#him and toasty are also very funny together

[gifti3]

some xyx stuff i saved from the other night

[soulofapatrick]

The Morning After - Pedro Pascal x Reader

Part Two of Friends to Lovers Series 

Summary: The morning after the red carpet and events of Solace  

Words: 1.7k 

Warnings: nothing, this is just fluff

Notes: Your last name is Thornberry in this series (I needed to add a last name to get a ship name)

Y/N’s POV

Pedro is an absolute legend and I love him with all my heart. He took me up to his hotel room and found me some of his clothes I could change into to get out of the suffocating corset, never looking anywhere immodest when he had to help unzip it and get me out of it. I quickly pulled on the baggy sweater he had given me and Pedro set the damn thing aside before he left me to change into the sweats so he could also get changed out of the premier outfit. 

Nothing was said about what happened in the car but there was definitely a change in the atmosphere around us. We’re usually orbiting together but it feels like we’re now slowly set on a collision course in all the right ways. I didn’t believe people slipping from friends into partners like nothing has changed but when he climbs into the double bed with me and pulls my into his arms. I shift until my head is on his chest and my leg is tangled between his, our hands intertwined and he hums lightly as we decide what to watch. 

“This is so much better than an after party,” I mumble, pressing my face into his chest as I feel my cheeks heat up at the admittance, still confused as to what happened earlier. I saw the hickeys in the mirror, Pedro watched my fingers ghost over them with a proud smirk on his lips but nothing more has been done or said, “You’re the best.” 

His fingers grip my chin, forcing me to meet those charming cognac eyes, “I’m the best, am I?” He’s so close I can smell the mint on his breath from brushing his teeth and I find myself reaching up, hand messing with the hair at the nape of his neck and pulling ever so gently. You wouldn’t have noticed I was doing it but the look in Pedro’s eyes tells me he knows and suddenly soft lips are on mine and my eyes are fluttering closed. The kiss is quick and innocent, both of us taking the time to get to know the others lips but nothing more, nothing less. 

We go back to the movie Pedro put on after, cuddling like this is the most natural thing in the world. It definitely feels it as he begins talking, “How does breakfast sound in the morning? There’s a Starbucks down the road where they have your favourite four cheese toasties and we can have coffee and just relax.” 

“Sound perfect.” 

“You’re perfect, baby girl.” 

“Oh shush!” I bat his chest lightly, fighting a yawn and failing. The sound of his heartbeat lulling me to sleep and the familiar rumble in his chest at every funny moment letting me know it’s him have me cocooned in a safety net of Pedro. I grip his hand tightly as my eyes begin fighting and before I know it a hand is carding through my hair and he’s whispering to me. 

——————

Waking with Pedro curled up around my back is the best thing I could think of. We’ve slept in the same bed before but again, there’s something different about this. Our body having gravitated towards each other and fit as if made for each other. His large hand is splayed across my stomach under the shirt, his face pressed against the back of my neck, soft snores letting me know he’s still asleep. 

I just revel in the peace, the comfort of him being here and the fact that my feelings weren’t one sided after all. I have to thank Oscar when I next see him as he was the one who introduced us at one of his get togethers and we hit it off immediately. Pedro was charming and very down to earth for someone starring in such big hits and honestly I couldn’t stop the flush that had spread over me when I realise he was Javier Peña from Narcos. I had always had a crush on the character and those steamy scenes? Well fuck me. 

“Morning baby girl.” A sleep filled voice murmurs, breath ghosting over my neck and arms tightening around me as he stretches. I hum in response, reaching my arm back to scratch at his beard gently and he presses a kiss to my palm before turning me around in his arms. His lips are plump and pillowy, his beard scratching my chin lightly but the beard burn is so worth it and I never want to stop kissing him but humans need oxygen. Stupid evolution, “Hmmmm we never had the pizza.” 

“No, but we’re getting coffee. I have been promised coffee.” I reply, brushing my lips along his neck and relishing in the shiver it gets. He moves his head back a little to expose more skin and well it is only fair that if I have to go out with hickeys so does hi so I nip at the skin, sucking those dark marks into the lightly tanned skin for the whole world to see. 

The whole world to see… 

“Pedro.” I quickly sit up, the meaning of all that’s happened suddenly hitting me and he knows it, the way his eyes soften when he sits up with me. He doesn’t speak, taking my hands in his and kissing my knuckles, then leaning forwards to kiss my cheeks then my forehead, my chin and finally my lips. It’s as if he’s promising me the world without saying a word and I don’t care what anyone has to say or think about us because I’m his and he’s mine, “Yes Pedro.” 

He’s beaming, both of us knowing what I’m saying yes to. To him, to us, to the world. Yes.

“I’ve waited for this for so long.” He murmurs, stealing another kiss from me before he’s whispering against my lips, “You. My girlfriend.” 

I hum again, kissing him once more before slipping out of bed, “I was promised coffee.” 

“That you were Princesa.” He chuckles, following suit, going to his bag to rummage around for clothes. We don’t have to dress up today as it’s a day off after last night and I’m just so glad as I’m not dealing with my replacement stylist again. I’m going to call Emma later and get her back, hoping she’ll come back soon or find me another stylist while she’s gone that isn’t James. 

“Ah,” I glance at last nights outfit, “We’re gonna have to stop off at my room... I need a bra.” 

He rakes his eyes down my body then back up with no shame and it has me blushing, turning my head away and arms instinctively covering my stomach as I wait for the older man to grab his jacket now that he’s dressed. He’s uncurling my arms from my waist, whispering about how beautiful I am to him before drawing me up into a meaningful kiss that has me weak at the knees, “Come on baby girl let’s get you ready for our coffee date.” 

Pedro stuffs his wallet into his jeans pocket, pulling his jacket over the simple tee shirt he’s got on and he slips his worn out trainers. He’s grabbing the room key, my outfit from the premier and my boots in one hand, holding the other out for me to take which I of course do. We’re on the same floor just I’m right down the other end of the hallway and I know we’re going to get spotted by a fan or two as some have booked rooms on this floor for the specific reason to see us and other celebs. 

I let us into my room, feeling the flash of a camera behind us before Pedro shuts the door. He settles on my bed, putting my clothes and shoes down and let’s me grab whatever I need. He pulls out his phone and begins scrolling through social media as I grab a pair of jeans, a bra and some clean underwear and socks before slipping I got he bathroom to change. I should check social media too after last night knowing my phone is probably blowing up on the bed right now, Pedro having brought it with us seeing as I seemed to forget everything I needed. I’m still a little dazed at the fact I’m dating my best friend who is Pedro Pascal. 

Leaving the bathroom Pedro’s deep cognac eyes roam my body with no shame, settling on the pink sweater he leant me last night. I decided to keep on because it smells like him and well maybe I like the way he’s looking at me currently, his voice cracking when he tries to speak before he has to clear his throat and try again, “We’re trending. They’ve given us a ship name as well. Meet Pascaberry.” He shows me his phone where someone has posted a video of us from last night. It’s from when he rested his forehead against mine and I turned and hugged him and yeah there’s nothing very platonic looking about the hug or the way our noses bump. 

“Pascaberry? Hmmm, kinda has a nice ring to it.” I sit next to him grabbing my own phone from where Pedro had put it on charge to see hundreds upon hundreds of notifications from all types of social media, “Oh wow, they really love us together. I thought they’d find the age gap weird.” 

“We’ll, there’s going to be some who won’t like our age gap but,” He grips my chin and makes me look at him, “I. Don’t. Care.” He punctuates every word with a kiss, before letting me go to put my shoes on. I go for the same Doc Martens as yesterday and then grab my jacket, shoving my phone and wallet into my pockets and stretching the last remains of sleep from my body. His arms wrap around me and he’s leaning his head on my shoulder, pressing an innocent kiss to my neck before asking, “Shall we?” 

“The world awaits.”

 Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four

[cerealmonster15]

okay but when you aren't at practice i would Love to hear your thoughts on riddle/floyd though

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE thank u i love an excuse to talk excessively about Characters

i COULD link to some other post i could probs find where i talked about them a lot already. HOWEVER. i also love to repeat myself. i want excuses to do it AGAIN!!! sorry it is Long. teehee.

ok anyway. riddle/floyd, love those funny little guys. initially? like 2+ years ago? wasn't a fan, but i also did not like the octavinelle boys At All in the early days fklsdjfkldj but i warmed up to them by the end of book 4 bc they were Silly 😌

as for riddle and floyd together, my initial thought at first glance was "what da heck, floyd's just mean to riddle, that wouldnt work, i dont like it 😤

BUT through the power of obsessively rewatching scenes over and over again and getting a closer look at character vibes and motives [and also fun fanart lol], i have CHANGED MY MIND. mostly. i mean floyd is still floyd LOL but we'll get to that.

so my main thoughts for them could be one of two things: floyd having a one sided obnoxious crush on riddle and poking at him for attention/cuz it's funny, OR <- that but with the added layer of floyd picking on him half bc he thinks it's funny and half with some sincerity behind it [ill get to that] + floyds loose chaos way of existing is a good contrast to riddle who was forced to be Perfect and Proper and Rigid his whole life; he needs people to shake him loose a bit and teach him to learn to have fun and be a goofy lil guy!!! with time and growth they could balance each other out real well i think.

SO. yes on one hand riddle gets Upset with floyd and there are def times where it's like "uhuh floyds just bein mean for his own enjoyment and riddle's got the right to be upset here imo" like i think of i thhhiiiink floyd's regular uniform R vignette of an example of floyd picking on riddle for fun and riddle getting understandably upset, maybe getting a lil personal with his reaction but still i get him being like "why the fuck are you so awful to me get away" like. not off to a great start LOL but i actually really like that story. ive read it several times bc i feel like floyd and riddle's reactions to each other are interesting. the ambiguity [at least, i think it's ambiguous, im really not sure dklfjd] of floyd being like "....im bored now. bye." <- being either "was he upset when riddle compared him to jade/bit back at him, or did he really just have his regular mood swing and get bored? what was he feeling there???" also i just think it's funny how riddles like "huh, did i go too far and upset him...? oh well i dont care 🚶‍♂️" jsklfjdsl

ok ANYWAY. theyre complex and that's fun to me. i think however there are SEVERAL instances where floyd picking on riddle doubles as looking out for him - though im unsure if that's coincidence or intentional on floyd's part.

i can think of at least three off the top of my head: vargas camp 1 event, halloween 1, and the very start of book 4 when you're saying bye to everyone before they go home for the holidays.

Vargas Camp 1 scene [spoilers obviously lol]: the scene where people have gone MISSING and everyone's FREAKED OUT and they're by the fireplace. poor sweet lil riddle is shivering and very cold!!! floyd makes fun of him ldsfjds he's like "goldfishie, your lips are turning blue! if your hair turns blue too, i'll have to think of something else to call you lol" and riddle Gets Mad and is all "FLOYD why are you messing around RIGHT NOW OF ALL TIMES!!! TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!!!" all red faced and 😡 so angy!!! floyd just laughs and is like "hehe glad you're all red and warm now 😌" <- so this is what i mean by it's POSSIBLE he did that on purpose, knowing it would make riddle mad and by extension make him all warm and toasty lol. it also could just be that he wanted to pick on him and it happened to also help djfkldsj. ALSO! right after that when riddle gets SNATCHED, floyd makes a comment about how the shadow beast must be strong because "even goldfishie's gone". just cute that he acknowledges riddle's skills there 😌

halloween 1: around the very end of the event when the second years are having their post party talking time, there's a scene where jade's still running around being Helpful and floyd + riddle are both like "hey man relax, come eat something" but the SECOND riddle says something to jade, floyd IMMEDIATELY turns around and is like "hahaha you're such a hypocrite, youve barely been eating anything yourself you tiny tiny cranky goldfishie" and riddle's all I Eat The Daily Recommended Calorie Intake. bjkldfjdsg. anyway floyd makes him mad but then hes all 👀 when silver mentions CAKE but then pretends hes too full. floyds like "uhuh well there's always room for dessert so let's go" and tugs riddle along with him and the others to go find cake lol. now on one hand you could look at that as Not Listening to Riddle and Doing Whatever, which i think is a totally valid interpretation too. BUT the way i see it is more of floyd being like "you're not fooling anyone here, we can all see you want to do this thing but you will not allow yourself to indulge, you need that push to enjoy yourself bc you havent learned to give in to indulgences so im going to give you that push". it's a cute scene of second years partying lol.

book 4 mirror scene: when riddle shows up to go home, he's distracted and low energy. he's gotta go home and wants to Face His Mother. having the dread of facing an overbearing parent, not wanting to go home for the holidays, i get it, it's a mood dampener. the other heartslabyul boys are all like 😔bc ya, sore topic, rough and heavy. then floyd shows up fdsklfdsklfjlk and he's like "what's the matter? dont wanna go home? then dont 😌 stay here with us! we can keep a tiny goldfishy as a pet hehehehehe" or something like that lol. the SECOND floyd shows up riddle is SCOWLING and COMPLAINING jfkldjsfl. even jade is like 😐floyd do not pry into his personal family life 😐 <- as if he's not a nosy bitch himself LOL. anyway!!!!! floyd's comment about riddle being a teeny goldfish makes him all mad and 😡 again and trey/cater gotta diffuse the situation like the mvp besties they are lfjsd. riddle's like "well anyway i do NOT wanna hang out with octavinelle for the holidays good BYE!!! 😤" and trey comments about how at least he seems like he's back to his regular self. i think again, you could see this as floyd just picking on riddle bc he likes picking on riddle, which i think is very true here lol, BUT if you read between the lines i do think it's a valid thought to look at it as like, floyd saw riddle down in the dumps and gave him something to get riled up about to distract him from his gloominess. i mean he made him mad jfldksjf but it was still more of the riddle theyre Used To and he was no longer sulking?? lol, that one may be a little more of a stretch but i stand by it as a possibility!!!

because!!! i wont get into it too much but it has been shown on several accounts that like, floyd's a smart dude when he wants to be. i fully believe he understands people decently well if he cares to, and has his own way of how he chooses to navigate it. like this part isnt about riddle but in one of the beans events, i think beans 2? when they spot malleus and lilia sparring, i think epel or someone's like "oh we could gang up on lilia and help malleus defeat him!!" but floyd stops them and is more or less like "nah they're havin fun over there doin their thing. we should leave them. if i were riled up havin fun like that i wouldnt want someone comin along to spoil it" or something like that. so like i think he's got compassion for other people at times and will act accordingly if he wants to. he's a very interesting multifaceted character!!

also heehee funny fish boy pokes fun at funny tiny red boy. opposites attract is just a fun dynamic i always like 😌

some other misc things i like with them:

in halloween 2, when they're initially gonna go in the mirror, floyd and riddle BOTH wanna just charge headfirst into it without a second thought fksdjflkd. it's SO cute seeing riddle on the same level as floyd with impulsiveness

also in halloween 2, when they find possessed jade and he's acting like floyd, riddle's like That's Not Floyd 😤 immediately, which i mean leads to a convo about the twins' hair lol BUT i like to think it also just shows how much riddle's around the twins

riddle has a lot of similarities to azul. floyd and jade like to pick on azul a lot. despite being weird about how they talk about it kfdjdlsdfjkl floyd jade and azul are all friends and i think they care about each other a lot. floyd also loves to tease riddle. i think it's both bc riddle and azul have entertaining reactions when theyre Being Teased, but also i think that's part of how floyd shows his affection. like he's having fun, he's playing!!! when he's not interested in something or someone hes got No Energy and is like im outta here 🚶‍♂️ but with riddle he's always like hehehehehe funny little goldfishie heheheheehehe

these two separate bits from the first twst anthology manga [fan translated by turtlesoupscans]:

^i think the anthology mangas are considered like semi canon or something but i think this is kinda cute lol, like floyd thrilled to hang out with riddle and riddle apparently spending time with floyd for five straight hours lol

and then this part, i think about it all the time:

thats just a very potent section of a small bit of floyd in general bothering riddle bc he's bored and wants to hang out!! but like. hi. hello. whoever wrote/illustrated this part? they had an agenda. a florid agenda. and i See It lolololol. and then floyd wants to play tag with him right after 😌 also i just like the way he greets him at the start lol-

YO~ 🤗 f l o y d ... 😔

ALSO it's said somewhere, i think a few places but idr where, that during the second years' orientation, floyd and riddle got into a chaotic fight with each other like how grim disrupted the first years'/game's opening orientation. enemies to lovers on sight or something LOL

anyway. there are probably more scenes i cant remember but ive been typing for like an hour [i had to go into the event archives i needed to fact check myself for ACCURACY] and i have to cut myself off or i will Never Stop sljkfjdsj THANKS for indulging me SORRY i talked for 500 years. i can and will do it again tho any time anyone asks me how i feel about anything twst related. im constantly locked and loaded with SO Many feelings.

[smspikyhampster]

I think it's so funny that Eminem made MGK go punk.

Cuz MGK tweeted something about Eminem's adult daughter which made Eminem mad.

But then Eminem released Rap God, which was a very subtle diss to MGK but still just saying how Eminem is the best rapper ever.

AND THEN MGK got mad and made Rap Devil. (Kudos to him for pairing the name of his song to Rap God.)

And I think some of his roasting phrases are a bit not..... Toasty. Cuz MGK said he'd sleep with Kim..... Eminem and Kim don't get along.... They ain't together.

He also says he knows a bunch of OGs but like..... So does Eminem.

But he ain't wrong, six years to release a diss track?

But Killshot was the kill shot. Eminem I think took a very adult approach. He recognized that MGK is pretty good and he's young. He flexed then he apologized to MGK about being out for blood.

Then CORRECTED MGK on some of the disses. Then he flexed some more. And honestly his flexes are way better. Like how he's outselling MGK. AND he has a movie about him.

But he also knew that MGK had talent. He wasn't taking food out of his daughter's mouth, he knew MGK would come back.

"You're a fuckin molehill, now imma make a mountain outta you"/lyrics

He really did. MGK was a mediocre rapper and Eminem "helped" him to be punk where he sells a lot more.

Just one of the things on why I love Eminem.

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - April 2024 - Town Square

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

Welcome to Town Square! The land that tests you for the first time on your gliding abilities. Also: it's the place with the bulls.

Fun fact: as a kid I didn't realize the red part of the horns was supposed to be blood. I assumed their horns were metal and a little rusty, like the swords in Dark Hollow.

Opening Staircase/Nils

You start out in a clearing surrounded by chickens and a circular staircase that leads to the first dragon of the level: Nils!

Nils tells you to gilde over to where the bulls are. He also gives you a tip on how to look around with the L2 and R2 buttons, something I constantly use both in the originals and Reignited (yes, I use classic controls in Reignited. The control stick camera gives me motion sickness. Something that doesn't happen in PS2 games with that type of camera control so I don't know why it's like that.)

Anyway.

"That Area with the Bulls"

The first glide's landing puts you face-to-face with a couple of bulls. Flame defeats them easily, but charging them gets their horns stuck in the ground. Either way, they're considered dead and give up their gem. Past them, there's a staircase, leading up to another platform getting ready for another glide, this time above water.

The first required dangerous glide in the game. I didn't like it as a kid. You couldn't get out if you failed it.

Devlin and the Fountains

Actually, we did learn that already in Stone Hill. But you can play these levels in any order.

Past him, we have a fountain with another bull and a gnorc with a red flag, running from the bull. The gnorc will not attack you until the bull is dead. The bull will not aim for you even if the gnorc is dead, but will attack you if you get too close.

Continue up the stairs, and there's a whole mess of bulls and another gnorc being chased around another fountain! This level is pretty repetitive. Clear those out, and rescue the next dragon.

Alvar

Alvar waits by the exit portal, but tells you about a blue thief nearby that has stolen a dragon egg! That's what was going on with that guy in Stone Hill!

Thief Chase/Top of Town Square

So to the difficult jump around a corner and onto what appears to be level boundary to chase after the thief! This guy is probably THE most annoying thief in the game, because if you let him get to the end of his route, he jumps down and won't reset his position until you jump down after him, meaning you have to do that difficult jump again.

Once you torch that annoying guy, you glide across to the final gems and dragon in the level.

Thor

Thor is skinny, has a squeaky voice, and only has one thing to say: "Thank you for releasing me!" I thought it was funny as a kid, so worth it.

And with that, we are 11% of the way through the game. Double digits! 3% more than last time.

Lore Talk

Town Square does more than anything else in the game to tell us how dragons, or at least Artisan dragons, live. This area is, as the name says, a town. Buildings line streets, and there's fountains in a couple of areas.

Also very telling is how unnavigable this place is for creatures without wings. Which is the point: this area is for dragons and dragons only. Flying from one area of town to another is expected.

Artisan Dragons also apparently enjoy having grassy areas on their roofs. And why not? It's pretty and I'm sure comfortable to sit on. When you have wings, the roof is just as valid a place to hang out as your yard - and these guys' houses are so packed-together that they don't have yards. The roof is the yard!

Next Stop

May's level will be Toasty.

Concurrent Spyro Events

Not much has changed since last month.

Toys for Bob concluded their talks with Microsoft, getting the rights for whatever thing they were talking about.

Youtuber Canadian Guy Eh posted a video confirming that a Spyro game is in development by Toys for Bob, being that thing they were negotiating with Microsoft about. He stated it has been in development since January (...If I actually started this when I intended to, that'd line up really well. What a coincidence!), so it's really early. Which is pretty much what I assumed last month. If they're taking their time, we won't be getting it for another two or so years.

Popular belief in Spyro fanspaces is that he's lying that he knows this for a fact, and the general opinion is that a new Spyro game isn't happening. Which even if you disregard him, there's still been teases? I get not getting your hopes up (that's my default state nowadays, anyhow), but now it's just being contrary because people don't like CGE.

I personally believe him. I've seen enough of his videos to know that when it's speculation or rumor, he says it. He's a big Youtuber and has contacts in the industry. Of course he is going to learn things that haven't been officially announced. He's popular enough conducting his usual hype train - he doesn't need to lie to get clicks.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but honestly that's all that's happened this past month Spyro-wise. At least on my radar.

All that matters for this project is that no Spyro game is getting released this month, so Toasty is on schedule to be toast in May!

[princematcha]

To hell with despair, I'll tell you my warmest memory & you tell me yours, meanwhile the wolrd goes on.

i'm eight or maybe seven, my sister is six or maybe five, it's some random april day, cloudy but very warm, we sneak into this wheat field, it wasn't so big but for little us it was massive, an endless sea of vibrant green. I remember stealing some, each of us a handful, & running back home with a dog barking in the distance. We peeled the unripe wheat into big brown glass bowls, it took us so so long to just barely cover the bottom of the bowls, we ate it with a bit of salt, in two or three spoonfuls. That was the happiest i have ever been.

I have never had green wheat again in my entire life, but as i'm writing this i can taste it, very clearly, fifteen years later!

(Sorry about how random this is, i don't know what makes me want to tell you things, but i'm not going to question it. Also thank you for the playlist, it made me feel very cozy inside)

what a warm memory! i can visualize it rlly clearly w how you tell it !!!! i’ve never had green wheat but this made me want to at least try it. i’m not sure what my warmest memory is! i try to be toasty all the time but thsi is a memory i think about a bit more than others:

at least once a year until i was around nine or ten i would visit the philippines to see my family. my grandpa lived in a small village far away from cities and high in the mountains. the village was next to one of the largest rivers in the philippines, surrounded with trees that were bearing fruit every time i was there.

one year when there was a particularly bountiful season, a game i would play with my grandpa was eating a spoonful of guyabano and guessing the amount of seeds i would find. i was still learning how to count and baby hands aren’t the best at peeling or cutting fruit.

guyabano (which i recently found out it’s called soursop in english, but i never tasted it to be that sour) is a really big green fruit with a hard rind. the rind has small spikes that aren’t sharp or ridges. the inside is white and soft with smooth black seeds that are around the same size as the pad of your thumb.

i think it was near christmas when i went that year and i can still remember sitting with my grandpa under a tree to hide from the sun, him feeding me first every time before spooning more. he would ask me for a number before i started chewing, and i would push the fruit to the corner of my mouth and answer with a full mouth. then i spit out the seeds in my hands and we would count the saliva-covered seeds together.

i only eat guyabano when i’m in the philippines, i can’t wait to go back i haven’t been in 5ever

(here’s the link to the playlist i was talking abt: love’s stall it isn’t v long but it make me groove.)

also i was listenin to whole pot of jelly by pete wingfield while writing this reply and it’s making me so giggly i love it. it’s v 70’s and funky funny and i think i’m going to be listening to this on repeat for a while.

[simplyotometrash]

Saw your recent hc- is it okay if I request the dateables reacting to a gn mc who (also) gets cold easily? :0

Absolutely! I would love to do this for you! I don't have LOTS of experience writing the dateables, I especially struggle with Barbatos DX

Dateables x gender-neutral MC

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

MC Gets Cold Easily

Diavolo:

He never really knew before you two started seeing each other romantically.

Man lives to work, despite his carefree nature, so it's no surprise that he didn't know this about you.

So when you were in the castle with him and suddenly stuck your hands up his shirt, he was a little more than shocked.

"MC, are you alright? The castle is very warm but your hands are freezing! Do you need the heat to be raised more?"

Needless to say, he's a very caring boyfriend who just worries about you.

You explain that you get cold easily and that it's perfectly normal for you, and he is significantly less worried.

It did also occur to him that you are always a bit chillier than he is simply because demons have a higher body temperature than humans.

He's just a big golden retriever of a man.

If you ask him to warm you up, he'll do it no matter what.

Working on papers? Come sit in his lap!

Sitting on his throne? His arms are waiting!

He doesn't even flinch at night when he feels your cold appendages against him, he actually thinks the cold of your skin feels quite nice against his hot skin!

Barbatos:

He had a feeling when he would catch you rubbing your hands in an attempt to warm your hands and fingers up.

He would always offer you gloves and ask if you needed anything.

"MC, it may be normal for you but please don't hesitate to call upon me if you're too cold."

You two are together quite often at the castle and he grows to notice when you begin getting chilly.

He'll prepare you warm drinks and choose cups that transfer the heat to your hands.

He seems to come out of nowhere with a blanket just for you.

He can't always physically warm you up himself, he's a busy man serving the Demon Prince after all. He can't drop his duties on a whim no matter how much he wants to.

But he always seems to know that you're cold and he has something for you without you ever needing to ask.

Now, this isn't to say he won't be the one warming you up when he doesn't have duties to attend to.

He's very happy and willing to hold you in his arms to warm you up manually that way.

He often lets you wear his gloves when it's just the two of you together.

He works very hard to ensure you're never cold for very long.

Solomon:

You pressed your icy hands to his neck when you sneaked up behind him one day.

You thought it'd be a funny prank to pull.

He tried not to flinch.

He flinched.

"MC, why are your hands like ice? The Devildom is often a very warm place."

You explained that you got cold easily, ever since you were a child.

He did wonder if you had an underlying condition and wasn't hesitant to inquire about your medical history in order to cross that off the list of causes.

You ask him to warm you up and he feels flattered.

He'll wrap you up against his side using his cloak and you'll be quite toasty.

I think he's also a very warm person, normal human body temperature, but he just seems to run warm.

He also sets to work crafting a potion for you to drink whenever he's unable to keep you warm with his own body heat.

He doesn't want you to suffer throughout the day when he can't hold you against him. He even ensures the potion doesn't taste bad.

Simeon:

You two were in Purgatory Hall spending time together.

It became a staple in your routine the closer you got with Simeon.

He had noticed your frequently cold hands while the two of you were merely friends, though he never asked you why. He figured you were just colder naturally.

But you two started dating and you started asking him to warm you up.

"MC," he said one day while you were snuggled against him. "Are you just naturally cold? I've noticed you always feel much colder than others."

You tell him that you've always gotten cold easily, there was never any reason why.

He never asked again. He didn't need to. He knew all that he needed to know.

Simeon doesn't complain about the coldness of your skin, especially when you press your cold hands against his bare sides.

It doesn't seem to faze him.

He'll often make you tea, just like Barbatos, to help warm you up.

He has brought your hands up and blown warm air onto them. It was quite endearing.

Never hesitate to tell him that you're cold. He wants to make sure you get warm quickly.

[hotch-stufff]

Is That My Hoodie?

Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs x Reader

Prompts: "you're so warm", "have you seen my hoodie?"

Warnings: literally nothing, this is completely fluff, maybe some slightly suggestive stuff, but I'm not even kidding when I say a ton of fluff

Word Count: 1.0k words

A/N: loved this request, it made me happy, hope you all like it ❤, gif is not mine

Request: Could you do a 11 (You're so warm) and 40 (Have you seen my hoodie) fluff one-shot, where R and Gibbs are married (they knew each other from the marines, as he still was with Shannon, but git together as she joined the NCIS) and she has a habit of stealing his hoodies or something and he finds them strayed around the house; for example one is in the basement, one tangled between the sheets of the bed, one in the bathroom, and a few in the basement and kitchen and he just finds it amusing but a little annoying. Idk just some fluff🥺🥺❤

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

Gibbs had had a hard life.

He didn't have the best of luck when it came to his family. People were always leaving or being ripped away from him. 

And he was tired of it.

So when he found you, he held on tight nd didn't let go. Of course it had taken you a while to break down those walls for him to let you in.

But it was so worth it..

He was the love of your life. And you wouldn't trade it for the world..

Especially because he had the best sweatshirts ever.

They were soft and warm, and too big for you. You loved to steal them and curl up on the couch, or even slip into bed while he was away, his smell still lingering on the hoodie.

You would even end up stealing them on hard cases, because it brought you a comfort that you hadn't been able to find before.

They were so just comfortable, that you just kept stealing them. That and it was just funny watching him trying to find all of his hoodies when you had taken them, and pro ably strewn them across your house.

Like tonight for example..

Gibbs was cold, very cold.

His basement was always freezing, but it never bothered him.

But tonight, he had spent hours down there, and now he needed a hoodie.

Now he loves his wife. Very much so. But you had a serious problem when it came to stealing his clothes. Specifically those hoodies. And he wouldn't be shocked if he went upstairs and found the drawer empty. 

He walked upstairs, you nowhere in sight, and went to your shared bedroom, digging around his drawers for a hoodie.

Except he was right, it was empty.

Not a single hoodie in sight. He knew you had taken them. But you couldn't possibly be wearing them all, and he had no clue where they could be. But, he just smiled to himself as he began searching his room.

He checked under the bed, finding one tucked away.

Another was hidden between the sheets, all wrapped up on top of the bed.. Another on the bathroom floor, lying in a pile of clothes A fourth hidden behind the dryer. Why? He had no idea. 

And a fifth thrown on top of the fridge in the kitchen.

The kitchen one just confused him.

It was kind of annoying, he just wanted his hoodie, and this wasn't a one time thing where they would all be missing.

But he couldn't help but smile at the fact that you kept stealing them. It was extremely adorable. And he loved seeing you in his clothes. Made him get all possessive. 

That and he thought you looked so cute all curled up with a hoodie 2 sizes to big. The sleeves would be too long for your hands, and the extra material would bunch at your waist.

You were also always really warm when you were were wearing one, and it was always the perfect time for him to just wrap his arms around you and lay in blissful peace.

As he continued searching, he had found almost all of his sweatshirts, all except his favorite one. 

His absolute favorite USMC hoodie. He knew exactly where it may have been. And of course he was right.

"Honey?" He called across the house.

"Yes?" You called back from the living room.

He walked out, only to find you curled up, looking nice and toasty on the couch.

"What's up?" You asked. 

He didn't say a word as he climbed between you and the back of the couch, wrapping himself around you like a koala.

"What are you doing?" You laughed as he literally curled around you and pulled you as close as possible. 

"Hmm, you're so warm." He whispered into your hair, causing you to giggle. He sounded so soft right now.

"Is that so?" You pressed your nose into his neck, nuzzling closer.

"Yes." He peppered kisses across your head, rubbing soothing circles along your hoodie clad back.

Then he realized what you were wearing, and why he was here in the first place.

"Have you seen my sweatshirt?" You froze next to him. Of course you had, you were in his favorite sweatshirt. Why would you be wearing anything else. But you played along.

"Um, no?" You said, although it sounded more like a question. He snorted, actually snorted.

"Yeah, that was convincing." You both laughed, as he moved his hands around your hips, pulling you impossibly closer.

"Stop stealing my sweatshirts, Y/n Gibbs." He tried sounding commanding, but his voice was muffled and he sounded so happy.

But you continued to play along.

"How dare you demand such a thing." You sighed dramatically. Dissolving into a fit of giggles as he began tickling your sides. "Wait, Jet-" you gasped for breath. "Stooop it!" He wouldn't let up.

"Don't make me use your full name!" You threatened.

"You wouldn't dare"

"Try me." He stopped immediately and a staring contest began.

But soon you both burst into laughter. 

The laughter died down quickly though, and his arms were still wrapped around you, your faces mere inches apart. 

"You know, it's going to take a lot of convincing for me to give back this sweatshirt." You whispered, gently bumping his nose with your own.

He just hummed in response.

And he leaned in and kissed you. God, you would never get tired of kissing this man.

It was always passionate, and loving, and hot. 

He deepened the kiss, pulling another gasp from you. His hands inched under your shirt, and swept across your stomach. 

His leg slipped between your own and you moaned softly at the bruising pace his kisses were setting.

The kiss was getting more heated by the second when he took your bottom lip in his own and he gently pulled away.

You leaned back, panting for breath.

"How was that for convincing?" Your husband asked.

"I don't know. I think I need a little more."

"Mmm, okay. I see." And he leaned back in, sealing your lips once again.

He spent the rest of the night trying to convince you, and it was some good convincing.

But, spoiler alert, you never gave back the sweatshirt.

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

Requests are still open, so keep sending in asks! Or if you want to read more of my works, check out my masterlist pinned on my page!

[libby-is-a-idoit]

Turning red x reader!!!

-description-

K,so this is like Uhm I think it's called a one -shot or something idk,anyway,I'm doing the main four but it's like your their older sibling!!! Idk I'm just running out of ideas slowly :D

-warnings-

None,idk why their would be,maybe there is and I'm stupid idk,and idc but eh whatever :)

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

ABBY PARK<3

-your older by three years

-your like her best friend,well,not really,but also that the same time you are!

-she likes to tell you all about Devon and then when you tell her you know him,she goes quite and leaves the room in embarrassment

-trys to get you to buy her 4*town tickets,you love Abby,but not enough to pay 200 dollars to go watch some k-pop thing for an hour-

-when she likes to be a little shit when her friends are over,you just ask them if they wanna see what Abby looked like as baby to embarrass her

-even tho she can be a little shit,and so can you,you both love each other very much,even tho it seems like y'all fight a bit more sometimes -

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

MIRIAM WEXLER <3

-your a year older then her

-she acts like she's the older one and better one

-all because she's taller-

-when y'all were in school together you guys would act like you don't know each other,and when people would ask if you guys were siblings or cousins or whatever you guys would just say you had the same last name but didn't know each other-

-when y'all are at home you guys basically live in each others rooms,you guys are close since your only a year apart!

-you don't embarrass her in front of her friends bc y'all still go to the same school,shit gets around-

-you guys both like 4*town,so when y'all needed 4 hundred dollars to go to the concert,let's just say it didn't go over well-

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

PRIYA DEWAN <3

-your four years older

-you guys are very close

-yall share a love for romance books,even if Priya is still in the vampire faze-

-since y'all didn't really go to school together,no one really knew you existed untill they came over for the first time

-priya doesn't talk about you much 🙄

-you don't bother to embarrass her because she might stab you in your sleep 0-0

-you kinda made fun of her when she said she wanted to go to a 4*town concert-

-it was pretty funny

-she didn't ask you for the 200 hundred,but definitely wanted to

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

MEILIN LEE <3

-your two years older

-when she got her panda you felt so bad for her..it happened to you,and that's what pulled her away from Ming and you wanted Mei to stay close to mom..

-she helps you with school work and you help her with hers

-since y'all are two years apart you guys are kinda close

-you help Jin cook dinner alot >:)

-yall weren't close when you both went to the same school,and when you guys are,you aren't very nice at home

-when she started talking about 4*town you were very confused on why she chose that instead of anything else,but you couldn't blame her,they made good music

-when you guys tried to ask about buying tickets you just tried not to laugh the whole time because you knew it was a no-

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

Kk! That's it!! Off topic but my vape is roasty toasty-

Anyway,Uhm,I'm outta stuff rn to write xD it's ok! I'll think of scenarios as I go to sleep tonight LMAOOO

Kk bye bye!!!

[heavensickness]

i talked abt onion here! hmm let's see

salocin would remind her a lot of her father with his carefree attitude and dad jokes - a much more responsible and emotionally mature version, of course. maybe what his father would've been like if he didn't make the mistakes he did. not that she is consciously aware of this though, she just thinks that salo is so neat and reliable! she follows positivity/humour twitter accounts & instagram pages for him and sends him the best ones since he doesn't know how to use social media. she is the reason why he regularly texts stuff like "manifesting 🙏🔮🕯" & calls the server members his "besties" (which makes toasty and two2 lose it everytime). also he might've been actually reading the embarrassingly romantic, ridiculous or nasty texts she & xyx have been sending each other in the deleted channel...

June, dearest June!!! She is very mature, sometimes more than hotgirl so she feels like she is the younger one sometimes lol. They have a lot of videocalls and hotgirl can sense that she is having a hard time and gently tells her during one videocall that she can confide in her whenever she needs. Or just vent. That she doesn't have to pretend peppy and cheerful all the time, and it's ok to talk about her anxieties in the server which is ironic coming from her. I have this headcanon that she and June live close to each other and are in the same time zone, so they can craft bloomic headcanons when everyone else is asleep or at work etc. It almost goes like

June: Nathaniel's overly responsible and socially active lifestyle is a compensation for the frustration he feels against the upper class since he had to fight tooth and limb to climb his way up the social ladder and him lashing out Lola in chapter 25 and his monologue in chapter 34 proves that his anger goes more deeper than he wants to believe

hotgirl: omg ur so cool and right, i love ur galaxy brain. btw i think Lola is a lesbian

if they are not dating anyone, she and biglady would always flirt back and forth. every sentence is ended with compliments and a "yes homo" with the lydia hearts emoji. biglady is the 3rd or 4th person in the server that hotgirl would date tbh, her chances are higher than some LIs lmfao bc i think they would complete each other so well and also i am bisexual 💜 as friends??? sleepovers with face masks, snacks, movie nights!!! June is also there!!! god i want the server meetup so bad

She would adore two2. Together with biglady, they form the helicopter big sister squad. no one's allowed to troll him when she's around!!! unless it's really funny two2 feels embarassed sometimes because of how much he vents to the chat & thinks that the members see him as a big baby. She would reassure him a lot because she knows how it feels to be a broke college kid who has no idea know what they are doing in life lol. Idk if I mentioned this but she has an estranged half-brother born to her mother & her mother's second husband. He must be 14-15 years old by now. This is one of her most repressed guilts; not being able to be a big sister to her brother even though it was not her fault as her mother did her best to keep the son away from her because she would be a "bad influence" to him, and after she moved out at 18 years old, they just. Lost all contact. And she feels like a totally deadbeat loser about it. Idk if she would ever talk about this topic, it would take a looooog time to talk about this even with the LI she is dating. ANYWAYS this is not an angst post, so! She can at least enjoy being a protective, goofy big sister to two2. She tells him that if anyone at his new college bothers him, he should tell them that he has a big sister who is 2 meters tall and terrifying also a cage fighter

for bloombot and hypebot, well, she ships them LMFAO she asks bloombot if she wants to experience romance firsthand and bloombot is kind of lost at what she is trying to say 😭😭😭 xyx will also add personalized replies to hypebot for bloombot. leave the bots alone u troublemakers!!!

[6okuto]

NIA. ur thoughts about the bloomic LI's 🤲🤲

yeaass got the good endings 4 for 4 first try like god i am so good at gaming😍😘‼️

spoiler warning ofc!! stated fave to least fave but they Barely switch around. (btw i did owl > xyx > quest > toasty)

voice: toasty, owl, xyx, quest (love all the va's i think they did quite a good job the calls were vry cute <3)

toasty had like, the most natural laughs and that was one of the things i Rlly rlly zoned in on. the first time he laughed i actually said oh my god

quest has a nice voice. smooth... smth abt the ?intonation? threw me off a little?? him and owl were a little Anime Protag to me... nothing's Wrong w it !! just not my favourite cup of coffee (srry i don't like tea)

xyx picking love as the pet name was gonna make me throw my mouse at the wall. that's all i can say. idk australian accents throw me off SORRYEBDH all i think of are felix/bang chan and 5sos which is problematic for my health /hj (i was 11 as a 5sos fan ok. not again...)

story: toasty/owl, quest, xyx

got to love that true ending flavour. sorry this might also be toasty favoritism but i rlly do think it was interesting. blooming panini was a highlight

Genuinely fucking Gasped when owl's whole thing happened. my hand was over my mouth and everything. but i Empathize and his call after was sooo.. nguh. he had some of my fave calls tbh!! i think they could have added some warnings for others tho...?

was a little shocked to see the ex for quest too like wow. that icon too. can't believe i turned into a discord kitten HELPRHEJ and like :(( being called a monster??? that hurt Me :/

Also empathize w xyx...i get the funny friend thing and not wanting to do something :/ i'm vry lucky to have such good friends and they're unlucky w me always talking /hj but man . that could've been me in another life. also i Do love him and cat 😚

who i'd text irl (one on one): owl/toasty, xyx, quest

owl's got the balance of texting how me and my friends do and also me not having to be worried of sounding awkward. sorry that is not the other characters' fault but i'm comparing them to ppl i have actually texted. whew

BUT toasty + xyx gc is the best thing ever. i know i'd make a fool of myself easily but witnessing it is fun

i'd rather text toasty one on one tho . love xyx i am just not charismatic/funny . i'm sure he'd like how easily flustered/awkward i get but it'd also probably get old fast and i feel bad lolol

quest. i think if i went "omhogfi litelrauj cnats ee myscfrne im ggoncry hydo allmyfaov irt cjarates due" i'd feel the worst for him. very lovely but he doesn't need to see me incoherently sobbing over manga 😔 let me be the best for u

overall + random thoughts: toasty, owl, quest/xyx

i love !!! all their development !!! i think it was done super well and everything in each of their routes tied together...and like they were all so different u know?

the texting felt rlly natural too. i think one thing that'd get to me for like, mysmes was my text choices and stuff . ofc there were personally unnatural moments but that's a given LOL

OWL'S EPILOGUE PHOTO. there's a video on my ig spam bc i wanted to record it unblurring as my first ending photo,, the noise and shocked laugh i let out. hooo my god

when xyx was like let's do tongue twisters / no wrong answer just dumb ones or smth . as someone with anxiety and rejection sensitivity i would have an anxiety attack and die. BUT as a GC Friend he'd be very fun his sense of humor is pretty similar to mine i think...

when societyboy showed up and quest brought me to the other channel and he said "i'd love to angel" i was done. i was gone. /pos quest had such cute lines i'm devastated. like yeah spoil me hahahhahah please. [gets discord kitten'd] HELDPFJ

not kidding about toasty and xyx being the best thing ever. when they said "onion aren't you comp sci / yeah drop out" i giggled. that's so me

is it bad i was saying x-y-x in my head until i heard toasty say xyx. HELP

my godddd toasty. when he gets back in the server and says ur name 3 times i was kicking my feet. when he said i was so fucking worried fuck this. call? i was crying. WHEN GE SAID I love you. a lot. text me in the morning? I WAS PUNCHIGN THEA IR I EAS SILENTLY SCREAMING INTO MY PILLOW

the first thing i said when i first saw him btw. i could probably make a whole post just for how i relate to him and owl . anyway

who would i date fr?! evidently toasty or owl . not sure which one ,, probably toasty but i think they both fit the general criteria for who i like :0

[rouiyan]

𝘐𝘛'𝘚 (𝘜𝘕)𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕𝘈𝘓. [ 𝘭.𝘥𝘩 ]

⧏ hyuck’s installment of the undone at twenty-one collective ⧐

synopsis: where you and donghyuck realize that falling in love is not just a matter of time but of circumstances, impulsive decisions, and reckless emotions. well, mostly just reckless emotions. or in short, the two times you dumped him and the one time you didn't.

✧ lee donghyuck x (fem.) reader + bestfriend!lee jeno ✧ college au, slight enemies to loverz, fake dating au

✧ genres : angst, fluff, pining ✧ word count : 18.3k ✧ disclaimers : swearing

✧ author’s note — months in the making and it's finally here. please make yourself a cup of tea and get toasty in the sheets because this bitch is huge.

it was a valentine's dance, a stupid valentine's day dance, where lovers would go if they truly had nothing else to do. it was where elderly couples would boast of how long they'd been together, clichéd stories and all. you'd only gone because your best friend, jeno, had been in charge of the whole event to begin with. it made no sense to you, jeno was always a sucker for parties but not the sappy, cookies and streamers, no-alcoholic-beverages ones. he had said it was because he needed community service hours, something about how it would look like he genuinely cared for the community on paper, but sometime during the night while watching him excitedly put up the red and pink balloons, you realized that he actually enjoyed this. he enjoyed watching over the dance once it was in full swing and you saw how he'd let the smallest of smiles adorn his face as he refilled an empty pitcher of fruit punch.

but you knew the exact reason he held the dance in such high regards when he slipped from your presence as some slow song started to hum from the speakers and the fluorescent pink lights dimmed. you’ve been friends with jeno’s girlfriend for long enough to know that she was such a sweetheart. jaein was the type of girl that sent her grade reports back home to her parents and always had her location on. she was the type of girl that slept at eleven and declined frat party invites. she was just the girl that'd come to these types of parties and just the girl jeno deserved and loved. to nobody’s shock including your own, the two had started dating a few months back after being so obviously head over heels in love with each other for years. 

while jeno had spent most of his time with you, he now spent an equal half with jaein and you weren’t all too sure what to do with the allotted free time. sure, busying yourself with studies was a good idea, not a very fun one though, so you resorted to attending the valentine’s dance jeno had set up, to support him as well as not to miss out on free food. jeno had tried, really, to get any one of his single (as in, ready to mingle) friends to come and try to woo you, but none had shown up, opting to go to more bustling parties than to babysit his lone best friend. none had shown up, except a specific brown-haired boy, with a shy smile and a lame excuse as to why he would choose to spend such a day here, of all places.

donghyuck. lee donghyuck. your polar opposite. to be fair though, you wouldn’t actually know all too well because you’d never particularly ventured to get to know him. every bit about him struck you as obnoxious and entirely unnecessary. he was this loud, boisterous enigma at your college, always sunshine and smiles and making people laugh at jokes that bordered between funny and offensive. you felt, no, you knew that he was no good. he was never committed in serious relationships, gaining labels such as being a ‘playboy,' and you doubted he ever had a serious conversation with anyone, much less himself. lee donghyuck was the moodmaker of your friend group and while that may rest peachy with others, you found it exhausting to have to always be in the mood to laugh at his jokes or else be deemed undeserving of his attention. truth be told, you thought he felt the exact same way towards you, seeing as how he never attempted to make conversation with you and how he simply acted like you didn't exist when in big groups. how wrong you were.

lee donghyuck was the last person on your mind when jeno had said to you absentmindedly that one of his friends could accompany you that night. jeno was clearly proud of this, with the knowledge of donghyuck's blatant crush on you, the matter being a secret to no one but yourself. donghyuck had really debated coming, not wanting to enforce one-on-one confrontations with you since he knew you disliked him a certain amount. but he also thought of all the things he could say to you, all the questions he'd been dying to ask since day one (all the questions that jeno hadn't begrudgingly answered already). for him, the whole day had been spent staring at jeno's simple text (hey, u should come keep y/n company at the dance) and tossing himself through his sheets, wondering if he should dare be bold and actually show up. 

turns out, even after deciding to go, showing up had been an astonishing feat in itself for donghyuck, having spent the last hour and a half brushing and re-brushing his teeth, styling and restyling his hair, and choosing and rechoosing his outfit. he'd settled for simple black jeans, torn at the knees, a white tee topped with a black denim jacket and white sneakers, his hair split in the middle and almost stabbing at his eyes. he felt his heart speed up while reversing out of the driveway of his house, he felt his heart speed up as he thought of you while driving, and he felt his heart almost stop when he entered the venue, his eyes narrowing in on you and almost doubling over at how gorgeous you looked. leaning on the drinks table, you were donned in a simple satin blue slipdress with chunky sneakers to dress it down, one side of your hair was clipped back with some pearly accessories and your equally pearly bag sat atop the table behind you. 

he took careful, calculated steps, stopping at the candy table to grab a lollipop, so as to seem like he wasn't beelining right towards you. stopping a few feet away from you and gaining your attention, he held out the heart-shaped lollipop, a shy "hi," slipping from his lips. you took the candy with a small thanks before fixating your gaze back on him and questioning his presence, "what brings you here?" though you knew the answer, you really doubted that jeno could convince donghyuck here without any willpower of his own. he bit down on his lower lip before giving out a shrug and untruthfully admitting that he, "had nothing else to do," and, "thought it would be a nice change, considering i really only attend frat parties."

taking the excuse as his word, you nodded slowly before telling him you didn't know if this was a good idea and that maybe you should just go because you didn't see much of a point in staying, completely missing the way his eyes rounded ever so slightly and how his lips twitched into a frown before he quickly fixed his expression. you were just about to turn away from him when his hands found themselves barely grazing your forearm, stopping you in your tracks so that he could voice out his inner worries, "i'm sorry if i'm making you uncomfortable but…i really would like to spend the night with you." 

in his mind, he felt as if time slowed as he watched your hair rustle as you turned back around to face him, as your eyes flashed for a brief moment of consideration, and as you brought your hand up to his, effectively removing it from your arm before looking him straight in the eye to say, "okay."

donghyuck went through all the possible scenarios he'd thought up to come to a conclusion on what to say. he noted the way most people at the event were on the dance floor, slow dancing with a loved one, and thought it was a good place to start. meanwhile, you had traced his line of vision and interpreted his ideas, quickly saying, "no, we're not dancing," and effectively trashing his one and only plan rather abruptly. donghyuck's eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he made a mental note to not be so damn obvious in front of you. he took a quick glance at your lips and decisively tossed out the first thing that came to mind, "then, have you eaten yet?"

you shook your head lightly and he took from this to offer, "then how 'bout we go grab something to eat? my treat." you barely considered the situation upon hearing the last two syllables, replying with a "sounds good," quickly grabbing your bag. exiting the venue, you looked for jeno and saw that he was still busying around his girlfriend. you took it upon yourself to text him whilst on the way to dinner. 

donghyuck felt light on his feet as he walked through the parking lot with you by his side. the cold air felt liberating on his skin but he noticed how you'd caged yourself within your arms, in attempts to ward off the wind. without thinking, he'd already shrugged off his jacket and propped it lightly over your shoulders. his confidence skyrocketed as you clutched the article of clothing tighter to your frame and muttered a small thanks. surprising even himself, he even replied with a, "no problem, you look good in it," his cheeks now flushing a bright red, the same color spreading to his ears. 

not much else was said as he opened up the car door for you, gently pushing it shut after you were seated. you mentally cursed yourself for being so easily persuaded but moreover, the thoughts that filled your head were akin with 'since when was he such a gentleman?' and 'what's with him all of a sudden?' the air in the car smelled like fast food takeout and the cupholders held everything but a cup, miscellaneous items ranging from candy wrappers to spare change occupying the space instead. donghyuck entered beside you and noted your gazes, feeling slightly embarrassed. he put the car in reverse and placed an arm behind the head of your seat, his own head tilting as he backed out of the spot. without meaning to, you glanced over, only to be met with his side profile, jawline and all. it was no question that he was handsome, and though you never thought you would be actively thinking about it, you found yourself at the foot of his beauty, with many other girls by your side.

the whole ride there, you were texting jeno (even though he wasn’t texting back), making small jokes about how you've been kidnapped by the man he hired to accompany you and how he didn't even bother to tell you where the two of you were headed. it's odd because to this day, you still don't know what it was that compelled you to come along with him. perhaps it was really just the food, or maybe his sudden boyish charm, or mayhaps it was even the lollipop he held out to you, a shy smile lighting his face.

fifteen minutes later, the eerily quiet drive came to an end when he pulled into a spot on the side of an empty road, expertly parallel parking in the small space between two moderately sized trucks. before you could process his movements, his hand was on your arm again and he let out a small, "wait here," before he slid out the car and briskly walked to your side, opening up the door for you once again. stepping out, you took a look at the building before you that hosted a fancy restaurant, seemingly halfway empty. you found that odd, especially since it was valentine’s day, but you put into consideration that it was located on the side of town that no one really frequents. 

“wow, when you said we were going to grab something to eat, i didn’t think it’d be fancy.” donghyuck felt a sense of pride in his chest as he opened yet another set of doors for you, replying back with sincerity. “i didn’t want to half-ass this… sorta date.” it felt weird coming out of his mouth, the word ‘date,’ even more so that the date was with you, but he caught the little quirk of your lips and he wondered if he really had to joke around all that much to get you to smile. on any other day where you’d hang out with the rest of the group, he’d never been able to get your still face to lift, no matter how many idiotic jokes he had to crack. 

meandering in, the waiter sat the two of you at the table against the front window and you felt subconscious of the people walking by, peering in at the pair of you like they were window shopping. donghyuck saw the way you shifted, eyes glancing out the window every few seconds and he raised his hand to catch the waiter’s attention. “can we get another table, please?” after moving to a more secluded spot, you eyed donghyuck suspiciously before he bluntly said, “what? i didn’t wanna sit by the window.” the lie slipped easily past his lips and the almost overt hope that lined your irises diminished to a pointed look and eye roll. 

the restaurant was dimly lit, with the only source of light being the candles lining the wall and atop each table, accompanied by a small rose in a clear vase. you’ve never been on a date somewhere this fancy, the boys you’ve dated in the past being utterly incompetent, for lack of a better word. and it’s not like a fancy dinner was what you’d epitomize as a ‘good’ date, you’ve just never been pampered in a way that made it seem like you were of importance. somehow though, the way donghyuck laid his eyes on you, with care and genuine curiosity, you couldn’t help but feel… important to him, for whatever reason he hadn’t graced you with yet.

you didn’t question him as he ordered a pasta and a steak, getting the feeling that this wasn’t the first time he’s been here. “so this is where you take all the girls, i’m assuming?” donghyuck’s eyebrows shot into this hairline, clearly not expecting such a question from you. he cleared his throat before voicing, “only the ones i like a lil' more.” you scrunched your nose in distaste at his dating habits but you didn’t say anything else. he seemed to catch up on this as he fervently picked up the exchange once again, “not that you’re one of them.” this caught you off guard, pursing your lips slightly before disregarding the thought from your mind. donghyuck thought he’d said too much but it looked as if you were already past the topic, moving your hands to unfurl the provided cloth and laying it upon your lap. he did the same as he searched your expression in attempts to make sure you weren’t uncomfortable within his presence. 

donghyuck didn’t think much of the girls he dated. they were fleeting, he knew that much. and he also knew that they simply paled in comparison to you, mere pastimes while he waited out for his chance with his actual love interest. he’d never thought that you’d express dislike towards the way he chose to date around instead of committing but now that his mind was on the matter, he felt ashamed that he didn’t even seem remotely your type. donghyuck saw this in the way you always stuck to jeno, even in a platonic sense, and how your eyes always seemed to gravitate to guys that were more or less just…better than him. he knew relatively little about your love life, though he knew for a fact that you were currently single, and (from jeno) that you had dumped all the guys you’d dated before. even just liking you, he felt immense pressure and the impotent need to impress you whenever and wherever. with that in mind, he took a second to breathe before trying, at the very least, to show you his potential. 

donghyuck initiated casual conversation while the two of you waited on the food to arrive, doing his best not to seem overly enthusiastic or like he was trying to make you laugh. he kept the usual over-the-top jokes out of the air and focused solely on getting closer to you, asking questions like, “how are your classes?” or “when’s your birthday?” and giving minimum effort to reply when you’d ask the same question back. he spent most of his brain power memorizing your answers, subconsciously scheming when he could put the information to use, before popping the question he’d been wanting to ask all night, “then, what’s your type?” 

“mm, like looks-wise or personality-wise?”

“hmm, how ‘bout...both?”

“then, looks-wise, well first off someone that dresses well. i think things like facial features and body build don’t matter all that much but the way someone dresses or like, presents themselves, shows a lot about them.”

“so like, any particular style?”

“nothing particular, but nothing over the top. i think they just have to look put together and just…feel confident in what they wear. if that makes sense.”

donghyuck’s pleased with your answer, and by the way he was nodding at you, you continued your thoughts.

“personality-wise, just someone who knows what they want and someone that’s willing to put in effort to get what they want, i think that’s important.”

his eyes were just about sparkling when you finished and you wanted to ask him if he felt okay but instead shot back the same question he had asked you, not wanting to come off as fussy. “what about you? what’s your type?”

donghyuck didn’t miss a beat when he blurted out, “you.”

the waiter interrupted the moment by placing two plates (or rather platters) of food onto the table, but donghyuck could see, between the waiter’s arms, the way you bit back a smile. you snuck a glance at him, unsure of how to feel at this revelation. his eyes were unwavering on yours and you’d never felt more enticed by just the way someone was looking at you. oh, how confused you had become in such a short period of time. the boy in front of you was your type, a shy but self-assured boy that was smooth, no doubt, but more importantly he made you feel something.

dinner went as fast as it came and donghyuck paid, true to his word, leading you out the restaurant and back to his car. once in, he didn’t take off immediately. sitting in silence, the two of you exchanged a couple of looks before he said with a smirk, “let’s date.”

you were barely caught off guard, nodding minutely, and looking him in the eye. “yeah, let’s date." it was a blessed day for donghyuck, one that would always replay in his mind from that day onward. he thanked whatever higher entity graced him with just the perfect words, just the perfect actions, and just the perfect scenarios to get you from hating him to looking at him with such adoration in your eyes. all in one night.

it was a miracle day, a shared thought by the two of you.

it had been a wild forty-six hours since donghyuck had dropped you off at your apartment. the sunlit sky was just about to tip into the depths of night and donghyuck had come to pick you up to hang out with the rest of your friends. the only one of the boys who knew of the progression with donghyuck at the moment was jeno, the one boy you could never keep anything from, and he still thought that you were simply playing out a giant prank on him. you felt giddy, with the rush of newfound feelings for a handsome boy you could call your own. 

approaching his and his friend’s house, an unsettling feeling began to gather in the pit of donghyuck’s stomach. around you, he found it rather comfortable to just lay back and speak his thoughts. the last couple days spent with you had shown him that you liked donghyuck the way he was, and even though his fun side was appreciated, it wasn’t needed. but coming up to the front door and bringing out his keys, he thought of how he would act with the boys and you in the same room. 

“wow, who would’ve thought these two would come together?” it was jaemin that spoke, his eyes narrowing at you, coming in tow behind donghyuck. “imagine how awkward the drive must’ve been. y/n hates his guts.” this time, it was renjun that spoke, his lips curling into a smile as he conjured the thought of a silent, glare-filled drive. “actually,” donghyuck began countering, “we’re dating now.” 

the room fell silent as they watched donghyuck wrap his arm around your waist, your head finding a place on his shoulder. suddenly, after seven whole seconds, the room burst into a cacophony of commotion, jeno dragging you to the side to question if you were sane, jaemin and renjun laughing at the absurdity but taking time to spout a few incoherent sentences, and jisung and chenle openly gawking at the unfolding situation.

it was a whole twenty minutes before everyone started to notice how quiet donghyuck was, only talking when he was talked to and even then, replying with straight and not sarcastic answers. all the boys seemed to find it strange and renjun finally voiced, “the hell happened to you, did y/n threaten you or something?”

the world seemed to shrink around him as donghyuck felt his throat constrict, looking between you and the boys as if any of you could give him a clue as to what to say. your eyes were just as curious as the rest but he knew they held some sort of expectation. you’d grown to like the real donghyuck, not the funny, boisterous one. but the boys were all expecting him to burst into giggles and crack jokes like they were all he was made of. his head whirled, not wanting to choose between you or his friends and feeling like the entire situation was unfair. it was unfair that he couldn't rest easy just being himself. that he had to be a certain someone in front of his friends so that he could feel like a friend. but despite the inner rumbling of thoughts, he ended up plastering a wide grin onto his face, quipping back at renjun with a, “‘course she did, she hates my guts.”

the boys all glanced at you expectedly, seeing if you would laugh at what your boyfriend had said. now it was you that felt uncomfortable. squirming under all the stares of your friends, you could only give a small smile, feigning a chuckle, before the boys deemed that enough to move on. it's right then and there that you realized exactly what the fuck you'd gotten yourself into. you felt the teeniest bit disappointed, in him and in yourself. him for having all that damned pride and you, for forgetting that he had all that damned pride. 

it was at the forty-eighth hour of your relationship when you finally had the chance to drag the boy into the silent laundry room off the hall and confront him, dumping him for the first time because what the hell were you thinking? the usual, careful (not carefree) y/n that you'd known all your life had been replaced with this foreign and terribly impulsive persona in the face of a pretty boy. somehow, you’d let feeling of infatuation and desire revert all your cumulative dating experience and deem your rationality useless. all for a boy. a boy who could go on for days about how you weren’t ‘one of them’ when he really meant that he just thought you were prettier than the others. you felt like you were really just another one of his date-and-ditch girls. like he was slapping his dick in your face, and not even in a sexual way.

the last day of your weekend elapsed quickly and you had already found yourself cornered by donghyuck before your first class. you would have blatantly ignored him, had he not been screaming your name at the top of his lungs, alerting everyone within a mile radius. his face was drawn into a playful grin and you felt yourself cringe internally because you couldn’t piece together how you could’ve possibly dated a boy that would yell at you to get your attention with a goddamned smirk on his face the day after you had dumped him. 

dragging him by the elbow to the nearest bench, you forcibly sat him in the seat, looking down at him like a mother giving her child a scalding glare for misbehaving. his face now donned something you hoped was guilt but edged the line of being shameful. “why are you embarrassing me? it’s nine in the morning.”

indeed, his voice was small and he seemed upset that you used such a reprimanding tone on him. “sorry, i just wanted to get your attention.”

“and now you have it,” you huffed, “what do you want?”

once again, without missing a beat, he blurted out, “to get back together.”

your mind longed to reminisce the feeling of his eyes, sincere, on yours but even then, you felt like a joke to him. “no.”

“but y/n-“

“no, hyuck. i don’t want to be another one of your girls that you think are 'pretty enough' to take to that fancy little restaurant you frequent.”

“you’re not.”

“oh, so all of a sudden i mean so much to you.”

“not all of a sudden, i- i’ve-“

donghyuck’s throat closed up before he could let you divulge in his little secret. he knew he would’ve probably been better off telling you the truth, as embarrassing as it would be for him, but it was too early, he told himself. he wanted to be sure about your feelings for him. he wanted to build a relationship with you, not pressure you with words he knew you weren’t ready for.

“you’ve what? lost your ability to speak?”

oh, how he would’ve loved that snappy attitude of yours had it not been directed at his poor self. he gulped visibly before settling for a half truth that wouldn’t make you freak out and avoid him like the plague, “i’ve started to like you, y/n. and not the way i like the others. you’re different, i swear.”

you bit down harshly at your lip, wondering if you were destined a shitty love with a disloyal boy. shaking your head, you pulled your phone from your tote, more than ever wanting class to start as soon as possible. to donghyuck’s dismay, it was. slipping your phone back, you raised your head to be met with wide eyes and you cursed yourself for almost wanting to ruffle his hair or tug at his cheeks or pull him into a hug… anything to get that little pout off his face. but you digressed, giving him a placid smile and a, “i have class, see you later,” before turning on your heel, thankful that you hadn’t succumbed to such silly urges.

class had been uneventful, a flurry of taking notes that you would later go back to and realize didn’t even make sense. your friend and usual seat partner, dayoung, had decided that today was the day to ditch. you supposed she’d either blacked out from drinking or had an incurable hangover, the cost of her monstrous drinking habits. it was a shame, you thought while packing up, that you would have to go to the cafeteria alone and eat alone. 

exiting the lecture hall, you’re met with donghyuck once again, eyes burrowed into his phone. his brows are drawn together in concentration before he hears the shuffling of feet, courtesy of your fellow classmates, and you saw how he immediately searched the crowd for you, or you're assuming. you wanted to screech at him, what in the name of god was he thinking? picking you up after class? but you turned on your heel, almost getting ready to sprint to the back door of the building. before you could even get two steps in, donghyuck’s fingers were gently tugging at your elbow, forcing you into a spin to face the culprit of your classroom daydreams. his grip tightened as if afraid you’ll shrug him off and you saw the way he nervously shoved his phone into his back jean pocket, fumbling around for a bit until it finally slotted in. he let go of you rather abruptly, seemingly suddenly aware that his hand was there in the first place, and cleared his throat a little louder than he had aimed to.

“do you want to go get lunch with me?” his voice was shy, and it caught you off guard in the slightest because of how collected he seemed. nevertheless, you’re persistent if nothing.

“no, i’m eating with dayoung.” the lie fell past your lips like honey and you’re about to give yourself a mental pat on the back when a small, knowing smile eased onto the boy's face.

“dayoung’s at jaemin’s. she’s got a bad hangover from yesterday’s party.” damn, you would’ve been celebrating two victories, one for successfully lying and another for being right about dayoung’s tendencies, if you hadn’t forgotten that the girl was jaemin’s girlfriend and that jaemin was one of donghyuck's best friends. your lips flattened into a thin line as you grasped at nonexistent excuses to toss at him. his smile had widened, the light in his eyes shining, before he, again, took you by the elbow and led you to his car, admittedly not giving a fuck as to whether you were okay with it or not.

“come on, i didn’t wait a whole hour and a half outside to just let you go off on your own.” his little comment had you stopping in your tracks. he looked back at you, confused, the little frown on your face igniting unease in his mind. “you waited?”

“of course i did, baby.”

“don’t call me that.”

“okay fine, y/n.”

“why would you wait?”

“because i like you,” another smirk, “i said what i said and i meant what i said.”

(it’s not everyday that flustered!y/n enters the chat but when she does, god, hyuck swears he’s never been more in love with just the way someone blushes. he loves it, he lives for it.)

you escaped the gaze of his star struck eyes by stalking to the passenger side of the car, standing by the door and waiting for him to unlock the vehicle. willing himself out of his fanboy trance, he thumbs the key in a hurry and gets into the drivers’ seat with even more enthusiasm. with each progressing second he spends with you, he can't help but want more and more to get to know you. his actions were eager, putting the car in reverse, easing out of the parking spot, fingers nimble on the gear stick. as usual, the drive was dead silent off to a place that donghyuck didn’t bother to mention. you figured out soon enough though, as he parked the car in front of a local thai restaurant. as you gathered your belongings, he took the opportunity to quicken his exit to open the door for yours. “you don’t have to do that, you know. i’m perfectly capable.”

donghyuck didn’t let your statements derail him as he also opened the door to the restaurant for you. you gave him a disapproving frown, even considering to just not go in, before begrudgingly entering. the place had a cozy feel to it, somewhat akin to a rainforest cafe except without the fake exotic animals and random trees. donghyuck rushed, as if it were his life’s duty, to pull out a seat for you, and you willingly let him see your eye roll. “i know you’re capable, y/n, i just want to do it for you, really.”

you scrunched your nose in distaste and ignored his late reply, opting to skim through the thickly binded menus the waitress had set upon the table. you take it upon yourself to order this time, despite having never been to the place, but you figured a pad thai and khao pad were the way to go. his eyes were on you the whole time, watching the way you articulated yourself to the waitress. you knew this but pretended, for the sake of your heart, to be oblivious to his antics.

unsurprisingly, donghyuck slipped back into his usual persona that he seemed to portray whenever he was around you. being in his immediate presence seemed to make your heart quake these days, reminding you of his charming smiles and smooth lines. maybe it was because of this that made you think it was a bit too selfish to assume that dating him would mean that he would willingly change his entire reputation, you doubted he liked you that much. 

by the end of the meal the two of you were sporting matching shy smiles, feet fiddling with each other under the table and silent snickers with flirty cocked eyebrows. the air felt different when you were around him, the him that you adored. he made the worries on your shoulders lift and lightened the tight hold that life had on your heart. donghyuck was good to you, in all the ways that mattered and in all the ways that did not. it was a shame that you didn't let yourself fall for him sooner. 

he took the initiative to end the mini date there, briefly informing you that he would be dropping you off at your apartment before the car ride blanched out into an airy silence. it would have been outright ignorant for you to dismiss the way your heart pressed against your chest and how it beat quicker than whatever pop song that was tuning in the background of your worries. thinking, you felt it was something that you should take upon yourself to right the situation. whatever you were feeling, whatever he had told you about how he was feeling, was something you just couldn't ignore. staring listlessly into the abyss of the creamy satin that laid against your lap, you took deep breaths that shuddered the nerves on your spine. donghyuck was an ex, but you also dated and broke up with him in such a flurry of emotions that there was no way to tell if it was justified or not. 

pulling into a spot outside your building you rushed your mind to do anything, say anything. "hyuck," you began, not even in full comprehension of what you were about to say. his ears perked and his heart lurched at your usage of his nickname, the feeling of closeness boosting his confidence and affection for you. "yes?" 

"what if we- no, i-," grappling at your hair you felt the words come short as they neared being voiced aloud. donghyuck could sense the tension that you incited with your stuttering but he felt drawn to the way your eyes flitted to everything except his own. he wanted them on his own. letting his weight shift onto the middle console of the front seat, you allowed his careful fingers to caress your chin and lift your sights to him. donghyuck's eyes were warm and inviting and instead of feeling a chorus of nerves, your voice found strength in the expression that graced his features.

"yesterday... i think i made a mistake," his eyes narrowed and his fingers moved to cup your cheeks in his hand. "what do you mean by that?"

"i mean, i want to get back together. i'm sorry if it seemed like i was expecting something from you."

donghyuck openly stared at you, wanting to memorize the way your face fell shy and conserved. he wanted to be the one to open up your heart and to be the one to treasure it. he wanted it all. so while you busied yourself with rapid blinking, your mouth opening and closing in attempts to cover up what you thought might have been yet another mistake on your part, he closed the distance between your lips and his, in a fateful crash. there was a certain passion with which he kissed you with that told a tale of longing and thoughtfulness. he was as warm as he looked, his lips showing you more than he had said in words. from a small but heartfelt kiss, you saw him in so many ways you hadn't before. his sincerity leaked through the simple but profound way he subtly sucked on your bottom lip and in your state of realization, you tried your best to form words from the emotions that had dawned upon you. with a hand on his neck, light but rubbing deep circles you leaned back into his space so that your breath would tickle with his, "i don't know how much i like you, hyuck. i can't even give you an estimate but i know that i like you. that, i know for sure."

"and that's all i need to know, baby." donghyuck slid the hand on your cheek to take purchase of the crown of your head and brought your figure into his. your arms fell down to his back, encasing him, as your temple hit the skin above his collarbones. he felt like home more than anything else. years of knowing of him and only days of actually getting to know him were all you needed for your heart to calm with his gaze, goosebumps to smooth over with his touch. donghyuck, you believed, was a good man, a beautiful, sunkissed man with a hearty laugh that would ring in your ears even in the moments after.

hyuck's presence, in so many ways, was already mounting to more than you thought it ever would and it was something that nagged in the back of your mind, ever so slightly, between the waves of adoration that swept through you with every interaction you held with him. it was dangerous territory, you thought, to be left alone without his persona by your side because then you would be utterly alone. alone to all your thoughts that kept you up at night because rationally, none of this made sense. rationally, he should not have been able to penetrate through your defenses, to break down your façade, to see the real you. it was a matter of days, not weeks, not even months, much less years. rationally, liking him was a no go. and being with him in any serious context was out of the question.

"woah. dragging me into the laundry room. well that can only mean two things, honeybee." his little remark would normally incite a small eye roll but you're too far in your head to really process the lightness of his joke, the lightness of his tone. two deep breaths, keep your hands away from him.

"hyuck, let's call this off." a serious tone.

"wait what?" it's been like barely a day." his gleaming eyes seemed to take it in anything but seriousness.

"i don't think i really thought this through. i just- it's all a little quick don't you think?."

"but babe look-"

"i'm sorry, again, but i really am not looking for something serious with you. that's what you want and i don't want to be the one who drags this on and makes it harder for me and you. whatever this was. let's just preten-"

"y/n, i'm not going to pretend this never happened, okay?" a pause, "because i know something happened. maybe you can't get serious with me but i know, for a fact, that you felt something at one point or another in this… this relationship." donghyuck's eyes are glossed over now with fresh tears. the very eyes that were filled with glee not two minutes ago. despite how wretched he looks, he continues without a hitch.

"you wanna break up? fine. i respect that but don't fucking say that this never happened. don't deny that what you felt, what i saw, never happened. it happened, baby. we happened."

taken aback in humiliation, you blinked back the oncoming wave of tears that were threatening to fall. he was right, you were impulsive, and indecisive, and though it was nowhere in your intentions to be selfish, that's what you were. two times now, that you've fucked yourself over.

and with your leave, donghyuck found himself at square one. or even negative one. he dated you, he dated you and he still found a way to ward you off, again. not even four days in total had he dated you and he felt the knots in his stomach tighten and curl up against his internal organs. he fucked it up, no matter if it was you that broke it off. he couldn't help but think that he was the one that scared you away. that he was the one that pushed you to fall for him so quickly and carelessly with flirty smiles and stupid chivalrous actions. donghyuck felt the tension build in his insides because he was so enamoured with being yours, for catching your eye, you heart, that he forgot to build a relationship with you, to build trust and reliability with you.

now, if you were to even look back on your relationship with him, or to even look at him in any sort of romantic way, you would only see the boy who could win smiles and little flutters of hearts but never any more than that. he found himself in the pits of regret and utter annoyance at his past self because he couldn't take a step back, for even one second, and show you more of how much of a partner he could be. he drowned in the possibility that he would only ever mark as pretty sex appeal and quick playboy fling in your charts. peak devastation.

but you, you will never admit the twist in your heart as you slipped out of the laundry room that day. not to hyuck, not to jeno, not to yourself. whatever games you believed hyuck to be playing on you, whatever games your own mind was playing on yourself, you were through with it. there was no way around that. 

a headache, in bed. maybe a bedache. uncomfortable no matter how you positioned yourself. the sheets were crisp but cold to the touch and you found yourself drawing your limbs nearer to your torso, your arms encircling them to ensure a warmth. perhaps this bedache had been brought on by how you hadn't left the bed since early last night, how the sun had been up for awhile now, or even by the phone pressed between your left ear and those crisp sheets. radioactive stuff, you figured. jeno was drawling on and on, about what you couldn't put a finger on. if your best friend was any one thing in the world, he was a rambler. never knew when to stop and could never comprehend the general mood of the room. especially when it was just the two of you, you couldn't help but have your mind wander off onto other topics because frankly, you weren't sure if he himself knew what he was saying at this point. maybe if he could pick up on the fact that you were tired, or so so out of it then he would stop. maybe if he was a little more adept in noticing things about you, maybe if he was a little more like… like hyuck. 

hell, you would've totally crushed on jeno if he had just a bit more common sense in social interactions (it's a total wonder how he has such an attentive girlfriend). but no, if anything hyuck was more your type than any of the guys in the group. huh, hyuck. how did he even end up in your train of thought? 

sprawling your back flat upon the mattress, the cold curling up your tendons and rippling a small shiver down your spine, you thought about the events of yesterday morning. breaking up with hyuck--a good choice decidedly--suddenly seemed like a dick move on your part. surely you could've just worked through it right? you liked him, undoubtedly, why was it so hard to stay with him? the possibility of being hurt was relatively low, despite who he was, you figured because of how he acted around you, gentlemanly. the possibility of it ending up more than just a frenzied fling was also very high, with how much you had liked him in consideration. your mind was going on, still to this moment, about how quick it had been, about your secret fears of it being no more than a joke, about how you had seriously fallen for such a joking person. but then again, you couldn't just call him up and tell him, "hi, it's y/n. let's date. again. because i suddenly feel okay with it. again." (though in all honesty, donghyuck would still say yes). 

the best course of action, you decided, was to wait it out. maybe school could keep your mind off of him and before you know it, the sight of him wouldn't make you suddenly self-conscious. and the sound of his voice wouldn't make the hairs stand straight at the nape of your neck. the aftereffects of his boisterous smile would stop, for once, from making your heart disentangle itself from the hold of your ribcage and the butterflies would stop flying all together. to your dismay, monday morning was comparably awful, just godawful.

your eyes are still wide and you're only slightly panicking when you say with a flat voice, “repeat.” donghyuck heaves another exasperated sigh. “i said,” he gives you a look that either means he thinks you’re annoying or he thinks you’re stupid (or both), “renjun thinks we’re still dating so he made a bet with me that if we stay together for a whole month, he owes me a hundred bucks.” his sneakers are tapping in such a rhythmic fashion that your eyes feel like they’ve been tranced but they’re pulled to his face when you finally process his words. “wha-“

you’re attempted response is cut short when he says, eyes rolling back, “i’ll split it if you fake it with me.” gosh, you wanted to smack him. you weren’t tight on money at the moment but an extra fifty dollars for a new dress, or the pair of heels you’ve been eyeing, or maybe even that one overpriced lipstick…your mouth seemed to work faster than your mind. “fine, a month,” his face lit up at your words, “but nothing extra, like no weird stuff when we’re alone.”

he nodded, a smirk slowly forming alongside his retort, “that is, if you can resist my pretty face.” it was your turn to roll your eyes and shove his frame farther away from yours as you were reminded of every reason you hated this kid. he was annoying, no way around that. you checked your phone and it lit up with a 9:57. you were going to be late for class.

you took brisk steps away from the boy towards your class across campus, not even bothering to bid him a farewell. "hey, wait up," he jogged to your left, trying to match your pace, "where you going? i thought we should drop by my place, renjun should be there with the rest of the boys." you quickened your steps, making sure that donghyuck couldn't distract you further before answering curtly, "i have class in like, less than three minutes." instead of backing off like he should've he only sidled up to you more saying, "oh okay, what class?" you huffed, clearly distressed that he couldn't take the hint and just go. "organic chem." 

at that, his face seemed to grow even more excited, for god knows what reason, and he caught up with your fast-moving frame with a few skips, "at the kinley building? 'cause i could drive you." this time, you stopped in your tracks, weighing your options. if you declined and walked the whole way, there was the possibility you'd be late and donghyuck would probably tag along as well. if you went with him, there was no doubt you'd make it in time. you figured you would have to suffer being in his presence either way so might as well make it to class on time. "sure,” you muttered under your breath, upset that you had agreed to all his inquiries today.

his left hand clasped around your wrist, as if to lead you to his car, but you promptly unhooked it, not even chancing a glance at his face as you followed behind him. skinship had been prominent while you and him were dating, despite the time being short, and you didn't hate it but it freaked you out nonetheless how he could be so touchy without knowing you all that well. 

approaching the parking lot, you could already spot his beat up 1998 honda civic, sporting the signature scratched navy blue paint. sliding into his car, you could recall the very first night he'd taken you to dinner. how his cheeks had been pink the entire drive there, anxious that you would notice the remnant smell of the fried chicken he had the night before. you could remember, with striking detail, how clouded your mind had been and how you'd let donghyuck's childish antics keep you from realizing what exactly you'd done.

shaking your head from the memories, you kept your gaze straight and mouth shut for the rest of the ride; donghyuck seemed to notice this and followed suit. you were struggling to think about anything except the boy next to you but you persisted to fight it because the complications were too much for you, donghyuck was too much for you.

class? uneventful. your mind? bustling. with what? donghyuck, donghyuck, donghyuck, and fucking donghyuck. the end of class signals an expectation you were pondering in class and upon exiting, you find it to be true. donghyuck is leaning up against the wall adjacent to the door to the lecture hall you were just in and he's already smiling at you, kind and sweet. the drive to the boys' house is strikingly quiet in the most uncomfortable way possible but it's immediately the least of your worries when you pull up upon the driveway of the cornflower blue painted house. donghyuck pulls the keys from the car and you don't allow him to open the door up for you, stepping out just as he reaches for the handle. his hand, hovering midair, swoops back to the curls at the foot of his neck, twirling them as if he was originally to make a dramatic gesture out of a simple act.

before donghyuck can turn the key into the keyhole, he sets an arm around your shoulders, without looking you in the eye and clears his throat. "we might wanna at least seem, you know…" his comment is received with your head on his shoulder, the same position the two of you were in while walking into this very house less than a week ago. he chances a glance down at you but regrets because his face is quite literally all up in your space. he can see the little ridges of your eyelids and the individual hairs of your eyebrows, all the miniscule details of the light makeup you adorned and the blush on your cheeks that's far too pink to be solely composed of any powder or swash. he briefly wonders if the causation is of his sudden proximity but is interrupted when the door in front of you splits open, the keys departing from donghyuck's clutches and jangling against the wood. 

his face is still mere centimeters from yours and renjun is looking, delighted and sickened at the same time so you take the liberty to peck a quick kiss upon the bridge of donghyuck's nose before shooting a shy smile at renjun and brushing past him into the house, leading hyuck by the hand. the boy himself is halfway zoned out because of the fact that you had initiated pda first. snapping from his momentary daze, he feels a sudden courage surge through his chest, his flirty sweet attitude fully consuming the doubt and insecurities that were once peeking through his composure.

"so how you guys holding up this time around?" renjun questions as he perches himself at the edge of a one person couch, already occupied by jisung. the younger boy pushes him off playfully and is, in turn, shot a death glare and a muttered curse. jisung merely shrugs which makes the aforementioned boy even more riled up, the whole situation giving you and donghyuck a few moments to give each other looks confirming who's to be answering. his little nudge gets you spitting whatever tumbles out first.

"better than ever actually, we're kinda just ignoring the fact that that first breakup happened. you know, it was just a small fight." donghyuck's eyes nearly bulge out at your slip up but he's already wracking his brain for a backup reason in case renjun catches the mistake.

"first? what do you mean first?" you can already see the smirk growing on renjun's face, preparing for his hundred bucks. thankfully donghyuck, quick-witted as ever, is right on his tail, "yeah we got broke up a few hours after we got back together, a sick joke on y/n's part."

silently, praising hyuck for how skillfully he handled the near-debacle, you follow up with a realistic, "you thought it was funny too though, don't act like you didn't enjoy my acting!" at this, renjun's quirked eyebrow returns to its rightful place and he retrieves his phone from his jacket pocket to get everyone's pizza preferences for delivery. jaemin enters at this moment. his eyes are sparkling with mirth and he's walking backwards, both hands interlaced with a noticeably tipsy dayoung. 

"shit, dayoung. already? it's three in the afternoon," you voice while ambling in her direction. you see the way she barely acknowledges you while burying her face into jaemin's chest, mumbling incoherent sentences but jaemin supplies your question by telling you that, "she had a shit day, forgot to write a whole essay and a half." blinking in somewhat understanding, you then cross the room to where donghyuck is now sitting on the couch and while he pats his lap, you take the spot on the floor in front of him so that his knees peer at the sides of your head. immediately, you feel him sit up to accomodate you by softly raking his fingers through your hair.

dayoung, currently sitting smack in front of the tv and successfully obstructing everyone's viewing experience, now speaks with a slightly more sober tone, "ya, y/n, i can't believe you didn't tell me that you and donghyuck are dating. i had to figure out through jaemin. imagine how shocked i was to hear that! i thought you absolutely despised him…" the room is awfully silent and you hear the beginnings of words come from donghyuck behind you when dayoung finishes up her little spiel, "... i always thought you liked him though, or at least thought you two looked good together." 

the rest of the boys beside donghyuck are absolutely loosing their shit because y/n liked hyuck for how long?! donghyuck is equally loosing his shit though he tries his best to suppress the blush that's sure to be washing over his features. his heart is pumping at a haphazard pace and his fingers have slid down from your hair to your neck, then shoulders. he hopes you can't feel the shakiness and lack of confidence that seeps through his demeanor, making his pupils shake and ever so conscious of how you are stilled in this moment. donghyuck wants to see the look on your face.

your face, unbeknownst to the boy behind you, holds no surprise. dayoung had said that same line to you over and over again, claiming that your dislike towards the boy was all part of a covert operation to mask your true feelings for him. in all honesty, the topic of this had replayed in your head for quite some time as well because although in the forefront of your mind you knew that you genuinely did not like donghyuck's character, you couldn't help but ponder the specifics of why exactly you always sought to be upset with him when really you could have minded your own business. and with that thought, you seldom admitted to yourself that donghyuck did draw some sort of your attention to him, attraction or just wonder in general.

you almost want to rush and clap a hand over her mouth as another of her drunken speeches comes into play but she beats you to the chase. "let's go on a double date! or triple, yes, triple! i wanna see this 'relationship' up close, y'all are suspiciously cute." 

donghyuck's heart speeds and yours drops.

turns out, drunk dayoung and sober dayoung are pretty alike when thinking, proven by how sober dayoung had no recollection of her drunken triple date proposal but had also suggested the same exact thing in a sober state. the mirrored version of you that you are so carefully inspecting at the moment looks slightly fucked up, you think. sure, your outfit and makeup are on point as usual but it's the way your stomach churns and eyes shift uneasily that give way to how you're really feeling. nervous. 

walking over to where your small array of handbags are perched upon the windowsill above your fair selection of shoes, you slip on a simple pair of square-toed picnic heels to go with your blue and white 'modern-day belle from beauty in the beast' look. your doorbell sounds throughout the apartment just as you're about to pick out a bag and you scuffle over, still trying to get your toes lined up, to the front door so as to not keep donghyuck waiting. upon opening, you give the boy a quick once-over before deciding that his simple outfit of washed blue loose fit jeans and a semi-fitting white shirt matched perfectly to your own.

"am i approved?"

a small smile graces your features before you nod lightly, turning your back to him but leaving the door open at his leisure. "you most certainly are." stepping within the confines of your space, donghyuck's face breaks into a childlike grin when he notes, "look at us, we're even matching."

you give him an absentminded chuckle in agreement, much too focused on whether a wickered crossbody or the pearled mini tote would do your coordination justice. shaking your head in a frenzy you snatch up the pearled item, astounded that you even thought of introducing a whole new color and texture into an already perfect ensemble. donghyuck watches with an amused grin but paid more attention to your actual apartment than the girl that lived in it. suddenly, you're aware that this is his first time being allowed up into the premises and how awkward this would play out in your mind now that you're aware but you do your best to shake the thought and return to loading your bag with your assigned lipstick, keys, and phone before ushering the boy out altogether.

the two of you are the last to arrive of the three couples, unsurprising to him only. donghyuck will never leave this out for discussion but he purposely drives slowly, so as to give himself as much time with you as possible, even if you end up hissing scornfully at his delayed turn and the way the space between the car you're in and the car in front always seems to increase. 

with the drive in consideration, you are slightly annoyed as you exit the car without the assistance of donghyuck and is slightly relieved to see jeno and jaein walking from the parking lot as well. catching up to them, again without donghyuck, you make small talk with jaein while jeno eyes you will curiosity. before you can jump head first into a heated debate about your shared nutrition professor with jaein, donghyuck's arms slots behind your back and you're startled for a split second. noticing the glare you give hyuck, jeno asks good-naturedly, "something happen on the drive here?"

huffing exasperatedly but relieved you get the opportunity to complain, you reply in the most sincere manner given the topic of discussion. "hyuck here, drives so unbelievably slow, i don't know how we got here even remotely on time." said boy is chuckling with an amused face but removes his arm from the small of your back and instead intertwines your fingers. he adores it when you get riled up with insignificant actions. shaking your head, you let donghyuck lead you to the end of the clearing where jaemin and dayoung are at looking across the landscape.

it certainly is the most picturesque spot for a date, the lavender fields sprawling lazily between the two hills. along the view there are several, maybe five or six, couples that seem to have gotten the same idea in coming here but you're pleased that today would be a fairly undisturbed date. your group of six quickens the pace along the trodden dirt path and you're all too aware that wearing heels, albeit low, with a stick heel was a nightmare on soft terrain. you found yourself sinking into the ground with each step of the way and it's only natural that hyuck picks up on this, being only steps behind you, hands still interlocked and now sweaty. 

he switches the hand in which he holds yours and connects his other with your adjacent. taking a large step, you feel his front press against your back as his voice pulses softly into your ears, "want me to carry you, babe?" a chortle crossed with a scoff passes your lips but before you could quip back a line on just how capable you were, the heel of your left shoe caught particularly deep in the soil and upon trying to retrieve it, your balance was replaced with incoordination. hyuck steadies you by moving his left hand around your waist and rights your stance but then slides his other arm beneath the alcove of your inner knees and swiftly removes your weight off the floor. you're not left breathless or starstruck by his smooth actions but his eyes, now matching your gaze, are enough to stop you from retorting to his kind gestures. surely, he meant nothing more of it than a simple solution to a friend's problem and a token of performative pda.

arriving at a particular grassy clearing about half a quarter mile into the field, you see that jaemin and dayoung who were at the head of the group had already spread wide the picnic blanket they had brought, the large wicker basket that jaemin had looped around his arm on the way here was seated atop. donghyuck only lets you down only when he's right at the foot of the blanket and dayoung gives you a playful grin, which you return with a shit-eating one of your own, followed by a giggle that erupts from jaein as a spectator of the scene. the weather is warm but not hot, the rays of the sun light on the skin and far from blinding, and the grass is dewy but dry enough for it to stop from clamping through the thin fabric of the pink blanket. sure, you admit, a triple date on a day like this, with a view like this, was definitely a good idea.

hyuck makes sure to grab a few napkins as soon as the basket is opened and he trods back over to where he had set you down, crouching and lifting your left shoe off your foot so he could clean the soiled heel. he does the same for the other, all whilst you're looking up at him with such sincere and loving eyes. it is far from intentional but donghyuck knows that the easiest way to your heart is found in simple but profoundly touching actions. 

an hour into the brunch, you seem to have grown accustomed to donghyuck feeding you food, refilling your drink, and just being the most attentive you have ever seen him be. you chalk it up to the fact that he's just closer to the platters of food set in the center of the blanket as well as the fact that he needs to make as much of a show as he can out of this. chatter is pleasant, the other two couples equally as enamoured with one another over the whole group in itself, giving perfect leeway for donghyuck to squeeze in some one-on-one time. 

"y/n," his voice causes your head to snap in his direction, eyes wide. "what?"

hyuck licks his lips, eyes glancing down to your own before realizing that now was definitely not the time. you felt like you could see the gears turning in his head when he answered, "let's go take pictures." nodding, you let him help you up and lead you to the nearest path, his hand guiding you slowly so as to not cause another inbalance. the path he chose ended up circling down further into the valley and he walks you down until the terrain flattened and treads back up the slope to get a picture of the flowers fanning out around you on all sides. his breath catches, keeps catching, with each second he stands there, focusing more on the little you on the screen than the picture he was taking of you. a few shots later and jaemin and dayoung had rounded upon the spot as well, jaemin offering to take some photos of the two of you together.

a light smile forms on donghyuck's features as he nears you, eyes glistening at contact with yours. perhaps it’s the way love simply works but he swears that even mother nature kneels before you, outlining your skin with a glow that could only be achieved with true happiness, the rays of light reflecting in your eyes gleam like pools of honey, and the way the flowers fan around you that made your figure seem even more sublime. hyuck blinks his running thoughts away as he makes haste to set an arm around your waist, tugging you closer to him. he can quite literally feel your head turn to look at his side profile, your nose barely dusting the heights of his cheekbones. he sucks in a breath and turns face-to-face with you as well, momentarily slowing time and the whole 'posing for a picture' scheme escaping his mind. 

"okay, i got it. you guys looks so good together, who knew!" jaemin squeals, effectively drawing your attention away from his stare. you pick up on the small, "i knew," that dayoung lets out in a distaste full tone and exchange a funny glance with her. bringing hyuck's arm from behind you and lacing fingers with him instead, you beam up at the other couple as you offered to take a few shots of them as well. 

the six of you only spend an hour longer at that destination, being full-time college students didn't exactly allow full-fledged dates but with the time considered, you had fun. slipping back into the passenger seat of hyuck's car, with the boy closing the door shut behind you, you rummage through your handbag to find the packet of blotting paper you are sure you put in there. just as you see it, your eyes catch onto a bright red, packaged candy lodged in the far corner. donghyuck returns to his side of the car just as you withdraw the stick from the bag, eyes gleaming as you held it out for him to see. 

"that's-"

"the lollipop you gave me, that day, at the valentine's dance." you give a small childlike chuckle before unwrapping the candy. he looks almost distressed, "and you're eating it now?" 

"yeah, why the heck not."

"i mean, i thought that you'd save it for, you know, sentimental value." your eyebrows raise with his comment.

"huh, i never pegged you as one who cared about that kinda stuff." 

"i- well, i guess there's never a better time to learn."donghyuck took a deep breath.

"how 'bout this then?" you position the lollipop up and slightly to the left of his face as your other hand busies around the bag for your phone. swiping to the camera, you take a few shots of donghyuck's confused, enlightened, and then smiling face before withdrawing, "how's that for sentimental value?"

his eyes are in full acknowledgement of your cheeky attitude but he's thrown off guard just a few seconds later when your phone is thrust in his face, your lockscreen the same picture you'd taken moments ago. "cute, right?"

donghyuck's hands are shaking as he reverses the car from the parked spot with feigned ease. "yeah, real cute," he mutters under his breath but just at the right pitch for you to hear. the small smile that graces your snickering expression just shoves it further into his face that any way he tries to rationally run from you, he'd end up right back in your presence, drawn to you in ways even he cannot yet comprehend. he knows that no matter if he tries to avoid the fact that every moment spent with you further solidifies his daydreams into reality or tries to delude himself into thinking that he's in this solely for the fifty bucks, either way, he's fucked. 

donghyuck's beyond stressed and more than ever wishing that time could work in his favor for once and pick up pace past the worrisome week ahead. he has an inkling that the library is already packed to the brim but he's convinced that if he wishes hard enough for a spot, one will magically clear itself for his studies. with no time to waste, he power walks past the information desk, past several rows of rich literature, and into the open field of desks. his suspicions, as they turned out, were right. each and every seat was occupied by one of many equally stressed out college students, cramming for the first day of finals that marked just under eight hours from now. donghyuck takes a roundabout the whole floor, just to make sure that he wasn't missing out on one of the coveted cushioned seats by the walls if any happened to be free. he's about to exit the premises, regret lining his already deteriorating mindset at the thought of having to  memorize two months of information with chenle's music blasting from above, all three of jeno's cats taking purchase of his lap, and jisung entering every four minutes for entertainment purposes. 

he really is about to exit, that is, until he sees you at the far corner of the establishment, earbuds tucked in securely, a sprawl of two computers, a tablet, three open books, and a whole ass stationary store displayed in front of you. in between two tall shelves and peering through a few books, he knows that if anyone were to comb their eyes about the room, they'd think him to be stalking. weighing his options, he decides to let you study in peace, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on in that organized mess of yours. 

donghyuck contemplates though, with the consideration that you had to have been at the library for a fairly decent amount of time to have secured such a good spot. the second the idea is brought to mind, he rushes out the building, almost sprinting and earning a few dirty looks thrown in his direction.

he really wishes he had driven his car instead of biking here, something jeno had convinced him was a good idea, but he makes do with what he has and pedals furiously to the convenience store on campus, a good nine minutes away. there, he buys a few bottles of energy drinks, other extremely caffeinated stuff, candy bars, and decides after a good minute, that chips were not the way to go, the loud packaging would give away to the strict eating policies all too easily. a stupid bright smile is plastered across his face, even as he finds himself paying an extra dollar for a bag to hold all the items. again, pedaling back furiously, he manages to make it to the library in only eight minutes this time but it's for naught since he spends the next fifteen with one knee propped on the seat of the bike, using it as a makeshift table to write and rewrite a little note to accompany the goods. 

stuffing the paper bag into his backpack and switching it so that it's strapped on his chest rather than his back, he hurries into the vicinity to find that you're still there. donghyuck waits. he picks up a book on graduate level psychology and attempts to read it with one eye on the text and the other on you, not that that's how it works, both his eyes are really on you. he does this for a total of forty minutes until you finally get up for the restroom and on cue, donghyuck makes sure to be discreet when sliding from between two bookshelves and placing the paper bag upon your seat. he leaves promptly.

donghyuck arrives home with his heart thumping loudly, reminiscent of the feeling after running a whole marathon. his phone dings and his first thought is of you. instead, it's a reminder: religious studies final, 8:00 AM. the time above it reads 1:09 A.M., so much for 'no time to waste,' he thinks.

you're relieved that your quick restroom break was quick enough that your stuff wasn't cleared out by the snappy librarian or any other crazed undergrad. but to your confusion, your spot has now been replaced with a brown paper bag, medium in size and clandestine in contents. with careful hands, you slit open the bag, keeping your distance in the unlikely case that it was a motion-activated bomb (a valid fear, may i add). surprise lights your face as you see a few of your favorite candies, as well as a bundle of energy drinks that you so desperately need. a post-it is tacked to one of them and you pluck it up with two fingers and bring it to sight. 'hope this helps, don't get in trouble for eating tho. -ldh.' 

you pause, your breath halts. a small hand accompanies your gaping mouth that regresses into a soft smile. this boy, he was really something else. your dedicated studies continued, but were futile given the fact that all you could think about was lee donghyuck, a sweet, sweet boy who waited god knows how long for you to take a restroom break so he didn't interfere with your concentration. lee fucking donghyuck. dissolving your emotions so you could dutifully return to your misery, you let your shoulders sag, letting out a sigh, what a mess you were in. 

with finals out of the way, you're now facing the second big event of the month. a heavily anticipated move. the apartment you're currently occupying is quaint, but small, cozy, but inconvenient. unfortunately, jeno had already headed back to his hometown, having one less class and therefore one less final than you. none of your other friends were equipped with the abilities to be hauling heavy furniture to and fro so you were left to either pay someone or find someone. much of your conscious had already decided who that someone would be but you lacked the courage to carry the proposition through. 

you pondered the situation while driving to your new place that was closer to campus, larger in size, and with thicker walls so you wouldn't have to hear your neighbor pounding her boyfriend in 8D audio with only a cardboard wall to separate your eyes from the scene. pulling into a parking space you steeled your resolve and dialed the number.

he picked up in one and a half rings, "y/n? hey, what's up?" donghyuck's voice comes out raspy on your end.

"shoot did i wake you up?"

the boy clears his throat, lying he replies, "no i was just packing, do you need anything?"

"uhh, yeah. a favor. if you could, i just need someone to go to ikea with me to help carry furniture and stuff. and since jeno's out of town, i just thought i'd ask you."

"oh," he sits up straight in his bed, "yeah, yeah i can go with you. when?" 

"maybe like...now? sorry, this is so last minute.”

donghyuck is already on the move, unearthing your favorite sweatshirt of his from his already packed suitcase, "no, not at all. i'm basically done here anyways."

"right, cool. i'll text you the address. when will you be here?"

"ten minutes," he blurts out, "i- is that good?"

"okay, see you." you hang up, heart hammering in your chest. 

you wish the mirror in your new bathroom was full-length because you are currently stood atop the rim of the bathtub adjacent to it, the crown of your head unceremoniously shoved against the rail of the shower curtain, trying to get a good look at whether your ensemble is fit for the occasion. a baby blue mini crop top with a pair of loose sweats drapes your figure and you wonder if furniture shopping with the boy you like requires something a little more cohesive. sighing, you figure that all your worrying was in vain, since the moving van you ordered with all your packed up clothes in it isn’t scheduled to arrive until 6 in the evening. 

just as you finish reapplying your gloss, the doorbell sounds, the unfamiliar ring causing you to yelp in surprise. you answer the door, donghyuck's face lit with humor, "i heard that." your cheeks flame a tad bit before you realize with a pout, "oh, guess the walls aren't as thick as i thought then." donghyuck smirks, an expression that you miss but you go on to list to him the things you were planning to buy that you didn't already have moved in yet. a couch, two lamps, a nightstand, and four very specific potted plants. he watches you with sparkles in his eyes, as if they were reflecting your own.

"right let's go, then," nodding, he snatches his keys.

"your car or mine?"

"mine, the trunk's bigger," he reasons and you nod.

minutes later, you stand dumbfounded as you stare at his 'bigger trunk.'

"so you're saying, that you're gonna shove a whole ass couch in here."

"that's right, sweetie." not even thinking to correct his term of endearment, you slam the trunk door shut, nearly decking him in the head. "if it doesn't fit, i'm having you ride the bus back with the couch."

"sure thing, babe." he answers nonchalantly, seeing as you haven't caught on.

"and alone too, i'm not bouta be seen in public with a man carrying a couch on a bus."

"got it, honey." he’s beginning to enjoy this.

"shit, maybe i'll even have you pay for it if that happens."

"fine by me, love." his smile is on the verge of splitting his ears.

shutting the car door of the passenger seat closed, "gosh, what if i just send you to get the stuff by yoursel- wait, what did you just say?"

donghyuck's face shines golden in the afternoon light, "nothing, dear." 

"hyuck, you gotta be kidding me." 

"kidding about what, babygirl?" he looks as if he is to burst of happiness.

"lee donghyuck, i'm being serious." but the little smile that edges on your face gives it all away so he goes on.

"as am i, lovebug."

shaking your head, you turn to look out the window in embarrassment as donghyuck pulls out of the parking spot with the stupidest grin on his face. it isn't until you guys are halfway there that he returns to a normal calm but fails to guard his mouth from saying anymore. "you good, sweetpea?"

"hyuck…"

"c'mon, say it back, princess, i know you want to." he gives a few quick glances in your direction, eyebrows jutting up playfully.

the smallest of smiles adorn your face as you let out a, "geez, baby," muttered under your breath. the same old stupid smile is back on his face now, his ears are perked, but you can tell he’s nowhere near satisfied yet.

"what'd you say? i couldn't quite hear you."

silence.

"y/n, c’mon, what'd you say?"

"... i said...geez, my lil’ bitch."

he breaks out into ripples of harmonious laughter that ring in your ears like the first few chords of your favorite song. you follow him, peals of laughter emitting at just the sight of his joyous face. this marks the first car ride you share with the boy that isn’t bathed in complete silence but instead, smiles and comfort and bouts of flirty tension hanging in the air despite no one spectating. 

the trip to ikea is straightforward in its purpose, you point and donghyuck carries. he masks the fact that he really isn't the one for heavy lifting jobs pretty well by wiping the sweat off his forehead when you're not looking and taking gargantuous swigs of water when you're too busy measuring dimensions and surveying durability. he also makes sure he has a say in the pieces you decide on, wanting something for you to remember him by whenever you look at the extra flower print pillow cases he convinced you to buy. while you're paying at the checkout, he makes it his job to buy two vanilla ice cream cones for you to commemorate hard work. the smile and shy thank you that you give him makes him feel a good deal important. 

donghyuck ends up exerting a lot more energy than he thought he would on this little venture, shoving the gigantic box of unassembled couch half into the trunk and half into the backseat, the rest of your purchases having little to no space to themselves. you notice his fatigued state and offer to drive home in his place. he's hesitant to agree but feels the weight of his arms and complies. as soon as the car doors are shut and the overhead light goes out, the two of you take a few minutes to collect yourselves. 

"thanks for today, hyuck."

he closes his eyes, head leaning back on the headrest, "my pleasure, sweetheart." you start up the car. 

halfway into the drive you notice that donghyuck has started to nod off. feeling a little more courageous at the thought of him being unaware, you slip a hand into his, one still securely on the wheel. you smile to yourself, nodding along to the upbeat song playing on the radio, the volume turned down to the lowest dial. you pride yourself for being able to get away with the action but you only think you do. donghyuck knows the feeling of your skin on his. he knows the unmistakable sparks that ignite in his little belly of butterflies, and even if he is half asleep, he feels you more than anything. he loves you more than anything.

you convince hyuck to take the guest bedroom for the night, laying newly washed sheets on the bed just seconds before he passes out on top of them. oddly though, you yourself are woken up the following day by a string of curse words that come from the living room. groggy and barely awake, you trudge into the open space to see donghyuck with an instruction manual inches away from his face, his eyebrows drawn in. parts of the couch are sprawled all around him and you wonder when and how he woke up in the first place.

"hyuck, what're you doing?" your voice is still heavily-laden with sleep and you cross the room to the kitchen, reaching for the first water bottle you see. "woke up a bit early and thought i'd do this for you since i have to leave at 10 for my flight and i didn't want you to be doing this alone."

you crouch on the floor beside him and offer him the water which he takes. "that's...very thoughtful of you." he doesn't answer but continues assembling the pieces with a proud smile on his face. meanwhile, you busy yourself by making a small breakfast with what you have in the fridge, a simple egg, cheese, ham english muffin sandwich. he eats it gratefully by shoveling it down hurriedly so he can get back to work, giving you a few feel-good laughs. he's done in about an hour and, not without your help, the couch is up and running (or sitting) and the two of you are reclined upon it, the new-couch smell overwhelming your senses. donghyuck checks the time and mumbles a quiet, "oh shoot," before he stands up abruptly, turning to tell you with sullen eyes that he has a flight to catch. you nod and walk him to the door, standing just across the threshold from him, dolefulness apparent in your expression as well. 

"i guess i'll see you in a few weeks then," he voices as he looks up at you, tying his shoelaces.

"yeah, i guess so," your eyes never leave his, "make sure to tell your little siblings that y/n says hi okay?"

"psh, you've never even met them," donghyuck stands up straight now and you're craning your neck a little at his height.

"oh, so that one time over facetime doesn't count now?"

donghyuck gives a breathy laugh, he goes in for a hug that you reciprocate warmly. reluctance lies in his countenance as he draws back, not wanting to leave you so soon. you notice his lingering stare on you and instead of teasing him, or pointing it out, you urge him on with a hand on either side of him, "just go hyuck, i promise i'll call you later this week."

his stomach does little flips, "oh, okay," he says with a small voice, "i'll get going now then."

"okay, be safe."

"i will, babe." he just stands there looking at you with eyes full of mirth.

"oh my, hyuck, just go!" a small pout begins to form on his lips and you get the sudden urge to kiss it away.

"right, i'll be on my way." he turns away from you to walk to his car, but it's this time that you spin him back around to place a quick kiss to the lips, the smile on your face never leaving. feeling the blush beginning to seep into the skin of your cheeks, you rush back into the confines of your new apartment, leaving donghyuck to his own, flustered, devices. his feels lightheaded the whole flight back and it isn't until he is greeted at the door of his childhood home with the face of his mom, that he is brought back down from the heavens.

"donghyuck oppa has a girlfriend," his youngest sibling drawls out the last syllable as if to prolong the shock the simple statement has already inflicted upon him. his eyes are rounded and searching for any sign of disapproval in his parents’ demeanors but more so because he never intended for his family to know of your existence, seeing as it would be imminently irrelevant in just a few weeks. not only was it to dodge otherwise unimportant questions but his resolution was also linked to the fact that making you known to his immediate family felt like solidifying the ever-so-fake bond that persisted between you and him. surely, even though your relationship with him was anything but real, though was portrayed in the most real fashion, he couldn't admit to himself that the idea of you as his girlfriend in the eyes of his family brought him joy. 

he watches as his mother claps her hands together in glee, exclaiming with full vindication, "how could you not tell me, hyuck!" she asks for a picture of you, your name, last name, major, how he had come to know you, when did this happen, (did you guys do it yet), and most importantly, if he loved you. he answers a quiet yes to his mother's last question but she seems to have moved on to intently stare into his phone screen that's displaying a picture you posted on your instagram a few weeks prior at the flower field. the first being a solo shot, your hair billowing lightly in the winds that seemed to blow solely for you, the gaze of your eyes fell heavy and serious, a stark contrast to the picture a swipe away, of you and donghyuck gleaming with matching smiles that rivaled the brightness of the sun, the caption reading 'my pooh bear <3.' looking back at the picture now even, he really does understand his mothers coos and 'aws.' you did indeed look ethereal.

he blushes at the thought of you and spends the rest of dinner steering conversation away from you and you-related topics, not wanting to delude himself any further from the truths that were itching in the back of his mind, that no matter how much his mother loved you, or even how much he loved you, it'd be hard for him to say that you held the same intense emotions for him as well. donghyuck retires into the confines of his childhood room as the general buzz of his family lowers into the night and he finds himself staring at pictures of him in high school, before he had met you. he wonders, for the first time, if he liked life better back then. chubby cheeks and a terrible smile, he still remembers looking in the mirror and thinking, handsome, but it's only been a few years in college and he can't remember the last time he looked in the mirror with his first thought being something other than will she think i look okay? donghyuck's string of consciousness derails further into the depths of despair, looking back on the lengths he'd gone to get a girl to getting the girl and loosing her, getting her again and loosing her again, and having to sever his true feelings from his façade just so that he could still claim you as his.

but then he's reminded of you, and how you're so dedicated in your studies but somehow still making time for friends and family. how when you care for people you care and especially of how he feels when he is the subject of your attention. donghyuck brings his little emotional escapade into a full circle when he realizes that he would still do anything to claim you as his because he simply cannot have it any other way. that despite the consistent feeling that he might never be enough for you, he would try to prove himself wrong, time and time again. that despite being dumped twice and a soon-to-be third time, he would still stick by your side, persistent if anything. he didn't just have feelings for you, a part of who he is today is built up by the successes you seemingly made him chase to become a better person in the name of you and for that, he could never see you in a different light and his heart will never fail to fail him at the sight of you.

but tonight, it's the contact name, my love, that lights his phone screen that makes his heart stutter. it's the way that your scratchy voice cracks through the speaker that makes his heart whimper. he gets up in fluid motions to shut the door of his bedroom closed, to allow himself to revel in your attention, undisturbed.

"hey there, i told you i'd call so i called," your think your voice sounds dumb, having rehearsed that same line a few times prior to actually following through with it. donghyuck loves it though, doesn't even acknowledge the rehearsed tone as he takes this as a chance to dive into a piled up vent on how his damned little sister, who shouldn't even know what girlfriends and boyfriends are, had outed his relationship with you in front of his whole family. he's nervous, but for only a split second because your hearty laughter fill his ears and suddenly sets the whole world still and at peace. he sighs in comfort as he listens to how your older brother brought his own boyfriend home and had been received just as warmly. he talks of how his mother's roast duck was slightly undercooked and how right in the middle of dinner he snuck it into the kitchen for an extra minute in the microwave. the two of you laugh at how chenle's proposition for a movie night gets widely left on read by everyone else in the group chat, though you end up feeling bad for the boy (and for laughing) and end up replying and setting up a time for when everyone returns to campus. 

you feel a warm squirm in your heart and for once, you know what caused it. the boy on the other end of the line is so very endearing that you have no space for second guessing anymore. perhaps, perhaps.

talk dwindles down as you both get ready to go to bed at a starking 2:17 a.m. but it seems that sleepy you has more than enough to say. your eyes are on the brightly lit moon that's hanging out your window frame adjacent to your bed. you'd like to think that donghyuck is looking at the same moon, thinking the same things. it's a new but welcomed feeling that enters your heart, blooming into your lungs so that at the occurrence of every breath you take, you are reminded of the warmth he brings you. it's a sappy and deeply rooted feeling that you only now realize has been with you for ages on end and with this realization comes the courage to voice it aloud.

"i love you, hyuck. i fucking love you to bits and pieces."

you think he's already fallen asleep, the quiet that he's offering not doing any good to ease your wavering thoughts. not that you regretted saying what you said, it was truly what you felt for him, whether the relationship was real or not. but you weren't sure if he felt even remotely the same so staying under the umbrella of a fake relationship gave you the opportunity, should the times ever call, to recant your words in the name of performative indication.

the seconds were whizzing by quickly and your anxious mind counted to four minutes. four minutes of dead silence on his part. it's fine, you think as you hang up at the fifth minute, he probably just fell asleep. a weird feeling settles in the pits of your stomach that night. lee donghyuck likes you, that's for sure, but maybe you were the one that was rushing into it this time around. maybe hyuck expected you to bring up the fact that the two of you were still unofficially dating. or maybe he just liked to play around with your feelings while he could during this month. it was a mind boggling mess but you refused to let the boy get the best of you as you drifted off into sleep.

only god and lee donghyuck himself know that he heard you loud and clear that night. the three words he'd been yearning to hear finally and in actuality formed from your lips, for him and him only. but fate tells him it was only a figment of his half-asleep imagination, and only god knows that what he heard wasn't a dream. 

huang renjun beckons lee donghyuck into the kitchen before the movie marathon begins. today marks one month. donghyuck pulls his phone out to see the hundred dollars even that renjun had transferred, he then transfers fifty of that to you. "so you guys still going strong?"

hyuck feels guilt and worry trickle between his grasps on confidence, "better than ever."

"she actually likes you back, huh, i can't believe i thought y'all would break up." renjun is pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, his gaze is turned towards the living room where everyone is gathered when donghyuck sees his eyebrows furrow. "shit, i forgot chenle invited mark." donghyuck turns to see his 'girlfriend' being hit on by one of his close upperclassmen. you seem to be oblivious but it's horridly obvious whenever mark attempts to flirt. seeing you smiling at his corny pickup lines, not quite laughing but not quite rejecting him either, donghyuck feels tendrils of unwelcome jealousy and hopeless distress as he traverses on light feet to where you're at, placing a hand on your lower back.

"hi, mark. it's been awhile, how're you these days?" he watches and, in what he knows is sick relief, mark blinks in surprise at the placement of his friend's hand that is plainly indicative of a relationship. "i've been pretty good, you?"

"great actually," donghyuck might've said that a little too enthusiastically, "i saw you were talking to y/n here. i don't think i've introduced you guys yet. mark, this is y/n, my girlfriend, y/n this is mark, a good friend of mine." he sees the pointed look you give him and is suddenly overcome with embarrassment. mark takes a few more minutes of your time before moving on to talk to renjun, the latter noting the tension between you and donghyuck and willing the boy away. 

"donghyuck, what the fuck was that?" you're upset.

"what? he was being weird with you, i couldn't just sit here and pretend he wasn't." hyuck's attitude is snappy right off the bat and you can't help but seethe at how immature he's proving to be.

you retort, with equal force, "yeah, so what if he was flirting with me? what does that have to do with you?"

donghyuck starts to realize that there might be more to the reason you were so defensive in the first place, something having to do with the fact that in the most technical terms, he isn't exactly your boyfriend anymore. "y/n, why are you being like this?"

"like what? i think i'm being pretty rational."

"no. no, y/n, but he was outright flirting with you and you didn't even tell him you had a boyfriend." he knows he's grasping at loose strings but he needs to pry this out of you. to see how you really feel.

"hyuck, we need to talk about it. it's been a month."

as if you had laid it out straight for him, donghyuck feels the desperation crawl beneath his skin, "y/n, please." his tone is all of a sudden soft and you lock your eyes onto his. "let's not talk about it right now, please, not now." he watches as you bite your lower lip in contemplation and then as you nod lightly. "okay."

donghyuck isn't sure if his impulsive decisions have made him feel more relieved or afflicted with current circumstances. as the lights dim and the movie begins to run, he settles into the corner of the sectional that he claimed earlier that evening with his arms open wide. you don't hesitate to curl up on top of him, the warmth of his skin, all too familiar. both of you are ever so aware that this might as well be the last time your bodies are pressed against one another. and both of you are equally tormented by how true that may come to be.

the clock reads 3:37 a.m. when the movie ends and donghyuck is glad to see that the rest of the boys are quiet in exiting the room to their respective bedrooms. he can still feel the rise and fall of your chest on his and he's oh so careful not to move too abruptly, in the case that you might wake up and realize just where you had fallen asleep. he wishes that he could've spent a few more minutes, at least, admiring the curves of your face in the limited color the dim lights allow to reflect but it all passes too soon as someone (chenle) hits something (a doorframe) with some part of his body (his pinky toe) and wails out in pain (loud shrills), alerting you awake and anyone else that had the pleasure of falling straight asleep. he curses under his breath without realizing that you were right there and awake now, only feeling the embarrassment wash over him as your soft chuckle fills his ears. 

"sorry, 'bout that. go back to sleep." his voice is low and you're so close to slipping back into unconsciousness but you will yourself to prop your chin up on his chest, directly above his quaking heart. "i'm hungry, hyuck."

he almost laughs at the absurdity of your statement. he guesses it's not completely unwarranted though since you have been asleep for the past nearly five hours but he still feels a small part of his subconscious mind tug at just how cute you are. so very cute.

"okay, princess. let's get you something to eat," he says as he dips his hands that were loosely looped around your back underneath your thighs and hoists both your combined weight up. your eyes are gleeful as he pulls you even closer to him, your own arms settling upon his shoulders. crossing the length of the room, he sets you down upon the kitchen counter. allowing himself to bask in your unadulterated attention for a few moments, he realizes the eerie silence that envelops the two of you. he slips his phone out from his sweatpants pocket and thumbs around until he lands upon a random playlist of his on spotify. hitting play, he sets the phone on the counter next to you, lowering the volume just a bit so that it wouldn't disturb the others in the house. 

as donghyuck rummages through the fridge for some food, you fiddle with the zipper of the hooded jacket you're wearing. you're hit with the realization that the jacket isn't even yours to begin with and that it's hyuck's, the garment having been such a staple in your closet for the past month that it barely smells of him anymore, that it really is all yours at this point. looking around the dark room, you find yourself identifying everything you see in relation to hyuck. before you knew it, this little fake dating stunt had become so real that it was hard for you to swallow the feelings. 

attempting to push past the oncoming wave of emotions, you focus your attention on other things. donghyuck's now throwing what looks like a years old hotpocket into the microwave without a plate. his back is turned to you but instead of getting lost in his messy bed hair and broad shoulders you notice the new song that replaces the previous one. it's mellow and soft and it takes you four seconds to realize just what song it is. slow dancing in the dark (by joji). maybe it really is about time to come clean with your feelings, no matter if they could be rejected or reciprocated. it isn't fair to be dragging this on, when it was fated to be ending right now, a reason to which you had broken up with him before anyways. for all you know, donghyuck might even be waiting for you to call it all off, in annoyance since the fifty dollars had already been done deal. looking around, you figure it's now or never as you slide off the counter, landing carefully on sock-clad feet. padding over, you wrap donghyuck in a snug back hug, hoping that he catches on to the situation.

he does, eventually, after you spin him about and lace your hands around his neck, swinging him around in exaggerated and silly motions. he responds with a hushed, "oh!" and continues prancing around with you before finally settling against the steady beat. the song does its job so well in calming your heart that you almost forget the reason you were a jittery mess in the first place. you prep your sappy, truth-laden speech with gruesome effort, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. little do you know, donghyuck is planning the same monologue, equally as gruesome.

the beep of the microwave resounds in the background, alerting you of how you came to this situation in the first place. but with this, his head dips into the crook of your neck as the song comes to a slow and you move your hand from his back to cradle his head. "what's wrong?" the kitchen is now silent, save for the occasional chirp of crickets and your feet shuffling around the tiled floor. donghyuck is silent himself, an inner debate ensuing your question. his chest feels heavy, the burden of a thousand lies resting upon it whilst he can only hold back his tears. he has everything he's ever wanted from you. to rest in your arms, to land a smile upon your lips, to hear an 'i love you' escape those very lips. he feels his emotions bubble up within him, threatening to spill before they really do, in the form of a soft, "i love you, y/n. that's what's wrong, i love you."

he raises his head causing your hands drop down to his back and he instantly misses the way they caressed the locks beneath his ears. he meets your eyes, through the thick haze of blackness that shrouded the room. "and i love you too," you say, voice equally soft but treading carefully; you're still unaware of the problem he's presenting, "what so wrong about that?" you tiptoe so that your foreheads meet and he has to suppress the urge to kiss you right then and there, to evade the hurt he knows will come, and so he simply hugs your body flush against his, as a substitute to his desires. your breaths tickles his nose and he closes his eyes, relishing in the moment before inevitably breaking it by saying, "because i mean it… and you- you don't. not in the way i do." your eyes penetrate his and your mouth parts to voice a response but he cuts you to it. "y/n, my love for you is real. it's always been. and i knew what i was getting into asking you do this with me but, i really wanted a second chance. i wanted it so bad and when renjun brought up the bet, even if it was fake, i just knew i had to take it. and i know this is shitty of me to just drop this on you while we're having this- this moment but i can't keep lying and pretending that my love for you is just- that it's conditional."

donghyuck lets out a breathy sigh as your hands fall from his back, his heart falling with them too. he can't see the expression on your face anymore, his eyes are glossed over with tears that are at the cusp of falling, but he isn't sure that he wants to. he's mad at himself for ruining the most perfect moment, for ruining such a calm night. the tension in the air is almost palpable but it's ripped to shreds as your hands return to cup his cheeks. tilting your head a little, you lean in for a sweet kiss, a small smile lifting the corners of your mouth as you withdraw. "who says i don't love you for real?"

it takes more than two minutes for donghyuck to collect himself, still in doubt of whether he's dreamt up the whole situation or if you are, in fact, being real. you're standing in his arms to remind him that you really are, sneaking small kisses on his cheeks every time he thinks he's finally calmed down. it's a lover's dream to be lee donghyuck, and y/l/n y/n can only fall deeper in love with every blossom of a blush rosing the tips of his ears. 

you thank god, or whoever blessed this boy upon your life, that donghyuck was there that night at that stupid, stupid valentine's dance. and above all, you are endlessly indebted to renjun for his stupid, stupid bet. but mostly, you can't contain the utter awe you hold for donghyuck for simply being the perfect man he is. contrary to everyone's belief (and even your own, up until recently), donghyuck isn't an insufferable person. what they see is just a shell of a man who's too afraid to be the center of attention in any way other than 'the funny guy.' and realistically, it's only with the girl who's stolen his heart that he knows it's more than okay to be vulnerable and that maybe, just maybe, it's the only way to steal her heart back. 

y/n and donghyuck share a love story they know they're lucky to be able to tell their kids and maybe even their grandkids. and if they have anything to learn from it, it's that falling in love is not just a matter of time but of circumstances, impulsive decisions, and reckless emotions. well, mostly just reckless emotions.

copyright © 2020 rouiyan all rights reserved.

✧ end note — i got my first few likes on this blog a few days back and while i can say with full confidence that i do not write for follows and likes, it made me happy in the small yet extremely gratifying ways that simply writing and posting cannot. so for those few people who interacted with the teaser for this fic as well as anyone else who read up till here, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, i hope each and every one of you enjoyed reading this as much as i did writing this. with love, rouiyan.

[crimsonandcloverwrites]

bhah ch7 can’t stop won’t stop

lmao Dani being like ‘we should wait to discuss kids til after we’re married’ yes doesn’t seem like a giant thing u should make sure u agree on before u make a major commitment at all

Dani is so in love with Jamie sdjkhdfkjg driving to her house on instinct and just like...gazing at her in her old t-shirt and sweats like you’ve finally seen the light girl just kiss her already

god I can’t believe I have 2 more chapters of them as adults just being the absolute perfect match for each other to get through before they finally kiss in ch 11 (i’m maninfesting it no one say anything) I am literally going to scream. Dani will like... feel a little off and it’s all “i need to go to Jamie’s house and also tell Jamie everything and she will make me tea and let me be myself without all the expectations and I will feel better” I AM VERY HAPPY SHE CAN BE THAT FOR YOU BUT ALSO CAN YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE MS CLAYTON (actually I think she kind of does but she must extract herself from her real life first I guess)

oh no the new chapter is almost here I still have so much to read

forget ‘there was only one bed’ this is now a ‘there was only one tent’ stan blog only

thirsty Dani truly is the funniest I am so sorry ur suffering is so entertaining. Dani: literally whacks her finger with a mallet bc horny for Jamie. Me: uncontrollable chortling

the idea of Dani wrangling 8 year olds that are probably just about as tall as her is too funny. tiny legend

aww the lil background Hannah and Owen moments. cute

Dani in a big ol’ straw hat pls that’s so cute

this Jackie and Jamie situation..... GIVE US THE DEETS

hmmmmnnnnnngggg Jamie just straight down on her knees in front of Dani to tie her shoe lace I will absolutely let u have this gay panic Dani u don’t deserve to be made fun of right now

Jamie “I have a story” absolutely NOT

Viola, emerging from the lake in this no ghosts childhood friends story: surprise bitch

these two drunk idiots are literally teenagers dsjkhdfkgjh just get in ur tent

Dani, drunk in a tiny tent w the love of her life: hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me

when we finally get a Jamie on her knees redemption moment-

Dani, drunk in a tiny tent w the love of her life currently taking her clothing off: oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck (y’all really wanted to torture her this chapt huh?)

“dawn was a saffron colored suggestion peeking through a pinhole gap in the tent’s zipper” god that’s a pretty sentence can i pls borrow some talent

Jamie and Dani w kids is sooooo cute they have such a nice balance between them

just thinking about if teenage Jamie desperately in love w her bestie could see things now Dani being all into her w all her lingering looks etc how the fuckin turn tables

“Dani kept a firm grip on her sanity” lol

oh my god they’re both drenched in the tent w the soft lamplight and only their own bodyheat to keep warm whatever will they do

oh wait they also have the heat of their burning attraction to each other they’ll be toasty as anything

hhhhngggg abs

that’s like 4 mentions of Jamie on her knees aklhfdkjgkdjh enough

lads is it gay to imagine running ur fingertips over the scar on your friends back before pressing ur lips to it or...?

Jamie taking the time to teach Dani car things aww

lol not the smutty book

eddie honking at her gets so under my skin like my dude... my guy... stop

Dani thinking so hard about rain damp Jamie and how much she wanted to jump her while she’s in the car w her boyf and MIL. girl

imagine if we had to sit through a dani and eddie wedding before she finally managed to call this off how cursed

ayoooo Carson’s show I cannot wait. omg we get it this chapter too gbless this really is the Dani suffering hours

Jamie just so casually like.... not even flirting w Dani it’s all just kinda observations but every other thing she says makes Dani stop breathing skdhfdkfjh this is so good

Dani has like... a lack of object permanence but with Jamie feelings ok

pleeease the Dani Carson road trip that’s so cute I can just imagine what fun they would have had

uuughhh i wanna go to a sweaty bar n listen to loud music again

also would like a Jamie to press their hand to my lower back n make me lose my mind in a sweaty bar to loud music

this lil jamie dani carson trio is my faaaave

“Girls must be all over you.” and Jamie choking on her drink dsfkjsdhkf oh Dani u beautiful naive angel. god that’s so funny

Robin instantly going for Jamie... same bro

Carson’s lil found family band pls my heart is so full

Carson calling them his sisters n Jamie freezing up bby when are u going to accept these people care abt u and love u like family

Robin is so brazenly just like ‘ur hot’. a voice of the people i love her

Dani being lowkey jealous as IF Ms Taylor has eyes for anyone else babe

Carson knoooowwwwws. When do we get the Carson O’Mara biopic please I want his takes on everything I know they’re excellent

oh my god Jamie knowing Dani’s fave kind of pizza pls I love that so much (I can’t remember if it’s been mentioned in the past few chapters but I remember her being mad that Eddie didn’t in CH1? i love this lil detail) (also I literally just ate vegge pizza I feel so immersed in this experience)

dfkgjhdfkjgh Jamie licking her finger and Dani completely combusting this is so entertaining

fuck n then it gets all soft and about how they’ve been in love their whole lives this is emotional whiplash

Jamie constantly in protector mode but in this really quiet comforting way is so sweet I love her so much

god I just feel so bad for Dani that this kind of insane electricity she has with Jamie has probably never been a thing in her relationship w Ed bby u deserve someone that makes u feel like this

awww Carsons bf

Dani’s soul leaving her body when she sees them kissing oh no

Jamie giving Dani her jacket pleeease I am dying here... the romance of it all

and shariing cigarettes and intense looks these two really are somethin else

lmao even Robin is picking up on their vibes you two could level a building with the amount of tension between u

Dani’s moment of Realisation abt Carson n Jamie just being like... well yeah

lmao Dani subtly trying to figure out if Jamie is gettin’ it sdkgdfhkjgh

when these do two finally get together both of them are gonna be like... taken out by all of this. Dani has only ever known Eddie who just does not get her (and the fact that she is a lesbian so she’s never had real feelings for him in that way) and it seems like Jamie has only ever had surface level relationships with people who never really got her either (while also being in love w her best friend who she never thought would love her back). there’s no way this is wont eventually make at least one person cry a bunch (probably me) with how right all of it is

god Dani is so horny for Jamie sdflkdfjgkfdj preemptive RIP for Ms Taylor when Dani finally does get to live out all these daydreams on her I just know someones gonna end up pulling somethin

Does Dani like.... get that she will never love Edmund that way like is she fully aware of the fact she loves him but she’s not in love with him and all these feelings for Jamie aren’t just because it’s Jamie but because she’s not straight??? have we gone on that journey yet

aw Ed waited up for her

the book the book the book

dsfkdhfgkj oh Dani

“Jamie on her knees, looking up at her” listen-

girl u are so fucked

SIX. SIX MENTIONS OF JAMIE ON HER KNEES pls

THE DREAM

who could this possibly be about hmmmm Dani

christ

THE MEASURES SHE TAKES TO DEAL WITH THE DREAM lordt

“baffled but excited” i think is how I almost always picture eddie lol

dang get it girl take control

aw dani u poor confused little duck. i just wanna give her a hug

Dani dressed as Dorothy is awfuly cute

heh Jamie as a wolf i love her fursona

lmao toto

of course Jamie is well aquainted with the bleachers. cheeky. oh no not the art room. Dani dying inside and then imagining herself there with Jamie girl has got it baaaad u poor lil repressed gayby

Dani is... so thirsty... goddamn

lmao Jamie blatantly checking her out are u trying to kill her she already wants to rip ur clothes off

“To the third floor art room?” dfksdhfgkjdfhgjdhf imagine if this was it they just banged it out in the art room right now n got things sorted

god they go from horny to soft so quick i love the ways they care about each other

Jamie saying the scarecrow costume is fitting for Eddie PLEASE

ooh the infamous hickey

What Dani deseves: snuggles. What Dani recieves: struggles

the MEMES. god bless the memes

this was an excellent companion for my Wednesday hopefully I can churn through the rest of em before we are blessed w ch11 amen

[paintedpeeta]

more toast baby head canons pleaaaaase<3

anon i probably shouldn’t i feel like everyone must be sick of my ramblings by now.... but i’m still gonna 😭

first of all i’m going to start with saying katniss loves her babies, okay? she loved them so much that even before they were born she couldn’t bare to think of them suffering or in pain or being subject to the horrors of the games the way she was (this is why she didn’t want to have children. not because she didn’t like kids not because she didn’t want them not to make a statement. she simply couldn’t stand the idea of not being able to protect her children, she’d rather never have children than let that happen.) and this is why it makes sense that she has children when the world is no longer like that and she feels safe and open to the idea. (to soothe herself to sleep on the quell beach she literally imagines a world where it would be safe to have peeta’s baby like you cannot make this up. it’s right there)

i could go on and on about that because i still see people saying the mockingjay ending didn’t make sense or was out of character or forced and like 🥲 but we move we move. people are allowed to feel however they like of course.

katniss would rely a lot on peeta to help her work through her anxiety during her pregnancy. the past 15 years was them learning how to take care of each other and even though this is a wee bit different he adapts super quickly to what she needs. panic when the baby moves and kicks is quickly calmed with talk of the nursery and name ideas, getting her cosy on the couch and playing with her hair until she’s settled again.

speaking of the nursery, they decorate it together as a project to keep her busy. of course he doesn’t let her near any of the strenuous stuff but she decides where the furniture is placed and he just absolutely dotes while she fusses about minor details to make sure their baby is comfortable. “I don’t want the sun to shine in her eyes first thing in the morning. can you move the crib over here instead?”

she spends most of her pregnancies in his big shirts because they’re comfortable and gentle on her skin and also she’s a stubborn wee shit who will not spend money on clothes that won’t fit in a few months. he finds it kind of funny because she’s so petite and has been all her life and has to adjust to getting round in the middle. she’s always like “you better not be laughing at me, mellark.”

sometimes he catches her singing to the bump or just gently talking to it. “papa isn’t going to let us into the nursery because he’s painting it today. he’s already so protective, i don’t even think i’ll be allowed to get near you.” peeta is of course listening in the hallway like 🥰 because that’s his girl.

this very quickly turned into pregnant!lark rather than toastbaby headcanons im very sorry anon i just think katniss everdeen loves her babies here are more about said babies

i’ve kind of spoken about this before but on their girls first day of school they are an absolute wreck. they walk her there together, holding her little hands and keeping up with her nervous chatter and they just hold it together until they get back home. peeta says something like “what if her shoelace comes undone she doesn’t know how to tie them yet” and then they both just start bawling (she can at least blame the hormones because of toastie 2 but peeta is just an emotional wreck over his baby girl). they’re the first parents at the gate to collect her when school is over, and you’d think they’d been apart for months the way they squeeze and cuddle her. she rides home on papa’s shoulders, pulling his hair something awful but he absolutely doesn’t mind. he changes the bakery schedule so he can be there to collect her every day, and he’s never once late to pick up his little girl.

haymitch stops drinking when their little girl is born. he’s been given the role of honorary grandfather and he wants to be around as long as possible for the sweet girl with dark hair and blue eyes who calls him grampy (it’s unknown if this came from the word grumpy or grandpa or both). peeta teases haymitch rotten everytime he babysits because he’s sitting there with a bow in his hair and his nails terribly painted having a tea party with a goose like 👁👄👁💅 we had fun today.

swimming lessons at the lake with mama and papa. toastie girl is very good but their boy prefers to goof off and splash and dunk his papa’s head under. he is, however, a natural at fishing. he can be quiet when he needs to be and his nets always seem to be full when he goes out with his mama. they noticed this talent when he was just a little toddler and yanked a fish out of the lake with his chunky baby hands (peeta is like “what the fuck. what did i marry into”)

peeta and katniss sometimes quietly observe their children playing together, their girl setting up a little fake bakery and using her baby brother and the cat as her only customers. baby boy is like, propped up on pillows because he can’t sit yet and girl is like “I think i’ve short changed you sir here is the rest of your money.” he has no idea what the hell she is saying but he is living for it. the cat bolts when she tries to get an apron on him. baby boy face plants onto his cushioned pen from laughing too hard and his sister is like “okay let’s not tell mama about that one.” even though her and peeta are watching from the door with teary laughs because that’s their babies!!

the toasties are fiercely protective of each other, even when they’re little kids. their girl holds her brothers hand and walks him to his classroom on his first day of school and she’s the first one to get to him if he falls over in the yard or gets upset. one day an older boy pushes past toast girl in the corridor and her little brother is sent to the principles office for launching a pebble at his head 💀 (katniss is in that office like “i really don’t see a problem here mr principle i really don’t. it hit him right between the eyes? nice shot, kid. i mean... bad.”.)

peeta sometimes takes a toastie with him to the bakery to give katniss a rest or a chance to get out to the woods by herself, and he’s always so proud to show off his kids. they just absolutely charm the customers and also they have a lot of fun when papa lets them messily decorate cookies and cakes.

the toasties are very familiar with everyone in the memory book, even when they don’t know what happened to any of them, they know auntie prim and grandpa everdeen and their uncles.

family cuddle time is no joke. sometimes the toasties just want a night in mama and papas bed, like if there’s a thunderstorm or someone had a nightmare, and their parents of course welcome them right in. peeta always ends up half hanging off of the bed with someone’s foot pressed into his back but he wouldn’t have it any other way, and he tucks them in again when he gets up to leave for work.

also cosy naps on the couch 🥺 peeta coming home to katniss snuggled up with one or both of their babies on her chest, carefully draping a blanket over them as he takes in the scene before quietly going to start dinner.

[sugarsnap-caely]

A Cozy Winter’s Day

Large flakes fluttered and fell between the bare branches of snow-covered trees. It had been snowing for quite sometime earlier and there had to have been at least a foot of the white crystals on the ground.

A window fogged up as a very large fluffy dog leaned up against the back of a chair, it’s nose nearly touching the glass as it looked outside with big longing eyes.

Marvin leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face as he watched the dog yearn. “Hey, Jackie,” he called, tilting his head back over his shoulder.

“Yeah, Marvie?” Jackie poked his head around the corner of the hallway.

“I think someone wants to go outside and play.”

Jackie stepped fully around the corner, still holding on to a holiday decoration he had been in the process of hanging up. He stood just behind his boyfriend, listening to his death omen doggie give a small whine. “Well, what are we waiting for?” He put down the decoration on the coffee table as he stepped over to the door to grab his coat and a leash.

As his owner passed him, the dog turned in his direction, panting affectionately. Once he noticed that Jackie was grabbing for the leash he immediately bounded off the couch, his tail wagging as he bounced at Jackie’s feet.

“You ready to go outside, boy? You wanna go outside?!” Jackie leaned down, pulling a hat on his head as he baby-talked the dog.

The dog let out a very loud, Broof!

That was all the answer Jackie needed as he hooked up the leash and opened up the front door, running out with his companion.

Marvin smiled, watching his boyfriend through the window as he and the dog ran across the yard. He sat down on the couch, admiring the view. The dog bounded and jumped, trying to nip at the flakes falling from the sky. In turn, Jackie stuck out his tongue, trying to catch them as well. However, he failed to notice the leash slowly beginning to wrap around his legs. Marvin, on the other hand, did not miss this detail as he bit his lip in anticipation.

Sure enough, the dog jumped up in the air, and in one sudden movement, Jackie found his face planted in the snow.

Marvin howled with laughter, nearly falling off the couch as he hugged his sides.

Just outside, Jackie was wiping the snow off his nose but having a difficult time between laughing and his dog trying to lick it off himself. “Down, boy!” He ruffled the dog’s fur, kissing him on the top of his head as he picked himself back up.  As he dusted the snow off his hair he looked around. He breathed a sigh of contentment, watching as the light made the snow glisten and sparkle. “If only Marvie were out here to see this.”

“Right behind you, silly!” The next thing Jackie knew, something cold and wet pelted the back of his neck. He whipped around, seeing Marvin wearing his cape and chuckling as several snowballs floated around him.

Jackie beamed, laughing. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one who wanted to play outside!”

“Damn straight!”

Jackie just barely managed to dodge another snowball as he ran for the cover of the tree, his dog bounding behind him. He swiftly crouched on the ground, beginning to create his own line of icy ammunition. Marvin may have had magic on his side, but Jackie certainly outdid him when it came to agility and strength. Peeking from around the tree he lobbed one of his snowballs at his boyfriend, managing to pelt him in the shoulder. He ducked back around, pumping his fist in celebration.

“You can’t hide behind that tree forever!” Marvin called, creeping closer.

“Try me!” Jackie regretted it immediately as snowballs fell from the air above him. He threw his arms over his head, running out from behind the tree. “Hey! That’s cheating!!” The smile on his face betrayed the anger in his voice.

“You call it cheating, I call it an advantage!” Marvin laughed, chasing after his boyfriend as he dodged the snowballs being thrown back at him. He was on his tail. 

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. The dog was now barreling towards him. He yelped, turning around and running the other way.

“Now who’s got the advantage!” Jackie yelled as he chased after Marvin. With one final leap, he tackled him sending the both of them into the snow.

Once again, they found themselves laughing heartedly.

“I guess it was my turn to get a face full of snow, huh?” Marvin chuckled, doing his best to shake the hair out of his snow like a dog.

Jackie didn’t answer. Instead, he gave a small sigh, a lopsided smile on his face as he stared at Marvin. The snow stuck to his boyfriend’s lashes, and the sunlight was causing them to sparkle and twinkle. Combined with the blue irises, Marvin’s eyes looked like the night sky. It matched perfectly with the inside of his cape. How did a dope like him end up with someone so pretty?

“Cuz you’re a handsome dope.”

Jackie blinked, blushing as he realized he’d said that out loud. “I--well...uhhhh,” he stammered, trying to hide his head in his coat like a turtle.

Marvin chuckled. “Come on,” the magician said as he got to his feet, holding out his hand to help his boyfriend up. “While you might think the snow looks pretty on me, it’s freezing out here, and I’d like to be warm and toasty.”

“Well, that’s what you get when you don’t wear a coat or hat, Marvie.” Jackie lightly shoved his shoulder, his face still red like a cherry. “Besides, you’re doing a great job of keeping me warm.”

Marvin picked up the dog’s leash. “Oh, hush. Let’s just go back in and make some hot cocoa.” Although, now his face was a little warmer as a blush of his own dusted his cheeks.

~~~~

The two of them curled up on the couch, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands as the fireplace gently crackled. Marvin’s head leaned against Jackie’s shoulder as the two of them watched a movie start-up on the television. His hand gently stroked and scratched his cat’s ears as he purred at his feet.

He had traded his pants, shirt, vest, and cape for a pair of Jackie’s sweats. Once again, he had forgotten to do laundry and was left with almost no clothes. Thankfully, Jackie had let him borrow some of his own. Marvin rubbed his face affectionately against the hood of the sweatshirt. Where would he be without his big, strong hero?

Beside him, Jackie took a sip of cocoa from his mug. He sighed, setting down his mug and wrapping an arm around Marvin, giving him a light squeeze.

Marvin turned his head at the contact, pursing his lips and trying to hold back a laugh. However, he couldn’t hold back the red hue that spread across his face.

“What? What’s so funny?” Jackie raised an eyebrow, an amused chuckle escaping his lips as he turned to look at him.

That did it. Marvin giggled nearly spilling the contents of his mug as he did his best to set it down. “You--you’ve got--” he couldn’t even finish his sentence before he caught the confusion on Jackie’s face and a new wave of giggles washed over him.

“Well come on, spit it out, or your cat’s gonna leave his spot, and I know how much you hate that.”

Marvin wiped the tears prickling at the corner of his eye as his giggle fit died down. “Alright, alright.” He pulled his cat back towards the couch, causing the feline to let out a slightly annoyed mewl. He grinned, the laughter still lingering in his voice as he continued. “Jackie, you’ve got whipped cream for a mustache, and it’s on your nose, dumbass.”

Jackie crossed his eyes as he looked down at his nose. Sure enough, there was a generous coating of sugary cream. He licked it off his lips, wiping his hand across his face.

Marvin’s giggles came back for a moment and he covered his mouth with his hand. “Hey, Jackie.”

“What is it now, Marvie?” Jackie was nervous. How else was he going to embarrass himself today?

Marvin glanced up, smiling. “Look.”

Jackie looked up. Dangling above their heads was a small clump of mistletoe. He could just barely see the whisps of Marvin’s magic disappearing into the air around it. “Oh no.”

Marvin’s grin widened. He was blushing full force now as Jackie looked back at him. “Oh yes.”

“Must you be so cliche?” Jackie said, giving Marvin’s shoulder another squeeze.

“Only if it gets a reaction like that out of you.” He poked Jackie’s cheek indicating the tomato red tone.

Jackie chuckled as he cradled Marvin’s face with his hand. “Speak for yourself. You’re redder than my sweatshirt.”

Marvin leaned into Jackie’s hand, humming contentedly. “I love you so much, Jackie.”

Jackie craned his head closer to Marvin’s as the two of them looked into each other’s eyes. “I love you too, Marvie.”

The two of them locked their lips together, embracing as the fireplace crackled and burned like the fire they shared in their hearts for each other. And that was all the warmth they needed.

~~~~

AN: This story is based on @inspiredrawaw’s Death Omen AU (seriously go check them out). The Marvelspeticeye ship is so cute I can’t. I wanted to do something for this amazing AU but I’m not as confident in my drawing skills as I am in my writing skills. But anyway, I’ve been thinking about writing something like this for a little while now. It finally started snowing today, and so this just POPPED into my head. I couldn’t resist.  (I would have had it done earlier but I had to go to work...)

This is my first time really writing something romantic, and I hope I did well. I also hope that I got the characterization right, and I hope not too much of my own versions bled into this story. All in all though, this was very fun to write. ^^

Also, this is a bit of a holiday gift for them, so I hope you like it. ^^

[coffeecomicsgalore]

The Love You Give

Hey @juliettelime​. I’m your @mlsecretsanta​!

Sorry it took so long! Enjoy both a fic and an art piece!

Happy Holidays!

Also on Ao3

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

“You’ll never catch me, Milady!” Chat Noir bellowed out as he raced along the rooftops. The husky chuckles echoed in the quiet arrondissement causing Ladybug’s heart to flutter with warmth in the otherwise wintry night air.

“Get back here you mangy cat!” Ladybug called out with a chuckle, his increased speed making the competitive side of her itching to win his abrupt game of cat and mouse (or bug in this case).

“Never!” He cried out once again as he laughed comically, finally whipping around the corner to throw her off course. Chat hid behind the tall chimney and poked his head around, keeping an eye on her plus the surprise at the end of this game.

“Come on Chat. The snow is starting to get worse!”

“Not a little bit of snow will stop me from winning this game!”

The sound of Ladybug’s rapier could be heard become increasingly closer, making it the perfect opportunity to run off to his final stop. Eyeing one of the most famous monuments in Paris, Chat raced across the small length of rooftops in front of him, finally extending his baton as he jumped off the last building. He extended it as far as he could, reaching one of the steel beams on the lowest platform of the Eiffel Tower. But before he could step onto the cold metal, a warm body collided with him, rolling the two in a pile of limbs onto the floor.

Panting and laughing, Ladybug rolled off her partner and sprawled against the floor. “I… win…” she cheered between heavy breaths, the puffs of air billowing from her mouth as she spoke. “I… told you… I’d win.”

Chat placed his hands on his chest, feeling the quick rise and fall of his chest as he leveled his breathing. “I… always knew… you would.”

Ladybug let out a small chuckle, closing her eyes as she controlled her breathing. The soft snowflakes helped cool off her flushed skin and she couldn’t help but relish that feeling.

Chat bit his lip and turned his face to his partner, smiling brightly as his eyes traced over her silhouette against the dark, night sky. Ladybug had grown so much over the years. They were now inching closer and closer to their twenties with a whole life ahead of them now that the danger of Hawkmoth and his akumas would never loom over them ever again.

It had been quite an adjustment for Adrien to deal with since the defeat of Hawkmoth just two years prior. The shock was overwhelming—to say the least—but he thanks the kwamis every day that he had Marinette by his side since the very beginning. Throwing in Sabine, Tom, Alya, Nino, Chloe, Luka, and Kagami, his found family had been one of the best things he ever received after losing everything that fateful day.

Which brought him to this day, this very moment that he wanted to make it all complete…

He straightened his head, closing his eyes to focus on the next task at hand. After a few heartbeats, he cleared his throat, opening his eyes and bringing himself to a stand.

“Milady,” Chat called to her, stretching out his hand as he bowed. “Care for one last stroll along this platform before we freeze in the cold?”

Ladybug opened her eyes and reached out to capture his waiting hand, smiling as he lifted her up until she stood in front of him. She tilted her head slightly to the left, pursing her lips with a playful smile as he kissed her knuckles.

“And what do I owe the honor of having a stroll with this handsome kitty?” She purred, melting as the love in his eyes warmed her spirit.

“Just thought we could enjoy the snowfall for a quiet moment as a reward for your win.”

“As long as we cuddle in front of our fireplace when we get home.”

“I say that’s a deal.”

Chat brought Ladybug’s hand to the crook of his elbow, allowing her the chance to place her head on his shoulder while simultaneously keeping herself warm.

Walking around the platform at a snail’s pace, he couldn’t help but feel the nerves building within him. He could fight hundreds of monsters without a single thought, but as soon as the reality of what was to come rolled through him, he couldn’t contain the fear that wanted to escape his heart.

He looked down and noticed Ladybug’s sweet smile, her fingertips running alongside his bicep in a calming gesture. She was staring out into the night sky, the snow-filled clouds covering the dark canvas, yet her calming demeanor helped calm his own nerves.

Chat Noir let out a sigh of relief when his eyes reached the special spot on the platform—a cozy and private corner hidden from prying eyes. There were dozens of gorgeous red and pink roses that surrounded the enclosed space, with a small array of tealights that had been lit and positioned to give it a warm glow. He was happy that the wind didn’t knock anything over after leaving it on its own an hour earlier, and he continued to hope that it would look like this until they left to go home.

He waited with bated breath for Ladybug to notice the setup. The two inched closer to the corner, yet Ladybug was still oblivious to what was in front of her. With the nerves building within him again, Chat cleared his throat, breaking her from her deep thoughts.

“Are you okay?” She turned to face him and questioned him worryingly, believing the cold had something to do with the tickle in his throat. “Do you want to go home?”

Chat let out a small chuckle as he turned his eyes towards her. “I’m fine. But it seems like there may be something going on in this corner.”

Ladybug broke away from his gaze, looking towards the setup that was clearly waiting for someone.

“We should go—Chat!”

Before she could walk away, Chat stepped towards the area leaving Ladybug frozen in her spot. He smirked as he stood in front of the flowers, pressing his claws fingertips to the perfect blooms.

“Chat! Get away from there. You shouldn’t be touching someone’s private venue. That’s rude!”

“Eh. It’s fine. No one is here right now. I can just look.” He said playfully, silently pleading that she would come over to berate him or try to haul him away.

She groaned, making her way towards Chat in order to talk some sense into him.

“Chat, come on. This isn’t funny.”

“Actually…” He began, finally turning towards her and clasping his palms around hers. Ladybug furrowed her brows as she watched him look down, letting out a calming breath. “I’ve been waiting for the first snowfall of the season to bring you here. Do you know why?”

“Our reveal?”

Chat nodded as he continued to look at their hands. He let his thumb rub against her knuckles, relishing in the consistent movement as he spoke.

“That was one of the worst days of my life. That was the day that my… father… finally confessed to me in hopes I would turn to his side...” He let out a small sigh, shaking his head as he finally looked into her eyes. “But that morning was one of the best moments of my life. You made loving you a thousand times better. But that’s always been you. You’ve always made everything so much better for me no matter how much it hurt you. Always. Ever since the beginning.”

Ladybug tilted her head as a small frown turned her lips.

“I know we started dating before the reveal happened. I know I fell in love with Ladybug first. I know I was too dense to realize my everyday Ladybug was actually the real Ladybug right in front of me. And I know that I don’t want to be that dense ever again.”

“Adrien—” Ladybug whispered, trying to stop him from falling down a rabbit hole. But the look in her eyes told her it wasn’t the time to speak.

“Marinette. I love you with all of my heart. You’ve blessed me with your love, your kindness, your playfulness, your creative nature, your fantastic puns. The flirty way you wink at me makes me melt inside. I fell in love with you twice because you are just so damn amazing!”

Tears were welling in his eyes, but he didn’t want to lose his momentum to wipe them away.

“My lady. I don’t want to spend a moment away from you. I know we live together and we spend an exuberant amount of time dancing along the Parisian night sky, but I would love to take the next adventure of our life together with you as my wife. Have the children we always hoped to have. To spend the rest of our days making each other laugh and smile. To wipe away the tears. To kiss away the fears. To love each other until death do us part.”

Chat unzipped the pocket of his suit, removing the small gold band with a pink, solitaire diamond and sliding it onto her gloved finger. “I love you so much. Please. Will you take me and love me forever?”

Silent, happy tears ran down her cheeks as the full extent of his words seeped into her mind. She took one moment and stared at the ring, then quickly wrapping her arms around his neck, capturing his lips with hers. The sweet kisses melded and kept them warm, no doubt the effects of the intense love they shared.

Ladybug finally pulled back to take a breath, pressing her forehead against his as she relished in his warmth. “Yes, kitty. I won’t only spend forever with you. I’ll spend all that plus a day.”

Adrien sat on the floor in their living room, sitting in his favorite spot in front of the fireplace. He sighed happily, taking the quiet moment to watch Tikki and Plagg chase each other in the cozy space. He looked over to the fire to make sure it was emitting enough warmth, wanting to make sure it would help keep Marinette toasty until they called it a night.

He felt bad for keeping Marinette out longer than intended—even though she promised it was fine—but it only made him feel worse when he noticed her shivering after they detransformed. He kissed her on the top of her head before shooing her off to the bathroom to take a warm bath, then set out her favorite clothes on their bed.

Deep within his thoughts, he finally noticed her arrival once she set down a plate of cheese and cookies for their kwamis, and Adrien couldn’t help but grin at her sincere smile.

“Thank you, minou,” Marinette said before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Anything for my fiancé.” Adrien waggled his brows causing Marinette to giggle in response.

Before she could straighten her back, Adrien captured her hands, lightly tugging her down and dropping her comfortably on his lap. Marinette tried to wiggle away, but Adrien wrapped his arms around her torso, nuzzling his nose into her hair.

“Mmm... you smell good.”

“You’re such a cat.”

“You love it. Just admit it.”

Marinette snuggled into him further, even as she wore her warmest gray sweater, a pair of thick black leggings, and her favorite fluffy white socks.

“Warm.” She finally stated after a few moments of cuddling with him. “I love that.”

“And I love you.” He smiled, placing one sweet kiss on her neck. “I promised you a snuggle session in front of the fire. I hope it’s warm enough.”

“With you, chaton, my heart and my soul will always be warm.”

“Always?”

“Forever.”