#idk drinking anything makes it a little more fun to work but sipping a coffee while tapping away at my laptop is a vibe and it works

[quartzwriting]

The Agent and Her Sorcerer

Pairing: Doctor Strange X Fem!Reader

Description: You, an agent who works with The Avengers, comes back to the compound to find that Doctor Strange has brought you coffee.

Warnings: mentions of drinking and doing the dirty

Word Count: 2.4K

A/N: Originally posted on Quotev | Things have been busy, so has mental heath things, so idk when new things will come out. I love this piece tho so I hope this makes up for it. 

Masterlist | Fic Reading Recs | Ao3 | Quotev | Coffee

Gif by @cumberbatchlives

Technically a sequel to The Sorcerer and The Agent

When you stepped off the jet and onto the landing, you let out a long breath of relief. That field mission was finally over. It was an early call that got you out of bed before the sun came up. Too early for your body to function, but with the encouragement of coffee and Captain Rogers forcing you out of bed, you conquered the task. You checked your phone for the time, it was now around noon. You were ready to sit down, maybe even take a nap. You desperately needed a break.

But you knew you would not be able to rest.

Tony was already on your ass. He came out of nowhere, scaring the life back into you, and shoved a tablet in your hands. "Before you file your report, you got another one."

You groaned, falling into step beside him to make your way into the building. "Already?"

Tony pushed a few things on your tablet and an image came up. It was one of the objects you had recovered from this morning's mission. On the side was a stream of jumbled letters and numbers.

"Decoding, seriously?"

Tony shrugged, with a grin on his face that you wanted to punch off. "Hey, you're best for the job."

"Can't FRIDAY just run through it?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

You glared at him.

"Come on, you got this."

You rolled your eyes, "Fine. Only because it might give us a new lead."

"Atta girl! Don't stress yourself out."

You were already stressed.

"Oh and by the way, someone in the lounge is here to see you."

After a brief moment of surprise, you knew who it was. Tony saw the smile appear on your face, then winked at you. You rolled your eyes at him.

You tucked the tablet under your arm and made your way to the lounge. Maybe you were getting a little break before continuing for the day after all. A small amount of energy that came from your happiness pushed you forwards.

When you got there, sure enough, there he was.

"Hey, I thought you might want coffee."

You chuckled. Of course you wanted coffee.

Stephen Strange had a coffee tray in his hands that had two cups in it. He was standing around looking a little awkward, a little out of place at the compound. He looked relived to see you, as if anyone else in the doorway would made him embarrassed. His serious demeanor was no where in sight, a hint of warmth in his cheeks.

He wasn't wearing his sorcerer robes, but casual clothes. A jacket, dark jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, simple things that you got to see him in more often now. You liked it. Very much.

Without any hesitation, you made your way over to him. Giving him a big smile the entire way. You put your tablet down so you could take the cup he was holding out for you. "Thank you." Your gloved hands brushed against his bare shaking ones. The contact was enough to widen your smile.

"Don't mention it."

"Hi! How are you? What's new?" You asked him, leaning one hand on a table and sipping your coffee with the other.

Stephen let out a breath, "Well this morning I helped to try and close a dimensional rip in space time. If we hadn't managed to close it then it would have swallowed an entire country."

"Sounds exciting, Doctor." You hid a smirk behind a look of playfully exaggerated interest.

"Oh it was." He was trying to hide a smirk too, "How about you, Agent (L/N)?" His cheek twitched, trying desperately to not let that smirk slide through.

"Well I just came back from a mission in London where an very well hidden Hydra base was found. There were a few of their agents there, kicked some ass, and managed to recover some of their tech and files. You know, normal things."

"This is a very casual conversation despite its content." He commented.

You both broke after that, smirks turning into fits of chuckles. You reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

The two of you were developing into a 'thing' recently. Whenever he would come to the compound, you would have your eye on him. And you could feel his eye on you as well. It had been going back and forth for a while, finding excuses to talk to each other and purposely being in the same room as one another. Casual attraction.

You noticed the little details in him. Taking every opportunity to make a snarky comment during meetings. Dedication and a 'cool calm' overtaking him whenever disusing anything serious. His gaze of sparkling blue, sharp features, and welcoming smile. The very presence of him either made your heart stop or quicken, sometimes both simultaneously.

Whenever you were both having a conversation, whether for work or just friendly chatter, you found yourself entranced by him. His voice, his gorgeous face, his personality. Not casual attraction anymore, you were sightly obsessed.

But there was always this look in his eyes, that he recognized your attraction to him. And a look that told you he had similar emotions. You just knew it. You paid attention to him. You noticed him paying attention to you with interest, catching him staring on occasion.

Things had went from zero to one hundred at a party that Tony threw last week. You had a little too much to drink. Stephen did too. You found yourselves alone. Things escalated from there. You woke up the next morning in his bed in the New York sanctum, cuddled in his arms. You both went out for breakfast that morning. He took you out for dinner a day after.

Ever since then, he shows up at the compound when he can, or calls you to ask how you are doing. Work for both of you has gotten pretty busy lately so finding time to go out together was hard. But you promised each other another date as soon as you both were free.

This was a long time coming, you both knew that. All it took was one little push. But you did not expect that push to be a little alcohol. It happened anyways, so you decided to take it without complaints.

Stephen looked around, making sure no one else was in the room to intrude. After confirming, he leaned down and stole a kiss from you. You giggled and let him, leaning up into him. He pulled away to let you have another sip of your coffee.

He wasn't drinking from his own cup. You felt his eyes on you. It did not take long to figure out why. You were still in your uniform, one that is similar to Natasha's. Black bodysuit, weapons belt. Skin tight. A blush crept up on your face, some memories coming back from that night. He has seen you wearing this before, but now his gaze had a different weight to it.

"Liking the view, Strange?" You asked with a raised eyebrow and mischief glittering in your eyes.

He shrugged, "Now that I know what it all looks like, I like the view even more." Casual. Calm. Cocky.

You playfully smacked him on the shoulder, bringing his hint of a smile into light. Tucking the tablet under your arm, coffee in one hand and Stephen's own hand in another, you pulled him over to one of the couches. The two of you sat down. "I have a little tech and paperwork to do right now. You're welcome to stay while I do it, if you're free."

He relaxed beside you, an arm slinging over the back of the couch. "I've got time. Wong is watching the Sanctum, I have the afternoon off."

"Maybe if I finish early we can go out?" You asked with a perky smile.

He gestured to your open tablet. "Better get to work then." You laughed, quickly kissed him, and did get to work. You explained to him your tasks, the decoding you needed to do and then fill out your mission report file. He seemed interested, looking over your shoulder the whole time as you explained your process. He watched you complete the decoding, send the results to the cloud, and start typing away at your morning's mission report.

Stephen's presence behind you the entire time was comforting, taking away some of the stress of your busy work. His warmth and the smell of coffee in the air made you content. You felt him start to fiddle with the tails of your hair, you jokingly swatting him away before he went right back to it.

During the breakfast date, and the dinner date, you saw more little things about him you liked. There was curiosity and interest in his eyes. Behind that serious shell was gentleness and kindness, a full heart who thinks for others. It was like after that night, you got to see the real Stephen Strange, not the Sorcerer Supreme. He was a gentle lover, even drunk, making sure you were comfortable the entire time. Eating out together, he was a gentleman. Seeing him around the compound, he seemed to be smiling more.

You never knew the great Doctor Stephen Strange was a total softy. It made you like him even more.

While writing, you found yourself putting extra care into reviewing the mission and its details. This may have been caused by knowing Stephen was watching your every move and you wanted to make a good impression of your work ethic. You made sure to skim through for any mistakes or typos in your writing as well. After some time, discarded cups on the coffee table and Stephen now subtly nuzzling your neck, you submitted your report.

"Do you have to do that after every mission?" The man who was practically wrapping his entire body around yours on the couch asked.

"Yeah. That was one of the longer ones. Most things were more straightforward this time around, but I did a lot in London today." You heaved a sigh, momentary wiggled out of Stephen's arms to plunk your tablet down on the coffee table, and relaxed back into the couch.

"Have anything else to do?" He asked.

"Not currently." You turned to him, now giving him your full attention. He seemed to like it.

"Well then, maybe you and me can go grab lunch?"

"I'd like that."

You watched his eyes dip down, briefly glancing at your lips before looking back up at your eyes. You caught him. This told you what he was thinking about, and soon you were thinking about it yourself. And then you were doing it. One of his hands rested on your cheek, the other found your waist as he kissed you. Your hands tangled around his neck and up into his hair gently.

It was like you lost track of time. You just focused on Stephen, a hand of his running over the fabric of your tight uniform.

"I'm glad Tony threw that party."

You and Stephen urgently parted at the interruption. Standing in the doorway, Steve and Natasha had smug grins. They were still in their uniforms from the mission, Steve's shield strapped across his back. You groaned.

When you told only one person that you went home with Stephen that night, it had spread through the compound like wildfire. Your coworkers all knew, and they were relieved. Finally, they had said. You must have not noticed how obvious you and Stephen's electric stares and intrigued chatter were.

You were a little embarrassed at being caught making out, but the embarrassment practically radiated off Stephen. He immediately straightened upright and cleared his throat. Apparently he did not show his vulnerable side to anyone but you, him instantly clicking back into a neutral expression when facing someone else.

Nat got right to the point, ignoring the irritated look on your face, "We got a new lead. There was a new location marked in one of their files found in London. Venice. We leave in thirty."

A frown glazed your features. You were really looking forward to spending some time with Stephen again. You looked at Stephen, who shared a mutual disappointed look in his eyes. But you knew that he would go let you work. It was annoying.

It wouldn't hurt to ask. Would it?

You stood up from the couch, grabbing your tablet to pull up your report again. You strided towards your bosses, a lick of confidence in your posture.

"Um actually I was kinda hoping if I could get the rest of the day off." You sang.

Steve let out a breath in a smug laugh, while Nat was hiding one of her own.

With a smile, you handed Nat your tablet, the mission report on the screen. Clean, detailed, care put into it, reflecting your hard work you had accomplished all morning. You saw her eyes look it over, the captain leaning in to do the same.

"You did work hard this morning." Steve pointed out.

"And you did eventually save our asses in the end." Nat added.

As you said to Stephen earlier, you did kick ass during the mission.

You gave them a look of hope. It was obvious what you wanted, they both knew it. For some reason you felt like they were lengthening the moment to tease you. To leave you in anticipation.

After what felt like minutes instead of seconds, the two turned to each other and exchanged expressions. Steve nodded. Natasha handed back your tablet.

"Go play with your sorcerer and his magic hands." Natasha whispered to you with a wink. A deep blush crept up onto your neck, and you saw her smirk. Scrunching your face up in a mock sneer, you snatched your tablet back.

"Have fun, you two." Steve said as a goodbye, and him and Natasha left the lounge to get ready for part two of today's investigation.

You turned back to Stephen. He had an impressed look on his face. Now standing, he threw away your empty coffee cups in a nearby bin."You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Too bad. Already did." You shrugged, sauntering back over to stand in front of him.

Stephen gave you a smile, and opened a slingring portal right in front of you both. "Then lets go."

You put down your tablet and went to empty your weapons belt. "I'm still in uniform, Stephen." You laughed, "I should go change first."

The sorcerer snapped his fingers, and your skintight Avengers uniform turned into a pair of leggings and a blouse. An outfit Stephen had complimented you on last week. You were surprised he remembered it.

You rolled your eyes at him, and before you could say anything, he grabbed your hand and pulled you through the portal.

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 2

Part 1

Hiii I don't know if you take request but can i request like a chris evans x reader like the reader and chris are married and chris is having a bad day or something so chris go out to the pub and go home drunk and its been going for 3 days and the reader and chris has a 6year old and the reader have been doing all the work and taking care of they're daughter and they're daughter miss chris bc chris is never home and just go home until 12 or 2 in the morning or if chris is home he never play with her daughter and they're daughter is sad abt it bc they're daughter though chris doesn't love her anymore and chris miss her play in school even though chris promise so that day when chris miss her daughter's play the reader confront chris abt it and chris said he doesn't care abt his daughter and he said he didn't know why he married the reader bc she's clingy but chris didn't know that they're daughter heard what chris said abt her and chris didn't know also that the reader is 6-7 weeks pregnant and the reader and chris heard they're daughter sob and that moment chris realize it all his mistakes? and apologize to them idk if this make sense and im sorry if this is so longg, thank you in advance stay safe! <3

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒄𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈

𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒅𝒂𝒅! 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕

Chris paced back and forth as he tried to call you for the 10th time. It was the next day, he was sober and the images from last night clouded his brain. Seeing the pain and anger on your face as he said he wish he never married you.

Seeing isabella crying from his disgusting words. That hurt him the most, he regret everything.

The phone went to voicemail again making Chris groan. You had every right to not talk to you, but he wanted to know you and isabella was okay. You were still his wife.

Chris sighed sitting down on the couch. He rubbed his eyes with his palm, exhaling for the hundredth time.

The house phone on the table beside the couch rung causing Chris to quickly grab it. He thought it was you but no, it was your doctor.

"hi is this Mrs Evans?" Chris frowned, "uh no but this is Mr Evans." Chris said, he was deeply confused.

"oh well you tell Mrs Evans that have her next appointment date to check on the baby."

Chris stood up, he wasn't sure he heard right. "I'm sorry, the baby?"

The innocence lady on the other side of the phone phone gasped, "oh I'm sorry, you didn't know."

"no it's fine." Chris sighed softly, his heart picking up speed in his chest. "I'll tell her, thank you." He hung up the phone throwing it onto the couch. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He mumbled to himself. He really needed to find you and isabella.

*

You laid in the uncomfortable bed, isabella sleeping soundly beside you. It was around 8 in the morning and thoughts from yesterday filled your mind.

"I wish I never married you"

"Forget isabella, I don't care about her stupid play"

It hurt just knowing he thought those things. It took some time last night, but you managed to go to sleep around 3am. Now it was morning time, you were in a crappy hotel, and Chris was blowing up your phone like crazy.

You sighed pulling back the blanket. You walked to the bathroom. You looked in the mirror, your almost 3 month along bump was showing. You tore your eyes from it looking at your face. You were trying not to think about Chris in that moment.

"get it together y/n." You whispered to yourself.

"mommy." You looked back to the doorway seeing isabella. Her stuff bear was in her hands as she rubbed her sleepy eye with the other hand.

"good morning honey."

You walked over to her, "did you sleep good?" Isabella looked up at you. "Yeah, I slept great." You laughed, "that's great. Uh do you wanna go get some breakfast? We can eat some pancakes and waffles, what you say bug?"

Isabella started to think, it was almost like you can see the wheels turning in her head. "Uhh yeah. Can we see daddy too?"

Your stomach did a flip, you didn't think she'll be okay with what he said about her, but She was 6 so maybe that was the reason.

"umm... Yeah, yeah. We can see daddy." Isabella smiled, "okay, I watch TV now." She walked back over to the bed, hopping in it. You exhaled, running your hands over your face. Here goes nothing you thought to yourself.

*

Chris phone ringing interrupting him from his daze. He picked it up seeing your contact. His heart picked up as he answered it.

"y/n, are you okay?" On the other side of the phone you sighed, "yeah, I'm fine. Look um isabella want see you so can you meet us at the diner at (some street name)?"

Chris nodded even though you couldn't see him. "Yeah, of course." He walked to the foyer to put on his shoes. "Umm, I love you." Chris said. He wasn't expecting you to say it back, but you did. When you did, his heart skipped and a smile formed on his face.

You hung up the phone. You let out a sigh once again. Here goes nothing.

*

You sat in the diner, isabella beside you coloring in the booklet they gave her. You both were waiting for Chris to come.

Your mind was filled, you couldn't even figure out what you were thinking about at all at this point.

After waiting a few more minutes, you heard the diner door open. In walked Chris. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers and stuffed animal. You were guessing it was his apologize.

He walked over to you both, just like yours, his heart was beating pretty hard in his chest.

"hey." Chris smiled shyly at you as you got up. "Hi." You tore your eyes from his, looking down at isabella. She was looking up at her daddy with a soft smile on her face. Chris kneeled down to her height. "Hi baby." He said to her softly. "I'm sorry for yesterday, I didn't mean any of it, I promise. Can you forgive me?"

isabella's small smile grew to a bigger one. "Yeah." Chris smiled at her. "Okay, give me a hug."

Isabella giggled as she Wrapped her arms around his neck. Chris hugged her close. He felt relived she forgave him, he felt so bad for saying what he said to her and he's going to spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

He pulled away from her, he handed the stuffed animal to her before standing back up.

He looked back at you. "Uh these are for you. It's not an apology, I'll give you a sincere apology later, but for now I have these." He looked at you, he had bags under his eyes from his sleepless night, and tear streaks on his cheeks from the crying he did.

you quickly tore your eyes from His taking the flowers. "Thanks." You cleared your throat. "Uh shall we have breakfast?"

Chris inhaled, "yeah." He walked over to the opposite side of the table and took a seat. You did the same sitting back beside isabella. You all ordered trying to forget about the tension that was very much between you and Chris. It was nice that you both were talking, but you just couldn't wait for the much needed talk later that night.

*

It was around 8 pm. You and Chris decided to drop her off at his mom's house. You didn't want what happened the day before to happen again.

You sat on the couch fiddling with your shirt end. Chris was in the kitchen getting you both something to drink before you talked.

"so um.. I got you some water." Chris said walking over to you handing you the glass of water. You thanked him Taking a sip before placing it on the coffee table. Chris sat beside you with a sigh.

"I.. I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean any of it. It just slipped out because I was drunk and tired, I wasn't in my right head space in the moment and I took out on you and Bella and I'm sorry." He breathed out. He scanned your face waiting for you to speak. You shook your head, you didn't look at him but you spoke.

"yeah you're sorry, but you really hurt me. I wish I was never, that's fucked up and it hurts so much. If you never wanted to marry me why did you?"

You turned to Chris, tears threatening to spill over. The look on your face hurted Chris, he fucked up big time and he knew it.

"no, I didn't mean that, I swear. I love you more than anything. I don't regret marrying you, it was just a stupid mistake... I'm sorry baby."

Tears were starting to form in chris' eye. He felt guilty, he knew no amount of words could fix what he done but he was sorry more than anything.

"you promise?" You looked at him. Your lips were trembling Because of your crying.

"I promise." Chris said. He cupped your cheek with his hand. He placed a light kiss on your nose, but it wasn't enough for you. You went way too long without kissing him, you weren't going to waste another second not.

You grabbed his chin kissing him. Somehow his chap lips felt soft. They felt like home to you, you missed them so much.

You pulled away looking back at Chris. "I have something I need to tell you." You said fiddling with his hands.

"I'm pregnant."

Chris gave you a sour look, you already knew why. "You know?" Chris nodded, "the doctor called. they have an appointment for you, they want you to call them back to tell you."

You exhaled, "well... Surprise." You laughed making Chris smile. He missed that sound. He's been gone for so many nights he totally forgot how it sounded.

"can I come to the next appointment?" Chris pouted his lip making you laugh. "Of course you can. You need to your little peanut. I'm thinking it's a boy"

Chris frowned, "no I'm pretty sure it's a girl."

"you haven't seen them yet." You said to him Rolling your eyes playfully. "I know but I want another princess."

"touche."

--

It's not that good but thank you for reading. I had fun breaking y'all hurts on the first part lol

@chris-butt @patzammit @bval-1 @raveviolet @mrsbbarnesrogers-reading @enn-j @london-dreamer71 @harrysthiccthighss @captianamerica-is-bae @la-cey @weirdowithnobeardo @baby-i-am-fireproof @denisemarieangelina @evans713 @smyfmj @thereisa8ella @rororo06 @keiva1000 @ughitsnic @adriannajackson123 @marvelnaturalock @notyourtypicalrose @dummiesshort @onetwo3000 @hhiggs @katiew1973 @andreasworlsboring101 @skepticnovak @funfickgirl22 @hxnesthxneybee @christhickevans @melchills-j @franchesca-791 @moonlacebeam @wallowsgirl14 @areamir

@thevelvetseries @chaoticfiretaconerd @chrisevansgirl34 @a-moment-captured @shookbeech @pamelalur15 @llamaproblem @jessyballet @hazeljean2 @ohbarracuda @mrspeacem1nusone @n3ssm0nique @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @chrisevanisliterallysir @beautiful--blessing @coldmuffinpartycloud @mylittlecrazyworldofinterest @writingmeow29 @corrinez

[fantasy2739]

Prompt jamie and Ted father/son bonding please. 🥺🥺 Whether playing video games, watching a movie idk just wholesome lol

Ted Jamie father son??? Sign me up!!

Also I am currently emotionally wrecked after 2x08 so if anyone needs me I will be crying over hug and phone call (iykyk)

Anyway, enjoy!!

Jamie isn’t entirely sure what he’s doing at Ted’s. Only that he’s there. He feels like he missed a trick somewhere. Maybe he was lured here. Like by one of them mermaids. Wait no, sirens. Yeah like a siren call. Point is, he’s here. In Ted’s flat. On the fucking couch. Ted’s pottering around the kitchen.

“Tea?” He calls.

“Nah, that’s an old person drink.” Jamie says. “It’s gross.” He refrains from cracking a comment about how much Roy drinks it. Fucking senior citizen.

“Finally, someone who understands.” Ted says. “Garbage water. Coffee?”

“Yeah.” Jamie agrees and a steaming mug is placed in front of him. Ted sinks into the chair next to him with his own mug. He’s smiling at Jamie, like he’s waiting for him to start talking. Jamie thinks he’d rather not. Because he’s got no clue what to say.

“Now I know you didn’t come all this way to enjoy my coffee.” Ted says when it’s clear Jamie isn’t going to say anything. Jamie shrugs. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.” Jamie admits.

“Should you talk about it?” Ted asks, which is oddly comforting. Jamie shakes his head in the negative.

“Can we just talk, do something else?” He asks, his voice coming out slightly cracked. Something in Ted’s face softens.

“Sure thing mr bling.” He says. He pulls a face. “Oh I do not like that. Hmmm. Thing. Thing. Sing? No that makes no sense. Ooh king, huh. Sugar king, little king?” Jamie snorts at that. Ted grins like it was his intention all along. Probably was the sly asshole. “Now let’s see, something to do, something to do. Hmmm ooo I have some board games. Y’all got Ludo over here?”

“With like the dice and meeple and shit?” Jamie asks. He realises that it might be a little vague given how many games include dice and shit. Ted’s understood though, and scarpered off to unearth the board. He places the board on his coffee table.

“Alright now we both know the rules?” He asks, all polite. Jamie just nods. “Good, but I should warn you I am a champ at this game. And I won’t go easy on you.” Jamie gives him a look that says ‘try it’ and it’s on.

Jamie’s always kind of sucked at board games. He never really played them, far too invested in sports, tv, dating. His mum had played a few with him, usually mercilessly wrecking him and telling him he was a sweetheart for letting an old gal like her win. It’s not that he doesn’t get the rules or anything, it’s just not something he’s invested a lot of time in. Or thought really. So sitting cross legged on Ted’s floor, eagerly leaning over the game of Jenga that Ted brought out, is a new kind of feeling. It’s a happy one. Ted had, as expected, beaten him at Ludo. He’d been super encouraging the whole time though.

“Uh I believe you touched that one.” Jamie points out, watching Ted like a hawk. “House rules.” Ted scrunches his nose but agrees and begins the task of trying to work out his best to pull the piece out. Ted closes one eye and manages, by some kind of miracle, to get the single piece neatly out of the Jenga tower.

“The laws of physics salute me.” Ted says with a grin. Jamie almost wants to grump but watching the tower drop neatly down was kind of fucking impressive. Jamie plays it safe. Taking a piece from a row that still has three.

“Go on then, dazzle us.” Jamie teases. Ted pulls of another insane move, leaving Jamie to feel the pressure. Unfortunately, he picks the wrong piece and the whole thing tumbles.

“Fuck!” Jamie yelps, more in surprise at the pieces flying everywhere than annoyance. Ted laughs a little.

“Alright, loser takes some punishment.” Ted says, still chortling. Jamie freezes slightly, because this was just meant to be fun. Fuck he hadn’t actually been bothered by losing. Fuck. “You ticklish Jamie?” Jamie stares at Ted like he just asked him streak around Richmond or something.

“What?” He asks.

“Ticklish.” Ted repeats. Jamie flushes slightly because he is. He’s just never really admitted to it because it’s embarrassing. Who the fuck wants to be ticklish? Ted raises his hands and waggles his fingers expectantly. Jamie’s off like a shot. They’re sprinting around Ted’s appartement, with Jamie at one point diving over the bed to escape. They’ve definitely pissed off Ted’s upstairs neighbour, Mrs Ship or whatever. They’re back in the living room and Jamie is leaning against the couch, moving side to side to avoid Ted like he’s got a fucking chainsaw.

“Can’t I just, do like a shot of cinnamon or something?” Jamie asks. Ted drops his hands, waggling fucks, and stares.

“No that’s disgusting. It’ll dry your mouth out faster than the Nevada desert.” He says.

“I could shot tea.” Jamie offers, raising one eyebrow and pointing at Ted. Ted thinks about it.

“Garbage water it is.” He agrees and Jamie sags in relief. He doesn’t hate tea and the cup Ted makes him is more sugar than tea.

“You trying to ruin my sexy body?” Jamie asks as he takes a sip.

“I figured it would taste better with more sugar.” Ted says. “Don’t all y’all kids like sugar.” Jamie shrugs like he doesn’t mind either way. Ted shrugs too, ambling off to tidy up the mess they made. Jamie sits back on the floor, sipping at his tea and grimacing. How the fuck Roy drinks this shit, he doesn’t know. Just as he sets the mug down a blanket appears at him. He flinches slightly but picks it up.

“What’s this for?” Jamie asks, like Ted’s handed him a fucking book again or some shit.

“It gets cold round this time.” Ted says simply. “C’mon now budge up, I’m thinking it’s time for a movie.” Jamie does as he’s told because when in Reno right? Ted’s moving back and forth between the kitchen and suddenly there’s popcorn, hula hoops and crisps. Ted grabs another blanket (fuck there’s a lot of blankets floating about) and settles down next to Jamie. Jamie tugs the blanket (Richmond fucking blue of course) and wraps it round himself. Ted’s talking and moving his hands, discussing the pros and cons of the movies on Netflix. Jamie settling his back against the couch and listens half heartedly. The control lands in his lap and he sort of stares at it. Ted’s smiling at him. Jamie has no clue what to watch.

So he sticks on fucking Toy Story.

At some point, he dozes. Maybe because he’s tired, or because he’s seen Toy Story a thousand times, or because he just feels like he can. He ends up smushed against Ted, eyes heavy, before his body just caves and he’s out. It’s warm and cosy, and there’s an arm reaching round him to cuddle. He’s almost missed cuddling. And most of the men he grew up around weren’t exactly… well they weren’t the cuddling type. Ted clearly is because he’s tugged Jamie close, soothingly rubbing his arm up and down.

He wakes up the next morning on the couch, wondering when the fuck that happened. He’s a light sleeper usually. He doesn’t have time to ponder it as Ted pops into view.

“Morning Jamie, cereal?” He asks, like this is the most normal thing in the world. Like players regularly crash on his couch.

As Jamie stretches and drags himself out of the makeshift bed he realises.

It feels right to him.

[noisyalmonddreamer]

Holiday special

Word count: Idk a lot  (a/n): Someone come save me I’m tired this took my soul away this is also unedited because I’m to tired for that

Percy:

-This boy LOVES Christmas

-He get's into the feeling like right after thanksgiving

-Decorates his cabin like there's no tomorrow

-But he wont spend Christmas eve or day at camp, he's with his family

-He also goes to his family's house to help decorate

-Snowball fights? you will not BELIVE how excited he gets for them

-He loves hot chocolate and demands his has marshmallows in it

-be careful if you guys make cookies together he WILL eat the batter

-"Percy stop you could get sick!"

- "but it's so good!"

-"IT HAS RAW EGGS"

-he wears Christmas sweaters and Santa hats

-He invites you to come to his mom's house for Christmas

-On Christmas day itself he's supper excited but from how he was acting you'd think he was an actual responsible adult

-but really he just really wanted to make it special for Estelle so he was just being giddy on the inside

-He gets you something that would remind him of you

-Something he finds beautiful

~~~Scenario~~~  (lowkey feel like I wrote him out of character I'm really sorry)

The sounds of soft snores filled your ears as you woke up. The sun reflecting off the bright snow seemed to magnify the sun's rays. You turned over to see your boyfriend, Percy, sound asleep with a little bit of drool sliding past his lip. You giggled as you took the blue blanket and wiped it away causing him to stir a little.

"Percy, It's time to get up" you nudged him lightly trying to wake him. He groaned pulling the cover up more. You rolled your eyes before an idea came to mind "Percy wake up it's Christmas."

The gears in Percy's head seemed to move for a second before his eye's popped open "OH MY GOD'S IT'S CHRISTMAS!" He popped up from his position. You smiled before leaning over and kissing him on his cheek "yeah it is, now you might want to put a shirt on before-" your sentence was cut of as Percy looked at the window.

"Oh my God's (y/n) look it snowed!" he got up from the bed and excitedly went to the window pretty much vibrating from excitement. He looked like a little kid, his eyes shining bright and a giddy smile on his face "I know Perce" you laughed as he pouted at your comment "As I was saying you might want to put on a shirt before Estelle comes in."

Percy laughed and threw on a sweatshirt before climbing back into bed with you "what are you doing?" He looked at you and smiled "pretended you're asleep she'll want to have woken us up." He kissed your head and laid back down.

Percy was, of course, right. Moments later you heard two little feet barreling down the hallway and tiny squeals of excitement. The door opened and a little girl hopped onto the bed trying to wake the two of you up "GET UP GET UP GET UP!!!"

Estelle shook the two of 'awake' and you yawned "good morning Estelle. What can we do for you." You smiled at her as the little girl squealed with excitement. "It's Christmas! Mama and Papa said we couldn't open present's till you two woke up! Percy Percy get up!"

Estelle dragged the two of you out of bed into the living room where Sally and Paul had hot coco waiting. You sat on Percy's lap as you watched as Estelle rip open her presents, along with handing everyone there's "here Percy this is yours and this one's yours (y/n)!"

Percy smiled at her and ripped open the present, quickly, ones he saw what it was his eyes brightened as another big grin decorated his face.

After opening all the presents up Paul, Sally and Estelle went down the hall for a few minutes so Estelle could give a present to her friend.

Percy pulled you into his room and got something from inside his cabinet. He handed you a small box rapped in blue rapping paper. "I know I already got you a present but I went out swimming a while ago and found this and I thought of you" he rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed.

You smiled and kissed him on the cheek before opening the present. You pulled out a necklace that looked similar to your camp necklace except it had a single pearl on it. You smiled and wrapped your arm's around him, pressing your lips to his, you were met with the slightly salty taste of his lips. He smiled into the kiss as he pulled away for a second "so you like it?" he asked looking at you.

"I love it thank you Perce"

"Merry Christmas (Y/n)"

"Merry Christmas Percy"

Jason:

-Again he hasn't had a 'real' Christmas in a while

-Mr. Series Roman Praetor  has watched over people for Christmas making sure no one get's to out of hand

-My boy hasn't gotten to have fun for so long

-So when you're like

-"TIME FOR FUN CHRISTMAS"

-He's trying hard! But that series 'gotten make sure things are running smooth' skin is hard to get out

- "Don't drink to much eggnog it has raw eggs you could get sick. Don't have more than a cup please"

- "FIGHT ME"

-I'm kinda kidding but he is kinda stiff about it all

-Sidenote: Someone *cough* Leo *cough* placed a mistletoe above his desk and put a stapler next to him so he was under the mistletoe with a stapler

- "You think you're so funny huh?"

- "Pretty much yeah"

- "It was pretty funny though"

- "(Y/N)!"

-I have said that I think he has a secret sweet tooth

-He drinks his hot coco super sweet

-No one can know though

-Except you maybe

-He decorates a tree with you

-straight up gets tangled in the lights while you guys are decorating

-Send some help for our very own blond super man

-He'll also probably get you something he had found during a quest

~~~Scenario~~~

You placed two steaming mugs of hot Chocolate on a side table. They looked quite nice, if you say so yourself, you had added chocolate shavings atop the whip cream and crushed up peppermint canes.

Looking up you were met with electric blue eyes looking at you intently, holding a Santa hat in his scarred callused hands.

"Do I really have to wear this?" He asked holding out the bright red hat. "Yes of course you do! We're decorating!"

He looked down at you again. "Okay okay I'll wear the hat sweetie but why the entire cabin? We already have a tree do you think decorating the whole cabin is.... excessive?" You rolled your eyes at him "I don't expect you have had that many fun Christmases because you're so,,, Roman so you have to do it! I didn't make the rules bub!"

You skipped over to him kissing him on the cheek than going over to the box of decorations you forced him to fly to camp half-blood. You also got him to carry a Christmas tree that you got from the Stoles, though they didn't tell you were they got it from.

You opened up the box and pulled out a few blankets and pillows.

"What are those for?" Jason stood behind you taking sips from his hot coco watching you. "Decoration! What do you think we're doing here right now?" You threw the pillows and blankets onto the couch

Jason rolled his eyes, walking up to you "I already have pillows and blankets but whatever." He said, his voice held a teasing tone, he knew what he was doing.

You glared at him "I will take away your hot chocolate and not make anymore." You pointed a finger out, trying to prove your point. Jason's eyes widened before he placed his mug on the coffee table and swiftly walked over to you.

"Alright so what do you need?"

"Just take these." You handed him some fake acorns and stuff, pointing at a wall "Place them like over there."

Jason took them into his hands and began working. About thirty minutes in he tapped you on the shoulder. "What about the tree?" You looked over at him "Oh yeah we do that last just give me a sec and you can start detangling the lights." You pointed at the box that had the Christmas lights.

Jason nodded and walked over to the box, pulling out a giant clump of lights. He looked at it, a bit concerned wondering how he would be able to detangle it all.

~~~time skip~~~

Jason ended up being right, he couldn't untangle them. Every time he thought he had gotten another tangle out it led to another, then when he thought to follow a single cored it was stuck in other cords. This is all to say that in thirty minutes Jason managed to tangle himself in the lights, yet he still didn't ask for help or even call out for you.

He didn't want you laughing at him so he decided he would get himself out. Which also didn't end up well because he fell with a loud thud.

You had went outside to hang a few more lights and decorations on the porch when you head it, a loud thud followed by a groan of pain. You hurried inside to see the son of Zeus himself, Praetor of New Rome, Hero of Camp Jupiter, laying on the floor tangled in Christmas lights.

"It's not funny!" He yelled when he had heard your giggling. This only turned your light giggling into full on laughter you clutched your stomach in pain as you laughed.

"It's so funny! How did you even manage to do that?" He looked up at you "Can you please help me?" You bent down to his level "of course on one condiction"

"Yes anything!"

"Let me take a picture."

Leo:

-Burns the coco because he's impatient

-He also puts candy canes into his hot coco

-Along with like 3 hand fulls of marshmallows and like a giant whip cream mountain

-He also lowkey doesn't like eggnog

- "It tastes like sweet eggs!"

-You can bet your ass he is going to force you to wear matching PJ's on Christmas eve

-While setting up the tree he get's very frustrated with the lights

-"THIS IS SO DUMB I'LL BUILD MY OWN LIGHTS!"

-He does end up doing that and they look very cool

-May or may not end up breaking some of the ornaments

-"What was that?"

- *Sweeping away a broken ornament* "Nothing babe!"

-He makes all his presents himself

-Like 2 months before he's haled ass up in bunker 9 making presents

-At some point he made a Christmas robot

-It's called that but it's main purpose is to peg snowballs at people

-He does bring a Christmas tree inside the bunker but forgets to water it then it catches on fire because it's dried out

-He will also pull mistletoe out at random time's claiming you have to kiss now

- "You just pulled that out of your tool belt. We're not even near ceiling"

- "Hmm? What? I don't know what you're talking about. But time for kiss! Who are we to break tradition?"

-You force him to dress up as an elf and give presents to kids

- "Why not Santa!? I'm making the toys!"

- "You're to short to be Santa plus your pointed ears!"

-He builds you something is that even a question

-It's a charm bracelet with a few different charms, one of them actually is magic and will pull out a shield  

~~~~Scenario~~~~~

You were stood outside bunker 9 on Christmas morning waiting for Leo to change. You shivered as a cold wind felt like it pierced your skin, both Leo and yourself had gotten up earlier then you normally would have but you two wanted to have your own thing before joining the rest of the camp.

You breathed out, a puff of smoke leaving your lips, as you turned around and banged on the door. "Leo come on! We're gonna be late and we still have to drag the presents to the bonfire!" you yelled through the metal. "This is ridiculous! Why am I dressed as an elf! I made the presents! This is humiliating!" His voice sounded whiny, you could practically hear him pouting.

"Come on Leo think about the children! They'll be so happy!" You heard a reluctant sigh leave him before the iron door opened reveling Leo in an adorable elf outfit.

"I feel ridicules." As he walked towards you the bells on his shoes jingled, making you burst out laughing. "Oh you have got to let me take a picture!" You grabbed Leo by the hand and pulled him towards the slay he had built. "Alright Mr. Elf let's go!"

"Don't call me that!" His whiney complains were only halted as you pecked his cheek quickly. "Now if you want more then let's go!" Leo's eyes widened, he grabbed the leads  and rushed towards the bonfire.

~~Time skip. Like only 5 minutes~~

As the slay slowed down to a stop you heard screams, you looked over your shoulder to see most of the younger camps, in their pajamas, running up to the slay with an excited look on their faces.

You looked over at Leo who had a bright smile on his face already grabbed a piece of paper with each kid's names and which toy they got. "You ready?" you whispered over to him, adjusting your hoodie. "Hades yeah I am!"

You hopped off from the slay in front of the kids, they all stopped and looked at you, pretty much vibrating from excitement. "Alright kiddys! Are you ready for your presents?" You question was only answered with shriek's of excitement and maybe one or two 'YES!'s.  

"Mr. Elf has each of your presents all the way from the north pole! But you have to wait to be called on can all of you do that?" The kids again in unison nodded their heads.

Leo popped up next to you startling you a bit, a big dopy grin still decorating his face "Alright I'm looking for a Gogo?" A little girl came running up to Leo, bouncing up and down with a plush in her hand, "Here you are Gogo" Leo handed the little girl a nicely wrapped present, the girl took it before bolting to her siblings yelling out a "THANK YOU!"

One by one Leo listed off the kid's, each one yelling out a thank you, and joining their siblings. As the last kid ran away Leo looked into the present sack. "Oh what do we have here?"

You looked at him with a questioning gaze "Did you forget someone? That was the last kid so I don't think you did." You looked around to see if there was any stragglers before Leo cleared his throat.

"Well why don't we have a looksie here and...Oh...it look's like this is for a certain...(Y/f/n)." You looked over at him again. "I didn't ask for anything..." you trailed off. Before you could say anything else Leo plopped the present into your hands, kissing you on the cheek. "Merry Christmas bebita."

Nico: -"Christmas is coming up?"

-Boy doesn't even realize

-I headcanon Nico secretly has a sweet tooth so I think he would like egg nog and super sweet hot coco

-I also think he can cook so he makes cookies with you

-But he will act like it's a pain and out of his way

-"Do I really have to?"

-"If you don't want to I'll just go get Leo or someone to help me!"

-"...Pass over the flour"

-He constantly has a candy cane in his mouth

-He legit eats so many you have to take them away from him

-Putting a Santa hat will anger him but he'll wear it because he loves you

-Unless someone comments on it then he'll take it off

-He really likes cooking with you, he finds it domestic like you guys are normal, so during the Christmas season he may act reluctant but you guys make stuff together a lot

-But baby boy also kinda has a sensitive mouth so hot food burns his tongue really quickly

-That combined with him kinda being impatient...he burns his mouth a lot

-He asks you to kiss it better

-He would probably get you something he found on his travels

-Or a stygian iron dagger

~~~Scenario~~

You finished tying up your apron, looking over to see Nico hadn't even tried, just letting the apron hang off his neck while he was reading a book he had found in an old library a few weeks ago.

You groaned walking over to him "Nico!" He only hummed in response, bobbing his head and continuing to read. You looked at him for a moment before placing your hand on his shoulder "NICO!"

Nico jumped slightly, looking up from his book at you. "What?" You glared at him for a moment, he rolled his eyes and booked marked the page, placing his arms around your shoulders.

"What's up il mio tesoro*?" He grinned stupidly down at you. "Oh don't 'il mio tesoro' me Mr! You're just avoiding what we said we would bring to the party in hopes we wont go!"

Nico laughed, raising his hands up in defense "Alright alright you got me! But I still don't get why we have to go to the party!" He pouted, crossing his arms.

You walked over to the counter rolling yours eyes "One, because we said we would and Two they're your friends and my friends it would be rude not to."

Nico slowly walked towards you, a small pout on his lips. "But I just want to spend the time with you!" He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck, his vanilla scent filled your noise. You blushed pushing him away.

"Just help me with the cookies then we can make some hot chocolate!" Nico's eyes lit up at the mention of hot coco. He placed a gentle kiss on your cheek, tying the apron and rolling up his sleeves."

Ten minutes into cooking you almost regretted trying to cook with Nico. He was great at it but he was such a control freak! "No No! It said 2 cups of chocolate chips that's to much!"

You stared at him "It doesn't matter!" He groaned pushing you out the way "here let me do it!" You watched as he carefully folded the chips into the batter, wrapping the top with plastic wrap and placing it in the fridge.

"Alright it's gonna rest like that for 2 hours, it makes everything even more delicious!" He looked over at you with bright eyes. "Time for hot coco!"

You walked over to him, kissed his forehead before pulling the milk out the fridge. "alright just measure out the amount of milk we need." He nodded grabbing two mugs and filling them then dumping them into the pot.

He stirred the milk lazily "Why isn't it going faster?" He went down to turn the heat up "Nico no! You're going to burn the milk!" He looked at your tiredly "you don't like when it get's the skin on top and neither do I so lower the heat please!"

Nico rolled his eyes, lowering the heat to the second lowest setting then staring at you "happy now?" You nodded, grapping the whipped dream out the fridge and shaking it while Nico continued to stir the milk till it steamed.

The smell of warm milk filled the room as you heard Nico pour the steaming milk into the mugs.  You walked over to Nico, who was sitting on the couch you saw he had already stuck another candy cane in his mouth.

Grabbing the whipped cream bottle you made two small hills of whipped cream in each mug and waited for it to cool down. Nico, however, instantly grabbed his mug bringing it to his lips.

"Don't your gonna burn your mouth." You told him, watching him roll his eye. "No I'm not you're worrying to much."

He took a bug gulp then letting out a yelp, placing his mug down. He stuck his tongue out reveling a nasty red burn. You let out a small chuckle "see I told you!" He pouted at you "It really hurts!"

"Will you kiss it better?"

Frank: -Baby LOVES Christmas

-He takes you to canada

-He takes you to the Christmas market's and stuff

-He's also one who will get tangled in lights

-Along with that he isn't allowed to touch the breakable ornaments, like the delicate ones

-He also LOVES hot coco

-Frank makes like perfect hot coco's

-Like a nice whip cream swirl with chocolate and a few marshmallows

-It's very nice looking 10/10  

-Will also make maple taffy with you in the fresh snow

-But since you have to boil the syrup he isn't allowed

- "Frank baby, can you get the snow?"

- "Oh umm y-yeah!"

- "Alright here you are Frank, don't burn yourself"

- "I wont"

-He WILL wake up early on Christmas day

-He will also force you to go outside and have a snow ball fight

-istg he's just a nervous child in a giant's body

-Frank makes SUPER good eggnog also

-He LOVES getting a hot cup of coco and cuddling up with you next to a fire

-Especially after being out in the snow

-Also this boy really likes making snowmen

-and he's so good at it to

-Like he can make snowmen and like animals out of snow

-Hard to say what he would give you

-I want to say a sweater but that's not really like boyfriendy

-SO IM GOING TO SAY MATCHING SWEATERS

-More like a hoodie you had been wanting for a while and he got himself a complimentary one so you could match (And wear his because he knows you. You're not sly)

~~~Scenario~~~(Before anyone says anything I know he lives in Vancouver which is a city but just pretended you guys went to a cabin or something lol)

The cold winter air felt like it was ripping through your skin as the coldness from the snow made it's way through your boots and mittens that Frank at bought you the other day.

You looked over to Frank who was packing down snow on the last little bear cub, completing the bear family he was making. He smiled back at you, his nose and cheeks a light pink from the cold. You trudged over to him, the snow sinking slowing you down slightly, and wrapped your arms around his middle.

"Hey Frank I'm getting pretty cold can we head in soon?" You asked looking up at him. He smiled again, nodding his head "Yup! Just let me finish with these-" He grabbed the stick he had been using to adding details to all the bears and drew on some eyes and a mouth. "and done! Alright lets go in. Want to make some hot coco and eggnog?"

You nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the house. You pulled off your mittens, boots and socks and walked into the boiler room where they could dry.

"Hey Frank can you grab some wood? I'm gonna start a fire, it's kinda cold" Frank nodded, walking into the room where the wood had been put as you began getting the ingredients for eggnog and hot chocolate.

A moment later Frank walked into living room in his arms he held a few logs of cut, dry wood. He placed them on the hearth and began to collect kindling, starting the fire. "Hey I said I would do that Franky!"

Frank took his gloves off as he walked down the stairs "It's fine! I already had the wood so It's fine"

You pushed the hot coco ingredients to the side knowing it would take less time when you felt a pair of strong arms make their away around your waist and felt someone's chin on your shoulder.

"You got cloves honey. You need nutmeg" He placed a kiss on your cheek, grabbing the cloves and placing them into the spice cabinet, pulling out nutmeg. "Is there a difference?"

"Of course there is! I don't know it but you use nutmeg in eggnog, honey, not cloves." Frank stood next to you, grabbing the carton of eggs. "Can I separate the eggs?" He asked smiling brightly, jumping up and down a little. You smiled up at him, chuckling at his childish antics "Of course you can baby!"

About 10 minutes later you had unusable egg whites with pieces of egg yoke broken into them plus an almost empty carton of eggs. Of course you could just run to the store for more eggs but you had no interest in heading outside during a storm.

"Okay Fraky baby I think maybe I should crack the eggs but you can whip them okay?" He nodded, looking down and backing away from the counter leaving you 5 eggs.

Ones you finished with the eggs you began finishing up the eggnog without any other mishaps. You placed the eggnog into the fridge to let it get cold. You turned to start making the hot coco before Frank stopped you.

"You go put on some soft pajamas I can finish making this!" You went to rebuttal but he had already pushed you into the room you were sharing to let you change. You let out a sigh and pulled on some comfortable clothes along with the hoodie Frank had gotten you.

You walked into the living room and started tending to the fire. You sat down for a moment before you felt a blanket engulf you along with the feeling of being pulled into someone's lap. You felt Frank nuzzle into your neck, smiling.

"Merry Christmas honey"

"Merry Christmas baby"

Will:

-My oh my does this boy love Christmas

-During campfire this boy will sing ALL the Christmas songs

-ALL. OF. THEM.

-He also helps decorate around the camp

-He also really likes picking out Christmas trees

-Wears what he says are "really nice looking" sweaters...because sure they are

-Will also replaces the lollipops from his candy jar with candy canes

-He will scold you if you eat to much cookie dough

-Will also force you, and a bunch of others, to take vitamins during the winter

- "I don't want you getting sick!"

-"Fine I'll take them!"

-"But remember to take them everyday because if you forget to take one day then you'll forget like three days then you'll never take-"

-Kissing him gets him to shut up don't worry

-When he makes eggnog he makes sure that the eggs are pasteurized, so there's no chance of salmonella

-Also this sneaky son of a god will take you to places that he has hung mistletoe to get kisses

-He would definitely get you a music instrument he helped customize  

~~~Scenario~~~

You watched pearlescent puffs of smoke left your mouth, fading into the dark sky. You shivered as a cold wind hit, taking another sip of your hot coco.

Chiron rarely let it snow in camp, preferring to keep camp on the nicer side so everyone could train, save from the times he lit it rain. But today was a special occasion, Christmas eve.

You watched as Will stood in front of the camp, with his siblings, singing jingle bell rock a dopy grin on his face. Sure he looked a little tired, he had been working more than normal due to cold and flue season along with helping decorate camp, but over all he looked bright and happy.

You let out a cold sigh, pulling the hoodie Will had given you closer to your body. You stood up heading to the table with more hot coco, the song in the background had changed to some other song.

You were poring yourself another cup of coco when you felt a warm pair of arms around your waist, pulling you flush agents someone's chest. A small chuckle came from your lips as you put down the cup of coco, placing your arms over Wills.

"You feel cold." He placed a kiss on the nape of your neck, nuzzling there for a second before resting his chin on your shoulder. "It's cause it's cold dumb dumb" you ruffled his hair, glancing at him for a moment seeing a small pout on his lips. "You sounded good up there." You said turning around, plopping a handful of marshmallows into your drink.

"Thanks but I got a bit tired, plus I wanted to hang out with my adorable s/o, who I haven't seen all day." He placed a quick kiss on your forehead "You took your vitamins today right? I know you forget sometimes so I just wanted-" you cut him off with a kiss "yes yes mother I took my vitamins."

"Good " he smiled, lacing his fingers with yours, kissing you again "That hot chocolate is good I should get a cup" he turned around, his fingers still with between yours. "Your fingers are really cold." He looked over at you while poring a cup for himself.

"C'mon" he started pulling you towards the infirmary "Why?" He looked at you for a second before sighing and letting out a small chuckle, a smile decorating his face "We're getting you some gloves and an extra coat I left in the infirmary. C'mon"

Will walked ahead of you leading you to the infirmary. The breeze hit you like a knifes, hugging yourself to keep warm. "(Y/n) c'mon. It's really getting cold out" you looked up to see the open door to the infirmary, Will's voice calling from somewhere inside.

You stepped in, closing the door "Where are you?" you asked, dusting off the small bit of snow that you hadn't even noticed to have fallen. "In the back, hold on a sec I'm grabbing two jackets for us."

You sat on a waiting chair for a moment before Will's candy jar, filled with candy canes caught your eye. You smiled, standing up from your seat, quickly grabbing a candy cane and popping it in your mouth.

"Alrighty I got- Hey those aren't for you (n/n). You have already stolen half a jar." Will laughed as he watched you eat the candy cane. "What can I say they're delicious." You flashed him a smile, only to be crushed in a giant coat. "Don't want my sunspot getting cold now do I?"

You pulled the jacket around yourself and watched as Will do the same. He grabbed your hand pulling you out of the infirmary only to stop in the door way.

"Will what is it?" He smiled, pointing up towards a bundle of mistletoe. "Time for a kiss. It's tradition" he smiled brightly, placing his hands on your cheeks. You pouted, crossing your arms "You did that on purpose." Will laughed, pecking you all around your face "hmm maybe but are you gonna complain?

Magnus: -Boy hasn't had a real Christmas in so long

-so when you're like "CHIRSTMAS!!!"

-He's like lowkey uncomfortable

-But he does get over it

-He kinda doesn't like Christmas songs that much

-Mostly because Jack sings them 24/7 for like 2 months straight

-If he hears Jingle bells one more time he will loose it

- "JINGLE BELL-"

-"JACK I SWEAR TO THE GODS IF YOU DON'T STOP"

- "JINGLE BELL JINGLE ALL THE WAY"

-"(Y/N) PLEASE NOT YOU TOO"

-He LOVES hot coco, egg nog, cookies, pretty much any food really

-But he sucks at making them

- "I BURNT IT!"

-"YOU DON'T COOK EGGNOG!?!??!?!"

-ngl Christmas with him will be stressful but hella fun

-He SUCKS at ice skating

-Like this boy has no coordination or center of balance

-Falls every like 5 seconds

-Promise him some hot coco after

-Jack laughs at him after falling so many times

-For a present I think he'd make you matching bracelets with stuff he has collected on the hikes you guys have gone on

-He's saved a few things from each one, for the memories so he makes a bracelet out of them for you  

-I'm very series when I say that he straight up cherishes the little things he has saved

~~~Scenario~~~(If you're bad at skating....Shhhh)

You looked over to Magnus to see him struggling with tying the laces of his skates. You let out a chuckle before bending down and swatting his hands away. "How do you suck at tying your laces?" Jack's voice could be heard from above you, Magnus blushed "Shut up! The strings are really long! You don't even know how to tie laces!"

You laugh in amusement, looking over to see a few people watching Magnus in bewilderment. You tapped his shoes indicating you were done and he could stand. You stood up in front of Magnus, waiting for him to join you.

He shakily got up, grabbing onto you for support. "This isn't gonna be some cheesy romance movie scene about ice skating is it?" You laughed only to be cut off my Jack "OoOoOoO If It was I could serenade you to!-"

"NO" you both stumble slightly as Magnus yelled. Rolling your eyes you pulled Magnus towards the ice, stepping on was a bit hard as he refused to let go of you but he eventually let go, replacing you with a wall. "Magnus you have to let g-"

"No way! I'm gonna fall straight on my ass if I let go!" He continued to inch further along the wall as you stood still, watching him. About 3 minute later you got bored and decided it was time to take a lap or two around the ring.

"(Y/N)! Where are you going?" Magnus looked up to see you about 10 feet away from him. You turned around in time to see him fall straight onto his chest. "I was just gonna do a lap or two. I'll be back in a minute enjoy your date with the wall." You winked at him, wiggling you fingers, before skating up ahead more.

During the two laps you did you watch Magnus fall a bunch more times, he did at least try to get off the wall a few times, before fall straight on his ass and hanging to the wall again. You sighed, skating up next to him.

"Give me your hands" He looked up at you shaking his head rapidly like a child "no way I-"

"Oh my GODS Magnus just do it I'm trying to help you!" He pouted at being yelled at for a second then put his hands in yours. You pulled him away from the wall, his legs shook as he tried to stay balanced.

"Bend your legs, yeah like that. Have your feet kinda go diagonal, no the other way" He continued to wobble a little. A few minutes later Magnus was able to stand for a little on his own, he didn't get very far, but he could do it.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)! LOOK IM DOING IT!" He waved over at you, even though you were a few feet away, causing him to fall. He groaned, rubbing the side of his jaw. You went up to him, bending down to his level. "Oh no Maggie, my baby! Are you okay?"

He pouted again, moving to sit normally. "Maggie?" He didn't move her look at you "If you continue to sit like that your pants are gonna get wet." Magnus's eyes widened before he scrambled trying to stand up, only to fall hard on to his hands, letting out a soft whimper.  

"Can we please go get hot coco now?" He stood up more cautiously, nursing his hurt wrist as he leaned agents the wall. Your eyes widened in realization that he was actually hurt. You skated to him, lacing your fingers with his. "Of course we can Maggie. We can even go to that cute little bakery we passed by on our way here and get freshly baked cookies! How does that sound?"

Magnus smiled and kissed you on the cheek "that sounds amazing."

"...can we get falafels after?"

Hearth:

-Again he doesn't really know what Christmas is

-Like he knows around winter people start buying stuff more and he sees trees, being sold but he doesn't understand why

-he's never really asked. Of course he's seen stuff advertised for Christmas so he makes the connection that they are connected

-So when you find out he hasn't had a Christmas like...ever you have to break that

- "here wear this!"

-"Why?"

-"Because it's festive c'mon! "

-You end up dressing him up like one of Santa's elfs and he feels really silly

-He's also lowkey offended when he sees what elf's look like in Santa world

-"This isn't accurate at all. Why are they all so happy and nice?"

-Helps decorate Blitzen's shop and the apartment

-Still doesn't understand the tree though

-"But....why a tree?"

-"I don't know babe but it's festive so come on!"

-He sucks at making cookies, its the sad truth

-He isn't good at picking presents lol

-He'd get you something you had been wanting for a while, a book or something

-Also would ask Blitz to help him make you a matching scarf

~~~~scenario~~~~

You walked into the apartment you shared with your boyfriend and best friend, the bag on your shoulder holding presents for the two. You kicked your shoes off and took of your jacket as you walked into the living room. A box of Christmas decorations was left waiting to be opened as you looked over to see the boys setting up the tree all three of you picked out.

"Hey!" your voice alerted Blitzen who turned around and saw you in the entrance "welcome back how was your shopping?" you sighed, shrugging your shoulders "It was alright I might have found a thing or two." The smile on your face gave away the bluff but Blitz laughed and rolled his eyes, walking into the kitchen to get a drink.

You walked up behind Hearth, hugging him around his middle, barring your face in his back. He tensed up for a second before turning around and seeing you. He smiled and placed a gentle kiss on your forehead.

"Hi sweetheart" he smiled at you, wrapping his arms around your frame and nuzzling your neck. After a few seconds you pulled away from him "Did you guys wait to decorate the tree?" Hearth nodded before pointing at the kitchen. "We also waiting to make cookies."

You turned around in Hearth's arms to see the ingredients of chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread waiting to be prepared. You kissed Hearth on the cheek before tapping his hands to let you go. Reluctantly he agreed letting his hands drop, only for you to grab one and pull him into the kitchen.

~~~time skip because shhhh~~~~

Hind sight you probably shouldn't have left Hearth by himself to make the cookie batter, but It was almost lunch and all three of you were hungry so you and Blitz went out to grab lunch and come back. Maybe on the way you bought Santa hats which delayed you but you didn't think about what could happen!

So Hearthstone stood in front of you, covered in flour, cookie batter in hand, the kitchen somehow relatively clean. Next to you Blitzen looked like he was about to die from laughter as you continued to stair at Hearth, your mouth a gap.

"What happened?" you slowly signed at him, still in slight disbelief. He blushed and put down the bowl , freeing up his hands "You said to follow the instructions, but I didn't know what a teaspoon was and then I spilled the flour on myself." Hearth stared at you for a for more seconds before you took a deep breath and grabbed his hand.

"Hey Blitz can you start up a new batch? I'm gonna get him cleaned up" Blitz nodded, still looking like he was holding in laughter, as you pulled Hearth into your shared room.

"Hearth go take a shower and I'll put your clothes in the wash, I'll also leave out some more clothes to change into alright?"  He nodded, blushing deeply still "I'm sorry about ruining the cookies"  you laughed, waving him off "No it's alright, Blitz is making a new batch now, just get yourself cleaned up."

You walked into the kitchen and started helping Blitzen make the cookies.

Ten minutes later Hearthstone walked back into the living room area, clad in a Christmas jumper and comfy pants you had set out for him. You walked up to him, kissing him on the cheek "You look cute now come here" he followed you to the kitchen bar stools, where you sat down and held a bit of cookie dough in front of him "You can have some it's really good."

After finishing up rolling out the cookies, and eating more dough then you should have, Blitzen popped them into the oven. You turned to Hearth "We can start decorating the apartment in a few minutes if you want" he nodded, pulling you into his lap, hugging you.

"Do you guys always have to be so lovey dovey?"

"Just wait till I hang mistletoe"

Alex: (I feel like I got Alex's characterization wrong for the scenario so I'm sorry about that :/)

-Alex hasn't really had a 'normal' Christmas even before being kicked out on the streets

-His/her parents were terrible to her/him

-So I doubt Alex has a really good Christmas

-But Alex still really likes the season

-Will do makeup with a green and read theme at least ones

-Also I feel like if there was a ugly sweater party on floor 19 Alex will straight up in a sweater dress that ISN'T ugly

- "Alex the theme was ugly sweater!"

- "I look hot as hell I'm not changing!"

-Never leave Alex alone if you guys make cookies together be s/he will eat ALL of the cookie batter

-You can't even get away with the 'You're gonna get sick!' because...

- "We're both dead"

-Also really loves hot coco

-drinks to much ngl

-and burns his/her tongue

- "Oh no I burned my tongue will you kiss it better" (Did I just use that twice? yes leave me alone)

- Will also hang up mistletoe and makes a big show of it if s/he get's stuck with someone other than you

- "I have to kiss T.J??? Why???? Oh Gods??? WHYY???"

- *T.J. legit just trying to go get lunch* "...But why"

-Will be even more extra if you get stuck with someone else under the mistletoe

-if you do you better hope to the GOD'S it isn't Magnus

- *EL GASP* "(Y/N)!! HOW COULD YOU! I'LL KILL MAGNUS ON THE BATTLE FEILD! YOU HEAR THAT CHASE??"

-Drag him/her away before s/he get's into a real fist fight

-S/he will take you on a slay ride

-Just because I think that Alex is secretly a hopeless romantic

-I could see him/her giving you two gifts

-Just because floor 19 opens gifts together and s/he doesn't want the others to know how whipped s/he is for you

-One gift, the gift s/he gives to you in front of the others, is probably something kinda mundane, a sweatshirt or something

-The one s/he gives you in private is actually really romantic

-It's a locket with a picture of the two of you, both your names in graved  

~~~Scenario~~ (he/him pronouns)

The sound of freshly fallen snow crunching under your boots as the sound of bells filled your ears. This place was quite beautiful, the pretty fairy lights strung up, the snow covered trees, the bonfire crackling behind you made you feel quite relaxed. Before you could get lost anymore in thought Alex tapped you on the shoulder.

"Hey where'd you float off to?"  You looked over your shoulder to see Alex, two cup of something steaming in his hands, bundled up in warm clothes.

"no where just thinkin'" Alex hummed handing you one of the cups. "Where did you hear about this place Alex?" Alex only smiled, placing a delicate kiss on your cheek.  "Why don't we keep that a secret." He winked at you, placing his arms around your waist.

"So you still haven't told me what we're doing here." You looked over your shoulder at him, a playful smile on his lips. He grabbed your hand and started walking towards the cabin that you both had walked through to get to this area.

Ones you both got into the cabin Alex guided you out of the front door where a burly looking man with a white beard stood in front of a wooden sled 6 deer at the front.

You looked over at Alex, mouth a gap, you where about to say something when the man cut you off "Ride for Alex to the frozen pond?"

"Yup!" He smiled brightly popping the p. The man nodded his head, heading to the front of the slay while Alex held your hand, helping you into the slay "my dear your chariot awaits" he said in a mockingly fancy tone. "Alex this is a slay." You laughed while climbing into the seat.

"Oh hush I'm trying to be romantic!" He climbed in next to you, cuddling into your side. You sat there for a few seconds before the slay began moving, almost sending you forward, only for Alex to grab you around your waist and pulling you towards him.

"You really are a klutz huh?" He laughed, rubbing his nose agents the side of his face. "Oh shut it" you smacked his hand causing him to laugh. After a few moments the slay went into a trail in the woods decorated with lights and ice sculptures, the freshly fallen snow decorating the trees.

You looked at the scenery in amazement "Alex isn't this so breath taking!" You smiled pointing at the tree that looked like it had ice drops hanging from the leaves. "Yeah it is" his voice sounded airy a light, you didn't even notice he wasn't looking at the forest.

~~~haha look another time skip~~~

The sun was already setting as the slay slowed down stopping at a clearing in front of a frozen over pond, a hot fire crackling with benches that looked freshly cut from wood.

Alex hopped out the side, holding his hand out to help you down. He scurried over to the fire, taking a log bench that was a bit more secluded yet still kept warm by the fire. "Other people will be here later but I wanted to be here first!"

You nodded at him, slipping your hand in is, bringing both your hands into your pocket. You leaned your head on his shoulder and began talking about random things a book you were reading, a new pot Alex was planning on making, killing your floor mates. That is until an interesting topic came up.

"What do you mean this is like your first 'real' Christmas?" You looked at Alex as he shuffled closer to you "Well I never really had a 'real' Christmas back with my family, then I was on the streets and everything and since being in Valhalla we've been kinda busy"

You looked at him shocked "If you told me I would have gotten you something more special!" He waved you off, kissing you on the cheek. "No no it's fine really." He pulled his hand away from yours, moving them to your face.

"I'm just happy to spend my first 'real' Christmas with you."

[syuga-s]

The Last Time

w.c 4.3k

pairing. Jooheon x gn!reader

genre. angst, a little fluff maybe, idk how to classify it but it's my take on relationships in real life(?)

a/n. (warnings) I throw some curses here and there, mention of the word "sex" once, tried to make it as gender-neutral as possible, I could really use some help about t/w, feedback is more than welcome, hope you like the fic 🧍‍♀️

Once again you were at the same bar. With the same friends. Same music. Same drinks. It's safe to say that nothing's changed in here but you.

For some reason, you were awfully quiet tonight. Everyone was away from the table by now. All of them talking and dancing in groups.

You were regretting saying yes to going out the very moment Jasmine was at your front door. But your best friend really wanted to get you out of your house.

The thing is you weren’t going to be alone, all of your friends were tagging along. I guess I need to suck it up, maybe I could have fun, despite him.

And you really tried, there was no need to make a scene anymore. All of your friends have had their fair share of nights seeing you 'talk' with him and making things awkward for everyone. It's been a while, though. You haven't seen him in exactly 2 years.

How do I explain this? There's no resentment anymore, no hate for what happened between you. But when there's a choice between spending your Friday night at the same place as him or staying at home? Well...

But tonight was clearly different. Something (Jasmine) had dragged you here and to be quite honest, it hasn’t been half bad yet. Jasmine kept waiting for you to get up from your chair to come and chat with Jackson and Changkyun. Her all-time crush and his best friend.

"In a sec!! Just let me finish this drink!" You said while you showed her your glass. She quickly nodded and turned to keep talking with those two. You have to remember to thank them later for keeping her entertained because if it weren't for them cracking jokes every single second, she wouldn't have let you off the hook that easily.

Meanwhile, you decided to get a little lost in your head. Laughing to yourself because you were feeling like having a main character moment. Being the only one sat down in a place full of people. The mysterious persona drinking by themselves.

But that didn't last long.

"Mind if I sit here?" You shook your head. He put his drink next to yours and asked, "How are you?" And it somehow felt like you couldn’t have avoided this exact situation.

You released a breath that you didn't even know you were holding. "I'm sitting Jooheon, drinking… existing, you?" He forced himself to smile. Trying to hide the fact that he was still feeling uneasy around you. Nonetheless, showing you the dimples that you used to love so much.

“I can see that”, he paused, "it's been a lot since I last saw you, you look different".

You hummed softly, finally making eye contact with him. "So you expected for me to look the same?" You surely weren't going to pass up the opportunity to be passive-aggressive to him.

It still makes you happy to know that he has never minded this side of you.

"I'm teasing, I guess we both look different, it's been what? Two years?"

"I'm not sure, but it feels like a lot" He took a sip of his drink and started to fidget with the glass. Maybe you're not the only one that's changed after all.

In the two years, you were together, you never saw him like this. But let's remember the fact that you never fully knew him back then. It just feels weird to see him this anxious. Especially with you.

"I've wanted to reach out to you for a while now," You frowned at his words. "Guess I lacked a little courage" He let out an airy laugh. "I really want to talk to you".

Now it was your turn to feel tense. What is this supposed to mean? How long has he been wanting to talk? And talk about what?

You tilted your head and opened your mouth to ask him all this, but he didn't give you the chance to get the words out.

"Before you say something, please believe me I just wanna talk", "but not in here”.

"Alright then, where do you suggest we ‘talk’ Jooheon?” He took his phone out to check the time. 10:44 p.m. He pursed his lips and said, more like hesitating, "I could walk you home?"

You stared off into your group of friends. This was going to make their night interesting. Seeing you two go together again, just like all those times before.

Jooheon's been waiting for this since he saw on your social media that you were leaving the city. And Jasmine took care of letting him know that you would be coming back in about 6 months.

That was a year ago. More than 365 days waiting to be in the same room with you. Praying that you would let him talk to you. Not that you would reject him. But he was scared, he was perfectly aware he messed up everything.

As you were both saying goodbyes to your friends, you started to think about how everything had ended between you two.

You know what? Yes, maybe I was wrong in ghosting him but after all, I don't owe him anything. Just like he threw me out of his life two years ago. We didn't work out, he never communicated with me. He didn't choose me back. I just had to watch him get rid of me, no explanations, no nothing. And I find it really hard to believe that he's been dying to talk to me. What could be so important that he wants to have a proper conversation? How will I explain to him that I stopped replying for no particular reason? That I just realized that we weren't good together, and I had to let go of him? Should I tell him that no matter my hard feelings, I still thought about him constantly?

You had left each other in the cold back then.

He called your name, and you snapped back to reality. Didn't even realize you were already outside of the bar when he softly asked you, "aren't you cold?"

You smirked and told him "Well yeah, walking back home in this weather wasn't in my plans dummy, but I didn't bring a jacket though".

He used to be so attentive to you. One of the other things you used to love about him. Always concerned about you.

He simply put his jacket around you and started walking before you could complain about something as simple as this. Like you always did.

It feels nice to know that someone in this world knows you to this extent. The way you’ll react to simple things. How can you still love someone despite knowing that you don’t work together?

You realized he still has this jacket. It's the same one he gave me the first night we spent together. Why do I have to remember this now? Not fair. Maybe he wore it on purpose.

You gave a little run to catch him. Now that you were by his side, you were getting impatient, "Can you please start talking? I'm intrigued by all your seriousness".

You were kind of hating this feeling. Everything about him felt familiar. Suddenly, you wanted to cling your arm to his but thought twice about it.

He chuckled. "Well it's not super serious, I want us to have a nice conversation, you know?" You snorted at this, what does a nice talk mean?

"I can be nice, as long as you tell me WHAT you wanna talk about…", "come on Jooheon, just get to the point".

"Okay!! OKAY… I-" he took a deep breath and continued, "First of all, I want to apologize to you for everything, then I want us to talk about what happened between us if that's okay with you?"

You'd be lying if you didn't say that you wanted this to happen since you drew apart the first time. You always dreamt of having an adult conversation with him.

But the dream left your mind bit by bit. Just like your heart got itself back together after he left you, piece by piece.

Overwhelmed, you could only stare straight ahead into the street. He called your name again. Now your eyes were on his, and you could see his concerns. How his mind was going miles per hour, just like yours.

"I want to apologize too,” you smiled and finally let yourself link arms with him. “It’s gonna take us a while, isn’t it?”.

The walk to your apartment took around 15 minutes. The words you exchanged with Jooheon were kept to a minimum. You weren’t gonna get into the heavy stuff right there in the street.

When you finally arrived, you gave him back his jacket. It was gonna get uncomfortable to talk with him with a piece of clothing that made you remember too much.

“Want something to drink? I have a beer, wine, you name it”. He sat on your couch while you searched for something non-alcoholic in your little fridge. “A beer would be okay”.

You got yourself some water. Otherwise, your head would be fuzzy, and wouldn’t be able to tell him all you’ve had on your mind for years.

You handed him the bottle, and you took your seat on the carpet. Your mind wandered off to the last time he was in here.

When he told you goodnight and planted a soft kiss on your lips like he always did. You knew it wasn’t a simple ‘good night’, for you.

You remembered how your eyes followed him until he closed the door of your apartment.

He took a swig of his drink and by the time he put the bottle on your little coffee table, it made you realize he was sitting right there, in front of you.

Finally, gathering the courage to start telling you what was on his mind. “I never thought I’d get the chance to talk to you again”.

I didn’t think so, either. We both fucked up multiple times.

──────────────────────

You were never a couple. After 5 years, you never understood what had lacked between you. The desire was there. Now and then you had your moments of happiness. Usually on the weekends.

When you met, you weren’t looking for love or a serious relationship. At least one of you.

Jooheon was free, like the wind or like a bird. He flew back and forth and once in a while he needed to land somewhere for a while. Every so often he sought another fire, another bed, other arms that weren’t yours.

The time came when he made you feel a million things inside. Overwhelmed with words and emotions, mostly love. But also turmoil and maybe desperation.

It made you happy that he made you feel so much after being empty for months. You felt different with him. It was the kind of love you didn’t know you had in you. Didn’t even think it was possible to express about someone like this. Until him.

You didn’t need anyone else. You just needed Jooheon. Not only that, but you didn’t care for how long your love would last because you believed that the meaning of the word love was what you had built together.

A few hours together. Every so often the whole night.

But when the morning came, the nightmare started to take form. Texts at inappropriate hours, and even unanswered messages.

You started thinking that you didn’t know better. You started feeling insecure. Replaceable. Maybe he knows better than to be with me.

Desperate to know what you had. But afraid that you would ruin everything with the words “What are we?”.

Tried to convince yourself that all of this was okay. That it was a good thing that you were going slow, giving him the chance to open up to you.

Months kept passing and your trust in him was running thin. He made you feel weird on the daily. Wondering if he was seeing someone else. If he danced with someone tonight. Had they kissed? Is he having sex with someone who isn’t me? What if he’s tired of me?

You wanted to be with him, but It was starting to hurt.

I hate that when I try to get myself to think that I don’t like you anymore… you do these little things that make me love you.

When you were together, he treated you like there was no one else for him. His hand was always wrapped up in yours. Talking until dawn, about college, his family, and your relationship. Those times, you couldn’t lie to yourself about your feelings.

He was the only face you could see in the world. The only guy you’ve ever wanted to keep around. But how did we get to this point?

The day you told him you were starting to fall in love with him, all he could reply was, “I don’t know what to say, I never thought you would be in love with me”.

“That’s all you have to say?”

“Well what do you want me to say? You took me by surprise”.

“You could tell me how you feel. I’m not expecting for you to tell me you love me back, I-“

There’s no return now, you have to keep talking.

“I’m just tired of not knowing what’s in your head, I’m not sure if you want to have something with me anymore, it’s okay if you don’t so, just be honest with me”.

“I like you”. You stayed quiet after hearing this, urging him to tell you more than just three words.

“I mean, of course, I’m attracted to you”.

At that moment, you liked what you heard. But the more you thought about it, you realized that he didn’t actually care for you, or loved you. Maybe that was a greedy thought from you. Maybe you expected too much.

You were angry but mostly angry at yourself.

Why are you still waiting for him? It's been years and nothing has happened between you. Nothing ever will at this point.

You ended up telling him not to bother you again, that if this was his way of ‘loving’ you, you were better off without it.

But that was a lie, you longed for your phone to show his name, even if it was at 5 A.M. Still thinking that there was no other way to love someone.

Unable to put an end to it, months kept passing and nothing changed between you. Jooheon had many others, and you only had him.

You loved spending nights like this by his side, watching him sleep, wondering for hours about you two. Unable to explain how you could love him this much.

Maybe he did love you, but you can’t handle this kind of love anymore. It’s better for both of you to end this, whatever it was because it's driving you crazy. And you meant it this time.

Jooheon told you goodnight and planted a soft kiss on your lips like he always did.

You knew it wasn’t a simple ‘good night’ for you, this was the last time you were gonna let him in. Your eyes followed him until he closed the door of your apartment. Fighting back your tears while softly saying to yourself, “I’m always going to love you…”.

The texts at 5 A.M. came again, but this time there was no answer. Jooheon started calling and sending texts for days, but you didn’t reply. All your efforts in disappearing from him on social media weren’t stopping him.

He met someone else, yet the texts wouldn’t stop. Until one day they did.

Now and then your curiosity would get the best of you and you would see his Instagram stories with her. An older girl you had met once. They were supposed to be friends.

You wanted to avoid comparing yourself to her but, he never posted something with you. It’s a dumb thing to worry about, but it’s one of those things that sometimes matter.

You tried to understand the whole situation. Accept the fact that you two weren’t meant to be. That he didn’t see a future with you.

Your days stopped revolving around him. You focused your time on getting your degree, learning another language, going out with your friends. Even tried meeting new people.

There were a few here and there. No one was enough for you.

Your ideas of love and relationships were different now. You gave another meaning to the word love. You wanted to find someone who would love you and take care of you. A quiet kind of love, real love.

What you had with Jooheon, was something you never wanted to experience again. Days went by, even months until you saw each other once more; for the first time in Jooheon’s life, he felt a knot in his stomach, he knew he lost you, for good this time.

Months passed and Jooheon left his girlfriend. He now felt different because he looked for you in everyone, yet he couldn’t find you, and he felt empty.

He cursed himself a thousand times for not knowing how to appreciate you and the love you gave him for two whole years. Tears finally fell from his eyes, he couldn’t believe he was crying for someone, crying for love, crying for you.

He took his phone out, swallowed hard, and started typing another text.

“I miss you, and I need you with me now and always, I never thought I would say this, but I’m not happy without you. Maybe I should’ve loved you less and loved you better, I just want you to know that I’ll always be waiting for you my sweet y/n…”

But the message was never delivered. You had changed your number.

It made sense that you would do that someday. It’s been too long, but this didn’t stop him from sending you texts in the middle of the night. When he felt the overwhelming need to have his arms wrapped around you.

──────────────────────

I still love you

(9:05 p.m.)

no, I don’t

(9:06 p.m.)

I’m confused why did this happen

(2:26 a.m.)

I want you to be happy, if this is what it takes then I’m okay with it. be happy. for me. please.

(10:45 a.m.)

I kind of hate you for changing your number

(8:57 p.m.)

I’m sorry

(1:43 a.m.)

maybe if I wasn’t so fucked up this wouldn’t have happened

(3:37 a.m.)

why can’t things be like they were before

(10:13 a.m.)

please come back to me. I need you. You need me

(1:58 a.m.)

I still want you

(4:06 a.m.)

──────────────────────

The day you left town was the day he swore to himself to try his best to get another chance to talk to you, just once more. To make things right, not caring anymore about his pride. He just wanted to let you know everything he didn’t say when you were by his side.

That he was sorry that it took him too long to acknowledge he was wrong. That he knew he was a little too late and wishes that he could say something more meaningful than a simple “I want you back”.

──────────────────────

“I wonder why” You smirked at him.

The more you kept making eye contact, the more you realized you didn’t feel any kind of resentment anymore. You both had grown, and while you didn’t actually need this kind of closure, you figured this was the healthiest moment to do so.

His eyes were avoiding you now, his smile was still there, but you could tell he lost a bit of his confidence. “Okay, so I’m gonna talk first, please just hear me out. I want to rip the band-aid,” He said with a forced laugh.

“I don’t know why I could never tell you that love scares me. That it scares me to be attached to someone”. His tone was soft now.

“I still play in my head the day you told me you were falling in love with me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you not to tell me those things because you could have changed your mind any moment”.

“I never told you how I felt one of the many nights you spent with me. You were stroking my hair and I seriously felt like crying because I was fucking scared”.

“I was scared to lose you”.

“I’m sorry because I know I made you think I didn’t want you for something serious. I’m sorry for being immature”.

“I look at you now, and I’m happy to get to see you like this. You’re still everything I’ve ever wished for and more. You need to know that nothing compares to you”.

“And believe me, I don’t expect you to take my words as a way of asking you for another chance, I know I don’t deserve it… but I would really love it if you could let me show you I could love you better this time”.

You never imagined these words coming out of his mouth. Couldn’t believe how he was looking at you. Hopeful but understanding at your loss for words.

“Can I ask you one last thing?” His voice was barely audible, but you nodded at him.

“Well, maybe it’s not an actual question, but I’d like to know why you stopped talking to me”.

“Look Jooheon, I don’t know how everything I wanna say will come out, so please bear with me”.

You didn’t know where to start, either.

There were so many things to be said that you were getting nervous to start talking. Because once you opened your mouth, you didn’t know if you would be able to piece everything together.

“When everything ended I really wanted to hate you, everyone around me hated you,” you admitted to him, “except for me and I hated that”.

“I knew that all I could be able to do was cut you from my life, so I just decided to stop talking to you”.

It may sound harsh, but it’s the truth. “I admit it was a poor way of handling things, and I’m sorry for that”.

You’ve always been scared of having this type of conversation.

You let out a sigh because you never thought that the following words were gonna come out of your mouth, ever.

“I’ve only been in love once in my life, and that was when I was with you”.

“It used to frustrate me that I wasn’t able to make it work with anyone after you. I couldn’t help but compare everyone to you”.

“I swore to myself that I never wanted to go through the same thing we had, maybe because those memories are yours and I don't want anyone else messing that up, you made me feel so safe, I felt alive with you, nothing could stop me when I had you”. 

“You've been the only one I've ever wanted to see every day, no matter the hour or how busy I was, I truly wanted everything with you”.

You hadn’t noticed how he had been looking at you this entire time. He couldn’t believe that you used to feel that way about him. Still couldn’t wrap his head around hearing you say how you loved him.

You quickly wiped a tiny little tear that escaped your eye, hoping we wouldn’t notice. But he did.

You let out a nervous laugh and said, “I’m not sad, I swear, It’s just that I never thought I would say all this out loud, especially to you”.

“You don't know how many times I wanted to call you, run to you”.

“Last year before I left I wanted to see you, I kept trying to convince myself that It didn't have to mean anything, that I was just desperate for any physical touch, but from time to time, I wonder if what I really needed was just you”.

He didn’t say anything. So you just said his name out loud. “Jooheon…” Followed by a long pause.

“I feel so different now”.

“When I was far away from you, I realized that I need someone who isn’t absent when it comes to me, someone that isn’t a ghost in my life”.

While you were talking, you were watching his every move and how he couldn’t stop playing with his rings. You’re still not used to seeing him act like this.

“At this point, I want someone who will take care of me, that makes me feel safe. Someone who wants to be with me because they love me, and they love to have me next to them. I’m beyond only spending the night over, I want whole days”.

You finally got up from the floor and sat next to Jooheon. Facing him, making him do the same. He kept looking at you for a whole minute but it felt like hours.

You didn’t know what to do after his following words.

“What I realized with being away from you is that I was pushing away what I’ve always wanted. I wasn’t confident that I could meet you where you were. I felt it would be better not to waste your time back then, but that was then, and this is now…”

You kept looking at each other a little too long. Both realizing you didn't need words anymore. The love was still there.

[fandomtookoverlife]

Friday night

Pairing: Hotch x reader

Gn!reader (if I missed anything please lmk) 

summary: you are a part of the bau and dating Aaron Hotchner, after a long week you go to the bar with the “children” of the bau. 

Note: italics are readers thoughts 

Warning: drinking, mention of guns, swearing 

Words: 2200

Category: fluff

A/N: idk what this is 😂😂 a short little cute thing about a night with the team and being loved by Hotch, what more could anyone want 😂 I hope you enjoy 

Don’t mind the fact that I am horrible with names when I say this is the only name I could come up with I’m not joking, I couldn’t for the life of me even think of another name. 

Other blog: @mac99martin

Masterlist

---

You looked over at the clock- 8:30. “Fucking shit.” 

Derek chuckled beside at his desk beside you, “you just realise the time sweetheart?” not even looking up from his report. 

You scoffed at his mocking tone, “whatever” bitterly you shot him a glare and stood up. ugh god, you haven’t stood up like 3 hours, internally whining you get up to get even more coffee.

“Oh! Hello, there my beauty!” the one and only, sunflower of a woman; Penelope Garcia, with a bright smile on her face despite being still being here at 8:30. She wrapped her arm around you into a tight side-hug as the two of you walked into the break room, smiling, because how could you not smile with someone like Penelope around. You rest your head on her shoulder letting yourself relax into her warm hug.

“Pennnny, why is there so much work?” you look up at her from your spot on her shoulder and give her your puppy dog face.

“Oh baby, I don’t know” she smooths down your hair, something you absolutely adore. Unsatisfied with her answer you sigh and fill your cup to the brim and take a very long sip. “Ooo! I know” you raise your eyebrows amused at her sudden outburst, “we are going drinking tonight!” 

You considered it a moment, it was Friday, you did just get back from a case yesterday, and you have been doing paperwork-all day… “Okay! I’m in!”

“Eeeeek! Okay, let’s go tell every else their Friday night plans!” 

You grab her hand and run out to the bullpen, yes your team was the only one left in the building-Again. No! No bad thoughts, only thoughts of drinking! “Alright, everyone!” you and Pen glance at each other smirking before turning back to the team whose attention you have now grabbed. “Penelope and I have decided what we are all doing tonight,” you say playfully but firmly.

“And what’s that sweetheart?” 

You direct your attention to Morgan as Rossi comes out of his office, “We are going drinking.”  

Derek smirks “Hell. Yes.” 

Penelope claps her hands and squeals  “Yes! Okay who else is in?” excitedly you both look around the room. 

“Well, I sure as hell am.” 

“Yay! Okay, we got Derek, Emily, who else, JJ?”

She considered it for a second while you started at her with an eyebrow cocked. “Okay okay, I’ll come.” 

Doing a 180 looking above the bullpen at Rossi, “how about you? And before you answer just know, there are no adults allowed.”

“Ya only stressed out sexy workaholic FBI agents that are going to act like teenagers all night”

Laughing you look back at Rossi, “Sorry kiddos, not tonight.”

“What? You’re seriously not coming?” Penny said in the saddest voice 

“Dave, come on, I was just kidding, pleassse.” you give another puppy face. 

“Sorry Bella, not tonight” sending you a smile before going back to his office.

Shaking it off you look at Spencer who is the last to answer in the vicinity, “and you?”

“Umm….I-” he looks like he’s about to say no when Derek claps his shoulder,

“Pretty boy’s in!” 

Spencer looked around at the team, “um, okay I guess I’ll come.”

“Okay everyone finish your last report and then we gettin our party on!”

“Alright, will do babygirl.”

Everyone turned back to their work while you climbed the stairs, knocking on the door and opening it, “Hey!” Aaron smiled at you and stood up as you closed the door behind you, and with the blinds already closed you put your arms around your boyfriend’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss, 

“hmmm” comes from both of you as you pull apart smiling. The team definitely knew about your relationship with your boss to some degree but the two of you hadn’t slipped up so no one has caught you-yet. Some of the team, more confrontational than others will give you looks, snide comments, but they don’t know anything. And you guys aren’t keeping it from the team, you’re just, riding the wave while it lasts. “So did you hear the plan?” playing with his hair at the base of his head. 

“Plan?” 

“mhmm, we’re all going for drinks,- minus Rossi.” he gave you a pointed look at that last part. 

“Is that why I heard Emily yell something about ‘sexy workaholic FBI agents’” 

You drop your head on his shoulder, shake your head and laugh, “Um...yes?” 

“Ya, I think I’ll pass.”

“Babe, come on, it’ll be fuunnnn.” 

“Mhmm, no”  

You went on your tippy-toes, moving closer and closer to his lips, whispering, “pretty please” 

He closed the gap between your lips softly, but deeply “no.” 

You dropped down and gave him a slight glare, which he smiled at. He kissed you again and went back to his desk, “if you’re not coming, you’re definitely not staying here all night.”

Sitting down at his desk, “I’m not, I’m simply waiting on the last of the reports, if a certain agent would hurry up and finish hers…” 

“Alright alright, I’m going,” walking over to his chair, “seriously don’t stay too late alright?” 

“Alright.” kissing him one last time, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” smiling before making your way to the door, 

“Hey,” you turn towards him at the loving sound of his voice, “be safe?” 

“I will. I love you”

“I love you too” 

-

You return to your desk hoping you can finish your last report quickly and get out of here, “Hey, sweetheart,” 

“Yes Morgan?” replying sightly animated.

“Anything fun happen in there?” 

“No.” you glare, “I asked him if he was coming; he’s not.”

“Mhmm, sure.” turning back to his work and you do the same. 

-

“We got shots!” 

“Hell ya!” 

“Gimme gimme gimmie!” 

“Patience babygirl” 

“No.” penny grabs a shot and take it while the rest of you laugh, “woo!” 

“Alright our turn!” 

You all let loose enjoying some fun and each other’s company. Your look at the people around you, yesterday you had guns and people’s lives in your hands, right now, you were all smiling, enjoying yourselves and life to the fullest, you couldn’t ask for better people to do it with. 

-

It’s so loud in the bar and you’re all laughing so much you barely hear your phone ring, seeing it’s Aaron calling you is a little worrying, “Sorry, I’ll be back in a sec.” everyone looked around suspiciously but didn’t say anything. “Aaron?” walking outside,

“Hi Y/N!” 

A little taken back, especially with the alcohol in your system, “Jack?” 

“Hiiiiiii Y/NNNNNN” 

“What are you still doing up mister?” 

“Well daddy said since it’s Friday I can stay up so we watched a movie”

“Oh ya what movie did you watch?” 

“Well first we watched frozen and then we watched spiderman!” 

You laughed, you’ve watched each of those movies with him at least three times yourself, “that sounds fun, did you have popcorn?” 

“YA!” 

Oh my god isn’t he just the cutest fucking thing? you think your heart actually melts at his cuteness “So where’s your dad now?” remembering he’s calling from his dad’s phone, 

“Ummmmmmm….” 

“Jack?” 

Jack whispering, as if he wasn’t just yelling a few seconds ago, “he said its bedtime,” even quieter, “so I’m hiding”

You cover your mouth with your hand trying your very best not to laugh, composing your self, “well Jack that’s not very good of you” 

“Ya… but I don’t wanna go to bed” 

At that, you let a little laugh, “I know buddy… but what made you took your dad’s phone?” 

“I wanted to call you” 

You paused you were a little taken back, “and why is that?” 

“I don’t know, I like you, and my daddy likes you too!” 

That makes you smile, “well, I’m glad you both like me-” you were cut off by a gasp from Jack “Jack, you okay?” 

He whispered into the phone, “he found me.” and yet again having to put your hand over your mouth to stop from laughing, “I have to go” in a very rushed voice, “I love you.”

Your mind went blank for a split second, he had never actually said that to you, “I love you too” 

“Jack who are you-”

“Goodnight-” and the line cut off

Sitting down, your minds a little fuzzy and it’s not from the alcohol. A minute or two later your phone starts ringing again, “hey Aar,” you said, still smiling, you also expected this call. 

“Hey baby, sorry about that, um, what exactly was that?” 

You both laugh a little, “well apparently daddy was making him go to bed, so naturally he stole your phone, hid and called me.” 

“Naturally, sorry about that I know you’re out.”

“Oh don’t be he’s cute... he said he loved me”

“I know”

“I like that”

“Me too”

You both sat there smiling for a few seconds, what did you do to get such a perfect life? “alright I got to go, have fun, be safe, call me when you get home?”

“I will, love you.”

“Love you” 

-

“Hey sorry” you came back to the table smiling, which everyone was suspicious of but oh well, what are you going to do, I came here for a good time and I’m going to have one! 

“Who was that?” 

“Oh no one, what are we talking about?” picking up your drink.

“Actually we were just talking about how 27% of women in the US have slept with their boss.” immediately you choked on your drink and quickly trying to recover, but the damage was done

God fucking damn it Reid! Seriously you just had to throw me under the bus like that? 

You shot him a nasty glare, “ that was not what you were talking about.” 

“Nope, you’re right it wasn’t.”

That bastard is smiling 

Everyone is killing themselves, and you? You just down your drink, “Anyone want another?” 

Leaning against the bar you shake your head, out of all the people I did not expect REID to call me out. 

“Hey, sweet thang” you drop your head, 

“Derek.” you acknowledge him

“I gotta say I’m surprised, I really am, I didn’t expect Reid to be the one to call you out.”

You laugh, “Ya, Neither Did I.”  

“Soooo, you admit it?” Derek said, very amused 

“I have said nothing.” 

“Come onnnn, say it.”

“We should really get back to the table,” already halfway there.

“Oh come it’s not going to be better over there!” he’s not wrong 

“Y/N!”

“Oh, my sweet Penelope how are you?”

“NoNoNo you’re not getting out of this!” grabbing your arm

“Pen that’s my arm!”

“Y/N you have to tell us!”

“Emily’s right”

“Come on JJ you too, can’t someone be on my side.” 

“Absolutely not!”

“Soooo how long have you been together?”

Shit you look at the people around you, there’s no way out of this, “fine!” a stream of yeses and shrieks courtesy of Penny, “we’ve-” SHIT “we’ve been together, 6 months”

“6 months!”

“No fucking way!”

“Oh my god! How couldn’t have you told us!”

“Were you just on the phone with him?”

“Do you guys sneak into each other’s hotel rooms?”

You were doing so much drinking tonight. 

-

Somehow you made it home safely, but you were pretty drunk, I mean what did you expect 

When you woke up you saw 3 missed calls from Aaron and 3 text messages, ya you were a little drunk last night. After you’ve been awake for a whole 45 seconds you call Aaron, “Hey! Are you okay? you never called me back last night”

“Ugh” 

“Baby?”

“Shhhhhhh” 

“Alright I get it, I’ll be at your place in 30, with coffee” 

“Yessssss”  

-

And a half an hour later he showed up, with coffee as promised, using the key you gave him to let himself in, as you were not getting out of bed. “Hey,” in a hushed tone. 

“Hi” you smiled at him, you were still a little sleepy and probably hungover, he put the drinks on the table and you pulled him into your bed, he chuckled but laid down and you put your head on his chest, “mhmm” he’s so warm 

“Tired?” 

“Ya” 

“How late did you stay out?”

“I don’t know”

“You don’t know?”

You shock your head into his chest “uh-uh.” you laid there comfortably for a few minutes, you immensely enjoying the warmth and happiness that your boyfriend brings you, “soooo I got cornered last night”

“Cornered?” 

“Mhmm, about us, after our call I went back to the table and they called me out.”

“Oh really?” he was chuckling not only that it had happened but in the cute, sleepy manner of which you mentioned it, “actually, I didn’t think they would, figured they were just waiting for us to slip.”

You scoffed, “ya so did I. you’ll never guess who called me on it tho.”

“Oh?”

“Reid.”

“Seriously,” see it’s not just me that didn’t expect it to be Reid of all people, “I mean I thought Morgan or Prentiss but Reid?”

“Ya, I got caught a little off guard.” Aaron laughed “Hey!” you swatted his arm “don’t laugh! It’s not funny!” 

“Never.” he kissed the top of your head and started playing with your hair, you spent the next few hours lying, sitting, drinking, talking, the perfect morning, after a perfect night, with the perfect man, and the best friends anyone could ask for.

---

@spencers-renaissance

[taetaespeaches]

“I’m so sorry I dared you to do that, caroling looks humiliating.”

namjoon x reader (oc) genre: fluff word count: 1.6K

a/n: Hi lovelies! So this may be one of the most random fics I’ve ever written lol. Idk where I was going with it, but I think that’s why I kind of like it. It’s Joon and Daisy/reader hanging out on a December night and conversation leads to more random conversation and Joon ends up doing some caroling. You know, normal things... I hope you all enjoy and thank you for reading! :))

HE was animated and glowing as he told you the story of the time he burned Santa’s cookies on Christmas Eve when he was a young boy. He sat next to you on the sofa, a bottle of beer in one hand as his other moved in accordance to his story as if he was conducting it like a musical arrangement.

His skin was bright and golden in the Christmas tree light, his bare face as stunning as ever, the dimples in his cheeks drawing you into the story even more as he laughed at himself. And you were laughing too. Gasping for air, you clutched your stomach as he continued talking, his inflections moving up and down melodically. If you were a linguist, you would study his cadences in pure fascination, the rhythm of his story flexing the skills he’s made a career with.

“My mom came in,” he paused, his eyes wide. “I’m sitting there in the chair in front of the oven, my nose in the comic book, I don’t even know she’s there yet,” he edges you on, you hanging on his words as he led into the climax of the story. “And she scolds sharply, ‘Kim Namjoon!’”

Jumping slightly at his sudden exclamation, you put your hand over your mouth to conceal your giggles.

“And I look up at her in shock. She’s pissed,” he emphasized.

The smile on your face slowly grew wider as he continued with the hilarious tragedy of that fateful Christmas Eve. “And she goes, ‘why does it smell like burning food in here?’ and my heart dropped into my stomach,” he reveals, you breathing out, shaking your head.

“You forgot the cookies,” you spoke, Namjoon nodding slowly.

“I forgot the cookies,” he repeated your words in confirmation, you snorting in laughter. “I got so distracted by the comic that I completely forgot I was supposed to take them out after a certain amount of time.”

“I’m picturing your mom right now, and I’m terrified,” you giggled, Namjoon’s lips spreading into a wide smile, dimples on full display for your eyes only.

“One of the scariest moments of my life,” he admitted through a chuckle. “But anyway, I ruined Christmas because Santa didn’t get any cookies.”

Your jaw dropping, you stared at him. “Did he even bring you presents?”

“Well, you see, he already bought the presents,” he told you through a smirk, causing you to laugh. “And my parents-I mean, Santa,” he corrected, you nodding at him with a smile, “weren’t going to go through the hassle of returning them, so yeah, we got the presents,” he chuckled. “My sister was worried though, my dad told us that Santa wouldn’t leave gifts without cookies.”

“He’s kind of a greedy old bastard,” you said just before taking a sip of your own beer. Swallowing the drink, your eyes widened. “Santa,” you clarified, “not your dad.”

Squeezing his eyes shut in amusement, Namjoon put his hand over his mouth as he laughed at you.

“Fuck, not your dad,” you continued through a bashful giggle. “Santa, because he expects cookies,” you overexplained, as Namjoon leaned forward and placed his beer on the coffee table. “That’s greedy, just leave the gifts dude,” you continued as you watched Namjoon turn toward you, coming closer to you. “It’s your job,” you finished your rant, just as Namjoon placed a hand to the side of your face, bringing his lips to yours. The kiss was sweet and slow, his lips lingering before he pulled away just enough to look at you.

“Santa is a greedy old bastard,” he agreed, you giggling as you leaned forward to kiss him once more. Pulling away once again, you watched as his smile widened, the expression stunning.  

“Have you ever been caroling?” You asked, Namjoon’s eyes popping wide open for a moment as he looked at you curiously. You weren’t sure where the question came from, but Namjoon didn’t seem to mind the randomness.

“I never have, no,” he replied fondly. “Have you?”

Thinking for a moment, you shook your head. “No,” you said simply.

“I always wanted to though,” he told you, his hand finding your knee. “I thought it looked fun when I was a kid.”

“You should do it,” you encouraged, the man shooting you a questioning look. “Right now,” you added with a smirk.

“You want me to go caroling right now?” He asked.

“Just outside my apartment door,” you said, already giggling at your idea. “I dare you,” you added with a teasing whisper, Namjoon sighing.

“You know you can’t just dare people to do things and expect them to do it,” he argued, you groaning in response.

“Come on, please,” you pouted. “I’ve never had a Christmas caroler serenade me before,” you said in feigned sadness.

Namjoon stared at you for a moment before standing up and heading to your front door without an ounce of hesitation. “Joon,” you giggled, watching him stride across your apartment, “I was kidding.”

“No, I’m gonna do it,” he called back to you before turning around to look at you. “Because you deserve to be serenaded.”

His expression was sweet, his eyes soft and kind, full of love. “Oh, babe, you’re drunker than I thought,” you told him, holding back a smile as he chuckled.

“Well,” he thought for a moment, “Maybe,” he confirmed, you both laughing. “But drunk or not, I’m singing for you,” he told you before turning back to the door and opening it quickly, disappearing outside as he closed it behind him.

Jumping up from the couch, you quickly jogged to the door, opening it just as he started belting ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! using his entire frame to sing the song. He even had a little bit of choreography to go along with the song in the form of hip thrusts, wiggles, and twinkly fingers.

Smiling fondly at him, you leaned against the door frame as you watched him. The longer his act when on, the more in love you felt, your chest swollen with affection as you admired this gorgeous man singing for you, simply because he thought you should be serenaded and he wanted to make you happy. Who even does that?

“I only know the chorus,” he called out just before circling right back into the chorus on the song, causing you to laugh loudly at his antics. Your focus on the man was only broken when your neighbor, an older woman who had a bit of a distaste for you ever since you picked some of the daisies from her garden, stepped out onto her porch to inspect the noise coming from your boyfriend.

“Joon,” you called out to him in a hushed tone, fighting back a smile. His eyes widened as he stopped singing for a moment, looking to you curiously as you nodded toward your neighbor.

“Oh,” he said in realization, an adorably bashful smile overtaking his face as he laughed at himself. However, instead of stopping under her glare, he slowly worked back into the song and choreography, continuing his performance for you.

Throwing your head back in laughter, you covered your mouth with your hands as you watched your boyfriend sing and dance. You snuck one more glance at your neighbor, just as she was shaking her head in disapproval before returning back inside, closing the door on your boyfriend’s disturbance.  

You didn’t even have time to process your neighbor’s reaction as Namjoon cleared his throat dramatically. “Are you ready, Daisy the Menace?” He suddenly asked, slowing his dancing into a hip sway. “That song was for your entertainment, be now, it’s time for you to be serenaded.”

Cocking your head at him, you pouted as soon as he started singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.

Namjoon would tell anyone that he couldn’t sing, but you loved his voice. And you appreciated the effort he was putting into his impromptu vocal performance of Christmas songs just for you.

Giving him your undivided attention as he sang about letting your heart be light and your troubles being out of sight, you didn’t realize your emotions were bubbling until a tear slid down your cheek, Namjoon’s eyes catching it at the same time you felt it. Wiping it away as Namjoon bounded up your steps to get to you quickly, you giggled at yourself.

“Are you ok?” He asked in concern, his hands meeting the sides of your face as he peered at your features intently.

“I’m fine,” you laughed, though more tears welled up in your eyes. “I just love you so much,” you whined, Namjoon smiling softly as he breathed out a sigh of relief. His arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you against his chest, his body rumbling in an amused laughter.

“You’re drunker than I thought too,” he teased, causing you to laugh against his body.

“Shush,” you sassed through a chuckle. “I’m so sorry I dared you to do that,” you apologized, “caroling looks humiliating.”

“It wasn’t my proudest moment,” he confirmed, both of you laughing. “I’d do it again though. For you,” he added cheesily, you scrunching your nose as you pulled away from his body slightly to look at him.

“I don’t think our friend next door appreciated it too much,” you commented, Namjoon looking to the woman’s apartment.

“Yeah, I would say it definitely didn’t help us win her over at all, that’s for sure,” he smiled, you feigning a pout to express your pretend disappointment. “I love you,” he told you sincerely.

The comment took you by surprise, but you accepted the confession easily. “That’s very obvious,” you told him with a smile, Namjoon squeezing his eyes shut as he chuckled lightly. “I love you more, Joon.”

And fuck, you did. More than anything.

[baby-blossoms]

Protective

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 1696

Summary/Request: could you possibly do a sam x reader fic where sam is really protective to the reader even with dean or cas idk why i just love really love protective relationship tingz but please take your time and focus on your school work, I hope your have an amazing week ❤️

Warnings: None really, Sam is just protective

---

       You, Sam, Dean, and Cas all sat in a diner near the motel you were staying at during your upcoming hunt. Sam was typing away at his laptop, not stopping his research on this particularly hard case for a moment. Dean and Cas chattered to each other off and on while Dean practically made love with a huge greasy burger, and you sat and watched people walking by outside of the window. People watching was something you did often when Sam was busy. You usually didn’t get along too well with Dean, so people watching kept you thoroughly entertained for the time being. Conversation between you and Dean wasn’t worth the struggle and inevitable disagreement, and trying to talk to Cas with Dean near him was like trying to get a puppy to listen while someone else was dangling a treat in front of them.  

    “You okay?”

Sam asked in almost a whisper. You jolted out of your thoughts, bringing your focus to Sam. You had strained your neck and left shoulder pretty badly fighting off a vampire during your last hunt and Sam kept continuously checking to make sure you were really okay.

    Your heart always jumped at the sight of him. His wide hazel eyes were warm and filled with love and concern.

    “Yes, I was just watching people walk by.”

You responded quickly. Placing a hand on top of his, you smiled as he took it and gave it a soft squeeze before letting go. 

    Years ago, Sam had found you half-dead in a witch’s house. He and Dean hadn’t thought twice about saving you. Sam had nursed you back to health himself, and being a stereotypical romantic story of the two of you coming together, you fell in love with him fast and hard. It was almost amusing how surprised and slightly offended Dean had been when you didn’t swoon over his cheesy pickup lines and signature smile once you were up and hunting with them. Your attention was always drawn back to Sam, even in the middle of conversations with Dean. Sam was so soft with you, often reassuring you that you were the only girl he had eyes for, but his mood would quickly change the moment any man tried to take you home. A very protective side of him came out, and they were met with glares and sharp replies as Sam practically carried you away from them.

    “What do ya’ say we go to a bar tonight?” Dean asked abruptly. Apparently, his and Castiel’s conversation had ended, and he glanced eagerly between you and Sam, practically begging you to say yes with his eyes.

    “Why?” 

You asked, genuinely confused as to why Dean was inviting you anywhere when the both of you said no more than often.

    “Come on sweetheart, you both need some loosening up. Maybe you won’t be so uptight if we get a few drinks in you.”

    You glared at Dean for a moment. Dean seemed to love throwing that word around, especially because he knew how much it got on your nerves. 

    “I’m not uptight.”

You replied before taking a sip of your drink.

    “Then come to the bar with me tonight.”

Dean challenged with a smirk. You took in a deep breath, trying to keep your language in check in such a public environment, but your response was cut short when Sam slammed his laptop shut. 

    “First of all, Dean, don’t call her sweetheart. Second of all, she doesn’t have to prove anything to you by going to a sleazy bar just to get hit on by every man in the damn place.”

You held back a laugh, simply taking another drink of your coffee. 

    “How about we make her wear a big flashing sign that says ‘Property of Sam Winchester.”

Dean said, shaking his head at his brother. 

    “Dean.” You said sternly before Sam could reply. You could see genuine anger igniting in his eyes. “I’ll- Sam and I will both go tonight if it will shut you up for once.”

Dean gave you a delighted smile, then quickly got up from the table.

    “Oh, you are not ready for a night out with me, toots. I’ll get your sign ready.”

    You heard Sam huff angrily as Dean left with Cas following awkwardly behind. 

    “Look, I know you don’t like bars that much, but this will shut him up for at least a little while. Plus we’ll be there together, so it’s not like anything bad will happen.” 

Sam hummed, acknowledging that he had heard you but still wasn’t very happy about going to the bar.

    “Come on, baby,” you sighed, getting up and kissing him softly on the cheek, “it might be fun, you know?”

    Sam looked at you, his expression softening before he gently kissed you back. He shook his head with a slight chuckle and got up from the table, getting ready to head back to the hotel with you.

    “I just hate how people talk to you when we go out. It makes me uncomfortable, so I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel…” He trailed off, eyeing you for a moment before letting in, “Being around you is always fun, though.”

You quickly replied,

    “You’re damn right it is.”

----

    You had changed into a y/f/c dress that fit you in all the right places, and you stood checking your appearance in the mirror when Sam walked in.

    “Hey, beautiful.”

He greeted you with a smile. You grinned back at him, laughing as he took your hand and slowly spun you in a circle, leading you with the arm that wouldn’t hurt your shoulder. He pulled you back into his arms and peppered your face with kisses, making you melt into a fit of laughter, your heart filled to the brim with love for him. 

    “Well hey there, handsome.” 

You purred, returning his kisses softly. 

    The sweet moment between the two of you was interrupted by the abrupt appearance of Castiel.

    “Sam, Dean sent me to tell you…” he cleared his throat, saying the next few words in a questionable impression of Dean’s voice, “hurry the hell up lovebirds.”

You laughed lightly, responding lightheartedly,

    “Thanks, Cas. Next time can you just knock before you come in though?”

Castiel looked to you and glanced back toward the hotel room door.

    “Oh. Yes… Sorry.” He paused for a moment, watching silently as Sam walked toward the bedside table to grab his phone, then looking back to you. You watched his eyes trail down your figure for a moment, then reconnecting your gaze.

    “That dress is very beautiful on you, Y/n. I’m sure you will get a lot of free drinks tonight.” 

    He said. You laughed, thinking back to when Dean had explained the free drinks that kept appearing before you the last time you all had gone to a bar.

    “Thank you Castiel, that’s very sweet of you to say.”

You replied, holding back further laughter at the compliment. Cas nodded, closing the awkward distance between the two of you so you weren’t talking across the room. 

    “I could also ease your pain if you would like.”

Cas said, smiling softly. 

    “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Cas. It’s just a little bit of a sprain or something, I’m fine though.”

Cas tilted his head at you, expressing his doubt clearly before stating.

    “Y/n, you have obviously been avoiding using your left arm, and you can barely turn your head. Healing you would be more of a convenience than a hindrance to me. You can’t defend yourself in this state.”

You frowned, knowing he was right, and nodded slightly, flinching at the pain that stabbed at your neck when you did.

    Castiel softly placed two fingers on your forehead. You closed your eyes, sighing in relief as the pain nagging at you washed away easily. 

    “Is that better?”

He asked, moving his hand to gently press at the muscles in your neck. 

    “Yes, thank you so much, Cas. You really didn’t need to use any energy on me, though.”

Cas chuckled, smiling in amusement.

    “Y/n, that isn’t necessarily how healing works, but either way, you are welcome.”

You smiled at him, nodding.

    “You think her shoulder is fine, Cas? Or do you wanna keep rubbing it?”

Sam’s voice interjected sarcastically. Cas’s hand shot away from your shoulder and he looked to Sam quickly.

    “I’m sorry if I offended you, Sam.”

He said without hesitation. 

    You laughed, shaking your head at Sam. 

    “Cas please go tell Dean we’ll be right there.”

You said softly, gesturing to the neighboring room. Cas nodded, disappearing a short short moment later.

    “Sam, I’m pretty sure Cas means no harm. You don’t have to get so protective with him and Dean.”

Sam let out a small cynical laugh.

    “Y/n, I know my brother. He wouldn’t help you cheat, but I know how he thinks and how he looks at you when he thinks I’m not looking. I absolutely need to be protective of you with him.”

Sam said quickly. You raised an eyebrow at him.

    “Okay fine, but Cas?”

Sam frowned, avoiding eye contact for a moment.

    “Okay maybe it was a little unnecessary. I’m sorry, I just love you and it sounds stupid but I’m always scared someone’s going to steal you from me, or worse, hurt you when I’m not around to protect you.”

You smiled softly at him, 

    “Sam, I’ve been beaten and bruised and scratched and bitten by every huge, ugly, smelly, disgusting, and outright dreadful monster you could imagine. Do you think I couldn’t handle some run of the mill horny asshole? Do you really think any man could steal me away? I’m in love with you, Sam. There’s no need to worry about me.”

    Sam walked toward you, giving you a soft kiss.

    “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

He said with a soft sigh, pulling you into his arms.

    “You saved my life.”

You replied softly, leaning your head against his chest. Sam held you tighter, kissing the top of your head.

    “No, I think you saved mine.”

[trashinaglass-archive]

Stranger

Based on a dream I had lol

A/n: I’m not a regular Harry writer so like what’s up Harry people. This may be a stupid concept, but idk it played out really cute in my sleep brain so why not give it a try.

Also, this is going up a LOT later than I meant for it to because I had another sad bitch episode but like it’s all good now. Hope yall enjoy:)

College is the worst.

A sigh falls from your lips as you flip the page in your textbook, continuing to type notes for the upcoming exam. You took a second to let your mind wander, relax, as you sip your coffee. A group of friends were currently home getting ready to attend another party without you. Why you chose the hardest major in the world was beyond you at this point, but you put in your headphones and continued working.

“Hey,” a voice said as it approached your table. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

You shook your head lightly, “no that’s fine,” you told him before looking down again.

He sat down, placing his things on the table. Small taps started quietly beating on the table. Your eyes followed the sound to find his fingers moving up and down, tapping lightly on the wood. “You okay?” You asked, unsure of his behavior.

“Yeah, sorry,” he laughed and stopped tapping the table. A quiet moment passed before he spoke up again. “I’m Harry.”

You stopped again, a small smirk appearing on your face. “Is it rude to say ‘I know’?” you ask him. Of course you knew him. By this point, who didn’t know of Harry Styles, even if it was just his name.

He shrugged, “only if you don’t give yours in exchange.” You smiled and gave a teasing eye roll. If any other guy had dropped that line, you would have laughed in their face. It wasn’t unknown that Harry was a charming guy, but you wouldn’t have ever expected this. That he would ask to sit at your table, let alone flirt with you, was crazy.

“Y/n,” you say simply before going back to your notes. From your peripheral, you could see a smile on his face as he looked down at his hands, fiddling with one of his rings.

“Are you busy tonight?” He asked you. You look at him confused, biting your bottom lip as your brows furrow, pointing at the textbook you’ve been buried in. “Well, you can’t study forever.”

“Yeah,” you scoff. “Definitely not trying to.”

He looked at you for a second, “let me take you to dinner. My treat.” You take a second to think about it. Your test wasn’t for two more days, but with your schedule, any study time was golden. But you had been studying basically all day, so what would an hour hurt? “Come on, seems like you could use a break.”

“Can we get dessert after?” you asked seriously.

“Of course,” Harry replied in an equally serious tone.

You couldn’t help but giggle, “sold.” You closed the laptop and book, placing them in your bag, placing it in your shoulder.

. . .

Harry picked a nice restaurant that you had never heard of before. You could tell it was expensive just by the lighting as you walked through the hall, following the hostess with Harry only slightly ahead of you. The hostess sat you in a booth towards the back of the restaurant, the back of the booth rising all the way to the ceiling to provide more privacy.

“So,” Harry began after some conversation and alcohol, feeling more comfortable around you. “I wanted to ask you a question. It might be a little awkward, but I’m curious.”

Your brow furrows at his statement. “Go on,” you reply, curious what ‘awkward question’ he could have. You take a sip of your drink as you watch Harry, waiting for the question.

“When I introduced myself, you said you knew,” he reminded you. Mm-hm, you hum in response. “And this entire time, you’ve not asked about my job or who I am or anything like that.” You hum again, confirming his statement. “Why?”

You shrug, taking a thoughtful moment to gather a response. “Would you rather I ask about it?”

“No,” he said almost too quickly. “I’ve just never met someone that didn’t ask about it in some way.” Again, your shoulders rose to your jaw, your head tilting slightly before relaxing.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be in the spotlight as you are, but I imagine it’s not too fun. It’s always kind of bothered me seeing paparazzi photos and articles- they’re so invasive. It makes me feel bad knowing that’s what you have to deal with every day so I just didn’t want to contribute to it. Figure if I’m going to treat you like anything, I should treat you as I would treat a friend.”

Harry chuckled. He raised his glass, prompting you to lift yours also. “Treat people with kindness,” he toasted, tapping his glass to yours. You giggled, not expecting to hear the motto from his lips, but repeating it all the same. “I really appreciate that.”

“So, is it true?” You asked.

His brows furrowed slightly, looking up at you with intent eyes. “Is what true?”

“That fame and paparazzi suck.”

He took a breath before answering, “It’s difficult,” he told you, sounding unsure of himself. “I love what I do, I love the people I get to work with, and I love that I have a platform where I can encourage people to do good and be who they truly are...” he trailed off.

“But,” you say softly, anticipating a not happy answer lingering.

“But... it is invasive. I can’t go to the shops and get tea without news reporters inspecting every move I make. And scary thing is, sometimes you don’t even see them- you just see the article with your face on it.” You couldn’t help but scoff and roll your eyes at the thought of it. “Then you have the occasional fan that thinks my life belongs to them. I guess you could say it’s a blessing and a curse.”

You sigh, “whatever it is, I hope you stay safe.”

Harry lightly laughed, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked down. “I definitely will. And uh, speaking of lives we wouldn’t want...”

“I didn’t say that,” you laughed, looking down at the table as you were totally guilty.

He pointed at you, “but you definitely thought it.. How’s uni going?”

You shook your head as you sigh, “it’s definitely going. My friends are actually out going to different parties every night while I get to stay in and do homework. This is the most exciting thing I’ve done in months.” You cringe to yourself, questioning if you should be admitting to how absent you’ve been.

“Well, then I’m happy to be of assistance,” he smiled brightly. “And let me give you my number so maybe we can do this again.”

You looked up at him, kind of shocked but not wanting to show it. “Definitely.” You smile to yourself as you exchange numbers, putting a funny emoji next to your contact name in his phone before handing it back.

“Don’t be a stranger.”

. . .

Harry walked with you back to your place, making sure you made it home safely before leaving. You open the door to see your roommate in her pajamas, still removing the party makeup as she looks up, acknowledging you.

“Hey! Thrilling study night?” She asked jokingly. She quickly flashed a sweet smile your way before looking back at the mirror to continue her skin care. Before you could answer, your phone vibrated.

H✨: Had a great night. Sleep well x

You smile and try to hold back the blush as you look back to your friend.

“You have no idea.”

[botwstoriesandsuch]

casual anon checkup how you doin

Let’s see, well we just breached 4am, and the sense of urgency to complete some school work has finally kicked in. I got my laptop propped up on the kitchen counter, and I just finished making some houseblend coffee that I loaded with milo powder for “health” purposes. Gotta finish up this AP Stat quiz while pretending I have some semblance of what the hell is going on in the class that I don’t pay attention to. I got my fancy bluetooth headphones that I connect with the wire anyway because I don’t like using up the battery, and I’ve had this acoustic cover of Solitary Warrior Revali looped for a few minutes now--I need those soft vibes to distract me from my thoughts about how the only reason I’ve been so sluggish with my work overall is probably due to years of ingrained perfectionism and inability to adapt my standards to the currently circumstances of the world along with my slightly declining mental health so you know--music’s nice. 

Oh! And my dad got me this electric coaster (as pretentious as that sounds, I know. Leave me and my not-cold drinks alone ok) for the holidays and it matches with my favourite mug that I’m drinking from right now so, it’s the little things :3 Plus, not to derail myself from my school life intentionally, I’ve been working on this sheet music for one of my songs for a few weeks now and it’s starting to actually sounds pretty decent so yaay!! Probably won’t share it for a long time though...I’ve really been only working on it on and off again when I have “free time” [which may or may not just be my online class gym period hey you can’t prove anything to the cops]

Uhhh what else can I shove in here...”How you doin” pfft, I don’t really know how to make this ask funny or entertaining. Well I’ve nearly finished up this zine piece about the Royal Tech Lab so that’s fun (shameless plug for the Memorabillia Zine) aaand, I’m picking my kalimba again to learn Mipha’s theme. About time, cause I have to record shit for the [REDACTED] project I’m working on >:) heh. Oh fucking SHIT now that I think about it I have like three different secret projects I’m working on huh...haven’t even finish the script for that damn au...OK what it, right, “how am I doing” well, I’m doing everything and nothing currently, if that makes any sense. Your possible regrets about sending this to me aside, it feels good to just lay everything on a plate, shit out a post, and then never talk or acknowledge it ever again. It’s like birds, you know how they just take a ten pound shit in the mourning and never look back? (That way they don’t need to go during the rest of the day) That’s what this is, just a giant load of bullshit that I’m gonna set out at 5am and then never look at again. 

You know as unhealthy as it sounds I really do dedicate a lot of time to this blog and this fandom. I mean sure not all of it (arguably any of it) is productive, but hey it’s something. The fuck else am I gonna do with my time...you wake up, you slam your keyboard awake to show up to online class, you take a nap, you spend a few hours keeping up the cishetallo gifted student appearance to your parents and then spend the rest of your time finding enough serotonin on the internet to make your brain work. Hell if I’ve talked to another human being in real life all year. Even my parents just kinda talk about the news and “how was class” during dinner which lasts like 10 minutes. My dad just kinda pisses off to work as soon as breakfast is made, and my mom just kinda stays in her office until everyone’s back and she makes dinner. Wait, that’s a lie, she does talk to me on Sunday mornings when she informs me of how I’ve ruined her day before church. So you know I do prefer it that way anyhow, why the hell would I want to talk with them when I got perfectly entertaining internet companions. What’s a “what scholarship programs are you doing?” to a *checks notifications*, “why are Rito fingers like that if they molt to they just lose the ability to--” god fucking dammit...

So! What were we saying--how am I doing? Welp. Guess it’s up for interpretation cause I sure as hell don’t know the answer to that. The hell would you do with the answer anyway. Pity points, praise points? I don’t particularly care for either. God I just realized you introduced yourself as “casual anon,” HA....apologies this is the opposite of casual isn’t it. Or, well maybe it isn’t. I’m the one just having a nice little chitchat with myself as I sip through my mug o’ caffeine. I might have to add a keep reading bar to this so I don’t blog up the dash, but also that would be ironically humorous to see for such a stupidly small question huh. Idk, contrary to popular belief I don’t have a spine so I’m probably not gonna unload all this shit on my followers like that out of the blue. Hell I’d be surprised if I actually posted this. Then again...5am and vibin with bad decision making.....plus the sentiment of putting something out to be seen is always nice.

You ever watch Bojack Horseman? Fantastic show, it’s just on a whole ‘nother level when it comes to writing. And yeah, I probably should have been watching it in the first place, BUT.............yeah ok there’s real excuse I probably shouldn’t be watching it/have watched it. But there’s this one episode in Season 4 I think? It’s where Bojack gives a eulogy for his mother’s funeral and the entire episode is just that, it’s just this giant monologue of him giving his eulogy. And that episode always facinated me because it is probably the most interesting episode in the entire show and one of my favourites, and like...how did they do that?? How did they make twenty minutes of talking so engaging and entertaining? I mean, yeah, I could probably analyze the pacing and structure to find the answer, and hell if I’ve watch my share of youtube video essays on the subject. But like, just the entire concept that someone had the idea to make 20 minutes of talking an entire episode....that’s just insane (forgive the language). 

It’s one thing to want to talk about yourself for a long time and be interesting, but to pour all kinds of energy to make some made-up fictional character talk about THEMselves for a long period of time...is that sad? Or maybe it’s respectable. /to make an audience care more about something that’s not real rather than you. Well, perhaps that’s selfish thinking. 

Oh! You know what, I just got this super nice message from someone the other day about a Raybands giveaway. Obviously, I’m not in the need for sunglasses during this day and age so I kindly declined and ignore the offer, but it got me thinking: how liked to you have to be in order to sway someone to clicking a random link. Like I’m talking about your friends or something, but like, if you opened your door oneday and Mr. Rogers was there selling clementines, would you buy them? Or if Lin Manuel Miranda offered you a vaccum, would you buy it? What’s the standard of known niceness that constitutes to you complying with what they’re asking? I sure would like to know....not for manipulation purposes but just for...idk, just having that tangibility of something. 

Ah well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw how am i doing. Well I’ll tell you what I’m doing, I’m procrastinating. Procrastinating on work and wips and conversations and dilemmas. You don’t fail all the shots you don’t take afterall *wink wink* aaand for legal reasons that was a joke. Idk, you tell me how I’m doing, fuck if I know. According to this empty mug, I’m doing well, but I also will be doing a piss in the bathroom probably.

[slytherinbangchan]

Tattoo Artist! Felix x Fem chubby reader.

-Tattoo!Artist Changbin

-Tattoo artist!Hyunjin

-Tattoo artist!Bangchan

Tattoo Artist!Jisung -Tattoo artist!Woojin

-Fuckboy!Minho

Warnings: Mature (dry humping)

-'You idiot, your client is waiting for you'. You shout looking at the staff room on the back of the store. 'Excuse him, he's pooping'. You tell the girl waiting at the counter.

-'I'm not'. He says as he rushes over there. 'Stop telling my clients that'. He laughs.

-A half smile on your face as you keep drawing not minding him.

-He hits your arm softly and scoffs with a smile on before guiding his client to the tattoo chair.

-'Ok, would you stop flirting?'

-You look up to see Seungmin's face as he leans over the counter.

-You scoff as you smile. 'I'm not flirting with Felix'.

-'Sure'.

-That devilish smile.

-'You know you're more my type than he is, right?'

-'Should I kiss you then?' He asks still with that smile on.

-You chuckle. 'Ew, just go work on your designs'. You say as you push him away.

-He chuckles as he leaves to his work table.

-Your eyes drift meeting Felix's and you chuckle as he makes some faces at you. 'Idiot' you mumble and he just smiles before going back to work.

-He's cute when he does that.

-It's a quiet morning in the shop.

-You cleaned your schedule up so you could spend some time on new designs so you're just kinda chilling.

-You see a hand stealing your coffee and you look up to see Felix taking a sip.

-'Again?' You ask.

-'What? I was working so hard just now'. He smiles.

-'I asked earlier if you wanted me to bring you something when I went for mine'. You chuckle.

-'Well, yeah but it tastes better this way'. He winks at you and you roll your eyes.

-'It's mine'. You say as you steal your cup back from his hands.

-He chuckles and ruffles your hair. 'Yeeah, understood'.

-Stupid Felix. Always messing with you like that.

-You can see your bestie Seungmin looking at you from the distance.

-You can practically read his mind. Is like there's a billboard over his head saying 'FLIRTING AGAIN?'

-But you're not flirting with Felix.

-You've been friends like that for a while now.

-He just likes to mess with you and you don't mind messing with him back.

-Some of his art covers part of your body and some of your art covers part of his.

-But the same thing goes for Seungmin.

-After all you're all tattooists.

-And anyway even if you two were flirting is not like it was romantically, right?

-Right?

-'So, wanna go grab some lunch?' Felix asks. 'I didn't bring anything'.

-'Oh, sure. I'll tell Seungmin too'.

-'Ah, okay. Sure... Then go get him and we can leave'. He smiles as you collect your drawings and keep them in a folder.

-You check your schedule as you all wait for the food.

-'Are we still playing later?' Seungmin asks Felix.

-'Of course. We should play LoL tonight though so this idiot can join us'. He says poking your arm.

-'Don't worry about me. I don't feel like playing tonight. I think I'll watch a movie or something'. You distractedly say as you keep looking at your appointments.

-'Party pooper'. Seungmin says as he chuckles.

-'What? I'm so tired and once we start playing we won't stop. I need sleep'. You chuckle.

-'Ok then it's just us two'. Seungmin says and Felix just nods.

-The rest of the day just go by as normally as ever.

-You got a couple appointments in the afternoon for big and complicated tattoos so you end up even more tired.

-Your phone buzzes as you get out the shower.

-'You idiot, Seungmin ditched me too. Now I have to play alone'.

-'How is that my fault?😂' You text Felix back.

-'Idk but it is'.

-'Ok then lol'.

-'Just log in and join my teaaam🥺'.

-'I can't I'm meeting my friends after all'.

-'Oh, so you can go out but you can't join me on the summoner's rift cause you're so tired'.

-You chuckle as you look at your phone. '😂 Yep, sorry. Have fun tho😜'.

-'Sure... Don't drink too much huh? You owe me a game tomorrow'.

-'Yeeah~'.

-It's been a while since you last went out.

-Felix goes out a lot though.

-A bunch of his clients ask him out or invite him to parties.

-He's really popular even if he's kinda shy at first.

-But lately he's been staying home playing games with you and Seungmin.

-And it's fun but sometimes you'd spend almost all night playing.

-Normally when Seungmin goes to bed you leave too.

-You think it'd be kinda awkward staying in game just with Felix.

-He doesn't talk a lot while playing and you like to joke around and comment on everything so yeah.

-Anyway he has other friends to play with. He doesn't actually need you.

-Your friends pick you up when you're ready.

-'So whose party is this?' You ask them as you get in the car.

-'I don't know, some guy from work'. One of them says.

-'Huh... Some cute guy that I should know of?'

-'Nah. I hope he invited some friends from out of work though'.

-You sigh and honestly expect for the worst.

-It's not the first time your friends drag you into one of their coworker's party.

-And parties like that are never that fun.

-When you get there it doesn't seem bad.

-Music is nice and there's a bunch of people.

-'Hey y/n look at that guy, he's kinda cute huh?' Your friend says.

-You try to find the person she's pointing at.

-Then you see the guy but he's not facing you.

-You squeeze your eyes in a stupid attempt to see him better. 'He does look good... I think'.

-'See? I knew you'd like him. Also his friend is cute too. Let's go say hi'.

-As she drags you towards the guy you start recognizing him.

-But your brain seems unable to link concepts.

-Only when you have him right in front of you, you fully realize he's actually there.

-Your friend pokes his shoulder and he turns around.

-'Hey'. She says. 'Are you guys friends with Donhyuck?'

-He chuckles as he sees you and you do the same but neither of you say anything about it yet.

-'Nah, I'm just his tattooist and this is a friend of mine'. He says pointing at the guy next to him.

-'Hi, I'm Jeongin'. The other guy says.

-'Oh, you're tattooists? My friend is a tattooist too'. She says pointing at you.

-You chuckle again. 'I think they know'. You tell your friend.

-'Ah really? Is that a tattooist thing? You all know eachother?' She asks.

-You all chuckle. 'Seriously? You don't know who this is? You've been to my shop right?'

-She looks at them for a moment and then opens her mouth. 'Felix??' She asks. 'Omg you fucking changed a lot since last time I saw you'.

-He chuckles. 'It can't be that much'.

-'It is. What the fuck you're super hot now'.

-You laugh and hit her softly. 'Don't tell him that. He has enough people drooling over him already'.

-She kinda ignores you and keeps talking to the guys. 'We totally thought you were just two hot guys and we came here to-' But you stop her.

-'Yeah well why don't we go for a drink now?' You ask her.

-'It's ok, I'll go. You stay here' She says.

-'What? Why?' You ask but she's already gone.

-'I'm going for another drink too'. Jeongin says, leaving you alone with Felix.

-'What are you doing here?' You ask directly. 'Thought you were playing tonight'.

-'Yeah all my friends were busy so...'

-'Can't play alone huh?'

-'I can. I just rather not'.

-'You miss me that bad?' You joke.

-'Well, you're the one who appeared in a party where I already was. So who was missing who?' He chuckles.

-'I didn't even know you were here. I thought you were at home playing'. You laugh.

-'Hey Felix, you like fat chicks now?' Some guy says as he walks by.

-Felix turns around to see who said that. 'Fuck off'. He says then he looks back at you to keep chatting.

-'Ah... I'm gonna go check on my friend. She always forget what drink I like'. You say, kinda awkwardly and leave before he can say anything.

-It's funny how sometimes someone can ruin your night just like that.

-Normally you would have shout something back at that rude guy or whatever.

-But for some reason tonight that guy caught you with your guard down.

-Maybe cause he said it right in front of Felix.

-Like it shouldn't be a problem but it is.

-Cause it's not the first time someone has looked at you weirdly or laughed after seeing you with Felix.

-And you can pretend it didn't happen only a limited amount of times before starting feeling like shit about it.

-You know Felix is cute and handsome and hot. You know.

-And maybe for certain people you're not.

-You also know some people is just mean sometimes.

-But could they stop reminding you that even if you don't like him you wouldn't stand a chance if you did anyway?

-You find your friend at the drinks table.

-'I'm sorry I forgot what you like'. She says.

-'Yeah I thought so. It's ok. I think I'm leaving'.

-'What? No way! You live too far away'.

-'It's fine. I'll just take the bus'.

-'Whyy? Just stay pleasee. For a bit? It'll be fun. I promise'.

-You sigh and pour a drink for yourself. 'Ok, just a bit'.

-'Did you know Felix is super popular? I heard so many people talking about him in so little time just now'. She says.

-'Yeah, even guys like him so much'. You say.

-'Yeah? Why don't you ask him out on a date or something?'

-You chuckle. 'Are you crazy?'

-'You don't like him?'

-'What do you mean? He's my coworker'.

-'Yeah and he's fucking hot?'

-'So? I haven't even think about it. There's no way he'll waste his time in someone like me anyway'.

-'Why not? You're amazing'.

-'And fat'.

-Your friend stares at you with a suspicious look. 'Where is this coming from? I thought you weren't insecure like that anymore'.

-You sigh loudly. 'Yeah, but sometimes is hard'.

-'Ok, I get that but honestly I don't think Felix would care about something like your weight at all'.

-You chuckle. 'You barely know him'.

-She chuckles too. 'Ok, but am I wrong? Do you think otherwise?'

-'I don't know. I'm pretty much confused now'.

-'Well, ok. Let's focus on another thing for tonight then'. She says as she grabs your hand. 'Let's find something fun to do'.

-You follow her around and keep drinking.

-It doesn't get fun at all at that party but you're kinda drunk now so it's not that bad.

-The guy who said that thing to Felix left the party at some point.

-That fact and the alcohol makes you feel more relaxed.

-You can see Jeongin and Felix from there talking to some girls.

-Well, it seems more like the girls are doing all the talking.

-Not like you care.

-You sigh slightly annoyed and look away.

-There's a bunch of people sitting on the floor and your friends want to go check what the hell they're doing.

-'Ah! You entered the circle you must stay'. Some guy says.

-'What?' You ask.

-'It's the rule'. He says.

-'Uh... Okay? What is this about though?'

-'We're playing 7 minutes in heaven'.

-'Really?? Are we in high school or?'

-Your friend chuckles at your reaction and makes you sit.

-'What is this?' Felix asks as he's pushed into the circle by some of the girls who were talking to him earlier.

-'Ok, you all can sit but that's it. Let's start the game'. The guy says.

-Felix looks as confused as you were a minute ago but he sits down.

-He also looks kinda drunk.

-You don't know almost anybody else in that circle. It's going to be awkward if the bottle points at you at some point.

-So you're kinda praying that's not the case.

-And it works at first.

-You just keep drinking and laughing about other people being put together in a tiny room for 7 minutes.

-And how some of them are pissed about their partner and others have not enought time for kissing or whatever.

-So you forget about the bottle for a minute.

-Then realize everyone is looking at you.

-'What?' You ask.

-'It's your turn y/n. He's waiting for you, c'mon'. Your friend whispers to you.

-You look up and Felix is offering his hand to help you up.

-So nice of him to help you like that.

-You hold it without thinking about it too much.

-So dizzy you almost fall.

-You hear someone mumble. 'So lucky'.

-'Who am I getting in this room with? I wasn't really paying attention'. You whisper to Felix and he chuckles.

-'Me'.

-You feel some butterflies in your stomach but just keep walking to the room.

-Some guy opens the door for you and you get in.

-It's a very tiny guest room with a bed and not much more.

-'I'm sorry you got stuck with me'. You say. 'Don't worry. I'll tell everyone nothing happened when we are out of here'.

-He scoffs. 'So you're just rejecting me like that?'

-What is he talking about?

-'Not funny'. You say as you sit on the bed.

-He sits right besides you. 'Why are you mad at me?'

-'I'm not. Actually this is the less mad I've been in this party'.

-He laughs. 'Glad I make you feel good then'.

-'Yeah, you do'. You say looking at him. He's looking down at the bed.

-Then you feel the warmth of his hands over yours.

-'What are you doing?' You ask and he chuckles.

-'I don't know. I'm kinda drunk and your hands looked so soft. I wanted to touch them'.

-You smile. 'Weirdo'.

-'Shut up, I'm not'. He pushes you with his shoulder but doesn't let your hands go.

-His smile is so precious. Wonder how you didn't notice before.

-'You know you owe me a game right?' He says. His fingers laced with yours now.

-'Yeeah I know...' You chuckle. 'We need Seungmin though I can't play with you alone. You're so quiet'.

-'What? Really?'

-'Yeah I think it'd be awkward just the two of us. Oh god... I'm sorry I'm drunk confessing about my awkward feelings when we are in a call alone'. You can't stop your words but he's chuckling so it's ok.

-'I knew it was weird you always leave when Seungmin does'. He laughs.

-'I'm so sorry Felix'. You laugh.

-'It's fine. We'll play alone next time. So you'll see it doesn’t have to be awkward'.

-'Oh god it'll totally be'.

-'It won't you idiot. We can be in a call alone. We're alone now'.

-As soon as he says that something moves inside of you.

-You look at him in the eyes then look at his lips.

-He smiles and leans a bit over you.

-Your heart racing all of a sudden.

-What is happening??

-He's so fucking close now.

-He's stopped just 2cm away from your lips.

-You're blushing.

-'Can I kiss you?' He asks almost in a whisper.

-You blush even harder. 'W-wha..?'

-'Ok, guys time's up'. The guy controlling the game says as he opens the door startling you a bit.

-Felix closes his eyes and scrunches his nose silently annoyed at the guy's timing.

-'Oh... Okay'. You tell the guy as you stand to walk out.

-Felix follows you to the living room and you both sit down in the circle again.

-Luckily that spinning bottle forgets about you two for the rest of the party.

-You practically pass out when you get home.

-And when you wake up next day you hardly remember anything at first.

-Then you see the texts on your phone.

-'Girl, you better tell me what happened last night with you and Felix as soon as you wake up you hear me??'

-That's one of your friends.

-'What are you talking about?' You text her back.

-'You fell asleep in my car and never told us what happened when you were alone with him'.

-'Yeah, probably nothing happened. I don't remember much anyway'.

-You look at the time in your phone. 'Shit. I'm late, bye'. You text her before running to the shower.

-When you get to the studio only Seungmin is there with a client.

-And your morning client just re-scheduled their appointment when you were on your way to the shop so now you can relax a bit.

-After some minutes a guy appears asking for Felix but he's not around yet.

-'Can you call him?' Seungmin asks you. 'He must have fallen asleep or something'.

-'Oh... Ok...' You take a deep breath before dialing.

-You feel nervous but you can't remember why.

-He asnwers the phone after a while. 'y/n?'

-Wow, that husky sleepy voice.

-Heart beating so fast.

-'Felix, are you okay? There's a client here waiting for you'.

-You hear some noise like stuff falling. 'Fuck'. He says. Sounds like he hit himself.

-'Felix...?'

-'Yeah, sorry I'll be there in a minute'. He says then he hangs up.

-You apologize to the client and ask him to wait for a bit.

-Sooner than later Felix appears in the studio.

-Your heart skips a beat as you see him in the same clothes as last night. He must've slept in them.

-His hair all messy.

-'Hi, sorry'. He apologizes and runs to his client not giving you any time to say hi back.

-You're working on your desings again but this time your eyes drift to Felix more often.

-Feeling your heart beating faster just at the sight of him.

-He's too focused to look back at you though. He really must feel bad for making his client wait for him.

-He has dark circles under his eyes. You wonder how much sleep he actually got.

-You don't talk a lot during the day.

-You both just focus on your work.

-Personally you just want the day to end so you can go back home and get some sleep.

-After your last client Felix finally aproaches you.

-'Hey...' He looks really tired too. 'I know you must be exhausted but this friend is coming home to watch a movie. Would you join us?'

-'Why?' You ask without thinking. 'I mean, aren't you tired too?'

-'Yeah...' He says as he scratches his neck. 'Would you still come though?'

-You feel butterflies as you hear the softer tone in his voice. Triggering some memories from last night.

-Your cheeks getting pink as you remember.

-He almost kissed you while you were in that room.

-'y/n?? It's okay if you'd rather go home and rest'.

-'No, I'll go with you'.

-He smiles so big. 'Nice. I'm ready to go whenever you're ready'.

-Huh.

-What is this?

-This is weird right?

-Like, you're both so tired why are you doing this?

-Why is your body just moving and reacting before you can even think.

-Maybe you're so tired you're on automatic mode now.

-You walk alongside him in silence.

-Ah, he looks nice with the red hair and that beanie.

-He looks at you and smiles as he catches you staring.

-You blush lightly but smile back.

-Ah, his nose so cute with the freckles...

-Wish you could gently bite his nose.

-Or hold him to fight the cold as he sweetely leaves a kiss on the top of your head.

-Huh... That’s weird.

-Why would you think about stuff like that?

-Your heart skipping a beat as you think about it.

-Ahh... So you like Felix now...

-You sigh.

-You blame your friend for getting into your head.

-You were so convinced you wouldn't fall for this guy.

-And it was hard to resist cause he's so sweet.

-But he almost kissed you last night.

-Does he even like you?

-For all you know he'd did it cause of the game and nothing else.

-He's so popular...

-Not that you're not nice and cool but why would he like you instead of just another person?

-You just don't think you'll ever be that lucky to have someone liking you back.

-'Hey, should we grab some snacks for the movie?' He suddenly asks bringing you back from your train of thoughts.

-'Yeah, sure'.

-You go into the next store you see and grab some popcorn etc...

-You leave the store laughing about the reaction of the person working there.

-They got so surprised when they heard Felix's voice.

-It's happened a lot of times before in the tattoo shop but it's always kinda fun.

-Cause after all this time working with him you're used to it but when people see that face and then hear his deep voice they all get surprised.

-And it makes you feel some kind of way.

-Like every time it happens makes you aware again of the fact that his angelic face hides a demonic voice.

-Guess you weren't sure before of what that feeling was but now you know... It kinda turns you on.

-You shake your head trying to think of something else instead.

-When you get at Felix's apartment there's a guy waiting at his door.

-He's tall and very handsome.

-His name is Jaemin.

-Apparently you've played with him and Felix online before but you don't remember him.

-'So cruel. How could you forget me? We've played so many times in the same team!'

-You chuckle. 'I'm sorry I don't really pay much attention to people I don't personally know'.

-'That's mean'. He pouts. 'You remind me of one of my friends. So mean...'.

-'Sorry'. You chuckle again and sit on the couch.

-'Jaemin help me out with the popcorn'. Felix says.

-'Can't you do it alone?'

-'Oh, I'll help you if you want'. You offer.

-'Don't worry y/n just get some rest and if you don't mind you could pick a movie in the meantime'. Felix says.

-They close the kitchen's door but you can still hear them.

-'What?' Jaemin asks.

-'What do you mean what? Just help me with the snacks'.

-'Cause you don't know how your own microwave works?'

-'Just get the cups and the drinks'. Felix laughs.

-Are they dating or something? You ask yourself.

-'What is with you? You don't want to leave me alone with this girl? Do you like her?'

-You wait for Felix's answer but he doesn't say anything.

-'Okay then'. Jaemin says.

-The kitchen's door opens and he appears with some glasses and drinks.

-'How can you carry all that at the same time?' You ask him chuckling.

-'I don't know. Skill?' He smiles at you as he leaves the stuff on the tea table and sits by your side.

-'I see'.

-Felix appears a bit later with the popcorn.

-He takes a quick look at the couch and sits at your other side.

-So yeah you're in the middle of those two.

-You chose a horror movie and Felix is clearly terrified.

-Jaemin is yawning, almost falling asleep.

-You chuckle and poke him lightly. 'Hey! No sleeping'.

-He smiles without taking his eyes off the screen. 'Sorry'.

-Felix clears his throat and sits up a bit.

-'Are you okay?' You ask him.

-'Yeah'. He says rubbing his eyes a little.

-'We could drink so we won't fall asleep' Jaemin suggests.

-'Are you sure that'll work just like that?' You ask.

-'We can try'. He says.

-So yeah now you're drinking as the horror movie finishes.

-You all end up drunk-laughin at the overacting in the movie and the lame CGI.

-Also at some point you started cuddling Felix cause your drunk self fucking wanted to and nobody stopped you.

-Your legs on Jaemin's lap.

-He gives his cup a last sip and looks at the clock. 'Fuck I should go'. He says. 'I had fun though. You're a tattooist too right?' He asks you.

-'Yeah'.

-'I'll go visit you someday to get an appointment. Is that okay?' He asks as he carefully takes your legs off his lap to stand up.

-'Sure'. You say.

-'Great. See you guys then'. He says with a big smile on his face. He stumbles a bit to get out of the house but it's okay.

-'Ah... Guess I should leave too'. You say sitting up a bit.

-'Oh, okay. I'll walk you home'.

-You try and stand up but you're so drunk you just fall right back on the couch. 'Ok. I think I can't go right now'. You chuckle and he laughs too.

-'Yeah, maybe come back here for a bit'. He says.

-You chuckle softly and go back cuddling him.

-His hand stroking your hair as you look at him in the eyes.

-Ah... You really want to kiss him.

-'You're so cute y/n'. He says making your heart flutter. 'Your cheeks are red cause the alcohol. So cute'. He repeats then leans over to leave a peck on your forehead.

-But you hold his face softly so he would stay close then kiss him after a second.

-His hands over yours now.

-A muffled moan leaving his mouth without breaking the kiss.

-And your heart is beating so fast.

-You're kissing Felix.

-Like for real.

-It's not a dream right? Not a drunk dream.

-He's really just there refusing to stop kissing you even for a second as you move to sit astride him.

-He's not sure where to put his hands now and it's kinda funny so you're not telling him where.

-He ends up leaving them there in the air at your waist lenght so you lace your fingers with his.

-It all started kinda passionate but as the alcohol effects fade a bit your kisses get sweeter.

-Till you're so sleepy.

-Your heart beating strongly but calmly as you watch Felix putting on a jacket over his hoodie to walk you home.

-He smiles shyly at your look but doesn't say anything.

-Is he shy after spending the last hour kissing you?

-You chuckle and walk towards him helping him to fix his clothes before leaving.

-'Thanks'. He says and you kiss him again.

-You hold hands all the way to your apartment.

-Just talking nonsense and laughing.

-Still a bit dizzy cause you drank a lot in a short amount of time earlier.

-But it's fine.

-'Do you think Seungmin will nag at us tomorrow for not getting enough sleep again?' He asks as you both stand in front of your door.

-'Yeah, maybe. It's not that late though. Just go straight to bed when you get home'.

-'Well, let's see if I can get any sleep'. He chuckles.

-'Why wouldn't you? The horror movie?'

-He chuckles softly and shakes his head. 'I'll be too nervous thinking about this girl I like'. He says as he takes a lock of hair out of your face.

-You blush at his words. 'Shut up'. You say as you hit him lightly making him laugh again.

-'Yeah, that was kinda cheesy'.

-'Kinda?'

-'Shut up you too'. He says as he leans over to kiss you good bye. 'See you tomorrow'. He says in a soft tone.

-You nod and he pecks your lips one last time. 'Bye'. You say as you walk away.

-He watches you till you get inside then leaves.

-Your heart beating so fast every time you think of him and all that happened tonight.

-You wonder if he really is thinking of you too.

-You lie in bed and raise your arms to see the tattoos Felix personally designed for you some time ago.

-His smile as you both joked around while he was tattooing you back then comes to mind.

-And how he pretended you were hurting him so bad while you tattoed him.

-Those clients waiting got so scared at first till he finally told them he was just joking.

-That you are the best tattooist he knows.

-Your heart flutters as you remember all those moments so clearly.

-Still feels kinda hard to take in what have happened between you two in a matter of days? Hours?

-But maybe Seungmin was right and you've been flirting for the longest time without being aware of it.

-Probably he was. He always notices everything.

-You sigh looking at the ceiling and fall asleep at some point.

-Next day Felix is already at the shop when you arrive.

-'Hey'. He says with a sweet tone.

-'Hi'. You say same way.

-You both look at eachother as you don't really know how to act but as you leave your stuff and walk towards him he moves closer too.

-Seungmin watching you two with a suspicious stare.

-It feels a bit awkward cause none of you are sure if you should kiss but the truth is you two are getting closer and closer.

-You blush as soon as he's in front of you and end up leaving a quick peck on his cheek.

-'What is happening?' Seungmin asks from the other side of the shop still with his suspicious look.

-'N-Nothing'. You say.

-His eyes getting bigger as he looks at Felix's red face. 'Felix? Can you come here for a minute?'

-'I don't really want to...'

-'Come here you idiot'. He says, then waits for Felix to walk there.

-You can't hear what they're saying now but Seungmin is smiling and Felix's still red as ever.

-It feels kinda warm seeing them like that.

-'Huh, you must be happy we open only mornings on Fridays'. He tells you and you chuckle.

-'Ah, shut up'. You say, more relaxed now. You thought Seungmin would mess much more with you but he's a good guy after all.

-Morning practically flies as you work and soon is time to leave.

-Felix approaches you slightly shy. 'Do you want to go out or something... With... Me?' He asks and you chuckle.

-Him being shy makes you feel less shy yourself if that makes sense somehow.

-'Yes, Felix. I want to'. You chuckle again.'Where should we go?'

-'Why are you laughing at me?' He asks as he chuckles too.

-'I don't know. You're cute'.

-He scrunches his nose as if he were mad and you scoff as you smile.

-He's indeed just too cute.

-'I'm gonna kiss you'. You say and he chuckles.

-'Ok'.

-You tip-toe a bit and he leans over to finish with the distance left.

-Seungmin walks by after a minute and hits you with a magazine on your heads. 'Ew, just go home'.

-But you just keep kissing as you show Seungmin the middle finger.

-He chuckles and keeps on cleaning his equipment.

-Felix holds your hand as you walk down the street.

-It's so cold outside but it's alright.

-You just walk for a while till you find a food stall you like.

-Felix stands behind you as you order.

-His chin resting on the top of your head and his arms hanging on your shoulders.

-You turn around after ordering and hug him getting inside his coat.

-'So cold'. You say as he just wraps his arms around you.

-He chuckles and kisses you on your forehead. 'We can go home after getting the food if you want'.

-You happily nod and he smiles.

-'Hey, guys?' A male voice says making you two turn a bit to see him. It's Jaemin. 'I fucking knew you liked her dude'. He says as he laughs.

-Felix chuckles too. 'Well, yeah. It was pretty obvious'.

-'Was it??' You ask and they laugh.

-'Yeah babe, it kinda was'. Felix says and you blush.

-'Oh wow, babe huh?' Jaemin says. 'It seems like you guys are doing good'. He chuckles a bit. 'Anyway I gotta go. Glad to see you two and I’ll see you again soon for my tattoo'. He says as he winks at you.

-You nod still blushing and then the guy from the stall calls you to you pick up your food.

-'I got it'. Felix says.

-He hands you your food carefully and you start walking.

-There's not so much talk in your way to his apartment cause you're both just focusing on eating.

-But it feels so nice. It's not awkward at all.

-You grab some ice cream just before getting to his apartment.

-'You were freezing a minute ago'. He chuckles.

-'Yeah but it's not going to be cold inside your apartment so...'

-He chuckles again. 'I see. Will you give me some?'

-'We'll see'. You say and he scoffs.

-'Really?'

-You get under the blanket as soon as you're inside his apartment.

-He sits right next to you and you offer him to get under the blanket too.

-'Should we watch a movie or something?' He asks as you unwrap your ice cream

-'Sure!'

-'Let me guess. A horror one'.

-'Yes pleaasee'.

-'Fine but I'll bother you eternally if I'm scared for life after this'.

-'Just close your eyes when the jump-scare is coming'. You chuckle.

-'I'll just keep my eyes closed then'.

-'We can watch other stuff too, idiot'. You lighly poke him with your ice cream leaving some cream on his nose.

-He scrunches his nose once and waits for you to take the cream off it but you just smile.

-'C'mon'. He chuckles.

-But you only get more cream on him.

-His lips, part of his jaw all covered.

-You're smiling as he looks at you biting his lips trying not to curse.

-'What are you gonna do now, huh?' You ask as you lick the ice cream running down your hand.

-He holds your hand and bites the ice cream. Eating almost all of it.

-'Nooo' You pout as a satisfyed smile is drawn on his face. ‘My ice cream’. You pout again.

-'You deserve it. Maybe you should clean this mess you made now'. He says as he leans back on the couch.

-His deep voice making you shiver with excitement.

-You slowly climb onto his lap sitting astride him.

-He just watches you in silence as you lean over him.

-You look at his eyes for a moment and he nods.

-Then you start licking the ice cream off his jaw stopping right before getting to his lips.

-Your faces so close still.

-He naughtily smiles and kisses you.

-His hands on your waist as he pulls you closer.

-Is no long before you can feel him getting hard beneath you.

-And it's just in the right place.

-You stop to look at him. A hand in the neck of his hoodie, the other one combing his hair back lightly.

-His hands on your butt now as you slowly rock your hips.

-He chuckles softly. 'Are you shy?' He asks as he caresses your burning red cheek.

-You turn your face trying to bite his thumb and he chuckles again.

-'Cute'.

-You lean over him to kiss just to make him stop laughing.

-But then you go down his neck, leaving some kisses and love bites over there.

-His hand climbing up under your clothes to your boobs.

-You moan softly in his ear as he squeezes them.

-The sound of your voice making him harder.

-The intensity of your movements increasing.

-He takes off your top then kisses you.

-You hug him lightly. His head at your boobs lenght.

-You pull him closer and he kisses your chest then bites softly on your tits.

-You bite your lips as you feel your orgasm building just with the friction. Letting out a muffled moan.

-Felix grunts softly as he releases. His hands grasping at your butt. His head still buried between your boobs.

-And you just let go.

-A bunch of cute moans scaping your mouth as you come.

-You hold Felix's face between your hands softly and kiss him for a while.

-'You still owe me an ice cream though'. You say.

-And he just smiles as he lies you down to start all over again.

Blog’s Masterlist

[steppedoffaflight]

Summer’s a Knife - Chapter 16

Catch up on Chapter 15 here

“So,” Danica is the first one to speak, “When are you supposed to see him again?”

Your shoulders slump at this. “He’s in town this weekend, but I don’t think we’re gonna see each other.”

Mary snaps to attention, her eyes locking with yours. “Why not?”

Everyone seems to be on the edge of their seat, waiting for more details with bated breath.

You shrug, but Mary only narrows her eyes. “I think I’m gonna end things,” You keep your voice light, stirring the ice in your now-empty glass.

or

Summer’s coming to an end.

Word count: ~8.2k

Chapter Sixteen October 2019

Those few rushed nights with Van are all you get in September. 

The band’s schedule is less jam-packed this month, and Van promises over text that he’ll be around soon. He responds to you more often, and is able to fit in some phone calls more often when he’s on smoke breaks, even if sometimes he accidentally calls you at three A.M. and has to go to voicemail. 

You know you should be excited to see him again, but you can’t stop remembering how awful you feel each time he leaves. With September under your belt you’re more adapted to his absence, feeling a little more steady on your feet. Wouldn’t seeing him again just fuck it all up? 

Maybe you could still be friends with Van, as long as you kept a little distance between you two. Maybe if you gave yourself some space this month you could accept that Van was just a best friend with a spotty visitation schedule, and not cling to him so tightly. You make a pact with yourself to take October off of seeing Van, with the exception of phone calls and texts. That way you could keep him at arm’s length while you get your head together.

Even making that promise to yourself gives you a rush of relief. Your September funk had been much more serious than you’d realized, and now that you were starting to shake it off you knew you couldn’t jeopardize it. You’d started having regular weekend brunch with Mary at the diner again, and had gone out with the girls at work for drinks after one of them secured a huge client for the company. Everything was starting to fall back into place in your world, returning to the way it had been before your birthday weekend in San Diego had tipped everything over.

\\

On a Monday morning midway through the month, you’re dashing to your desk after running hopelessly late. You’d forgotten to plug your phone in last night, so it’d died in the middle of the night, and your body’s natural clock had woken you up on way too short notice. Thankfully nobody seems to notice as you slide into your cubicle, eagerly tapping the enter key on your keyboard to wake your computer up. 

Your phone is still dead in your bag, and you dig it out before rustling through a drawer for your work charger. As your phone starts to boot up you focus on your computer, using your credentials to log in. You take a moment to collect yourself as everything loads, smoothing your hair down and taking a sip of your coffee you’d poured into a travel mug before rushing out the door. 

You’ve caught your breath by the time you get your browser open and your email loaded. The subject line of the third email in your inbox immediately catches your eye: Y/N OPEN THIS NOW IT’S IMPORTANT

It’s from Danica, one of the girls in your coworker friend group.

The new martini bar on Melrose finally opened and we want to get drinks Friday after work!! Let me know if you’re in!

Getting drinks on Friday sounded fun, but you had no idea what she was talking about. Yeah I’m in, you send back, but what martini bar on Melrose?

You take a quick trip to the bathroom, and when you come back there’s a response at the top of your inbox. She’s linked the website for the bar, and it does look pretty cool. The decor is crisp and modern, and from their ‘about’ section it looks like they’re bordering the fine line of being a club without trying to attract the student crowd. 

Oh, cool! Do you care if I invite my friend Mary? From the photos it looks like the sort of place Mary would be right at home charming everyone at, so you can’t resist asking. 

Once Danica has given her approval to invite Mary, you finally unlock your phone, ready to send a text to her about Friday night. That’s when you see Van’s message.

Guess who’s gonna be flying in on Friday?

Your blood instantly runs cold. Oh shit.

\\

It only takes that simple text to throw you off kilter. How can some words on a screen do that? 

You swipe Van’s message away, hoping to forget about it. You couldn’t, of course, but you’d made a promise to yourself not to see him and now he was trying to mess that up! You’d have to say no. You knew you’d have to say no. Technically, you had plans. And, more importantly, you were not going to spend the weekend crying your eyes out over some stupid guy! It was a no. For sure. The only thing is that you’d have to figure out how to say it.

You proceed with texting Mary about the martini bar, and then decide to focus on work for the day. You were already behind from running late and time wasted emailing Danica, so you needed to get going. It would be good for Van not to have an immediate response. You needed some time to word things in a way that wouldn’t hurt his feelings. After all, it’s not him- it’s you. 

But after an hour of some market research you pick your phone up again. Omg I just made plans for Friday, You respond with an emoji of a facepalm. You get back to work, ridiculously proud of how you’d brushed him off. Take that, Van McCann. You would not be dropping everything to see him.

\\

Van doesn’t respond until the next afternoon. That’s alright! Saturday?

You bury your head in your hands where you’re sitting at your favorite cafe booth on your lunch. Lord, he was making this so fucking hard.

It isn’t until you’re home, fresh glass of wine in hand, that you reply. Idk. So swamped with work lately.

\\

To keep your guilt at bay, you actually do swamp yourself with work. Van has dropped the subject of meeting up for the moment being, but you know he’ll bring it back up with a vengeance. You don’t know if there’s been one time he’s been in L.A. this entire summer that you two haven’t hung out, and knowing he’s not the type to let subjects drop peacefully leaves a pit of dread in your stomach. 

You smother said dread with the market research you’re currently doing for some sort of waterless shampoo for dogs. It was a successful enough product, given that there were already a few brands on pet store shelves. The only issue is that you were at a loss when it came to what was supposed to make this particular brand special. The client couldn’t answer that question herself, either, so this was essentially a THC-water-rerun where you use up the research budget, don’t get anywhere, and the client eventually gives up. 

As you remember the THC water, your fingers reach across your desk for a pen, so you can jot down a reminder to send them a thank you note for the products they’d sent you. Van had informed you during one of your phone calls last month that he’d brought the bottles on tour, where one night the boys chugged the entire pack. According to him, they’d all actually gotten high. Plus, you’d like an update on how they were doing with their new marketing team. You’d managed to call in a favor from a different firm with more THC experience, who was genuinely interested in taking them on. Hopefully now their product was getting the attention it needed. 

\\

On Friday morning, you wake up sick to your stomach. You’d barely slept, your mind tossing Van’s impending visit back and forth the entire night. He hasn’t texted you about it since you’d brushed him off on Tuesday, and now you were filled with the sinking feeling that he was upset with you. Which, first of all, was a ridiculous thought. You hadn’t done anything wrong by not clearing your schedule for him! Certainly he understood that you had your own life and your own job, and not everything revolved around him. As much as you wanted it to.

And that was the real problem, wasn’t it? The more that Van was sweet and understanding, the harder it was to force yourself to reject him. You literally wanted nothing more than to come home from having drinks tonight and find him curled up in your bed. You were putting yourself through this torture, and it wasn’t even necessary!

But it is necessary, you remind yourself. Look at you! Losing sleep, stumbling around while your stomach does somersaults just because you were so hopelessly in love with Van your body couldn’t bear the concept of having to opt out of seeing him for one weekend. How were you ever supposed to create some distance between you two?

You’re a zombie at work, jumping at your phone each time it buzzed. It was never Van, only the group chat of everyone going out tonight. You let them discuss their outfits and designated driver situation amongst themselves, trying to force yourself to focus on the paperwork you needed to get done to help a client apply for a patent today. 

\\

You startle when your phone vibrates on the bathroom counter, almost falling into the damp sink. You lurch for it with the hand not currently running the flat iron through your hair, sighing in irritation. The group chat has continued to go off incessantly all day, keeping a steady stream of anxiety and adrenaline running through you. What could everyone possibly need to fucking talk about when you guys were about to be face-to-face in less than an hour?

It’s a text from Van. Just got in. 

Although it solidifies the nerves in your stomach, there’s some sort of relief that what you’ve been anticipating has finally happened. Easy flight? You can’t resist responding.

Eh, He says, lots of turbulence.

With no mention of meeting up, your shoulders release the tension they’ve been carrying all day. Your phone buzzes again, but it’s the girls, and you hurry to order your Uber while you finish up your hair and put the final touches on your makeup.

\\

Martinis on Melrose is hard to see from the main road, and it takes your driver a minute to find his way into the parking lot. The name is glowing in a dark blue neon script across the smooth cement of the exterior, casting a glow on all of the sleek cars crammed into the lot. You’re glad you don’t have to worry about finding a spot as you shimmy out of the backseat, hoisting your bag over your shoulder and trying to find your footing on your heels.

Two of the girls are already here and have reserved a table for tonight, but Theo is still en route dropping Mary off. You pause just outside of the front door, eager to stall, and dig around in your purse for your pack of cigarettes.

It’s the quiet before the storm, that moment before you walk into a gathering where you like to mentally brace yourself for the night to come. No offense to the girls, as you enjoy their company a ton, but you’ll always be an introvert at heart. Having a quick cigarette is the perfect way to calm yourself down, get yourself ready to be social for an extended period of time. Your first puff sends relief rushing through your brain, a craving satisfied. 

As you watch your exhaled smoke glow blue from the fluorescent lighting, you feel a pang of disappointment in yourself. You can’t believe Van’s managed to get you hooked on nicotine. Oh, Van. The disappointment in your belly blooms larger, deeper. Disappointment that you won’t be ending your day wrapped in his arms, comforted by his company, his charisma that had weaseled around your introverted tendencies until you felt right at home with him in your space. Disappointed that you don’t have him by your side tonight, your hand in his, anchoring you to the moment. Disappointed that after the fiasco over this weekend, you had the feeling that you’d never be able to remain just friends with him.

“Since when do you smoke alone?” Mary’s voice has you crawling out of your skin, dropping your cigarette from the scare.

“Shit,” You hiss, further disappointed that you have to stomp your cigarette out when it was only halfway done. The cement is so fresh and clean you decide to lean over and pick the butt up, depositing it in the trash directly to your right by the door. “Just getting my head in the game,” You respond to Mary.

Ever the extrovert, she clearly doesn’t understand, blinking at you as she tosses her hair over her shoulder. “I fucking love that outfit,” She changes the topic.

You glance down at yourself. It’s actually the same one you’d worn to Lou’s birthday party, complete with the uncomfortable heels and the denim jacket to help dress it down. Looking down at your toes you remember trading shoes with Sam, arguing with Van in hushed tones on the deck stairs. You hadn’t known how deep your feelings were for him then, but you remember how his jealousy both pissed you off and pleased you at the same time, an indication that he might want your arrangement to go deeper than friends. That memory falls into the disappointment abyss when you realize in hindsight how that never happened. 

“Thanks, but look at you!” You beam at her, gesturing to her own dress. It’s a silk slip that looks like you might see a Kardashian posing in it on instagram. It makes her legs look a mile long, and she’s gone braless, always on trend. She’s got her right hand wrapped around a sleek clutch bag, and as you two head into the bar she holds it up.

“Don’t let me get drunk and forget this in the bathroom or at the table,” She warns in a low tone.

“I’ll try,” You mutter, as the hustle and bustle of the club surrounds you two. “But I’m in need of a few martinis myself.”

“Long week?” Mary eyes you after she scans the room. You’re doing the same, looking for the table Danica had texted you they were at. 

You spot the table, starting to head to it, Mary following along. “Oh yeah,” You nod enthusiastically, realizing how emotionally drained you’ve been since Van’s text on Monday.

You introduce everyone to Mary before sliding into the curved booth, exchanging greetings. One of the girls pass you a menu that you look over with curiosity. You need something strong enough to forget these last two months.

Your focus on the menu fades when your phone buzzes against the glossy tabletop. Just as you reach to check what notification has appeared the server comes around to get you and Mary’s drink order. While she opts for a cosmopolitan your eyes quickly flit over the page, your brain scrambling to read the different ingredients in your hurry.

“I’ll have an endless summer,” You recite to the waitress, smiling at her as she hurries away to relay the order. She leaves the menu so that the girls that haven’t arrived yet can look over it. 

As soon as she’s gone you grab for your phone again, unlocking it to see a text from Van: Wanna do lunch at that diner tomorrow? It’ll help with that hangover

You’d told him about your plans to go out for drinks, and his thoughtfulness makes your heart ache. Why does he have to be so fucking nice all of the time?

“Is that Van?” Mary interrupts the wave of sadness welling up in your chest. Everyone has stopped talking, Mary commanding the attention of everyone per usual. 

“Um, yeah,” You respond politely, despite the urge to reach over and strangle her. Everyone’s eyes are on you, and your cheeks burn at the way Mary’s just exposed your Van situation to everyone. 

“Who?” Danica asks, tilting her head as she takes a sip of her drink. “I thought you were single!”

Realizing your coworkers had no idea about him, Mary’s face lights up in joy. You hate her for it, internally groaning. There’s no way she’s going to let you get away without telling everyone what was going on. 

“Y/N hasn’t told you about Van?” Mary asks, leaning in excitedly. Danica and your other coworker that had arrived early, Nicole, are suddenly at attention, waiting for you to explain.

“Hey, hey!” Olivia- forever the loudest coworker in the office- calls from behind your shoulder. She’s sauntering effortlessly on stilettos, Mia trailing behind.

Olivia makes a big scene of plopping down in the booth, Mia shuffling in next to you. Whereas you’re the quiet counterpart to Mary, Mia’s the same to Olivia. You’d always liked Mia, the way she never seemed stressed or worked up over office demands or drama; she tended to let them roll off of her with a quiet shrug. You tended to stay away from Olivia, however. While Mary radiated an outgoing, enjoyable charisma, Olivia radiated an air of lead-cheerleader bitchiness.

The commotion of Olivia and Mia’s arrival has successfully diverted the conversation to how hard the restaurant had been for Olivia to find, and everyone forgets about the Van topic. You sigh in relief when the waitress comes back around to collect the new drink orders, gingerly setting a glass full of sunset-colored alcohol in front of you. It starts deep red at the bottom with the cranberry juice, and somehow fades to a soft orange by the middle of the glass, a pale pink at the top. You suck at your straw eagerly, ready to have some alcohol in your system. It’s overly sweet and burns as it goes down, but Danica and Nicole are already one drink ahead of you, so you’re trying to catch up.

“He’s an annoying motherfucker,” Olivia is complaining about her husband, tossing her phone back into her bag with a scoff. Mia murmurs agreement next to you, and Danica is asking her some question about wedding venues. Danica’s not engaged just yet, but it’s clear she’s desperate for a proposal from her boyfriend. 

Oh, to be surrounded by friends in couples. Mary has chimed in about some pet peeve she has about Theo, and you let their conversation fade to the background of your mind as you pick your phone up again.

This weekend doesn’t really work for me at all, you text Van. It physically pains you to press send, but you know it’s what you’ve got to do. He’s not getting the hint!

“Oh! Y/N!” Danica suddenly exclaims, and when you look up from your screen she is gesturing excitedly, like the words are on the tip of her tongue.

“You were gonna tell us about that Victor guy!” She finally spits it out, and the spotlight is on you again. 

“Van,” You correct absentmindedly, before realizing you’d missed the point. You clear your throat, tucking your phone in the pocket of your jacket, deciding not to check it again. You couldn’t handle Van possibly becoming angry or hurt. “Um, there’s not much to say!” You laugh nervously, glancing at Mary as a call for help. “He’s my best friend.”

“Besides, you, of course,” You hurry to assure Mary. She rolls her eyes in amusement, unbothered.

“He’s her best friend with benefits,” Mary stirs the pot. Everyone’s interest in you had started to fade with your lackluster explanation, but at the mention of the benefits they all perk up again. 

“And get this,” Mary gestures excitedly, and you’re relieved she’s taking over the storytelling. “He’s the lead singer of this band that’s fucking huge in the U.K.”

“No way,” Danica’s eyes widen.

“Yeah,” Mary nods. “We met him after they played a show at the House of Blues in San Diego.” 

“When?” Nicole pipes up, scooting in closer. 

“In January, when I was there for my birthday,” You tell her. 

“You’ve been with him since January?” Danica asks, clearly shocked. “You haven’t said a word!”

You open your mouth to respond, but are interrupted by the waitress passing out another round of drinks. You take the last few sips of your first martini, then stick your straws into the next glass. 

“Girl, explain,” Nicole demands, earning a laugh from everyone at the table. 

“Hold on,” You laugh, feeling a bit more comfortable with their interest. This whole thing has been weighing on you, after all, and now you’ve got the chance to get some fresh opinions on what you should do. Without further ado you hold the straw of your drink between your thumb and forefinger, swallowing it down in a matter of a minute.

“I need to catch up!” Olivia shouts as you pull away, and starts to gulp down her own drink. She’s finished quicker than you, ever the show-off, and waves the waitress over again to request another round for you and her. 

The waitress is back pronto, another endless summer dripping condensation on the table in front of you, a bloody mary perched in front of Olivia. 

You take a sip to wet your throat before you sit back.

You’ve never told the story of you two out loud like this before. Mary’s been present every step of the way, and you’d managed to stay away from your family’s prying by telling them only the basics of your friendship. This is the first time you have to listen to yourself explain all of the time you’ve spent together, and it shocks you as you hear yourself. Like when you explain the story of Van catching strep throat, and Mia is confused as to why he decided to spend over a week crashing at your place. You recite Van’s excuse at the time about the lack of food at his house, but nobody at the booth seems convinced. 

You trail off when you’re finished, deciding not to share anymore details with anyone. Mary had snorted more than once during your chronicles due to your decision to keep everything very surface and PG- although you’re sure none of these girls cared about Catfish, Van’s trust is sacred to you. You’re fiercely protective over the private moments you two have had together; even Mary doesn’t know about the way you’d tied him up during his birthday sex. 

There’s a silence that falls over everyone when you’re finished, punctuating the story of your summer with a long, burning sip of your drink. You’re expecting Olivia to launch into her own story- no doubt somehow more interesting than yours- but you’re surprised to see her stirring her bloody mary, looking lost in thought. Was this Van thing really that crazy?

“So,” Danica is the first one to speak, “When are you supposed to see him again?”

Your shoulders slump at this. “He’s in town this weekend, but I don’t think we’re gonna see each other.”

Mary snaps to attention, her eyes locking with yours. “Why not?”

Everyone seems to be on the edge of their seat, waiting for more details with bated breath. 

You shrug, but Mary only narrows her eyes. “I think I’m gonna end things,” You keep your voice light, stirring the ice in your now-empty glass. 

“What? Why?” Nicole shrieks. “He sounds great!”

“He is great,” You affirm. You’d sworn to yourself a long time ago that no matter how this thing plays out, you’d always maintain that Van had been the best man you’d ever been with. “But he’s just really busy now. He was gone for almost all of September.”

“So you’re gonna give him up?” Nicole scoffs in disbelief. “You’re insane, Y/N.”

“I mean, there’s nothing to give up!” You defend yourself weakly, your voice going higher in pitch. “We’re not together!”

Mary opens her mouth to speak, no doubt to derail you from your plan. You understand why she’s eager to dissuade you from something so drastic, but she also had no idea about the agony you’ve been in, how cutting ties with Van is the only way you know how to save your sanity. 

“Do you have a picture?” Olivia asks, successfully interrupting Mary. Despite your dislike for Olivia, you’re glad for her intervention.

“Um, lemme see,” You murmur, grabbing your phone back out of your pocket. But you forgot you’d been keeping your phone in there on purpose, and as you go to scroll through your photo gallery you’re accosted with Van’s reply to your previous message:

Everything alright?

You swipe it away, reaching your drink before realizing it’s empty. “Ugh, I need another one of these.” How many drinks have you had now? Three? You wish you remembered.

You deliberate over what photo to show them; you hardly take any when you two are together, and most of the ones you’ve taken seem too intimate to share with others. You laugh when you scroll past a photo of Van you’d taken in August, standing by the front door with his ribboned ficus in his arms. He’s got an exaggerated grin, no attempt to look poised for the camera. There’s tons of photos with his blurry hands or feet in them, attempts to obscure snapchats you were trying to take for Mary, and you hurry past the few nudes he’d sent you when you two had decided to exchange a few over text. You settle on one you feel comfortable sharing; it’s a photo of him at some bar, his eyes bloodshot from the alcohol. He’s flushed and beaming, leaning against Bob, who was the one taking the picture of the two of them. He’d forwarded it to you the next morning, complaining about his hangover. You present this photo to the others.

Immediately Olivia takes your phone from your hands, sending a shot of anxiety through you. You’ll never understand why some people insist on taking the phone out of your hands rather than just looking at the image on the screen. 

“He’s good looking!” She exclaims, almost like she didn’t expect it. Danica and Nicole nod their agreement. When Olivia hands the phone back you flash the photo at Mia, who seems more interested in Bob’s half of the picture.

“Isn’t he?” Mary agrees, playfully elbowing you. “If you’re finished with him then send him my way,” She jokes, but you can hear her ill-concealed frustration with you underneath. You know she’s dying to know what the fuck you’re doing, messing up the best not-relationship you’ve ever had. Maybe she’ll get lunch with you tomorrow, so you can properly explain. Of course you hadn’t shared your true feelings for Van with everyone, but it was probably time for Mary to know. 

“He sounds like a keeper,” Olivia agrees, and you’re surprised to hear she thinks so. You’re even more surprised at everyone’s enthusiastic nods.

“You’d be an idiot to let him go,” Danica tells you seriously, and Nicole murmurs her assent. “Like, seriously. Have you lost interest in him?”

Lost interest in him? You wish it could be true, but that wasn’t even a possibility you could fathom at the moment.

“Uh, no,” You answer her, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s just the logistics.”

“Well, make it work,” Nicole urges you. 

There’s some murmurs about ‘the one that got away’ from the other girls, and the conversation about Van finally dies out. You’re relieved when Mia brings up a project she’s working on in the office, looking for some advice from everyone about how to respond to a client who tends to have an aggressive tone in his emails. From there things fade into hilarious client stories and email blunders, and you try to seem as engaged as possible, relieved to have the focus off of you.

You lose track of your drinks, absentmindedly sipping them while everyone’s voices flow and mingle around you. You’ve definitely hit your introvert limit, ready to head home and curl up in bed. Nobody seems to notice how quiet you’ve grown, or how you perk up in relief when Mia finally suggests you guys call it a night. Everyone takes her cue, the table lighting up with phone screens as everyone reaches out to their ride. 

“Theo can take you home,” Mary offers when you pull up the Uber app.

“Oh, it’s fine,” You politely decline. There’s a lot of Ubers doing rounds on a busy street like Melrose during this time, and you know a car will be here soon. More than anything you were craving the quiet, some time away from this loud club music and conversation.

“If you’re sure…” Mary trails off. You remember your idea about lunch suddenly, ready to blurt it out to her, but the sober fraction of your brain shushes you. It would be incredibly rude to make lunch plans with someone right in front of everyone else.

Lunch tomorrow? You text her instead, and watch the notification ping on her phone screen.

YES. she sends back. YOU HAVE EXPLAINING TO DO. 

That would cause sober-you to dread these plans, but thankfully drunk-you is only preoccupied with going home. 

\\

You’re drunker than you’d thought by the end of the night. You’d managed to down all of your drinks without the need to use the restroom (miraculously), but when you had stood up to let Mary shuffle out of the booth it suddenly felt like your bladder was nothing but a bouncing water balloon, and all of the alcohol had rushed to your head. You had struggled to keep yourself walking in a straight line to the bathroom, not to mention staying balanced on your heels while you washed your hands. You get the notification your ride is here as soon as you’re pushing through the heavy swinging door, so you grab your bag back at the booth and exchange goodbyes and promises to do this again with Nicole, who is the last one waiting for a ride, and head out front.

There’s no silence quite as satisfying as the one that follows a night out after you’ve hopped into the car and closed the door. Besides the polite hello the driver offers he doesn’t seem interested in conversation, so you stare out the window at the night sky and try to make sense of the mess in your head.

Only as the car is pulling out onto Melrose do you remember you’d left a text from Van on read. You grab your phone off of the seat next to you, clicking your texts with Van open.

Everything alright? You read to yourself over and over. How the fuck were you supposed to answer that? Was he really that clueless? Were you that amazing at hiding how much this had been hurting you, or had he just not bothered to pay attention?

I’m fine, you decide to reply. Was it the truth? Not exactly. But you knew you would be, eventually. Ending things would hurt like hell at first, but you’d recover. You had from every other heartbreak you’ve experienced in your life, after all. 

You’re surprised when your phone vibrates in your palm, an instant reply from Van: Don’t seem fine. 

Shit. Maybe he’s been paying a bit more attention than you thought. You double down on your lie: It’s fine Van. 

The three dots pop up before you can even lock your phone: ??

You click your screen off, tossing your phone beside you on the bench. It bounces with a soft thud, and you rest your head in your hands, trying to take a deep breath.

Everyone’s advice starts to echo in your mind: He sounds like a keeper! You’d be an idiot to let him go! Make it work! Offered up so happily as if those were actually options, as if there was any fucking possibility Van felt the same way about you. 

It completely overwhelms you then, how in over your head you are. There had been moments where you’d felt a speck of hope, signs that maybe he wanted more than this casual thing, but now it’s been six months of spending time together, and exactly zero attempts by him to broach the subject. It all hits you then, all the emotions you’ve been keeping controlled while you tried to enjoy your night out, and before you know it you’re in tears.

It’s only a few tears at first, but letting go feels so good you give in to it, the car silent except for your loud sniffles and the occasional shaky breath. The Uber driver, to his credit, doesn’t react as you silently bawl your eyes out in the backseat.

Your phone goes off again from where it’s facedown, light seeping out of the sides. You leave it there, for once not pathetically controlled by Van’s moment-to-moment whim. A little laugh bubbles out of you at that thought, and you think absentmindedly that you must sound absolutely crazy, but you’re too drunk to care, the alcohol carrying that thought away as you continue your catharsis.

Time slips by in jumps and starts, your tears slowing eventually, and by the time the car turns onto your block you’re excited to get inside, make yourself a hot mug of tea, and continue your cry in private. Your house is the only one on your side of the street with the light on, and so you watch it slide into view as the car makes its way down the road.

“It’s that one,” You snuffle, “With the light on.”

As the car approaches, your blood goes cold.

Your first instinct is to assume it’s some sort of alcohol-induced hallucination. You wipe the tears from your eyes furiously, but when you look again there’s no mistaking it. The porch light is cascading down your front lawn, and Van’s silhouette is perched on your front steps, smoking a cigarette.

“Here you go, ma’am,” The driver stops the car and unlocks the door for you. As soon as the car pulls up Van tosses his cigarette onto the front path and stomps it out, standing up. You watch him through the car window in disbelief before you grab your things, give a numb thank you, and get out of the car.

There’s a stretch of silence as the Uber pulls away where you stand right outside of the front gate, unable to do anything except gape at Van. 

A car suddenly whizzes down your road, and you realize how close you are to being in the street. “What the fuck are you doing here?” You exclaim, the clatter of the gate clicking closed behind you echoing with your voice off of the silent houses around you.

“I came here to get some answers!” Van says, exasperated. “You won’t tell me nothin’!”

“There’s nothing to say!” You gesture with your arms as you reach the steps, face to face with him. “There’s no answers to get!”

“You’ve been cryin’!” Van gestures towards you, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” You wipe at your undereye self consciously and look down at your finger. There’s a smear of mascara. You sigh before moving past Van up the stairs, headed for the front door. He follows.

“Did I do something?” He asks, coming into your peripheral vision. “If I did, just tell me! Let me make this right.”

You look through your purse for your keys, ignoring him.

“Christ, I’m sorry. I didn’t do anything on purpose!”

You continue your search for your keys, keeping your head down.

“Fuck,” You say quietly to yourself as you sweep your bag for the third time and fail. You click your phone on, switching on the flashlight and lighting up your bag.

Van groans in frustration, wiping a hand through his hair. “Y/N!”

“What?” You snap at him, looking up. You’ve finally found your key and you jam it into the door, clicking it unlocked.

“Why are you ignorin’ me?” He pleads.

“Van,” You start, trying to keep your voice steady. You look up at him then, and you feel like your breath’s been punched out of you. The light is illuminating him from behind, a halo of golden light that catches each strand of frizz and accentuates the sharp line of his chin. His hair’s grown out since the spring, the light snagging the curls that are upturned at the nape of his neck. You swallow thickly. His eyes are wide in confusion.

“I think we need to end things,” You say quietly, struggling to see through a fresh batch of tears.

His jaw hangs slightly ajar. “What?” He asks in disbelief.

Your eyes are welling up again, and you wipe at them, a mess of mascara on your hands. “We’re done,” You tell him, voice wobbling, as you swing the door open and head inside.

He doesn’t give you a chance to shut the door in his face, heading in right behind you. “You’re fucking joking! What have I done?”

You head straight for the bathroom, examining yourself in the mirror. You cringe inwardly at yourself and grab for your makeup wipes, trying to make yourself look a little less pathetic.

Van is standing in the front room. “I’m not leaving until we talk about this,” He says loudly so you can hear him from behind the bathroom door.

You don’t respond, wiping away your eyeliner vigorously.

“I said I’m sorry!”

You sigh to yourself.

“Look, I-”

“Listen, Van!” You cut him off from the other room. You swing the door open, marching out. “It’s like you said in the hotel that one time, remember? We’re supposed to be simple, easy. And that was working great. You stop by at your convenience, and I throw everything else out of the fucking window to spend time with you. And then you just fucking… disappear! For two months! And it- I-” You struggle to find any words, your voice fading out as you feel yourself start to cry again. And I love you. I miss you. 

Van throws his arms up. “I didn’t mean it like that at all, c’mon! It’s not at my convenience! I was working! I wasn’t trying to ignore ya! I try my hardest to come around!” 

He sighs, running a hand through his hair again. When he speaks again, he’s quieter. “It wasn’t like that, honest.”

“I just can’t do this anymore,” You try desperately to explain. “This whole ‘simple’ thing is killing me. The long trips out to see you, and I’m lucky if I get to see you for two whole days…” Your words are interrupted by an embarrassingly pathetic sob, Van’s eyes widening at your outpouring of emotion.

“Please don’t tell me you think this whole thing was about having you around just for a fuck,” Van pleads. “You’re my best mate! I can’t help that I travel a lot!”

You bury your face in your hands.

Van sighs, moving towards you. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” He says earnestly. “C’mon. I’m sorry. Get out of that dress and we can turn a film on, yeah? Or we can go grab some food. Whatever you wanna do.” 

You groan into your palms, the sound echoing in your ears. He just wasn’t getting it.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Van offers, his voice soft. “I didn’t… I’m sorry if it seemed like I was using you, or something.”

“But then we’ll go out to eat, and everything’ll be fine tonight, but it’s still gonna be the same! And you’re gonna be so busy with tour, and it’s not fair to me when you’re not around, and I can’t spend my whole life roadtripping with you!”

“The bulk of this leg is over!” Van argues, “And I don’t mind if you’re busy. It’ll be your turn to text me like I’ve been texting you, yeah?” The corner of his lips quirk up in a tired smile.

“Oh my God, Van,” You groan again. You take a long, frustrated inhale. It was now or never, you realize, because he might be the best man you’ve ever been with, but he’s still completely clueless. 

“I’m trying to tell you I fucking love you!” You yell, throwing your arms up. “I fucking love you! I don’t want simple and easy! I want you!”

You feel like you’re about to faint from the admission. For a terrifying moment all of the blood rushes to your head, and the only sound you can hear is your own heartbeat in your ears. You’ve put all your cards on the table, and there was no going back. Van might’ve been eager to fix things moments ago, but he could very well change his entire attitude now that the truth is out.

While you stand there, terrified, you notice his tired smile start to stretch into a grin.

“What?” He asks, grinning ear to ear.

“I love you,” You repeat, no longer yelling. Your throat hurts. It feels like the dust settling after an explosion, but your heart is skipping because Van isn’t running, not yet.

“Are you saying that I’m not simple? Or easy?” Van jokes, still beaming.

“No.” You feel a small laugh of relief bubble up. “I know it’s hard. With the traveling, and the label deadlines and stuff. But I’ve had the trial period. I wanna be able to text you and ask what you’re doing without seeming all clingy. And I don’t wanna go days without hearing from you!” Van groans at that. “And I want you to be able to tell everyone that I’m your girlfriend. Not your mate!” You say that part with a glare, remembering the conversation between him and Bondy you’d overhead by the ice machine in Detroit. 

“You heard that?” Van groans again, laughing. “I didn’t know what to say! He caught me by surprise!”

“And I want my family to be able to meet you!” You add on, “Not have to lie and pretend you’re busy with band stuff because you wouldn’t come in!”

Van’s jaw drops slightly at that. “I wanted to come in!” He confesses, “I thought you were asking as an afterthought! To be polite!” He runs his hands through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief. “You don’t know how bad I wanted to say yes.”

He wraps his arms around you now, pulling you in close.

“I love you, too,” He admits. “And I have for a long fucking time! I’m sorry it didn’t seem like it. I thought you liked this whole ‘simple’ thing. I was playing it up for your sake!” He sways you back and forth while you bury your head in his chest, wrapping your arms around him. 

“I can’t believe you,” You shake your head against him in exasperation. You lift your head suddenly, your face inches from his. “When did you know?”

Van puffs his cheeks up with air, releasing it with a whoosh as you watch his eyes flit through the air while he considers. “On the couch on the tour bus,” He tells you. “I mean, I already did, but that was my moment of… yeah.” One side of his lips quirk up in a lopsided smile.

“Well, I win,” You tease. “Because I realized it backstage in Phoenix.”

Van’s eyes widen in shock. “You’re fucking joking!” He laughs, “And you’ve been keeping it a secret since?” 

“Yeah!” You exclaim, lifting your hands from where they’re resting on his sides to gesture at him. “You were making it pretty fucking clear you weren’t interested in dating!”

“Oh, yeah?” Van challenges, his playful grin reappearing. “More clear than you attempting to break things off with me?”

“Oh, stop,” You huff, pointing to your puffy eyes and splotchy face. “Clearly you can see it wasn’t an easy decision!”

“Fuck, I thought you had it out for me,” Van laughs, letting one of his hands fall from your back so that he can run it through his hair. “Whatever I did, I was ready to accept your wrath.”

“You don’t even know,” You start, burying your face in his shirt again. Your tears are back, overwhelmed with relief that the truth was finally out, that Van loved you the same way you loved him. “This has been tearing me apart for months now.”

“Me too,” Van sighs, his palm rubbing up and down your spine. “I even told you on accident that one time.”

You freeze, trying to understand what he meant. 

“Wait,” You lift your head, stepping back from him. “Are you talking about that phone call?”

“Yeah.”

At this your jaw drops. You’ve stepped out of Van’s arms, and he’s keeping his hands busy by rolling the sleeves of his button-up over his forearms. “You said you didn’t remember it!”

“I told you I loved you!” Van’s clearly embarrassed, his cheeks burning pink. “And I got all soppy about being apart on my birthday!”

“I said I loved you back!” You shout in complete disbelief. “We both admitted we loved each other and you didn’t think anything of it?”

“I was drunk! I thought you were taking pity on me! Give me a break!”

Oh God, he was impossible. You open your mouth to ridicule him further, but instead you step toward him again, cupping his jaw and bringing your lips together. There’s no sense in arguing about it anymore. Clearly you’d both been oblivious, but what did it matter now that everything had worked out?

Well, technically, you had no idea what the road ahead would bring for you two. But you’ve made it this far, right? Seven months of navigating these unspoken rules between you two, it feels like things can only get easier now that they’re dissolving right before your eyes. You kiss Van harder, and when your lips open for him it feels like all of the possibilities opening up before you: Van was your fucking boyfriend now.

In the thrill of your realization you reach for his belt buckle, struggling to undo it while you’re distracted by the kiss. 

After fussing with it for longer than normal you feel the warm press of Van’s lips being pulled away, his hands coming to wrap around yours.

“You’re shaking like a leaf,” He remarks in amusement, brushing your hands aside and undoing his own belt. 

“Because I love you,” You confess, your voice barely above a whisper.

“I love you too,” Van chuckles, giving you another quick kiss. “Whew, how much did you have? I feel like I took a shot just fucking kissing ya.”

“It doesn’t matter,” You tell him bluntly. “Help me out of this dress.”

Van knows you’re right because he obliges, tossing your jean jacket in the vicinity of the couch before helping you undo the zipper that runs down your back. Soon your dress has fallen around your ankles, tripping you up as you step out of the puddle of fabric on your heels.

Van’s hands reach out, steadying you. “Christ,” He laughs, guiding you to the couch. “Need help getting those heels off?”

“Please,” You sigh, flopping down on the couch in your bra and underwear, extending your legs out towards Van, who gets down on his knees to be of assistance. His fingers easily undo the straps around your ankles, releasing your feet from the hazard of your heels in no time. 

His fingers tuck into the waistband of your underwear next, tugging them down your thighs and depositing them on the ground before his head’s between your legs.

You sigh happily, slumping against the cushions as you pet his hair. You can’t remember the last time you were as content as you were right now; having drunk sex with your boyfriend, the person you loved and trusted most in the world. 

Your entire body feels like a warm puddle of endless summers and pleasure, but suddenly a thought pierces through the fog in your brain, and you shoot upright in your seat so fast that Van pulls away in concern.

“I have to text Mary!” You remember. Your eyes search around wildly for your bag, and you can feel the air passing between your legs without Van’s mouth keeping you warm.

Van wipes his chin, making to stand up. “Well, text her,” He says, gesturing towards the bedroom door. “Then come meet me in bed.”

You stumble up from the couch, crossing the living room naked and heading into the bathroom, where you’d left your purse.

Hello???? Mary’s sent. Did you get home safe????? Are you okay?!?

Home safe, You send back. Sorry, Van showed up unexpectedly and we talked. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow!

As soon as you’ve sent it you see the typing indicator pop up. You decide to respond to one last message before catching up to Van so you two can resume your first official romp as a couple.

If you tell me you two are done I’m gonna kill you.

At her words, you grin. 

Haha nope. We both realized we’re in love with each other and we’re official now. It’s a long story. 

\\

[trifoliate-undergrowth]

Pacific Rim 3

I outline the plot of Pacific Rim 3 as experienced by me in a waking fever dream before and during today's 4am shift as a way to distract myself from real life stress with imaginary stress, written in breaks during work and in the parking lot before driving home because I'm going back to sleep when I get there and I want to preserve this fever dream first before I lose the details of it,

Ok I've been here for 3 hours and I don't know how to do a read more link on mobile I'm sorry you're getting this as is whether you want it or not I need to sleep goodbye

Dr. Gottlieb and Liwen are working on building their own portal to the Precursors to beat them up once and for all

Jake is seen giving an inspiring speech to a new wave of cadets who've been training with the old ones, now fully realized Jaeger pilots. Amara is everyone's favorite instructor.

Jake is very imposing and military and inspiring. Jake is everything the kids need him to be. Jake slips away from the party early and tears off his uniform before disappearing down a side street in his civilian clothes

Nate has the visible emotional human reaction of milk curdling and goes after him

Dr. Gottlieb and Liwen Shao are talking to someone about how they're making progress on the rift but they need help. Someone in particular who knows about alien tech. He's coming in on the next flight, actually. The person they're explaining this to gives a disbelieving "no..."

NEWTON

Wakes up in his house in the middle of fuckass nowhere. Somewhere away from technology he could theoretically use For Evil, or people he could theoretically hurt. This is, however, a self-imposed isolation, as he seems to have been granted his freedom, conditionally.

We see his morning routine, featuring normal stuff like making coffee, panic attack in the shower ft. indistinct memories of the Precursors, taking a massive dose of PPDC-granted experimental medication, starting the car, another indistinct alien trauma flashback, listening to the radio on the way to the airport where people appear to recognize him and he low-key has a panic attack because oh God everyone knows what I did

Jake leaves the bar and runs into Nate, who gives him the old Argh Argh Responsibility And Pride talk and Jake is like yeah man I know shut up

They have a fistfight in the rain and the neon lights in the alley outside the bar

No one properly wins because they've drifted so many times and they can predict each other's attacks but they both land a few and take a few, Jake gets hit a bit more because he's drunk

They both end up just sitting in the rain feeling sorry for themselves

Nate: Jules proposed to her girlfriend.

Jake: I know

Nate: they're getting married.

Jake: yeah that usually happens when someone proposes

So Jules wasn't going to end up with either of them and they're both sad about it. Nate suddenly suggests they go back in the bar. He'll buy Jake a drink to make up for beating him up. Jake is like ok sure but the drink's gonna be soda because I was LEAVING the bar because I was ALREADY drunk

They share a Soda Of Angst at the bar and talk about how they're gonna die alone. Jake says "at least we've got each other" and it's impossible to tell if he's joking. Nate is like "you know what this place isn't that bad we should come back sometime."

Newton reaches the lab. He is terrified of Liwen and awkward around Hermann. He instinctively calls Liwen "boss" and she reminds him matter-of-factly that they're working as equals now, "since you ruined my life's work."

Hermann asks how the medication is working and Newton indicates that it works fine but he still gets anxiety about it not being enough. Hermann promises him it's been proven effective, thus why the PPDC let him out of his crimes against humanity iron cell of shame. It's revealed that what they're giving him is a stronger dose of a medication originally developed for burned-out Jaeger pilots with unmanageable symptoms, and that it blocks out memories related to the drift--and since this is how the Precursors were reaching him, this works to block out their influence. The cost is that Newton doesn't remember much of anything past building his own neural bridge. He knows it happened but the details won't load. He's constantly worrying that it's not enough, that the Precursors will come back, and is taking a dangerously high dose that gives him constant hand tremors and worse insomnia than usual.

The first time he and Hermann are left alone they have an uncomfortable attempt at talking which gradually turns into an argument about nothing in particular. Newt keeps calling him Hermann but it sounds Wrong and Hermann hasn't been allowing people to just use his first name here and he finally snaps at Newton to stop it and he's like "oh my God I can't call you your NAME? what the hell am I supposed to call you??"

Newt says something angsty and Hermann says something like 'yes well the nicest thing that ever happened to me was drifting with a dead and decaying piece of kaiju viscera' and he says it sardonically but he's serious

Newt doesn't remember any context for the time they drifted.

Newt assumes he's being maliciously sarcastic and starts SCREAMING at him

Hermann just looks at him in shock at first then just lets him go for a little while

Eventually shutting his mouth by jabbing him under the chin with his cane and saying, very quietly and coldly, "get out of my lab"

Newton gets out of the lab

Newton runs into Nate and Jake at The Angst Bar and they recognize him but he has no idea who they are but he's willing to just roll with it at this point and asks them if they know Hermann well enough to give him advice

"like that was sarcasm right? I'm pretty sure he was making fun of me but now I'm less sure idk"

Nate's: no he's immune to sarcasm

Jake: yeah it's kinda funny

Nate: *the gaze*

Jake: I mean, nothing wrong with that, but yeah if he was being sarcastic that'd be first time it's happened as far as I can tell

Newt: are. Are you telling me. That someone actually. For some reason. Offered me a sincere compliment. And. I yelled at him

Jake: that's your call, I mean, you know him better than us, right? You guys were friends right?

Newton, who doesn't remember any of these people:

Nate: I mean I wasn't there, only way to tell is to go back and ask him

Newt: aaaaaaa

Newton goes back and Liwen is like "hey I've got no idea what's going on here but can you weirdos just act normal for two seconds so we can get some work done" and Hermann and Newt both just kinda. Laser focus on rift stuff

Remember the guy with the "no why would you involve Newton"reaction? No because he's but important and has no name or real identity? Yeah ok every Pacific Rim movie needs one Designated Douchebag to cause Interpersonal Drama and this guy is it. I'll call him DD for short

DD shows up and is like oh my God you actually turned Newton loose in the lab?? Why would you do this we're all going to die

Everyone just ignores him

Designated Douchebag has the self-importance of a high elf and the confidence of a fucking walnut and doesn't like being ignored

And starts talking directly to Newton, which really freaks Newton out but he continues pretending to ignore him

DD: so you're safe now? Not going to start speaking alien gibberish?

Newton: don't plan on it

Hermann, without turning around: DD you may not like to hear this but it was never your business who we brought in to assist, we don't need your permission, and complaining about Newton now that he's already here is certainly not going to do any good.

DD: alright fine but you'd better keep a close eye on him.

DD: anyways Newton tell your girlfriend I said hi

Newton, blank: who?

DD: you know, Alice?

Newton's face registers several emotions as he grapples with a name from the buried memories-confusion, disgust, terror-mostly shock

There is an abrupt cut

Liwen, thinking her two colleagues were acclimated to each other enough to allow her to leave the room and get tea without disaster, is walking back down the hallway talking with a lab tech when they hear the sound of something breaking

A moment later the doors to the lab are flung open and DD is forcibly ejected, collapsing on the floor in front of them. Dr. Gottlieb exits the lab behind him, holding his cane like a cricket bat. There is a muffled sound of Newton yelling OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING

Liwen backs out of range of cane damage and sips her tea, mildly intrigued. The lab tech starts to run for help and nearly crashes into Nate and Jake, who came running to see what the yelling was about.

Nate: what is--

Dr. Gottlieb, panting with restrained bloodlust: HELLO SIRS GOOD TO SEE YOU I BELIEVE THERE'S BEEN A SECURITY BREACH BECAUSE THIS FELLOW HAS JUST BEEN CASUALLY CHATTING ABOUT RESTRICTED CLASS-J49 INFORMATION PLEASE LOCK HIM UP

DD: it's COMMON KNOWLEDGE and he ATTACKED me

Dr. Gottlieb: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID SIR!! *He takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes some blood off the handle of his cane*

Nate: WHAT is happening

Newton: *trying to have a quiet hysterical laughter meltdown in the lab before anyone remembers he's there*

Anyways next plot point. An alien shows up

Not a Precursor! A nice alien

Listen if PR:U gets to pull all that bullshit with Mt Fuji I'm allowed to add aliens okay

Hermann should have a nice non-genocidal alien friend I think he deserves it

Anyways the alien is clearly a different species than the Precursors (or Kaiju) and seems friendly but they can't communicate with it, the linguistics team is working on it but it's going to take A Lot of Work

Hermann goes "hm I've got a quicker and more accurate option"and wheels out the drift interface

This alien's mind doesn't link well with human minds but Hermann is a pro and powers through

He gets seasick and throws up and finally comes out shaky with a bloody nose and eye but he's managed to communicate!

The alien is a diplomat from another world the Precursors attempted to colonize, they survived because the Precursors underestimated the humans' resilience and spread themselves too thin, trying to invade earth and the alien homeworld at the same time and then getting distracted dealing with the humans, which left the aliens time to prepare their defense

They're here to help with the war effort, they don't have a lot that's relevant to current human scientific understanding but they can help fill in some of the gaps in the human's knowledge about rifts

They're making progress! Yay!

Things are getting serious, training montage Jake and Nate and the new pilots getting ready to kick ass

Newton finally brings himself to apologize to Hermann and explain he was confused but the net progress here is still zero because then they immediately have ANOTHER argument

Hermann has started writing his notes in the alien's language, he wants to make sure he can remember it well enough to help the linguistics team, and it's also beautifully precise and he just loves it and loves that he's able to write it, come on who wouldn't be proud of being the first contact human

Newton sees a bunch of notes of Alien Gibberish (to him) and gets Bad Vibes

Newton doesn't think they can trust the alien, Hermann does but his proof is mainly "I can tell because I drifted with them" and Newton 1. Doesn't remember what that's like and 2. DOES remember that the last time he thought it was a good idea to drift with an alien he ended up nearly killing literally everyone on earth

They yell at each other some more

At some point Hermann tries to deescalate and asks why they can't be friends again and Newton, still yelling, says "people keep acting like we're friends and I don't remember it! As far as I'm concerned this is all we ever had! I barely remember you at all and what I do remember is that we hated each other!"

Hermann: ....I never hated you. .. alright, colleagues, then? We've got a rift to build

Newton, still hyperventilating slightly: ok ok yeah sure yeah

Interlude: Jules gets married!

She asks Hermann to walk her down the aisle (where she meets her wife, who walked down the opposite aisle to meet in the middle)

Newton, protesting "I don't know I don't feel like I should be here," is physically dragged into the venue by Liwen, who is telling him that this is a diplomatic event it's his duty to be at.

She drags him over to Hermann and settles between them, soaking in the chaotic gay science panic vibes

She seems to be enjoying herself

Jules sees Hermann in the audience and an evil gleam comes into her eye

She has a strong arm

She hurls her bouquet directly at his face

Hermann ducks, panic granting him lightning quick reflexes

The bouquet, travelling at about Mach 5, zooms past him and hits Jake Pentecost squarely in the nose

He inhales several petals of baby's breath and gets slapped in the eyelid by a vine and goes into a dramatic coughing fit. Nate pounds him on the back.

Alien, speaking through a translating device they've got set up (it isn't perfect but it works on a basic level mostly): is it bad luck to touch the flowers?

Hermann, still slightly panicked from the near miss: no it's ahh, there's this silly tradition that whoever catches the bouquet is likely to get married next, and ah, as you see there, sometimes a bride with a sense of humor will, err, intentionally aim it at someone who, uh, didn't necessarily want it?

Alien: I think I understand. My sibling often tells me to go the southern hills of ^°^=^^°^°^^°°= to find a mate, though I have told them many times that I have no such desire.

Nate and Jake are like "ok neither of us have a date I guess we're drinking our sorrows away together at the reception" and do that

And maybe make out a little bit

Neither of them is ready to deal with Feelings so they both just blame it on the alcohol and try not to think about it too hard

Newton, venting @ someone, explains that there's an empty space in his memory where he knows that that something about Hermann is supposed to go and it doesn't feel like the other, worse memories he's blocked out, it feels like he lost something precious, but he has no idea what that is

Hermann tells Newton he's been working on a device that might block out the Precursors' influence without affecting his memory, so he can use all of his knowledge. And so he isn't constantly so confused about who he does and doesn't know but he doesn't say that part

It connects to his skin a bit like a drift interface

Newton is terrified but enthusiastic about maybe being Less Confused All the Time

The fact that he is guarded by a full security detail to make sure he doesn't Become Evil Again the whole time he's going off his meds really doesn't help the stress much

Memories start coming back but they're confused and jumbled and at first he's not much better off

The Precursor nightmares are about what he expected but he keeps hearing Hermann's voice in there too and he's not sure why and he can't remember when he heard it like that

Meanwhile Hermann keeps needing to drift with the alien to clarify important details about the rift that they don't know how to translate into human terms, but it fucks him up a little bit more each time he does it until the last time he passes out for like at hour and wakes up disoriented with a nosebleed that just won't stop and Jake orders him to stop drifting

He's ok with that because they've got the information they needed anyway!

IT'S TIME, THEY'RE SENDING THE JAEGERS INTO THE RIFT

Newton, despite his misgivings, reluctantly joins Liwen, dr. Gottlieb and the alien in command to supervise the mission, still wearing the device and getting random bursts of confused memory

Jake and Nate are piloting the Lady Avenger (did u know gypsy is a slur and they prefer to be called Romani) and go though first and start punching Precursors and their bodyguard Kaiju

Newton goes very still and just stares at Hermann for like a solid minute while he's trying to work, his expression shifting to something new

Hermann, softly: what?

Newton, smiling: I remember you.

Hermann, furiously trying to interpret alien data: is this really the best time??

It's a close fight across the rift, the Precursors are on their home turf and the Jaegers are not, fighting in a bizarre low-gravity environment that doesn't really have floors

Their base is set up differently than expected and Hermann decides he needs to check something with the alien. By drifting with them. He's still bleeding uncontrollably after the last stunt that got him banned but he's determined to do it because It's Necessary

Newton takes the headset from him and puts it on instead

It feels Bad

But then he sees another planet, beautiful, so different from his own yet so similar. He sees aliens attacked by monsters from the deep, responding more or less how the humans had, moving inland, building useless walls, building their own monsters for defense. He sees the alien diplomat losing friends and family.

He sees the journey to earth, and drifting with Hermann. He sees the alien's memories of Hermann, and Hermann's memories in the drift. He sees how Hermann remembers him. What he forgot. What the Precursors had blinded him to.

He doesn't have time to think about it because he's feverishly trying to translate the knowledge he's receiving into data that works with their human technology so they can help the Jaegers and there's blood dripping from his face onto the controls but it's there, in the back of his mind, he knows now. Hermann missed him.

The Lady Avenger is hit and Jake is knocked unconscious. They begin to drift downwards as Nate, unable to move the Jaeger alone, yells at Jake with no response

Newton disconnects from the drift, nearly blacks out, and has to sit down for a minute. When he comes back around he sees the Jaegers are in trouble--none completely disabled yet, but they need more help

Newton has an idea

Newton: ok I'm gonna do something stupid. *To his security detail* listen I need you to aim your guns at me and shoot if you think I'm out of control

Liwen, with zero hesitation, reacting quicker than anyone else in the room, pulls out a gun and sticks it right in his face

Newton: see, yeah, that's what I was saying, like that. Thanks boss, glad someone here's got guts.

Liwen: not your boss

Newton: I kinda like saying it tho

Liwen: hm. I'll allow it.

Newton: ok. Hermann--uh

Hermann, hearing his name said right this time: it's ok

Newton: :) ok cool I'm going to deactivate the blocking device I need you to turn it back on as soon as I squeeze your hand, can you do that

Hermann: absolutely.

The Precursors are a hive mind. In battle, when pressed, they can force their thoughts outwards, confusing and scrambling the communications of other species while keeping in contact with each other. This is going well and normal until there's an unexpected distortion which resolves into Newton's voice

Yelling WHAT'S UP MOTHERFUCKERS I'M BACK

(epic Tom Morello riff)

Newton can't keep the connection open for more than a few seconds before they start to overwhelm him, Hermann pulls him back. It was enough to confuse the Precursors and give the jaegers an advantage.

During the delay, Jake wakes up. He's disoriented and in pain and so is Nate, still linked to him, but they can move again. They one-hit-k/o the Precursor that was creeping up on them, turn around, and realize they've drifted almost right into the reactor they've been looking for

So they blow it up

Hermann is still holding Newton's hand as everyone else celebrates. He looks at Newton for confirmation, who nods in relief.

"they're gone. Well, those ones are, anyway."

Humans start opening rifts across the galaxy to kick Precursor ass across multiple star systems

(epic Tom Morello riff intensifies)

Humans team up with multiple alien races previously menaced by the Precursors to take out their common enemy. Jaeger tech is combined with alien science, humans and aliens drifting

They figure out how to use a recording of Newton's Precursor-influenced brainwaves as a weapon to confuse them

So basically Newton makes a recording of himself screaming at the Precursors that's weaponized by teams across the galaxy and it's incredibly cathartic

Jake, in a hospital, is woken up by an infuriating snoring noise. Nate is sleeping in a chair by his bed. He's both annoyed and touched. Mostly the latter.

Hermann writes a book in what is now his third language, the alien script precise and beautiful

We see Newton and Hermann getting dressed together for an Important Event, they're both complaining about having to go but seem not to mind too much. Newton ties his tie too loose, like in the good old days. Hermann fixes it for him.

No one died

The free peoples of the galaxy took down the Precursors with no casualties and the power of screaming

[somethinginthethunder]

dumb with love [joe mazzello x reader]

I loST THE FIRST VERSION OF THIS SO I’M SORRY THIS IS LATE. Also, I’m back!! I’m so sorry for that really long hiatus. 

I hope this is good. I haven’t written for Joe in such a long time, so he might be a little out of character, and my writing is just really bad and rusty :’)

Hope you enjoy, though! Feel free to drop a like or reblog, idk. 

Also!! I obviously don’t know where Joe lives, so don’t attack me for saying he lives in an apartment. This is for the sake of the fic!!

Plot: a misplaced letter sparks what seems to be a friendship (?) between you and the boy next door.

Word Count: 2,800

Warnings: none, except I haven’t reread this or edited (sorry).

---

“Hades, time to go inside,” you mumbled, tugging on the leash lightly.

The goofy schipperke made its way back to you, allowing slack on the leash that held him to you. His nose rubbed against your hand, signalling he was ready to move.

You clutched the coat against you. It was cold for some reason. You had just gotten back from work, and decided to take Hades out for a bit of a long walk.

When you returned to the apartment building, you had decided to check you mail. You knew there wouldn’t be much, but it wouldn’t hurt to check, obviously.

To your surprise, there was more than usual in your mail box. You pulled a small package out and let Hades hold on to it, collecting the rest for yourself. As you walked to your room via elevator, you decided to check through while you weren’t doing anything else.

And, curiously, as you were exiting onto your floor, there seemed to be one letter out of place. It was not addressed to you, but to a certain Joe Mazzello, your neighbor.

Now, you lived at the end of the hall, and Mazzello lived right next to you. Across from you was the cleaning closet. Had you seen your neighbors very much? No, admittedly. Perhaps you had seen him once or twice.

Of course, you weren’t going to keep the mail from him, so, as anyone would, a return would be in order. But, for now, you were going to drop your mail and Hades off.

Oddly, the universe seemed to want to put your plans off a little.

Right next to you you could hear the click of a lock. Turning your head, you realized someone had left the apartment next to you. He was a young man, with auburn hair and hazel eyes. His hair was a little messy, but his aura was casual and friendly. Was he Joe? Most likely.

“Oh,” you said. Oh??? OH? Outstanding conversation starter, [y/n].

“Oh?” the stranger echoed, just realizing your presence next to him.

You cleared your throat, a bit embarrassed. 

“Sorry, but are you Joe Mazzello?” you asked.

For some reason, that made him break out into a smile. “Yeah, that’s me!”

Relief washed over you for a moment. “Great! Sorry- does that sound weird? It’s just- I think I got one of your letters by mistake,” you said, stumbling over your words. If you could only choose one moment in your life to facepalm, it would be right at that moment.

“Really? That’s pretty weird,” he, Joe, commented, taking the letter that was presented to him by you.

“Yeah,” you agreed.

This left you in a quiet, awkward position. Neither of you knew how to comfortably continue the conversation. Thankfully, Hades didn’t seem to care, as he got impatient. Whining, he pawed at the door to be let in, dropping the package he was tired of holding.

“Ah, I should probably go. Enjoy your mail,” you coughed, opening your door for your furry friend.

“Definitely. Thanks for returning it!” Joe grinned, finishing locking his door.

“No problem.”

And that seemed like the end of the conversation. Until-

“Wait,” he suddenly said. 

You turned back to face him, your hands lingering on the door and entry way. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t get your name,” he murmured, now standing to face you completely.

Something about that gave you a bit of a light and friendly feeling. Almost comfortable, despite being strangers.

“I’m [y/n] [l/n],” you said, reflecting his smile.

“Cool, cool,” he responded. “I’ll see you around then, [y/n],” he beamed.

You hoped that statement to be true when you bid farewell to each other and parted ways.

You just didn’t expect it to be so soon afterward. 

The cafe was quiet and peaceful. You were responding to a client’s email on your phone, sipping your drink. In your mind, you had decided to leave and return home in maybe ten minutes. But, once again, the universe seemed to foil your plans again.

“[y/n]?”

The sound of his voice, and your name, of course, made your head shoot up suddenly in its direction. There he was, clad in a dark shirt, jacket, and jeans. In his hand was a cup of what looked like coffee, his other hand stuffed into his pocket.

Shutting off your phone, you suppressed an unusually large smile. He was just your neighbor, no need for a smile so big. 

“Joe! Hey, take a seat if you want!” you greeted back. He took the seat across from you gratefully.

The conversation that followed lasted, what? Ten minutes? Thirty minutes? No, it was more like an hour, which was strange for someone like you. You had decided to talk about some mundane things, like the weather and how your guys’ day was. Turned out he had just come back from a meeting. And that had pulled in the topic of jobs.

“What do you do?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“I’m a photographer, actually. What about you?” 

“Ooh, I’m an actor.”

Oh, now that really started the conversation. As time passed, you became even more comfortable with each other. He was an actor? Now, how was that not supposed to be interesting? 

“Wait, really? Was that what the meeting was for, then?” you asked, a little shocked by his modest answer. He seemed proud, that wasn’t a lie, but in no way was he boasting.

“Yeah! I got to meet all my co-stars, so that was pretty fun,” he answered. “What about you? You said you were sending emails?”

“Yeah, kind of boring, but it was just for an appointment I had just finished. I need to get them all done since I’m going away for a couple of weeks.”

“For what?” 

“Just visiting family. Kind of like a reunion,” you replied. In reality, you grandmother was sick, but you didn’t feel like it was too important of a detail. Besides, the pity you get from just that statement was a little tiring.

“I bet your dog, Hades, right? Will have a fun time somewhere new, then!” he beamed.

In return, you gave him a bit of a sad smile. “He would, wouldn’t he? But he’s not coming. Travelling stresses him out, so I’d rather not move him unless it was necessary,” you clicked your tongue. “In fact, I still have to find him a dog sitter. Everyone I know is busy so-”

“I’ll watch him!’ he offered immediately.

That made you pause for a moment. “Are you sure? I mean, he’s no trouble at all, but still-”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he said, a confident sound in his voice. “We haven’t started filming yet, and the project is still new for us. Besides, he sounds like a pretty fun dog to be around.”

You laughed at that statement. “Yeah, he is. I’m leaving in a few days, but if you change your mind, you can tell me. I can really just hire some random dog sitter near me or something.”

“Nonsense, it’ll be fine!” he reassured you, drawing out the “fine” as if it had a million letters in it.. At that moment, he took a quick look at the time. “Look, i’ll give you my number and we can talk about it, okay?” he offered.

The thought of giving him your number made you feel as if you heart had been filled with clouds. How strange, as you had only met a few weeks before.

“I- okay, sounds good. Thank you again! And here,” you held out your phone to him with an open contact, to which he exchanged his number with you.

And only moments after that, though he insisted he really did not want to end this conversation, he decided it was time for him to head out. The cafe closed early that day, and he had to drop by a friend’s house that day to pick something up. However much you didn’t want to admit it, you wished you could talk with him more, but you also had things to do as well, such as pack, plan, and give attention to Hades.

With that, you bid farewell again and parted ways. 

While texting, he made conversation easy, and made everything seem comfortable to you. Now, you had started developing some type of feelings, but there was no way they were real, right? Must’ve been just a little crush that would wear off in about a week or two when you’re away. 

You had talked about the details with taking care of Hades, and when the day came to leave, you unfortunately had to say goodbye to your lovely little boy.

“Bye, sweetheart. I’ll be home before you know it,” you cooed, scratching his head as Joe held the door open to bring his stuff in. It was early in the morning for everyone. He was wearing a plain white shirt and what looked like old shorts, looking as though he had just woken up, which he probably did. Your flight was early, but he insisted he was fine with the hours.

Standing up, you looked up at the boy next door once again.

“You sure you’ve gotten everything?” you asked, slightly worried.

“Don’t worry about it, [y/n]. We’ll have fun, okay? Now, you have some too. I’ll send you pictures even,” he reassured you, a lazy smile on his face. He did that a lot, didn’t he? Smile like there was no problem in the world? It was almost like a domestic sight.

“Thanks, Joe. Really, I’ll pay you right when I get home and-”

“Woah, woah, woah. Who said anything about paying?” he snorted. “This is a favor. Now go, you’re gonna miss your flight!”

Taking one last look, you gave him a quick smile, and a kiss to Hades’ forehead before leaving onto the elevator. 

While you were away in [y/s], Joe had kept his word. Everyday he had texted you goofy pictures of him and Hades, whether it be with him looking over the counter longingly at a piece of meat Joe was eating, or him bounding across the park with Joe’s cheerful commentary in the background. 

And, to make it even better, Joe had started talking to you outside of the topic of Hades. He would strike up conversation every now and then (and even you would, too), or start asking about your day after sending a video of you goof of a dog trying to play hide and seek with Joe. 

It was nice, making you feel like he really did care about knowing you, besides talking about your dog and polite conversations. Eventually, a week in, the conversations became anything. Whatever you felt like talking about, you talked about it. Like why Pringles cans were shaped the way they were, why the letter w isn’t ‘double-v’ instead. It made you excited to come back home besides seeing your pup again.

While sitting with your grandmother in the hospital room, you had gotten a message from Joe. As she was still asleep, you decided to open it. It was a simple video, with Hades rolling around the house, to which Joe described as “trying to get his wiggle-waggles out”. 

A small laugh left your lips as you watched, responding to Joe within only a few seconds.

Because you were so invested in the conversation, you were surprised to hear your grandmother speak up from her supposed slumber.

“You’ve got a boyfriend now? Why does nobody tell me anything,” she murmured under her breath.

You turned your head to look at her, not realizing your phone screen was visible to the woman’s eyes.

“He’s not my boyfriend. We met only a few weeks ago, grandma. He’s dog-sitting Hades for me,” you explained. How absurd it was for someone to assume you were in a romantic relationship just because he was a guy. However, you’d admit you wouldn’t mind a little romance. But this isn’t what we’re talking about right now.

“Oh, really? Hum. A good connection you have, then, from what I can see.”

“You were reading my messages?”

“I may have terrible hearing, but my reading can go to your screen, young lady. If you’ve known each other for only a few weeks, then it seems like you guys clicked very well,” she murmured. “Besides, seems like a friendly guy. You don’t come by those too often, huh? Especially in my time.”

You smiled fondly at the moment, squeezing the woman’s hand gently. “Ah, I think they’re easier to find now, ma, I think you’d be glad to know. But you can’t really tell that just from seeing one of our conversations,” you commented.

“Or can I?” she asked mischeviously, her face morphing into a sly smile. Her eyes crinkled at the edges, voice filled with humor.

…

Could she? She couldn’t, right?

When you returned home, it was like a weight had been pulled off your chest. You couldn’t believe your flight was done, lugging your suitcases and bags across the sidewalk to your apartment building. Oddly, there stood two familiar figures. Hades and Joe.

“Welcome home!” he said, jogging down the steps with your excited companion. He grabbed a suitcase and bag from your hold. “Decided i’d help you with your stuff,” he explained, his eyes squinting against the bright rays of the sun.

“Aw, that’s really sweet, Joe. Thanks, you really didn’t have to!” you laughed.

“Don’t mention it!” he said teasingly, walking up the steps with you. 

Seeing him again had awoken something in you. It made your heart feel high and your intelligence feel low. Something your grandma would say ‘dumb with love’. 

You had thought these feelings would go away when you spent time away from him in another state, but you happened to be wrong. You didn’t know whether to be annoyed or glad of this fact.

Finally, after a short conversation about how your trip went, you had arrived at your guys’ floor. Joe took another extra step in help and decided to help you put your things inside your room. It was as if he was finding every excuse to hang out with you as much as he could.

When you finished with the moving, and the conversation seemed to come to an end, you took out a neat wad of cash. 

“What’s this for?” he asked, before realizing. “Oh. Oh, no. Are you crazy? I’m not taking that. As I said, it’s a favor.”

“Fine, then take this as a favor,” you challenged sassily. 

“You wish, princess,” he joked, laughed at the situation. Before you could process the little nickname, he had pulled out a letter and held it out to you. “Also, I think this is for you,” he said.

What a coincidence. Another misplaced letter, just like the way you two had begun to know each other.

“Really? Weird. Thanks, by the way,” you chuckled, taking the letter from him.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed nervous. How did you pick that feeling up? You weren’t sure. But there was something there between the two of you. This silence wasn’t awkward like the ones before, but nice, actually.

“Well, I should probably head to work. I’ll see you around?” he asked, as if trying to reflect what had happened weeks before.

“Definitely. I’ll look forward to it,” you responded, glee evident in his face when you agreed.

And that was the end of the conversation for that time, with him leaving for work and your heading inside to unpack and catch up on clients. 

Later that night, you had realized you hadn’t opened up the misplaced letter Joe had returned to you, yet. Upon further inspection, you realized that… it wasn’t even a proper letter. All it had was your name on it and gibberish as the return address. How strange.

Opening the letter, it read:

Dear [y/n],

This might be embarrassing to say after only knowing each other for a short amount of time, but I really enjoy being around you. 

I know I won’t let you pay me for taking care of Hades, but maybe you could let me take you out on a date and we can call it even instead of cash? I’ll pay, don’t worry. 

No pressure!

Signed,

Joe

P.S., please let me dog-sit Hades more often- I (really) love him. He’s a good dance partner. And no, I’m not joking.

Enclosed in the envelope were several pictures of Hades playing with Joe and early morning pics that he hadn’t sent to you before. It was like a little bonus, and on the back he had written little notes describing the moment. It was sweet, really.

And so, in response to his letter, it only seemed appropriate that you would respond in the same way, right? 

Taking out a paper and pen, you began to write:

Dear Joe Mazzello,

--

Haha don’t hate me, please :)

I didn’t want to write more because I felt that would be too long, but I don’t know if you guys would even want a part two or to make this a series (which would take some time). Let me know your thoughts!

[no-heart-no-soul-t]

Tattooed JaeHyun imagine

Idk got bored again sorry ^^

pairing: NCT tattooed!JaeHyun x Reader

genre: fluff? small angst?

You were living with your friend in small apartment building, it was pretty old, but the apartments themselves were modernized. You and your roommate were the only ones on the floor, which was the highest and had only two apartments, because the two left were made in to a storages. “Y/N, I think we will have a new neighbors,” said Sasha. Sasha was from Russia with beautiful blue eyes and long brown hair and blonde ombré to it. “Huh, you mean someone finally rented that apartment next to us and is actually moving in?,” you asked not believing her. You didn’t really believe her because, everytime your landlord said, that the apartment next door is getting rented, they backed away last second, leaving the apartment free for over a year now. “Yes, Mr. Suh said that his grandson with his friend are moving in.. they are coming over from California to start anew or something,” she answered while putting away groceries. You just shrugged and helped her with preparing dinner.

Next morning you were woken up by banging noises from next door. “The FOK they doing in there!,” you yelled not happy with the noises in the morning. You came out of your room, finding Sasha casually drinking coffee, already dressed for uni. “Good morning to you too, sunshine,” she said to you with sweet smile, knowing you were pissed off. You scoffed at her and started eating breakfast she made for you. You went to get ready still mumbling curses to no one in particular.

Both of you made it in time to the uni and sat on your favourite spot. It was at the very back of the room no one sitting there, because no one liked that you couldn’t hear well. But you and Sasha preferred it exactly for that, you were alone in the row. Taking notes only from presentations tho. Lecture was starting soon, and two guys bursted in sprinting to the back sitting next to you and Sasha. You and Sasha looked at them confused, never seeing them before and not understanding why they were in such a rush. Then the professor came in taking all your and Sasha’s attention from the boys. An hour in to the lecture one of the boys, leaned in to Sasha and whispered something to her. You assumed to ask for notes from last lecture... aaaaand you were right because she handed him her notebook with notes. You heard deep thank you and just shook your head paying attention back to the lecture. 

Finally the lecture ended, so you were packing up. “Hey, thanks for the notes. We will give them back to you tomorrow,” you heard and looked up, seeing the taller boy talking to Sasha. Finally looked at his friend who had a tattoo on his neck. You stared at it a little bit, admiring the work and then looking away when you heard Sasha, “No it’s okay, you can take your time going through them. I am Sasha Glukhovska and this is Y/N Y/L/N,” and you just waved slightly. He smiled at you nodding his head, “I am Johnny Suh and this is Jaehyun Jung.” Suh? like your landlord Suh? , you thought then it hit you, “Oh, aren’t you the grandson of Mr. Suh owning the old apartment building with modernized apartments?,” you asked making Sasha realize the same thing. “Yeah, I am.. do you also live there?,” “Yeah... we will be next door neighbors it seems,” Sasha answered with small chuckle. You looked at Jaehyun for his reaction but he just had a poker face on his face. But his eyes were boring deep in to yours, as if searching for your soul to steal. “Wow, perfect, let’s see you around then, bye,” Johnny said with small smile walking away together with Jaehyun. “Who would have thought we would meet our neighbors at school,” Sasha chuckled while also walking away you behind her, her Russian accent present.

It was 7PM when you got home, Sasha dragging you to the shopping mall after lectures ended. You were tired as hell going straight to take a shower. “What should we get for dinner,” Sasha screamed at you through the bathroom door, “I don’t know. Order anything,” you yelled back while drying off and putting clothes on. When you got out Sasha went in, which meant you will be taking order. Twenty minutes of you chilling on the sofa reading a book, you heard a bell ringing, thinking it was food you stood up and went to the door. When you opened it you weren’t met with the delivery man, no. You were met with tattooed neck, chest and dark eyes. You looked at Jaehyun confused. “Hey, you need somethin’?,” you asked confusion strongly present in your voice. “Hey... uh... I came to ask for notes from classic literature.. I need them so I know what’s going on in that lecture..,” he said with his deep husky voice. “Oh, sure. But, y’kno... you could wear a shirt while coming here for notes,” you answered, laughing hard and turning around to get his notes, not seeing his reaction. ‘And you could wear sweats not the shortest shorts there are,’ he thought looking at your ass. You got back with the notes handing them over to him. “Thanks, baby girl,” he thanked you with a wink and went to his apartment. “Weirdo,” you said going back inside when the delivery man came with your take-out.

You were always meeting Johnny and Jaehyun at lectures, at the hall of your building or generally when going over to them to ask for something. Sasha and Johnny eventually got together. You found them cute together. And you started to have feelings for Jaehyun, which you tried to suppress, because you knew you weren’t his type. So you were just playing around, being his good friend he could rely on. But. Tonight. You wanted to kill them, tho. You get it, Friday, so party. But. You and Sasha told them repeatedly, to not host party this Friday, because both of you had to wake up early on Saturday to go on a train to visit Sasha’s parents. You were going to have BBQ party and you wanted to be in a good mood, which meant nice sleep. You were tossing around, trying to muffle all the noise from nextdoor. You’ve had enough, and went over to their place, after putting at least shorts on. When you went in, you automatically saw Jaehyun on the sofa with some girl on top of him, making out. You felt somehow sad and jealous when you saw them. But you shook your head, getting rid of the image, and went over to them tapping him on the shoulder softly and saying his name. He broke the kiss with girl, his eyes going wide upon seeing you standing there. “Y/N, what are you doing here?,” he said standing up leaving the girl on the sofa. She looked at you all annoyed and walked away. “Hey... I just.. I..- can’t you at least make less noise and put volume down on the music? We told you that we needed to get up early tomorrow for over three days...,” you said in soft, somehow, broken voice, not looking in to his eyes. “Shit. We thought you were going next week.. sorry, yeah I’ll find Johnny and send everyone home,” he tried to give you a small apologetic hug but you backed away only nodding your head, saying small thanks and walking away. When you got back in, tears started streaming down your face. You didn’t realize it, until Sasha came out of her room, also pissed off by the noise. But that anger went away the second she saw you silently crying. “Hey, angel, what’s wrong?,” she asked, rushing to hug you, “huh??,” you looked at her confused, “Why are you crying hm? What happened?” You didn’t answer, only crying harder in to her neck. You fell asleep in her bed, cuddling her. Sasha was still awake, thinking of what could’ve happened... and decided to text Johnny, if something happened to her when she went over to ask them to turn down the noise,

Saaasssha<3: hey, john what happened to y/n

JohnnyS<3: hm wdym

Saaasssha<3: she was crying till she fell asleep

Saaasssha<3: so i thought somehin happened to her while she was over

JohnnyS<3: idk... ill ask jae

Sasha put her phone away for a second and cuddled your body more to her side, waiting for a response. After five minutes of waiting her phone vibrated with new message,

JohnnyS<3: so.. y/n found jae making out w cindy...

Saaasssha<3: i thought they broke up? th

JohnnyS<3: yeah apparently she forced herself on him righ be4 y/n came

Saaasssha<3: and i guess he didnt explain

JohnnyS<3: no... and he was ready to confess to her his feelings when u come back from trip

Sasha just sighed, texting back a goodnight and cuddled to you, eventually too falling asleep.

The next day, you woke up after Sasha, who was in kitchen making a breakfast. “Mornin’,” you said with sleepy voice, sitting down. “Hey, uhm… Johnny and Jae are coming with us… my mom wants to meet Johnny and he doesn’t want to leave Jae alone for three days... ,” “Oh… okay… I mean it’s not like I have a saying in this..,” you answered, taking sip of your tea. After breakfast you went out to Johnny’s car, he said he will drive there so you don’t have to wake up early for a train. “Can I sit in the front? I feel sick in the back of car,” you asked with small voice, looking down and playing with hands. “Sure. Hope my girlfriend won’t be jealous,” Johnny joked, winking at Sasha while opening the door for you. “Pft, you know I don’t care that the two of you are close, but don’t cheat on me,” Sasha said and sit at the back next to Jae. The car ride was full of Johnny getting directions from Sasha, Jae singing to the radio and you being quiet, looking out the window. 

When you came to the house, Sasha’s parents were already waiting for you in the front, like always. You just said short greetings to them and went ahead inside, leaving them confused. “What happened?,” asked Sasha’s mom all concerned. “Something with one boy who didn’t say anything when she caught him kissing another girl,” Sasha answered looking at Jae, who just looked down, already having an earful from Sasha this morning, when you were still asleep.

Evening came and everyone was sitting at the backyard having fun, eating bbq. You were sitting in a far corner alone, smiling to yourself at the jokes Johnny and Sasha’s father were making. Sasha came to you, hugging you, “You okay? want to take a walk with me?,” she asked patting your thigh. “I could take a walk… but alone… I’ll be back in an hour,” you answered getting up and just saying to everyone you will be back later. When you were going down the street you heard someone running, so you turned around expecting Sasha trying to catch up with you. But it wasn’t Sasha.. it was Jaehyun. “Hey… let’s.. walk together,” he said taking your hand in his. You didn’t take your hand away, enjoying some warmth in this chilly night. While walking you stumbled against a playground with swings. You went ahead and sit on one of them, Jaehyun sitting on the other next to you. After ten minutes of just silence, you softly swinging back and forth, Jaehyun pulled your swing to him and looked in to your eyes. “Listen, Y/N, nothing happened between me and Cindy. She got on top of me right before you came in, and I thought you saw how we were arguing before that… I am sorry for making you cry,” Jaehyun said looking apologetic and having the softest look in his eyes. You looked at him confused because only Sasha knew you were crying yesterday. Then it hit you that she had to confront him, she was that type of friend. Someone made you cry, she would instantly go and literally smack them. “I mean… it’s not like you have to clarify yourself,” you said looking away. 

“No, I have to, because I have something to tell you,” he said taking your chin in his hand turning your head to back to him. “I love you Y/N. I really do, you are making me happy and making me soft. And you know how cold I was when we first met,” leaning in and looking at your lips, “I fell in love with you, baby girl, and I wonder how you didn’t see that when literally everyone saw that and teased me about it,” he chuckled. You were looking at him, all shocked hearing something like this from him, “But.. I am not your type.. and…,” you tried to look away but he still held your chin, “And what?,” he cocked eyebrow waiting for your response. “Amanda said you told your friends that I am clingy and annoying, so I thought you hated me…,” you finished looking at his nose, refusing to look in to his eyes. “Tch, that bitch. I should tell Sasha to smack her,” he answered looking to a distance for a second, then back at you. “I do love you, baby girl. And, I will make you mine,” he said with deep voice, leaning in and finally kissing you, softly. When you broke the kiss you looked at eachother, him stroking your cheek lovingly. “I...I love you too Jae. Loved you for a long time, actually.,” you said softly looking in to his eyes which were full of love only for you. 

You got up and went back to the house holding hands. You were going back to the backyard when Jaehyun pulled you back and dragged you up the stairs to your room where you were sleeping in alone. When Jaehyun closed the door you looked at him confused, “Why? They are still outside waiting for us,” you said trying to open the door, and he back hugged you tightly, whispering in your ear, “Mmmm, but I want to play with you alone baby girl,” kissing the underside of your ear. Your face flushed pink and he turned you around, smirking at your expression. He took his shirt off showing his tattooed torso and abs, “Now, now, don’t be shy, I will be careful… but only at first tho, then I won’t hold back, love,” he said while picking you up and making you hug him with legs. He put you on bed and kissed you softly.

[atiny-ahgase]

Sweet Dreams

Author’s Note: I started this with no direction but I somehow still really like it. IDK I think it’s kinda cute. I intended for it to be more like a drabble but I don’t really think that it is...oh well. Also, I tried my best to make the reader both gender-neutral as well as to remove any words that would cause you to assume the ethnicity and race of the reader. I’m still really new to writing so if I slipped up on any of these attempts please let me know. I’m trying my best.

Side Note: This will be my first work since my 2 week-long Writer’s Block. I honestly still have it but I also really wanna write something...It’s soo frustrating.- Gabby.

Summary: Feeling overwhelmed and stress from work threatens to rid you of your sanity your only source of calm in this otherwise hectic world, Mingi, is busy at work preparing for the Ateez comeback. You don’t want to burden him but what are you to do when the breath easier beside him?

Pairing: Mingi x Gender Neutral reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Contains Fluff, Angst, Idol x Reader, Gender Neutral Reader, (Not really sure what else).

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

You lightly hissed as the warm water cascaded down your aching body, engulfing your muscles with liquid bliss. Work had been the most demanding this week than it had been in a while. The workload wasn’t that much but you were already understaffed as it was and your demanding boss wasn’t helping to soothe the stress and anxiety brewing within you with all the work that still needed to be done. You needed a break but with the deadline fast approaching, no way was that going to happen.

Softly sighing you turned off the steady stream of water before grabbing your towel; relishing in the feeling of the plush fabric embracing your body. You walked out of the restroom entering your bedroom before collapsing on to your bed; the plush mattress beginning to absorb the moisture from your shower. As you sink into your mattress your mind begins to wander to your only spark of light in an otherwise seemingly dismal world; formally known as Mingi. How was he doing? You hadn’t seen or spoken to him in a while and it honestly showed in your demeanour. You were always much calmer after speaking with him. Each laughed that slipped past his lips took with it all of your worries.

You had both met at a coffee shop not too far away from your office building. After ordering your drink you scrolled through your phone waiting for your order to be called. Not long after your order was called and you approached the register extending your hand to retrieve your coffee. Unbeknownst to you, the stranger beside you seemed to be doing the same thing. Both of you appeared to be unaware until you grasped his hand over the coffee cup.

“Sorry”, you shakily replied pulling your hand away from the beverage while looking up at the man standing beside you. The warmth from your hand seemed to spread to your cheeks in a matter of seconds. You felt like you were looking up at the sun. His existence alone seemed to brighten up the drab and dull decor of the local coffee shop threatening to blind you if you looked too long. How could one person be that bright? 

A cluster of gentle curls adorned his head landing lightly across his forehead. He wore round-rimmed glasses which just drew your attention straight to his warm brown eyes, they looked so welcoming. They reminded you of the homemade toffee you would make with your grandparents, soft, sweet and warm. A small chuckle escaped his mouth directing your focus to his lips which immediately curled up into a bright smile forcing his eyes to all but disappear. The sight alone causing you to smile in response.

It was strange, the smile felt so natural to you although you’ve rarely found a reason to smile lately. The weight of the world had reshaped your once bright smile into a frown that even your greatest efforts could not mend so you decided to give up. To stop wasting your time on the happiness that somehow always seemed to evade you.

But now you where you are in a crowded cafe, smiling like an idiot at a complete stranger who didn’t even say anything remotely funny. That’s it; your boss had literally driven you to madness. That was the only sensible explanation for your unwarranted happiness.

“You can have it; I’ll just wait for the other one,” he spoke, bringing you back to reality. “Oh no I couldn’t ask you to do that,” you responded arms raising in protest.

“What kinda gentleman would I be if I let a gorgeous person like yourself wait in line?” he defends while sliding the cup over to you. Failing to keep your heart in check you can already feel your ears heating up much hotter than any coffee you’d ever consumed. Cheezy pick-up lines like that had never made you react this way before so why now?

Maybe because it didn’t feel like a pickup line, it felt more like he was just talking to you, no strange ulterior motive he was authentically being nice. Yet another interaction that you were not used to. Deciding on taking him up on his kind offer you mumbled a small “Thank you” before taking a sip of the coffee, the liquid feeling cold in comparison to the warm feeling flooding your cheeks.

“You know waiting in line is a lot more fun when you have someone to talk to”, you smiled up at him, enjoying the warm feelings you got from his interactions. You wanted to hold on to the conversation just a little while longer. With so many conflicts currently going on at work, it felt nice to have even a semi-decent conversation with someone whether it was with a stranger or not.

Somewhere along the line, that chance meeting turned into planned meetings which turned into him showing up at your apartment unannounced with snacks and now you don’t know what to do with yourself. You’ve gotten so used to seeing him that these past few days have been absolute torture. He and the rest of Ateez were working on their comeback and you know that Mingi must be just as exhausted as you if not more exhausted and you don’t want to burden him with your problems. But you miss him so much. 

Everything in your apartment reminded you of him. From the collection of hoodies that you’ve “accumulated’ in your closet to the faint smell of lavender that seemed to have remained on the cushion, he would usually sit on. They all just served as constant reminders that he was not there. A loud sigh leaves your lips as you will yourself to get dressed not wanting to be consumed by your own thoughts.

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Your entire evening just consisted of you dragging yourself all over your apartment in a futile attempt to be productive when in reality all you wanted to do was curl up beside Mingi on your couch; head nuzzled into his neck, hands grasping his shirt which would always smell like fresh Lavender. He’d hold you tightly as if you were the most precious person in his life, one arm around your waist drawing gentle circles while the other gently stroked your hair.

You close your eyes remembering all of the sweet nothings he would whisper in your ear and with every word you could feel the stress and anxiety leave your body and in its place would be that warm feeling that somehow always seemed to accompany you whenever Mingi was around.

His presence was like that of a storm; washing away the debris that seemed to settle on your heart, nourishing the withering roses of your soul, revitalizing the rivers that gave life to your otherwise dull eyes. His smile alone provided the single ray of light you needed to see your way through whatever you were facing, guiding you back to his warm embrace. And now that he wasn’t there you wondered how you ever walked on your own. Every step that you took felt ten times heavier because he wasn’t there beside you.

You sink further into the couch simultaneously diving deeper into your head when the blaring of your cell phone ringing forces you out of your thoughts. Not bothering to look at the caller ID you press the answer button just glad for a distraction to keep your mind occupied.

“Hello,” you answer in the best fake cheerful voice you can muster up. “Hey y/n”, you hear a sleepy Mingi grumble on the other line. His voice was a lot deeper when he was tired but even with that, you could still sense the hint of happiness that laced every word that escaped his lips. He truly was the personification of sunshine. “Sorry to be calling you this late I just really needed to hear your voice”, he continues. 

You feel a ping in your chest as you try your best to steady your breathing, his words always went straight to your heart. Mingi was always the honest type, he would never shy away from anything he had to say and even though you really loved and admired that about him; you couldn’t help but blush anytime he said things like that to you. “Will you tell me about your day?” he inquired before some faint shuffling was heard on the other end.

“I’d rather hear about yours,” you reply; not wanting to ruin his mood with your problems. “But if I do all the talking how will I get to hear your sweet voice?” he whines into the phone. You chuckle softly to yourself, imagining the way he would wave his arms in the air when he didn’t get what he wanted. You sighed before muttering a soft “You asked for it” before taking him through your entire day. You couldn’t help but give in to his every request, his childlike glee made you want to spoil him. He softly hummed listening to you recap the events of your day only speaking when he was sure that you were finished. Feeling a weight lift off your shoulders you laid on the couch, exhaustion quickly replacing the stress that once filled your body.

You always did feel the most at ease when Mingi was with you, and even though he wasn’t physically there didn’t stop your mind from melting into the calm sea that was his voice. Each word he spoke crashed on to the shores of your heart retreating only to remove the pain and frustration left there by others. The rhythm of his cascading waves sang a song straight to your soul; like a gentle lullaby, it cradled you until you were consumed with sleep. As you laid there falling deeper and deeper into a much-deserved slumber; you could faintly hear the slow and subtle breathing of the idol on the phone.

Sweet dreams Mingi.