#dia x mari

[yoursaltytears]

Me, being unhinged at 3am

Yeah let the girlies kiss. They're canon in my head.

[lacocoloca25]

Marisela celebrating her birthday on the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) and Demencia giving her a bouquet of cempasúchil flowers and a bread of the dead (pan de muerto) cake 🦎🐊😈💀🏵️🌹🕯️🎂🍰🎈🎉♥️♥️♥️

💀💀♥️♥️♥️

[quinn-pop]

what? im not hiding any kananmari angst behind my back what are you talking about

[underground-hip-hop-affiliated]

[apute11as]

Everything happens for a reason part 3 - Alexia putellas x pregnant!reader

Author note- hey guys here’s part 3! Hope you are enjoying the series! Please leave a comment with any feedback (positive or otherwise) it’s always helpful 🤍🤍

Warnings⚠️ swearing (that’s about it I think) it’s mostly angst

————

Part 1- https://www.tumblr.com/apute11as/733631966220582912/everything-happens-for-a-reason-alexia-putellas

Part 2- https://www.tumblr.com/apute11as/735082085825576960/everything-happens-for-a-reason-part-2-alexia

—————

The next day rolled around fairly quickly as you and Alessia had made a brief exit, claiming travel sickness to be the cause of your tearful exit from the room. As you woke up the next day you were met with the sound of a blaring alarm that read 6:30am.

Groaning you began to trudge out of bed, as Alessia did the same from the other bed.

“What are you doing?” Rung Alessia’s sleepy voice.

“Getting ready for training?” you said, puzzled.

“Oh are you sure you want to play, do you feel well?” questioned the striker

“yeah surprisingly I feel alright this morning” you smiled but you were soon cut off by a harsh ringing of your phone and were met with Alexia’s face plastered across your screen. You hesitated at first but then clicked the green button.

“Bon dia mi amor, I was starting to this you weren’t awake” came the a husky, Catalonian voice.

“Hey baby yeah I’m up sorry just misplaced my phone.” you assured her.

“How is camp are you feeling better now?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

You hesitated for a moment, wondering if maybe you should just share your concerns with your wife, knowing that she could potentially offer clarity. However you ultimately decided against it as you had your mind set on attending the World Cup and playing as much as possible. Your mind wandered as you began working it out in your head, realising that by the end of the tournament, you’d be almost 3 months pregnant which would likely carry risks when you played.

“Princesa? Are you still there?” your wife questioned with worry.

“Lo siento Ale I’m here, I’m just so tired sorry my mind isn’t focusing.” you offered

“I understand bebita, I’ll call you back later vale?” the Spaniard inquired.

“Sí of course I’ll call you after training, te quiero mucho Alexia.” you voiced

“I love you too amor.” she replied blowing a kiss at the screen, which you returned before ending the call.

“You ok?” Asked Alessia with a pitiful smile.

“Yeah I’m good. Thank you Less I really mean it.” you replied

“always and we’ll get the test later to calm your mind down” she smiled

———

The morning had been relatively smooth, with minimal nausea and training with the girls had even distracted you completely for a number of hours- something that you welcomed with open arms. During the rondo is when it all started to take a turn for the worse. You felt yourself growing more easily tired than usual, struggling to catch your breath after a run down the wing, the sick feeling started to form.

You’d been stood in a small huddle half way through the drill when you felt the bile begin to rise in your throat and before you knew it you were making a run to the changing rooms and throwing up in the nearest bin. Alessia and Mary were close behind and you felt a hand rubbing up your back as you dry heaved into the bin.

“come on y/n we’re going to get the medicine” said Alessia

“what medicine?” you questioned, whilst attempting to regain your composure.

“You know what we talked about getting at lunch? To cure your illness” she said through gritted teeth as your mind finally caught up.

“Ohh ok yes sorry” you replied, eyes darting between her and Mary.

“What’s up with you?” Asked Mary, concerned.

“Just the flu we think” you answered, stoically.

“Should you be playing??” She urged

“Probably not but I didn’t want to worry anyone” you lied about your condition

“Y/N your health should come first always!” Mary insisted.

“Sorry Mar it will next time I promise” you offered, which seemed to be enough for you as she allowed you and Alessia to leave, whilst she told the team of your suspected flu- an answer they gave little question to.

———

The journey to the shop was brief. You slipped in with hoods up and made sure to use self checkout to minimise the risk of being spotted because what a scandal that would cause.

Once you returned to your shared room, the two of you made your way to the bathroom, carrying three different brands of pregnancy test in your bag.

“Do you want to do them all at once?” Alessia inquired.

“I mean I doubt I have the pee control to do it any other way” you replied, attempting to lighten the tense mood.

You sat down on the toilet and held the tests below you as Alessia turned to face the door. Once you’d taken them, you turned all three face down on the counter and the two of you sat on the stone floor of the bathroom with a 5 minute timer on Alessia’s phone. Your mind wandered to your wife in Spain as the guilt crept in about keeping this potentially life changing moment from her.

Before you could get too absorbed in your thoughts, the timer sounded signifying it was time to check the tests.

“you’ve got this.” Reassured the blonde with a small smile.

“3, 2, 1” you rehearsed before flipping the text.

First one: positive

Second one: positive

Third one: positive

“Oh shit” Alessia voiced.

“Oh shit indeed.”

“What are you gonna do? Shall I get your phone I can leave whilst you call alexia?” Said the striker.

“No. She can’t know.” You responded emotionlessly.

“What why not?” Alessia questioned, shock evident in her tone.

“She’ll stop me from playing Alessia. I have to play! By the time it’s noticeable the World Cup will be done and I’ll tell her then to cheer her up if neither of us win it or to add fuel to the celebration if one of us does. Oh my god what if she’s not happy?” your breathing picks up rapidly “she wanted the baby before but what if she’s changed her mind Alessia?” Your breathing was becoming frantic.

“Calm down y/n/n breathe just breathe” Alessia said putting a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“I can’t Alessia! What if she leaves me? I can’t raise a baby on my own!” You began to hyperventilate, reaching a state of full blown panic.

“Y/n you need to breathe ok, we can sort all that after, you don’t need to tell alexia today just calm down, breathe, think of the baby ok, breathe for the baby!” Alessia urged.

“Ok ok” you said steadying your breath, Alessia’s grip on your shoulders grounding you.

“You feeling calmer now?” questioned the blonde.

“Yes thank you Alessia it really means a lot” you smiled, hugging the younger girl.

——

The first game of the tournament came around fast. With it being Haiti, you weren’t too concerned as they hadn’t been an especially tough team in the past. You still hadn’t told Alexia about the pregnancy. Although Alessia had managed to convince you to see a doctor, luckily she wasn’t a football fan so had no idea who the two of you were, and much to your amusement she confused you as a couple which sent the two of you into fits of giggles, before correcting her. You and Alexia still kept in contact, she’d noticed something off with you but each time she’d brought it up, you shut her down with and blamed it on fatigue. She wasn’t stupid and didn’t buy a word of it but she also knew you’d tell her in your own time, whatever it was so she didn’t push.

When sarina announced you to be in the starting eleven you sighed heavily, realising that the game would be tougher than anticipated. What’s more, you were playing centre back. Normally, you played CDM or on occasion CM but with Leah out and Millie having picked up a light injury in training, England were short on reliable centre backs.

As the whistle sounded to signify the start of the match, you drew a sharp breath in anticipation of the difficulty these next 90 minutes would prevail.

—

Half time came around eventually. After a gruelling first half, you welcomed the break. You were leading 1-0 only thanks to a penalty from Georgia, which wasn’t overly comforting as Haiti were putting up a fair fight. You were forced to make some risky tackles, many of which ended up with you on the floor, body twisted at awkward angles. This did nothing to help Alessia’s growing anxiety for you. She’d become protective over you as she felt partially responsible, being the only one who knew about the pregnancy still. Every time you’d gone down with a challenge, she’d been by your side, checking you over (despite being practically on opposite ends of the pitch).

What you didn’t know was that Alexia was sat in a hotel room, watching every interaction and was beginning to grow suspicious of your new found closeness to the blonde striker. Lingering touches which to you and Alessia were nothing more than her checking on you and the baby, to Alexia were symbols of a growing affection between the two of you. Her jaw remained clenched at every interaction.

——

The game ended 1-0. A tight win but the three points were yours nonetheless. Your body ached all over. As you headed for the coach in a slumped motion due to the fatigue, you were stopped with a warm hand on your shoulder, one that belonged to Lucy Bronze.

“Hey Luce are you ok?” you sighed out.

“I’m alright Mrs putellas but are you?” She asked with concern. You cringed at the nickname she gave you before responding.

“Tough match that’s all, why do you ask?” you inquired with a furrowed brow.

“Alexia told me you weren’t yourself lately, asked me to check up on you. Oh and also I was quite concerned to hear that you didn’t tell her about your quite awful round of the flu the other week?” she questioned

“Oh erm must of slipped my mind?” You offered weakly.

“Yeah I’m sure, what’s really up Y/N?” Questioned the brunette.

“I-I can’t tell you” you stuttered, eyes damp with tears that threatened to fall at any moment.

“Why not, you know you can trust me with anything?” she said, face contorted with a mixture of confusion and hurt.

“I know Lucy and I love you for it but it’s personal I’m sorry.” you half smiled at her

“Yeah yeah I get that, you don’t have to tell me but you should really tell your wife.” She rebounded.

“No she can’t know!” You said on reflex, as though you were talking about it to Alessia.

“Know what? Y/N I’m worried now what’s going on?” Lucy pushed further.

“Y/N” called Alessia, jogging towards the two of you. “Are you coming?” She gestured to the bus.

“Yeah of course.” You smiled at the striker. Lucy however, didn’t miss the relaxation of your body at Alessia’s presence. Making a mental note to bring this up when Alexia called again.

——

Alexia’s POV

Y/N has been off with me for weeks. Ever since that day she left for the World Cup, she’s been so distant. At first I thought it was to do with us being rivals at the World Cup but now I fear there’s something more.

After watching her game against Haiti, I noticed her closeness with Russo, England’s young striker. My stomach twisted in discomfort as I watched them interact, Y/N responding to her touch in the way she’d normally only do for me. Jealousy rippled through me, could it be? Is this why she’s been off with me? Was my wife really cheating on me with her teammate?

Back to neural POV

Frantically, Alexia called Lucy for the second time this week. After a few rings she picked up.

“Hola Capi” sounded the English- twinged Spanish of Lucy bronze.

“Hola Lucia, well done on the game”

“Gracias Alexia? Not to be rude but why are you calling me?” She questioned

“Has Y/N been acting weird at all?” She asked simply

“Funny you say that she was being odd earlier. She seemed sad so I asked her what was up and I got minimal response but then I got her to crack a little. She told me there was something but she couldn’t tell me. Then Alessia came along and grabbed her to go to the bus. They spent the whole journey whispering about something so I’m not sure what to take from it?” Offered Lucy

“That little bitch” snapped alexia

“Woah what now?” Questioned Lucy at the harsh words Alexia had just produced

“I think she’s cheating on me Luce” replied alexia, both anger and sadness laced her voice.

“Oh wow Ale that’s a huge conculsion to jump to.” Stated the older woman.

“Well did you not see how much they touched eachother in that game. I was observing them the whole time Alessia was practically glued to her at every opportunity.” Snarled alexia.

“Now that you say it they’ve been spending a lot of time together but I wouldn’t make any rash decisions on the matter Alexia.” Offered Lucy.

“Thanks Lucy I’m gonna call her now.” Alexia stated harshly

——

After the team bus made its way back to the hotel in Sydney, you and Alessia wandered up to your rooms (next door to eachother as requested). You’d barely been back and hour before you received a FaceTime from your wife. Weird, you’d thought. It was a couple of hours earlier than you’d discussed but you brushed it off and answered anyways.

“Hola mi amor” you spoke down the phone.

“Fuck you” came your wife’s angry tone

“W-what? Mi Vida are you ok?” You asked with concern in your voice

“You’re cheating on me are you, with Russo?” She snarled

“WHAT?! No Alexia where did you get that from?” you were shocked at this revelation

“I saw the two of you in that game, every time you were tackled she was right beside you. She’s up front you’re a defender for fucks sake you’re miles away from each other!” She practically yelled down the phone.

“Alexia no it’s not like that at all, she’s just been looking out for me.” You reassured the Spaniard.

“Looking out for you? I know we’re not seeing eachother for a while but i didn’t realise you were pathetic enough to need another woman to satisfy you! It’s been 3 fucking weeks Y/N!” She roared

“You don’t understand Alexia I needed someone to talk to, to support me in person.” you were in tears now.

“SUPPORT YOU? What the fuck with? I call you everyday to check in and you won’t tell me anything so you’re whoring yourself out to the next person you can find!” She pushed further

“No Alexia! It’s not like that not at all please!” You begged

“Then what is it huh? What could you possibly need support with that I can’t give you right now?!” She boomed

“Alexia, I’m- I’m pregnant! The IVF worked its your baby, sorry you had to find out like this.” you burst into tears.

Alexia sat there in shock. You were pregnant, with her baby, how could she have been so stupid!

—————

[greensagephase]

Nonviolent Communication - Part Seven

***Beautiful sketches for this chapter were made by two lovely artists and I'm ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with them!! Please go and show them some love!! They captured Miguel so BEAUTIFULLY!! You can find them here and here. Thank you so much guys, I'm so in love with them and will always cherish them 🥹❤️ @sunsetdoodler @lauraolar14 ***

Miguel O'Hara x SpideyFemReader

Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Mr. and Mrs. Morales ask you to do something for them.

Word Count: 11,729 (I'm just gonna shut up about the word count at this point and just say I'm sorry.)

Warnings: Some readers may not recognize some food items mentioned but it's not too important for the plot, however, a brief description is included at the end if you're interested; mention of reader's family and their Christmas days (good memories); Miguel (I won't elaborate)

Music inspo while writing: (I'm obsessed with the ATSV album so much that Metro Boomin has been my #1 artist on Spotify for months lmao)

"Link Up" - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, Wizkid, BEAM, Toian

"Self Love" - Metro Boomin, Coi Leray

"Hummingbird" - Metro Boomin, James Blake

"Calling" - Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, NAV, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie

"Nonviolent Communication" - Metro Boomin, James Blake, A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage (you already know)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine |

Part Seven

You returned to your apartment after Miguel showed you his ofrenda. You didn’t sleep. The candy and coffee Miguel gave you kept you up and so you resumed your chores, but your mind was elsewhere. It was occupied. By Miguel, who smiled at you that night. You couldn’t and won’t forget the sight of it. It’s branded into your brain forever. Even when you eventually found yourself in bed under your warm sheets that night, you laid there and stared at the ceiling.

He smiled at you. It was small but it was a smile. He showed you his ofrenda and shared food with you. You tossed and turned that night thinking that maybe… it was safe to assume you’re friends with Miguel. You couldn’t help but wonder if he thought the same about you though. You eventually decided that either way, you’re happy he has shared those moments with you.

There was a shift between the two of you, of course. It was like a door opened. A door that Miguel himself unlocked and opened for you to walk through. And he had in a sense, as that night he wished, for the first time, that you would cross his boundary lines by asking questions and sharing your thoughts with him.

As the days go on, you continue to spend time with him on missions, before meetings, and of course, when you organize his lab. You notice Lyla starts to involve him more in conversations when you’re there. He surprisingly adds to the conversation sometimes. He still doesn’t want to intrude, especially when he knows Lyla loves talking to you. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t pay more attention now though.

You’re also surprised when the following week after Dia de los Muertos, Lyla offers you snacks, mentioning that Miguel keeps candy in a hidden cabinet. He adds that you’re welcome to grab any. You don’t fail to notice that the cabinet contains the candy from that night, specifically the ones you enjoyed the most. What you don’t know is that no one else was informed about this candy cabinet.

The holidays quickly arrive. You spend Thanksgiving Day at Peter’s universe with Mary Jane, Mayday, and the rest of your friend group. For the first time in three years, you celebrate and feel the holiday spirit. With each passing day, you feel lighter. That feeling of moving forward grows each day.

As the days go by, the beautiful colors of autumn begin to fade. The leaves part ways with the trees with the promise that new ones will sprout in the spring. The days and nights are colder. The city is covered in snow. Christmas trees are displayed behind condensed windows. Lively Christmas music fills your ears almost everywhere you go when you go out on errands.

As always, the month of December flies by and suddenly you find yourself on Miles’s rooftop surrounded by his neighbors, friends, and family. It’s Christmas Eve and the building is having its annual party, to which you were invited by the Morales family.

You met Miles’s parents a few months ago, almost immediately after joining the Spider Society. According to Miles, he revealed his secret to them shortly after saving his dad from dying. The Morales not only know about Miles’s Spider-Man identity but also about the multiverse now. Due to that, Miles was able to introduce his friends to his parents, so they know everyone in Miles’s friend group. Once you were adopted by the group, you were no exception. You were introduced right away, and Miles’s parents took a liking to you quickly, which is how you found yourself invited to this party and other events in the past, including simple family dinners.

You’ve been here for over two hours now and have spent much of that time socializing both with your friends and Miles’s neighbors, who all seem curious about you and the rest of the group. You smile as you think of the many times you’ve had to say that you’re Miles’s mentor from school each time someone asks who you are. Of course, attending the party meant that all of you had to come up with excuses to avoid raising suspicions. Gwen is Miles’s girlfriend, but she lives outside of the city. Pav is a friend from school and you’re a school mentor. At least you guys had it simple and didn’t have to be as creative as Noir, who has spent much of his time up in the water tower hiding for obvious reasons with Peter Porker.

You lean over the rooftop’s parapet on your own in a less crowded section, trying to take a little break from so much socializing. You stare out at Miles’s neighborhood, listening to the music the DJ, who you were also introduced to, plays. He’s been playing some Christmas music here and there, mixed with other upbeat songs for the party. You hear the chatter and laughter. Children run in groups, excited about opening gifts soon. The city is covered in snow, and you heard from one of Miles’s aunts that a white Christmas is expected. You snuggle into your coat as you feel a breeze, thinking.

You can’t help but think about Peter. In a few months it’ll be four years since his death. You sigh. Time has really flown by. As your eyes scan the city, landing on other rooftops with people celebrating, you think about the first holidays without him. There were no decorations put out. No food was cooked. No parties or dinners were held or attended. You woke up on Christmas Day like it was any other day as you had already ended your previous friendships. There was no Peter waking you up with a grin telling you breakfast was ready, using that as an excuse to get you to go to the living room so you could start opening his gifts.  

On New Years, you slept through it as the rest of the city celebrated the arrival of another year. For you, it was just the beginning of the first full year without Peter.

With each year, you’ve slowly put some decorations here and there but until this year, you hadn’t put your Christmas tree up. You smile as you think of it now. You managed to do that this year. Yet another sign you’re moving in the right direction. And of course, being here now, that’s a sign of its own.

Even though you need a break from socializing, you look fondly over at your friends. The people that have turned into your little family. Yes, things have changed. Things are changing.

You have them, the Morales family, Jess… Miguel.

Your mind shifts to Miguel. You wonder what he’s doing now. What he did today. You saw him yesterday in passing as you were busy with missions that he wasn’t on. Then, there was an emergency at your universe just as there was an anomaly detected somewhere else, which he and other members handled. You meant to wish him happy holidays as he gave the Spider Society members today and tomorrow off but unfortunately you were unable to.

You feel your fingers graze your wrist, the one with your gizmo. You could send him a message, but you find the thought strange for some reason as you’ve never done that before. Maybe it would be weird, you think, but should you send Miguel a message and wish him a Merry Christmas regardless? You debate it as you look out into the city, your fingers grazing your wrist softly as you think of him.  

“Y/N!”

You turn in surprise, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong. You drop your hand from your wrist and regain your composure as your eyes fall on Mr. and Mrs. Morales, who stand in front of you. They both look pleased to see you. You notice Mrs. Morales is holding two plates wrapped in aluminum foil while Captain Morales holds two cans of soda, but you don’t think much about it.

“Mrs. Morales, Captain Morales, hey,” you say with a smile, still feeling startled.

“Sorry if we scared you, mija,” Mrs. Morales says. That’s another thing. Even though the Morales aren’t that much older than you, Mrs. Morales uses the endearing “mija” and each time she uses it, you can’t help but feel comforted by this.

You smile and shake your head. “It’s okay. I was just – thinking.”

The couple nods, giving you a knowing look. “We know holidays can be difficult with loved ones gone,” Mrs. Morales says in a tender and understanding tone as they both know about Peter and your overall lack of family and friends in your universe.

You nod and keep your smile, knowing very well that you weren’t thinking of Peter just now but of Miguel. You feel a little guilty, but you were thinking about Peter earlier, so it counts, right?

“Yes… the last couple of years haven’t been easy but I’m in a different headspace now,” you say with a pause, meaning it. “Thank you for inviting me again, by the way. I know I’ve already said it, but it means a lot to me,” you tell them.

“No need to thank us again. You know you’re like family. We’re just glad you’re here tonight with all of them,” Captain Morales says, referring to your group of friends.

You smile brightly at the couple now. You tell them you’re thankful to be there and mean it. You had no other plans in your own universe, so that means you would’ve been home alone despite feeling the Christmas spirit this year. The Morales couple pulls you in for a hug after you tell them that and you can’t refuse it, as they’ve been nothing but kind to you over the last months.

“And don’t forget, you’re always welcome to come over for dinner. So, if you ever feel alone – just use your watch and come join us,” Mrs. Morales adds with a smile that brings you comfort. Again, they’re not that much older than you but their parental energy brings you a comfort you haven’t felt in a long time.

You give them a soft smile. “I know, thank you. I appreciate it, truly. It means so much to me,” you say with your tone full of sincerity, hoping that they understand how much it truly means to you.

“No need to thank us. As Jeff said, you’re part of the family now,” Mrs. Morales says, patting your shoulder in a motherly way. “We were also looking for you to ask for a favor.”

Captain Morales nods and you wonder what it could be. You wonder if it has to do with Miles.

“Yeah, of course! How may I help?” you ask, curiously.

Mrs. Morales lifts the plates and Captain Morales lifts the cans of soda. “Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

“And we were wondering if you would mind taking him some food to his fancy tech universe,” Captain Morales adds as they both watch you with smiles, hoping you’ll say yes.

You stare at them with a smile as you process their words. Close. You and Miguel are close. And Miles and Gwen said that? Of course, Miguel and you have grown close, but it has been something behind closed doors. You can’t help but wonder how Miles and Gwen reached that conclusion. It’s not like you and Miguel are strolling into the cafeteria together to have lunch. All your interactions have been private so far, minus the meetings of course, but even then, those can’t be enough to show the closeness between you and Miguel. You briefly wonder if the rest of your friend group talk about it if Gwen and Miles found it important enough to mention. Or maybe it’s not that important, who knows with teenagers.

And on top of that, you can’t help but feel like Mrs. Morales emphasized the word “close.” It almost makes it sound like you’re close in a different way.

“Yeah, I guess you can say we’re kind of friends,” you say, trying to clear up any misconception they may have. You briefly look at your friends, who are still under the water tower all grouped together, wondering what they’ve seen or heard.

“Right. Friends! That’s great. You know Miguel could really use some friends because Miles says he’s still a little close off even after what happened, you know,” Captain Morales says a little too fast, giving his wife a look she returns. It’s a look you can’t decipher as they quickly mask it, but you know an entire conversation took place with that shared look.

“Well, you know that man is so closed off. Anyone who says they’re friends with him should be considered close. That’s what Miles and Gwen meant,” Mrs. Morales says with a smile, probably trying to reassure you about what they said. “But do you mind? We invited him but he didn’t show up and it’s Christmas Eve,” Mrs. Morales says with a look that you recognize. Miguel is most likely alone on Christmas Eve.

You nod softly, still smiling. “I’ll gladly take the food,” you reply.

Miles’s parents beam at you before they hand you the plates and soda cans.

“Thank you, mija!” Mrs. Morales says. “If you don’t mind… staying with him for a little while. At least while he eats,” she says quieter, and you nod.

“I was planning on it,” you answer, giving her a reassuring smile because you thought about it the moment they explained their request.

“I knew you would. And hey, if he wants more, just travel back with your fancy watch and get more. Oh, before I forget!” she says and turns around.

She heads to a table and from a large box pulls out two goody bags.

“Here. One for you and for him. Take them before the kids take them all,” she says, jokingly. You slip the soda cans into your coat’s pockets to receive the goody bags, which you also slip into your pockets. “Tell him the Morales family wishes him a Merry Christmas for us,” she says just as Captain Morales puts his arm around her, pulling her closer.

You nod and give them both a smile. “I’ll let him know. I’ll head out now, that way the food doesn’t get too cold,” you say as you can feel the food was freshly served out of their containers since the plates feel hot. “If they ask about me, let them know I’ll be back shortly, please,” you say, motioning to your friends.

“We’ll tell them! Thank you again. We’ll see you in a bit,” Captain Morales adds.

You tell them goodbye and thank them again for the invitation. You make your way down the fire escape stairs, careful not to slip on ice until you reach the ground. You walk for a bit, looking for a place to open your portal discreetly. As you look around, you have a sudden thought. Is Miguel at HQ? He gave today and tomorrow off but did he also take the day off? Or is he still there? You click on your gizmo.

“Lyla?” you say, in an empty alleyway.

It takes a few seconds before Lyla’s hologram appears above your gizmo.

“Y/N! Merry Christmas Eve.”

You smile at her. “Merry Christmas Eve, Lyla. Sorry to interrupt you but I was wondering. Is… Miguel at HQ?” you ask, and Lyla raises her eyebrows.

“No. He’s at his penthouse.”

Lyla’s answer makes you feel relieved. You had a picture in your mind of him in his lab alone. The vision alone made your heart ache.

“That’s good! Do you think you can ask him to meet me there? At HQ?” you ask.

Lyla frowns. “I don’t think so. He’s – busy,” she simply says.

“Oh. Well, the Morales family are sending him food and they asked me to take it to him,” you say, not knowing what to do now.

“Just go to his penthouse.”

You stare at Lyla in disbelief at her suggestion that you should go to his penthouse, feeling like that would be an intrusion on his personal space. You know he’s been to your apartment a few times, three to be exact, but you don’t mind. Miguel on the other hand, might not be too thrilled about you visiting his place.

“Can’t you just ask him to meet me there?” you ask softly.

“He’s busy. He can’t leave his penthouse. Look, I’ll just tell him, okay? I’m sure he’ll be fine with you showing up,” Lyla says, shrugging like this is no big deal.

You sigh. “I don’t think that’s - ” you start but get interrupted.

“I’m going to ask him right now. If I send you the coordinates to his penthouse, then you know you’re good to go, okay? Merry Christmas!” Lyla says, cheerfully throwing her arms in the air.

“Lyla!” you manage to say before her hologram disappears. You sigh again and stare at the buildings in front of you. Great.

Not even thirty seconds later, your gizmo shows a new notification. You bring your gizmo closer to your face.

Coordinates.

You stare at the buildings again. The food is going to grow cold if you continue to stand here but you can’t help but feel nervous suddenly. You sigh and try to shake it off. It’s fine. Lyla sent the coordinates, which means he’s okay with it. Right? Or did he feel pressured to let you show up? Your mind starts wandering. What if Lyla made it seem like you wanted to go straight to his penthouse and not meet up somewhere less personal, like HQ? Lyla may have done that, especially because she looked like she was in a rush, which makes you wonder why she was even in a rush. It’s Christmas Eve! You release a shaky breath and try to pull it together. It’s no big deal. You’ll apologize right away and explain that you wanted to meet in HQ instead. You nod, reassuring yourself and try to calm your nerves. You look around, making sure that there’s no one around. You click on your gizmo and follow the procedure to open a portal in a specific location within a dimension.

The portal opens, lighting up the alleyway. You take a deep breath before you enter it, leaving Miles’s universe behind and stepping into Nueva York. Or rather, into a living room.

For the first time, you’re the one that stares into an unknown living room. In the span of a few seconds, you take in the sight before you. Your vision is immediately met with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city and you notice the closest building to Miguel’s building is far away, granting him privacy. Your eyes take in the living room section of his penthouse, or at least what you can see now. It’s all very sleek and modern. Very Nueva York. In front of you there’s a square table with different remotes and tablets floating above it thanks to the portal, far more advanced than those in your universe. There’s also a grey couch facing you and a few feet from it, you spot stairs to its left, leading to the second floor of the penthouse. To your right, you feel heat coming from a fireplace.

For once, Miguel is the one watching a portal fade away in his penthouse. He hears the items fall back into place as he stares at your back.

“Y/N.”

You turn around slowly, feeling Miguel’s gaze. You find him a few feet behind you, behind another grey couch you were unaware was there until now. The kitchen and dining areas of his penthouse are behind him. Everything looks like you’d imagine on Earth-928 with an advanced society. You meet Miguel’s eyes as he stands there. In normal clothes.

Miguel is in normal clothes.

“Miguel, hey,” you finally say, feeling odd. You wonder if this is what Miguel felt when he showed up at your apartment on Peter’s birthday.

“Hey,” Miguel replies looking down at you before his eyes flicker to the plates in your hands.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” you say, giving him a smile. You can’t help but feel awkward.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Miguel repeats softly, his eyes meeting yours again.

You stand there for a few seconds, staring at each other until you finally speak.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you. I asked Lyla if you could meet me at HQ and she said you were busy,” you explain, wanting to clear the air, still feeling shocked that Miguel is in normal clothes.

Miguel nods, pushing his hands into his pants’ pockets. You continue to hold his gaze as the image of him in normal clothes burns into your mind.

Miguel’s hair looks damp, as if he barely got out of the shower but it’s styled as always with curls framing some of his face. Instead of his suit, Miguel wears a dark grey, chunky cable knit sweater. The sleeves are pushed up his arms slightly, just enough that his wrists are visible. You notice he’s not wearing his gizmo, which is a strange sight on its own. To pair his dark grey sweater, Miguel wears black pants. You can’t help but think he looks so – cozy.

“She told me, but I couldn’t leave,” Miguel says, still watching you. He notices the way you’re trying very hard not to look at his clothes. He can’t blame you. In a few months, it’ll be a year since you joined the Spider Society and you’ve never seen him in anything else. “I was showering and I’m cooking,” he says quietly, and you nod.

“Oh. That’s nice,” you say, feeling happiness that Miguel is at home on Christmas Eve instead of at HQ working, on top of the fact that he’s in cozy clothes and cooking. You nod and then remember the whole reason you are here. You internally scold yourself for getting so distracted with being at his home and the sight of him in normal clothes. “Well, the reason I was trying to reach you was for this. The Morales family sent you food,” you say, lifting the plates higher. You can feel that the plates are still hot, thankfully.

Miguel looks a little surprised, but he nods. “Miles invited me to that, but I couldn’t go,” he admits, and you understand. You know that Peter and Mary Jane have been inviting him to their Friday dinners even before you were recruited into the Spider Society, but Miguel has never attended them.

“They noticed and wanted to send you some food. They wished you a Merry Christmas,” you say softly.

Miguel nods and he’s about to speak when a timer goes off behind him.  

“Mierda, let me check the food. Just – follow me, please,” he says, motioning for you to follow him as he starts walking to the kitchen area of his penthouse.

You stand there for a few seconds before you start following him. You watch as Miguel goes around a long kitchen island, heading straight for a stove and for the first time you notice there’s pots and pans on it. The scent of food suddenly envelops you as Miguel quickly and efficiently checks one of the pots. He grabs the designated spoon for it and stirs its contents with his back to you.

You look around a little bit, thinking how his kitchen island is longer than your kitchen itself. You also notice it’s all very clean and organized, which you expected from Miguel.

Miguel turns off the burner before he puts the spoon away. He turns around to face you, finding you standing on the other side of his kitchen island, still holding the plates.

“Let me take that from you,” Miguel says walking around the island to retrieve the plates.

You hand them to him gently, sharing the feeling of your fingers brushing past each other’s. You offer him a smile as you take a step back.

“Oh,” you say remembering. “They also sent these,” you continue, pulling out the soda cans and one of the goody bags from your coat.

You set them on the island just as he sets the plates down, too. He looks at the cans and grabs one, looking at it.

“Thank you for bringing it to me. You didn’t have to,” he says as he places the can back on the counter.

You shrug. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Morales asked me, and I couldn’t say no to them. Besides…” you start as he looks down at you. “I realized I didn’t wish you happy holidays yesterday.”

Miguel nods, staring down at you. “It was a busy day. It always happens right before Christmas,” he says with an amused tone but he, too, thought about that earlier. About how he hadn’t seen you much yesterday with the two of you being preoccupied with your own things. He also thought about sending you a message earlier, but he thought you might be busy and besides, neither of you have ever sent messages to each other. He thought you might have found it – odd. “But – yes. We didn’t get to wish each other happy holidays,” he says softly, thinking how both of you thought about it.

You give him a small smile as you hear his last statement. You shift in your coat, feeling a little hot suddenly in Miguel’s warm apartment. Your clothes were perfect for the party out on the rooftop but too hot to be inside. Miguel notices.

“Here, I can help you out of your coat. The party is on the rooftop, right?” he asks as he steps closer.

“Yes, it’s on the rooftop,” you reply as you slide out of your coat with his help. You watch as he drapes it, carefully, over one of the kitchen island chairs.

You fix your clothes slightly, feeling less hot now that you have one layer off. “That’s much better,” you comment, chuckling a bit. “I had to bundle up. It was freezing out there.”

Miguel stares at your outfit, noticing you’re in cozy and festive clothes but noting they are definitely too much to be inside. “I can imagine. The chilly breeze feels like it bites the skin,” he says looking out his windows. “It’s supposed to snow, too.”

“I have that forecast, too,” you reply, joining him in staring out the windows from afar. “Anyway, you should try the food. It’s amazing,” you say, remembering the food.

Miguel turns to the plates. “I have no doubt. So… they chose you to bring the food?” he asks as he slowly takes the aluminum foil off one of the plates.

Your conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Morales flashes back to your mind. They asked you because they think you’re close to Miguel.

“Yes,” you answer simply, hoping he won’t ask why you and not someone else, since he must know that Miles invited the rest of the group, meaning another colleague could’ve brought him food.

Miguel nods as he inspects the food, looking pleased, which makes you smile. “I see,” he says, his eyes leaving the plate to meet yours. He gives you a look that makes you feel like he knows you were chosen to do this specifically out of everyone else before he returns his attention to the plate.

You freeze for a few seconds. Did your face reveal something? You clear your throat and rest your hands over a chair.

“It’s – a great party. Everyone is in a good mood,” you comment.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he says softly as he looks down at the food. “I’m glad they’re enjoying their holidays.”

You nod, noticing the sincerity of his words. He looks up suddenly from the plate as an idea pops into his mind.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asks, and you nod.

“I ate a few hours ago,” you say, thankful that your stomach is not embarrassing you once again in front of him. He nods, looking somewhat disappointed. “But I’ll probably eat something else when I get back,” you add before you even realize it.

Miguel meets your eyes. “This food looks and smells amazing. Please give my thanks to the Morales family when you get back,” he says, pausing. “And – I was going to ask. If you don’t have to return right away, would you like to… join me for dinner? I made too much, and I don’t think I’ll finish it all on my own,” he says quickly.

Miguel looks down at you, feeling nervous about asking you but unable to stop himself from hoping you’ll say yes, even if it’s just for a little while.

You meet his eyes feeling a little surprised, though you hide it well before you nod.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you say with a smile. You remember that Mr. and Mrs. Morales did ask you to stay with him while he ate. However, you don’t bring it up. It might lead him to believe that you’re only staying because they asked you and it would force you to admit that you were planning to regardless of their request.

Miguel’s brief disappointment fades and is replaced with a lighter expression.

“I made a few dishes, so you have options,” he says softly. “Let me show you.”

With that, Miguel motions for you to follow him to the stove. You do so, curious to know what he cooked. You have the brief thought that this will be the second time Miguel gives you homemade food. The two of you stand in front of his stove and before Miguel shows you the food, he pushes his sleeves higher up. It’s still a strange sight and you can’t stop your eyes from gazing at his skin, noticing the veins from years of physical activity and arm hair. You turn away as you feel heat on your face from proximity to the stove and how warm Miguel’s penthouse is. No other reason.

“In this pot, there’s pozole,” Miguel says, lifting the lid to show you. He tells you what it is before he moves on to the other dishes.

It turns out that Miguel did cook quite a bit of food. He mentions pozole, tamales of two kinds, and tinga. He also made atole blanco and ponche navideño, two hot drinks perfect for the Christmas season. “If I’m being honest, I was craving all of these foods,” Miguel says as if he knows you’re thinking about how much food he cooked. You chuckle.

“Everything smells amazing, so I don’t blame you for craving them all,” you reply as you bring the spoon with pozole to your mouth. The warmness of it spreads down your chest as the two of you sit on the kitchen island, side by side.

Neither of you notice how your bodies are facing each other as you eat.

Miguel takes a bite out of the food Mr. and Mrs. Morales sent him and you notice he looks like he’s enjoying it. You eat more of your pozole and think how well of a cook he is. You remember him mentioning his mom taught him to cook when he was a teenager back when he showed up at your apartment for the first time. Conchata definitely taught him well.

You finish eating your small serving of pozole as you want to try the other food he made. He notices and looks at you.

“Do you want more pozole? Or would you like to try the other food?” he asks softly, cleaning his mouth gently with a napkin.

You smile at him and nod. “I’d like to try the other food if you don’t mind,” you say, and he nods before he stands up.

“I can get it myself, don’t worry,” you say and start getting up, but he raises a hand, making you pause.

“You’re my guest. It’s only right,” he says with a determined look. “What would you like to try next?” Miguel asks as he walks to the stove. He grabs a clean plate and turns to face you, ready for you to tell him.

You sit back down slowly as he stares at you.

“May I please try the tinga?” you ask with a soft but embarrassed smile.

“Would you like it with tostadas or as a burrito?” he asks, motioning to the pack of tostadas and flour tortillas on the counter.

“I’ll have it however you prefer it,” you answer honestly.

“What if I make you one of each? That way you can try both,” Miguel suggests.

You nod. “Okay, that sounds… good. Thank you,” you reply, and he nods before he grabs both packs and starts working on your plate.

You look down at your gizmo as he preps your food. It’s almost ten now. You look up again. Miguel is busy warming up flour tortillas. You notice him flipping them with his bare hands, not minding the heat. You look around the penthouse. It really is a large place.

Miguel flips the tortillas and turns back to look at you. He notices you looking around and he can’t help but feel a little self-conscious in that moment. Fragments of your apartment flash in his mind. Yours is well decorated. It feels welcoming and warm. It’s lived in. It’s a home for you. His penthouse, on the other hand, seems the opposite of it. Even when he used to actively live in it, he didn’t focus a lot on decorating and because of that, Gabriel and his mom took the initiative to do something about it.

The fact that Gabriel and his mom helped decorate it was one reason why he hadn’t bothered to change it in the last years. Another reason it remained the same was that it didn’t matter to him as he hardly spent time here after everything that happened with Gabriella and her universe anyway.

Until recently, of course. Ever since Peter’s birthday celebration, ever since that night, Miguel made it a goal to sleep here at least once a week. So far, he has stuck with it. It’s now been several weeks, which he counts as progress. And now, as he sees you take in his home, he can’t help but think about it. However, when your eyes meet his again, he sees no judgment from you. If anything, he sees curiosity, which amuses him on the inside. You offer him a small smile.

“Everything is so sleek and modern,” you say as you take in the kitchen again.

Miguel turns around to check on the tortillas, and seeing that they are done, he puts them on a plate. “Is that… not to your liking?” he asks as he starts fixing the food.

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s great,” you say still looking around.

“But?”

You sigh softly and Miguel turns around, walking the short distance from the stove to the kitchen island.

“You can say it,” he says as he finishes fixing the plates.

“I guess, I like old architecture more,” you finally admit. “But this is really nice though,” you add, and Miguel lets out a low chuckle that makes you pause and wonder what a real laugh from him would sound like.

“I like old architecture, too,” he reveals as he finishes fixing your plate. He slides it over the counter to you gently. “It has more personality.”

“Thank you,” you say as you take the plate. “And really? I thought you’d be more of a fan for your architecture.”

Miguel nods and offers you toppings for the food before he takes his own plate and sits next to you again. As you eat, the two of you talk briefly about the architecture of different universes you’ve been to. Turns out Miguel appreciates architecture like that of your universe. You eventually fall into a comfortable silence.

The two of you sit on Miguel’s kitchen island eating quietly in peace on Christmas Eve. It’s strange how comfortable it feels but then again, this is the second time you’ve eaten together since Dia de los Muertos. Still, this moment is a big deal. It’s the first time either of you have celebrated this holiday in years but it feels right.

As Miguel eats next to you, he can’t help but think about it. He really asked you to stay for dinner. That’s a first but he couldn’t stop himself once he thought about it. And he isn’t going to lie – he’s enjoying your company. He’s enjoying sharing the food he grew up eating during the holidays with you. His mind briefly turns to his family again. To his mother and Gabriel and the last holidays he was able to spend with them.

As he thinks about his own past holidays, Miguel wonders what yours were like. He wonders about your childhood and your parents. He wonders about the holidays you spent with Peter. As he takes a drink from one of the soda cans sent to him, he looks over at you. The two of you have been eating in silence, enjoying each other’s company, or at least he hopes you are like he is. He begins to wonder if he’s kept you here unwillingly. He feels embarrassment, suddenly feeling like an idiot. Maybe you had other plans, and here he is, keeping you from them. Embarrassment runs through his body as he looks at you but then, you look up from your plate and you smile at him in a way that makes his worry and embarrassment melt away.

“This is officially the best food I’ve ever had,” you say as you finish eating. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you for the recipe.”

Miguel gives you a subtle smile, and despite how small it is, it still catches you by surprise, though you are better at hiding it now. “I can give it you, that’s no problem,” he says putting his drink down. “Or I can cook it for you if you prefer,” he adds, making him freeze internally. He hasn’t offered to cook for anyone in a while. Sure, he cooked that day at your apartment when you were unwell because of your period but this is different. Or it feels different for some reason Miguel can’t explain.

You nod and smile. “Either way, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Of course,” he says softly before standing up.

Miguel begins putting away the dishes and even though you try helping him, he declines your help because he’s the “host.” So, you sit on your chair and watch as he cleans up, wishing he’d allow you to help but you know he’ll decline again. You finish your drink, the other soda can you brought, and watch as Miguel finishes up. Despite knowing that Miguel knows his way around a kitchen, you’re still somewhat in awe at how fast and efficient he is at cleaning up. You can’t help but think of Peter in that moment. He, too, knew his way around the kitchen and helped with the chores around the apartment, which was something you loved and appreciated about him as you often heard female colleagues complain about their partners not helping when you used to work. You’ve always appreciated it when a man knows how to do chores and helps instead of leaving the chores strictly to the woman, and so you can’t help but think about this as you watch Miguel.

You pull your sweater’s neck slightly, feeling a little hot. Miguel’s penthouse is warm and you’re still wearing two layers of clothes. As Miguel finishes up, you slide off the sweater you have, leaving you in a long-sleeved top. You fold it neatly and place it on the next chair from which your coat hangs. If you head back to the party, you’ll just suit up again but for now, you’ll try to cool off.

Miguel turns around then and looks at you, leaning back on the counter as he holds a towel. He dries his hands with it after washing them. He notices your sweater is gone and feels a little amused. You were definitely wearing too many layers to be inside in the warmth.

“I don’t know if you’re still up for it, but I have those two hot drinks,” he says, flinging the towel over his shoulder in a graceful way.

Of course, you notice it. It’s not every day that Miguel O’Hara wears normal clothes or that he looks this relaxed, leaning back on a kitchen counter and swinging a towel over his shoulder gracefully. It’s a sight for you and you alone.

“Well… Miles and Gwen mentioned a little while ago that you and Miguel are close.”

You hear Mrs. Morales’s comment in your head as you nod at Miguel. “I’m up for it,” you reply, and he nods. There’s a pleased look on his face before he turns around to open a cabinet to retrieve mugs.

And he is. Miguel is pleased that you’re open to trying out the hot drinks. That you’ll stay a little longer. As he pours the drinks, he thinks about what this means. Of course, he’s thought about how much he’s shared with you and how much you’ve shared with him. He’s thought about it… about how you’re the closest he has to a friend.

You are his friend.

He thought about it on Dia de los Muertos night when he came to his penthouse to sleep. Anyone could argue that Jess and Peter were friends but his friendship with them has always been different. It wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for work, or at least he feels like that. They’re work friends and he’s never shared as much as he’s shared with you. No matter how much the two of them tried, Miguel never felt comfortable enough to share his life.

And with you, there he was. Showing up at your apartment to show you his ofrenda. His memories poured out of him like they had been waiting for the right person to spill out for. It was easy to talk to you. It was different.

Miguel felt like he had a friend for once in many, many years that night. And he didn’t know that night, or even now, if you feel the same. He knows you have your group of friends, the ones that quickly adopted you into their group when you were recruited. The same ones he was keeping you away from right now, but he hopes that you see him as somewhat of a friend despite being your boss.

Miguel finishes preparing the drinks. He takes two mugs to you, one with atole blanco and the other with ponche navideño. He slides them gently over the counter to avoid spilling any before he turns around to retrieve his own mugs.He walks around the counter and takes a seat next to you as you thank him again, this time for the hot drinks.

Miguel nods at you as he picks up one of the mugs. “I hope you like it. The atole blanco might taste a little strange when you first try it, but I swear it grows on you,” he says reassuringly. He briefly thinks back to when he first tried it. He was about ten when his mom asked him to try it. The first sip made him pause but after the third drink, he loved it. Gabriel, on the other hand, took longer to try it. He was almost twelve when he finally gave in.

You take a drink from the atole blanco while Miguel’s eyes are on you. He can’t help himself from wanting to see your reaction and he’s glad when he sees you react well to it. You smile at him and nod.

“This is great! I see what you mean by strange, but I like it. It’s very… cozy and comforting,” you say as you drink more. “It’s like – it’s perfect for Christmas. I can’t explain it,” you say, and he nods.

“This was a must on Christmas growing up,” he says as he drinks some, too.

The two of you enjoy the hot drink in peace. As you place the cup down again, you’re thankful Mr. and Mrs. Morales gave you an excuse to talk to Miguel tonight despite having felt nervous when you first arrived. Miguel seems comfortable and doesn’t seem to mind that you’re here, though it should be obvious as he did invite you to stay for dinner. Miguel places his cup down and turns to you, his knee brushes past your leg slightly and he moves it discreetly away.

“What were – what were your Christmases like growing up?” he asks suddenly, quietly.

You turn your face to him, though your bodies are facing each other already. You feel a little surprised by his sudden question, but you don’t mind it. You meet his eyes before looking at the mugs before you, thinking.

“To keep it simple, they were amazing,” you say, returning your eyes to him. “I was an only child, but my parents always went all out. They loved the Christmas spirit, so our apartment was always decorated after Thanksgiving,” you say with a bright smile as you remember. Miguel notices the glint in your eyes as you talk. “We always put the Christmas tree together and they’d let me put the star at the top, even when I was a teenager and later an adult. They were always good,” you say, nodding softly as you think of your parents.

Miguel nods with a faint smile though you don’t notice it. He thinks of a younger you, a version he doesn’t know and will never know. He thinks about Peter, unable to stop himself from thinking about how he probably knew that version of you. He lifts his mug and takes a drink, trying to wash away these strange thoughts.

“Sounds like you had a great childhood,” he finally says, and you nod, making you feel a little sad as you remember Miguel telling you about his step and biological fathers. He didn’t say anything, but you felt that his childhood was not always great.

You bring your own cup to your lips and drink, wanting to change the conversation but Miguel doesn’t mind. He has put a lot of it behind him, at least those parts of his life.

“So, when you said they’d let you put the star on the tree as an adult, you mean it?” he asks, sounding a little amused.

You nod and give him a smile. “I was in university, and they still allowed me do it,” you say with a chuckle. “Peter would tease me about it, but it was fun for all of us.”

Miguel nods, thinking. You notice he has that look on his face. The one when he’s thinking about something.

“What is it?” you ask softly.

Miguel turns to you and shakes his head slightly. “Nothing. I was just thinking… Wondering, I guess.”

“About what? You can ask,” you say, your tone sincere since you don’t mind. He has already shared quite a lot about his past. It’s only fair he asks about yours.

Miguel sighs softly, continuing to hold your gaze. “When did you meet Peter?” he asks quietly, as if unsure of asking this question.

You smile, not minding the question at all. “When we were sixteen. He moved schools and we instantly became friends, which then turned into a relationship,” you say fondly before you pick up your mug and drink.

Miguel stares at you as you do this, still thinking. Since sixteen. It was Peter’s twenty-sixth birthday just weeks ago, which means you had known and dated each other for almost a decade by the time he passed away. He looks down at his nearly empty mug. Almost a decade of a relationship and you still try to live life to the fullest. Miguel grips the cup.

“How do you do it?” he asks quietly.

“Do what?” you ask in confusion.

“You knew Peter for so long. Dated him for so long. And you still… you try.”

You stare at Miguel, feeling a little startled by the sudden change of conversation but Miguel looks like he genuinely wants to know. You remember this was something you thought about in the early days. How people could move on. How they could carry day to day even after losing someone.

“Miguel…” you start and look down at your cups. “It isn’t easy. Especially in the beginning,” you add softly, knowing that for Miguel, it has been a little over a year since he lost his wife and Gabriella. For you, it’s almost four years since you lost Peter. You’re on different points of your mourning periods. You sigh softly. “It isn’t easy at all in the beginning,” you repeat as you think of your next words. “I wasn’t the woman you know now, or even the one you were introduced to months ago,” you say lightly, making Miguel turn to you, with curious eyes. “I don’t want to ruin the Christmas spirit, so I’ll try my best not to.”

Miguel shakes his head. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to. I don’t want to – take away the lightness of today,” he says with a regrettable look on his face.

Why did he ask, he wonders. Everything was going so well.

“No, it’s okay. It helps. Talking about it helps,” you say, reassuring him. You stay silent for about a minute, trying to figure out how to approach this. “I lost sight of things for a month or two after Peter’s death,” you start.

You look away, feeling shame course through you as you remember those dark days. You don’t want to see the look on Miguel’s face when you reveal something you’ve never shared with anyone.

“I’m not proud of it… It brings me great shame to say this,” you say as you stare down at the cups. “There was a time after Peter’s death – a month after everything took place to be exact – that I,” you pause. “I looked for him. I tried hunting down the man that did it,” you say quietly.

“I had a regular job back then, so I went to work. I mourned and tried my best to accommodate to my new life but at night… I couldn’t stop thinking how I could’ve done better. How I could’ve saved him. I thought of the man who did it. How he took Peter from me. The love of my life, my last bit of family…” you trail off, though your tone is still light, and you feel proud of yourself for it, for you know months ago, this conversation would’ve had you in tears. “My thoughts were consumed by it. So, I went out to try to find him. I didn’t plan on doing something to him, I swear,” you say pausing, trying to emphasize this. “All I wanted was to know who he was. Bring him to justice.”

Miguel continues to look at you with a pained expression on his face now as he hears you talk. There is a faraway look on your face, as if you were back in that time but you turn back to him and he’s like an anchor, keeping you tethered to this moment.

“One night, when I thought I had a lead – I was on a rooftop, and I finally realized that Peter would’ve never wanted to see me like that. And that I was failing my promise to him,” you say, meeting Miguel’s eyes. “He made me promise to try to move on. To be open to another love. I tried after that. It was slow progress. The last few months since I joined the society have really helped me,” you say with a soft smile as you wrap your fingers around your mug softly.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever really move on, but it feels easier as the days go on,” you tell Miguel. “I guess, it also helped that I eventually found the man. Or rather, he found me. I forgave him,” you say with a quiet sigh and offer Miguel a smile. And as he stares at you, he realizes how much stronger you are than he thought. “He was my own version of Flint Marko, otherwise known as Sandman. He never meant to hurt Peter that day. He was just – trying to rob a bank to get money for his child’s surgery.”

You stare down at the cups and think of Marko. Last you heard from him, he was trying to do better, and his daughter, who was now older, recovered from her illness. You lift the cup to your lips and take a small drink before setting it down.

“I’m not the best example of how to do it,” you say, looking up. “But I try and sometimes, that’s all you can do. For them.”

Miguel continues to stare at you and even though you thought you might’ve found judgment in his eyes, you see none of the sort. Miguel stares at you with even more respect than before. He looks down at his hands for a few seconds before he looks up again.

“I think – Peter must be happy that you are trying to honor his promises,” he says softly, wishing he could say more. Wishing he could reach out to you physically the way his hands were begging him to.

You smile at him. “I think so, too. I think he’s happy with where I’m now. You know, the whole reason I joined the Spider Society was because of him. I declined the invitation from Jess initially until she asked me what he would’ve thought about everything. I know he would’ve loved the idea of it. He would’ve loved learning about the multiverse,” you say with a grin and then shake your head softly as you pick up the mug again. “He loved science, too.”

Miguel stares at you, surprised at hearing this. Jess never mentioned you rejecting her invitation. He looks up at the ceiling a little bit and in that moment, he finds himself internally thanking a man he never met.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” he says after a few seconds of silence. “I’m sorry if it made you…” Miguel trails off.

You turn to him again. “It’s okay. It didn’t. It helps,” you say, and your tone is still lighthearted. “I think I’m ready to try the other drink.”

Miguel continues to stare at you. “I think I am, too… This one is sweeter,” he says as he wraps his fingers around the mug. Miguel watches as you lift the mug to your mouth to try it and once again, there’s that pleased look on your face that makes him forget his worry from earlier about messing with your plans. You don’t seem to mind.

As the two of you sit there and enjoy the second hot drink, Miguel’s thoughts are on you. You’re so strong and not only in a physical way but in a way that Miguel feels he hasn’t been able to. You’re strong by trying to fulfill your promises. For forgiving the man that took Peter from you. For trying to move forward and trying at life. Miguel has never said it, but he respects you.

You’ve accepted his boundaries in a way so many others haven’t. You’ve offered him nothing but kindness. You’ve listened when he shares memories with you. You’re a hard worker and meticulous when it comes to your duties as Spider-Woman. You’re strong. So strong.

And his respect for you grows tenfold, if that’s even possible, considering how much he already respected you before tonight. Miguel thinks about this and the fact that you’re the first person that has been to his penthouse in years.

Friend.

Maybe you do consider him a friend, Miguel thinks to himself as he takes a drink, too.

“This is really good, too,” you say quietly as you drink more, and for some reason, it makes Miguel feel pleased.

“Glad you liked both,” he murmurs as he drinks more. He suddenly wonders what time it is. The two of you have been here for what feels like two hours now. He checks the time discreetly from a nearby clock.

It’s past eleven, which means it’s almost time for the annual AI Christmas holographic show. He stands up, making you turn to see him.

“It’s almost time for something my city does annually. I think you’ll like it,” he says and motions for you to follow him.

You see him take his mug and you do the same before you follow him to the windows that face his kitchen and dining areas directly, giving Miguel another sight of the city. He leans sideways on the windows and looks down, waiting for you to join him. You reach the windows and lean on them, too, mirroring his stance. You look down and see the Christmas decorations on the snow-covered ground despite being on the highest floor of this building. The decorations, which are holographic, make you realize for the first time that there’s no sight of a Christmas tree in Miguel’s penthouse. You don’t say anything about this, of course. You know with everything that’s happened, a Christmas tree is the last thing one can think about in times like these. You’re glad there’s at least a little bit of Christmas spirit in Miguel since he cooked and took the day off though.  

Still watching the decorations, you think of something and wonder. You’ve noticed some of them from HQ when you walk by the windows throughout the month, but it’s been like a second thought with missions and what not. You wonder now if everyone has holographic Christmas trees or if physical trees are still a thing here. You look up at Miguel and he turns, as if feeling your gaze.

“What is it?” he asks softly before he takes a drink.

“Are physical Christmas trees a thing here?”

Miguel gives you a small smile, which still catches you by surprise. “Only the wealthy have physical trees. Everyone else has holographic decorations,” he explains, and you nod. You know Miguel is wealthy, so his lack of a tree is not because of money but because he didn’t want to put one up.

You look back outside, thinking. Miguel continues to stare at you, wanting to know what you’re thinking.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” he asks, though for him it isn’t. He’s used to the technology and to this tradition, but he can imagine how it can be odd for you when you come from a universe where physical Christmas trees are the norm.

You bring the cup to your mouth, enjoying the sweetness of the hot drink. “I was just thinking how putting the Christmas tree together as a family is a big thing. Or well, it was for my family and I.”

Miguel nods, remembering what you said earlier about your family and the holidays. He leans more into the window, crossing one of his legs over the other.

“To make up for that, families sit down and design the ornaments together through their devices. Then, they upload their designs to the tree. There’s a program and everything,” he says thinking about the process. He has an artificial tree, which is stored at HQ, but he also has a holographic one from previous years when he was too busy to put a physical one with his family. “I’ll show you,” he suddenly says, putting his mug on the window stool before he heads to the living room section. As he looks for a tablet on his table, he can’t help but think about this. How he’s comfortable showing you things. How he wants to show you things. Like how the holographic tree program works or the annual AI Christmas holographic show which should start soon.

Friend.

He finds the tablet and starts it up, which only takes about a second to boot up. He walks back to you as he opens the program. He reaches you and stands closer to show you.

“First, you put the tree up,” he says as he shows you the screen. The two of you stand side by side, looking at the screen as he clicks on the tablet. He looks up and points. “It’ll appear right there.”

Sure enough, a large holographic Christmas tree, decorated in classic Christmas colors, appears a few feet away from the two of you, near Miguel’s dining table.

“It’s beautiful,” you murmur as you notice the star at the top of the tree.

“Thank you,” Miguel says as he looks at it, too. He wasn’t expecting to put up a tree this year but here he is. He looks back down at the screen. “Then, you can design your own ornaments using this program,” Miguel continues and shows you. He pulls out a stylus from the tablet, surprising you. The tablet is so thin you wonder how it’s even possible but then remember it’s Nueva York.

You watch as Miguel uses the stylus to design an ornament. He inserts lines as part of the design and changes the color of the ornament to match the theme. It takes him a few seconds to finish before he writes his name on it neatly.

“And it’s done. Now you upload it like this,” he says and shows you. “The program decides where it should go but you can manually change it if you want,” he adds.

The two of you look up just as it appears on an empty spot on the tree. Miguel then offers you the tablet and stylus. You look up at him, confused.

“Try it,” he says, still waiting for you to take the tablet and stylus from his hands.

“Are you sure?” you ask, looking down at it.

He nods. “Give it a go.”

You set your mug next to his on the window stool and take the tablet and stylus from him, your fingers brushing past his bare ones once again. You ignore the sensation and focus on the screen with the new canvas to design yours. Your brows furrow as you think for a second about what you want it to look like. You start working on it, with Miguel watching intently. He notices how quickly you figure out how to use the program and watches as you design your ornament with ease.

As you work on it, you can’t help but notice a scent. Or rather his scent. You’ve caught a bit of it before of course but it has never been this strong to your nose. Not like this when he stands by your side, so close your arms are almost touching, with him dressed in normal clothes. You add small details to your ornament as his scent envelops you, distracting you slightly as the combination of his shower products and shaving cream blended with his natural scent surround you. You can’t suppress the thought that pops into your head at that moment, which is that his scent is delightful.

You clear your throat quietly as you add your name to the ornament. You stare at it for a few seconds.

“Hmm, I like the traditional stuff, but not going to lie, this was fun,” you say and smile at Miguel, still feeling distracted by his scent. “I can see kids enjoying this a lot.”

Miguel nods, his lips curling upward again as you give him the tablet back, completely unaware of your thoughts. “You may not like the architecture, but I think you would settle just fine in this universe,” he comments, as he looks at your ornament, thinking of how quickly you figured it out and the fact that yours turned out better than his. “Now… you just upload it,” he says softly before he does exactly like that. You stare at the tree, feeling a little surprised that he’s adding your ornament, but you shrug it off. The two of you watch as your ornament, which matches the tree’s theme, appears right next to his.

Miguel stares at it, the sight of your ornament appearing next to his makes him pause for a second. It’s the first time in years Miguel has put up a tree in his penthouse. It’s also the first time that a non-family person has added their ornament to his tree.

Miguel now clears his throat quietly. “Not bad at all,” he says and nods. “Oh, the show should start soon,” he says, trying to put his thoughts away about the tree and your ornament.

You nod. “Thank you. That was fun,” you add as you turn your attention back to the decorations outside. You briefly look down at your gizmo. It’s 11:33 P.M. now, meaning Christmas Day is less than thirty minutes away now. You’ve spent a lot more time here than you expected but you don’t mind. You wonder if people back in Miles’s universe have left the party or if they’re still hanging out.

“Glad you enjoyed that,” Miguel says softly, putting the tablet on a nearby surface. You notice he doesn’t put the tree away. It’s still there as he leans on the window sideways again, looking outside towards the decorations as well. He briefly thinks about Gabriella. He only had one Christmas with her. He remembers it vividly as he looks out, recalling Gabriella’s excitement on Christmas morning. He remembers thinking how perfect it was and how, if all his future Christmases could’ve been like that, he would’ve never asked for anything else. His wife wasn’t in the picture then, so it had just been Gabriella and him. Now that he thought of it, he and his wife didn’t have much time together. It was very brief. Miguel clears his throat. He doesn’t want to think of the past like that right now. He doesn’t want to think of how rushed everything was when it came to his relationship and marriage. Not tonight.

His thoughts are thankfully interrupted when he sees the sign that the show is starting. He turns to look at you to make sure you’re watching, and of course, you are. Your eyes are on the sky as you see the announcement before it starts, filled with curiosity and awe. Miguel turns his gaze back to the sky as the show starts. Holographic Christmas trees appear from thin air, all lit up in Christmas colors. Reindeer fly by the windows, galloping here and there. Twinkling lights decorate the background as holographic snowflakes descend before they begin to form into snowmen that start dancing.

You watch in awe, finding this fascinating. Miguel steals a glance to see your reaction. He sees the awe and fascination on your face, clearly enjoying this.

“This isn’t even the best part,” he says quietly as he knows there’s always more to it.

You smile as reindeer fly by the windows again. “This is so – I wish we had this in my universe,” you answer quietly. “The closest we have to this are projections.”

Miguel chuckles lowly. “Well… You’re welcome to come watch it again next year,” he answers as he crosses his arms across his chest.

Neither of you say anything else. Was that an invitation for you to join him again next year? You push your thoughts away and focus on the show just as a holographic Santa Claus and his sled appear out of nowhere, making you smile.

“Santa Claus,” you whisper as the sled approaches Miguel’s windows. The holographic Santa Claus waves as he passes by making you chuckle. The show continues with Santa Claus flying around as the reindeer align themselves to the sled, supposedly to get ready for the flight. At one point the show presents Santa’s workshop and tiny elves working on different toys and preparing the sled. It concludes with Santa flying by the windows again, this time with all his reindeer and magical sack of toys before they fly off, disappearing into the sky. A large holographic “Feliz Navidad” message and red poinsettias conclude the show.

You stare at the message, still in awe with a smile.

“That was amazing. You grew up with this?” you ask softly.

Miguel nods. “Gabriel and I always looked forward to it.”

You smile, once again thinking of a younger Miguel. “It must be amazing, to experience this as a child,” you answer, thinking of kids.

“The kids love it,” he replies as he also stares at the message, knowing it will stay up past midnight.

You nod and the two of you just stare out the window in silence for a few minutes. You watch as you see white, tiny spots in the sky. With each second, more and more appear.

“It’s starting to snow,” you murmur, making Miguel pay more attention and sure enough, it’s snowing.

“A white Christmas,” he whispers, as the snow picks up.

“A white Christmas,” you repeat.

The two of you stand ever so closely, leaning on the window sideways, your bodies facing each other as you watch the falling snow. And in that moment, everything feels alright with the world for you and Miguel, despite everything.

You look down at your gizmo. It’s past midnight now.

“Merry Christmas,” you say, quietly.

Miguel smiles softly as the two of you stare out the window. “Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

-

Thirty minutes later, Miguel stands in front of his holographic Christmas tree alone. You returned home a few minutes ago, looking and sounding tired after being out for so long. So, you both said goodnight to each other but not before Miguel asked if you’d want some food or if you’d prefer to join him again in a few hours for the recalentado.

You said yes to the latter.

Miguel continues to stare at the tree, or more specifically at the new ornaments, for a few minutes, thinking.

Friend.

He finally goes to sleep after storing the food away. He leaves the Christmas tree up, which you still find when you return hours later to eat dinner with him on Christmas Day.

__________________________

Translation for italicized words: Mierda - Shit Pozole - A kind of soup/stew made from hominy and meat (can be chicken or beef). Tamales - I think everyone knows these Tinga - Latin dish made out of meat (pork, chicken) in sauce with onions, chiles chipotle and tomatoes. Can be eaten on tostadas or as burritos (my experience) Atole Blanco - white atole, a Latin hot drink made out of corn meal Ponche Navideño - Mexican Christmas fruit punch Tostadas - toasted tortillas; usually used as a base for different culinary dishes Recalentado - word translates to "reheated"; this is the act of inviting your closest friends and family the day after you host a party to eat the reheated leftovers, it's supposed to be a smaller tight-knit situation and less formal because it's with close family/friends (do you see what this means for you, the reader? I'm not okay, right now)

--

May I just -

Miguel in a freaking chunky cable knit sweater. His damp hair. His bare skin. His scent (I KNOW HE SMELLS GOOD and you cannot change my mind). Him knowing that you were asked specifically to go drop him food. Him asking you to stay for dinner. Him serving the food. Him being a great cook. Him being a great host. His respect for you growing. Him wanting to comfort you physically (AHH.) Him showing you the annual Christmas show and how the holographic Christmas tree thing works and adding your ornament and staring at it because it appeared next to his and him leaving the tree up even tho he didn't plan on putting one up and him thanking Peter for influencing you to join the Spider Society even tho he never met him (CRYING, SCREAMING). Him inviting you for dinner again!!!!!!

So a lot of people said yes to the Christmas part but I was also selfish and wanted to write Miguel like this and get some Christmas comfort before the next part because... yeah. So, sorry to anyone who didn't want it. I needed this.

Also, I'm sorry for the late update. I meant to post Sunday but it was that time of the month and it kicked my butt. I hope you enjoy it, and if you've read this far, thank you for the support!! ❤️ I hope to be back Sunday with an update, tho I have a family event Saturday so idk if it'll be possible but I'll try.

I love Miguel so much and it's a problem but it's okay -Alondra

Tag list:

@loverlorn @saturnknows @d1lf-loverrr @eddiestitmiguelsbigdick @freehentai @arithestrawberry @scaleniusrm @haradasaya @spidermanismyfav @bitchykittenconnoisseur @thecraziestcrayon @obi-mom-kenobi @natsury-kazuki @rootin-tootin-morgan @coraline750 @edgycatx @safixiovi @sunnyx07 @nxrdamp @rorel1a @oceanstar19 @happishark @carmilla01 @somebodyelsethanyouthink @adora-but-ginger @angie2274 @vampi-amora @tired-writer04 @plzfeedmebread @shadow-pancake9 @tynakub @faretheeoscar @giulscomix @luvstuffies @coffeeauthorvibing @lauraolar14 @bl0osclues @pinkiemme @lil-cinn @mashiromochi @loveletterfrommwah @mandodinstuff @muzansucker @theleftkittycollection @kikookii @www-interludeshadow-com @holographicang3l @aisyakirmann @bucky-to-my-barnes @geraskier-thots @l3laze

[hyunjungjae]

NCT DREAM

em...

dizendo ‘Eu te amo’ pela primeira vez no namoro.

nct dream x leitora, fluff, relacionamento estabelecido.

Contém: o do Mark é sugestivo, mas os outros eu deixei bem fluff, doses de fofura, apelidos carinhosos como ‘vida’ ‘mor’ ‘princesa’ e etc…

a/n: ACREDITEM SE QUISER, mas pse marie finalmente fazendo conteúdo fluff, bem diabetes, alguns foi dizendo pela primeira vez, outros mais ou menos, fazer o que né gente, criatividade flui e eu não tenho como segurar

— MARK —

Acredito que ele seria num momento bem íntimo sabe, porque nesses momentos é quando ele percebe que pode estar confortável em qualquer sentido contigo. Até mesmo pra sair um ‘Eu te amo’ impensado. O que daria abertura pra essa nova frase ficar cada vez mais recente até que todo dia ele dissesse isso para você saber o quão apreciada e amada é pelo garoto.

Estavam se beijando, as roupas começavam lentamente a sair do corpo de cada um, Mark ficava por cima de ti, engatinhava na cama para poder ficar a altura da sua boca, conforme você deitava, tanto sua camiseta quanto a dele já não estavam mais em seus corpos, e ele não se aguenta, te vendo ali embaixo dele, encarando seus lábios vermelhinhos e brilhantes pelo beijo recente, o corpo que ele tanto amava admirar, ele apenas solta.

“Minha mulher é tão…mas tão linda…”

“Eu te amo.”

Você sentia que poderia chorar ali mesmo, as três palavras te acertam em cheio, amava tanto mas tanto a forma como ele te olhava, não só agora, mas em qualquer momento, com aqueles olhinhos brilhando.

Antes que ele se aproximasse demais novamente para te beijar, você diz “Eu te amo, Mark.”

Bobo. Ele estava bobo, bobinho por você.

— RENJUN —

O Renjun te chamaria pra casa dele, enquanto os dois estivessem de bobeira num final de semana qualquer. Sentados no tapete da sala dele, comendo um salgadinho qualquer que estava na mesinha de centro, você contava algo super engraçado que aconteceu na sua vida e ele te admirava como uma criança vendo sua princesa favorita. Até porque você era a princesa favorita e única pra ele.

Sentado de pernas cruzadas o cotovelo se apoiava na própria coxa para sustentar a mão que segurava o rosto pela bochecha dele, sorrindo quando te via sorrir, se sentia tão mas tão apaixonado por ti. Não era apenas paixão, era amor.

Na mesa hora que pensa isso, não se segura ao soltar um suspiro “Ahh…” e dizer "Eu realmente te amo."

Na mesma hora sua bochechas coram, as borboletas na sua barriga faltavam voar junto com o seu coração que sairia pela boca. Você vira de costas pra ele, abraça suas pernas e esconde o seu rosto. O garoto manda você dizer de volta como uma brincadeira, vai pra perto de ti, te abraça e chega pertinho de seu ouvido, “Eu te amo, minha princesa.”

Você dá um gritinho e sorri mais ainda, levanta a cabeça rápido para dizer o mais rápido possível “Eu te amo também, meu príncipe.” mas volta a esconder o rosto.

“O que você disse? Diz de novo! Eu não ouvi direito!” diz rindo, e os dois ficam naquela brincadeirinha o resto da tarde toda, sorrisos bobos e conversas aleatórias, era exatamente nesses momentos que você tinha realmente certeza que estava perdidamente apaixonada por ele, você ama ele.

— JENO —

O Jeno não parece ser alguém muito difícil de dizer isso, acho que ele diria e pareceria até mesmo natural, até porque é a mais pura verdade.

Mais uma vez Jeno te buscava em frente a um restaurante onde acaba de se reencontrar com algumas amigas.

“Oie, Neno!” entra, e antes mesmo de colocar o cinto, vê que o rosto do Lee está inclinado para o seu lado, os olhos fechados apenas esperando um beijinho seu.

Deposita um beijinho na bochecha macia do garoto e antes que se afastasse, ele vira o rosto e te puxa para perto novamente, roubando um selinho demorado seu.

“Oie, minha princesa! Como foi o almoço com suas amigas?” perguntava, enquanto te esperava colocar o cinto de segurança para dar partida no carro. “Foi muito bom! A gente colocou muitas fofocas em dia, que aliás eu te atualizo mais tarde.”

“Foram muitas fofocas mesmo, hein?! Demorou tanto que eu senti tanta mas tanta falta da garota que eu amo.” fez uma carinha de choro, olhando para ti, mas logo retorna a atenção para a rua, a carinha falsa de tristeza se tornando num sorriso sem dentes e os olhinhos se fechando num ‘eye smile’.

“Awn, como é grudento esse meu namorado, também senti falta do garoto que eu amo!”

Acredito que ele diria a todo momento que te amava, para que você nunca se esquecesse.

— HAECHAN —

O Haechan tem cara de quem tem vergonha de falar, isso sim, pra não perder a pose de malandro, ele ficaria enrolando e enrolando, apenas para você dizer primeiro.

Mas não tem como, ele perto de você não era nada, absolutamente nadinha malandro.

Estava mexendo em seu celular, aguardando Haechan sair do banho, mas como estava tão concentrada no que fazia, não percebe o garoto entrar no quarto, mas também quando o olhou, preferia não ter visto. O Lee apareceu com uma toalha agarrada na cintura e uma toalhinha que estava numa das mãos esfregando o cabelo molhado, ação que fazia gotinhas de água cair sobre o abdômen, sem querer molhando ali.

“Tá conversando com quem, vida?”

“Ninguém mor, afff” diz rolando os olhos e voltando a atenção para o seu celular, “Me diz!! Eu preciso saber com quem minha namorada, futura esposa, a mulher que eu amo tá conversando.” diz num tom sério, mas você sabia que ele queria apenas a sua atenção.

Solta o seu celular na cama, quando sente ele abraçar sua cintura e cheirar sua nuca, fingindo que não ouviu ele dizer indiretamente que te ama. “Tô suja ainda Hyuck, você acabou de sair do banho e já tá se esfregando em mim…” diz isso, mas não faz questão alguma de afastar o Lee, sorrindo por sentir a pele dele na sua num contato direto.

“Então acho que eu vou ter que tomar outro banho…mas agora com você.” sorri e rouba um selinho quando você olha para ele.

“Eu te amo, Hyuck.” na mesma hora sai correndo para o banheiro, fazendo a toalha pendurada na cintura do garoto quase cair ao correr atrás de ti.

— JAEMIN —

Jaemin ele nem perceberia que não disse nenhuma vez um ‘Eu te amo’ ainda. Essa frase na cabeça dele se repete tantas mas tantas vezes, que ele jurava que já tinha falado. Você também se sentia tão amada, que nunca percebeu que nenhum dos dois não havia falado ainda.

O barulho da chuva era o sonzinho de fundo de uma noite calma no quarto dele. A cabeça dele deitada nas suas coxas, o seus dedos penteavam o cabelos dele. A televisão servia apenas de iluminação para a sala, já que os dois nem ao menos sabiam qual era o canal que passava agora.

Os olhos fechados do Na, te enganavam, não estava dormindo, estava apenas ‘descansando a vista’.

“Eu te amo, Na Jaemin.”

Na mesma hora a cara séria, se transforma num sorrisinho de canto, abrindo os olhos para encarar teu rostinho envergonhado.

“Eu também te amo, meu anjo.” se levanta roubar um selinho, que vira um beijo com língua, bem calmo, os quais mais amava receber. “Me desculpa por ter feito você falar primeiro…mas eu te prometo, prometo de dedinho…” levanta o dedo mindinho para agarrar o seu, “…que o primeiro ‘eu te amo’ quando estivermos casados, vai ser meu.”

E ele não mentiu.

— CHENLE —

Ele na verdade já fala ‘Eu te amo’ há um bom tempo. Todas as vezes que te dá caronas, ou te acompanha até em casa, enquanto você está de costas entrando no lugar, ele sempre, sempre, sempre diz ‘Eu te amo’, é uma pena que você não consiga escutar.

Mas ele também não demora em dizer, ainda não disse, porque tem um certo medo de ser intenso demais e acabar te assustando e consequentemente te afastando, mas Chenle sendo Chenle, esse medo não dura muito, por isso um dia, enquanto os dois estavam deitados na cama, sua cabeça apoiada no peitoral dele, os dedos dele fazendo um carinho maravilhoso no seu cabelo, ele diz “Sabe…quando você pega carona comigo e eu te espero entrar no lugar pra poder ir embora?”

“Hm?” pede para que ele continue, não responde com palavras porque jurava que poderia cair no sono a qualquer momento.

“Eu sempre digo algo, mas você nunca escuta.”

“O que, Lele?”

“Eu te amo.”

Você abre os olhos na mesma hora e olha para cima, encara ele e diz de volta “Eu te amo também, meu amor.”

Após esse dia, todas as vezes que ele te dava carona, sempre ao sair do carro, antes de completar seu caminho para dentro do lugar, começou a olhar para trás, vendo Chenle te esperando entrar, dizendo ‘Eu te amo’. Se tiver a sorte de não haver ninguém por perto, ainda faz um coraçãozinho com a mão.

— JISUNG —

Jisung tem cara de amor jovem porque ele é jovem. O primeiro ‘Eu te amo’ não seria falado, seria escrito.

O garoto tinha um medo enorme do seu pai, por isso todas as visitas ‘fora do horário’ ele optava pela entrada não convencional, mais conhecida como tua janela, aproveitando que sua janela é baixa e ele é alto, era perfeito para uma visitinha noturna.

Ficava no teu quarto após o jantar até a hora de ir dormir e agora era hora dele infelizmente ir embora, o biquinho de tristeza se formava em seus lábios e ele tinha que se segurar para não te encher de vários beijinho seguidos.

Já saindo de fininho pela tua janela, aproveita que pisou em algo onde conseguia se apoiar, parando na mesma hora, olhando pra ti. O vidro de sua janela já estava fechado por conta do frio, então o Park aproveita para soltar um arzinho, fazendo o vidro ficar embaçado naquela parte em específico e escreve “Eu te” sopra mais uma parte para ter mais espaço pra completar “amo.” e desenha um coração.

Você do lado de dentro mostra um lado do coração com a mão para que ele completasse e ele completa os dois sorrindo sem parar. Quando o garoto chegasse em casa, a primeira coisa que veria seriam 10 notificações de mensagens suas, apenas dizendo muitas coisas que ele queria muito ouvir você dizer isso pessoalmente. Por isso responde com um:

“Me diz tudo isso amanhã, olhando nos meus olhos que eu também te digo, absolutamente tudo.”

Com isso recebe mais e mais mensagens suas:

“DIZER O QUE JISUNG?”

“MÔ VOKTA AQUI”

“TO TENDO UM ATAQUE CARDIACO😵⚠️‼️”

“PARK JISUNG‼️”

Sorrindo com a cena o garoto vai para a cama com um sorriso no rosto e um coração batendo fortemente. Como você também deitada na cama virando de um lado pro outro tentava dormir, chutando os pés no ar, sorrindo, enquanto suava frio, sentindo que o coração iria sair pela boca e sentindo as borboletas fazendo festa no teu estômago toda vez que lembrava de como ele sorriu quando viu que você fez um coração com a mão.

[idollete]

diva juju por favor disserte sobre pipe dom do jeito que nós lobinhas gostamos

📢📢📢📢📢 tw: tesão avassalador 📢📢📢📢📢

nossa amg você tocou num ponto TÃO mas TÃO sensível que eu fiquei sem reação olhando pro celular quando li essa ask pela primeira vez e minha cabeça entrou em PANE TOTAL pensando em 2094936392729282 cenários diferentes, então, eu vou falar sobre dois pipes diferentes akiiiii rsrsrsrsrsrs 🤓✍🏻

pipe (mean) dom é aquele que age da forma mais sonsa do mundo na frente dos outros, dando o sorriso de bom moço e educado, mas que, no meio do jantar entre amigos, depois de te provocado horrores no carro e está te fazendo usar um vibrador que ele controla pelo celular, chega no pé do teu ouvido e diz que "disfarça um pouco, bebita, eu consigo perceber a sua carinha de cadela carente do outro lado do salão", ele pousa a mão na sua lombar, perigosamente perto da bunda, "pra estar me olhando assim, só pode estar pensando em pica, né?", o sorriso não sai do rosto enquanto ele fala contigo, pairando nas suas costas, gigante, "você não cansa de ser tão putinha assim, não?", aqui ele começa a brincar com a velocidade, sabe que você está sensível pelo orgasmo interrompido de antes, então, fica aumentando e desacelerando e nunca, em hipótese alguma, te deixa gozar. "precisa aprender a ser mais resistente, eu te adestrei melhor que isso. não consegue ficar um dia longe e já começa a me encher de mensagens, chorando, implorando pra eu ir te comer, porque seus brinquedinhos não são o suficiente pra te fazer gozar", ele mantém a vibração no máximo, se coloca na sua frente, impedindo que qualquer um perceba – e veja a sua carinha de prazer, porque isso é exclusivo dele – e quando percebe que você está prestes a chorar de tesão, desliga tudo enquanto ri da tua cara, "você é patética pra caralho".

o maior tesão dele é te ver chorando, seja porque tá levando pica ou por estar desesperada pra levar pica. ele adora ver o seu rostinho avermelhado e cheio de lágrimas, diz que é a coisinha mais linda que ele já viu na vida.

te faz ir no banheiro da faculdade só pra se tocar e gravar um vídeo pra ele. vídeo de rosto, tá? quer te ver se contorcendo de vergonha e medo de ser pega, porque ele sabe que você sente tesão nisso.

adora dinâmicas hunter x prey (rsrsrsrsrs) e dubcon.

o tipo de punição favorita dele é te deixar sem gozar, mas te dar todos os estímulos possíveis. ele brinca com o seu corpo como se você não fosse nada além de uma bonequinha feita pro divertimento dele.

é super pervy, mas faz um gaslighting de leve pra te fazer pensar que você é a pervertida e suja da história, já que "olha só pra você, me deixando usar o seu corpinho como eu bem entender...você é tão, tão, tão suja, boneca".

pipe (soft) dom é aquele que te trata feito bonequinha no sentido mais delicado da coisa, adora te arrumar todinha, emperiquitar mesmo, sabe? põe a roupa mais bonita que você tem (sempre saias ou vestidos quando ele tá mal intencionado), um colar de pérolas, gloss e um mary jane com direito à meia também. a graça de fazer tudo isso é que depois ele vai te colocar bonitinha na cama e te comer desse jeitinho, suspende a saia e se coloca pra dentro de ti, fazendo muito esforço pra não bagunçar a criação dele. começa sempre metendo lentinho, só sentindo você apertando ele, enquanto te enche de elogios, "tão, tão lindinha, é a minha boneca particular, só minha", diz que você sempre leva tudo dele tão bem, que ele gosta tanto de você por causa disso, "tá merecendo uma recompensa hoje...não queria te deixar sujinha, mas você foi tão boa pra mim que tá merecendo ficar cheinha", aqui ele é mais perverso, abaixa o tronco pra ficar bem pertinho do seu rosto, dá uma segurada no seu pescoço, mas não enforca, só segura pra ter a sua atenção, e com o maior sorriso de bom moço, ele te perguntar se "você quer, hm? agora precisa guardar direitinho aí, tá bem? são os meus filhos que eu tô colocando em ti. e você vai me dar todos eles, não vai?".

é 500% possessivo e vai te deixar cheia de marquinhas dele, especialmente ali no colo/pescoço. quando sente ciúmes de algo, entra no sick & twisted mood, porque ele dá um jeito de te foder onde quer que vocês esteja só pra te fazer passar pela frente do cara que provocou o ciúmes dele trocando as perninhas, já que elas estão completamente bambas, e a com a carinha de coitada que tá sentindo a porra dele escorrer pelas coxas.

capaz dele ser ainda mais pervy, porque tudo que faz é com o sorriso de bom moço no rosto e porque adora te deixar toda pimposinha só pra te arruinar depois.

tem o maior dumbfication deste planeta terra!!!!! vai falar contigo como se você fosse completamente burrinha, sempre pausadamente, palavra por palavra e ainda te pergunta se você entendeu direitinho quando ele termina.

vai te paparicar e fazer todas as suas vontades, sim! compra tudo que você quiser e paga todas as suas coisinhas, salão, unha etc.

tem um jeitinho muito peculiar de te punir. o pipe vai agir como se não gostasse de fazer isso (porém no fundo ele curte sim) e te diz coisas como "tá vendo o que você me faz fazer, pequena?" e que "não, você não tá merecendo isso. hoje só eu mereço gozar, é por isso que eu vou comer o seu cuzinho, porque é isso que garotas más merecem".

ama te exibir para os amigos (não sexualmente mas indiretamente sim porque fica no ar), diz todo orgulhoso que a menina dele é muito boa pra ele e que ele é muito sortudo em te ter, e parte disso é porque ele adora como você fica toda envergonhadinha.

REI do praise kink. ele só sabe te elogiar e elogiar tudo que você faz. e não só na cama, porque ele reduz suas inseguranças a zero, te dá validação acadêmica (😵‍💫), é o seu maior fã e incentivador.

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Black Reader - The Bodyguard Part 1/8

Yeah, this is going to be good 🤭🤭 So good!

Summary - Reader is a popstars in trouble and Ruben is her new bodyguard, here to protect and help her find out who wants to hurt her. But what happens when the relationship between Reader and Ruben simply gets too personal?

Enjoy!

"A bodyguard? For what?"

"Y/N, a person has threatened your life."

"So? People do that online every day. Haters gonna hate."

You fell back against the cuchens of your fifthy thousand euro couch. Sure, it was expensive, but it came straight from the set of Pulp Fiction, a collectors item, worth every penny. Pulp Fiction was your absolute favorite movie of all time.

"I get that you don't want someone following you around all day, especially now with the tour of your knew album, but please consider your own safety first." You're sister had been managing you ever since the beginning of your singing career, of course her natural instict was to worry about you.

"Fine you sighed. So when is this guy coming?"

"Well, we had him fly in from his latest job in the UAE."

"The what know?"

"The UAE, like Dubai? Aapparently even the riches shieks in the middle east wants this guy as their bodyguard. He's an ex navy seal from what I've heard."

"Girl." You chuckled. "I received one threatening phone call from a man who calls himself the Dickonataor 3000. What makes you think I need a navy seal to protect me from that? You should have gotten one of the pumped up dudes from the fitness center I go to to set this guy straight. How much is this bodyguard guy even costing us?"

"Well, he said your only up for trial and that discussions won't happen until the end of that trial period."

"A trial?" You sat up. "You mean to tell me that this guy is only coming around for a trial. To what? See if my life is really worth guarding?"

"Somthing like that, yes. I don't know all the details. Taylor was the one who set everything up."

"Taylor? What does he know about hiring bodyguards?"

"Well he has a decade of experience when it comes to driving spoiled popstars like yourself."

"I'm not spoiled, you're spoiled."

You're sister smiled. "We're both spoiled."

"Mom would be very proud, too bad she rarely flies out to see us?"

"She will be here for your album release party, she promised."

"Yeah, yeah, promises promises, they mean nothing to me."

Your sister stood with her hands behind her back,  watching you. You hated the way she dressed nowadays, in pantsuits, like a damn politician.

"Are you ready to go back to rehearsals?" She asked. You had only gone back to your apartment for a quick break. You had been dancing all day.

"I haven't eaten anything yet." You said.

"We'll pick somthing up on the go, come." She offered you her hand. Just like she when you were kids, wanting to hold your hand on your way to school.

Rehearsals went well, however your feet were killing you by the time you got home. Taylor dropped you off at the apartment whilst your sister still had some business to take care of. You were glad to be alone for a change, having been surrounded by people telling you what to do all day.

"Maria?"

You peaked your head through to the kitchen to see if your personal chef was there. You'd ask her to cook a nice meal, perhaps one of her country's delicacies. You loved Brazilian food.

"Maria?"

She was nowhere to be found. You went to look for her in her office.

"Mari—"

"She's not here."

You froze as a big shadow swept behind you, followed by the dark voice of a man.

"Who are you?" You turned around and gasped. The man stood tall, dressed in a blacksuit and tie. His hair was slicked back, like a business man trying to appear more professional than he was.

"I'm here to kill you." He stated, just like that, with his hands tied before him.

"Um...okay. Taylor!!" You shouted.

"We're twelve stories up sweetheart, he won't hear you."

You frowned, applled by the man and his commanding, yet not threatening demeanor.

"What do you want, I don't keep any money here."

"Yeah, I realized that. However I hacked into your computer in your office."

"Y...you what?"

"It's not very smart of you not to encrypt any of your emails. I've received everything I need about your recent payments, credit card details, enough to forge your identity to make you go bankrupt in a few days time."

Your chest heaved up with your heavy breathing. Who was this guy, an intruder? Why was he so calm? Was he one of those serial killers to have sex with your corps before cutting it to pieces and eat it. Not on your watch, you thought and quickly ran back downstairs.

"Mariaaaaa!" You shouted.

"Like I said, I sent her home."

The man was right at your heals, following you wherever you went.

"What...why?" You said, slightly out of breath and your feet were still sore, so you didn't feel like running.

"Your apartment should be cleared out of staff by 6.pm it's easier to keep track of who goes in and out of the apartment if all your staff have a time stamp on them."

"How did you even get into the building?" You asked. "Did the doorman let you in?"

The man looked at you with tinted eyes, they were intimidating, yet kind. "The doorman has a shift change that occurs with a thirty minute window before the next guy shows up. I simply bid my time, observing your building all day, waiting for the right moment to simply walk into the building and take the elevator up to your floor."

"W.. what do you want?" You were trembling with fear now, ready to scream if the man dared try anything. However he seemed to keep his distance between you, yet it seemed like he was still invading your space.

"Like I said, I'm here to kill you. Or more so simulate how a killer would make the attempt to approach you in your home. From what I've gathered today you're an easy victim Y/N."

"How did you....wait are you...you're him aren't you? The bodyguard?"

The man stood with his hands behind his straight back, neither confirming or denying your statement.

You shook your head, a hint of a smile on your lips. "What a starnge way to introduce yourself and aren't you too young to be a bodyguard. I was expecting some G.I Joe looking mother fuc...."

"I think I'll do guarding a 60 kg girl who doesn't lock her front door when she leaves her home."

"But I know everyone who lives in this building and we have a doorman."

"You'll lock your doors from now on." He said, end of.

You were slightly taken back, mostly by the way he was dominating you, but also by the way you let him dominant you.

"It's my apartment,  I can do whatever I want." You said, a bit unconvincing.

"Not on my watch."

You snorted. "Right."

"Did I say something funny?"

"Yeah, a lot of things actually."

"I'm sorry to have frightened you with my unannounced entry Miss..."

"Y/N, is fine. " You said, crossing your arms over your chest.

"It's just standard protocol for me to ensure that whoever I'm working for is secure beyond my protection so that when it's necessary for me to give my life to them, I'll know it was for the right reason and not some sloppy mistake like an unlocked door or the fact that you let unwanted personal linger past suitable hours."

You're eyes were narrowed as you stared at the man, trying to make sense of it all. You stared at him until the point of realizing that he was actually kind of cute.

"Oh shit, there you are."

The strange introduction came to an end with your sister stumbling through the door.

"Taylor told me that he picked you up from the airport hours ago. I see you've already met my sister." She stepped forward shaking the man's hand.

"Yes we have just made ourselves acquainted, setting some ground rules for this arrangement."

Your sister looked at you, slightly impressed. You on the other hand was not having it at all.

"Y/N, why the long face?" Your sister said. "Meet Ruben Dias, you're new bodyguard."

[lacocoloca25]

November 2, 2022 - Mari celebrating her 22nd birthday on Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)  🎂🎈💀🌹🕯️

and with her Dementia congratulating her and giving her her gift 🎁🎈🎉 🦎💚🖤 just like here (reversed) https://lacocoloca25.tumblr.com/post/680393097305260032/i-couldnt-help-this-today-mari-congratulating

💀💀♥️♥️♥️

[seohvr]

SEOHVR'S INTRO

tiktok insta pinterest

︵‿୨ ABOUT ME ୧‿︵

Hiiii !!!

• My name is Marzi, I also have a ton of nicknames like zai, mai, mari, ari, mars/z, etc etc... You can use any of these, I don't mind !!

• I go by she/her & they/them

• I'm not comfortable sharing my age online, but I am above 14 !!

• I've been a kpop stan for the longest time, since I was a kid

• I was born in December !! My birthday is the 19th

• I'm African American & Puerto Rican

• I'm a very shy and awkward person at first, then I'm loud and hyper once I get comfortable

︵‿୨ RANDOM ୧‿︵

• My favorite colors are Pink, White, Brown

• I love love music, shopping, the color pink (🤭), food, girlgroups, snsd, making moodboards, my friends

• I hate hate antis of any group I stan, the color red, people who are active but reply slow, people who hate/dislike my friends, overly confident people, people who don't hold their favs accountable, bugs, heights

• My fav songs atm are, I think - Tyler The Creator, Poison - Brent faiyaz, Top Secret, Paparazzi, Flower power, love&girls, wake up, Oh!, One afternoon, Freedom, Mood lamp, Freedom, Bad girl, Show girls - SNSD, Daughters - Nas, Do for love - 2pac, Girl - Oceanfromtheblue, Seeing pink, lucid, ivy, divine - hyejin

• My favorite foods are Shrimp Alfredo, pizza, sushi, lemon pepper wings ( specifically from wingstop ), anything from canes

• My favorite shows are Modern Family, Wednesday, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Business Proposal, Pretty Little Liars, American Horror Story, My Sassy Girl

• I'm a little youtube iPad kid ( minus the ipad ), my favorite YouTubers are czsworld, courtreezy, dorisxchi, cooking tree, saranghoe, oh no nina, duncanyounot

• I co own a discord server 🙂‍↕️

• My hobbies are shopping, dancing, blogging, thrifting, cooking, baking

• I'm single 🙂‍↕️

• My timezone is CST

︵‿୨ MUSIC ୧‿︵

KPOP ULTS

• GIRLS' GENERATION - Seohyun, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sunny

• BABY V.O.X - Miyoun, E-Z

• M.I.L.K - OT4

• LOONA ( + redebuts ) - Yeojin, Gowon, Kim Lip, Yves, Vivi, Jinsoul, HyeJu

• AOA - Jimin, Yuna, Seolhyun

• WONDER GIRLS - Sohee, Sunmi, Hyerim

• Miss A - OT4

• S.E.S. - Eugene

• FIN.K.L - Jin, Yuri

• AESPA - Ningning, Winter

• AFTER SCHOOL - Nana, Kahi, Bekah, Lizzy

• NCT ( all units ) - Jisung, Xiaojun, Jeno, Johnny, Mark, Chenle, Jaehyun, Haechan, Hendery, Taeil, Jaemin, Doyoung, Jungwoo, Yuta

• NEWJEANS - Danielle, Hyein, Minji

• SISTAR - Dasom, Bora

• IVE - Rei, Liz, Yujin

• KARA - Hara, Seungyeon, Gyuri

• F(X) - Sulli, Krystal

• TWICE - MiSaMo, Dahyun, Nayeon

• LIMELIGHT - OT3

• FROMIS_9 - Jisun, Jiheon, Nagyung, Hayoung

• GFRIEND - Yuju, Yerin, Eunha

• IU

• BOA

• YUKIKA

• BIBI

KPOP

2ne1, 4minute, 9muses, Adya, Alice, Apink, April, April, Ariaz, Artbeat V, Ateez, Babys, BB girls + Brave girls, Beauty Box, Berrygood, BESTie, Brown eyed girls, Bunny.T, Busters, Bvndit, Chocolat, Chungha, Cignature, CL, Class:y, Craxy, Crayon pop, Csr, D.holic, Dalshabet, Delight, DIA, Diva, Deukae, Everglow, Fanatics, Favorite, Ferry blue, Fiestar, G-reyish, Girl's Day, Girls world, Girlkind, Good day, GOT the beat, Gugudan, Hanbyeol, H1-key, Hellovenus, Honey popcorn, I.O.I, ILY:1, IRRIS, Jewelry, Jiae, JINI, Kep1er, Kim Hyun Jung, Kwon Eunbi, Laboum, Ladies code, Lapillus, Lesserafim, Lee Chaeyeon, Lee Hyori, LeeHi, Lightsum, Limesoda, Lovelyz, Lunarsolar, Maka' Maka, Mimirose, Minimani, Momoland, Nature, Neon Punch, Oceanfromtheblue, OffonOff, Oh my girl + Oh my girl banhana, Papaya, Pink fantasy, Pixy, Playback, Primrose, Pristin, Purple kiss, Q6ix, Queen Eyez, Rainbow, Rania, Redsquare, Riize, Rocket punch, Rocking doll, Rolling quartz, S#arp, S.I.S, Saturday, Secret, Seori, Sha Sha, SHINee, Sonamoo, Soojin, StayC, Stellar, Sunny hill, Tomorrow x together, Tri.be, TripleS ( all units aswell ), Um Junghwa, UNI.T, ViV, We girls, We;Na, Weeekly, Weki Meki, WiTCHZ, Wjsn, Woo!ah!, XUM, Yerin, Yerin Baek, YooA, Younha, Youra, Yuju

NON-KPOP

21 savage, 2pac, A$AP rocky, Aaliyah, Ano, Arctic Monkeys, Ariana Grande, Attarashii Gakko!, Ayesha Eroctia, Azealia Banks, BABYMETAL, Bad Bunny, Beabadoobee, Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Brent Faiyaz, B.I.G, Britney Spears, Chase Atlantic, Childish Gambino, Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera, Cigarettes After Sex, Crystal Castles, Cults, Cypress Hill, Daddy Yankee, Doja Cat, Doma Cyno, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Estabon Armado, Eyedress, Faye Webster, FLO, Frank Ocean, Fuerza Regida, Grimes, Gwen Stefani, Hanbee, H.E.R, Hyejin, IC3PEAK, Ice Cube, J Balvin, Kali Uchis, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kikuo, Korn, Kyle, Lady Gaga, Lamp, Lana Del Rey, Laufey, Lil Uzi, LiSA, Mac DeMarco, Marina, Megan Thee Stallion, Melanie Martinez, Michael Jackson, MILLI, MISAMO, Mitski, Mother Mother, Mr. Capone-E, Nas, Nirvana, Playboy Carti, Rammstein, Rihanna, Rina Sawayama, Roar, Romeo Santos, Selena Gomez, Selena Quintanilla, Snoop Dogg, Souls of Mischief, Steve Lacy, SZA, The neighbourhood, The Weekend, TLC, TV girl, Tyler The Creator, XG, Yeat

[kayyishwr]

Menyimak tulisan Coach Rene di LinkedIn soal "More Reflection Less Resolution" ya inti tulisan itu adalah mari memperbanyak refleksi dan sedikit resolusi

Oh tapi apa resolusi tidak boleh? Ya boleh-boleh saja, tapi sepertinya kita hanya terjebak disana; sangat sedikit atau bahkan jarang refleksi

Yap refleksi; memikirkan, merasakan dan merenungkan segala hal; baik dan buruk, gagal dan berhasil, sedih dan bahagia; atas apa yang sudah terjadi, atas apa yang sudah kita kerjakan

Refleksi; kita berfikir, kita merasa, kita merenungkan apa yang sudah terjadi; karena sering kali, kita merasa biasa-biasa saja, seakan tidak ada apa-apa, seakan-akan tidak ada makna, seakan-akan tidak ada maksud dari Sang Pencipta, bukankah yang sudah terjadi semua ditakdirkan oleh Dia

Begitu juga atas apa yang sudah kita kerjakan; seakan biasa-biasa juga, atau yang kita kejar hanya yang agar terlihat 'wah', atau juga sekadar untuk 'konten' saja; bukankah kita bisa melakukan yang sudah kita kerjakan—dan bahkan akan—semua atas kehendak Dia juga; sudahkah kita berfikir, merasa, dan merenungkan itu semua?

Kalau kata mentor saya, di'internalisasi'; yang dimasukkan ke dalam diri kita, dijiwai, dimaknai, dirasakan

Refleksi membuat kita sadar kalau kita hidup di bumi sebagai hamba yang bertuhan; ada Yang Maha Mengatur

Refleksi lagi, kata ustadz yang pernah saya temui, akan mudah kita dapatkan contohnya di anime-anime semisal Naruto, One Piece, atau bahkan Tsubatsa; coba lihat beberapa kali ada episode flashback ke masa-masa lalu

Ya, lagi-lagi Jepang; negara dengan disiplin tinggi dan etos kerja luar biasa, seperti Swedia, mereka punya nilai-nilai yang kita sering dengar 'Ikigai' atau 'Kaizen'. Oh ya! Kalau di Swedia ada 'Lagom'— silakan baca disini soal Lagom

Oh ya, refleksi itu membuat kita lebih sadar juga kita hidup menginjak tanah langsung, tidak hanya sekadar berimajinasi terbang ke langit

Berapa hari lalu membaca postingan di X, ada mahasiswa kedokteran pernah gagal ujian blok, kemudian berkomentar apakah ada masa depan bagi dirinya? Duh!

Yah refleksi tidak senikmat membuat resolusi; resolusi berbicara hal-hal baik yang ingin kita capai, refleksi? Bukan hanya yang baik-baik lho, tapi juga yang gagal, kalah, dan jatuh

Memikirkan kegagalan, merasakan kekalahan, dan merenungkan saat jatuh; sulit, rumit, dan sakit, tapi begitulah refleksi—udah panjang gini jangan sampai mikir 'klo pijat refleksi gimana?'

Ah yasudahlah, sudah panjang juga—ini tulisan kedua, yang pertama tadi tidak terpublish, pertanyaan akhirnya juga sama; apakah penulis ini bisa punya kemampuan refleksi atau sekadar bikin konten tren awal tahun atau seperti tigapuluhhari bercerita? Ya doakan saja!

[theanimeview]

[Recommended Watch] The Apothecary Diaries

Source: Crunchyroll/Toho Animation Studio x OLM, The Apothecary Diaries

By: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee

We are well into the winter anime season, and a certain show called The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) should be on your watchlist if it isn’t already. I saw the poster for it on my Crunchyroll homepage back in January, and I recalled seeing the trailer being unveiled at Anime Expo 2023. It left a lasting impression on me with its gorgeous animation, historical setting in Imperial China, and the concept of exploring herbal medicines and poisons from that time period. However, since the trailer release, I had seen and heard virtually nothing about it. I admit that I can be quite the contrary to the popular trends, so I was driven to see what was becoming of The Apothecary Diaries, despite Frieren and Solo Leveling dominating the anime discourse these days. So, I clicked on the advertisement and started watching. The rest is history. Now, I come to you today to spread the word about this show so you, too, can enjoy this gem hidden in plain sight (and help ensure a Season 2 gets made!).

The story is set in a fictional universe inspired by Ming Dynasty-era China (1368-1644 in the real world), and all the beauty and ugliness of life in that society. 17-year-old Maomao simply wants to live a quiet life with her apothecary father and her “big sisters” (high-level courtesans) in the nearby brothel. However, Maomao is unfortunately (and/or fortunately) kidnapped and sold into the Rear Palace, the garden of the Emperor’s concubines. She starts at the bottom as a servant girl and soon reveals her knowledge of medicines and poisons to save the Emperor’s newborn heirs from a mysterious illness. 

From then on, she is swept up in solving the medical mysteries befalling those who live and work in the Imperial Court, while working her new day job as a poison taster for a high-ranking concubine. All this while rejecting and evading the increasing infatuation and sometimes creepy, sometimes endearingly, childish advances of Jinshi, the Rear Palace manager who is also the most beautiful eunuch around. 

Fans of medical dramas, detective/mystery dramas, historical dramas, and comedic innuendos will find lots to love about this show. It has a well written development and a lot of really interesting, accurate tidbits. There is even a “Pharmacist Reacts” YouTube series on The Apothecary Diaries by DefinitivelyZach that is particularly educational and just as entertaining! The animation quality, voice acting, and soundtrack are all top-notch too. 

Maomao may be smart enough to solve every puzzle thus far, but she is too well-characterized to be a Mary Sue. Lest you be wary of a toxic reverse-harem situation here, with Maomao potentially collecting suitors left and right and treating them all like dirt, the romance aspect is not the immediate main focus of the story (although there is clearly a slow-burn romance between Maomao and Jinshi that has grown on me the more Jinshi matures).

On par with recent trends for female characters in anime, we see a highly intelligent woman like Maomao earn the respect of everyone she meets through her tact and problem-solving skills, despite her commoner status. She also remains hilariously aloof to Jinshi’s advances when he puts on insincere, seductive airs.

As a girl who grew up on the doorstep of a brothel, Maomao has seen many women be lied to and downright betrayed by men. If Jinshi can be more consistently honest with his feelings around Maomao, and grow out of his childishness, he might just stand a chance with her!

Once I got used to Jinshi being cringe-worthy levels of creepy and accepted his weirdness as innocent immaturity (because at least he never has harmful intentions, despite his questionable methods of flirting), I quickly fell in love with The Apothecary Diaries and I’m confident that you will, too!

Season 1 Second Cour of The Apothecary Diaries is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. Cours 1 and 2 are 12 episodes each for a total of 24 episodes in Season 1.

–

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying us a coffee, leaving a comment, and/or subscribing to us!

Copyedited by: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

[iuhera]

Si Inner Enemy vs Si Inner Friend

"Tolong ikut antrian ya soalnya kita juga sama nunggu lama vs Ya udah lah gapapa, biarin aja"

Apa itu Inner Enemy & Inner Friend?

Pernah ngerasain hal diatas ga? Kalau iya, berarti Inner enemy sama inner friend kita lagi berusaha buat menangin suara kita, disini kita harus memilih memberitahu orang yang nyalip antrian atau cukup legowo aja deh biarin. Tapi, sebelumnya ada yang pernah denger ga apa itu Inner Enemy sama Inner Friend itu sendiri?

Didalam otak kita, mungkin kita sering sekali merasakan keadaan isi kepala yang cukup berisik. Banyak banget yang ngomong macem - macem ada yang ngomong baik dan ada yang ngomong hal - hal jahat. Tak sering suara jahat yang mempengaruhi kita. Nah, suara-suara ini yang kita akan namakan sebagai Inner Enemy dan Inner Friend.

Contoh Kasus Inner Enemy & Inner Friend

Mari kita ambil contoh sederhana, misalkan ketika menemukan hal baru. Si Inner Friend bakal bilang "Coba aja kali aja seru!", sedangkan Inner enemy bakal bilang sebaliknya, "Ngapain sih, ngabisin energi aja". Atau ketika ada opportunity yang bagus, si Inner Friend bakal bilang ke otak kita "Ambil! gagal gapapa!", sedangkan si Inner Enemy bakal bilang "Gak usah macem-macem kamu gaakan bisa. Paling hasilnya kaya yang udah-udah". Begitu pun dengan sebuah kegagalan. Si Inner Friend bakal bilang "Gapapa namanya juga belajar", sedangkan si Inner Enemy bakal bilang "Tuh kan, gagal kan makanya gausah coba - coba". Akhirnya? Biasanya Inner Enemy ini memenangkan kita, dan kita pun ga jadi ngambil kesempatan itu.

Yang Baik-Baik Apakah Selalu Inner Friend?

Lalu muncul pertanyaan, berarti inner friend itu yang baik - baik dong? Jawabannya belum tentu, kadang si inner enemy ini suka menyelinap baik-baik jadi inner friend. Contohnya pas lagi antri tadi lalu ada seseorang yang maen salip salip aja.

Inner friend: Ingetin dengan sopan, kalo dia gamau dengerin ya udah Inner enemy #1: Omelin! Inner enemy yg menyelinap: Udah biarin aja, ngapain cari ribut

Ko dia inner enemy? Bukannya dengan mengalah, itu baik? Disini kita harus bisa membedakan mana yang rendah hati dan mana yang rendah diri. See, betapa jahatnya si inner enemy ini. Bayangin aja, inner enemy ini seumur hidup mengendalikan fikiran kita dan dia aga tricky, kalo kita ga bisa membedakan yang mana hati nurani, inner enemy dan inner friend. Puluhan tahun hidup kita penuh dengan kekhawatiran, ketakutan, diomelin sama si inner enemy. Coba deh temen-temen perhatiin dalem sehari inner enemy temen-temen ngomongin apa aja? Tapi, inner enemy ini bisa dikendalikan ga si? jawabannya Bisa.

Nah agar kita tidak dengan mudah dikendalikan oleh inner enemy, tentu kita harus tau ciri-cirinya. Apa aja emang? Inner Enemy ini biasanya tidak mendatangkan manfaat, Melemahkan, Membuat tidak nyaman, Membuat tidak bahagia, hingga Menyalahkan. Selain itu, biasanya bentuknya itu seperti tamak, benci/marah, delusi/bodo amat, hingga Ego.

Cara Melatih Inner Friend

Tapi kita tidak perlu khawatir, ada cara untuk melatih mendengarkan inner friend kita agar ia yang bisa memenangkan suara kita dalam segala kondisi. Apa aja?

Coba nulis 3 x 7 kalimat buat melatih diri kita mendengar inner friend. Contohnya refleksikan 3 hal ini Aku, bangga pada diri sendiri karena.. (7 hal) Aku, memaafkanmu karena.. (7hal) Aku, berkomitmen untuk.. (7 hal)

Catet tiap hari inner enemy ngomong apa aja.

Terakhir, memang benar kalau inner enemy dan inner friend ini dibentuk oleh orang-orang disekitar kita, tapi inner enemy dan inner friend ini ada di kepala kita. Nah tugas kita mengenali si inner enemy dan hanya mendengarkan inner friend kita.

[ghostlyg0ssip]

MONSTER HIGH UPCOMING RELEASES MASTERPOST (Up to date as of June 2024)

Note: all information listed is subject to change

If you have any questions, leave a reply or send an ask :]

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🌙 G3 🌙

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Haunted High School

$175

Summer

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Core

Spectra, Skelita, Jinafire

$25

Summer (Spectra)

Spring 2025 (Skelita, Jinafire)

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Self-Scare Day Vanity

Cleo

$30

August

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After Ghoul Activities Lounge

Clawdeen, Lagoona

$?

Fall

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Potions

Clawdeen, Draculaura, Frankie, Cleo, Lagoona, Spectra

$10

June

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Welcome Committee - Frankie

Amazon Exclusive

$30

2025

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Fearbook

Target Exclusives

Draculaura, Toralei, Twyla

$25

Summer

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Eekend Getaway Ghoulmobile

Target Exclusive

Clawdeen, Draculaura

$75

Fall

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Day Out - Lagoona

$18

Fall

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Budget "Monsteristas" - Cleo

LATAM Exclusive

330 MXN

Fall

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Skulltimate Secrets - Garden Mysteries

Draculaura, Lagoona, Twyla, Venus

$30

Spring 2025

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Buried Secrets

?, ?, ?, Cleo

$15

Spring 2025

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⚡️ G1 ⚡️

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SDCC 2024 Deadfast Ghoulia

SDCC 2024 & Mattel Creations Exclusive

$75

7/25

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Mummy Majesties 2-pack

Cleo & Nefera

~$60

July

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Monster High X Wednesday - Core Dolls

Wednesday, Enid

$40

August

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Monster High X Wednesday - Rave'n Dress Wednesday

$65

August

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Monster High X Wednesday - Fashion Pack

$25

August

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Skullector - Hocus Pocus 3-pack

Winifred, Mary, Sarah

$125

September

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Howliday - 2024 Dia de Muertos Edition Skelita

$55

September

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Howliday - Winter Edition Cleo

$45

September

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Fashion House Doll

~$90

September

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Boo-riginal Creeproductions - Series 3

Toralei, Operetta, Nefera

$25

Spring 2025

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[mrskyler]

✮⋆˙ Your own Sun˙⋆✮

「 Sunny x Affectionate! Male reader 」

English version

✮⋆˙ Anon: hellooo!! may i request headcannons for sunny with a reader whos very affectionate? thank youu!

[ Olá!! posso solicitar headcanons para Sunny com um leitor que é muito carinhoso? obrigado! ]

⌗ a/n: OMG MY FIRST REQUEST, I'M SO HAPPY! Thank you Anon for the request, I hope you like it! ‹𝟹 ( You didn't say if you wanted romantic or platonic, so I decided to do romantic. )

[ MDS, MEU PRIMEIRO PEDIDO EU TÔ TÃO FELIZ! Obrigado Anon pelo pedido, espero que goste! ‹𝟹 ( Você não disse se queria romântico ou platônico, então decidi fazer romântico.) ]

୭🧷✧˚. ᵎᵎ 🎀

⌗ HC do Sunny em público:

Quando você abraça Sunny do nada, principalmente se for por trás, você sente ele ficar rígido ao seu toque. Ele simplesmente congela no lugar e não responde quando você chama seu nome e muito menos quando você balança a mão na frente dos olhos dele – tentando acorda-lo do seu transe.

Sunny fica com as bochechas e as orelhas vermelhas quando você decide mostrar para todo mundo, que você ama ele; ficando de mãos dadas, se agarrando nele como um coala ou chamando ele por apelidos carinhosos. Quando isso acontece, Sunny imediatamente se torna um tomate ambulante e logo em seguida ele pode fazer três coisas:

1° - Pegar qualquer coisa perto dele e esconder o rosto com isso.

2° - Se esconder atrás de algo como uma caixa de correio ou uma árvore.

3° - Corre.

Se você beijar Sunny na bochecha em público ou na frente dos seus amigos, se prepare para segura-lo, porque ele definitivamente vai desmaiar.

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

Dês da morte de Mari há 4 anos atrás, seus amigos tinham se separado e era doloroso até mesmo fazer um simples piquenique juntos. Sabendo disso, você ficou muito surpreso quando eles simplesmente apareceram na porta da sua casa um dia e te arrastaram para um piquenique.

Quando vocês chegaram na porta da igreja, você finalmente entendeu. Eles não queriam deixar Mari de fora, então decidiram fazer um bem ao lado do túmulo dela.

-

É um dia ensolarado e tem uma leve brisa no ar. Comendo o bolo que vocês trouxeram, você vê Hero mexendo na cesta de piquenique procurando por algo. Mas você percebe que seus olhos estão distantes.

Talvez ele esteja pensando na Mari.

Vendo isso, você tenta chamar a atenção dele. " Ei Hero! Foi você que fez esse bolo?" Ele pula um pouco quando sua linha de pensamento é cortada.

"H-Huh?" Ele olha na sua direção confuso, ele não ouviu o que você falou.

Você ri um pouco da reação dele. "Eu perguntei se foi você que fez esse bolo." Você diz apontando com o garfo para o bolo na frente de todos.

Ele responde com um sorriso: "Ah sim, fui eu que fiz (M/n). Eu usei uma receita da minha vó."

"Sério? Tá muito bom Hero! Você realmente é um ótimo cozinheiro!" Você o parabeniza pelo bolo delicioso.

Ele fica um pouco surpreso e dá um sorriso envergonhado de olhos fechados enquanto esfrega a nuca. "Obrigado (M/n), fico feliz que tenha gostado do meu bolo." Você devolve o agradecimento dele com um sorriso gentil.

Hero se vira em direção a cesta e pega o que ele estava procurando. Enquanto isso, Basil tenta acalmar Aubrey que está xingando Kel enquanto tenta impedir com que ele coma o seu 4° pedaço de bolo; e o seu namorado, Sunny, está sentado ao seu lado.

Você olha para Sunny, que está basicamente inclinado no seu braço e com a cabeça ligeiramente encostada no seu ombro. O que te deixa bastante surpreso, já que ele normalmente é muito tímido quando se trata de mostrar qualquer tipo de afeto em público – principalmente na presença dos seus amigos.

Você fecha os olhos ligeiramente, preucupado. Talvez ele esteja só desconfortável em estar do lado do túmulo da sua irmã morta e está tentando procurar algum tipo de conforto em você.

Isso faria sentido, já que hoje mais cedo quando vocês colocaram a toalha de piquenique no chão, Sunny não se sentou próximo de Mari como Hero. Quando isso aconteceu, você ficou surpreso, mas não disse nada e apenas se sentou do lado dela. Você não julga Sunny e nunca poderia, afinal, cada um passa pelo luto de uma forma diferente.

Voltando sua atenção para o seu prato, você pega o morango no topo do bolo e com um grande sorriso no rosto, coloca ele na boca. Você se remexe e solta barulhos felizes enquanto mastiga ele.

Você não percebeu, mas Sunny viu essa sua reação pelo canto do olho. Olhando para o seu próprio prato, ele vê o morango no topo do seu bolo. Com uma idéia na cabeça, as bochechas e orelhas dele ficam levemente avermelhadas. Então ele pega o morango com o garfo e coloca no seu prato.

"Sunny?" Ele pula, quase derrubando o prato no colo dele.

Levantando levemente a cabeça, Sunny vê seus olhos olhando para ele.

Ele começa a se levantar pronto para correr. "Sunny!! Se senta agora mesmo!" Grita comicamente sua versão chibi, enquanto segura uma versão chibi de Sunny pelos ombros e o força a se sentar no chão de novo. " A última vez que você correu depois de ser pego fazendo algo pra mim, você quase foi atropelado!"

Voltando as suas formas normais, Sunny não podia dizer nada em sua defesa, porque sabia muito bem que era verdade. Então ele escondeu o rosto envergonhado com as mãos, enquanto ainda tinha você segurando ele pelos ombros.

Suando frio, você dá um suspiro derrotado e vira o seu corpo na direção dele. "Você não precisa ficar com vergonha Sunny. Ninguém vai te zoar só porque você está mostrando algum tipo de afeto ." Você tenta acalmar ele e o assegurar que nada de ruim vai acontecer só porque ele deu o morango do bolo dele, para você.

Você faz carinho na cabeça dele tentando conforta-lo, mas você ainda tinha a outra mão no ombro dele caso ele surte de novo e decida correr.

Sentindo o ombro dele relaxar um pouco e vendo a cabeça dele abaixar com o seu toque, você dá um sorriso gentil. "Pronto, pronto, Sunny. Não precisa se preocupar, nada de ruim vai acontecer com você. Não quando eu estiver aqui." Você ri um pouco enquanto fingi estar acalmando uma criancinha ou um filhotinho de cachorro. Mas se fosse comparar, Sunny sempre pareceu mais um gato do que um cachorro.

Depois de alguns segundos o acalmando, ele abaixa um pouco as mãos do rosto – mostrando ligeiramente seus olhos. Mas mesmo assim, você consegue ver suas bochechas vermelhas como um tomate.

Vendo isso, você sorri. "Mas muito obrigado pelo morango, querido!" Você diz sem pensar muito. Antes que Sunny entenda o que você disse, você levanta a franja dele e dá um beijo nela, propositalmente fazendo um barulho alto de: "Muah!"

Você se afasta um pouco e dá um grande sorriso de olhos fechados, até sentir Sunny caindo encima de você.

Você não entende e pensa que ele está apenas se inclinando na sua direção como antes, então você abraça ele e sente o rosto quente dele no seu pescoço.

Enquanto isso, seus amigos estão em estado de choque com o que acabaram de testemunhar

"(M/n)...eu acho que o Sunny desmaiou-"

"O QUE?!"

⌗ HC do Sunny no privado:

Quando vocês ficam na casa um do outro, Sunny vai te seguir para todo canto como um patinho.

Quando sair do banheiro, você vai tropeçar nele – que esteve sentado do lado da porta esse tempo todo.

No momento que você se sentar na cama ou no sofá, Sunny já vai estar com a cabeça no seu colo ou abraçado em você como um coala.

Se você fizer carinho no cabelo dele, ele de alguma forma vai começar a ronronar (?) e em poucos segundos, já vai estar dormindo.

Como Sunny passou anos sem ter algum contato com outra pessoa sem ser sua mãe, ele não sabe ao certo como pedir carinho para você. Então ele simplesmente vai ficar parado na sua frente olhando para você, até você entender que ele quer um abraço ou tapinhas na cabeça.

Se você beija-lo em qualquer parte do rosto dele, ele ainda vai ter aquele rosto sem expressão, mas você consegue ver que os olhos dele suavizam um pouco e suas bochechas e orelhas ficam levemente avermelhadas.

Sunny é um ótimo ouvinte. Então quando você está falando sobre algo que gosta ou apenas desabafando sobre alguma coisa que aconteceu com você, ele vai balançar a cabeça de vez em quando para te assegurar que está ouvindo e entendendo o que você está falando.

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

Você desce as escadas da casa de Sunny e vai na direção da cozinha pegar algo para beber.

Abrindo a geladeira, você procura algo que gosta – mas só encontra água. Dando de ombros você pega a jarra e enche um copo.

Você coloca na boca e se vira. Apenas para dar de cara com o seu namorado.

Você cuspe a água e começa a tossir sem parar.

Sunny se assusta com sua reação, mas fica preucupado quando você começa a tossir descontroladamente.

Ele esteve te seguindo dês do momento que você levantou da cama e saiu pela porta do quarto. Mas o problema foi que você não ouviu os passos dele atrás de você quando estava descendo as escadas. Muito menos sentiu a parecença dele na cozinha – já que ele não disse uma palavra.

Você coloca a mão no joelho tentando recuperar o fôlego. Vendo isso, Sunny se aproxima preucupado, mas você estende o braço ô parando.

Você se levanta e limpa a água escorrendo no seu queixo. "Eu tô bem Sunny não se preocupa..." Diz sua figura trêmula e acabada.

Sunny está surtando por dentro.

୭🧷✧˚. ᵎᵎ 🎀