#guys i am moments away from snoozing onto my laptop

[smoosnoom]

lost my words again

He squints. “Mike?” “Hey,” Mike replies, feeling like a nutcase. He’s still holding onto his bike handles. “We – um, fancy meeting you here.” Will stares at him. His hair is progressively getting wetter. “I live here."

A sudden epiphany brings a confession in the rain.

[baepsaesbae]

Rain or Shine

Pairing— Min Yoongi x reader, Jung Hoseok x reader

Genre— Smut +18, comedy, angst, bits of fluff

Warnings— oral (m and f receiving), explicit and unprotected sex, semipublic fingering, cum facial oops, almost infidelity 

Word Count— ~10k

Summary— You encountered a mysterious stranger on your rainy commute to work one morning. As a newbie architect, you couldn’t afford to be late. You mistakenly take the stranger’s umbrella. How are you going to get it back to him when you forgot to ask for his name?

A/N— Huge thank you to @kookdiaries​​ for the super cool banner! Thank you so so much. As always, please feel free to leave any comments or feedback. Don’t be shy to drop an ask! I love hearing from you guys. I hope you enjoy. Also I am not an architect, so I apologize for any incorrect depictions!

You admonished yourself for not checking the forecast before leaving for work. After hitting snooze one too many times, you only had time to throw on some clothes and brush your teeth. You tried to squeeze in a quick breakfast of yogurt and fruit, before realizing you were out of fruit. In your haste, you managed to spill some of the yogurt onto your shirt and pants. Groaning at your ruined outfit -- and loss of your breakfast-- you quickly dabbed out as much as you could before finally departing.

The commute to work was about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how fast you were hustling. As you scrambled to work with a pace between speed walking and light jogging, you started to notice the dark gray clouds looming overhead.

‘Oh come on’, you thought, as if this already horrid morning couldn’t get any worse.

Rain started to come down only a few minutes into your commute. Hard. There were no light sprinkles that slowly turned into a steady rainfall. Instead, the rain fell down upon you in one heavy blanket that refused to let up. You love a good heavy thunderstorm, but preferably when you’re all cozied up in bed, and not on your walk to work without an umbrella.

Standing at an intersection in the pouring rain, you clutched your bag close to your chest in a pitiful attempt to keep the laptop inside dry. You couldn’t possibly afford another one right now. So you waited, drenched and shivering, for the pedestrian light to turn on. You feel a slight pang of relief that you didn’t put any makeup on today, since it would all be running down your face by now.

Before the pedestrian light turn on, the downfall on you stopped. But the rain everywhere else continued. Confused, you cast your gaze upwards, to see a blue umbrella speckled with little bluish purple...horses? Your gaze continued to the hand holding the umbrella, then down the arm. That arm was connected to a tall man with dark hair, sporting expensive looking clothing. You didn’t have time to figure out the particular brand because you were too busy bowing.

“Thank you, sir! I appreciate the gesture, but I’m already soaked and I don’t want you to get wet,” you thanked the kind stranger.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s big enough for the two of us. What kind of man would I be if I let you continue to get poured on?” the stranger smiled at you.

In that moment, you felt as though the world had stopped. You’ve never seen a smile so radiant. It instantly brought you out of your bad mood. All of the misfortunes that had occurred that morning were forgotten.

Suddenly aware that you probably looked like a drowned rat, you turned away. The two of you walked in silence when the pedestrian light turned on. The umbrella clearly was not big enough for the pair of you, as you noticed the other side of the stranger was getting wet.

“Sir, I’m really fine. This umbrella isn’t big enough to accommodate two people, but I sincerely appreciate your kindness,” you stopped the stranger to say.

“We’re actually in front of my destination,” the stranger gestured towards the café behind you. Before you could thank the stranger one last time before parting, he interrupted you.

“So, you take it. You look like you have something in that bag that you don’t want getting wet,” he smiled again, handing you the umbrella. You were shocked.

“What? No, I couldn’t possibly--”

“Please take it. If you don’t, I’m just gonna drop it and leave it out here.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. That’s how badly I want you to take this umbrella,” the man firmly placed the umbrella in your hand.

You were already running late and didn’t have time to fight a battle of politeness with this guy, so you gave in. After one more bow, you scurried off to work with the stranger’s umbrella. You looked like a maniac. Practically jogging now, you held the umbrella in one hand while still holding you bag close to you with the other. Your wet hair clung to your face as the wind blew harshly in every which direction. At last, you reached your workplace.

“Damn, ___. You look awful! Is that bird shit on your shirt?” your coworker, Yoongi, gawked as you entered your cubicle.

Yoongi is your cubicle buddy, but he’s also much more than that. You guys had been good friends ever since college. You survived the grueling projects that the architecture program threw at you together. Countless nights were spent staying up to construct models and to finalize mock blueprints. Yoongi helped get you this job when you were out of luck trying to find one on your own.

“Thanks Yoongs. I feel just as awful. And no, it’s not shit. I spilled yogurt all over myself AND I forgot my umbrella,” you huffed while getting your laptop out, praying to God that it didn’t get wet.

“Is that not an umbrella on your desk?” Yoongi asked, gesturing to the now folded but still sopping wet umbrella on your desk. Your eyes widened at the sight of it.

“Oh shit. Some guy gave this to me. He insisted that I take it, even though I was already drenched. How am I supposed to get this back to him?” you sighed.

“Some guy? What an interesting way to hit on someone. Maybe that’s his tactic. He waits to rescue some dumbass girl in the pouring rain and gives her an umbrella. Did you check the inside or the handle? Maybe it has his name or number,” Yoongi scooted his chair closer to inspect the umbrella himself.

“He definitely was not hitting on me,” you rolled your eyes at Yoongi.

“Just this once, I think you’re right. You look like you just battled a hurricane and barely survived,” Yoongi chuckled at your unamused face, “Also, there’s no info on here. Guess you got yourself a new umbrella.”

“I need to return it somehow. I feel bad for just taking it,” you pouted.

“Didn’t you say he gave it to you?”

“Yeah but it just doesn’t feel right yaknow?”

“No, I don’t know. The boss just arrived, time to look like we’re busy,” Yoongi quickly swiveled back to his desk as your boss passed by.

“Good morning, Mr. Lee,” you both greeted politely as he passed. He apathetically grunted in reply.

The rest of the day was uneventful. You finished your part of an office building project a couple days ago, and no one has bothered to assign you another task. You’re the least experienced person here, and no one is willing to take a chance on you. Your passion has always been designing residential homes. Unfortunately, those projects have always been handed off to the boss’ favorite employee, Minho. Minho was one of those kissasses who’s a prick to everyone else. He always picked on you for being a newbie.

In the meantime, you’ve been passing the time by chatting with Yoongi and browsing the internet. Being the lowest person on the totem pole had its perks. You’re usually overlooked, so as long as the big boss doesn’t see you slacking off, you’re in the clear. You’re scrolling through Twitter when you hear a tsk over your shoulder.

“Always such a slacker, ___,” Minho shook his head in disapproval, “I came to remind you two idiots that there’s a VIP client coming in next week.”

“Yeah, we know. Why do you need to remind us in person?” Yoongi gave Minho a murderous glare.

“Mr. Lee is extremely stressed and he wants everything to be perfect for the big meeting. They say a team is only as strong as their weakest link and well,” Minho looks at both of you, “I wanted to remind you guys to be on your best behavior. I don’t even know why he’s including you two, but oh well. Even the lowest of the low have to be shown how it’s done, right?”

“Thanks for the reminder. I wouldn’t have known how important the client was without you. It’s not like we’ve been getting emails about it every single day for the past month. You can be on your merry way now,” you gave Minho the fakest smile you could muster.

“God I hate that guy,” you said after Minho left.

“When I finally quit this job, I’m gonna punch that guy in the face so hard,” Yoongi agreed.

It was finally time to head home. The rain subsided and now there’s not a cloud in sight, almost as if the torrential downpour has never happened. You always enjoyed your commute home. It was the most relaxing part of your day. You were lost in your thoughts until you saw the café that the stranger entered earlier. Peering through the windows in hopes of finding the man, you were disappointed but not surprised when you couldn’t spot him. Who would spend their entire day in a café?

The day of the big meeting had finally arrived. Everyone waited anxiously in the meeting room. There were various rumors that the VIP client was a millionaire, a celebrity, or a CEO for some fancy company. None of that mattered to you, it’s not like you were going to be put on the project team. You were just thankful that the meeting is finally taking place so everyone can shut up about it afterward.

Mr. Lee finally entered with Minho trailing behind him. Following Minho was a tall man in a suit that looked way too expensive to even touch. You scoffed at the sight, thinking that he was just another prick like Minho. Your expression was blank and you were already starting to tune out Mr. Lee.

“Good morning, everyone. This is our very special client, Mr. Jung Hoseok. We are honored that you chose our firm to design your new home!” Mr. Lee bowed.

Mr. Jung smiled at the crowd before him and your jaw dropped. It was the same radiant smile you’ve seen before. Without even thinking, you blurted out, “It’s you!”

The room was silent and suddenly all eyes were on you, including Mr. Jung’s. You could see your boss’ eyes widen with fury and suddenly you feared for your job.

“I’m sorry, have we met before?” Hoseok asked quizzically.

“I...you...I have your umbrella,” you mumbled before bowing your head apologetically.

“Oh! What a funny coincidence! Glad my umbrella could be of assistance to a pretty young lady,” Hoseok smiled warmly. You were beyond embarrassed, and you heard a couple of your coworkers snicker around you.

Mr. Lee quickly got the meeting back on track while shooting you looks that made you shiver. You slowly sank into your seat, feeling hopeless.

“Hey, you good?” Yoongi whispered to you.

“I’m pretty sure I just lost my job. Over a stupid umbrella,” you whispered back in utter defeat.

As Mr. Lee said his closing remarks, it was time for him to introduce Mr. Jung to his team. Minho proudly stood up and bowed when mentioned as the firm’s finest architect. He grinned cockily as he was announced to be project manager. The rest of the team stood as they were announced and sure enough, your name wasn’t called. The meeting was about to be adjourned when Hoseok cleared his throat.

“Is that everyone who will be working on my house?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Jung. Is there a problem? We can assign more or less people if you’d prefer,” Mr. Lee looked worried.

“No, there’s no problem! I do have one request though,” Hoseok said coolly, “I want to work with her. And I’m sorry if I’m overstepping any boundaries, but I’d like her to be project manager,” he said while pointing at you.

You were in shock. Could this finally be your chance to work on a residential home? And a fancy one at that? The aura in the room grew heavy as everyone was left in disbelief. Yoongi gave you a proud pat on the back.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a wise decision. She’s very inexperienced and we want to offer you nothing but the best--”

“But she works here, doesn’t she?” Hoseok lifted an eyebrow.

“Well yes, but she doesn’t work on residentials--”

“I’ll do it!” you said a little too loudly as you stood from your chair, nearly knocking it back in the process.

“Perfect! Also, I guess this is another request but I don’t really need a lot of people working on this,” Hoseok bowed apologetically to Mr. Lee before turning back to you, “Is there anyone you want to work with?” he asked.

“Min Yoongi,” you declared without skipping a beat.

“Great. I’ll have my assistant make another meeting date for us then. Cya later umbrella girl,” Hoseok winked at you before exiting the room.

Mr. Lee and Minho stood dumbfounded while you and Yoongi were rejoicing. You could finally show Mr. Lee what you’re capable of! You finally won’t be bored out of your mind at work. Working with Yoongi was the cherry on top. This day couldn’t have gone any better.

The meeting was officially dismissed when Mr. Lee stormed out of the room, followed closely by Minho. Everyone slowly shuffled out afterward. A few coworkers you’ve never spoken to before congratulated you with warm smiles. It was common knowledge that no one but Mr. Lee liked Minho. It must have been refreshing to see his ass handed to him. By you no less.

You arrived back at your desk to barely catch your work phone ringing.

“Hello, this is ___ with BH Architecture! How may I help you?” you answered cheerily.

The person on the other line was Hoseok’s assistant calling to schedule your first meeting. Apparently, he wanted to meet ASAP so you settled for the next day at 1pm. You were beyond excited for your first official client meeting.

“So when are we meeting our client?” Yoongi slung his arm around your neck in a joking manner.

“Uh excuse me sir, this is inappropriate behavior. How dare you treat your project manager like this,” you giggled, the title rolling effortlessly off your tongue, “The meeting is tomorrow at 1pm. But his assistant said he only wants to meet with the project manager for the first meeting,” you gave Yoongi a sad smile.

“Aw, that sucks. I’ll be bored here without you. Tomorrow already huh? You’re gonna do great,” Yoongi reassured you.

You arrived at the meeting location. It was at the cute little café that Hoseok went into the first time you met him. You smiled at the fond memory, clutching his umbrella. You finally get to return it to him today.

You walked into the busy café, eyes scanning the patrons for Mr. Jung.

“Umbrella girl! Over here!” you heard from a corner of the café. You spotted him and waved. Once settled in the seat across from him, you quickly took out your notebook.

“Oh a notebook? You don’t use your laptop for taking notes?” Hoseok tilted his head.

“No, sir. I like to take handnotes and make quick sketches before I transfer the ideas to my laptop. It makes the planning process much easier,” you explained.

“You’re so organized! I’m already thankful that I chose you over the dude your boss chose. No offense, but something seemed off about that guy. I hope I didn’t offend your boss by kind of undermining him,” Hoseok chuckled.

“You’re right on the money. Minho isn’t a nice person to work with. He has the biggest ego I’ve ever encountered in my life. Thank you again for picking me, Mr. Jung. Oh! I have something for you,” you brought out the little umbrella, “Thank you for lending this to me.”

“You finally managed to get this back to me. As I said before, I’m happy I could help a cute lady like yourself,” Hoseok smiled, taking back his umbrella, “I saw you look for me through the windows every morning and afternoon. I thought it was adorable. There was no way you could’ve seen me tucked away in the corner like this.”

“You saw me?! Why didn’t you come out then?” you felt your cheeks begin to flush.

“You’d stop looking for me if I did that. But here we are! You’re now obligated to spend time with me,” Hoseok beamed, “How embarrassing… I never caught your name.”

“I’m ___. Very nice to officially meet you, sir,” you bowed your head respectfully.

“No need to be so formal. You can call me Hoseok,” he winked, “Here’s a list of things I’d like to be included in the house,” he slid you a piece of paper.

Your eyes widened as you read the requests. The house will have to be huge in order to fulfill everything. An indoor pool that transitions into an outdoor one? A wine cellar underneath one of four staircases? 5 bedrooms each with their own bathrooms akin to that of the master bath? You looked up at him in shock.

“How much land am I working with, Hoseok?” you asked.

“As much as you want. That’s not a problem. Money is also not a problem. Do you think you’re up to the challenge?” Hoseok mused.

You nodded excitedly. This is exactly what you’ve been waiting for ever since you graduated. The next few hours were spent going over the general plan. You wanted to know his tastes and preferred styles before you could start sketching. The hours flew by quickly since talking Hoseok was never dull. His laughter filled the room, and you were encapsulated by his bubbly personality. Once you were satisfied with the meeting’s progress, you decided to call it. Hoseok provided enough information to keep you and Yoongi busy for the next few days. Maybe even weeks. All you knew was that this house was gonna be huge, but beautiful, once you two were finished with it.

“Can I have your personal number? You know, just in case I come up with new requests?” Hoseok asked innocently.

“Of course!” you gave it to him without noticing the smirk on his face while you typed in your number, “Don’t hesitate to contact me about the house.”

“Thank you for your hard work today, ___,” Hoseok smiled.

[5:27pm] Yoongi!!! Hoseok is crazayyyyyy

[5:27pm] In a good way. Designing his house is gonna be so fun! The material I got today is gonna keep us busy for a while

[5:29pm from Yoongi] Did you just get out of the meeting?

[5:29pm] I just got home. It ended a couple minutes ago

[5:30pm from Yoongi] The meeting was 4 hours long?!!?! Yeah that guy must be crazy. Looking forward to see what he has in mind. Get some rest

[5:31pm] I’m bouta pass out. Cya tmr :)

After a refreshing shower and a microwave dinner, you snuggled up under the warm covers of your bed. Slowly drifting off to sleep, you jolted awake when your phone vibrated next to you.

[7:13pm from an Unknown number] Hey Umbrella Girl!

[7:13pm from an Unknown number] I’m so excited to work with you!!

[7:13pm from an Unknown number] I hope this isn’t weird but can we schedule another meeting soon? :0

[7:14pm] Hi Hoseok. I’m looking forward to working with you too! It’s not weird, but I think we should wait at least a week so Yoongi and I can make some blueprints for you.

[7:16pm from Hoseok] Sounds great! Meet up at the same place at 9am next Friday?

[7:16pm] Works for me. See you then!

The next week was spent by you and Yoongi diligently working on the floorplan for the first floor. The task was more daunting than you gave it credit for, especially since you wanted to have the first floor completely done by the next time you met up with Hoseok.

Yoongi embraced the challenge, but both of you ended up working late into the night each day. It was nostalgic. The smell of cheap cup ramen and strong coffee filled your cubicles, a scent that sent you both back to your college days.

“You think this is good enough?” Yoongi yawned.

“We’ll see what he says tomorrow. I think it’s pretty good. But to be honest, I can’t really see clearly right now. You have two heads,” you rubbed your eyes.

“How many eyes do I have?”

“I dunno. 3? 4? Stop moving,” you playfully hit Yoongi’s arm.

“Ahhh that’s abuse. I’m being abused by my manager!” Yoongi called out before tackling you to the floor.

Maybe it was the delirium, but you and Yoongi burst into a fit of laughter. Your hair was a mess, you haven’t properly eaten in days, and you were running on pure caffeine. Yoongi was in a similar state. So there you were, with Yoongi’s arms wrapped around you while you guys laughed your heads off on the floor.

“Your hair still smells surprisingly good,” Yoongi noted, subtly pulling you closer.

“Mhm it’s the shampoo. You should invest in some,” you reply sleepily. Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute you were.

“I’m happy you picked me to be on your team,” he whispered.

“Who else would I choose? Not like I have any other friends here,” you replied, struggling to keep your eyes open.

“I’m glad we’re friends then. I’m thankful I met you, ___,” the lack of sleep made Yoongi oddly sentimental.

When he was met with no reply, he looked down to see that you’ve fallen asleep. Your chest was rising and falling slowly coupled with your deep breaths. Yoongi had never seen you look any cuter, and he’d seen you all dolled up for dates. He despised that they were never with him, but he couldn’t admit that to you. He kissed your forehead gingerly before his drowsiness overcame him.

An alarm caused you to lurch from Yoongi’s chest. The sun was shining through the windows of the office as you scrambled to turn off the incessant beeping. You looked back to a sleepy Yoongi rolling to face away from the light.

‘Shit, did we fall asleep here? Wait was I on his chest? OHMYGOD ITS FRIDAY’, you panicked as you hurriedly started to gather the prints for Hoseok.

“Yoongi! Yoongi wake UP!” you yelled, pelting him with an empty coffee cup.

“Whaaaat. We’re already at work, we can sleep in,” he groaned.

“I can’t! I have to get everything ready for the meeting! Help me go over everything one last time please. I don’t even have time to run back home and change,” you pleaded.

“Fine,” Yoongi grumbled, finally sitting up.

Once everything was in order, Yoongi helped you straighten out. You opted to tie your hair up to hide how messy it was. The only makeup you had was a lip tint, and you had to wash away the raccoon eyes you woke up with.

“How do I look?” you asked one final time.

“My answer hasn’t changed. You look fine. You look professional enough for a client. Luckily he doesn’t know that you wore this yesterday,” Yoongi patted your shoulder.

You arrived at the café a few minutes later. Hoseok was in the same corner as last time. His eyebrows were furrowed in deep concentration as he quickly typed on his laptop. He was so absorbed in his work that he didn’t notice you until you sat down in front of him.

“Oh hey, ___! You startled me. Good morning,” he beamed. How he had so much energy so early in the morning was beyond you.

“Good morning, Hoseok. I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?” you asked, nodding to his laptop.

“You’re fine. I’ll work on this after our meeting,” he closed his laptop.

“Is it your work?” you realized you didn’t know his occupation.

“Yep. I’m the CEO of a small gaming company. Well, it used to be small. It has grown immensely over the last year. Which is awesome! But also stressful. I hate working in the office, which is why I’m here every day,” Hoseok took a sip of his coffee.

“That’s incredible,” you said in awe, “Here’s the progress of what we’ve done in the past week. We managed to complete a rough draft of the entire first floor. Complete with your fancy pool,” you slid him the blueprints.

“The two of you did all of this in one week?” Hoseok’s eyes widened while he examined the stack of papers.

“It took a lot of hard work and extended hours, but we managed! It’s only a rough draft because we can change anything you want to fix,” you explained.

“Extended hours huh? Not to be rude, but isn’t that what you wore yesterday?” Hoseok tsked.

“Pardon?” you sat up straight.

“I thought I saw you in that outfit yesterday on your way to work. I hope that doesn’t sound creepy. Sometimes I look up from my laptop and I see you. It’s really a funny coincidence,” Hoseok nervously laughed.

“Yeah, I accidentally fell asleep at work because of all the late hours. I’m sorry if I come off as unprofessional,” you admitted.

“Not at all! If anything, this shows me how dedicated you are. I should be the one apologizing. Can I make it up to you somehow?” Hoseok grabbed your hand.

“It’s okay, Hoseok. There’s no need to--”

“Let me take you out for dinner,” Hoseok interrupted, “These plans are perfect. It’s like you crept into my ear while I was asleep and looked into my brain.”

“Dinner?” you couldn’t tell if he meant that in a professional regard or maybe something else, “Dinner with Yoongi and I?”

“Ah, yes. Of course with you and Yoongi. You two are the brilliant minds behind this! You guys deserve to be rewarded,” Hoseok tried to play it off, but you couldn’t help but hear disappointment in his voice.

“I’m so relieved to hear that you’re happy with these plans. Should I go ahead and finalize these for the first floor?” you smiled, trying to dispel any awkwardness.

“Yes, please do so. I have an opening for a dinner Sunday night. Would that work with you guys? I’ll have my assistant forward you the reservation,” Hoseok returned your smile.

Once you returned to work, you told Yoongi about the meeting. He was delighted to hear that Hoseok loved the plans. He was going to have a cow if you guys had to redo it all over again.

“He even offered to treat us to a dinner! You free Sunday night?” you asked.

“For a free fancy dinner? Hell yeah. Our client is pretty awesome for buying us dinner for finishing half the project,” Yoongi gummy smiled.

You opted to not tell him about how Hoseok gave off the vibe that he wanted it to be a date. No need to make things weird. You were sure that you misread the situation.

Both of your phones chimed. Hoseok’s assistant sent the dinner reservation, causing both of your jaws to drop. It was at one of the fanciest restaurants in town. It was the kind of place where celebrities were regularly spotted, the bottles of wine cost more than a month of rent, and the food was to die for. Or so you’ve heard.

“Yeah, I’m definitely free on Sunday,” Yoongi nodded.

Sunday arrived and you were so excited for the dinner. The instant ramen noodles and microwave dinners were starting to make you feel sick. You stared into your closet trying to string together an appropriate outfit. Each outfit was either too sexy or too work like. Even though it was a work dinner, you didn’t necessarily want to show up in a boring pantsuit.

You eventually chose a simple blue dress. You had originally bought it with the intention to wear it at this year’s company Christmas party. You figured Yoongi wouldn’t care or even notice. The neckline was low enough to be considered flirty, but what’s wrong with showing off a little skin?

You were putting on the finishing touches of your makeup when your phone started ringing.

“Hello?” you answered.

“I’m on my way to pick you up,” Yoongi huffed on the other side of the phone.

“Sweet, I’m practically ready. Are you good? You sound like you’re out of breath,” you asked.

“Yeah I didn’t want to run late and I ran into a little problem. Everything is fine though. See you soon,” Yoongi promptly hung up.

You chuckled to yourself. Yoongi was always the one to freak out if his plan didn’t go perfectly. That’s where you balanced him out. You were much more of a “go with the flow” type of gal. You two were the perfect pair.

A few minutes later there was a knock at your door.

“You could’ve called me to come out--”

“Surprise!” Yoongi thrust a bouquet of flowers in your face.

“Wha- what’s this for?” you laughed at the sight of Yoongi’s flustered face.

“It’s for being such a great project manager. And to congratulate you for all your hard work,” Yoongi hid his face behind the flowers.

“That’s so sweet, thank you so much Yoongi. Come inside, I’ll go find something to put them in,” you pulled him inside.

You returned with an oversized plastic cup. It was nothing fancy, but it’ll have to do.

“You look dapper,” you winked at Yoongi.

He was wearing a simple black suit paired with a checkered tie. The simplicity made him look even more charming. You never noticed how handsome he was until now. This dirty blond hair looked so soft and fluffy, you had to fight the urge to run your fingers through it.

“Thanks. I figured a bow tie would be too much. I was worried I was overdressed. But you...you look stunning,” Yoongi said, meeting your eyes with a soft smile.

“Thank you very much ya big sap. You ready?” you chuckled, trying to hide the fact that he made you blush.

“Not yet,” Yoongi pulled you into him, his face just inches from yours.

In that moment everything was still. Your heart was beating so loudly you were sure he could feel it, as your chest was pressed up against his. Yoongi was gazing into your eyes fondly. You found yourself slowly leaning closer into him. Yoongi met you halfway, his pillowy lips meeting yours. It was like a kiss out of a movie. It was the epitome of sweet, his touch was so tender.

Slowly, you pulled away first. You opened your eyes to see Yoongi blushing but smiling softly.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that, ___,” he whispered.

“We should go. Or else we’re going to be late. We can talk about this after,” you said after a pause. You didn’t know what to think. You’ve never considered Yoongi as more than a friend before. But you’re also not opposed to the idea. Hopefully you’ll have time to mull over it at dinner.

“Yes ma’am,” Yoongi nodded as he took you by the hand.

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet. You’d make a few comments here and there, only to receive a one worded response from Yoongi. Sometimes a small chuckle. You prayed you didn’t hurt his feelings. It wasn’t a rejection, you guys just really needed to leave. Being late to a fancy and rather expensive appreciation meal from your first client would have been bad. 

The host led the two of you to your table. Hoseok was already seated, engrossed in his phone. Hoseok was wearing a grey suit, coupled with a black tie. He looked classy and somehow seductive at the same time.

“Good evening guys! How are you both? You guys look great!” Hoseok greeted you. He motioned for you to sit next to him, leaving Yoongi alone on the opposite side.

“We’re doing well, thank you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Jung” Yoongi extended his hand.

“Ah so formal! Please, call me Hoseok,” Hoseok enthusiastically shook Yoongi’s hand.

The dinner commenced. Yoongi and Hoseok were getting along much better than you thought. Yoongi isn’t really a people person, but he was in a good mood today. Hoseok ordered for everyone, and both you and Yoongi trusted his choices. The wine was unlike any you’d had before. You usually weren’t a fan of red wine, but this one was sweet and paired perfectly with the appetizers. Everyone was laughing when Hoseok suddenly placed his hand on your knee. You paid no mind to it, and continued the conversation.

Hoseok noticed this and smirked. He slowly made his way up your leg, resting his hand on your inner thigh.

“Would you excuse me a minute? I need to use the restroom,” Yoongi smiled before leaving.

You waited until Yoongi was out of sight to hiss at your employer, “Hoseok, I don’t think this is appropriate--”

“Do you want me to stop? I can stop dear. I didn’t mean to offend you. But just know, if you want me to continue, this dinner can get a lot more fun,” Hoseok whispered seductively in your ear.

“This isn’t professional--” you breath hitched as he moved his hand to your clothed pussy. He teasingly rubbed at your slit, causing you to moan quietly.

“You gotta be quiet, babygirl. Or else I’ll have to stop. Judging by how wet you already are, I don’t think you want that,” Hoseok playfully nipped at your ear.

“Hoseok I--” he started to rub your clit painfully slow. You slowly pushed your hips into his hand.

“Do you want me to stop? Yes or no?” he asked again.

“...no,” you answered quietly, already turned on by the thrill of being in public.

“So naughty. Be a good girl for me and I’ll give you what you want,” Hoseok kissed up your neck. He spotted Yoongi leaving the restroom and immediately sat up straight, while still playing with your clit.

“Did I miss anything?” Yoongi asked as he sat back down.

“Nothing important, did he miss anything, ___?” Hoseok asked you with a bright smile. He added more pressure on your clit while you answered.

“Nope. We weren’t saying anything important,” you answered, trying to keep your composure.

“Are you okay? Your face is a little red,” Yoongi asked with a concerned look.

You didn’t get to answer when “Happy Birthday” erupted at a table close to you. Hoseok joined in the singing, and encouraged both of you to do the same. Moving your soaked panties aside, he plunged a finger into you. He timed his fingering with the tune of “Happy Birthday”, which was painfully slow. You put on your best show, trying not to react. Yoongi turned to face the birthday table, giving you a little leeway to show your true lustful face. You buried your face into the crook of Hoseok’s neck. As the end of the song came closer, Hoseok’s movements became faster and more powerful. He even added a second finger.

“Are you gonna cum for me?” he whispered into your ear.

All you could do was whimper in response as he brought you closer to the edge. With two fingers inside of you and his dirty talk directly in your ear, you couldn’t help but cry out in time with the end of the song. The timing was perfect, as the cheering and applause covered up your moan.

Hoseok removed his fingers and licked them clean before Yoongi could turn back around. He gave you a smug grin and he saw your flushed out face and heaving chest.

“Whoa, ___. You look even more red. Do you need me to take you home?” Yoongi asked again, this time with more worry in his voice.

“I’m fine,” you managed to say, “I just need some water,” you smiled to reassure him as you finish all the water in your cup.

The remainder of the dinner carried on merrily. Hoseok didn’t touch you again. Instead, he was busy talking to Yoongi about practically everything. You sat quietly and listened. You were too lost in your thoughts. First, Yoongi kissed you. Then, your client finger fucked you to high heaven at dinner. What are you supposed to think? Part of you thinks this is all a dream.

Yoongi drove you home after the dinner. He offered to walk you inside and you absentmindedly agreed.

“Dinner went well, I think,” Yoongi observed, “Hoseok is actually a really cool guy.”

“Uh huh,” you agreed quietly as you open the door.

“You’ve been acting strange all dinner. Do you need more water?” Yoongi didn’t wait for a reply as he made a beeline for the kitchen.

“Thanks, Yoongs,” you said meekly. You rested your head against his chest in the kitchen.

“Do you need anything else before I go?” Yoongi asked softly.

You wordlessly leaned up to kiss him again. It started out as a tender kiss, similar to the one from earlier. But soon you found yourself pulling him into you, and the kiss became more passionate. Tongues dipped into foreign places and teeth accidentally bumped. You kissed each other roughly as his hands started to explore your body. He firmly grabbed your ass as you undid his buttoned shirt.

Yoongi’s hand slowly traced up your inner thigh when you quickly grabbed it. You realized that your mess from Hoseok had dried between your thighs.

“Sorry, did I go too far?” Yoongi let go of you.

“No, everything is fine. You’ve always been so good to me. Let me return the favor,” you kissed down his neck while undoing his belt. You sank to your knees, palming his erection. You looked up at him with lust filled eyes. His gaze met you with an intensity you’ve never seen before.

Pulling his pants and underwear down, his cock stood before you. It was a good length, not very long. But the girth was what was impressive. You licked your lips at the sight of it.

“May I?” you asked.

“Please. Do whatever you want,” Yoongi encouraged. The sight of you kneeling before his cock got him harder than he could have imagined.

You wasted no time teasing him. You took as much of him as you could. You slowly started to bob your head along his length. You palmed his balls, causing him to shudder. It didn’t take long before Yoongi’s fingers wove into your hair. He moaned softly as your tongue swirled around the tip of his cock. You wrapped your hand around him and pumped him quickly as you focused solely on teasing the tip.

“____... Oh god, I’m gonna cum,” Yoongi groaned, his grip on your hair tightened.

“Then I’ll stop,” you said firmly as you popped his dick out of your mouth.

“What?” Yoongi looked down at you with confusion.

“Don’t you want to fuck me?” you asked with faux innocence. 

Yoongi didn’t say a word. Instead, he sat down on the couch and pulled you onto his lap. Straddling his lap, you let him reach up under your dress to slide your panty aside. 

“You want me to take them off?” you offered.

“I can’t stand another second of not being inside you,” he shook his head, “Can I fuck you now?”

“I’ll fuck you, Yoongi,” you smiled deviously as you sank onto his cock. You moaned as his thick dick stretched you out. Yoongi groaned as you took all of him in, and he watched your face contorted with bliss. After a slight pause at the base, you began to bounce. Slowly at first to appreciate every inch, but soon lust overcame you. Your hips bucked as you bounced on him, forcing his cock to graze you in all the right places.

“You’re so beautiful,” Yoongi panted as he watched you work your magic. His hands were placed firmly on your hips to keep you in place, but other than that you were doing all of the work. It wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but man he loved it. 

“You’re only saying that...mmm..because I’m fucking you right now,” you smiled down at him.

“Lies. You’ve always been beautiful. Ever since college, you dummy. Also, I can’t have you doing everything,” Yoongi grinned as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a tight embrace. You were stuck against his chest. 

Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Yoongi began to pound up into you. You moaned into his neck as he relentlessly drilled you. Seeing a dominant side of Yoongi was a pleasant surprise.

“You sound so good moaning in my ear, princess,” Yoongi grunted. His petname for you made your pussy clench, and he chuckled when he felt it. He lifted your head from his neck, his hand resting on your cheek as he looked at you. Yoongi’s pupils were blown out as guttural groans escaped his plush lips. His hand trailed to the back of your head, pulling you in for a kiss while he fucked you. 

The kiss was passionate and fierce, like you couldn’t get enough of each other. As soon as you pulled away to moan Yoongi’s hand would push you back into him. You liked the aggression, you always wondered if Yoongi’s harsher side leaked into the bedroom. 

“I don’t want to ruin your dress, where do you want me to cum?” he asked between thrusts.

“I’ll try to catch it in my mouth, just tell me when,” you answered.

“Now.” 

Yoongi roughly pulled you off his cock. He jacked himself off while you quickly kneeled before him with your mouth open and tongue out. You were a little bit too slow, and some of his cum shot across your face. Yoongi was panting when he finished cumming, his hair slightly sweaty. 

“You got me dirty,” you complained, licking off the cum that landed close to your lips.

“Yeah well you look really fucking sexy like that so I don’t think I can apologize,” Yoongi smirked.

After quickly washing off your face, you returned to Yoongi who was still sitting cock out on your couch.

“How was that?” you asked curiously. It has been a while since you last had sex.

“Better than anything I could’ve dreamt of. Come here,” Yoongi pulled you up into a hug, “So what. Are we dating now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Give me some time to think on that,” you kissed him on the cheek, “I think I need to lay down.”

“No problem, you want me to tuck you in?” Yoongi stroked your cheek.

“It’s okay. I’ll walk you out,” you declined.

Yoongi gave you one last kiss before departing for the night. You can’t believe what you just did. You check your phone’s new messages as you changed into pjs.

[10:52pm from Hoseok] I hope you enjoyed dinner! I know I did ;)

[10:59pm from Hoseok] I can’t stop thinking about how you taste. I want more

[11:05pm from Hoseok] I’m sorry if I crossed the line tonight. You do something to me that I can’t explain

[11:26pm] Hoseok I don’t think it’s wise for us to fool around while we’re doing business together

[11:27pm from Hoseok] What if I wanna do a different kind of business together?

[11:28pm from Hoseok] God, I can’t stop thinking about your sweet moans. It’s a shame you had to be quiet.

[11:29pm] We need to keep this professional while I design your house.

[11:30pm from Hoseok] What about after? When the job is finished and the house is officially done? Can I have you then?

[11:30pm] Maybe. But until then, no more flirting or inappropriate touching.

[11:31pm from Hoseok] You have my word, ___. I’ll leave you alone until then. Goodnight!

[11:32pm from Hoseok] Oh, for some reason I’d like to get my house built as quickly as possible now. Please finish the entire house by next Sunday.

You groaned at his text. You plugged your phone into the charger and crawled into bed. What have you gotten yourself into? Your life went from boring to a poorly written kdrama within a day. You didn’t know what to do about Yoongi. Getting into a relationship with him sounds wonderful. But him being your only friend at work complicated things. What if you guys broke up? You shared a cubicle for crying out loud.

And Hoseok? That man came out of nowhere. Sure, he’s also extremely attractive. Sure, there’s something about him that makes your carnal desires go crazy. He’s the type of guy girls would throw logic to the wind for. You’ve never been more turned on in your life than when Hoseok toyed with you at the restaurant. You could only dream about what he could do to you in a more private setting. You slowly fell asleep with both boys on your mind.

Yoongi greeted you with a warm smile the next morning at work.

“Morning ___. Did you sleep well? I brought your favorite drink,” Yoongi nodded towards the coffee cup sitting on your desk.

“Thanks Yoongs. Yeah I slept okay. How bout you?” you were touched by his gesture. Yoongi rarely went out of his way for anyone. Anyone except for you.

“I passed out the moment I hit my bed. You drained the soul out of me,” Yoongi teased.

“Shh!” you playfully hit his arm, “Hoseok texted me. He wants the entire house done by this Sunday.”

“You’re kidding me, right? He apologized for working us so hard at dinner! He said we can have a whole month to finalize everything! I bet the dinner was just to butter us up, that bastard,” Yoongi grumbled.

“Yeah, I know it sucks. But there’s no one I’d rather pull all nighters with,” you smiled fondly at Yoongi. This was something you’d say on a normal basis, but now it feels wrong. It felt like you’re just leading him on, and you can’t shake the guilty feeling. You don’t even know if you should feel guilty. You didn’t know what you wanted at this point.

“Let’s get to work then, project manager,” a new fire sparked in Yoongi’s eyes.

The rest of the week was spent much like the last. Frantic drawings were made, your diet suffered, and shapes started to float around in the air. Saturday was spent going over the final details and reviewing the plans as a whole. Once satisfied, you both sank into your chairs. You guys finally had the time to catch your breath for the first time since last week.

“Come with me to the meeting tomorrow,” you broke the silence.

“I thought he only wanted to meet with you?” Yoongi questioned.

“Yeah, but after springing this short timeline on us, he can suck it. I want you there. It’s so nice seeing the client’s face light up when he likes our work,” you reasoned.

“If you insist,” Yoongi caved.

The next morning, you and Yoongi squeezed into the small space on the other side of Hoseok’s café table. Hoseok was surprised to see Yoongi with you, but chose not to say anything. He made a mental note of you playing games with him.

You got straight to business when you arrived. You carefully avoided eye contact with him. His radiant smile was all it took to entrance you. You couldn’t let him blindside you again. Hoseok examined the plans, making various onomatopeias to express his approval.

“I’m impressed you guys did all of this in a week! Are you sure it’s only the two of you working on this project?” Hoseok praised.

“Thank you, we’re so happy that you like it. Is there anything you have questions about or want to change?” you asked, ignoring his charm.

“How soundproof are the walls of the master bedroom?” Hoseok asked without skipping a beat.

Yoongi gulped in surprise. You took a deep breath before answering. You weren’t going to give Hoseok the satisfaction of eliciting a reaction from you.

“Well, that all depends on the material used. We envisioned for your house to be built the traditional way. This means that the walls in your house would be like the walls in any other normal home,” you answered calmly, “Any questions regarding the physical development of your home should be discussed with your contractors.”

“I see. Good advice. I like to rap in my free time. I’d be embarrassed if anyone would hear me,” Hoseok scratched his head in faux embarrassment.  

‘He’d make a great actor’, you thought to yourself.

“If that’s your only question or concern then I think it’s time to wrap up the meeting. It’s been a pleasure working with you, Mr. Jung,” you formally extended a hand to him.

“The pleasure was all mine,” Hoseok shook your hand. For a second, you could’ve sworn you saw a change in his eyes.

“Yoongi! Thanks for all your hard work. I’m sorry for the late notice of the shortened time constraint. An unpredictable complication came up…” Hoseok shook Yoongi’s hand.

“No need to explain. I’m happy that everything worked out. I can’t wait to see it once it’s done! You’ll let us come see it right?” Yoongi asked.

“Of course! You guys will be the first to see it once I’m all settled in,” Hoseok flashed a final smile before ending the meeting. He saw Yoongi place his hand on the small of your back as you left the café, tilting his head curiously.   

Yoongi offered to walk you home after the meeting. You guys were both in a good mood. Your first huge project had been a success. You were engrossed in talking about how hard the past two weeks had been when Yoongi suddenly took your hand.

Fingers lacing between yours, he casually continued the conversation. Your hand fit so perfectly in his. You subconsciously walked closer to him. The scent of his cologne put you at ease. You could get used to this.

“Yoongi,” you interrupted him, “Can we take this slowly?”

“What do you mean? You wanna walk slower?”

“No, dummy. I mean, I’m kinda scared to jump into a relationship so quickly. I would love to date you, but you’re also the only person I get along with at work. You’re also one of my best friends. I’m scared that if this doesn’t work out then--”

“Hey, don’t worry about that. I’m always going to be your friend, first and foremost. I’ve been waiting for you since our college days, this won’t be any different. Let’s go at your pace,” Yoongi squeezed your hand to reassure you. You smiled, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks Yoongs. For everything. I’ll see you tomorrow at work!”

The next few months remained like that. You couldn’t call what you had with Yoongi a relationship, but you also couldn’t not call it one. You went out on a couple dates, and Yoongi was nothing short of a gentleman. The sex was amazing too, you guys couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. 

However, Hoseok had been texting you all the while. His texts were getting flirtier by the day, and you couldn’t help but entertain him. He didn’t have to say much, he always texted the perfect things to get you wet. Your communication with Hoseok after your last meeting had been nothing but flirty. You even sent him some scandalous pictures in your second favorite lingerie set. You were saving your favorite one for obvious reasons.

[5:56pm from Hoseok] You off of work?

[5:58pm] Yeah just got home, why?

[6:00pm from Hoseok] The house is finally done!!! Will you finally come see me?

[6:00pm] OMG really?! Yes! I’m so excited to see it!

[6:01pm from Hoseok] Good. You’ll be proud of your work. This place is awesome. I’m excited to see you. It’s been too long ;)

[6:01pm from Hoseok] Come by tomorrow at 5:30?

[6:02pm] Works with me! See you then...I guess I’m excited to see you too ;)

You’re giddy with excitement as you wiggle on your couch. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

It was drizzling when your Uber picked you up. You were starting to feel nervous as the Uber got closer to Hoseok’s home. Were you technically cheating on Yoongi? No, you guys weren’t officially dating yet. Besides, it’s not like he knows you were here. The rain picked up by the time you arrived.

Your jaw dropped as the Uber pulled up in front.

“Wow. You know the person who lives here, miss?” the driver asked. He too, was in awe.

“Yep! I designed it. Thanks for the drive,” you said as you got out of the car.

The exterior was gorgeous. The house itself was one of those modern ones with huge glass windows, sleek exterior walls, and a perfectly geometric build.

The door opened before you could ring the doorbell.

“___! I’m so glad you’re here! Hurry inside before you catch a cold. Jeez, it’s raining as hard as on the day we first met, huh?” Hoseok greeted you.

“And I forgot an umbrella again,” you laughed, gesturing to your soaked body.

Hoseok whisked you inside. He brought you a towel before giving you the grand tour of the house. It was more beautiful than you imagined it would turn out. Aside from physical layout, the exterior design screamed luxury. It was colorful yet tasteful, a perfect reflection of the house’s owner. You were delighted that your brainchild with Yoongi turned out so wonderfully. Yoongi. You started to rethink your visit when Hoseok interrupted your thoughts.

“And last but not least, the master bedroom!” he grabbed your hand and pulled you inside, “My bathroom is only slightly more lavish than the rest. Thank you for everything, ___. I don’t think any other architect could’ve done this,” Hoseok brought you in for a hug.

It started out innocently at first. However, his hands began to drop down and hovered just above your ass. He started to kiss your neck, before kissing a line to your lips.

“You’ve been so cheeky the past few months, babygirl. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. What kind of naughty girl teases someone for months? Without as much as seeing him in person? You knew where I was every day. I watched you walk by the café every day. I even saw you holding Yoongi’s hand as you happily pranced by. You think I’m gonna let that slide, babygirl?” Hoseok whispered angrily in your ear as he felt up your chest.

“Hoseok, I--”

“No excuses. Go close the door,” Hoseok ordered you.

You do as you’re told. You joined Hoseok on the bed. Hungrily tearing each other’s clothes off, Hoseok ripped off your shirt to reveal your favorite lingerie set. The purple lace hugged your curves just right, and teasingly showed off your nipples.

“Oh, you naughty girl. You look so fucking sexy,” Hoseok growled when he saw the matching panty.

He kissed a trail down your chest, over your stomach, and hovered when he positioned himself between your thighs. He yanked your panties off to reveal your already aroused pussy.

“I really do miss how you taste. I don’t think I got enough of it that night. You want to let me try more?” Hoseok looked up at you with a lustful gaze.

“Please. Please touch me, Hoseok,” you pleaded.

That was all he needed to hear before plunging his tongue into you. He expertly maneuvered his thumb to play with your clit while his tongue delved in and out of you. You tried to stifle your moans, causing Hoseok to stop.

“I want to hear you, baby. Don’t hold back. There’s no one here but us,” Hoseok said before entering a finger into you.

The sudden stretch caused you to gasp. He gave you no time to adjust when he quickly added another finger. He started the pump faster, causing you to moan loudly.

“That’s it, baby. Moan for me. Moan my name. Who does this pussy belong to?” Hoseok demands.

“Oh my fuck-- Hoseok! Shit babe that feels so good,” you wailed as his tongue plays with your clit while still coiling his fingers into you.

“Good. Cum in my mouth, ___. I want all of you,” Hoseok increased his pace.

Soon enough your legs were shaking, and your breathing became more erratic. A warm knot began to develop and you were no longer able to hold it in. Your orgasm violently hit, causing you to spasm beneath Hoseok. He held you down, not slowing down for a second as he helps you ride out your orgasm.

“Jesus Chirst, Hoseok. Are you some sort of sex god?” you asked, chest heaving.

“I’m flattered you think so. I’m not done with you yet. I’m gonna fuck your brains out as punishment for toying with me these past few months,” Hoseok smirked, flipping you onto your stomach.

You teasingly waved your ass at him, earning a harsh spank. You cry out as Hoseok chuckled at you.

“You’ll lose the cheeky attitude soon enough,” he threatened before slamming into you.

You didn’t even get to see his cock. You were too dazed to realize that he already aligned himself with your entrance. His rough thrusts had you wailing and producing sounds you didn’t know you could make. You moaned his name loudly as Hoseok had his way with you.

Yoongi glanced at his watch as he stood outside the front door. 6pm sharp. Hoseok had invited him over to check out the house. Hoseok instructed him to come inside as soon as he arrived, since the front door will be unlocked. Yoongi asked if you were coming, but he didn’t receive a reply.

‘I hope he didn’t forget’, Yoongi thought before turning the handle.

“Hello? Hoseok?” Yoongi called out once inside.

He noticed a pair of womens’ shoes by the door. You arrived earlier than him for once. Yoongi was relieved knowing you were here. He thought it might be awkward to hangout with Hoseok by himself.

Yoongi decided to wander around the house by himself since Hoseok didn’t come to greet him. Everything turned out perfectly. He’s never been so proud of himself. Suddenly he hears a strange sound. It sounds like...groaning?

‘Is someone hurt?’ Yoongi thought to himself as he went to investigate the noise.

Yoongi found himself in front of the master bedroom doors. He heard a woman’s moans accompanied by the lewd slapping of skin on the other side of the doors. His heart shatters. He knows it’s you on the other side, but he doesn’t want to admit it. Tears start to trickle down his face. He had to know for sure. A shaky hand reached for the doorknob. He took a deep breath before furiously swinging it open.

There you were. You were so beautiful. Your body glistened with sweat. You looked so fucked out. Under a body that wasn’t his. You turned to see him, and your face contorted with horror as soon as your eyes met. Hoseok looked back at Yoongi with a smug smirk, never ceasing his thrusts.

Yoongi had never felt such anger before. He had never felt such pain before. His eyes stung as he wordlessly turned around and left. You called after him, but he ignored you.

It was pouring rain as Yoongi walked to his car. The rain camouflaged the tears that streaked down his face. This damn rain. Yoongi hated the rain. Yoongi cursed himself for not making a move sooner.

Somehow, he managed to lose a battle he didn’t even know he was fighting.

Published October 10, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.

[egg-on-the-run]

Massage

The turtle's s/o is exhausted, they help make things better with a massage.

(she/her pronouns used)

Leonardo

She's already asleep in his bed when he comes home from patrol. Usually she waits for him on the couch, even when she was tired, but Splinter had specifically told him she was already asleep, warned him to do his best not to wake her up.

She must be exhausted.

He tiptoes in as quietly as he could after his shower, spots her lying flat on his bed: not tucked in, just lying atop his blankets on her stomach. She had been too tired to lift the sheets.

He can see how tense she is, can see the way how even in her sleep her shoulders still rise to her ears, how her finger twitches with an anxious need to keep moving. Her face scrunched up slightly, adorable, but he would rather it be relaxed and soft.

He's careful and slow moving her onto the bed properly, still not setting her under the covers just yet. He's even more careful when he straddles her legs, keeps his weight off them almost entirely. His hands start at her lower back, kneading into her very softly.

She jolts and eyes snap open, "What are you doing?"

"I uh, I was giving you a massage, you look tense, even in your sleep."

"Oh," She relaxes, "You're an angel, just scared me a little." Her head hits the pillow again, already drifting off.

He tries once more, hands softly pressing into her lower back. She lets out a breath of air, sinking further into the mattress. He continues, travelling further up her spine. Usually he hates the sound of bones cracking (all of his brothers teased him constantly about it), but tonight he was quite happy to hear little pops coming from her spine. He especially didn't mind when she gave a little moan afterwards.

His hands travel further up towards her shoulders, kneading and rolling his wrists into the dozens of knots in her back. Her shoulders were so tense that she whined whenever he was too rough. He had to be gentle, working them out slowly.

By the time he was finished, she was sleepily trying to reach his hand with her eyes closed.

"Cuddle me," She mumbled as she found his hand, "Pretty please? I've got tomorrow off."

"Of course," He replied, moving to help her under the sheets, "That was the plan anyway."

He pulled her tight against his chest, hearing her bones crack once more as she melted like putty in his hands. He kissed her forehead.

"Thank god you've got tomorrow off, I'll let you sleep in as long as you want." He sighed, relaxing himself, "I'll make sure the lair is quiet."

She didn't hear a word of what he said, she was already fast asleep.

Raphael

Raphael was the king of tension. He wasn't like Michelangelo where little bothered him, or like Donatello who had those random self care days, or even like Leonardo who learned to de-stress through meditation. Oh no, Raphael carried tension like a mother with a clingy child: pulling on his shoulders, weighing him down and making him irritated.

It came with the whole anger thing.

So there have been countless times where she has used her knuckles to work the knots out of his shoulders. It was no easy task, especially when she had to use most of her body weight to actually get through each and every knot.

But she'd do it a hundred times more if he needed her to, and Raphael knew that, knew it all to well.

So when he sees her already grumbling to herself at the latest email that just came through to her laptop, when he see her shoulders rising to her ears in frustration and hands balling into fists, he knew he had to do the same thing for her as she had done countless times for him.

She jumps when he first puts his hands on her shoulders, but recognises the warm touch shortly after.

"What are you doing?" She asked, one hand reaching up to rest on top of his, she kept her attention glued to her screen, "I have a lot of work to do, Raphie."

"I know," He said, beginning to knead into her shoulders, "Just a massage, you look stressed."

"Oh with that lovely email, I am more than stressed."

She's always had a sharp tongue, never directed it to him (never intentionally) but he knows her patience is wearing thin and work certainly wasn't helping. He thought about taking his hands away entirely, not wanting to pester her; but she ran her thumb across his hand, typed with only one set of fingers, and Raphael remembered how often she did this for him when his patience was thinner than a piece of paper.

He pressed his hands into her shoulders again, watched as her head leaned back and body moved with his hands. He knew the feeling, when the knots were so tight they just hurt. He continued to work his hands into her shoulders, and slowly it seemed to stop hurting and the tension started to melt away. She closed her eyes, pushed her laptop away from her and just let herself be for a moment.

"Those big ol' hands of yours," She said, voice more like a breath, "So gentle with me."

"Not like you, using your damn elbows to get the knots out."

"But does it work?" She laughed.

He chuckled, "Of course it works, you're the best at this."

"Oh I dunno, you might give me a run for my money, this feels like heaven right now." Her head rolled to the side, turning slightly to kiss his hand, "Take me to bed Raphie, please."

With one final squeeze he let go, moving his arms to wrap around her waist and carry her to bed. Work wasn't important, this was.

Donatello

The lair was far too noisy, Donatello's lab was far too bright. Everything was just too much, all at once. Even as she sat on his desk, the reflection of his computer in his glasses from behind her was glaring into her eyes. He sat between her legs, arms around her waist and rambling about — god, she didn't even know at this point. She'd spaced out long ago, too overwhelmed to even try and catch up.

He moved his head at he spoke, Donatello was always an expressive fellow, and the light bounced off his glasses right into her eyes. She squinted, scrunched her entire face up and groaned.

"You have a migraine," He said plainly, "I have some painkillers in my drawer—"

"I took some earlier, they just haven't kicked in yet." She frowned.

She looked in pain, Donatello hated to see her like this, hated when there wasn't anything he could do.

He reached up and cupped her face, "Have you had enough water today?"

"Yeah," She mumbled, "Been using that new water bottle I got."

"When did you last eat?"

"Went out for dinner with some coworkers."

Donnie hummed, not knowing what else could cause her such a migraine. They usually had a reason behind them, she didn't usually just get them randomly. He wondered if she'd be on her phone too much, not to sound like Splinter, but she's been talking to him for the past hour or so, her eyes should have rested by now.

She pushed her cheek into his hand, letting his hand squish the chub on her face. Donatello squeezed gently, rubbing her cheeks in a circular motion.

"What are you doing?" She asked, voice muffled by his hands.

"Massaging your face," He replied, moving to knead her cheekbones with his thumbs, "Maybe it's tension that's brought this on."

"Maybe..."

He moved his thumbs over the bridge of her nose and followed the shape of her eyebrows, he repeated the action a few times before gently rubbing her temples.

"You're really good at this..." She murmured, eyes closed and jaw slack. Her face was no long scrunched up, but instead so completely relaxed she looked as though she was already asleep. Donatello persisted, using his thumbs to move the tension away from her face. His hands moved to her hair, grasping tightly and then releasing, he tickled his fingers through her locks: slowly so as not to pull on any tangles.

By the time he'd moved back to her jaw, he was pretty sure she'd fallen asleep where she sat. He smiled softly at her, kissed her forehead, and carried her off to bed.

He needed an early night as well.

Michelangelo

She had been on her feet all day, running errands for a coworker who had recently hurt their leg. Said coworker was fine, and would be perfectly capable of putting of such errands until their leg was better (really, Mikey huffed, using his girlfriend like a servant). But she could never just say no, and even after she'd ran around the city collecting bits and bops, dropping off items and buying groceries, her coworker hadn't even offered her so much as a sit down before he not-so-subtly led her out of his apartment.

So she came stumbling to the lair, exhausted and drained beyond compare and ready to collapse but still so eager to see her darling Mikey. He was in the shower when she arrived, she knew because Raphael told her, and because she could hear his singing before she'd even arrived.

She dragged herself to his bed, kicking her shoes off and not even caring where she left them. She collapsed to her knees before she could crawl under the blankets, lying surprisingly comfortably on the floor.

"Hey, hey angel! What are you doing down here?" Mikey's cheerful voice woke her up, along with a little shake of her shoulder. "We snoozing on the floor now?"

"So tired..." She mumbled, eyes fluttering closed, "Carry me to bed."

"No problem, the whole five feet distance it is." Mikey chuckled. He picked her up, sliding her onto his bed, careful not to bump her head on Raphael's top bunk. "All those errands huh? Guy owes you a thanks at least."

"Jackass kicked me out before I could even sit down at his place," She glared at the mattress above her, "So rude."

"Uh, totes rude? My girl did all that for him and he doesn't even let you sit down? Jackass is a very nice way to describe him." Mikey smiled at her, "Your poor little feet must be sore after all that running around."

"I think my ankles are swollen."

"Just a little." He teased, moving to sit between her legs. He took one of her legs and squeezed firmly along her calves. His hands slid down to her ankles and he frowned: they were slightly swollen, he had only been joking but turns out he was right. He rolled her ankle for her, moved her foot so that it pointed and then helped stretch her heel. He squeezed her calf one more time before moving on to her other leg.

"You're so sweet," She babbled, "Thank you for taking care of me."

"No problem babe, somebody has to," He laughed, "And it's not hard work."

She smiled at him, eyes struggling to stay open. He smiled back at her, not that she could see him, and softly told her to go to sleep; he'd take care of her.

[icequeenbae]

Desert Flower (m) Ch. 1 | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader x Baëkhyun

Characters: EXO and X-EXO (not all of them mentioned)

EXO vs X-EXO dynamics, complicated relationships, angsty, action, smut (as usual)

Warnings: sorta mingling with your ex’s ‘evil twin’, mentions of blood/ violence (nothing too graphic… I suppose), Y/N gets teary a lot(?), explicit content, rough sex, unprotected sex

Word Count: ~13.5k (full), ~3.7k (Chapter 1)

Summary: Baekhyun, your beloved boyfriend of three years, suddenly breaks up with you and disappears from the city in an attempt to protect you. But leaving you alone and clueless means trouble will surely find you. For it is easy to spot a flower in the desert.

Masterlist   >> One >> Two (m) >> Three (m) >> Four (fin)

Author’s Note: Yay, this is happening!!! My first BaekBaёk, oml I’m gonna-

Ok. I’ll admit right off the bat that I wouldn’t be posting this any time soon without my lovely beta @baekshoney​ 🖤 She’s the person I turn to when I think there’s a million little things I could’ve done better, because that’s what I always think. I had to give myself a cut-off date to finally give up editing this 😅 So, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could share your thoughts and opinions on this too. My asks, dms and comments are places where you’re always welcome! Now, let’s get into this!

Tags: @blahblahblah-boo @baeklightsx @wooya1224 @baekklove

Chapter 1. The beginning of the end 

It was all too sudden.

The words he’d said deafened you. Refusing to believe what you were hearing, you shook your head and took a step back, as if doing so could start the conversation you’d just had over. Or rewind the time and allow you to prevent the words from coming out of his mouth in the first place. But he was firm, unyielding in his stance.

‘I’m sorry,’ he repeated. ‘It’s my fault. I should’ve known better.’

Than to start this relationship, was what he meant. That he should have avoided getting in a relationship with you altogether, and breaking up with you would’ve never become an issue.

‘Why?’ You tried to speak, but your lower lip started to tremble, silencing you at once.

This was all wrong. It couldn’t have been true, what he was saying.

He licked his lips, looking away, hands forming tight fists at his sides as he tried to recollect himself and urge his body to stay frozen on the spot.

That did not work for long – the sight of you, so small, so stunned and defeated, with tears welling in your eyes while you tried to stifle them… He couldn’t. It was stupid of him to break his act so easily, but you were too precious to him to just leave you like this.

Sighing and cursing himself out in his mind, he took a stride towards you and gathered you tightly in his arms.

‘I am sorry, Y/N,’ he continued softly, hearing you hiccup in his unexpected embrace. ‘But I have to leave. We- I should’ve stayed away from you from the start. Forgive me for being so weak.’

You sobbed at his words, shaking your head stubbornly and clinging to his broad chest as an act of desperation.

‘I can come with you!’

‘No,’ he interrupted your crazy idea. ‘I’m leaving you behind. To keep you safe.’

‘Safe from what?’ You questioned, half-annoyed now.

He kept insisting that he wished to protect you, but how was leaving you all alone ensuring your security? And why would you even consider it, when you only felt safe while with him?

‘I cannot tell you. The more you know, the more dangerous it is.’

‘Baekhyunie, please,’ you wiped the tears and grabbed onto his vest as he moved to pull away. ‘You can’t just decide this on your own!’

‘Y/N,’ he took hold of your wrists, not removing them just yet. ‘I know it’s hard, and I never wanted to hurt you like this. But there’s nothing you can say that’ll change my mind. I’d rather break your heart than risk your life, so it’s not really a choice.’

He looked around as if to make sure you were not being watched, and then leaned in to place a farewell kiss on your temple – his favorite spot. You sniffled, realization of the inevitable setting in.

‘Just let me go, flower,’ his voice lowered to a whisper, and you sobbed at the pet name. ‘You’ll be better off without me, I promise.’

‘No,’ you protested as he freed himself from your grasp, and took a step back. ‘No, Baekhyun, don’t leave,’ you clawed at his forearm, trying to stop him. ‘We can deal with it together, we can think of something! I don’t want to be without you,’ you whimpered sorrowfully.

He shook his head, shying away from your touch, while you desperately tried to hold him back.

But you couldn’t. He gently peeled your hands off to walk away, and you missed the pained crease between his eyebrows when he turned his back on you to escape your apartment.

‘Please, don’t do this…’ You whispered, voice breaking in anguish. Just as your heart was.

Yet, Baekhyun kept walking. Leaving you to weep in the unwelcoming emptiness of your home.

Leaving you for good.

***

Your relationship with Baekhyun started almost three years ago.

Still new to university life, you found yourself in the midst of a soap opera worth of drama when a bunch of transfer students joined all at once, some even in the same year as you. All highly attractive, they usually hung out together and spent less time than needed socializing with the outside world.

Not that you cared too much – sure, the excitement going around was making you curious, but they looked too handsome, almost to the extent that you found it intimidating. Ironically, the most intimidating you found Baekhyun. His then long dark hair with strands of red and a mullet hairstyle, the sharp green eyes, the pierced eyebrow, and the lip ring that made him look like a very attractive hooligan... The piercings turned out to be just as fake as the eye color, which did not disappoint you at all.

Funny enough, you only got to know this bad boy because he took a liking to retreating to the campus library. Hiding from all of the attention, of course. While some members of his clique actually basked in it, he preferred to disappear to the remote aisles of the quiet space and read a book, or, more likely, sleep with one on his chest. You saw him like that often, since you were stuck in there yourself – essays for different classes were piling up rapidly. As a diligent student, you were determined to do well in your first year of university, so dragging yourself to the library to stay glued to your laptop was the best option.

Coincidentally, you also preferred to stay in the less lively spaces, as you tended to seek peace and quiet to focus on your assignments. Your attention span… wasn’t impressive, to say the least, so you did your best to avoid any distractions. However, you didn’t count on a certain sleep lover to be one of them.

It was not the first day you spent close enough to notice the tranquil expression he wore on his face as he was snoozing. It was, however, the first time he caught you staring mindlessly in his direction. Burning the deepest shade of red in your cheeks, you grabbed your books and quickly made yourself scarce, thanking heavens for the multiple aisles of books around. You walked around for ten minutes or so, actually placing your books back where they belonged and finding a secluded corner to check out what else was on the shelves. Squinting, you tried to read the name of the tome that had gotten your attention, and raised your arm to get it from the level that was clearly too high for you. Thankfully, someone reached over your head and helped you obtain the book. You turned around to say thank you but instead were suddenly pushed back into the shelf by the taller figure with neat red strands. Speechless, you only held your book close and gaped at him, as he leaned forward.

‘Ever heard about the cat killed by curiosity?’ He hummed, eyes piercing you from above.

You swallowed, knees getting weaker as you registered the fresh musky smell coming off of his brightly colored shirt.

To push your buttons, he decided to get even more scandalously close to you, arm holding onto the rack behind you to keep balance.

‘Nothing wrong with being curious!’ You jabbered. ‘In fact, if people preserved the curiosity they have as kids they would’ve had a much bigger learning capacity as adults.’

He huffed. You weren’t sure if he was shocked or amused, because your eyes looked anywhere but his face. In fact, they lowered enough to fix on your forearm, resting across his rib cage, and your fist pressing slightly into his pec to keep him at least at a minimal distance.

At this you gasped, eyes widening and returning to his face, only to catch an inquisitive spark in his retinas as he nudged the lip ring with his tongue. Sighing, he took a step back, finally allowing some space between you.

‘Can’t write a philosophy essay with this, little flower,’ he chuckled. ‘Or if you can… I’d be impressed.’

You looked down in confusion, understanding that the book you were holding was from a Botanics section. ‘The Oxford Book of Wild Flowers’, read the title.

But… How did he know about your philosophy assignment?

***

Only later had Baekhyun confessed that he had had an eye on you for a while by the time this incident took place, but the moment of your outburst was what got to him. When he looked down at your cornered form, holding a book to your chest so innocently, and keeping him away instinctively with one arm. He had to bite his tongue to prevent a smile from making its way onto his face. That was it for him, and even though he wanted to avoid you and keep interactions with you to an absolute minimum, he couldn’t help but find ways to draw your attention. Like that one time, when you walked out of the library because the loud noises from the outside made your concentration for the night crumble.

The source of that noise was, in fact, a certain convertible, blasting the music for the entire campus to hear. You would have come up to complain that your studying was cut short if you didn’t have perfect eyesight. It allowed you to see that there was a red-haired problem sat in the car, with a bare foot resting lazily against the panel. Ready to run the other way, you turned around, meeting a solid chest with your forehead. You discovered that it was a rather cheerful guy in the same year as you, Jongin, and the other one with him was Sehun. And those two stalled you long enough for Baekhyun to make an entrance.

It was the first time he tried asking you out. And got rejected.

However, as much as you wanted to take ownership of that and say that you were playing hard to get when you walked off and left him stunned by your refusal, that was not the case. This guy made your throat go dry at the mere sight of him! He was way too handsome, and he also looked kind of… well, he looked like he’d break your heart without thinking twice about it. And that you couldn’t allow.

But then again, good girls do tend to fall for bad boys. Or was he only pretending to be bad? You’d never heard anything that discredited him, except for the way he stared people down sometimes. That once happened to a fellow student in your class. After he sat next to you during lunch.

Actually, almost the entire week following that incident you had lunch alone because everyone kept making excuses to sit elsewhere. That was how you became friends with Jongin and Sehun. Having had a few classes together, you were more or less acquainted with each other, so you didn’t mind when Jongin suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a tray and asked you if they could join. He even had lunch with you when Sehun wasn’t around – you figured that it made Jongin even more chatty. So much so, that one day he leaned across the table to get slightly closer, and used his most clandestine voice on you.

‘You know, hyung could burn a hole in anyone next to you with his glare, but I’m immune to his ‘charms’, thankfully,’ he giggled and added, ‘Still, I think you should give him a chance. Baekhyun’s a good guy, and he’s kinda torn as it is. Asking you out was a pretty big step for him.’

Honestly, you had a hard time believing that. Baekhyun… was probably the kind of guy, who never even had to ask. You could look around and easily spot a dozen eyes that were fixed on him at this very moment. Why in the world would he want to date you, clearly not the ‘easy-going’ party type? He probably wanted to get into your pants just for sport, like the rest of the pretty boys.

‘Whatever you’re thinking, it’s far from the truth. Ugh, Junmyeon will kill me for this!’ Jongin cursed himself and continued, before you could ask. ‘Hyung looks rough around the edges, but he’s really a softie. Trust me on this.’

‘Are you his wingman or something?’ You snorted dubiously, getting a little timid from this discussion.

‘Ha, are you kidding? He’s gonna strangle me if he finds out. Like I said, he’s torn between staying away from you and persisting in his efforts to take you out. Just think about it,’ he ended with an attempted (but failed) wink.

As if to take away your chance to process the unexpected input, Jongin shoved Baekhyun in your direction the very next day. Disappearing from the cafeteria right after, of course. Envy his subtlety. But, apparently, what he said earlier had an effect, so you only nodded when a flustered figure asked for permission to sit with you. He looked quite different from the previous times you saw him up close – much less confident and intimidating. But he seemed sincere when he said he just wanted one chance.

And that was how your relationship picked up. It took a whirlwind course from the very beginning, and the hot summer before your second year of university was the most torturous time ever for the both of you. Still wary of getting played, you only trusted Baekhyun enough to get intimately close months and months into dating. And he was patient with you, going at a slow pace, letting you pull away whenever you wanted. Until you didn’t want to anymore.

That last leap of faith was a beginning in itself – a true beginning of you and Baekhyun. The final seal was broken, and you entrusted yourself fully to him, which he repaid by showering you in his affection and feelings that he himself had not come to acknowledge just then.

After a year together, you were not simply allowed into the inner circle, but also educated about the special abilities that Baekhyun and his friends had. You were first interrogated by their leader, Junmyeon, who wanted to make sure you had no ulterior motives and were not going to tell a living soul about them. He called it ‘a quick chat’ as he dragged you in a scarcely furnished room where he sat you down at the small metal table across from him. The leader asked you questions and tried reading your verbal and non-verbal cues, so it was clearly an interrogation. Junmyeon was pretty experienced in this, so he could instantly tell that you were harmless. And you also passed the test, answering the most ridiculous questions about Baekhyun – apparently, that was to make sure you were not ‘faking it’ – so, he accepted you into their family.

However, knowing too much was dangerous, so you only learned about their powers and how they came from the so-called EXO Planet when they were young (talk about dating an alien!), and that the organization they called ‘the Red’ amongst themselves wanted to hunt them down. They also used to be held hostage by these people – and that was just about as much you knew about the issue because Baekhyun kept you away from the ‘unnecessary details’. He only told you that they seemed to be hidden well in this town, surrounded by just enough people to blend in and disappear. And you worried, always, because you knew too little about the dangers surrounding the group, and even less about how you could contribute to their safety.

Baekhyun laughed when you once brought it up, finding your concern nothing but cute.

‘You don’t have to worry about it, flower. It’s my job to make sure you’re safe, not the other way around,’ he then said, playing with the curly ends of your hair.

You frowned at that. Why was it not your job to take care of him? If you could help, you wanted to help. But he always brushed you off, saying that the only thing you should do to help is staying out of trouble. Like that was a challenge – you either studied or hung out with him and his friends, not much room to stir trouble. The only other person you talked to regularly was your roommate, and she was also pretty harmless.

As time went by, you got closer to your own graduation, basically, one year left before you had to figure it out for yourself again. Your boyfriend was always supportive, but you couldn’t help but wonder how he imagined your future. He was always up to something but never shared it with you since it was ‘nothing for you to worry about’. Had he not shown you his actual abilities before, you would’ve certainly thought that it was a crazy lie he told you to cover up for some kind of illegal activity. In reality, some illegal activities were going on, especially since hacking and cracking was one of Minseok’s specialties (but mostly because they needed to keep their identities out of sight). Another reason why they didn’t all go to the same school when they arrived, and also why they changed their appearance ever so often. The lucky mullet was long gone by the time you had your first Christmas together, and you had had the pleasure of seeing him in multiple hair colors throughout almost three years of your relationship. Notably, the first dozen or so make-out sessions you had with him took place when he had just cut his hair and dyed it pitch black. And he still wore his fake lip ring at the time, which was an experience in itself. He did know how to use his mouth…

Admittedly, you were kind of used to being the object of the boys’ shameless teasing every time you hung out together. The way Baekhyun kept you close and fussed about everything was, apparently, atypical for their usually chill and humorous hyung. He was their second-in-command, after all, the genius behind the strategic planning of the group, and the mind that kept them hidden for so long in one place.

Because of you.

One of the boys had previously let it slip that they hadn’t lived anywhere for that long before, maybe not even for one full year. But this time Baekhyun was determined to stay for a while, now that he had an anchor.

But the day came. When he found out that they might’ve been compromised, he got scared. The way he’d never feared anything before. And he’d been through a lot, to put it mildly. Baekhyun could maintain a cold and sharp mind at all times, that was his thing, but not when it came to you. Once he figured out that there was a real chance, that they could’ve found the EXO hideout and, thus, could connect you to the boys, he couldn’t think straight. Overwhelmed by a sudden panic, he sought advice from the leader.

‘You know it’s not me who’s supposed to decide,’ Junmyeon sighed, looking at his disheveled second. ‘I told you a relationship wasn’t a good idea. I also think that keeping her close means putting her life in jeopardy.’

His words were cutting through Baekhyun as he paced the room, long fingers grasping his own hair.

‘But it still may be a safer option than leaving her here,’ the leader added, pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘We need to relocate fast, and you have the ‘better of two evils’ situation on your hands.’

‘I know I should leave her,’ Baekhyun stopped in his tracks, turning his head to the leader. ‘But what if they already know, hyung?’

‘Minseok had every trace of her erased, not a single camera in town had a glimpse of her with you. They might have found our footprints in the sand, but those don’t necessarily lead to her. I suppose they should move on as soon as they come here and realize that we’re nowhere around.’

‘Most likely, but what if-’

‘They can very well catch up to us while we run. Like I said, there isn’t a right answer, but a choice. And I think that you’ve already made it when you should give her a voice, too,’ the leader pushed.

‘I-’ Baekhyun turned away to hide the glassy eyes from Junmyeon. ‘I have to give her a chance, hyung. I cannot sentence her to a lifetime of running and danger. And I know she’s silly enough to throw herself into it if she has a say in this.’

‘And if you’re wrong? You’re going to break her heart as a precaution?’

‘She won’t die from a broken heart. Can you imagine what they’d do to her if they find out?’

Junmyeon bit his lip. This time, the choice was completely out of his hands. He thought his second was making a mistake, but it was not his place to decide. Exhaling again, he nodded.

‘Tell her in the morning. We’re moving out as soon as the rain starts.’

>> Chapter 2

A/N: So, what do you think? This is more of an introductory chapter, I know, but it covers quite a lot of their relationship with Baek. You must be excited to see where this goes and when Baёk appears? Or if Baekhyun is coming back? Me too, me too 🙈

[softomi]

now accepting boyfriend applications.

based on my fic idea: you’ve just become newly single, in a drunken fit, you posted a status indicating you’re accepting applications for your next boyfriend. Oddly, three boys take you up on that; sending in their most professional resumes for the position. It seems there’s some fierce competitors. 

next up: literature

It hurt, why wouldn’t it hurt. Your boyfriend of almost two years dumped you over text message with no warning and his reason? He just wasn’t feeling it anymore, what the fuck. Well, twenty phone calls, a hundred text messages sent to him, and a pretty nasty voicemail. The moment you realized just how crazy you were being was when you began pounding on his door at almost ten at night. His neighbors poking their head out to stare, and it really smacked you in the face how stupid you were being.

So you threw caution into the wind. it’s a Wednesday night, your first class tomorrow didn’t start until noon and you’re literature teacher was more of a lecturer so she probably won’t notice if you’re hung over. If anything, you could always ask the guy next to you for the notes.

Thus, you decide to throw back shots to your heart’s desire, sitting in the middle of your tiny studio apartment, on your bed to scream and cry at the romance movie. Love is dead. You groan loudly when your neighbor knocks against the wall, trying to tell you to promptly shut the fuck up.

Halfway through the movie, your mind is already swaying. Your throat stings just momentarily and you sip your cheap wine in hope it’ll dull the shots you had taken previously. When the male protagonist kisses the beautiful female of his dreams, you promptly chug the rest of the wine in your glass. Upset at their love, you wrap your lips around the tip of the wine bottle, drinking straight from it.

“I can find someone better.” You’ve reached a different point in your post break up sadness, you were mixed with anger, sadness, and an overall feeling of I’ll find someone with a better dick.

It’s never a good decision to post on social media while drunk, but it’s a great decision right now. You were going to post a ‘newly single’ status. Just to be nice and not spam everyone, you think you’ll just post it to your private account for your five friends to see. You’ve clearly neglected that step when you press post and it uploads to your public twitter account.

The urge to hurl takes priority over the sudden notifications on your phone. Your hair disheveled as you’re trying to hold onto the toilet, hold onto your hair, and throw up at the same time. The romance film comes to an end once you’ve fully emptied your stomach. You shove all the things off your bed, food falling onto the floor, empty bottle of wine rolled under your bed, remote lost somewhere. You fall asleep despite your cell phone going off.

The alarm jolts you, it causes you to scream, your palm slapping the snooze button and you aggressively pull the wire so that it comes out of the socket. Your head is throbbing and your cell phone is ringing at the same time. Annoyed, your hand stretches along the bed trying to find your cell. When you come emptyhanded, you sit up. Your hand steading the pulsing of your brain and you spot your phone ringing and vibrating on the ground.

“What?” You spit out, not bothering to look at the contact as you try to block out the sun.

“What do you mean what?” The voice snaps at you, “You post about boyfriend applications all of a sudden, did you guys break up?”

Of course he would be the one calling you, the person who loves gossip more than you do, “Tooru, can you like shut up for a second.” Your brain is dying and he’s over here trying to get the latest dish on your love life, “He dumped me okay.”

“That asshole.” He gasps, “Do you want me to come over?”

You look at the time on your cell briefly, “No. I have class all day. If you’re free later?”

“Of course!”

The phone call ends and rather than getting ready for the class you have in an hour, you’re checking your notifications. You have about twenty missed calls from Oikawa, another thirty text messages from him, he even left a voicemail; god he must have been desperate. Facebook is bland, you spent most of your time on Instagram deleting the photos of your now ex, and rarely do you ever get Twitter notifications. Oddly, you have fifteen notifications; all coming from your public account.

haha, boyfriend applications are official open. only taking serious apps lol

“No.” You sit up.

It wasn’t your post that freaked you out, it wasn’t that somehow it ended up on your public account, no you could delete it and pretend as if no one saw it but people saw it.

Is she serious?

If she is, I’m down.

What does serious applications mean?

Three comments, five likes, and four retweets.

And three unread messages.

Your finger rushes to delete the tweet before it can be retweeted even more by random classmates. All was good now. Your finger presses onto the message icon, you’re confronted with the icons of three of your classmates.

The most recent is from Miya Atsumu, a terrible flirt in your biology class. He chose the seat next to you in lab when his friends ditched him and hoarded their own table. He spun around in his chair, shooting you a cheeky grin when you briefly looked at him.

His first sentence was, “Hey you’re cute.”

And yours was, “I have a boyfriend.”.

You skip over his message upon spotting his use of sweetheart in the preview.

The next icon is of the guy in your intro to business class, Kuroo Tetsuro. The first time you saw him was outside of the classroom, you two ended up accidentally reaching the doors at the same time. He lets you go in first and the both of you chose the seats farthest from the board, and closest to the door. Despite his bed hair that made him look like he was going to sleep the entire class, he was a rather studious guy; chill but smart, he was a business major after all.

“Did you understand anything he was saying?” You murmur to him as you grab your bag.

“Of course!” He states, “I don’t look at twitter on my laptop when he’s lecturing.” Ah, he caught you.

Your eyes briefly scan the preview, he’s saying something about a resume and you think he’s talking about the homework assignment. You’re about to click on his first when the last catches your eye.

It’s from Akaashi Keiji. On the first day of class, you were late due to waiting in line for coffee. You awkwardly opened the door to the classroom, everyone turning to stare, and you lower your head, choosing a random seat that now you’re stuck with for the rest of the semester because that’s just how college works. The professor goes over the syllabus and suddenly announces that the person sitting to your right will be your revision partner for the semester.

“Hey.” You stop him and for a brief minute you feel your heart skip a beat because he was absolutely pretty, “Sorry, I’m Y/n. Since we’re going to be partners, do you want to exchange info?”.

“Uh. Sure. I’m Akaashi Keiji.”

“I’m going to be late for my business class. Do you have twitter?” You were never a fan of giving your phone number out. Before he can answer, you’re scribbling your username onto a piece of paper, placing it on his desk before running out to catch your next class.

His message is brief: Did you get my email?

You click his message first; it must have been urgent if he messaged and emailed you. There’s nothing else to his message, his previous one dates almost a week before his current one, telling you that he finished reading the book you recommended and that he enjoyed it.

The screen is pulled up with your finger, alternating apps to your personal email. The subject of his email simply reads Application.

Curiously, you click the attachment he’s sent with no body text. Your jaw dropped, hand placed over your open mouth and a small scream emitting.

“Is he fucking serious?”

His name is displayed at the top, along with his birthday, star sign, zodiac sign, age, even the pronouns he uses. There’s a short sentence under it. I am submitting an application for the position of Boyfriend. You’re internally screaming, blinking fast hoping that this was a joke but his ‘application’ reads like a resume. It lists his education from middle school to his current, his previous jobs, his skills, and his own personal goals for the future.

Your blushing profusely, you want to pull your hair, scream, even throw your phone but you shove down the feelings that want to have you die of embarrassment. You don’t have the energy to sadly explain to him that you were drunk and weren’t serious; ugh and you’re going to have to continue seeing him for the rest of the semester.

You revert back to twitter; your heart suddenly drops when you think about Kuroo’s message. Quickly, you pull up the messages, clicking his and suddenly you want dig yourself a grave because he’s sent a link to a pdf and it’s simply titled Resume. He probably used a resume template and never changed the title.

And sure enough, it’s a fucking professional resume declaring the certain skills he has to be your boyfriend. In fact, like the professional business major he is, he includes a letter of intent; indicating his reasons of interest for the position. It details the little quirks he finds cute about you. You want to break your phone in half with how red in the face you feel.

As you exit his message, you’re slowly praying that Atsumu’s message is just a random flirty comment that he occasionally likes to throw you once in a while or perhaps you’re hoping that he fell in a ditch and you won’t have to work with him for the rest of the semester since he almost blew up the lab station last time.

Nope, it’s a link to a google document. Oddly, you click it. Your heart has sunk to the pit of the earth because when you open the document, you see his fucking name in the upper right corner indicating he’s still on the stupid document.

Fuck fuck fuck. You’re running away from the document, aggressively leaving the page but it doesn’t help that when you end up back at your twitter messages, you can see the three dots, telling you he’s typing.

Morning sweetheart hope you enjoy the app

He sends it with a flirty wink and you stare at it for five full minutes. Curiosity gets the best of you and you click back onto his link, he’s no longer on the same document and you sigh safely. For someone who’s barely passing biology, his document was rather professionally detailed. Damn, he’s on the school’s volleyball team? Weirdly the page cuts off halfway, you continue to scroll until the next title page boldly states: Bedroom skills.

It didn’t help that you were scrolling a little too fast and caught sight of an image showing off his toned upper body. There goes his professionalism.

Your phone suddenly blares low battery, your screen turns black and now your anxiety is through the roof. You jump on your bed, trying to plug in your phone and you’ve just now realized that it is thirty minutes until your first class starts and it is literature. You’re scrambling to find your laptop, you trip on the bag of chips from last night, awkwardly trying to stand as you reach for your school bag.

“Shit!” You scream. You suddenly remember letting your stupid ex-boyfriend borrow your laptop.

You fall to the floor, fingers pulling your hair as you suddenly think about the deep shit your in. First, your boyfriend dumped you, now you randomly have three guys who sent you applications to be your next boyfriend and you’re still going to have to see them for the rest of the semester if you reject them. Lastly, you’re going to have to go to your ex’s place to get your laptop after having made a scene yesterday, and your phone is dead so you can’t cry to Oikawa about the deep shit you’re in.

[lay-d-l]

Zoyalai Modern AU

This spring I joined @grishaversebigbang and for whatever reason I signed up as a writer. Not a very smart idea it was very stressful and I don’t even like it that much, but y’know, next year, I’ll be ready. 

I worked with incredibly talented people who are, generally the sweetest human beings you could meet. 

Materialki:

@someofgennie x

@edmeom x

Corporalki:

@shelbychild

Fic summary: Zoya was living day for day, not caring really, not after him. After she bumps into a guy at her favorite coffee shop, her life gets interesting again. Will she let herself feel again?

you can find my fic here *it’s not there yet, so if you wanna see it, keep reading*

It was a wet Tuesday morning; it had been raining all night and I wasn’t feeling like going out. But things happen 24/7 and that means reporters, like me, work 24/7. I wiggled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Seeing what I saw, I groaned. It's Zoya's-Famous-Bed-Hair. Once, in junior year, I woke up late and didn't have time for hair and makeup. So, naturally, I put on the first thing I got my hands on and ran out. Which is usually okay, right? Yeah, well Os Alta Speciality School has uniforms. Though, they’re not like Ketterdam ones. In Ketterdam, it's regular pants-shirt-jumper; in Os Alta they wore keftas. That's not the point, though; the night before, Genya and I were out, partying, so I wore clothes from last night's party. The principal suspended me for the day. This morning, I braided my hair, took my laptop, and left for the Dragon Scale. Dragon Scale is a coffee shop just around the corner from my apartment. Since I started drinking coffee when I was fifteen I have always gone there; it felt safe. Mostly because no one, not even Genya, knew about it. Just like every other day, it was almost empty. One person at the counter and a few others scattered in the back. I went to the counter and Anna, the barista, smiled at me. "The usual?" she asked. "You know it," I smiled back. "Could you bring it to me though? I have a lot of work today." Not turning from the shelves she said, "No worries." With that I went to sit by the window. I liked looking at people as they passed by, even when it's not a busy day. I opened the laptop and started writing: the elections are nearing, are you ready to decide between our two competitors? Is it going to be the cunning Petyr or the sly Nikolai Lantsov? I was never into politics, but Shelby, my publisher, insisted I write about this year's election. I love my job, I really do, but this is incredibly boring and the campaigns don't start until a few weeks from now, so when Anna brought my frappe, I looked to the street. I was like a less smart Sherlock Holmes. Meaning I can't really deduct, I just notice how people walk and dress, or if they have any ticks. Like if their left shoulder is lower than their right one. There was a woman in a hot pink coat, which was an unusual choice considering not many people wear bright colours at this time of year. A pig tailed girl who had stuck a lollipop to her mother's jacket. And a guy who was trying so hard not to be seen, but who obviously failed. With nothing else to do I packed my laptop, took my cup and went out. As I was turning to say bye to Anna, I bumped into a wall. I said, "Really? Couldn't have told me I'm going into a wall???" She started laughing hysterically. "What?" "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm no wall." I turned around. He definitely wasn't a wall. "Witty remarks are really unnecessary." I said. He put his arms up in surrender. "I am sorry that I bumped into you though." “Don’t worry, it could have been someone not as pretty as you.” “Thank you, I think. I’m going to go now. Bye Anna!” as I was walking out I heard Anna talking to the man.

Next day, I was sitting in the park, trying to write something on the elections but it was a no go. I was closing my laptop when I felt someone sit beside me. I looked to my right and saw the guy from the coffee shop. “What does ‘Z’ stand for?” “What are you doing here?” I asked, “Are you following me?” “No, I was walking, and I saw a familiar face, thought I say ‘Hi’. What does ‘Z’ stand for?” “It stands for Zebra.” “Really?” “No, of course not, it stands for Zoya.” “Oh that’s a nice name, is it yours? What does it mean?” “Yes, of course it’s mine. It means ‘life’”I said. “And you are?” “Nikolai.” he looked at his watch, “As much as I liked this encounter, I must go now.” “Bye?” He bowed to his waist, “Farewell.”

I snoozed my alarm three times, but it kept ringing. Then I realised it's not a regular alarm, it's a Genya alarm. "What is it, Kostyk?" I said into the phone. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, "Kostyk, that sounds nice. Not used to it though." "I know that's why I said it. What's the rush?" "It's Saturday." "Oka-" "ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU FORGOT OUR WEEKLY MEETING???" "Don't yell," I said. "Of course I didn't forget, you'd kill me if I did. I just didn't think it'd be this early." "Early?" she asked, "Zoya it's 11:00 in the morning!" "Oops? Okay, well, I'm obviously awake now, so what were you thinking of doing?" I asked. "The Zoo! Winter is coming, and I want to see all the summer animals before they stop going out." "Sure, meet you at the park in two hours?" "Yeah, love you!" she said, and hung up. I got up and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was empty, guess I forgot to go to the store. So I decided to go to a bakery down the street, hoping they still have something warm. Luckily for me, they did. I bought two dollars worth of mini-whinnies and got back home. It was a relatively sunny day, so I sat at the balcony. And for a Saturday, it wasn't really busy. Besides Genya days, Saturdays are usually the farmers market days too. Most people don't have time to buy groceries during the week. I looked up to the Grand Palace. Tourists always said it was the most beautiful building in Os Alta, but I could never see it. It's not ugly, I just found the Little Palace more interesting. The Grand Palace is like any other palace ever, with big towers and shiny roofs, I can see that in any place that had a royal dynasty. But only we have a huge library with a fountain next to the royal Palace. I looked at my watch and yelped, I'm gonna be late!, I thought. I changed from my sweats and tee, and put on jeans, a jumper and boots, In case it rains. Took the leather jacket and keys from the hanger and ran out. The park wasn't far from my apartment so I walked. When I got to our usual meeting spot, Genya was already there. I waved apologetically. She rolled her eyes: "At least you're here, let's go!" "Fine, fine, I'm going!", I laughed. We sat in her car and went to the zoo. During the ride we talked about what we did during the week, how's married life and how's David in general, but all that was dropped the moment we walked through the gates of the zoo. First we saw the birds; pigeons, eagles and those funny colored ones that sing. Next animals were sheep, llama and deer. Their cages were around a pavilion that had horses and ponies you could ride, but those are mostly for kids. Few years back, Genya asked if we could ride but they wouldn’t let us. She said “it wasn’t fair that only kids can do fun stuff…” and continued to tell me how when she has kids they will be free to do whatever they want. We walked next to the deer cage. David loves them so every time we’re here we tend to stay a bit longer. Today we saw there was a new addition to the family. On the cage it said she was a doe named Lola. Next stop were the ostridges and the emus, we skipped those, mostly because one ostridge bit me a few years back when I tried to feed it. Genya got it on camera. On the other side of the sidewalk were the bison, and we always acted as if they were the flying bison from Avatar: the Last Airbender. We named all of them Appa. The seals were sleeping so we went to the reptiles instead. Most of the snakes were also sleeping, as was the aligator so we decided to skip the hippoes too and went to see the wolves. Though they didn't pay attention to us as they were eating. The monkeys were mostly shitting onto their hands and throwing it at each other… The petting zoo was empty so we had all the little goats to ourselves! When I was a kid, and my mom still my mom, I tried to take one of the goats with me home, but I couldn’t carry it alone so it stayed in the petting zoo. When we got to the bears most of them were in the water, but there was one who went in circles around his pond, like he was trying to catch fish. Lions were lying around, hyenas were laughing at the visitors, which is not creepy at all… At that point we got tired and went to the big pond where the ducks and the swans are. I sat on a bench while Genya bought ice cream. “Strawberry?” she asked. I just nodded. "So," she started, "you're not seeing anyone, right?" I choked, "What?!" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Where is that coming from?!" "David recently got together with a childhood friend and when he got home, he said you'd like him and that you should go on a date." she said, casually. "Genya, you know I'm not the one for dating…" She touched her eye-patch and looked away. "I know, but just try? I mean, just meet with him, then decide what to do. Not everyone is like Alex…" I sighed, "Sure, wh-" "REALLY?", she exclaimed. "Yes, chill. Who is he?" "Oh, oh… I have no idea. David just called him Sobachka, but-" "Genya…" "But he can't be bad if he's friends with David. If you don't feel like staying, I'll pull you out." "Okay, Pinkie Promise?", I asked, and she smiled, "Cross my heart, hope to fly!" We threw the rest of our cones to the ducks, passed the safari animals, and finished this year's last visit to the zoo. Next to the zoo is an empty parking lot that has a small adventure park. Ever since I befriended Genya, after the zoo we go to the ferris wheel and the bumper cars.

Since I agreed to go on a blind date I decided it was best to do it in a familiar setting. So I told Genya that I wanted it to be in a coffee shop near my flat. I put on my battle armor, jeans and a sweater, and went out. The streets were empty, even for a weekday. I went into the shop and looked around to see a familiar face. Anna, behind the counter, Gennie in the corner, drawing probably. I sat in my usual place next to the window and waited. Anna came by the table. “Hey, what can I get you?” I looked up, “Nothing yet, I’m on a date…” “That’s a new one, how did that happen?” “I was out with Genya and she suggested it. And it’s Genya, she thinks he’s good, and she would not stop until I said yes so I’m here to see what happens.” She smiled, “Well, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” “Yeah,” I said and looked behind her, “Gennie’s calling for you.” She turned around, “Oh, I better get that, she’s trying out a new technique.” Then she left. The set time was 17:00, I came a little earlier, just in case. I took my phone out of my pocket to see the time. He’s late. Door opened and Nikolai came in, he looked around and rolled his eyes when he saw me. He came and sat at the chair opposite of me. “Honestly Zoya, is it not tiring to follow me? You could just ask for my number.” I scoffed; ”Don’t flatter yourself I’m here for a date.” His eyes widened, “Come again?” “You thought you were-” “You’re a friend of David’s.” “What? How do you know that?” I asked. He scratched his head, “I, oh Saints…” “You’re my date, aren’t you?” “I would seem so.” I frowned, “Hey, don’t look so pissed I didn’t know either.” “Do you want to do this?” I asked. “I don't see why not.” he said. “I have no expectations, we sit and talk. If we click, cool. If not, we had an interesting afternoon. Deal?” He put his hand out. I shook it; “Zoya Nazyalenski, nice to meet you.” “Nikolai, my pleasure.” he smiled. Anna came by again, “This, it’s hilarious.” she said. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.” Nikolai replied. She laughed; “ What can I get you?” “I’ll have a Frappe.” I said, “ What do you want?” Nikolai looked at me, then at Anna, “I’ll have what she’s having, and a plate of biscuits.” Anna nodded, “Coming right up.” “So,” I started, “do we start again, or do we just continue where we left off?” “We continue, can't pretend like you’re not my biggest fan.” i laughed, “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. On another note, how do you know David?” “We lived in the same neighborhood when we were kids.” he said, “One day, when we were 8, there was an explosion in his garage. I was playing in my backyard when it happened, I came running to see what happened, to see if he was okay. Spoiler alert he was, but I think he burned his eyebrows off.” “What happened?” I asked eagerly. “When?” I sighed, “What caused the explosion?” “Oh.” he looked confused, “I don’t know. I never asked. And how do you know David?” “I’m afraid my story isn’t so interesting, we met at highschool.” “You went to the same school?” “Yes but we were on different courses. I took journaling, he took engineering. He wasn’t social, I barely knew him before my best friend, his now wife Genya, worked up the courage to ask him out in junior year.” “Yeah, he definitely wasn’t a social butterfly. I was really surprised when I heard he was getting married.” “But I didn’t see you at the wedding.” I stated. “My father got sick, I couldn’t come” “I’m sorry to hear that.” he smiled; “I’m not, he’s an ass” “Who’s an ass?” Anna came with our order. “His father.” “My father” we said at the same time. I looked at him and smiled, he winked at me. “I see where you get it form” He gasped; “you didn’t” “I did.” Anna facepalmed. “I can see this is going great, so I’m gonna go.” “Thank you Anna.” Nikolai said. She waved him off. “Since we’re basically playing 20 questions, what else do you want to know?” I asked. He looked out the window, “Cliche, but, what is your favorite season and why?” “Winter, because there is nothing better than a wool jumper. My turn. Why does David call you Sobachka?” “This got very personal, very fast.” “Oh,” i said, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” “No it’s okay, no one is ever that direct with me.” he said and ate his last biscuit. “Why? Is it because you’re in this year's elections?” “I thought you didn’t recognise me.” “Oh please, I’m writing an article about you and the other guy” “Huh, he really is ‘the other guy’” he said. “So, are you going to tell me what’s behind your nickname?” “Right, ugh, I’m not my father's son, my mom cheated. Not many people know this. The ones who do call me Sobachka, y’know, like a dog.” “That’s rough buddy… So it doesn’t bother you?”I asked. “No, not really.” I chuckled, “Not many people are like that.” Indeed they are not.” he looked at his watch, “This has been fun, but I’m afraid I must go now. I would like to see you again.” “I would like to see you too.” I smiled.

I was walking down the stairs when I heard my phone ring. “Hello?” “Hi, is this Zoya?”said the voice. “Yes, and you are?” I sighed as I got to the bottom and went to check my mailbox. “Is my voice so plain to you that you do not remember it?” “Nik, it’s not like I have your number saved in my phone. How may I help you this fine evening?” “I was wondering if you are free tonight? For a stroll in the park.” “We saw each other two days ago!” “Please? I need a friendly companion.” he paused, “We’ll eat doughnuts?” “How dare you use doughnuts against me?! Of course I’ll come. Meet in front of the Little Palace fountain in an hour? “Done. I’ll see you there.” I smiled fondly. “Bye Nik.” During the past few weeks I have been seeing him more and more. One Saturday he and David tagged along on our weekly meeting. I got out of the building and went across the street. There were lots of cars so I decided against calling a taxi. It wasn’t a long walk to the Little Palace, but I had to go to the Library first. There weren't many people in the Library so it was a quick stop. The Librarian, Kuwei, is a friend of Nina’s so I paused to chat with him, but he had work to do so I left him to it. When I got to the fountain, Nikolai was already there. I kissed him on the cheek and sat next to him. “What’s up?” He picked up a bag and gave it to me, “Doughnuts first.” “Honestly I don’t know how can someone not like you.” I said and took a bite of the doughnut. “So good…” “Me or the doughnut?” he asked. “What?” “You said it’s good. Me or the doughnut?” “Oh,” I laughed, “definitely the doughnut!” “HA-HA, very funny. Look I didn’t want to ask you, but I really need help with my speech.” I wiped my mouth to get rid of any leftover sugar and took out a notepad out of my bag. “Sure, what's it about?” “Well, this showing is supposed to be about children. Their education, the schools, hospitals, even orphanages.” he rubbed his neck. “That’s great, children should be taken care of, we know that first hand.” “Yeah, but I don’t know how to phrase it. I thought you could help with that.” “Of course. You’re gonna tell me everything that you want to say, we’ll write that down and work our way from there.” We were working on the speech until the sun went down. I looked up at him and said:”It’s getting late, I should go…” Nikolai scratched his head, “Yeah, no, of course, we’ll see eachother on David's birthday, right?” “Yes. This has been fun, I’d like to be more involved with your campaign if you’ll have me.” “You’re always welcome, always.” he hugged me, “I’ll see you in a few days. Bye Zoya.” “Bye Nik.”

“Botkin is making a reunion.” “What, when?” “I don’t know, some time after today.” Genya said. “Hold on, how do you know that?” “Didn’t he call you?” “Not that I know. Wait let me check,'' I took my phone from the table and looked at my phone log, “Oh, right I do have a missed call from an unknown caller. But do I really have to go, I mean I’ll see everyone I like tonight.” Genya sighed, “Zoya, it’s a party, you are going, you are going to have fun.” “But-” “End of discussion.” “EnD oF dIsCuSsIoN” I mocked her. “Oh, piss off. Just don’t be late.” “That’s you Kostyk. Gotta go, love you!” I ended the call. We are celebrating David’s birthday tonight, I had to go and buy him a gift. A normal person would have done that by now, but I just love to do everything last minute. I dressed up, took my wallet and went out to the hardware store. It started to rain during the taxi ride, I was, naturally unprepared for that, thus making me a bit damp when I entered the store. One of the older workers came up to me and said:”A bit unexpected, isn’t it?” “You have no idea.” I replied. “How can I help you?” “It’s my friend's birthday, and he likes to repair regular household items, or just make up new things, so i thought to buy him a new tool kit because his old one is really worn out and probably very rusty or just damaged.” “Right.”he said, “Would you like a completely new tool box, or separate objects and a tool box?” I looked around, “Well, if it were for you what would you get?” “Is there a price range?” “Not really, no. But let’s not make it more than a weekly paycheck.” After a series of isles and relentless explaining of different brands of the same monkey wrench, he recommended a box with wrenches of all sizes, seven different screwdrivers and some kind of special doorknob key that is also in different sizes and very useful. When I bought the tool box, I went to the liquor store to buy Genya’s favorite wine, but the rain hadn’t stopped. I was dripping wet when I came to their apartment. I knocked, twice, when David opened the doors, he went in for a hug, I put my finger up “No, no, we’ll do that when I’m dry.” He shrugged. “If you say so.” “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” “Thank you Zoya, come on in.” he let me through.I pointed my finger at Genya, “See, not late! And not the last one to get here.” “Not to burst your bubble, but you are the last one.” it was Mal. I looked around, Mal and Alina were on the couch, Nina sitting beside them. Toyla was on  the armchair next to the couch. Tamar and Nadia were on the loveseat opposite the couch, near the kitchen. Leoni and Adrik on the floor beside them. Genya was on a stool, her back turned. “No I'm not, Nik isn’t here”. I took off my jacket, and sat on the edge of the couches arm rest.. “Nikolai isn’t coming, his father got worse. Didn’t he tell you?” “No…” I took my phone out of my pocket, “I really need to get this serviced, don’t I?” Nina raised a glass and said: “Yes, yes you do.” I stuck out my tongue to her, “Shut up.” “To change the topic, Zoya, are you going to the reunion?” Leoni asked. I groaned. “Yes… But I don’t really want to.” “Why is that that?” “I don’t like people from highschool, plus, half of them hate me because I acted like a bitch. “ i said, “You all are enough for me.” “That’s cute.” Adrik said. I smiled, “Yeah, cute. And honestly what can we do there and not here? I mean the only highlight of that reunion is Botkin.” Genya looked at me, “Zoya. You are going. You can Ask Nikolai to come with you.” “I doubt Nik would say yes. It’s a highschool reunion full of people he doesn’t know.”   “You’d be surprised.” said Alina. “And with that comment we conclude this topic...” I said.

“That’s enough talking about food, It’s making me hungrier than I already am.” David said after an intense discussion of ‘Are Waffles Better Than Pancakes’. If you ask Nina, they are. Though, for Nina, waffles are better than anything. David stood up, “The boys and I will go to Jess’ to get pizza, you try to be nice and leave some wine for us, okay?” We started to laugh, “We’ll do our best.” said Tamar. “Oh, do you think Darina’s working?” asked Tolya. “Why?” asked Mal. “Well, she likes to draw, if she’s working, we could ask that she draws David with ketchup on one pizza, and write ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ on the other.” “Huh, could be fun.” said Adrik, as he went after the others and walked out of the flat.   “Bring umbrellas, it’s still raining!” yelled Nadia after them, “Idiots…” she muttered. I looked at Genya, “Kostyk.” “What?” “Go bring out the good wine.” I said. “Ooh, yes, bet! Alina, with me, we need to find the wine.” They stood up, and went to the kitchen. "Okay," Tamar started, "so there's this game Tolya and I used to play as kids, when the boys get back do you want to try?" "Yeah, sure." I said and turned my head towards the kitchen, "Girls, Tamar has a game idea, come here!" They stumbled back to the living room. Alina sat down and asked "What's the name of the game?" "Um, I don't really know? We always called it Nervous Breakdown, cause no one would believe Tolya, but I think it's called Werewolves." she said. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" yelled Leoni. "I think I know that game, but we called it Mafia. You played it with cards?" Genya sighed, "That's great and all, but we don't know how to play." "True." I pitched in. "Okay, so this is kinda complicated so no interruptions and questions are after I explain how the game works, cool?" Tamar asked. "Yes mom." we said in usion. "Genya, go grab the cards, rest of you sit around the table." When Genya got back and sat down, Tamar started to take the playing cards. She started explaining: "Point if the game is to find out who's the werewolf. We sit in a circle. Everybody has a card that's in front of them, that's your card and there's a card in the middle. After you see what's your card and  what role are you playing you put it down and don't touch it. You put your hand next to it and close your eyes. Then when I say your role you wake up and do your roles part "Since it's seven of us there's eight playing cards. Two Jokers, they're the werewolf, they change the middle card with anyone's card and touch the person who's card they changed. But they touch with the card not the hand. Nod if you understood." We all nodded. "Then there's a Queen, she's the helper for the werewolfs, she wakes the same time as them and does nothing during that time, but when we all wake she tries to convince the rest of us that she's the werewolf so we'd kill her instead of the real werewolf so that the werewolfs would win. "Then there's the Jacks, he's a psychic, he can see anybody's card and the middle one, but he doesn't touch and he can't see his card in case it's been changed during the werewolf time. "Next up is King, he's a thief. He changes his card with anybody's card and touches the person who's card he changed. And then there's the Aces who are villagers and do nothing." she finished. I looked at all of them one by one and started laughing. Everyone was throwing a fit, there were a lot of spilled drinks. "No joke now, I think we could try, but everytime someone makes a mistake we drink!" Nina said. "You're gonna be the first one!" We started laughing again. And after a few more useless tries, we got serious. They all had so many questions that took a long time answering, boys got back with food before we could even play. So as we ate, we tried to convince them to play, but it was useless since they were drunk off their minds. To be fair I wasn't much better. We spent the night eating and drinking. Mostly drinking. And eating. It was getting late, most of the group left. Alina, Mal and I were still at the flat. David and Mal were talking in the kitchen, Alina was in the bathroom. Genya and I were on the floor.“Zoya?” “Yeah?” “You’re drunk, right?” asked Genya. I looked up and back down, the room was wobbly. “Yeah, definitely.” “Do you like Nikolai?” “Of course I like Nik, he’s a great friend.” She shook her head, “Do you like Nikolai? Like, like-like.” “Oh…” “Well?” “I- no. Maybe, how does one know that? Is there a test I can do online?” Genya started squealing, “HA! I knew it!” She turned toward the kitchen, “I raise my bet to 20 dollars!” But I didn’t hear that. I was thinking of Nikolai, of his face when we see each other.

I came home from Genya and David’s. I showered and put on my pajamas. I fell asleep. I woke up. My phone was ringing. It’s election day. I fell asleep. I woke up. I tried to write. I tried to eat. I fell asleep. I woke up. I got another text. “We won the election. -Nik”. I fell asleep. I woke up. I failed to write. I failed to eat. I fell asleep.

When I finally decided it was time to get out of the house, I went to Dragon Scale. It was extremely windy outside so I put on a beanie. When I walked in, my head was bowed, I went full face into someone. “I’m so sorry.” I said and continued forward,when someone took my hand. I turned around and saw Nikolai. “Zoya.” “Hi.” “Why didn’t you answer my calls? Genya said you were alright but you scared me to death!” I just stared, "Zoya, talk to me!" "Can we go and sit?" I asked. He followed me as I  went to the corner booth and sat down, Nikolai a few steps behind me. "I got really drunk at Genya and David's. And I said something to Genya. And I got scared, because if it's true it might end bad for me, just like last time." "What are you talking about?" "i was in many relationships, but none were very serious until I met this guy, it was years ago, when I was in highschool. He was older than me, and I really liked him, at the beginning. But as it went on I realised he was being toxic. It… escalated." "Ecsalated how? Did he hurt you?" Nikolai asked. "No, not me, but Genya. You know that eye-patch she wears?" He nodded. "He did that, I don't know how, I was at work when it happened. I asked her to tell me but she refused, I just stopped pushing." I bowed my head. "Zoya." I looked up. "Nik, if I were to tell you that I was in love with someone, what would you do?" "I tell you that I'm happy for you and that he is an extremely lucky guy." He looked kinda sad. "And what if I told you that I'm in love with you, what would you do?" He shot up in his seat. "What?" I smiled, "I'm in love with you Nik." "I-" "Do with that what you will, but I don't want it, this, to ruin our friendship." "I'm afraid it did." He got up, leaned across the table and kissed me.

Next month was full of TV screening and restless nights as Nik and I wrote his speeches. But Botkins' reunion was soon, so he would take a few days off to have fun. I spent every free moment with Genya and Alina, shopping for the reunion. As much as I didn't want to go, shopping was fun. Genya found a dress in the same shade as her hair and Alina found a bodysuit in black and gold. I had a really hard time finding something I like. But the day before I found a perfect dress in victorian blue. Nik wore a gray suit and had this beautiful waist coat. When we got to the ball room in the Little Palace, it was already full, but we kept close to the outer ring. Most of the people were dancing, even Genya and David, but I went to talk to Botkin. "Mr. Botkin." He turned to face me, "Oh, Zoya dear, how has life been treating you?" That was his signature line, "Good. I just wanted to see how have you been doing?" "Never better dear." he looked behind me, "Now go off, there's a handsome young man waiting for a dance." "What?" I turned around and saw Nik. "Oh, thank-" he was already off to talk to someone else. I walked towards Nik. He bowed, "May I have this dance?" I looked around, nobody seemed to notice us. "Yes, yes you may." The music changed to a slow dance. We twirled around, and around. Once we stopped, I realised we were alone on the dance floor and there was a light on me. I turned to face Nik, but he was kneeling on the floor. "Nik," I said carefully, "what are you doing?" He took a box out of his inner pocket and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful emerald I have ever seen. I knew what it ment. “Would you do it?” he asked. I looked up at him, puzzled, "What?" "Well, y'know…" "No, I don't." He sighed: "Make me the happiest man alive. Would you do it?" "Yes." He got up and hugged me, I thought I was going to fall over, when these balloons started falling from the ceiling. I kissed him. "I love you." I said. He smiled, "I know." And kissed me again. When all the balloons fell, Genya came through. "Do you like it?" she asked. "What? Wait, how do you know?" "Oh silly we all knew." I looked around to see my friends standing around us, laughing. Mal said: "We had a bet on when are you getting official." Tolya raised a hand, "I won!" "You lot are unbelievable! Come one, you are being punished, this is a group hug!" That night ended up to be one of my favorites.

I didn't want to wait. We booked a venue for our closest friends. Genya bought me my wedding dress for "being strong, and being my best friend". It was a floor length dress with long sleeves. Top of my hair was in a bun, while the bottom part flowed in the wind. Alina even bought me a crown. I was walking down the aisle when someone came bursting in. I turned to see who it was. "I don't know why am I surprised, you always were a bitch." Genya answered, "What do you want Alexander?" Nik ran down to me and took my hand, "That's him?" he whispered. "Yes, stay here." I told him. "What do you mean "what do I want"? Isn't there a part when I get to the object?" I looked at him. "Alex, if you do not walk out right now, I'm gonna call the cops." "They didn't stop me then, they won't stop me now." "Ugh, you're so full of yourself." I said. Long story short, the cops stopped him. We continued with the ceremony. The priestess looked at me, then Nik and said: "If you went through that, on you wedding day, you can go through anything. Are the vows really necessary?" We shook our heads. "Then, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." And oh boy did he kiss me.

We're at McDonald's. And we're celebrating. Genya took her milkshake and stood up. Everyone followed her. "For our friends, may they have a long, happy life. Cheers!" There was a long choir of cheers going around. I sat back and looked at Nik and his Happy Meal, "Is it too early to get a divorce?" He looked me and said, with his mouth full of french fries: "Why'd gou go dhat?"

[beatricethecat2]

one step forward, two steps back (v2.0) - 2

Second half of part one, edited for continuity. Hope you enjoy it and the whacky part two that's coming up next!

///////////////

Myka sneaks down the stairs and finds Claudia draped across the couch, fast asleep, snuggled under a blanket. She tiptoes past Steve, snoozing in the lounger, and Pete, passed out on the floor, then crouches behind the sofa and pokes Claudia on the shoulder.

“Claud...” she whispers.

No response.

“Claud. We need to talk.”

“Mmhmm…” Claudia mumbles then shifts onto her side.

“Ssh, you’ll wake them.”

“Okok,” Claudia says, lips barely moving. She peels herself up and trudges dutifully behind Myka. When they reach the top of the stairs, she stops and waits for further instructions.

“Not here. Outside.”

“Like, on the porch?"

“Outside-outside. Away,” Myka says, adding a harried sweep of her hand.

“Ok, crazy lady,” Claudia says. "Lemme put on some duds.”

They dress quickly and meet in the entry hall. Leena appears out of nowhere the minute Myka opens the front door.

“Where are you two going?” she says, with a tinge of annoyance.

“To get some air?” Myka answers, sloppily.

“It’s two thirty in the morning, and it’s freezing outside.”

"I couldn’t sleep,” Myka says.

“Me…neither.” Claudia yawns mid-sentence.

Leena purses her lips and raises a brow.

“C’mon Claud, let’s go for a drive."

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

“Smooth move, Pointdexter,” Claudia says as she curls up in the SUV’s seat. “Leena totally bought that."

“H.G. needs our help,” Myka says, and hands the phone to Claudia.

Claudia sits up. “Give to Claudia,” she reads out loud and taps the phone awake. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I don’t know.”

Claudia taps a button, then swipes the screen and scrolls through a document. “Whoa.”

“Whoa what?”

“I need a computer. Let’s go to the Warehouse.”

“No. It’s not safe. For her.”

Claudia continues scrolling. “I’m getting that vibe. Tell me what’s up, and I’ll see what I can do.”

-----------

They drive around for an hour then retire to their respective bedrooms. Claudia says not to worry, she’ll figure things out and text her from a coffee shop in town.

Myka catches up with her after breakfast, huddled over her computer in a dark corner.

“Did you talk to her?” Myka asks, pulling out a chair.

“Her and Emily. A heads up would have been nice. Emily's a handful."

“Sorry,” Myka says, but with a small grin. "Did you find her cat?"

“Crap. I forgot.” Claudia taps her laptop awake and starts typing.

“What about the orb?"

“I checked everywhere I knew, and everywhere H.G. knew, but nada. She thinks maybe the supermarket."

“Let’s go,” Myka says, her chair screeching back as she rises.

“Whoa there, cowgirl, we can’t show up all willy-nilly. Plus, Pete's gotta come if we’re going rogue."

“Pete? Why?"

“Authenticity. Plus, he’d blag his way in better since his mom’s a Regent."

Myka frowns. “H.G. said not to involve anyone else."

“If she wants this fixed, she’s out of luck."

Myka stares at Claudia for a long moment; she doesn’t want to disappoint Helena but what choice does she have?

“And we gotta hurry. H.G.’s getting worse. She said she’s only herself in solid form for a few minutes. And she’s worried Emily’s gonna bolt."

Myka squeezes her eyes shut and grits her teeth.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him."

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

“How long till grandpa notices we’re awol?” Claudia says, leaning forward from the back of the SUV.

“Don’t jinx the thing,” Pete snaps, hands still gripping the steering wheel.

“Let’s just...go,” Myka says, already halfway out the door.

They rush into the supermarket and gather the correct items, then are let into the vault by the same terse man as before. Pete locates box and sets it on the table. He looks cautiously at Claudia and Myka before opening.

“Here goes nothin’.”

He opens the box and everyone crowds around. It’s empty.

“Maybe it's in a different box,” Myka says, trying to sound optimistic. She skims a hand over the other drawers in the wall.

“Should we ask the guy?” Claudia suggests.

“It’s not here,” Pete says, with finality.

“How can you be sure?"

“No vibes. Dead end."

Myka falls back against the wall and slides down into sitting position onto the floor. “What are we going to do now?"

“I know,” Pete says, snapping his fingers. “Trace the Regent’s steps after they snagged the orb.”

“Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt,” Claudia says.

“There must be something!"

“Pete, you didn't see her. She just disintegrated while...” Myka trails off.

“We could ask Artie."

“NO!” Myka and Claudia yelp in unison.

“What about my Mom?"

“H.G. said not to involve anyone else,” Myka says, weakly.

“You got a better idea?"

Myka shakes her head.

“Claud?"

“Time to bring in the big guns,” Claudia says.

Everyone jumps as Claudia's Farnsworth bleats. “Uhhh, guys, let's get out of here, now."

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

A raging Artie is fended off, just barely, and Jane read into the situation. Enthusiasm returns when Jane says she thinks she knows where the orb is.

“Kosan had it last,” she explains. “And I know where he’d keep it. Tell Artie I need to see Pete and Myka ASAP. Put Pete on a plane and Myka, find Helena and stay with her. If we find it, we’ll need you there to know if it works. Claudia, monitor things from the Warehouse."

“Thank you,” Myka says, the knot in her stomach loosening ever so slightly.

“Thank me when we fix this,” Jane says. "I’ll see you soon, son,” she says to Pete.

“Love you, Mom.”

The Farnsworth goes dark.

The gang jump in the SUV and speed off to the airport.

“Claud, give me the phone."

Claudia hands it over, and Myka's eyes widen at the list of messages waiting to be read.

“H.G. and Emily are fighting. Emily’s threatening to leave if we don’t give her proof Dickens is alive.” Myka turns to Claudia. “Did you find him?"

“Yeah. His name is Mr. Whiskers now, and he lives with a three-year-old."

“Did you get a picture of him?"

“Negative. It kinda freaked the family out when I got in touch out of the blue."

“We need that cat."

“I-I should stay at the Warehouse like Jane said, but Steve…"

“Not another person."

“But Mykes…"

Myka crosses her arms and looks away. “Do we have to tell him why?"

“Lie to the human lie detector?"

“Fine. But he’s the last one."

“Leena’s super suspicious."

Myka swings around and glares.

“She could run interference with Artie,” Claudia says.

Myka drags a hand through her hair, grabbing a fistful before letting her arm drop. She’s lost control of this situation, but she’ll do whatever's necessary to save Helena.

“Ok, but she’s got to be the last one. I’ll call H.G."

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

Myka drives as fast as she can from the airport to Helena’s triangulated position and slows to a crawl in a complex of apartment buildings. They all look the same, but Emily said to look for a large oak tree, and when she finds it, she parks. She texts as she tumbles out of the car then marches to the front door. She texts again when the door doesn’t buzz open and contemplates picking the lock.

“Hello?” a feeble voice cracks over the intercom.

“Which apartment?” Myka grunts. She hears shuffling, then two short clicks.

“5B."

The door buzzes open, and she rushes up the stairs, wishing, by the third floor, she’d looked for an elevator. Upon reaching five, she locates 5B and turns the knob. It’s locked, so she taps twice, and the cover of the peephole lifts then drops. The door opens just a crack, and she pushes her way in, spinning around and latching the lock, then swinging back to face Emily.

She’s surprised to find Emily’s not there when she turns, nor anywhere in the room, but sees the kitchen is her closest option. She stomps in that direction, and Emily shuffles back, distancing herself until her back hits the stove.

“Everything's ok,” Myka says.

“I-I’m not sure I believe you,” Emily says, hugging her arms to her torso.

“Sorry to barge in. Are you hurt?”

“Just my dress sense.” Emily looks down, her lip jutting out into a pout.

“I meant physically,” Myka says, assessing Emily for herself. She's not Helena, that’s for sure. Her shirt’s buttoned too high and her ponytail’s too tight, but it’s fascinating. If "soccer mom" were a body type one could step into, that's how Helena’s muscles tense in Emily's persona. Emily’s genuinely her own person, and genuinely it freaks Myka out.

“I didn’t mean to be brusque.”

“You were rather curt, the last time."

“I’ll try harder,” Myka says, eyes caught by the avalanche of post-its adorning the fridge. “Is this how you’ve been communicating with H.G.?"

“Yes. Your H.G. is rather brusque as well. Rude, really.” Emily wrinkles her nose.

Myka’s lips lift into a small, crooked grin, imagining the sparks that would fly if Helena and Emily were ever to meet. Her mirth fades at the sight of Emily's deep scowl, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

“Here, I brought you these,” Myka says, offering a plastic bag.

Emily swipes it from Myka and pulls out the contents. Her eyes light up. “Oh, thank you, thank you,” she says and scuttles out of the kitchen into the bedroom.

Myka pays little attention, instead focusing on the post-its. Most are questions: what’s going on, where’s Dickens, why is the milk full fat? Several notes read, in bold letters, ‘Where am I,’ and on one, scribbled underneath, 'Paid until Friday.” ‘What happens after Friday?’ is written next, with no response.

As she waits, she studies the rest of apartment, one those "stay in someone’s home while their away” kind of deals. She looks at the notes again, and wonders what happens after Friday, too.

When Emily emerges, she’s beaming, looking like her old self.

“I wasn’t sure what size you were."

“Everything’s a little off,” Emily says, twirling while tugging on her cardigan. “But those tight jeans and baggy shirt were unbearable. I don’t understand why I was wearing them. I had other clothes, but they disappeared.”

She circles the couch and sits in a corner, back ramrod straight, hands on thighs, as if waiting for instructions from the principal.

“So, Myka. Tell me why I’m here."

Myka opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Should she explain this away with something physical like hypnosis, or medical, relating back to her amnesia? She already knows Sykes thought she was the H.G. Wells, a woman who worked for Warehouse 12. She's seen the coin, held it in her hand, felt herself disappear in its presence; she must be aching to make sense of it all.

She sits next to Emily and takes a deep breath then spins the tale of H.G Wells, glossing over negativities, focusing on the fact that Emily is Helena and Helena, Emily.

Emily listens, closely, conscientiously, and without interruption, her forced smile faltering as the details come into focus.

“So that’s why you’re here,” Myka ends as if the matter makes perfect sense.

“Everything you’ve said is preposterous,” Emily replies, without skipping a beat.

“I know. But it’s all true."

“It would certainly explain the odd dreams I’ve been having.” Emily looks down at her hands much like Helena did before. “But if what you’re saying is true, then I’m…” Her eyes begin to twitch, the corners tearing up. “I’m not real."

“You’re real, just part a bigger picture. If this works, you won’t disappear; you’ll be rolled into the, um, larger H.G. Wells,” Myka says.

“That’s not comforting,” Emily says and begins to shake, her breath hitching as tears fall in earnest.

Myka gives Emily a few pats on the back which makes Emily cry harder, so she slides her arm across and grasps her upper arm, guiding her closer. Emily lays her head on Myka’s shoulder and breathes deep, even breaths.

“Everything’s going to be ok,” Myka says.

“Will it?” Emily snaps, her head swinging up.

Myka flinches at the cold look in Emily's eyes, the small sneer on her lips more Helena than Emily. As their gazes stay locked, Emily’s expression softens and Myka’s stomach twists; she’s watching Helena struggling to get out.

“You have really pretty eyes,” Emily says, blinking demurely through her tears, lips quirking up at the ends.

“Um, thanks?” Myka says, gingerly withdrawing her hand and looking anywhere but Emily. Emily sniffles and Myka glances back; she's wiping tears from her face with her sleeve.

“Here,” Myka says, plucking tissues from a box and handing them over.

Emily takes the tissues, but Myka still can’t meet her gaze. She instead slips her phone out of her pocket to check in.

“Huh,” she snorts, then taps the screen and shows the Emily the image. Emily shrieks and shrinks back into the couch, hands flying up to cover her mouth.

“What now?"

“T-that’s the scary man who kidnapped me."

Myka looks at the screen. “He’s a good guy. He was undercover,” she says, a lump forming in her throat at the grim realities of that day.

“Why should I believe you? Believe any of this?” Emily swipes the phone from Myka and enlarges the picture so that only Dickens is showing. She drags a finger across the screen.

“Look at me,” Myka says, running with her gut. “You said you had dreams, dreams that make sense with some of the things I’ve said. Deep down, you know can trust me."

“I know,” Emily says, eyes angling up to meet Myka’s, the inflection of her voice not quite her own. Her lips twist into an awkward grimace, and the phone drops to her lap.

“You’re here,“ Helena says, reaching out to touch Myka, her hand slipping through.

“You’re already…"

“I’m rarely corporeal for more than a few moments,” Helena says, rising. The phone falls to the floor with a thunk, and the screen lights up.

“Is that?"

“Dickens.” Myka nods.

Helena rolls her eyes. “Oh, thank heavens. Now she’ll stop her incessant chatter."

“Do you know how long you stay in any one form?"

“I’ve been attempting to keep track, but the school teacher’s not the most cooperative."

“She’s scared. She doesn’t understand what’s going on."

“None of us do."

“Yeah but she—"

“Do you want me to stay like this? Asomatous. Apparitional. Incorp—what the devil am I wearing?” Helena barks, mouth falling open as she looks down at her outfit.

“I brought her clothes."

“Tell her to change back."

“Helena, calm down—"

“I did not suffer through all that business with Sykes to be damned for eternity as an anesthetized version of myself.” Helena stamps her foot and Emily's ponytail flicks like a horse's tail.

“She’s not that bad,” Myka says, grinning dopily at “angry” Helena. She's pretty adorable in Emily’s clothes.

“Fine. Have her. I’ll go skulk in a wall somewhere until she returns.”

“You can do that?"

Myka’s quip is met with a chilly glare. Helena throws her nose in the air and walks off.

“Don’t go,” Myka says, her grin fading.

Helena slows then stops, shoulders slumping. Myka closes the distance between them and circles in front.

“I’m scared, too,” she says, holding her hand near Helena’s cheek, heart fluttering at a slight thickening of air. “Can you feel that?"

“Perhaps,” Helena says, closing her eyes, furrowing her brow in concentration.

“I can,” Myka says, skimming her hand over Helena's features, grinning wildly at the infinitesimal buzz. “I have something for you.” Myka fishes in her pocket and pulls out Helena’s locket by its chain.

Helena swipes to grab it, but her hand fuzzes right through.

“Here,” Myka says, prying the locket open, lifting it up into Helena's line of sight.

Helena’s fingers slip under her collar, rubbing the spot where her locket usually hangs.

“And, we have a lead,” Myka adds.

Helena’s eyes flick up, meeting Myka’s, her melancholy coloring with a tinge of hope.

“Tell me what you know."

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

Myka lips form a dozy smile as faint puffs of breath warm her neck, an open eye confirming Helena’s lying next to her. The arm weighting her chest tightens as she snuggles closer, but loosens and withdraws an instant later.

“P-Pardon me,” Emily sputters, rolling away onto her back.

“Sorry,” Myka says, turning to face Emily. Emily’s cheeks flush, and she looks away. She wonders how much more of this Emily can take before losing her cool.

"Helena must have crawled under the covers last night.”

“I-I didn't know you two were a couple."

“We are. Sort of. I think. It’s complicated."

“That’s sweet,” Emily says, a hint of envy in her voice. “I’ve never kissed anyone, except Dickens. And he doesn’t count."

“Never?” Myka props herself up on one arm. “How come?"

“I thought it was me, from of the accident. Nothing felt right. And it didn't seem, from the pictures, that I’d been involved with anyone before. The doctors weren’t helpful."

“It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault."

“Could I kiss you? Just to know what it feels like? It wouldn’t be cheating because you said I’m her. It’d be like kissing her."

Myka’s lips press into a line but lift slightly at the ends. Emily’s not as smooth as Helena but just as forward, in her own special way.

“Please?"

Emily’s tone tugs at Myka’s heartstrings, the naiveté in her eyes the opposite of the worldliness in Helena’s. “I shouldn’t,” she says, but reaches behind Emily’s ear and slides her hair tie free. She runs her fingers through her hair and fluffs it out, curious to see if that detail changes her appearance.

“Do I look like her?” Emily’s asks as Myka withdraws her hand.

“A little,” Myka answers and grins politely. She threads a lock of hair behind Emily's ear, and as a spark of Helena flickers in her eyes, Emily stills Myka's hand and leans forward, pressing their lips together.

The kiss is tentative at first, unskilled, searching for a connection, but it soon becomes more confident. Myka drops her hand to Emily's shoulder, and Emily tangles her fingers into Myka’s curls. As Emily’s tugs Myka closer, Myka breaks the kiss and sees Helena has arrived.

Helena smiles devilishly then pushes Myka flat, hopping on top and dipping down to reconnect. As their tongues wrestle for dominance, a noise of pleasure escapes Myka's nose and she closes her eyes. Helena growls as Myka’s hands thrust into her hair.

Myka's grip tightens as Helena's silky locks fade, and when her eyes open, Helena is gone.

“Please tell me they found something yesterday,” Helena says, now standing, arms crossed, next to the bed.

“They’re still looking,” Myka says, pushing back to lean against the headboard.

“Why were you kissing Emily?"

“I was kissing you."

“You kissed her first.”

“She kissed me. She said she’d never kissed anyone before."

“That’s the oldest trick in the book.”

“You would know.”

Helena narrows her eyes.

"She’s only been around for six months."

“And that's reason enough?"

“She was morphing into you, anyway."

“That’s your alibi?"

“You do realize you’re jealous of yourself. Emily is you."

“She most certainly is not."

“Look, if we figure this out and she’s...I don’t know…absorbed back into you, at least she’ll have that memory to hang on to."

“Why would it matter? With your logic, kissing her is equivalent to kissing me.”

“That’s not true, and you know it,” Myka says, fixing Helena with a firm eye.

“Have Jane and Pete gotten back to you yet?”

Helena points with her eyes to Myka's phone. Myka grimaces, but does as instructed, and slides it off the nightstand.

“Nothing yet."

“Tell them to hurry."

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

Post-shower, Myka towels off her hair and steps into the living room, smiling at the sight of Helena, sitting comfortably on the couch, immersed in a book.

“Had enough time to change back into your old clothes, huh?” she says, studying Helena closely. "Wait. How are you sitting there?"

She scurries towards the couch and sits, placing a hand on Helena’s arm, ascertaining she is, indeed, solid. Helena’s eyes lower to the first fastened button on Myka's shirt, and Myka knows something's off.

"Emily?"

Emily’s eyes flick up; guilty as charged.

“Why are you wearing Helena’s clothes?”

Emily looks to the side where her clothes lay stacked and folded on a table.

“I-I thought I could be her for you. Or more like her. Until you two sort things out. A-And maybe you’d kiss me again."

“Emily..."

“It was nice, you know. Being kissed for those few seconds. I felt alive in a way I haven’t before."

“Helena wouldn’t like it,” Myka says, lips lifting into a crooked smirk. “You hungry?”

“Starving."

“I’ll make some—"

Myka's phone rings. She scrambles into the bedroom to intercept.

“Pete!"

“We got it, Mykes, we got it! But we have to hurry."

“Ok, let me tell Emily."

She dashes into the living room. Emily looks on worriedly.

“It’s time."

She sits on the couch and places the phone on speaker.

“Ok, I opened the orb and grabbed the coin. Mom has the bag. I’m gonna drop it in."

Myka looks over at Emily, now on the verge of tears.

“3…2…"

“I won’t forget you,” Myka says, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder. Emily lurches forward, pressing her lips to Myka’s as tears stream down her face.

A splash of static swells across the line and Myka pulls back, watching Emily’s eyes fill with Helena’s.

Helena looks down and examines her hands, squeezing then releasing them, studying their movements as they turn.

“Helena?” Myka asks, more for phone confirmation that her own.

“I feel…whole,” Helena says and looks up, bewildered.

“We’re so out of here,” Pete says.

“Maybe hang onto the orb to make sure it sticks,” Myka says.

“I’m not letting it out of my sight,” Jane says.

Helena's already radiant smile grows wider as she meets Myka’s gaze, her dark, sparkling eyes piercing the depths of Myka's soul. She plucks the phone from Myka's hand and lobs it onto the floor, then lunges forward, pushing Myka onto her back, kissing her, properly, without restraint.

Moments later, Myka's Farnsworth blares. She ignores it until the tug of duty pulls her away.

“Hold that thought,” she says, placing a finger over Helena’s lips, sliding out from under her. She hurries into the bedroom and answers it facing away from the door.

“Claudia,” Myka says, a little breathlessly, relieved it’s her and not Artie.

“Mykes, Pete says it’s a done…hey, what’s up with your shirt?”

“Oh!” Myka says, eyes widening as she looks down. “H.G.,” she mumbles, in a hushed but scolding tone, her free hand gathering the fabric together where her buttons are undone. When her eyes meet Claudia’s, she flashes a sheepish grin.

“I knew it!” Claudia exclaims.

“Knew what?”

“You two—“

“Don’t tell anyone, ok?”

“Why? It’s cool with—”

“Just don’t. Not yet. I want to do it.”

“Ai, ai, captain,” Claudia says with a wink. “But before you get all frisky again, lemme talk to Casanova."

Myka walks back into the living room, but Helena’s no longer there, and Emily’s clothes are missing, too. The bathroom door is wide open and the kitchen unoccupied, the front door left slightly ajar. She runs out into the hallway, but it's deserted, then runs to the window to catch sight of Helena on her way out. After several tense moments, when Helena doesn’t emerge, she lowers her head and closes her eyes.

She sulks back into the apartment and shuffles into the kitchen, laying the Farnsworth on the counter. To its right sits a folded slip of paper with Helena's locket on top. She’s certain it wasn't there before she left.

“I humbly ask you care for this until my return," she reads. "Yours affectionately, H.”

“Myka!”

Myka jumps at Claudia’s tinny voice. She’d forgotten the Farnsworth was open.

“Where’d you go? What's going on?"

"She’s gone again, Claud. Gone."

-End - (part two coming soon)-

[ehoiidoingthings]

‘The Winds Have Changed’ (Part 3) Noodlemoon

Part 3. 

Note: I hope you guys are enjoying this because I like writing it haha :)

    Light poured into the office as daybreak came. There wasn't an alarm to wake the snoozing koala because it was the weekend and there was no pertinent appointments Buster had to attend to. So, sleep he did; his chest rising and falling softly as he dreamed.

    It was the theater office Buster had owned for twelve years. He was doing what he usually did which was rummaging through papers, reviewing some shows to decide what to put on next, various letters from audience members, notes from the stage crew who reported needed fixes and budgets for new costuming and sets. It was just a regular setting for Buster. There was a knock at the door. \

    "Hello? Come in!" Buster said whilst still going through his paperwork.

    A thin sheep walked in while wearing a classic red track jacket.

   "Hey Buster." The familiar sheep said.

"Eddie! It's good to see you."

"You too. What's going on?"

"Not much, just some paperwork."

"Sounds boring."

"It is but I don't mind."

    Eddie moved closer to him until he stood behind the koala. Buster felt tense once the sheep made his presence close to him; he could feel the hot air behind him whenever the other took a breath. Buster just continued looking at his papers as his hands became sweaty from the tension of what the sheep was going to do. Eddie finally moved and placed his hands on both shoulders of him. Eddie's hooves moved in circular motions. It was nice, but very out of character for Eddie to do.

    When he couldn't take it anymore, Buster asked, "Uh, Eddie? What're you-?"

Eddie cut him off with, "Shh, you worry too much. You are very tense; I just want to help you."

"Uh, I-I mean, t-hank you, Eddie, but uh-" He fidgeted around and started to squirm in his seat.

    The sheep turned the koala around in his desk chair. Eddie took hold of Buster's face. The older male was left wordless at the affectionate display. The younger leaned down close to his face before speaking.

    "You are real cute, Buster."

    Eddie leaned down to press those soft lips against his own-

   Buster woke with a start and ended up hitting his head roughly against the top of the desk he slept in. Daylight broke into the crack of his sleep space and his eyes needed a moment to adjust to both the light and the dazed feeling he got from hitting his head. He rubbed at the sore spot on his head and checked the time. 9am... he thought, not necessarily paying attention to the numbers thereafter. He rolled over onto his back and thought the dream over. Is this what my life has come too? Inappropriate dreams about my friend?... Doing such things to me?... In my office? Buster shook his head away from the dream.

    "Boy, I am lonely. Eight years is all it takes for me to suddenly become a goddamn pervert..." He thought aloud.

    Buster sighed. He had hoped all thoughts about the kiss from last night would go away but they didn't. Buster was still thinking, kept replaying the moment and how it was. How it had felt. It felt good. For what seemed the hundredth time, Buster shook his head. He quickly dressed and emerged from the drawer to sit at his desk. There would be no iguana greeting him today for she took the day off to go on a date Johnny had suggested. Even Mrs. Crawly is meeting people... Buster set his hands and head upon his desk. His finger traced small patterns across the wooden surface. He thought back to the conversation he had with Eddie about getting an apartment. He pulled out his phone and looked at his bank account; never before had Buster had so much money that he needed a bank account. And never before was Judith so happy to open an account for him and even give him a credit card. He decided he would do it. He went into his contacts to call Eddie but then quickly decided to forgo calling the sheep. One reason was due to the fact Eddie would not be awake at this time and the second reason was that he got a pang of anxiety when reminded of the events of last night. So instead, he pulled out his laptop (also recently bought) and searched for complexes nearby. He then started searching for furniture. Then a new bike, then suits, then shoes... Soon enough, Buster had exhausted two hours just browsing stores nearby. Buster never once spent his money frivolously and, while the window shopping online was fun, he decided to make the shopping trips spread out. Today his focus was to get a new bike and check out some apartments. Buster grabbed his jacket and headed out onto the streets of the city. He walked for a bit until he reached a bus stop. While waiting he heard a pair of wheels come towards him and looked over and saw a gorilla on a skateboard.

    "Oh! 'ello, Mr. Moon!" Johnny greeted him.

Buster smiled. "Hey Johnny! How have you been these days?"

Johnny got off of his skateboard and stood beside him.

"Been right good; jus' been runnin' me dad's shop while 'e spends 'is time in jail. From helping out at the theater I managed to pay for some o' his bail so 'is time in there is shortened by a considerable amount but 'e still got some time in der." Johnny looked happy at he thought of his dad coming out of jail soon.

Buster gave an awkward smile and replied, "That's good, Johnny. I, um, I'm sorry he is in there. I didn't mean for the show to get between you two."

"No, no, no! Mr. Moon! Please, it's all my own fault; I made the choice to do the show n' none o' it's any your fault." Johnny smiled. "I 'ppriciate the sentiment, though."

    Buster stood there and thought.

    "How much more is left of his bail?"

    Johnny looked up from his phone. "Uh, about thirteen thousand. It was at thirty but I used some o' the money he got from recent robberies n' sold his jewelry, some cars and other worthwhile things." He ran his fingers through his hair and added, "And pretty much any paycheck I get goes towards the bail." He chuckled. "People still come to 'is garage calling to have them cars fixed despite everythin'."

Buster gave a chuckle. "Those are some loyal customers."

"Yeah."

    There was a pause. Buster thought up a new topic.

    "So, what brings you to the bus stop, Johnny?"

"Oh, I gotta get some new trucks for my skateboard; getting flimsy 'cause I use it so much. I don't want to spend money on gas for a car."

"Ah, seems pretty reasonable." Buster replied.

"Yeah, the bike shop 'John's Place' has got some pretty good deals wit' some high quality items der."

    Buster gave a small gasp.

    "It's funny you say that because that is exactly where I'm heading!"

Johnny grinned. "No way, what would you need der?"

Buster fumbled with his hands a bit before saying, "Well, now that I have the money, I figured it was about time I got myself some sort of transportation."

Johnny 'hmm'-ed before asking, "Don't ya got the money for a car, though?"

"I mean, I do but I, uh, I just like riding bikes. Gets me outside, helps keep the pudge off..." Buster blushed remembering his and Eddie's conversation.

    Buster's attention was drawn to Johnny when he heard him laugh.

    "Sorry, Mr. Moon. ''elp keep the pudge off'. You needn't worry about it, Mr. Moon, you're fine."

    Buster smiled. "Thanks Johnny. Still getting a bike though, but now just because I like it, not because I've any shame of my figure."

Johnny laughed a bit more.

"That's good, Mr. Moon."

    Just then the bus pulled up. Buster was about to get on when he turned around to Johnny.

    "You, uh, you don't have to keep by my side if you don't want to." He twirled his fingers. "Just figured I'd say that in case you felt like you had to sit with me or stick with me in the bike shop. I know I'm not the most exciting company-"

"No way, Mr. Moon!" Johnny stopped him. "I enjoy you're company! I would be 'appy to make the trip wit' you!" Johnny gave a genuine smile at the koala.

    Buster gave a smile back.

    "Alright Johnny. If you insist! And, thank you."

"Yeah, I 'onestly would like to keep your company!"

    Buster hopped up onto the bus.

    "Let's get going then!"

    To Buster, the bus ride was quite comfortable with the gorilla. It definitely made the trip a lot faster for the two of them having someone to talk to. Johnny talked about how it was learning to run his dad's shop independently and how he gained respect for what his father did aside robbing with running the house and business. Buster would bring up older stories of him helping his dad out at his car wash and the two of them talked about the theater's most recent shows and chatted about what show to put on next.

    "How bout' a romance? Theater 'asn't done one o' those in a bit." Johnny suggested.

"No!" Buster said a little fast. Johnny looked at him in confusion before Buster recovered with, "Uh, I mean, no, I don't think people would be interested." He gave a nervous laugh.

"Hmm, I dunno, people always like a good ol' romance I've experienced." Johnny stated.

    Buster sat while his hands fidgeted. Johnny noticed this but waited for the older man to reply.

    When he didn't, Johhny asked, "What's the matter, Mr. Moon? You want to talk bout' it? Someone break ya heart or somethin'?"

    Buster leaned against the window and his ears drooped.

    "Uh, nothing like that, no; I haven't really dated someone in eight years. It's just... Recently things with me and romance have become, let's see... complicated."

    It's only complicated because you keep thinking about it, an irritated thought said. Johnny shifted next to him.

    "'M sorry to hear, Mr. Moon. Whoever they are don't know what they're missin' fo' sure!" The gorilla grinned but it did nothing to lift Buster's mood.

"I don't know if you want to listen to me ramble on about it, kid." Buster said a little sadly.

    He was upset because he just felt so conflicted. Conflicted about something that shouldn't even be an issue. All he has been is anxious since the kiss that happened and, because he couldn't get it out of his head, Buster was questioning whether or not he was developing feelings due to it. Feelings that shouldn't exist... He's my friend! He's twenty-five! I've still got to pay his parents back...

    Johnny again distracted Buster from his thoughts saying, "I don' mind listenin' as long as you don' mind tellin'."

"I don't know," Buster's ears fell a little more.

"Maybe it would 'elp talkin'. I was part of a gang, remember? I know when to keep my mouth shut!"

    Johnny made a motion of zipping his lips and he laughed. The notion made Buster give a small laugh and smile as well.

"Well, I mean, alright." He motioned with his hands for affect. "I'll tell you, but no names will be used! I'll just describe the situation to you."

"Fine by me, Mr. Moon." Johnny sat back and crossed his arms and waited for the koala.

Buster cleared his throat. "Well, first things first, I'm into guys. So, there's that..."

    He looked at the gorilla expectantly. Johnny just nodded his head for him to continue. Buster took in a breath.

    "I'm friends with this guy. He, uh, he is a bit younger than me. Um, by eleven years."

    Buster looked again to Johnny. He just smiled at him and nodded his head. Buster was confused by this part.

    "Does it bother you? The, uh, age difference that is? I mean, since you are a younger man?" Buster blushed at what he was asking and adverted his eyes.

He looked back when Johnny said, "Not really. I mean, it's not that huge a gap and you're both legal. So, I mean, no use in taking offense to it. Me mum was a lot younger than my dad so I guess I kind of grew up with that. Cept' me mum left when I was lil' but that's another story."

    Buster took this in.

    "Oh, okay. So, yeah, me and him are pretty close despite the age gap. I met him when he was in college; the same college I went to when I was younger. He took a theater class and, well, I told the professor they could use my stage for what they needed. And he just kept coming back to my theater. We became good friends because of that." Buster smiled at the memories of his and Eddie's early days in their friendship.

"Anyway, fast forward to just last night. He had me over to his place. We hung out, you know, watched movies and played games, had dinner. Well, he got to drinking and-"

    Johnny interrupted.

    "Okay, 'old it there. I just don' want to hear any 'bed stuff' before you get into it."

    Buster turned crimson and began blabbering.

    "Oh! N-no! No, no, no. It didn't get that far, I promise!"

Johnny laughed. "Okay, Mr. Moon. Continue on den!"

Buster took a moment to collect himself and smooth his ear fur. "Alright, so he got to drinking and talking about how he misses having a 'sweetie' and someone to love. Then he asks me if I've seen anyone. I've just gone on some dinner dates but nothing more than that; nothing lasting within the past eight years. So, he goes and tells me that I'm..." He pauses and gather himself. "That I'm adorable... and good-looking... that I smell good, like flowers..." Buster hesitated as heat rose to his face before continuing, "and that I should be with someone."

    Buster shifted in his seat.

    "Was that all then?" Johnny asked.

"N-no..."

"What 'appened next then?" Buster could see the excitement in the younger man's face.

"Uh, well, uh..."

"Go on!" Johnny's full attention was on him now.

    Buster just wanted to go into a hole.

    "It might seem really stupid, but uh... When I was about to leave he grabbed me and... and said I am real cute and he just, uh, wellhekissedmeonthelips."

    He choked out the last part. The anxiety was back and Buster felt stupid at how he told the story and felt childish. He was a situated adult and should be able to talk about kissing. His shoulder's tensed as he awaited Johnny's response. He looked over and saw that the gorilla had his face in his hands.

    "Aw, that's just adorable though! Like, how 'e was complimenting you n' all! And by the way you said it, it sounds like you fancy this bloke!"

"That's just not it  though, Johnny!" Buster sounded slightly desperate.

"Like, I don't know if he kissed me because he is interested or if he was just drunk! And his age; he doesn't know what he wants! And I don't want to lose his friendship. Eddie is my best friend-"

    Buster immediately closed his mouth and his eyes went wide. He looked frantically at Johnny who had a similar expression.

    "Oh my gosh." Johnny said.

Buster's heart fell and then the younger said, "I was right this whole time!" He gave an air fist pump.

"What the... right about what?" Buster was lost.

"About you n' Eddie! Oh my Lord, you two are going to be the best couple; I knew it! I knew you guys had a thing for each other."

    Johnny laughed some more and some passengers started looking in their direction.

    "Okay, Johnny, okay... How could you even tell? I haven't had conflicting feelings for Eddie before this moment! I don't understand how you could get that kind of vibe-"

"It's jus' the way you two act around each other." He smiled.

"Anyone could assume you guys were already datin' considerin' how you two act with each other. Everyone also thought you two were partners after the theater collapsed cause' you ran off to 'is place immediately. You were also the only one Eddie called out when the glass broke from them bears. You guys care about each other but I think that it could reach farther."

    Buster heavily considered what Johnny was saying to him. Everything he said was true, but Buster had never really thought about it in this light before. Eddie was someone Buster always went to. I guess, in this perspective, it does make sense. Now don't go getting crazy there, Buster. There still is an immense amount of doubt...

    "You really think he could think of me like that? I mean, you don't think it was just because he was drunk?" Buster shyly asked the gorilla, his voice losing some of its usual power.

"Yeah, definitely! I mean, he didn't try taking you to 'is bed so, I mean, he couldn't have been that drunk; just enough to get some truth's out that's been buggin' 'im lately is all. I mean, that's what I would call it at."

    Buster's ears perked at the idea that Eddie would actually consider him.

    "I don't know, I mean, there's still so much..." He bit his lip trying to decide on what was so much.

"I dunno either, Mr. Moon. But, I mean, if you were to pursue somethin' more with him, I don't think it would end badly. I think, if you really want it and are just afraid of trying, not afraid of 'im but just afraid of trying a relationship, then just go for it! See what 'appens, yeah?"

    Buster pursed his lips.

    "I wish I had your confidence."

"Don't wish for my confidence, Mr. Moon; aim to have more than mine! I mean, Eddie said it himself; adorable, good-looking, flower scented and cute and now owner of a successful theater! You're the whole deal! And you're getting a bike to keep that pudge off!"

    Buster laughed aloud at Johnny's statements.

   "You know how to tickle someone's ego, don't you?" He wiped a tear.

"Yup! I've always been the one to keep things together most times at 'ome. Being criminals ain't easy." Johnny gave another grin to the koala.

"I'll give it a thought. I definitely feel more comfortable about the whole thing after talking with you, though." Buster looked at the gorilla smiling in way that he hadn't done the whole day.

"Yeah, no problem, Mr. Moon! I'm happy to 'elp! Thanks for talkin' with me bout' it."

"Yeah. Also, you can call me Buster when we're not at work if you want."

    Johnny's smile grew bigger.

"Alright... Buster." Johnny said with a bit of a question hanging on the end.

    They both laughed. The bus stopped a bit away from the bike shop they were planning to go to. They hopped off and walked down the street towards their destination. They took a few steps, both thinking about the conversation. The silence was broken by Buster.

    "You know, Johnny, if I really am going to pursue Eddie, I'm going to have to pay his parents back for the shows they've funded for me."

    They chuckled at the slight humor found in the statement.

    "Yeah, that would be a good place to start." Johnny replied.