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diaphragmjellyfish · 3 years

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You Just Wait

gif is from @twilightofficial

A/N: The hardest part of writing a fic is honestly choosing the love interest XD I have so many fictional boyfriends it’s hard to choose just one. I have noticed a significant lack of Jared Cameron content and he’s super adorable so here it is! Also, I left the concept a little bit more vague so more people can relate to it. It doesn’t specifically say vaginismus, it’s more of a general “sex doesn’t normally go well for me” type thing.

Bottomless, covered in chocolate sauce, walking through the woods, phone dead, in the middle of August on a weekday. How did you end up here? Jared Cameron. Your boyfriend. He had roped you in to an elaborate prank on Paul that hadn’t exactly gone as planned. Needless to say, you were desperate for a shower and a nap. A hot meal wouldn’t hurt. And you were beyond irritated, not even looking Jared’s way as he walked next to you in a similar state.

“Babe, if you let me carry you, we’ll get home way faster,” he whined.

You didn’t respond, only walking with more frustration around the roots and fallen trees. It was growing dark, just about twilight, and you knew you wouldn’t be reaching either of your houses at this rate. You were miles into the forest. But your pride kept you from accepting Jared’s wolfy-back ride, because he tended to make lots of jokes about being between your legs and you riding him and blah blah blah, and you honestly might punch him right now if he did that.

So you just kept ignoring him, arms folded tightly against your chest because, yes, it was August, but this was also the Washington coast. It got pretty chilly no matter what time of year it was.

“I can see you shivering from here,” he pleaded, almost sounding in pain at the thought of you being uncomfortable. “It’s only gonna get colder. Let me help you.”

You ignored him.

“C’mooonnnnnn,” he cried. His preferred way of cracking your silence was usually by annoying you out of it, and it was working. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon c’m-”

“Jared, I swear to God!”

“Aha! She speaks!” he laughed.

“”Only to tell you to be quiet, or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll what?” he cut you off. “I’m way stronger than you!” He was teasing you into talking to him. Even if it was in the form of arguing. Damn, he always got you to crack. You stopped walking, turning to face him, arms still held tightly around yourself. You couldn’t resist a good bicker, and Jared knew that. He would get the sass to come out, and then once you got tired, he’d apologize and you’d be made up within half an hour. That’s what always happened. And you couldn’t exactly stay mad at those big brown puppy eyes for long.

“Physically, maybe,” you chided, “but I’m definitely way smarter than you.”

He stepped closer to you, a playful smirk on his face. “What, are you gonna read me to death or something?”

“I’m gonna strategize a huge plan, manipulate you, and leave you here in the forest by yourself. That’s what I’m gonna do,” you sassed. He never took arguments to heart, which is one thing you loved about him. He knew how grumpy you could get and would let you vent, and then make you forget all about the problem.

“Oh, okay, yeah sure,” he giggled, hands going up in defense. “I’m just saying that in this situation, there is no way you come out on top. You run, I catch you. You hide, I sniff you out,” he teased. This made you crack an almost imperceptible smile, but one he noticed nonetheless. “And if you did somehow manage to get away from me, you’d freeze to death in an hour flat.” The cold breeze that caused you to shiver more violently could not have had worse timing. Obviously, Jared noticed, and his face dropped. He approached you slowly, silently asking if you were still mad enough to not let him touch you. When you didn’t step back or stop him, he wrapped both his arms around you and brought you into a huge bear hug. You sighed at his warmth, wrapping your arms tightly around his torso. He’d given you his hoodie hours ago, and was left in only a pair of shorts, though he didn’t seem to notice. Damn him and his werewolf heat.

You still shivered in his arms, but his feverish temperature was a relief to your aching bones.

“See? Could’ve been warm hours ago,” he teased once again, noting your clinginess.

“Shut up. I’m still mad,” you mumbled into his neck. He laughed softly to himself, rubbing his hands up and down your body to create more heat. After a few minutes, you were starting to struggle to keep your eyes open. It had to be close to 2 in the morning, and you’d been walking for what felt like hours. Jared could have easily run home and let you brood alone, but he stuck with you no matter how long you went without speaking to him.

“Sleepy?” he murmured into your hair. You just nodded softly, and didn’t protest as he bent down, one hand going behind your knees and the other staying around your back. He picked you up with ease and started walking through the woods once more with an “Okay Princess, I got you.” His stride never faltered, easily avoiding tripping over roots or slipping on rain-soaked moss. He must have been walking for about 30 minutes, never so much as breathing hard or shifting you in his grip. You didn’t sleep, but welcomed the rest he allowed you. Your eyes were closed, head resting on his shoulder when you felt him stop. You looked up, and in the distance, maybe 50 yards away, you saw a small building.

“Hunter’s cabin, I’m guessing. No one’s home,” Jared stated, anticipating your questions.

“Think there’ll be blankets?” you wondered, tired, yet still playful.

“What, am I not enough for you?” he feigned mock hurt as you giggled at his unshakeable good attitude. Without another word, he began walking towards the small cabin, which was about the size of an average bedroom. When you reached the door, he set you down gently, holding his hands close to your waist while you found your footing, and then wrapping an arm over your shoulders to keep you warm.

“I’m assuming it’s locked,” you sighed, disappointed.

“Babe, no door is locked when you have super strength. Honestly, I thought you’d have more faith in me by now,” he smiled brightly.

“You can’t just go around kicking random people’s doors in!” you scolded.

“Okay, first of all, I can tell by the smell that no one’s been here in years. Second of all, how would anyone know it was us that broke in and not, like, a deer? And third of all, I’d say this counts as an emergency,” he sassed right back at you. You looked at him in annoyance, too tired and cold to actually care.

After a long sigh, you muttered “fine.”

He immediately turned to the door, not letting you so much as inhale before he slammed his foot into the space next to the knob, the door all but flying off its hinges. The whole scene caused deafening noise that interrupted the silence of the trees.

“Jesus!” you called out in surprise, a hand shooting up to your pounding heart. You look around, though knowing no one was around for miles. Jared only turned to look at you, a cheeky smile adorning his face, and said,

“See? Told ya.”

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t help the loving and admiring energy that overcame you. Jared really was one in a million, and you were lucky to be by his side. He could be in the worst situation in the world and still find something to laugh about.

He motioned for you to go in first, ever the gentleman. Walking through the door, the first thing you noticed was the dust. The entire inside of the cabin was covered in a thick layer of it. There was a small, rickety couch with cushions so worn they had holes in them throughout. And the fabric… my God. It looked like something from the 60’s, an obnoxious floral that had faded over time, and now just looked flat out stained. There was a flimsy throw blanket over the back of the couch, a cooler in the corner of the room that was covered in dirt, and on the opposite wall, a fireplace! No wood, no matches, but it was there. The floor was scattered with bullet shells, receipts, and decayed leaves. It was obvious no one had been in here for at least 3 or 4 years.

“Okay, I can work with this,” Jared said. You really were jealous of his optimism. But, as disgusting as this place was, it beat the frigid breeze of outside, and had a place where you could rest your heads. You walked over to the couch, grabbing the blanket and beating the dust off of it. It was really only meant for one person, but you guys were okay with getting close. It would do.

Jared walked over to the opposite corner where the cooler sat by the fireplace and opened the lid, peeking inside.

“Just water,” he said, sounding almost disappointed.

“Were you really gonna eat whatever was in there?” you spoke incredulously.

“Babe, I’m starving. You have no idea how close I am to licking that chocolate sauce off of you,” he voiced. You had almost forgotten about the sticky sauce that covered both of your clothes. That prank really was a disaster. You looked down, face heating at the thought of Jared’s mouth on you like that, and turned to the fireplace where he stood. He was looking on the mantle, oblivious to the effect his comment had on you, and exclaimed “Aha!” before reaching up to grab something. “A lighter. We’re saved! Well, you are,” he laughed looking over at your shivering form once more. “Stay here and get comfy. I’m gonna go get some wood.”

You tried your best, sitting on the edge of the couch and immediately feeling a spring poking you in the butt. The couch really was tiny. You guys were gonna have to bundle up close to fit. The thought excited you. Sure, you and Jared had always been comfortable touching and holding each other, but there were certain areas of your relationship you had yet to explore. More… intimate areas. It was your fault mostly. To make a long story short, you’ve just never enjoyed sex. You found yourself not able to get aroused, which made things painful. Sure, you wanted to. You’d thought about it a ton. But in the moment, your head was so full of thoughts of ‘What if he thinks I’m ugly? What if I smell? Am I doing this right? Is he having a good time? Am I taking too long?’ that you just stopped trying. And obviously you wanted to have sex with Jared, but you were worried he’d be disappointed. By the time he got back, just a few minutes later, you had brought your knees up to your chest, holding your legs close in an effort to preserve warmth.

“Doing okay Sweetheart?” he asked gently. You gave a small smile and nodded in response. He plopped the logs in his arms down into the fireplace, scavenging the floor for receipts, dried leaves, anything that would catch fire. He dumped these into the fireplace and lit them, the fire catching within seconds. He walked over to the other side of the room where the couch was before bending down, grabbing the bottom lip of it, and pulling it (and you) across the floor, one-handed, and closer to the fire. “Better?” You had always been in awe of his strength. Let’s be honest, it was just plain sexy. Again, you just nodded your head, staring at him in adoration.

He sat beside you on the couch, throwing an arm over your shoulders again, and leaning back, taking you with him. You cuddled into his side, watching the fire.

“Ya know, if you take away the shitty couch and sticky clothes and add a few more blankets, this would actually be pretty nice,” he finally spoke.

You laughed softly, replying, “It would. The couch isn’t even awful, but these clothes are really ruining the mood for me.”

“Well why don’t you get out of ‘em, hot stuff?” he joked. You knew he wasn’t serious because you guys haven’t gotten that far yet, but something, maybe the exhaustion or the way he kept challenging you today, made you want to actually do it. Before you could lose your nerve, you reached down, pulling off the hoodie and shirt in one go and tossing them onto the floor. You relaxed back into his arms in just a bra, acting like nothing had happened. He was frozen beside you. Maybe it was mean, but you wanted to tease him a little. He’d put you through a lot today, so you wanted to mess with him a tiny bit. So, coolly, you brought a hand onto his thigh and began running it up and down, going higher and higher with each pass. He was still frozen, so you gave a light squeeze, and heard him inhale sharply, though he tried to hide it.

“I thought you were tired,” he commented.

“Guess I’m not anymore,” you responded, turning to face him boldly. He immediately leaned in to kiss you, softly as always. You reciprocated, bringing your other hand up to cup his face. His arm that was around your shoulders slipped down around your waist, pulling you in further. Jared had always been gentle when kissing you, so you knew you’d have to make the first move to deepen it. Which is exactly what you did. Running your hand up his head and grabbing his hair, you pulled him towards you even more and traced your tongue across his bottom lip. He responded by matching your energy, tongue slipping out to caress yours before bringing your bottom lip between his teeth and nibbling softly. You guys had never kissed like this before. You felt a bead of warmth pool in your abdomen, something you’d never felt with a guy before. Sure, you’d been turned on while watching certain videos or reading certain fanfiction by yourself, but you’d never actually experienced it with someone before. It was exciting. Maybe it was the knowledge that you could stop things at any time and he wouldn’t be upset, or maybe it was how in love with you he really was, but you didn’t feel nervous or worried. You felt comfortable.

Taking things a step further, you swung your leg over both of his, moving to straddle his lap.

He pulled away slightly at this, making you ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he responded, “I just don’t wanna make you do anything you don’t wanna do.”

You smiled, “I’m not doing anything I don’t wanna do. Are you?”

“Are you seriously asking me that question right now?” He laughed, making you giggle along.

You leaned back in for another kiss, when he stopped you again. “What exactly… are we doing, though?” You knew what he was silently asking. Are we about to go all the way? And you didn’t know yet. This had started out as playful teasing, but now you were beginning to think that maybe you did want to try something. With Jared. He was it for you, the one you wanted to spend forever with. If you couldn’t trust him, you couldn’t trust anyone. And he’d taken such good care of you these last few hours, keeping you warm, making sure you were storming off in the right direction, that you knew he’d appreciate you in a more intimate sense.

“I- I kind of would like to try… some stuff,” you answered.

He looked at you, eyes wide, before answering, “What kind of stuff? I mean, I will do literally anything you ask me to do and you know that, but I didn’t really prepare for this. Like, I don’t… have what we need.” Oh, a condom. What a responsible boy.

“I’m on the pill,” you replied a little too quickly before looking down and fiddling with your hands. “If you want to.”

“Y/N, I would be absolutely fucking honored,” he breathed, before cupping your face and pulling you into the most heated kiss yet. Your tongues danced, hands wandering. Yours, across his muscled chest and abdomen, and his, down your waist and around to cup your pantsless ass, squeezing firmly. It felt nice. He handled you in a way that was gentle and painless, but still dominant and firm. And it made the heat in your belly grow. You continued kissing for several minutes, your hands moving up his neck and eventually landing in his hair once more, and his remaining on your ass and waist. You softly sucked at his lower lip, nibbling slightly, and it made him let out a low growl and pull your hips forward onto his, where you felt something hard push against you. You knew what it was, and it didn’t scare you like it normally would. You did, however, feel your damp underwear. Shit, that’s never happened before. You were normally bone dry at this point. You let out a soft sigh, grinding your hips onto him once more.

He softened his kisses slightly, bringing a hand around to your stomach and running his knuckles lightly across your lower abdomen.

“Can I?” He questioned delicately.

“Yes,” you replied almost immediately. He brought his hand under the waistband of your underwear, when you said, “Wait,” and he stopped. “Just one thing. I kind of… have never been able to do this without it hurting a lot, so maybe you could just try to be gentle?”

“Oh, baby, you’ve been in pain before? I’m so sorry,” he whispered genuinely.

“It’s okay, I just…” It was now or never. He should know. “Normally I’m super nervous about everything, so I can’t really… get into it, and when girls aren’t into it it’s kind of… dry? And that makes it kind of hurt really bad.” You faded out at the end, feeling embarrassed. He brought his hand out of your underwear and up to your chin, tilting your face up to look him in the eye, looking concerned. “But I’m into this, I mean, right now. I’m excited. I just thought I should warn you,” you awkwardly laughed at the end.

“You promise? Because you know that if you want to stop we will, and I would never be upset or pressure or anything like that,” he spoke sweetly, making your heart flutter. And you did know that, which is why you felt comfortable. Every other time, you felt that if you went past a certain point, you couldn’t say stop. Couldn’t call it off without making whatever guy you were with super mad and then… who knows what would happen. But when Jared spoke those words, you believed him.

“I promise. And I know you’ll stop. But I don’t want you to.”

With this, he scanned your face one more time for any signs of hesitation, and when he found none, brought you down into another heated kiss. You felt his hand trail from your chin down to your breasts, skimming over your bra, down your stomach and once again to the waistband of your underwear. Only this time he didn’t go under. He stayed on top of the fabric and brought his hand down between your legs, index finger brushing lightly against your core. You barely felt it, and began to worry that you’d once again feel numb. Oftentimes, when guys would touch you or go down on you, you felt nothing. It was like you were broken or something. And you started to become concerned that tonight would be no different.

But he brought his finger down again, repeating the same movement, only with significantly more pressure this time, and it had you release an involuntary sigh. And instead of removing his finger like he had the first time, he kept it over your clit, drawing firm circles.

Your mouth dropped open in a silent moan, Jared staring intently at your face.

“Oh, wow,” you finally breathed.

“Good?” he asked cockily, wearing a large smirk. He repeated the movement again, drawing a line from your core to your clit, stopping to rub circles.

“Mmm hmm,” you sighed. He leaned in once more to meet you with the sloppiest, dirtiest kiss you two had shared yet, and it only made you grind your center into his hand. He repeated the action several times over, and you were a writhing mess in minutes.

He brought a finger under your waistband once more, stretching the elastic out before letting it snap lightly against your skin. “Let’s take these off, hmm?” You’d never stood up so fast in your life, practically ripping the panties off of you, taking your bra off with it. Jared stood up to remove his shorts, but stopped to stare.

“What?” you questioned shyly, moving to cover up.

“You’re literally the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

The boy quite literally had heart eyes for you.

“Oh,” you responded meekly, cheeks heating up. When you kept looking back at him, he seemed to snap back into the moment and hurriedly ripped off his shorts and underwear, sitting back on the couch and opening his arms for you. You moved to straddle his hips the same way as before, and he brought his arms around to embrace you as you shared another heated kiss. One of his hands moved up to cup your breast, thumb rolling over your nipple as if you were made of glass. Jared pulled his mouth off of yours and trailed his lips down the side of your face, to your jaw, and down onto your neck, suckling lightly and leaving wet kisses. You tilted your head to the side to give him better access, and brought one of your hands down between you two to grasp him. He shuddered, only grabbing your hips and bringing you impossibly closer. His other hand trailed down to your center once more, going straight to your core and gathering the slight wetness there before bringing his finger up to your clit and circling. With your underwear out of the way, you felt almost lightheaded at his touch. You never knew how girls could cum during sex before, because you never seemed to feel much at all unless it was pain, but with how aroused you were right now and Jared’s movements, you thought for the first time that you may actually be able to finish. People do say that 90% of sex is mental, and you guessed this is what they meant. The more into it you are, the more physical sensation you actually feel. Groundbreaking.

“Can I finger you?” he murmured huskily into your neck.

You tensed slightly at this, but trusted him. If you said stop, he would. “Ok, just go slow.”

“Of course,” he responded before placing a sweet kiss on your shoulder and bringing his index finger back to your core, swirling around the entrance a few times. You took a few deep breaths to relax your muscles, and he looked at you, wordlessly asking, Ready? You nodded, and he slipped his finger in, just to the first knuckle, and held it still while he brought his thumb to your clit and continued rubbing. When he noticed you visibly relax, he slipped his finger in further to the second knuckle, stopping for a few seconds, and then all the way. He kept it here again, giving you time to adjust or tell him to stop, all the while keeping you stimulated with his thumb. It felt really good. Well, you didn’t exactly feel his finger at all, which was better than pain, and his thumb was making you crazy. Your breathing was labored at this point, eyebrows furrowed as you held onto his shoulders, nails digging in and sure to leave scratches. He pressed the finger inside of you onto your front wall suddenly, massaging the ridges firmly, and you let out a moan. Your first real moan ever. And damn did it get Jared excited. He continued this motion again and again, building in intensity and pressure slowly. When he felt how wet you had become, he pulled his finger back out to the first knuckle, and added his middle finger next to it, sliding them both back in slowly so as not to hurt you. Your eyes widened at the stretch, but it didn’t hurt. It felt amazing.

“Oh, fuck,” you whispered to yourself, before moaning once more as his fingers began the ‘come-hither’ motion once more.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked, concerned at your cursing.

“No, feels so good,” you moaned, and he smiled at this, increasing the pressure even more. Your eyes screwed shut, hips stuttering over his hand, letting him finger fuck you for several more minutes as you began to feel a tightening in your stomach. He brought his thumb off of your clit finally, adjusting his hand for a better angle and bringing his other hand off of your waist and up to his mouth, licking his thumb and bringing that down to your clit, resuming the tight circles. You could hear how wet you were, feeling too good to be embarrassed. The heat in your stomach was building, spreading. You felt your legs begin to shake, muscles begin to tighten around his fingers, and your eyes screwed shut as you opened your mouth in a silent scream and came. The waves of pleasure washed over you for a long time, Jared slowing his movements down so as not to overstimulate you. When you finally opened your eyes again, you were panting, legs feeling like Jello. Jared was staring at you with a look of absolute awe on his face, mouth agape and dick rock hard, red, and leaking precum. He was more turned on than he had ever been from actual sex before, and it was only from watching you.

“Fuck, baby that was so hot,” he all but moaned.

You reached down to grasp him, panting a “your turn.”

He grabbed both your wrists, stopping you. “Nuh uh, this is about you. Lie the fuck down.”

You gasped, his dominant tone turning you on despite your recent climax. You both knew that if you were even slightly uncomfortable, things would stop immediately. But it was fun for both of you to let him be a little aggressive. You did as told, lying long ways across the couch cushions, Jared moving to kneel between your legs, moving your knees softly apart so he could look at all of you. You didn’t feel insecure being exposed like this. You felt excited.

“Are you absolutely sure you wanna do this?” he questioned.

“I have never been more sure, Jared baby, I want to,” you pleaded. This was enough for him, so he brought his dick down to line up with your entrance, rubbing the tip up and down a few times to collect your wetness. He was worried that there wouldn’t be enough lubricant, so he brought a hand up to his mouth and spit, rubbing the saliva on his cock.

“You just wait ‘til we get some real lube and a real fucking bed, Princess. You won’t be able to walk for days.” You shuddered at the thought of this, and of the sensation of his dick rubbing around your clit and back down to your entrance. He pushed in slightly, letting the tip in before pausing and checking your face for any signs of pain. When he found none, he pushed in slightly more, and more. He was being extremely slow, and you appreciated it. Guys normally would just shove themselves inside, not giving you any time to adjust before pounding away. But Jared was careful, despite how turned on you knew he was. He still had your best interest in mind. Within a couple of minutes, he was fully seated inside of you, staying still until you told him to move. He brought his face down to give you a sweet kiss, waiting for you to give him the signal.

After a few seconds, you didn’t feel any sort of stinging or pain, so you nodded, saying “Just start slow.”

“Of course,” he replied genuinely. He pulled his hips back just a few inches, before slowly grinding them back into yours. You closed your eyes, focusing on keeping your muscles loose and relaxed as he continues this movement a few more times. The next time he pushed in, he ground his hips further into yours, hitting the deepest parts of you. This had you release a gasp, eyes opening to meet his. “Okay?” he questioned.

“Yes.”

He did this several more times, letting you get used to the feeling of him being so deep inside of you, before your hips began to grind back into his. It felt really good. When he noticed this, he began pulling his hips back more, pushing back in slightly faster, and this had you moaning. You threw your head back, back arched, just enjoying the sensations. Your hands were grasping at his shoulders, definitely leaving scratch marks.

“Oh my God,” you whispered.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he responded, planting sloppy kisses to your neck and collar bone. “Baby, I’m not gonna last much longer.”

You smiled at this, glad he was enjoying it as much as you were. “Go ahead, cum for me,” you spoke, and your words had him right on the edge. He pulled out of you quickly, hand fisting his cock as he stared at your sweaty, writhing body below him. He came hard, spilling onto your stomach as he growled out, the sound making your toes curl, almost animalistic. You both remained in this position as you came down, breaths labored and eyes barely open. He stood up fully off of the couch and reached for the flimsy blanket on the floor, using it to wipe off your stomach. He threw it into the corner of the room and lay down next to you on the couch, gathering you up into his arms to cuddle.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked almost nervously after a few minutes.

“Nah, kinda sucked,” you teased, and he let out a playful laugh, lightly shoving you away before pulling you back and planting a kiss on your temple.

A pause. “For real though,” he prodded, beginning to panic slightly.

You burst out laughing. “Of course I had a good time, Jared. Best i’ve ever had, if I’m being honest.”

“Ok good,” he sighed, relieved but trying not to show that you actually had him nervous for a second.

Another pause. “Did… did you have a good time?” you questioned back at him.

He seemed almost offended at the question, bringing a hand up to cup your face so that your eyes met his. “Y/N, this was the best night of my entire life. That was perfect. You are perfect. And I’m glad you trusted me enough to do that with you.”

You felt your eyes sting slightly, emotions running wild. You considered yourself the luckiest girl in the world to be with Jared Cameron. Not only was he totally gorgeous, but kind, hilarious, and great in bed.

In an effort to switch the tone back to a more playful one, you replied, “Yeah, well I was promised some more fun involving real lube and a real bed so…”

He tugged you further into him, wrapping his arms around you in a way that made you think he might never let go. He laughed, and said “Oh, you just wait.”

#jared cameron x reader #jared cameron #twilight #wolf pack #paul lahote #sam uley #jacob black #embry call #seth clearwater #quil ateara #edward cullen #twilight smut #vaginismus

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utopianvoices · 3 years

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past, present, future → b.chan

synopsis: Your best friend drags you to his high school reunion against your will, and never have you encountered such chaos. Alternatively, you go on the journey of making more friends, and a potential lover.

genre: high school acquaintances to lovers au; fluff, one second of angst

pairing: bang chan x reader

word count: 14.4k

warnings: explicit language, alcohol consumption, kinda dialogue heavy (oops)

note: i am BACK with this mess of a fic. it took me too long to finish this, and i apologise for any shitty writing :3 thanks to my little babie @curanonemu for making sure i finished this and supporting me as usual muAH. new formatting on posts too weeeee (new year, new me fsdhfgs jk no)!! also, synopsis kinda sucks i’m sorry :P hope y’all enjoy! x

You did not want to go for your high school reunion dinner.

High school is a time for many that is either the best, or worst time of their lives. Forever friends are found there and painstakingly embarrassing memories are made in run down buildings with people you care about. Except, you didn’t have any such attachments.

Those three years were nothing but a filler for you as you studied, helped out in the library, and hung out with one person you called your best friend.

And on top of it all, it wasn’t even a high school reunion dinner meant for you.

The night the bomb is dropped on you, Changbin walks into the living room of the apartment you both share just outside the grounds of your university, and goes straight to the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal because cooking and Changbin did not get along well. The apartment was way cheaper than the dorms your school provided, and it definitely did not have any nosy RAs who were just out there to torture students for their own viewing pleasure.

On top of all that, you could live with your best friend and not some random stranger who might very much as well be a psychotic killer. Perhaps, Changbin could have some questionable habits, like talking to himself in a baby voice while looking in the mirror, but nothing that threatened your life.

You hear Changbin’s phone ringing from the kitchen as you aimlessly flip through the shows available on Netflix, deciding which new show you should watch and commit to, when your best friend’s boisterous laughter fills your ears. Used to the noise, you roll your eyes before increasing the volume of the TV, finally deciding to rewatch Sherlock.

Fifteen minutes later, you’re about to solve the known mystery together with Benedict Cumberbatch when Changbin walks in front of the TV, automatically eliciting a whine from you as you crane your neck left and right to catch a glimpse of the screen.

“What the fuck, Bin?” You finally yell, frowning at the boy in front of you. Realising that he probably wanted something, considering the fact that he wasn’t moving till you asked him, you switch the TV off and settle back into the sofa, throwing him a death glare. “What do you want from me, pest?”

Something’s definitely amiss when you see Changbin shuffling his feet and looking at the ground, a guilty smile ever-present on his face.

“Whatever it is, my answer is no,” you say distantly, leaning back into the sofa with crossed arms. “So give it up.”

“Oh c’mon Y/n! At least hear me out?” Changbin cries out loudly, dropping onto his knees with clasped hands.

Heaving out a sigh, you slowly unfold your arms and lean forward, eyebrows raised as you nod at the poor boy in front of you. “I’ll hear you out. But don’t expect me to say yes.”

“Um...” Changbin starts, eyes darting around the room as he tries to find the right words. “So my high school friends are having a reunion dinner next week and I told them I’d go, but I also said I’d bring you along and they were too happy and so now I think you’ll have to come with me but-”

“Woah woah woah, a high school reunion party? Absolutely not.”

It’s not like you had anything against his friends. You did have brief interactions with a few of them in high school and you knew they were pretty decent lads, but there was no way you were following Changbin to what was meant to be a friends’ gathering.

“But why not!” Changbin whines, waddling over to you on his knees. “It’ll be really fun!”

“Yeah, fun for you,” you deadpan, staring at your pitiful best friend who has now resorted to throwing you puppy eyes. “They’re your friends after all, not mine.”

“That’s right. But they could be. Don’t you think it’s time you start finding more friends who are not me?”

Changbin’s once pitiful eyes held something other than desperation at that moment; they held concern.

It was true that you had no other friend other than Changbin. You knew lots of people, sure, but you wouldn’t call them your friends. With no friends to your name other than that one, it also wasn’t hard to guess that you never dated too. But all that mattered is that you were fine with it, right?

“You know that I don’t need any other friends. You’re more than enough for me. Truthfully, I don’t think I could deal with another Changbin in my life.”

Your words incite chuckles from Changbin, but that doesn’t stray him from his original goal.

“How about this,” he starts, opting to sit cross-legged on the floor because his knees were starting to hurt way too much. “You come to the reunion with me, and the moment you feel uncomfortable, we both can leave no questions asked. Deal?”

As tempting as that sounded, you knew it was not fair to cut Changbin’s precious time with his friends just because you did not want to hang out with new people. “That’s not fair to you.”

Shaking his head, Changbin stares at you, the fire in his eyes clearly visible, and you know that he had made up his mind. “I don’t care. It’s either you follow me and we can leave whenever, or I don’t go at all.”

There was no turning back now. You knew that in the end, what Changbin wants, he gets.

You sigh numbly before nodding your head in defeat, dreading the day that was to come where you had to leave the comfort of your apartment.

With no warning, you’re engulfed in a tight hug by a nuisance chanting “thank you” a million times. You ease into the hug, wrapping your arms around him and giving him a light squeeze, before pulling back to see that he had a smile similar to the one on your face.

“I guess you’re right about me needing more friends. I can’t be annoying you for the rest of my life, right?”

ii.

You’re once again reminded why you don’t go for social gatherings as you take in the various clothes strewn all over your room.

“Hey- Woah, what happened here?” Changbin asks, bewildered at the sight in front of him. “It looks like a hurricane hit your room or something.”

“Yes, it’s called Hurricane Y/n Is Screwed,” you reply sarcastically, before sinking down into your bed in defeat. Looking up at your best friend, you decide to give it a shot and put on your most pitiful face. “Do I really have to go?”

“Yes, you really have to go,” Changbin replies without sparing you another glance, as he sifts through the heap of clothes on your bed. “And get that ugly look off your face, please. It makes me want to barf.”

Flipping your best friend off, you manoeuvre yourself such that you’re facing Changbin, and look upon him in curiosity.

After what felt like forever, pieces of clothing are thrown at you, along with a reminder that you had three hours before you had to leave.

“Three?!” You screech, causing Changbin to wince and cover his ears. “You should’ve told me earlier so that I have more time!”

“What are you so loud for, you damn pterodactyl? And three hours is more than enough. We’re just going to a cheap restaurant a few blocks away because we’re all broke college students.”

Huffing at your insolent best friend, you grab the clothes he threw at you and make your way to the bathroom, not bothering to contemplate his decision because you knew he had pretty good taste in fashion. In fact, half the clothes you had in your wardrobe were bought with him as your advisor, so you’re really in no position to criticise his choices.

You stare at your reflection and let out a nervous breath; you weren’t used to meeting new people, and there was no way you were going to be able to handle a hoard of newly turned adults. The last thing you wanted was to cut Changbin’s time short with his friends, and as you stare at yourself in the mirror, you make a promise to yourself that you’ll get through the night by whatever means. Even if it meant hours of torture.

Changbin, with absolutely no urgency, is sitting on the couch watching the fourth Harry Potter movie, when you walk into the living room, makeup half done and still dressed in your stay-at-home clothes. Boys, you think.

“I think I need to know who and how many people will be there,” you finalise, watching Changbin pick up the remote and pausing the movie at exactly when Cedric dies; poor chap. “ So that I can, you know, mentally prepare myself.”

“You really don’t, but okay. There’ll be nine of us, including you. Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix from the dance team, Jeongin and Seungmin from the baseball team, Chan from the swimming team, soccer team, and honours board, and Jisung who was pretty much useless like me.”

“Wow.”

“In my defense, you’ve seen all of these dudes at least once,” Changbin says, shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, they’re all really nice and fun so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Says you,” you mutter under your breath, before returning to your room to prepare for your doom.

iii.

The sign of the restaurant flickers periodically as you stand in the middle of the street with Changbin by your side. People brush past you as they hurry to meet their friends and families in the various restaurants lining the street, excitement evident in their steps.

Taking a deep breath, you push open the door. Immediately, a gush of warm air welcomes you, causing you to let out a content sigh.

“Hey Changbin!” A loud voice calls out from behind you, and the both of you turn in your place. The sight in front of you gives you equal amounts of anxiety and fear, as you wonder how you were going to handle the table of one, two, three… seven boys, including the embarrassment standing beside you, who was now busy doing some sort of weird wave in favour of a greeting.

“Changbin, please,” you plead, burying your face in your hands as you willed for someone to transport you back to your apartment so that you didn’t have to face reality and stand next to your shameless friend.

Chuckling sheepishly, your best friend finally stops, patting your back before walking towards the table at the back of the restaurant. “Oops sorry. Let’s go meet the rest!”

Here goes nothing.

Reaching the almost-filled table, your eyes dart from face to face, trying to see if you could remember anyone currently seated in front of you.

“Guys! This is Y/n, my best friend,”—at this, a few complaints erupt from around the table—”Gosh, fine. My other best friend.”

Immediately, at least three people shout their greetings your way.

“Hi Y/n! Nice to meet you!”

“Yo~ Changbin’s told us lots about you.”

“Y/n, sit beside me!”

Exasperated, your eyes flit around the table, trying your best to smile at all of them (which honestly turns out to look more like a pained grimace). Luckily, there was one seemingly sane person present.

“Shut up, everyone.” A boy with blue hair and sharp eyes shushes everyone. “Hi Y/n, it’s nice to have you here. I’m Jeongin.”

At this, the once quiet table is back to chaos as complaints are directed towards Jeongin for sneakily introducing himself first. Taking advantage of the mess, Changbin guides you towards the empty seats and finally settles the both of you down. Now all the seats were filled, except for one empty seat left beside you.

You’re about to ask Chanbgin about the empty chair, but before you can, he claps his hands, attracting everyone’s attention. “Okay, everyone will take turns introducing themselves. Seungmin, you start.”

The sandy haired boy seated on the right of Changbin waves both his hands while bouncing in his seat, reminding you of a puppy. “I’m Seungmin!”

Next is Jeongin, who just gives you a small smile.

Beside him, you see a blonde haired boy, what is up with the hair colours, who just smiles brightly, eyes shining brightly and freckles visible. “Hello, I’m Felix. It’s great to meet you!”

Taken aback by the deep voice, which was a total contrast to his cute appearance, you’re unable to hide the shock from your face. This triggers a bout of chuckles from the table; it was probably common for people to display similar reactions when meeting Felix.

Before pretty boy (that’s what you decided to remember him as) could introduce himself, the black haired boy resembling a squirrel interrupts him. “I’m Jisung!”

You recognise him as the one who shouted when you and Changbin entered the restaurant, and you’re about to acknowledge him when you’re cut off.

“Oi Han, it was my turn to introduce myself! Who allowed you to skip the line?”

“I do what I want,” was Jisung’s response, and pretty boy looked like he was one push away from murder.

Just as you’re sure that you were about to witness a murder, Changbin chides the two boys and breaks up the petty argument. “Just introduce yourselves without any nonsense, please.”

“I’m Hyunjin,” pretty boy mutters sulkily, giving Jisung a death stare. “And I can dance better than Jisung.”

“You motherf-”

“And I’m Minho,” the last person introduces himself, successfully cutting off Jisung’s profanity mid-word. “Sorry, don’t mind those two. They’re like Tom and Jerry.”

Smiling weakly, you muster up the courage to introduce yourself to the four pairs of eyes staring at you. Hyunjin and Jisung were busy having a staredown, while Changbin was eyeing the meat sizzling on the grill. “Hi, I’m Y/n, Changbin’s friend. It’s nice to meet all of you. Thanks for having me here.”

And just like that, everyone is back to their own conversations, with Changbin piling the perfectly done meat onto his plate. You take in a deep breath and look around the table at the happy faces.

This isn’t so bad, you thought, a little chaotic, but otherwise entertaining.

“They’re overwhelming huh?”

Any effort to mask your bewilderment vanishes as you catch the knowing look on Minho’s face. A guilty smile blooms on your face and you nod your head. “Just a little.”

“I get that,” he starts, but soon enough, there’s a content smile on his face that shows his love for his friends. “But at the end of the day, I know that these monkeys will be there for me no matter what, so I guess it makes it all worth it.”

Smiling softly at his words, you almost coo at the light blush dusting Minho’s face as reality catches up to him.

“Ahem anyway. How’s living with Changbin?” He clears his throat before changing the topic, instinctively putting some meat on your plate before helping himself, earning a grateful smile from you.

“It’s not too bad,” you start, feeling Changbin’s gaze on you after having overheard Minho’s question. “Except sometimes, he talks to himself in the mirror and it’s pretty scarring.”

“Y/n!” Changbin whines as Minho guffaws beside you, nodding his head to your answer, clearly having witnessed that side of Changbin before. “Wait till Chan comes. At least he’ll support me.”

At the unfamiliar name, you furrow your brows and the name in the form of a question tumbles out of your mouth before you could stop yourself. “Chan?”

“He’s not here yet,” Minho addresses your confusion, having heard your little slip up. “He had to oversee the training for the upcoming soccer match, being the captain and all, and apparently he had a tutoring session after. He should be here soon though.”

That explains the empty chair beside you.

“Oh, he needs to get tutored after training?” You ask, feeling bad for the unknown boy. Having to absorb information after physical activities is torture. You couldn’t even focus after 40 minutes of gym. “That’s rough.”

At your assumption, a cat-like smirk spreads across Minho’s face. “Oh no, darling. He tutors after his training.”

There’s no way you’re to be blamed for the first thought that pops into your head after discovering that said Chan was responsible and smart. You’ve seen people struggling with just one extracurricular, and begging teachers for extra credits because of poor time management.

So, it’s really not your fault that the first words that enter your head is, that’s hot.

Just then, the bell situated above the door rings, indicating that someone was entering the restaurant. You’re not bothered by it, until Felix’s deep voice fills your ear.

“Chan!”

It’s almost comical how slowly you turn towards the sound, blush threatening to fill your cheeks at your first impression of Chan, without even meeting him. And as Giovanni Torriano has once said:

Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow.

Your eyes follow the figure of the devilishly breathtaking boy walking towards your table. He’s still dressed in what you assume was his soccer jersey, black hair tousled from the wind and practice. Shaking your head, you rid yourself of that inappropriate thought and opt to stare at the bowl of radish that looked the most interesting to you.

“Hey guys!” Chan smiles widely at the group of friends, as a few of them immediately get up from their seats to greet him with their usual bro hug. He sets his things down beside Minho, and is taking his seat when he spots you. Confusion clear in his eyes, he looks around the table, silently asking for an explanation as to what a stranger was doing at their usual table.

You realise his staring and try to introduce yourself, but you find yourself unable to form sentences as the reality of who Chan was hits you.

The star swimmer of your high school’s swimming team, and the top student of every single year. He was the epitome of popular. Everyone knew his name, and apparently he had never missed one day of lessons or training. On top of that, he used to regularly tutor in the library.

“Oh, this is my friend Y/n!” Changbin pipes up, slinging an arm around you. “Same high school as us, and my roommate now.”

At this, the confusion clouding Chan’s hazel eyes clears up, and he turns to face you, extending a hand. “The one who used to carry thick books everywhere and helped out in the library right? I’m Chan!”

Being the complete opposite of your best friend, you’re sure no one has ever noticed you in the library. You blend in perfectly with the shadows and shelves, and you didn’t usually help the students out, opting to arrange the books in the storeroom—the one small thing you could do to help out the aged librarian who brought you mouth-watering brownies every Thursday.

The thick books, in your defense, was your attempt at trying to finish the Harry Potter series whenever you had the spare time. You never had to explain yourself because you never expected anyone to notice. Especially not the most popular guy in school who had a million other friends.

But there he was, in all his glory, eyes crinkled into crescents as he waits for you to shake his hand, seemingly remembering you when nobody else did.

A small nudge to your side from Changbin breaks you out of your reverie and you grab his hand, silently noting how soft they were. “Nice to meet you.”

Smiling at you, he gently shakes your hand before turning to the other boys, immediately making jokes and laughing along.

“What was that about?” Changbin whispers harshly, eyeing you and Chan suspiciously.

“What was what?”

“Chan remembering you! You’ve never even met before.”

Looking at your best friend, you shrug before reaching out for another piece of meat. “Beats me.”

Changbin opens his mouth to interrogate you more, when he’s successfully cut off by Seungmin.

“Y/n! Tell us more about yourself! I’m bored of hearing about these idiots.”

Jeers sound from around the table as you let out a nervous chuckle, aware of how everyone’s attention was on you. “Me?” You ask, pointing to yourself for extra confirmation.

Yea!” Seungmin replies, nodding vigorously. “What are you doing now, and how was high school for you, and just everything!”

Noting your hesitation, Changbin is about to step in to save you, but your hand on his thigh stops him. Looking at you curiously, he realises from your expression that you’re finally about to do what he had been nagging at you to do since day one of becoming your friend.

iv.

‘Is it possible for a stomach to burst from too much laughing?’ is what runs through your head as tears stream down your face from laughing uncontrollably at another joke Jisung was saying.

“Wait, I remember Changbin telling me that people used to refer to you as Baby Photos when you all played at the school shows,” you ask after you had recovered from your laughing fit, curiosity piquing. “What’s that all about?”

At the mention of the familiar name, the boys let out groans and Hyunjin starts hitting Jisung. “It’s all Jisung’s fault!”

“Basically, he somehow got ahold of all our baby photos and submitted it to the administration on behalf of us,” Changbin explains, rolling his eyes at the memory. “So if you see our yearbook, all eight of us have our baby photos instead of the actual photo we were supposed to submit.”

How is that even possible?!

“We still don’t know how he managed to do that.” Chan answers your unasked question, shaking his head fondly at the ridiculous memory.

At this, Jisung pipes up. “Everything is possible when you’re charming and handsome. You lot won’t be able to relate!”

And you finally agree that the beating Jisung gets after was well deserved.

“Restaurant’s closing in ten!”

The owner of the restaurant, a nice old lady who had a soft spot for the boys, calls out from the back. She had already let all of you stay past her usually closing time, and even gave you some free side dishes, together with a loving chide about how the boys don’t come and visit her anymore.

The screech of the chairs fill the place as everyone gets up, stomach and heart full from the meal and company. You smile to yourself, glad that you let yourself be convinced to follow Changbin because you had one of the best days in your life.

“Did you have fun today?” Your best friend asks with a smug smile, already knowing the answer.

“Shut up,” is all you can say—a clear sign that you were admitting defeat. “It was okay.”

“That wounds me,” someone speaks up from behind you, having heard your conversation with Changbin. You whip around to see Chan clutching his heart and wearing an exaggerated hurt face. “I thought we had a connection.”

“I-you, no, that’s not-what” you splutter, horrified at the thought of Changbin’s, and now apparently your, friends thinking that you didn’t have a good time with them. There was no way you could let them think as such when they had made you feel so comfortable, and have so much fun.

Your stuttering and horrified expression does it, and Chan bursts into laughter. “I’m so sorry, it was a joke. But your face!”

The guilt and regret is replaced with relief and irritation, and you smack his arm out of habit, something you always did to Changbin when he was being a pain in the ass. But as soon as you do it, you’re once again filled with regret because Oh my God it’s only been two hours, you’re not supposed to just smack people.

“Stop overthinking it, idiot,” Chan cuts you off, adding in a low tier insult to make you feel a bit better about your reflexes. “We’re friends now; all of us.”

Friend to friends. Now that’s an upgrade.

You’re about to say something, when you’re cut off by Changbin screeching unceremoniously as he glances at the time displayed on his lockscreen (it’s a picture of the two of you making ugly faces—he refused to change it).

“Shit, we’re going to miss the last bus that leaves from here!” He almost shouts, grabbing his and your things. “Adios bitchachos!”

A snicker or two echoes through the empty restaurant at Changbin’s farewell, together with requests of bringing you the next time they meet.

“Make sure Y/n comes for the next dinner! Doesn’t matter if you’re here or not!”

Jisung earns himself a string of vulgarities from Changbin for that, as he guffaws and hi-fives Hyunjin.

You’re barely able to say your farewell to the boys with Changbin dragging you out of the restaurant, but you manage to shout out a few words while waving. “Thank you for today! See you soon!”

The bus arrives just as you reach the bus stop, and Changbin all but collapses on one of the empty seats from the running you both did.

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“You’re foul.” You’re staring at your best friend in disgust when he starts questioning you about the dinner, nausea forgotten.

“So…” he starts, pivoting in his seat to face you, cheek leaning against his hand which rested on the seat in front of him. “For someone who was dead set on not coming, you sure looked like you had lots of fun.”

Rolling your eyes at his words, you turn to face Changbin. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me making more friends?”

“Of course, of course~” he drawls, smirk ever-present on his face. “And who do we have to thank for that?”

“And you ask me why I don’t listen to you or ask you for favours.” Turning your attention back to your phone, you open up Temple Run in hopes of keeping yourself occupied for the bus ride back; but Changbin had other plans.

Whining, he snatches your phone from your hands and slips it into his pocket. “Y/n! Tell me everything!”

“What do you want to know?!” you ask, exasperated. “You were there literally the whole time.”

“Yes I know, but I want to know what you think of all my friends!” Changbin claps his hands in excitement, leaning forward in anticipation. “Well, our friends now.”

You can’t help but sigh as you prepare for the long bus ride ahead—but somehow, you don’t miss the sudden warmth enveloping you as you recalled the past few hours.

“First of all, Jisung and Hyunjin are hilarious, it’s like…”

Two weeks later, and you’re knee deep in shit. Not literally, of course, but you might as well be.

It’s the infamous hell month in your university, where every student (regardless of major) has a shit ton of assignments and tests to complete, and the library is open 24 hours for poor souls like yourself.

It’s two in the morning when you’re working on your second essay of the day. There are crumpled balls of paper all over your desk and surrounding your bin, courtesy of your pathetic aim.

“You’re cleaning everything up later,” Changbin speaks up from across the dining table you both were sharing to get work done, tapping away on his equipment as he works on some new beat. “I don’t expect every ball to go in, but to miss everything? That’s some serious talent.”

“Shut your mouth, Seo.” Flipping your best friend off, you finally push yourself away from the table, stretching a bit before making your way to the kitchen to fix yourself a bowl of ramen in hopes of satiating the beast growling in your stomach.

As you open each shelf, you slowly come to the realisation that you were completely out of snacks and food. Even the single frozen bag of peas and empty ice cream tub stares back at you in pity as you scan the fridge.

Taking a breath to calm yourself, you slowly turn around to face your unsuspecting, so-called, best friend. Walking towards him, you knock the table a few times to get his attention.

He notices your presence, and removes his headphones to look at you quizzically, his full attention on your blank face.

“When were you going to tell me that you had consumed every single food item we have?”

It’s almost comical how quickly the blood drains from his face, as his eyes dart all around the room, skillfully avoiding you. If it were any other situation, you would’ve definitely laughed while falling onto the floor. But this wasn’t any other situation.

This was war.

And honestly, it would have been a war that you would’ve definitely won—if not for the loud sound your stomach just produced.

Narrowing your eyes at the accused seated a few feet away from you, you walk over to the countertop with your wallet, eyes not leaving Changbin for a second.

“I will deal with you when I am back from the convenience store.”

And with the sight of Changbin gulping imprinted in your mind, you slam your apartment door behind you and make your way grumpily to the 24-hour convenience store located seven minutes away.

vi.

The electronic chime sounds throughout the store as the part-timer throws you a friendly greeting from the counter. “Welcome!”

Reciprocating with a smile of your own, you take slow steps towards the shelf with the various assorted packets of ramen, and your hand automatically reaches for your favourite one. Just as it comes into contact with the plastic, you can feel yourself salivating and your stomach growls in appreciation. It’s a myth, you think. There’s no way food like carrots and asparagus is what gets students through school. The only saving grace you have during this period is packets of ramen and chocolate milk. Countless numbers of assignments and tests are already torturous enough; healthy, tasteless food on top of that? No, thanks.

Clutching the ramen packet in your hands like it was the treasure of your life, you walk towards the milk section to complete your meal with your favourite carton of chocolate milk. There was something about the combination of milk that combats the spice from the ramen, and you’re about to drop onto your knees right there and then to worship the people who invented ramen and chocolate milk, when you see the last carton being taken away right in front of your eyes.

Without any second thoughts, you rush towards the person and grab their arm, already getting ready to pull out the sob story of how you absolutely need the chocolate milk to survive. Surprised by the sudden contact, the man holding the carton whips his head towards you, eyes wide.

There’s a fleeting sense of familiarity that passes through you when you see the hazel peeking out from above the mask that covered the rest of his face, but you’re too preoccupied to dwell on the thought. Just as you’re about to open your mouth to beg, you’re cut off by an all too familiar voice.

“Y/n?”

Huh?

You stare at each other for a few seconds before the realisation of who you were holding, no, clinging onto dawns on you.

“C-Chan?”

In a lively city that thrived at night, there were a thousand other 24-hour convenience stores scattered all around in every corner. It also wasn’t everyday that you decided to go to the convenience store for food, opting to go to the grocery stores instead. So, if you calculated correctly, the chance of you bumping into Chan at 2:30 a.m. at that very particular store should be close to never.

Yet, there he was standing right in front of you, chocolate milk clutched in one hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh I came here to water my plants.”

Plants?

You’re more than confused, till you hear the soft snicker that escapes his mouth. Narrowing your eyes at his antics, you decide to bite back with a “Ha ha, very funny.”

“So… Are you planning to hold onto me forever?” Chan teases you, eyes gesturing to your hand that was still clutching onto him, before looking back at you with a twinkle in his brown eyes. “Because I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

With the whole bumping-into-Chan thing that happened, it had completely slipped your mind that you were still holding onto him. You snatch your hand away in horror, eyes widening as you feel the heat creep up your neck. “S-sorry.” And before you could stop yourself, you also continue to spill why you had grabbed his arm in the first place. “I was just craving for chocolate milk, and the one you took was the last carton left.”

Looking back and forth at you and the carton, you start to feel like an absolute idiot, until he reaches out and pushes the carton into your hands. “You can have it then,” he says, and walks away. “Stay right there, let me grab some ramen and we can have supper together!”

You stare at the carton for a few seconds, the droplets of water that formed on the outside cool against your fingers. On a normal day, you would have refused the milk vehemently, telling the other person not to worry and to have the last carton. But today wasn’t any other day.

And Chan wasn’t any other person.

We’re friends, after all, is what echoes in your mind as you look up at the boy walking towards you, two packets of ramen in his hand and a carton of strawberry milk. Smiling at him, you finally express your gratitude for his kind sacrifice.

“Thanks for this,” you say, waving the carton in front of him. “I don’t think I would have made it through the night without it.”

Nodding with a smile, he tears his two packets of ramen open and pours in the hot water that was situated at the back of the store, grabbing yours from you in the process. “What brings you here at this hour? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be craving ramen and chocolate milk in the middle of the night on any other day.”

“You’re right about that,” you reply dejectedly, recalling the big pile of assignments waiting for you back at the apartment. “It’s hell month in school, and I’m drowning in work. On top of that, Changbin exhausted every single food source we have at home!”

Chan does his very best to hold back his laughter at your expression; he knew you were angry, but you looked as threatening as a kitten. And thankfully he succeeds, because he really did not want to be on the receiving end of your wrath. Although, he thinks, you really are not going to be able to do much damage.

“How dare he,” Chan agrees, finally taking a seat beside you, the steam from the ramen warming his face up. “Hey but, if he hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have bumped into each other here.”

You nod your head in agreement, thinking about how to start a casual conversation, when you are suddenly hit with the realisation that you knew essentially nothing about Chan. You didn’t know what university he went to, what he majored in, and what he was doing in the convenience store that late at night too.

One question at a time, you decide.

“What are you doing out this late anyway?” you ask, slurping the noodles and breathing out in relief at the taste of the ramen against your tongue.

“I come here often,” is what he replies, before taking a sip of his milk. “My uni’s about fifteen minutes from here, and I usually work the best at this time. Being a music production major, there aren’t very strict deadlines, but I’ve still got to get my shit done.”

Oh. That’s all your questions answered.

You know the trouble of trying to get questions out, especially for you, who has never really made the effort in going the extra mile in interacting with people. It’s annoying and nerve-wrecking, and probably the biggest reason why you refused making new friends. The whole process was just painful. So, when Chan answers your unasked questions, you feel the hypothetical weight lifting off your shoulder, and you open your mouth to express your gratitude. At least, that’s what you had planned to do.

“Are you a mind reader?” you blurt out, before immediately clamping your mouth shut and facepalming. “Ugh, sorry. I have a really bad habit of blurting out whatever comes to my mind.” You groan at your inconvenient habit, and Chan pats the top of your hand in hopes of comforting you.

“I just meant to say that I was thinking of asking you those questions and you answered them even before I asked.” Chan looks at you with a smile, intrigued by your personality. You clearly didn’t have any other friends other than Changbin—but you never looked as if you were upset about it. It was also clear that you were content with not interacting with people, but when you did, you were never rude about it and you really did try your best. Never in a million years would he have thought that the student scurrying around the library with tons of books would turn out to be someone like you.

“At least that means you’re an honest person!” Chan says, beaming at you. “C’mon, learn to look at the brighter side of things.”

Shrugging your shoulders with a tired smile on your face, you turn back to your ramen, which has now gone soggy due to your little chit-chat with the boy beside you.

There’s a comfortable silence that hangs between the two of you, until Chan speaks up again. “What’s your major? I realised I never asked.”

At the mention of school, you pull an automatic stank face before replying. “English Lit with a minor in Philosophy. The worst decision of my life.”

“And why’s that?”

“I never knew there’d be this much essay writing!” you cry out, throwing your head against the table. The rest of your words come out muffled, but somehow Chan manages to catch it. “I mean, I knew there was going to be lots of essays. But not this much.”

“In the major’s defense, that’s kind of a dumb move on your part, Y/n.”

“Yes, I know. Please don’t remind me of my idiocy.” You finally sit up, before sadly chewing on your noodles. “At least I have ramen and chocolate milk to keep me going.”

And as the night went on, both of you continued the conversation back and forth, you learning more about him and him about you. You talk about your assignments, how annoying some of your professors were, and how living with Changbin was. All the times you had to chase him to clean up after himself, or all the times he stayed up with you until ungodly hours just because you had procrastinated too much and was rushing an assignment in the last hour. You also learnt more about Chan; how he was studying music production because that was his dream since he was young, and how he actually roomed with Jisung, who was equally as messy as Changbin. The only difference was that Chan couldn’t be bothered about the mess.

“Changbin, Jisung, and I actually used to make tracks and post them on Soundcloud,” Chan says, smiling as he recalls the three high schoolers cooped up in his room with the bare minimum equipment that wiped out half their savings. “We even had rapper names.”

“Ooooo~” you tease, nudging his shoulder as his ears start to turn a bright red. “What was yours?”

“What’s in the past should stay in the past, Y/n. Let bygones be bygones. No point talking about it now.”

“Awww, c’mon!” You plead, fidgeting in your seat. “Was it something embarrassing like Cheminem, or something?”

“I can’t help but feel more relaxed when your standards are that low,” Chan says, with some form of relief in his voice. “Uh, mine was CB97.”

“Don’t tell me…” you mutter, eyes wide as the laughter threatens to escape your lips. “Did you really just use your initials and your birth year? Talk about bare minimum!”

“Hey! It’s better than Meminen, or Cheminem, or whatever you said earlier.”

Sticking your tongue out at him, you decide to probe further. “What were Jisung’s and Changbin’s?”

Chan stares at you with wide eyes, your mischievous eyes giving away your evil plans. “No. Changbin will kill me.”

“Don’t be a party pooper! I’ll treat you to ramen next time if you tell me.” You try tempting Chan with food, with no hopes that it would work. But somehow, you see his resolve crumbling, and realise that you just needed one final push.

“I’ll get you chocolate milk and two packets of ramen.”

At that point, Chan regrets telling you his habit of eating two packets of ramen with chocolate milk almost every night when he stays up. “You shouldn’t have given me the milk then!” is what you said while chiding him, and he just claimed that “you looked like you needed it more than me” while saying that he really wasn’t picky about the flavour of milk.

So when you tempt him with his cravings, he has no choice but to give in.

Twenty minutes later, you walk into your shared apartment, a mysterious smile playing on your lips as you drop the keys into the little holder by the door. It was made by yours truly during a random pottery workshop you signed up for. The shape was slightly off, and the colour wasn’t bright or vibrant—but it worked and that’s what mattered.

At the sound of the keys clinking in the holder, Changbin’s head shoots up to gauge your mood from your expression. Surely you would be at least a little less angry after your little run to the convenience store, he thought.

But instead of seeing a blank expression, or even an angry one, he sees the smile on your face and his heart drops. Why were you smiling? The fact that you were smiling made him feel a hundred times worse, and he had already started saying his prayers.

“So, Changbin…” you start, leaning against one of the chairs at the dining table. You weren’t even angry about the empty shelves anymore, but you just could not pass on the opportunity of teasing your best friend. “Or should I say, SpearB?”

And you’re more than content with the way his face morphs into that of horror, as he grips the edges of the table. “How did you know?” he asks, his voice strained and barely above a whisper; one would think that the whole world had found out about his darkest secret from the way he was reacting.

Shrugging playfully, you go back to your seat and sort out the papers scattered around the table, grabbing your laptop to start working on your assignment again with a full and happy stomach. “Who knows~”

“Y/n, tell me,” he starts to whine, making his way to you on his roller chair. “No one knows other than the boys-”

And the realisation of who the culprit was hits him.

“It was Chan, right?” he asks, already reaching for his phone to scold the older boy. “You must have met him when you went to the store—he’s always getting ramen there.” Typing furiously on his phone, he pauses to look up and whine again. “I can’t believe you two gossiped about me! And it was me who made you both become friends. The disrespect!”

Finally the laughter you had been holding in breaks out and floods the living room, the sound bouncing off the walls. “I can’t believe,” you start, trying to catch your breath as you continue laughing. “SpearB! What do you do? Impale people with your sharp flow and rhyme?”

“Just shut up, please,” Changbin pleads, plugging his ears with his fingers. “La la la, I can’t hear anything you’re saying.” He rolls back to his side of the table and grabs the headphones, shoving it over his head to drown out your laughter.

Your laugh fest is cut off by your phone vibrating, signalling that you had a new text message. Grabbing it, you tap your phone a few times to open up the messages page.

chan: can’t believe you outed me to changbin chan: traitor y/n: drama queen y/n: i said nth, he figured it out on his own chan: ఠ_ಠ

Giggling at the emoticon Chan used, you unconsciously lean back in your seat as you search your gallery for an emoticon to reply with, assignments forgotten.

“Who’re you texting?” Changbin asks, having heard you giggle at your phone. He’s eyeing you suspiciously, and you knew it was better to answer him, because a curious Changbin is a dangerous Changbin, and he’ll probably stomp over and snatch your phone to see who you were texting anyway. “It’s Chan.”

“When did you two exchange numbers?!”

“Earlier, when we met at the convenience store.”

It was right before the both of you parted ways; when Chan had proposed something that was pretty much impossible to turn down.

“I had fun today,” he said, one hand stuffed in his pocket while the other swung the plastic bag containing some chocolates to add to his secret sweet stash. “You said you’re having hell month, right? Hit me up whenever you need an emergency ramen run.” And with that, he pushed his phone into your hands, signalling for you to do the same.

Smiling to yourself, you keyed in your number into the phone clutched in your hand, saving yourself as “Y/n”, and before you could regret your decision, you quickly added a smiley after your name and tossed the phone back to Chan. “Here you go.”

The cool metal is being pressed into your hands, and before you know it, you’ve said your farewell to Chan and were on your way back home.

“Look at you socialising out of your own will,” Changbin states proudly, wiping an imaginary tear as he gives you a fatherly (or what he thinks is fatherly) smile. “Albeit, at the expense of my shame, but if it means my little Y/n making more friends then why not!”

“Please stop, you’re an embarrassment to me, yourself, and literally everyone around us,” you deadpan, clearing your side of the table up. It was time to call it a night, because God knows you’re not going to be able to do anymore work. “Besides, it’s really not that big of a deal. I doubt we’ll continue talking after tonight. It’s probably a one-off thing.”

“Hmmm I wouldn’t be too sure,” Changbin muses. “I feel like there’s something that’ll come out of this.”

vii.

Seo Changbin isn’t a lot of things.

He isn’t tidy, opting to throw his clothes all around his room instead of folding it; he isn’t patient, always screaming at you to “Hurry your ass!” when he had been waiting barely three minutes; and last but not least, he definitely isn’t punctual. “Changbin is my name, and being late is my game” is something you’ve heard way too often from him that it was a wonder you hadn’t murdered him yet.

Changbin isn’t a lot of things—but what he somehow is, is intuitive when it comes to you.

So when you find yourself back at the convenience store at 12:30 a.m., ramen and chocolate milk in front of you as you laugh over some stupid story Chan was saying, you can’t help but curse at how right your best friend was.

You were reaching the end of your hell month, which also indicated it being four weeks since you and Chan had developed the routine of pigging out at the convenience store at terrible hours.

“... and he just fell off the tree!” Chan concludes his story of how Hyunjin fell off a tree in high school, words coming out breathless due to how much the both of you were laughing. “Ah, that brings back memories.”

“I can’t believe I never talked to you guys more then,” you say, shaking your head slightly. “It would’ve been hilarious.”

“Someone was too busy with Voldemort,” Chan teases, pushing his nose down flat in what you could only describe as a Voldemort impression. Laughing, you swat his hand away while rolling your eyes at the boy you’ve grown so fond of in a span of four weeks. “Why’d you never talk to us?”

Thinking back to high school, you ask yourself. Why didn’t you ever bother talking to them?

“I guess it’s just cause I already had Changbin,” you start, pausing to think back to the past few years. “As much as I complain about him, he’s really one of the greatest best friends anyone could ask for.”

It was true; Changbin was there for you during high school like no one else had been, and for that you were eternally grateful for him.

“So you were scared to take any other chances since you already got the best?”

People always asked you why you didn’t make more friends in high school. Hell, even your mother kept asking, when other parents struggled to keep their children at home just because they were spending too much time out with friends. But the answer to that question was something you never thought about, and you can’t stop the feeling of shock spreading through your body at what the boy in front of you had just so casually uttered.

You were scared.

“I-I…” you stutter, eyes wide as you stare at the boy in front of you. Chan can’t help the worry that seeps into his face at his words, and he’s starting to wonder if he said anything wrong. “I’ve never ever thought about it. But, oh my God, that makes so much sense.”

After years of waving everyone who asked you why you never made any other friends away just because you yourself didn’t have the answer to the question, you’re hit with a huge realisation of just why you didn’t want to find more friends. And it wasn’t even you who figured it out.

This boy sitting leisurely in front of you, skin pale and soft, with messy black hair framing his face that he never bothered brushing away. This boy, who was as kind as he was hardworking, always willing to help out anyone, even with his own responsibilities. This boy who had been readily there for you at the devil hours for almost every day in the past four weeks, always checking up on you to make sure that you were surviving.

Never in a million years would you have expected someone to figure out something that was locked away so deep inside of your heart, and for it to be Chan, out of everyone. The thought makes your heart race a little, but you decide to blame it on the conversation the both of you were having. It was definitely not because of the boy seated beside you.

“Shocking, huh,” Chan starts, laughing slightly as the worry he had felt earlier replaced with something he could only describe as fondness. “It’s a pity though.”

You look at him questioningly, and what he says next makes you realise a few things that maybe you were better off not realising.

“We would’ve been much happier in high school with you there. I would’ve been much happier.”

As much as you regretted not befriending the other seven boys in high school, you were starting to regret bumping into Chan that very first night even more. If you hadn’t bumped into him, you would’ve never spent so much time with him, never realised how great of a person he was, and lastly, you would’ve never started falling for Bang Chan.

viii.

It’s like déjà vu.

With your exams and assignments completed, you find yourself watching the latest season of Haikyuu when Changbin enters the room, waltzing towards your reclined figure.

“Y/n~” Changbin starts, poking your shoulder to get your attention. “Whatever your annoying ass needs now, it’s a no,” you say without even turning to look at the boy beside you.

“Oh? Even if it was an invitation to dinner with the boys later tonight?”

And when your head whips to the side to look at your best friend, you’re so tempted to just wipe that smirk clean off his face, because the bitch knew you would have said yes.

“I fucking hate you,” is what you can mutter, before switching the television and throwing the remote to the side, choosing to ignore Changbin as you walk towards your room to pick an outfit. But you’re forced to stop in your tracks when Changbin casually utters the next few words.

“Chan’s especially excited to see you.”

You’re not sure what Changbin means by that, but there’s no denying the increase in your heart rate at the mention of the dimpled boy.

“What?” You try your best to sound as nonchalant as you could, hoping that your best friend wouldn’t pick up the slight quiver in your voice. But, of course, he wasn’t your best friend for nothing.

“I said, your little boyfriend’s excited to see you.” Changbin smirks at your expression, stretching his legs out to rest it on the coffee table in front of your sofa. “And it looks like you’re just as excited.”

Red travels up your neck and spreads across your face, as you sputter at your best friend’s preposterous words. “W-what are you- I- Huh-”

Realising that your little breakdown wasn’t helping your case at all, you take a deep breath to calm yourself, before speaking to the insolent brat in front of you. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“But you like him, don’t you?”

You freeze like a deer caught in headlights, and the first instinct you have is to play dumb. “O-of course I like him. He’s my friend.”

“I will pretend like I did not hear that pathetic attempt of you trying to act dumb,” Changbin states robotically, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Y/n. It’s obvious. So stop pretending and just fess up. It’ll be easier for the both of us.”

You had two choices now: Either fess up and prepare yourself for at least a thousand years of teasing, or just completely deny it till your deathbed.

Clearly, the second option was much more appealing.

“No, Changbin,” you snap with as much conviction as you could. “I do not have a crush on Chan. He’s just a really good friend.”

The knowing look on his face wavers, and you know that you’re seconds away from success. It’s not that you did not trust your best friend with the information of you having a crush on one of his friends. You just did not want to say it out loud—saying it out loud would mean that you were confirming it, and there will be no going back. And that scared you.

You were scared of liking someone who was way too perfect, and who probably would never like you back.

So the best solution was to keep your little crush hidden away in the depths of your heart, and slowly get over it as soon as you could. It was as easy as it could get.

ix.

Apparently, you realise, it wasn’t at all easy to get over a simple crush.

The smell of meat fills your nostrils as the eight boys chatter loudly over the sound of the sizzling of the food. You’re back at the same restaurant, with the same boys, except it wasn’t exactly the same as the last time.

This time, you had a raging crush on the boy who insisted on sitting beside you, leg brushing against yours every few seconds as he piles the food on your plate instead of his.

It definitely didn’t help that every time your hands brushed while reaching out for the side dishes around the table, you pulled your hand back as if you had just been burned, ears immediately heating up.

“Did you know Chan told Y/n about 3RACHA?” Changbin whines to Jisung, making him stop his actions mid-way, meat hanging from the chopsticks just a few inches away from his mouth. “All I heard the past few weeks was ‘SpearB, help me’, ‘SpearB, go there’. It was torture.”

The table goes silent at the new information Changbin had revealed, and all you can do is smile sheepishly as your friends stare at the both of you.

“These two have been meeting almost everyday the past few weeks to get ramen at weird timings, and I’m pretty sure Y/n has lots of quality dirt on us now,” Changbin says pointedly, completely ignoring the way your eyes widened because why would he just say that?

It already wasn’t easy keeping Changbin in check with his little fantasies every time you went out to meet Chan, and now it was going to be worse because you just knew that the six other boys were going to question you from their expressions.

You turn to look at Chan, expecting to see the same ‘busted’ expression on his face, but all you see is a guilty smile, before he opens his mouth to speak. “In my defense, I was bribed.”

“Yes but, you never told us your 3RACHA names even after we kept begging you for weeks,” Hyunjin speaks up, eyes wide in disbelief. “We had to bribe you with a new game for your console, but you just told Y/n after two packets of ramen and chocolate milk?”

Your heart rate picks up speed just a fraction after hearing Hyunjin’s words, and you can’t help but feel a little special that Chan was comfortable enough to tell you things he refused to tell others. There’s a small smile playing at your lips as you look at the boy beside you, who was now rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he tried his best to defend himself from the accusations that were now pouring out from all his friends.

Unbeknownst to you, your own best friend was watching the both of you since the night started, a glint in his eye as he catches the way you threw small glances at his friend, blushing every time your hands brushed or when Chan purposely picked out the meat that was grilled best to put on your plate.

He also didn’t miss the soft smile playing at Chan’s lips every time you laughed at another stupid joke Jisung cracked, head thrown back slightly as you clutched your stomach, or the way his eyes widened every time you leaned a little too close to him to reach for a side dish.

Fools, is what he thinks when he eyes his two best friends. Fools in love.

The night goes on, and it’s Changbin who proposes a game of who can finish a bottle of soju the fastest to make things more exciting. You already know how it was going to end when you see the soju bottles crowding the table, all screaming the obvious outcome of the night.

“Rule’s simple. We’ll have two people against each other, and the one that loses has to pay their opponent’s share for tonight’s dinner.”

You notice Changbin avoiding your eyes as he speaks and distributes the bottle, which could be attributed to the very scary death glare you were throwing right at him.

Here’s the thing—your alcohol tolerance was shit. And Changbin knew that, making you wonder what he had planned up his sleeve.

“Right, here’s the lineup,” he announces, making it seem as if the lot of you were in some world championship of sorts. “Hyunjin and Jisung”—there’s a loud ‘Die, bitch!’ that resounds from Jisung as they both get ready to win against each other—“Seungmin and Felix, Minho and Jeongin, and Chan and Y/n!”

You were going to kill that idiot.

Changbin starts off the game with a recap of the rules, and makes sure that everyone has their own bottle of alcohol. Disaster is the only word flashing in your mind, and you’re on the verge of ditching your friends to return to the comfort of your room.

“Jisung and Hyunjin first!” Changbin instructs, to which the two boys grab their bottles and have a stare-down with each other.

“I’m gonna win so hard, your ancestors are gonna feel it.”

“Let’s see you try, pretty boy.”

On Changbin’s cue, the two boys start gulping down the alcohol, and you visibly cringe at the ghost feeling of the taste on your tongue.

“Are you okay?” Chan whispers from beside you, eyebrows furrowed. “It’s a stupid game. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

There’s a grateful smile on your face as you shake your head, letting the boy know you were okay. “I’m fine. Just worried because my alcohol tolerance isn’t that good, and I don’t want to inconvenience all of you.”

“I promise I’ll take care of you,” Chan mutters softly, staring right into your eyes. The smile slowly drops from your face as your heartbeat echoes in your ears at his words and the way he was looking at you. You so badly wanted to look away, not being used to such eye contact, but there’s something about the way he’s looking at you that makes it almost impossible for you to tear your gaze away from his twinkling eyes.

The sound of a bottle being slammed onto the table snaps you out of your little moment with Chan, and you immediately turn away to look at what was happening at the table, taking deep, cleansing breaths to calm yourself.

On the other side of the table, you realise that Hyunjin was the one who finished his bottle first, now having the time of his life teasing Jisung, who had about one quarter of the bottle left.

All the boys, except Chan and Felix, were laughing their asses off—Felix was the only one comforting Jisung, while Chan was staring at the table, an unreadable expression on his face.

“There, there. It’s okay, Sung,” Felix coos, patting Jisung’s hair, as the latter sulks at his loss.

The next two rounds proceed quickly, with Seungmin and Jeongin emerging as the winners. Everyone stares shell shocked, as Jeongin gulps down the liquid with vigour and speed, and slams his bottle down onto the table with a grin.

“There’s no way! I can’t believe Minho lost to a baby!”

“Just because he’s the youngest doesn’t mean he’s a baby, Changbin.” Seungmin deadpans, swiftly moving the empty bottles to the side of the table. “And how come you’re not participating?”

“Someone needs to bring Y/n back,” Changbin shrugs, passing the bottles to Chan and you with a guilty smile in return to your scowl. “And I’d rather stay sober when taking care of drunk children.”

You turn to pass the bottle to Chan, quickly avoiding his gaze when he looks at you. You’re not confident in your abilities to keep the blush down if he was going to look at you the way he did before.

“Okay,” Changbin cues, making sure both of you were ready with the bottle caps off. “Ready, set… Go!”

You didn’t mind paying for Chan’s share for dinner, you really didn’t. But if there was something about you that was both your downfall and pride, it was your competitiveness. You were competitive to the point where you tended to disregard the consequences of your actions.

So, your brain doesn’t register the painful consequences of your actions as you gulp down the bottle of alcohol like your life depended on it. You weren’t the best drinker out there, but you were going to try your very damn best because it was a competition.

With no expectation of winning, you swallow the last drop of soju and slam the bottle back onto the table, when you realise that everyone was staring at the two of you with their mouths open—specifically at Chan.

Following their gaze, your eyes widen in surprise as you see the boy holding an almost half-full bottle of soju, clearly indicating that you were the winner of your little game.

It’s like a dam breaks, and suddenly everyone’s shouting at the unexpected outcome. Hyunjin and Jisung scream while looking back and forth the bottle and Chan, while Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin sit with wide eyes and open mouths, unable to process that Chan just lost to you.

On the other hand, Changbin watches Chan with a smirk, which slowly drops when he realises that Minho, who was sitting beside him, was staring at him with raised eyebrows, clearly asking the question ‘What the fuck just happened?’.

Just as he’s about to pull Changbin to the side to question him, you shoot up from your seat, stumbling around almost immediately because of the sudden bout of dizziness that hit you. You fall back onto your seat as fast you had gotten up, and Chan wraps an arm around you almost instinctively, making sure you didn’t fall off your seat.

The table is back to having their own conversations a few minutes later, as if they weren't just screaming over your victory, with Hyunjin and Jisung having a rock-paper-scissors tournament between themselves, proposed by Jisung who was still sore about losing to Hyunjin.

Alcohol clouds your mind as your head lols back and forth, with soft giggles spilling from your lips. In your drunken state, you register the arm wrapped around you, and you turn your head to look for the owner of said arm.

Chan looks at you with the fondest smile as he tries to hold back his own chuckles at how cute your giggles were, at the same time being extremely conscious of the way you fit perfectly around his arms. He thanks his lucky stars that you were drunk as he held you, assuring him that there was no way you were going to hear how fast his heart was beating.

“Oh?” you drawl, squinting at the boy beside you. “Who might you be?”

And at that very moment, Chan hopes with all his heart that there is no one else who will get to witness what he was seeing right in front of him.

There are strands of hair covering your face, cheeks red from the alcohol (and from the close proximity to him, but he doesn’t need to know that) and eyes drooping from the oncoming sleepiness. Yet, to him, you were still the most beautiful in that moment.

“I’m Chan,” he replies sweetly, hesitating for a moment before adding more to the sentence. “Your friend.”

An exaggerated gasp escapes you as your eyes widen comically. Words tumble from your mouth, with hiccups disrupting your sentences every now and then. “Chan? Bang Chan? From high school? The really, um-" hiccup "-cute boy who tutored in the library? The super popular dude? You’re my-" hiccup "friend?”

There’s a light pink flush dusting his cheeks at your words, but he laughs nonetheless while nodding, finger reaching out to tap your nose. “Yes, I am.”

Scrunching your nose at the contact, you continue giggling when the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupts the little exchange you and Chan were having. Chan turns to face his friends, and immediately starts coughing when he realises that they had been watching the whole scene with amused expressions. He awkwardly retracts his arm from around your waist, only for you to get up and stumble over to where Changbin was sitting, arms reaching out towards him while making grabby hands. “Changbinnnn~”

You plop yourself onto his lap, arms encircling his neck as you pull his ear closer to your mouth. Used to your drunk antics, he concedes, knowing that he’ll end up with more damage if he didn’t listen to you when you were drunk.

When he is close enough, you cup your hands around your mouth and whisper into his ears. At least, you thought you were whispering.

“You have really cute friends, Changbin.”

The whole table erupts into cheers at your words, and you immediately cover your mouth with a horrified expression. “Did everyone hear that?”

“You weren’t very quiet, darling,” Changbin snorts, pulling you up with him as he stands. “How are all of you getting back?”

“We’re all crashing at Felix’s place,” Seungmin speaks up, tapping away on his phone. “The uber’s about to arrive… right now.”

Grabbing their things, everyone except Minho, Chan, Changbin, and you, make their way out of the restaurant, shouting out hurried farewells and promises of ‘I’ll wire the money to you when I get back!’ to Changbin.

“Okay, Minho and I will go settle the bill,” Changbin says, readjusting his grip on you. “Chan, can you look after Y/n for a bit?”

“Sure,” Chan replies, looping your arm around his neck as his snakes around your waist. “We’ll be out at the front.”

The moment Chan leaves their sight with you by his side, Minho turns to bombard Changbin with all the questions that had been bothering him the whole night.

“What was that?” Minho asks in bewilderment, pointing to the door that Chan and you had exited from. “How on earth did Chan lose that game when he’s the best drinker amongst all of us?!”

“It’s called being in love,” Changbin scoffs, shaking his head at his two friends. “Disgusting.”

The distressed look on Minho’s face dissolves, and is replaced by what one could describe as enlightenment. “No fucking way. I was wondering why he kept smiling at them like an idiot. That explains so much! Have they confessed?”

“You think?” Changbin rolls his eyes, knowing that there was no way either of you had the courage to confess first. “The only way either of them will confess is if they are drunk.”

“But Y/n is dru-” Minho starts in confusion, when he stops mid-sentence, realising what Changbin had just done. “You evil genius.”

“What can I say,” Changbin states proudly, brushing imaginary dirt off his shoulder. “I wonder what’s going on outside,” he mutters under his breath, staring at the door.

On the other side of the door, Chan finally succeeds in getting you to sit down with him on a curb, his jacket folded neatly under your bottom to make sure that you were not sitting on the hard cement. “I’m tired,” you whine, head dropping onto the warm shoulder beside you.

Chan tenses up at the sudden contact, staring at the top of your head, when you nuzzle your cheek against his shoulder. At the feeling of your cheek against his shoulder, he relaxes, and positions himself such that you didn’t have to strain your neck.

There’s a comfortable silence between the both of you, until you decide to break it by asking Chan a very obvious question.

“We’re close friends right?”

You lift your head from Chan’s shoulder, almost whining out loud at the loss of comfort, but you decide that asking him that question was more important. Clearly, drunk you had very different priorities.

Chan just nods and replies with a soft “Of course”, wondering why you were suddenly asking that question. “Why?”

“Since we’re close friends, can I tell you a secret?” The last few words are spoken in a hushed whisper, as you reach out and grasp Chan’s soft and warm hands. His larger hands clasps yours, as he chuckles at your question. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Y/n. You’re drunk, and you might regret telling me when you sober up.”

“No!” You almost shout, alarming Chan who looks around to make sure no one heard your exclamation. You continue in a softer tone, to Chan’s relief. “You’re my close friend! So I won’t regret it.”

And the wide smile you show Chan almost makes him want to kiss you right there and then. Almost.

“Alright then,” Chan agrees, rubbing circles into the skin on your hand. “Go ahead, tell me your secret.”

Giggling, you use your free hand to beckon him closer, your face moving closer to his at the same time. Just as his ear is close enough to you, you whisper out the words that make his heart stop.

“I think I like you.”

He freezes in place, eyes staring at the black tar road ahead of him as his heart hammers against his ribcage because of your nonchalant words. He gulps before slowly turning to face you, the person he had grown to like more than he could ever imagine coming into his view. He takes quick, shallow breaths as he continues to stare at you, unsure of what to say.

Luckily (or unluckily, for Chan), you decide to continue talking, baring your heart and soul to him.

“It’s like...” you start, trailing off after your first two words, before finding the right words to continue. “It’s like I was always happy in life, but you made me realise that it was possible for me to be happier when you are there with me.”

And the smile you give Chan, accompanied with the words you had just uttered, makes him want to protect you from the rest of the world. He’s not sure if he loves you, but what he’s sure about is that all he wants to do is hug you and never let go, to be there for you every minute, every second. And he thinks that’s enough.

That’s enough reason to hold onto you and never let go.

Opening his mouth, Chan is about to reply to your drunk confession, when the sound of soft snores fill his ears.

Leaning against the light pole that was situated very conveniently behind you, you had fallen asleep in the split second Chan had taken to make his move. Your chest rises and falls with every breath you take, and Chan can’t help but breath out a laugh at your timing.

There’s always tomorrow, he thinks.

There’s white noise playing in your ear as you stare up at your ceiling.

Changbin is seated at the edge of your bed saying something important, you assume. You aren’t listening; your brain cells have decided to go on a strike and replay the scene from yesterday on loop.

I think I like you.

You want to scream. You want to scream and murder the boy sitting beside you so bad. After all, it was his fault that you ingested that goddamn devil liquid that made you spill more than your guts.

It was a wonder that you were able to find a friend as precious as Chan, and there you lay in despair, all thoughts of facing Chan again slowly slipping away from your fingertips. There was absolutely no way you were going to be able to see him after the stunt you pulled yesterday.

“Y/n, are you listening?!”

“No.”

A hand wraps around your arm and you feel yourself being pulled up, coming face-to-face with your distressed best friend. “Stop being stubborn. Calm down and listen to what I have to say.”

And that’s when you snap.

“Stubborn!?” you shriek, clutching the ends of your hair. “I just confessed to your friend, Seo Changbin. I was drunk, and I confessed my very large and real crush to the person I am crushing on. I have ruined any chance at friendship with him, so don’t tell me to stop being stubborn and to calm down!”

Taking a deep breath, Changbin pulls you towards him, both his hands resting against your cheeks. “Listen here. Stop being a wuss. Yes, you confessed when you were drunk. Yes, it’s embarrassing as fuck. But get over it. You know Chan. Is he the kind of asshole who drops friendship over small things like rejection?”

There’s a pout playing at your lips as you shake your head, partly due to the way Changbin was squishing your cheeks, and the other half because you knew he was right.

“But I still don’t want to face him yet,” you whine, pushing his hands away from your face and diving back into your covers. “I just want to wallow in self pity, and hopefully waste away on this bed so that I’ll never have to face anyone ever again.”

Changbin knows that there was no convincing you otherwise, so he settles for sighing and getting up from your bed.

“Don’t stay in bed for too long. I’ll order us food for later.”

Muttering something under your breath, you roll over and bury your face into your pillow, sighing as you think about the boy whose smile gave you more warmth than the sun could ever provide.

You’re in the midst of imagining how different today would’ve been if you hadn’t opened your dumb mouth when your phone rings and cuts off your thoughts. Reaching out for it, your mouth runs dry when you see the name displayed on your screen.

“Chan :)”

Your finger presses the decline button and your phone clatters against your bedside table as you decide that you are not ready to talk to Chan yet. And you’re not sure if you’ll ever be ready to talk to him, let alone face him.

A minute after declining the call, there’s a series of knocks on your door, and you shout out a “Go away!”, not wanting to hear anything related to Chan and how you need to stop being a coward. But as the knocking continues, getting louder as time passes, you start getting annoying and realise you have no choice but to open the door.

“What the fuck do you want, Chang-”

You cut yourself off as you take in the person standing in front of you with wide eyes, looking as handsome as ever even with the furious look painted on his face.

The silence is thick with tension, and you can’t help but avert your eyes, choosing to look at anything but the boy in front of you.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Chan asks, voice quiet and flat. “I’ve been calling and texting you all morning.”

“Um, I-” you start, not knowing how to answer his question. You imagined your day going various ways, but this definitely wasn’t in your plans. “Did Changbin call you?”

“I asked,” he starts, walking towards you. You take a few steps a back, and continue walking backwards until your hands come into contact with your dresser. You were trapped. “Why are you ignoring me, Y/n?”

You blink rapidly, not used to this closed-off version of Chan. The usual warmth and softness in his eyes were missing, and instead all you saw was disappointment and anger. You open your mouth to speak, but it wasn’t easy to get the words out.

“Was it funny messing with me?” Chan continues, not breaking eye contact with you once. “To just get my hopes up and disappear like it all meant nothing?”

“W-what?”

“How was it so easy for you to just start ignoring me?”

“No I-”

“Is that all I mean to you?” And instead of the disappointment and anger, you see pure, unfiltered hurt, and that was enough for your walls to come crashing down. Tears well up in your eyes as you look at the boy in front of you, and it’s like a dam breaks.

“I’m sorry.” Sobs wreck your body as you wipe the tears that don’t seem to stop. “I-I’m so fucking sorry, Chan. I was scared.”

“Scared because you just said that in the spur of moment and you don’t actually mean it?”

“No, I was scared because I like you too fucking much!”

There’s a pregnant silence between the two of you, and you continue staring at the floor, vision blur with stubborn tears that refuse to fall. And that’s when you hear it.

A chuckle.

It’s soft, and you would’ve missed it if not for the pin drop silence in the room.

You slowly lift your head up to confirm if you actually heard what you heard, or if you were hallucinating, when you see it.

Chan was smiling.

“Can’t believe it worked.”

What on earth did that mean?

“W-what do you mean?” you ask, sniffing softly.

“This was Changbin’s idea. For the record, I was against it.” Chan’s hands come up to rest on your cheeks, his thumb wiping away the tears on your cheeks as he smiles softly at you. “I mean, of course I was hurt and worried. But I just wanted to come over and talk it over like a normal person.”

His smile widens as one hand continues cupping your face, while the other reaches to tuck the one stray strand of hair behind your ear. “He said you’ll never admit things unless I, uh, scared you a little.

You stare at Chan as the gears work in your head, putting the pieces of information. The moment the last piece clicks in place, you stare in shock at the boy standing in front of you with a sheepish smile.

“What the fuck?!” you yell, equal parts of relief and anger taking over your mind. “I fucking hate you!”

And with that you storm off towards your door, Chan chasing after you with apologies spilling from his mouth. But the both of you knew that you weren’t actually upset, which can be seen by the giggles accompanying every apology.

Just as you’re about to leave your room, you’re pulled back into warm arms, and you fight every urge to melt right into his embrace. His arms wrap around your frame tightly, but gently. You feel his strong heartbeat against your back, and it’s enough to make you shiver, goosebumps erupting all over your skin.

“Do you hate me?” Chan asks, chin resting on your shoulder as you feel his breath tickle your neck.

“Yes.”

“Really?” Chan asks in amusement, lips against your ears and voice just above a whisper. “That’s a pity then. Because I like you too fucking much too.”

He whispers the last part of the sentence, making your knees go weak and your heartbeat pick up its pace as it usually does whenever the boy who stole your heart was involved.

You turn around in his arms to face him, sighing contentedly at how things ended up turning out. “I’m really sorry about the ghosting.”

“It’s okay, love,” Chan assures you, the pet name inducing butterflies in your stomach. “I would’ve been embarrassed too, if I had confessed to you when I was drunk.”

“I would’ve loved to see that.” You whine at the unfortunate circumstance of you confessing instead of Chan. “I probably looked like an idiot while confessing.”

“Since I’m your boyfriend, can I tell you a secret?” Chan teases, repeating what you said the night before with a little twist. Smacking his arm lightly for the jab, you nod with a laugh, ignoring the way your face heats up when he refers to himself as your boyfriend.

“I really wanted to kiss you when you were confessing.” There’s mirth in Chan’s eyes as he gazes at you the same way he did back at the restaurant. The only difference was that you knew he liked you back. And you had never been happier.

“Go for it.”

And that’s all the confirmation that Chan needs to lean down and press his lips against yours in a feather-light kiss, as your hands rest on his chest, appreciating the strong beat his heart was playing.

You part a few seconds later, eyes still closed as a smile plays on both your lips, before you’re pulled for another kiss, this one more forceful than the one before. His lips press against yours harder, and his arms pull you closer—as close as you could be. You respond with equal fervor, pouring every emotion you have into the kiss, when you’re interrupted by a loud cough.

“I would appreciate it if I didn’t have to bleach my eyes every time I see the two of you.”

Oh.

It completely slipped your mind that Changbin was just a few steps away from your room, and you want to crawl under your bed and befriend the monster there when you see the haughty smile on your best friend’s face.

“I think a thanks is in order.”

Removing yourself from Chan’s arms, you walk over to Changbin, who smiles wider when he realises you are walking towards him. Opening his arms to welcome you in for a hug, he can’t help but shriek when you start punching him everywhere possible.

“Dude, what is wrong with you?!”

“That’s what you get for coming up with stupid ideas to get me to talk!” you snap at your best friend with words that carry no real bite. “Were you that desperate?”

“Clearly!” Changbin replies, exasperated. “It was getting depressing. He wouldn’t stop calling me because he was worried, and you were being a stubborn bitch!”

At his words, there’s a tinge of guilt that pinches at you when you realise the trouble you had put your best friend through.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” you say with a pout, burying your face into Changbin’s shoulder. “And thank you.”

“Yes yes, you’re welcome,” Changbin says with a soft smile. He wouldn’t admit it just yet, but seeing his best friend who meant the world to him end up with someone who just as much deserved nothing but the best made him eternally grateful. “Now go smooch your boyfriend. We don’t want him becoming too jealous of the attention you’re giving me.”

“Oh, shut up,” is what Changbin gets in return, as Chan intertwines his hand with yours. Just as Changbin walks out of sight back to his room, Chan turns to you with the biggest smile.

“Now then, shall we go on a date to celebrate our first day?”

“Absolutely.”

And as you and Chan sit on the beach that evening, surrounded by sand and accompanied by the sound of the waves and the soft breeze with a orange hue enveloping you, you think:

Life had never been sweeter.

#stray kids imagines #stray kids x reader #bang chan x reader #stray kids #bang chan #stray kids fluff #stray kids oneshot #stray kids scenarios #skz imagines #skz scenarios #skz oneshot #skz x reader #skz fluff #chan x reader #bang chan imagines #bang chan scenarios #bang chan oneshot #dee scribbles

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mha-princess · 3 years

Note

hello <3 not gonna lie, you're my favourite when it comes to headcanons and i want MORE lol. i rarely see shoji in these and i'd quite literally take a bullet for him sooo could i request shoji getting insecure/flustered? i find these adoooorable (actually, if you don't mind could you also do one for kirishima? if not, that's absolutely fine) i'll trust you when it comes to the situation :) i hope you have a wonderful day! <333

Them getting insecure

A/N: This turned out more angsty than I wanted it too my apologies ⁍̴̆◡⁍̴̆ )⊃♡- Anako

Characters: Kirishima, Shoji, Shigaraki, Dabi

Kirishima definitely isn’t one to be overly confident

It isn’t by choice though, due to the way he felt growing up he’d rather and try to stay composed and not get his hopes up about good things

He not usually the type to jump to conclusions

But one day he overhears you on the phone and his heart drops immediately

“I just don’t know if I can do this anymore. I’m really tired. I mean really tired. This isn’t for me.” you explain to your friend I’ve the phone

Kirishima holds his breath as he continues to eavesdrop

“Yeah I think it’s time for me to try something different. I’ll talk to you later, alright bye.” You say hanging up the phone. You get up and open the door only to find a clearly upset redhead.

“So when were you going to tell me?” He beckons, his voice sounding broken.

“Kiri, what are you talking-.” He cuts you off mid sentence.

“I know I’m not the best Y/N, but I wish you’d just-”

“The hell are you talking about Ejiro!” You yell, confusion lacing your face.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about Y/N! Your planning to break up with me! I just heard you on the phone! I was here the whole time!” He shouts hands motioning to your bedroom door.

You let out an exasperated sigh, “I was talking to my friend about changing my major, Ejiro. My college major I’m tired of it and I want to change my career plan.”

Ejiro’s expression turn into a sheepish grin as he scratches the back of his neck. “College major you say? So that conversation had absolutely nothing to do with me?”

You shake your head no

“So I really am my worst enemy?” He groans, encasing his face inbetween his palms.

“I love you Ejiro and I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise.” You say. Removing his hands from his face and wrapping them around your waist.

“No no no, it’s my fault I have to stop being so insecure about myself.”He sighs, placing a gentle kiss to your temple.

When it comes to romantic relationships he has a bad habit of being on the pessimistic side

Don’t get me wrong he does right by you and would never give you a reason to leave him but that’s just his nature

He’s had bad experiences with people hiding him so bare with him

One night you two were cuddled up on the couch watching a dumb rom-com movie and it’s was starting to get heated

Your eyes focus on the screen as the male lead strips from his shirt

Shoji shifts in his seat and swallows harshly

You turn to him, concerned, “Is everything alright Sho’?”

“Y-yeah everything’s f-fine.” He stutters, his hands clammy as he grips at his pants

“No it’s not.” You respond flipping off the Tv. “What’s bothering you Sho’? You know you have to tell me.”

He sighs in deafeat, “It’s just I don’t look like that but if you want me to I can try, I just saw you staring and-.” You cut him off with a soft yet assertive kiss.

“My sweet. My perfect boy, please don’t say that. I have no interest in anyone but you.” You say grabbing his hands.

“Your body, your everything is perfect, I wouldn’t change anything about you.” He blushes at your words.

“B-but don’t you want someone who looks norm-.” You cut him off once more.

“Shoji, you are normal. Your the only person I’ll ever want in this lifetime. So please stop doubting my love for you.” He doesn’t say anything, rather he smiles and leans in for another kiss.

It’ll take sometime but be patient with this boy he’s afraid he isn’t enough and needs the reassurance that he is

This man can be very child like so everytime you two fight he may not show it but he’s scared your going to leave him

There’s not a day that goes by when he doesn’t question why you put up with him and his temper tantrums

But everytime he rages he just hopes you remember how much he loves you

It had been three days since you last spoke to eachother

You couldn’t even remember why you two were arguing in the first place, but you did know that you weren’t going to be the one to apologize first.

So out of stubbornness there you sat alone in your room blankly staring at the TV

Your train of thought interrupted by the swing of your once locked door, a disheveled Shigaraki clutching what was once your door knob

“You asshole.” You roll your eyes ignoring his antics,

he doesn’t respond instead he comes over and throws his head onto your lap.

You sigh, letting a hand rest in his hair

“Your the asshole.” He mumbles. “So damn annoying.”

“Your the annoying one, getting jealous over a guy glancing at me.”

“He looked like your kind of - fuck it never mind.” He murmurs.

“Your my kind of guy. There’ll never be another you.” You lean down and press puppy kisses against the rough skin.

The male nudges you away with four fingers

“You better stop before your body’s missing a fucking head.” You giggle as he continues to fluster.

“You would never.”

He doesn’t feel insecure often

After all if he feels threatened by anyone he could just cremate them

But when he does get insecure he gets.... angry

It may not seem like it but he has a MAJOR fear of abandonment

You’d been very busy with school, making it was hard to find time to spend with Dabi

I mean it’s not like you can just link up with a wanted villain

So when he finally sees you after a couple of weeks he definitely not happy

“We’ll look what the fuckin cat drug in.” the black haired male says, sprawled across your bed.

“Dabi? How’d you get in- You know what? Never mind.” You sigh flopping down on the bed beside him

“So who is he?” He questions.

“Dabi, I’m tired and I don’t have time for this shit.” You mumble face gruff in the mountain of pillows

“He’s got you so worn out you can’t even talk to me, is that it?” The boy chuckles lifelessly as you turn to face him.

“He? Your the only fucking he in my life.” you respond sitting up in the bed

“You sure as hell don’t fucking act like it.” He recoils, going to the window from which he came.

“Dabi, what do you mean? Why are you acting like this?” You sigh walking over to him. “I know it hard for me to see yo-.”

“If you know that then find away to make time for me dammit. You know your all I have.” He murmurs.

You let your arms wrap around his waist, your cheek pressing flush against his back

“You don’t have to be insecure. Your my only and I promise one of these days we won’t have to only see eachother on occasion. We’ll figure something out, together.”

Masterlist | Request Rules | Request Box

#dabi x reader #dabi headcanons #kirishima headcanons #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki headcanons #shoji headcanons #shoji x reader #bnha #shoujo #mha princess #anime #boku no hero academia #dabi drabble #shigaraki drabble #bnha angst #angst #fluff

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elianamarie-blog · 3 years

Note

Hiii! Can you do one Hyde and y/n are secretly together bc she’s Forman’s sister but Kelso is always flirting with y/n and it upsets Hyde so maybe Kelso and Hyde get into it and they admit they are together?

Yes, baby doll! Thank you for being patient with me <3

Told You So

Steven Hyde x reader

"Hey, good lookin'," Kelso said smoothly to Y/n as he slid in the booth seat of the Hub.

Y/n rolled her eyes at him as she scooted away from him. "Kelso, do you mind? I'm trying to eat here."

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here by yourself?" he asked, completely ignoring her.

"Because I want to be," she said and slammed the book she was reading. "And why are you acting like that? We see each other everyday."

"Yeah, but we're not alone everyday," he replied and scooted closer. "Now we are."

"There's a reason for that, Kelso." She shifted further away from him, closer to the edge, but all that did was make him shift with her. "If Eric found out what you've been trying to do, he'd kick your ass."

"Oh, come on, he doesn't have to know!"

"Kelso, even if we did, you wouldn't be able to keep your fat mouth shut. When you were with Laurie, you announced it to the whole world that you slept with her. I don't need that." She gathered up her stuff and started to head out, but Kelso stood up with her.

"So, you're saying there's a chance?" he grinned stupidly at her.

"No, you dink," she spat and pushed passed him. "I don't like you and I don't want to get with you. Why don't you get that?"

She walked outside while Kelso watched her leave, staring at her ass.

"She totally wants me."

Later in the basement...

"I don't know why he even keeps hitting on me," Y/n said to Donna, Jackie, and Hyde while in the basement. Donna and Y/n sat on the couch, Jackie in the lawn chair, and Hyde in his usual seat. "We've been friends forever and he never looked at me like that until, like, a year ago."

"Well, have you looked in a mirror lately?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you notice your new shirt fillers?"

Y/n looked down at herself, then realized what he meant. "You're saying he's trying to get me in the sack because of my knockers?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hyde grinned. "Even a blind man can see how much you've grown into your shirts."

"Ugh, what a pig," Jackie sneered. "I'm glad I broke up with him."

"Jackie, to be fair, you broke up with him because he cheated on you," Donna pointed out.

"Eh, whatever," Jackie said, flapping her hand to the side.

"Okay, seriously, guys, how do I get him to stop?" Y/n asked, turning the conversation back around. "Eric gets pissed and tells him to shut up, but he finds new ways to still hit on me."

"Tell him to get bent and that you've found someone else," Hyde suggested.

Y/n eyed him suspiciously. "Kelso may be a bonehead, but when it comes to women and sex, he's freaking Sherlock Holmes."

"Well, then lie."

"Lie?" Y/n asked and fully turned to him. "And say what? That I'm seeing someone so back off before he kicks your ass?"

"Exactly."

Y/n thought about it for a minute and then turned to the girls. "What do you girls think?"

Donna and Jackie shrugged.

"It could work," Jackie said.

"I don't think it's a bad idea," Donna responded. "Kelso doesn't like competition. He'll bitch a lot, but at least he'll back off."

Y/n shrugged. "It's worth a try."

"Good," Jackie said and stood up. "I should get going. My mom is going to attempt to make dinner tonight. If you see the fire department at my house, you'll know what happened." She walked over to the door and tugged it open. "But on the bright side, there'll be lots of fireman. Bye!"

"Maybe I can get a piece of that action," Y/n joked, making Donna laugh.

"I better get going too," she said. "I have to meet your brother at the hub for our date."

"Ohhh, where's he taking you? Mt. Hump?" Hyde asked.

"Ew, gross! Hyde!" Y/n shrieked, making Hyde laugh. "That's my little brother."

"Little?" Hyde asked. "You guys are only ten months apart."

"I'm still older by a couple months."

"Whatever you say," Hyde said, unconcerned and crossed his arms.

"Actually, no, he's taking me somewhere else for once," Donna said, grabbing her coat. "He says it's a surprise."

"I can guarantee his surprise is what's in his pants," Hyde said.

Donna rolled her eyes and looked at Y/n. "Good luck with him."

Y/n nodded as she watched Donna leave the basement. She turned back to him who was staring at her through his aviators. "Now I know what's on your mind."

"How could it not be when you're here looking like that," he responded and stood up only to crawl his way onto her, making her lie on her back.

A smirk played at her lips as she reached up and removed his glasses, finally seeing those blown pupils in his baby blue eyes. "Looking like what, Mr. Hyde?"

He growled at the nickname as he dipped his head into her neck, peppering her flesh with light kisses. She closed her eyes and leaned her head to the side to give him more access.

"All hot and don't even know it," he muttered, trailing his hands up her blouse. He brought his face up to meet hers and pressed his mouth against hers.

"You are mine," he growled when he pulled apart from her. "Not Kelso's. Mine."

She nodded. "Now show me just why I'm yours."

The next day...

The gang hung out in the basement as usual as the tv played quietly in the background. Y/n sat on the couch wearing a mini skirt wearing Hyde's Led Zepplin shirt, reading a magazine. Kelso couldn't help but stare at her bare sun kissed legs, his eyes roaming and try to see under her skirt.

"Stop staring at me," Y/n demanded.

"Well, I'm sorry, Y/n, but you're freakin' hot!" he responded.

"Hey, Kelso, have you tried not hitting on my sister?" Eric asked calmly, yet sarcastically.

"I gotta, Eric," Kelso asked. "It's like asking me not to breathe!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at Y/n. "I know! We should do it."

Y/n shook her head, keeping her eyes glued to the magazine. "You are as dumb as you are pretty."

Kelso smirked and leaned on the arm rest next to her, face inches from hers. "So, you're saying I'm pretty?"

She tore her eyes from the magazine and made eye contact with him, noses barley brushing, and glared at him. "Bite me, Kelso," she spit before pushing his face away from hers.

"Is that a promise?," Kelso asked, smirking.

Hyde walked out of his room in that moment, seeing Kelso on the floor and Y/n sitting on the couch. When he moved from behind the couch to his seat, he noticed Y/n wearing his shirt. "Is that my shirt?"

Y/n looked up at him with a hint of innocence in her eyes. "Yeah, I saw it in the dryer and thought it looked comfy. Plus, I thought it'd look good with this skirt. Is that okay?"

"Um," he replied, swallowing thickly as he scanned her body, especially at her smooth and shapely legs. "Yeah. It's whatever."

She grinned at him. "Thank you."

"Whoa," Eric said as he stood from the couch. "Since when do you let chicks wear your shirts?"

Hyde shrugged. "I never had a problem with it to begin with."

"Yes, you did," Donna said with a smile on her face. "You said that no girl will ever your shirts unless you're banging her." Her eyes grew wide as she shot up from her seat. "Are you two sleeping together?!"

"What?" Y/n asked calmly. "Don't be crazy; of course we're not."

"Good, because you know if you were, I'd have to kick your ass, Hyde," Eric said, relief flooding over him as he went over to the fridge to grab a popsicle.

"What's the big deal? It's just a shirt," Hyde replied and set his feet up on the table, crossing his arms. "Besides, I live here. Why would it be weird?"

"I don't know," Fez replied. "I mean it's pretty obvious you have the hots for her."

"Shut up, Fez," Hyde said threateningly. "I do not."

"Oh, sure," he replied quietly.

"So, on this whole doing it," Kelso said and knelt down next to Y/n. "Are we doing it or not?"

Hyde didn't hesitate to reach over and connect his fist as hard he could to Kelso's shoulder.

"Ow, Hyde! What the hell was that for?"

Hyde grinned at his dopey best friend. He tried his hardest not to just beat the ever living hell out of him, but luckily for him, he had a good poker face. "Just love messing with you, man."

Kelso went from offended to laughing in seconds. "That's a good one." He turned back to Y/n. "So, what do you say?"

"You know, you begging me like this is kinda hot," Y/n commented with hooded eyes.

"Oh, yeah?" Kelso asked, shifting to be eye level with her.

"Yeah," she smiled and inhaled deeply.

"Y/n, what the hell are you doing?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah, what he said," Eric said. "Look, I don't need Kelso sleeping with both my sisters AND worry about knocking her up to. It's like a weird porno soap opera."

"You know what also is really hot?" Y/n asked, ignoring her brother and secret boyfriend.

"What?" he giggled, loving how close they were.

"Leaving me alone!" she responded and hit him with the magazine she was holding.

The group chuckled as Kelso stood up. "Damn, Y/n, I just wanted to get a little action!"

"Leave her alone, man. It's like you're deaf," Hyde said, annoyed.

"Hey, I've never given up on a girl before and I'm not going to start now!" Kelso defended.

"Well, you better!" Hyde said, growing frustrated. "I'm tired of hearing this everyday, man. So, shut up and leave her alone before I make you."

"Damn, Hyde, what's got your panties in a twist?" Kelso asked glumly and stood up.

"Nothing. I'm just tired of hearing you everyday trying to get into her pants! So, knock it off!"

"Well, it's not like she's your girlfriend, so you knock it off!" Kelso argued.

"Really? That's the best you can do?" Hyde asked, smirking.

The entire time the two men were arguing, Y/n found herself, staring incredulously at them as if she was a prize.

"Well, I can tell you to get bent and I'll do whatever I like, but I know you'll hit me," Kelso said.

"You just basically said it to me, you moron!" Hyde said, yelling. "And now I'm going to hit you."

Kelso took a couple steps back, backing away from Hyde. "You do that and it will not end well for you."

"Okay, guys stop it!" Y/n shouted, jumping up from her seat. "This isn't cool. Kelso sit down over there," she said pointing to the lawn chair. "And Hyde, sit down over there." She pointed to his usual seat.

Hyde and Kelso glared at each other for a minute.

"Fine," Hyde said and turned around.

"Fine," Kelso repeated and sat down in the lawn chair. "But I think something else that would've been interested to know on what exactly I was going to do."

As everyone looked at him in confusion, Kelso reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of pink panties.

"What the hell, Kelso?!" Y/n shrieked. "Are those my panties?!"

Kelso smirked in victory as he held the panties close to his ear. "What's that panties? You want me to do what to you? Oh, I can't do that. Naughty panties!" He clapped the cotton fabric between his hands and glanced over at Hyde who was practically steaming from the ears.

"You're dead," Hyde spat through gritted teeth and practically lunged at Kelso.

Before Kelso could react, Hyde was on top of him, his fists hitting wherever they would land.

"Hyde! What the--Ow! My eye!" Kelso shouted.

Before Hyde could connect his fist once more, he felt two arms wrap under his arms and around his chest and was pulled off the man.

"Hyde, get off of him before you really hurt him!" Eric shouted, trying to be heard over Kelso's wailing.

"What is it with you?!" Kelso asked. "We're just messing around!"

"No, you're not!" Hyde yelled, ripping himself from Eric's grip. "You're being a complete tool to Y/n."

"Why do you care this much?" Kelso asked with Y/n's panties still in hand. Y/n walked over and snatched her panties back from his grip.

"Because she's my chick, man!" Hyde blurted, but quickly realized what he just said as he saw everyone's wide eyes on him. Except for Y/n who was eyeing her brother.

"She's...she's your...what now?" Eric sputtered.

"Uhm...I meant...she's a--a chick," Hyde said, trying to save himself.

"No, no. No, no. You just she's your chick," Jackie corrected, pointing a finger at him. "Don't try to wiggle yourself out of this one."

"She's...uh--uh...Y/n, a little help here?" he asked his girlfriend who was standing there awkwardly.

"What he meant to say was that as a woman he respects me and he didn't appreciate Kelso's boneheaded advances towards me," she said, rather smoothly even though her voice wavered.

Eric stared at his sister wide eyed with his mouth open. "You guys are dating?"

The couple sighed in defeat as Hyde rubbed his hot neck. "Yeah."

Y/n nodded, trying not to look Eric in the eye.

"Have you two...had s-sex?" Eric stuttered, forcing that image out of his mind.

"Eric!" Donna said. "You don't ask that."

"Do you really want to know that answer?" Hyde asked.

Eric screwed his eyes shut, now the image really colorful behind his eyelids. He shoved the heel of his hand deep into his eyes until he saw different shapes, desperate to erase the unholy sin that was between his sister and best friend.

"How long?" Kelso asked after he was able to get over the initial shock enough to speak.

"About a month," Y/n responded with a strong voice.

"A month?!" Eric cried out. "You've been screwing my sister for a month?! Oh, God." He forced himself to swallow the bile that had risen up his throat.

"You sure it hasn't been longer than that?" Jackie asked. "Because, you know, sometimes, time can feel a lot shorter when you're...having fun."

"Don't call it that!" Eric yelled and eyed the couple who were now standing near each other. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening! My best friend and my sister bumping uglies? Why would you two do this?"

"Because I like him?" Y/n challenged. "And he likes me."

"Yeah, man. We're not just fooling around."

"I don't care what you're doing or not doing!" Eric shouted, face turning red. "You went behind my back and starting dating my sister when you knew it would bother me!"

"Forman--"

"No! Don't even--! You know what? I--I can't stay here. I need some air," Eric said before he stormed out the basement.

The couple looked after him, sighing and turned back to the group.

"By the way, yes, it's been a month," Y/n said, answering Jackie's question.

"Ah, damn!" she replied and pulled out ten dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to Fez.

Fez whooped and gleefully took the money. "Told you!"

I hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know if there is anything I could've added! Thanks for reading my lovely.

#steven hyde #that 70s show #that 70's show imagine #eric forman #donna pinciotti #jackie burkhart #fez that 70s show #michael kelso

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slytherinbangchan · 3 years

Text

Kareshi, okarishimasu!✨ (SKZ Hyunjin Fake!Boyfriend!Au)

A SKZ (all members) Fake boyfriend!Au where there’s an app where you can easily rent the perfect guy to play the role of your boyfriend. Guess the hard part will be not falling for him.

The reader is different for each one of the SKZ members. There’ll be smut in some of the chapters. (The first chap of this Au was Kareshi, Okarishimasu! Seungmin)

Pairing: Hyunjin x femreader Word Count: 2.5k (I made it a One-Shot this time.) ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵ 1st Date So, there you are. Waiting right where your friend told you to. She insisted so much on you doing this but what's the big deal? How is dating a fake boyfriend going to help you out with your actual romantic life? Plus, it's not like you have any problem with being single. Actually you only agreed to do this cause your friends were so annoying about it and they said they'd shut up if you tried it. They even paid for you.

You look around as you wait. You hate this. You were so anxious about it that you left an hour early but it's getting even worse as time passes. There's a girl next to you who seems nervous aswell. She must be waiting for her date too. You sigh as you look around a last time, then you see him, the guy your friends chose for you from the app, walking towards you. Your heart skips a beat even if you were trying so hard for it not to do that.

The guy is a bit early, guess that'd be a good sign if he was actually your boyfriend. As he comes closer you notice he's not exactly looking at you and, with a confused face, you watch how he stands in front of the girl next to you. 'Hey, I'm Hyunjin, are you y/n?' He asks and the girl looks at him practically with heart eyes. 'Yes, yes I am'. She says, almost mesmerized, and you click your tongue as you roll your eyes. 'No, she's not. I am.' He looks at you and apologizes to the girl then to you. 'Sorry, your friends forgot to send a picture.' He says as he scratches the back of his head and smiles a bit nervous for his mistake. 'It's fine.' You soothe him then you look him up and down. 'What are you a model or something?' You ask and he chuckles. 'What?' He laughs and you start walking. 'There's a lot of people turning around just to look at you, it's annoying'. You say, making him laugh again, but he's flattered. 'I'm sorry'. He apologizes as he catches you up to walk by your side. 'I wanted to look good for you'. He says making you feel a bit guilty. 'It's whatever, I just don't like people looking at me'. You explain. 'But you do look kinda nice.' You mumble as you blush making him chuckle again. 'What was that?' He asks as he pokes you with his elbow, making you blush even more. 'Nothing, I said you're ugly.' You say and he laughs.

You thought it'd be a bit awkward to maybe start a conversation but it's not. He listens to you carefully but still participates in the convo. He looks at you a lot while you chat and even if you think it's cause he's just being polite, he actually finds everything you have to say very interesting. 'Let's get in here.' You suggest as you walk by an arcade and he gladly follows you inside.'Hey, what about this?' He asks as he points to the race cars game. 'Sure.' You say as you smile and sit on one of them. He sits right next to you. 'I'll destroy you'. You say and he smiles as he moves his head to a side. 'Okay.' He ends up winning the first race though. You bite your lower lip as he snickers poking your side at your waist level. 'Thought you were going to destroy me'. He teases. 'Let's go again.' You say, not even looking at him. Your cheeks blushed. A smug smile draws on your face as you stand up to move to the next game after destroying him on the second race as you promised. 'Hey!' He exclaims as he follows you. 'Did you let me win the first time?' He asks and you chuckle. 'Maybe'. He gasps. 'Really?' You giggle at his face. 'Nah, you were just lucky'. You say as you swipe your finger over one of the guns on the zombie shooter game with your eyes fixed on his. 'What? This one?' He asks and you nod. 'Whatever you want, princess'. He says and you throw him a look making him nervous. 'W-What?' He asks. 'Princess? Ah, did my friends tell you to call me that?' You guess and he nods. 'You don't like it?' He asks as he distractedly looks in his wallet for some coins for the game. 'Nah, it's fine. I'd rather be called queen though'. You inform him and he smirks. 'Yeah, I feel like that suits you better'. He says as you both wait for the game to start.

'How long have you been doing this?' You ask as you take a scoop of the ice cream you're sharing and he tilts his head. ��What do you mean?” You roll your eyes. “The fake boyfriend thing, what else?” He smiles at your question. 'I don't know what you're talking about'. He says, making you smile. “So you are my boyfriend”. You remark. “Of course.” He smiles again. “Yeah? Would you kiss me then?” You ask. You know he won't kiss a stranger. But he chuckles. “If that's what my Queen wants.” You scoff. “No way! Do rental boyfriends really kiss their clients?” You ask and he smirks once again. 'What's a rental boyfriend?' You chuckle softly. “Okay, I give up. I'll allow you to be my boyfriend for today, no more questions about it.” He seems happy about that.

“You know there's more than one person following us, right?” You ask him as he walks you to the station and he nods. “I'm sorry about that.” He apologizes and you sigh. “Will you be okay?” You ask and he smiles as he tilts his head. “Are you worried about me?” He asks and you frown a bit confused. “I mean, there's a bunch of people following you...” You say and he chuckles. “Right. It's fine, I'm used to it.” He smiles but you can tell he doesn't like the situation one bit. “Are they your clients?” You ask and he sighs. “Get home safely, okay?” He says, then pats your head. You purse your lips but nod. “You take care too.”

You don't hear about him after that, but that's the thing with rental boyfriends right? You didn't even have the app to begin with, your friends were the ones managing everything. Why do you feel so bad though? That goodbye felt so bittersweet. Maybe you should have ignored those people as he was trying so hard to, but you couldn't just let that go. At first it was only one person following you two around but little by little the number went up to even five people. How can he live like that?

Anyway that's none of your business, is it? He didn't look like he wanted you to even mention it so that's it. It's not like you're seeing him again.You had fun today though... More than you thought you'd do.

2nd Date

Okay, maybe you ended up downloading the app, and maybe after a few weeks you finally gave up and rented Hyunjin again. And now you're walking towards him as he waits for you at the same place where you waited for him last time.

“H-Hey...” You wave at him even if he's looking at his phone, but he looks up as soon as he hears your voice. “Oh, it's you!” He exclaims. His eyes shining. He looks like a happy puppy right now “I should have known when you asked me to look ugly for the date. Why didn't you tell me it was you while we chatted?” He chuckles and you blush lightly. “I didn't think you'd remember me, and by the way is this your idea of looking ugly?” You ask as you point at his outfit. “Of course I remember my girlfriend? And what do you mean? I'm wearing the first thing I saw and I barely did any makeup.” He smiles and turns around proudly, showing you his entire outfit. “Huh?? I look just like any other guy!” You want to complain cause he doesn't look any uglier today but he's just so cute and he's so excited about his clothes... “Right... Yeah, you did a nice job actually, thanks.” You say and he smiles again. “Okay, where should we go today, my Queen?” He asks as you both start walking. “Well, they opened a horror house nearby.” You say and you can see the panic in his face. “What?... Wait, are you afraid of that kind of stuff?” You ask and he nods. “Horror movies too?” You ask again. “Well, yeah? Isn't that what they are made for? To scare people?” He says and you laugh. “I guess so, but I don't think any of them are actually scary.” You say as you chuckle and he blushes lightly. “Okay, let's go then.” He says and you lean on him bumping your shoulder against his arm playfully, then holding his hand with both of your hands. “It's fine dummy, we don't have to do that.” You say as you blush. Your eyes glued to the floor. You really decided to embrace you role as his girlfriend today and it's making him feel all kind of ways. “W-Well... I want to do it now, so you better take me there.” He says, not looking at you either.

An hour later or so you're both coming out the horror house. “Well, that was terrible.” He says still grasping on your arms with his huge hands as he walks behind you. You chuckle and turn around to take off his cap and fix his hair a bit. “C'mon it was fun.” You say but he doesn't say anything. He's blushing though. “I'm sorry. I guess you really hated it, huh?” You ask, feeling a bit guilty about dragging him there but he shakes his head. “Nah, I liked it cause I was with you.” He says and you scoff as you smile. “Liar.” You say. “I'm not lying.” He argues and you hold his hand as you start walking, dragging him again. “Let's watch a horror movie then.” You suggest, not looking back so he can't see the blush on your cheeks after holding his hand again and he whines. “Can't we just go to the amusement park? Maybe karaoke night?”

??? Date

“How long do we have today, Jinnie?” You ask as you play with the puppies at the dog cafe. “Look here, I'm taking a picture.” He says and you pose with the puppy making Hyunjin chuckle. “Hey, don't ignore my question.” You pout but he's looking at his phone. His smile slowly fades as you keep calling his name to get his attention. “Don't worry about that y/n.” He says and you tilt your head. “I'm not worried, I just want to know.” You say and he looks at you and puts on a fake smile. “We've been here for a while, let's go somewhere else, yeah?” He says. Your heart sinks a little after that interaction. Did you upset him somehow? You know he doesn't like when you make it difficult for him to play your boyfriend's role but that question could have been easily responded without mentioning his actual schedule as a rental boyfriend.

“Can I see the pics you took?” You ask while you walk to the movies and he smiles and hands you his phone. “Ah, that one was my favorite.” He says as he scrolls back to the pic you just passed. “Ah really? I look ugly though.” You giggle. “No, you don't, dummy.” He chuckles and holds your free hand lacing his fingers with yours. “You look perfect, and the puppy too.” He says, then an alarm on his phone startles you. “Omg, I almost drop it, sorry. Here.” You say, handling it back. “Is that an alarm for your next date?” You ask and he frowns as he turns it off. “Of course not. Why would I have other dates?” He asks. “Hyunjin, it's fine, you can tell me. I haven't paid you for the next hour yet.” You say and he lets out a frustrated sigh then smiles again. “I don't know what you are talking about, let's get inside already, the movie is going to start.” He says and a chill runs down your spine. “Omg, that's so creepy, stoop!” You say and he sighs again and drags you to a hidden alley with no people around.

“Why did you call me creepy? I'm not creepy!” He complains and you make a point by looking around the place where he just dragged you. “Okay, but I wasn't being creepy before!!” He says and you chuckle. “Yes you were, you looked annoyed and then a second later you smiled like nothing.” You say and he rolls his eyes. “I wasn't annoyed I was upset that you kept asking about when our date was going to end!” Well, he looks annoyed now for sure. It's the first time you see him like this though and you can't help but to chuckle for some reason. “Why are you laughing? I'm serious!” He complains. “I'm sorry. It's just that I feel that this is the first time I'm seeing the real you and I think it's cute.” You say and he blushes. “Well, this is just frustrated me. Just so you know, I'm my real self around you all the time.” He says, then lets out another frustrated sigh. You're a bit surprised right now at what he just said but before you can even notice yourself you're pulling from his shirt and kissing him.

You push him away immediately, covering your lips with your hands. “Omg, I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from.” You apologize as a very blushed Hyunjin stares at you, making you blush too. But before you can apologize again he's pulling you into another kiss.

Your body against his as you keep making out until you're breathless. You can't believe you've been kissing Hwang Hyunjin in a creepy alley for like an hour now.

“So, you do this with all your fake partners?” You ask and he clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes. “There's no other dates or partners, I told you.” He says and you sigh. “Are we still playing the perfect fake boyfriend game?” You ask and he smiles. “I haven't been accepting dates for a while now, dummy.” He confesses and you frown, confused. “But you took my money...” You say and he laughs softly. “I gave it back everytime after our second date. I knew you wouldn't even notice.” He laughs again. “Are you serious?” You ask and he nods. “I just wanted to see you so I played along.” He says and you raise your eyebrows. “Shut up, that's not creepy, it's cute.” He says and you laugh. “Pfft, yeah, only cause it's you.” You say and he smiles before pecking your lips. “Shut up, you love me.” He says and you peck his lips back. “Nah, you love me.” You say while he kisses your neck and he smiles against your skin. “Yeah, I do.”

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Taggies: @princewonwoo ♥

#hyunjin #stray kids scenarios #hyunjin imagines #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin fluff #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin fake boyfriend #fake boyfriend skz #fake boyfriend stray kids #I miss my baby Jinnie

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dreamescapeswriting · 3 years

Text

Pumpkin Juice ~ JJK [Request]

WORD COUNT: 5K

PAIRING: slytherin!Jungkook x Hufflepuff!Reader

GENRE: HogwartsAU, Harry Potter Universe, friends to strangers, strangers to enemies, enemies to lovers who have secret crushes on one another, touch her and I’ll kill you vibes, there is no wizard war in this so shhh, everyone is happy...Fred is Fred .

A/N: I used the “Wheel Of Names” to generate who would be used for this imagine and I got Jungkook, I thought since I didn’t give anyone a chance to request him I would do this as a one off for now :)

Ever since you could remember it had always been you and Jungkook together, since you were kids you were always hanging out together and having fun. You'd met when you were younger, both your wizarding families had been friends for hundreds of years so it was fate that you and Jungkook would get along with one another. The two of you could never be separated, spending time with one another so much that people considered you siblings or some would even assume that you were dating. Your parents hoped you would date Jungkook since he was one of the best wizards in the country along with you by his side, the two of you were exceptionally smart and everyone had high expectations of you but once you began attending Hogwarts however, all of it changed. Instead of being your rock as he had been for all those years, Jungkook became a total stranger to you, being placed in Slytherin changed his personality for the worst. He began hanging around with all of the wrong people, Draco and Pansy influencing him to become one of the worst people you'd ever had the displeasure of knowing.

Even in your final year, he was still pretending as though he'd never even known you, escaping to talk to you whenever he could though and in the summer he would attend parties at your home as if nothing had changed. As if he hadn't spent the entire school term torturing you and your friends with mean nickname and chants that they had been coming up with. The worst one being a song they had curated around Cedric's death in The Triwizard Tournament when he knew that you and Cedric had been dating for some time.

"Look who it is, the book worm." You heard a familiar coo as you sat in the library one day during a free period, this voice didn't fill you with dread as many others did within the school grounds.

"Fred," You greeted coldly, pretending to be mean to him as you tried to focus your mind on the potions book in front of you trying to get everything to set in your mind, Snape was always on at you for being behind in his class but it wasn't your fault. Potions weren't something you wanted to take but it was forced upon you by your family, almost every member was a master at potions except for you. Quidditch was where your skills laid and you could have been a professional if you could keep your grades up but you kept getting "D"'s in your potions class,

"Another Dreadful?" George chimed in as he sat down beside you on one of the wooden chairs, glancing over at the latest potions report card you had gotten back, you slid it under your book not wanting anyone else that was inside of the library to see or overhear what was being spoken about.

"Snape hates me, that's all there is to it." You grumbled as your eyes continued to scan over the same sentence again and again but it was as if your head wasn't taking anything in that you were reading.

"You just need a good tutor, someone who is exceptionally brilliant at potions," George said as he began straightening out his robes, brushing them off as he was clearly speaking about himself,

"Someone who is also exceptionally good looking, charming and funny." He added as he put his elbow onto the desk, staring at you as he waited for you to take the hint. You smiled at him pretending as though you were taken in by everything he was saying,

"You're so right Georgey...But where would I find someone like that, Hogwarts is filled with Idiots." You winked at him pushing his elbow out from underneath him and laughing in sync with Fred as George hit his head onto the wooden desk below him.

"You're so mean to me," George began pouting out his bottom lip you were about to give him a sarcastic comment back when a shiver ran up and down your spine and the nearby candles blew out.

"Well, well, well, it's the Weasleys and their little Weasley Whore." You shuddered at the sound of Pansy's voice, it was like nails on a chalkboard to you as she made her way over to the desk. Glancing you up and down as she spotted the report card sticking out from under your book.

"How was your Potions exam?" She asked as she pulled out a chair across from you, you knew she didn't care about your exam so you began to slowly pack your things up in silence, wanting nothing more than to get away from her and study in peace.

"Not so fast!" She called out, slamming her hand down onto the book in front of you and dragging it towards her with a giant smirk across her lips.

Sliding out the report card the smirk only began to grow as she saw the large blood-red D written on the top of your card,

"I would have given you a T so it would match you," She tilted her head to the side faking sympathy as she said something mean to you,

"T for troll...Get it? I thought I would explain seeing as you're so stupid," Fred went to step forward to say something but you clutched his wrist, it wasn't worth the fight or the detention you would no doubt get from Snape if he heard you were standing up to one of his favourite students.

"Oh, this is a recent development," She snickered, staring down at your hand that was wrapped around Fred's pale wrist, the boy began to shake with anger but you tightened your grip.

"I'm sure Jungkook would love to hear about this, maybe we could add a verse to the Weasley Is Our King song with Y/n in it as well!" She jumped up from the chair with excitement and began giggling as she walked out of the hall, humming the tune to the song she had referenced.

"Not worth it, if Snape hears someone stood up to her there'll be hell to pay," You reminded Fred who was beginning to rant on about how Pansy had the face of a dog and the breath of one trying to get you to laugh.

"It's nothing, I need to go and study some more in the common room, maybe I can convince one of the house-elves to sneak me some food," You nudged George as you got up from the table walking out of the library and down to the moving staircases.

While on your way to the Hufflepuff common rooms you passed Jungkook who was standing outside the kitchen as if he was waiting for you to come by which would have completely outlandish to everyone else but to you it was normal. His leg was kicked up against the wall, nose down in a book as his eyes scanned over the text that was inside,

"Struggling with something?" You questioned making him jump a little as he looked up from the Astronomy textbook, his leg dropped to the floor as he nodded at you.

"I'll meet you at the Astronomy tower tonight but keep Pansy away from me, that was my deal with helping you with your studies," You reminded him of the deal you had made that summer between the two of you.

Trapped inside your bedroom you waited for Jungkook to say something first, all-year-long he'd been torturing you relentlessly with Pansy and Draco. The name-calling and the persistent annoying pranks he would do were starting to get to you but in the summer he was the old Jungkook you knew and loved pretending as though nothing had happened. It was the same every year and you hated it. You couldn't see any reason why he acted the way he did in school,

"It would be nice if we could still be friends at school instead of pretending that you hate my guts," You mumbled as you watched him, he was sitting on the floor in front of your dresser, knees pulled into his chest as he listened to the party that was going on downstairs for your mother. The two of you were supposed to be doing the summer reading but your head was starting to pound with all of the new information and Jungkook was struggling with his Astronomy textbook.

"I can't...If I did that-"

"They would all hate you and you would feel like an outsider in your own wizarding house," You repeated what he had to you over a thousand times back to him in a mocking tone and he sighed looking at you, he never meant to hurt you when you were in school. It was all just supposed to be a joke but this time it had gone too far, joking about Cedric was one of the worst things he could have possibly done. Jungkook had known how much you and Cedric liked one another which was one of the reasons he was rooting for Cedric to lose in the tournament he'd never been good at placing his feelings but he knew jealously when he felt it.

"I am sorry about Cedric, he was a good guy." He mumbled not believing what he was saying but he knew he had to be there for you, deep down he had no idea why he was so jealous of you and Cedric all he knew was that he was and it made him feel like he had to be mean to you about the boy you liked.

The room fell into silence as you both listened to the faded music playing downstairs, you never knew what to say when someone bought up the reminder that your ex-boyfriend was dead.

"Will you help me study this year?" He asked out of the blue, making you glance up at him and nod without thinking about it first. The two of you would normally study together in the summer, what difference would it make in the School year.

"I'll make you a deal, we help each other study and I'll keep Pansy and Draco out of your way." He offered, reaching out his hand for you to shake if you accepted the deal he was making.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," You shook on it before sliding off the bed and sitting beside him, where Jungkook struggled in Astronomy you were great and where you struggled in Potions Jungkook was great it was the perfect combination.

"I do keep her away from you but I can't watch her all of the time," He laughed softly as he looked at you but you weren't laughing, you were too angry from the fact that she had been mocking you again when Jungkook had promised to make all of it stop and for the most part it had. He wouldn't torture you as much as he had done for the last few years and he had done his best to keep Pansy out of your face,

"Keep her on a short leash or Dogface will get a punch," You poked his chest as you began walking towards the entrance to your common room, it was no secret to where it was hidden since everyone and their great aunt seemed to know where it was located. Not to mention most Hufflepuffs allowed all of their friends to come and go whenever they wanted,

"I've never been inside the common room," Jungkook hinted as you reached the barrels,

"And you never will," You smirked evilly at him waiting for him to leave but he continued to stand there waiting for you to go inside so he could follow you in but you weren't going to move.

"Jungkook, what are you doing down here?" Taehyung's voice rang out from the top of the hall, he had a tray of what looked like baked goods in his arms as a house-elf pushed him and Jimin out of the kitchen.

"Torturing the house-elves again?" You questioned the two of them, folding your arms over your chest as a blush crept onto the two Hufflepuff's cheeks as they made their way over to you,

"We needed sustenance for our all-night-long study session," Jimin whined as you hummed at him, taking a cake from the top of the tray Taehyung was holding and began eating it waiting for Jungkook to leave once again.

"I'll see you in Divination class," Jungkook whispered as he walked back down the hall backwards, his eyes never leaving yours despite being stared down by Taehyung and Jimin who turned to you as soon as the dark-haired boy was out of their sight.

"Flirting with a Slytherin, how scandalous," Jimin wiggled his eyebrows but you pushed him to the side, knocking on the barrel in the correct order before heading into the common room.

Instantly greeted by the warmth of the fireplace that was burning and the small chatter from everyone in the room, sitting beside Scarlet - one of the girls in your year - was Jin from Ravenclaw as they studied together...Well, it looked like they were staring down into the root of a plant but since they both loved Herbology so much you assumed they were studying.

"That's what it looked like to me," Jimin mumbled as he followed you over to one of the giant armchairs where you sat yourself down and took out your book to prove you were ignoring him.

"You need classes then, there is and never will be something going on between me and Jungkook." You snapped as you looked up at him with piercing eyes as if you were daring him to say something else but he stopped speaking and you went back to reading.

Divination class was normally one of the most laid back subjects you had taken in the school, it was all mostly a bunch of guessing work as well as skillfully avoiding getting asked to demonstrate by keeping your head in the book and avoiding Professor Trelawney's gaze as much as possible but today you could sense something was going to happen.

As soon as you first walked in and saw Pansy on your table you knew there had to be something going on that involved pairs and bonding with other students for different Houses.

"Pansy dear, you go first." You held back a snort at the idea of someone calling Pansy dear, Professor Trelawney was attempting to get everyone to read one another's future. A crystal ball was the only thing standing between the two of you on the table and it was taking everything inside of you not to pick it up and launch it at her face, maybe it would have made an improvement if you had.

"I see that Y/n is..." Pansy began staring into the ball intensely as she squinted a little everyone began to watch her as she dragged on the anticipation of everything,

"Y/n is going to get a "T" in the next potions exam," You scoffed out as everyone else in the room began to erupt in laughter, everyone that was except for you and Jungkook who was staring at you with "I'm sorry" eyes.

"Do you know what I see?" You asked sarcastically as you looked at the ball in front of you and then back up to Pansy who had one eyebrow raised at you,

"That the stupid dogface will fall off her broom in the next quidditch match this weekend," Pansy stood up ready to fight when Professor Trelawney clapped her hands together loudly and asked for the next pair to try and do it properly this time. Meanwhile you and Pansy exchanged looks as she threatened you with her eyes, you knew she was plotting something inside of her mind and you couldn't wait to see what it was. Not.

Later that night when everyone was asleep you'd managed to sneak out of your common room and make your way up to the Astronomy Tower, you would have apparated yourself there but you still didn't have your license thanks to George and Fred distracting you one time and getting you caught between a wall.

"Took you long enough," You hissed playfully to Jungkook as he made his way into the tower and sat beside you, you had a blanket laid out on the floor beside the telescope that was already pointing where it needed to be for him to study Jupiter's moons.

"I set everything up so you don't have to worry about it," You brushed off your legs as you raised up to greet him, he smiled at you. Even in the low light, the smile he was giving you sent your stomach into a whirlwind of butterflies, ever since Jimin had mentioned you flirting with him you'd began to see Jungkook in a different way and the romantic setting of the moon wasn't helping you fight back those feelings.

"You didn't have to, I just need help remembering which is which." He sighed as he walked over to the telescope with you, peaking through it to see that you'd already put it into the perfect position for him to see each moon.

"Which is why I did this, you can focus on remembering...Now, start with the red one."

The studying had gone brilliantly Jungkook was well under his way to remembering the moons and some of the named stars that surrounded it.

"Thank you again...and I'm sorry about Pansy earlier, she's just being a bitch because Draco has started to ignore her," You laughed at the thought of Draco ignoring Pansy, everyone knew how much of a crush she'd had on him for years.

"It's fine, I'm used to her, but you're all going down in that match at the weekend," You teased as you placed a grape into your mouth, laying down on the blanket as you looked out at the night sky, Jungkook laying beside you so close to you that you could feel his chest rising and falling with every breath that he took.

"You're on," He chuckled, turning to look at you as he watched you. He adored the way your eyes would light up whenever you looked up into the sky, the way your eyes seemed to shine no matter what light they were in, it made his head spin and his stomach do flips whenever he caught you.

"Thanks again...For helping me study," He whispered as he watched you waiting for you to look at him,

"Well it's no problem-" You stopped when you realised how close you were to one another, your faces inches away as you stared into his eyes. Both of you so lost at how close you were that you hadn't heard the door to the tower open and Pansy making her way up the staircase,

"I-I want to do something," He whispered to you as he moved a little closer, you stayed perfectly still as if you moved it might scare him away and you licked your lips.

"Go for it," He leant closer to you, his breath touching your lips and making you shiver from how cold it was on your now wet lips. The two of you stayed like that, lips hovering above one another until you finally smashed your lips together, having enough of playing the waiting game. He smiled against your lisp, pressing his body against yours as he wrapped his arms around your body your heartbeat danced as he held you close to him. This was your first real kiss with someone and it had been someone you'd loved all these years without knowing it until right now until his lips were brushing against yours and your heart was trying to leap out of your chest.

Pansy froze as she saw the two of you making out on the floor, she knew Jungkook had been meaning to study and was going to "accidentally" bump into him tonight so she could help him only to find this. While everyone thought she had a crush on Draco it was the opposite, she'd been crushing on Jungkook since the beginning of time but what wasn't there to love about him. Once she saw you weren't going to pull away she stormed off in an attempt to find Snape and lead him to the tower.

The weekend quidditch match had come faster than you expected it to, the week seemed to pass in a blur and Pansy, for the most part, had left you alone. You figured she was training for the match and focussing on that instead of focussing her attention on you so much which had been nice since you were trying hard not to focus on the kiss that had happened with Jungkook. It wasn't that you didn't want to think about it you did but he was insisting on telling everyone you were dating which meant everyone would know you were together. The pro to that would be that the teasing would finally stop and you could be with the man you loved but the con would be that everyone would know, the teasing could increase and you knew your parents would instantly start planning a wedding. Not to mention the two of you were up against one another in a quidditch match and you were both highly competitive against each other.

"Here," George said as he handed you a small weaved basket filled with cupcakes inside,

"What is it?" You laughed thinking it was one of their inventions but George shrugged his shoulders before pointing out the gift tag that was on the side of it, your name was written in cursive writing.

Dear Y/N,

Good luck today, if I kick your ass please don't be too mad, I'll take you out on a date for it...Astronomy tower? ~ JJK

A warm feeling spread through your body as you saw the note from him, quickly throwing it away before any of your teammates could sneak a look.

"Cupcakes for us?" Fred called out loudly gaining the attention of the whole Hufflepuff tent who swarmed around you for the cupcakes, leaving one for you to take as you shook your head.

"In the lead, we have Hufflepuff by 3 points, all we need is for someone to catch the golden snitch," Lee Jordan yelled out as you flew under Jungkook winking at him before doing a turn on your broom and heading over to Fred and George who high fived you.

"Rub it in their faces," George laughed as he watched you steadying yourself, the match had been going on for almost an hour now and you were starting to get a little light-headed but you weren't going to let up, your team needed this win.

"Y/n?" Someone called out but their voice was faint as you felt swear pooling around the top of your head as you tried to focus on what was happening. The match was going on around you but it felt as though you were even there, you felt sick, faint and as if the whole world was upside down on you.

"She's going to fall!" Someone screamed out from the crowds right as your grip loosened on the handle of your broom, suddenly there was a rush of air coming at you as you fell towards the quidditch ground, the cold air cooling you down as you fell freely.

"Catch her!" You knew that was Jungkook which only made you smile as you fell, it was nice that he was showing his caring side for you despite wanting to hide it all those times before whenever you would get hurt in a match. You could still remember the first injury you had,

"You should have been watching where you were flying," Cedric barked at you as he sat beside you in the hospital wing, you were getting your arm stitched up since you'd accidentally flown into one of the stands in the match, cutting your arms and legs open but nothing too bad.

"You okay?!" Jungkook's panicked voice called out as he burst into the hospital wing thinking that you were alone, as soon as he saw Cedric bis blood boiled. If he'd been training you properly you never would have flown into the stands so this was his fault,

"Showing a caring side for a puff?" Cedric laughed sarcastically as he watched Jungkook storm over to you, if there was anyone else in the wing he wouldn't have bothered coming near you but Cedric was Cedric.

"You could have hurt yourself a lot worse than this," He mumbled as he looked at your arm and then into your eyes as his eyes filled with tears at the thought of you being injured even a little.

"Jungkook? Came to torture pipsqueak?" Draco taunted as he opened the door, your arm was dropped and you looked away from Jungkook who instantly began to pretend he didn't care that you were hurt when it was obvious that he did.

"You should have heard the scream she made," Draco laughed loudly as he began to imitate you in front of everyone.

Waking up to a bunch of hushed voices you groaned, your head felt as though you'd been hit over it by a cauldron around fifty times and you were praying Madame Pomfrey wasn't going to give you any more of the disgusting-tasting medicine she had been. You'd been in and out of sleep most of the night and you couldn't remember anything that had happened, it was all a blur from the tent to the pitch.

"She'll be a little groggy but she's okay," Pomfrey announced to whoever was standing beside the bed, your eyes blinked open as you adjusted to the light coming through the windows. Taehyung and Jimin were standing by the bed holding a basket of cakes and fruit and on the other side was a worried looking Jungkook who was still in his quidditch gear despite the match ending yesterday.

"He hasn't left since he brought you in," Jimin smirked as he placed the basket down on the nightstand beside your bed,

"I told you, you liked him." You would have picked up one of the cakes to throw at him as he left with Taehyung if you didn't feel so weak but you rolled over to face Jungkook.

"That stench is you then." You laughed weakly as you sat up in the bed, leaning against the metal frame as you tried to remember what had happened in the match. You hadn't hit your head and there were no curses that you knew of that would do this to you.

"I'll get you some water," Jungkook whispered as he got up and placed a small kiss on your forehead, he headed behind one of the curtains and began pouring a drink in silence when the doors flew open.

"Well if it isn't Little Miss Y/n," Pansy squawked as she sat down beside you on the bed, almost crushing your leg which was still healing from the fall.

"Did you enjoy your cupcakes?" She smirked and that was when it hit you, the cupcakes that had been from Jungkook, It had been the only thing that could have done something so harsh to you but why hadn't it done anything to anyone else who had eaten them? It didn't make sense,

"Don't go looking too confused, if you paid attention in potions you would know why it only worked on you," She quipped, placing a cupcake from Jimin's basket into her pocket. Jungkook's grip on the jug of water tightened from behind the curtain, Pansy had no idea that he was even there and it made his blood boil.

"Stay away from Jungkook and it'll never happen again," She told you as she got back up ready to leave when she was suddenly thrown against the wall by a blast of blue coming from Jungkook's wand.

"Kookie!" You gasped out as he walked over to her, pinning her to the wall by her robes as he stared deep into her eyes,

"Don't come near her, don't even breathe in her direction! If I even find out that you so much as glanced at her I will kill you." He pushed her a little before stepping away,

"She's an ugly, good for nothing loser and I will kill her-" You flinched at the thought of her trying to kill you and it didn't go unnoticed by Jungkook. Before Pansy could continue on her mouth was suddenly zipped shut and you froze looking at Jungkook who shook his head,

"You insulted her, threatened her and made her flinch...I won't forget that and neither will my parents." He whispered as she shuddered, walking away from him. He knew how much his parents meant to her since they were some of the most well-known wizards in the community and she so desperately sought their approval.

"You're intimidating when you want to be," You laughed softly as he walked back over to you, running his hand over your cheek and smiling to himself.

"I have to protect those I care about," He whispered before leaning down and kissing you once again. Your heart skipping a beat as soon as your lips connected but just as soon as it started it was over, he pulled back and made a disgusted face,

"Pumpkin juice," You laughed as you realised he could probably taste the medicine you had been having since the night before.

Tagline: @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @rjsmochii @taestannie @kneel-begyourpardon @sw33tnight @sweeneyblue1 @innersooya @jin-from-the-block @acciocriativity @mwitsmejk

#bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts imagine #bts imagines #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook imagines #jeon jungkook #jeon jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook imagines

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emsylcatac · 3 years

Note

I really hope the whole "Ladybug telling Chat to stop sacrificing himself, his face as she says this, the way he adverts his eyes and touches is hair (I know this is some kind of tell but not sure what) and then deflects/brushes off what's happened with humour (we all know clowning around is code for coping mechanism) in an attempt to cheer her up somehow and it seems to work and she thinks he's fine" scene in Lies becomes important later on. Maybe one day Ladybug will know his mannerisms well enough she will be able to tell when Chat is cracking a joke or is "clowning around"

Oh yes, I really hope she’ll pick up on it too!

The thing is, I’ve never really been a fan of the “Ladybug is very super mad at Chat Noir and pouts him for a week because he sacrificed himself” trope for different reasons.

Mainly because it’s part of his job and he sometimes doesn’t have the choice (cf Gamer 2.0), and because in season 1 in “Pharaoh”, when they’re still establishing the functioning of their partnership, she’s basically the one to tell him that his job is to be the distraction & taking the risks while she plans because they can’t afford to loose her:

Translation from the French:

Ladybug: Create a diversion with the mummies while I take care of Pharaoh!

Chat Noir: Why is it me who has to restrain these madmen while you get to peacefully sneak up from behind?

LB: Because I’m the only one who can capture the Akuma! And because you’re the bravest between the two of us ;)

CN: Myeah... I know you don’t really believe it but I’ll pretend you do.

However, when he does decide to sacrifice himself harshly and without thinking much of the consequences (like in Lies, or Chameleon for instance), yes I can see her being annoyed!

But back to your ask because I digressed: I agree that he deflected her worries regarding his own safety with humour and playing the clown around. And the worse? It worked!

She’s still being fooled by him. But he doesn’t do just that with sacrificing himself: as soon as it comes to his personal struggles or problems, he just kinda shrugs it off by using humour once again (we also saw that in Truth and Lies, with Chat Noir in Truth appearing as if he wasn’t much bothered by Ladybug forgetting patrols, but when you see his point of view in Lies, he’s drowning his sorrow in milk hahaha or clearly appearing bothered).

As Adrien, he mostly just shrugs of his problems as them being “not important”; with Ladybug, he’s making jokes out of it all. So far she hasn’t picked up on it, but there’ll be a time where she’ll have to and boi will that be interesting to see in their dynamics!!

#ask #anon #ml analysis #ladynoir #ml spoilers #lies #lies spoilers #but aaah the way I want her to pick up on these queues #it'll be an interesting conversation

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mochegato · 3 years

Text

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 11 – That Keeps Out the Danger

Chapter 1 Chapter 10

“How are we supposed to eat? We’re going to starve. You’re leaving us to starve. To wither away into nothingness.” Wally collapsed dramatically onto the kitchen island.

“Oh my God, drama queen. You don’t even live here. Go home and eat.” Chimera threw a kitchen towel in his face. He grabbed the towel as it hit him and fell back off of the barstool in an exaggerated drop, crying out as he fell.

“Yeah, Wally. You don’t even go here,” Robin grinned reaching to grab the cupcake left unguarded on his plate. He grumbled when Wally was able to get back up, get onto the barstool, and swipe it back again before he could take a bite. Chimera giggled at the reference until Robin turned his mischievous grin on her. Her giggles quickly quieted and her expression turned apprehensive. “And we don’t want to interrupt Chi’s date.”

Chimera rolled her eyes. Robin and Wally had been teasing her relentlessly since they found out she was going to be out of the Cave for the weekend and wouldn’t give them any details. They made the completely logical leap to claiming it was a date with Roy. She honestly wasn’t sure if it was intended to annoy her or Conner more, or more likely both. She was positive Robin’s ultimate goal in life was to antagonize every member of the Team and the Justice League with one comment, like the annoying, teenage menace he was. Honestly, she liked seeing it; a glimpse of normalcy in his life. But, that didn’t mean she appreciated it when it was turned on her.

“Yeah, you sure you won’t tell us where you two are going?” Wally teased, his words obscured by the bite of cupcake still in his mouth. “Roy won’t tell us anything.”

Chimera gave him a flat look. “Roy’s in India this week.”

“Ah, so that’s where you’re going. Guess portals have their advantages,” Wally snickered, waggling his eyebrows at her.

“Funny how she knew exactly what his plans were for this weekend, don’t you think, Conner,” Robin commented in exaggerated innocence, laying his arm on Conner’s shoulder.

Chimera’s mouth dropped, scandalized by the accusation. “You’re the one that told me.”

“I have no recollection of that conversation…” he answered seriously. He looked at the floor and shook his head, his hand stroking his chin in thought. “Actually, I do.” The grin he shot her was nothing short of terrifying. He leaned across the island to get in her face. “You asked me where Roy was going to be. You were very insistent,” he grinned, pushing into her face.

“I hate you. And if I had to ask you, that means I didn’t ask him, dork,” she pointed out, shoving Robin’s head away.

“Hey!” He cried out. “My hair!” He automatically reached up to fix his hair.

Chimera raised an eyebrow at him, a feral grin spreading across her face. “Oh no. No, no, no. Chi…” he warned, moving off the chair and backing slowly away from her. Once he got to the door, he took off running at full speed. Conner and Wally watched as Robin jumped the railing to drop down to the floor below. Chimera raced after him, jumping the railing with just as much grace as Robin. They could just hear their footsteps as they ran and accidentally collided with different objects.

“Really hope they don’t accidentally destroy anything,” Conner observed casually, swiping his own cupcake and taking a bite, “…again.” He smiled at the sound of Chimera and Robin’s laughter echoing off the walls.

“If they do, it won’t be accidental,” Wally noted as he stuffed his fourth cupcake in his mouth, glaring at Conner for taking one of the cupcakes Chimera had made for everyone. He turned sharply back toward where the two had run off to when they heard a loud yelp and even louder cackle. He shook his head and leaned back, waiting for Robin’s walk of shame back into the kitchen. He never outraced Chimera. She always caught him. He wasn’t sure why Robin even tried instead of just accepting his fate.

It only took a minute for Robin to slope back into the room and slouch back into his chair, pouting the entire way. He tried to subtly fix his now extremely ruffled hair. Chimera was only a few steps behind him, trying incredibly unsuccessfully to hold in her giggles.

“I hope your date sucks,” Robin grumbled into the floor.

“Not a date,” she singsonged and booped him on the nose.

“Hope Roy feels that way too,” Wally smirked, but his eyes were on Conner with an amused gleam at his scowl. Conner took a deep cleansing breath. He knew they were just teasing, but he really didn’t appreciate the joke.

Chimera pulled at Robin’s hoodie pocket, looking in it with a furrowed brow. “What are you doing?” Robin demanded, slapping her hands away.

“I’m looking for the brain call you two share. Someone has to have it,” she shrugged. “I figured it was your turn with it today.”

“I have it today, thank you very much!” Wally objected around the mouthful of his fifth cupcake.

Chimera stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Robin rolled his eyes and slumped against the island. “Idiot.”

Chimera shook her head. “I can’t believe they’re letting you guys go out unchaperoned,” she muttered

Robin scoffed. “I’m from Gotham. And I do this,” he motioned around them. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’m from Gotham,” Chimera mocked him in a poor imitation of his voice. “Being from Gotham doesn’t automatically give you better judgement than people from other places.”

Robin glowered at her, but before he could retort she continued in a softer tone. “I know you can take care of yourself and you’re responsible… on missions. But this isn’t a mission and you’re a kid. You should get to be one, which means making stupid decisions that adults try to talk you out of and they,” she motioned toward Wally and Conner, “don’t count. They’re more childish than you.”

“Hey,” Wally objected again. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Roy’s never going to kiss you if you keep being so mean.”

Chimera rolled her eyes. “I’m meeting my best friends.”

“Wow, already introducing him to the family. You and Roy are really moving quickly,” Robin quipped.

Chimera groaned and looked to the ceiling for patience. “You are such a little dick.”

Robin froze momentarily. Conner looked down to hide his grin, but there was no hiding his chuckles. Wally, however, was laughing so hard he was bent over holding his stomach, his body shaking with laughter so violently, he almost fell off his chair. Chimera gave him a concerned look, but Robin glared at him. After a few minutes of unbroken laughter, he finally tamed his laughter enough to pat Robin on the head and gasp out, “You really are… such a little Dick.” Robin lunged for him but he sped out of his reach before he could make contact.

Conner shook his head and focused back on Chimera. “Can you say where you guys are going? Or will that compromise your identity?”

Chimera cocked her head to the side in thought before quickly shaking her head. “I don’t think so. We’re going to Metropolis. My best friend wants a tour of the Daily Planet… and to try to meet Clark Kent or Lois Lane.”

Wally perked up. “You don’t say.”

Chimera grimaced. “Yeah. She’s a huge fan of them. She desperately wants to meet them.”

The boys started laughing at her. Robin finally spoke up with a devilish grin. “You know, you could make that happen.”

Chimera threw her arms out in defeat. “I know! But not without compromising my identity. And even if I could, how would that even work? Hey Supes, totally unrelated to me or my identity in any way, could you meet with this person I absolutely do not know on a very personal level for many years? Ugh. This is going to be awkward as hell. I’m going to be on his home turf… where he works… his territory. I’m going to have to pretend I don’t know him and didn’t go all Electro on him.”

Conner smiled at her catastrophizing. “He likes you. You remember that, right? And at the time, he was the bad guy so, if anything, you went all Storm on him.” He chuckled at the deadpan look she gave him. “If it makes you feel better, he’s off-world today and tomorrow.”

Chimera perked up with a hopeful grin. “Really?” Conner nodded. She bounced on her toes in excitement.

The action was so adorable on her Conner couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. “Yes,” he reassured her.

Her smile suddenly turned into a wary look. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

Conner moved closer and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I talked to him. We’re trying to make time to hang out so we can get closer. So incredibly awkward but… anyway. He said he couldn’t do anything this weekend because he’ll be off-world.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile and moved under his arms to give him a hug. She lessened the pressure and rested her head on his chest, keeping her arms around him. He returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her as well. “I’m glad to hear that. Not the he’s not here part, the he’s trying part… well, actually, both parts. I’m not going to lie. I’m really happy he won’t be there when I am. But I’m sad you guys can’t hang out this weekend.”

Conner smiled into her hair. “It’s okay. There’ll be other weekends. At least I know he isn’t trying to avoid me this time. It just means we get to have a boy’s weekend instead.” His expression turned concerned and he pulled back just enough to try to look her in the eyes. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay though? Last time you hung out with your friends it… you didn’t exactly come home happy.”

She smiled up at him. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” She gave him an extra squeeze before starting to pull away. “I won’t be in P… home,” she quickly corrected herself, “this time, so it should be good.”

Conner pulled her back into a tight hug. “Okay, well… if you need us, I’m only one call away… or you know just show up wherever we are,” he whispered.

She craned her neck so she could rest her chin on his chest and look at him with a smile. “Portals have their advantages.”

“You two are disgusting! Get a room,” Wally groaned dramatically. He threw the towel Chimera had thrown at him earlier back at her. Chimera squeaked and jumped away from Conner, while Conner caught it before it could reach her. “You’re going to make Roy jealous if you keep it up.” Conner sent Wally a vicious glare that Wally completely ignored.

“Right. On that note…” She reached down for her bag but rolled her eyes at Robin when she saw he’d already grabbed it. “I’m stronger than you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, don’t care,” Robin shrugged. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint Agent A with bad manners.”

She snorted and shook her head. “Sounds incredibly sexist, but whatever. Unless you’re planning on doing the same for them,” she motioned to Conner and Wally. Robin furrowed his brow at her, but kept his grip on her bag. “Then it isn’t manners, it’s sexism.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m going to tell A you said that.”

“Go ahead, I’ll own it,” she shrugged. “And he’ll agree with me.” She turned toward Wally and Conner with a small wave. “Okay, you guys have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Conner scoffed. “That doesn’t narrow it down much.” He grinned at her when she let out an offended scoff.

“Don’t worry, we won’t accidentally destroy anything. Can you say the same?” Wally grinned.

“I don’t destroy everything I touch,” she groused, “just almost everything,” she muttered the last bit to the floor with a frown. She quickly recovered and looked back up at him with an exaggerated smile. “But, with the three of you going out unsupervised, I highly doubt something isn’t going to end up destroyed intentionally.” She narrowed her eyes challengingly at Wally. “In fact, I bet my trip is less destructive than yours.”

Wally sat up and grinned back at her. “Oh, you’re on. Two dozen cupcakes every day for a week if I win. My choice of flavors.”

“And no eating any food I make for a week if I win,” she smirked back at him.

“You know, there’s more than just you two in on this bet,” Conner reminded them.

“Oh? And what is it you want from Chimera when we win?” Robin asked with a devious smirk.

Conner glared darkly at him, but his cheeks turned a bright red. “I get to choose what we watch for a week.”

Chimera groaned and dropped her head. “Nooooo.”

“Backing out?” he grinned, raising a challenging eyebrow and moving closer to tower over her.

“Never,” she scoffed. “Just trying to imagine a full week of exclusively Conner-chosen programming.” She pretended to shudder. “The horror.”

He grinned down at her and took a step closer again until he was almost chest to chest with her. “Better not lose then.”

Chimera matched his grin and straightened up. “Oh I don’t intend to. There’s no way you guys will be able to stop yourselves from getting involved in any and every drama you walk in on. By the way, getting into a fight counts, even if you don’t destroy any property.”

The moment was broken when Robin spoke up. “I want chocolate macarons.”

Chimera shook her head and gave a sweet smile to Conner as she made her way to the door. She bumped Robin’s shoulder as she passed him. “Dream on, Bird Boy.”

Wally watched her leave the room with Robin and turned to Conner. “Whatever happens this weekend, we absolutely cannot allow anything to get destroyed because of us. Agreed?”

Conner nodded. “Agreed.”

Robin watched Chimera closely as they walked. She was quieter than usual. Normally she’d still be trash talking with him about the bet. She was extremely competitive and her personality flourished when there was a challenge. But now, she had a carefully crafted neutral expression on her face that he would have absolutely bought if he didn’t know her better. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

She smiled at him. A fake smile that he didn’t buy for a second. “Of course. You just heard me tell Conner, it’ll be fine.” She looked back forward quickly.

“Are you upset about us teasing you about Roy?”

She huffed out a laugh. “No. It’s fine. Honestly, less teasing than my friends back home would do. I’m tough. I can take it.”

Robin looked back toward the kitchen. “I don’t know that Conner feels the same way,” he said carefully.

Chimera eyed him suspiciously. “Robin…” She pursed her lips and took a breath. “Then maybe you should stop doing it around him.”

“Maybe you should put him out of his misery, and yours,” Robin snapped back a bit harsher than he meant.

“Robin, you know I can’t,” she shook her head and looked down.

“I just want to… you two just seem so… are you sure?” he tried again.

“Robin…” she repeated, but her voice was considerably sadder this time. She pursed her lips and looked back forlornly toward where Conner and Wally were waiting for Robin. She let out a deep sigh that became a boom sound and expanded her fingers out, miming an explosion. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Does it really matter if you’re officially together or not when things like that,” he motioned toward the kitchen, “happen so often? You guys are… you’re perfect for each other. You make each other happy. I can’t believe you’re not meant to be together.”

“Yes, it does,” she answered sharply. “It matters. That’s what I’ve learned. That’s what the universe taught me.”

He took a deep breath to prepare himself for this. He’d been working on what to say for a few weeks. Just the right way to phrase it so it hit right, so she thought it was a matter of helping him, not herself. Because that was her weakness, if you could call it that; protecting the people she loved, whatever the cost to her. “I just… the result of being a hero can’t be to be miserable. I need to believe that you can still be happy, that I can be happy, but between you and Batman...”

“Of course you can be happy,” she jumped in instantly, just as Robin had been hoping she would. “You and Zatanna are happy now. And even if that doesn’t last, you know you still can be. And Batman…” she grimaced unsure how to sell a happy Batman. “Wally! He and Artemis are adorable.”

“Oh come on. Wally’s going to mess that up, you know him,” Robin scoffed.

Chimera rolled her eyes. “And Artemis will knock him back into shape. You know her. No, I think they’re in it for the long haul. ‘Til death do them part.”

Robin shook his head. He needed to focus it back to her and him. “I need to know that someone like you gets to be happy too, or what’s the point? We’re constantly in terrible situations. We constantly see miserable things. That’s a part of our lives… but we can still be happy… right?” He was laying it on thick. He knew he was laying it on thick and he knew that if anyone else was doing this other than him, Chimera would have picked up on it all of two seconds into the conversation. But he needed to get to her, to make her stop and think. And if that meant manipulating her into it, he’d do it… again. But she was like a sister to him. She was family. And when it’s family, it isn’t manipulating, it’s meddling. And meddling is okay. Meddling is the way family show they love each other.

“Being in terrible situations doesn’t mean your personal life has to be too. But, it’s different for me, Robin. Things… things get destroyed when I fall in love; buildings, monuments, countries, moons, planets… The universe made sure I understood my lesson well. But you!” She gave him a bright smile and set her hands on his shoulders. “You have a heart so big. It could....”

Robin gaped at her. “You know he was just teasing right?” he interrupted before she could finish her sentence. “About you destroying stuff everywhere you go. Chi, you… you don’t… Chi, that isn’t anywhere near the truth. Terrible things happened, but that isn’t your fault. That’s the situations you were forced into. It isn’t you!”

Chimera nodded at him and gave him an utterly unconvincing smile. “Yeah. I know.” She gave him a quick hug and pulled away almost as quickly. “You guys have fun, okay? And if you need anything, just give me a call, okay?” She ruffled his hair again before punching her destination into the Zeta tube interface. “I’ll get notified even if I’m not transformed.”

“Chi,” Robin started again, but she was already standing in the Zeta tube platform. There wasn’t enough time to finish that conversation, so instead he answered with, “yeah, okay. I will.” He continued to stare at the Zeta tube for a few seconds before making his way back to the kitchen.

“Did you tell her?” Conner asked as soon as Robin made it back to the kitchen.

Robin shook his head, still looking back toward the Zeta tube. Conner nodded at his response. “That’s probably for the best. She'd freak out if she knew. She’d be looking over her shoulder the entire time.”

“Yeah, what are the odds we'd run into them anyway?” Wally grinned. “Now come on! We need to get going too. We just need to make sure we go to the Metropolis entrance she didn’t use.”

“Right,” Conner nodded and started walking to the Zeta tubes. “You got our bags, right Robin?”

<><><><><>

“And just twenty minutes ago, I was so happy Superman isn’t in town this weekend,” Marinette sighed and banged her head against the wall she was leaning against.

“He’s what!” Alya whisper yelled. Adrien and Nino shushed her while Chloe scoffed at her. “Go ahead and announce our presence, why don’t you?” Nino put his hand on Alya’s shoulder to keep her from pouncing on Chloe.

Marinette tried to tune them out as she assessed the scene in front of her. There were at least three figures on their floor, but there had been at least four more that had taken any people they saw back down to the toy store’s main floor with the rest of the hostages and she spotted a different three coming up as the others were going down. That was ten, but they had no way to know how many were in the store. The marionette looking villains were holding everyone they caught in an area that was out of their line of sight.

“Don’t know if the Bat is covering for him, but he is off-world. We are likely on our own,” Marinette whispered distractedly. “Trixx, can you peek at the main area and see how many captors you see and estimate how many victims there are.” Trixx nodded in understanding and phased through the floor.

“Oh well that’s just brilliant, isn’t it,” Chloe groused. “This was your idea, Agreste. I wanted to go to a spa, but noooo. We had to visit the giant toy store. ‘It’ll be such a fun end to the visit,’” she groused in a poor imitation of his voice. “And now we’re in the middle of yet another attack, without magic protection. And there’s no miracle cure for this. If anything happens, just know, I blame you.”

“You’re welcome to hide, you know,” Adrien pointed out quietly.

“No, I’m going to help. I’m just going to complain the entire time,” Chloe groused again.

“So, no different than usual,” Nino nodded, keeping his eyes on the situation in front of him.

Chloe glared at him, but before she could retort Trixx popped back up. “I counted nine doll-looking guys downstairs, Guardian. And at least twenty-five people being held by them,” Trixx reported quietly.

Marinette nodded, silently processing all the information she had. “Got a plan?” Adrien asked barely above a whisper, keeping his eyes on the main aisle.

Marinette ignored him, running scenarios through her head. “They’re moving strangely. Their movements are stunted. Either they’re not human or someone else is controlling them.”

“Or both,” Adrien added quietly.

“Or both,” Marinette agreed. “What do you think the odds are that they are… like robotic marionettes?”

Nino nodded along with her train of thought. “I’d say high. They all walk too oddly to be human and there’s too many to each be remote controlled, so robot seems most likely.”

Marinette gave a single nod. Her face morphed into a determined look, ready to go into battle. “We can use that against them.”

“Suit up?” Alya asked.

Marinette’s body tensed at the thought. Finally after a few seconds, she took a deep breath and let it out. “Not unless necessary. There’s an awful lot of cameras around here and I don’t have extra miraculous for you guys. We’re going to have to figure out a way to lure some away from the main group without the others noticing anything. Chloe, think you can work something out?” She stared at the stairway as she spoke.

“Can I get someone’s complete attention and manipulate them into doing what I want? Are you seriously asking me that?” she scoffed.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well then get on it. It would help if we could find something to fight with.”

Alya cleared her throat lightly. “Anyone feel like channeling Harley Quinn?” she asked with a smirk, twirling a bat in her hands.

“Yes!” Adrien whisper yelled.

“Fine, but I’m not dying my hair though or doing the pigtails,” Chloe grunted.

<><><><><>

Marinette had always had an appreciation for stuffed cats. She’d had one on her bed for years before she became Ladybug and after she did, she had an affinity for Chat Noir themed stuffies. She still had one on her bed in the Cave. But she can honestly say she has never been as thankful for them as she was right now.

She rolled off the large stuffed cat she had landed on when she tackled the marionette doll, causing both of them to fall over the railing. Her smartest move? No. But it was trying to drag an unconscious Chloe away. She had to stop it and maybe she had some anger issues lately resulting from violently repressing any slightly negative emotions for years, a fact which she was not willing to admit to anyone else currently.

“I’m counting that for me as a save,” Adrien whisper yelled down to her.

��It’s pink,” she called back. She raised her hand as she spoke, narrowing her eyes toward Adrien. She grabbed the bat Nino threw to her in one seeming effortless motion without taking her eyes off of Adrien. She used the momentum from the catch to smoothly swing the bat back up, connecting to the marionette robot’s head. She didn’t knock it completely off, but she managed to sever enough wires and connections in the neck to make it collapse on the floor. “… that makes it count as mine,” she finished.

“Bullshit,” Adrien pouted.

Marinette smirked at him quickly before her face turned serious. “How many are left?”

“I think they’re all gone, at least the ones in here,” a voice answered.

Marinette’s head snapped to the familiar voice. “Con… can I assume you took care of a few of them as well?” she winced internally at the extremely awkward transition to cover her gap.

“We got four of them,” Robin confirmed, coming up next to Conner. Conner kept his focus on Marinette. There was something incredibly familiar in her eyes, but he couldn’t place it, but whatever it was, he was having a hard time looking away.

Marinette nodded. “We got six, I think.” She turned up toward the second level. “That sound right?”

Nino nodded. “We each got one and that one makes two for you.”

Marinette nodded in understanding and started reviewing what she knew. “That’s ten. There were at least twelve. Are you sure…”

“That’s only five,” Wally interrupted her looking from her friends to her.

Marinette looked back up to her friends and realized the confusion. “No, we have another friend. She got knocked out.”

“Where?” Adrien asked.

Marinette gave him a confused look. “There?”

“What?” Nino asked, coming up next to him.

“There. It knocked her out right before I tackled it. That’s why I did it. She was right next to where I went over,” Marinette explained slowly.

“She’s not up here, M,” Alya said.

“Son of a…” Adrien growled, taking off to look for her. The rest followed suit, running down different aisles to find Chloe. Marinette ran up the stairs two at a time to help look.

“Who are we looking for?” Wally asked. “I mean what does she look like?”

“Blonde, blue eyes, yellow shirt, pissed off scowl,” Marinette answered over her shoulders, feeling completely confident he would use his powers to search for her. Her suspicion was confirmed when she felt two rushes of air at her side. She strained her ears and was just barely able to hear him tell Robin that he didn’t find anyone like that. She mentally cursed and started trying to figure out a plan before she even reached the top of the stairs.

“I didn’t find her,” Adrien announced, walking back toward them.

“Me either,” Alya and Nino chorused coming from their sections of the store.

“Damn it. Are you sure there aren’t any more of those robot things in here?” Marinette asked the Team.

Wally nodded. “We’re positive.”

Marinette nodded and started moving toward the far wall. “Did any of you see an exit up here?”

“Yeah, over there,” Wally motioned toward a back corner.

“You think she was taken?” Conner asked.

Marinette nodded moving quickly toward the exit. “She got knocked out. Even if she’d woken up, she’d be too weak to leave on her own, especially without notifying one of us. She knows the protocols.”

“You guys have protocols for going after villains?” Robin asked skeptically.

Alya scoffed at him. “You don’t?”

Robin blinked at her a few times. “I’m from Gotham, of course I have protocols for it.”

“You guys should stay and talk to the police. We’ll look for your friend,” Wally promised, giving the other Team members a look of understanding. Conner and Robin nodded in agreement.

“We’ll go with you,” Marinette stated with finality.

“No, we got it,” Conner stated in the same tone.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Okay, we’ll go separate.” She shrugged at him. She turned back to Nino and Alya. “Can you listen to the police gossip and do some research, see if you can figure out who might be behind it and let us know along with anything else you find.”

“Will do, L… Dudette,” Nino stuttered. He grimaced internally at the almost slip up. “We’ll talk to the police while you go get our girl.”

With her attention on Nino, she missed the Team slipping out the door, though Adrien watched them with a curious look. Marinette turned to Adrien. “You don’t have to come with us… if you’d rather stay with Alya and Nino.”

Adrien shook his head and gave her a supportive smile. “I’m with you, ‘til the end of the line.”

Marinette gave him a flat look. “You realize the guy that said that almost died, got his mind wiped and turned into a super assassin, killed Tony Stark’s parents, and tried to kill the person he said it to. Maybe not the bar to go for.”

Adrien shrugged and let out a noncommittal grunt. “Worked out in the end. I have complete faith in you. I always have.” He gave her a meaningful look. She gave him a guilty look that he couldn’t allow to continue. “You want to tell me about…” he motioned to the door where the Team had escaped through, changing the focus of the conversation away from their past and onto her present.

Marinette held her finger up for him to wait and typed out a text she didn’t send. ‘I’m not allowed to say.’ His eyes widened and he motioned toward the door with his head. He mouthed ‘really?’ She nodded in confirmation.

“What the hell… Are you sure this is a good idea?” Adrien gave her a dubious look.

She smiled at him. “I’m not sure, but I’m not going to not get Chloe. Can you imagine the fallout from that? Leaving her rescue to someone else?”

Adrien grimaced. “Valid.”

“And I really want to. I mean I’m,” she motioned to herself, “and they’re,” she motioned toward the door they had gone through. “I’ve never gotten to… they’ve never… I don’t know if this will happen again.”

Adrien nodded and gave her an understanding look. “Yeah, I get that. Okay. Let’s do this.”

She gave him a wide excited grin, and started bouncing on her toes. “Yay!” She focused back on her phone and started tapping rapidly.

“You got her?” he asked coming up next to her to look at her screen.

“Just a second.” She tapped her screen a few more times. “Got her,” she said tilting her phone to show Adrien.

Adrien nodded and pulled his phone out. He pulled up his messaging app and followed her example, typing a text he didn’t send. ‘You let Batman know?’

Marinette smiled and nodded as she typed a response. ‘Already sent him her phone’s info and who’s looking for her… as civilians. Wish was a video call. Know he would have smirked.’

They pushed through the exit, almost running into the Team, who were talking in hushed tones. Robin tucked his phone in his back pocket.

“I told you before, we got this,” Conner insisted. “The way you took care of that robot before was impressive, but this is likely to get a lot more dangerous. We can handle it.”

Marinette cocked her head to the side, opening her eyes wide in exaggerated innocence. “Thank you, but… then it’s dangerous for you too, isn’t it?” She looked at Robin and Wally and back to him. “I mean we’re all in the same boat here, right? Experience wise?” She ignored the coughing fit Adrien faked to cover up his laughter.

Robin spoke up, “I’m from Gotham. We’re used to villains kidnapping people. We know how to handle it.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Marinette. “And we’re from Paris,” he intoned. “It was a lifestyle for a few years there.”

Marinette quirked her lip to the side in an amused smirk at the boys’ confused stares. “Look, it’s our friend who got kidnapped and it’s our drama you’ve walked in on. We’re going. If you guys are so insistent on getting involved with our drama, we won’t stop you.” Robin opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get it out, Marinette continued. “So Gotham, try to keep up, because we’re able to track her,” she held up her phone which showed a map with a dot moving on it. “…so unless you have a bloodhound in that hoodie pocket, we’re leading the way.” She ruffled his hair as she passed him to get to the stairs. Was she being a terrible older sister? No. She was being an amazing older sister, pushing all his buttons. Isn’t that how all families showed love? And the best part was he didn’t know to get her back for it. Free harassment. What kind of sister would she be if she passed that up?

Robin glared at her and Conner didn’t look much happier, likely upset because it meant they wouldn’t get to use their superpowers, but still followed her down the stairs. She was right. They had no way to track their friend without their help. They would just have to hold off on the superpowers until they got closer and hope they could break off to where the two couldn’t see them rescuing their friend. Wally however, was grimacing as he brought up the end of the line behind Adrien on the stairs, thinking about the cupcakes he was about to lose. Maybe if they didn’t cause too much more damage, they could still win.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to rescue Chloe from a villain’s hench… thing. I swear if I had a nickel for every time she’s gotten kidnapped… I’d only have like fifteen or twenty nickels but still it’s strange that it’s happened that many times.” Marinette looked back over her shoulder with a smirk, like she was in on a private joke.

Adrien set his mouth and pursed his lips. He refused to laugh at her comment, no matter how badly he wanted to. He looked between the guy behind him and the two ahead of him with an overly bright smile. “Hi, I’m Adrien. If we’re working together, we should probably know each other’s names.”

“Wally,” Wally offered with a chuckle. Unlike Adrien, he had no issue laughing at her comment.

“Robin,” Robin stated diplomatically, still trying to figure out if her comment was correct. He’d been the victim of kidnapping attempts multiple times both as Dick and Robin, but he didn’t know why her friend would have been so often.

Conner continued to stare at Marinette mutely, trying to figure her out better. If he stared long enough, maybe he could place where he’d seen her beautiful eyes before. Marinette gave him a bright, warm smile. “Oh,” Marinette paused and turned to look back at them as they all got onto the ground with a bright, warm smile, “Marinette. My name is Marinette.”

Conner looked away. Marinette thought she saw his cheeks darken slightly when their eyes met, but that could have easily been the taillights from the car that just parked near them. “Conner,” he grumbled.

Marinette nodded at him, giving him a sweet smile. “It is really nice to meet you,” she said earnestly, looking at the other Team members, “all of you.” She took a beat to look at them without a mask and nodded. “Okay, let’s get going then, before Chloe breaks a nail and we have to hear about it for the next six months,”

“Or you know, someone dies,” Conner argued, following her down the road.

Adrien shook his head behind him. “I don’t think we have to worry about that. She won’t kill anyone.”

“Probably… unless they mess with her hair,” Marinette added.

“Most likely,” Adrien agreed with a nod.

Robin gave Wally a confused, questioning look as they followed behind. Wally returned the look. Who the hell were these people?

Chapter 12

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@mickylikesstuff @mystery-5-5 @roguishredaxion @vroomtaka @laurcad123 @just-an-observer-ignore-me @emimar7 @moonlightstar64 @maribat-writing-and-prompts @aespades @yokomisaki @glastwime859 @mysticknown @glastwime859 @fan-writtenen @stackofrandomstuff @jalaluvsu @ultimatetornshipper @charme-de-malchan @lozzybowe @deathwishy @too0bsessedformyowngood @kokotaru @ichigorose @nathleigh @dorkus-minimus @ira-sairain @jayjayspixiepop

#maribat #Capturing a Dream #connette #connerette #konmari #marikon #conner x marinette #Marinette x Conner

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riathedreamer · 3 years

Text

Zero is Null

A discussion of Zero’s love-hate-relationship with RvB and struggling independence; including a hotdog too big for the bun, tragic backstories, a single bow-chicka-bow-wow, and a cookie at the very end.

Welcome to what will be a lot of text. Basically, it will explore why Zero fails as an RvB (with emphasis on RvB) season. I will not be the first one to bring forth some of the points, and I promise to be fair and civil and fun. This isn’t supposed to be a piece of hate – in fact, I’m writing this because I love Red vs. Blue.

Okay, first of all, to increase your fun – take a guess on just how much of Zero is spent on fight scenes. You see, I’ve calculated the exact amount, and I will reveal it later, but for now, take a guess and remember the number. Maybe you are the winner!

Alright, time to share my thoughts. Wait! Since I suffer from anxiety and have this one annoying voice pretending to be all those critical statements my opinion could be met with, let’s give it an actual voice and address the points throughout this review.

“Why would I care about your opinion, Ria?” – I don’t know, you’re the one who clicked Read More.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter!” – Of course, it doesn’t! Geez. Do you think your opinion matters, though? Listen, we’re on Tumblr, the actual equivalent of screaming into the void. And it’s fun, too!

“If you don’t like it, don’t watch!” - *activates Uno Reverse Card* “You can’t talk about something you haven’t watched!”

“You’re just a Hater” – Actually, this is a point I’ll come back to. Like a cliffhanger. Also, at the end of this, there’ll be a cookie. But this will also include me talking about the stuff I like, because, surprise, Zero is not without talent!

“You just don’t like it because the Reds and Blues aren’t in it!” – Actually, that’s a good point, so instead, this review will start with a sole focus on Zero and discuss the problem that lies within that story. Then we can address why the lack of OG cast is understandable and problematic and weird.

But first! Backstory.

When the first 5 second teaser dropped back in spring (you know, when we were young and innocent and the world didn’t feel like an apocalyptic movie yet), I held onto that one image of what I thought (hoped) to be Grif and Simmons in the sunset, hopefully addressing Grif’s hateglue arc, but boy was I wrong because a) that’s not Simmons, that’s Sarge, and b) the image was from a PSA since the Reds are not in Zero.

Actual face-reveal of me below:

Admittedly, when I heard that the Reds and Blues were not going to be the main characters (or even show up), it felt like a gut punch. However, I actually found myself getting excited due to the creators’ hype. I want to praise them for this. It’s been a while since an RvB season was talked so much ABOUT before its release; it had advertisements, it had creators and voice-actors talking about it. Please. More of that in the future. Their passion rubbed off on me, and that deserves recognition. So it pains me that this was clearly a passion-project, and then when I gave it a try, I didn’t want to touch it again for weeks.

Here’s the thing. I cannot whole-heartedly say that Zero is bad. It’s not gonna melt your eyes. It’s not even so-bad-it’s-good. For me, it’s meh. It’s a Saturday-morning-cartoon aimed for a younger audience with a rushed plot and clichéd characters. The problem is that it calls itself RvB, and with that title comes something to live up to – but more importantly, something to continue.

My main issue is that Zero forces its story into existence by ignoring established content rather than adjusting to it. Let’s call this for the hotdog-too-big-for-the-bun syndrome solely for the sake of the bow-chicka-bow-wow that’s coming now. Bow-chicka-bow-wow. Many of the separate issues I will dive into all add to this hotdog-issue, so I will scream “Hotdog!” whenever this is the case so we can all keep track of my argument.

You can continue the story of Red vs. Blue without the Reds and Blues. While that would personally crush my heart, it can be done. There’s a story of Red vs. Blue that can be continued. The world can be expanded, the previous actions of the Reds and Blues can be explored from another angle.

So.

How does Zero do this? It doesn’t.

I just want to make it clear that new elements can definitely be added when it comes to worldbuilding. That’s literally the point of sequels. But Zero’s settings are presented with so little grace and with no connection to previously established worldbuilding. We get Alliance of Defense and GLASS thrown in our face as very big important organizations – yet we’ve never heard of them before. A big central plot point of RvB is the UNSC and Project Freelancers, and those were introduced naturally with the plot. We already have big established intergalactic organizations. What is AOD’s connection with those? We aren’t told. We are just told they exist and expected to accept it, no questions asked. If this was a whole new world and story – fine. But when you need to build on an already established worldbuilding, you need more grace than this. Chorus was a whole new setting, but it was explained, and it was connected to the previous plot. Same with Iris. Same with Desert Gulch. In Zero, it feels lazy. It feels forced. These organizations are just there because the story is built around them (HOTDOG).

This vagueness when it comes to wordbuilding is also reflected in the settings - we have a desert, a training base, a lab, temples, Tucker’s workplace, and we do not know if all those are set place on the same planet. If that is the case, what is this planet’s relationship with Chorus? Is it Earth? And most importantly, what is the deal with the temples? Why are they connected to Tucker’s sword if it isn’t the same planet. Are they made by the same aliens? Are people okay with this? Why haven’t these temples been explored before? Chorus makes sure to establish this, while Zero doesn’t, adding to a growing amount of confusion.

Okay, so no connection with previous worldbuilding. What about characters? I mean, we got Wash and Carolina and Tucker! So we have RvB characters, it gotta be RvB! Technically – yeah. But it feels dirty. These three characters are not here to be characters. They are here to be props to the new cast. They are not given any development. Their presence isn’t even that important, and if this was a whole new show, they could easily have been replaced with an unknown face. Worst of all, they feel miswritten.

Carolina and Wash are working at a new military organization? Leaving the Reds and Blues behind? To help people? First of all, fucking bad idea, Carolina, the last time you left the Reds and Blues alone, they changed the timeline. But most importantly – Carolina and Wash just joined this new super elite military organization? After being mistreated and manipulated by such an organization in the past?

Carolina is there to introduce the characters. That’s it. We are force-fed their personality by having her literally read out loud their personality. There is no gentle introduction to the new cast. We are not allowed to get to know them naturally. Why show when you can tell, huh? That’s Carolina’s role. That’s why she is there. To introduce the cast and explain their story. That’s it. (HOTDOG).

How about Wash? He is there to get beat up and be a damsel in distress so that the new cast has a reason to explore the plot. Oh, and that brain damage that was the consequence of previous seasons – gone now. The guy who literally has trauma from having an AI explode inside his head is fine with having a computer inserted into it instead. Because that’s needed. To explore his brain damage wouldn’t work now when his role is to be a prop to lure the new cast for one episode and then be put onto the bench for the rest of the runtime (HOTDOG).

And Tucker – he is there to die for a second and have his sword taken from him. That’s literally it. And for the few moments he is there, he feels like old super flirty Tucker, which erases the character development he went through in previous seasons. Okay, so Tucker dies, and then not dies, and then he is put on the bench with Wash where they can sit and talk or whatever (‘cause holy shit, the new cast is not allowed to that), because he isn’t important. The sword is. Tucker is just a prop, even more than his sword is (HOTDOG).

Damn. Wash gets beat up. Tucker gets beat up. Dies. Gets his sword taken away. Almost seems like a Red’s wet dream. Sorry not sorry, Blues, you were done dirty.

So there are miswritten old characters. Even worse is the retconning. The plot needs a “normal” Wash, so, bam, magic computer solution. Never mind Wash’s trauma and character traits. Never mind the logic of the new worldbuilding which also includes a character suffering for years to heal an illness. But the brain damage that was such a big consequence that it became the main part of the plot of the last two seasons – gone. I mean, a gunshot to the head can be healed by CPR. That’s canon. But no one gave Wash CPR so it’s a big thing, okay. It was canonically a big thing, and Zero erased that. This is not me saying that a Cerebral Enhancer couldn’t work in the RvB universe. Imagine it being done right. Wash struggling with the choice of getting used to his disability or accepting the possibility of help - at the cost of reliving his trauma. The struggle between what to choose - what should he choose when he wants to help as many as possible, the sacrifices he thinks he has to make, the way it could have been used as a part of his character growth. But in Zero, the enhancer isn’t a part of Wash’s character. It’s there so the story can work without having to deal with the previous plot’s consequence (HOTDOG).

Same with the sword thing. They sorta explain it by having Tucker flatline, but it’s weak. Honestly, I find it sorta offensive. What about Locus’ sword as well? It’s twisting previous lore to make the new plot work (HOTDOG). (Also, are we not gonna talk about the ultimate power being Spencer Porkensenson’s helmet? Have the writers forgotten Spencer Porkensenson? Have we as a community forgotten Spencer Porkensenson?)

If you have Red vs. Blue in your title, you cannot ignore what you inherit from it. You need to respect the worldbuilding, the established characters, and the previous plot. Zero does not do this.

Let’s talk about the Triplets. No, really, let’s do it. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about them before, because season 14 was a mixed bag for me (that I have now learned to appreciate. Thank you, Zero.) because I have heart at the size of the Grinch and can only love a few characters at a time, and that did not include the Triplets. Can’t even remember their names. Well, I can, but I can’t for the love of me remember which state is which, and my tongue is twisted every time I try to say Ohio, Iowa, and Idaho, and I know it’s on purpose. I know it is. And it got me good. That being said, the fandom actually embraced them really, really well! Seriously, I’ve seen more content for the Triplets than for Zero as a whole.

Why talk about the Triplets? (Was Iowa the lesbian? Or was it Ohio? Fuck.) Because like Zero, they introduced new characters with a story of their own. The Reds and Blues didn’t play a role. But here’s what I feel like the Triplets got right. They didn’t change the settings to force their narrative. They used stuff already established (Project Freelancer), added their own story as a continuation of that. They even included old characters in the beginning (Wash and some other Freelancers) but it felt natural and it didn’t feel like it happened at the expense of the old characters. Wash’s writing felt natural, and his presence wasn’t needed to tell these new character’s stories. He wasn’t a prop to them. He was there to establish the setting and to establish the relationship with these new characters, and then he and the other familiar faces (helmets??) left, and we as the viewers were left with these new characters. And the new characters told their own story by themselves. It felt like, hey, here’s something you know – remember Mother of Invention, and remember Wash’ lower rank, but now, try to imagine being even lower rank than him, aren’t you curious about those fates? Now let’s hear their story! It was new, it was something else, but it didn’t wreck what came before it, and it stayed true to the classic vibes of RvB.

As I said before, the hotdog-issue is my biggest problem with Zero. It infuriates me. I will return to this. But there are more issues, even if we try to look past the title-related problems.

If we try to imagine Zero as its own story and universe (as it should be, in my opinion), it still earns the meh review from me.

These isolated issues include awkwardness, the writing, lack of self-awareness, and pacing. First of all, holy shit, this is a tell, don’t show. Nothing is subtle, nothing is allowed to develop. It’s like the show thinks you are six years old with an attention span of a goldfish. You are not just led by the hand – they have literally pulled off your arm by the end of the show. We are force-fed every bit of information, every bit of personality from these new characters.

The voice-acting is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes it’s pretty good, sometimes it’s not. Some of the problems can definitely be blamed on the dialogue that you can only do so much with. It’s not good. I can’t remember any good jokes (the one joke I really appreciate was the cast on armor, and that was freaking visual humor. That was so RvB. Kudos to that. It was fun. More of that, please.), and RvB is known for having memorably good lines. This is a show built on good, clever, funny dialogue. Zero does not deliver. You have to sit through clichéd lines – “You’re not my dad”, “I trusted you”, “Come with me”, “It can’t be!”, “She’s way too powerful”, and “We have to do this together” – performed unironically. I cringed more than I laughed. Worst thing is that Zero could be a good parody. Sometimes, it feels like it is. One-dimensional characters, a villain wanting ‘the ultimate power’, very overpowered characters, bad one-liners, etc. But Zero takes itself seriously, and I was one of the people rooting for Jax to show up at the end and yell “Cut”. That would have been a funny-as-fuck twist. A spin-off parody. If I can’t have “Sarge the Movie”, I would have taken that and loved it. I would have forgiven everything. “We put so much info into finding that power, but we had no idea what it was” is really a line in the finale, and I cannot believe this is real in a show that somehow still tries to present itself as serious. What a plot.

We have to talk about pacing. God, first of all it should be stated that RvB is a mess when it comes to pacing. I honestly get what they were going for. Sometimes, RvB has come across as a bit boring when you get three episodes stretched over three weeks without much going on. I know season 11 did not have the warmest welcome because it was seen as boring until the finale. But when you see season 11 as a whole, as a movie, as a part of a trilogy, it works so well. Zero is more focused on being episodic. They want something to happen all the time so we will stay tuned. The thing that will happen – a fight. Oh god. The fight scenes.

I have done the math. I have run the numbers. I deserve a freaking cookie for this. Are you ready?

If you put all the episodes together, you have a runtime of 106 minutes. HOWEVER, with the introduction of credits in every episode, you gotta account for this. Removing the credits, this gives us 94 minutes of actual runtime. Out of that, 45 minutes are dedicated to fight scenes. That means 48% of the show is fight scenes.

If I wanted that many fight scenes, I’d watch Death Battle. Except the actual RvB Death Battle episode has a runtime of 20 minutes, and out of that, 5 minutes is dedicated to the actual battle. For the people who hate math – that’s 25% of the actual runtime.

RvB Zero has more fight scenes than a show called Death Battle. Take that in.

The pace suffers from this. Where’s the time to explore the characters? Where’s the time for good dialogue? All I can think of is this:

I get that RvB is a show that’s literally making fun of itself by acknowledging all their characters do is stand around and talk. I get that you want characters to do more than that. But for the love of Church, would it kill the new characters to stand around and talk? For just a minute? Stop fighting, I am begging you, stop fighting! Am I a pacifist now? Am I purple? Have I joined Doc’s team? What has Zero done to me?!

The good thing though is that fight scenes are very good. They’re entertaining. However, they seem to deconstruct themselves when we need to get a fight scene in every episode. Usually, the few fight scenes in an RvB season were in some of the most climatic episodes. In Zero, I can hardly keep up with the pace because they won’t stop moving. Fight scenes aren’t plot. They aren’t character development. You need more than just fight scenes. They entertain, but there’s a limit to that.

Noël Wiggins, the co-writer, stated the inspiration was a Saturday-morning cartoon. They nailed that vibe. If that was their goal, hurray, they have accomplished something! Because of the poor plot and constant fight scenes, it feels like you could just switch on the TV and drop in at any moment and let yourself be entertained by the cool and colorful soldiers punching and kicking each other. I will admit that the fight scenes entertained me. But they don’t make it a good season.

If I were the six-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish that the show believes I am, I honestly would enjoy it. The stiff dialogue and the constant tell-don’t-show makes you feel like an audience that’s not supposed to do anything else but admire the flashy fight scenes. I miss the cleverness of RvB. I miss the characters I get to connect with as I see them grow.

I miss the tone of RvB. Because this isn’t RvB to me.

It’s not that RvB hasn’t changed its tone before. Holy shit, I sorta do want to experience the absolute shock the RvB fandom went through when s6 aired and they were given new characters and serious plot. I would have loved to experience that, but I was too busy being ten years old. The Freelancers seasons also introduced a new tone and more fight scenes with very talented fighters compared to the Blood Gulch gang, but a balance was kept by having half of the season still revolving around the Reds and Blues. But Zero – Zero is so much change. And it’s on purpose. At least this has been made very clear from the beginning.

They constantly seem to appeal to new fans, rather than be directed towards older fans of the show. If you want an entirely new audience with a season with a new cast, new worldbuilding, and new tone, I’m confused as to why they don’t just make a new show. The hotdog-problem begs for this solution. This story and environment and characters feel so out of touch with the original RvB, that with a few rewrites and lack of Halo-armor, it could just be a new show. Problem solved.

If not this, then present it as a spin-off. In all ways, it feels like a spin-off (again, see everything marked HOTDOG). But the creators refuse to do this, and I don’t understand why. I could forgive many of these issues, had they officially separated themselves from canon.

Ah, what’s the idiom? You can’t both swallow and blow? (You can hear the Bow-chicka-bow-wow in the distance). Something about eating cake and having it. Forgive me, English isn’t my native language. POINT IS why are you calling yourself RvB while actively fighting against the core essence of RvB? In my humble opinion, you can’t be both. Marketing it as a spin-off would have granted it some defense when changing, well, literally everything, and I just, would someone please properly describe why it isn’t a spin-off? Isn’t this season marked by its association with the plot of RvB rather than a continuation of it? Zero presenting itself as not a spinoff feels like a toddler clinging to the hem of its mother’s dress while forcefully running away from her, ripping the dress in the process.

When they do connect with the original RvB, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. When they let Carolina, Wash, and Tucker appear for a moment, it feels like luring viewers in with the RvB title. Look at me. Look at me! I’m not saying this is the case. I say that it gives me the annoying vibes of being lured, rather than letting the characters be a part of the show for their own development, rather than having RvB in the title to continue its story. I should not be getting these vibes at all. But I am.

If you want to use RvB in the title, something from the core of RvB needs to be embraced. Things can be changed. They should. Something new should be brought in. But there’s a limit to how much you can change and replace and twist until it would have been better with an original show. As a season of RvB, it should tell the story of Red vs. Blue.

From my perspective, Zero fails to do so.

It pains me that the old cast has been replaced, but as stated earlier, a season could have worked without them. However, I do not like the take that one should be excited about all the new characters. That it isn’t a big thing that the OG cast got replaced. That we should just deal with it. Just, try to imagine another show suddenly replacing the main characters with characters we’ve never met before. Imagine RWBY suddenly only focusing on a new team of huntresses with the previous main characters reduced to an Easter Egg presence, or Camp Camp suddenly being about a new team of campers, no warning given. Can you imagine the outcry? So maybe let’s agree that a replacement of the main cast is a big thing and should be addressed and it’s valid to be upset about this change.

Could Zero have worked? It’s hard to answer this. How can I accept something as RvB if the season actively pushes away the core of RvB aside for an isolated story that could have been told in any other media? As a spinoff, I could have ignored it. To enjoy Zero, I have to fully separate it from RvB in my mind, and then it’s alright. S’not good. But it’s not bad. It’s entertaining enough. I really ended up liking Raymond and Tiny, and there were a few good jokes, and the fight scenes were admirable (but too much) and I love the creators’ passion. But it’s not RvB. I also wish that the new characters had been attached to previous worldbuilding, for example soldiers on Chorus or agents from Project Freelancer. That way we could build on familiar lore which would have decreased the confusion and added a much needed connection with the previous seasons of RvB.

God, the anxious voice is back (by the way, it sounds like Tutter from “Bear in the Blue House”).

“You’re racist” – I hope not. Literally, I do not want to be. Tell me if I’ve ever crossed some lines, because I swear, that is not my intention, I will apologize and most of all, change and do better. I included this because I’ve seen this take thrown around in the big ugly mess that is the fandom clashes regarding Zero. And racism is problem within RT community (this includes AH and RvB, sorry, I just use RT as an umbrella term for the latter), and I’m not saying it hasn’t been a problem with this season. Writers should never be harassed, and never-fucking-ever because of their skin color, and voice actors shouldn’t be treated like they are responsible for the choices of the show. But I was legit nervous to post this review, and I hope it’s been factual without feeling like personal attacks on the creators because that has never been my intention. I was delighted to hear about the diversity behind this project, and Torrian’s passion legit blew me away because it’s been a while since I’ve seen that for an RvB project. I’d hoped for it to be good, and when I feel disappointed, it’s for the reasons stated in this analysis. That said, Zero is made by a diverse cast and it’s made with love, and both of those things are so, so great, but it does not mean that Zero cannot be criticized. It can, and it should. It’s a product, just like all the other seasons, and fans are allowed to discuss it – both what they loved, and both what they found troublesome. And to repeat previous points, and be respectful, always, fuck racists, and never-fucking-ever harass the staff behind a season, what the fuck is wrong with you if you do this.

“Don’t you get it, it’s different because it’s trying something new!” – Hey, remember the philosophical question: if you replace all the parts of a ship one-by-one, is it still the same ship when you’re done? If it doesn’t include the Reds and Blues, if it ignores previous plot, if the old characters feel miswritten, if it values animation over dialogue, if it values fight scenes over comedy, if it wants to be Fast and Furious instead of Red vs. Blue – is it still Red vs. Blue? Because it doesn’t feel like it to me.

“It's been 17 seasons, it’s time to let the Reds and Blues go so someone else can shine!” – I simply do not understand us having been with the Reds and Blues for 17 seasons should be an argument to let them go, rather than be an argument as to why their absence hurt like hell.

“The Reds and Blues ran out of things to do!” – Did- did they, though? I mean, if we were discussing pretty much any other show, I’d probably agree that they were running out of content. But for the Reds and Blues… I think the PSAs nailed it this year! I’m not kidding, I had more fun watching the Reds and Blues discuss how to do laundry than watching Zero. You could literally give me an hour of the Reds and Blues trying to bake a cake or clear a gutter or simply settling down with an ordinary life, and I would trust them to make it worth the watch.

“The flaws were due to the fact it’s only 8 episodes long!” – Look, I can only judge a product the way it’s presented to me. I cannot come up with excuses for it. If they had 8 episodes to work with, they need to come up with a plot that works with this runtime. Seriously, this excuse cannot work when 48% of the season is spent on fight scenes. They could have used more runtime, sure, but the show needs to be able to pace itself and be planned accordingly.

“The OG cast couldn’t be a part of this year, hence Zero!” – That might be true. But. Would one year without RvB kill it? Is Zero necessary? Again, I just can’t judge excuses for the show. But trouble with the cast has been an issue before. Season 15 solves Geoff’s sabbatical by actually making Grif’s absence a part of the plot. Zero’s lack of Reds and Blues just feels like this excuse to tell a story that needn’t be a part of RvB.

Am I a hater? I guess? I greatly dislike Zero for the critique stated above. I do, however, not harass the creators and no one should ever do that. However, I have to admit that I feel there’s been this weird rejection of any critique of Zero where everything’s been brushed off as haters gonna hate, including the critique stated above. And I think that’s a problem because critique, as hard as it can be to hear (and I know this. I’m an author of original works. Weird flex, I know), is valid and necessary and shouldn’t just be shrugged away. As always, both sides of the fandom should always be respectful, but my own opinion is that addressing the flaws of Zero should not be controversial.

Does this super long rant/critique/whatever mean you cannot enjoy Zero? Gods no! I almost envy you if you enjoy this season, but holy shit, feel free to love it and tell the creators that you love it! Me pointing out the issues I have with the season shouldn’t be stopping you. I loved (and still love) s15 when it came out, and it was majorly rejected by the fandom. There were many, many critical posts, people were going on about how RvB should have ended with s13, and it evolved into the writer receiving death threats (me, once again: never ever harass the creators, assholes). But I didn’t tell people to stop being negative. I actually agreed with many of the flaws that were pointed out, and I enjoyed the season despite this, because that is possible. We, as RvB fans, should agree that RvB, is... I mean, it’s not the greatest, most flawless of shows, but we love it nonetheless. So go ahead and love Zero. This is not a stop sign. This is my opinion that you chose to read.

Wait, I promised you a cookie, didn’t I? Well, you’re not getting one. Why? Because I’m a Red and this is my chance to piss off a Blue. As Caboose wisely said: “Well, at least I don't go around... knocking on people's non-doors... and promising them cookies... and then NOT. GIVING. THEM. COOKIES!”

Blue Team sucks.

End speech.

#rvb zero #rvb #rvb zero critical #rvb critical #rvb0 #my rvb stuff #pls dont hate me for this #this is my honest opinion that people apparantly wanted to hear #as a standalone story zero isnt totally bad #as an rvb season it is

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btsqualityy · 3 years

Text

Assuage: Chapter 7

Yoongi x Reader

Genre: ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) dynamics, angst, fluff, smut, enemies to lovers

Warnings: None to note.

By the end of the week, Yoongi had gotten upwards of 15 more offers from multiple Omegas and even a few Alphas. On one hand, he was annoyed because after turning down a few, he would’ve thought that word would spread around the pack that he wasn’t looking for anything serious right at that moment. However, on the other hand, he kind of...liked the attention.

It’s nice to feel wanted and desired, and after receiving the explanation from you and the others as to why everyone was all over him now, he couldn’t help but to feel proud of himself and how he had proven himself to be a capable Alpha. If only his old pack could see him now.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not looking to date anyone right now,” Yoongi murmured apologetically to an Omega named Yeji, who had stopped into the hardware shop to offer Yoongi a pair of mittens that she had knitted for him.

“Well, you could still take them anyway?” Yeji suggested hopefully. “Winter’s approaching and I’d hate for you to be too cold.”

“I appreciate it, but I couldn’t,” Yoongi shook his head.

“Alright. Have a good day Yoongi,” Yeji whispered, turning around and swiftly walking out of the shop, not even giving Yoongi a chance to say goodbye before she was gone.

“Ok, what was wrong with that one?” Kibum demanded to know, and Yoongi looked over at him.

“Nothing. It’s just like I said, I’m not interested in dating or mating,” he shrugged.

“You’re a fool, boy,” Kibum chuckled. “If only I were 40 years younger, I would’ve snatched her up.”

“She was pretty and everything, and her scent wasn’t terrible but I just wasn’t interested,” Yoongi shot back.

“Alright, alright, no need to get defensive,” Kibum sighed. “All I’m saying is that Yeji was what, the 5th person to come in here just today to try and offer you a gift? You keep turning them all down and you’re not getting any younger Min.”

“Oh, I didn’t think you would even know what younger looked like, considering that you haven’t been it for so long,” Yoongi snickered, yelping when Kibum smacked the back of his head in retaliation.

“How about you stop running your damn mouth so much and go cut us some wood down from those trees on the edge of the territory?” Kibum suggested.

“Yes Sir,” Yoongi laughed, quickly skirting around the counter before Kibum could hit him again for laughing. Stepping out of the shop, Yoongi made sure to grab the axe that sat on the small porch before he set off across the territory, past the Head Hall and the school house. A few people spoke to him as he passed and he replied, but no one else came up to him with anymore gifts.

Once he made it into the woods, he continued to walk until he made it to the small cluster of trees that Kibum had showed to him. These trees were specifically for the purpose of wood for the pack and were the only ones that Yoongi could cut down. Just as he lifted the axe and was about to swing downwards, the smell of white peaches stopped him.

He followed the smell, his head instantly turning to the right where he saw you. You were sat on a rock, looking down at the small stream that ran along one end of the pack territory.

“Hey,” Yoongi called out as he began to walk over to you and you looked up in surprise, your body relaxing when you saw that it was only Yoongi.

“Hey,” you replied, your eyebrows raising right after when you noticed the axe in his hand. “Damn, I know we haven’t really gotten along but you don’t have to murder me.”

“I was just about to cut some wood for Kibum,” Yoongi chuckled. “What are you doing way out here?”

“I had to work all morning and I finally got a break so I decided to come out here,” you answered him.

“Is this your little hidden spot?” Yoongi questioned as he leaned against the rock that you were sitting on.

“Yeah, or at least it used to be until you found me,” you rolled your eyes, making Yoongi scoff as he shook his head. “I guess it was bound to happen eventually though, since you’re a part of the pack now. Have you been settling in ok?”

“Yeah, actually I have,” Yoongi replied.

“Good,” you nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m sorry for being a bitch, by the way.”

“Wait, are you apologizing to me?” Yoongi smirked as he turned to fully face you, and you rolled your eyes at him.

“I’m trying to but don’t make me regret it already,” you snapped, even though there was a small smile on your face. “But being in an all new pack is probably really hard and I didn’t really give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“You know what, don’t even worry about it,” Yoongi shrugged. “If someone came into my old pack talking shit about the way we did things, I would’ve reacted the same way.”

“What was your old pack like?” You wondered. “You don’t talk about them much.”

“That’s very much on purpose,” Yoongi chuckled bitterly. “But long story short, they sucked. It was a pack full of mostly Prime Alphas and Alphas, and there were constant fights and just general dumb assery.”

“No Omegas or Betas?”

“A few, but their only purpose was cooking, cleaning, getting fucked and having pups,” Yoongi told you, not missing the way your scent soured a little bit.

“What else is to be expected in a pack full of mostly Alphas?” You huffed in annoyance. “It makes sense why you say the things you do though, about Omegas and their place within a pack. That’s what you’re used to.”

“Yep but if I’m honest, I think I like the way you guys do things better,” Yoongi admitted and you smiled.

“Good, because we are better than them,” you nodded knowingly, making Yoongi laugh. “Hey, are you coming to the full moon party tonight?”

“Full moon party?” Yoongi repeated. “What’s that?”

“Tae didn’t explain it to you?” You wondered, and Yoongi shook his head. “Well, as I’m sure you already know, full moons used to be when a person’s wolf was at it’s strongest and the full moon party was a way of celebrating that. Now that we’ve evolved to the point where we can’t shift anymore, the party is literally just an excuse for us to have some fun before snowfall comes.”

“Uh, I don’t know,” Yoongi wavered. “I’m not really the party type.”

“Come on. If you’re gonna be a part of the pack, you have to participate in the pack traditions and the full moon party is a pack tradition,” you smiled. “Plus, there’ll be good food, games, music and alcohol.”

“Alcohol?” Yoongi echoed, his interest suddenly peaked.

“Yep, the really good shit that the elders make that’ll have you on your ass,” you smirked. Yoongi pouted lightly, realizing that he didn’t really have anything to lose by going to the party especially since he was still so new to the pack.

“Alright, fine,” Yoongi relented. “I’ll be there.”

“Great,” you grinned.

..........................................

“Do you want to knot my sister hyung?” Taehyung wondered curiously.

“Taehyung!” Both Yoongi and Jungkook exclaimed, staring at him in amazement at how he could ask such an obscene question. The two of them had stopped by Yoongi’s cabin to pick him up on their way to the full moon party, and Taehyung had bombarded Yoongi with that question as soon as Yoongi had let them inside.

“What, it’s a valid question,” Taehyung shrugged.

“Please excuse my rude ass boyfriend,” Jungkook said to Yoongi, wincing when Taehyung pinched his arm in retaliation.

“Don’t apologize for me, I said what I said,” Taehyung snapped. “And he still hasn’t answered me.”

“No, I don’t want to knot Y/N,” Yoongi chuckled.

“You’re lying,” Taehyung instantly shot back. “Because last time I checked, the two of you argued anytime that you were in the same vicinity together and now, all of a sudden, Y/N-ah is inviting you to the full moon party?! And before I had the chance to?!”

“It’s literally not that serious,” Yoongi laughed.

“Yeah, stop being so overdramatic Tae,” Jungkook added, letting out a scream when Taehyung full on punched him in the upper arm.

“Keep talking baby Alpha, and you’ll be spending your next rut alone,” Taehyung threatened him.

“Ok, can we go please?” Yoongi interrupted them.

“Not until you tell me what happened between you and my sister,” Taehyung demanded.

“Nothing happened,” Yoongi shrugged. “She apologized for being so quick to judge me, I admitted to being a dickhead about judging the way you guys did things, and that’s all.”

“Mmhmm. Ok, well I’ll let it go for now,” Taehyung said. “But I’m watching you.”

“Nice to know,” Yoongi chuckled. “Do I look ok though?” Yoongi hadn’t exactly been sure what to wear for the party, given that he wasn’t sure if it was formal or not, but he had settled on a thick, plaid button up shirt and blue jeans, with black boots.

“Yeah, you look fine hyung,” Jungkook nodded. “Let’s go.” After locking up his cabin, the three of them walked down to the center of the pack’s territory.

There were multiple large tables surrounding a large bonfire, since it was late October and getting pretty chilly out. There were also large speakers set up around the space, with upbeat music flowing through them. It seemed as though every member of the pack was present, even the pups and elders.

“Hey look, there’s the others,” Jungkook said as he pointed to a table where you, Namjoon, Hyorin, Jin, Hobi, and Jimin were sitting. Yoongi then followed behind Jungkook and Taehyung as they led the way over to the table, everyone exchanging greetings.

“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised to see you Yoongi,” Namjoon admitted with a smile. “I told Tae that you didn’t seem like a party type.”

“I’m not, but what do I have to lose by showing my face?” Yoongi replied and Namjoon nodded in understanding.

“Babe,” Hyorin called and Namjoon looked down at her. “I hate to interrupt but me and this pup are hungry.”

“I’ll go make you a plate then,” he chuckled, leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before turning to look at the other Alphas. “You guys coming?”

“You hungry?” Jungkook asked Taehyung, who nodded. “I’m coming hyung.”

“I’ll get you guys food,” Hobi said to Jin and Jimin, who just smiled thankfully. Yoongi then turned to look at you, feeling the need to make sure that you ate as well.

“I could get you food,” he offered quietly and you looked over at him in surprise. “I mean, if you’re hungry.”

“If you’re already going, then sure,” you agreed. Yoongi then nodded, getting up from the table and following behind Namjoon, Hobi and Jungkook as they walked over to the buffet table.

“Is this love I’m smelling?” Hyorin teased you as soon as the Alphas were out of ear-shot, and you just rolled your eyes in response.

“Of course not. He’s just getting me food.”

“And you like the fact that he’s getting you food,” Jin spoke up. “Your scent’s telling on you.”

“You like the lone wolf,” Jimin giggled excitedly.

“I do not!” You exclaimed. “Besides, even if I were interested, he has every other Omega in the pack going crazy over him.”

“Hey!” Jimin and Jin both objected.

“Every Omega in the pack except Jimin and Jin,” you corrected yourself. “He’s probably really enjoying that attention too, with him being Prime and all.”

“I don’t know,” Taehyung hummed listlessly. “I overheard Joon hyung talking to Kibum and Kibum told him that Yoongi has turned down every Omega and Alpha that has come into the hardware shop trying to offer him a gift.”

“Turning down a gift doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s turning them down, and you guys know that,” you shrugged. “He could still fuck them.”

“He doesn’t seem like the fuck around type though,” Hyorin observed. “He honestly seems really sweet.”

“He’s Prime though Hyo,” you smiled gently. “They’re all fuck around types.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you,” Jin snickered, making you cut your eyes at him. Just then, all of the Alphas came back, multiple plates in their hands. Yoongi set yours down in front of you before taking his seat across the table from you.

“Thank you,” you told him and he just shrugged his shoulders before beginning to eat. You, as well as everyone else, did the same and began talking to each other as usual. Yoongi didn’t participate much in the conversation, like normal, but he still enjoyed being around everyone and laughing silently at the lame jokes Jin tried to tell them.

“Oh my gosh, I love this song!” Jimin exclaimed as he abruptly stood up from the table, reaching down and grabbing Taehyung and Hobi’s hands as a new song began to play from the speakers. “Let’s go dance!”

“You need to finish eating,” Hobi pointed out and Jimin just rolled his eyes playfully.

“I’ll finish later,” he promised. “Now come on!” Hobi stood up and allowed himself to be lead away from the table, while Taehyung stood up and looked down at Jungkook.

“Please?” Taehyung pleaded, pouting just enough to look genuinely sad. Jungkook didn’t even say anything, choosing just to stand up and allow himself to be led away. You watched silently as Jin, Namjoon and Hyorin all got up as well, leaving you and Yoongi alone together.

Yoongi continued eating his food silently, watching with a soft smile as everyone began to dance together.

“Hey,” you called out, making Yoongi look up at you. “You want some tea?”

“Sure,” he shrugged. “But I didn’t see any at the buffet.”

“No, not that kind of tea Yoongi,” you laughed while shaking your head. “Tea is like gossip.”

“Gossip about who?” He asked.

“Look at the dance floor again, specifically at Jimin,” you told him and he did so, noting how closely Jimin and Hobi were dancing together. Jimin reached up and wrapped his arms around Hobi’s neck and Hobi buried his face into the Omega’s neck where his scent gland was, which made Yoongi’s eyebrows raise.

“When did that happen?” Yoongi wondered as he looked back towards you.

“Technically, it still hasn’t yet,” you said and Yoongi made a noise of confusion. “Basically, they're trying to be sneaky about it.”

“Why?”

“Because Hobi is hesitant to mate with anyone because of his position as Head Fighter,” you explained. “Especially with all the tension lately between packs, you never know what might happen.”

“But they can’t seriously think that no one sees that,” Yoongi chuckled as he gestured to the two of them.

“Truthfully, no one else does see it besides us,” you replied. “Jimin is a very wanted Omega and it’s almost expected for him to flirt so no one thinks any differently of it.”

“How do you know that they’re even interested in each other then?”

“Because for the last three months, Jimin has been wearing a necklace that looks eerily similar to the same one that Hobi swears he lost,” you smiled.

“I mean, it makes sense,” Yoongi noted. “Their personalities seem similar.”

“They are. I just wish they’d get out of their own way,” you huffed, making Yoongi chuckle at how invested you were. Just then, the song changed again and your eyes brightened as you cheered.

“I’m guessing this is your favorite song?” Yoongi said and you nodded your head as you stood up from the table.

“Come dance with us?” You offered, frowning a little when Yoongi automatically shook his head.

“I don’t really dance,” he muttered.

“Well, you’re gonna have to start,” you smiled, holding out your hand to him. Sighing heavily, he reached out and grabbed onto your hand, allowing you to pull him up and over to where everyone else was dancing.

The song playing was another upbeat one, but it was more R&B than anything else. Turning around to face him, you grabbed Yoongi’s other hand and began to dance slowly. Yoongi followed your lead, dancing slowly as he got into the rhythm. You smiled at how he was slowly letting go, and Yoongi found himself smiling just because you were.

The two of you danced through three more songs, becoming effectively out of breath by the end of the last one. By the time that you and Yoongi managed to pull yourselves away from your group of friends, both of your chests were heaving as you attempted to regulate your breathing.

“And you said that you don’t dance,” you giggled.

“I don’t,” Yoongi repeated.

“Didn’t seem like it out there,” you pointed out and Yoongi chuckled.

“Do you want something to drink?” He asked you and you nodded your head thankfully. Turning away and walking over to one of the buffet tables, Yoongi made quick work of grabbing two cups and filling them up with ice cold lemonade. However, when he turned around, his eyes widened when he saw you talking to another man.

He recognized him as Minho, one of the Alphas that he had met while hunting with Hobi and Jungkook. Yoongi looked closer and saw that Minho was extending something out to you, and it didn’t take long for Yoongi to realize that he was trying to give you a dating gift. An involuntary sigh of relief escaped Yoongi’s mouth when he saw you shake your head and push Minho’s hands away from you. Feeling a little happy (although he didn’t know why), he watched as Minho nodded before walking away.

“Here’s your drink,” Yoongi said as he walked over to you, extending his hand and giving you the cup.

“Thanks,” you smiled, taking the cup from him and taking an immediate sip from it. You made no mention of Minho trying to give you a gift and Yoongi decided not to either. He figured that it wasn’t a big deal because you didn’t accept it and he was still trying to figure out why he even cared if you did or not.

..........................................

Once the party had finally managed to break up (at a modest 1am), Yoongi offered to walk you back to your cabin and you thankfully accepted.

“So, did you have fun tonight?” You asked him.

“I did actually,” Yoongi chuckled. “You guys definitely know how to have a good time.”

“Well, living out here in the woods, it’s a craft that we’ve perfected,” you told him.

“I see that,” Yoongi smiled. “Question though, does Jungkook get so drunk that Taehyung has to literally carry him home at every party?”

“Every one,” you confirmed with a giggle. “I told you that the elder’s make those drinks really strong.”

“They definitely do, because I had one cup and felt as if I had four,” Yoongi huffed, making you laugh.

“You know,” you spoke up suddenly, making Yoongi look over at you. “I hope you don’t take offense to this, but you’re actually pretty cool to hang out with when you’re not spouting sexist bullshit.”

“Some offense taken,” Yoongi laughed. “But I get what you’re saying. Me acting like that was kind of what was expected of an Alpha in my old pack but I don’t really feel like I have to do any of that here.”

“Yeah,” you hummed in agreement. After another minute of walking, you and Yoongi walked up to a cabin that was painted blue and you stopped in front of it.

“This is me,” you announced and Yoongi nodded his head. “Thanks for walking me back.”

“No problem,” he shrugged. “I don’t mind.” A few seconds of slightly awkward silence passed between the two of you before you suddenly spoke up again.

“Did you mean what you said about my scent?” You questioned him, and his eyes widened slightly.

“What?” He chuckled in confusion.

“You said my scent smelled industrial,” you reminded him and he shook his head.

“No, I didn’t mean that,” he told you. “We were arguing and you know that a good way to get a jab in at someone is to go for their scent. I admit though, it was a cheap shot.”

“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t talk about your scent too,” you pointed out.

“True,” Yoongi muttered. “But no, I don’t think that your scent smells industrial. I actually...like your scent.”

“You do?” You asked in surprise, and Yoongi nodded.

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly.

“I like yours too,” you admitted. “You smell like the stream that I like to sit by, the one at the edge of the territory.”

“I remember you acting like my scent was bad,” Yoongi teased you.

“It’s not,” you rolled your eyes playfully. “It’s stable, and that’s good.”

“Good,” he smiled softly.

“Well, good night,” you told him.

“Good night,” he responded, watching as you unlocked the front door and opened it, walking inside and then shutting the door behind you. Yoongi then turned around and walked away, smiling to himself as he headed back to his own cabin.

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Tag List: @jikook-enthusiasts

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