#i realized they were still freshman and was like whoa

[s4sharkteeth]

time skip all the way to senior year anyone?

PREVIOUS

NEXT

[samthestrangerthingsfan]

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: frienemies-to-lovers, kinda mean!Eddie? shy!reader, swearing, a lil smoochin', mentions of lack of confidence and poor self image, cute nicknames

a/n: hi bb, will you be my valentine? I don't love writing mean!eddie but its okay because we can always fix him :)

Valentine’s Day.

A day which the Hawkins High elite are positively buzzing over the plethora of cheap red and pink decorations.

Cheerleaders swoon over poorly constructed cards from their popular boyfriends, while dozens of obnoxious mylar balloons take up way too much space in the already crowded hallways.

Beyond the 14th of February, the reason for all the excitement was the annual Hawkins High Valentine’s Day dance—of which you were head of the committee.

Was it because you were the only Senior to volunteer their time to coordinating it instead of attending it? Maybe, but at least it gave you a reason to show up to the dance without a date.

...and avoid looking like the pitiful wallflower you are.

You also knew you’d have no time to rush home and get ready after your last class, so here you are. Standing outside of the AV Club door, decked out in your new crushed-velvet dress. It's ruby red and dangerously short.

This was definitely out of your comfort zone. You typically preferred to be invisible. It’s easier that way; no one can hurt what they can’t see. Right?

But when this dress caught your eye in the mall shop window, it was the first time you could ever remember wanting to be seen. Wanting to try to look like the pretty girls who walk the halls everyday vying for the attention of others.

The dance gave you the perfect excuse. Sure, it’s not like you had a date or anyone asking you to go, but you felt so beautiful. The way the dress hugged your body made all the staring and whispering as you walked down the hallway so, so worth it.

“Hey—whoa…” Dustin’s voice dropped when he walked around the corner, arms full of equipment. “Y-you look fantastic!” He said proudly.

Dustin was your favorite Freshmen, always kind and happy to see you.

“Aw, thanks Dusty! You don’t think it’s too much?” You lifted your boot, inspecting it falsely.

Dustin smiled, “It’s too much for 6th period Spanish, but not for Valentine’s Day that’s for sure.”

He unlocked the door, and held it for you.

Dusting grabbed a pen and paper to write down what you’d need the AV Club’s help with after school.

With hands on your hips, you looked around the room. “Okay, so I definitely need the projector, and if you could set it up before—“

An annoying, loud, cocky voice cut you off. “Henderson! What the hell is takin’ you so long?”

Eddie fucking Munson.

You watched as he sauntered into the room, DIO jacket and all. He clapped Dustin on the shoulders before turning his gaze to you.

“Holy shit. That you, Mouse?”

Mouse. A nickname you loathed.

You’d made the mistake of sitting at the Hellfire table your Freshman year, and he’s never let let you live it down. Once Eddie saw just how shy you were, he made it his mission to get under your skin.

He'd plopped down into the seat next to you, assuming you were there to cause him and the guys trouble. “New girl’s trying to get in good with the freaks, hm?”

You jumped and began to frantically pack your belongings, “I-I…I didn’t know. I’m sorry, I’ll just go—"

When he realized you were nervous, he changed his tone. No longer was he on edge, but rather trying to make you laugh. Show you it's okay to give him a taste of his own medicine. “No no, little mouse. You’re not scurrying away that easily.”

Four years later, you’re both still here and Eddie’s been a thorn in your side ever since. You thought you'd be rid of him once he graduated, but he flunked--twice. Condemning you to another year full of his nonsense.

His obnoxious, overly-confident, doe-eyed nonsense.

“Munson.” You couldn’t help the eye roll. “Dustin and I are working on something so,” you flicked your hand toward the door. “Skedaddle.”

“Oof,” he teased. “You kiss your mother with that potty mouth?”

Eddie walked past Dustin, hands on his hips as he took you in. “Why, may I ask, are you dressed so fancy, princess? Hot date with a frog?”

Okay, guess we’re playing this game.

“The only frog I know is you, Munson.”

His hand flew to his heart. “You hear this, Henderson? Who knew Mouse could be such a brat?”

“If you’ll excuse me,” you attempt to sidestep him, but he blocks your path. Big brown eyes watching your every move. “Don’t you have anything better to do than push my buttons?” It’s a pitiful gripe. You know he enjoys this far too much.

“C’mon, sweetheart. If I didn’t talk to you, who the hell would?”

Ouch.

Something no doubt said in jest, but it hurt to realize just how right he was. You had tons of acquaintances, and you got along great with the teachers. As for friends, the well's a bit dry in that department.

You cleared away the tightness in you throat. “Yeah, I don’t have time for this. I’m actually contributing to society. How about you?” Your face was twisted into a sarcastic smile, attempting to hide the hurt.

Eddie on the other hand thought the two of you were simply playing your favorite game. Seeing just how flustered he could make you before you gave him a taste of his own medicine.

“Yeah, you’re a real Nancy Reagan.” He laughed, gesturing to your dress.

Your eyes honed in on him. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means,” he reached out, sweeping a piece of hair off of your cheek. “If you wanted a little attention, you didn’t have to do all this.”

This.

Said as if the word tasted rotten. Disgusted by what you’d considered to be you at your most beautiful.

I must look like a fucking fool.

The stinging in your eyes got stronger every second you stood in his presence. Your gaze locked onto the floor, following your feet as you left. “Bye, Dustin. I’ll see you later.”

Dustin protested, calling you back before turning his disappointed glare to Eddie.

“Dude…” he chided.

Eddie scoffed, “What? Henderson I was joking—she knows that, okay? That’s our whole thing.”

"Eddie, she was crying!"

Were you? No, no way. This is what the two of you do.

"No, she wasn't." He said unconvincingly. "You don't know her like I do, little buddy. She's a good girl, loves the cat-and-mouse of it all." Eddie wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Dustin.

Eddie had a fuck of a time in O'Donnell's class, and now on top of all of that, he's late to set up Hellfire.

He moved a bit quicker down the hall, easy enough since most of the school left to get ready for the Desperate Dance. He intentionally always schedules DND on nights like this, that way he'd never have to be caught dead--

Eddie's stopped in his tracks at the sight of the trashcan at the end of the hall. He spots a familiar piece of red fabric hanging out of the bin.

He pulled it like a magician, revealing more and more of the velvet clothing until its fully removed,

A dress.

Your dress.

Why the fuck did you throw it in the trash? You we're the most confident Eddie had ever seen you while you wore this thing.

...and you looked drop dead gorgeous, but that's beside the point.

He heard your voice coming from the gym, and abandoned all thoughts of DND.

Eddie burst through the double doors, ignoring the frilly pink and red decorations for the dance. He weaved between the underclassmen carefully setting up the tables and backdrops to make his way over to you.

You, who now instead of being in your beautiful fucking dress, are in you school-supplied gym uniform. Your hair was pulled back, no longer falling in the perfectly natural way you had it earlier. Your makeup was gone--Eddie didn't mind that, he didn't think you needed it anyway.

But you'd never looked so small to him.

He called your name more gently than you've ever heard him speak. When you turned and saw your dress in his grip, you wanted to disappear.

Had he come to gloat?

"Why the hell was this in the trash?" he's not smirking, or sarcastic when he says it.

"Didn't like it." It's all the pain in your throat will let you get out.

You walk away from him, hurrying to find something else to do beside stand there and be made fun of by Eddie Munson.

"Bullshit," he calls after you, quick on your heels. "You don't wear a dress like this and look the way you look in it and just decide you don't like it."

You could feel the tears returning as soon as you stopped walking. "I don't know what you wanna hear," your back was to Eddie, but you felt his gaze regardless. "I just didn't like it...anymore, okay?"

The fake organization of the ribbons in front of you didn't deter him, he remained behind you in silence until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Did...did I say something? Earlier, in the AV Club." He spoke so softly, and with such sincerity, you'd never know it was Eddie talking to you.

You sniffled, angry at yourself for letting him hear how upset you were. "I don't know what you mean."

"Henderson," He's quick on your heels. "Henderson said you were crying when you left."

You don't--can't say anything. Trying desperately to will the tightness in your throat to go away and the tears to dry before they fall from your eyes. A small, shaking breath passes your lips.

"Please look at me, Mouse." His voice is hushed when he calls out to you.

You turn to him begrudgingly. Hoping if he saw the mess he made he'd leave well enough alone.

But when he sees your face, with red eyes and damp tear-stained cheeks, his heart falls into his stomach.

"Oh, oh sweetheart--"

You beat him to it. "I'm fine, Munson. Just...just give me the stupid thing, okay? I'm better off invisible, anyway."

"You've never been invisible to me." Eddie hands you the dress, and watches as you wring it between your hands. "I'm sorry, Mouse."

You scoff, "You didn't--"

"Yes I did," He says firmly. Eddie steps into you, closer than he's been before. "I made an asinine comment thinking we were playing our little game, but it's not a game if someone gets hurt, especially you."

Eddie swipes away the tear on your cheek with the pad of his thumb. "You looked beautiful. You're always beautiful, but that dress? Honey, I couldn't think straight. I'm a dumbass half the time, but I turned into a god damned Neanderthal when I saw you in that."

Your brain couldn't process what was happening. It almost sounded like Eddie...liked you?

"I thought," You looked down, embarrassed to even say it out loud. "I finally felt pretty, pretty enough to be seen and not just in the background."

Eddie's brow softens at your words, "Mouse, I see you. You're one of the only things I look for throughout the day. Always lookin' out for the pretty shy girl with the smile that makes me go weak in the knees."

You laugh at that. "I guess I always look for the obnoxious metal head that's way too good at getting under my skin."

Eddie chest rumbles with a laugh, too. "You're too good at calling me on my crap, what do you expect me to do?"

A comfortable silence falls between the two of you, and it has Eddie clearing his throat. "Can--can I give you a hug? Hate that I made my favorite girl cry."

The smile on your face speaks volumes, but you nod anyway.

When you're wrapped in Eddie's arms, his warmth seeps through your bones, relieving any tension or nerves. His scent invades your senses, warming your belly and heart. You melt into him completely.

Eddie can't believe how well you fit in his arms, like a damn puzzle piece if you asked him. He smells you shampoo, and memorizes the fragrance, filing it away in his mind as his new favorite smell.

When you pull back, he leans his forehead on yours. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I really am."

You nod, moving his head a bit as it rests on yours. "I know."

Eddie steps away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ya know, uh, if you're not busy, I'm running a DND campaign tonight. I'd love it if you sat in and maybe after...I don't know, maybe I could take you to Benny's?"

You smirked, eyes narrowing at him. "You asking me out, Munson?"

His eyes widened in sheer panic, "Oh--oh my God, I read this all wrong, huh? Please just forget--"

You're quick to ease his worry. "I'd love too."

Putting the dress on the table, you offer Eddie your hand. "Show me the way, Dungeon Master."

He takes it eagerly, but doesn't walk anywhere yet.

"Eddie?" You giggle.

"One second, princess. Damn knees turned to jelly again."

[jayflrt]

𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟕𝟖𝟔 04. the world of the elite

THERE WERE ABOUT THREE THINGS GOING ON IN JAY PARK'S HEAD WHEN KIM SUNOO CAME TO PICK HIM UP.

The first was the chilling realization that he was actually going to a Yale party. He hadn't been to a party in over a year (save for Jungwon's birthday party where they had to call the fire department when Jake almost burned the kitchen down), so Jay wasn't expecting to end up at this scene again in his new, fake school. (Could he even call this fake if he was actually earning a degree while his tuition was paid for? He could hardly tell what was real and what was fabricated anymore.)

Secondly, was it really wise for him to get close to his target like this? He hadn't dealt with assignments where he had to follow people around, so this was all rather new to him. He realized, however, that he managed to befriend you, his mission could get a lot more complicated.

Third—he had no idea how to talk to rich people.

There were times when Jay had to entertain particularly wealthy guests when his parents brought coworkers home. But it was so excruciating even then because wow, how shallow could someone get? The depths of his conversations with all the rich people he had met were not promising at all, so he didn't have much hope for his social battery tonight.

But Jay was probably on par with some of them now, so he had to adjust to this new lifestyle. There was no way he could lie about his upbringing, though, so he framed a story of him having a rich aunt that was over-the-moon when he got into Yale.

Moreover, he was so confused as to why Shin Yuna approached him. It wasn't like he looked well-off with his clothes that he thrifted years ago. Jay couldn't tell if Yuna was just being nice, or if she had other intentions that he was supposed to be concerned about.

"Whoa, nice jacket," Sunoo complimented once he let his eyes sweep Jay's outfit. "You'll be lucky if Yuna lets you out of her sight."

His eyes grew wide. "Is she expecting me to be by her side the whole time?"

"Probably. You still have time to back out, if you want."

He was conflicted. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get close to the people around you and get some information out of whoever was the most drunk there; at the same time, if Yuna was going to keep her perfectly-manicured claws on his shoulders the whole time, this whole night would be counterproductive.

In the end, Jay decided to go. He figured that if worst came to worst, he would just find the right time to ask Yuna some questions about you.

"Is Heeseung's place close?" Jay asked. The truth was that he already looked up all possible routes to the location when Sunoo sent him the address earlier; he just needed to ask as a formality.

"Down the block here," Sunoo replied. "His dad bought him an entire penthouse. Isn't that sick?"

He fought down a bitter remark and said, "Man, that must be nice. What do his parents do? You said Sunghoon's dad owns Park Pharmaceuticals, right?"

"Yeah, and his older brother, Sungjin, is taking over the company. And Heeseung's dad is a hedge fund owner," Sunoo answered. "They only made it big recently, like four or five years ago. I remember Heeseung used to be way different back in freshman year. Now he's more... subdued. I guess he didn't know how to handle being rich back then."

Jay could see the flashing of blue and purple lights from the windows of the penthouse down the street. He carefully watched the two figures on the terrace talking by the railing. At first, it seemed as if they were just talking normally. As he got closer, though, Jay realized from the faint sounds he picked up that they were, in fact, arguing.

It was you.

Jay had been looking at pictures of you all week, but seeing you up on the terrace was different. It seemed to just sink in that what he was doing was real, and seeing you in the flesh was all he needed for cold reality to seep into his veins like poison.

The man next to you must have been Park Sunghoon. Even from how high up the two were, Jay could tell that the man next to you exuded an overwhelming presence.

But he wondered what they were arguing over.

"C'mon," Sunoo said grimly, clearly having taken notice of the commotion above, "it's just up these stairs."

Jay felt his stomach sink deeper and deeper with each step he took. When they reached Heeseung's door, there was a bouncer guarding the entrance—probably some freshman Heeseung paid to keep watch. Jay stopped in his tracks, wondering if he was even allowed in since he had never met Heeseung, but his friend simply opened the door and walked right in, as if his arrival was expected, and the bouncer paid no mind. (Perhaps it was expected? Jay was starting to believe all these people had history that he didn't even understand the extent of.)

"Jay!" came a shrill cry from across the room. Jay turned to see Shin Yuna all but tackle him, draping her arms across his shoulders. He could smell the alcohol on her breath already. "I'm glad you made it."

"Thanks for the invite," Jay replied, gently prying Yuna's hands off of him, which she allowed him to do but grabbed his hand again right after.

Jay sent Sunoo a help me sort of look, but his friend seemed to greatly misunderstand the message he was sending across. Sunoo gave him a sideways grin and a thumbs-up before signaling that he was going to catch up with some friends in the kitchen.

Great.

"Come on," Yuna slurred, dragging Jay over to a sectional couch in the corner. "I'll introduce you to my friends."

He recognized some of the faces while he was looking into you—Karina Yoo, whose mother owned a private jet company; Choi Yeonjun, who landed a few minor movie roles with the help of his Golden Globe award-winning mother; Giselle Uchinaga, whose father was an investment banker and mother owned a nightclub; Kim Chaewon, whose mother revolutionized stem cell research; and then there was Lee Heeseung in the corner, who had his arms folded across his chest as he sized Jay up.

From what he gathered, this was most (or all) of the people in your inner circle. Heeseung and Sunghoon appeared to be more than that to you, though; childhood friends had a bond more special than the rest, he supposed.

Jay then wondered how Heeseung felt about his two childhood friends dating and now arguing on the balcony.

"Guys," Yuna started with a grin, motioning to Jay with a dramatic flair of her hands, "this is Jay, the new transfer student."

"Hey." Jay waved to the group, his mouth suddenly feeling extremely dry.

His greeting was returned by a few tight smiles from the rest and a chorus of unenthusiastic words of acknowledgment that he didn't feel too great about. Maybe he had to give up on his chance of entering your circle.

"Don't mind them," Yuna whispered to him as she pulled him over to sit on the couch with her. They were seated exactly across from Heeseung, whose stare made Jay feel even more uncomfortable. "They're all in a bad mood 'cause Y/N and Sunghoon got in a fight before you came. God, why do they always kill the vibe?" She was talking awfully loud, causing Karina and Giselle to shoot her warning glares. Jay had a sinking feeling that she was making the situation worse if she kept opening her mouth. "Seriously, I mean, we're here to party!"

Not that Jay was particularly avoidant with physical touch, but being touched and fawned about in front of everyone was slightly unnerving, especially when he didn't know Yuna all that well. Nearly half her body weight was on top of him, and Jay was pretty sure she would end up sitting fully on his lap if she took another shot.

"Are you... drunk?" he asked her warily.

She gave him a strange look before giggling. "Uh, yeah? Did you want a drink, too?"

"No, just—"

"Hey, so you've really never seen me online before?" she asked, tilting her head in a way that Jay had to admit would've been rather cute if he wasn't so overwhelmed and put-off by everything else. "I'm, like, TikTok famous."

"Oh, that's nice," he replied, sort of distracted as he tried to catch a glimpse of you out on the terrace. He saw a flash of your glittering silver romper, but then your boyfriend stepped in front of you again.

"Transfer student," Heeseung called out. He had his elbows on his knees, but once Jay looked at him, he started to stand up. "Let's get you a drink since the rest of them are being miserable."

Jay assumed it was a joke, but only he (and probably Heeseung) seemed to think so. Karina let out a sound that sounded partly like a laugh and partly like a scoff.

"Way to make it awkward, Heeseung," she sneered.

"He's the one who probably feels so awkward with you all being so quiet," Heeseung said, patting Jay firmly on the shoulder to get him to stand up. Jay had to gently peel Yuna off of him before he got up to follow Heeseung. "We'll be back."

While Heeseung and him were making their way past groups of students packed together, Jay couldn't figure out what the hell to say to him. When he first walked in, the look in Heeseung's eyes made him think he was a piece of trash stuck to the bottom of his shoe, but now he was just lost.

"I haven't heard of you before," Heeseung said once they reached a long table with bottles of alcohol strewn about.

"I didn't expect you to. Today's my first day, anyway."

There was a bartender on the other side of the room, but Jay figured that Heeseung brought him here for a private conversation. Without even asking Jay about his preference, he let his hand glide over the handles before he picked out a bottle of tequila. Jay wasn't much of a drinker but he let Heeseung pour him a shot.

"What do your parents do?"

Jay couldn't stop himself from barking out a laugh, shaking his head fervently. "Oh, no, they're"—he shook his head again—"they're no one."

"They can't be 'no one' if they managed to get their son into Yale."

"They didn't get me into Yale."

"They still raised you, didn't they?" Heeseung raised a brow. "My mom's a preschool teacher, and my dad was unemployed up until my sophomore year of high school. Not the professions you expected, huh?"

Jay's brows raised in pleasant surprise. Here he thought that Heeseung was judging him, but maybe it was the exact opposite. He really didn't expect a sincere response from someone like him, but perhaps he just misjudged the junior.

"My mom's an office worker, and my dad used to be a firefighter before he got into an accident," Jay answered. "Now he has a corporate job."

"And you're..."

"I'm what?"

"What're you trying to be in the world?"

Jay took the plastic shot glass that Heeseung handed out to him. Before downing it in one go, he answered, "Someone."

Heeseung laughed. "At least you have more of a story than most of the people in this room." He shot one of the cluster of students a sideways glance and said, "Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people here bought their way into Yale."

Jay swallowed hard. He couldn't say anything when he was technically one of those people, too. All his life, he slogged harder than anyone else for a place in the world. He worked at restaurants illegally since he was thirteen, studied tirelessly to get free rides to universities, and gave up a social life just to balance multiple jobs to get bills paid. It felt strange to be one of the people who didn't have to lift a finger for extraordinary opportunities.

For a moment, he wondered if he would get in if he tried applying on his own. There was no use in pondering, though; this was all simply for the assignment—nothing more, nothing less.

"You made it here on your own, didn't you?" Jay asked with a flickering, newfound respect for Lee Heeseung.

"I didn't even think I'd be able to pay for college when I was in high school," he answered. "Of course I needed to work hard. Getting a full ride into an Ivy League isn't something you get by fucking around. Even though Hoon and Y/N were set their whole lives... I couldn't just be the only one who didn't make it in."

Jay wondered why Heeseung was telling him, a total stranger, all of this. He didn't bring it up, though, in case the question sobered him up to the point of not revealing any further information.

But he had to ask, "So why'd you drag me out here for a drink?"

It was a fair question. There were bottles of alcohol on the table next to the sectional couch. If Heeseung really wanted to just pour him a drink, he could've done so then and there.

"Thought I'd save you from Yuna," he said. "She gets a little messy when she's drunk."

"Oh." Jay almost shuddered at the thought of what could've happened if he was still sitting on the couch.

"Sorry. Are you interested in her?"

Jay's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he shook his head firmly. "N-not at all. I just met her today."

The alcohol started coursing through his blood, making his limbs feel less like muscle and more like jelly. Yet, he strangely felt more comfortable in his body.

"Good." Heeseung leaned against the table and crossed his arms again. "I would've felt bad for you if you were actually into her. She definitely thinks this'll make me jealous somehow." He suddenly stiffened up. "Don't mention this to the others, though. I don't think Y/N would be happy if she found out."

He arched a brow at Heeseung. So you didn't know about your own friend's feelings toward your childhood friend? Even though you were in a relationship yourself? Interesting.

But even more interesting because Jay swore he saw pictures of Heeseung and Chaewon together on his Instagram. Pictures that seemed to imply that they were a couple. Their little inner circle seemed to be more convoluted than Jay initially thought.

"Haven't even met her," he told Heeseung. "I'm not the kind of person to spread people's secrets like that."

Unless I'm paid to do so, he thought bitterly.

Heeseung smiled slyly, and Jay wasn't sure if it was one of friendship or as if he had just heard an enticing business proposal. "I hope my feeling about you is right." After grabbing the handle of Clase Azul on the table, he added, "Let's go back before they accuse me of scaring you off."

Jay followed after him, wondering if he had just accidentally gotten himself in Heeseung's good graces, or if he just made a grave mistake.

Jay decided to ask, "Hey, by the way, do you know about the Order of Kryptos?"

Heeseung stopped in his tracks immediately, spinning around so fast that Jay nearly stumbled over his feet.

"What about it?"

"Well, I just—I don't know—I was thinking of, uh, joining."

"You can't just join. You have to be invited." Despite the shame that burned under Jay's skin for sounding like an idiot in front of the junior, Heeseung's eyes twinkled. "But... I know someone you could talk to if you wanna get your foot in the door."

"You do?"

"This isn't like a frat where you have to rush. See, all these people here just target members of the current class and suck up to them until they get tapped. For example, Hoon's practically guaranteed a tap since his brother's in the Order right now."

"Then do you think I even have a chance?"

Heeseung shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. There's only fifteen seats, so it all depends on how much you impress them." He grabbed Jay by the shoulder and pointed out one of the seniors laughing with a couple other boys in the kitchen. "That's Jeong Jaehyun. He's probably the chillest in the Order—doesn't really give a fuck about prestige and background, or whatever. I'd talk to him when you get the chance."

Jay, wildly amazed with how big of a help Heeseung was being, returned the gesture by patting him on the back firmly. "Thanks, man."

"No worries. You should work fast, though. They start giving up their seats next semester."

Next semester. Jay was certain he could get on someone's good side by then.

This whole thing was rather frustrating for him, though. All Jay wanted to do was lay low and carry out his assignment properly, but to do so he needed to get close to you and your friends somehow. Impressing you meant impressing a senior to get into the Order. There seemed to be far too many hurdles he needed to cross just to uncover some dirt on you.

When he and Heeseung returned to the sectional couch, everyone seemed a smidge more lively. Yeonjun waved Jay over to introduce himself properly, claiming that he couldn't say anything earlier because Yuna was hogging all the attention. Yuna, on the other hand, seemed to have already blacked out on the couch, but none of her friends were exactly paying much attention to her. Jay wondered if this was a frequent occurence with her.

While Jay was in the middle of telling Yeonjun and Giselle about the school he transferred from, you came out from the terrace with Sunghoon, but there was an icy distance between you two.

Jay had spent the past week looking at pictures of you every single night. Almost every picture you had on your Instagram was burned into his brain.

But seeing you up close in the flesh was almost earth-shattering. All the details your camera couldn't capture were like the missing pieces that made you glow even brighter. Jay was almost amazed that Park Sunghoon could even fight with you when you looked like this.

"Y/N?" Karina called, but you were crossing the room in the direction of the bathroom. She threw a nasty glare at Sunghoon, who sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh.

Giselle raised a brow. "You're gonna let your girlfriend walk away?"

"She needs space," Sunghoon answered curtly.

"Oh, I bet she gets plenty of that from you."

"Watch your mouth, Giselle."

Jay wasn't sure if Heeseung was making the right decision when he stood up and offered, "Hoon, chill. I'll go check on her."

Chaewon was quick to grab her boyfriend's hand, frowning as she said, "I think one of the girls should."

Heeseung pulled his hand away, and Jay noticed the crumbling look in Chaewon's eyes before he pretended to be more interested in a loose thread in the couch. He felt bad for her; she was practically being humiliated in front of everyone else.

"I'm the host," Heeseung replied. "I should check on her."

Karina shot Yeonjun and Giselle a withering look. "Our Uber's almost here. I don't think she wants to go home with"—she motioned to Sunghoon with a jut of her chin—"you know."

"I'll ask Ryujin to take her home, but we should probably tell her before we leave," Yeonjun said. He lowered his voice to add, "Yuna's wasted. You know Heeseung's gonna get pissed if she crashes here."

Giselle snorted. "That's probably what she wants."

Jay looked down at his lap. So everyone was aware of Yuna's semi-hidden feelings toward Heeseung except you? Why was it a secret from you, anyway? This friend group—if Jay could even call them that—was messier than he had anticipated.

Jay, who was seated in the middle of the trio, started to feel rather awkward. Surely, they must have known he could hear everything they were saying.

"Uh," he started because he was starting to feel like he was obligated to chime in, "I can call an Uber for your friend, if she needs one."

"Aw, Jay, you're too sweet," Giselle cooed, but then her face of adoration turned completely serious. "But you're a man. We don't trust you."

"That... that's fair."

"Oh, but he's Sunoo's friend," Yeonjun added. "Sunoo would get her home safely."

"Just ask Sunoo or Ryujin—whoever's still here," Giselle said.

Karina, who was on her phone for a majority of the conversation, spoke up to confirm, "Yeah, their locations are still here. I'll text them to make sure Y/N's taken care of." She stood up. "Let's just get going and check up on her later in the group chat."

"God, how are we gonna drag Yuna out of here?" Giselle whined. She gently maneuvered the unconscious girl to make it easier for them to lift her up. "Yeonjun, you get her other arm."

After much effort, they were finally able to get Yuna barely stumbling forward as her arms were around their shoudlers. They said their goodbyes to Jay and Chaewon, but Sunghoon only got one from Yeonjun.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes and moved to sit next to Jay. Chaewon was completely sidelined at this point as she picked at her nails and waited for Heeseung to come back.

"Sorry for that mess," Sunghoon said. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Park Sunghoon."

"Jay," he greeted. "Nice to meet you. Heeseung told me a bit about you."

"Oh, really?" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I hope it wasn't too awkward."

Jay grinned. "All good things. Don't worry."

"Great, uh..." He fumbled for a moment, reaching into his pockets and then handing Jay a pink iPhone. "Do you think you could hand this to my girlfriend? She should be somewhere in the house."

Although Jay took the phone from him, he grimaced. He didn't even know you, and he felt bad already. Your own boyfriend was sending a stranger to give you something when he could very well do it by himself?

And why did he have your phone in the first place? Jay wondered if Sunghoon had taken it from you during the argument, and the very idea made him feel cold.

"I really think you should give it to her."

His small smile stretched into an awkward grin. "I don't think she wants to see my face right now."

"Oh... sure—will do."

This time when Jay crossed the room and pushed through the packs of students, it felt slightly more intimidating. He felt like a lone fish amongst schools of them, and the few shots he took had definitely worn off by now. Not to mention the recent turn of events were incredibly sobering.

Heeseung's penthouse was nice. Nothing he could ever dream of affording before his anonymous client sent him more money than he would've ever made in his life.

When Jay stepped into the narrow hallway that led to the bathroom, he could hear Heeseung's gentle voice echoing.

"—talk to me, please," he pleaded. "I don't know what Sunghoon said to you, but—"

"Heeseung, just leave me alone." Your own faltering voice was treading on desperation. "You don't have to be here to comfort me. You're not my boyfriend."

And then it grew quiet. Jay was afraid that he was about to walk in on an uncomfortable situation.

Seconds later, the door opened and Heeseung was stony-faced, walking past Jay without even noticing he was there. You didn't even close the door after he left, so Jay inched closer to make sure nothing bad happened to you.

There you were, sitting on the edge of the bathtub and crying into your hands. There was an odd, disconnected feeling in Jay's chest. He had seen so many pictures and posts of you looking like you were having the time of your life, but the sight before him caused all of that to come crashing down, catching on fire.

Back outside, looking up at the terrace, you were so high above him, as if he would never reach you. Now, you were shattering to pieces before him, leaving broken shards scattered around you that Jay was hesitant to tread on.

Once you took notice of his presence, your head lifted up slowly, and Jay really felt bad for you now. Streaks of mascara were under your eyes and your red lipstick was smudged.

"Can I help you?" you asked flatly, sniffling every now and then even as you tried to act like you hadn't been caught crying.

Jay simply held your phone out, and you grabbed it from him once you recognized it was yours.

"How'd you—"

"Your boyfriend told me to bring it to you," he answered, and your eyes welled up with tears again. Jay sighed as you started breaking down in front of him, but he really wasn't all that annoyed as he sounded. He grabbed a tissue from the box on top of the toilet and ran it under water for a brief second. "Here."

Jay leaned down in front of you and blotted the tissue gently under your eyes, wiping off the residue of your mascara that stained your skin. You tried to resist his gesture at first, but when you realized what he was doing, you relaxed. If his eyes weren't tricking him, maybe you were even slightly embarrassed?

Then, he moved to your lips, using the other side of the tissue to carefully dab at where your lipstick was smudged. Jay tried especially hard not to stare at the curve of your lips, wondering what dark secret you could possibly be hiding behind the corners of your mouth. After he was done, he tossed the tissue aside and stood up.

"Thanks," you murmured.

"No problem," he said, backing up to the doorway. "You should probably keep the door closed if you need some alone time, by the way."

But one look at your expression, and he could tell that you were hoping that someone else would come looking for you.

"Y-yeah," you stammered out, standing up to close it yourself.

"Also," he continued, pressing his lips together in a thin line. Just walk away, Jay. This is none of your business. Just turn around and keep walking. "Your friends are worried about you, so..."

There's people out there who wouldn't make you cry like this.

He couldn't get the rest of the words out. Who was he to speak on a relationship he had only seen for a brief moment, anyway?

Before Jay could turn on his heel, you called out, "Wait! What was your name again?"

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Jay Park. I just transferred here."

"Jay... oh, the transfer student." You said his name so gently that it was almost like you were handling glass. Then, he saw the first smile on your face tonight, and oh, he had never seen someone smile so bright. "I'm Y/N. See you around."

After you closed the door and Jay had headed back to where everyone else was, the loud, booming music grounding him back into reality, his heart sank with the realization that he had already been thrown into a world that he wasn't sure he liked very much.

prev | masterlist | next

SUMMARY ▸ private investigator jay park just wants to complete his mission quietly and move on with his life. you, his new assignment who keeps consuming his thoughts, don't make that very easy for him.

TAG LIST ▸ @zdgx1 @smouches @heesdazed @teawithbucky @leep0ems @peachpie4you @niniissus @kgneptun @jaeyunluvr @hooniesuniverse @zerasari @enhalov @sophiko22 @iselltulips @hoondiors @baekhyunstruly @jays-property @woninluv @heerinnie @fakeuwus @yizhoutv @en-happiness @theothernads @y4wnjunz @dammit-jjk @en-happiness @mari-oclock @enhypens-baby @soonyoungblr @jakeslvt @taetaenic @jebetwo @fairysungx @hsgwrld @shmooooo @ineedsomezzz @mrowwww @enha-stars @isawritesss @seongclb @lockburn-castle @alyssajavenss @enczen @calumsfringe @w3bqrl @luvyev @uhsakusa @luvnicho @wildflowermooon

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Hush, Baby Girl

"Okay, first things first, you can't smoke around the baby." Steve was holding Thea as Eddie sat on his bedroom floor. The metalhead was currently trying to assemble the crib they bought, but he struggled to find the specific piece used to connect the railing to the bed.

"I know," Steve rolled his eyes, "believe it or not, I actually passed health class last year."

"Just making sure." Steve looked around the messy room. Clothes and DnD books were scattered everywhere, making it almost impossible to see the carpeted floor. It was crowded but also very Eddie. Steve was almost jealous. If his room looked any less than picture perfect when his parents got home, they'd probably have an aneurysm. Eddie pulled away from the crib with a triumphant look. Giving it a few hard thwacks and grinning.

"Not half bad for someone who failed shop, if I do say so myself."

"You failed shop?"

"Not gonna lie, I almost exclusively took the class for access to the fancy wood glue they use." Eddie admitted as he tore the plastic off ths crib mattress. Setting it in the cot, Eddie took Thea from Steve's arms. Gently cradling her in his arms, Steve was struck by how weird it was to see Eddie Munson of all people with a baby. Scary drug dealer, supposed murderer...cute dad. Wait. Cute wasn't a good word. Steve shook his head. Dudes didn't call other dudes cute. Well, some dudes did. But Steve was not one of those dudes. At least, he was pretty sure he wasn't....yeah pretty sure.

"What's with the look, Harrington?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow. Steve realized he must have looked weird just staring straight ahead at the other teen and he shook his head.

"Ugh, nothing. Just thinking."

"Huh. I thought I smelled something burning." Eddie joked as he laid Thea down on the mattress. He stared at her, expecting something. But she did nothing save stare up at them with her big brown eyes. The metalhead let out a sigh of relief as he fell back on the bed next to Steve. Letting out an exhausted groan as he stretched his body out. "God, who knew babies were so much work."

"Everybody." Steve deadpanned. Eddie playfully slapped him on the shoulder before his eyes turned back to Thea.

"....I don't want to fuck her up."

"Huh?" Steve asked as Eddie sat up.

"I don't want to fuck her up like my parents fucked me up." The older boy clarified. "Look at me. I haven't graduated, I sell drugs, I still live with my uncle...I shouldn't be raising kids. What if she ends up like me? A druggie deadbeat..." Eddie trailed off as his voice hitched. Steve frowned, turning to face Eddie.

"Hey, don't say that." Steve argued. "Listen, just because your parents sucked, it doesn't mean you'll be a bad parent. I like to think I turned out okay for someone with shitty parents. I mean, I'm not going to medical school or whatever, but I'm doing alright." Eddie's nose scrunched up as he opened his mouth to respond when there was a loud knock on the front door of the Munson trailer. This startled Thea, causing her to start wailing.

"Whoa, hey, hey, don't cry." Eddie went over to the crib and carefully picked her up. Patting her on the back reassuringly as he inclined his head to look into the hallway.

"Expecting someone?" Steve asked as he followed the now visibly annoyed metalhead into the living room. The two navigated around the bags of unopened baby items until they were at the front door. Eddie yanked it open, ready to chew out whoever upset Thea when he paused, recognizing the gaggle of freshman on his doorstep.

"I..." Eddie trailed off, unsure what to say. The kids' eyes already honed in on the baby in his arms.

"What are you guys doing here?" Steve asked as the kids' eyes remained locked on the crying child.

"You didn't call me back this morning." Dustin explained. "We were making sure everything was okay."

"Oh-shit, sorry I forgot. We got...busy." Steve turned back to Thea as he said this.

"Yeah, I can see that-why the hell do you have a baby?" Will asked, mouth agape.

"Her name is Thea, and for Christ's sake, could you keep your voice down?' Eddis snapped as he hushed the baby in his arms. "I'll explain after we get her down for a nap."

[hcmmersnstrings]

[ dylan o'brien, cis-male, he/him ] — whoa! DAKOTA LOVE just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for TWO YEARS, working as a/an ELECTRICIAN AND PART TIME BARTENDER. that can’t be easy, especially at only 31 YEARS OLD. some people say they can be a little bit APATHETIC and TEMPERMENTAL , but i know them to be CALM and NON-JUDGEMENTAL. whatever. i guess i’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to LOWER MANHATTAN! — (binx, 30, mst, she/her, n/a)

vibes and wanted plots

Name: Dakota Love Nicknames: None Age: Thirty One Date of birth: March 21 1993 Birth place: Stearns, KY Occupation: Electrician and part time bartender Romantic/sexual orientation: heterosexual // heteroromantic

ABOUT.

Aesthetics: the cherry of a cigarette burning against a dark night sky, palm calluses, guitar string scars, smoky bar rooms, low lit rooms, steady heartbeat, tattered jeans, honey thick drawls, the pain of wasted potential, the promise that the sun will rise again

HISTORY:

tw: drugs/drug use cw, prison sentence mention, poverty

Poor boy from a poor family in a poor town, there weren't a lot of options for Dakota to succeed. His mother was a young, single mom with a string of partners that filtered in and out of his life from a young age.

One of these suitors stuck and when he was still relatively little his mother moved them across state lines to West Virginia to be with this man. He worked in the mines so he wasn't around a lot, but when he was he was a musician.

Dakota was happy to be taught different instruments, playing along while his mother harmonized. It fostered his love for the arts. But the happiness was short lived as it always was, and eventually his mother split from this man and moved them into another town.

He would be hardpressed to remember a time his mother was sober. Especially after the move she worked multiple jobs and found multiple ways to just "take the edge off". This often left Dakota to the wayside and to fend for himself.

As he got older and realized his mother was unreliable, he took up his own odd jobs to bring money back into the house, often squirreling it away where his mother couldn't find it. Eventually, he dropped out his freshman year of high school so he could work full time as a mechanic.

They eventually moved back to Kentucky and he found work and so did she and she was sober for a bit but true to the pattern it didn't last. Trailer park to trailer park or run down apartment to rundown apartment, Dakota was still a teen and like all teens you can't stop curiosity from blossoming. Girls and late nights and smoking in the back of his pick up and drinking and being places he had no business going, there was no conductor for this train and it was off the rails.

Despite his wishes for his future, he fell down the same path as his mother and it happened before he could even realize it. At first it was just teenage experimenting. Dakota is trustworthy and this much is evident in the way he interacts with people. The folks he worked with asked him to help sell and in turn he got to take home a cut and some of his own supply. It was all an escape from the reality that was his life and the shitshow that waited for him at home. Whether it was his mother being erratic or the men he brought home picking fights with him, for a little bit, he didn't have to deal with it all. And the money was good. And the excitement of being somewhere new, of doing something dangerous was even better.

A whirlwind of years and youth lost he landed himself in prison with multiple charges including arson. He'll be the first to tell you that sure, it sucked ratting out people he thought were his friends, and sure it sucked realizing it was just more of his life lost, but what really sucked? What really made him go crazy? The withdrawal. It was hell. Worse than hell. Clarity eventually came and he settled into his new life, counting down the days until his releaes.

Dakota has never been a bad kid, just an angry one. With good behavior, he was allowed to take vocational classes and classes to get his GED. He was also allowed to join an arts group and play his music or sing in the choir. All these points earned him an early release.

He had no fucking clue what to do when he got out. Sure, he had training, but no one wanted to hire him. And all the people he knew in Kentucky still had the same problems. A brief relapse, a call from an old friend he'd met years prior brought him to New York. She let him crash on her couch and watch her apartment while she traveled for work. She put him in touch with unions and eventually all these efforts landed him a new job. A new career. A new start.

He lives in Lower Manhattan, his friend spends most of her time away so she just let him take over the second bedroom and he just pays her a portion of rent that goes towards her mortgage. Dakota toes a thin line with his drug and alcohol use, never quite falling off the edge but having a habit of dipping his toe into the water and seeing how long he can hold it.

FAST FACTS:

He still sings and plays guitar, fiddle, piano, and the banjo.

Was incarcerated when he was twenty one and released when he was twenty seven. He likes to spend his time trying to catch up on all the events he missed. He has a list of movies he's currently trying to work through.

A handyman at heart, Dakota picked up a lot of skills working from such a young age. If you need something fixed, he can probably figure it out for you.

Loves to cook but cannot bake to save his life. He will not make you breakfast in bed as he would probably burn it.

Is allergic to cats but loves them.

Hasn't spoken to his mother in years.

[thornyrose463]

A Tale Of Three Dojos (Cobra Kai story): Chapter 3

Mr. Palmer was giving Kenny and his classmates a tour of West Valley High.

“As you can see, the West Valley High campus is a lot larger than the middle school, and when you become a freshman next year, you'll have access to some amazing facilities. Our science lab is state-of-the-art. Well, at least it was.” Mr. Palmer said.

“Did it get destroyed in the fight?” One of Kenny’s classmates asked.

“Uh...No. The district required us to remove anything that could potentially be used as a weapon in the event of another karate incident. Um…The cafeteria is this way. There actually was a fight there, so it got ruined, but...” Mr. Palmer trailed off.

“Hey, new kid, what do you think?” Lia asked Kenny.

“Me? What?” Kenny asked.

“The high school? I heard it's haunted. Do you think that's true?” Lia asked.

“Oh! Oh, definitely. Yeah. Uh…Actually, I died five years ago.” Kenny said.

Lia chuckled. “Well, ghost boy, you have strawberry on your snake shirt.”

“You've been letting me walk around like this?” Kenny asked.

“At first, I thought it was part of the evil-looking design, then I realized you're just a slob.” Lia said.

“Oh.” Kenny said.

“Don't worry, though. Nobody else can see you, right?” Lia asked.

Kenny walked into the bathroom and began to clean himself up.

Bert and Nathaniel entered the bathroom.

“I'm telling you, we had a moment.” Nathaniel said.

“Bullshit. No way is Lexi DiMarco going out with you. She's a junior.” Bert said.

“I know. She's a total J.I.L.F.” Nathaniel said.

“What's that?” Bert asked.

“J.I.L.F. Junior I'd like to...” Nathaniel trailed off.

Bert and Nathaniel noticed Kenny.

“Whoa! It looks like someone's a little lost.” Bert said.

“Yeah. What makes you think you can wear a shirt like that here?” Nathaniel asked.

“It...It's from my dojo.” Kenny said.

Bert laughed. “Maybe they started a kindergarten class.”

Nathaniel laughed. “Or a nursery.”

Kenny was reminded of Kyler. He was about to attack Bert and Nathaniel, but Hawk pinned him to a stall door.

“Thinking about striking first, huh?” Hawk asked.

“Yeah.” Kenny said.

“Word of advice, kid. Get out of Cobra Kai while you still can, ‘cause they're about to go down, and it's not going to be pretty.” Hawk said.

Hawk let go of Kenny.

Hawk walked away. Nathaniel followed him.

Bert intentionally bumped Kenny’s shoulder with his own shoulder as he walked away.

Bert laughed. “Weako. I think he's going to cry!”

At the Miyagi-Do dojo, Miguel led the Eagle Fang students alongside Daniel. Although he tried to focus on training the Miyagi-Do students, Johnny could not help being distracted by Miguel's interactions with Daniel, leading him to drop his guard and allow Demetri to kick him in the face. In retaliation, Johnny bound Demetri with duct tape and a couch cushion and made him act as a punching bag for the rest of the students. Hoping to reconnect with Miguel, Johnny invited him over for dinner after training. Miguel told him that he and Daniel were going to finish Carmen’s car. Upon hearing Miguel address Daniel as "Sensei", Johnny looked resentful.

Kyler and his fellow Cobra Kai students were in their dojo.

“Yo, guys, my boy Rory got some free tickets to the drive-in tonight. They're going old-school. Something called Bloodsport.” Kyler said.

“I know that movie. My dad left an old VHS at our place. It was the only evidence I had that he existed.” Robby said.

Kyler spoke. “I heard it's dope, so if you guys are in, let's do this.”

“Depends on how late I have to work tonight. My new boss put me on the schedule for today. Guy’s a total creep.” Tory said.

“You got a new job? Where?” Robby asked.

“It’s none of your business.” Tory snapped.

Kenny entered the dojo.

“Look who made it.” Kyler teased.

Robby noticed that Kenny was upset.

“What's up?” Robby asked.

“I was at the high school yesterday, and these older kids started messing with me. One guy told me I should quit Cobra Kai.” Kenny said.

“Who was he?” Robby asked.

“I don't know. He had spiky red hair.” Kenny said.

Tory spoke. “We still owe that Judas some payback.”

Kyler spoke. “Hell yeah.”

Kreese and Terry appeared.

“Everyone, fall in.” Kreese ordered.

The Cobra Kai students formed a line.

“As you know, our enemies are working together. They are combining their styles to beat us, but they are destined to fail, because there is only one way, and what is that way?” Kreese asked.  

“The Way of the Fist, sir!” The Cobra Kai students yelled.

Kreese spoke. “Exactly. However, that doesn't mean that we can't double down. Class, meet Sensei Terry Silver, co-founder of Cobra Kai and one of the most ferocious fighters in the history of the sport. Together, we built Cobra Kai from the ground up, and now he is here to help you prepare for the All-Valley.”

Terry spoke. “Thank you, Sensei Kreese. It's an honour to be here. With two senseis, you will receive twice the instruction. That means twice the work. If you are not prepared to put in 200 percent, you can leave right now, but if you dig in and follow our lead, we're going to take you to the next level.”

After spending the night with Carmen, Johnny found himself too distracted by Miguel and Daniel to make love to her.

“Maybe you're just tired.” Carmen said.

“I swear, this has never, ever happened to me.” Johnny said.

Carmen’s fingertips slowly moved up Johnny’s arm. “Of course not. You know, working at the hospital, I do have access to certain…Medications.”

“What? I don't need pills! I'm 100 percent all man.” Johnny said.

“Okay, then. What is it?” Carmen asked.

“I just can't get LaRusso and Miguel out of my head. They spend all this time together working out, fixing your car.” Johnny said.

Carmen put her head on Johnny’s chest.

“Yes, but Miguel spending all that time over there has given us a chance to spend more time together.” Carmen said.

“Did you know LaRusso showed Miguel Top Gun?” Johnny asked.

“Oof, I love that movie. Tom Cruise is so handsome.” Carmen said.

“Cruise is the worst in that. Here you’ve got the real deal, Iceman, best of the best, abs for days. In comes this new guy, total dweeb, calls himself a maverick. You can't call yourself a maverick. Guy didn't even earn a spot at Miramar. Got his wingman killed too. Not cool.” Johnny said.

Carmen chuckled. “Okay. This is not about Tom Cruise. This is about Miguel. Maybe it's time we tell him about us.”

“I don't know.” Johnny said.

“I feel guilty sneaking around. It's not good to carry secrets like this. They wear you down.” Carmen said.

“What if it just makes things worse?” Johnny asked.

“Miggy loves you. How could it make things worse?” Carmen asked.

“Kids can be weird about that kind of stuff.” Johnny said.

“How about this? You can tell him when you're ready, but I know it will make you feel better.” Carmen said.

Johnny sighed.

Daniel and Miguel were working on Carmen’s car.

“I never thought I'd know so much about alternators and power steering pumps.” Miguel said.

“I'm sorry you had to give up a Saturday to work on a car.” Daniel said.

“Uh…It's okay. My mom will be happy. She can go out on dates again.” Miguel said.

Daniel chuckled.  

“Maybe we shouldn't have fixed it.” Miguel said.

“I can relate to that. My mom used to call it ‘lunch with a friend’. I hated that. One time, I caught her on a date with Mr. Harris, my history teacher. That was…Um…Talk about awkward.” Daniel said.

Miguel chuckled.

“He gave me an A, though, so there's an upside.” Daniel said.

Daniel and Miguel finished working on the car.

“All right, this looks good. Now, it's the moment of truth. Get in. Give it a try.” Daniel told Miguel.

“All right.” Miguel said.

Miguel got in the driver’s seat.

“Let's see.” Miguel put his hands on the steering wheel.

“Just start it up?” Miguel asked.

Daniel nodded. “Start it up.”

Miguel put the key in the ignition, then the engine revved.

Miguel smiled. “Oh, success!”

Daniel smiled. “Look at that! You're a natural.”

Daniel got in the passenger’s seat.

“Now, we’ve got to get to a party and meet Amanda and Sam. I'm running late. Let's go.” Daniel told Miguel.

“What? I don't know how to drive a car.” Miguel said.

“Well, then I suggest you back us out nice and slow.” Daniel said.

“Okay.” Miguel said.  

Miguel put his seatbelt on.

Daniel put his seatbelt on.

Miguel began to back the car up.

“You’re doing great.” Daniel said.

The engine squealed.

Daniel cringed. “Oh, nope.”

The party was in full swing.

Sam was standing next to Amanda.

“Did I really have to come?” Sam complained.

“Sheila has worked for us for ten years. She's practically family. Anyway, you used to love to babysit Cindee.” Amanda said.

Amanda smiled and waved at someone. “Oh, hi!”

“This is just about the last place I'd like to be spending my Saturday.” Sam said.

“A lot of people have it worse than you.” Amanda said.  

Tory and some other girls walked onto the stage. They were dressed as mermaids.

Sam smiled. “Did I say the last place I want to spend my Saturday? I meant the first.”

Miguel and Daniel were on their way to the party.

The song Sailing by Christopher Cross was playing on the radio. Daniel was singing along.

“This is pretty smooth. Who is this?” Miguel asked.

“That’s Christopher Cross. He was huge in the 80’s.” Daniel said.

“Sensei Lawrence didn't tell me about him.” Miguel said.

“Not everything from the 80’s was hard rock. There were some soft rock songs that were just perfect. Michael McDonald, Billy Joel, Chicago…” Daniel trailed off.

“Who’s Chicago?” Miguel asked.

“I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.” Daniel said.

Daniel noticed a yellow light. “Oh, it’s a yellow light.”

Miguel sped up.

“When you see a yellow light, you're supposed to slow down.” Daniel told Miguel.

“Uh…Sorry. Usually, with Sensei Lawrence, we kind of…” Miguel trailed off.

“It doesn't matter what he does. If you're driving with my daughter, you take the extra precautions.” Daniel told Miguel.  

“Uh…Yes. You're right. I'm sorry.” Miguel said.

“I was pretty shaky at first too. Most of the kids my age had their dads teach them. But for me…Well, luckily, I met Mr. Miyagi. He made me realize that just because I didn't have a dad didn't mean there wasn't someone who could fill that role.” Daniel said.

“The sad part is I have a dad.” Miguel said.

“You ever see him?” Daniel asked.

“I don't know much about him. He got caught up with something illegal. My mom was pregnant and tried to get him to stop, and he wouldn't. That's why Mom and Yaya moved up here. I looked him up. It says he lives in Mexico now. I haven't told my mom, though. She gets mad whenever I bring him up.” Miguel said.

“Miguel, I hated my mom for moving us to L.A. I thought she was only thinking for herself, but as I got older, I realized she was doing it all for me. She wasn't just looking for a new career. She was looking for a better life. Sounds like that's what your mom did. It may not seem brave, but sometimes, avoiding conflict is one of the most heroic things a person can do.” Daniel said.

Taking Daniel’s words to heart, Miguel came to a stop at the next yellow light.

At the party, Tory was telling a story to the children. “The prince did everything to climb the mountain, but the dragon carried me there so he could eat me alive. But then the valiant prince came to my rescue.”

“Is that the prince that you stole from another princess?” Sam asked.

Tory glared at Sam. “The other princess wasn't dating that prince anymore.”

Tory smiled at the children. “Anyway…Uh…The dragon breathed hot fire at the prince, melting his sword, so now I had to save the prince.”

“Using what? A weapon like…I don't know…A spiked bracelet or nunchucks?” Sam asked.

“No. By singing a magic song.” Tory said.

“Oh? And how did the song go?” Sam asked.

“Sing us the song!” A child yelled.

“Yeah! Song!” Another child yelled.

Tory sang. “Beautiful dragon, please go to sleep. Sunset is falling. Now, time to count sheep.”

Sam chuckled. “Wow. And I thought you were bad at fighting.”

“But the story doesn't end there. You see, the song didn't put the dragon to sleep. Instead, it turned it into an evil witch. That witch has been spotted at kids' parties all over the Valley, and the only way she can be destroyed is with a glitter bomb. Look! There she is now, trying to blend in with the crowd!” Tory pointed at Sam.

The children threw glitter at Sam.

“Die, evil witch!” A child yelled.

Sam was furious.

Amanda was shocked.

Daniel and Miguel arrived at the party.

Daniel spoke. “You did a nice job behind the wheel. I say after the party, we have a little cake, hit the DMV, and pick up your license.”

Miguel smiled. “Okay.”

Daniel approached Amanda. “Hey, honey. Sorry I'm late.”

Miguel walked up to Sam.

“Interesting…Uh…Choice. You going for the…Uh…Disco ball look?” Miguel asked.

Sam chuckled and kissed Miguel.

Tory walked towards the door. She looked angry.

“Hey! No breaks!” Tory’s boss yelled.

Once Tory was out of the building, she took off her wig and threw it in a nearby trash can.

“Tory, wait!” Amanda yelled as she chased Tory.

Tory turned around.

“What do you want?” Tory asked.

“I'm sorry about Sam.” Amanda said.

“Tell that to her.” Tory snapped.

“I will. But you can't fault her for having issues with you after what you did. Look, I know the situation with your mom is tough…” Amanda trailed off.

“No, you don't know, so why don't you just stay out of it?” Tory snapped.

“Okay. I will. Just...Just know that the world isn't out to get you. There has got to be someone in your family who can help.” Amanda said.

“No one I can trust. But it doesn't matter. I can handle my own shit.” Tory said.

“Fine. No one can help you if you don't let them. If you ask, you might be surprised.” Amanda said.

Amanda walked away.

At the Cobra Kai dojo, Robby helped Kenny work on his combos. Kenny bragged that he already knew all the moves. Robby dropped the pads and swept Kenny’s legs out from under him. Robby shared a Miyagi-Do lesson about balance, which Terry overheard. Agreeing that balance was crucial, Terry asked Kenny to give him a moment alone with Robby. Terry and Robby engaged in a sparring match that Terry easily won.

“You've learned to channel your anger, but you're afraid.” Terry said.

“I'm not afraid of anything.” Robby said.

“You lying to me or yourself? If you want to be a champion, you need to dig out that fear and face it, whatever it is, because if you don't, it's going to hold you back forever. Understood?” Terry asked.

“Yes, Sensei.” Robby said.

“Good.” Terry said.

While Sarah and Hawk were on a double date with Demetri and Yasmine at the movie theatre, Johnny reminisced over photos of Miguel on Facebook and tried to figure out how to tell him that he was dating Carmen. After an ill-fated web search, he remembered the day his mother told him that she was dating Sid. He scowled at the memory and told himself that he would do better with Miguel. As he was making dinner, he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw Robby.

“Hey, Robby. What's going on? You want to come in?” Johnny asked.

“Hawk and some of your other students have been bullying this kid. Tell them to stop, or there will be payback.” Robby told Johnny.

“Payback? What the hell is Kreese putting you up to?” Johnny asked.

“He's not putting me up to anything. I'm trying to help this kid. If those assholes don't knock it off, I'll do what I have to.” Robby said.

“Don't do anything stupid. You already got kicked out of school.” Johnny said.

“Miguel attacked me. I was trying to stop the fight. He escalated it.” Robby said.

“Look, I wasn't there, all right? But I do know about Cobra Kai. Kreese is brainwashing you, just like he brainwashed me.” Johnny said.

“See, that's the difference between you and me. You put all your trust in Kreese. I don't trust anyone anymore. I'm just using Cobra Kai to get what I want.” Robby said.

“I'm sure you think that, but you're playing with poison. You don't know the whole story.” Johnny said.

“I know enough. And I know what has been holding me back. For as long as I can remember, I've been afraid that I would end up like you. But I'm not going to have that fear again, because I'm better than you.” Robby said.

“There's nothing left to talk about, so unless there's something else, I have dinner to make.” Johnny said.

Robby left.

Johnny set the table and walked out of his apartment. He saw Miguel.

“Hey, Miguel. Want to come over for a bite? There’s something I've been wanting to talk about.” Johnny said.

“Uh…Yeah, sure. I just had an early dinner with the LaRussos, though.” Miguel said.

“Oh.” Johnny said.

“Yeah. We went to this place called Katsuya. Mr. LaRusso is friends with the chef, so he brought out all this fresh fish. It was so good. Uh…But I'm stuffed. I have to get ready. I have this thing with Sam later, so...” Miguel trailed off.

“It seems you've been spending a lot of time with LaRusso lately.” Johnny said.

Miguel smiled. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, he paid for my mom's car, showed me how to fix an engine. Today, he taught me how to drive!”

Johnny looked upset. “He did what?”

“I drove down Ventura with him. It was so great. How come you haven't told me about Chicago?” Miguel asked.

“What happened in Chicago?” Johnny asked.

Miguel chuckled. “No. The band.”

“You know…Uh…You're the Inspiration, Glory of Love. Peter Cetera is badass.” Miguel said.

“Peter Cetera is the opposite of badass. What happened to Scorpions? Slaughter? Just out the window?” Johnny asked.

“No. Uh…They're cool too. It's just different, that’s all.” Miguel said.

“Yeah. Very different.” Johnny said.

Miguel sighed. “Okay. Look, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, nothing. Do your thing.” Johnny told Miguel.

“Okay. But hey…Look, let’s do dinner tomorrow. You can make those manwiches.” Miguel said.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Johnny said.

“Okay.” Miguel smiled and walked into his apartment.

Kyler and his fellow Cobra Kai students were at the drive-in.  

“Hey, I'm feeling this movie, man. This Jean-Claude Van...Damn! Right in the nuts! Ha! Oh, man!” Kyler yelled.

Tory was looking out the window blankly, thinking about her day.

“Not into the movie?” Robby asked.

“Oh, it's fine. I just had a shitty day.” Tory said.

“I'd ask, but it's none of my business.” Robby said.

Tory smiled at Robby. He smiled back at her.  

Kenny approached Kyler’s Jeep.

Kenny handed some of the other Cobra Kai students their snacks. “Here's your stuff.”

“Hey, yo, bitch boy, what about mine?” Kyler asked.

“You said you didn't want anything.” Kenny said.  

“I want some now. Get me two buckets of popcorn with butter, four large Cokes, two hot dogs with mustard, no ketchup, and a pretzel.” Kyler told Kenny.

“But I can't carry...” Kenny trailed off.

“And some nachos with extra cheese and jalapeño poppers, all right? Hurry up, man.” Kyler told Kenny.

“Hey. Don't worry about him. Hazing the new guy. It's a good thing.” Robby said.

“It is?” Kenny asked.

“Yes. Trust me, it's a lot less dangerous than what I had to do. Just keep your head up. You'll earn respect. Got it? And…Um…Get me a Butterfinger.” Robby told Kenny.

Kenny walked away.

Nathaniel and Bert walked towards the concession stand.

“So, Lexi wants me to send pictures now.” Nathaniel said.

“Dude, I think you're being catfished.” Bert said.

“That's a risk I'm willing to take.” Nathaniel said.

“Not these guys again,” Kenny muttered when he saw Nathaniel and Bert.

Kenny tried to avoid Nathaniel and Bert, only to collide with Hawk, which knocked the food out of his hands.

Hawk spoke. “Damn. That sucks.”

“I’m sorry!” Kenny yelled.

Robby looked out the window.

"That piece of shit,” Robby muttered.

Robby got out of the Jeep and made his way towards Hawk.

Hawk spoke. "You should watch where you're going, kid."

Robby stepped in front of Kenny.  

Robby spoke. “Same goes for you.”

Hawk smirked at Robby. “Look who it is.”

Nathaniel glared at Robby. “You betrayed Miyagi-Do. Traitor!”

The rest of the Cobra Kai students walked up to Hawk.

Tory glared at Hawk. “Oh, there's a traitor here for sure, and he’s going to get what he deserves.”

Sarah, Miguel, Sam, Chris, and Mitch walked up to Hawk.

Sarah was wearing an unzipped red cotton jacket, a white t-shirt, dark blue denim jeans, and red low-top Vans sneakers with white laces. Her naturally straight blonde hair was down. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Sam glared at Tory. “I don’t think so. Not if I have anything to say about it, princess.”

Demetri walked towards Sarah, Miguel, Sam, Chris, Mitch, Bert, and Nathaniel. He was holding two cups. "Hey, guys. Can you believe that they have Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper?”

Sarah, Miguel, Hawk, Chris, Bert, Sam, Mitch, Nathaniel, Robby, Tory, and Kyler glared at Demetri.

"Oh, shit. Not another rumble,” Demetri groaned.

"Careful, LaRusso. Your mommy isn't here to play peacemaker." Tory threatened.

Sam frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Miguel spoke. "Guys, stop. We can't do this. We’ll beat ‘em on the mat.”

“Oh, really? You remember what happened the last time we fought, right?” Robby asked.

“Okay. Meet us at the baseball diamond in 30 minutes. And no weapons.” Miguel told the Cobra Kai students.

Tory spoke. “We won’t need them.”

The Cobra Kai students walked away.

The Cobra Kai students arrived at the baseball diamond.

"You guys see anything?" Kyler asked.

"They'll be here." Robby said.

"They’d better be." Tory said.

The lights shut off, then the sprinklers turned on.  

“Whoa!” Kyler yelled.

Hawk was in the driver’s seat of his car. Sarah was in the passenger’s seat. Miguel, Sam, and Demetri were in the backseat.  

Hawk laughed. “Dude, genius move! We didn’t even have to throw a punch!”  

“My favourite kind of victory.” Demetri said.

“We can't let them get away with this!” Kyler yelled.

Robby spoke. “We won’t.”

Kyler spoke. “We’ve got to hit 'em back with a home invasion. They hit us with a sprinkler?”

Tory spoke. “This is total bullshit. Just shut up and let us deal with it.”

The next day, Kreese and Terry were in Kreese’s office.

Kreese spoke. “Now you see what we're dealing with. As long as LaRusso and Lawrence are together, our students have a target on their backs. We have to strike back.”

Terry spoke. “No. I agreed to come back to do what we originally set out to do. To turn kids into winners. To bring Cobra Kai back to its former glory. But if we're going to do that, we have to learn from our mistakes.”

“What mistakes?” Kreese asked.

“You had the entire Valley in the palm of your hand, and you blew it, all because of the rivalry you had with Miyagi.” Terry said.

“He attacked my students. You weren't there. I'll never forget that morning when Johnny Lawrence, my champion, came into the dojo with a black eye. And his confidence? Shattered. I wasn't going let that old man get away with that.” Kreese said.

“I understand, but now we're the old men, and we should use the wisdom we've learned. Cobra Kai was never about revenge. It was about building strength by taking your fears and turning them into a weapon. That's what we should be focused on. If we're just going to rehash the past, history will just repeat itself all over again.” Terry said.

“So, you're saying after they humiliated our students, we just stand down and do nothing?” Kreese asked.

“I didn't say we'd do nothing.” Terry said.

The Miyagi-Do students and the Eagle Fang students were in Daniel’s backyard.

"Henceforth, Miguel Diaz shall be known as The Rainmaker!" Demetri yelled.

“El Diablo de la Lluvia!” Hawk yelled.

“If they hadn't fallen for it, we would have beaten them.” Sam said.

“Maybe, but it could have gone badly.” Sarah said.

Sarah was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt, black leggings, and red high-top Adidas sneakers with black laces. Her naturally straight blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She had on a light amount of black eyeliner, a light amount of black mascara, and soft brown eyeshadow. Her lip balm was a pretty peach colour.

Johnny walked into the backyard.

“What could have gone badly?” Johnny asked.

“We were about to get into a gnarly fight at the drive-in, but Miguel saved the day.” Hawk said.

“Oh, yeah? How’d you do that?” Johnny asked.

"Told the Cobra Kais to go to the baseball diamond. Just in time for the grass to get watered." Miguel said.

"So, you picked a fight, you didn't show up, and then you doused them with a hose?" Johnny asked.

“It was a sprinkler.” Demetri said.

Johnny glared at Demetri.

Demetri froze. “I’ll go back to saying nothing.”

"You just poked the bear. What do you think is going to happen? They’re just going to leave well alone?" Johnny asked.

Daniel walked into the backyard.

Daniel looked at Johnny. “From everything I heard, it sounds to me like Miguel practiced restraint. Found a way to get out of a bad situation without anyone getting hurt. What did you want him to do? Get into a drive-in switchblade fight?”

Daniel turned to Miguel. “I'm proud of you. You've taken Miyagi-Do teachings to heart.”

“Okay, LaRusso, we need to have a little talk.” Johnny told Daniel.

Kreese and Terry walked into the backyard.

Daniel’s eyes widened. "What the..."

Terry smirked at Daniel, walking towards him as Kreese trailed behind. "Gentlemen. It seems we have a few things to discuss."

"Kids, go inside." Daniel ordered.

The Miyagi-Do students and the Eagle Fang students made their way to the interior dojo. They gathered around the door. Sarah opened the door so that everyone would be able to hear Daniel’s conversation with Terry.

"Daniel LaRusso. It's nice to see you again." Terry said.

"Yeah, right. Bullshit." Daniel snapped. 

“Fair enough. I'd probably react the same way if I were you. My past behavior was inexcusable. If I could go back and undo it all, I would. All I can say now is I'm truly sorry. And I assure you, I'm not that man anymore.” Terry pressed his hand to his chest.

“I don't know what padded room you crawled out of, Silver, or what twisted game you two are playing, but if you don't get off my property right now, I swear to God...” Daniel trailed off.

“Your dad is pissed. Who is that guy?” Miguel asked Sam.

“I have no idea.” Sam said.

“He looks like a Highlander.” Bert said.

“The Highlander. There can be only one.” Nathaniel said.

Terry spoke. "Okay. I tried. We'll still hold our students to a moratorium on fighting before the tournament, for what it's worth. Provided, of course, you do the same.”

Kreese spoke. “Just remember our deal. If Cobra Kai wins the All-Valley, you two are done teaching. For good."

“That's not going to happen, 'cause you're not going to win. Now, get the hell out of here.” Daniel ordered.

Terry walked away.

"Has it really come down to this? Johnny Lawrence playing second fiddle to little Danny LaRusso?" Kreese asked.

"No one's second fiddle. This is my dojo as much as it is his." Johnny said.

Kreese smirked. "Really? The sign out front says Miyagi-Do."

Johnny glared at Kreese. "Unless you want it crammed up your ass sideways, you’d better take off after your bridge partner." 

Kreese chuckled as he walked away.

“Who the hell was that?” Johnny asked Daniel.

Kreese and Terry arrived at the Cobra Kai dojo.

“LaRusso can sure hold a grudge, can't he?” Terry asked.

“So, what now?” Kreese asked.

“Now, we get to work so we can wipe the mat with that arrogant little prick.” Terry responded.

Kreese and Terry entered the dojo.

Robby and his fellow students were warming up.

Robby spoke to Tory. “They know you and I are the biggest threat. They also know we can't risk violating probation. We need to get them somewhere no one is around.”

“Listen up. Gather around.” Terry told Robby and his fellow students.

Robby and his fellow students formed a line.

“We just had a little powwow with the senseis at Miyagi-Do. From here on out, there will be no more fighting until the tournament.” Terry told Robby and his fellow students.

“Our enemies humiliate us, and we have to back down and take it?” Tory asked.

Kreese spoke. “Of course not. We should always show our enemies no mercy.”

“But there's a time to fight. No need to waste a punch if it's not going to score a point. So, if your enemies do something to mess with you or laugh in your face, good! Take all that anger and store it. You're going to need it when the time comes. Is that understood?” Terry asked Tory and her fellow students.

“Yes, Sensei!” Tory and her fellow students yelled.

[swiftlymoniquesblog]

More Than Meets the Eye (Jensen Ackles x Reader)

A/N: Hello! I know I’ve been on hiatus for a while but I’m working on stories that are not ready to be posted yet. However, this one was based on a dream I had last night (2/11/22) so I figured I better write it down before I forget it! I’m also adding images to this story! I will post links to how I image the characters looking and dressing! 

Warnings: Nothing but fluff! This story will not have Danneel or Zep only because they were not in my dream lol

Word Count: 2,022

Supernatural Masterlist | Masterlist of all Masterlists

Jensen Ackles has been known to the world as Dean Winchester on Supernatural for 15 years and even with the show being over, people still recognize him as such. Living in a world where everywhere you go, people either want a picture or an autograph or just a chance to touch you but what if that wasn’t enough? Sure, fame and fortune have their benefits but when you peel the layers back on the onion that is Jensen Ackles, what’s left? He thought there was more to him but most people didn’t bother to get to know that side of him, except for one person…her. She comes into his life at the most inconvenient time but she may be just what he needs to finally feel okay.                             

                                             Jensen’s POV

“Alright, that’s a wrap!” The director yells, and everyone on set cheers and applauds. Finally, we were done filming the third season of The Boys. I was really excited for this series and for my fans to see my take on a superhero. As much as I love what I do though, there are times I wish I could just be seen for myself as a person and not as an entertainer. Especially at a time like this, when I’m in the middle of an ugly divorce and trying to manage to raise my three children on top of a career that does not seem to let up.  I grabbed my stuff out of the trailer they set me up with while we filmed the series and called for my driver to come and take me to the airport. In less than 24 hours, I have to be in Austin to get my shit together and get to court. Pulling out my phone, I select my classic rock playlist on Spotify, put my AirPods in, and get whisked off to the airport. Passing through security with a breeze, I manage to board the plane without anyone noticing me. I figured it would be best if I grew my hair and beard out so people wouldn’t recognize me. I love my fans more than anything in the world, but they wouldn’t want to be around me right now. A hop, skip, and a flight later, I get to the house, where I now live alone, and pick out my best suit for court tomorrow at 10 am. The only thing that is getting me through all this craziness is knowing I get to see my kids for the next week.

                                             Reader’s POV

“Whoa, holy shit, (Y/N) get in here!” Your best friend yells for you and you come rushing down the hall back to your room. 

“What’s wrong, Cyn?” you say when you look to see Cynthia holding her phone. 

“Jensen Ackles is divorced!” She exclaims. 

“So?” You answer. 

“What do you mean, so? Have you seen him? He is beautiful!” She defends her argument. 

“Yeah, but isn’t he like, 40 or something?” You throwback. 

“He’s turning 44 this year…” Cynthia says, barely louder than a whisper. 

“44?! Really, Cyn?” You exclaim, never knowing the true age of the man she always talks about.

“Yeah, well!” She says but doesn’t have a good rebuttal. 

“Cyn, you do realize he’s fifteen years older than you, right? The man was a freshman in high school when you were born.” 

“I know but he could totally pass for 35,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Well whatever, it’s not like you can afford to meet him,” you remind her of her current financial situation. 

“You’re not wrong but, maybe we can just, nonchalantly run into him somewhere.”

“Where?” You ask.

“Anywhere! You know he lives here,” Cyn says, motioning to the area around her. 

“He lives in Marble Falls?” You question, wondering why a celebrity of his stature would ever live in a small town like this.

“Well no, but he is living in Austin,” Cynthia says. 

“Right, of course, you reply, rolling your eyes.”

“Oh come on (y/n) please come with me to the city? I really want to see him! And he’s in need of a shoulder to cry on! They say the divorce is brutal,” Cyn says, grabbing a curling iron and doing her hair (https://bit.ly/3HXtoAM). She puts her makeup on, dressed in the cutest outfit she could find (https://bit.ly/3LyGQ0a), and grabs a purse, her phone, and some shades. You watch as she gets herself ready, mesmerized by how it looked so effortless to Cynthia to look as beautiful as she does. Obviously, you know it wasn’t without effort for her to get ready but she didn’t need to do all she did to make herself look good. 

“Well, what do you think?” She asks, during a twirl to show off her outfit.

“You look great,” You say. 

“You’re not dressing up?” She asks, looking at your (https://bit.ly/3BooXwh) outfit.

“No? Why should I?” You ask.

“Because he’s Jensen Ackles; he’s gorgeous.”

“He’s alright, plus I’m not even a fan of his, you are,” you say and Cynthia just sighs. 

“Fine, let’s go to the City and see what we can find,” she says and you grab your belongings before following her out to her car. Turning on a song from her phone, she revs the engine to life and speeds down the road. About an hour later, you pull up to a small coffee shop and head inside for a caffeine break. 

Just after you ordered, Cynthia froze in her spot.  You didn’t realize something happened until your orders were called as ready and you turned to hand the cup to Cyn. 

“Cyn? You okay?” You ask, looking at your friend expectantly. 

“It’s him,” she says, not taking the drink or looking away from the man she’s always wanted to meet. 

Looking in the direction of her line of vision, you see a man with a shaggy beard and hair to match. He seemed a bit unkempt, maybe almost like he let his personal hygiene suffer just a bit, but he was surrounded by children. Two little girls sat close together, across from the man, and giggled at something he must’ve said to them. Their smiles were bigger than their little faces, one girl had big eyes as she looked at the man in front of her, and your heart couldn’t help but melt at what you witnessed. 

“How do I look?” Cynthia suddenly asked, looking to you for an answer, and pulling you from your trance. 

“Oh, uh, you look great. Wait, is that his kids he’s with?” You ask, looking back to the table.

“Yeah, those are his daughters, JJ and Arrow.” 

“Wow,” you say, noticing just how cute and unlike their father the girls look. 

“Wish me luck,” Cyn says as she goes over to the table, before you can try to tell her it might not be a good idea to interrupt him with daughters. They were too far away for you to hear what was going on but you could see Cynthia laughing and so was Jensen. A few minutes later, she came back to where you were standing, seemingly happy. 

“How’d it go?” 

“He’s really nice! He thanked me for my support and then asked how long I’d been a fan, etc. But he didn’t want to be rude so he politely asked me to leave.”

“Cause of his kids?” You ask. 

“Pretty much, yeah. Why don’t you go say hi?” Cynthia suggests. 

“No, I don’t even know him!” You say, walking further from where Jensen sat. 

“Alright fine, I’m going to the bathroom, try and unclench,” she says, walking away. 

“I’m not clenching!” You yell back and look down at your phone until you hear someone clearing their throat. Looking up, you see it’s Jensen, sitting across from you.

 “Hi,” he says in a small voice, waiting to see if you’d respond. 

“Hi,” you say, a bit surprised that he was there in front of you. 

“Are you alone?” he asks.

“N-no, my-my friend’s in the bathroom,” you stutter out. Why is he making me so nervous? I don’t even watch his shows!

“Oh, alright, well you looked lonely so I thought to come to keep you company,” he says, flirtatiously. 

“I’m not lonely, just waiting,” you say, not reciprocating his flirting. 

“Right, well, tell me about yourself, darlin’,” he says and you roll your eyes, looking back down to your phone. 

“What? Not impressed?” He asks. 

“With what? The fact you’re an actor? So? You’re kinda arrogant and you left your children to come to talk to some girl,” you say, looking back to him. 

“Okay one, I didn’t leave my kids, their Mom came and got them, and two, I’m guessing you’re not a fan of mine.” 

“Can’t say that I am,” you say.

“Well that’s a relief,” he says and your head shoots up to look at him. “I’m tired of people coming to talk to me who are all fans wanting a selfie or whatever.” 

“I thought you loved your fans?” You question. 

“How do you know that if you’re not a fan?” He asks with a sly smile.

“I’m not a fan but my best friend is. In fact, she was the one who went over to talk to you just a minute ago.” 

“Oh Cynthia, yeah she was pretty cool, but I think I like you better,” he says and you feel the heat rise to your cheeks. 

“I’m no one special.” You say.

“Well that can’t be true,” he says, giving you a small yet sincere smile and you can’t help but smile back. Not that you had much experience with celebrities, but he’s not holding up that stereotype celebrities tend to have. He seems to be real which seems like the opposite is true with him. Just as you were going to ask him another question, you’re interrupted by a small gasp. Your head shoots to your left and you're greeted by a very stunned Cynthia. 

“Oh hey Cyn, you know Jensen, right?” You say, acting like it wasn’t a big deal but you know it was to her. 

“Hey Cyn,” he says, giving a sly grin to your best friend. 

“Holy shit,” was all she could say. 

“Well, I guess someone is glad you’re here,” you say, chuckling at the frozen look still on Cynthia’s face. Jensen joins in on your laughter and stands to wrap an arm around Cynthia's shoulders. 

“I’m glad you’re here cause I was just going to invite (y/n) to join me in a few rounds of a few arcade games, maybe grab some food afterward, but we would love to have you join us,” he says.

“Sounds like you wanna take (y/n) on a date,” Cynthia said, being a bit sly herself. 

“Ah, I wasn’t going to call it that but now that you mention it.” 

“You know what, as much as I would love to join you, I think (y/n) should really take advantage of going on a date with a great guy like you,” Cynthia says to Jensen. 

“Well aren’t you a great friend Cynthia,” Jensen said, now looking at you to gauge your response. 

“Wait, you want to go out with me?” You asked, not believing the incredibly handsome man in front of you. 

“Yeah, I do,” he answered.

“Me?” 

“Yes.” 

“But, why me?” 

“Why not you?” 

“Because you can literally date anyone in the world, and you wanna date me?”

“Yeah, I do. You’re the first girl who hasn’t freaked out over who I am in a long time and that actually means something. And you are beautiful, so so beautiful. And you’ve been rather sassy, not easily persuaded by who I am or what I do just as an actor. I feel like you would like me if you got to know me one day. I hope I can prove to you that I am more than just an actor or a face in a magazine or on TV,” he said and if you weren’t attracted to him before, you are now. 

“That actually sounds amazing. You seem worth getting to know and way more than meets the eye.” 

@thinkinghardhardlythinking @fandom-princess-forevermore

[moldisgoodforyou]

bahamas (v)

wordcount: 6.2k

warnings: hinting at sexual content

______

Rafe found Colin the next morning, lanky limbs sprawled out on the couch with a blanket haphazardly tossed on top of him, his arm hanging off the edge of the couch as he slept. “Yo.”

“Mmph.” Colin grumbled in reply, stirring. He blinked a few times as he realized Rafe was standing in front of him, looking confused. “Hey.”

“Hey. You got kicked out?”

“James and Julia, they…” Colin trailed off, gesturing toward their rooms. “So I let Allie have my bed, and I’m out here.” A small scowl settled onto his face as a wide grin grew on Rafe’s. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say a thing.” Rafe laughed. “You are down bad, brother. Down bad.”

“Do not breathe a word of this to anyone, or I’ll tell Sophie you’ve been pining after her since high school.” Colin sat up, stretching. “I mean it.”

“Oh, she already knew that.” Rafe shook his head, grinning. “But don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me. You think Allie will remember? Did anything happen?”

“Nothing. Literally nothing.” Colin shrugged. “Does Sophie know about Julia and James?”

“What about us?” Julia asked, James and Allie trailing right behind her as they came down the hall for breakfast. “That we fucked?”

Rafe winced. “Can you not?”

“She doesn’t know?”

“No. And I’d like to keep it that way.” Rafe pointed at everyone, serious. “If any of you tell before we leave tomorrow, I’ll strangle you and leave your body here. I swear.”

“Dibs on telling her when we leave.” Colin said quickly, grinning.

“Be my guest.” James shrugged.

“Okay. Now. You two need to promise to not hook up again, I swear, you’re aging me by years. I’m tired of navigating your sex lives and you both know you’re not good together.” Rafe instructed, arms crossed.

“That’s fair.” Julia nodded, turning to shake hands with James. He nodded too, shaking her hand then kissed the back of her hand just to make her grin. She rolled her eyes, tugging her hand away.

“Thank you. Now. Breakfast?” Rafe gestured toward the kitchen.

“Where’s Sophie?” Allie yawned, stretching as she followed them all in.

“Definitely hungover and she was definitely drooling on the pillow.” He smiled fondly as Sophie came into the kitchen, hair in a messy bun and pillow marks still pressed into her cheek. “Morning, sleeping beauty!”

“You talkin shit on me?” She asked, leaning into his side as he looped his arm around her.

“He said you looked like shit.” James grinned. “He was right.”

“Shut the fuck up, James, I’m still mad at you -”

“Just because your boyfriend prefers my kisses -” He stepped around the kitchen counter, trying to avoid as she came closer.

“Oh my god! I forgot about that! I can’t believe you -”

“Look, he technically kissed me first -“ James gasped, looking way too delighted with himself. “Oh my god! Sophie! We’re spit sisters!”

As she grabbed the wooden spoon from off the counter, Rafe plucked it out of her hand from behind just as quickly. “Whoa! Hey. Can you two please be civil? James, stop antagonizing. Soph, quit arguing with someone that isn’t me.”

Colin wrinkled his nose. “Really? That makes you jealous?”

“It’s our thing.” He frowned, pulling Sophie into his arms again from behind, satisfied when she leaned back against him.

She tilted her head up to catch her lips on the underside of his jaw. “You’re too possessive.”

“Bold of you to talk.” Julia snorted.

“Whatever. What’d I miss?”

Everyone shared a look, Rafe glaring at everyone behind Sophie’s back, until Allie shook her head. “Nothing, we all just woke up too. I think we should go surfing today, it’s our last full day.”

“Only you three can surf.” Julia replied, pointing at Allie and Rafe and Sophie.

“We can teach you.” Rafe suggested, only for Sophie to snort.

“You can’t surf for shit, Rafe.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. I haven’t gone in years, but yeah, we can try.” Sophie pulled out her phone, starting to google board rentals until Rafe poked her in the side.

“I know how to surf.”

“Okay, so your concussion sophomore year of high school wasn’t from a wipeout? Because I’m pretty sure I can still find the video on YouTube, actually, thanks to Wheezie uploading it -”

“Hey, Sophie, no -” He grabbed at her phone, scrambling to get it away, but she just tossed it to James who caught it easily with a grin and pulled up the Youtube app immediately.

“Is it saved? Under...oh, here.” He laughed as Rafe struggled against Sophie’s arms.

“Everyone knows Kooks can’t surf, baby.” She murmured to him, grinning when he scowled and bumped his forehead against hers.

“What’s a Kook?” Colin asked.

“The kind of people Rafe grew up with.” Sophie let him go, moving to his side.

“Didn’t you grow up with them too?”

She laughed, shaking her head right away. “Ha. No. I only went to school with them starting in eighth grade. I’m not...no. That’s not me.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Rafe interjected, careful. He’d never directly told James and Colin about the environment he grew up in, but they picked up on a lot of things - they didn’t have to go through etiquette classes, or own mansions or attend literal balls every year. He also hadn’t told them about how Sophie wasn’t like that at all, figuring if she wanted to share more, then she could do so on her own terms.

“So you’re a pog?” James cocked his head and Rafe winced, hating the direction the conversation was going in.

“Um...it’s pogue, but no? Not quite?” Sophie answered with a shrug. She’d never found herself fitting in with the rest of the kids on the Cut, especially once she started going to the private academy, but then again, the kooks weren’t exactly her world either. She lived in a weird in-between, working side by side through high school with the pogues, serving all the kook kids, then partying with the kooks on the weekend. It was a strange balance. “I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

“I thought there were just two. Rafe, when we came to visit summer after freshman year, didn’t your dad say that we needed to stay away from that one side of the island with the pogues -”

“I don’t remember.” Rafe interrupted quickly, then spared a glance at Sophie and hated the way her face fell. “I don’t think he said that. Can we figure out what to do today?”

Oblivious as ever, Colin furrowed his brow. “No, I think I remember that too, he was joking a lot about it -”

“He wasn’t joking.” Sophie muttered, suddenly sullen as she felt a pit form in her stomach.

“It doesn’t matter.” Rafe replied, firm, and shot both the boys a pointed look.

Julia and Allie had been subjected to Sophie’s worries about money and fitting in with Rafe time and time again, and knew exactly how she felt at the moment. Allie took Sophie’s phone back from James, pulled up the browser, and cleared her throat. “Alright. Three board rentals for $30, I figure we can all pair off? Pick them up at eleven so we have time to eat breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m starving.” Julia chimed in, slipping past Sophie and squeezed her shoulders in a reassuring gesture before opening the fridge. “James, can we do omelets again? Colin, you’re on toast duty?”

“But I -”

“Colin.” Julia sent him a glare and threw the loaf of bread toward him, narrowly missing his head. “Toast.”

“She gets one embroidered apron in a PR package and suddenly she’s queen of the kitchen.” James quipped, bumping Rafe out of the way with his hip and pulled out the pan, spatula, and whisk, prepared.

“Exactly, I’m glad you understand.” Julia grinned.

Rafe moved closer to Sophie’s side, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “You good?”

“M’ fine.”

He rolled his eyes and took her hand, pulling her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the foyer. “Soph. Talk to me.”

“I said, I’m fine -”

“And I know damn well that means you’re not actually fine -”

She huffed and caught a glimpse of the giant chandelier behind him as she looked up to meet his gaze, and was finding it harder and harder to conceptualize the place as his house rather than just a vacation home of a friend’s. “You haven’t told the boys about The Cut? Pogues, kooks, all that? That I’m not like you?”

“Of course not, Sophie, that doesn’t matter to me.” He frowned, taking both her hands in his. “Besides, I didn’t think it was my place to share.”

“Oh.” She sighed, stepping forward and dropping her head to his chest. “Sorry, I just - I’m trying to be chill.”

“You have been. We’ve been good.” He nudged her chin up, catching her eye. “Haven’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah, just - I took a wrong turn this morning, found myself down some hallway and in some office, and there was this giant painted portrait of your family behind the desk, and -” She forced herself to take a breath. “It’s a lot. You looked like fucking royalty.”

He nodded slowly in understanding. “Oh. Yeah. That’s my dad’s office, uh...there’s a reason I didn’t give everyone the full house tour.” He rubbed the back of his neck, giving her a sheepish smile. “The guys would give me so much shit for that.”

“You’re not, like...embarrassed of me, right? Like how I grew up?” She asked before she could think, uneasy as her stomach twisted in knots.

“Sophie.” He frowned, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “You really have to ask that?”

“No, sorry, no. I know you’re not. Just - agh.” She screwed up her face in concentration, frustrated. “It’s me. I’m sorry.”

“Just try not to stress so much about it, okay? You’re the only one worried about it.”

“Oh, that’s easy. Thanks, Rafe, I’m cured.”

He rolled his eyes and pushed at her shoulder gently, making her smile a little. “I want you to be comfortable with me, angel.”

“I am!” She flexed her hands, frustrated. “That’s the thing. I am, with you. Not...you.”

He furrowed his brow. “Now I’m confused.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

James rounded the corner, yelling out before he reached them. “Yo! You two done making out yet?”

Sophie sent Rafe an exasperated look before crossing her arms, turning to James. “We weren’t -”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t care. C’mon, your breakfast is ready and I know Rafe throws up if he has to eat cold eggs.”

“It was one time -”

“One time is enough.” James shuddered, thinking back to freshman year. Rafe had gotten a little too cocky with the pledge masters during their hazing and was forced to eat five cold scrambled eggs in front of the whole pledge class, after he’d already had his fair share of alcohol to drink, and it didn’t end well. He extended his hand to Sophie, grinning. “Sophie, doll, breakfast awaits.”

“I hate you.” She replied with a straight face, but took his hand anyway and let him pull her back to the kitchen.

He laughed, glancing back at Rafe following them and winked at him before kissing the top of Sophie’s head. “Love you too. I need a wingman tonight at the bars, you got me?”

“I thought that was Colin’s position.” She shoved him away, taking her plate and sitting at the bar with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, well, Allie’s the only one that’s been getting some this entire trip, so -”

“But -” Colin started, only for Julia to stomp on his foot under the table, hard. She forced a grin, thankful Sophie was oblivious.

Sophie furrowed her brow but nodded, pouring herself a glass of juice. “Yeah. I got you.”

“Excellent. You know what, everyone should get laid tonight. If they want to.” James declared, shooting a meaningful glance at Colin.

“If you lay a finger on Julia again, I’m cutting off your balls in the middle of the night.” Sophie replied calmly, staring James down over the top of her glass as she took a sip.

Julia pretended not to hear, keeping her eyes intently trained on her plate. She’d considered Sophie’s feelings for the briefest of seconds last night, but then James was kissing down her neck and his fingers were slipping under the waistband of her shorts and - yeah. It may have slipped her mind. She was a little preoccupied.

“Sophie.” Rafe reprimanded, affronted. “Be nice.”

“Yeah, be nice or you’ll be the only one not getting some tonight.” James teased, smirking when Sophie gave him the death glare across the table.

“Jesus Christ, you guys fight like siblings.” Allie mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Let it go already.”

“Thank you.” Rafe affirmed, shaking his head. “I need everyone to be packed tonight, we’ll need to be on the plane tomorrow by 9am.”

“I thought the beauty of having your own plane meant we didn’t have a schedule.” Colin asked.

“...No. You can’t just fly it whenever, you have to tell people. And my dad needs it later tonight, he’s going to New York.”

“I didn’t realize he went there that often. That’s kind of nice though, right? You’ll be able to see him more when you and Sophie move?” Julia asked unknowingly. Sophie had told both the girls that Ward was an asshole, but didn’t say much more, just that Rafe still worked for him a lot. (She figured anything more was Rafe’s business and he could tell them if he wanted.)

Everyone else stayed quiet and Sophie froze, halfway to shoveling a forkful of omelet into her mouth. Rafe was stiff and his smile was forced as he nodded, not daring to look in Sophie’s direction. “Yeah. He does business there sometimes, so. I’ll see him around.”

James pushed away from the table, making everyone wince as the chair squeaked against the floor. “Okay, I’ll dry if someone else washes the dishes. Then I vote we hang out at the beach, last chance before we get to go back to Ohio - and I’m pretty sure it’s only forty-five degrees today back home.”

Julia looked around, confused at the abrupt topic change, and mouthed to Allie - did I say something wrong? - only for Allie to shake her head surreptitiously, glancing toward Sophie.

“Beach sounds good.” Colin nodded, standing and taking everyone’s plates to the sink. “Allie, can you confirm those board rentals?”

“Yeah, I got them.” She stood too, getting up to help with the dishes.

Julia frowned, lowering her voice so only Rafe and Sophie could hear. “Rafe, I didn’t mean to -”

“No, it’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” Rafe shrugged it off easily. “Seriously.”

Sophie exhaled, nudging her knee against Rafe’s under the table before she got up and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, then ruffled his hair. “Love you.” She murmured as she grabbed his plate.

He smiled back, tugging gently at the hem of her (his) t-shirt before she busied herself in the kitchen with the rest of the group.

Julia watched the exchange with a furrowed brow. “Is she good?”

“Hm?” He replied absentmindedly, moving his gaze from Sophie to Julia.

“She’s okay? Earlier, with James and Colin asking…”

“Oh. Yeah, we’re good, I think. Probably just ready to go home to normalcy, you know?” He paused. “Are you gonna tell her about last night?”

“I probably have to...right?”

“Yeah. I think it’s better coming from you, rather than the boys.” He offered a teasing smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk her down from homicide.”

Julia groaned, covering her face with her hands. “She’s gonna hate me.”

“She won’t.” He promised. “You two are consenting adults, it’s maybe not the smartest decision you two have ever had, but. She can’t be that mad.”

“Have you met your girlfriend?” She raised her eyebrows back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her let go of a grudge.”

Rafe smiled, pointing to himself as he shook his head. “Ever?”

“You don’t count. None of those arguments were real.”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m serious. You’d know.” She shook her head, smiling fondly. “Freshman year, this guy was being a little too touchy with me, hanging around a little too much at a frat party - she went and found his big brother and when he didn’t do anything, she threw a drink in the guy’s face.”

Rafe laughed, shaking his head. “She what?!”

“Yeah. I know way too many incriminating details about her.” Julia nodded with a grin.

Sophie came back to the table, curious. “What are you two gossiping about?”

“Nothing.” He dismissed, waving his hand and got up, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “C’mon, let’s go get ready.” He mumbled something in her ear, making her blush.

Julia raised her eyebrows, watching as Rafe tugged her down the hall, hand in hand. “Don’t be late, you two!”

“Never!” Sophie called back, giggling.

______

After an attempt at surfing and hours of lounging in the sun, the group finally made it to dinner. Rafe had insisted they go to the nicer restaurant for their last day, making everyone dress up just a little more, and was happy everyone complied with the dress code he suggested when they had all packed.

When his phone pinged, again, he huffed and fished it out of his pocket. His dad had texted him five times within the last hour, making sure he would remember to be on the runway at a certain time, and that the airport security needed to be paid in cash, like usual, and that he left enough of a tip for the maids before they left, and - yeah. It was a lot. He was surprised when he saw a text from his screenwriting professor from the previous semester instead, with three words - check your email.

“Your dad again?” Sophie murmured quietly, resting her hand on his knee.

“No…” He trailed off as he opened his email and found that his screenplay had been one of two chosen to be produced for their final semester. He had a meeting next week with his professor to start working out logistics, casting and choosing a production team. “Oh. Wow.”

“What is it?”

He smiled, hesitant, and tilted his phone toward Sophie. “Um, the screenplay thing. Mine got picked.” He shook his head, in disbelief as he smiled wider. “Holy shit, mine got picked.”

“Rafe!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and smacking a kiss to his cheek.

James perked up, leaning next to Sophie to read the phone too. “You got it? For real?”

“I got it.” He confirmed, now grinning ear to ear. The phone was passed around the table so everyone could read the email and everyone congratulated him, making his cheeks turn red as he beamed. Julia ordered a round of shots almost immediately. He had made the boys read it over at least five times each, for proofreading before he submitted it, then once he gave a copy to Sophie, she’d made the girls read it too because she was so proud.

“This is the one where you confess your love to her like twelve times over?” Colin asked.

“Yeah, remember, Rafe, the characters hated each other in the first draft? And then you changed the girl’s name to Sloane one day, wherever the fuck that came from -” James added, oblivious to the growing smirk on Sophie’s face.

She leaned closer, raising her eyebrows. “When was that changed?”

Rafe’s blush spread to his ears now, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t remember. It’s not important, anyways -”

“I think it was barely September -“ James supplied helpfully, yelping when Rafe kicked him under the table. “Hey!”

Julia grinned. “You changed it to her middle name in only September? Weren’t you still fighting then?”

“I didn’t know -” He started to defend himself, only for Allie to roll her eyes.

“Oh, okay, you just happened to change it to that of all names. Sure, we believe that.”

Julia laughed once she caught Sophie’s eye and her extremely pleased expression. “She’s had a crush on you since high school, anyways -”

“I did not -” Sophie instantly retorted, ignoring the smug grin Rafe wore. “She’s lying.”

“I’m not. Jesus, Sophie, you two could have saved yourself all that arguing and just been together, you two are dumb.”

“Wait, you’ve liked me for that long?” Rafe cocked his head, oblivious.

“Oh my god, you two are blind.” Allie giggled, accepting the tray of shots from their waitress and passed them around. “Here, everyone - congrats, Rafe.” She lifted her shot and everyone else clinked theirs together, then took it at once.

The rest of the night was a blur for everyone, but especially Rafe. He kept taking other people’s shots on accident and sucked down any drink presented to him with a straw, but absolutely refused to hydrate normally (Sophie resorted to giving him vodka waters at the end of the night just so she could keep him upright). He kept an arm slung around her shoulders or waist the entire night, not letting her out of his sight for a single second.

“Baby, please stop leaning.” Sophie told him with an exasperated tone, pushing at his shoulder for the fifth time that night.

“I love you so much.” He replied, bright-eyed with a grin. “So damn much.”

“Okay. Stand up straight.”

“I am.”

James ambled back to the two of them and ducked in between them so Rafe’s arm was around his shoulders instead, taking the weight off of her for a moment. “Jesus, Cameron, lay off the drinks.”

“He’s fine, he’s celebrating.” Sophie smiled, patting Rafe’s cheek affectionately.

“Enabler.”

She shrugged. “So be it. Where have you been?”

“Trying to talk with some girls.” He supplied, nodding his head toward Colin with the same group. “Apparently they’re more into nerds.”

“The one time in your life you’ve failed to score.” She teased, batting his hand away as he went to flick her.

Rafe leaned into James, resting his head against his. He had a few inches on him, making it just comfortable enough. “James. Guess what.”

“What, bud.”

“I’m gonna marry Sophie.”

“Yeah, dude, we know.”

“No. Tonight.”

James snorted. “Yeah, okay. I feel like you’re gonna be out within the hour.”

Rafe ignored him, eyes scanning across the crowd. “Where are our girls?”

Sophie beamed, loving how he’d adopted her friends as his own. “I think Julia’s just getting guys to buy her drinks and Allie’s hovering around so she can benefit.”

“Julia definitely had some guy’s tongue down her throat earlier.” James confirmed. “I told him to fuck off.”

“Does she need help?” Rafe frowned, handing his drink to Sophie and straightening up like he was going to go hunt for her.

“No, she’s fine.” James nodded toward Colin, Julia and Allie all coming back toward them.

Sophie looped her arm back around Rafe’s waist, taking his weight again, and intercepted a drink that Allie offered to him. “No more. You guys having fun?”

“Yeah, a couple guys might be coming over to join us later.” Julia informed them casually. “Rafe, you good with that? I won’t show them any of your fancy shit.”

“Uh...yeah. That’s fine.” He cocked his head. “Wait, a couple? Just for you?”

“No, me and Al.” At Colin’s affronted look, she shook her head quickly. “Not at the same time!”

“Wait, no, we’re busy tonight.” Rafe shook his head and smacked a kiss to Sophie’s temple. “We’re getting married.”

Colin widened his eyes. “You’re what?”

“We’re not!” Sophie amended quickly, pinching Rafe’s side. “We’re not. He’s hammered.”

“She doesn’t wanna marry me ‘cause she’s scared of my dad.” Rafe informed them, his expression a little too serious for it to be a joke. “It’s true.”

“Okay. I think you need to go home.” She pursed her lips. “Are you guys staying, or…?”

“Family sticks together!” Rafe exclaimed, looping his arm around Colin. “We’re all going home. Did someone pack a white dress?”

“Rafe, we are not getting married.” Sophie sighed, exasperated. “Not tonight.”

“But I have the ring.” He protested, making the whole group stop in their tracks.

Julia nearly choked on her drink, mid-sip. “You what?!”

Rafe held up his hand and slid his pinky ring off his finger, the only one that barely fit Sophie’s thumb. “See? I have a ring.”

“Oh my god.” Allie breathed out, shaking her head. She stepped around him and strode forward out of the club, knowing he’d follow. “Hey! Come on. We’re going home.”

Sophie just stared at Rafe blankly, not following the rest of the group until James gave her a little shove from behind. “Chill out, Flint, I’m not gonna let him propose like that.”

She shook her head to get herself to snap out of it, laughing weakly. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“No panicking.”

“I’m not - just. Jesus. Okay. He says that so easily.” She mumbled, walking out with James behind the group.

He laughed, nodding. “Of course he does. It’s Rafe. He loves hard.”

“Yeah.” She smiled to herself, twisting her ring on her finger. “He does.”

Once they all made it home, after some convincing on Allie’s part with the taxi driver and a little extra cash thrown in from Rafe, James and Colin helped wrestle Rafe into their bedroom. (They made the mistake of looking the other way once and he took off across multiple lanes of traffic, convinced he needed to go rescue the kitten that was on the other side of the road - it was actually a crumpled paper bag.)

“Okay. He’s your problem now.” Colin brushed off his hands for emphasis, swatting Rafe’s hand away as he went to tug on Colin’s shirt. “There’s no way he’s getting anything up, so sleep is probably your best option.”

Sophie blushed, running her hands over her face. “Great, I needed to hear that. Helpful.”

“Fuck you, Colin.” Rafe slurred, flipping him off.

“Mature.” James commented, kissing the top of Rafe’s head, then Sophie’s, before turning to leave. Any other time it would be weird, but she’d gotten used to his drunk affectionate state. “Night buddies!”

“Night! Love you!” Rafe called after him and Colin as they left and shut the door behind them. He turned his gaze to Sophie, smiling goofily at her. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi, baby.” She replied, glad he was compliant as she tugged off his shoes and socks, and shirt too. “Can you take off your shorts for me?”

“You can take ‘em off.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes, having to shove a little, but finally succeeded to strip him down to his boxers. “Okay. Will you come brush your teeth?”

Without a warning, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, meeting her in a full-force kiss, hands roaming.

“Hey!” She squealed, shoving at his chest out of instinct. “Watch the hands, Rafe.”

He immediately dropped them to her sides, nudging his nose against hers. “I love you.”

“Love you too. I’d love you more if you would brush your teeth.”

“Dental hygiene is that important to you?” He skimmed his palm up her back, teasing his fingers along the zipper down the back of her crop top. “You should be naked right now.”

“Cameron.” She warned.

“Not my name.”

“Rafael.”

“Sophieeeee.” He whined, pouting. “Say my name for real.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed along his neck, resisting a laugh when he so easily melted to putty beneath her. “Rafe. Asher. Clifford. Cameron.”

“Sounds like I’m in trouble.” He mumbled, unzipping her crop top and hummed in satisfaction when she slipped her arms out of the skinny straps, letting him toss it aside. “I don’t like that.”

“Baby?” She murmured, sucking a small spot at the base of his neck before returning to kiss his lips.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“That’s not nice.” He frowned. “Be nice to me.”

“No.”

“You have to be nice to your boyfriend, angel, it’s the rules.”

“I’ve never heard these rules.” She countered, pushing him back against the bed. “I don’t think I got the rulebook when we started dating.”

“Because you hated me when we started dating.” He argued, flopping back against the mattress. “Are we gonna have sex?”

“Can you stay awake long enough?”

He nodded enthusiastically, reaching up to palm her breast. “Yeah. I got you. I’ll make you come, like, five times.”

She snorted, tugging off her skirt and pushed it aside. “I don’t think you’ve ever made me come five times. Maybe three, but that’s it.”

“What? No. That’s not right. You definitely have - like, in Nice or something -”

“Nope. I would remember.” She rolled off of him to pull off her underwear and toss it on the floor, then laughed as he rolled on top of her, frowning.

“I totally have, Sophie, come on. You’re lying. I can get you off.”

“Yeah, but not five times. That’s so long, Rafe.” She argued, grinning as he ran his hands down both her arms before pushing them above her head, one large hand encircling both her wrists.

“I’ll show you five times.” He argued, glancing around the room, unfocused. “Where’s some string?”

“You are not tying me up with string, Rafe, pay attention.” She arched her back a little, practically shoving her chest in his face to get him back on track. He nodded, dropping his hand down to her hip and skated his teeth across her nipple, loving the moan it elicited from her. She curled her fingers into his hair, sighing when he left open-mouthed kisses across her chest.

He hummed, his head bobbing a little and his eyelids fluttered as he felt her nails rake across his scalp. “More.” He mumbled.

“Yeah?” She replied, scratching his head a little more and had to bite back a laugh when he rested his head on her chest for a moment, then pressed lazy kisses against her skin. “Don’t you dare fall asleep on me.”

“M’not, just...resting.” His breathing slowed and he reached one hand up to cup her breast, though the way he did it felt more like he was holding it for emotional support than to turn her on.

“Rafe.” She whispered, squirming underneath him. “Get off.”

“Shh.” He nuzzled a little closer, relaxing his full body weight into hers. “Nappin.’”

“Are you fucking -” She sighed, pushing him just enough so he rolled onto his back. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.”

“No, no, I’m ready.” He mumbled without opening his eyes, gesturing loosely to his lap. “See.”

She rolled her eyes and tugged on a pair of underwear and a big shirt of his that she’d packed, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. “You’re not even close to hard.”

“No...what’sit you say?” He squinted one eye open to look at her. “Have at me?”

She just laughed, shaking her head. “I’ll be back.”

“Sophie, baby, Sophie.” Rafe repeated, grabbing at her arm. “You gotta stay.”

“I’m just getting you water, Cameron, I’ll be right back. Promise.” She slipped her arm out of his loose grip and pressed a kiss to his forehead, smiling at the way his lips turned up in a dopey smile back. “Stay here.”

“Okay. Be safe!” He called out.

She shook her head and went out to the kitchen, grabbed two water bottles and returned to the room not five minutes later to see him fast asleep, snoring softly with his phone in his hand, screen still shining bright. She rolled her eyes and pried his phone away, then paused as she saw the screen - he’d just donated $5,000 to the local animal shelter in Columbus. This wasn’t an entire unusual occurrence - she’d seen a couple emails in his inbox here and there thanking him for a donation, but never this much. “Holy shit. Rafe.” She nudged him, trying to wake him up. “Rafe.”

“Mm?” He grumbled, rolling back over.

“Did you mean to do this?” She showed him his phone screen. “Five thousand?”

“Uh huh.” He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to pull her into bed. “Come sleep.”

“You’re sure? You didn’t mean, like, $50? Or even $500?”

He pouted, lip wobbling a little as his eyes began to water. “Baby, all those animals are in there on the cold floor, and they don’t have homes -”

“Oh, honey -”

“No, no, listen. They don’t have homes, and it’s not fair, but if they get more money they take away their adoption fee, and then they can have a home.” He stared her down seriously as a couple tears slipped down his cheeks. “They need homes, Sophie.”

She nodded, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and stroked her thumbs over his wet cheeks. “Yeah, sweet boy. They need homes.”

“I hope Josie’s okay.” He yawned, moving to rest his head on her lap.

“Josie?”

“She’s five, and she’s a very sweet yellow lab, and good with other dogs and people, and she’s been at the shelter since July,” he recited from memory. Rafe had checked the website at least every two weeks and had found himself attached to this one dog for reasons he couldn’t explain, even going as far as buying her toys from the shelter’s Amazon wishlist. He absolutely knew he couldn’t visit, because he’d be taking her home in an instant. When he’d been looking for apartments in New York for them, he found himself selecting pet friendly as a search option - just in case.

“Oh. Okay.” She murmured, a little confused as she stroked his hair. “I’m sure she’s alright, Rafe. Will you drink some water for me? Or at least take your contacts out?”

He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes until his contacts popped out, and set them on the nightstand. Sophie resisted a scowl. He slipped his hand under her shirt and held her tight, palm splayed flat against her ribcage. “G’night.”

“Night, baby. I love you.”

“Sophie.”

“Yeah, Rafe?” She settled in against him, pulling the covers over them both.

“Marry me.”

She laughed, rolling back over to nudge her nose against his. “No.”

He yawned, not bothering to open his eyes. “Please?”

“Later. Now we’re sleeping.” She kissed him softly, smiling as she whispered. “Sweet dreams, favorite boy.”

“Love you.” He mumbled back, barely coherent before falling asleep.

____

The next morning, he was all too smug as he woke Sophie up, blindly reaching for her in bed and pulled her close against his chest. “Baby.”

“No.” She grumbled, pulling the pillow over her head as she tried to wriggle away.

“Soph.” He tried again, holding her tight as he pressed kisses against her hair. “Sophieee.”

“I’m tired, Rafe, fuck off.” She sighed, frowning up at him as he grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the floor. “Hey.”

“Tired from last night, huh?” He smirked, trailing a finger down the center of her chest, down her stomach. “Sore?”

Sophie rolled over to look him in the eye, eyebrows raised. “Sore from what?”

“You know.”

“I don’t.”

“C’mon.”

She furrowed her brow at him, confused. “Rafe, you fell asleep holding my boob. You weren’t even hard.”

“Huh?” He cocked his head, sitting up a little. “But we...did I dream that? The navy lace?”

She laughed, loud. “I don’t own navy lace anything.”

“Well, shit, we gotta buy you something.” He ran his hand through his hair, still a little confused as Sophie smiled up at him and fixed his messy hair, sitting up to straddle him. “Really? We didn’t do a thing? I swore, you were, like, having the time of your life.”

Sophie shook her head, placing both hands on his chest as she shifted forward a little. “No. You left me high and dry. Glad dream-me could get something though.”

Rafe quickly picked up on her cues, his hands going to her hips to steady her. “I think I can help fix that.”

“I think you can too.”

Just as she leaned down to kiss him, James pounded on their door, thankfully being smart enough to not barge in. “Yo! We’re leaving in an hour! Do you want breakfast?”

“Fuck off!” Sophie yelled, rocking her hips against Rafe’s. “We’re busy!”

“Busy packing, I hope!” James called back.

“He’s packing!” She replied with a giggle, laughing harder when Rafe quickly clasped his hand over her mouth and shushed her.

“We’re not hungry!” Rafe yelled, pinching Sophie’s side. “Leave us alone!”

She squealed, batting his hand away and couldn’t help but laugh as James’s footsteps faded away. “What, I’m not allowed to brag about you?”

“We don’t have time for you to brag.” He replied, wrapping a strong hand around the back of her neck to pull her into a bruising kiss. “C’mere.”

“How much do you remember of last night?” She asked in between kisses, leaning back just enough to pull off her shirt.

“Not much.” He flipped them over, then leaned down to graze his teeth over her nipple.

“You asked me to marry you.” She breathed out, a little wary of his reaction. “Multiple times.”

“I did? I’m a smart man.” He replied with a smirk, trailing his fingers up her inner thighs.

“You are.” Sophie moaned quietly, then pressed her hips up. “Just get inside me.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive, Rafe, please, I gotta shower and pack.”

He laughed, loud. “Sure we have time?”

“Rafe Cameron, I swear to fucking god -”

He laughed, cutting her off with a kiss. “I got you, baby. Always got you.”

taglist: @drewstarkey @lemur46 @jjmaybanksbaby @edgeofgr8 @quxxnxfhxll @obxtess @hoodpankow @vtgirl802 @outerbankies @messagesinthesky @nicolecarsley @svechnikolan @ilovejjmaybank @obxtess @abbyj1822 @oopsiedoopsie23 @g4bster @jjmaybankzz @freddymaybank @dontjinx-it @illbesafeforyou @moniamaybank @tovvaa @jailcalledlife @sunshineitsfine44 @randomficsandshit @outerbankspreferences @outerbanksbro @karsinner @kkmaybank @whoeveniskendall @lemur46 @outerbankies

[uwuyangin]

a promise well broken (minho x reader)

✩ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: if anyone was certain of one thing, it would be the fact that both you and minho were a two in one deal. never would somebody see one and not the other. since the beginning of your friendship, you promised each other that no matter what, you would never lie. pinky promises were forever right? that is until you meet hana, the one person that had the potential to tear you and minho apart.

✩ 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚/𝐧: this is a request! bff to lovers! plot ahead. cussing as well so be warned. song rec: i hate u, i love u by olivia o’brien & gnash. thank you for requesting this, lovely! 

—

the autumn of twenty-eighteen was the worst year of your life.

why? because that was the start of your first year being a freshman in college. nobody had warned you about the university life, and it always looked so easy. then came week two where you learned the hard way that the readings actually were important. or that you should never leave your laundry in the laundromat without supervision. again, these were things you had to learn as an adult and it sucked.

but, you’ll never forget the day you met him; lee minho. 

you had accidentally spilled coffee all over his white shirt in that over-crowded starbucks down the street from your apartment. he had joked you owe him a new shirt, however he then laughed at his silly remark. hearing that laugh made your heart melt in a way you couldn’t describe. nonetheless, you offered to buy him his drink of choice, to which he denied. instead, he asked for your time and the rest was history.

you two were inseparable ever since. even when you needed to study, minho would drop by and annoy the hell out of you. it had become such a routine that you would be surprised if he didn’t accompany you to anything. in a way, you were dependent on him as he was to you. some would say this was unhealthy, but you admitted to yourself a long time ago that a life without lee minho was not a life wanted. 

however, because life was never perfect, you couldn’t expect your relationship with him to be. because you were utterly in love with someone you never thought you could have. so much so that your heart swelled at just the idea of him and that damn smile. his tsundere personality attracted you the most because that only made the intimate moments more meaningful. like when he would hold your hand in public if you were anxious, or the way he complimented your work ethic. those small, simple gestures filled your stomach with butterflies. as much as you loved him showing you affection, it also broke your heart because it always stirred up false hope. and nothing hurt more than that. 

you wished you could confront him on this. you hated hiding anything from minho. it was your number one rule between each other; no secrets, no lies. he always had a deep-rooted insecurity of being lied to, and you promised him that you would never do that no matter what. you’ll never forget the way he looked at you then; full of trust and happiness. each night when you lay awake in your bed, your chest clenches at the thought of telling him you’ve been surpressing these feelings. would he rejoice or be disappointed? it was a risk that you weren’t willing to take.

that promise meant everything to you. apparently minho thought otherwise.

it had been exactly one month since you met park hana. minho introduced the two of you after walking out of his calculus class. he had made a new friend, which didn’t surprise you because who wouldn’t want to be friends with him? however, at the sight of her, your stomach dropped. she had locks of honey brown, obviously artificial but beautiful nonetheless. her eyes always shone with a light you never thought you’d see. she was outgoing, intelligent, and funny. god, she was so funny that she made minho roll over in laughter at a study session that was supposed to be explicitly between you and him. you envied her. you wanted to love yourself the way she did, but everytime you looked in the mirror, you would only see flaws. what would minho see in you that he wouldn’t see in her? 

you tried to be her friend, you really did. on multiple occasions, you invited hana to coffee or to the movies, and she always declined. if you brought it up to minho, he would only shrug it off that it wasn’t serious. this didn’t cease your uneasiness towards her, though. it could just be your jealousy speaking but you knew yourself better than that. 

you were going to try again, though. if she meant something to minho, then she meant something to you as well. 

you lay on your bed with a small smile, scrolling through your phone to find minho’s number. a simple face time would be fun as you didn’t feel like texting. you also really wanted to see his face. after finding his number, you tapped on it and felt excitement rising in your system. it was only a video call but this is what minho did to you. as the phone rang, you were met with disappointment as you noticed that he wasn’t going to pick up. that wasn’t like him as he typically picked up within the first three rings. 

“what the heck? ugh,” you grunted to yourself, heading over to text message. 

you were tempted to text him alone about your idea of hanging out, but you knew that if you were going to make an effort for hana, you would need to text the group chat. you began to text out your plans, sending it with a large grin. 

you: heyyyyyyyyy bishes! i’m thinking of heading to the mall later today, and i’d love to hang with y’all. what do you say?? maybe we can get dinner as well. i finally don’t have homework lmaoo 

soongiedoongiedori: aw can’t today :( hanging out with sungie

hana: same, i’m busy! maybe next week? 

you: ok :’) </3

releasing a sigh, you felt your excitement deterioriate. you weren’t expecting them to turn you down so quickly, especially minho. you knew it was wrong to be upset at them for being busy but you couldn’t help how you were feeling. hana did suggest next week . . . that would have to do for now. 

as you sighed once again, you heard your door swinging open. you snapped your head up, hoping it was minho pranking you, but you were only met with your roommate, yeri. 

“whoa, calm down. i’m not gonna kill you,” she joked. “i was just checking to see if you’ve eaten today and if i should buy takeout.” 

groaning, you shook her head and hung an arm over your head. this made it clear to yeri that you were upset, making her concerned. you two were close since the beginning of the school year. normally you were a cheerful person. if you were acting like this, then something was definitely up. 

“what’s wrong?” she asked, sitting beside you on your bed. 

you peeked out from behind your arm only to drop it and sigh for the third time. that’s all you could really do at this point. 

“well, it’s going to sound dumb-”

“no it’s not. stop doubting yourself, now tell me what’s up.” yeri interrupted.

you rolled your eyes but smiled a small smile. “i texted minho and hana to see if they wanted to hang out today but both of them are busy. it just really sucks because i feel like every time i make an effort for hana, she doesn’t make an effort for me. i’ve tried telling lino this but he thinks i’m being dramatic. am i being dramatic?”

yeri hummed at your response, furrowing her eyebrows. you watched in silence as she pondered about the scenario in her mind. this put you on edge because she didn’t immediately reassure you it was nothing. she must’ve seen something fishy as well or else she wouldn’t be thinking about it. or you were assuming the worst.

“they’re both busy?” she checked. 

you nodded, making her shrug. “i wouldn’t think much of it, (y/n). what’s the rule between you and him again? no secrets, no lies or something like that? i don’t think he would lie to you.” 

that was true; nobody took that rule more seriously than minho. for a moment there, you felt guilt because you knew it was wrong to immediately doubt his intentions like that. hana as well. yeri inspected you for a moment as she took in your composure. surely her advice should’ve been enough to warrant ease, however, you were still stiff.

“i’ll go to the mall with you,” she offered. “i was thinking of stopping in sephora or something. i’ve been meaning to go for awhile but never had the excuse.”

you snapped your head her way and bit back a smile, trying not to be too enthusiastic. “really? you’re not just saying that, are you?”

yeri nudged you playfully before standing. “of course not. now get up and ready, or i’ll regret my decision.”

-

“did you really have to buy all three palettes? they look the exact same!” 

yeri rolled her eyes as the both of you exited the store with you holding one bag, and her with two. you had only been there for twenty minutes and you already spent more than you would’ve liked. then again, you didn’t really care because you were looking forward to this for awhile. friends that enable each other stay together, right?

“well, that’s where you’re wrong. this one is peachy nudes, then there’s the golden nudes, and this one is neutral nudes. seriously, (y/n), don’t underestimate the power of nudes.”

the both of you let out a laugh, leaning into each other for support. yeri had made this experience way more fun than you thought it could be. not one thought of minho or hana had entered your mind. the mood was lifted tremendously as you strolled through the mall, window shopping at a few stores until you found the one you wanted to shop in. however, as you were going to enter a store, your stomach did a little growl. 

“whoa, calm down tiger.” joked yeri as she patted your stomach. 

“i guess i forgot to eat today . . . do you wanna stop by the food court before we continue shopping?” you suggested.

she nodded, realizing that she was hungry as well. “i think it’s this way.” 

nearing the corner, you continued on towards the food court with excitement. mall food always had a different vibe to it and you were very much looking forward to devouring some lo mein noodles. as the food court came into view, your walk began to speed up. the excitement that was building up inside of you halted as yeri stopped in her tracks, causing you to run directly into her back. 

“hey-” you started but yeri whipped around, shushing you. her hands grabbed onto your arms and dragged you to the side where you were no longer out in the open.

“what are you doing?” your voice was not loud however it still wasn’t at yeri’s liking as she shushed you again.

“(y/n), look over by mcdonald’s. isn’t that minho . . . and hana?” 

your heart stopped as you heard those words, immediately looking where yeri had instructed you. there sat minho and hana, laughing obnoxiously while sharing a meal. you watched the way she fed him a fry, with him then returning the favor. your heart tugged at the sight because that was something you guys always do to each other. it would then follow with you offering him a bite of your mcflurry and then booping him on the nose with the spoon. the tension grew as you saw him reaching for the spoon of his mcflurry, raising it out towards hana.

“please, please, please. do not pat it on her nose,” you whispered to yourself.

tears welled up in your eyes as you watched the way she took a bite, then giggling as he gently patted her nose with the spoon. that was the icing on the cake and it’s all it took before you turned your body around, rushing to the exit. 

yeri called out to you but you weren’t listening. the scene that played before rewound itself in your mind like a vhs tape. and you would pause at the way he looked at her, like she was so special. those glances were always reserved for you. was he tired of you? did he know how much he meant to you? he broke your one rule, the one thing that meant everything. your friendship was based on this and yet it was now abandoned. your breathing became labored as you tried calming down, staring at the ground with wide eyes and endless tears. never did you think minho would betray you. maybe it was naive to think like that.

“(y/n), wait up!” puffed out yeri as she met up with your figure at the exit. her chest heaved from the run she had to do to catch up.

neither of you spoke as yeri tried to find the words. “i’m sorry.” her voice was soft, almost afraid of breaking you any further.

-

nearly a week had passed since the incident at the mall. and you would be lying if you said you were alright.

every night you were reminded of what minho did to you as he sent you texts relentlessly. the spamming began after day one with him asking if you wanted to come over. when you didn’t respond, he continued to blow up your phone to see if you were okay. all the missed calls and texts drove you insane because you wanted so badly to reply. but you weren’t going to give in so easily. he hurt you in ways you couldn’t describe. it didn’t help that you were helplessly in love with him. seeing him give affection towards another female was inevitable, but you never thought it would hurt like this.

you weren’t surprised when you didn’t get any notifications from hana. you wanted to believe so badly that she was a good person but something felt off. you didn’t want it to be your jealousy speaking but you also didn’t want to be in denial either. this felt wrong because you and minho had never been so separated. but with each passing second, you felt yourself growing further part from him. you continued to drown in your depressed thoughts until a knock on your door interrupted.

“yes?” 

“oh, you don’t sound so excited to see me.” joked a familiar voice as they stepped in, closing  the door behind them.

you grinned, immediately sitting up and opening your arms for your friend, han jisung. the boy wasn’t shy in returning the hug, laughing at your brightened expression.

“sungie! what are you doing here? you didn’t even think to call me?” your voice was nothing but playful, nudging his arm in the process.

jisung took a seat beside you on the bed and chuckled. as he made himself comfortable, he spoke up. “i felt like being spontaneous.”

the air was always light when it came to jisung. he was able to make everyone feel welcomed despite his social anxiety. the contradiction always made you love him more, as a friend of course. you admired him for a moment, feeling somewhat calmer. it was obvious to jisung that something was wrong, though. minho might’ve told him to check up on you because if you were ignoring him, then he knew you wouldn’t let him into your home. but jisung could also tell from your face that you weren’t okay.

“hey, what’s going on? you can tell me.” 

his sudden change from bubbly to concerned shocked you, making you freeze in your spot. you hadn’t even noticed the smallest of tears that were forming in your eyes, finally being able to unleash any form of disappointment that you were holding in. jisung was not prepared to see you falter so quickly as he reached forward, holding your hands in his lap as he let you cry for a moment in silence. as soon as you were ready to catch your breath, you laid the truth on him.

“minho lied to me. and to make matters worse . . . he lied to me with hana.”

jisung was taken aback at those words because minho? lied to you? there’s no way. he snorted, shaking his head as he was in disbelief. however, as he studied your expression again, he noticed that you were still crying. the boy clenched his jaw as he was now visibly angry. he knew how much that rule meant to you and minho, as it meant something to jisung as well. he was there when minho got his heart broken, when he was the one who was lied to. and now minho had completely ignored that because of someone he barely knew. you didn’t deserve this, no one did. 

“(y/n), i’m so sorry.” much like yeri, that’s all he could say. 

because he knew how much this hurt you, and there was nothing that he could say that would change how you were coping. he wanted to ask what happened, but he also didn’t want to push you. 

“why are you sorry? it’s him that should be sorry.” you replied bitterly as you wiped at your eyes. 

you thought you looked pathetic, but jisung thought the opposite. he couldn’t even imagine what you were going through, and he always knew how close you two were. deep down he also knew how you felt about minho. this was more than just your best friend lying to you, no. 

ring ring ring

the sound of your phone ringing made you snap out of it, immediately searching for it so that you could read the caller id. once you had it in your hands, your eyes widened in shock.

“it’s hana . . . should i answer it?” you whispered.

“sure, but i don’t know why you’re whispering.” you reached over and swatted his arm at his sass.

without thinking much of it, you swiped right and pressed the phone to your ear. jisung didn’t think that you would actually do it, considering you had neglected minho’s calls. although he did believe it would be easier to speak with hana as you weren’t as close with her. after holding in your breath for a long second or two, you released out a greeting.

“hello?”

“mhm, (y/n)-ah. i’m glad you picked up. i’ve been meaning to talk to you.” 

something about the way she spoke didn’t sound genuine, and jisung could notice it from a mile away. you furrowed your eyebrows as he pointed at your phone, mouthing the words ‘speaker phone’ to you. you decided to risk it as jisung would be your witness for whatever would go down. you switched it to speaker.

“oh, hi hana. what did you want to speak with me about?” you said straightforwardly. 

there was a chuckle on the other end that sent chills down your spine. “i’m not stupid, (y/n). i know you saw minho and me at the mall together. i don’t blame you for acting the way you are, i would probably do the same.”

both you and jisung looked at each with wide eyes. you didn’t expect her to be so blunt with her thoughts, however you were expecting something bitchy. biting on the inside of your cheek, you listened to her continue.

“i mean, you should be jealous. minho asked me on a date, and he told me he loves me. we are now dating, and we are very happy. he’s very happy. and now that we are together, i’m telling you to stay away from him.”

you could feel the fresh wave of tears pooling in your eyes as you heard her read out your worst nightmare. minho was in love with someone else, and to make matters worse, it was with hana. everything inside of you clenched painfully as you felt your heart sink to your stomach. this was way worse than having minho lie to you. you prayed to any god or deity that the situation couldn’t get any worse than it already was but they refused to listen to you. the universe was against your idea of sharing love with minho as it did everything in its way to tear you two apart. you should’ve kept count of the time you had left with him until he was taken.

but hearing her say that you needed to stay away from him wasn’t an option in your head. you can handle him lying, and being in love with someone else. it hurt, god it hurt so badly, but you could handle it if it meant he was happy. you would rather have minho happy instead of not having him at all. you were passionate in that belief, and you weren’t going to let hana tell you otherwise.

“no.” 

“i wasn’t asking, (y/n).” her tone was more intimidating than before, yet you held your ground.

“i said no. i’m not budging on this, hana. i’m not letting him go.” you protested.

there was another pause in between the conversation, and you thought you had won for a second. but hana was always a step ahead of you, planning her attack head-on like she had rehearsed every possible outcome in her head.

“why are you still holding onto him? you’re just a burden, don’t you see that? he’s only pitying you. now that he has me, he doesn’t need to keep having you around. you should learn to take a hint.” 

she spat her words at you, shooting her venom in your most sensitive spots. for a moment, you had entirely forgotten that jisung was still in the room. you tried not to let her words get to you, but they did. hearing that he was only pitying you sent you over the edge as you hung up the phone, throwing it at the floor angrily. your hands formed into fists as you closed your eyes, trying to catch your breath. but with each inhale, you felt as if you were suffocating. you wanted to wake up from this terror but you knew it was just a twisted reality. you didn’t even notice how your form was shaking from overwhelming emotions until jisung had reached over, pulling you closer into a side hug. he was just as speechless as you, if not more.

he shushed your cries, knowing it was the only thing you could do.

-

a few hours had passed at this point, and you didn’t even notice how you fell asleep with jisung. normally you two would split between the floor or the bed, but it was clear that you were exhausted. the afternoon had turned into nightfall, your open curtains inviting the moon. if you weren’t so out of it, you would’ve admired it’s beauty. you peered over as jisung was curled up beside you under the sheets, one arm wrapped loosely around your shoulders and the other over his face. he was such a good friend that you didn’t know how to thank him. he did not need to stay here by your side yet he did. he would never admit it, but he was incredibly selfless. as you tried adjusting your sight, you realized your eyes were puffy from crying, and it honestly hurt to try and focus in the dark.  you laid your body back down, snuggling deeper into your comforter before trying to head back to rest. without warning, your door swung up to reveal a worried minho.

“what the fuck is this?” 

his voice boomed through the room, causing you and jisung to bolt upright out of bed. your attention turned to a frantic looking minho clutching his phone in his hands. there was a vein popping out on the side of his neck from how stressed out he was, and his hair was disheveled from constantly running his hands through it. anyone would be able to see how fucked up he was over this. not to mention minho was worried sick because you still were not answering your phone, and now jisung wasn’t. when he called yeri to check up on you, she revealed that jisung had slept over. minho was furious, but for what?

“why haven’t you been answering your phone? do you know how worried i’ve been about you, i thought you died!” he started, then pointing his finger at jisung. “and you, what the hell do you think you’re doing in (y/n)’s bed?”

jisung gulped in fear as he avoided eye contact, trying to find the words to reply. never had the older male raised his voice like that at anyone, much less jisung. minho could be scary when mad, but you weren’t going to let behave like this. you believed he didn’t have a right to be so upset. because you weren’t going to let him do this to you, act like he was the victim and that you hurt him. he hurt you first, didn’t he see that? or was he really that blind? 

“first off, i don’t need your permission to have anyone stay the night so don’t talk to him like that. two, i don’t need to answer to you or anyone else but myself.”

minho chewed at the inside of his cheek, a death stare focused on you. “excuse me?”

“i said that i don’t need to answer to you. shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend anyway? it’s obvious you care more about her than you do about your friends. go, we don’t want you here.” you sneered at him, placing your hands on your hips firmly.

“what are you talking about, (y/n)? i don’t have a girlfriend. you’re not making any sense-”

“do not lie to me a second time!�� you yelled.

both jisung and minho froze as they heard you raise your voice. minho knew what you could be like when you were furious like this, but he never thought you would be like that with him. it hurt a little as you stared at him like so sternly, so unwelcoming. for once in your friendship, he felt like he was trespassing. that shouldn’t be an issue between you two. minho tried to process his thoughts until he caught your words again, repeating it over and over in his head. guilt began to settle within him as he pursed his lips, thinking of saying something. however, nothing came out. all he could do was stare at the ground with shame digging itself into his skin. you deserved better than this. minho promised you so many things, and he had broken every single one. it was ironic, really, for someone who feared a broken heart. 

“(y/n),” he started hesitantly. “it’s not what it seems. let me explain.” 

you snorted while rolling your eyes. “really? because from what i remember, you promised me. you promised me you would never lie to me, or keep secrets from me. you lied to me!” 

your throat became thick as you tried swallowing any sobs that were bound to come up. you had pent up all of your frustration that this was finally the time you let minho have a piece of your mind. you wanted to scream at him, fight him, and hurt him. but all you could do was unleash the pain you had been holding in. 

“i never thought you would do this to me, minho. i never thought- i never thought you could just give up this friendship to someone who barely knows you! i always pictured you’d be with someone kind and full of love but she is a monster, don’t you see that minho? she is a bitch and-”

“wait, wait, wait. are you talking about hana? why are you saying these things about her? i know you’re upset with me, but don’t pull her into this.” he defended her, folding his arms across his chest.

your heart sank a little further as he didn’t immediately deny the fact that they were dating. instead, he defended her actions, and her role as his girlfriend. you were devastated; so it was true. you should’ve seen it coming, but you never thought it would be this soon. 

“hyung, (y/n) is telling the truth.” jisung tried to interfere, nevertheless, minho glared daggers at him.

“i’m not speaking to you right now. quiet.” he demanded.

his voice was eerily calm, making jisung cower in fear. you were not going to do that, though. you were going to stick up for yourself and the hell that hana had unleashed onto you. there is no way that minho could be so dull to not see the true colors of this girl. or maybe you were far too used to overestimating him.

“why is it that when it’s her word versus mine, you automatically defend her? am i not your best friend? i feel like i mean nothing to you anymore.” 

minho scoffed. “you’re being overdramatic. hana means a lot to me as well-”

“no, it’s obvious she means more to you. do you know what she did to me today, by the way? she told me to stay away from you, to never see you again or else. does that sound like someone you want in your life, lino?” 

you waited to hear reassuring words from your best friend, but instead, all you heard was the love of your life pushing you out of the way. his nostrils flared slightly in anger as he clenched his jaw, and his instinctively formed fists. never had he thought to raise his voice at you, but that was pushed away when the words left his mouth without control.

“you listen to me, and you listen carefully, (y/n). i don’t want you to ever speak of her like that ever again,” he pause to take a deep breath.

“it’s really low of you to be this jealous that you have to tear down the people that matter to me. i thought you were better than that.” he clicked his tongue, giving you a stare of disappointment. 

you couldn’t decide what hurt more, the fact that minho defended her or that he didn’t believe you. jisung wished to speak up and to let his friend know the truth, but he didn’t want to be scolded once more. the silence in the room was chilling, leaving goosebumps to arise on your arms. this had to be fake; this wasn’t the minho you knew and loved. tears had fallen past your eyes and onto your scorched cheeks. that sinking feeling returned to the pit of your stomach as it swallowed you whole. minho stared back with just as much intensity, knowing he hated seeing you cry especially when he was the cause. but he refused to back down from his word. instead he shook his head, turning around to walk out the door. you could hear the slam of the front door from your room, making you jump in fear. you were still unable to move from your spot as shock filled your system. did that really just happen?

you hadn’t even noticed the way jisung chased after his hyung. he pushed his short legs to run faster until he was now out of your apartment and near the parking lot. minho was walking rather fast with his stance intimidating but the younger boy didn’t care. he needed him to know the truth, and to know that you weren’t exaggerating.

minho felt a shove at the lower end of his back, causing him to trip a bit in front of him. when he whipped around to view who it was, a growl slipped his lips.

“yah, do you have a death wish?” jisung was not surprised to hear that.

“no, but do you? do you know what (y/n) has been going through ever since this hana girl entered your life? hm? do you? she’s telling the truth, i was here with her when that call took place.” 

minho chuckled bitterly. “i can’t believe you’re on her side here. i thought you were my friend.”

jisung’s eyes softened, showing just how upset he was over this. minho was not prepared for what came next, however, as the dongsaeng questioned every motive he had. 

“i am. and do you know what i value most in our friendship? no secrets, no lies. isn’t that the same promise you were supposed to keep with (y/n)? and here you are, breaking that promise. trying to validate what you did is inexcusable, man. why would she lie?”

the older of the two was at a loss of words as the guilt he faced earlier returned. it swirled around his body like an uninvited wind, reminding him how cold he felt in the situation. there was no reason for you to lie, so why was it that you would make something up like this? that’s the thing; you would never make this up. the realization was beginning to settle in him as minho came face to face with reality. he had hurt you, and made it out to be your fault. he took the side of someone he barely knew over you. over his best friend. over the love of his life.

“shit,” he muttered while throwing a hand to over his face.

this made jisung smile sadly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “maybe you should fix this. just maybe.” 

letting out a groan, minho cursed at himself. he had fucked up so badly. jisung was quick, though, to ask a question that was still clearly in his head. “are you really dating hana by the way?”

minho shook his head and scoffed. “no.”

minho glanced up from his solemn expression and nodded.normally he would come back with another scary remark but he didn’t have the energy to do it. he made his way back to your apartment with each step being heavier than the previous one. owning up to his mistakes wasn’t something he was used to. never had he hurt this badly before, so he was bound to face something completely new. taking all the courage he could, minho opened your door to see a vacant front room. yeri must’ve been somewhere else, which he wasn’t complaining about. no doubt she would’ve chewed his ass out. minho continued on until he was right outside your door. as his hand went to turn the golden knob, he heard a heartwrenching sound.

you held a hand over your mouth as you sobbed in your bed, your body curled up to offer any form of comfort it could. the words of your best friend replayed over and over until you could no longer bare it anymore. you were broken into pieces, scattering yourself so that they would be hard to find. but minho had the power to put you back together, despite how long it would take. 

you felt a body weigh down beside you on the bed, immediately reaching its arms around you. as your eyes fluttered open, the sight of him was made aware, making you sob harder. minho shushed you, combing back your hair from your eyes as he held you in place. you didn’t fight him, you didn’t scream at him, no. you let him hold you so that he could mend your broken pieces back together. this was his damage he had caused, it only seemed right to take care of it. 

“i’m sorry. i’m so sorry.” 

you shook your head almost instantly. “you’re just saying that. don’t lie to me-”

“i’m not. hey, look at me,” he whispered.

your eyes met his again, making you shiver. it had been so long since you were this close to him. it felt familiar, like home. because that’s what he was to you. nothing could ever change that, even if he had crossed you. 

“i will never lie to you again. you mean so much to me.” 

unlike his tsundere personality, his voice was soft as it wavered in the air. those words alone made your heart begin to beat again with a sense of excitement you thought you lost. that excitement began to build as he grew closer, his face fearlessly nearing yours. his eyes never left yours, and you felt the overwhelming urge to close the gap between you. and so you did.

your lips molded against each other in a way you couldn’t describe. you were exploring new found territory, having experience something you never deemed possible. it was gentle, but powerful. his hands caressed your lower back as he held you closer to himself, chests up against each other. fireworks were an understatement. it felt like the universe was finally aligning again to ensure your happiness. it was a comforting hug that let you knew everything was going to be alright. it was minho showing you that you were more than hana would ever be. 

as he drew back, he pressed his forehead against yours. he couldn’t help but to say the words he had been holding back on ever since the day you met.

“i love you, (y/n).”

your eyes bulged as you looked at him in disbelief. these were words you were wanting to hear for so long. but were they genuine? or to make you feel better? you grew defensive before letting your heart speak any truth.

“i don’t need you to patronize me, minho. if you’re just saying that . . . “

“i’m not. i sincerely love you, (y/n).” 

“what about hana?” your insecurities were back at it again, and doubting anything that minho had said to you. you heard him chuckle as he responded coolly. “i was never with hana. i love you.”

a smile broke out on your lips. “no secrets, no lies?”

“no secrets, no lies.”

soooooo this is really shitty and im really sorry :/ I’ve been writing this for so many weeks and this is all i got out of it lmao <333 might make a part two with smut HA let me know if y’all want that thanks for the request @minholuvs

[littlemisswolfie]

nothing is so loveless as the break of day

AO3

Cold dawn A waning moon With no companion— Since our parting, nothing is so loveless As the break of day.

—Mibu no Tadamine

 Haiji wakes up on his first morning in his new apartment and decides it’s too quiet.

Getting a team of almost complete rookies to the Hakone Ekiden in less than a year is an accomplishment. It’s noteworthy. While Haiji hadn’t been thinking of his future prospects in his last year of college (he just wanted to run), the fact is, what he did should have been impossible, as Kakeru said. Over and over and over. 

This, as it turns out, makes him very employable, and somewhere in between his emergency surgery and his final exams and his packing, he gets a job offer to be an assistant coach for a corporate team. He doesn’t really have anything else going for him, so he takes it, and he, Yuki, and King all graduate from Kansei to the cheers of their teammates. 

Haiji’s heart is heavy as he steps out of Aotake for the last time as a resident. He knows the team is in good hands, with Kakeru being unanimously voted to succeed him in captainship and several incoming freshman eager to be part of the team that seeded in their first year at Hakone, but it’s bittersweet. He got one year. One year. One year out of four. 

“Call me if you need anything,” he tells Kakeru.

*

Kakeru doesn’t call. 

*

“Hey, Kiyose-san!”

Haiji startles, looking up from his training journal to face one of the runners he’s been charged with inducting to the world of professional running. Tamura Shou, his mind supplies. He’s a bit older than Haiji, with dark hair and brown eyes. “Tamura-san,” he greets, closing his notebook to hide his notes. He knows from experience (from Kakeru) that runners seeing their own stats isn’t always the best idea. “Did you need anything?” The group Haiji is in charge of is taking a break right now so another group can run time trials, so he doesn’t see the harm in a little bit of conversation.

“Well,” Tamura says, looking a little sheepish all of a sudden, “Yoshioka and I have a bet running, and I wanted to ask you straight out, so, do you have a girlfriend, or something?”

(“By the way… Kakeru, do you have a girlfriend?”)

“What.”

Tamura flushes. “F-forget it!” He blusters off to a cluster of other runners.

Haiji blinks, a little stunned. What would have made him think Haiji had a girlfriend?

*

Cooking for one is hard. Haiji always makes too much.

*

He still talks to Yuki and King, sometimes. Yuki’s trailblazing his way through both the legal track and several women’s beds and is always eager to talk about each conquest. Haiji enjoys his career talk and tolerates his womanizing talk. King finally found work as a guidance counselor at a nearby middle school, and he’s the faculty supervisor for their men’s track and field team. Haiji never lets him forget how reluctant he was to start running in the first place.

The three of them meet up for drinks every once in a while. Haiji considers proposing inviting the older members of their old track team, but decides against it. Seeing them feels sad, like trying to relive that last glorious year of college would be betraying his friends.

“Haiji, King,” Yuki slurs one night after a few too many drinks, “you need to get girlfriends already.”

King blushes. “Shut it! I’m busy enough as it is without a woman getting in my way!”

Haiji sighs. First Tamura-san, and now this. What is it with the world prying into his romantic life? “I’m content,” he tells Yuki. “I already got everything I could ever want. What else can I ask for?”

*

He almost goes to a track meet to see if Kansei is there. He decides against it.

*

His team goes away for a training camp. Haiji can get around pretty well with his crutches by now, so he goes with them.

Okinawa is beautiful in the summer. Haiji leans out the window of the van his group takes and watches the passerby, the teenagers on their skateboards and the families walking together. He remembers how much the twins wanted to come here last summer. (He wonders where Kansei went this year, if they went anywhere at all.)

Watching the runners run is always hard. He wants to run with them, feel the wind in his hair, use his muscles that have become lax in the months since Hakone, hear his heart thunder in his ears. Wants to see if that white line that was always under Kakeru’s feet is anywhere else.

(He doubts it.)

He helps cook the meals for the team, like he used to for Kansei, but it feels wrong to cook with someone other than Kakeru next to him. He’d only had company in the kitchen for a year, but he grew used to it, and cooking without Kakeru is foreign.

He wonders if Kakeru cooks with anyone new at Aotake. He wonders why the thought makes his stomach twist up in knots.

*

He doesn’t visit his parents very often. What would they even have to talk about, other than running?

*

He’s off his crutches by then, but he still doesn’t get to go watch the Ekiden in person. Training starts that day, after all, and he’s too new to be able to beg off to watch his former team compete in a relay race. Instead, he watches the highlights when he gets back to his lonely apartment both nights.

Not everyone from last year is running the race. Prince, Jota, and Nico-chan-senpai all act as supports rather than runners, but they’re wearing their track suits, so Haiji knows they’re still on the team. He’s surprised at Nico-chan-senpai not running. It’s his last year.

The team is strong, much stronger than when Haiji was captain. He knows that’s because of their success last year. If they hadn’t made it to the Ekiden already, their team would be pretty much unknown. But the sight of all these strong runners working together with his friends makes something ugly bubble up in Haiji’s chest. He wants to be there with them. He wants to be running that race.

Kakeru beats the section nine record again. Haiji watches him hand the sash off to the last runner, some first-year, and remembers when that was him.

Kansei finishes eighth. 

Kakeru doesn’t call him.

*

After their graduation, Shindo and Nico-chan-senpai join their nights out. Shindo’s working as a business analyst for the corporation sponsoring Haiji’s team, so they see each other more frequently than the others already, and Nico-chan-senpai is still doing his freelance programming.

“Whoa,” Yuki says the first time they meet up, “you cut your hair!” His fingers brush Nico-chan-senpai’s newly-short hair almost reverently. “You almost look like a functional person!”

“Thanks, I really missed this,” Nico-chan-senpai snarks, but his eyes are unbearably soft.

The conversational inevitably turns to Kansei. “It’s so strange,” Shindo muses one night, before he gets too drunk. “I got so used to it just being the ten of us that working with all those new people was weird.”

“They just kept hangin’ around Aotake, too,” Nico-chan-senpai grumbles. “As if the twins weren’t loud enough already.”

Shindo groans. “And they’re even worse now that Hana-chan’s at Kansei. They have some sort of pact to not pursue her until they graduate, but they’re so moony. Musa and I were never like that.”

What?

Haiji’s glad he’s not the only one confused by this statement. A quick glance around their table tells him the rest of his former teammates look just as shocked. Well, except for Nico-chan-senpai, who just nods in agreement, like this is a reasonable thing for Shindo to be saying. “Uh, Shindo?” he says. “What are you talking about?”

Shindo looks at them like they’re all stupid. “Uh, me and Musa? We’ve been dating since last year’s Ekiden?”

“HAH?!” Yuki slams his hands on the table, jostling everyone’s beer. 

“Wasn’t it obvious?” Shido’s neck is red, now, and not thanks to the alcohol for once. “It’s not like we were trying to hide it or anything!”

“I-I thought you were straight, though!” King says, flushing red under his tanned skin. “You had a girlfriend!”

“Bisexuality exists, you know,” Nico-chan-senpai drawls. Haiji doesn’t miss how his eyes flicker over to Yuki as he says this, or how Yuki stares straight at Shindo, ears red. Huh.

*

“Kakeru misses you,” Shindo says to him after the others leave for the night (or early morning, whichever is more accurate). “You should give him a call, sometime.”

“He could also call me,” Haiji points out.

What good could I ever do to him? he wonders silently. I can’t even run anymore.

*

The revelation of Shindo and Musa’s relationship is one Haiji can’t help but dwell on. Looking back on it, he realizes the signs were there. They were always close, after all, and Musa ended up dragging a drunk Shindo back to his room on more than one occasion. It was weird to see one of them without the other close behind. 

So, he thinks, maybe this was inevitable.

He imagines their relationship, sometimes, when he’s alone, lying in bed in his too-empty apartment. They’re probably easy. Comfortable. They don’t have to fill a silence. They’re content to just be with each other.

He wonders if Kakeru has anyone like that.

He hopes not. Does that make him a bad person?

*

Now that he knows about Shindo and Musa, Haiji can’t help but wonder if any of his other former teammates are like them, so he does what he does best: he watches.

It only takes a few more guys’ nights out to notice how Nico-chan-senpai keeps looking at Yuki. He only does it when he thinks no one is looking, but his eyes are soft, affectionate, loving in a way that makes Haiji ache. Has anyone ever looked at him like that? Like he hung the stars in the sky? Like he’s the answer to everything?

“Why haven’t you said anything?” he asks Nico-chan-senpai when Yuki heads back to the bar to hit on a girl. Shindo and King are talking loudly to each other about their respective jobs, both already three sheets to the wind, so Haiji’s not concerned with either of them overhearing. 

Nico-chan-senpai doesn’t pretend to not know what he’s talking about. “I’m content with how things are,” he says, looking wistful. “I’d rather have his friendship and pine than risk losing him over a confession.”

Haiji nods, even if he doesn’t really understand. Then, a little quieter, he asks, “How many of the original team do you think are…?”

“Queer?” Nico-chan-senpai supplies. Haij flushes. “Well, Shindo and Musa for sure, and me, obviously. I have my suspicions about Kakeru, but I’m not sure.”

Haiji feels his world stutter to a stop. Kakeru?

*

He can’t stop imagining it, now. Has Kakeru ever kissed another boy? Did he sneak around with his classmates in high school? Is Kakeru with a boy right now, in his room at Aotake?

Haiji hates the thought. 

He pulls up his phone browser and types in “what does it mean if i get mad at the thought of my friend with a guy” and deletes it. He already knows the answer.

*

He throws himself into his coaching to try and distract himself from his new intrusive thought. His runners aren’t thrilled with his newfound enthusiasm, but it gets results, so none of them can really be mad about it. 

“What, did you get dumped, or something?” Tamura jokes.

“Five more laps!” Haiji tells him with a cheerful smile.

*

When Hakone rolls around this year, Haiji watches the replay of Kakeru beating his own record once again, and Kasei takes fourth place. After, Haiji pulls up Kakeru’s contact information and stares at the call button for a good minute.

He decides not to call.

*

The first time Musa and Prince join them after their graduation, Shindo downs five beers in ten minutes and spends the rest of the night in Musa’s lap. Musa (who has a goatee, now, and it suits him pretty well) manages a surprisingly normal conversation around his clingy boyfriend, and that’s how Haiji learns he’s staying in Tokyo for grad school.

“Visas are complicated,” he says. “Until the laws change and Takashi and I can get married, the only way I can stay here for now is as a student.”

Musa calls Shindo by his first name. Haiji’s not sure what to make of that.

Prince got a job as a shonen manga editor. “I’m not going to be working on any major projects for a while,” he grumbles. “What’s the point of editing manga if you don’t get to touch the big ones?”

“Hey,” Haiji soothes, “at least you get to work with manga! And who knows, maybe you’ll be tasked with a sleeper hit!”

“That’s what my girlfriend keeps telling me,” Prince groans.

Yuki almost drops his glass. “Girlfriend?”

King whirls around and grabs Prince by the collar. “I can’t believe you got a girlfriend before me!”

Nico-chan-senpai makes a considering noise. “That’s three of us with actual partners, huh? Shindo and Musa, and Prince.”

Musa laughs. “Four, soon, if the twins have their way!”

“I thought they were waiting until they graduated to ask Hana-chan out,” Haiji says.

“No, no, they are. They’re trying to set Kakeru up with a guy they met at this year’s Ekiden.”

Haiji’s blood roars in his ears.

“Oh, that guy from Rikudo?” Prince asks. “What was his name? Miyamura?”

“Miyamoto,” Musa corrects. “Miyamoto Jurou. They went against each other in Section 9. Jota saw him checking Kakeru out and decided they should get together.”

“I swear to god,” Yuki grits out, “if Kakeru loses his virginity before I get a steady girlfriend, I’m going to murder someone.”

So will Haiji, he thinks. 

*

Nico-chan-senpai pulls him aside as everyone else leaves the bar. “I saw that look earlier,” he says. “What’s got you so upset about Kakeru?”

Haiji really doesn’t want to talk about this, so he says, “I’ll tell you if you promise to ask Yuki out by our next guys’ night.”

And so the subject is dropped.

*

He goes home that night and looks up Miyamoto Jurou. He’s a third year at Rikudo, studying literature, and he’s tall and good looking, and he gave Kakeru a run for his money at this year’s Ekiden.

And he can run.

*

In what feels like a breach of their semi-distanced guys’ nights, Haiji finds himself at Shindo and Musa’s tiny apartment a few weeks later for a housewarming party.

It’s been Shindo’s apartment for a year now, but with Musa moving in, it feels kind of like a home. The decor is a healthy mix of Shindo’s country sensibilities and Musa’s colorful Tanzanian culture, and the two young men seem so at ease in this space they’ve made with each other that Haiji kind of wants to cry. 

More than anything (okay, maybe not more than running) he misses this. He misses living with someone else. He misses the noise and the companionship. Every morning, he wakes up to his empty apartment and he feels lonely.

He’s so caught up in this feeling that he misses Kakeru, Jota, Joji, and Hana-chan arriving until he hears something hit the floor. His head whips around and he sees Kakeru standing in the doorway, mouth slightly open in shock and a convenience store bag filled with what looks like plastic bottles of green tea at his feet. Haiji feels his heart stop.

Because Kakeru is gorgeous. He’s always been good looking, Haiji knows, but that was a lot easier to deal with when he saw Kakeru on a daily basis. Now, it’s been a little over two years since the last time he saw him, and he’s wholly unprepared. 

But everyone is looking at him, now, and he knows Kakeru kind of hates being the center of attention and that’s what’s going to happen if he keeps staring at him like an idiot, so he forces his face into a smile and waves. “Hi, Kakeru. Long time, no see.”

*

Things are more than a little tense, even if everyone pretends the atmosphere is normal. No matter where Haiji goes in the tiny apartment, he can feel Kakeru’s eyes on him, burning a hole in his skin. 

He tries to make the most of the party. He catches up with the twins and Hana-chan, who have all fallen into leadership roles as the years went on with ease. Now that Hana-chan is a Kansei student herself, she can help them full-time, which has, apparently, been very helpful. “Plus,” Joji whispers to him, already drunk, “having a cute manager is a huge morale boost!”

Jota and Joji are sort of like sub-captains, from what Haiji gathers. Kakeru is the main authority on all things running, but Jota and Joji, who specialize in sprinting and long-distance running respectively, have been overseeing those aspects of the team’s practice. “We have almost twenty guys now,” Jota says, “so it’s hard for Kakeru to give them all one-on-one attention, so Joji and I focus on the broader things while he nitpicks.”

“That’s a great idea,” Haiji praises, and he can’t help the smile that overtakes his mouth when he sees how Jota preens. This feels right, advising his former teammates like this. It’s different from the feeling he gets coaching the corporate team, because that’s a team, but this is Haiji’s family.

He wishes he could turn back time. He wishes he could live in that final, wonderful year of college for the rest of his life.

He wishes he could run again.

*

He can’t avoid Kakeru forever. Nico-chan-senpai makes sure of that, because when he escapes to the balcony for a breath of the cool night air, he hears Nico-chan-senpai say, loudly, “Oh, Haiji? Yeah, he just went out those doors! You should go check on him.”

Is this revenge? Haiji wonders. Is this him paying me back for trying to make him make a move on Yuki? It must be.

He doesn’t look up when he hears the sliding door open and then close again, or when he feels Kakeru walking up next to him to lean on the rail. “You never called,” he says, staring at the city streets below, still alive even in the dark.

Kakeru sighs. “I figured you would be too busy, with your rehab and your new team and all.”

“I’m never too busy for you.”

“Yeah, you say that, but you would do something stupid, like sleep less, to make time to talk to me.” Haiji finally looks over at him, his profile glowing a little from the light inside, and, god, he’s so beautiful. “You can’t do that to yourself again, Haiji-san. It was scary enough the first time, and we were still living at Aotake, then. If you collapsed again, I might not even find out.”

“Alright, point taken.” Despite the earlier awkwardness, this feels natural. It feels like quiet nights in the Aotake kitchen, listening to Kakeru clumsily chop carrots while the prepared dinner together. It feels like home, almost. “You’re doing a great job, Kakeru. I watched the last two Ekiden highlights, since I couldn’t go watch in person. You’ve become a great leader.”

Kakeru flashes him one of his genuine, tiny smiles. “I learned from the best.”

*

It’s easier, after that.

Everyone comes to the Aotake demolition party to say goodbye to the building that used to be home, and they split up to help Kakeru and the twins move into their new apartments, and things feel normal, for once.

Kakeru’s new apartment is tiny, but Kakeru, by his own admission, probably won’t spend too much time here in the next year before he graduates, so he’s not too bothered by it. Between his classes, training, and the part time job he’s picked up in the shopping district, he has a busy fourth year ahead of him.

“Years ago,” he tells Haiji when he sees him to the door when his taxi arrives, “you said you wanted to know what running was. Do you remember that?”

“Of course,” Haiji says.

“Come watch Hakone this year. I’ll tell you when it’s over.”

Haiji could say no. Should say no. He has his own team to think about now. But when Kakeru looks at him like that, Haiji would say yes to just about anything.

*

The next year passes in a blur. Haiji works harder than he ever has before, like he’s making up for having to take the first few practices of the new year off months in advance. The guys’ nights happen with a little less frequency (or, at least, Haiji attends less of them than he used to), but they’re fun when they do happen.

“I finally have a girlfriend!” King says one night, triumphant, and the table explodes into raucous cheers and applause. “Her name’s Noriko, and she’s the second year social studies teacher at my school, and damn, is she cute!” He whips his phone out of his pocket to show them a photo of a woman who is, indeed, damn cute. 

“Ugh,” Yuki groans. “Life isn’t fair. How did you get a girlfriend before me?”

“Being a whore might be a factor, there,” Shindo slurs.

Yuki growls when the rest of their friends laugh. “But really, who’s next?” He spins to glare at Nico-chan-senpai, who’s hiding his grin into his beer glass. “Are you gonna pop up with some girlfriend next? Huh?”

“Nah, I’m too old for that shit,” Nico-chan-senpai says, waving the comment off with his usual affable air. “I’ll just be the cool, childless uncle who spoils all your kids rotten.”

“So, that just leaves Kakeru,” Prince muses. “Has anyone heard anything else about that Miyamoto guy the twins were trying to set him up with?”

The mention almost makes Haiji’s blood boil, but before he can rile himself up too much, Musa shakes his head. “Hana-chan told me that he asked Kakeru out, but he turned him down. Apparently, he already has someone he likes.”

Around Haiji, his friends start debating who, exactly, Kakeru likes.

Haiji has an idea, though.

*

Before he knows it, the Hakone Ekiden has arrived. Haiji arrives at the finish line for the first day before the race starts, a livestream already bookmarked on his phone, and he finds the rest of the original Kansei team there, as well. “Hey!” Yuki says, slapping him on the back. “You made it this year!”

“Well, it is the last time any of the original team will be racing,” Haiji says. “What’s everyone running this year?”

Musa looks at his phone. “Jota is Section 1, Joji is Section 2, and Kakeru is Section 10.”

Haiji blinks. “Not Section 9? Why’d he change up sections?”

“If I had to guess,” Nico-chan-senpai says, “he wants to cross the finish line in his last Ekiden.” 

Haiji thinks back to his first and last Ekiden and nods. “That makes sense.”

*

Kansei ends the first day at fourth place, which is very promising for the return leg. Their fastest runner is at the very end, after all, and Haiji knows damn well how many runners Kakeru can pass if he’s serious about it.

Haiji stares at his phone in his hotel room that night and thinks about calling Kakeru. He knows he shouldn’t. Kakeru needs his sleep if he’s running the last section of the race tomorrow. But then he remembers their conversation on Shindo and Musa’s apartment, and he hits the call button.

Kakeru picks up very quickly. “Hey,” he says, voice soft. “Did you watch today?”

“Yes. Your team is really good. You’ve got a chance of winning tomorrow.”

“Don’t say that, you’ll jinx it.”

Haiji laughs. “Since when are you superstitious?”

“It’s my last chance, Haiji-san. I want to go out with a bang.”

“You’ll do great.”

“Will you be waiting for me at the finish line?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

*

Haiji is a nervous wreck for most of the next day. He remembers this anxious feeling from when he was running the Ekiden, but now it’s combined with a feeling of helplessness. There’s nothing he can do but watch, and he hates it. He wants to be running alongside Kakeru, working with him, helping him cross the finish line.

But he can’t.

So he watches.

*

Kansei keeps doing well. They’re a far cry from the haphazard team Haiji put together all those years ago. These men are trained runners, athletes who have spent their lives preparing for this moment. There are no Princes, no Nico-chan-senpais, no Kings.

They are a group of Kakerus.

Where am I? he wonders as he watches them run. Did Kakeru find someone to take my place? Was there room for someone like me in the team he’s made?

*

The Kansei runner who runs Section 9 doesn’t beat Kakeru’s record from last year. Haiji can’t help but feel incredibly smug about it.

*

Haiji limps his way to the finish line as soon as he sees the sash get passed to Kakeru, who’s in first place. First place! “Go on ahead of me,” he tells the others, who try to slow down for him. His knee is on fire, but he’s going to see this through. “I’ll just slow you down.”

“What the hell kinda talk is that?” Nico-chan-senpai asks. 

Prince nods and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You and Kakeru didn’t leave us behind, no matter how slow we were. The least we could do is return the favor.”

“We’re the Kansei Ten,” says Jota, since he and Joji joined the rest of their former teammates after their sections. “We finish this the way we started it: together.”

“‘Kansei Ten?’ What kinda name is that?” Yuki scoffs.

Haiji’s heart feels full, and he and his friends, his family, walk to the finish line together.

*

When they see Kakeru coming around the bend, everyone starts yelling. Haiji can’t help but think about that second track meet, where only half of the guys ran, and how the spectators just went buck wild. This is the same thing, except there are nine people cheering and one person running.

Well, more than nine people cheering. The rest of the current Kansei team has joined them at this point, so their shouting is deafening. Haiji knows there are several cameras trained on them, but he can’t bring himself to care. All he has eyes for is Kakeru, running towards him. Was this how Kakeru felt, all those years ago, when he was in Haiji’s place and Haiji was in his?

There’s my dream, he thinks again. It’s taken form and it’s running.

Kakeru has always been his dream, even if he went over twenty years without knowing it. And now that he knows it, he can’t escape it.

“Kakeru!” he yells, cupping his hands around his mouth to make himself louder. “Last spurt!”

His friends laugh at the phrase and join in in sync, but he’s not paying attention. All he sees is Kakeru, speeding up, making a beeline to him. He knows, logically, that of course Kakeru has gotten faster over the years, because that’s how progress works, but Haiji swears on everything good in this world that he’s never run as fast as he is now.

When Kakeru crosses the finish line (in first place!), Haiji rips the blanket out of the twins’ hands and throws it over Kakeru himself. “You did it!” he gasps, and he’s positive Kakeru can’t hear him over the cheers of the rest of the former and current Kansei team members, but he says it again. “You did it, Kakeru!”

It seems like everyone is trying to touch Kakeru. There are hands on his arms, on the blanket, on his back, in his hair, but Haiji refuses to be dislodged. He has an arm locked around Kakeru’s shoulders and he’s not letting go. Not for anything. 

Haiji sees the reporters hovering outside their circle of celebration. He should let Kakeru go talk to them, should let this incredible man get interviewed for the nation to see, but he’s selfish, so he still doesn’t let go.

*

“And there we have it! Kansei University has won the Hakone Ekiden, led by captain Kurahara Kakeru! There, we can see Kurahara-senshu’s teammates congratulating him, along with the original Kansei University Hakone team. In the center of the celebrations is former captain and current works team coach Kiyose Haiji-senshu. Some of you will remember that Kiyose-senshu had to quit running after his first and last Ekiden four years ago…”

*

“Kurahara-senshu! How does it feel to have won the Hakone Ekiden?”

“It feels amazing, but, at the end of the day, the times don’t really matter. I got to run with and against extremely talented runners, and that is what I’m most grateful for.”

“Do you plan to continue running when you graduate from university?”

“I’ve had some scouting offers from works teams, but I haven’t committed to anything yet.”

“What do you have to say to young athletes?”

“I want to say that running isn’t about who’s fast and who’s slow. It’s about strength, and everyone has the strength to start. And, no matter what, you’re always running with someone.”

“Thank you for your time, Kurahara-senshu. And, again, congratulations!”

*

The team and their supporters retreat to a nearby bar to celebrate. Haiji still refuses to leave Kakeru’s side, finding excuses to touch him as often as he can. He’s probably being too obvious, but, then again, next to Shindo and Musa, he’d be surprised if anyone noticed. 

King’s and Prince’s girlfriends meet up with them at the bar, too, so everyone gets to meet them. King seems a little suspicious of Yuki when they walk through the door, but he’s a perfect gentleman about the whole thing. “They’re great guys,” he says to Noriko-san and Chihaya-san, Prince’s girlfriend. “I’m proud to call them my friends.”

Everyone stops dead at the surprisingly earnest expression from Yuki, and Nico-chan-senpai pulls him into a noogie, saying, “Damn it, Yuki, why’d you gotta get all sentimental?” and then everyone laughs.

*

As the night winds on, Haiji finally has had enough, and he tugs on Kakeru’s elbow to pull him away from the noise of the celebrations. They wind up outside the bar, leaning against  the building, arms just barely brushing. Haiji knows his knee is going to hate him tomorrow, but for now, he’s just focusing on Kakeru. “You said you’d tell me what running is,” he says, trying for conversational and probably failing.

“It’s you,” says Kakeru, characteristically to the point. “You’ve always been the answer.”

Haiji just stares for a moment. Then, for lack of a better reaction, he tilts his head back and he laughs.

Kakeru, of course, flushes bright red. “W-what?”

“Oh, no, not you,” Haiji says, having doubled over. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear.”

“Sure seems like you are,” Kakeru grumbles.

“I swear,” Haiji repeats. He straightens up, because he knows he has to be serious about this. “It’s just, I thought something similar about you.”

The younger man perks up. “Really?”

Haiji nods. “When I saw you running, that first night, I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s my dream.’” He laughs again, this time, soft. “We’ve both been idiots, haven’t we?”

“I think so,” Kakeru says. He’s breathless, like he just finished running, and Haiji can’t help how he delights in being able to affect him like this. He reaches a hand out, just this side of shy, and tangles his fingers with Haiji’s.

“Hey, Kakeru?”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Kakeru pulls his face down in response.

The first meeting of their lips feels like coming home.

“You know,” Kakeru mumbles against his lips when they draw back just enough to breathe, “my lease is up in a month.”

“Move in with me.”

“Yeah.”

And then they kiss again.

*

“Oh, fuck you guys!” Yuki yells when he pokes his head out the door a few minutes later to see them still kissing. 

*

A month later, Haiji wakes up in his apartment, Kakeru snoring softly into his ear and his leg thrown across his hips, and decides, maybe, it’s not too quiet, after all.

[redmaneroster]

Our Home Away From Home, Away From Home

[1] [2] [3] [4-5] [6] [7] [8-9] [x]

PART 10 – Domestication

Yang blinks awake. She wonders why her pillow is so dense until she realizes that she's patting down Jaune's chest. Her hand is dangerously close to his waistband.

She wants to move but can't. Below her, her hands run through the threads of someone's dark red hair. Ruby wriggles at the touch. She'd come back a week earlier. In time for the dance but she'll be gone again when it's over.

It's like her baby sister is slipping out of her hands. She wants to scream and shout. To demand that Ozpin give her back… but he wasn't the one who could make that decision for her. Her dad had made it clear, Ruby is the only one who gets to choose, and she chose Ozpin.

She dreads to think on what Ruby's actually chosen. What she'd picked over everything else. Her friends, her family, her team, maybe even her dreams of being a huntress.

Yang bites her lip. Ruby isn't a huntress-in-training anymore either. She's licensed and fully-fledged. Has jobs and is on record as the youngest to join an academy and the youngest to graduate.

Peeling back her bangs, Yang spots the scar running along her forehead. It's deep and an ugly pinkish-red. Jaune asked where she got it. She'd gotten too close to a behemoth and got clipped trying to dodge its tusk. She'd killed it, somehow. She wouldn't tell how, just that she did. If she really tried, Yang could probably extract the story from her; global secrecy or no. But she can't. Won't.

Suddenly respecting her privacy feels like a vice on her lungs.

Ruby grabs Yang's hand suddenly. She's still and her breathing is rapidly pouring out of her, but then Ruby tugs the arm into her chest and nuzzles into it.

It's like they're eight and ten again, when Yang would spend the day working herself to exhaustion to make sure Ruby had a fulfilling day, only to collapse in her arms. Then and only then did Yang permit her little ten-year-old self to breathe, rest easy, then finally sleep. She recollects it like a blur of sweat and aches she was entirely too young to have, but now that they've passed, Yang can hardly remember what any of those pains felt like.

How differently could things have gone if she'd had a father and mother to tend to them instead. Maybe not long enough to mind Ruby themselves, but at least long enough to rub her hair and tell her she did good at the end of the day.

Calloused hands run through her hair. She looks up to see Jaune spying her out of one eye.

"You're getting that scary, thoughtful look on you again." Not quite the loving encouragement she'd expected, but close enough. "I'd warn against developing some early wrinkles but I can't help but feel they'd look good on you too."

She laughs. "You can't be serious. Were you checking out my mom?"

"Pfft! Sure. Let's go with that." She rolls her eyes. He ruffles her hair. "But in all seriousness, you can't blame a guy for admiring that kind of craftsmanship." His thumb runs slowly down her cheek. "They chiseled you out good. You have all their best parts."

She blushes but pushes the feeling down. "God, Jaune, were you checking out my dad too?" she teases but her eyes widen at his brief pause. "Oh my god."

He waves it off. "It's nothing like that. Despite looking like he could bench-press a truck, your dad still manages to look the least threatening when he's got some alcohol in him. I had thought that the day I'd meet my girlfriend's dad, I'd be most worried about being hated. Instead, I ended up worrying I'd just disappoint him. Like making him sad was worse than getting him angry."

"Yeah, Dad's got a wounded puppy look on him. I think it's why Zwei listens to him all the time. Like he even makes the dog feel responsible for keeping him happy."

"He's a dangerous man."

"I hope the title is hereditary."

"Ha! What was that you said on our first date? You could total a car, or something? I think that qualifies as dangerous."

"Hm… Is that a turn on or does that make you afraid? Both, maybe?"

"I think I'd qualify as crazy if it was both. Do you qualify as crazy if you're still into me after that?"

"We could be crazy together." Her fingers run circles over his abs. "I could live with that…"

Ruby curls up and covers her ears. "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Yang ruffles her hair. "Good morning to you, too,"

"Sleep well?" Jaune asks.

"Too well…" Ruby grumbles. "I don't think I could go back to pillows ever again. Maybe I'll sleep on Zwei or something… No, that doesn't feel right…"

Yang pulls her head up, inching enough along Jaune's chest to rest her head up against his chin. "I think it's the company. Missed your big sister that much, huh?"

Ruby's nose scrunches. "Yeah, I do." She crawls into them and snuggles in. She takes Jaune's hand and tugs on Yang's till they're hugging her now. "I'll miss you all so much when I'm gone…"

The way she words that digs a pit in Yang's chest. She squeezes her a little tighter. Her chest feels hollow for a little longer.

Ruby pulls out and Yang lets her go, but she jerks back a bit cause Jaune hasn't let go. "Sorry…" Jaune says. He looks like he wants to hold on.

"Don't be." The softness of her hands press warmly over his, and her smile shares its qualities. "I'd miss me too." She means it like a joke but it stops showing on her eyes and a frown worms its way into her cheeks. "I have to go get ready."

She glances over to the rest of the bed. Only Blake is there, her back turned to them. "Pyrrha's probably waiting for me downstairs. I'll see you two tonight, alright?" When she's pulling fresh clothes out of her travel bag, she calls out, "If Blake gets up, tell her we'll see her on the bullheads and grab a bite in Vale if she's late!"

JNPR's bathroom door shuts behind her. The door feels tiny from where they are, on the opposite side of a giant bed in the RWBY dorm room. Its distance echoes with the thrum of the muffled shower.

Jaune pulls Yang up and against him. "Sorry about this. I know you were looking forward to going with me."

"You shouldn't have to feel sorry for giving my sister a good time," she says. He can tell that she means it. "She's going to miss you too, and this might be her last chance to feel like a normal girl for a change. Besides, it's only sophomore year. We'll still have plenty of school dances to go to."

"I guess… Save me a dance?"

"I think I'll need a little more than one."

The distant pattering of the shower is notable when it stops in the quiet of the twin rooms. Jaune eyes Blake and realizes that her bow is on. "Didn't Blake stop wearing that?"

Yang shifts over his stomach and realizes how broad her outline is. "I don't think that's her."

They share a look before poking her in the head.

Ren groans and swats his hand away. He wiggles out and takes off the wig he's wearing, scratching his head.

They snort. "That's a good look for you," they say, realize they've said it at the same time, and high-five.

He groans again. "That's never not going to be weird."

"Not as weird as you in a wig," Jaune says.

Yang notices he's in Blake's pajama top too, sagging off his shoulder since it's so much smaller. "…Or in her nighties."

"It's called a jinbei." Ren shakes his head. "Before you ask, I lost a bet."

Jaune shrugs. "We figured. Not like we expected you to wear that for fun or anything."

He pulls on the delicate fabric. "Aside from the wig, it's very comfortable."

"Oh, I'll bet."

Ren rubs his eyes. "Jaune…"

He throws his hands up. "I'm kidding! … Not really. You want one in your size?"

"…Yes." He blushes which is weird cause Ren doesn't blush. But he does and it's adorable. They snap a picture. He can only summon the energy to scowl for a breath's length. "I should get going too."

"Why are you up so late anyhow?"

He blushes and he doesn't bother answering. They don't need one anyway.

-0-

The echoed bass of this year's dance bounces off the walls of the hallway just outside of reception.

Yang hasn't been on a dance floor in months and now the sounds feel alien. She used to attribute clubbing as a part of her, even as a freshman who could pass for eighteen. Breaking it down, it's clear that she only went out there to have fun. And she's been having a lot of fun elsewhere this year.

"I don't really wanna go in there," Oscar says beside her as they make their way to reception. They're both wearing green, to match hues with her eyes and to contrast his. "I'm starting to get dizzy on just the sounds of it."

"You get used to it," she says. "It's mostly just sensory overload. Just let it sink in and you'll hardly even register the music. It's meant to be white noise anyway so no one has to talk in silence."

"So it's, what, a social tool? Like a distraction?"

"Most of partying is. For all the awkward folks, it means they can hide behind something else while they get their wings. For the rest of us, the ones who've got it down, it lets us keep going. Longer than the night sometimes."

"I never thought of it that way."

She pats him on the shoulder. Even in flats, she's so much taller than him. "Try not internalize it too hard. It's easier when you're letting a conversation happen instead of trying to force any advice you hear into it."

"And if I end up in awkward silence with someone?"

"Then maybe you aren't talking to the right people. Take Ruby for instance." She points ahead of them, at Jaune and Ruby dressed in red together. They're talking and laughing. "You ever have a conversation just stop when you talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"Then she isn't the right people." She catches Ruby's glare but she goes back to Jaune pretty quickly.

"Uh… Oh! You're joking!" Oscar exclaims.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't take me seriously all the time. Half of me is comedy."

"It's often bad!" Jaune calls back.

"Shut up!" Yang giggles. "I have the worst boyfriend," she whispers loudly. Jaune pretends to be wounded by it.

"So…" Oscar rolls his hands. "I'm getting mixed signals here. Is it okay to have awkward silence?"

"Yeah! I mean… I guess had a bad example. It's okay if a conversation stops, but not when it drops."

He squints. "I feel like you're deliberately confusing me."

"I'm just not the most articulate person. Not like I learned to be social on a quotable handbook or anything. So when you talk to someone on something you're interested in, like, say, coffee –"

"-Or milk."

"Or milk. Yeah, let's got with that. Say you like skim milk – you monster –" he laughs cause he does, "then you know you've found someone you can talk to if they don't try to derail the conversation once they find out."

"Cause I brought up skim milk?"

"Cause they're still interested in talking even after you mention it. Someone you can talk to might agree and keep at it, or disagree but wants to hear your side of why you like it so much. Someone you can't talk to will try to change the topic after finding out what you like or not about something."

"I thought it was all about finding things in common."

"I think it's just as interesting if you don't. I hate Seven Rapids cause they're all noise and not even music to me, but that's precisely why Jaune loves them. Jaune and his sister used to be afraid of thunder, so when a storm hit their hometown, it was the only band they could listen to on the same pair of earphones without having to block out the other ear with something."

"That doesn't sound like he particularly likes it either."

"But it's a story I wouldn't have heard otherwise if I switched gears! Now we know each other a little better."

The bass thumps in their ears after they sign on in the registry and come through the doors. Blake is already dancing with Penny, Sun and Pyrrha are expectedly missing, and Nora is a having a subdued moment with Ren by the punch bowl.

"Ruby?" They're instantly stopped by Cardin Winchester of all things. His date, Velvet, trails behind him and crashes into Ruby first.

"You're back!" Velvet cheers. "For how long?"

"Not very," she says sheepishly.

"That big a deal, huh?" Cardin guesses. He continues before she can get uncomfortable. "We missed you at Leadership. Jaune cried."

Jaune rolls his eyes and lets it be… For an entire second. He punches Cardin in the arm and they laugh.

"I missed you guys too. Even the class. Ugh! Can you believe I miss waking up early for class?"

"I miss that feeling too," Velvet agrees. "When you're Juniors and Seniors, you lose half your classes and you're not even expected to attend most of your sessions. We're usually out on the field taking low threat missions. Even a noisy classroom is quieter than the woods."

Ruby rubs the back of her head. "I kind of know what that's like now, actually."

Jaune and Yang trade looks. Oscar tries not to look them in the eyes.

"We should get going," Cardin says, reading the room. "We'll catch up later." Velvet takes him by the arm and waves off.

Ruby, like Oscar, doesn't look them in the eyes either.

"It's okay!" Yang says soothingly, her a voice a titter with a laugh. "We won't pry. Just happy you're here."

"C'mon," Jaune says, taking Ruby's hand, "let's see how well Oscar taught you how to dance."

Ruby slaps a hand to her lips, trying feebly to hide her blush. "The punch bowl first, please. If it's spiked, I can pretend to be good at anything."

"Not a chance," Jaune teases. He kisses Yang on the cheek before leaving her with Oscar.

"He really is the worst," Oscar says, sarcasm bleeding off his cheek. "He's so sickeningly sweet. Wanna trade dates? I'd take him."

Yang slaps him on the back. "Ha! That's the spirit. I can see you're getting more comfortable."

Oscar shrugs. "I think you're just easy to talk to. We should go, too. I'm starving."

-0-

Ruby might have been right about the punch. Nora is loud and all over the place, but Oscar remembers a few stories about her and asks, "Is this how she normally is?"

Ren laughs, it's quiet and patient. He sounds older than he looks. "I don't think she qualifies for normal."

Nora crashes into a few people he doesn't recognize but they laugh and stand her up. They're all friends here. Or maybe Nora just has that effect on people.

"Here." Ren is standing in front of him with a plate of sushi, a black dip of some sort, and what looks like green clay. "Try one of these."

"You ever have these in Mistral?" Yang asks.

"Only the cities. Funny how my first time with it will be in Vale of all places."

Ren demonstrates with chopsticks, expertly grabbing the rolled sushi, dipping, then grabbing a dab of the clay before inserting it into his mouth. "Now you try."

Oscar takes a fork, stabs the sushi, dips it, end curves the fork's teeth into the clay-like thing, and shoves it in his mouth. He can only register Ren's panic when it's already too late.

"You took too much wasabi," he breathes.

Yang is already grabbing a cup from the punch bowl. Oscar's mouth explodes in heat. Then the rest of the night is a blur.

-0-

Ruby was right. Someone did spike the punch.

By now it's too late and they devolve into a flurry of laughter and dancing. No one seems to care that there's suddenly alcohol present, but a cursory glance reveals that the staff isn't even present. Coco does mention seeing Ozpin and Glynda alone in the plaza, and much of the staff was huddling in the dark trying to eavesdrop on them. Seems mischief is ageless.

Jaune and Yang don't dance. Ruby is too important for them to let the night be about them, so they dance with her instead. She's at least thankful that Jaune chose to lead her in a slow dance. She doesn't think she can keep up with him otherwise. Yang, on the other hand, is an expert on matching her pace. She's her big sister after all.

Oscar doesn't get to dance with her either but he's fine with that. What he isn't fine with is being completely hammered by one watered-down drink. Yang thinks its funny how similar he is to Jaune but the similarities end there. He gets swung around by Nora on the dance floor and the alcohol doesn't help.

Remembering this night mostly comes out as a thousand flashes. Their scrolls roll the whole night, and the photos flood the memory banks like they'll struggle to remember this night when it's over. Which doesn't happen because the alcohol doesn't make them drunk. Unlike Oscar, all the alcohol just serves as an excuse for everyone else to let loose.

Joan shows up in a dress and everyone has flashbacks of first year. Ruby jokes loudly about Jaune filling the dress out real well this time and most people momentarily forget that Jaune has a twin sister.

Somewhere down the line, they pour out of the dance and sing off-key in the garden, count stars in the courtyard, and then they're out on the roof where half their class has turned up for a grill off.

Jaune and Nora get so into it that they're scared out of themselves when Cardin shows up in an apron and a grill of his own. Yang remarks that Weiss would have loved the smell.

Oscar kisses Penny and Ruby doesn't know what to do with that. Yang lets her figure it out cause she's growing up and she can ask her whenever she's ready.

Nora's corsage gets caught in the wind somehow and Ruby jumps into action. She weaves through the crowd in a stream of red and rose petals. She's over the railing and she shows no fear as she leaps off the edge and curls over the shattered moon with the pink flower in her hands. Her smile is stunning, her confidence brimming off her cheeks.

Jaune and Yang hold hands at the sight. She's a burst of beauty that steals hearts.

There's a cheer when she effortlessly blurs back and falls into the crowd. She doesn't think what she does is anything special, but it is. She is. And everyone knows it.

And just when their spirits are highest, it rains.

Ruby doesn't leave the roof when it does. Her friends stay with her, Jaune and Yang especially. The look in her eyes tells them that she's barely holding something back.

They stand with her, letting the chipped pieces of them fall apart together so Ruby doesn't feel like she's alone. She tells them she's afraid. They tell her they are too. But fear doesn't get to take residence, it doesn't get to loiter and sink into the upholstery. They'll kick and scream until it's gone cause they never go down without a fight.

It sounds like they're all struggling blindly, but Yang tells her that defiance is only the first step. And that also makes it the most important.

In a moment of solidarity, Ruby screams at the top of her lungs as the rain hides her tears and her friends drown out her pain with defiant roars of their own.

And in the next she's on a bullhead, barely out of her dress, and she disappears in a sea of stars.

-0-

It's the weekend again, and Yang convinces Jaune to come to the apartment for the day. Walking back into it feels like a lifetime has passed him by. There's a layer of dust on everything and he resists the urge to wipe it all down. He can't spend the one day they're here this month cleaning. Maybe next month when he's got the lien to cover his half of the rent.

No, that's an excuse. He could just as easily ask for an advance on his allowance or pick up an extra mission to cover the gap. He wanted to push them both to stay in the dorm, but when Yang pushes passed him with a box full of last night's freshly developed photos, he can see the forced curl of her cheek that's just a little too wide.

Ruby's been again for a week. She might not come back. Yang needs a breather to reconcile with that.

She plops the box down on the coffee table as Jaune sorts out their dinner across the room in the kitchenette.

"Anything good?" he asks.

She waves a photo in the air. "You in a dress!"

"Ha, well… Wait, no, I didn't do that this year! That's Joan!"

"Pfft! Not when I post it and tag you. I expect continued confusion from the campus."

"Yang…"

"C'mon, it's funny!"

He tosses an orange in a basket and reminds himself to eat it later. It's not gonna stay ripe if they leave it behind. In his head, it suddenly sounds like a shitty metaphor. "You're allowed to be sad about Ruby leaving, y'know?"

She chuckles and whips back to him. "So are you."

He doesn't know how to answer that. He spent a lot of that night dreading her leaving but he hadn't expected her to up and go before midnight even hit. It's still jarring, unreal even. Like he could walk back onto campus and bump into her, cause that night was a blur and he might have just dreamt it ending the way it did.

A hip bumps into his, and he drops the pork chops back onto the counter. Yang doesn't look sorry but she hides her face in his chest and he lets her hold onto him.

"It feels like I'm still halfway down a landslide. With my parents and uncle are off to god-knows-where, and Weiss and Neptune fighting for the soul of her company, it felt inevitable that Ruby would just… follow after. And it's a little scary, y'know? I don't know when all of this stops. I don't know if I'm gonna keep losing people." She doesn't cry, but her chest feels tight. "It's like I'm either waiting to see who's next or if I'm gonna crash when I hit the bottom…"

She'd been putting up a strong front, but her bravado feels like it's slipping, and she already feels like it's going to break her. Finding JNPR had stemmed the tide. She even thought she might stop slipping altogether but then Ruby comes and just goes into the night…

Jaune's pulls out his scroll and she can hear him clicking. She only then realizes that his other hand is squeezing carefully on her waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding people."

"What? Who?"

He brings the scroll close to his face. There's a call and it goes through almost immediately. It's a voice she doesn't recognize but she can guess who it is. She's already familiar with the stories about her.

"Hey, runt!" comes a woman's voice. "Caught me at a good time. Coral's burning the eggs again and she could use a few pointers from her big brother." Yang can practically feel her wink.

"It's nice to see you too, Sable. You're the eldest in the house now, don't you know how to cook it?"

There's a snort on the other end of the line. "Please. Wouldn't know my way around the kitchen unless I crashed a car into it. And even then I'd only familiarize myself with the quickest exit."

Jaune groans. "You can't keep getting take-out and engorging everything your pit crew gets you. One of these days you're gonna regret never learning from mom. At least Coral's trying."

"Well, Coral doesn't have a job."

"Hey, I totally have a job!" a muffled voice shouts.

"And besides, the track keeps me busy."

Yang mumbles into Jaune's chest. "That sounds like an excuse to me…"

Jaune laughs.

"Jaune… who was that?"

"She's the reason why I called you in the first place." He's already propping his scroll up against a bundle of uneven loaf.

"Ooh! Do we finally get to meet this elusive girlfriend of yours?"

Yang sucks in a breath. It feels like she's stepped into a different space altogether and she's nervous now for very different reasons.

"Girls, this is Yang."

"Hi there." Yang hopes she doesn't sound awkward.

On the screen is a set of huddled blondes all crashing to get a view through the screen. In the middle is the cheeky one she guesses is Sable. Unlike her sisters, her hair is red fading into blonde tied in a braid over her shoulder. "Hey yourself. I'm Sable. I heard you're good with bikes. We should talk. Grease monkey to grease monkey."

Another blonde in a bob cut and glasses pushes into her cheek. "God… hi. You're so pretty. Are you sure you're a huntress? Jaune, please don't let this be a prank." She seems all over the place.

"That's Coral," Jaune supplies. "Don't mind her. She'll make proper sentences when she starts calming down."

A dark-skinned girl with dirty blonde hair is pushed into view. Yang remembers Jaune mentioning having an adopted sister with dirty blonde hair. The dark hues accent her and it's all the more stunning when some of the white strands she has makes it clear that all that hair natural. "Ahem, I'm Dahlia," she says with the tiniest smile. She looks fourteen but she doesn't sound it.

She tilts her head to the side revealing another fourteen-year-old hiding behind her. "And this is Liona."

"Uhm!" Liona nearly screams, "H-hi!"

"Is she alright?" Yang asks.

Sable waves it off. "Oh, it's nothing really. She's just -"

"See?!" Liona points at the screen, looking at the other girls. "It's another blonde! The curse is real!" And she's gone.

Dahlia sighs and gets up. "I'll go after her. It was nice meeting you, Yang."

"She's polite."

Sable shrugs. "Grew up in a strict house. We're still trying to shake it out of her but enough about that, why don't you tell us how you got all that hair to behave? Mine spazzes out if I don't tie it down and there's only so many ways to tie long hair before I have to cut it down."

Yang starts going on about products she uses and Jaune slowly starts slipping away. There's an excitement brimming off her cheeks, a confidence to bury any embarrassment she might have had. It's like she's not even here anymore. She's in Clove with his sisters.

He feels a tightness on his wrist. Yang gives him a dangerous look. "Oh, no way, buster. You're staying here so I don't collapse in on myself." She tugs him in and wraps an arm around his.

They're shocked when another voice comes in. "We'll aren't you two cute," says Helia, Jaune's mom as she peeks over Sable's shoulder.

The afternoon is a blur of conversation. Bikes and Cars are both similar and different enough that Yang and Sable get along quick with always something interesting to add.

Coral has a distinct fascination with Yang's hair and has non-stop questions. It's got loose strands and is the furthest thing from perfectly straight but Yang makes it work somehow and Coral has an intense need to know how. Jaune just calls it Xiao Long magic.

Liona and Dahlia, despite being respectively excitable and largely subdued, ask Jaune and Yang both about being huntsmen. Yang catches the way Dahlia's eyes go a little wide at the excitement and terror of their stories, and Jaune never fails to point out every time Liona chews her lip like she can't decide if being a huntress is for her. He lets her sort it out until she's ready to talk about it.

The only sister Yang hasn't met yet is Cori, the second eldest, and that's cause she's in Atlas. Jaune notes that she's keeping an eye on Weiss and Neptune for them. They stop the conversation when Sable tells her that they're really allowed to talk about it.

Helia – she still insists on Aunt Hess but Yang's still getting the hang of it – reminds them that they promised to have dinner with her and her husband.

And when it's all over and they wave their goodbyes, Yang's eyes are as bright as she remembers. "I wanna meet them," she says when they're on the couch.

"This summer then. I was planning on coming home. Sable might have to run a summer circuit for her sponsors but she'll still catch us. And Cori will be there for a week. We can even get Saph to come join us."

"Yes. That. Please?"

He pulls his scroll off the coffee table. "Alright, alright. Calm down. It's happening. Let me just drop Cori a line so we can figure out when it's best."

She hugs him. "Thank you," she whispers.

"For what? I only called up my sister."

"For this. Them. All of it. I really needed to get out of my own headspace."

"Back to Remnant?"

"Not quite. It still hurts. Just a little. I can't shake the feeling."

He gently pushes her away, grabs her waist, and thumbs her cheek. "Maybe a classic distraction will suffice."

She giggles. Her cheeks are warming up. "I missed this. Just you and me."

They press their lips together. She pulls him down with her against the armrest of the couch.

While he's holding her steady by the waist, her own hands can't seem to settle anywhere. One minute she's clutching the back of his head grabbing a fistful of hair, the next she's tugging on his shirt and stretching the fabric. Now she's on his neck, pulling him in.

He loves the way she tastes. Practically devours her lips until he coaxes her into his biting his.

He gasps and that hungry look in her eyes tells him that wants him to sing for her. His eyes are dangerous in response, pulling away only to bury his face in her neck. She shuts her eyes and expects him to bite, to mark her like they do every time, but he's suckling and her skin feels like it's getting more sensitive.

"Ah…!" She bites her lip. She wants him to keep going but she also wants him to do more. Her fingers curl into the back of his neck. Arching her back to the sensations bursting from his ministrations, she hisses before whispering, "bite me."

She can feel the way hot breath pouring out of his nostrils as she says that. You're a dangerous woman, he'd all but said. And with the look he gives her in the periphery, she can't help but feel him saying it with his eyes. He bites down and her back arcs again. Its soft and he's suckling at the same time. She wonders how that would feel on other parts of her body.

When she's curling into him, she gasps as her limbs act without her consent. Her arms wrap around his shoulders and her legs bend and clasp around his waist. She's already off the sofa and hanging off of him entirely.

"Yang…" he breathes. They pull back enough for her to see the manic look in his eyes. There's nothing coy about it. It's just hunger. Need. And after everything they've been through, she knows she wants it too.

He's looking down at her as he settles his breathing and lays her back on the couch. She doesn't let go, only now his weight is on her. As meek as she looks, he has to tell himself that she can take it, but the innuendo sparks dangerous images in his mind. It doesn't help that she's a hot, sweating mess.

She feels him pull a tent in his pants. It's nothing new. She'd even teased him about it now, but it's not out of place here.

Daring herself to look at it, she spies it in the space between their legs. It feels taboo to even bear witness, but in her half-hearted attempt to look away, she instead finds the tear in his shirt just at the collar. She doesn't know if she caused it, somewhere in all the tugging and moaning, it must have happened. In the afternoon sun, it's a clear sight line from his chest to his stomach. Sweat trails down there too and it drives her wild to follow it down.

His hand settles experimentally on her belly.

She looks up at him. His askance stare and bated breath do not need words. She nods.

It trails carefully downwards, delicate even at the shallow scratch of his nails. It feels like he's uncoiling tension bundled in her abs, and every line is a full, happy sigh sung from her lips.

He can't stop staring at his hand as it seems to go on forever over the valley of her stomach. A hand is on his cheek. He meets her eyes and she seems to dare him not to look away from her. Her other hand wraps around his wrist and guides it till snags at the hem of her shorts.

His breathing betrays him. It's practically telegraphing the tremors dancing in his chest. He doesn't want to scare her. The way she jumped back the first time they got this close still sends the wrong kind of shiver down his arm like he might burn her if he tried.

But she isn't afraid. Her eyes are half lidded, her breath staccatos but its even. Her hand tugs at his wrist again.

He undoes the button.

She gasps.

His finger traces the zipper.

She bites her lip.

A hint of panic settles in cause he needs to see what he's doing but he can't look away from her. She has no trouble staring at him herself. It's like she's in a trance and all she's interested in watching is him. So he swallows his fears and kisses her again. Her lips are welcoming but her tongue is a tidal wave that swallows him whole.

It emboldens him. Lets his fingers push passed the zipper and straight over the thin bit of cloth behind it. The fabric is like his own. Nothing special. Plain and normal, and makes him laugh against her lips and she laughs with him.

Her hand pulls his wrist over her crotch. His fingers graze the unshaven hairs down there. Then she lets go of his hand and trusts that he'll figure out the rest.

He does.

His hand is so much larger than her own. That's what she first thinks when his digits span over her southern hairs and inch its way down. He has to pull his chest away from hers to get an angle that doesn't twist his wrist, but she doesn't stop moaning into his mouth.

A heated line draws sidewards from his hands, like her legs are tugging closed along the path his hand into her mound. She welcomes it. There's no alarm bells in her head. She wants to bring him there and trap him

She's okay with this.

And when his fingers smooth over her entrance and finds exactly where to make first contact, her heart's already ramming into the walls of her chest. She wants it. A bite of his lip. Bodies press firmly together. She's already trapped him down there.

She wants it. She wants it. She wants it!

Yang pulls away. He's shocked out of her nethers. His fingers are still wet.

"Yang… I'm – I'm sorry, I –"

She closes into him and shoves his damp hand into his mouth. "How do I taste?" she asks, voice hot on his neck. Inside, she's screaming because it would have been sexier to taste it herself. Then again, she isn't sure she wants that.

"Like you," he breathes against the back of her neck.

She laughs. "What's a girl supposed to take away from that?"

"Because like everything else about you, it makes me want more."

The hammering in her chest has evened out. "I want this. You. All of it."

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm not scared. I don't even know why I was in the first place anymore."

"Is that what happened? Did it bother you? Not knowing why?"

She doesn't need to answer. Instead she pulls away, kisses his lips, and tells him, "The Aries."

"My car?"

"Yes. Could you go and get the installment cleared and… maybe grab us dinner? Please?" She doesn't want to have to say that she needs a bit more time to figure this out, but he's already kissed her and is at the door.

"Later?" he asks.

She nods, a giddiness worming its way into her cheeks. "Later. I'll be ready when you come home."

He loves that look on her. He'd kiss her again if he didn't have to go.

-0-

Blake gets a call from Yang. She has to pull away from Ren and Nora on the beanbag. She's barely dressed as it is (Nora's slovenly habits are starting to rub off on her) and she isn't sure she's ready to answer any questions Yang might have about what's going on between them.

"Yang?"

"Blake! Uh… did you just get out of bed?"

She glances at her roommates. Nora's waggling her brows and Ren has that tiny smile of his that is somehow far more embarrassing. "Something like that. What about you? Do I even need to ask about the fresh hickey?"

Yang is silent for a moment. "I almost had sex with Jaune."

Her eyes widen hysterically. "Almost? What happened?"

"I needed to sort some things out." Her eyes narrow. "Look, we're gonna meet again in an hour or two, but before then, I need to bounce the last few months with my best friend."

Blakes gives her a good-natured sigh. "Fine," she says with a smile she can't stop, "give me the whole story."

"It all started on the day I was born."

"Yang!"

"I'm… I'm only half joking."

-0-

It's sundown when he gets home. He half expects scented candles, ambient music, thick makeup, and lingerie. But there's none of that. She isn't even in the living room.

"Yang?" he calls out.

His scroll pings.

"Take a shower in the guest room and come meet me in your room, please?" It reads. He takes off his jacket and pulls off his shirt when his scroll pings again. "If you love me, you'll come in only towel. So please love me."

He sprints into the shower.

Minutes later he's mostly dry and standing in his own living room, staring at his bedroom door like it'll fall on him if he even dares to come in to see his probably barely dressed girlfriend.

He knocks.

A moment of silence, but it is quiet enough to hear her take a healthy breath before she gives him a nervous "I'm ready!"

He expects a mountain of nerves. Maybe even another try at the lingerie with a bit of snide confidence beneath a toothy grin. But when he opens the door, he finds a gentle smile sitting up in an igloo of blankets. There's no put-upon anything here. She's not trying to be enticing, or trying to get a rise out of him,

He can only call that look honest.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

The question shocks her into laughter. Cause he's fresh out of the shower and she's been cozy in these sheets for the better part of an hour now. "No, no, I'm plenty warm."

"Could be warmer," he says. He doesn't intend to flirt but it's already out of his mouth and she's matching the nervous, embarrassed smile on his cheeks.

"Maybe. Why don't you come here and find out?"

With the towel wrapped firmly around his waist, he locks the door behind him and crawls onto the bed. He doesn't get any closer though.

Now that he's up close, he can see the silhouette of her bare legs just between the sheets. One of her hands comes out to pull both sides of the sheet together while the other comes to reach for him.

He takes her hand, bare knees touching.

"Hey," he says. And it's goofy, and so like him that it blossoms something in her chest.

"Hey, yourself." She calms her own nerves again and he loves the way the shape of her straightens like she's conquered something again.

He's staring and he knows it but the moonlight is sinking in through the gaps in the blinds and he swears her hair can put gold to shame.

"I've figured out why I was so afraid before," she says.

"Of getting intimate?"

"Yeah…" Her hands are sweating. Her gaze is locked to their hands. "I've already shown you so much of me. I've carved out my deepest fears and fed them to you like I was trying to stuff you full. Cause I didn't like having them in me. Like mom, and us, and Vytal, and now my team… When I'm with you, I already feel exposed. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with showing you all these sides of me but…"

She looks up at him, and their eyes meet. "I still have secrets." She says it like an apology. "But I'm not about to share my every thought but I find myself speaking my mind around you all the time anyway. I've been open but it's like I can't hide anything from you." She inches closer and her hand on the blankets tightens. "And this? Us? It's like I'm showing you all that's left. I'm no prude. I don't mind showing you a little skin."

He laughs. She doesn't wear much to bed. Not that he does either. "You never really seemed concerned about it, yeah."

"Yeah, but… doing this means I'm giving you something I can't take back or keep for myself. What I'll say or do when we do it will be new secrets and they'll be yours and… I was afraid of that."

Was, she said. He focuses on that.

His fingers run over her knuckles. She fixates on the way his hands are trying to hold her without getting any closer.

"What changed?" he asks.

"You… you showed me that you were just as scared." She remembers the way he was breathing only hours ago, staring down at her like he was scared of hurting her if he kept giving in to what she was offering. "It was like a hundred little things. Adrian, Terra, wanting to ruin your hair like an idiot for me…"

He scratches the back of his head. "I thought I was keeping a brave face on that one."

"Please. I love you but there's no way you were going to be comfortable looking an idiot again no matter how much you say it wasn't going to bother you." She sighs. "It's funny how that made me love you more."

Her smile falls away. "When I was younger, I was used to affection. It was like I had a mom and two dads. They'd dote on me and sing my praises like I could be nothing but spectacular. I couldn't go a day without being smothered by someone's love… Then… Then I lose Summer and dad shuts down. Qrow would try to be there for us and did everything he could while he was around but he always had to go to work. And I kept thinking if I was feeling like this, how did Ruby feel? How much did she feel that she was missing out on? So, I smother her with enough love to make up for everyone else, but every time I did, I was reminded of how much I missing for myself."

"And then we happened and it's not all the making out, or the cuddling, or the hickeys. I was afraid I'd have to give up this apartment cause I was overstaying my welcome, but then you smile at me and… Jaune, do you remember what you said to me that day?"

He's been flush this entire time. "I, uh, no, I don't."

"You told me it was already decided. Like I belonged here and that I never needed to work for it even if I tried my hardest to prove that I did. I didn't need to earn a place here. We were friends and you thought that was already enough."

He squeezes her hand. "It goes both ways, y'know?"

She squeezes back. "Tell me."

"I hated this apartment. When I first got it I thought I'd just bought myself a hole I could hide in while I drown myself." He eyes the walls, and even in the dark he knows where he'd had to plaster over cracks he'd punched into. "And it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go so I couldn't leave. I thought I'd maybe show up at the clubs and find someone else to warm my sheets, but even when I got propositioned, I couldn't dare to drag anyone else into what I'd put myself through."

"Then you showed up and I forgot what those nights even really felt like. It was just you, tearing every sordid, manic page out of my book and putting yourself there instead. It isn't just Terra you replaced it was… everything else. No more cold nights, broken sinks, or empty bottles. Even when things are quiet in the morning, it was nice to remember someone else was there that I had to wake up. It was nice knowing I had to cook for two. It was nice knowing that whenever I had to go out and do something tiring, or frustrating, or stupid… there was always someone waiting for me at home."

He lets go of her and makes for the vanity. A drawer is tugged open. Yang recognizes it as the one Jaune uses to hide the previous tenant's wedding ring box, but that isn't he pulls out of it. It's his flask. He sets there in full view of her. "I haven't needed it in months."

There's warmth against her skin. Even back then he said that she couldn't fill the gap of every torment but there it is. Definitive proof that she has. And it isn't just that she's done it, or even that she's done it for months, but also that she hasn't noticed. That the part of him with doubts has quietly slipped away.

And it's the same for her.

When he's back on the bed, she slinks her hands away into the blanket, clutching its two halves.

She's surprised at how easy it is to pull them apart and show him all of her. That doesn't mean it gets any easier with the way he stares at her. Yang has to resist covering up again.

His eyes trace the length of her arms down to her toned, steady legs. Back up to her abs and the swell of her breasts, to the soft coiling of her shoulder blades into her neck. This woman is built like a brick house and he loves every inch of her.

She'd already been staring at most of him before the towel on his waist slips away. The broad stroke of his arms, the wound tightness of his chest, his abs are pulled taut but his navel looks soft and boyish between the strong ridges. His legs are thin but muscled. She never knew she could appreciate the curve of a calf before but his legs help make him tall and it looks like she can dine on its width.

He crawls towards her and she welcomes his look of uncertainty as if it was her own. She falls back onto the sheets, prepared for him. One hand on her belly, the other pressed firmly over her beating chest. He doesn't move in to kiss her. He's stopped and staring somewhere on her breast. She almost cracks a joke about it but his hand comes up suddenly and runs along her skin.

"What happened here?" he asks.

There's the shadow of a scar beneath her left breast. She's surprised he can even see it in the low light. "Accident. I crashed my bike one night when driving home back to Beacon. It was… it wasn't a very good night. Assholes just drove on by and didn't bother checking in. Everyone sees an armed huntress and they think I can everything handle my own. Never mind that I was bleeding and calling out for help."

His eyes narrow. "People in this city suck."

"C'mon, they're not all bad. That boatman's pretty nice."

"Tackle."

"What?"

He snorts. "Yang, that's his name. Tackle. You're telling me we spent two weekends with him and you don't even know his name? You remember the old guy who sells dust? You meet him every month. His name's Shop and he's Tackle's brother."

She's laughing. Mostly from embarrassment. Mostly. "And how do you know this?"

"I talked to him?"

She shakes her head. "Y'know what, nevermind. I'm lying back here naked and you've got me thinking about old men and their equally old brothers."

"But hey, not so nervous anymore, right?"

He's right. It's so much easier to just talk to him. "Yeah. Much better tha-a-anks~! Jaune!"

His head's below her breast, kissing along her scar. He's doing it so softly that it tickles. "J-Jaune! Ha ha! What are you doing?"

"Kissing it better," he says matter-of-factly.

"Quit it! Ha ha! It tickles!"

He pulls his lips off her and leans over her, resting his forehead to hers. "No more bad memories. I'll rip out everything from before and give you something new everyday."

She nudges her nose to his. "Everyday?" she asks softly.

He shrugs but he means it. "I'm exaggerating but I'll try."

She runs a hand down his cheek. "Why do you always gotta do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… be real with me? Some guys just stop at the sweeping romantic gesture."

"I think I'm incapable of being anything else with you at this point."

"Scary," she teases. "Jaune Arc, ever exposed. How will I ever contain myself?"

"Shut up."

She shakes her head meaningfully, something beautiful dancing behind her eyes. He tells himself it's love. "I can't. Words are all I have when I can't do anything with my hands."

He kisses her knuckle, its strength softening at his touch. "And why don't you?"

He's flush against her. Her knees curl around his waist. "Because I won't be able stop myself if you let me."

"Don't stop," he whispers. "Show me everything."

Her hand braces against the back of his neck.

He sucks on her lower lip. Then he does the same to the other.

She moans and it's raw and animalistic, but it's a symphony in his ear.

-0-

Yang plops onto the sofa next to him. "If this takes any longer, I'm going to tear my hair out."

Jaune takes a sip of his apple juice and eyes her passed the glass. She's been stressing out all afternoon. "I don't think you've failed enough tests to warrant a failing grade. Didn't you pass the exams?"

"I'm not worried about failing." A pause. She doesn't look at him when she admits, "I need to get a B."

His brow creases. "You only need to not fail to be a huntress."

"Yeah, but they don't let you be a teacher or a coach without at least B."

"You wanna be a teacher?"

She scratches her head. "No? Yes. Maybe. Look, I wanna have my options open."

He sits closer. She can feel his warmth on her hip. "Is this cause of what Qrow said yesterday?"

"Mom, actually. We were talking about how she wishes she was home and worrying about cracking an egg right instead of trying to crack open a conspiracy."

She doesn't need to tell him more. "Yang, our kids will still love you if you're not home all the time."

"But I'd like to be home all the time. I hate the idea of being gone for months and… ugh, look at me. Losing my mind on imaginary children."

"You're thinking ahead. It's what a leader does. I like to think it's what a Xiao Long does too."

Yang rubs her arm. "Yeah… leader." With both Weiss and Ruby officially off the campus roster, Yang had been voted as the new leader. It's strange having to trade teammates with JNPR every once in a while to get teams of three, but they're always all together now anyway. Still, the title hangs over her head and she's trying her best.

"You'll get used to it. Leadership isn't a hard class and you'll only officially start taking it next year."

"But sitting in it makes me think a lot. I didn't think a class with no grades could be so stressful… I mean, maintaining team psychology? I didn't think Ruby had to consider our wellbeing all the time, and now that I do, I feel like we all take our leaders for granted."

He puts a hand on her shoulder. "See, this is why we don't talk about Leadership outside of class. You gotta detox. What would you like?"

She tosses her scroll onto the coffee table. "These grades. I get this out of my system, and I can start worrying about everything else."

He claps his hands and gets up. "Okay, bubble bath, massage oil, scented candles, and cake it is."

She gives him a wiry smile. "Thank you…"

"What kind of cake?" he asks when he's sifting through the cupboards in the kitchen. "I can whip up the chiffon and icing real quick if that's what you're after."

She picks her scroll back up and thumbs through her messages. She goes through a backlog from Ruby. She met up with Weiss a few days back and the photo of them together (and Oscar getting along with Whitley in back) always manages to curl a smile into her. Among the images sent, she finds another with Weiss alone in her room. Neptune's not allowed to get close just yet but she's wearing the aquamarine necklace her got her for the proposal.

"I'm thinking Red Velvet," she calls out to him. "Maybe you can experiment again? I'd love to help you try."

"Nah, not this time. I couldn't get the red velvet to mix right even with Ren's help. I'll need to pick a lesson with mom when we get to Clove so I can get it down."

She gets an image from Blake. She's having afternoon tea with her parents. Ren and Nora are with her. Ren seems right at home with Kali, and Nora seems to have gotten Ghira to laugh. Somewhere in the background, Sun's teasing Ilia about someone on her scroll. She's turned a shade of pink, which does nothing to hide her blush. Looks like Sun managed to find her a girlfriend after all.

"We can do a different cake then," she tells Jaune.

"It's okay, I'll just order again." He already has his scroll up. "But we're getting three little boxes. I'm not letting you engorge the whole thing again."

She snorts. "You can't stop me from snacking."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yang, one of these days I'm gonna have to buy a padlock for the fridge."

"Like a padlock would stop me."

His hand slaps the counter. "Okay, no bubble bath, and no massage then."

"Fine. Little cakes. But you know I can just order more, right? It's a joint account after all." It was her mother's idea to help them balance finances between them. It managed to get Helia Arc to talk to Raven. They get along. Yang doesn't know what do with that.

"Please don't do anything crazy with the account. It's the last installment for the car."

"Which I'm helping you pay for. I deserve a treat."

Jaune stops what he's doing and just stares at her. She's not normally this difficult. Or difficult at all, for that matter. "Yang, are you messing with me?"

She peeks back gives him a sheepish grin from behind the couch. "Yes? C'mon, you know I love you. You like eating them with me anyway. You need to get your head out of the rain too." Because their new tub is big enough for two, the massage is always the kind with a happy ending, and she's pretty sure the scented candles are just a silent joke between them at this point.

He comes around to sit next to her again. "I'm not the one worrying about her grades."

"And I'm not the one stressing about his car," she counters. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Leaning back into the cushions, he loses any desire to argue. "I took good care of it…"

"I know you did, so it's not your fault. Just you wait. The mechanic will be back with a message for you any minute now to tell you it was a nothing issue and they can fix it in an afternoon."

She's on her inbox with Jaune now. They hardly send messages anymore since they're together all the time so instead they send each other the pictures they take so they always both have copies. They had a mission at the ruins of Glenn, a dinner date by the docks, drew on Ren's face while he slept, spent an afternoon hanging photos off strings on the ceiling, visited Cardin in the hospital (he's got a cool scar along his arm and neck now), took a hike in the woods, and there's a dozen more photos of them cozying up in the apartment. These have just been in the last month, too. With summer coming, they'll have enough photos to hide entire ceiling at the dorm.

Jaune leans over. "Why am I Hummingbird in your contacts? I thought I was Vomit Boy."

She snickers. "Well, you know how Blake's books have all those fancy words for sex? Like the word vagina is somehow too crass for 'erotica'."

He squints. "I already don't like where this is going."

"So we got to talking and she mentions how, in her latest book, the vagina substitute is flower, and what comes out is nectar."

Jaune buries his head in his hands. "Oh my god, Yang…"

"And with the amount of time you spend down there…"

"Yang!"

"Did you know that hummingbirds can consume up to eight times their weight in nectar? Those are rookie numbers. They should probably take notes from you."

He grabs her face and presses his forehead to hers, manic eyes meeting hers. "I love you, but if you have an off switch, you have to tell me."

She looks down and up at him again. She points to her lips. "They're right here, lover boy."

He pulls back and looks between her lips and the coy look in her eyes. "I… no." He huffs and crosses his arms. "Not doing it."

This throws her for a loop. "What? Why?"

He glances back at her. She wants it just as much. Now he's the one being coy. "Cause this is funny."

"Fine. Why don't I send Blake a few of these little facts. She's started writing and I'm sure she could use some our juicy details."

"Yang, no."

She's already typing down on her scroll. Jaune crashes into her and they fall back onto the arm rest. For a moment they struggle as Jaune tries to reach for her scroll until Yang decides to slip the device into the back of her sweater. If he goes for it, he'll reach have to reach in closer and their faces are already close enough as it is.

"And it's gone!" she cheers. "I mean, feel free to try for it again but there's enemy territory down here."

He thumbs over her cheeks. "Fine. You win." He says with a chortle. "I swear, Yang, you're impossible."

"And yet you have me anyway."

Their lips press together warmly, making them meld together into a host of mewls and hushed laughter.

Their scrolls ping. They go completely ignored.

-END-

And that’s it! I hope you liked it! There’s a sequel coming down the pipeline but for now I have a major Dragonslayer story to work on elsewhere on my ff.net and ao3 accounts. Maybe I’ll post a link here to it when it comes out.

That said, thank you to everyone who gave this story their love. I would not have made it this far without your support. Thank you. :’)

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (ch 12)

Chapter 12

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9, ch 10, ch 11, ch 12

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 1,568

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j  @daechwitad-2​ @zobadak​​

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing…

tw: graphic depictions of violence, death, mentions of suicide, possession

                “Where to start?” he asked. “I was…the son of a king. My life was pretty strict but I had this group of friends. We were all scholars, but when we met in secret, we liked to play with things like witchcraft and necromancy. We wanted to summon something, I don’t even remember what we wanted to summon, maybe someone who had power to give us something. Anyway, we planned it for a long time, and then we went to the woods and did this elaborate ritual. We made a human sacrifice, a woman who served in the palace. I remember her, she was terrified. I didn’t feel bad about it though. I was… cold and apathetic back then, but I still remember her face. After we slit her throat and drained her blood, we set fire to her and all the other ingredients. And then a woman came from…”

               Yoongi narrowed his eyes and looked to the ceiling, as if struggling to remember.

               “She came from the woods? Or…No, she was standing in our circle. But I think she came from the woods. She was a demon. Her eyes were bright and hard to look at, and the way her body moved seemed unnatural.”

               “She was probably just some kind of witch,” said Namjoon. “Demons aren’t real.”

               “I know what witches are like, my friends and I were witches,” said Yoongi. “She was definitely not human. Not a vampire either. She was not like anything I’ve ever encountered since – I’m getting off track, we’re not having this conversation, Joon-ah!”

               Namjoon chuckled and held up his hands. “Fine, fine.”

               “Anyway, she asked who our leader was and they all pointed to me,” Yoongi continued. “Then she asked me what I wanted, or what I most desired, or something like that. I said I wanted eternal life. She just smiled and said that my wish was granted. A day or so later, I started feeling this thirst, this painful, painful thirst. I tried everything, then I realized what I wanted. I started taking blood from the servants in the palace, and my family hid me from the public. They all hid my secret because I needed to take the throne when my father died. But my family was scared because they thought it was a curse. That it might be bad for the kingdom once I took over. I didn’t even really care about taking the throne anymore, or maybe humanity in general stopped being interesting to me, but whatever it was, I left my city and started travelling and living on my own. I might have been trying to find the demon again, I knew she was still wandering around, but it took me several years to find her. It was when I came back to my city and found out that she had taken over the body of my sister, killing the rest of my family and taking the throne. I knew it was her because her eyes were the same and she moved the way she did in the woods that day, but it was unnerving to see it on my sister’s body. It was… difficult to see my family the way they were. She had left them in the palace to rot. There was no staff, just her. I never felt close with my family, but I was alone without them.

               “I asked her what she did to me and she told me that she gave me a great gift, that she gave me eternal life. I told her to take it back but she just laughed. I ran away again and was living in the wilderness for years, feeding off of travelers. I was just wandering for so long and it was miserable. I wanted to die, but nothing I tried would work. A few years passed and then I went over to America for a change of scenery. Then I met Namjoon and Taehyung and I moved in. I even checked on my old palace to see if my stuff was still there. It was, so I had it shipped here. I’d say it’s still in pretty good shape after all this time.”

               “And by ‘a few years’, he means one thousand years,” said Hoseok. “When were you born? Two-hundred B.C.?”

               Yoongi shrugged. “I have no idea. Something like that.”

               Despite how disturbed Catalina was by his story, she found it incredibly fascinating. Yoongi must have seen the disturbed faces of the humans in the room because he sat up and said, “I’m not like that anymore. These guys taught me humanity and empathy or whatever.”

               “Okay, Hoseok. Your turn,” Jimin said with a grin.

               “Me? I already told you everything there is to know!” he said. “Born in the 70s, turned in the 90s, I was a broke college student, but then I had to drop out.”

               “This is all we know too,” said Namjoon with a wave of his hand. “He doesn’t like talking about it.”

               “Yeah, we can talk about something else,” said Hoseok. “Like, you guys. What do you all plan on doing after school?”

               “I want to work L.A.,” said Jimin. “I want to dance in movies and music videos. Maybe be a choreographer for stuff like that.”

               “Ooohh,” Hoseok exclaimed. “That would a lot of fun! I would do that.”

               “We can both dance in L.A.!” said Jimin.

               “Gukkie, what about you? What do you want to do after you graduate?” Catalina asked.

               “I have no idea,” he said, laughing. “I like film, but I’ve already changed my major three times, so who knows what will happen with that.”

               “What were your previous majors?” she asked.

               “Dance, fine arts, political science, and now film,” he said, listing them off of his fingers. Catalina’s eyebrows raised.

               “Political science?” she asked.

               “Heh, yeah, it was too hard though,” he said. “I don’t like school enough for something like that. I kept failing my classes that semester. What about you? Do you have plans after school?”

               Jungkook played with the end of her braid as he asked.

               “Um, long term plans, I don’t really know,” said Catalina. “But my dream is to perform in a ballet in France. I hope I can go there and audition after I graduate.”

               “You will, you’re really good,” said Jungkook. Catalina blushed and looked away before she did something crazy, like jumping him in front of everyone.

               “Thank you,” she said.

               “Why did you come all the way out here for college though?” Jimin asked. “You have huge schools in Michigan, and really good performing arts schools in Chicago.”

               “Ah, I think I just needed a change,” said Catalina. “I needed to get away. I miss my mom, but I didn’t like my friends there, I didn’t like my town, and ever since I came out as bisexual, my mom had been acting weird-“

               “No wonder you, Jungkook and Jimin all get along!” Jin interrupted. “Birds of a feather!”

               “Whoa, Jin! So, we’re just outing everyone now?” Jungkook exclaimed. Jimin sighed and rolled his eyes.

               “It’s fine, I already knew about you,” Catalina said, patting Jungkook’s thigh.

               “I never told you though,” he said.

               “Jungkook, what was the first thing you noticed about Namjoon?” Catalina asked.

              Jungkook blushed and said, “Thighs.”

              Catalina raised an eyebrow. Namjoon looked up with wide eyes.

              “Plus, I know you knew it was gonna rain during the baseball game. That’s why you had everyone wear white shirts,” said Catalina.

               “That was for you too,” he said with a smirk.

               “It was definitely for both of us,” said Catalina, making him laugh. “I appreciate it though.”            

               “I know,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist. “I saw the way you were looking at me.”

               “Okay, I’m about to puke,” said Jimin. “Jimmy K, hurry up and talk about yourself before these two get out of hand.”

               Jimmy K chuckled and said, “Well, I’m working on my Masters in Astrophysics, and after grad school, I hope to work for NASA.”

               “Jungkook said you were a ‘former bad boy’?” Catalina asked, laughing. “What did that mean?”

               “During high school, I used to cause a lot of trouble in this town I guess,” said Jimmy K. “The police chief was my arch nemesis, but now I work with him.”

               “Wow, so cool,” Catalina said, sighing dreamily. Jungkook snorted beside her. Jimmy K threw her a wink.

               “I already know what Jin is gonna do after college so no need to share-“ Jungkook began.

               “Jungkook, you brat! I know what you’re gonna say!” Jin said, pointing a finger at him.

               “What?”

               “You were gonna say that I’m gonna be a housewife and stay-at-home mom,” Jin said.

               “Hey, you said it, not me,” said Jungkook. Jin took off his slipper, got up, walked over, and swatted Jungkook over the head with it. Jungkook leapt to his feet and chased after him.

               “He’s getting his teacher’s license,” said Jimmy K.

               “You want to be a teacher?” Namjoon asked. Jin shoved Jungkook off of him and sat back down. Jungkook dropped back into his spot next to Catalina.

               “Yeah, I want to teach elementary,” said Jin.

               “Oh god, good luck,” Yoongi mumbled.

               “Well, you better hurry up,” said Jungkook. “Your youth is fading away quickly.”

               Jin grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at him. Jungkook retaliated and soon, the whole room erupted into a pillow fight.

[katelynn-a-fan]

Fake title: Paint the sky

(I’m starting these up again cause I still have handful and it’s been... many months)

Okay so this is a wings au, where everyone is born with wings.

Except, Virgil’s came out... wrong, one of his wings grew wrong so he was grounded from day 1

So as he grew up, he was bullied for his defective wing, but one day in freshman year someone fought back for him when they kicked Virgil down. 

Virgil was wincing from the pain a bit before he was able to see who rescued him and when he did see who, he nearly had a heart attack as he saw strong jet black wings surrounding him protectively.

It was one of the relatively popular kids, who all had strong wings and could fly faster than most of the other students. 

“Hey, are you satisfactory?” “Why do you care?” “Because I’m not an asshole like them, just because I hold a popular position does not preclude me from knowing it’s wrong to bully others.” “...Touché.”

Virgil was Gay, the boy was smart and had a nice smile and was against the other popular kids and  had big strong wings...

Big.... strong... wings...

Virgil didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t even know how it happened, but he somehow was eating lunch with the popular kids, but mostly Logan, the boy who rescued him. 

He felt awkward sitting with the people he knew looked down on him because of his wings, but he grinned and bared it for Logan’s sake.

Virgil noticed that slowly everyone around Virgil even in normal class began to look at him weirdly. He of course suspected one or all of the popular kids, but he didn’t have proof.

It wasn’t until junior year, almost 3 years of grinning and baring it that the popular kids asked Logan why he hung out with a ‘defective.’

Logan surprised Virgil by snapping, he whipped around, pulling the kid up by his collar and growling at him to ‘say that again, Brad?’ The kid, full of bravado, repeated the question, but Logan brought Brad’s face up, millimeters from his face, making his intentions clear, expression dark and terrifying even to Virgil, who had never seen him more than frown, and slowly repeated himself one last time.

“Say that again?” “....nothing! I said nothing!” Brad’s voice was uncharacteristically high.

Virgil finally was able to relax, no having to worry about Logan going to detention for a fight, when Brad suddenly swung at Logan as he turned away.

Logan retaliated in kind, fighting back ruthlessly. Virgil froze as he watched them both fight each other, unable to move to stop Logan.

It wasn’t until the school resource officer pulled them apart that the fighting stopped and Virgil still stayed frozen as his best friend was taken away. He did nothing, and it was because of him that Logan was in trouble. 

That night he got a call from Logan, and he was so concerned for Logan, but he felt as if his body wasn’t his own as he spoke stiltedly, knowing Logan could tell something was wrong.

Virgil told him he couldn’t be his friend anymore, steadying his voice as much as he could to say he hate Logan, even as tears streamed down his face as he did.

He avoids Logan as much as he can, managing to avoid him enough that the only time they are in the same room together is at graduation.

Virgil pretends not to notice Logan’s gaze fixed on him when he is in sight. 

And as Virgil goes to college, part of him is happy that Logan can live his life without Virgil’s weak and defective wings.

And yet...

His parents did everything to try to coax Virgil’s wings into flight condition, trying surgery to correct the wing just before 18, though Virgil had resigned himself that he would never fly a long time ago.

The surgery succeeds... mostly. 

Virgil can fly now, but it’s on a time limit, anything past an hour or two takes his wings out of commission for a week or more, but his exercises of hovering every so often have proved his wings are getting stronger.

But just like before, Virgil didn’t let that stop him. 

He was interested in chemical engineering through college, but once he got out, it didn’t satisfy him, he barely managed a year before he quit.

It was in that lull, not knowing his future that he found one of his first drawings he ever made, tucked away. 

It was of him flying high in the sky with perfect and big wings.

Virgil smiled at the grand imagination of his youth, that if his wings were whole, he would know his purpose.

His wings still weren’t whole, but as he looked at the drawing, he remembered. 

Every time he drew himself in a doodle, he always drew himself in the sky, something he hadn’t been able to do for the longest time.

But he realized... it wasn’t because he wanted to fly, at least not completely, as he had done the same on his last paycheck receipt the week before.

It was the sky. He was fascinated with the sky itself.

And so it began.

Virgil had never really taken an art class before, but he went at it with all he had.

He desperately bought a set of paint, an easel and a canvas with the dwindling number in his bank account.

Virgil chose that afternoon to start painting. starting with the blue sky before the sun began to set and Virgil’s painting began to fade into more orange, yellows, and reds. By the time evening came and the sun had gone below the horizon, the painting had been finished, the reds fading into purples and blacks.

It was only then that Virgil stepped back, not turning on the light to see his work before he crashed on his bed.

He woke up to the sounds of his boisterous friend Roman calling him.

Roman talked a mile a minute, Virgil barely able to tell what Roman was talking about until he finally heard the word ‘painting.’

Virgil turned red, he had forgotten about his painting in the living room.

“You like it?” “Do I like it? Well, it would be hard to disagree with the almost a million people who have already seen it.”

Virgil’s brain malfunctioned.

“What?”

Roman showed him his phone, where a picture of his painting had been posted on Virgil’s Instagram among his few previous pictures, most were of his halloween costumes that got a few hundred to over thousand on his vampire halloween costume.

“YOU POSTED MY PAINTING ON MY INSTAGRAM! WHY DO YOU HAVE MY PASSWORD!” “Whoa chill, you haven’t changed your password in 3 years, dipshit. Did- you even hear me? You have almost a million likes on the painting. I like the eyes.”

Virgil’s fist stopped where he had been about to punch Roman’s arm.

“A million? How?! Wait... eyes?”

Roman looked at Virgil weird. 

“Yeah, the obvious eyes in the painting.”

Virgil snatched Roman’s phone, getting a closer look at his own painting, just now seeing the very obvious green eyes in the painting, as well as the more subtle outline of a very distinct set of wings that Virgil knew well.

A number of miles away, Logan checked his very rarely populated Instagram feed while he drank his morning coffee.

However, today he decided his home needed some as well as it was projected out as Logan spat out the mouthful of coffee he had been drinking, mouth open as he saw his own green eyes and his specific set of wings in a painting on Virgil’s profile.

The number didn’t even matter, it barely registered, but a smile spread on Logan’s face as he realized Virgil didn’t hate him as much as Logan thought he did.

After all, you don’t pain someone you hate into something so beautiful.

So Logan finally scrolled down to Virgil’s contact for the first time in years after so many times to reach him.

He pressed call.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 6: Why so Blue? (originally published on January 11, 2021)

Author's Note: This is one chapter I've been excited to write. In my opinion, Lapis is my favorite character because aside from having cool powers and being pretty, I also relate to her a lot because I've been through a lot of suffering like her. Though thankfully, I wasn't caught up in warfare, trapped in a mirror for thousands of years, and finally released only to be trapped in a walking, talking abusive relationship under the sea; just some standard bullying by people who love pushing my buttons, being framed for something I obviously didn't do that forced me to drop out of my first high school following first semester of freshman year. But enough about my life story, onto my #1 Gem waifu!

Synopsis: Steven and Lapis try to confront a pair of Lapises that continue terraforming worlds.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Mean Lapis, Nice Lapis

Amy Sedaris as Blue Zircon

--

"Thanks for the help Lapis." Steven thanked Lapis Lazuli as they planted some new flowers in his conservatory. "These blue hyacinth flowers really tie the place together."

"You're welcome, Steven," Lapis replied with a smile. "Peridot helped me pick these out from the greenhouse. You know, it's funny. The two of us didn't get along at first, me more than Peridot to be honest, but thanks to you, we're basically inseparable."

"Aw shucks Lapis, was nothing." Steven blushed, just as the communication console nearby began to light up. "Hang on, I think this one's for me."

When Steven turned it on, a particular Gem who he barely got to know greeted him. "Oh hey, you're that Zircon from my trial! How are things?"

"Going pretty good." The defense Zircon answered. "Ever since the other Zircon and I were unbubbled at the start of Era 3, we've left our lawyer days behind in favor of politics. With the Diamonds essentially no longer in power, Homeworld had decided to turn to democracy when the caste system was dissolved."

"It's nice to hear some more good news," Lapis interjected. "but why did you call us?"

"Oh yes, that." Blue Zircon realized before she conjured up a hologram with her monocle. "Rumor has it that despite the caste system's end, there are at least two Gems who continue to terraform regardless of the end of colonization. Last we heard, they were busy remodeling the former Blue Diamond colony Aozul 2."

"Wait, terraform?" Lapis said with surprise at the mention of her old duties. "Are they other Lapis Lazulis by any chance?"

"Yes, that is why I contacted you today." Blue Zircon continued explaining. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I might remember them from when I was a terraformer." Lapis revealed, before she turned to the Warp Pad. "That's why I'm coming with you, Steven."

"Alright then." Steven agreed. "Who knows? Maybe we can get them to come to Little Homeschool."

"I'm not too sure about that, Steven." Lapis nervously replied before they stepped on the Warp Pad and activated it, taking off for Aozul 2.

--

On the other Warp Pad that dropped Steven and Lapis off was Aozul 2, a gorgeous-looking moon orbiting a yellow planet thriving with unique wildlife. Though the pair was amazed by the nature around them, they still had a mission to do.

"Let's not get distracted, this may not take long." Steven said as he stepped off the Pad. "Most Gems come around pretty quickly when I invite them to Little Homeworld in person."

"What a beautiful place." Lapis muttered in awe, distracting her from the strange little native creature they almost stepped on. "Wait!"

Looking down, Steven and Lapis found a cute flower bud-like alien with its petals opened up. "Whoa, thanks for the save Lapis." Steven thanked his blue buddy before kneeling to pet the creature. "Hey, little buddy."

The creature closed its petals in fright and raced into a nearby bush, making more of its kind nervously emerge in front of Steven. "It's okay Flower Buddies." He chuckled at his name for the creatures as they began to crawl all over him, now no longer seeing the boy as a danger. "Haha, whoa now!"

"Wow, Steven, it took you all of five seconds to make a new friend. You must be getting rusty." Lapis commented as she approached the Flower Buddy resting in Steven's arms and began to pet it gently. "You know, I used to never notice creatures like this. Before arriving on Earth, I used to not think twice about terraforming, never taking a moment to appreciate what I was destroying." The Buddy smiled at Lapis and began to open its petals for her as well. "Life is so precious. And these guys remind me of Pumpkin in particular."

The other Buddies began to blossom, only to just as quickly close up their petals as the silhouette of a figure similar to Lapis zoomed over them.

"Uh, Steven?" Lapis brought her friend's attention to the figures flying around and conjuring up water to cause untold chaos upon Aozul 2.

After putting the Flower Buddy down, Steven made his way to the edge of a cliff to get a better look at the pair. From what he could gather, one of the Lapides had her gemstone on her stomach, darker colored skin and hair than the one he knew, the hair was done up in a ponytail, and had gold-colored freckles on her cheeks. The other Lapis had her gem on her shoulder, light azure skin, and medium-blue curly hair.

"So, the rumors were true." Steven wondered as the pair of Lapises continued their path of destruction, laughing all the way.

"You think that Zircon called us because they didn't get your message?" Lapis asked Steven while gazing upon the terraformers' progress.

"I'm sure they did." Steven replied assuredly. "Everyone did, but I'll try and get them to stop."

"This may be harder than you think." Lapis added as her fellow Lazulis flew closer to the pair, using their powers to cut a massive rock in half and terrifying the Flower Buddies.

"Hey, stop!" Steven called to the blue Gems, who reacted to their work's sudden intrusion by preparing to launch a massive tidal wave at the pair. Steven was ready however, and defended himself and Lapis with his shield.

"Wait, that's Steven Universe!" the ponytailed Lapis cried as she grabbed her partner's arm. "And is that who I think it is with him?"

"He's smaller than I thought." The curly-haired Lapis replied when she came to the same realization as her fellow Lazuli. "No way!"

"You guys!" Lapis squealed in delight, causing the other two to cheer happily as well. "Oh my gosh, it's been ages!" she yelled as the two Lapises raced down to hug her. "I haven't seen you two since I was sent down to Earth!"

"Wait, you all know each other?" Steven asked the three terraformers.

"Yeah, we go way back with ol' 3E8C-4XF here." The stomach gem Lapis remarked. "That's her facet and cut, by the way. I'm 2F8D-9ZE, and Curls here is 1J9G-5KL."

"Yeah, the three of us were an unstoppable terraforming trio back in the day." 1J9G-5KL snidely explained with a flip of her hair. "Tearing planets apart, taking names, and looking cool while doing it!"

"But then I was given a solo mission to Earth, which was how I got caught up in the Rebellion, and here we are." Lapis continued for her old friends.

"We're just so glad you're okay!" 2F8D-9ZE exclaimed happily. "So anyway, what do you think? We're just about almost done with this world. Exemplary work, no?"

"And we don't need the extra help." 1J9G-5KL said meanly. "So it was nice catching up, but please, ta-ta."

"Look, we came here because you gotta stop." Steven explained to the Lapides. "The Diamonds don't control you anymore. Didn't you get my message?"

"Yeah, we did." Freckles nodded.

"So, you don't have to terraform for them anymore." Steven continued. "You're free to do whatever you want now! In fact, we want to offer you the chance to come learn at Little Homescho-"

"Oh, so this is all some big misunderstanding?" Freckles interrupted Steven.

"This has got to be a joke." Curls rolled her eyes. "Like, terraforming is what we like to do, and now you're saying we shouldn't do it anymore?!"

"Oh, here we go." Lapis groaned. "1J9G was always pretty passionate about her work."

"You're getting it wrong." Steven tried to ease the tension. "You can do whatever you like! As long as nothing gets destroyed and nobody gets hurt."

"That's not what you said a sec ago!" Curls pointed out. Freckles tried to speak, but Curls shushed her by forcing her mouth shut with a finger. "Are you listening to yourself right now?"

"Why should we stop?" Freckles lowered Curls' finger to ask.

"Because it's wrong!" Lapis answered, becoming irritated with her former partners' behavior.

"Wait, wait, wait." Freckles said, gesturing to the destruction she and Curls caused. "How can what we were made to do suddenly be soo-oo taboo now? At least let us get back to work, we're almost done with Aozul 2 here!"

"Team huddle?" Steven nervously muttered to Lapis.

"Team huddle." Lapis replied, slowly retreating into the cobalt-leafed forest away from the other Lapides. "We'll be back with you in a bit, girlfriends."

--

"You're right. This is harder than usual." Steven said to Lapis as they hid in the bushes.

"You've gotta force them to stop." Lapis suggested while spying on her old friends from the foliage. "This is definitely gonna be a fight. They're not nice like what I became. 1J9G was always the alpha of our little trio, ordering us around and treating lower-ranked Gems like trash. 2F8D, on the other hand was more of the follower, as loyal to 1J9G as a Pearl is to their Diamond. I, on the other hand, was essentially the third wheel, mostly existing to follow along with them."

"So you guys were basically high school mean girls?" Steven compared Lapis's former situation to fiction. "Did any of you play the Gem version of croquet in your spare time, or wear pink on Wednesdays?"

"This is nothing like those movies, Steven." Lapis stated.

"Well maybe like those girls in the movies, they just don't know what they're doing isn't nice." Steven tried to assure his azure friend. "You get it, what made things click for you?"

"A cycle of horrible torture that I came close to repeating myself." Lapis gravely answered, much to Steven's fright. "But also like, living in nature and making meep morps."

"Yeah, that's it!" Steven cheered quietly. "Come on, we can do that for them."

"C'mon, not even a little torture?" Lapis asked while squeezing her hands together.

"No torture, just the other stuff." Steven decided against any lethal force before he and Lapis returned to the water Gems.

--

"Geez, what's taking those two so long?" the Mean Lapis asked impatiently while waiting for Steven and her fellow Lapis to return.

"I'm starting to get wet here." The Nice Lapis added, prompting her curly-haired buddy to turn to her with a raised eyebrow of disbelief. "I'm trying to make it a catchphrase. It depends on the context, in this case, I'm getting bored."

"Well, I urge you not to make that happen." 1J9G commanded, just as Steven and Lapis finally reemerged from the bushes, waving to them while walking backwards. "Oh, look who finally decided to come back."

"Okay, we've come to a decision." Steven declared. "Why don't we show you fun things you can do on Earth other than causing mass destruction?"

"Should we listen to him?" 1J9G asked 2F8D.

"He's only half-Diamond, so maybe we should half-listen to him." 2F8D suggested.

"I'll take that as a yes." Steven answered, trying to hide his eye twitching at being called a mere half-Diamond, before taking the two terraformers into the forest. "Let's go."

--

Once within the extraterrestrial woods, Steven began to show the Lapides around, trying to get them to appreciate the beauty of nature. "It's a beautiful day here. Fresh air, pretty trees, peaceful wildlife. Any life-changing epiphanies yet?"

"It's so bright." 2F8D observed as she gazed directly into the sun.

"No duh, Too-Eff." 1J9G rudely replied while poking on a leaf with a stick. "I only prefer two colors, rocks and mud. Right?"

"Well, I have to admit," 2F8D said as she continued looking at the sun. "that sun is a real pretty shade of-"

"I said, right 2F8D?" 1J9G cut her friend off.

"Uh yeah, rocks and mud!" 2F8D laughed nervously, her pupils rapidly darting around while holding her hands behind her back.

"I understand you don't see the beauty with this, but I know you will with time, girls." Lapis said. "There was a time where I didn't appreciate organic life as well, much like you guys. But I learned of how beautiful it can be. Maybe you can try something like this."

Gazing at the small puddle of mud in front of her, Lapis began to conjure up a strange shape from the wet dirt.

"This is what we call art, or in Lapis's terms, a meep morp." Steven demonstrated. "And it can be made out whatever you want to be, whether it be nature or just random junk you find lying around."

"So you can do whatever you want with your powers," 1J9G asked. "but you choose to make junk."

"It doesn't have to be like that." Lapis answered, continuing to toy with the mud. "You can make anything with a little imagination."

As an example, Lapis shifted the mud to take the form of a lawnchair for Steven to sit on, along with a drink and sunglasses. When Steven drank out of the mud-made cup, he immediately spat it out.

"So lifelike, I almost forgot!" Steven exclaimed in realization as the mud fell apart.

"That's it?" 1J9G muttered with a tilt of her head.

"It's more satisfying than you think it is." Lapis claimed. "Go ahead, give it a shot."

"But what can we make?" 2F8D asked, scratching her chin as she examined the wilderness around them.

"Didn't you listen, dummy?" 1J9G responded while conjuring up some water. "They said we could make anything!"

"Right, anything!" 2F8D said as the two turned the water into the shape of a ball. "I totally knew that."

"That's it!" Lapis cheered for her former friends. "Try making some other shapes, it can be anything you want!"

The Lapides listened as they made the water ball grow spikes before flattening it into a sawblade that they tossed in-between Steven & Lapis, cutting down a mountain behind them in two.

"Wow, you just made our jobs easier!" 1J9G cackled and pointed at the fallen rock behind the two Crystal Gems.

"We'll have this planet cleaned up in no time!" 2F8D agreed with a laugh.

"Steven, this isn't working." Lapis muttered fearfully, prompting Steven to try something else.

"Looks like you two still have some energy to let out." Steven laughed. "Maybe you should try something more physical, like dancing!"

"Dance?" 1J9G wondered while Steven pulled out his phone. "And what is that thing in your hand?"

"Just watch us." Steven stated as he turned on some funky music for he and Lapis to dance to on his phone, as another demonstration to the Lapides. Although 1J9G was unimpressed, she noticed 2F8D starting to get into the groove as she swayed her arms from side to side.

Steven and Lapis took this as a breakthrough and continued dancing to the music, but then their gems started to glow by complete accident. "WHOA!" they exclaimed in unison, stopping their dance to keep the glowing down.

"Almost fused there, Lapis." Steven chuckled.

"Yeah, wouldn't want a repeat of Peridot." Lapis replied.

"Uh, who's Peridot?" 1J9G asked while ordering 2F8D to stop dancing with a mean look.

"Only Lapis's best friend!" Steven exclaimed with a hand on his Lapis's shoulder.

"Yeah, you can meet all types of people on Earth, humans and Gems." Lapis said. "Peridot and I got off on the wrong foot because when we first met, I was basically her hostage in an invasion of Earth." She continued explaining. "But over time, we grew closer thanks to Steven's influence and even had our own home in this little barn, but then due to circumstances I'd rather not get into at the moment, we just kinda drifted apart for a bit. We did eventually get back together, but when Little Homeschool first started, we unfortunately didn't have as much time to enjoy our shared inter-"

Before Lapis could finish, the other Lapises started laughing. "Really, you and a low-class Gem like a Peridot?!" 1J9G guffawed, forcing the primary Lapis to scowl at the pair.

"What's next, an Aquamarine fusing with a Ruby?!" 2F8D let out a loud wheeze.

"Funny story, actually." Steven began, but 1J9G cut him off.

"Look, we don't wanna hear anymore, kid." The Lapis snarked. "We know you want to do what's best for everyone or some stupid stuff like that, but we decided on what's best for us, and that's terraforming." She stated. "Now, please, run along back to your little school before you make me slap your face off."

"Geez, Jay-Nine, no need to threaten him like that." 2F8D tried to convince her pal otherwise.

"He's threatening our way of life, you clod!" 1J9G yelled at 2F8D, who reflexively knelt and cowered. "If you think a little kid like him is right, then why don't you come with them?"

"Gee, 2F8D has real bad taste in friends." Steven whispered to Lapis.

"It's like I said, One-Jay really liked to order us around." Lapis replied. "She also really doesn't like it whenever what she says gets questioned."

"Now, if you'll excuse us 3E8C," 1J9G finally said while turning away from her belligerent friend. "we're gonna go back to work, so no more interruptions."

"Y-yeah, let's get back to it!" 2F8D meekly added.

Ironically, the pair was stopped from flying away when Lapis finally spoke up. "I get it." She said to her old friends. "All this won't make you feel good right away, maybe not even at all. You guys are just afraid of change after thousands of years doing one thing, but they can help you navigates new ways of feeling. If you aren't into dancing, maybe singing would be more your speed."

Lapis prepared to demonstrate, but then she started hesitating for a bit. But thanks to some encouragement from Steven, she worked up the bravery and finally started to sing. "Oooo-ooo-oooh, why so bluuuu-uuuu-uuue? So many shades of sorrow got mixed into my hue." Lapis began. "And each new moment just astounds me, so much I wanna do. I finally feel my colors shining through."

The other Lapides began following their former friend as she gazed into her reflection in a puddle. "I'm tired of the fighting, I'm tired of the blame." Lapis continued as she reminisced on her struggles. "That mirror was a prison, and fusion was the same. What's with these new sensations that suddenly appear?! Deep as the roaring ocean, free as the atmosphere!"

Racing away from the puddle, Lapis excitedly pushed back some leaves to show her ex-partners more of Aozul 2's beauty as her song reached its high point. "Oooo-ooo-oooh, why so bluuuu-uuuu-uuue? So many different reasons, but are they really true?" Lapis began to finish as she knelt to watch the Flower Buddies surrounding her. "I wanna keep on going, wanna be right here with you. I'd love to see your colors shining throoooo-ooough." The Buddy that made its territory in Lapis's lap then blossomed for her. "I'd love to see your colors shining through."

Despite what Steven and Lapis believed the song would do, 1J9G laughed mockingly at her, and 2F8D was ordered to do the same with a poke to the elbow. "You really expect us to dance and sing like we're Pearls?!" 1J9G said derisively. "Look, Steven Universe, you already got 3E8C doing it for you! I mean, did you make her like this, or was she this much of a loser?!"

"You never bothered to ask what I liked back in the day!" Lapis angrily said before her curly-bobbed ex-friend grabbed her by the shirt collar.

"Listen 3E8C," 1J9G commanded Lapis just as angrily. "you and that so-called Diamond are going to leave this planet so we can get back to doing what we want to do, not be reconditioned into following everything you say with a dumb song! End, of, discussion."

"You don't have to be so cruel!" Steven yelled at 1J9G. "And you don't have to be such a horrible friend ei-"

"Did I stutter?" 1J9G continued as she glared daggers at Steven before turning away from him. "Come on 2F8D, let's get back to work."

"Yeah, see ya." 2F8D replied and said farewell to Steven before they flew off. "It was wet seeing you again 3E8C!"

"CONTEXT!" 1J9G yelled.

Steven was just about ready to give up, but Lapis just started angrily as her fellow Lapides got back to terraforming. "That's it!" she declared. "I've had enough of you two!"

"But, you promised we wouldn't fight!" a worried Steven reminded Lapis.

"If we had done this my way, we could've gotten this done way earlier!" Lapis replied before she flew up to her former friends. "Hey girls, that's enough!"

"Oh, look who it is." 1J9G grinned sneakily.

"You finally come to give us a hand?" 2F8D asked.

"You could say that." Lapis smiled before she spawned a pair of water hands from below, and used them to flick 1J9G and 2F8D away.

"Did she just do that?" 2F8D said, recoiling from the attack.

"Yeah, she did." 1J9G replied as she got an idea. "So, you can make hands, huh?" she said as she and her beleaguered partner formed a water hand of their own. "Okay if we try?"

The giant hand slapped Lapis away towards Steven, who summoned his shield to catch her and protect himself from the water. "Lapis," Steven cried. "are you okay?"

"I'm okay, just stay out of this!" Lapis demanded Steven before she flew back up and sprouted another pair of water wings that she turned into fists. "DORARARARARARARARARARARARA!" She yelled while unleashing her fury on 1J9G. "DORA!"

1J9G was thrust out of the sky and almost crashed onto the ground, until 2F8D caught her with a water hand.

"You alright?" 2F8D said sympathetically.

"I'm fine, you big baby." 1J9G growled and rubbed her head just as Lapis tried to restrain the two with chains made of water, but were nimbly dodged. "Water chains?"

"You really need to stop teaching us these wet new things!" 2F8D giggled, invoking another angry glare from 1J9G, before they created chains of their own to restrain Lapis and pin her to the cliff face.

"Lapis!" Steven cried for his Beach Summer Fun Buddy.

"We really gotta hand it to you." 2F8D said. "This new stuff you're showing us isn't actually useless."

Once again, the Lapides created a sawblade. But this time, instead of chopping a mountain in two, they had darker intentions for it. The blade was tossed straight at the seemingly powerless Lapis, and Steven couldn't help but watch.

"OH NO!" Steven yelled. But suddenly, the saw stopped right in front of Lapis's face and was reduced back into droplets as the earth shook around everyone. Water from all around began to surround her, washing over the other terraformers along the way as Lapis formed a massive watery figure wielding a harpoon around her.

"WHO'S DULL NOW?!" Lapis boomed, terrifying 2F8D into hugging 1J9G for protection while Lapis prepared to land the killing blow. "WHO'S PITIFUL NOW?!"

However, when Lapis turned to Steven with a sadistic grin, his disappointed expression made her realize what she's become. After the water figure fell apart, Lapis returned to the cliff's edge in exhaustion.

"You okay?" Steven asked while having one of the Flower Buddies in his arms.

"I'm fine." Lapis answered as the Buddy jumped into her embrace. "Sorry about losing control there."

As the water receded, the Lapides sat there stunned as Steven and Lapis flew down to face them.

"It's over now." Lapis declared to her ex-friends. "No more fighting. Okay?"

"Fine by me." 1J9G said with a smirk.

"Yeah, that was so wet back there!" 2F8D smiled earnestly, with Lapis giving her a confused stare this time.

"And no more terraforming too. Promise?" Lapis suggested.

"Oh, we'll do anything you say now!" 2F8D exclaimed cheerfully.

"After that ridiculous show of strength, we're at your command!" 1J9G added.

"No, that wasn't strength!" Lapis said hotly. "That was weakness! Patience takes strength; restraint takes strength!" Before Lapis could finish, she just decided to stop and walked away. "And I don't have the strength to deal with you anymore."

Before he could follow Lapis, Steven fished some brochures from his jacket pocket that he handed to the Lapides. "Here, have some Little Homeschool brochures. In case you change your mind." He offered before walking off after her.

--

After Steven and Lapis left Aozul 2, 1J9G and 2F8D sat on a rock reading through the brochures Steven gave them. While 2F8D was growing interested in the opportunities Little Homeschool had for her, 1J9G wasn't amused.

"So what, it's not just dancing and singing like Pearls?" 1J9G complained. "We have to do all this other junk too? This totally goes against what we were made for!"

"Yeah, but as Steven said, we can do whatever we want now!" 2F8D exclaimed as she pointed at some of the activities. "Like, gardening, for example! Isn't that wet?"

"Stop trying to make 'wet' happen!" 1J9G yelled. "It's never going to happen!"

After having her attempts at a catchphrase ruined, 2F8D clenched her fist and worked up some courage to tell her so-called friend the truth. "Hey, Little Homeschool also gives us opportunities to make new friends outside of our old castes. And I mean actual friends, not Gems who relentlessly pick on you for the stupidest of things."

"Is this about our bond?" 1J9G growled. "I'm totally your friend! I just have a different way of expressing it!"

"Yeah, well, Steven treats 3E8C with some level of respect and kindness!" 2F8D argued back. "You ever heard of either of those terms before?"

"This isn't funny Two-Eff." 1J9G growled. "We are not going to that stupid school. And you will stick with me, no matter what! End. Of. Discussion!"

However, 1J9G realized a bit too late that 2F8D had already left her, and was already racing to the Warp Pad with one of the Flower Buddies under her arm.

"Sorry One-Jay, but I'm going off to learn how to be nice to people!" 2F8D said rapidly before the Warp Pad took her away from Aozul 2. "OKAY, BYYYYYEEE!"

And so, 1J9G was left utterly alone on the blue-colored moon. Alone and positively furious. As she began angrily chopping down trees with her powers, a black dropship slowly dropped into Aozul's atmosphere.

--

Night fell by the time Steven and Lapis finally returned to Little Homeschool. Still guilty for giving in to her anger, Lapis sat forlornly on the Warp Pad, only for Steven to seat himself next to her.

"I wish I hadn't done that." Lapis moaned. "They just reminded me so much of myself, and how I acted in the past. All high and mighty with no regard for anyone but myself."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Steven gave his blue friend a comforting smile. "You've grown a lot since I first broke you out of that mirror, but everything takes time. It's not your fault those two are still stuck in their ways."

As Lapis smiled back, the Warp Pad activated once again. This time, 2F8D stood behind them, and a Flower Buddy peeked from behind her. "Hey, is this that school you were talking about?" 2F8D asked sheepishly. "One-Jay and I had a disagreement, so now I want to learn what real friends are like."

The Flower Buddy stepped up from behind 2F8D and nuzzled itself on Lapis's leg. "I also brought this little guy along as a way of saying sorry." 2F8D continued. "Hope you like him."

"I love him." Lapis said as she picked the Buddy up. "Thanks Zuli."

"Zuli?" the Lapis now known as Zuli asked.

"Yeah, 2F8D might be hard to remember." Lapis explained. "Just came up with that nickname off the top of my head. You like it?"

"I love it!" Zuli cheered. "So, when can I start school?"

"Doesn't matter." Steven answered.

"Yeah, welcome to Earth." Lapis responded.

--

Back on Aozul 2, 1J9G continued terraforming the little moon to vent her stress, leaving a trail of fallen trees and small dirt canyons in her wake.

"I can't believe that freckled clod just ditched me like that!" 1J9G shrieked furiously. "She just fell for that kid's games, and then ran off!" Amid her ranting, the curly-haired Lapis began to cry. "Is this how he gets his sick kicks, just tearing apart friendships like that?! I'm gonna make him pay for stealing my friends when I find him again!"

Just then, some of the trees 1J9G didn't chop down started rustling, frightening her. "Who's there?" she began panicking. "Did you realize you made a huge mistake and come crawling back to me?"

However, 1J9G realized she wasn't talking to 2F8D. Instead, a large, grey hand with a white topaz on the back emerged from the foliage, and reached out for her.

--

Ominous, isn't it?! This was real great to write, especially since as mentioned above, Why so Blue is my favorite episode of Future. Hope you liked how I expanded on the Lapises and their backstory, and are excited for what I got next. Because on the next chapter of Steven Universe: Alternate Future, we aren't moving onto Little Graduation, that's the start of Part 2. Instead, we get onto cut content territory with Rhodonite's backstory at last. In the meantime, I'd really like this series to get mentioned on TV Tropes like my other written works.

[askundeadbluelesbians]

17!

Describe or write a really fluffy scene!

Book Club for Two

OTP Ask Game here!

Vicky was waiting in the library, rereading before this session of book club was set to begin. Oz had called out sick earlier that day and thus couldn’t attend. This meant that for the next forty minutes after the final bell rang for the day, she and Polly Geist would be… alone.

Why was she nervous? She knew Oz liked her and her and Damien… well, her and Damien are kinda complicated right now, but still, she shouldn’t feel nervous. Besides, she and Oz have been a two-member club since its inception back in Freshman year. This shouldn’t be a nerve-wracking issue.

… So why is it when it comes to Polly? Vicky’s thoughts were interrupted when she head the familiar sound of entire bookshelves rattling as they were being phased through, all the quicker for Polly to reach their little nook in the library.

“Hey, Boo~!” Polly greeted, sitting down in the chair next to Vicky. “Where’s Oz?”

“He’s sick. Some sort of Fear Flu or something,” Vicky answered. “So… I guess it’s just gonna be us this week.” Polly just nodded, trying hard to not smirk in that moment.

“Alright. So, I was thinking that we could try reading another book this week,” Polly suggested.

“Uhh… we’re still not done with the last book yet.”

“I know, I know. However, since it’s just gonna be us girls this week, I figured we get into some real girl talk.” Polly then took out two books, handing one copy to Vicky and keeping the other for herself. Dragon Heat it was called.

“Did… did you plan this?” Vicky asked.

“Eh, I’ve been keeping this in my bag for a while. Waiting for the right opportunity, so to speak,” Polly answered with a giggle.

“So what’s it about?” Vicky asked, observing the hardcover, a pair of Draconian lovers on what appeared to be a ship, one roaring a proud roar as they held a cutlace in his hand, the other embracing them from behind. There was a tagline above the title. “The only thing that burns hotter than the dragon's flame… is his heart.”

“It actually started as a fanfic of… what was it? Alluring Adversity? The author, L.E. Jones, turned it from a dark college romance to a thrilling fantasy adventure erotica. Then she felt the need to publish it and turn everyone into dragons.”

“Oh! I’ve read Alluring Adversity! Honestly, not one of the best romance series I’ve read,” Vicky added.

“Honestly, same. Dragon Heat blows its source material completely out of the fucking water, ironically!” Polly gushed. “Go on; read the first chapter. Tell me what you think.”

“Alright… I’m interested,” Vicky giggled, opening the book herself, reading the first page. Polly just looked on as she did so, watching Vicky’s face gradually shift from one of curiosity to one of intrigue. Polly noticed something right then: that spark. Vicky always had a spark in her eyes.

This girl, so passionate about everything she threw herself into, as far as Polly knew. This girl was on just about every school club here: from International Film to Improv, from Debate to Drama, from Gaming to Gardening, from Anime to Art History, from Foreign Language to Future Engineers… Polly could barely list them all. How does one girl have time for so many extracurriculars?

Maybe it was that same determination that kept her on top of the Honor Roll every year, that kept her GPA at a 5.0 (a rarity for Spooky High students), that allowed her to be an absolutely amazing person to be around… Somehow, despite the fact that she no longer had veins for blood to flow through, Polly felt her face become hot at the thought of this girl in front of her.

What… what was this?! She never felt this way about anyone, not even when she was alive! And yet…

“Uhh… Polly?” Vicky was able to snap Polly out of her trance with her words. Polly just blinked and shook her head.

“Y-Yeah?” she asked. Polly saw a similar blush on Vicky’s cheeks, the book open but face-down. Either she managed to get through Chapter 1 really quickly, or Polly was staring at and thinking about her for a long time. Polly silently reminded herself to drink whatever just came over her away.

“This is good,” Vicky said simply. “I wasn’t expecting a sex scene right out the gate, but… whoa!”

“Now you know what I wanted to bring this just for the two of us?” Polly asked with a smirk, placing her arm around the shorter girl. “Not that I don’t think Oz could handle this, but… let’s be honest: he’d probably faint after reading the first page.”

“H-Hey! … That’s probably true, but hey! Don’t be so mean to Oz…!” Vicky giggled, Polly joining along. These two were especially close now, noses nearly an inch away from each other. Both sat in silence before Vicky gently pried herself away. “So…”

“So?”

“Same time next week? I need to reread the chapter on my own, for a more in depth analysis,” Vicky suggested. Polly had a sneaking suspicion as to what, “a more in depth analysis,” meant, and that suspicion led to a smirk appearing on her face.

“Yeah. Same time next week.” Vicky just got up and sped-walked away, likely to attend one of her countless other clubs. Polly’s smirk only grew wider, having managed to convert another classmate of hers into becoming a fan of the book series she liked.

Still, though, Polly was extra happy for Vicky becoming a fan. Why was that? And why did she seemingly spend the majority of the hour staring at and thinking about her? Eh, nothing a swig of her favorite toilet wine wouldn’t solve. Either she’d come to a realization or she’d forget about it altogether. Either way, it was a win-win.

[keiratheraven]

Bentley 8 Squad: Forgive and Heal

(I dedicated this post for this October AKA Mental Health Awareness month)

Every member of the Bentley 8 Squad has a dark past. All of them were problematic in their late teen or early young adult years.

Angela Pleasant (Bentley Queen). The miss “perfect”. She was a queen bee, cheerleader captain, honor student, and the girl squad leader. Her parents (Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant) put pressure on her to be the flawless daughter. She dedicated herself to become “The Perfect Princess”, but actually she thinks she’ll never be good enough. But she didn’t tell anyone about her battle with Bulimia, and no one believed her when she said there’s something wrong with her body. Everyone just said it’s just bad cramps, nothing more. Then she was diagnosed with Endometriosis at age 19. Although she was surrounded by many people, No one understands her pain and struggles. She's pursuing a master's degree in psychology from Sim State and has the ambition to become a psychologist, but her conditions keep restraining her.

Lilith Pleasant (Bentley Gothic). The black sheep of the family. Daniel and Mary-Sue favored Angela over her and abused her. They didn’t teach her to talk, walk, and use the toilet. They blamed her for everything. They liked to and slap and yell at her. She and Angela also hated each other and they’re always fighting every day. One time, Lilith ran away from their house because she couldn’t take it anymore. But eventually, the police found her and took her home. Since then, Daniel and Mary-Sue treat her better and Angela apologized to her, but later on, she was diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. She pours all her emotions into arts and music, then took the art major at Sim State because her dream is to become a rock singer and illustrator at once. But her fluctuating moods and her addiction to self-harm make her questioning the future.

Dustin Broke (Bentley Rogue). The delinquent criminal. The death of his father and the way he died made him mad at the world. He took over his late father’s position as the man of the house and eventually became a criminal to support his family. But his mother became an alcoholic who liked to beat him up and throw an open bottle of alcohol at him. He also has substance abuse after he became a drug dealer. One time when he was in his college dorm at Foxbury, he sent Gordon King into boiling rage after he told him that he spent the drug-selling money for gambling besides his tuition, and Gordon beat the shit out of him mindlessly. Because of his drug addiction, he was diagnosed with Mild Schizophrenia. Sometimes, he thinks he’s already wasted. He doesn’t get enough sleep every night and always looking at the ceiling while he lies on the bed.

Dirk Dreamer (Bentley Brain). The genius, nerdy guy. He always put a good effort to do well in his life. He was an honor student in high school. But the death of his mother really shocked him, and his grades took a downfall. Eventually, he rose to make his late mother proud and his grades back to the top. Although he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 16, he keeps studying hard and he got a scholarship to Sims University Medical School. He became the assistant lecturer of Dr. Worthington. But, not everyone admires him. The son of Dr. Worthington named Dr. Mark punched him hard when he was alone after finishing a class. He said that Dirk will never take over his place as a devoted medical student in their faculty because his father kept comparing him with Dirk. Dirk keeps it to himself and he never told Dr. Worthington. Although he wants to become a psychiatrist to recover his beloved seven friends, He almost gave up as a doctor because of his illness. He muses about it every night when he's alone because he has to act as a strong, resilient young doctor in front of everyone.

Ophelia Nigmos (Bentley Flower). The mysterious and anxious girl who was desperate for a family. Her parents died when she was ten, and she was raised by an (allegedly) murderer aunt. She was haunted by many ghosts in her near-graveyard house, and Aunt Olive wasn’t the nicest person to be around with. She liked to scold her over the smallest things. She was cold and indifferent to her. One time, she humiliated Ophelia in front of her high school. Many people looked at them, but Ophelia couldn’t do anything to hide the shame. It caused her to have Anxiety and Paranoid personality disorders. Because of this, Ophelia is always anxious when she has to talk in front of many people, so she dreamed to become a novelist and songwriter. Eventually, Aunt Olive died when she was attending La Fiesta Tech. Ophelia mourned her death, but the wounds that Olive gave to her aren’t easy to forget.

Puck Summerdream (Bentley Fancy). The lucky fairy guy who was adopted by loving parents and also a kid sister. He didn’t want to get involved with Capp-Monty feuds in Veronaville and always be kind to them. He also had a crush on Hermia Capp, who became his girlfriend after they kissed for the first time at Puck’s party. But Mercutio Monty didn’t like it and got mad at them. The next day, he beat Puck's ass and took his money at the schoolyard. "That’s for stealing my girlfriend", he said. Puck hid his feelings and cried when he got home. Later on, he attended Academie Le Tour with Hermia. He took double majors: music and mathematics cause his dream is to become a classical musician. But, a tragedy struck. Hermia got shot in a mass shooting and died when she was buying heart medications for Puck. Puck fell into a Major Depression, and his heart condition got worse. Years have passed, but he couldn’t forget her despite many women want him.

Ripp Grunt (Bentley Clown). The tragic hyperactive joker. His mother died when he was eleven, and he was raised by the disciplined-yet-abusive General Buzz Grunt. Buzz liked to punch him when he didn’t obey him, and his brother, Tank Grunt, used him as his punching bag. One time, Tank threatened him to tell Buzz about Ripp’s bisexuality just because Tank didn’t like that Ripp partnered with his crush, Anna, at the school lab. But Ripp never showed his real feelings, except for Ophelia and Johnny. He smiled, joked, and laughed a lot, but actually, deep down he’s crying. He cries a lot and is also tortured by loneliness when he’s alone, but he keeps hiding his feelings by “The Funny Guy” mask. Despite the abuse of his father and brother, Ripp has the talent to entertain others by acting, singing, and play the guitar, so he took the drama major at Britechester. He suffers from ADHD, and gastritis caused by the longtime stress of the abuse. He misses his mom so much and always musing about her.

Johnny Smith (Bentley Leader). The carefree green guy. He was happy. Being the “normal” family in “abnormal” alien descent made him proud of his heritage. Despite having green skin, Johnny was so confident. He’s a sporty jock guy who likes to exercise, play soccer or basketball. He tried so hard to fit in at his high school and every surrounding. His neighbors see him no differently, except Buzz and Tank Grunt. He and Tank always fighting with each other in high school, but it didn’t affect Johnny’s happy life. Then, one night changed everything. When he was 18 and attending as a freshman at La Fiesta Tech, he got attacked by nine people and stabbed on his abdomen due to a hate crime against alien sims. When his blood ran down, the culprits threw him into the smelly and filthy dumpster. He fell into a coma, but luckily for him to have alien blood, he recovered very quickly and regained consciousness after five days. But since then, he has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. He got Minor Depression and having suicidal thoughts as well.

However, everything gets better when all of them get together. They’re having medical treatments for their mental and physical condition, counseling, and group therapies. They’re completing each other and have special bonds. Their stories might be different, but that’s what makes them united besides their love for Bentley cars. Together, they learn to be stronger, nicer, wiser and be a better person. They also want to recover from their past traumas through medications and strong friendships.

In the end, they learn to let go and forgive everything in their pasts. They realized it’s useless to blame themselves, and everything happens for a reason. Because the past doesn’t define who they are. Trauma might be hard, but eventually, they have to face them instead of avoiding them. That’s the meaning of growing up, healing the wounded souls, and moving on. They never stopped chasing their dreams despite their disabilities and keep supporting each other just like a real family.

And it was an early fall in Bridgeport, Sim City. At the anniversary of their establishment of Bentley 8 and Im-perfection community, they decided to go to a resort. They had some fun there. Angela made grilled salmon and cheesesteak for their lunch. Johnny and Dirk played soccer. Meanwhile, Ripp, Dustin, Ophelia, Lilith, and Puck roasted some marshmallows. When they are together, They’re creating memories because tomorrow is never guaranteed. But, no matter what happens tomorrow, they are grateful to still have each other.

"The past can't haunt me if I don't let it

Live and learn and never forget it

Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

Learn to let go, learn to let go

Learn to let go" - Kesha, 2017