#i want other peoples' luck SO BADLY i want to cry

[thingswhatareawesome]

i hate you stellar warp, i hate you i hate you i hate you i fucking HATE you

[after-hours-in-the-library]

Guess I got to start this blog somewhere

How would they react to waking up with a boner next to you 

For some reason I can't really write lighthearted things for Alan, sigh

Not really nsfw but kinda suggestive?

If earth could swallow them they would accept it in a heartbeat. 

Poor sweet Kaito is the first one I think that would accidentally get too excited to be sleeping next to his SO and get hard. He is already suffering, don't look at him disgusted, he WILL cry.

Luca is startled like it's the first time happening, apologizing for putting you in an awkward situation. Pat his shoulder and tell him it's alright.

Alan still has some kind of complex of seeing himself as too worn out, a killer and a criminal, and in contrast seeing his partner in a much better light. When he gets hard while sleeping together he almost feels like when he is cleaned the blood off of his fists after an underground fight, whatever rag he grabbed now tainted too.

Sweet baby Subaru feels oh, so bad at the slightest feeling he might be imposing himself on you at any point, be it date plans, shared activities or what to eat for dinner. He removes himself out of the  situation and sends a three paragraph long text apologizing and understanding if you want to break up and not see him anymore.

Doesn't make a big deal out it if you don't react badly

Sho reads books, even if it doesn't look like it, and knows that morning wood usually doesn't happen because of sexual stimuli. Sho also gets a bit bashful at having woken next to you like that, tsk-ing at your teases while he looks away.

‘boys are just like that' Haku might cover with a pillow if you feel uncomfortable or awkward but he will be cracking jokes about the situation to lighten up the mood.

Is like ‘whatever’ and doesn't do anything to hide it

Jin, as nonchalant as ever, doesn't think much about it, he might go to the bathroom and fix his problem if you fuss a bit but otherwise he will stay lying down listening to music.

Towa is a free spirit and rarely cares about morals or common decency, doing as he pleases most of the time, it's no wonder he looks curious when you get surprised at the tent in his pants.

Ed decides it isn't that big of a deal, when you live for so long some insecurities and things you get embarrassed about start mattering less and less. 

Even if Subaru did his best teaching him, Lyca doesn't understand many human sensibilities, like not smelling people or yelling when someone talks smack, it's no wonder he almost seems surprised at your reaction 

Makes you feel like you are the weird one for even noticing 

Leo, the little bitch he always is, will find a way to make it awkward, be it saying you are a perv for looking far down to accuse you of planning it.

Ren is a somewhat mixed case bc on one hand he makes you feel like the weirdo ‘why are you so interested in my groin. Sexual harassment’ but on the other he is internally crying at how awkward it's.

Good luck even getting into that situation 

If you think you can catch Thoma off guard nice try —at least so early into the relationship— he prides himself in being able to act the part of a gentleman so even if it happened you wouldn't wake up or even notice.

Haru is too tired, too busy and doesn't have enough time to cuddle with you to sleep.

Can Zenji even get an erection?

Good luck getting Rui comfortable enough with getting close to sleep next to each other.

[derangedanomaly]

could you do bad sanses and star sanses who’s s/o is a skeleton monster as well:3

btw hope your having a good day:D

Hii! I am having a swell day! :D hope you're also having a good day! As for the request, I decided to do a little spin on it.

The reader is dead, and you're magically brought to life. (A little like in Corpse Bride).

Decided to cut this up into two parts! The next part will be: Error, Dream, Ink, Swap

Part 2

Their s/o is a skeleton (PART 1)

(Nightmare, Killer, Dust, Horror)

Nightmare:

He doesn't really care in the beginning, cause..like, he met more than thousand of skeletons before. Why would you be any special??

Would act like you're never even there. 😭

After one day of having enough, he tries to get some negative feelings out of you. But...you know...this proves to be difficult, cause you're always very cheerful!

It bothers him immensely, won't stop trying to get you in a bad mood.

But he just can't succeed. (Bummer)

This changes when he finds out that you're a skeleton... because you're dead.

His reaction is to be expected. He immediately reacts by smirking widely. (More like, creepily 😭)

Now he has a way to get negative feelings out of you. (Good luck with that by the way)

Your relationship is very...angsty. At the start. He's just using you to get some negativity, and you hate him for that. How lovely! :)

You actually can't take it anymore, so you snap at him for the first time that y'all know each other. This particular moment, is actually what makes him simp respect you.

Look, he just has a type for people that deny him or stand up to him. (Since no one really did it before, out of fear)

He became a little vulnerable when it came to you from that point onward.

He actually tries to help you out to understand some of the skeleton magic. (He's really just showing off though. Wants you to be impressed by him 💀)

You two act like an 'old married couple.' As Killer states.

Since you weren't born as a skeleton, but became one after you died, you were much more fragile...you would find yourself being wrapped around Nightmare's tentacles, so he can heal your injuries. (Mostly broken bones.)

Unfortunately, Nightmare very much forgets this fact very often...so he'll be frustrated with your fragile self almost every time.

Nightmare went up to you in anger, his tentacles furiously moving on his back. "I told you to cut off Ink! Not laze around." You furrow your gaze at him, starting to feel irritated. He knew you were physically unable to do so in your current health condition, yet he still shouts at you?! "Oh no no no Nightmare. You're blaming me?!" He rolled his eyes, staring you down. "Yes, of course. Who else would fuck this mission up as badly as you?!" You let out a low huff, cooking up a plan. Oh this is gonna be golden. "Nightmare...h-how could you say that...?" Nightmare's gaze suddenly changed as you let out crying sounds. He didn't know what to say now...it was.............awkward.. for him, I mean. "Uhm...damn, I really didn't expected that reaction from someone like you..umm....are..you.? Ok..?" You almost let out a small laugh at his quiet question. How very uncharacteristic of him. You shake your head, slowly looking up at him. "No...no. I'M NOT FUCKING OK!" He flinched when you suddenly shouted, pointing at him. "FUCK YOU, AND YOUR EMO ASS!" You stomped your way away from him, leaving him stunned, to go treat your injuries.

He should feel angry at you for shouting at him like that. He should already be making a punishment for you, but...he did neither of those things. The only thing he did, is stood there. A turquoise blush started to slowly appear on his face as he watched you tend to your injuries, with Dust on your side helping you out. He couldn't help the next thought that came to him as he watched you, little hearts appearing in his eye sockets instead of his white pupils. So this is love?

Killer:

Oh. You're also a skeleton? Cool.

He doesn't really know how to feel about that at first. He also thinks that you're just another Sans. 🤷‍♀️

After he finds out that you're not, his interest is 10 times more peaked then ever.

If you're not sensitive about the topic, he will ask thousands of questions about how being dead works.

Since he's a gamer at heart, he will make some silly jokes about you being like the skeletons in Minecraft. 💀 (Partially forgetting he's also a skeleton.)

He can't stand you doing anything that requires strength. Not because he's frustrated with you, but because the little playboy is very worried for you. 🥺

Literally WON'T let you even open a very tight jar.

He's like your little servant. (If you want, he'll even let you call him that. He's just freaky like that you know.)

He's partially helping you with everything just so he can show off his strength to you. He wants to make you swoon over him.

Whenever you're sad, he'll make it his mission to make you laugh. (Which works. He's good at making people laugh. Most of the time..)

You both just tease the other. Seeing who'll back out first. (None of you do. Lol.)

He's always demanding for you two to be paired together on missions. He reasoning is always like, 'I want you close to me' or 'I don't want to be paired up with anyone else besides you.' but that's only half of the truth.

He's doing this because he wants to keep a close eye on you. Wants to make sure you're safe.

Look, he once saw what injuries you had when you broke your bones for the first time, he doesn't wanna experience that again.

"Alright... Changing to blue!" Killer groaned as he took another card from the deck. You were seated on the couch, playing Uno. And you were winning! There's no way Killer can win, you have only one card in your hand, and he has-! Wait...oh SHOOT! You didn't say Uno! "Hah! You didn't say the word..~ take one." Killer pointed to the deck of cards as you sighed. "Whatever. I've got this anyway!" You beamed. Killer only looked at you with curious gaze.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"I never lose, cupcake." You hummed at the nickname, not refusing the pinkish blush appearing on your cheeks. "Me neither!" Killer's smirk made you suddenly nervous..what is he planning? You hope he doesn't have some trick up his sleeves.... really, he's kinda stupid..but not when he's playing games! It could be any type of game, and he'll win with passing colors. You didn't even know what to do to win against him at least once.

"W-What? What's with your smirk?" Killer shrugged. "It's nothing...why? Scared~?" You snorted, and let out nervous laughs. "Hah! You're kidding? Pfft..no..just.... why are you smirking...?" He couldn't help but laugh at your sheepishness. "Nothing.. really....I just like looking at you. I like playing games with you. You make playing them fun." You couldn't help the blush forming on your face. "....thank you, Killer...I also like playing games with you. Your overconfidence is very attractive." Killer suddenly stopped what he was doing, which was drinking, and spit out the said drink. He wasn't expecting that. And now... he's the one flustered.

Unfortunately, he didn't noticed your successful win in his dreamy daze...

Dust:

He doesn't pay you much mind. He knows too much skeletons to handle another one...

He views you just as a stupid joker that will only make his life more miserable....until he finds out you weren't born as a skeleton, but became a skeleton after you died.

His opinions about you didn't changed much. He just became less harsh with you.

He does feel very interested in the details of how does one even become a skeleton..but feels shy to outright ask you. Especially if you're sensitive about that topic! He would never ever wish to make you uncomfortable!

He starts to try to talk to you after he finds out that Horror trusts you. If Horror trusts you, then you can't be a stick in the mud or anything like that? Right?

You guys actually have a very pleasant conversation. You find his journalling cute, which he curses you for. 'He's not cute damn it!' yes he is. He very much is.

He panicked the first time he saw your broken bones after a mission. He'll ask you tons of questions about what happened, while patching you up like an angry/worried mom.

After that, he doesn't let you do everything alone. He has to supervise if something bad happens! (Just an excuse to hang out with you more)

He often likes to test out some 'gadgets' he makes specifically for you, to stable your fragility. Some kinda help, but some don't help at all.

He has a journal titled 'Y/n'. At first, like usual, he writes about your powers... species etc.. but after awhile of getting to know you, it slowly shifts to writing about trivial things, that he doesn't normally writes in his journals..

Things like: your favorite color, drink,...your ideal date. (don't ask him why that's an important information.)

You sit on a chair, watching as Killer and Horror play a game. It was getting pretty heated, until you felt a hand tap you. You turn around, only to be met with Dust's chest. You pause, cursing under your breath, until finally shifting your gaze upwards on his face.

Dust shyly smiles down at you. "Hey..." You nod at him. "Hi." There's an awkward silence for awhile, until he finally speaks. "Uhm. So, Horror told me how nice you are... so I decided to give you a chance to prove yourself... Prove to me that you're not like the other skeletons." You slightly gulped, staring at him with confusion. "Ok.. so..what? You wanna play 20 questions?" He nodded, sitting down next to you. And so...your little game began.

The questions were quite normal. Ranging from 'What's your favorite color?' to 'Favorite animal?'. Dust suddenly asked you a question that made you pause for a bit..

"Do you have a significant other?" You blinked up at him.. thinking it over. "No...I don't. No one really made me interested, you know? Besides... I'm a little romantic in these sort of things! Heh..." Dust looked at you, curious. "Oh? We're your fantasies unfulfilled?" You slowly nodded at his question in embarrassment...

"I just want to be given flowers romantically, finding little romantic notes on my table from my secret admirer.... I know that it's a little fairytale-like. But I just like the thought of that..." Dust hummed, looking off to the side.

—

You get up from your bed as you hear knocking on your door. Nightmare couldn't possibly be requesting you for a mission at this hour?! You open the door, only to be met with Dust's eyes. You smile at him, relief washing over you to find out it's not Nightmare... "Dust? What're you doing here so late at night?" He smiled softly at you, blushing. He suddenly showed you a beautiful banquet of your favorite flowers! He held them out to you. You took them from his hands, feeling touched at this gesture. "Huh..? Dust.. what's all this for?" He smiled. "Do you remember when you told me about your romantic fantasies that were unfulfilled?" Ah yes. It was a little way back..you smiled at the thought. "You...did this for me?" Dust, yet again smiled and patted your head. "Anything for you... Sleep well, princess." You were left there with the biggest blush on your face. No fair Dust! You looked at the flowers again, smiling warmly, until getting inside your room.

You placed the flowers in a vase, and put it on your table. As you did this, a letter suddenly appeared on your table. You jump a little, not expecting that. You took the letter in your hands, reading it. It was a love poem, written for you! At the very bottom of the letter is signed: 'Your secret admirer'. You hug the letter in giddiness. He didn't forget...

Of course he didn't. How could he...when he has it written down in his journal. ;)

Horror:

He's... interested, to say the least. Horror always felt like something is different about you, call it a sixth sense or something, but he just somehow knew you weren't a 100% pure skeleton. (You smelled different 💀)

That's why he kept following you around... You found it quite cute, but from other people's perspective...it was.. terrifying.

He was like your own guard dog.

You tried making conversations with him, but he would never respond.

He did watch you closely while you talked.. but it was really like if you were talking to yourself.

It kinda seemed like he never listened to you, but truth be told, he did listen. Just never responded.

He was never much for talking anyways. He's a good listener though! 👍

He panicked when he heard your bones break the first time. And when I mean panic.... I mean he went absolutely bonkers.

After that, whenever you were on missions he sat you on his shoulders. (I HC that out of all the sanses, Horror's the tallest)

This slowly became a normal occurrence to you. You would be standing somewhere, he would come and sit you on his shoulders.

I mean...you didn't complain. 🤷‍♀️

You were talking with Horror about your day, as he watched you with that smile of his. Wait... he's probably not listening. He's not listening...you probably bore him. Now you feel bad.. you're wasting his time..You slowly stopped talking after awhile, glancing down. Horror looked at you in confusion.

"Something..the matter..?" He carefully put his hand on your shoulder. You sighed, looking up at him once again. "No.. it's just.....It doesn't really seem like you ever listen to me...I feel like I'm only wasting your time with this, sorry.. I'll just go now-" as you were about to run away, he stopped you, holding your hand. "Wait..!" You looked at him curiously. He looked really sad..

"...I...." No words were coming out of him, as he felt shy under your gaze. He inhaled a deep breath, and then exhaled. "..please..don't...leave..." He coughs a little to make himself stop talking so slowly. "This is...all I'm....waiting for...at the end...of the day.....Y/n..." You feel touched by his words. "I'm always...listening....to you...I love your voice.." it took everything in you to not burst out into tears.

You went up to him and hugged him. "Aww! Horror....I thought you're never listening to me! Thank you.." Horror blushed red, but smiled, enjoying your hugs. He returned your hugs with a smile similar to a puppy..

He's surely going to try engaging in your conversations now! He doesn't ever want to see that broken expression on your face again..not when he's around.

[wrathofrats]

16 for the angst prompts pleasee (maybe mountain dew?)

-☀️🌙

… I’m so sorry

This turned into 1.2k words of me deep diving into dew’s insecurities. Y’all keep telling me to hurt that fire ghoul and I sadly have more than enough to deliver.

Hope you enjoy!

“He’s just been extra sensitive recently.”

It sounds like rain from what dew can make out through the door.

“I know. He’s just been harsh.”

That was definitely mountain. Were they talking about him?

“I don’t think he means it. Just been rough for him”

“Yeah but it’s getting hard to be around. He’s been mean rain, more than he usually is”

Usually is?

“I know. I’ll talk to him. He’s just in a funk I’m sorry”

“You don’t have to be sorry. You’re not the problem, dew needs to figure himself out”

So they were talking about him.

“I agree, trust me. Just cut him some slack ok?”

“Fine”

He hears the doorknob turn and he quickly darts in the direction of his own room.

Had he really been that badly recently? Sure he’s usually blunt and likes to mess around, but *mean*? Has he really been mean to everyone? To mountain?

The questions race through his head as he sits on the ground in his room. He doesn’t try to be mean. He doesn’t try to hurt anyone, the thought of being genuinely malicious to those he loves makes him feel sick. He knows no matter how much guilt he may feel or whatever his intentions actually were, they don’t excuse the effect they’ve apparently had.

He tries to suck it up and stop wallowing in his own pity. He wants to make it up to mountain, and whoever else is thinking the same thing as him, because surely everyone else is right? Dew doesn’t feel right with himself.

He starts with the greenhouse. He brings up the fresh mulch from storage that mountains been talking about needing to retrieve, and quickly refills his watering can before mountain comes to start his work.

“Droplet, did you do this?” Mountain asks. Dew doesn’t like the tone of confusion in his voice, like he would never expect dew of all people to help out. But he nods anyways and retreats back to his room.

The next day dew makes mountain his coffee alongside is. Wakes up 15 minutes early to be able to beat him downstairs.

“I made you coffee since I was awake, just how I know you like it.” Dew offers him a nonchalant smile. He tries hard to not seem like he’s going out of his way to be so kind. He hopes that the others will maybe just think he’s finally changed his ways, become better.

“Dew, can I ask if something’s wrong” mountain stares down into his coffee in confusion.

“What? No. Nothings wrong with your coffee. It’s just a kind gesture” dew rolls his eyes. Mountain didn’t think this was some elaborate prank did he?

“No, is there something wrong with you droplet” mountains eyes held genuine concern.

“Why would there be?”

Mountain doesn’t know how to phrase it. Doesn’t like the weight of the words on his tongue, but tries to say them anyways.

“You’ve just been … overly kind recently. Did something happen? I just want to know if you’re alright”

The slam of dews ceramic coffee cup echos off of the kitchen walls. He knew this would happen, he should’ve expected it.

“Why do you think something’s wrong with me when I’m nice? You wanted me to be nicer and now something’s wrong with me?” His voice is higher than he wants it to be.

“Dew no, that’s not what I meant-“

“I heard what you told rain. I’m sorry I just wanted to do better for you” he doesn’t want to cry. He is anyways. He again prayed that mountain would just take his kindness and forgive him and they could move on but he’s never had that kind of good luck before, why would he now?

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was frustrated and was venting and I never wanted you to hear that.”

Dew hiccups around his words. He’s embarrassed, never likes to show this much emotion. He’s always been the emotional one and he hates it more than words can ever describe.

“But you said it for a reason. Just let me change. I just want you all to love me I’ll change I’m sorry I’ll do better” his words slur together. His wipes his face with his sleeve and tries so hard to be composed though he knows he can’t be. Not like this.

“You don’t need to change dewdrop. We don’t want you to change. I’m sorry, you didn’t need to hear any of that. I didn’t mean it.” Mountain tries his best to plea with him, but he knows this about more than a stupid conversation behind closed doors.

“I do need to change. I need you all to love me like you do each other. Please” he can’t stop the words from tumbling out if his mouth. Years of pent up insecurities and he’s ashamed for how easy he’s letting them all go.

“We do love you dew, we love each other all equally, what is this about?”

“You don’t treat me the same” the words are choked, they’re barely coherent. “No one gives me the same affection as everyone else and I don’t get it. I just want to be loved like everyone else is”

“Oh dew, we do love you. I’m sorry if we made you feel otherwise. Why didn’t you say something?” Mountains abandoned his coffee now in favor of trying to rest his hand on dews shoulder but it’s quickly batted away. He’s concerned, almost scared at the way dew is practically sobbing, almost hyperventilating.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you how I feel. If I deserved love I would’ve gotten it already” he finally yells, sobs around his words. He collapses on the ground with mountain by his side. He’s again ashamed for his emotions. He doesn’t like being like this, doesn’t like being a nuisance. This was supposed to be about proving himself to mountain and he’s made it about himself. He again tries to push the concerned ghoul away. He doesn’t deserve the support.

Dew knows he's being unreasonable. He's jerk, a menace, a brat. Why would anyone go out of their way to show him any extra kindness. He doesn't deserve it. There's always the question of "if you crave love so badly, why don't you treat others with it" and the internal debate of "I don't deserve it" and "if I deserved it, someone would see past the act and give it to me anyways"

He's blind though, as the other ghouls do love him no matter what. The way they mess with him a bit extra, giving him an outlet to have fun, they think he enjoys it so they keep doing it. How they go to him when somethings wrong, or immediately move aside when all he needs is a warm bed and no talking.

The way mountain plants extra lilacs because he likes the smell, or how ether stands closer to him than the others on stage.

He's just too blinded by his own insecurities to see it. A bitter sweet feeling at being "right" about not deserving to be loved, but he was never right, just can't get over his own ego to admit that.

[mischiefmaker615]

Be Prepared

Rating: R

Request: Loki request prompts: “No one makes me weak like you do. Or so fucking angry.” and “You’re lucky you make me so damn hard.”

Request For: eleniblue

“No one makes me weak like you do. Or so fucking angry.”

You glare up at Loki as your eyes follow him in his slow and steady pace around you. Your limbs were sore, both from being bound to each corner of the bed and by trying to get out of said bounds. Your energy was quickly spent in the first few minutes upon before taken into this mysterious room where he did nothing but relieve you of your SHIELD uniform, right down to your undergarments. Your body still shivered at the temperature as you stopped trying to guess where you were, it could be anywhere by now considering you had woken up from being unconscious. ‘’what did I ever fucking do to you-‘’ Your words were cut short as he moved to your side with his hand shooting out to grasp your jaw, his face looming close to yours with his eyes alone feeling like daggers. ‘’it’s the fact that a creature like you is merely wasted on trying to help useless mortals like them in a scheme to try to stop the inevitable.’’ He hissed, his grasp tightening as you wince, doing your best not to give him the satisfaction on crying out before his touch returned to being gentle once more; his thumb even stroking your skin. ‘’and yet you still refuse to join my side, even when there is clearly no hope for your so-called Avengers to stop me. I will have my thrown.’’ Your head turned to the side as he continued to stalk around the bed, his gaze dragging over your body hungrily as you tried not to squirm under his gaze. ‘’they don’t see your potential, your skill, beauty- you can be appreciated here..’’ he purred and your glare returned to him with your mock tone coming back. ‘’what’s stopping you from using the scepter then? You want my help so badly? Take it.’’ it was a stupid move, but if you had no choice in the matter anyway, at least your sarcasm had a small chance at pissing him off in the long run, giving you a win. Yet all he did was laugh. His laugh made you shiver all over again, his timing making you feel like the answer wasn’t clear even though his eyes said it all as he placed his finger tips at your ankle and slowly dragged themselves up as he spoke. ‘’there are two flaws to your accusation darling. One, using my scepter on you would surely disintegrate the fire in your eyes and spirit I oh so love so much. And two, I never exactly said I wanted your help.’’ ‘’join your side is what you said, like I’d ever try to hurt-‘’ ‘’perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly love. I don’t wish for you to betray your rights to fight for mine.. exactly. What I merely am asking is that you become my queen.’’ He purred and your eyes widen, even as he sinks down onto the mattress beside you once his finger tips had passed your thighs and hovered right where your intimate area was- just being covered by a pray and your panties. ‘’and w-what gives you the idea that I would agree to that position?’’ ‘’hesitant? Think me a tyrant?’’ he smirked, almost hurt as he placed a hand on his heart for dramatic affect. ‘’you killed people-‘’ your words were cut short as his long finger hooked into your panties and moved them aside, revealing your intimate parts for open access. ‘’don’t you da-‘’ With a flick of his free hand, a tie formed around your mouth and dampened your words as you turned your head from side to side to try to remove it. no luck. Of course, you were cure he understood the string of cussing following after. ‘’your people kill people. Every day darling. SHIELD is all about the greater good, correct? Instead of rehabilitating others or sending them off to prison, they decide to shoot first. Even your people have weapons that are meant to knock mortals out rather than expire them.’’ Loki shook his head, as if disappointed with her before he places his hand beside her to rest his weight while his free hang ghosts between her legs, causing her to flinch and tense her muscles at another attempt to break her bonds. No such luck. "I can't blame you. I'm afraid I've built quite an unfortunate reputation for myself in this realm. Can't trust me any further than you can throw me, I suppose. But I do assure you that I will not hurt you Y/N, or I would already have done so.’’ He smirked, flaunting his upper hand in the matter before he lightly presses the tip of his middle finger to your clit, remaining fingers remaining up as if in a dainty position before he slowly began to rub in circles. Your eyes squeeze shut as your teeth sink down into the gag, trying to fight the pleasurable feeling and any sounds that would try to escape as your limbs fail to free you. Useless. ‘’how about a recap shall we?’’ he asked with a light hearted tone in his voice as if their situation was as simple as having tea in the morning. His eyes slowly moved from her face with a smirk as they dragged down to where his hand was in action and he already felt his bulge begging for some relief. Restraining himself, he added his ring finger along side his middle and gently dragged them up and down, up and down in an agonizingly slow pace that would keep her pleasure at bay but just at that edge where he wanted her. ‘’you are mine and I am very much yours. You are to be my queen and together we shall rule this world where you can also finally see the potential you have upon your skills, they impressively have been holding back from you. You can do far more damage than you think and they shall pay for the years of waste upon your devotion to them. While we have plenty of free time in between, I will take it upon myself to pleasure you, in all the ways I know you craze despite how you even now are trying to deny it. but I suggest you stop trying to lie to yourself and to the very God who can detect it, it only makes me want to punish you..’’ his voice got huskier as the tip of his middle finger ghosted upon your entrance and barely curled in as it passed, making your hips rise ever so slightly before you were quick to shove them back down but he had already noticed. “You’re lucky you make me so damn hard.” He purred as he removed his fingers and your eyes quickly looked away, wanting to hide your disappointment from the loss of touch before his hand found your jaw again and forced you to look at him. ‘’because lying to yourself is like lying to me.’’ A smirk returned to his lips after his serious expression and he slowly moved down your body before dipping his head to your cunt. ‘’but if that is what you wish darling, then I hope your prepared for punishment..’’

[kurov1864]

How Milgram characters act when drunk

For legal reasons they are all of drinking age I swear!! Please don't cancel me I just wanna write them a lil silly :(

Not Amane tho

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

Haruka: Clumsy and emotional drunk. It's like his normal personality, but emphasized by a hundred times. You have to pay extra attention to your words because when he's drunk, he can take any sentence you say and twist it so badly he'll convince himself that you think he's the scum of the earth. He's also quite clumsy, slurring his words, mixing up which hand is which, accidentally smacking your face when trying to hug you. Be patient with him, would you? He's trying his best.

Yuno: Bitter or happy drunk. It depends on her mood honestly. If she's drinking around fun and lively people, she'll be a happy drunk. The life of a party, teasing and flirting around, doing drunk karaoke, basically having an all around good time. If she's not in a good mood though… she'll become a bitter drunk. She'll let her usual sweet and cheerful facade slip and become her natural pessimistic self, muttering about her regrets and whatnot.

Fuuta: Sleepy drunk. He's literally the type to start off strong and rowdy then nod off in the middle of the conversation. His energy would slowly start to ebb during the early night, and he'll be completely knocked out by the time it's 11pm.

Muu: Emotional and sleepy drunk. She'll be crying left right and center about the unfairness of the world, trying to rationalize and convince everyone that she's the victim, all while slurring her words and eventually nodding off.

Shidou: Wistful drunk. He will reminiscence about his family 90% of the time, which would then lead him to tear up slightly. If you manage to get him in the other 10%, he'll talk about the "good ol days" with you, laughing about past experiences and maybe even complain about the new generation together, who apparently think it's acceptable to stay up writing headcanons about characters that don't exist at 3:55am.

Mahiru: Happy and affectionate drunk!! I think that's pretty obvious. She'll be giggling at everything and nothing, all while slinging herself over your body and trying to physically mush you together because she's just so full of love for you!!

Kazui: Impulsive and nostalgic drunk. We know that Kazui has lots of things he wants to act on. Alcohol is a very good way of making him forget about his worries and simply doing what he wants. When he gets tipsy he already would be spilling his life stories out. Good luck trying to get him drunk though, he has a highhhh tolerance.

Mikoto: Another friendly and affectionate drunk. Very warm and approachable, would definitely drag you to a couch just to cuddle. He'll want to talk about his lost passions and interests that he could never pursue because of his workload, telling you his plans for projects he would never pursue.

Kotoko: Talkative drunk. It's just her true personality without all the layers of wariness. She'll discuss with you about the ethics of her "job", the flaws of the legal system, the fucked up way that victims are treated in this society. Very passionate and doesn't have as much self-control as she does when she's sober, so be careful not to piss her off too much lmao

Es: Emotional and affectionate drunk. They WILL cling to you to make up for the amount of affection they have not received during their time as a warden. Please comfort them and tell them they're okay. Please. On an unrelated note, they can also get really passionate just like Kotoko. Just more open to discussion I suppose. Might let a few details about the prisoner's MV slip to you, but they'll never try to purposefully tell their story without consent :D

Jackalope: If he gets fed alcohol he'll die. Good riddance.

[marksbear]

Ok hear me out, Simon “Ghost” Riley x flirty!reader where the readers just very jokey and flirty all the time and ghost can’t stand itttt (he’s denying his feelings👹)

Ghost is just like “you won’t be laughing/acting like that when you get shot out in the field” and the readers like “bet- watch me mf” and then gets injured and while Ghost is tending to him he’s STILL flirting and Ghost is just like “this man is gonna be the death of me💀”

Idk if you write for Ghost but if you do I’ll love you forever if you write this please and thank you xxx😽🫶

I'm on the job I hope you enjoy my friend And I love you too! C/n MEANS CODE NAME

WARNINGS- Headcanons, fluff with angst bottom, pinning,pda, gentle ghost, slapping, teasing, guns,violence.

SIMON RILEY AKA GHOST X MALE READER.

BEFORE DATING!

The first thing you said to him was "I bet you wanna kiss me with the mask. I mean I don't mind."

You said it to him cause he was staring you down like you just murdered his family. So when you turned around to see who the hell was staring at you so hard it was a man in a mask. So without thinking you said it. After you realized you said that out loud you covered your mouth with a gasp and a sorry.

And that's when he knew. The C/n had to go. In full honestly he was gonna try to get you killed in missions whenever you spend too much time flirty with him or others.

He is so jealous whenever you flirt with other people. Like he'll feel betrayed even though you two aren't dating yet. So when you do it he'll get all snappy and send off the person that you were flirting with somewhere else so they can work without you being a distraction.

He never wants to be in a room alone with you. Because it's simple you tease and flirt with him too much. Always pin him to a wall or something hard. Even pinned him a weapon crate. Even if you're smaller or taller than him. If you're smaller you'll grab him by the jaw on his mask forcing him to look down at you while you push him on a flat surface. But when you're taller than him you push him by his shoulder,arms or waist trapping him under you. Both sizes end up getting your shit slapped the hell out of you by him.

When you flirt during missions like saying "Before we run to our deaths I want to make an announcement about how good ghosts look. Can I get an amen gentlemen?" With some soldiers saying amen and laughing and running away from ghosts together.

You saying "This for you love." before shooting an enemy and blowing a kiss at him. Anytime you have to go by yourself or with anyone else you ask him for a good luck kiss with a smile but just get told "Fuck off and die" as a answer and you respond saying "I love you to babe" before leaving him.

On a mission you were on with him and a couple of other soldiers. whispering and giggling jokes to one another and ghosts giving yall death glares specifically YOU whisper yelling to you "Shut up before you get us all killed! Then I bet ya you won't be laughin" He means every word of that he said with a bit of jealousy because he wants you to stop giving them so much of your attention and give it all to him .

WHEN YOU TWO START DATING

You were still a headache. But this time you were his headache.

When you flirt with anyone besides him and get all pissy. He'll drag you away from the person by your shirt "Sorry mate but Mr C/n and I gotta work on something." He says to the person or he doesn't say anything at all just yanking you away from the person.

Anytime you two get separated from a mission and haven't seen each other in days or hours you two wouldn't care if anyone saw. But you two usually run into the others arms hugging and smiling ear to ear but for the days part Ghost picks you up in his arms you can be the top in the relationship or taller than him he'll still pick you up for a embrace. Or when one is you are badly hurt you or him would cry in the other arms saying "Don't leave me" "Im here." "Thank god you're alive." As an example

You switch guns sometimes and the gang always tease ghosts when they notice. Always picking at him playfully and calling him a loverboy or a lovesick puppy.

CALLING HIM BABE. WHILE HE CALLS YOU IDIOT.

"That's my idiot for ya" He says to someone watching you try to do a trick shot after screaming on top of your lungs at him "This is for you BABE!"

Making out with him in the medbay. Or after you two clear a room after a fierce battle he pulls the mask up but only his lips are visible. And you two makeout with all the adrenaline pumping in yalls veins.

Always having each other back. Standing up for the other and maybe with the other is the complete wrong yall still stand up for them. When one of you messes up on a mission the other usually takes the blame and breaks out as a couple arguments as to who's lying or not. But ultimately saying both of you did it.

Anytime Ghost is in danger you'll stop anything and even risk everyone else's lives for his. Like leaving the group to find him. Or killing everyone in your path even the people you're not supposed to and not giving a shit. Only Ghost matters and yourself in your opinion.

YALL TWO HAVING A TEAM COMBO!! AND A DUO TEAM NAME

Comforting one another when the other feels stressed from a mission or a task. Taking the others task or mission.

A LITTLE ANGST IDEA.

You die first in the relationship. You took some heavy bullets for him smiling at him while you die slowly. He probably doesn't cry about your death in the day but the next day ,months,YEARS. He'll most def gonna cry. "Here babe...wear these you'll look better than me when I wore it." You say smiling while blood comes out of your mouth. "It's a shame we can't get married... right now. Maybe in a different life just promise me you'll look for me." Ghost takes the dog tags out of your hand and sets your head in his lap. "I love you babe...promise me that you'll win this for me." You say raising up your hand pulling his mask off and him leaning down to kiss you.

"I love you Simon Riley l/n" You say on his lips still kissing him

"I love you too Y/n Riley L/n"

With the finale I love you some of your blood in Simon's mouth he places a hand on your head feeling it slow down and your body getting colder. He picks up your body taking it back to camp. Wearing your dog tags proudly on his neck.

[alder-saan]

Rescue

Miranda x reader

TW: cancer, surgery, recovery from surgery, low self esteem, men

words count: 2.3k

thanks to @tanith-rhea for beta-reading it.

You took a deep breath. It was your first date in several years now. It took you time to accept your body after the surgery. But now you wanted to start a new life. You wanted to date, to find a lover. You had taken hours to be ready, today. Hours to choose THE dress, THE makeup, THE hairstyle. You wanted everything to be perfect. There weren't a lot of people in the café. A group of friends on the terrace, and a blond woman near the window, on the inside. When you walked by her, she gave you a big smile. It warmed your heart. Maybe this date would go well. You hoped so. You sat on a chair, several tables away from the woman who was still looking at you. You blushed and looked away.

“Hi, I’m Miranda, you look stunning,” she said, “Your boyfriend is a lucky boy!”

“I… don’t have a boyfriend… Well not yet. Maybe I will. It’s just our first date today. But thank you.”

“Really? Good luck, then.” She gave you an even bigger smile.

This woman was so kind, it comforted you a little. You waited a few minutes. He was late. Not too much, though. Five minutes, at most. A man entered the café. It wasn’t your date, yours didn’t look like this. But he approached you.

“Y/n?” he asked.

“Er, yes, it's me, who are you?”

“I’m Matt, nice to meet you in real life.”

He wasn’t at all like his profile photo. You started to panic. He lied to you. It wasn’t the same. Your mind was racing. Was he as kind as he was in his messages? 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Matt. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, your profile picture is different-”

“Yes, I put a picture of someone else, if I don’t do this, no girl wants to talk to me. They all are so superficial.”

You gulped. Okay, You had to keep cool. That maybe was a way of speaking. You wanted this date so badly to go well. You could give him a second chance… He sat in front of you and smiled.

“You look great, maybe a little too much makeup. If we continue to date, you should wear a little less, I don’t want other boys to look at you.”

You nodded. What could you reply to this? You weren’t as confident. And he intimidated you.

“So, what do you want to drink?” he asked as a waiter went to take your order.

“Er, well, a hot chocolate would be good, I think I will take a pastry too.”

“You shouldn’t, I don’t want you to turn fat… I think you should do some more sport, by the way.”

“N… No pastry,” you shyly asked the waiter.

You wanted to cry. Was all this a joke? How could he be like this? He seemed so friendly on the app… Your date ordered a coffee.

“Sport is important.”

“I do some sport.”

“Really? What do you do?”

You breathed out. Finally, he seemed genuinely interested in you doing some sport. Maybe the second… the third chance was worth it.

“I swim a lot.”

“It’s not a girl’s sport, you should run or something like this. I want a girl in my bed, not a man!” he laughed. “I don’t say that to be mean, it’s just not feminine at all.”

You looked at the table. No. Not worth it.

“Yes, I guess I’ll try.”

The waiter arrived with your hot chocolate and his coffee. You watched him drink. He was still smiling, and you were crying inside. It was just a matter of an hour or maybe two. It was over, soon.

“Good. So, why don’t you already have a man?”

“Well, I… I didn’t date anyone for five years.”

“Anyone? You were looking for the good one? I see?”

“No, not really. I… I had breast cancer, it wasn’t a good time for me. And then I had to do a full mastectomy. I needed time to accept my new chest.”

“Well, at least you got new boobs, they look great!” he bursted into a laugh.

You went pale. Your heart was beating in your ears, tears began to appear in your eyes. You gulped. You couldn’t even hear what he was saying right now. Why did he have to be so cruel? Why was that happening to you? You had met nice and kind men all your life, why did you have to meet this one right now? He was the worst person you’ve ever met. How could a human being be so cold-hearted? Maybe it was your fault. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe you were not worth a love life. Maybe he was all that you could ask for. You wanted to disappear right now. You hated your body. You hated it because it had cancer. You hated your new breasts. It wasn’t even yours.

“Are you okay?”

You looked up. It wasn’t Matt’s voice. All your thoughts disappeared when you saw the blond woman in front of you, in his seat. She was kindly smiling at you.

“I… I’m not.”

“I heard what he said. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my first date since my mastectomy… It couldn’t have been worse.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Where is Matt?”

“He went to the bathroom. You’re safe now. I’m not letting him talk to you again.”

Your date went out of the bathroom and seemed surprised that the woman took his place. You couldn’t look at him right now, so you just looked at the table, again.

“What the fuck is happening here?” he asked, angry.

“Well, I’m going to ask you to leave her alone, mister. She clearly doesn’t want to talk to you anymore,” she calmly said.

“What was it because of the tiddy thing? It was a joke!”

“A joke is supposed to be fun. If she’s crying, it’s not a joke. Please, go out. She deserves to spend her time with someone who can respect her.”

“Leave the table, woman, or I’ll show you what a man can do.”

You stopped breathing. You didn’t want it to become violent. You watched the woman who simply smiled at you and stood up. Was she going to abandon you? A part of you wanted this, you never meant to lead her in any trouble. But the other part wanted her to stay with you, and you were a bit disappointed. Then you realised why she was simply standing in front of him. She was tall. She was very tall. Taller than him. She was towering over him, a smirk on her face.

“Go on, man, show me what you can do, besides making your date cry.”

The man hesitated for a few seconds. He opened his mouth and closed it pathetically.

“Leave,” she demanded.

He left.

You bursted into tears. She sat next to you on the bench seat and pulled you into a hug. You froze. You weren’t used to that, you didn’t know what to do, you didn’t know how to- She seemed to understand how you felt because she let you out of her embrace.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should have asked you,” she chuckled in embarrassment. 

“N-No, it’s okay,” you said, “it surprised me, that’s all.”

“I’m going to do things right.”

She opened her arms before you, a soft smile on her face.

“Do you want a hug?”

You threw yourself in her arms, crying more and more as she rubbed your back.

“It’s over, now. You’re safe with me.”

“I wanted this date to be nice! What’s wrong with me?”

“Shhh… Nothing’s wrong with you. It’s his fault and only his.”

“My afternoon is ruined… My day is ruined.”

“Meeep,” she said with a nosy voice.

You raised your chin to look up at her, confused.

“It was the sound of a buzzer. You can argue that a buzzer is supposed to make a sound like “bzz”, but I personally find “meep” more accurate.”

“Why… Why did you buzz?” you said, wiping away a few tears, half laughing.

“Because you’re wrong, again. Your afternoon isn’t ruined. Not at all. What if we spend it together? We could go for a walk, and I’ll buy you a pastry. Or more, if you want more. We’ll find the best spots to swim in the sea, and I know some that are totally unknown. Or we could just stay here over a coffee or something.”

Your eyes widened. Why would a complete stranger do that? Was this a kind of trap?

“If you don’t want to, it’s okay. I can totally understand. Don’t be afraid to refuse.”

You shook your head.

“No, I- I was just wondering if you were an angel coming to rescue me.”

She blushed and laughed, it was clear, she tried to hide her embarrassment.

“Well, I try to make people feel safe, ya know? It’s not a big deal.”

“I’d love to spend the afternoon with you, Miranda.”

“Great!” she said, a big smile spreading on her face, “so what do you want to do?”

“I want to get out of here…”

She nodded and stood up, helping you to do so. She almost ran to the counter and said she paid for you as well. You frowned. She did not need to do this. But as you walked towards her to tell her you could pay, she shook her head.

“It’s on me.”

Then she took your arm and went out of the café. The fresh air filled your lungs. You felt a lot better. You closed your eyes, appreciating the sun on your skin.

She began to laugh. It was a frantic laugh. You liked it, even though you didn’t understand why she was laughing. You looked at her, a bit confused. Was she laughing at you?

“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to stop laughing, “it’s just…”

She breathed in and out for a few seconds.

“I was so afraid when I was standing before them. Like, what if they actually hit me? What if he was very strong? What if my height didn’t impress them? I was so scared that it was useless and I was being pathetic by trying this. I was all bluffing! What if he knew or noticed it? I can’t believe it worked. I know I looked like I was confident and all, but on the inside, I was like ‘I don’t know what I’m doing right now, I don’t know what to do next, please lord I want it to work’, because I had no idea what to do if it hadn’t worked.”

While talking, she was staring far away, as if she was replaying the scene in her mind, gesturing with her arms and hands. You smiled a bit and placed a hand on her arm, causing her to come back to earth.

“Thank you again. It was very brave of you.”

Her cheeks were coloured in a pale pink.

“It was nothing, don’t worry about that,” she said, dismissing your compliment with a wave of her hand.

“It was clearly something if you talk about it now.”

“No it-” she sighed, “I didn’t think, ya know? It wasn’t brave if it was an automatism.”

“I understand. Yet, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

You walked a bit, silently. She was guiding you near the ocean. It was beautiful. You liked the view of the waves crashing against some rocks which emerged from the water. The white foam flying all around seemed to be kind of shooting stars.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of good dates. Don’t stop searching for someone because of a man like him.”

“Yes, I guess… Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Not my area.”

Your face went red. She gave you a smile, you couldn’t tell if it was genuine or a bit mocking. Maybe a bit of both.

“So, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

You looked away, a bit flustered. So she was a lesbian, huh? What if… she was interested in you? What if it was the reason why she complimented you earlier? You blushed as you realised this idea seduced you. 

You loved how her blond hair was tucked behind her ears, in the cutest way. You loved how her blue eyes followed everything that crossed her sight. You loved how smiles spread on her pink lips, lighting her face. You loved her little nose, her neck, her height, lord, her height. It made you feel so safe. And she was brave, funny, and kind.

“This is the moment where the straight girl says ‘I’m sorry, I hope you’re not interested in me.’ or something like that,” she said and chuckled.

“I’m not straight.”

“Oh!”

She blushed a bit and remained silent.

“Hoisted by your own petard,” you smirked, “I’m bi. Why? Could you be interested in me?”

She didn’t say anything, and looked at the beach and the people swimming in the waves. She was cute, with that.

“Look, there is a-”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Her face was slightly pink, she avoided your gaze.

“Miranda, I find you beautiful, cute, and kind, and brave. So if you want this to be a date. It can be.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. She turned towards you.

“I-”

You gave her a soft smile. 

“Yes, I’d like this to be a date.” she whispered.

You almost didn’t hear. But even if you hadn’t, you would have known.

“Then it’s a date.”

________________________________

post credit scene:

Matt walked his way home when someone stopped before him. It was Rhea. She looked at him with nothing but anger and hatred in her eyes, then her fist met his nose and he fell onto the ground. He spat some blood, and a tooth.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you dare talk to her again. And if I learn you treat badly an other woman, I kill you."

Rhea walked away and disappeared into the darkness of the street.

[towriteloveontheirarms]

Easy smiles and loud laughter (Osferth x reader)

synopsis: 5 times Osferth made you laugh and 1 time he made you cry

warnings: fluff, pregnancy, angst, character death, afab reader

word count: 1.6k

taglist: @hopelesswritergall

(If you want to be tagged in the `kissing booth AU´, for a specific character/fandom or in general let me know in my asks, comments or DMs)

The first time Osferth made you laugh, you didn´t even know his name yet. You were working your shift at the ale house serving food and drink to the patrons, when suddenly the door swung open. The cold fall wind sweeps through the establishment, prompting you to whip your head around towards it right as you set down a pint in front of one of your regulars. He stumbles in a few steps behind the rest of his friends. While they are laughing boisterously, joking and pushing each other around as they do, he is a lot more quiet. A shy blush on his otherwise sickly face. You can tell this has not been their first stop in search of something to drink. Nonetheless you serve them whatever they order and when night falls you are not surprised when they ask for free rooms they could stay in for the night.

“How many rooms will that be?” You ask with a tired but friendly smile in place on your lips.

“Well, that depends, you see.” The man with short dark hair and a beard says with a mischievous grin.

“Depends on what?” You ask curiously.

“Depends if the baby monk is gonna grow a pair and talk to the pretty serving girl he fancies or not…” He and the other men laugh, though not in mean spirit. Your facial expression remains unchanged until you see the monk, the Irishman alluded to. His face is as red as a tomato and his eyes are glued to the floorboards as if there is nothing more interesting in the world.

“Finan…” He whispers sharply to his friend, making you break out into a chuckle anymore. He was just too adorable.

“Well? What´s the baby monks name?” You turn to fully face him as you ask.

“I am called Osferth.” His voice is quiet, but at least he looks up at you through his lashes.

“Well, it is nice meeting you, Osferth.” You chirp and wink at him, before turning back to the other men, who very badly try to conceal their laughter. “You are in luck. We have just enough rooms left for you.”

The second time he makes you laugh, you had just joined the group around Uthred a short time ago.  Still new to the life and the people, but you had made quick friends with Finan. The Irishman had a loyal and funny side that you could only appreciate. Even more so when watching him and Osferth spar. You weren´t much of a fighter yourself, so you had dedicated yourself to learn how to heal, to at least be of some use. So, while you watched the two men train, you studied any relevant book you could get your hands on. It is during one of those instances, that you get interrupted. Finan had just `defeated´ Osferth once more when he turns to an approaching figure in the distance. A smile spreads on his lips.

“Go, fetch Lord Uthred. Tell him we have a visitor. And tell him it is a woman.” He says to the blond man beside him.

“How can you tell it is a woman?” Osferth asks. Earning a raised eyebrow from Finan and an amused headshake from you.

“You have to ask?” The look Osferth gives the Irishman is what beckons a laugh from you as you stand up from the fur that you had laid out underneath you.

“I will go and get Uthred. You two stay here and greet our guest.” You say as you make your way inside.

The third time he makes you laugh, your little group sits around a campfire. It has gotten cold fast and the lot of you are freezing even through the furs over your shoulders. The mood between the five of you had dropped just like the temperatures. Icy silence hanging in the air, the only sounds around are the chattering of your teeth, the crackling of the fire and the bubbling of the stew that was cooking above it.  Then into the silence sounds Osferth´s voice.

“It is so god damn cold I cannot even tell the stones in my shoes from my toes.”

It is a stupid joke, really. And neither of you feel like laughing. Yet, unlike your companions who scoff at his words, a laugh leaves your lungs. The sound light, almost bell-like and bringing an unknown warmth to his insides. Meanwhile, you can´t stop laughing. Even under the looks of Finan, Sithric and Uthred, who all silently question your sanity at the moment.

The fourth time he makes you laugh, you are sure is the moment you really start living. He pulls you aside during the day. A serious expression firm in place on his face, that is rarely seen anymore in quiet times like these.

“Is everything alright, Osferth? What is it you so urgently wished to speak about?” You ask quite worried by his behavior.

His eyes are trained to the ground, like the first time you had met. Avoiding yours at any cost, as a blush dusts over his cheeks.

“I um… I needed to… To talk to you about…” He starts to play with his fingers from nervosity.

You step closer to him and lay a gentle hand on his cheek, making him look at you, which has him in even more of a nervous mess than before.

“It is fine to take your time. Just take a deep breath for me and then try again.” You take a deep breath for him to mimic, which he does. Finally calmed down a bit he even is capable of looking you into the eyes.

“In the months since you have joined us, I have caught myself falling for you. Deeply. And though I am aware that you do not feel the same, I still needed to tell you.” You want to hold in your laughter as to not possibly hurt him more, but when Osferth looks at you with what can only be described as puppy eyes, you can´t hold it in anymore.

“I love you too, Osferth.” You kiss his warm cheek, which instantly becomes a deeper shade of red and watch a small, happy smile break out on his face to replace the serious look from before.

The fifth time Osferth makes you laugh, the two of you had just found out that you were with child and couldn´t be happier. In those days a smile seemed to be plastered on your faces constantly. To Uthred´s and Finan´s amusement. Sithric seemed to be the only one with a little understanding, congratulating the two of you and then backing off. You still traveled a lot, but you had built yourself a nice life in Rumcofa. One night you lie in bed, cuddled close under the furs, one of his hands resting on your belly that would soon swell.

Laying one ridiculous name on you after the other until you feel like you can´t breath anymore from how hard you are laughing.

“What do you think about Uthred or Finan if it is a boy?” You suggest while catching your breath, though it is clear that it is meant with all the sarcasm in the world.

“I think they would never speak to us again if we would choose either of those names.” He chuckles along with you. And as he still speaks you get the perfect idea.

“Alright. Enough with the jests… I am thinking Leofric if it is a boy and Mildred if it is a girl.” You whisper, laying a gentle hand atop his. Turning your head you see his eyes shimmering with tears. “I am taking we have found ourselves some baby names?”

“Yes.” He says, clearing his throat, “Yes, we have.”

In that moment everything feels more real than ever. The love you share, the pregnancy, the life you have lived so far and the life you would soon live.

The one time Osferth makes you cry, is the day you are sure you will never feel alright again. The attack on Rumcofa came seemingly out of nowhere and without any real fighting skills you were of no great use. Running around to heal people left and right to the best of your ability, though you are aware that it isn´t enough. The attackers are too strong and too fast.

When you hear a scream by the docks you quickly run towards it. Not quick enough as it seems. With cold horror you have to watch as Ingrith is being thrown off her horse and Finan leave Osferth to help her. With shock freezing you in place you have to watch as your love gets stabbed by one of Aethelhelms men. Your mouth opens, though you don´t hear the scream that comes out of your lungs. Finan is by Osferth´s side before you are. Holding him in his arms as blood flows heavily from his side and the corners of his mouth.

“No! No, no, no, no… My love, look at me. Please look at me.” You ramble desperate to stop the bleeding from the wound on his side.

“I don´t want to die…” His cries become quieter and more strained as the seconds pass.

“Shhh, save your strength. You will not die today. I will not let you.” You sniffle, not even sure if you can believe yourself as you wipe away the tears that cloud your vision. Returning to your efforts to stop his bleeding you don´t see his eyes become more dull, until all the life has drained from them. The already shallow breath ebbing in his chest and his head falling to the side. You refuse to admit his loss at first, but when there is no lying about it anymore and your lips graze his forehead one last time, you let your tears run free. That day you are certain a part of your soul dies with him.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Hibiki alive!? But we saw you fall to your death!

Is...Is this a dream...Am I...d-dreaming...!?

no...*COUGH!* i'm...here...setsu...

You...YOU IDIOT!

*Setsuka wants so badly to hurry over and hug Hibiki, but knows better and instead falls to her knees at the foot of the bed, crying.

What HAPPENED to you!? How come you-!? A-Are you alright!?

i...

Ah, hold on...I would advise asking too many questions. It's not ideal for Ms Otonokoji to talk right now.

Let me explain what happened...

——————————————————————

*Sora explains to Kaede the full story of what happened while Yoruko helps console the relieved and crying Setsuka.

Ugh, you MORON! What the hell made you want to do something like that!?

i didn't...mean...to betray...you guys...i just didn't want...you to...die by kanade's...hand...for my sake...

Hibiki-!? I-!? You-!? UGH! I'm really mad at you, I hope you realize that!

i'm sorry...i can't...say sorry...enough...

Well, forget about all that. We're just all so glad that you're alive...I know you shouldn't be talking but...Please...Tell us how you survived, because that was a LONG DEADLY fall that you dropped off.

theres...actually not much of a story to that one...i fell...a long way...but my clothes got...caught...on a gear before...i hit the ground...and...

It softened your fall?

yeah...and...there was...a med team...at the bottom of the fall...so they...they got to me in time...and saved me...before i could die from blood loss...

That really happened? That is...like...GODLY levels of good luck!

Yeah...Yeah! Godly! In other words-!

Divine Luck!

But...how was that possible? Divine Luck only works if Yuki is present, and he wasn't with us when we fought Kanade.

No...He wasn't...But TAIRA WAS!

Huh? You mean-?

According to what I already know about Divine Luck, it's a miraculous power that has the ability to shift the balance of the world in a way that makes it so whatever Mr. Maeda desires will come to fruition. By the law of said ability, it also somehow makes it possible for him to share his talent between people.

In my personal opinion, I think the most likely scenario is he gifted the power of Divine Luck unto Akane Taira before the fighting began, and Taira transferred that power over to Ms Otonokoji before she dropped. Therefore, she briefly gifted Ms Otonokoji her Divine Luck, which gave her enough power to save herself before she fell.

Then we owe that woman a great debt.

...i guess i didn't want to die...i just...didn't want you guys to die with me...i know it was stupid but...im sick and tired of the people i love being hunted...down...and killed...

I know Hibiki...and I forgive you...Thank you for coming back...

[sotwk]

I feel so hopeless, literally all I want in life is a husband, children and a house. I'm 26 and none of that is anywhere near in sight, I feel like I'm running out of time. And I always ruin everything.

*big hugs* I'm so sorry you feel this way!

Back when I was 26 and for years after, (I'm close to 40 now) I would cry privately behind closed doors, or literally in the shower, or while saying my prayers, because I felt the exact same way as you described. I wanted all those things so badly! I was lonely! As years passed by without me even being able to experience even a successful second date, much less a relationship, I started to believe it would NEVER happen for me. I felt like a failure! I was so stressed out wondering what I was doing wrong, or what was wrong with me.

I felt powerless to change things, because how can you just conjure a life partner out of thin air?

And you know what happened? After years of online dating drought, my now-husband appeared. I still call it magic.

Afterward, within just five years, the first half of my 30s, I checked off everything on that goal/wish list: boyfriend, fiancé, husband, home, kid(s)! The lonely tears are a distant memory now--I cry for other reasons these days. Bahaha. ;) (Just kidding, family life and adulting is tough, but SO WORTH THE JOY.)

You are NOT running out of time. I know it's hard to accept, but sometimes you just need to leave things to fall into place. I hated it when people told me this, but they were right! My advice to anyone who feels like they're "running out of time" to achieve their dream of being married and having kids: live the happiest single life that you can. THIS is your YOU time. Once you have your family, you WILL miss your alone time. Take advantage of these years before a spouse/kids change everything.

If you are destined to have a family of your own, you WILL get it. Please don't lose hope! :) You do not ruin everything. Dating is VERY hard, especially when marriage is the end goal. Please know you're not alone and this is a universal experience.

"A watched pot never boils," as the saying goes. Focus your thoughts, time, and energy on your other interests, while keeping an eye and heart open for Prince Charming!

I wish you all the luck, love, and joy. Remember how beautiful you are. :) Thank you for trusting me with your frustrations.

[spaceless-vacuum]

It's the same anon that send in the previous royal! Reader ask with reader being betrothed. I saw that your requests were open and I wanted to see if you could write headcanons regarding that same topic. I didn't want to put it in the previous ask because it got a bit too long.

The whole royalty reader idea gets more interesting depending on which zelda/link you're with. 

Give me a duo who had an arranged marriage with you before the calamity. Spending so much time with their sweet bride and refusing to let you even think about helping out in the war. You can try to fight them about how you're capable and able to do more to defend their country and cry you might but they refuse to let you do anything about it. To them you're so much better suited to waiting the war out while they take care of it. Zelda often takes you to the springs with her, just knowing you're there while she prays alleviates her anxiety. The goddess has to hear her cries when youre by her side. Who could ignore such a sweet soul?

Link likes this as well. Being able to watch both of you helps him relax. Having you away from him not knowing if any yiga rats might hurt you tears him apart. It is his duty to protect you and his princess. Keeping you close by is the best way to make sure you're safe. Even if the lack of privacy may hurt your feelings it is absolutely necessary. Tying the knot between you and Zelda helped with relations between your two nations. The extra help with the war was sweet but having you as her prize was the real victory- even if no one ever heard how badly she wanted to just have you.

Zelda loves it when you help with the guardians. She can't spend all of her time studying them so having you do it and talking about it over tea and while travelling really makes her happy. Listening to your sweet voice go over the numbers and talk about how her plans are going along well just sounds so much sweeter when coming from your lips. The extra help with her other more mundane tasks like hair braiding and just the slow sweet domestic moments are her greatest pleasure. The way you help with domestic affairs was the whole point of the marriage after all.

Link feels a bit off while witnessing those moments but the way Zelda smiles when she looks at you makes up for all of it. He loves seeing the two of you being so happy. He smiles and finds that even your aura is enough to bring out the best in him. It's hard for him to keep such a cold demeanour when you're breaking down all of his walls.

. . .

Post calamity these two would be a handful. For multiple reasons. I didn't mention it much before but you are always at Zelda’s side or in a location they are ok with you being at, such as the castle. After the calamity it's hard to keep you pent up in one house all the time and even travelling with them isn't safe. Plus it's been one hundred years and they're not the same people they once were.

Flora lost you once and was convinced as she sent Link to the shrine of resurrection and as the two of you were separated that you were dead. She used the memory of who she was fighting for to help fuel her energy in the fight against holding the calamity back. Fighting the years away she awoke and found the most beautiful sight waiting to greet her. Her heart was so over flowing it felt like everything that happened up to this point was all worth it. Losing you was too much to remember most days. Yet here you were. Wild taking up the mantle of guardian you again. 

The new hero is certainly different. That much is easy to tell. He doesn't really remember you and his tendencies to always have to keep you in his line of sight are gone the first time you meet. He truly doesn't remember you. After such a long time, who can blame him but it still hurts you a bit. All Wild can recall is that you were a visiting royal who stayed at the castle. How you managed to live for so long, you explained it was all simple luck (magic, being put in the shrine of resurrection with link, Purahs anti aging device, idk maybe love or the calamity did it in hopes you would fall to the malice but you never did).

You spent your time adventuring and travelling with Wild. Hoping to rescue the princess and put an end to the calamity that you witnessed destroy everything ages ago. The dynamic changes a lot. You and Wild have spent a lot of time together and even after rescuing Flora he isn't willing to let go of you. The Link who died had to stand by because he couldn't mess with the royal wedding but there's no need to keep himself away anymore.

There was a time seeing the two of you being so close would have made her jealous, now however? She found seeing the two of you quite calming. Wild's yandere tendencies make her feel secure. She doesn't have to worry about your safety as Wild has obviously gotten ground rules set down that you follow. They're both so overprotective of you but it's clear to see why. Flora can get a bit jealous of the two of you; but who wouldn't be after seeing the way you smile? The jealousy never lingers but it does make her feel sorry about what happened. The life she promised you, the kingdom she was going to rule with you, and all of the plans for the future. It's all gone. She can no longer give you what she once was going to.

As the two of you spend more time together and rekindle what was there it only fuels her love for you. It cements the fact that you married her for her. Not for her title, not for the kingdom, not any of it. For her. You want her. You went so far as to help Wild save her. All for love. She considers the two of you still married and would love to redo your vows.

. . .

Age of calamity Fauna and Calamity. This link is far more stern. There's a literal war going on. He can't spend his time always on the lookout for you. He needs you to stay put as far away from the front line as possible. Fauna lets Calamity do the stern talking but she gets in on it as well when you start to pull the royalty card to try and regain some of your freedom. It's not like you're going far, but it's still so dangerous and they can't bear to lose you. Once Fauna unlocks her powers she gets an aura around her, in truth though she couldn't care less about unlocking her powers. All she wants is for this war to be over a day sooner. She can't wait until this war is behind her so she can just live a normal life with you.

Keeping you by her side all the time and spending her days in the castle while you share stories with her is all she truly wants. Calamity’s goal is the same. He just wants to put this all behind him so he can finally figure out who he is without all of this hero business. Fauna has no issues with sharing you between the two as they have spent so much time together that there's really nothing he can hide from her, and her from him. Your life after the war is much like it was before just with two very needy yanderes who have to have your attention at all times.

. . .

Time would love for nothing more than to take you away. He loves to have you visit him at work when hes with the knights or at the farm. Seeing your down to earth and kind personality as a royal makes him feel secure in the kingdom's future. Due to this part of the timeline being the one where he was sent back to a kid before Ganon betrayed Hyrule. The hero wasn't needed and Zelda never let Ganon into the sacred realm so he feels… sort of odd. He enjoys your company and adores being able to talk about being a hero around you without feeling strange about the whole ordeal. You're so hypnotising he's always at such a loss for words around you. In a sense he knows he's the one who should be treating you like royalty but there is one small issue. You Are to be wed to Lullaby.  He knows you're more than friends but he can't just take you away because to do so would upset your marriage; and he can't stretch the truth to Malon and say he kidnapped the princess. That's what Ganon did; but he can't live in this fantasy world while wishing you were his. He lets this eat him up inside until he eventually talks to his Zelda about it but it's a hard topic.

Lullaby seems loyal and regal and in royal gossip there is this air of her being holier than thou but it's all air. An aura. She doesn't do anything like that at all. In fact part of what drew you to her was how down to earth she is. She's a very multilayered person. She works day and night both as princes but mostly as a sheikah warrior. While exposing Ganon as a traitor she can't be sure his influence is fully gone. She needs stability and power and she has about ten different jobs to get down and they all need to be done by now. She needs someone all the time. Someone who can help her. To comfort her when she cries, to rub her back when she's sick, to be there with her when she prays, she needs a friend and ally and someone to help her spar. She sees how willing you are to help and she latches onto that. The love of her life just showed up out of the blue and now everything feels so much easier. The problems fade away as the hours pass when you're by her side.

Once you've started to help her she's already planning to get her claws in you and never let go. Deals and money exchanges hands all the time and if she gets her own a bit dirty who can prove it was really her and not Sheik? Lullaby is the type to not realise how far gone she is in her obsession with you until she's already planning on how others might need to die and realises “oh, this wasn't on my schedule yesterday.” and she snaps out of it for a moment and it hits her like a ton of bricks. She LOVES loves you. It hits her how much she can't stand to lose you. The light of her life is not even the gods could keep her from you now. As long as you're married your bond will be eternal but she can't help but want more to do with you. She lets Time in to help protect you and watch over you, and to keep you busy when she's not around- but she has to come first in the relationship. She can share but not when she wants you, only when she can't be there right now. She’ll let him in when she's not there and sees it as thanks for keeping you safe but Lullaby can't bear to see how close you are if you two haven't done something together yet. She can't stand to feel like second best.

. . .

Artemis is a troublemaker. Not because she is by heart but because she wants a domestic life but she just cant afford it. She is wealthy enough, but her kingdom just suffered from a war. Your marriage was chosen just as much for political gain as it was her hope for a loving partner. She is a hopeless romantic and often vents to Link and Impa and has them weigh in on who they think would be a good choice. She is very picky and settles on you after a few tests and invites you over only to realise you have such a good heart. You don't act like those other nobles and you care a lot for the people. Is it meant to try and test you by setting up scenarios to fall into your hands? Even as she does so she watches from the corner as a spy does it for her and she just prays seeing you prove yourself time and time again.

Although Artemis wants the picture perfect life nothing in her Hyrule is picture perfect right now. No matter how hard she works there is always something else that needs to be done. TWhen she meets you she's caught off guard. It all seems too soon for the perfect person ever to walk in while she's still trying to recover. She built up her walls so much that when she meets you and you're perfect she realises she's now a major red flag. More so as she starts to plan on how to trap you into marrying her. Suddenly she's nervous and wiping sweat off of her hands and trying so hard to act casual but she cant be after seeing how your eyes look and you're so gorgeous, is it too soon to take a bite out of you? Handling her is handling seven different bombs that are all going to go off at different times and cause six different sized explosions. A lot of fun for people who enjoy that type of chaos but unfortunately she makes peace with the fact that you two will never have a picture perfect relationship on the inside. She craves you too badly to play nice.

Warrior is just as bad as Artemis is sometimes. He has seen far too much war to feel ok and the thoughts and feelings of everything he saw and went through weigh heavy on him. He needs comfort and finds so much of it in you. When on his late night walks he finds himself at your door. Having walked to you without even realising it. Artemis is jealous of him at first but she softens as soon as she sees the way he relaxes around you. She can't be mad at him; she just can't stand to see the two of you alone. As long as she's there to comfort him as well she doesn't mind, although Link would like some alone time he can't push her on this. The two of them both want you but can't stand to let the other just have you without a fight, and neither of them are up for anymore fighting.

. . .

Ok that's all the ones I have for now, I wish I could have written more because there so many small details that I think would really shine in a long form writing or a one shot but I don't have the time for that my lunch break is almost over... I loved this so much I hope it makes sense. I focused more on how the dynamic plays between the two rather than them both sharing you, but that's because I think its so much more interesting! I would love to write more about this soon

[mcclens]

Alright I'm throwing my own view on Arajin as a character since I've seen people shade him and dislike him. The annoying thing about him is that (as Senya said lol) he thinks with his other head too much. Clearly he has no luck with women and only with men, which isn't something he's overjoyed about. For that idk, I think its kind of cute that he wants to love someone, but at the same time its sad that he's just being used lol. But I'm not a fan of the pervert horny trope.

But I mostly want to focus on his whole "I don't want to fight" thing. Yes, he's a coward, there's nothing bad about that imo, but I think they're setting up character development for Arajin in regards of that, since it's a big thing holding him down. As kids, him and his best friend Matakara used to practice to become honki people, and it was really fun for them until the day when three older boys made fun of them. Matakara thought he could take them on, and Arajin was cowardly and probably knew 2 on 3 fight (with clear age differences) wasn't gonna end good. He tried backing off but Matakara went on and attacked anyways. Arajin ran off crying, and the picture of Matakara beat up on the ground stayed stuck in his head.

Nowadays, it's very clear that Arajin feels guilty. He feels guilty that he got Matakara to believe they were strong enough while practicing, to the point he took up 3 boys by himself. He feels guilty that he was too scared and cowardly to help Matakara, that he ran off and left him alone, even though Matakara looked up to him. Matakara said that Arajin is a really nice, strong guy who doesn't like to fight others, and he still believes that, he still looks up to him even 5 years later, he still thinks of him as a friend and holds his best friend stone closeby. He doesn't hold a grudge against Arajin. He isn't mad at him at all. It is Arajin whos still stuck in the past. This whole thing is something Arajin has to get over by himself.

Every time Arajin is around Matakara he remembers the past, so he tries to avoid him or brush him off, but Matakara still wants to be friends and doesnt seem to understand how guilty Arajin feels. ("Matakara didn't deserve to be treated this way", true, but I don't think Arajin thinks Matakara deserves it either... He definitely doesn't think Matakara is a bad guy or anything like that. He thinks him treating Matakara badly (avoiding him, not talking to him) would make Matakara give up on trying to be friends. Clearly, its too rough for Arajin to be near him. And the one sided feeling hurts Matakara in return.)

Matakara knows Arajin is avoiding him too and guessed why correctly; "Is it because of what happened?", "I'm stronger now", but Arajin is still holding that guilt. So for them to come to an understanding, both sides should WANT to talk it out. But its clear Arajin doesn't want to, at least not yet. His character arc isn't there yet, which makes everything a little frustrating since we are halfway through the anime and things are just now getting down.

I don't personally think Arajin is a mean person, he's a 16 year old guy who wants to get a gf and be romantic and all that, he doesn't wanna be in gangs or fight or anything. I think he's just insensitive towards Matakara because he has his own issues he doesn't want to deal with. Totally unfair to Matakara. But I want to believe Matakara when he said Arajin is a really nice guy. The dude looks completely smitten. It also kinda sucks that only time we saw Arajin interact with a friend was in a flashback. Nowadays, he has no friends. He avoids Matakara, doesn't really consider anyone else but Mahoro (lol) his friend, so all his relationships are currently one sided lol

[prettyboykatsuki]

and honestly, (as someone who has been in multiple qprs) i feel like they hurt sooo much more than any other 'breakup' - atleast for me, WHICH IS CRAZY LIKE. HLAF THE TIME I DKNT REALISE HOW BADLY IM ATTACHED THEN AFTERWARDS IM LIKE. oh. ooohhhhh. oh this SUCKS. got me clutching my chest.... hanging onto the walls..... i dont know if this is common for others who have been in qprs but i ALSO dont realise what that relationship has been until later. after. some deep thinking. it truly is more than friends less than lovers though even then i feel that statement does not come close to describing it. maybe because i have found queer people (atleast in my experience) to be more... TO PUT THEIR EVERYTHING INTO IT. mpre vulnerable in a sense...? you just know there is love. i dont. Know. but the detachment afterwards truly feels like slmething has been ripped out of you. like. that was my other half We have Merged what do you mean they are gone. dunno if this makes any sense but whatevs.... peace and love. wish you luck king cause i dont know if youll ever get over it considering i havent either and i was also 16 in my last. TRULY PEACE AND LOVE.

this ask feels . so hilariously accurate to my situation it makes me want to cry kjfdsdfjh

we are the same literally. more than friends but in a significant way and less than lovers in a lowkey not noticeable way is how it feels for me but its generally speaking of equal value in my life. i understand this so much especially the part of like. its just Love. i dont know how else to word it but its like literally a soul tie. you are stitched into me sort of thing.

i had a prior qpr from like 14-18 and that split felt so soul crushing but i managed. this one is not like that one because this one is much . stronger and like?? being frank we still do all of that with each other dlsjflskd. i tried to put distance between us for five years and then the thought of seeing them unearthed that shit sooo fast. we just have such . a complicated history i dont know if i should even bring it up but i want too fkdjsd

[modern-day-bard]

Worth The Feeling

Content Warning: 18+

This story includes explicit smut, intimidation, and an age gap relationship (MC is 26, Javi is in his 40s). Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 10

I had to change my shirt twice before leaving for the airport. Every time I thought about getting onto the plane, I started to sweat so much that I must be dehydrated several times over by now. And maybe I was, maybe that's why I felt so lightheaded standing in front of my gate. That combined with the fact that I refuse to sit down. I feel like hopping from foot to foot will keep my anxiety at bay.

I start to see some familiar faces trickle in, which helps a little. Most of the hair and makeup team are here now. I gave a weak wave to Sophie who returned it, but didn't seem to take it as a friendly enough invitation to come over. I see a few other PAs, most of whom are trying to sleep on the floor before we board. Maybe I wasn't the only one who took advantage of the lack of call time this morning. Their green-ish hue screamed 'hangover'. I know that I don't look much better, though my green has nothing to do with alcohol. By the time it's ten minutes to board, my anxiety is kicked into overdrive. I haven't seen anyone from the sound crew come over to our terminal. I take out my phone and notice I have three missed calls from Lana.

Shit. I call her back immediately.

"Ava?" She sounds worried as soon as she answers.

"Hey!" I do my best to sound cheerful.

"Shit, you're freaking out. Ava, I am so sorry. I've been trying to call you. They switched sound and lighting's flight last minute. I have no idea why."

I do. I mean I must have done something horrible to have this much bad karma back to back. I feel my arms go tingly. I had been dreading the flight enough, even knowing that Lana would be next to me to hold my hand. Now what do I do?

"I did what I could but...you know. I don't exactly carry a lot of power around here." She lets out a small, curt laugh. I know she's trying to ease my tension, and my heart squeezes at her effort, but it hasn't slowed down.

"Are you okay?" Lana asks, softer now.

"Oh, yeah. Thank you for letting me know. But, you know, I can find someone who can, you know. Yeah."

"Okay you don't sound good."

"I'm sorry, um...when are you going to get to Italy?" I feel like I'm going to cry, and I should probably ask something else if I want to prevent that from happening.

"I'll be there tomorrow at the earliest. I think Lloyd will have the airline's head on a stick if the crew isn't there by tomorrow night."

"Right," I take a deep breath.

"You know how much I wish I could hold your hand. But you've done this before. You have a lot of the crew with you. You'll be okay."

"Right," I repeat.

"Is Barb there?"

"She was supposed to be, but I don't see her." I do a quick glance at the other people waiting at my gate, but I don't really register any faces.

"Well maybe she'll be nearby. And at the very least, you know she's there with you and I'm right behind you."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll look for Barb. Thanks Lana...I'm sorry your flight is switched."

"Me too, babes. Good luck and I'll talk to you when you land. You've got this."

"Alright, bye."

As soon as I hang up the phone, boarding begins. At this point, I'm wondering how badly I need my shitty PA salary. Pretty badly, since I live alone and am currently paying for school. Could I drop out? Could I walk to the other side of America and take a ferry over to Europe? I've always wanted to go to Italy, truthfully. But getting there is a whole other story. And as they call my section for boarding, my legs get increasingly shaky with each step I take toward the plane.

I don't hear the flight attendants as they welcome me, and I feel like a zombie walking past first class. I'm almost all the way at the back of the plane, and by the time I finally see my seat, it's the first time I feel like I really want to sit down. I think I need to sit down, because the longer I stand the tighter the walls seem.

I settle in, putting my backpack under the seat in front of me before resting my head back. I close my eyes and try to picture a wide open space and soft, safe ground. Ground that will soon be about ten thousand feet below me. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I squeeze my eyes tighter and grip the arm rests. I know one of these seats would have belonged to Lana, and I'm not sure if her seat would have been sold. I hope not. I think I would rather be alone than flying next to a stranger.

I can hear an attendant begin the safety announcements, and I think it's best to tune it out. I can barely function when the plane is on the ground, so I have no hope for myself in a disaster scenario, even if I do pay attention now. Maybe I should put my headphones in or something to drown it out. But then I remember the rule about turning off cellphones during take off, and I decide just to stay frozen in the position I'm in, my hands straining against the plastic.

But then I hear shuffling next to my little row, and I send up silent prayers that whoever it is won't be joining me on either of the seats beside me. I don't have to pray for long, because my hopes are dashed when I feel someone settled next to me on my left. Great. Now I might have to give up one of the arm rests, relinquishing my stress toy. Maybe that would be a good thing, my hands already feel sore. I take a deep breath and try to focus on easing my grip, and I get a waft of something alluring and familiar. Something musky and... cedarwood.

I crack my eyes open just to peek, and sure enough, a pair of very concerned brown eyes are watching me carefully. My eyes fully fly open now.

"I thought you might need some company." Javi says softly.

"I...you're in first class. You...I didn't even know talent was on this flight." God, it was already hard to breathe before he was here. I try looking at him out of the corner of my eye instead.

"I was in first class, but I felt like making a trade today."

"A trade?"

Javi nods, "With Barb. I would have been here sooner but the airline gave us a hard time about switching."

"I bet she was ecstatic."

"She had already finished two mini bottles by the time I left first class." His smile is playful, and despite my nerves, I laugh.

"I'm not sure which seat was Lana's, but the one I actually swapped Barb for is a few rows back. I'm assuming Lana isn't coming though."

I nod, laying my head back again as I remember that we're about to take off.

"You don't want the window?" Javi asks.

I shake my head. "I would like the opposite of being reminded of how high up we're going to be."

"In that case..." Javi steps over me, sitting in the window seat, and promptly closing the blind. He then positions himself in front of the covered window. "There. Now you only have to deal with this," He gestures to his face and gives me a devilish smile. I start giggling, but that quickly makes tears spring to my eyes.

"Hey, hey..." Javi leans toward me, and gently pries my right hand off of the arm rest, placing our then entwined hands in his lap.

"I know it's ridiculous," my voice is sputtery, and I'm trying really hard not to let the tears overflow now.

"It's not." He whispers.

The plane starts to move, and I close my eyes again. I can feel us bumping along the tarmac, and I know the worst part, takeoff, is coming up. Subconsciously, I squeeze Javi's hand. He gives me three light squeezes back before running small circles across the back of my hand with his thumb. We start picking up speed, and with it my breathing hitches. I'm worried this is going to turn into a full-blown panic attack now.

"Ava," Javi says quietly.

"Mhm?" My lips remain a tight line, my eyes still screwed shut.

"Did I ever tell you I can read palms?"

"Um, what? No..." Why is he talking about this right now?

"I can. I'm really good at it." He flips my hand, resting it in his left palm. He separates our fingers, and brings his right hand on top of mine. "I was on location for a film a few years back, and one of the locals taught me and my co-star. She said that the art of palm reading had been passed down from generation to generation in her family. It's a very old art, and they believe it to be one of the most accurate ways of telling one's future."

He starts drawing indecipherable shapes on my palm with his forefinger. The movement makes me open my eyes, curious if I can figure out what shape he's drawing if I can actually see it.

"This right here," He draws a line at the top of my palm, "is your heart line. Yours is quite long, meaning that you will have many friends and possibly lovers throughout your life. It also means that you have a big heart, lots of compassion."

I just stare at him, confused. He barely looks up before he continues, unfazed.

"This," he draws a line vertically, "is your health line. You will have excellent health, but suffer from the common cold a lot more often than those around you."

I let out a brief laugh. "That's true, actually."

"I told you I'm good." He gives me a brief, sly smile. "Finally, this is your life line. It's also quite long. Meaning that you will land safely in Italy and all of this will just be a silly memory."

He continues to brush his fingers over my palm, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"You made all of that up."

"Oh, all of it," he says matter-of-factly.

"So you're a liar?"

"No. I'm a damn good distraction."

I look at him, puzzled.

"You did it, Ava. You're in the air. It's all smooth sailing from here."

I look around, not like that will necessarily help me discern where we are, but when I take in the feeling of the plane around me and the seat underneath me, I realize that we are in fact flying. We're not even climbing at a steep rate right now, it feels like we've almost leveled out.

I feel like I can look at him now without having an onslaught of heart palpitations.

"Thank you." I say sincerely.

He just gives me a knowing smile.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"You mentioned it to me when we went to dinner."

I hadn't even remembered that. I must've said it in passing.

"Oh my god, and Barb mentioned you had asked about what plane the crew was on. You're sneaky."

"All I'm hearing is that you and Barb were talking about me." His smile turns flirtatious, teasing. My heart tugs, remembering our last conversation before this one. And how nothing has changed. We still can't risk each other's careers, and it's probably not even wise of us to be holding hands on a flight with at least one hundred strangers surrounding us.

He must have noticed that my face fell, because he pulls my chin toward him, making me look him in the eyes.

"Let's not think about it," he whispers. "At least not for now."

I search his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out why he would even bother doing this for me. Why give up his fancy first class seat? Why risk watchful eyes seeing our entangled hands? Why play with my heart if we both know how this ends?

Despite all of those things, I still find myself nodding. "Okay."

"How do you think you're feeling now? Still anxious?" He asks.

"Oh yeah. I'll be anxious the whole flight, that's usually how it goes."

"It's a redeye. Can you sleep on planes?"

"Usually no, but sometimes I think my body gets so tired of being anxious that it will shut down."

"Ahh," He presses his lips together, nodding. "In that case, I'd like to distract you a little longer if that's alright with you."

I smirk at him. "What distractions did you have in mind?" I don't mean it to sound suggestive, but it's like my vocal chords protest against an appropriate tone when I'm talking to Javi.

"Tell me about your parents," he looks sincere and relaxed, leaning back in his seat a little. His hand is still holding mine.

Okay, that question will definitely keep things PG.

"Oh. Um...they're pretty great, actually." I smile to myself.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I don't get to see them as much as I'd like. Flights across the country aren't exactly cheap and with work and school I probably wouldn't have the time even if I had the money. But we call each other every so often. They're both accountants so it was a very creative household," my voice drips in sarcasm, "They don't really understand my love for the industry. But they're supportive, they ask questions."

"How'd they feel about the move to California?"

"They weren't thrilled. New York was a lot easier to stomach for them than the other side of the country. They also really loved John, so they weren't thrilled with that situation either. I think it was kind of like losing a son for them. They'd known him for a long time."

Javi's gaze hardens for a minute, but he nods, still looking to take in information.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asks after a moment.

"Nope. I'm a spoiled only child."

"I don't get the spoiled vibe from you."

"What tipped you off? The fact that you've already seen me rewear the same five outfits about twenty times?" I do a little shimmy, referencing downward to my classic PA wear of jeans and a t-shirt.

He chuckles lightly. "I was more so thinking of the way that you treat people. Barb spoke very highly of you."

I scoff, "I'm not buying it. Barb doesn't speak highly of anyone."

"Okay fine," he chuckles again, "It was more of what she didn't say. She can complain about anyone on set, but she had nothing bad to say about you. And she did say you're a hard worker and she's never heard you complain. She said the last part in sort of an irritated way though."

I laugh a little now, too. "She would probably like me more if I complained with her. And if you ask Lana, she'll tell you I complain plenty."

"You two are really close, huh?"

I nod, "Lana's my family out here. I know she felt horrible that she couldn't come with me today, but it's not even her fault."

Javi's thumb starts rubbing circles on my hand again, looking a little bit concerned. I imagine he's hoping I don't start with the tears again. But strangely, that feeling seems really far away right now.

"It's your turn," I say.

"My turn for what?"

"To tell me about your family. You always want me to do all the talking," I tease.

"Not true. And you still haven't Googled?"

"Nope. I told you, inhumane."

He smiles, maybe even a little relieved that I hadn't researched him still. Not that any of that would matter to me. There couldn't be anything online about him that would alter the man in front of me. I bet they didn't even know he could read palms.

"Well, they're also pretty great," His face brightens, smiling to himself about memories only available to him. "They're also in New York, and I also don't get to see them very often. Not in pursuit of a master's degree, of course, but this job can get sort of hectic. As you know. But we talk on the phone a lot, too."

"Siblings?"

"Two of them. Two sisters, and I have three nieces now, too."

"You're close with them." It wasn't a question, I could tell by his expression and how his voice softened mentioning them. His soft voice was starting to lull me a little, and I felt a yawn creeping up on me. I didn't want to release it in fear that Javi would think I didn't want to know about his family. Truthfully, hearing about them was relaxing. Hearing his voice talk about something he loved was soothing, and I feel like my body was finally coming out of fight or flight.

"Very much so."

"They must think you're pretty cool, first class tickets and red carpets." That yawn is really threatening me now. My lip trembles.

"Would you just yawn already please?" I look up at him, embarrassed, but his smile is full of affection.

"No, I want to hear your stories."

"I can see your eyelids drooping."

"You just don't want me to know all your secrets. You're trying to force me to Google you."

"I'm glad you haven't..." he starts to brush his fingers up and down my arm, and I worry that I'll get goosebumps. "But I would still like you to try to sleep."

At the mention of the word, I finally let my yawn come out. I rest my head back against the headrest once more, finally out of exhaustion instead of panic.

"Who said I was even tired?" I joke.

"You'd feel better if your first day in Italy wasn't consumed by jet lag. You know I'm right." I can hear the smugness in his voice, but my eyes continue to drift shut.

"Fine. You're right." I fully shut my eyes now, already feeling my head nodding to one side. Javi continues brushing his fingertips up and down my arm, and I sigh.

"You are wrong about one thing though," I say, fighting sleep.

"What's that?" I can hear his smile even in his whisper.

"This won't be a silly memory... You remembered I was afraid of flying... And you helped me."

I'm vaguely aware of my head drooping to my right, and landing on Javi's shoulder. And I swear I hear him murmur something against my temple, but sleep has already found me.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

[foxymoxynoona]

Tell Me What Changed (Part 11 A)

Banner and lines by the talented @awrkive

Summary: Alex and Jungkook have been best friends since childhood –actual best friends. She is NOT in love with him, for real, and wishes people would stop assuming that. Why does no one question if he’s in love with her? Huh? But it might have to do with his successful fuckboy status, while Alex is very much… not that. Which is fine and doesn’t matter! Until Jimin’s impending wedding leaves her eager for a date and willing to put herself out there, and Jungkook can’t believe what happens next.

Fuckboy Best Friend JK x OC

CW and tags: fuckboy behavior, jealousy, pining, heartbreak, angst, bad language, explicit sex, sexy photos, alcohol, f2l, who knows what else I'm making it up as we go

Read on AO3 here or below cut

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Read Epilogue

Note: I did it again, the chapter is too long for tumblr so I have to split it into three parts. Make sure you read A first!!!

Jungkook wasn’t nervous for his date with Alex. Why would he be nervous? It was Alex. He knew everything Alex liked. He knew how to have a good time with her. He knew how to make her laugh until she’d yell she was going to pee herself and go waddling to the bathroom while he shouted things after her to try and make it happen. He knew what food she liked and how long she could tolerate standing in line for an attraction and that she didn’t mind the cold but she didn’t like to get wet in the rain because she didn’t like her hair and clothes sticking to her skin. 

Once he had wanted to test that, run naked through the rain with her. She had of course refused and punched him in the stomach for the suggestion. He wondered if now he had a better chance of convincing her… for science, obviously! Did she still mind the rain if her hair was in a bun and she was totally naked in it? What if he was on top of her, blocking some of it?

But in all seriousness, he might not really date other than an occasional activity preceding a good fuck but if he was ever going to go on a date, Alex was the easiest partner for it. They could have fun –and had!-- anywhere: the grocery store, a furniture store, CVS to get their flu shots, McDonald’s at 2am, urgent care that time his ears were stopped up so badly and his fever was so high he started to cry and she forced him to go and kept referring to him as “my son” to the nurses and he couldn’t stop laughing despite the pain. 

So yeah, why would he be nervous about a date? He had no doubts about success. He was going to take her to minigolf, school her ass, then tacos from the best truck in town which he had confirmed would be at Hoff Memorial Park;  they’d eat sitting in the cold on a picnic bench and then he’d take her home to his bed before the rain started around nine and he’d, you know. Spaghetti her. He’d put a lot of thought into what positions he’d use too. A lot. Needed to be sure he’d maximize her pleasure and not bend or twist her in a way that hurt her. Stroke her just right. He wanted to win a scream! Leave her a trembling melted mess in his arms. Ah, it’d be so good… she’d be all fuck, Koo, I finally get it now, you’re really fucking good at this. Make her eat her words alongside his dick, that thing she’d always said with a laugh, damn, if the insta-girls could see the real you they’d be heartbroken.

He needed to show her what’s good.

He had a plan.

And then the comments started.

Nate: “Oh damn, you actually have a date with her? Wasn’t that last guy really good at dates? Good luck, my man.”

Namjoon: “Oh. That’s the date you planned? Isn’t that just… what you guys normally do?”

Taehyung: “Yeah this is the time, you can really show her that you’re serious and mature and want to do this, so like, whole nine yards, something big and– oh. Minigolf? Um…”

Sabina: “Don’t take her to minigolf. She deserves more than minigolf.”

Anita: “Hm, I think minigolf just seems a little easy and impersonal. But you know her best! If you think that’s the kind of date she likes, then…”

Jimin: “You messaged me on my honeymoon for this? It’s fine, Alex will think it’s funny.”

Fuck. Fuck! As Jungkook paced his apartment the afternoon before the date, he realized his plan was no good. He didn’t want Alex to think their date was funny. He wanted her to think it was romantic. He wanted her to be awed by his charm and suaveness… suavity…. State of being suave. He wanted her to be swept off her feet. He wanted her to forget Hobi was ever a guy she dated and it sucked because Nate was right, Hobi was good at dates. He showed up and showed out and Alex was always all flustered and bubbly after their dates. Jungkook wanted Alex to be like that afterwards. Not just like “yep that was an ok time hanging out with my good buddy JK.” He wanted blushes and giggles and then bam, spaghetti!

This called for a fucking re-plan. And fast. 

He showered so he’d smell fresh and lotioned and not like the mall, slapping on cologne and spot-fixing his acne in between looking things up on his laptop perched precariously on the bathroom counter. A few google searches and phone calls later and he’d completely redone their plans for the night, pulling out all the stops. Was it going to hurt his bank account? Yes. Was she worth it? Also yes.

Much more at ease about the whole thing, Jungkook took one more look at himself in the mirror, snapped a selfie, and posted it to his socials for the pep talk he needed.

[TheJK.1997]: look good feel good treat her good, ready for the surf and turf. Best wine recs for Hollyoak Vineyard go

He checked himself one last time, ran over a spot he missed shaving real quick, and was out the door in plenty of time to pick her up early, just to really surprise her. Definitely not because he was getting a stomachache from nerves and needed to do something other than pace from living room to kitchen and pick at his lips.

She wasn’t ready. There he was with a fucking bouquet of flowers even though it made him feel like a fucking idiot because Hoseok gave her flowers so it would look like he was copying but obviously he couldn’t not show up with flowers –there he was with a fucking bouquet of flowers, sitting in a living room he’d been in at least one thousand times since he’d known Alex, while her dad sat in the chair and watched a Planet Earth documentary and her mom made tea in the kitchen even though he had assured her he didn’t want any. They had said hello to him and not much else, both like this was any other time that he’d come over and also like it wasn’t and they weren’t supposed to acknowledge his presence as he just sat there on the couch in slacks and a button up with fucking flowers to give their fucking daughter who was fucking late. It was mortifying. Jungkook wished he could melt into the cracks between the couch cushions. He wished Dilong would come running out and scratch his throat or piss on him or something so he had an excuse to just leave.

“How’s work?” Baba Song asked him over the sound of flamingos feeding.

“It’s good. Busy at the holidays.”

“How is your dad’s– ah, I will just ask him, I’ll see him tomorrow.”

Jungkook nodded. He wasn’t actually sure what about his father was unwell right now, so he should ask. He pulled out his phone and saw they were going to have to hurry to make their dinner reservation. 

“AHh I had better check on her–” Jungkook mumbled, starting to stand. Mama Song was just setting tea in front of him and took it upon herself to shout for Alex followed by Chinese. Alex answered in short Chinese, then came down the hall.

“I’m ready, ok? What’s the rush? I was doing my makeup– oh?” She stopped in front of him and her eyes went right to the flowers. “You brought me flowers?”

Jungkook was instantly mortified. She was probably comparing them to the ones Hoseok had bought her.

“They’re for your mom,” he quickly corrected, thrusting them towards Mama Song. 

Who let out a cackle of a laugh and said, “I will put them in water for Alex. I have a perfect vase. They are beautiful.”

“Wait, I want to see them,” Alex cried, leaping after her mother. She bent down to look close and Jungkook felt like she might as well be examining his limp dick, he was so embarrassed. They were supposed to be nice. He’d bought really nice ones at the standalone shop next to the Starbucks –not the one she worked at, not the one Hoseok worked at, a different one! He didn’t know what kinds of flowers they were but there was lots of color and some spiky looking ones because they looked fun and he thought spiky flowers made sense for her. 

“They’re really pretty,” she said.

“You’re really pretty,” he countered automatically, an old way they had of teasing each other except this time he’d accidentally been nice. Baba Song coughed on the couch and Jungkook thought it had to be related. Cool, he already felt like he was dying anyway as Alex grinned wide and looked him up and down and he was sure she was laughing at him. Baba Song laughing at him too was exactly what he didn’t need.

“You look like you’re going on a date,” Alex mused.

“Uh…” The panic was instant. “Aren’t I?”

“Koopa,” she laughed and hit him on the arm. “You’d better be! Let’s go, weren’t you in a rush a minute ago? You know it takes time to do my makeup without you to help.”

“It looks good,” he said, though the points weren’t quite even which he only noticed because sometimes it took her ten tries before she’d give up and ask him to do it. He started to offer to fix it now but she was already headed towards the door and it didn’t matter. 

“Goodbye Mr. Song. Mrs. Song,” he called. Should he promise to have her home at a certain time? Even addressing them that way felt weird but like, he was taking their daughter out on a date, he had to seem sort of respectful and responsible, right? “Thank you for the tea!” He hadn’t even touched it.

Alex’s skirt was very short, he noticed as they went to his car. She had fancy green tights on underneath it so he couldn’t see skin or anything but it did occur to him that if she bent over, he might not even need to hike it up. Not that he was just thinking about fucking! It really felt more like a nervous impulse to think about it, because he was way more nervous about the not-fucking parts right now as he hurried around and slid into the driver’s seat. He wasn’t even trying to fuck her tonight! He just wanted to hit it out of the park, this whole “date with the goal of earning another date” thing.

“So where are we going?” she asked as he started the car. It was cold and he wished he had thought to run out and start it early so she wouldn’t have to sit in it; she was wearing a new coat, not her usual bulky one that made her look like a burnt marshmallow. You know, in a cute way!

“Um… you know that steakhouse over on–”

“Steakhouse,” she repeated, eyes going wide. “You can’t afford steak!”

“You don’t know what I can’t afford. I’m taking you to a steakhouse!”

“Ok ok geez.” She wiggled in her seat to get comfortable. “I figured you’d just take me for tacos or something. Steak is fine.”

He scoffed, “Come on. I’m a better date than that.”

“All right James Bond or whatever…” she mumbled. “Didn’t know you had something you were trying to prove or whatever.”

“Yeah well…” He didn’t know what to say to that. Yeah, of course he had something to prove. “Is it warm enough for you?” He made it warmer, just in case, even though he was starting to sweat. 

They lapsed into silence. The roads were icy so he didn’t want to be too distracted but it made him nervous for her to just be sitting there staring out the window. Silence was bad on a date, that was something everyone knew. Silence was definitely not going to leave her starry-eyed and weak in the knees.

“So uh, how’s work?”

“Ugh, next question,” she snorted, and reached for the radio dial.

“No, don’t turn music on. Let’s just… talk.”

“O…k….”

He started talking just to fill the silence. He told her about his own work, and about Appa thinking he wanted to do Christmas lights and throwing one lit net over a bush and calling it a day, and about his new nephew who was still pretty useless but starting to look cuter now. He realized they had seen each other a few days ago so these life updates weren’t necessary but he wanted some sort of connection.

“Uh… well, there’s not much going on with me… well, Hobi brought a box of my stuff to work today, so that kind of sucked–”

“He brought it to your work?!”

“Well he waited in the parking lot but yeah… I mean we agreed to do that today but still that sucked in the morning and then I got home and Dilong puked on my bed and I stubbed my toe while I was getting ready… but you brought me flowers, so that’s the best part of my day so far,” she smiled. 

“They were for your mom…”

“Oh yeah? For Mrs. Song?” she teased. 

But he didn’t feel like being teased because this was a date and they were supposed to be getting to know each other and charming each other, so instead he suggested, “Ok let’s not talk about Hobi or uh, other exes or anything tonight.”

“Um… ok… Geez, sensitive much?’

“It’s my date with you.”

“You just asked me how my day was and I told you.”

“Ok so now I know and I’m just saying we can talk about other things now.”

“Ok like what?”

“Um…” Jungkook wracked his brain, but everything that came to mind wasn’t the kind of thing he wanted to talk about on their first date. Funny but inappropriate memes, friend gossip, political outrage, bemoaning the economy, a really bloody anime he’d started and thought she might like too, none of it was the way he wanted to represent himself right now as a respectable and respectful guy. Boyfriend material.

“We’re here,” he announced. Saved by the drive time. He pulled into a spot near the water’s edge –just a pond, but definitely something the steakhouse capitalized on for atmosphere. Fairy lights hung above the walkway through a little windy garden to reach the front of the restaurant.

“Woah, this place is nice,” Alex murmured, bumping into him as she looked around. “Are you sure about this? It’s really fancy… I didn’t dress for something this fancy…”

“I’m sure.” He took her hand and looped it through his arm. “You deserve something like this. It’s our first date. Right?” He looked eagerly down at her, needing to hear her agree that it was in fact their first date and that was in fact a big deal to her too.

“I guess but you really didn’t have to go to so much trouble. You know me, I’m easy–”

“I don’t know you. This is our chance to get to know each other,” he corrected. “As –you know, this new way of seeing each other.” As romantic partners, he couldn’t bring himself to say.

He thought her smile looked unconvinced but at least she was smiling. They reached the front door –and now he saw a side ramp they could have taken right to the front door instead of wandering through the garden. Uh well. He opened the door for her and they walked in to easily the nicest restaurant Jungkook had ever been to in his life. The host was wearing a tux. 

Shit this place was going to be expensive.

“Good evening,” the host greeted them as Jungkook shirked his coat off.

“Hi. Um, Jungkook Jeon, table for two. I have reservations for 6:00.” 

“Ah, yes, Jeon, hm…” The host didn’t move as his gaze trailed down Jungkook and then slid to Alex. “My apologies, Mr. Jeon, but were you aware that there is a dress code for dining here?”

Jungkook glanced down at his slacks and dark blue button up and nodded, “Yeah. We dressed nicely.” He glanced at Alex and realized he hadn’t told her to dress nicely but yeah, she looked great: short red skirt, dark green legs, a fluffy white sweater with… pearls? Had she really worn a sweater with pearls all across the chest to their date– ok, but she hadn’t meant anything filthy by it, he was sure of that. Just because his mind went there didn’t mean hers did.

“I’m sorry, the dress code is formal. That means at least a tie and jacket for the gentleman and formal evening dress or pantsuit for the lady.” 

“Uh…” Jungkook glanced at their outfits again. “Well this is what we have on so…”

The host looked performatively apologetic as he said, “I’m sorry, I cannot seat you.”

“But… but I made a reservation,” Jungkook argued. “No one’s going to die because I’m not wearing a jacket.”

“Neither of you is dressed appropriately for the restaurant, I’m afraid–”

It was embarrassing, sure, but he also didn’t want Alex to hear someone insinuate she wasn’t dressed nicely, so he ignored that she was grabbing his arm and argued, “Ok but she looks like a million bucks so I don’t– you just need me to put on a jacket and a tie–”

“Jungkook, let’s just go,” she said, trying to push him back towards the door.

“But I made reservations. This isn’t the ‘50s. No one under 50 has a jacket and tie for dinner at a shitty suburban steakhouse on the swamp–”

“Koo, let’s go,” she grunted, and managed to push him back against the door. He pushed it and stepped back out into the cold and felt the anger flare up freely now.

“What the fuck kind of place– am I crazy? Who fucking cares whether I have a jacket and a tie on for–”

“Well they care, it’s their rule!”

“It’s discrimination against young people!”

“Yeah, did you see the people eating in the restaurant?” she laughed. “I don’t think they want young people eating there. They want like rich uppercrust people.”

“Those people don’t live here.”

“Well this place is kind of famous, isn’t it? Maybe they drive in…”

“Is it?”

“I think it was on a TV show,” Alex admitted, before pointing to a plaque beside the door. Apparently it had, and won a bunch of awards. No wonder they cared about the way they looked or whatever.

“Yeah well showing all that by the door is tacky,” Jungkook scowled. Waves of anger and embarrassment rolled over him. “My money is as good as the next guy’s.”

“Ok but who cares, we don’t have to eat at a place like this. Let’s just pick somewhere else,” Alex said, nudging him towards the ramp.

Ugh, Hoseok would definitely have worn the suit and tie.

“Maybe we can just run back to my place and I can grab the suit I wore to the wedding–”

“No, I’m not dressed like that either and I don’t want to change. I spent way longer than I want to admit figuring out what to wear that would be cute and comfy,” she protested.

“But I want to take you to this nice place–”

“I don’t care about the nice place!” she snapped. He really did think she snapped at him, and it shut him up. They marched in silence down the ramp back towards his car. They got into the car. They buckled their seatbelts.

Bad start to the date.

“We can go to Taco Bell for all I care,” Alex suggested.

“That’s a shitty date,” Jungkook sulked. “That’s the kind of date you think I am?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Taco Bell…”

“I’m not taking you to fucking Taco Bell,” he groaned and pulled out his phone and began scrolling again. What was close, and nice, and not a fucking Taco Bell, and not going to turn them away at the door because they weren’t dressed in some shitty elitist outdated formal dining attire. Fuck, he was so angry about it! Even if that was a rule, they couldn’t bend it? They couldn’t seat them somewhere private or something? He was trying to impress a girl here!

“We could do Italian… is that too much wine though? We’re going to a wine tasting afterwards.”

“A wine tasting?” Alex repeated. “Um…”

“You don’t like a wine tasting?”

“No no it’s fine!” Alex assured him. “That’s cute. You really… yeah, it’ll be great,” she smiled at him. “And sure, Italian is fine! Let’s do Italian. What place are you thinking?”

“Tomasso Trattoria and Enoteca,” Jungkook read, and handed her the phone as he started to drive so she could look at it.

“Woah… this place is still really nice though… I was thinking like Olive Garden–”

“Alex, can you please let me take this date seriously? I realize maybe you don’t care but–”

“I care! Care about this being our date? I care!”

“I want it to be a special date!”

“I get it! This place looks very special,” she told him, setting his phone in the cradle with the GPS up. 

He knew his frustration was a wall between them but she didn’t break it down this time. Usually she was good at that. He didn’t know what it meant, that she didn’t try. He wasn’t sure how to do it on his own, because if this was a date with someone else he wouldn’t care, he’d just change the subject and move on and vent about it to Alex later, or invent an excuse to take the girl home and go home. To Alex. Obviously she knew how he was, inside and out, but as he drove in the silence he started to feel a deeper embarrassment, like she’d seen him do something wrong. It wasn’t wrong for him to be annoyed with the restaurant for not letting them in! They had told him formal dress when he made the reservation sure but they didn’t explain that meant anything other than just looking your best! He looked his best! Alex looked her best! What, were they going to wear their wedding clothes or something?

“You know I was thinking about how crazy it is that just everything is Christmas this time of year,” Alex mused. “It’s not like I didn’t know everything is too Christmas and that there are lots of people who doesn’t celebrate who have to deal with it but I guess because we celebrate without being Christian, I didn’t really think about how fucking annoying it is for people who really don’t celebrate. Rebekah was telling me people always act like they’re sorry for her…” She continued to talk about it and he took the moment to breathe deeply. Ok. Change in plans. But Alex wasn’t demanding he take her home, so it would be ok. Even if he didn’t know why the fuck this was what she decided to ramble about, at least it was something.

The Italian place was busier, smaller, not on the water, but still nice and they didn’t get turned away at the door. The host took their coats for them. The tables had real candles, which Jungkook didn’t realize he cared about until they sat down and he saw the actual flicker from the breeze of their motions. The menus were short, which a Reddit thread had taught him meant it was a sign of a good restaurant. Their waiter had a bowtie and a black vest and offered to call over a sommelier to guide their wine selection.

“We’re going to a wine tasting after this,” Alex informed the waiter. “So I’ll wait on the wine.”

“We can have a glass or something here,” Jungkook argued.

Alex shook her head and tapped the wine menu, maybe trying to show him that the cheapest wine was $15/glass at a glance. But he had brought her to an Italian restaurant! For a fancy dinner! Wine was part of a fancy dinner!

“You don’t have to, but I’ll have a glass of something, send the sommelier over,” Jungkook insisted. 

Alex decided she’d have the glass too. They had to show their cards and mused as they always did about how old they would have to be before the stopped getting carded. The waiter brought them bread and promised their calamari appetizer would be out quickly.

“Wow, it’s so romantic here,” Alex murmured. Jungkook felt the sigh of relief radiate from his chest. The candle light danced across her skin as she studied the elaborate murals on the walls, partially obscured by heavy red curtains. Elegant music played over the low din of dining. They were towards the edge of a large room, tucked into a little booth by the window with a view of nothing but trees. A grand piano stood in the center of what looked like a dance floor, tables sparse on the wooden floor.

“I feel bad,” she continued. “I didn’t realize you wanted to do such fancy things, I would have dressed nicer.”

“I think you dressed nice.”

“I did too until I saw you,” she laughed. “I guess I forgot…”

“Forgot what?” he asked, not following.

“What you look like.”

“Whaaaat?” he grinned, warmed by the flattery. The compliments from her felt sincere in a way they hadn’t before. He was used to teasing, so he almost didn’t trust it, but she didn’t look like she was teasing him. Now he found himself hungry for more. Did she really think he was hot? Not just aware that other people thought so, but she thought so? She liked the way he looked? She liked the way he dressed?

“Oh my god,” she snickered and rolled her eyes. “Do you always take your ego on dates with you?”

“No, I left it at home tonight with my jacket and tie,” he joked. She smiled and looked so pretty in the candlelight. He draped his hand across the table, palm down, to see if she’d take the hint and put hers on it. Would they be the kind of couple that held hands at dinner? Obviously not on a first date, but someday would they sit on the same side of the booth? Well, in a more serious way than when they did that at Wendy’s so they could both put their feet up on the other bench, that was different.

“The mood lighting is so… romantic,” she said again. “I feel like I should have worn high heels.”

“Your boots have heels.”

“Yeah but you know what I mean…’

“Do you want to dance until our food gets here?” The question was impulsive. No one else was dancing. But that could mean she wouldn’t have to feel nervous or pressured about dancing on beat with him. They could just hold onto each other and sway, here by the table or over on the dance floor. Maybe other people could join. He had enjoyed dancing with her so much, it would be a nice thing to add tonight.

But her eyes went wide as she cried, “Hey, don’t make fun of me!”

“What–”

“Oh god, don’t joke about it,” she laughed and covered her face. “How fucking humiliating…”

Jungkook hadn’t meant it as a joke. He thought it would be romantic. He certainly hadn’t meant to embarrass her just by the suggestion of dancing together. Unsure what else to say, he racked his brain trying to think of topics. The problem was that the lists of things to talk about on your first date were things like ask about where they grew up and ask about their hobbies and ask them what makes them unique? And ask them where their favorite place in the world is. But Jungkook knew all of these things about her! He wanted to learn something new about her. He wanted to seem new to her.

“Uh… what’s your favorite place in the world?” he asked as she untangled the little legs of their calamari appetizer.

“Mine? I don’t know… my parents’ house? I guess it was our old apartment.”

“Oh. Really?” he frowned.

“Why are you frowning?!”

“That’s just kind of sad.”

“Ok. Ouch.”

“No! I mean because we don’t live there anymore.”

“Oh. Yeah. How annoying,” she sighed. “So what’s Namjoon like as a roommate?”

“He’s a good roommate,” Jungkook said because he didn’t want to gossip or vent or seem complainy. Namjoon was a good roommate! Sure, he had a household aesthetic and a lot of Jungkook’s stuff didn’t meet the mark so he was kind of crowded into his room. 

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say? Come on, you complained about living with me all the time.”

“Ah, yeah, sorry about that…”

“Huh?”

Embarrassed that she’d bring that up, he sipped his $15/glass wine. Yeah, he was worried about that. Alex was his best friend and he’d always treated her like a best friend but that wasn’t the same way you wanted to treat a girlfriend. He had a lot of things to undo. Actually, that was it, their first date wasn’t about learning, it was about unlearning all the things he would never have let a girl see about him. 

“You’re being so weird,” she laughed, and nudged his foot under the table. “Is something wrong?”

“Hm? No, why would something be wrong?”

“Don’t let that other place bother you. I like this place a lot better anyway, this calamari is really good! I hope you still like me when I’m bloated from too much fettuccine…”

Instantly he assured her, “Of course I do. I mean, not that you’ll be bloaty or– I mean, obviously the body naturally looks different after a big dinner but it’s not– I won’t notice that kind of– it’s just normal…”

“It was a joke,” she said. “I’m wearing a bulky sweater, you won’t be able to tell anyway. Unless you get me naked.” She arched her eyebrow. 

“We, um– tonight it’s um… were you thinking that? I thought we’d just have a nice date–”

“Oh. That’s not… nice? OK, I mean I’m half joking, I didn’t realize you had such a tight schedule for tonight!”

Jungkook had never felt so awkward and weird around Alex in his life. The only thing he knew to do was try and get the conversation back on track to Impressive Date Approved topics:

“Hey, so I was watching a really interesting show the other day. It was about the brain and all the changes it goes through from like a baby to a dead person– an old person.”

“The brain does very much still change after you die,” she pointed out. Yeah, dead people and rotting brains was definitely not on the approved list. No girl went home from a date and was like oh boy he was so handsome and charming and funny and we talked about decaying brains. I’m so in love.

She had not said that to him yet. That she loved him. There hadn’t been any real confession or labeling and he was obviously fine with that, he didn’t need labels, but still, it would be cool to get her to say something he could be sure of.

“No, don’t be like that, it was really cool to see– oh thank Christ the food is here.”

“You in a hurry or something?” she laughed. Which reminded him that they did have a scheduled start time for the wine tasting. He checked his phone as the waiter set their food down. 

“Our wine tasting is at 7:30.”

“What?! Then yeah we don’t have much time!”

“Yeah.” Hm, he hadn’t really done the math right– or well he had when he’d made reservations for six at the other place, he just hadn’t counted on needing to change restaurants. Actually they have very little time. “Uh, well, ok, let’s eat fast then…” Eating fast was not romantic. “Or we can miss it. It’s fine.”

But she waved her hand, already twirling pasta around her fork, “No way, we’ll make it. You worked so hard planning all of this! I can eat fast. Damn this is good pasta…. You want to try this?”

He did, but he already envisioned the noodles swinging down and getting on his dark shirt. And then she’d want to try his, which was spaghetti and meatballs (it was one of the cheapest things on the menu, ok?!) and he’d drop one and it would bounce onto her white sweater. It wasn’t worth the risk.

“Nah, we can just eat our own food,” he assured her. 

And promptly knocked his glass of wine to the ground, shattering it.

**

Alex had never seen Jungkook acting so weird in her life. He swung back and forth between distracted and too intense. One moment she’d think he was bored and the next he’d ignore whatever she just said and start telling her a play by play of some brain documentary he watched! He was clearly pissed about the first restaurant turning them away but then didn’t seem to care about the next place even though it was really nice; they had to leave so quickly to get to the wine tasting that they didn’t even get dessert. 

He wasn’t acting like himself at all. Honestly, she felt like another day he might have still been able to sweet talk them into that first restaurant –though she was glad he hadn’t because she wasn’t really comfortable in a place like that anyway. It was bad enough being at the Italian restaurant where Jungkook insisted on paying and the waiter gave her a menu without prices so she didn’t even know how much damage she was doing to Jungkook’s bank account. He didn’t want to talk about any of the things they normally talked about. He didn’t respond to any of her jokes. 

She couldn’t figure it out. Did he just not want to be here? But that didn’t make sense, because if he didn’t want to be here, he wouldn’t be! Jungkook had no problem peacing out of a situation he didn’t want to be in. He’d bailed on her plenty of times, that wasn’t hard for him.

They rushed across town to get to Hollyoak Vineyards for this wine tasting Jungkook had booked them for –and she was confused, because they couldn’t do a vineyard tour in the cold and dark or anything– and made it just in the nick of time. He kept saying over and over that it was fine if they missed it, which seemed to mean it wasn’t fine. 

And then, checking in, winded by the sprint from the car, Alex made a terrible discovery: she had left her wallet and ID at the Italian restaurant. Which might have been fine if Jungkook wasn’t with her, because often she didn’t get carded on her own. But Jungkook made her look younger with that charming babyface of his. The woman asked to see their IDs before they could join the tour and tasting.

“I left it at the restaurant,” she admitted quietly, turning to Jungkook.

For a moment he just looked at her.

“You don’t have your ID?”

“It’s at the restaurant.”

“Uh…”

He froze. He looked between her and the employee and Alex knew that look: somebody fix this for me because I don’t know what to do now. Usually she didn’t see that look unless he was drunk or in emotional crisis. Neither was true now, except that he still wasn’t saying anything.

“Is there another tasting tonight?” Alex asked the employee.

“No, I’m sorry. I can reschedule you for another day?”

“Could he start the tasting now and I’ll go and come back–”

“No, you’ll miss the whole thing,” Jungkook said, reanimated. He pulled his ID off the counter and tucked it back into his wallet. “Ok, we’ll go. Thanks anyway.”

“I’m sorry, I guess it fell out of my purse under the table,” she explained as they left the place. He didn’t say anything. She couldn’t tell if he was pissed or disappointed, but she felt bad either way. “I’m really sorry, Jungkook.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter,” he sighed. “Uh…” They reached the car and he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. She didn’t know what he was thinking about or if he was just trying to control his emotions or what. “You want me just to take you home? This is all kind of a bust, huh?”

“Wha? No, don’t take me home yet!”

“You sure? ‘Cause this a pretty fail date so–”

“Oh my god are you serious right now?” she laughed. “It’s fine! Things go wrong sometimes, it’s not that serious. Can’t we just find something else to do?”

He let out a deep, heavy sigh.

“Hey look, I’m sorry I fucked up the wine tasting. We can just do that on another date, I’ll book it.”

“Yeah but…”

“Let’s just go to minigolf or something–”

“I’m not taking you to minigolf,” he huffed, and crossed his arms and leaned against the car, and rolled his eyes.

And frankly, Alex had had enough.

“Why the fuck not? What’s wrong with minigolf? What’s wrong with Taco Bell? I don’t want to be a bitch because I know you put all this effort into planning all of these things but why are you acting like we’re suddenly too good to– ok, we tried this fancy stuff and things went wrong so let’s just do something else! It doesn’t have to be a big deal!”

“It does have to be a big deal, Alex! It’s our first fucking date!”

“So?!” she shouted, throwing her arms up.

“What do you mean ‘so’?! It’s our first date! The first date we ever go on!” he shouted back.

“Yeah I know that! But it doesn’t have to be like some big…” She couldn’t think of the right words. Her shouting fizzled a bit as she thought through what he’d just said, and how actually very sweet that was.

“I wanted it to be big,” he insisted. “Hoseok always took you on these big fancy dates, right? Yeah, I can do that too!”

“Oh, Jungkook,” she sighed. And walked around and grabbed his coat and headbutted his chest and let her head rest there. “You dummy.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about what Hoseok did. Who cares?”

“You cared.”

“Past tense,” she pointed out, craning her neck to look up at him from so close. “Now I’m out on a date with you. I don’t have this like high expectation of–”

“Of a good date? You should. That’s shitty, I don’t–”

“We can do anything and it’s a good date. I just wanted to spend time with you. We already know all kinds of things we like doing together.”

“Yeah but this isn’t just hanging out, Alex. It’s a date date. I wanted it to be special.”

“It is special, you idiot.” She hit him on the arm several times to try and make him smile. “It’s us. Obviously it’s special.”

“No, we’ve always been just friends. This needs to be big so you know it’s different–”

“Do you think I’m a stupid little baby? Is that why you were telling me about baby brains? I know this is different! You brought me flowers and looked all nervous and awkward on my couch!” It was more fun to tease him than admit her own nerves as she’d dressed and redressed and then redressed again. But the excitement for her had been a thousand times louder than the nerves. Nervous-excited, not nervous-afraid.

He sounded nervous-afraid.

“Yeah but–”

“I put on sexy underwear and eyeliner! The pointy way you said looks good!”

“I know that– I mean not about the underwear but–”

“So why are you being so weird about our date? There’s no point if you don’t actually enjoy spending time with me.”

“What are you talking about?” he demanded, eyebrows furrowing into the little V she had predicted. “Of course I like spending time with you.”

“Yeah? What do you like doing with me?”

“I don’t know, just… stuff. Like… but it’s just been friend stuff before–”

“I’m no expert, but I think dating is kind of just doing the same things we always did except we say it’s a date now,” she pointed out. “You don’t think so? Or are you worried you don’t actually like me or something?”

“I like you, Alex, that’s why I’m nervous. Pretty sure I used a word stronger than ‘like’ before too.”

She let that sit for a moment. Hearing Jungkook admit he was nervous was a completely different lens to look at the whole evening. Hearing Jungkook reiterate that he liked her was like, nauseatingly unbelievable. 

Ok, now she was having a harder time not being nervous-afraid because yeah, this was pretty crazy, being on a date date with Jungkook that he was taking so seriously because he liked her and she liked him too. Oh god.

“Are you… are you just cranky because you’re worried about having a bad first date?” she fumbled out.

“Yeah! Obviously! Jesus, it’s like you– are you fucking with me right now?!”

“Oh my god, you are so high strung right now,” she sighed and pulled on his jacket. “Jungkook! Chill! Are you serious?”

“I just…”

“Baby,” she said, and reached up to grab his face in a burst of confidence fueled by all of his nonsense. “Baby Koo.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled.

“No, don’t be grumpy. Look at me.” He begrudgingly did so; he didn’t have much of a choice with her holding his head. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner and for scheduling the wine tasting I fucked up. This whole evening is really special to me. The fact you worked so hard to make it special makes me feel really special. I don’t want to say goodnight yet, so I’d really like ice cream and minigolf with you.”

“Why are you so obsessed with minigolf?” he mumbled.

“I don’t know, I just think it’s a cute date idea and I like doing dumb things like that with you,” she shrugged, letting her hands fall away. He caught hold of them though and held. His fingers were cold. “I’m still allowed to like it, even when it’s a date date.”

“Yeah, well…” His mouth twisted in thought, so cute. “My original plan was to do minigolf,” he confessed. “And the taco truck. But then everyone acted like that was really lame and low effort so I wanted to do something bigger so you would know–”

“Fuck that!” Alex cried. “And fuck them! I like minigolf and tacos!”

“I know you like that but I wanted to like… I want you to be all giddy and stuff, you know? No one gets giddy over minigolf.”

“They do when they win,” she beamed. “You wouldn’t know about that. Since you never win.” 

His eyes narrowed. “Uh, pretty sure I always beat your ass. I can’t let you win, just because it’s a date.”

“Who said anything about let?”

“Ugggh but see? I can’t beat your ass, that’ll be a bad date.”

“Then let me win.”

“You’d hate me forever.”

“I wouldn’t hate you! I’d just be shocked you were down that bad for me– I don’t think your ego could let someone–”

“Hey, I let girls win that shit all the time,” he interrupted. “I don’t let you win because I respect you so much.”

“Yeah or because you aren’t trying to get into my pants.”

“No, but I do want into your pants now.”

“Well… sounds like you know what to do then…” She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows and felt full body relief. Everything made so much more sense now. She should have figured it out sooner that Jungkook was just nervous and frustrated that things weren’t going to his plan when he was trying so hard! But how could she have guessed he was this worked up about impressing her? It was just her!

“Alex,” he whined her name. She started to walk around the car but he was still holding her wrist and pulled her back. “We can’t play minigolf. Forty years from now we’ll be talking about our first date and I’m going to say I took you to play fucking minigolf?”

Damn. Damn that sounded serious. 

“Um, well,” she stammered, distracted at the casual way in which he’d basically just been like yeah we’re going to be together forever. “Well first you’ll probably tease me about forgetting my wallet and then you’ll probably tease me about being easy or childish because I wanted to play minigolf.”

“Ah, that’s true… you asked for it. I’m just giving you what you wanted.” His voice lowered as he said it, as he pulled her closer, no secret about the innuendo.

“Giving me what I want is always the right move,” she agreed, and lifted her face so he wouldn’t have to crouch too far for the kiss she thought he was leading into. There was only a moment of hesitation during which she worried she’d read him wrong. Maybe this just wasn’t normal yet, but they wanted it. He smiled into the kiss, giving too much teeth against hers, but she tilted her face and the kiss softened and Alex forgot to breathe. You know, just Jungkook, kissing her in the parking lot, nose pressed against hers, warm breath and saliva mingling with hers.

She overbalanced on her toes and they fell back against his car but he caught his own weight and towered over her. 

“Maybe you should go back to being pissy and mean,” she breathed.

“Huh?”

“You’re making me dizzy,” she admitted with a laugh. “I know we kissed the other night but–” 

Jungkook cut her off with another kiss that made her toes curl and her heart stutter.

“Yeah?” he murmured, sounding a bit breathless himself as his nose gently nudged hers. “Am I giving you butterflies kissing you in the parking lot of the wine tasting we didn’t get to do?”

“Yeah.”

He sighed, wine-scented breath warm across her face. “Can you please be a little more high maintenance? I’m giving you permission to be demanding!”

“Oh, I will be, without your permission,” she assured him with a cheeky grin. “You seem to be forgetting– well, I won’t remind you. You just keep those rose-tinted glasses on for a while. At least until I make you cry at minigolf.”

“Ok, are you just forgetting that you’re really bad at minigolf? Because I have not forgotten it–”

“That’s not true! I’ve won before!”

“Yeah, by sabotaging me,” he pointed out.

“Mm-hm and now I can sabotage you even more, right? Like… oops I dropped my ball!” she joked and slid from his arms to bend over and pick it up. So he had a nice profile of just how high her skirt would go. She was wearing tights, it wasn’t going to show anything but look, she’d learned a few things over the years about what Jungkook liked. He liked the tease. The suggestion. Maybe he liked it more than the real thing. 

She hoped he didn’t like the idea of her more than the real thing.

Also he really liked ass, so at least that was a safe bet.

He grumbled and demanded, “How many dates do we have to go on before I’m allowed to spank when you do something like that?”

Oh god be cool she begged herself because, you know, Jungkook had basically just asked to spank her. Jungkook. Spanking her. Just… spanking her. Cool. Cool cool.

“Um… three.”

He looked unhappy about it but nodded, “Ok. So you’re just going to tease me a lot tonight then?”

“Yeah, probably. But if you cry when you lose, I’ll comfort you. I’m not totally mean.”

“Yeah, I’ll give you a hug when you lose,” he promised. “I’m a caring date.”

“You’re a nice guy.”

“Yeah, I’m a nice guy,” he laughed, then tried to tickle and poke her through her coat. “I am. Sorry if I was weird or whatever tonight.”

“Hey, why are you talking like the night is over? You are still on a date,” she argued. 

“Right right, I have to make your dreams come true. Minigolf and ice cream.”

“And you,” she added, sort of without meaning to. At least the vulnerability of it hit her after she’d said the words. She just had meant to specify he was an important part of why she would like those things on a date!

But the thing was, she didn’t really feel vulnerable tonight in a bad way. She didn’t feel as nervous or impostery as she had feared. This was Jungkook! She didn’t think there was anyone in the world she was safer with and all his efforts and overthinking seemed to prove that. He’d taken on all the nerves for her. What a great guy.

He smiled, that goofy crooked toothy grin of her best friend, and said, “Well call me a dreamboy, baby, because I’m about to make all your dreams come true–”

“Ok you did not get laid with lines like that,” Alex said with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, sure I did!”

“No.”

“I did! Are you saying that did not make you cream your panties? What kind of panties did you say again–”

“Oh my god, just get in the car.”

“Fine, what date can I ask about your panties? Because I thought that one was ok since we talked about it the other night.”

“My panties?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean because you’ve been hoarding my underwear at your–”

“Woah woah I did not– I told you they were just mixed in with–”

“They?! How many of my underwear do you have?!”

“Get in the car, Song.”

She giggled and continued to taunt him as the car heated up and he looked up places. There was an indoor one at the mall they were familiar with but Alex wanted the outside one which was still open through the end of the month and served ice cream.

“You sure you’re ok with outside?”

“I’ll be fine! I have a coat and sweater tights.”

“Oh is that why they look fancy?”

“Yeah, they’re textured. Want to feel them?” she teased as he drove. But he took the advantage, letting his hand slide across her thigh. She got very quiet. His hand just looked so familiar and comfortable there, like that was his thigh. 

“Yeah, I like these,” he nodded. “Your whole outfit.”

She waited, then sighed, “You noticed I couldn’t get my eyeliner straight, didn’t you?”

“Well, that’s why you have me now,” he laughed. “I can help next time.”

“Look you weren’t the only one nervous, ok?”

“Yeah? What were you nervous about, baby?” he asked, still rubbing her thigh. He might as well have been rubbing somewhere else with that firm grip. The devil part of her wanted to just ask him to let his hand run higher, maybe a sequel to the other night…

“Yeah don’t act all cocky now. I know your secret!” she retorted and adjusted her skirt.

“What’s my secret?”

“You like me.”

“You’re right, that is a very well kept secret,” he laughed. “Please don’t spread that around. There might still be a couple people in town I didn’t drunkenly blab that to in the last few months.”

She sighed happily at his expense. Maybe the craziest thing wasn’t being on a date with ex-best-turned-best-friend-again Jungkook. Maybe the craziest thing was that being on an actual date with him didn’t feel as crazy as she’d always expected it to. Would that come later? She hadn’t felt mismatched on his arm walking into either restaurant like she’d expected to. Yes, he was the hottest guy in any room. And he wanted to put his face between her legs, so what did that make her?

Ok, that part was still a little wild and crazy. Not only that he’d wanted to but she’d let him. Maybe she’d even let him do it for real next time.

“You ok?”

“Hm?”

“Is it too hot in here now?” he asked.

“Yeah, way too hot,” she agreed, reaching forward to crank the heat down. Jungkook cracked the windows. She drank the cool air in and pushed back against the warm tingling starting to build up. 

“So what did your parents say when you told them I was picking you up for a date tonight?” he asked, throat clearing. It made her suspicious in two directions.

“Why, what did they say to you?” she asked, the safer question than: why you clearing your throat, boo? Whatcha thinking about? 

“Nothing, they were just acting kind of weird…”

“I told them we were going on a date date and they were just like ‘oh really? That’s nice.’ I don’t think they believed me!”

“Well I was dressed up with flowers.”

“Plus you were acting super weird too,” Alex pointed out.

“Thanks, babe.”

His hand left her thigh as he took a sharp turn and Alex wished he’d read her mind and put it back, but he did not.

“Let’s get your wallet, dummy.”

Fifteen minutes and one returned wallet later, he pulled into the minigolf parking lot and pressed, “You sure you want to do this?”

“Why? You scared?”

“No, I meant because it’s cold–”

“You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared, Alex. You golf like a toddler.”

“It’s minigolf, that’s the point!”

“That’s not the… whatever, ice cream before or after?”

“During. I’m ready to doublefist a cone and a club.”

It really was fucking cold outside, but the course was lit and they weren’t the only ones. The snack bar served them the ice cream, the employee giving them a raised eyebrow but handing the cones over. Jungkook hit his first ball straight into a pond and Alex got a scathing look from a mom when she shouted what are you the fucking hulk? It’s minigolf! While he shouted accusations at her That was your fault! Why are you bending over like that to tie your shoe? Your boots don’t even have laces! 

The truth was they were both pretty bad at minigolf tonight. Their teeth chattered and they huddled together from one hole to the next. They fucked with each other every single turn –dirty jokes, terrible impersonations, quoting memes and movies they knew would get a rise out of each other. Jungkook tried the same move she’d done in the beginning, even pulling his coat up to make sure she could see his ass, sulked when it didn’t work, and pretended like he was going to do a full on striptease –which would definitely have led to Alex’s premature death. Later she offered to suck his fingers to warm them up and he fell to the ground claiming he’d sprained his dick. 

And then it started to rain.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Jungkook shouted as Alex grabbed his hand and ran with him into the mountain tunnel in the center of the course. “It wasn’t supposed to rain until 9!”

“The weather does what it wants.”

“Yeah but it’s fucking with my date. You don’t like getting rained on! Unless today is the day we try the naked thing–”

She laughed and pulled him down closer to kiss his wet face. His skin was so cold. Their lips and noses were stiff. The sweetness of his mint choco ice cream lingered on his tongue. Alex stood on the railing for height and lost herself in the taste. She thought she’d be taking this dumb fantasy to her grave and yet here they were, making out in the minigolf mountain like the horny teenages they hadn’t gotten to be with each other. 

After several long, lazy, uncounted minutes had passed, they huddled together at the exit to survey the remaining distance. The rain was not letting up.

“Did you make it rain?” he demanded. “You’re that upset I’m beating you?”

“Uh… you aren’t beating me.”

“Alex, I’m totally beating you.”

“You totally aren’t.”

“Then what’s the score?”

“I don’t know but you don’t know either!”

“7-11.”

“You liar!” she laughed and tried to hit his ass. “Fine, we’ll count for real now.”

“Wait, what for real now? It’s raining!”

“It’s not raining that hard.”

“It’s hard enough!” he cried, then instantly laughed and wiggled his eyebrows, then groaned, “But I’m not, I’m freezing!”

“All right, let’s golf fast! Orrrr you could admit defeat.”

“Never,” he glared and grabbed his putter and took off.

The cheating was flagrant and largely futile. Putters were traded for kicking, rolling, and eventually just dropping the ball in the hole. They shouted numbers to make each other lose count. They were laughing so hard, doubled over at times as the rain grew heavier and colder. She really did hate the way her clothes and hair clung to her wet skin, but it was worth it to endure. This was a special night.

“We’re idiots!” Alex laughed, then shrieked as she slipped on a little bridge. Jungkook dove forward and rammed his elbow on the metal railing, didn’t help her, and sank to the ground like he’d been knocked out. “Get up! Get up! You’ll get hypothermia!”

Instead he took her putter and shouted, “Good luck winning now!” and limped forward, clutching his elbow. Alex ran ahead of him and managed to shove her ball into the final return hole just as he tried to kick his in. Instead he kicked her in the shoulder and shouted in horror. She tried to stand, he tried to crouch.

“Fuck!”

“Up up we have to get back to the car, we’re going to freeze to death!” Jungkook shouted at her, grabbing her arm. They half-limped, half-ran back to the parking lot, tossing their putters in the return rack without stopping.

“We’re such idiots, we’re going to get sick and die,” Alex wailed as they stripped their wet coats off and shoved them in the backseat. Jungkook cranked the heat up. “Fuck, I hate my bangs!” she laughed, swiping at the hair plastered to her face, poking her in the eyes. “At least I wore my contacts.”

Jungkook’s hands replaced hers, pushing them back, followed by his cold lips against her forehead, her nose and then her mouth, all one smooth motion that completely overwhelmed her. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders in surprise as he grabbed her arms and pulled her closer, like the laughter and running and cheating had turned into raw energy that he now funneled into a hard, desperate kiss. The joy in that kiss made the world spin around her. The windows were fogging up and she felt that desperation again. Touch me, taste me, take me, do anything to me, let me be the girl you want.

“Alex.”

“Koo.”

His breath warmed her frozen nose and stung her frozen cheeks. 

“Was this the worst date ever?”

She glared. “No! It was good because it was with me, right?”

“We’re both going to get the flu.”

“Stop complaining and just kiss me again,” she ordered, pulling him across the console this time. He pressed her into the seat, contorted, mouth getting hotter against hers by the second. 

“God I can’t believe this was the best date of my life,” he completely contradicted himself.

The giggles burst out of her, “Damn. Really? That’s sad–”

He shoved icy fingers under her sweater to tickle and she screamed and kicked the dashboard in her attempts to flee. He just wrapped his arms around her and pressed his frozen nose into her neck, squeezing tighter.

“You asshole, let me go!”

“Never.”

“Jungkook!”

“You said you wanted outdoor minigolf, you suffer the consequences! I’m warming my nose up.”

“I’m so uncomfortably wet!”

“Yeah baby–”

“No, in a bad way!”

“Love leaving a girl wet in a bad way on our first date–” She couldn’t hear what else he said, drowned out by her laughter. Someone was going to think they were fucking in here with the way windows had fogged up so quickly and they were shaking the car. She pushed him away and adjusted the heat and wiped at the condensation on her window. Now it was uncomfortably hot, and also her clothing really felt disgusting like this. The fluffy sweater was scratchy and gross. She pulled it away from her skin but it just clung right back.

Jungkook shook his head.

“What?”

“I tried so hard to make this date nice,” he laughed.

“Oh my god you’re so hung up on this. I’m having a great time!”

But perfectionist Jungkook. She should have known he’d have some specific idea in mind! He struggled when things didn’t go the way he planned, if he wanted them a certain way. Usually he’d insist he didn’t care and overcompensate in his frustration, make too much of a joke about things in an effort to be cool that was always obvious and annoying. He hadn’t done that! But she knew frustration lingered with him and she didn’t want that to be what overshadowed their date!

“Seriously. Please don’t remember our first date as a failure. Ok, how about this, what if we decide this was just a trial run.”

“Uh huh.”

“Our next date is our first date,” she explained, twisting in the seat. It was gross, her tights and skirt squished. “We’ll just keep having first dates until you’re happy.”

“Wait, but I’m happy. Don’t make it sound like I’m not.”

“Uh, you aren’t though, you’re the only one in this car who’s unhappy.”

“I’m happy,” he insisted, eyebrows going up, lips pouting. “It’s just not as good as I wanted to do for you, but I’m happy. Why wouldn’t I be? I’m on a date with Alex Song!”

“Oh please…”

“I meant that seriously.”

“You said it like a joke.”

“I meant it seriously,” he insisted. “I want to impress you, you know? You’ve seen the worst of me for so long, I want you to see the best of me too. Like that I can take you on a really fun, nice date, not that I’m just some lazy, sex-obsessed asshole–.”

“I see the best of you all the time too, or I wouldn’t be on a date with you in the first place. I already know we can have a great time even when things go wrong. This date was genuinely great but even if it was actually awful, I’d still have fun with you, it’s one of the things I’ve always… liked about you.” Loved about you.

She didn’t say it.

She balked.

She didn’t know why she didn’t say it. She had expected the words to just roll right off her tongue. Because she did, she knew she loved him, and not too long ago she could have said it without any hesitation.

But it meant something more now, and the words tangled up behind her cold teeth.

She hurried to add, “I know that you can be both a really sweet, thoughtful guy and a lazy, sex-obsessed–”

“Ok ok,” he huffed, pouting he’d set her up for a zinger like that. He turned on the headlights and sighed. “I’d better get you home so you can put on your jammies. I’ll feel like an asshole if I really do get you sick right before Christmas.”

“I’m the one who insisted on minigolf.”

“Ok, it’s your fault then.”

“Jungkook!”

“Hey don’t hit me, I’m driving! That’s just what we need tonight, a car wreck!”

“Fine, you’re safe for now…”

She curled up in her seat and tried not to make it obvious she was staring at him. The streetlights flickering through the rain on the windshield cast spotted shadows on his wet face but she could tell his nose was still red and sniffly. 

He was cute. And sweet. It was endearing he’d been so serious and competitive about their date. She’d known him for so long but still she had learned something new about him tonight: he was not confident on a date. She had always known he had a gooey soft interior but he was so suave with women, she had assumed he would be all confidence and charm on a date. Instead he was a grumpy sulky baby when things weren’t going the way he planned. 

Her grumpy sulky baby. Just like she’d always wanted. Hot as shit on the outside, sulky baby on the inside.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, glancing nervously her way at a red light.

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“Nothing!”

He reached out and sank his fingers into her thigh like a claw.

“NO! Don’t tickle me, you’re driving!” she shrieked and tried to fend him off. Fortunately the light turned green, saving her. “Rude!”

“I just want to know what you're thinking. I’m on pins and needles here.”

She decided to tease him more. “Well… I’m thinking I’d like to see you again.”

“Oh? Yeah?”

“Yeah. Maybe at our joint family dinner on Christmas Eve?”

“Booo,” he scowled. “Before that. That’s not a date, that’s a duty.”

“You want another date before that?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, I’m a really good date, huh?” she grinned.

“Yeah, you’re cute.”

“I was joking!”

“I’m not.”

“Fine. How about I’ll plan the next date. When are you free, is it on the calendar?”

“Yeah, it’s on the calendar. Any time I’m not working is yours.”

She didn’t comment. She couldn’t comment on any of these things. Because this was just mundane, joky conversation, but the fact they casually making more plans together hit her like a bus. Part of her brain was like yeah, making plans with Jungkook, totally normal while the other part reminded you’re dating Jungkook. 

He pulled to a stop in front of her house and started to get out.

“No don’t walk me to the door, it’s still pouring.”

“Yeah, but–”

“No, seriously. My parents might be watching the door anyway.”

“Yeah but…”

“Hey,” she said. “Save it for the first date. I’ll walk you to your front door at the end of the night.”

“Oh you’re driving?”

“Yeah, babygirl, we are equals,” she grinned.

“Did you just… just ‘babygirl’ me?”

“Yesssss,” she started to laugh before his fingers even tried to wedge under her shirt again. He kissed her before she caught her breath; she laughed and squirmed and it made their lips slide, the messiest kiss. 

“K, get out of my car, I need to get home and shower before I get sick,” he said.

“Hold on, Jesus, I’m dizzy.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t just kiss a girl like that and then kick her out of your car, I’ll trip and die–”

“Ok, I’m walking you in.”

“No, stay put.”

“You said you’re dizzy!”

She squeezed his face so full of concern, and shook her head, “Goodnight. Thanks for the amazing date, I had a lot of fun despite your whining about it.”

“Hey!”

His shouted protests were swallowed quickly by the rain as she held her coat over her head and ran into her house. She was right that Baba had been watching the door and swung it open to let her in quickly.

“Alex, you’re wet! Did you get caught in the rain?”

“Thanks, Baba, goodnight!” Alex sang as she yanked her boots off, tossed her coat, and floated to her room. 

There in the privacy of her bedroom, she covered her face and let out a silent scream.

He tried so hard!

He cared so much!

He was so handsome!

He was so awkward about their date and god, she loved him for it. Didn’t he understand how perfect it was? It was exactly what she had hoped for. The effort. The attention. All for her. 

She looked forward to teasing him about it for forty years. 

Especially the photo he posted to his Snap and Insta story of him with a towel around his shoulders, shirt clinging to his body, hair damp and tousled, giving a thumbs-up with the caption yeah everything went wrong but I got a second date so… Followed by a text only post on insta lol she ain’t on here fam she deleted insta a while ago

So he wasn’t talking about their date on insta as some kind of game or lure or to signal to her that he wasn’t still trying to hook up with women? He did it just to… share? Brag? Signal to women on instagram he wasn’t looking? Was he just excited about his date and used to sharing things on social media and didn’t think through the impact on his free sex life because that wasn’t a priority to him?

“Grrrr why are you so fucking cute,” she grumbled. “I’m supposed to be the cute one. Stay in your hot lane. ”

She DMed him a kissy face emoji in response to the story to give him a heart attack and went to shower. And afterwards had a good laugh when the stories and the pre-date photo were gone.

[AlandPals]: 😘

[TheJK.97]: 😎

[AlandPals]: take off the sunglasses

[TheJK.97]:  😵🪦

[TheJK.97]:  so uh when did you dl insta?

[AlandPals]: night bunny

[TheJK.97]:  that is NOT my petname

[TheJK.97]:  night earwig

[AlandPals]: night weevil

[TheJK.97]:  night shrimp cocktail

[AlandPals]: night nutter butter

[TheJK.97]:  night cheeto finger

[AlandPals]: night kookie crisp

[TheJK.97]:  night booberry

[TheJK.97]:  night pistachio

[TheJK.97]: night titmouse (that’s a bird look it up)

[TheJK.97]: did you fall asleep on me??

[TheJK.97]: I win 😁

Alex let him have this one. He’d earned it.

KEEP READING PARTY B