#he likes branch so much he wanted to adopt him since the first movie

[iwasbored777]

This clip is finally out and I'm crying over Peppy's reaction when he thought that Branch is gonna ask Poppy to marry him look at his face behind Poppy I swear if she said no he would've said yes instead of her he looked so shocked when he realized that this isn't what Branch was gonna say 😂

[pinetrees-in-the-water]

could you write headcanons for father figure tim and brian with child ticci toby? i’m starved for content with them that isn’t a ship or with them all hating each other

ANON THIS IS SO PRECIOUS WAAAA😭😭💕

Im gonna create a bit of a backstory for this AU happening too, im invested in the concept.

(The same events in Toby's backstory happened with his sister dying had his father becoming abusive happen in this AU except, Toby is around 6 when all this happens, I tried making this into a bit of a scenario followed by headcanons so I hope you dont mind.)

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

◇Tim and Brian with Adoptive Child Toby◇

• If they didn't hate The Operator before they certainly did now. Recruiting a child was absolute bullshit.

• He appeared near their hideout in the woods, passed out with the mark of The Operator on his arm.

• At first Brian suggested trying to find Toby's parents, only to find the house going up in flames.

• "Brian we've got to keep him...who's gonna take him?

• He looked over to the boy now sleeping in Tim's arms. It had been hell to calm him down once he woke up, he was crying and thrashing so bad his tics were starting to hurt him.

• Brian knew their way of life was way too dangerous for a child, but with Toby's evident disabilities, trauma and him being marked now...foster care wasn't looking like an option either. The system would eat him alive.

• "Okay...okay yeah we're keeping him."

• They both divided their time taking care of him so they could not fall behind on The Operator's tasks, Tim took the mornings and afternoons while Brian took evening and nights.

• Toby himself never spoke unless it was his tics always choosing to gesture with his hands instead, but eventually he had slowly opened up to them, eating with them hugging them both goodnight. He even started climbing on Tim's Back and staying there while the man did tasks. It was rather cute, Brian had to admit.

• He''d gained back some energy since the incident, thankfully. He often listened to Tim's CDs and Brian's ramblings about Film-making intently. At some point they even started having movie nights together.

• On some level, they had become a little family.

• Until one day where Tim was late to come home. Brian paced the living room, it was 8am he was supposed to be back by now, hed left voicemail after voicemail and no response.

• Maybe the cops caught him, maybe The Operator grew tired of him, all manner of thoughts started swimming in his mind and he went over to Toby's room.

• The walls were lined with shelves of children's books which all stolen from here and there, Toby looked to be asleep in bed.

•Both Brian and Tim wanted to give Toby some semblance of a normal childhood. Games and Books were like escapism, except much better than the drugs and alcohol they both dabbled with in their past.

• Brian leaned down so that he was eye level with the mound under the blanket. "Hey buddy, Tim's not back yet so im gonna need you to stay in your room and lock the doors while I go look for him okay?"

• No response, Brian removed the blanket.

• Shit.

• He'd never run faster in his life, even qhen hia lunga threatened to give out stopping wasn't an option, thorned branches grazed his flesh as he searched wildly for his boys.

• Until he saw them.

• Tim was leaning against a tree as he held what looked like Toby's jacket to his bleeding head, Toby himself was hugging him tight.

• Brian let out a sigh of relief and ran up to them, leaning down to inspect Tim's injuries.

• "Christ Toby, don't ever do that again-" he cut off when Tim put a hand on his shoulder. He looked down to see a gauze wrapped around Tim's leg and the emergancy kit they usually kept back at the cabin.

• Toby was just as worried if not more, and for good reason too. He looked up at Brian, eyes filled with fear, as if exoecting to be punished but Brian's gaze only softened, he reached out an arm to ruffle Toby's hair.

• Tim beamed at them, then winced trying to get up. Noticing, Brian helped him to his feet. He rested his weight on Brian while his free hand held Toby's.

• "What do you say after you guys get me on the couch we have movie night ey kid?"

• "Y-Yeah, can...can we watch Star wars?"

• Of course, Star wars then became a new family favourite.

Headcanons:

• Brian's the usual cook of the house while Tim just buys food whenever he can. Toby really likes Brian's cooking but likes Tim sneaking him Mcdonalds nuggets a little more.

• Brian usually reads to Toby to help him sleep after a nightmare, sometimes ends up falling asleep near the bed because hes so exhausted.

• Tim and Brian have been confused for being a married couple in public like 7 times by now just because of Toby.

• Brian got Toby a small camera as a gift and he juat kinda..snaps pictures of anything and everything, the camera roll ranges from Tim sleeping to some random cat he saw outside.

• They started homeschooling him since getting the cash for Toby's schooling was proving too difficult, its going great except when Toby asks Brian for help with Math qhile Tim's gone and Brian sucks ASS at Math.

• Tim sometimes carries Toby on his hips because his back gets sore from carrying Toby or other work, Which has led to Brian joking about Tim being a mom (he lowkey is)

• Overall they're both amazing dads despite having to murder and steal for a living now.

[scandalouslamb]

How I Characterize Felix Ravinstill

I once told a friend that every single detail we have about Felix Ravinstill could be interpreted multiple ways that they essentially told me nothing. There's also very little information about him in the book to work with. When I write Felix, I try to base my characterization on whatever I can squeeze out of canon, but when presented with choices (which is basically all the time), I pick what's more interesting to me. Obviously, these are just my readings and interpretations.

(@coryo and @persephoneprice since you two expressed interest, I'm tagging you. Also some of these points will be familiar to those who frequent this blog.)

The Basics

Before I get into the true explanation, I thought since there are so few facts about him in the book that I might as well list all of them:

Felix is President Ravinstill's greatnephew in the book (Ch. 11), and son in the movie

Felix is assigned to mentor Dill, the girl from District 11 (Ch. 4).

He does manage to attempt an interview with Dill (Ch. 11).

Felix gossips with Dean Casca Highbottom while in a car with Coriolanus (Ch. 13). (I once answered an ask about this)

Felix is distracted by a camera crew upon arriving to Heavensbee Hall for the first day of the Games (Ch. 13).

Felix does seem sympathetic to Dill. He sends her water and judges Treech for taking her water (Ch. 14).

When Felix is dismissed, Lepidus Malmsey compliments him for getting Dill this far (Ch. 14).

Coriolanus notes Felix's good sportsmanship in contrast with Juno Phipps' reaction to losing (Ch. 16).

As A Mentor and the President's Nephson

I often characterize Felix on the kinder more sensitive side of the Capitol mentors, but I don't actually think this means much. Even the most sympathetic mentors are complicit in the Games and have been raised with the Capitol superiority ingrained in their heads.

I cite his relative care for Dill during her final moments (sending her water) and his ability to get her to participate in an interview as evidence of him being somewhat kind.

Now, Felix's judgment of Treech for stealing Dill's water does highlight his sympathy from her, but it also underlines a sort of limitation to his kindness. He has to have a personal connection to be able to sympathize with the District tributes. (I imagine that this is true for most of the mentors.) He's not going to understand that of course, Treech would do this for survival. Given the connection that Felix's family has to the Games since Pres. Ravinstill did put them into place, I don't think he's thinking about them too critically, and if he starts to, he likely willfully turns away from that line of thought.

Additionally, I find it interesting that Felix doesn't seem to have made much of an effort to help Dill before the Games. There are two options for this: he could have but he didn't want to or he did want to but he couldn't. (I suppose that it is also possible that he didn't want to and couldn't have either way, but that's boring.)

In the case of 'he did want to but he couldn't,' there is a viable reading of Felix that positions him as not very close to the president. He is a great-nephew after all. We get no other details about the President's family, so it's entirely possible that Pres. Ravinstill could have his own children. Perhaps, Lepidus Malmsey would suck up to anyone with the Ravinstill name regardless of how close they are to the President. Felix's attention to the cameras reads as more of a desperate attempt to stay relevant as a part of a lesser branch of a major family.

I choose not to go with that reading of Felix's relationship with the President, because I think it yields less interesting story potential. I am also influenced by the movie's decision to make Felix the president's son, and the potential historical parallel with Julius Caesar's posthumous adoption of his own great-nephew, the future Emperor Augustus (someone else has pointed this out before me, but unfortunately, I can't find the post).

Unlike with Caesar and Augustus, I don't characterize Felix as the president's heir. This is mostly me just wanting to have my cake and eat it too. It takes the some aspects of the less-close-to-the-president read of Felix and transfers it over to Felix who is close to Pres. Ravinstill.

To go back to not getting Dill medical attention, my preferred reading of this is that he is being overly conscious of his image. He doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself, because he doesn't want his mistakes to reflect on his great-uncle/family. I can see a situation where Felix believes that too much interaction with his District tribute might be spun in negative ways on tabloids and headlines.

Additionally, that he doesn't take advantage of the potential and try to spin it any other way leads me to interpret Felix with a somewhat defeatist and unambitious attitude. He also doesn't seem to be the most politically savvy, or at least, he isn't taking after his great-uncle who I imagine was rather ruthless and ambitious to get to where he is today (with Gaul of all people whispering in his ear). Felix's resigned reactions to Dill in the movie are also partially responsible for me characterizing him as defeatist.

Felix being paired with Dill stood out as unusual to me. Despite being a Ravinstill, he's assigned to mentor one of the tributes with the lowest chances of winning. This does lend credence to Felix having being lesser-relation-to-the-president interpretation, but I choose to believe that the president rigs his assignment so that there is less pressure on him.

Being a Ravinstill and More on Being a Nephson

To explain what I just asserted about Felix's mentor assignment, I need to explain how I think being related to the president and a Ravinstill affects him.

Again, Coriolanus' speculation on Felix's relation to the president being the reason that Lepidus Malmsey is speaking so highly of him feels like it would be a constant in Felix's life. People want to get closer to him because of that relation, but people are watching him because of it (see above where I mention this as a potential reason for not trying more with Dill). I imagine that this puts a lot of pressure on him which gets to him.

Due to the disingenuous nature of many people approaching and complimenting Felix, I think that it not only adds to his insecurities, but when he can find people who are genuine with him, he values them dearly and gets rather protective (and maybe possessive). (I've mentioned why I think he and Festus would be good together both as friends or lovers in my other post, but Felix and Hilarius work as friends because I imagine their families are closer in status and wealth than some others.)

As I imagine that Pres. Ravinstill is a distant father figure to Felix but also personally attached to him, Pres. Ravinstill knowing that Felix is both kind-hearted and not ruthless chooses to give him a tribute that has likely no chance of winning. This has the Ravinstills saving face (no chance for a embarrassing defeat if there's no hope of winning) and (the president hopes) that Felix will know better to get attached. (Felix still gets subconsciously a little attached. See Dill ask)

This reading of Felix's mentorship assignment also highlights that his great-uncle doesn't seem to have much confidence in his competence which leads to Felix being insecure and eager to please when possible. I do think it also has him leaning into his defeatism. He'll try his best, but if even his family doesn't expect him to succeed, then what can he do?

Pres. Ravinstill trying to do something for Felix and it backfiring and leading to more insecurities is kind of the story of their failed father-son relationship in my mind. (It might also be Pres. Ravinstill with his entire family.)

I would be remiss to not mention that I don't think that Felix likes Dr. Gaul too much. This draws on him gossiping with Dean Highbottom, but it also has to do with my half-headcanon/half implied canon of Pres. Ravinstill and Dr. Gaul being close. Satyria Click does state that a good report from Gaul is substantial to the president (Ch. 6). (See this tag for my lowkey insane take on the Ravinstill-Gaul dynamic).

What Can We Learn From Movie! Felix?

It should be noted that Felix and Pres. Ravinstill's relationship is also influenced by this line in the movie: "maybe, he would have if he wasn't so busy running the country." (In response to Festus asking if Pres. Ravinstill ever taught Felix table manners)

I love the attempt at showing off status and prestigious wrapped in humor which also hides the reality of an absentee father figure.

Additionally, while portray Felix as rather sympathetic, the haughtiness and judgment of movie! Felix is still something that I see being compatible with my interpretation of him. I think he gets particularly indignant when he feels cornered or embarrassed in a social situation. This is when the worst of him comes out. (I choose to read him shit-talking Sejanus as him actually wanting to shit-talk Gaul, but nobody joined him, so he had to change targets. Yes, I know that this is likely not what the film intended.)

Felix eating with his fingers endears him to me greatly and could be a sign of cracks in his projected facade of perfection, and it does feel to me that Felix's insecurities are showing through when he responds to Festus. I think that there are times that Felix relaxes too much in public around his peers, and he gets self-conscious about it.

I often kill Felix in my stories, and we can blame the movie for giving me inspiration for that too. Unfortunately, being a Ravinstill also doesn't help as I imagine that Coriolanus would want to get rid of any competition for power and the prestige of being family to the previous president puts a tempting target on Felix's back.

Death and a Dip into Extended Ravinstill Lore

Felix's death also speaks to me on a thematic level. The Capitol's children obviously have more privilege and luxury than the District kids. In the bigger picture, amidst all the backstabbing of politics in that corrupt system, the Capitol kids' safety is just an illusion. The system could just as easily turn on them. What better way to illustrate that than with the death of the (former) president's own nephson? In my headcanon lore, Felix is the first time that Coriolanus murders one of his former classmates (See this ask for more).

I have a lot of thoughts on extended Ravinstill lore that goes beyond the scope of this post (See this and this for more) but know that I thinned out the Ravinstill family tree quite a bit before the start of canon. This serves to reinforce the idea of how the Capitol (or at least the unfair system that it runs) isn't truly good for anyone even those in power. It also helps reinforce Felix as a deeply insecure individual who lives in the shadow of two generations worth of dead family members.

...

Okay, this is double in size from the Festus post. I hope that this is coherent! I also hope that I'm not forgetting anything! I have so many Felix thoughts that it is possible.

If any of this sounds interesting, I recommend trying to read my fics on ao3 (they're actually unrestricted now!) if you haven't already.

If you have read my fics, I sincerely hope this was interesting/insightful as a lot of what is here is already in my fics in some form.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

[spooky-circuits]

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the events of each movie is gonna have soem wild differences. One in particular being that I don't think Creek would betray Poppy and Branch like he does know Trolls 1 in the Snack Attack au since A) they have a friend on the inside who is a Bergan and B) He cares too much for them after literally spending the latter part of their teenage years roughing it in the woods with them to try something like that. He probably only promised to help to keep himself from being eaten, but then double crosses Chef.

I also feel the different tribes would interact differently with the Pop Trolls since, well, they'd already met Poppy and her friends! Delta damn near adopted them and such cuz she has a soft spot for kids! So a lot of events will have drastic changes.

And obviously, Band Together would be completely different. I think the events themselves can still be hopelessly, but the person caught in the diamond bottle should be the Snack Pack and Branch. Just for drama and to give motivation for the brothers to put aside their differences.

Yeah I can see that!

I think with the first one they definitely give Creek a chance to double cross Chef. Branch knows Creek would just need a chance to come up with something and would play up feeling betrayed to buy him time.

I’m thinking of Poppy meeting Barb before they both become Queen and maybe Barb learns early that maybe different genres can get along. Her dad doesn’t actually seem to have anything against pop music personally so I could see him wanting Barb to maybe make friends with someone who would understand her struggles with being a princess. Since one of Poppy’s goals was reuniting the troll tribes.

As for Band together yeah lets just go with that for now.

[lucifyrfallen]

following my last post about reverse species kiri and spider

when thinking about the au, i didn't considered the fact that spider doesn't really need to have paz and quaritch's DNA, it could've just been one of the two, and i also think that technology there would've improved so much that he could've just been entirely made artificially. i did it because i just like the drama.

i was also very sleep deprived when i posted that au, so i didn't consider that the sully's might also adopt him since i don't think his appearance would trigger neytiri since he is, well, not a human.

of course, he could also get adopted by another family. but that's up in the air if anyone wants to think about it.

now, i could go into two different direction. one that kinda follows canon and the other is an entirely different story.

since he is born in a not so normal circumstances, spider would've still be visiting the scientests a lot. to get tested, and to see if everything is alright. that part stays the same, but this is where the branch would start to separate, the first one goes on to explore on entirely different story.

before Spider was even made, there was a lot of experiments that failed over and over again. they had successfully made human babies before but na'vi babies are different in biology and their purpose. artificially made human babies are alive, na'vi babies are made to be vessels; this experiment was created to make more avatars faster, and in large quantities.

so imagine everyone's surprise - more so freaked out - that Spider started to have a heartbeat just a few days after the humans were sent back to earth. it's faint, and you could barely hear it but its there. Norm frantically called over Jake, followed Neytiri who is convinced that it was Eywa's blessing, and she's probably right. like always.

Spider was taken out from the machine he was in (whatever it's called,, baby maker 3000) as soon as he tried to open his eyes and started spasming. it was the sound of a miracle that night, a newborn cry.

only when he did settle was when he was cradled in the arms of his mother. (inspired by @dirtytransmasc mama!neytiri au mwah i love you)

he would be the oldest, and i think his personality would reflect that. i don't think he would take Neteyam's place, but definitely more... responsible, and a teacher to his younger siblings if anything.

now on the topic of the movie, where he was kidnapped. there's a large possibility that he would've traded places with Kiri, that she would be kidnapped instead but let's focus on one idea first.

if Spider was kidnapped, he would've done the same thing as OG!Spider would, keeping his mouth shut and acting as if he doesn't know anything, but definitely more... aggressive, i would not be surprised if they bound and strapped him down. i do think they be more brutal to him as he and Quaritch do not share any history together, so there would be no bond between them. he could potentially warrant some pity points and go outside with the recoms to "loosen him up"

Spider doesn't try to run away since he could endanger his family and clan because of the tracker they put on him. so instead he tries to use other methods to ward them off, like trying to kill them with Ikrans or hunting like a "na'vi" with little to no instructions. hoping that one of them will die. they don't, unfortunately.

so he went through their plans, all the while making his own. maybe he could push one of them off the boat and let some fish eat them or maybe stab them in their sleep, a lot of ideas.

Spider tries to hide his anger towards the murdered Tulkuns, his disgust when they show off as if it's something to be proud of, he really did, but he couldn't help the hiss when they showed off the golden fluid taken directly from the poor mothers brain. so what if he purposely tripped them face first by extending his leg in their direction, not his fault that they can't see, and it was definitely their fault that they thought Spider even wanted to see this.

Spider did everything they want him to do, in hopes they will not kill him before he does. but one he regretted was agreeing to translate for the Metkayina tribe, for letting those monters burn down their homes, and threatening their lives. he has begged, cried, and screamed for forgiveness- for them stop. but they wouldn't, even when he latched onto Quaritch and fought him, made him bleed - bruised him.

Spider was sedated shortly after that.

ok....i have more.... but i will continue, later. following Quaritch threatening Kiri- all those juicy bits, and of course i will elaborate more on the other possibilities. again my inbox always open if you wanna talk more or questions, n all the sorts, thx !!

[hchollym]

Hi. Fanfiction anon here

(Sorry this might be a long one)

So, as we’ve already established, Percy’s personality and actions are because of or influenced by his family. So the basic premise is, what if he was raised by someone else?

One day, when Percy’s still pretty young so he wouldn’t remember much (say like say like 3-4 or something) Percy’s in a safe house and he’s getting pretty antsy being cooped up for so long. He’s not as fixed on rules yet so he decides it wouldn’t be a big deal if one night, when everyone is asleep, sneak outside to just stretch his legs, ya know. He would go far just stand out in the garden for a bit. So he does.

He’s outside just chilling when one of two things happen (I haven’t decided which would be more likely yet) he see’s something in the woods and decides to follow it, or gets scared of something and, in a blind panic, accidentally runs into the woods. No matter how it happens, he ends up in the woods.

After some mindless wandering, he eventually trips over a large tree branch (cliche I know but I couldn’t think of literally anything else) and rolls down a small hill or something and hits his head pretty hard. He passes out for a while and wakes up in the morning with no memory of anything. (He probably writes his name (just the first) on his clothes tags so he remembers that at least)

He wanders around for a bit before finding a path which leads him to a muggle town. He asks some people for help, which they try to but since he can’t remember literally anything it’s pretty difficult.

I can’t decide whether to have someone take him to the police which lands him in and orphanage/foster care before finally getting adopted or to have him be picked up by someone who decides to take him in because, hey… a small kid with no memory and very clearly in need of help? Who would just leave him?

Either way he gets adopted into some random muggle family. Probably at least with one child minimum and three maximum, and maybe some lgbtq parents. (No reason just think it’d be nice)

The Weasley’s haven’t reported him missing because:

It’s the middle of the war and people have already assumed the worst

They don’t have the knowledge of missing people posters or anything so they just let people know and hope he turns up

They don’t think to check any muggle villages or ask any muggles if they’ve seen anything

Again, it’s the middle of the war so they don’t have the time or the resources to go look for him so they just leave it. If he shows up he shows up, if not, well…

The night he left was the night his safe house was raided and everyone was killed. They assumed he just got caught in it

Either way, his disappearance is not reported and nothing of him ever comes up.

He grows up with the family that took him in and it’s completely different from how he would have been raided with the Weasley’s.

This family is pretty wealthy. Not Malfoy rich or anything, but wealthy enough to keep the fridge and cupboards fully stocked with lots of stuff, able to go on out of country holidays each year and get absolutely spoiled on birthdays and Christmas’

They’re muggles with absolutely no idea of wizards or witches, so Percy grows up with no knowledge of magic, Hogwarts or even the Ministry

Again, they’re muggles. So he’d interact with a lot of muggle stuff that he never would have had he been raised with the Weasley’s. For example, he’d go to places like aquariums/zoos and museums (I don’t think the wizarding community has those), he’d have access to TV, video games and (depending if we want to keep this set in the 1900’s like in cannon or modernise it to like 2010’s or something) video games and the internet. He’d have access to a lot of cartoons, movies and probably comics/fiction books

He’s also more likely to get a pet (nothing special I just think it’s be cool)

Less children. Instead of growing up with 6, he would only have 1-3 siblings. He’d be the baby if the family and the others would all be at least a year or so older than him. (I was thinking an older sister who’s a year older than him and an older brother who’s 4 or 5 years older). He’d have to compete less for his parents love and affection, he’s more likely to be included in their lives, and a lot less bullying and teasing (of course there would still be the normal sibling fights, but it’s just be a normal amount and nobody would take it too far) He’s also probably get along with them better (depending on how you characterise them)

His adopted parent(s) would be extremely loving and supportive, so he wouldn’t have those high expectations or the constant neglect of his feelings and interests

Ties in with the money thing, but his parents have pretty good paying jobs so he wouldn’t have anything to resent them for

He’s autistic (big head cannon of mine) so he’d probably have a lot more help with that (again not super relevant or anything but I think it’s cool)

He’d be socialised with others more, since again, it’s a muggle family. He’d probably go to parks and play with the kids there. The parents have friends who have kids. His siblings have friends who they’d probably bring round. Also there’s a very high chance that he’d go to a primary school before he goes to Hogwarts, so he’d have a different knowledge set and (I assume) Hogwarts doesn’t have any classes like art, music, drama stuff like that, so he’d be more able to access his ‘creativeness’ or something (idk). He’s also take PE so he’d probably be a lot more fitter and active then he would have been (do you think he’d take any clubs like the swim team or drama club or something?)

He’d also have more chances and opportunities at making friends because of school and actually being around people

No offence to the wizarding world, but I feel like the muggles would have more culture (I think that’s the right word for this) more foods, different architecture, sports, music, clothes, even hairstyles. Cause to be honest the Wizarding world just looks like Victorian London and the clothes are typically just robes on different colours and patterns

(That’s all I got for now :P)

Anyways he grows up with this family. A completely different upbringing and a completely different life. Probably a completely different personality and behaviour as well (or at least very noticeably changed). He’s less formal and strict, a lot more outgoing and probably more physical as well (like play fighting when he’s young and giving hugs and kisses to his loved ones. Also a lot less focused on the rules. Like here’ll follow them and respect them, but he wouldn’t get on others for it. If they get in trouble for breaking the rules it’s not his fault.

His 11th birthday comes up and he’s accepted into Hogwarts. His family are extremely happy and supportive. Since his personality and views have changed, I feel like his house would have as well, maybe a Slytherin but I feel like Hufflepuff could work as well. To be honest, in this scenario, I feel like Ravenclaw would be the least likely option.

Anyways he’s at Hogwarts, he get sorted into his house, he befriends either Oliver, Marcus or Penny (depending what house he’s in) and everything seems pretty normal.

Bill and Charlie don’t really pay much attention to the first year sortings but there’s something very familiar about a certain red head.

The year goes on and Percy’s thriving. New things to discover and whole new world and culture to learn about. I feel like his logic would have carried through so even though he himself is a wizard, he’d believe that all magic and unicorns, stuff like that was just form books and cartoons. He still feels like he’s dreaming.

Percy gains more friends, probably some minor interactions between Bill and Charlie. If he’s friends with either Oliver or Marcus, or even someone else, I feel like he could get pretty into quidditch, which might lead to him sort of idolising Bill and Charlie a little bit.

Christmas break happens and when Bill and Charlie go home they tell their parents about a red head kid who seems very familiar. They’re both understandably upset, but it’s been about 8? years now. They have to move on. However, Molly can’t help but cling to some shred of hope that it could be her missing son.

Back to school and Percy is sitting on the stands in the quidditch pitch, maybe with some friends, watching quidditch practice.

Sometime through Bill and Charlie notice and can’t help but be drawn to the boy, so they go down to see him. They talk and eventually learn his name is Percy. They get along pretty well and (depending on his house) talk to him every so often.

The year ends and Bill and Charlie go home and tell their parents about Percy.

It’s too good to be true. They don’t want to get their hopes up but there’s too much. They spend the summer thinking about what to do.

And that’s all I got so far

Thoughts?

Whoa! That's a lot of great details, and I definitely think you should write the fic! 😄

It's a super interesting premise. Percy would be very different if he was raised in a different environment (especially with less siblings/in the Muggle world).

I think it's more likely that little Percy heard a noise and decided to investigate (telling himself that he's supposed to be brave like his dad and uncles). After he loses his memory, he goes to an orphanage where he gets adopted (because it's a huge red flag if someone just decides to keep a kid they found in the woods without calling the police). The Weasleys look for him, but they can't report it until after the war, and even then, we all know there's a serious disconnect between the Wizarding World and the Muggle world, so he's never located.

So he's raised in the Muggle world. I've always sort of thought that Percy would have been happier growing up amongst Muggles, because he would have had more diverse opportunities for hobbies, sports, friend groups, etc. The Wizarding World is relatively small and isolated (even from each other), and there seems to only be a few types of people/hobbies, so Percy's choices were rather limited.

In the Muggle world, he gets to join teams like swimming and cross country, join political activism clubs, and find his favorite music/TV shows, as well as meet other people his age with those same interests. Overall, he's more balanced, socialized, and physically healthy, which all contributes to a better overall mental health.

It's also nice for him to not have to worry about the war, money, or fighting for his parents' attention (because there's less kids). He ends up being more relaxed and likely having a better bond with his siblings. All in all, he's doing well (though he still has some strange traits, such as obsessing over his hobbies, but they're less extreme).

One note that I will say is that if you base this story during canon time (the early 90's), Percy's still not getting a lot of help for his Autism. Even in the Muggle world, conditions like Autism and ADHD were still very stigmatized then. I grew up during that time, and nobody wanted to talk about those (they were just unspoken realities that people tried to ignore, especially if you were high-functioning). Since Percy is high-functioning, everyone probably just assume that he's a bit weird from losing his memory, but they don't look much deeper into it.

Anyway, so then he gets to Hogwarts, and he could still be sorted into Gryffindor, but if you're wanting a different House, then Hufflepuff would be fun. He becomes friends with several other kids, like Oliver & Marcus (which plays into the fun trope of a Hufflepuff adopting a Slytherin), and he enjoys school.

The one caveat I see with your plot is that as soon as an 11-year-old boy with red hair named 'Percy' is called up for the sorting hat, Bill & Charlie would immediately notice it. It would be way too much of a coincidence, especially because Bill & Charlie would have been around 9 & 11 when Percy disappeared - definitely old enough to remember him.

Regardless, seeing the Weasley family reunite with Percy would be amazing, because his personality would be different, but so would theirs. It would be an emotional, intriguing story, and I hope you write it! 🥰

Thanks for the ask! 😊

[smallestapplin]

(feel free to ignore if this is repetative and boring for you, but I absolutely adore those catboy hc's you wrote for the twins!! ;o; ow my heart,,) may I please request something short for pla!Ingo with that too? maybe earning the love and trust of a re-homed, scruffy, slightly older catboy? (would be super grateful for anything, but only if you feel like it! thanks!!<3)

AH- hybrids my beloveds.

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Working at an adoption café had its ups and downs. You’ll see hybrids find good homes and then some come back worse for ware.

A sweet hybrid named Ingo was the subject of that, he use to help you around the café whenever he could, very social but calm and out going, suited for a calmer way of life.

He had been so excited to have been adopted but a few years later he was back, a little beat up but still standing.

A few new scars, bags heavy under his eyes, clothes a little tattered, and older.

While Ingo still helped he was more shut in, he hid away from everyone else unless he had to interact, you’d often find him in a enclosed space like the supply closet.

It broke your heart to see such a kind hearted man like this, you couldn’t take it anymore so you asked your boss if you could adopt him.

He had been back for almost a year and no one even bothered with him, you refused to leave him like this.

Luckily your boss agreed and you signed those papers in record speed.

“Ingo?” You peaked into his usual hiding spot.

Silver eyes peer right back at you.

“Come on, we’re going home.” You’re hoping since he knows you from how long you’ve worked here he will trust you, even if it’s a little.

“Home?” The usual loud voice only a mere whisper.

“Yeah, you don’t deserve to sleep in a supplies closet, I have an extra bed anyways. That is, if you want to.”

You watch his eyes scan your face, looking for something that you aren’t quite sure of. The hybrid keys out a muted sigh before standing up and following you.

You heartaches.

When he was first adopted to was beaming with joy and purring so loud the whole café could hear him.

Now there is nothing, just silence.

You knew this was going to be a long road but you are determined to make him feel loved.

And a slow road it was.

When you showed him around your house and his room that you filled with clothes more his style and size, that’s where he stayed.

You’d only hear him come out of his room at night when you were in bed. You’d knock on his door and ask him what he wanted to eat or if he needed anything to drink.

While still as polite as ever he never made any suggestions. You still brought him breakfast, lunch, and dinner with drinks to match on a bed tray for him.

You were just happy he was eating when you’d see the bed tray on the counter and his dishes washed.

That continued for months before he started branching out a little. You’d hear some walk around during the day, sometimes he’d even poke around the corner and ask you how your day was, after you were done he’d nod and leave.

You remember how he liked to watch train documentaries and would have them playing on the café’s tv.

So you bought him books and movies about locomotives.

“You bought these…for me?”

“Yeah! I remember how much you liked trains whenever something about then would come on the tv, so I thought to give you something to entertain yourself with. You are home alone a good portion of the day so.”

You didn’t miss how his normally dull silver eyes light up.

“I…thank you, this means a lot to me.”

“Anything for you! Just let me know if you need or want anything, I’m more than happy to help.”

Weeks after that he started coming out of his room more. Still cautious but he was out and exploring the house.

He even starts sitting on the couch with you! Sure he’s on the other end of the couch furthest from you, but he’s building confidence!

His matching alabaster cat ears are constantly moving at every little sound, even if it’s just you moving.

You try to make conversation and jokes during these times, and while he seems to enjoy it, he’s not much of a talker anymore it seems.

Months tick by slowly but each day brought along new progress. He even starts helping you in the kitchen! Ingo seems to like cooking with you, or at least being in the kitchen with you.

You’re more than happy to see him slowly following you around the house. but he is still as helpful as ever.

You knew you couldn’t buy his love, but it made you so happy to see him so happy about train things you’d buy him.

Almost two years of this and it all came to ahead one day.

You didn’t have time to send Ingo a message that you’d be late coming home. You gave him a phone just for this, but the café had been so busy that you didn’t get a chance to.

You booked it home, sending him a message as soon as you got off work but he had responded nor seen it. You were tackled the second you opened that door.

“I’m sorry I’m late! The café got so busy, I didn’t get a chance to tell you, I’m sorry.” You said, a little out of breath.

But Ingo was deathly quiet, his ear laid back and his tail was low, if you listened closely you could hear his short quick breaths.

You can feel the shoulder of your shirt getting wet.

You gingerly wrap your arms around him, resting your head on his shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, I promise I will let you know no matter what it takes.”

“Please don’t leave me.” His voice sounded so broken and small. His grip on the back of your shirt tightening.

“I will never leave you, Ingo, you’re a very sweet and caring man, I couldn’t imagine every living without you.”

Your words seemed to open the flood gates.

He is shaking and sobbing into your shoulder. Ingo’s knees give out from under him, taking you both to the floor.

You gently run your fingers through his hair, delicately scratching his scalp, softly shushing him, reminding him that you’re here and you’re not going anywhere.

The older cat hybrid cries himself into exhaustion. You tried taking him to his room but he wouldn’t let go of you, so you slept next to him.

After that it was like he was a changed hybrid.

You nearly cried when you heard him purr for the first time, luckily it was just as loud as it usually is.

Though bashful, he loves giving and receiving affection.

You didn’t realize how touch starved he was until he was melting on top of you on the couch, purring like an engine, and nuzzling into you.

You also found out he doesn’t like going outside unless you’re with him, you don’t know what that’s about but he likes taking walks with you and shopping with you.

Coming home from a long day at work to the large purring hybrid was nice, even if his goatee tickles against your skin.

[smediumsmeatbae]

You’ve Been On My Mind

PAIRING: Chris Evans X Reader

SUMMARY: Its been six months since you and Chris broke it off but he still thinks about you. 

WORDS: 1000

WARNINGS: Angst, doing stupid/possibly dangerous stuff while drunk, language, allusion to sex but nothing descriptive, probably overly angst-y and possibly OOC Chris (ya girl is ruuuusty.)

A/N: It’s been a minute! Honestly, I missed writing but hadn’t felt like I had any good ideas until this one. Just hope I executed it well lol. This was an idea I had while listening to George Harrison’s “Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind”. Also I wrote it in a couple of days so its kinda been edited but very loosely. 

As always, please do not share this work outside of Tumblr without my express written permission. 

Likes are amazing. Comments and reblogs are better. (And keeps content fresh!)

Masterlist 

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It was dawn break. Light had just started spilling over the hills and the sky was bursting full of pinks, purples, oranges, yellows and blues. The trees, as if stretching out, greeted the morning as well with a wave of their branches. Chris sat in his adirondack chair out on the back porch with a cup of coffee in hand, lifting the hot liquid to his lips as he took a reserved sip. And you were on his mind.

He wasn't sure how you were still there, your smile warm and your nose crinkling in that adorable way he always loved. He tried not to give his brain a reason to bring you to the forefront. He didn't go to the Garden in the Woods park anymore; it was one of your favorite places after he brought you there for your third date. The little coffee shop across the way from the library? Impossible, since that was where you and Chris met. It's a shame too because they had magnificent blueberry scones. And could he watch any movie without thinking about how you felt curled up against his side? Doubtful.

He was getting better, though. He wasn't anywhere near where he was a few months ago. The first couple weeks after the relationship's demise, in a drunken haze one night, he desperately wanted to scrub you from his life. With every ounce of rage mixed with heartbreak, he burned the bed sheets that smelled too much like your cinnamon shampoo and your honey body wash mixed with something that was just your own. He deleted from his phone or ripped up every picture with you in it. He also threw away one of his favorite Pat's shirts that you had adopted. He couldn't bear to look at it anymore. He even deleted the text message chain that had stayed in his phone the entire 2 years that you and he were together; every joke, every flirtatious message, every deep secret, every plan to spend time together, and those pictures... Fuck, he couldn't think about that at the moment, how there was a picture of the perfect curve of your ass that he loved to worship regularly. And the ring that he never got to give you? Luckily, Scott was there to intercept it so that it didn't go down the garbage disposal. 

After those two weeks, he decided to try to get himself together. Maybe it was the worried messages his mother and siblings left him. Maybe it was because he was sick of crying. Maybe it was because he drank all the liquor in his house and didn't have it in him to go back out and get more. Whatever the reason, he decided that he had to move forward. 

Even still after that day of resolve, you were never far from his mind. You were ever present, a hook inside his brain, the flower that refused to wilt even through a winters' snow. A band around his heart that squeezed gently every once in a while, reminding him that he once loved fiercely. And when he wasn't thinking about you during the day, sleep had a way to plant you in. He had vivid dreams of you coming back and making love to him, both of you promising to make things better.

Slowly, you showed up less and less, especially when he started working again. It was really hard to think about anything else besides sleep when he was working ten to twelve hour days for three months straight. He went out more with friends, was less distant. He was acting more like himself every day. He felt the air in his lungs and the confidence in his steps coming back. 

And yes, you were still on his mind. But it wasn't the final days of fighting before you packed and placed your key on the counter, tears brimming your big beautiful eyes. And it wasn't even the possibility of you coming back to him, he didn't dare be that presumptive. It was just the good times; you playing in the yard with Dodger at his Boston home, a foot of snow on the ground, and laughing until your voice went hoarse. It was you making a cake for him on his birthday and it tasting delicious, even if it was a little lopsided. It was how his chest nearly exploded when you kissed him first, taking the initiative he was too chicken shit to make. And he smiled at those little memories. 

He still missed you, if he were honest with himself. He had thought about texting you a hundred times but always fell short, his thumb just hovering over the send button before quickly deleting the message. He had heard through mutual friends that you were doing good without him. You had gotten a promotion and even went out on a couple of dates. Who was he to come back into your space? And yet… He couldn't stop the nagging feeling that you missed him too. There was no reason for him to feel this way, it was maybe just hopeful thinking. 

But it was enough of an idea that on that day, on his back porch, sipping coffee in his chair that he got an immeasurable hunger for blueberry scones. And he knew just the place to get them. Without even thinking or giving his brain a chance to argue, he took out his phone and shot a text message to you. Maybe it wouldn't go anywhere, maybe you wouldn't even answer. But he missed your smile, and you had been on his mind.

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A/N: Lemme know if you want a part two or maybe the six months through her experience. I kinda dig this little piece and will maybe expand if the interest is there. 

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[sxdmoonchxld]

Operation: Pop The Cherry | JJK

Jungkook x Virgin!Reader

Genre: Smut

Warnings: rough bathroom sex, college au, unprotected sex, teasing, fingering, Jungkook has a virgin kink if you couldn’t tell by he title, lowkey sadistic JK, Gay BFF Jimin, mentions of alcohol and weed, brief mention of homophobia. bIG diCK Jungkook, more belly bulging, and I forgot what else

Word Count: 6.1k

Summary: Against you better judgement and thank to your best friend Jimin. You somehow agreed to let a stranger on campus known as the Cherry Popper, too well..pop your cherry.

Alternatively: You're a virgin. Jungkook has a fetish/kink for fucking virgins.

A/N: I guess i’ll keep putting this note until i stop reposting my old stories. I use to be lizardsocial, and this fic was previously called Game. You may still be able to find it somewhere on tumblr. I edited this fic heavily and it’s honestly a new story, but there are still some elements from the fic it used to be still in there. Unedited so please let me know of any mistakes or typos. Like, comment, reblog, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

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Bass boosted pop music seeped through the dense walls of the energetic room. Strobing bright colored beams danced to the rhythm of the music in mesmerizing synchrony. The musty odor of marijuana, booze, and sex-saturated air shrouded the room in a turbid veil, covering the sea of drunken undulating bodies packed in the cramped living room.  Empty beer cans and other various booze bottles mixed with burnt-out blunts accompanied the young adults. You groaned with irritation and disgust. You didn't want to be here, but to your chagrin, you had a promise to keep.

It wasn't a secret that the college nightlife was unquestionably not your type of 'scene.' You quite frequently elected to willingly engage most of your time in your freshman dorm, wrapped in your weighted burrito blanket. A nightstand stockpiled with all your favorite snacks, lights dimmed low, and lavender incense burning, filling your room with the aroma of relaxation. The perfect setting to binge-watch your favorite show for the umpteenth time, the shifting distorted brightness of your computer screen, projecting the scenes against your face. 

It's kind of funny how you got yourself into this mess in the first place. The one time you decide to take the chance and branch away from the alternate antisocial hermit, your personality had adopted as its own had come back to bite you in the ass. You admit, lately, you've been neglecting your best friend. Your reasonings generally varying from the classic 'oh I was sleep' to deliberately silencing your phone, not wanting to hear the constant shrill ringing of the default ringtone. You loved Jimin, you truly did, but you could only take so much of his eccentric mashup of bubblegum and rainbow sparkles that was his personality. Eventually, guilt began eating away at you piece by piece until you ultimately caved in and invited your friend over for an impromptu movie night in your dorm room. 

Not even 30 minutes into the movie, one that you had been dying to see, might you add, Jimin commenced his drunk and high chattering. He had already started 'pre-gaming' before he came over; Six shots of straight Vodka and 2 blunts. Every day you prayed for this man's liver and brain function; with how much he drank and smoke, you would think he needed it to function. 

"Oh! Oh! Bitttch. Did I tell you about that football player, I fucckked last week!" Jimin started slurring on certain words. You noticed his eyes were glossy and glazed over. 

"No, you didn't, Chim." You sighed, completely giving up trying to watch the movie. You would have to watch it on your alone time. 

"Reeaally?" Jimin slurred, a goofy grin uplifting his lips.

"Yes, really. You haven't told me." Amusement lightly coated your voice. 

"Welll, his name is T-tae, Tae-tae something. Hold on, it's coming to me." Jimin said, rubbing the sides of his temples, trying to remember the guys' name. 

"Taehyung! That's it!" Jimin shrieked, snapping his fingers in victory.

You looked at him startled. You remember Taehyung from high school. You didn't recall him being at this college, though. Well, it wasn't like you paid attention to many things outside your bubble anyway.

"Wasn't he homophobic as fuck in high school?" You asked, genuinely interested.

"Yeah, he was. Buttt I guess he was trying to cover up, that he was actually on the DL." Jimin smiled, whispering the last part.

"DL? What's that mean?" You inquired

Jimin looked at you with a look of betrayal. "It means he's on the down-low, meaning he didn't want anyone to know he's gay. Girrl, I'm too crossfaded to be explaining this to you."

You chuckled, " My bad, Chim. So was it good?"

"Fuck, no! Dick was straight trash. The only thing that saved him a little was that his dick was huge." Jimin said, wiping away a pretend tear from the corner of his eye. 

You laughed boisterously at that. If Jimin wasn't so adamant about becoming a professional dancer. He could seriously take up a career in comedy.

"Speaking of dick. When are you gonna get some?" Jimin asked, turning his body to face you completely. As you looked at him, you noticed his eyes seemed a bit clearer, and his face wasn't as red as earlier. Not only did Jimin drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney. He was somehow able to sober just as fast.

"Oh my god, Jimin. Please don't sta-"

"Mmm, no missy," Jimin said, wagging his finger in your face.

"Don't you hear it?" He said, cupping his hand around his ear as if he was straining to hear something.

"Hear what?" You replied, rolling your eyes and crossing your arms against your chest.

"The cobwebs and tumbleweed living in your cunt."

"Jimin!" You shrieked, slapping the arm closest to you.

"Don't Jimin me! You know it's true, I swear you're gonna be a 40-year-old virgin, and by the time you finally make the decision to have sex, it'll be too late!" Jimin yelled, stumbling to stand up from the couch.

"First off, ouch. I won't be a 40-year-old virgin. That's very insulting. Second, I do plan to lose it soon. I just haven't found the time or the right guy." You said, looking down at your feet shyly. You did want to lose your virginity, but with being an introvert with a mix of social anxiety and just a dash of seasonal depression for added flavor. It was hard even to get out of bed sometimes. Much less going out and trying to find someone to do the do with.

"Oh! Well, if that's all, then I got you covered, babe. Time? Next week Friday at Jihyo's dorm. As for the right guy, I know a dude. He has like a kink for that kind of thing." Jimin answered nonchalantly, now scrolling through his phone, probably on his social media page.

You looked at Jimin, head tilted to the side, confused. "What kind of thing?"

"Oh, you know fucking virgins and shit. Popping their cherries." He said, popping his "P's."

You sputtered, exasperated. What the fuck. You didn't kink shame, that was for losers, but he can't seriously expect you to do something like that.

"What the actual fuck. Jimin, are you serious?"  

"Deadly." He said, looking you square in your eyes. His tone of voice haven dropped an octave lower.

"Jimin no. I-i can't."

"Jimin, yes! Err, I mean _____ yes, you can! Come on, it's a once in a lifetime experience. Plus, it's not like he's a total stranger. I've known him since he was 8 years old. I use to babysit the little shit head." Jimin said, waving his hand in the air, trying to swat away a rogue fly.

"Wow, Chim. You know, now that you put it like it makes me feel a lot better about the situation." You said tone dripped in sarcasm

"Really?" Jimin squealed, a delighted twinkling in his eye.

"Of course not! Don't be stupid!" Offended, you gawked at Jimin. You swear sometimes he could be so dimwitted.

"Come on, please? At least meet him, and if the vibe is not right, then you can leave no harm done." Jimin pleaded, his attention back on you. Was it crazy that you were actually thinking about agreeing to this? Jimin did have a point. It was sort of a once in a lifetime opportunity. He did know the guy, and if you didn't like the vibe, then you could just bounce, right? Right?

Sighing in defeat, your hands dragged down your face and turned towards a pouting Jimin. Grabbing at his deflated shoulders, you shook her lightly, and with urgency in your voice, you spoke, "Alright goddammit! I'll do it, but you have to stay by my side the whole time, no running off, you understand!" 

You watched Jimin's face quirk into a sly smirk. You swore you could see the cogs in his brain churning. Damn, you were going to regret this. You had the tendency to make deals when pressured. Most of the time, those agreements ended up backfiring on you, confining you in the proverbial rock and a hard place. 

"Yay! Operation: Pop _____ Cherry has commenced. Okay, so will meet at the auditorium on the art campus. From there we will walk to Jihyo's dorm, it's only five minutes. Promise me you'll actually show up and won't flake on me." A complacent expression rested arrogantly on Jimin's features, a single pinky finger extended towards you. 

"Don't give this situation a not-so-secret code name. And I can't believe I'm saying this but, I promise." You agreed, interlocking pinky fingers, yours thumbs coming up to press against one another.

"So I'll meet you at the location Friday, don't be late, and wear something sexy. No granny clothes." he chirped, making his way to your front door.

"Wait! You're leaving already?" you frowned, looking at the clock on your wall. He's only been here for an hour, and 30 mins of it were spent persuading you to hurry up and lose your virginity. You didn't even get to finish the movie together.

"Sorry babe, but I have a dick appointment." he shrugged, putting his arms through the sleeves of his jacket.

"Can you at least tell me the name of the guy who's supposed to fuck me?" you huffed, honestly you were done for tonight. As soon as Jimin left, you were heading straight for bed.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget." Jimin slaps the center of his forehead. "He's a real cutie. I would fuck him if he wasn't as straight as an arrow." Jimin looks off to a far wall, eyeing it with jealousy.

"Just tell me his name, please." You pleaded. Oh yeah, that's definitely a headache forming. You could feel it already. Jimin snaps out of his daydreaming and spins his body towards you.

"Jungkook."

Time skip to a week later, and precisely as you suspected, what a mistake that whole conversation was. Now here you were at this fucking dorm party with people you didn't know or care to get to know. Jimin had left you as soon as he saw his next piece of ass. Restlessly you hauled down the short black dress that insisted on riding up your ass, the soles of your feet protesting in the slim heeled shoes. Floundering your way into the packed building, you couldn't help but query where Jungkook was. Jimin was supposed to get around to send you a picture of the mystery man, but that never happened. Funny how now was the best time you decided to question why exactly Jimin was your best friend.

"Well damn, the pictures Jimin sent me doesn't do you justice at all. You're fucking hot." You recoiled from the closeness of the voice, the heated breath sending chills skittering down your spine, and the hairs on the back of your neck ramrod straight. Heat spurred to your face when you whisked around to meet an absolutely gorgeous guy. Like unfairly gorgeous guy. You stared wide-eyed, taking in his chiseled facial features, paired with wide doe eyes and bunny smile decorating his face. Somehow, someway he's mastered looked soft and sexy at the same damn time. And fuck was that a dangerous combination for your pussy. Your heart too, but more so your cunt.

"U-uh, thanks? Who are you exactly?" You watch as he recoils back from your with a look of apprehension on his face.

"A-are you not ____?" he stutters cutely. You think you can see the beginnings of a blush burning his cheeks. You nod your head once to confirm his question. He stared at you a minute longer before you see the recognition spark in his chocolate orbs.

"Jimin didn't send you my picture did he?" Shaking his head with his eyes close, you get the courage the scan his face a bit more. Yeah. He's definitely blushing.

"Sorry. I guess seeing you here, I thought Jimin would have...prepared you better." Shaking your head from side to side because your words refused to come out. You watched as he backed up a bit further from your personal space and thrust his right hand out to you. 

"The name's Jungkook, or J.K. Whatever suits your taste."

With clammy hands, you taking his outstretched hand marveled at how it almost covers your hand. Now that he's moved back from you, you now had to chance to see how tall he really was. Maybe about 6 to 7 inches taller. You look down at his feet and eye his combat boot, perhaps a little shorter but still taller. And big, yeah, definitely bigger. His oversized black jacket did little to hide the broadness of his shoulders and chest. You let your eyes travel down the length of his body. You bet he's hiding some killer abs under his shirt. And holy fuck, his thighs.

"You like what you see, baby girl?" Teasing, he's teasing but God, if his voice didn't make you pussy throbbing pathetically. Whimpering slightly, you let out a meek "Yes." God, you hope he didn't hear that.

Much to your dismay, he did, hear you. How he heard you with the music as loud as it was, was a mystery to you. But you watched his pupils dilate, and his nostrils flare slightly. Jungkook tucks his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes rake up and down your scantily clad body. His heated stare scrutinized across your body, intrigue exerting over him, as he analyzed the way the snug-fitting dress molded to the curves of your shape. He could tell you didn't do this often. His dick twitched in his jeans with enthusiasm. 

It's the increase in pressure of your hand that makes you realize you're still holding his hand. You go to retract your hand from his. However, yelp shrilly as he tugs you closer to his body. Both hands now resting on his chest, and his wrapped around your waist. Fuck, you could feel the warmth and coarseness of his hands through your thin dress. A spontaneous tremor racked your body. The heat-transmitting from his frame mixed with the floral yet musky undertone of his cologne made you somewhat featherbrained.

"Fuck, you're so soft." You squeak as he squeezes your waistline, pulling you even closer against his body. You were now putty in his hands.

"Jimin told you my....preferences, right?" his voice caressed your ear. Just a slight movement or subtle twitch, and his lips would be on your skin.

"Y-yeah, he did." It should be an embarrassment how frail and breathless you sounded, but that didn't matter.

Jungkook hid his smile behind your ear. This was just too easy. Just how he liked it. He almost felt bad- almost. He was gonna ruin you utterly and completely, mold the shape of cock in the walls of your pussy. His name spilling from your lips, voice going hoarse by how loud he would make you scream. Fuck he couldn't wait. He's had virgin's before, a lot of them. That's his whole M.O. The cherry popper, virgin fucker, whatever. Jungkook's heard all the names in the book. But there's just something about you, you just had an air of genuine innocence, and he couldn't wait to defile it. 

Jungkook pulls his head back, enough to where his eyes can trail over the bared skin of your neck, and the sprinkling of perspiration sparkling off the bright strobing lights, no doubt from nervousness. His tongue traced over his thin upper lip, watching the droplets of sweat spiral down the curve of your neck. He wanted to taste you. 

"Alright, then." He jerks his body away from you. You're no longer touching his chest, but his hands are still on your waist. 

"Let's enjoy the party before the fun really begins. Every done body shots before?" Jungkook spoke casually, undeterred by the way you recoiled back or the look of stupor on your face.

"W-what? B-body shots, why?" you squeaked, failing to keep from stuttering over your words. Is this how it's supposed to go? Is this normal? You're bewildered, and just a bit perturbed. Were you just imagining that sexual tension that was going on just moments ago? For sure, you thought Jungkook was gonna throw you over his shoulders and haul you off to the nearest unoccupied bedroom or bathroom. At that instant, you didn't care. 

Jungkook regarded the war of emotions wage across your features, merriment and strobing lights twinkling in his eyes. Fuck, you were cute, so desperate staring up at him with a pout on your face a puppy dog eyes. He could honestly just take you back to the closest room and fuck the shit out of you. But he wanted to play with his prey, a bit more. The wait made it that much more satisfying.

"Don't pout too much, baby girl or I may not be able to contain myself. Follow me. The table is this way."

Jungkook didn't indulge in answering any of your questions you rambled off at him, delighted to see you trailing on his heels like a lost pup. Jungkook directed you further into the dorm, and like a dog on a leash, you followed. In the center of a sparse room sat a scraped up black table. You observed the area. It was devoid of many people. The several that were present made no recognition of your proximity in their intoxicated state.

"So who's first?" Jungkook asked, setting the bottle of tequila, rim salt, and limes down on the table.

"U-uh, I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter." You shrugged hesitantly. You were way out of your element here.

"Perfect then, you first." Jungkook should be ashamed by how excited he was at getting to sample your skin. It looked smooth, felt soft when he had you in his arms, and would no doubt probably taste as sweet as it seemed. You nodded in docility, wandering over to crawl on top of the table, being attentive to your dress. You lay flattened against the table, shiverings racking your body as he began pouring a trail of salt between your cleavage. 

He poured himself a shot in the depression of your throat and tore the lime in half with his bare hands. Smirking at how you flinched when he thumped the liquor bottle down beside your head. Jungkook pushed the other half of the unevenly split lime towards your lips, a silent gesture to take the lime in your mouth. Jungkook watched as your lips curled gently around the hull of the green citrus. A flare of lust stirred in his loins at the action. He couldn't wait to see your lips stretched around the head of his cock. He observed your eyes clamped closed as he began dropping his head forward to your chest. It was adorable and innocent. He noted the way your lips slackened around the citrus in your mouth, your chest heaving in speed, the closer his tongue trailed to your neck.

You tasted splendid, just as sweet as he thought. The salt on your skin did nothing to deter your natural flavor. If anything, it enhanced your sweetness, rendering your skin damn near mouth-watering. Jungkook's ears perked at the breathless moans slipping past the fruit perched against your lips, drawn out by the repeated pass of the wet, pink appendage lapping at the salt line between the valley of your breast. Committing your muffled moans to memory, he lapped persistently at the collection of salt and tequila in the hollow at the base of your neck.

You face flammed in embarrassment as panting moans effortlessly tumbled from your mouth. Who knew your chest and neck was such an erogenous spot. Despite your shame, you couldn't stop wriggling, shifting your thighs together for some form of friction to sate the rising arousal dampening your panties. You yelped at the sensation of blunt teeth nibbling at your skin before soft lips came to suck at the shallow indentations. Fluffy hair with an undercut came into your line of vision as Jungkook lifted his head up to your lips. Your heart stammered tortuously against your ribs, flirtatious eyes stared lidded with searing lust, his head advanced closer to your lips. Your eyes fluttered closed, lips puckering against the bitter hull of the lime.

Jungkook closed the distance, slanting his mouth over the lime, blocking his contact with yours. He sucked against the sour fruit, acidity puckering his lips, residual tartness flowing to your cracked lips. Jungkook withdrew from your mouth, taking the drained lime hull with it. Your saccharine moans were heaven to his ears. It had awoken something inside him, fueled his fire in knowing that possibly no one had ever heard such a sweet sound. He wanted more, craved more. 

"Have you ever been kissed before, sweetheart?" Your eyes followed the movement of his tongue, poking out to moistening his lips. 

"Yeah, once in like 3rd grade." Who hasn't snuck behind a tree or hid underneath the dark coverings of playground equipment to lock lips with a childhood crush?

He grinned salaciously, body moving to rest between your spread legs. Oh, now he was really excited. Your lips were practically untouched. Just another part of your body to claim first. You jumped when palms pressed flat against the revealed skin of your thigh. Gently, Jungkook rubbed lazy circles on your skin, never lowering or furthering than the hem of your dress. He felt you wiggle beneath his hands, observed your eyes, glimpsing―darting about, should you concentrate on his face, or his hand, uncertainty was etched on your face.

"Amazing." He groaned, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks, before grinning again. His face inched closer to yours, his lips but a breath apart, warmth flickered against your lips as he talked, level and smooth. " Well, how about I become your second?

And then his lips were on you, the soft muscle mangled itself to your lips, tentative and sluggish to give you a chance to register his mouth slanted upon yours. Jungkook chuckled against your lips at your unresponsiveness. He guesses you were a little shell shocked. It only takes a few more stagnant seconds before you're shyly reciprocating his kiss. Delicate, shaky movements highlighted your inexperience. Increasingly, Jungkook increased the pressure behind lips, his hands spreading to enclose around your waist, dragging you closer against him. One of Jungkook's hands removed from your waist to bury itself in your hair, gently his fingernails scratched against your scalp, an airy moan was his reward. 

Hands completely abandoning your midsection, one gripped the meat of your thigh, pulling you to the edge of the table, flush against the tent of his denim jean encased manhood, the other embedded in your strands pulled sharply on your roots, a loud gasp tearing from you. Jungkook took that opportunity to advance his tongue into your gaped mouth. His tongue wrapped itself around yours, briefly wrestling for dominance before easily pinning your tongue in submission. His hips ground against yours, the heat of your covered core teased him through his jeans. 

He thoroughly explored your mouth, swallowing the now copious cries leaving your mouth. Reluctantly, Jungkook tore himself from your kiss-swollen lips. The ravished looked suited you perfectly. You looked beautiful, thighs brazenly spread, eyes glazed over in lust, your sticky chest heaving from the length of the shared kiss. Even in the dim lights, he could make out the taunt pebbling of your nipples. 

Your mouth gaped wide, flapping about like a fish out of water, trying despairingly to draw air into your lungs. Your first kiss definitely didn't compare to this much. Your wide eyes flicked between Jungkook and the floor, your bottom lip tucked firmly between your teeth, feeling shy as he just stares at you. Releasing your teeth from your lips, you timidly touched your mouth, admiring how plump they've gotten from the intense liplock.

Wordlessly Jungkook hitched you over his shoulder, winded with a grunt as his defined shoulder blades dug into your stomach and what sounded like a growled vibrate up into you. You squirmed lightly in his hold, scared he was going to drop you, and secondly, your panty-clad ass on display for the party-goers, not that anyone was looking. 

You watched the continuous panels of hardwood floor move beneath you as Jungkook carried you to an unknown destination. You couldn't believe you were really doing this. Were you actually going to have sex with a complete stranger? Someone who was known for explicitly fucking virgins. Realistically, you should be ashamed, yet, you conceded full control to him without a second thought. What did that say about you? About your character? Would you now be labeled as 'easy' or a 'hoe' after all this was done? What was going to happen between you and Jungkook? 

The flick of a switch stirred from your thoughts. You shield your eyes with your hand at the bright lights pouring into the room, or rather a bathroom. Jungkook loved the confusion marring your features. He wouldn't fuck you in his bedroom just yet. That was a privilege you would have to earn, no matter how intrigued he had become with you. There's always humiliation to be had in the corruption of innocence, and fucking you in the bathroom was a good start. He planned on making you watch him as he destroyed your body, popping your cherry, stretching your tight virginal hole to accommodate his length, and claimed it as his own. Jungkook shuddered at the thought, his possessive nature taking a turn for the worst. 

Impatiently Jungkook sat you on top of the bathroom sink counter, his lips smashed against yours, the previous tenderness was gone, vanished into a puff of smoke. Teeth banged, and tongues flailed recklessly against each other in the heat of passion, with you struggling to keep up with the demands of his dominating kiss. Thick fingers trailed beneath the hem of your dress, tickling the expanse of your thighs. Jungkook wasted no time in shifting your slick soaked panties to the side, a warm digit gliding effortlessly through your damn folds.

"Fuck, you're already so wet. You're enjoying this a little too much, baby girl." Jungkook growled, panting against your lips. His finger breached your sex, you tensed deftly around the foreigner intrusion, stretching your weeping walls. 

"Ah, Jungkook." You cried listlessly, rocking your hips against his stilled finger. He felt so good inside you, and it was just his finger. Maybe this experience wouldn't be as bad as you heard. Now you couldn't wait to see what his cock felt like embedded deep within your pussy. Jungkook pumped slowly, eventually introducing a second finger to help loosen you up more. You were gonna be a tight fit, very tight, but that just made it even better. You hissed at the slight burn as he began scissoring his fingers apart with each withdrawal. Your hands wrapped around his neck as you buried your head against his broad chest, your mellifluous moans suppressed by the fabric of his shirt. 

"G-go faster, please." You begged, your body adjusting and quickly becoming frustrated by the snail's pace his fingers were pumping. You bucked your hips against his hands, hoping he would ease the growing discomfort boiling in your stomach. 

"Have you ever had an orgasm before, babe?" You nodded eagerly at his question, whining as you bucked against his hand again.

"Oh, really? Who gave it to you." Slow, he was going too slow you wanted, no you needed more friction, more stimulation from him.

"M-me. I-i did." Jungkook loved how you stuttered, it stroked his ego and filled him with arrogance to know it was him, and only that was capable of making you stumble over your words.

"Mmm, and how did you do it? Did you rub this little clit of yours raw?" You cried louder when his thumb flicked at your clit, the stimulation further drawing the appendage from its hood.

"Or did you fuck this tight hole, with these tiny fingers of yours?" At those words, a loud, choked moan, even muffled by your face in his chest, echoed throughout the white bathroom. Jungkook had gone deeper inside, almost to the third knuckle. Another moan left your lips as he twisted his fingers inside you, his palm now facing upwards.

"Though you and I bought know they couldn't possibly reach deep enough to touch the spot you really want." It's euphoric, no better yet orgasmic, the sheer shock of electric pleasure that zaps through your body when he finds the spongy bundle of nerves. Your body jerked heavily, legs go to snap close, only to be stopped by his broad body between your thighs.

He chuckles softly, stroking your thigh with his other hand. Jungkook shifts his head down, bringing his mouth closer to your ear. He exhales quietly, warm air tinged with tequila and lime caresses the light hairs on you around your ear. " I found it, huh?"

You whimper, rubbing your head up and down against his chest.

"You want me to speed up the pace, sweetheart?" Jungkook's voice is delicate now, so gentle. But you're confused, overwhelmed, and scared. It's never felt like this when you did it yourself. Your not sure if you could handle the feeling, so you don't provide an answer to Jungkook's question.

"Don't ignore me ____, that's not nice manners. I'll ask again." You clench around his fingers as Jungkook inches just a bit deeper. 

"Do you. Want me. To go faster?" With each pause, he arches his fingers in a 'come here' motion, pressing deeply against your bundle of nerves, the sensation of having to pee accompanied with each thrust.

 "Y-yes, faster, more. Pl-lease." Fuck, you sounded so pretty begging for him if he wasn't addicted before. You had him sprung now. Jungkook buried his face in the crook of your neck, the sharp smell of tequila and salt still lingering on your skin. He sucked at the junction where your shoulder and neck met. You bucked harder against his fingers, your juices now dripping to coat his palm is sticky cream.

"If you wanted more. Why didn't you just ask?" Jungkook said deviously. Confused, you felt withdraw his sticky digits, walls gripping to stop their departure. Without warning, Jungkook flipped you over onto the counter, your knees buckled at the sudden change in position. Your faced burning at your displayed state, droplets of your essence dribbled from your pussy, slicking up your inner thighs. You yelped as Jungkook grasped at the length of your hair, pulling back pointedly, your neck craned back to observe him addressing you in the mirror.

"You've been wondrous for me ____. Such a sweet girl." He expressed, his empty hand disappearing behind your perked ass to fiddle with the groin of his pants. 

"Truly, you have. Your response and reactions to my touch have really gotten me riled up. It's been a while since I've tittered on the edge of losing control." You wheezed, starting to panic as you felt the thick head of his cock slap teasingly against your slicked throbbing hole. Oh, God, he's huge. Jungkook's cock might just tear you apart. You shifted your hips forward, pressing against the cold marble of the bathroom counters door.

"I-i don't think, I can t-take it Jungkook, you're too b-big. It's my first-time, r-remember?” Your stuttering worse now, but you're scared.

Jungkook pulls your hips back with the hand the was grasping his length, the side of your hip now coated in his pre-cum. His hand lays flat in the crease of your back, forcing you into a perfect arch. 

"You can take it, all of it. And don't worry, of course, I remembered your fragility. I'll go slow, I promise." You plead silently with your eye contact through the mirror. 

"You ready?" You nod once an advert your eyes down to the sink.

Your mouth shakily falls agape as he slowly began pushing the head of his cock into you. It burns, but not as bad as you had anticipated. You take the chance to look back up into the mirror, adamant about giving Jungkook a thankful smile for his gentleness. That vision that greets looks like it jumped right off the page of your favorite erotic story. 

Jungkook's got his head thrown back, the edge of his t-shirt clenched tightly between his teeth, your eyes trail the drip of sweat that follows the curve of his jawline. You have a clear view of his abs all the way down to the v-cut of his hip, to the happy trail that leads to a neatly trimmed bush of pubic hair. You clench tightly around him, efficiently aroused by the view. You feel his cock throbbed heavily inside you, even getting bigger if possible.

"You like that, sweet girl? You like seeing me struggling to contain myself because you're so tightly around me. This little pussy trying to milk me for all I can give you." You love it. You feel powerful in a way. Do you really feel that good around him?

"Yes." Jungkook draws out the 'S.' 

"You feel amazing, so warm and wet. I wished you could see how coated in white you've got me, and I'm not even all the way in yet."

You scream soundless as he bucks into you, shoving in half of his length. It doesn't hurt anymore. You just feel stuffed full. Lifting a trembling hand, you take the chance a feel the lower part. You noticed swelling that wasn't there before, intrigued; you push down against it, moaning in shock you realize it's Jungkook's cock. 

"Yeah, baby girl, that's all me, well, most of me. You ready to take the rest?"

"Yes! Please!" That's the clearest you've been all night. You don't get an answer as Jungkook immediately picks up his pacing, thrusting into you faster. He wastes no time pumping deeply into your tight pussy, his tip smashing against the entrance to your cervix as you pant and grit your teeth in slight discomfort, overshadowed by pleasure. The burning sensation is back as he fucks in deeper with each brutal and swift stroke. But you don't care cause it still feels amazing. You can hear yourself, sloppy and soaking wet, echoing throughout the bathroom. You're drooling down his pistoning cock. You can feel it dripping down your inner thighs. Your head jerks violently against your shoulders, to weak support your head from his menacing thrust. 

Tightened vocal cords released strained shrieks of praise; from your mouth, drool dripping from your lips, into the sticky cleavage of your breast, and sweat coated your skin. The coil in your stomach was quickly tightening, never had you felt anything so deep inside you. If you ever had sex with anyone else, they would never compare to Jungkook.  You were fucked both figuratively and literally.

Jungkook pulled you further from off the sink, the new position allowing him even deeper. You clawed at the marble tops underneath your fingers, your eyes rolling in the back of your head. That sensation of having to pee is back again.

"J-K, I-m. I have to-," You don't get to finish as the band in your stomach snapped. Silently you announced your release; if it wasn't for the new wave of cum coating his cock, or the fluttering tightness of your walls, Jungkook might have missed your orgasm. He wasn't far behind you. The constant clenching of your ridged walls around his cock, had him reaching his limit sooner than he would like. Jungkook had half a mind to pull out but decided to gamble his odds. You're the first person he's fucked raw in a while, and with three deep thrusts later, he was shooting his hot seed right against your cervix. 

Breathing heavily, Jungkook lets you fall against the sink, observing as you crumpled against the sink countertop. Pride swelled his chest as he watched his seed bubble out of your well-used hole. He's never contemplated going farther with the virgins he fucked. He wouldn't make any hasty decisions now though there were still a lot of things he wanted to do with you. He would sleep on it and revisit the idea in the morning.

"So would you say, Operation: Pop Your Cherry was a success?"

You giggled, winded, still having difficulty catching your breath. You straighten up against the bathroom counter, the majority of your weight still resting on the object as you had yet to regain the feeling in your legs.

"Jimin and his stupid code names. I swear when I get a hold ass, he's dead." You warned already preparing your revenge on your best friend. You stare at Jungkook in the eyes through the mirror, smile a bit goofy, you say.

"Operation: Pop My Cherry. Mission complete."

[ktheist]

2prettybestfrens | jjk

muses. jeon jeongguk x reader x park jimin ft. kim taehyung

genre. strangers to lovers!au. university!au. 

words. 18.2k

drabbles. pjm

feedback.

warnings. mentions of physical insecurities, alcohol use, juul use, mention of adoption, mentions of dysfunctional families, handcuffs - lots of handcuffs, jeongguk crossdressing, too many one-sided pinings lmao 

synopsis. you’re in love with kim taehyung who’s in love with jennie kim who’s in love with professor kim namjoon. so park jimin doesn’t exactly fit in all of this, yet he’s always been there in your weakest moments which may or may not be caused by your heartbreak boy - or so jeongguk likes to call him.

oh and jeongguk? you don’t even know jeongguk until that party-gone-awry night where you end up handcuffed together to ponder on what you did.

x

when you uploaded a snapchat of your darkened room and a single teary-eyed emoji because kim taehyung uploaded one where a beautiful girl was covering her mouth while she giggled, jimin snapped back a ‘why r u awake 😬’ to which you snapped the same darkened room with a slightly different angle and a ‘just cause’. his last snap to you contained a ‘cool wanna call?’ before you dialed him up and ended up talking until 5 in the morning before bidding each other-

“well, good night then,” you’d muttered.

“g’morning,” he’d wished you back in a soft mumble and a hint of sleepiness taking over.

that happened on a friday night. on monday and for the rest of the week, you merely greeted each other in the hallway and went on your days without the inclusion of the other.

when you sat by yourself on the bench on the sidewalk of campus, under the shade of a great old tree a few feet away from your department after being left high and dry when kim taehyung’s friends asked him if he’s joining them to get mcdonald’s which he’d in turn asked if you wanted to tag along and you said you were good only because you never did well in groupies - park jimin sat down next to you, head thrown back as he squinted at the gaps of the leaves where the tiniest of sun rays managed to pass through and dot his face. blonde tresses swaying ever so softly when the wind blew past you.

“so how was finance?” he looked like he was asking the waving branches.

“eh, it was fine, professor kim’s a good teacher,” you shrugged, the sight of jennie suavely smiling and said professor shooting glances at her made you mentally vomit.

“man,” he blew a gust of air from his mouth as he ran a hand through his semi-long tresses, “were we in the same class? because all i remember was dozing off five minutes into class.”

“that’s why you should sit at the front,” you’d suggested.

it was then, did he push himself off the ground and stood up, black and white jacket pushed back as he slipped his hands into the pocket of his jeans. eyes narrowing while his tongue protruded against the inside of his cheek before he went, “you hungry?”

“starving,” you rolled your eyes before collecting your mac and holding it to your chest, bag slung over your shoulders.

the both of you didn’t go to mcdonald’s but the food tasted just as good that day at the cafe in your faculty.

when kim taehyung asked jennie if she was free friday night and the girl turned to you with an endearingly oblivious, “do we have any plans on friday?” and taehyung awkwardly but not so hesitantly corrected, “um, i mean, just you jennie,” the air, without a doubt turned tangibly tense and awkward.

“oh,” jennie’s brows knitted together as she stared at him, as though trying to spot the caption on his forehead as to why he invited only her when everyone knew you and jennie never go anywhere without the other if you didn’t have any prior engagements, “well, ___ and me are going to hang out together so yeah, i’m not free.”

you weren’t sure if she was dumb or playing dumb but you’d found out later that night, that she’d been irritated with kim taehyung’s non-considerate advancements which she’d recently noticed seemed to exclude you ‘i hate people who make plans in front of someone and not invite them’ was her exact word before she followed up with a ‘blockedt’.

but backtrack to when the tension seemed to rise higher than the sky, you were saved by jimin when he came mini-jogging towards you with that adorable boyish smile and crescent eyes, “hey, i was looking for you - you wanna walk to accounting together?”

you’d waved jennie and taehyung goodbye and gladly walked with jimin to class.

and so it goes, with kim taehyung’s eyes lighting like fireworks in the midnight sky when he sees jennie and the girl itching to make a beeline to the opposite side of where he comes from and you shooting her ‘be nice’ looks whilst park jimin pops up now and then in the most convenient time until ‘us’ no longer comprise of you and jennie but also taehyung and jimin.

so much so, some of your casual friends come to you asking for either of the boys when they seem to have something to inform them which you’re not sure why isn’t informable through text. but either way, you’ve become two best friends with additional friends.

maybe said additional friends happen to fall in the top list of cuties in the girls and gays’ books but besides kim taehyung, if you looked, like really really looked at park jimin, you concurred, perhaps he does have the right to be in said list with his unblemished, smooth skin, perfect pink lips and pretty sparkly eyes.

“what?” his lips do the thing where they curl, revealing a pair of perfectly lined white pearls.

“nothing,” you say as you find yourself third-wheeling in taehyung’s bmw with jimin at the back and the first commenting something about his older sister liking to shop at zara as well when jennie asked you if you were free tomorrow to go to the mall near campus.

“i mean i can go with you girls, i have a two-hour gap between classes,” the boy offers.

“oh,” the first laugh trickles out of your mouth without a stop switch, “you’re so cute.”

you can hear jennie snickering in the passenger seat as you turn away from the angle where taehyung could see you in the rear-view mirror, only to come face to face with jimin who seems to get your humor.

“it’s not a big deal,” taehyung shrugs, a tinge of pride in his voice.

“my man,” jimin pats said man on his shoulder, “you don’t know jack shit about women.”

“what?” the older boy asks, perplexed and quite honestly irritated for some reason - but then again, he never seems to like jimin’s quick-to-catch-on nature when it comes to any girls-related topics.

“two hours is not enough to shop, taehyung,” jennie finally decodes the long standing cipher, “we can barely explore one shop.”

by the end of her words, you’re is full out snickering like an unattractive hyena, “i thought you have a sister?”

“i do,” there’s a tinge of confusion in his tone, “she usually goes shopping with her boyfriend.”

“well, how long did it take them to go shopping?” she quizzes, sharing an amused look with jimin.

“uh,” it’s then, do you hear the sound of the screws in taehyung’s brain twisting, “she usually stays over whenever they do.”

“well, whatever you think they did after they went shopping - it’s probably not it,” jimin snickers, shoulderline jolting as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“so cute,” jennie echoes your earlier words, neck craning to look at the two other passengers in the back seat as she gives you a one-eyebrow-lifted look as if to say ‘this is the guy you’re crushing on?’

at that, you shrug, unapologetically mouthing ‘he’s cute’ - in a much different and adoring sense than the first time which jennie must’ve gotten when she shakes her head, a hopeless smile on her lips as she turns to the road again.

you were on your way to the movies then.

x

“oh my god,” jennie squeals, eyes skimming your specifically-handpicked-by-jennie-kim attire, “you look so cute!”

“only because i agreed to be your live mannequin,” you say rolling your eyes but the curl of a smile on your lips is unstoppable.

“no - because i know what kind of style suits you,” she narrows her eyes in a ‘you know i’m right’ kind of manner, “no offense, your usual style is cute too but it’s more like an... ‘i have a crush, don’t talk to me’ kind of look, you know?”

“am i wrong though?” your eyebrows rise, mimicking her ‘you know i’m right’ look.

she raises a hand, her free one scrolling through her phone as she announces, “i don’t recommend crushing on airheaded guys but you do you sis,” then she looks up, staring at you straight in the eye with the most deadpanned expression, “but if he breaks your heart, i’ll break his leg,” it’s a full, solid moment later, just as you were about to burst out laughing, does she say, “literally.”

and it’s times like these that you fear for another person’s life that isn’t yours - well, taehyung’s life isn’t just anyone’s but - as she turns back to her phone ever so casually.

but before you can fret any further, your phone vibrates, the words ‘chim’ flashing across your screen with a ‘get yo asses down’ and contrasting ‘ur chauffer awaits’ popping a second later.

“get your ass up. they’re here,” you end up saying, pushing your phone into the back pocket of your leather pants that jennie manages to convince you to put on for some unknown reason - that reason going along the lines of ‘kim taehyung’ and ‘jealousy’, but you’re not one to dwell on why one do things they do as you accept jennie’s grabby-motioned hands in request for assistance to be pulled up.

it turns out the shopping plan gets pushed to saturday where taehyung is basically spouting out how he’s a good judge for fashion and that he hasn’t gone to the mall since the semester started which to be fair, was only a month ago. 

you’re not sure how jimin ended up tagging along - the two aren’t even the bestest buddies - but someway, somehow, he always manages to get taehyung to pick him up and drop him off whenever the taller man makes plans to go out with you and jennie.

“wow,” jimin is the first to notice, mouth taking on an ‘o’ shape he basically ogles in plain daylight.

“what do you think?” jennie comes up behind you, chin resting on your shoulder as she wraps her arms around your waist then she turns to taehyung who was the last to get out of the car, “doesn’t ___ look pretty, taehyung?”

at the sound of his name rolling off the tongue of the girl he’s been pining for since he laid eyes on her, his gaze lights up - but only to meet jennie’s. one look at you and he turns back to her with the most beautiful smile, “yeah, she looks great - did you help choose the top?”

“actually,” the girl begins with a cheery tone - they’re walking a few steps behind you whilst you and jimin walk together. it’s been like that for as long as you remember, “i picked out the whole fit. it wasn’t easy though because...”

kim jennie walking side-by-side with kim taehyung whilst you with jimin whenever the two boys join you, be it whether to get to a class you all share, to go to the library to study or to get some lunch - has become a familiar view to your mutual friends. so much so, you’ve heard of a rumor going around that you’re a couple of best friends.

like literal couples. you with jimin and jennie with taehyung. thanks to that, no one would have suspected jennie’s relationship with professor kim nor would anyone see through the veil of friendly smiles and amicable conversations to be you pining over your best friend’s alleged boyfriend.

you’ve gotten used to hearing jennie and taehyung’s conversation fade into the background yet never really able to disregard the way taehyung laughs at something your best friend says or the sight of the two walking a few feet ahead with taehyung’s head almost always turned to jennie’s and the girl, oblivious, occasionally cranes her neck to look at him at the beginning of her sentence before directing her gaze to the front where she’s walking.

jennie dislikes taehyung less now, if only because he steers the conversation towards the areas of interest - which he seems to know a lot of. kudos to you for answering his ass-crack o’clock texts of ‘heyyy what kind of movie does jennie like?’s and ‘heyy you girls got any plans tomorrow?’s.

“you look great in those leather pants, by the way,” jimin’s voice makes you turn to the other boy, a boyish smile on his lips, “so let me guess,” his head tilts to the side as the dip between his thumb and index finger hooks itself underneath his chin, eyebrows knitted together in heavy contemplation, “are you going for a good girl gone bad kind of look,” a playful smile tugs on the corners of his lips, “or are you in a secret biker gang and have a biker meeting at 7?”

you lean closer to the man, hand covering your mouth as you whisper, “you didn’t hear this from me but we’re convoying to disney land. i heard it’s more magical during christmas.” 

or so you thought your whispering skills were close to perfect but a cat with brown hair pops up from next to you, eyes glinting with excitement, “did someone say christmas?!”

so you end up early-christmas shopping just because of that one word that triggers the warm-hearted-who-ness in her. and that’s how you, taehyung and jimin gets dragged from one store to another. but where your attention gets robbed with material things like-

“oh look, a snow globe with a puppy and a snowman in it!” you shake the see through globe, watching as pseudo snowflakes rain over the unmoving pupper and olaf lookalike before you sigh, “technically the snowman isn’t alive and the doggo is alone by itself in a world where nobody else can enter - and on christmas at that . oh my god, i think i’m gonna cry.”

- but jennie’s interest lies within the holiday-themed clothes. sweaters. costumers. lingerie. you name it and jennie kim tries it on.

“___ - pssst, hey,” there she goes, hiss-whispering your name as if you’re not right in front of the curtain she’s poking her head through, eyes darting around for the two boys who, last you saw, were doing the best to look interested in reindeers and candy printed sweaters.

“what, girl, what?” you whisper back, trying to peek through the gap of the curtain over her head as if you’ve never entered a changing room together.

and as if reading your mind, her bare arm that’s supposed to be wrapped with the floral cotton material of her sleeve - shoots out, hand wrapping around your wrist.

a “wha- ah-!” probably echoed off the walls and turned some heads but you’re no longer in the position to check as you find your back pressed against the wall of the cubicle and red and white lace-wearing jennie posing for you.

“so?” she beams.

“those are so cute, oh my god,” you end up his-whispering whilst trying to keep your voice low, “where did you get them? i only ever saw you checking out - and you have got to admit this - ugly sweaters!”

“girl, the lingerie section is just next to the sweaters,” her eyes seem to disappear behind her crescents as she crinkles her nose, “no but for real, you think i was gonna buy them? i just needed the boys to go away. and. they. finally. did,” she rolls her eyes, “it took awhile but kim taehyung is so persistent.”

“that’s why he’s so... cute,” you hum, eyes shutting close as the picture of the aforementioned man flashes behind your eyes. he’s looking at you with those dark eyes and he’s smiling at you with that magnetic-

“gross! get your ass out of the gutter,” a squeal hits the air as your eyes flutter open to the sight of your best friend’s contorted faces as if-

“um, girl,” you tilt your head just the slightest bit, hand on your hip while your other hand raises in a ‘hold up’ manner, “out of the two of us, you’re the one that’s gotta stop being silly and start wrapping professor kim’s willy.”

a stick of tongue out is all you’ve got as a response before she turns to her phone that’s vibrating at an alarming rate.

that’s when you feign almost-vomit, “did you - ulgh - sent him a - ulgh - nude?”

in any ordinary circumstance, she would have made faces to mimic a much ridiculous series of vomiting in response to your fake almost-vomits but when her smile tugs downwards in a disheartened pout, you practically drop all the ugly sweaters you picked out just for the sake of getting into the christmas spirit and rush over to the girl - which is only one and a half feet away.

“hey, hey, what’s wrong?” you coo as she starts blinking back tears.

“i knew it,” she huffs out a puff of air, hand fanning at her waterline, “i fucking knew it.”

in between the ‘you’re okay’s and ‘everything’s going to be okay’s on your part and jennie’s increasingly growing sobs, you manage to make out the words she blurts out. something along the lines of ‘not spending as much time as we used to’ and ‘because i’m ugly as fuck’. so you hold her tighter, fingers brushing out the potentially forming knots in her hair each time it gets into her tear stained face and gets aggressively pushed out of said face with the back of the hand. 

it’s been going on since the start of the third year - the ‘i can’t make it tonight’s and ‘sorry, i’m going to have to rain check’s. 

you’ve been a silent spectator of how your best friend’s face lights up whenever she talks about her secret affair with the youngest professor in the business faculty, how he lives up to her private swooning with the smallest ‘miss kim, how was your day’s when he met her in the hallway, ever so casually greeting one of his supposed students like any professor would and treats her to fine-dinings and became the reason why forehead kisses are her favorite kind of kiss now.

he never really tried to hide his fondness for her even at the faculty and though you knew your best friend could get anyone she wanted, you were dubious of whether that anyone actually deserved such a loving, beautiful person. nonetheless, kim namjoon seems to be the exact person who does.

“hey, look at me,” you implore, sitting cross-legged on the floor whilst your knees touch and your fingers twine together in a fingers hug, or so jennie coined the term in your first year, “you’re so beautiful.”

“you don’t mean that,” she mumbles out.

“girl, if i were to be born again and were allowed to choose how i’m going to look - i want your eyes, they like, pull people in - not gonna lie, i started talking to you because you were intimidating but also really alluring. does that make sense?” you hold up a hand when she begins to giggle lightly, head shaking in show of her disagreement.

“but when i did get to know you, you’re the sweetest, squishiest,” a protest falls from her lips as she clasps a palm over the spot on her arm that you just pinched, “person alive. and oh!” you pinch her cheeks next, chuckling at how she crinkles her nose and like the feline she’s always been associated with, “and i want your cute chubs cheeks! and your adorable nose, and your lips,” you pause for the longest moment before retracting, “okay maybe i’d want my lips but your lips are juicy too!”

she makes a sound at the back of her throat, eyes of dried tears rolling, “please, i barely have any lips.”

“i mean, they’re still kissable,” you shoot her a suggestive look, “and i know out of the two of us, one would kiss you if she’s a little bit more fruity.”

“okay, maybe you think i’m kinda pretty,” she gives in.

but that’s not enough for you,“bih, you’re a literal goddess,”

“i’m not but anyway beauty is subjective so maybe namjoon’s perspective’s changed.”

“nope - nu-uh, we can cry and just... let ourselves feel the emotion that’s been bottling up and burst at one single message but what we’re not gonna do is mope around, being sad all day because of our presumptions that someone else thinks we’re not good enough or pretty enough. because you are and i would die for you.”

she hiccups, “i don’t know if i would die for you but i’d sacrifice my first born for you.”

“ew,” you feel your nose crinkling, “no, you’re not gonna trap me with a kid - that’s a trap right there and i’m not falling for it.”

jennie ends up laughing too loudly that one of the store attendants end up kicking you out. jimin and taehyung followed suit a second later, acting like they didn’t know you two but walking towards you anyway. you’re not sure if they noticed jennie’s swollen eyes but neither mentioned anything about it. instead, taehyung suggests- “since we’re already out, you guys wanna go to chanyeol’s party?”

x

so you end up going to the party. the apartment’s too cramped for your liking but jennie’s found some mutual friends of yours that she’s dancing and laughing with. and maybe that’s why you haven’t bolted right out of the door the moment you stepped in.

jimin found some of his own friends. they’re probably not from the faculty since you don’t remember seeing them around and taehyung-

you’re not quite sure why taehyung is following you around like a lost puppy and trying to make small talks with you. internally, your heart’s doing flips but your head’s been giving out one of those obnoxiously loud sirens with lights as red as the cup you’re holding.

“...and you know, it’s pretty cool how they managed to attract foreign investors within six months of starting up their business,” taehyung is saying, the awkward shrug and eyes glued to the ground telling you that he’s not so into whatever he’s saying either.

“yeah, like, they definitely got lucky or something,” you nod in agreement.

funny how the blare of the music is barely allowing you to have a proper conversation but all you hear is deafening silence as you stand five feet apart - the kind of distance that screams acquaintances but less than friends and most definitely not lovers.

but then he stands on his two feet instead of leaning his weight on just one - and he looks at you right in the eye for the first time that night. and your stupid heart goes fluttering like the petals in a field.

“hey, i don’t wanna be a nosy or anything but,” he pauses for the briefest second, eyes slanting to somewhere on the dance floor where you think you last saw jennie and then he refocuses back to you. but you already know where his mind and soul remains, “what happened today? like, jennie’s acting off, like something’s bothering her and she’s kinda drinking more than she should and it kinda feels like she doesn’t want me around.”

it takes a moment to ponder on how much you should say before your words become affirmation and affirmation will probably lead to more assumptions and - “well, you should ask her.”

“uh, i- she doesn’t- i don’t know how - i don’t wanna annoy her, you know what i mean? and since you’re best friends, i thought maybe you’d-” he’s scratching the back of his head when you cut him off.

“there’s your answer,” you raise the half-empty cup that’s been lying undrunken in your hands, “if you’re not gonna square up and tell her how you feel, then you, my friend,” your stomach drops at the word but you manage to land a solid pat on his arm, “are going to live the rest of your live like this - wondering what the hell is going on because you’re really not sure where you stand. and i get it, confessing to someone is terrifying and depending on jennie’s answer, you might or might not be able to talk to her ever again but it’s better to get it out there. feelings are like farts, you know?” the way his brows come together in a confused what-the-hell moment, is adorable, “hold it in and you’ll feel like something’s not right and it is never going to be until you get all of it out of your system.” and with a nod and a tight-lipped smile, you leave him with a “good luck,” before wandering over to the dance floor, not sure where you’re going because jennie, lisa chaeyoung and jisoo’s not where you thought they were and the only less crowded but still suffocating part of the apartment is the kitchen where you don’t want to risk going back and seeing taehyung there, unmoving in the spot where you left him.

amid all of it, you almost get your shoulder dislocated before a hand shoots out and pulls you back on your two feet whilst you raise your cup higher in hopes to save its contents from spilling.

the man that caught you looks between you and your raised cup for two solid seconds before a grin tugs on his face and he clicks his own cup to yours, “cheers.”

“aha, yeah,” you laugh as you feel his grip on your arm loosening and you pull it back to your side like a robot, taking a sip of your nicely saved drink.

“thanks for not letting me fall,” you say a moment later, after thanking whatever deity is out there that allows you to get your first drink into the right pipe without feeling the need to cough out loud.

“no problem,” even in the poor lighting, you can easily catch the sight of pearly whites lined up perfectly amid an alluring smile, that is, before a pair of brows knit together in what seem like an unresolvable conundrum, “hey, you don’t happen to...” he pauses for the longest moment, eyes slanting to scan the crowd and making you do the same until he commands your attention back with his next words, lips curling back into the breathtakingly attractive smile as words tumble past them, “...see two pretty best friends in here, do you?”

and that’s when your interest, wherever it is, plunges straight down to the ground and into the ether, “oh,” your vision shakes as you nod repeatedly before forcing out a dry “ha ha” which isn’t meant to disguise your displeasure at all - if anything, a wave of satisfaction crashes over you when his smile falters, “yeah, that - that’s really funny,” you say plainly, smile still plastered on your face.

“o-kay,” he drags out the word for half a second, teeth clenched together in growing panic as all traces of humor fade away, “...joke too old?”

“well, let’s see,” you feel your index finger tapping your chin as you throw your gaze up to the ceiling, “i get it, tell the ugly best friend she’s ugly but in a joking way,” you shrug, “you don’t need to rub it in my face cause i know and yes it’s getting old.”

it takes a whole solid moment of blaring music and non-caring half-way-drunken college students continuing to grind against one another and this insanely attractive stranger staring at you with jaws on the ground, for you to wave a dismissive hand.

“you know what? don’t worry, jennie’s not here, thankfully or she would’ve blo-” air fills your throat and cuts you off when he frowns, “who?”, to which you raise your eyebrows, “je-” you almost choked, “jennie?”

he shakes his head the second time, bottom lip jutting out in an additional- “nope” gesture as he continues with “never heard of her,” after your “jennie... kim?”

so you go one, “kinda cute height, long hair, brunette-” he shrugs, “nope- doesn’t ring a bell,” in the middle of your, “-fierce cat-like eyes but adorable as heck personality?”

in the end he wins with a final word of, “no - nope,” after a whole solid moment of your silenced disbelieve and him drawing his pondering session to a close.

“oh,” escapes your lips before you can even register, “so - it was- like-”

“yeap,” he nods, “it was-”

“a joke?”

“a joke.”

you both announce at the same time. the tones may differ but the essence is there, leaving one to stare at the ground in shame for having snapped at a complete stranger and the other staring with unapologetic eyes.

“i’m sorry,” you finally manage to utter, shoulderline falling with your walls of pride, “i thought it was one of those micro aggressive jokes people throw around just because they can’t straight out tell someone they’re ugly-”

but the words seem to enter through one ear and go out the other when his brows begin to knit together for the nth time of the night - and in a matter of less than thirty minutes at that - when he declares before you get to properly end your sentence, “you’re pretty as hell. why did you think i’d randomly try to crack a joke to a stranger and risk pissing pants off on the off chance she took it badly... which you did. i’m sorry for pushing the wrong button.”

“oh,” but just like him, your brain short-circuits and you seem to only truly hear the first part of what he’s saying as just like any girl - you curse yourself as you - shy away from his gaze, hand going up to tuck your hair behind your ear before you slowly peek up through your lashes, “thanks,” you blink once, shrugging, “and it’s fine i get that joke a lot - i don’t usually care, i don’t know what got into me tonight.” 

but before he manages to say anything, the loudspeaker starts reverberating with the sound of someone clearing their throat and a “how’s everyone doing?” and a dismissive “alright, alright you might be wondering ‘who the eff is this guy’ right? yea, yea, i know, but-” he stops, eyes scanning the crowd for a suspenseful effect, “-but you’re gonna wanna hear this,” to which a groan erupts from the crowd, so he quickly gets to the point “don’t panic,” most of the time, that’s exactly when you should panic, “so, the police are coming.”

x

his name is jeon jeongguk and he goes to your university’s rival university. his hair is actually a shade of rich deep brown that forms wavy ends and contrasts glaringly against his sharp jawline under the fluorescent lighting which also highlights his pearly whites that remind you of bunnies when his lips curl over them when he smiles.

to think that he’s doing that now while the police officer, a man in his 40′s and on the shorter side of the spectrum is ten steps from marching up to you with a disapproving gaze on his face.

his hair falls over his face in half ringlets, an excited glint in his eyes, “he’s mad cause we’re clean.”

a guy somewhere a few people away from you is sobbing increasingly loudly with every step the officer takes before he comes to a stop in front of you, eyes skimming each faces one by one until he stops on you.

“you,” he announces before sighing deeply, “you look like a kid who wouldn’t cause trouble, why are you here?”

“uh,” the chain around your wrist feels cold but jeongguk’s pinky that’s touching yours as your thighs brush together - is warm, “i...” you pause, in search for words before settling with a disappointing confession “i don’t know,”

the officer echoes your statement with a critical emphasize on the ‘don’t’.

and because of that, you blink once, “in fact, does anyone know what they’re doing at all? if you think about it we’re just astronomical particles in this vast universe which is called the milky way,” you pause, if only squint at his sparse mustache, “why is it even called milky way? like, there’s absolutely no scientific evidence that milk exists in outer space or do you reckon the guys that named it just feels like drinking some milk while they were-”

by the end of it, a few snickers have escaped from the people you and jeongguk were caught with, the aforementioned man, having turned his head the other way as his shoulders jolt silently and it’s only then does the officer’s increasing confused expression contorts into that of a maddened bore, “keep hanging out with him and you’re gonna find yourself behind bars.”

“that hurts my feelings, detective yoo,” jeongguk confesses, forehead creasing as his uncuffed hand holds the spot on his chest where his heart should be.

the man finally shakes his head, motioning to a younger officer who looks just about your age to start unlocking everyone’s cuffs - there were a few other people you’ve never seen before dragged out of the vicinity and to the station. he speaks a moment later, “you kids are lucky because none of you are associated with the ones down the hallway - we were initially going for them. busted their asses and found over a hundred kilograms of cocaine.”

once your cuffs are off and you get your phone back, you’re fast-scrolling through the messages on the notification window before swiping up and searching for jennie’s contact. it turns out she, taehyung and jimin guessed you were one of the few who didn’t make it and waited for you near the building where the party was busted.

“oh my god,” jennie is the first to dash into your arms as if she hadn’t seen you since forever, “i’m so sorry i left you!”

“well to be fair, i left you,” you mumble, your arms banded around her waist while hers around your neck.

and just when you thought the melodrama would end when she pulls away, you find yourself staring at sparkly-eyed jennie and the most heartbreaking downturned lips, “i will never,” she pauses, “ever let you out of my sight.”

you’re exactly against that idea - after all, you’ve made plans to buy a beach house and move in together in your olden days once you’ve poiso- burried your husbands who died of a totally natural cause.

it’s only after breaking apart from a second hug, do you realize the man standing not-so-awkwardly five feet away.

“don’t mind me,” jeongguk holds up his hands, “i don’t watch much drama but i might after all this.”

“jeongguk,” you can’t help the smile that creeps up your face at his joke, “this is jennie,” then you turn to the girl who still has her arm around your waist, and you her, “jennie, jeongguk.”

“have i seen you before?” her cat-like eyes narrows just the slightest bit, as though if she tried hard enough, she’d see the pieces of moving memories that’ll somehow point out where she claims to have met him - but you don’t doubt it if they have, jennie gets invited to a lot of parties and hookups.

you should’ve known when jeongguk’s eyes sweep over you with a playful glint in them as he begins, “that’s funny because ____ here-” that from this point forward, that you shouldn’t have put your foot forward and prance at him like a predator with a secret, hand clasped against a surprisingly hard chest before your brain can register what you’re doing.

and when it does, you’re left to awkwardly pat his chest in what you hope to be friendly gesture whilst you force out a laugh, “that- that was really funny jeongguk,” you turn to jennie who, having known you all your life easily catches onto your out-of-character laugh but says nothing, so you point at the guy you’re basically and is still groping - to which you’ve finally tear your hand off his body, “he’s a funny guy.”

“and who exactly is this funny guy?” taehyung comes up on your left - you think you catch sight of his sleek bmw parked on the other side of the street where he must’ve strutted up from in his beige jacket with his hands buried in its pockets.

“just...” you trail off before your brain completely fries and you blurt out, “some guy.”

and that’s when jeongguk decides to call you out, “some guy? i helped you through a life lesson.”

you attribute the alcohol in your system that’s slowing down the neurons and disables you from thinking before you act when you roll your eyes, “in case you didn’t realize, you were in there laughing your ass off when i had to have my own back while that officer looked like he was a word away from dragging me to the police station for talking back to a law enforcement.”

“you talked back to an officer?” jennie chirps, her jaw falling to the ground as her cat eyes widen in excitement and astonishment.

“she did,” jeongguk nods at the girl, a displaced proud smile on his lips before he looks back to you, “brought out the boomer in him too.”

“you pissed off an officer?” this time, it’s jimin who pops up from behind taehyung, before casually nodding to jeongguk with a “hey man.”

“i mean, it was probably ___’s sheer guts and rebellious streak alone that helped free us,” jeongguk goes on, eyes glinting with amusement in the briefest moment they slant to meet yours but they’re gone too soon as he redirects your attention to jimin and jennie’s overpouring questions.

and because jennie wanted to hear more about how jeongguk embellished what went down, taehyung ends up agreeing to give the stranger a ride as you get squished between two men with jennie constantly pulling on the strap of the seatbelt to look over to the backseat, her mouth constantly dropping with every word jeongguk utters like he’s some well-known storyteller.

by the time the car rolls to a stop in front of his apartment building, jennie’s shooting you approving, borderline provocative looks your way - you don’t doubt that if she had any power in her hand to put both you and jeongguk in the same room, lock the door and swallow the key, she would in a heartbeat.

“hey,” jeongguk leans over the doorframe, “can i talk to you for a sec?” it’s the way he tilts his head to the side on a 35 degree angle, paired with that dangerous smile he’s been shooting you in the briefest span of moments jennie’s head is turned to the road and jimin’s gave is thrown outside of the window and taehyung isn’t stealing glances from the rear-view mirror - that makes you want to shake your head in rejection to his request and prance out of the car like a predator in heat at the same time.

but instead, you calmly slide over to the side now vacant side and slip out of the car, closing the door behind you so no ears can eavesdrop.

the scent of his cologne wafts stronger into your senses now that you have no police officers to be cautious of nor any embellished stories to correct.

that, or maybe it’s the way he’s got you trapped against the car door and his body, right arm placed perfectly on the roof of the car, next to your head.

“bout time you give me your @, no?” the corner of his lips tilts higher into a cocky smirk.

“um, yea,” you begin, “i think it’s better if we leave into the night like strangers with stories, you know? and if we’re meant to find each other, we will,” you swear on your grandmother’s grave that you will never go to any parties anymore, “makes a good plot for a drama,” eyes going wide and mouth taking on an ‘o’ shape, you continue, “didn’t you say you were gonna start watching those?”

 his shoulderline shakes as he chuckles, head dropped it tilts up, eyes capturing yours, “i’m not falling for that,” his announcement is plain and simple and yet you’re forced to put twice the effort in your smile as to not let it falter, “after getting my chest groped and caressed, i deserve at least-”

“it was a friendly pat, mind you,” you correct, smile still glued to your face before rolling your eyes, “but snapchat is as far as i’m willing to go.”

“works for me,” the screen of his phone flashes with a dark mode keypad splayed over it - you’re not sure how he unlocked it without taking those glinted eyes off you but he did. so you swipe the phone off his hand and send yourself a request through his account.

“i’m gonna open your snap and leave you on read!” you announce, and he laughs, “alright, bet!”

and with that, he waves at you using the same phone he told you to put your number in, taking a few steps backward, allowing you room to breathe properly again before he whirls on his heels and walks through the glass double doors.

you don’t wait any longer than you have to, shivering from the cold night air when you slip into the car.

“did you give him your number?!” jennie practically screams.

“no but i gave my snapchat only because he looked like he wouldn’t sleep a wink at night if i didn’t,” you shrug.

and that’s how kim jennie gets it into her head that you’re going to get your first-boyfriend-cherry popped. or so she likes to believe.

but that’s the least of your concern for the greater one comes in a devil with black jeans and matching plain t-shirt and timberlands and a lit up screen at exactly three something in the am, right after you’re done with a hot shower and in a middle of towel drying your hair and putting on your night routine skincare.

you open the text revealing a night view of a cityscape from a window which room is surrounded by darkness and a transparent horizontal strip with a ‘❄️ ’ in the middle from a goldenjks.

so you snap a picture of your skincare products next to a mirror with you and a towel on your head, face blocked by your hand that’s holding your phone, choosing  to send ‘🍜’.

and so it goes, the snap war that erupts between you and user goldenjks throughout the night which, after you’d gotten into bed with the lights off, basically includes snaps of your darkened room and his more superior window view.

before long, you started texting on snapchat about how the police officer seems to know him and how-

goldenjks

u were p chill for someone who got arrested for the 1st time

you’re giggling in the darkness at 5:23 am.

you

cs ik i didn’t do anything wrong

duh

and he mentions something about a sobbing kid that was made to wait with you and nobody really did anything to comfort him.

goldenjks

that coulda been u if i wasn’t there probably

you roll your eyes but you can feel your muscles becoming sore from the way your lips are stretching from ear to ear.

then it starts with how taehyung didn’t saying anything throughout the ride up until the car rolled to a stop in front of jeongguk’s place.

goldenjks

r u guys using him for his car???

cs same 

i would 2

you

wtf

we’re not 😭😭

and without much thought, you end up spilling a not-so-secret but not-so-well-known truth.

you

welp

he’s using me to get close to jennie so

ig i should use him for his car

oof

goldenjks 

ooof

so let me guess

u can’t say no to him  cs u have the biggest crush on him

“what the hell?” you mumble to yourself, smile pulled down into a frown, but before you can type out a reply, two more pop up on his side.

goldenjks

and jimin head over heels for u

you

🧢 🧢 🧢

u funny 😂😂😂

goldenjks

fr fr tho 😔😔😔

i would b too

all of a sudden, a boy with the softest blonde hair and crescent eye smiles floods your throughts. you and jimin might have been casual friends for the longest time and only until recently started hanging out together - and he may or may not hold confidential information about the littlest details of the lack of smile on your face and the blank snaps in your stories whenever you’re down.

but to say he’s reacting such way because he’s into you would be a total scam.

so you shake your head, laughing out loud, “nah can’t be.”

you

alright imma 😴😴😴

to which jeongguk tests back a gnight and after one whole solid minute, a text u tmr?

you leave him on read.

x

“like, who does he think he is?” you huff, burying the plastic spoon into the ice cream before scooping up a chunk of neapolitan flavored goodness and directing it into your mouth, “he literally met us just last night and he’s spouting shit like he knows us for years?”

“i don’t know,” jennie humps, tongue darting out to lick the remnants of strawberry ice cream on her upper lips before she goes on with a smile that screams ‘just get together already’, “it’s kinda hot to me when guys know shits, you know what i mean?”

you’ve managed to avoid jimin and taehyung at all costs and sneak to the ice cream parlor that’s five minutes away from campus where you spilled your guts out about how you got unreasonably irritated by the long running joke, about how jeongguk’s hand wrapped around your wrist and he pulled you out of the way of the chaotic college students who were rushing to get out of the small, cramped apartment and how you stopped him from relaying your disbelief of his lack of knowledge about her.

“like, i flipped out at him because of some stupid joke,” you shrugged, hands fiddling with each other while a coat of smoke wafted over the newly scooped and paid-for ice cream.

your name rolled off her lips before she stared at you with her hands on hear heart, “i- i didn’t know you would go so far as fight a guy for me for calling me ugly,” then she laughed, “but you don’t have to. girl, we been knew i’m ugly as fuck.”

your jaw hit the ground at the word she used to describe herself before you blinked and came back to your senses and aggressive defenses, “oh my god, i’m the ugly one and you’re the literal goddess - like, i shouldn’t even be looking at you. i should be looking at your sole. you should be stepping on me - step on me! now!”

a yelp resonated into the air as you groped around for jenni’s left leg in an attempt to lift her foot to make her step on you to which you both ended up laughing hysterically after realizing that she was wearing a skirt and the way you were sitting may or may have not resulted in an array of possible outcomes.

“oh my god, do you think she saw my panties?” she meant the woman in her late 40′s who were shooting disapproving eyes at the both of you as she scrolled through her phone, seeming to be waiting for someone before placing an order.

“you just flashed a poor old woman who came to have some ice cream,” you were hunched over, hand covering your face as you stole glances her way which didn’t hold long because you ended up giggling with the girl when you caught each other’s eyes.

“you think she likes what she sees?” jennie’s brows rose suggestively and you knew what she was going to say next before the words even leave her mouth, “you think maybe i should tell her about my onlyfans?”

it was a few bursts of giggles later, that you’d finally managed to talk properly. or probably because jennie’s question brought out an unwelcomed emotion that you pushed to the back of your conscience last night and for the most part, managed to forget, “so,” her brows were wiggling like earthworms on her forehead, “did he text you?”

that was what spurred the whole confession and up to the moment where you spilled the contents of the unfairly attractive stranger’s text.

“i don’t know, he kinda went overboard,” you shrug and jennie’s hand reaches over yours, patting it once with what you assume is an understanding manner.

“sweetie, i get it,” she announces, “you feel exposed because he said the absolute truth and only the truth and now you’re projecting your embarrassment on him through disdain.”

silence follows her statement.

and staring.

on your part, that is.

“girl,” you blink once, eyebrows arched, “whatever you’re having - i want some.”

that warrants a bout of giggles from said girl before she scoops her last bite of ice cream and hook arms with you as you walk towards the trashcan to dump your empty paper bowls, “no but for real, i like jeongguk-”

“then you date him,” you announce, nodding in approval.

“i like how he brings this... this... fire out of you, you know?” she quizzes to which you shake your head in a ‘no, i don’t know’ kind of manner as she goes on, “and i already have namjoon so,” she sing songs as she starts to skip in the middle of the mall and since your arms are linked together, you end up taking larger steps to accommodate to hers before deciding that you can’t root your feet down to slow her down into a normal pace. so you join her, skipping to the exit where you wait for your uber.

“you guys made up?” the question comes out in a calm, poised manner once you’ve both slipped into the backseat of the uber - you’d like to believe you’re doing a pretty good job on trying to conceal your spiking disbelief and the need to whoop someone’s ass. that someone being a girl who just pledged an oath to choose herself first instead of some man who-

“i texted him and told him how i felt with him cancelling on our plans and when i didn’t get any reply, i turned off my phone and got into bed because i’m not gonna mope over someone who won’t appreciate me,” at that, you give her an approving nod, “but then he came knocking on my door at like 5 in the morning in yesterday’s suit because apparently he has a deadline to meet and he’s been bending over backward trying to finish it on time and he brought his laptop with him too and managed to submit on time after explaining everything. he said he tried calling multiple times but obviously it went to voice mail so... yeah we made up.”

“that’s...” you trail off, only to stare at your friend’s beaming face like she’s just had one of the best facials on earth, “wow, i... i don’t know what to say now that we know he’s not trash.”

“i know,” you feel her pat the back of your hand sympathetically, “and that’s what a man is,” and when she looks at you with eyes that have one goal in her mind, you know not to start listening because the facts are going to bruise your pride and hit the nail on the head more times than you’d-

“liking a boy has more downs than ups but i’m not too worried because you’re a self-loving bitch and i love that for you but kim taehyung is not it,” she says all that with a straight face.

“yeah,” you mumble, thumbs fiddling together as you turn your attention to them as if it’s the most magnifying thing in the world to find out that identical parts of your body could move on their own with just a thought.

“okay, but i swear, he’s so oblivious all the time-” the girl stops short of her lament, you can see her head tilting to peer at you at a slightly different angle as if to see traces of an impostor on you, “wait, what?”

“we got into a fight last night- i don’t know if it’s even a fight but you know how i go off in a tangent when i get like annoyed, right?” you steal a glance at her for half a second before going back to your thumbs, “so i kind of did that to him before the dude announced the cops were coming and we haven’t really talked to each other since then.”

before any of you could say anything else, the sound of a cough echoes in the air, warranting your attention to turn to the driver, a woman in her mid-thirties. you return her smile through the rear-view mirror, “if you don’t mind me saying this - i know you girls are smart as fuck, but you sound just as dumb as that guy - whoever he is because it’s completely normal to get mad at someone you’re crushing on and still have a crush on them but sounds to me like you’re thinking one fight is the end of the world for you.”

“sis, please, don’t encourage her,” jennie talk-whispers as she leans forward just the slightest bit and covers the side of her mouth with her hand.

“well, we’re not really friends,” you begin and jennie groans - you two went over this and agreed to disagree with each other’s wildly contrasting views about crushing on crushes that could crush you but the lady hasn’t heard it so you’re not going to stop lamenting over it, “and whatever i do, it’s like i’m teetering on a tight rope because one wrong move and he probably won’t talk to me ever again and i’m not like miserably crushing on him - like, whatever we are right now - it lets me see him every day and he has the cutest smile and the prettiest fingers- i just - it’s better than not talking to each other forever, you feel?”

“um, don’t i?” she rolls her eyes, as if coming from a place filled with oblivious boys and hopeless crushes.

her name is solar and she does uber as a part time while working 9 to 5 at a firm that she claims to pay better but still not enough for her to save up for her wedding on the side and she and her fiance knew each other since high school but she’s seen him date two girls and get his heartbroken by both before he actually noticed her, the friend that’s always been there for him through his heartbreaks.

coming from someone who isn’t jennie and her alarming obsession with breaking parts of bodies of people who hurt her loved ones, solar’s view is somewhat a mixture of you and your best friend’s which still bases on one simple fact: whatever you say to and about taehyung comes bouncing back at you like a ping pong ball because-

“you have a crush on him and he has a crush on jennie,” she surmises before looking over at the aforementioned girl, “and people with crushes act like idiots- by the way how do you feel- like how do you handle the guy’s advancements and still aren’t awkward with each other because i have never seen...”

when the car rolls to a stop in the parking lot of your faculty, she finally turns to the two of you, her bleached blonde hair framing her face in waves as the silence - on you and jennie’s part as you both share glances at the indicative joke opening - hangs in the air with a sort of tension you can feel.

might even bite back like you did with jeongguk but you’re more in control now.

 “...two pretty best friends who are still best friends when there’s a guy that comes between them.”

“oh thank god,” jennie sighs, laughing and you’re nodding in agreement, “thanks for not-” and your best friend echoes, “yeah,” before you can even finish your sentence, “-saying that cliche joke or like for giving your own twist to it,” waving a dismissive hand, you address her initial worries, “and taehyung doesn’t-”

“he doesn’t-” jennie chimes in.

“-come between us.”

you both say at the same time. 

“oh my god, that’s great, you know my best friend tried sleeping with my fiance behind my back once,” solar crinkles her nose, “wasn’t a good experience but anywho, i’m so glad to see two girls having each other’s back like you guys. makes me want to...”

it’s a few moments later that you finally hand her the money and murmur out appreciations for being such a great uber driver along with some ‘give me five stars! thanks!’ and ‘we will! have a nice one!’

you both part ways in the hallway when you’re supposed to go for marketing and she has to go for personnel management. jimin’s already reserved a seat for you, waving at you to catch your attention which he succeeds splendidly. by the start of the second year, you’ve opted to sit together in classes you have in common, though not as close as the front as you’d like, it’s better than sitting at the back where you can hear the buzz of flies - you mean people, talking.

“are you doing anything this friday night?” jimin asks amidst people zooming out of the class as if they don’t want to be there for longer than a minute after being dismissed.

that, or they have another class to get to on the other side of the campus.

“uh, just me or me and jennie ‘you’?” you dumbly question.

that warrants a chuckle from the boy, “you and jennie... unless you wanna come alone?”

a hum vibrates in your chest as you narrow your eyes at him, as though if you looked close enough, you can see through his skull and right into his thoughts. 

but you can’t so that’s why you’re spouting out another question, “where exactly are you inviting us again?”

“so, like, you know i dance right?” he drops his gaze for the briefest moment before coming back up to lock it with yours, “it’s very lowkey - just something i do for fun, but we kind of have a dance off with other teams every month and this month’s round is this friday night so i was wondering if you wanna come?” then he quickly adds, “with jennie, of course.”

to be frank your weekends are as boring and dull as it gets - the party-busted incident was a rare exception - but you and jennie are quite content with it. you start having more to do and places to venture out to when taehyung and subsequently jimin join your group of two and made it a group of four but for the most part, if you’re not going anywhere, your weekend is usually spent with watching movies and burying yourself in work for the rest of it.

“bet,” your reply might have come a tad bit delayed judging from how his brows rise to the ceiling and his eyes go round as he chirps, “really?” 

“yeah, just text me or jennie the location the day before,” you request as you both walk down the hallway.

“great- yeah, i’ll... i’ll text you the place,” jimin beams even as he bumps into someone behind him, turning around to lower his head and mumble out an oh sorry before turning back to you, “i got another class but i’ll text you- on thursday - not today, of course.”

and you wave back, shouting out an ‘okay bye!’

then he’s gone like the wind.

x

the days pass by like a breeze.

kim taehyung caught you in the middle of waiting for jennie’s class to end whilst also finishing up some work in the library. he knew your favorite spot and he knew where you’d usually be - but you had an inkling that you weren’t exactly the reason why he memorized these little things. he waved at you in greeting and you waved back. you would’ve pretended he didn’t exist after that and go back to your laptop if he didn’t hold up his phone screen with blank white space and blue and grey bubbles on the side.

so of course you picked up your phone, noticing that there were already three wiggling dots when you tapped on his name.

kth: hey

you met his gaze once, as if to affirm that he meant to send it. when he shota half, almost pleading smile, you typed out a reply.

you: hey what’s good

kth: nothing

kth: just waiting for a friend

seeing as there was not really a conversation going on where jennie wasn’t involved and how the boy’s blatant dismissal in addressing the big, giant elephant in the room, taehyung must’ve had seen the way your lips pursed into an irritated pout before his phone vibrated.

you: cool

and then you were back to your laptop, typing sentences out and backspacing because of its incoherent nature, or lack of quality or whatever reason that stopped you from doing your job before kim taehyung’s arrival.

then he started whispering “hey, uh, ____,” from across the table. upper body leaned to the front as if it’d help enunciate his words.

you took your sweet time taking out your airpods from each individual ear and placing them down next to your mac before finally arching a brow at the boy, “what?”

“hey,” he repeated, this time with a frozen mid-wave, “hi, how you doing?”

“great thanks,” there was a minimal effort on your part to disguise your ‘what even?’ expression on your face as you picked up your right airpod first - only to be stopped by the boy’s-

“i’m sorry.”

it’s clean and short but his face made up for conveying his genuinity.

“why are you saying sorry?” it didn’t mean you were going to let him off the hook easy.

“well, because...” he trailed off for the briefest moment but the unconcealable bop of his adam’s apple isn’t really helping him appear any more convincing, “i was being pushy...” he looked to you for an indication of him being on the right track to which you were not sure if he did get any but he still went on with his wits and his will - it took you everything not to gush over how cute he looks with his panic-blinking and pretty lips moving as if to say something but no words coming out, “...and i was generally being an annoying little shit.”

“and?” you pressed on, blinking once as if to paint a look of unbotheredness.

“...and...” he echoes, eyes darting from your phone to somewhere behind you and then something next to it but only silence fills the space between you and him.

“alright, i’m gonna be real with you,” leaning back, you cross your arms over your chest, “i know you talk to me when you need something and i don’t really care - well i do, but i just bottle it up until it one day burst out, you know what i’m saying? so yea, if you’re wondering if that night was me blowing up on you, it kinda was and it wasn’t because you were making small talks with me just to  poke into my best friend’s business - well, it kinda is but like not in that way, you follow? what i mean is.. don’t let me catch you sneaking behind jennie’s back asking personal shits about her that you don’t think she’s going to disclose even if you straight up ask her - that’s sus, taehyung.”

by the end of it, he was staring at you like you had two horns and a tail swaying around behind you. but you concur, that may or may have not been your inner self coming to light - just a hypocrite criticizing someone for doing the things she would have done, if she wasn’t already doing it, if she was in his shoes.

and to be quite frank, taehyung’s shoe size is probably a few inches bigger than yours but if they had laces, you would’ve been able to put them on and tied them up to accommodate your ego.

so taehyung didn’t - couldn’t say anything in response to your second time going off into a tangent and because of what he did, at that. he stopped texting you altogether and only talked to jennie whenever you weren’t around and left before you got to them if he saw you coming his way - jennie’s actually. 

either way, jennie wasn’t as elated as you thought she’d be once you told her that you called taehyung out on his bullshit.

“um, i’ve always wanted to tell him about me and namjoon so he’d give up - you were the one who didn’t let me,” she might or might not have said something along the lines of you making her “lead him on all because you wanted to an eye candy to look at every day.”

“what do you mean?” your forehead was creasing a thousand folds.

“not that i’m pointing fingers,” she went on, eyes glued to the pairs of indoor shoes in the corner of the room and anywhere but your eyes, “but i’m like, cool with or without him around but you sort of said ‘okay, then it’s cool if he comes with us right?’ and you were making puppy eyes and i couldn’t no to that-”

and so you were laughing dryly, “aha- wha- what so it’s my fault that he’s being a total wuss and won’t square up?”

“i didn’t say that,” jennie’s reply came a heartbeat later which meant yes, it was.

so now you’re not talking to your best friend and neither are you talking to the boy who’s crushing on her. which leaves you a lot of free time to finish up your work in time to hop into a bullet train and then an uber and get to the building where jimin’s dance off is held. 

you’re in the middle of texting the boy a ‘sorry, might b late. i didn’t know there’d be a line 😭’ when a figure comes up to you from the corner of your eye.

fitted in black jeans and matching tucked in t that shows off his slender waist and beanie, the only thing that isn’t black is probably his white-yellow timberlands, “so you weren’t kidding when you said you were gonna leave me on read.”

“you know, it’s so cute that you think you’re worth the reply at all,” you blink, eyes going wide and jaw hanging loose from shock, “this... this... confidence - where do you get it? seriously, tell me because i have never seen someone with such immaculate self-absorbance.”

jeongguk’s head moves as he nods in admittance, hands buried in his pocket before he looks up at you. that familiar glint in his eyes is telling you that whatever he has up his sleeve, you’re not going to be able to refuse.

“you know, eugene over there and i are homies,” he nods towards the burly tall man at the front who’s mainly the reason there’s a line in the first place - one that no one seems to dare cut, “i could get you in faster.”

“oh my god, look what that self-absorbance’s got you believing,” you put one, sympathetic hand on his shoulder as your free hand goes to cover the spot on your chest where your heart is, “i’m so happy for you,” you glance over to the not-declining-anytime-soon line behind you, “but sometimes, even confidence can’t get you into invites-only events.”

 to any other person, it must’ve looked like you and jeongguk are friends - friendly acquaintances hitting best buddies at the very least. but something in the way his grin curling sweetly on his lips and the curve of the half ringlet of his hair touching the corners of his onyx eyes, makes your toes curl inwardly and your stomach churn with a sort of emotion you can’t pinpoint.

and because of that, you know there won’t be any sort of friendship forming between you and jeongguk.

he leaves you with an amused smirk and a “see you inside,” and marches up to eugene, the two sharing an uncomplicated handshake before the man steps to the side and lets him in.

well. 

it takes you another ten minutes of standing in line and assuring jimin that he doesn’t need to rush out and risk having his team go without him when their turn comes. which according to jimin, ‘isn’t anytime soon - they let the bigger teams go first’.

but then jimin knowing jimin, that probably meant soon enough.

when you’re finally on the front of the line, crumpled up ticket in hand, eugene gives you a once over and nods at his not-as-burly-but-just-as-scary-looking friend.

“follow me,” and with that, she struts in through the door but instead of going down the hallway like the ones before you did before they disappear from eyesight in the corner, she takes a sharp turn to the right until she stops in front of an elevator.

her deep violet hair brushes against her cheekbones as she nods at the empty box with mirrors all around.

yeesh, guess everyone expresses themselves with their bodies here.

the numbers constantly change from ground level to 1 to 2 and finally stops at the 3rd floor where the blare of the music seems to come from. and that’s when you see the black haired boy who has his forearms leaned against the railing as he grins at something on the bottom floor where the shouts and cheers seem to erupt from. but before you can make a sharp 180 to go back down where jimin said you’d only need to follow the hallway and take the turn around the corner like the people before you did, jeongguk looks up as if sensing the heat of your gaze drilling holes inside his head. with one hand raised, he beckons you over.

“your majesty,” you drop into a bow once you reach him, “this humble servant thanks you for bringing her here but,” pointing your thumb over your shoulder at the hallway you just came from you continue, “i think i’m on the wrong floor because all i can see here is flocks of hair - an oh, shiny scalp from that guy - arms flailing around. takes away the magic of dance, you feel?”

“so you’re here for jimin.” it doesn’t sound like a question - so it must not be. a ponderous hum vibrate from his chest as you shoot him an arched brow whilst your insides burst like fireworks at the way his darkened eyes traces down your body and back up after he’s done with what seems to be a scout’s assessment.

“no leather pants and no best friend or heartbreak boy hovering around like a lost puppy - let me guess, he did something that made you mad, the best friend backed him up and now you’re mad at both of them?” he raises his own brow, lips curling into an assured smirk, “oh and jimin here’s probably taking a neutral stance because it ‘doesn’t concern’ him.”

you don’t know if you want to run away or grab the neck of his shirt and smack your lips on his.

so you settle with handguns pointed in his face, “alright, catch you never.”

but before you can even take a step to where you came from, jeongguk’s laying out his card on the table, “you sure bout that? it’s bulleproof boys’ turn - it’s jimin’s teams name, in case you’re wondering and judging by who they’re going against, it might be their first and last performance for the night.”

“i knew that,” respectfully, you had no idea that the teams have specific names besides the alphabetical letters given to them upon registration.

jimin’s only mentioned dance match once and that he’s in team c that’ll go against team d.

so you stick around, watching from all the way on the third floor where the lest people are gathered, cheering out names of teams that are alien to your ears which seem to be the team jimin is going against. but the fact that jimin could dance with such precision and grace is magnifying enough. he’s mostly posed on either sides of the formation, switching from the front left to the furthest back line on the right side as the beat drops.

jimin’s name pours out of your mouth in cheers but it’s swallowed by the other cheers before it can even reach him. in the end, jimin’s team loses. they still go up to their opponent and share handshakes and sidehugs before moving away from the dance floor.

he’s not smiling nor is he frowning as he stands in the crowd after the prelims but his lips curl and eyes disappear into crescents when he sees you.

“hey!” his arms open up into a hug, only to stop halfway in hesitation but by then you’re already wrapping yours around his neck with a “you were so cool!”

and just like that, the awkwardness in the air dissipates.

“i didn’t see you in the crowd.”

“so what? you thought i left?” a light smack lands on his arm, “by the way, you didn’t tell me it was this intense - i can feel the tension from all the way...” you pause for the briefest moment, “...in the audience.”

“everyone here just likes to dance so it gets competitive at some point but at the end of the day, it’s important to have fun,” he shrugs, a shy smile plastered to his face.

“either way you did great,” you bump his elbow with yours, and he shifts his weight to his left foot.

“we lost but it was a fair match the bts people were too good,” a mixture of regret and contentedness crosses his face as he nods to himself, as if admitting the difference in skills.

“let’s get a drink later, i’m buying,” you propose and jimin looks like a kid who just received his favorite candy.

well, that was the plan for the rest of the night up until the winner was announced. then a boy no older than you and jimin came up to the latter, arms slung over his shoulders, “dude, beyond the scene just asked if we wanna join them at the afterparty. can you believe it?”

“dude, you capping - don’t fucking joke with men man, i was about to shit my pants-” jimin attempts to shove the guy away half-heartedly which does nothing as his friend - teammate, cuts him off.

“i’m not fucking joking, man, behind the scenes literally asked if we wanna chill with them!”

the two boys are basically shoving each other back and forth before they start slapping each other on the face once to wake the other up. whoever this behind the scenes guys, they seem like a pretty big deal if two grown adults are fanboying this hard about them.

only after they’re sporting the faintest shade of pink on their right cheeks, do they finally realize that they weren’t squeal-whispering by themselves. he introduces himself as kai - “jimin’s best friend and mentor.”

“he likes to say that because i got into dance because of him,” jimin adds, debunking the mentor myth.

you’re about to wave the two goodbye and call it a night since it’s pretty clear that the behind the scenes guys only invited them and not their friends.

“come with us,” kai announces as the three of you walk down the back entrance where it’s less crowded and meant for the participants to use, “baekhyun can’t make it so we’ll still be five people.”

“i really should go- it’s getting late and my place is in seoul-”

and so begin your war of apologies and ‘no, you’s.

“oh shit, i forgot.” jimin’s usually almond-shaped eyes turn round and wide, “you used the subway-”

“yeah, but i can still catch the last train home-” you try to assure.

“i’ll accompany you back-”

“no, no - you should go with them-”

“no, i made you come to watch-”

and it would have gone on until morning if you and jimin were left to argue on who should do what if kai didn’t clap his hands together and put an end to the long debate, “okay, okay, break it up.”

he looks between the blonde haired best friend and then to you, “jimin came with me so i’m gonna drive him back anyway and i could drop you off too after chilling with bts - it’s nothing you’re not used to, beers and games and shits, you know? plus it’ll be like, less than 20 people there - bts never invites other groups into their circle - who knows, maybe you’ll find your true way like jimin did,” he pats the aforementioned man on his shoulder whilst jimin rolls his eyes at the way best friends who’ve heard their best friend boast about an-untruth for the umpteenth time.

and because you basically made another friend and that means you’ll have at least 2 people to hang out with if the rest turns out not to be your kind of people - so you cave in, “okay, sure, why not?”

x

'why not’s are subjective - or so you’d like to think.

like when you’re not particularly into americano and prefer latte but wouldn’t say no to having the first if jennie mixed up your order and bought you your not-so-favored but also not-so-hated drink.

but jennie’s known you since she shoved you off the swings at five after you outran her only to get to the swings faster because only one was vacant and the other kid was already in the other one.

so she’d know your preferred drinks.

but in the event she suddenly has amnesia or anything and got you and americano, that’s when you’ll go, “why not?”

but that and finding out that jeongguk used to be part of bts until he hurt his during practice, having to have 2 major surgeries because of it, rendering him no longer able to dance so he’s only going to the dance offs to cheer for his friends which was how he met you at the entrance and now you’re handcuffed together (and yes, again) in the middle of the forest - are two disparate things altogether.

hoseok, the most outgoing and friendliest of the bunch, suggested for the ice breaking to be in a form of 2 beer bottles and a sort of rope or chain tying people from bts and the bulletproof people together to talk for five minutes. they only have 2 pairs of cuffs so the others that lack them have to make do with bandanas and you think a seokjin got harassed into taking off his shirt and using it as him and his designated partner’s pseudo handcuff.

yours and jeongguk’s are - you’re not sure if it’s a fortunate or unfortunate thing - real ones (you’re not sure if you want to know why and how seulgi easily pulls out a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and a normal-looking one - out of the blue).

but you’re almost sure that you’re leaning on the side of the internal argument of this - this, right here - is why not.

“why didn’t you text me back?” jeongguk is in the middle of asking as you take a big chug of the alcoholic beverage.

"oh my god,” you let a pleased smile tug at your lips as you feel the buzz of the alcohol coursing through your system, “i was just gonna talk to you about that - jennie said i was being a ghosting b because you only said facts and i got like, offended without a reason but i agree that people can be wrong sometimes and that was her time... i just...” you shrug, “i just didn’t want to text you back so i didn’t,” you look at him with a new found familiarity, “anyways, how was your week?”

by the end of it, jeongguk’s nodding and poorly suppressing his smirk.

“well, let me start first,” you begin before he can even say anything, listing down the happenings in a chronological order which may or may have not confirmed his initial assumption on why you’re here alone “...i mean, was it my fault though? between you and me, i think jennie and i need to sit down and actually talk about accountabilities first, you know? but anyway, that’s how my week went! how about you, how was your week?”

to say that your turmoil of a week is anything close to a laugh-worthy joke, would be a lie but for some reason, trickles of laughter are escaping jeongguk’s lips and into the night air as he leans back, holding his stomach. he would’ve hit the ground if you’d poke him.

“wow,” you slowly nod, “that’s... that’s very... flattering that you think my somewhat a quarter life crisis is amusing,” a grin stretches across your face but your eyes drill holes into the boy’s skull, “maybe i should just quit uni altogether. that’d be... exciting, right? just... quit uni and live a life as a comedian because look at how much i’m cracking you up right now!”

and it goes on for another minute of jeongguk’s laughter filling the air as you threaten him to stop in the guise of encouragement besides the cracking of the branches as it gets swallowed up by the fire in the barrel not too far away from where everyone’s scattered.

“god,” when he’s finally reduced to chuckles and wiping invisible tears off the corner of his eyes, you’re about halfway done with your bottle.

“and he’s back,” you announce, “welcome back. can’t say i missed you though but glad that you’re back with us.”

but before jeongguk can get a word out about his own week which you’d asked, if only to be polite, hoseok is already summoning everyone to gather around the barrel as he raises a bottle in the air to - “new groupship and friends!”

or so you think he said.

you’re not too sure because you’re too busy demanding jeongguk to - “uncuff me right now, jeon - was that too pushy? let me try again,” you pause, clearing your throat, “can you please, please, please, uncuff me so i can go back to my friends and not have to stay here a minute longer?”

“don’t act like you don’t enjoy my company,” he offers you one of his self-assured smirks before addressing your concern, “i’m trying,” he says simply, free hand patting around the pocket on the side of his jeans before groping his own ass.

“um, maybe try harder?” you suggest, smiling sweetly but it downturns into a frown not even a minute later when he declares, “i can’t find it.”

“you... can’t find it?” you echo his words.

“it’s not on me,” he states.

“well, did seulgi give it to you at all or...” you trail off only to be met by a devious smirk which doesn’t exactly help his case.

“guess you’re stuck with me,” he shrugs ever so easily.

“oh, hell nah,” and that’s when you latch onto to smirking boy’s body - on your hands at least, and since his left hand and your right hand are cuffed together, it doesn’t allow much room for your physical inspection which is how using your only free hand to get to the side of his pocket that’s farthest from you - may appear suspicious to others.

you only notice that you’re fully facing jeongguk and having your back turned to everyone else when hoseok’s voice cuts through the air, “yo hold up, hold up, hold up - this is bonfire and chill, not netflix and chill.”

your jaws hurt from hanging a bit too low as you meet each and everyone’s eyes, their giggling and laughing already telling enough of what the majority thinks - everyone except jimin, that is.

but you’re a bit too preoccupied with trying to clear the supposed air of you and jeongguk getting it on in the middle of the forest with both your friends and his around, “aha,” you force out, “i know this,” free hand waving between the chain linking your wrists and the open air which isn’t helping your case because jeongguk’s poor attempt at subduing his smirk is well, poor, “might look sus to you but it isn’t - jeongguk lost the key and if someone could help us find it, it’d-”

“oh, don’t worry, i have a spare at home,” seulgi chirps up, hand waving her illuminated phone, “i’ll text my girlfriend to bring it here.”

well, that explains the fluffy cuffs.

“sick,” jeongguk nods over to the girl to which she holds up an ‘okay’ sign and a meaningful smile to him which shouldn’t be ominous but is.

so you fix him a stare when hoseok goes to say something along the line of ‘great’ and ‘lifesaver’ to seulgi.

which the boy only asks back with a “what?”

“i have something to say but i’m not gonna so i’m just gonna keep quiet but just know that i’m watching you,” but the warning doesn’t exactly bring out the intimidating aspect that you hoped for.

“watch all you want, i’m yours for tonight,” the velvety sound of his chuckles is awfully distracting because you don’t even notice the chain clinking until his fingers interlock yours before he brings them up in the air - as if to emphasize on the technicality of his titillating claim.

the night goes on with bottles of beers scattering over the ground, faint smoke dissipating into the air as the scent of something sweet and fruity wafts around whilst the juul gets passed around.

once in a while someone’s laugh echoes between the gaps of the trees and into the night, amidst the sound of woodland creatures. you’ve downed one and a half bottle of henny whilst jeongguk doesn’t seem to have gone past even half of his first bottle. but he’s chuckling and laughing at something someone said which, for the most part, is funny or warrant a jaw-dropping, pin-drop-silence kind of reaction just like now as seulgi confesses to-

“never have i ever slept with my mom’s boyfriend at 19.”

“and that’s on mommy issues,” you hold up a beer in a ‘cheers’ manner at her whilst she mimics your action before you both tilt your head up and take a chug out of your individual beers at the same time.

“what about you?” jeongguk asks and for a moment, you forget that there are people around because jeongguk’s eyes look like someone reached up the sky and handpicked two stars each for his irises and trap them in there like a class case.

but you’d like to believe it’s the alcohol doing its rightful work in your system because you’re back on the ground with an unrelenting itch on your ankle where it’s brushing against the blades of grass.

“yea, what’s your never-have-i-ever mommy issues edition?” kai speaks up.

“nah, it’s wack,” you wave a dismissive hand but end up agreeing to spill the beans when a bout of protest spreads across your ever so faithful audience.

“okay, okay, never have i ever fucked my biological mom’s husband who isn’t my dad,” you say which earns a bout of cheers and ‘that’s messed up’s before seokjin claps his hands together.

“never have i ever...” he pauses, grinning as an added suspense before he goes on, “fucked my brother’s boyfriend.”

the game doesn’t last for long when everyone collectively agree to take the atmosphere up a notch and play strip truth or dare. but before your turn came, seulgi announces her girlfriend’s arrival concurrently with her having to leave for the night because she’s her ride home. and because you and jeongguk are both of the same mind that you’re the ones that should be following after her to get yourselves uncuffed, you do just that. 

yeri is a sweetheart and matches seulgi’s playful yet reserved nature. they take the cuffs with them and seulgi waves you two goodbye with the same, meaningful smile directed to jeongguk - but if that’s not enough, the ‘good luck’ thumbs up is a screaming red button for you.

but before you can even call him out for his possible hand in convincing his dance friends to invite jimin’s and consequently you to the forest after the match - he beats you to it.

“you okay?” this time, his features are lacking the smirk.

“yea, why wouldn’t i be?” you say, hopping on the rail of the train track that’ll lead to the spot where the others are - so far, you’re doing a good job not falling to your demise.

“i don’t know,” the scraping sound of his soul kicking against the pebbly ground fills the air as he walks next to you, hands in his pocket, “you’ve been pretty quiet after that thing about your mom.”

“you think what i did was messed up?” you inquire, resisting the urge to steal a glance at him to see what kind of emotion he’s making - whether it’s contorted with disgust or whether his nose is crinkling at an attempt to appear unbothered or whether there really isn’t any judgments being passed and he’s just downcasting his eyes because he’s looking out for possible sharp objects protruding from the ground.

“everyone’s a little messed up,” his shoulderline shakes as he shrugs, “it’s the why behind it that counts.”

“nah,” your hair tickles your face as you shake your head in blatant refutation, “i didn’t have a reason.”

and just when you expect a disgusted scoff to erupt from jeongguk’s pink lips... it doesn’t.

“that works too.”

silence follows his words for the longest moment with you trying placing one foot in front of the other, pretending like teetering on that tightrope you’re stuck on with kim taehyung at the end of it, not even waiting for you but just happen to be there.

so you break the silence, “i finally found her last year - flew all the way to jeju  because my biological aunt saw my the post i put up on facebook in a last ditch attempt before i hire a private investigator like my dads suggested. she set us up to meet,” the picture of a woman who’s so similar yet dissimilar to you flashes at the back of your head, a biscoff cheesecake slice lying untouched on the table and someone screaming at the top of their lungs right in front of your ears, “my biological mom didn’t know anything about it, flipped out and told me to never bother her again so i looked up where her husband worked and slept with him and sent the video to her.”

jeongguk doesn’t say anything, only nodding in your periphery before a soothing kind of silence lapses between you.

“what’s your story?” you ask a moment later.

“hm?” he glances at you, the moonlight shining over that smirk that you’ve come to miss in the course of the five minutes it went missing, skin painted a creamy white.

“if you don’t wanna tell, that’s fine too but like, you basically tore down my walls and i’m naked as hell - figuratively -” you add as soon as his eyes light up, “right now.” 

but then he tries to bargain, “promise you’ll text me back and i’ll tell.”

and you try to teeter in the grey area between words and its meanings, “alright, promise... i won’t leave you on read.”

“nah, you gotta promise to text back,” his half curls sway as he shakes his head - your end of the bargain not sufficiently satisfying.

it’s a few moments after your surrendering, “you know what? keep your skeletons in your closet - i’m good,” that he finally says something.

“i used to do tracks, lucked out with a sports scholarship but by freshman year in college, realized i didn’t even like tracks and dropped out...”

jeongguk’s parents weren’t happy about it - didn’t exactly welcome him when he came back with a suitcase and a letter from his unversity claiming the outstanding balance of his first two semesters. but he wasn’t happy at home either. 

so he packed his bags one more time and took the first train to seoul where he worked part time at a restaurant and occasionally at the dance off’s, before he found the beyond the scene people and subsequently found dance. that was amidst of a developer of the game he was playing approaching him through the game’s chat server and offering him a job to test out their games with the condition that he gets a degree in computer science which they paid for on the company’s scholarship fund.

and so it was obvious that jeon jeongguk, wherever he chooses to go and stop at, blooms like a wildflower that strives in any condition thrown in his face whether it be a storm, a hurricane or a sunny weather that barely allows any rain to cover the soil he’s rooted in.

and because he’s true to himself, it isn’t as unbelievable, when almost everyone - from every layer of backgrounds, flock around him like honeybees in spring - allured, magnified and bewitched by jeon jeongguk that makes him... well, him.

to say you understand him a little bit better may be an overstatement but maybe you’re less suspicious of his keen intuition and uncanny prognosis of what happened in your relationships, both with your friend and your not-so-friendly crush.

jeongguk jests that his leg “doesn’t work like it used to but-” - he’s been to places. seen people.

“so why are you obsessed with me?” you question into the night in a light hearted joke, “i mean, i can possibly see why because well, i’m... me and i’m amazing but you know, it’s not healthy to be this obsessed with people.”

his chuckles sounds like wind chimes on a spring day, "besides the fact that i was too busy being a tracks nerd for most of my life so i have zero flirting skills and decided to make all the calls that seem to irritate the one person i want to get to know? it’s because you looked like you were head over heels with the guy you were putting in place but still managed to not make it personal.”

it takes a moment for you to digest what he just said, and even then, you’re nodding in complete disagreement as you blurt out, “pretty sure some parts were personal,” and you turn to him with a smile stretched over your face, “but glad that you don’t think i’m the impostor.”

so you stop twenty steps away from where you can see the fire in the barrel and hoshi, one of the guys from bulletproof boys, standing in boxers and shouting an oath before gulping down a bottle of henny at an alarming rate.

“everyone’s a little sus now and then,” he refutes, nose crinkling as a grin spread across his moon-kissed features as he offers you his hand and you take it, hopping off your tightrope journey and onto grounding earth.

x

when morning comes, you wake up to the familiar but not-very-welcomed sound of cars honking from outside your window and the light piercing through your eyelids, so much so, you surrender to the start of the day. arms stretched over your head and a guttural sound vibrating within your chest as a sign of protest before your vision finally gets used to the bright sunny rays.

and that’s when you freeze. arms stretched and all.

“after all this, you can’t say no to a date with me,” jeon jeongguk is lying right next to you, in your one-person bed which you could never imagine would fit more than your need-for-maximum-space self when you sleep but there he is, in yesterday’s clothes, hugging your light pink alpaca plushie on his stomach whilst his elbow which you don’t notice before is poking into your rib.

the events of last night untangle in a web of hazed memory coming to high definition as each passing second pass by.

you and jimin live on the opposite ends of the city which made you reluctant in having kai drive you back at all, so jeongguk offered to split the uber bills with you because apparently, “oh, hey, we live in the same area!”

which later turned out you didn’t and it would’ve made more sense for him to hitch a ride with kai and jimin. but you didn’t even need to ask why he did what he did.

because by the time you and jeongguk returned, it’d been a set-in-stones assumption that you were off making out somewhere under a tree and everyone cheered you and him for it upon your return.

well, except jimin.

so you pulled jeongguk to the side once the attention was directed to hoseok whose dare was to lick the grass he was stepping on.

“is that thing about jimin liking me true because he’s been like, avoiding my eyes the whole night and now he’s acting like i don’t exist and i’m pretty concerned because his friend is my ride home,” you whispered underneath your beath.

jeongguk threw one, confirming glance at the aforementioned man before nodding casually, “he’s jealous as fuck because he thinks we did the do - cross my heart and hope to die.”

so you ended up offering jeongguk to sleep in your bed because it was already late and it felt like a waste to spend another thirty bucks to go back to a place where nobody was waiting for him anyway.

you were so beat, you’d fallen asleep as soon as jeongguk pulled your protesting self off the futon-splayed floor and held you captive in your own bed.

“you know what? i might as well,” you say, legs thrown off the bed and stretching some more before looking down at the smiling, plushie-holding, grown ass person in your bed, “now we need to figure out how to sneak you out because this is a girls-only dorm and if they found out i have a guy over, i might get expelled.”

but before you can even start brainstorming the best possible route for jeongguk to sneak out without being detected, an obnoxious rapping reverberates against your door. the look of pure horror settling in as jeongguk’s smile melts into a wide-eyed, panicked face would have been adorable if you’re not in the middle of shoving him into your “quick, in the closest!” which he needs to hunch his shoulders to become as small as possible before you can close it whilst you yelp out a “just a minute!”

by the time you manage to school a smile on your face, jennie’s is already sprinkled with a dust of red as her brows come together, judging your choice of outfit and the events that went down last night.

“hey, girl,” you drag out the first word in idle panic, body leaning against the doorframe a little too defensively, “what’s...” you can’t even find the right words as you tap your fingers against the doorframe before finally saying, “what’s good?”

but one questioning look from her and you’re stepping out of the way, left to stand at attention like a cadet in the presence of the general whilst said general struts into your room and scans it once before turning to you.

“’what’s good?’” jennie echoes and you know from the way her head does the slightest of movements according to her enunciation, “imagine seeing your best friend on some mutual friend’s snapchat story which mind you, said mutual friend isn’t anywhere close to either of you and the time in the snap says a big whooping 4:03 am while you’re here feeling bad for hurting her feelings with your words words. but does she feel bad? well, it doesn’t flipping look like she even gave any thoughts about you, did it?”

and that’s when the closet decides that it’s had enough of storing a full grown human in its belly and slowly, but surely swings the door open with thunderous creak in the midst of the calm before the storm. and lo and behold, a jeon jeongguk, still hugging your alpaca tightly, keeping his eyes closed as if it’ll make him invisible before he gradually screws one eye open to the sight of a raging but confused  jennie kim and a mortified you turning to said girl.

so much for keeping skeletons in closets.

“i-i can explain.”

x

it turns out all it takes for jennie’s anger to subside is for her to find a boy in your room. namely the boy she’s been blatantly shipping you with even though you barely knew each other then.

“i have a wig in my room,” she suggests after you’ve exhausted all options - jeongguk can’t climb through the window and jump down from the second floor.

“well, he can but there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to leave without one of his limbs intact,” you’d added, shrugging.

he’s sitting crossed leg on your bed, alpaca in his lap and looking cute as hell as his eyes go round at the mention of a wig and five minutes prior, crossdressing.  the plan is for you and jennie will walk him out once he’s all dresed up like you’re just three - well, one is kind of buffed up but still pretty - best friends who had a girls’ night and crashed in your room.

he whistles lowly, head lulling to the side as he stares at the door before turning to you with a playful smile, “i’ve always wanted to wear a skirt.”

and so it goes, jennie kim’s squealing and making a short trip to her room and returning with a bag full of wig, stretchable sweaters and lycra skirts whilst she scours through your closet for clothes that you have but don’t even remember. the oversized sweater that’s a few more inches too big for you wraps around his body tightly and the skirt is a tad bit too short for him, going down to a few inches above the knee. but the head turner is the way the curly brown wig gracefully frames his face and softens his jawline, giving an illusion of how his half-ringlet would have looked if he grew them out.

you apply the soft pink lipgloss on his already rosy lips as a joke in a guise of a final touch, heart skipping as his lips curl whilst he gazes at you the whole time you’re putting on the glimmering liquid.

“okay, i feel bad,” you confess, shoulder line falling, “i thought you’d hate the lipgloss and i was going say it’s important to make the look work if you said no but you’re not saying no and you’re looking at me like you’d trust me with your life...” a sigh rolls off your lips at the end of it.

“you feel bad?” he echoes, glossed lips looking kissable as hell - it doesn’t even matter that he’s smirking like it was part of his plan all along to manipulate your conscience into confessing your ulterior motive.

so you nod.

“good,” he states simply.

“you saying good like you’re satisfied that you managed to pick on my guilty conscience is making me feel less guilty,” you narrow your eyes, not even bothering to hide the smile creeping on your lips.

“oh my god, my ship is sailing!” jennie’s whispered squeal cuts through the air before she reverts to her deadpanned self, “okay but seriously, if you’re done sprinkling sugar cubes all over the place, i think we should get jeongguk out before miss snitchery sonyeon next door sniffs the man in jeongguk and snitch on us.”

sonyeon has been known for reporting 2 boy-sneaking activities that went on last year which would have been justified if the girls that brought the boys into their room was doing questionable things and loudly at that but the first incident was with a late enrolled newbie that just moved in and didn’t know that boys weren’t allowed inside and though the other girl did sneak her boyfriend in, it was only because he was bleeding profusely and needed first aid treatment which she stored in her room.

you’re just about a few feet away from the double doors when a familiar but disembodied voice drums in your ears.

“you three, stop right there.”

you think your heart stops working for the briefest moment as time freezes and you’re craning your head to look at jennie whose fear-stricken face mimics yours and then jeongguk whom you don’t expect to wear such ceases in his forehead.

so you do the one thing that you think of-

“run.” you whisper.

all of a sudden, the wind is in your face and a few heads turn your way - but you doubt that it has more to do with how unfairly gorgeous jeongguk looks than the fact that the ra is on your tail, her pitched demands for ‘someone stop them!’ whilst. you’re not sure if someone did try to chase after you or if the adrenaline pumping in your system is what helps you sprint faster than a cheetah but when you finally slow down, almost skidding to a stop on the grass somewhere on campus grounds instead of the dormitory area - it’s because jennie is dramatically breathing through her mouth and found herself a bench to put on an act of dying whale.

“you guys... go on... leave me be...” she croaks out in between breaths, hand reaching out to the air.

“dude, tell me if you’re gonna stop so we can stop and get caught together,” you guff, plopping down, your state no better than jennie’s while jeongguk shakes his head at the two of you.

not even a beat of sweat or heaved breathing coming from him - not to mention that-

“how are you the fastest-” you suck in a much needed breath, “-when your leg doesn’t work as good anymore?”

“yea, didn’t say i can’t run,” he grins.

“jen, let’s go,” you say, tapping the dying whale on her shoulder as she starts wailing words of saddened goodbyes.

“forsake me! save yourselves!” she wheezes, staring into nothingness before waving a dismissive hand, “no for real, i don’t think they’re gonna chase us all the way here. you guys go, i have a date anyway, i’ll text kim,” it’s the name you coined for namjoon whenever you talk about him in public, “to pick me up here.”

a year ago, you would have called her a brave fool for having her boyfriend slash professor that’s teaching at the same university - pick her up in plain sight. but once you saw the unfamiliar ferrari roll to a stop in front of the dorms with tinted black windows, you understand why they can be as free and uncaring as they are.

“you sure? what if they saw you here?” you question, needles of doubt still deeply pierced into your racing heart.

but when she looks at you with arched brows and a familiar couldn’t-care-less attitude, you know nothing you say can change her mind which helps ease the knots in your stomach by a lot.

so you cave in, waving her goodbye - but not before the scarring ‘we still need to talk though’ reminder - and going back to the tall, brown haired person who’s holding his left hand midair and wiggling his fingers about in what you think is a parodic depiction of how girls wave at each other while mouthing a nasally, higher-pitched “thank you so much for helping us.” 

one minute into the walk, you stop in front of the cafe you’re used to having lunch at with your group of 4 - if there’s even any group left after this, “so this kim guy - he’s way older isn’t he?” 

“if you’re all knowing, you wouldn’t end that sentence with a question,” you assert, “so i’m not gonna say anything.”

“that’s a yes then,” he nods. 

“i think we lost them,” you say, a tad too late but pretend to look around anyway like you’re not 200% sure of that fact.

to any outsiders, you’ll probably look like two girls standing three feet apart from each other, looking out in a distance.

“nice,” jeongguk nods, joining in your scouting party before he squints his eyes at something in the most casual manner before suggesting, “so... you wanna go on a date?”

x

“you think we lost them?” you whisper under your breath, worry filling your chest as you throw your gaze over somewhere at the end of the alleyway where flashes of red and blue lights passed by.

but before the black cladded boy can say anything, his lips smack together as he and you both press yourselves flat to the wall as the sound of radio static bounces into the narrow space you’ve found yourselves in. six months after your first date, which involves a crossdressing jeongguk and a day at a park that had you returning to the dorm with a giant teddy bear and a strip of photo you took from the booth comprising the multiple personalities embodied in one person from sassy to stare-into-the camera-intimidating face to him looking down and shyly peeking through his pushed back curls - you’ve gone on multiple other dates.

none of which can be considered normal because you’ll always end up in a sticky situation like you are now.

on your second month, you found out that jeon jeongguk not only has a stable  income for literally playing games while trying to balance out his education but he also paints and draws.

on your third month, you go on your first mural-painting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-dressed-as-robbers date to which ended pretty well with the two of you getting hungry and having ramen at a 24 hour convenience store. so the mural painting becomes a monthly routine.

jimin finds out about it somewhere down the line and broke out into the most heartwarming smile while teasing you about how “the singles lost another one,” as he shook his head in dismay. but things went back to normal for the most parts. taehyung talks to you more now. he apologized for having only treated you like someone useful to him when he needed something and found that you have more in common than you think.

like how you’re decently informed about the greatest artists of all time - all because jeongguk was telling you about them whilst you chill at his place on days you don’t feel like going out but still want to spend time together. jeongguk, later found out that his supply of artistic information was what led to you and taehyung’s improving friendship and offers to become your spokesperson by having you invite taehyung to a cafe so he can pour his abundance of knowledge in the fine arts of painting - “since he’s so interested in van gogh, you know what i mean?”

he even finished it with a tilt of his head and an sassy ‘ugh.”

“i think we gotta run,” jeongguk’s declarations doesn’t have you arching your eyebrows and looking at him in an ‘are you for real?’ kind of manner.

it could be because you’re so used to running from law enforcement now.

or maybe because jeongguk showed you the world through his eyes. doesn’t mean it’s any less terrifying - the thought of being caught and shoved behind the bars whilst they included it in your records. but hey, at least, you’re no strangers to handcuffs.

“on one,” you say and he nods, hand squeezing yours as if saying i’ll never let them get you.

“three,” you begin, eyes fixed on the stars in jeongguk’s gaze, “two,” jeongguk breathes in deeply, “one.”

run.

x

note. i hope you guys enjoyed reading!! and if you want anything similar to this kind of style, i have one more college au. the second part of that one is my pinned post which also has a link to the first part. if you’re curious why i’m not gonna link or name it is because i’m convinced that tumblr literally makes anything that’s linked or mentioned it blocked for some reason idk.

but anyways, thank you for reading!!

[lokiondisneyplus]

No character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the staying power of Loki. Portrayed with just the right amount of smarm and charm by Tom Hiddleston, the impish trickster with the ability to shapeshift and cast illusions is a favorite among fans despite the fact he's betrayed friends and family multiple times since debuting opposite Chris Hemsworth in 2011's "Thor." The most predictable thing about him might be his unpredictability. And yet no one thought the character would return to the MCU after being killed by the all-mighty Thanos (Josh Brolin) in the opening scene of 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War." However, we're now on the cusp of the character leading his very own show.

Debuting Wednesday, June 9 on Disney+, the six-episode "Loki" follows a past version of the character, though it's not a prequel. This Loki is the man who successfully stole the Tesseract, aka the Space Stone, when the Avengers traveled to the past in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." His actions that day ultimately created a branched reality — the very thing the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) warned the Avengers about when they attempted to gather the stones in the past. So when the show picks up, Loki will find himself being forced to work with the Time Variance Authority, an organization dedicated to protecting the proper flow of time, to help restore the main timeline he broke when he fled with the Tesseract in 2012.

It remains to be seen whether or not the series is one of the shows Marvel's Kevin Feige said was developed with additional seasons in mind. But with this particular setup — and assuming the show operates independently of the main overarching narrative of the MCU — this is the type of series that could easily run for multiple seasons should the people involved desire it. And given his comments over the years, Hiddleston definitely seems game to portray Loki until he's too old to do so.

But what is it about the character, a Frost Giant who was adopted by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) as a baby and raised as an Asgardian, that has allowed him to persevere – especially when Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and even Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) have not? What gives Loki, a character who has been both villain and antihero, such longevity in the MCU? Is it Hiddleston himself? Is he nurturing goodwill with his enchanting performance? Is it the character's unpredictability keeping things fresh? Or is it the potential of a flawed man still searching for an identity and purpose?

Over the last decade, Hiddleston — whose name was once bandied about as a possible James Bond candidate after a stellar turn in "The Night Manager" — has won favor with Marvel and its fans thanks to his continued dedication to the role of Loki and his support of the extended universe. Some actors have been happy to say goodbye after fulfilling their contracts, but you'd be hard-pressed to find an actor who loves his job with Marvel more than Hiddleston. (Never forget the time he dressed up in character and took over Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013.) But in addition to his acting chops and commitment to the role of Loki, Hiddleston is also just an effortlessly charming individual, and some of that natural charisma bleeds into his performance, making the character a richer and more complex character as a result. And it's a good thing too because a character like Loki — someone ruled by his emotions, whose only allegiance is to himself, and who wouldn't think twice before double-crossing his own brother — runs the risk of becoming either very annoying or quite tired rather quickly. Luckily, Loki is neither.

After learning the truth of his origins in the first Thor film, Loki's anger toward his family and the betrayal he felt put him on a path to finding his purpose, which resulted in him becoming the mouthy and manipulative, power-hungry antagonist of the first Avengers movie. At the time, no one outside of Feige and other decision-making executives likely knew what was in store for the future of the MCU.

But now we can look back and see Hiddleston's captivating turn in "The Avengers," in which he attempts to take control of Earth using an army of Chitauri forces, was more than just the catalyst for the various heroes recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to finally team up. It was also the beginning of what might be the best character arc in the entire MCU. No one save perhaps Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, has had a more complicated or effective emotional personal journey throughout the entirety of the Infinity Saga (and beyond). Perhaps that is why when Loki was eventually killed several films later in the middle of his redemption arc during the opening scene of "Infinity War," the heartbreak seemed to extend beyond the edges of the frame and into the real world.

The exceptionally fun 2017 film "Thor: Ragnarok," which immediately preceded "Infinity War," saw Loki forced to confront his past and make a decision regarding his future. The death of his father and the return of Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death and the sister neither Loki nor Thor knew existed, ultimately meant the end of life as he knew it. But rather than fleeing at the first chance like everyone assumed he would, Loki accepted his place in his family and returned to his brother's side after the destruction of Asgard. Of course, he also pocketed the Tesseract before the planet was destroyed, a seemingly innocuous decision that would unfortunately lead Thanos right to him. But learning to care about something more than his own immediate wants was a redeeming moment for Loki, as was his attempt to save Thor from Thanos, so his death was both an effectively heartbreaking moment that resonated with fans while serving as a harbinger of what was to come.

It also felt like closure, so when a past version of Loki popped up in "Avengers: Endgame" when Tony, Cap, and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) traveled to 2012, it was a pleasant surprise. That the new series "Loki" follows this branched-reality version of the character and won't erase the character's original narrative arc is what makes the show such an intriguing new chapter. When the show premieres, Loki hasn't gone through any sort of character evolution. He is still the angry man who tried to force all of humanity to kneel before him in a desperate attempt to find his place in the world. He has yet to go through the events of his mother's death or the destruction of Asgard. He's a man out of time, a man without a home. And it's the chaotic, still-in-progress nature of Loki and the inability to guess what he might do when an organization like the Time Variance Authority, which is dedicated to order, tries to force him to do what they say that makes this new chapter so exciting.

Each episode of the show, which also stars Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Judge Ravonna Lexus Renslayer, will see the character travel through time and space on a mission to restore order to the timeline. But will this Loki follow the same path as the man we know and love? Or will this version make different choices without Thor by his side? More importantly, will he find what he's looking for?

Loki is a man driven by insecurity and an ongoing struggle with his identity, though he deftly covers up his deficiencies with a devious wit and charm. The constantly shifting logo in the show's trailer represents both the character's shapeshifting ability as much as the idea that he doesn't know where he belongs or who he is yet. And although the beats of such a character arc are hardly new territory for Hollywood — you could argue they've even been done to death at this point — the potential for greatness still exists as Loki remains pleasantly unpredictable. It means anything can happen, and with Hiddleston promising a show that is unlike anything Marvel has ever done, there's no reason to believe Loki the man and "Loki" the show won't continue to endure and evolve even beyond this first season. After all, he certainly has the staying power.

"Loki" premieres Wednesday, June 9 on Disney+.

[luvskywalker]

tis the damn season- peter parker x reader

word count- 3.6k

warnings- mentions of injury, language, insecurity

a/n: the timeline is kinda weird, peter + reader are about 19, but civil war and endgame never happened, the avengers defeated thanos in infinity war, so there is no blip. it kinda makes sense, i explain it a little, but the main focus is the relationship! i hope you all enjoy this one, it took me a while because i didn’t know just how i wanted to bring peter and the reader together. feel free to request something or leave feedback!!💞

god, you had missed new york. especially the cold that always fogged up your window glass and that forced you into wearing socks to sleep like a heathen, and the wind chill that made you want nothing more than a warm drink and a nice movie.

you had missed upstate the most, the clearer and less crowded air, the serenity that can only be found there, and most importantly your family.

it had been a year since you’d left for los angeles, going on a mission to bring down a branch of HYDRA that had been implanted in the golden state itself. the job wasn’t easy, but no one could keep you away from taking it. you missed your family. it put a heartache in you, and it also gave a certain brunette boy one too.

peter parker had liked you since the day he met you. it was his freshman year, and you were in his study hall. you barely even spoke to him, yet he had swiftly become captivated by the perfume you wore, the way you parted your hair, every single quirk that made you who you were. you’d like his posts on instagram or even text him (though that was quite rare, you’d probably texted him once in the four years he’d known you), and he swore his heart bursted every time you did. when he found out you left for california, he couldn’t help the heartache that followed. he spent each day hoping and wishing to every star for your safety, and they were all answered when you pulled up to the avengers compound on a cold december day.

you swiftly pulled the black audi in front of the cabin that was the closest thing to a home you’d get. it was where tony had raised you since he had adopted you, where you came to be a normal family for.. well... whenever you had the time. he knew you were there, he always seemed to know things before they even happened, claiming he had a “sixth sense” though you were sure it was just friday.

you got out of the car with the brightest grin on

your face, noticing his presence on the porch of the home.

“is that my dad or is that a woodland creature? cant seem to tell the difference!”

you were, in every way but blood, his daughter.

he rolled his eyes but you didn’t miss the small smile as he rushed you into the house, and you could tell he was in his mother hen mode.

“what about my bags?”

“get them later, there’s someone i want you to meet.”

you were now curious, who could have him in this much of a rush?

he lead you into the large living room of the home, just for you to see peter parker sitting quite uncomfortably on the couch.

“peter?” you tilted your head to the side, confused as to how your dad knew peter.

guess i missed a lot, you thought.

“wait” your dad paused, looking between you and peter accusingly “how do you two know eachother?”

you knew what he was assuming and peter just looked confused.

“NO not like that, dad” you started frantically, because no you did not know peter like that.

peter joined the conversation suddenly,

“he’s your dad?” he said quietly at the same time you spoke, surprise and confusion evident.

“so how do you two know eachother?”

your dad ended the chaos of the conversation, and peter explained for you.

“we used to go to school together, until she graduated early.”

you nodded along with his quick explanation and your dad let out a sigh of relief.

you had graduated high school three years early, and though you didn’t have many friends, you kept in touch with peter over the years. it baffled you that he never seemed to put the pieces together, i mean (y/n) starr wasn’t exactly the most incognito cover name, and your face was plastered over at least one magazine a week for both your hero persona inferno and your civilian self.

“for a second i was worried.. nevermind.” tony said, waving his hand at the now ridiculous thought.

you knew what he thought and you laughed at his small outburst.

“so why is peter parker here?”

“he’s spider-man.”

oh.

“what? peter parker is spider-man??”

the boy in question looked at you now, offended that you were acting like him being spider-man was the most ridiculous thing you had ever heard.

tony simply rolled his eyes, used to your theatrics because well, you got them from him.

“just told you he was, kid. you’re going to train him as long as you’re over here, the team figured you’re the best suited because of your age.”

great.

you had said peter parker was your friend, and that much was at least sort of true, but you came to new york for a break. you’ve been working nonstop for the better part of a year. however, you brushed off your disappointment because at least you didn’t have to train with natasha.

“sounds good. want to head over there now peter?”

he glanced up from the carpet he seemed to find very interesting.

“yeah, that sounds fine.” he said, nodding quite eagerly.

“see you kids later. glad you’re home, mini me.”

you gave your father one last hug and a smile before taking the bag by the door that you know has most of your gear in.

peter followed you into the audi, marvelling at the interior that you had customized yourself. you were such a stark, peter noted in his head, unbeknownst to you.

“so what are your powers?”

you could feel him look at you, almost confused as to why you were asking. haven’t you heard of spider-man?

“i like to hear coming from you, rather than just assuming.” you said, glancing away from the road just briefly to offer him a smile.

“no one has ever really asked before, they all seem to know already.” he returned your smile, and you felt for him. you knew what it was like- when you had first displayed your powers everyone seemed to know more about you than you yourself did.

“well i’m asking” you said, smile still present, “what can you do, spider-boy?”

you watched him run his hands down the leg of his jeans nervously.

why was he so nervous?

“um,” he started, still fidgeting with the leg of his jeans, “i have super strength, and i can shoot webs out of my hands?”

that much you knew, but it still piqued your interest.

“have you ever tested how strong the webs are?”

his head tilted slightly and he reminded you of a puppy when it did.

“no, but i think they’re pretty strong, i mean i did the thing with the ferry a couple years ago.”

you almost forgot about that. almost.

“what’s your favorite part about all this? it can be a little overwhelming and weird, but it’s still fun most of the time.”

he nodded at that, agreeing with you.

“i don’t know, really. i started out being a friendly neighborhood spider-man, i refused the avengers offer mr. stark gave me, and then the stuff in space happened and now i’m here.”

you nodded along with his explanation.

“i’m so glad i was in wakanda instead of up there.”

you had been allowed to visit wakanda on both an invite from king t’challa and stark industries business, and during your extended stay you also had to defeat an ugly and angry grape guy.

“wait, you went to wakanda? what was it like?” his nervousness was slowly fading away as you got him to open up a little more.

you spent the rest of the drive to the facility geeking out about wakandan technology and the things shuri has created.

you parked in your personal spot, making a note that steve’s car was parked in his own spot, meaning both he and bucky were here, and nat’s motorcycle was here as well.

“looks like you’ll get to meet some of the team too!” you said, eager to say hi to natasha and america’s favorite duo.

“as long as they’re as nice as you i’ll be fine.” he told you with a smile that you thought shone brighter than the sun and you ignored the way your heart fluttered at the comment.

you lead him into the facility, running into steve and bucky along the way, introducing the three, and after the introduction the fossils adopted the nickname queens for peter.

“they’re so boring.” you spoke, fighting to suppress a smile. you didn’t actually think that, you were really close to steve and bucky, you just liked to make fun of them.

he looked at you questioningly.

“do you not like them?”

he then noticed you trying not to laugh and realized you were only joking.

you showed peter around the facility, as well as showing him everyone’s rooms, stopping outside each door for him to see without invading the privacy of your fellow avengers.

natasha strutted out of her room down the hall, like the drama queen she is.

“hey kid, welcome back sparkles.” she sent you a smirk, and then walked by just as quickly as she came.

you turned to look at peter.

“hi natasha” you said, rolling your eyes at her nickname of choice.

“why did she call you sparkles?” he asked through a small laugh. he didn’t know? it was kind of obvious.

“i’ll show you later, let me show you my room!”

you loved your room in the facility, and you grabbed peter’s hand to eagerly lead him down the hall to your room.

it was then that both you and peter decided you both liked the feeling you got when you had grabbed his hand.

you showed him into your room and he looked around curiously.

“you have a cat?”

the little white cat sat atop a plethora of pillows at the top of your bed and blinked at you.

“no, that’s bucky’s little monster, alpine. she’s not supposed to be in here.”

peter just smiled at the cat, stroking her fur softly.

“i like your room, it’s super ni-“ he cut himself off, “hey is that a star wars poster?”

you could feel yourself flush with the warmth of embarrassment.

“the empire strikes back is my favorite movie!”

you breathed a sigh of relief, he wasn’t going to make fun of you.

“it’s mine too!” you said, a big smile on your face. “the poster is signed!”

you both shared your excitement at your signed empire strikes back poster, and you even offered to get him one.

“i could never accept that, (y/n).” he said, shaking his head.

“good thing i’m not giving you a choice” you replied, smirking at him.

and that was the kickstart of an even closer friendship with you and the brunette hero.

you bounced back from los angeles and new york quite frequently the past eleven months. because of your success with the HYDRA mission given by SHIELD, and wanted you in their west coast division more often. you went away to california at least twice a month.

now, however, you sat in a nice apartment in queens, a popcorn bag popping between the warmth of your hands. you still remember the day peter found out about your powers.

“look.” you had said, and then your finger lit up, just like a candle.

“how did you do that?” he asked you, not even considering the fact that those were your powers.

“i can set things on fire, with my mind and with...” you paused, and then your whole hand started to glow red. “myself.”

“like a super-arsonist?”

“i mean, i guess you could say that.”

“wait! you’re inferno???”

when the popcorn was done popping, you passed it to peter before getting up from the couch quickly. peter grasped your forearm and you thought your heart would bust out of your chest because of the contact.

“what’s up?” he asked with a small head tilt and a furrow of his brow.

“i just have to go get something, pete” you reassured him with a smile, before walking over to his room to get your bag, trying to calm yourself down because he could probably hear your heart pounding.

inside was a tiny little cylindrical package wrapped in paper with your superhero self all over it.

you grabbed the mini item and sized it back up using a disc you’d borrowed from scott. you took a deep breath before walking back to the living area and your movie.

“merry christmas peter!” you said, a huge smile on your face.

“what is this?” he was surprised, you could tell.

“open it!!” you slid back onto the couch next to him and handed him the wrapped box.

when your hand touched his, peter willed himself to relax because you’re his best friend but also you’re so pretty and you smell like literally everything nice ever created in the universe. he snapped himself out of it, blushing a little at his inner monologue before grabbing the gifts from you.

“you know christmas isn’t for two weeks right?” you could hear the nervousness in his voice and you wondered why. why was he so nervous?

“tis the damn season, i say.” you said with an over the top arm swing, he just rolled his eyes at your antics.

“just open it already, before i” you raised your voice now, because may was in her room down the hall, “tell may about the time you-“

“okay i’ll open it!” he rushed out, covering your mouth with his hand before you could finish because he did not need aunt may knowing about that.

your chest heaved a little at the touch, and his hand was pulled away quickly. you noticed his face flush red and his breathing become a little quick, but brushed it off as him being worried you’d tell may.

“i like the wrapping paper by the way.” he commented, giving you a smirk that made your body swarm with butterflies.

when he opened it, an empire strikes back poster was revealed, complete with signatures from all the actors.

you saw his face light up and his mouth part in shock, and you’d give the world to see him that happy every single day.

but you didn’t need to, because for peter, just having you was all he needed.

“no way” he gasped, shaking his head a little with a smile of disbelief on his face.

“(y/n), you didn’t!”

you just smiled. it was then that peter swept you up into his arms, giving you a hug that made both of your hearts race.

but, good moments never last forever.

the next day, you were sent to athens on a mission with natasha and steve, one that might not let you be back for christmas.

you had completed the mission in time, done the day before christmas eve, but that doesn’t mean you finished it well.

it went messy, and both you and natasha sported a few gashes, but steve took the worst of it, always the gentleman. it also took a toll on you, being gone for two weeks was nothing abnormal, but it was what was said over those weeks that bothered you.

“oh little stark, you’ll never be their real family. you aren’t even a real avenger!”

it wasn’t true. you were one of the more original avengers, being taken on the team despite your dads worries, and you were their real family. but it still hurt you, it still stuck with you, replaying over and over in your mind as you tried not to let the words tear you apart.

you flew the quinjet the fastest it’s ever been flown, and debriefed with fury at SHIELD, letting steve and natasha go to the lab for some patching up.

when you got back to the compound, peter was the first person you saw. you walked over to him, and he brought you into his arms. it made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, something you needed after the mission.

peter could see how down you looked and he hated it, so did all he knew how to do.

he held onto you tight, not saying anything to you, just providing the support you needed.

you knew the insecurities you had were a little silly, but you also knew that it was okay to feel like this, because even the strongest avengers have bad days. it made you feel more human, even though it also made you feel a little sad.

peter brought you comfort in this moment, whispering things that made your heart soar even if you knew they were just him being a good friend.

“you’re the best friend i could ever ask for.”

you smiled into his chest, and pulled yourself away, albeit reluctantly, from his hold.

“thanks peter” you said, more soothed now.

“i needed that. you really are an amazing person.”

he put his arm around your shoulders, giving you a little side hug.

“only for you.” he said, giving you a wink, one that you rolled your eyes at.

the day flew by, as it always seems to after a mission. the three of you sent off healed up quickly, just in time for the gift exchange you always forced everyone into on christmas eve.

after the exchange, you took your newly keychain-filled keys (thanks to nat, clint, sam, and bucky) and drove home. peter had left early, hitching a ride from your dad, which was a little odd to you but you brushed it off.

when you got home, all you saw was pepper on the couch with an excited smile on her face and a wave in greeting, and then you heard tony but lost your sight due to a black cloth being wrapped around your eyes.

“mom, what is he doing to me?”

you heard her laugh at your comment.

“just let him lead you, honey.”

you wished she and tony could see you roll your eyes.

he guided you up the stairs, telling you when to step so you wouldn’t fall, and you were quickly ushered into your room.

“why do i need this thing anyway?” you inquired, but the question was dropped when you felt someone new untie the blindfold.

peter.

you blinked your eyes a couple times, adjusting again to the environment of the room.

“is peter supposed to be a surprise? should i act surprised?”

the situation was a little confusing, no one was surprising you with a gift; tony and pep always waited until christmas, and you and peter exchanged gifts at the compound.

so what was going on?

“peter is not the surprise.”

and with that, tony left the room. if your back wasn’t to him you would’ve saw him wink at peter, but you did see peter’s face start to flush.

weird, because tony never left the room for surprises. little did you know, tony has been desperately waiting for one of you to make a move on the other after watching you pine within your friendship, and when peter mentioned giving you a necklace and confessing his feelings he nearly jumped for joy.

“i’m not the surprise, but i have a surprise for you.”

he looked a little nervous, compared to his usual comfort around you, and his hands started to fidget with his pockets.

“what is it?” you questioned, looking up at him and realizing suddenly that he was really close, which made your heart start to beat a little faster.

you saw him reach into his pocket and suck in a breath.

“titanic was the first movie you watched with me, i remember you insisted on it because it was your favorite at the time,”

you were a little confused, so you just nodded, albeit a little dumbly.

“i also remember how you said you’d kill for a necklace like the one rose wore, and you talked about the history of what it was modeled after for a good ten minutes”

you laughed, but you didn’t know what he was leading up to.

“and i knew that you could talk to me about anything, for however long you’d want, and i’d listen, because i got to see that look on your face when you were excited about something”

he was smiling at you as he reached into his pocket.

“peter parker i swear to god if you pull out a replica of that necklace i will kill you. or kiss you. or both.”

he laughed, and held out the palm of his hand, which lie a necklace that looked exactly like the blue hope diamond, and your mouth parted in shock.

“holy shit.”

“i, uh, wanted to give you something special, to show how special you are to me.”

you felt your eyes well up with tears at his words, and you smiled as he clasped the necklace around your neck.

recalling your words from moments ago, you took in a breath for confidence.

“i think i owe you a kiss.” you said, still smiling.

“as long as you don’t kill me after.”

and with that you pressed your lips against his, feeling your body ignite but not like when you were using your powers. this was a warmth in your heart.

peter kissed you and he swore it was the happiest moment of your life.

you kissed him with everything you had, bringing your hands around his neck.

it was like you fit together perfectly, and one would even say two hearts became one in that moment, but for you that was far too cliche.

you separated reluctantly, and you both smiled at each other. the smile you shared was worth a million words.

“tis the damn season, i guess.” you heard tony and pepper giggle like children outside the door that was half open, and the four of you laughed.

—

“peter, how did you even afford that necklace?”

he looked at you with a cheeky grin.

“turns out inferno is celine dion’s favorite superhero.”

your jaw dropped.

“kid, you’ll catch flies.”

“thanks for the warning dad.”

[dreamescapeswriting]

Burnt With Envy ~ JJK [Request]

↬↬↬Word Count: 2.7k

↬↬↬Genre: Fluffy, angst,

↬↬↬Pairing: Jungkook x Gender Neutral Reader

↬↬↬WARNINGS: Mentions of plane turbulence, house fire, smoke inhalation [PS Sucky title because M sucks at titles] 

↬↬↬ A/N: No name for the daughter as I know a lot of you like that, also I didn’t want to make it like a huge car accident or something so I went in a different way I hope this is okay for you my love! Stay Safe! Love you!

The plane ride you were on seemed to be taking forever, you were flying home after a long business meeting with your husband Jungkook who was now sitting on the phone to someone about the meeting - you didn't pay too much close attention to his side of the business as it never really interested you. Your daughter was curled up on your lap as you sat on one of the sofas inside of the private jet, one of the many joys of Jungkook being the CEO of many businesses. Never having to fly on a normal plane again.

"Look I don't care, give them whatever they want as long as they sign the papers tonight," You heard Jungkook sigh from across the plane, his eyebrows were strewn together and he was rubbing the bridge of his nose - a sure sign that he was stressing about something going on in his life.

"Yes, I'll hold." He turned around to glance at you so you gave him a small smile not wanting to bother him while he was working, as soon as his eyes landed on you and his daughter his eyes softened. Seeing the way you both looked together made him instantly relax, it was why he took you along on his business trips - that and he wanted his daughter to be able to see the world and learn from it. She was only 14 but could already speak 3 languages, Korean, English and French with the occasional bit of Japanese she had picked up on business trips.

"Everything okay?" You questioned when he hung up the phone and came over to you, he sat on the arm of the sofa next to you and nodded his head bending down to give you a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

"Just some more details to go through but everything's fine, how did her homework go?" He asked nodding his head down at the papers that were on the table in front of you, you scoffed leaning forward to pick up the different sheets of homework she'd been working on.

"She didn't need my help - as usual." You laughed, your daughter had always been exceptionally smart at everything she put her mind to but this homework was all about businesses. She had to create a fake brand and branch out with it, all within a fictional budget and timeline.

"She gets it from her dad," You whispered when Jungkook asked where she got it all from, you both knew it was impossible since she was adopted but you still liked to think that somehow she still got traits from both of you as her parents because that's what you were. Adopted or not she was your daughter.

"I think she'll take over everything when I die," He chuckled sliding in behind you on the sofa and wrapping his arm around your waist and snuggling his head into your neck.

Everyone saw Jungkook as a big CEO no one should mess with but deep inside he was just as soft as anybody else and wouldn't dream of hurting anyone - many people in his company knew it as well since he'd always been too scared to fire anyone, he never wanted to hurt someone's feelings which was odd. A CEO like him with a big heart was uncommon in the world, most of them didn't care for their employees but Jungkook did, he got to know most of everyone who worked for him, tried to relate to them in any way that he could and would help them if they ever needed it. The plane jolted and you gripped onto your daughter with one arm and Jungkook with the other, he hissed when he felt it do it once again.

"Sorry Sir, just a little trouble. One engine caught fire, we'll be okay until we land on your airstrip." You looked at the stewardess who had just come out of the cockpit to tell you both what was happening, luckily it was nothing major and you could both move on from it.

"Is the captain sure everything's okay?" She nodded slowly looking at all of you, she'd been working for Jungkook for the last four years and she was always pleasant when she worked on your flights.

"Everything is fine, he's assured me that we'll be fine until we land in ten minutes. After that, he'll have the engines repaired."

"Is dad okay?" Your daughter asked as you tucked her into her bed, the plane landed perfectly fine and it was being looked at by a professional but Jungkook was shaken up. Nothing had ever happened like that before, all of his planes were routinely checked by professionals, even if he wasn't flying anywhere he had them looked at to make sure nothing was wrong or could go wrong.

"He's okay baby, just a little worried about something. Don't worry about it, he loved your homework though." You soothed down the bedsheets and sat on the edge of her bed while you looked down at her, you began playing with her hair softly placing it behind her ear to make her sleepy again.

"He did? I was pretending to be him while I..." She yawned halfway through her sentence and closed her eyes - you'd learnt the hair trick from your grandmother who used to put you to sleep the same way.

"While I gave the presentation to my stuffed animals." You laughed softly as she fell to sleep almost right away, she'd always been able to do that though. One second she was awake and the next she was out like a light, it helped that she was a heavy sleeper too luckily she'd slept through the plane shaking and jittering around as you landed back on safe ground.

"Just call me when you have answers," His tone was authoritative as he hung up the phone and threw it down onto the double bed you were sitting in, you were in his favourite PJ's on you trying to convince him that everything would be fine when in reality you had no idea if it would or wouldn't be, you were just trying to make your husband relax before he had an aneurysm in front of you. He collapsed onto the bed in front of you and you began playing with his black hair, it was starting to get long enough for you to be able to put it into a man bun again - you used to do it all the time in college when you first started dating, you would put it in all sorts of styles but man buns were his favourite.

"You need a haircut," You mumbled pushing his head away as he tried to give you a kiss,

"I know, I'll fit one in tomorrow. How are you? Are you okay?" He'd been freaking out in the inside for hours about how you were feeling during the plane but you were fine, it was nothing major.

"I'm fine Kookie, I would be even better if my husband got into bed with me and stopped worrying," He sighed knowing you were right, he ran his hands through his hair before standing up from the bed,

"I'll have a shower and get into bed, will you turn the heating off? It's boiling in here." He groaned fanning himself as he tried to cool down, he was right though. The house had been exceptionally hot since the moment you got in and you were sure the heating was broken,

"I'll go shut it off at the boiler." You told him as you threw your legs off the bed and slipped into some slippers, he hummed at you from the en-suite and you made your way down the giant spiral staircase.

Most of the staff that Jungkook had working around the house were at home except for the live-in maid he had with you guys, she was tucked up in bed down by the living room and you didn't want to bother her with asking for help with the boiler. It was no big deal, you knew where it was and what you were doing, you just hated going down into the creepy basement that it was kept in.

Jungkook stirred beside you kicking off the sheets as you let out a cough,

"I thought you turned the heating down." He grumbled sitting up in the bed when his eyes widened, his nose was filled with smoke and there was smoke pouring in from underneath the door,

"Y/n! Get up!" You groaned opening your eyes to see what the big deal was when you smelt and saw the smoke as well, the smoke was starting to cloud which meant the fire was large.

"Go!" You screamed pushing him out of the door of your bedroom, you began coughing as the fire crackled from down the stairs, it was spreading its way along the living room floor, Jungkook sprinted in the direction of his daughter's bedroom while you tried to see what was starting the fire.  The house was like something from a horror movie, everything was burning way too quickly, the plastic photo frames on the walls were all twisting and melting onto the floor and nothing was going o be saved.

"Y/n?! We have to move now!" You could hear your daughter coughing heavily and it brought you back to reality,

"Fire escape in your home office!" You were yelling to one another over the sound of the fire, you could smell chemicals and burning - of course burning, your house was on fire.

"Where are you going?!" He screamed watching as you made your way to the staircase, your feet could hardly touch it thanks to the heat radiating from downstair, it made the metal barely touchable.

"The maid! Jihoo! She's downstairs Kookie!" You were tearing up at the thought of her being hurt in something like this, you ignored Jungkook's pleas for you not to go down there and sprinted down the stairs pushing through the pain in your feet,

"GO! GET OUT!" You screamed at him, he clung onto your daughter who was starting to cough harder now, he could hear the firetrucks outside so he made a run for the office going out of the window and taking his daughter down the staircase out there.

"Jihoo!" You yelled, letting out a squeal when a flame danced out of control and began spreading closer to the bedroom door where she was staying.

"JIHOO!" You knew it was an invasion of privacy but right now it didn't seem important to you, she'd been working for you and Jungkook for years and was one of your most trusted employees.

"J-Jihoo?!" You spluttered out covering your mouth as you tried not to inhale too much smoke from the fire but she wasn't there, her things were gone. The room began to build up with black smoke and you groaned trying not to inhale it but it was filling up your lungs and making it harder for you to breathe.

Sirens were blaring loudly as you woke up, your eyes fluttering open as you were blinded by a bright white light,

"Ugh what the-" You stopped talking when you heard Jungkook's voice coming out in a panic,

"They're okay Mr Jeon, we just need to run some checks on them." You turned to see a paramedic looking at you and flashing a bright light into your eyes, for a second you thought you were a goner when you saw the white light.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Jeon Y/n," He nodded and began asking you routine questions but your mind was on Jungkook and your daughter who was under one of those tinfoil blankets to help with shock. People were crowding around your house as the firefighters worked tirelessly to put it out, everything was gone. All the memories you had in the house, photographs, videos, everything was just gone and in a pile of ashes and rubble. There was a cold compress on your feet, you looked down to see what the paramedic was doing when he caught you looking,

"Your husband said you ran down metal stairs, we wanted to make sure your feet had no lasting damage. You're all okay except for a cough and some smoke inhalation. You'll be fine," He walked away as though your whole life wasn't just destroyed in one giant housefire that no one knew the cause of,

"Did you get to Jihoo?" You shook your head and went on to explain how she wasn't there and neither were her things, he frowned looking around for something.

"What's wrong?" You questioned but he wrapped the shock blanket around your daughter before walking over to a firefighter and getting into a lengthy discussion about what the fire was caused by.

It took 7 hours for them to battle the blaze and put it out, the sun had come out and a nanny had taken your daughter to a hotel to have a bath and get some rest while you and Jungkook stayed behind.

"There's nothing," You whispered looking through the rubble of what was once your house, the only thing that had lasted through the blaze was the metal staircase you'd sprinted down. Jungkook could tell you were getting upset so he stood behind you wrapping his arms around you to let you know it was okay, he was there and you weren't going through this alone.

"They think Jihoo was the one to start it all before leaving," You nodded knowing that it was probably true since she'd been the only other person in the house with extensive knowledge as to where anything was, it would have been easy for her to grab the accelerant used to make it burn faster and make it out alive with all of her things, the only real question was why she'd done it.

"Think it was because of something we did?" Your voice cracked as Jungkook walked you back onto the street, Police were combing through everything they could to find any kind of evidence they would need.

"We'll figure it out, I'm sure it was nothing we did. We loved her," He used his thumb to wipe away the tears from under your eyes and you sighed laying your head on his chest as you watched people begin to clean up what was left of your home.

"We hereby find the defendant guilty of arson, and guilty of attempted manslaughter." You looked down at your hands as the jury sat back down and the judge agreed with their verdict and began reading off the charges that Kim Jihoo was being charged with. Jungkook had his arm around your shoulder as a sign of support as she turned around to watch you both closely, her reasoning behind everything she'd done was because she'd been crazily obsessed with Jungkook for years and once she realised she could never get what she wanted, she wasn't going to let him be with anybody else.

"Take her away," The judge yelled, she turned back to the front and followed the police out while her chains rattled against the floor your eyes were downcast at your hands while Jungkook tried to comfort you. It was all over so you weren't going to have to worry about her coming to try it again but you still felt scared whenever you went to bed or hired someone new. There was a new policy being brought in to make larger background checks on everyone who worked for Jungkook, he didn't want to put his family at risk again but he was going to get you all through it.

"Let's go, we have a meeting with our daughter." He chuckled bringing you back to reality, your daughter was waiting back at the hotel you were staying in. She was going to give you her final presentation for her business project so you had something to keep you distracted for now.

"Going to be a CEO just like her daddy." You laughed walking with him in the direction of the parking lot.

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​ @snowy-meowl​ @lynnthevirgo​ @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @fan-ati--c​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​ @innersooya​ 

[jinmukangwrites]

i'm not a big fan of DC, but I have a general knowledge of it. Perhaps something to do with some some family bonding with the bat family? it doesn't have to be fluffy, but it would be nice to see that something nice is happening to this found family of people, even if it's small. good luck and may you have success and fortune in your future!

So this ended up not being a drabble. Oops. Listen, I've been wanting to write a camping-esque fic for a long time and somehow this just ended up being it. >.<

-o-o-o-o-

It is Dick's first camping trip.

He's young, bright eyed, and smiling like there's nothing to be down about even though Bruce knows they're both painfully aware it's only been a month since his world quite literally fell apart.

Bruce doesn't really know what he's doing, having not gone camping himself in what must be over a decade, but he still successfully sets up a decent tent large enough for four sleeping bags, but has more than enough room for two. Alfred is on a well deserved vacation, so there's no need to make room for a third one. It's just Bruce Wayne and his new ward Dick Grayson, alone in the wilderness with a bag of marshmallows open between the two of them and a campfire crackling in front of them. It's Dick that shows him how to roast the perfect "mallow", and that apparently involves shoving the entire marshmallow into the center of the flame and laughing maniacally until it blackens and chars. Bruce almost has a panic attack just watching Dick bring the flaming marshmallow out to his face to blow out the fire.

Bruce remembers the times he's watched people roast marshmallows in movies, and he decides holding it just above the worst of the flames until it's a golden brown is the way for him.

There's owls hooting softly around them when the moon reaches high enough to suggest maybe calling it a night. Another tell-tale sign is Dick ever so slowly leaning against his side, all bundled up in a warm oversized jacket; marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker residue dried to his lips and cheeks.

Bruce stares at watches for a moment, before smiling, something he thought he lost when he watched his parents die clinking back into place in his chest. Filling him with a warmth he never thought he'd ever have again.

He scoops Dick up and bundles him into his sleeping bag. Dick is out like a light, mouth open in soft snores, and Bruce frowns, a desire in him that he doesn't understand.

He pokes Dick's shoulder gently, making sure the child is asleep, and Bruce sucks in a lungful of air. Unsure and afraid. He runs his fingers through Dick's hair, lifting up his messy bangs, and slowly bends down and presses his lips against the child's forehead. He then backs quickly away, his heart pounding.

Dick was never supposed to be his son, but pretty early on Bruce discovered how much of a lie that was.

-o-o-o-o-

It's Jason's first time camping. His second time in the mountains as well.

Dick took him skiing for his first time, but Bruce at least gets to take him for his first night out in the fresh wilderness of the Appalachian mountains. Just the two of them this time, being as Dick is still angry with him. And while that hurts, Bruce is content with spending some much needed one on one time with his newest adopted son. (Because he knows now he made a mistake keeping Dick away at arms length with the word "ward", and now it's too late to take it back. He won't make the same mistake with this one).

Jason seems more concerned with running around and climbing trees than eating marshmallows. Surprisingly, more concerned than Dick was. Though that doesn't mean he still doesn't enjoy a marshmallow here and there, especially since a new kind has come out recently that makes the marshmallows even bigger and puffier when roasted over the fire. Good for nothing but sugar. Not that Bruce minds. He can't remember the last time Jason looked so relaxed as he stands and watches Jason marvel at a waterfall they've hiked to. If it earns that kind of wide eyed unashamed smile, Bruce would gladly invest in the company making even bigger marshmallows.

Bruce finds quickly that Jason also thinks Bruce makes marshmallows wrong. He knows this because as stuck the sugary monstrosity on his roasting stick and gently held it above the fire, Jason cried out in outrage.

"You're making it wrong!" He yelled as he grabbed Bruce's arm and dragged it away from the fire. Bruce is almost afraid that he'll demonstrate how to make a proper smore by shoving the whole thing into the middle of the fire to blacken it like Dick does. He doesn't want to know what kind of mess a marshmallow this size would make on fire, but the Jason shocks him by rushing into the tent and stumbling out a moment later with a colorful bag in his hands.

Starbursts?

"Where did you get those?" Bruce asks, trying not to sound amused that Jason snuck candy with him out on the trip.

Jason snorts, opening the bag and pulling out a pink square. "I asked Alfie to get me some, because I knew you'd be uncultured in making a freaking smore."

Jason then impales the unwrapped pink starburst on the roasting stick next to Bruce's waiting marshmallow. He unwraps a yellow one and puts it on his own stick. "The red ones are gross, by the way," Jason says, sticking his stick above the fire. Bruce huffs out a small laugh and puts his stick over the fire as well.

He's not sure what he feels about the taste of roasted starburst mixing with the marshmallow, chocolate, and cracker, but Jason eats enough to gain a stomach ache.

Bruce carries him to bed too, and tucks him in, and instead of waiting for him to fall asleep, Bruce carefully pulls Jason closer to his chest, and because his arms are full of legs and arms, he kisses Jason's forehead with a layer of hair between them.

Jason doesn't pull away. Just yawns happily, and falls asleep in Bruce's arms.

Bruce decides that camping trips for Jason is definitely a thing he needs to make a regular thing. Just to see his boy look so peaceful and happy in his arms.

-o-o-o-o-

It's not Tim's first time camping. But Bruce suspects it's the first time Tim actually has fun camping, as well as his first time making smores.

Dick's here this time too, the relationship between him and Bruce held together by paperclips and string. Which is saying something, as it used to be held together by nothing at all. Bruce is just happy that he's here and that they're civil enough with each other to let Tim be a disgusting, dirty, rowdy child in the mountains for the first time in his entire life.

Tim stood at the edge of the river, but ended up being shoved in by Dick, and they both came back sopping wet and laughing.

Tim picked at the bark of a large tree, but ended up in its highest branches when Bruce lifted him over his shoulders to give him a headstart.

Tim frowned at the marshmallow bag and sticks, but ended up with a mess all over his face, pupils wide in the firelight as the sugar gave him a rush.

Bruce roastes his above the flame and Dick tries to convince Tim that sticking the entire thing into the fire is the only right way to roast a good marshmallow. When Tim looks unsure and tries both with uncertainty, Bruce takes a chance and pulls out a bag of starbursts he almost decided to leave behind.

And once Tim tries the roasted starburst s'more, the rest of the s'more actually goes forgotten as Tim decides roasted starbursts is best left left alone—he snacks on almost the entirety of the bag, and Bruce tries his best to not let the stabbing in his heart ruin the moment. He wonders how well Jason and Tim would get along if Jason... But he shakes his head, choosing instead to point out the glowing little light in the forest that isn't the stars.

It's not Tim's first time seeing fireflies. But it's his first time running through the trees with a jar, holes poked into the top to capture them.

When it gets so late that even Bruce is beginning to yawn, he corrals his oldest and unofficial youngest into the tent and frowns at how even though the packaging said it's big enough for four people, it's still quite squeezed together with two grown men and a lanky young teen.

Bruce ruffles Tim's hair, squeezed Dick's shoulder, and for once Dick doesn't flinch at his touch. Just smiles and kisses Tim's forehead. Bruce is almost tempted to copy the action, the night feeling wrong without it, but Tim has parents.

Tim isn't his son. Isn't even his ward. He hugs Tim, and finds himself hugging him tightly, only letting go when Tim voices slight confusion.

They lay down in their spots, the silence of the world being interrupted once as Tim verbally complains about Dick's feet finding themselves under his legs.

"But you're so warm, baby bird!"

The sound of Tim's laughter is something Bruce wishes he had been quick enough to record, so he could listen to it over and over and over again.

Tim's not Bruce's ward. Or son.

But it's so easy to selfishly wish he were.

-o-o-o-o-

It's not Cass's first time camping. But it's her first time camping for something other than survival. Which means it's definitely her first time making s'mores.

Taking her out to the woods is nerve-wracking in a way that it shouldn't be. She's his daughter. Officially. Legally. Not by blood. Bruce doesn't have anyone who's by blood. But she's definitely the closest thing to it in his heart. She's different from the boys. He doesn't know what to expect from her.

She doesn't go out and get all gross and muddy in the river with Tim, and she doesn't take up Dick's bet to climb to the top of the waterfall. Instead, Bruce finds her sitting nearby with a notebook in her hands, her hand scribbling away at something with a pen. She looks up at him and smiles, but closes the notebook and sets it off to the side, patting the ground next to her. He takes her up on her invitation and sits down besides her, their shoulders gently touching. He glances at the notebook, raising an inquisitive eyebrow, but she just smiles and shakes her head. He doesn't pry. She didn't grow up with a whole lot of privacy, and Bruce isn't about to take some away from her.

She sighs and leans back into the soft grass patch she found, and he lays back too, shoulders still touching. They're silent for a long time, the only noises around them being the leaves rustling and the distant sounds of Tim and Dick trying to figure out how to lash a rope around a tree near the river so they could swing into it.

Bruce finds himself, not for the first time, missing Jason more than ever. Jason is alive. He's back. But he hates Bruce and wants nothing to do with Bruce. Jason would be all over getting that rope swing to work. Bruce can practically imagine his young voice screaming in excitement as he launches himself into the water.

He forces those thoughts away, because this isn't about Jason right now. This is about the beautiful, perfect young lady laying besides him. His daughter. He looks over at her, and her eyes are closed and her lips turned up in a slight smile. Her bare toes wiggling in the breeze.

And Bruce thinks that maybe it's a good thing Cass isn't out and about causing trouble and getting dirty, because maybe to her that's not what this trip is about. Maybe it's just about showing her that she can sit back, close her eyes, and wiggle her toes in the breeze and be safe without having to feel obligated to do anything.

Because she is safe. And Bruce will never let anything hurt her.

When they roast marshmallows, she watched with amusement as Dick interrupts Bruce showing her the normal way to do it by shoving his own into the flames. She watches as Tim shows her how to carefully make a roasted starburst that isn't too stuff nor too drippy. She watches as Bruce suggests making a s'more with a starburst. And she tries them all, a frown on her lips the entire time. When no strategy seems to stick out to her, Bruce almost panics, not sure how to make the night fun and full of sugar like he wants to, but then she pops a raw marshmallow into her mouth with a curious tilt to her head, and then a chunk of raw chocolate, and then a bite of plain cracker.

She then quickly gains her own stash of untouched s'more supplies and her roasting stick goes forgotten. Bruce doesn't know what's so much better about eating the ingredients raw, but the sound of her muffled laughter behind a mouthful of marshmallow and chocolate as Dick struggles to blow out a flaming one is definitely something Bruce will not complain about or try to change.

Going to bed is a hassle. He brought two tents this time, just in case Cass wanted to sleep alone, and at first he thinks that is actually what will happen. He hugs her before they go their seperate ways, the urge to kiss her round cheeks stronger than ever, but he doesn't get the chance. Or the courage.

But he finds he didn't need to worry, because when he, Tim, and Dick are all snug in their bags, the zipper of their tent goes down and Bruce has the air knocked out of him as Cass collapses on top of him, wrapped up in a fluffy pink blanket that she bought with Barbara. Bruce finds himself grinning as he shifts to make room for her between him and the snoring Dick, careful to not nudge the half asleep Tim too much whose under his arm on the other side.

Then, when Cass is nestled in his side, she does another thing that pleasantly surprised him. She presses her lips to his temple.

And Bruce falls asleep that night not knowing what he's done to deserve Cassandra Wayne.

-o-o-o-o-

It's not Damian's first time camping. It's not his first time making s'mores. It's not even his first time having fun while camping.

Bruce was thought to be dead for almost a year, and Dick was the one who got the honor of doing those first things with Damian.

But dammit, Bruce was going to try and do this with Damian anyway, even if Damian is quiet and unsure and distrustful with Bruce.

So maybe that's why Bruce thought it was so important for it to be just him and Damian this time. Maybe this is why he didn't ask Dick how Damian liked to roast his marshmallows, or ask Alfred if he needed to bring an emergency bag of starbursts, or even considered bringing a second tent just in case Damian wanted to sleep alone.

Bruce is Damian's father. His biological one. But he doesn't feel like it.

He wants to feel like it.

He woke Damian up at the spur of the moment and coaxed the boy into the car stuffed with a weakened supply of things to get them through a surprise camping trip. Damian was too groggy in the morning to ask much questions, blinking fully awake an hour into the drive and asking with a quiet voice where they were going.

And when Bruce answered they were going to camp, Damian didn't respond with joy or excitement. Just a quiet oh that almost made Bruce pull over the car and beg Damian to let Bruce in and let him see what he's thinking.

He keeps driving, all the way until he's at the normal spot by the river and a trailhead that leads to a waterfall. Damian walks the grounds quietly as Bruce sets up the tent, his footsteps sure and curiosity lacking. He's been here before. To Bruce's perfect camping spot.

And Bruce wasn't there.

The rest of the day goes about as well as could be expected. Damian hardly says anything to Bruce, the words he does say are tense and tight, like the very thought of saying any unnecessary words to Bruce is painful. Bruce tries not to take it to heart, so he continues onward. He takes Damian hiking, he takes him to the river, and eventually they both end up at the campfire in uncomfortable silence.

Bruce watches as Damian puts the marshmallow on his stick and holds it slightly above the flames, waiting patiently for the flames to lick the white sugar golden.

Bruce sighs and risks a joke. "Finally, a son that makes s'mores normally."

He didn't expect Damian to stand up with anger in his eyes before tossing the stick down and running off into the forest. The marshmallow left forgotten as it bursts into flames in the coals.

Bruce only hesitates a second before standing up and running after his son.

Because even if he's terrified Damian wants nothing to do with him, Bruce still wants to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt in the woods.

He eventually finds Damian sitting in Cass's spot. That perfect patch of grass that's perfect for laying down in and cloud gazing. Or, this late at night, perfect for milky-way gazing.

Damian isn't looking up at the stars though. He's curled up and glaring at his feet, something suspiciously wet trailing down his cheeks.

Bruce takes in a breath, hoping bravery would enter his lungs as well, and sits down next to his son.

They're silent next to each other, for a long time, until Damian finally decides to speak up.

"You came," he says, and Bruce wants desperately to launch himself forward and wrap the boy I'm a strong embrace. "You followed me."

"I will always find you," Bruce says, and Damian sniffs.

"If... If I wasn't your kid... Would you still..."

And Bruce remembers that Damian grew up being told he was simply a tool. That he had a purpose and he was only wanted because of that purpose.

He's asking Bruce if Bruce would have still wanted him, even if their blood wasn't the same. If Bruce had no obligation to take him in and give him safety and allow him to be the second half of the dynamic duo.

Or if he would have turned the boy away.

It breaks Bruce's heart.

So he slowly reaches around Damian and pulls him closer tightly. Damian sniffles and practically launches himself into Bruce's lap, arms curling around so small that it's not a complete hug, but it's tight enough to be one of the best kinds of hugs.

"I will always want you, Damian," Bruce whispers into his hair, pressing his lips onto his forehead before he can even consider the action. "You have no need to worry. I want you more than anything in this entire world."

And they sit there, holding each other, and Bruce wonders if this is what his own parents felt for him.

And if they'd be proud of him.

Bruce carries Damian to bed after they've both let out their emotions, and even though tent is large enough to have space, he keeps Damian with him, in his arms even as he climbs into his sleeping bag.

And he's never letting go.

-o-o-o-o-

It's nowhere near Duke's first time camping, or making s'mores, or having fun, or feeling safe. But it is his first time camping with Bruce and the rest of the family.

Dick, Tim, Cass, Damian, and even Jason are all here, and Bruce won't lie and say he didn't find it amusing how intimidated Duke needlessly felt to be on a family camping trip with everyone.

It's the loudest trip Bruce had ever been apart of. The children are back to figuring out that pesky rope swing—Tim snuck a grapple hook and had the decency to look a little ashamed when Bruce noticed it—and Cass is at her normal spot with her normal notebook. Duke looks unsure and nervous, not really knowing where he fits in with all of this.

Bruce adopted most of his children when they were all young, Cass being the exception but it wasn't like she had a good experience with her last parents, so it was almost like adopting her young. But Duke is different, he's a teenager, considering college and everything. He already knows how to drive a car. He'd already had loving parents. Bruce doesn't want to step in front of that, but he still wants Duke to feel welcome and loved.

One of Bruce's favorite things in the entire world is to watch Duke slowly exit his shell that he crawls into whenever he's nervous or feeling like he's imposing. The smirk on his face that appears when Dick calls him a genius for finally being the one to figure out the rope swing. The bubbling and nervous laughter when Jason slams a hand proudly at his back when he beats the rest of the family up the waterfall in their annual race. The excited chatter when Tim shows him the best climbing tree. The relaxed posture when Cass shows him something in her notebook, and the happy smile when Cass takes his feedback in consideration. The mischievous glint in his eyes when he and Damian get into a competitive spar with pool noodles.

Bruce finds his chest so full with warmth he almost thinks it's going to burst as eventually they all end up around the campfire with roasting sticks in everyone's hands except for Cass who has her own stash of s'more supplies. Jason and Tim fight over the bag of starbursts even though Bruce was sure he brought two. Dick laughs as Damian yells angrily about his flaming marshmallow catching Damian's on fire. Cass munches on a cracker and leans into Bruce's side. Duke sits besides them all, tongue sticking outside his mouth as he concentrates on making a marshmallow that isn't golden, but isn't completely raw.

No one bugs him on his strange "I don't want it burned at all!" comment, and they all include him in their jokes and bantering. The laughter becomes do loud that Bruce is sure the entire forest can hear them.

He relishes in it. Almost feeling like he might cry.

But he doesn't. The moon rises and be ushers the kids all towards that four person tent. It's too tiny, but nobody seems to care. Not even Jason who's only made one comment about Bruce being a billionaire who's definitely rich enough to afford a bigger tent.

Because, somehow, with or without Bruce, the family had ended up close and wanting to be close together. Dick doesn't complain as Cass lays herself on top of him. Tim only snarls a little when Jason jokingly stuffs his feet in the younger boys face. Damian crawls into Bruce's side like it's the most natural thing in the world. And Duke accepts the strong hug Bruce risks and gives him. Duke then lays down with his back against Bruce's free side and his legs on top of Jason, like a puzzle piece falling into place.

And the family all fall asleep to the sounds of nature surrounding them, and the soft snores of the people they all hold dear.

And Bruce thinks that taking in a kid who's just watched his family fall from the trapeze, a kid who tried to jack the batmobile, a kid who showed up with a camera in his hands and a demand to make him Robin, a kid who decided love and happiness was more important than the way she was taught and raised, a kid who decided he didn't want to be the weapon he was born to be, and a kid who only wanted to do good after his parents were torn away from him was without question the best thing Bruce had ever done.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

[lupin-for-president]

Jeddy Headcanons

First things first, these two have been best friends since the beginning of time, literally attached at the hip for as long as they could remember. They did everything together when they were younger, despite the age gap between them. (After all, seven years really isn’t that much of a separation).

Their relationship was very intimate. (Not in the sexual way, more so the caring for and protecting each other way.)

Teddy always called the brunette Jamie or James Sirius, never just James (unless he was mad at him).

James had a thing for calling Teddy, Ted. (And he called him Edward when he was teasing him or annoyed).

Teddy used to sneak James candy when James was supposed to be taking naps and quickly found out that the spicy cinnamon ones were his favorite.

Teddy was the one who taught James how to fly on his broom. James was only two so he was a little wobbly but Teddy always made sure to fling his body out so that he could be a cushion for James’ fall.

There was a time when James was about four —and Teddy was eleven— that James wouldn’t go to sleep unless Teddy was laying with him in bed and it got so bad that Harry and Ginny ended up having to move Teddy’s bed into James’ room because of it.

James would wake up every time Teddy would try to crawl out of the bed, so eventually Teddy just gave up trying to sleep on his own and slept next to James all night long.

Because of this, when Teddy went to Hogwarts the following year, he found himself unable to sleep correctly for the first two months because he couldn’t seem to fall asleep without James being sprawled out on top of him.

When Teddy was away at school, James became extremely withdrawn from everyone else and didn’t enjoy going on playdates anymore, not even with his favorite cousins.

James would draw Teddy tons of scribbled pictures and send them to him via owl and even sent the occasional howler. Which of course caused Teddy to smile like mad when he heard James’ little excited voice telling him all about his week.

Harry once walked in on Teddy in James’ room, looking over a stack of James’ drawings that was sitting on his little desk in the corner, tears streaming down his pale face. James was tucked away and asleep in his bed, unaware of either of their presence.

When Harry asked him about it later, Teddy responded with, “Jamie stopped sending me his drawings. I just wanted to see some of them again.”

Around the time when James turned seven, he had noticed Teddy started to separate himself from him.

The day that Teddy tried to postpone his and James’ movie night to hang out with some of his friends from school, was the very first time that James had ever yelled at Teddy in the whole seven years that he had been alive.

“You know what? Just forget it! I never want to watch movies with your stupid face ever again!” Seven year old James had screamed before slamming his bedroom door shut right in Teddy’s face.

Teddy immediately cancelled his plans and wouldn’t stop banging on James’ door until he let him back in.

For James’ tenth birthday, all he wanted was to pierce his ear but Ginny and Harry said no because he should “wait until he was at least thirteen before he did something like that.”

Teddy ended up piercing his ear with an old sewing needle in their guest bathroom a week later at about 2 in the morning.

There was so much blood, Teddy nearly passed out. But the piercing actually turned out really good, so the two of them didn’t mind cleaning up the mess.

The next year when James started his first year at Hogwarts —Teddy going into his seventh— he found him and Teddy becoming closer than ever.

Being best friends with Hogwarts’ residential prankster and heartthrob gave poor eleven year old James a lot of unwanted attention. Mostly from girls who wanted to know how to make Teddy fall in love with them.

That question always pissed James off for some reason.

At Teddy’s graduation ceremony, James was the first person he hugged, lifting him up in the air and spinning him around —as if he weighed nothing at all— while James cried heavy tears.

Teddy didn’t have to ask to know that James was crying because he was scared Teddy to leave him behind.

As if Teddy would ever dream of it.

Teddy stayed at home with Harry and Ginny and got a job at a muggle tattoo parlor, saying he just wanted to stick around to “help out.” But Harry and Ginny both knew it was because he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his family.

James was obsessed with playing with Teddy’s hair and it became like an addiction to Teddy.

Anytime Teddy was tired he would lay a pillow in James’ lap and pick up the boy’s hand to place it in his hair so that he could fall asleep.

Teddy loved painting James’ nails.

When James would be reading, Teddy would sit down beside him or in front of him and just paint his nails because he was bored.

While at his fourth year at Hogwarts, James found himself missing his blue-haired counterpart immensely, and wrote to him nearly every day.

Until writing wasn’t enough.

James would help sneak Teddy into Hogwarts in disguise, the two of them hiding out in empty closets and classrooms until the early hours of the morning when James would have to go to get ready for his lessons.

That was about the time when James had started to come to terms with the sappy little crush he had somehow managed to acquire.

At first he felt foolish and refused to even entertain the idea at all, but soon he found himself falling hopelessly in love with Edward Remus Lupin.

That summer when he came back from school was when Teddy found his love letters.

James ran to the bathroom and threw up whenever he walked in on Teddy perched on the edge of James’ bed. The sight of the old brown shoebox sitting in his lap and slips of pink paper in his hands nearly killed him. James locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn’t come out until Teddy left.

They didn’t talk for a while after that.

The day before James would be returning to Hogwarts for his sixth year, the two found themselves alone in their house. (Ginny was off at a quidditch tournament and Harry had taken Albus and Lily to buy school supplies).

Teddy picked the lock on James’ bedroom door and shoved his way in, shutting it back behind him.

“Get out of my room,” James said bluntly.

“No, not until you talk to me, Jamie.”

“Don’t. Don’t call me that,” the brunette snapped, standing up from his bed with tears in his eyes, “I am begging you not to call me that. Please. I can’t take it, I can’t.”

Teddy ignored the request and walked up to James, placing his hands on his shoulders. “Jamie, why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Tell you what? That I’m in love with you? It wouldn’t have changed anything!” James cried, his voice cracking.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Teddy pulled James in for a hug, immediately causing the shorter boy to tense up. James couldn’t see it, but as Teddy wrapped his arms tightly around James’ shoulders, he was fighting off tears of his own.

“Just— Wait. Wait a few years please,” Teddy whispered, his fingers gripping the other’s shirt until his knuckles turned white.

James cried even harder at that.

But still, he waited.

He actually waited for two years, five months, and seventeen and a half days to be exact.

It was the day of James’ nineteenth birthday.

Teddy had a long talk with Harry a week prior, explaining to him how he felt. He cried his eyes out the entire time, worried that his godfather was going to tell him how wrong it was for him to be even slightest bit interested in his son.

He was shocked when Harry just laughed, saying that he already knew.

He was even more shocked when Harry offered to help set up a date for the two of them, as a gift.

That’s how James Sirius Potter found himself in the middle of the forest, fairy lights hanging from tree branches and blankets laid across the ground, with Teddy Lupin grinning at him from ear to ear.

“Happy birthday, James Sirius,” Teddy beamed, taking a step towards him.

“When you said you wanted to hang out in the forest, this wasn’t at all what I was expecting,” James answered back, meeting the other man in the middle of the clearing.

“Is it bad?” Teddy squeaked.

This was the first time James had ever seen Teddy flustered, a deep red painting the blue-haired man’s cheeks as he stared down at James, biting on the corner of his lip nervously.

“It’s beautiful, Ted. I can’t believe you did all this for me,” James smiled.

“I wanted it to be perfect for our first,” Teddy shrugged. “It may sound childish but I wanted it to be special.”

“Our first what?”

Teddy didn’t answer with words, rather by pressing his lips ever so gently against James’. The brunette was caught off guard, shock reaming through his entire body as he mindlessly wrapped his arms around Teddy’s neck.

When Teddy pulled back a few moments later, his face was even more flushed than before. He pressed his forehead against James’, trying to steady his heart.

“Our first everything.”

It was only a year and a half later when the two of them found themselves back in the same clearing, this time at an altar in front of their family and friends.

Teddy was trying to hide the tears streaming down his face as stared at James —who also couldn’t stop from crying— because he wanted to seem tough.

When they said their vows, Teddy kissed James harder than he ever had before, his hands cupping the sides of James’ face.

Anytime they had fights or arguments Teddy would pull the “I’m older so you have to listen to me” card.

It pissed James off that he found it attractive.

James would always cry to get his way.

They end up adopting a little girl and naming her Remmy. Teddy is head over heels for her and overly protective.

James brings Teddy lunch at the tattoo parlor every Tuesday, where Teddy full on embarrasses James by expressing excessive amounts of PDA in front of all his clients.

They might look a little odd, a clean cut looking gentleman standing next to a punk rock lunatic, but they compliment each other very well.

And they’re just hopelessly in love.

This was all over the place, I am so sorry. These are just random thoughts I had about them and I love them so much.

[maliciouslycreative]

A totally fake-sounding story of how stupid I am at flirting, fake dating, and kpop

My life is for the most part a series of weird coincidences that once strung together sound entirely fake but I swear to god they are real.

Back in the early 2000s I found a lot of fame in the Beyblade fandom. I wrote a popular fic, it was pretty rad. One of my oldest and dearest friends from YGO once asked if she could introduce me to one of her friends who was apparently a HUGE fan of my writing. And I was like “absolutely” and that was the start of things with me and J. We got exceptionally close. Honestly I know I’m aro but the love I felt for her might be the closest I’ll ever feel to being in love.

Things were complicated though, we lived in different countries and were both in high school. We were super close friends and flirted a lot, everyone noticed. Our friend wrote poetry about us. Yes I still have some of that poetry saved somewhere. Everyone in the fandom shipped us and honestly we did talk about how if we weren’t in different countries and in high school that we would be together.

In my senior year of high school I had this biology teacher that enjoyed making us do a lot of group projects. There was another girl in my class that we weren’t really friends but neither of us had friends in the class and we didn’t mind each other so we always grouped up. Unfortunately we needed to do groups of 3 or more for this one project so this random guy in the class ENTHUSIASTICALLY volunteered to be in our group. Neither of us knew who he was but whatever we could survive some weird guy for one project. We exchanged emails so we could exchange notes easily. Except when I got home I noticed the guy had added me to MSN messenger. Ok sure, he probably just wanted to discuss something about the project. Except he didn’t. He wanted to talk to me about anime. Which… I guess? I mean there were not a lot of anime fans when I went to high school, it was distinctly not cool in 2005. 

I spent the next few weeks being mostly weirded out by this guy but he seemed harmless so I kind of talked to him intermittently. And then came the day before Valentines Day. He asked me what my plans were to which I responded that I was spending it with a good friend whose birthday was February 14th. He then proceeded to ask me what kind of flowers I liked and I was like “uhh I’m allergic to flowers so I guess fake ones?” And then I mentioned this to my one friend and she was like “OH MY GOD, STACEY. HE IS TRYING TO ASK YOU OUT.” And I was like “what? No, that’s………… fuck” so I had to in a panic tell the guy to not get me flowers and that I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. 

He seemed ok with this. But like any mediocre white man it didn’t stick. He proceeded to talk to me a lot about his favourite anime and how it’d make him cry. His favourite anime was Ayashi no Ceres. For those of you not familiar with it, it’s a series written by Yuu Watase that tells the tragic story of a selkie that was bound to a human man and they died tragically so they were cursed to forever reincarnate as fraternal twins in this one family’s bloodline. So yah, he’d cry to me over an anime about incest. Like yah it’s a great series but you’re not gonna woo someone by telling them how much it makes you cry.

I’m not sure who came up with the plan, my fandom “older sister” or J herself but eventually we decided the only way to get rid of him was if I had a girlfriend and J enthusiastically agreed to be her. So when he finally did outright ask me out I got to be like “sorry man, I have a girlfriend in the US.” He absolutely lost it. Was very upset and thought she was fake. I had to bring J into a chat and be like “yes, this is my loving girlfriend.” He told me how disappointed in me he was and how he didn’t think I was “that kind of girl” whatever that means. 

He didn’t speak to me for an entire year after that. I ran into him randomly at university and he asked me “did you really have a girlfriend or were you just saying that to let me down.” And I was like “excuse you? Yes, I had a girlfriend and we are still together now. What gives you the right to ask something like that?” And he got upset about it again and I’ve never seen him since. 

J and I were sort of together for a couple years. Nothing serious, just some casual flirting. I sent her a care package once full of chocolate. We both knew neither of us were ready to move across the continent for the other but we still loved each other deeply. When I started dating my abusive ex we were still friends. I got to meet up with her one of the times I visited the US. Like most of my fandom friends I lost contact with her in 2009 after my fandom big sister passed away. It hurt a lot to be in that space without her. My abusive ex also did a good job of isolating me from everything. I did briefly reconnect with her for a bit afterwards but it’s been a while since I’ve talked to her. 

To detour back to the fake dating, there’s another parallel story. So when I told one of my other friends about this, A, she was like “oh, well if you need another fake girlfriend I would be willing and I mean we only live like 5 and ½ hours apart.” And my stupid ass was like “oh of course! I’ll keep you in mind.” This girl who had the patience of a saint with my stupid ass. She started calling me “muffin” one night and I was like “why are you calling me muffin?” and she was like “because it’s cute” and I was like “ok but I feel like I need to give you a food nickname now…” but my brain short circuited. I couldn’t think of anything cute in turn and made a terrible comment about calling her porkchop. And this girl, bless her heart, told me I could call her porkchop. So for several years we went around calling each other Muffin and Porkchop. It took me almost a decade to figure out that she was FLIRTING with me. I have no contact with her any more so I can’t even apologise. 

So here comes to the kpop and how I stumbled into it. I had my sisters over for a movie night in 2018. While waiting for our food to cook somehow we wound up watching K/DA POP/STARS among some other stuff. But this planted the seed in my sister's mind and she descended into kpop hell. I’m sorry not sorry. She mostly got into girl groups and we let her gush to us about them. But then she found it, Lucifer by SHINee. This song is an absolute bop and the clothing was absolutely tragic. We were in love with it. Something always haunted me that I knew this song though but something was just not 100% right so I couldn’t figure it out. 

Lockdowns happened and we couldn’t do our regular family get togethers. However where we live if you were a family of 4 or less you can adopt into your bubble a single person that lives alone, just so that people that live alone aren’t so isolated. So once a week I’d go over to her place and we’d do supper together. Neither of us like do anything other than go to work and grocery shopping and the occasional shopping for other essentials. Anyway when I’d be at her place we’d often listen to her kpop playlist. It was a little more bubblegum than what was really my taste but I was starting to get a taste. 

Then my shit brain did what it always does and comes up with a cursed fic idea that involved everyone listening to kpop. I dove head first into kpop. I have learned so much in the last two weeks. It started with SHINee and branched out. One of those things that I discovered with SHINee though was that they recorded a lot of their songs also in Japanese. And then I found the Japanese music video to Lucifer and it was like someone plunged a knife deep into my heart and twisted. 

J was into SHINee. She tried to get me into them in 2011, right around the time we fell out of contact. We were both really big into jpop and jrock back then and she was right, I LOVE that song. So somehow I narrowly avoided becoming a shawol in 2011. I don’t know how I didn’t honestly. Probably has to do with my abusive ex. A lot of stuff from that time period is honestly a blur and I really don’t care to remember it.  

So that’s the story of how I, an aro, am a disaster when it comes to people flirting with me and how I almost became a kpop stan in 2011.