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magicalqueennightmare · 1 year

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Sins & Amends Chapter 22

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary/Warnings: Matt and Foggy gear up for court while you continue to help Karen behind the scenes

"When's the trial set?" Alice asked while the two of you finished doing inventory of your rig for the next shift coming in. "Jury selection was today. I'm headed to their office as soon as I get off" you replied double checking the narcan to ensure there was enough.

Alice was quiet for a moment so you glanced over at her "Spill Alice. I know there's something bouncing around your head begging to escape" she let out a harsh breath seeming to struggle with what she wanted to say next or the wording at least "Y/N I just want to make sure you're safe. I mean.." Her voice lowered to a whisper and she leaned across the gurney as if she was worried someone walking by the ambulance in the bay may overhear what she was going to say next.

You leaned forward instinctively before she continued in a whisper "Apparently you were right all along. There was a lot more to that day than was told publicly. If Frank doesn't want you testifying there's a reason and as your friend and partner I feel like I need to give voice to the concern of whoever was behind that day figuring out what you know or suspect and coming after you. I know you want to be there for Frank, I get it but what do you think it'll do to him if he loses you to whatever this is? What do you think it would do to me, Kenzie and Curtis?"

What were you supposed to say? That you weren't worried about just that? Hell that would be a lie. You knew that at any given time whoever was behind the enormous cover up could find you through the same channels Karen had even before Foggy and Matt told her who you were. You knew that no matter the fear that you couldn't exactly cower either that wasn't who you were.

You also couldn't exactly tell her that one of Frank's lawyers was none other than daredevil either and that gave you some extra security at least while in his presence. Add that to the list of things you had to keep tight to your chest.

So you went with the only card you had to play "I'm going by what Frank asked of me. I'm keeping my face out of the public spotlight. Karen, Matt and Foggy are the faces. I'm behind the scenes where I have promised you, Frank and Curt I will remain. You're not getting rid of me that easily babe"

She smiled softly "Good. I'd hate to have to break in a new partner and there's no one on earth like you" you started to say the same about her but when she added "Promise me you'll start carrying that gun when you aren't on shift. I know he made sure you can handle it" you cracked a small smile "Yes ma'am. I promise"

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When Kenzie came to pick Alice up you knew it was lost cause telling the two of them that you could walk home then take a cab to the law firm.

They insisted on driving you to your apartment to change into street clothes and then drove you to the law firm as well. When you started to climb out the car Alice cleared her throat and nodded to your bag. You knew what she was asking so you patted it. "I'll call one of you later ok? I promise" "stay safe sweetie" Kenzie said with a smile and Alice added "We love you"

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When you walked through the doors of the office Foggy leaned out from the conference room "Y/N you may as well join us and give an opinion" you weren't surprised that you'd yet again caught Foggy mid sentence yet he was acting as if you'd been there the entire time. He had a habit of doing that but you hadn't known him long enough to tell if it was just with you or an everybody type of thing.

You smiled at Karen and told Matt hello as you took a seat next to Foggy. "Ok what am I giving an opinion on?" Karen and Foggy exchanged a look when Matt spoke up to say "Will Frank agree to an insanity plea?"

You didn't try to stop the laugh that bubbled from your lips. Karen looked a bit confused, Foggy looked flustered and Matt seemed just slightly amused.

You knew staring down a normal blind man wouldn't do any good but something told you Matt could tell how ridiculous you found that suggestion "Look I'll be honest if I thought it'd keep him out of prison I've got a friend whose a psychiatrist but Frank's not gonna agree to that. He wasn't out of his mind. He knew who he was going after and he knew why. I just don't think he's gonna say yes but please by all means if you think it'll help him chase that lead. I'm pretty much here just to tell you about who the real Frank is and to help dig through case files"

Matt nodded then scratched at the back of his neck "Well since you're here Y/N can you think of anyone Frank would let us put on the witness stand?" You knew he didn't want you or Curtis anywhere near the courthouse, not that you could testify to any ptsd defense considering you only knew half stories of what had went down overseas.

Billy's name popped into your head but you shoved it down, if he had wanted to help he would've already offered it before now. "His commanding officer is still alive? Schoonover I don't remember his first name. He'd testify as a character witness for Frank and could speak as to what went down when Frank was awarded the Navy cross"

Karen scribbled a note down then smiled across the table at you "That's good Y/N" then she cut her eyes at Foggy "I'll go talk to Frank. Bring up the ptsd and insanity plea and also get Schoonover's first name" Foggy nodded at her then motioned to you "Look over these questions before they're took to Frank?" You stood to follow him into his office.

You glanced over the questions and shrugged "I don't see why he'd have trouble answering any. I mean his memory is still a little off from the bullet to the head but Foggy Frank's not a bad guy. He's not a psychopath" he took the notepad back from you and stared down at it for a moment before he finally met your eyes "You feel like hanging around? Give me some of the insight on Frank that you've given Karen?"

You let a small smile slip onto your face. Something told you Foggy wouldn't go down in a courtroom without one hell of a fight "Of course"

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You were sitting cross legged on the floor by Foggy's desk. Matt had left on some errand or another, you and Foggy both knew it was something vigilante related.

You had been going over the photos from multiple different crime scenes. They were the men who had ripped Maria and the kids from the world. You honestly didn't care if they were dead but what had caught your attention was the x-ray of Frank's head.

You'd known he got shot that day, had even seen the scar one of the many nights you patched him up yet seeing the hole in his skull hit you differently.

Karen had joined the two of you with takeout and was sitting across the room. She'd gotten Schoonover's first name but Frank had said exactly what you expected, no ptsd plea. He'd also sent a message back by her telling you to stay as far away from the trial as you could or he'd refuse representation.

The three of you had been working for hours in silence. Foggy's best idea for a line of defense was to find some way to bring the altered medical examiner's reports into evidence although it appeared any record of the so called ashes you'd been given had been wiped from any record.

"What was he like? I mean before the mass murderery Frank?" Foggy asked and when you cut your eyes up at him he shrugged "Sorry I meant before his family, your family was slaughtered?" You laid the x-ray down and pulled your bottom lip in between your teeth.

Karen saw the real Frank somehow she grasped who he really was and Matt had fought alongside Frank. While Foggy had said there may be a chance if the cover up involving the massacre could be brought to the light you knew you needed to help him see the Frank you knew, the Frank Karen somehow had seen under the rough exterior of the punisher.

"Frank the day I met him was sitting under a tree, strumming a guitar and singing" Karen cracked a broad smile and Foggy looked genuinely shocked "Singing? Was he any good?"

You laughed thinking back to that day long ago "God he was horrible but the moment his eyes met Maria's I saw the spark there. When she got pregnant three months into them dating he stepped up, no hesitation whatever. I was a stray Maria and her family had chosen to take in, Frank was no different he took me as a little sister. That man was one of the best fathers I've even seen. He beat himself up a lot for being gone but when he got stateside god you would've thought it was every holiday rolled into one. He was an amazing husband. He always would call me when he was gone to double check on Maria to make sure she was ok. And it wasn't just Maria and the kids. He was always there for me" you could feel tears threatening to escape your eyes but took a deep breath and continued;

"He'd back me up when I needed it and support me when he knew I could handle it on my own. Frank is and will always be the type of man who'd lay his life down to save innocent lives. He loves with everything he has. The day everything happened I was supposed to go with them, I should've been there. Frank is a trained marine lieutenant. He's handled himself in so many war zones but look at that x-ray. He let himself be shot and you know why? He was holding his daughter in his arms while everything that was her spilled out onto the ground. He wanted to die and the damn universe wouldn't grant him that. He woke up to a world with his family gone and the people who had taken them alive. Hell he's still protecting me by not letting me testify. He's not a murderer he's just a man who's went through hell and is still enduring it every second"

You closed your eyes for a moment trying to compose yourself and when you opened them both Foggy and Karen were staring at you. "What?" "Damn I would love to have you on the witness stand" he admitted which made you and Karen shake your heads. "No I just meant you know him so well. I mean I get we don't want your life at risk and damn sure can't trust the district attorney but we somehow have to make the jury feel about Frank the way you just described him"

You shrugged and wiped your eyes "Well Mr Nelson I believe that's your job sir. I'm just a paramedic" "Thanks for the vote of confidence Y/N" he replied with an eye roll but the slight smile also told you that your words had an effect on him.

By the time all of you headed out the office to go towards your separate apartments it was leaning closer to morning than night. "Sure you two will be ok?" Foggy asked as you hailed a cab. You smiled at his concern.

"We live a block apart Foggy. We'll be ok I promise" "Yeah don't worry about us" Karen added with a smile.Once the two of you were in the cab a silence fell between you. There were so many questions you wanted to ask her but you didn't want to push.

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When the cab stopped in front of her building you climbed out with her. "You're walking the other block? This time of night?" She asked and you shrugged "I'll be ok. I can handle myself pretty well" she eyed your bag for a second "Yeah I make sure I don't leave home without mine either"

You realized what she meant and smiled "Frank taught me ages ago" "Goodnight Y/N. I'll talk to you tomorrow" "Night Karen" she started to walk up the steps into her building but you stopped her by calling her name "Yeah?" She asked and you were once again struck with not wanting to over step but also wanting answers "Why do you believe in Frank so much? I mean I know why I'm standing behind him but you have every reason to have believed what the public has built him up to be"

She stood there stoic for a moment and you kicked yourself for apparently hitting a nerve but right when you were about to apologize she said "I don't think he's a monster because he's done things that could be seen as monstrous. I've seen him talk about his wife and kids, the way he talks about you, how he wanted to make sure I knew I wasn't in danger that night at the hospital. It's like you said he's just a man who's been through hell and I like you want to see him make it to the other side"

You knew you should let it go but maybe it was years spent in and out of Curtis' group meetings and hanging out with Kenzie but you felt like there was something more that Karen desperately needed to get off her chest "What happened Karen? I mean to you?"

She half smiled then said "After the trial is over I'll buy the drinks and we can have one night of spilling our trauma all over each other but for now we both need as clear heads as possible for Frank" you nodded then smiled "I'm sorry if I overstepped. One friend is a counselor and the other is a psychiatrist"

"Not at all. I know you wouldn't judge anything I have to say. You're someone who can be trusted. I knew that from the moment I met you" you felt the same about her so you simply said "Well goodnight. I'll send a text when I'm home so you know I wasn't snatched off the street or anything"

"You have a warped sense of humor you know that?" She asked with a laugh so you replied "You'll grow to love that about me" she headed inside so you turned to head to your apartment lost in thought over the trial starting but also keeping observant of your surroundings.

Once you got home you texted Karen you'd made it then texted Alice so she wouldn't worry. You knew you shouldn't but you had plans to catch a few hours then pop into the courthouse the next morning to at least catch opening statements. You'd be working when all the actual testimonies started but you could at least see who got the stronger start and get a peek at Frank to see how he was healing.

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

#au billy russo #billy russo x y/n #billy russo au #billy russo x you #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x reader #sins and amends masterlist

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the-kaedageist · 5 months

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I'm inconsistent in terms of reflecting on my writing habits, but after such a difficult year, I felt as though it was time. I've been surprised at how much exhaustion, burnout, and war has sapped my creativity and my ability to write, even though it makes total sense. I've been trying to be patient with myself anyway. In accounting for these last couple days of 2023, I've also been trying to appreciate the writing that I did accomplish in the last year.

Regrets

I really had hoped to finish posting the Tusk Love sequel this year, and alas that has not borne fruit, although I am still chugging along on revisions! Hurrah! It's somewhat disheartening, though, when the majority of it was written in February 2022, literally right up until the day the full-scale invasion began. I'm still stuck in the middle of edits for the next chapter - I last opened it in the Dublin airport three weeks ago, and I've been occupied since - but I am hoping to get that out soon. I do have faith I will finish this story…but I don't know how long it will take me.

I still have hopes to eventually finish and post the consecution fic that I also worked so hard on last year. A lot of the story has been jossed by campaign 3 canon (Ludinus is a main character) and I haven't really had the energy to retool it to fit current canon OR make the decision to just release it as-is. The truth of the matter is that I have had much more brain space for writing this year than for editing and making critical decisions about structure/plot/etc. In many ways, those are the things that I need to be able to post things to AO3, and it has meant a serious backlog.

I also struggled to stick to a steady writing routine this year, in part because my life itself was not routine. I traveled frequently and had an unpredictable work schedule. There were also just the very, very bad days that happen sometimes when your beloved former home is going through a calamity. It was so hard to work through that, and to WRITE through that, that many days I just didn't try.

Victories

Despite all these obstacles, I somehow still wrote nearly 85,000 words this year! I'm trying to celebrate those as a victory rather than seeing that number as a defeat. It's a significant decrease from the last two years (2021 I wrote 280,000 and 2022 I wrote 336,000) but it's still 85,000 more words than I used to write before I started my steady writing habit in 2021. That's the equivalent of a whole novel! And I kept up my writing from January to December, even if there were months I fell off completely!

The real thing to celebrate here is the perseverance - when writing got immensely hard, I didn't stop writing. I'm so, so proud of myself for that.

Looking Forward

So what will 2024 bring? If today is any indication, probably more of the same burnout and low word count production. I will continue to update 2 Tusk 2 Love, but likely updates will be just as slow as they were this year. I'm hoping to be able to publish my consecution fic, but I don't know if I will get the energy to do that, and it's still stuck at 50% complete (as opposed to Tusk Love, which is at 90% and just mostly needs rewrites). But these things are hard to predict. If an idea catches me, if suddenly I hyperfocus on writing again, if I get captured by a story once more - that could change.

May 2024 bring us all many things. May it bring us a not-terrible election in the United States. May it bring us victory and peace in Ukraine. May it bring us an end to war and genocide all over the world, especially in Gaza. May it bring us health and prosperity and freedom from the scourge that is covid. And may it bring us all inspiration and creativity for a brilliant future.

#personal #reflections #my writing

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void-inked-pen · 2 years

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Pen and Fanfics

I am... very particular about my fanfics.

when I want a fanfic about a specific character, I tend to hunt stuff down meticulously, trial run reading chapters of what people have written already, and compare that to what the fandom seems to take an interest in.

case and point: I feel like people have a very low bar for what they can read sometimes cause so many most liked or most read fics... are kinda just... bad? (that is just my opinion, I am not throwing shade I swear)

I am also an adult, and a lot of these stories are written by teenagers just getting into creative writing and stuff and that's totally fine! a lot of the more... eloquent fics out there are written by more experienced writers who have people to beta and understand the basics of good storytelling.

this is not to say anything that I've written is "incredible", a lot of my shit is not. I look back at Time Ticks By and compare it to some of the stuff I'm working on rn and LET ME TELL YOU THERE IS A NOTICABLE CURVE OF WRITING ABILITY KSJFHSKJFH.

Time Ticks By was a fic I started working on in college for a friend of mine who wanted more Mikey angst so I started brainstorming and brought up the concept to them. After that I just wrote the fic for the two of us, gradually building up chapters and throwing the turtles into some pretty interesting stuff. Then... after a while, I decided to post it.

That fic, was the first one I ever posted. one of my other friends graciously beta'd it for me as I went on (at one point they downright eviscerated a chapter and I am very thankful for the brutality but I was wrecked after that day lol). But as I look back at that fic I have noticed some interesting changes in my writing. My chapters are longer, I'm much more descriptive and meticulous with my wording, I avoid tropes as much as I can by describing a character's reaction by saying "the blonde", "the redhead", "the purple masked turtle", etc. when trying to avoid just saying the characters name (tho I still fall into that habit I'm avoiding it pretty well).

When I compare the way I am currently writing Let's Switch, my BNHA Kirishima-centric fic to Time Ticks By, my Rise of the TMNT fic, I can tell I've improved immensely.

That might be why I'm a bit iffy with continuing TTB, because the writing is outdated for me regardless of the fact I do want to finish it someday soon.

there's also the fact that my motivation for Let's Switch is... out of spite.

IDK why but when spite is in the mix for me, I get more motivated. Let's Switch is literally a non-romantic story that throws Kirishima into a situation that canon would never do because he's not a main character. I've seen sooooooo many fics where the angst is focused on Bakugou and Kiri is a supporting role, or if there IS an angsty story about him it's related to their ship or things like his depression. Those fics that actually focus on him specifically are so few and so short it irritates me.

I like long-ass fics okay! if a fic isn't over 20k I get mad because I WANT more long form stories! I wanna see Kirishima take the main character role for once and have it NOT related to romance! Romance is fine on some days but for fucks sake I just wanna read a story where my sunshine boy gets WRECKED and it has nothing to do with his attraction to his friend!

that's how Let's Switch was born.

out of me being frustrated at the lack of angst for Kirishima. Similarly to how TTB was started because my friend wanted angst for Mikey.

So yes, I have a very complicated relationship with fics. especially at the lack of my favs having anything. I am primarily a reader outside of animation so the fact that I got THIS frustrated and decided to work on my own story just to satisfy my own cravings, means I was pushed hard!

Thank you for reading my rant, if you know of any other Kirishima-centric fics where there is no romance, would love to see it. Otherwise, I'm out.

PEACE!

#pen talks #fanfic #discussion #kirishima eijirou #rottmnt #rottmnt mikey #bnha #my hero acedamia #thanks for coming to my ted talk

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milk-and-egg · 2 years

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…………….. I just finished the sliding glass door epilogue #2……..YOU TOTALLY OUTDID YOURSELF!! OHMAGAHHHHHH THIS THE BEST CHAPTER YET!!

Caldecott Award!!! Newberry Honor!!! Emmy!!! Oscar!!! Nobel Peace Prize!!! All will be arriving to your mailbox very soon!!

But seriously… (all the stuff said above is serious too but here’s me attempting to leave a coherent message from now on) this update was SO emotional and beautiful and realistic and romantic and wowww <3<3!! I had to keep burying my face in my pillow every 30 seconds to keep from waking up everyone in my house cuz it’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m just so in love with these dumb boyfriends, ugh…

The way you write Klitz and Eli is just so so so in character and perfect and lovelyyy *cries* and this huge emotional event they’re going through is SO realistically written, like it feels there may be some real firsthand/personal experiences that were drawn from and used in this and that makes it all the more syrupy sweet (and sometimes sad too but that’s okay), like they’re just so in love I CAN’TTTT

I hope that these huge crazy messages don’t ever come off as exaggerated for attention or ingenuine, I just get so excited and I can’t find a good way to format all my thoughts out into a coherent block of text. But I really do love your writing and your works are absolutely my favorite fics on this whole freaking planet :DD

But here’s something really important though— don’t be afraid to take a break if you need it, and don’t feel the need to rush out more writing right away. Sometimes you put little apology-esque notes in the tag section of your tumblr update posts and I want you to know your audience doesn’t want you to ever feel bad for taking things at your own pace, or trying something new, or even taking break(s) in the future. We love your work but YOU will always come first and that’s what’s most important. I hope you’re doing well right now and if so I hope it continues for a long time.

Okay I’ll be quiet now lol :)

-✮ anon

OOOOOH MAN you got me all blushing and shit at 8:30 in the morning. Don’t ever feel bad for sending me messages like these! They really make my day and I won’t stop smiling until I go to bed tonight.

I can’t wait for my awards to arrive! IM SO HAPPY YOU THINK ITS MY BEST WORK YET I FEEL SO PROUD! I love writing emotional, yet awkward stuff between these two because I feel like that’s a lot of what their friendship/relationship is built off of. And omg what a huge compliment to me about what you said about my characterization. That’s one of the most important things to me when I’m writing.

Like I said, I love these messages and I don’t feel like they’re ingenuine at all! Thank you for adding that bit at the end and looking out for me. Apologizing unnecessarily is a bad habit of mine. When I’m in the middle of writing, I feel anxious until it’s finished. Unfortunately that’s the case with giant fics too. But thank you for reassuring me! I am doing well at the moment and I’m still having such a fun time writing!

#the closet has a sliding glass door #fanfiction #fanfic #epilogue 2 #THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH!!!#I’ll probably reread this like 20 times today

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tsukikento · 3 years

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Empathetic Chapter 17

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Summary: After your mom, the number 1 hero in America, gets offered a teaching position at U.A., you two pack up your things and head to Musutafu, Japan to start a new life. Pressure for you in America was at an all-time high, and now you’re in Japan, where almost no one knows you, or your family’s past.

This tale starts on your first day of class where your new teacher decides the best way for you to fit in is to fight against the strongest person in your class: Bakugou Katsuki.

Warnings/Genre: This piece will feature some angst and reference to an abusive parent, if you are ever worried about other tw’s feel free to send me an ask and I will let you know. There will also be fluff, slight angst, pining, and slowburn.

A/N: Had to write this chapter three times because somehow everything kept getting deleted!! I’m sorry for my inconsistent posting. Please leave comments, reblog, or send me asks if you like! They always keep me motived :)

(masterlist)

When you came back out for dinner, Bakugou was already sitting at the head of the table, eating away, and chatting away with Kirishima and Sero. To his left was an empty seat, but a plate filled with food.

I wonder if Bakugou made that or if someone nicer prepared it, you wonder as you and Ashido made your way to the table. If Bakugou made it, then damn. However, you wouldn’t be surprised if Kirishima made it or Kaminari who was on dish cleaning duty and needed to put away the leftovers. Regardless of who did it, they still sat you down next to Bakugou in your usual seat.

Don’t read into that, you told yourself as your sat down at the table. Instead, you focused on the delicious food in front of you that you immediately began to chow down on. You found yourself, much like Bakugou, simply eating away while Ashido, Kirishima, and Sero kept the conversation going. Both of you were much too hungry to stop and add your own commentary to the conversation.

Bakugou finished before you and chugged down his water before taking both yours and his glass to the kitchen to fill them back up. Gratefully, you mumbled out a “Thank you” before you continued to eat. Play it cool, he’s just being polite, you told yourself and Ashido proceeded to elbow you and wink.

You rolled your eyes at the pink girl and focused back on what was left on your plate.

Conversation flowed easily until Bakugou came back. The blond placed the cups onto the table before holding up his arms and stretching in a way that clearly showed his stomach. At this point, each of you were still in casual athletic clothes and his simple t-shirt lifted just enough to show his stomach.

It was an action you should be used the at this point. The blond often stretched without a care or used his quirk in ways that ruined clothing. And yet, you still found your face heating up and your eyes glued to the sight.

When he finally sat back down, he leaned in close to you. “I’m ready to go whenever,” He explained before leaning back into his chair and sipping on his water.

“Go where?” Sero, who was to Bakugou’s immediate right, questioned.

You looked to Bakugou, expecting him to reply. Not only were you hesitant to explain the situation and possibly misunderstand what Bakugou was thinking, but the blond typically made habit of answering anyways.

“The gym for yoga and cardio,” Bakugou explained, just like you expected. Luckily, it wasn’t any different than what you thought.

“Really?” Kirishima questioned, his eyes lighting up. “That sounds so manly!” He turned to look at Ashido, “Do you want to go do yoga and cardio too?”

“Um,” Ashido immediately turned to you, concerned that she and Kirishima would be intervening on your alone time with Bakugou.

Part of you wanted to welcome the company, ultimately nervous about having to hold up a conversation when neither you nor Bakugou were all too talkative. However, you spent hours alone with Bakugou each week and it wasn’t awkward then so why would it be different?

Bakugou also hates how couple-y they are so he may be more inclined to talk to me and spend time with me if they are there doing PDA, you thought before subtly nodding to Ashido.

“I’d love to go if Bakugou and Y/L/N don’t mind,” Ashido finally spoke after a few moments.

“I don’t care,” Bakugou measly replied.

“What about you, Sero?” Kirishima questioned, “Do you want to go too?”

“No way,” The black-haired boy replied, leaning back in his chair. “I had interning today and had to chase a villain down seven blocks, ugh!”

“Weren’t you using your tape though?” Ashido shot back curiously.

“So? It still drains me and my poor arms. I could not do yoga like this.” Sero flailed his arms around before letting them fall to his sides, effectively showing how absolutely dead they were. “I’ll just stay here with Kaminari and make him watch the new season of Galactic Guard again or whatever.”

“Your loss,” Kirishima jokes before chuckling lightly. “I’m going to go get changed, be down soon.”

Ashido followed him with the same explanation.

Awkwardly, you looked at Sero, expecting him to say something. You and Bakugou were already changed and had your waters with you, there was no reason for you to go upstairs. Unfortunately, due to the silence and the awkward atmosphere of a nervous you and an ever-rigid Bakugou, the black-haired boy immediately slid out of his seat, claiming to need water. However, you watched as he dropped his empty glass on the counter and simply talked to Kaminari.

You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your water, wishing there was more to do. Thinking on your feet, you stood up abruptly. “I’ll clear the dishes,” You said before stacking the plates and silverware. “Do you want your water anymore?”

Bakugou shook his head so you proceeded to grab his water, place it into your cup, and make your way to the kitchen slowly.

Kaminari and Sero greeted you happily and Kaminari immediately took your dishes.

Their rather boring conversation did not leave room for you to interject, so you simply made your way back to the dining table. Sighing, you grabbed your half-full water and reached for Bakugou’s as well. The blond watched you wordlessly.

You wondered if his lack of comment was a bad thing or if it showed comfortability and a willingness to let you touch his belongings.

As you debated the notion, you silently, almost like you were on autopilot, filled up the waters, and went back to the table. With nothing left to do, you sat back down into your seat and awaited the arrival of Kirishima and Ashido

“Thank you,” Bakugou said as you sat down with the two glasses of water.

“No problem” You replied. Despite this comment being typical for literally anyone to say, it still felt nice for him to say thank you. Maybe it was because he rarely used his manners.

Bakugou grabbed his water from the table and put it back into his bag. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence as you waited for Ashido and Kirishima. The only noise was the people talking in the kitchen and the small group watching television in the living room.

A few minutes passed by before the couple finally emerged from the elevator and greeted you both with wide smiles. Kirishima had on black basketball shorts with a red stripe down the side as well as a red hoodie. Ashido adorned a matching two-piece set of leggings and a conservative sports bra that was cheetah print. She also had on a black zip-up jacket that was currently wrapped around her waist.

You and Bakugou quickly got up from your seats, grabbed your belongings, and slowly made your way to the door. Ashido was by your side while Kirishima ran the kitchen to fill up his and Ashido’s waters. The pink girl moved from being attached to Kirishima’s side and was now attached to yours.

Giggling, she whispered in your ear, “Yet another double date!”

Sheepishly you rolled your eyes and dismissed the thought. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

“What?” Ashido questioned, moving away from you to give you a confused look.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” You shot back.

“I mean,” She began, emphasizing her words, “What does that even mean?”

“What does what mean?” You replied, absolutely clueless to the confusion.

“She’s asking what ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch’ means,” Bakugou butted in as he stood opposite you by the front door. “Personally, I think it’s rather obvious.”

“Oh, shut it, Bakugou!” Ashido exclaimed, giving the blond a dirty look.

Laughing, you explained, “It’s just an American saying.” You debated how exactly to explain it before once again continuing, “Just because you have, say, 10 chicken eggs, 2 could break before they hatch and 3 more could be simply eggs, no baby in them. So, they saying means that you shouldn’t expect something until it happens. You can’t expect to have 10 chickens just because you have 10 eggs.”

Ashido harrumphed, clearing having trouble understanding. “Sounds dumb.” Something you also expected her to say considering she was the one ‘counting her chickens before they hatched’.

You shrugged, “It’s hard to understand sayings from other countries if you didn’t grow up around them. I’m sure some common Japanese sayings don’t make sense to me.”

At this point, Kirishima joined back in and made quick work of putting on his tennis shoes.

“My mom used to always say ‘even monkeys fall out of trees’ when I made mistakes,” Ashido explained, testing you to see if you would understand a common Japanese phrase.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” You replied after a few seconds to think it over.

“Dang!” Ashido replied as the four of you made your way out of the dorm and to the gym.

“What about this one,” Bakugou interjected. “My dad would say this all the time, ‘the stake that sticks up gets hammered down.’”

Oh, this one is definitely more complicated.

You tried working through the saying out in your brain, sure it had someone to do with being seen in society. “Um,” You began, “The person who stands out will…” You paused, unsure how to finish. Sighing, you shrugged your shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“Ha Ha!” Ashido shouted in joy. “It means the person who stands out is often subject to criticism.”

You nodded your head in understanding as she explained.

“How were you so good at those?” Kirishima asked.

“Well, word association is taught in elementary schools,” You explained, reminiscing on the problems you solved in second grade. “For example, we would get something like “cow is to barn as man is to ‘blank’ and we would have to fill it in.”

Ashido and Kirishima proceeded to exclaim “house!” while Bakugou simply nodded, actions that represented each of them rather well.

“Nice!” You laughed, high-fiving the two who guessed.

You rounded the corner at this point, entering one of the school buildings with multiple classrooms. You followed the group as they made their way upstairs and weaved through hallways. Fairly naturally, the conversation died down as the couple of Ashido and Kirishima clung to each other and dawdled behind.

Aggravated, Bakugou led your group, clearly annoyed with how slow they were. Honestly, you were pretty sure Ashido planned this so you could have alone time with the blond.

Trying to utilize this opportunity, you kept stride with the blond. “Pretty annoying, huh?” You asked, gesturing to the couple and silently apologizing for throwing them under the bus and using them as a conversation starter.

“Aren’t they always?” Bakugou replied, looking to the couple before rolling his eyes and groaning.

“Sometimes they are cute,” You shrugged, flashing a smile to the blond. “At least they’re happy, you know?” You asked, attempting to reason with them.

Bakugou simply “tsked” in reply. “Doesn’t mean they aren’t making me nauseous.”

“Very true,” You responded, unable to stop yourself from chuckling loudly. “Especially when they talk in baby voices and make little smooching noises!” You altered your voice slightly to mimic Ashido’s baby voice that you hear her only use with Kirishima.

Bakugou cackled loudly at the comment, clearly amused by your impersonation. “Or when they go off to each lunch by themselves, cuddling under a tree, and then coming back like giddy teenagers,” He added.

“Oh, yeah!” You animatedly exclaimed, “How could I forget? Kirishima ends up staring out the window all of class!”

As your laughter died down, the two of you arrived at the double doors that led to the small gym. Luckily, no one else was inside due to how late it was. In fact, you four might be here past curfew. Despite this, you entered into the gym which had a few different weight machines and treadmills as well as a room to the left that was dim and specifically designed for yoga.

You knew this was the gym that Ashido frequently used late at night but weren’t familiar with the layout. Slowly, you put down your belongings, chugged down a few gulps of your water and made your way into the yoga room. The room had too large baskets on wheels that came up to about your waist. Inside, were blue and white yoga mats with the school’s logo on it. It was for student use and cleaned every week, a small perk for going to such a prestigious hero school. By the time you grabbed a mat, you heard the large metal and glass doors once again opening. Waiting for the couple, you rolled out your mat and brought your water to your side.

Although you did yoga frequently and could easily start your own routine, you figured the four of you would want to do a routine together. Once inside, Kirishima and Ashido quickly came into the yoga room and set up mats.

“I’ll hook up my phone to the projector so we can play a video,” Ashido explained as she plugged her phone into a wire that connected to the projector.

You watched the pink girl search up a yoga routine that was primarily focused on stretching the body pre-workout. The video was about half an hour-long, so you simply prepared yourself by sitting on your knees and waiting for the introduction to finish.

Yoga went by rather quickly, which each of you silently following the video. You were all in your own worlds, thinking about your own problems or simply letting your mind go black as you followed the routine. You could tell it was something your mind and body was craving after a long day of theorizing and sitting at the desk.

Once the routine finally ended, you let out a big breath and stretched your body one final time before grabbing your water bottle to drink from. “Ah, that was so good!” You sighed, completely satisfied.

Kirishima and Ashido hummed in agreement as they rolled up their mats.

“And now it’s time to put that stretching to good use,” Bakugou added, as he passed by you with his own rolled mat. He grabbed yours, which you just finished rolling, and went to put them away. Once done, he made his way back to you and held out his hand to help you up. “Shall we go run?” He asked while he effortlessly pulled you up.

“We shall,” You replied, a wide smile on your face.

Bakugou had never, not even when he was kicking your ass in training, helped your up or touched your hand. Immediately, you felt heat spreading up your face and your heart beating faster.

Ashido, who was putting her own yoga mat into her bag eyed you suspiciously. Subtly, you gave her a surprised look and shrugged your shoulders. Bakugou inevitably let go of your hand after you were standing up straight. He was surprisingly warm and you held quickly went cold without his touching.

In an attempt to play everything off cool, you simply followed behind him, grabbing your bag and moving to the treadmill next to his. You placed your belongings down, took one last gulp of water, and got onto your treadmill.

Bakugou, who had already started, was going at a slow pace and you decided to follow in line with him. The slow speed was an ideal way to warm up your body and prepare you for a faster pace.

You didn’t have to wait long, however, because Bakugou soon sped up his treadmill by two. He gave you’re a clear look and you didn’t even have to take out your earbuds to know he was subtly saying there is no way in hell you will run faster than me.

After a few more strides, you also increased your speed, clicking three times to be running one faster than him.

Almost immediately, Bakugou gave you another look and increased his speed. This game of tug-of-war continued for a few minutes, each of you slowly increasing your speed in order to one-up the other. It was fun when you started slow, and you even found yourself smiling when you were running at a speed just below a sprint. However, you were now sprinting at a breakneck pace and craving this game to stop.

You once again, and quite stubbornly, pressed the up arrow to increase your speed.

Bakugou attempted to groan under his breath, but he was going too fast to have control over his voice and you clearly heard the roan of indignation. The blond pressed his finger onto the up arrow and increased his speed just as he had done before. This time, however, he notably did not go past your speed.

The both of you were now running at the same speed, and although you were tempted to go up at least one more to irk Bakugou, you knew it was best not to. It was all down to endurance now.

You focused your attention on running, moving your arms to help your speed, and focusing on your breathing to make sure you were taking in big and consistent breaths.

“Woah, Bakugou and Y/N-chan!” Kirishima’s voice rang through your ears. Despite only being two treadmills over and a total of 12 feet, you could barely hear him. “So manly!” If you were looking at him, you would see him send a cheeky smile to Ashido before increasing his own speed.

However, you were all too involved in your own competition to worry about him.

You felt your legs burn and crave for a break. You felt so hot that you were sure you were steaming. In fact, you saw steam.

Steam? You looked to your left from where it was coming and saw steam emitting from Bakugou’s palms. You could have gasped in surprise if you weren’t so already short on breath. The next thing to smelled was an intense caramel. Or is it burning sugar? You questioned as you realized it was coming from the blond next to you.

It smells so sweet, you thought, clearly distracted. It made you think of caramel apples at amusement parks, chewing on the delectable treat as you walked around, surrounded by vibrant lights.

You inhaled deeply, trying to take it all in. Suddenly, you tripped. The floor fell out from under you, and you did not have enough speed or traction to keep up. Quickly, you clutched onto the railings and got back up to speed. The difficult action, which would surely leave bruises on your arms, lasted only a few seconds. Although Bakugou noticed, he didn’t say anything, so you simply kept up with running.

However, now your body ached even more. All you wanted to do was stop and you couldn’t drag your brain away from the idea. You felt your limbs begging to slow down and you could no longer deny the request. Reluctantly, you slowed down the treadmill with a sigh. Bakugou immediately noticed the action and shot his arms up with a small “woop!” in excitement.

At least seeing him so excited was worth it, you thought as you finally stopped the treadmill.

With exhaustion running through your veins, you got off the treadmill and made a beeline to your water. Your legs gave out and you sat against the wall, arching your back to give your lungs room. You chugged a few gulps of the cool beverage before you brought your hands above your head. It was the best way to get air into your lungs and control your breathing again.

Bakugou quickly joined you, copying your actions but while standing up.

“Good job, guys!” Ashido exclaimed, giving you both a thumbs up as she jogged at a much more reasonable pace.

You returned the gesture before grabbing your water again. Slumped up against the wall, you closed your eyes. Mentally, you made a note to not go out running tomorrow.

While you rested, you heard Ashido and Kirishima turn off their treadmills and join you against the wall. They chatted amongst themselves while Bakugou sat next to you.

Immediately, the caramel smell emitting off him wafted into your noise and filled your senses with euphoria and anxiety. He smelled so good, and yet you were certain he was much closer to you now. You could practically feel his body heat against your left arm.

The chatter from Ashido and Kirishima provided white noise, while Bakugou’s sweet aroma and warm body provided the ultimate guide to sleep. Your tired body craved it and you slowly felt yourself falling deeper and deeper.

Too tired to notice, you slowly leaned to the left, your shoulder eventually touching Bakugou’s. It was slight, a small brush of skin, but the blond immediately noticed the action, who stared at your sleeping body which found comfort in the purchase of his body.

You weren’t sure how much time passed when you were woken back up. In fact, you didn’t realize you fell asleep until you were waking up and opening your eyes to the sight of Bakugou’s own crimson orbs.

Quickly, you noticed the feeling of a warm arm against yours and moved abruptly away.

You could feel the heat spread from your neck to your cheeks and ears. If you weren’t in such shock, you would have also been certain that Bakugou’s own cheeks blushed pink. You shook your head in confusion, pushing away the ridiculous thoughts that came to mind.

“S-sorry!” You stuttered out, your voice barely emitting a sound.

“It’s fine,” Bakugou confidently laughed, brushing off the topic. “I just thought you would want to head back soon since you are falling asleep.”

“Uh, yeah,” You mumbled, “Thanks.” Looking away, you set your eyes on all your belongings and began picking them up. Sometimes it was difficult to look him in the eyes. Despite how warm and entrancing they were, they made you feel hot all over and spread nerves all throughout your body. You swallowed the lump in your throat as you stood all the way up and awaited Bakugou.

It only took a moment for the blond to stand upright after you. Gingerly smiling, you turned and made your way to the door.

“You guys coming?” Bakugou asked, walking backward so he could face the couple.

“Later,” Ashido mumbled, waving him away as she continued to smile at her boyfriend.

Bakugou hummed in acknowledgment and turned to you, a signal to open the door into the empty hallway.

“Today was fun,” You remarked, sparing a glance at the blond as the metal door eased closed. “Although I am sure tomorrow will be tough.” You paused, thinking over your schedule, “At least I only have class tomorrow.”

Although you were too nervous to look long, you saw the blond smile shyly and nod his head. “Yeah, I’m just glad I am done with the assignment due in English tomorrow.”

“Ah,” You replied, “How I wish I only had English assignments instead of extra Japanese assignments.”

“You’ll need to learn if you plan to stay here,” Bakugou remarked.

You scoffed, “I would argue that my Japanese was quite good already.” Rolling your eyes, you spared a teasing smile to him.

“What about when you are given a paper report and expected to read it all in minutes? Or when you have to write a report after a mission?” Bakugou shot back.

You groaned loudly, simply imagining how torturous a kanji-filled report that you would need to run through quickly. “Maybe you’ll be nice enough to write my reports for me?” You joked, opening your eyes and pouting in an attempt to look cute.

Bakugou blew air out his nose in a short laugh. “Bold of you to assume that I would even hire you to work at my agency.”

“Rude,” You replied, knowing full well that this was all a joke. “I think I would be a good hire, I could keep you calm during idiotic interviews or meetings too.” You looked into his eyes, “So, you want to start your own agency?”

“Need to if I’m going to be number one,” Bakugou curtly answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well,” You began, “If I’m still in the area, and you are in desperate need of a hire, I would be happy to help.”

“Thanks.”

A small laugh and a brief look had your insides twisting. You once again felt hot. However, you were now, luckily, in the cool air of the night. You calmed yourself as the two of you approached the dorms.

Bakugou took a few quick steps to get ahead of you to reach the door. He moved to the side so you could enter in first and you smiled and nodded politely.

However, when you entered the dorm, your mood quickly changed. Practically every student was in the living room, some standing, some sitting. Most notably, Aizawa-sensei stood in the dining room, leaned up against the large wooden table, and clearly lost in his thoughts. Multiple sets of eyes turned to look at you. Your anxieties pooled in your stomach as you looked at your teacher.

Is it that bad that we are past curfew?

You felt Bakugou’s body pressed close up against yours. You were too scared to move, so the blond had to squeeze in. He was about to jokingly push you out of the way until he noticed the concerning scene in front of him.

You had no time to think about how comforting the action was, especially as he placed your hands onto your shoulders. He squeezed the slightly, but you were unsure if it was an action that was supposed to make you feel better or to make your move. You stumbled forward, but the blond hardly moved.

Aizawa cleared his throat and moved from his perch at the table. Silently, he approached you. “Let’s talk outside,” He whispered so only Bakugou, and you could hear. “Just you,” He elaborated, looking into your eyes.

You gulped and let Bakugou push you away so Aizawa could reach the door and lead the way out. You only snapped back to reality when your shoulders were suddenly cold at the lost touch.

“Okay,” You mumbled, stumbling to follow after your teacher. Maybe he was going to lecture us separately? You wondered, clinging to the hope that this was a simple scolding and not a disastrous event.

It must be my mom, what else would it be?

“Is my mom okay?” You immediately questioned when the door Bakugou closed was finally shut.

“Yes,” He abruptly replied, “Let’s talk this way.” He led you around the building to where there were multiple benches.

“My siblings?”

“Sit,” He spoke and motioned at a long bench.

You sat quickly, hoping it would make the news come quicker as well.

“There is no easy way to say this,” He began, “Please just listen.” Aizawa rubbed his eyes, clearly drained. “There was a prison escape at the North-Western prison. A total of 117 inmates escaped and are being rounded up. Your father is one of them.”

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anxious-allie-ren · 3 years

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Hey everyone! I’d like to introduce the new story I am writing! You can find it on both my AO3 and Wattpad. Both of which are linked in my bio. But I’ll also be posting the chapters here for you all. Be easy on me as I haven’t quite figured out how to post chapters on here and create a master list. That is something I will be working on. Alright, now in to the good stuff.

Erota

As the only daughter from a high society family, the pressure is on you to impress the ton and find a suitable match. You hope to find love, but your fate is decided for you. Your marriage is arranged to King Kylo of Chandrila. Pain and tough decisions are soon to follow.

This story is inspired by Bridgerton and regency era.

Hello everyone! I have been dreaming of writing this fic for a bit now and finally gathered the courage to do it! Like I said in the description, this story is heavily influenced by the regency era and the Netflix show Bridgerton. I've done my best to keep it accurate to both the era and the Star Wars world. I hope you enjoy!

The Ton.

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

The season has finally arrived. You have officially joined the ton and are coming out into society. The debutantes of higher society are to be presented in court. This now includes you and your family.

You were the only child of the Duke of Selonia. A small territory southeast of Drall within the kingdom of Corellia. It's a quaint little area, nothing to brag about. It was cozy and calm. Many of the families had lived in the area for generations. Neighbors all knew each other. But despite its comfort and kindness it was lacking funds.

Since you had been able to remember, life was very simple. You helped in the gardens, the kitchens, and even with the laundry work. Your family took trips to town often, visiting with the people. Your mother loved to stop at the bakery and buy pastries to bring back to the estate. She told you stories from her childhood as bedtime stories. Coming from a common family and marrying into high society. Your parents married for love and not statues. Many scolded your father for marrying "below his station" but he let their words roll off his shoulders. He was attracted to your mother for her beauty, kindness, and capabilities. Your mother was no stranger to hard work, and she assured you weren't as well.

As you matured, you watched as your home aged as well. Bricks began to weather with time and vegetation started to take over. Farmers had less success each year and businesses were closing. The help your father was once so quick to provide had now dwindled into nothing. There was no help to give. The funding was nearly gone. After your mother's death, the strong and reliable man you had once called your father was gone. What replaced him was a shell of a man. He gave up on his duties as a duke and instead threw his time and money into bad habits. Gambling and drinking had become his crutch.

You lost your mother in your adolescence. Still a young girl so in need of a mother and her guidance. Her death left you confused and in desperate need of comfort. You tried to lean on your father. But in his own grief, he seemed to forget about you. Instead, you turned to your community. The maids and butlers became your family. They ensured your schooling would continue. The men even went as far as to teach you math and science. When you entered your teens, you attempted to take on the dukedom in secret. You went over all the documents and finances, trying to find a way to help your people and restore your estate. It was to no avail. Nothing could be done without your fathers signature. So you were left with no choice but to let it go. You focused on your studies and lessons with the maids. They helped bring you to maturity. Now, it was time to join society as an eligible woman.

Marriage has been heavy on your mind for many years now. The idea of meeting a man and marrying just for statues or titles didn't interest you. Neither of those things mattered to you. A marriage had become something with such a negative connotation. But love, now that was very different. You yearned for a true love match. You craved a deep connection unlike any you'd ever experienced. As a child, you'd developed small crushes on some of the neighborhood children. The butterflies and blushed looks were something you understood. But you'd never felt love before. You loved your family of course. You even loved your townspeople. But that was so different from what you hoped to find.

Becoming a debutante was not something you were looking forward to. Joining the ladies of high society was only asking for drama. But as the daughter of a Duke, it was your duty to join the ton and find a suitable husband. This had become increasingly important as your territory lost more and more money to your father's lifestyle. These thoughts scrambled around your mind as you got ready. You would be heading to the first ball of the season, your entrance into society, in moments. You were dressed in your nicest items. A deep red ball gown embroidered with golden florals along the bottom of the skirt and corset. Your hair was pinned back, allowing your face to stand out. Your maid, Jillian, was helping you put on your shoes as you looked at yourself in the mirror. Jillian had been with your family before your mother passed. She had watched you grow from a pained child to a strong young woman. She was with you every step of the way. Jillian became a motherly figure and your most trusted confidant.

Jillian pats your calf as she begins to stand, finished with clasping your heels. Her touch pulls you from your thoughts. You give her a polite smile and thank her, turning back to the mirror. Your anxiety is growing with each tick of the clock and in typical Jillian fashion, she can sense your discomfort. She comes to stand behind you, adjusting the pins in your hair.

"You know you're prepared for this. There's no need to sit and worry."

You meet her gaze in the mirror, her gentle blue eyes giving you a wave of comfort. You let out a sigh and play with your fingers.

"I felt prepared, but now that it's upon me, I'm not so sure. So much is at stake here, Jillian. The people of Selonia are relying on me to find someone who can help. What if I'm not up to standards?"

Jillian only chuckles at your words and places her hands on either of your shoulders.

"Standards? Now you're just being silly. You are a kind, intelligent, and strong young lady. Any suitor would be lucky to have you as his wife."

You turn to look at her, face scrunched in concentration.

"That's exactly the issue! It can't just be any suitor. They need to be able to fix dukedom and be the love I've been waiting for. What if that's unrealistic? How can I ever find someone to do both?"

Jillian places a comforting hand on your cheek, her thumb slowly stroking your cheekbone. She gives you a small smile before she speaks.

"Is that what you're so worried about? Dear, you're placing too much stress on yourself. Don't worry about the dukedom or Selonia. Go and find your love, everything else will fall in place."

You lean into her hand and smile, her words bringing you peace and a newfound sense of confidence. She pulls her hand away and turns towards your bedroom door. She calls back to you, "Now let's get you going! It's time."

————————————————

The carriage stopped in front of the King's summer estate. Many of the guests were already walking up the grand entrance and making their way inside. Your father hurried around and opened the door for you, holding his hand out and helping you down. Tonight he was doing his best to look and act presentable. You place your hand in his bent arm and let him lead you into the ball. Neither of you had spoken more than a few words to each other in years. You were surprised he even accompanied you tonight. His presence only made you nervous again. You weren't sure what his intent was by coming. Was he finally stepping back into his positions as father and Duke? Or was there some ulterior motive?

You found out quickly as he leaned in to speak to you, just as you were arriving at the entrance of the ballroom.

"I am expecting you to perform well tonight. I want to see gentlemen callers of high status calling on you tomorrow."

You look up at him and furrow your brows in confusion. So this is what he came for? To ensure you schmoozed with the highest titles with the most money? If so, he's going to be very disappointed.

"I'm here to find a reasonable suitor for myself, father. Not a suitor for you and Selonia."

He stops walking at your words, his head turning to look down at you. You can see his clenched jaw and anger in his eyes. His distaste for your words is written all over his face.

"Stop with your foolish girly fantasy of a love match. You're here to do as I say, and I'll be damned if you disobey me."

His words sting your heart. Your father had never spoken to you this way. When you were young, he was always so gentle and loving towards you. Now it seems you're just another pawn to be thrown around his chessboard as he pleased. You swallow the lump in your throat and move your gaze back down. Now was not the time to worry about this. You had more pressing matters.

You allowed your father to lead you to the entrance, stopping to allow the announcer to get your names. You took a deep breath as you prepared to face the ton. First impressions were everything, and you did not want to screw this up. The announcer clears his throat and stands at attention. Everyone in the room stops what they're doing to await the next debutante.

"Presented by her father, the Duke of Selonia, Miss Y/F/N."

You stare forward as your father leads you into the ballroom and towards the King and Queen of Corellia. You both stopped before them, your father unlinking your arms and bowing. You fall into a curtsy, bowing your head in respect. Your father stands back up and looks to the king. You stay still, awaiting the command to move. The king of Corellia rises from his throne and moves to stand in front of you. Everyone holds their breath, watching closely to see what unfolds. He places a gentle finger under your chin, raising your head to meet his gaze.

"Stand up for me, dear. You can relax."

You do as he says and stand quickly, giving him a polite smile as you return his intense eye contact. His finger never leaves your chin. He smiles back at you and begins to speak again.

"You are a true beauty, my dear. You know, they say the eyes are a window to the soul. I can see the love and strength living within yours. Hold onto that, they will be your biggest asset."

Your eyes widen at his words. You can't help the smile that spreads across your face.

"Thank you, your majesty."

With that, he removes his finger from your chin and climbs back to his throne. He turns his attention back to the room and declares, "Let the festivities continue."

Your father grabs ahold of your arm again and leads you away from the thrones. You can feel the crowd staring at you, but you can't find it in you to care. King Luke of Corellia spoke to you! Not only that, but he complimented you. This was a great honor bestowed on very few. You would take his advice to heart.

It seems your father had a different perspective. He leads you to a table with dance cards placed neatly in rows. You begin to search for your name as he smirks and begins talking.

"Compliments from the king will help greatly in gaining potential suitors. You'll be the most desired lady in the ton. Seems finding you a husband of high title will be easier than I thought."

You finish tying the card to your wrist and turn to look at the room. Your father continues to talk as you observe your surroundings. You look up at the elegant chandelier. It shines beautifully in the light, casting sparkles all over the room. You watch as they dance across the guests, creating an angelic and light atmosphere. A waiter comes by and offers you and your father glasses of champagne. You take a small sip and return your attention to the crowd. Many of the ladies are giving you glares or speaking with the eligible men in attendance. You take notice of their attire. Many have much more elegant gowns and jewels on. Their appearance shows how much they have to offer. Your feelings of inadequacy begin to creep back in. You don't even notice a man approaching.

Your gaze stops on a young man across the room. His dark brown curls and bright smile grabbed your attention. He was speaking to another man, seeming to be in deep conversation. His face was so expressive as he spoke, hands moving about to help prove whatever point he was trying to make. You couldn't help but be captivated by him. If there was anyone you were hoping to get a moment with this evening, it was him.

You snap from your thoughts as your father greets him and motions towards you. This man must have been reaching his thirties. Much older than any of the debutantes here. His bright ginger hair stands out like a sore thumb. He makes eye contact with you as your father talks. An uneasy feeling sweeps over you. For some reason, something about this man doesn't sit right with you.

"Y/N, I'd like you to meet the Earl of Drall, Lord Armitage Hux" your father says as he motions towards the man. Lord Hux takes your hand and raises it to his lips, kissing your knuckles. The contact makes you cringe internally. Your father looks at you expectantly and you quickly pull yourself together.

"Hello Lord Hux, it is so nice to meet you."

Your father smiles at both of you and claps a hand on Lord Hux's shoulder.

"Lord Hux here is a good friend of mine. I was hoping to introduce you both tonight."

The uneasy feeling now makes sense. Any friend of your fathers is likely a crook. Not at all the type of man you want to be speaking to. You nod politely, biting your tongue from speaking your mind freely. The men then turn away from you and begin a discussion of their own, leaving you out. You lift your glass of champagne back to your lips and turn your gaze back to the direction of the man you had spotted before.

Instead of finding the curly haired man again, you met eyes with someone else. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back was a raven haired man. He stood tall and broad, much larger than any other man in the room. His gaze pierced through you, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand. You wanted to approach him, but to do so would make you look indecent.

Your eye contact is cut off by Lord Hux coming in front of you. He holds out his arm to you in invitation.

"Would you do me the honor of a dance, Lady Y/N?"

You wanted nothing more than to say no and go speak to the mystery man. Or even go find the curly haired man from before. But you know you had no choice in the matter. To deny him would make you look bad to the ton. Plus, your father would never stand for it. So you placed your hand in his arm and nod.

"Of course, Lord Hux."

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

I really hope you enjoyed this! Let me know what you think!

Love,

Allie

#star wars #kyloren #kylo #kylorenthings #fanfic #fanfiction #king Kylo #reader x character #readerxkyloren #reader x Kylo #reader x Kylo ren #poe dameron #armitage hux #Hux #Poe #historical #regency #regency era #bridgerton

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nxtsnw · 3 years

Note

P1: Please could it be a mikey oneshot leaving a male reader; I leave it days before the dissolution of Touman with the excuse of "I like another person more, I don't love you anymore and I don't want to see you again" it may be that I don't want to hurt him or something like that, in the end ReaderMale! he takes it badly at first but over time he recovers and becomes a famous Idol that is everywhere, not only is an Idol but has a presence in the underworld (something +

°Mikey x Male reader°

plot: After the breakup between Mikey and MaleReader, their two paths split. The reader, after an unexpected glow-up and after both have apparently moved on, meet again, Mickey as the leader of the Bonten and the reader as a very famous idol.

author note: I also read the pt.2! I apologize if I changed it slightly, I did everything possible to respect it. Thank you for the request!

word count: 1k

warning: angst, break up

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The weather that day was so hot, but it wasn't a pleasant heat, it was quite the opposite. Y/n was going to meet Mikey, his boyfriend for a year now. He noticed his bright blonde hair from afar so he decided to run up to him and hug him from behind.

"Heyy Mikey" he yelled.

"mh" he replied looking at him from top to bottom.

"What happens?"

"I leave you," he said with that a weird calm and his eyes staring at him and waiting for a reaction.

"Ahaha this is funny" answered y/n.

"I'm not kidding, it's over between us, I'm no longer in love with you. I'm sorry, but it's time for me to open a new chapter in my life."

A slight shiver ran down the y/n back.

"Wait, did I do something wrong?"

"No, I already told you, I'm not in love with you anymore."

How was it possible? Why should he leave him like this?.

He could still feel the blond's gaze on him and didn't dare to raise his head. He took a deep breath and mentally slapped himself.

"Goodbye then." he continued without expressing any kind of emotion.

"Goodbye."

So that completely unexpected conversation ended. And for y/n began one of the hardest times ever. Even just to realize what had happened took him several weeks(maybe months), which were lived in a very bad way by the boy.

Acceptance was a hard thing and just as he was returning to the bad habit of smoking he was stopped by a strange man.

“Wait for a second please, don't quit smoking that cigarette. And please, let me take some pictures of you. "

Surprised and scared, the boy decided to walk away.

"Wait up! Believe me, I'm (his name and his surname), a famous photographer ”he continued showing him a tag that confirmed his previous words.

"Please, just a photo?" and so the boy agreed.

So the photo was taken and the photographer came over to show it to him.

At first glance, not even the same y/n could be recognized, he seemed so different from the last time he had seriously looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't see himself in that photo he had just taken.

"When I became like that?..." he spoke aloud when he was still deep in his thoughts. So much so that the photographer looked at him with a bewildered face.

“Don't like the photo? I'm sorry. Did I make you feel uncomfortable?" The boy shook his head no.

“Oh thank god, I also wanted to ask if you would give me permission to publish this photo on my new photo album due out next month,” he asked, clasping his hands. After he noticed the boy's troubled expression, he continued saying: "You can also receive money and be contacted later by different modeling agencies, I think you have this potential."

A job and some money would not have been bad .. the young man accepted and the two traded their phone number.

But before he could think of anything else, he remembered his change in physical appearance. He immediately went home to look in the mirror. In the street, while he ran, he saw himself in a shop window, he noticed the changes in the body.

They weren't that obvious, but to him, it felt so different, developed. The more he looked at himself the more he was convinced of how much prettier he had become.

Self-conviction? Had he had the famous post-breakup glow-up without realizing it? Was it possible? Was there any entity unknown to him involved?

Arriving at random he noticed even the smallest details of his face, had he always been this attractive?

Thanks to that funny meeting were the beginning of a new life for the boy.

After the photographer's album began to be printed, he noticed his inbox filled with inquiries from various fashion agencies.

They just asked him for a meeting to see if they could hire him, and reading the pay he didn't think twice about accepting.

He came from the first agency that contacted him, and after a short interview, he was hired. It was all happening so fast, the long time after parting with Mikey seemed to have almost vanished from the boy's mind.

In no time at all, he began to have great success in many magazines, and his fandom began to grow. Real people stopped him on the street to ask him for a photo and how beautiful he was. The agencies organized real meetings for the boy's fans.

He met some of his old school friends (with whom he had had some bullying problems) who didn't recognize him in the least...

Everyone had begun to love and idolize him. The creepy and weird thing is that it all happened within 6 months, all that fast? How was that possible? Often y/n stopped to wonder how it was possible, and always tried to find out how it could have happened, but he never found anything rational. ( I'm so sorry, I have never read "lookism" yet, I tried my best to find information <3)

And so winter had arrived, the cold now surrounded him.

He had just finished his shift at the agency and had decided to go get a hot chocolate in his trusted bar. As soon as he entered he noticed a new boy, he was tall with green eyes and dark hair he was really cute.

The boy had been working in that bar for a short time, and it was he who served him. Along with his hot chocolate, he gave to him a note with his phone number, hoping that y/n would contact him.

So that's what he did, he had finally overcome the breakup with Mikey, he was finally ready to start a new life, and finally sentimentally too.

Months and years go by. The relationship between the two boys seems to have improved and thanks to his work he becomes more and more famous. A real Idol, with a little secret, he hadn't yet explained the change that had radically changed his life.

Did some divinity have anything to do with it?

Because of his job he had not been allowed to have a boyfriend, so he had invented and hired him as a "personal bodyguard", so he was able to find an excuse to spend more time with his boyfriend.

They were walking arm in arm under light snow when he saw what he never wanted to see.

There was Mikey. That Mikey. He was sitting on a bench and always kept his lost gaze on some buildings. Was he there on purpose or for simple deals?

He had a hard time recognizing him, Mikey had cut his hair even though he still had that different sheen, but it looked just fine. He was thin and pale in the face, but the most noticeable thing was two dark circles under his eyes that made him look more tired and almost sick.

After a while, Mikey turned to his side.

"Look, let's go if we change our way," he asked his boyfriend.

"Um okay, but what's going on?"

"Nothing, don't worry..." but at that moment he realized that he could no longer escape. He had long since overcome that breakup.

"We can continue from here too," he continued, smiling and taking his boyfriend by the hand.

Meanwhile, a tall pink-haired boy had caught up with Mikey and they were heading in the direction of y/n.

He seemed to be going smoothly until the two ex-boyfriends stopped at the same time.

"Hi Mikey"

No reply.

"Now pretend you don't even know me eh"

Mikey looked up, but this time, in addition to the usual air of defiance, he looked seriously surprised, almost scared?

"Hi y/n, how long has it been?"

But who could know him better than y/n? They had been together for a year, by now he knew that expression perfectly. He knew that at that moment Mikey was confused but he didn't want to show it.

How were they supposed to react?

That question was creeping into both of them, but neither of them seemed able to react.

Did he get over it? What had happened all that time? And who were the new respective partners?

For these questions it will still take some time to get answers and who knows if they will ever have them ;)

I hope you'll like it<3

#mickey x reader #manjiro x reader #manjiro sano #male reader #tokyorev #tokyorevengers x reader #oneshot

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cjsinkythoughts · 3 years

Text

WIP List!

Mickey Henry x fem!Reader - You hate his music taste. He hates yours. You have a bad habit of stealing his gigs. He has a bad habit of fucking you until you can’t walk straight. Everyone has flaws. What are you to do about it?

This one will be a few firsts for me; first published smut, first Mickey Henry fic, and first enemies-to-lovers ever! I’m attached to friends-to-lovers (my parents’ fault), so going in the opposite direction is exciting and I hope it works out! (We’ll see what it can become after it’s been written.) Also! This is gonna be for @honeysucklesteve’s 4k honeybunswritingchallenge!

Part 2 of Ocean Eyes, Cherry Lips, Ivory Keys

I’m honestly in love with the idea of Bucky playing the piano (guys who can do music just *chefs kiss*) and I love 40’s!Bucky so, while I don’t have any solid ideas for this and it’ll probably end up just being a double parter, maybe a mini series, but I wanna explore it a bit more.

Steve Rogers x Stark!Reader

This one kinda came outta nowhere (for you guys at least), but I’ve been working on it for a few months now and I’m kinda in love with the idea. It’s a bit intense - it deals with some really serious stuff (drugs, depression, attempted suicide) - but I really like angst. Plus, I wanna write more Steve! I love my Brooklyn Blondie! This would be a full series.

Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

This is one that people have been asking quite a bit about. The whole “Bucky shoots the love of his life” one. It starts in the early 1900’s but it does have a modern day story added. The thing is - I can cut it short and make the ending really really depressing OR I can make it a full series with a happier ending. This one will make you feel even worse for Bucky, so there’s that. This story is my baby! I started it over a year ago and keep coming to it to edit it or add something, but it kinda lacks direction, so…maybe posting it here will actually force me to develop it more.

Bucky Barnes x genius!fem!Reader

This one is one of my favorites that I’ve written. I’m in love with it. It’s been…around a year? I think? Since I started this one. It’s got some rough family stuff on her part - like really rough so there will be major warnings - and it’s a bit tough for Bucky lovers at first because it does involve HYDRA and the Winter Soldier and that’s always heart breaking. I don’t wanna give out too many spoilers, but there will be angst, but also lots of fluff (especially domestic fluff that takes place in *REDACTED*.)

I also have a few singledad!Bucky fics that I love, but I wouldn’t know which ones to choose and which ones I would add a reader to, because there isn’t one, it’s just Bucky with kids! (Different kids/different AUs! I have quite a few! 😅)

I’m gonna try working on Erased from the Stars as well, but I’ve just lost myself with that series and the desire just isn’t coming (yet), so I think that one will stay on hiatus for the time being.

These don’t include FATWS One Shots, because I will continue posting those throughout the week until they’re finished! I kinda wanna shift when I post them to Friday to continue FATWS Friday, but we’ll see what my future schedule looks like!

This is not in order of when they’ll be posted! These are just what I’m gonna be working on. Feel free to tell me which one you wanna see first! (The only one I know is coming out soon is the Mickey x Reader, which will be out sometime next week!)

Note: Most of these that I’ve been developing for a while started out with an OC! I’d love to tell you about them, but I will be shifting the story some to make it x Reader for you lovelies!

WARNING: From here on out, most of my work will contain some 18+ stuff! Minors DNI! I’ve been lenient on it because my FATWS Series didn’t have 18+ stuff, but I’m gonna start writing it more into these works! Those are the rules and I don’t wanna get in trouble, so please follow them! Thank you!

I won’t be able to crank out a chapter of every series every week and most likely, once I start a series, I won’t start another one. I’m thinking about getting another job in a couple months and my family’s getting together soon so after May I’m gonna be a lot busier. Thank you so much for all the love and support I’ve gotten! I really appreciate all of you!

Be kind to yourself and others and stay tuned! 💕

~CJ

(Here’s my Masterlist, too!)

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1-800-hyunlix · 3 years

Text

dance to this — hhj

crush culture ♡ part thirty five

⇢ pairing: non-idol! hyunjin x fem! reader

⇢ word count: 4.4k

⇢ warnings: cussing, some underaged drinking, it’s literally a high school party so, can y/n and hyunjin get their shit together already?

⇢ listen while you read: dance to this - troye sivan

⇢ a/n: happy (kinda late) valentine’s day! i haven’t updated in forever but i’ve spent so much time trying to finish writing the remaining chapters for this series. i hate to say it but this story’s coming to an end and FAST. also i’m so sorry, i meant to post this yesterday but here we are 🙄 anyways, enjoy <3

Thanks to you, the snack table looked great and Jisung was very pleased, to say the least.

Everyone had already shown up to the party. Changbin and Minho stood in the corner talking with Minghao and his friend Seokmin. Yuna, Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix had gone outside after complaining about how hot and crowded the house was. And Jisung. Well Jisung was hungry.

“Hey,” you said over the noise. “Jisung.”

He hummed and looked up, grabbing another chip from the bowl.

“When’s Hyunjin gonna get here?” The party had only started an hour ago but even though almost all of your friends had arrived, he still hadn’t shown. Part of you was wishing it would stay that way. You had been trying your best to avoid him ever since you found out about cupid’s kiss. It would be much easier to do that if he just decided to not come at all.

“Hyunjin offered to pick up Chan and Chaeyeon after their dates,” He answered, plucking his phone from out of his back pocket. “They should be getting here soon.”

well shit.

“Y/n!” A voice yelled from behind you. Spinning on your heels, you were met with Mingyu walking towards you holding a cup in his hand. “Having fun?”

“You could say that.” you shrugged. Parties never really excited you. They always seemed so repetitive. People making out in bedrooms, kids too young to be drinking getting wasted anyway, and lots of unnecessary socializing. But you’d always go anyway. It’d take a couple drinks, but eventually you’d start having fun.

“I thought your boyfriend was coming.”

Your eyes widened and you spun around to make sure Jisung hadn’t heard Mingyu’s bold comment and sighed in relief when you realized he wasn’t standing behind you anymore. Instead he was clinging onto Minho’s side as they grabbed drinks from the kitchen.

“He’s not my boyfriend and I thought we agreed to stop talking about it.”

“He’s not your boyfriend yet.” he smirked, leaning against the table and taking a sip of whatever was in his red solo cup.

“I just told him about Cupid’s Kiss,” you lied again. “not that I liked him.”

Mingyu sighed but nodded his head nonetheless. “Which is a step in the right direction!”

Rolling your eyes, you began walking away from Mingyu and towards the kitchen. “Happy Valentine’s Day by the way!” He yelled from behind you. You shook your head and continued to maneuver through people, muttering small “excuse me’s'' as you passed.

Crowds were another thing you hated about parties. Squeezing through the groups of kids who were either too drunk or obnoxious to move out of the way.

The kitchen counter was covered with a variety of drinks, some of which you weren’t even sure how Mingyu acquired. You grabbed a cup and filled it halfway with the punch you watched Mingyu and Minghao mix earlier. Instantly bringing the cup up to your lips, you winced when the liquid hit the back of your throat.

It wasn’t your favorite taste but if you were planning on having at least some fun at the party, you’d need all the drinks you could get.

Now you stood outside with Ryujin, Seungmin, Jeongin and Yuna listening while they talked about the Valentine’s dance and how mad they were gonna be if it was “as bad as last year’s dance.” You wouldn't know, you didn’t go.

“Look who’s finally here.” Ryujin nudged your shoulder and pointed towards the back door of the house.

Hyunjin and Chan walked out, greeting people as they made their way over towards your group. They were so casual about all the attention they received from everyone else, like they were used to having all the kids at school drool over them.

It’s not like you haven’t noticed it before. Especially when it came to Hyunjin. The minute he moved to your school, he became everyone’s new obsession. It just hadn’t bothered you until now, rolling your eyes as a group of girls standing next to you had completely forgotten about their conversation and instead, were far more interested in staring at Hyunjin.

You found yourself staring at him too. You’d be lying if you said he didn’t instantly catch your eye the moment he walked through the door. He looked good all the time and Valentine’s night was no exception.

“Finally you guys decide to show up!” Jeongin groaned, sarcastically throwing his head back. Chan laughed and patted him on his back.

“Sorry,” he said, “Hyunjin picked us up right after his date. It took longer than expected.”

Hyunjin nodded in agreement and glanced over to you, shooting you a sweet smile. You returned it and quickly averted your eyes.

“Date” you laughed in your head. They lied right in front of your face and had absolutely no idea that you knew.

“Speaking of Hyunjin’s date,” Seungmin spoke, “where’s Yuri? She didn’t wanna come?”

You watched intently as Hyunjin and Chan looked at each other as if they were trying to come up with something to say. You have no idea how you didn’t catch onto their lies sooner. They were being so obvious.

“Yeah, she doesn’t like parties.” Hyunjin answered.

Taking a drink from your cup, you sighed. The rest of the group was engaged in an interesting conversation about who they believed would get drunk first. Chan bet on Felix but the freckled boy protested and said it was definitely going to be Jisung. You hadn’t said anything but giggled as Jisung and Felix playfully bickered back and forth.

Upon hearing your laugh, Hyunjin glanced back at you. His eyes traveled down your body, not so subtly checking you out. He’d never seen you “dressed up” like this before other than the time you tried on that dress at the mall. You looked different but a good different. He noted how you styled your hair differently than you usually would and how the shoes you were wearing made you almost as tall as him.

Feeling eyes on you, you turned towards Hyunjin and caught him red handed. He nervously shifted on his feet and smiled at you. “I like the outfit,” He started, “You look really pretty tonight.”

As if on cue, you felt heat rise up to your cheeks.

You struggled to say something back, afraid that the minute you opened your mouth, you’d turn into a stuttering mess right in front of him. Hurry up, the little voice inside your head demanded. Speak idiot.

“Oh uhm thanks, you too,” you began, instantly regretting it. “I mean not pretty, you don’t look pretty but you look nice and...shit that came out wrong.”

Amused by the embarrassment you were inflicting on yourself, Hyunjin laughed, his tongue pushing on the inside of his cheek; a habit of his that you picked up on. He liked to do it whenever he was about to tease you or say something totally sarcastic. “Sorry, I don't think I heard over the music. Did you say I look pretty?”

You rolled your eyes, letting out a small chuckle. “You know what I meant, Hwang.”

Jeez y/n, you’re pathetic. What happened to avoiding him?

You wanted to stick to your original plan; have fun and make it through the party all while avoiding Hyunjin in the process. But you could tell it wouldn’t be that easy.

Glancing towards Hyunjin again, you watched as he laughed at a video of Jisung doing something dumb that Felix recorded on his phone. His laugh was so contagious and despite how you hadn’t even seen the video, you giggled too.

This is what you meant when you said he made it hard for you. Every little thing he did, you adored. He was practically living rent free in your head and as much as you wanted him out, he refused to leave.

Deciding that you would just drown your problems with the punch in your cup, you held it to your mouth to drink only to groan when it was empty. “Hey Hyunjin,” you tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m gonna get a refill, you wanna come with?”

Seriously Y/n, you suck at this.

He nodded almost eagerly and followed you into the house.

“I promise you it’s not bad! Just try it!”

You were standing in the corner of the kitchen trying to convince Hyunjin to try the punch that you had been indulging yourself in all night. Seeing as he didn’t know the contents of the drink and you were practically already buzzed, he was unsure if drinking the punch would do him any good.

“Fine but only one cup!” He gave in and you threw your arms up in satisfaction. Almost hesitantly, he took a drink and your eyes lingered to his hands. The way the silver rings on his fingers shone under the light and how they gripped the cup. Then down to his striped shirt he left unbuttoned more than likely on purpose. His beauty was effortless and sometimes you got jealous of how he could simply look so good without trying.

Looking up from his cup, his eyes met yours and you quickly turned away. The corner of his lips lifted up in a smirk as you clearly had no idea that he was aware of your staring the whole time. It’s not like you were discreet about it.

“How many of these have you had?”

You glanced at the cup in your hands and shrugged. “Maybe like four?”

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow and nodded his head. How you were drinking this, he had no idea. It wasn’t at all good to him. “How was your date? With Mingyu?”

You didn’t want to talk about Mingyu, nervous that Hyunjin would ask too many questions and you’d accidentally let something slip.

If you were being completely honest, you only showed up early to the party to make it look like you and Mingyu hung out for Valentine’s Day. You wouldn’t really call filling up chip bowls and watching Minghao and Mingyu argue over where to put the sound system a date.

“Oh it was good!” You answered almost too fast. “Yeah it was fun.”

Hyunjin nodded his head and weakly smiled. You almost winced at the awkward tension that sat in the air and you took another drink, humming in satisfaction. It was definitely doing its job.

The next song began and immediately recognizing it, you gasped and removed the cup from your lips. “This song is so good,” without thinking, you grabbed onto Hyunjin’s wrist. “let’s dance.”

He obliged as you dragged him through the crowd and into the living room where teens jumped around with one another.

Smiling as you made it into the middle of the dance pit, you found the beat and slowly began swaying your body to the rythmn. Hyunjin grinned, raising his eyebrow in amusement.

Still having a grip on his wrist, you intertwined your fingers and yelled over the music. “C’mon Hyunjin,” you smirked. “Dance with me.”

He chuckled and shook his head but seconds later found himself matching your movements.

Nodding as he danced along with you, you closed your eyes in bliss. He watched this with admiration. He had never seen you so care free before. You usually always seemed so shy and nervous when you danced in front of him but tonight you were practically all over him.

You enjoyed it; the way your bodies nearly pushed up against each other due to the lack of space in the room and the way the music blared through your ears, blocking out all other noise within distance.

This isn’t part of the plan, Y/n. Quit dancing and get your shit together! spoke the same voice in your head that you’d been unintentionally ignoring all night long. It was like a little angel on your shoulder telling you to let go of Hyunjin’s hand and walk away before you got yourself into another situation that you couldn’t get out of.

But on the opposite shoulder, sat a little devil who disagreed with the angel and insisted that you stayed on the dance floor. Don’t listen to them! You wanted to do this all night! Get over yourself, y/n!

Quite frankly, you didn’t know who to listen to.

You looked back up to meet his eyes and gulped once you found Hyunjin was already staring at you. He searched your face, looking for any sign that you felt the same way he did. He removed his hand from yours and instead placed it on your waist, bringing you closer to him. Your breath hitched as his hand snaked around to the small of your back, his rings cold on your skin.

Growing nervous, you shifted on your feet and gently placed your free hand on his chest. “I’m sorry,” you muttered and he knitted his brows in confusion. “I need some air.” You gently pushed away from him and began walking, his hand loosely trailing across your back as you left.

Hyunjin turned and watched as you quickly maneuvered through people and to the back door. He sighed and took a swig from his drink before leaving the center of the room to stand against a wall, distancing himself from the dancing crowd.

You confused him and how you felt was still a mystery to him. One minute, you were dancing with him and blushing whenever he complimented you. The next, you were ignoring him and getting nervous whenever he showed the slightest bit of affection. Maybe he’d been reading you all wrong. Maybe you hadn’t felt the same way about him and he’d been getting his hopes up just to be disappointed in the end.

He had stood by the wall for a while by himself, taking drinks from his cup every so often. He was too deep in thought to even notice Mingyu approaching.

“Hyunjin!”

Turning his head to the left, he frowned. Him and Mingyu had never really had a serious conversation before. Most of their “talking” was just done in class when they’d give each other the answers. “Hey Mingyu.”

“I’m glad you could make it.” Mingyu smiled, standing beside him with his arms crossed.

Hyunjin smiled back, unsure of how to respond. “Yeah, thanks for inviting us.”

“I saw you and Y/n out there,” Mingyu started, taking a drink from his cup. Hyunjin nervously eyed him. When he was dancing with you, he had totally forgotten about Mingyu and how he might’ve reacted when he saw his date all over someone else. “I’m glad everything got fixed.”

Hyunjin thought for a moment before realizing he had no idea what Mingyu was talking about. “Sorry,” he said. “What?”

“Y’know, everything. Cupid’s Kiss and all.” Mingyu laughed. Confusion was evident on Hyunjin’s face and it quickly became clear to Mingyu what was going on. “Y/n didn’t tell you, did she?”

“No?” Hyunjin said, more like a question rather than an answer.

Mingyu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course you hadn’t told him. It was you he was talking about, someone who avoided confrontation at all costs. “There was a mix up with the Cupid’s Kiss results. Y/n and I weren’t supposed to get each other after all.”

Hyunjin nodded slowly, looking down at the floor as he listened.

“I was supposed to be with Haseul,” Mingyu swallowed before hesitantly continuing. “Y/n was supposed to be with you.”

Hyunjin’s head whipped up, his eyes widening in shock. He observed Mingyu, trying to figure out whether or not this was just some drunk joke he decided to play just to spite him. But no, Mingyu looked dead serious. “Y/n knew?”

“Yep,” Mingyu hummed, “I found out about it a couple days ago and texted her right away. She said she’d tell you but clearly…” he trailed off and narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin.

A million things were running through Hyunjin’s head but all he wanted to do was find you. “I gotta look for Y/n. Thanks for telling me, Mingyu.”

Mingyu gave him a sympathetic smile and muttered a “No problem” before Hyunjin took off towards the backyard.

It was messed up. This whole time he felt horrible because he had gotten you for Cupid’s Kiss while you had gotten Mingyu when in reality, you were supposed to get each other. It wasn’t fair. He could’ve had you from the beginning.

Why you hadn’t told him about it as soon as you found out also shocked him. What were you gaining from keeping it hidden?

Hyunjin reached the back door and looked around the crowded yard, finally spotting you. You stood off to the side, talking with Chan and Chaeyeon.

As he walked over, he could hear you laughing at something Chan joked about.

“Hyunjin!” you exclaimed, throwing your arms over his shoulder. “Sorry I walked off. It was sooo hot in there.”

yeah, sure it was.

He eyed Chan who gave him a knowing look back. Your slurred words and sudden attitude change were enough evidence to tell him that you were drunk, somehow more than the last time he saw you.

He had originally wanted to walk over and talk to you about Cupid’s Kiss but seeing your state, he knew it wasn’t the time. He’d have to wait.

You chugged the final drops of your drink and closed your eyes, resting your head on Hyunjin’s arm. He shifted, placing his arm around your waist to help keep you upright.

“I’m tired.” you murmured, leaning closer into him.

“You wanna go home?” Hyunjin asked, speaking softly so only you could hear.

“Mhm.”

He nodded and turned back to Chan. “I’m gonna drive her home but if you want I can come back to pick you guys up after.” He didn’t wanna feel like a shitty friend for driving them there and then ditching them.

Chan shook his head and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Hyunjin. Changbin can give us a ride.”

Hyunjin smiled and said goodbye before Chae and Chan walked off. Then he focused his attention back on you. You stood up straight and rubbed your eyes in discomfort. He grabbed onto your hand and began guiding you inside the house, surprised that you were even able to keep yourself balanced.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m driving you home.” Finally making it outside of the house and to the front yard, he held onto you tightly as he led you to his car that was parked a short distance from the house.

“Oh no, I can’t go home,” you responded. “My parents will be so mad at me for this.”

He hadn’t even thought about that. Surely, your parents wouldn’t be very happy about you coming home late and completely trashed. But where else were you supposed to go when all of your other friends were still at the party.

“You could stay at my place,” he suggested, his voice sounding a lot more quiet than usual. “if you want.”

You may have been drunk but you weren’t dumb and was still well aware of what he was asking you. Your stomach turned at the thought of spending the night with Hyunjin and Hyunjin only. You didn’t really have any other options so it seemed you’d have to get over your emotions for one night.

“Yes please.”

The drive to Hyunjin’s place wasn’t long. Surprisingly, you managed to stay awake for the ride. You had both sat in silence the whole time, except for when Hyunjin had reminded you to text your parents and tell them you were staying at Ryujin’s for the night. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but more so because you were too caught up in your own thoughts to engage in conversation.

At one point, you had rolled your window down and stuck your head out slightly, taking in the cold air of the night. You closed your eyes when the wind hit your skin and grinned. Hyunjin watched you in admiration.

It was relaxing and almost felt like the wind was blowing all the guilt and nervousness right out of you.

When you got to his house, he had gotten out of the car and rushed over to the passenger side to help you out. You waved him off, insisting that you could walk yourself. Hyunjin shook his head as you began walking to the door, giggling at how you stumbled over your own feet.

Inside, he’d given you some clothes of his to change into, seeing that you probably wouldn’t be too comfortable sleeping in fishnets and a jean jacket. You didn’t even get the chance to protest with him as he shoved you into his bathroom and closed the door behind you.

After throwing his hoodie on, you glanced in the mirror and frowned at the sight of your disheveled hair and semi-smeared makeup. This is what Hyunjin had to look at? Embarrassing. You splashed your face with water and hurried out of the bathroom.

In his room, Hyunjin was making a makeshift bed on the floor with blankets and pillows that he retrieved from another room. Looking up at you, he swallowed. Seeing you wear his clothes brought out a sense of satisfaction in him, like you fit perfectly in them.

“You can take the bed,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

You frowned. “It’s your room, Hyunjin. I’m totally fine with sleeping on the floor.” If you were being honest, you’d be fine sleeping anywhere. You just wanted to sleep.

“Exactly. It’s my room so I have a say in where you get to sleep,” he smiled, ruffling his hair. “and I say you get to sleep on the bed.”

Rolling your eyes, you trudged over to the bed and snuck under the covers. Once you got comfortable, you patted the spot next to you. “I’m not just gonna let you sleep on the floor,” you hummed, your words still coming out messy. “Lay with me.”

Apparently for you, a side effect of drinking was a sudden boost of confidence because sober Y/n would’ve never mustered up enough courage to ask Hyunjin to sleep with her. Sure, you’ve slept together before but it was accidental and at a sleepover with a bunch of your friends. It didn’t count.

“You sure?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Because i’m totally fine with sleeping on the floor. I’ve done it before and like you wouldn't believe how comfortable carpet is when you’re tired.”

Hyunjin’s rambling made you giggle and you sighed, throwing your head back onto the pillow to stare at the ceiling. “Wow. Driving me home, letting me wear your clothes, willing to give up your bed for me,” you spoke quietly, almost to yourself rather than to him. “At this point Hyunjin, it just seems like you’re obsessed with me.”

He let out a breathy laugh and shook his head. He hesitated but much to your surprise, slipped under the covers next to you. Once he got comfortable, he placed his hands under his head and turned to look at you. “I think ‘obsessed’ would be reaching.”

Your heart jumped at the close proximity of you two and you took a deep breath. Silence came once again and maybe it was just you but you could feel the tension in the air. It sat on top of the two of you like a weighted blanket and you didn’t know how to lift it.

You closed your eyes in an attempt to shake away any thoughts and feelings that found their way into your head. Why did he have to be like this?

“What’re you thinking about?” Hyunjin’s voice came out quiet, almost like a whisper.

“You.”

You weren’t sure what came over you. Maybe it was the fact that you were on the verge of sleep or maybe it was the alcohol still very much in your system. Maybe it was both.

Hyunjin’s eyes averted to you. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

Whatever it was, you weren’t completely aware of what you were saying and you knew you were probably going to regret it in the morning. That was, if you could remember saying it.

“Hyunjin,” you yawned before speaking again, “Can I tell you something?”

He looked at you and noticed you still stared at the ceiling, your eyes beginning to get heavy due to sleepiness. You could pass out at any moment whereas Hyunjin wasn’t even tired. “Sure.”

“I think you’re perfect.”

Yeah, you were definitely going to regret saying this in the morning.

“Almost too perfect.” you continued as Hyunjin nervously bit his lip.

He moved his arms to rest on his stomach as he fiddled with his thumbs.

“Too perfect for me.” You said in a hushed tone, worried that if you spoke too loud, he’d be able to hear your heartbeat through your voice. “And that makes this whole thing so much harder.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wish I could deserve you as badly as I want you, Hyunjin.”

He didn’t know what to say or even what to do. You shocked him and as he stared up at the ceiling, he felt stuck in place. The room went quiet again.

He hadn’t prepared himself to hear a drunk confession from you, especially when you sat right next to him in his own bed. It was so sudden and based on the way you practically avoided him all night, it was very random.

I wish I could deserve you as badly as I want you. Your words were on replay in his head and he thought about what Mingyu had told him at the party. It was supposed to be you and him all along. Maybe now would be a good time to mention that.

Hyunjin turned towards you to speak but stopped at the sight of you already sleeping. Your head was close to his on the pillow and you had pulled the blanket all the way up to your neck.

He observed your face. Your lips were pouted and your cheeks slightly puffy. You looked so comfortable. This was the most relaxed he’d seen you all night, free from worry and stress and secrets.

Hyunjin sighed. He’d just have to talk to you about it tomorrow.

He reached over to the table beside his bed and turned his lamp off although he was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all that night.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/n.”

.˚ ✉️ TAGLIST ♡ ⃗

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yourfangirlfriend · 3 years

Text

It’s Nothing Serious - Chapter Six

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Five and a Half

A/N: idk if this is good but I’ve been putting off writing it and perfect is the enemy of done so here you go, I had fun

It’s not not serious.

At least, this seems to be the mutual conclusion you have both silently reached after that weirdly intimate night you never talked about, either.

And yes, you’re aware of how childish that is.

For two people voluntarily living in one of the more dangerous cities on the continent, it turns out you’re both pretty cowardly. But why put yourselves through the agony of all that when you could both instead play a game of emotional chicken to test where the boundaries are?

You go first the morning the two of you wake up in your bed. You both woke up in a tangle of limbs and slid out of bed after the second snooze alarm went off. He had just pulled on his jeans when he reached for the shirt you had folded the night before.

“Wait,” you said. You walked to the closet and pulled a crisp black shirt off its hanger, continuing to brush your teeth and you walked up and deposited it in his hand. “I washed this after you let me wear it home.”

That night we made pasta and I spilled sauce on my shirt and you took it off and fucked me in your kitchen until the chicken burnt-

He looks up at you, his eyebrows raised.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he shakes his head before pulling it over his shoulders. “Thank you.”

You give him a look before dipping into the bathroom to spit.

After a quick cup of coffee, you’re both striding towards your door when you stop short. He turns and looks at you, waiting for you to take another step and flick the deadbolt. Instead, you ask

“Are you going to be okay? Today, I mean. With...”

His face falls a little, like he was expecting to get out of this without you mentioning it. It makes your heart hurt.

“I’m fine,” he says, curtly. He drops his head to look at his shoes. You swallow.

“So...drinks tonight? Still?” You reach out and bop his hand with yours.

“Not if you don’t open the door.”

You roll your eyes, walking forward and flicking the bolt. You pull the door open and he catches it, holding it back for you as you take the first step out.

“...yeah. I’ll be back around 6,” he says as you finish locking the door. You drop the keys in your purse, straightening up as the two of you walk towards and out the doors.

“Bar or your place?”

“Mine.”

“You sure? It’s my turn to buy,” you say.

“No, it’s not,” he says as he opens the passenger door for you, gesturing that you climb in. You do and watch as he walks around the front to his side. “Besides, mines quieter.”

You nod, staring forward as he starts the car and pulls into the street. Like every morning, his hand falls to your knee and you feel content with his answer.

You can’t help yourself, though, when he pulls up in front of the school and parks, waiting for you to climb out. Usually, it’s a pretty quick, platonic affair- a quick “thanks, Javi” before you open the door and swing your legs out. This morning, though,

“You know,” he says when you reach for the handle. “You...you don’t have to take care of me.”

You drop your hand before turning back to face him. And maybe it’s the coffee you drank took quickly, or maybe it’s the way last night is still lingering in your head, but

“I like taking care of you.”

You reach out and pull his face to yours, letting the kiss linger before pulling away.

“See you tonight,” you said, flashing him a quick smile. If you’re not mistaken, you see the corner of his mouth twitch up before he remembers himself, and gives you a cool masculine nod. You climb out and watch as he drives away before you hear behind you:

“¿Es tu novio?”

You turn around and see three little girls from your class huddled together and giggling that they just caught the teacher doing something naughty. Despite yourself, you smile through your teacher's voice.

“Entrad, niñas. La clase está a punto de empezar.”

He makes the next move when he shows up outside the school, waiting against his car when you walk out that afternoon and he flags you down.

“Hey,” he says when you approach his car.

“Hey,” you say. “What’s up?”

“Was told to go home early,” he says. “Figured...” he waves his hand up, gesturing to you. “You got plans?”

“Was just going to swing by the liquor store. For tonight.”

“It’s not your turn to buy,” he says, moving out of the way so you can open the door. You send him a look.

“It’s the 90s. Let a girl buy you a drink, Javi.”

He smiles, and over his shoulder, you see one of the girls from this morning- Cara - sending you a shit-eating grin.

Despite yourself, you give her a little wave as Javi drives the two of you out of the parking lot.

--------------

It becomes a game after that. He picks you up from school. You ask him to stay the night again, and he does. The next morning, he kisses you goodbye in front of Steve, whose eyebrows you see pop up from the corner of your eye. That night, you stay over at his and leave the spare toothbrush you brought next to his in the bathroom. The next day, he comes to your house with take-out and a tape and the two of you fall asleep on the couch, drunk and full. Soon, you don’t remember a night where you aren’t sleeping in the same bed or whose turn it is to initiate a sleepover. You just meet at your smoking spot and then, inevitably, one of you will lead the other to their door for the night, and inevitably, the other one will stay.

The small reminders of each other begin to pile up in your respective apartments. A mystery toothbrush appears in your bathroom. Then there’s a jacket and two of his shirts hanging in your closet. A drawer in his bathroom slowly begins to fill with evidence of your presence- hair ties, bobby pins, the odd bit of makeup. During one of your drunk nights, when you are once again lamenting the lack of decoration, you draw a stick-figure portrait of the apartment - you, Javi, Steve, and the creepy silent man who you only ever see leave his place to buy fish - and tape it to his fridge. He tells you you hang around kids too much, but every time you come back, it’s still up.

Then the bigger things happen. You go to dinner with him and Steve. You bring him on a double date with Alessa and Frankie. He kisses you goodbye in front of the school every morning, and you reach out and hold his hand whenever the two of you walk outside- which you do now, by the way. You walk to the grocery store, you walk to the liquor store, you walk to the corner store to buy pre and post-coital smokes, and every time his hand finds yours. You’re still having sex, you still fuck, but now, sometimes, to what would once be your disgust, it’s slower. Softer. There’s eye contact and prolonged kisses and caressing and very little hair pulling.

And god. Now there’s cuddling.

You no longer sit across the sofa to hanger a drink. No, now your legs are in his lap or his arm is around your shoulder or some other horribly intimate design the two of you just naturally find yourself falling into whenever you’re in proximity. Now, after sex, he’s pulling you to him or you’re pulling him to you or you just both mutually descend towards each other. And when you’re all wrapped around each other, the worst thing of all happens. He talks.

It’s not like you hadn’t talked before. You were friends, after all. He already knew about your kids you taught, your parents, and some random, funny stories about your life. In turn, he had told you some stories about his mom, about the ranch, and about the people in his life. But now it’s different. Now, whenever you two are alone in the dark, bodies pressed against each other under the sheet with such softness it’s grotesque, the walls come down. He tells you about his mom's death, and how he didn’t cry for months. He tells you how afraid he is of himself, and how he worries she would hate the person he is. He tells you he doesn’t think he’s a good person, because of the women he’s hurt ( -“The DAY of?” “I’m not proud of it”-) and the people he failed (“-supposed to get her out, keep her safe, and I couldn’t-“) and how, though he won’t go into detail about it, he’s worried how numb he’s become to things, and that he’s only going to get number (“-you see so many people die, there’s got to be a point you just stop feeling that, like self-preservation, and that’s fucking scary-“). You listen. You think you may be the first person who has listened in a while. When he tries to apologize, that he shouldn’t have said that or that he’s a mopey sad sack or you don’t want to hear this, you kiss his hands.

“Javi,” you tell him. “I like listening to you. Anything you have to say.”

Looking back, you think the look he gives you the first time you said that was when you really knew. But now, you’re still playing dumb. You both are.

What’d he call it? Self-preservation?

To pay him back, you tell him about you. You try to match his scars, telling him about growing up in a loud, weird house you’d only learn at the age of fifteen was a commune. You tell him about all the times you caught your parents tripping out naked on drugs and having to drag them to bed, or how you had to watch your sister for days on end as a kid whenever they decided to go out on ‘spirit walks’, and how you eventually enrolled yourself in school after your mothers homeschooling attempts fell to the wayside. That one time when you were six and accidentally took a tab of acid your mother and father’s sometime lover, Sunshine, left on top of your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You try and tell him the good things, too- how you speak five languages (“what?” “English, Spanish, German, Russian, and some Chinese.” “...what?” “My parents were communists!”), how you used to be really good at gymnastics (“is that why you can’t do a handstand?” “I can do a handstand-“ ), and the things in yourself that you’re afraid of- your denial, your anxiety, your bad habit of never calling your sister back and how that actually reveals you’re a sociopath. And in turn, he listens. He squeezes your hand. He asks you questions when you know he wants to and lets it be silent when you can’t bring yourself to answer.

About three months into this, you find yourself lying on your side one night, staring at his beautiful, stupid, snoring face as he drools against your pillow, and for the first time, you finally, finally, finally let yourself admit it.

It is serious.

---

“Well no shit.”

You scowl at Lisa over your glass.

“What? Like we all didn’t already know? For months?”

“Leave her alone,” Alessa elbows her. “I think it’s sweet.”

“You think everything’s sweet.” Lisa rolls her eyes. “You tell him yet?”

You bite the inside of your lip and look down at your drink. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Timing?”

“You spend all your time together.”

You shake your head, taking a swig.

“Coward.”

“What!”

“I said you’re a coward,” Lisa says as Maritza deposits the tray of shots between the two of you.

“Who’s a coward?” she asks sweetly.

“Eloise.”

“Yeah, I am,” you reach forward and take two of the shot glasses, snatching the one in front of Lisa before downing it.

“Hey!” She yelps.

You flip her off and down the second.

She huffs. “Bitch.”

You shake your head and march towards the bar to order another tray.

----------

To be fair, he knew it would be like this.

He had to. It’s you. It’s both of you. Two weirdly cagey people who don’t like having their guard down and never, ever want to be the one person who sticks themselves out for ridicule. The little dares over the past few months have been one thing, like you’re placing pebbles on a scale, seeing how long it takes until it collapses under the weight. Nightly sleepovers? Pebble. Toothbrushes? Pebbles. Sharing childhood trauma after a round of particularly kinky sex where you had your hands tied to the headboard and it inadvertently reminded you of the time you got your hands stuck in some old handcuffs your sister and you had found and you had to spend three hours with your hands looped around a bed frame because Tanya was seven and when she found your mom they were high on peyote and it turns out it takes five drugged-out hippies to find a tiny pair of keys to free a small girl in the woods after it’s already gotten dark and then he told you about the time his uncle had drunk too much shiner and tried to shoot an apple off his cousins head with a BB gun but missed and now the cousin has one eye kind of like Lorenzo and then you both chain-smoked cigarettes and wondered what a glass eye feels like - alright. Maybe five pebbles.

But...actually saying it?

Stones. Big, ugly stones. The kind that fall on cars.

No wonder you got shit-faced.

“Javvvvvvvi,” you sang through his door. You pounded out the melody that only made sense in your head. “Heyyyyy,”

You hear footsteps approaching from the other side and you stand up straight, ready to drunkenly seduce him with your pose when the door swings open and-

“Can I help you?” She asks, annoyed.

You take the woman in front of you in. She’s tall, with long honey blonde hair that falls across her shoulders. Her waist is bared under the halter top she wears, and you’re only a little jealous of the toned plane of her stomach and the long legs that stretch out from her short shorts.

“I...” you start.

“What are you doing? Get away from the door!” Javi appears from behind her, reaching out to take her arm and pull her back. His eyes fall on you, though, and he drops his hand.

“El- hey- I thought you were-?”

“I was...what uh,” you raise your hand to the woman. “What the fuck?”

“Who the fuck are you?” The woman hisses back. Javi reaches up and takes her arm, pulling her back gently.

“I told you not to answer the door-“

“No, I think I’ll leave-“ you toss your hands up. “Enjoy your night.”

“She’s not- it’s not like that-”

“OH PLEASE, I wasn’t born yester-“

The door behind you opens, and the two or you swivel you hear to see Steve enter holding two bags of food. He looks between you and Javier, then to the door.

“Hey,” he says finally.

You give him a pathetic wave. He waves back before turning to Javi.

“Is she-“

“Yeah,” Javier says. He points to his apartment “Could you actually-?”

“Yeah,” Steve nods a bit too quickly, moving behind him and disappearing into the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Javier turns back to you.

“She needs a place to stay before we move her. I was going to tell you when you got back.”

“Ohhhhhhh,” you draw out. You grimace, before looking back to him. “...Sorry.”

“You really think I’d do that?”

You open your mouth to answer before he cuts in again.

“Are you drunk?”

“I-“ you start before huffing. Fucking cop. “Yes! Of course I’m drunk! It’s tequila night! I even, kindly, I might add,” you reach in your bag and pull out the bottle you picked up on the way home. “Got some for you, too!”

“Who did you think she was?”

“Javi-“ you groan, squeezing your eyes shut. This wasn’t supposed to be your night. Tonight was supposed to be about getting drunk with your friends, then getting drunk with Javi, then having drunk sex on your couch loud enough the upstairs fish guy would have to bury his head in what you only assumed was a pile of rotting fish carcasses in his trash to drown out your moans.

Now it’s this.

You shake your head and nod to your door, beckoning him to follow. It’s tense, and he watches over your shoulder as your hands shake trying to pull the right key. Once you manage to unlock the door, you hurry inside and deposit your things on the table, before turning back and facing him.

You open your mouth to say something-

-and then shut it again. You sigh.

“You thought I was sleeping with her.”

You snap your head back up to see him, cross-armed in front of you. You shake your head.

“This isn’t fair, I’m drunk. You’re not.”

He walks over to the bag you threw on the couch and unscrews the bottle you brought home. He takes a swig, holding eye contact as he gulps a third of the small bottle down, all while you watch flabbergasted.

“Say it,” he says, screwing the cap back on.

“You’re going to be sick-“

“Eloise.”

“Well, it’s not like we’ve talked about it!” You snap. “We never- said! What we’re doing!” You drop your hands to your side and turn, walking to the kitchen and leaning forward onto the counter. Javi follows you up, eying you.

“You thought I was, though?”

“Yes! No? I don’t know!” You bring a hand to your face. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just got scared. I guess...I’ve been scared? Lisa thinks so, the bitch-“

“Scared of what? Me sleeping with someone else?”

“No! Not- necessarily-“

“You really think- Jesus, it’s like we never-“

“Hey, don’t!” You spin to face him. “Don’t turn this around on me. You never brought this up. We haven’t talked about this. We talked about everything else and are doing everything else like dinner dates and sweet sex and fucking movie nights but we haven’t...said anything! Saying things matters!”

He stares at you.

“I didn’t think it did! I thought I was fine with just...letting...ugh!” You bring the heels of your palms to your eyes. “I shouldn’t have done that last shot.”

“Eloise, what are you-“

“I’m not a coward!” You point at him. “I’m not! I’m just- it’s just-“

“No one said you were!”

“Lisa did!”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t...Ugh! They really make strong drinks at that bar! Because I haven’t said-“

“Jesus Christ, WHAT.”

Ooh, you wish you could just fall apart and have him see what’s running through your mind right now. You feel the anger in your stomach bubble. He’s really annoyed with you for thinking the worst of him, and maybe he has a right, but you two haven’t talked about it. You had just assumed- assumed he felt the same way, assumed the little intimacies have built up in such a way that you had something real and concrete, and especially that you both weren’t fucking other people. But the second she opened the door it felt like your worst fear had come true: you were the idiot who had let their guard down first and got hurt, because they were too stupid to realize what this was, and you couldn’t even be mad. Because you hadn’t talked about it. Because he never technically said he was with you.

But now he’s looking like he’s feeling the exact same way, only he’s the idiot. He’s the idiot for confiding in you and crying on your tits and telling you all those fears and worries and believing you when you kissed his hands and told him you thought he was a good man. He’s worried that you’ve always seen him this way- as the guy who would cut and run and betray you, and maybe if you think that, then it’s true. Maybe he was kidding himself into thinking someone like you could believe in his goodness, after all he’s done.

Fuck, you may be drunk but it does make you insightful.

It may be too late though. Because he’s dropped his hands from his hips, tired of waiting for an explanation. He’s making towards the door, murmuring something about having to work and it all just seems like it’s slipping out of your fingers like you can see he’s building up the wall again and this time you’re not going to be able to tear it down-

“Javi,” you say, your voice strained. He stops and turns to you, and you know you only have a few seconds to do it. You try and form the words, but your tongue isn’t working and maybe Lisa was right, maybe you are a coward, but you have to try.

“I like taking care of you.” You say, pathetically, dropping your hands to your sides.

A beat passes. He brings his hands to his hips, waiting for a further explanation. You sigh and walk down to stand in front of him. “I like having you take care of me...and...I haven’t wanted to tell you, because I don’t want to scare you but maybe that’s just me ‘projecting’ or whatever Alessa said. She’s really annoying now that she’s doing that psychology class-“

“El.” He says, not without softness. You feel his fingers come under your chin, gesturing for you to look up at him.

This wasn’t the plan. This was supposed to be a hookup. Then a friendship. You don’t want to lose that.

But now he’s staring down at you like that, and your drunk brain is turning over itself as you think maybe that train has already left. Maybe it left a long fucking time ago, and the two of you have just been hanging onto the back, waiting for the other person to let go first.

But you don’t want to let go. You never really did. You were just waiting for him to give you a sign so you could make it look like you were jumping off together instead of you pathetically holding on as he disappears behind you.

But from the way his thumb traces your jaw and his other hand reaches forward to take your hand in his, you think maybe he’s been utilizing the same strategy, and he’s been just as scared as you.

Well, now you can either let go or try to pull yourself up.

So.

Are you a coward or not?

He wets his lips before his eyes drop. He looks defeated. And at that moment you decide – fuck it.

Between the gymnastics and dragging your high parents to bed and all this fucking holding you’ve been doing inside of you, you’ve got strong enough arms.

So.

Fuck it.

“El, I don’t-“

“I love you,” you say without thinking. “And yes I’m tequila drunk, but I don’t think that takes away from-“

You’re stopped as he leans forward and presses his lips to yours, cutting you off. You wrap your arms around the back of his neck, pulling him in closer and deepening the kiss. You feel him pulling at your top and you shimmy it off and over your head, tossing it to the side before dipping your hands down and unbuckling his belt as he unbuttons his shirt before you. You drop your hand down the front of his pants, jerking him softly as he moans into your mouth. You feel him guiding you to the couch, and when the back of your knees hit the arm you drop down and begin to pull his pants down for him as he rids himself of his shirt. You’re about to take him in your mouth when he pushes you down, your back hitting the cheap leather as he crawls over you, pulling your skirt up to your hips. He pauses.

“You always skip the underwear in girls' night?”

“Only when I’m coming back to you.”

That gets him, because a second later he’s between your legs, thrusting inside of you. You let out a cry and drop your head back, exposing your neck to him as he continues to pump into, his hands reaching behind and you and grabbing a fistful of your hair.

“Say it again,” he says.

“I don’t wear underwear-“

“No,” he growls, dropping his hand down between your legs to play with you. You let out another little cry.

“I love you,” you say. “I-I’ve loved you for a long time- ahhh!” The next thrust hits a little too well. “Ah, fuck, Javi- right there-“

“Keep going-“

“YOU keep going- fuck, has your dick gotten bigger?”

“El-“ he lets out a moan. Taking advantage of the moment, you slip out from under him and switch positions, pressing him back onto the couch and climbing atop of him. His hands settle on your hips as you ride him, pulling sounds from him that echo around your living room. When you cum he’s not long after, and the two of you collapse onto each other, breathing heavily as you come down with his hand holding the back of your neck.

“Hey,” he says finally. You lift your head and sit up, looking down at him. His eyes are glassy, and the look on his face makes you giggle.

“Are you drunk?”

“Yes,” he says. “But a wise woman once said that doesn’t take away from what I have to say.”

“She sounds smart, you should fuck her,” you say, moving to stand. He catches your wrist, pulling you back down onto his lap with a bounce.

“Give a girl a few minutes before round two-“

He cuts you off with a kiss. It’s slow and soft and you melt into it. The way you always melt into him.

When he pulls away, you chase after his grinning lips. He brings a hand to the side of your face, tracing his fingers down the side of your cheek.

“I love you, too.” He says. “I don’t know what that’s worth…but I do.”

You lean in, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck.

"Baby," you say "It's worth everything."

In the morning, you’ll have to contend with the knowing look Steve gives the two of you before asking “Good night?”, a joke that earns him a look from Javi and a deep blush and muttered apology from you. You’ll have to put up with the squeals from Maritza, Lisa, and Alessa when you tell them in the staff room during lunch. You’ll even get a look from your upstairs neighbor when you pass him and his fresh fish that next afternoon. Most of all, you’ll have to consider what the fuck this means for you and Javi and this scary, exhilarating little life you’re leading.

But.

Right now, you’re naked and smoking a cigarette on the couch with the man you love who loves you back, and you’re both laughing, and that's more than enough.

taglist: @fuckoffbard

#javier peña #javier peña x reader #javier Peña x oc #narcos #it's nothing serious #fic

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adhd-disaster-willie · 3 years

Text

you’re the one that brings the sun; chapter 3/6

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Warnings: None

Notes: I was actually going to post this yesterday but apparently a post limit is a thing, oops. I think that constitutes as me winning the liveblogging. /j

Also, yes I changed Willie’s pronouns because I’ve developed an attachment to he/they Willie :)))

Anyway! Here’s chapter 3, I hope you like it :)))

---

Alex doesn’t quite know when it happened, but the coffee… not-dates, have become a thing. Willie seems to have a sort of sixth sense that just knows when Alex needs coffee and a breath of fresh air. It’s odd, the way they’ve sunk into a routine in just a month and a half. Alex has Willie’s schedule memorized, he knows that Willie likes skating to his classes and that he only has caffeine on Saturdays and that he has a favorite tree he likes to study under. He refuses to admit to himself that Willie seems to know him just as well, from buying him more bandaids when he knows the ones in his fannypack are running low, to calling him and making sure he doesn’t stay up too late studying that one night when Willie was at Caleb’s for the weekend.

Alex has a tendency to stay up late studying, because he has this ridiculous, innate desire to get everything perfect. He supposes it comes from the fact that at one point, he was sure he wouldn’t even be in college, so now that he is, he feels like he has to succeed or his entire everything will come crashing down. So despite the fact that he’s gone over his notes a million times and the only noise is the clock ticking past 2am, he remains glued to the couch, eyes straining to read the page in his history textbook.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve been staring at that page for 30 minutes.” Willie’s standing in the entrance to the living room, smiling, their hair pulled into a loose braid that makes them look soft around the edges. He’s holding a cup of tea in one hand and Alex’s favorite blanket in the other.

Alex looks up, rubbing his eyes blearily. “Hm? Thought you were asleep,” he says, stifling a yawn. He feels a pang of guilt at the thought that he woke Willie up. Willie has a hard enough time falling asleep as it is.

Willie shrugs and moves to sit beside him on the couch, offering him the steaming mug. “I woke up to go to the bathroom and saw the light was still on. Drink the tea, it’s peppermint.”

“Peppermint makes me tired.”

“That’s the whole point.”

Alex eyes the tea suspiciously, but he’s weak for peppermint tea, and Willie knows it. He gives in, sipping it and sighing contentedly. His eyes threaten to flutter shut, and the prospect seems so tempting. “You should go to sleep,” he murmurs.

Willie shakes their head. “Not until you do.” They reach over and shut Alex’s textbook, ignoring his protesting. “You have a 9am class, you need to sleep, hotdog.” Willie’s voice is gentle in the way that makes Alex’s stomach do flips. He tosses the blanket over Alex’s lap, making sure it covers his feet, which are always cold, because anxiety sucks like that.

“I will,” Alex replies indignantly. “I just- I just gotta finish this one thing-” He cuts himself off with a loud yawn and Willie shakes his head knowingly.

“It’s 2am dude, you’re incapable of getting anything done past 1 and we both know it.”

“Not true.”

Willie raises an eyebrow. “Really? C’mon man, all that studying is gonna go to waste if you’re too tired to even take the test. Sleep, now.”

Alex hums in response, too tired to get out another coherent sentence. He supposes it wouldn’t hurt to close his eyes for a few minutes. “Five minutes,” he mumbles. “Then you wake me up.”

“Of course, hotdog,” Willie whispers. His hand hovers just over Alex’s, hesitant. He pulls back before Alex can overthink it, but there’s something hanging heavy in the air.

Alex pulls the blanket up to his chin and half asleep, offers Willie one corner. Willie swallows thickly before carefully taking the blanket and wrapping it around himself, drawing them closer together. If he’d been fully awake, Alex never would’ve done what he did next, letting his head drop unceremoniously onto Willie’s shoulder before drifting off to sleep, lulled by the sound of Willie’s heartbeat. It’s reminiscent of his drums and the way they soothe his anxiety, a steady, warm beat that feels like home. He’s sure that he’s dreaming when he feels Willie’s hand card through his hair, but oh what a lovely dream it is.

Alex wakes up to muffled cursing and the sun shining in his eyes. He blinks the sleep away, noting that the light is coming from the wrong angle and his neck is incredibly sore. The events of the night before come flooding back and he considers holing up in his room and never looking Willie in the eyes again. And yet, despite the mortification of falling asleep on Willie’s shoulder and the cramp in his neck, he feels more rested than he has in weeks.

A sudden crash from the kitchen snaps Alex out of his daydreaming It takes him a good couple minutes to register that Willie is practically hopping around the kitchen, narrowly avoiding dropping more things on the floor, and he almost smiles at the sight before remembering that Willie has admitted to being a terrible cook and Alex should probably intervene before something gets set on fire.

Alex trudges up to the counter, eyes still heavy with sleep. “What’re you doing?”

Willie looks up and Alex breaks down, laughing so hard his stomach hurts. There’s flour smeared all across Willie’s cheeks and what looks to be milk dripping from their hair and their eyes are wild with panic and laughter. Willie reaches over and pokes Alex’s chest. “Stop it,” they whine, biting their lip to keep from laughing. “I’m trying to make waffles but…” he looks around at the mess in the kitchen and sighs in resignation. “This was a bad idea. The dining hall waffles taste like cardboard, and I would just make pancakes since those are easier, but I know you like waffles better since they have little compartments for the syrup. So I thought y’know, it can’t be that hard, I just need a recipe and a waffle maker. But did you know there are a lot of rules to cooking that are not stated like anywhere? And waffle makers? Not very easy to use. A pain to clean too.”

“Where did you even get a waffle maker?” Alex questions, glancing over at the contraption cautiously.

“That girl from my art history class owed me a favor.”

“The one you gave skateboarding lessons so she could impress her crush? She just has a waffle maker lying around?”

Willie nods. “Yup.”

“And you went all the way over to the girls dorms at-” Alex glances at the clock and subtracts an hour from the current time. “- 7am. So you could borrow her waffle maker?”

“Well when you put it like that…” Willie runs his hands over his face, laughing. “It’s stupid. But uh… I got you coffee?”

“It’s not stupid,” Alex says. “I uh, I think it’s sweet. Really. Just, please don’t try it again, I don’t want the dorm burnt down.” He chuckles lightly and begins toying with his hoodie strings, cheeks slightly pink. “Coffee?”

Willie reaches into the fridge and pulls out a coldbrew. “I didn’t want it to get warm and I didn’t know when you’d wake up, but uh, here.”

Alex takes the coffee and something in his heart bursts just a little bit. “You remembered my coffee order.”

“I mean yea it’s… it’s what you get every time.” Willie scratches the back of their neck, rocking back and forth on his heels anxiously.

“Your memory sucks, dude.” Alex continues to stare at the cup like it’s something from an alien planet. “I- thank you.”

“Yea, yea of course.” Willie smiles softly, sitting next to Alex and nudging his shoulder. “It’s what friends are for.”

“I’m not helping you clean the kitchen.”

“Rude, I hate you.”

---

Alex is fairly sure he didn’t fail his history test, and his professor for his last class of the day had to cancel, so he’s let off early. All in all, satisfactory for a Monday.

It’s a fairly warm day, but chilly enough for him to be wearing a denim jacket. LA doesn’t really see actual fall until well into November, but having lived there his whole life, Alex needs a jacket as soon as it hits 65 degrees. There’s a bounce in his step as he walks across campus, a grin tugging at the ends of his lips. He’d agreed to meet Willie at the skatepark, and it sounds stupid that he’s so excited to see them, considering they live together, but this feels different. It isn’t a date, he reminds himself that he couldn’t be that lucky, but it’s nice. It’s nice to be able to spend time together as friends instead of just roommates.

Alex swings his rollerblades over his shoulder, bringing his other hand up to his face in order to block the sun, hoping to make it easier to find Willie. It isn’t hard to spot him, Willie stands out, and Alex wonders if that’s because of Willie himself or… something else. They’re like a light, the center of Alex’s messy, muddled universe. Willie’s perched on the back of a wooden bench, feet planted on the actual seat and looking off at the sky, they drum theiir feet to the beat of whatever song is playing in their headphones and mouths the lyrics quietly. Alex has always has a habit of noticing things. It stems from his anxiety, but it isn’t so bad when the things he notices is the golden haze around Willie’s head from the way the sun is positioned, or the way the light breeze snakes through his hair. Willie is very pretty, it’s a simple fact, one that Alex had never failed to take notice of; but watching him so… at peace, lost in his thoughts, it hits Alex like a truck.

Alex sidles up to the bench, standing over Willie’s shoulder. “Whatchya listening to?”

Willie yelps and leaps slightly in the air, clutching at his chest. “Christ Alex, you’re like a ghost! How’re you so quiet?”

“Hmm, I think you’re just oblivious.”

“Am not.”

“Are too,” Alex hops over the back of the bench to sit beside Willie. “What’re you thinking about? You had your daydream face on.”

“I don’t have a daydream face.”

“You totally do!” Alex snickers. “It’s like…” He gives a poor rendition of Willie’s so called daydream face, sending the other boy into a fit of giggles.

“I sure hope that isn’t my face,” Willie breathes, clutching onto Alex’s shoulder for balance. Alex begs his heart to please beat a bit slower. When Willie finally calms down, his hand lingers on Alex for a few moments, like he doesn’t quite know how to move it. When they do, Alex’s shoulder feels cold, and he thinks that Willie holding onto him was helping to balance them both, in a way. He shakes that thought from his mind, forcing himself to focus on the present, not the possibilities. Willie is swinging their feet, occasionally brushing Alex’s knees or his calves. His hair is let down and slightly tangled from his helmet, which is resting on the bench beside his skateboard. Alex lets out a gentle breath. Focus on the present. God, he sounds like a therapist.

“Are we gonna skate?” Alex asks, gesturing at his rollerblades and Willie’s skateboard.

Willie seems to think about it for a moment before shaking their head. “Two more songs,” they decide. “I’ll feel incomplete if I don’t finish the playlist.”

Alex peeks over his shoulder at his phone, where Spotify is open. “What’re you listening to?”

Willie scoots closer and Alex is painfully aware of how close they are, their knees knocking together. He offers Alex his other earbud and his voice is soft when he asks if Alex wants to listen with him. It’s like he’s holding a piece of himself in his hands, Alex recalls a time where Luke said that showing someone your music is like showing them your soul. Alex thought he was being dramatic, but now he thinks that he wouldn’t mind having a part of Willie’s soul to keep. He takes the earbud, and they have to move their heads closer to avoid any accidents with the wire. Their foreheads are inches apart, Alex can see the reflection in Willies eyes, soft and earthy, like the bark on his favorite tree that he used to climb until he felt like he could fly.

“Hmm, Green Day’s good,” Alex says, softly lip-syncing the ending of American Idiot. Willie nods in agreement, the movement causing a few loose strands of hair to brush across Alex’s face. Alex has to close his eyes for a few seconds, breath catching in the back of his throat.

A beat of silence passes between songs; Alex can hear Willie’s even breathing and he’s sure Willie can hear his sporadic heartbeat. It’s like they’re trapped in their own little bubble, where the sun never sets and they’re always wrapped in gold. And then it’s over and another song begins.

“Avril Lavigne?” Alex means it to come out as teasing, but his voice is far more tender than he intended.

“Don’t make fun of me!” Willie giggles, bumping Alex’s shoulder. “Shhh, let me listen to the song.”

Alex is so focused on his proximity to Willie that he isn’t paying too much attention to the lyrics that everyone’s heard a million times. “I like ballet,” he mutters absentmindedly in response to the song, not really clocking the way Willie’s face flushes crimson. He quirks a curious eyebrow when Willie shoots up, shoving their phone and earbuds into their pocket. “We didn’t finish the-”

“Lets skate!” Willie cuts in, plastering on a false smile. “I just REALLY wanna skate, so lets do that! Yup! Okay!” They hop on their skateboard, bouncing in anticipation and Alex can’t even admire the way that their hair dances in the wind because he’s just so confused. He’s sure he didn’t do anything wrong. He just said that he likes ballet and-oh. Alex buries his face in his hands at the realization, internally cursing himself. Well that’s one way to accidentally admit to your blossoming crush. Lovely.

Alex opens his mouth to get out an apology, but it’s stuck in the back of his throat. He fumbles with his blades, straps too small and agile beneath his shaking hands. Whatever. It’s fine. If he doesn’t mention it, it didn’t happen right? Willie doesn’t seem to be making any moves to talk about it, so he doesn’t either. Willie still has one foot on his board, looking ready to flee any moment, his eyes glued to the pavement.

“So, you dance?” Willie asks casually, but Alex can hear the tension behind the question.

“Uh yea, since I was little. Another way I disappointed my parents, they always told me dancing was girly and it’d turn me gay.” He laughs ruefully. “We all know how that worked out.” Willie nods distantly. “I danced in high school, mostly jazz, I was never great at ballet.”

“Jazz?!” Alex gasps in mock offense.

“Stupid egotistical ballerina,” Willie teases. The tension seeps from Alex’s shoulders when Willie finally makes eye contact and there isn’t anything hidden behind his gaze. Alex lets a tentative smile creep onto his face, but there’s still something unspoken dangling precariously in the air above them.

---

chapter 4

chapter 5

chapter 6

Notes: ok so this chapter was originally like 1,000 words longer but I cut out the last scene FOR GOOD REASON I PROMISE!

I hope you liked it :)))

Taglist: @thatsanewflavor @spookiest-sapphic @dovesgrangers @julie-n-phantoms @frostknyte @thegaylink @nervousmiracletrash @crummycassidy @fairygclds @reallyintrospectivepeople @madsmax-37 @swamp-acad @kat-maybe-not @sunsetcurve123 @lookingthroughmirrors @queer-fandom-enby @over-under-through1 @willex-n-waffles @caliibee @herequeerandcantdrinkbeer @nickalicious @andwhenwepart @maizsnex @fanofthepod

#willex #jatp #willex fic #jatp fic #willie jatp #willie nolastname #alex mercer #alex jatp #willex fanfic #willex fanfiction #julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #jatp fanfiction #wille x alex #alex x willie #ytotbts #willow writes

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

Text

Title: Lovebug (2/10)

Summary:

“It might be a bug.”

“A bug?”

“Sometimes the developers of this application make mistakes. This is our first time meeting I’m sure so…Isn’t it a bit weird that we just met for the first time and it rings like this? And for two strangers to coincidentally ring each other’s alarms?“

Levi is the developer of the Love Alarm App and Hange is married to Zeke.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 3 4 5

Notes: I was torn between publishing the next chapter of lovebug or outlier tonight so I opted to just go for lovebug. I'll post the next chapter of outlier mid next week. As always, feedback is very much appreciated.

“We’re gonna delay the release of our next fix…” Levi repeated, just a little slower that time. He didn’t trust himself then to speak in anything faster or with a tone any louder.

It was too early in the morning for a meeting, just a little past eight in the morning. He was called into Erwin’s office right after arriving into company grounds and Erwin, a natural early bird, was talking louder than what could have been considered bearable for Levi.

At eight in the morning though, not a lot of things were bearable, especially if they involved a huge change of plans and a glaring reminder that he had a long work day ahead of him.

More importantly, Erwin’s voice was grating in a way that most bosses’ voices were grating when laced with a little more urgency than necessary. “Yes Levi, we’re delaying our fixes indefinitely, not just for Love Alarm but all of our other apps as well.”

Levi raised his eyebrows. “Really? You know we’ve been announcing this big fix for months.”

“I’ve contacted the marketing team. We are pushing the fixes back a week. You think that will be enough for you to finish everything you need?”

Levi shook his head. “There’s no need to push back the release. I can work on this bug now and I can have the other developers and the support team work on getting the regression testing done and getting the release out.”

Erwin shook his head. “I do not want to give Mr. Jaeger the impression that we aren’t prioritizing his complaints. Levi, you have to understand. He’s an important client.”

“I understand that. And I will be on top of things. I’m testing this issue myself.” Most days, Levi left the testing option to the support team. Given the nature of the bug though and the severe urgency of getting it fixed, it had been an easy decision for Levi to take it upon himself.

Erwin hummed in approval. “Yes and I’m happy to hear that you're going to be investigating this bug. I would rather that we didn’t release anything while investigating this.”

“May I ask why? This bug doesn’t involve any of our other functionalities. I can test this myself.”

Erwin hummed. “Zeke Jaeger is an unpredictable man. I don’t think he would appreciate us improving our product while such a glaring bug still exists. He is a very vocal and he might give us some bad press.”

“Oh?” Levi heard the derision in his own tone then, a smooth yet venomous sound. Zeke Jaeger had been outwardly friendly yet for some reason Levi couldn’t explain just yet. He wasn’t at all drawn by the charisma that accompanied it. In fact, the blonde had just been annoying and the conversation only cemented Levi’s first impression of Zeke Jaeger as bad, maybe even terrible.

What the hell does Hange see in him? He added to himself then. How that had entered his own contemplations then, he didn’t know. He quickly brushed it away and mustered the most seemingly uninvested face he could make then.

Erwin had that special talent of seeming uninvested either. As he settled on the sofa in front of Levi, he mixed the coffee just a little too loudly. He had an aura about him that very much meant business. “Have you done some prior investigation?”

“I did,” Levi said. As he soon found out, that aura was contagious.

“Anything new?”

“I’m entertaining the idea that what if…. The application is working fine?”

“Can you explain why his partner had two hearts while he had none?”

Levi cleared his throat. “Assuming the application is working perfectly, we can draw two conclusions. One, someone in love with Hange Zoe had their application on and Two, Hange Zoe isn’t in love with Zeke Jaeger.” That last conclusion couldn’t have easily been true, but still such words left such a sweet aftertaste in Levi’s mouth that he had to make some considerable effort not to smile.

Erwin raised his eyebrows inquisitively. “Any leads on whose application could have been on?”

It had taken some strength, some self confidence and some self discipline on Levi’s side to pull his phone out then. “My love alarm was on yesterday, I forgot to turn it off after the demo…” He navigated to the ‘history’ tab and opened his history to the exact time to late afternoon yesterday.

One person nearby is in love with you. Levi read silently to himself. In that split second, he was contemplating display issues and front end bugs that maybe just maybe accidentally chalked Hange’s heart as ‘love.’ It was highly unlikely though so even before that idea had ripened into something worth an explanation and a support ticket, Levi brushed it aside.

“So your application was on the whole time.” Erwin murmured, looking intently at the phone in front of him.

Levi nodded. “But it’s a good step in the right direction. That means there’s a bug to investigate after all. I just have to isolate it to either Hange Zoe’s application build or mine,” he explained.

“That seems promising and do you need any help organizing a meeting with her.”

“She’s coming today for a little testing.”

“Just like my best engineer to think a few steps ahead.” Erwin asked, a smile curling up his lips. “And you think you can get it done within a week?”

“If all goes well… Even less than a week.”

***

It had turned out that that small meeting had worked well to organize Levi’s thoughts. He had a quick action plan from there and with an action plan, a new burst of motivation, or at least enough of it to carry him from Erwin’s room to his own small office space in a little less than five minutes.

A week to investigate. Levi thought to himself as he leaned back on his office chair. He looked back up at the ceiling for a good few seconds before writing his deadline down on the white board next to him.

He didn’t need that whiteboard, their workflow trackers and excel sheets worked well to always keep Levi in the right state of mind. Yet there was something organic about white boards, something natural about being able to write the numbers with his own hand, freely changing his fonts with just the slight of the hand, impulsively changing formats at just a quick motion.

So he kept it there next to him, a large annoying waste of space to most people. But Levi had taken great pains to make it look organized in his room, measuring each frame to the millimeter. It was a large clean slate right next to his desk in his very small office. And more importantly, it was something that was very much his to play around with like he wanted to.

Under the deadline, he put the new release date of their fix.

We’re delaying the release of the next fix by a week.

Such wise words from someone who didn’t know how the investigation process actually worked. But with an employee and boss relationship, emphasis on Levi being the employee, he had to make it work. That’s how it had always been in the office. Erwin wasn’t a developer. He was a manager. And Levi was being paid by him.

Levi though never liked the idea of delaying fix releases. Once the date was announced, he liked to make sure all of the quality assurance testing and the regression testing was done two weeks ahead. And with that habit becoming custom for the Love Alarm project, he was sure they would have managed to make the release next week. Staring at the workflow interface, he noted the bar was more than half full already, most bugs were tagged as fix. All test builds were submitted and passed and they could have easily moved on to the final regression testing before release.

And regression testing never actually failed. The Love Alarm app after all was a very functionally simple application.

With the weight of a wasted timely release and the powerlessness of corporate politics bare on his back, Levi let out a long sigh.

He opened up his slack channel and typed out a few words.

We’re delaying the next fix release.

But it wouldn’t just be the Love Alarm which would be affected, all the other applications would be affected as well. His notifications exploded within five seconds, all feedback from each time. Levi started to wonder, maybe he should have put everything in one message.

So he edited his old message.

We’re pushing it back a week.

Under that, he put a new date and time as a reminder to all other employees. There were many why’s, many protests and his application continued to shake with notifications.

He checked the time on his phone. Hange had agreed to meet at nine and she should be texting soon. With little to no brains pace to create a summary of his meeting with Erwin in less than ten minutes, Levi typed out two words.

Erwin’s orders. Without waiting for anymore protests, he closed his laptop, packed up his things and ready to move to the small conference room he had reserved for him and Hange.

It was a few floors below. A small room among others but Levi was familiar enough with the layout of their offices to know it was very much soundproof.

Any unwelcome alarms, unwelcome notifications and unwelcome conversations would stay in that room. Even before Levi had dropped off his things in the conference room, Hange had already texted.

Her car was by the gate already.

Meet in the lobby. Levi texted back as he quickened his pace, quickly turning back towards the elevator, laptop bag still in hand.

He could have been too slow. Or Hange could have just been too fast but by the time he had arrived in the lobby, she was already on one of the seats next to the reception, playing around with her phone.

She was wearing a light sweater, her brown hair was pulled up messily into a half ponytail. Levi though had to note that it still looked very much like it fell into place. For a second, he had given her a good onceover, admiring everything at once.

Only a split second later, he was cruelly reminded that he had made her wait, long enough for her to have to sit down in one of the lobby sofas. “How long were you waiting?” It wouldn’t have been the first greeting Levi would have liked to give then. His heart was racing though and soon he realized, maybe he had taken up the unnecessary challenge of jogging down those five flights of stairs while keeping his laptop safely in tow.

Hange looked up from her phone seeming surprised. “Are you busy? Was this a bad time to visit?” Hange asked. “We could reschedule... “

More and more, the first greeting then was seeming less and less ideal. “No, no. This is great. I don’t know what just came over me. Thank you for taking the time to test this bug with me.”

Hange shook her head. “No, no, I asked my partner to invest in this application for a reason. I see great potential and I’d be happy to tweak some of those bugs with you.” Her lips widened into a smile. “So what’s the game plan?”

Levi gestured towards the elevators. “We do some simple testing. I just need to isolate the cause of this bug.”

“Oh? How does application testing work?”

“We use the application,” Levi answered matter-of-factly. Was there any other way to test it? It didn’t seem like something he should be asking the very important partner of a very important person though so Levi kept that last question to himself, instead keeping his face then as something both subtle and questioning.

“That’s cool,” Hange said. “So how’s your job?”

“It’s fine,” Levi answered. “The investigation will keep me busy.” He stared at the numbers on the elevator, getting lower and lower and Levi could have sworn it couldn’t go any slower. He could have found some consolation if anybody else had joined them in the elevator then, to at least abate that awkward need to carry some conversation between them.

Any other employees though had chosen for themselves to wait in front of other elevators. Levi was almost considering doing the same thing.

After all, Hange was talkative. She was asking questions. When they entered the elevator together, the very slow elevator, there would be more than enough time to send two to three questions back and forth. And Levi was quick to realize, he was an incredibly boring person.

“So do you have any hobbies?”

“Programming.” What about you? Levi had readied himself to ask in that long split second of silence that followed.

Hange though was quick to respond even before he could take control of the conversation. “Well aside from your actual job.”

“I like to clean,” Levi answered. He started to wonder how dorky that hobby sounded like. He needed to rephrase. “I meant--- organize things…” He added a second later. “Like Marie Kondo.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard about her,” Hange said. She had at least allowed for a split second silence then, long enough for Levi to take the reins of the conversation.

Hange though was a high profile person, her partner was one of the richest men in the country and Levi’s mind was racing with hypotheticals. Was it okay to ask her about her hobbies? Her interests? Or was that supposed to be an exclusively professional meeting?

Soon, with all the questions nagging at him at once, he unearthed a question at the back of his mind that he had been meaning to ask since he had met Hange down at the lobby.

So how’s your husband?

Where’s your husband? Do you hang out with him often? Do you usually do stuff alone? A question that couldn’t so easily be answered by a single google search on an incognito window, only that night, he had tried searching keywords just to be sure.

Hange Zoe Zeke Jaeger Relationship

And soon after searching that just once. He had made sure to clear his browser history just in case he didn’t do it in some incognito window. After all, night mode and incognito mode had almost the same interface.

He soon found out though after jumbling around keywords over a search engine that Google wasn’t omnipotent as it turned out. The only one who could have satisfied his curiosity at that moment was the brunette next to him then.

He couldn’t bring himself to ask it just then though. So he went for another question, a very vanilla one but it seemed like a safe bet. “What about you?”

“What about me? What do you mean about me?”

Levi was starting to doubt the flow of the conversation of a while ago. Did he remember it correctly?

The elevator dinged like it was announcing some coming of a messiah. That had been more than enough to break the awkwardness of that exchange and Levi quickly slammed the open elevator door, just a little more loudly than usual. He gestured for Hange to go ahead.

“Hobbies,” Levi said as he met her outside the elevator.

“I like research,” Hange answered.

“Is that your full time job?” Levi asked. He didn’t need to ask. He had read more than enough articles of Zeke Jaeger’s partner to have seen ‘neuropsychologist’ used as an epithet enough to be convinced that that was her full time job. The last thing he wanted to do though was actually accidentally imply in a conversation that he had googled a few keywords for answers before clearing his browser history.

Hange nodded. “Yes it is.”

“Well… Hobbies aside from your actual job?” Levi asked. He kept his own word usage and his own phrasing similar to what Hange had used with him. If Hange asked it that way, that should have been a socially acceptable way to ask.

“I like plants,” Hange said firmly. She wasn’t looking at him. Although Levi had wanted to see the face she was making then, he started to realize that craning his neck to get a good view of her face might just look a little too weird.

So he settled for her side profile. From his view he could see eyes were everywhere at once from the hallways to the doorways just a little further away from the area that opened up as soon as they exited the elevator. “Where are we going?”

“Over here,” Levi said, he was quick to pull her towards the other side though, before she found out that he had taken a good few steps already in the wrong direction. “The conference room is over here…”

“We have a meeting?” Hange asked, her voice suddenly very tense.

“No, it’s nothing like that. I just thought it would be better that I reserved a room, so we could do some testing where we wouldn’t bother anyone.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I thought I was supposed to be preparing something.”

In those few minutes, he had made her wait, made her navigate some awkward conversation and made her panic. Then and there as he led her to the room, he was guessing what kind of dashing review she’d be giving Zeke about their first meet up.

More importantly, was he giving a great second impression? It was nine in the morning, too early for him to be confident that he was a fully functioning human being. Or so, that was what he repeated to himself then. He could make up for it after lunch.

Hange settled on one of the chairs nearest to the door. “Do we sit together?” She asked. The meeting room was designed for a maximum of ten people and for a good few seconds, he wondered if he should have gotten something much smaller.

Even before he had figured it out for himself, he was looking between sitting right next to her or towards the other side of the room. They weren’t married. Could he sit beside someone who was married?

But if he sat too far, he might not be able to hear her. He went for a very safe in between. He dropped his laptop bag on the seat next to her with some flourish, as if to say, he was married to his job and he was happy with that arrangement before sitting on the seat right next to his bag.

There was a bag between them, they were a safe distance away and Levi pulled his laptop out and booted it up. “I’m suspecting that the issue with your application might be the build. Can you redownload it for me?” He asked. The laptop had been a reminder at least that they were there for business. And business meant that they had a topic of conversation and he had practiced that script enough times to know, he probably didn’t sound like an idiot.

“Are we testing now?” Hange pulled her phone from her bag.

“Yes we are. Just download the app from the app store. I need to confirm that this isn't just your build in particular being faulty,” Levi brought out his own phone, deleted the application from the folder before redownloading it into his phone.

The ‘downloading’ message next to the love alarm application served some form of inspiration for conversation topics at least. “So, how does your husband like the app?” Levi asked. That line was straight from the basic customer service manual and he was very much sure that was acceptable territory for a professional conversation topic.

“Ahh Zeke? He loves the application. He told me himself, he sees potential in it too.”

Did he tell you over dinner? Over car rides? Somehow, Levi was picturing them over a happy dinner in their European style dining room in their very expensive penthouse apartment down town. He knew how it looked. He had seen it in one of the lifestyle articles he had googled just the night before. “That’s good,” Levi said, he felt that comment catch at his throat. He cleared his throat. “The bug... How does he feel about it?”

Hange’s face fell at that. Subtly at least, but with Levi had been staring at her for the past few seconds, it was very much noticeable as a split second movement. “Yeah, about that…”

“Did he say anything about it?”

“We did research on the application last night… And we were theorizing… so the heart could have been from him… and from someone else right? Someone else had their application open then. And he was saying it was you.” Hange’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “But I remember you said, it could be a bug right? And I’m sure you turned off your phone before we tested it…”

“And we’re testing again,” Levi said as he opened the newly downloaded application on his phone. “Log into your account.” He ordered, looking pointedly at Hange’s phone.

The biometrics were already in his account, all he needed was to log his fingerprints again. Levi took a glance at Hange’s phone laid out on the table.

She had gone through the log in process quickly. He turned the love alarm on and rested his chin on his hands and waited. Hange only needed a few seconds. Soon she had turned it on.

And within a second, her phone buzzed then his phone buzzed. It did wonders to shake the whole table then, enough for Levi to have to grit his teeth as the table shook sending a bolt of shivers up to his chin.

He could have sworn he felt blood rush to his face then. He quickly turned off the alarm. “It might be a problem with our phones. I”ll bring down some test devices and we can try this again. He avoided Hange’s gaze only brushing his hands on her shoulders long enough to make his point known. “Just wait here.”

Hange mumbled something with a seemingly obedient tone. Levi didn’t bother to guess. He quickly made his way out of the room, up the stairs--- he was in no mood to run into anyone in the elevator.

It had taken him roughly ten minutes to go back up to the office and come back down with a bag full of gadgets. He dropped the bag on the meeting table, maybe a little too loud and a little too roughly. “These are the most common gadgets used for testing the love alarm. They’ve all been factory reset so just set any one of them up and we try the application again.”

Hange seemed frozen with surprise, at the least she had managed a nod.

Setting up the device was a simple process and Hange didn’t ask too much about it. She had at least kept quiet through the whole ordeal and although it was second nature for Levi to set up a device, he made sure to keep his head down, his eyes intent, feigning deep concentration.

Or maybe he needed to concentrate. His hands were shaking just a little bit, his heart was racing.

He was sure he only needed to try it one different device, one commonly used model for both of their phones to rule out any problems with build or model. It was a decisive move.

And the climax of such a process came once again when Hange had motioned to click the love alarm again before looking up at him. Before they even met eyes, Levi clicked the on button on his end.

It was at the moment when the alarms rang in unison again did Hange avert her gaze. Levi bit his lip as he stared back at his phone.

One person nearby is in love with you.

He glanced up, at Hange’s phone. Although he couldn’t make out the words on it, the characteristic heart near the center was enough. She was getting the same heart.

He grabbed the phone from her. “It might be related to the model,” Levi said, Years of experience working with applications and phones were telling him, it wasn’t related. One working phone was more than enough proof. Looking at the watch at the end of the meeting room, he saw it was far from lunch time, he had at least ten devices in the bag. “Let’s try it on other phones… Just to be sure.”

***

“Levi, what if…”

“What if…” Levi nodding his head at Hange slowly, a subtle gesture for her to continue speaking.

For lunch, they had settled for one of the diner just along the wide shopping streets only a few minutes walk from the building.

An eventful few minutes walk. Levi had turned on his love alarm, put an earbud to one ear and listened to the alarm ring on repeat as he followed Hange through the streets. There were a few other notifications that popped up and left as he listened. But the ringing coming from that one heart which he had already surmised long ago, was from Hange’s heart had settled into even the cadence of his steps. It became an ubiquitous part of the short walk to the shopping street.

When they had settled in the diner though, Hange was quick to drop her phone in front of him and show him the history of her application. On her phone, there was one heart that remained steadfast through the whole ten minute walk as well.

At that moment, Hange pointed at it, then glanced quickly at Levi’s own phone. “What if… You are attracted to me. And I’m attracted to you? Because this love alarm, it doesn’t just check love right? It checks attractiveness. So if a passer by thinks you’re attractive, your alarm rings,” Hange said.

Levi leaned back on the diner behind him, picking at his fries with a fork. He couldn’t bring himself to eat one, just the results of their testing that morning had him losing his appetite. Consequently, he had ordered the burger meal at the front of the menu, something he was in no mood to eat.

“So maybe…” Hange said.

“Hange, we just met. During all the tests. I have never made anyone’s love alarm ring. Besides, I don’t think I’d be the type of guy to get attracted to someone at first glance. I don’t believe in love at first sight.” And someone who’s married at that. If Levi had something in his mouth then as that thought ran through his mind, he was sure he would have choked. He was more grateful than ever that he hadn’t started eating.

“But, we saw it already… The application was giving the same reading and when we were walking too… It never stopped ringing…” Hange explained. Still she looked like she was still finding the right words.

Levi understood her clearly though. “Hange, are you in love with me?”

Hange turned a bright red. “What? No, I'm married. Also, we just met and I don’t believe in love at first sight either”

“So do you believe there’s a bug?”

Hange nodded. “Maybe? Or maybe the data you put into the application was flawed. Maybe there are things that need to be improved.”

“That is a good point. So what do you suggest then Hange?”

“I’ll help you research. I pitched this application to Zeke because I wanted to try rolling something out similar to hospitals, psychiatric units. And if he invests maybe we could improve the application, work to make it more accurate?”

“That’s the plan. But he said so himself, he’s not going to invest in the application until the bug is fixed.”

“But what if it is working as expected… What if it’s just a matter of fixing the data?” Hange looked out the window, seeming deep in thought. Levi wondered if that last question had been for him or for herself.

“I can do further testing on this. Just to make sure,” Levi said. “The problem is… How are you gonna convince Zeke to invest in this?”

Hange sighed. “I guess it's going to be a question of timing. I'll catch him when he's in a good mood and--”

“Hange, are you willing to admit to your husband that you might just be attracted to some stranger?”

That shouldn't have been such a difficult thing. He had heard before of married couples who window shopped so Levi amended that question in his mind.

Are you willing to admit to your seemingly unhinged husband that you might just be attracted to some stranger?

***

Sometimes, the only way to find the bug is to break the application.

Levi and Hange got caught in the lunch time rush. But Hange wasn’t a typical worker, Levi wasn’t a typical eight to five employee either.

So Levi saw opportunity for a little test. “Open your love alarm,” he whispered. He put one earbud to his ear, motioning for Hange to do the same. He turned on the application once again, letting the shill ring grace his ears one again.

It was annoying at first, but over time, he had started to see it as an old friend. He was far from the denial stage already and he was already threading the lines of acceptance.

He was a developer. He had fucked up the coding and a bug had appeared. And that issue, it was a bug for sure, a bug he needed to investigate.

And any opportunity for data and evidence, was an opportunity he couldn’t waste.

“We walk through the lunch crowd,” Levi said. “Usually when I walk through, I get two to three rings. Sometimes more. There have been issues before that getting too many at once, sometimes the application would conceal all the hearts and the only way to get it to work again is to reset the application.”

“So what do we do?” Hange asked.

“Turn on your application and we walk through the crowds,” Levi repeated matter-of-factly.

The crowds around him though were disconcerting and he could understand how Hange would have needed some guidance then.

What did she know about testing? When Levi asked himself that question, he started to pick out another question too. What did he know about testing?

He was an engineer and he had been working with applications for years. He had experienced a lot about testing. But he had never experienced testing with a customer married to one of the biggest opportunities of a company and being accused of being in love with her by his own brain child.

He was treading unfamiliar grounds.

The ringing of the alarm was always unsettling at first. By the fifth ring, it always found a rhythm. Or maybe it was his own brain that found rhythm in it.

And he walked to that rhythm, he pushed past the crowds to that rhythm and every two to three rings, he would take a glance to see Hange beside him, her face had settled to some rhythm too. Sometimes, she would look back at him, other times she would look behind her, as if she suspected someone had set her alarm off.

But he had become part of her rhythm too. From his peripherals, he could see she snuck glances at him. Very quick glances that Levi had been perceptible, invested enough to notice.

They could have been walking for five minutes, or maybe even ten. Soon, Levi realized, the love alarm had embedded itself into the background noise, an annoying ring amid faint voices, conversations, public announcements.

It had only seemed loud once again when the street had opened up to an open space at the center.

In front of them was an empty park, and it usually was empty when the lunch crowds had made their way back to their offices. Levi had worked there long enough to know.

The chaos of the alarm had subsided into one noise. He turned to Hange to see that she was looking up at the sky then, one hand over her forehead, shading the view from the bright afternoon sun.

The light from the sun had done wonders to make her cheeks look a bright pink and for a second or so, Levi just stared, long enough for Hange to have noticed. Or maybe it was her plan to look to him eventually.

“Did it stop?” Levi asked as soon as he became aware of those hazel eyes on him. He averted his gaze and looked around the empty park. Nobody should be ringing his alarm. Nobody should be ringing her alarm. But them.

It should have been a win-win situation. If that had worked to break the application, Levi could have clocked that as the bug and investigated that instead. If it worked as expected, if the two applications continued to ring, then maybe it was working.

His alarm was still ringing. He did a thorough 360 of the park. No one was near enough to even meet the ten meter radius. Just to be sure though he turned to Hange. “Anyone around our ten meter radius?”

The park was empty save for one old man on a bench a good distance away, definitely more than ten meters. He hoped it had sounded like a redundant question.

Hange shook her head. “Nobody. But the application is still ringing.”

“Did it stop at all? During the walk?”

Once again, Hange shook her head.

Levi took a deep breath and dropped his shoulders back. “Erwin gave me a week to figure this out. I’ll do some of my own personal investigation after this.”

“Hey, I’ll do what I can too. I really want you to get those funds.” Hange took her hands in his and Levi had half the mind to pull away. If her hands weren’t so soft and maybe a little too warm even for a cool spring day.

Levi had been almost disappointed when Hange dropped his hand and turned back to her phone. Just ‘almost’ though. They just met, he couldn’t be too invested in hands.

So he thought back once again to backend work to the numbers that made up the love alarm. And he thought of Hange’s little suggestion. “You said something about flawed data right?”

***

“My plan is I’m gonna see if I can convince Zeke to take up that love alarm,” Hange said.

“No need to hurry. I have a week to get it working,” Levi muttered. He wasn’t looking at Hange then. His laptop was propped on his lap and he was looking through open support tickets.

They had a support team and being a developer, answering customer queries wasn’t his job. At that rate though, he was looking for anything to keep him busy. Zeke would be coming to pick up Hange and the last thing he wanted to be was free enough to stare at them.

“I have some books on love, I could send them over,” Hange suggested

Levi looked up from his laptop. The support ticket on ‘how to download the app’ was not very interesting after all and he found reason once again to stare at Hange’s bright hazel eyes. “Why would I need books about love?”

“You seem… inexperienced with love?” Hange started. She seemed unsure with that answer.

“Inexperienced with love?” Levi narrowed his eyes at her.

“Allergic to love,” Hange repeated. “so I thought it might help if you read on them.”

“Why would you care if I read them?”

“If we’re gonna work together to improve the accuracy of your alarm, I think you should learn. I’ll do my part too. I’ll learn a bit of coding.”

Levi shrugged. “Send them over then. I’ll look through them if I have time. First things first, I need to get a little more testing done.”

“They might be useful for testing. Or maybe they’ll be able to help you pick out which sensations in particular point to love.”

“I loaded the data. I would know,” Levi said.

Hange raised one eyebrow at him in playful suspicion. It had done some magic in helping Levi recall that all he remembered were the numbers and some hints about sweating, palpitations and some quickening paces. But machines had a tendency of learning more about the users over time.

“Maybe I’ll read one or two before bed," he added a second later.

“Great. Then I’ll do my homework too. I’ll see what I can get from Zeke. Hopefully I can convince him to invest, even with the bug.”

“You have my number---” Just update me. Before Levi could let those words out, he had fallen back into that support ticket about that one person not knowing how to download the application.

It was still a boring and stupid support ticket. But when Zeke had padded into the lobby like he owned the place with a butler in tow, Levi decided that the idiot of a ticket was still a better view than Zeke at that moment.

“Thank you for picking me up,” Hange said in an almost melodic tone, a tone that made Levi’s ears bleed.

“My meeting ended early and I don’t think we had a good dinner since last week. What did you have for lunch?”

“Burgers and fries.”

“Burgers and fries? Hange, I gave you more than enough money for a good meal." Zeke sounded mortified.

Levi froze. He had suggested the diner for its strategic location. He found himself running his right hand slowly over his wallet in his front pocket. He was sure he had the money for anything more expensive.

“It was good.”

“Well, I’ll make sure we get something better tonight. There’s a new restaurant, just outside town, they sell the pink fatty tuna and Kobe beef imported straight from Japan, same day shipping apparently so it’s definitely the freshest we can get here. What do you think?”

“That sounds great,” Hange said.

She had said it in such a tone, a tone she had never used with Levi before. Like she was tasting the food as she spoke of it. Of course she wouldn’t use it on you. You just met her. Levi thought to himself. As he willed himself to get back to his senses, he realized the ticket was still untouched. Although he had been staring at it since a while ago, he hadn’t made any progress at all.

He looked up at Hange then at Zeke. “Apologies for only taking her to a diner. Next time, I’ll make sure to take her somewhere a little…” Rich, expensive, snazzy, exclusive, snobby? Too many adjectives were running through his head then but Levi settled for something seemingly more professional, or as professional as he could go. “More your tastes.”

“That would be very much appreciated,” Zeke said. He took one of Levi’s hands in his, too suddenly and too forcefully that Levi had to smack his laptop to keep it balanced on his lap. “Thank you again for taking very good care of my Hange here.” He had slipped a hundred dollar bill in between Levi’s hands and maybe he had expected Levi to smile and say ‘thank you.’

And most days, Levi was polite enough to have mustered one but his ears were still ringing, not from hearing the love alarm non stop that day but from those last words Zeke had said.

My Hange.

Hange waved, motioning with her hands to ‘text soon,’ then she turned her back on him.

Levi couldn't’ even get a good view of Hange as she walked away. Soon enough, Zeke had wrapped one arm around her shoulders. From Levi's angle, he couldn’t tell whether Hange had pushed closer to him or Zeke was the one who pulled her closer.

For a second longer, he pondered it. Of course Zeke would pull her closer, that’s his Hange. Of course Hange would move closer to him, she’s his.

Levi looked back at the support ticket, he had opened again.

How to download application. Please help.

He closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa. He closed all his open tabs before laying his eyes again on the empty draft.

Within seconds, he had closed that tab as well. There were larger issues then than a customer not being able to download an application.

***

Hange had sent books about love in a drive folder and she had emailed it to him. When Levi opened it, he was quick to figure out, they were all self help books

Scott Peck? He could have sworn he had heard that name somewhere and when he opened it, he found the book was hundreds of pages long. He didn’t have the attention span for that.

Maybe I’ll read one or two before bed. He had promised Hange that evening. But he didn’t actually have to read it right?

So instead, Levi googled the summary.

Genuine love is volitional rather than emotional. The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love. This person has made a commitment to be loving whether or not the loving feeling is present. ...Conversely, it is not only possible but necessary for a loving person to avoid acting on feelings of love.

Levi was quick to close it after that. If that concept of love was real, that would defeat the whole purpose of the love alarm. The last thing he had wanted to do so late at night was invalidate his own brain child.

“Book one for the night. Done,” Levi whispered to himself as he opened the next book on file.

Before you love others, you must learn to love yourself.

“Cliche,” Levi said. But soon after reading it, he turned back to the application on his phone. He turned it on to see an empty blue screen void of hearts. There wouldn’t be hearts, he was alone in his apartment.

He thought back to Hange’s mention of flawed data. He thought back to the alarm that wouldn’t stop ringing. They had been testing it that whole day, there was nothing wrong with the application and the developer in Levi knew there weren't any glaring bugs.

But the testing would continue. He hadn’t completely tested all the scenarios after all. The alarm ringed with Hange but would it have alarmed with anybody else? His five years worth of experience testing the application told him 'no.'

Or maybe he just hadn’t been actively looking for the right people.

Even at night, the gears in his mind managed to turn and soon, he had a plan albeit a vague one. But the first few steps were clear at least. Levi navigated to his play store and typed a few words on the screen. A few minutes later, he was downloading an application with a familiar flame icon on the screen.

He took a deep breath. "This is part of the testing process," he muttered to himself. He was gonna be spending the whole night swiping.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction

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forevfangirlwrites · 3 years

Note

I love your how to handle fame series and I totally get if you’re six of writing for this AU but if you aren’t I’d love one with them making the relationship official like Annabeth telling Percy he can post a picture of them for the first time or her telling him she wants to make it official and post on social media and Percy just being happy to tell the world that she’s his and vice versa

CONTINUATION OF: PART 9

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7, Part 8

If Percy ever decides to pick up the memoir business again, the entire thing could be about the past two days, which have downright been the weirdest, most surreal days of his whole life.

On second thought, maybe he wouldn’t be able to write it because he’s spent all weekend trying to compartmentalize it and it still feels like a blur.

Like one really long day.

And you’d think, given the magnitude of the events that had occurred, he’d remember it better.

CHB had been the first to report the news, courtesy of that lady shoving a mic in his face, but the interview had really sealed the deal. Zoe Nightshade is acclaimed for reporting facts not fiction in the celeb news world, so going on her show to talk about it had been the best way to get the right version of the story out there.

All he remembers about the set are the hot lights, the white couch (that he was immediately worried about ruining) and Annabeth by his side, holding his hand.

Overall, it had been good. The entire thing had been premeditated by Annabeth, who had started off the interview explaining how they wanted to go public on their own terms instead of someone else leaking it, but that they still wished to keep their personal lives private.

Percy had also kept to his premeditated script, saying he’s a barista from New York, and shifting the dialogue (as Annabeth called it) to their meeting.

After the interview Annabeth had given him a big hug and told him it was a success.

But then…..oh then, came The Notifications™.

As if he didn’t already spend too much time on his phone, he’s been glued to it all weekend.

“It’s going to be rough,” Annabeth had said with the same worried face that she had when the talk about going public had come up a month ago.

And Percy knows, right, he’s been in the service industry and knows how people can be jerks. He knows there’s going to be backlash.

Maybe that’s why Annabeth had rented a beach house far down the coast and been by his side constantly the past two days.

He glances over at her, leaning back on her comfy wicker chair with her feet propped, reading a book. As if she can tell he’s looking at her, she puts down her book and turns to face him.

“What’s up?’

Her long legs look golden in the sunlight filtering through the light curtains and she’s practically glowing with the beach air wafting through the open window.

Long story short, she looks beautiful.

Focusing his brain from the detour it took to admire her, he shakes his head.

“Nothing…just wondering how I got here.”

She picks up her cup of tea from the table beside her. “What do you mean?”

Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, he stares at the high planked ceiling.

“I don’t know…just everything. I mean for one, I’ve never seen so many pictures of myself…even my mom’s albums would have a tough time competing…actually, they might still win now that I think about it.”

Annabeth chuckles at that. And while it’s true his mom has an absurd amount of pictures, him and Annabeth have been plastered a fair amount on various articles and social media. He’d kept his Instagram private, but his Twitter hadn’t stopped blowing up.

“And I’ve never had this many people talk or…speculate about me.” He drops his gaze from the ceiling to once again land on her. “Like, it’s the most hate I’ve ever gotten…”

The inevitable comments on him being a gold digger, though expected, had been hard to see. It stung a little to think people thought he was anything other than hopelessly in love with his girlfriend.

But no one had been more pissed than Annabeth and it had taken kisses from him to distract her.

He sees the same anger and worry start to flare up now, her eyebrows already creasing together, and rushes to complete his thought.

“But it’s also the most support I’d gotten.”

Luckily, an overwhelming majority of Annabeth’s fans had been super supportive of them. One picture in particular, one of them standing at the red carpet staring into each other’s eyes, had gone viral and “Percabeth” (as people were dubbing them) had been number one on trending for a whole day.

So many people not only calling them cute, but also describing him as hot. Percy had almost laughed out loud when he’d first read comments gushing about how attractive he was. (Take that, Nancy Bobofit, who called him ugly in middle school.)

“It’s just really crazy I guess, I never expected this from my life.”

He really should write a memoir. Other people need to know how almost comically absurd his life is now. (It would start with riding the subway to school every day.)

Annabeth sits up in her chair, still wearing the frown from earlier.

“Do you regret it?”

She asks calmly enough, but he can see the worry behind her eyes and the fear creep into her tone. He slides off the bed and walks to her, sitting on the footstool she’d been propping her feet on a second ago.

“Not at all.”

Reaching for her hand, he raises it to her lips, keeping eye contact. She needs to know that he’d take it all if it means he gets to be with her.

The day after the interview, Annabeth had told him to pick out a picture of them to post on her Instagram. And though it had immediately become her most liked picture, it wasn’t just fan service. The smile on her face when she posted it had made Percy’s heart melt even more.

Because the truth is, despite everything, it feels so good to call her his in front of the whole world.

Annabeth smiles, pulling their intertwined hands close to her and resting her cheek against them.

“Good.”

His phone vibrates and he can’t help but look over. Annabeth smiles, amusedly. “Who is it?”

He reaches for the device, unlocking it with a swipe. “My mom.”

“What’s she saying?”

He smiles as he reads the text. “That her friends are blowing up about this.”

Annabeth chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’ll blow over soon.”

Almost automatically, he opens up Twitter. It’s become a bad habit over the past two days. “Well, we have been trending for a while…”

His sentence veers off as he checks the trending tab. Number one this morning had been a kpop star whose birthday was today and “Percabeth” had been second.

But now number one was…Jogan Paul, who had apparently been caught in some money laundering scheme and become the center of all public outrage. Number two was still the kpop star and number three was #ultranatural.

“Percabeth” was nowhere to be found.

“You’re right…we’re not trending anymore, some other guy, Jogan did a—”

“Money laundering scheme?” Annabeth finishes and he looks up from his phone to see her smile over her tea.

“Yeah…everyone’s talking about him….and then it’s a k—”

“Kpop idol? Yeah, it’s P-Dawn’s birthday,” Annabeth finishes again.

Percy stares at her.

Annabeth, after posting the Instagram photo, hadn’t checked her phone almost all weekend, letting him look at everything going on.

So how could she know all this? He’s pretty sure she hasn’t checked her phone in hours, instead working her way though her book.

“Yeah…” he continues, still confused. “So we’re not trending anymore. This Jogan guy really messed stuff up…”

Annabeth shrugs, still smiling. “That’s how it goes, people move on from things quickly.”

He nods. He knows this. And personally he’s glad that they’re not the main topic of conversation now. It feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He puts down his phone with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s fortunate that this guy messed up, really took the eyes off of us.”

Of course, not all the eyes. Annabeth’s fans will still talk about it, but now the media has something juicer to report on.

“Yeah, fortunate,” Annabeth repeats, lifting her cup again to take a sip, but she can’t hide her smile.

Something about this feels…

“Did you know about this?”

Annabeth just takes a sip of her tea.

Peering over the cup, she replies sweetly, “Did you know the season finale of Ultranatural is on tonight?”

And that’s all the answer he needs.

(So he naturally responds by picking her up and tossing her in bed, letting her laughs bounce off the high ceilings as he wraps her in a hug, thinking that there needs to be a whole chapter in his memoir about just how smart his girlfriend is.)

A/N: As I said in the beginning, this is the continuation to the last chapter in the how to handle fame series. Thank you for sending in the prompt! It’s been a popular one and I had a whole storyline for it (though I did include the insta pic :)

When I came up with this plotline I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head that Annabeth would totally mastermind the entire thing and make sure that their relationship didn’t get too much heat.

Plus, let’s be real, news moves fast, and their relationship, while a big thing, isn’t the only thing going on the world for people to talk about. And stories that spark outrage blow up more than two people dating, so I tried to keep this as realistic as I could.

Part of the reason it’s taken so long for this is because I truly wasn’t sure the best way to tackle this whole thing while still staying true to reality as best I could. So when I thought of the Annabeth planning out this whole thing I thought it was fun and cute and went for it. I mean this entire series has taken off in a way I had truly never imagined.

A lot of people had requested the whole going public thing and how it would play out, so I really hope you guys liked this! (And thank you anon for sending in the prompt I used to post this :)

(Also a lot of references to things that have happened semi-recently so lmk if you’ve figured them out, not that they’re that hard lol)

#percy and annabeth #percabeth #percabeth fic #percabeth au #actress annabeth #barista percy

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