#i had such. bad art block for a few weeks heh. sorry about that.

[kittycrumb]

what is this girl doing 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ i hope she doesn’t start speaking french next

[tarosin]

The great adventures of y/n tommy tubbo and jack - using tanks to battle

requested: yes/no

this is part 11 to the great adventures series

it was now 5 am you had been on facetime with ranboo since he started streaming at 10 pm neither of you was going to sleep anytime soon

“isn’t it like 5 am for you”

“trying to get rid of me then”

“no no no soon enough I’m going to be stuck with you pretty much 24/7”

“heh? aren’t you staying with tubbo when you come to the UK?”

you watched his face turn red thinking that he had said something that he wasn’t supposed to tell you it was only when he looked up to see you with your head tilted he realised you weren’t aware of what was going to happen in the following weeks

“I will tackle you in the middle of the airport if you don’t tell me what you tubbo and lani mean when you all make comments about me constantly being around yous”

“I cannot wait to see you try”

“I'm blocking you”

hours passed and it was now time for you to get ready to go meet the others you left your phone on your bed whilst you went to get ready by the time you returned ranboo had fallen asleep

“goodnight boo not long now till you’re in the UK, you’re asleep I’m talking to myself goodnight”

since your parents had to go to work they offered to drop you off on the way, the journey to meet the others was pretty uneventful you just spent the time talking about how streaming was going and future plans. that was until your parents mentioned ranboo was flying over soon

“your friend is flying over soon right?”

“ranboo oh yeah yeah he gets here on 26th as far as I’m aware i’m going to tackle him in the middle of the airport”

“great great you’re going with tubbo to meet him, do you know how long you’re going to be out”

“..no why? shouldn’t be too long”

“don’t worry about it darling we’re here now oh look here comes tubbo”

as soon as the car stopped you laughed as you noticed in the corner of your eye tubbo running towards the car you said your goodbyes as you got out of the car and was instantly pulled away by tubbo

“oh oh okay tubbo I think I can walk on my own bud”

tubbo completely ignored every word you had just said and continued leading the way to the others where you were met by Tommy shouting about tanks and jack pretending not to know Tommy.

the four of you went to get ready, a simple enough task or so you thought as when you looked up you noticed Tommy was putting the outfit on the wrong way around

“Are you sure it’s safe for Tommy to drive a tank..”

“help me then”

“no”

a few minutes later the four of you were now equipped with your rather baggy army uniform safe to say if it started to rain you'd have to deal with getting wet as if you put the hood up it would cover your eyes taking away your eyesight which is unsurprisingly important since you were about to drive a tank for the first time. as soon as you all thought you were ready to go to the tanks tubbo announced that although it’s a bad time he needs to go to the toilet

“he’s fucking waddling”

“y/n be nice to your best friend”

you stood laughing to yourself as Tommy was arguing with Jack about how he’s your best friend, not tubbo.

“believe it or not I’m their best friend”

“elaborate on that”

“no”

“i’d argue ranboos their best friend”

halfway through their ‘argument’ tubbo came back and rested his head on your shoulder making you jump

“you're so tiny”

“I beg your pardon tubso”

the worker came over taking you all to the tank you would be driving putting Tommy and jacks argument on hold, for the time being, you were honestly so excited to drive a tank but you were also nervous as you weren’t exactly a great driver

“y/n doesn’t have a license can I get out the tank when it’s their turn”

“you crashed your parents' car fuck off”

before you all got in you were informed that the tank wasn’t designed to take you on adventures so you were probably going to get injured

“great cant wait in you go Tommy”

Tommy got in first followed by you then tubbo and jack

“draw me like one of your beautiful tank girls”

“I failed GCSE art”

“HOW”

“that my friend is a story for another night”

now this tank wasn’t designed so three of you could look out from the top of the tank so you did what every sensible person would do in a tank…you sat on the floor next to tubbo whilst he annoyed jack by touching his face

“y/n you okay down there”

“having the time of my life”

you could hear Tommy revving the tank and from then you could just tell you were going to leave the tank covered in bruises. you sat talking to tubbo and jack who were talking louder than usual just so you could join in the conversation. not seeing what was happening made the tank ride interesting, to say the least. one minute you were messing with tubbos shoelaces the next minute you heard three boys yelling that there was a cow in the middle of the road. it was now tubbos turn to drive and rather than letting you stay with the others he dragged you with him

“you’re driving next may as well stay with me”

“Please don’t crash I will get injured”

“to be fair y/n I didn’t plan on it”

you sat near tubbo watching him drive the tank occasionally yelling words of encouragement at him for your own entertainment and totally not to your surprise he was actually doing a decent job, he didn’t crash, the tank was going quicker and the ride wasn’t as bumpy then tubbo stalled, you could hear Tommy and jack yelling at tubbo to do more killing. you laughed as tubbo would look at the worker then at you not knowing what to do

“Are you ready to drive y/n”

“I guess so”

you and tubbo swapped places and you began to drive like your good friend tubbo you were decent at driving as you managed to pick up some speed along with many comments from jack and Tommy about how bumpy the ride was alongside tubbo yelling at you that you were going to be responsible for the bruises on his arms and legs

“tubbo stop being dramatic it’s not my fault the road is bumpy”

“Y/N I'M NOT”

“Okay then you’re responsible for the bruises on my arms and legs because you decided to stall”

It was now jacks turn you sat next to tubbo where you and Tommy argued that you didn’t like how Minecraft split the caves and cliffs update into two parts

“IT SAID CAVES AND CLIFFS UPDATE AND IT DIDN'T ADD CAVES AND CLIFFS UPDATE”

“you're such a tory y/n agrees with me”

“NO I DON'T I WANTED TO EXPLORE PRETTY CAVES NOT GET CHUCKED OFF OF A CLIFF BY A GOAT”

the three of you continued arguing your points before jack interrupted you all

“we’re talking about the new Minecraft update…because it was you we weren’t really paying attention”

“I DROVE BETTER THAN ALL THREE OF YOU”

“but no you didn’t”

“YOU'RE A PRICK MANIFOLD”

before Jack could answer Tommy began ranting about the update again before being once again interrupted by jack telling him you were about to shoot things and then go up against a tank that was miles better than the one you were all in, the one thing they didn’t know is you would be going with the boss against them just so you could actually have a role in the mini battle rather than just sitting there. you stood shaking your head as Tommy and tubbo made jokes about the balls you were all given

“say it”

“I like balls”

“jack they’re talking about balls…again”

Tommy was first to shoot whilst you and tubbo stood telling jack that the two of you would be the reason you win the battle against the boss, jack went up next and you both were telling Tommy that you weren’t scared of the boss after the last bit of practice you all went back to reception with the worker where he announced the roles you were all going to have

“so my aimer loader and driver”

“Are we allowed to ram tanks”

“no”

jack was the first to realise you hadn’t received a role for the fight against the boss and spoke up about it making tubbo and Tommy realise you did in fact not receive a role

“wait what about y/n they didn’t receive a role”

the worker just nodded at the four of you confusing the hell out of the others while you stood looking around the room to avoid laughing, you didn’t want the others to know so said you’d be back later you just needed to go to the bathroom. rather than going to the bathroom you went off to meet the boss before the others and decided what role you were going to have.

after discussing what role you were going to have the pair of you went back to meet the worker to let him know you have a plan

“LOOK ITS THE BOSS”

“…and y/n”

“oh now we’re losing”

the worker went up to their table to create a plan, once you watched the worker walk away you made your way over to the table they moved to where Tommy was having a ‘date’ with a mannequin

“Woah am I interrupting something”

“I'm on a date y/n”

“y/n you really had to leave me with tubbo and Tommy”

you whispered that you were sorry so Tommy and tubbo couldn’t hear then turned your attention back towards Tommy’s date which wasn’t going very well as Tommy accidentally pulled the wig off of one of the mannequins only to find out that his ‘date’ was also wearing a wig.

it was now time for the battle clearly best friends think alike as you and tubbo both had the role of driver. you and the boss made a strong team and you surprisingly got along well with each other which made teamwork easy making you more of a challenge for Tommy’s team

“yooo this is amazing”

“you’re doing great y/n”

as soon as the boss made the final shot you cheered

“do you think we won then y/n”

“I'm not sure they did put up a good fight”

“come on let’s head back so you can be with your friends again”

the pair of you made it back after thanking him you ran to tubbo, who for some reason was on the floor, and tackled him into a hug before sitting next to him

“AH FUCK”

“HI TUBSO WHY ARE YOU IN THE MUD”

“BECAUSE WE WON”

“mhm sure”

“What role did you have y/n”

“driver”

“NO WAY ME TOO”

your celebration was short-lived as Tommy decided to chuck mud at the pair of you yelling catch when it was far too late to react, you both looked at each other nodded at chucked mud back at him and jack

“ayo we hit him”

after playing in the mud with tubbo for a while jack called you both over to hear the scores and find out who won

“Why do you both have smiley faces on your face”

“y/n used mud to draw a smiley face on my cheek so I got revenge”

in the end, Tommy's team got 10 and began celebrating that they had won

“the boss and y/n got 11”

“LETS GOOOOO”

after bragging about your win you and tubbo ran off throwing mud at each other and Tommy whilst Tommy and jack bickered about who made them lose a few moments later you and tubbo looked up to see Tommy running past you both

“I don't think he's taking the news well”

you all made your way back to the car park Tommy and jack left together tubbo stayed with you waiting for your parents to pick you up on their way back home.

“you could just stay the night at mine..we could stream for a little while I’m sure you’ve left something that you can wear for the night and tomorrow and to be fair you stay at mine all the time”

“yeah I probably do I’ll call them on the way back to yours”

“come on let’s go home”

taglist:

@bearytime @milkydisaster @dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @augustine-is-joy @c1loudee

[teasty]

kiss yourself (03) || h.js

● pairing: han jisung x (female) reader

● genre: angst, smut, (kinda) fluff  ||  fwb to lovers au || college!au || non!idol au

● warnings: | praise + degradation | reader and jisung are not in a relationship at the beginning! | suggestive dialogue | profanity | unprotected sex | softdom!harddom!jisung | reader gets into short fist fight | fingering | hair pulling | slight dumbification |

● words: 10.4k

→ summary: It all started when you and your best friend for life, Han Jisung, got a little bit too tipsy at a party and ended up waking up naked in the same bed. After that unfortunate night, you and Jisung confirmed there be a distinguished “friends with benefits” relationship between the two of you, with a few rules.

Number One: No one else is supposed to know about this relationship.

Number Two: The minute one of the two of you starts a serious relationship with someone, the benefits are cut off immediately.

Number Three: Have to respect the other’s wishes, if one doesn’t want to do it, then there’s no argument.

Number Four: No falling in love.

But, when Jisung starts crushing over your classmate, you start to break the rules. One by one.

a/n: a lot happens in this chapter,, it's pretty fast paced but it is what it is ~

Chapter One | Chapter Two | CHAPTER THREE

“I want you to fuck me dumb, Jisung. I want to think about nothing but you.”

You refused to cry, no matter how bad you wanted to.

You didn’t actually head back to the dorm, deciding you weren’t tired enough to fall asleep fast enough and that you simply wanted to have the comfort of being alone for the time being. You’re so fed up, so irritated and stressed, not even Jisung fucking you over and over again until you’re too weak to even speak could fix it. Neither did you feel like dealing with Jeongja, so you headed straight for the 24/7 cafe a few blocks away from the school. You didn’t go there often, but you went there a few times with Jisung in the mornings. You weren’t as familiar with the place like he was, but you knew for a fact that it was open all day, every week day.

There was only one other person in the cafe. A young, tired looking woman who typed vigorously on her laptop, which was plugged into the wall along with her phone, which she listened to whatever on. She must be a college student, since she had a backpack at her feet and a lanyard hanging from her pocket. You didn’t recognize her, so she was probably your senior. She gave you a subtle glance before turning back to her laptop, and you ignored her. Walking (more limping) up to the cashier.

“Welcome. It’s pretty late,” said a man who didn’t seem too young, but nor too old. Probably in his mid - twenties. He had a small stubble on his chin and his longish hair is tied back, a few rebellious strands framing his decently structured face. You could make out his toned chest and broad shoulders underneath the beige button up he wore, a dusty pink apron around his waist, accompanied by a pair of black slacks. He’s attractive, you couldn’t deny. “Don’t you think it’s a bit too late for a pretty little lady like you to be walking around, alone, in a tee shirt?”

“I’m fine on my own,” you admit, “I’ve been here a few times, but I can’t remember the menu. Mind handing me one?” The man nods, reaching over something to grab a one sided menu, and he hands it to you. After glancing over it, you felt too nauseous to eat, but you needed caffeine, something to keep you going since sleep wasn’t going to be an option for you tonight. “Can I just get an americano? Make it large, please, I need it.”

“Oh, coffee at this hour?” He chuckles.

“This is a coffee shop,” you glance around, a little agitated.

“Yeah, yeah,” the man laughs out, waving a hand as he pressed a few buttons on the cash register, “I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. Is that all you want? An americano, large?”

“No, get me the green tea, too,” you sigh, placing down the menu. It’s not like you to get bitter drinks, let alone two. You’re actually more of a sweets kind of person. But, since you’re not feeling too well, you just want hot, bitter drinks to keep you from going insane.

The man nods, “Hmm, tough night?” You nod slowly, “Surprised you came to a coffee shop. Most people who have rough nights usually hang around at the bar down the road. What made you come here of all places?”

“Well, it’s the first place I thought of,” you shrug a shoulder, “I don’t want a hangover in the morning either. I always know how those go. Never had the best luck when I’m drunk.” You chuckle, smiling wistfully for a moment before it turns into a bitter frown at the thought of your vague first time with Jisung. You shake your head slowly, subtly. It wasn’t a mistake. Not at all. It wasn’t bad luck. But, right now, it kind of feels like it. You’ve gotten more attached to Jisung than you have the years before you both started fucking around. “Plus, my friend used to bring me here. Thought I’d see the place alone.”

“Well, I appreciate you stopping by,” the man smiles down at you, and you give him a brief one back, “What’s your name? What should I put as the name, sorry.”

“(Y/N) (L/N),” you grumble out your name.

“Are you a foreigner?”

“No. My parents just aren’t born here,” you respond, having gotten the question hundreds of times in the past.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss (Y/N) (L/N),” the man smiles, and you chuckle softly as he rings up the order, “My name is Jeongguk. I assume you go to the college down the road?” Jeongguk asks as you sit on one of the stools at the counter. You sigh, your shoulders dropping as you nod slowly. Watching as Jeongguk prepares the americano. “Ah, I used to go there. I already graduated.”

“What was your major?” You ask curiously.

“I was a fine arts major. I only have my undergrad, but I’m saving up to go back and get my masters,” Jeongguk says.

“Oh,” your eyes brighten, intrigued by the sudden conversation, “If you don’t mind me asking, what’ll you do with your masters once you get it?”

Jeongguk sighs, his head tilting slightly as he focuses his eyes on the drink in his hand, perfecting it, “I’m not sure, actually. There’s a lot of things I could do. I could just work under a company to make things for ‘em, like designs and shit like that. But, I’m more into painting. Heh, but there’s not much painting can get for you nowadays. I haven’t seen many jobs that take in painters, so I’m reconsidering whether or not painting should be my go - to.”

“Right,” you nod, completely understanding, “It’s an amazing skill to have, though. You could probably start up on social media and sell your works worldwide.”

“Social media’s never been my forte, but it’s a thought,” Jeongguk passes you the americano, and you don’t hesitate to take a sip of the hot drinking, cringing slightly at the bitter taste. But, you soon get used to it. “What’s your major?”

“Political science,” you chuckle.

“Oh - ho! We got a smarty - pants over here, now don’t we?” Jeongguk jokes as he grabs a white, bulky mug from a shelf. You chuckle, a bit flusters. Already feeling better from this conversation with him, “The only person I knew in political science was Chris! You know Chan? Bang Chan?”

“Yeah, he’s on my committee, we’re friends,” you shrug a shoulder.

“Nice. Let him know I said hi, won’t you?” You nod quickly, taking another sip of the coffee, “Is it as much work as they say?”

“Well, with this dumb team I was pressured into, yeah, it’s a lot more than most other people with different majors seem to have,” you answer, and Jeongguk nods slowly, listening intently as he puts a kettle filled with water on a small stovetop. He then turns to you and leans against the bar table separating you both, “It’s fine, though. I’m just doing it to get a job so I can provide myself with enough money to get what I need and a bit more to have what I want. People in that field get lots of money, you know?”

“Yeah, just depends on what you decide to be,” Jeongguk nods.

“I guess you’re right,” you nod slowly, “I’m most likely to graduate with my bachelors, but I’m gonna take law so I can be a lawyer. Either tort or criminal, I don’t mind.”

“Ah, those are tricky fields in law, aren’t they,” Jeongguk chuckles, and you nod slowly, “Well, I wish you the best of luck. By the way, when did you and Chris become friends? I’ve been friends with him for a few years, now, and I don’t recall him being with you.”

“Oh, I only befriended him at the beginning of the year,” you say, and Jeongguk nods, “I went to a party with my friend and met him there. We’re also on the same committee for planning for the school, so we got pretty close.”

“You mean the huge party right before school started up, don’t you?” You nod slowly, “Mm. I know just what party you’re talking about. I think I might’ve seen you. You looked familiar when you walked in, so it’d make sense. Let me guess, were you with one of Chris’s buds? I forget his name, but I think his family name is Han, right?”

Your eyes instantly roll, and you nod, “Yeah. Han Jisung. I went with him.”

“Ouch, what a reaction,” Jeongguk laughs, noting your eyes which rolled sassily, “Did he do something to you?”

“It’s a long story.” You admit. It’s not too long, actually. It could be simplified, but you didn’t want to talk about it to a stranger.

“I have time,” Jeongguk says, smiling brightly.

You raise a brow, “So do I, and I’m going to spend it drinking my coffee.” Jeongguk raises his hands in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Have it your way,” And finally, Jeongguk finished your tea and gave it to you.

You both talked for the remainder of the night (well, morning) until the sun came up. You had about five coffees, trying different kinds that Jeongguk suggested, and another green tea with honey in it. You learned that Jeongguk graduated early, mostly since he didn’t have enough money, but he was also ahead of the rest of the year by a long run, so he privately graduated. He didn’t start working at the coffee shop until a few months ago, and works the night shift and was the only one there. Apparently, no one usually came in during his shift except for travellers passing by or the tired college students, which were more likely to come by and study.

You didn’t even notice it was morning until Jeongguk’s face illuminated with the sunlight over the city’s buildings. You both traded numbers, and you promised to come again during his shift on his days. He said he’d text you, but you weren’t too sure he would. You were at least thankful to not be totally alone that night, since part of you knew that Jisung was going to get to your head, and you’d be either upset or angry. Jeongguk was able to rid your mind of him, even if only for those five or so hours you sat there, talking to him.

But, once you walked into your dorm to change into a quick pair of different clothes, all you could think about is Jisung. Debating your feelings.

You, however, constantly repeated to yourself that you didn’t even like him like that. He’s only a friend. Only a friend. Have it be with or without benefits, he’s only a friend.

You decided to just wear a pair of baggy sweats and an old hoodie, not caring much for your appearance. Although there’s tons of caffeine running through your system, you were still exhausted from the lack of sleep, and your mood had been dropped. You knew there was probably going to be another meeting today with Chunae, but you couldn’t be too sure. You didn’t get any work done last night (obviously), and you don’t know whether or not you’ll hear it from her or not, whether or not she’ll pull you out of class again for a meeting you could care less about.

You didn’t see Jisung for the first few hours of school, per usual. He didn’t try texting you nor calling you, which you were a bit skeptical about, but you tried to ignore it. You’re supposed to be agitated with him. And, you are. You still cared for him, and you still miss him despite it being only one night. But, then again, he probably didn’t miss you the way you missed him.

He would miss you, sure. But he wouldn’t miss the way you kiss him, right? He wouldn’t miss the way you hold him. The way you love him.

But, you’re not in love with him.

You can’t be.

You did see Chris, though. He actually walked up to you during passing hall and pulled you aside, against a wall. He wore a concerned, tired look as he folded his arms. Staring down at you, and rose a brow. It was silent for a moment until you emit a low, “What?”

“What’s going on between you and Jisung?” Christopher says sternly, and your blood runs cold right then and there. Your eyes widen and your brows raise as you stare up at him. Did he know? You’re too scared to answer.

“What… do you mean?” You utter out.

“Jisung called me last night asking if you were at my dorm last night at, like, midnight. Woke me up when I should’ve gotten sleep…” Christopher grumbles, rubbing his temple, “He said he thought you would have run off to my place. Didn’t say shit as to why, though. Didn’t say a damn thing. The boy even asked me to go to your dorm to see if you were there, but no one answered. I figured you were asleep. I just need to know why Jisung had to call me at fucking midnight ‘cause of you.” Christopher’s Australian accent slips into his Korean, which means he’s probably both irritated and tired.

“Oh… I’m sorry. No, I was out at some coffee shop until, like, five in the morning last night,” You answer truthfully, and Christopher sighs, “Oh, and by the way. I talked to Jeongguk there. He said hello.”

“Really, now? Jeon Jeongguk?” Christopher asks, and you shrug a shoulder, “Well, I appreciate it. Tell the guy I miss him. But, that’s not the point. At this point, I’m kind of concerned. I went over my conversation with Jisung last night all morning and yet I can’t find a single reason why you would be running to my dorm like he thought or why he didn’t go see you himself. Did he do something wrong?”

“It’s not that it’s wrong. I’m just upset about it,” you answer, and Christopher nods slowly.

“Do you mind telling me what that is? If you do, it’s a possibility I can help,” Christopher suggests, but you smile and slowly shake your head.

“It’s not something you can help with this time, Chan,” You sigh, “It’s a bit too personal.”

“Okay, now I’m really concerned. I might have been Jisung’s friend longer, but I care about you, too, (Y/N). Please tell me what’s wrong. I know something’s happening between the two of you. And if it’s really that personal, I promise on my life not to tell anybody,” Christopher says.

You sigh and look around before grabbing the man’s hand and pulling him away to somewhere more private. He didn’t argue, but he seemed a bit surprised at how quickly you acted. You pulled him out to the courtyard, not caring much for being tardy, anymore. Your heart thumped in your chest. The rules vividly recite themselves in your mind; “No one else is supposed to know about this relationship.”

Well, here goes one rule flushed down the toilet.

Once you stopped, Christopher shoves his hands in his pocket, shrugging his shoulders at you, “Okay, now what is it?”

You shake your head slightly, debating whether or not to tell him. If Jisung found out, it’d be the death of you. But, you don’t know if you should be excited about that or scared. You’re not sure how he’d react to such news from Christopher.

You know what, fuck it, you thought to yourself.

“Well?”

“We’ve been fucking since the party,” you blurt out, and Christopher’s brows raise in shock. At both the news and how flat toned and blunt you were being. “I got a bit too tipsy and we ended up having sex. We made specific rules, which is so dumb of me to say since one of them is to literally tell nobody. Which means you can’t tell anyone and you can’t let Jisung know that you know this or he will kill me, Chan. Kill me, got it? Whatever, it… he and I had a bit of a fight after doing it last night.”

“But why?” Christopher carefully asks.

“Because he’s after a girl. A girl I’m not too fond of,” you admit.

“Chunae, isn’t it?”

“How’d you know?” You raise a brow, glad he isn’t overreacting to your confession to sleeping around with Jisung.

“Let’s just say that he’s been flirting with her every chance he gets,” Christopher admits, and you sigh softly, looking down in disappointment, but trying your hardest not to make it too obvious about how upset you were, “They share some classes, and he’s apparently been talking to her every chance he gets. Not to mention, Chunae seemed pretty into him, too.”

“Yeah, no shit,” you sigh, tiredness suddenly coming over you, as well as exhaustion, “We fought about it, but I’m the one in the wrong. He has every right to like someone and want to date someone. But… I dunno.”

“Do you love him?” Christopher asks slowly, and you take a seat at the nearest bench, Christopher following behind you and sitting next to you.

“I don’t know,” you answer truthfully in a small voice, “I really don’t know. One part of me misses him so much whenever I’m without him. One part of me loves him, but the other part just tells me that he’s only my friend and nothing more. But, yeah. He wanted me to stay the night at his dorm, but I didn’t since he only had me over and treated me well because he’s going to cut things off soon.”

“Do you want him to cut things off?”

“No!” You yell, a little too upset with the situation, and Christopher breaths in through his nose. You cover your face with his hands, slightly muffled by your hands, “I don’t! But he says that we will, and I-” you don’t bother to look up, cutting yourself off before you start crying out of nowhere. Your head hurt from the lack of sleep, but your eyes hurt from the need and resistance to cry.

Christopher placed a warm hand on your back, and you breath slowly.

“I don’t want him to leave me, Chris… I really don’t,” you shake your head slightly. Christopher’s hand massages your back and shoulders reassuringly. His warm hand giving you the reassurance you needed.

“I know, (Y/N), I know. It’s alright,” he sighs, his arm wrapping around you and pulling you into a hug. You don’t resist it. In fact, you lift yourself up to let your hands grip onto his shirt to hug him tightly, “If you’ll like, I can talk to Jisung. I won’t tell him that I know about the… benefits… but, I’ll let him know that you just don’t feel comfortable about his relationship with Chunae, alright? How does that sound?” Christopher’s voice is sweet and soft, calming you from your growing tears.

“That sounds perfect, Channie… thank you,” you whisper softly, your head burrowed in his chest.

It’s weird being held by another man. Another man that isn’t Han Jisung. It’s nice, especially since Christopher has such a loving and gentle personality. His hands hug you without any awkwardness, and it’s nice that someone other than Jisung can hug you without being uncomfortable.

But, your comfort was soon taken away when Christopher let’s go of you and shifts in his seat. You look up, and you see someone familiar walking towards you both. At first, your tears — blurred eyes make it impossible to see who it is, but once your eyes are cleared, Han Jisung’s perfect face comes into view. His face is stoic, his lips down turned in a subtle frown. His eyes are focused on you, and you stand up in your spot, clutching your backpack to get ready to leave.

“Don’t you dare move, (Y/N),” Jisung yells loudly, and you freeze at the spot. Christopher’s eyes widening from how aggressive Jisung sounded. Once he’s directly in front of you, he finally looks over to Christopher, and steps towards him, “I asked you to check up on her, Chan. Not do whatever the fuck you guys were doing just now.”

“What, comforting her?” Christopher stands his ground, standing up despite them both being the same height, “Something you should have been doing instead of me?”

Your hand clamps over your mouth. Jisung’s brows furrow, and his fists clench, but he doesn’t do anything, “I asked you a simple favor. To check up on her for me.”

“And that’s what I was doing,” Christopher defends himself, and you watch curiously. Neither of them spare you a glance, both staring at each other, “I’m not trying to pick a fight here, Jisung. But, it’s not my place to take care of her in… your situation.” Christopher looks Jisung up and down, and Jisung wears a disgusted look on his face. “I only asked what the fuck you did for you to think she was running off to me. ‘Cause, she was actually at the fucking coffee shop all damn morning talking to Jeongguk.”

“Jeongguk?” Jisung’s brows furrow, and he looks over to you briefly. You slowly nod, “Did you sleep at all last night?” You slowly shook your head, and Jisung groaned, running a hand through his messy hair. He turns back to Christopher, “Can you leave, Chan? I need to talk to her.”

Christopher looks past Jisung to you, and you shake your head slowly. Somewhat afraid of being alone with Jisung just for what you will talk about. However, Christopher gives you an apologetic look before turning back to Jisung, “Fine. Call me later (Y/N). If you don’t, I’m stopping by your dorm to check up on you.”

“Alright… Bye, Chan…” You mumble loudly back, and Christopher gives Jisung a subtle glance before grabbing his things and walking away.

You sat back down, half expecting Jisung to do the same. But, no, he stood in front of you. Towering over you as you stared at your feet. His hands stuff themselves into his hoodie’s pockets, and there’s a tense silence.

“Jisung…”

“Why did you run off like that last night, (Y/N)?” Jisung immediately cuts you off, and you can’t find yourself having the courage to look him in the eyes. You felt embarrassed for yourself, but you had to stay and talk to him. You don’t know how to answer. You don’t have a straight answer in your tired mind. “Answer me, (Y/N). We’re not going to get anywhere if you keep quiet.”

“I don’t know, Jisung,” you breathe out, gripping the bench below you, “I… Was just irritated.”

“Why?” Jisung crouches down so you can’t avoid his eyes. Unlike how you thought, Jisung’s eyes were more concerned than angry, like you thought they’d be. His hand escapes his pocket to rest on your knee, “I knew you weren’t irritated. You were just fine before I started talking about Chunae.”

Caught red handed. You stared at him like a deer in headlights, and your lips purse, trying your hardest to find an answer.

“I don’t know, Jisung. I really don’t,” you whisper to him pitifully, and Jisung shakes his head.

“No… No, I know you know the answer, (Y/N). I can make everything better if you just talked to me,” Jisung says in a voice you rarely heard. He’s usually joking around or simply has such an upbeat attitude. It’s so rare to see Jisung this serious, it almost makes you want to cry by how it affects you so. The way his voice lowers, relaxing and calming, yet stern. The way his eyes weren’t bright or happy, but not cold or angry.

It was almost scary.

“You say that as if there’s something wrong with me,” you try to chuckle bitterly, dodging his stare. But, his head moves with yours, and his hand that rests on your knee rises to firmly cup your cheek, turning your head to look directly at him with no exceptions.

“Because there is. There’s something you’re not telling me,” Jisung answers.

“Jisung,” your voice hardens, your heartbeat rising as Jisung’s words tug and pull at your heart, “I need to get to class. I’m already very late.”

“No, you’re staying here until we figure this out,” Jisung’s other hand grips your wrist, tugging at it, even though you never moved to get up in the first place. He seemed on edge, and took a brief glance behind him before turning back to you, “You’re my best friend for life, (Y/N). You know that. I care so much for you, and if there’s something wrong with my decisions, then I need you to tell me.”

“I…” your eyes close for a minute, nibbling on your bottom lip before looking up at him, “I don’t want you to cut things off between us, Jisung. I want to keep doing this… whatever this is. It makes me happy, Jisung.”

“Oh, (Y/N)...” Jisung sighs softly, his head dipping for a moment before he looks up at you with a pitiful smile, “Is that why you were mad last night?”

“So what if it is? You won’t do anything about it,” you answer, and Jisung’s brows furrow, “Even if I begged on my knees for you to keep doing this with me, you’d still reject me, wouldn’t you?”

“I — (Y/N), you know that I—“

“Wouldn’t you?” You cut him off, your glossy eyes boring into his. His hand falls from your face, resting on your thigh, and he squeezes it slightly.

“It depends…” Jisung answers truthfully, “On what I’m rejecting you for.” Your frown deepens, upset with his answer. Even so, you would’ve been upset if he said no. “If it’s for something stupid, like someone told me to stop or I had moral changes, hell no. But if it were for something like… like Chunae and I… then yes.”

You don’t answer him. You just stare at him, blinking every so often to try and keep away the growing tears. He would choose Chunae over you. Of course. You should have known. Everyone loved Chunae. Chunae deserved everyone’s love for how pretty, smart and proper she is. Of course Han Jisung would reject the sassy, immature and lazy (Y/N) (L/N) for a perfect woman like Chunae. You’re not a perfect woman. Not at all.

Not for Han Jisung.

It was then, at that moment of thoughts of Chunae and Jisung running through your head that you came to a sudden realization as you stared into Jisung’s worried eyes.

You’re in love with him.

You’re in love with Han Jisung. Your best friend.

“Get away from me,” you mumble.

“What…?” Jisung’s brows furrow.

“I said get away from me,” your broken voice whimpers out, “You make everything so much harder for me. Everything…” You shove away his hands and stand up, but Jisung is quick to scramble up and wrap his arms around your waist, his chest pressed against your back as his face burrows into your neck.

Your heart burns badly. It’s painful, too painful. You feel as though you’re going to collapse from how painful it is.

“Don’t go, yet. Please. You’re confusing me, (Y/N),” Jisung whispers into your neck, his warm breath sending tingles down your spine.

“No. I said get away from me,” you try and push him away, scooping your arms under his to try and push him away. But, Jisung is oddly persistent.

But, you eventually get away, grabbing your things and dashing off.

“No, (Y/N), wait! Please!” Jisung yells after you, but you're already to the building doors, throwing yourself into the building and dashing to the girl’s bathroom to recollect yourself.

And, thankfully, it’s empty. You throw your backpack down and lean against the sink. Finally, you let the tears fall. They fell down your cheeks fast and hot, the aching feeling of relief in your mind allowing you to breath slowly as the tears dripped mercilessly down your face, showing no signs of stopping.

You stared at yourself in the mirror as you cried. You were quiet. Making no sound other than sniffling here and there. You don’t even try to wipe away the tears that stain your face, too bothered and eager to cry to do so. Your eyes grow red and big, your cheeks reddening from the tears and your heart aching badly in your chest.

Once the thought of being in love with Han Jisung enters your mind, you look away from yourself. Your head falling, and you grip your hair. Shaking your head in your arms, Letting out muffled, “No, no, no!”s as you started to weakly, softly sob. Your body trembles with your tears.

You can’t be in love with Han Jisung. It’ll only end in your heartbreak. Jisung will cut things off immediately, and probably push you away once he finds out. You can’t for the life of you let him find out. You’re too scared to tell him yourself, so you have to keep it a secret from anyone who might be able to tell him and have him believe it. It’s too risky, so you’d have to keep this painful secret to yourself, no matter how badly you wanted to babble on and on about how much you hate this feeling and about how good he makes you feel, emotionally and physically.

You didn’t say a word to anyone after your short breakdown in the bathroom. You soon grew too tired to cry, and too stressed to go back to class, so you waited out that period before your lunch hour would come by. You didn’t know where to go. There would be girls hogging the bathroom, and hundreds of other students roaming the campus. You really didn’t want to be around people at this point, but you didn’t have much of a choice in the first place.

So, you went to the courtyard. You called Christopher, telling him about what happened, and he said he was going to be there right away and to meet him by the outdoor canteen. So, you sat at an empty table, waiting.

You scrolled mindlessly through your phone, wearing a blank, stoic expression as nothing was present in your all — too tired mind. Your backpack resting against your leg as you waited.

When you hear loud footsteps coming near, you look up. Not expecting who it was at first. It’s Chunae, and she looks on edge and upset. Her perfectly tinted lips frown darkly at you, and she stops in front of you.

“And where were you last class period?” She asks, and you raise your brow, turning off your phone and resting it on the table.

“Not there? Why do you care?” You scowl back at her, staring up at her with a dark glare. However, she doesn’t seem to back down, only to get angrier.

“I was supposed to give you more papers for people to contact, as well as parents and volunteers,” she throws a stack of papers in front of you. And you gawk at it. She already gave you so much shit to do beforehand, why the hell is she giving you more? You already have enough work, she should know that. She knew as well as the rest how busy political students are. And she had the audacity to throw a stack of papers on your desk and demand you to analyze and contact each person? “I want them done by this weekend, no exceptions.”

“You don’t get to decide that, Chunae,” You scoff, smiling bitterly at her. Your own anger rising, “I already have enough shit from the other stack of documents you thrusted down my throat on top of my school work. I’m not doing all this shit in less than a week!” You nearly yell, but you don’t raise your voice too much. You thrust an angry finger at the stack.

“Listen, (Y/N),” Chunae sighs, “I’m not in the best of moods right now. I don’t want to deal with bullshit right now when we’re on a tight schedule. This event is in danger of being shut down completely if we don’t finish it soon.”

“And does it look like I give two shits?” You sarcastically smile.

“Don’t joke with me, (Y/N), and please control your language. It’s giving me a headache.”

“Oh, boo — hoo,” you roll your eyes, leaning back in your chair, “What do you want? A cookie?”

“Don’t, (Y/N). I swear.” Chunae vaguely threatens, and you smirk.

“You swear what?” You urge, standing up slowly. Taking a step towards her, and she takes a small one back. Her expression doesn’t change. Her dead, yet beautiful brown eyes glaring into yours, “What’ll you do? Give me more paperwork? Tell me off to Daddy? Punch my teeth in?” You glare down at her hand, cocking a snarky brow at it before glaring at her, “I’d like to see you try to lay a finger on me.”

“Like you could do any better,” Chunae snaps, and you’re surprised how she’s snapping back instead of de — escalating the situation. It makes you excited. The urge to punch her only grew, “Your words are louder than your actions, (Y/N). Don’t underestimate me.”

You laugh loudly, “Ha! That’s funny! You… scary? Hey, I give an A- for effort, how about it?” You elbow her arm jokingly before turning back to glare through the paperwork she so selfishly threw your way.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that,” Chunae snaps.

“You forget who’s older.”

“You forget who has Han Jisung.”

You freeze. The paper falling out of your hand as you turn slowly to see a smirking Chunae. Smiling as though she killed off her worst enemy. Your mouth falls open, and you scoff.

“What… the fuck did you just say?” You grumble darkly, her hands balling into fists at your sides.

“I said… You forget who has Han Jisung,” she repeats slowly.

You had heard her loud and clear. Just like you heard Jisung when he confessed his adoration for Chunae. You were just in shock. You did not expect this out of someone like her. And, just like that, all your respect was lost for the woman. She crossed a border she could never escape. She’s crossed a line she can never retract over. She’s pushed buttons inside you that can’t be fixed.

“I dare you to say that again.” You growl through gritted teeth, and in the corners of your eyes, you can see Christopher walking up. But, a small crowd had started to watch you and Chunae. He stops by them, deciding not to intervene physically.

“(Y/N)?” Christopher yells, and you turn your head to him. “Is…” He grows silent when he sees your angry glare.

You turn back to Chunae, Christopher watching silently, prepared if anything happens. He pulls out his phone, and presses a few buttons before pressing it to his ear. Speaking to the person on the other line under his breath. You could care less, though, and you mainly focused on Chunae.

“I said I dare you to say that again!” You finally yell, and the people in the canteen grow silent. All heads turning to the both of you, and Christopher continues talking on the phone to whoever it is. Your hand flies up, gripping the hem of Chunae’s blouse. Pulling her intimidatingly close. You’re slightly taller than her, so she looked up at you.

Chunae only chuckles softly, “I have Han Jisung… He’s mine, isn’t he?”

As if on cue, your fist, knuckling white from clenching it so hard, comes into contact with Chunae’s cheek right as an out of breath Han Jisung comes running to the scene. But, you’re too busy to pay him any mind.

Of course, like you expected, Chunae flies to the ground. Immediately cupping her face and letting out a brief cry. And, just like that, you’re the bad guy. You sigh and roll your eyes. Shaking off your hand, which aches slightly from the impact on her defined cheekbone. You turn to Christopher and Jisung. Jisung stands there, staring between you and Chunae, who lay on the ground, holding her black and blue face. Christopher just gawks at you.

“What the fuck, (Y/N)?!” Jisung yells.

“Hey, before you overreact, I can explain…”

But, you’re quickly cut off when you feel a yank at your ankle, and you let out a yelp as you get yanked down. Your body yanked down, and the top of your head slams against the table you were sitting out, letting out a loud thunk through the air. And, you can briefly see Jisung trying to run up, but Christopher holds him back briefly.

Your hand flies up to your head, dizziness overtaking you as your mind falls blank for a second. Your head begins to throb, and you hiss through your teeth. However, you’re not gifted with enough time to get over the pain like Chunae did before she towers over you. Her high heels are kicked off, and she presses the ball of her foot into your chest, forbidding airway.

You’re a little too dizzy to think, but you’re conscious enough to react. Your hand flies up on instinct, your hands gripping her ankle and twisting it with your hands, causing her to fall. Before she could have time to get back up, you climb back on top of her and straddle her stomach.

She kicked and struggled, but your hands gripped her wrists (all too familiar with this position with the help of Jisung), pinning them to the ground. Your head aches, throbbing painfully. You’re still dizzy, trying to stay conscious from both the lack of sleep and from your head hitting the table.

“Hey! Hey, calm down. Just, oh fuck, my head. Oh, my god, Chunae, what the fuck is wrong with you?” You grumble as you squeeze your eyes shut, as if that would ease the pain. But, it doesn’t.

Jisung and Christopher eventually come over. Jisung’s arms wrap around you, just below your breasts as he pulls you off. You don’t struggle, but Chunae does. Christopher struggles pulling Chunae away, who still tries to pummel you.

She got a good hit on you. But it wasn’t really her. She just yanked your ankle, which threw your head against the table. You melted into Jisung’s arms, and he helped you to your feet carefully. Every movement made your headache worse. It blistered your head, sending shots of pain through your body. You tried your best to stay conscious, but it was a bit more difficult than one might seem. So, you focused on the way Jisung’s hands held you to try and keep you awake.

You faintly heard a teacher running over, asking about what the hell was going on. Jisung excused him, saying that there was a fight but it’s been handled and he’s taking you to the nurse’s office. So, the professor let you and Chunae go without much argument (probably not wanting to deal with something like this in the middle of the day.

But, Jisung didn’t take you to the nurse’s office. Christopher did, though, dragging a struggling Chunae away to the nurse’s office with no help. Jisung whispered incoherent words to you as one of his hands gripped your waist, the other holding your hand as you stumbled on your own two feet. Your vision blurred and your stomach erupted in pain. You had a concussion, all because Chunae as able to swipe at your ankle.

You were in too much pain to think clearly, hanging onto Jisung, “Ji… my head hurts so fuckin’ bad.” Your words are muffled by the lump in your throat that grew from the pain.

“I know, baby. She got you pretty good, didn’t she,” Jisung’s soft words seem to calm your head a bit, but it goes away the moment your foot plants on the ground to take another step, “It’s alright… I’m sure she wasn’t in a good mood, that’s all.”

“Shut up,” you grumble out, and Jisung sighs softly, squeezing your waist briefly as he walks you through a pair of doors and down a hall.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). Let’s not talk about Chunae right now. Let’s just get you to rest for a bit,” Jisung reassured, and you thanked whatever god is out there that he’ll shut up about Chunae.

“Where’re we goin’?” You look around, squinting through your blurred vision, as if that’d help (news flash; it didn’t).

“Back to my dorm,” Jisung answers, and you turn to him, “Jeongin isn’t back, yet, so don’t worry. Besides, we have better shit than the nurse will give you. She’ll just give you an ice pack and tell you to move on with your day, now won't she?” You think about it for a moment, although nothing goes through your mind. But, you agree with him and nod slowly.

The rest of the walk is silent. Sometimes, you’d nearly trip over your own feet, but with Jisung’s hand on your waist, he always caught you and whispered words of reassurance that never truly got all the way through your brain. Eventually though, you both made it to Jisung’s dorm. He unlocked it with one hand easily and threw the white door open. Not bothering to flick on the light before he walked in, kicking the door closed, and sat you on his bed.

Once you sat down, you felt like you’d been holding the world on your shoulders. You got a bit of relief since you weren’t moving around as much, but it still hurt like a bitch. Your head throbbed, everywhere. Your body twitched in pain. You couldn’t think straight nor could you see especially clearly, and you felt like you were about to throw up all of the coffee and tea you’d had this morning.

Jisung shuffled through one of his drawers before pulling out a first aid kit. He took his chair from his desk and rolled it in front of you, sitting on it and placing the first aid kit in his lap before opening it. “Dad always said to keep it handy. Turns out it’s finally coming to good use. I just need to see if there’s a wound on your head.”

And, so, without struggle, you lay forward, your head resting on Jisung’s knee as he gently moved your hair to the sides, looking for something. He did end up finding a bruise on the top of your head and said that it would be best to leave it alone for the time being before icing it. He gave you a few pills of over the counter medication to help ease the pain. But, he seemed a bit conflicted. It was mostly silent, you didn’t really talk since you didn’t have the strength to nor the will to. Chunae might be pretty weak, but with a blow to your head on the table like that… that’ll fuck you up real good.

Once you’re laying against his pillows, Jisung finally pipes up again.

“Come here.”

“Hmm?” You look up, and Jisung’s legs are spread slightly, one hand on his thigh as he looked over to you. His hair shadowing his eyes slightly.

“I said come here, now don’t be stubborn,” He motions you over with his hand, and you groan and squeeze your eye shut as you sit up and slide off of the bed and walk up to him. Jisung guides you around and slowly onto his lap. His arms wrapped around your waist tightly.

“Jisung?” You mumble softly.

“Shh… This is going to help you with the pain, baby,” Jisung whispers against your ear, and you feel his press a gentle kiss to the back of your ear. You breathe in sharply, somewhat knowing where this is going as Jisung’s hand grips at your shirt. “It’ll make your head feel so much better, baby. I’ll make you feel good, alright?”

“Mm… how would that help?” You sighed out, your head already leaning onto Jisung’s shoulder, your eyes closing in relaxation as Jisung’s hands caressed your stomach, nearing both your breasts and your womanhood, but not daring to go near just yet.

“It’ll make all your muscles relax. It’ll make you feel better,” Jisung whispers into your ear, making you shiver, “Don’t you want that? You want me to touch you, babygirl?”

You can’t think straight. All morality and logic is thrown out your mental window, so you nod quickly without thinking. One your hands swiping up to caress Jisung’s neck as he pressed a few light kisses to your ear. “Alright, (Y/N). My sweet baby. Just relax for me, alright?” The praise makes butterflies erupt in your stomach, and you nearly forget that he’s only your friend. Your legs spread slightly, your back pressing to his chest. Letting him hold your weight. “That’s my good girl. My perfect (Y/N).”

His. His perfect (Y/N). Those words made you happy, oh so happy. Even if a thought couldn’t bear to finish in your head, you still enjoyed such words. It’s a break from the name calling and the dirty talk. It made you feel like the only girl in the world. Like Chunae was never a part of the picture to begin with.

Jisung’s hands slowly unbutton your jeans, his lips still pressing kisses to the side of your neck and your ear. Occasionally whispering short sentences like, “Good girl… That’s right… Oh, baby…” It makes you squirm in his grasp as he undoes your jeans and pushes them off of you. You weakly lift up your hips to help him a little bit as Jisung lets your pants fall to the ground with a low thud. You press your ass against Jisung, your leg spreading a bit more at the feeling of the cold air of the dorm meeting your clothed womanhood, which got wetter by the second.

You let your head lift, resting your head against Jisung’s cheek to let it rest, but you wanted to watch his hands as they softly caressed your thighs. Sending calming chills through your legs and your gut as his warm hands touched your thighs and hips ever so intimately. You melted into his touch, your lips parting to allow your low breaths to become audible. You could feel Jisung’s breath against your ear and your neck, and your neck craned slightly to feel more of it.

“You’re so beautiful, (Y/N), you know that?” Jisung’s low, sudden voice sent butterflies exploding in your stomach. You whimpered softly in response, not knowing how to respond to such praise, since Jisung was quite the degrader. He’d usually call you all sorts of dirty things. He’s probably taking pity on you since you’re hurt, but it doesn’t matter. It still makes you feel so happy and so turned on. “My beautiful baby…” Jisung whispers, seemingly to himself as his fingers brush over your clothed cunt.

“Jisunggie… don’t talk nonsense,” you utter out, sharply gasping when you feel the base of his fingers press against your clothed labia.

“What nonsense?” Jisung chuckles deeply, his fingers rubbing slowly circles, making your eyes close in bliss and your head rest against Jisung’s shoulder, your hands gripping the arms of the desk chair as Jisung’s other hand squeezes your inner thigh. “Don’t say that it’s nonsense. You’re only lying to yourself.”

You didn’t respond, basking in the pleasure and praise as Jisung’s experienced fingers rubbed along your clothes labia. Soaking your panties through with your juices (yet another pair of perfectly good underwear ruined by Jisung), the outline of your pussy showing through and letting Jisung touch even more sensitive areas.

He goes for a while without actually touching your bare womanhood. Mainly his index and middle finger rubbing and massaging your labia and over your pussy. Jisung’s eyes focused on his hands as he worked them over you. You feel yourself relax, the pain easing from you. You forget about the headache, the dizziness. The nausea and the aching throughout your body; forgotten. All that’s on your mind is how intimately Jisung touches you. How his experienced hands move over your sensitive pussy in such a delicate, yet firm way. So gentle, yet so emphatic.

So loving, yet so bitterly resistant.

Your mind grows blank. Too caught up in the relaxing pleasure and from overcoming your concussion to think straightly. All that keeps your mind wandering is Jisung and Jisung alone. Not Christopher. Not the man, Jeongguk, that you met at the coffee shop. Not even Chunae. Only Han Jisung.

After long minutes of slowly teasing your cunt, soaking your panties with your wetness, Jisung finally bids you one good deed and taps your hip. Guiding you to raise it as he slips them off slowly. Letting them fall down your legs and onto the floor below. You step out of them. Your bottom half now completely exposed, yet you still wear all that’s on your torso. You didn’t care, though. It was better than being fully clothed, anyways.

“Oh, fuck…” Jisung breaths out in a rugged manner as his fingers slowly brush over the lips of your pussy, your sweet wetness seeping from you, already coating Jisung’s fingertips, “You’re so wet for me, baby. So wet for me. It makes me want to fuck you so hard. You’d like that wouldn’t you?” You frantically nod against Jisung’s head, watching as his fingers push against your labia and against your core. Firmly pressing against your clit, and your back arches as you grind your hips on his fingers. “But, I won’t. Not yet, anyways. I’m going to make you feel better, not make you scream and give you a headache all over again.”

Jisung chuckles deeply, as if what he just said was nothing more than a joke, but you didn't laugh along. He doesn’t seem to care, though, since you’re obviously so immersed in the way Jisung’s fingers rub your pussy gently. His lips part slightly, pressing a gentle kiss to your neck as his middle finger teases your entrance.

“Jisung, ahh~... Yes, please, just like that…” you whisper out in sharp breaths as Jisung slowly inserts his middle finger into you. Pumping slowly until his knuckles are pressed against your heat. “Fuck, yes… Love your fingers so much, Jisung - ah.”

“I know, baby,” Jisung tenses below you at your words, and his finger slightly curves inside you, making your leg twitch. But, his hand that caressed your thigh gripped your leg, keeping you steady on his lap. “I don’t usually get to finger you like this, do I? Letting my hands do all the work, hmm?”

No, he didn’t. But damn, you wanted him to more often. You didn’t answer, only with a delicate moan as Jisung’s middle finger slowly pumps itself in and out of you. Curving slightly every time it thrusted into you to hit that special spot. Sending chills through your torso as his finger worked inside you so well. Your walls clench around him, despite how he was going slow. It wasn’t painfully slow, but not enough to make you cum quick enough. It’s a slow burn. Slowly building up your sensitivity as his palm pressed against your clit.

“You take my fingers so well, (Y/N) - ah… You’re always so good for me, aren’t you?” Jisung comments, his voice low, yet gentle. Soft to the ear, and not as aggressive and dark as it tended to be during sex. It sent you on an overdrive. It drove you crazy by just his tone of voice. It made your heart ache and your pussy wetter and wetter. “You don’t know how hard this is for me, baby…”

Oh, you knew. You can feel his hard dick pressing against your ass. The only thing keeping you two apart was his few articles of clothing. But, no matter what he was wearing, you could still feel how he ached underneath you. You mentally applauded him, but you were too lost in the lust to actually bid him something of a congratulations for being able to hold back this long (since he was usually pretty desperate to get his dick inside you).

It’s another minute or so until Jisung pushes in another finger. Slowly stretching you out and making you moan even louder. The way his fingers curled ever so slightly inside you, hitting that special spot over and over again drove you insane. His fingers pressing against it firmly with the tips of it. Your mind hazed with lust and desire, and your craving for him grew even bigger and even more intense.

“Shit, Jisung - ah… That feels so good ~,” you moan out as you meet with Jisung’s knuckles, grinding into his fingers.

“Hmm… does it, baby? You feel good?” You nod slowly to his words, and Jisung breathily chuckles, smiling, “See? I said it would help.”

“I don’t care about that…'' you sigh out softly, although it wasn’t entirely the truth and you were thankful that Jisung’s suggestion was able to subside your headache. “I want you to fuck me dumb, Jisung. I want to think about nothing but you.”

Jisung’s fingers stay inside you, his hand pressed against your throbbing pussy as he looks at your face. You already looked so fucked out. So desperate, your eyes craving and needy. “Are you sure?”

You slowly nod, turning your head and pressing a kiss to his lips briefly. It wasn’t too sloppy, but your tongue brushed over his lips, “Yes, Jisung… I want you to make me your bitch…”

“Oh, sweet, sweet (Y/N)...” Jisung chuckles darkly, his hand pulling itself from your pussy, making you twitch and gasp loudly as his wet hand flies up to grip your cheeks. Pushing your head back slightly as his fingers press into your jaw, holding your head in place as you clenched around nothing. Your pussy craves both release and Jisung ever so badly.

“You were my bitch since the beginning,” Jisung’s voice grows familiarly dark, and you try to clamp your legs shut from the chills that run through your womanhood. But, Jisung’s hand yanks your legs apart. “Keep your legs spread for me. I’m going to fuck you until you’re begging for me to stop.”

You let out a breathy moan, and, at first, you thought Jisung was going to pull you into a kiss. But, he didn’t. He chose a rougher path. He quickly pushes you off of him. Standing up and pushing you face first onto the bed. The back of his hand pushing your face down into the sheets, the other guiding your hips up slowly. Spreading your legs for him. Such a dirty position, your dripping pussy on display for no one other than Han Jisung.

But, he doesn’t spend much time staring at your pussy. Instead, his hands grip your wrists, and he grinds his clothed, hard cock against your wet pussy. He let out a breathy moan, leaning over your so he was next to your ear as he whispered, “You see how hard you make me, (Y/N)? You see you fucking riled up you make me? Makes me want to fuck this pussy all damn day. Have you sit on my cock all fucking day, huh?”

You moan out in response, your hair spread as your hoodie fell down. Your bra is slightly exposed, and Jisung pulls himself up. Basically ripping off your bra and tossing it to the side. Not even bothering with the hoodie itself as he tore down his jeans.

You couldn’t watch him, so you knew he was fully exposed when you heard the snap and fall of his boxers. It’s almost an instant when his throbbing head comes out and presses against your pussy. Your lips fall wide open as Jisung rubs his cock over your soaking pussy.

“Oh, fuck, you’re so wet for me,” Jisung moans out lowly, “So ready for my cock, like always. So desperate for me. So needy for me cock, aren’t you? Already so fucked out and I haven’t even put my dick inside you yet. Such a slutty girl…”

You moan out, your back arching, presenting yourself more to him, “Jisung! Jisung, please just fuck me…! I need it so bad, please…So bad…” You breath out rapidly, clutching the sheets.

Jisung lets out a shaky breath in response to your begging, “Since you asked so nicely…”

And, like an instant, Jisung was inside you. His hips pressed against your ass, his hands guiding your hips back to meet with his. You let out loud strings of moans and groans of Jisung’s name and incoherent words as Jisung fucks himself into you, raw. His dick throbs inside your wet walls. You clench around him desperately, your back falling limp as you succumb to the pleasure.

“Oh, fuck, (Y/N), you do so well in this po-position, don’t you?” Jisung breathes out raggedly, and you moan loudly in response. Jisung’s hands harshly gripping your hips and waist to have you meet back with his harsh, aggressive thrusts. His cock burns your hot walls, burning in such a blissfully good way, it makes your eyes roll back in pleasure.

“Ji-Jisunggie -ah… It’s so… so good - oh, fuck! Just like that, please, just like that!” You scream out as Jisung props up one of his legs, allowing him to have a better angle to thrust even faster and harder. Ramming his rock hard dick into you with passion. Jisung’s hands trail around your waist and ass once you’ve started to bounce back, meeting with his thrusts on your own.

His hands knead your ass. Spreading your cheeks before firmly pressing them. One of his hands, however, reaches up. Slowly crawling up your back, and his hips stagger a bit as his hands grip a handful of your hair. First, his hand merely presses against your head. But, at some point, he yanks you head back. Forcing you up from the bed, and you use your weak arms as support as Jisung’s hand yanks at your hair. You stare at the wall, but you don’t focus on it. You can’t. Your eyes keep rolling back or crossing, mixing beautifully with your loud moans.

Jisung uses the grip on your hair to give him a steadier rhythm as he thrusted into you. His hips slapping against your ass, making it bounce with every thrust. The sounds of skin slapping, your loud moaning and Jisung’s groans and occasional dirty talk filled the room as Jisung pressed wet kisses to your neck. Suckling on the back of your neck especially, and you moan from the feeling of his tongue being flushed against your sweating skin.

It was so much, his cock, the pulling of your hair and his tongue on your neck. Your mind falls blank, thinking of nothing other than Jisung’s cock. Some drool dribbles down the side of your chin as your eyes water from the pleasure. You can’t say anything more, not even being able to form Jisung’s name correctly. You’re so fucked out, so beautifully fucked out.

Jisung definitely noticed it, too, since it gave him the courage to start biting your sensitive skin. It was more sensitive in some places, and you immediately knew that he left hickeys. He bite them gently, yet firmly before running his tongue over the markings.

Your pussy clenched around him dangerously tight. So tightly, it makes Jisung let out a low, broken moan and makes his hips stagger and twitch as he presses himself deep into you. “You’re gonna cum, aren’t you, babygirl? You gonna cum for me like the good little slut you are? Cum on my cock, (Y/N). Cum for me,” Jisung groans out loudly, pressing your head against the sheets again, muffling your loud moans as you feel your climax nearing.

Your knees buckle as your legs twitch and tense dangerously tightly as you feel yourself cum hard. Jisung slows down slightly, riding you out on your high. Your loud moans turn into high pitched ones as your back spasms from the intensity of it.

Right after you cum, Jisung quickly pulls out of you before shooting ropes of white cum onto your ass. You breathe heavily, trying your best to catch your breath as you listen to Jisung moan loudly once he cums, too. Your pussy clenches around nothing, and you feel your entire body relax. All your muscles calm. Exhaustion washes over you like a tidal wave.

And you’re out like a light.

Jisung was a bit concerned as to why you fell asleep so easily. But, he didn’t argue. He gently cleaned you both up while you slept and changed you into a pair of his clothes after he realized you wouldn’t wake up even if he blew an air horn in your ear. He laid you in his bed, as comfortably as he could make you. He wiped the sweat off of your face and watched your sleeping face for a few minutes before he moved back to his desk, grabbing his laptop from his backpack and opening it. Opening work for his classes, since he’ll be absent for the rest of the day.

You slept exceptionally soundly, and he was thankful for that.

Jeongin actually came back that night, too. At first, he didn’t see you sleeping in Jisung’s bed, but once Jisung motioned for him to be quiet, Jeongin looked over to his bed to see locks of (H/C) hair poking out of the blanket. He wondered why you were here, and Jisung naturally just said that you had gotten into a fight and injured yourself and he was taking you in to take care of you. Jeongin didn’t argue much and minded his own business for the rest of the day.

However, Jisung intended to sleep next to you. But, he couldn’t bring himself to. The guilt piling inside him prevented him from doing so.

[madfantasy]

I haven't seen you post in a while, I hope you've been doing okay? How is everything? Hope it's been a good year so far for you 💕💕

You're too kind, u & everyone who made inquiries, bless ur hearts.. im sorry for disappearing, but yeah, I don't have net— using my phone credit and hope this posts..

I tried to record my voice answering this, like I sometimes did on tik, suddenly ended up trying to muffle the floods of my burning tears, so now I have an awkward vid of me talking then weeping out of nowhere, which a good reason for me to keep up the no cry habit, heh.. but seriously, I suppose I'm fine till I be conscious of it.. its much easier for not to talk .. even tho I'm aching to be back in thy company, lonely in my foresight to catch on to the present that joins us, hand held out to reach like minded souls but shying from the fear of forgetfulness occurring..

I'm fine tho, did few new stuff, merely drowning in too muchness and nothingness as usual, this month I guess you could say I took an act of mad fury in search of any happy source because the echoing silence and the swarm of sadness nipping on my brain cells thickened, and the reasoning merged with the obscene. So instead of giving my guardians the usual of 3/4 of my earnings last month for net and groceries, I spent it all. Ya know, as it was told to me it mine to do as I please? As being prevented any chance of work if it was possible, 't was supposed to be spent on art supplies & measly delights craved for years ?

Before hand, I've been begging them to take me for months to get any clothing or whatever, be it the first time I ever see a shop, then just to drive around, then just me peaking to the outside when the front door is open, merely seeking change I suppose. They kept vaguely promising me until they refused point blank— getting tired of my nagging, then their car just stopped working till this day. Its in the workshop rn..

Anyway, befouled by despair, needing the mere basics of life and not granted, I was delighted when i found a site to buy from cheap & pretty, I pressed buy without any further considerations, or taking their permission and thrilled to be able get gifts for my siblings too. I say gifts but really they are deprived necessities too and not even much just one each cuz well, they are 5 of my babies and to start with the top of priorities; we all draw

I could already see it, they can't help themselves; heck seeped through the clenched gates of their mouths, trying desperately to poison me with undirect attempts this time, cuz I bought for my sibs they're out of the option of calling me selfish. I was upping the same trance like state of vague existence dealing with them, absorbing their insults and degrading just to make sure my shi arrives safe.

Unfortunate for me, the site chose the worst carrier in this country

I did everything in my power to make it into their convenience, by embarrassingly messaging the carrier daily, they took a week of promising to deliver and flanking so my guardians reached a heated level of threatening, waving their hands nd almost tossing shi at mE saying that they don't care if they came and if i dared to order something again they'll do this and that. Not allowing me to open the door for the delivery guy when he comes, blaming me for missing vaccination dates (they kept missing them even before)& missing going to important places(again, they just didn't go to for ages), made them loose sleep, etc etc— in turn, I seen red and regretfully blew up.

I screamed at them its literally the only time I ever did this, it BECAUSE it easier on them & I'll do what I want whatever anyway, & to stop interrupting me while I try to explain things , then they suddnly back done and be like I'm not mad at u I'm mad at the delivery ppl, that they are proud of me for being able to do all this, and such sort. I left them to cool in my room, Idk how I did it but must have slam-gripped something so hard it chipped most of my short nails & cracked one, was glad I didn't hurt my drawing hand but yeah, goofy mani

They robbed me of the joy of anticipation & the dissipation of apathy, I started to lose sleep again and my liberating dreams left me and I don't think I remember leaving bed.

But still, If not force myself to do things.. there'll be nothing for me if I don't.. at least I know im able of that

I got my guardians happy tho after another tiresome refusal, by trying out one of those Uber-eat like local apps here, since they have no car and being disabled & ill, I ordered McDonald's for the first time. Slythry behind their backs per habit, told them someone coming and they had that look again, but thankfully the guy came through and didn't steal my money, heh. For a big 1800 calories meal I suppose it was passable, the happy fam faces I got was the real treat..

Oh with that thing with the credit card stating I owe them money, waited weeks & nobody got back to us? They started taking from my guardian's account directly to pay it, saying oh we did send you warnings--- TO THE SHADOWY LINES OF THEIR POSTERIOR A.K.A NOWHERE. Thankfully the account is mostly empty nd just for random transactions, i alerted my guardians not to use it. And again, my god, another round of endless calls and promises started, and we wait again so they just don't act as if we owe them a frking 17k dollars that we don't have.. was panicking cuz I have nothing and but my guardians were weirdly comforting about it and told me not to worry

One thing good bout no net is it made me stop thinking about life in general, and stop the tiny unnoticeable prick of misery when I have no input to share, trying not to helplessly compare people just living, in inflated style or not, in media, to my isolated-most-of-my-life style and missing much of that organic "life experiences and chances", heh. At least, my situation would be favorable to me if it was ever possible for it to let me have peace, or have the simple knowledge I'm not virtually imprisoned and have never familiarised with nothing of this world but the surrounding walls.. its nice to have more time to be consumed by muse and day dreaming that flutters life through my dull being and sing chorus of inspiring means for art to flow and finds its way delicately onto my realised canvas.. but no, I continued drawing whilst sight blurred with salty droplets contradicting that happy tintin dance on tiktok I worked so long on just cuz I couldn't stop, not the tears or the mad scribbles of determined intention to visualise the mourned excitement I need, hating everything I make

Somehow the lilac dream still intrudes, visualising me friends, living, in a quaint home, maybe we roommate, arm in arm we go to make every fracture of fate's encounters a disgusting adventurous thrill, like building a maze of cardboard or chasing each other in the dark.. maybe getting that half bleached head and endless ear pericings ... then it dies and I totally forget it..

But what those awesome headphones helped me do, literally blocks all their voices listening to Sev losing it and I can Waltz around not feeling gutted to go and interfere or play the referee each time. But I can't wear them forever, gives me a bad headache, and honestly; I can't be too neglectful.. my sibs hates me for it already hehe

At least these clothing came true to their measurements, felt the new sensations on how everything I wore hugs me & learnt the baffling ways on how "gender" and region plays different tunes on the same measurements. Getting fitting things felt like suddenly there's hope to be, for myself to be me, and ease this severe disassociation between who I am, and what my body is .. from how little I see myself nd consider it worthy of anything because of how long it been living like a phantom among people.. to numb this dysphoria until it be gone one day

Saddened that the only site I can't order from again if they keep using that awful carrier

...

I missed our country's 91 national day, too. They made sales everything 91 riyal so.. but knowing the sellers here, I don't think most of em went true with their offers.. Horrible news tho on the celebrations, sigh

I turned this into a dear diary, guess bothered you enough today, sorry

So thankful to yous, Idk if I can be back, but I'll remain creating, and will keep the thought alive of being tickled when sharing my creations with your viewing pleasure somehow

'till then my precious dears, take care 💛🙏

26.9.2021, 8 pm, sleeping

[closer-stars]

Good Thing - Mingi (1)

Member: Mingi Genre: A lil of drama, tension, fluff, maybe angst depending on how you look at it. Requested: Yes Word count: 8k  Content: Dance team leader y/n. Basketball captain Mingi. Both of them are stubborn. Enemies to Lovers. Mentions of food. Mentions of near fainting. Mentions of tension. Academics. Slowburn.  Notes: after a long creative block, I’m back once again with long fics. Divided this into two? three? parts. This was supposed to be short, what the fuck. Anyways, I hope this fits your expectations, anon! Please I didn’t expect this to be so long, but here we are. I was already itching to post something after so long so here we are. 

[ Mountain ] Capt, the venue’s already taken. :(((

That wasn’t a good sign. You were in class when you received that message from your best friend. It was a good thing your professor allowed gadgets as long as it was used for note taking. In true student fashion, you lower your brightness just a bit as you switch tabs to reply to San. 

[ You ] Look for the next best. I trust your decision. I can’t stay too long, prof might catch me not paying attention.

You close the tab quickly and catch up on what your professor discusses. Fingers fly across your keyboard as you continue to add additional connections and theories that aid in the discussion. Your best friend and your second co-captain, Wooyoung, was slightly struggling with keeping up with the note keeping, you were already sure that he would ask you for help. 

[ Mountain ] Don’t kill me, Please. :c 

That didn’t sound good. 

[ Mountain ] 6-9pm. Court 2. 

That is definitely not good. Before you could reply, the bell rings and a chorus of laptops closing, notebooks closing could be heard in the room. Your professor quickly reminds the class of an exam the following week along with other reminders that just fly through your ears. 

“Did you catch what he said about brand identity?” Wooyoung asks as the two of you leave the classroom with heavy feet. Your coach had thought it was a good idea to have all of you go through house drills for the first half of the training last night. Fast forward to today, you and Wooyoung were struggling with walking. Even with just simple walking, Wooyoung would make pained whines. 

“I got them. I’ll send you my notes when we get a seat somewhere. I want my coffee while I massage your old muscles.” The both of you found a good shady spot where you could discuss what to do in tonight’s training session as your coach had personal issues to deal with. “Can you message the team where our training’s going to be tonight? San said it’s at Court 2, 6 to 9 PM”

“Heh, six to nine and okay.”

“How mature of you. I’ll be back.” You (try to) jog to the vending machine as you get yourself a quick dose of caffeine. By the time you get back, taking small sips of the caffeinated bean water, Wooyoung stares at you as if he had realized something. “What?” You ask as you settle down next to him. 

“Court 2? That’s the only available one left for tomorrow?” He asks. 

You shrug. “It’s either we get free venues or we pay a meal’s worth for studio rentals.” You reason as you send your notes to the male. As a student-dancer, you knew how hard it was to get studios and have it come straight from your own pocket. The competition was three months away and you didn’t want the team’s finances to run dry this early. 

“Can you at least try not to bite off Mingi’s head?” Wooyoung pleads, almost pouting. 

Song Mingi is the team captain for your university’s basketball team. That said, he’s also often the face of the school due to his grades and being captain of the team. He also often got in your nerves whenever you cross roads. You’re also fairly popular in and out of school: captain of the dance team, often competing in outside school competitions, and even being featured in some big time gigs. The gigs paid the most for your bills. 

You pat your lap so that he stretches his legs from the muscle pain. Careful fingers press on his muscles, causing him to yelp in pain. “Breathe, you baby. I’ll try my best.” You snort, clearly entertained by how low his pain tolerance can be outside dancing. “Tell San we’re in the usual spot if he wants to--”

“Ello!!”

Speak of the devil and he will appear. Your co-captain and best friend as well has appeared a few feet away. “Captain!” He calls out, once he could see your face. Him noticing Wooyoung first then you wasn’t a surprise anymore. These two often plot pranks on you during down time since your second year in the team, this was old news to you by now. “Captain, I’m really sorry. Court 2 was the only one available. The other team already got our first choice and-” he goes off, rapidly defending himself. 

“San, it’s okay. I know how annoying that team is. Let’s just do our best tonight so we can take over the studio for finals okay?” You shake your head, understanding the issue. The dance competition had your own team versus other dance teams inside and outside the university. It was a big event that tickets to watch were always sold out. 

“Please. I don’t think I can handle you snarking Mingi off when he tries to drop by.” San mumbles. 

The thing is, Mingi and you had a handful of common friends. The expectation of his course, Business Administration, being more difficult than yours, a Media Arts student. His tendency to be just as stubborn and strict as you are in your respective fields made it hard for both of you to see eye to eye. 

“I don’t think I’m ready to see their bitch face anywhere outside the stage.” Wooyoung mentions lightly. It was an obvious fear though. The amount of auditionees for your team each year was pretty hefty, the reason? Your friends had pretty faces. To put it simply, your resting bitch face is scary even if unintentional but an intentional one had a lot of people staying clear of you. To whom do you give the intentional one? Shallow auditionees and Song Mingi.

By the time you’ve eased the knots on Wooyoung’s leg, you’ve finished your coffee. “Guys, I promise I won’t fight him tonight.” You say with a sigh. 

San just looks at you with a raised eyebrow. 

You pout at him. “I promise! Besides tonight’s cleaning and drills. If I get distracted by that demon, give me the spiderman reps.” Wooyoung places his other leg on your lap, a cheeky grin on his features. A look of empty annoyance shoots from your eyes at him but you still do as he needs. Your two best friends give in with groans. It’s next to impossible to reason with you sometimes. It’s also your stubbornness that brought the team to the current greatness it had. 

“Three sets of spiderman reps. After training.” 

The bell rings, signaling your next class which was quite unfortunately, with the two of them still. San rises from his seat, your bag and laptop already in his hands as he waits for the both of you. 

“Last class for the day.” He states as you take your belongings from him. 

It’s going to be a long day for the three of you. 

“Five minute break” The entire team’s breathless from the drills. Some of them walked off the burn, others drinking water, others opted to lie on the cool tiled floor. You were part of the first group. You bend your back a little to get rid of the soreness that was starting to wear on you. The burn on your arms and shoulders is already a familiar feeling to you but you still hate it. At least it means your body was getting stronger, if the burn only started to set in now. When you reach for your water bottle, you realize that it was already empty. “Fuck..” You groan as you look for a water refilling station. 

The nearest one was near the basketball team’s court. 

Whatever. 

You make your way to the station, making sure that you would go unnoticed by the basketball team as they did their drills. So far, so good. No one paid attention to you as you fill your bottle up with water. That was until Jeong Yunho had noticed you. 

“Hey! Are you training here too?” His warmth made it hard for you to despise him even if he was best friends with Mingi. Why couldn’t he be the captain instead?

Eyes shoot up and you’re greeted by his pink hair. You wave at him quickly then take a sip of water. “Hey Yunho! Yeah, Is the music too loud?” 

He shakes his head, a few strands of hair covering his view. He pushes it back and it was there when you realize just why he had a large following. “Don’t worry about it. The guys appreciate a little music every now and then.” A sigh of relief slips through your lips. At least the volume isn’t too destructive for everyone. Why wasn’t he the captain instead?

“I have to go now. Good luck with your practice!” You bid goodbye quickly, your Mingi radar was going off.

Yes, you had a Mingi radar in your head. 

When you turn on your heel, you are greeted by his stoic features. Even without words, the tension was pretty thick in the air. “Anyways,” you mumble onto your bottle as you try to walk past him. 

“If you’re going to train in here too, being conscious of your noise would be helpful.” Mingi’s voice drips with deep annoyance towards you. You on the other hand, are trying your best not to do spiderman push ups so you just hum in response. 

“When I talk to you, you speak.” He says, rubbing his temple in annoyance. It was moments like this that genuinely make you wonder how he is the face of the school when his attitude was absolute horse shit. 

“Noted with thanks, Song Mingi.” You say simply. Yunho looks at the both of you in mild alarm. He was aware of your less than stellar relationship with his captain but he never saw how bad it was until today. Is it easy to keep your face from shooting lasers at the tall male? No but you were going to do your best. The two of you exchange steely gazes until both of you look away, stalking back to where your team was. 

“What took you so long?” Wooyoung asks as he watches the rest of the team clean the choreography, with San leading at the back. 

“Mingi tried to stall me.” You explain under your breath as you take your spot next to Wooyoung as your eyes keep an eye on their movements. With those who have been accepted, you weren’t as intimidating as you make yourself to be. You wouldn’t admit it openly, you viewed them as your family. You weren’t strict all the time, knowing when to have an iron fist and when to relax. Thoughts were drifting elsewhere that you found yourself gnawing mindlessly on your own water bottle as you watched everyone go through the choreography. Two blinks and you’re focused again. To the untrained eye, it already looked pretty good but to the three of you, you knew it could be better. The team holds the last post for a few counts before doubling over for air. “Catch your breath first then from the top. Seventy five percent energy but I want you guys to focus on your angles and extensions.” You state, much to the relief of some. 

“Does this mean you’re going to have to do spiderman reps?” Wooyoung asks, trying his best to not show his excited smile at seeing you struggle. Little shit. 

“If you’re looking forward to it so much, do it instead.” You shoot back with a smirk. You direct him to join the team in dancing with a quick jerk of your head to their direction. “Join the run. I want to see how you’ve been doing as well.” You stand up. “San! Join the team in the run. I want to see how the two do as well.” 

That’s how the rest of the night goes: repeated countings, claps, and feet stomping to the beat, with the occasional cheering from members to keep the energy up. Before you let everyone go for the day, you asked for one more run of the piece to record. The only issue now is who to ask to hold your phone because all possible places for your phone were either too low or too dangerously high to be on its own. 

You spot Yunho coming out of the basketball court with his bags. His training must have ended. “Jeong Yunho!” Your voice manages to surprise everyone with the volume. Who knew you could bellow at such strength? The tall male’s startled by your voice and walks over to you.

“I didn’t know you could yell that loud. Do you need help with something?” He notes bemused at such a feat. 

“Training can do that. Can you record our run for us, please?” You raise your phone up, hoping he says yes. Everyone’s tired and so are you. His hand is outstretched and it makes you sigh in relief. “You’re the best.” You say. “Start recording when I press play.” The tall male gives you the okay signal as he raises the phone’s angle to make sure everyone’s seen in the screen. Bless his soul. He does as you told him. The run goes without a hitch, by now everyone knows to give their all in the last run to which they do. As your team dances, you notice a familiar brown mop of hair in the peripheral vision. ‘Focus.’ You force yourself to do so as you do your segment, all while cheering for the others who were starting to lose breath. He stands next to Yunho, watching your entire team dance. A small part of you hopes that he’s watching the team as a whole. Once the run was over, a few of the members drop their sore bodies to the floor, relishing the cool feeling of the cement. You dismiss the team, telling them to cool down and stretch on their own as it was late. You walk over to the angel and the demon, both with different emotions displayed on their features. “How was it?”

Yunho hands your phone back and flashes two thumbs up. “That was really cool! You guys really keep with your team’s legacy.” 

Those words make you smile through the exhaustion that has set on your features. “Thank you, you probably have to go now since it’s late. Thanks again for helping us!” You wave him goodbye, doing your best to not look at the demon next to him that stares you down. Just as you were about to leave them be, he speaks up. 

“You looked tired the entire time.” Mingi says with a shrug. “Gotta be an example to your members, y’know?” 

Without looking back at the two males, you heave a sigh. You were tired and the stress for your team and academics was setting in. “Song Mingi, I really am in no mood to deal with your lack of a filter. Please just leave already.” Before you could stop yourself, you find yourself looking over the male. “You call yourself the captain when you’re here throwing unneeded comments. Please do reflect first on yourself before trying to fight me.” You say with a roll of your eyes as you take the chance to leave. 

You don’t see Yunho drag Mingi away before he could say anything. You do see Mingi greet some members of your team and your two best friends as if he didn’t just try to rile you up. You also do see Wooyoung and San’s concern for you. “Don’t do the spiderman reps today. Just do it tomorrow.” Wooyoung immediately pipes up. He knows how you get when you’re angry, the last time you tried to do something out of spite, you sprained your wrist.  

“Let’s just go grab some late dinner. I need food.” Your voice comes out breathier than usual. Too exhausted to bother keeping up a front as you wipe your sweat with the collar of your shirt.. 

The three of you were seated in a fast food chain, dietary plans be damned. You needed something filling and if it was going to be through nuggets, a burger and a big cup of iced coffee then so be it. You had your head in your hands. The two had taken cared of your order, both of them returning to your table with trays full of food and drinks. 

“This is just so shitty..” you mumble, staring at your nuggets. “I have to deal with the mess the alumni left the team with. I mean, I don’t mind covering the expenses from the gigs I’ve done but it’s not going to be enough. Not being in a studio is already so..” you couldn’t continue your thoughts so you shove the entire nugget into your mouth. 

“Don’t beat yourself up. You’re doing everything you can for the team.” San reminds you while he eats his burger. How he manages to fit what looked like a double decker in his mouth was still a mystery to you. 

“The team already knows of the issue since day 1 and they know you’re doing everything you can.” Wooyoung adds gently. He hated seeing you be so tough on yourself.  

Both of them were right but it doesn’t stop you from beating yourself up for having to do your best with tied hands. This isn’t a choreography where you could still move as freely even if you had your hands tied. This is real life with no practice. 

“I know you’re still annoyed at Mingi’s comments but come on, he doesn’t dance. So don’t pay attention to him.” San reminds you, already halfway with his burger. Boys with their almost insatiable appetites without gaining that much weight is something. 

You take a deep breath, pushing the strands of hair that cling to your face as you pull yourself together again. If you were going to cry, it wasn’t going to be here. “Fuck it. I’ll enjoy these nuggets. San, where are we training tomorrow?” 

“Studio. Yeosang got us a discount.” 

“Perfect. Also, make sure he stays in the team once I graduate. His strengths could be so good for house segments also that discount trick he has.” 

“Don’t talk about leaving us yet!!” The two of them cry out at the same time, and by chance they harmonize. 

“Don’t leave the dance team for the choir. Both of you are taking over my position.” You shoot back with laughter. 

The next training comes and it’s a lot more peaceful for your head. Your coach was back teaching another segment for the entire time. Whenever your coach was around, you cut back on your jokes and made sure that everyone didn’t go too out of line with their ways to keep the morale up. The training session leaves everyone much more exhausted as compared to yesterday. 

“Good job guys, you guys did a lot better compared to the last time I saw you. Let’s go for gold.” Your coach says as the three of you, along with Yeosang manage the payments. It’s that type of comments that make this entire competition season worth it. Once all the payments were settled, everyone was slowly going on their own separate ways to deal with their own requirements. Wooyoung and San were going to head to a computer shop to play for a game or two, how long that would be was unknown. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Don’t be late for our history class… Please.” You stated, knowing just how your professor was strict with attendance and tardiness. 

San whines at you. “We won’t! We promise.” 

Wooyoung interjects, “Call him an hour earlier, you know how he is in the mornings.” 

You shake your head at their antics and wave them off. “Fine, see you guys.” You readjust your bag as you slowly make your back to your dorm. A long shower and a hearty meal were needed before you could focus on your papers. After you freshen up, you pick up your laptop and other essentials as you make your way to your usual coffee shop. 

The staff in the coffee shop already knew you. The amount of late nights you spent here to catch up on your studies to the point where they have to tell you to leave as they were closing was innumerable. They also know your current situation just based on your orders. If your order of coffee is stronger than usual, you were most likely stressed. If you had a meal with your drink, you were going to be forcing yourself to finish your requirements. 

You ordered a macchiato with an extra espresso shot and a sandwich. 

By the time your orders came in, you were taking down notes from the reading on your screen. You thank the staff for bringing your order to you, probably having missed them calling your name from the adrenaline in your body to get all of these finished. It’s only when you look up that you catch sight of two familiar faces that were ordering. An exhale and you reach for your earphones. Once you find them you plug them into your laptop, going back to work. 

An elbow jabs his side, and he pulls out his earphones, looking at Yunho with a miffed expression. “What? Yunho, there’s barely any free table here. Let’s just get our orders and leave.” Mingi grumbles. The spare tables were outside but that also meant being in the company of smokers. Yunho pays no heed to his best friend’s complaints and gestures to the table next to yours. 

“That one’s free.”

“You’re insane.” 

“I’m just pointing it out! Besides, air con.” Yunho also adds with a grin. Since last year, his rivalry with you had become a little blurry. He doesn’t remember what the two of you constantly fought about at this point but he clearly knows he can’t stand your presence. His best friend on the other hand, wanted to change that before all of you go on your own lives. 

The air con point was a strong one to fight against. Instead of fighting against it, he just grumbles and lets Yunho do as he wishes. At least if a fight breaks out between the two of you, he could point it at Yunho. The logical part of his head also reasons that if a fight breaks out, his reputation along with the school’s would be destroyed. He couldn’t win. 

He waits for their orders off to the side, prolonging the inevitable of having to sit near you. Once their orders have arrived, he and Yunho carry them towards where you are. 

A hand appears at your peripherals and you look at the owner. The recognition taking a while to set in. The dazed look in your eyes after being disturbed was a little amusing in his perspective. 

“Hey, sorry for disturbing. Is this table free?” He asks with an apologetic smile.

Your eyes scan the entire coffee shop for possible places for them to stay just so they don’t disturb you. All tables were taken. “Uh yeah sure, go ahead.” With that, the two boys sit next to your table as you go back to your work. 

Thankfully, the boys leave you be as you continue to write and read. When you let own a yawn, you knew you had to give yourself a bit of a break. You pull out your earphones as you start eating again to give your brain a break. You look at your list of things to do and a little bit of relief sets in when you manage to finish a good portion of what can be finished tonight. 

“About time you ate.” 

That was enough to cause you to choke on your coffee. You look at the source of the voice and it was Yunho, who was obviously amused with your reaction. 

“Did I scare you?”

“You’re still here?!” You ask incredulous, when you shift your gaze to your front, you were greeted with the devil. Mingi obviously looks like the reading material isn’t much of an interest, not that you could blame him. A small tinge of sympathy sets in you when you realize his notebook was filled with calculations. Yuck. 

Yunho tilts his head in confusion then nods. “Yeah, we have an exam coming up.” The male peeks over his laptop to see that Mingi was on a different topic. “I thought you were studying for history.” 

“Marketing had more things for me to deal with.” The other states in a flat voice as he continues to spin his pen. 

That’s when you notice that there were some eyes on your table, to be specific, on Mingi. It made you a little thankful that you weren’t as out there in the public as he was. It didn’t change the fact that you feel a little bad for the both of them. “Is this under Professor Hwang?” You ask as you catch sight of a familiar reading on Yunho’s laptop. 

“Yeah! Did you take it already?” This causes both pairs of eyes to land on you. 

“I took it earlier today. Do you guys need help?” 

That was enough to make Mingi lean a little forward, for Yunho to look a little more awake. “Are you sure? You’ve been working hard with your own thing.” Yunho reasons carefully. Your to-do list reaches your view again and you take a moment to gauge how good you can juggle your work and theirs. As much as you despised Mingi, Professor Hwang’s anger was something you’d rather everyone avoids. 

“When’s your exam?” By now, your gaze has shifted to your laptop screen as you try to look at your schedule. 

“Friday..” 

“Give me your schedules.” You say, giving Yunho your contact details. “Both of your schedules. I’m already thinking of how to squeeze you into my schedule.” The two boys look at each other in surprise but they give you their schedules, your tone left no room for any opposition. No wonder you were the captain. No wonder people are intimidated by you. Mingi found it impressive. 

“I’ll message Yunho when and where to meet me. We can’t meet during the day, tell me immediately. If both of you want a study session after our respective trainings that work too. Just keep in contact with me with any update.” It wasn’t a request. It’s an order. 

You didn’t even notice that Mingi had pulled his hoodie down to look at you properly. Your attention was too focused on what Yunho was talking about regarding the coverage. None of you really intended to do so but you eventually were giving them tips on how to study for her exam, and they promise-- well more of Yunho promises to make it up to you after. 

“Excuse me, We’re about to close up for the day.” the staff informs gently as he goes to the next table that still had people poring over their books. 

With that, the three of you pack up your things. You finish the rest of your coffee. 3AM. You have 5 hours of sleep left to last through the day. “I’ll see you both depending on your schedules.” It was a reminder for Yunho to send their schedules and he does immediately. You bid them goodbye, as you leave the coffee shop on your way back to your dorm. 

“So they put away their rivalry with you, Mingi.” Yunho notes with a glance at the male who put his hood up once more. He hums in response. To others, he might as well have ignored his best friend for the comfort of his own thoughts. Yunho knows better. Mingi just wasn’t the type of guy who openly admits his thoughts. 

“If we’re studying with them later, can we choose a spot where no one’s looking at us.” He mumbles. Yunho felt for the guy. He didn’t want the role of captain, wanting to just play basketball with a team. Yet being the captain also meant that he would eventually become the face of the university and potential love calls from potential sponsors. The poor guy could barely focus on his studies without having strangers oogle at him when he was outside university grounds. 

“Will tell them.” Yunho returns as the two make their way to their own apartment. 

You reach your room after freshening up. 3:15AM. You were definitely going to need a strong cup of coffee throughout the day. A reminder to call San when you wake up was prepared. With that, your sleep was swift. 

The cursed wind chime alarm jolts you out of your slumber. 8AM. A curse elongated by a dry groan escapes your lips. As you wash your face, you call San’s phone. “Pick up the phone, you sleepy butt.” You mutter as you prepare for your day. 

He finally answers the phone though with a whine that pleads for more sleep.

“Get up. We can’t be late for class.” 

His whines could’ve been mistaken for cries but you hear the sheets ruffle under his movements. 

“I’ll buy you a donut, San. Just please get up and get ready for class.” The things you do for your friends. 

“I’m up, I’m up. Can you get the birthday cake version please?” 

“I’ll buy it after class, so you better show up.” You hang up just in time for a message to come in. 

[ Yunho ] we’re free at 2-4 pm and 10-2am later! 

[ You ] I can help 2:30-4 meet me by the benches near the chemistry department. 

The class goes by painfully slow but you give San the money for the donut. Before he could complain that he wanted you to buy it for him, you quickly cut to the chase. “I just need to help someone with their studies until 4. See you guys later.” 

You arrive at the benches with a sandwich in your free hand. No sign of the two boys yet, so you choose a bench away from prying eyes but visible enough for the two to see you. With some time to spare still, you take a few bites of your sandwich as you look through the notes as a refresher. The shuffling of feet against the pebbles and grass catch your attention. Did you expect Mingi to come first? Maybe this exam really meant a lot for him. 

“Yunho’s following shortly. He just had to use the restroom.” He explains when he notices your wandering eyes. That shuts you up as you give him a polite nod, letting him settle on the bench opposite you. 

“I think you forgot something.” 

When did he strike conversations with you? He hands you your earphones then rubs the back of his neck. 

“You left before Yunho or I could catch you.” 

Your jaw drops slightly at the sight of your favorite earphones. How could this have slipped your mind? This pair was your favorite and your most used due to your activities. “Oh my god. Thank you for taking care of it.” There was no hint of underlying annoyance in your voice as you kept them in your pocket. 

Just then, Yunho jogs towards where the two of you are, sitting next to you. “Sorry to make you wait!” Mingi lets out an exasperated sigh, as he brings out his notes. 

“It’s fine. Let’s get started now cause I don’t think we’ll have any strength to study later.” 

That’s how the ninety minutes go by. Quizzing the two guys on certain topics while giving them tips on how to do well for the exam. It’s not in you to spoon feed them the answers, and even if you did, the exam was half multiple choice and half essay. With every right answer they gave, you would smile brightly and nod. The smile seems a lot brighter around Yunho, when it came to Mingi your smile was a mix of pride and surprise. Not that you thought Mingi slacks off on his studies, he just seems like the type to not pay attention to things that don’t interest him. 

Mingi also notices how you seem to open up when things go smoothly. Almost the entire time, your eyes were on Yunho as he carried the conversation with questions and clarifications over the topic. When he hears his question on the connection of the uprising to succeeding events, he pipes up.

“Wait, Yunho. That’s not part of the coverage, also, a totally different event.. You confused it with the other one.” Mingi explains, brows slightly scrunched as he explains the event to the best that he can from memory. 

You look at him with an impressed smirk. He definitely had brain cells that give him the credit that he deserves. You gesture to him as you shift your gaze back to Yunho. “There’s your answer.” 

Just like that, the bell rings, telling all students that the ninety minutes is over. The broody male is the first to pack his things up, thanking you under his breath. The pink haired male on the other hand, thanks you profusely and waves goodbye to you as they head to their last class. 

You don’t realize the breath you were holding until they left, eyes drop to the earphones that Mingi had returned to you. It’s a nice change you suppose, as compared to all the daggers you’ve thrown at each other. 

Today’s training was held in the same place. Court 2. You could hear the basketballs bouncing against the court floor along with the squeaks of rubber shoes against the floor. If you listened carely, you could hear Mingi cheering for the other members as they continued with their drills. You had your own drills too. This drill being new choreography. The team was picking up the new choreography faster as compared to the past. Those who weren’t part of the segment your coach was teaching were off to the side, cleaning what they know. San and you were part of the group that was learning the new segment. Both of you being the centers. The choreography is admittedly trickier. You didn’t think you’d be doing krumping next to San but here you are. Your group goes through it over and over as your coach directs on how and where to execute the movements. Occasionally, your coach would ask some of you to try a stunt or trick. He wants the gold as much as the entire team and it sometimes reaches the point where he forgets he’s leading student-dancers. 

Your group was gasping for breath afterwards that you had to remind your coach to check on the others and teach the other segments that need to be taught. It worked and it gave your group some more time to breath and rehydrate themselves. Only five weeks left. Ideally, after this week would be intensive cleaning and minor editing. Everyone already had the mix but your coach constantly would try to change little things. Were you worried that this would be rushed and cost the team a place in the top three? Definitely. Being an overthinker and having a coach who was just as bad, if not worse wasn’t helpful. You thanked Wooyoung and San for reminding him of the logistics and reality of things. 

The next few hours go quickly and everyone is admittedly, surprised and relieved that they finished the piece. San gives you a quick massage to relax your nerves as your coach asks the team to do the entire piece, cleanliness not really being something he’d look into for now. The entire number goes by with a few road bumps, none of which he seems to mind. At least he had mercy after being reminded, and by the last run, everyone lets themselves crumple to the ground. Training was officially done for the day. Everyone pays their share for the coach for the day then leaves. Wooyoung and San help you gather the payments then leave quickly, both having to cram papers that were due in two hours. 

This leaves you and your coach alone.

“When is the team going to pay? I need the money too.” You knew where he was coming from. His family had some health issues that had to be dealt with, it was why he didn’t come the other day. You’ve been pestering the team the past few days in the chat for their share, some of them always pushing it back. Your body wanted nothing but to eat something then sleep. Even if you had your gigs as a source of income, it was enough to get you by. With how your coach urgently needed the money and how you couldn’t think clearly, you caved. You ask for his bank account details and right there, you transfer the money to his account from yours. You put the phone screen to his eye level to show the proof of transfer. 

“There.” You say, waiting for him to notice the proof before packing up your things. He nods and you try to keep a note to raise your talent fee in order to make ends meet. He thanks you for the payment and as he was about to discuss another matter regarding the team, he gets a call which you assume is from his family. 

“I have to go. Let’s talk tomorrow.” 

You nod, bidding him goodbye before packing up your things. Holy fuck you were hungry and stressed. Studies, dance and now money? Of all times it had to be when it was near hell week? You want to cry. 

“What are you doing here? It’s late.” Mingi asks, his tone clearly not helping you in your current predicament. 

“What, I can’t stay here now? Is this your territory, Song Mingi?” A groan slips from your lips, but at this point it just sounds like a growl. “I can’t let myself catch my breath here?” You spit out. For once, his eyes widen at your venom. 

“I’m asking because it’s already midnight. You know how the streets outside can be a little dangerous at this hour.” He’s exasperated. A small part of him can’t get himself to be his usual self around you after having helped him in his studies. 

You immediately stand up from your spot, about to give him a piece of your hazy mind. Only, when you stand up, you feel the blood suddenly rush and your head spins for a moment. You lose your balance in that moment and the man knows better than to say anything that could make this worse. 

Maybe it was because of his long limbs that you’ve come to be envious of, or his quick reflexes from his basketball history, regardless he manages to hold you up before you crumple to the ground. His finger gently pulls your lower eyelid down to peek at the color of your eyes. Pale pink. You need to eat and drink something fast. 

“You need to eat.” He states, holding your bag with his free hand as he tries to keep you up. 

You knew that you weren’t really fine but you still had some sort of want for self preservation that you let out a weak lie. “I’m fine.”

“No you aren’t.” The chances of you putting up a fight were low so you let him guide you to the nearest food chain. 

It was the same fast food chain you go to with Wooyoung and San every post training. You couldn’t get yourself to look at the menu, the smell of meat, fried strips of potato and grease were overwhelming you. The bright lights made you want to shut your eyes. He notices this and brings you first to a booth far from the noise of people. “Stay here.” He doesn’t know why he said that, you were in no position to go anywhere else as you bury your features in your arms. He crouches down to your hunched level. “Do you want anything in particular?” You shake your head weakly. “I’ll buy you something okay?” You just nod. No strength in you to say that you didn’t want him to pay for you, that you were broke, that you just wanted to go home and sleep. 

The time he was off buying your meal, you were floating in and out of consciousness. You reach for your water bottle, to finish what was left before the food came. All that was left were two mouthfuls of water which you suppose could stave off the hunger pains. As you wait for Mingi, you fish your phone out from your bag as you message the team to remind them of their unpaid dues. Your next gig wasn’t going to be until after this competition. Could you juggle a gig within the next five weeks while dealing with your student duties? Probably not but it is being considered. 

Mingi arrives shortly with a tray full of food for you and him. “I owe you.” You mumble as you straighten up at the sight of food. He shakes his head as he hands you a double burger, orange juice, and ice cream. For him, a burger, nuggets, ice cream and coke. 

“You need this. Call it even, you’re helping me with my exam.” 

You stare at him for a moment then look at the meal. You were hungry and you couldn’t stop yourself from digging in anymore. The size of the burger makes it a little tricky for you to take big bites, forcing you to take small bites slowly. All of which was Mingi’s plan. After seeing how pale and weak you were, having you eat quickly all of a sudden wasn’t going to be good for you. 

“H-hey, is everything okay?” Mingi asks, alarmed as he hands you some tissue to wipe your cheeks with. “You’re crying.” 

The pad of your thumb brushes against your cheek and you could feel the wetness of your thumb. You take the tissue from his hands as you wipe your eyes. “I guess it’s the stress.” You mumble. It still hasn’t set in that you’ve reached your limit and you’re just wiping away the tears as they come. 

“Wanna talk about it?” He offers. For tonight, he puts aside the sour relationship he has with you. 

So you do. Through the tears and food, you share what’s been causing you distress. The internal issues of your team thanks to the alumni’s mishandling of the finances. The financial issues of having to cover some of those issues with your own money. Your academic workload. The pressure of being a captain when you feel like you just became one because there was nobody else willing to take on the role. Along the way, you ended up admitting your jealousy towards Mingi: how the school tends to favor the basketball team as compared to the arts and dance teams, how he’s doing so well as a captain, how finances is the least of his worries for the team. 

That takes him by surprise. The entire time he’s been giving you hell, you’ve been going through your own hell. The idea of internal financial issues never crossed his mind, though that was mostly due to the fact the school covers the expenses for travel and what not. Along with the sponsorships his team receives from sports brands. While he was so caught up in his own jealousy towards you, he didn’t realize that you had your plate just as filled as his, if not heavier. He says nothing, opting to eat his food as you unload everything you’ve kept from everyone. It was obvious from how affected you were, just how passionate you are for this field and to be disregarded, disrespected and be the one to clean up after the mess would clearly take a toll on anyone. He watches you carefully, you’ve stopped crying but your eyes were puffy. It takes a while before you take a deep breath and that was a sign you finished with your tirade. 

“Are you open for my own thoughts or is it better if I just listen?” He finally asks after finishing his burger. 

You let him take the floor this time as you continue eating your burger. 

Here, he admits his wrong doings to you. Just as you were jealous, so was he. Jealous of how you could keep a low profile despite having performed in front of so many people over the years. How he thought you were doing well in juggling your academics with your workload. How you could manage a team as the sole captain, even if Wooyoung and San were your co-captains. He also admits how he thought your team was doing well in terms of finances considering the clothes you have for the performances. Along the way, he apologizes for having added to your hardships. “If you guys need help with financial stuff, just tell me.” Maybe the words passing around of how rich his family was true. 

You stare at the male, your drink halfway to your mouth. That was enough to make him backtrack his words. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.” Instead of saying anything that could worsen the situation, he just opts to eat the rest of his food in silence. 

For the first time that night, you chuckle at his actions. Fingers brush through your hair as you push away the strands that block your vision. “I’ll think about the offer. Thank you though for it.” 

For the first time, he actually shoots you a genuine smile. He walks you back to your dorm, not minding to carry some of your things. It was a quiet walk, not that any of you minded, at least this silence was comfortable as compared to the tensed ones of the past. 

Once you reach your place, you take your bags from him. “Don’t forget tomorrow okay?” 

He stares at you, confused at what prompted you to say such. A few seconds pass and it clicks. “Ah! Yeah, we’ll be there, same place?” 

You nod as you unlock your door. “Get some sleep Mingi. It’s been a long night.” You bid him a good night with another smile before retreating into the safety of your abode. 

The male realized that your smiles seem to make him feel odd emotions. 

The following day goes by quickly. You manage to do alright in your exams and presentations-- though a good portion of your presentation being candid. You go through your usual routine of buying your lunch as you wait for the two in the same spot. 

You didn’t expect Mingi to call your name out, especially in disbelief. Yunho following him shortly. “What’s the occasion?” Yunho asks as he eyes your business formal attire. You look down at yourself and you realize that they are probably more accustomed to your casual wear and training clothes. 

“Oh, presentations. Some of my professors are particular about the attire so…” you trail off with a shrug. “Anyways, let’s get started before you need to go to your next class.” 

You twist your questions a little more this time, testing their memory and understanding of the events. They manage to answer your questions with ease, even going as far as connecting the events to events that happen after. Your heart swells with pride and confidence. If they pass the exam, they were going to do so with flying colors. 

The bell rings and it’s the same old once more. “That concludes our last session. You’ll do great tomorrow.” You say as you give them a standing ovation. Yunho was the first one to react. 

“Whaaat, it’s that fast?” He whines with a pout. With your attention sole on the faded pink male, you don’t catch Mingi’s mixed expression. Just when the two of you were getting along, both of you were going back to your own lives. “We won’t see you anymore?” He asks, almost like a child whose lollipop was taken from them. 

“Boys, you got class. You’re going to be late!” So you shoo them off. Mingi nods and stalks away, Yunho waving to you as he jogs after Mingi. 

“You think we’ll do okay tomorrow?” 

“We’ve been studying for this more than needed. We better, man.” 

You watch them jog towards their next class until San notifies the group chat of their venue for the upcoming days. 

[ Mountain ] Hey everyone! We’re using the studio for the remaining weeks starting today! ^^ 

[ Welsh Corgi ] fries are on us every pre-training so be there early!

[ You ] *only on wooyoung and san :p 

Who knew that today was going to be the last day you’d see Mingi and Yunho?

Part 2

[grouptalekindnesssoulstories]

The Missing Songbird

Warnings: Remus being himself, swearing (it’s me. It’ll be colorful), drunken behavior, implied drug use

Characters/relationships: Patton, Virgil, Roman, Remus, Remy, Logan, Dr. Picani (familial Moxiety, Romantic Prinxiety, background Patton x Remy for which I can’t find the name for, Intrulogical)

Roman Patch dreamed of the day he’d meet his soulmate. The man had the most beautiful deep voice, and it was worthy of praises. Virgil Picani was not so sure. His older brother Patton and Dad insisted that he’d be grateful when found his soulmate. They had already found their own, so Vee was skeptical and believed they had a bias (Heh. Logan would be proud of him. Not that he had a say either, having found Remus a number of years earlier. Their relationship had grown with them and it was cute). 

Not that the world cared throwing Roman in his path the moment he walked into school. It was his first day in high school. The entirety of freshman year he nursed a crush. On his first day sophomore year, he met Roman’s eyes. For the first time he could see color, and his crush only got worse. That day he was so glad and his father took him out to his favorite restaurant. Nothing came of it, and he watched from afar as Roman dated, acted, and gained more and more popularity. The few times they interacted, Virgil snapped at the handsome man. The two became enemies and avoided each other. 

And so began their Junior year. 

Roman strutted down the hall. He was basically a school celebrity and everyone knew it. Other than the kids his brother hung out with, including that Virgil who he hated, everyone greeted him enthusiastically. He smiled as he saw his football player brother, talking with his soulmate and Virgil. 

“-Pat’s working hard on his vet degree. He’s already excelling in his classes. He finally found ones that teach in his style, and it’s great. Rem’s been real supportive too-” Virgil was leaning against the locker next to Logan, a small smile on his face. 

“Hey Stinker and Co!” Roman called, interrupting the rest of the quiet conversation. 

“C’mon Ro! I just saw you. Can’t I kiss my boyfriend in peace?” Remus whined, snapping his gum and looping an arm around the smaller kid. Said boyfriend adjusted his glasses, glancing towards the other kid, who had shrank into a more defensive pose at the noise. 

“....I’m going to class. See ya later Lo, Re” Virgil mumbled after a few seconds of brotherly glaring, pushing off the locker. He flipped his hood up and ducked into the stream of kids heading that way. He vanished quickly, having learned his routes by heart over the summer. 

“Why did you have to do that! He was just telling us about Patton! Y’know the guy you crushed on for 3 years?!” Remus nearly shouted, his eyes narrowed. 

“Whatever. I should follow Jack Smellington’s example and go to class” Roman walked away, a storm cloud hanging over his head. He was just having some fun! Now he was in a bad mood and the day had just begun. He threw his bag down in his study hall. Before the period was halfway over, he had gotten a group listening to his summer adventures and what he was planning for the school year. He left with a bounce in his step again, his soulmate had also been humming! His excitement was quickly shut down when he walked into his history class.

“I’m stuck next to him?” His mouth fell open in surprise as he saw the seating arrangement. At a desk near the back his name was paired with his arch-nemesis's, well more like annoyance but that didn’t sound as cool, Virgil Picani. The boy was already there, scribbling on the warm-up, and his purple bangs were falling in his eyes in the most adorable way. Roman shook his head to clear it of the rebellious thoughts. Instead, he focused on the quiet humming in his head from his soulmate. 

“Guess we’re stuck with each other emo nightmare-” the humming abruptly stopped, but it must have been from the bell ringing “-So I better not get your sass the whole time” 

“Don’t you worry your royal ass, I won’t say much” Virgil hissed, turning his seat slightly away. That period stretched on and on as the pair did their best to act like the other wasn’t there. Roman was grateful to escape to 3rd block, and lunch afterwards. He was disappointed when the humming didn’t return, but it couldn’t get him down. The school was serving the good mac and cheese, and he raced to get in line. As he was looking for a place to sit down, he heard part of a conversation.

“-How am I supposed to get through this? He acts like I’m the worst...the world” Roman moved closer, choosing to sit with some of the other theater kids at a table near the voice. It was Virgil of course, but he wouldn’t admit that he was actually interested. 

“Are you sure it’s him?” Logan was asking, his voice curious.

“Yea Lo, The world exploded in color the moment I met his eyes” Roman’s heart sank at that. He didn’t even like the guy! “-a year ago. I just wish I hadn’t panicked and drove him away”

“If he’s truly the one, things will work out. It’s statistically improbable that it won’t” 

“Yea! Logie is right” Remus chimed in, and his mouth must have been full of food the idiot. 

“Thanks you guys. I need to get going. My art class is kinda far, and I don’t want to get stuck in the crowd” There was a chorus of goodbyes. 

If he hated Virgil, why did it feel like Roman’s heart left with him every time they weren’t in the same room?

The next few months went by in a blur. Virgil and Roman avoided each other as much as possible. They shared half of their classes though, but they barely spoke. Roman sat within earshot whenever he could, and he had better ears than most so it was further than you’d think. He caught Vee, Virgil stupid brain talking with the music teacher after the play practice yet another place they were together for. Virgil was in charge of the lights, while Roman was the lead actor. 

“You sure you want to do this VP?” Mr. Sanders asked. 

“Yea. I think I can do it. Besides, it’s just those of us in the production. I can handle it, and my father has been bothering me for weeks to do it. Pat’s coming home too, so it’d be nice” Virgil shrugged, the small smile Roman kept seeking on his lips.

“Alright. So, you’ll be ready tomorrow?” 

“Yup! See you tomorrow” Virgil called as he raced out the door. Mr. Sanders smiled before he clapped his hands together to gather all the kids to him.

“Alright you guys! We have been invited to a pre-production party. I’ll text you all the address, and I hope you guys can come. It’ll start at 4 o’clock, and wear something fun but appropriate. You can all head home now”

“Sure you can do this VeeVee?” Remus was sprawled across the couch, while Roman stood awkwardly in the entrance to the living room.

“Dad’s the one throwing the party. And the moment I say I’ve had too much, Remy and Pat will take over hosting” Virgil shrugged, lounging next to him upside down. 

“They’re here Verge of Greatness” Remy called as the doorbell rang. 

“Let’s get this party started” Roman smiled, bowing to the host. Virgil rolled his eyes, hissing an insult as he began his duties. The group arrived fairly quickly, reaching close to 100 within half an hour. At first, everything was good. Roman, of course, took over Virgil’s social duties unintentionally. That left the purple haired kid to hang out with his friends and chat with his brother. 

“Songbird” A voice called over the crowd, slightly slurred from the snuck in alcohol. Virgil immediately stopped humming along to the music. The voice continued, getting louder and louder. 

“Sing ferrrr us Vergil” Roman appeared from the crowd finally, zeroing on the host.

“Fuckin, Remus, you didn’t tell me your brother was a lightweight” Virgil hissed to the twin that wasn’t drunk.

“How was I suppose to know? Need me to get you out?” Remus whispered back, glancing between his small friend and his brother. 

“Fuck yea. Lo find my brother. Re, just,,, fucking help” The pair nodded, Remus stepping in front of his brother and Logan disappearing into the crowd. Virgil darted into the crowd and ran into his room. He closed the door and sank to the floor. He remained there until the sounds faded downstairs. A hesitant knock came from his door. 

“Dad?” He raised his head, rubbing his face.

“No. It’s...it’s Roman. I wanted to apologize. I’m not drunk anymore. It...Rob gave it to me and I don’t know what it was, but Patton had to treat me. It was not pretty”

“Why. Why did you go to me?” Virgil asked after a second. 

“....I’ve had a crush on you for...I don’t know how long. He said whatever it was would boost my confidence. I guess it did, but it was harmful to you” Roman chuckled nervously. 

“Look. I don’t know if I can trust you, but I guess I can’t keep this from you forever. You’re my soulmate” Virgil rested his head against the door again, closing his eyes again. He held back tears at the hopeful voice from the other side of the door.

“Really? Then I’m doubly sorry. I...I’m going now. See you at school on Monday. Don’t forget, our lab is due then” The house went silent. 

It took a few months until Roman could look Virgil in the eyes. He’d moved to sit with his brother at their table at the opposite end. He wanted to give Virgil space but his heart couldn’t be denied anymore. The change happened in science class.

“Want to be my date to prom?” Virgil nudged Roman, offering a hand. With a smile, he took it and nodded. 

“Nothing would give me more pleasure my knight in shining armor” 

“ughhhh that’s so cheesy shut up” 

“Ma-” Before Roman could finish his taunt, Virgil kissed him. That solved that problem. 

Maybe the rest of the year may turn out better than either of them thought.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer Chapter 22: Target Practice

Cassell College worked hard to return to normalcy after the outbreak of violence that occurred right there on campus. The students were noticeably shaken up. Despite having studied here at Cassell, many had never seen a live dragon. After experiencing an overwhelming show of deadly force at the hands of a dragon that was no larger than a pick up truck, fear spread among the student body when they contemplated an actual war against these creatures.

They paid a lot more attention to classes and drills now. The training center had never been so crowded. Some, mourning friends who had died or were maimed in the attack, were demanding more access to the facilities than their rank deserved. But EVA was an AI and, while kind, she didn’t decide to override her programming to fit with the new demand. There was a long waiting list.

Master List

Because I was S-rank and still holding Star of Cassell privileges, I could stay at the shooting range well after dark. Susie had given me the basics and now I was just working on accuracy. With ear muffs on and earbuds under those, I lifted the pistol and fired three quick rounds at the paper target. 

My scores were passable, but I needed to get better than that. Turned out that despite my dragon gift, most combat skills were still based on standard issue firearms and for some, like Johann, relics like swords and martial arts. 

The dragon blood allowed us to be faster, stronger, and more agile than the average human being. Lancelot helped me see that with training in parkour and acrobatics. Because I’d never been asked to rapidly scale a building I’d never realized I could do something like that. I’d never been tested on how high I could jump or run. In addition to my dragon gift, being able to move and leap like a gazelle was overkill to me. 

I was a scorpion that had just been given a pair of wings.

I pulled the earmuff off my ears.

“Not bad for a beginner.”

I shuddered with fear and whirled on the speaker. “Caesar! Don’t sneak up on me!”

“You had your ear muffs on, I didn’t have a choice!” He grinned, arms crossed “Mind if I give you a few pointers?”

“Sure… what are you even doing out here so late?”

He came up beside me. “I could ask the same of you.”

“Plain old insomnia. I figured I’d make use of my time.”

“You’ve been here all evening.” He said, with a little laugh.

“You’re going to give me pointers right?” I asked, uninterested in talking about my persistent issue with night terrors. If I told him why I couldn’t sleep, he’d start trying to solve my problem. I didn't want to tell him anything that might give him a clue about what my father was or a clue of what had happened to me.

Caesar obliged, helping me with straightening my shoulders, raising my arms and how to hold the weapon steadier. He was a good teacher. He knew exactly what to say to help me understand what I needed to do.

The next three shots had a higher score. Caesar nodded with satisfaction. “Awesome. Think you can remember all that?"

“Eh…” I laughed. “Might need you to tell me a few more times.”

His blue eyes looked down at me. “You know, I could more easily train you in shooting as part of the Student Union.”

“Oh, here we go.” I playfully rolled my eyes.

He raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nono told me that the whole reason you offered the Star of Cassell was to force me to join your club!”

He huffed, offended. “What do you mean force? I don’t force anyone to do anything!”

“Well, that’s what she said! I believed her.” I put the gun down and started to dismantle it.

He glanced away. “She’s being dramatic. It only would have been three months!”

I looked up at him in shock. “So you were seriously going to do that!”

“As a trial basis. If after three months you didn’t like it you would be free to go! How is that forcing?” He chuckled. “Besides, you lost that high ground when you immediately turned around and made Johann Chu your boyfriend, didn’t you?”

I glanced up at him, frowning. “I had my reasons. Besides, it's not like we’ve been on any dates or I’m forcing him to kiss me or anything.”

“Lame excuses. You could have said bodyguard. Why boyfriend?”

“Because Fingel told me that there were two things people wanted to know about me most. One, which club I was joining and two, how to date me.” I sighed. “I just… I just didn’t want to deal with that.”

“Heh… well, I would ask if you considered Johann’s feelings and then I just remembered he doesn’t have any…” Caesar shrugged.

My frown deepened and I paused in my work.

“It’s almost poetic justice in a way. He makes the girls here gamble with their hearts. Never rejecting them, out of politeness. But what he’s really doing is keeping them coming back to the table, time and again.”

“Oh really?” I said, continuing to work.

“Oh yes,” He exuded great confidence in this. “They’re hoping that maybe this time they’ll hit the jackpot and he’ll understand their feelings. Despite the low odds that he ever will.”

He began to chuckle. “And now look, he’s stuck in a loveless relationship… While he may deserve that… I think you deserve a lot better.”

“Thanks… I think.” I open the hard case for the gun parts and start slotting them in.

“Well, enough about him.” He waved dismissively, “Have you considered being part of the Student Union Dancing Society?”

“Oh… yeah!” I perked up a bit, suddenly recalling. “Johann told me about it earlier. When we first met.”

Caesar cocked his head in surprise. “He did? Why didn’t you come to me about it afterwards?”

I looked up at him, stunned with wide eyes. “Uh… because I found out I was dying?” My words came out louder than I expected and I winced. 

Taken aback, Caesar averted his eyes. “That’s right. Sorry.”

“No…” I sighed, swallowing against the sudden knot in my throat. “I forgot that it's … been six months for you guys. Longer at this point. But only a few weeks for me.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. I just think you’d fit right in.” When I didn’t respond, he tried again. “I have something to confess.”

I looked up at him, trying to get a handle on my sudden painful memories. “What?”

“I personally lead the Dancing Society. Including their battle training.” He grinned down at me, not sorry at all.

I began to laugh, incredulous. “Oh wow! Really? Is that so?”

“The chance to dance with you… an S-ranked student. Would be an absolute honor.” He leaned closer to me, winking.

I leaned away, closing the case. “I’m suuuuure… but I’ve never seen you dance so… I don’t know how honorable it would be.” I twined my finger in my hair and then pointed at him. “Besides, don’t you have Nono to dance with?”

“Why not both?”

“Why not both? She’s your fiance! Shouldn’t you want to dance with her more than anyone else?” I asked.

He shrugged, frowning a bit.  “She’s not as into it as me.” He turned to me again, smiling. “You on the other hand… have trained for years.”

Gratified, I shrugged my shoulders and grinned. “Could probably teach you a thing or two. But … I don’t have to join your club to dance with you.”

“Again with the refusal.” He seemed genuinely perplexed. “I don’t understand.”

My eyes shifted. “I like Johann. And… no matter how you feel about what we’re doing… the way you talked about him just now was not good. I’m not interested in being his rival.”

Caesar shrugged. “Then don’t… Just join and you don’t have to participate in the rivalry.”

“I don’t think he sees it that way…”

“Then that’s his problem.” He said flatly, glaring.

I take a breath and let it out. I glanced away. “I don’t want to argue. Okay?”

“We’re not arguing.”

“Well, for last minute, you’ve done nothing but dismiss everything I’ve said!” I glanced up at him again, daring him to dismiss this too.

He met my eyes, read my intentions and replied. “That doesn’t make this an argument.”

He couldn't hide his satisfied smile when I started laughing again. "You're funny!"

I took the gun case off the platform and walked away from the shooting range to the storage area. He followed me. "And you're fascinating!"

"Why?" I shot back at him. 

"S-ranks are so rare as it is. But women are rare even in A-ranks!"

"Seriously, Caesar?" My voice was like a sad trombone but he didn’t even flinch.

"It's just a fact!"

I walked in silent disagreement. Johann did not seem to have the same viewpoint.

He forged ahead. "Lately I’ve learned quite a lot about you through observation and various other means."

My jaw dropped slightly and I paused in my step before continuing. “Uh huh?”

“All signs suggest that you might even exceed what we know about S-ranks. You did beat Lu on the first challenge for the Star of Cassell, remember?”

He watched me put the case away. My eyes were distant. I'd stopped answering. I used my card to check the equipment back in. “You owe it to yourself to put your talent to good use. And there’s no better way to do it than joining me…” He paused and reconsidered a moment “... us.”

He’d stopped his pitch and so I asked him. "Is that all?" A voice in my head was telling me he was trying to be complimentary. That he was just saying to me what he said to other people. But it was being drowned out by my pain.

"What do you mean is that all?" He said, quietly. "Carli…" He blocked my attempt to step around him. "Before Lu, the last S-ranked student to walk through Cassell was forty years ago… Forty years! Do you not understand how valuable that makes you?"

"Oh…" I looked away for a moment, then I turned to face him. I was smiling, even laughing, but the pain and rage made my voice tremble. "I know exactly how valuable that makes me!” My smile turned down to a mask of anger. “Down to the penny!"

Caesar's eyes went wide, stunned. His eyes narrow slightly. “What…?”

"Probably more than you know!" He reached out to me and I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me! People like you are the reason I need Johann!"

A woman’s voice from the ceiling broke things up. "Since your equipment is turned in, I can't hold the shooting gallery open for you. Please exit and I will shut down the lights and set the security alarm."

EVA materialized behind me and I strode through her hologram in my haste to escape.

"Carli, wait!”

I left the building. I was going to cry. I had to stop it.

“What do you mean ‘to the penny!’” He’s already caught up to me, trying to meet my eyes, looking for an answer.

And just like that, I’d said too much. I’d done exactly what I was trying not to do. “Don’t talk to me! Don’t talk to me again! Not until the three months are over!”

“What… what happened to you…” He whispered. “Does Johann know about this?”

I broke out into a run, not looking back. I didn’t get any sleep. The next morning I spotted a text on my phone from Caesar. “Are you alright?”

I blocked his number.

Being calm was impossible. I was so exhausted, breathing was painful. I used makeup to cover my darkened eyes.  

Johann met me at my usual time, but I was late. “Sorry.” 

“It’s fine. Just a study session today anyway.”

That was a change in schedule. Caesar had probably talked to him.

After we neared the cafe where we tended to study, he said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Mmhm.”

“Do you like theme parks?”

[of-thoughts-and-phobias]

Part Two: Realization

Sorry for the long wait! My phone broke, deleted everything, and now the new phone I got deleted the art I was working on. So no art for this chapter sorry.

A big thank you to my good friend @tinykitty252 for editing this!

Sean woke up on the floor beside his bed with the worst hangover ever. Was it even a hangover? Did he drink at all last night? What was his name again?

Red and green swirled through his vision, which made it hard to focus on anything.

"Ughh,hu" he sat up shaking his head, hoping to wipe away the pain. Nope, nope. Bad idea. Sean shot up and ran into the bathroom, before promptly throwing up in the toilet.

"Best way to start the morning," he thought spitefully, rubbing at his mouth.

He shuffled to the kitchen and filled a semi clean glass with water to wash out the sour taste in his mouth. Afterwards, he put a pot of coffee on and threw a few pieces of bread in the toaster. He downed another swig of water along with a pepto bismol. He sat up on the counter, counting the seconds by the indicator light on the coffee maker. The toast soon popped up, quickly followed by a high pitched beeeeep, so he hopped off the counter and grabbed them both before migrating over to the couch.

There was a wet squelch under his feet which made him jump a bit. It was his hoodie, tossed haphazardly on the floor the night before. 'Oh right,' he thought as he remembered the freak storm that came out of nowhere.

Next to his jacket was his phone. He picked it up and examined it; there was a sizable crack in the protector but that was easily replaceable. Sean switched it on and almost dropped it again.

"4:50??!" He'd missed both uploads! "Great. Just friggin fantastic," he groaned, swigging some coffee from the pot. He pulled up his Twitter to post a quick apology to his fans, and then speeding into his bedroom to get ready for the day.

Now feeling slightly less dead, Sean downed the rest of the coffee and set the pot in the sink to be washed later. He then headed to his recording room to at least get some work done. Camera up? Check. Game up and loaded? Sweet. Alright. In and out, Sean.

In.

And out.

"Okay and a 3, 2, 1 GO!"

As he worked, Sean could feel the tension start to leave his body and he found it easier to breathe.The pounding in his skull calmed down considerably and little by little, his strength started returning to him. Before he knew it, he had finished filming four whole videos! And that wasn't even counting the two that he'd uploaded earlier!

Sean sat back with a sigh. He checked his watch to find it was 9:45. "Some work, eh?"

His stomach started rumbling. He never did eat that toast, he remembered. He went to the kitchen and opened the fridge and good lord when was the last time he went shopping? Let's see here, peanut butter, m&m's, a half empty jar of pickles and what he hoped was a peach. Now, Sean didn't really feel like making a nightmare sandwich and having it exist so once more, he grabbed his keys and went out.

The roads were still wet despite not raining at all that day and the sky was clear for the first time in a while. A few stars were visible against the stark blue sky. The whole street was painted blue and it seemed that the only colors came from inside the shops.

Sean waited for a car to pass before running to the other side. He walked for a bit more until he arrived at a little, run down establishment. Best pizza in the neighborhood if you asked him. The door let out a pleasant chime as he entered and the smell of fresh baked bread welcomed him in.

"Heya Sean!" The guy behind the counter greeted.

"Hey Bruce," he greeted back.

"The usual?"

"Yeah but could you make it a large?"

"No problem."

"Thanks Bruce."

As he gave him the money, Bruce jumped back, flustered.

"Sorry man, y'kinda shocked me there," he said, grabbing the money from the floor.

"Did I? Huh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," the tall man said, picking up the change he'd dropped. "Here's your receipt."

‘Huh, that was weird,’ he thought as he sat down. He rubbed at his wrists as he waited for his food.

Sean found himself awfully anxious but he wasn't quite sure why. His legs were bouncing, his fingers drumming on the table, his eyes darting to every little thing that twitched. The nervous looking man in the blue sweater had stopped to check his watch every thirty two seconds, poor dude. The barking of a dog a few blocks away followed by disgruntled shouts. He could clearly hear the lyrics from the music coming from one of the nearby apartments. He could perfectly see the wings of a fly circling one of the dangling lights. The lights. Why did they hurt? He was overwhelmed by just how loud everything was. The talking, the laughing, the dinging of the door, the colors, the lights. Why were they so loud?

"Sean!"

Everything stopped. He looked up to see a very concerned looking Bruce holding a fresh pie. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to be looking at them.

"Are you okay?"

Was he?

"Um yeah, m'fine. Haven't really eaten today, heh."

That didn't really ease his nerves but Bruce thought it best to not push it, so he placed the pie on the table and went back to the kitchen.

"T-thank you!" Sean yelled and he was answered by a mock salute.

It felt nice actually having food inside him and somehow Sean managed to eat the whole thing in about twenty minutes.

"You forget to breathe or somethin?" Bruce huffed as he came over to pick up the tray.

Sean chuckled "Absolutely. Nah, I just forgot lunch today."

"Whatever, goodnight Sean."

"Night Bruce."

Sean left the pizzeria with a full stomach and a ding from the door. Congratulations, he thought, you're a human being. Why'd he have to live so far away? If he had to walk any farther, he'd probably have to learn how to drive. ‘At least it wasn't raining this time,’ he mused.

A high pitched piercing noise came from nowhere and hit Sean like a punch to the face.

"Gah!!" He pawed at his eyes. What the-

"Sean.. McLaughlin?"

"Who's there?" He cried, still clawing at his face.

"William McLaughlin?"

"Do I know you?"

He could vaguely see two figures down the alley coming closer to him. A man and a woman by the looks of it. They were moving oddly, like they had no choice. Soon they stopped right in front of him.

"Sean.. William McLaughlin?" Okay now they were starting to freak him out.

"Yes! That's me! I swear if you guys say you're fans I wi-"

The man suddenly lunged at him, pulling him deeper into the backstreets, the woman standing directly behind him, blocking the way out.

"Hey! What're you doing? Let go of me, let go!" The man's grip did not budge. He continued to limp farther down the dark road. Sean started to panic, breaking his fists up and pounding against the man's chest. That did nothing to slow him down, but he kept trying.

"Let me go," He felt his hair rising on the back of his neck and his fingers start to tingle.

"Do you understand me ya fathead? I said " He raised up his fist.

"Let go of me!"

He clocked him right in the face, sending him across the street. "Woah what?"

He looked down at his hands. Blazing green mist flowed around his hands with his veins shining through his skin. What's happening to him? Oh no. Is he dying? Was the pizza radioactive? Was he drunk? What is happening?

The woman clumsily but determinedly ran towards him. Right. Now's not the right time for a break down, Sean. She reached out to grab him. But, grabbing her first, he pushed her away. She sprung back and grabbed him by the neck and pinned him down. The light from the passing cars rapidly illuminated her face. There was something definitely wrong with her, Sean could tell right away, but at the moment he was more focused on not dying than on the woman trying to kill him.

He put all of his strength into throwing her off. How was she so strong? She looked like she hasn't eaten in weeks!

"Ahh!" He yelled, reeling back.

"AAAGHHHH!!" Then everything went white.

When he came to, she was off of him and was trying to get back up. He looked around for the other one, taking note of his surroundings. For one thing, everything was on fire. Did he do that? Trash cans and discarded items were blazing and the water on the ground was steaming. The man from earlier had recovered and was slowly making his way across the street.

Sean ran to the back of the alley, only to be greeted by a ten foot fence. He was trapped.

Well, he thought, I hope these zombies are up for round two. They both jumped at him but he dodged under them. The man swung at him but he easily side stepped it. The man kicked his knee and sent him down, where the woman held down his legs.

"No!" He yelled.

The man wrapped his arms around his waist and started to pick him up.

"No! No no no n̷o̸ N̵̛̿O̴̻̎ ̵͚͝Ñ̸͊Ŏ̵̆ ̷͍̀N̸̈̄O̵͋̇!̵͓͆" power surged through him, burning him out of their grip. He felt like he was being torn apart. He screamed out in pain while they just watched in what could only be seen as confusion.

The street was alive with electricity, bolts of green lighting dancing across the walls. Glass from the nearby windows shattered and the ground below them started rumbling. And Sean was right in the middle of it.

"A̶̅̔ A̴̘̋ A̴̢͆ Ȁ̸̉ Ạ̵͝ Ğ̶͝ H̴͚͝ H̸̏̿ Ĥ̵̤ H̴̓̄ H̵͋̉!!"

They tried to get to him but the pure power surrounding the Irishman wouldn't allow them to come closer. And then.. Just as abruptly as it started

It was over.

The rumbling had ceased, the street had stopped hissing and it was dark once more.

The couple stood unfazed as the fires around them dwindled down into nothing as they looked down at the place where Sean William McLaughlin once laid.

Cold, brisk air rushed all around him, jostling him awake. He felt like he was floating on air. He opened his eyes and saw.. stars? Wasn't he in an alley?

A large rumbling thing whizzed underneath him.

It couldn't be.

'British Airways' was written in dark bold lettering along the body of the plane.

Those weren't stars. They were buildings.

"HOLY-" he was cut off by the plane shooting passed him, practically blowing out his eardrums.

"AHHHH"

Focus. How did this even happen? Last he checked, he was in the middle of being kidnapped!

He felt queasy, which was understandable considering the situation. The wind tugged at his face, pulling tears out of his eyes. This was it, he realized.

He held his arms out in front of him, ready to accept his fate when he noticed something odd. His arms were still glowing slightly, the burning green mist streaming behind him. Great, he still had some of that radiation left. Huh, that was a sentence he never thought he would say.

He focused on the burning sensation in his chest, drawing all of his power to his core. He felt worn out and overtaxed but he wouldn't be feeling anything if he'd just focus!

He thought of home.The nest of blankets on the couch, his recording room, the kitchen. The coffee pot he hadn't washed. Power flooded all throughout him. He recalled him and some friends playing on his Playstation when he first moved in. The God awful curtains he still hadn't gotten around to changing. The elevator that will probably never be fixed.

His apartment. His home.

He closed his eyes and dreamt. And it h̷u̶r̴t̷.

Pure, raw force circulated through his body, pulling it out of the sky and back to the earth.

Around thirty feet outside the complex, an old man was taking out the trash to the dumpsters. It was a pretty uneventful day if he were honest. Nothing really happens around here anymore. He sighed. The street lamps behind him started to flicker. He opened the lid to throw the bags in when a large blast suddenly came from the building across the lane. Emerald sparks shot up from a trash bin, followed by smoke.

There was coughing and wheezing coming from the bin, and it shook with every noise. A hand, followed by another came out the trash, accompanied by the rest of the man. He hopped out the dumpster and immediately keeled over.

He gasped "Young man!"

He didn't respond.

"You! On the ground! Is everything alright?!"

A moment passed.

".. Yeah," he wheezed "s'bad day."

"Better go home while there's still light."

"Thanks.."

Sean waited until he heard the door shut. Then he groggily got to his feet. Through shaking eyes, he saw the familiar glow from his apartment building across the street. He sighed with relief and started crying.

Close enough.

@septilover3 @cookiethedevil @obsidiancreates @reverseblackholeofwords @the-editor-is-bored @ytcoma @caori-azarath @alexis

Ask if you want to be tagged

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu Fanfiction: Dating... With Children - Chapter Two

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot:  Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn't have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that...

((Chapter two, ya’ll! Thank you to everyone for their support on this story so far, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! ^v^))

“...What’ve you got there, baby?”

Mikey smiled, and held the drawing - consisting of crayon, marker AND a bit of paint - up for his father to see. “Lots of drawings!” he replied, “Didn't wanna choose one, so I made ‘em all! Like this guy here is a super cool dragon, an’ here's his friend who’s a turtle that can skateboard, and this is a bee that's always makin’ up words and making people spell them!”

“Heh, I'm sure I know what that's inspired from,” Lou chuckled, remembering how Raph shared that his class was having a spelling bee a couple weeks ago. He sat and listened to his youngest explain each doodle, nodding and making quick comments of his own as he did so.

“And that's all I really have so far,” Mikey finished, setting the paper down, “but I think I wanna try to add a few more drawings. Maybe some stickers too, THEN it'll be perfect!”

“Alright,” Lou nodded, “But when you're finished, would you please clean off the table? Remember, we have company coming over tonight.”

“Oh yeah! Don't worry, Papa, I will!”

“Good,” Lou smiled, ruffling his curly hair and making the boy giggle, “Thank you.”

“I'm glad Dr. Draxum is coming over,” Donnie spoke up from the beanbag, looking up from his textbook, “I wanna talk to him more about science stuff. And look!” He held up his book - ‘The Building-Blocks of Life’. “I'm reading up on genetics too! And I'm pretty sure I’ll be about as smart as him on it by the time I'm finished.”

Amused, Lou raised an eyebrow. “I didn't realize they were teaching genetics in the first grade.”

“They aren't. I finished my work early and got to go to the library again.” “Ah.” Lou made another mental tally in his head. The school hadn't said anything yet, but if this kept up, he'd have to go there himself and look into possibly moving Donatello up to Raph’s grade. “Can you believe that some kids aren't even interested in looking at the big kid section of books? Or at the non-fiction section? Those are the best sections!”

“Heh, no, I can't. But then it's a good thing that you can appreciate them.” He began to stand up, but stopped when his ears picked up on something. Some quiet whispers, a couple soft footsteps… The martial artist smirked, and prepared himself.

After a couple seconds, he felt something heavy run into him, slamming him to the carpeted floor. He let out an “OOF!”, unable to help himself, while giggles filled his ears. “I got you, Pop!” Raph grinned, “You're pinned!”

“Oh, are you sure?” Lou asked, “because I think-” He twisted his body quickly, knocking a surprised Raphael off before scooping him up into his arms, making the boy squeal. “That I have YOU!” Raph squirmed in his father’s grip while Lou gave him a couple quick noogies before kissing him on the top of his head.

“Daaaad!” Raph groaned, sticking his tongue out. Lou just laughed, letting the boy go.

“Told ya you couldn't beat him, Raphie,” Leo said, grinning at the whole scene as he sat on the arm of his pop’s chair, growing legs swinging, “He's like, the best fighter in the whole world!”

“Yeah well, I still pinned you for a second, right Pop?”

“Mm-hm,” Lou nodded, “Though next time, make sure to actually pin them once you have them on the floor. Don't just sit on them, but try putting your hands and weight on their shoulders. Makes it harder for them to move, slows them down some.” After a moment, he added “But, maybe don't try to tackle our guest tonight, hm?”

“Heh, I won't.” “Good. Now why don't you and your brother wash up?” Raph and Leo both glanced down at their grass and dirt covered limbs, grimaced at them and dashed out of the room.

Still chuckling a bit to himself, Lou picked himself off the floor and headed back into the kitchen. He had already started prepping a couple dishes, but he still had plenty left to do for their meal. His smile softened a bit as he thought about their guest…

It had taken five days for Draxum to call him. In that time, Lou had tried looking him up online. Draxum’s social media was pretty standard, nothing offensive or red-flag raising but nothing too interesting either. The only other piece of the man online was a brief biography on his lab’s research site along with a photo - where he had a very serious and professional expression on his face. A far cry from the fairly casual man he had met at the art gallery.

When he did finally call, it had been late at night, just after he'd put the boys to bed and right before heading to bed himself. Lou had wondered if perhaps this was planned, as a sort of “welp, I tried calling but there was no answer, oh well” type of thing. But Lou had answered, and much to his (and certainly to Draxum’s) surprise, they had ended up talking for a couple hours.

The conversation had started out pretty slow and standard. Lou asked how his day at work was, and Draxum asked how he and the boys were doing. After a while though, things became a little more natural, and their conversation almost became more of a banter. They’d go back and forth, discussing their favorite forms of entertainment, hobbies they enjoyed, and even sharing a couple personal anecdotes. And after all that, there was no way Lou wasn't going to end the call by inviting him over.

Draxum told him he'd have to check his schedule. It only took until the next morning for Draxum to text, letting him know that he would be free the following weekend. Again, Lou couldn't help but wonder if Draxum actually had to check his schedule or if he just didn't want to appear to eager, but said nothing. Instead, he simply gave him a date, time and his home address, and let him know that he was looking forward to it.

Lou had to admit, Draxum wasn't usually his type, but he was still unique enough to catch the ex-movie star’s interest. After all, how many buff science-type bookworms did one meet in their life? Draxum was certainly intelligent, and had a bit of a dry wit but never seemed like a snob. He was a bit stiff but not boring, spoke his mind and, if Lou was really being honest, was so hot. (Again, buff bookworms. Who knew?) Plus, his kids really seemed to like him too. In Lou’s opinion, that last bit was the most important one of all. So, with all that in mind, Lou just figured: “Eh, why not?”

It was funny how often that phrase came up during the big decisions in his life - like when he had decided that he wanted to try being a father when almost everything else in his life seemed hollow, and ended up adopting four kids instead of just one.

---------

Draxum looked at his watch. 5:17. A bit early but, wasn't that better than being late? Really, it was a good sign he was there at all, given that he was still a bit surprised at himself for even accepting the invite. ...Not that spending more time with Lou was necessarily a bad idea...

He then glanced up at the house he was now in front of. Having never actually been invited to a celebrity’s home before, he hadn't quite been sure what to expect. But a medium sized, cozy looking and slightly run-down home in Brooklyn certainly was a bit of a surprise. Maybe making action movies didn't pay as well as Draxum thought.

Still, he kept these comments to himself as he went up the walkway that was littered with chalk drawings and up to the door, knocking twice. It took a couple moments for someone - one of the boys, the one with light patches of skin around his eyes who was wearing a blue tee - to open the door. “You know the password?” He asked.

Draxum’s expression twisted slightly in annoyance, but he kept his cool. “Open says me?” He guessed.

“Mm nnnnope, sorry.” With that, the door was slammed in his face. From the other side, he could hear more young voices, scolding and lightly arguing with each other. The door opened again, and one boy had become four. “I was just joking!” Leo insisted while Donnie continued to glare.

“Hi, Dr. Draxum!” Mikey greeted with a wave.

“Sorry about my dumb brother-” “Hey!” “You can come on in,” Raph added.

Draxum nodded. “Thank you,” he said, moving his arm a bit so he could reveal more of the small box he had been carrying. “If you hadn't let me in when you did, this probably would have melted.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Wait, you brought cake?! Well you should’a said so!”

With a ghost of a smile on his face, Draxum walked inside. The living room to the Jitsu home was inviting and very much in-use, but not the cluttered and messy space that Draxum had been worried it might have been. There was a reclining chair, a love seat, two kid-sized beanbags, a coffee table with several colorful marks now permanently on it, and a flat screen tv that was playing some cartoon. There were a couple toys on the floor, though not enough that Draxum had to worry about tripping over anything, as well as a few framed pictures on the wall. One of Lou at what looked like some award ceremony, one of him with a Chinese woman (ex wife, perhaps?) and of course, one of him with his children that looked like it was taken just a couple years ago.

“Hey, Doc!” a voice called from the kitchen, bringing Draxum out of his thoughts, “How’s it going? You find the place alright?”

“Yes, there's this wonderful thing called a gps that really helps,” Draxum dryly replied.

Lou chuckled, smiling at him over his shoulder, and blinking when he saw the ice cream cake in the taller man’s hands. From the look of the packaging, he could guess that it came from a pretty high end bakery. “Oh, you didn't have to bring anything.”

“Well, you said you were making supper, I figured the least I could do was bring dessert,” Draxum told him, “Should I just put this in the fridge, then?”

“Yeah, go right ahead.” Draxum did, and then sat down at the table. He noticed that Lou was just in a loose fitting, pale yellow tee and some jeans. Immediately, he felt overdressed, even if he himself was just in a button-up long sleeve shirt and some dark khakis. Still, Draxum tried to look as ‘casual’ as possible, but clearly it wasn't working by the way Lou kept glancing back at him from the kitchen counter

“I'm glad you could make it, by the way,” Lou spoke up, trying to break the ice a little, “I'm sure you get pretty busy, being a scientist and all.”

“Actually, unless I hit a big breakthrough or doing work on a time sensitive project, it's pretty much a nine-to-five job most of the time,” Draxum replied, “The work stays steady, at least.” Lou nodded, and went back to his cooking. Not wanting to risk falling into uncomfortable silence once again, Draxum decided to ask something that had been on his mind since they first met. “And what do you do for a living these days, given that your last film was in, what, the early 2000s?”

Rather than being offended or caught off guard, Lou just smirked. “...You sure you're not a fan of my films?”

“Definitely not,” Draxum retorted so quickly that it made Lou laugh

“If you say so! Anyway, yeah, that was about the time I moved from LA to here. I was smart about my last few paychecks, so I pretty much live off my savings.

Draxum blinked. “...Seriously?”

“Seriously. Though, I know I can't use ALL of it - I know at least one of my kids is going to be going to college - so I do odd jobs when I need to. Make appearances at conventions, do a quick commercial or two sometimes- heh, last year I was even paid to play on a gameshow. A stagehand kept an eye on the boys as they watched me play from the audience, I won some money for a charity, and then the next day I took them to Disneyland. Used most of that paycheck to do it, too. So, I guess you could call me a bit of a sellout.” Though judging by his tone, Lou didn't seem bothered by this at all.

“I don't think anyone could really blame you for taking less time consuming work,” Draxum offered, “Still, do you ever miss making movies, as cheesy as they are?” Or rather, were.

Lou thought for a moment as he tossed the last few ingredients into the frying pan. “...Yeah,” he admitted, “I do. Though, there are plenty of things about the industry that I definitely don't miss, and besides…” His smile softened a bit. “I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time.”

Suddenly, there was a shout. Turning in surprise, Draxum looked through the doorway and watched as Donnie tackled a laughing Leon to the floor. “...Speaking of which, do you know that your kids are tackling each other?”

“Oh yeah, they do that sometimes,” Lou nodded, not even moving from the counter, “Boys will be boys and all that. They're going to roughhouse no matter what I say, and as long as they follow the rules, I usually don't need to step in.”

“Rules?”

Setting down his stirring spoon, Lou counted them off his fingers. “No holding anyone down for more than a couple seconds, no using force to get someone to play what you want to play, if someone says they don't want to wrestle then just leave them be, and no making anyone cry. They're good boys, so that last one is usually punishment enough when they accidentally break it.”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. Well, that was one way to teach kids how to control their strength and think about their actions. Still, he wondered how Lou would go about things once his sons got a little older and possibly became interested in following in their father’s martial arts footsteps.

It didn't take much longer for their supper to be finished. The kids came to the table without even needing to be called, smelling the food and eager to eat as well as being excited to talk with their guest again. While Raph and Leo told Lou all about the latest exciting climax in their cartoon, Mikey shared one of his drawings with Draxum, who could only stare at it.

“It's, uh…” He tilted his head a bit, staring at the mess of bright colors and scribbles. What on earth was it supposed to be? A natural disaster mixed with a rainbow? “...Very nice, yes.

Mikey beamed. “Really?! Which one is your favorite?”

Shoot, there was more than one drawing there? Well, that at least explained why everything was so cluttered. “Er, well…” He focused a little more on the drawing, and try to find anything that resembled something other than a blob or a tumbleweed to him. “I like this… Cat. Yes, this cat over in the corner, with the… Ice cream on it?”

Mikey looked back at the paper. “That's not a cat.” “Oh, sor-” “But that's a good idea!” The boy gave Draxum another bright smile. “I’ll draw you a kitty with ice cream later, kay?”

“Heh, very well,” Draxum nodded, relieved that he didn't offend the young artist.

“-And then, they used the magic sword, and blasted the bad guys right into the sky!” “Yeah, and the main hero guy said the BEST thing afterwards! He's soooo cool!”

“Well of course, he IS the main hero, after all” Lou chuckled, setting the last of the dishes down at the table, “Donnie, please put your book away now.”

Donnie frowned, reluctantly closing his half-finished textbook. “Fine…” As he placed it back into his ever-present backpack, Draxum managed to catch the book’s title.

“Genetics, hm?” He asked, smiling a bit. Perhaps the boy had been inspired. “Enjoying it so far?” Donnie nodded, keeping his eyes on the silverware in front of him.

The meal was fairly simple. A baked fish as the main course, with fried rice and an easy-to-make salad as the sides. Still, what it lacked in uniqueness, it more than made up for in good flavor. “I'm usually not much of a fish eater, but this is quite good,” Draxum commented, after only a couple bites.

“Mm-hm,” Lou smirked, “I'm not just a handsome actor-martial artist, after all. I know how to cook.” Draxum just rolled his eyes, mildly amused at his date’s cockiness.

“You should try eatin’ the fish and the rice at the same time,” Raph advised, “They go really good together!”

Draxum was the type to keep his food, as well as the tastes and textures, separate while he ate, but he did try the combination once just to appease the eldest Jitsu child. As he continued to eat, Draxum kept glancing over at Donatello out of the corner of his eye. The boy in purple nibbled and picked at his food, fidgeting a bit and staying silent. Certainly different from the eager and inquisitive boy Donnie had introduced himself as, so what had brought on this sudden shyness?

Was it something Draxum had said? He couldn't think of anything that could've been taken as discouragement or dismissal. So, maybe Donnie just didn't care for his field of science but didn't want to offend Draxum by saying so? No, that didn't seem right either. So then, what-?

He noticed Leo leaning over, whispering to Donnie for a moment before being nudged away. Rather than being annoyed, Leo just looked a bit concerned while his twin just looked… Embarrassed? An epiphany went off in Draxum’s mind. So THAT was why Donnie wasn't talking to him.

“Donnie,” he began, getting the boy’s attention, “I was wondering if you had any thoughts on your research so far?”

Donnie continued to squirm, squeezing his fists in his lap. “I-I mean, I'm still reading through the book so, so I'm not really an expert on it yet.” Truth be told, while he liked all sciences, he had really taken a shine to robotics and technology the most. “But talking to you ‘bout it before gave me a good head start, and I know the basics of it already and, um…”

“Yes…?”

“A-And, I…” Donnie scowled before suddenly shouting, “I have a scientific theory! A-About genetics, I mean.”

Draxum nodded, keeping composed (because, wow, even he could admit this was kind of adorable). “May I hear about it?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice neutral to avoid sounding patronizing, knowing that a child as smart as Donnie would definitely notice.

“Well… O-Our genes are inherited from our birth parents, right? So we only have a possibility of getting what they, or the rest of their people in their family, had. But, maybe there could be a way to, um, switch out genes somehow? Maybe with gene samples from other people, or with genes made by scientists, and then those new cells could develop and make whatever kind of person with whatever features they wanted.” Donnie winced a bit once he was finished, and waited for Draxum’s reaction.

The scientist hummed. “Well, that is a sound theory. Perhaps a bit difficult to test at the moment, but I can understand the basis of it, as well as see how it could be possible one day.” Donnie’s eyes widened. He stared back at Draxum, and began to grin widely, as if he had just received the best compliment ever. Draxum held back a chuckle. “Would you like to discuss this theory further?” “Yeah!”

Unsurprisingly, once Draxum began sharing the concept of gene mutation, the conversation devolved into a mix of scientific theorizing with some sci-if-esque levels of speculation (Donnie) and a debate over which animal features and mutations would be best to mix with people (the rest of the boys). Still, the discussion was no less enjoyable, to the kids or to Draxum.

And as for Lou, he just watched and listened, a warm smile on his face. This may have been their first shared meal together, but Draxum already felt like a seat at the table that had always somehow been there

----------

“...I think I just made it impossible for your kids to go to sleep tonight.”

“Eh, they've had worse sugar rushes. Trust me, this is nothing. Besides, they'll burn it all up soon enough.”

The remaining slices of the ice cream cake had already been placed back into the fridge, and because it was still somewhat light out, the boys had been allowed to go play outside for a while. So, they raced out the door, leaving their father and his date to watch by the window while they started playing what Draxum could only describe as a mixed up version of soccer and cricket.

He wasn't even sure if they were keeping score. All he could tell was that the game involved running all around the small yard, using foam swords and hockey sticks to hit a ball as well as kicking it with their feet. Either way, they all seemed to enjoy it, with Raph happily teaming up with Mikey and offering him a piggyback ride whenever his youngest brother struggled to keep up.

Draxum hummed, taking a small sip from the tea Lou had made for him before setting the cup back down. “Your kids are definitely unique.”

“Heh, they sure are,” Lou agreed, “They really are good boys… And they really like you, you know.”

Draxum nodded. It was still sort of hard to believe himself, given how he often thought of children as nothing more than tiny annoyances. Yes, Lou’s kids were loud, and strange, and still a tiny bit annoying. But they were also clever and endearing, and even a little cute. So, he had no real problems with them liking him, or with liking them in return.

“...And,” Lou began, taking a step closer, suddenly making Draxum very aware of his presence, “I really like you too.”

“I-...” That was all Draxum could get out as he turned from the window, looking Lou directly in the eyes now. The handsome (‘ugh, why did he have to be so handsome,’ Draxum thought to himself, knowing this would all be so much easier if he wasn't) man stared back at him, lips curled into an honest smile. No cockiness or playing up his ego, Lou simply wanted him to know how he felt.

“And I mean it too. And uh, heh, no pressure or anything but… I hope the feeling’s mutual.” Draxum didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. Lou took another slow step forward. Close enough together to do so now, Draxum dared himself to take his hands.

“I think… That's a possibility,” Draxum told him quietly, finally finding the words to reply.

Lou smiled, letting out a soft chuckle that made Draxum’s heart leap a bit. “Good to know…” They were closer now, enough for Draxum to see himself in Lou’s glasses. He told himself that he wasn't the kind of man to kiss on the first date, but Lou was making it SO tempting!

Their faces were getting closer, with Draxum’s own feeling much too warm. He placed his hands on the shorter man’s chest… And gently pushed him away.

The ex-action star blinked, the intimate mood gone in an instant, suddenly leaving him feeling cold. Still, despite his disappointment, Lou backed away.

“...It’s getting late,” Draxum stated, “I should probably get going.” He didn't waste time moving past Lou, now standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Lou nodded. “Right, of course. Well, thanks again for coming over. I had a nice-”

“I’m-” Draxum suddenly began to say, still refusing to look back at him, “I’m… Available next weekend, as well. So, perhaps you could come over to my place and we could have dinner there.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Just the two of us. It, it's the least I could do, cooking for you in return.”

“...” Lou’s grin returned. So there WAS going to be a next time! “Yeah, that sounds great! Just text me a time and your address and I’ll be there!”

Draxum nodded. “I will.”

“Heh, I’ll be looking forward to our next appointment, Dr. Draxum.”

Even with the light blush still in his cheeks, Draxum turned back around halfway, scoffing at him. “You don't have to keep calling me that. I have a first name, I won't be offended if you use it.”

Despite his internet search on the man, Lou continued to be coy. “You never told me it, Dr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.”

His date rolled his eyes, sighing slightly. He was tall, definitely, but he wasn't anywhere near dark. His skin just barely had a tan! “It's Benjamin. Benjamin Draxum.”

“Ah. Well, Ben, I’ll see you next week.” Draxum nodded, hesitating for only a moment before moving once more. Lou followed him to the front door, and they each gave a quick good night before Draxum left.

“Heh, a second date,” Lou told himself, still grinning about it, “How about that?” With his steps light and earlier disappointment being unable to touch his now sky-high mood, Lou went into his backyard and began trying to wrangle up his kids and get them back inside for pajamas and teeth brushing.

[glowing-gravity]

okay I wrote this while I had free time during the cruise so I’m really hoping it’s coherent and doesn’t just feel like a bunch of little bits typed at different times without rereading the last part first

it’s supposed to follow the plot of “bitter reunions”! more or less

“Becky, that’s the third time this week you’ve gotten home past curfew!”

“I know, mom, I’m sorry, I just got… really caught up in the game Scoops and I were playing, and I didn’t realize the time, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“You used to be so responsible,” Mrs. Botsford said, wistfully. “And I’m sorry, Becky, but I can’t let this go unpunished. If you’re not responsible enough to come home in time, you’ll have to come with your father and I to Wisconsin for our college reunion.”

Becky sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. “I guess I’ll go pack, then.”

When they drove up to the mansion, Becky was worried that they had taken a wrong turn.

“Of course not, sweetie. Steven Boxleitner’s the one hosting the reunion, remember?”

TJ, who was sitting next to Becky, suddenly sat up. “You mean you guys knew STEVEN BOXLEITNER, one of the richest men in the US, in COLLEGE?”

Mr. Botsford grinned. “You bet! Though we just called him "Steven” back in college. He was in the Ghost Club with us!“

"Do you guys still talk?” TJ asked.

“Oh, not so much anymore. We were never the closest of friends anyway, but after the accident he sorta stopped talking to, well, everyone.”

“Accident….?”

Mr. Botsford went into storytelling mode. “Back in the Ghost Club, we were working on getting a working portal to the "Ghost Zone”, where the ghosts live, so we could travel there and learn more about it. A few weeks after we managed to get a small portal open, we were ready to send a small test subject- a mouse- through, to see what effects it could have. Steven was in charge of the mouse, while your mother and I ran the devices and portal. But something went wrong after we sent the mouse through, and the portal let out a burst of energy the hit Steven. It infected him with “ecto-acne”, which had him hospitalized for years. He stopped talking to everyone after that.“

"But I’m sure he’ll be glad to see everyone again!” Mrs. Botsford added cheerfully, after a moment. “Oh, and he loves kids, I’m sure he’s excited to meet you two!”

As the car parked and they got out, Becky saw the front door of the mansion open, and a tall man with white hair, a purple bowtie, and a lab coat stepped out. He was smiling.

“Sally, Tim! It’s wonderful to see you again. And these must be Becky and TJ!” He held out a hand, and Becky shook it. “Hello, Dr. Boxleitner.”

He laughed. “Please, call me Steven!” He stood for a moment, before seeming to remember something. “Oh, where are my manners? Please, come inside,” he said, stepping to the side so they could walk in.

The mansion was HUGE, and… rather strangely decorated. Becky had never seen so much cheese and cheese-related art in her life.

“This’s an… interesting house, Steven.” Sally said, looking around. Steven seemed to stiffen a little.

“Well, you know Wisconsin, heh, known for… cheese…”

That night, Becky’s ghost sense went off, waking her up. “I thought I was on vacation….” she complained sleepily, before phasing through the wall.

In the hallway, she saw the back of a humanoid ghost who appeared to be wearing a black lab coat floating in the hallway. She couldn’t see its hands, but it didn’t appear to be doing anything, just floating.

Suddenly, the ghost whipped around to face her. Underneath the black lab coat was a yellow bowtie and a white and black jumpsuit, which looked like the inverse of her own. The ghost also had black hair, mouse-like features, and what Becky could only guess was some kind of brain stuck to its head.

“Uh… hello! Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you, I just, uh, wanted to make sure you weren’t bothering any of the humans here. I can le-” Becky was interrupted as the ghost shot her with an ectoplasmic ray from its hand, which knocked her back into the wall. It then phased through the door into what looked like the library. She regained her balance, then followed.

The ghost finally spoke. “So, you’re Becky Banshee, huh?”

“You… know me?”

“You’re that ghost who uses her powers for GOOD. Are you going to try to suck me into your thermos?”

Becky hesitated. “I-I don’t want to fight you.”

The ghost smirked. “No, you probably you don’t.” Then, he shot a pink ectoplasmic blast at her, which upon making contact felt a lot stronger than what she was used to. She caught herself as the impact started to push her back, then returned fire. The ghost created a shield, and effortlessly blocked. “C'mon, kid, is that really all you’ve got? That’s so year-one! Hey, can you even do THIS yet?” It said mockingly, as it lowered its hand and the shield dissipated. It then duplicated itself, then the original and the clone duplicated again, creating four of the ghost.

“No…. how can you??” Becky said, feeling very unconfident suddenly.

“I’ve been doing this for years! And, by the looks of it, you’ve just started.”

The ghost easily outmatched her, and the fight was over before she knew what hit her. Quite literally, in fact, as she hit the wall and passed out, unintentionally changing back as she did so.

The ghost landed in front of her, looking surprised, and seemed to almost unwillingly change, leaving Steven standing in its place. Steven stood for a moment, before apparently realizing what happened as he saw Becky. “Oh man, Becky! She’s- I- oh no, this is bad…”

Becky woke up with a start in bed. As she saw Steven open the door, it occurred to her she had been shouting in her sleep.

“Is, uh, everything alright, Becky?” He looked pretty worried, and Becky felt bad.

“Sorry for waking you up, I must’ve been having a bad dream.”

Steven still didn’t relax, though, so she kept talking. “I’m fine, really.” She gave a hopefully reassuring smile.

Steven sighed. “Alright,” he said, but he didn’t look any more relieved. “Sleep well, but let me know if anything happens, okay?” Becky nodded, and he left, closing the door behind him as she fell asleep.

“Why did you do that?” He whispered, as he walked towards his room. His eyes turned pink, and he responded to himself, in a much higher pitched voice. “Mouse brain know best!!”

The next day was the reunion. Becky’s parents had asked her to dress a little fancier than usual, so she was wearing a maroon dress, though still with her green sweater underneath. Before joining the actual reunion, though, she looked around for TJ. She found him in a room with a big movie screen, playing some scientific documentaries. He was wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans.

“Aren’t you coming to the reunion?” She asked.

“Ew, no way. I’d rather watch a documentary about… whatever this is about-”

“Gel electrophoresis, it looks like.”

“-whatever that is, than stand around and meet a bunch of old people.”

Becky turned to leave, but TJ turned around to face her again.

“Becky…..? What’s biochemistry?”

“That’s easy, it’s the study of chemicals in living things.”

“Oh, okay!” He turned back to the screen, and Becky left.

At the reunion, Becky met all the former members of the ghost club, and many other old friends of her parents, but she quickly got bored. She sat down at the snack table, opting to experience the rest of the event from afar. Before long, Steven walked over to her.

“Becky! Are you doing better today?”

Becky smiled. “Yeah, I just needed some more sleep.”

“That’s good. You’re looking pretty bored here, though, do you want to come get a tour of my lab instead?”

Becky stood up, nodding. “Sure!” Anything to get a break.

They walked to his lab in silence, and Steven waited until the automatic door closed behind them before he began. “Okay, please don’t freak out- I know you’re the ghost girl. Becky Banshee.” Becky felt her stomach flip. “Wh- what?”

“That ghost you fought last night? That was…. me, technically.” He saw Becky tense, looking ready to transform.

“But- wait! I’m not here to fight. I just don’t want to leave you in the dark. Did your parents tell you about the accident?”

Becky nodded slowly, clearly trying to put the pieces together herself. “You got ghost powers from it, like I did?”

Steven smiled sadly. “Sort of. See, the mouse that was part of the test? The malfunction with the portal….. killed it, but since we were both interacting with the portal, it fused my ghost half with his ghost.” Becky seemed to follow.

“So your ghost half is… half mouse?”

“Yes. So Squeaky has half control over it, and… for a mouse, he has a surprisingly strong willpower. He can usually overpower me enough to make my ghost half do… bad stuff. I’m sorry about what happened last night, and if anything happens in the future…”

He trailed off at the end, as if distracted, and before Becky could say anything, he turned into his ghost half.

“Hey, kid! Nice to see you again!”

Becky glared. “Ghost up!”

The ghost laughed. “You have a battle cry?? Oh, man!” He took a moment to calm down. “Ah- anyway, I didn’t get a chance yesterday to introduce myself! The name’s Dr. Two Brains.”

“Wow, how creative,” Becky said sarcastically, but then her expression softened. “Steven, I know you’re in there! You can beat him!”

Two Brains hesitated for a moment, then frowned. “He’s busy. But I have something from him for you,” he said, and picked up a small black and green cube. He tossed it towards Becky, and it expanded, catching her and landing on the ground. It shocked her, forcing her to turn back.

As Becky tried to go ghost again, she found she couldn’t.

“It’s pretty cool, right? It blocks ghost energy. You can’t ‘ghost up’ as long as you’re in it!” Becky struggled to break free, and Two Brains chuckled. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some unwanted guests in my home, eating MY cheese, that I need to scare off. Have fun with your box!”

She watched as he phased through the ceiling. It wasn’t long before she heard screams.

“I have to get out of here….” she muttered, looking around.

A short ghost dressed like a king materialized in front of her. “Need some help, there?”

“Oh, what, are you here fight me while I’m at a huge disadvantage?” Becky asked, unimpressed. The ghost frowned, and hit the button labeled “release” on the box. It opened up, freeing Becky, then shrunk back to its original size. Becky kicked it away.

“Thank you! But why did you help me?”

“Not all ghosts are evil, don'tcha know! Some of us just want to be left alone.”

Becky smiled. “Will you help me fight Dr. Two Brains? I’m sure we could make your home quieter again!”

The ghost laughed, in a light-hearted way. “I’m the Dairy King! Kings don’t fight, they get other people to fight for 'em! That’s royalty 101, don'tcha know!” He floated through the ceiling, still chuckling.

Becky sighed. “Ghost up.”

When she reached the room where the reuion was, it was chaotic. Tables flipped over, food everywhere, and the few people left inside were screaming. She saw her dad floating above everyone, and had a pretty good idea what happened. She turned intangible and knocked Two Brains out of him. The force sent the two ghosts flying through the wall into the library.

“Becky, do we really have to fight? We could work together!” Two Brains said, and Becky suspected that the surprise of getting knocked out over her dad was letting Steven influence him a bit more.

“It’d be great! I could have all the cheese I wanted, and you could have…. whatever it is you want! I could teach you how to use your powers!”

“I’m never joining you, you might as well turn back into Steven!” she shouted. He scowled. Becky tried to think of a way to surprise him enough to make him turn back into Steven.

Luckily, she didn’t have to, because at that moment her parents, in their Botsford Family Ghost Research Vehicle (or, as they preferred to call it, RV), burst through the library doors. She saw Two Brains start to drift down to the ground, and grabbed him and phased down into his lab, hopefully before her parents saw either of them.

In the lab, Dr. Two Brains turned back into Steven, who took a moment to remember what was going on.

“Becky! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let him-”

“It’s okay! Sure, you kinda ruined your reunion, but everyone’s fine! I’m fine!”

Steven seemed to relax a little. “I’ve been trying to work on something to separate us, or at least help me focus, but whenever I try to focus on it, well…”

“Do you want my help….? Or, uh, maybe we should clean up your house first.”

“It doesn’t matter, he’ll probably just wreck it again. But some help would definitely be welcome,” he said, with a small smile. Becky smiled back, and detransformed.

The next day, before the Botsfords left, Becky made sure that Steven had a decent prototype of something to block ghost energy (like the cube, but less restrictive and much smaller).

They both knew it wouldn’t be good enough to help for long.

At least it was a start of a solution.

anyway yep there’s that

I’ll post the picture I drew of steven for the au in just a sec