#celebrating every day like i hit the lotto

[lettersforyas]

Dreams are a funny thing.

It’s been more than 365 days since you left, to say that I am still hurt like it happened yesterday would be the accurate description but also, I am angry. VERY angry you left yet you felt so much guilt because you didn’t mean to and I know that if given the choice you would’ve chosen to stay with your boys, and me, I guess. You’d be surprised by the epiphany I recently had watching Drake Bell’s interview; it was crazy, and it did reach some fibers that I didn’t know were still there. Crazy times, but my therapist has been helping me through… because obviously, I don’t have you. I also realized I will never be able to have a friend who I trust blindly and fully, a friend who knew me before I was damaged and a friend who I knew would never leave – and love me unconditionally.

Then again, you left, because that’s life and everyone ends up leaving me sooner rather than later. You’d like to know I keep having the same dream, every single night about how you faked your death, and someone won the lotto and just abandoned us, but I found you. How angry I felt, how could you do that to me? How could you put us through so much? We loved you; I LOVED YOU; I was there for you since we were four and to think that you’d just walk out and discard our friendship hurts me… a lot. But then it settles, you are still alive, you are here, and I shouldn’t waste my time with anger. Then the excitement hits, the happiness, the joy, and the first thing I say is “I have to tell my therapist because, this is amazing!!” However, before that feeling settles, I wake up with the alarm. The dogs start jumping on me, barking, reminding me that reality is much different. You are still gone, and it feels like it was the very first time I woke up after you parted. Maybe this will be my life forever, even though everyone says it won’t that I will learn how to live with it and it will get easier.

To no one’s surprise, I have been trying to disassociate and avoid my feelings, I have tried to watch 5 different documentaries but the anxiety wins… I fall back to my old habits, happy endings, or monk… but then I just burst into tears because it’s pointless. I still miss you and my heart is still breaking into a million pieces. I know I have to feel everything but the anxiety over knowing how much it will hurt stops me. I just miss you but I am mad, I am angry that it had to happen this way. We were supposed to grow old together, gossip about the younger generation, and drink wine. We were supposed to celebrate many more years together and we had plans, lifelong plans, and now? I have to rethink life, my future doesn’t look the same, and I’ve never felt lonelier than I do now.

[athrisen]

And now that I'm back, I'll never leave you

我回来了， 以后再也不会离开你。

Instagram hehe

[saulmariaxxiii]

Ye lissgiddit you know I'm popping bottles

Ya girl a turkey on my dick gobble gobble

I fuck her till her knees wobble wobble

Celebrating every day like I hit the lotto

[dmc-tings]

Hi! I heard your requests were open and I wanted to request how the DMC boys (Dante, Vergil, Nero, V) would celebrate after their s/o accomplished something. I'm a week away from graduating and it's been stressful but I'm so close! Thank you in advance.

Awww yeah!!! Glad your getting ready to graduate!!! I'm happy for you! I hope you take some time for yourself, and relax! Hope you enjoy this! I kinda winged it, and assumed you were talking about college. Sorry if that wasn't what your moving on from.

Dante

The moment you burst into the shop, ecstatic, your boyfriend picked up on this

He hopped up, as you strode in proudly, holding your certificate of completion

"I did it! I finally got it!"

Dante held his arms up in the air, waiting for you to tell him what you got

You put the paper in his face

He backed up abit looking at the paper, taking it in his hands

"Sweet! You passed.... college?"

You rolled your eyes, "Not just college dumb-dumb, I passed my classes and got my degree. I can be a doctor."

Dante scratched his head, "Well... what do you wanna do?"

You looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully

Your big dummy waited for you, with big eyes

"How about just a movie night? You'd been working alot lately."

He smiled at you, "Sounds good to me!"

You both spent the next few hours getting snacks, drinks, pillows, blankets and movies

Now, all snuggled up, with your personal devil heater

You both spent the night watching movies

Eventually getting to the point, where Dante fell asleep

His head in your lap

Every so often letting out a content purr, as you stroked his hair

Overall a good indoor celebration, just to two of you

Vergil

He had been waiting for the good news

You walked in, feet dragging

Your friends wanted to go out and party, but you declined, knowing that Vergil was waiting for you

He looked up as the door opened

He stood to greet you and noticed your demeanor

"Well?" He asked, raising a brow, like an expecting father

You smiled at him, holding up your certificate

"Right here." You smiled at him

For one of the few times in his life, Vergil gave you a genuine smile

He gave you a kiss, then turned you around and pointed at a bag

"Get dressed. I have something planned for you." He left you alone, opening a portal

You made a face, confused.

Vergil always had a thing for the flare and dazzling

You shrugged, getting dressed

It was a glorious blue dress/suit (I aint gonna describe it, it can be whatever you like)

After you where dressed, Vergil returned, taking your hand

"Come. Our arrangements are finished."

He led you through the portal

You were greeted with the sight of Nero and Dante dressed like waiters

You giggled at Dante who was fussing with the bow tie

Nero gave you an awkward smile, pulling out your chair

The pair served you both and left you two alone

"Im proud of you." Vergil spoke, "I know you worked very hard for it."

You nodded your mouth full, the food was good

Vergil looked at you, despite the food stuffed in your mouth, he smiled again

'Boy,' you thought, 'I must have hit the metaphorical lotto.'

You swallowed. "Your smiling awfully alot tonight, is something in your mind?"

Vergil's smile dropped, and his face flushed, just a bit

You leaned over your food, "Verg? Are you ok? Are you going to leave again?"

He had a habit of leaving alot... and then coming home whenever

His gaze shot up to you

"Actually what I'm about to ask you will keep me from leaving so much..."

He stood up and walked over to you, getting on both knees

He looked you in the eyes and took both of your hands in his

"I wanted you to ask you to be mine."

You cocked your head, "What? Vergie, we're-"

You where hit in the head by something

You turned your head to see Dante, wide eyed and pointing at Nero

Scowling you looked at what was yeeted at your head

It was a small black box

Your eyes widened, slowly picking up the box

Vergil gave another smile, "well? Do you-"

He was cut off by you grabbing him and pulling him into a kiss

Then a hug, staining his suit with tears

"I suppose this is a yes..."

Dante gave a wolf whistle

Nero

You woke up the day after graduating

But you weren't at home...

Nero looked at you smiling, a big smile

You rubbed your eyes

"Nero, why are we in the van? And why did Nico let you take it?"

He didn't say anything, just turning back to the road

Your doofus had been driving all night

You walked to the passenger seat, opening a drink

Which you spit out, you saw the signs headed to Six Flags!!

"Hey! Not all over the dash! Nico is gonna-"

You cut Nero of letting out an excited squeal

"BABE!! YOU SHOULDNT HAVE!!"

Nero gave a chuckle, "But I did. And we've got a hotel for after. We'll be here for a few days, to relax and have fun!"

He hopped out of the van, slamming the door shut

You followed, rushing to the gates, sadly sadly line was starting to grow despite how early it was

Nero grabbed your hand, flashing some VIP passes at you

He pulled you to the non-existent line for the VIP's

You pulled ahead of him pulling in to the first ride you saw, the Superman

You both strapped up, you wiggling excitedly

Nero laughed at your excitement

This is how you both spent the day

In the hotel, Nero ordered out and you guys laid around resting for the next day

"Nero, what brought on the va-kay?"

He shrugged, eating another gummy worm

"You'd been working hard for your degree or whatever, so I figured you could use some fun." He answered, nonchalantly

You smiled at him

He always acted like a punk, but you knew he really cared

"Thank you..." You sat up from your laying position and scooted over to him

He looked away from the TV and at you, raising his eyebrow

You gave him a sweet kiss on the lips, which he returned happily

V

V attended your graduation with your family

Even the dinner following it

He lovingly held your hand, taking your shared nighly walk

"Well? What's next for you, Love?"

You pondered the question, not sure

Shadow padded next you, letting you pet her smooth fur

Griffon scouted ahead, just in case, "Look kid, you gotta wanna do something. You didn't work all that hard work, for nothing."

V silenced the bird with a look, then turned his kind gaze back to you

You bit your lip, in thought

You already knew the answer, but you didn't know how V was going to react

"Love?" Your hand started to shake in his, he took notice of this and it made him nervous

"I... I want to stay here. With you." You whispered

V raised his eyebrows, this surprised him

"But I tho-"

"Well I did but... I dont want to leave you behind..."

He stopped walking, stepping infront of you, he pulled out a key

You looked at him, "Wha-"

"This is for our apartment. It's still here in Red Grave. But... I know you still wanted to study more, so I relocated us to the other side of the city... Closer to the school you wanted to study at..."

He looked abit hurt, he really wanted you to achieve your dreams

And didn't want to hold you back

You looked at him, "Already?"

He nodded, looking at your hand still holding his

You stood on tip toe, kissing his lips

Then pulled away, "Thank you so much. I didn't think i-"

V smiled, "Dont. I can see it in your eyes how grateful you are. Come. We need to go home. I want you to see the apartment."

Once you both made it home, you opened the door

It... it was decorated like you thought V would decorate

Very Modern Victorian style

It even had a fireplace!!

You gasped, walking in the apartment, feeling the velvet couch and recliners

You looked and saw a bookshelf, smiling

The rest of the bedrooms even the bathroom had the same vibe

V really put did himself

"I love it."

V smiled and wrapped his arms around you

"Im glad you do. And we're not that far from the shop or your schooling. But I can think of something that will make your feel better."

You laughed at him, planting a kiss on his neck

"Im sure you could~"

[inkedtoast]

TF2 X Male reader || Chapter 1

Warning: Cursing, drinking, mentions of alcohol (and farther along in the series there will be gore)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She will wear you out livin la vida loca

Alright!

Livin la vida loca

She's livin la vida loca!”

My alarm startles me awake with the loud and overly catchy song that somehow lived past the early 2000’s. I roll over and unlock my phone to turn off the alarm, yawning widely. I stretch my arms, kick off my blanket, and then sit up. I stare out of my bedroom window- which is one out of three windows in my whole apartment- and contemplate if I really wanna go to work today. The reminder of my paycheck and slightly overdue bills tells me that yes I should, so I get up and pull on my work clothes. I pat down my hair and put on my favorite hat. Stuffing my bare essentials into my travel backpack, (water bottle, keys, phone and charger, earbuds and wallet, and some of my drawing supplies), the various fandom pins that litter the front of it click against each other. They clatter louder against each other as I zip up the front pocket and hoist the bag over my shoulders. I start walking to the front door, not bothering with breakfast, when I realize I forgot my glasses. Those are kiindaa important…

    I snatch them off of my nightstand and whisk out the front door and lock it. I jog to the bus stop, hoping I’m just in time. As I run to the bus stop, a couple dogs in someone’s yard start barking at me. I slow down a bit and wave to the dogs. They start leaping at the wire fence, making it creak and groan, trying to get a closer look- or smell, I guess. I start jogging again and get to the bus stop fairly quickly. I squat down next to the bus stop sign and breathe heavily.

    “I’ve been jogging to the bus stop everyday for like a month now, I should be used to this. Augh!”, I pant. I stand up and look down the road both ways. I look to the left and see the bus just turning onto the street. Ah, thank god… I think in relief. I grab my wallet out of my backpack and pull out the correct amount of bus fare. The bus is just a couple blocks away when I hear a shuffle, like someone misstepped on the concrete sidewalk behind me. I turn to look behind me and see that no one is there. Huh…. Okay.

The bus pulls up behind me then and the doors ssttttss open. I turn back to the bus and drop my money into the till. The little machine whirs next to the bus drivers seat as it counts my money and sticks out a ticket for me like a tongue. I grab it and take the farthest seat back as is possible. I’m gonna be here a while…. I pull out my phone and plug in my earbuds. I press play on my favorite playlist, close my eyes and lean my head back. I tap my hands and feet to the songs, and soon I’m doing mini air drums to the songs and doing air riffs. My arms get tired from the waving around and I calm down. About three songs after that, I feel like someone is watching me. I open my eyes and lean my head forward. I pull out an earbud and look at the rest of the bus. 

There's an old lady at the front of the bus with her nose in a Kindle and an older looking guy with a very interesting choice of polo shirt (it's bright green and some kinda golfing reference on it). And of course, the bus driver, Marty, who knows me as a regular. All of them are minding their own business, though. The guy with the green shirt notices me looking around and politely waves and smiles. I return the gesture and go back to my music, sinking down into my seat. Man, what is up with me? Guess I'm just feeling a little off today…

In record time (like an hour) the bus approaches my stop. I pull on the… stop cord thing and Marty waves at me.

"Have a good day, son!", He says as he smiles and opens the bus doors. I throw him some finger guns as I step backwards off of the bus.

"I'll do my best." He laughs and closes the doors as he drives away. I stand there for a second and sigh. Ah boy… work time. I turn face and walk a couple blocks to my place of work. The bright orange, yellow and purple sign announces the business for everyone within 200 feet to see. Big Red's Bar and Inn. The place where any self respecting drunk, bar hopper or cheater ends up. Anyone that comes to visit from another city always gets surprised about this bar. 

A lot of new people say "Oh wow this little city has a bar? Not just a bunch of liquor stores? Wow" or "Oh.. quaint". Yeah it's not glamorous, but we have what we need. TV's, food, pool and foosball tables, lotto machines…. We get by. Honestly, I got lucky with this job. It's basically strictly family owned and run, but one of the girls there knew me from highschool and talked with her mom who runs the place. The two of them tackle every problem that comes up in the bar really easily. Once, Jessica -the one who got me this job- pulled a shotgun out from the counter after one guy wouldn't leave this lady alone. He left really quickly after that. I've never had to hold that thing and I hope I never will. I don't like trusting myself with that kinda thing.

I walk up to the front doors and pull out the establishment keys and fumble for a second before jamming the key in and unlocking the doors. My job is pretty simple and not that glamorous. I open up, clean the place, wait on tables during working hours, keep up stocks and take out the garbage. Basically I'm an errand boy. But it's labor intensive so I get paid pretty well and I'm not complaining. I notice a few things are out of place. A couple of chairs are on the floor instead of the table, a bunch of bottles are missing from the shelf on the wall behind the bar and there's a broken tumbler glass on the counter. 

"I hope that doesn't get taken out of my paycheck,'' I mumble to myself. Maybe Jessica was having a rough night? I shrug and pick the glass up, sweeping the broken bits into the cup from the counter and go dump it into the glass receptacle. 

||hours later||

It's just after happy hour and I am exhausted. A group of college kids who just got in decided to celebrate and pretty much trash that bar… during happy hour. At least wait till after 8 you dipshits. Who drinks at 5pm? Fuckin' morons, that's who… I grump to myself. Jessica comes up to me with a tray of Coors beers. 

"Hey can you take these over? These guys are basically black holes for beer," She sighs. I frown. She seems really damn tired and down. 

"Can I put tequila in them to make 'em pass out, so we can cut them off and get 'em outta here?" I joke. She laughs.

"No, we cannot. We can get in trouble for that. On top of that, why waste good stuff on a bunch of kids?" Jessica pats my shoulder and walks into the back.

"Good point, good point," I nod to myself. I carry the tray of Coors over and place them on coasters. The group of guys cheer when I walk up with their drinks. One of them catches my attention.

"Hey, dude, that girl. She single or what?" The guy who asks looks like some jock right out of a 2008 high school movie. Black spiked hair, traces of acne, wiry but somehow muscular frame. Yeah, no, this guy's a douche. I shrug.

"I dunno. Not my business and not yours either, man." I place the last couple beers down and start walking away. Jock McDouche stands up and grabs my shoulder, making me drop the tray. It clatters to the ground as he stares me dead in the eye.

"What'd you say, punk?". Oh boy…. Here we go… I step away from him and try to defuse the situation. I don't need Red getting on my ass about causing a bar fight.

"Dude, don't try and hit on some girl. Mind your own business and let her do her job. She can kick you out and ban you faster than you can say 'Poughkeepsie'." All of these things are excellent points and a few of the other guys in the group side with me. Despite that, though, Jock McDouche pushes me.

"Why you being so defensive of her? She your girl or something?" 

"No, it's just none of your business. If she wanted it to be your business, you'd know." Right after that, Jessica turns up.

"Something wrong gentlemen?" She's got the bar shotgun on her hip, pointing it right at the crotch of the asshole who started this. His face bleaches and bullets of sweat start rolling down his forehead. He covers his junk with his hand, as though that will stop any bullets that get fired.

"N-no ma'am. Just fooling around, weren't we pal?" He looks at me. I raise an eyebrow. I wait a few seconds before answering just to make him squirm.

"Yeah. Definitely." I turn to Jessica and shake my head to let her know it's not worth it anymore. She uncocks the gun and walks away. I bend down to pick up the tray and walk back behind the counter to put it away. I start reorganizing glasses under the counter and stacking them by height and size due to boredom. I sit behind the counter for another ten minutes before Jock McDouche and his posse decide to pay and leave. As Jock pays for his share of the tab, he glares at me. I stare right back at him, letting him know literally I couldn’t give a shit. He scoffs at me and walks out once him and his buddies are done paying.

“Hey, could you go and take out the trash and recycling?”, Jessica says as she comes up behind me. I nod and set down the glass I was rolling in between my hands. I grab the full bags of garbage and recycling out by their drawstrings and tie them. Walking to the back door through the kitchen, I push it open with my back. As I finish struggling to open the huge dumpsters and dropping in the garbage, I hear a few steps behind me. I’ve heard of this being a signal that someone is trying to mug you. Wait isn’t that just in movies?.... I decide that it can happen in real life and grab a broken bottle and turn to chuck it at the person behind me when I feel a sharp pain in my neck. I raise my hand to my neck and feel something that is clearly a mini tranquilizer dart. I look up and see a female silhouette in a dress. I’m not sure but the outline of her dress is…. Purple?

“At least he tried to defend himself… Definitely gives him points..,” I hear her sigh. I feel woozy in seconds and feel my knees collapsing. I try to throw the bottle at her again and it sadly bounces off of her torso and breaks against the ground. I try to stand up, stumbling like I just finished drinking a whole 40 of tequila. The woman, whose face I can’t see, makes a surprised noise.

“You should be out already. Ah, well, that’s something important to note: needs higher dose of tranq,” She scribbles that down on a notebook as I look at her like she just grew three heads. She grabs my head by my hair and jerks it to the left and jabs the dart gun against my neck, shooting a dart deeply into my skin. I instantly feel 200% more tired and promptly start to give in to the heavy, potent drugs.

“Ahh fffuckk...,” are the last words I hear myself say before fall forward and pass out on the lady’s shoes.

[tessmontyart]

2020 year in review

It’s funny, last year I never actually got around to doing one of these. I didn’t think it was overly interesting. Oh 2019, how I miss you so 😭Such an innocent time ....

I’ll do a quick recap, cause hey no-one but me reads these anyway. 2019 was a glorious time. I went to Italy for the first time, went on an awesome Hunter Valley trip with my friends, had a 100th birthday celebration for my pop, I got to see the show I worked on air on TV, we saw the Lano and Woodley apartment in Melbourne .... Good times!

I didn’t give a rats about being unemployed and took matters into my own hands by making loads of new merch and selling at the most conventions I’ve ever been to. I tabled at Sydney Supanova, Adelaide Avcon, Sydney SMASH, Coffs Nexus Con, Sydney Oz Comic Con and Brisbane Supanova! I did so much travelling and events, it became my full time job. It was exhausting, but it was loads of fun, it paid the bills nicely, and it was wonderful to meet followers and mutuals in person.

My partner was very invested in counting up the numbers of what was selling and what wasn’t, and taking note of what was inconvenient with my setup and how to make it better. He even made a powerpoint presentation on what I could focus on for 2020, what kind of merch I could focus on and adding more conventions to my list. We were both excited about the idea of trying out Armageddon in New Zealand, which would have been my first overseas convention!

Cue 2020.

It started off uneasy. There were still bushfires everywhere and smoke hanging around, but I was optimistic they would die soon and the rest of the year would be fine. I booked a bunch of conventions early as usual. Got a whole bunch of new things made and ordered for the first convention of the year, Melbourne Supanova in early April. Some Acrylic charms didn’t make it in time because of COVID, but I thought that’s ok I still have a whole years worth of conventions to sell them at!

COVID-19 was just a spooky mysterious thing that was happening overseas at that point. I think there might have been 1 case in Australia, so all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer was sold out, but we were still able to do our usual travelling for the event. Little did I know, Melbourne Supanova was the first and last event I could do in 2020.

COVID hit Australia hard, Melbourne especially. There were lockdowns, quarantines, planes were grounded, airmail was halted, the cases kept multiplying, rules kept changing and changing and it was all so new and such a headache. Seeing every single convention I had booked cancel one after the other was hard to process. This was my main source of income in 2019 and now it’s up and vanished. Everyone were losing their jobs too, so the idea of getting a new job was completely out the window. 

I tried to cheer myself up by drawing ‘Toilet Paper Chan’, my new magical girl character who has the ability to summon toilet paper in a time of need 😅

I made it into a Draw This In Your Style challenge, seeing as everyone was bored out of their minds in quarantine I hoped it was something people could pass the time and have fun making. 

(here’s a handful of my favourites) I had a few entries which were all very adorable, but I admit not as many people joined as I expected. I don’t blame them though, this whole pandemic was very soul sucking and demotivating, especially hearing the constant stream of bad news when it all started.

I also made some lineart of a cute Easter girl, encouraging people to colour her in if they are bored in quarantine.

That was really fun, and I planned to do more, perhaps whole colouring books for a small price to download. 

Then, out of nowhere, my friend from the last animation studio I worked at in 2018 contacted me. “Hey Tess, are you looking for work?”

“Um .... yes?”

Work? In 2020? What?

It turns out the animation industry is one of the only industries that are doing fine in the pandemic. Literally the only change is that animators have to work from home instead of at a studio. If you have the animation software and an internet connection you have everything you need.

So my good friend had recently scored this job for a studio which outsources all their animation for their animated TV series. The role is just fixing up any animation errors inhouse to minimize the amount of back-and-fourth between studios. It doesn’t sound like much but it became too big a job for just one dude to handle, so he contacted me and 2 of my other animation friends to help out. We had a ball!

It was loads of fun, and the contract lasted the whole year! 

It wasn’t just fixing up errors either, I got to animate walking/ running / jumping / flying cycles for the overseas animators to use, which was great practice for me, and we even had a whole episode to ourselves to animate from scratch which I really enjoyed.

And then ... the year just flew by, because I was busy working the whole time. It was really quite surreal!

There were a few highlights, such as being a bridesmaid for my best friend’s wedding and organising her hens party, which is one of those once-in-a-lifetime things.

(Hens Party - it was yellow themed (her favourite colour) and High Tea.. it was adorable!)

(The bridesmaids and the bride on the Wedding Day)

Unfortunately there were some lowlights too ... This was the last year I got to see my aunt. 

She was the craziest, funniest aunt, and still far too young to go. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be the same without her.

As always, drawing is the only way I cope with anything. My family chose a plain wooden casket, encouraging everybody to write a message or draw something on it, before it would be sent to the crematorium. I drew Spotty, her awesome horse I remember from my childhood, surrounded by her favourite flowers. Monty draw Mingus, her awesome ferret we also remember from our childhood.

That wasn’t the only bad news either. Pat’s Grandpa passed away later in the year, and a handful of my friends had relatives who either passed away or were diagnosed with cancer or some other horrible life threatening disease. A musician who collaborated with favourite artist collaborated passed as well, and even though I didn’t know him personally, it was still horribly devastating. Not to mention all my friends/relatives pets who didn’t make it through 2020. There was just so much loss this year, and I’m still grieving my cousin and my friend’s mum who both passed last year, it’s getting harder and harder to cope. It’s gotten to the point where I’m paranoid about who the next person will be because I haven’t finished grieving the last ... 

All I can say is I hope 2021 is a little kinder when it comes to my loved ones. The small light at the end of the tunnel is; any suicidal thoughts I used to have frequently have all completely vanished, because I’ve been faced with the reality of it all. You really don’t realise how many people love you, people you don’t even know.

...

That was very dark, but it’s definitely something I needed to get off my chest.

Lets go back to a much lighter note. 

More highlights: 

🌻Animal Crossing New Horizons came out this year! I used to play Wild World back in the day so it was wonderfully nostalgic, and me and Pat have made the cutest little town with all our favourite villagers. It’s a nice way to escape from it all ^_^

(Monty’s island when we started)

🌻Speaking of games, the brand new Crash Bandicoot came out this year too! It was actually jaw droppingly amazing seeing all the awesome new ideas and mechanics they came up with while still keeping it classicly Crash. I loved it and I’m so excited to see if they give Spyro the same treatment!

🌻2020 brought about new and interesting ways to still enjoy Live entertainment. Lano and Woodley did a Zoom show which was absolutely hilarious, and Lights did an amazing online Dead End show which had me so pumped!

🌻Pat and I continued our anniversary High Tea tradition, this time trying it out at the Hydro Majestic hotel in the Blue Mountains!

🌻Speaking of Pat, his sister got married this year too, despite the pandemic. Congratulations!

🌻Pat randomly bought a Miku figure for himself, out of the blue, completely unravelling years of unnecessary ‘shame’ I’ve inherited caused by a pushy mother and a crappy ex. I used to love figure collecting but was convinced by certain judgy people that it was stupid and I needed to sell them all. I kept my very favourites in a cupboard ‘just incase they increase in value’. But now I can finally display them all again knowing Pat loves them just as much as I do!

We also added a ton more to the collection to make up for lost time (and because there’s SO MANY CUTE MIKUS NOWADAYS)

It’s a bit messy because we recently got new ones and need to make more space for them. The shelf with the Vocaloid nendoroids were my original ones hidden away in the cupboard, the rest we got this year ^_^ They make me so happy!

🌻Speaking of Pat unlocking things I’ve always wanted to do in the past: I am now planning to revive my old OCs Yui and Lotto! They were just characters of mine back in the day, but since I’m not good writing I never really came up with a story for them. But with Pat’s writer wisdom and my kawaii art style, I’m now planning a webcomic featuring the two cuties ^_^ It’s still in the very early planning stages but I’m super excited, and forever grateful for Pat, for believing in me ;w;

🌻This year I drew 31 more Owl City songs in copic markers, to go towards my ongoing project to draw every song! I’m actually getting quite close to my goal now which is exciting! 

🌻This year I went to a Drive-In movie theatre for the first time to see the new Bill and Tedd movie, it was glorious and now I wanted to try more drive-ins. Going out to see a movie on a big screen *without* being able to hear smart-asses or screaming babies? Yes please!!

🌻How could I forget, this was the year my idol noticed me!! Lights shared and retweeted my Deadend fanart! Life = made.

What to to look forward to in 2021:

This is the first New Year where I actually have an idea of how 2021 will go! I managed to secure another animation job at a new studio starting January, ending January 2022 😊So thats the financial security for this year sorted! :P

As for general goals for 2021;

I’m hoping to have a decent plan, concept art, chapter ideas and hopefully even a script done for my new webcomic! I also wanted to make some cute simple animations of the characters just because c:

I’d also like to just do more of my own animation in general ... I animate every day for work but I never get to do my own animated projects. It will be hard with a full time job, so maybe this can be a 2022 goal ... but hopefully I can do at least one little animation of my own!

I suppose another goal is to make a social media accounts for my animation, too. Even if I don’t fulfil my goal, I still would like a page to showcase everything I’ve done so far.

And if all else fails .... Another goal is to draw more Miku. It’s crazy that I love her this much and haven’t drawn any fanart!

I think I’ll leave it there because I’m babbling now. 😅

I’ve done so many of these now o_o

[2018] [2017] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]

[athrisen]

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT

Tap for higher resolution and alla that

I tried my best lol

the source material is very cute but also very meagre

I have started an instagram! 

(It’s very empty at the moment please bear with me)

[wolfpawn]

Two Halves of a Heart Makes a Whole

Chris cheated on you with a problematic celebrity, but you find happiness in Tom’s arms. When Chris realizes his mistake and wants you back, the media finds out that you and Tom just got secretly married.

Saw this idea on theartofimagining13's page and could not get it out of my head, not my usual style as I have no idea about anything to do with Evans so apologies for that.

- - - - - - - 

It had been an accident, well, that was what Chris had told himself, what he probably should have implied was he never meant for it to happen, but long hours and a young sexy actress throwing herself at him changed things; she was beautiful, famous, fun, the heart of the party, and the film was long, tedious, on many days and he missed home, missed the feeling of someone beside him in bed, the feeling of a body writhing under his, and so it happened, just once, then twice, and before long, it as any day that filming was tough, which was most days.

author’s note - Due to requests, I am putting my Lass_Kicker stories here

He had not thought you would come to visit him on set, you said you were busy, you said that the studio had you up the walls, too many scripts to be edited to make them even be considered for shortlisting for movies. What he had not banked on was his little side piece being so vocal about their indiscretions, since she was supposed to be seeing some big shot guy, someone that could drop her and her fun lifestyle living in a flash, but someone had heard from someone, who heard it from said actress that he was a great lay and it had gotten back to you, sort of. They implied you needed to see Chris, but never said why exactly, not feeling it was their place, but not wanting to see you be made a joke of, so excitedly, you went to do just that. When you arrived, he was taken back to see you at his hotel, you were smiling happily, delighted after seeing him after two long months apart filming, he, on the other hand, was cold, and distant. As soon as you were in private, he starting half demanding why you had come, what did you know, to which you could only stare back blankly, no idea of what he was referring to, but then you realised it. Resignation came to your face. You had been apprehensive of the actress he would be playing across from, she had a reputation, but you trusted Chris, he had been the first to give out about people cheating, so he would never do such a thing, you had thought at least. But the way he rubbed the back of his neck, the guilty look on his face, it said everything you needed to know. Biting your lips between your teeth, you nodded in defeat and walked towards the door again. "I'm sorry" that was all he said, as though sorry made it better, made the betrayal, the hurt, the lies, the 'Can't wait to see you' comments when clearly he could all disappear, make it all go away. It didn't, it couldn't.

Their affair hit the papers less than forty-eight hours after you had gone home, well, 'affair' was not the word used, it was made seem like they had found each other on set, fallen in love and cut ties with their other halves before doing anything about their feelings. It all cut you too painfully, and even the sight of his name, much less his face broke your heart even more, a name you had started feeling butterflies every time you saw it as you thought of the guy that had made moving to the States so much easier, the guy you loved snuggling up next to on the sofa with to watch terrible movies and comment about them the whole way through.  But you did not let it show, you would not give it to anyone to let them see how much it hurt. And when the studio needed a volunteer to go to London for a minimum of three months, though you had been hesitant before, you jumped at the chance. Britain was just next to home and the hell away from Hollywood, Chris and everything you came to hate with a passion.

It was there that you came to terms with everything, you woke in the morning of the second week there and it wasn't the first thing you thought of, it was one of the first, but not the first, that was progress as far as you were concerned.

You remained in the office for the most of the time, typing out the sheets of altered scripts for different actors, when you were told there were alterations to be made, you didn't mind, you loved the storyline so seeing it all together was fun, that was where you met him, Tom, polite, cordial and a gentleman. He came in for his altered script, but it still had to be okayed by those in higher positions, and they would be another twenty minutes in a meeting so after offering him a tea or coffee, you continued your own work.

"You like Plath?" he asked, noting the book that was lying open on the desk.

"I do, not exactly the most upbeat poet, but it's interesting to study those with a tortured soul." "Does it put things in some form of perspective?" You looked at him in confusion, "We met before, on the set of The Dark World." You swallowed hard, the day Chris had gone to the set to shoot that one scene in his uniform, you had gone with him, you had met Tom there, but you never thought he would remember. "Yes, of course, I thought you wouldn't…" "I heard what happened, what really happened, I am so sorry." "Why, you weren't the one who…"

"No, but I never thought…" "Believe me, no one thought that as much as I did, but I was wrong." "How are you?" "Fine." "One thing about Irish people and the word fine, it and 'grand' both cover everything from 'I have won the lotto' to 'I have terminal cancer'."

"I suppose, I don't like to think about it, I am doing okay, I am focusing on work." "That helps, for a while, but it is lonely." You looked at him in surprise. "When I was away doing War Horse, my girlfriend…" "Did you ever feel like you could let someone in again?" "Honestly, not yet." "Yet?" "I think I will when the right woman comes along." He shrugged.

"I have, to be honest, I am not feeling too hopeful if you are still in this position years later." "Maybe you will find someone perfect for you faster." "I'll let you know if he has a sister." was all you could reply, causing the actor to give you the most incredible smile you had ever seen and for the first time since Chris' nonverbal admittance that broke your heart, you gave a genuine smile in return.

That was how it started, as fate would have it, there were several rewrites, and because of his meticulous nature and professionalism, Tom himself came in to deal with them, and every time he made small talk and gave you that smile, a smile you soon realised not everyone was given, making you feel better in yourself. To your shock, Chris was not in the top five thoughts of your morning wake up any longer, instead, Tom was, causing you to giggle excitedly for a moment before you scolded yourself and forced yourself to remember, he had been hurt too before, and he was not yet ready to let someone in, you were only setting yourself up to fail again if you weren't careful.

"May I ask you something?" you looked up from the script you were working on, trying to see if it was going to get through even the first layer of sieving to make it to the producer's table to see Tom in front of you, a nervous smile on his face.

"Hi, sure, ask away." "Does it hurt when they broadcast it as he does?"

You regretted giving him permission to ask; you never actively sought information on Chris and his tartlet, but you were often forced to endure it anyway. "Yes and no. Yes because he said he never wanted any of that, so I find myself wondering was he lying to me, no because I don't allow it, it…he is not my concern anymore, my concern is me." again Tom gave you that smile, but with a hint of something else in it, around his eyes there was something you were unsure of.

"May I ask you something else?" "You may."

"Are you free later?" "I am, why?" "Well, I was hoping you could join me for dinner?" there was a nervousness in his tone, one that showed that he was doing something he had not done in so long, if you had to guess, you would wager he was trying to let you in, but you had to rubbish it, why, of all people would you be the one to break through everything and gain the trust of THE Tom Hiddleston.

"I…" "Of course, I should not have assumed, I am sorry if I…" "Sure," He froze, looking at you in shock. "I would love that."

"Really?" His voice was drenched in hope. "Really," you smiled. "When suits?" "What time are you off?" "Today?" "Yes." "No." Tom's face fell. "But you said you were free." "I am, but I can't possibly go to dinner looking like this." you indicated to your clothes. "I look a mess." "I think you look divine." he admitted before a deep red starting climbing his neck and ears.

Since you both did not want any attention on you, he offered to cook at his for you both. You accepted thinking he would order food in, utterly flabbergasted when you turned up with some wine to see him actually cooking. "A man of many talents," you had joked. The evening was incredibly comfortable, the only silences were ones while you both ate, the rest of the time you both spoke at length of your interests.

Chris loved football, you would listen as he roared abuse at any team that dared battle his beloved Patriot's, but that was as far as your knowledge on the topic went. Tom loved Tennis, another game you knew little of, but his passions went to books as well, something of a common ground. You were often called boring, old before your time, but Tom called you mature, not being interested in the weekend's drinking and clubbing was not something to be laughed at in his eyes but admired. He realised you liked classical music and rather than suggest other genres to listen to, he went into a full discussion of wanting to know what instruments you loved, had you been to many concerts, it felt refreshing, you felt validated as a person.

"Everyone calls me boring." You admitted.

"Good, that makes two of us." Was all he grinned in return. "I love sitting in with tea and a good book." "Maybe a pack of biscuits too, but I tend to binge eat when I get invested." "Now that is speaking my language, darling." 'Darling' that one word of his made you swoon when he used it. Chris had used 'babe' a normal enough term, very American, but darling made you feel as though you mattered. It caused you to blush every time without fail, and you suspected Tom knew, after all, he said it more often with an expectant smile on his face when he did, and you simply became more bashful.

It was by far, the most comfortable and happy you had felt since the debacle, and all the time, Tom respected you and your boundaries and hang-ups, slowly working you through them until you felt confidence starting to build in you once more. It was then, after two months of dating, it began to become physical, feeling inconsequential from Chris choosing a statuesque and, as much as you were sickened to admit it, a more beautiful woman than you, you felt as though Tom would be less than satisfied with you too. If he was, it did not show, he was as thorough a lover as he was an actor; ensuring you loved every moment of it, telling you how beautiful you were, how perfect every last imperfection was, he spoke of how much he adored connecting with you in such an intimate way, how amazing you were. His eloquent tongue using words that made you blush with modesty as he spoke them, punctuating them as he gave you pleasure, positively reinforcing each one to the extent that when he told you the dinner you were sharing was exquisite, your body reacted as it had when he had said it to you in bed.

Your three-month contract was due to finish but was then renewed. With those in charge deciding the European market worthy of the investment, and with many of those of the highest talent deciding to not make the move to Hollywood, the company decided to open a permanent office in London, with you already there, you were one of the first offered a permanent transfer. You took it there and then, not for Tom, but for you, something Tom later told you mattered more than anything else, though he was ecstatic you decided as you had. You agreed to move in with him until you found a permanent residence, after three months, you stopped even looking, Tom got a key cut for you. After six months, you went to Battersea Dog Home together and brought back a dog that seemed to have more breeds in it than most veterinary books, but he was perfect, he was yours and Tom's.

The first film promotion was the first test, it was incredibly hard, as that was where things could go incredibly wrong. Tom too worked with gorgeous, supposedly happy in their relationships women, but you had to try. Tom felt similar, his busy life was why his last girlfriend cheated, but together, you spoke through it, argued through some parts, but finally the day came for him to leave and you were both forced to face it. Neither of you wanted to be the one to crack, to act as though you were weak and obsessive, forcing you both to sit on your anxiety of your previously broken trust. The first week was the hardest, but you had Bentley with you to keep you company, Tom had laughed as you face-timed him with the dog beside you as you sat on the floor of your now shared home at the end of the first week. It was tough, but knowing the gut-wrenching feeling of being the victim of such actions before got you both through, and soon, even on Tom's busiest days, even with ten hour long flights, he called, he texted, he even faxed once when there was no cell reception, and it made you realise it could be done.

Then came another obstacle a movie with a love scene. Tom had paid for you to join him on set for that. He wanted and needed you to be there, he needed to show you that you could trust him, and as much as you found yourself struggling to maintain steady breathing, you needed to see the scene. Sure in the movie it would be passionate and almost feral, but on set, with forty people staring, when it was not actually a small room but a huge studio, you could see there was nothing to it, and when the takes were done and the director called cut, Tom looked straight to you, and the lustful gaze he acted in the movie, you realised was not for the actress, but the one he had for you, you being there was how he could show it truly, and after the day was called on set, he showed you who he yearned for, in an explicit and thorough fashion.

Chris' actions had shattered your trust and slowly Tom repaired the breaks in it, it was not perfect, but Tom ensured you knew you were loved; as you did with him. Every day you did everything you could to ensure he saw that his previous experiences were not going to repeat themselves, you were faithful, you would never do that to him, slowly he too saw how to let himself love deeply again.

You were easily accepted by his friends and family, his sisters and mothers loved you from the day he brought you home, they knew from a mere ten minutes in your company you were not looking to gain anything from Tom's fame, you merely loved him for him, as he did you, and that was enough in their minds. When Tom explained that you too had been hurt, that you knew pain, they did not judge, they did not say anything, his mother only embraced you tightly and swore her son would not do such a thing, he was too broken from his own hurt.

As the year anniversary came around, Tom suggested you return home for it, bringing Bentley in the car and have a week in Ireland; you embraced the idea immediately, and for said week, you showed Tom your favourite parts of home, including your family, who made comments regarding Chris and his life for all of two moments before you shot them down, insisting you neither knew what he was doing, or cared for it, all you were concerned with was your future, and Tom. On the final day before having to return home, you decided to go up a hill that you had told Tom was the place you came to when deciding to go and try and make it in a job with so little breakout opportunities, it was the scariest thing you had done in your life, but that view made you see the whole picture, or so you stated. Tom got to the top a few steps behind you, on turning to see where he was, you were shocked to see him barely able to stand, so you rushed over to see what was wrong, it was from there you realised he was on one knee, a ring in his hand, the diamond was quaint and the band made of white gold, showing you that one tiny comment you had made to Sophie Cumberbatch at a gathering after only four months of dating regarding liking only small jewellery resonated with him, he remembered that one little detail and that alone made you want to shout yes in reply to the question he asked.

On a crisp spring afternoon, as the sun fought its way through the clouds, in a small church in Scotland, you became Mrs Thomas Hiddleston in front of a few friends and family, no paps, no cameras. As you sat at the table, the speeches were made but you lacked the courage to say anything, you simply sat listening, with tears of love and happiness in your eyes as Tom told everyone gathered of how he thought you were the most beautiful woman alive since the moment he first saw you, but when he met you again and you were sitting in the office typing at what could only be called lightning speed in his opinion, and you asked him if there was even a chance it would get easier, he knew he loved you. The manner in which he described your similar pasts caused him to come up with an analogy that caused you to smile. He said you were two separate hearts, cracked down the middle by past events, both of you terrified you were beyond repair, unable to figure out where all the broken shards went, but then you came together, and he realised that the half of his heart that still stood somewhat intact fit yours perfectly, allowing you both to love again, together.

* Chris stared at the mirror in front of him. He did not recognise the man looking back. His dishevelled appearance signifying his turmoil. As happened with him, his partying girlfriend found someone else to appease her. Chris watched as everything he had collapsed around him. People began to suspect that he had still been with you when he got with the actress, who was accumulating quite the reputation, one he was not fully aware of before, but regretting being associated with now, especially since…he swallowed and thought of you. It was the biggest mistake of his life letting you go, not that he needed to remind himself, his family told him incessantly. He did not want to go about broadcasting his relationship with his new flame four days after you realised his actions and left, but they were spotted together and her agents went with it before consulting with his. He was relieved that unlike her former lover, you had not called out their actions. Now he sat alone, smelling and feeling woeful in his apartment while you were God knows where. He went in search of you after everything came to a head to apologise, and in some foolish way, in hopes you would want him back, but your work had told him you had gone to London.

He remembered that job, you declined it outright when it was mentioned on the basis of you didn't think it was right to leave for three months, something he argued for you to do, knowing it would further your career, but you had declined even considering it due to not wanting to put any pressure on the relationship, but with him gone, clearly you seized your chance to go. From the sounds of things, you were not coming back. He wept for a day and thrashed his hallway when that realisation came to the fore.

He groaned as he heard banging on the front door, he wanted to ignore it, but he knew Pratt was coming over and he had a key, so he was not going to get any solitude, no matter what happened. When the other man walked in, he just gave him a warning glare. "Not interested." "You look like Hell." "Shut up."

"Are you really that caught up on her, I mean she left your ass for another guy, she is not worth it; only trash does that," Pratt stated as he handed fresh takeout to his friend. "You weren't this cut up after…" "Don't say her name." "Wait, is this about her? It is, isn't it? If you still feel like this, why did you break up with her?" "I didn't." "Wait, are you saying she broke up with you because I am about ninety percent sure she was commenting on diamond rings with Anna one day shopping." Evans gave a gross sob at that. "Hey man, talk to me, what is going on?" "I...she found out." "Found out about what?" "That I.…"

"Wait, you cheated on her," Pratt realised, Evans just nodded shamefully. "With that tart?" again he nodded. "So you cheated on the nicest, sweetest woman alive, the same woman that said she could not wait to give Jack a best buddy, that she wanted to talk to you about maybe having a baby, and you think you have a right to get choked up about it?" Prat looked him up and down in disgust. "What the hell was wrong with you?" "I messed up, I never meant for it to happen, I was lonely…" "Lonely, that's your excuse, you felt a little lonely? How the hell do you think she felt? How do you think she felt when she realised that the man she was hoping to spend her life with went away for a few months to do a film, with an actress the blind could see she was none too pleased about and you did everything she feared would happen, how do you think she felt? Anna and I have barely heard from her and we were wondering why, if I'd have known…" "Wait, you've heard from her, where is she?" Pratt contemplated not telling him for a minute, but there was blatant desperation in his features, so he conceded. "England, she took the job, she…she met someone." Evans made a terrible sound of agony at that. "She's happy, she's…she's not going to come back." "I messed up." Chris wept, his friend looking at him pitifully, but not in anyway disagreeing with him. "Why did I…?"

"It doesn't matter now, she is gone, all you can do is get on with it, she's happy, you need to get to grips with that and get yourself back on track too." "But I love her." "Chris, she is not coming back, she has found someone else, she loves him now. I know that kills you to hear but you have to accept it." "What's his name?" "She never said and we never asked. Don't do this man, scrap what dignity you have left off the floor and get on with things. Go get a shower, we'll go and watch a game or something." "She used to try and understand football, never grasped it, though," Chris stated sadly, a small smile on his face.

"Don't do this man, go grab a shower."

Nodding sadly, Chris walked to his bedroom and looked around, his focus coming to the area in the corner he used grouse you would have far too many books, now all that was there was dirty laundry, grabbing his phone, he went onto the browser and typed in your name. In truth he had no idea what would come up, what he had not expected was the headlines and pictures of you in front of him, his eyes filling with tears once more.

Tom Hiddleston is off the market, the Thor and Avengers actor got married in a secret ceremony in Scotland last month.

The picture was one of you and Tom on your honeymoon, his wedding ring viewable in the picture as he held you hand in his, your rings viewable as you put some stray hair behind your ear. The smile on your face caused his stomach to churn painfully. You looked so happy, so carefree, so at ease that he could not deny it, it killed him somewhat to acknowledge you had indeed moved on. He knew Tom enough to know the Brit would never hurt you, Tom would not do what he had done, he would love you and show it every day. Tears fell as he thought of Pratt's words, you wanted that with him, a family with him, and he cast it all aside for an easy lay, now Tom would be the man that would have that life with you and as he noticed the small Baloo stuffed toy in Tom's hand, he suspected you already were starting one.

[waywardnerd67]

Fast Cars & Bleeding Hearts

Summary: (Y/N) was living her best life. Friends, love and fast cars. Then the one person in the world she never expected to shows up does and throws a wrench into her perfect life. Will she be able to resist what her heart desperately desires, or will she crash and burn. Characters: Charlie (OMC), Jessie (OFC), Kyle (OMC), Joel (OMC), Reader Pairing: Charlie x Reader / Joel x Reader Warnings: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 1826 A/N: A few things about this little one shot. This is all based off a vivid dream I had that I have been thinking about nonstop all day. In my dream the main man looked like Charlie Hunnam (not one of my top celebrity crushes but that is who my brain drummed up). So I used his aesthetic for the board and his name for the character. I am not tagging anyone since this is just for me to try to get this dream off my mind. I am embellishing it for the purpose of good story telling since I have been thinking about it all day. If you like it then awesome, if not I do mind if it gets zero notes as long as I stop thinking about it. Love Nerdy <3

(Y/N) grabbed her bookbag from the side of her desk stuffing her planner and black flats into it. Slipping on her Chucks, she waved to her co-worker in the next cubical as she made her way out the door on a gorgeous fall afternoon. She could not wait to get home and fine tune her beautiful ’72 Chevelle SS for tonight’s race. It was the one night out of the week that she felt more like herself being surrounded by friends and fast cars.

The trip home was quick as she walked inside the large multi-family building her best friend’s family owned. In this building was her two best friends Jessie and Kyle. Next to their unit was (Y/N)’s boyfriend, Joel along with his buddy Corey. Her unit was above his and then an empty unit next to her since Jessie’s friends had found a place nearby. It was nothing for (Y/N)’s apartment door to be open with her friends inside and today was no different as she saw Kyle sitting on her couch.

“How was work hon?” he asked looking over the back of the couch.

(Y/N) flopped down next to him, “Exhausting. People are so ungrateful and mean. One day I’ll find a job I love but for now I’m stuck answering calls from assholes.”

“Well at least now you can go do some real work and make some real money.” (Y/N) looked over at her friend smiling from ear to ear.

“Damn right I can. Hey, speaking of work, did you find a new tenant yet?” she asked getting up walking into her room to change.

Kyle was silent for a moment before he sputtered out, “Uh… y-yeah. Well, um, the new guy will actually be there tonight to meet everyone. So, yeah… hey I’ll see ya downstairs in the garage.”

(Y/N) peeked out from behind her door to see Kyle hurriedly getting up and walking out. She thought that was kind of strange of him but immediately lost all thoughts when she heard her car roar to life behind their building. She quickly put on an old pair of jeans and flannel rolling up the sleeves then slipped back into her Chucks. As she rushed downstairs, (Y/N) nearly knocked Joel over.

“Whoa there baby!” he said chuckling, “Where’s the fire?”

Joel slipped his arms around her waist pulling her in close and kissing her. She sighed happily leaning against him, “Kyle and guys are getting my car ready for tonight. You gonna make it this time?” she asked.

Joel looked down pulling away from her slightly, “Sorry babe. I have to work a double tonight. Text me though to keep me updated.”

She nodded trying not to show her disappointment, “I get it. No worries handsome and I’ll make sure to text you proof of life.”

He smiled leaning down to kiss her again and she made her way to the detached garage behind the building. Her disappointment was washed away when she saw her gorgeous glossy black Chevy shining in the evening light. Kyle was jacking it up while Corey was hovering over the motor. She smiled seeing Kyle’s daughter, Belle, helping him jack the car up into the air.

“Make sure your daddy doesn’t drop my baby.” (Y/N) said as Belle smiled widely at her.

“Got it Auntie (Y/N/N).” she said as Kyle flipped her off.

(Y/N) grabbed a milk crate to stand on next to Corey, “How’s she looking?”

Corey was a computer geek by trade but the only one she ever trusted with the mechanics of her car. He hummed before answering, “She’s looking good. Changing the fluids and a few minor things then she is good to go. Do you know where yet?”

(Y/N) scoffed, “Yeah. Right. Like King would tell us where the race will be before dark. If that ever happens I think I will play the lotto and give up racing.”

Corey laughed, “True. Alright get underneath and let’s change out her oil.”

This was (Y/N)’s favorite part getting down under her car and getting dirty. There was no bigger turn on than the smell of gasoline and car grease. After a couple of hours going over every inch of her Chevelle she went back into her apartment to get cleaned up. When she walked in there was a note pinned to her door.

“Keep your head clear, drive straight and be safe. Love ya babe, J.” she smiled reading it and set it on her kitchen table while she went to take a shower.

Sure enough Sean aka King texted her the location of the race tonight. It was a two hour drive into the country where there would be little chance of getting caught. That meant a major racer was in town and King wanted to see some good matches. Grabbing her lucky black hoodie she held onto the silver chain around her neck holding the only piece she cared about from her past and made her way back down to the garage.

“Where’s Jessie?” she asked only seeing Kyle and Corey loading up everything.

Kyle looked nervous again, “She and the kids are meeting us there. Come on we need to hit the road.”

She climbed into the big pick up truck that pulled her car and trailer with Corey on her left and Kyle on her right. The drive was filled with laughter and headbanging as they blared the music out the open windows. (Y/N) loved nights like tonight with a cold bite to the wind and crisp smell in the air. It reminded her of the good ole days before everything crashed around her.

Pulling up there were already many of the regular drivers and crews apart of King’s group. Most of them driving car half the weight of hers but none more powerful. Once they were parked and unloading, (Y/N) spotted Jessie with Belle and their youngest Rose walking up the main pit area.

She scooped up Rose twirling her around as she giggled, “I missed you Rosie!”

“She missed you too. Sorry we didn’t ride out with you but had to meet the new tenant here to sign the papers.” Jessie said looking anywhere but at (Y/N) and that is when she knew something was up.

“What is going on? Kyle is acting all squirrely and so are you. Who’s the new ten…” her sentence dropped off upon seeing the car driving up the pit road.

(Y/N)’s heart thumped wildly in her chest making it ache. It did not matter how long it had been since she seen that car she would never forget it. She knew it better than her own car and the driver behind the wheel. She looked over to Jessie whose face was bright red and suddenly everything made sense.

“No.” she said as Jessie bit her lip, “Oh hell no.”

(Y/N) handed Rose to Jessie and started to march over to Kyle her fist clenched at her side. Kyle’s eyes went wide when he saw her coming, “Whoa (Y/N), calm down before you…”

Before she knew it her fist was swinging towards Kyle as he dodged it, “You bastard! You knew it was him and didn’t tell me!? How could you?”

“(Y/N), calm down. He called me out of the blue and asked if I knew of a place he could crash at while getting back on his feet. We need the money to keep the building up to snuff so I couldn’t turn him down no matter your past with one another. I-I’m sorry.” He explained as she took a deep, shaky breath.

Turning around she watched as the man she has loved from childhood until the day of her accident got out of the cherry red ’70 Chevelle and started walking towards her. “I can’t do this.” She said walking off to clear her head.

She had been twenty-one, racing to pay her way through college. Charlie had helped her build her car right along his own. Hours of getting greasy and making love in his garage. He was the only man her dad approved of when he saw Charlie working on his car. A few words were exchanged, and her dad smiled at her saying he was a keeper. They grew up together living only a block from one another and in high school they had fallen in love.

That was until the day of her accident. The whole day had been bizarre starting with a classmate trying to pick a fight with her as she walked to home with Jessie. Never once did (Y/N) back down from the girl but she also never laid a finger on her. When she got home, Charlie was waiting for her in her room. He was tall and lean with shaggy blond hair that was usually under a black ball cap. His ocean blue eyes were always shining and his skin always sun-kissed from working on cars outside.

Before a race they always spent time together alone snuggling or talking to just relax. Being with him was as easy as breathing to her but that night he was tense. He asked her not to race but she had played it off as boyfriend nerves. (Y/N) would remember that conversation for the rest of her life since it was the last memory she had before her crash.

“Please sweetheart let’s just stay in tonight. I made enough this month to pay for your tuition. Let’s just lay here all night together.” He said turning on his side looking down at her.

(Y/N) raked her fingers through his thick hair moving it from in front of his crystal eyes, “Pretty boy, I’m not backing out now. Everything is set and it’s the first clear night we’ve had in weeks to race. I promise to be safe and with you there nothing can go wrong.”

His lips pursed before letting out a long sigh, “Alright we’ll go. I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling.”

“Everything will be fine.” She pulled his lips to hers trying to distract him from his thoughts.

Of course everything was not fine. According to all her friends, the car she raced slide sideways clipping the back end of her car sending it flying through the air. (Y/N) remembers nothing of the crash or the next six weeks after. What she did remember was never seeing Charlie when she woke up in the hospital weeks later. Never hearing from him over the next year she was in recovery or the year after that when she started to rebuild her car from the frame up. Nothing for five years until tonight.

“Hey (Y/N).” Charlie’s raspy voice send shivers down her body.

Turning around she found him wearing a black ball cap and hoodie like he always did five years ago. All the resentment and anger melted away as soon as he eyes connected with his blue ones.

“Hi Charlie.”

[loveseungs]

irony p. ii

a/n: heck here it is i just love words dont i also note: tumblr is being BadTM and broke all links so if u want p 1 just pls search for it on my blog

↠ pairing: lee felix x reader ↠ word count: 13.07k ↠ warnings: female reader ↠ genre: fluff, angst, soulmate au  ↠ part: one, two ↠ summary: 

In a world where soulmates exist, love is still a gamble.

 --

Bus rides home were usually filled with white noise and thoughts about work. But there was something about the steady pitter-patter of the rain and the hazy blur of life around you that lead you to plug in your earphones and listen to music.

It was tormenting. The catchiest beats were also the saddest ones, making your heart swell up at every relatable lyric. It was as if Spotify was playing with the strings of your heart, plucking them like an instrument every time a song about heartbreak came into your queue.

You were stuck in a state of paradox. The more you tried to forget, the more you tried to erase him who was in your heart, the more you remembered. You hated him because you knew that you couldn’t truly bring yourself to hate him.

Timing never seemed to be right with the two of you. If only you’d discovered that he was your destiny a few years later, maybe everything would have worked out, but since you found out a little bit too early, the problem then became you being too late to tell him.

A full year had already passed, and it felt like time was stretched. Graduation seemed so long ago after the ball started rolling on your career life. Once you moved to Busan and getting a great albeit stressful job, so many things just seemed to have happened. You convinced yourself of the fact that this was life now, and if this was all you were going to get, you were going to make it as spectacular as possible. Moving on from the mess that was Lee Felix was dealt and done with, however, it’d be a lie if you said you didn’t think about him every once in a while.

Twelve months ago, your arm was always covered in ink. The week you stopped talking to Felix, that’s when they started to appear. A thousand little messages written on your arm every single morning was what you had to wake up to. You’d seen your fair share of ‘I’m sorry’s and ‘I miss you’s, but you weren’t taking any of it. You knew that if you dared to reply once, even just once, you knew you’d just get hurt all over again—it was not something you were willing to risk, even if those annoying writings on your arm caused you to buy more long-sleeved shirts.

Gradually, their appearances lessened until the messages stopped altogether. Something about the absence of the all-too-familiar handwriting finally settled the fact that he was all but a memory that you were to leave in the past.

Occasionally, there were times that the memory of him would be jogged once again, like on this particular bus ride home. Truly, the blame was to be put on the meaningful lyrics and solemn melodies.

Chhhh. This was the part where you got off the bus and shook whatever bad vibes you were feeling out of your mind. This was not the time to feel sad. Not today, not today.

“Oh, you’re home already. How was work?” your grandma greeted from the kitchen, the sound of sizzling oil faintly echoing through the house.

“Shall I tell you over dinner?” You pursed your lips into a smile. “Or do you want to be spoiled? Just a hint, today was fantastic.”

“Well, if that doesn’t tickle my fancy. If you’re gonna start it off like that, sweetie, you might as well just tell me now,” she answered.

You entered the kitchen with a dramatic stride. You stopped for a second to pose, then you took a loud, deep breath. “Your grandkid made it, Nana. I, [L/N] [F/N], have been promoted to the Assistant Brand Manager of the department. Boss said I get a bonus on every third Friday of the month. Isn’t that something?”

“My, my. Won’t you treat your old woman out for dinner one of these days, since you’re now swimming in money? I’d love a steak, dear,” she smiled. “I’m only joking. I am so, so proud of you, darling! We need to celebrate! Come give me a hug!”

You wrapped your arms tightly around your grandmother. “Agh, I’m beyond elated! Shall we go somewhere special?”

“Would you care for some wine, perhaps? I’m cooking beef, so I think it would taste great. Set out the table outside, let’s enjoy the evening breeze. Let’s talk more about your promotion later. Who’s going to take your previous spot on the team?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Boss said there were some very promising newcomers, and I can only hope they’ll be a good addition and not a downfall to our team. Did you know that our department is one of the most productive ones? Ever since the PR department waged war on us, our productivity rate has doubled in number.”

“Why would you want to wage war on other departments? Mustn’t you work together for the better of the company?”

“Yes!” you replied. “It’s mostly to see who can boost the company’s sales better. We usually compete when we do our weekly reports to the boss. I think Boss secretly knows about the Marketing-PR war because he hasn’t said a word about any of our shenanigans, even if we blatantly express our friendly rivalry. There’s a small scoreboard in the conference room to tally which department did better that week, and it’s updated by the secretary. Boss didn’t order it to be put there, but he hasn’t said anything about it either.”

“It sounds wonderful. That’s quite a great way to promote efficiency in the company,” your grandmother commented, plating the dishes she had prepared for dinner.

“I know! Rumor has it that Boss is planning a company outing where all the departments will go on a head-to-head competition. I don’t know the details, but my co-worker said that she heard it from the janitor who heard it from the secretary,” you went on, “anyway, I’ll save more of the talk for later. Where do you keep the candles? I’ll put some outside as I set the tables.”

“In the left-most wooden drawer—no, not that one. Yes, that one. Glad to hear that work is good for you, honey. Makes me very glad.”

--

How could you stop a smile from making its way to your face? When you stepped into work the next day, you wore a grin like an expensive article of clothing.

“Somebody’s cheerful today,” your co-worker, Yugyeom mentioned, looking up from his desk. “what’s with the happy demeanor, [Y/N]?”

“Can’t I revel in the fact that I’ve finally been promoted?” you answered, taking a seat at your desk.

“Come on. There must be something else that’s up. Did you get a boyfriend? Meet a soulmate? Win the lotto? Your smile’s so bright, I think I’m going to go blind.” He rolled his eyes.

“No! Gross, I don’t have time for things like that,” you huffed. Leaning in, you whispered, “Listen. There’s a newcomer that’s going to be added to our team. Apparently, he’s from the Daejeon branch of the company, and he’s being transferred here to the Busan office because apparently, he did very well. Do you realize what this means for us? If we get another good employee, we’ll have one more person to help tackle PR on the scoreboard.”

“Damn, girl! Talk about competitive!”

“You know you’re excited, too.”

“Okay, fine. I am. Let’s teach this newcomer to help us in the quest to out-produce PR.”

“Morning, guys,” a familiar voice greeted. You and Yugyeom stood up to bow to your superior.

“Morning, Chan,” you greeted back.

“Woah, no ‘Sir’ for you, huh, [Y/N]?” Yugyeom snickered.

You hit him playfully. “I’ve known Chan since high-school. He’s the one who told me not to call him ‘Sir’. Anyway, is it true that the newcomer’s a good one? Gosh, I can’t wait. This is like fresh meat for us, you know? Do you know his name?”

“How do you know he’s a guy?” Yugyeom asked, raising a brow.

“Heard it from the janitor. Swear the janitor knows everything. Need info? I can get it for you. The janitor makes a pretty good friend,” you explained. “Anyway, like I asked, Chan. Do you have info on him?”

“Actually, [Y/N], I don’t. The Chief of Staff has yet to introduce me to him, which is kind of surprising. But to be fair, I’ve been out on business trips lately, so I’m not all too shocked,” Chan explained. “I hope this person is what make him out to be. Oh, speak of the devil.”

“Hello, all. Good morning. As you know, I’m Mr. Park, Chief of Staff, and I’m here to bring to you the latest addition to your team. As some of you may have heard, he is from our Daejeon branch and is a very capable man. I hope you will all take care of him.”

Chan took one glance at you to make sure you were doing alright, but all he saw was your jaw suspended in the open air, eyes wide.

You felt everything and nothing all at once.

“Everyone, this is Lee Felix, and he will be in charge of product marketing.”

--

You slammed the door to the office pantry behind you, Chan following inside. As you finished downing an entire cup of coffee, you sputtered, “How could this have happened? Chan! You’re like, the only person who knows what happened between Felix and I during high-school and college!”

“I swear, I didn’t know!” Chan defended, handing you a glass of water to calm you down. “I’m just as shocked as you are, alright? Drink this.”

“Is the world seriously against me?” you grumbled, burying your face in your hands. “Just as things have been looking up, he walks back into my life just like that! Here! In Busan! Where I purposely went so that I could get away from him!”

“Calm down, [Y/N]. Let’s sort this out. But you have to promise me that you won’t let your personal problems get in the way of professionality. I know you’re in shock, but let’s try not to let this get the best of you. Remember, PR’s been on the top of the leaderboard for two weeks straight, and we really need to step up our game,” the older boy spoke, rubbing your shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll try to fix this, yeah?”

“Dear goodness, I sure hope so,” you muttered, setting down the second empty paper cup as you looked at the office through the pantry blinds.

“I knew Felix had a job in marketing, but I didn’t know it was for our company, nevertheless did I expect him to end up here with us. I thought he got hired back in Seoul,” Chan commented, also watching the newcomer through the blinds.

“Right?” you sighed. “What on this good, green earth am I going to do know? I’m going to have to engage in conversation, you know?”

“Well, I suppose you can’t hide from him forever. After all, he… is your—”

“God, Chan. Don’t say it, please. Please don’t remind me,” you begged, shoulders going down in a slump.

Just like that, your joyful morning mood was dampened like the imminent grey clouds on a sunny June day, and now you were left with a situation you couldn’t run from.

--

A couple of days passed and you successfully avoided having to make any contact with Felix.

Surprisingly, things weren’t as bad as you had expected. You only had to do that obligatory bow when you greeted each other in the hallways, but that was it. You could not have it any other way.

“So… how’s stuff? You doing okay?” Chan asked one lunchbreak, grabbing his chopsticks from the lunch tray.

You gulped the rice in your mouth. “Could not be better. Can you believe it? One week went by without anything more than a couple of seconds of eye-contact and a bow.”

Yugyeom, who was sitting beside you, squinted his eyes. “Wait. Who are we talking about?”

“Uh,” you began, shooting a glance at Chan. “N-No one important, really. Just this person I met.”

“What, blind date outside of work?” he asked.

“No, I don’t have time for dates.”

Your co-worker gave you a goofy smile. “Aw, sucks for me, I just lost my shot.”

“Gross, Mr. Kim!” you laughed.

“I’m joking, I’m joking. Anyway, what’s your soulmate link?”

Great. The taboo question. It was cool, it was cool, you were chill, you were chill. “Oh, uh… why? What’s yours? Have you met your soulmate?”

“I’m a late bloomer, I guess. Lots of my friends have met their soulmates already, but my link says I’m still meeting my soulmate in… a couple of months. I’d show you the tattoo, but no one can see it anyway,” Yugyeom shared, taking a bite of his lunch. “How about you? I asked you first.”

“It’s a drawing link. Whatever’s drawn on my skin shows up on my soulmate’s or vice versa,” you said quietly, sipping your water. “But I’m not too hung up on the soulmate idea. Did you know that Chan’s real lucky? He scored a jackpot. Have you seen his girlfriend? She’s super nice. She and Chan are like the older siblings I never had.”

“Hey, but it was hard. You know, I had such a hard time with visual projects back in school before I met her. I had to keep asking my friends to tell me if my presentations looked good because really, I couldn’t tell. If I worked on them alone, they’d probably have the color scheme of ugly sweaters. So glad I can see color now, or else I probably would have a difficult time here in the company,” Chan chuckled at the thought. “By the way, she’s asking if you wanna come over some time for dinner. She misses hanging out with you, you know.”

“Oh for sure. How about this Saturday evening? I need to tell her about the recent news. Unnie’s gonna freak,” you asked Chan while you noted the schedule down on your phone.

“Hey, I thought you were gonna help me that evening with the project Boss assigned us?” Yugyeom piped up. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna cancel!”

“Relax, Mr. Kim. Let’s do that over lunch. No need to worry,” you told him.

Just then, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder and you turned around hastily, wiping your mouth.

Standing there with a hand at the back of his head was He-Who-Shan’t-Be-Named.

“Uh… Ms. [L/N]?”

‘Ooh, never thought I’d hear my last name roll off his tongue. Whatever, that’s to be expected,’ you thought.

“Sorry to bother you during lunch, but I need you to look over some paperwork that you submitted. Some of it wasn’t completed,” the freckled boy announced, handing you a folder.

You raised a brow. “Have I not? I could have sworn that I checked over these twice. I never submit incomplete paperwork.”

“A-Ah, is that so? But look here, there’s a blank space.”

You scanned the papers in your hands thoroughly. Glancing beside you, you inquired, “Mr. Kim, I thought this section of the paperwork was your job?”

Yugyeom took the folder from you. “What’s this? I didn’t send you the complete copy?”

“No?”

“Sorry, Mr. Lee. This was a fault on my part. It’s true, Ms. [L/N] never submits incomplete paperwork. I’ll have these files ready by 13:30, after lunch. Apologies for the inconvenience,” Yugyeom apologized, bowing.

Felix sported a polite smile. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m so sorry for the confusion, Miss [L/N]. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Um, you’re welcome.”

Caw. Caw. Caw.

“Well, I’ll be on my way. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, Ms. [L/N], Mr. Kim, Sir Bang,” Felix bowed, dragging his legs towards the opposite direction.

When he was out of sight, you leaned in to whisper, “If that wasn’t the most awkward two minutes of my entire company experience! I was doing so well up until this moment. I told you it’s best if I don’t talk to him!”

“What’s up with you and Mr. Newbie? You two know each other?” Yugyeom pressed, letting his chin rest on his hand. “Oh my. Don’t tell me—he’s the guy you went on a blind date with!”

“Lower your volume!” you scolded. “And ew, no! I already told you, I don’t have time for blind dates.”

“So give me a good reason as to why you’re apparently avoiding him!”

Chan came to the rescue. “Oh, we all went to the same high-school. [Y/N] and Feli—Mr. Lee used to go to the same college. She’s just had some weird encounters with him, is all.”

You nodded as if to agree with your superior. “Yup. Although don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to let it affect my work. Professionalism is professionalism.”

“Oh, is that right? Mm, didn’t know that,” Yugyeom answered, “anyway, let’s head back to our department. Lunch break is ending and I gotta fix this paperwork.”

--

The conference room door closed slowly behind as you and Chan made your way out from the most recent meeting. People from PR gave you both a smirk before heading towards their department. You clutched your fists in frustration and bore holes into their backs while stomping to the opposite direction.

“Just because they’ve gotten a lead on the scoreboard makes them think they can act like that, huh,” you hissed, rolling your eyes. “I swear, I’m working overtime this week.”

Chan placed a hand on your shoulder and stopped you. “Calm down, it’s gonna be alright, okay? Besides, we should be happy that they’re doing good for the company. Don’t get me wrong, I hate their department with my guts, but it’s nice to see Boss smiling at the good reports. But here’s the catch. Next week, we’re having the company outing. I’ve yet to announce it to the department, so keep your mouth quiet. I received the e-mail this morning, and it’s going to be held in Jeju island. There’s going to be lots of activities. Boss thinks it’s a good investment to have a fun company outing to, quote unquote, ‘promote bonding in the workplace’.”

You gasped and pointed at Chan. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We get to totally mow down PR in competition?”

��The prize is yet to be announced, and yes. We’re going to kill it. Of course, that means everyone in the department has to double-time this week so that we can enjoy the outing without thinking of work. How’s the project I assigned you doing?” Chan questioned.

From behind you, a voice spoke. “Uh, sorry to intrude, but I couldn’t help but overhear you two talking about the company outing. According to Secretary Bambam, each department is going to stay in separate guest houses. Do you need some help, Ms. [L/N]?” Yugyeom brought up, joining in on the conversation.

“Help? For what?” you asked, raising a brow.

Yugyeom put a hand to his mouth. “Don’t you have some kind of uncomfortable business with Mr. Lee, the newbie? I don’t know, I thought you’d be bothered.”

“Mr. Kim!” Chan boomed. “Don’t let [Y/N]’s personal matters affect how you interact with the people on our team. The least we need is division amongst ourselves. Where even did you get the information on the outing? You’re not supposed to know yet.”

“Why hide it? As I was making coffee in the staff room, Secretary Bambam offhandedly mentioned it to me,” Yugyeom answered, holding his clipboard.

“I’m sure it’s not going to be so bad,” you reassured the two boys, heading over to your desk. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kim.”

--

“This is so bad,” you grumbled, throwing different articles of clothing on your bed. There were all sorts of knick-knacks flying around your tiny room, scattered any place a knick-knack could be.

Just then, the door to your room opened and your grandma stepped in, raising her hands in surprise. “Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on in here? Your room looks like a jungle of clothes! I said pack for your trip, not unleash the beast, sweetie.”

You let out an exasperated groan as you shut the door of your closet. “Sorry, grandma. I’m just a little stressed thinking about the trip.”

“Come sit,” the older woman insisted, patting the empty spot on your bed beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong. To think this trip is supposed to be a celebration for the numerous victories your company has been making these past few months.”

“It’s not the company, grandma,” you admitted, taking a seat beside her. “It’s…it’s just that I have to deal with being stuck in a house with someone I wish I didn’t need to be with.”

“Hmm? That’s strange, I always thought you to be one of the more amiable people at work. Are you not friends with everybody?”

You sucked in your breath and prepared for what was about to come. “There’s this one guy. His name is Lee Felix… and… he’s… my soulmate.”

“Oh my.”

Right then and there, you decided that you could no longer keep up the bubbling vexations you buried deep in your chest. From the moment you met him until the very moment those years of friendship ended, you told her everything, not sparing a single important detail. By the time you finished up your story, your face was puffy and your eyes were red. The nighttime breeze howled quietly in the background, enveloping you in a chill.

“A-And recently, I thought I was doing okay, but he decided to take another stride back into my life. I mean, it’s all good at work, but it’s been so hard to focus lately and I don’t know why. I know I’m over him, and I’ve resigned to not thinking about soulmates or finding love or whatever. But every time I see that damned face of his, things come flooding into my mind,” you sniffled, blowing your nose. Your grandma rubbed soothing circles on your back, listening to every word that you spoke. “It doesn’t help that PR is doing better than Marketing lately, and I can’t help but think that maybe I’m slacking off a bit or something.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Here, drink some water,” your grandma began, “if you’ll let me, may I share what I think about your situation?”

“Go ahead, grandma. I’m so sorry for crying.”

“Sweetie, no, don’t do that. It’s okay to cry. But you know, I think the reason why you’ve become so competitive at work, the reason you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, the reason why you hold anger in your heart towards Felix despite saying that you’ve moved on from him, even the reason why you always apologize for crying—all those reasons are the same. From what I’ve been hearing, I think you need to re-examine what’s really in there,” she explained, pointing at your left chest where your heart was. “Ever since Felix, you’ve blamed yourself for everything. Because you knew you got hurt, you sorta… how should I say this… resigned yourself into thinking ‘I’m never going to get hurt like that again’. You made that mistake, and you’ve been beating yourself over it for these past few years.”

“I-I have?”

“Honey, I have to tell you. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay,” your grandma said, pulling you into a hug. “And honestly, I think the person who needs forgiveness most now isn’t Felix, but you. Forgive yourself, [Y/N]. It’s alright that you stumbled along the way.”

Your face crumpled. It was true. You felt so… so raw in front of your grandmother who saw right through you, who saw right through your heart. Everything somewhat fell into place, and you realized the reason you were hurting. And it felt good, to have finally admitted what you were hiding deep down for so long.

“So… what do I do now, grandma?” you asked, voice coming out as a choke. “What now?”

“It’s your choice if you want to, at the very least, tolerate him or let him go. Whatever you choose, know that I’m proud of you for taking those steps. Now go pack, it’s getting late and you’re supposed to meet up with the team early tomorrow. Please bring a jacket.”

“I will,” you replied, watching your grandmother get up and head out of your room. “Hey grandma?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Thank you.”

--

The sun was barely out, but you and your team were already outside the company building waiting for the van. The sounds of yawning and drowsy morning chatter filled the atmosphere.

Just before you left the house, your grandma left you some rice cakes on the table. A note saying ‘Eat well and enjoy <3’ came with it, helping you start your day off with a smile. As your team lined up to board the ferry, you bit into a rice cake, letting your teeth sink into the soft delicacy. Wow. It was beyond scrumptious.

The vicinity was getting a little bit warm as the sun began its ascent into the higher areas of the sky, causing you to remove the jacket you were wearing, As you tied the piece of clothing to your waist, you couldn’t help but notice a scribble on your left arm, just below your wrist.

‘Would you ever consider giving me one of your rice cakes? I’m so sorry, I saw you eating some and I haven’t had breakfast. It’s alright if you decide not to. I’ll wash off the ink with hand sanitizer.’

You jerked your head up, scanning the crowd for a certain someone. When your eyes landed on an all-too-familiar freckled boy, he reciprocated your stare with a sheepish smile.

You did a double-take. Should you forfeit your streak of barely having to interact with him or offer a rice cake to your hungry co-worker who would probably really need to eat something before leaving to engage in several tiring activities? Damn it, you knew he loved rice cakes.

Hesitantly, you shuffled over to Felix, who waved to you and bowed as you approached him. “Uh, good morning, Fe—Mr. Lee.”

“Hi, Miss [L/N]. Get my note?” the boy asked, pointing to your arm. Damn, you knew about his booming voice, but you’d forgotten just how deep his pitch was.

“The chicken scratch handwriting was quite hard to miss.”

“I’m sorry for using this particular means of communication. I just… I’m finding it a little difficult to talk to you, no offense.”

“None taken,” you answered, handing him a rice cake. “You’ll just really do anything for a rice cake, huh?”

In seconds, the poor rice cake was scarfed down. Felix wiped his mouth with his jacket sleeve. “I’m surprised you remember.”

“Like I’ll ever forget the reason half my lunch was always missing back in high-school,” you scoffed. “Here, you can have one more. I have more food in my bag anyway. Why’d you skip breakfast?”

‘Damn it, [Y/N]!’ you thought to yourself. ‘What the hell is up with you? I thought we agreed to just hand him a rice cake and leave?!’

“I live a bit far from here. I couldn’t miss the bus,” he answered, adjusting the neck pillow sitting comfortably on his shoulders. It was sort of endearing, how the neck pillow was themed to be a cute teddy bear design. Felix yawned. “And I didn’t sleep too well last night. Had to do some last-minute paperwork because somebody turned in their files late. Thank you so much, by the way. Your kindness will not be forgotten.”

“You’re welcome. And oh, I can imagine how awful that is. Late paperwork, I mean. I feel bad for nagging our co-workers to send me files, but in the end, it gets the job done, you know,” you replied, straightening your back. “Anyway, if that will be all, I’m just gonna—”

“Wait, don’t go!” Felix sputtered, grabbing a hold of your arm. He quickly released it, ears turning red. “A-Ah, sorry. I just wanted to ask you something about PR.”

“PR? Huh. Go shoot,” you mused, and you could still feel the burning spot where Felix’s hand collided with your arm.

“What’s up with this thing I hear about a Marketing-PR war?”

As you opened your mouth to speak, Chan interrupted you with a tap. “Hey, [Y/N], I need to borrow a pen.”

You fished for your trusty gel pen from your backpack and handed it to Chan, who began to look around and tick off boxes on his clipboard. Taking a peek at the clipboard, you saw that he was just doing a headcount.

“That’s our leader-nim, huh?” you teased, playfully giving Chan a nudge. He rolled his eyes.

“I’ll give your pen back later, I need it for a while. Go line up over there already, the van is leaving in ten minutes,” Chan answered, walking away.

Felix began to make his way to the spot that Chan had instructed you both to go to, and you followed right behind. As soon as he set his luggage down on the floor again, he turned to you. “So… Marketing-PR war?”

“Oh yeah,” you nodded, remembering. “It’s kind of a long story, but I guess it’s important to know the origins of the great Marketing-PR battle. I can tell you about it on the way, but only if you’re truly ready to hear the origins.”

“I mean sure. We’re spending a lot of time in the van anyway, so we have plenty of time to kill.” Felix suggested. “I’m so glad Boss booked the high-speed car ferry. A trip that would usually take five hours is cut down to two.”

“Good, good, sure. I only have so much downloaded drama on my phone to kill time. So anyway, since we have a lot to cover, I better start. It begins when Sir Park Jinyoung—not the CEO, the head of PR—gets one of Marketing’s most competent workers, Choi Youngjae.”

--

“Thank everything we’re here,” Yugyeom breathed, grabbing his duffle bag from the trunk. “I thought we’d never make it.”

“On the bright side, Mr. Lee finally knows the deep, dark past of Marketing and PR,” Chan mentioned, helping Yugyeom get his bags.

“Yeah, um, after we got interrupted like, ten times.” You rolled your eyes. “I could have told the whole story in one hour, but you kept cutting in and getting side-tracked. Did Mr. Lee have to know about the Ramen Incident?”

“Okay, fine, whatever. Let’s go settle in the guest house. Boss wants us to meet in the conference hall at 1:00 sharp. He’s going to brief everyone on the activities,” Chan retorted.

“Boss is here?” Felix questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah, he’s here to oversee the activities. Usually, he’d send the secretary, but since two entire departments are here, he came,” Yugyeom answered.

The four of you wheeled in your luggage into the cozy-looking cabin, which turned out to be more modern and restful that you’d expected. The inside was simple and minimalistic but sported a few home-esque touches. There were four bedrooms to be split between the team, but Chan had already assigned them. The girls would have the rooms upstairs while the guys would stay in the two downstairs. You were more than thankful to have a sensible roommate—her name was Jihyo and she was one of the more responsible ones on the marketing team.

“I’m relieved that we got here in one piece,” Jihyo commented, setting down her bags in the closet. “I’m surprised that Mr. Kim didn’t blow up the van.”

You chuckled. “Sometimes, I wonder how he’s even considered a grown man.”

“Right? Also, would you like some mosquito spray? I hear that it gets very bugsy outside,” she offered, holding up a bottle.

“How could I have scored such an awesome roomie? Thank you so much,” you grinned, spraying the product on your skin.

As soon as you both finished settling down, you made your way downstairs to meet the others. Once everyone was there, the Marketing team headed outside towards the conference hall, where your boss was waiting.

“Oh, nice. We made it first,” Chan mentioned, taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs.

You plopped down beside him. “Plus points to Marketing for being punctual.”

In a few seconds, a group of people started to pile into the venue one by one, and you recognized them as the terrible faces of PR. The engine of competitiveness was revving up as the minutes passed.

“Welcome to the long-awaited JYP company outing,” the one and only CEO boomed into the mic, “it’s nice to see that many of you were able to come.”

An applaud echoed throughout the hall.

“Anyhow, I’d not like to keep you here any longer. I’m sure that you are all famished by the travel and have not gotten the chance to eat a proper lunch yet. Worry not and let that be one of the driving forces for you all to give your best at the activities. The schedule is as follows: at 1:30 PM, the Relay Race will start. It will take around one to two hours, so I expect it to be over at around 3:00 PM. I will now announce the mechanics of the Race. Secretary Bambam, please flash the slides,” your Boss announced.

“Alright. You are now here,” he stated, pointing a laser at a spot on the screen. “Each team will go through a series of obstacles throughout the area. All these obstacles have been tailored to test your skills as employees, of course, as to not waste such a valuable opportunity to incorporate training and recreation. Some of these include creating a campaign for a product on the fly and trying to persuade me, who will act like a customer, to buy the said product. Each time you beat one obstacle better than the other team, you gain one point. Whoever gains the most points by the end of the Race gets quite the grand prize. At JYP, we don’t plan shabby company outings. At JYP, we allow our employees to have a chance at a fabulous prize, and this year, the winning department not only gets a delicious barbeque sponsored by our clients but also a bonus for next month’s paycheck.”

The entire hall erupted in cheer, everyone clearly enthused at the sound of the word ‘bonus’, which was just like an angelic choir.

“Right now, you all have a couple of minutes to plan out your strategies. Here are the list of ‘obstacles’ you will be facing, and I suggest you take time to assign your best people to the activities that they are most likely to do well at. At 1:30 sharp, Secretary Bambam will ring a bell and everyone should be off. Time starts now! Enjoy, everyone. See you at the finish line.”

You took one look at the screen in front and Chan was already motioning for your department to come and huddle.

“Alright, so for activity one, we need our most persuasive members. Ms. Park, Mr. Yang, I think you’d be most suited for that. Mr. Kim, I’m assigning you to face off in that dance battle,” Chan instructed.

“Are you kidding me?” Yugyeom shrieked. “Actually, you know what, sure. I’d rather do that than try to come up with a marketing scheme for Boss. Did you know I’ve won several awards for dancing in college? If I wasn’t in this company, I’d probably rocking the stag—”

“Not now! Anyway, Ms. Im, I’ll trust you to activity three. We all need to work together for activity four, then for the final activity—oh.”

Chan glanced at you, then glanced at Felix. You caught sight of that began to shake your head vigorously.

“Chan, whatever you’re thinking, NO.”

Your superior walked over to you and whispered, “[Y/N], we both know you and Felix can annihilate anyone in a three-legged race.”

“That was in high-school!” you defended, rubbing your palms together. “There’s no way—why is that activity even on the list?! Everyone knows the three-legged race is just so that people can poke fun at the contestants.”

“Think about PR winning that sweet, sweet bonus that we’re supposed to snag,” Chan tempted, etching a horrible image in your mind.

You did a double-take. “Fine, fine! But only because I hate PR’s guts more than I can humanely bear. Damn it.”

--

The score was currently tied, and it was down to the last obstacle: the dreaded three-legged race. ‘Of course this was how it was going to pan out,’ you thought to yourself, ‘because the universe hates me and loves to play with my life.’

While Yugyeom was busy bragging about his epic win at the dance show-off, you were bent down, tying a ribbon around your leg and Felix’s.

“Hey,” Felix began, clearing his throat. “Sorry you had to end up with me. I can tell you’re pretty bummed out.”

You whipped your head to him and your cheeks started to flush. “U-Uh, that isn’t it. It’s fine, really. Let’s just totally kill PR, alright?”

“You still got that three-legged race spirit in you?” he asked, stretching his arms. “Or has it withered away over the years?”

“I will never, ever give up my secret talent for three-legged races.”

“We’ll see about that. Wanna test it out? Let’s walk from here to there. No stumbling.”

You scoffed and nodded. In a few seconds, Felix found a way to snake his arms around your waist and a glare was quickly sent in his direction.

“What? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that this is the only way we can advance faster. Tried and tested, remember?” Felix piped up, adjusting his footing. “It’s how we beat that loser from Class B in high-school.”

“Alright already, let’s get this over with. Test from here to the water bottle?”

“Yup. One, two, three, go.”

Just like he said, the extra support from his grasp allowed for you both to move swiftly. It wasn’t long until you were able to reach the water bottle finish-line.

“See, told you.”

“Okay, contestants! Please make your way to the starting line now for the final battle, the tiebreaker!” Secretary Bambam announced over a microphone.

“How are you guys doing? You alright?” Chan’s voice came from behind you, causing you both to turn your heads in unison.

“Still got it, Sir Bang. The three-legged race has always been something me and Ms. [L/N] will always conquer with flying colors. Watch us win the department a bonus and a barbeque,” Felix grinned, giving Chan a thumbs-up.

“Can’t wait to see PR’s crushed faces. This is gonna be a breeze.” You saluted.

“Actually,” Chan started, leaning into a whisper. “You might wanna look over there. This is actually going to be quite close.”

Turning your head to the other side, you caught a glimpse of two familiar men. A gasp escaped your mouth.

“Wang and Tuan?!” you screamed, making Chan shoot you a look that said ‘shut-up’.

“What’s wrong with Wang and Tuan?” Felix questioned, head still turned in their direction.

You rubbed your temples in frustration. “Um, yes, you heard me. It just had to be the damned Wang and Tuan! They’re notorious for being one of the company’s most athletic individuals. We might as well surrender now because Mr. Tuan used to be in the track team back in the day and Mr. Wang once tried to match the speed of a moving car.”

“Hey, I used to be in Taekwondo! I have legs, Ms. [L/N]. Legs for days,” Felix replied.

“It’s indeed going to be a tough one, but we don’t know how well Mr. Wang and Mr. Tuan can run as a duo. For all we know, they’re amazing solo runners but terrible once their legs are tied together,” Chan encouraged.

“Nope.” You pointed at the two men who were jogging together in place. “Look at that coordination.”

“Okay, I hate to do this, but I know spite is the greatest motivator for you, [Y/N],” Chan started, balling his hands into a fist. “Remember when you were stressing over late paperwork the other day and wanted chocolate milk but found out there were none left in the staff room?”

“Yeah, and?”

“Wang took the last one,” Chan stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

“He didn’t.”

“Oh, but he did. When I went over to PR to hand in some files, I saw him sipping the last carton of chocolate milk.”

“That piece of scum,” you seethed, grabbing on to Felix’s waist. “That’s it, Felix. We’re taking them down.”

“Oh, we’re on first-name basis now?” the freckled boy asked innocently, putting his arm on your waist as well.

“This is war,” you declared, “we’re partners now. And today, we’re going to wipe off the dregs of society from this earth.”

--

Crackle. Crackle. A wave of heat kissed your face as a puff of smoke danced with the air. And the smell of charcoal was absolutely disgusting, but it was the single sweet reminder that everybody needed and deserved.

“Are we ready?” Yugyeom whispered, hiding behind your back.

“Let’s get cooking.”

Within seconds, the entirety of the Marketing team was scrambling to grab a hold of a piece of barbeque, hungry employees bustling left and right. After winning the competition, food was screaming to be devoured. It was three in the afternoon and nobody’d eaten lunch yet.

“Wait!” Chan cleared his throat. “Do we have drinks? I would like to make a toast.”

“Uh…” Jihyo drawled, eyeing the vicinity. “We have paper cups, but no drinks. Seriously? Who plans a barbeque with no drinks?”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll go to the store. I heard it’s not far from here,” you offered, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jacket.

“I’ll go with you in a second,” Chan answered, grabbing a paper cup, “but before we eat, to [Y/N] and Felix! The ones who trampled over PR during the tiebreak! Raise a glass!”

A cheer erupted from everyone’s mouths as empty paper cups were raised in the air to honor the victory that belonged to the team.

“Oh, can I come with? There’s a couple of things I wanna buy, too,” Yugyeom asked, walking towards you.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll save you some barbeque,” Felix suggested, waving. “Congrats to us. Go get the team some refreshing stuff!”

The three of you made your way out of the area and onto the streets, searching for a nearby grocery or convenience store.

After what seemed like miles of walking, your feet finally brought you in front of a small grocery. You didn’t hesitate to walk right in and pick up a basket.

The humble store consisted of a few shelves with worn-out paint lined up neatly in rows and holding all kinds of snacks and delights. The gentle whirring coming from the back lead you to a clear refrigerator with different drinks, and pretty soon, the metal basket in your hands was filled with several bottles. These were piled onto the counter along with a couple bags of chips, courtesy a snacky Yugyeom.

“What?” he said when you started to eye him judgingly, throwing the chip bags on the cashier tabletop. “It’s for my midnight cravings and the trip back home.”

You rolled your eyes, handing the cashier your credit card in exchange for your purchases. After getting your card back, the three of you headed back outside. Chan stopped in his tracks.

“Wait, so from here, did we take a left turn or a right turn? Right, right?”

“Pretty sure it was a left turn, Chan.”

“What?! You two are crazy, we came from straight ahead! I saw that sign with the cute cats earlier.”

“Okay, Mr. Kim, we’re trusting you.”

“Just drop the honorifics already. It’s alright.”

A minute passed… then two… then five…

“This isn’t the way that we came from.”

“You know what? This is why we live in a technological world. Let me just Google Maps this,” Yugyeom scoffed, pulling out his phone. “Aaaaaand… it says my line was cut off because I forgot to pay the bill. Cool, cool. Chan?”

“I left my phone in the room earlier because I didn’t want it to be hurled around during the race,” Chan answered. “[Y/N], you?”

A trickle of sweat slipped down your forehead. “Phone’s been dead for over an hour. I used it to record Wang and Tuan’s devastated faces after the competition.”

“Um, excuse me,” Chan attempted, trying to ask an elderly lady for help. She waved him off, muttering something about dangerous strangers.

“Right, so we’re lost, no help, and completely foreign-looking streets. What could get worse?” Yugyeom mumbled all pessimistic.

The clouds rumbled above.

“Seriously?!” Chan breathed out, gesturing for you three to wait under the shade of the grocer’s storefront. “Situational irony? Isn’t this just fantastic?”

“Hold on,” you began, turning to the oldest of you three. “Chan, do you still have the pen I lent you earlier before you left? You said you needed to check attendance.”

“Oh yeah, as a matter of fact, I do,” he replied, fishing in his pocket for the said pen. “Here.”

You took it hastily, taking a deep breath before engaging in the one thing you had never thought you’d do in your lifetime. Flipping the cap open, you began to write down a couple of words on your arm.

“Hi, Felix. Please tell me when you see this. It’s really urgent. Chan, Yugyeom, and I are stranded in a grocery, phones dead. Could you come pick us up at XX Grocer with umbrellas?”

“What? How’s that supposed to help us? It’s not like the words will magically float off into cyberspace,” Yugyeom commented, confused.

Your cheeks began to feel warm. After casting a worried look to Chan, you shut your eyes and began to spill your secret.

“I-It’s…um… whatever I write on my arm will show up on Felix’s arm and vice versa,” you explained quietly, keeping your eyes fixated on your arms for any sign of response.

“Don’t tell me,” Yugyeom gasped, “he’s the one you’re soulmates with?!”

“She’s known since high-school,” Chan sighed, “but there are reasons as to why they’re not… you know. Together. [Y/N] doesn’t particularly like to talk about it.”

“No, it’s alright,” you waved it off, “I can tell you, just please don’t tell anyone. Um, actually, Felix and I used to be best friends, but some complicated things happened and we fought. After college, I went to Busan to try to start a new life, but in the end, I couldn’t escape him.”

“O-Oh, were you guys dating? Did he know you were here?” Yugyeom inquired, genuinely curious.

As the drops of rain started to pour around, you answered, “No, we never dated. And it’s all been purely coincidence. I didn’t know he was coming and neither did he. That’s why it was so difficult for us to interact when he first came.”

“Everything makes sense!” Yugyeom exclaimed, making an explosion gesture with his hands. “Wait, did he reply to your arm message?”

You looked down at you arm again and sure enough, the familiar chicken scratch writing appeared.

“I’ll be there in a bit. Stay dry! I’ll try to be as quick as possible.”

“Okay, good. We’re saved.” Chan let out a breath of relief.

In fifteen minutes, Felix was shuffling across the street towards you three, an umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Why’d you guys go so far? There was literally a convenience store right beside the place we’re staying at,” Felix questioned, unzipping his bag. “Here’s an extra umbrella.”

“Sir Bang—Chan… can I speak with you for a bit on the way home? There’s a bit of concern with one of the Marketing members and I need to discuss it with you,” Yugyeom piped up, grabbing the umbrella from Felix’s hands. “If you don’t mind, I’ll share this with Chan. It’s a personal matter.”

Chan didn’t even get a chance to object before he was pulled away by a swift Yugyeom, who began to babble about his concerns. You and Felix watched them mosey away, chattering about whatever was to be chattered about.

“Uh, let’s go?” Felix cleared his throat, holding the umbrella. You stepped in and began to walk back to the company outing’s venue.

For a while, all that could be heard was just the pitter-patter of the rain as you trudged on in silence. The quietness was so suffocating, you swear you could hear the cawing of a crow muffled beneath the sounds of the rain.

“Hey… you’re getting wet,” the freckled boy mentioned, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to him. He dropped his hand quickly after, opening his mouth to speak. “Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable to be so near me, but I just don’t want you to get wet.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s okay. Thank you for being so considerate. And for picking us up.”

“It’s no problem, although this?” he said, riding up his jacket sleeve to expose the scribbles on his arm. “A message saying that you were stranded wasn’t exactly what I hoped your first ever arm message to me would be. I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I really wished you might’ve saved it to notify me that you brought rice cakes to work or something.”

A giggle escaped your lips as the thought entered your mind. “Well, sorry that an emergency message isn’t as cool as rice cakes. But now that you’ve expressed your sentiments, maybe I will bring rice cakes and use our connection to notify you.”

“I can’t believe you thought of contacting me that way. Couldn’t you have texted?”

“Well, Chan’s phone was left behind, Yugyeom hasn’t payed his bills, and mine’s dead. And even if mine wasn’t dead, I don’t have your number.”

“Ouch, you deleted my number after moving?”

“…I uh… got a new phone?”

“Nah, I’m just kidding you. It’s alright, I totally get it.”

Just as you arrived at the entrance of the recreation center, you halted your steps and turned to Felix.

For the first time in a very, very long time, you found the strength to look him in the eyes. “Uh… wait. I just wanted to tell you something.”

“Hm?” He turned to you as well, matching your stare. Why were your legs feeling wobbly? Your palms were starting to sweat as well, and you cursed yourself for it. Speaking to Felix properly and serious was something you found extremely difficult to do, but you decided to stop acting like he was a disease you didn’t want to catch.

With a deep breath, you began, “So… it kinda felt nice to be able to talk to you again. You know, not about work. Just…normally. I guess, what I wanted to say was, uh, well, is it okay if we restart? Be friends, maybe? I really hate this discomfort between us, and I think it would be better, even for work, if we got along.”

Silence enveloped the air once again, leaving the both of you in the company of the rain and the passing cars. Thoughts of Felix lashing out and angrily speaking back to you flashed in your head; suddenly, you wanted to scurry off and never see his face again. What if he called you out on all the horrible things you’d done to him in the past? You braced yourself for anger, for rejection.

But instead, the boy in front of you broke into a grin. He even chuckled a little, reaching out his hand.

“Well, in that case,” he spoke, “hi. I’m Lee Felix, it’s nice to meet you. You can call me Felix.”

You grabbed his hand and shook it. “Hey, Felix. I’m [L/N] [Y/N], but feel free to just stick with [Y/N]. Friends?”

“Sure. Friends.”

--

Months after declaring the newfound restart, the budding flower of friendship began its ascent into full bloom. Often times, you asked your grandmother to make you some extra rice cakes to bring to work, that of which you shared with Felix. Sure enough, you kept your promise of notifying him through a small doodle of a rice cake on your wrist. You could have sworn you saw his eyes light up every time he noticed what was on his wrist. There were even nights that you two would stay behind to work on projects together, bringing snacks and drinks to keep you guys powered throughout the extra hours. Productivity rate in your team increased due to you and Felix’s hard work, and this did not go by unnoticed.

As he was passing by Felix’s desk, Chan couldn’t help but notice that Felix’s usually busy computer screen was shut off and that his freckled junior was staring intently at something in his hands. One look over his shoulder and Chan couldn’t help but smile.

He cleared his throat. “What’s that?”

The poor boy almost leaped out of his seat. Shoving the object behind his back, Felix responded, “What’s what?”

Chan motioned to Felix’s hands. “Whatever’s behind you.”

A trickle of sweat dripped down Felix’s clammy fingers. “Just a photo.”

“Ooh, can I see?” Chan pressed on, already knowing exactly what it is the boy held.

“N-No, hyung.”

“Come on. Don’t make me pull the superior card.”

“Fine!” Felix revealed the photo to the man in front of him, ears turning crimson. “Look, I found our graduation picture while rummaging through some of my old stuff, okay? It’s just got me thinking, like…I didn’t realize how much I missed [Y/N] over time. It seems like forever since we graduated high-school, and I still remember how it felt being her best friend. Sometimes, when I see her laugh with Yugyeom, I’m reminded of the times I used to be able to make her laugh like that. I don’t know, I sorta miss it, um, a lot.”

“Hold up, are you jealous of Yugyeom?” Chan raised a brow.

Felix hesitated, turning away. “Don’t phrase it like that, please.”

“Felix,” Chan started, breaking into a grin. “Do you like [Y/N]?”

“Is that so weird?” Felix huffed, burying his face in his arms. “I mean like, she’s my soulmate. But more than that, she’s a friend I really, really treasure. Like, I’ve been thinking about it and it would really suck if she wasn’t in my life. So I kinda came to the conclusion that okay, fine. When I talk to her, it’s not as much so to ask for rice cakes but to actually converse with her. And that I um, do like her. But honestly, between you and me?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a chance this whole ‘liking [Y/N]’ thing isn’t new news.”

--

Now Chan could only be relieved that his team members (namely you and Felix) were finally getting along well, but Yugyeom, on the other hand, would often sometimes send a wiggle of brows in your direction. Of course, this led you to throw crumpled balls of scratch paper at him, but deep down, you too were glad that the office became a more bearable workplace. You were more than thankful to have a good superior, good co-workers, and even a good boss.

On Tuesdays, you’d bring homemade lunch instead of buying from the office canteen. One fateful Tuesday noon, you stood up as soon as lunchbreak started and headed to the staff room to pick up your boxed lunch to heat it up in the microwave. On your way, you thought about handing some extra gimbap to Chan, Yugyeom, and Felix in gratefulness for being good to you. A smile made its way to your face as you entertained the thought, feeling appreciative and enthused that life had been looking up lately.

Just as you were about to open the door to the staff room, a familiar laugh rang in your eyes. Inside the room happened to be your freckled friend, smiling towards a female employee. You easily recognized her to be one of those PR scumbags, and once the realization hit that Felix was mingling with someone from that bloody department, your blood began to boil.

To make matters worse, you caught sight of him handing her what seemed to be a box—and that was all it took for you to storm into the staff room, take your lunch, and stomp outside in the direction of the canteen.

Once you got to your usual table, you plopped down in front of Yugyeom and hastily opened your lunch box.

“Woah there, tiger. What’s with the attitude?” Yugyeom asked, fiddling with his chopsticks. “Oh and by the way, Chan won’t be joining us. He’s in a meeting.”

“Felix is mingling with a girl from PR!” you huffed, stabbing a slice of gimbap and shoving it in your mouth. Between frustrated chews, you managed to sputter, “I’m so ticked off! He gave her a gift, or something!”

Yugyeom almost spit out his water. “What?! No way.”

“Yes way,” you nodded, wiping your mouth. “Saw them in the staff room being all friendly. I mean come on, ugh!”

“Hold on.” Yugyeom squinted his eyes. “Are you jealous?”

This time, it was your turn to almost spit out your water. “Excuse me? Yugyeom, you know how bad it is for someone to flirt with the enemy!”

“Yeah, but like, you sure you’re not just…I don’t know…pissed that Felix was flirting with someone who isn’t you?”

“The hell?” you hissed. “Felix does not flirt with me.”

Yugyeom sighed and rolled his eyes. “If that’s how you think, you are a lost cause, woman. When you write him notes or whatever on your wrist—which by the way, talk about cheesy!—his face lights up like a Christmas tree. And your banter as you do paperwork? Don’t get me started.”

“He gets excited because goodness knows Felix loves rice cakes more than anything. And office banter is nothing but what it is! What, I can’t argue about the better way to appeal to customers? What’s so romantic about different marketing topics? Seriously, do you know how un-sexy ‘Geographic Segmentation’ sounds? Anyway, I’m still upset that loverboy’s sucking up to PR. I mean, really?” you scoffed.

“Who’s sucking up to PR?” A deep voice came, startling you. When Felix took a seat next to you, you rolled your eyes and stood up. Petty, but absolutely necessary. You weren’t going to stand for anyone who mingled with PR. And just like that, you strut off towards your department, deciding that your table was the best place to eat lunch for now.

“I cannot even bear to see you guys sometimes,” Yugyeom exhaled, watching Felix try to comprehend what had just taken place in front of his eyes.

--

One entire week had passed since you started to act cold towards Felix, who had not a single clue what on earth was going on. Every time he tried to speak to you, you brushed it off with some lame excuse about having to think of the best way to brand the company’s latest product or that you were busy with paperwork.

“Chan, did I do something?” Felix questioned one Thursday, leaning on his superior’s desk. His face seemed to be clearly distraught by the furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips.

“Why? Did you do something?” Chan shot back, typing away at his laptop.

“I don’t know, man! [Y/N]’s been avoiding me like the plague. And she only does that if I do something wrong. Remember when I didn’t show up to our reunion in high-school? When you and the alumni hyungs wanted to hang at the amusement park but I didn’t go? Yeah, she wouldn’t talk to me because she was so upset,” Felix sighed, rubbing his temples. “This time, I don’t even know what’s up. And it sucks. I miss her rice cakes. It’s been a week.”

“Well, try to think of anything that you might’ve done to piss her off. Take her stapler? Send a late file?” Chan suggested, still not looking up from his screen.

“None of that! I swear, I blinked, and then she was mad. This is such bad timing because I want to ask her out for the holidays, and the break is starting soon. I don’t wanna end the year this way!” Felix whined, shoulders slumping.

“Thank me later,” Chan told him, raising his voice, “[Y/N]! Please come over here. There are some files to be looked over pronto!”

“Coming!” you replied, getting off your chair and walking to your superior’s table. But just as you came, he stood up and grabbed his clipboard.

“Actually, I have a meeting about now. But don’t worry, the file that needs to be looked over is—oh wow! Lee Felix.pdf is right here. Amazing. Love you both, see you at lunch!” With a grin, Chan sauntered off.

You folded your arms and tapped your shoes indignantly. “What, Felix?”

“I’m so sorry about Chan,” he apologized, rubbing his hands together. “But I do need to talk to you. Why have you been ignoring me?”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, Felix. Maybe because someone was being all buddy-buddy last Wednesday with some girl from PR. I mean, are you even for real? How could you flirt with someone from PR?!”

“Wait… are you jealous?”

“Why does everybody automatically assume that I’m jealous?” you snapped. “The answer is no, you idiot! I’m angry because you were mingling with our rivals, our arch nemeses!”

When Felix remembers the events of last Wednesday, a laugh escapes his mouth. “W-What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. I clearly saw you being all generous and handing one of the PR girls a gift in the staff room. I have eyes, you know!”

“[Y/N]… no…” Felix started, trying to stifle more laughter. “I wasn’t flirting with her. That girl’s a family friend and I had to return a book that my mom borrowed from her mom. She told me that just because we’re family friends didn’t mean that her department would go easy on us. And I told her, ‘of course’, because I’m loyal to Marketing—I’m loyal to our team. Besides, I already have someone else in mind that I’d like to flirt with.”

You were taken aback. Somewhere deep in the crevices of your heart was a wave of relief mixed with disappointment, but you waved it off and let a giant smirk rest on your lips. “Woah, woah, woah, Lee Felix! Who’s the special someone?”

“Like I’d tell you, cheesebrain.”

“You suck.”

“No, not really. Anyway, you’re going back to Seoul for the break, right?”

“Oh yeah, why?”

“Wanna meet up on the 26th? I’m going home, too,” Felix invited.

“Oh shoot, yeah, sure! I’ll be sure to mark my schedule. I’m free that day anyway. What time to what time?”

“Just keep it flexible. I’ll text you or you know,” Felix motioned to his arm, “maybe I’ll write.”

“Just text me, I might accidentally wash it off.”

“See you then!”

--

The cold winter air was not the only thing that greeted you once you arrived back in Seoul, no. As soon as you set foot into the familiar gates of your home, your parents and relatives showered you with tight squeezes, slobbery kisses, and all sorts of questions. Were you eating properly? Did you have time to go Christmas shopping? How was work? Did you meet your soulmate yet? Was Busan better than Seoul, or Seoul better than Busan?

As much as you wanted to entertain your family with tales of Busan, settling in after a long travel sounded too good to pass. Once you spent an ample amount of time with them, you headed upstairs to your room.

Ah, your room. Upon opening the door, you took a whiff of the comforting scent of your original room, familiarity embracing you like an old friend. You flopped down on the fluffed-up sheets and could not resist a grin.

It was good to be home.

In a few hours, the grandfather clock in the living room would chime, signaling the start of a new day and the beginning of Christmas itself. But for now, you wanted nothing more but to put your mind at rest, leaving all thoughts of work behind at the doorstep. It was just you, your bed, and the chilly winter weather.

But someone—no, rather something—came to join your cozy trio, and it was right there in bright blue ink on your left wrist.

“Hey there. Get home safely?”

With a smile, you grabbed the gel pen in your bag and started to jot down a response.

“I thought you preferred text.”

“My head hurts and I don’t want to use my phone. I’m just resting in my room and hiding from my sisters, who won’t stop asking me about you.”

“Oh, so you’ve discussed me?”

“[Y/N], you never answered my first question.”

“Righty-o, Sir Lee. I did, indeed, come home fine with Grandma. It was fun to bring her home. The family’s stoked we’ve come.”

“Can I have permission to erase lines with wet wipes every few messages? My arm gets crowded. Also, please use a water-based pen. It makes it easier to wipe off.”

“Just text, then.”

“I deleted your number, too.”

“What the hell, Felix?”

“I’m kidding! See you on Kakao!”

--

“So, do I wear this sweater or this blouse? Kinda think the blouse is cute, but the sweater’s practical since the weather’s begging to freeze my butt,” you spoke into your laptop, which displayed a video of Chan furrowing his eyebrows as he took a look at your choices.

“You’re worrying too much. Just go with the sweater, it doesn’t make you look any less cute,” Chan snickered, “it’s so fun to watch my little [Y/N] put so much effort into this.”

Your cheeks flushed. “Just shut up and help me, Chan! Skirt, jeans, or leggings?”

“Skirt? Why would you even suggest a skirt? Damn, girl, you’re asking for frostbite at this point. Go with the leggings and make sure to wear leg warmers. Bring a thick coat, too.”

“Okay, mom. But are you sure this doesn’t make me look like a Christmas tree? Maybe a CHRISmas tree!”

Chan rolled his eyes and sighed. “It won’t be cute if your teeth are chattering and your skin begs to be kept warm. Just dress warmly. Hey, hey, what’s with the sigh?”

“Wait. Yo, yo, I just realized something. It’s just going to be me and Felix I think tomorrow. I-Is that a date or something? What if it is?!”

“Calm down. Did he say if it was or not?”

“I don’t know! He just said he was going to spend the day with me!”

A 480p-quality simper sat on Chan’s lips on the screen. “Are you scared because it might be a date or because he might just be asking you out as a friend?”

“I’m not SCARED, Chan! You know what, that’s honestly the least of my concerns!” you answered indignantly. “What if he stands me up? Remember the amusement park fiasco?”

“Relax, [Y/N]. He will NOT stand you up. Have you seen the way he’s been lately? Felix has been overtiming a lot, he’s always punctual and/or early for meetings, and he makes sure to go to all the places he’s assigned to. Whenever he can’t make it, he always messages a day or two in advance. I think that says something.”

“Okay, okay. You’re right. Anyway, I’m going to wash up and go to sleep. Thank you so much for taking the time to video chat me. I’m going to go now, merry Christmas! Say hi to unnie for me, please. Love you, bye.”

“Bye, [Y/N]! Good luck. Text me the details of it all! Merry Christmas. Love you too!”

--

Was it irregular to be having hands this clammy, to be having palms this sweaty? Felix pressed two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. Okay, great. It was good to know that he was still alive.

‘Agh! This is going to kill me! Please, please, please come soon,’ Felix thought, checking his phone for a new notification. Just in case, he rolled up his padded jacket’s sleeve and checked his arm. Both were devoid of any sign from you.

As if on cue, the freckled boy felt a tap on his back and there you were, bundled up in a cozy outfit. Holy. Crap. He had to fight the urge to squeeze you in his arms.

“H-Hey, [Y/N]. Glad you could make it.” Felix cleared his throat, offering his arm for you to hold. “Um, shall we? Have you eaten lunch?”

“Yeah, I have. You?”

“Same. Anyway, is there anywhere you want to go to?” Felix asked, starting to walk.

You squinted your eyes in thought. “Hmm… I don’t have anything particular in mind.”

“Alright, so it’s 2:45 now. I was thinking that maybe you wanna go to the old arcade? We can spend some time there, then maybe go around the area. Look at a museum if you want.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

--

Laughter filled the air as you clutched your stomach, trying to stop yourself from giggling too much. At this point, you were borderline gasping for air with every guffaw. Felix was doing the same, and he had to hold onto your shoulder to keep himself from stumbling onto the concrete ground.

“I can’t believe you did that, Felix! We could have gotten kicked out of the museum, damn it!” you commented between laughs. “I’m so embarrassed by you now!”

“Not my fault that the little kid wanted to see me bust some dance moves. Yugyeom isn’t the only one in Marketing who can dance, you know,” Felix answered, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Whatever, you doofus. What’s next? It’s pretty dark already, so maybe dinner?” you asked, checking your watch.

Felix cleared his throat and his back started to stiffen. “Actually, I have a place in mind.”

You nodded and proceeded to hail a taxi from the waiting stand. Felix whispered something to the driver and you were off, silently sitting in the backseat.

“Where are we going?”

“Shhh, you’ll see,” was all Felix managed to reply before he looked out the window thoughtfully.

As soon as you arrived at the mystery place, Felix payed the cab driver and helped you get out. When you stepped out of the car, your eyes widened. You’d recognize this area anywhere.

For a little, silence was all that was shared between you two as you walked alongside the riverbank, the one place you knew had a special space for in your heart. Back then, this had been you and Felix’s favorite spot to go to after a tiring school day. And on one fateful December 26th, you were back, walking beside him once again.

The frigid wind left you to huddle a little closer than usual to Felix, who didn’t seem to mind. Gentle brushing of the hands led your fingers to intertwine with his, locking safely in his cozy yet sweaty palms; you could only hope he would not hear the erratic beating of your heart pounding against your ribcage with every passing second. This was happening, this was happening, this was happening—and oh dear, you didn’t dislike it.

A few minutes seemed like eternity with Lee Felix. But eternity wasn’t going to cut it for the scene that lay in front of you, the scene he had brought you to.

Sitting on the riverside was a small tent lit dimly by the soft glow of fairy lights, a sight you’d only managed to conjure up in your head once, long ago. But there it was, every bit of it as real as the warm feeling of Felix’s hands in yours.

Your lips parted. “F-Felix, is this…?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, leading you to the small tent and helping you take a seat inside. “Uh, there’s some soju in that cooler and some gimbap over there if you want. And japchae. Chopsticks are here.”

“When did you have the time to even prepare this? I swear, you’ve been with me all day,” you questioned, reaching for the chopsticks as Felix cracked open the plastic container of gimbap.

He smiled. “Oh, I called for help from people I know who’d never pass up the chance to aid in this surprise.”

You gasped. “Let me guess. Hyunjin? Jisung? Seungmin, Jeongin?”

He gave you thumbs-up. “My boys.”

“Our boys,” you corrected, shoving a piece of kimbap in your mouth.

A few gimbaps and bites of japchae later, you found yourselves in silence once again, sipping soju from little paper cups.

“So…I think this is the part where I start talking,” Felix began, wiping his mouth. He directed his gaze right at your eyes.

“I hope you liked the little surprise, [Y/N]. Even though… technically… it wasn’t my idea, but yours. Actually, the reason I brought you here was because it’s finally time for me to give something to you, very, very long overdue,” he continued, “when we were in highschool, I didn’t expect us to become friends. Frankly, I though that I annoyed you every time I talked to you at the 4419 bus stop. Remember when we first had a proper conversation? Man, after that, the ball just speeded downhill. Before I knew it, we were an inseparable duo. [Y/N] and Felix. Felix and [Y/N]. Hell, I remember getting poked fun at for it, and people were teasing me that I liked you. Which… honestly, I’ve come to realize…was true. I admit, they were right. It’s actually kind of weird, I’ve only known since recently that I caught some real, big feelings for you back then.”

Here Felix paused to take a sip of water before he went on. “I haven’t forgotten the first time I found out my soulmate link. Blue ink, wrist, all-caps: ‘STUDY’. When I found out that a girl from our school had a similar link, I almost freaked out. But honestly? I only started to flirt with her to um—wow, this is embarrassing—make you jealous. Childish, right? And after a while, ironically, it backfired. ‘Cause I started to like her. Anyway, fast forward, college, right? We all know what happened… then what happened after graduation. I lost you. My soulmate, but most importantly, my best friend. It was the worst because I lost you, and I could have avoided that,” he sighed, “and so here we are. Somehow, life has given us a second chance, and I don’t want to screw this up. So [Y/N], I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry that I did so many stupid things in the past, I’m sorry that I was an awful best friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t fight harder to keep you in my life. I’m sorry for hurting you.”

“Felix,” you piped up suddenly, “Look, I’m sorry too. I think it’s a failure on both parts because really, maybe if I wasn’t so selfish, we could have avoided the whole fight. I didn’t know you were willing to wait for me until, you know, then. I’ve blamed myself a lot for that, but I’ve come to realize that you know what? It’s alright to make mistakes, and I forgive myself for doing that. And if I can forgive myself, I can forgive you. When we decided to restart our friendship, honestly, I was more than relieved to hear you were on board for it as well. So, can we agree to put all our mistakes in the past?”

“Yes. I’d love that. Man, thank you so much, [Y/N], for giving me another chance. I, too, forgive you for everything. And I’m so glad that you’re back in my life.”

“Aw, come here,” you grinned, opening your arms for a hug. Felix wrapped his arms around you tightly, and for a while, that’s how you two stayed.

“Wait, I’m actually not done,” Felix announced, pulling away. As he opened his mouth to speak, his hands started to shake a little bit.

“Oh?” You tilted your head to the side, curious as to what the boy would say next.

“I can’t promise you that I won’t make any more mistakes in the future, but for what it’s worth, I’ve learned from the past. And if anything, anything, happens that causes me to stumble and hurt you, I’m willing to put up a fight to make it right. I can’t promise you that the future holds all flowers and sunshine, but if there’s one thing that I am absolutely, terribly sure of, it is that [Y/N]?”

“Mm?”

“I’m in love with you.”

All you could hear was the faint howling of the wind as you were rendered absolutely speechless. It took minutes to process the words Felix had just spoken, and when you managed to grasp the idea of it, all you could sputter out was, “Really?”

Felix nodded. “Yes. Really.”

“I’ve waited since third-year of highschool for you to say that,” you admitted, mustering all your strength not to smile. “So, can I…kiss you?”

“Yes, yes you can,” he answered, leaning in.

So, slowly, surely, you kissed him. You let the gentle caress of his lips speak for themselves as they locked with your own, causing your heart to beat fervently in your chest. It may have been short, chaste even, but one kiss was all it took for you to confirm the vehemence that had been lurking deep down in the crevices of your entire being.

“I’m sorry that this isn’t as grand as you’d hoped. I remember you told me that you wanted big sparks to fly when you met your soulmate,” Felix laughed nervously, taking the opportunity to rest his hand on top of yours.

You shook your head. “No, I’m glad that it’s you, and I’m glad that this is how it turned out.”

Perhaps if it had been another day in another place at another time, you’d say that loving Lee Felix was quite full of irony. But since you were here, at this specific moment on this specific day in this specific place at this specific time, you could truly and sincerely say that there was nothing ironic about it, that there was nothing paradoxical about loving Lee Felix.

There was only bliss. There was only certainty.

[derped-ranter]

Allen x Reader

Hey @keyblade-loser im your secret santa! for the @dgmsecretsanta2018 I hope you like it, sorry if it feels rushed

The sound of the train fell on deaf ears as Allen, Lavi, Kanda and Lenalee were briefed on their mission. Kanda had forced his way to have his own separate room as per usual so Allen being the kind gentleman he is, invited the finder into the shared cart.

“What’s the use of having four exorcists? This mission can’t be all too hard, right?” Lavi leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms

“We have intel warning us that swarms of akuma are heading to the destination. There have been rumors of a noah possibly showing up but we’ve debunked them as they are-rumors” Devon, the finder, sighed. “We just want to be thorough with the mission” “I'm sure we didn’t need that bakanda coming with us” Allen grumbled a little, his elbow on the window sill. Lenalee frowned, looking at Devon “What is the place we’re going to anyway? Why are the akuma so interested in it?” “Well of course you may know there are signs of innocence at play. In fact it seems to have synched with the user without realizing it” Lavi flipped through the booklet he was given, taking in all the information he could

“The innocence user is a young royal who goes by the name (y/n) (l/n). (y/n) seems to be stuck in an infinite loop, similar to the miranda lotto case but rather than time rewinding, it’s the same event happening every night almost as if it never happened. Illusionary people go into the castle, along with normal high class people who don’t seem to understand what’s happening would join them for celebration. The only things that don’t seem to be an illusion are (y/n), (y/n)’s staff and the food and drinks the staff would prepare for any real guests that might come. You’re going to have to go in disguise as the parties always favor a masquerade. We aren’t entirely sure if (y/n) is completely aware that the same party just repeats itself except for the one fact that the next party that’s tonight will be christmas themed.”

“Holy shit. How long has this been going on for?”

“12 years. Ever since (y/n)’s parents died. One weak before (y/n)’s birthday”

 It was a long day for you. Your parents were dead, your birthday was forgotten and everyone seemed to only talk about your parents. It sucked. They hadn’t asked how you felt, just wondered when you would inherit all their money and prized possessions. The only one that cared about you was your personal servant/best friend (f/n). They were only a few years older than you but they understood. After comforting you with a blanket, stuffed animal and a pillow they left you alone to grieve. You hadn’t noticed until around midnight that they left a present on your dresser. You left everything on your bed, shoving your feet into your slippers and shuffling over to the dresser, grabbing the nicely wrapped gift. You flipped the card over to read it

‘Dear (y/n). I’m really sorry that everyone seemed to forget your birthday, even me. I’ve just been very busy keeping everything together and making sure you were ok. I don’t know if this is enough but this was passed down in my family and I find it really pretty so...happy birthday ~(f/n)’

Your brows furrowed as you read the card, setting it down and opening the box. It was a very intricate and ornate masquerade mask with (f/c) gems decorating it. In the middle of it was a sea green gemstone that glowed dully. You could practically feel the warmth the mask seemed to radiate.

‘Wear me’

Your face went confused. Did the mask just...talk to you?

‘If you wear me, I promise your troubles will melt away. You’ll be happy again. Forever.’

You hesitated, biting your lip before shaking your head and putting the mask on.

 Allen re adjusted his mask as he looked at the door. Lack stood to his left and Lenape at his right. Kanda refused to get dressed up in a disguise so he decided to stay behind, ready to jump in if any fighting started.

The orchestra was playing some nameless melody, the guests dancing with each other to the tune. Allen ran when he saw the giant buffet table covered in what seemed to be childish food. It had French fries, chicken nuggets, burgers, pizza-every child's dream buffet. Of course it also had seafood and more refined food for the older and mature guests but the majority stuck out like a sore thumb. While Allen was piling his plate with as much food as he could, you came up from behind him. You had a black suit on with a red shawl-like scarf tied on your waist. The suit was unbuttoned slightly, revealing a white and red striped button up underneath. Your hair was (f/s), going perfect with the suit. You smiled as you stole a French fry from the tray “hello”

Allen jumped a little, not expecting you to be there

“Oh hello-I’m sorry, am I in your way?” He quickly stepped out of his spot but moved back when you shook your head

“No. You just seem really hungry for such a small guy” you grinned, snickering a little

“Wha-hey! I’m not that small-I’m average.”

“It’s cute though.”

Allen blinked a few times “oh..Thankyou” he wasn’t sure whether or not to take the compliment until you held out your hand “I know you were just getting food but would you dance with me? Please?”

Allen was surprised again before nodding, setting his plate to the side “Yeah, sure” he smiled a little, taking your hand and leading you to the other dancers. The dancers noticed you two, specifically you though and quickly cleared the way for you, opening up in the middle.

Allen’s earpiece beeped in his ear before a voice came through “nice work mr walker, now try to convince them to come back with us to the order” it was Devon

Allen nodded, trying to not make it obvious and put a hand on your waist, his other hand still holding yours. Your free hand went to his shoulder and you both swayed to the music. Your grin turned to a soft smile and you leaned your head to rest on his shoulder, still swaying to the music. He was glad for the mask he was wearing or else his blush would be visible to everyone. He moved his hand so his arm could go around your waist, his fingers intertwining with your own. The song slowed to a stop and the crowd watching you both clapped and cheered for you. Allen pulled away from the dance, bowing and smiling.  You smiled back but before you could say anything, there was a loud explosion on the other side of the ball room.

 Some of the guests saw the slums, screaming and starting to run. Other guests didn’t really...see it? It was like it didn’t exist to them and they continued to dance to the still playing music

“Could I please have your name sir?” You said, taking Allen’s hand

“Uh-its...it’s Allen” he bit his lip, looking towards the akuma. It was only level one but it could still do some pretty harsh damage. Thankfully, lavi and Lenalee quickly acted, killing it almost instantly. Other Kaunas started to emerge though, keeping lenalee and lavi busy

“Really? Is that English? I’m (y/n) (l/n), the host of this party” you bowed “I’ve been in this stuffy room all day, what do you say to following me to the balcony?” You grinned mischievously, not waiting for an answer before quickly dragging him away from the ballroom and up the stairs to your balcony.

Your best friend however, saw and was panicking

“Fuck fuck-those things are back and they’re attacking-and people are fighting back? With giant glowing weapons? What the fuck is this? Why the hell is (y/n) dragging off some white haired guy?!” They kept dodging and hiding here and there, trying their best to follow after you.

“So Allen, What makes you happy?”

“What?”

“what makes you happy? Like...what makes you move forward in life?” You leaned against the railing, looking out at the stars

“Uh...my friends? Oh-and timcanpy-my uh-close friend.”

“That’s nice” you leaned your chin on your hand

“What about you (y/n)?”

“My friend (f/n) and their willingness to help me with these parties every night”

Allen nodded, going to the railing and standing next to you. He looked back at the party, thankful to hear that it seemed to calm down. For now.

“Hey Allen?”

“I know I just met you but can I tell you a secret?”

“Uh...sure?”

“I know most of the parties are fake.” You sigh, pulling off your mask

Allen blinked a few times, staring at you “...what?”

“This mask has the power to make illusions...things have been coming after me ever since I put this mask on...that’s why I brought you out here-the things came back for me again” you looked at the mask before looking at the ground “they’re like...demons...they just keep coming back-tormenting me…”

“They’re akuma.”

Allen took you off guard, making you look up. He took off his glove, showing you his deformed hand. You gasped, seeing the similar sea green stone glowing in his hand

“What you have is called innocence...you can use it to kill the akuma. I’m what they call an exorcist-I specialize in killing akuma”

“Wait...what?” You tried to process everything until a purple hand shot out, wrapping around your throat

“I got the innocence! I got the innocence!” The akuma grinned, flying up into the air with you in its grasp

“A-ALLEN!” You choked out

“Hold on (y/n)! Innocence, activate!” Allen shot up after you, his arm shifting into what looked like a giant cannon.

“Allen...Allen Wait Maybe that’s not a good-“

He shot his arm

“IDEA!”

You were now free falling, the akuma that was previously holding you was shrieking in pain. You shut your eyes right, bracing yourself to hit the ground but you didn’t. You opened your eyes to see your best friend had caught you “oh thank god (f/n) you saved me-“

Hey dropped you to the ground, making you groan in pain “that...fuckin hurt…”

“That’s what you get for running off with some white haired guy” They huffed a little, rolling their eyes “Sorry..” you said, rubbing the back of your head “and his name is allen-wait! Allen?!” you look up to see him absolutely obliterate the akuma, landing gracefully near you and (f/n). You grinned and quickly got up on your feet, rushing over to him and hugging him “that was amazing! You just-demolished it! Like it was a little bug compared to you-it was amazing!” he breathed. Allen seemed a little surprised you were suddenly hugging him before smiling and hugging you back

  “it’s what i do for a living….you can too. With your innocence.”

“Excuse me hold on you are not doing anything like that. You can get hurt! You’ve never fought a day in your life! And what about your family fortune? What will you do with it!” your friend came up behind you, trying to talk sense into you. “Shit..you’re right...maybe...i should think about this..” you pulled away from Allen, biting your lip. Allen was about to speak before another explosion went off “I’ll be right back” allen ran off to handle the other akumas appearing.

“(y/n) we need to get you to safety” (f/n) took your hand and quickly started dragging you away. A wave of exhaustion hit you and before you knew it, you collapsed onto the ground.

  You later woke up in an unfamiliar room. It looked sort of like yours but...a complete disaster. Everything was old and dusty, some of it destroyed beyond recognition. This room looks like its been abandoned for years.

 “So (y/n)’s mask was just making an illusion of the castle this whole time? How could it still be up when (y/n) took it off…?”  “Taking it off could still work but it must’ve used much more energy than it normally would’ve which could explain why (y/n) passed out…” “It makes sense..”

You could hear voices outside your door talking about you. One of them sounded like allen but you couldn't really pinpoint the other voices. You got up and went to the door,  opening it. You saw a girl with long green hair up in pigtails, a guy with spiky red hair pushed back by a green hair band, Allen and a guy with long blue hair that seemed like he didn't want to be there… “Allen?...what’s going on? How long was I asleep..?” “Oh! (y/n), you’re awake! I thought we were gonna have to carry you out..” “Oh good if they’re awake then we can leave” the guy with the blue hair turned and started walking away

“Bakanda! You can’t just walk away they hadn’t even agreed to go yet!” “Then drag them out if you have to. You know the order won’t care if they want to come or not.” “Come where-the place that tells you to fight akuma?” “Oh look they’re not completely braindead” “Hey-fuck you!” And with that the guy ‘bakanda’ had walked off completely. You growled a little before huffing “that guy’s an asshole…” The girl with green hair smiled and nodded “yeah...that’s Kanda for you. I’m lenalee but he is right...you have to come with us” You frowned “what about (f/n)? Can they come too?” The three looked at each other with that look of ‘oh no we gotta tell them’ “what? Don't tell me-no-an akuma didn’t get them-right?” you could already feel tears welling up in your eyes. Allen quickly shook his head “No no-it seems uh…(f/n) was part of the illusion ...they were fake….they’ve been gone for a while now…”

“O-oh” you said quietly, looking at the ground. In the next few hours Allen helped you gather what you wanted to bring before leading you out of the castle. You also learned the ginger haired man was named lavi. Lavi was a mischievous bunny so when he ‘accidentally’ bumped into you, knocking you into Allen who just so happened to be under a mistletoe, it didn’t seem all too much of an accident. You both were flustered, stammering and trying to get a grip on yourselves until you shook your head, grabbing the front of his shirt and kissing him softly. Allen noted that it seems you like to catch him off guard before kissing you back just as sweet.