#i forgot to remind them that I went them to send me a message on day 1 to be reassure they are okay

[yoohyeon]

I was able to not cry until now 🙃

[kamiversee]

➶-͙˚ ༘✶ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙁*𝘾𝙆 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

✧.* CHAPTER 41 || The Cute Bartender

[ { SYPNOSIS } ] ➤ A tale in which Gojo Satoru blackmails you into seducing a list of people to clear his debt. Sounds easy enough, right?

[ { CHAPTER CONTENT } ] ➤ language, very cute fluff, & teasing.

[ { WORD COUNT } ] ➤ 3.6k

[ { PAIRINGS } ] ➤ jjk men x f!reader. gojo x f!reader. geto x f!reader. toji x f!reader. choso x f!reader. sukuna x f!reader. nanami x f!reader.

[ [ chapters mlist } ]

——YOUR QUESTION REMAINS unanswered for quite some time. To constantly weigh out your options of who would be a better lover for you is going to take time.

But, as of right now, even if you wanted to choose Gojo over Choso, he's already made it clear he's not allowing that. He doesn't think he's good for you and, in case you forgot, you're technically supposed to hate him.

That being said, your choice is already made for you.

But none of that is important right now. You were allowed a break until the semester began again but, since your university's winter break was a span of two, almost three months, you were honestly ready to finish the list by late January.

Even though you said you were taking a break from the men, you still kept in contact with them. You'd text Choso on some days but he'd often scold you about how you wanted a break, which only made you want to talk to him more.

Then, you even had your phone calls with Gojo which consisted of him doing the same damn thing-- pestering you by saying 'As much as I love listening to you talk, sweets, you're supposed to be taking a break from me' which, was just as sweet as the messages Choso would send.

Yeah, you were definitely falling for both of them in your own way and nothing could stop that. Even so, you were ready to get back to the list.

There was one name left. You couldn't believe it. As of now, you were laid out on your bed, your delicate fingers curled around a pen as you went down the list of yours. Reading over each name reminded you of your experiences with them, whether it was good or bad, and you were surprised you finally made it this far.

At one point, you doubted you could even do this. So many lessons have been learned, so many personalities and so many situations have been experienced. It's almost, emphasis on almost, beautiful when you think back on it.

To go from a broke and regular college student to one whose life is filled with drama, good (for the most part) sex, and men who've somehow managed to fall for you. It's the kinda thing you never imagined for yourself.

Just one semester ago, you were worried about even landing a job and now look at you; you've managed the money from Gojo better than ever so you're truly set for quite some time.

With a sigh, you place the pen down beside your journal and trace your fingers over the final name; Nanami Kento. Once you sleep with him it's over. It's almost bittersweet to think about.

As you stare at your journal, you think you have a plan for it once the list is complete. A plan that you've talked to Gojo about and he's agreed to-- the two of you are going to burn the list.

Neither of you want any physical evidence of it so you think burning it once it's complete will prove to be a nice way to say goodbye to the memories that come with the list. Nowhere in your text messages or his do you two discuss the list explicitly, just in case someone were ever to go through your devices, and the only time it's been talked about aside from in person is over phone calls.

But, you're not worrying about that getting out. Someone would have to dig really deep to find the recordings of you and Gojo's phone calls. Like, to the police deep to find them. Or hacking your cell. But, you have no reason to worry about that, right? Gojo said he's not involved in anything illegal and you trust him (to some extent).

So again, it's bittersweet to think about this list finally coming to an end. It was like a game you had to play and knowing that the end credits were about to roll soon just made you feel odd inside. Yeah, you wanted it to end but as it was actually happening, it was like leaving a chapter of your life behind.

After all, you'll never be able to undo what's been done. You can't go back and change who you've slept with or how.

So, with that final little thought, you sigh again and then shut your journal. Getting up to put it away in its locked drawer compartment, you wonder what it'll be like to finally meet Nanami.

You have a good feeling about him.

And no, not one of those good feelings that result in disaster but, an actual good feeling. Something about the thought of this tall, blonde, and sexy man whose facial expression holds a stupidly attractive seriousness at all times just makes you feel calm.

You feel like you're going to be dealing with someone so mature that it'll ease your mind, kind of like how your mind was at ease when you first met Choso.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆ .　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

And you had every right to be in good spirits about meeting Nanami because the man did, in fact, turn out to be one of the best and lightest experiences for you.

Despite how difficult he may seem, Nanami is just a man you couldn't catch at the right time. That was the only reason why you ever considered him to be 'hard' to seduce. And no, it's not some magical effect you had that made your efforts work, it was this genuine and raw connection that formed when you met him.

It was surely a night to be remembered.

A simple pair of black heels lightly clacked against the floor as you walked with your head held high into that damned nightclub-- the same nightclub in which you couldn't run into Nanami at the right time for the longest. This night was different though, as you had arrived before him for once.

It wasn't planned or anything but, your arrival to the building was before he'd gotten there. The dress you wore to accompany the heels on your feet was just as simple and was shaded in the same color; black. It was moderately tight-fitting and hugged your body just right.

Unlike some of your past dresses, it didn't make you feel like you were going all out and you thought you blended in nicely with everyone else that was there. Around your neck was that same necklace Gojo gifted to you on Christmas as you never really had the heart to leave home without it on.

Your excuse for wearing it all the time was because it was really pretty. It had nothing to do with Gojo of course. Or at least, that's what you tell yourself anyway.

Making your way to the bar, you took a seat in an area you knew Nanami to typically sit at and then you scouted the area for either him or the cute brown-haired friend he's always with. Finding nothing and no one, you sigh and decide to order a drink.

After which, you gave yourself thirty minutes before you'd leave and try again in another two weeks. You didn't even tell Gojo you were starting back up on the list yet so it's not like there was any pressure for you to seduce Nanami tonight, maybe that's what made everything so different.

Your nails tapped across the bar as you waited and at some point, you even made conversation with the cheeky bartender. The thing about this bartender is that you've seen him talk to Nanami plenty of times and you're pretty sure they're friends.

He had this really cute face and pretty brown eyes that made you feel safe in a strange way. Every time you see him he's got this beanie on top of his head and his clothes are always baggy, something you saw his manager scold him about a few times at one point.

Either way, today was your first time actually talking to him and you learn that his name is Ino Takuma and that he actually recognizes you, having paid attention to the few times you've been there.

"Are you waiting on someone, beautiful?" Ino had questioned you.

Oh yeah, and he's also been complimenting you nonstop from the moment you two began talking. It's in a friendly way, you think. It doesn't seem like he's flirting, just being kind, which you like.

You smiled at the man, "Is it that obvious?"

He makes this silly face in thought and you note how expressive he is. "Hmmmm, I mean for me, yeah. But that's only because I see you come here around the same time every two weeks."

"Yeah?" You meet his eyes with a smile on your face and he holds the eye contact for at least five seconds before he looks away. He's adorable. "So, you've really been paying attention to me all this time?" You ask before going to take another sip of your preferred drink of the night.

Ino laughs and the sound is so joyful it almost heals something in you. "I mean, nooo..." He drags out, smiling through his words before he shrugs, "I pay attention to everyone. And plus, how could I forget a pretty face like yours?"

You're still staring at him and you don't think you've ever paid attention to how much someone avoids eye contact before dealing with Choso. After that man, it's so obvious to you now when someone gets nervous to look you in the eye for too long.

"Is that a compliment, Ino?" You ask softly, the use of his name making his ears flush a cute shade of pink.

He clears his throat and wipes down a part of the nearby counter. There are not that many people at the bar tonight so that gave him the leisure to speak to you. "...Yeah," Ino replies, trying to focus on his small task instead of your eyes gazing at his face.

You hum. "Thank you," You say before moving to rest your chin in the palm of your hand as you rest your elbow on the bar.

Ino finishes his little task and then places the cloth he used elsewhere, finally looking at you now that your eyes have gone elsewhere, "He'll be here soon, by the way."

You blink and your eyes flick up to Ino's face, confused by his words, "Who?"

He flashes that friendly smile at you, "Nanami."

You're not sure if you should pretend not to know who Nanami is or if you should ask how Ino knows you're waiting on the man. For now, you swallow, "Nanami?"

Ino moves his hand up and over his head a bit, "He's like this tall, blonde," The brown-haired male gestures toward his eyes, "Wears these funky glasses sometimes?"

You bat your eyelashes at him in confusion, "Okay... Why uh, why're you telling me he'll be here soon?"

"You know him, don't you?" Ino asks, his thin and well-kept brows furrowing a bit as he innocently tilts his head.

"I know of him, I suppose," You answer vaguely, "But, why'd you think I know him?"

His shoulders raised a bit, "Cause' he asked me about you."

You swallow the sudden nervous lump in your throat, "H-He asked about me? Why? When?"

Ino chuckles at the worry in your face. To him, it just seemed like you were nervous in a shy sort of way, "He just asked me if you came here any other times. Like, times when he's not here."

"Why?" You ask.

"I dunno'," Ino shrugs casually, "I think you caught his attention." He adds on with a little wink.

Your lips pull into a straight line, "I highly doubt that."

"Why? You're pretty," Ino compliments yet again.

"Thanks but I've seen Nanami enough times to know that I have not caught his attention. Trust me, I know how men operate when their attention is caught." You scoff as you glance over to the dance floor and watch some of the people there.

Ino doesn't seem to understand what exactly you mean by that and his brows furrow, "You caught my attention, and yet this is my first time talking to you." He points out.

Almost naturally, as if you'd grown accustomed to flirting, your gaze trails back over to the cute bartender and you smirk, words slipping out of your mouth without thought, "I've caught your attention? How so?" You ask, unintentionally adding a sultriness to your tone.

He gulps and his eyes avoid yours yet again, "I mean you are an attractive woman. S-So I just mean it in that you catch more people's eye than you think. A-And uh, y'know, not everyone's gonna approach you first because sometimes attractive people make others nervous..." He stammers out.

He's so ridiculously nervous and it's the cutest thing. You lift your head from your hand and cross your arms over the counter, leaning forward a little and your chest unknowingly growing more visible as you do so, "Am I making you nervous right now, Ino?" You whisper.

Okay, now you're purposefully teasing him.

He chuckles, kinda awkwardly, "N-No? Pfft... I'm not nervous. Y-You-," He clears his throat, "You're not making me nervous."

You raise but a single brow and keep your gaze on him, "You can't even look me in the eyes while we talk."

Ino suddenly looks at you, meeting your unwavering gaze and sweating a bit. "I'm lookin' at you now."

You stare long and hard, right into those brow irises of his and he tries to stare back but, he can't help but glance to the left or right for a split second before trying to keep his eyes on yours.

A slow and taunting smile spreads across your features, "Barely." You point out.

He rolls his eyes and sighs, "Whatever. I wasn't nervous I'm jus' not good with eye contact."

You tilt your head at him and narrow your eyes, "That's not true."

"Eh?" Ino's brows push together, "How are you gonna' tell me..." He says with a pout.

You giggle, "You manage eye contact with everyone else just fine."

He moves for a nearby empty glass someone's placed down, and glances at you as he does so, "So you've been paying attention to me, then?"

Of course, your eyes have hardly left his. It's fun teasing someone like this, "A bit, yeah."

Ino moves with the empty glass to place it with other dirty ones, humming a little nervously, "Oh..." As he does so. Then, you watch him pick up a clean glass and move to make a new drink right in front of you.

"Is that okay?" You murmur. Your voice has this purposeful flirtiness to it and it does not go unnoticed, "Am I allowed to pay attention to you, Ino?"

He gulps, "Course' you can."

Your eyes drop to the glass in his hands as he pours alcohol into it and you smirk, "Ino..."

His gaze flicks to your face for a moment, "H-Hm?"

"You're shaking." You point out.

Ino nearly fumbles the glass in his hand entirely and you watch him miss the cup for a moment, a bit of the liquid he'd been pouring trickling onto his hand and then the floor, "Shit," He curses.

You chuckle slightly at first, earning a little pouty glare from the man.

Then as he goes to clean up you hear him mumbling to you, "That's not funny..."

Your chuckling proceeds to elevate into genuine laughter, "Yeah it is," You snicker, "You're adorable, holy fuck."

Ino's face is a little red as your words hit his ears and he drops down to clean the mess on the floor. After which, he pops right back into your line of vision, seeing you still laughing at him and pouting yet again.

"I am not 'adorable'," Ino grumbles.

You giggle, "Yes, you are."

He shakes his head and sighs in this sassy kinda way, "Am' not."

"Are too," You argue.

His eyes meet yours and despite being embarrassed, he's got a little smile back on his face, "Nuh-uh."

You nod, “Yuh-huh."

Ino then rolls his eyes, still smiling, before he puts all the items he had in his hands down to the side. You then watch one hand drop down into his pocket before his phone is pulled out. Ino unlocks the device and then places it in front of you, sliding it closer to you with an empty contact slot on the screen.

"Put your number in here," He sighs, smoothly requesting your contact info like it's nothing.

You raise a brow, "Are you asking for it or are you demanding it?"

Those almost innocent brown eyes of his trail over to yours and he holds eye contact for a longer moment, "I'm asking. I like talking to you so, can I get your number?"

"Hmmm..." You hum playfully, purposefully taking your time to answer, "Is this to be friends or something more?"

He's still looking you in the eyes, "Uh, friends? I'm not sure I could even handle a woman like you."

You raise a brow.

"I mean that in a good way," Ino clarifies.

You shrug and move to enter your number in his phone, "Thanks. I was only asking that 'cause I uh..."

He tilts his head and watches your fingers tap across his screen, "...Have a lot going on?"

"Something like that, yeah." You answer before you finish adding your info and then slide the phone back to him.

He picks up his cell and pockets it before shrugging, "I see, well, if this makes you feel any better, I always try to get people's numbers after a nice conversation with them."

You frown playfully, "Aw, so I'm not special?"

Again, he's flustered, "W-Well, I mean you are b-but I just-"

"Ino," You snicker, "I'm just teasing you, relax."

He rolls his eyes again and sighs, "You're driving me crazy."

For one last time, you tilt your head and give him this flirtatious look, "Am I?"

Ino looks at your expression and gulps, "Yes ma'am."

Okay, is it weird that a part of you wishes he was on the list too? Holy shit is teasing this man fun. Even so, you've got enough men to worry about in your life and you don't need to add to that.

You chuckle and your expression returns to something more platonic, "Alright, I'll stop then."

"Please," Ino begs quietly in a joking manner.

That makes you laugh again and this time, he laughs along with you. Then, you watch him go back to preparing that drink from earlier and he does it flawlessly this time, his nerves calmed after you stop all your teasing.

As the drink is finished, you sip on yours and then a pleasant smell slithers into your nose. It's cologne, a strong but ridiculously pleasant scent filling your nostrils. You blink a few times as you take in what you're smelling and for a second, you wonder if it's coming from Ino because he got kinda close as the drink he prepared was placed next to you.

Your question is answered within the next second though because you hear a voice that accompanies the scent. A deep, sexy, and soothing voice that makes your posture straighten due to how surprisingly close to you it is.

Nothing more than a simple, "Thank you," Was voiced but even so, it was extremely attractive.

Then, you curiously turn to where the voice came from, which was to your right, and you're met with your last target; Nanami Kento.

There he was, in the flesh, right next to you. Like, literally sitting in the barstool next to yours. And that drink Ino made? Yeah, it was his. Your eyes were all over the man, drinking in his features shamelessly.

The man seemed to be more muscular than you thought he was as the blue button-up shirt he wore clung to his body so delectably. The sleeves were rolled up near his elbows and you could see how muscular his arm was, veins decorating his skin as they became visible from his elbow and down.

The shirt was just hugging his body and you couldn't help but stare. Then, for a moment you look down at his pants. He wore these khakis that were just as fucking tight as his shirt and you swear you didn't mean to look at his crotch but because of the way he sat it was like your eyes were there before you even rendered it.

God, his pants hugged his thighs and you just drink in the way his hips push up slightly as he adjusts the way he sits. Holy fuck, you had to force your eyes up because you swore you could see his manhood, or at least imagine what he's hiding beneath those clothes of his.

So, your eyes went back up to areas more respectable to look at, such as his shirt, which you noticed he had enough buttons undone to reveal a teasing amount of his chest. His collarbone was so sharp and defined and you could only imagine the rest of his body.

Then, you trailed up just a bit more to his neck, then his jaw which was sharp as fuck, to his defined cheekbones, and then his eyes-

And shit.

He was already looking at you.

GOJO SATORU ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

GETO SUGURU ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

TOJI FUSHIGURO ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢

KAMO CHOSO ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 / 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

ZEN'IN NAOYA ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

ITADORI SUKUNA ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮???

NANAMI KENTO ☐ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙

mlist || previous chapt || next chpt

[wearywinchester]

In the Rain

Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: When Dean forgets to pick you up, the pouring rain is relentless on your walk back home.

Warnings: angst, arguing, fluff

You waited in the library entrance for at least half an hour by yourself, the downpour outside only getting heavier the more time that went by. Dean had told you he would pick you up from campus at around six, you even reminded him earlier that day for that matter. But the closer it got to seven the more you figured he wouldn’t show up.

He was never late.

The tears were welling up by now and you stood up, frustratedly slinging your bag over your shoulders before you pushed open the heavy glass door. You didn’t have an umbrella, and your hood didn’t do you any good as you rushed along the sidewalk, your thoughts starting to get the better of you.

Maybe it was just an honest mistake and he forgot. Or maybe he didn’t really care and found something better to do. Your mind tricked you into believing that was the only possible explanation.

You wrapped your arms around yourself tightly to stay as warm as possible, the rain quickly soaking through your jacket. The wind was damn near impossible the bear, putting chills straight through to your bones. It was nearly dark and your heart was pounding at the thought of being alone.

You were thankful when you saw your apartment complex, and you were thankful it wasn’t a lengthier walk, picking up your already fast pace, sighing once you got inside.

Your shoes made an uncomfortable sloshing sound with each step you took, clothes sticking your your skin along with the fall weather nearly making you freeze. Not to mention the stares you had gotten in the lobby.

When you stepped in your apartment you locked the door behind you, taking off your backpack. While you were opening it you could already see the rain soaked through pretty much everything, your text book pages having been wrinkled and warped, and the months worth of notes you had taken since the new quarter looked the same as your book, the words you’d written now bleeding into each other till it was barely understandable.

You threw everything down with an angry groan, backpack thudding to the floor in a pathetic mess. Then your phone vibrated, then again, and again. When you looked you saw messages from Dean, and it only made you more frustrated, tossing your phone on the bed before you stomped off to your bathroom. You hadn’t bothered to read them, not yet.

It was next to impossible trying to get out of your clothes, your arms growing tired trying to get your long sleeve shirt off and the anger was enough to send you over the edge. The tears you had been holding back flowed now, steady one after another down your cheeks as you put the last item of soaked clothing in the hamper, wrapping a clean towel around yourself.

If Sam weren’t over at Stanford, he’d pick you up, you thought to yourself. Maybe you were being over dramatic about it all. But it was just the icing on the cake after the crappy day you’d had. And it had left your insecurities to run ramped and you were too tired to rationalize it.

Just as you pulled your sweatshirt over your head your phone rang again. “Stop calling me, Dean.”

“Sweetheart, would you just let me explain?”

“Explain what? You forgot about me. That’s it. I walked home because you forgot. If you don’t care, that’s fine.”

With that you hung up before your voice could give out and let him know you’d been crying.

No, it was not fine.

With a huff you climbed into bed, switching on the tv to try and distract yourself. Fighting with Dean was never something either of you wanted to do, and it didn't happen very often. It was over something so trivial too the more you thought about it. He never picked you up, didn’t even tell you he’d be late. Nothing. You had a right to be a little upset with him, maybe not quite so harsh but you’d already yelled at him now.

Sighing, you pressed play on the remote and tossed it to the empty space next to you, scooting down beneath the blankets. As much as you wanted to, you couldn't focus on the show you'd put on, too in your head about him. After all, you never let him explain, though you were sure your insecurities wouldn’t listen. The whole situation was a mess, torn between playing into your thoughts of if he really even cared about it and being understanding of what had happened. Your head spun with every thought and scenario and you sighed, rubbing your eyes frustratedly.

It’d been about an hour, a knock at your door waking you from your half sleep a little startled. You checked the clock on your phone, 9:23 pm. And there were more messages and calls from Dean. You got up, heading for the door, heart skipping a beat when you opened it. You nearly slammed it in his face but he caught it with his foot and you rolled your eyes, turning to walk back to your room.

“Sweetheart,” He drew out, closing the door behind him.

“Don’t call me that,” You grumbled.

“Hey,” He grabbed your wrist and spun you around to face him, face softening at the sight of your tears. “You know I wouldn’t do that on purpose, don’t you?”

You were quiet, looking anywhere but at him as you tried to tug your arm out of his grip. When you did, you retreated back to your room but of course he followed.

“Just leave me alone, Dean. You don’t have to pretend you care,” you snapped, hating the way your voice cracked.

“Y/n, Bobby needed an extra hand at the shop and I lost track of time. Will you stop being so dramatic?” He said a little louder.

He immediately regretted the words the moment the leave his mouth. Dean Winchester, notorious for saying stupid things, notorious for not thinking before he speaks.

“Dramatic? Screw you, Dean. I didn’t ask you to come here and yell at me.” You turned away before he could really see you cry.

He was quiet then, probably because he knew you were right, tears running down your cheeks again. He knew he messed up just now, and he knew he messed up a few hours ago. And getting defensive the way he does certainly adds fuel to the fire. He knew he was the bad guy right now and he could accept that.

“Just go h–“

You cut yourself off when you turned around, your books in his hands as he tried to flip through the pages, guilt on his face when he saw that it wasn’t salvageable. The feeling sat heavy in his stomach like a rock, growing heavier the more time that passed.

He set them down gently, rain dampened hair flopping over his forehead as he stood up. His mouth opened to say something but he closed it again, instead wrapping you up in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, kissing your cheek, and then your nose. You didn’t know whether it was the hug or that look on his face, but you lost it, burying your face against his chest. He held you tighter, shushing you in an attempt to calm you down, and after a few minutes it did.

“No, I’m…I should’ve just waited for you.”

He brushed your hair away from your face, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“That thing where you blame yourself.”

“It’s true,” you shrug, wiping your face with the back of your hand. You brushed by him to get out of that room and into somewhere that felt less confined at the moment. He kicked off his boots and his wet jacket, hanging it on the coatrack. “You don’t have to stay because you feel bad for me. It’s fine.”

He gave you a look of disagreement, shoulders slumped at the way you were acting. “It’s more than just this, isn’t it?”

“It was just a bad day, Dean. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter when it’s getting you upset like this,” he reasoned with a louder voice and you rolled your eyes, letting out a big sigh. “You know I won’t make you talk, but at least let me be here.”

You leaned against the counter for a moment, rubbing your hands over your face. He wasn’t leaving and you knew that. “Okay. I guess you can stay.”

You were caught up in your own head for a little bit, Dean’s feet coming into view while your eyes were focused on the floor. You grabbed his hands, noticing the black grease still under his nails and smudged on his hands, rubbing your thumbs across them gently. The sight only made you feel worse, so much worse.

It wasn’t because he didn’t care, not even a little. It was because of exactly what he’d told you, what he’d been trying to tell you this whole time.

“‘M sorry for getting mad,” you said softly, dropping his hand to brush the hair away that stuck to his forehead.

His hair was still plenty wet from the rain, the occasional drop falling from the end. And you brush it away, running your fingers through it to get his hair out of his eyes. You always did like the longer hair choice, no matter the fact that either looked good.

Things fell silent again and you sighed quietly, hand falling back to your side.

“You’re all wet,” you say softly, and he can hear the guilt in your voice.

That smile of his appears, a soft chuckle leaving his lips that makes you frown and furrow your brows.

“It’s alright,” he shrugs. “I ain’t gonna melt, sweetheart.”

You narrowed your eyes a little more.

“You pickin’ on me, Dean?” You ask, and you watch that smile get a little bigger. “Of course you are.”

You try your best to sound grumpy, to sound ever so displeased, but it never worked. Never. Especially not as he chuckled again, that stupid laugh of his that you loved more than anything. Especially not as he pulled you in close, despite his rain soaked clothes. But you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. Not as he nestled in against you.

And even despite the fact that he was all wet with rain, despite all that, the warmth from his body heat still radiated through to you and blanketed you in it.

“I suppose I’ll forgive you this time,” you murmur, tipping your head back to look at him.

“Oh good,” he hums, barely getting the words out before he dips down to kiss you, his lips warm and lingering.

You could never stay mad at him, no matter how hard you tried to.

—

Taglist: @harrysweasleys @flamencodiva @stixnstripesworld @elegantbutedgy @campingmonkey @lanea-1 @deandaydreaming @agalliasi @malindacath @ajreturnstocringeyaccount @deanswaywardgirl @awkward-and-indecisive @drownthewitch @happyt0exist @sparkycorleone @humanmistakes @akshi8278 @kidd3ath @nyotamalfoy @elliewigginton20 @wandering-winchesters @senjoritanana

[findingnemosworld]

𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 - 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐤 𝐬𝐳𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐳𝐥𝐚𝐢

• 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬.

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲.

He'd returned home from the celebration, Liverpool had won the Premier League which had completed their quadruple dream - and he couldn't have been more elated, this was everything he could have asked for and then some, his phone had been buzzing with texts messages from old friends and family members — yet despite all of that, despite the elation coursing through his veins, he never forgot her.

Even more so, upon his phone vibrating to remind him that on this very day — both of them had went on their very first date following a lifetime of denial due to their close knit friendship.

The pair were at the local carnival enjoying the festive atmosphere when he decided to try and win her the teddy bear.

__

" Domi! " She giggles at his failed attempt at throwing the ball at the target. " That’s not how you do it "

He shot her a glare, " Then you try! " he grumbles.

She grabs the ball, aligning her aim to throw the ball until it perfectly hit the target, he looks at her in bewilderment. " How did you do it? "

A coy smile adorns her lips, " I had some practice "

__

A ponderous sigh escapes his lips, it’d been two years since their split; as much as he tried to move forward — pretend as though his ache has lessened, just the mere the thought of her was enough to send him on a rollercoaster ride of arduously moving emotions.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone vibrating, he averts his gaze downwards to see the screen flashing with a name, her name — she was calling him.

He’s quick to press the ‘answer’ button, placing the device on his ear. " Hello " he says with a shaky voice.

" Domi " Her soft familiar voice envelops him like a blanket on a cold night.

" Baba " He breathes out with a soft smile. " I can’t believe you called "

She giggles and he could have sworn his heart nearly escaped his rib cage — " How can I not call Domi? you’re a Premier League champion, I’m so proud of you "

His heart thuds rapidly at the revelation that she might have seen the match. " You … you uh .. you watched the match? " he whispers as he stood near the window, his gaze shifting towards the clear sky.

" Of course I did " She responds with a soft tone. " I couldn’t miss it for the world … I’ve seen every match you participated in — I was even " she paused before murmuring softly. " I was in the stadium when you won the Europa League "

His eyes widen, his mind drawing back to the very day, Liverpool had won the Europa League trophy. " You were there? why didn’t you …? " the question remains incomplete as he hoped she’d understood him.

A soft sigh escapes her lips as she says, " I was scared, figured you’d forgotten about me "

He chuckles softly, a hint of dejection lurking underneath. " Baba, of all my accolades in football … none of that truly mattered, when I had lost you in the process "

She’s quick to respond, " Domi, it wasn’t your fault … you had no choice "

He groans, " You’re always so fucking forgiving, if I hadn’t listened to my father " he sighs softly.

" Domi " She interjects with a soft and a deep tone. " I know that your father’s intervention wasn’t at all … the best, but hey, you got to do what you love, break free from his hold "

Tears brim in the corners of his eyes, dejection surfacing through his words as he says, " But at what cost? I lost you "

" Domi, you never lost me "

That one simple phrase was enough to silence the voices in his mind for now, " But you’re still in Paris, and I’m here "

" I have about two years left of my studies and you’re thriving in Liverpool, the holidays are coming up " She says with a soft tone full of hope. " We can meet again "

He smiles softly, watching as the stars twinkle up in the sky. " Promise not to laugh if I start crying? "

She giggles, " I can’t make any promises "

A wave of comfortable silence falls between them before he breaks it by saying, " Baba? "

" Hm? " She hums softly.

" I love you to the moon, never forget " He murmurs an all too familiar phrase.

" And I love you … see you soon " She says.

" See you soon " He says.

The moment he ends the call, a few stray tears escape, rolling down his cheeks as he looks at the stars in the sky — his mind drawing back yet another memory, a joyful memory.

__

She runs up to him, an excited expression decorating her features — " Guess what? "

He grins in amusement, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. " What? "

" I submitted my drawing to the contest and they accepted it it — I’m gonna participate " She squealed in pure elation.

He tugs her close for a warm embrace, pressing soft pecks on her forehead. " I’m so proud of you baba " he whispers.

She looks up to meet his soft gaze, full of pride and unconditional love. " I wouldn’t have done it without your love Domi, thank you "

He beams in response, chuckling when she buried her face in his chest. " I love you baba, never forget "

__

And they never forgot their love.

[vmpiires]

❛ INFINITY — 無限大

choso x f!reader ﾉ MDNI

𑂻𑂴 summary. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𓂃ㅤ you and choso go on a “date” and choso opens up about his family

𑂻𑂴 tags. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𓂃ㅤ choso (non-curse), mid 90s AU, nsfw, female anatomy, stoner!choso, mentions of going broke, possible sexual content, canon/modern lore mixes, etc.

𑂻𑂴 a/n. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𓂃ㅤ i almost forgot about this story BUT IM HERE. reblog to support meeee and enjoy :D (lmk if you wanna be tagged in the next part)

𑂻𑂴 misc. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𓂃ㅤ masterlist ,, AO3 — dark mode recommended. WC — 2.35K — part four

@sad-darksoul @aiyaaayei @a1-ic3 @exinqiu

“you wanna…hang out? like, right now?” you heard choso say hesitantly over the phone. it was around ten at night and you weren’t busy. you didn’t have anything better to do. plus, you wanted to go out a bit more since you were a bit of a homebody.

“yeah, why not?” you beamed over the phone. “it’ll be fun and i don’t have nothing else to do. plus, we need to hang out more before it gets too cold…winter is around the corner.”

“oh..um, yeah sure. you’re right.” choso answered. though, he was in the clear for the evening since yuji would be spending the night with his friends for a sleepover, the male was still skeptical about somethings.

what if there’s an emergency? what if something happened to his little brother? anything could’ve happened while he was away, not supervising.

you grin excitedly, starting to list multiple places you could go. it took some quick process of elimination just to choose the park. it was simple and it seemed like choso really wanted to go for some reason, so you agreed.

once you got off the phone, you navigate to your messages app and send him a text, ‘oh i forgot to say that if you wanna bring food or something you can.’

now you had to play the waiting game. it was always you waiting longer than five minutes or less than a minute for choso to text back.

well this time you didn’t have to wait. your phone makes a sound shortly after you sent that message. you take a glance down to see that choso loved your message.

‘helping my brother pack. i might be a little late.’

you smiled at the text and urged him to take his time. you thought it was sweet how heavily choso cared for yuji. nothing never went unnoticed around him. he was like a big brother and a mother in one.

you began to put on your clothes and grab whatever you needed before you would finally leave out of the house and make your way towards the park.

the night sky was so clear and perfect. you could see all the stars just from where you were standing. that’s when you started to wonder if choso liked stargazing. how would he feel about that?

you were quickly reminded that choso may not have time for stuff like that since he seemed like a busy man. you could also tell he was the type that wasn’t very exposed to current day activities trending amongst other people.

it’s like he’s trapped in his own bubble.

“hold your hand out,” choso said before lifting yuji’s hand to clip his nails. “now, i’ll be going out somewhere tonight, so i won’t be at home while you’re with your friends…but if you need me, please call me, okay?”

“i know, big brother,” yuji smiled up at his elder brother. choso’s cheeks turned a rosy color before smiling back. “but where are you going? you never leave the house this late unless you picked up work.”

“you’re right but tonight is different…i’m gonna meet our brothers, spend some time outside the house…i shouldn’t be rotting in here all the time anyway.”

choso put the boy down once he finished clipping yuji’s nails and ruffled his hair. he would fold some clothes and place them down into the bag neatly.

“don’t let anybody touch your stuff and break it, okay? you’re allowed to share but make sure they’re being careful. you know money is hard around here and i can barely afford some of this stuff for you.” choso mumbled. his soft expression seemed to turn into a slight frown.

yuji nodded but he couldn’t help but notice his brother’s expression. “are you mad, big brother?”

the dark haired male blinked quickly and shook his head. “no, no. i’m not mad…life is just really hard and i need to probably find a second job.”

working as a bartender is okay for him, he didn’t mind it. but when it came to needing more money to upkeep the house and to satisfy both their wants and needs, he would need a second job.

“then we won’t be able to hang out together,” yuji frowned. it was already hard for choso to make time for his little brother but now it would be even harder.

“i know, itadori…i know. but i’ll make it up to you as best as i can. i promise i’ll never forget about it, okay?” choso held his pinky finger out to yuji. “you trust me?”

“i trust you,” yuji grinned.

“good.” choso smiled as he retracted his hand away from the boy. “now hurry and go grab your coat and your shoes. let’s go, we don’t wanna be late.”

yuji nodded and grabbed his coat from the closet by the front door and put on his favorite red boots before hurrying out of the door, waiting for choso to follow behind him.

after choso drove yuji to the other side of town, choso would make a stop at the corner store and bought another pack of cigarettes and some snacks that you both would like.

it took a little bit of time to make up his mind because he was a bit picky about what he ate but he’d eventually figure it out before heading to the park, finally meeting up with you.

“hey,” choso called her name breathlessly as he jogged over to the spot where you were sitting at. the park was empty, perfect for just the two of you to relax and talk and do whatever came to mind. “i’m so sorry i took so long. i drove thirty minutes from my place, to the other side of town for yuji then back, i’m sorry.”

you noticed his apologetic tone and you nod your head no, smiling at him. “don’t worry about it. like i told you, you didn’t have to rush to get here. i wasn’t going anywhere.”

the two of you finally get comfortable on the grass, eating the snacks you both brought and the drinks. choso noticed you opening a can of beer from the six pack brought with you. the male lifted an eyebrow.

“i thought you didn’t drink..” he said softly. you nod, taking a sip of your beer before sucking your teeth.

“i don’t but it’s nice for the occasion, you know?” you reach down and hand one to choso, offering it to him. the male was about to say no but he considered your next words.

“come on, just one can won’t hurt you. you gotta loosen up a little bit. you’re a busy guy that barely gives himself a break. tonight’s your night, cho.”

the male would light a cigarette and put it between his lips before humming. you were definitely right. choso never gave himself a break. he was always moving. hesitantly, he’d take the can from you and open it, listening to the sound as it hissed open.

you giggled when you saw choso’s face contort to an expression of disgust the second he took a sip of the beer.

“you like this?” he asked.

“i don’t like it either but after a while it’ll taste better.” you reassured. there’s a silence between the two of you as you both sat there, taking in your environment.

trees blowing gently in the quiet wind of the night. lampposts casting dim lights and weak shadows, and the occasional chirping of crickets hiding in the soil somewhere.

choso wasn’t a man of many words so the silence was tolerable but then a thought came to your head. while choso smoked his cigarette and you ate your snacks, you turned to him.

“why’d you wanna come to the park so bad?” you asked.

“it’s from a recurring dream i have. every time i have that dream, i see my brothers here. i just wanted to….i don’t even know. i just wanted to know that this place wasn’t just a figment of my imagination, i guess.”

“do you know what happens in the dream?”

“it all goes by so fast…it’s not that i don’t remember what happens, i just hate talking about it sometimes. i’m sorry.”

“it’s fine, you don’t have to apologize,” you scooted a bit closer to him. “hey, let’s talk about something else. to lighten the mood, y’know?”

“oh..yeah, good idea.” choso nodded slowly, taking a drag from his cigarette. you had an idea already on what to talk about and you were obviously eager. anyone could just tell by the look on your face.

“have you ever stargazed before?” you began.

“uh…no. i mean- i look at stars but…i don’t do it like that. it’s- i don’t know.” he trails off, looking embarrassed and shy when he realized that he’s stumbled over his words a bunch.

“here, lay down.” you would lie down and choso just looked at you as if what you were doing was the oddest thing on earth. you waved your hand, gesturing him to do the same.

finally, choso would lay down, his eyes lighting up at the blanket of stars covering the sky. the stars were beautiful and bright that night. he could see some of them lining up, creating shapes—constellations.

“i love stars. they’re just so pretty.” you comment, “they look so close but they’re just so far…too bad some of them are dead.”

“these stars have been dead for a long time, they’re just now reflecting back to us.” choso chimed in lowly. you sighed.

“don’t you wish you could just be a star in the sky? not having to worry about anything or anyone in the universe, just yourself?”

“i’m not sure if i wanna turn into a star just yet,” choso said. “it sounds like death to me…but if i could run away and live somewhere secluded from society, i’d do it. me and yuji.”

“do you think anybody would miss you?” you frown a little, your expression a bit serious. choso shrugged.

“i have no friends...and if i did, they all died or they’re just people i don’t speak to anymore. i’m that lonely.” he sighed. “i don’t need other people anyway. it doesn’t bother me.”

choso looked at you and automatically felt embarrassed again. he ran his fingers through his medium length hair and shook his head.

“sorry. i overshare a lot.”

“you apologize a lot…it’s not really anything wrong with it, i just noticed that.” you say. “is that just…how you are? if you don’t mind me asking..”

“it’s just how i am, so—never mind. my dad was just so hard on me, i was always apologizing for something and he just kinda turned me into a sorry mess.”

the sudden mention of his father made him frown and he sighed. “i’m glad i don’t live with him…but i would probably stay there just for some money. he’s the typical salaryman with a son that’s broke…or at least, almost broke.”

“does the job you work at not pay enough?” you shifted your body so you were facing choso instead of the sky.

“it helps me get me and my brother some food that would last us a while and probably a shirt. not any of that luxury stuff. the only time i get that kind of stuff is when it’s given to me.”

“okay, that, i think is an exaggeration…every time i see you two, you’re dressed nicely and when we facetime, your house looks nice and clean,” you say. your hand slowly moved towards his but you hesitate to keep going.

“yeah, i guess it is. my job pays pretty well…i guess i’m just paranoid about it not being enough.” choso took a drag of his cigarette. when he felt your hand on his, he’d look down at it then back at you. instead of leaving your hand where it was, he’d take your hand into his.

the two of you were feeling a buzz from the beers you were drinking and the world seemed to be moving in slow motion. choso saw the soft smile on your face as you looked into his soft, tired eyes. you saw how his dark hair covered a lot of his face as he laid on the ground beside you.

“you know, i think you’re a really nice guy,” you blurt out. you weren’t even aware of what you were saying yourself. “i really like you.”

“i….” choso’s breath hitched, “uh…i like you too. i’ve liked you for a long time—since we met.” the male could feel his ears getting hot and the tip of his nose was a pinkish color from the cold, mixed with his blushing.

there was a tingly feeling on his face as his cheeks began to warm with excitement and embarrassment. the cut underneath his bandage was starting to bleed again.

“take this off,” you whispered, slowly removing the bloody bandage, revealing the red cut across his nose that’s usually black. you would take a napkin from your bag and once again, clean the blood from his face.

choso was obviously embarrassed. this was the second time you saw his cut but he didn’t really like others seeing it. the male used his hoodie to cover his nose.

“uh…thank you..for uh—for cleaning it.” he mumbled. you smiled at him and pulled the collar of his hoodie down from over his face before kissing him. your lips locked with each others and you both seemed to be in a deep state of excitement and euphoria.

choso never kissed a girl before. he wasn’t sure what was happening or what he was supposed to do but he tried his best to follow your lead anyway.

when you pulled away, you could see the surprise on choso’s face. his face was flushed from being so inebriated just as you were.

you both fell silent. the only noise that existed was your own breathing and the nature around you. choso was sure he wouldn’t remember much of this tomorrow and neither would you…but deep down, he found it hard to believe.

lowkey this took so long to write,, i’m tired 😭 i’m glad you guys like this. i made something happen so…now its time to get ready to wrap it up. also sorry if there’s any mistakes lol

© EXORSIIAN | © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[beautysamour]

What kind of fluids are we talking about…

Pairing: Aaron warner x reader

Set slightly before the first book, you’re one of Warner’ soldiers.

Characters: Kenji Kishimoto, Aaron Warner

Summary: Aaron Warner reminds you to drink water.

warning/s: A slightly suggestive joke from Kenji at the end.

point of view: 2nd person

enjoy!

—

You woke up to the sun shining in your eyes, the sounds of bird chirping, and-

and kenjis loud ass voice forcing you to wake up.

“Rise and shine princess- we have work to do!Unless you hit your head so hard you forgot all about it?” Kenji doesn’t shy away from letting his sarcasm drip out with his words. for fucks sake.

Kenji resumes pacing around your room, not bothering to hide his loud footsteps. All of course, to piss you off and get you off your bed.

You groan before pushing yourself off of your bed- sending a glare at Kenji- “Alright, alright. You’ve been yapping for the past 30 minutes Kenji, get the fuck out of my room.”

Kenji stopped his pacing and let out a gasp before reciting one of his dramatic monologues, “Did you just curse? At me? I bless you with my presence and you-“

“Fuck off, Kenji, I’ll be out in a few minutes.” He raised an eyebrow. You let out a dramatic sigh, “I promise. Now please, I still have to get out of my bed and I don’t have a shirt on right now.” You finish your sentence with a deadpan directed at him.

He turns and heads towards your door, and actually walks out your room, but not without sending you a slight smirk and a flirty response of: “You were that excited to see me?”

You threw a pillow at him, which he throws back and says “I’ll meet you at the eating area.” before closing your door.

A few seconds pass before you fully get out of bed. A groan escapes your mouth as a wave of nausea violently came over you. As you get dressed the wave of nausea that crashed into you seemed to have only gotten worse, even after blocking all the light from entering your room because that seemed to make it worse.

With another groan and a shake of your head, you open your door and made your way to Kenji. As soon as you opened your door, you immediately leaned on the wall- the nausea only getting worse. You let out a few curses under your breath and pushed yourself off the wall.

“Fucking hell,” you whisper once you regain your composure. You let out a heavy breath and began to walk, luck seems to really be on your side however, as you bump into another wall.

A rather soft…wall? No it wasn’t a wall, it was definitely a human. Bumping into whoever this was seemed to have brought your headache back, you brought a hand up to your temples and took a step back from the person.

“Sorry, my bad,” you mumble out and side step around them, desperately hoping that this time you’ll actually reach Kenji, and that the person you bumped into wouldn’t get angry and track you all the way down.

“I almost thought you went back to sleep.”

You sat down across from Kenji tuning out his voice, your headache was throwing you off. “I bumped into someone,” you close your eyes as you rested your elbow on the table, bringing your hand up so you could message your temples and shield yourself from the light.

The remaining time of breakfast was filled with Kenji going on tangents about some movie called Tangled and with you tuning him out, focusing on messaging your temples.

After breakfast officially ended, you and everyone else began to go to their designated area for work. It seems that your boss, Warner, was conducting a mission that involved some kind of asylum. Well that’s what Kenji told you.

After cleaning up the table, Kenji reunited with you and the two of you began to walk out of the cafeteria. Seeming to have realized that you didn’t feel well, Kenji stopped talking and instead focused on making sure you didn’t fall over while walking.

The light hurt. Everything seemed so much louder than normal, and you felt so cold. The violent throbbing in your head only got worse and now you really wanted to throw up. Kenji seemed to have started speaking again but his voice was muffled and everything started to blur.

Your feet began to slur, and the last thing you see before you completely black out- and before you even realize that you were falling- was the figure you bumped into earlier walking towards the two of you.

—

You woke up to silence.

The room was dimmed and you were in your bed again. The throbbing in your head is still there but not as violent as it was a few…hours? A few hours ago.

You tilt your head towards the lamp in your room that was responsible for giving your room the dim lighting, only to be greeted with the presence of your boss- Warner.

You immediately push yourself up into an upwards sitting position, tempted to push yourself completely off the bed but he speaks up before you could make another rash move.

“Relax. I don’t need you making any sudden movements that will end up having you pass out again.” He gets up from where he was leaning on your desk and pulls up a chair to sit in near your bed.

You don’t respond to him at all, you don’t even look at him, you’re not even sure if you’re breathing any more. The hell is he here for?

After a few moments of silence, you realize that Warner was waiting for you to say something- when you take too long to respond he speaks up again.

“I have an order for you, you would’ve heard this earlier at the briefing but you passed out.” You stiffen in embarrassment, you passed out- and he was told about it.

“This is an extremely private mission, I expect that you’ll be able to keep this private and complete your part of the operation. In two months, Kent is going to go to an asylum where he is going to have direct contact with who we’re trying to get. Once they come back, you will be in charge of keeping her well and making sure she gets comfortable. You will essentially be her best friend.”

You look up at him and make direct eye contact- vibrant green eyes- he seems to be waiting for a response again. This time you’re able to respond in time.

“Yes, sir.”

The two of you keep the eye contact for what feels like a minute, and then he gets up. “I have high expectations for you, Kishimoto recommended you for this operation.”

Hearing this takes you out of the daze that the eye contact put you in, “Ken-Kishimoto? Why?” Realizing that was a stupid question, you clear your throat and whisper “nevermind” under your breath.

What the fuck? Stupid, stupid. He probably doesn’t even know why Kenji recommended me!

You look back up at him again only to be met with a glass of water in your face, “Make sure to hydrate. I can’t have you passing out once she’s here.” Feeling your cheeks slightly burn up from embarrassment, you mumble out a thanks before taking the glass of water out from his hands.

You watch him walk towards your door and open it, taking a step out. You feel your nerves settle thinking that the moment is finally over but then he turns back towards you- causing your back to immediately straighten. “And by the way love, make sure to keep your head up while walking. Some bastard might take it personally if you bump into them.” He gives you a slight smirk before fully stepping out your room and closing the door.

…..

IT WAS HIM?

Your face fully flushes this time as the embarrassment is now too much to handle. You bumped into him?! Warner- of all people!

Your little panic session is cut short when Kenji rushes into your room.

“Are you feeling better?”

You take a few moments to respond but end up giving him a nod.

“That’s good…so did Warner give you the update?”

“You mean what my part in the operation is?” Kenji nods. “Yes, he told me.”

The two of you remain quiet for a few moments before Kenji speaks up again.

“No….”

“What?” You respond confused, what was Kenji saying no to…?”

“Don’t tell me you like him…” Kenji dramatically brings a hand up to his mouth, “Kenji what the fuck are you talking about?” you respond.

“Oh, no, don’t “kenji what the fuck are you talking about” to me,” he poorly imitates your voice, “I get being intimidated by being alone with him one on one, but blushing? Uh uh, I can’t believe this.” He says even more dramatically.

“Kenji, I don’t-“ you’re unable to properly form a sentence, getting even more embarrassed. You did NOT have a crush on Warner of all people…absolutely not….

“Yeah right,” Kenji says, “hey, where’d you get that water from?”, he asks in a rather teasing tone. “Warner,” you respond. He raises an eyebrow before speaking again, “Hmm…well. I bet you would’ve preferred if he gave you another kind of fluid-“

Your mouth drops open at his grotesque implication, “Kenji, get out!”

—

[lucidlivi]

Chosen For Pleasure (V)

Series Masterlist/Warnings

Taglist: @ladysparkles78 @suckitands33 @little-x-wolf @stoneyggirl2 @creative-writing92 @jc-winchester @mrsjenniferwinchester @lessons-of-red @jamerlynn (if you would like to be added to the list please send me a message as it is easier for me to keep track that way!)

ROUGH JENSEN COMING UP.

J: do you have an answer for me?

: not yet.

****************************************************

J: it's been two days, I'm growing old here?

: here's something you've probably never been told before... be patient.

J: you're right, I've never been told that, I'm used to getting what I want... and I want this arrangement, and I want it with you.

: must get boring..

****************************************************

J: four days now, have you thought anymore about it?

I sighed reading Jensen's text.

He was persistent that's for sure.

I haven't seen him since he dropped me off the other day but he's been texting me ever since. He was used to getting everything he wanted, and something told me he's never had to pursue a woman before. I bit my lip before typing a reply.

: yeah I've thought about it, and it's been fun....

I waited for Jensen to reply but it never came.

I felt a little guilty about sending that. Of course I was joking. But he was going to have to work a little harder.

I sighed before grabbing my computer to work on the edits for next months pictures. Gray gave me a raise, appointing me the official senior editor for the magazine. I've been avoiding him at work when I can, still feeling slightly uncomfortable from our conversation a few days ago, although he hasn't said anything bizarre since.

Stella and Matt have been seeing each other everyday now so she's been more absent lately. She didn't pry too much about Jensen. She can just sense when things aren't okay with me.

I tried my best to continue editing but my mind was too distracted. A loud pounding on our door pulled me out of my trance. I hopped up off the floor, sauntering over to the it.

It was probably just Stella forgetting her key like always.

I opened the door, shocked to find Jensen standing on the other side. He pushed in running a hand over his chin, huffing in frustration.

"uh come in.'" I laughed.

He turned to me, a scolding but lustful look on his face.

"It's been fun really?" He asked approaching me.

I bit my lip smirking up at him.

Boy could I really push his buttons.

He leaned down whispering in my ear.

"Let me just remind you how fun it is."

Before I could respond Jensen pushed me up against the wall, his lips attacking my neck. He roughly sucked on a spot making a gasp escape my lips.

"is this fun?" He asked before kissing my jaw roughly.

His hands went under my shirt, practically ripping it away from my body.

I forgot how good he was at this.

I moaned, my hands finding the buttons of his dress shirt, hungrily undoing them. I slipped his shirt off, biting my lip at his toned chest. My bra was the next thing to go. He immediately kissed down to my breasts while his hands worked my leggings down my legs.

"are you having fun yet?" He growled.

"hmm not yet" I pushed.

I could see his jaw clench at my words.

He picked me up setting me on the counter before pushing me back flat. He ripped my underwear at the side causing them to fall away.

Fuck he was strong.

His head dipped down between my legs, his breath fanning over my heat.

"Jensen Please." I begged.

At my words he peppered kisses all around my core, using his tongue to enhance the pleasure. I found my hands make their way to his hair, tugging on the ends. Moans fell from my lips as he worked his tongue on me devouring me hungrily. He inserted two fingers, working them in and out roughly.

"is it fun now?"

As he said that he pushed his fingers in deeper making me omit a breathy moan.

"so fucking fun" I said between breaths.

Jensen stood up stripping his jeans and boxers. Without warning he picked me up wrapping my legs around his waist, lowering me on to him. I whimpered at the contact, forgetting how big he was.

He carried me over to the couch, laying us down.

He pulled out before slamming in to me roughly. My hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging in to his skin. His thrusts getting more rough with each snap of his hips. I could feel the anger rolling off of him as he groaned.

"fuck what are you doing to me?" Jensen questions as his thrusts start to become sloppy signifying he's close to his release.

"Jensen please." I panted nearing my release as well.

A few more snaps of his hips had Jensen and I both exploding with pleasure. He collapses on top of me, laying his head on my chest, trying to slow his breathing. I put my hands in his hair absentmindedly playing with it.

"I meant it" He said glancing up at me.

I gave him a confused look.

"what the hell are you doing to me?" He asked.

"making you work for it." I said biting my lip.

He sighed bringing his head back down to rest on my chest.

"why don't you kiss on the lips?" I asked him.

He shifted uncomfortably before raising his head again.

"it's uh an intimacy thing for me." He said simply without explanation.

"you have kissed someone before though right?"

"yes, one person."

"and..?" I pushed trying to get him to elaborate.

He was quiet for a minute.

"I uh should get going." He said pushing off of me and standing up.

I quickly sat up too.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I said biting my lip.

Jensen was a private guy, I quickly figured out he didn't let many people in on what goes on in his head. He was closed off emotionally. I felt bad for pushing him, but I was trying hard to understand why he was the way that he was.

"It's not because of that." He assured running his hand down my cheek.

"but you don't want to talk about it."

"no I don't." He said sternly.

He grabbed his boxers and jeans pulling them back over his thick thighs.

"okay fine, we don't have to, but that doesn't mean you have to leave.. you could stay the night?" I questioned hopeful.

Jensen had something about him that made me want him around, even if this meant a little more to me than it did to him.

"I told you, I don't sleep with anyone."

It was like as soon as we took one step forward we took two steps back at the same time.

"but I'll be around to get you tomorrow for Jared's dinner." He said finishing the buttons on his shirt.

"wait you want me to go?"

"he invited you didn't he." Jensen said leaning over to place a kiss on my forehead.

I bit my lip nodding while watching him walk to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said giving me a small smile before walking out.

I groaned throwing my head back against the sofa.

What the hell did I get myself in to?

One minute Jensen was amazing, and the next he could be completely closed off.

I heard my phone ringing from the end table. I picked it up seeing mom flashing on the screen. I hadn't talked to her since everything with Jensen started, being so preoccupied, I neglected her.

"hey mama, sorry I've been preoccupied." I said answering.

I just needed to hear her voice.

"I've heard you got a new friend?" She questioned.

"how'd you... Stella?"

"she actually picks up the phone when I call, but I want to let you know I'm happy for you, although I would've much rather heard it from you." She said cheerily.

"I'm sorry mama." I said feeling the emotions wash over me.

I could feel the tears brim around my eyes. My emotions were on overload. I was so confused about how I felt.

"he is making you happy isn't he darling?"

"yeah mama, it's just complicated." I said wiping a stray tear that escaped.

"love is never easy baby." she comforted.

I missed her voice, her soothing words.

"I miss you mama."

"well you know you're always welcome here baby, that's actually what I was calling you about, I'd like you to come out to California, there's uh somebody I want you to meet."

"somebody to meet?" I inquired.

"Richard." she spoke softly.

"you met someone?" I beamed happy for her.

It had been a long time since she seemed this happy. Dad took a big piece of her with him when he died.

"at the country club, he's uh really good for me, and I wanted you to meet him."

"I'd be happy to mom, how about this weekend?"

"it's a date! just remember my love, you're amazing, and if this guy is right for you, things will work out, and if he's not well you owe it to yourself to take care of you." she said going in to mom mode.

"I love you mama, I can't wait to meet Richard."

"I love you too baby."

...........................................................................................

I sighed fixing my hair in the mirror. Jensen would be here any minute to pick me up and I was a nervous wreck. I was going to be in Jared Padalecki's house with some of the cast from Supernatural. I groaned, as I couldn't get this piece of my hair to lay just right.

"need some help with that?" Stella asked me standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"please." I pouted.

she came over fixing my part in my hair, laying the pieces flat.

"there, now some lipgloss and you'll be good to go." she said uncapping her favorite gloss, swiping it on my lips.

"thanks, Stell" I whispered pulling her in for a hug.

"of course, it's not everyday my best friend gets to hang out with a bunch of celebrities." she smirked.

"I'm so nervous I think I'm going to be sick." I whispered looking at my reflection in the mirror.

"I mean I could totally go in your place, Jared is a total snack." Stella said laughing.

"hmm too bad he's married, and you're taken." I said joining in her laughter.

our doorbell rang, signaling Jensen had arrived. I could feel the nerves creeping up again.

"relax, everything will be fine." Stella whispered pushing me towards the door.

I opened it, seeing Jensen in a dress shirt and jeans. He took in my appearance giving me a smile.

"ready to go?"

"uh not really, but yeah." I said laughing.

Jensen grabbed my hand, offering Stella a quick wave. He of course brought the bright red ferrari. He opened the door for me allowing me to slip in.

"so when you said some of the cast of supernatural will be there, how many are we talking?" I asked nervously fidgeting.

"just me, Jared, Misha, both Mark's Jeff, Richard, and Genevieve of course. He shrugged.

"and who do they think I am?" I questioned, unsure of what I should introduce myself as.

"my date."

I couldn't fight the smile that made its way on to my face.

It was quite the drive to Jared's place but it was peaceful. I felt the nerves calm but immediately resurface as we pulled in to his driveway. His house was beautiful, nowhere as big as Jensen's but beautiful nevertheless.

"are you sure I should be going in there?" I asked nervously fidgeting.

I wasn't sure I belonged at this get together.

"relax, we're just regular people." Jensen said getting out of the car.

"believe me there's nothing regular about you." I whispered under my breath.

I hesitantly got out of the car meeting Jensen's side. He grabbed my hand intertwining our fingers and giving my hand a squeeze. It did calm my nerves a bit. Jared met us at the door followed by his wife.

"was worried you forgot about me again." Jared joked hugging Jensen.

"(y/n), nice to see you again." Jared said surprising me with a hug.

"how are you Jensen?" Genevieve asked hugging him.

"and you must be (y/n), I'm Genevieve, it's lovely to meet you." she said smiling and giving me a hug too.

she was so sweet, no wonder the fans loved her.

"come on in, the rest of guys are already here." Jared said smiling.

I put on a brave face masking my nerves. Jensen was met with hugs by each of his former cast mates. I stood off to the side.

okay I definitely didn't belong here.

"and who's this pretty young thing?"

"this is (y/n), my date." Jensen introduced.

"what's wrong with her? darling don't you know this man's a dumbass?"

I choked back a laugh as Jensen rolled his eyes.

"I'm Jeffery, you can call me Jeff." He introduced, placing a kiss to my hand.

Of course I already knew who he was, I didn't want to come off as creepy though.

"nice to meet you." I smiled.

"can I just say you have a beautiful smile." He complimented.

I could see Jensen roll his eyes again.

"alright, we're good here Jeff." Jensen said grabbing my hand and pulling me away from him.

I laughed looking back at Jeff to see him smirking.

"you know he's just trying to get under your skin right?" I asked glancing up at Jensen.

"yeah well it's working.." he huffed.."come on I want you to meet Misha."

I made my way around talking to each of the guys there. Misha, Jared, and Jeff were my favorite by far, the way they teased Jensen made me laugh. I was definitely more calm now.

Jensen was right they were just regular people at the end of the day. I was sipping on a glass of wine while Misha and Jared teased Jensen some more.

"hey (y/n), could you give me some help with something quickly?" Genevieve asked from the kitchen.

Jensen gave me a wary look as I walked to her.

"of course how can I help."

"could you help me set the table for dinner?" she asked sweetly.

"I'd love too."

I grabbed some plates and silverware starting to set them out on the table.

"It's so refreshing to see Jensen bring somebody around, he never really does." she said setting glasses filled with water and wine glasses on the table.

Wow. I felt my pulse increase, the heat go to my cheeks.

"really, never?" I asked still in shock.

"he's a complex guy." she said laughing.

"you can say that again." I said laughing too.

our laughter quieted down, our focus going back to setting the table.

"but he's a good guy, yah know underneath all that hostility and complexity." she spoke up.

I nodded my head agreeing with her. I've seen it myself. It's just pulling it out of him is the hard part.

"and you must be pretty special for him to bring you around." she added.

I bit my lip blushing as we finished setting the table. I was about to respond when Jensen and Jared walked in the dining room.

"we heard laughing, what are you plotting?" Jared asked wrapping his arms around Gen, kissing her lips.

Jensen grabbed my hand once again intertwining our fingers.

"no plotting, I was just telling (y/n) how refreshing it is to see Jensen with a woman, we haven't since.." Genevieve started but Jared quickly cut her off.

"I'm starving baby, dinner ready yet?" He asked sneaking a glance at Jensen, but of course I saw it.

"uh yeah, everyone have a seat." she called.

I couldn't help the uneasy feeling that washed over me. Jensen clearly didn't want me to know about his past. The question was why? Also did everyone in the room know but me? Jensen and I took our seats, I dropped his hand, bringing both hands to my lap.

"problem?" Jensen whispered in my ear.

"not at all." I lied easily.

Jensen looked as if he didn't believe me. He instead placed a hand on my knee slowly sliding it up under my dress to my thigh.

"so (y/n), what do you do?" Misha asked taking a bite of his salmon Gen had prepared.

"I'm a photographer, and now senior editor for a magazine." I said smiling as I nibbled on the asparagus.

"ooh so you can totally help me with my social media game." Genevieve said laughing.

"yeah I would be happy to."

"so Jensen said you lived in Laredo, do you live there with your family?" Misha asked a follow up question.

"uh no, I live with my roommate Stella. My dad passed away when I was a little girl, and my mom lives in California. I'm actually planning on going out this weekend to see her.” I said giving him a smile.

I could feel Jensen's grip on my thigh get tighter. Dinner conversation was thankfully deflected away from me. I noticed that Jensen was unnaturally quiet for the rest of the meal.

"problem?" I whispered in his ear, in the same tone he'd taken with me earlier.

He only squeezed my thigh as a response, listening to Mark Sheppard who was telling a story.

"who's ready for dessert?" Genevieve asked when Mark was done with his story.

"would you please excuse us for a second?" Jensen asked standing up and grabbing my hand to pull me up.

I allowed him to pull me out of the house in to the driveway. He started walking down the dirt path pulling me with him quickly.

"Jensen slow down, I can't go that fast in these shoes." I said trying my best not to trip over my feet.

Jensen picked me up throwing me over his shoulder. I gasped as he continued to walk down the path. Once we were away from the house he set me down turning to me.

"what was all that?" I questioned fixing my dress.

"how come you didn't tell me about California." He growled.

wait was he seriously mad at me right now?

"wait are you mad about that?"

"yes I'm mad!" He yelled.

"woah, you have no right to be mad at me okay." I huffed crossing my arms.

"yeah I do, you're keeping things from me."

"oh you're one to talk Jensen." I scoffed.

"that's different." He defended.

"so you're allowed to keep all these secrets but as soon as I don't tell you something you get all pissy?" I growled, glaring at him.

Jensen stayed quiet staring at me.

"and then you do this, you completely shut down on me. why do you keep pushing me away? what are you so afraid of?" I asked putting a hand to his cheek.

He flinched at my touch.

"Jensen I'm really trying here, but I need more." I said biting my lip.

"what like hearts and flowers, I'm sorry that's not me." He said turning away from me.

I walked around so I was standing in front of him again.

"I don't care about hearts and flowers, I just want you to be honest with me."

Jensen was quiet again as he stared at me.

"you're right, I have no reason to be mad, it's not like we're dating." He said turning to walk back to the house.

I sighed feeling a tear slip down my cheek.

one step forward. ten steps back.

Author Note:

thank you all for the love, please continue to heart, comment, reblog and follow!

-Liv

Part (VI)

[miukki960]

Okay, so I just finished Love for Love's Sake and..... I have so many thoughts. I could wax poetic for hours about how much I loved the show, but right now what I really want to talk about is my theory on the ending and the whole concept of the "game."

Please bare with me as I don't make posts like this (or any at all for that matter) often. Please forgive me if it's incoherent, my thoughts tend to run faster than my fingers can type lol.

Here we go!

First, who is the author sunbae? I think he's the embodiment of death. When Myungha wished on the shooting star for 1. Someone to care for him and love him and 2. To disappear,he was wearing what I'm pretty sure is the same outfit as when we first see him in the bar back in episode 1. This leads me to believe Death heard his wish, so when Myungha decides to end his life and regrets his decision in the last moment, Death decides to give him a chance to change his fate.

So he creates the "game" based on a novel he supposedly wrote. I believe this is a false memory he gives to Myungha so he will willingly play the game and try to change his fate. Which leads me to my second point...

Myungha is the author. The show did a very good job at keeping this subtle at the beginning. We as an audience are led to believe he is simply transported into the videogmae world and is at the mercy of the dating sim, but they show us multiple times that that's not the case.

Once, when Myungha mentions that the missions are written in his handwriting, a second time when we get a flashback of him actually writing these missions in a notebook at the bar, and a final time when we see him pen the shows Ultimate Mission using the Author's Pen, "Please make Cha Yeowoon Happy."

I started to get the idea that Myungha was the author back in the first few episodes when we started to see the side missions. Every mission he got screamed to me "this mission is actually for you, not Yeowoon." What was the first thing he did when he was supposed to get Yeowoon more friends? He befriended Kyunghoon himself. Save 3,000,000 won? For himself. Get Yeowoon followers? Using HIS Instagram. Which leads to point number three....

The game Myungha is sent to is actually a reenactment of his senior year of high school. All the characters he meets are actual people in his earlier life, his grandma, Kyunghoon, Sangwon. But in his original "playthrough" he didn't bother to befriend or interact with them, so they went about their lives unaffected, and he forgot they existed. I say all this with the exception of Cha Yeowoon.

Cha Yeowoon is a mirrored reflection of Myungha created by Death and inserted into the game. Myungha said himself at the beginning that Yeowoon was his favorite character because he reminds him of himself. Later on, we learn that their backgrounds are almost identical too. Yeowoon lost his mother, has an absent runaway father, and was raised by his grandmother. Myungha has a dead father, absent runaway mother, and is being raised by his grandmother. So at the beginning when Death asks Myungha if he will change Yeowoon's fate and rewrite his story, he's really talking about Myungha.

Adding to this, I also noticed something rather spectacular narratively in the second half of the show. The whole show, we watched Myungha try and (mostly) succeed at making Yeowoon happy. But suddenly I realized, as we watched him get happier and happier, Myungha was falling deeper and deeper into a sadness rivaling how we saw Yeowoon in the beginning. We stopped seeing the calculations of Yeowoon's affection level, and instead saw error messages and system malfunctions, representing Myungha's emotional state.

Which begs the ultimate question on everyone's minds to be answered. If the whole point of sending Myungha back to his 19yo self and giving him Yeowoon was to get him to love himself and be happy, why were the system malfunctions so devastatingly awful and cruel? Answer: because Myungha is the author, and he's depressed and self-destructive.

He begins to feel happy with the changes he's made, he sees Yeowoon happier and he feels like he's succeeding, yet the countdown message to his death still appears. It's ominous and impending and a constant reminder that he's failing. So as the author, he tries to revert back to factory settings by getting rid of the major changes to his life, Yeowoon and his grandmother. The two people who love him most, and the two people he thinks he deserves the least.

Sangwon said it the best. Myungha's main issue is that he refuses to receive love, both from others and himself. Which is why he fails the game and dies a second time. He followed the missions for Yeowoon and refused to let them break down his own walls like they were ment to.

But Death does see the change in him through Yeowoon. Being Myungha's mirror, Yeowoon represents the change that was supposed to happen to Myungha. So when Myungha (the him he hates) deletes himself in order to make Yeowoon (the him he loves) happy ("please make Cha Yeowoon happy"), Yeowoon is able to go full-meta, breaking through the game and rewriting the mission to "Please make Tae Myungha happy."

Thus saving Myungha and allowing him a third chance at a happy life, where he receives just as much love as he gives.

Don't ask me about the "he comes back disjointed from Yeowoon's timeline" thing bc I don't understand it narratively but it sure does make for a visually pleasing ending.

[cod-dump]

Alright, so I saw that someone wanted more food insecurity with Ghost, but idk if this counts as food insecurity—it's whatever. It includes food, so it counts. ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌

New Prompt: Ghost has trouble telling when he's hungry until he's literally starving and has really bad time blindness while on leave (like me).

On top of his shit childhood, Simon's teenage years brought on a whole lot of issues with appetite. Despite being a growing boy, Simon has a very unique appetite due to his previous eating habits mentioned in the other ask. He kinda fucked up his hunger levels. He would eat whatever whenever, but he was never actually hungry or at least—he couldn't really tell. This caused problems when he would unknowingly go the whole day without eating something because he couldn't find any scraps to snack on, and couldn't tell that he had been starving until his stomach loudly expressed its anger at him the next morning.

He never really acknowledged it as a serious problem. The military already gave him a set schedule and timeframe on when to eat, so it was never an issue of missing meals and accidentally starving himself.

Until he went on leave for 3 months with Johnny.

There was no longer a set schedule on when to eat since Ghost was sleeping in most of the time like the grumpy black cat that he is. So, sometimes, when Johnny's out in the morning doing whatever and Ghost wakes up, he doesn't eat—like at all. He turns on the TV and absentmindedly watches some random documentary about penguins while mindlessly cleaning around the house and—oh shit, Johnny's home. What time is it?

Why is Johnny already back home? He's supposed to be back by 7pm and it's only—Ghost briefly checked the time on his phone—7:20pm... How the hell...

That was when Ghost suddenly realized that his stomach had literally screaming at him for probably hours. He forgot to eat. He hadn't eaten since he woke up 8 hours ago. He woke up at 11, and it's already night time!

Johnny had a very disappointed expression when he found out that Ghost had done things around the house like clean up and fold clothes and shower, but didn't eat a single thing. Johnny expected Ghost to find leftovers in the fridge like he would back on base, but apparently his LT forgot to look at a clock in between his activities. He was disappointed, but he also had a pretty bad case of time blindness when he was super involved in something, so he couldn't really blame the man. They both learned something new and that info was tucked away for later.

Instead, the two went to the kitchen and Johnny made three of his signature, god-tier-level sandwiches; two for Simon, one for Johnny. It was something quick to make, and they always tasted good. It hit just the perfect spot for someone who hasn't eaten in 8 hours in favor of being productive in an empty household.

From that point forward, Johnny added to his ever-growing list of things about his Ghost. Make sure to remind Simon to eat every 3-4 hours or he will forget (specifically on leave). Simon learned to look forward to Johnny's messages telling him to grab something to munch on everyday.

(i wonder what those text reminders would look like ngl, also someone make up the type of sandwiches that Soap makes bc that man knows how to make a mean sandwich)

— 🍄🍂

Ghost is me fr. Time blindness and all

___

Message from Johnny: Hey babe! Go eat the lunch I made for you and some water! Be home later ❤️

Message from Johnny: I need you to go stuff your face with some food and send me a picture of your best chipmunk impression! That’s an order, soldier!

Message from Johnny: If that can of crisps that I bought you isn’t empty by the time I get home there will be no Sherlock marathon or cuddles!! I MEAN IT

Message from Johnny: I counted the water bottles before I left this morning. I will know if you didn’t drink one of them.

Message from Johnny: Simon my love, it’s been two hours since I left this morning. There’s a sandwich waiting for you in the fridge with a can of soda. Make sure to eat it ❤️❤️

Message from Johnny: if you didn’t eat the stew i made for you i will cry and there will be no kisses or cuddles!! 🥺🥺

Message from Johnny: *picture of a hotdog* I showed you my dog so be polite and show me yours

[orginllazyblog]

Where Are You?

Summary: Yuu stopped showing up in the HoM mainly because of the canon story still processing. This took place before and during Book 7.

Note: Gender-neutral Yuu (can use your Yuu oc for this)

It has been an exhausting day in school for Yuu. They just dealt with Idia's and Ortho's overblot a few weeks ago, and now Yuu has started to gain awareness. They notice how each overblot resembles the Great Seven's by the vivid dreams they are having, and now worrying for the next one. 

"*Sigh* I need to get ready for work. Just need to rest for a while before dinner." 

As minutes went by, Grim woke up Yuu to remind them that it's about to be dinner time, well, mainly to remind them of his tuna. Yuu couldn't blame Grim for this one, he did get kidnapped and probably never eaten his favorite food. 

"Sure, Grim. Let's go to Mr. Sam's shop. Maybe get more than three this time."

"Fnagh? You will?"

"Yes, I have been saving up from my job. Remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Well then, let's go in a hurry as I have to go to work in about an hour."

*

*

*

In the House of Mouse, Yuu serves the food to the great sevens as they are the only waiter who wasn't afraid of them. Also the fact they can handle it. Yuu also knows about their evil deeds from their vivid dreams, but after dealing with the OB boys, they kind of got used to them and see the similarities between them. 

After their work hours, they are on their break so they went to the seven's table to chat with them.

"So Yuu, how's your day in Night Raven College?" (QoH)

"Busy as the upcoming exams are coming next month." 

"If you need help, you can ask one of your classmates. Why not ask Azul? I'm sure he'll help you without paying any debt." (Ursula)

"I'm pretty sure they'll ask Riddle as they are not what they call "shady" Ursula." (QoH)

"Aren't you forgetting that Leona is wiser than those two. He's even older than those brats." (Scar)

'Oh boy, here we go.' 

"Oh wait! I forgot to mention that I won't be able to come back to work."

"So when will you be back from your exams?" (EQ)

"I would say about a week or two. I'm not sure how long it'll take considering it's a different school system from my home world, but I know it won't take long."

During the conversation, Yuu didn't bring up another overblot incident, which happened to be the shroud brothers. They didn't want to make them worried, but Yuu still needs to tell them about their vivid dreams and know the truth about them. They just need to wait until the time is right. 

After hours pass, the clubhouse is about to close. Yuu farewell to the great sevens and the other disney characters as they left. Mickey congrat them and gave them their paycheck of 5,000 thuamarks. 

"Thank you, Mickey."

"No problem, Yuu."

"By the way Mickey, I won't be able to work in the next couple of weeks. I have an upcoming exam so I would need time to study and a small break as well."

"Oh okay, thank you for reminding me, Yuu. Remember to take it easy. I'll have to tell the other staff about it."

"No worries, I also told the great sevens about it. I'm sure the rest will understand my situation."

"Okie dokie! Good night, Yuu." 

Little does Yuu know this might be the last time they see the rest of the disney characters again.

________________

After a couple of weeks, Mickey and the staff were able to work knowing Yuu is busy with their education. There was some mischief going around, but it was only from Pete, and one of the great seven's shows up one time only. So far, everything seems normal. Nothing can go wrong… right?

It's been about a month, and the whole House of Mouse Club was panicking. Yuu should have been done with the exams. Where are they? Did something happen to them? 

Of course it wouldn't make sense, Yuu wouldn't just quit their job as they need money to buy their needs or send a message to Mickey or anyone to let them know. 

Even the great seven's were wondering what happened to them. Someone like Maleficent, who has access to travel to Twisted Wonderland world only to find out she can't.

 As if there is a barrier that she can't enter. That's when things are going downhill.

Mickey and his friends try to calm everyone down, but nothing seems to work. Until the lights went dim, the front stage, the screen went black. Then the loading screen started, which is not just any loading screen but the twisted wonderland loading screen. Everyone then quieted down as they sat down at their table as they watched how book 7 started.

*

* half an hour later…

*

With all there is, the screen went black again. With half of them, questions to what just happened and the sleeping beauty cast, now know what's going to happen next. 

Then again, 2 months later, the theater screen went black and the twst loading screen play. Now playing Book 7, chapter 2. 

"Hey Mal, do you know what's going on?" (Hades)

"How I'm I supposed to know? I can't enter Twisted Wonderland because the canon story is happening so I can't interfere." (Maleficent) 

"But do you know what will happen? This is where he will began to overblot." (Jafar) 

"Let's just watch it. There's no way my descendant won't-" (Maleficent)

*Malleus OB by end*

"..." (Maleficent) 

"You were saying~?" (Scar)

"Shut up." (Maleficent)

_______________________

Knowing there's like 5 chapters in Book 7, I have no clue for how long will I continue writing. So I just stop at where chpater 2

[lains-reality]

LAINNNN I just had a "wait that actually happened" moment. So I (ego, actually) have this online friend who I haven't talked to in awhileeee. There would be days where I'd be like "hmm we haven't talked in awhile" but I'd leave it at that yk? But recently I've been "testing" awareness at times just to help feel and experience the true power Self has, and I decided to be aware of that friend actually texting me again. I was basically just thinking "yk what it'd be nice if they texted, it's been so long." and as I was thinking that I kinda just had a sort of image/short clip in my mind of the friend messaging me.

Now the thing is, I wasn't really desperate to have them text, but at the same time I wouldn't mind if they did (is this what you call indifference?) Anyway, I forgot about it. I had that thought and just went on with life, not thinking "is it gonna happen...?" "it might not happen" "it will happen" etc. (thoughts I used to get when I tried getting things I really desired rather than being indifferent to it and knowing that there's really nothing to get, you just become aware.) So, obviously because I'm even sending this ask 😭, a couple hours ago they literally texted me. It wasn't in a specific way or anything, because I didn't picture anything or want anything specific to happen, it was literally just as I thought. They texted me after so long and right away I knew it happened because I placed awareness on it. I didn't try to make anything happen through ego, I didn't need to convince the ego that it was going to happen, I didn't have to affirm that it was gonna happen, nothing. Ego needed to do NOTHING and as someone who kinda has a habit of trying to convince ego/do things as ego, this honestly really helped me to get it through my head that I don't even need to consider the ego when it comes to "making" things happen (not the best way to word what I'm trying to say, you don't even make things happen but I said it like that just so you get what I mean better.)

Anyway that's my little success I hope I didn't ramble too much💀

Great! ♡ very good reminder, ego cannot make things happen

[mateoluvr]

confession

gekko/mateo x f!reader 

wc: 1.3k | fluff 

a/n: currently down in a deep hole for this man and perhaps going to try writing again cuz of him!? ngl this is lowkey half-assed im srry if it sucks SOBS + not rlly proofread.. 

you and mateo were basically best friends, not a second goes by where you both aren’t making great memories with each other. but, everyone usually mistook your relationship with him and was surprised to figure out you both weren’t dating. especially his friends from his workplace, whenever he wasn’t on an assigned mission or training with harbor, he was most likely with you. reyna would always try to tell him to just shoot his shot with you, because she figured out he grew feelings for you.

“mijo, I don’t understand how you two aren’t official yet.” 

“I doubt y/n sees me more than that reyna..” he sighed.

“no estés triste, you’ll never know until you pop the question.” reyna tries to reassure him.

“sí tienes un punto.. but what if I ruin our friendship over it? I don’t want to scare-“ he gets cut off, when he feels the vibration of his phone. he pulls it out of his pocket, and it was a message from you.

[ y/n ]

hey!! r u down to grab some boba tomorrow? it’ll be a treat on me since you’re going on another one of those missions soon right?? 

he smiles at your message. reyna asks if it was you who texted, and he nodded. 

“what’d she say?”

“oh she wants to grab some boba tomorrow since brim assigned me and the others a task soon.”

“sounds like a perfect opportunity to call it a date and just tell her mijo.” she chuckles, as his face turns red at the thought. 

“but what if-“

“shh, I don’t want to hear back talk at me just do it you’ve prolonged it way too long.”

mateo sighs and accepts reyna’s words at last, and she leaves his office and wishes him good luck tomorrow. then he remembers he forgot to respond to your message oh shoot he left you on read. he immediately sends a quick message back so it didn’t look like he was ignoring you. 

[ mateo ] i’m so so sorry I didn’t respond sooner!! :( but i’d love to!! same place & time?

to his surprise, you immediately replied back.

[ y/n ]

don’t worry about it! but yeah :D

[ mateo ]

great! see u then :p

[ y/n ]

yep!! can’t wait ^-^

he hearts your message and sets his phone aside so he could finish the last few of the assignments his mentor harbor gave him. although all he could think about was seeing you again (even though you guys literally just saw each other a few days ago). hours went by, but he managed to finish, he grabbed his bag and went home on the train with his little buddies waiting for him at the door, and he told them about his day and how he made another plan with you tomorrow! they all approved, especially wingman, he’s happy that you make mateo’s day lighten up. 

then the day finally came, he woke up earlier to help his mama out with some house chores before he left the house later.

his mind kept reminding him about the words reyna said to him yesterday. he kept pondering if he should actually ask the question later when he sees you. part of him wants to do it and hopes for the best, but the other side is just scared to lose over a few words. he shakes it off, and decides to go get ready and made himself look presentable. he wore his usual vest over his black shirt and touched up his hair. he let his little fellows tag along since why not, and off they went on his skateboard. 

when he made it to the shop you both agreed on meeting at, he saw you staring at your phone, probably listening to music with some earbuds. he slowly approached you and tapped your shoulder.

“hey y/n!”

you slightly jumped from the sudden touch, and looked up from your phone screen and saw the green hair boy with wingman on his shoulder. 

“oh hi mateo! and aww wingman’s here too.” you smiled, taking him off his shoulder to give wingman a hug. 

“hey, hey, the rest is here too, dizzy, mosh, and thrash.” he chuckles as your attention was focused on wingman. he adores that his critters and you have such a nice bond with each other, it’s too much for his heart. (he’s in literal awe whenever you’re having a good time with them)

you both finally decide to enter the shop to grab some boba after having a small chit-chat outside. 

“what do you want mateo? it’s on me!”

“it’s okay y/n don’t worry about it.” he pushes away your wallet in hand, but you kept insisting. after constant bickering on who’s going to pay, mateo lost because of how persistent you were. the cashier looked so lost while the two of you were arguing and sighed in relief when you both finally agreed on something. you both got your drinks and sat down at a table, and continued your conversations from earlier. as you were both talking you couldn’t help but notice how jittery mateo was, and how he was barely making eye contact with you. 

“is everything okay?” you ask in a concerned tone, putting your drink down.

“i- uh..” he mustered, trying to calm himself down. 

“you can tell me mateo, what’s wrong?”

mateo started to panic a bit more, and then before he knew it he finally confessed. 

“i really like you y/n!” he blurts out, and when he realizes what he said, he covers his mouth immediately. you also paused at the sudden words he just said to you. it was utterly silent for a moment, both of you trying to process what just happened. he was the first to break the silence, and apologized for his out-of-the-blue confession. 

“i’m sorry y/n! i understand if you don’t wanna be friends anymore..” he puts his head down on the table in shame, face burning.

but, then the unpredictable happened, and he heard you say, “why would i think that silly? i like you too mateo,”

his head perked up, barely making eye contact with you, he asked if you were sure.

“of course mateo, i’d never think you’d ask- i’m happy you told me though i wouldn’t have the guts to confess to you,”

“i’ll tell you now y/n if you confessed i would’ve taken you in a heartbeat.. you’ve basically been there for me for the thick and thin; anyone would be lucky to be with you- soy serio,”

he grabs one of your hands, and uses his other free hand to hold your cheek, which makes you flustered. mateo still barely being able to make contact; yet still pulling off bold actions amazes you. before anything too intimate happened, wingman rushed up to mateo and pulled on his leg. he looked down, and saw wingman holding a flower, he wanted him to give the flower to you.

“gracias wingman!” he says as he fist-bumps him. mateo hands you the flower wingman picked nearby.

“thank you! that’s so sweet,” you smiled which makes mateo and wingman happy. after you finished your boba, you both decided to go by a nearby park to finalize things. (also so mateo’s buddies can have some fun) you both sat down at a bench while mateo’s critters went to play some basketball with each other. mateo tries to maintain himself so he doesn’t say anything stupid like he did before. 

“so- y/n what would you say we are now relationship-wise?”

“it’s up to you.”

“okay then.. mi cariño y/n will you be se mio para siempre?” 

“of course mateo, i’d love to.”

“i promise when i come back from my mission i’ll bring you anywhere or do anything for you!” 

his eyes light up thinking about all the plans he’d wish to make with you. he pulls you in for a hug since he’s too embarrassed to kiss you in a public place. you embrace his warm loving hug, knowing a new chapter in both of your lives will be starting soon. 

“te amo y/n.”

“i love you too mateo.”

<3

[kittykat-25]

One Of The Guys Part 3

Pairings: Hongjoong x f! Reader, Chan x f! Reader

Genre: idol au, friends to lovers, angst,

Summary: You tried really hard not to be a cliché, falling love with your best friend. How unoriginal. But when your best friend is Kim Hongjoong what are you supposed to do?

Warnings: mentions of anxiety, Feminine pet names(doll, bubs(?), cupcake)

Now playing: One Of The Guys- Jessia

As you leave work, stepping onto the bus you scroll through your contacts until you find Joong; hitting the call button you wait. It goes to voicemail, and honestly with a comeback you expected as much. You left a quick message reminding him to eat and take breaks. You scroll down finding Wooyoungs name, you pressed dial and waiting. Woo picked up after the first ring “hey what are you wearing tonight? Do you know?” He says as soon as it connects. “Hi Woo, yeah I had a great day at work! How are you?” You said dryly. “It’s not the outfit on your bed is it?” You heard Mingi yell from the other end. “Yeah it is-wait why are you in my house?!” You whisper yell into the phone. You were already getting looks due to the boys loud yelling. “Hurry home.” Wooyoung sings into the phone. “Jung Woo-“ the call ends as he hangs up and you sit the whole way home contemplating which one to kill first.

You unlock the door to your apartment and find Mingi, Wooyoung and Yunho sprawled out on your couches. You slam the door shut, “don’t mind me, please stay and relax.” Yunho flinched, “I only drove them. I didn’t know we’d be breaking into your place. I’m sorry Tiny.” You gave him an apologetic look and turned towards Mingi and Wooyoung. The latter hiding behind his taller friend. “It’s not really breaking in when Woo has a key.” Mingi said happily. Wooyoung punches him in the arm, you glare at the two of them. “You made a key to my apartment?!” You said throwing a pillow. “For emergencies!!” Woo said dodging them. “Where’s the emergency?!” You said picking up another pillow to launch.

Yunho grabs the pillow from you and hugs you from behind. Effectively pinning your arms to your side. “Your date tonight is apparently the emergency.” He says quietly. Wooyoung walks out from behind Mingi and throws his arm around you. Leading you to your bedroom. “Bubs you are not wearing this on your date.” He says motioning to the outfit you had laid out. “Why not? We’re going to get dinner? It’s nothing fancy?” You said while taking touching up your makeup. “Designer sweatpants are still sweats my dear, no matter how fitted.” He says digging through your closet.

You sat on the bed a vetoed every item of clothing Woo grabbed until Mingi who was sitting on the floor jumped up, catching everyone’s attention, “why have we never seen you in this?!?” He yells holding up a black leather mini skirt you bought years ago. “Oh I forgot I had that. Cool. Put it back.” You said waving your hand. “I’m not wearing it Mings. It’s too cold.” You and Wooyoung finally agreed on a fun pair of jeans and fitted sweater. Casual but nice. You touched up your makeup and hair while the boys cleaned up the mess they made in your closet. “Have any of you heard from Joong today?” You called out. Yunho leaned against the door frame, “Eden Hyung says he hasn’t left the studio since lunch. But he made he ate something.” You nodded, “don’t worry about captain while on your date.” Mingi called from your bedroom.

You walked out into the living area to grab your shoes when the buzzer for the apartment went off, “miss Y/Ln someone is here for you?” The doorman called. “Thank you, send him up.” You said. You turned towards the men, “do not say a word other than hello. And be honest by the time I get back.” Wooyoung snorted, “we can be civil.” “I’ve never seen it.” you retort as you adjust your jewelry one last time. A knock sounds at the door and Wooyoung all but shoves you down to answer it.

Wooyoung opened the door as Mingi helps you stand. “Hello Chan Hyung!” Wooyoung says as Chan takes in who answered the door “Wooyoung good to see you!” You shove Wooyoung away from the door and smile at Chan. “Hey! Sorry about my guard dog.” You said with a laugh, glaring at Wooyoung. Mingi drapes his arm around Wooyoung and waves goodbye, “have fun Cupcake! Call us when you get home.” You lock eyes with Yunho as Wooyoung shoves you out the door,”YuYu make sure they are out of my apartment and none of my snack are eaten!” You called as the door shuts. You laugh leading Chan to the stairs, “I’m so sorry, they were there when I got home.” He smiled at you, holding open the door, “I would expect nothing less from Wooyoung.” You smiled up at him, “you ready?” He asked as he took your hand and lead you into the busy Seoul nightlife.

Walking down the sidewalk after dinner, you hand comfortably in Chan’s you think of the last time you were this content. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” He ask, making your cheeks heat up. You dip your head trying to hide it, “nothing, just thinking about how fun this has been.” Chan smiled and it lit up his entire face, his dimples appearing, making you smile more. “Well what do you think about an arcade? Or we can keep walking?” He asked as he gently guided you through the crowds of people. “We can do the arcade as long as you don’t think less of me for my over competitiveness.” You said with a cheeky grin. His eyes lit up at the challenge.

You entered the arcade and bought tokens for the games; as you walked towards the tables Chan spoke up from behind you, “ So what should I beat you at first?” You set your bag on the table and turned, coming face to face with his chest. You looked up, hoping he couldn’t see the flush of your face. Judging by the smirk he wore he definitely saw how the close proximity affected you. You smirked back, “let’s see how good the infamous Bang Chan is at pool? Shall we?” He grabbed your bag and lead you over to the table.

Lining up the shot, you tried to calm your racing heart down. You were good at pool, this was no big deal. And yet this man had your hands shaking so bad you couldn’t hold the cue straight. Chan squeaked down to the side of the table, right at your side. You felt his breath on your ear when you leaned down to make the shot. “Nervous y/n?” You glanced at him before focusing back on the shot, “not at all!” You said, your voice higher pitched than normal. He turned towards you fully, his lips brushing the shell of your ear, “then why are you shaking baby?” You shot and completely missed the ball. You heard Chan laughing, turning around he was still crouched beside the table holding on for support.

You shook your head, laughing “I’m calling unsportsmanlike conduct on that.” He looked up at you and smiled, dimples drawing you in. “Your shot.” You said as you turned around to grab a drink. You heard the ball connect and fall into a pocket. You twisted the lid back onto the bottle as a hand came down to your waist. “I’ll play fair, it’s just cute how nervous you are.” He said with a smile. Resting his chin on your shoulder. You scan his face, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth, “you’re lucky your cute Bang.” As you nudge his head off your shoulder.

You continue going around the arcade, playing different games and winning prizes. You stayed until your legs were sore and arms tired from all the games. You looked down at your watch noticing it was almost 12am. “Have we been out for six hours already!” You asked as you left the arcade. Chan walked to your side, an arm around you while you carry the giant dog plushie he won. “The kids are going to harass me when I get home.” He said with a groan. You hadn’t even checked your phone since you left your apartment. “There’s no telling how many text Mingi and Wooyoung have sent by now.” You said cringing at the thought of reading through them all.

He looks at you then faces ahead again, “did you know Wooyoung before the others?” You shook your head, “I met Hongjoong first, predebut at a fashion outlet. We became friends and then I was introduced to the others.” Chan smiled, “you’ve seen them grow into the world wide Ateez.” You smiled, pride bursting through at the boys. “They work so hard, I know you understand that. But it’s been wild watching them grow.” You stop to adjust the dog and Chan takes the chance to pull you closer to him, once you’re nestled safely in his side you keep walking.

“Tell me about your children as you so fondly call them. I know Bin and have heard stories but not from the leader prospective.” You said nudging him slightly. You can see the love fill his eyes as he talks about each member, how they’ve grown and the crazy stories about them. As you get closer to your apartment you realize how you don’t want it to end.

He walks you to your door, hand still in his. “Did I hurt your pride enough to ruin my chance at a second date?” He ask shyly. “I think I can get over it.” You laugh, squeezing his hand gently. You set the dog down and turn, unlocking your door, “I had a lot of fun tonight Chan.” He smiles at you widely, “I did too Y/n.” He takes a step closer to you, and you feel your heartbeat start to race. He leans in, your face flushed and your heartbeat is in your ears, “call me tomorrow.” He whispers into your ear before taking a step back and winking at you.

You shut the door behind you and lean against it, trying to calm your racing heart. “Well we’ll look who’s home.” You start to scream before you notice the 4 men sitting around your living room. Wooyoung with a massive grin on his face. “What’s got you so worked up sweetheart?” He asked as you throw your keys in the bowl beside the door and slip out of your shoes. “Be gone by the time I’m out of the shower.” You call as you walk by the men and shut your bedroom door behind you. You hear them laughing as they exit your apartment. You were never going to live this down.

Taglist🥰 if you want to be included in the taglist message me!

@vampzity @sanslovesblog @sundaybossanova @skzline @edenesth @owmoiralover @scarfac3 @blackb3ll @ateezswonderland @amuromio

[ranbling]

https://www.tumblr.com/ranbling/752109192401305600/the-thing-i-hate-most-about-the-kim-storyline-that

This was my issue with basically the entire season. Every story lead to ultimately nothing.

Bathena still hasn’t gotten their honeymoon. They now have no house. The cartel storyline besides how over used and harmful stereotypical it was, was pointless, Amir as much as I loved his character, after 4 episodes that arc also lead to ultimately nothing.

Madney didn’t really have much going on except for their wedding and instead of the dream wedding they both deserved, it ended in a 2 minute hospital room scene, with Phillip walking her, and Buck not even standing in the room ? He was literally standing outside in the door.

Henren they didn’t get to adopt their baby girl. They were then given a foster daughter only to then jk have her taken away as well. And ultimately after more pointless drama for drama sake, have her given to Madney so now Henren can visit her instead. Like where was the fight for custody they said we’d see? And not to mention the message it sends of yet again we don’t let the lesbian couple adopt or foster with out problems galore but the straight couple has no issue doing it at all and can step in to save the day.

Buck he came out as Bi which yessss. So much yes. Only to then what. Nothing. It’s gone no where. They didn’t explore it more. They didn’t develop it more. There was no journey of him with this new piece of himself. He got slapped into yet another rushed relationship with someone who yet again barely seems to even like him, and some shitty jokes ( looking at you closest space and daddy kink) and then ultimately shoved completely aside like a background character the entire season.

Eddie- where to even start. What was the point of Marisol ? Like truly. Tim said he brought her back because he didn’t want two off screen break ups. Ok fine. No development. No growth. No real storylines beyond a joke to bring up repressed religious guilt that went no where. And ended with an off screen break up anyway. Like what was the point of making fans suffer through Marisol’s actress presence after all her phobic ranting when it ended with exactly what Tim said he didn’t want. Then the Kim of it all. I had hopes that would lead somewhere. Eddie finally getting closure snd moving on from Shannon. Eddie starting to get a clue in relation to Buck. Healing with Shannon’s ghost with Eddie and Chris. Something. And instead we got, Eddie running around on 2 women, Chris leaving the state for a indefinite period of time, Helena looking all to happy to take him, Ramon using his own guilt to make Eddie go along with it ruining any progress they made on their relationship, Ryan saying he feels like the Kim as Shannon at the end did nothing but make it worse ultimately so not even any growth or healing. Like none of this lead anywhere except for lazy rushed drama and ooc moments for all.

I’ll say that they did manage to land the buddie moments in every episode that Tim wanted so there’s that I guess. And they were good scenes and cute moments. But again ultimately…. where’s it going because there was no real movement forward. If anything there are even more massive roadblocks for them. Especially with the Eddie and Chris of it all. Ryan specifically saying for Eddie it’s now every time he tries to do something for himself, it takes from Chris. Buck is Chris second most stable and important person after Eddie. Eddie is never ever going to risk that now in the thought of dating Buck because he is not going to want to risk taking him from Chris.

Yes!! I agree with everything you just said

(also thank you for reminding me that Henren was supposed to adopt a babygirl, too many things happened and I totally forgot about that)

[vodika-vibes]

what went down at The Works tho? how did Fox get those bruises??? did Cody go after the Chancellor....????? #PA AU

Alright, so I had to read backwards a couple of days to remind myself of what I set up and then...forgot about, lol. My bad.

"Commander!" Fox pauses as a Captain runs over to him, his armor is minorly scorched, and it looks like he had to rub soot off of his visor, before giving it up as a lost cause and just tugging his helmet off, "Glad you're here, sir!" "So I can see," Fox replies turning to give the Captain his full attention, vaguely aware of Thorn and Thire running around in the background giving orders, "What happened?" "Rakghouls, sir!" "...Rakghouls don't breathe fire." Fox says slowly. His brother's grin is wide and slightly manic, "No sir. But they do burn pretty damn well. Sir." "Did you hit your head, vod?" "Was thrown into a boiler, sir! Why?" "Just making sure. Stop by the medic before you head back out." "Yessir!" He hurries over to the medics, and Fox turns his attention to the rest of his brothers, and then he sighs. All of them are loading up flamethrowers. This is going to be a pain. Four hours later, after getting thrown around by several very large rakghouls, Fox ordered his men to burn everything that moves. Within reason. And then he sends a message to Yuu to make sure that they're willing to tend to his bruises.

As for Cody

Cody walks into the Jedi temple and makes a line directly for General Mace Windu. He's calm, very calm, too calm for the fact that he's internally screaming. "Commander?" Master Windu intercepts him before he can get too far into the temple, "Is everything alright?" "No. Not really." Cody says brightly. "Well, yes. It was a rhetorical question, I can sense that you're in some...distress." "I have reason to believe that Chancellor Palpatine is the cause of the war." "...I'm going to pretend you didn't say that-" "Simply because," Cody continues as if the older man hasn't said a word, "his Personal Assistant came to me and asked me how I would go about making someone disappear. And we both know that they're the reason Mas Amedda is missing." "There's no proof of that." "You really think that Fox is going to let Yuu end up in jail? Really?" "There's no proof that I'm willing to act on." Mace clarifies, "So...I'm ignoring this. Because I need to ignore it for my own well being." He pauses, "We never had this conversation. I'll send Ponds to you." "...are you asking me to assassinate-" "Nope! This conversation isn't happening. Good day, Commander!"

[indeedcaptain]

Regulatory Relations, chapter 8: The Amateur

LET'S GO :) One note that I forgot to mention from chapter 7: the latin in the wedding announcement translates to "to the stars through love".

Also posted on AO3 here!

☆☆☆

The rest of the shift passed in a blur of preparing for starbase arrival in five days and ruminating on the wedding in twenty-four hours. Janice Rand, after sending Kirk three padd messages asking if he needed help with anything and receiving no response, walked onto the bridge two hours before the end of alpha and asked Kirk point-blank about seating arrangements in the observatory for the next day. When he looked helplessly at Spock and shrugged, and the science officer only turned back to his sensors, Janice restrained herself from what Kirk thought would have been a well-deserved eye roll and told him that she and the yeomen would take care of it.

In the gymnasium two hours later, Spock had paired up his Suus Mahna students to show them how to move around each other. Kirk stood on the sidelines with Giotto. 

“Congratulations, captain,” Giotto said, watching Spock circle the students and gently push their limbs into the right configurations. 

“Thanks, commander,” Kirk said. “I appreciate that.” 

“I always wondered, you know,” Giotto said. “There was something in the way you moved around each other when you sparred. It reminded me of myself and the missus, actually.” 

Kirk turned to him in surprise. “You’re married?” 

Giotto smiled, but only one corner of his mouth moved up. “I am, sir. Thirty-two years in a few months.” 

“My congratulations to you too, then,” Kirk said, but he frowned slightly as he took in Giotto’s profile. “I’m sorry if I’m misremembering, but I didn’t think that you were listed as married in your personnel file. You’ve been with the Enterprise for… nearly twenty years, right?” 

“That’s right, captain,” Giotto said. His voice was quiet, and he didn’t turn to meet Kirk’s eyes. 

“So she’s not in the Fleet?” 

“She is, captain.” Giotto’s face was turned to the demonstration in front of him, but his eyes were very far away. 

“Wow,” Kirk said after a moment. “That sounds… extraordinarily difficult.” 

“It is,” Giotto said softly. “I never wanted to ask about you and Mr. Spock, but when Scotty told me that April was trying to send him away, I was just…” He sighed. “I feared that you would go through what we did.” “And you and your wife aren’t stationed together because…?” 

Giotto’s eyes finally met his. “Because she was my commanding officer on my first ship, and she and I both feared that if we went public with our relationship it would ruin her career. She said it didn’t matter, that she didn’t care, but I knew that she was lying. I couldn’t let her do it. This was a long time ago, too--- long before the brass started recognizing that relationships in crews were a strength, not a weakness.” He crossed his arms over his chest, still watching the group in front of him. “We married in secret and have lived separately ever since.” 

Kirk turned fully to Giotto. “Sal, I’m so sorry.” He thought about the grief that he had felt at even the threat of losing his best friend to another posting. He couldn’t imagine enduring that, after being married, for thirty years. 

“It is what it is, captain,” Giotto said. He eyed Kirk. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you that this is my last mission. I’m ready to go home.” 

“And your wife?”

“She’s resigning as well. We’re going to buy a house in Cairo, near her family.” 

Kirk hesitated, before reaching out and squeezing Giotto’s shoulder. “We’ll miss you. This crew owes you a lot. But I’m happy for you.” 

“Thank you, captain,” Giotto said. He smiled again, and this time it reached his eyes. He turned back to where Spock was explaining something to the students, transitioning slowly and elegantly through a series of movements. They watched the Vulcan for a moment longer before Giotto added, “If I may be so bold, captain… it makes this old man glad to know that you and the commander will have the time that Mariam and I didn’t.” 

Kirk’s throat constricted. “Thank you,” he said, and his voice came out rougher than he intended. Giotto nodded and turned back to watch Spock work. Kirk watched him too: watched the grace of his movement, the strong lines of his spine and arms and neck, the kindness and gentility in his instruction that so few got to see. Under the harsh lights of the gymnasium and with Giotto’s words circling in his head, he felt one of the bricks in the wall between his head and his heart crumble away. He had leapt at Pike’s suggestion not only because Spock was his best officer and his best friend, but because the idea of running out of time with Spock was ruinous to him. Kirk had wanted more away missions, more chess matches, more debates over breakfast, more of Spock’s incense seeping into his room at night. He wanted more of everything. 

Spock bowed to his students, and they bowed back, before he left the mat and walked to Kirk. 

“Captain,” Spock said, and Spock’s voice jolted Kirk out of his reverie. To his embarrassment, he realized that he had been staring dazedly at him for a socially inappropriate amount of time. Kirk blinked. “On what were you focused?” 

“Nothing,” Kirk said. “Just staring into space.” He smiled and clapped Spock on the back before picking up their personal items from where they’d been abandoned on the ground. “Chess tonight?” 

“Certainly,” Spock said, and Kirk waved to the security officers as they left. Giotto’s gaze followed them, and Kirk could have sworn that the hint of a smile remained on that craggy face as he watched them go.

☆☆☆

Spock made up for his loss to Kirk earlier in the week by trouncing him twice in a row. But when Kirk expected him to lean back triumphantly and cross one long leg over the other before folding his hands in his lap in the ultimate image of self-satisfaction, as was his custom, Spock only drew his eyebrows together and reset the chessboard for a third game. 

“Alright,” Kirk finally said, as Spock placed the pieces on their proper squares. His usually nimble fingers were jerky in their movement. “What’s wrong?” 

Spock placed the last tower on its square without meeting Kirk’s eyes. “Nothing, captain.” 

“Bullshit,” Kirk said immediately. “Spock, come on. What’s going on?” Spock picked up the castle again and rolled it between his fingers.

“It is… illogical.” 

“I don’t mind.”

“Every human wedding I have attended has taken place on this ship,” Spock said after a moment. “Each has seemed to have similar traditions.”

“Such as?” 

Spock paused for so long that Kirk was about to prompt him again before he said, tightly, emotionlessly, “Such as kissing.” 

Oh. Oh, god. He hadn’t even thought, beyond Janice’s questions this afternoon, about the mechanics of a wedding. He felt his face start burning. “Do Vulcans kiss at weddings?” Kirk ventured. 

“They do,” Spock allowed. “But it is not the same as humans.” 

“Would you rather do that?” 

“No, captain,” Spock said immediately, more sharply than Kirk expected. “No, thank you. But I am---” Spock cut himself off, an uncharacteristic sound. 

“Spock, we don’t have to do it. Kiss, I mean.” As he said it, though, a single cold drip of disappointment cut through his core. For a second, he saw Spock’s face up close in his mind, those warm eyes sliding shut, that stoic face relaxing minutely, lips parting--- 

Kirk blinked rapidly, clearing the sudden and unexpected image from his mind, ignoring the warmth in his stomach. “I meant it. We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.” 

“It is not the act itself I am apprehensive about,” Spock said. Was he blushing, or was it a trick of the dim lighting? He stood and paced to his shelves, clasping his hands behind his back. “Forgive me, captain.” There was an unnatural pause. “I cannot help but be aware of the vast discrepancy in experience between the two of us.” Spock’s voice was unnaturally tight, like saying the words out loud was an act of extreme exertion. His posture was so ramrod-straight that it looked painful. 

Spock’s odd behavior suddenly came into perfect focus. He was nervous. His proud, taciturn, aloof Vulcan was nervous about a kiss. Kirk was filled with an unsuppressable fondness as he watched Spock pretend to straighten one of his Vulcan artifacts on the shelf.

“Mr. Spock,” he said, filling his voice with feigned offense. “Are you calling me easy?” He stood as Spock whirled. 

“Jim, no,” Spock said immediately, but the horrified look in his eyes faded as he registered Kirk smiling at him, coming to stand next to him. In the back of his mind, Kirk recognized their positions as the ones they had held only a few days ago, when Kirk proposed to him and Spock had agreed. 

“You’ve kissed someone before, haven’t you?” Kirk had a memory of a pretty blonde woman laying on Spock’s chest, but now he couldn’t remember her face; only that the idea of her made him uneasy.

Spock tilted his head, but did not look at Kirk. “In a manner of speaking,” he said, and his nostrils flared as he inhaled. “Leila Kalomi. On Omicron Ceti III.” 

“The botanist? From the spore planet?” 

“Yes,” Spock said. Kirk angled himself to look up at Spock more closely: in the half-light of Spock’s quarters, the angles of his face were thrown into sharp relief. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “When I was under the influence of the plant.” 

Yes, that’s what Kirk was remembering: the woman who had loved Spock, who had been the conduit for Spock’s uncharacteristic whimsy on the planet. He had felt so betrayed when he had been ignored for hours and gone to find Spock, certain that he was injured or worse, and instead found him tangled and laughing with someone in a field. He felt a flash of guilt as he recalled what he had said to Spock to break him out of the plant’s hold. 

But then he considered what Spock had said, with growing horror. He asked quietly, “Would you have kissed her without the spores?” 

Spock’s eyes flashed to him, then back to the shelf. “No, captain.” 

Kirk wiped his face with his hand, all the more guilty for what he had said to Spock, even if he hadn’t meant it. “Spock, I’m sorry,” he said. He turned fully to face him. “I’m so sorry.”

“Kaiidth,” Spock said, but he sounded almost mournful. He cleared his throat. “Regardless, I now find myself to have little applicable experience and a public forum in which to make that readily apparent.”

Kirk turned around, leaning against the vertical post of the shelf behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Spock. Spock refused to meet his gaze. Kirk felt an almost physical click in his head as his conscious brain registered what his subconscious had been telling him for a while now: Spock was beautiful. As if for the first time, Kirk reconsidered the elegant lines of his eyebrows, the planes of his cheeks, the soft straight line of his lips. The warmth in his stomach burned again as he thought, shamefully, secretly, about what it would feel like to kiss him, about how it was a damn shame that Spock had not been kissed properly. 

His heart pounded as he realized that he wanted to be the one to do it. Desire burned in his blood in a way that he hadn’t felt in years. He felt the memory of Spock’s hand on his hip, the dreamt memory of his arms around his waist. 

Kirk asked, as steadily as he could manage, “Would it help you if tomorrow weren’t the first time?” One part of him screamed that he was being selfish. Another part of him was willing to do anything that would sap the tension from Spock’s unhappy posture. The last part of him, smaller, newer, deeper, wanted desperately to kiss Spock, to see his eyes close and feel Spock’s skin against his. Spock’s eyes snapped to him. Kirk kept his face neutral. 

“Captain, I have already taken too many liberties with you,” Spock said. “I cannot ask you to---”

“You didn’t ask for anything,” Kirk said, cutting him off. “I offered. You’re uncomfortable. I can help.” 

Spock hesitated, but he shifted on his feet, angling himself towards Kirk. He looked down between them, and Kirk could see the soft fringe of his dark eyelashes against the pale green of his cheeks. Kirk had already known, in an abstract kind of way, that Spock was handsome. He was tall and strong, lean and graceful. But how many people had ever seen him vulnerable like this? How many people had Spock ever admitted an emotion to?

“Captain, do not feel obligated to do this,” Spock said softly. 

“It’s just a kiss,” Kirk said, trying terribly to convince himself of the same. “Let me help.” 

Spock’s eyes met his. Kirk shifted forward slowly, giving Spock time to pull back if he wanted. But he did not: Kirk saw him inhale, saw him tilt his head to the side to the slightest degree. He felt Spock’s trust in him like a physical weight on his shoulders. As Kirk paused, inches from Spock’s face, their breath mingling in the warm room, the force of how badly he wanted it pressed all the air from his lungs. If he was only going to get two chances at this--- this kiss, and tomorrow’s--- he was going to make sure he did it right. 

Kirk stepped forward into Spock’s space, tilting his face up, bringing his hand to cup the back of Spock’s head. He put his other hand on Spock’s waist, pulling them into alignment. He felt Spock inhale one more time, saw his eyelids flutter closed just like he had imagined. Then Kirk closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Spock’s. 

All the tumultuous racket and jangling anxiety in Kirk’s head fell silent at the brush of Spock’s lips against his, as his entire universe narrowed to Spock. For one infinite second, Spock stood frozen in his arms, unmoving. Kirk just held him close, waited for Spock to either push him away or encourage him on. Just as he was about to step back, taking Spock’s stillness as discomfort, Spock’s lips parted on a sigh and opened for him. Kirk opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and brushed his tongue against Spock’s lip.

His spine hit the pillar of the shelf behind him as Spock pushed them backwards. His arm wrapped around Kirk’s back, pulling him against his chest. Spock’s other hand came up to his face, his thumb sliding along his jaw, his long fingers threading through Kirk’s hair. Kirk let Spock tilt his head further, feeling Spock’s hand against the back of his head, the strength of his body against Kirk’s. He slid his hand further up to rest on Spock’s ribs, and he could feel the thrumming of the Vulcan heart beneath. After a moment of letting Kirk lead, Spock copied what he had done, hesitantly sliding his tongue into Kirk’s mouth. The wet heat of it lit him up, every point of contact sparking like static. He pulled Spock into him and Spock’s uncertainty melted away, and he pressed Kirk back against the shelf until he was arching against him. Kissing Spock felt as natural as breathing, lips and tongues moving in an instinctual rhythm that matched Kirk’s pounding heartbeat. 

How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? As their lips parted, Spock bowed his head, pressing their foreheads together. Kirk heard Spock’s shaky inhale as much as he felt it, through the expansion of his ribcage under his hands and his chest against his own. Kirk opened his eyes to find Spock watching him, his pupils huge in the dark room. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Spock disentangled his arms from around Kirk and took a minute step backwards. Kirk released his hold on Spock and trapped his hands behind his back, bracing himself on the steady line of the shelf behind him. What now? What the hell could possibly come next? 

“Jim,” Spock said, but he left whatever he had wanted to say unsaid, and instead looked down. A flash of uncertainty crossed his face. Suddenly the room felt suffocatingly warm, the collar of Kirk’s shirt too tight around his skin. 

“Well, Mr. Spock,” Kirk said, forcing a levity he didn’t feel into his voice. He reached out, grabbed Spock’s shoulder, squeezed it, dropped it. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about in terms of needing practice.” 

“I---,” Spock said, and he clasped his hands behind his back, his porcelain mask sliding back down over his expression as he asserted control over himself once more. “Thank you, captain. I am… less apprehensive now.” 

“You’re welcome, Mr. Spock.” Kirk looked around the room, desperate to break the sudden tension, to free himself from the magnetic pull that was inexorably drawing his hands back to Spock’s waist, to the delicate skin at the back of his neck. “Shall we play another match, or call it for the night?” 

Spock seemed to recognize and appreciate Kirk’s efforts at normalcy, because after a beat he quirked an eyebrow and said, “Two losses are not enough for you this evening, captain?” 

“Best of five, then,” Kirk said, but he removed himself from the shelf and took three steps towards the door. Spock walked with him the rest of the five steps across his quarters and opened the door for him. 

“Good night, captain. And thank you.” Spock’s voice was sincere, and his eyes were warm even as his face remained impassive. God help him, but Kirk was flooded with the need to steal another kiss before he left. Anything to feel Spock sigh into his mouth again. Instead he smiled and said, “Anytime, Mr. Spock.” He stepped out into the corridor and the turbodoor slid shut behind him. The walk to his own door had never seemed so long. Somehow he punched his own code into his keypad with numb fingertips and managed to get himself into his room before he collapsed on his bed. 

As he flopped backwards to stare at the ceiling, Kirk heard Bones’s warning echoing in his ears: What happens when you get too close? Oh, but it was too late for that now. He was already too close. He was only human, and touch-starved after three years with nothing more intimate than back slaps and short hugs, and the man who understood him best in this universe had touched him with such gentle, easy affection and then kissed him breathless. 

He tried to picture anyone else’s face: Gary’s, or Carol’s, even Edith Keeler’s, anything to displace the image of Spock’s open, vulnerable face right before he let Kirk kiss him. But he couldn’t keep anyone else’s image in his head. They all turned back into Spock. Spock, who had held him so closely and pushed him back against the bookshelf, who had admitted his fears to Kirk and then allowed him to help. 

Kirk pressed his hands to his forehead as he recontextualized his feelings from the past few days: how he had felt when Spock caught his head from hitting the ground, when Spock recommended his thesis to his scientists, when Spock wrapped his arm around his waist and let him lean against his chest. He felt warm. He felt giddy. He felt protected, cared for, understood.

“No,” he said out loud. “It’s not like that for us. We’re just friends.” Kirk closed his eyes. Even to himself, it didn’t sound as convincing as it had in Bones’s office. His silent room mocked him. He wiped his hands down his face, dragging his cheeks down, feeling the words bubble up inside him. He could still feel Spock’s hands in his hair, on his face, tilting his head back, his tongue sliding into Kirk’s mouth. 

“I want him,” he whispered, and it burned, and it was true. He opened his eyes. “Oh, shit.”