#idk if this really counts as a trope but the whole 'gaze dropping to the love interest's lips' thing gets me EVERY. TIME.

[winwintea]

Secure that Once Upon a Time! - Zhong Chenle

PAIRING ↬ rich socialite! zhong chenle x fem! reader

GENRES ↬ idk if this counts as a foot fetish, cinderella core!, chenle takes her to a ball, rich x poor trope, people bully y/n for being poor, but also very fluffy and romantic

WARNINGS ↬ slight suggestive, no smut written out but implied !??

SUMMARY ↬ inspired by one of your favorite fairytales, chenle makes you feel just like cinderella for the night. but can you live up to society's expectations as the girlfriend of one of shanghai's most elite? an enchanting night with your prince may answer all your questions.

WORD COUNT ↬ 4.3k

AUTHOR’S NOTE ↬ yo so funny story! for reasons explained here i decided to take down a smau of mine called secure that card! however i felt bad about how the smau abruptly ended, and i didn't really give chen/n a happy ending?? SO HERE'S A VERY FLUFFY(?) fic i wrote as like an apology and compensation. you don't have to have read stc to understand this fic, it can be just read on it's own! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT <33 i appreciate you all.

For a moment, Chenle’s brows lowered, his frown casting a shadow across his whole face. He stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth, staring down at the mille-feuille piled high on it. He looked like he was thinking really hard about something, but what was it?

"Hey, Chenle.-"

Chenle suddenly broke into laughter

"What the-- why are you suddenly laughing like that?"

"Oh, nothing. I remembered one of our earlier conversations about the story of Cinderella and I was just thinking Cinderella sounds a lot like you."

"How so?"

Chenle snickered, "I can totally imagine you carelessly losing a glass slipper, panicking, and running away right before the prince's eyes, one shoe off, one shoe on."

"I wouldn't do that! I mean... I probably wouldn't." Okay, you could kind of see yourself panicking and doing something rash, but did he really have to point it out?

Chenle and you were currently engaged in a small feast of afternoon tea in Shanghai. There was an upcoming party he needed to attend as the successor to Zhong Enterprises and you decided to accompany him.

His beautiful smile had a suggestive edge to it, and you pouted, dropping your gaze. You reached for your teacup to distract yourself, but before you could pick it up, his long, elegant fingers wrapped around yours. "Well, if I was the prince, I wouldn't be stupid enough to let Cinderella get away from me like that.”

"Chenle." His smile was smug and sure as he squeezed your fingers, and you couldn't stop staring at him. He was just so sure of himself in everything. Although knowing him, you bet he’d probably succeed, too.

You started giggling, and Chenle’s smile instantly dissolved into a dissatisfied pout. "Hey. What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. I was just imagining what you'd be like if you really were the prince.”

"Me?"

"If a prince as amazing as you were to appear at the ball.. I bet even Cinderella wouldn't care if the magic wore off at midnight, so long as she could stay with you." To be honest, if you were Cinderella you know you’d feel that way. Even if the magic wore off and you went back to your cinder-covered self, so long as you could stay with your prince–

The fingers holding tightly to yours let go, all of a sudden. You looked up in surprise, and found yourself staring at cheeks as red as fresh strawberries. As soon as your eyes met, he looked away quickly, refusing to meet your gaze again. Is he blushing? Geez, so adorable.

"Did you like being referred to as a prince?"

"Like-- would I- as if l'd-- not a chance! Although if you mean that I have all the fine qualities of a prince, then I can understand where you're coming from. But the only other person suited to being a prince besides me would be Renjun, you know." You couldn’t disagree with that. Renjun definitely had a princely aura that surrounded him.

You couldn't help but grin as you watched the conflicting expressions flitting across Chenle’s face. Being with him makes it so easy for you to forget all about being nervous.

You’re going to be just fine at the party, because Chenle will be there with you. Time seemed to fly by as the two of you relaxed and enjoyed your afternoon tea together. We were both smiling and happy as we stepped out of the cafe again.

"Ahh, those delicious cakes always give me back my energy! But I guess..." You turned to Chenle with a smile, about to suggest we head home, but you stopped mid-sentence as you saw how strained his

expression was.

"I just remembered something I need to do. You wait here."

"What? Right here?"

"Yes. Got it? Don't move so much as a single step until I come back." Chenle turned and began to stride away, casting one last dubious look over his shoulder as he walked off into the distance.

He worries too much. Where would you go, anyway? And what's so important that he suddenly has to rush off like that? You smiled to yourself, shaking your head as you turned to look in the windows of the nearby shops while you waited.

"Hey, did you hear? Chenle’s going to be attending the next formal party!"

You glanced in the direction of the voice, and saw several stylish young women sitting at one of the cafe's outdoor tables, chatting over tea. I couldn't help being curious, and You sidled a little closer, pretending to stare in another shop window as you listened.

"He sometimes attends parties in his position as ‘Zhong Chenle’, but--"

"It's rare for him to attend as the Zhong Enterprises heir, isn't it?"

"It is. Which means this is our chance to audition for the role of the future Mrs. Zhong!"

You're after Chenle? All of you?! From the little mandarin Chenle had taught you, you could kind of put together what they were saying. You pressed your lips together, your heart pounding uneasily in your chest.

"But I heard that Chenle’s got a girlfriend, and she came here from Stanford just for him."

"Who cares? The magic of love doesn't last forever, you know."

"That's right. She'll get bored soon enough and go back to America. She was never good enough for him to begin with."

Your whole body went cold as they all burst out laughing, and you barely heard their next words as the conversation moved on to clothes shopping. You’ll never get bored of Chenle, not in a million years, and you know he feels the same way. You can hold your head high and say that with pride. But... Right now you’re already so nervous just from the idea of wearing a pretty dress and attending a formal party. You and Chenle are from different worlds, and… you don't have the confidence yet to say that they're wrong, and that you ARE good enough for him.

The women's words filled your heart with an aching doubt that stayed with you over the next few days.

— 

At last the day of the party arrived.

You were wearing the most beautiful dress you’d ever owned, and yet you couldn't bring yourself to smile at your reflection in the mirror. You bet half the young noblewomen in Shanghai are vying for the spot of Mrs. Zhong. They all want to push you aside so they can stand at his side.

You know you love Chenle more than all of them combined, but--

"Y/N? I'm coming in.” There was a knock at the door, and you turned quickly as Chenle stepped into the room carrying a small box. "It looks like you're read...y." Chenle set the box down as he spoke, but as soon as he looked at you, he froze.

He just stood there, staring at you, and you couldn't make sense of his expression, but the longer the silence dragged out, the more nervous you felt. "Do I look weird, or."

"Did I say that?! No! No, I didn't! Really! Are you trying to cast doubt on all my careful efforts to choose the right dress for you? It really, really suits you! You're better dressed than anyone else in the whole world!" Chenle’s smile was proud and pleased as he looked you up and down, and the blush that crept up his cheeks made his words more real somehow.

Okay, phew. From the way he was staring– "Thanks, Chenle." not sure you really have it in you to smile right now. But if you stand here looking worried and nervous, you’re just going to make him worried, too. You managed to school your features into what you hoped was a believable smile.

"Really, Y/N. We're about to go to a party, so why are you looking so glum again?”

Well, that smile was a dismal failure, then."I'm not...?"

"Yes, you are.” Chenle strode over to where you stood, stopping right in front of you, and you blinked at him in surprise. He cupped your cheek with his hand, staring so intently into your eyes that you felt as if he were seeing straight into your soul. "Is something worrying you?" His voice was suddenly soft with concern, his expression gentle, and you felt a bittersweet ache in my chest

He really does care so much about me, and he wants to be sure you’re okay… But what can you say? ‘There's a bunch of noblewomen who want to marry you and they make me feel like an ungainly clod’? I mean, seriously? "I'm okay, Chenle. I'm just nervous, that's all." you reached up and placed your hand over his where it rested against your cheek, and this time you managed to smile properly.

His brow furrowed a little at your words, his eyes dropping to one side, and his long lashes fluttered against his cheeks. "Well, I suppose it's not really a surprise. You're not used to parties like this yet. But I bet this will chase all your nervousness away." Chenle turned slightly, pointing to the box he'd set down as he entered the room.

"What is it?"

Chenle smiled at your question, looking oddly triumphant. "I think you already look sufficiently charming, but… The look isn't quite perfect yet, is it? Now stop fussing and sit over there."

"Okay…” Chenle took you by the hand and led you over to the sofa, and you sat down, still wondering what was going on. A moment later he went down on one knee before you, the whole movement elegant and graceful. "Chenle? What are you doing?!"

"I'm casting the finest magic spell on you, Y/N." you were still staring at Chenle in surprise as he opened the box. Nestled inside the box were the most beautiful shoes you’d ever seen, decorated all over with tiny, elegant gemstones. "Once you put these on, you'll be perfect.”

Chenle lifted your right foot onto his knee, and slipped off the shoe you were wearing. You watched in quiet awe as he put one of the new shoes on your foot in its place. 

It's beautiful! You loved the way it sparkled! It almost looks like a glass slipper, just like Cinderella had! "They're gorgeous, Chenle! But what brought this on?"

"I came up with the idea when we were talking about the story of Cinderella.” Chenle carefully slipped your shoe off your left foot, and put on your new shoe, before moving to sit on the sofa next to you. "I thought the prince ought to give Cinderella the gift of shoes that were perfect for her. I couldn't get my hands on actual glass slippers, so I chose the shoes I thought would suit you best."

"Oh, Chenle…” This is why he suddenly went running off right after we left the cafe that day, isn't it? He was finding the perfect shoes for you! You felt warmed right through by his kindness, and for a moment you felt the pinprick of grateful tears in the corners of your eyes. 

"Now you've transformed into the perfect princess. So from here on, I'm not going to let you wear that gloomy expression when you stand at my side. Are you ready to be escorted by your prince?" 

"I definitely am! Thanks, Chenle!" You squeezed his hand gently, so happy that there was no need to fake your beaming smile, not anymore. He wasn’t kidding about casting a magic spell on you-- You almost feel like you dreamed all that worry and doubt from before! Suddenly you’re actually excited about going to this party! We're going to have a great time!

You walked proudly at your prince's side as he escorted you to the party in your Cinderella shoes.

— 

Everything seemed so perfect you found yourself wondering if you were dreaming the whole thing.

"You're not too bad at this dancing thing, you know." There was admiration in Chenle’s voice as we moved across the dancefloor in time to the elegant music. As soon as we'd finished greeting all the other guests, Chenle had led you straight out onto the dancefloor, and you were surprised by how much fun you were having.

"Only because you're leading me so well. I should've known you'd be a great dancer.”

"Well, naturally. I mean, just who do you think I am?" Chenle tightened his grip on you, pulling you closer until you were almost touching. "You weren't half bad when we went around greeting the other guests, either."

"Really?"

"Do you really think I'd lie to you?" 

You arched a brow at him, “Yes. Chenle. I do.” 

“Apart from the green card thing I mean…” He quickly added. 

He was greeting people as the heir to the Zhong family Enterprises, and you felt so nervous standing at his side, but– If he thinks you did a good job, then that's all that matters.

"You were elegant and dignified. I was proud to call you my partner. If you're going to stand at my side, then you certainly have to show at least that level of impudence."

"Impudence? Is that meant to be praise?"

"Of course it is."

It doesn't sound like praise, but– He look so happy about it that you’re just going to accept it as if it is. “Hehe! Thanks, Chenle.”

"You're welcome.”

You felt warm and giddy inside as we grinned at each other.

Hmm? You had the sudden sense that someone was watching you, and you glanced around surreptitiously. Wait, I know you… Several young women were standing off to the side of the dancefloor, staring very pointedly in your direction. There was no mistaking them-- they were the same young women you’d been eavesdropping on in the City a few days earlier. Even from a distance, you could clearly see the displeasure and annoyance on their faces.

"Y/N? Why are you looking away from me?"

"No reason! Sorry!" You quickly turned my gaze back to Chenle and gave him a bright smile, but you could still feel the women's glares. Ugh, it's like they were all throwing daggers at you with their eyes. You get that they all want to take your place, but-- ahh, you hoped none of them tried anything underhanded.

You were trying to focus on the dance again, but it was hard to lose yourself in the pleasure of it like you had before, not with those piercing stares.

At last the music ended, and the sound of chatting voices soon filled the room again. "Chenle, why don't I go get us something to drink? Do you want champagne?"

"Okay, but i'll come with-“

“Chenle!” The second you took a step away from Chenle, the young women came rushing in to surround him.

"Please, dance with me next!"

"No, with me!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa! The women pushed you somewhat forcefully out of the way as they crowded around him, and you stumbled, still not used to wearing such high heels. As you tried to regain your balance, you bumped into a waiter carrying a tray of glasses, and there was a sudden crash as they all hit the floor and shattered. You lost my balance for real this time and plonked down straight onto your butt, one shoe slipping off your foot and tumbling to the side. Could you have been any more dramatically clumsy?! Why can't you fall over quietly, just for once in your life?!

"Isn't that Chenle’s partner? How disgraceful, sitting on the floor like that."

Your cheeks were burning, you could feel them all staring, and all you wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. But as you stared down at the floor, frozen in confusion, an elegant hand suddenly appeared in front of you. 

"Give me your hand, Princess."

"Chenle..”

Your heart throbbed and ached at the tenderness in his eyes, and for a moment you forgot your shame. You gazed at that elegant, graceful hand, and reached out to place yours in it.

"Really, she's so disgraceful.”

"I can't believe she'd cause so much trouble for Chenle." 

Their voices intruded, bringing you back to reality, and you froze. You promised yourself you’d do everything right, so that you could be worthy of being Chenle’s partner. But here you were, causing him trouble--bringing shame to his good name, and– Your hand hovered just shy of Chenle’s, but you drew it back again

“Y/N”

Before you could pull my hand away completely, Chenle caught it firmly in his. "Chenle... I can stand up on my own. Let go.”

"No, I won't let go.” Chenle pulled you to your feet, and almost without thinking, you buried your face in his chest. You could feel his breath tickling your ear, and your heart began to pound again. "I can't believe you're making that face."

"What? Hey-I" Chenle scooped up your shoe from the floor, and a moment later he slid one arm around your back and the other under your knees. Before you could react, he lifted you into his arms, cradling you against his chest, and the buzz of whispers around you two rose to a roar. 

Chenle, were you seriously going to carry me in your arms across the dancefloor?! "Chenle! Everyone's staring.”

"Be quiet and stop wriggling, will you? We've done this dozens of times before. Why are you suddenly fussing about it now?"

He might be fine with this, but you’ve never been so embarrassed in your whole life.The young women who'd knocked you over were all staring at us as well, looking aghast and dismayed.

"You there, waiter. Are you all right?"

"Yes, sir! I'm perfectly fine! Please, don't worry about it. We'll get everything cleaned up right away."

"Then we'll leave you to it. My partner seems to be feeling unwell, so if you'll all excuse us." Ugh, is this ever going to end?! you just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever…

You  wrapped your arms around Chenle’s neck and buried your face in his chest so you wouldn't have to see all the people staring at you as you two walked past them. But Chenle seemed completely calm and unbothered as he sauntered out of the room, letting the mutterings of the crowd fade away behind us. A cool breeze ruffled your hair, and when you lifted your head, you found that he'd carried you out to the balcony, which was blissfully empty of other people. Chenle set you down in one of the chairs, and sat down next to you.

"Chenle, why are we out here?”

"I'm the one who should be asking you that."

"What do you mean?" you blinked at him as he leaned closer, his beautiful porcelain skin glowing in the moonlight. 

"Have you forgotten what I said before we came? I told you I wouldn't let you wear that gloomy expression at my side."

"Oh…. well..” you remembered him saying that, but-

"Are those women the reason you looked so unhappy? You weren’t sure if you should just open up and tell him why you’ve been feeling so down. If you did, it was just going to worry him more, and after all he’s done for you, that doesn't feel right. You gazed uncertainly up at him, trying to make up your mind about what to do. Something flickered in his eyes, and to your surprise, you saw a hint of doubt lurking there. "You were looking depressed even before we came here, weren't you? If there's something worrying you, stop hiding it and just tell me."

He knew all along, didn't he? He knew this was more than just you feeling nervous. And He’s already been worrying about you, all this time. "I can't help worrying that maybe I'm not really worthy of being your partner." If you’re not honest with him, if you keep hiding it-- that's only going to make him worry more. You need to tell him everything that's been bothering you. "I'm not used to parties like this. I'm not used to high society. To the way you socialites interact with each other. I've lived my whole life in another world, and I started to doubt if people would ever accept me as your partner. And right when I was worrying about that, I accidentally overheard some people talking about me. They said that the magic of love doesn't last forever, and that I was never good enough for you to begin with. And those words stayed with me. I couldn't stop thinking about them."

"I see.” To be honest, you don’t really believe that. you know the magic of your love isn't going to end. You know that he’s the only one for you, forever and always. But– 

"I love you so much, and I want to be worthy of standing at your side." 

Chenle’s eyes widened a little at your words, his expression startled. But a moment later you sighed softly, sounding almost exasperated somehow. "I can't believe you were really worrying about something so trivial."

"What do you mean, trivial?!"

"Worries like that are about as meaningful to me as a single grain of sugar." Chenle stood up from his chair, and before you could react, he knelt gracefully in front of you. He lifted your bare foot, and you shivered at the feel of his fingers against your skin. Without warning he pressed a gentle kiss against your ankle.

"Chenle--I" The warmth of his lips sent a shiver of delight running through you. If he kept doing things like that-

"I told you, didn't I? I'm never letting go of the impertinent woman who ran into my heart. And even if the magic spell I cast on you breaks, I'll always be here to cast another spell on you." He sounded so regal and dignified you could almost believe he really was a prince, and you watched in wonder as he gently slipped your shoe back on your foot.

He really means that, doesn’t he? And it doesn't bother him in the slightest that his spell was broken. His love for you was so pure and earnest, and it lit a gentle flame in your heart, a flickering glow that filled you with warmth. Ahh, I love that you're like this.

"Really. You're normally so brash and shameless, and yet you get hung up on the strangest little details." 

"Brash and shameless? Seriously?!"

"Well, it's the truth." There had to have been a way to say it that sounded less insulting! You pouted at Chenle, and he laughed suddenly, his expression brightening. "When we went to look at dresses, I told you to hurry up and get used to this. But it's fine if you take your time getting used to things-- to dresses, to parties, to everything.”

"Oh-- okay." For a moment you didn't know what to think or say, and you simply gazed at his sweet smile as he smoothed your hair back from your face and sat down beside you again. He’s more stubborn and frank than anyone you’ve ever met, and sometimes he’s a real tease and a bully, but-- he is so incredibly kind at heart. And that's why--

Everything you were feeling was flooding through you, and the only way you could express it was to reach out and wrap your arms around Chenlein a fierce hug. "Y/N?!"

"I love you, Chenle. I love you so much." You clung to him, letting his warmth seep into you and wishing you never had to let go. He’s the only one for you-- the only one who'll ever matter. You can't imagine being anywhere but right here at his side. You buried your face in his chest and whispered the words there, as if you could deliver them directly to his heart.

A moment later he spoke, his voice sugary-sweet, yet with a husky edge that set your heart racing. "It's very clear to me just how much you adore me.” He caressed your cheek gently, and you lifted your head, looking up at him. The stars in the sky seemed to dance in his eyes, captivating you with their ethereal glow.

You weren’t even sure which of you moved first, but suddenly we were kissing. His lips were warm, and he tasted so sweet that you wanted more. One kiss wasn't enough to tell him how you felt, and you kissed him a 2nd time, and a 3rd, desperate to share all my love and desire with him. 

"That's enough." Our lips parted suddenly as Chenle caught you by the shoulders and pushed you back. You were still trying to make sense of what was happening when he took you by the hand and stood up. "We're going home. Right now."

"What? Are you sure?" I mean… you could still hear music, so the party's not over yet.

"I've already greeted everyone in my position as the Zhong heir. The rest is the same old same old, and it will be over soon enough. And more importantly, right now I want you."

"Chenle--"

His voice had a sultry edge to it that promised you a lot more than just kisses, and a thrill of anticipation ran through you. "And I'm not planning on letting you go, not even when the clock strikes midnight. So I hope you're ready." He gave you a smile, and then turned and began to walk away, and you practically tripped over your own feet again in your eagerness to catch up with him.

You don't want him to let you go, not at midnight, not ever. This is no simple spell cast by some fairy godmother. He cast his spell on you the moment we first met, and you know it's going to last forever.

The air around us seemed to sizzle with passion and the promise of what was to come, and the trip home felt more like torture. But you knew that when we got there, he'd more than make up for it, as he cast his magic spell on you again and made you love him even more...

SUMMARY ↬ @marvelahsobx @lyvhie @odxrilove @jkslvsnella @aquaphoenixz @wonnieluv @acidwon @syatchy @sleepyvic @grassbutneo @chcnlcs @taeeflwrr @hibernatinghamster @jaeimjaemin @gukuwii @slayhaechan @yyangj3lly @onlyhyunjin @clean-soap @bath1lda @lostinneocity @defzcl @ckline35 @multifandomania @meltinghershey @foxy-kitsune @jising-jisang-jisung @minkyuncutie @zuzu-the-simp @dojaejunging @leehanascent @nosungluv @sunflowerbebe07 @h-aecat @layuhsblog @fae-renjun @w3bqrl @hyuckies18 @wonbin-truther @bugcattie @wony1e @lazysmushi @binniebunii @nctrawberries @galacticnct (tagged y’all cause i just wanted to say thank you for the support <33 IT REALLY MEANT SO MUCH TO ME 😭😭)

[aphrodite-made-me-write-it]

Dawnbringer - Part One

(A/N) um, idk what to really say other than i wanted a werewolf kate fic and then i wrote one so here’s the first chapter alskfdj probably won’t be long, 4-6 chapters max just beefy and dripping with plot

read it on ao3

Rating: E (Explicit eventually, rn it’s fine)

Warnings: Dark Themes; Supernatural Creatures; Werewolf Tropes; Vague Prophecies; Legions of the Undead; Vampiric Overlords; Sapphic Pining; Gay Panic; Darcy Lewis being a fucking g; R’s parents had a nasty divorce and they’re not great ppl but they love R so at least we dont have entirely fucked up parents in this fic lmfao; that’s it for now but this will eventually have p0rn as usual so let’s just get that warning out there now

Pairing: Werewolf!Kate Bishop x Fem!Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.3k

Total Word Count: 5.3k (for now)

Synopsis: After an uneventful party, your night becomes a whole lot more eventful when you meet an enormous blue-eyed wolf. 

| Part One | Part Two |

You don’t typically attend the outrageous weekend parties that your friends enjoy frequenting, but this week has been rough to say the least. With finals rapidly approaching, the tests and assignments thrust upon you for your final year in college have piled up to an alarming proportion. If the stress of that weren’t enough to kill you, during what few hours of sleep you’re able to steal, you’re restless. Strange dreams that you can’t remember upon waking up haunt your evenings, leaving you uneasy in the morning and anxious throughout the day.

So, really, you just came to the party for the free booze and hopefully force yourself into having some fun. It didn’t last long, though. Your friends ditched you, and you ended up spending the last hour and a half on a couch in the corner of the dingy frat basement. You only really gained the energy to leave when some guy started talking to you about NFTs. 

The waning half moon bathes the campus in her hooded gaze, illuminating the sidewalk better than the flickering yellow street lamps. The evening air is blissful against your overheated skin, the party apparently being warmer than you thought it was. It’s quiet as you make your way towards your apartment complex, which, thankfully, isn’t very far from your university.

Cedar and maple trees line the street, and the further you walk towards your apartment, the thicker their numbers grow. Joined by sycamore and oak, the forest that resides directly across from your building is typically alive with insects and frogs this late at night.

Only halfway to your apartment do you realize that the forest is silent and still as death.

Something primal kicks in, pushing away all remnants of the hard seltzers you’d nursed over the course of the party. Your senses come alive in a way they never have before, your ears straining to pick up on any noise and the darkness seeming brighter. You can even smell more clearly as the adrenaline pumps into your veins.

A low growl spills from the darkness. Terror grips you, your entire body seizing as the instinct to fight and the instinct to flee begin to go at war within your body and mind. In the end, your fearful state gives the creature plenty of time to slip from the shadows of the trees.

An enormous black wolf, bigger than any you have ever seen before, approaches you with its head lowered and hackles raised. Piercing blue eyes seem to look right through you as its lips curl back to reveal long, sharp teeth.

You make peace with death in the milliseconds between the wolf lunging at you and the moment you realize it’s running right past you. Dazed and petrified, you can only stumble until you’re turned around, watching the creature pounce on another person. A man.

The man lets out a furious snarl that the wolf meets with a snarl of its own. To your amazement, even as the wolf rips into the man’s flesh, no blood spills. Not a single drop. In fact, the skin seems to turn to stone the second the wolf manages to tear off an arm.

The man shoves the wolf away with such strength you gasp. The wolf goes flying into the woods, and in the blink of an eye the man is on you. You cry out in fear, his only arm coming up to grip your throat and tilt your head viciously to the side.

It occurs to you that perhaps the wolf had been protecting you. You call out for it, “Come back! Help!” and though you don’t expect a wild animal to obey you, to your amazement, the black wolf comes bounding out of the tree line again. This time, there’s a new fury in its blue gaze.

It stops short when it realizes the grip the man has on you, teeth bared in a threatening growl. 

“You can’t stop us, mutt,” the man hisses, his hands ice cold on your skin. “She’s coming with me.”

You squirm hard against him, fear coursing through your body and making you tremble uncontrollably. His strength is alarming, his body feeling hard as a statue as you fight against it. “W-what do you want from me? Let me go!”

“Quiet!” The man snaps, squeezing your throat so hard you nearly blackout. “Once we awaken her blood, she’ll bring forth our master and-”

The wolf lunges. You faintly register a stinging in your shoulder when the man is ripped away from you. You’re thrown to the ground, body finally giving into the uncontrollable trembles that have overtaken it. You can do nothing but cower and cover your head as screams and vicious growls fill the air. What sounds like hard stone being split open cracks into the night, the following silence ringing with your terror.

Warm breath on your shoulder makes you whimper and flinch. A wet nose nudges against your skin, a tongue soothing over throbbing flesh. You’ve been wounded. You hadn’t quite picked up on it right away, but as you force your eyes open you’re met with the sight of a bloodied shoulder, what looks to be claw marks from when the wolf had gone for the man. 

You jump in alarm when you realize the wolf is right there, right next to you, and it had licked your shoulder. The creature gives a low whine, blue eyes meeting yours apologetically. It strikes you how intelligent those eyes are, as if there were some sort of humanistic understanding in them. 

You let out a shaky breath, turning over so you can sit up and face the animal. It doesn’t move, though it watches you with those strange eyes intently. With slightly shaking fingers, you reach out and stroke the creature’s neck. Its shining black fur is softer than you thought it would be, the beast calmer than you’ve ever heard of any wild wolf being.

This has to be some sort of dream.

You’ve had strange dreams all your life, and this has to be one of them.

A disbelieving laugh escapes you, and the wolf tilts its head as if confused. 

“I’ve never had a wolf save me in my dreams before,” you say, because you may as well talk to the creature if this is all a dream. Because wolves can’t understand humans, because this wolf is too big to be a wolf. It doesn’t answer, as one should expect from a wolf. “Usually the monsters get me.”

At this, another low whine slips from it. You pet it absentmindedly, wondering when you’ll wake up. Typically, when you realize you’re dreaming again, you wake right back up. This doesn’t seem to be the case tonight, however. And that wound on your arm is smarting. 

“This… this isn’t a dream, is it?” You ask.

The wolf shakes its head. You stare at it in astonishment. There it is, confirmation that this wolf understands you and that this isn’t a dream.

You stand on shaking legs, scoffing. The wolf moves as if to help you stand, then hesitates. 

“I can’t… do this right now, I’m sorry. Creepy stone men that try to kill me and wolves that can understand me are enough crazy for one night, thank you very much.”

The wolf stares at you, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear it was smiling. 

“Well, thanks for the save,” you clear your throat and look at your shoulder with a wince. “I guess I’ll never forget you.”

The wolf whines again when you make to leave. You sigh. “What, do you want to walk me home or something?” The beast steps forward. “Okay,” you nod. “Alright, fine. Um. Cool. I hope this doesn’t mean you expect any food because I’m literally broke and don’t have any… wolf food… in my apartment.”

The wolf snorts. Okay, yeah, you’re losing your mind.

You start towards the building again, feeling far safer with this gigantic monster at your side than you have ever felt walking down a dark street in the middle of the night. It keeps to the side of the road that the woods border, the shadows of the trees cloaking its massive form as it easily keeps pace with you with its long legs.

“So, if I’m really going crazy,” you say slowly, “and you really understand me… are you able to tell me what the hell that thing was back there?”

The wolf looks at you curiously, but shakes its head.

“Okay. Um.” You breathe through puckered lips thoughtfully. “Are you a boy?” It shakes its head ‘no’. “A girl?” A nod. The action looks so strange on the animal, you’re again caught off-guard. “Oh. Okay. Cool. Girls looking out for girls. I respect it.” The wolf snorts again, a low rumble that almost sounds like laughter coming from its chest. 

“I’m sorry, I’ve never talked to a six-foot-tall wolf before. I don’t know what to ask you about.” You huff a little, though a smile is pulling at your lips. You see your apartment complex clearly, now, the parking lot illuminating the night like a beacon of safety. The wolf begins to slow her pace, so you follow suit and eye her curiously.

“So… whatever that guy was,” you begin quietly. “Should I… expect more of them?”

The wolf hesitates before giving a slow, cautious nod. 

“Then… should I expect you, too?” 

When the wolf nods again, she wags her tail. 

“Okay,” you release a shuddering breath. “Okay, cool. Well, I’ll… see you around, then?”

The wolf steps towards you, lowering her head. You pet her between her ears, feeling far more relaxed now than you had been before. The pain in your shoulder is starting to get to you, now, but the bleeding stopped quicker than you thought it would. The wolf eyes your wound when you remove your palm from her head, a flash of worry in her gaze.

“It’s fine,” you assure her, gesturing to the scratch. “It’s just a flesh wound. I’ve had worse.”

You can’t quite shake the concern that rises in you when the wolf only stares solemnly at you in response. You give a final wave goodbye to your odd companion before crossing the dead street. Once you reach the entrance, a beautiful sound catches your attention. Ominous and haunting, it fills the night with one of nature’s most ancient and haunting melodies: the call of the wolf.

- - -

“You hear about the transfer from Columbia?” Darcy asks casually as she takes the desk next to yours. 

“How the hell would I hear about a transfer from Columbia?” You scoff.

“She was at the party on Saturday.” She shrugs, pulling their bottom lip between her teeth. “She’s totally your type, I’m surprised you didn’t notice her.”

“And what, pray tell, is my type?” You eye your friend with a suspicious snort. 

You and Darcy Lewis have been best friends since fifth grade, when your mom’s first holistic phase lead to an insanely restrictive diet and you promised Darcy your eternal friendship in exchange for some of her animal crackers. Needless to say, you have no plans on breaking that promise any time soon.

Darcy wasn’t much of a partygoer, either, but finals have had her stressed, too, and once she gets a few shots in her Darcy becomes the life of the party. You hadn’t told her about your encounter with the wolf, as you hadn’t seen the animal since. The wound had nearly been gone yesterday and by today all that remained of it was a sliver of a scar that looked as though it had been there forever. 

Still, the encounter haunts the edges of your mind. 

“Your type,” Darcy begins slowly, catching your attention again. “Is what you were bullied by in high school. The hot jocks.”

Your jaw drops. “What? That’s not even remotely true.”

“Remember Carol two years ago?”

You groan. “That’s not fair, she’s broken like twenty hearts since then.”

“Right. And what about back in high school, that cheerleader? Hailee?”

“I’m pretty sure we agreed to never speak her name again.”

“My point,” the brunette smacks her hands on the desk conclusively. “Is that your type are hot girls with big guns and nice buns.”

“I wish I could unhear that sentence.”

“Don’t even lie, that was-”

“Hi, can I sit here?” A voice behind you pulls your attention away from Darcy and suddenly you’re tongue tied. A girl with long, dark hair is standing at the desk beside you, eyebrow raising questioningly when you don’t give an immediate response.

“Whoa, what a coincidence!” Darcy’s voice is too chipper, you immediately know you’ve been caught in your gay panic. “Kate Bishop, right? From Columbia?” Well, shit.

“Yep,” Kate tucks one of her hands bashfully into the pocket of her varsity jacket while the other drops her bag on the floor beneath the desk. She slides into the seat and gives a lazy smile that shows off her dimples. Holy shit. “What’s the coincidence? Were you talking about me or something?”

Her icy blue eyes cast between you and Darcy before landing on you. A shock of familiarity washes over you, though you can’t quite place the feeling. 

“We were, actually,” Darcy says at the same time as you say, “No, we weren’t.”

Kate laughs, her rich voice almost a growl as she says, “That’s comforting. Nothing bad, I hope?” Again, her gaze shifts to you in a strange way, as if silently communicating a question that you can’t pick up on.

“Not at all.” Darcy assures. “I was just telling (Y/N) about how you got your scholarship for archery. (Y/N)’s got a bit of a thing for the athletic arts.”

You cringe. “Darce-”

“Athletic arts?” Kate repeats with a snort. “I’ve never heard that one before.” She gives you a sly grin. “Does your friend always try to set you up like this?”

“Pretty much,” you nod, blushing. 

“Hey!” Darcy protests. 

Mercifully, the professor shows up and requests silence from the class.

As the lecture goes on, you often find yourself looking at Kate. Sometimes, you think you sense her looking at you, too, but when you try and catch her she’s casually looking ahead as if she hadn’t moved at all. 

You can’t shake that odd tugging in the back of your mind. That sense of familiarity. Maybe you had seen her at the party, and forgotten? That couldn’t be possible. Your gay little mind wouldn’t let you forget her. 

As much as you hated to admit it, Darcy was right. Kate Bishop is certainly your type. She takes off her purple and black jacket halfway through class, her tank top exposing strong biceps. You knew archery worked out like, all of your arm and shoulder muscles, but like, wow. Beyond that, Kate’s softer features are so disarmingly beautiful you have to force yourself to pay attention to the class you pay for the longer you look at her.

Finally, as the lecture comes to an end and the chatter of your peers once again fills the room, you allow yourself to get a good look at the archer. Only to find that Kate is looking right back at you, a smile on her lips.

“Can I get your number?” She asks.

A blush is back on your cheeks. “Y-yeah, totally.”

The brunette gives you her phone and you try to pretend your hands aren’t shaking as you type your number into a new contact. She’s already gathered her things by the time you give the phone back to her.

“I’ll see you around, (Y/N),” she says with a wink, stunning you further into silence as she turns to leave. 

“You need to trust me more.” Darcy states cheekily.

“Shut up.” You huff. 

What a weird fucking week.

- - -

Unknown hey :) it’s kate  well obviously it’s me, you probably dont give out your number often  unless you do in which case, hi, it’s kate from womens studies

You chuckle at the texts, earning a knowing glance from Darcy. She looks too cocky for her own good, so you stick your tongue out at her.

hey :) i was wondering when you’d finally text me

God, you hope that wasn’t too desperate. It’s not like you were waiting for your phone to buzz or anything. Not at all. It’s not like any low sound during the past class sent you grabbing for your phone. Not even a little.

Kate haha good to know im on your mind  i wanted to ask when your last class was?

Your pulse quickens. Holy shit, is she asking you out? Already? You’ve barely recovered from your first encounter!

5. asking a girl out after just meeting her huh? 

Too bold?

“Jesus, you look like a fourteen year old.” Darcy snorts, trying to look over your shoulder at your screen. You tuck the object close to your chest and scowl at her.

“What, you try to set me up and then get salty when it works?” You accuse.

She grins. “So it is Kate that’s got you all heart-eyed.”

“Shut up,” you whine and she cackles.

Kate well when i see what i like i tend to get it ;) can i treat you to a coffee?

“You really should be thanking me for setting you up with your dream girl.” Darcy hums. “Maybe throw me a party. Have a cake with my face on it. Oh, and of course, I need a ten minute dedication at your wedding-”

“She’s asking me out for one coffee,” you roll your eyes and blush as you text an affirmative to Kate. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Right, sure it doesn’t. Like your texts aren’t nauseating.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll let you have a speech at the wedding but I’m limiting you to eight minutes because my parents are gonna spend their two minutes talking about the divorce.”

“Well it did turn their only child gay.”

You share her laughter and wipe away a tear that doesn’t exist. You have no idea where you’d be without Darcy.

- - -

Kate looks anxious when you approach, but it appears to melt the moment she sees you as a lazy smile stretches across her face. She greets you with a one-armed hug that feels strangely natural, and doesn’t remove it once she starts towards the coffee shop at the edge of campus.

“You’re from New York?” You ask, hoping you don’t sound as breathless as you feel with her unusually warm pressed against yours.

“I am,” Kate confirms. “What about you? You always live around the State College area?”

“Nah. Arizona, actually. When my parents split, dad moved to Oregon and mom moved us out here. I was eleven, but honestly I think I like the coast better. It’s so peaceful up here.”

Kate momentarily stiffens but covers it easily by saying, “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s kinda why I came here, too.”

“Why did you transfer? Penn State is a good school, but it’s no Columbia.”

“No, it’s not,” Kate chuckles. “But I needed to get away from the city.”

The coffee shop soon comes into view and Kate separates from you to hold the door open.

“What a gentlewoman,” you tease softly as she rejoins your side, though she doesn’t put her arm around you this time, much to your dismay. 

“For you? Always.” Kate winks playfully as she eyes the menu. “So, you’re the expert here. What’s good?”

“Can’t go wrong with a hot chocolate,” you suggest. “Or a mocha, if coffee’s your thing. Which it probably is, I mean, you asked me to come to a coffee shop-”

Kate laughs at your rambling and places a hand on your lower back. “Do I make you nervous?”

“Um- yeah, sorry, it’s been a while since I… dated.” You excuse lamely, to which the archer only hums with a smirk.

“Well, if it helps, I’m nervous around you, too.”

You scoff. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I’m saying it to make you feel better and ‘cause it’s true.” Kate’s expression becomes thoughtful as her blue gaze searches yours. “You make me very nervous, (Y/N).”

The way she says it sends a shiver down your spine.

Kate orders two hot chocolates as you stand in stunned silence.

While the drinks are being made, she makes light conversation about the classes she’s taken on and how different the student body seems here. It’s a bit odd, how quickly she goes from that bouncing energetic goofball to seductress and back again in a span of minutes. It’s insanely hot, though, and thankfully you haven’t spotted any red flags yet.

When your drinks are finished, you take your respective seats on one of many lounge chairs littering the small, cozy space. 

She tells you a little bit about her past; she comes from money and went to private schools and is happy to make jokes about her privileged upbringing. She did martial arts throughout her childhood and picked up archery very young. She was going to take over her mom’s company, but for some vague reason or another, that doesn’t appear to be in Kate’s future so she’s finishing her degree and figuring it out from there.

You allow yourself to open up about your own childhood, sharing ridiculous stories and schemes you went through with Darcy. You talk about your parents divorce lightly, figuring that a deeper dive is a third or fourth date topic, and about your ambition to become an animal rehabilitator like your father. Kate relates to you on the admiration of your father, though your own is more distant than hers had been and not just in the literal sense.

By the time you finish your hot chocolates, they’re lukewarm and the sun has long since set. Kate offers to walk you home, and you have no thoughts in your mind to deny her. It’s amazing, how easily conversation flows between you as if you’d known each other for years. It makes your heart soar and your stomach erupt with butterflies.

As you come upon your apartment complex, Kate faces you with a timid smile. 

“I really like hanging out with you, (Y/N),” she says, eyeing where your arms are still intertwined. 

“Yeah, I like hanging out with you, too,” you respond breathily, blinking up at her. 

Kate’s blue eyes glimpse down at your lips, her warm breath filling the small distance between you. For a wonderful moment, you wonder if she’s going to lean in and kiss you.

But the sharp ring of her cellphone fills the air and breaks the moment. She releases your arm with an apologetic smile that melts the moment she looks at the screen. She curses under her breath.

“Sorry, this- it’s important. I’ll text you later?”

You nod, mind still fogged from your almost-kiss. “Y-yeah, sure. Okay.”

“Hey.” Kate answers her phone as you open the entrance of your building. “Yeah. Sorry. I lost track of time…”

Once you’re home safely, you close your front door with a sigh. You shrug off your jacket and set it on the back of a dining chair before heading into the kitchen for a glass of water. You absentmindedly touch the scar on your shoulder, moving your arm awkwardly so that you can properly look at the mark.

Strangely, it feels alive tonight. Not sore, or necessarily tender. But tingly.

A distant howl makes you jump.

Another fact you’ve learned since the party that hasn’t left your mind:

There are no wild wolves in Pennsylvania.

- - -

The last sliver of the moon squints through the forest, casting dark shadows in the deepest wilds that mankind rarely ventures through. Here, it is easy to lose oneself in the ancient history of the land; the cradling pines and rough mountain sides that seem to have shaped life itself into being.

For years, tales of strange creatures roaming these untamed lands have passed from storyteller to storyteller. Giant wolves that seem to vanish in the blink of an eye, ghostly howls that foretell one’s own death. These fables have existed long before the European settlers arrived, for these lands have always held a natural power.

Tonight, the evening air is full of the nocturnal songs of the forest. Owls out on the hunt, frogs and insects calling out into the night. And, of course, the low howl of one of mankind’s most ancient and terrible enemies: the wolf.

A large, black body weaves through the trees and lifts its head to respond to the call. Its speed goes beyond that of an average wolf, its enormous body nearly six feet tall as its long limbs lope over the foliage.

The wolf comes to a skidding halt once a familiar cabin comes into view. Another wolf waits for her there, his dark gray muzzle lowering the instant he sees her.

You’re late, he reminds through their packbond, the growl in his chest nonthreatening.

The black wolf lowers her head, her ears flattening slightly. I was- 

We know where you’ve been, a third wolf, smaller in size but still bigger than a normal wolf, approaches from around the cabin with a wagging tail. Her coat is a lighter gray with streaks of gold and red like autumn leaves. Fury is… not happy. 

Blue eyes avert to the ground as the black wolf paws at the dirt. It was just one coffee… it doesn’t have to mean anything… 

Good luck telling him that, Bishop, the blonde wolf teases, lowering her tail again. 

Enough teasing, Yelena, a red wolf joins the small group. Fury is getting more and more impatient by the second. I think Wanda is going to strangle him. 

Kate sighs as the sisters begin to lead the way around the cabin. The first wolf, the gray one, nudges her side softly with his muzzle.

I know you feel drawn to her, he offers a sympathetic whine. But she’s too important. If you let yourself be distracted, we could lose everything. 

Around the back of the cabin, and the rest of their pack are now visible. A pack such as this is most unusual, especially for werewolves who, by nature, are family creatures. Not an ounce of blood is shared between these wolves, though. Just a strong sense of loyalty and nobility that binds them together, stronger than any blood ties.

The remaining wolves would be Fury, the unspoken leader of their pack who stands tall at the head of the circle with his scarred, red-brown muzzle raised high. His singular eye settles on Kate briefly before taking in the rest of the circle. Then there’s Bruce, whose own wolf form towers over the rest, gray as soot with smatters of black on his paws. Thor, the second biggest, looks almost radiant under the moonlight with his golden pelt. Lastly, there’s Carol, who stands beside Fury with a coat as silver as starlight, her eyes landing on Kate with unreadable emotions lingering through the bond.

The rest, though not werewolves, are Tony, an alchemist, Wanda, a witch, Vision, a golem, and Sam and Bucky, vampires. There’s a thick tension among the circle as Wanda begins to chant a concealment spell that will keep outside forces from listening to their conversations. Next, she goes around the circle and murmurs strange words.

The wolves shift uncomfortably at the sense of magic in the air. Steve and Bucky exchange grimaces; though Wanda has long since learned how to keep her spells from affecting them, particularly the wards, it doesn’t stop them from feeling a heavy pressure on their chests. They’re not supposed to enter these spells, but Wanda is a particularly powerful witch.

At last, her final spell opens the circles’ minds to one another, allowing outsiders a glimpse into the strong mental bond that links the werewolves to one another.

Friends, warriors, Fury begins with a low growl, the legend, I fear, is true. The Long Night is at our doorstep, and the Dawnbringer must become our priority. Her protection is the protection of life itself. 

There’s a stirring among the wolves. Tony scoffs.

“Legends,” he mutters scornfully. “Prophecies. I’ve seen and heard plenty of those, thank you very much.”

You have witnessed many, this is true, Fury concedes politely, but have they not been for the betterment of mankind? Have you not watched as light conquers darkness, over and over?

“Good and evil are transparent concepts,” the alchemist shrugs. “Completely subjective.”

And in what world is a night that doesn’t end come off as ‘subjectively’ evil? Snorts Clint, equal parts amused and appalled.

“The world of the vampires.” Tony says flatly, nodding in the direction of Steve and Bucky. “The world of night hunters, like wolves.” He nods to the wolves. “The world of shadows.”

But this is our world, Natasha protests. Our natural world. The prophecy states that the Long Night will turn nature against nature. As an alchemist, surely you can appeal to that, Stark?

The older man crosses his arms stubbornly, but doesn’t argue. In truth, Tony Stark lost his love for the natural world centuries ago, around the same time as his immortality had lost its shine. One grows tired of monotony, and sometimes chaos can be a little fun.

But Natasha is right. He is an alchemist. A scientist. 

Chaos is dangerous. If the prophecy is to be taken literal, then yes, an eternal night that turns nature against itself would be catastrophic. 

Kate already knows her, Yelena pipes up, causing the black wolf to grunt. 

Oh, we know, Fury’s eye lands on Kate. She tries not to cower. Have you shown them?

It was one coffee- 

That’s not what I’m referring to. Fury flashes the image that Kate had shown them nights before, under the waning halfmoon, when she had scratched you during the attack. 

The pack comes alive with anxiety, all at once. This had been just between Kate, Fury, and Clint. Now that it’s out in the open, they’re all looking at Kate with a variety of emotions from anger to annoyance to fear to wonder. 

It was an accident! Kate whimpers. 

Accident or not, there’s no taking back what’s been done. Fury lifts his gray muzzle to the sky, noting the clouds beginning to pass over the moon. She was meant to choose, but if fate has chosen for her, then so be it. On the next full moon, she will be one of us, whether or not she is prepared to face her destiny. 

Kate’s stomach turns guiltily. She’s already doomed you to a fate you know nothing about. 

Until then, Fury continues, keep close to her. You remember what your first time was like. Bring her to us when she knows what you are. 

Kate nods. Yes, of course. Got it. 

She misses the jealous look Carol sends her.

And Kate, Fury’s chest rumbles with another growl. Time is not on our side, but try not to... frighten the girl.

When the gathering is dismissed, and the spells officially closed, Kate and Clint begin their trek towards the town home they share. Whenever asked, Clint tells strangers he’s Kate’s father in favor of answering some awkward prying questions. In truth, Clint is the closest to a father Kate has had in a long, long time. 

We don’t care if you’re interested in her like that, Clint abruptly interrupts their quiet running. 

But you were right. I shouldn’t distract her from her destiny. Kate whines softly. 

Maybe people have two destinies. 

Kate finds it hard to argue when Clint is so goddamn reasonable.

One thing was for certain: the future is closing its teeth around them. The prophecy is real and it’s true, and Kate has put an unwitting victim into fate’s unkind hands.

>>> next <<<<

- tag tag tag! - 

Gen Tags: @nobody13​ @fireflyglass @swords-are-cool @artapdarkstr @pasta-bandit​ @multi-images​ @women-am-i-right @fanboy7794 @simplysimping999 @ohmygooddamnbisexual-mood @jayreadingforfun314 @alotofpockets​ @avengerswriter4eva​ @007giu

//if you wanna be tagged for this fic, for kate fics, all my fics, etc. just lemme know!

[taegyuun]

scared ice prince

requested by: @nico-nico-niki MWAH !!

genre: fluff, childhood best friends to enemies to lovers, angst-ish

warnings: swearing

word-count: 2.8k

ALRIGHTY LETS GET STARTED

as children you and sunghoon lived nowhere near each other

literally on the complete opposite sides of the town

so you may be asking “how did we meet”

now now

your friendship started in one place that was right smack dab in the centre of the town

the ice rink :D

both you and sunghoon started around the same time but you started just a tad earlier maybe like a week or two so y’know you already knew like the basics like how to tie your skates properly and what not

sunghoon did not

so this is how your friendship started !!

when he first came in he was this TINY tiny child literally the most adorable little thing baby baby <333

he was incredibly shy not shine tho and didn’t speak to anyone not even the instructor

and you could see that he was struggling to tie his skates so you walked over and crouched down before untying your own

he looked over curiously and you started showing him step by step how to do the basic knot so he could follow without even saying anything

and then you were basically inseparable LMFAOO

ik crazy how tying a skate lace can blossom such an incredible friendship

whenever the instructor asked to pair up for a skating assessment you two were already stuck together like glue

literally no one tried to separate you two bc they knew if they did, it’d either end in very LOUD tears or them having bruises

but like i said, you two lived on the opposite sides of the town and as little 8/9 year olds you couldn’t exactly venture out on your own and just walk to each other’s houses

so outside of the weekend figure skating practice, you two barely saw each other

your parents once in a while, maybe every two weeks, drove one of you to the others house so you could play and what not but you both had busy parents so it wasn’t always a constant routine y’know

but as you grew older you became more and more inseparable

like in middle school, you forced your parents to move you to his school so you two could be together which they actually agreed on but that’s only bc his school had better education-

and then in highschool everyone thought you were dating

even though you didn’t really potray any sort of skin ship other than smacking the other one across the head 💀

you two were just so close that everyone just assumed

oh and yes you both carried on your figure skating career !!!

when you entered high school that’s kinda when it got a lot more competitive

middle school, sure you both competed but it wasn’t really anything crazy

it wasn’t like a proper competition that you felt accomplished for winning - it felt more like child’s play

but now that you’re both almost adults- you went to actual tournaments and competed with other incredibly talented figure skaters

this also meant spending less time with sunghoon and more time at the ice rink

you were both incredibly passionate about the sport and it clouded both of your minds so much that it was bascially the only thing you would think about

you stayed at the same ice rink that you started at- the one in the centre of your town

while sunghoon transferred to a more “prestigious” one that was closer to the city

it’s not like you couldn’t afford it you just weren’t bothered to travel that far for the same schooling that you got here

you weren’t exactly sure why sunghoon transferred

i mean, the teachers taught you the exact same things in the same ways

you did have your suspicions of him not wanting you to see his practices bc you were both starting to compete against each other but if that was the case he could just have fully private lessons instead of lessons with you

you never really thought about it too much, you just focused on yourself and how well you were doing with the sport

the reason for sunghoon transferring was the exact reason that you guessed

he didn’t want you to see him practice.

sunghoon, well, ice skating was basically his whole life

it was his joy in this cruel world

and he loved it so much he forgot about anything else that was in the world because of it

it also made him forget about his best friend of the last decade...

he became incredibly competitive - especially when he was skating against you

he made it his priority to win every time but he tried even harder to win when you were in the tornament too

he wasn’t sure why but similarly to you, he didn’t bother thinking much about it especially when the sport was filling his thoughts so much

it’s like he almost had no time to think about anything but figure skating

it’s like he didn’t even want to think about anything but figure skating

so this is exactly why you two fell apart and became ‘enemies’

he basically lost all contact with you out of nowhere once you two started competing properly

you tried to reach him at school and whenever you had the time to see if something happened or if you did something

but he would always dismiss you or simply ignore you

you tried to get jake, your other best friend and the only person you knew who actually could talk to him, to get him to contact you

but every time jake got back to you it was a shrug and a “idk y/n, something got to him and he won’t listen to a single word i say... hes a completely changed person”

so yeah sunghoon turned into a dick in the span of a few months

it did hurt you

it hurt a lot

he was really one of your only friends who you were so tight-knit with that you felt like you could tell him anything

i mean - you were literally best friends for a decade!

you even contacted his parents and they were confused themsleves

your parents were even worried for him

but we move i guess we can’t be crying over some stupid boy in this household youre strong >:)

even though you two never spoke anymore, becuase of your shared friendship with jake, you two still saw each other frequently at school - especially at lunch

you would always catch him sneaking glances at you every time you laughed at something jake said or when you teased jay for some stupid things he said

jealous sunghoon????

but like i said WE MOVE !!! you did not pay him any attention at all and as you should bc the kid literally randomly dropped you for no reason at least that you were aware of

other than school lunches, you mainly saw him at competitions

and however much you disliked him for what he did, you could not deny that he was an incredibly talented skater

when he glided across the ice you could feel his happiness and how peaceful he felt even when doing intricate spins and jumps

and even though you knew you couldn’t, you felt happy for him

ok maybe you felt more than happy for him

you couldn’t deny the feelings that were present 😐✋

as much as you didn’t want to, you started falling for the boy you saw on ice because that same boy that was gliding so effortlessly inside the rink reminded you so much of the boy you used to once see and speak to everyday without any worries

but the second he stepped off the rink and met his eyes with yours your feelings instantly deflated

you then once again felt the same rage rushing through you at what he did to you

you were still waiting for an explanation as to what the fuck was going on

and everytime he stepped off the rink with the widest smile, his eyes would meet yours as if he was searching for you to see if you watched

but when he met your dejected and angry eyes, his smile would drop and let out a sigh

he was angry at himself for what he did to you

he was frustrated that some stupid sport had ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him in his whole life

he knew he was in love with you

he knew for so long

and maybe that’s the reason why he begged his parents to let him transfer to another ice rink

so he didn’t have to watch you gracefully skate across the ice and not have to worry about somehow fucking up and saying the wrong thing

he was scared of being in love with his best friend

becuase that trope either turns into an endless love or the everlasting sorrow of losing your best friend to dumb feelings

so instead he acted upon some MORE dumb feelings and locked you off from him

he tried hard, he really did

but he couldn’t stop thinking about you

he looked for you at every competition and for some reason, he always found you there even if you weren’t competing

in school he always looked for you and every time he said something stupid or said some sort of joke he was waiting for a smack on the back of his head or one of your incredibly ugly but somewhat endearing snorts

but that never came

however! something was present

you always tried to hide your smile by dropping you head and looking at the table during every lunch

or when you met his gaze you’d look away and pretend to be interested in the wall beside you

he knew that you felt something as well and it wasn’t just him

but he may have realised that a tad late

but i mean it wasn’t just him who was doing these things

you were also unconsciously looking around for him after every performance and during school to see if he was ok

now now how do you two become lovers you may ask?

i am getting to that now

funnily enough both of your instructors were siblings and they wanted their companies to partner up together and hold this one big performance for the end of the year

in that performance they wanted all of the skaters to skate individually and then two people to skate together in a “romantic” performance

they thought it was a cute way to start the year ok-

you can see where i’m going with this cant you 😼

and well bascially the way it was done

was they put everyone’s names in a hat and chose two out

sunghoon and arrabella

arrabella was some random ass girl from sunghoons ice rink you literally never saw her at the competitions but alright

you were secretly hoping to hear your name being called out and not so you could hold hands with sunghoon while skating 🙄

but bc you wanted him to finally speak to you one on one and tell you what the frick happened

arrabella was clearly a big fan of sunghoon as he almost passed away from hearing her name and his together

sunghoon looked quite disgusted ngl

so he walked up to the instructor and whispered something in his ear to which the instructor nodded at

you then watched as he dunked his hand in the hat again before pulling out another piece of paper

your name was called

you were like ????? bc wasnt it meant to be only two people performing??

and then they told everyone that you and arrabella were switching places bc she wasn’t fit for the performance

sunghoon didn’t actually tell the instructor to chose your name he just asked him to chose another person bc he knew all she’s do was gush over him instead of actually learning rhe perfomance

but yes he secretly hoped you’d be chosen and TA DA !!!!

so you stand up and skate over to where sunghoon was standing as the instructor shows you the video that you were going to recreate

it involved a lot of waist grabbing, hand holding and touches.

let’s just say you had to take a few deep breaths

you and sunghoon haven’t properly spoken for the past few months and we’re almost at the brink of hating each other but now you have to do this ??? good lord give me strength

but in all honesty you both put your feelings aside when it came to practice bc you didn’t want to disappoint your instructors and wanted to make a nice perfomance for everyone

so every time you had practice with sunghoon you put your professional game face on and just did what you had to do

trying to ignore his large hands on your waist or the way hes softly but tightly hold your hand when you had to do some sort of spin

and alas

the day came of the perfomance and up until then both of you barely said anything to each other, only minor things that helped the other improve in the dance

after the whole perfomance happened and everyone was finished, you both received a lot of praise for such a stunning show from literally everyone

the most frequent comment you got was “wow! your chemistry was indescribable,,, that was the most beautiful relationship i had ever witnessed” and you’d just look at each other like “uh-“

so you both stayed behind to collect some things that you got given and well

you both figured it was time to finally speak about what was going on

“so i-“

“do you mind-“

he lets you speak first wow what a gentleman 😐

“so do you mind telling me what the fuck this was all about? you randomly dropped me and acted as if i didn’t exist yet you always looked for me during your competitions or at lunch?? sunghoon, i don’t know what i did wrong but please for the love of god tell me what is going on we can’t keep acting like this”

sunghoon just started at the ice quite dejectedly

he had this whole speech to say to you that was a whole apology and also a confession but for some reason it completely slipped his mind the second he faced you

he didn’t even realise how much time passed as you started to turn around and slowly skate away after saying “if you’re not going to speak to me i’m leaving”

well obviously mr. park had to get his shit sorted out so he quickly skated to you and grabbed your wrist wow what a classic move

you turned around and huffing looking down at his hand on your wrist before looking back up at him as to say “what now”

so now it’s time for his explanation wow took you long enough

“ok first of all i’m so fucking sorry y/n idk why i did this i think it’s because i was scared to be in love with you and i didn’t want to ruin our friendship with some stupid feelings but instead i did exactly that and instead of actually having the weight off my shoulders for you finally knowing i just had more put on because i ruined what we had in the worst way possible and i know this is an incredibly shitty apology, if you can even call it that, but it’s been so hard without you i’m so frustrated at myself for doing this i just wish i cou-“

then he felt your lips on his

oh my god he burnt up so much at the contact he thought the ice beneath him would meltn

he obviously kissed back and you felt relieved that it was the right decision to do

as you pulled back you said “i forgive you and i love you too but pull that shit on me one more time and i’m burrying you in ice.” and then kiss him again <3

after that sunghoon decided to move back to the old ice rink so the same one youre in and oh my god

the relief everyone felt when they saw you and sunghoon back together all happy and smiley and giggles and sunshine’s and what not

every time jake sees you two he internally sighs and thanks whatever is up there for giving him his friends back - sure a little more lovey dovey but they were back

YOU DONT EVEN UNDERSTAND THE RELIEF BOTH OF YOUR PARENTS FELT-

i mean they knew you’d end up together at some point it was painfully obvious but still-

and you lived happily ever after

the end

[peaches-writes]

how to appease your asian aunties ch. 3 - spring break

* icym: this was prev. a guide to social gatherings but i changed the title bc i still think i’m funny that way

description: in the immortal words of blood-related aunts and aunts you’re not even related to but forced to call your aunt at reunion parties, “do you have a boyfriend?”  member: jisung / han  genre: fluff, fake dating au, implied rich kids au, eventual childhood / best friends to lovers au, college au, implied fem reader (but i still used they/them pronouns)  word count: 5.4k chapter warning: food, a conversation calling out toxic asian family culture oops note: i’m not confident with this one bc i had to re-write this two times (?) with diff. plot directions + srsly idk what happened here what was the point am i ok + i didn’t post this accidentally this time !!!! 

ch. 1 // ch. 2 //  series masterlist

After seeing you and Jisung interact during your trip to the mall, your mom has started loving this new idea of you dating one of her close friends’ sons so much that she has not-so-discreetly started conspiring with Mrs. Han in order to see the two of you together as much as possible. From invitations for snacks and drinks at one’s house every day after school to whole-day activities on the weekends (usually to the mall or the cinema), it didn’t take long before you and your own best friend put two and two together and conclude that your respective moms have somewhat developed an auntie type of obsession over your fake relationship. 

This idea that your moms would love you and Jisung together so much to this extent initially flew past your head when you started this fake relationship last Christmas. You were only thinking of casually fake dating your best friend, after all; such arrangement ideally confined only in social gatherings where invasive relatives and family friends ask about your love life endlessly. You genuinely did not expect that that Jisung would start tagging along to you and your parents’ Sunday movie dates and side with your dad every time you disagree on your selected movie’s ending; or that you would not be parting ways with Jisung after school anymore when you reach your house and he has to drive another block to get to his.

But for the most part, you’ve decided as the weeks fly by with this new added twist in your everyday, it’s fun and, even at times, cute. Though Mrs. Han dotes on you more now, like you’re her own child, and your mom is starting to be more talkative around Jisung since they now have you to talk about, you still get to eat snacks either your mom or Mrs. Han made, hog the extraordinarily fast wifi at Jisung’s house, and get free movie tickets and shopping bags from when you’re going out with the other’s family on the weekends. Plus, it’s made your workaholic mom come home earlier just to see you and Jisung lounging in your living room and Mrs. Han’s worries lessen now that Jisung’s busy with something else that isn’t academics or whatever it is he does with his Bumble and Tinder apps. 

At times, it’s tiring having to hang out with your best friend under the guise of a couple, especially when you didn’t really plan for it to be this way, but you can’t deny that there are perks to it. 

So, you wait more patiently for Jisung every day after your classes now even when he usually takes a lot of detours to see his friends before driving over to you on the other side of campus. You still hang out with your friends, Ryujin and Chaeryeong, after classes, of course, but you part ways with them just a little bit earlier now to anticipate Jisung’s Convertible pulling up in front of your building and unnecessarily yelling at you to get in even when he’s the one awfully late. 

Because if you were to choose between your other best friends and a free expensive snacks, you’d always choose the latter without fail. 

“You know,” Chaeryeong comments next to you on this particular Friday, stretching her legs down to the steps below you three while you scroll through your phone and Ryujin naps on your shoulder with her earphones still plugged in. “if I didn’t know that you’re ditching us earlier for free fake dating food, I would’ve thought that you and squirrel boy were seriously dating.” 

“You always think we’re dating either way.” You roll your eyes, not even sparing a glance at the smug grin on her features. “Anyway, aren’t you happy we’re ‘dating’ now? It’s what you’ve always hoped for but, you know, fake.” 

Only then do you turn to Chaeryeong over your shoulder, also scrolling through her social media on her phone. She meets your gaze after with a scrunched up nose and furrowed eyebrows. “Hm,” She pretends to contemplate, placing her index finger up to her chin. “I don’t know. I think I’ll have to wait until someone caves and you actually develop feelings for each other—like in books!” 

“Seriously?” You deadpan with pursed lips, only making her laugh. “Of all things you could bring up.”

Chaeryeong shrugs in response with a knowing smile, chuckling when your expression doesn’t change. “You never know!” She replies in her defense, laughing all the way. “You did say after break that you’re just going to fake date if there’s an event but it’s Spring Break tomorrow already and you’ve been fake dating every day since classes started again.” 

“Sounds like a romantic trope to me.” She comments last teasingly before you can even interject, swiftly dodging your hand when you reach up to try and smack her. Literature majors, really. 

“For one, I don’t want to date Jisung, I’ve seen enough of him my whole life for that and I don’t think I’m in the mood to date in general. And besides, we’re only a ‘couple’ at home when someone’s mom is watching.” You counter as you retract your free hand back to your side, alternating your gaze between her and your other hand with your phone. Jisung’s last message is that of him informing you that he’s making a quick stop at the International Relations department today to hand Hyunjin his books ten minutes ago. Knowing him, if he didn’t get lost or got distracted by a kiosk selling coffee, he’s probably on his way now. “And you know I love free stuff, it just happens to come only if I hang out with Jisung these days.” 

“So what happens when you ‘break up’? And I don’t mean the cute perks from the aunties.” Chaeryeong asks next, leaning back on her propped elbows now that the stairs going up to your college building have started to cool down from being exposed to the sun the entire day. “I mean, it’s back to normal for us as your friends—I do miss not having to remind my parents that you’re a couple now—but your moms are going to think it’s weird that you suddenly broke up and went back to being friends like nothing happened.” 

“I already told you and everyone else, we’ll think about that when it happens.” You shrug both at her and the nagging thought in your mind that she has a point.   

“And when exactly will that happen?” She prods on, smiling smugly at knowing that you and Jisung never talked about this certain part of your current predicament clearly. “‘Dating until everyone doesn’t think of Jisung as a fuckboy or when aunties stop offering blind dates’ sounds vague to me.”

You see Chaeryeong’s smile grow bigger when you don’t answer immediately, accidentally letting time pass until Jisung’s gray Convertible pulls up steps below you with an obnoxious honk. 

“Y/N, my mom bought gelato today!” Jisung yells at you from his roofless car, his radio blasting Bermuda Triangle at an embarrassingly loud volume. “Let’s go!” 

You then quickly shake Ryujin awake in response, gently moving her to Chaeryeong’s legs when her eyes open, before standing up and waving goodbye at your two friends. “Like I said, I’ll let you know when it happens.” You hurriedly conclude your conversation with Chaeryeong with a triumphant smile, making her roll her eyes. “See you after the break!” 

Chaeryeong only shakes her head in disbelief, easily letting you go from her interrogation with a wave goodbye. “You be careful now, hm? Have fun with your ice cream, then!” 

You chuckle as you run down the stairs, waving your hand up for her as you move away without sparing a last glance. “Don’t worry, I’ll take pictures!” At this, you open the front passenger seat to Jisung’s car and smoothly slide in, haphazardly discarding your backpack next to his at the back before closing the door next to you. “Hey, ugly. Glad you didn’t get lost on campus.”

“Speak for yourself, ugly.” Jisung teases back, shifting the car’s gear back to ‘Drive.’ “How was your day? You three look so bored out of your mind there.”

"Better now that we’re going to eat ice cream at home.” You put your seatbelt on as Jisung now drives the car home, reaching over to the radio in between the two of you after and lowering the volume. “Classes were tiring as usual. What flavors did auntie get, by the way?”

Jisung almost makes the wrong turn with your choice of words, quickly gathering his thoughts and shaking his head. “Fu—u-um, Ferrero, strawberry, and mint choco, that’s what she texted me.” He shrugs, making the correct turn to the nearest campus gate this time. 

From the corner of his eyes, you nod with a hum as you sink back in your seat, completely missing the way you unconsciously caught him off-guard even with the screech of the car tires. “Oh, cool—no pun intended there.” You chuckle to yourself, leaning to the opposite side now to watch the college buildings pass by. “We’re watching The Conjuring 2, right?”

“Yeah.” Jisung scoffs, brushing off what remains of his sudden nervous feeling with the comment. “Tch, cool.” 

Like every Wednesday and Friday that Mrs. Han prepares you after school snacks and drinks, you and Jisung go through tubs of ice cream and tumblers of water while a horror film is projected on the television of the Han’s ground floor living room. Mrs. Han, who has her office day off on Fridays, would occasionally drop by and either ask if the two of you need anything or comment on her distaste for horror under her breath. 

“Oh, oh, dear.” She clutches her pearls dramatically, much like her son would, as she passes by for the sixth time to go to the kitchen and catches another glimpse of The Conjuring in the process. She then turns to you and Jisung after to calm her nerves, catching you still sprawled across the sofa with your legs lazily piled on top of Jisung’s.

Of course she’s seen you in the same position before in the few times you came over as one of Jisung’s friends but the sight now seems different under the guise that you and her son are a couple. Typical mom. 

“Hi, auntie!” You greet her when you catch her from the corner of your eye also for the sixth time, waving your empty spoon in greeting with one hand while the other blindly reaches for Jisung’s laptop on the coffee table to pause the movie. Jisung hides his face under a throw pillow at this, already having enough of his mom snooping around for today and you giving her the time of day. Since when did you get comfy with his mom, anyway? “Do you need anything?”

Mrs. Han immediately shakes her head with a dismissive wave and smile. “Ah, nothing, I was just checking up on you two!” She clarifies again. “Do you need anything? Extra pillows? More water?” 

You shake your head politely, holding up the water tumblers on your other side reassuringly. “We’re good but thank you!” 

At this, Mrs. Han clasps her hands together in satisfaction. “Alright, if you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen, then!” She concludes, taking a step back from the door frame. “You’re staying for dinner, right, Y/N?” 

You glance over at Jisung, prying the throw pillow away from his face enough to see him shaking his head and making you feign a teasing frown for his mom. “You don’t want me to stay over dinner, babe?” You taunt with a smile, chuckling when he pushes the pillow back onto his face. Turning to Mrs. Han, you add, “I think Sung doesn’t want me staying for dinner, auntie, but I’ll gladly stay over if you want me to; anyway, my parents are coming home late today.” 

“What? Oh, he’s just being shy!” Mrs. Han dismisses with another wave of her hand. “Please do stay for dinner. I’ll text your mom for you too.” 

“Alright, if you say so.” You nod, giving her your sweetest smile now. “Thank you so much!”  

With that, Mrs. Han then bids you goodbye and proceeds to the kitchen. When the sound of her stilettos fades outside the living room, Jisung removes the throw pillow in front of his face with a groan, scooting closer to you until his shoulders bumped into yours. “My mom, seriously.” He then smacks you on the shoulder with the throw pillow as you press ‘play’ on his laptop again. “Ya, are you seriously dining with us tonight?” 

You kick his legs under yours in response. “I think it’s cute, it’s not like she caught us doing something weird.” You shrug in his mom’s defense. “And yes, I’m staying over because your mom is clearly cooking tonight and I can’t say no to an offer and free food.” 

“I’ll have to get back at you when we’re back at your house on Monday.” He counters back, shamelessly dipping his spoon on the mint chocolate ice cream in your hands. As he bites on the small chocolate drops on the ice cream, a thought then crosses his mind and he asks, “Wait, are we still hanging out on Spring Break?” 

You turn to him, swatting his hand belatedly before taking a big chunk of his strawberry ice cream. “I don’t know, my mom hasn’t mentioned anything and I don’t think my parents have any plans of going on vacation this break.” You answer truthfully before eating the spoonful of ice cream. “What about auntie?” 

“Nothing from her too.” He shakes his head. “Though we’re definitely going on vacation this Break—my dad really wants to check out the new Jeju hotel.” 

“When are you coming home?” 

“Friday night, I think? We leave on Sunday.” He answers, taking a sip of water now that the taste of ice cream is now making his mouth feel sticky. He takes note of how you used the same word again, recovering quicker this time before he could even choke. “So we’re definitely not hanging out on those days.” 

You hum against another spoonful of ice cream, this time from the Ferrero ice cream in the small gap between the two of you. “I mean, it’d be nice to be away from you for once—we’ve literally been joined to the hip after classes and most weekends since the New Year—but that would mean no free food which would be a shame; I really like your mom’s cooking.” 

“Ouch, I didn’t know you don’t like spending more time with me just for me.” He clutches his chest dramatically, hugging the throw pillow again. “I thought you’d like this since I was away for a year.” 

“We barely hung out before you even left.” You chuckle in amusement, grabbing the pillow from him again and this time lazily discarding it to the other end of the sofa. “I already thought you’re annoying the rare times we hung out before. Now, you’re just the bane of my existence.” 

Next to you, Jisung laughs along belatedly, holding his ice cream tub away when you try and take another spoonful of strawberry from him. “Yeah but I’m the bane of your existence that you’re ‘dating’ in front of the aunties for free stuff and them leaving you alone.” He points out, giving in to you after when you almost topple over the Ferrero ice cream and handing you his strawberry ice cream. “So you can’t really complain.” 

You roll your eyes as you exchange tubs of ice cream. In front of you, a jump scare goes unnoticed as you pay more attention to Jisung anticipating what your next words would be. “I’m grateful,” You clarify in a mumble as you chew on the ice cream. “But you’re still annoying as hell.” 

“Not like you’re any better.” He rolls his eyes with another playful laugh, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, I think we shouldn’t hang out on Spring Break: we’re going to ‘break up’ if we keep meeting too much at this point.” 

This time, it’s you who gets another thought at this comment. Shifting in your seat as well so you’re now facing Jisung, you ask in a change of topic, “Right, I meant to ask: when exactly are we ‘breaking up’?” You raise an eyebrow at him when his eyes widen in confusion. “It’s just that Chaeryeong and I were talking about it a while back and it had me thinking.”

“Hm? I thought we’ll do it a little after Chan and Miyoung’s wedding.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “There aren’t many events after that and I’m sure the aunties won’t bother you for a while since you’ll start working.” 

“And if they do?” You ask back curiously. “Starting work at your own parents’ company while going through a ‘break-up’ doesn’t exactly guarantee a free pass from blind dates—remember the last time Yeji had a relationship the aunties knew about?” 

“Right, that was quite chaotic.” Jisung replies, keeping his spoon in his mouth now instead of eating more ice cream as the unexpected question actually catches him off-guard. “But, I don’t know. I guess we can keep going a little longer after the wedding, until the aunties have someone else to bother or, you know—if you end up liking someone else.” 

You then catch Jisung’s eyes light up at this idea and you hear him quickly add, “Hey, how about that?” He then removes the spoon from his mouth, placing his ice cream down in between the two of you. “You don’t have to worry about your elders and we don’t have to fake date anymore.” 

“Actual dating?” You furrow your eyebrows. Jisung nods at this. “You know how I feel about that. I don’t think I want that for myself right now given the changes that are going to happen after we graduate.” You wave your hands around now, setting your ice cream and spoon down before sinking back in your seat. “And I especially don’t want that just for the sake of getting people to mind their own business; it’d be like giving in to the pressure in a way.” 

You glance over at Jisung to see him nodding thoughtfully now, an unfamiliar look crossing his features before he meets your gaze and comments, “Okay, that’s fair—but we both know it’d be too troublesome to fake date for a long time.” He then sighs, sinking into his own spot and leveling with your gaze.

Suddenly, you feel a shift in the air around you as Jisung sets his ice cream down on his other side. “Aish, don’t you just wish you can talk back to older people?”

“Yeah.” You nod in agreement this time, pursing your lips. The air suddenly felt sincere now, a bit comical since the people keep screaming on the television in front of you but, for some reason, you don’t feel like laughing because Jisung isn’t despite obviously having the same thoughts. “I mean, we all know that the talks about dating and career and everything else are often in good-nature but a lot of times they’re just invasive and a bit rude.” 

When Jisung doesn’t reply as quickly, you nudge his shoulder and add, “I especially think of the time you told some of the parents during Yeji’s birthday about your plans to study in Malaysia and how negatively they received it because they think you won’t graduate on time and that you should just finish college quickly and work.” Jisung’s eyes widen in surprise this time. “They don’t know how hard you work in your studies or how you really wanted to go abroad and explore and I really wanted to scold them for it.” 

“Y-You still remember that?” He asks in disbelief, earning him a casual nod from you. 

“Of course,” You confirm, your free hand unconsciously balling into fists on your lap at the memory. “I’ve never wanted to yell at my mom’s friends until that point even when you tried laughing it off so I’m glad you proved them wrong when you came back during Christmas and impressed them when they asked about it again.” 

You see Jisung chuckle under his breath shyly, tearing his gaze at you for a moment. “You mentioned that night that you were annoyed. I never knew you were this annoyed.” He muses out loud. “Thanks.” 

“Thinking about it now, I feel a bit bad,” You point out after, heaving a frustrated sigh. “You’re keeping up with fake dating me even though it just started as a little joke last Christmas to protect me in a way but I couldn’t stand up to you two years ago.” 

Looking up at Jisung, he grins at you reassuringly and shakes his head, effectively easing the atmosphere back into being more lighthearted. “No, it’s okay.” He dismisses your frown. “Just knowing what you really thought then is fine already.” 

“And,” He shifts in his seat after, transferring the tubs of ice cream in between the two of you now to his other side so he can scoot closer. “I get free food every other day from your mom because we’re ‘dating’ so it’s nothing, really.” 

You scoff when he breaks out into laughter. “Right, of course.” You deadpan before breaking out into genuine laughs yourself. “What was I even thinking, talking about sincere things with you?” 

The two of you laugh for a while, even more when Jisung pretends to complain that you just 'wasted’ the last act of the movie talking about ‘mushy stuff.’ 

“Stop complaining, dummy,” You smack his elbow, sitting up properly now as the credits begin to roll. “you entertained my rants instead of stopping me so it’s your fault too.” 

“Because you brought up something of mine from two years ago!” He protests before moving away to gather all your scattered snacks to the coffee table, laughing in disbelief all throughout. “I had to respond or it’d be rude!” 

You only roll your eyes at him, making the two of you laugh even harder. You then lean back on the sofa, stretching your hands above your head and removing your legs off of Jisung while he disconnects his laptop from the television and closes both electronic gadgets. 

Turning to you, after, you see his laughs turn into a small sincere smile once again. “But seriously,” He says, glancing back at you from his shoulder. “Thanks.” 

“For?” You prod him teasingly, earning you a groan of frustration from him. 

“For almost getting mad at the elders?” He jokes back with a raised eyebrow before going back to being sincere again. “Nah, for being understanding with me and my choices.” 

“Of course,” You reply casually. “even if we joke around a lot, you’re one of my best friends—well, as if I had a choice in that, you know me too well and too long.”     

“Way to ruin the moment.” He frowns at you in feigned disappointment, making you chuckle, until another thought crosses his mind. “And, Y/N?” 

“Hm?” You look up expectantly at him. 

“We have to break up some time after the wedding but I’ll still try and protect you,” He clears his throat awkwardly. “from the ‘rude’ and ‘invasive’ comments after, I mean. You should do whatever you want to do freely and date seriously when you want, not when older people pressure you into it.” 

At this, your gaze softens at him visibly, even more when he doesn’t make other hints that he’s joking. “Thank you.” You mumble, just loud enough for only him to hear when you see Mrs. Han pass by the hallway again. “You should too, you know, do whatever you want and date whenever you want to.”

Jisung opens his mouth to speak but, behind him, you catch a glimpse of Mrs. Han suddenly returning to the hallway and stopping by the living room entrance again, waving at you and unintentionally cutting her son off. “Y/N, Sungie, dinner’s ready!” She informs you before Jisung could even get a single syllable out, making him purse his lips in annoyance with his face hidden from his own mom’s view. “Y/N, I already texted your mom, by the way, and she said it’s fine that you stay over for dinner.” 

You turn to the side and nod at Mrs. Han, chuckling when you see Jisung hiding his hands on his lap and exaggeratedly curling his fingers up in frustration. “Thank you, auntie! We’ll be right there!” You assure her, smiling up at her until she disappears back to the opposite direction of the kitchen. 

Turning back to Jisung, you swat his finger tips back into relaxing with a laugh. “Guess we have to go back to adhering to the system and fake dating for now, though.” You conclude with a giggle, standing up from the sofa and fixing your clothes. “What were you going to say before your mom barged in?” 

After a moment of silent contemplating, Jisung ends up shaking his head and following you, gathering the tubs of ice cream in his hands. “It was nothing.” 

“Really?” You ask, elbowing him gently before picking up your water tumblers from the sofa. “Come on, tell me.”

“It’s nothing, seriously.” Jisung assures you with a laugh, walking ahead of you out of the living room and turning around to see you catch up. “Come on, leech, dinner time.” 

You bump his shoulder with a laugh when you manage to catch up with him, “Shut up, you’re also a leech.” 

“But not on this day, you’re in my house.” He corrects. 

Dinner with the Hans regrettably passes too soon even with all of Mrs. Han’s questions on your school life and post-college plans; and Mr. Han bringing up embarrassing and, at times, even exaggerated stories from when you and Jisung were children. When Mr. Han is suddenly forced to retreat back into his home office to attend to a minor emergency (hastily bidding you and Jisung goodnight) and Mrs. Han managed to win in your argument over you helping her and the house helpers to do the dishes, the old grandfather clock at the house entrance strikes quarter to 9 PM which prompts Jisung to offer you company in walking back home. 

“Yes, how thoughtful of you, Sungie! Do walk Y/N home!” His mom comments with a proud grin as she shoos you out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you after Spring Break, Y/N, okay?” 

You nod, giving her one last side hug, careful of the dish washing liquid bubbling up on her pink gloves. “Have fun on your trip to Jeju, auntie!” 

“I’d ask you to come along if it didn’t turn out so last minute, I did mention it on New Year” She jokes, much to Jisung’s horrified face. “Oh, Sungie, what’s that look for? Don’t you want Y/N to go on a trip with us next time?” 

You giggle nervously, pulling away from the hug after and taking a step back to Jisung’s side. “Maybe next time, auntie? I have lots of deadlines this break, anyway.”

“Ya!” Jisung hisses at you discreetly, pouting again that you’re entertaining his mom’s antics. You only elbow him in response. 

In front of you, Mrs. Han seriously contemplates on the idea before waving her drier glove. “Yes, it is quite last-minute right now since we leave on Monday.” She smiles fondly. “Next time, it is, then!” 

“Okay, that’s enough planning for a future trip!” Jisung quickly interjects before you can humor his mom longer, placing an arm over your shoulder and turning you around to face the open door leading outside. “It’s getting late and I have to walk back here on my own after!” 

You wave back at Mrs. Han, laughing when she rolls her eyes at her son before bidding you one last goodnight. “Goodnight, auntie!” 

With that, Jisung gently pushes you into a run out of his house, haphazardly closing the door behind him and directing you across the front lawn, to their gates, then, finally, to the dimly-lit streets of your subdivision. You’re only pulled to a stop when Jisung almost pushes you to a car parked on the house across his, making you laugh. 

“Ya, we didn’t have to run out so fast!” You protest, clutching your stomach with one hand while the other hits his side. “My stomach hurts.” 

“You keep entertaining my mom’s ideas!” He playfully whines back in between tired pants, catching his breath quickly before throwing an arm over your shoulder. “If you’ll keep going like this, you might actually become best friends!” 

You scoff, keeping his arm on your shoulder anyway as the two of you now walk to the direction of your house. “Watch your words, Han Jisung, or it might actually happen.” You warn him teasingly, adjusting your backpack on your shoulder. “Besides, I was just doing what you were doing on New Year—how did you call it?—’earning points.’” 

“I also told you then that my mom already likes you so much,” He pouts, easily pulling you flush against him when a lone car passes by. Instinctively, he then moves you to his other side so he’s walking closer to the road. “You’re just going to be more annoying at this point.” 

“Well, I like your mom, too, so I’m going to be extra annoying from now on,” You grin mischievously. “maybe until we ‘break up’ then everything’s going to be awkward for a while.” 

Glancing over at Jisung from your side, you see him genuinely frown momentarily before sighing in feigned defeat. “Fine, do whatever you want.” 

You want to ask him about the sudden frown but you end up shrugging it off as you cross the street to get to the right turn at the intersection. With the new direction you’re walking into, Jisung shifts you to his other side again. 

“You know, it’s not like some car’s going to crash into us,” You move to his other side anyway and swiftly dodging another offer of him slinging his arm over your shoulder. “We’re inside the village? Where the speed limit is 20 kph?” 

Jisung scoffs, dropping his arm back to his side “Your house is on your side of the street, dumbass, that’s why I moved you there.” And, as if on cue, you see your own house slowly coming into view among the towering gates and trees. “That little heart-to-heart talk we had must be getting to you, huh?” 

“As if.” You elbow his side in retaliation, your backpack hitting his back slightly in the process which only fuels his teasing more. 

“Aren’t you glad I’m here to walk you home?” He asks with a grin, just as you reach your gates. “Imagine if you got lost when we’re literally a block apart.” 

“I hope the dog next door escapes and chases you back home,” You groan, walking a few steps ahead to open the smaller entrance on your gate with your key. 

Behind you, Jisung only laughs, unfazed, before walking over to your side again and extending his arms out for a hug. “Okay, sorry,” He grins halfheartedly. “Come here, goodbye hug.”  

You raise an eyebrow at him, swinging your gate open with one hand and stepping one foot on the other side. “What do you mean? My mom’s inside.” 

“Yeah, but I haven’t hugged you alone in a while.” He points out while tilting his head sideways, earning him a genuine look of confusion from you. 

“Ya, it’s not like we don’t hug platonically before all this.” He adds with a shaky snicker before pouting. “I’m going to get s—”

“Okay, fine.” You scoff with a small smile, stepping outside again to hug him. “Look who’s getting all mushy now.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” He shakes his head against your neck, reluctantly pulling away from you after a while. Rubbing the nape of his neck bashfully, he adds, “It’s just that—everything’s been a bit different now since I got home.”  

“It’s mostly your fault—”   

“—I know and I don’t regret it,�� He interjects quickly, wiping the smug smile of your face. “since I’m doing it to get you away from creepy guys but it’s just us now and I sort of...miss being casual.” 

Your frown tugs upwards into a sincere smile as you lean back against the gates. “We are casual. It’s just that people are looking now.” 

“Can we hang out sometime?” He suggests with hopeful eyes. “just us, like old times.”

“You call it old times like it wasn’t just two years ago,” You point out, chuckling now. “But—sure.”

Jisung nods with a big grin now, excitedly shifting his weight on his feet. “So, see you after the Break?” 

“Buy me something nice from Jeju then we can talk.” You conclude, stepping inside now completely. “Night, Sungie.” 

“Hm, goodnight.” 

When you accompany one of the Han’s family drivers to fetch Jisung and his parents at Incheon International Airport exactly a week later, you only expected to see the box of imported chocolate snacks Jisung promised to buy you as the only unfamiliar thing that you’ll see, maybe even an entirely new carrier with Mrs. Han’s vacation haul if she did actually spent more time shopping than working. 

What you genuinely did not expect, upon finally spotting your best friend and his parents waiting for you at crowded Seattle’s Best, is him holding more than just your box of chocolates. 

“Hey?” You wave at Jisung in confusion as you stop right in front of him. To your right, you catch a glimpse of the family driver, Mr. Yoo, greeting Mr. and Mrs. Han on the next table before obligingly taking their luggage cart. “Who’s this little angel?” 

Only then do you notice the two other unfamiliar people with Jisung’s parents, eyeing you curiously and whispering to Mrs. Han, probably to ask who you are.

Jisung waves his hand at you once before transferring the same hand over the nape of his neck, “Y-Yeah, um, this is—”    

But before he could even finish and maybe even explain, the little girl on his lap shifts in her place and jumps to stand in front of you. “Hello!” She grins sweetly in slightly broken Korean, waving one hand at you while the other clutches Jisung’s bear plushie. “I’m Kitty!”

“Oh, hi, Kitty!” You bend your knees slightly to level with her gaze hidden behind round eyeglasses, briefly sparing a glance at Jisung after and raising an eyebrow at him before smiling again at the little girl. “I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you!” 

“It’s nice to...m-meet you!” She politely returns the gesture, hugging Jisung’s bear plushie shyly after and making your heart skip a beat. “Will you also live with us?” 

“At home?” Your furrow your eyebrows deeply now, standing up properly and turning to Jisung who you then belatedly notice has stood up as well and slung his backpack and Kitty’s over his shoulder. “Sung?” 

Jisung stands next to Kitty and places a hand behind her back, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Kitty’s going to live with us for a while.” 

ch. 4 // series masterlist

tags: @t-toodumbtocare​ @sandaigdigan-reads​ @pwarkhans​ @ruellelix​ @malai-barfi​ @mahalau​ @milkywayfelix @qweens-stuff @tenclouds​ @crscendoforsung​ @verobibble

[angst-fairygodmother]

Hello there! Idk if you’re still taking requests, so if you aren’t, ignore this! But I was wondering if you could write Diego x reader, where she meets his siblings for the first time, and at first it’s kinda awkward, but then they get more comfortable and maybe just like fluff after when they get back home? It might be totally stupid but idk. I love your writing!💕💕

A/N: Babe, it’s totally not stupid at all. Meeting the family shenanigans is basically the perfect trope for this show.  Sort of accidentally ended up a sequel to this fic, so I ran with it.  Word Count: 1678 Content Warnings: Season 2 spoilers

“Are you sure you want to do this, Y/N?” Diego asked, gripping your hand tightly as the two of you walked toward the restaurant. “It’s not too late for us to just leave.”

“Diego Hargreeves, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you didn’t want me to meet your family,” you teased, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s one dinner, it’ll be okay.”

“You say that now,” he muttered and you rolled your eyes affectionately in response before pulling open the door and walking inside.

When you gave your names to the hostess, she smiled brightly and told you that the rest of your party was already waiting for you, before leading you to a large table in a private room off the main dining area. Four pairs of eyes turned to you appraisingly. You swallowed nervously and put on a smile of you own.

“Hi everyone, sorry we’re late,” you said, taking one of the two empty seats, somewhat awkwardly as Diego still refused to let go of your hand. “Someone didn’t believe me that traffic was going to be a nightmare on a Friday night.”

One of the women at the table, who you vaguely recognized from a cheesy romance playing on late-night cable and therefore deduced was Allison smiled in a way that felt indulgent and false; it didn’t quite reach her eyes; it was rehearsed.

“Oh he never listens to anybody, don’t take it personally, Y/N,” the smaller of the two men said, stretching across the table and offering you a broad grin and a hand with the word hello tattooed on it. “I’m Klaus, and you’re the gorgeous creature my brother’s decided to shack up with, huh?”

You couldn’t help but giggle at his greeting, shaking his hand politely while Diego glared. “Nice to meet you Klaus,” you said with a smile.

“You know, I already like you better than his last two girlfriends. You haven’t tried to arrest or kill me!”

“Sorry what? Is that a joke?” you frowned in confusion as you let go of his hand and leaned back, glancing over at Diego to see his tight jaw and stony face, clear indications that he was upset.

You hand sought his under the table and you gave it a gentle squeeze, drawing his gaze to you and smiling at him.

‘It’s all good, relax,’ you mouthed.

“No I’m deadly serious,” Klaus continued. “For a while he was with this lady cop on-again/off-again style and she’d arrest me for drugs when she caught me around. Until she was tragically murdered by time-travelling assassins who kidnapped me looking for Five. Then while we were in the 60s, he fell for this girl from the nuthouse who turned out to be a plant and totally tried to kill us!” He gave a pained little chuckle, as if to say, ‘can you believe that?’

You stared at him, open-mouthed and aghast.

“Ignore Klaus, he’s never known when to shut up a day in his life,” the woman you had first noticed said. “I’m Allison.”

Klaus shot her a look that somehow combined a pout and a glare, but fell silent. You felt some of the tension sink out of Diego beside you, though he still didn’t seem comfortable. You smiled at her.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” you said, still trying to shake off the information Klaus had given (which seemed to line up with what the small, angry brother who was oddly not at dinner had said, and was far too much to actually process at the moment).

You turned to the two who hadn’t yet spoken. “So you must be Luther and Vanya?”

The man nodded, shifting in his seat and giving you an awkward little wave. The other woman glowered at you and said nothing. You frowned, wondering what you had done to earn her ire already.

Allison cleared her throat. “We ordered some bruschetta and sangria for the table before you arrived.”

The rest of dinner passed in much the same way as those first moments: Luther was mostly silent and clearly uncomfortable (whether with your presence or very fact of being out in public seemed unclear) but he started to relax and warm up as the evening went on, even once or twice sharing a stiff joke; Vanya was cold, barely responsive to your attempts to engage with her; Allison tried to play the hostess and keep topics light and small-talk-esque, breaking long silences with new conversations, obviously trying her best but ultimately resulting in a stilted performance; Klaus blurted out evidently whatever thoughts passed through his mind, usually bizarre and outlandish, sometimes profound and deeply sad. It was like none of them knew how to be normal people or have dinner with their sibling’s significant other, or an average conversation and you couldn’t help but feel oddly warmed by that, but the fact that they were so…human.

You did your best to keep up with all of them, appreciating Allison’s best efforts, laughing at some of Klaus’s jokes or countering his philosophical points, trying not to call too much attention to Luther or make him feel put on the spot. Diego felt his heart swell with pride at how well you did, and how you took everything in stride, even as the minutes seemed to drag on and he started to fear that dinner would never end.

The only thing that kept rankling at you was Vanya’s attitude, so when she got up to go to the bathroom, you excused yourself as well, cornering her in the hall of the restaurant.

“Hey, no offense, but what the hell is your problem with me?” you asked, tilting your head to one side, more curiosity than animosity in your tone.

She rolled her eyes, trying to push past you, but you resolutely blocked her path.

“I know I’m dating Diego and there’s like a whole weird history there or whatever, but don’t I at least deserve a chance before you decide to treat me like the devil?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”                                        

“You seem nice, and you’re…normal. Our family doesn’t do well with that,” she explained, folding her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to do the whole friendly, welcome to the family or whatever bullshit. Cus you’re either going to turn out not actually normal and screw us over, or you’re going to turn out actually normal and get hurt or bail before you do.”

You stared at her for a long, silent moment.

“I’m not going anywhere. I love Diego, and I think for all that they’re weird, I like your family a lot.”

“You say that for now, but we’ll see.”

“If there’s really no way for me to change your mind, fine, but maybe the reason people leave is just because you shove them away.”

You turned and returned to the table with that, not giving her a chance to respond. You still weren’t thrilled, but at least you felt like you understood her better now, and she seemed to soften toward you at least a little for the rest of the evening.

By the time the check came (a check you noticed that Allison picked up without even glancing at the numbers) you felt like you had really gotten to know Diego’s siblings, and seen a different side of him as he slowly loosened up around them.

As you all got up to leave, it became a chain of “it was nice to meet you”s and “we should do this again”s. Allison moved in for a hug and you returned it happily enough. Luther patted you on the shoulder awkwardly, his big hand enveloping it as if you were a child, surprising you with his size more close up than the other end of the table. Klaus moved as if to follow you home, and then pouted much like a stray puppy when Diego gave him a stern look that communicated without words that he was not allowed to do so. Then he turned to you and hugged you. But where Allison’s was polite and somewhat formal, Klaus’s was anything but, his long limbs folding around you and his chin resting on your shoulder.

“It was sooo good to meet you,” he purred in your ear. “And I’m glad Diego found you.” He pulled back to look you in the eye, his hands still resting on your upper arms. “I mean it. You’re good for him. Take care of him.”

“I will,” you said with a smile. “And you take care of yourself.”

Vanya offered you a polite nod, and you took what you could get.

~

“Y/N, I’m so sorry about tonight,” Diego sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he sank down onto the couch.

“What are you talking about D? It was fine.” You hung your coat on one of the pegs near the door and then, with a roll of your eyes, picked up his from where he’d tossed it on the floor and hung it as well.

“It was torture. In fact I think I’d rather be tortured.”

“I mean sure it was awkward, and your family’s a little weird, but I knew going in not to expect anything else.”

“It didn’t make you regret the day you ever met me?”

You dropped onto the couch next to him, leaning into his side and tilting your head to kiss him, smiling against his mouth.

“I could never regret that babe.”

His arm circled your shoulders, drawing you closer as he returned your kiss fervently. He groaned as you pressed against him and ran your tongue over his lower lip, opening up to invite you in. It wasn’t often that he let you take the lead, so you took full advantage while you could, pressing him back against the cushions and straddling his lap, running your hands through his hair.

“Besides,” you said, pulling back to smile teasingly. “Now I won’t feel so bad when you meet my family.”

[feathersandfortunes]

11/11/11 Tag Game!

dThank you @mkayisinsane​ for the tag, I loved your answers btw, shoot me a message sometime! I’d love to talk dark fiction <3

1. What is the one piece you’ve written, whether it be a whole story, a certain character, or a scene, that you are most proud of? Hm, for the moment I'm a little embarrassed by the pairing but, to be perfectly honest, I'm still proud of this kylux fanfic I wrote. Yes, it's not great to have shipped space fascists, and probably worse that it was a Civil War AU. But, at the time? That was a pairing I liked the writing for, liked the freedom of the blank slate that Hux was, and I hadn't written in a long time. Not for fun. I won't give you the blackmail of the ao3 account, but I'll share a few quotes I really liked:

He is held in too-thin arms, promised the world while the bullfrogs bark and the fireflies illuminate his naive eyes in golden flashes. Helplessly drawn into him, he believes those doe eyes only when the boy stutters just before Hux sears his lips with a kiss that admits he is ablaze with desperation.

He is changed. He grows too fast to measure in the rings of trees. He doesn’t see that promised world in his eyes any longer—only a coldness he knows is just his own gaze reflected back blankly.

...

He does not try to count the corpses in his wake, counts his own minutes alive instead.

...

“Why?”

“You always ask why.”

“Because you fascinate me.”

2. Do you or have you ever based an OC off of someone you know other than yourself? If so, who were they? Not knowingly, I think. I really never based any oc off of myself even, just took bits and twisted them if I wanted.

3. How many completed works do you have, if any? As far as I know, maybe two. Old, very old works - one in a notebook and another printed and stashed somewhere with my Nana's stuff maybe, back in fifth grade I wrote a whole two part story about wolves. Maybe I'll share the notebook story sometime, terrible and rushed as it is haha.

4. What have you read that changed your life? I don't think I've ever read anything that changed my life. I do know that Fall Out Boy & The Adventure Zone really did save my life at one point. For that? I'll always be grateful.

5. Your OC has just been kidnapped and stabbed. They’re bleeding, fumbling in the dark, alone. What do they do? Just so you know, this catapulted me into knowing how to start Feathers and Fortunes so I'll just say this: it's going to begin with Cairn's POV. For now, I think she'd be fumbling at the seams of her clothes, searching for the needle or thin shard of glass she'd definitely have sewn into a secret fold. She's from a background where disappearances are common.

6. If your OC had a theme song, what would it be? Oh that's difficult! For one, I hardly ever pick just one song for a character - it's usually a genre, a mood, a playlist that I make. But I'll point you towards a playlist I made for Anwyll, a character of mine that doesn't belong to any particular story yet.

7. What does your OC fear most? I'll continue with Anwyll for fun, he fears regrets that he missed something important. S'why he's always throwing himself into anything, anyone, trying to keep moving and keep from dwelling on guilt or regret.

8. Have you ever completely lost your motivation for writing and stopped? When and how long? Oh absolutely. For the past two years I dropped writing completely, and even then, 2016 was a short period of fanfic after at least another two years of on again-off again roleplaying that always fizzled out. I didn't have the smoothest high school years, so college has been where I've been trying to be better - starting with classes, now I'm hoping I can find joy in writing again.

9. Do you write optimists, pessimists, or realists most often? I don't write often enough to know. I try not to make every character a snarky loner, that's hard enough haha. But I think my more recent characters have been balanced out.

10. Who’s your favorite literary villain (even if you wrote them)? Oh wow, this is difficult! Especially since in my favorite books I don't remember villains too well, ah. I really can't remember, so I'll go with a recent fave: John, aka the Hunger from The Adventure Zone: Balance. Spoilers I suppose for that!

11. If your book was being taught in a class, what would you want to be the lesson learned from it, or the impact it has on the students? That anyone can be the lone hero that battles the odds but dies anyway. Living is the hard part, but the people that you live for? Those people that you can rely on? That's what makes it worth trying to live.

That got a bit long lol, but! The rules are 11 questions answered, 11 questions given, and 11 people tagged! Go, go, go - I can’t wait to see answers! @yuyuwrites @sophiaawrites @gottaenjoythelittlethingzz @thekeyten @lnevada @dimitrisoneeye @whomstdvewrotethis @imani-writes @lacylu42 @thecoffeegladiator @scripturient-manipulator

1. What's a type of media that you think influenced your writing? Could be anything, from Marvel movies to Magical girl anime or a band or a podcast - anything! 2. What does your OC do on a road trip or long commute? Playlists, podcasts, daydreaming, games, idk, up to you! 3. How do you pick names for your characters? Meanings, sounds, anything! 4. What's a trope you hate from a genre you love? 5. Pick a trope you love from a genre you hate, what is it? 6. If you're a fiction writer, what's something you wish you could write that would be nonfiction (an important historical event, a celebrity's memoir, idk)? If you're nonfiction, what's a fictional world you would live in? 7. Do you like supernatural/magical/mythical creatures? What's your favorite? 8. What's a quote you would love to see on a movie poster or in a trailer for your wip? 9. Where do you start when creating a character? Backstory, appearance, personality, etc? 10. What's a scent that makes your OC feel at home? 11. Are there any scenes you're secretly hoping get fanart in your wip or published work?