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loveaffaire · 3 years

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OK OK OK!! SO I SAW THIS IN MY REELS!! how about a tom holland or peter Parker x reader (u choose) where they both are arguing over something that tom/peter did by mistake (not cheating tho) and tom/peter just doesn’t know what to say so he just screams out her name and continues to ramble his mistake and her how sorry he is.......BUT WHEN HE SCREAM HER NAME HE ACTUALLY SAID Y/N Y/M/N HOLLAND (or Parker)

and reader is just like all shocked and blushing and she just kisses him to shut up his rambling and it’s all cute fluffy with apologies and cute overall heart melting! I hope you write this I love your work❤️❤️❤️

His Last Name Next To Mine

Pairing: Tom Holland x reader

Warnings: Arguing, controlling family issues, angst, some cute fluff.

Word count: 1.4k

A/N: I think Tom is someone who will definitely have that slip up lol. I wrote this at 3am and i haven’t proof-read it so yeah, I hope you still like it though<3

“I can’t believe you did that, Tom” you snarled as you walked through the apartment door, almost shutting the door on Tom’s face in the process.

You were so angry, you were livid. You’ve just come back from a dinner party at your parents and your lovely boyfriend has blurted out something he shouldn’t have.

“I said I am sorry!” Tom said sharply as he locked the door behind him, kicking off his shoes near the shoe rack.

“No, sorry doesn’t cut it! I told you to not tell them and then you just slip up like that?” you yelled from across the living room with your hands up with your hair from frustration as you looked at your boyfriend with wide eyes.

“Yes I made a mistake,” he yelled back, now getting a little angry with all the fuss,”I told them that we’re moving away to New York and you’re taking that new job because I slipped! It wasn’t intentional!” he loosened up his tie and started walking towards you.

“Don’t come near me Tom, I’m really mad at you” you whispered angrily as you tried to calm yourself down. You pulled a chair out and sat on it, keeping your palms flat on the cold table.

Tom stopped right in his tracks, “I don’t know why you’re so angry, you were gonna tell them anyway right, baby?”

You scoffed as you looked up at him, “yes, that’s correct, I was going to tell them myself which you ruined!”

You pushed the chair back as you stood up, your heels clicking on the hard floor as you made your way to the bedroom. Tom followed you with a stony look on his face.

“Y/N, don’t you walk out on me when we’re talking- hey!”

You banged the bedroom door as you walked into the bedroom, almost breaking the thin necklace as you removed it from your neck. You heard the bedroom door slowly opening.

“Don’t bang doors in my face, Y/N” he said with his eyebrows raised, nose flaring with anger.

You took a sharp turn, facing him, you said, “you know what’s your problem, Tom-“

“Yeah, tell me what’s my problem” he cut you off this time as he stood close to you, trapping you between his hard chest and the wall behind you.

“Oh, I will tell you what your problem is,” you narrowed your eyes at him, pushing his chest away and stepping aside. Tom didn’t stop you, he always respected your boundaries, even when you both were arguing.

“I’m angry because you told them we’re moving away when I was planning to tell them that when we have already shifted! You know how controlling they can be; how they get in my head and now they will try to do it again. I don’t want them to control me anymore, Tom!” You snapped as your eyes started to get wet.

It was true, you parents were always a little too involved in your life and as a 26 year old, you hated it. You kept things from them and only told them when it was done with, you felt that it was the only way to have some privacy.

Tom knew it all too well. He knew how controlling they were and how they tried to get in your head. Hearing you express this as you looked at him with teary eyes broke his heart as he tasted guilt on his tongue.

“Baby, I’m sorry. Listen, come here-“

“And I hate how you’re making it look like I’m making a big deal out of this by yelling at me!” You stomped your feet and shook your fists like a little kid but you were so frustrated, it didn’t matter.

You slowly stepped away from him as you clutched your head, you felt a headache coming.

“Baby,” Tom huffed, “you know I hate it when you walk away from me during an argument-“

You turned on your heels as you reached for the bathroom door, twisting it open as you quickly walked inside and oh boy, Tom decided that he has had enough of you walking away in the middle of his sentences.

“Wait- Y/N Y/M/N HOLLAND YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

You heard the door shut behind you as you stood cold in your tracks, your fists opening up in shock. In a daze, you turned around and slowly unlocked the door and peeked outside. Tom stood there cold in his tracks with his mouth slightly open in shock as his forehead glistened because of the thin layer of sweat. You both looked at each other with wide eyes.

“What did you s-say?” You whispered as you blinked slowly, waiting for him to answer.

Tom opened his mouth and then closed it, no words coming out as he waved his hands around in panic, “I said Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N” he said quickly.

“My last name sounds nothing like whatever you said but it did sound a lot like your last name. . .” You said cautiously as you took small steps towards him.

“I- okay fine, I said Holland. Please don’t be mad” he whimpered as he bit his bottom lip, clasping his hands together.

“Why would I be mad?” you said softly, you hated seeing him scared and right now, he looked terrified.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” he blabbered as he closed the distance between you two, wrapping his arms around your body, “you know when you think about something a lot in your head and that thing kinda slips out of your mouth? Yeah that is what happened again and I know I pissed you off before and I don’t want to do it again, I’m so sor-“

You softly pressed your lips to his, he got the hang of it pretty quickly as his lips started to move against yours in an instant. You felt his tongue making its way to yours as you pulled back, your face still close to his. Tom frowned as he pouted his lips, asking for more.

“Do you think about it often?” you asked gently as you brushed his hair away from his forehead, “like-like my name with your um last name?” You felt shy, your cheeks turned rosy as you looked down briefly.

“I think about it all the time” he said rather quickly, resting his forehead to yours.

He bumped his nose against yours playfully, your bodies clinging to each other. In that moment you and Tom were one.

“I know we’ve been together for just 2 years and we’re so young but I can’t help it” he mumbled against your lips as your eyes fluttered, “can’t help it if you look like an angel, can’t help it if I wanna kiss you the moment I wake up, just can’t help myself”

You embraced him in your hold, lips roughly meeting his in a passionate kiss. Butterflies bursting in your stomach from his little speech. His tongue successfully made its way to yours this time, gently picking you up to place you on the bed as he gripped your body.

Tom felt you gasp as he kissed you again, you moved your body away from his hold gently as he loosened his grip. Tears streamed down your face.

“Y/N, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?” he panicked as he cupped your face. You sat up as Tom supported his body on his knees, you shook your head.

“No no. I’m just- I’m so overwhelmed, I love you” you said as you laughed softly, feeling a little embarrassed now as you worried him for no reason at all.

“Oh baby” he signed as he kissed your cheeks, “I feel awful about tonight though, I should have been more careful” he frowned his brows as he looked at you.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you” you sniffled as you choked on your words.

He admired you as you dried your wet eyes, how gorgeous you looked even when you were crying tears of joy.

“I have a crazy idea” he whispered, brushing your hair out of your face, he spoke up again before you could say anything, “maybe we should get married”

To Tom’s surprise, you hadn’t freaked out, rather quickly nodded your head. Tom almost pulled a nerve when you told him that you were thinking the same thing. The next morning, you picked out a pretty white dress and he fixed his tie, you both walked out of the court with his last name next to your first name and you realised that you’ve never been this happy before.

A/N: so. . . yeah? Don’t know how I feel about this, I also have absolutely no idea how court marriages work.

Leave some feedback below if you liked this, would appreciate it if you can like/reblog! Thank you!!

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #Tom holland one shot #Tom holland imagines #Tom holland fluff #Tom holland x reader smut #Tom holland smut #Tom holland angst #Tom holland oneshot #Tom holland fanfic #requested #peter parker #Peter Parker one shot #Peter Parker imagines #Peter Parker x reader #Peter Parker fluff #Tom holland imagine #Peter Parker x reader smut

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the-bau-quinjet · 3 years

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Trending

Summary: Steve thinks you’re too young to like him despite the obvious hints you’re dropping.

Warnings: unspecified age gap

Word count: 2246

a/n: I’ve clearly spent too much time on TikTok recently, but inspired me to write something so that's good. It was loosely based on a request for a young reader x Steve, but I forgot part of the request so I'm gonna write something else for that one! Also, I wrote this on my phone so please excuse any typos I missed when trying to edit it lol

Masterlist

Messing with Steve is one of your favorite things to do. Tiny pranks, over the top flirting, poking fun at his lack of understanding of technology. Anything you can do to get him to roll his eyes and chuckle.

Nat would say it’s because of your feelings for him. She would be correct. Not that you’d ever admit that to anyone. Nope. So instead, you have your fun, and enjoy the way his eyes crinkle and his cheeks redden.

Your newest method of hearing the sweet sound of Steve’s laugh? TikTok. It’s a double whammy. One because he doesn’t understand the app and two because a lot of the trends make him blush.

It started as a fun way to blow off steam. Sometimes, being one of the younger and newer team members made you feel like an outsider. Of course, Peter was younger than you, but he had his own friends outside of the team. You didn’t have anyone else. When Tony found you and invited you to join, it was you against the world. Now you have this makeshift family.

Having your account on TikTok helped you when you hadn’t really become a part of the group yet. You bonded with Peter because of his account, and you found a new way to make Steve blush.

Anyway, you’ve learned way more TikTok dances than you ever would have thought just to see his pink cheeks. It’s not even always over the top dances that have him chuckling. The last trend you did had him laughing the entire day. It was that sound about Wednesday Adams having one thing on her mind. Only when it said homicide, instead of a deadpan expression you panned the camera to show Bucky and Sam arguing over who got the last donut.

Of course, you knew when you made the video it would appeal to Steve’s sense of humor. Sam and Bucky feature in a lot of your videos for that exact reason.

In general, you make a lot of videos featuring the Avengers just to keep Tony happy. He likes to be the center of attention, plus the only way he would approve of your account was if it could also feature as PR for the team. You agreed, as long as you had final say over what you posted. There’s nothing scripted or designed for a specific reason, you just feature the team sometimes.

Like when that sound from the Big Bang theory was popular amongst Avengers fans, you made a video confessing to Pepper that you’d been thinking about the Avengers, panning to show the team during training.

Of course, the text on the screen said “you are an Avenger” instead of “I believe that”, allowing you to play off the joke. But still, it was fun to include the team.

One of your favorite videos features none other than Scott Lang, mostly because nobody else would do it. Scott thought it was hilarious though.

Using the sound from New Girl, Scott played Schmidt and you Jess. The text on the screen read as follows:

Scott: You just walk around all day thinking about America’s Ass?

You: Yeah, don’t you?

Scott: No! How do you get anything done?

You: It’s hard…

Steve blushed like crazy when everyone cornered him to watch it. Bucky, Sam, and Tony wouldn’t stop bringing it up for at least a month. A part of you hoped he might make a move after that video, seeing as you put yourself out there, but he just assumed it was a joke and laughed it off.

Honestly, you were running out of trends that you could use to get him to understand your feelings. You only had two ideas left, and one of them would be mortifying if it didn’t work out…

“Steve. You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bucky sighed, exasperated with Steve for the umpteenth time that month. “You’ve been pining for forever, just make a move!” he whisper yelled, doing his best not to throttle his lifelong friend.

Steve rolled his eyes, purposefully ignoring Bucky’s pointed glare. The two men had spent the last hour looking through your TikTok account. Bucky was adamant that you liked Steve, but the blonde didn’t believe it, despite the so called proof Bucky kept forcing him to watch.

“Buck, would you please just back off? We’re friends. She’s too young to want to be with me like that.” Steve blushed, thinking about the context of his words.

Before Bucky could say anything about how repressing his feelings is bad for him, a new video popped up on your account. Bucky smirked when he saw the thumbnail was once again a picture of Steve, this time with a beard. Steve took the silence as an opportunity to escape, walking into his closet to change.

The video opened with a video of you and Natasha just hanging out, you lip syncing to the words “I like you have a cupcake.” You repeated the words as the video cut to you and Tony.

Bucky nearly dropped the phone when “smack my ass like a drum” blared from the speaker. He cackled bending over in a fit of laughter when he realized that’s what Steve’s picture was used for- and one where he had a beard to boot.

“What is it now, jerk?” Steve emerged from his closet, having changed into loungewear. The sight of Bucky fully cackling had him nervous.

Bucky tossed him the phone, doing his best to stop laughing long enough to tell him to watch the most recent video. With a hesitant sigh, Steve obliged.

Again, Bucky rolled his eyes at how obvious Steve’s feelings were. The second he saw you on the screen, he smiled. And not one of those half hearted polite smiles, a full on happy smile.

Steve’s eyes widened, nearly bulging out of his head when he got to the end of the video.

“‘She doesn’t want to be with me like that.’” Bucky mocked his friends earlier words, grabbing his phone back. “Punk, I don’t know how much more obvious she could be.”

With one more glare in Steve’s direction, Bucky finally left him to his own thoughts. Okay, so you made a lot of videos about how you find him attractive. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’d want to be in a relationship with him. Leave it to Steve to talk himself out of everything Bucky had spent so long trying to convince him of.

You were desperate at this point. You honestly thought the cupcake one would send him over the edge, but it didn’t work either. It has been three days, and you know Steve’s seen the video because everyone likes to tease him about it.

“Naaaaaat, it’s not working,” you whined, dramatically throwing yourself onto her bed. She laughed at your antics, briefly looking up at you before deciding to stop what she was going and give you her full attention.

“Look, not only is Steve one of the most clueless people I’ve ever met when it comes to women, but he can also talk himself out of believing someone’s interested in him. Especially you.” Nat watched as you lifted your head from her comforter, slowly turning to stare at her with narrowed eyes.

“Especially me?” you questioned. Why would you have a different standard?

“Y/N, Steve’s from the 40s. He’s super old fashioned. You're a hot young thing, super up to date on modern trends. He thinks you're just messing around as friends because he doesn’t believe someone as young as you would be interested in actually having a relationship with him,” she spelt it out for you, sick of trying to get you to figure it out on your own.

You took a minute to fully understand what she was saying, but then sat up when a new idea struck. “So you’re saying I need to be more direct?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded nonetheless.

“I’ve got an idea. Thanks Nat!” you ran from the room before she could question your newest plan, instead checking to make sure her notifications were on for posts from your TikTok account.

“Steve!” you shouted when you saw him down the hall, about to turn a corner. He immediately stopped, turning back to see you running at him. “I need your help!”

You pulled him into the gym, briefly glancing around the room to make sure it was empty. Confirming nobody else was present, you set up your phone on one of the weight racks to record the two of you. It was already open to the recording section of TikTok, the sound you needed queued and ready to begin.

“What’s going on?” Steve looked between you and the phone, nerves heightening as he realized what you were doing. All of your videos about him thus far hasn’t actually involved him filming anything.

“I just need you to react to this trend, okay? It’s kind of old, but that doesn’t really matter,” you spoke quickly, trying to start the video before he could decline.

The music started playing instantly, with Steve awkwardly looking between the screen and you. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was reacting to, and it had him on edge. Just as the song reached the chorus, you turned and grabbed his face. Throwing caution to the wind, you followed through with your plan before you could back out, kissing him with all the passion and emotion you’d been holding back.

Steve froze, clearly surprised by your actions. Before you could pull away, he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer. He kissed you with equal passion and emotion, no longer paying attention to your phone recording the moment.

Neither of you noticed when the music cut off, too wrapped up in each other. When the need for air overpowered the desire to keep kissing him, you pulled back to gasp in a few breaths. Steve leaned his forehead against yours, eyes closed and breathing erratic.

The two do you spent the next few moments just breathing, trying to come to terms with what just happened. You gasped when his hands moved, one resting on your waist and the other cupping your cheek. His eyes were still closed when you chanced a glance at him.

“What was the trend?” he breathily whispered the words, still coming down from the high of kissing you.

“Huh?” you mumbled, unable to comprehend the question when he was still touching you like this.

“The TikTok trend? What was it?” his grip on your hip tightened, but his hand framing your face remained gentle.

“Oh, uh, it was- it was kissing your best friend/crush.” You whispered, heart still racing from his proximity. Your nerves had never been greater. Yeah, Nat always tells you that Steve has feelings for you, but what if he was just being polite? Maybe he didn’t know how to reject you when you kissed him out of nowhere, and now he’s trying to find a way to turn you down gently. What if-

“Was my reaction good enough to post?” he broke your train of thought with another question. You took a minute to think about the question, your brain still moving like molasses

“Um, that depends…” you froze when his eyes opened and stared into yours.

“On?” he prompted you to continue.

“Which caption I can use.” you finished the thought, finally remembering the two most common outcomes of the trend.

“What are the choices?” Steve smirked when you looked flustered, clearly not expecting this conversation.

“Uh, the two-” he began rubbing small circles into your hip with his thumb, effectively cutting off your train of thought again. It wasn’t until he lightly squeezed your hip again that you remember you were answering his question.

“Right! The two most common captions are some variation of ‘this was so awkward’ or ‘we’re dating now’,” you managed to blurt out the choices, blushing when he smiled at you.

“Well, I know which I prefer…” you waited with bated breath as he prolonged the silence, enjoying seeing you so on edge. You nearly whined when he let you go, moving to pick up your phone from the weight rack.

You watched in silence as he typed out a caption, tapping each letter with his pointer finger. A small smile formed on your lips at his adorable old man behavior. He then managed to find the post button, adding the video to your account before handing you the phone to see what he chose.

Your smile only grew after you read the caption, dropping the phone and immediately kissing him again.

Meanwhile, Nat had gathered the rest of the team that happened to be around to wait for whatever video you had planned to be posted.

Tony, Sam, Bucky, Wanda, Vision, Peter, and Clint all watched as the new video popped up on the screen. Peter bounced with excitement when he heard the song, instantly recognizing the trend. The rest of the group watched as you kissed Steve, mouths gaping open when he actually kissed you back.

Fans were already commenting about how long it took for the two of you to get together, but the team was too focused on laughing at the caption to pay any mind to the comments.

She said the trend was kind of old, but that fits because I’ve got a habit of waiting too long anyways.

Permanent taglist: @averyhotchner @jesuswasnotawhiteman @strawberryspence @sebastnstn @jswessie187 @ellobruv

Marvel: @leyannrae @livstilinski @oceaniamaddness @justreadingficsdontmindme

#Steve Rogers x reader #Steve Rogers x you #Steve Rogers x y/n #Steve Rogers fluff #Steve Rogers one shot #Steve Rogers fic

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chilligyu · 3 years

Text

info: lee jihoon/gender neutral reader, pg, best friends to lovers au genre: fluff, romance | word ct: 5.5k warnings: none summary: when it came to love, no one was prepared. not even jihoon, who could spend hours turning words into magic, especially when love was mysteriously delivered in the form of a letter to his locker. note: heavily inspired by to all the boys I've loved before, but with a twist! no love triangles or anything like that, so just enjoy awkward people falling in love! and thank you to @dreamystuffers and @starlightjoong for taking a sneak peek and telling me what you think!

tagging: @xfirebenderx, @moriiyun, @ohmygoshcheese, @gyu-log

Lee Jihoon, a genius in many ways, was never good when it came to words. At least, not the spoken kind. The kind that you had to think up on the spot, responses, answers, comebacks, small talk, he was absolutely terrible at it. But if you gave him the time to think, to really dwell on his thoughts, he could create something truly beautiful. Which was why he preferred to express his feelings with letters. And while, yes, he could pen something magnificent, the next great classic novel perhaps, he typically kept his messages short and to the point. Much like the man himself.

There was one time that he wrote a “letter” that was simply—

F U C K Y O U

—printed out on seven separate sheets of paper and taped to a row of lockers. All in response to a teacher confiscating his iPod. No one could prove it was him, though, and nothing happened in response to it. He never admitted to his crimes, and despite it being painfully obvious who the author of the message was, there was no hard proof pointing to the culprit. It became the most well-known secret at their high school. And Lee Jihoon became somewhat of a living legend because of it.

The only one who knew the truth was you. His best friend. You were his go-to when it came to proof reading all of his letters. He was the writer, you were the editor. Half the time you were also a berating parent, chastising him for trying to assault people with words. Which was also why, more often than not, his letters never got sent. He would sit in his room for hours, writing letters that were either half the length of novels or only a few sentences long, and after giving it over to be edited, it would get tucked away in his desk drawer. Never to be seen or heard from again.

See, Jihoon was an emotional person. Not in the sense that most people would assume, he didn’t get offended easily, one mean comment wouldn’t leave him crying, he was simply—emotional. Whatever he was feeling, whether it be good or bad, it was powerful, sometimes overwhelming. So instead of erupting like a hormonal volcano, which he had already done plenty of, he put his emotions to paper. At the behest of his aforementioned best friend.

“You can’t go around yelling at people.” You began one afternoon just after entering high school. “Even if you’re writing it down, you’re still yelling at people.”

Jihoon, the definition of “hard to read”, was visibly pouting. “You’re the one who told me to write down how I feel. Now I can’t even send these to anyone?”

“I mean, you can.” You backpedalled. “I’m not your mother, despite Seokmin’s insistence. I can’t stop you from doing anything you’ve set your heart to. All I can do is advise you not to because you’re going to have a terrible few years here if everyone hates you.”

He clearly wasn’t thrilled by your logical response, but he admitted defeat anyway. “Fine. Don’t send the letters that I write. I get it. No one wants to read them.”

You groaned loudly. “You are so dramatic. I’m saying don’t send the literal hate mail to people. Don’t send the stuff you write to vent out your feelings. But if there’s something you want to say to someone, something that you can’t bring yourself to say out loud, by all means! Send the thing! I know you loathe the idea of talking to people, you also hate being misunderstood more.”

He also hated how well you knew him, not that he would ever say that out loud.

That was also something he wrote down in a letter, one he decided to send.

You crumpled it up immediately and threw it back at his face.

“Letters are powerful things, Jihoon.” You added. “They can break hearts, mend souls, and change lives with nothing more than words. Because words mean so many different things to so many different people. You just gotta say the right ones.”

At first, he was only humoring you. Honestly, he thought you completely senile until he gave it a shot. After spending hours hunched over his desk writing things no one else would see, he was starting to realize that maybe you had a point. Instead of roaming the halls shouting obscenities in his head, he was able to reassure himself by knowing he could write about it later. Even the smallest grievance, he would write it down. He would sometimes scribble it down on the margin of a textbook if he was feeling particularly overwhelmed in the middle of the day.

The letters became his therapy, his outlet, eventually he could stroll past some annoying upperclassmen and not feel rage coursing through his veins. It was—nice, almost. Not being subjected to his own hectic imagination at every turn. Feeling at peace for the first time in what felt like ages.

Until he found a letter in his locker, one addressed to him during his senior year. From a secret admirer. The contents of which would be seared into his memory for the remainder of time.

Lee Jihoon, it began.

I have never been able to tell you how I feel, in person or in a letter. For several months now, I’ve tried. I’ve tried to write letters like you for so long, and I just can’t get the words right. I don’t know how you do it. So I’m going to do something different. I’m going to stop being scared. If you meet me in the courtyard after school, I’m going to be brave for the first time in my life. Please help me be brave, Jihoon.

Again and again, he read that short letter. Practically baffled that someone out there wrote an honest-to-god letter that was addressed to an honest-to-god person. And that he wasn’t the writer, that he was the recipient. The thought alone made his heart race, and to comprehend that this secret admirer perhaps harbored feelings towards him? It was next to impossible. But no one writes a letter without true emotion behind it. That’s a fact he was coming to understand.

“I need you to come with me.” He told you after showing you the letter. “I’m—I’m not sure I can do this alone.”

You rolled your eyes. “Jihoon, obviously this person doesn’t want to make a public event out of their confession. You should really do this without me.”

“I know, and I’m not asking you to stand at my side or anything.” He reiterated. “Can you like—stand in a bush or something? If I know that you’re there I won’t feel the need to—"

“Did you just ask me to stand in a bush?” You guffawed. “You did not just ask me to stand in a bush Lee Jihoon because if you did then you’re about to get your ass kicked into next year!”

“I didn’t mean literally!” He quickly denied when he did, in fact, mean it literally. “Just—stand around the corner, okay? Be my moral support!”

Pursing your lips, you knew that there was no getting out of this. “Alright, fine. I’ll come with you. But I’m not happy about it.”

“I’ll pay you back, I promise.” He swore. “Have I ever told you that you’re the best?”

A smirk teased at your lips. “You could mention it more.”

“Consider it done.” Jihoon grinned, gathering up his things and heading for the door. “Don’t forget! After school! Courtyard! Don’t be late!”

Once he was gone and you were completely alone, your face fell in disappointment. “I wouldn’t dream of it…”

By the time that school was finally over for the day, Jihoon was a bundle of overactive nerves. He was excited and terrified and anxious and nauseous all at once. The bombarding sensations kept him cemented in place, gripping the edge of his desk until his knuckles were about to burst through. He had been like that for the entirety of their last class, still as a statue as a cold sweat broke out across his brow. You were standing in front of him, head tilted and wondering what he was planning to do next.

“Class is over.” You reminded him. “Everyone’s left.”

Very slowly, he nodded. “Y-yeah. I can see that.”

His voice sounded as if it had been completely stripped down. Like he had screamed himself hoarse by saying those few words.

“Your secret admirer is probably waiting.” You tried to spur him. “We should get going before I change my mind and head home.”

He audibly swallowed past a lump in his throat. “Well—maybe that’s best. Yeah, I can wait until tomorrow.”

You eyed him incredulously. “You’re going to stay here until tomorrow. You’re insane, get up.”

“I’d rather not.”

“And I’d rather not grow old and die here.” You countered. “C’mon, Jihoon. Your admirer asked you to help them be brave, how exactly is this helping them?”

He had to admit, you had a point. If they were brave enough to put their feelings out there, he had to at least meet them half way.

Sighing loudly, he started to pry his fingers off his desk. “Alright, fine. We’ll do things your way.”

You rolled your eyes for perhaps the hundredth time. “You’re absolutely insufferable. Why do I hang out with you?”

“Because I’m funny.” He said with the most serious face in the world.

Which actually made you laugh.

“I hate you.” You chuckled. “C’mon, let’s get going while we’re still young.”

Jihoon inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm himself down.

This is just the beginning.

Except—it wasn’t.

He stood in the courtyard, seemingly alone, with the note that brought him there clutched tight in his hand. As his moral support you were keeping your distance, as promised, but no one else joined you. Minutes passed and he did his best to remain hopeful. It was hard, especially when a familiar voice nagged at the back of his mind. The same one he struggled with every day to ignore.

No one would ever like you, so why did you bother thinking otherwise?

While the negative thoughts slowly took over, Jihoon didn’t know what to do next. He was defeated, almost destroyed. And even though you walked up behind him and took his hand in yours, it did little to stop the bitter tears from welling in his eyes.

“I should’ve known…” He whispered angrily. “This was all just—a joke. It’s always a joke. Who could ever like me?”

“Stop it, Jihoon.” You hissed at him, squeezing his hand tighter. “They said they were scared, maybe they couldn’t follow through with it. Maybe they were afraid of being rejected. You never know what’s going through someone’s head. Don’t beat yourself up, okay?”

Nothing you said was going to make him feel better. He quickly wrenched himself from your grip and backed away from you.

“I’m going home.” He clipped. “Bye.”

Before he left, he made sure to crumple up the note and toss it at your feet. When his heart was broken, he wore it on his sleeve. You understood what Jihoon was feeling, he had been living with an extremely low self esteem due to his height and his general inability to make friends for as long as you knew him. He was quiet, shy, reserved, he was slow to open up to others and hesitant to trust. That’s why you tried to be excited for him, and now that things hadn’t gone as planned in more ways than one your heart ached just like his.

The next day, Jihoon strolled into class like a drunk zombie. By the looks of him, he hadn’t slept a wink. Too busy being destroyed by his own thoughts to bother with anything like sustenance or sleep. He took up his seat beside you, and you immediately shoved your desk into his.

“Still upset?” You asked, even though you already knew the answer.

Sluggishly he lifted his head up and then quickly dropped it back down.

It was worse than you thought.

“Are you going to talk to me today?” You teased in an attempt to get a reaction. “Or am I going to have to go bother Hansol?”

Grumbling slightly, the barely responsive mass that was your best friend raised his hand and dropped a crumpled wad of paper on your desk. At first, you assumed it was just another one of his letters. They weren’t uncommon when he was feeling—unwell.

But it was another note from his secret admirer.

You were startled because he didn’t usually stop at his locker in the morning.

Lee Jihoon, it started similarly.

I’m sorry for not showing up yesterday, I was scared. I couldn’t bring myself to face you, please don’t be mad at me. I’d like to keep writing you letters, if that’s okay. Let’s get to know each other and maybe one day I can be brave again.

Once you were finished reading, you immediately began analyzing Jihoon’s face again. You had never seen him look like this before, completely vacant. While he was hard to read to the entire world, he was always an open book to you. Now reading him was nearly impossible even with your expertise.

“What are you gonna do?”

He shrugged lazily. “I don’t know. Sit here for the rest of eternity. Wait for the soft embrace of death.”

“Jihoon.” You exasperated. “We both know you’re not actually going to do that.”

Except he actually might and you actually couldn’t take that chance.

“Are you going to write them a letter?” You tried, again. “Maybe that will work out better.”

“I already did.” He murmured. “I don’t think they want to read it though.”

“Jesus Christ…” You groaned loudly, taking Jihoon’s face in your hands and looking him dead in his lifeless eyes. “They still like you, they’re scared and human like the rest of us, it is not the end of the world! Give them another chance and stop being such a goddamn drama queen!”

Silence. Pure unadulterated and perfectly aggravating silence.

“Alright, you leave me no choice. I’m bringing out the big guns.”

Being careful to keep an eye on the teacher, you pulled out your phone and started texting Jihoon’s mother. According to your message, you and Jihoon were going to be studying late at the library, and he would probably need to spend the night at your house. Which wasn’t a complete lie, maybe you would get some studying done. But, in all honesty, you had other things in mind.

“Take your pick.” You instructed, a box set in each hand. “Descendants of the Sun, or Record of Youth.”

Immediately after school, you dragged your best friend to your house and sat him down in front of the TV. Your parents didn’t even question it when you told them this intervention was a matter of life and death, that the patient might need to be admitted for the night. They simply let you do what needed to be done.

Jihoon, who had been relatively catatonic for the past 24 hours, finally showed a glimmer of something. He gave the slightest suggestion of a nod towards Descendants of the Sun and you happily popped in the first disk. As you claimed a spot beside him, popcorn and banana milk in tow, he naturally relaxed against you. You were the only person who got to see him unguarded like that, the only person he himself would allow. And while he was typically someone who kept his true self hidden from the world, there was a part of him that would forever belong only to you.

“Thanks.” He practically whispered, resting his head on your shoulder. “I—I needed this.”

“I know.” You smiled. “Are you ready to talk yet?”

He sighed heavily. “No. Not really. I still have a lot of thinking to do.”

“Well, if you need help thinking you know where I’ll be.” You offered without wanting to seem pushy.

If you weren’t mistaken, you could’ve sworn he actually chuckled.

“Yeah. I do.”

Little by little, your best friend was slowly returning to normal—or as close to normal as you’ve ever seen him. Eventually he started getting sucked into the drama, going rigid when things got tense, and actively pretended he wasn’t crying whenever You Are My Everything played. It was, overall, a job well done. You could sleep easy knowing that Jihoon would be just fine. As you drifted off, you felt him hold your hand and squeeze it gently.

Everything was going to be okay.

And if only to prove that point, the next day was nothing like the one before. Jihoon was back to his old self as if nothing had happened at all. Just another Thursday without a word or whisper about the chaotic tornado his secret admirer had unleashed onto your day-to-day life. He even had a letter for you to read by the time lunch rolled around. Apparently, some freshman irritated him over something seemingly small. At least—to you it seemed barely worth mentioning. But nothing ever really felt small to Jihoon. It was all or nothing, always living in black and white. Which meant that almost everything was important to him in some way. So you read the letter, and you edited it gladly.

Once you were done, he had something else for you. Another note from the admirer.

“This is the third one, right?” You murmured, glancing it over once before looking up at him. “Have you written back yet? Besides the one where I assumed you insulted their very existence with your entire arsenal of hurtful words.”

The blush crawling up his neck was an answer in and of itself, but the thick stack of paper he pulled out of his backpack solidified it.

“I’ve tried a few times.” He admitted hesitantly. “Nothing I write is good enough.”

“Oh, only a few times?” You teased, knowing full well that Jihoon’s definition of a few was the same as calling Jane Eyre a short shopping list. “What’s got you so stuck? Usually you have no issues penning essays over trivial things like cracks in the sidewalk.”

His brow furrowed defiantly. “Hey, proper sidewalk and road maintenance is important to modern infrastructure. If we start overlooking cracks in the pavement, then what? What about traffic lights? Can we afford to allow a single bulb to go out? No, of course not. That’s anarchy.”

You couldn’t believe your ears.

“Jihoon…” You started with an exasperated look. “I was joking.”

Trying to hide the fact that his blush was turning a deep crimson, and failing quite miserably, he pulled a paper from the stack and put it back in his bag. Also something he tried, and failed, to hide from you.

“Are you kidding me!” You laughed, raking a hand down your face. “Did you seriously have a letter in that pile you were going to send to our congressman?”

“No—yes—ugh!” He groaned. “Can we forget about the stupid sidewalk for a second! That’s not important right now! Help me! How do I do this?”

Deciding you had teased your best friend enough, you placed your chin in your hand and smiled at him. “How do you do what, exactly? I’ve never had anything to do with the letters you write, I just read them so someone knows how you’re feeling.”

Who were you kidding, you could never tease Jihoon enough.

He rolled his eyes so hard that he rolled his whole head with them. “Like you’ve ever needed further insight into my head, you always know what I’m thinking before I do.”

True.

“But I don’t understand the first thing about—this.” He finished with a labored sigh, gesturing sharply to the handwritten novel in front of him. “You know that better than anyone.”

Again, he was telling the truth. In the years you had known Jihoon he had never developed serious feelings towards someone else. He had barely entertained the notion since entering high school. He always talked himself out of it because feelings were complicated and bothersome. Plus, he was terrified of being rejected. Like most people are. His intrusive thoughts just so happened to be louder than most.

“I hate to break it to you, Jihoon,” You started in a whisper, “no one knows the first thing about this. Not even me. The only person who can help you is yourself.”

His sour expression made it obvious that he obviously didn’t like your response. “Great. Super helpful. Thank you for your continued wisdom.”

When he moved away from you, you grabbed him by the sweater and pulled him back in. “Why do you always stop listening to me when I’m about to make my point?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Because it takes you forever to fucking get there.”

“Alright, you got me there.” You chuckled. “Listen, I’m not kidding when I say that you’ve got to do this one on your own. As much as I can usually sense what feelings are doing somersaults in your stomach, this is a first for you and therefore a first for me. I’ve never seen you like this before, so unfortunately you’ve got to discover this one on your own.”

As you spoke, his features slowly softened until all that remained was a very nervous teenager who didn’t want to screw up his first real chance at love. That’s all Jihoon was at his core, that’s all anyone was.

But you had to admit he almost looked kind of cute.

Almost.

“How do you always know what to say?” He grumbled while crossing his arms. “It’s annoying.”

“You’ve got a really weird way of saying thank you.” You smirked playfully. “Well, maybe this last nugget of advice will get you started in the right direction.”

“Why are you always—” He seethed through his teeth. “How are you still not at whatever your point is!”

You shrugged, because you honestly had no clue. “I'll get there when I get there. You want to hear it or not—”

“Spit. It. Out.”

“Now is that anyway to—”

Wow. You stopped, suddenly fearing for your measly life. If looks could kill—

“Alright, alright, you win.” You conceded. “If you’re having issues writing a letter to your secret admirer, here’s my advice. Stop trying to put words to your feelings and start putting feelings into words. You’re spending too much time trying to say it perfectly that you’re not saying it at all. It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else, it doesn’t even need to make sense to you. So long as you put them out into the world, they’ll be heard and one day they’ll be understood. You get me?”

The look on his face was—strange. You had a hard time placing it, which should’ve been weirder than it was. In fact, you were seeing lots of different sides to Jihoon lately, sides you never thought existed. This time his eyes widened, the aforementioned scarlet blush had disappeared, and there was a radiance to him that you had never seen before. Like suddenly he could see clearly through the storm of his thoughts.

“Thank you.” He exhaled with a smile. “I’ve never thought about it like that before.”

Feeling triumphant, you wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I’m starting to wonder what you’d do without me, Jihoon. Three days and you’ve been completely undone and redone by this letter.”

“Letters are powerful things.” He muttered. “They can break hearts, mend souls, and change lives. You taught me that.”

“I guess I’m a pretty good teacher.” You boasted, giving him a squeeze. “Despite the fact that I’m actually quite terrible with words.”

He shrugged off your arm. “Except you always know what to say, how exactly does that work?”

“Just because I can make you see reason doesn’t mean I’m good with words.” You laughed easily. “That simply means that I’ve perfected the art of understanding the impossible. Lee Jihoon. I can’t use words like you do. Trust me I’ve tried, I can never get the words right.”

For a moment, he didn’t have any sort of response. Which was definitely weird. It was a well-known fact that he was terrible with the sorts of words he had to speak, but he didn’t have issues when talking to you. That’s because you were friends, best friends. There had never been this sort of unnerving silence before. Not that you could remember, anyway.

What is going on in your head, Jihoon? You found yourself wondering since you couldn’t read his face. Have you started to figure it out?

“Sorry, I was thinking.” He muttered suddenly, shaking his head. “But I know what I need to write now. Will you read this one too? Even if it gets pretty long?”

“Of course!” You exclaimed with a smile. “When have I ever shied away from a challenge?”

The soft glisten in his eyes made your heart flutter.

“Never.”

When the bell rang and you parted ways, you wondered if Jihoon had ever written you a letter.

Well there’s a first time for everything.

For the next week, he was in full writer mode. And there were no more notes from his secret admirer, not that you expected there to be any. Every chance he got he was scribbling something down on whatever surface he could get his hands on. Textbooks, paper, his arm, he was more inspired than you’d ever seen before and nothing was going to stop him. He didn’t even come over to your house over the weekend, a ritual you hadn’t broken in the ten plus years you had known each other. It was a lonely week, for sure, but you knew it was for a good cause.

Then, after what felt like an eternity of silence, he approached you in the courtyard with a single sheet of paper in his hand.

“Hey…” He started uneasily, his grip tightening. “How’re you?”

Seriously? You mused to yourself with a smile. “I’m good, how’s the writing?”

“Done.” He clipped. “And—I think I covered everything.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, eyeing the sheet of paper. “With all of that writing I thought you’d have a novel for me.”

He shook his head, while a blush crawled up his neck. “Sometimes being concise is more effective than being overly wordy.”

“That’s true.” You grinned. “Easier for me to edit anyway.”

Nodding, he shoved the paper into your hand. “Here. Take your time, I don’t want you to rush it.”

“I won’t.” You promised, resisting the urge to start reading right away. “I know you put a lot of thought into this.”

With that, he turned around and walked off without another word. Leaving you holding something that looked like little more than pen ink on paper, but felt like a confession on fire. Once he was out of eyesight, you exhaled a breath you had been holding unintentionally and started reading.

To the person I have never loved before. It began, and you weren’t prepared for the roller coaster you had willingly climbed into.

This isn’t for the person I’ve loved all along, no. This is for you, someone who managed to stir my emotions more than a raging monsoon with only a few words and the hint of a promise. Who are you? I wondered to myself, because you were without equal. How could I have missed you? You were extraordinary. You didn’t have a face, all I had of you was a letter slipped into my locker, you were a ghost and I was set ablaze by your words. I had never felt like that before, my heart was unprepared. As was I. You made me question everything, and made me realize things I had never seen before.

What I felt for you wasn’t love, even though I thought it was at first. You presented me with feelings I decided I would never feel, so I could only assume that it was love. I felt like a live wire, ready to spark at a moment's notice. All I could think about was you. The infinite options and scenarios I dreamt up, all because of you, was astronomical. It was exhilarating, and I found myself drunk on the endless possibilities that you presented me. What else could make me feel that way, if it wasn’t love?

The answer was one I didn’t expect, and it hit me like a tsunami. I started to feel that way towards someone I already know. Someone who has cared for me more than anyone should, they have been my best friend for years so how could I suddenly feel the same way? How could my friendship for them become intertwined with the love I thought was solely reserved for you? And how could I have missed it after being enveloped by their warmth for so long?

You changed all of that. You made me see clearly for the first time in years and I was completely undone. Everything I knew was suddenly challenged, my feelings towards the most important person in my life changed without any warning, and I didn’t know what to do. How could I ask them, a friend, to see me as anything more? I was lost, trapped in an endless loop of destructive thoughts and desire. Desperately wanting to scream my feelings from the rooftop while fearing the voice that would have to put words to them. Your feelings for me awakened my feelings for them, and suddenly the words that have given me comfort for so long escaped me.

Still, you helped me.

In ways I can only thank with this letter.

You helped me because you are the one who told me to start writing letters. It’s always been you. You are the one who has given my thoughts meaning when I struggled to communicate with the world. One that could never understand someone like me. You are the one who wrote me a letter, asking a coward to help you be brave. It took me a while to realize that you were one and the same, but I picked up on the hints you left behind. I’m sorry it took me this long to figure it out.

Would you have showed up had I not asked you to come with me? I think about that often, were you only afraid because my initial thought was that there was no way it could be you? The impossible notion that my best friend could love me anymore than they already do? I have a thousand more questions I want to ask you, but I think I’m brave enough now to ask you in person.

So I’m going to end this letter here, because you deserve so much more than the words I’ve hidden behind for years. A letter I started to write for someone I thought I didn’t know, to the person I’ve never loved before. Funny, how it ended up being a letter to the person I’ve loved all along.

As you read the last line, tears already streaming down your face, you had never felt happier.

“You figured it out.” You whispered, almost in disbelief. “For a second there I thought you never would.”

You don’t know when Jihoon came back, but he was suddenly standing in front of you taking your hand in his. “It really shouldn’t have taken me that long, I’ve only seen your handwriting a thousand times before.”

Laughter bubbled past your lips as you dried your tears with your sleeve. “I was terrified that you would’ve figured me out from the very beginning. Looks like I really give you too much credit sometimes.”

“You do.” He agreed. “So, what did you think of the letter? Any edits you can think of?”

“This isn’t the type of letter that needs editing.” You stated plainly. “It would take away from the author’s meaning.”

“What would that be?” He asked, clearly teasing you. “Enlighten me.”

You shook your head defiantly. “No, no way. It’s your letter, why don’t you tell me what it’s supposed to mean?”

Part of him didn’t want to make it easy, that much you knew with absolute certainty. But, for the sake of time and your poor heart, he would let you off the hook. Just this once.

“That I love you.” He said softly. “More than anything else.”

Choking out a sob, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in close.

“I love you too, Jihoon.”

In the end, neither of you were good with words, but you only needed to know what to say to each other.

106 notes · View notes

marjansmarwani · 3 years

Text

like I was already brave enough to let go

7.2k || Chapter 1/2 || ao3

Enzo understands that leaving New York in the wake of everything is what's best for TK, but that doesn't make it any easier. Watching his stepson pack up all his broken pieces and move across the country hurts him in ways he can't describe, mostly due to the knowledge that there will be a distance between them that has never existed before. So he takes the time to check-in, to keep track of TK. To be there for him, no matter what.

He's just starting to wish that he had picked somewhere other than Austin, because he is quickly discovering he is not built for this level of stress.

After reading @futures-tense’s Enzo fic (that everyone should read, it is phenomenal) I couldn’t get thoughts of him and his relationship with TK out of my head, so naturally I wrote this. It fits into canon evetns and this is only chapter 1 of 2, because while I so have an outline for season 2 events, this was getting long so I figured I’d at least post what I had.

Massive thanks to @silvarafael and @justaswampdemon for all their help and support with this, you’re both the best!

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

He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting when TK opened his apartment door, but the sad shell of the boy Enzo had come to love as his own wasn’t it.

Or maybe it was, but it hurt all the same.

“Hey kid,” he said softly, stepping carefully around him and into the apartment. He looked around the small space, taking in all the boxes haphazardly labeled and partially packed. “So, it’s true. Your mom told me but I don’t think I believed her. Never thought I’d see the day TK Strand willingly left New York for Texas, of all places.”

“Who says it’s willingly,” he said dully as he shut the door behind Enzo.

Enzo turned and studied him more closely, taking in the downturned eyes and anxious fingers thumbing the seam of his hoodie pocket, “Do you not want to go? Because you can stay here. I’ll talk to your mom, you can stay with us if you…”

But TK cut him off with a shake of his head, “No,” he said, “I think I need to do this. Dad’s right, I need a fresh start. I can’t...I don’t think I can be here anymore. When I think of staying here, I don’t see a way forward. I think if I stayed here I’d…” he trailed off, but Enzo felt a chill rush through him at the implication of what TK hadn’t said. He tried to meet his eyes but TK looked away, casting his gaze downward and away from Enzo’s sympathetic eyes.

It hurt him more than he could say to see TK like this. For all his struggles he had always been a happy kid. He had always been someone who found the joy in life where he could and he had always worn his emotions on his sleeve, for better or worse. Seeing him like this and knowing what had happened hurt Enzo in ways he couldn’t fully describe because he didn’t know the right words. All he knew for sure is that this was not the TK he had known and loved for 16 years standing before him. This was a stranger; someone he had only seen once before during a time he had hoped to never revisit.

He hadn’t asked what happened because he knew enough and he wasn’t about to make the kid revisit it just so he could fill in some blanks. He might not know everything but he knew enough to feel hot anger course through him at the thought of someone breaking that too big heart of his. TK had always been someone who loved fully and completely, and to see that thrown back in his face so spectacularly made Enzo—a typically steady and calm man — strongly consider homicide.

He had every confidence that Gwyn could get him out of any charges too, but he pushed that thought aside to focus on the scene before him.

“This isn’t your fault, TK.”

TK turned away from him, absently picking up some books from the table and dropping them into one of the boxes. “I know I didn’t make Alex cheat,” he says eventually, “but the rest of it? That is completely on me Enzo, no one else.”

He could sense that the kid had more to say so he let him go, watching from the doorway as he listlessly picked up other odds and ends from around his apartment, tossing them into boxes without any real care as to what the labels on the side said. He knew TK would speak up when he was ready and it was only a few more minutes before he did.

“Eight years,” he finally said, his rough voice breaking the silence of the half-packed apartment. “Eight fucking years of sobriety, all gone. And that’s all on me. It doesn’t matter what Alex did, I’m the one who made the choice. I am the one who let him have that power over me and…” he broke off, meeting Enzo’s eyes for a moment before looking away and swallowing. “I do need to leave,” he said eventually. “I don’t trust myself to stay here anymore. I don’t know if I’d survive it.”

Enzo could feel his heart breaking for the kid. He wasn’t a kid anymore — now 26 and an adult — but in Enzo’s eyes sometimes he was still the 10-year-old who met his eyes shyly when Gwyn first introduced them, the 14-year-old who had admitted to him in a terrified whisper that he thought he might like boys, the 19-year-old who had come to him because he wanted to enroll in the fire academy and didn’t know how his mother would take it. The feeling he had now was just like the feelings he had had then. This overwhelming love and desire to protect him from everything bad in the world; from anyone that ever told him he wasn’t enough.

And just like he had then, he stepped forward, closing the space between them to pull him into a hug. He held him close, pressing his face into his chest and placing a kiss on the top of his head. “You’re making the smart choice then,” he said evenly. “And, as much as I’ll miss you, I’m proud of you for doing what you have to do. You’ve beat this once and you’ll beat it again, I have no doubt about that.”

He knew he wasn’t imagining it when the body in his arms sagged in relief. It made him clutch him that much tighter as he spoke again, hoping what he was about to say was a given but needing to say it anyway: “And I will always be here for you, no matter where you live. I’m always just a phone call away, you know that, right?”

TK’s voice was muffled by the material of Enzo’s sweater, but he could still hear the tears in it clear as day, “I do.”

“Good,” Enzo replied firmly, releasing his grip on TK and stepping back so he could meet his eyes. “Because I will be calling to check-in, that is a promise.”

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

Watching him leave was bittersweet, but he believed TK when he said it was something he needed to do. He took some solace in the fact that he wouldn’t be alone. Enzo and Owen Strand may have had their differences over the years (many, many differences) but if there was one thing Enzo had never doubted it was the other man’s love for his son. He knew that TK was in good hands, but that didn’t make it any easier.

He got confirmation they had arrived in Austin in the form of a text that included a picture of a shop selling cowboy hats that simply said, “turns out people actually do where these here. Yes, it looks as ridiculous as it sounds.” It is followed by another two days later that noted the crimes Texas has committed against pizza and though Enzo was still filled with worry, he allowed himself to smile and take it as a sign that he was healing, be it ever so slightly.

He gave it almost a week before he called. He wanted to hear TK’s voice; to have proof that he really was okay, but he also wanted to give him time. His patience was helped by the fact that Gwyn had spoken to her son but eventually, he decided that he needed to hear from him himself.

TK answered by the third ring, sounding out of breath. He greeted him warmly, and Enzo could hear the commotion of construction in the background. He raised an eyebrow, “What, did you decide to leave the fire department and become a contractor when I wasn’t looking?”

This pulled a laugh out of TK and Enzo took a moment to savor the familiar sound. It felt like far too long since he’s last heard it.

“No. Dad decided we should re-do the firehouse, to give everyone a fresh start. I figured I might as well help out. Besides,” he added with a shrug Enzo could almost hear, “demolition is the far healthier method of coping with feelings, right?”

“When done with permission,” Enzo quipped in response. “How are you doing kid, has the pizza chased you away yet?”

TK scoffed, “No, but it was a close thing. Honestly, I really haven’t had that much time to dwell. I’ve been helping with the demo and construction, as well as the candidate interviews and paperwork. I haven’t really taken too much time to think about anything.”

TK said it matter of factly and Enzo almost moved past it. But he knew TK better than most. “You don’t have to punish yourself, kid,” he told him gently. “All you need to do is heal.”

“I’m not punishing myself,” TK objected, “I’m just...trying to keep busy. To distract myself.”

TK might very well think that, but Enzo was pretty sure it wasn’t true. But he was willing to move past it, for now.

“Tell me about the new crew,” he said instead, and smiled as TK launched into stories about a daredevil from Miami and a possible psychic from Chicago. He seemed enthusiastic and Enzo didn’t realize how good it felt to hear that until he had. It was like there was a little bit of life back in his voice and though he knew TK still had a long way to go to make this better, he was relieved to see that he was at least on the way.

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

For a while, everything seemed to be going great. TK called and texted him from time to time, sharing anecdotes from calls and his new crew, and each time Enzo thinks he can hear just a little bit more of his old self returning to his voice. Sure he complains about one of them, for a while, but that too seems to sort itself out.

He could tell there is someone new in his life too, even if TK is hedgy about it at best. But Enzo was the first one to know that TK was gay at 14; he knew how to spot the signs.

“Why won’t you tell me about him?” he asked him one day, voice light and teasing as he stuffed his papers into his bag. “Is there something horribly wrong with him?”

“No,” TK countered emphatically, “there is nothing wrong with him. Absolutely nothing,” he added, almost an unconscious mutter Enzo was not entirely sure he was supposed to hear.

“So if there is ‘absolutely nothing’ wrong with him, why aren't you going for it?”

There was silence on the other end as Enzo slid his bag onto his shoulder, patiently waiting the younger man out.

“You know why,” he eventually said, voice low and sad. Enzo grimaced at how pained his voice sounded and he dropped back into his desk chair with a sigh.

“TK…” he began, but the younger man cut him off firmly.

“No, Enzo. I...I thought I could. I thought we could have something casual and that I could handle it. But then he wanted more and I hurt him. I don’t want to do that, he doesn’t deserve it. He’s too good to get dragged into my shitshow.”

“Have you asked him what he wants?” Enzo asked gently.

The bark of laughter TK gave at that was sharp and harsh, “Yeah, that should go well. Definitely won’t lead to me having to explain to this guy I’ve hooked up with a handful of times all the ways I’m fucked up right now.”

Enzo sighed again, leaning back in his chair, “It won’t always be like this, T. Someday you will be ready to try again, but only if you let yourself consider the possibility. Can you at least promise me that?”

There was silence for a long stretch and Enzo was about to ask him again when TK’s voice finally responded quietly, “Yes.”

“Good,” Enzo responded firmly, “because no matter what happened, you still deserve happiness. And someday you’ll be ready to let it in again — maybe sooner than you think.”

The sound of acknowledgment TK made sounded skeptical at best, but Enzo would take it. He knew he was right and he knew that someday TK would realize it too. Maybe even sooner than he thought.

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

It’s about a week later when Enzo’s phone rings, nearly making him jump as he is pulled abruptly from his stack of midterms. It took him a few moments of shuffling blue books to even locate his phone and when he did he frowned at both the time and the name displayed on the screen.

“Hey kid,” he said lightly as he answered the phone, “what’s up?”

He had hoped he was overreacting, that TK was just calling him late because he was on shift and had lost track of the time. He had hoped that maybe the universe was finally giving the kid a break.

The despair and fear so clear in TK’s voice quickly prove him wrong.

“Hey Enzo,” he said softly, “fuck, I know it’s late and I’m sorry to bother you, but I just really needed to talk to someone.”

“You are never a bother,” Enzo told him firmly, capping his pen and setting it down on his desk. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” TK began before stopping, taking a deep breath and trying again, “I don’t know for sure yet, but I know something is.”

And Enzo believed him. The fear in his voice is so raw Enzo could feel every ounce of it even from a timezone away. “I’m going to need more than that, kid,” he told him gently, leaning back in his chair as he waited TK out.

“I found something,” TK said eventually, “that I definitely wasn’t supposed to find. And it means something awful. Something I don’t know if I can handle. But it also means he doesn’t trust me,” TK continued, “and somehow that almost feels worse.”

Enzo frowned, pondering all the non-specific details in his mind. He didn’t know all that much about his stepson’s life in Austin, but he knew enough to know that while he was close to his new crew, he wasn’t close enough to be this upset by an omission from one of them. That left him with two possibilities: the mysterious man he was not seeing, or Owen.

And Enzo knew which option was more likely and it made his heart sink. TK might not be sharing but Ezno knew both the Strand men better than most. If there was something Owen felt strongly enough to keep from his son that TK was this upset about, it wasn’t good news.

“You don’t have to tell me what it is,” he said cautiously, “but is it something about your dad?”

There was a deep, shuddering breath before TK responded, “Yeah.”

And Enzo shut his eyes, the hurt and fear in TK’s voice telling him all he needed to know.

“I don’t know what this is about,” he said eventually, “and you don’t have to tell me. But I do know you, and I know whatever it is you are going to want to be there for him, because that’s who you are. Let him know that, and the rest will follow from there.”

There was silence again, but Enzo waited TK out. He was familiar with this rhythm; when something was bothering TK he often took his time to make sure he had the words right before he spoke. Over the years Enzo had learned to wait him out knowing that he would get to his point when he was ready.

He did a few moments later, “I do want to be there for him,” TK agreed, “I just know why he didn’t tell me. He doesn’t think I can handle it — and he’s right,” TK confessed softly, “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can,” Ezno assured him firmly, “you can do anything you set your mind to. You always have.”

He let his words sink in for a moment before he added, “And I would talk to your dad before you make any assumptions. Let him know he can rely on you, let him know you want to be there.”

“You make it sound so easy,” TK said dryly, and Enzo huffed a laugh.

“In a way it is. It’s just words. It’s the actions behind them that are hard.”

There was silence again before TK spoke, his voice so quiet Enzo almost missed his next words, “I’m scared.”

“It’s okay to be scared,” Enzo reminded him, “sometimes fear is the appropriate response.”

But even as he said it, he could feel his heart breaking. He didn’t know what was going on and while he was sure he would find out soon enough, he couldn’t help but hate whatever it was. TK deserved some time to find himself, to heal and simply exist. He didn’t understand why the universe kept throwing such curveballs at him, but he wished with every fiber of his being it would stop.

“Sometimes it is,” TK agreed in a tone that made Enzo wonder even more what this was all about. But he didn’t ask; TK would tell him when he was ready. For now he would just be here for him. Sometimes that was all he could do.

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

As much as Enzo couldn’t help but worry about the younger man, sometimes the updates were a sign that things were getting better for him, slowly but surely.

One such time came as he and Gwyn were sitting on the couch together, Enzo making a case for watching Jeopardy with Gwyn adamantly refusing.

“No,” she said again with a firm shake of her head, “it always ends the same way.”

He shrugged, “I can’t help that you’re too competitive, or that I’m better at it then you are,” he added, giving her a sly grin.

“We can’t all have PhDs in history,” she said wryly, “some of us need to work for a living.”

He opened his mouth to fire back a retort but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. “Saved by the bell,” he said instead with a shake of his head as he dug his phone out of his pocket. He frowned when he saw the familiar name on the screen and turned it so Gwyn could see.

“Hey T,” he said cautiously as he answered, “everything good?”

There was a lot of noise in the background but he could hear TK’s voice clearly as he answered, “Yeah, I just had a question for you. These people don’t believe me so I need your cred as a Columbia history professor to back me up.”

Enzo raised an eyebrow at Gwyn, who had leaned closer to hear. She bit her lip against a laugh and he shook his head fondly, “I’ll do what I can. What’s the question?”

“Hang on,” TK said, “I’m going to put you on speaker.” There was the sound of fumbling before the background noise grew louder and TK’s voice returned. “Okay guys,” he was saying, “this is my stepdad Enzo. He’s a history professor at Columbia and if you don’t believe me maybe you’ll believe him. You want to ask him the question, Paul?”

“Man, you didn’t need to…”

“No, this is a point of pride now.” TK objected indignantly and Enzo glanced at Gwyn to see that she had fully pressed a hand against her mouth to stop any laughter from slipping out and giving away her eavesdropping. “Ask him,” TK prompted and there was a sigh before a new voice joined the conversation.

“Sir, we are so sorry to bother you. TK’s just being a sore loser.”

“Paul, right?” Enzo asked and got a sound of confirmation in return, “You don’t have to tell me that, I helped raise him.” There was an indignant noise in the background, likely from TK, but Enzo ignored it. “What’s the question?”

“Who invented the first movie camera?”

“Louis Le Prince,” Enzo replied without hesitation, unable to suppress a chuckle at the sound of TK’s triumphant ha! In the background. “You guys thought it was Edison, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Paul admitted sheepishly and Enzo chuckled lightly.

“That’s understandable. Edison was the first person to mass market it and the first to get recognized for it, but Le Prince was actually the first. But he mysteriously disappeared in 1890, right before he was set to take a trip to the US to talk about his invention. So he never got a chance to market it.”

There was silence for a moment before Paul spoke again, “So is there any proof Edison had him killed or…?”

“No,” Enzo admitted, “but that is one of the theories for sure. Another is his brother did it over the family will. Either way, Edison was not the first.”

“Huh,” Paul said thoughtfully, “that’s actually fascinating. Dude, I’m sorry for doubting you.”

“It’s fine,” TK said evenly, “I am more than a pretty face you know.”

There was a collective snort from the other end of the phone and Enzo glanced at Gwyn to roll his eyes. She shook her head fondly and he returned his attention to the call, “Any other burning history questions or was that it?”

The background noise lessened as TK took the phone off speaker. “No, that’s it. Thanks, Enzo.”

“Anytime kid,” he told him, “you know I love to flex my random history facts.” That got another laugh out of TK, but Enzo could still hear the background noise of a group in the background. The sounds of easy comradery set his mind at ease in a way not much else had since TK had left for Texas. “Why don’t you get back to your friends and I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay, thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it. I love you kid.”

“Love you too. Say hi to mom for me?”

“You’ve got it.”

With that the call was over and Enzo was left back in their silent living room, Gwyn looking at him with a soft smile.

“He sounds happy,” she said after a moment, her voice warm but thick. He nodded.

“He does. As much as I do hate to admit it, I think going to Austin may have the best thing for him.”

“You just hate that Owen was right.”

“And you don’t?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“Well that’s a given,” she quipped, leaning closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed them as she rested her head on her shoulder. “I’m just glad he’s doing better,” she said softly after a moment, “I’ve been so worried about him.”

“Me too,” he admitted, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair. That sat in silence for a few more moments, each lost in their own thoughts before he spoke again.

“So is that still a no to Jeopardy or…?”

She swatted at him and he grinned, ducking away from the light hit. Things seemed to have returned to their equilibrium, and that was a relief.

He just hoped it stayed that way.

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

When he was wrested from sleep by the shrill sound of his phone ringing cutting through the late-night silence of his bedroom, Enzo groaned. He swore under his breath as he fumbled for the device, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he did. But when he managed to grasp his phone and saw the name on the screen, all thoughts of annoyance fled his mind. Owen Strand calling him was rarely a good sign. Owen Strand calling him at 2 am promised nothing short of disaster.

“Owen?” he said as he answered, skipping any and all attempts at pleasantries. “Is everything okay?”

He could afford to give the universe the benefit of the doubt, he decided; even if only for a moment.

When Owen’s reply came it was in a voice Enzo didn’t recognize. It was shaky and uncertain in a way that the other man never was.

“Enzo, hey. I’m sorry to bother you but Gwyn’s not answering her phone and…” he broke off with a shaky breath, “I really need to talk to her.”

“She’s in Beijing,” Enzo replied, sitting up and switching on the lamp beside him. “And given the time difference, probably in a meeting.”

He heard Owen swear distantly before he felt fear rise up in him. Owen calling him at 2 in the morning looking for Gwyn and out of sorts only added up to one thing, but Enzo so hoped he was wrong.

“Owen, did something happen to TK?” he forced himself to ask; the stress of not knowing was worse than anything else.

He could hear Owen take another breath, deep and shaky and filled with something else Enzo couldn’t identify on a phone call from half a country away.

“There was an...incident,” Owen said softly, voice still unsteady, “on our last call.”

Enzo’s mind was already spinning, stumbling from one horrible possibility from another.

“There was a man with dementia who broke into his old house and a homeowner who had a cardiac event and TK broke down the door and….he was shot.”

Enzo heard the words, he knew he did. But he couldn’t have. If he had heard them that would mean that TK had been shot and that was not something that could be true. His stepson was a firefighter. It was a profession that came with enough risks of its own. He had spent countless days worried and fearful at the thought of rescues gone wrong, of untamable flames and unstable buildings. Never once had he even entertained the thought of a bullet being a risk to watch out for. Bullets were supposed to be the problem of other people with other jobs — not his stepson, who already had so many dangers to face.

But it was true. The fear and pain in Owen’s voice told him it was true. There was an edge of both hysteria and despair in his words and that more than anything scared Enzo more than he could say.

“Where?” was the first coherent thought he could form.

“Just below his left shoulder” Owen repeated mechanically. “His...his lung collapsed before we were even out of the hallway. Enzo, he couldn’t breathe. He kept trying but he couldn’t and there was so much blood....” Owen trailed off and Enzo could hear the unmistakable sound of a sob in the background even as his own hands trembled and his eyes watered.

“Is he…” he started, but he couldn’t make himself say the words. He couldn’t speak the awful possibility into existence.

“He’s headed to surgery,” Owen replied. “I don’t know anything more than that, we only got here about 15 minutes ago. I just...I just hope it was fast enough.”

There was silence then as the two men allowed the same fear to consume them from opposite ends of the country. Enzo felt a morbid camaraderie with the other man in that moment. In the 16 years they had known each other it was safe to say that they had never exactly gotten along. They had always been polite and cordial for the sake of Gwyn, TK, and family gatherings but they were too different in too many ways that mattered to ever truly be friends. They had only ever agreed on one thing, and now that was the thing that tied them together — loving TK.

“You got him there as fast as you could Owen,” Enzo assured him without hesitation because there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it wasn’t true. “You did everything you could. Any chance he has is because of you.”

“I think the credit lays more with the paramedics,” Owen objected, “but I appreciate the effort all the same.”

Enzo opened his mouth again, not quite sure what he was going to say but feeling the overwhelming need to say something, but he was interrupted before he got the chance to figure it out.

There was a noise on the other end followed by the sound of shuffling as Owen attended to whatever it was. When his voice returned, it was tight.

“That’s Gwyn on the other line, I’ve gotta take it. But listen, Enzo…”

But Enzo just shook his head, “Don’t worry about it Owen, talk to her. Just, keep me updated?”

“Of course,” he replied without hesitation, “as soon as I know anything.”

Then with another hurried goodbye, the call was over and Enzo was left in the dark and quiet bedroom, alone. It wasn’t long before the tears he had felt threatening began to fall in earnest as he wrapped his mind around this reality and allowed himself to dwell on it. There was a chance — a very real and terrifying chance — that they could lose TK. That Gwyn and Owen could lose the son they had brought into this world and loved for 26 years. That Enzo could lose one of the people he loved the most. The thought of TK not existing anymore was too horrible to dwell on.

Enzo was a religious man. He had been raised by a small Jewish family in a large community and his faith had been something that he had always had. It had seen him through so much. But now, with this, he had to wonder. It didn’t make sense that TK — his wonderful, caring stepson who had dedicated his life to helping people — should have to suffer so much in such a short time on earth. It went against everything he had ever believed about putting good into the world. Why should TK — who had never done anything to hurt anyone — have to suffer so? Why should he? He didn’t want to know what life without TK looked like.

More than anything, he hated that he might find out.

When Gwyn called him a few minutes later he pushed his own tears aside. He murmured soft reassurances as she sobbed in a quiet corner of a Beijing office building, consumed with fear and grief a world away from her child who was slipping further and further from them with every passing moment. He gave her empty platitudes, reassured her the best he could.

But all the while the fear was drilling a hole straight through his chest. This, he decided, was the worst fear he had ever felt.

The worst part was there was nothing he could do but wait, and hope desperately for the best.

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

The next several days were some of the longest of Enzo’s life. Each day he woke up and went about the day. Each day he kept his phone volume on, not wanting to miss any news either way. Each day an update came from Owen and each day it was the same: no change.

He debated going out to Austin — he had been halfway through buying a ticket online half a dozen times — but each time he stopped himself. Logically he knew that being there wouldn’t change anything. He would still be waiting, he’d just be waiting there. He told himself he was needed here, that he couldn’t just pick up and go across the country with no warning. It was the end of the semester and he had students to help to finish the course or their dissertation. He told himself staying was the responsible option, but he knew that it was largely just a distraction. But he would take any distraction he could get and so he pushed the guilt of not being there to the side

He taught his classes, he went through the motions. He fielded calls from Gwyn, still stuck in China and frantic with worry. Each day he reassured her; reminded her that TK was strong, young, and healthy. Above all that, he reminded her, he was stubborn. No bullet or coma was going to take him from them before he was ready.

Of course there was the private fear, the one he didn’t want to share, that he didn’t want to hang on anyone else. The one he was afraid to say out loud.

It was the thought that maybe, after everything, that was exactly what he did want. That maybe this was an out and that maybe, he would take it. That maybe he didn’t want to be alive anymore.

But that was a possibility too horrible to accept. Maybe it was selfish, but Enzo knew that even if that was the case, he wasn’t ready. He doubted he ever would be, but he certainly wasn’t now. He knew both Gwyn and Owen would agree. No time was a good time to lose your child — step or otherwise — but now, after this — after everything — was not the time.

So he waited, and hoped.

Time seemed to blend together and before he knew it one day had become two, which had stretched into four. Each moment passed the same way — tensely, with no news.

He knew he had been distracted too — keeping his ringer on during class and checking in throughout his lectures and office hours. He had apologized to his classes after the second telemarketer had caused him to drop everything and lunge for his phone, citing a family emergency and word had slowly gotten around. Soon it wasn’t just him hoping for the best, but most of the Columbia history department as well. Their well wishes were touching, but nothing short of good news was going to make him feel any better.

So when his phone did finally ring on a Thursday afternoon, 5 days after the fateful call, he picked it up with trepidation. The name on the screen sent his heart racing and he nearly dropped his phone in his haste to answer it.

“Owen?” he asked tersely, “Any updates?”

Because since that night they hadn’t spoken. All updates had come in the form of texts and the thought of Owen finally having something to tell him one way or the other simultaneously thrilled him and nearly froze him with fear.

But it wasn’t Owen’s voice that answered.

“Hey Enzo,” TK said, the sound of his voice rushing through Enzo’s body like a current of electricity. He sank back into his seat with a wobbly laugh, feeling nearly a week's worth of tension fall away as he listened to the miraculous sound of TK breathing on the other end of the phone.

“Hey kid,” he said warmly. “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” he answered, “I really don’t feel too bad at all. A little sore, a little tired, but overall not bad.”

“I hear getting shot will do that to you,” Enzo retorted drily before sighing and running a weary hand down his face. “You scared the shit out of me, TK,” he admitted.

“Sorry,” TK replied softly, “I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”

“It’s not your fault,” Enzo rushed to reassure him, “I know you didn’t ask for this to happen but...shit TK, I am not built for this. Do you think you could avoid getting shot in the future, for my sanity at the very least?”

“I’ll try,” TK responded with a chuckle, “I don’t remember most of it but I don’t think it’s anything I want to revisit.”

“No, I’d imagine not,” Enzo retorted wryly. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts and taking comfort from the presence of the other even if it was only over a phone call from half a country away. “So,” he finally said, leaning into normal conversation for the sake of normalcy, “is your dad driving you nuts yet?”

“Yes,” TK responded emphatically, “he has been hovering non-stop, and he brought a date.”

Enzo could hear indignant sputtering in the background and Owen muttering something about him not bringing a date, that his date had simply come to visit him to see how he was doing and, maybe because of all the fear and stress of the past week, Enzo could only laugh.

“That sounds like your dad,” he retorted once he caught his breath, “and I wouldn’t count on that changing anytime soon.”

“She seemed cool at least,” TK allowed, voice teasing, “I don’t know why he was trying to keep her a secret.”

“Excuse you,” Owen’s voice objected from the background, “I am not the one who had a hot cop sitting by my bedside. You don’t get to talk about keeping secrets.”

“Dad,” TK groaned and Enzo’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, so the mystery man is a cop,” he teased, “and the plot thickens.”

Now it was TK’s turn to splutter, “Nope, we are not doing this. That is more than enough from both of you,” he declared and Enzo could hear Owen chuckling at his son’s indignation from the background. It was a slice of normal that he had feared he’d never get again. To be sitting here hearing TK’s voice, teasing him about something so simple as the guy he had a crush on seemed like a miracle and Enzo was grateful for it.

Everything was normal again, at long last.

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

Sometimes he thinks that turning on news alerts for Austin was the worst decision he had ever made.

It seemed practical, at the time. An easy way to stay in the know, to have an idea of what kind of calls TK may have seen on any given day. But now he was frozen in the middle of the hallway after one of his classes staring at a notification about a solar storm that had blasted through Austin, leaving devastation in its wake; regretting every decision that led him to this point.

He knew TK was still on medical leave. He knew that he should be home and resting after only being released from the hospital two days before. But he also knew his stepson and knew that whenever there was trouble, TK was usually not too far behind.

It was with that thought in his mind that he stepped out out the middle of the hallway and leaned against the wall as he waited anxiously for the call to connect. The sound of a pleasant robotic voice informing him that his call could not be completed filled him with dread, but he forced himself to take a breath. It didn’t mean anything. The grid was likely overloaded right now; Enzo couldn’t say he knew for sure what kind of damage a solar storm could do but he was willing to guess that it wasn’t great for the electronic infrastructure.

Left with no other options he went on about his day, the familiar anxiety he had only recently shed slipping back over him like a worn winter coat. He tried calling a few more times, trying to ignore how the dread in his gut grew each and every time the call didn’t go through. He resisted the urge to ask one of his science colleagues to explain the specifics of a solar storm; reasoning that dealing with his own uncertainty would be far kinder than having confirmed facts. At least this way, he decided, he could tell himself he was overreacting.

It was far too many hours before his phone rang; an unfamiliar number appearing on his lock screen. He frowned at it but swiped to answer. He did list his cell number on all of his course syllabi, but for the most part his students stuck to his campus email, or — in desperate times — text.

“Dr. Cohen,” he answered, mentally placing bets as to whether it was actually a student or a robot trying to inform him about the extended warranty of the car he didn’t own.

To his immense relief, it was neither. Instead, a familiar voice answered, sending a rush of relief through him at the sound, “Hey, Enzo, it’s me.”

“TK,” he breathed, setting down the paper he had been reading and closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

“More or less,” he answered sheepishly and Enzo was about to push for more than that when he caught the distinct sound of a hospital intercom in the background.

“Tyler Kennedy Strand, are you in the hospital again?” he demanded and he heard a weary sigh from the other end before a quiet “yeah” was muttered.

“It’s not a big deal though,” TK rushed to explain, “I’m fine. I just pulled my stitches.”

There was another voice in the background that Enzo didn’t recognize and could barely hear, but what he could hear made it clear that the other voice was not impressed either.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” TK demanded, and Enzo was not entirely sure who he was speaking to, “Let her drown in a burning bus?”

“You just got out of the hospital!” Enzo objected when he could form words again, “What were you doing somewhere where there was a burning bus?!”

“We just went out for boba,” TK retorted, “I didn’t expect there to be a solar storm that caused a bus accident.”

And Enzo forced himself to take a deep breath because that was fair, he supposed. There was no way anyone could control anything like that. Still…

“The next time you move we’re going to need to do some research,” he declared. “Because if it is anywhere as chaotic as Austin, I’m going to have to object.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” TK assured him, “I think I’ll be in Austin for a while.”

There was a smile in his voice and Enzo somehow had the feeling he was intruding on something, even though TK had been the one to call him.

“What number are you calling me from?” he asked, testing his theory.

“I borrowed Carlos’s phone,” TK answered in a voice that said he knew what was coming and he hoped it would at least be quick.

“Oh,” Enzo replied, “and Carlos wouldn’t happen to be the name of a certain ‘hot cop’ your father mentioned, aka the mystery man I have been trying to get you to tell me about for months?”

“Yes.”

“And when you say ‘we’ were trying to get boba…”

“Enzo…”

“And he wouldn’t happen to be with you right now, would he?”

“Are you done?” TK demanded, and Enzo only laughed.

“Not nearly, kid; I’m just getting started.”

And despite TK’s muttering, Enzo could tell that he sounded happier than he had heard him sound in ages. He marveled at the fact that somehow, despite everything, TK had managed to find the happiness and peace he had hoped for him ever since he left New York all those months ago. Between the disasters he had managed to take his broken pieces and fit them back together, maybe even stronger than they had been before.

It was all he had ever wanted for him, and he was relieved beyond belief that he had found it.

“You know, this means I’m going to have to come down there soon,” he said instead, “I’ve got to meet this mystery man for myself.”

He could practically hear TK rolling his eyes, but his voice was impossibly warm when he assured him, “You’ll like him, Enzo.”

“Do you like him?” he asked.

“Yeah,” TK responded without a moment’s hesitation, “I do.”

“Then I already do,” he assured him.

If this Carlos had anything to do with the happiness he could finally hear returned to his stepson’s voice, he couldn’t do anything but.

#911 lone star #911 lone star fic #my writing #tk strand #enzo #userkimmy #userjilly #userac #userbones #reyesstrand #reyeslonestartag #tuserpaige #tuserjamie #buckybarnesalways #laelipoo #I know for sure I usually tag more people but it's been so long I can't remember

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hogwarts--imagines · 3 years

Text

Wool Gloves

GIF NOT MINE

Suna Rintarō x !F!Reader

High SchoolAU! to CollegeAU!

Warning: Fluff, bullying, a bit of angst.

Summary: Suna Rintarō had a soft spot for one person and one person only.

I didn’t proof read this before posting but I wrote this as soon as it came to mind LOL I hope you enjoy!!!

First Year

“You must be cold.” A voice spoke from behind Suna, causing him to whip his head around quickly.

“Huh?” Suna raised an eyebrow at the girl who was now moving to stand next to him.

“It’s cold, and you’re out here wearing your volleyball jacket, it’s not going to keep you warm.” She then reached inside her bag, pulling out a pair of gray wool gloves, “Here.”

“Uh” Suna slowly took the gloves from her hand, “What about you? I don't see you wearing gloves.”

“I’m fine, thanks though” She shoved her hands in her pockets and walked away from him.

Y/n L/n, Suna knew her only because she was his table partner in their classes. She never really spoke and he didn’t mind. They usually in silence and would casually share snack with each other during class. She kept to herself, especially during lunch.

So when y/n gave him her wool gloves, he was shocked. That was the most she ever spoke to him. Suna watched as she disappeared, she was walking home and he wished he could be the one walking her home if he was being honest.

Second Year

“Hey y/n!” A random girl called from the doorway to Suna and y/n’s classroom. Suna was talking with his teammates in the back of the room. Y/n had made her way inside the room right before the girl called to her. Turning around y/n looked at the girl.

“Give this to Suna for me.” She demanded quietly to y/n. Suna could read lips and he watched as the girl shoved an envelope towards her.

“Ok” Y/n took the envelope and turned around, she slowly started to walk away, examining the envelope more she saw a heart on it and rolled her eyes at how silly this was.

Both Suna and the girl watched as y/n passed the teachers desk, tossing the envelope in the trash before making her way to her seat.

“HEY WHAT THE HELL!” The girl yelled, once she noticed everyone in the room was looking at her, the girl left the room.

Suna couldn’t help but smirk at what he saw. He knew some of the girls in the school liked him, how could he not? They made it obvious. What he didn’t know was they went to y/n to give him the confession letters. Now he was wondering why she never gave them to him.

“Hey” Suna sat down next to her, “Have a good weekend?”

“Mhm” She nodded putting one earbud in as she started her music, “You?”

“I did” He nodded, “I have a question though.”

“Hm?” She took her earbud out to give him her attention.

“Why did you throw away the envelope?” Suna asked raising an eyebrow, “I saw she said to give it to me?”

“It was a confession letter” She shrugged, “If she wanted you to have it she should’ve given it to you herself.”

“I agree.” He smiled, “Another question.”

“Ok”

“How many times have girls given you the letters?”

“I lost count last year” She turned her head away from him and put an earbud back in. She stayed silent for a while but then looked back at him.

“What?” Suna leaned forward, resting his head on his hand while looking at her.

“Wanna listen?” She held out her other earbud, “It’s LoFi, helps me study and focus.”

Suna took it happily, this was the first time she offered to listen to music with him. Since the day she gave him the gloves, he wanted to do more with her. he wanted to know her more.

After school, Suna stood outside and wrapped his scarf around his neck, practice was cancelled because of the incoming snowstorm. He noticed y/n was making her way down the stairs, shoving her hands in her pockets.

“You must be cold” Suna walked over to her.

“Huh?” This all seemed to familiar to the both of them.

“It’s cold out” Suna Smiled as he took his scarf off, “Put this one or you’ll get sick”

“What about you?” She protested

“I have these.” Suna held out the gloves she had given him last year. He wore them everyday during winter, yet they always looked brand new.

Y/n wouldn’t tell him that she noticed he never wore gloves, he always tucked his hands in his pockets. So she went home that day and made him the gloves. She casually gave them to him like it was nothing but she was secretly freaking out as she did so.

Suna watched as her eyes went wide as she examined the gloves. If the scarf wasn’t covering half of her face, he was sure he would have seen her blushing.

Y/n waved to Suna as she started to walk home. The smell of Suna lingered on the scarf and it gave her a sense of comfort.

“Wait” Suna called out to her, “Did you think you were walking home alone? In this weather? Can’t have that.”

“Huh?” She turned to face him again.

“I'm walking you home, come on.” Suna began to walk ahead of her.

“You don’t even know the way!” She called out to him and walked faster to catch up with him.

“Then Show me”

---

Third Year

Suna was panicking, he waited outside after his volleyball practice for y/n. Since the first time Suna walked her home, they walked together since. Their friendship grew even more. She wasn’t talkative as usual but she did talk to him more often.

She was supposed to be here already. Why wasn’t she? it was already getting late and he knew she wouldn’t go walk home this late alone.

“Kita, I’m gonna go find y/n. She’s still not here.” Suna called out before walking off.

“We’re coming with!” Atsumu called back, dragging his brother and half the team along, “Y/n didn’t say hello to me yet!”

Suna ignored his friends as he walked around the schoolyard. Only stopping when he heard someone say y/n’s name.

“Say y/n.” A girl shoved her against the wall. She sounded familiar to Suna, “You think you can keep Suna to yourself?”

“What?” Y/n asked, her voice was quiet.

“You think you’re good enough for Suna? He can do better than you.” The girl continued to talk down on her. Suna peeked his head around the corner to see the girl was the same girl from second year that tried to get y/n to give him the letter. She had a group of girls behind her.

“That’s cool.” Y/n shrugged, she just wanted to get away. She didn’t want to make Suna worry.

“That’s it! Who do you think you are you bitch?!!” The girl grabbed y/n by her shirt collar.

“My girlfriend.” Suna made his presence known. Y/n turned her head towards him, her eyes were wide.

“S-suna” the girls around y/n froze in place.

“Let go of her.” Suna yanked the girl’s hand away from y/n and pulled y/n in to him.

“There is no way you’re dating.. that.” The girl snarled at them, giving y/n a death glare.

Suna didn’t say anything, he just leaned in towards y/n, pulling her in for a kiss. This wasn’t how he wanted their first kiss to go but he didn’t care at this point. It was long overdue.

The kiss was deep, and it took y/n’s breath away. She had to pull away from him a bit just so she could breathe.

“Suna” She whispered, her cheeks were bright red.

“Lets go babe, I gotta get you home now.” Suna spoke casually as he wrapped an arm around her and began to walk away from the group of girls.

“Holy shit Suna!” Atsumu stood there with a shocked expression on his face. The team had witnessed this as well and all of them were shocked to see this side of him.

Y/n and Suna left the school in silence. Y/n had to calm down over what had just happened. Suna wasn’t sure what to say because he wasn’t expecting to do this today.

“I’m sorry” Suna was the first to break the silence between them, “I didn’t ask if you were okay with me kissing you before I did it. It just made me mad seeing them bully you like that. They talked down on you and it pissed me off.”

“They said that I’m not good enough for you.” Y/n looked at the ground, “But I’m not mad at you for kissing me Suna.”

“They were wrong. To be honest I wanted to kiss you for so long now, I just wish I did it properly.” Suna looked over at her. His scarf was hanging around her neck, it wasn’t winter, but the fall breeze was enough to make her want to wear it.

“Then I think you should do it properly.” Y/n stated, not realizing she said it out loud.

“That's pretty bold of you y/n” Suna smirked, he stopped walking when y/n froze. She realized he had heard her.

Suna didn’t waste any time. He grabbed both ends of the scarf and pulled y/n into him. Y/n collided into Suna, her lips met Suna’s. He ran his tongue across her lips as if he was asking permission to deepen the kiss. Y/n allowed him access and rand her hand through his hair while her other hand held onto his arm for dear life.

“Holy” Y/n pulled away to breathe, “Shit. Suna.”

Suna let out a breathy laugh, “You have no idea how long I waited to do that.”

“Why did you wait?” Y/n looked up at him, she couldn’t help the blush that took over her cheeks.

“I wanted to wait for you.” Suna gave her a peck on the cheek.

“So uh, now what?”

“Wanna go out?”

----

Collage 4 years later

“Congrats Y/N!” Suna jumped up from his chair, as his girlfriend approached him. She looked so beautiful with her cap and gown. Suna had graduated a year earlier than she did and today was her big day.

“Rin!” She smiled brightly as she pulled him in for a hug, “I finally did it!”

“I'm proud of you babe!” Suna couldn’t help but smile, he loved the nickname she had given him back in their third year, “Let’s go, I have a surprise for you back at home.”

Y/n nodded as they made their way out. Suna and y/n didn’t live to far from the college and they decided to walk. Even though it was cold outside, they made it a habit to walk instead of drive.

“It’s pretty cold out” Y/n hummed as she zipped up her jacket. She wrapped the scarf around her neck.

“Your hands must be cold then.” Suna pulled out the gray wool gloves that she gave to him and handed them to her.

“What about you?” Y/n looked at him with a look of concern.

“I’m not cold, thanks though.” He smiled softly at her.

She reluctantly put the gloves on. Suna watched her closely. She stopped walking and was looking at the glove that was on her left hand.

“Hold on there is something in the gloves.” She took the gloves off carefully and pulled out the mysterious item.

“What is it?” Suna asked, a huge smile on his face.

“ S-suna Rintarō~” She trailed off, it was like her breath was knocked out of her.

She stared at a ring in her hand. It was a silver ring with a small diamond. It was perfect. The realization of what the ring was hit her and she started to tear up.

“I have loved you since the day we first met y/n. When you first spoke to me, you gave me those gloves and I knew that I wanted to know you more. As the years went on, I realized you made those gloves for me. I don’t know when but I fell for you even more. I wake up everyday falling in love with you over and over again. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives.”

“Rin” y/n had begun crying at this point.

“I love you Y/n L/n, will you Marry me?” Suna was tearing up too

“Yes!” Y/n cried out and Suna put the ring on he finger.

Y/n pulled him in for a kiss and then hugged him tightly.

“I love you”

#suna rintaro fluff #suna x y/n #suna x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!!

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buglife · 3 years

Text

In Which it is SIBLING DAY

More for Days of our (Bug) Lives!

Have you all a Hornet chapter, as she spends a day with her best siblings, Ghost and Hollow :3

---

Hornet awoke to the smell of sweets and the sound of kitchen supplies banging together.

For a moment, she was confused. She could feel that she was on something soft, something she deemed unnecessary in an effort to stay awake – so she would not succumb to the blinding light. She did not need blankets or silks for the rare times she found a crevice to rest and patch her wounds in. It was strange.

She blinked her many eyes as they adjusted to the dim lighting of the den. She was momentarily shocked to find herself here until memories caught up to her. Yes...her mother was awake and alive. She was home. The Radiance is dead. Things were stable now and no longer did she have to worry about one of the reanimated infected husks stumbling upon her in her sleep.

She wasn’t quite sure that she would ever quite get used to the feeling of safety again. The life of a princess wasn’t one any other bug would consider ‘safe’...but compared to when she guarded the kingdom? After all, most of her life was lived during the infection. She spent a better portion of her life fighting for survival...and now here she was. Safe. She had to admit that It was vastly less stressful in general.

She yawned, stretching out her limbs before climbing down from her silken hammock. She used a spare hand to rub her eyes in an effort to make them feel less tired and dry, taking the time to let her brain catch up to the rest of her body. She squinted at her calendar where she wrote down her many appointments, frowning at how full it was. Except for today, which only had two words scribbled upon the silk. ‘Sibling Day’, it read, written in stark red ink and underlined thrice to make it stand out from her many duties.

Sibling day! Of course! Her mood quickly improved from grumpy to slightly less so, it was one of the few days she could have now where she was not expected to worry about duties or talk to yet another overinflated self important bug. She imagined her sibling, Ghost, felt the same way. No duties, it would be like how it was before when it was just them in a little house in Dirthmouth, freshly freed from the infection and learning how to heal together. She missed the closeness...but sadly they all had responsibilities to clean up the mess their shared father left behind.

She grabbed her plain cloak for today, forgoing all symbols of her station, and strapping her needle to her side. Today she was just Hornet, sister to two strange but loving creatures of void, whom she still felt a protective streak too.

If she was correct, the smell and noise in the kitchen was her mother making her famous honey cookies. She maneuvered around the bridges of silk, politely waving to passing weavers as she climbed her way up to her mother’s chambers. She often found Hallownest structure to be oddly cold and ridged. She felt more at home in the sprawling tunnels of white as she leapt from string to string, before she finally arrived at some of the few structures made of stone in the village. It was her mother’s den, which had a kitchen, and the last thing they needed was a fire in the weave-ways. She arrived just in time to spot her mother, oven mitts on her many hands, pulling trays of cookies from the oven.

“Hello, my little sling,” Herrah greeted her as she placed the trays down on stone slabs to cool faster. Like Hornet, Herrah didn’t need a lot of finery to reflect her station. Instead, she seemed to exude an aura of power which made most bugs listen when she talked. “It seems that you are just in time.”

“It seems that I have, mother.” Hornet drew close to inspect the cookies. “They smell amazing.”

“I’m sure Hollow and Ghost will love them like they always do.” Herrah sounded pleased with herself. She tested the cookies and plucked up the ones that have cooled to stack into a box. “Don’t let Hollow eat too much and get sick again.”

“I won’t.”, She promised. “Will you be okay today by yourself?”

“Yes dear, I’ll have Midwife with me. You just enjoy your day with your siblings. And do tell them to visit more often! I especially love Ghost’s little husband, he sure has a lot of grit when he needs to.” Herrah laughed and a few lingering weavers laughed with her.

“Well mother, your cookies are worth the price of combat to acquire.” Hornet could tell her mother wasn’t being malicious, she was just being chaotic just like Monomon and Lurien. Why her sire decided to have all three of them in one place she would never quite understand. It’s also why she thanked the gods that their visits were rare these days and meetups they DO schedule, she can be sure it’s in a fire, explosion, and acid proof location.

“I should hope so, I did get this recipe right from Vespa after all.” Herrah smiled fondly as she finished boxing the cookies. A few silken strands was all it took to tie up the box securely before she handed it off to her daughter. “There you go, run along and have fun, okay?”

“I will Mother, thank you.” Hornet gave her mother a quick embrace before rushing out of the den. With her precious cargo tucked under one of her arms, she made her way to the tram station. Just for today, she’ll put up with having to be stuck in a small space with other bugs. Hopefully the cookies will still be warm by the time she arrived at the palace.

-----

“Do you have everything you need?” Ghost looked over the newly replaced kitchen counter, eyeing the piles of ingredients and spices that took up much of the space. They had gotten a list from their sibling, and the local farms were more than happy to provide. They honestly didn’t know what Hollow was going to do with all that zucchini. They received three baskets of the vegetable when they only asked for a single bag! They ended up having to borrow a cart to bring all the produce back to the palace.

Hollow nodded, eye curled in amusement. “Yes, I do. You though, are not to touch anything in this kitchen. I wish to keep these unburnt, thank you.” They relished in every opportunity to tease their sibling just to see how flustered they got.

“You are going to hold that fire over my head forever, aren’t you? It was only the second time it happened!” Ghost threw up their hands dramatically. Burn down a kitchen twice and suddenly you aren’t allowed to cook in it anymore. They already got the polite, but firm lecture from the palace staff to just let their husband cook. If their Majesty did wish to learn to properly cook, they urged them to avoid using live fires for now.

“Cry me a river, Ghost.” Hollow stuck out their tongue at said sibling.

“I can’t BELIEVE my beloved twin is committing treason against me!?! How dare?!?” Ghost pretended to swoon, earning them a boop to the snoot with a wooden spoon. “Oooooo you dare strike your King? Horrible!” They grabbed a spatula, fully intending to strike back.

“Dear, what are you doing?” Quirrel peeked in from behind the door way, watching the two vessels bicker and gently assault each other with kitchen appliances.

“Just getting ready for Hornet.” Ghost forgot all about the booping to slide up to their favorite pillbug, giving him a smooch. “Hollow is just being a brat.”

Hollow flipped them off with a shining, pale ore finger, a gesture which Ghost returned.

“Well, you both have fun. I will be taking over your duties today, so don’t expect me back until later.” Quirrel snorted “Have fun with Hornet, and tell her I said hi and to please not attack me in the middle of court again. I appreciate and understand that she wants to keep me ‘in practice’ in case of another assassination attempt, but it does end up causing a mess.”

Ghost remembered with a shudder. They ended up having to replace all the floors in the audience room and remodel most of the walls the last time Hornet ‘tested’ their husband. It was a very expensive ‘practice’ session.

“I’ll let her know.” Ghost nuzzled their husband again, hoping that Hornet wasn’t already down in the audience room waiting for him. “Have a good day!”

“I’ll try!” He waved and left the suite, down to do the infuriating task of listening to bugs whine all day. They’ll have to save a few cookies for him, he’d appreciate those for sure.

They turned to look back at Hollow, who was arranging things around to their liking. They hummed, pulling out pans, examining them, and placing them here and there in preparation of being filled. They had also taken time to wash all the produce, moving them around until they were nice and straight. They had always had an attention to detail, something their father sadly forced on them when they were but a hatchling. Still, it helped them In matters such as cooking.

Everyone loved Hollow’s cooking. As soon as Hollow could stand on their own again, they were learning to cook. Even with one arm, they could make the tastiest things using the dried or canned goods hidden deep in the abandoned houses. Hornet and Quirrel were quite good too, and under their tutelage it was easy to see that Hollow surpassed them both. Once Sheo and Smith made their new arm, Hollow was unstoppable in the culinary department.

If life were different, Ghost could see Hollow being a chef, but they knew their sibling loved the nail and animals more. Still, it was quite a treat when Hollow decided to cook.

“Do you need help, Hollow?” Ghost felt a little useless at the moment, just standing around and watching. They weren’t willing to catch something on fire and getting yelled at this early in the day.

Hollow shook their head. “No, go ahead and wait for Hornet so she doesn’t try to stab Tiso again.”

“Will do.” Ghost nodded and headed to the door, eager to see their sister and tease her. That is, if she was where she said she’d be and not about to jump their dear little pill bug. Ghost dissolved into void and made haste to the palace entrance...just in case.

While the two siblings had their conversation, Hornet had arrived at the Palace tram line. She got off as quickly as she could, not wanting to be boxed in with other bugs for longer than she had to. To give them credit, they did behave, but she wasn’t sure that it was due to early morning tiredness or the fact they simply got used to her. Thankful for that, she zipped away with her silk and needle to avoid the crowded station. A few flight capable bugs had the same idea, but gave her a wide berth to avoid her needle.

As she traveled she began to wonder a little. Who would be at the palace doors today? She did like Cloth, from one warrior to another. She was always eager to schedule a spar or ask how her own kingdom was doing. Tiso, she could barely stand. He annoyed her to no end, but somehow he gained enough respect from her to not just kill him. Plus it would make Ghost cry, and nobody was allowed to do that. Xena rarely was there to guard the door, so Hornet didn’t have much of a time to interact with her. She seemed to be a loner type, something she understood deeply. Ogrim of course, she dearly loved. He had taught her the basics of being a knight when she was just a little Sling. When the kingdom fell and he took up residence in the waterways, she made sure to visit. Flukes may be nasty looking, but they would do for food in a pinch, something Hornet was forced to partake in more than once.

She knew for sure that Hollow wouldn’t be there, it was their day off after-all.

Still, she expected everyone but Ghost to be there waiting for her.

She cut her thread and landed gracefully before them, standing up to assess them.

‘Hello, G-”

She gasped a squeak, as her sibling swept her up in a hug. The void around her purred and vibrated with barely contained excitement and happiness.

“Sister!” They boomed, perhaps a little louder than they meant too, as a few other bugs in the area turned to see what the commotion was. They saw her glare and quickly went to mind their own business again.

“My dear Spooder Sibling has returned, at last!” They nuzzled her forehead and she couldn’t find it in her heart to be annoyed about it.

She clutched the box of cookies in one set of arms, and unfolded the other two to return the hug. It was Sibling Day, she could afford to let her guard down for a little while. She can just enjoy the fact that she had family without some horrible plague or world ending catastrophic befalling them all. Especially since it was family she liked. She didn’t know what she’d do if the Pale King was still alive, most likely something not nice at all.

“Then let us not keep them waiting. I am sure they would like some help.” Ghost was slightly surprised by the willing touch, but recovered and begun to lead her up the winding stairs of the palace. She was getting used to casual touch again, and it felt pleasantly warm despite the cold of the void that made up their hands. She figured it was a family thing and left it at that.

Eventually, they released her. “Hollow is already upstairs. They are getting ready to start cooking.” They bounced a little on their feet, unable to contain their excitement. Hornet could barely contain her either and took one of their hands.

“I can watch, but I am not allowed to do much more than that.”

“Well, you did nearly burn down your suite...again.” She teased gently. “I can see why, as your Knight, that they would forbid you from putting yourself in danger.”

Ghost just humphed in response. “Quirrel kindly asks you to not attack him in the middle of court today. I wondered if you’d be down there waiting for him.”

“Well, it is Sibling Day. As if I would have the time to assess his combative ability.” She scoffed. “Your silly little Pillbug is safe for today.”

The statement seemed to put a little more pep in their step. As much as they joke around, Hornet really did like their husband. She just wanted to be sure that they would be ready in case of another scare. It wasn’t like she beat him up too badly. It was getting to the point where they would end in draws, something she was quite proud of. They barely arrived at the door to the Royal Suite when Hollow poked their head out of said door. They chirped and just like Ghost, ran over to pull her into a hug.

Hollow’s hugs were a little different from Ghost’s. Hollow was hyper aware of the places she did not want touched, and never hugged so tightly that she felt trapped. Gentle Hollow, with a heart bigger than most in the Kingdom, knew how to give the safest feeling hugs. Ghost was more excitable and eager, but Hollow was more careful and soft.

They gave her a nuzzle, and for a little moment, it was like when she was a sling, stealing hugs and nuzzles from Hollow when the Wyrm’s back was turned. She had called them ‘Holly’, because she couldn’t pronounce the harsh ‘ollo’ sound. Of course when caught, she always said that she ordered them to do so, but she knew the truth. It was Hollow who hugged and comforted her when she learned that her mother was going to sleep and never wake up again. Hollow wiped her tears after particularly harsh training sessions. Hollow was always there...even more than her mother or sire, though it wasn’t so much the fault of her mother.

She had despaired during the infection, her beloved Holly, suffering a fate worse than death. She had thought when Ghost returned, that finally their pain could be put to an end, but somehow clever little Ghost found a way to save them and everyone else.

She was more grateful than she could ever express.

Hollow pulled away from the hug and began to sign. “<It is good to see you, sister. Are you ready for a good day?”>

“Of course I am, because you are cooking.” She laughed as everyone piled into the room. “What’s the menu for today?”

<“Breakfast rolls, zucchini bread, TikTik and noodle soup, and roast Boolfy with garden vegetables and spices.”> They looked proud of themselves as they stepped into the kitchen and gestured around them. <“The roast I will make and put in now as it will take all day to cook and then I’ll make the bread and rolls.”>

“You are going to let me help you, right?”

Hollow nodded and handed her an apron. <”I am sure Ghost told you that they are not allowed to help?”>

“They did.” She she looked over the apron [No Bitchin’ in my Kitchen’] and tied it on.

Ghost just sat on a stool and looked like a kicked frog.

<“It’s okay, sibling. You can be the official taste tester.”> Hollow did their best to soothe Ghost’s bruised ego. All the power in the world, a god of gods, but couldn’t keep a kitchen from burning down to save their life. They seemed to be pleased with the suggestion and was content to lean over and watch.

Hornet and Hollow made quick work of dicing veggies and meats, occasionally slapping Ghost on the hand when they tried to steal little pieces. She nearly drooled when Hollow unwrapped the big chunk of boofly to douse in spices. She had gotten used to just snatching animals from the ground and eating them raw, fires were a luxury that would draw too much attention to her hiding spots. It still astonished her how plentiful food was now, she had started becoming concerned as prey started to vanish, them too being caught in the infection. But wildlife has recovered, and it brought her comfort that in case of another emergency, there would be food at least.

Hollow got the roast ready, sticking in the bottom part of the oven to slowly roast through the day while she busied herself with getting the wraps ready. She had to admit that she was a little hungry, the sight of fresh meat stirred up the want to scarf it down in case another meal was days away.

Then she saw the size of the wraps Hollow started making and realized she wasn’t going to stay hungry for long.

Hollow plated everything with all the mastery of a five star chef, only to see their creations vanish in a gnash of teeth and void the second it was set down. They weren’t offended but wished their siblings would slow down a little.

After inhaling breakfast, Ghost led them all to their private hot spring. Hornet was curious, she had never been in there, but she knew they had one. It was the only thing of luxury they requested and nobody was going to say no to that. Even then, it just looked like a regular hot spring, rocks and all, just enclosed in a room attached to the royal suite.

“Rather simple, isn’t it?” She remarked, looking over the walls where soul infused water fell down in a gentle waterfall, steaming as it filled up the pool. It looked big enough for someone to sit under it and she approved. She knew then where she was going to be.

“Less is more.” Ghost replied, bending over to check the water.

“Why is there a bench there?” She pointed, noticing the metal glinting in the low light.

“Don’t all hot springs have benches?”

She stared at them, and then looked to Hollow, who shrugged.

<“Siblings, you both need to get out more.”>

They probably spend the better part of three hours just lounging in the springs. Hornet appreciated the heat that worked its way through the joints of her chitin and eased her aches. She relaxed and let the little waterfall flow down her back and shoulders. She would definitely need to bring this up to mother. They would both probably deal with bugs a lot better if they had something like this waiting for them at the end of the day.

None of them spoke at all, they didn’t need to. It was cozy and quiet, the sounds of running water was enough to soothe her mind. She was used to quiet. More times than not, the sound of bugs everywhere, as happy as it made it, also aggravated her. It was so quiet and still then, the noise was still so new. She needed quiet moments and her siblings understood that.

The only sound came from Hollow as they rose out of the water halfway through their little spa moment.

<”I need to put the soup on”> was all they signed, and they left for but a moment, returning shortly. They had a bunch of freshly cut lavender flowers under their arms, which they threw into the spring. It just made it so much better.

Hornet must have dozed off, because she jerked to awareness she felt flicks of water being thrown on her face. Her first instinct was to grab her nail, only for her hand to meet water when she grasped to it.

“Sister,” Ghost was leaning close, eyes turned upwards in a smile. “If we stay any longer, we’re going to end up as bug soup.”

“You mean a bug and god soup.” She snorted. She raised her arms out and stretched, feeling rejuvenated.

“That and if we don’t get out, the soup Hollow made will get cold and then they’ll be sad.”

Hornet quickly stood and threw on their cloak. “Well, we can’t make them cry, that’s illegal.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was hungry again, and soup sounded very nice after a long dip in the springs.

How nice it was to have food when she wanted it.

-----

After soup (that was delicious of course), the siblings prepared for another part of their Sibling Day ritual.

Hornet held three paper lanterns under her arms as they took a hidden path away from the palace grounds. The Ancient basin might have been derelict and dead before, but life had returned to rim the path in glowing flowers and fungi. It once was a tunnel the Pale King would take to head to his lab down in the abyss, but Ghost had repurposed it for another reason.

They had told her that sometimes they felt the need to go down to ‘stretch’, spending time in their true form among the darkness. Too long squished in mortal sized form tended to make them feel jittery and cramped. She imagined it must feel like a molt that can’t progress and sympathized.

But it was also where the three could go to pay their respects and reflect.

The long dead siblings in the birthplace have since rejoined the void and thus, became a part of Ghost. But the individual potential they all had was now gone. Every single one of the hundreds of masks that still litter the bottom of the abyss was a thinking, feeling being, now gone forever.

Hornet was glad that at the end, they no longer had to suffer, and moved on by becoming one with her living sibling turned god. She however, wished that she could have known them. How would life be if she didn’t have two siblings, but hundreds? Before she was ignorant, and fought a few, and even separated a few shades from their shells. She forever felt regret over that even if Ghost told her that they all forgave her.

They eventually reached the dock that stretched out over the abyss and sat, legs dangling over the edge. They each took a lantern and lit the candles inside. Hornet put as much love as she could into the lantern, even if she felt a little foolish doing so, and let the lantern drift over the edge. There was nobody left to mourn in the abyss but...the ritual made her feel a little better.

Together they watched the lanterns drift slowly down, each light growing dimmer and dimmer before being consumed by the darkness. Time passed as they leaned on each other, until their legs grew numb and they headed back to the palace.

Sibling day was as much about the dead as much the living, and Hornet didn’t think she would ever forget that.

-----

Roast was served and eaten and the three found themselves lying around on the many pillows contained in the suite and looking up at the ceiling.

“Do you remember the forts we used to make in Dirthmouth?” Hornet mused. “We had more pillows and blankets than the rest of the citizens in that town combined."

<”Yes, they were the best. Very Cozy.”> Hollow’s head was next to her on the right, so she could see them sign. <”Dad was good at making them.”>

“Dad was the best at making them!” Ghost replied, to Hornet’s left. “Remember how he’d catch lumaflies to let them loose in the fort?”

“It was because they are Hollow’s favorite.” Hornet sighed, resting her hands on her belly where the roast currently resided (but not for long).

“It kinda makes me wish were were little again, before we had to do...all of this.”

There was a note of sadness in Ghost when they said that, and Hornet couldn’t help but feel the same. They managed to scrape together a few good years to be kids before responsibilities became too much to ignore. Hollow especially, since they were never even allowed to be a child. Ghost tried to remain as they were until molted a few times and could no longer get away from things by being small and cute. She would always cherish those years in Dirtmouth where she was allowed to be the child she was.

<”I know, but it’s not like we can’t do the things we like anymore. I have lumaflies, and you have the blankets and pillows.”> Hollow was quick to point out, gesturing at the room around them.

“And I can make sure you both aren’t going to build something that will collapse on your fool heads.” Hornet caught on fast, sitting up to pick up a pillow and drop it on Ghost’s face.

When Ghost didn’t respond right away, she piled more pillows on them before until they tried to escape. She laughed and sat on top of the pillow pile to trap them. “Go get your lumaflies, Holly. I think was can make something resembling the grandness of Mato’s pillow forts.”

Hollow rolled over to do just that while Hornet busied herself throwing things on top of Ghost as they tried to burrow out of the pillow pile. They were laughing too, so she didn’t feel too terrible tormenting them so. It was only when they gasped out a ‘I Yield!’ that she allowed them to escape.

The next half hour was spent with the three working together to build a passable cozy fort. Hornet was happy to see that her silk could make the structure much more sound and used it liberally. Hollow raided Ghost’s nest and took the mattress off of it to make the base, and after some trial and error, they made something quite comfortable. Hornet was especially pleased, spider eyes do not do well in bright lights, and the comforting dim haze in the fort was quite nice. Hollow released the lumaflies and the small bugs brought a lovely soft glow of colors to break up the monotony of the darkness. Ghost grabbed snacks and drinks and all three retreated inside.

As an after thought, Hornet grabbed a spare sheet of silk and wrote ‘No Wyrms Allowed’ and stuck it to the side of the fort. Somehow, it made her feel a little more secure.

The three lounged together talking about the past, some about the present, and a little bit about the future. She didn’t know how long they stayed up talking, but eventually she found herself to be the only one awake in a cuddle pile.

She was happy. Lying there in the dark of the fort, eating tiktik chips and gossiping, it brought back the time in her life when she was allowed to do nothing but be herself. It was short, but she was grateful all the same. She mused a little on a concept of a ‘family day’, but wasn’t so sure what would happen if Monomon, Mato, and her mother were in the same space for a prolonged period of time. Perhaps something chaotic, but she could perhaps plan for that.

Before she could keep up her thoughts, Hollow and Ghost snuggled up with their purring and Hornet could not stay awake with such an onslaught.

Hornet drifted off, feeling truly safe for once.

-----

Quirrel staggered up the stairs, half tempted to dig out the bottle of whiskey he kept in the dresser and downing the entire thing in one go. Today...was something else. A bunch of kids were caught letting wild stink beetles loose in a high class noble block and were now starting to multiply at an astonishing rate. A gang of mothers showed up with a petition to ban books with ‘suggestible themes’. Quirrel saw ‘The Famished Famished Firefly’ as first on the list and had to escort them all out of the courtroom after a stern talking to. He had to convince the Capital Board to just raise taxes on luxury goods to pay for a new tram station instead of cutting funding for education. To top it all off, the sandwich he was going to eat for lunch got snatched away by a vengefly. Truly, the worst.

What a day...er….next day. It was very late and no doubt his spouse would be wondering where he was. He hoped they had a good day with their siblings and was looking forward to a snuggle.

However, opening the door to his room showed that the day with their siblings had turned into a sleepover.

He stood for a moment, looking at the scene, unsure as what to do. He didn’t want to bother anyone, and surely Sibling Day was just that. A Day for siblings. He wasn’t about to be the selfish one and barge in on something so important, especially since Ghost rarely got to see Hornet and Hollow in one place. He figured he could go sleep in his office. The couch there was quite comfortable, after all.

He was about to close the door again when he heard a quiet voice in the darkness, sharp and feminine.

“Quirrel.”

“Oh!” He jumped. “Sorry Hornet, I didn’t mean to wake you up, I’m so-”

“Shut up and get in here.”

He paused for a moment, the gears turning in his head at the request. He was...being invited?

“Shut the damn door and get in the cuddle pile before I make you.” She hissed.

He gulped and shut the door behind him and approached the pillow fort. When she stared hissing, it meant she means business and he did not want to test her at this time of night. He could see Hornet softly illuminated by the drifting lumaflies as she held open the blanket door. She gestured for him to climb inside, a finger held to her mouth as an indication to be quiet.

“Are you sure?” He whispered, bending down to crawl in.

“You married my sibling,” She whispered back, sounding a little exasperated. “What makes you think I don’t consider you a sibling too?”

“Because you beat the shit out of me.” He climbed inside with a grunt. Ghost must have sensed that he was there, because he was quickly grabbed with a squeak and held tightly to his spouse’s chest, like a plush toy.

“I beat up Ghost and Hollow. Your point is…?” She watched and offered no assistance whatsoever, her fangs curled up in a grin when Ghost squeezed him harder.

“Do you only beat up the people you like?” He made himself comfortable, quite happy on the inside to finally get a cuddle after such a day.

“You should know me by now Quirrel, that the people I choose to train and spar with are those I consider worthy of my time and respect. And who do I train just as hard as Ghost and Hollow?”

“Oh.” he whispered.

“Yes, ‘oh’. Now you know, dear brother.” She sounded amused through her fatigue. “We tried to invite you, but you were quite adamant about assuming duties for today. And how did that go?”

“I hated every second of it.” Quirrel sighed. He was surrounded by warmth and softness, and wasn’t too sure how long he’d be able to stay awake now that he was comfy.

“There you go, sleep well. Extra training sessions start tomorrow.”

Quirrel snapped out of his mental fuzz. “Wait, what ?!?”

He was only met with snores.

25 notes · View notes

dreaminpeaches · 3 years

Text

“Ladies, Gentlemen, Enbies...HER--I mean Him? Or them?-- whatever, anyways here's the first part of my daydream paracosm, Humble Pie. I was really happy I was able to come up with the first part in a somewhat cohort manner. Part 2 is also going to follow this sometime soon, but after that its probably just gonna be short shorts, text exchanges, and or drabbles, but that first part’s finally a thing! And that’s cool”

“Also just reminder that this paracosm is set in a mix timeline, like people have flip phones, cassette tapes, but still also have stuff like gamer chairs, and slang like sus/lit exist, so I hope that doesn’t bother you..oof”

“Also I wrote this from my Remarkable, then convert it to text, and did some proof reading, but my handwriting is still can only be read by chickens and my dyslexia ninja has sneak 100 accuracy so..yeah

Word count: 6,115

TW: mention of Bullying, DeadBeat dad, Smoking, Drinking, Swearing (only for comedy’s sake tho’), Dissociation, Guilt (but don’t worry there’s still A LOT of fluff in this piece, tho)

Link to Alternate version on my off-site daydream blog: Humble pie part 1

=================================================================

"Okay, here we go" Beau said, taking one last drag of his cigarette, and taking in one last look at the panoramic view of the town below, Newbury, his hometown, he was away for a year because of college which he dropped out of. Well, "dropout" made it seemed like he had a choice, more like he flunked out, there were' 'reasons that 'made college impossible for Beau, reasons that he couldn't get into or more like reasons he didn't want to get into, these were the some reasons that turned what was suppose to be a 5 hour drive into an 8 hour one, making him stop ever so often to the nearest park, overlook, or clearing to get out, smoke and or take a short walk. These stops were so frequent by the time he reached his hometown’s overlook he was on his last stick, hard to believe he started the trip w/ a full box.

He dropped the last of the remains of the cig on the ground and stomped out the glow ember with his dark brown rounded toed boot, watching the embers glow go out made him feel similar in a way.

Beau took one more last look at the small town below blanketed by the dark, light sky. He looked around. the overlook, bring back memories of. late night make outs, sneak outs and general teenaged shenanigans.

Beau remembers once on a night he was really buzzed, a rare event for him, drinking with his buddies, rather it was the buzz from the beer, or he was just 'riding the 'high off scoring the winning goal for the team, or general teen hormones. He felt invincible, so invincible he stood up on the ledge and proclaimed himself as king of the world

A moment Beau looks back at and shakes his head as if to try to erase the memory from his mind like an etch n’ sketch, suddenly he got a bad taste in his mouth or maybe that's just the cigarettes "King of world….yeah, right" Beau said pulling up the collar of his jacket and shrugging his hands into his pockets, and headed back into the car.

It was getting late and there was no use in stalling any longer, might as well continue to the inevitable. Stalling may be that’s the feeling that's been following him the whole time, stalling the fact that he would have to return to his hometown a failure after being touted and praised for being a star athlete , and getting into a ivy league school, a feat his mom was really proud since she herself couldn't go to college because of having Beau at such a young age, and having to deal with a bunch of other “BS” as Beau would put it.

Beau really wanted to make her proud by becoming a famous football player and make tons of money so she wouldn't ever have to worry about bills n 'stuff and live in the malibu dream house she dreamed of living in since she was a kid, a dream she would talk about to her children like it was fairytale during when time got real tough.Even though she sounded upbeat over the phone about the news, Beau knew his mom was an expert when it came to masking her disappointment and skill that was pretty integral with dealing Beau's birth father. He just hopes she's not too disappointed

As the twilight sky grew more dark the street lights flickered on. Familiar and nostalgic landmarks and structures rolled by as Beau drove by with one hand gripping the wheel while the other hand hung casually out of the rolled down window. the nighttime breeze gentle, tossing his cart dirty blond hair mullet. The 'murmur of punk music lighty playing from the car's speaker, that was playing louder earlier but the volume's quickly depleted because blasting punk 'music at night in a small town is pretty serious offensive a risk, a younger Beau would play around with, but now being older he knows better.

Driving into his old neighborhood, seemingly not much has changed, but what do you expect from a small town? The old neighborhood consisted of typical signatures of most middle upper class .. neighborhoods, Christmas ' decorations long over due to be taken down, manicured lawns, next to slightly less manicured lawns. Some lawns adored w/ gnomes and flamingos, a step up from the lawns of homes in his childhood neighborhood whose homes had what one could consider a lawn but just barely, Beau and his brother were lucky enough to have a sizable back yard and a tree house.

His family's lawn had a bunch of outdoor toys laid about on their lawn: a nerf gun, a pink tricycle, a tiled dyed color bouncy ball and an empty container of mega bubble wand. Beau drove up in the driveway being careful to not accidentally run over any of the toys in the yard.

He eject the mixtape from the player and put it into his jacket chest pocket. Beau leaned over and rummaged through the glove compartment fishing out a small travel can of axe's body spray and another small spray can of mouthwash, he used both to cover the scent of cigarette smoke, a smell his mother was highly sensitive to. He popped in a stick of spearmint for extra measure before getting out of the car and going to the trunk to retrieve his suitcase. Beau only had one suitcase since all the stuff really needed and cared about conveniently fitted in one suitcase.

Beau propped up his suitcase as he closed the trunk, the car beeped and blinked as he pressed the lock button. He headed up the pathway to the front door, his heart beating louder and louder with each step leading up to the front door.

Beau took a deep breath, Pulling himself together. "Okay" He said under his breath as his hand slowly reach for the knob but before he could even get a good grip, the door swung open, Beau's eyes raced up to see the thinning hair of a middle aged man, Beau eyes lowered a bit more to see the mustached clad face of the man the hair belonged to. "Hey, Big Boss! '' the mustache man said with a grin. The man was Beau's stepfather, David.

"Hello, David, I-I mean Dad." Beau awkwardly greeted his stepdad, trying his best not to show discomfort at his step dad's “nickname" for him.

"Ha, ha that's okay, son!”David laughed, giving Beau a hefty pat on the back.

"Here, let me get your bags." David said, reaching for Beau's suitcase, looking behind Beau expecting more bags

“You only brought one bag?" he questioned, looking curiously.

'--I like to be efficient" Beau muttered with a shrug and a side glance. "HAHA you and me both, Big B" David chuckled playful elbowing Beau, who gave a half-smile and a small chuckle--well, more like a slight nose huff

"Hey, honey Big B is home!" David shouted as Beau closed the front door.

His mother came rushing from the bedroom in her rose pink robe w/a barbie in insignia on the front with matching fuzzy slippers, her sandy blond hair still damp from the shower.

"My little boy, oh!" she said, warping Beau in a tight motherly embrace. "Welcome home!" Beau's mother pulled back for a second, cupping her son's face in her hands “you’re still so handsome"

"Wait..." Beau gently removed his mom's hands from his face "Are you okay, mom?" He asked his considerate brown eyes searching his mother's teal eyes for any sign of distress.

"Of course, sweetie," his mom beamed. "I have all of my loved ones under one roof. What's more to ask?"

it's just that I didn't- Y-you know." Beau said with downcast eyes

"Oh, that" his mom said wide eyes and then shaking her head in dismissed

"Don't worry about not finishing college, I mean just look at me"

“But You just seemed so proud that I got in, I just didn't want to let you down"

“Sweetie, it's fine," his mom said, gently guiding his head up with her hand to look at him "I was not proud that-You were becoming the smart, sweet kind young man, I always knew you were, but now. I'm just happy that you’re here and I get to see you go. on the journey myself!" Beau chuckled tightly and blushed at his mom's admiration.

"Plus, Your mom's not the only one who is happy to have You home!” David said, gesturing towards the hallway. Beau looked to see a small figure peeking from the corner, the figure quickly disappeared followed by an overflow of giggles.

A smile slowly creeped across Beau's face, he slowly kneeled down. " "Gasp * Is that my little care bear?"

From the shadows totted out, a little girl dressed in a blue care bear patterned nightgown, her blonde hair tied up in pigtails, she grasped a love-a-lot bear in one arm while her other arm was open as she raced towards Beau, also with arms wide open for a hug "Bo-Bo"

"Hey, care bear!" Beau cooed as he picked up his little sister "Wow, You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you!

"Carrie's been asking when you were coming since you told us you were coming home "David stated

"Really?"

"Yep!'' Carrie nodded proudly "You still have the love-a lot bear I won at grad night". Beau vividly remembers winning Love A Lot and his friends making fun of him, but Carrie really appreciated it more than he thought.

"Yeah, she takes it with her everywhere!" mom emphasized “Thank god, the kindergarten has a security blanket policy!

"Aww..." Beau said fondly looking at Carrie, who had her head resting on his shoulder, still grasping love a lot.

Beau thought for a moment and looked around "wait, where Dev?"

"Oh" mom said putting her hand on her head with a semi sigh "He's been going through... things"

"Teenager things: David specified "He's the big one three now.. "

“Don't worry, I can talk to him!”Beau said, confidently, slowly nodding his head

. Carrie lets out a small yawn "Aw, you sleepy, care bear?" Beau asked as Carrie rubbed her eyes

"It's past her bedtime, but she really wanted to see you," Mom said, stroking Carrie's hair. "Is someone ready for the sleep shuttle'?" Beau asked Carrie, looking at her in her sleepy hazel eyes, she nodded in response

"Alright, Here we go!" Beau held Carrie in both hands placing his arms out in front of him, he kneeled down and started counting down. "3…..2...1. Blast off!"

Beau shot Carrie in the as he stood back up. As he moved towards Carrie's bedroom, he moved all around side to side, up and down while making spaceship sounds, Carrie was giggling all the way through.

"Incoming! "Beau shouted as he swooshed Carrie round a few more times before landing her swiftly on the bed.

"Huston, the eagle. has landed!." Beau said, holding his ear as if he had an earpiece "Not eagle! Bear!" Carrie stated holding up her care bear "correction, the "BEAR" has landed!" Beau correcting himself, bringing a huge smile to her face as she nuzzled her care bear

"Okay, night, right, care bear" Beau said patting carries head

"Wait!" Carrie said holding on to her brother's arm "Is Bo-Bo still gonna be here in the Morning?""Of course, I'm not going anywhere at least for a while.." "Beau said, kneeling down to Carrie's eye level.

"Okay, I like having Bo-Bo around:'' Carrie said "and I like being around" Beau said, "see you in the morning, care bear" Beau gives Carrie a good night kiss on the forehead.

She settles into bed as Beau closes the door. Beau grinned to himself, feeling lucky to have such a cute sister. He remembers when Devin was that little, speaking of Dev. Beau apphoraced Dev's bedroom door. The door was caution tape, Don't enter signs, with a please knock before entering sign.

At first Beau did think about knocking but then thought "I could be a respectful older brother respect the sign or I could have fun and be a little shit. He pondered about it for a minute then-"yeah, I'm gonna be a little shit.”

Beau took a card out his wallet and wedged it in between the door to jimmied the lock. He peeked through the door to see Dev playing a video game on the tv. "you little..." Beau said under his breath, before bombastically opening the door "Hey there, squirt!" Beau said, shoving the door open

"Didn't you read the sign?!" Dev said as he turned around in his gamer chair in both shock-and annoyance

"Wow, that's a pretty warm welcome to give your older brother you haven't seen in a year!" Beau snarked, pretending to look hurt'' "Nice to see you too!"

"Oh my god!" Dev said, rolling his eyes and turning his chair back to tv, bringing his attention back to the game.

"and here I thought you were working on a project or homework or some school shit!" Beau continued "but no, you're just sitting here playing one of your little nerd games"

"Oh my god, can't you just leave!" Dev groaned as he hunching closer to the tv.

"You couldn't at least say "Hi" " Beau said now standing right behind Dev gamer chair

Dev raised and waved his hand half-heartedly and flatly said "hi"

"Well, damn I feel loved," Beau said sarcastically. "aren't you at least gonna look at me?" shaking the gaming chair a bit to gain an ounce of his little brother’s attention.

“ I saw you "Kool aid man" into my room. Is that enough?" Dev said still focusing on the game Beau sighed, then got an idea "Dev! Dev! I think there's something wrong with my heart I think I gonna-ugh!" He said staggering forward a bit before falling in Dev's lap, knocking out the game controller out of Dev's hands.

"Come on! I was in the middle of battle!" Dev whined looking at his brother playing dead

"Get off of me!" Dev go armed as he tried to push beau off with no luck

"Come on, Beau!" He gored in frustration “I know you're not dead! I can still feel your heartbeat..."

Get up!" Beau remained still, Dev rolled his eyes; he knew the exact words to get his brother off his back or in this case lap.

"Big brother, can you please get off of me n Dev utter begrudgingly "Aw, you haven't call me ‘Big brother’ in years" Beau chimed with a smile, finally getting up "I'm still kind of hurt, that you cared about your gaming progress than the well being for your one and only big brother"

"You were still breathing, I could literally see you inhaling and exhaling." Dev clarified rubbing his forehead

"Touche, I guess" Beau said he then directed Dev's chair in front his bed," now that I have your attention"

"Okay, I guess I should say sorry since you couldn't and say "hi" to me because you were too busy saving some elf princess, or some anime chick with huge melons"

"I-H-Hey I don't even play those types of games!" Dev argued blushing

" .-sure you "don't'." Beau taunted with a wink, Dev goanned "Anyways, Anyways you don't have to say "hi",; but you could at least not talk to me"

Beau suggested, shrugging. "I guess" Dev mumbled kind of sinking into his chair "cool, so how's life?" Beau started, trying to start a diagoul "okay"

"How's school?"

"Okay"

"How’re your friends?"

"Okay"

"Got a girlfriend?"'

"NO”

"Got a boyfriend?"

N-NO"

"Got any crushes"

“….NO…..."

"joined any clubs or any other after school junk?"

" ..... NO..."

"Are you just gonna answer all my questions in one word?"

Dev fell quiet, and shifted his gaze from his brother

“Okay, that's it!" Beau huffed, he picked up Dev and hoasted him over his shoulder "Hey! put me down!" Dev-shouted , beating his fists on Beau's back "Not until you talk to me like an actual person, and one worded answers aren't gonna cut it, squirt!"

"MOM! Dad!"

"Mom and Dav-Dad are fast asleep, and you know they both sleep like rocks!" Beau stated'' the only person you'll wake up is Carrie, and You don't want to wake little care bear, now do YOU?"

Dev fell Quiet again, "You know I can hold you like this for hours, you aren't really that heavy, or you can just end this and talk to me" Beau suggested ending the suggestion with a sigh and started to stomp his foot impatiently..

Dev continued the silent treatment for a bit until letting out a meek "Okay...I'll try" .

Hey, three words, that's a start!" Beau cheekly commented,He sat Dev back down in his green gamer chair.

"Okay, do over!" Beau said casually sitting across from Dev and his bed. "so, how's school going?" "F-fine” Beau gave Dev a intense look, reminding Dev of his word count “N-no, I mean it's just weird" Dev stuttered choosing his words carefully, Dev fiddled with his hoodie sleeves.

"and it's weird because..." Beau initiated, gesturing his hand toward encouraging Dev to continue "It's weird because.... I don't know, Middle school is way different than 'elementary school, I mean I knew that from tv, but middle school isn't like tv."

"It's okay, nothing like tv, that thing lies” Beau softly chuckled to himself and continued “I remember thinking Pogo sticks were the SHIT-cuz 'of people and cartoons on tv made it look so easy"

"I finally got enough money for one-- you were like little you probably don’t remember this-- but I was SO HYPED, I wanted mom to watch me. I took one hop, fell on my ass, and never hopped on that bitch again. I was pissed, I think mom was trying to her best not to laugh but I was so pissed I think I didn’t notice until now. I chucked the pogo stick in the garage, and I never looked at that bitch again”

Dev let out a stiff laugh, the defensive wall Dev put was slowly breaking

"Oh WAIT WAIT!” Beau said taking a moment to correct himself “ That WASN’T the last time the last time I looked that bitch, I fished it out of garage years later, only cuz’ I need some money for Madden. So, I did look at that bitch one more time, but only to sell that bitch.”

Dev let out a more audible laugh, but quickly caught himself and recollected, returned to his disillusioned teenage state.

"Anyway, The teacher's are kind of weird, like a lot of them hate my guts already, except for the coaches who are super nice to me." Dev explained, kind of looking away from his brother

"Weird, why do you think that is?" Beau asked whole hearty

"Because I'm related to you, Numb skull!" Dev blunted , groaning putting his hand on his forehead

"Oh damn, I guess that's my fault." Beau realized, rubbing the back of his neck "My bad. that my awesomeness is just lengardy"

Dev shook his head and rolled his eyes "It's not awesome to live in YOUR shadow!" Dev sulked, sinking back into his chair, his hands covering his face.

"You don't have to follow in my awesomeness, I know I'm a hard act to follow." Beau boasted teastingly so"You just gotta make your own awesomeness."

"What does that even mean?" Dev questioned, moving his hands down, allowing his eyes to peek through his fingers, trying not to given the urge to roll his eyes

"It's like my awesomeness comes from my boyish charm and good looks..." Beau claimed, striking an award winning smile, The urge not to roll his eyes was becoming even hard for Dev, but he still had to try and respect Beau "But your awesomeness could come from being good at games, or computers shit or math or robots or something--I don't know something real nerdy"

"I guess, you're right" Dev mumbled and shrugged,lifting himself up back into a sitting position rather than almost spilling out of his chair.

"Its not a guess, its science!" Beau declared proudly, tapping his temple with his index finger

"No,that's not science!" Dev arguing his brother's stupidity, flatly shaking his head in disagreement

"See, there you go using your nerd awesomeness" Beau pointed out with a wink "Keep that up and you'll go from Beau's lil bro, to just ‘Dev’ in no time." Beau playful tousled Devs mop dirty blonde hair

"I mean.." Dev continued batting his brother's hand away, "I was also thinking of joining the video game club or the robotics club at school."

"There you go another nerdy thing that to add to your own awesomeness" Beau said

"Yeah...." Dev continued ignoring his brother's comment' “Some of my friends are thinking about joining, and it would be a nice place to go away from mom and dad."

"I had sick memories of hanging out with the team, we got into some wild shit." Beau said laughing to himself, fondly reminiscing "But I'm sure you and you geek squad could have "wild" times too, like making an anime robot 'weify." or whatever those called or finding a new math formula or something"

Dev fell quiet for another moment, Beau always seems like he’s in between being supportive and subtly roasting him, Dev then uttered "um... I think I kind of have a crush... on a girl..."

"AYE, let's go! "Beau exclaimed, clapping and shaking Dev's chair for a bit before bouncing back on the bed'' Come on, don't leave me hanging, what's her name? "Have you talked to her vet? Have you asked her out? Have-"

"Calm down!" Dev demanded "I said I had a crush, I didn't say we’re going out.'"

"Oh, so you haven’t talked to her, huh?”

"No, I-I don't even know her name" Dev huffed, he let his arms slip into his oversize sleeves and covered his sleeves with his face in frustration.

"You know you could just ask, not the chick, like just ask around"

"I can't do that because if I do, people will find out I like her and if she finds out, I would just have to stop going to school!”

"Okay, let’s just pretend you DO have the balls to talk to this girl, what's the worst that could happen?" Beau suggested

"She finds out that I like her, thinks I'm weird and never wants to talk to me again or even look at me!” Dev muffled through his sleeved covered face

"You really think she can sus that out all in one go!" Beau said "I mean she is a middle Schooler unless she's like a young nancy drew, she is not going to chew you up and spit out like that." Beau explained "speaking of which''

Beau paused for a moment to spit out his gum into the trash can "Score!"

"Anyways, have you done anything weird to her or around her?"

"No, I mean I look at her in the hallways before and in between class, but I don't like-- stalk her or anything too weird." Dev mumbled, moving his sleeves from his face, but his head was still targeted down at his fingers fiddling with a tag on his black shorts

"So, then what's the fear?" Beau inquired, resting his chin on the heel of his palm

Dev thought for a moment, his eyes shifting looking for an answer." I-I guess I just don't know how to talk to her."

"Well, fuck, that's easy" Beau chuckled “Just talk about school shit, or just say "hi"

"Is it really that easy?"

"Yeah, if you have the balls for it" Beau reiterated "Think about it like this, the dudes you play in your little nerd games have to fight a dragon, a demon or some anime witch with huge melons to talk to the girl they like and they er brave enough to do all of that wacky shit. But you’re lucky, you don't have a dragon for real in your way to keep you talking from your crush. The dragon's just in your head! If those hero dudes can fight dragons they actually can see, doesn't that mean you can fight a dragon you don't even see."

"That was a really lame and kind of confusing metaphor" Dev sassed " But I guess understand what your trying to say"

"Exactly" Beau said nodding confidentiality

"Can we talk about mom and dad?" Dev asked sheepishly, looking up at his brother, (well as much as he could with his shaggy bangs in the way), his fingers now toying with his hoodie strings

"Did something happen?"

"No, I mean yeah, I mean it's just weird" Dev said "Mom and dad are starting to get more annoying but I don't know if they were always like that or they like charged"

"No, parents don't really change-usually” Beau explained “It's just that being a teenager makes you hypersensitive to a bunch of shit and makes you wanna be alone more. Parents, the good ones like spending time with their kids and they actually want quality time n' shit and that's where they start to get annoying".

“"Oh okay,” Dev nodded.'' It's just weird because sometimes I feel like I hate them, but I don't want to. I think I just really want to be alone more like you said but I don't want to shut them out, I just want them to get that." Dev-fiddles with the strings of his green hoodie

"Yeah, I think they do in a weird old people kind of way. Believe it or not they were teenagers to even if that was back in the stone age n' shit" Beau joke"

Dev let out an actual laugh, a sign to Beau that he's little bro was being less of a moody teenager

"Anyway, even with that said mom and david-I mean dad aren't mind readers, it would be cool if you give them a heads up, you don't have to tell them all about what's going on in your little teen nerd brain but at least something simple like something weird or funny that happened at school, or asking for help on homework or a project for class or some shit like that, I'm pretty sure Dav-dad would love that.."

"I guess I could try". Dev said slightly nodding his head "But Carrie is kind of weird too!

"How can Carrie be weird, she's 5.” Beau scoffed "she doesn't do anything weird really"

Dev added" it's just sometimes she's regular cute and other times she's annoyingly cute if that makes sense"

"I mean like kind of get what you're saying but "Beau shrugged gesturing his hand toward prompting Dev to continue

"Like I still look out for her because she little, but because she's little that means I have to do dumb stuff like look for monsters under her bed or do that sleep shuttle thing you do, but I can't really do it because my arms give out halfway through and she's heavier than she looks."

"Well, little brothers and sisters are annoying, it's kind of their job, trust me I know from experience" Beau: put his hand on Dev's knee, Dev tried to Swat at it but Beau quickly put his hand back with a smirk.

"But like with mom and da-David just cuz she's annoying doesn't mean You can’t look out for her n stuff"

"I guess, its because lately, it seems like'' Dev paused 'for a beat, his hands hard gripping the strings of his hoodie, before continuing" I don't know mom and dad have been paying more attention to her than me"

A mischievous smile creeps across his face. "AW does someone miss being the baby?"'

"Oh, fuck! I knew you 'er gonna say that!" Dev blurted out, feeling really exposed, he pulled his hoodie strings allowing his head to be consumed by his hoodie, all but his nose.

"Hey! language,” Beau said, surprised at his little brother's reaction those harsh words coming out of the mouth of small boy sporting a Yoshi hoodie

"You cuss' all the time!" Dev huffed pulling his hoodie back down, then crossing his arm definitely

"Yeah, but I'm older than you, and if mom and David--DAD hear you curse they’er gonna know you got it from me and won't get off my ass about it!"

Dev stared at his brother, simmering in frustration in failing to coming up w/a good come back or a flaw in his brother's logic, He let out a heavy sigh and resumed "Anyways, it's NOT like I miss being the baby, I just miss being able to hold their attention without Carrie coming in and stealing them anyway, I don't know its weird"

"Wait, did you just say that you wanted to be alone and away from mom and David-fuck. I'm not even gonna try more-he's asleep anyways." giving up any attempt to make the word "Dad" same with the name "David"

"Yeah, I know that's what makes it weird!" Dev admitted, he sulked back deeper into his chair and let out a groan.

"You know Carrie's not awake all the time, maybe you can talk to mom and David, when she goes down for her nap, hell, I could just take her to the park for a day." Beau offered

"You'd really do that for me?" Dev peeped, quickly lifting himself up in a sitting position, surprised at his brother kind offer

"Yeah, anything to make you less of a weird angsty shut in, with a bunch of cringy keep out signs and keep out tape!" Beau gestured towards the door

"Actually, I got that caution tape from a real crime scene" Dev clarified, with a smug smile

"Really?" Beau taking a longer closer look at the door

"No, thick head, I found it in a dumpster next to party city!"

"You go dumpster diving?" Beau said, raising an eyebrow

"I have a life outside of YOU!" Dev stated proudly

"Okay, and on that... Weird garbage goblin flex, sibling bonding time is over." Beau said getting up from the bed and heading for the door

"Actually, one more thing..." Beau said quickly, turning around, rushing towards Dev, putting him into a headlock.

"Did ya miss me? Come on, tell me that you missed me!" Beau taunted as he gave his brother a long and through noogie "Ouch, Ow, Ow, Okay, okay, I missed You. Geez:" Dev pleaded trying to struggle out of his brother's grip

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Beau said with a smirk, letting 'Dev go.

"Ugh! my hair" Dev fumed , gawking at his even more messy mop of hair.

"Like you care about appearances" Beau chuckled" mop top nerd!"

"Mullet-hair metal meathead!"

"Ouch, that was pretty good" Beau teased pretending to look hurt "Garbage Goblin"

"You already-"Dev started but was cut off by Beau closing the door

"Too late, the door is closed, I can't hear you, which means I win!" Beau said through the door, laughing at his brother's muffled fury of frustration.

Beau grinned relishing in the absolute confusion of his younger brother, but that good vibe quickly faded once he arrived at the door to his old bedroom. He just stood there and stared at the door for a bit, he could feel the icky stew of the emotions from bubbling back up again.

He flexed his hand a few times as if this was the first time he's ever pored a door, Beau's hand reached for the door handle before retracted as if the knob was red hot.

Beau sheepishly looked around as if somebody was watching him, no one was but it sure did feel like it. He considered sleeping on the couch, but that would be weird, since it seemed like his step dad put his luggage in his room. so, eventually he would have to go into his room anyway.

Beau took a deep breath. "Come on, it's just a door, dude!" He told himself Beau's hand rested on the door knob, he took another deep, his hand gained a stronger grip, and he slowly pushed the door open, Beau carefully entered the room as he closed the door behind him. Looking around the room was plaster with posters of football players and a few pinups of doe-eye, sensual women in swimsuits and other scantily clad outfits.

Athletic medals, trophies and awards displayed proudly on his bookshelf that lacked any actual books, those trophies stood next to pictures of Beau with his teammates, all illuminated by the moon's dull pale blue light. These relics of what felt like a bygone era used to fill Beau with so much pride and joy but looking at them now just leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

He could barely even recognize himself in those photos. This whole room felt like a shrine or more like a tomb to someone who no longer exists.

Looking at all this stuff just made the icky feelings from before rise up to the back of his throat making the bad taste linger even longer.

Beau couldn't really pin what-these feelings were, so he shifted his focus on just getting some sleep

As he thought, Beau's step dad put his luggage on his bed. He opened his bag and quickly changed into a white tank top and some grey sweatpants. He fished out the mix tape from his jean jacket and put into the gray clucky music player on his nightstand. Beau turns the music up loud enough for him to hear but not loud enough for disturb anyone else. Heavy metal music (ironally) helped him sleep on hard nights.

Beau laid in bed focusing on the one spot in his room that wasn't decorated with high school memorabilia. Focusing on that spot was way better than focusing on the icky feelings from earlier. All he needed to was focus on sleep just sleep, Beau closed his eyes and tried to focus on just sleep.

The next time Beau opened his eyes, he was back in the hallway of his highschool. Beau looked around confused why he was back here but before he could really sus out the situation, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud. He followed the sound of the thud that led to a scene of a bespectacled student being shoved up against the lockers. The student's face contorted by fear.

"P-please, d-don't hurt me. "the student uttered, the words quivering as it left his lips.

"Aww, look at him, guys." a familiar voice said, Beau couldn't see whom the voice belonged to. There was a strange mist in the hallway that obscured the person's face.-

"He's scared." the voice said mockly, the person nodded towards a group of people whose faces were also obscured by the mist, they laughed in response

“Don't worry, little buddy, I'm not gonna hurt ya:" the person taunted as he tightened his grip on the student and shoved his body up against the failing student. "As long as you don't squeal" .

"You squeal, and I'll fry you like the pig you are, got it. Swine?"

"I-I p-promise I W-won't. J-just please let me go!" the student begged

Beau was disturbed by scene happening before him, but along with the feel of disgust came a feeling of familiarity, like he's been there before

Just then the fog lift to reveal the face of a younger version of Beau dawned in his red “New Burny High school” letterman jacket. He was smirking relish in the fear he was inflicting on the poor student.

Older Beau slowly back up, almost stumbling as he was coming to the realization of the origin of all those icky feelings from before

"I don't know, do we trust him, guys?" Younger beau asked cocking his head back to his teammates, who shook their head in disagreement "The Boys and I don't seem very sure of that, I think I'm gonna have to test your loyalty !" Younger Beau winded up his arm for a punch, But before his fist could make an impact.

Beau found himself back in his room in a cold sweat, hyperventilating as quickly rose from his bed. His room, still illuminated by the moonlight, with the metal mix tape softly playing in the background. He looked at his hand as if they were lethal weapons. How could I do such a thing?

#daydream blog #daydream blogging #daydream dairy #paraportal #paracosm: humble pie #para: beau #para: devin #para: carrie #immersive daydreaming #paracosm

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escapewriter · 3 years

Text

pairing : yunho x reader

synopsis : yunho’s new school life isn’t as simple as it seems

genre : angst, school au, hella sarcasm tho

word count : 2.3k

warnings : lying lol, a bit dramatic too ngl

song playing : lie to me by 5sos (inspired)

a/n : i split these into two parts. the first part i wrote was early mornings or christmas at like 2am. second part i finished the whole thing at 1:30-2am. its always the time that plays a roll in these fics i swear. anyway, i guess its kinda sad? the sarcasm kinda cancels it out cuz pemdas but i hope you guys enjoy it lol. also this isnt proof read cuz i JUST finished it.

ateez masterlist || main masterlist

NOTE : italics is like the events that happened and the regular font is what yunho is thinking ig lol

“Alright, I got a question for you.” Yunho turned his head on the backpack he was laying on to look up at you sitting against the wall, “Have you ever felt, ya know, loved?” There was a slight pause in the air as he sat up, leaning on his forearms while making some sort of ‘tsk’ sound.

“Ha okay okay, next question, do you think about it? Like what it feels like?” He hummed, not knowing how to answer the question. Instead, he wondered how you came up with it in the first place. Were you going through something?

“You good there? You’re not sounding too well.”

“Oh shut up, its a genuine question because I have never seen you in a relationship.”

Yunho scoffed and lied down again, thinking about how ridiculous you sound, “Okay first of all, I’ve only known you for, what? Like 2 months? And second of all, I don’t need to be in a relationship to know what it’s like to feel loved.”

“Cap. There’s a difference between family love and relationship love. And how dare you criticize our 2 month long friendship? You know I’d do anything for you.”

His ears perked up, thinking about what you would do for him. “Anything, you say?” You hummed, taking a bite out of your sandwich. “Alright then, do this for me. Anytime I tell you to lie to me or if I ask if you love me, you say ‘I love you’, and then, maybe, I’ll be able to answer your question. Simple, right?”

But it wasn’t that simple at all, because before he knew it, Yunho just dug his own grave.

Oh yeah totally, that’s already a red flag right there and he knew that but he did it anyway which was the problem. He was hoping that you would show him what it was like to feel loved, and honestly, it actually worked. But that’s not the point here.

The point is, Yunho is having a whole story narration in his head and he isn’t even talking in first person. That’s the point.

But as he continues to think - and also continues to talk in third person - maybe he should be starting from the top. Obviously that whole picture reenactment scene was how it started, but he’s going to dive down deeper. Going back to two months before that scene, so buckle up, it’s going to be a hell of a ride.

Yunho sighed, staring at the building in front of him. He wasn’t sure why his parents decided to suddenly make him move schools, he was perfectly fine with the one he was at before. He dreaded to go in as he didn’t want to ask anyone for directions to the location of the office. Gosh, making friends will be even more difficult for him.

Taking a deep breath, he managed to take the big step of walking through the gates as he made his way through the hallways, all while attempting to avoid eye contact with anyone who looked his way - except everyone was in class already. However, after roaming the hallways, Yunho managed to locate the administration office.

Okay pause. He didn’t mean to get that into detail. Come on Yunho, speed it up a bit will ya? Again with the third person, really?

After speaking with the principal and getting situated with his class schedule, Yunho was assigned a particular student, aka you. What you instructed by the principle was to get him comfortable with his surroundings and fellow classmates. You were honestly dreading this because you didn’t want to have to babysit the new kid, and quite frankly, Yunho didn’t want a babysitter either. But the universe has its ways because there you two were, just two months later, eating your lunch and talking about love.

“Woah there, what? You call that simple?” Yunho simply shrugged his shoulders without a care in the world. “Yunho, wouldn’t it be better to hear it from someone who means it?”

Well, now that he thinks about it, yeah it would, but he can’t turn back time.

“I mean, I guess but either way, it’s nice to hear it, even if it feels empty, it feels good. Ya know? Like someone appreciates you.” He didn’t know what he was saying or why he was saying it, but all he knew was that he wanted to hear it from you and only you.

Maybe that’s when he knew he started to develop feelings for you. He only wanted you to say certain things to him and only him, but he knew they were empty. And it also felt good to be impulsive for reasons like this:

Yunho called for your attention away from your phone. You looked at him as he leaned on his forearms again shooting you a smirk, “Lie to me.” You hesitated, thinking that it was wrong, but it was also something he asked you to do for him. But it wasn’t like you haven’t said those three empty words before, he just doesn’t know who YOU are yet.

You gave him a soft smile, “I love you.”

So, at that point on, it was a sealed deal for the two of you. There weren’t any dates, no gifts, no anniversaries, just plain ‘I love you’s’ that you’d only say when he asked. It was a secret that no one knew about, and there were more secrets too, but he’ll get to that later. But either way, it was stupid of him to get involved, right? Why is he asking, no one’s listening to him anyway. Just continue the story Yunho.

Time began to pass as Yunho continued to dig his hole of death.

Or just continued to fall in love with you - in case no one understood. Again, who is he talking to?

The only times you ever hung out with Yunho were during the many classes you had together and lunch. Everyone knew you were table partners and lunch buddies, but because Yunho didn’t have that many friends - or just no friends except you - he didn’t hear about any rumors of you. No one was able to warn him about you.

No, it’s not a kdrama where the main lead or second lead is the bad guy or the ‘heartbreaker’.

You were never good at love. You were good at faking it, per say, but any relationship you were in, you could never find yourself to actually fall for the other person who did. It frustrated you more than anything because all of your exes are amazing people and deserve more. But because you couldn’t feel that love spark, you just lied to them in fear of hurting them without saying those three words back. You were a liar.

But times were different with Yunho. The obvious reason that he asked you to lie to him about loving him. It felt violating because it was something you weren’t exactly used to. Sure you’ve said it many times without meaning, but this time, it was just different, and maybe you did find yourself actually putting meaning to it after some time.

But it only got worse the second your friend found out.

“You’re kidding, right?” You shook your head. “Oh my god, and you agreed?” In disbelief, your friend couldn’t process what he was hearing right now. The shock immediately vanished as an evil smirk rose onto his lips, “So just to clarify, you don’t like this Yunho dude, correct?”

Well, they didn’t call you the liar for nothing.

“No, I don’t like him.” His smirk only got wider as you tried to hide the distasteful look on your face when you heard his next words.

“Let’s make a bet. You actually get him to fall in love with you just by saying those words, but you can’t fall for him.”

“Hmm, seems easy enough.”

He laughed softly, “Well of course it is, but the only catch is that you have until the rest of the school year to do it, and that’s only what, three months?” You purse your lips, thinking about the time you had, and also the fact that you were actually going along with this.

Well one thing’s for sure, you’re a liar AND a people pleaser.

“Okay, that all?”

“Wow? Taking it on so quickly, huh? Well then, I’ll add something justtt in case. If you do fall for him, and I honestly don’t think you will, I’ll give you a pass…” You let out a breath of relief, “Only if you ghost him.” Immediately, you looked down at the table you two were sitting at. You faintly hear him call out your name, “It’s only fair. And if you don’t ghost him, I’ll tell him about the bet. Deal?”

“No reward or anything if one of us wins?”

“Well if you win, I’ll get you that antique vinyl record you said your mom has been dying for. As for me, I already get my reward if you fall for him.”

“And what reward is that exactly?”

He smiled evilly, “To see you suffer the consequences.”

Yunho did not know why you took that bet, he left right after he found out. He couldn’t stand to be in your presence or even have the patience to believe a word you said. And he had every right to. But it’s not everyday you hear someone ask another to lie about loving them. So, as he said, he just kept digging because as time continued and you two talked, he always got those three words from you.

“Do you love me?”

“I love you Yunho.”

You don’t.

“You going to lie to me today?”

“I love you.”

You still don’t.

“Okay, I’ll see you at lunch, bye.”

“Bye, I love you.”

Maybe you do. He doesn’t know anymore. Gosh, how did everything even get so messy for him? It was just a simple thing to ask; it wasn’t supposed to be like this. And to think he truly trusted your words when he confessed.

You heard Yunho call for you after the final bell. You were quickly making your way to the bus stop to head home before getting stopped by him. “I need to ask you something or, er, tell you something.” Your heart pounded in your ears as you processed nothing he was saying, only reading his lips when he said the words back to you for the first time. The ringing in your ear subsided as he looked at you with hopeful eyes, “I want you to answer me honestly. Do you love me?”

Your mind went back to the bet with your friend. You technically won but also lost, and you didn’t know what to do, so you did the opposite of what you do best, you gave him the honest truth, “I love you.”

At that time, Yunho was as happy as he ever could be, except it came crashing down the second you left to catch the bus. He, unfortunately, met your friend, who then told him everything. Honestly, he thought it was unfair how your friend didn’t play by the rules of the bet, but it didn’t matter at the time because he was hurt. Based on the rules of the bet, if you did love him, you would have to ghost him, and you haven’t, so that only means one thing, right?

Yeah, yeah he knows he shouldn’t jump to conclusions but it was a moment of weakness. He confessed, thought he got everything he has ever wanted since he transferred to that school, then immediately found out it was all lies. Oh and that’s not all, it wasn’t the bet your friend only mentioned. It was your whole reputation, and Yunho had no idea how he didn’t find out sooner about this.

Maybe he does know who he’s talking to. Himself, he thinks.

He couldn’t let this information slide, so he texted you that evening to meet up to ask you about it.

He was standing outside your gate as you emerged from the comfort of your home, “Hey Yunho, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I know.”

You knew what he was talking about the second those words came out of his mouth. Your friend had texted you, telling you that he told Yunho, but you had thought he was playing around. Why would your friend betray you like that? No, why would you even agree to that stupid bet in the first place? But you played dumb.

“What do you mean?”

“Cut the crap, I know about the bet.”

Your heart sank as no words left your open mouth. He scoffed, “Well at least that confirms everything.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, Yunho stop.” He didn’t listen and continued to walk away from you as you quickly tried to keep up with him in the cool air. “Yunho please, just wait a second.” He stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily as you saw the warm air float into the cool night air.

Softly, he said your name, “Just lie to me, please.”

You heard his voice crack, eyes pricking with tears. “Yunho, don’t.”

Quickly on his heels, he turned to look at you, hot tears streaming down his face. He says your name again, “I asked you to lie to me, just do it.”

You hesitate, feeling weak seeing him broken and vulnerable like this in front of you, “I hate you, Yunho.”

One thing Yunho asks himself as he sits in his room, still recovering from what happened that evening, would it still be simple if none of this happened? He doesn’t know because he was an idiot for asking you to do such a thing. But then again, you were always good at lying. So who knows, maybe if the circumstances were different and he confessed, maybe you would still lie about those three words like before.

However, he can’t help but think to give you a second chance, but would it be simple?

#ateez #ateez scenarios #ateez reactions #ateez oneshot #ateez imagines #yunho #jeong yunho #atz #escapewriter oneshot

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magicrowiswritingstuff · 4 years

Text

Part 1: “Dead Trickster” - Gabriel x female!reader

Part 1 (you’re here!) | Part 2 | Part 3 | …

Summary: Takes place during Season 2 Episode 15. The Reader is sure that the trickster couldn’t have been defeated so easily. Even though nobody believes you, you decide to keep an eye out just in case.

Warning: violence/fighting, slight suggestive themes

Category: general rating

Words: about 4.000

Note: I wrote this because it always bugged me that Sam, Dean and Bobby just walked away after “killing” the trickster without a second thought. I instantly suspected that this couldn’t be the end of the trickster and what happened? I was right and he became my favorite character. So, this is more self-inserted than usually … I just wanted to tell Sam and Dean how stupid they were for just leaving that school instantly without checking. Also, I wanted to call out Gabe because come on … how could anyone believe he was really dead back then?

_________________________________

Part 1 “Dead Trickster” – Gabriel x fem!reader

This hunt had to be one of the strangest you were ever on. Okay, a ghostly suicide wasn’t uncommon, you had solved plenty of similar cases. But a crocodile in the sewers and an alien abduction? Something strange was happening in this town and to the Winchesters. You were grateful for Bobby showing up and putting the boys back into their places. They had been acting up ever since you set foot into this city. Bobby had explained that it was because of the influence of a trickster, however you wondered why you weren’t really affected by it. Not that it mattered anymore. The three of you had your suspicions on who it might be and now you only needed to prove it before acting further. That was why you were walking to the school alone right now with three coffees balanced in your arms. Sam and Dean were already in the school, probably accompanied by the janitor who you suspected to be the trickster. You opened the door to the stairway with your foot and looked up, trying to find the boys. Sam had texted you that they were somewhere there. Then you heard Dean explaining something about which offices needed to be checked today. You turned away from the staircase leading up to be met with the janitors face only inches away from yours. Yelping you almost let go of the paper cup in your left hand but you managed to grasp it again. Thank God, for your hunter reflexes.

“Hey there, sugar. Been wondering where they left you” the golden-eyed man said with a grin on his lips. You let your eyes drift to Sam and Dean, standing on the last couple of stairs behind the supposed trickster. They reassured you with an almost unnoticeable nod and you directed your gaze back to the janitor immediately. You put on a small smile and tried to appear innocent. “I was just getting some coffee.” With a light laugh you turned to Dean and Sam, handing the first coffee to Dean who accepted it without question. When you reached out to Sam you said: “With sugar just like you want it.” But Sam shook his head. “Thank you, but I don’t feel like drinking something sweet right now.” You looked at Sam with a pout, focusing really hard on not grinning: “You couldn’t have said that before I went out to buy them?” “Sorry” Sam said abashed. Rolling your eyes, you turned your attention back to the janitor who eyed you expectantly. You rose one eyebrow at him in question before holding the excess coffee out for him to grab. “Want some? I don’t want to waste the money I spend for it” you asked with a shy smile. But when he didn’t react you added: “It’s not poisoned, just has a shit ton of sugar in it.” The janitor looked at the paper cup before directing his gaze back to you. “Yeah, thank you.” He grabbed it, though you noticed that he touched your hand a few seconds more than necessary. Forcing back your confused expression your focused on appearing friendly. When his touch left your skin you immediately pulled your hand back, maybe a little too fast and noticeable but you couldn’t help it. Something about this man was strange. He took one sip, his eyes still fixated on you with a mischievous glint, but the moment the dark liquid touched his lips his expression changed. With his eyebrows furrowed in a disgusted manner he looked down at the cup. “What is it?” you asked confused and took one sip of your own coffee. Then with playful shock you gasped. “Oh! Sorry, I must have gave you the wrong cup. Yikes, Sam you drink too much sugar” you said with an equally disgusted face, matching the one of the janitor. “I’m sorry, not much of a black coffee fan I suppose?” you apologized. The janitor shook his head. “Not really.” He handed you the cup back. “Again, I’m sorry” you repeated. “Don’t worry, at least there was no poison in it, was it” the man joked. You laughed and then turned around to face the door. “I’m going to get rid of these. Don’t wait for me, I’ll catch up.” And with these words you left the staircase just as you heard Sam say that he had forgotten something in the truck. You smiled to yourself as you let the coffee which the janitor had tried fall into the trash. Taking a sip from the sweet one you sighed as you looked at the cloudy sky. You had achieved what you needed.

_______________

Later that day you left the school for good with Sam and Dean following you. “Just because he reads Weekly World News doesn’t mean he’s our guy” Sam said as he passed you on the stairs. “You read it too” he added, looking at Dean who was walking on your right. The older brother rolled his eyes. “I’m telling you, it’s him.” You let out a sigh as you jumped down the last two stairs, trying to keep pace with the two larger guys. “Look” Sam continued. “I just think we need some hard proof. That’s all.” “Bobby mentioned the metabolism of tricksters” you pointed out while jogging beside them. “Right” Dean nodded as he came to a halt in front of Sam. “He said that these suckers have a metabolism like an insect. All right, a real sweet tooth.” You stopped as well, standing in the middle with your eyes facing the façade of the school. You tried really hard to not look at the reflecting windows, to not search for the brown-haired man. You shouldn’t stand out too much. “I didn’t find any candy bars or sugar. Not even equal” Sam pointed out. “Well, he didn’t like the black coffee I handed him” you threw in, shrugging your shoulders passively. Sam glanced at you from his side. “That’s not enough prove. There are many regular people who don’t like black coffee” Sam invalidated your argument. “Touché” you only said. “Yeah, then you must have missed something” Dean said, directed at Sam. The younger brother turned his attention back on Dean. “I don’t miss things” Sam snarled. “Oh, right” Dean uttered, leaning back slightly. “Because you’re Mr. Perfect.” Sam narrowed his eyes and scowled at his older brother. You took one step back, not wanting to end up in the middle of the argument. Letting your eyes wander around you found yourself inspecting the façade of the school again. You saw someone move in front of a window and as your eyes met honey colored orbs you turned away immediately. Luckily Sam had just spoken up again so your eyes drifted automatically back to him. “Are you still pissed at me because of what the trickster did?” he asked in an angry tone. Dean huffed, looking to the side before meeting his brothers heated gaze. “Oh, come on man. You been a tight ass long before the trickster showed up.” Sam seemed as if he was at a loss for words. “Too much, Dean” you hissed and narrowed your eyes at him. The older brother only huffed once. “Don’t stick your nose into others people business, (Y/N)” he snapped at you. You took one step back, pursing your lips. Now you were the one at a loss for words but Sam stepped in. “Look, just stay here. Keep an eye on the janitor. (Y/N) and I will go to his place, see if we can find any actual evidence before you go barging in and staking the man.” You nodded in agreement, however Dean only mimicked Sam with a sour face, not saying anything. “Just wait till we get back, okay?” Sam added, still on edge. “Dean” you said in a warning tone, crossing your arms before your chest. “Okay?” Sam followed up and was met with a sharp “Okay” back from his older brother. Sam took off, not waiting another second. “Take care” you whispered with your mouth facing away from the many school windows. Dean looked down on you with his expression set in stone but you could make out the tiniest glint in his eyes which signaled that he had understood. Nodding one last time you ran to catch up to Sam. You hoped the plan would work.

_______________

It was already dark when you watched Dean enter the school on his own. Biting your lip, you turned to look at Bobby and Sam, each of them armed with a stake. You looked down on your own weapon for a second before directing your gaze back to the entrance of the school. “When should we follow him?” you asked in a hushed tone. “I think we waited long enough, don’t want your brother alone with the trickster for too long” Bobby answered, the last part directed at Sam and stood up from behind the bushes. You and Sam followed as quickly as possible.

Inside of the building the three of you searched the staircase when you heard something from one floor above you. “Guys, this way” you whispered. You climbed the stairs and came to a halt in front of another door. Pressing your ear against it you listened for Dean’s or the janitor’s voice. Through the sound of music -was that Barry White?- you could make out the faint voices of two men. It had to be Dean and the trickster. You looked up at Sam and Bobby and nodded. “They’re in there.” You looked at the sign next to the door and noticed that it was the school theater room. “There has to be another entrance into the theater room” you said in a hushed tone. Bobby nodded: “I’m going to search for the other one so we can corner him in the room. You two stay here, I’ll text you, Sam, when I found it.” Bobby left you and Sam alone. And since you had to wait for a while you decided to eavesdrop a little. You couldn’t really understand much through the music though. “Come on!” you could make out. “Those people got what was coming to them.” That must be the trickster talking. You narrowed your eyes, focusing on understanding anything else. “But you and Sam and (Y/N), I like you. I do.” You backed away from the door a little to see Sam also pressing his ear against the door. Raising one eyebrow you mouthed “Weird” before turning back onto eavesdropping. You must have missed something because the next thing you heard was from Dean. “Yeah, I don’t think I can let you do that.” “I don’t wanna hurt you” the trickster responded. “And you know that I can.” Though it didn’t sound really that threatening you could feel a cold shiver run down your back. Shuddering you clung to the stake. You noticed Sam move beside you, looking at his phone. He turned it to you so you could read that Bobby had found the other entrance and asked when to strike. You grabbed Sam’s phone after asking for it silently. You typed in “Now” but didn’t press send just yet. Turning to the door once more you could hear both of men laugh. You must have missed something again. “One of my personal favorites” the trickster declared. “Yeah” Dean agreed. “But I can’t let you go.” “Too bad.” Still, the trickster’s voice hadn’t lost his cheerful pitch but you still felt uneasy after hearing those words. “Sam and (Y/N) were right.” You let your finger hover over the send button. “You shouldn’t have come alone.” You flinched a little. The trickster’s voice sounded uncharacteristically serious. You pressed send the moment you heard Dean say: “Well, I agree with you there.”

You gave Sam his phone back and pressed the door to the theater room open to reveal something you hadn’t thought you would see in there. A huge red bed with two women on it only dressed in lingerie. Confused you blinked a few times before breaking away from the strange view. Your eyes wandered to Dean and then to the trickster who turned around to meet your gaze. You heard another door open and close and you knew that Bobby must have entered as well. But you didn’t look as your eyes were still glued to the golden ones of the trickster. Another shiver ran down your back. Something was up. Narrowing your eyes at him you tried to get at the bottom of your suspicion. The trickster, still dressed in his janitor clothes, returned your glance before turning around in his seat to face Dean once more. “That fight you three had outside, that was a trick?” He didn’t really sound surprised more fascinated by it than anything else. “Not bad.” You finally broke your gaze away from the trickster and realized that Sam had already stalked towards the man and his brother. You wanted to follow him when you heard the trickster speak up again: “But you wanna see a real trick?” He pointed to you and Sam without looking. You heard the chainsaw behind you before your mind could catch up what he meant by that.

Your eyes widen in shook as you turned around and saw a masked man with a chainsaw in his hands. You managed to take exactly one step back when you felt Sam push you into the rows of seats and away from the chainsaw which would have cut you in half otherwise. The focus of the masked man shifted onto Sam who threw himself on the floor, only barely dogging the man’s swing. Shaking your head, you stood up from the seat you had landed in even though your back hurt from the not so graceful landing. You saw Bobby run to help Sam while Dean struggled against the two women. The trickster only laughed at the sight of your friends getting hurt. Baring your teeth, you slowly made your way over the rows of seats, sneaking towards the trickster as he continued to laugh and giggle. Your heart hammered against your chest as you reached the last row, standing right behind the trickster. Holding up the stake above your head you were about to bring it down when you hesitated. Something wasn’t right here. You shook your head and gripped the stake tightly in your hands again just when he spun around with a grin. Your eyes widen in shock as you froze, giving the trickster just the time he needed to leap over his seat and pin you down on the one behind you. Taken by surprise you let out a yelp as your eyes darted around without orientation before focusing onto the trickster’s smirking face and twinkling golden eyes. “Ah-ah-ah” the trickster said, holding your arms above your head as your back was pressed painfully against the chair as he stood above you. “Don’t want you to get hurt, now do we?” He tore your arms forward again and snatched the stake from your grip before you could even move one finger. “Thanks, sugar” he said with a wink. You opened your mouth to say something with your eyes narrowed to small slits when you were suddenly standing in front of the theater doors again. Blinking confused you just stood there for a few seconds, holding yourself upright with the wall while wondering what the hell just happened. The trickster must have teleported you away. The only coherent thought you could form was “He can do that?” before the sounds of the fight tore you away from your confused daze and back into reality. Without wasting another second, even if you were defenseless now, you stormed back in. On top of the stairs you stopped and looked around. The trickster had sat down on his seat again, twirling your stake around while eating a candy bar. You began to run towards him, not thinking about sneaking up on him this time. Just as he turned his face to his right, theatrically cringing at Dean getting punched in the face by one of the women you jumped forward and tackled him to the ground. He let out a surprised “Uff” as he landed half on the ground and half on the seats with you on top of him. For a split second he seemed confused before his eyes met yours and a smirk spread over his lips. “(Y/N)” he said in a cheerful tone which caught you off guard. And before you knew it you were the one on the floor. Groaning you held the throbbing sides of your skull, trying to steady your spinning vision when you felt two hands pinning your arms on the ground beside your head. Opening your eyes, you saw the trickster above you, his body pinning yours to the ground. “I’m surprised you dared to come back here without a weapon, sweet little innocent (Y/N)” he said still grinning. You snarled at him, your eyes narrowing to small slits again. “Well, guess I’m not that shy and innocent after all.”

You brought your knee up as fast as possible, hitting the trickster in the groin. He immediately cringed in pain, his body contracting as a sharp yelp escaped his lips. You took advantage of that small window of opportunity and freed one of your arms, blindly searching for the stake that was lying somewhere on the ground with you. Just when you touched it with the tips of your fingers you were suddenly pulled up and pressed into one of the seats again, the stake still untouched on the floor. Clenching your teeth, you looked up to meet the trickster’s eyes again. “Was that your plan? Knocking me out with a kick to the dick? You have to do better than that to get the upper hand in bed, sugar” he said, now again smirking down at you. A shocked gasp left your lips as you pressed yourself further into the seat and away from the trickster. You were unable to from words as your eyes darted around, trying to find a way to win this battle. Your eyes landed on Dean who looked at you for a split second before he was grabbed by one of the women and flung through the room. He crashed into one of the seats before sliding to the ground. The trickster had followed your eyes, slightly letting go of you in the process of turning around. “Ha! Nice toss, ladies” he praised. Now only one of his arms was pinning you down by the shoulder as he laid his focus on Dean. “Dean” he began, letting go of you completely. “Dean, Dean, Dean.” You locked eyes with Sam who pointed to the stake on the ground to your feet. Biting your lip, you wiggled away from the trickster when he was distracted by Dean who was still on the ground in front of you. The older Winchester slowly rose up, looking you in the eyes while you grabbed the stake from the floor. You nodded. “I did not wanna have to do this” the trickster said, arms outstretched as he stared down at Dean. But before he could do anything you kicked him in the groin once more, taking him by surprise. He howled in pain before spinning around to face you.

“Good enough?” you asked with a sly grin and threw the stake to Dean who caught it with ease. The trickster turned around once more but was not fast enough to stop Dean from plunging the stake into his chest. You jumped over the last row of seats to stand beside the older brother as he said: “Me neither.” The sound of the chainsaw howled once more but when you looked, the masked man disappeared into thin air as well as the two women. You stood behind Dean when you turned to face the trickster again. His face seemed shocked and confused. Then Dean pulled the stake out of the trickster’s chest who fell backwards and slumped down into his seat. Grabbing onto Dean’s jacket you narrowed your eyes. Was that it? The trickster was dead? A little voice in your mind whispered that something still seemed suspicious. But before you could voice your thoughts you got interrupted by Dean asking if everyone was alright. You let go of the older Winchester and took one step back. Answering with a quiet “Yeah”. Sam did so too but added “I guess” not very convincing. Dean whipped away the blood from his lips as his eyes wandered to the dead trickster. “Well, I gotta say he had style” he said before groaning and walking pass you to the door. You however couldn’t keep your suspicion to yourself any longer as the adrenaline left your body. “You think he’s really dead?” you asked, still standing before the supposed dead trickster. Dean stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face you. “You don’t suppose he had another trick up his sleeve?” you asked further, locking eyes with the older Winchester. “Stop worrying. I killed him” Dean reassured you and pointed to the bloody stake as if to underline his argument. You cringed at that, turning your focus back onto the dead trickster. No, this couldn’t have been so easy. “Wasn’t he able to cast illusions that were touchable?” you pressed. You were sure that this couldn’t be the end. As if you four were able to trick a probably century old trickster so easily. He didn’t really put up much of a fight, letting illusions do his work, teleporting you away or only pinning you down but never really hurting or fighting you in the process. This was simply too easy. “He’s dead, (Y/N)” Dean said bluntly and turned away from you, walking to the door. Sam nodded in agreement before he and Bobby followed close after. “If you say so…” You weren’t as experienced on the field as your hunter companions but you had researched a lot and you knew when your gut was right. And it was screaming at you that this win was to easy. Either way, you decided to trust them. Or at least kind of. When they had left the theater room you stayed behind, eyeing the dead trickster.

“Maybe I’m making a fool out of myself right now and you really are dead” you started and crossed your arms before your chest. You felt that cold shiver on your back again. No, something really wasn’t right here. “But I suppose it wouldn’t really matter if that was true, right?” You looked around suspiciously, trying to make out anything unusual. “I know this can’t be it. I know you aren’t dead. Trickster’s are hard to kill and you can never be too sure about it” your eyes traveled back to the unmoving trickster. You twisted your mouth. You were sure you were right about this. “I’ll keep an eye out for you.” And with that you turned around and fled the scene, catching up to Sam, Dean and Bobby.

To be continued: Part 2 is here!

_________________________________

#supernatural #supernatural gabriel #supernatural gabriel x reader #gabriel x reader #x reader #x reader image #supernatural image #supernatural dean #supernatural sam #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #female reader

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im-in-love-with-pizza-bites · 3 years

Text

Valentine

Reggie Peters x female!eader

Summary: You have a crush on a certain ghostie boy.

Warnings: sibling arguments because why not. not proof read

This is for Valentine secret gift thing that @screwunsaidemily hosted! So this story is for @wdwmarveldisney They said you wanted either Luke or Reggie so I chose Reggie I hope you like it! Also this shiz is probably cringy I wrote most of it at 3 am.

You were the only lifer besides Julie who could see the phantoms when they weren't playing. You are Julie's next-door neighbor and close friends with both Julie and Flynn. You slowly gained feelings for a certain leather-wearing ghost. He also gained feelings for you, but he was a lot more on the fence about falling in love than you because of his parents.

"Hey y/n." He teleported into your room when you were doing homework making you jump.

"Reggie! Hey! How was practice?" You asked giving him a quick smile before looking back down at your notebook. He always came over after the band practiced.

"It was good! What are you doing?"

"Algebra." You shrugging.

"Sounds boring can we hang out." He begged flopping backwards on the bed.

"You can watch tv while I do this... Have you seen any of the new toy stories?" You asked reaching for the remote to your tv.

"I haven't seen any? What's toy story?" You gasped, though it made a bit of sense, you didn't know the exact month he died in but you do know that he coulda died before it came out.

"Your watching all four!" You said quickly going onto Disney plus to find the first one.

"There's four of them?" He asked. You nodded giggling before you started the movie, he sat up getting comfortable next to you on you bed as you kept working on the movie.

----

Those movie dates became a regular thing, though neither of you would admit they were a date. "Hi! I brought snack! I stole it from Julie's kitchen." Reggie said when he poofed in holding a bag of chips.

"Reg! You can't steal their food!" You said laughing. "Take that back! I have snacks here. But thank you." He smiled happy he made you laugh, before he took the chips back. You went down stairs and grabbed your own chips.

"I'm back!" He said smiling when he teleported into your kitchen. "What are we watching today!"

"I was thinking a romcom since Valentines is next week." You said grabbing a soda from the fridge.

"Okay." He nodded smiling.

---

Soon the movie was over and you had fallen asleep during it, he sighed. He wanted you to be his Valentine but he was scared. He poofed back into the garage where Luke and Alex were waiting smirking.

"How did the date go?" Luke asked.

"It wasn't a date." Reggie said.

"Lies. So did you ask her to be your Valentine like you said you would?" Alex asked.

"No. I chickened out."

"Come on man! She clearly likes you!" Luke said.

"No she doesn't." Reggie denied.

----

You looked through your locker for a hair tie not noticing your best friends coming up behind you.

"Hey girl!" Flynn said leaning on one side of your locket while Julie leaned on the other side.

"Hey." You smiled at them real quick before looking back in your locker and pulling the hair tie out of it.

"How was the date?"

"It wasn't a date! I'm not dating a ghost." You said.

"Yeah, your just friends who cuddle up and watch movies together every week." Flynn smirked at you. You rolled your eyes.

"Does it even matter he's dead. I kinda have to get over him." You sighed shutting your locker.

"If it makes you feel better he likes you back I hear him talking to Luke and Alex about you." Julie gave you a reassuring smile.

"Jules your also in love with a ghost you can't be giving me advice."

"Ah my friends falling for hot ghosts." Flynn said putting her arms around your shoulder, and Julie's shoulder.

---

"Okay tonight you gotta ask her." Luke said to Reggie.

"And you have to ask Julie to be yours." Alex said smirking at his best friends.

"Yeah.."

"Now go there and ask her!" Alex said to Reggie giving him a gentle push before Reggie teleported to your room.

"Jake get outta my room!" You said pushing a boy that Reggie didn't recognize, seemingly not noticing him behind you.

"Come on Sis im home from college and you don't wanna hang out! Why you going to call your boyfriend." The man teased before noticing someone standing behind you. "Or invite him over." You looked at him confused before looking behind where Reggie was watching confused, yet relieved as he hear the boy call you sis.

"You can see him?"

"You can see me?" You and Reggie asked your questions at the same time.

"Yeah weirdos." You pulled him into the room shutting the door. "He's a ghost. And he isn't my boyfriend."

"You gotta be kidding me. I won't tell mom if you have a boyfriend but you can't expect me to believe he's a ghost."

"Oh my God." You mutter. You walked over to Reggie and waved a hand through him. "See ghost now get out of my room and don't tell mom."

"Your dating a ghost. Haha loser!" Your brother laughed before leaving.

"Sorry bout him he's visiting from college for the weekend something about a breakup and hating valentines. I don't know. Anyway what movie do you want to watch today?" You asked Reggie jumping on your bed.

"Uh I don't know... Y/n can I asked you something?" He asked his voice going quieter as he spoke. You nodded. "Can we be valentines?" He asked gaining a small bit of confidence to look up at you.

"Yeah!" You exclaimed maybe a bit too quickly. "I mean sure that'd be cool."

"Yeah." Reggie smiled before your door was busted open.

"I knew it your dating a ghost!" Jake said smirking at you. You glared at him for ruining the moment. "Mom!! Y/n has a-" Jake began to shout before you tackled him. "Ow."

"Shut the heck up." You glared at him before giving Reggie a apologetic smile. "Jake you ruined the moment."

"Fine sorry at least introduce me to your ghost boyfriend."

"Fine." You stood up helping him up. "Jake, Reggie. Reggie, Jake. Now Jake get out."

"Eyo ghost dude I'll kill you again if you hurt my sister." Jake said making the I'm watching you motion as he walked backwards.

"I'm scared." Reggie whispered.

"He's kidding. Besides your already dead he can't do anything." You said. You sat back down on your bed Reggie joining you. You slowly leaned to lay your head on his shoulder not thinking it would work but you didn't fall through him. He instinctively put his head on yours smiling.

"I can touch you!" You said looking up at him smiling.

"Cool!" He smiled at you. You realized how close your faces were but didn't make an effort to move away from him, instead you slowly leaned forward giving him time to pull away if he wanted to but instead he met you in the middle kissing you back.

A/n: hope you like it! even if it is a bit cringy.

#jatp #reggie peters #reggie julie and the phantoms #reggie peters x reader #Valentines day #julie and the fat ones #julie and the phantoms #secret valentine #julie molina #alex mercer #luke patterson

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sweetjekyll · 4 years

Text

Comforting Embrace ─ PCY

pairing: Park Chanyeol x Reader

genre: one-shot, mild angst, fluff, domestic au, established relationship warnings: none! word count: 1.3k

MASTERLIST

A/N: this is just a small thing I wrote as comfort to the feelings I’m going through, sometimes we just need a little comfort from Chanyeol in our life! I hope this cheers you up the way it cheered me up ♥️ (not proof read, I’m sorry about any mistakes you may come across)

You had been feeling under the weather the entirety of the previous week and today was no different, not to mention it was the worst day of any week, a Monday. You weren’t PMSing or on your period, you were just… unusually sensitive and frustrated with even the smallest of things. Chanyeol noticed after a while during the week how you spoke less and were less cheerful; it’s not like you had a bubbly personality like him, but he could easily get you excited and mischievous like a partner in crime. At first he thought you were having just a few bad days, he knew that you didn’t like troubling him with futile worries because you were used to keeping everything inside, which he didn’t like either, yet he was starting to miss the sound of your laughter and the warm radiance of your smile. You two had been in a relationship for such a long time yet he wished you would talk to him more about the things that were giving you headaches and making you scowls most of the time without being aware of it. As quiet of a person as you could be, sometimes your emotions reflected in your eyes and expression without you having to say anything about the way you were feeling.

Chanyeol observed you as you ate in silence the takeout food you ordered once you arrived home, as you both had been out working late. You would always pay attention to him when he was talking, no matter how tired you were from work, it made you feel happier and helped melt away the fatigue. “Are you alright?” He asked you at some point during dinner, it was a soft question and caught you off guard. It’s not like you were poking your dinner, in fact, you were eating well and had a good amount of nutrients on your plate, it’s just that your mind was elsewhere. “I asked if you’re feeling sad about something,” Chanyeol elaborated his previous question. “You have been kinda off lately…”

Your eyes were glued onto his for a long moment, it became unbearable and you had to look away, switching your focus back onto your plate. “No, I’m alright.” You replied in a quiet tone and cleared your throat before bringing more food towards your pouting lips, then you blew softly on it and quickly stuffed into your mouth.

“Come on, you know you can talk to me,” He insisted, but you refused to look at him or even reply. He wasn’t eating anymore, just gazing at you with a worried expression. “Y/n, did I upset you somehow? I’m sorry.”

You immediately looked up at him and begun shaking your head. “No, no, no…” You dropped your utensils and cleaned your lips with a napkin before reaching towards one of his hands across the table and placed yours on top of it. “I’m sorry, love, please don’t apologize.” You sighed with knitted eyebrows. “It’s not your fault, okay? I just…” You let go of his hand and leaned back against the chair you were sitting on. Your eyes became distant again as you shook your head slowly. “I don’t know what it is, I’m just feeling really low lately. I didn’t want to worry you, especially with a feeling that I don’t know how to describe. with words”

Chanyeol nodded in understanding, he knew the feeling way too personally but that didn’t make it any easier to find a way to help you feel better. “I get it baby, I truly do, but I hope you know that you can count on me when you’re feeling like this.” He said and this time he was the one reaching for your hands across the table, eyes fully trained on yours as he gave your fingers a comforting squeeze and ran his thumbs over your knuckles. “It pains me to see you hurting like this and I don’t know what’s going on in your mind.”

“Okay,” You gave him a small smile after chewing on your bottom lip for a short moment. “I promise I will try and be more open about my feelings.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Chanyeol chuckled as he stood up from his chair and bent over the table towards you. You leaned forward and let his lips press against yours hearing a loud smack after he kissed you. “Let’s finish eating now or the food will get cold.”

You resumed your late night meal and by the time you cleaned up everything and got ready for bed, it was already past midnight. Chanyeol told you to leave the rest of the cleaning to him while you could head into the shower and get ready for bed. You quickly thanked him and got up on your toes, slightly pulling him down towards your smaller frame by his right arms, just to peck his cheek before heading to the bathroom. As the water washed away the heaviness of the work day you went through, the heavy feeling of sadness returned. You truly didn’t know what was causing it, the more you became sad, the more it frustrated and angered you, it felt like you were bursting. But when Chanyeol asked you about it and you told him what you were going through, you knew he would understand yet there was always an unreasonable fear in the back of your mind telling you not to bother him, you were afraid to make him sad as well and worry over nothing. He already had a lot on his mind to worry about and you didn’t want to add more burden.

As you were finally finishing with drying your hair, Chaneyol had hopped in the shower. A soft tune reached your ears from the bathroom as you were picking out clothes from the wardrobe in the bedroom, the sides of your lips curved up in a smile while listening to him; it was a melody from a song he had been working on for weeks now, it made you happy to know that he was making progress with it after being stuck on a couple of notes for a few days. You sighed happily as your mind thought about Chanyeol, he was your happy pill, and for a moment you wondered why you didn’t confide in him more often when you were feeling troubled or sad. He was your partner after all, there was no one who knew you better than him and vice versa.

You were already in bed under the covers when a pair of strong arms engulfed you in a tight hug from behind, making you yelp and squirm in his embrace as Chanyeol was showering your shoulder and neck with kisses. “You didn’t dry your hair,” you giggled while under attack of warm kisses, the damp strands of his hair were tickling your cheek.

“I’ve been waiting to hold you in my arms all day.” He confessed after he stopped peppering you with kisses. “Especially now that I know you’ve been feeling sad lately.”

You turned in his arms to face him and placed a chaste kiss on his plump lips, smiling at the adoring way he was looking back at you. “What would I do without my loving knight in shining armor?”

Chanyeol kept his arms wrapped around you as he pressed you flush against his body, resting his cheek on top of your head as he exhaled a long breath. “You would be missing out on my warm cuddles.”

“The best cuddles in the world,” you chuckled as you adjusted your head on his chest to listen to the rhythmic beating of his heart, a little fast as he felt happy to hold you close to him. “I love you, Park Chanyeol.” You whispered, feeling content and peaceful in his comforting embrace.

“I love you too, Y/N.”

#exo #pcy #park chanyeol #chanyeol #chanyeol x reader #pcy x reader #chanyeol scenario #chanyeol scenarios #exo au scenarios #exo x reader #kpop domestic au #kpop scenario #kpop scenarios #park chanyeol imagine #park chanyeol imagines #chanyeol imagine #chanyeol imagines #exosnet #exonet

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from-red-string · 3 years

Text

Before the Storm

It's finally here!! The first day of 2021 Soy Luna fic week!!

It's been a few years since I last wrote a Soy Luna fic, so I took this chance to look for characters and interactions I didn't explore before.

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Day 1

Prompt: “Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve turned your entire living room into a blanket fort and I have no plan in taking it down any time soon.”

Summary: Matteo told them he never had a blanket fort since he kept moving and his parents were too strict to let him have friends at home. Gastón and Ámbar decided to surprise him.

Warning: probably not canon accurate, they're 14

Genre: fluff

Pairing: Matteo Balsano x Ámbar Smith, Gastón

Matteo got home feeling strange, it became unusual for him to be alone after school. Ever since he came to Buenos Aires, Gastón would never leave him alone, and even when Gastón wasn't around Ámbar was, there's not a lot of time to feel lonely with them. Gastón spent so much time in his house, that Matteo's dad once questioned if Gastón didn't have a home while Alana, the housekeeper, knew Gastón better than her boss' likes.

But today, he couldn't find them anywhere, not in school, not in the Jam & Roller, even Delfi and Jazmín didn't know where exactly Ámbar was. They only know each other for 4 months, he didn't want to go to their houses.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see white shapes moving in the center of his living.

"This won't stay up. You need to fix that end on the couch." He recognized that voice as Ámbar, immediately felt puzzled about what she was doing. Gastón stepped out of the white cover.

"I think I know how to build a fort, Ámbar. I did that all the time when we were younger, you always did the inside." Matteo had no idea what he was talking about but giggled what the image of younger Gastón and Ámbar in a tent his mind created, the sound got Gastón's attention. “Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve turned your entire living room into a blanket fort and I have no plan in taking it down any time soon.”

"I don't, but did you kidnap Alana? She would never allow this." Matteo set his backpack beside the couch taking his shoes off while Ámbar came out of the blanket fort.

"She'd when she learned about a certain 14 years old sad Italian who never had a friend’s sleepover." She stated but didn't look at him, Ámbar's eyes analyzed the fort making sure it wouldn't fall.

"Plus, she loves me." Gastón gave a smug grin and Matteo laughed. He couldn't believe they were in his house making a blanket fort. When he was a kid, he always wanted to have friends around and build a blanket fort, but his parent never let his friends stay over, he never had close friends since he was moving around. Matteo gave up on having a blanket fort with friends when he was 10. It's not like he's an adult at 14, but at some point, he accepted it wouldn't happen, he got used to getting friends quickly but also letting go of them as fast. Now he felt silly for being happy at such childish desires.

"Are you Matteo or Gastón? I can't tell the difference anymore, you need to spend less time with Matteo." Ámbar teased waving her hand in Gastón face while he pouted at her then smiled.

"I don't want to… Unless that's your way of saying you want him to yoursel..." Ámbar interrupted Gastón by throwing a cushion on him. Matteo noticed she was getting closer to him in the last months, he wasn't aware Gastón knew it too.

"Are you okay?" Ámbar asked Matteo who was quiet for too long. Before he could answer her she continued. "We said we hope you don't mind but you don't have an option, it's already so just enjoy it." She said that but started walking toward the door with her bag.

"You're leaving?" Matteo followed her confused. "Can't you stay? You made all this." Ámbar's step slowed down, he could see her hesitance. "Is it about your aunt?" Matteo worried, he didn't want to trouble her relationship with Sharon. For the little he could get even though they weren't too close, the aunt is Ámbar's only family. Deeper he could see that everything she did was to get Sharon's attention, although her aunt didn't seem to know it, Ámbar minded her opinions. He saw once how broken she looked after she made a mistake at the school's lab which made their class evacuate the room, the first thing she told him by the time is how disappointed her aunt would be, Ámbar did everything she could to cover it from her aunt, she volunteered to help their science teacher for a month. He wondered how far she would go for Sharon, he feared for Ámbar.

"No, she wouldn't care..." Her feet stopped and she turned around. That answered pain Matteo, she felt alone in her family just like he felt so many times before and it was eating her alive.

"Defli and Jazmín?" Gastón's head appeared at the door. "I told you could call them here, the more the merrier." Matteo wondered how his friend could've known his feelings for Ámbar if he couldn't see Delfi's feelings for himself. Ámbar shook her head.

"They wouldn't like it. Blanket fort is not their thing."

"You can't leave. This was your idea, Ámbar." Gastón insisted surprising Matteo once again. "You said it would be nice for Matteo." He went to the room, leaving the couple in the hall.

"Is it your thing?" Matteo couldn't help but be genuinely curious about Ámbar, she never seemed to step out of her way and always plan her steps. Just like in her skating, she knew all her moves, training them day by day until they were perfect, if her partner fell she'd ask for another one, no hard feeling just her way.

"Blanket fort? No, never." He knew she got what he meant. Is it your thing surprising people for the sake of making them feel better? Being soft for someone else? She began to walk again.

"Ámbar, please..." Matteo said one last time. "I won't tell if you don't." Ámbar froze, her hair whipped around her head, she opened her mouth and Matteo tried to read her but it's impossible to know what was going on in her mind. Was it keeping from Delfi and Jazmín they built a blanket fort? Was it her loneliness beyond the school halls? Was it her soft side from the world? Whatever she got from his question, Ámbar nodded roaming back to his living room.

During that day, Ámbar seemed a bit freer than outside those walls, Matteo wondered if she felt safe with them, they've already seen her celebrating acing an English test as much as yell frustrated at a failed move when skating, her best and worst.

Later that same year, Matteo and Ámbar started dating but he remembers that day as the major proof of Ámbar's care. Maybe it was the last time he saw a glimpse of who Ámbar was before high schoolbefore she became La Reina de la Pista. He held on to this for as long as he could, believing this Ámbar still lived inside of her somewhere, but the new Ámbar took over and there's not much for him to expect, not when they love each other anymore.

#sorry for any mistake #soy luna fic week #matteo balsano #ámbar smith #gastón perida

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eeunoia · 3 years

Text

BTS Imagines

Hiking | Min Yoongi

Pairing: Min Yoongi x reader

Summary: Finally, boyfriend yoongi had a day off over the weekend so him and his s/o decided to do some hiking.

Warnings: Not proof read.

“Eh!? Yoongi hyung? In a hiking?” Taehyung starred over y/n’s smiling face with his shock face then took a bite over his banana. He’s currently at the living room of their dorm when Y/n arrived.

She nodded excitedly as she settle her bag pack at their white clean couch.

“How did you manage to make him agree?” Taehyung asked again still can’t believe of what he just heard. They had a very tough week so the company finally gave them their well-deserved day off. He was amused to hear that his hyung-- his lazy hyung, to be more precise, agreed to go hiking with his girl.

Y/n pouted her lips, “I don’t know. I just... asked him.” she said and even shrugged her shoulders off. Her eyes darted the new member who entered the scene.

“Hey Y/n! You’re early today.” Namjoon said as he let out a yawn before sitting beside Taehyung. She gave him a small wave.

“Hyung...” Taehyung said getting the attention of his hyung. Namjoon looked at him wondering what he wants.

“Hmm?” he hummed. Y/n just watched them talk as her eyes darted over the clock at the wall. It’s still early and she did came a bit too early.

Well she can’t help it. She was so excited because she can spend time with her boyfriend after a while of being not seeing each other. She even woke up before her alarm rings.

“Yoongi hyung agreed to go hiking with Y/n noona.” Taehyung told Namjoon like as if it’s a very big news. Namjoon gave the same reaction as Taehyung and they both looked at Y/n at the same time.

“Really? How did you...?” Namjoon didn’t have the time to ask more when a fresh from the shower Min Yoongi suddenly appeared at their sight. He’s already wearing his hiking attire while his hair is still wet.

“Oh, you’re here already...” he said in a monotone like he isn’t really surprised by it. She smiled sweetly admiring her handsome boyfriend.

“Yeah, I’m excited.” she said with her smile. She can feel the two boys watching them but she didn’t mind. They’re used to it and she’s used to them.

Yoongi’s lips lifted up for a smirk as he walked closer to her leaning down for a peck over her pink soft lips. The peck made a soft smooch sound that made the two audience cringed a bit.

“I’ll just get my things and then we can go.” Yoongi said ignoring the small whimpers from his members.

Y/n, on the other hand, was blushing hardly because she was surprised by the sudden affection. Yoongi is always bold with his moves. With them dating for a while now, he can show those kind of affection without minding the people around them.

She gulped trying to calm herself down. She turned over her sides when she heard small giggles from the two. “You’re blushing noona.” Taehyung pointed out that made her shy even more.

She then shoot glares at them but they just laughed it off. She was about to tell something when she heard Yoongi again. He’s now carrying a bag over his back and playing with his car keys.

“Let’s go, love.” he called out. She answered a soft ‘Yes’ before getting her stuff as she send one last glare over the two. She walked towards Yoongi who’s patiently waiting by the hallway of their dorm.

“We’ll be going now.” he said talking to his members.

When she’s already close to him, he quickly get her bag from her and carried it for her. He wasn’t paying much attention to it, it was his natural self that is doing that. He’s always the gentlemen type towards his girlfriend and been like that ever since but it still made her blush like crazy.

“Bye lovebirds! Enjoy.” was the last thing she heard before they went out of their dorm.

Yoongi guided her down the parking lot to go to his car. She cutely follows him and he made the car beeped as they approached it. Yoongi went straight to the back to settle their things down.

“Do you want help?” she asked concerned.

He shook his head no and just told her to go inside the car already. She quickly obliged and even put her seatbelts on. She can’t help but to smile widely because she was so excited. She can go hiking and be with her boyfriend. What a nice way to spend the weekend.

She was still all smile when Yoongi entered the car. He gave her a small smile as she just observe him while he starts the engine. She smiled a little getting contented just by sitting beside him as he manipulates the steering wheel.

“You good there, love?” he asked softly as he drives away out of their building.

She nodded her head keeping her eyes over him. It’s still a bit dark because they decided to hike early in the morning to check the view of sunrise. She was very excited planning it the moment she heard from Yoongi that he have a day off at the weekened.

He played music during the drive and they both naturally to his playlist. Y/n always loved his choice of music. One of the things she loves about him is his passion and love for music. She’s so proud of him.

When they arrived, Yoongi made sure she had stretched well before going hiking. They started the hike, holding hands from time to time as they enjoy the cold breeze and small talks. Y/n was smiling despite the sweat that running down from her back and soaking her shirt.

They were already near the top and they can see the sun rise already. She was yet again hyped up and looked back over her boyfriend who’s drinking water just behind her. She noticed him panting because of the activity. She pouted a bit worried for him. Now, she kind of feels bad that she suggested this when he had a very tough week. He must’ve been so tired.

Yoongi noticed her stares and he quickly pulled a small smile as he slide one of his arm over her waist.

“You’re panting...” she stated. Yoongi chuckled as he dropped a kiss over his now rosy cheeks.

“So are you. Do you want water?” and he even raised the hand that is holding his bottled water. She shook his head.

“You look so tired. I’m sorry I should’ve had suggested a different one.” she said feeling really sorry for him. She faced down fiddling with her fingers.

Yoongi chuckled finding her cute. If he’s being honest, he hates it. His body is hurting and he’s really tired right now. He just wants to lay down to his bed and sleep but he just can’t say no when he already missed a lot of promised dates with her. She’s just too nice and understanding to even not nag about it.

He kissed her forehead once as he hugs her to make her feel better. His girl is just too nice.

“Stop feeling sorry when we’re already just a few steps from the top. You should’ve had said that when we’re still at the starting point.” he said trying to crack a joke at her. He smirked leaning away to check her reaction.

She pouted, still feeling sorry. He chuckled and rolled his tongue over his lips once before he held her hand.

“Come on, you will miss the only thing we came here for.” he said trying his best to sound excited even tho he isn’t.

They both arrived the top and a cool breeze greeted both of them as they watch the sun rise above the beautiful view in front of them. He smiled, feeling relaxed.

He looked over his girl who’s pouting over the view. He laughed finding it cute. He went behind her to give her a hug and one kiss at her cheeks.

“Hey, I expect you to be all jolly about this and you’re pouting? Damn girl, I sacrificed sleep for this and you’ll just pout.”

“I feel sorry because I made you do this.” he sighed turning her to face him before cupping both of her cheeks.

“Look, yeah, I hate to go hiking. I don’t want to be here. I’d rather be in bed with you and have some sleep but I don’t regret going here as well. I agreed going here because I want to spend some time with my girlfriend and to make it up to you, okay?” he assured her and kissed her over her lips.

He tilted his head while starring at it, seems like one isn’t enough so he dropped another two before he stopped himself. He made her face the view again as he give her a warm back hug and rested his chin at her shoulders.

“Thank you for being here with me today, I love you Min Yoongi.” she muttered as they both looked over the sun rising beautifully. Yoongi smiled in satisfaction as he heard those words.

It was just one sentence but it already means a lot for him. To hear her appreciating his little effort to make it up for her and her saying that she loves him sure feels great.

“I love you even more, thank you for being part of my life Y/n. It was worth it.”

So, first request done! Omg I’m so thrilled!!!! Thank you anon for requesting and I hope you enjoyed what I wrote. Have a nice day! ✨

#bts imagines #bts fanfic #bts #btsyoongi #btssuga #suga #yoongi #bts scenarios #bts v #btsnamjoon #btsjungkook #btsjin #btsjimin #bts jhope

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xhomeless-ghostx · 4 years

Text

And I’ll be your honey | Eugene x reader | animal crossing new horizons | Chapter 2: forgiveness arc

I’m so sorry this chapter took so long to come out! I suck at writing, so I had to proof read it like ten times LMAO. I hope you guys enjoy!! :)

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As much as it was fun Hanging out with Eugene, it had to come to an end, as all good times do. You were slightly burnt out, but you knew Eugene was still wide awake, and would try to spend a few more minutes with you. He offered to walk you home, and naturally you agreed. Nightly walks with Eugene were the best, they sparked the more deeper conversations you two had. Usually, you would share memories about the old town you two met in. Though, there was an elephant in the room you tried to ignore.

After you moved away to work at a camp, you and Eugene drifted apart. At the campsite you would keep an eye out for him, so you could invite him to stay. But he never showed up. You remember meeting new people, and enjoying your stay, but the memories of Eugene not being there with you come back, and pull you into a state of mind that you didn’t like being in. You forgot how attached you were to Eugene even back then, and how leaving was one of the hardest things you had to do. You wrote him a letter to announce your departure, but he never replied to it. You assumed he was extremely angry at you. So, you left it at that.

Does he still think about that moment in time? You wonder what he did during that time, hoping that he was okay. You could bring this up to him, but you didn’t have the guts. You were shameful of your rash actions, and you didn’t even know if he still felt a certain way deep inside, and was hiding it from you. You didn’t want to pour salt into an open wound. Though now, it seems like Eugene was more clingy than before you two drifted apart. Not that you were complaining about it, but you felt like you leaving had a role to play it in, which made you feel sick.

Eugene stayed close by your side, he was very protective of you after watching you get attacked by tarantulas numerous times. Though this time, scorpions were running about, and they were known for their painful stings. Eugene scanned the ground to make sure there weren't any threats running about, but you on the other hand just walked freely, too caught up in your thoughts.

From behind a tree on your right, you heard a faint noise, that sounded like a hiss. Your head panned over to have your eyes meet an emperor scorpion that was looking back at you, in a defensive stance. You couldn’t move, dread overcame you. You tugged on Eugene’s jacket, trying to alert him of the creature.

“Uhhh, Eugene..” you begin to mutter, not taking your eyes off of the scorpion. As quickly as he saw the scorpion, his expression changed from content to shocked. He grabbed you and held you in his arms bridal style, running away from the predatory arachnid. Eugene’s sudden movements startled the creature, and it began to chase after you two. a small squeak left your mouth as Eugene held you close, trying protecting you with all his might.

“Huh, it’s good we’re close to my place!” You nervously say, resting your head against his chest.

His poor koala heart was beating like a war drum.

Eugene darted between the trees, making sharp turns trying to lose the scorpion, but it wouldn't give up. It was gaining closer, and Eugene was terrified that he was going to drop you and it would sting you, he couldn't live with himself if the scorpion got to you. Though, Being held in Eugene’s arms like this made you feel so small, but in a good way. He was so warm, and his fur was so soft, if a scorpion wasn’t chasing you two you would’ve fallen asleep right then and there, but alas you were in a dramatic situation. In the distance your house appeared, growing ever so close. You wished that you could be in his arms forever, but him making a sudden stop at your door jolted you out of a day dream.

Eugene made it to your door, rushing inside. He slammed the wooden door behind him, and stood there in the middle of your living room, catching his breath and holding you close.

“Hey doll...you doin’ okay?” He managed to speak out between breaths, looking down at you with worried eyes. Even through his glasses, you could tell by his facial expression he was extremely worn out. Your smile faded into a frown, you cupped his cheeks with both of your hands.

“Eugene, I’m the one who should be asking that to you!” You sigh, and in return he let out a chuckle. Eugene gently set you down on the couch, plopping down besides you with a groan.

“Don’t worry, i'm alright, besides the fact I didn’t get any of that on tape. Ugh that would’ve been perfect for my reel!” He groaned loudly, holding a pillow to his chest, and resting his chin on the top. You chuckled and patted him on the head.

“Well, I guess I’m lucky to witness it first hand. I don’t think I’ve ever been saved by such a strong and handsome guy like you!” You sarcastically say, poking his nose.

“For real though, thank you for saving me..I've never been attacked by a scorpion, and I’m glad I haven’t because I’ve heard their stings hurt like hell.” You softly say, looking down at your feet shyly.

Eugene sat up and wrapped his arm around you.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll always have your back, yeah buddy. Though, I know a cool way for you to repay me; let me crash here for the night, so I don’t have to worry about running into that little shit again.”

You giggle, and nod your head. “You’re always welcome to stay here, Eugene.”

You two relaxed on your couch watching TV for a bit, cooling down from the excitement of being chased by a dangerous creature. You had blankets wrapped around your body, alongside with a koala arm wrapped around you. Eventually, Eugene joined you under the blankets. You and Eugene were practically cuddling, but of course Eugene played it off as casually relaxing on the couch. You knew that he secretly loved this. After being on an island with him for such a long time, you’ve learned a thing or two about him.

You were so tired, you kept nodding off and waking up, and Eugene took notice of this. It was hard to keep your eyes open to watch the tv, and Eugene being there only made you feel even more at home. Eugene himself was tired, but he made sure not to fall asleep on you. He casually watched the screen, but would often sneak a peek at you. It was amusing to see you fight off sleep and trying to keep your eyes open. He fully looked over at you and smiled, placing a hand on your head and ruffling your hair.

“Hey doll, we should probably head to bed. It’s pretty late and I know you’re tired.” He cooed, picking you up, blankets and all. You yawned, and nodded your head in agreement.

He chuckled, and headed in the direction of your room. He held onto you tightly, grinning the whole way to your room. As he walked in front of the entryway to your room, he pushed the door open with his foot. As the door creaked open, the sweet aroma of a candle escaped out of the room, and into his nose. He sighed happily, your room was decorated just as nicely as he expected, though he didn’t understand the wasp head that was mounted above your mirror. Despite that, your house was very comfortable, the true vibe spot on the island.

Eugene gently laid you onto the bed, and pulled the covers over your body, making sure you’d be warm enough. For a moment, Eugene debated on getting in the bed with you, but he didn’t want to make things weird. The last thing he wanted was you thinking that he was a creep, so he decided to sleep on your rattan chair that you had by the window. You two didn’t really discuss where he’d sleep, so he thought crashing on your chair would be the most ideal spot. There was always the couch, but he wanted to be as close to you as he could be. He took his jacket off, and set it aside the chair on the floor. All he was wearing under the jacket was a white tank top, sometimes the jacket would get too hot for him, and he would overheat. So, a tanktop worked well in his favor. He stretched and yawned, relaxing down into the chair. It wasn’t comfortable the slightest, but it was worth it to be close to you.

After a few minutes of being curled up in the chair tossing and turning in an attempt to get comfortable, Eugene sat up and turned his attention to you. He didn’t know If you were fully passed out yet or not, but he decided it was best to not disturb you. Though, you were awake. The sound of him tossing and turning kept disrupting you. You felt bad that he put himself in the chair, the most uncomfortable spot in the house, instead of somewhere nice. Suddenly, you heard a small sniffle. Instantly your motherly instincts kicked in, you knew you had to check up on him.

“...Eugene?” You called out from the bed. You were peeking out from under the covers, looking at the clearly distressed Koala.

Your voice startled Eugene out of his thoughts, and his attention was fixed on you. He tried his best to sound okay when replying.

“W-What’s up?” He choked out, biting his lip.

You sat up, and motion for him to come lay down with you. You could tell something was bothering him by his tone of voice, it sounded like he was on the verge of crying.

He weakly smiled, walking over to you. You welcome him with open arms, and he embraces you, and crawls into the bed. Very quickly, his small smile faded. He gripped onto your shirt, and began to sob instantly. Your heart sinks as you hear him cry, you felt fucking awful. You knew sooner or later, this was going to happen. You let him get comfortable on the bed, and hold him close, wrapping your legs around his. You rub his back as he lets it out, trying your best to comfort him.

You let out a sigh, and pull away, giving him a chance to rub his eyes. You rest a hand on his chest, and look him in the eyes. He takes his glasses off to wipe his face, and he looks back at you, waiting for you to say something.

Your heart is in your throat as you try to let a sentence escape from your lips. Damnit, this was going to be hard.

“I-I have to talk to you about something Eugene. It’s the first thing I should’ve done when I first got here.” You speak, looking at him. You take his hand and hold it between yours. With your thumb, you rub the back of his hand in a circular motion.

From his facial expression, it seemed like he dreaded this conversation as much as you did.

“Eugene, I’m sorry for abandoning you. I should’ve told you ahead of time in person that I was moving. I didn’t plan on staying at the camp for that long of a time. Things just got hectic and I had to deal with so many people coming in and out, and making the camp top notch. Then Tom nook dragged me to this island, and I had so much to do.”

You pause, then continue on.

“I cared about you still, and I wanted to come back to tell you everything but...I was too afraid to come talk to you. God, I wish I did. I would’ve came back and forced you to come to the camp with me. Eugene I’m so sorry.” You choke out, trying your best not to burst out into tears.

“Out of everyone in that damn town you were always there for me.”

Eugene stared at you with a blank expression, and you look back at him. After a long pause, Eugene sighed. He wrapped his arms around you and held you close to him.

“(Y/n), it’s okay. I’m just glad you were safe, and not gettin’ into trouble. I was afraid I did something that upset you.” Eugene weakly replied, burying his head in the crook of your neck.

“I’m just glad I have you here with me now.”

You two laid on your bed, bodies close. It felt like the world was paused, and that you two were the only existing souls. Bound together by the memories of the past.

“I’m glad I got the chance to be with you again Eugene, I promise I won’t leave. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too, Doll.”

The tension in the air faded, the room fell silent. The faint sounds of you two breathing breathing could barely be heard. Eventually, Eugene broke the silence.

“...Why didn’t you at least send a letter to let us know you were leavin’ ?” Eugene spoke in a broken voice. You ran your fingers through his slicked back hair, then the sudden realization of what he said kicked in.

“I did send a letter. You never replied to it, so I assumed you were too pissed at me to reply.” You reply in a dejected tone of voice,

“You did…? I never got the letter!” Eugene gasped, sitting up in his spot.

You sat up along with him, and sighed.

“Well, that pelican chick was always a bitch. I forgot her name, but she worked the night shift..” You reply, rubbing his back.

“I must’ve pissed her off that day, so she got back at me by not sending the letter.”

You rub your eyes and let out a chuckle. “Man, that blows. I had a written invitation for you to come to the camp and everything. But, I wish I just came up to you in person and talked it out instead of being a wimp.”

Eugene grabbed you and pulled you into a big hug. You were startled by the sudden big hug, but not against it in the slightest. You hugged him back, and squeezed him hard.

“(Y/N), if I had gotten that letter I would have replied. And I would have for sure followed you to that camp!” He exclaimed, rubbing his head against your chest. You smile in response to the gesture, so you take this time to scratch behind his ears to relax him a bit. As you scratch, he melts in your arms, letting out a soft groan.

“I mean, I have you here with me now, so the past doesn’t matter that much, right?” You hum, moving your hand down to his chin to scratch it. He grins, and tilts his head up to look at you.

“Yeah, I guess so Angel. But for the record, I’m not letting you leave again, unless I’m coming with you.”

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Your eyes flutter open to a grey colored room. You take a moment to collect yourself, and reminisce on what events played out last night. You try to move but there’s someone wrapped around your body. Eugene was spooning you, with his head resting on your shoulder. You glance over your shoulder to see if Eugene was up, but Unsurprisingly he was fast asleep, his head resting on the same pillow yours did. You smile, and reach behind to gently pet him, not trying to wake him up. You work your way from his hair, to behind his ears. His ears twitch in response to your touch, so you pull away your hand. After a few moments of shifting around, Eugene’s eyes opened up. He took a breath, and looked around, confused. He looked so cute with his hair all messy, you never got a chance to see him freshly awake like this. After realizing what he was doing, his face turned pink and he quickly sat up.

“Ah- uhm, good morning (Y/N)!” He said, pushing his hair back.

You chuckled, and turned your body over to face him. Your hair was also a mess, but you felt like you could look messy with him, that goes to show how comfortable you are with him.

“Good Morning, how’d you sleep?” You grin ear to ear.

“It was the best few hours of sleep I’ve gotten in a while, yeah buddy.”

“Yeah, you were passed out.” You giggle, sitting up next to him. You let out a big yawn, and stretch your arms. You weren’t used to having someone sleep in the bed with you, let alone clinging onto you while you sleep, your body felt stiff as hell.

“I’m sorry I was being all weird, I didn’t mean to have you wake up in the most awkward way y/n.” Eugene muttered, looking away from you.

You blush, and place your hand on his. “Well, you couldn't have made me uncomfortable if this is what I wanted..” you admitted, making it apparent that you weren’t upset at all.

“Oh, so you just wanted the special Koala care, yeah buddy?” He teased, turning over to face you, grinning like a fool. Your faces were so close, you could easily give him a small kiss on his nose, but you didn’t know how he would feel about that. But then again, you two slept in the same bed together, waking up wrapped together.

Whoa. The soap he uses is really potent, from where you were you could smell a hint of it. It’s not very surprising that he smells tea tree oil, with a slight hint of eucalyptus. He always kept up with his hygiene, which was nice.

“You know, if you want to tell me something you can, we can talk about anything.” He chuckled, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, then slowly pushed his fingers through your hair.

“You aren’t very slick with tryin to hide your feelings around me, yeah buddy.”

Your eyes widened in surprise, were you really that easy to read? You let out a shy chuckle, not knowing how to respond to his remark. Damn your awkwardness.

For a brief moment, you two stared at each other, making eye contact. The fact that he didn’t have his iconic sunglasses dawned on you. This moment felt too real, but right in a way. Deep down you’ve been yearning for a moment like this, just a moment in time where nothing matters besides you and Eugene.

“That’s rich coming from you, you’re the one who was glued to me while we slept. I think you’re the one who sucks at hiding their feelings.” You grinned, leaning your head onto his chest. Once again, your senses picked up on the smell of his soap.

Eugene smiled, and pulled you closer to him, giving you a little squeeze.

“A bit of Koala care never hurt anyone, doll.”

“It really doesn’t hurt anyone, but I kinda woke up sweaty. I’m not used to someone clinging onto me.” You say smugly, pulling away from Eugene’s embrace. He wrinkled an eyebrow, grinning.

“You better get used to it, cause I’m never leaving your side again, honey.”

“Even when I need to take a shower because a thick furred koala decided to cuddle up close to me in the middle of the summer?” You say with a chuckle.

“Oh baby, especially then.” Eugene winked, lifting up your chin with his hand. you smirk, and pull away from him.

“Too bad my shower only has room for one. And that one is me.”

You lifted yourself out the bed sluggishly, and stretched your limbs out.

“I’m gonna go hop in, then you can get in, and then we can go do something if you don’t have plans for today.” You said, grabbing a clean outfit from your closet.

“Sounds good to me doll.” Eugene hummed, getting out of the bed as well, and looking around your room. It seemed like your record collection caught his eye, cause he walked over browse your collection. You turned your head to take a glance at him, then headed towards the bathroom. You hoped that he wouldn’t make fun of you for the music you listened to.

As you showered, Eugene poked around your room. Whether he was looking for his sunglasses, or just wanted to be nosy, we will never know.

#animal crossing #animal crossing new horizions #ac eugene #animal crossing eugene #ac eugene x reader #writing #eugene x reader

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annamiasworld · 4 years

Text

Detain the Dangerous [Gravity Falls: Ford x Bill]

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Note: This is my first fanfic ever which I publish here on tumblr so I would be indiscribably happy if you could leave some feedback in the comments. Plus this is the first time I wrote about Gravity Falls so if you notice any mistakes concerning the timeline of the story etc. point that out if possible. Also goes for typos because english is not my first language. This fic was inspired by the song “Dangerous” from David Guetta by the way. Other than that I hope you enjoy reading this!

Summary: This work is about Ford and Bill during Fords researcher period in Gravity Falls. It’s pretty much Fords thoughts without a real plot and takes place before he realizes that Bill bertayed him.

Warnings: None

Requested by: @zirandem

Word Count: 1,5k

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When Ford woke up the first thing he saw was an overthrown cup of coffee and a brown viscous substance soaking itself into his paperwork.

“Oh not again” he mumbled still sleepy and stretched his back. That action caused more pain then it actually should and the noises his body made sounded anything else then healthy. He still got up – probably a bit too fast because his head immediately began to throb and for a few seconds everything went dark in front of his eyes. Ford rammed his fingernails into the wooden table he was sitting at a few moments ago until he got his orientation back.

A heavy sigh left his lips. He hadn’t slept through for more than a week now because of his project. It simply took up all of his time and energy. He knew that he could never handle all of this on his own and that’s also why he was so thankful for the help he got from Fiddleford. And of course not only from him…

Fords eyes quickly skimmed the room while he asked himself if he’s being watched. An uncomfortable feeling rushed through his bones, making him shiver. He definitely needed another cup of coffee.

On his way to the kitchen he turned on all of the lights. He wasn’t paranoid or anything but lately he felt like something changed. It felt like the air was full of electricity and something heavy and dark built itself up becoming more and more dangerous every day. For most of the people this description would seem weird but Ford was sure that he was right. Still he kept these thoughts to himself because he knew others wouldn’t understand. Except maybe…

“Hey Sixer!” a familiar voice called. While Ford had begun to make himself coffee Bill Cipher casually appeared behind him floating just above the table.

“Morning Bill” Ford said. He had expected that his friend would turn up but he also knew what that meant. It meant going back to work again and right now he really wasn’t in the mood. He just woke up feeling horribly tired so all he would like to ask for was one single morning where he could sit at the kitchen table eating a proper breakfast. But he knew of course that this wasn’t possible. Not before their project was finished.

“I hope you were diligent in my absence.” The triangle grabbed Fords coffee and took a long sip.

“Of course I was”

“Well then I suppose you wouldn’t mind me taking a look at your notes”

Ford took a deep breath and prepared himself for letting Bill inside his mind. After that his memories went blank.

He found himself sitting in front of his table again with Bill next to him. His friend was in a good mood as always when he pointed to Fords work.

“This was really impressive! The additional notes about the invisible wizard could be very helpful for building the portal!”

Ford smirked. Bill always knew how he could get him. They just shared the same passion when talking about supernatural stuff. And secretly Ford was extremely glad whenever Bill praised him.

“Well for sure not as useful as the materials he kept in his shack!”

“You have a point there” Bill laughed.

“I wonder if there is a way to see the invisible wizard. I could try to reinforce my glasses with…”

But Bill interrupted him. “Listen, I know that there is still a lot to discover but let’s focus on the important thing first. The invisible wizard won’t run of. I mean it’s impossible since we locked him in that closet.”

Now it was Fords turn to laugh. “Well then what’s the order of the day, muse?”

Bill ensured him that he would wait at the car until Ford got himself ready and disappeared. Ford hurried to the bathroom, not wanting to make Bill wait too long. With a glance into the mirror he saw that he looked just as horrible as he felt. But he had no time to wallow in self-pity. Bill was waiting.

While brushing his teeth the strange feeling he had felt during the last few days returned. Since he met Bill a lot had changed. Through him he discovered that there are creatures at places he would have never found on his own. Also the portal would be a huge step to finally understand how all of the dimensions worked together. And once he had summed up all the facts he could make the information available for everyone. Nobody would dare to call him crazy anymore when he had proofs for everything. To the contrary he would be the greatest scientist of all time.

But suddenly a question popped up in his mind. What is Bills benefit? He tried to get rid of the thought, explaining to himself that Bill was a muse or he probably had to serve somebody like a genie, that there was a logical explanation but he still couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Well I could just ask him, right? We are friends after all.” he muttered while walking down the stairs.

As soon as he sat into the car seat he gathered his courage. Why was it so hard for him to do this? It was just a simple question, right?

“Listen Bill, I’d like to ask you something…”

The triangle appeared on the passenger seat the moment Ford started talking, giving him an interested look.

“Spit it out already Sixer. What is it?”

He swallowed. “I know that you only want to help me… but… why? What’s in this for you?”

There was an oppressive silence and Bill examined him carefully. After what seemed like minutes to Ford he finally said, “Do you doubt me Stanford?”

Fords eyes opened wide. His question had exactly the impact he didn’t want to attain.

“No, no, no, no, no! I was just… I only wanted… I thought maybe…” he stuttered awkwardly.

Bill dropped his gaze and sighed.

“It’s okay. I knew that you would ask this at some point. But you still hurt me.”

“This wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry Bill.”

“I know. Yet I owe you an answer.”

Ford waited silently while Bill tried to search for the right words.

“Of course I’m doing this because you are my friend. I see an enormous potential in you. But you are right. There are other reasons too. I’m trying to show you as much as possible but there are dangers in which I don’t want to put you. Sometimes it’s better not to know everything, Ford.”

Ford felt really ashamed. Why did he always have to question everything? He was never the guy who had plenty of friends and now he risked to lose his best one.

“I’m really sorry, Bill. Please forgive me.” Ford apologized again.

“It’s okay, Sixer. Let’s just… forget this conversation.”

Ford nodded relieved. He would never dare to mention this topic again.

“Are we ready to pay the Geodites a visit?” Bill changed the topic skilfully.

“We totally are.”

The second time Bill left Fords mind they were at a different place again. The triangle had lead them to a mine at the foot of a mountain. There were debris all around the entry and it didn’t look very stable but he still walked towards it. Bill told him that the Geodites are simply living geodes. They are hard to destroy and could be a good binder for some immobile parts of the portal. If they managed to catch some of course.

He wondered how he could explain the function of the new commodity to Fiddleford. His former college friend was a good soul and a fabulous engineer but Bill has warned Ford to tell him only the bare necessities. Unfortunately Fiddleford tended to be instable concerning his mental health so he could easily get nervous when Ford brought some new materials he found with Bill.

It didn’t feel right to keep a secret from his colleague but Ford had no choice. Maybe when they had reached their goal, when they finished the portal and activated it, when he understood more and visited other dimensions he could inaugurate Fiddleford. He would surely be glad that he was part of this project when he only saw all of the profits they could draw from other dimensions.

Ford knew that something about this wasn’t right. He was out here in the wild, discovering things that aren’t meant to be discovered. It almost felt like an addiction. A possibly deadly dangerous one. But he wasn’t alone. Bill would protect him, right? That’s at least what he hoped. That’s at least what he promised him.

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