#i made this meme like a year ago but it still makes me giggle

[franken-shits]

[paddockgirlies]

ᅳ a pillow fort with lando! ♡ social media!reader x lando norris

You’re lounging on the couch after a long day of work, your back aching almost as much as your heart. It’s been great working for the McLaren TikTok account, being able to follow the love of your life all day, but it’s also exhausting. You have to be on her feet all day, running around, and don’t get started on all the people still treating you like an intern, still, even though you got the position a year ago already. You frown to yourself, hunching over the couch to pick up a fallen crumb, when you hear the door open.

✂ more under the cut ♡

“Y/n? Are you there?”

You jump up at the sound of your Lando, making a little noise. Lando laughs.

“You’re so cute, baby, did I startle you?”

You huff and shake your head, clearly embarrassed, turning a slight shade of red. Lando walks towards you, and ruffles your hair. “Hey baby, how was your day?” He looks at you with his big beautiful brown eyes, and kisses your forehead. You groan.

“I’m so stressed, Lando, you don’t understand,” you look at the ground, letting out a deep breath. Lando makes a sad little noise as he sits down on the couch next to you. You’re both lucky the McLaren motorhome is decently big.

He rubs your shoulders. “You want to talk about it, babe? Or do you just want to show me your favorite memes?” That is a favorite passtime of you guys, but you sigh, shaking your head.

Lando is so nice to you, always showing you his favorite memes and looking at yours in return. You’ve learned a lot about him since you started working for McLaren, started dating him about three months in. He said he just “couldn’t not date the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen”, which had made you blush a lot.

There’s a silence between you guys, and Lando breaks it. “Come on, off the couch, you muppet,” he says as he gently rolls you off the couch. You make a surprised little whine, and Lando peppers your cheeks with a kiss as he gets up himself. You laugh at him as you force yourself to stay on the couch, only moving when Lando pushes you even more. “Come on!” He sounds angry, but you know he isn’t - his eyes filled with something that can only be described as endearement.

You finally get up, and blush when Lando calls you a good girl, as he shuffles pillows around. “What are you doing?” You ask, Lando bent over the couch, trying to readjust a pillow. “Babe?” You ask when he doesn’t respond, tongue slipped out of his mouth in concentration. “Babeeeee,” you try to catch his attention again, but he’s focussed, so much so that he almost shoves a glass of water off the table. “Watch it!” You giggle, but he still does not notice.

Finally, when he’s done, he pulls you into the couch, and oh, you now notice what he’s done. “Babe,” he starts, cupping your face. “Welcome to fort Norris!” You laugh, happy, as Lando takes your hand and shows you around the “fort”. It’s quite cozy, you have to admit.

And great for a pillow fight. Later. First, you have to kiss your love.

He cups your face again, and kisses you, softly (at first). He grins as you close your eyes, you can feel it against your lips, as he starts kissing you with a bit more urgency. “Y/n,” he smiles against you as he breaks the kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Lando.”

[trentsixtysix]

Sorry if this is a bit specific but do you think you could write something for Trent where you’re both dating and you’re an England footballer’s sister, and then they interview your brother and Trent together whilst you’re in the room and bring you up and it’s quite fluffy (that probably made no sense) 💕💕

Blush

DISCLAIMER: Apologies this took so long even though it's so short, poorly written and I hate it! but the request was so cute!

Word Count: 1.2k

Fluff

'What time are you guys filming that video?' You asked, watching your boyfriend and brother playing a game of Fifa, after they promised you it was their last round 3 rounds ago..

You were currently at St. George's park with them for the day, with a bunch of other players' family being present too for an event, but right now you were frustrated they weren't showing you any attention, locking you in the gaming room with them to watch.

'Helloo?' You called, playfully kicking them in the back.

'Soz babe, we're supposed to be doing it now I think.' Replied Trent, now feeling defeated as Jadon had just won.

'You're a cheat you.' He complained, as you began to laugh watching Jadon rub it in his face.

'I'm just too good, tell him Y/n.' Said Jadon, nudging you.

'Don't get ahead of yourself mate, remember I beat you every time.' You joked, provoking laughter from Trent who began to tease him.

You'd been with Trent just over a year now, having been introduced accidentally by your little brother Jadon. You couldn't say he was the happiest to find out you were together, with it definitely taking some time for him to get used to, eventually paying off as him and Trent were now the closest they'd ever been, making you almost jealous as your brother had stolen your boyfriend off of you.

The social media memes and jokes didn't help either, especially since you were a huge Liverpool fan, finding it awkward when United would play them, cheering both of them on but hoping for one winner, your boyfriend and your team.

'Shit we need to go.' Reminded Jadon, as you all left the room for them to be filmed.

They were filming a segment of 'Roommates' where they'd answer questions about each other, leaving you sat in the corner to enjoy the whole thing, fighting back your giggles when the two of them would overreact on getting a question wrong.

'Who is Trent's favourite artist, A: Kanye B: Drake C: Adele..' Read your brother, and you wished you could answer it for him because it was so obvious.

'Hmm, I can imagine him listening to all 3, but I'm gonna say Kanye.' Answered Jadon, as it was time for Trent to react.

'It's Adele man!' Explained Trent, Jadon in disbelief.

'Is that true? Are you heartbroken bro?' Pushed Jadon, making everyone in the room laugh.

'I won't stand for any Adele slander, and I literally went to her concert last month, sent you pics.' He tutted.

'Oh yeah, when you and Y/n went together?' Asked Jadon, receiving confirmation.

'You introduced Y/n and Trent didn't you Sanch?' Asked a player, walking by and eavesdropping on the interview, making you a bit uncomfy as you were unsure what the two would say, with both you and Trent having your relationship very private from the start.

'Shall I just tell the story then?' Asked Jadon, with the crew and other players cheering him on to do it, making you roll your eyes as you knew your brother loved being a story-teller, you and your boyfriend sat still listening, and you couldn't help but admire how shy he got.

'Well, we were playing Liverpool, and I was having a talk with Trentski after the match...'

'Then Y/n comes over to talk to me, and completely blows me off for Trent.' Explains your brother, making Trent burst out laughing.

'No it did not happen like that!' You playfully interjected, your face not in the video and only your voice.

'Let me finish! So she completely ignores me and starts telling Trent about how amazing his performance was... then 2 months later they're a thing.' Added Jadon.

'You did it to yourself man.' Smirked Trent, as the conversation went on a little longer. He looked over to see you smiling, with you still a bit unsure about this being posted on the England YouTube channel, hoping it'd be edited out. He gave you a little nod and thumbs up, as a way to tell you it's fine, and reassured you it wouldn't be a big deal, before you left them to finish the shooting, wandering over to the snacks table.

'Hey baby.' You heard a voice say, realising it was Trent wrapping his arms around you, as you were more focused on which cupcake to pick.

'You all done?' You asked, caressing his arm, the two of you weren't fans of PDA but you had missed your boyfriend today, not really caring at the moment.

'Yep, you ready to leave?'

'Yes please, where's Jadon?' You asked, aware you were his ride home too.

'Ah here he comes.' Said Trent, both of you watching him toddle over to you guys.

'We gonna get going then?' Questioned your brother, and you got your car keys ready for the lengthy journey back to Manchester.

Both of them were now sat in the car with you, with Trent in the passenger seat too tired to drive, and Sanch in the back already passed out from exhaustion, even though all they did was play Fifa the whole day.

'He looks just like you y'know.' Observed Trent, turning his back to see Jadon with his mouth wide open snoring away.

'Oi, watch it!' You joked, playfully slapping his arm.

'What? Not a bad thing he's a beautiful guy.' Said Trent.

'Starting to think you fancy him more than me now.' You bantered, making Trent put his hand on your thigh.

'Nah not yet, but I have to say I do love that kid a lot, without him I wouldn't have known you.' He said, making you blush.

------

A week went by, the video was finally out, and you and Trent made sure to watch it immediately.

Most parts were cut out, making the video way shorter than the hour it actually took to film it, but of course, the part about your relationship was kept in, and you dreaded opening the comments to see people's opinions.

'Sancho is the real wingman.' Said one person.

'They've got the best bromance.' Said another.

'Wish my mate would set me up with his sister.' You repeated, reading one of the comments that the two of you found hilarious. Most of the comments were extremely supportive, all of them finding it adorable that Jadon was the reason for your relationship, being in awe of you both.

'This one's me favourite, "gonna be awkward when they break up" but we're not gonna break-up babe.' Said Trent.

'I'd hope not, I think Jadon would be the most heartbroken.' You explained, shutting your laptop as you'd read almost all of the comments.

'Oh he would would he?' Trent said, teasing you.

'Yes, yes he would, because he loves you like a brother.' You told him, seeing Trent's face light up.

'That's sweet that, he doesn't have to worry though because luckily I love his sister even more.' He revealed, puckering his lips like a child for you to kiss, making you giggle like a fool.

The video soon blew up, with it gaining tons of new likes, views and comments, a majority still positive but the minority not being able to stand the three of you, only providing entertainment for your lazy night in as you re-read their negative comments and laughed, no one knowing how strong your relationship was but you guys.

[nightswithkookmin]

A LITTLE LIL NAS METAPHOR COS I'M GASSED UP FOR REAL

Sometimes I try to mind my business and let shit go but really all I want to do is throw rocks at som of yall.

This is Lil Nas X. Iconic beautiful SLAY.

Certainly he made a choice to go out on the carpet because he's bold and he doesn't give a fuck what people think about him. Right?

Now of course it got most conservatives raging mad while others thought he is iconic- Just like Jungkook's Dorothy Explore moment at the premiere.

Yet there are those of us who saw that Lil Nas moment and immediately thought it was hilarious he pulled that stunt and went ahead and made memes of him- memes he willingly participated in- right?

Now supposing Lil Nas got all flustered on the stage and started giggling and acting coy, shy and I came out here as a Nas Stan and said well he's PROBABLY shy because he's conscious of all that air blowing through his ass cos his Naked bum in a room full of judgemental eyes- would that be shaming him?

How do you go from A to Z. How do you draw that conclusion. Makes no fucken sense to me.

If you don't like me making memes out of BTS and joking about them- IT'S A YOU PROBLEM.

It's only offensive if it's ill intended or makes the boys themselves uncomfortable. But I promise you, there's nothing I say here that I can't say to them in the face. I promise you- may be not the part I ship them that's wild but still.

And the tuktukker syndrome some of yall have- yall need to fucking stop. It's ew. Gross and disgusting. When you make assumptions about people and they tell you to the contrary you don't go telling them they lying mother fucker stop. It's unhealthy and immature.

It's how these empty headed hooligans keep calling JM a liar because he presents statements that contradict their delusional takes and assertions.

I take being called out pretty seriously because I'm not perfect and I don't know everything as relates to others and their culture and what not. If I am making insensitive jokes or comments about these men I do want to be corrected on it. You know? Because I would hate to be the source of their pain.

You don't know this but two years ago JM made a comment during live and from that moment I slowed down on making those in depth near psychoanalytic analysis. And when I have to do it, I try to keep it as respectful as possible.

I don't see anything wrong in correcting people. Some might be naive and ignorant or might be hurting people inadvertently. There's no need to be defensive about it.

Take the recent moments in this community where Chikoorita came under fire for defending some other account- don't know them don't care.

It was disheartening to see people go from trying to point out to them the errors of their ways to blatantly being nonbinaryphobic towards them, ridiculing them, invalidating them, and quoting Blaire White of all people as justification to call them a pronoun they preferred for Chikoorita.

I reached out to a few accounts to try to educate them on why this is problematic. Nobody knows the person behind Chikoorita's account. If they are telling you they prefer to stay "gender anonymous" there's nothing wrong in choosing to respect that.

Yall hide behind anonymous blogs all the time and each time you choose to use an anonymous Ask you are choosing not to define your gender as well. And even that, we respect you and do not assign a gender to you.

Would be weird if, we kept using a he pronoun to address an anon especially when they have pointed out they was a she or preferred not to be gendered at all.

Point I'm making is I am not above correction.

And I do take sentiments of that nature seriously.

But you better make sure it's not based on your feelings of what is right and wrong because feelings can be subjective.

Here's my feeling of your feelings

[zydrateacademy]

Current Activities in Warframe #6

Apparently my last Warframe post was in... 2014?! Fucking hell. And I was bragging about hitting for a few thousand damage. My couple of first impressions posts were complaining about not understanding systems. Which to be fair, I am still constantly asking questions to my clan or having four tabs of the Warframe wiki open. Still, it's very amusing how far I've come. It's actually still a meme about how nobody really ever understands what's going on in Warframe at all. I still have to google how to make a lich and sister, despite having done so several times. I just posted my List O' Frames and I see why Ember Prime, despite not having played her in years, is still locking down my second place. She was effectively my main frame for a while years ago, and my first prime frame (Bolter being my first prime weapon, which still has my third most used weapon locked down). Ember Prime dominates a lot of my early, 9-years-ago posts. (also fuck me I've been on this platform for like 12 years or some shit).

It was a cute blast to the past.

This game is pretty rough in the sense that there's no real catchup mechanics. My brother and a friend from discord, both at separate times, have trouble progressing certain things because people don't play the Cambion Drift open zone anymore. Probably because in the game's attempt to curtail the viral meta, they made the infested there resistant to it (instead you need to mod for corrosive). The result is nobody ever fucking goes there anymore, but you still need to farm up a Necramech to continue down the path to better shit (like the sisters of Parvos).

Generally I've been trying to work my way up to hunting certain mods but it's been difficult. A few arcanes are locked behind reputations, like the one on the Zariman. It's an active enough zone on its own right but hunting those crests are a pain in the ass to get.

Other mods are behind Kahl's missions which I frankly don't like doing that much but really need to put on my big person pants and just get through some. It's a wierd thing in my brain, because playing as Kahl is clunky and doesn't feel like I'm working towards anything in the main game; But I am! There's gear in there!

I've been playing quite a bit more of Mesa. I did a 25 wave fissure with her to crack open some Baro food and to level up a couple of guns and since I rebuilt her a little bit, her 4 carried the entire game. I did 72% of the group's damage and ended with over 1700 kills, the next in line being 300 or so. She did some work, but that was still a lower level mission. I'm not sure how she performs on Steel Path but I'd like to try that some day as well. Throw her in a couple of those dailies, see how her 4 does. Apparently she's an S tier frame and it's probably because her defensive ability is pretty good, making her effectively immune to ranged damage. Which is indeed, most enemies.

But I've largely just been building her towards a "fun" build. I discovered the Lex is basically just a fucking glock which amuses me to no end. So I got Aklex ("ak" just being a prefix for akimbo weapons) so my Mesa is essentially running a John Wick build at some point.

Funny enough this screenshot was taken with the Lex Prime, which I don't like the look of as much. So I've been forma-ing the base Aklex for shits and giggles. I'm modding it for reload speed and fire rate with anything else an afterthought. Not a secondary I'll likely bother taking in SERIOUS missions but basically anything that isn't Steel Path, Arbitrations, or anything else high end like that is fair game.

[istadris]

For the Ao3 Wrapped ^^

3, 10, and 29

3- What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Aaaah, it's a tough one :O

Although I'm very proud of Doppio Senso and Bend or Break, regardless of how much effort they're taking me to write but motivate me enough to finish, since they're unfinished as of now (Bend or Break turning into a series, I don't consider it done yet), it's hard to tell if I'll be proud once they're over...

Instead, I'll go with The Quiet of Night. (Don't be fooled by the date on AO3, this is actually the first fic I posted in the Mario fandom). I wrote it one year ago and it was my first foray in Mario fanfics.

It's not a big or flashy fic; just a quiet, introspective scene of Mario dealing with his insecurities and worries about his brother. I used elements of this fic in other works and even a year later, I still think it has solid elements. Like Luigi reaching out even in his sleep when sensing his brother's distress. I was in the middle of discovering the Mario & Luigi games and I think my love for this series shows through this fic :p

It was also the first fic I wrote on my own after a long, long writer's block (not counting a fic I wrote for a challenge, since it wasn't my own idea), and it gave me faith that I still could create stories; I think writing and publishing this fic is why 2023 was one of my most productive years in terms of writing.

Not to mention @suedoodle made a beautiful illustration of it, and I consider it a proud achievement when my work manages to inspire someone else <3

10-What work was the quickest to write?

Hard to say, as I don't really keep track of how long each fic takes me to write (and it'd be easier to say which work was the longest to write...).

But I think that's also The Quiet of Night ; I wrote it on an impulse, and I remember I managed to start and finish it in the few days I spent at my grandmother's house.

29-Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Ooof, there are so many of them ...but this moment from Doppio Senso still makes me giggle like an idiot :

“Don’t worry”, Mario answered cheerfully as he stepped inside, “no one will even know I’ve been here! I’ll just be in and out!” * Twenty-seven minutes later, after bursting from an exploding wall in the castle and hastily eating a Super Mushroom, Mario was running for his life through the Darklands, the entire Koopa Troop after him, and dragging Bowser’s unconscious body behind him.

AO3 Wrapped Ask meme

[nerdnag]

the annual national mensa gathering went down this week and i've been having some amazing fun you guys

some highlights:

booked a karaoke room for two hours with a couple others, then managed to (rather easily) convince 10 more random mensa members to come along right before we left! had a lot of fun singing with strangers

did the spiderman pointing meme when someone saw me and went "it's you!! the gossip girl trickster!!" and I, after my brain had loaded for a few seconds, exclaimed, "oh it's you!! the grumpy halfling!!" Apparently we played d&d together last year and she remembered my character better than I even remembered it myself, because she thought my character was hilariously annoying. (she came along to do karaoke, and we sang a duet together in-character. it was pretty awesome)

played a new session of d&d with the same group as last year + a few others, and somehow managed to cheat the system by making the monster laugh so hysterically that we inadvertently skipped ahead to the second phase pretty much immediately

ran into a guy who turned out to be my brother's best friend from high school and who's apparently been to my childhood home over 20 years ago (in an entirely different town many kilometers away)???

went to a masquerade and got to wear my hooded cape with a glittery mask and sequin dress!! and get photographed with many historical figures, superheroes and various others with creative costumes!!

played a session of blood on the clocktower that was so incredibly good and confusing that even the GM (who's done many a game) said it was the best session he'd ever done and he wished we'd live streamed it. it took four hours and we had barely any idea at all about which people were the bad guys until the last five minutes. I was killed the second round because people always think I'm evil for some reason, and they didn't believe that I was actually good until the game had literally ended (and barely even then lol). but i had GREAT fun anyway. though i was extremely shocked when we were done and four hours had passed and it was suddenly 3AM in the morning and i had missed not only the masquerade afterparty, but also an opportunity to get duct taped to the wall. (they duct taped someone else instead 😔) still very much worth it though.

went and bought one hundred cheeseburgers from mcdonald's with two friends at 4AM that we then went back with to the event hotel. few believed us when we said we were going to get 100 burgers, but the rumour spread quickly and we were greeted like war heroes when we returned. many mensa members creeped out of their various mouse holes to snack on burgers and sing together by the hotel's piano. a lot of people chipped in for the payment. many people have since talked about The Burgers like the highlight of their week. all very nice and wholesome. (also i think we made the night for the guys working the night shift at mcdonald's, one of whom giggled like a 4yo when we said "we wanted soft serve and figured, why not buy some burgers while we're at it")

there's probably a lot of other stuff i don't remember right now. but anyway, once again the annual gathering shows just how much of a Silly Nerd Community mensa really is

[katefiction]

The Cambridge Memes(Now The Wales Memes)on Instagram here. I wrote this story almost 2 years ago when Catherine announced her Early Years Project for the first time in June, 2021. Wanted to share this story now as Catherine is going to announce new initiatives with her Early Years Project later in January and that we got to know how William had helped her with it. I hope you will love to read this story as much as I loved to wrote it❤️

Greatest Support

Catherine's POV

I took a deep breath once again and practiced my speech one last time. In less than 10 minutes I was going to record a video message for my biggest ever project Early Years. I had been waiting for this day by 10 years. I had practiced my speech for a thousand times! Still I felt like I wasn't prepared at all!

"Catherine... the camera is ready" - I startled as my secretary called.

"Coming...", that's all I could say. I looked at myself in the mirror and then left my office room.

William's POV

".... No, I'm not going to the match... umm.. you can say personal matters.. uh-huh... yes.. okay", I hung up the call and sighed in relief and right then someone knocked at my door and no one had to tell me who it was!

"Babe?", I asked and my wife appeared at the door, "Are you busy?", she asked and smiled nervously.

"Am I ever busy when you need me?"

She tried not to giggle, "Don't flirt, William", she said and approached me, "I'm going to record my speech now but hell... I'm horribly nervous!"

I got up and went closer to her and took her hands into mine, "You'll do excellent", I said.

She sighed quietly, "I just hope that I won't mumble"

"Catherine, mumbling is not a big issue. Don't let it make you feel less than you actually are. You're doing such an amazing job and a few mumbling is nothing to it", I said and smiled.

Catherine's eyes brightened up in a second and she smiled broadly, "I think you're right", she said and hugged me tightly. I caressed her back and kissed her on hair, "Go on... you'll be fine"

She looked at me again and squeezed my hands, "I know it's childish but can you stay behind the camera when I'll record my speech?", she asked and chuckled softly.

"I will", I replied and smiled again, "Let's go"

Catherine's POV

".... and we go"

The flash made me blind for a few seconds and I started giving my speech. I don't know how it went!

"... Because I truly believe big change starts small"

I stopped and the flashlight turned off.

"Is it okay?", I asked almost whispering.

"Amazing!", I heard my husband said and he even clapped that made me blush like a teenaged girl! He approached me and took me into his arms, "You won't believe how good it was", he said and smiled.

"Really?", I asked and couldn't hold back my happy giggle!

"Really really", William said and smiled again.

"I think your presence helped me", I said then and winked that made William laughed.

William's POV

Today is the day Catherine would launch her Centre for Early Childhood. She was extremely nervous again about the reaction of the people. Even our kids noticed her nervousness on the breakfast table.

"Is something wrong, mummy?", George asked and held her hand.

She smiled a bit, "No, sweetheart", she said and tried to focus on her meals.

"Everything's going to be fine, Catherine", I tried to assure her, "Everyone's already loved your initiative. Today they will love it even more"

"I hope so", she said quietly.

An hour passed by in a blink of an eye and Catherine launched her project finally with her recorded speech and I became the proudest husband ever once again! Less than a few minutes I saw all the praises she received, how she smiled, how she succeeded and I couldn't help embracing her and telling her that I was extremely proud of her. I can't lie that I even got tears to realise again how my shy wife has grown into her role and how she has curved her future. It wasn't possible to fall in love with her even more and yet I did!

Catherine's POV

As I was doing a finishing touch on my make up for my engagement at London School of Economics where I would have a roundtable meeting about my project, I could feel a pair of blue eyes looking at me!

"Caught you!", I said and grinned.

William startled and laughed shyly and then looked into my eyes, "You're looking gorgeous, my wife", he said.

"You're flirting again!", I said, "Come here, help me putting the necklaces"

"That would be my pleasure", William said and came closer behind me. I gave him the necklaces. He gently put them on one by one and then placed his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"What?", I asked as looking at him through the mirror.

"Have I told you lately that I'm so proud of you?", he whispered and I trembled a bit. I turned around to face him, "You have", I whispered too and caressed his cheek. He smiled and kissed me on forehead, "I love you..", he whispered again and now I had got some tears but I controlled it. I smiled before kissing my William on lips tenderly. I couldn't done anything without his constant support and inspiration, without his words that made me believe that I could go on. I wish this kiss was longer but I had to leave now.

"Wish me luck", I said then.

"You don't need luck!",William said and tucked my hair behind my ear. I smiled again and quickly put on my earrings and bracelet - both were gifts from my husband that make me feel his presence where he can't be with me!

When I came back home after the meeting, it was almost 6 in the evening. The meeting was a successful one and I couldn't be happier. But I had such a stressful week and all I needed was a cuddle with William but I knew it wasn't possible. William was supposed to be at the match of England vs Scotland of Euro2020. I sighed as I entered into our apartment and what I first caught was a burning smell. I ran towards the kitchen and I wasn't ready to see what I saw!

My William was standing there in an apron covered with various colours of spices! He grinned at me, "Don't worry, I didn't burn the dinner... it was just a few spices that fell into the stove!", he said and approached me, "Can't hug you, I'm sweating and I stink...", he said, "But I can kiss you!", he added and drew a kiss on my forehead, "How was the meeting?"

I breathed, "It was great", I replied, "But how come you're here and not at the match?", I asked, I wasn't over the shock yet.

William's POV

I grinned, "Well, yes I was supposed to go at the match but then I saw my wife at her engagement and she looked damn sexy! I couldn't miss a moment with her when she'd be back home!"

"William... stop it!", Catherine said and punched on my arm.

I laughed a bit, "Okay, I cancelled going out for the match the other day because I wanted to spend this moment with you and surprise you with a dinner date. My bad, I couldn't finish cooking before your arrival", I said as I picked up the pan from the stove. Catherine stared at me for a few seconds and smiled before giving me a big squeezy hug!

"Thank you", she whispered and looked into my eyes. I smiled and caressed her cheek, "You were just amazing at the launch of Centre for Early Childhood. You were glowing and shining and you don't know how proud I am of you", I whispered and tears formed into my wife's eyes that I wiped away swiftly and smiled again, "Dinner's ready. I cooked curry for you, a little less spicy, consider it, please"

Catherine giggled a bit, "Okay, I'll consider that... Where's the kids?", she asked then.

"Our kids have so grown up and they felt that their parents caught some teenage vibes tonight! So they're staying at their room after finishing dinner", I replied and smiled. Catherine smiled too and helped me taking off the apron.

"Give me 5 minutes. I'll take a quick shower and will have dinner together then", I said.

Catherine's POV

"How's it?", William asked as I took the first spoon of the curry that he cooked for me. He was never a good cook but surprisingly he made it really good today!

"Delicious!", I said and looked at him. He chuckled shyly, "Who's flirting now?!"

"Oh no, it really is. See yourself", I said and almost fed him a spoon of curry.

"Ummhmm... that's shocking!", he said and chuckled again.

When we finished our dinner, William poured two glasses of red wine and we sat down in the living room as snuggling into each other.

"Toast to the successful Early Years and toast to all the hard works of my amazing wife", he said as we clinked our glasses and gently kissed on my lips. I smiled and tried not to get tears again. A whispering 'Thank you' was all I could said as we intertwined our fingers and I laid my head on his shoulder. 10 years ago when I started to work on my project for the very first time, I didn't know I would carry on until this. I still remember all the criticism, accusations of being 'lazy' as I didn't 'rock on the ground' for years. I remember all those comparisons with William's mother and how I wanted to give up. But my man never let me do it. He believed what I could and today I did...

[The End]

Thank you!!! <3 You will make a lot of people very happy lovely

[onlyswan]

what is the lover boi thinking about???👀👀

i would sell my kidney to pet his hair

of course that boi loves to torture his senses joon said it years ago 💀💀

poor bam's sleep and oc's sassiness lol

“these days, there’s something i’ve been thinking of a lot… i’ve been researching here and there, too…” ma boi u sound like 18 year old me trying to convince my parents about my dream since 7 years old to get piercings

YES SHE SO SLAY FOR THAT PROMISE DRIVE SAFE EVERYBODY BTS SAID SAFETY 1ST, SAFETY 2ND COOLNESS 3RD

“yes. because then doesn’t that mean you no longer care about me?” they are so in love im shitting tears

your outspoken interest makes jungkook’s face light up like a christmas tree. ma parents thought i couldnt smile more bigger until the day of piercing, they still laugh about it

“why me?!” i can imagine his tone and face and im cackling oh god WHAT IF GET BORABIKE??? THEN HE IS RIDING ARMYS HJGTNDRV HCLISCLIU SHUT UP I HATE (love) MY MIND

bend over ... right now BOI SAY WHAT

OMG THE SURPIRSE YEEHAW

“nope!” you reply without a second to spare. “for fashion, i never get cold.” A HOE NEVER GETS COLD SLAYYY BITCH BE HOT AND NEVER GET COLD BE A MATERIAL GIRL AND THE COLD NEVER BOTHERS YOU ANYMORE

hold on this sounds like a possible jingle/ad if a slay clothing line

“how about let’s wear one each?” thats soo cute and FUCKING SMART

the contrast of his black t-shirt with the rainbow makes you crack a smile, reminiscent of the countless memes you’ve seen on the internet YES LIKE HIS BIG BAD STOMPER BOOTS AND CUTE SOCKS OR TOUGH BAG WITH CUTE SPEAKERS, BOX, POUCH LIKE AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA

“why is everyone breaking up all of a sudden?” cuz rose met them IM SORRY I HAD TO LOL

i love the way the man just loses his train of thought, for me i still have the train of thought but the trains get suddenly empty leaving me miming words out or just saying rest of the words lol

brb taking a bath with my lovely date, toaster

your positions are switched before he can comprehend it— you’re now on all fours on top of him. his head is trapped in between your arms and your gold necklace is dangling over his face and you’re straddling his lap and now it’s getting harder to breathe and not picture obscene images that involve you worshipping his body. OHHXHDVZSTV MY CA FUCKING LORD IM NO BETTER THAN HIM mommy, i doubt he can concentrate right now

WHERE WILL MY FIC/BOOK LOVING AND DAYDREAMING ASS GET MY BIKER LOVER

he lifts off the helmet, ruffling his hair to tame it. and as he brushes his stubborn bangs away from his eyes STOP U THIRSTY HOE DONT THINK ABOUT IT *thinks about it and remembers all similar gifs of kook AAAH

oh no she got me worried *sends hugs

oh she was soo worried about him *tears up

THE PUPPY IN THE BASKET AAH oh no they could have done it with bam NO BAM IS TOO BIG AAAH wait he could have but baby bam on bike BUT THEN BIG BAM WILL BE SAD CUZ HE CANT GO ON BIKES ANYMORE 😭😭😭 tiny baby bam with tiny googles and jacket AAAH TOO CUTE IM A PUDDLE

SAY IT MF JUST FUCKING SAY IT PUSSY EVERYONE HE IS A PUSSY * says another big sad pussy 🤡

this was soo lovely and amazing i think this is my new fav aaah take care bye im going to bed now

OHHXHDVZSTV MY CA FUCKING LORD IM NO BETTER THAN HIM mommy, i doubt he can concentrate right now

FUCKDJDJDJJFHF MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS REVIEW. MY WORK HERE IS DONE

the ramblings and reactions to every scene lmao this seriously made my entire day i can’t stop giggling. i fucking love you

ma boi u sound like 18 year old me trying to convince my parents about my dream since 7 years old to get piercings

LMFAOHDKSHDJD LEAVE HIM ALONE HES NERVOUS. but also me when i told my mom i’m movinf out

YES SHE SO SLAY FOR THAT PROMISE DRIVE SAFE EVERYBODY BTS SAID SAFETY 1ST, SAFETY 2ND COOLNESS 3RD

i’m so glad we are on the same page <3

“yes. because then doesn’t that mean you no longer care about me?” they are so in love im shitting tears

same 🥲🥲🥲

THE PUPPY IN THE BASKET AAH oh no they could have done it with bam NO BAM IS TOO BIG AAAH wait he could have but baby bam on bike BUT THEN BIG BAM WILL BE SAD CUZ HE CANT GO ON BIKES ANYMORE 😭😭😭 tiny baby bam with tiny googles and jacket AAAH TOO CUTE IM A PUDDLE

STOPPPP UR SO CUTE IM IJBOLINF 😭😭😭 justice for tiny bam and big bam </3

this was soo lovely and amazing i think this is my new fav aaah take care bye im going to bed now

love how you made me laugh then cry at the end 🥹 ahhhh yay i’m so happy it’s your new fav !! love you smmmm !! 💜

[ahumanbeingtryingherbest]

having "distant but close friends" is so peculiar to me. you knew me since I was a kid. I knew you when you were just a kid. we sat together at school, finding the best way to make the other one giggle while we were having class. we knew each other when we had braces and wore colourful clothes our parents picked for us. we discussed and then proceeded to made up the next day. adults would always say, like they were in a hurry, that when we'll be "grown-ups" we will slowly distance ourselves. we'll have uni, work, gym friends. but years pass on and this idea seems really far away, so why worry about it now? but then one of us will change house. a new city perhaps, state, nation perhaps even continent. we'll call each other twice a month, we'll send each other silly memes. I'll worry in the middle of the night that one morning you'll wake up and won't remember be. I'm scared because the worst part would be that maybe you won't even care. but then I'll fly back home, for a week or two. we'll see each other, we will run towards the other like in the movies and I'll be grateful to have you in my arms (I hope you are too). we'll talk about everything and nothing. I'll jump on your bed like I spent every weekend here. I'll cook in you kitchen like if I did it a million times already and then we'll watch Netflix, or talk, or tell each other gossips about people the other one doesn't even know (but it's still interesting). it would be like I never left, and for a moment I'll be reassured but I already now that this fear, this bad taste in my mouth will resurface again. you'll still be the person that carried me on their back. the one that doesn't know my favourite colour but protects me from awful memories. the one who will gift me a handwritten letter on my birthday and on christmas and that object I mentioned one time a long time ago because they care. meanwhile I'll scroll your new posts on instagram or i'll just sit here on the side, cheering for you and your happiness. maybe you won't hear me or see me but I'll be there anyway. I love you. I hope you miss me sometimes, just the right amount to just remember me. i love you. please don't let me go. I love you.

[lyranova]

6 and 10 for the music ask game please ^^

Of course Laura 🥰! I apologize a lot of this is Kpop but I tried to add non-kpop too 😅!

6 pick a top three of songs that remind you of each season of this year (you can do 5 seasons if you want to do both winter 2020/21 and 2021/22 aka right now)

Winter 20/21:

Done for Me by Punch

Power by Isak Danielson

Let Me Out by NU’EST W

Spring:

What if Love by WENDY

Blue Moon by Kim Jong Wan of NELL

Roses by Awaken I Am

Summer:

Make You Mine by PUBLIC

Gasoline by Halsey

Breaking Down by AILEE

Fall:

Winter is Coming by Han Suji

The Vampire Masquerade by Peter Gundry

Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

Winter:

When I Saw You by Bumkey

The Last of Her Kind by Peter Gundry

Chasing Cars by Tommee Proffit, Fleurie

10 has any song become a sort of meme or inside joke with your friends? if so, try to explain the joke :)

Ok so I actually have 2 inside jokes, one is with a song and one is with an artist 😂!

So the song one actually has to do with a song called “Lullaby” by GOT7, now i love the song and so does my mom, but for a long time my mom would giggle when she listened to it which made me go “??” and finally one day she explained:

“ For some reason anytime I listen to this song, it reminds me of a drag show or a Miss Universe pagent or something. Y’know like when they’re walking down the runway or across the stage, for some reason this song reminds of that.”

It was…so random and odd that I didn’t know how to respond…and still don’t tbh 😅. But now I just refer to the song as her “drag/runway” song and she gets all excited because she loves the song a lot 😆!

Now for the artist; there is a group called Stray Kidz, and a couple of years ago they came to america for some promotions. They were going to be on a show here in the US and so the show did promotional posters for their appearance and instead of calling them “Stray Kidz”, like how their name is spelt in english, they changed it to: “The Stray Children”.

It was so bad it’s become an inside joke with me and my mom and anytime she see’s them trending online she clicks her tongue and goes: “Those rotten stray children are at it again” and she just laughs because she actually loves them as a group and likes their songs 😆!

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand) 

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous.  ҉   next.

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it. 

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge. 

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too. 

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view. 

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”. 

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute. 

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets. 

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance. 

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?” 

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over. 

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae. 

looking hot, her message read. 

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

[dokifluffs]

Oh This Should Be Good | Sakusa Kiyoomi

Pairing: Sakusa X Reader (female) 

Genre: fluff, comedy?

Author’s Note: @makeusfreefromthisfandom and I are doing a seasonal challenge where we give each other prompts! You can read her’s here to the prompt I gave her! and here, you can obviously read mine with the prompt she gave me: 

“Ahaha this is random but imagine his daughter asking him where babies come from 😭“ 

Also note: I like to write Sakusa as if he’s getting help with his germaphobia like slowly over time, as challenging as it is, he’s trying to change and be better with people he loves and cares about like his partner and perhaps offspring. Even though this would be kind of out of his canon character, I like to write him like this so he’s a more flexible character to write for.  

Warning: Timeskip spoilers ah ha ha, parents, kids, married characters 

D/N = Daughter’s name

gif from @rivaillerose​ 💛

“Daddy!” Sakusa and your little girl ran towards her father, grabbing a hold of him around the waist as he stepped into the living room, finally getting a rare day off now that baby number two was on their way

“Morning, pumpkin,” he stifled a yawn as he patted her back, messing with her hair up before she let go of him in a fit of giggles, following him

“Will you play with me today?”

“What do you mean, I always play with you,” he slid down on the wooden floors, making himself comfortable as he leaned back against the couch, now at the same eye level with his precious jewel

All she could do was smile as bright as the sun, her laughter echoing throughout the living space as the sunlight poured in

She truly was such a little angel, it amazed Sakusa still to this day how far he and his growing family was coming

Naturally, his smile matched hers

He relaxed as he let the day go by, his daughter playing around him, playing with her toys, occasionally watching the cartoons

“What are you doing?” She leaned into his side as he wrapped an arm around her to make sure she didn’t fall or slip in any way as she peered at what he was doing

“I’m just-“ but before he could answer, his phone rang as he faced himself in his pwn phones reflection

He could see the visible relaxation and smile disappear as soon as he saw the contact names

“Don’t answer #1, Don’t answer #2, and don’t answer #3”

Despite their contact names, he still answered, internally praying that he wouldn’t regret this call

“Oi Hinata, you were right, I owe ya five bucks since he answered,” Atsumu’s accent sounded over the call

“Sakusa, hey hey hey!” Bokuto the bright star called through the phone

“Uncle Bo!” Your daughter jumped against her father as she held onto his wrist until Sakusa lowered the phone, letting her see her “uncles”

Though he never agreed to let them be her uncles

“Oh! Mini Sakusa!” All three of their eyes twinkled as they all beamed looking to your guys’ daughter as if she was their own

“What do you guys want?”

“So cold, Omi~” Atsumu whined. “You haven’t been at practice for so long, the scrimmages haven’t been the same.”

“But it’s also nice not to worry about blocking or trying to dig Sakusa’s nasty cut shots cause of his wrists…” Hinata smiled looking relieved

“Oh! How’s Y/N’s pregnancy? Did you guys find out the gender yet?” Bokuto chimed

“She’s doing alright and no, we wanted it to be a surprise..” Sakusa replied

“Daddy?”

“Hm?” Sakusa looked to her as she now made herself comfortable in his lap as he leaned forward, putting the phone down

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close

“Where’s mommy?”

“She’s-“

“Right here~” you waddled down the hall, your hair and clothes disheveled, unknowingly disrupting sakusa

“Mommy!” Your little girl sprung from Sakusa’s lap, making her way to you, latching her arms around your belly as best as you could

“Careful, D/N,” Sakusa worried seeing how she ran up to you, trowing your arms against her belly

“Why?” She held onto your hand as you walked toward the couch Sakusa leaned himself against before you lead her to sit down in his lap once again

“Oh, the Jackals. Hi guys,” you waved as you laid yourself down on your side on the couch, your head

“Y/N!” They all chimed, as if they all shared the same brain cell

this only confirmed Sakusa’s theory the more they said or did things simultaneously

“How’s pregnancy?” Atsumu chimed as he clearly lounged about in his own apartment

“Tiring,” you spoke just loud enough for the phones mic to catch what you said as you looped your arm around his shoulders, reaching for his hand to which he linked together

“But a lot more manageable since we know what to expect,” you yawned into your shirt, a habit you picked up from being with Sakusa

He used to cringe and shy away at your touch but now he didn’t even think twice about yours or D/N’s

“Hm, we’ll be uncles for more kids,” hinata beamed

“We didn’t even say-“

“The best uncles,” you nudged Sakusa’s shoulder playfully to which he just sighed, squeezing your hand in return

“Speaking of tired, why aren’t you sleeping in bed?” Sakusa turned his head, letting it rest on the edge of the couch as you brought your hand through his hair

“I didn’t want to sleep alone, plus it sounded so fun out here, how could I miss out on all the fun?” You reached down, booking your daughter’s nose as she stared at you

And then your belly

“Daddy?” She stood in between his legs as all the adults watched, curious at her next words

“Where do babies come from?” She stared with her wide eyes at Sakusa as you snickered, burying your head into his shoulders, eyes heavy

Atsumu choked on the water, doing a small spit tic as Hinata paused his game to laugh

Bokuto erupted into a big fit of laughter, enough to wake Akaashi beside him before he shushed him, cuddling him back to sleep but this is a different story

“Oh this should be good..” you laughed as all eyes fell upon Sakusa, the laughter dying down and being held in his teammates’ mouths as they awaited 

“Uh...” Sakusa’s mind raced as he panicked 

he knew this question would come up at some point 

but not like this 

at least not now 

your eyebrow raised naturally as sakusa’s breathing picked up 

“Next question...” he changed the subject, not ready to answer 

“But what about babies? How did one get in mommy’s tummy?” 

“Yeah, omi, how?” you joined in on the fun only to be on the receiving end of Sakusa’s famous glare that only softened for you after a second 

Now sakusa really regretting answering the call 

“It’s a secret, you’re not old enough to know yet,” Sakusa evaded 

“Aw, but-” 

“Next question, pumpkin,” He looked to her as if pretending it was just the two of them, parting her raven hair, ticking it behind her little ear

“Oh Omi, your ears are so adorably red and hot,” you teased, brushing your finger along the back of his bright red ears, purposefully pointing them out as the jackals laughed too 

the day continued with good memories as were made

He never thought he would feel this way in his life but

If he told himself 4-6 years ago that he would be married, let alone go on a date with someone and actually tolerate them, he wouldn’t have believed himself

but now he was grateful that you had crossed his path

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

ALSO! Reference meme I made: this tik tok sound

Tags (let me know if you wanna be tagged for all my haikyuu posts): @yams046  @mazey-chan  @sunboikyo00  @kara-grayson04  @fortheloveofbakugo @tsumtsumsemi @1-800-wholesome @yamagucci @realityisoftendisapointing @plantisnotplant @pink-panda-pancakes @differentballooncollection @osamusamusamu@therainroguefanfiction @euphorihan​ @turquoiselace​ @macaronnv​  @oxmaddy​ @mrkoala4prsdnt​ @curiouslilbeast​ @plantisnotplant@therestless101 @abcdaichi @oyasenpai @kaaidalupita @lovinnoya @wisepandaslimeland @killuaking @kattykurr @bbymilkbread @tsumtsumland @suunikimchi @woah-there-cowboy-or-cowgirl @amandahh626 @nabisonyeo94 @wntrmn @dai-tsukki-desu @peteunderoos @ohyoumakemelive @aka-a-shii @shinhiromi @wompwomphq @lollypop-lam @isentsworld @blue-melody @u-wakatoshii @moondriplets @lovinnoya @yuueisteria @humanitysbiggestsimp @cjphoenix135 @inarizaki-captain @closetfurrytsukishima @chibichab @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @kuroosbixh @lavearchives @sweet-sour-devil-ish @daichis-kitty @creepyproxies @itsmarziapei​ @skyh20​ @yehetstudies​ @that-chick212​ @proherotheflamehashira​

[strawberrymilkgeorge]

Part Five. "You guys gossip about boys without me?"

warnings: swearing, mentions of emotional abusive/manipulation word count: 3.2k (not including pictures)

behind the screen (irl dream x f!reader) series masterlist ultimate masterlist

.

Y/n dropped her phone on the bed and slowly rolled off and onto the ground with a soft THUD. She grunted, falling harder than she expected but the dull pain now present in her right shoulder felt deserved somehow. Why did she think she deserved it? Maybe because she was an unconfrontational worm even when the person needed to be confronted because he hurt her more than anyone ever had.

She closed her eyes and wiggled to get comfortable on the thin carpet in her room. Laying on the ground was relaxing to her, forcing her gamer back to straighten to how it was intended. It helped her think, being on the floor. She didn't know why but she didn't question it. Just laid on the floor in acceptance with the dirt and forgotten candy wrappers.

Why didn't she want to respond to Peter? Well, years of being with him and even the months of not being with him had taught her that her ex liked to get his way and liked to take his anger out in her verbally when he didn't.

You could say she's heard some terrible things over very simple inconveniences.

Y/n slowly pattered to her desk and slid on her headphones, finding the discord server Dream said he and George were on. It was a server that a lot of their friends were in, one that Y/n hardly went in since she still hadn't met a lot of them and wasn't super comfortable with talking in it yet.

She scrolled through the various text chats, one for boredom, one for stream questions, one for memes, one for pictures of pets, one for.... discussing the inevitable takeover of rats...? Y/n wasn't sure what that was about but she knew she didn't want to find out. The list went on. She was pretty sure they had made a channel for every possible message someone could ever send.

There were equally as many voice channels, most of them titled with the names of different games for when they only played with each other and didn't stream. Some of them were just random names and she noticed there was one to match the rat takeover text channel. Okay, who was responsible for that?

After what felt like an entire scavenger hunt and with many new questions in her mind, Y/n finally found the voice channel Dream and George were in and clicked on it. It was called memerz-only.

"I'm not a memer, am I allowed in here?" she asked. She hadn't realized how messed up her voice was since she hadn't talked all day.

"Holy shit, Bug, you sound awful."

She scoffed a laugh. "Thanks, Dream. Really means a lot." She did sound pretty scuffed. Her voice was a little scratchy from not talking literally all day.

"You doing okay, Bugsy?" George asked kindly, to which she hummed.

“I just have one quick question...”

“Mhm?”

“This is simple, please don’t elaborate further. There’s a channel on this server... did you guys mean rat as in BadBoyHalo’s dog or rats as in rats?”

Neither of them spoke for a minute before George understood what she was referring to. “Oh! Rats as in rats.”

“Okay, thank you.” 

“Yeah, Quackity—“

“No!” she interupted. “No! I said I don’t wanna know. I really don’t. I’m too afraid to understand.”

“Wha- HA, okay.”

“Good choice, Bugsy. I wish I didn’t know what it’s about. It’s a lot weirder than you’d think.”

“Now that that’s settled,” Dream said with a laugh. “How are you doing, Bug?”

"Neither of you are streaming, right?" she asked, doubling checking the twitch app on her phone to be sure.

"No."

"So I don't have to pretend to be happy and bubbly?"

"No, you can be as mundane as you'd like," Dream said. "We don't mind."

"Yeah, honestly, most of the time when Dream and I are on calls alone it's just us being super boring and hardly talking."

"That's..." she paused to find the right words and decided with, "actually really cute. You guys just enjoy each other's presence."

George scoffed and Dream giggled. "See, even Bug says we're cute, Georgie! Why can you tell me you love me?"

"I'll leave right now if you don't stop," George threatened. "Can we go back to how Bugsy's miserable?"

"I'm not miserable, I just..." she hesitated. She had already told George about why she was having a bad day, but Dream?

She didn't want to tell Karl because she knew he would yell at her. She didn't want to tell Sapnap because she didn't trust him not to tell everyone (on accident, of course). For some reason, it was a different kind of hesitation than with the others that made her not want to tell Dream. She didn't want to tell him because she didn't want to be... embarrassed? Maybe that was it. She thought it would be embarrassing to tell Dream about how her ex-boyfriend treated her like shit and how now he wants to get back together with her. Plus, she knew how everyone else individually would react but Dream was a complete mystery. Maybe he'd yell at her too and say she's stupid for being affected by an ex. Maybe he'd break down crying for some reason? Who knows?

"You don't have to tell us," Dream stated. "Seriously."

"It's embarrassing," she said, tucking her feet beneath her on her seat. As she said the words, she decided they felt right. She was embarrassed. "But George already knows."

Above everyone else, Y/n was okay with telling George about her situation because he and her tended to talk about their troublesome relationships quite often. He always came to her for advice and she to him. They were very similar in their ways of thinking and seemed to have lots of similar dating stories, even if neither of them knew what the hell they were doing. She knew he'd never judge her for thinking unclearly since he tended to do the same.

George hummed, not knowing what to say since she hadn't said much. She could tell he didn't wanna say something that might make Dream more nosey and start hounding her about telling him.

"What hap—never mind. Not my business," Dream said quickly.

"No, I mean, I kinda wanted to talk to George about it again anyway so I guess you can join in on the gossip." Guess my mouth decided for me on this one, she thought.

"Wait, what? You guys gossip about boys without me?"

"Oh my gosh, don't say it like that, Dream," George groaned. "Bugsy and I talk about relationship problems a lot, yes. Not just boys."

"How did I not know this?"

"Because you don't know a lot of things?"

"It's normally George sending screenshots of text conversations with girls and asking me how to let them down gently," Y/n explained with a giggle.

"Or Y/n talking about her asshole ex."

"George! What do you and Karl not get about not calling him names?"

"I'm so lost," Dream mumbled.

Y/n sighed. "Okay, well," she cut herself off with a groan. "It's so embarrassing. Basically, my ex asked me to 'chat' this morning which is code for he wants to get back together—"

"Do you know that for sure?" Dream asked.

"Yeah, we already decided that," George snapped. "Let her finish."

"Sorry."

"So he wants to get back together and I feel stupid for wanting to listen to what he has to say."

"How is that embarrassing?"

"Because he hurt me and I feel like an idiot because him even suggesting that means he doesn't realize how badly he hurt me. It makes me feel like, I don't know, like all the time I spent being upset was for nothing," Y/n explained in a soft voice. "And because his simple, like, five word text made me freak out all day to the point of exhaustion."

"I don't think you should be embarrassed, Bugsy," George offered.

"Have either of you, uh, have you ever considered dating an ex?"

"Didn't you just say he hurt you badly?" Dream asked. "You aren't thinking of getting back with him, are you?"

"No... but I want to stay friends so maybe I should hear him out?"

"Well, I've never gotten back with an ex," he said bluntly. "But to be fair, all my relationships have ended badly or for bad reasons so I've never wanted to see any of them again. Staying friends depends on why you and he broke up, I guess, but..."

"Um, how do I put this..." she trailed off. "He was mean to me."

"Then no? Simple."

"But I've forgiven him and I think he's changed."

"People don't change that easily. Didn't you break up like, a few months ago?" George asked.

"Yeah, but—"

"Honestly I think if a guy was ever mean to you he doesn't deserve any more of your attention," Dream decided. "So, no. Don't even be his friend. Don't listen to a single thing he has to say."

"That's what I told her," George agreed.

"If that were the case, you guys shouldn't be friends," she argued. "You're mean to each other all the time."

"But we know it's a joke," George defended.

"So you're saying if someone is ever purposefully mean to you just once, you drop them forever?"

"Well, no," Dream said. "Not exactly. But it sounds like he was super mean to you since it's why you broke up."

She took a deep breath. She didn't want to go into detail. She was already uncomfortable enough talking about her personal life so much, but she trusted both of them and needed to get it off her chest and they were there and willing to listen. They had already established wanting to listen to her if she wanted to speak and right now, she wanted to speak. Maybe not the full story, but at least some. "He, um, well, the mean things he said, he said because he was trying to get me to see what he thought was the truth about myself."

Both of them were silent for a few moments. "I'm still confused," George admitted.

"Me too... But you don't have to tell us." Dream explained again. She thought it was sweet that they kept reassuring her that.

"I know, but I want to. If it's not too much for you guys..."

"No, go ahead, if you want."

"Uh, he lowkey emotionally manipulated me by telling me I wasn't good enough for anyone and stuff and how he was the only one who could ever love me. The second part he said truly believing that he was being romantic. There are a lot worse and specific things engraved in my brain but that's the gist of what he would tell me. He made me believe that I could never leave him because I could never be loved by anyone else. But he said it all in a way that... he thought he was just... letting me in on something no one else had the guts to tell me."

George gasped. "What?! Bugsy, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was like that."

"Woah, what the hell? No. Absolutely not. Don't give this guy a second thought. Cut him off for good," Dream said sternly, angry that anyone would say that to anyone, especially to someone like Y/n. "Wait, so, you broke up with him?"

"Yeah. After Karl yelled at me a lot and explained his outside point of view, I finally realized Peter was gaslighting me and emotionally abusing me and stuff so I dumped him. I guess right now I'm just upset by it because I thought we were past this and I was healing and him reaching out affected me again. I'm just emotionally exhausted. Like I said, it hurts to know that he doesn't realize what he did to me."

"I'm really sorry, Bug," Dream said softly. "Gimme his address and I'll punch him for you."

She laughed through her nose. "That's okay. Thanks."

"Yeah, she can go set his house on fire if she wants. She's proven that already."

"Shut up, George," she said with a small laugh.

"Wh......at?" Dream stuttered and George briefly explained.

"Well, Bug, just so you know, in case you weren't aware, you're really cool and sweet and funny and we really like having you around–" Dream started.

"Oh, ugh, no don't do this," she tried to joke but he ignored her as he continued his speech.

"–and you're way too good to be hanging out with either of us, and whatever that asshole was showing you wasn't love. 'No one could love you like he did' because what he was doing was not love, it was abuse." Dream's voice had a certain gentleness to it as he spoke that comforted Y/n and made her believe him. He was blunt but it didn't stab her in the heart like it should have.

If Y/n ever cried, she might have just then from how sweet they were both being. But she didn't because that wasn't something she did. She never cried over anything Peter said, never cried during movies, and didn't cry then. But she did smile very fondly at the Discord screen in front of her.

"Thank you, Dream."

"You know I'm not good with words, but, yeah, what Dream said," George said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that thinking it was normal. Please, please, do not get back together with him and please don't be friends with him."

"He's fine as a friend though."

"Bug. Whether he's fine as a friend doesn't matter, he doesn't deserve to have you as a friend. He treated you like shit, it's okay to be a little cold to him."

She sighed. They were right. "Okay." There was a long pause before, "thanks, guys. Sorry for coming in here and dumping my problems on you—"

"Don't be sorry," George said. "We're the ones that asked you to come in and share. We knew what we signed up for and don't regret it."

"Seriously, Bug, we care about you. You're allowed to, you know, talk about yourself." How did he know that's what she meant by that sentence? The way he could read her mind was heart-warming.

"Also, George knows this but Dream, there's a strict no-telling policy about this kinda thing. Please don't tell anyone."

"I wouldn't even think of it," he promised. "My lips are sealed."

"Good."

A soft animal noise came from one of their mics and Y/n strained her ears to listen. "Was that a cat?"

"Patches has entered the chat," George joked.

Dream chuckled. "Yeah, my cat just jumped on my lap."

"Aw, you have a cat? Lemme see lemme see lemme see!" Y/n begged. "Partly because I would love if we could stop talking about my ex-boyfriend and the other part because I love cats."

"There's pictures of her in the pets channel on Discord—"

"No, no I want a picture of her on your lap. Is she all snuggled up?"

"Yeah, she is."

"PleASE, Dream. I need to see the snuggly cat."

"Fine, fine, if you insist. Give me a second."

A few moments later, she got a DM from Dream and smiled at the picture. His room was dark but the computer screen cast a cold glow over a ball of fur on a lap clad in sweatpants. "Awww, she's so cute."

"Dream, I wanna see it too," George whined. "Send it to the pets channel."

"I'm literally making this my lock screen," Y/n informed, making Dream laugh.

"No, George, it's only for Bug. She's had a bad day so she gets exclusive Patches content."

"What? That is so messed up."

"You know what's messed up, George?" Dream asked. "You never come to me with advice on how to reject girls. We're on the phone for 12 hours a day but you can't talk to me about girls? Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"You'll just make fun of me."

"Why would I? What makes you think that?"

"Because Sapnap and I make fun of you? So obviously you and him would make fun of me?" George said with a laugh.

"....that's fair."

Y/n locked her phone and clicked the home button to admire her new lock screen. "I love her," she whispered.

Dream and George both laughed. "I'm regretting sending you that. You're gonna, like, make a shrine or something."

"What would be wrong with that? She's precious. She deserves a shrine."

"Yeah, Dream, you're the one that feeds her gormet cooked food," George teased with a laugh. "You probably have a shrine."

"That's normal! That's what people feed their cats! That's completely normal!"

"I don't," George countered.

"Then what do you feed your cat?" Dream asked.

"I dunno, normal cat food?"

"Wait! You have a cat too??" Y/n asked. "I feel like we're missing a huge detail and it's that George never told me he had a cat."

"And a dog."

"WHAT? GEORGE! Send me pictures!!!!!"

"I can't right now, it's like three am. They're sleeping. Look in the pets channel."

"You're the worst," she grumbled, clicking and scrolling to find his pets. She saw a lot of cute pictures of other peoples pets along the way but couldn't find George's.

"Hey, do your animals have English accents?" Dream asked, making Y/n laugh.

"What?" George scoffed. "You're so stupid."

"How would that even sound?" Y/n asked.

"Like..." Dream thought, preparing to test out how it would hypothetically sound. "Meow," Dream meowed in his best accent, failing miserable.

"Oh gosh, never do that again," Y/n begged.

Dream laughed into his mic. "That was disgusting. George, I really hope your pets don't have accents."

"They're animals, so probably not. And if they did, it definitely wouldn't sound like whatever that was."

"Oh come on–"

"OH I FOUND THEM." Y/n announced as she found a message from George in the pets channel with the message 'heard we're sharing our pets'. "GEORGE. THEY'RE SO CUTE."

"Are you gonna make them your background picture now?" George asked.

"What, no way! It's Patches!" Dream scoffed.

"Yeah, I'll make George's pets my home screen. Oh, what a good day." As soon as she said it, a metal bowling ball fell to her stomach, reminding her of all the reasons it was, in fact, not a good day.

She got off after a while, feeling the weight of a particular idiot man's stupid simple text catch up with her again. She thanked Dream and George for letting her join, they invited her to always hang out with them, and she went on her way.

Y/n fell on her bed and curled up under the covers as her mind started to wander from Peter to Dream. She was really glad she met him. He was a really good person and he was always so incredibly kind to her. George and Sapnap and Karl were all great friends, so caring and understanding and always looking out for her, but Dream was different and she didn't know why.

Maybe it was because he seemed untouchable still, like he had no reason to hang out around someone like her. But he wasn't untouchable in the celebrity was since he had a large following, because all of her friends did and they didn't seem untouchable. Then what was it? What set him apart from, say, Karl? She trusted Karl with her life and had known him for quite a while. She knew Dream for maybe a few weeks and almost trusted him the same amount.

Why?

She picked her phone up off the bed and pulled up Twitter, deciding to DM Dream since he was already existing in her mind rent-free. Might as well make him pay his rent by bothering him.

*********

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A/N: EEEEEEEE I hope that all made sense lmaaoooo basically yn ex = gaarrbbaaagggeeeee and ruined her self-worth a lot!! not poggers!!!!!!  THANK U GUYS FOR BEING SO SWEET ALL THE TIME ALL FOR ALL THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON ALL THE  CHAPTERS!!! I love seeing you guys make predictions and tell me how aljkDFB chapters make you feel bc same :/

taglist: OPEN (at the time) @hydrate-tion @loraleiix @tinaswagbd @charsdummb @smileyyuta @1ghoste1 @cerberus-hellhound @gaysludge @queestionmark @carnations-red @letsloveimagines @the-fictionwriters-hairdo @boiled-onionrings @a-cryptic @fee-btheweeb @letsloveimagines @erwinss @just-a-stan @axths @kayleigh2703 @furiouspockettoad @sometimeseverythingsucks @powerpuffyn​ @itshaileyn @millavalntyne @automaticcomputerpaper @nikkineeky @fivedicksinatrenchcoat @sprucekot @jabby16 @mae-musicbitch @hungoverhellhound @dreamyteam @kuroo-icedtea @stuffforreferences @menacingaesthetic @sapphic-soot @fangeekkk 

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: as someone who’s been tormented for being a nerd, you’ve never viewed your friendly teasing towards your best friend seonghwa as bullying. but that is until he completely changes his style and image in school, confronting you about your past behaviour, so you have no choice but to admit the real reason why you’ve been making fun of him...

pairing: popular boy!seonghwa x nerd!reader

genre: high school!AU (the characters are 18 for the spicy parts huehehe), best friends to fake dating to lovers, angst, romance, smut, fluff

warnings: friendly teasing, clichéd/unrealistic portrayal of high school dynamics, hwa does kabedon on yn like once, seonghwa’s a bit of a tsundere, fake dating, hints of possessiveness, slightly problematic remarks, yn is briefly hwa’s slave?! (no, i will not elaborate), bullying, mean girls, insults, hair-pulling, kicking, death threats, some swearing, self-blame, power play, overuse of pet names (princess, baby, little girl, etc.), sir kink (i won’t apologize lol), begging, yunho being nosy (yes, that’s a warning), mention of hypothetical collars, insecurities, making out, loss of virginities, lots of kissing, soft dom!hwa, eating out, fingering, blowjob, consensual protected sex, dirty talk, praising, aftercare, crying, hurt&comfort, a lot of dorky references (cuz that’s me, after all), jumping off a balcony (don’t try this at home!), happy ending

author’s note: will i ever stop bullying poor hwa’s kermit hoodie? no. jk, i lov him so much, he’s so talented & gorgeous no matter what he wears ;-;

disclaimer: all jokes aside, i do not in any way condone bullying and this work is entirely fictional for entertainment purposes! i’ve been physically and emotionally tormented in school and though i have not talked much about it, i do not wish such an experience to anyone! treating people with kindness is cool and i hope everyone spreads more love! ❤️

word count: 9.4k

Having been best friends with Seonghwa for four years now (ever since your first year in high school), you couldn’t help but making fun of every little adorable thing he did. And honestly, you admired his patience when it came to putting up with your incessant teasing. Diligently cleaning up everything after him? You’d call him a neat freak. Not being able to drink coffee? You’d call him a teacup loser. 

So, when he started wearing that green hoodie of his to school, you couldn’t resist the temptation to call him Kermit the frog. And at first, it all started as a joke. But then the nickname kinda stuck and you just kept addressing him as Kermit, even if he wasn’t wearing the delectable green hoodie. And at one point, you could tell that poor Seonghwa was not a huge fan of the whole thing. But he never called you out on it or told you to stop. He never teased you back for being a hopeless nerd who studied 24/7 and read books for fun. So, you kept going.

Until the summer before your last year in high school arrived. Sadly, Seonghwa was going to be out of the country for the whole vacation. You were going to miss him terribly, you realized. You had become so used to seeing him everyday that you couldn’t imagine how you’d last three months without being able to see his pretty face all the time. You’d occasionally text him memes and ask him what he was up to. But as the summer was coming to an end, his replies became less and less frequent, more and more concise. You kept wondering if you’d done something wrong. It couldn’t be the Kermit thing, you began telling yourself. After all, it was normal to tease your best friend every once in a while. Right?

When the first day of your last year in high school came, you were nervously anticipating the moment when you’d see Seonghwa again. Summer without him had been so boring and you couldn’t wait to hug him again and find a new thing to joke about.

The second you saw him, you instinctively knew there would be no more joking around. Seonghwa practically walked into the school hallway like he owned the place. He’d completely changed his style and overall image. Gone were the dorky hoodies you secretly loved so much. Instead, they were replaced by a black leather jacket. Gone were the casual sweatpants he looked so good in. In their place were dark jeans that made him look kinda dangerous. And the whole confidence with which he carried himself was just totally different. 

If you had known that a summer abroad could change a person so much, you would have tried harder at convincing him to stay in the country. On top of it all, he was now hanging out with a bunch of popular a-holes that you had never talked to before. Honestly, you couldn’t even gather the courage to approach your best friend. He looked so distant and unfamiliar that you couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Especially when you heard him laughing at the cool kids’ jokes. That should have been you...

You remembered when you were the one making him giggle, as if it was a century ago, when in reality it was just a couple of months. You kept sighing during the whole day, not daring to even talk to him. If he wanted to still hang out with you after his sudden “change in status”, he would, you kept convincing yourself. But he didn’t. In fact, he ignored you the whole day, making you feel like shit.

Just as you were leaving the school building in a hurry, mentally prepared for an evening of crying your eyes out and eating ice cream, you felt a hand grabbing you tightly. Turning around, you were surprised to find Seonghwa’s eyes staring back at you.

“Hi, princess,” he greeted you calmly.

“H-hi, S-seonghwa,” you responded dumbly.

“What? No witty comeback?” Seonghwa scoffed, smirking.

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you gonna bully me and call me names again? Kermit? Teacup loser? Neat freak? What’s it gonna be this time?” he spat out, pushing you against the school wall and extending his arms to touch the cold bricks so that you would feel trapped.

“Bully you?” you whispered in disbelief. “H-hwa, I wasn’t...I didn’t m-mean...”

“Oh, yeah?” he mocked your stuttering self. “Then, why did you say all these things, huh?”

“You know why,” you replied.

“No, I don’t. So, tell me right now or I swear, I can make your existence a living hell,” Seonghwa threatened.

“Because I like you, you idiot!” you cried out. “I like you so that’s why I’ve been teasing you. Because if I didn’t, I would have to admit how attractive I find all your habits. How adorable it is when you used to tidy your desk and how sexy you looked in that damned green hoodie. There, I said it. Are you happy now?”

You were so frustrated with the way he ignored you all day only to accuse you of bullying him that you ducked your head swiftly beneath his arm, simultaneously bending your knees, and, thus, successfully escaping from Seonghwa’s ambush.

“Y/N, wait!” he called after you, but you were running too fast and luck was on your side, as the bus arrived at that exact same moment, allowing you to get on it, before he could.

You couldn’t sleep much that night, tormented by the fact Seonghwa had confused your friendly jokes with bullying and how foolishly you’d confessed your feelings for him. You were certain that your affections were unrequited and now that he had this whole new position in the school hierarchy, he would undoubtedly make fun of you for them. You were even considering transferring to another school to avoid the potential embarrassment.

In the morning, no sooner had you finished breakfast in the comfort of your room than you heard loud honks. They were unlike the ones in your dad’s car so you couldn’t help but wonder what jerk had decided to park in front of your house and make your day even worse.

“Sweetie,” your mom informed you a bit after. “Your friend Seonghwa is here. He said he’ll drive you to school today. As promised.”

“He did?” you mumbled in confusion. But maybe because you weren’t ready to talk to your mom yet about what happened yesterday, you lied. “Ah, that’s right, I almost forgot.”

Hurriedly, you grabbed your bag and practically sprinted downstairs. You were curious to see what he wanted. And that’s exactly what you asked the minute you entered his car.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Aw, no good morning for me, princess?” Seonghwa pouted and God, you hated how cute you found him after the way he’d treated you the previous day. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he rolled his eyes, starting the engine. “I’m driving you to school.”

“I can see that. But why?” you hissed.

“Well, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed,” he groaned. “If you’re so insistent on finding out, I’ll tell you. Ever since you told me how you felt yesterday, I’ve been thinking...And I’ve come to the conclusion that you have two options. Option number one is to enjoy your hellish last year of high school. You’ve had your fair share of teasing me so I’m definitely going to enjoy telling everyone about your little crush on me. It’s going to be so much fun to embarrass you in front of the whole school.”

What the fuck was wrong with him? Seonghwa was supposed to be your best friend! Why was he suddenly acting like you were worth less than a dirty rug? Was it possible that he had changed so much in the span of three months? Or was he always like that? Had you been blinded by his good looks? No, that definitely wasn’t the case. Seonghwa was the sweetest guy you’d ever known. How did he get so...cold? Cold enough to chill your bones.

“And what’s option number two?” you grunted, already anticipating the worst.

“So, there’s this annoying girl in our class I want to avoid at all costs. Just because her parents are doing business with mine does not mean I’m into her. Option number two is for us to pretend we’re dating in school. Considering how much you like me, I’m assuming it won’t be very difficult for you to pretend. If you agree, that is.”

What a jerk...You shared your sincere feelings with your best friend and that’s the first thing that crossed his mind? To use you in order to avoid some random girl? If it was any other guy, you would have said no. If you weren’t desperate for even a fraction of Seonghwa’s time and attention, you would have said no. If you weren’t so pathetically whipped for him, you would have said no.

“I’ll do it,” you said. “For how long do you need me to be your fake girlfriend?”

“Just until graduation. Then, we’ll fake break up and each go our separate ways. How does that sound?”

It sounded terrible! You wanted Seonghwa to be a part of your life forever. But with the way he was treating you, you weren’t confident he felt the same way anymore.

“Sounds great,” you lied, because you couldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing your thoughts. You’d never be perceived as weak again.

The second you walked into school, Seonghwa’s arm wrapped possessively around your shoulder, everyone’s eyes were on you. It was like high-schoolers had no better thing to occupy their time with but to gossip around the latest dating news. If you weren’t enjoying his company so much, you would have found their reactions pathetic. And somewhat unnerving.

“When did you two lovebirds start seeing each other?” one of Seonghwa’s popular friends Yunho asked.

“Oh, you know what they say. A girl and a guy can’t stay just friends for long,” Seonghwa responded.

You internally rolled your eyes. Your best friend before the summer would have never said such a thing. Whatever the reason for his current behaviour was, you would get to the bottom of it. And right now, you felt like going along with this whole fake dating thing was your best chance at unraveling the mystery.

For the first day of your little arrangement, everything seemed to be going fine. Everyone was staring at you two but you didn’t mind. All you cared about was him. However, soon enough Seonghwa started asking you for weird things.

“Carry my bag for me.” / “Get me a drink from the vending machine, will you?” / “Bring me a snack from the supermarket across the street.” / “Oh, and for my friends, too, doll.”

Seriously, it was getting infuriating. You no longer felt like you were his bestie. You didn’t even feel like you were his fake girlfriend. At this point, you had practically become his slave! Running any errand and carrying his stuff for him. But what was the alternative? If you refused to play your part in this pretend dating scheme, he could easily turn against you and make fun of you in front of the whole school. So, you kept your mouth shut and swallowed your pride.

One evening, around a month after the fake dating agreement had started, you had stayed in the library a bit longer to prepare for an upcoming assignment. By the time you were out of the school building, you supposed that Seonghwa had already gone home. Frankly, the only nice thing he was intent on doing for you was driving you to school and back to your place most of the days.

As you were making your way towards the bus stop, you had the strangest suspicion you were being followed. Not daring to turn around, you started walking faster. But unfortunately, your attackers also sped up and soon enough, you were surrounded by a group of angry faces. Their leader was obviously Eunhee, the most popular girl in the whole school. And coincidentally, this was also the girl whose parents were doing business with Seonghwa’s parents. The very reason you were fake dating your best friend in the first place.

“Well, if it isn’t the little bookshrimp,” she mocked you, sticking a sharp nail into your chest. You didn’t bother correcting her that the right term was bookworm. You were already in enough trouble as it was. For some reason, teasing Seonghwa had been easy because you meant well and you were sure he wouldn’t hurt you. Not really. Because he knew how badly you’d been bullied in middle school. But now that you were met with so many threatening figures, you froze rightaway, unable to defend yourself.

“Just l-leave me alone,” you stammered.

“Aw, aren’t you a little pathetic shrimpie?” Eunhee cooed and started pulling your hair harshly and kicking you onto the ground. The other girls were holding you down so that you wouldn’t fight back. “Did you seriously believe you can steal Seonghwa from me? We’re meant to be together and if you stand in our way, I will fucking kill you!”

“S-stop, you’re hurting me!” you exclaimed sorrowfully. You tried your best to shield yourself and push her away but her loyal minions were preventing you from doing so. Just as Eunhee was about to slap you across the face, you witnessed as her threatening hand was stopped mid-air by the interloper whose features you couldn’t quite discern in the dark. But whose voice you would recognize anywhere.

“You think you’re so brave?” Seonghwa yelled at Eunhee and her friends. “Ganging up on her like that? Six against one? You’re the pathetic ones.”

“Hwa, we were just trying to teach her a lesson. She should learn her place, after all,” Eunhee tried to explain.

“A lesson?” he scoffed. “You dumbasses can’t even pass Calculus and you want to teach the smartest girl in our school a lesson?” your heart melted with warmth at how highly he thought of you. “Oh, that’s rich.”

“You won’t tell my dad, right?” Eunhee was suddenly on the defensive. She’d probably be in big trouble if he found out how his precious daughter was behaving in school.

“Get out of my sight right now or I’ll tell the whole country,” Seonghwa threatened through gritted teeth. (Later on, he actually did tell her dad about the incident and Eunhee, along with her followers, were suspended from school for two weeks. Oh, and their rich parents cut off their money, which was pretty impressive an accomplishment). And so, the vicious girls scattered like roaches in daylight. Pulling you onto your feet, Seonghwa grabbed your hand and started walking towards his car which you somehow hadn’t noticed parked nearby. Getting inside, he started the engine immediately but his hands were clutching the steering wheel so hard you were feeling a bit scared. You had never seen your best friend so angry. Well, maybe the only other time that came close was when you were telling him about your past experiences with bullying...

“Are you mad at me?” you asked sheepishly.

“At you?” he chuckled harshly. “Why would I be mad at you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t know...”

“Why didn’t you fight them back?” Seonghwa inquired.

“I tried, but I was reminded of middle school and just...froze. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, I’m not blaming you,” he replied calmly. “I was just wondering. Cause I know you’ve been going to self-defense classes. And I thought you were making progress. I mean, the last time I came to watch, you were pretty good.”

That was before the summer. Of course it was. Still, you were touched by the fact that he remembered. Despite acting like he didn’t care, you instinctively knew he did.

“I mean, I was,” you said. “But I panicked.”

Seonghwa let go of the wheel with one hand and placed it on your bare knee, rubbing calming circles around it. You two were alone so you were certain this was no longer the fake dating thing. This was just your best friend being there for you when you needed him the most.

“If anyone tries that shit again, just tell them you’re my girlfriend, alright? They have to be idiots to mess with you,” he spoke angrily.

“Fake girlfriend,” you reminded him sadly.

“That’s none of their business,” he replied, but didn’t correct you. Oh, how badly you wished to be his real girlfriend. To show him how much you cared for him.

“Why did you change so much over the summer?” you suddenly asked, while Seonghwa was driving you home.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Seonghwa responded harshly. “You don’t like my green hoodie and you also don’t like my leather jacket? There’s really no satisfying you, is there?”

“I didn’t mean your clothes,” you mumbled. “Just...your overall attitude towards me. Before the summer you used to let me squeeze your cheeks and sit in your lap and now you seem so...unapproachable. I’m just saying, we were closer when I was your best friend than we are now that I’m your fake girlfriend.”

Seonghwa stopped the car abruptly, making you blink in shock.

“I changed because I was sick of you treating me like a little boy and I wanted you to start seeing me as a man,” he admitted but without looking into your eyes.

“W-what are you saying?” you swallowed nervously.

“Nevermind.”

“No, you have to talk to me, Hwa!” you insisted desperately. “If you still consider me your best friend, be honest with me. Please.”

“This,” he gestured vaguely at you as he finally met your gaze. “This is exactly why I changed so much, Y/N. I don’t want to be your best friend anymore.”

His cruel words hurt you more than anything you’d ever experienced in your life. More than all the bullying, the slapping and getting pushed against a wall. Losing your best friend was your worst fear. But you had promised yourself to never be weak again. So the second he said that, you pulled the handle of the side door, attempting to get out of his car. Before you could do that, Seonghwa grabbed your hand, effectively keeping you in place.

“I want to be your boyfriend. For real this time,” he elaborated.

You stared at him in utter confusion.

“But...when I confessed, you acted like you didn’t care. Like I meant nothing to you.”

“Forget how I acted. I only offered the fake dating shit because I wanted to get closer to you again. Make up for the lost time during the summer. Do you honestly think I give a fuck about what Eunhee thinks or says about me? I just used that as an excuse. I’ve told her I’m not into her hundreds of times. And yes, maybe I have changed. Not because I don’t care about you. But because I do. You used to gush about Count Dracula and Darth Vader so much that I thought if I became the bad guy, you’d finally notice me. I wanted so terribly to impress you and make you stop seeing me as your adorable best friend that I got too lost in the feeling of holding power over you...Too lost to notice you liked me all along, didn’t you?”

“I did,” you whispered teary-eyed. “I do,” correcting yourself. “H-hwa, I’m so sorry to break it to you but-”

“If you reject me, I won’t be responsible for attempted murder,” Seonghwa interrupted you jokingly.

“I’m so sorry to break it to you,” you repeated with a sly smirk. “But no matter how hard you try to change, I will always see you as my adorable best friend. And though I have to admit I did stop teasing you temporarily, that was only because you suddenly started behaving like the dangerously sexy king of the high school. Can you blame me for feeling a little intimidated? I know I’ve said this before but I didn’t think me teasingly calling you Kermit would go this far. I never meant to hurt you, Hwa.”

“I know you didn’t, princess,” Seonghwa whispered, gently stroking your cheeks.

“And yes,” you smiled shyly, leaning into his touch.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I want to be your real girlfriend. It would be a dream come true.”

“Yeah?” he chuckled, as if the very idea seemed amusing to him. “How badly do you want it?”

“So badly, I would do anything for you, sir,” you uttered the last word without thinking much, your brain somehow recalling a time when you two had discussed how you’d enjoy being called by a potential significant other. In retrospect, that wasn’t really a thing best friends generally talked about.

“Sir?” Seonghwa grinned, leaning his head against your forehead. “Keep that up and your real girlfriend status will be confirmed.”

“I want to kiss you so much,” you were on the verge of begging. Oh, screw it. “Please, please, let me kiss you.”

He didn’t respond, just connected your lips with his own softly, taking his time with you. It was pure magic. You had thought about kissing your best friend thousands of times. But nothing compared to the reality. Parting your lips further to let his tongue in, you physically couldn’t prevent yourself from moaning into his mouth, overwhelmed by how good it felt. How insanely intoxicating he tasted. How you were burning alive and it would be the sweetest death imaginable.

“Not if I kiss you first,” Seonghwa said once he broke the kiss apart. “Oh, wait, I just did.”

What the hell...had just happened? Sneaking a peak at the time, you were suddenly panicking by how late it was.

“Holy shit, my parents are going to kill me!” you exclaimed. “Can you please drive me home?”

“Sure thing, princess,” he laughed, increasingly amused by your flustered self. “That’s exactly what I was intending to do anyways. I’m not in the habit of keeping little girls past their bed time.”

“Shut up, I’m not a little girl!” you complained. “I’m just a few months younger than you. Asshole.”

“Hey! Is that any way to speak to your devoted boyfriend?” Seonghwa scolded you teasingly.

Oh, God. You loved the sound of that. Your best friend was now your boyfriend. It still felt unreal.

“I’m sorry, sir,” you mewled apologetically, already knowing how to make him weak for you with just one tiny word. “And thank you for taking me home.”

“Anytime,” Seonghwa smiled. “See you tomorrow, baby.”

You could get used to it. Reaching forward to open the door for you, he whispered in your ear:

“I’m taking you out on our first date. Doll yourself up for me, will you?”

You nodded, your heart beating too fast to actually manage a verbal response. After you got inside and suffered a brief interrogation from your parents (using the library+extra assignments excuse), you hurried up the stairs, took a quick shower and then went to bed. No sooner had you closed your eyes than your phone buzzed with notifications.

Kermit the Frog: You still up?

Kermit the Frog: For fear of sounding lame, I moss you already

Kermit the Frog: *Miss...damn autocorrect

You chuckled upon seeing his messages. Whatever demon possessed you to still keep that nickname in your chat, you knew you had to change it immediately. If he saw it on your first date tomorrow, you would never hear the end of it.

You: I’m awake, yes

You: And I moss you too 😉

You purposefully misspelled the word to tease him. After all, it was only in order.

Boyfie 🐸: That obnoxious Kermit nickname better be gone by tomorrow

He texted as if he’d read your mind and you gasped in surprise.

Boyfie 🐸: Or we’re having our first couple fight!!

You: How did you know?!?

Boyfie 🐸: Not my fault you keep your phone unlocked sometimes

Boyfie 🐸: I’m not kidding, change it right now 😡

You: Changed it already

You texted him back quickly, sending him a screenshot.

You: Can I at least keep the frog emoji? 🥺

Boyfie 🐸: NO!!! REMOVE IT OR WE BREAK UP 😡😡😡

You: Damnit, Hwa, your angery Aries is showing...okay, fineee

You sent another screenshot of the now changed emoji.

You: Happy now?

Boyfie ❤️🖤💙: Much better, princess 🤗🤗🤗

Boyfie ❤️🖤💙: Now go to sleep, we have early classes tomorrow

You: Wow, so bossy. Okay, sir, I’m going

Boyfie ❤️🖤💙: Good night, my baby 😘

You: Staaahp, ohmygosh. And good night, Hwa 🥺

The next morning you ran outside faster than The Flash as soon as you heard the oh-so-familiar honks. When you saw Seonghwa waiting there to pick you up, your heart did a backflip as you excitedly took the passenger seat.

“Good morning, boyfriend,” you greeted him and kissed his cheek. “This still feels so strange.”

“Well, you better get used to it, doll. Wow, you really cleaned up nicely today,” he complimented your pastel pink dress. “Not that you usually don’t! You’re always gorgeous, I just meant that you’re especially gorgeous and...nope, that also sounds wrong. Okay, I shut up now.”

“Relax,” you giggled. “It’s fine. I appreciate the effort. You don’t look so bad yourself. Oh, who am I kidding? You’re practically sex on legs 24/7. I think it’s time for me to shut up now.”

“You’re so cute when you get flustered. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“Just you,” you admitted.

Once you walked into the school, it was like everyone noticed the subtle change in your dynamic. Because Seonghwa did something he never did before. He carried your bag and gave you his leather jacket! And Hwa’s friends were immediately onto you like bees to honey.

“I mean, I knew you guys were dating,” Seonghwa’s friend Yunho observed. “But I never saw the chemistry before, to be honest. Until now. I mean, come on, Y/N was like a loyal puppy, always following Hwa around.”

“Hey, don’t give him any ideas!” you joked.

“Too late. Already ordered the collar,” Seonghwa winked.

“Kinky. Can’t tell if I’m into it or want to cut off my ears,” Yunho grinned. “Probably both.”

“Nice chat, but we gotta head to class, Yu,” Seonghwa said because his friend was in a different class.

“See you for lunch?” Yunho suggested.

“Can’t. Already made plans with this little girl,” Hwa tilted his head towards you.

“Whoo, enjoy, then!”

“It’s not what it sounds like!” you groaned, feeling uncharacteristically embarassed.

“Isn’t it?” Seonghwa smirked mysteriously and pulled you towards the room you had class in.

“Nothing involving collars and puppies, I assure you!” you yelled (perhaps a little too loudly), twisting your head, not wanting to give Yunho and the rest of Seonghwa’s friends the wrong idea.

When your classes for the day were over, Seonghwa led you towards his car once again. You were a bit nervous to make a good impression on your first date. Even though it was silly. Your best friend of four years had surely made a first impression a long time ago.

“Where are we going?” you asked to break the awkward silence.

“It’s a surprise, princess. Can you be patient for me?”

“I can,” you promised dutifully and placed your tiny hand on top of his. “Anything for you, sir.”

Seonghwa lost focus on the road for the briefest of moments in order to give you a warning look. One look and that was all you needed to keep you quiet and obedient. Eventually, you realized where he was taking you. Though you hadn’t been to his place for a couple of months now, you couldn’t forget how the drive to Seonghwa’s home looked.

“I dressed myself up and we’re just going to your place?” you hmphed in playful annoyance. “So much for our glamorous first date.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of my cooking skills. Shit, I sorta ruined the surprise, didn’t I?”

“Aww, you were planning to cook for me on our first date? Hwaaa, I’ve only had you as a boyfriend for less than 24 hours and you’re already pulling out the big guns! I don’t mean to push my luck but if you’re cooking now, I’m trembling to witness our one month anniversary.”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

“You’re very ambitious to think you can put up with me for an entire month.”

”Hwa, sweetie, I’ve put up with you for four years.”

“Not as your boyfriend, you haven’t.”

“We’ll talk again in 30 days,” you vowed enigmatically.

“Here we are,” Seonghwa announced once he parked in front of his home. “My parents are currently at work so you don’t need to worry about...well, anything, really.”

“What’s the supposed to mean?” for some reason his words made you even more worried.

“Nothing, I just meant you can...like, be yourself. There’s no one to impress.”

“There’s you,” you pointed out. “Don’t forget your parents already know me. And besides, you’re the only person I care about impressing.” 

“Not to stroke your ego, but you’ve already impressed me. After all, you’re the only one who’s had the audacity to compare me to a freaking muppet and survived.”

“Point taken,” you chuckled.

“Come on, let’s get inside,” Seonghwa suggested and the two of you entered his house. No matter how much you begged him to let you help with the cooking, he was insistent that he would do all the work. Said something about making up to you for the times you had to carry his bag or buy snacks to him and his friends. When you argued that you also had some making up to do for all the times you teased him a little too insensitively, he said that you agreeing to be his real girlfriend was enough to satisfy his wounded heart. Seeing that there was no point in arguing, you gave up and occupied yourself by mindlessly scrolling through social media. About an hour later, Seonghwa finally deemed his culinary masterpieces ready to be eaten. He allowed you to at least help set the table which you considered a small victory. The second you tried the first meal, you were so overwhelmed by the exquisite tastes that you spoke without thinking much.

“God, I wanna marry you.”

Seonghwa simply chuckled, amused by your unexpected reaction.

“Did I say that out loud?” you whispered, completely mortified, covering your mouth in embarassment.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Shit, I’m such a mess,” you mumbled.

“No, it’s fine. I take it as a compliment. Now, eat up before it gets cold. If my wicked plan works, you’ll have bought me a wedding ring by the time dessert arrives.”

“Truly wicked. I’m in danger,” you laughed and kept enjoying the various meals Seonghwa had prepared. 

Once the plates were empty, you felt so full and warm you couldn’t possibly move. And no, that wasn’t an exaggeration. Seonghwa had to physically carry you to the couch so that you two would re-watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi together, warmly cuddled up under a blanket.

Suddenly, you were possessed by the urge to speak your mind and be as honest with him as possible. After hiding your true feelings for four years, now that you were finally given the chance to be yourself, you were feeling uncharacteristically brave.

“You know, even though I was messing around earlier, I had indeed daydreamed about marrying you back in our first year of high school. You were the first boy who ever treated me like I wasn’t the walking joke of the universe. The first who ever hung out with me not as a prank but because you actually saw me as a friend. When I started teasing you about your cute habits, I hope you know I never wished to hurt you. I just wanted to show you that I notice and appreciate every single detail about you. So, yeah, I really like you, Hwa. Have liked you for a long time.”

Seonghwa had paused the movie the second you started talking. And now that you were done sharing your thoughts, he seemed unable to say anything. The silence was a bit awkward so you interrupted it once again.

“I’m sorry, that was silly. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable so early in our re-”

This time, he interrupted you with a kiss, pulling you into his lap, just like the good old days. You smiled into his mouth, wrapping your arms around him.

“It wasn’t silly. I appreciate you saying all that,” Seonghwa reassured you. “And for the record, I know you meant well with all the teasing. In a sense, a part of me even suspected that you liked me back. But I was also feeling a bit insecure. I kept thinking that you could do so much better than go out with dorky Kermit guy who has an obsession with tidying up, you know? That you deserved someone else. But I couldn’t allow anyone else to be that someone. So, I changed myself.”

“Maybe you did change a little. But in my heart, you’re always going to be my Frog Prince Hwa.”

“I hate you so much,” he rolled his eyes.

“Naw, you don’t.”

“Fine. I hate that you’re right.”

Things between you and Seonghwa were going great. It had been three months since you two started dating for real. He was super attentive and caring towards you. However, you were a bit bummed out since not much changed compared to his behaviour as your best friend and as your boyfriend. Sure, you did start kissing each other and occasionally making out (which wasn’t exactly a best friend activity). But there was one thing that still had not happened. And the more time passed, the more anxious you felt to bring it up.

One evening, you had miraculously convinced your parents to let you have a sleepover at Seonghwa’s place. After insisting that nothing out of the ordinary was going on between you two and even if something unusual did happen (which you highly doubted but secretly hoped for), you were going to use protection (and no, you were certainly not referring to Seonghwa’s collection of action figures who carried weapons).

As you and your boyfriend were enjoying your snacks while watching TV from the comfort of his bed, you couldn’t help but finally raise the question that had been tormenting your mind for a while now.

“S-seonghwa...do you not find me attractive?”

“What the hell are you asking me that for? Would you be my girlfriend if I didn’t find you attractive?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never dated anyone before so...I was just wondering if there’s a particular reason why we still haven’t...taken things to the next level?”

“The next level?” he chuckled. “Relationships aren’t video games. And to answer your question, the reason’s actually the exact opposite of your concerns. We haven’t done anything more than making out because I find you ridiculously attractive. And it’s taking every last inch of my self-restraint to not pressure you into something you’re not comfortable with. I just wanted to wait until you’re ready.”

“Ready? So you knew that I haven’t...with anyone...yet?” you purposefully left out some words because you were feeling incredibly shy discussing this with Seonghwa.

“Of course I knew, princess. You’re my best friend. And my girlfriend.”

“Well, that’s a relief, at least. That you’re not repulsed by my...inexperience.”

“Why would I be when we’re in the same boat?”

“We are?” you whispered in shock.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Seonghwa laughed. “I’ve had the biggest crush on you since forever. Did you honestly think I would just screw anyone else?”

“Well, it’s not like you didn’t have options,” you pointed out, referring to all the potential love interests swarming around him like bees. “Unlike me.”

“Are you regretful, little girl?” he inquired, running a lazy finger across your cheek. “Jealous?”

“No, I just...want to be the best for you, sir,” you confessed nervously.

“You’re already the best I could hope for,” Seonghwa responded and kissed you hungrily, burying his hands into your hair.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” you curiously needed to know. “That you haven’t either...”

“It’s not something that comes up in everyday conversation?” he pointed out. “What was I supposed to say? Hi, bestie, let’s have lunch together. Oh and by the way, I’m a hopeless virgin pining over you?”

“You’re right,” you laughed. “It would have made things awkward.”

“Now, unless you have any other pressing issues, I suggest we go back to kissing.”

And without giving you the time to argue, Seonghwa devoured your lips rightaway, gently pushing you down so that your back hit the sheets. Then, he started slowly taking off your jeans. Anxiously trembling under his vigorous touch, you placed a hand against his chest. He immediately noticed and put a temporary halt to his ministrations.

“We don’t have to do this right now,” he comforted you with all the seriousness in his voice.

“No, I want to, I swear,” you nodded eagerly.

“Princess, you’re literally shaking,” Seonghwa remarked.

“What’s wrong with me?” you sighed.

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect. Tell me to stop if you feel even the slightest hint of hesitation or discomfort and I will, I promise.”

“I know you would, Hwa. I trust you. But even if I’m a bit nervous, I want to do this with you. Please?”

“Well, I can’t deny you since you’re asking so nicely,” he grinned and continued where he left off. “Can I get rid of these?” Seonghwa inquired, carefully pushing your panties to the side.

“Yes, you can do anything to me.”

“Oh, sweetheart, you really shouldn’t have said that,” he chuckled darkly and tore your underwear savagely. You couldn’t even gather the energy to complain about the ruination of your new pair, you were far too turned on by Seonghwa’s aggressive nature to care. He didn’t waste any more time, grabbing your thighs to hold them in place, he began licking your pussy with his tongue and stimulating it with his long fingers. It didn’t take long for you to start squirming beneath his touch, helplessly moaning his name. He didn’t cease his merciless movements until you reached your orgasm. When your breathing finally eased, you gathered the energy to speak again:

“I thought you said you’ve never done this before? How were you so...so...”

“So good?” Seonghwa smirked confidently and bit his lower lip. “I mean...I’ve seen videos. Read some things here and there.”

“Honestly? I think you’re a god.”

“You’ll have to stop complimenting me so much or I’ll develop a god complex,” he joked. “What do you want to do next, baby?”

“I want to suck you off,” you mumbled.

“Who taught you such dirty language?”

“Hey! I read, too,” you pouted and assuredly made your way towards the carpet next to his bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Seonghwa asked.

“Aren’t I supposed to kneel in order to pleasure you, sir?”

“Princesses never kneel,” he instructed and got up from the bed, urging you to lie down with your head hanging from the very edge of the bed and make yourself comfortable. “Open up that pretty little mouth for me, will you?”

You did as he asked obediently and even went the extra mile to stick your tongue out. Unbuckling his belt and throwing it to the side, Seonghwa was quick to follow your wishes and let his cock spring free from his jeans. Your mouth went dry at the sight of his monstrous size. Seeing your worries if it will fit reflected in your eyes, he expressed his concern for you:

“Are you sure about this?”

“Please, please, I need you,” you whimpered without thinking, eager to have a taste. Without making you wait any longer, Seonghwa pushed the tip of his cock inside, gently letting your cheeks get used to the unfamiliar feeling. Slowly, he went deeper, allowing you to acquaint yourself with the stretch. When you kept blinking at him in anticipation, he realized you were ready for more and began moving faster, fucking into your mouth at a steady pace. As he neared his high, his motions became less controlled you were sucking more intently, impatient to swallow every last drop of him.

“Shit, I’m going to-” he attempted to break away, but you managed to wrap your hands at the back of his legs in order to keep his cock inside your mouth. 

Seconds later, he released his cum and you began drinking it thirstily. When you had made certain that no drop was wasted, you finally let go of his legs, allowing your boyfriend’s dick to dangle freely outside of your mouth.

“You’re fucking incredible,” Seonghwa praised you and placed a soft kiss on the top of your head. “My incredible girl.”

“I’m only yours, sir,” you mumbled, way too affected by him.

“You like this, don’t you?” he mocked you teasingly.

“Yes, sir, I want to belong to you,” you whimpered and turned around to pull him back into bed.

“Your wish is my command, princess,” Seonghwa smiled fondly and took a mysterious package out of the back pocket of his jeans. Soon enough, you realized what it was, as he started lining up the condom on his cock.

“Oooh, I brought one of those, as well!” you exclaimed in surprise.

“You came here on a mission, didn’t you? Wicked little thing,” he tsked in fake disapproval.

“It’s not my fault you’re walking around like an Adonis,” you defended yourself boldly.

“You’re one to speak. Freaking goddess,” Seonghwa complimented you and slowly began unbuttoning your shirt you had somehow forgotten you were still wearing. “Is this okay?” he asked softly, always making sure you were feeling safe.

“More than okay,” you consented. Left in nothing but your baby pink bra, you unintentionally shivered at the sudden cold air surrounding you. Soon after that, Seonghwa undid the clasps and you were now only wearing your birthday suit. Feeling a bit timid, you self-consciously covered your breasts and broke eye contact with your boyfriend.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” he pressed the palm of his hand against your cheek. “Do you want to stop?”

You weakly shook your head and somehow managed to gather the strength to look into his beautifully dark eyes once again.

“Then, let me see you, yeah?” Seonghwa nudged your hands away gently. “You’re so beautiful, baby.”

You blushed at his sudden praise and allowed him to have a look. But seconds later, you were getting a bit impatient.

“Please, Hwa, I want you so much.”

“Anything for my princess,” he chuckled and coaxed his tip at your entrance slowly. When you gave him a sign he could go deeper, his movements became bolder. “Fuck, you’re taking me so well.”

“M-more, sir, I swear I can do this,” you begged as you were beginning to unravel beneath him. As he fucked you faster into oblivion, you were no longer thinking straight and his name was the only word you were capable of uttering. Over and over again. Until you both came, blissfully lost in each other’s arms.

“Here, let me clean you up,” Seonghwa offered sweetly, picking you up with little effort and carrying you to the bathtub. 

When he started shampooing your hair, rubbing body lotion into your sensitive skin and covering your neck with soft kisses, you couldn’t stop your tears from falling, touched by his infinite tenderness and by the sheer intimacy of the gesture.

“Darling, are you crying?” he questioned you upon hearing your hiccups.

“N-no,” you lied but it was useless, because it was quite obvious you were, in fact, bawling your eyes out.

“Did I hurt you, my sweet princess?” Seonghwa asked in concern.

“How...how could you think that?” you whimpered. “You’ve been nothing but kind and caring towards me. It’s just that...this is the first time I’ve felt so...special, so worthy, so...”

“Loved?” he offered the word you had been seeking for but had been too scared to utter out loud.

“Y-yeah,” you confirmed shyly. “Is it too early to say this? I’m sorry if it is but...I love you, Seonghwa.”

He simply stared at you in disbelief for a couple of seconds. This time, you were once again the one to break the deafening silence.

“You don’t have to say it back. I just...I wanted you to know. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way but-”

“I love you too, baby. Of course I do,” Seonghwa reassured you. “And I’m not just saying it, I don’t feel obliged to say it. As my best friend, you know me better than anyone else. And you know I don’t do things unless I want to. So, believe me when I say this.”

“Fuck,” you uttered and only started crying harder in his arms.

“Shhh, you’re safe with me, sweetheart. I would never harm you,” he comforted you and stroked your hair lovingly, putting all your worries and self-doubts at the very back of your head.

After you were all dried up from the bath and had put on your boyfriend’s shirt while he was still in the shower, you were feeling uncharacteristically confident. Confident enough to look for something you hadn’t seen for a while. You had been wondering if he had it hanging around somewhere in his wardrobe. And after a short period of rummaging you found your treasure. The green hoodie. The Kermit hoodie. You smiled mischievously as you changed into it. It still smelled like him, you beamed. Back when he was simply your best friend, the amount of times you had fantasized about him lending it to you should have been illegal. So now that you had been promoted to his girlfriend, you simply couldn’t let such an opportunity pass you by.

Once Seonghwa got out of the shower, water droplets running down the divine skin on his bare chest, you were too busy staring at him in all his beauty and glory to notice the angry look on his face.

“How did you even find this? It was hidden so well in my wardrobe,” he scowled.

“Don’t be mad,” you pouted adorably. “I look so cute in it, right?”

“Cuter than me, that’s for sure,” Seonghwa rolled his eyes and tickled your belly.

“That’s impossible, you make the cutest Kermit,” you giggled, enjoying how easy it was to get on his nerves.

“You’ll never let me live this down, will you?” he groaned.

“Never ever, my stunning Frog Prince,” you vowed and kissed him quickly, taking him by surprise. His eyes widened in shock and he seemed too flustered to continue scolding you.

“You’re in luck today. Nothing can ruin my good mood,” Seonghwa was determined.

“Great,” you grinned gleefully. “Cause from now on, I intend on making all your days filled with joy.”

“From now on?” he chuckled sarcastically. “Oh, princess, my days have been filled with nothing but joy ever since I met you.”

And indeed, both Seonghwa’s days and yours were nothing but pure happiness ever since you decided to make your relationship real. And despite his foolish statement that he no longer wanted to be your best friend, you had somehow managed to convince him that he was both your boyfriend and bestie and that was perfectly okay. As if in the blink of an eye, spring came which meant that the whole school was in nervous excitement about the upcoming prom. Generally, you weren’t the type to get overwhelmed about such a trivial topic. But now that you were dating Seonghwa, the most popular guy in the school, you couldn’t help but worry a little. What if he wanted to go with someone else? Someone equal in “status”? Your worries and insecurities further intensified when he started asking questions in a weird way.

“I need your help,” Seonghwa blurted out over lunch.

“Shoot.”

“Okay, so, I have this friend. And he really likes this girl and wants to ask her to prom. What do you think would make her happy?”

You blinked in surprise. You knew that when people pulled the “I’m just asking for a friend” card, they were most likely talking about themselves. Was he seriously thinking of inviting another girl to prom? You tensed a little but tried really hard to remain neutral in your answer and actually make an attempt to help your bestie.

“I mean, all girls are different,” you reasoned. “If you describe her to me, maybe I’ll be able to give a more appropriate suggestion.”

“She’s a bit like you. You know, kinda bookish and-”

“It’s alright, Seonghwa, you can say it. I’m a nerd.”

“Well, yes, but...”

“It’s not exactly a slur,” you chuckled coldly.

“I know, but that’s what your bullies in middle school called you. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive,” Hwa put his hand on top of yours in a gentle, comforting manner.

“It’s fine when if you say it,” you smiled. “I won’t get offended.”

“I was going to say my friend’s crush is intelligent like you but, oh well.”

“That does sound better, I admit,” you giggled.

“She’s also a bit shy and introverted so maybe she wouldn’t enjoy a public promposal. Crowds tend to make her nervous,” Seonghwa observed.

“Seems like you didn’t need my help after all,” you scoffed playfully.

“No, I do! I still haven’t come up with an actual way to propose. I mean, for my friend.”

“Right. Your friend. Well, he can’t go wrong with some poetry under her balcony. If she has one, that is.”

“I’m pretty sure she does.” Seonghwa smirked. “Alright, thanks.”

He jumped from his seat, not even having finished his lunch.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I gotta prepare my friend’s promposal,” he shrugged and disappeared from your sight, leaving you a bit crest-fallen. If he was intending on asking you, he wouldn’t have turned to you for help, right? That would sorta ruin the element of surprise, wouldn’t it? And yet, you knew that Seonghwa wasn’t the type to care about people’s opinions and randomly ask a more popular girl out because of public demand. And he definitely wasn’t the kind of person to just date you for kicks and then ditch you at prom. Despite those very logical reasons, you couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

A week later, you realized all your worries had been for nothing. It was a Sunday morning and you had just finished having breakfast with your family. You were leisurely reading on your bed when you heard some suspicious noises coming from your window. You looked up from your book and you could swear you saw tiny rocks hitting the glass! You jumped up angrily, half-expecting to find a bunch of neighbour kids pulling a prank. But you were surprised when you spotted your boyfriend standing under your balcony. Wearing his iconic green hoodie.

“What are you doing here?” you whispered, though a hopeful part of you already knew the answer.

“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,” he recited diligently in a song-like manner.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at his overdramatic acting but it was the effort that touched you immensely.

“And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were!” he continued sweetly.

You were so in love with this man it was insane.

“Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return,” Seonghwa kept going.

You couldn’t resist the urge to leap off the balcony. It was just the second floor so what could possibly go wrong? Other than a scraped knee and a bit of a limp. God, you were such an idiot.

“Shit, are you okay?” Seonghwa asked in terror and wrapped his arms around you.

“The excruciating pain is worth it if I get to hug you like this,” you grinned, leaning against him for support.

“Why couldn’t you just walk down the stairs like a normal person?”

“And what’s romantic about that?” you joked. “Jumping off a balcony makes for a much better story.”

“You’re impossible.”

“Only for you, my sweet Frogmeo!” you teased and kissed his cheek.

“Wait, I wasn’t finished!” Seonghwa exclaimed excitedly, not bothering to act offended about your obsession with him and that Kermit hoodie. “There was something about cheeks, I swear.”

“See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!” you helped him out dutifully.

“O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!” he finished proudly and placed his palm against your cheek.

“Only you could possibly mix Romeo and Juliet with The Frog Prince and somehow make it work,” you praised him.

“Does that mean you’ll go to prom with me?” Seonghwa tilted his head to the side adorably.

“Of course I will, baby,” you responded happily.

“Thank God, ‘cause learning that monologue drained my soul and brain,” he whistled playfully.

“You know, you had me worried there for a second,” you confessed reluctantly, because you didn’t want to keep any secrets from your doting boyfriend.

“When?” Seonghwa asked in confusion.

“Lunchtime. A week ago. When you asked me for advice. I thought that...”

“That I would ask someone else?” he correctly guessed your suspicions. And you nodded. “Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?”

“No, you’re perfect. In fact, too perfect. It makes me feel like I don’t deserve you.”

Seonghwa smiled sadly and kissed the top of your head. But he wasn’t angry with you. Just wanted to erase those silly thoughts from your mind.

“You deserve so much more, princess. But I’ll try my best to give you all I can.”

“As will I,” you promised and mischievously pulled the drawstrings on his hoodie, making his face squished adorably.

“If this is the best you’re capable of, I dread to see your worst,” he shook his head in amusement.

“Prince Frogmeo and the Nerdy Princess,” you sighed wistfully. “That would make a hell of a fairy tale, wouldn’t it?”

“How about Kermit the Frog whoops the Princess’s ass for being a brat?” Seonghwa threatened jokingly.

“You know what? I wouldn’t say no to that,” you giggled and started running away from him. “If you catch me first!”

Prom night arrived and despite all the preparations and excitements around it, it was nothing special in itself. What made it special, however, were the moments you spent with Seonghwa. Just dancing and talking seemed to be enough to make your heart leap with joy. And the smile never left your face the entire night.

“School’s really ending, huh?” you spoke aloud without thinking, while you were swaying slightly to the music in your boyfriend’s arms.

“This isn’t the end of us. We’ll go to college, we’ll grow up. The best is yet to come, darling.”

“You know what I meant,” you replied, a hint of sadness tinging your tone. “In college, I’ll study Literature, you’ll study Music. We’ll no longer be able to sit next to each other in class or exchange notes or hold hands under the desk.”

“We’ll do all sorts of other things,” Seonghwa responded cheerfully, trying to think positive. “We’ll have study dates in college, we’ll visit new restaurants and make more memories together. Just because high school is over, doesn’t mean we are. I’m not giving up on my best friend ever.”

“Your girlfriend,” you corrected him playfully.

“My best friend,” he repeated. “You were right. Being in love with each other doesn’t nullify our friendship. Both are equally important to me. You are the most important to me.”

“God, Hwa, how can you say such things so easily?”

“Is your heart fluttering?” your boyfriend and best friend teased you, swirling you around while dancing. You were met with his beautiful dark gaze again as he murmured: “Hi, princess.”

“H-hi, S-seonghwa,” you chuckled in response.

And you were finally home.

The End

[bump1nthen1ght]

I’m Still Hurting (Orc x Reader) Part 2

Pairings: Fem!Reader/Male!Orc

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Angst

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2107 words

Summary: You and your boyfriend establish a new normal

A/N: At long last, the highly requested part two! I had a bit of struggle coming up with a proper followup to the first part (which was part of why I left it with an open-ended ending in the first place lol). Little less angst this time, I felt these two deserved a little sweetness after the last chapter. Hope y'all enjoy!

Part 1

The first thing that caught your eye when you walked by the music store was the Grand Piano. It was gorgeous: Polished mahogany, a nice velvet seat, and keys that looked like they had never seen the sticky fingers of a curious 8 year old.

“Wow, is that new?”

You nod, admiring the old-fashioned air of the instrument. You knew jack shit about music, but even you could tell that this piano was an antique, one probably worth a good chunk of change.

“Must be. I’ve never seen it before and this place is on my way to work.”

Waruck hmms, pressing his hands up against the glass. His eyes sparkle when he sees the “Free to Play” sign right next to the piano. It probably reminds him of his Grandpa’s, the one he played when you guys visited his family for Christmas.

That was a long time ago.

“Want to go in?”

Waruck pulls away from the glass, eyebrows raised. He rubs the back of his neck and steps a couple feet back, trying to curb his enthusiasm.

“Uh, we don’t have to-”

“I don’t mind. It's been a while-” You pause, the slight-anxiety in the air making every casual word difficult, “It’s been a while since I’ve heard you play.”

Waruck smiles, small and polite, and opens the door of the shop for you. Before, he might have done a little bow and said “Ladies First” in a British accent.

But that was before, and this is now. Now, every comment is walking on eggshells, whispered tentatively and under your breath. Testing the waters for how comfortable you two could get around each other.

Still, it was exponential growth from two months ago.

--------

After your meeting at the coffee shop, you had asked Waruck for a month; A month of privacy, for you to collect your thoughts and feelings, to be alone for a bit. He had agreed immediately, shuffling out of the cafe with a hunched back and a melancholy air, but he had kept his promise. You took the time to focus on other things, shifting your relationship to the back of your mind and enjoying the day-to-day.

But a part of you felt a little bad, like maybe you were stringing Waruck along for an inevitable breakup. Getting his hopes up for an extra tortuous punishment that left a sour taste in your mouth. So on one brave Saturday night, you sent him a meme you saw on Instagram, one that reminded you of him.

That second month saw the two of you texting more and more frequently, sending little jokes, asking how your day was, so and so. Each week rebuilt a little bit more of that familiarity, that comfortableness. It finally got to the point where Waruck asked if you were free one weekend. He just wanted to get some lunch and stroll around the neighborhood for a bit. For the first time in a while, that idea didn’t seem too bad.

--------

The air is considerably cooler inside the store, a tiny bell ringing as a rush of air-conditioned air hits both of you. Waruck makes a beeline for the piano, his footsteps short and quick. You feel a smile crawl on your face; He always acted like an excited kid when it came to music.

Waruck plops down in the center of the stool, fingers lightly brushing over the keys in awe. You walk up the piano’s side, laying your hand on the wood and admiring the lack of smudge marks on the polished wood. Waruck tests out a G note and although the sound is short, it’s extremely pleasant. Waruck’s smile grows even larger.

“When I was a young boy…”

You mutter under your breath. Waruck chuckles, quickly continuing onto a G flat.

“My father took me into the city,” Waruck hums

“To see a marching band.” The two of you sing together, laughing a little bit too loudly and gaining a sharp look from the tired sales clerk. Waruck waves a little apology, but that playful grin stays on his face.

“Wow, that brings back some repressed Hot Topic memories.”

“Seriously. I can almost feel the book my band teacher used to thwack me with. Me and my buddies would sneak into the choir room and play that all the time.” Waruck’s fingers dance over a couple more notes, aimless.

You’ve always liked watching Waruck play. His fingers were so dextrous and controlled,  not to mention long and nicely articulated. He’d probably make good money from a hand-model side-gig.

“Want to take a seat?”

You shift your focus away from Waruck’s hands. He’s made space on the bench and pats the open space next to him.

“Yeah, sure.” You say, despite the fast pace your heart is now beating.

You keep a solid two inches of distance between your bodies, keeping your thighs together as to not brush your legs with his. It felt like a middle school dance, keeping a bible length away from your partner to avoid the disapproving stare of the chaperones.

Waruck nods, absentmindedly running his fingers up the scale. “Any requests?”

Immediately, all non-love songs depart from your brain. One of your favorite pieces sits on the tip of your tongue and your brain refuses to let it go. You shake your head.

“Nope. It’s all yours, music man.”

Waruck chuckles, a little louder and a lot more comfortable, as he sits deeper in his seat.

“Prepare,” Waruck cracks his knuckles, “to be amazed.”

You bite back a laugh. He’s still such a dork.

He starts to play, his hands easily finding the right keys, moving like a well-oiled machine. Your heart nearly skips a beat before it melts into a puddle of sentiment.

It’s your favorite.

The song brings back memories of your childhood, a rainy day in, and delicious food. It’s like chicken soup for the soul and you can feel any of the left over tension leave your body.

Waruck’s eyebrows furrow with concentration, but he has a large smile on his face, his large tusks peeking out from his lips. His arm stretches across the piano as the song hits its most fast-paced part. His biceps and shoulders lean more into your space, but the feeling isn’t unwelcome. It feels natural, as if his presence and yours is part of the piece itself.

Waruck’s thigh brushes against yours, but his pace doesn’t falter and neither does yours. You stay enraptured, watching how easily he slips into the music. You barely even notice how you have begun to lean closer to his side; Your mind says it’s to give his arms plenty of space to play, but it’s still far more comfortable than you are willing to admit.

How easy it feels, in the moment, to fall back into routine.

The song begins slowing to a stop, only a couple seconds left, when the sounds of the music shop return to you. A giggle from not too far rings discordant with Waruck’s piano.

Three girls stand not too far from you, watching with fascination as Waruck plays.

“Wow, he is so good!” One whispers to her friends.

There is nothing even remotely lascivious in their eyes or in their words, but a knife still twists in your gut. Your throat constricts as flashes of your bedroom, of unanswered texts, and a picture of a bar corner booth send needles down your spine and into your heart.

Is this wrong? Is this giddy feeling you have only distracting you from reality? Is it like this song, Waruck’s playing, beautiful but temporary?

“Ugh, I want what they have.”

“I know, right? How romantic.”

They’re wrong, you’re wrong, this is wrong; It’s fake, fake, fa-

Your eyes dart to and fro, trying to desperately avoid Waruck’s quickly overwhelming body heat and your audience, before it catches on the distorted shape of your reflection in the window.

The glass is old, slightly drooping, even the golden lettering of the music shop’s name looks dusty and sun-bleached.

But what is unmistakable is you and Waruck. Waruck, playing piano, and looking at you. Looking at you with the love in his eyes you thought had died, or had never been there at all. The group of girls stands in the background, small and out of focus.

And Waruck is staring at you.

“Are you okay?” Waruck asks, his warm hand on your shoulder.

You whip your neck around, almost getting whiplash.

You’re here, in the music store, with your boyfriend. He looks at you, brow slightly puzzled from your wild eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I,” You suck in a deep breath, “Sorry, I guess I got lost in my own head. That song gets me kind of nostalgic.”

Waruck pats your shoulder and you miss it’s heat when he pulls it back to his side. He smiles, but you can tell he is still slightly worried.

“No problem, I get it.”

You notice now how much closer Waruck is to you. His chest has shifted towards yours, the fabric of his shirt sleeve pressing against the skin of your bicep. Waruck’s knee absentmindedly knocks into yours, but the contact doesn’t sting or jolt you. Not even the continuing silence makes the situation awkward.

It’s nice.

“Do you want to check out the record aisle? They might actually have that piece on vinyl.”

Waruck gestures with his thumb to the piles of CD’s and records not too far from you two. You nod

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

--------

The two of you spend about an hour in the music store, pointing out hilarious cover art and admiring some vintage finds. Waruck even gets you to chuckle a couple of times, slowly bringing out his old cheesy puns.

Waruck’s missed this.

You two walk out of the music store at the tail end of one of Waruck’s jokes, you playfully punching his shoulder.

The two of you wander, in the opposite direction of your cars, for a little while. But Waruck hasn’t lost track of time; No, he’s soaking in every moment he can, every smile and lingering look you give him. Every reminder that this is real.

He spent a week agonizing over what he did. Stuck in silence as he gave you your space. His friends (His real friends, not those assholes from the bar) had offered to come by and keep him company, but he turned it down.

When Waruck got back into routine, it was slow-rolling. It was difficult to fight the instinct to check his phone for a good-morning text, or check your Instagram for any ‘post-breakup’ partying.

No, he had already broken your trust once. The least he could do was give you some time. Spend some hour not wallowing in self-pity, but actively make a change.

Waruck began to accept those invites to a chill hang out, playing some poker and sipping on beer with the gang. He played his keyboard when the thoughts got too loud and went jogging when the music wasn’t loud enough. He called his mom a couple of times, even sent his sister a  couple of texts to catch up. They hadn’t spoken outside of holidays for almost three years.

Maybe he was the one that needed time.

God, why did you have to be so smart?

“Oh shit, how long have we been walking?” You mutter, checking your watch for the time. Waruck turns around you, already knowing the answer was 27 minutes, exactly. The both of you were nearing the edge of the neighborhood, cafes and shops turning into residential suburbs. “Dang, time really flies, huh?”

Waruck smiles.

“With you? It always does.”

You give him a half smile, patting his bicep. “Oh my god, you’re such a cheeseball.”

Waruck winks and shoots you some finger guns.

“You know it babe.”

You giggle, checking your watch once more, face turning just a little bit.

“I should probably head back, I’m getting dinner with some friends tonight.”

A small part of Waruck yearns for more time, but he lets it go.

Space, this was about establishing space.

“I had a lot of fun today, Waruck.” You step a little closer, Waruck’s heart skips a beat.

“Me too.” He whispers, his breath catching as your fingers brush against his.

It’s a simple gesture, one you’ve down a million times. But when your palm slips into his, your finger’s interlocking, it’s like fireworks have gone off.

“Same time, next week?”

Waruck nods, not trusting himself to speak without a voice crack.

That’s all he needed, all you wanted; The promise of the future.

“Yes, I would love that.”