside, his heart was like - SLKLSDAJLKASJDKLAJSHKDJASHJKSAHKJDSLKAHJKFSGJDHKJFKAHDLKJDGHFDSDFGHJKLKJ - he was a flustered mess inside but like,,, it’s lee minho everyone - how else would he try to cope other than being smirky - “I can say the same to you,” you answered, not wanting to give in to his charm - ugh,, we stan competitive people!!! <<333 - anyway, yall walked to the holding rooms to wait for the concert/competition to start - you took out your lil’ finger exerciser mechanism thing - I don’t know what it’s called but basically it’s just an object with some knobs you can push down with your fingers as you hold it in your palm,,, its to exercise the fingers and some musicians use it askjalskjdalkjdla lmao - you guys were eleventh in the lineup, but once the competition started, you started really freaking out - minho was practicing one final time but he noticed that your eyes were glued to the floor like you always did when something was up and you were kinda gripping your finger exerciser thingy unnecessarily hard - he immediately stopped and walked over to you, put his violin down, bent to the floor, and stared u straight in ur eyes - “hey,” he started, softly, “look at me.” - you did as you were told, but your breath was still unstable and your heart was palpitating - “minho—” - “When we get up on that stage, I want you to forget that we’re in a competition. I want you to focus on nothing but just savoring the moment and letting the music that’s deep in your soul just burst out. And if you ever feel, even for a moment, a pang of hesitation, I want you to look at me and remind yourself that you are not alone up there. I’m with you, I’m your partner.” - just then, he took away your little finger exerciser and replaced it with his own hands, intertwining your fingers with his - “I don’t care if we don’t win, hell, I don’t care what the crowd will think. I just want to play a song for you, with you. Let’s dance, [y/n]. Please let my melody waltz with yours.” - you gripped his hands a little tighter, observing the intricate details. His palms were pudgy and soft, but the tips of his fingers were rough and calloused.  Nevertheless, there was something about those hands that made you feel a sense of relief, a sense of serenity. - “okay,” you answered, looking at his chocolate eyes. - “When we get there, forget about being perfect. Let’s just let loose and play whatever we feel a ‘Romanze’ is.” - just then, the organizers called you to head towards the side of the stage to line up for your performance - despite standing up and heading there, minho didn’t let go of your hand - it was just a simple gesture he wanted to convey, that this stage was to be shared by you both and that he and you were now a tandem. - all waits eventually come to an end, and so did yours. after a soloist finished their piece, it was finally your turn - he still,,, didn’t let go of your hand,, as u bowed to the crowd,,,, - minho… a sweetie… - it was only when you turned to head to the piano did he gently let your hands fall apart, but he gave you a reassuring smile and mouthed ‘let’s do this’ - you settled into the piano seat and looked at minho for the cue - and you were off - it started off quietly, but immediately you started to pour out your soul - with every crescendo, every vibrato, you just let the music in your heart overflow to the tips of your fingers - and you’d periodically steal a glance from minho to let him know you were still with him - he smiled and you both just followed each other, matching each other’s pace and vibe perfectly - when I say perfectly, I mean PERFECTLY - the atmosphere was a canvas that was to be painted upon with the color of music - as if one artist, you two splashed the vibrant color of your Romanze - the sound of the piano took the sound of the violin in hand, dancing steadily and beautifully together - as you reached the end, you took one more glance at minho and locked eyes. - that’s when you let the music fade away, lingering in the air as you both raised your hands from your instruments - There was no applause. - but it was alright. - minho walked over and took you in his hands once again, faced the audience, and bowed - it was only then the audience realized,,, wow,,,,, you guys were finished - one clap melted into a chorus of applause - you spotted changbin and your family jumping in the front seats and u COULDN’T HELP BUT SMILE LIKE AN IDIOT - its worth noting that changbin was screaming his head off, too - “YESSSS!!!!! [Y/N]!!!!!! QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!! MINHO!!!! LEGENDS!!!” - one by one, people started to stand - you were CONFUSED - U TURNED TO MINHO AND WENT ALL LIKE,,, “????” - he just gave you the BIGGEST sunshine grin and led you offstage - when u reached the backstage, u just,, took one look at that same sunshine grin and couldn’t hold it in anymore - you engulfed minho in a tight embrace, letting a laugh tickle the air - “minho!!!!” you squealed. “w-we… we did it!!!!” - much to your surprise,, he didn’t shove you away in disgust, but he started to hug you just as tight - in fact, he sorta just picked u off from the floor and hug-carried u to the holding rooms - “we did, we did,” he laughed, letting his forehead rest on yours. - he was rlly close but u didn’t rlly mind,, u were just so happy - you could see the light bounce of his irises and ugh it was beautiful - “[y/n], I’m so proud of you.” - “Thank you so much for believing in me when I could barely believe in myself. I owe so much to my family, Changbin, you—but mostly you. I really appreciate how you invited me and even talked me out of my trance. And you held my hand; you don’t know how much I needed that. Really, thank you so much. I’m so happy right now.” - “Wait, can we sit down? My legs hurt from standing so much,” Minho requested, pulling away from you. - actually it was not because his legs hurt,, son,, his CHEST HURT - HIS HEART WAS DOING FLIPS AND FLOPS AND HE MIGHT HAVE REALLY ENDED UP SCREAMING - anyway u guys sat down on the couches that were available in your holding room, sitting a few inches away from each other - out of nowhere, minho just yelled, “AAAAAAAHHHH!!” - ????????? u looked at him, absolutely confounded - “minho??? why’d u scream??” - “oh nothing I just wanted to” - u were like?????? ????? ok??? - “can we take a cute pic?? I need to post this on my Instagram,” he asked, pulling out his phone - “o hell yea!!” - he opened up his camera and told u to pick a filter - “bro I promise SN*W has like,, the cutest filters ever can we pls take one with this cherry filter,, SIKE I WANT THE ONE WITH THE DANK GLASSES” you exclaimed - minho made a double chin and u gave a korean heart to the camera - “absolutely stunning. this pic overflows w/ visual power,” minho commented, picking another one. “okay, now can we take one w this rlly cute cat filter see look at this OH DAMN,,, LOOK,, SEE HOW CUTE MY FACE LOOKS” minho announced - “lee minho why are we friends??” you asked, smiling for minho’s selfie - “because im cute and everyone knows it” - “whatever,, please send me the selfies so I have my own copy,” you chuckled, “can u take pics of me actually?? It’s rare for me to be dressed this nice so I’d like to take advantage. Let’s head outside for a bit so we can get those aesthetic outdoor backgrounds!!” - minho got up in like, 0.2 seconds - “hell yea!!! I love that!! U gotta snap pics of me, too!!!” - long story short yall went out while the other contestants performed and started taking pictures of each other - “[y/n], please get my good side” - “shut up, lee!!! It’s hard to take photos when im on the ground tryna get u @ a good angle” - “actually, nevermind. just take as many photos as u can because ALL my angles are good anyway ;))))” - anyway ur lil photoshoot sesh was short,, just 10 mins before yall headed back to chill in the holding rooms again - u guys started to talk about random things like minho’s dancing hobby and your catastrophic friendship with seo changbin - “one time, when we were kids,, I caught changbin crying bc he accidentally left his stuffed munchlax in his house when we were on vacation” - “ok but have u heard his music, [y/n]??? 3racha SLAPS” - “im his best friend, u idiot,, I get pre-release privileges to spear.b’s hottest new drops” - “im going to hunt u down for them” - “shut up ur friends w chan u can just ask him” - while talking, you guys listened to the other performers who were also!! Super good - there was this one violin duo that heckn,,, RocKED THE STAGE OMG,,, - anyway time flew by and u were once again called to line up @ backstage - wheeze,,, they were announcing the winners already - minho started to sweat and even if u heard him saying he didn’t really care about the win, u knew it would mean a lot to him - poor baby looked nervous - so u did His Thing and grabbed his hand reassuringly - he almost JUMPED but he immediately softened up and mouthed a ‘thank u’ - one by one, contestants were called upon the stage - until it got to the top three - you guys waited… so tensely… - … - but ur names were never called ;; ____ ;; - when the first place winner was announced, u saw minho’s eyes turn from being hopeful to being absolutely defeated - u were about to give him a hug but then yall heard another announcement - “But wait!!! We wanted to give out a special award for the performers who captured the audience’s hearts!! During the intermission, we asked you to vote your favorite performance, and we’re announcing that now!! Ladies and gents, would you please give it up for… … miss [L/N][F/N] and Lee Minho!!!” - AKDSKLDJAKLDJLSKAJDL MINHO’S EYES GREW WIDER THAN PLATES - !!! THE AUDIENCE AWARD?? WAS JUST AS PRESTIGIOUS AS A TOP 3 AWARD - u had to drag him out of backstage so u could accept the award - cue changbin and ur families SCREAMING their heads off AGAIN - changbin almost fell down trying to yell, press f for respects - u engulfed minho in a gigantic hug again and u swore there was some dust in ur eyes that made some tears pop - its ok minho had some ‘dust’ in his eyes also - when u guys went offstage again,, you told minho, “c’mon!! our families are waiting for us, let’s have dinner together.” - “wait!!” he piped up, grabbing your hands. “listen, i need to tell u something. I promised myself that I would if we won something.” - u were like,,, okay,,, sure,,, - “I never got to thank you for helping me out that day. Honestly, I was really hoping you’d say yes. When you told me you wanted to drop out, I felt something telling me that I couldn’t just let you go like that. You worked really hard, and I really wanted to see you have it pay off,” he began, ears turning the slightest shade of pink, “and I also wanted to say that these past months have really been meaningful to me. I know we didn’t have the best start, but after the library thing—which, oh damn, has been like,, so long ago—I realized that you weren’t such a bad person. For the past months we’ve been practicing together… I-I… sorta super enjoyed it. And now, at this very moment on this very night, I’ve come to accept that I really, really like you after a period of fighting with myself. I… I just wanted to tell you because I might not get the chance when things go back to normal and we do our own things in school.” - u lips. parted like the red sea - “Holy crap, I thought I was the one going crazy,” you whispered, “I thought it was weird because I, too, liked the guy that constantly threatens my grades…” - “wait wh-“ - you nodded. “yeah… I really thought I was ballistic… but yes. I really appreciate how you didn’t give up on me. There’s just… something… I really liked working side-by-side with you. And I genuinely enjoyed the moments I had with you. I’ve also been fighting with myself to accept that I kinda have a thing for you—but thank you so much for lifting me up when I didn’t believe in myself.” - AKJASKLAJDLKAJSLKDJASLKDJASLK IT WAS AT THIS POINT MINHO WOULD USUALLY SAY SMTH COCKY BUT NO. U, DEAR READER, HAD RENDERED THE BOY SPEECHLESS AND HE WAS REALLY ABOUT TO MELT HIS HEART WAS GOING AT 4419 MILES PER HOUR - he leaned in towards you, staring at your eyes with terribly red cheeks - “Can I??” - you nodded, and that’s when minho closed the gap between u two - the kiss was very sweet and tender, lasting only for a couple of seconds before minho lost it and dropped to the floor in a screaming mess - “[Y/N] U CANT JUST DO THAT!!!!! AKLSKDJLKASJDHGSHGDLKASJDLA HELPPPPPPP” - “MINHO, PLEASE. DON’T DIRTY UR CLOTHES, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE FAMILY DINNER” - he eventually got up and headed out with you to greet your adoring fans (aka ur families who were holding bouquets of flowers for yall and a sCREAMING changbin) - but once again, he decided to enclose his hand in yours. - It was a gentle reminder of how much you meant to him. He didn’t feel like it was a sudden splurge of emotions, nor did he feel like he was just being tricked by this emotional high. He just knew, by the steady hum in his heart, that being with you truly, truly made him a better person. - Maybe it was the way you seemed to match his music, maybe it was the way you both inspired each other to keep being better, maybe it was the way your eyes crinkled as you smiled, maybe it was the way you hugged him like he was the only person in the world. - Whatever it was, he loved to be with you. - Because you felt like home.

〔✿〕

Bonus: - “woOOOOOOOOOOOO I GET A CHICKEN NIGHT OUT!!!” changbin hollered at u, shaking ur shoulders - “shut up!!! U don’t!!!!” - “I do!!!! U finally admitted u have a thing for him!!! Let’s get chicken!!!!!!!!” - u stared at changbin in disgust, looked at minho for help, but all he could do was laugh his lil’ minho laugh damn - did u sign up for this?? No - But sometimes, it just happens. 

[little-werewolf-oven]

The Parent Escape

Billy Hargrove knew he'd been dealt a shitty hand in the game of life. But he doesn't realize how shitty until he gets thrown into a juvie camp meant to straighten out troubled boys and meets his exact double. Jason Scott, golden boy from Bumfuck, Indiana, shares way too much in common with him to be any kind of coincidence, and together they hatch a plan to find out what the hell is going on.

It's a genius plan, Billy's a great actor.

He just doesn't count on Jason's best friend to be so pretty.

Chapter 1: San Antonio

The heat is practically coming up in visible waves from the pavement as Billy steps off the bus, knock-off aviators sitting low on his nose, duffle bag slung easily over his left shoulder. The dust in the air burns his lungs, and his free hand instinctively reaches for the pack of cigarettes in his back pocket, before remembering he’d moved them to his jacket on account of he’s been sitting on his ass for the past two days. A jacket that he wears like armor, even in the Texas heat. He’s tugging the half-empty pack from his interior pocket when a black man in a weird looking uniform walks toward him, giving him a steady once over before finishing his approach.

“You William Hargrove?”

“Billy,” Billy responds, tapping a cigarette from the pack and pulling it out using his lips, “You got a light?” To Billy’s surprise the man actually glances around before producing a cheap Bic lighter from his pocket.

“Shouldn’t,” he says, even as he thumbs at the flint in a well-practiced swipe, “but shit, kid, I had twenty bucks on you bailing somewhere around LA.” Billy raises an eyebrow as he leans in toward the flame, cigarette paper burning quickly as he takes a deep inhale.

“Can’t say I didn’t think about it,” smoke exhales through his mouth and nose as he relishes his first hit of nicotine in the past eight hours. The driver that picked up in El Paso didn’t stop for shit, and his dad had booked him on a non-smoking bus, likely a final “fuck you” for the summer.

He takes another drag, offering the pack to the other man, surprised again when he takes it, taps one out, and hands it back to him before lighting up himself.

“One last hurrah, yeah? They don’t allow this kinda stuff in there, you know?”

“Yeah, figured,” Billy says around the cigarette, taking a few steps into the shade of the bus station overpass. Dry heat his ass, it’s hot as fuck in San Antonio. The man follows him, and for a second Billy allows himself the tiniest bit of hope that this summer might not be so bad.

“Name’s Collins,” the man says, flicking his cigarette and not offering his hand, “I’m in charge of transportation and deliveries.”

“And which one am I?”

“I’ll decide once we get to the van.” He takes one more drag before tossing the butt to the ground and crushing it underneath his boot heel. Billy is loathe to follow suit but does so anyway, knowing he’s likely already pushed his luck to the limit. He follows Collins through the bus terminal and into a dusty parking lot to a rickety looking conversion van. Maybe he’ll get lucky and it’ll explode on the way.

“Toss your bag in the back, you can sit up front so long as you promise not to jump from the car.”

“Well shit, don’t go giving me ideas now, Collins,” Billy jokes, hoping a little levity will win him some points. Really, besides his dad, Billy’s always been pretty good at charming adults. Even half the police force in Emeryville thought he was an okay kid who just made some bad decisions. Teachers liked him, his friends’ parents liked him, it was just his own parent who saw him as a worthless piece of shit who needed to be taught some discipline. ‘Tough love’ he liked to call it.

Billy slings his bag into the back of the van, among boxes of plastic cutlery and hotdog buns, before hopping into the front seat. Pop cans and fast food wrappers litter the footwell, the smell suggesting not all of them had been completely empty before being balled up and tossed. He shoots a baleful glance at Collins - getting situated in the driver’s seat - before reclining his own seat back as far as it can go. After nearly two days on the ridgid seats of the Greyhound this was paradise.

“Drive’s about 45 minutes. Get some shut eye if you need, cause when you get to SACC they’re gonna run you til nightfall.” Collins warns before slipping the key into the ignition. To Billy’s surprise the engine turns on the first try, vibrating the floor boards just enough to feel soothing.

“Thanks man,” he says, and means it. The heat and the travel exhaustion leave his eyelids heavy, and it’s not a challenge at all to let sleep overtake him.

He dreams about the ocean.

++++

Too soon he’s being shaken awake, startled out of sleep by a pair of hands gripping onto his left arm.

“C’mon kid, time to pay the piper.” It takes Billy a full 15 seconds to remember who’s talking and where he is. And then it all comes flooding back to him. The stolen car, the vandalism, his dad’s fists, Susan crying. He rubs a hand over his face, nudging his sunglasses into his tangled curls as he pushes his fingertips into his eyes so hard he starts to see spots.

“Best if you sit up, first impressions and all,” the man, Collins, Billy remembers, says as he puts the van back into drive. Billy’s hand gropes blindly for the lever, squeezing it and snapping the seat forward so fast he thinks he might have whiplash. He’s rubbing at his neck as the van makes the transition from paved to dirt roads, shocks so worn every rock and divot is felt. He takes these last few moments to rub the sleep out of his eyes and tuck his sunglasses into his front pocket before attempting to detangle his hair. Collins is right about one thing, first impressions are everything, especially in a place like this.

“You ready?” He asks as the van comes rumbling up to a heavy chain link fence, complete with barbed wire on top.

“Not like I have much choice,” Billy mutters, giving up on his hair and wishing he’d thought of a way to sneak his cigarettes in. Or some weed. Fuck, some weed would be great right now.

Another guy in a weird uniform comes up to the van, and Collins rolls down the window and hands a few papers and a card to him. Billy gulps, throat gone dry as he watches the man’s eyes scan over the papers, and after a quick hand signal the gate is rolled open. He hands everything back to Collins, who accepts with a nod before setting the small pile on the dash and putting the van back into drive. The window stays open despite all the dust they’re kicking up on the road, and Billy is able to smell the mixture of sun and sweat and dirt.

It’s not long before they’re surrounded by ugly tan buildings and a dead looking field, grass fried from the scorching sun and lack of water. Goddamn he misses Cali. There are some people in uniforms like Collins’, but mostly he sees guys around his age wearing a white t-shirt tucked into khaki pants and heavy boots, doing stuff that looks like calisthenics or drills like they’d do in gym class when Coach was feeling particularly sinister.

Collins parks the van in front of a large but otherwise nondescript building. A man in fatigues and a crew cut is standing outside, eyeing the vehicle, mouth quirked up as his gaze lands on Billy.

“Ho-ly shit, he actually came,” the man crows in a heavy southern accent as he walks over to the van. “Ya owe me twenty bucks there, Coll.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll get it to ya. Where’m I takin’ ‘im?”

“Barrack 6, uniform’s on his bunk,” he gives Billy another scrutinizing look, “we’ll deal with the hair later.” Billy tries to keep the terror out of his eyes as Collins nods, putting the van into drive once more. His heart is beating wildly as they drive across the campus, passing another group of… cadets? Prisoners? Billy looks harder this time, trying to see if the guy was using a scare tactic, or if it was a real threat. None of the boys seem to have long hair, but not many have a shorn look, either, at least as much as he can tell as the van moves along. He guesses he could ask Collins, but doesn’t want to show his hand so soon.

They roll to a stop in front of a grey building with a large 6 painted on the side. Collins puts the car in park and turns to look at Billy.

“Listen, kid, I’m not gonna lie, this place sucks. But keep your head down and your nose clean and you’ll be okay.”

“Are they gonna…” he trails off, pointing towards his hair. Collins presses his lips together, making Billy’s gut clench.

“Well,” he says after a moment, “the good news is mullets are on their way out. And hair grows back, so just deal with it.” His words belay the softness in his eyes, a sadness Billy is surprised to find is for him.

“Thanks, Collins,” he says before setting the slightly crumpled, half-empty pack of cigarettes on the center console, “Hang onto these for me, will ya?” And then he’s squeezing the handle and releasing the door latch. He hops out and takes a couple seconds to stretch his back out before going around to grab his bag. Collins gives him a small salute as the truck rumbles off, and Billy is left alone in front of the ugly barracks. He slings has bag over his right shoulder, takes a deep breath, and struts in.

+++++

It doesn’t take long for Billy to learn the ropes around this place. Years of navigating Neil’s temper have taught him how to read facial tics and body language, know when to push and when to bow.

But that’s just with the sergeants.

The cadets are a whole other matter. Billy doesn’t have to waste time reading them, he just has to own them. Assert his dominance and sit on the top of the pile. All it takes is a couple of punches before he’s the head of his barracks. After that he can rely mostly on word of mouth and attitude to raise him to the top ranks of the whole campus.

It’s a whole week before he’s finally led to the make-shift barber shop. He puts on a ‘fuck if I care’ face, but on the inside his heart is beating a mile a minute. For just a few seconds he contemplates fighting his way out and making a break for it, but knows it would be stupid, pointless. Too many people to stop him, and nowhere to run. Story of his fuckin life.

He sucks in a breath and clenches his fists as he hears the razor start up, pushing down the bile as he feels its teeth on the back of his neck, curly locks dropping to the ground. It’s just hair, it’s just hair repeats over and over in his head, but it’s not, not really. It’s him, being erased in this place.

It’s too long and no time at all before the razor stops, and he feels hands brushing stray strands off his shoulders. He pries his eyes open, not even sure when he shut them, and looks at his new hair. He blinks back the tears, absolutely unwilling to show that kind of weakness, and hears his father’s slurs in his head.

Fuck but his dad would love this haircut.

He juts out his chin, nods at the men essentially keeping him captive, and goes out the door. Normally the fresh air would help him keep his composure, but all he sucks in is heat and dust, and it makes him want to scream. He bites down on his bottom lip and starts heading back to the barracks when he hears someone shouting at him.

“Jason? Yo, Jason! Where the fuck’re you headed? We’re at the wall.” Billy gives him a sneer and keeps moving, right until he feels fingers clasp around his arm. He doesn’t even have time to think before his body is twisting around and he’s decking the guy in the jaw. A couple cadets he hadn’t even noticed come running over, one excitedly shouting “Fight!” while the other stares at them with eyes like saucers.

The other guy stands up, hand on his jaw, and glares at Billy, “Jason, what the fuck? Why the fuck di’you hit me?”

“Who the fuck is Jason?” Billy spits, getting ready to throw another punch when he hears a shrill whistle. He drops his fist and puts his hands behind his head, palms brushing up against the foreign prickle of his new haircut.

“Scott! Marsden! The fuck’s going on?” Billy snaps his eyes at the approaching sergeant, letting his arms fall to his sides.

“Scott decked Marsden!” The excited kid, a toothy redhead, practically shouts, and Billy is so far past confused now. He turns to face the sergeant.

“Sir, I’m not Jason, or Scott, or Marsden-”

“I’m Marsden-”

“I don’t fuckin’ care, my name is Billy Hargrove, I’m in barrack six, and my CO is gonna be looking for me.”

“F’you’re in barrack six why’re you all the way over here?”

“Getting my haircut... sir,” he tacks that last bit on, knowing men who think they’re the authority liked to hear it, and he doesn’t want to get tossed in the brig or the hole or whatever the fuck they call it around here, whatever’s worse than the prison he’s already in. The guy gives Billy a hard look, eyes squinting, and even leans in a little before sucking at his teeth and pulling the radio from his belt.

“Sgt. Ford, you copy?” It’s a few seconds before the radio clicks and a fuzzy “Copy,” is heard.

“This is Sgt. Kern, you have eyes on Jason Scott?”

“Sure do. Just finished the wall.”

“That so?” Kern drawls, eyes never leaving Billy.

“Yep. Why, want me to put him on?”

“Nope, just clearing up some stuff. Over and out.” He clicks the radio back onto his belt, still staring at Billy. “You boys get back to where you’re headed, Hargrove and I are gonna take a walk to barrack six.” The three boys take off immediately, and Billy grits his teeth as Kern grabs his arm, leading him roughly back to where he’d been headed in the first place. Billy may not know who Jason Scott is, but he’s definitely going to beat his ass for this.

Continued over at my one true love, AO3!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15569751/chapters/36146499

[kitty-bandit]

I love hearing about you delinquent au! Can’t wait to read it

How about a sneak peek, Anon? (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Lavi shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. The late September days were still warm, but nights turned surprising cold. He wished he’d brought his favorite scarf as he stood next to the raffle table. Excited shouting came from the packed bleachers, and he looked up just in time to see a few players celebrating in the endzone. He sighed, sitting next to Lenalee in one of the empty folding chairs behind the table. “I should’ve listened to Yuu. This is kinda boring.”

“That’s why I bribed you with food.” Lenalee smiled and greeted another group who stopped at the table. After taking their money and handing them tickets, she turned back to Lavi. “It’s been almost two hours and I am ready to leave.”

“Where is your partner, anyway?” Lavi asked, peeking into the bucket with the ticket stubs.

“Please do not call him that,” Lenalee said, rubbing her temple under the dark purple knit hat she had worn for the night. Her hair was plaited into two pigtail that hung over each shoulder. “He went to get another roll of tickets from the supply closet. We’re almost out.”

With a chuckle, Lavi leaned back in the chair, the metal scraping against the cement sidewalk underfoot. The table was set up near the entrance, close to the ticket booth—specifically placed so no one could miss it as they entered the field. “What is the raffle even for?”

“I thought you could read?” Lenalee teased, pointing the the sign on the table. “We’re giving away a mini fridge. One of the student’s parents donated it.”  As another group of students passed the table, Lenalee smiled and waved.

Lavi’s good eye widened in surprise. “That’s actually not an awful prize.” He leaned forward peering at the sign. “Maybe I should buy a ticket…”

“Five bucks gets you one ticket, twenty gets you five,” Lenalee recited, as she had been all night.

Lavi winced at the prices. “Too rich for my blood.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Speaking of rich, I could go for some of that overpriced food you promised me.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Lenalee, grinning wide.

“And here I was hoping you’d forget.” She shook her head before something caught her eye. “You’re in luck. Link’s back.”

Lavi looked up and spotted the Lenalee’s number two, as it were. The vice president of the student council looked more the part than Lenalee did, and that was an accomplishment. Link’s blond hair was plaited tight and neat, the long braid swinging as he strode towards the table. He looked completely out of place in his dress shirt and sweater combo, especially as he passed another group of students decked out in sweatshirts and jeans. His khakis looked stiffer than his personality.

“This is the last of the tickets,” Link announced, setting the bright red roll to the side. He looked at Lavi, who had stolen his seat, disapproval in his russet eyes.

“That’s fine—there’s barely an hour left in the game and sales have slowed a bit.” Lenalee stood, straightening out her light coat and grabbing her purse from under her chair. “I’m going to take a break. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Fine,” Link replied, taking back his seat as soon as Lavi had vacated it. “Don’t linger. The table really should have two people working it at all times.”

Lena smiled as she bit back a comment. “Of course.” She grabbed Lavi by the elbow and dragged him off towards the bleachers. As soon as they were out of earshot, she sighed, the noise sounding more angry than any breath had the right to be. “He sure has some nerve saying that after he left me there for nearly thirty minutes.”

Lavi didn’t fight her pull, stumbling along next to her as they headed up the steps. “He should really see a doctor about that stick lodged up his ass.”

She managed a quick laugh, her fake smile turning into a genuine one. “If only it wasn’t permanently stuck.” She spotted Kanda and Alma at the top of the bleachers huddled close to each other. When Alma spotted them, they waved, grinning widely.

“You managed to escape!” they said, making room for Lavi and Lenalee on the bench.

“I told Link I would be gone for ten minutes, but I’ll stretch that to thirty.” Lena wrapped her arm around Alma as she sat down, sitting as close as she could to keep warm. “Lavi and I are going to the concession stand. Did you two want anything?”

“Yes. I want to leave,” Kanda grumbled, tucking his chin into the folds of his jacket.

Alma rolled their eyes. “Don’t listen to him. We’re having fun.” They rested their head against Kanda’s shoulder, pink painted lips stretching wide over their face. “Something warm would be nice. It’s colder than I thought it would be tonight.”

“I think we can manage that.” She nudged Lavi, elbowing him in the side. “Ready to get some sub-par, overpriced food?”

“Always.”

They walked back down the metal bleachers, avoiding the crowded walkway and headed to the nearby concession stand. As they stood in line, Lavi checked the menu tacked on the wall next to the small order window and balked at the prices. “Yeesh. Are you sure you can buy stuff for everyone? This is more expensive than I thought.”

She pulled her wallet from her purse and held it up as if she was brandishing a sword. “Komui gave me his credit card for tonight, so we’re living large on chili cheese fries and king sized nachos.”

Lavi grinned, rubbing his hands together as he studied the menu board again. “Now that’s what I like to hear.”

When they reached the order window, Lenalee listed off their choices—hotdogs, chili cheese fries, nachos, and a hot chocolate for each of them. By the time their order was ready, they had their arms full as they precariously balanced each item. Lavi winced as he juggled four hot chocolates in his hands.

“This is the definition of hubris, isn’t it?” he asked, carefully following Lenalee back up the bleachers. Every step was a challenge to keep the chocolate in the too-thin paper cups and off his fingers.

“Don’t talk. You’ll lose your concentration and spill,” Lenalee replied, carefully balancing all of the food in her hands. Her stacking technique was impressive, and Lavi would have congratulated her if he didn’t have to worry about spilling hot cocoa all over himself.

When Alma noticed their burdened states, they hurried down to help with the final leg of the journey. “Ah, careful!” they said, taking two of the cups from Lavi’s hands before heading back up the stairs.

“Why did we pick the highest seats on the bleachers again?” Lavi asked, setting the last two cups on the bench to help Lena distribute the food.

“Because Yuu doesn’t like people sitting behind him,” Alma reminded them, grabbing one of the hotdogs and settling in next to Kanda again.

“So, it’s my fault?” Kanda asked, frowning as he grabbed his hot chocolate from Lenalee and sipped it angrily.

“Hush and eat your nachos,” Lenalee said, pushing the flimsy paper container into his hands. Once the food had been distributed, she sat down, only to sigh again. “I forgot napkins.”

“I’ll get them,” Lavi said, setting his food down on the cool bench and heading down the bleacher stairs. He heard Lenalee’s faint call of ‘thank you’ mixed in with a sudden cheer from the crowd. He looked up at the field again, having missed whatever play had happened to cause the ruckus. He hopped down off the last couple of steps and turned to walk towards the concession stand when something under the bleachers caught his eye.

Just under the bleachers was Allen, reaching into the back pocket of someone’s pants. Lavi watched as Allen slipped their wallet out with ease, pocketing the cash inside, and then returning it as if nothing had happened. He did it again and again, systematically grabbing any wallet or purse within reach and cleaning the money from the billfolds. Lavi stared in awe, watching Allen’s swift, nimble fingers steal hundreds of dollars in cash from the unsuspecting parents watching the football game. That same feeling bubbled up in Lavi’s stomach—the one he’d felt when he’d witnessed Allen pinching those candy bars from the convenience store weeks ago. Nervousness mixed with admiration, and a healthy dose of concern. Lavi had never stolen anything in his life, but watching Allen do it almost felt as if he was an accomplice—too dumbstruck to say anything or try to stop the crime in progress.

As Allen pocketed the last of the cash, he looked up and met Lavi’s frozen gaze. He stiffened for a brief moment before that same smug smile pulled at the corners of his lips. Lavi felt his heart rattle against his chest, cheeks flushed against the cold breeze blowing against them. He didn’t know what to do, and as much as he wanted to run away and forget what he’d seen, his feet were glued to ground, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi.

Then, before Lavi could move or say anything, Allen approached him.

Lavi swallowed, throat tight as he watched Allen close the distance between them. He was wearing that same oversized sweatshirt Lavi had first seen him in, and a black knit stocking cap to hide his shock white hair. Lavi didn’t doubt he’d come to the game for this exact reason—to steal from the crowd. And from what Lavi had seen, it was easy pickings.

Allen stopped just in front of Lavi, looking up at the redhead with a calm smile. He reached up and pressed a finger to Lavi’s lips, his skin cold and chapped from the wind. “This is our little secret, right?”

“I, uh—” Lavi began, lips moving against Allen’s finger. With his stomach tied in knots, Lavi nodded, his heart flipping in his chest and nearly jumping right out of his mouth. “Sure.”

Allen pulled his finger back, his smile softening. He tilted his head, looking Lavi up and down, as if he was assessing something—though the redhead wasn’t sure what. “You’re Lavi, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Thanks.” He winked, brushing past Lavi and merging into a large group of students heading towards the exit. “See you later.”

As Allen disappeared into the crowd, Lavi’s heart continued to beat like a drum in his ribcage. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

What the fuck was that about?

[ethereal-lix]

You have sweaty hands

Alright, so this doesnt have a title and this is part two to the request. Again, i would like to apologise for the long wait. 

Warnings: None except for terrible writing, probably some grammatical errors i have no one to proof read and im too lazy to do it since its 2:30am 

Here is part one with Got7. i hope you all enjoy :)

Request:Hi, can I request a got7 and bts reaction (it can be separated or in the same post idc.) about their shy gf and her hand gets sweaty when he's holding her hand for to long? I have this problem so I need help.😣😣😭😭😖😳

Jin: You and Jin were at an amusement park for one of your rare dates out in public. You guys never really got to go out much, in general really. Jin was always busy with the boys, whether he was recording, filming something, on tour, practicing for the new music video, or the new dance, there was always something that kept him and you from having “real dates” so when you talked to him about how it had been months since he last took you out on a real date he promised to take you to the new amusement park that just opened a few weeks ago. You were so happy that you accepted on the spot and felt like you didnt need to hear anymore than the promise. Oh how you wished you had lt him finish saying what he was saying since you’re not too keen on amusement parks because of the crowd of people and the rides. You didnt do well with those two things adn now not only were they put together when you get nervous your hands start to sweat. Now add that to being shy and you have yourself a whole lot of problems. “Jin..” you begin to say before he cuts you 

off with a kiss to the temple, “You already said yes, you cant back down now” “That was before i knew what our date was going to be like.” You countered. “You know i dont do well with situations like this.” “It’ll be fun” Jin stated as he grabbed your hand literally dragging you to the closest ride. As time went on you found yourself having a lot of fun and you didnt know why you freaked out in the first place. That was until you saw the roller coaster that Jin was dragging you to. “Woah, wait, Jin no.” Jin stopped and looked at you. “What do you mean ‘no’?” he questioned. “Exactly what the word means Jin. No! im not getting on that ride. i’ll get one very other one but that one” Jin looked at you before a light bulb wen toff above his head. You gave him a quizzical looking silently asking him what he was thinking. Almost as if he could read your min he stuck his hand out. “Oh no, we are not playing rock, paper, scissors to see if ill get on that ride.” “What? are you scared that you’ll lose rock, paper, scissors?” He challenged. You’ve never lost a game of rock, paper, scissors to anyone so what do you have to be worried for, right? Wrong.  THe next thing you know you’re standing in line for that ride. “I cant believe i lost rock, paper, scissors.” you grumbled standing in line. Jin laughed at you before he grabbed your wrist uncrossing your arms from your chest so he can hod your hands. “Woah, your hands are super sweaty, are you okay? i didnt know you were this nervous. We can leave the line if you want? i can just come back with the boys or something?” You let out a deep sigh before you shook your hand loose from his grasp. “No, its fine i’ll get on  the ride.” “You sure?” “Yeah..” you whisper with a small smile. Once it was your turn tp go and you two were all situated in the seats and prepared to go on the ride of your life your grabbed his hand once more. “No need to be scared sweetie, itll be okay” Jin smiled at you giving your hand a small squeeze before he kissed the back of your hand.  

Suga: BTS was invited to an award show in the states and Yoongi had invited you as his plus one. You and Yoongi had been secretly dating for almost 11 months now and the fans just recently started to suspect something going on between you two. You were thankful that it look them this long to start suspecting something, but also a little sad that they started snooping around so soon. Since Yoongi had invited you as his plus one this would be your fist public appearance as a couple. You were excited but at the same time scared. What would everyone think? Would they fans like you? Hate you? You didnt know and that made you super nervous. You were already nervous for many reason and worrying about whether or not the fans would support you and your guys relationship. You already had sweaty palms, especially when you got nervous and now yo were about to have millions of people looking at you and watching your every move and that just made you sweat even more. as you had made it to the red carpet event Jimin had noticed that you were unusually quiet and hit Yoongis shoulder with the back of his hand and pointed at you. Yoongi leaned in and whispered in your ear while grabbing your hand. “Hey, Y/N you okay? Your hand is pretty sweaty.” “Uhhh yeah, just a little nervous i guess.” you mumbled back while taking your hand out of his to wipe it on your dress. “No need to be nervous. For any reason. You’ll have a good time during the event, the fans will love you, and no one will bother you. People are usually really good when it comes to giving significant others’ their personal space. I promise everything will go smoothly.” He stated while grabbing your hand and walking down the carpet.

Jhope: Today you were going with Hobi top his holiday party with the boys and their company. It would be the first time you met with the people who managed your boyfriends group and the boys he spends most of his time with, so to say that you were nervous would be an understatement. You sighed as you fixed the wrinkles in your dress. “There is no need to be nervous, everyone will love you.” You looked into the mirror staring at Hobis reflection, “But-” “But nothing, they will love you. They all cant wait to meet you. All i do is talk about you and i can tell you right now that they already love you and they cant wait to meet you.” he interrupted you while walking over to fix the back of your dress. You exhaled and looked into his eyes. “I guess you’re right..” you replied turning around to give him a quick peck to his lips. “Lets go before i get to nervous and back out.” As you got out of the car and walked up to the house where the party was taking place you instinctively rubbed your hands up and down your dress trying to wipe your hands off. Hobi looked at you before chuckling lightly and resting his hand on your lower back. “Like i said no need to worry.” Hobi reached down to grab your hand, before you swiftly moved it away. Looking at you with concerned before he gave you a questioning look. “Are you okay?” He murmured. You stammered for a second before you answered “Y..yeah im fine, its just.. my hands are really sweaty and i dint wanna hold yours ‘cause thats kinda gross.” Hobi laughed his beautiful laugh before grabbing your hand and knocking on the door. “Jagi, trust me when i say, i’ll never not want to hold your hand. Sweaty or not.”  

RM: You were currently on your way to go to the airport so you and your boyfriend and his band can go to Canada for a few concerts before taking a small break and picking back up in America with their newest comeback tour. You didnt do too well with heights but you managed, but plane rides were something completely different. there was no way around it. you had no where to go to avoid looking down, you had no other way to look where you wouldn't see how high up you were. It was only you, your mind, your fear, your thoughts, and that long, long, long plane ride. “Sweets you okay?” Namjoon whispered in your ear. “Uhm, yeah, im fine.” You stuttered out quietly. Namjoon looked around the car to see if any of the boys were awake at the moment, thankfully they werent. “Are you sure? You dint look okay, and youre doing that things with your hands when you get nervous.” He pointed to your hands and you looked down noticing that you were rubbing your hands together in hopes of not letting your hands get to sweaty. “Oh..” was all you could manage to get out. “Are you nervous about the plane ride?” You nodded before letting out a deep sigh. “Yeah. Sometimes i wonder how i flew to Korea on my own.” “Its going to be okay, especially since you got me and the boys here with you this time.” He mumbled against your temple before placing a chaste kiss to it and grabbing your hand. “Wait, wait..” “It’s fine. I dont mind. Especially because when i come home from dance practice you hug me and im sweating all over the place. I think i can handle a little had sweat.” He smiled down at you sweetly, “plus i love your hands, theyre so small compared to mine and i just love your hands.” You looked down with a slight blush, “and ill make sure that you sit in the middle and ill have Hobi switch seats with Tae so Hobi can sit with you and i and help keep you distracted.”  

Jimin: You and Jimin had arrived at the studio for your photoshoot. You and Jimin decided that you would release a duet just for the fun of it and at first it seemed fun, especially since it was 2:30 in the morning and you guys were pretty drunk, but now that youve made it past the writing and producing stages of the song and are now working on the visuals for the song you got super nervous. You werent the best singer, but you werent the best and the mire you thought about it the more nervous you got because what would the public say? Would they like it? Would they like you? Would they hate the song because you’re singing a song with their beloved Jimin? All the possibilities that could go wrong were running a thousand miles a minute in your head. “Love, you gotta stop worrying. Remember this song is just for fun. Its not meant it be a real single or a debut song. It was just for fun. Nothing more nothing less, so if the fans and public dont like it its fine. We didnt do this for them we did it for us.” He reassured you. “I hope youre right.” You mumble before being dragged away by the stylists to get you ready for the shoot. Once they had finished getting you all ready you walked to the set. “You look amazing love” Jimin greeted you from behind. “Were almost ready for you guys.”The stage manager stated as he walked by grabbing some props for the background. You turned around to face the set taking a few deep breaths. Jimin noticed how nervous you were and walked up behind you wrapping you up in a hug before turning you around to face him and grabbing your very clammy hands. “Like i said, this was just for fun, if people dont like it thats fine. All that matters ist hat you had fun, and i want you to have fun during this experience so dont think about anyone or anything and focus on me, and what were doing right here, right now, in this moment. When you look back on this i want you to have a good memory and i dont want you to regret that you spent too much time worrying about the reviews and what people are going to think. Let go and have fun in the moment. Worry about everything when you get to that bridge, yah?” You smiled and nodded your head walking on to set getting ready for the photoshoot. 

V: “Come on, Y/N its okay. All you have to do is just record the demo track fo r us and then well have someone else record your part. We just need to make sure that we get the right member to sing the part, and maybe you can do the background vocals?” Tae tried to bargain with you. “Tae, no i cant sing that well anyways so please just drop it.” You were in the shower when Tae had came home early. You didnt hear the door open since your music was blasting and Tae had walked into your bedroom looking for you when he heard your voice floating out of the bathroom and now as you were getting dressed Tae was trying to get you to sing on a demo track for him and the boys. “I’ll give you a choice, you can either record the demo for me or you can ne on the actual track. Personally i would prefer that you record the actual track. Your voice will compliment Jimins really well, pleaseeee!!!” Tae begged you while lightly shaking your arm. Suddenly he gasped, “How about we play rock, paper, scissors? I win you have to record the track with Jimin, you win and you wont have to record the song or even do the demo track.” You eyed him up adn down before you caved. Whats the worst that can happen? You surely wont lose, right? Wrong. Oh boy you were so wring. As you and Tae pulled up to the studio you started freaking out. “Tae, i really dont wanna do this, i cant sing, and all the boys will laugh when they hear me sing.” You whined into his ear as you walked through the doors to the booth. “No, the boys wont make fun of you, i promise.” Tae breathed out while grabbing your hand. “Oh wow, you really are nervous arent you?” “Yesss!!” you whined even more dragging out the ‘s’. Tae laughed before he pulled you off to the side. “Seriously, dont be nervous. Everything will go smoothly. I promise, and ill be right there by your side the whole time.” You exhaled and walked into the booth greeting the boys. “Thank you so much for doing this with me Y/N” Jimin beamed at you. You smiled as you relaxed, “no problem Jimin. Are you ready?” Tae smiled as he watched you slightly shake your hands hoping that the air would help dry them of more quickly.

Jungkook: You knew what you were signing up for when you said yes to being jungkooks girlfriend. You knew about the fans, the long days and nights away from him, the tours, the fan meets, the sleepless nights, him not eating much, him being gone most of the time, hi wanting to record you and have you help him out with songs and his Golden Closet Productions. You knew that he was adventurous and spontaneous, but you never took him for someone who would be down for bungee jumping. You shouldve seen it coming and you shouldve known that eventually he would want to go bungee jumping, but he never mentioned it, never even hinted at it, but now here you are, in the car with the rest of the boys, on your way to go bungee jumping. You, Jin, and Hobi were talking about how scared you guys were and how yall really didnt wanna do this, while Jungkook and Tae were talking about how much they wanted to do this and couldnt wait to arrived at the place. Jimin and Namjoon were indifferent about it. They werent scared or excited. They didnt know how to feel, honestly. Yoongi, was sleeping, as usual. On car rides he’d rather catchup on some much needed sleep. As the car pulled up to the area where you’d be jumping to your death you took in a sharp breathe and got out of the car. You walked with Hobi on your right while kookie was on your left. Once you walked up to the instructor you look down over the cliff. At least theres water so if the cord breaks youll have water to land in versus the cold hard ground. “Whatcha thinkin ‘bout hun?” Jungkook asked from behind you making you jump. “Just thanking the higher gods above that theres water underneath this bridge.”Jungkook laughed as he grabbed your hand. “No, please dont hold my hand.” You whispered as you tried to take your hand back. “Why?” Jungkook looked at you with so much confusion. “Im so nervous that my hands are sweating uncontrollably and i dont want you to hold my hand cause thats gross and you shouldnt have to hold my sweaty hands.” “I’m your boyfriend, and one of the best perks of dating you is getting to hold your hands so thats exactly what im going to do. Hold your hand. Sweat or no sweat. I love you. No lets go bungee jumping. I really wanna see you scream your heart out.” Jungkook laughed while pulling you over to the instructor so you can get all ready to go up and jump. “Uhh, i have a question before i go up there. Can i jump with my boyfriend?” The instructor thought about it for a minute. “Sure, why not?” and with that he let Jungkook on the platform with you.

[blessethwrites]

stars exploding

(Day 1 of MultiSaku Month)

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: SasuSaku

Summary: Don't get Sakura wrong, she was happy she and Sasuke were becoming friends, following everything that had happened. Ecstatic even. But hell, did he have to be on her mind all the damn time?

On AO3

Her love for Sasuke had always been one of her defining characteristics, Sakura was starting to realize. Back in the Academy that was the thing everyone knew about her and, to be fair, she hadn’t minded. Then when they were placed on the same team that damn crush continued to be her driving force even as Naruto and Sasuke kept growing and improving, not only as shinobi but also as people; it was somewhere around the Chunin exams that Sakura had decided her feelings were more than an infatuation and had been brave enough to call it love.

It all spiralled from there. And somehow after all those years, after an entire damn war, that same love she held for him remained so deeply ingrained in her very being that she couldn’t imagine ever not loving him.

Except. She let out a heavy sigh once she finished up the last of her paperwork. Now things were different. There was no war anymore, there was no need to run around chasing Sasuke and silly as it might’ve sounded, it felt like the beginning of a new era. And for once, Sakura was happy with where she was. She was enjoying settling into her new life. That was a challenge of its own -- even after a few months, at times she still had trouble remembering it was all over -- but not an unwelcome one. The others, at least, seemed to be struggling with getting used to the newly established life of peace as well, and Sakura thought there was a sense of relief in navigating their new lives together.

She pushed herself up from her desk and stretched in an attempt to work out the kinks in her back. Ino would tell her to stop overthinking everything and just enjoy it; and she’d be right, of course, even though Sakura would never admit that to her face. The thing was, there wasn't a switch she could turn to stop thinking. In fact, thinking was all she’d been doing lately and somehow it all kept coming back to Sasuke. As it always did.

She wondered, not for the first time, why she seemed to be the only one unable to move on. Their former classmates had. Karin had. Ino had. Meanwhile, Sakura was stuck. Or at least, she had been. She still believed she’d always love Sasuke, except lately she was starting to realize that didn’t necessarily mean romantic love. After all, platonic love was just as precious.

So one could say she was slowly coming to terms with the fact that perhaps while she did love him, it was only as a dear friend. A very, very dear friend. And she tried to treat him as such, she reasoned with herself. She'd come to pacing around the room which wasn’t all that spacious to begin with and nodded along to her thoughts. Yes, ever since Sasuke had been released on probation she’d made sure to be friendly while not being too friendly to a point where he might feel uncomfortable. She really wanted to build a relationship with him that wasn’t based on a childish infatuation followed by years of separation. She wanted to get to know the man he’d become and to become someone he could trust in return; she wanted that teammate bond they lacked, the one she’d dismissed as boring when she’d been younger.

And it seemed he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Of course, she hadn’t been so forward as to tell him all of that but she’d made an effort he appeared to recognize. She would even go as far as say he tried to return it in his own way. And she was incredibly happy he did, naturally, but that didn’t mean she was equally happy that he occupied so many of her thoughts.

“Friends, you idiot, friends,” she chastised herself and let out a low groan. She was hopeless, was what she was. She immediately tensed once she heard a snort come from behind her and whirled around, fists ready, only to recognize the chakra signature at the very last moment.

“Um,” she racked her brain for something to say, mind drawing blank. As much as she thought about him, nothing could really compare to the real thing, she realized as she watched Sasuke raise an eyebrow at her. “Hi?”

He let out another snort and shook his head; there was something akin to fondness in his eyes, though Sakura must have imagined that. “Hi,” he returned her greeting dryly and she had to stifle a grin. During the past months, she’d come to find he had a very dry sense of humour; right now he was basically teasing her. “I see you’re busy, should I come back later?”

This time she let the grin spread on her lips and leaned back until she was perched on her desk. It wasn’t as unusual as it would’ve been some time ago, to have Sasuke stop by to visit her at the hospital, but it also wasn’t as if he’d made it into a habit. A happy surprise, Sakura would call it. “Is there something I can do for you or did you just come to tell jokes?”

He seemed amused by her comment but didn’t say anything. He was watching her, eyes calculating, and she had no idea what he was looking for until he finally spoke up. “You haven’t had dinner yet, have you.”

The tone of his voice suggested it was a statement rather than a question and that he knew perfectly well she hadn’t. Sakura threw a glance at the old clock sitting on the desk next to her and then her eyes returned to Sasuke almost defensively; it wasn’t that late. “No,” she said cautiously, hoping to avoid a lecture. Not that Sasuke was the type to give her one, generally, but she’d had enough from both Ino and Naruto to last her a lifetime. She shrugged lightly. “I was going to head home soon anyway.”

He merely hummed, unmoving from where he was leaning on the wall, and Sakura crossed her arms. Her days of trying to decipher his grunts were over; if he wanted to say something he’d have to use actual words. She raised an eyebrow at him, stifling a smile as he snorted, apparently having understood her silent protest. “Come eat with me. I made too much food.”

His wording was a little off but it was still major progress from the closed-off boy he’d used to be, Sakura thought fondly. Then her brain caught up with the fact he’d invited her to have dinner with him and she had to look away, choosing to focus on a few of the manila folders sitting on her right side. As she straightened them out, making sure they were perfectly aligned with both the desk and each other, she cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, sure, that’d be nice.” When she finally glanced back at him there was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite read. “Thank you for offering.”

Sasuke shrugged, shifting his weight slightly, and looked around the room. “You done?”

Sakura bit her lip and it took everything in her not to fidget. She could certainly find something to keep her busy if she looked for it, like a last minute patient or a nurse who needed help; those were always easy to find. And on any other night that was precisely what she would’ve done. But tonight Sasuke was here and he wanted to have dinner with her, and as anxious as the idea made her, she was also looking forward to it. She threw him a small smile and pushed herself away from the desk. “Yeah, all done.”

Sasuke grunted once again, in response to which she reached to poke him in the ribs; no grunting on her watch. He let out an amused huff and Sakura’s smile grew as the two of them headed towards the main entrance. She couldn’t help but think how weird it was that spending time with Sasuke felt so normal. She’d expected there to be a certain awkwardness, all things considered, and while there had been in the beginning, it had all but dissipated by now. Yet another example of how much better their platonic relationship was as opposed to the one-sided crush she’d had, she thought.

When she glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye, she was surprised to find he was already looking at her. “What?”

He didn’t move his gaze for a while and once he finally did, Sakura realized she’d been subconsciously holding her breath. “You get lost in your head a lot,” he said simply without offering any more explanation. He didn’t need to, anyway, she knew exactly what he meant.

“Sorry.” She threw him a sheepish grin and had to resist the urge to rub the back of her neck; she refused to completely turn into Kakashi. The ghost of a smile on Sasuke’s lips told her he knew exactly what she’d been thinking which made her grin widen. “I promise for the rest of the night I’ll be one hundred percent present.”

Sasuke didn’t offer a verbal response, something Sakura was about to tease him for, when she spotted Shizune talking to Kira-san on the front desk. She glanced at them and raised a finger to signal Sasuke she’d be just a moment; then she moved to approach the two women.

“Hey,” she smiled and nodded in greeting before turning to Shizune as the nurse moved to give them some privacy. “Do you need my help with anything? I wanted to check with you before I head out.”

The look Shizune gave her had Sakura raising her hands and hurrying to explain; she didn’t want Shizune thinking she was shrinking her duties or anything of the sort. “My shift ended a few hours ago, but if you need me then of course I’ll stay--”

The woman laughed, hands coming to rest over Sakura’s. “I know, I know. I was just surprised you’re voluntarily leaving, that’s all; I’m pretty sure Naruto-kun had to drag you away last time.”

The memory made Sakura flush as she recalled Naruto insisting she was overworking herself and quite literally carrying her out of the hospital; while she appreciated the concern, it was embarrassing. “Yes, well…” She trailed off and her gaze slid to Sasuke who was patiently waiting for her by the doors. He raised both his eyebrows when he caught her gaze and she shook her head before turning back to Shizune, not quite managing to contain her smile.

“Ah, I get it now.” Shizune’s tone was teasing but the warmth in it was unmistakable and Sakura’s flush became even more apparent.

“It’s not like that, Shizune, don’t tease me,” she laughed it off. “Not you too.” She’d been getting suggestive looks and wry smirks for at least a month now and she wasn’t sure how many more times she could repeat the phrase ‘we’re just friends’. She wasn’t mad, she knew nobody meant anything by it, but she could definitely go without it as well.

Shizune’s smile turned apologetic. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” She glanced down the hallway behind Sakura and let out a semi-amused breath. “You better get going before there’s an emergency and you end up staying here the whole night.”

Sakura snorted in agreement before saying her goodbyes. Finally, she returned to Sasuke’s side. “Okay, now I’m really all done.”

He held the door open for her, a gesture that would’ve made her past self swoon. If she was being perfectly honest it made her swoon now as well, but she told herself it was only natural. She would’ve enjoyed it regardless of the person.

“Are you inviting Naruto?” she spoke up once they’d started walking. As far as she was aware they were headed towards Sasuke’s new apartment at the centre of the village and while it wasn’t far from the hospital, she didn’t want them to spend the walk in silence.

Her question made him huff as he glanced at her, amused. “I said I made too much food but not that much.”

She shook her head at the familiar teasing but there was also a side of her that grew even more anxious now that he’d more or less confirmed it would just be the two of them. It was fine, though, it really was. Friends had dinner together all the time. It was fine.

“How’s work at the hospital?”

It wasn’t the question itself that surprised her rather than the fact he’d asked it at all. She quickly tried to shake the surprise off, however, and simply shrugged. “Not a lot going on right now, but that’s good news.” She paused, considering. “Of course there’s still a ton of paperwork, but at least I also have some more time to do research. Actually, Hinata’s been letting me have a closer look at the Byakugan and it’s really fascinating.”

She wasn’t about to go into detail about her findings for one because the information was only to be kept inside the Hyuga clan and for another, most people would find it boring even if she could talk about it. In any case, Sasuke was a smart man, she had no doubt he’d understand the secrecy around the Hyugas’ bloodline limit.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before glancing away, looking anywhere but at her as he spoke. “I don’t mind if you want to research the Sharingan.”

Sakura actually stopped walking for a moment out of sheer shock. The Uchihas were notoriously secretive when it came to their bloodline limit, even moreso than the Hyugas. For Sasuke to say this to her…

“I wasn’t trying to imply--” she started to say once she remembered to keep walking but he simply sighed, cutting her off before she’d had the chance to explain she hadn’t mentioned Hinata in some attempt to rope Sasuke into letting her do the same to him.

“Sakura. What you find will benefit me as well,” was all he said and she could feel her heartbeat slowly return to its normal pace. That made perfect sense; of course he’d want to know more about the Sharingan, especially since he was the last living Uchiha. She was overthinking everything, as usual. Sasuke cleared his throat and although his voice was quiet, Sakura heard him perfectly. “I trust you.”

“Oh.” Even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t have helped her wide smile. There were a lot of things she could say in return, from Thank you to I trust you too, but she had a feeling Sasuke still wasn’t completely used to being so open with his emotions and she didn’t want to scare him off. Baby steps, she reminded herself. “Okay then. Whenever you’re free you can stop by the hospital and we can get started. Just make sure to let me know beforehand.”

Sasuke gave a sharp nod and after a beat proceeded to surprise her yet again. “Are you free tomorrow?”

She fumbled for a response, letting out a small, unsure chuckle as she did. “Um, sure. Does noon work for you?”

This time the nod was the only answer she received and before he could throw any more curveballs at her, she found they’d reached his apartment. He unlocked the door easily enough -- Sakura would forever be jealous of doors which didn’t need prodding and punching to open, unlike her own -- and led her to the dining room. The apartment wasn’t big but Sakura liked that about it; she had a feeling Sasuke did too. Somehow it had a homey feel to it, despite the scarce decorations. Perhaps it was because there was a bit of Team Seven scattered around every room -- a few of Kakashi’s books were resting on a shelf in the dining room which also served as a living room, the bathroom smelled of kiwi and mango, courtesy of Sakura leaving a spare bottle of shampoo in case she needed to sleep over, and she also knew for a fact that the fridge was well-stocked with instant ramen. In any case, whatever it was, it made her feel at home. She had to imagine Sasuke felt the same way, despite his actual childhood home being on the other side of the village. He’d mentioned to her a few weeks back that it felt more like a graveyard than a home, and her heart had broken for him.

“Here,” he said as he entered the room, placing one plate on the table in front of Sakura and one right across of it, where he took a seat. “It’s omusubi.”

Sakura could see that but she also knew what he really meant; it was basically the equivalent of him asking if it was an acceptable meal. She gave him a small smile. “It looks lovely.” And it really did. She could spot fish flakes and what appeared to be tomatoes, and she found herself thinking this was a very Sasuke-like meal. “Itadakimasu.”

Sasuke echoed her words and the two of them proceeded to eat in silence -- strangely enough, Sakura didn’t feel any of the unease she’d expected. This was technically the first time she and Sasuke dined together, just the two of them, and it was actually a nice change of pace. With Naruto there was always this sense of urgency to their meal, especially seeing how quick he was to finish his food. Sasuke, on the other hand, took his time.

She remembered how he’d be just as fast as Naruto back in their childhood, matching his pace with ease, but she also assumed that had been merely a part of the rivalry the two of them shared. Now things were different. While the rivalry was still there, Sakura liked to think it had taken a turn for the better.

“There’s anmitsu in the fridge,” Sasuke said some time later, eyes not moving from the rice ball he was holding with his chopsticks. His tone was even, as if describing the weather, but Sakura couldn’t help staring. While that was one of her favourite foods, he hated sweets. She knew that because back when she was young and crushing on him, she’d made a point to catalogue all of his likes and dislikes. And sweets definitely fell into the latter category.

It made no sense unless he’d developed a sweet tooth during all those years away from Konoha, a thought that made her unreasonably sad. She knew he’d changed, she wasn’t stupid, but there was something about the idea of not knowing him as well as she used to that unsettled her.

And that was precisely why they were doing the friendship thing, she reminded herself. To get to know each other better. So she hummed in a way she hoped seemed casual enough and swallowed the last of her food before replying. “I didn’t know you liked sweets.”

The amusement was plain in his eyes though the rest of his face remained impassive. “I don’t.”

“Oh.”

Her response, or the lack of thereof, seemed to amuse him even further, but there was also that same flash of fondness she’d thought she’d imagined earlier. He didn’t say anything else as he too finished his meal until at last, he stood up and moved to go to the kitchen. Sakura watched as he disappeared behind the door only to return a few moments later with a small bowl of anmitsu.

“Wait, you also made this?” When he’d mentioned having sweets she’d assumed he’d just bought them. Sasuke grunted in response and she couldn’t even find it in herself to get mad. “Wow. I-- Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me before you’ve made sure it’s edible,” he said dryly but she could see the careful way he was watching her as she tried the dessert.

She didn’t know what she expected but it was good. Everything tasted just as it was supposed to and she smiled. “It’s great, Sasuke, thank you. Not just for dessert but the whole meal. And,” she added with a laugh, “for getting me out of the hospital.”

A snort of amusement and another easy silence fell upon the room. Sakura took the opportunity to get another look around. Sure, she’d been there before with Naruto and Kakashi for team bonding or something of the sort, but now, with nothing else to do, she found her eyes drifting. Not entirely surprising that they landed on a picture, the only one she could see, standing innocently on a small coffee table. Their old genin photo.

It was Naruto who had given it to Sasuke, frame and all, upon his return, but the mere fact he’d kept it and displayed so openly had warmth blooming in Sakura’s chest. They had different teams now and Sai and Yamato were without a doubt part of their little family but even so, the four of them -- herself, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi -- had something that felt special.

Sasuke noticed her gaze, naturally, but he didn’t say anything. She had a strong feeling he didn’t like to think about those times, regardless of all the good parts, and she respected that; one thing she’d learnt as a medic was that everyone coped in different ways.

“Once again, thank you for the meal,” she repeated as she set the now empty bowl down on the table, suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands. She ended up clasping them in her lap in order to resist fidgeting. “I guess I better get going now. I have an early shift tomorrow and you can imagine what those are like.” She’d stood up at some point and now had to bite her lip to stop talking; she could feel the words bubbling up under the surface and she didn’t think Sasuke would appreciate her rambling.

“I’ll walk you.”

He was also standing, moving around the table to stand in front of her, and she blinked up at him. “Are you sure?” She didn’t add that she could take care of herself because if after everything they’d been through he still didn’t see that then there wasn’t much else she could do. And besides, she had a feeling he hadn’t offered in some misguided attempt to protect her; Naruto usually walked her home after every little gathering they attended, and when he wasn’t able to, Kakashi did it instead under the excuse he was headed in the same direction as her anyway. Hell, even Sai had walked her on one memorable occasion which nearly ended with him in the hospital.

Thus, she concluded, Sasuke was just being a good friend. Still, she didn’t want him to feel as though he had to simply because other members of their team did.

He looked at her in a way that said plenty; if she had to interpret it as just one sentence, however, it would be something along the lines of Of course I’m sure, I wouldn’t have offered otherwise. Another smile grew on her lips and distinctly she remembered Ino saying something about how she’d been smiling a lot lately.

The walk to her apartment was, unsurprisingly, silent. But Sasuke didn’t seem to be in a hurry, matching her slower pace without complaint, and when she felt the heat of his body by her side, she realized they were walking closer than usual too.

Upon reaching the door, she turned to face him. “Thank you for walking me.”

He was about to respond with another grunt, she could feel it, but when he saw her raised eyebrow, his lips twitched in amusement. “You’re welcome.”

Pleased, she turned back around to face the door and was about to insert the key when her mouth opened without her permission. “Would you like to come inside?” She froze, scrunching her nose at her stupidity, and took a breath before looking over her shoulder at Sasuke who hadn’t moved an inch. “For, uh, tea?”

She watched his face carefully, ready to backtrack the second he showed any sign of annoyance, and promptly stopped breathing when he smiled. It was only a half-smile, granted, but it was the closest to a genuine one she’d seen from him and it was directed at her. It softened all his features and even his dark eyes, which had seemed so emotionless a few years ago, now appeared warm.

“Yes,” was all he said and her heart skipped a beat.

So much for platonic feelings.

[fubukimori]

Lift-of-the-ground hug

Basicly it was going to be not longer than one page silly attempt at writing in English, but I’ve got carried away a bit ^^” This is dedicated to @crazy-bone-lady​ (Nevia belongs to her), bc she is a nice person dragged me into a bunch of cool people in my current fundom, where I was introduced to so many cool characters i would never know by myself. I really aprechciate this ^^ Since Nevia is my favorite one, I decided to write something she inqluded. I hope i didn’t mischaracter her ^^” (im also willing to write something like this with ataric but not really sure if i capable of that)

Also a reminder that I’m not an English-speaking person, so my apologies to you if you find this writing full of mistakes of different kinds (still need to figure out how to put direct speech into shape properly). I warned ya ;3

It was awfully early in the morning. Barely a few people were slumberly heading to their work places to get prepared for the daily Tower routine. Guardians are rarely wandering here that early, even commander Zavala wasn’t  here yet. Nevertheless Fubuki was already on her feet, cheerful and vivacious after a good “two hours nap” which started yesterday noon and ended just an hour ago. Deserted Tower seemed so nice and unnatural so she was just strolling around, humming random melodies and enjoying the absence of croudy guardians while looking for the perfect place to sit and crochet the shawl she’d promised to Ikora.

Passing by the lord Shaxx’s survey point and obviously finding him here, already boisterous and loud, Fubuki noticed someone on the place commander Zavala usually stood. The Warlock’s poor eyesight didn’t allow her to recognize who was that person, so she called her Ghost out to help. “Ori, who is that over there?” she asked, pointlessly squinting at the stranger. Should’ve taken her glasses. “Oh, that is Nevia. That huntress from the Crucible”.

Usually lord Shaxx doesn’t match kinderguardians like Fubuki with fabled veterans of the Crucible, but some time ago he decided to give everyone a challenge, mixing up together guardians completely randomly. Most of the youngsters immediately started complaining about unfair difficulty since they were supposed to face and fight guardians way more skilled than themselves. Fubuki on a counterverse liked the idea of the challenge, but after some matches, where opponents were literally wiping floor with her, she almost gave up and decided to avoid the Crucible this week. “Just another one and I’m done with this humiliation” she thought, heading to the Nessus special fighting arena. This time was just like the others - she died and died and died… Almost crushed enough to explode and rage quit the match, Fubuki saw an opponent Titan, already speeded up enough to smash fragile warlock against the wall with their shield bash, but suddenly she felt a firm grab at her wrist and then was pulled behind the pillar next to her. Titan’s shield bash slammed loudly against the wall. Fubuki got panicked and threw her pulse grenadine towards the Titan’s direction. Confused Defender shrinked back, but wasn’t fast enough. In a split second Fubuki saw a cloak in front of her and then a flashy sword swing. The Titan clutched his chest plate with a shaky hand then dropped dead on the ground.

“Hey!” the cloak person turned back to an unusually speechless Warlock, brushing blood off their Quickfang. “Watch out where you are daydreaming, nerd!” Huntress barked and headed forward, searching for the other enemies. Fubuki followed her since she had always been told to stick with teammates in the Crucible, especially if they were actually capable of killing others.

Huntress seemed completely unbothered by a “never asked to be” companion, she was concentrated on winning this particular match. When she went through a giant stone arch in the middle of the arena, there was an unexpected foe. Another Hunter was hiding behind, squatting with Tractor cannon. Fubuki was shadowing her, so she met with this enemy Hunter face to face, while he was attempting to finish powerless opponent. Before he managed to shoot down Fubuki in a close range, she slapped him with an Arc charge, hurting him just enough to be finished with a single shoot in the head from the Huntress’ hand cannon. A perfect team work, yet absolutely spontaneous. Fubuki placed a healing rift, recovering the Huntress from that dirty trick. “Thanks” the only thing the Huntress said, reloading her magazine. Fubuki just nodded silently.

“I see you’ve got a little friend, Nevia, hahaha! Mind you, Fubuki, Nevia is a great warrior, but a terrible teacher!” lord Shaxx had been satisfied seeing twenty kills in a row by one of his favorite Crucible fighters and was praising their duo for the last five minutes. Nevia was doing most of the work, when Fubuki was putting all the effort to support her, providing healing, Arc souls and grenades, hitting the right spot barely half of all the times. When the match was over and everyone headed to collect rewards, Fubuki finally got a chance to have a good look at her savior. She was surprisingly very short woman, an Awoken just like Fubuki herself, with a severe gaze and short shaved head. “H-hey!” Fubuki exclaimed with her voice shaking of excitement, though the frown look she gained from the Huntress made her feel chill crawling on her back. Nevia looked up and down at the Warlock and then raised her brow. “Oh, it’s you”. The Huntress had probably recognized messy Crucible Warlock’s armor colored in Metroshift which Fubuki had been wearing during the match, her gaze softened a bit. It immediately brought a delighted expression back on the Warlock’s face. “Yes, it is me, your faithful support from the last match, hahaha!” she responded with a rather high-pitched voice. That’s what she does when she is excited or nervous. “I just hope I was not bothering you”

“Nah, you did fine”

“Hope so. By the way, your name is Nevia, right? I am Fubuki, it was a pleasure to fight alongside with such skilled guardian!”

“Hah, thanks”

Seeing the Huntress wasn’t really in the mood for a chatter, the Warlock got a move on with finishing this little pep talk. “Well, we are doubtedly matching in the next one, so, um… Good luck. May the Traveler's Light shine upon thee” she made a profound bow, spreading her hands in a proper Warlock’s sign of gratitude.

“The same goes for you” Nevia raised her hand, a shadow of a smile on her face. ”See you around”

From now on, Fubuki was meeting Nevia in the Tower sometimes. Every time the Awoken met each other, Fubuki waved her hand in a greeting, Nevia responded with a simple nod. Sometimes they shared a word or two. Amicable Warlock would love to make friends with this gloomy Huntress, but she seemed not really into making friends with anyone, so Fubuki was trying hard at least don’t be obtrusive. However, being in such a good mood, she decided to make a move. Fubuki jumped in the air and glided toward Nevia. Noiselessly landed behind the short Huntress, way taller Warlock grabbed her and then lifted of the ground in a snapshot. “Heya, Nevia!” she cheery exclaimed, holding tiny Huntress on her arms. “Glad to find you here tod…”

In the next few minutes Fubuki learned several lessons. First, never ever mess with Hunters before they are finished with their morning coffee. Second, if you’d spooked them or spilled their coffee, no matter how high you can jump or how many times you cried “I’m sorry!”, you’ll get stabbed. If you’d done both, it is for sure.

Fubuki was always the one learning in a hard way.

When Ori revived her, lord Shaxx, who had seen all the scene, was still laughing, definitely already bursting in tears, if only there was no helmet on his head. Nevia was already missing. “That...wasn’t such a good idea” Ori concluded. Fubuki didn’t say a word to him, only cursed to herself in several languages.

At the end of the day Fubuki was tired and really unhappy. She still felt guilty for the morning incident, and also very stupid. “You must always think first, you stupido. Now she is probably thinking I am mental or something” she rumbled to herself, heading to the vault. “Well, guess I deserved it anyway”

“Hey”

Fubuki didn’t hear someone approaching, so a sudden voice from behind made her flinch. It was Nevia staying behind with her her arms crossed on her chest. “Oh, em… Hi” Fubuki didn’t expect the Huntress to get close to her after she pissed her off. There was an awkward silence for a moment. “That… wasn’t very wise of you. You have to make sure this won’t happen again” she said, shifting from one feet to another. “I know, I am really sorry!” Fubuki exclaimed in response. “I… I just get really childish sometimes, I really do sorry for that”

“Yeah, and I could have played it cooler” Nevia said, lifting her gaze up to the Warlock. “Dammit, why are you such a pole?”

“I… I do not know. I was like this from, well, from the very beginning” the Warlock was a little frustrated, but it seemed the Huntress wasn’t pissed off anymore. And she kinda… made an apology too?

“So, no hard feelings, right?” Nevia asked, her face was less frown than usual. “Absolutely!” Fubuki responded with a wide smile on her face. The Huntress hold out her hand, the Warlock immediately shook it. “Glad we are cool now” she said, squeezing Huntress’ smaller palm. “If you ever need help with, well, some abstruse thing or maybe will need a medical advice, you can always call me for it”

“Sure, thanks. We should go outside the Walls someday” Nevia responded with a smug smirk. “Someone is gonna teach you not daydreaming right in the middle of the battlefield”. Fubuki laughed awkwardly. The Awoken took their leave of and both went where they were planning to. The weight of the guilt finally loosed from Fubuki’s shoulders. She hates being disturbing for anyone and the fact that Nevia had let the morning incident go made her finally feel good again.

“I hope you are not thinking you are already friends, right?” Ori hovered next to her, preaching as usual. 

“We might become ones some day. She is actually nicer than she tries to look like”

“I doubt that”

“You doubt anything, little one”

[packetofsuga]

Was it Worth it?- Chapter Five

Description: You knew Jin loved challenges but you never thought you’d become one of them.

Main Pairing: Jin x Reader

Word Count:  2459

Still In Progress: 6/?

Namjoon laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck, “What do you mean?” he questioned, avoiding eye contact.

“You know exactly what I mean. What does he want?” you repeated.

“Why would I know?” he breathed.

“Namjoon.” you snapped. He let out an awkward chuckle.

“C’mon Y/N, I don’t know much. Nobody tells me anything.” he mumbled, “Why do you think he’s talking to you? Maybe he likes you.”

“That’s what it looks like but does he actually? Yoongi seems to think he has bad intentions.”

Namjoon shrugged, “Ah… You know Yoongi, maybe he’s just jealous.”

“Yoongi doesn’t get jealous.” you pointed out.

“Aish. Damn it, Y/N, I really don’t know, okay?”

You cocked your head to the side, “Fine. One last question. Should I trust him?”

He quickly looked at his phone and pointed towards the door, “Well would you look at the time. I gotta go, I’ll see you later.” He nodded at your cello, “Play a little something, would you? It’ll relax you. Call me if you need any other type of help, baby girl.” He left the room and you sat glaring at the door for a minute before you gave in and picked up your cello.

Namjoon walked down the music hallway, over to his group of friends and pushed Seokjin against the wall.

“Call the bet off,” he demanded.

Jimin whined, “Aww no c’mon. None of you guys know how to have fun.” he pouted. Seokjin raised an eyebrow at Namjoon, both of them ignoring Jimin.

“Why should I?” Seokjin asked.

Hobi scoffed, “Other than the fact that it’s cruel?”

“I just had to lie to my best friend, a girl that I once had feelings for. Just so I wouldn’t fuck up your deranged little plan of making her fall in love with you just so you can win this stupid fucking bet. So I’m over it. I don’t want to have to lie, or avoid telling her the truth ever again, okay?” Namjoon growled before letting go of Seokjin. Seokjin brushed himself off and cocked his head to the side, peering at Namjoon before smirking and turning to the other boys.

“Let’s have a party.” he said, as one of the practice room doors opened. Yoongi stepped out, Tae close on his heels.

“A party?” Yoongi asked, raising an eyebrow as he adjusted his shirt. Tae smiled, his lips slightly swollen.

“Your house?” Seokjin asked, grinning.

“Isn’t it always at my house?” Yoongi rolled his eyes as he nodded his head toward the opening of the hallway, we’re gonna go to the benches to sit wanna come?” Everyone but Seokjin nodded and moved to follow him.

“I’ll meet up with you in a second,” he promised. After they left he wandered down the hall and poked his head into a practice room.

You jumped at the sound of the door opening, your bow stopping. Seokjin smiled at you.

“Hey, cupcake.” He closed the door behind him, “What are your plans for tonight?”

“Um… Probably nothing,” you admitted.

“Nothing? A pretty girl like you has nothing to do on a Friday night?” he asked, surprised. You shrugged, “Well, Yoongi’s having a party tonight. You should come. I’m sure he would want you there.”

You scowled, “Yeah, well, I don’t really care what Yoongi wants.” Seokjin raised an eyebrow.

“I want you there,” he said, offering another reason to go. You crossed your arms over your chest.

“Oh really? Why?” you asked, “Why do you want me there, Seokjin?”

“‘Cause I like you. You’re cute. And you have Namjoon and Yoongi wrapped around your little finger so you must be pretty great. You can call me Jin, by the way, cupcake.” He flashed you a dazzling smile.

“You can call me Y/N, not cupcake.” You smiled at him before rolling your eyes. Jin chuckled.

“Well, you should still come to the party. If not for me and Yoongi, Namjoon will be there. And Tae. Think about it, okay?” he pleaded. You huffed and nodded, looking down at your cello and beginning to play again. He stood there for a minute, “You play beautifully.” You paused and glared up at him.

“I started playing again cause I was done talking to you. As in you should leave. As in get out.” you snapped. He laughed and walked back to the door.

“I’ll see you later then?” he asked, grinning over his shoulder.

You shrugged again and waved your hand at him in an attempt to shoo him out. He chuckled and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

You walked up your driveway, digging out your keys when you heard someone yell your name. You turned and saw Tae running to you from Yoongi’s house.

“Hey! You coming tonight?” he asked, beaming at you.

You laughed awkwardly, “Uh, no. I’m probably gonna go stay in my room all night and chill honestly.”

He pouted, “Aw, it’ll be really fun.”

“If it’s already fun then you don’t need me there.” you giggled.

“You’ll make it even more fun!”

You shook your head, “Sorry Tae Tae, not tonight. Maybe another time.” He pouted some more then waved and jogged back to Yoongi’s house. You went into your house and into your room, flopping down onto your bed. You heard your brother walk upstairs after a while.

“You coming tonight?” he asked, pausing in your doorway. You glanced up from your laptop and gave him a look that made him laugh, “Right. You don’t parties. See you later then.” You waved and closed your laptop, deciding to take a nap.

You were woken out of your nap by your phone buzzing nonstop.

From: Your Brother 11:46 PM

Y/N

From: Your Brother 11:46 PM

Come to tje partu

From: Your Brother 11:47 PM

Pkease

From: Your Brother 11:47 PM

Have some fin

From: Your Brother 11:48 PM

Y/NNNN

From: Your Brother 11:48 PM

Lol sorrt im drink poease come itd reallt fun

You stared at your phone for a minute before cursing and running downstairs. You stormed over to Yoongi’s house and banged on the door. Yoongi’s brother opened the door and grinned at you.

“Heyy, Y/N!” he greeted loudly, pulling you inside.

“Ah, hey Jun Ki. Where’s my brother?” you asked. He pursed his lips and scanned the room.

“He is…. Over there,” he grabbed your shoulders and turned you towards the kitchen, “Went in the kitchen.” You thanked him and pushed your way through people to get to the kitchen. He spotted you and smiled.

“Little sister!” he smirked. You scowled. From the way he was texting you would have expected him to be drunk off his ass but he was talking completely normal and seemed totally fine.

“Now now,” Jin’s voice came from your right, “Don’t get mad. I made him give me his phone and let me do whatever for three minutes because he lost a game. He hasn’t had anything to drink. Scouts honor.” You glared at him.

“So you thought it was a great idea for you to text me and get me all worried about my brother?” you snapped.

Jin shrugged, “Would you have come otherwise?”

You huffed, “I’m leaving.” Someone shouted in the other room and you jumped.

“Aw. Are you afraid?” Jin cocked his head to the side.

You ground your teeth together, “I’m not afraid. I’m just… Cautious.”

“Well stay and be cautious here with us.”

“No thanks,” you said quickly.

“Aish. Y/N I love you I really do but you think too much.” your brother pointed out, “Maybe you should drink.”

“You think I’ll only be fun if I drink?” you asked, slightly hurt.

“No no. I just… It’ll make you think less and will make you allow yourself to be more open to things you normally wouldn’t.” he explained quickly.

“You’re not drinking.”

He smiled, “I never think in the first place.” You groaned and glanced around the house. You locked eyes with Yoongi who was on a couch, a giggling girl kissing his neck. You glared at him and he froze. An arm slung over your shoulders.

“You came!” Tae exclaimed. He was very obviously drunk. You turned to him and saw him glance at the couch. His eyes darkened as he took another sip of the drink in his hand. He tore his eyes from Yoongi and beamed at you, “I’m so glad you’re here.” He dragged you out of the kitchen.

“Yah! Where are you going?” Jin protested. Tae stuck his tongue out and pulled you to a back room in Yoongi’s house.

He threw the door opened, “Look who I found!”

Namjoon smirked at you, “Baby girl! You gave in and came. Cute.”

You groaned again and pinched the bridge of your nose for a second, “I’m going to regret this.”

You spent the night in the back room of Yoongi’s house with Namjoon, Tae, Jimin, Jungkook, and Hoseok. You were passed between Hoseok and Namjoon, Namjoon wanting you on his lap and Hoseok wanting to dance with you. Tae stayed drinking and bubbly, though you could see in his eyes there was something wrong. Jimin was hanging onto Jungkook who kept shoving him off and whispering something sharply that made Jimin pout, but five minutes later would be all over him again.

You slipped out of Namjoon’s arms and stood up quietly, trying not to wake anyone up. Namjoon had fallen asleep holding you tight in his arms, Tae was curled up in a ball on the couch, Hobi was laying on the floor sprawled out, and Jimin was curled up in Jungkook’s lap. You collected all of the empty bottles in the room and carried them out into the kitchen to throw them away. When you walked back out of the kitchen you heard someone sigh and you jumped. Blinking and peering through the darkness you noticed Yoongi was sitting on the couch in the dark.

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked breathlessly, “You can’t just lurk in the dark like that.” You pressed a hand to your chest as if trying to prevent your heart from jumping out.

“It’s my house, I can lurk wherever the fuck I want,” he grumbled.

You rolled your eyes, “Okay,” you drew the word out, “Grumpy.” You started to walk away but stopped and whirled around, “Hey, what did you do to Tae?” you questioned.

Yoongi groaned, “Why the hell is everyone so worried about my damn love life? I didn’t do anything to him.”

“What did you say? I know what you did earlier, I saw you with that girl. He saw you with that girl. Now, I don’t know what’s going on between you two but he seemed hurt by that. I don’t know if you saw him at all but he was trashed and if I’m right that’s because of something you did or said to him.”

“I need a cigarette.” he huffed, pushing off the couch.

“Min Yoongi.” you snapped.

“Fine! I told him that he needs to stop getting attached to me, okay? He said something cute and coupley and I panicked. Do you get it now? Jesus.” he dug into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes and made for the door.

You grabbed his arm, “Yoongi, I thought you quit you can’t just-”

He ripped his arm away from you, “Why do you even care about me?” he roared. You tensed and he breathed deeply, “Why do any of you care?” his voice sounded weak. Vulnerable.  

“Because anyone who knows you well knows that the person that you portray isn’t you. You’re just afraid of getting hurt again,” you said softly. He hung his head, sighing.

“She really fucked me up, didn’t she?” he glanced up at you, “I mean I knew she did, I just didn’t realize how badly.” You reached over and cupped the back of his neck, pulling him into a hug.

“It’s okay. You’ll heal.”

He squeezed you tightly, “What if I don’t?”

You let go of him and took his hand, “You will. And you’ll find love again. This time with someone who’s capable of loving you back.” You pulled him up the stairs towards his room. You brought him into his room and pushed him on his bed so he was sitting on the edge.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. You kissed his forehead and backed away.

“Go to bed,” you instructed before turning towards the door.

“Y/N?” Yoongi called quietly. You turned, “I’m sorry for calling you stupid. I didn’t mean it.”

You nodded, “I know.”

“What if… What if I don’t?” he whispered, “You know, find love again, what if I don’t?”

“I think you already have. And I know you’re scared. But it’s okay. You’ll be okay.” you smiled, “Honestly, you’re lucky. I don’t think he would ever hurt you.” Yoongi nodded, laying down. You walked to the door then hesitated and turned around, “Do you think… Jin has changed? And that’s why he’s interested in me?” You waited a long minute before you realized Yoongi had fallen asleep. You cursed under your breath and left his room, closing the door behind you. You padded down the stairs, planning on finishing cleaning.

“Oh,” you heard a voice from behind you. Turning, you found Jin near the front door, “I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I didn’t know you were still here.” you shot back, making him chuckle. You smiled slightly, “I was just in the back with the guys all night. They fell asleep so I figured I would clean up a bit.”

“Ah, I just walked your brother home and then planned on just crashing here.”

“Walked him home?” you asked. Jin rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“Ah... He may have drank a little bit.” He saw your lips twist into a scowl and quickly added, “Not much, I promise! I made sure he didn’t drink a lot. I told him ‘your sister will murder me if you get wasted’ and he laughed and was like I can drink a little bit I’ll be fine. Long story short he was not fine. Did you know your brother is a lightweight?”

“Yeah. I did,” you giggled, “He’s safe though?”

“Yeah, I brought him home and put him in his room. He passed out before I left.” You thanked him quietly before beginning to collect all the trash and cups around, “You want some help?”

You glanced up at him and hesitated before smiling, “Sure. Yeah, that’d be great actually.” He smiled back at you and went to go get large trash bags out of the kitchen.

[ryans-shaniac]

Can I request a part 2 to prompt 75?

remember when i said i’d accept writing prompts for 100 followers? me either. (not to use exam stress as an excuse or anything but exam stress kicked my ass) 

anyway i originally wasn’t going to do this because i’m not good with writing sequels to my writing but i actually had a burst of creativity so HERE WE GO BOYS 

read me first!

Ryan hadn’t been at school in a few days and needless to say, everyone was worried.

His mom and dad didn’t know what to do, Ryan barely told them anything. They put it down to stress and let their son have the rest of the week off. Back at school, Shane had been near mute as well. He was constantly checking his phone to see if Ryan had messaged him or tried to call him. Obviously there was nothing new.

He stared down at his lock screen for the fifth time in 2 minutes. It was a photo of him and Ryan at the abandoned warehouse down the road from their local mall. Ryan had dragged Shane and their friend TJ along as one final adventure before TJ moved to Florida. The photo was taken in front of defaced rusty shipping containers. Both of them were laughing and pointing at the giant dick that had been graffitied on the side of one of the containers in bright yellow.

Shane smiled at the memory, almost chucked, before being bought back to reality with Sara nudging him.

“If he hasn’t talked to you since Wednesday, he’s not going to text you now. Put your phone away and try to relax.” Sara had a sad smile on her face and Shane knew she was right.

“Yeah I know..I just..I’m so worried about him. He was so torn up after school, I can’t stop hearing his sobs in the back of my mind. They were my fault. But why? Maybe I should’ve spoken to him more. L-let him know I’m never gonna leave him. Maybe if I had just been a better friend then maybe-“

Arms on his shoulders stopped him spiralling. Shane had been spiralling a lot lately. All he could think about was what he could’ve done to do better and what he would say to Ryan if he were here.

Shane turned around and saw a concerned looking Andrew.

“Dude you have to calm down. None of this was your fault. Ryan’s clearly working through some shit and we just have to wait for him to feel cool enough to tell us what’s going on. Let’s just go to lunch and meet with the others, maybe someone has spoken to him.”  

Shane wanted to protest. Tell Andrew if Ryan was working through anything, then he would know about it because they don’t keep secrets from each other. But instead he just nodded solemnly and followed him to the cafeteria, Sara smiled and told him she’d speak to him later as she went off and joined her friends.

Their table consisted of Ryan, Shane, Andrew, Steven, Jen, Ella, Zach, Keith, Ned and Ned and Keith’s girlfriends, Ariel and Becky. Sometimes Sara and a couple of her friends (Eugene, Quinta, Freddie and Kelsey) would join them but that was rare, due to the fact that Eugene would try to pick a fight with Ella a lot. No one knew why but Eugene would always find something to argue about, especially if Zach was involved.

Everyone else was already sat down and Shane took a seat next to Jen who rubbed his back and gave him a sympathetic look. Why was everyone giving him sad looks today? Were they meant to make him feel better? The sad looks aren’t going to make Ryan talk to him or come to school.

There was a whisper on the other side of the table as Zach handed his phone to Steven, who then sighed and nodded. The phone was then passed to Ned and Ariel who both gave knowing looks to everyone else.

“Hello? You know I can see you guys, right? What was on Zach’s phone? Zach what did your phone say?” Panic struck Shane’s voice.

Everyone went silent and looked anywhere but Shane’s gaze. Shane felt the anger boiling inside him and before he got up and left, Zach passed his phone to Jen and nodded to her.

“Just..Just show him. He told me last night that I could show him.” Zach mumbled.

“Wait, I’m sorry what? Is this Ryan? You’ve spoken to him? Zach, what the fuck you promised you would let me know if-“

The phone was thrust into Shane’s shaking hands before he could continue. Everyone at the table had read this text except for him. He exhaled and looked down.

‘Ryan Boogara (11:10am): fuck all of this??? like dude tf?? feelings?? they r the biggest load of bullcrap i have ever experienced. remind me to never get them again. also remind me to go to the doctors and ask if they can surgically replace my tear ducts because mine have been run dry. there are no more tears to let fall. i can’t believe shane was so oblivious but also i can’t believe that i wasn’t more forward with how i felt. if i had been maybe this could’ve worked out nd we could b the high school sweethearts i dreamed abt. how do people DEAL WITH THIS!!!!!!!! HOW DID NED AND KEITH DO THIS???? HOW DID STEVEN DO THIS???? AT LEAST THEY WERE ALL LUCKY!!!! THEIR INTENSE PINING GOT THEM A RELATIONSHIP!!! BUT ME??? LITTLE OL RYAN STEVEN BERGARA GOT NONE OF THAT!!!! ALL I GOT WAS HEARTACHE AND HURT!!!! why do. straight people exist? CHALLENGE ME THAT KORNFELD why do they exist an d why does the one (1) man i love have to be one of them. read that with a lot of spite. this was dumb from day one and you told me it wouldn’t have been worth it but i didn’t listen. and then i told jen and i didn’t listen to HER anD THEN I WENT TO  E U G E NE L E E YA N G FOR ADVICE YESTERDAY ON HOW TO GET OVER IT AND HE TOLD ME TO DRINKMY FEELINGS AWAY AND HERE I AM!!!! dude im wastED. all of my feels have intensified so much. its only 11am. WOOwee. if i ever see shane madej again I’m gonna punch him in the face and then kiss his lips better. i love him zachy. i love him. sso much

Me (12:00pm): dude are you okay? literally no one has heard from you since you ran off and shane is such a mess he is not handling anything well

Me (1:30pm): hey man remember drink some water and take painkillers

Ryan Boogara (9:00pm): jesus fuck i just woke up

Ryan Boogara (9:00pm): i’m sorry you had to deal with that

Me (9:03pm): no it’s alright are you okay?

Ryan Boogara (9:04pm): yeah i have a massive headache and i miss shane. a lot.

Me (9:04pm): he misses you too

Me (9:04pm): he’s acting like you’ve died

Ryan Boogara (9:04pm): i feel like i’ve died

Ryan Boogara (9:04pm): can you tell him i’m sorry and i love him

Ryan Boogara (9:05pm): i’m over lying to him

Ryan Boogara (9:05pm): you know what, just show him this i’m done

Ryan Boogara (9:05pm): at least then he has the weekend to process my shit and can decide on monday if he still wants to be my friend

Me (9:06pm): are you sure you’re not still drunk?

Ryan Boogara (9:06pm): yeah just do it

Ryan Boogara (9:06pm): im gonna try and go to bed gnight zach

Me (9:06pm): goodnight ry get some rest’

Shane couldn’t do anything except stare at the phone. He reread the message over and over. Ryan…had feelings for him? Since when?

Shane didn’t notice he was crying until he felt Jen’s arms wrap around his side. Next to him, Keith rested his hand on his shoulder. Shane missed his friend so much. And now his fears were confirmed that it was his fault, the guilt ate him up even more than usual.

Shane stumbled over his words, “I have-I’ve got-Ryan I need to see him-I want to tell him-I’m..”

Shane pushed himself up from his seat. Despite his friend’s protests, he just kept walking. Out of the cafeteria and out of the school grounds. Ryan’s house was a 20 minute walk from school and although taking an uber could’ve been quicker, Shane refused to waste any time, he knew he had to get to Ryan.

A sweaty and out of breath Shane pounded on the front door to the Bergara’s and when no one answered, he managed to break in with his debit card, a trick he learnt off Mike, a kid in his forensic science class. Shane marched upstairs and without knocking opened the door to Ryan’s room.

Ryan was lying in bed, his back to the door, completely oblivious to the man standing in the doorway.

“Why?”

Ryan sat bolt upright in bed and turned to the voice. He was a sight to behold, it seemed like he hadn’t slept in days and he smelt of vodka. Ryan’s face paled and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

“Shane? I-what did Zach show you the text?” Fear seeped into Ryan’s voice.

“Why?” This time Shane’s voice cracked. He could feel the lump in his throat rise.

“I’m sorry.” Ryan croaked.

Shane walked towards the bed and pushed Ryan down and kissed him. Both of them were surprised at the taller man’s actions but neither made an effort to stop. Shane climbed on top of Ryan, their lips not breaking apart. Ryan tasted like alcohol and Shane like mint. Their mouths worked together and Ryan released a low moan.

Since when did Shane want this? Maybe he always did, subconsciously, but never let himself think about it. Thank God he had called off the date with Sara until this whole thing with Ryan blew over.

The two boys pulled away for air, both of them crying, their tears mixed together on each others cheeks. Shane let out a breathy laugh.

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

“Good. You should be.”

Ryan grinned and sighed contently, “I really like you, Shane.”

“I don’t know how I feel, but I do know that I really liked kissing you.”

“Then kiss me again.”