#it is my god given right to make dumb cursed art

[deceptivelydeeppuddle]

May I introduce the Furkin, the furby merkin. This idea has been rotting my brain for a whole year now, and I think making this cured my depression.

[writersblog20]

Everybody has a hard time, from time to time

Tom Hiddleston x Freader

Warnings: reader being drunk, little bit of anxiety but disguised as nervousness.Angst but not too much. Language. And feeling worthless. Readers boss gaslighting her but it’s not much. age-gap reader is 25. Implied smut sort of? But also not really

Words: 3470

Summary: The reader meets Tom Hiddleston and he asked her out on a date. But on the date she gets a call from her extremely drunken best friend….

A/N: I just went with it and I don’t even know what it turned out hahaha I'm also sorry for the spelling mistakes and stuff

Everybody has a hard time from time to time

Y/N was walking down the streets. Headphones in and 4 coffees on a tray. She sighed and started walking faster back to her stupid job. Her boss gave her a really hard time but lately it had gotten worse. She tried to calm down and take a minute but balancing lunch and coffee was definitely not on her resume. She was so lost in her thought that she got back to it until her butt hit the pavement pretty hard.

Everything went so fast and she felt the very hot coffee on her chest soaking her blouse. “Fuck!” she cursed out. “oh my god I’m so sorry” the man said who was kneeling besides her now trying to help her. “it’s fine. Just going to get fired now. but honestly it’s fine” you said in anger.

You looked up and to your surprise you saw it was your favorite actor Tom Hiddleston. Worry filled his pool blue eyes. you wanted to freak out but honestly you were more freaking out about your boss right now. “God I really am sorry ma’am. Let me pay for some new coffee!” he told you kindly. You carefully tried to dry your blouse. Tom got a dry sweater from his bag.

“please take it, god I’m so sorry” He told you with actual more worry in his eyes. “is there anything I can do for you? I can walk with you to your boss to explain what happened” he told you a little panicked. You chuckled at the sweet gesture and started to feel sorry for him because how bad he felt.

“It’s okay. I doubt that would change much.” He nodded. “are you hurt?” he asked you helping you up. “eh no I’m fine I think.” You told him. “I’m really sorry please take my jumper. I know it isn’t much but at least it’s dry” he told you and almost shove it in your hands. “thank you!” you told him and he looked a little more relaxed that he at least could do something for you.

“well I should go now.” you told him. “I do need that jumper back” he told you with a grin and you started to feel flustered. “right I’m sorry I….” he cut you off before you could finish that sentence. “I ehm never really do this but how about you give it back on our date? If you would gladly accept of course. My treat for what happened.” You were starstruck but you thought he wanted to take you on a date out of pity. “ you don’t have to do that Tom, you don’t have to take me on a date because you feel bad. Gives off the wrong signals.” You told him while cleaning your pants from the dirt on the ground.

“I’m eh Tom” he told you. You chuckled “yeah I know. Big fan” you said still chuckling and he giggled a little. He waited for you to say your name but you were lost in thoughts again. “oh I’m sorry I’m Y/N” he giggled and gently took your hand and placed a kiss on the top of it. “it’s really nice to meet you. And again I’m very sorry how we met” he said scratching his head. “it’s not all your fault. I was very lost in thought so I should've looked where i was walking” you told him.

“I want to take you out on a date because you are magnificently beautiful and now I have more of a reason to make it up to you. That’s why I want to take you out.” He told you with a gentle smile. “oh ehm well then I would love to go on a date with you” you told him flustered feeling extremely dumb at the moment. “Are you free this Saturday evening?” he asked you. “yeah absolutely” you told him. he gave you his phone and you put your number in it. “I’ll text you.” He said with a wink. “okay” was all you could say. You stood there for a minute before going back.

On your way you changed into Tom’s jumper and got new coffee and lunch. You made your way back to your job. You obvious got shit from your boss and you told her what happened but she wasn’t taking it. “you are absolutely worthless! You can’t even get some fucking coffee! I don’t even know why I hired you in the first place. You can go and you don’t have to come back” she told you

It made you furies. There was no way she would take you back and honestly you wouldn’t even want that. “That’s fine cause I wanted to quit either way. You are one horrible person and treat people like shit but honestly you are the biggest piece of shit in this whole building. Probably even in this whole city. So I don’t mind. Bye!!!” you told her and she looked dumbfounded by your sudden outburst.

You walked out of the building with your head up high and a big smile on your face. You really felt more alive at this moment. You got back home and that’s when it hit you that you still had to pay your rent. You started cursing and kicked a chair. You called one of your friends and he came right away to you. “Girl! You got some bad bitch energy! How you stood up against her… I mean damn. That and you have a date with The hot Tom Fucking Hiddleston! Girl you’re so lucky!” he told you while shaking a cocktail for you both.

You chuckled “I’m not gonna drink right now” you told him. “Girl you have better plans? You just got fired and you have nowhere to be right now so just take that drink and live a little! You’re 25 for god’s sake!” You chuckled again and took the drink from him. “you know what you should do? Sell your art! Finish that book that you were writing! I mean I’ve seen your work and it’s absolutely amazing! And since I’m in the art business I might be able to help you out in that and give you an exposition! ” He told you. “let me think about it okay?” you told him a little sad.

“babe you’ve got to stop being scared! You are absolutely amazing on every front! Everyone can see that except for you. So please let me do this for you” He told you. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up and be declined like almost always. I don’t feel good enough and I don’t think I can take another rejection again” you told him honestly.

“it’s life babes…. There will be times where you’re still going to get rejected but don’t let that bring you down. You have to keep fighting for it. And your art is worth fighting for. Believe me! I’m your most honest friend and I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. You are good enough! Hell you are more than that! You just have to believe in yourself!” you smiled at his kindness and thought about it. “you know what? Fuck it! Let’s do it!” you told him feeling strong! “yes queen! that’s my girl! Bad bitch energy!” you giggled and got immensely drunk to celebrate it.

~time skip~

The week got by pretty quick and as Luke told you, you got accepted and they were more excited to give you an exposition. You started to search for jobs that you would actually like and started writing again. Life was going good again and you felt so strong and confident until you had the date which would be tomorrow.

You were so nervous. Tom didn’t text you yet and you didn’t have his phone number so it was hard to get in touch with him. Anxiety got the best of you. What if he forgot? What if he forgot about you or changed his mind? Just when your mind got into overdrive you heard your phone pinged. You quickly got it and saw an unknown number. You felt your heart pound in your chest. You opened the text.

“Hello Love, It’s Tom. Are you still up for tomorrow? I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch sooner, it was a chaotic week.” It felt like you could breathe again and texted him back immediately. “Hey Tom, Yes I’m still up for tomorrow. Can’t wait!” You send the message and immediately thought you should texted him a different message. Your phone went off again. But this time he called you. You drowned your wine for some confident.

“Hey Tom.” You said a little nervous. He chuckled. “hello darling” your heart skipped a beat at the nickname and you felt butterflies I mean it was Tom Hiddleston for god’s sake! “I’ll pick you up around 5. Is that okay?” he asked you. “eh yeah of course sure! I ehm am looking forward to it!” you told him honestly. “me too darling” he told you with a chuckle. You both said your goodbyes and you put your phone down.

You tried to watch a movie to get your mind of off your anxiety. When the movie was over you tried to go to bed but you kept staring at your ceiling. I’m not like the other girls he dated. You thought to yourself. But then tried to set it straight by saying maybe that’s the point but then other thoughts consumed you. You tried to fight all the thought by positives one until the early hours of the morning. You finally fell asleep around 5 AM.

Once you woke up you got very excited. It was already 2 in the afternoon since you slept so crappy. You texted your Luke but got no response. You figured he was still asleep. You picked your clothes and 5 PM got around faster then you thought it would. You heard your doorbell and opened up. There he was standing Tom Hiddleston. Alongside with some flowers. No other date had given you flowers. He checked you out with his lips slightly parted. He chuckled: “wow you look amazing!” he said with a small blush creeping up on his cheeks. You giggled. “you too mister Hiddleston” you said boldly which made him chuckle again. He really did look great. He wore a small blouse and a blue blazer over it and jeans. “oh eh these are for you” he told you. You could tell he was nervous as hell which made you feel a little bit more at peace knowing that you weren’t the only one.

“come inside. I’m just going to put these in some water.” You told him and he followed you inside. He loved your apartment. It gave off such a warm cozy vibe. It felt like home. He looked at your art work on the wall. “I adore your apartment.” He told you which made you smile. “thank you” you told him kindly. “I’m ready to go” you told him with a chuckle. You got your coat of the hanger. “Here let me, please.” He told you and got the coat out of your hands and helped you in your coat. It made you flustered and swoon. God you were already falling head over heels for this men.

You both walked into a restaurant but it wasn’t a fancy one but more cozy. You loved it. You talked for hours and both drank some red wine. You both hit it off so well and you were absolutely smitten. And he was too if not more. You both were so much on one line it was amazing. You knew you would never find this again and it kind of scared you. You told him about your boss since he asked if you got trouble that day you first met him and you told the story until you got a call from Luke.

You frowned a little. He knew you were on a date and he would never interrupt you unless it was an emergency. “everything okay?” Tom asked you. “Yeah I just have to take this. I am so sorry!” He chuckled it’s fine” he told you reassuring. You nodded and walked off to the bathroom and picked up. “Luke? What’s wrong?” you asked when you heard him sobbing on the phone. You could tell he was absolutely smashed. “Can you please come to my place? I really need you right now. you can even take Tom with you but please” He begged you with an obvious slur. You felt your heart break for him. You sighed. “alright I’m on my way. Can you hang on?” you asked him. “yeah” he told you still crying. “Thank you so much Y/N I’m so sorry” he told you. “I know it’s okay. I’m on my way okay?”

You hang up the phone and went back to Tom. “everything alright?” he asked you and you felt so guilty. “I eh my friend he needs me right now. he is absolutely smashed and crying and I don’t know what is wrong but he asked me to come to him.” Tom looked at the table “I’m so sorry! I had a lovely time and I would love to do this some time again! If you still want to of course…” You said the last part a little softer. He smiled at you. “I eh could go with you if you’d like and if it’s okay with your friend.” Tom told you. “Are you sure? You really don’t have to” you told him. “I’m going to be honest with you. I really like you and I don’t want this evening to stop…. So if that means taking care of your drunken friend to be with you, I will. But I understand if you feel different.” This time Tom said the last part a little softer. You chuckled and felt your body filling up with love. “I really like you too Tom and in that case… Let’s go” you chuckled. He looked a little surprised but happy.

Tom paid the bill even when you tried to intervene but he wasn’t having it. “next time you can pay” he told you with a wink. You were flustered. He helped you to get your coat on and you both made your way. You slightly touched his hand and put yours in his. He looked a little surprised down at you. “I eh is this okay?” you asked him a little nervous. “it is, love.” You looked down a little with a smile. His thumb caressing the back of your hand softly. “I’m really sorry about this.” You told him honestly. “really it’s okay. I totally understand!” he told you truthfully.

You got to Luke’s house and you used your keys. “Luke? It’s me, where are you?” you asked him. you heard Abba blasting through the speakers. You immediately turned it down a bit. Empty bottles were laying everywhere. “Y/N?” Luke called out to you. You followed the sound and saw him laying by the toilet. You took of your coat and walked over to him and sat him down by the toilet. “What happened?” you asked him. he sniffled a little. “Cooper broke up with me and even over a text message” you looked at him a little sad for him. you went with your hands through his hair. Tom stood behind you but Luke didn’t notice yet. Luke started to laugh. Great mood swings you thought. Tom gave you a glass of water and you smiled a little at him. You gave the water to Luke. He looked up and saw Tom. Tom waved at him a little. “oh he’s so cute and hot!” he told you like Tom wouldn’t hear it. You started to laugh. You looked at Tom and he chuckled.

“I’m sorry I ruined your date” he looked at you and Tom. “we’ll there’s going to be a second so don’t worry too much about it” you told him and you looked at Tom who winked at you. Luke started to throw up and you both looked away. You softly touched Luke’s back to let him know you weren’t going anywhere. “you okay?” you asked after he was done. “yeah I think I can get up now.” he told you. “okay good let’s get you upstairs then.” You helped Luke up which was a challenge on its own. “here let me” Tom said and took Luke over from you. He put Luke’s arm over his shoulders and helped him upstairs. Luke started to stare at Tom.

“Luke…. You’re staring.” You told him. “I know.” Luke told you serious and furrowed his eyebrows at Tom. “Look. I’m thankful you help me but you better take care of my best friend alright! She’s an angel and don’t you dare to hurt her!” he slurred at Tom while you were already in Luke’s bedroom. “I’m not planning on it mate. I promise.” He told Luke. He narrowed his eyebrows. “yeah I believe that. Finally a good guy Y/N!” he yelled happy at you. You flustered again. You mouthed: “I’m sorry” at Tom and he just gave you a reassuring smile. You both put Luke into bed. You put an extra pillow under his head for the nausea. You put down a bucket and a glass of water beside him.

“please stay the night. I don’t want to be alone and your boyfriend can stay too” you were both flustered at the last part Luke said. “I’ll stay don’t worry. But you need some sleep now.” Luke nodded and turned around. “I love you” Luke told you sleepy. “I love you too” you told him and closed the door and leaned against it. “I’m really sorry about this. Normally it doesn’t happen” you told Tom a little embarrassed. He put a hand on your cheek “it’s okay love. Really we all have moments like this” you nodded. “well I need a drink now…. You want one?” you asked and chuckled. “yeah sounds good” he said and chuckled as well.

You both went downstairs and took out the empty bottles and after that made you both a drink. You sat down on the couch and Tom next to you. You both talked into the late hours and started to get drunk. You were leaning against Tom by now. you looked up at him and he looked down at you with love and adoration in his eyes. “please stay tonight.” You kind of asked him. “only if you want me to” he told you. “yeah I do. But just to clarify I never took a guy back home (or well my friends house) to stay the night” You told him with a chuckle. He laughed as well. When it got silence you just stared at each other.

His face ,slowly, started to get closer to you giving you enough time to pull away but instead you softly put your lips on his. His hand caressing your cheek and your hand in his hair slightly pulling at it as the kiss started to get heated. He pulled you on his lap, both of your legs on either side of him. His hands going under your shirt and stayed on your back. He slowly got up and laid you down on the couch with your legs around his waist. You broke from the kiss and put your hand on his chest. “Tom…. I don’t want to do it on the first date and definitely not here” you chuckled which made him giggle as well. “totally understandable!” He told you.

“I can go I you want me to” he told you. “no, please stay.” He gave you a warm smile that made your heart melt. You made some space so Tom could lay down as well. You laid your head on his chest and he went with his hands through your hair. Well this was definitely not the perfect date…. But luckily it was with the perfect guy.

[supercasey]

So I've been playing The Hades Game like fucking mad for the last few weeks, and although I'm not very far in it (at least, I don’t think I am; I’ve only beat Hades once!), I'm absolutely in love with it! Anyways, a certain idea has been kicking around in my head for awhile now, so I thought I'd share it with y'all; feel free to tell me what you think of it! (Warning: spoilers for when you beat Hades the first time!)

Anyways, I've already seen a really cool AU post for if Demeter raised Zagreus on the surface by herself (which you can find HERE; please check it out, the outfit for Zag alone is an amazing concept, and I love the artwork!!!) but I keep thinking about an AU where, after Zagreus dies at birth, Persephone runs away and takes his wrapped up body with her.

On the surface, she reconnects/reunites with her mother Demeter, and with her aid, the two of them manage to resurrect the newborn baby, though now he has more white in his hair than anything else. After that, Persephone sends Hades a letter to tell him that Zagreus is alive and well (because she actually has some fucking class), before proceeding to raise Zagreus on the surface with her mother, far away from the entrance to hell. The Olympians also help her out a bit, but mostly they just help by hiding Zagreus when it’s necessary.

(The rest is under a cut ‘cus this got a bit long, sorry!)

Years pass in relative peace, until Zagreus is about as old as he is in-game (I think he’s around 20-25ish???) and is living well, working with his mom and grandma to take care of their gardens and live peacefully away from mankind; he especially loves tending to the animals and guiding lost mortals to safety. However, one day while foraging for fruit in the deepest corners of his mother’s signature garden, Zagreus happens across a strange man in long robes, who introduces himself as Thanatos.

The two men get along swimmingly from minute one, and after agreeing to meet with each other again soon, they leave and tell their families/friends all about the experience, having no clue who they are to each other. After all, Thanatos was told growing up that his lord’s first wife died giving birth to their first and only child, who was a stillborn, and Zagreus thinks his father died of disease (his mom didn’t have to heart to tell him anything bad about his dad). Needless to say, they’re gonna be in for quite the shock soon.

Cue Hades losing his shit and calling on Thanatos, Megaera, and Achilles to go find his progeny and bring him home; he gives them special permission to leave the Underworld without any resistance, trusting Than to lead the way back to Zagreus. Achilles is less than thrilled to be performing such a morally grey task for his master, but Meg and Than are eager to prove themselves, so he begrudgingly agrees to help, even if it hurts his conscience to do so.

Persephone and Demeter also freak the hell out on their end, scared shitless by the fact that Death incarnate has just met their son/grandson, and they’re worried that he plans on coming back again soon. Demeter suggests sending Zagreus to live with the Olympians until this all blows over, but Persephone disagrees, wanting her son to stay nearby in case he grows ill (it’s implied that she’s a bit overprotective of him, mostly because she’s afraid of him dying again; this also means she refuses to let him know that he’s in any danger, believing it would only make things worse for him in the long-run). Frustrated but understanding her daughter’s pain all too well, Demeter at least convinces her to call on the Olympians for aid, which Persephone agrees to do.

The gods promise to help of course, but... well, they're low-key lying; they wanna see how this plays out first.

After several days of traveling through hell (literally), the “let’s kidnap Zagreus” gang makes it to the surface, and they immediately head to Persephone’s garden. All this time, Zagreus has no idea that he’s being targeted, so he goes about his chores as usual, only to run into Than again, and hey, he brought some more friends for him to meet! Zagreus is friendly with all of them, being raised to be very polite by his guardians, and while he’s busy chatting with Than and Achilles, he doesn’t notice Meg sneaking behind him. Just as Zagreus is rattling on about how the animals have been faring this summer, Meg stabs Zagreus in the back with a blade coated in Hades’s blood, cursing him to belong to the Underworld again.

With Zagreus now unconscious from a sedative that was mixed with the blood, the trio hurry off with him back to the Underworld, but not without Persephone seeing what they’ve done to her son. Horrified, she begins to sob, and winter arrives in the mortal world without so much as a fall season in-between this and the summertime.

When Zagreus comes to, he finds himself in a bedroom similar to the one he has in the game, but it’s much cleaner and has less objects of personal value to him. Hades is standing at the foot of his bed when he wakes up, and very calmly, Hades tells Zagreus that he’s his father, and that from now on, Zagreus will be living in the Underworld with him and his people, where he so obviously belongs. It’s a shame his mother can’t be here, of course, but they just need to wait awhile, that’s all; surely she’ll come to her senses and return home soon, now that her husband and son are here.

Zagreus jumps out of bed and faces his father as soon as he’s done monologuing, ready to tell him off for what he’s done, but to his shock, Hades hugs him as soon as he’s on his feet, and admits that he’s waited for this day for a long, long time. He asks his son to please just accept that this is his home now, and despite still being a bit surprised (and subtly hugging Hades back because Longing), Zagreus tells him straight up that he can’t, that he has to get home, especially with winter coming in a few months!

Dejected but not overly surprised, Hades simply nods in acceptance, but he still warns Zagreus that it’s no use trying to fight it; he’s stuck here, now and forever, so he may as well get comfortable and try getting along with him, because no one’s going anywhere anytime soon. Zagreus is horrified, but he nods nonetheless, unsure of what to say or do just yet.

Later that night, as Zagreus is struggling to sleep in this new, unfamiliar place, Achilles comes to him and apologizes about what’s happened, and although he can’t magically fix everything for him, he tells Zagreus that it actually is supposedly possible to escape; it’s just that no one’s ever done it before. Driven by his desire for freedom and the thought of reuniting with his mother, Zagreus tells Achilles that he’s going to find a way out, no matter the cost. Achilles congratulates him on his tenacity, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Still, he’s willing to help Zagreus as much as he can.

From then on, I imagine the game playing out very differently from the original, with a rather frazzled and scared Zagreus trying to get home to his mom and grandma, but with none of his training from Achilles in this AU, he has to rely on something his mother taught him; his connection with earth and all it’s inhabitants. Or, in his case, his connection with the spirits of animals (a cross of his dad and mom’s powers). That’s right, I’m making The Hades Game into a fucking Pokemon-ripoff, but still with some rouge-like elements mixed in (mostly with Zagreus not keeping his animals after runs).

Having royally fucked up in not stepping in sooner to protect Zagreus, the gods end up helping him out by sending down animals associated with them for the young god to tame for a run (I’ll come up with them later). They usually offer a selection to choose from, and from there Zagreus can build up a team and use it to try and escape the Underworld.

To replace weapons, I like to think he’d have “signature” animals that can help him out for any of his runs, specifically ones from Achilles, Poseidon, Zeus, Demeter (once he reaches the surface at least once), and eventually even Hades gives him one if they bond together enough ((yes, it’s Cerberus... kinda; it’s a puppy version of him, otherwise he’d be OP as fuck)). Zagreus’s signature animals can all be given names, and they keep certain skills that they pick up through enough experience battling in the Underworld for Zagreus.

As for story-line stuff, Zagreus ends up in a very fish out of water situation as he tries to get to know everyone in Hades’s house (he’s still our kindhearted Zag, after all, and he knows most of them aren’t to blame, not even really Than!) while also focusing on his goal to get home to his mom. Hades ends up being a lot nicer to him in this AU, perhaps overly so, as he’s trying to make his son like him more in order to make up for lost time (and fill the hole in his heart that Zag’s initial death as an infant and Persephone leaving with him created). It’s part of the reason he’s even letting Zagreus try to escape; he wants him to learn that it won’t work on his own terms (and maybe also scare the kid so bad that he comes running to him for comfort afterwards).

Also, I should really note that Zagreus is 100% a sweet country farm boy in this AU, and he has no idea what the fuck is going on with pretty much anything in the Underworld, much to everyone’s astonishment. For example:

Meg: Gods, it must be weird getting used to everything down here, huh? Sick of stepping in bat shit yet? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, and Dusa’s pretty good about cleaning it up to begin with. Zagreus: I mean, I guess? It’s not that different from chicken shit tbh. Meg: What the fuck is a chicken???

After that... yeah, I dunno. I’ll try playing Hades some more, see if I think up anything else that could be interesting, but for now, I hope at least someone ends up liking this dumb AU (if not, I’ll still like it... might even try my hand at drawing for it a bit tbh). Again, please check out the person who’s post/art I linked earlier in the post, ‘cus their art is really awesome and inspired me to include Demeter more in this AU!

[fishmongeringstudies]

nine: the tender machine kindness of daily routines and actions whose net worth comes not from their immediately visible impacts but the way your hands learn to steady themselves in the warm flickering light of morning, years after the candles and the ouija board have been put away

being a college student means having to face up to big, harrowing decisions every day such as should i drop this shirt on the floor after i take it off or walk the extra two and a half meters to my laundry hamper? most of the time i opt for the former, although the peculiar thing about leaving stuff on the floor is that the ratio of stuff to floor gradually inverts itself like a body turned inside-out to reveal the soft, fleshy inside until there is no more floor and altogether too much stuff. at that point, there are no more decisions to make. either you pick up all those shirts or make the walk to breakfast in the nude. given that the dining hall is known to be unenthusiastic about the smallest of transgressions like bare feet and people without skin, i doubt they would let me in. unless i seduced them. but it is hard to seduce a building.

the dining hall in this college is named after yet another rich alumnus who, fearing that they would be forgotten when they died and fade away into obscurity, therefore experiencing a second, more significant death, decided to assert dominance over one of the key facilities for survival at their alma mater. the building is short, squat, and emits a faint glow like a convenience store glimpsed from afar at four o'clock in the morning. upon entering the first set of swinging doors, one finds oneself greeted with two more sets of doors and a choice of one or the other. the left door will take you past an office. the right will take you past two more doors. one of them leads to the bathroom. the other leads to hell.

the dining hall appears to have been built on some kind of slope, because once you get past the first door and the second and pass through the gates of reckoning, the path splits again into two rather grand staircases of significant width and height, which lead you some two storeys down to a square-shaped room with a big fireplace perched at one end. it dawns on you then that this, this place hidden under the great yawning jaw of heaven, is the real dining hall. you squint at your surroundings in mild disbelief while awkwardly fingering your phone in your pocket so that the other person waiting in line doesn't strike up a conversation. the path outside looks flat as fuck and yet the stairs seemed to go on forever. the only conclusion: this building is cursed.

other things that are cursed: unripe bananas, misplaced sympathies, birds with teeth. liberal arts colleges. sad novels. people who end all their text messages with a full stop. the last one is a lie.

wow liberal arts colleges are really cursed though. i know what you're thinking. not this again, you moan in an extremely non-sexual way, dragging the heel of your palm down your face. not him again. i am tired of him, you complain. excellent. this makes two of us. but one cannot put something away until you are sure of all its contents. and even now, days and weeks and months later, i'll be brushing my teeth and admiring my reflection in the mirror when i'll find myself abruptly subjected to the blunt force trauma that is delayed realization. memories are like mille feuilles. a lot of effort to make and a lot of effort to get rid of. and if you take the lazy way out, slicing your knife perpendicular to this delicate, thousand-layered monstrosity, you are bound to miss something crucial.

question: have you missed anything this semester? what have you overlooked; what have you let slip you by? look over your shoulder. do it right now. perhaps you will discover the ghost of your deceased great-grandmother, trying to whisper to you her beloved recipe for tang yuan. take everything she says down. you will need it one day. i promise.

these days i'm not scared of anything in my head anymore. that's the nice thing about having fear manifest itself as a thing with skin and some internal organs (at least i assume he has them. to be honest you could tell me he has half a kidney in there and nothing else and i'd be like yes that makes sense, of course you're right) that moves and walks and talks like a person but otherwise has the cognitive capabilities of a chair. it's like playing an rpg horror survival game. only the antagonist isn't hot.

i am though. and so is summer, sweet sticky-skin summer, though i woke up today and it felt like february all over again. it was eight degrees celcius in the morning; eleven in the afternoon. now it is nine. so this is how it is when one is thousands of miles from the equator. one step forward, two steps back. take ten steps in a rough circle and then four steps to the left. tango with me. chase cars with me. we can chase cars all day. i'll wear your shirt and you'll eat mine.

this semester the salsa club held its weekly meetings on friday at 8:45 in the lounge attached to the dorm i lived in. on one such friday i was playing pool in the adjacent room with someone i don't talk to anymore and another i wish i still did but never seemed to find in the same room as myself. it was my first time playing pool. the stick reminded me of sun wu kong, the monkey king and his magical monkey king staff. or was it a stick? the details escape me. the evening escapes me, too. i know at one point one of them left to join the salsa club. i know at some point i cleared the table.

it must have been the third or fourth week of the semester when they convinced me to play pool, because i said yes without thinking the way i never had before that and never will again. back then i was still scared and lonely and to be fair, i was scared and lonely for half of april and most of may, but these are fundamentally different sentiments. back then i was scared of everything. these days i am acquainted with a more academic, nuanced fear; persistent laughter, 500-word moodle short responses sent over text, fists.

the first time i did laundry in the spring i googled "[my college name] laundry machines" because i had to be sure that the laundry machines in this specific basement in this specific college weren't super fucked-up for some reason and i was terrified that they would be and that i'd fuck up even the laundry, dear god, if i couldn't do the laundry then what was the point of trying to do friendship? i threw everything in the washing machine at five o'clock in the morning and dragged it across the white-tiled floor to the dryer at five-thirty. at five-fifty i texted good evening to a friend. at six-twenty-seven i washed my chopsticks.

at six thirty-five i stood in front of my dresser in my room with a freshly-laundered shirt pressed against my face and a spill of sunlight sliding down the left side of my body. i breathed in. the fabric smelled like flowers. like it'd emerged from the cycle of reincarnation, pure and dumb as a baby. i breathed in again. my hands and cheeks were warm. the birds outside my window were screaming in french. in that moment i found that i believed, for the first time since i'd gotten here, in the transient nature of all things. even sadness. even the sneaking feeling that i would never settle into this room with its shitty ceiling light, which turned out to be true, which was paranoia later justified by truth. even you.

then i folded it up carefully, and put it away.

05.29.21

[thanksjro]

Dark Cybertron Chapter 12: That’s the Power of Love, Babeyyyyy

Thank fucking god, it’s almost over.

Our issue opens up with Ironhide deadnaming Slug, like the out-of-touch grandpa that he is. Everything is going to shit, the whole city’s covered in lasers like the world’s worst rave, and someone thought it was a good idea to let Swerve have a gun.

As the Ammonites try to murder everyone in sight, Whirl and Arcee have a little chat about how Whirl’s seemingly caused every problem ever in the last four million years.

…Whirl, you have been keeping up with your appointments with Rung, right? Like, I know he’s not the best therapist around by any stretch of the imagination, but surely something would be better than nothing in this case.

On the Lost Light, Hound, Perceptor, and Mainframe are keeping track of how many Ammonites have been killed. Everyone is extra British in this bit. Perceptor basically calls Hound a fucking idiot, because even with all the guys who’ve been taken out, there are still literally BILLIONS of these suckers running around.

Which seems a little overkill to me, but what do I know? Warcrimes aren’t my specialty.

Meanwhile, in the Mystical City of Making Science Cry, Starscream apparently knows what cosplay is, and takes a potshot at Jhiaxus for stealing his look. Metalhawk explains how the Ammonites got here in the first place, which, y’know, is cool. Love me some technobabble exposition.

I don’t actually love it.

I’m sorry for lying.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE FOR METALHAWK TO PUT A STOP TO THIS

BUT WE’VE GOT ANOTHER 19 PAGES TO GO

SO I GUESS LIFE JUST ISN’T FUCKING FAIR RATTRAP

While Metalhawk contemplates ending the comic event early, Starscream is getting his ass kicked by an old man who spent the war sitting on his butt in the Dead Universe.

Over with Team -Imus, Brainstorm’s taking a breather after getting Robertsed at the end of last issue. Ultra Magnus makes a pun, I guess to cope with the fact that he doesn’t understand anything that’s going on. Cyclonus is still dying, but this isn’t about him. Nightbeat is also dying. Oh, and Kup. Turns out, being a part of the Dead Universe is sort of an issue when you’re out of it.

Even though Galvatron was fine. And Jhiaxus. And Nova Prime, for the little bit he was out of it.

I feel like this plot point kinda just shows up when it’s convenient.

Anyway.

Brainstorm has shit in his lab that can help them not die, but he and Skids are gonna need help to get all these undead morons back to the Lost Light, which means that only two folks would be going to face Shockwave in this final confrontation.

Speaking of Shockwave, he’s gone full Burning Justice with that time drive shoved into his chest, as he makes fun of Megatron for being a dumb stupid idiot who gave him everything he needed to end the universe. He reveals himself to be a nihilist, claiming that a Cybertron which only exists for existence’s sake- and without any form of life- is the ultimate in perfection. Also, he’s a communist now. A nihilistic communist.

Just… whatever, Shockwave.

Megatron’s annoyed by all this posturing- which, same- but enough about him, it’s time for Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime drop down from… somewhere… to kick some ass. Shockwave promptly shoots Magnus, and is about to do the same to Optimus, when this starts happening:

Huh. Wonder what all that’s about.

Shockwave snaps out of his stupor and proceeds to fire on Optimus, yelling about being the only thing that exists as he does.

Over with Rodimus and friends, Cyclonus is bitching about Rodimus not leaving him behind so he could go fight Shockwave. Nightbeat, who I guess just doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, tells Cyclonus to quit it, because they all know that he just misses his boyfriend. Cyclonus, though blatantly annoyed, doesn’t actually refute this claim. Brainstorm wonders aloud just how this gaggle of assholes managed to escape the Dead Universe without murdering each other.

Rodimus explains that when they heard the singing at Swerve’s, it proved they could still get out of the Dead Universe, so they desecrated Nova Prime’s corpse to make a space bridge. Brainstorm became a doorway, because he’s very nearly dead, and oh yeah, he should probably fix that when they get back to the lab, and also reconsider his lab safety protocols.

The gang reaches the outside world, and Rodimus is given a chance to spout off his personal philosophies.

Fantastic, you funky little man.

Then everyone looks up in the sky and sees some real bullshit.

Hey, Cahill? I just wanna talk, man. Just wanna talk about this boobie Windblade you’ve cursed my eyes with.

Back over with Jhiaxus and Starscream, Jhiaxus just cannot shut up. He just keeps waxing poetic about how smart Shockwave’s plan is. I couldn’t even tell you what the guy’s saying- my eyes glaze over whenever he gets a speech bubble.

Metalhawk at this point has had quite enough of all this nonsense, and decides he’s gonna throw himself into the equation that allows the Dark Cybertron prophecy to manifest.

By killing himself.

He just fuckin’… tosses himself into some heavy machinery and explodes, and that throws all the ores out of wack, since he’s got the Resurrection Ore in him. Jhiaxus is distracted by a man just straight-up dying in the same room as him, and this give Starscream the opening he needs to stab Jhiaxus in the gut.

Then the background just straight up disappears, as Rattrap lets everyone know that it’s all still going to shit, but in the opposite direction.

Really not sure about this art direction, but whatever. I’m over it.

Back outside, all the Ammonites are exploding. All of them. Billions of the little suckers, just popping off like fire crackers. The environment’s going to be ruined at this rate. Metroplex is having a great fucking time. Happy for him.

The Lost Light calls the ladies inside Metroplex’s brain room, and lets them know that they’re gonna break up Monstructor like the mediocre boy-band he is, though not without Mainframe being difficult beforehand. The ladies jump out and enter the fray, admiring Arcee’s style as they do.

Back with Rodimus and pals, Nightbeat’s being fucking cryptic, and Brainstorm gets to work making it so folks aren’t dying from being in the wrong universe, after a little prodding to his ego.

Back in Shockwave’s Super Saiyan Energy Bubble of Pure Unadulterated Logic, Shockwave says that’s he’s fucking ripped, and Optimus couldn’t beat him in a fight. Clearly, this means we’ll have to use our words to resolve this, like adults. Optimus isn’t too sure about that option, however.

I mean, do I even have to- Optimus, that’s GAY.

I have the sneaking suspicion that Roberts wrote this portion of the script. Y’know, just given his track record.

Then Megatron blasts Shockwave with his fusion cannon, and makes fun of Optimus for being a sentimental fool.

The fact that “Dark Cybertron” is telling me this makes me so mad. Like, you don’t get to talk, Exposition Central.

It’s at this point that Megatron drops a bomb on everyone present- he’s done with being a Decepticon. He’s gonna be an Autobot now.

See, ol’ Megsy here has seen the error of his ways- that by fighting the Senate, he allowed them to change him into a murderous warlord. To prove how much of a nice guy he is, he’s ripped the Autobrand off of Bumblebee’s lifeless body and duct-taped it to his chest.

Which seems a tad disrespectful, but okay.

…Megatron, you do realize that, as the leader of the Decepticons, you could just tell everyone that they need to be nice, and that would more or less be the end of it, right? You could just say “not evil anymore, I want to be loved now”, and everyone would be all “sir yes sir.” This is going to be a PR nightmare, I can already tell. Shockwave certainly seems to agree with me.

I really like this panel structure. Want to say this is the only place it happens, too. It’s just too bad it lives in “Dark Cybertron”.

Shockwave’s not having a good time right now, and he’s convinced that Optimus and Megatron have teamed up just to make him upset so he loses control of the time drive. The two spout off a little Autobot propaganda, and then Shockwave Remembers™.

Shockwave, having had his shadowplay reverse violently and abruptly, is horrified to find what he’s become. Alas, it’s too late for him- the only way to stop the time drive is for Optimus to kill him. Optimus promises to remember who Shockwave was- a callback to the line Shockwave gave him back before his empurata- and then shoots the everloving fuck out of the guy. Megatron helps.

And that’s a series wrap on Shoc-

-holy fucking shit.

The gang high-tails it outta there, IDW Optimus once again proving to be the shittiest version of everyone’s space-dad, as he leaves Bumblebee’s body to be consumed by the Shockwave Singularity. It’s looking pretty hopeless, but luckily none of these bastards can die without fucking up Season 2 of MTMTE, so the Lost Light swoops in to save the day.

Down below, Soundwave and his gaggle of small children and animals watch as the Lost Light fucks off into the distance. Soundwave’s having a time and a half, as he realizes with his balls-to-the-wall senses that Megatron’s joined the Autobots. Galvatron shows up to try to work out a deal. We won’t be seeing where this goes, because that’ll be covered later on.

The Lost Light lands in front of Metroplex, and over to the left of that are Rattrap and Starscream, climbing over the wreckage of the city. Rattrap tries to warn Starscream that things are gonna be tough, now that the Dark Cybertron prophecy has come to pass, but Starscream isn’t really having it. He’s gotten very paranoid, likely due to stress, and tells Rattrap to not play this game, because he’s the best player who’s ever lived. Then the Lost Light gang shows up and we get this face:

Sure.

Later on, Megatron and Optimus are hanging out in the Sky Roller, not-talking, until Megatron tells Optimus to get on with it, since the issue’s about to end. Megatron was totally serious about becoming an Autobot. Optimus isn’t really sure what to do with that. I don’t think anyone’s really sure what to do with that, to be honest.

Megatron, in turn, asks Optimus if he really could look past all the bullshit Shockwave pulled in the last several million years, and he gets a non-answer, because addressing your feelings is for losers, clearly. The two exit the ship, and I guess everyone else was just… standing outside waiting for them to talk it out. Weird.

...And with THAT, I am finally released from Comic Event Hell!

If you hear any distant, triumphant screeching right now, that’s likely me.

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, nephilimeq!

For @nephilimeq :)

When Stiles can’t decide what to get for Derek’s Secret Santa present, he decides to give Derek himself. It doesn’t go quite like he thought it would.

Or, the one where Stiles expected sex, but got to help Derek with his computer virus instead (but still somehow ended up with a boyfriend for Christmas).

*****

A Gift to Unwrap

“I’m so glad we’re doing Secret Santa this year, I can’t afford to buy you all shit again,” Stiles said, lounging on Derek’s couch with his head off the side and his feet in the hair.

Lydia smacked his ankle when it got too close to her. “It’s not like you gave us all great gifts last year. You gave me pens.”

“What was wrong with pens? You like pens.”

“They were from the dollar store, Stiles.”

“Whatever,” Stiles flipped over, sitting properly. “I hope I get Derek, he appreciates my gifts.”

“Derek?” Allison looked over at him from her armchair, “he’s the worst to buy for, he isn’t happy with anything.”

“Hey, Derek loved the birthday present I got him!”

Allison and Lydia shared a confused look. It was just the three of them here, planning out secret santa as everyone else on the pack went for midnight wolf patrol. Stiles didn’t mind, he liked when team humans got to hang.

“Derek doesn’t celebrate his birthday…” Lydia finally said, turning back to him.

“Yeah, I know,” Stiles shrugged, “I just got him a photo album and filled it with all the family pictures of the Hales I could find. I dropped it off in the morning, we had some coffee, and I left. Derek didn’t have to celebrate, and I only had to spend like 5 bucks.”

They were both frowning now though. “How long did that take you?” Allison asked.

“Uh…” Stiles scratched his head, “a month or so?”

“A month or so?” Allison shook her head. “This year you gave me gum for my birthday!”

“Hey, you like gum!’

Lydia smirked, “don’t take it personally, Ally, Stiles only buys good presents for people he loves.”

“Woah- what? Who said - I don’t love anyone!”

Lydia laughed, “Stiles, you once bought me a TV! This year I got more dollar store pens. But Derek gets a whole photo album that you spent a month on? You’ve moved on from me and right on to him,” she grinned, “did you add little notes in it too?”

Stiles blushed, “no!… not that many! Shut up!”

“Relax, Derek likes you too,” she said. All nonchalant, like this wasn’t brand new information.

“What- what do you mean? Not that it - I don’t love him, or anything, but like what do you mean by that.”

“Okay,” Allison said, leaning back, “I can see it now.”

“Um, no? There’s nothing to see?”

“I guess we’ll find out next week,” Lydia said with a wink, “when you both get each other for Secret Santa.”

“You can’t just… cheat like that. Can you? Oh my God, what do you think he’ll get me?” They both laughed. Stiles was starting to see their point. “… not that it matters, what he gets me.”

“He’ll get you something sweet, I’m sure,” Lydia said. “You’ve kind of already outdone yourself with the photo album, but I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

“Aw, this is so sweet!” Allison said, smiling at Stiles blush. “Aw at New Years you two can kiss!”

Stiles didn’t even try to deny he liked that idea. And now that he was thinking about it, it was definitely not the first time he liked the idea of Derek kissing him.

Shit.

“Guys, I might like Derek…”

They looked at each other and laughed.

–

That weekend, when they pulled their Secret Santa names out of the hat, Stiles wasn’t surprised he pulled Derek’s name out. Lydia was a witch, she could do anything.

He watched carefully as Derek read his. He made no reaction, but Stiles noticed him glance towards him a minute later. Did you get Stiles’ name too? Was Lydia really doing this?

Was it normal to be this excited for Secret Santa?

Stiles wasn’t sure - but he didn’t care. He couldn’t wait for Christmas.

–

He realized as soon as he stepped into the mall, Lydia was right. He should have fucking waited to do the photo album for Christmas.

No one cared about their 26th birthday. It was a stupid age. Why did he go so big? Stiles had turned 22 this year, and Derek had just taken him out for dinner. He should have done that.

What the hell was he going to do now?

He had $20 he could spend and that was it. He walked past the dollar store but shook his head. Looked into H&M and scoffed. Derek would hate everything in this mall. Stiles wasn’t sure where he bought his ridiculously soft shirts, but it wasn’t here.

And they were probably more than $20s.

Cursing, Stiles back tracked. What could he do? He did the sentimental thing already, but maybe he could.. Add to that? Get… What, video recordings of his family?

No, that would just be creepy. He wasn’t fucking stalking the dead.

He could… draw him a picture? He was shit at art. He could… take him on a trip? At some point.. When neither of them were working.. And it was super cheap?

God he was doomed.

Stiles walked past La Senza and paused. The mannequin was dressed in a skimpy bra, but that wasn’t what he was looking at. It was also covered in bows, like the mannequin itself was the present.

Could… Stiles… be the present?

No, that was ridiculous.

Unless…?

No. Derek deserved a real present.

But maybe..?

Stiles bit his lip in thought. It would be better than dollar store pens at least.

He turned and made his way to the craft store. Time to spend his $20 on high end ribbon.

–

Stiles had on his tightest skinny jeans, the ones that Jackson said made his ass pop. He wore the shirt Lydia had given him, the one he thought had been a size too small but she insisted fit him better than anything else he owned.

Now, for the important layer. He pulled out the red ribbon.

He tied a loop around his chest, making a bow on his front. He tied another around his leg and made a bow on his thigh. He looped a ribbon down his left arm, starting from his shoulder and ending with a bow on his wrist.

He looked at himself in the mirror, a bit worried he had over done it.

“Well, my dad didn’t believe I was gay before, he should see me now.”

Although he and his dad had already had that talk. More than once, actually, after he caught Danny in his room in senior year. That had been awkward.

But they were good now. And Derek wouldn’t be such a surprise to him, he didn’t think…

You know, if Derek… actually liked him back. And wanted to date him. And be introduced to Stiles father as his boyfriend-

He was getting ahead of himself.

He took a deep breath. “Even if he doesn’t like me, the present is he has me for a full day. He can make me clean his windows if he wants.”

WIth that, Stiles pulled on his dad’s trench coat.

It was show time.

–

Stiles usually barged into Derek’s loft like he owned the place, but it felt weird to do that now, so he knocked.

It took a minute before Derek opened the door. He already looked confused, and his eyebrow rose up at the sight of him.

“Stiles.”

“Evening, Derek.”

“Why did you knock…. Why are you dressed like you’re going to flash me?”

Stiles felt his cheeks warm, “it’s, uh, for Secret Santa!”

“You’re going to flash me for Secret Santa?”

“No! I am,” he gestured at himself, “fully clothed underhere, I will have you know. But it is part of the present.”

Derek raised a brow, “the gift exchange is tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but… mine starts today.”

Derek shrugged, then stepped back to wave Stiles inside.

Palms sweating, Stiles stepped in and only hesitated a moment before he opened his coat. “Ta da!” He said, dropping the coat dramatically to the floor, “I am your present!”

Derek looked him up and down, eyes lingering on the bows, “okay.”

Stiles swallowed. He shouldn’t have worn his tightest clothes, could Derek see his sweat through his shirt already?

Fuck, could he smell it?

“And, uh, you can do whatever you want with me. For the next 24 hours.” Derek nodded, his eyes still on the bow on Stiles chest. Shit, maybe this was stupid. “Sorry, I thought… I’m kind of broke, and I - this was dumb-”

“No, it’s good,” Derek stepped toward him. Stiles’ heart started to race, he clenched his fists so they wouldn’t shake. This was the plan, right? This was the fucking point of the gift - make a big decleration and give himself to Derek, for a whole day, to do whatever.

But fuck, what if Derek was into weird shit? Stiles wasn’t a virgin, but he’d only been with two people before, and did that guy from college really count if all they did was handjobs? Stiles didn’t even remember his name. And fuck, what if this made Derek think all he wanted was sex? What if he was ruining a potentially amazing relationship because of one stupid -

All Derek did was reach behind him and close the door.

Of course.

Stiles cleared his throat.

“So, uh…”

“Come with me.”

Stiles obeyed, following Derek to the couch. Was Derek going to throw him on it? Ravish him?

He passed Stiles a laptop.

“You’re good at this stuff, right? I think I have a virus or something.”

“… what?”

“I have you for 24 hours, tonight you can help me with my laptop.”

“Oh, oh, okay, sure.” Stiles sat down, glancing down at the screen. He felt stupid for being relieved.

“After you figure out the virus thing, you can also help me get a netflix. And figure out how to get it on the TV? Lydia is refusing to set up pack movie nights anymore if we’re all going to complain about watching The Notebook everytime.”

“Alright,” Stiles leaned back on the couch, diving right in. By the state of Derek’s desktop, he had a feeling this might actually take him 24 hours.

–

Stiles slept over at Derek’s house that night, though it went very differently than he had imagined. He borrowed Derek’s sweats and a baggy T. He slept on the couch. He worked on his laptop until 2 am, and woke up to Derek making breakfast. Stiles joined him in the kitchen, making coffee beside him as he cracked eggs into a pan.

It was nice. Domestic.

Derek smiled at him as he passed over a mug of coffee, and Stiles smiled back.

This was way better than his original plan.

“So, your computer’s up and running, and can connect to the TV. What else do you need help with?”

“Cleaning.”

“… cleaning what?”

“The loft. The pack is coming over tonight for the Secret Santa exchange. Clean up, and when you’re done, help me make the Christmas cookies.”

Stiles shrugged, “okay.”

–

Cleaning wasn’t hard. Derek kept his place pretty impeccable anyway, so all Stiles had to do was some dusting and sweeping. Then he joined Derek in the kitchen, where he had already started baking.

The rest of the day went by so fast, Stiles ran out of time to go home. He changed back into the clothes he was wearing last night, minus the bows, and came back to find the pack already arriving.

He smiled at Derek as they passed out the food together. He imagined what it would be like if he really did live here, really did help Derek with every pack night. He thought they would make a good pair.

And when their shoulders brushed when they sat down together, Stiles didn’t feel nervous. In fact, he leaned into the touch a bit. And he didn’t miss the soft smile Derek sent his way when he did.

Yeah… he thought they would be great together.

The night went by in a blur, Stiles too focused on Derek’s warmth beside him to really pay attention to any of the presents everyone was opening.

He didn’t even notice people had started leaving until it was only him, Lydia and Allison left.

And Lydia and Allison were getting ready to go.

“Oh. I guess I should get ready to go too.”

“Aw, but you two look so cozy,” Allison said with a smirk.

Stiles flushed. Derek, thankfully, either didn’t notice her comment or ignored it. “I haven’t given you your gift yet,” he said. “You can’t leave.”

“Have fun getting your gift, Stiles,” Lydia said, winking, before she shut the door.

Stiles felt his face grow even hotter, but Derek still didn’t comment on it as he got up to get his present. Bless this man. Bless him and his new social tact.

Derek came back out with a present so big, Stiles felt a pang of regret for going with his stupid idea. He could have at least given him… socks, or something.

“Derek, you didn’t have to-”

“I did. After the photo album, I did.” He cleared his throat, “it’s not that big of a deal, I just didn’t know how to wrap it.”

Stiles didn’t believe him. The way Derek was carefully holding it, he didn’t think Derek fully believed it either.

When he ripped open the wrapping paper, he gasped, “Derek…”

It was a painting. A painting of him in his grad cap and gown, from his university graduation last summer. Beside him was his dad, in his suit, just like in their pictures, and on the other side…

“I tried to make her look a bit older, without changing her too much… your dad gave me a picture.”

“She’s beautiful,” Stiles whispered. His mother looked just like he remembered, he even knew the dress, but… there were wrinkles that he never got to see her have. A few gray hairs she never got to grow. His eyes started to burn, so he put the picture down on the table, taking a deep breath. “Derek, you really didn’t have to…”

“You didn’t have to give me the photo album.”

Stiles licked his lips. Derek leaned forward.

“I knew what you were doing. With your gift, I mean, I knew what you were trying to do.”

“You don’t - I shouldn’t have, I don’t want to force anything. It was stupid.”

“It wasn’t stupid, it was cute. I was just surprised. And you smelled really nervous, sweaty,” Stiles cursed himself, he knew Derek had smelled the sweat. “I didn’t want our first anything together to be with you under pressure. I want us to both want it.”

Stiles looked at Derek, how beautiful and sincere he was. He thought maybe he was already in love with this man.

“Do I smell nervous now?”

“No.”

They leaned forward at the same time, the kiss was soft. Perfect. Derek’s beard was smooth under his fingers.

When they pulled back, Derek grinned. “Can I unwrap my present now?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The End <3  

[luci-four]

I Want to Kiss You {Satan x reader/MC}

A/N: This stemmed from a daydream I had but I decided to take out my feel-good fluff on Satan because hes baby (*´˘`*)♡

Fandom: Obey Me!

Pairing: Satan x reader/MC

Satan never expected to be as close to MC as he ended up; They’re just human after all—not that he really had something against them, but why bother pushing yourself to get so close to another person in the first place? He’d seen it in dramas all of the time; Love one day, heartbreak the next—Satan never really understood what sort of feelings one could have to warrant something so exhausting when it could be spent doing other things, things that he’d enjoy doing instead. He didn’t stop to think about how vastly different it would feel to do these things with someone like MC.

Walks at night felt different when he felt the heat radiate from next to him, time spent at the library felt much more immersive, revisiting art he’s already seen at the museum looks brand new with another perspective—everything felt much more alluring when accompanied with MC’s presence.

Just as it did every day, every moment, so much so that he found himself starting to lose his grip on whatever feeling may be inside of him. Affection? Adoration? He did have a level of appreciation for the arts—all things beautiful caught Satan’s eye, so it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise that he had fallen victim to such a strange feeling within his chest each time they passed his mind. These feelings only seemed to grown no matter how hard he tried to keep them under wraps at the back of his mind; Each and every day brought him so much closer to his breaking point.

They sat next to one another in his bed, cozied up with an old film playing from a projection that he had begged MC to watch with him. It was foreign, black and white, something of true beauty that he couldn’t help but translate while analyzing each and every line for them until a heavy thud landed against his shoulder. Blue-green eyes scanned their sleeping form, gently guiding their head to a place he considered more comfortable—his chest. Heart racing and pulse struggling to keep up, he couldn’t swallow the lump in his throat as he strictly analyzed the torn piece of film that affected the movies picture in the bottom right-hand corner, no longer able to focus on the piece itself.

‘This is ridiculous,’ he thought to himself, ‘My body has no business reacting like this.’

He was right, so he thought, that it had no reason to feel like this—he had no reason to have these feelings for something he knew would be stupid to try and pursue; But he wanted to.

God, he wanted to.

If he could have held them tight enough their souls could have simply molded into one another, he would be completely okay with that; To hold them and relish in this feeling of electricity that shot through every inch of his body, the butterflies in his stomach each time he caught the slightest hint that they were around, the completely unbearable pressure in his chest that only seems to find its relief when his body is graced by even the slightest of touches from them—he would do anything and everything to bathe himself in such a blessing, but he couldn’t.

‘I want to kiss you.’

His gaze grew soft, a smile matching the tenderness grew on his lips, as he allowed his heart to whisper words into his mind rather than aloud.

‘I want to kiss you hard; I want to kiss you and kiss you again so desperately that you pull back and give me that genuine smile and adorable giggle that you do—I want to kiss you so desperately loving that you run your hands through my hair and you silently beg me not to stop with the light scratches you leave on the back of my neck. I want to kiss you, but...’

Satan reached for them, caressing their cheek ever so gently, stroking along their jaw softly to keep himself from going any farther.

‘But... I’m so afraid of having to give you back to the world because I’m so undeserving of you.’

His smile turned to a mask to hide the dejection that washed over him; Of course he was undeserving of them—they would always be something just outside of his reach as he was, quite literally, a demon born from wrath while they were nothing short of the sun. Icarus be damned—Satan had felt the pain of falling, the pain of the fire, but nothing, he thought, compared to the pain of being just out of his suns light.

They always brightened up the world with the smallest of things, it was almost blinding; The small things are what brought him to that breaking point months later, after all.

Sitting across the way from him in class, he always loved to watch the way their eyes would narrow at the words they tried to comprehend, or the bored look on their face as they attempted to keep themselves awake. Every so often, should he be so lucky, he would lock eyes with them as they peeked out at him from over their book; They would light up, crinkle at the corners, look so loving and childish as the book would move to reveal the corners of their lips curled up devilishly and their tongue poking from between them. It never failed to make him laugh as he attempted to keep those butterflies pushed down.

‘I want to kiss you.’

The stars in the planetarium never seem to match the levels of brightness in their eyes as they look around the room in awe. The different lights danced across their skin and each colour complimented every little detail his eyes could reach. Soft, beautiful, the dark was just such... an appealing, almost sinful, environment to appreciate them in. They’re so innocent, wide-eyed, and the way their jaw drops at the dumb little facts he spits at them makes it so he just cannot bring himself to look away. Every single time, he has to hold himself back before he grabs them and pulls them close.

‘I want to kiss you.’

Simply walking into the kitchen late in the morning after they’ve missed breakfast, half asleep, yawning and leaning over the counter with their face in their hands is enough to cause his heart to leap into his throat. The way they hold their head up, squishing their cheeks comically and pushing their lips into a “kissy-face” as they fall back asleep mid-sentence; He leans on the counter as well, simply admiring everything about MC with a careful smile on his lips as the breakfast he made them starts to get cold sitting between them. It feels calm, peaceful, like he can fall asleep too—if he wasn’t so focused on absorbing every little moment he got to spend with them. His eyes constantly fell on their lips.

‘I want to kiss you.’

He’s the Avatar of Wrath for a reason; Times have come and gone where he’s been on the verge of snapping-- it’s always unpleasant and the fear in MC’s eyes causes his heart to drop in an instant. Watching their frame shake, tears form in their eyes, and their bottom lip quiver is enough to make Satan feel as though he were nothing short than the scum beneath their shoes. Yet, the way they stand their ground as his voice raises, the bravery they show while telling him to calm down, the shock that fills his body as they throw their arms around him to both physically restrain and get their voice to reach his ears—he can’t help but bite his bottom lip and do his best to keep his own tears and emotions in check. Some times are worse than others, but at the end of the day, he finds himself laying lovingly within MC’s arms, his head on their chest, calming himself down with the sound of their heartbeat and matching his breathing to their own. The tender way they scratched at the back of his neck and dragged their nails up and down his back lulled him to sleep; Waking up to their quiet breathing, serene look on their face and him wrapped up in all of their warmth with their limbs entangled with one another, he felt so lucky that the sun had given him the time to warm up within their rays and greet him for the new day.

‘I want to kiss you.’

Satan had never been happier to meet so many different people in his life until he got an exclusive invite to a ball where he got the chance to bring MC along as well. Dressed up, soft lights, romantic atmosphere—he was excited to simply exist in such a setting with them let alone spend time with them in his arms. Mingling, subtly hand-feeding them from the banquet, people watching and making ridiculous stories up for each one who had passed by them—it was all such an enjoyable time he wished would never end. Sweeping them off of their feet on the dance floor, dancing and moving in ways to catch up to the slowly rising beat; His heartbeat raced much faster than the song did. They stumble, step on his feet, the two of them spin when the dance doesn’t call for it and start to make up their own ridiculous moves. He holds them close, hand on their lower back just lightly holding them against his own body, fingers intertwined with one another and held against his shoulder, their free arm taking the liberty to rest upon his other shoulder as their fingertips just lightly tease the side of his neck; The two of them exist solely in their own little world as the music seemingly disappears from Satan’s ears as he’s dumbstruck by the depth of their smile and the melody replaced by the much more angelic sound of their laughter.

‘I want to kiss you.’

Now he’s here once again, months of agony had passed, his bed a mess as they sit on the opposite side away from him, peeking over one of his books once again. The pages muffle their laughter, which he curses, but everything about them radiates pure happiness at the moment and he’d take that over anything. He pretends not to notice their foot slowly stretch out towards him, ready to kick his leg as they had several times previously only to retract it and feign pure innocence.

“Gotcha!”

Satan reached for their ankle quickly, only laughing at the mixture of squealing and giggles that passed by their lips. They wiggled their leg back and forth, their cries for freedom intermingling with their infectious laughter as he held his grip, moving forward to rest on his hands and knees.

“Freedom? You want freedom? Why, MC, freedom is impossible for the crimes you have committed,” he joked, slowly crawling forward, “Such punishable crimes you have staining your record, such a shame.”

“This is coming from who? A demon?”

“Now that,” he inched ever closer, “that is a low blow.”

They laughed once again, grabbing the pillow beside them and lightly tapping him with it until he stopped moving, giving them his best impression of shock.

“More crimes? Is that what you’re going to do now; Going to commit crimes?”

Satan joked, talking to them as though they were related to the kittens they had seen playing the night before. Such snarky responses passed those perfect lips, that Satan could no longer hold his shocked façade; He crawled closer, still.

“Crimes are punishable, MC. What shall I do with you? Imprisonment? The whip? Make you babysit Mammon for a day?”

“Well, now you just sound like Luci-”

“Don’t do that.”

Satan leveled his face with theirs, just inches apart. His eyes pierced theirs with his direct command-- they simply let out a flighty laugh that matched the mischievous shine in their eyes.

“Oh? Don’t do what?”

“You know what.”

“Do I? Can the judge read me the list of my offenses? What am I being charged for?”

The smirk returned to Satan’s lips, but only briefly; His eyes continued to wander down to their lips as his own parted. He attempted to come up with some sarcastic remark to retort with, only to find himself constantly licking his own lips in anticipation and simply stuttering over his words. Before MC could ask what was wrong—he most certainly didn’t want to hear the modest concern in their voice—he leaned in fully and finally captured their lips with his.

It started off rough, desperate, terrified of the impeding rejection; Until it turned slow, compassionate, and oh so... natural.

Satan moved closer, now on his knees with his back straightened out, his hands carefully cupping MC’s delicate face enough to feel the heat of their blush come off of them but not enough to do them harm; He pulled away only slightly before moving back in, time after time, for kiss after kiss.

His heart soared, his pulse had moved so quickly that he was afraid his heart would surely collapse from the work it was being put through. His mind raced with thoughts so quickly that they all turned to useless static, until he had finally grasped a few key points he couldn’t get rid of.

‘I want to kiss you,’ he thought.

‘I want to kiss you hard; I want to kiss you and kiss you again so desperately that you pull back and give me that genuine smile and adorable giggle that you do.’

Finally, he felt them pull back a bit—his heart sank—only to soar once more as he felt their lips pull into a smile against his. Their breath tickled at his skin, the space between them only growing warmer with each giggle they let out before he pulled them back in.

‘I want to kiss you so desperately loving that you run your hands through my hair and you silently beg me not to stop with the light scratched you leave on the back of my neck.’

Their arms wrapped around his neck, forcing him down closer to them while simultaneously pulling them up to him—they wanted to be against him, not that he minded, and let out soft gasps that ended with laughs between each kiss as his hands lightly swept down their body to press on their hips, pressing on them to hold himself up but silently let them know he didn’t want them to be anywhere but there, in that space, with him. Each kiss he gave was deeper than the last, each breath heavier, each little sound of endearment they gave him made it feel as though there were untouchable peaks to the mountains his heart had to climb.

Their nails raked the back of his neck softly, his sun being so merciful in their affection to leave burning marks across his skin to let him know he truly had been blessed in this moment.

‘I want to kiss you, but...’

He kissed them again and again, slowly melting against them each and every time as Icarus tends to do when flying far too close to the sun.

‘I know I’ll never want to stop.’

Satan could no longer feel his body. Sounds have been drowned out with the beating of his own heart in his ears. His skin burned and he knew it, but the sun had finally come into his reach and he would be damned if he wasted such a blessing.

‘So please, don’t make me.’

He slowly, painfully, pulled himself apart from them, face hovering only slightly above theirs, terrified to open his eyes. Forcing them open was a scary gesture, but the sight that graced them was nothing short of worth it—flushed cheeks, relaxed features, a look dripping in what he hoped was a similar feeling to his own.

“Please...” he started out with a whisper that fanned across their face, “Please look at me with eyes filled with nothing else but how I feel for you. Please tell me you feel this way, too—please show me.”

His forehead lightly landed against theirs, earning him a smile from MC—one that started small and shy, only to tug further than any previous smiles he was lucky to witness; Their lashes curved so eloquently, beautifully, opening slowly to reveal eyes that shined just like the sun he had been waiting for, filled to the brim with adorning admiration, affection, wonder and love.

‘Like Icarus, I am an utter fool to have committed such sin like falling in love with the sun,’ he thought to himself as a smile of his own grew to match theirs, ‘but unlike Icarus, I’m willing to fall over and over again if it means I get to return back to you.’

Satan took a deep breath, attempting to assure that his voice would come out calm and even, though his efforts were utterly futile as it came out shaky and as a hoarse whisper; He no longer had to worry about their answer, however, and for that he would be silently grateful.

“I want to kiss you.”

[sinnabonka]

Hey Hun! Lots of love to you. For starters I wanted to say that there should be no cell in your body blaming yself in any way. You and your blog were hope for so many people. You were the "you are not crazy" of the final weeks, and I'm forever grateful to you. Instead of dying of anxiety I managed to have a blast in this time of waiting, thanks to you. I passed my master thesis, because you gave me strength to see past the fear. I laughed in those weeks more than in last 5 years, and all of it because of the hope you gave me.

The rest of the msg is going to be pretty emotional rant about the awfulness of it all, and I know my opinion doesn't matter to anyone but I wanted someone important to me to hear my thoughts, if that's ok. It's also ok if you don't want to read it ofc. It's like my breakup letter to the show.

I hear many people cheering for the finale and i find it really hard to deal with. I always considered myself an open person who fights for healthy love as the only redeeming quality of the universe. I could see people's point of view, even if it didn't sit well with mine, and I would always try to hear them out respectfully until they weren't being respectful themselves. That said, I'm fully unable to understand cheering for this type of spiteful content and hearing those cheers makes me feel like the entire world is listening to "this is how you treat your fans, this is how to abuse your power over naive sheep, this is how to keep dumb, hopeful minorities in check" and taking notes.

It also upsets me that the people who gave this show all of themselves and tried to understand it to the core are given no resolution, are spitted on and buried under the rug for doing their best to appreciate the art and the story it was telling. Yet people, who just hang around and watch the show doing the dishes, with no consideration to it's story or characters, got as nonsensical ending as their whole idea of character development in SPN.

I know people say that it was good enough, because it leaves space for guessing and own interpretation, but I feel it's really undermining the extend to which the finale was awful and hurtful to the fans. There is no end that realistically could stop fanfic writers from finding way around it in the world of Supernatural, so saying it was thoughtful of them Is like excusing abusive partner because "they could hit me harder, but they didn't. That means they care"

Lose ends, characters being written in a way that is totally not true to them and their development (personally my biggest allegation), dismissing years of story development, proving that it was all 'queerbaiting' in big part in the end (hell, even the whole "Cas is in heaven so do with it what you will" is a shameful way of appalling to LGBTQ community after using them so hard.

In the pie scene, the roles should be swapped, it's Dean who should say that Cas is on his mind and Sam explaining him that it's only right to keep on living doing good in their name. That's what Dean told Sam at the beginning of the season, when Sam lost Rowena, so it would be at least a bit poetic. This would at least give us some truth from Dean for once, but he died how he lived, in shadow of his fear to be true towards his feelings and needs. And as he died, he bound his little brother to the hunting till the end of his days, by guilting him into it on his deathbed. Guess Dean took after his father.

Have you realised what that emotional "love speech" from Dean to Sam resulted in? It was writers taking back Cas' confession after they didn't need our viewership anymore.

They basically gave us love confession to get us to follow the finale and when they didn't need us anymore, not only they didn't commit to the confession, but they undermined it by having Dean's speech to Sam go the way it did with obviously higher emotional charge, successfully taking back the value of Cas' confession and making it about a bait for "Tumblr idiots"

Finale killed my feelings towards Destiel, not because it wasn't confirmed canon, but because from what I see in the episode, they canonically confirmed that

- for Dean, Cas was only means to an end, which is such an awful way of ending Cas' character arc. They gave him everything he was scared of and nothing close to consolation price and they dare to tell us he had a happy ending, "because they said so". Well, I didn't see him being happy, and knowing what i textually know i can empathise enough to say that he faced a miserable finish. Even Chuck got an end that was better than Cas' fate.

- Dean, given power to do anything he could dream of, chooses to not even greet Cas, after Cas gave his whole life to Dean, told him he loved him and died for him. I know some people consider the little smirk of Dean confirmation of his feelings, but let's be real for just a second. If someone you deeply loved for years confessed to you, told you they thought you don't love them back, you would be freaking running to see them and tell them how much you love them. That smirk to me reads as "I'm relieved to know you're not going to spend eternity in mega hell that i left you in" and we really need to stop giving credit to writers for scraps like this when it's the last episode ever and we know this isn't going anywhere.

Not to mention that by having Jack bring Cas back behind the scenes it just highlights the fact that Dean didn't ask him to do that in episode 19.

As result, I'm unable to look at any Destiel scene and not think "in here Cas already loved him and in here Dean already abuses the power he had over Cas, because of his one-sided love"

And yet, the episode and endgames for everyone (maybe not Sam, but he was seriously pinning for Dean his entire life. Wincest much?) managed to be so bad, that not even bringing Cas back or following up on Destiel would make a difference in my eyes. I know you believe that Destiel would save it, but for me as much as it would be a redeeming quality, it wouldn't be enough to save this awfulness that writer doomed characters with.

And all the Wincest scenes in the finale... I low key expected them to make out and it made me feel physically sick. Also, cutting Misha out because of coronavirus is a cheap excuse. We all know better than to believe that, so let's not fall for the self pity play from the abuser.

If you managed to stay with me till this point, thank you so much for hearing me out. I hope i didn't anger you with my monologue. I will always think of the lamp when i think of you. The reality is that you were the lamp for so many of us in this darkness.

Love you so much, wish all the best to you, take care of yourself and stay safe!

Oh my god, if I didn’t cry with the final, I definitely am crying now. And now I have to explain my partner why I’m staring at my laptop and sobbing ugly. What have you done? 

First of all, I hear you pain, my friend! I share it! I didn’t spend a second after the final without the feeling of my heart being shuttered into million pieces, being stitched back just to break again, and so on and so on. 

I had my first panic attack in two years yesterday, when I kept thinking about the message the show sent to the fandom via Dean’s fate. I have a few posts in my draft on the matter, but I am not sure I will ever share them, because it is one strong depresso, and I don’t think people following me should see how fucked up it really is (if they didn’t get it by themselves, of course). 

I want to remind you, my gentle soul, that the story belongs to us. We know Dean, we know Cas, we know Sam and others. We know that the final is not who they are! I know it’s hard to ignore the text, the canon, because it’s kinda godsent, but the truth is essential. And the final is not the truth.

The truth: 

Cas loves Dean, he sacrificed himself for him, he saved his life on multiple occasions, he told all those beautiful things and he meant every word.

Dean loves Cas, he was on his lowest every time he lost him, Cas was his “big win”, his best friend, his brother, his white light that lead him out of his anger, hatred and despair. He took a dog and called it Miracle, he was looking for a job to retire from hunting, he didn’t kill Chuck - all of that, because the sacrifice Cas made was not in vain! The message was clear. 

I choose to ignore the “Carry on”, the only attention it is going to get is me creating 20 more mails just to put a one star review there and to drop some more salty or bitter comments with it. Maybe I will read through some reviews, too, add them to my collection. 

Maybe I will one day write here an article from scriptwriting perspective how fucked up in was, because that’s what I can do about it, without throwing up. 

If you can’t ignore it, I understand it. It is painful, it is disrespectful, I hate it as much as you do, probably. 

If there’s anything I can do for you to feel better, just drop me a message, we can talk about it. I am on the lowest, too, but maybe we can help each other.

You say I was your lamp. Let me lead you our of the darkness one more time <3 

CW can suck my metaphorical dick (I’m tagging every angry post with it), but Supernatural is not just the show on CW, it’s a big family. 

And you can’t give up on it! You can’t give up on Dean and Cas, you can’t give up on Destiel! It’s so much bigger then the show itself.

Rediscover the show for yourself, remind yourself that Dean and Cas are real, it was never one sided, it was always something amazing. 

What is real? We are.

Don’t you ever change.

I rather have you, cursed or not.

It’s love, hun, and love always wins. 

[justgayangelthingz]

The Parent Trap AU

This absolutely WONDERFUL art is done by @sanderssidestrash27 Thank for making this I love it so much!!!!!

Summary: Almost twelve years later, separated at birth twins Roman and Remus both end up at the same Camp Sanders. What chaos will ensue those short eight weeks? And where will it lead the twins when their time together ends?

     "And, once again, we have a winner! Presenting Mr. Napa California, Remus Parker!" The crowd of boys watching the tournament let out an uproar of applause and shouting as Gavin held Remus's hand up above his head in victory. Remus grinned, whooping along with all of the boys and swooping his arm in a righteous bow. "Now, do we have any other competitors?" Gavin asked. 

     Remus walked over to the group of onlookers to them all high fives, grinning and laughing at their words of praise. Even he couldn't deny it (not that he ever would), he *was* pretty good at fencing. Great, even. 

     "Oh come on now, boys!" Gavin said as he surveyed the nearby campers. "Someone here has got to be able to beat this champion, let's give it a go!" 

     "I'll try!" Roman declared as we walked up to the scene. He had a soccer ball tucked under his arm and had two other boys trailing behind him. They all looked like they just walked off of the soccer field, still sweaty and hot of breath. 

     "Alright, epic, let's go!" Gavin scribbled down *Roman James* next to *Remus Parker* on his clipboard. Above that sat rows upon rows of *Remus Parker*s next to previous opponents, all of their names crossed out and a star besides his every time. 

     Roman walked over to the pile of equipment while Remus talked with his friends. 

     "You're gonna win this one again, man," one of them said. 

     "Yeah, you're gonna whoop his ass, dude!" Another boy exclaimed. Everyone gasped at the foul language before laughing. "Besides, look at him. He's whooped from his soccer game, he wouldn't be able to win even if he tried." Remus grinned before turning to look at his new challenger, who was already suited up. 

     "Good luck, Re!" Camden said as Remus grabbed his sabre. 

     "Thanks, Cammy. But, I don't need luck." He tossed his blade into the air, catching it in and landing in a fighting stance. He pointed the protected tip of the weapon only an inch from Camden's chest. Who immediately flinched back. Remus smirked, proud of the reaction he was given. "I'm Remus Parker. AKA the best fencer in the whole country, AKA the one who's about to beat this poor boy's ass." The boys burst into laughter and playful applause as Remus made yet another ceremonious bow. Janus *did* always tell Remus to be confident in himself and his abilities, though he always made a point to assure Remus that he got his confidence from his other father, whomever that may be. Janus usually left that part out. Well, whoever it was, Remus had to thank them one day. Without them, he wouldn't be able to wack other people with long swords. The thought made him giggle quietly to himself. 

     "Alright boys, are we ready?" Gavin asked. Remus turned back around sliding his protective mask over his face. 

     "Yup," he stated, getting into position.

     "You know it," Roman said. Remus didn't know who this boy was, but he couldn't help but want to laugh out loud at his clear British accent. What British dude would want to come to a camp like this when he could be enjoying a cup of tea with the Queen or something? Remus almost laughed out loud.

     "En garde." Gavin said, crouching down to get a better view. The two boys touched their blades together, tense and ready for battle. Most of the campers held their breaths, a few of them letting out words of praise for the player they were rooting for. Things like *let's go Roman* and *you got this Roman* rang out amongst the crowd. Anticipation hung in the air like a rope, swinging back and forth between the opposing teams. The noise dropped as silence filled the air for a few frightful seconds before Gavin declared the magic word:

"Fence." 

     With that one, little word, Remus smirked under his gear. His attitude reeked of confidence as he swung his sabre back and forth towards Roman. Roman arched his back, avoiding every blow with surprising ease. Shocked, Remus almost lost his footwork, barely avoided the tip of Roman's blade. He regained his thoughts and ran by Roman to the nearest tree. He jumped with as much grace as he could muster, kicking his foot off the tree and propelling himself in Roman's direction. Roman, however, was able to jump back and duck, moving out of the way and missing all four of Remus's attacks. Roman, catching on to Remus's style quickly, decided that it was his turn to strike. So he jumped forward and launched his sabre at Remus. Remus was able to block Roman, causing them to run backwards into the grass. Remus, having to run backwards, lost his footing and rolled onto the ground on his back. The air was knocked out of him and he clutched the dark grass with his free hand, gasping for air. A chunk of the dewy plant was ripped from the Earth as his hand flew up to his chest. When he was finally able to regain his composure, he lifted the hand up to his eyes to block out the obnoxious rays of sun and view his determined opponent. He saw Roman lurking above him. He looked like he was trying to be dramatic, waiting until the very last second to strike. *What an idiot* Remus thought, rolling his eyes. *Two can play at that game.* Remus played there, pretending to be beat. The crowd of boys had quickly caught up with the two and were now shouting at each opponent. Some called for Remus to get up, while others cheered Roman on to finish his work. Roman, being the over-the-top and confident that he was, flexed his muscles in show. Remus almost chortled at his dumb this boy was, but instead kept up his act. Finally, done with his dramatics, Roman brought his blade up above his arms, lowering it to stab directly in the middle of his chest. That's when Remus rolled away, jumping to his feet and letting out a battle cry as he ran sword-first at Roman. The 6drown let out an uproar of yells while Roman shrieked out of pure terror. He ran away from Remus and up the stairs of the outdoor dining hall with Remus following only steps behind. Remus was able to run ahead of the other and hopped onto the seat if the bench. The boys continued to fence and he shimmied down the bench and Roman along the wooden deck. Until, that is, Remus got to the end of the bench and also the end of the deck, which if course, with Remus's luck, lacked a railing. And as he turned back around to find a route of escape, Roman decided to make his final strike. Where was his dramatics when Remus needed them? As the tip of his blade collided with Remus's chest above his rapidly beating heart, the force caused Remus to stumble and tip backwards, before eventually falling off of the deck…

     And into a trough of water. 

     Oh. *There* were his dramatics. Great timing. 

     As Remus hit the water back-first, the now large crowd of onlookers all gasped and fell still. Droplets of water splashed through the air and hit the warm grass, a few campers getting wet in the process. Still, they sat there, tense and unmoving. Finally, Remus was the first to move as he slowly turned his head towards Roman. He lifted his arms, watching as water pooled off of him and back into the trough. Turning back to Roman with his arms still extended, he growled. 

     "Really?" He snarled, his strained voice muffled by his mask but clearly seeping with rage. Roman had one of his hands up to his mask to cover his mouth in shock. He shook his head in an attempt to regain his thoughts before quickly dropping his sabre. 

     "Oh my God, I'm so so sorry! Here, let me help," he said as he extended his hand towards Remus. Remus peered up at Roman, smirking. He went to match onto to Roman's hand, but before Roman could even think of pulling him onto the dock, Remus yanked his arm as hard as he could. 

With a small, high-pitched shriek, Roman went falling butt-first into the container of water. Even as Remus was hit with the spray of water and even more soaked, he couldn't help but burst into a loud fit of laughter. As he continued to laugh hysterically, Roman looked down at himself. He let out a choked, offended scoff before shoving Remus back into the water, causing him to both stop his laughter and get even more wet. When he resurfaced, he saw Roman laughing just as he had been before and huffed, clocking Roman in the face. What could he say, his dad always did teach him to stand up for himself. And if that meant punching some random dude in the face (or even shoving someone down the steps, something that apparently his father found funny but told him to stop doing after the fourth time. Sorry, Billy, but that was MY Thomas the Train.) then so be it. 

     When Roman came down from the initial shock of being punched, he turned to Remus and decked him the same way he had, right square in the face. Now *that's* when things got bad. 

     The two boys went full out brawl mode, rolling around in the water, kicking, cursing, punching, and everything in between. Both boys found the other to be surprisingly around the same strength as himself, along with very similar fighting techniques. Punches right to the face and bites on the arm seemed to be both of their go-to's, apparently. Finally, after fighting for what felt like ages, they both felt Paris of strong arms wrap around their middles in an attempt to untangle them. They continued to go at each other's throats until the second they were dropped a feet apart in the grass, soaked and furious. 

     "Boys! That is enough!" Gavin said as he stood by Roman's side. 

     "There is absolutely no fighting at this camp, do you hear me? We work through our differences with words and nonviolent activities only. Is that understood?" Leo asked, hands held on his hips as he looked between the two boys. 

     "Yes, sir," Roman and Remus muttered in unison, their muffled responses dripping with annoyance and little guilt. Their minds were elsewhere, both secretly hoping that their masks were enough to protect them from the other's blows. Neither of them had been prepared for the other's strength, their egos to big to think that they would be beat. If not, they'd both walk out of the situation with black eyes and bloodied lips, not to mention a crap ton of red scratches. A cool story in Remus's opinion, but to Roman, who had never been in a legitimate fight before, he would be horrified. People might think he was a fighter, something he kept solely for playing and daily activities, up until now. His dad would kill him, his grandfather scold him, and his butler worry over him endlessly. A part of him found this new endeavor cool, secretly hoping to keep a few small marks for a while. But longer lasting ones that would stay after the eight week camp were not worth worth any of that. 

     Sure, Remus's dad would be mad, and his nanny worried sick, but they were used to this kind if behavior from Remus. Many days he'd come home from school beaten or bruised, either from his adventures or his schoolmate differences. Janus had to even go to his schools sometimes to pick him up or clear things up with his principal and teachers. He was always really good at convincing people of things. Remus felt bad when his father had to come get him or patch him up, but he always tried to be better for him. He knew he wasn't easy to handle all the time, especially with only his dad and nanny there to take care of him. But, like usual, he would definitely be given more chores and a scolding. Not to mention, black eyes hurt. A whole lot. If he did have any, however, he was lucky that his nanny had been teaching him how to use makeup lately now that he was getting older. Some ice and concealer would do the trick.

"Boys! That is enough!" Gavin said as he stood by Roman's side. 

     "There is absolutely no fighting at this camp, do you hear me? We work through our differences with words and nonviolent activities only. Is that understood?" Leo asked, hands held on his hips as he looked between the two boys. 

     "Yes, sir," Roman and Remus muttered in unison, their muffled responses dripping with annoyance and little guilt. Their minds were elsewhere, both secretly hoping that their masks were enough to protect them from the other's blows. Neither of them had been prepared for the other's strength, their egos to big to think that they would be beat. If not, they'd both walk out of the situation with black eyes and bloodied lips, not to mention a crap ton of red scratches. A cool story in Remus's opinion, but to Roman, who had never been in a legitimate fight before, he would be horrified. People might think he was a fighter, something he kept solely for playing and daily activities, up until now. His dad would kill him, his grandfather scold him, and his butler worry over him endlessly. A part of him found this new endeavor cool, secretly hoping to keep a few small marks for a while. But longer lasting ones that would stay after the eight week camp were not worth worth any of that. 

     Sure, Remus's dad would be mad, and his nanny worried sick, but they were used to this kind if behavior from Remus. Many days he'd come home from school beaten or bruised, either from his adventures or his schoolmate differences. Janus had to even go to his schools sometimes to pick him up or clear things up with his principal and teachers. He was always really good at convincing people of things. Remus felt bad when his father had to come get him or patch him up, but he always tried to be better for him. He knew he wasn't easy to handle all the time, especially with only his dad and nanny there to take care of him. But, like usual, he would definitely be given more chores and a scolding. Not to mention, black eyes hurt. A whole lot. If he did have any, however, he was lucky that his nanny had been teaching him how to use makeup lately now that he was getting older. Some ice and concealer would do the trick. 

     "Boys!" Leo said, snapping his fingers. "Up here!" Both of the boys shook their heads and left their thoughts behind to linger on their own in favor of listening to the counselor. "Now I want you two to apologize to each other. And take off your protective gear, it must be soaking wet by now." 

     The two boys huffed and turned to face each other. In unison, the two reached up for their masks, dipping their heads downwards and sliding them off. As their arms fell to their sides, they lifted their heads, and immediately locked eyes. They both gasped at what they were met with. 

     Light brown eyes met the same pair of light brown eyes in return. They scanned each other's face, taking in their similarities. Scattered freckles splayed like the night stars, fluffy light brown hair, only partially wet as the summer sun quickly worked to dry it. Unfortunately, they both had obvious scratches and bruises along their faces, most noticeably on their cheeks and noses. It was as if both boys had the same thought process as the other. So, not only did they *look* alike, but they *thought* alike. Strange. 

     "Well, boys?" Leo asked after a few silent seconds. The boys looked over to him, confused. 

     "Sorry?" They asked in unison, the man's speech only seconds ago now long forgotten. 

     Leo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll take it. Now please, get to your respective cabins and clean up before dinner in the mess. If you require any assistance, the medic cabin is that way. Now go, shoo. And please, no more trouble." Flapping his hands,bhe ushered the boys along. They stared at each other, not breaking eye contact as they walked towards their cabins. Once they hit a fork in the road between their two cabins, Gavin ran up to them. 

"Wow, it's like you two are twins or something! That's so weird!" He said before running off. 

     The boys looked back at each other, sparing one last glance before they glared and stomped off. 

     This was war. 

Taglist: @sanderssidestrash27 @dew-drop-of-honey @ab-artist @iinyxtello @safesandersides @yep-another-fander @savetheupholstery

I hope you guys liked it!!!!!

[ethereallchan]

A game we play - Han Jisung

Genre: Angst, fluff, College!au;enemy (or rivals) to lovers. not really a slow burn, but not that fast either. 

Pairing: Han Jisung x fem!reader feat best friend!Minho and Cousin/roommate!Changbin 

Word count: 16.4k 

Warning: Vivid depiction of one’s fear towards rain, language. 

Han Jisung hates you and the feeling is mutual. So when Minho offers both of his best friends to play a game, neither of them knows what exactly lies beneath his actual intention because love and hate is simply both sides of a coin that he easily flips.

The train abruptly stopped in its track, prompting out a curse from your mouth. Your footing almost lost its balance but a quick reflect of your hand to the seat protected you from planting your face to the train’s floor and saved your dignity. The action earned you a couple of stares from the old couple that was seated on where your hand has held the grab. There wasn’t even any ounce of yourself that cared as your focus was entirely on the watch encircling your wrist, showing that you might’ve been late for your daily run to the coffee shop.

You were indeed, late. Your frowned lips turn into a scowl as you opened up the latest text  that Jisung has sent you. A picture of his hand holding a coffee cup with the background of your uni, the text read out, ‘guess who’s gonna give Minho his morning drink, alone?’

When you furiously texted him as how he was being so unfair because he lived in a walking distance to the uni while you had to take the train to even get to the nearest station of it, a speaker inside the train beeped. Your finger was just finished at pressing send when the notification came out.

“Good morning passengers, we regret to inform that there will be a slight delay to our arrival as–”

You didn’t even bother listening. Another text is typed out from your phone, informing your other friend that you would be late to your first class. There was a slight pause before you suspected that your other friend was probably already seated on the your class near Jisung and your suspicion was proven true as another text was sent to you from the man himself.

Fingers hovering on the notification, you heaved a breath before mentally preparing yourself to open it.

‘boohoo who’s late and not getting a stamp today????’ was the text with a picture of a stamped paper.

’Shut up you prick’

'A prick who’s one stamp richer than you so who’s the real winner here ;)’ the image of him smirking while typing the text was projected in your mind and there was nothing that you wanted in this world than to wipe that look in his face as soon as you could meet him.

But for now, your plotted revenge needs to be refrained as you stuck inside the stagnant train.

[]

When your professor has told you to make any kind of dance project in pairs, your mind has already decided on one person and one person only. Lee Minho was the prodigy when it comes to dancing, the said person was notoriously famous over getting inside the campus with nothing but his awards from dancing alone. Snatching a chance of having a duet with him meant that snatching an absolute 'A’ along with a guarantee of passing the class. Only fools could turned down the opportunity and you weren’t dumb. Minho was also one of your close friends so it would be an advantage for you to ask him to be your partner. Based on your latest meetings with him, you were positive that he was going to ask you the same thing.

Or so you thought.

By the time the bell rang, the conference hall has erupted into balls of words. Conversations were exchanged and cheers were easily thrown into the air. However, you stayed still on your chair and tidied up your belongings, not moving until most of the class has already exited the hall.

Slowly you made your way to Minho’s chair, his was five chairs on your right and you found that a small crowd has already gathered. There was no choice that he would be a top candidate to be picked, but you could hear his polite refusal to some people and it lit up a small fire of pride within yourself.

The crowd dissipated once one of them caught on seeing you, your presence alone emitting all the unsaid reasons of why Minho is refusing to be someone else’s duet partner. The man cracked a smile upon your arrival, a small nod of acknowledgement was also given.

“So, do you have anyone in mind as your duet partner?” You smirked, knowing damn well about what was his answer going to be.

“Well,–”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Both Minho’s head and yours snapped out to the source of the voice, the owner tilting his head ever so slightly to stare at Minho. Even his voice itself irritated you to the bone and you couldn’t help but scoffed lightly while rolling your eyes. He ignored your act altogether, before adding “We talked about this last night, right?”

Han Jisung was one of Minho’s closest friend as both of them shared schools from elementary to university. There was no point in arguing that he definitely has more memories of Minho in his life compared to you, but your memories with Minho was, albeit fewer, were equally as indelible, like that time where he suggested that both of you should try auditioning for a stripper job since your monetary problem weren’t getting better (and how you both actually got the job, but that’s a story for another time). The problem with your relationship with Jisung was it somehow become a competition between both of you as you two fight each other for Minho’s favouritism.

Since Jisung was a music major instead of dance, he despised the time where you both would share stories about dance and all your adventures together in college. While you found it extremely revolting when the men would start reminiscing the old days and mentioned the names you had no idea who they were.

In short, both of the parties refused to share someone as their best friend. Also, neither parties refused to give up because they were extremely mulish as a character.

“You’re not even part of the dance major, Han.” Also the fact that the kid didn’t allow you to refer to him with nothing but his family name had kept you on edge from the very first time. It was like he didn’t even try to fake being a nice guy in your relationship. It seemed like he clearly stated, implicitly that he wouldn’t even try and get to know you even better. “In case you have no idea, we need to use both our legs and hands in dancing, gracefully and powerfully. I fail to see anything about grace and power from yourself. Except probably your power to ruin someone’s eardrums everytime you sing.”

Minho snickered a bit at that and earned a hard glare from the other man. Of course Minho wasn’t stupid, he knew about the rivalry bond between his two best friends and he somehow found it quite amusing. The constant bickering was something he always looked forward to when the two of you met.

“Excuse me? You call flailing your arms everywhere without details dancing? What’s next? Moving one beat too fast on your first showcase a talent, now?” Jisung gibed you about that one accident that almost cause you your scholarship, knowing damn well that it was your weakness. “Holy shit, at least the Dean won’t have to call my name with a speaker for the whole uni to know.”

Your eyes narrowed at him, fingernails digging at your own flesh out of rage. “That’s fucking dirty, Han.”

The other boy gave you a shrug and a smirk, “I’ve never said anything about playing it fair and square, babe.”

Before you could respond, Minho stood up. His arms outstretched between both of you, trying to calm his friends down. “Okay, let’s end it right here.” Whatever the things that going to come from either of your mouth won’t be all playful and enjoyable. “Let’s all go and grab some coffee, how about that?” He didn’t need to wait for the answer as he knew just how much the three of you liked the drink. After all, it was something he learn to love as a kid with Jisung and something that caused the bond between both of you were possible in the first place.

Minho walked ahead, leaving both of you to follow him but not before giving each other stinky faces consisted of crossed eyes and tongue stuck out.

[]

There was no conversation exchanged between the two of you as Minho forced you to sit on the table facing each other while he went to the counter and ordered for the three of you. Jisung lazily scrolled at his phone, nothing caught his attention as he simply wanted to avoid talking to you. It was proven to be in vain as you started to speak as he could feel his body heaved a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Han, for god sake what the fuck were you doing?” You leaned forward to hiss at the boy, eyes darting to Minho to make sure that he couldn’t listen. “It’s a dance project!”

Jisung rolled his eyes at you, his body leaning backward to rest at the back of the chair. “I’m not stupid, I know. The thing is I also have a project that I need to work on from Professor Jung. We were told to make a song based on a collab from the other art faculty students. And it’s just fair that I asked Minho to be my partner.”

Your finger moved to pinch at the bridge of your nose, eyes closing. “So you’re going to make a song that the both of you are going to dance with?”

He shrugged at that, “See, you’re not that stupid at all.”

Eyes snapped open to glare at him, you paused for a while before asking him about whether he already asked Minho to be his partner. What you got as a response was simply a scoff and a raise of one of his eyebrows, like he was taunting you. “What do you think?” he said, and in that moment you knew that there was a huge chance of Minho not being your partner.

The man himself returned with your ordered drinks to the table and both of your attention diverted into helping him so that he won’t drop the drinks. Minho mumbled a quick thanks before sitting beside you, earning another scoff from Jisung. “So, I’m sure you guys are confused.” He started, carefully looking at the both of you.

“She maybe is, but I’m not. I know exactly who my partner is.” The boy in front of you sipped at his drink, and it took everything of you to not throw the drink on your hand to his face.

It’s not worth it, you thought to yourself, making mental notes of happy thoughts like the way they told you to do in those yoga dvds your mom always blasted on the speaker. get it together.

Beside you, Minho gave a slight chuckle. It might be a mistake on your hearing, but you noticed a hint of nervousness in it. “Yeah, about that, I might have made some mistake?” even he was unsure of his own sentence.

“What?” It was Jisung’s, the shock evident on his voice somehow made you feel happy inside. He was caught off guard, just like you but the difference was the way it caught both of you. There was a hope in you becoming Minho’s partner.

“Well, you see. I knew that I said yes to Jisung’s offer and we-” he gestured to you, “-had some kind of unsaid agreement when it comes to project. Since it’s unfair to both of you because you two are my best friends, I feel like we should start over again.”

You voiced out your confusion, and by the look of Jisung’s face, you voiced out his mind as well. “Start over? What do you mean?”

Minho took a sip of his drink before leaning back to his chair, “I don’t know, I feel like I need to make the decision of who’s going to be my partner a little more objective. Unbiased and all, you know? To make it fair. I just don’t want both of you to actually hate each other.”

Jisung snickered at that, but he didn’t say anything.

“My point is, a little friendly competition between the two of you wouldn’t hurt, right?“ He paused a bit to look at the reactions, and when he realized the only thing he got from both of his best friend’s was confusion, he continued, “The person who could be someone that is extremely helpful to me will win.”

“So,” you trailed off, nose scrunching as you processed what Minho just said, “You want us to be your servant?”

The boy laughed, “Not to that extent, you’re making me look bad. You know, a person that would be willing to be woken up in the middle of the night to watch a video of my cat, sort of stuff.”

Everyone was met by the complete silence after that before Jisung asked, “For how long? I mean the project is due in 2 month. At least mine is, I don’t know about yours.”

“Yeah, us is also the same and as much as I hate saying this,” you heaved a breath, head cocking towards the boy in front of you, “He’s right, we’re kinda tight on schedule.”

It was Minho’s turn to scoff at your words, “Jisung could make a dope song and you could make a choreography in less than a week. Don’t expect too low from yourself, I know you two could do well.”

Was it supposed to give you some kind of encouragement? You weren’t the most confident one when it comes to dancing thanks to the fear of messing up, the trauma of the first showcase still haunting you. There was always a sliver of doubt within your heart, a voice whispering that you would never be good enough, and for now the voice happily sang the tune of mockery, that it would be better for Minho to partnered up with Jisung as both were known as prodigies in their own talent. You were ready to voice out your intention of pulling out from this 'competition’ when you felt Jisung’s look bore into yours. His brown gaze held yours for a beat longer and sharper than it usually were, making you slightly nervous and immediately drank your drink to free yourself from the captive that was his eyes.

“Well we’re certainly in, right?” Jisung looked at you and at that time you wondered if he knew that you were avoiding his gaze, too occupied with your own thoughts that you stayed quiet. “Right, babe?” He pressed on, a smirk on his face.

You snapped at the nickname, a frown formed on your lips as you despised hearing the nickname rolled from his mouth. “Of fucking course.” You said, your insecurities flied off the window for a short while. Right now you only wanted him to lose. “When will we start?”

“Great! We could start tomorrow then.” The mastermind of the plan snickered before finishing up his drink, “Also I’ve been wanting to do this, so I hope you guys have your notebook or paper prepared because I want to give stamps to the person that I deem helpful for every task.”

You wanted to say something along the line of “what do you think we are? Kindergarten children?” But then decided on how both Jisung and your banter usually consisted of something very childish and small, maybe that was the reason why Minho was doing this.

[]

The only class that the three of you shared together despite Jisung’s different major was English, in which all students need to take. In the beginning of the school year, everyone could pick the schedule they wanted, however it was far too late to ask for a slightly late class as every class was already taken so the three of you took the first class in Tuesday. A morning class in which Minho would have to sit between the two of his best friends that would argue about everything.

For now, it’s a Tuesday’s morning class in which both of you raced to be the first person that would give Minho his daily dose of caffeine. The fact that your apartment’s location was a hindrance to the task never seemed to faze you as you would try your best to set an alarm earlier so that you would still stood the chance of buying the coffee. It was mostly you that was able to do so except for the fated day that the train betrayed your prevision of time.

You came late to the point where you only had five minutes of class remaining, with all eyes turned at you when the door to the lecture hall was opened. Trying hard to show that it didn’t bother you in any way (It did, extremely), you made your way to the professor with your eyes trained at her, your breath heaving from the result of running. The professor shot her look at you menacingly but it softened when you handed her the paper from the train to notify that you were late because of things that were outside of your control. She sighed before motioning you to sit, the only place left was the seat in the very front that would need you to strain your neck in order to look up to the presentation.

Silently thanking about the remaining time of the class, you complied. You didn’t even got the chance to properly laid out your stationery (which consisted only of a notebook and a pen) when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. The situation was so comical that you couldn’t help but laugh, your hands covering your face to suppress the sound. Your mind wandered at how you ran so hard from the station only to arrive when the class ended not to mention how you failed at getting your stamp from Minho.

You could hear him approaching your seat along with Jisung, the former immediately sat on the vacant seat next to you. “All that running for nothing, huh?” He snickered, patting you on the head.

“Not to mention the failure of acquiring any stamps.” Jisung’s hand replaced Minho’s and there was a slight moment where you thought that maybe he was being nice before your the pats on your head turned into small jabs. Groaning, you caught his hand before glaring up, finding the smirk on the boy’s face. There was a small silence in which you tried to shot a witty comment before he beat you to it, “If you really want to hold my hand then you could’ve just said so.”

“In your fucking dreams, Han.” You let go on his hand in an instant, your eyes rolling before turning to face your best friend. “And why are you looking at us with those dreamy look? Cut it off, it’s creepy.”

Minho chuckled, shaking his head while running his hand through his hair. “Do you ever think of dating each–”

“No.” was a stern answer delivered by the both of you simultaneously and in that moment, you felt grateful that Jisung shared the same opinion. Minho’s hands shot up, feigning defeat as he shrugged.

“Okay, so I’ll take it you don’t want any chance on doubling your amount of stamps?”

Your ears perked up at the word ‘stamps’. For the last three weeks that was all you strive to acquire, whether it was from the video call from Minho late at night when his cats decided to play with him and he forced you to ‘appreciate’ them (you actually did, they were actually very cute) to bringing junk food to his apartment in the time when he least expected it. Those acts wasn’t new to you since you’ve done that long before the who stamps is involved, but now it felt satisfying to do it knowing that you would be rewarded in the end.

No matter how childish it was for the reward to be just stamps, you were content with it.

“Say what again?” You said, immediately interested.

There was a slight smirk on Minho’s face, “So I have an eye for this girl that I met on the studio, right? I asked her out on a date yesterday and she said yes!”

“Wasn’t she the one that slapped you on the first encounter?” Jisung snickered and you bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing alongside him. He was telling the truth, there was some sort of misunderstanding that happened between the both of them and you couldn’t help but wonder what kind of charm that he used to be able to melt her heart.

Staring at how Minho glared at Jisung before mumbling a quick, “It’s an accident, I’ve told you guys that already.”, you came to a realization that well, Minho sure had the charm and the genes that supported him to put people on their knees. You were glad that you were on his side and not those who he planned to 'charm’ who knows what he might do to these poor people?

“Anyway,” he continued, his ears slightly turning red at Jisung’s words. “I asked her out and I’d figured that it’ll be fun for you two to join us.”

Your jaw dropped upon hearing his idea, a chuckle leaving your lips before you could stop it. “You’re joking.” You said, hoping to find any trace of humour in Minho’s expression only to find none. “Wait, you’re serious? Like a double date kind of stuff?”

“Dead serious. You guys don’t need to have real feeling or anything, just pretend.”

You couldn’t believe at how he could suggest it without any difficulty at all. Did he not realize how your relationship with Jisung was plummeting down after the whole competition that he made? Your tongue was getting sharper around him and he could effortlessly annoy you in any way possible. There was no way that you were going to go outside, pretending that you could tolerate him moreover pretending to have an interest on making him your boyfriend when the first thing that you wanted to do every time you saw his face was to pour any drink you held to his shirt.

However the thought of getting the stamps when you succeeded, along with the idea of making fun of him if he refused to do this fake-date. To top that, maybe you would be able to find his weak spot, using it to your favor.

The determination was clear on your voice when you said, “Sure. Why not?” Resulting in a widened-eyes Minho, a small smirk was formed moments later. Jisung could do nothing but stare at you wordlessly, his eyes seemed like it would pop out in any moment. “What is it, Han? You’re scared of a small date?” Taunting him felt so satisfying, getting him to a speechless figure was a rare occasion and you weren’t going to let this small moment of victory slip away ever so easily.

His Adam apple bobbed as he stammered over his words, “Wh-what are you saying? You’re crazy.”

“Oh I get it!” You blink as if an idea just popped off from your mind, smirking as you grab the collar of his hoodie and yanked it down towards you with both of your faces inches apart. From this angle you could clearly felt how his breath ragged and his eyes focused on anywhere but yours upon the close proximity. Biting your lip, you taunted him even more “Are you scared of falling in love with me for real, Han?”

Silence followed your words before the corner of Jisung’s lip lifted up, his entire body shook as he attempted to hide his laughter. You were a little confused but there was no way you were backing down from this tough persona of yours so you continue to stare at him, waiting for his response. As if hearing your thought, he stopped to suppress his laugh as his brown eyes immediately stared at yours. His lips were formed to a smile, before his hand moved towards your nape and slowly decreasing the distance of you two.

It was your turn to have your breath hitched on your throat as your grip on his hoodie tightened. You fought the urge to close your eyes, wanting to hold on to a small trace of control you had left even though the situation belonged to Jisung’s control now. He angled your head so that he could place his mouth right beside your ear, his huff of breath sent shiver down your spine along with his next words.

“Be careful for what you wish for, babe. It could turn against you someday..”

You failed to realize his smirk as you weren’t even able to hide your sharp intake of breath when his following words were spoken, “Because once you do, there’s no turning back.”

[]

You blamed your punctuality on your habit to arrive the fastest to the university or at least, faster than Jisung.

When you arrived at the theme park at 10 am in the Saturday morning, you soon realized that the amount of people that came would prevent you to experience the whole attraction without the pain of queuing. Mentally you thanked yourself for not wearing any high heels today, courtesy of your roommate slash cousin’s advice as Changbin was experienced on taking girls to dates in the theme park and he knew exactly what their first mistake was when he saw their appearance.

“At least you would be able to feel both of your legs when the day’s over.” He said, and that was all you need to wear your favourite sneaker today.

It was a lie if you said that you randomly picked your clothes on today’s occasion. You’ve spent a good amount of time contemplating the entire content of your wardrobe before settling on a pair of jeans shorts and a crop top, completely different from your usual attire of jeans and shirt that you usually wear for college. Partially because you thought that the outfit was cute, partially because you wanted to see how Jisung reacts towards it.

You’d like to think that it was because you wished to see Jisung’s facade crumbled down upon seeing you in it, resulting you to easily lead him into his eventual demise of not getting the rest of the stamps thus lending Minho to you (and your passing of the class). But God forbid you from admitting that the small part of you wanted him to think that you looked cute.

After that words that he whispered on your ear, it felt like a challenge to either one of you to see which one that would succumb first. It seemed that both of you realized that successfully making the other to fall in love would be an express ticket into being partners with Minho. After all, it’s not a secret that love or crush is indeed a person’s greatest weakness.

The logic was pretty simple, on your mind. Make the other party to fall in love, dump them and have Minho as your partner and best friend for yourself. See, it was pretty easy if you stick onto the plan.

Your plan started to quiver, however with your sight catching Jisung on his attire. An all black attire of skinny jeans, t-shirt and shirt that he didn’t even bother to button had you gulping and your resolve crumbling. Despite having his sunglasses on with a black mask, you were still able to recognize him, a realization that caught you off guard.

It must’ve been illegal for Jisung to thread his hair because he once he did it, your heartbeat increased as you fished for your phone, front camera opened to check how red your cheek was. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to admit it verbally but you realized now that he was indeed, a very good looking guy if you stripped away the whole attitude he had towards you.

You stole a glance at him once again, texting the boy as you informed that you already arrived with an attached picture of him to expose your location. The message was seen almost immediately, him throwing a glance at your position afterwards. Both of your gaze met as he took off his glasses and walked towards you.

Pretending to ignore the effect he had on you, you busied yourself with your phone, scrolling whatever Instagram profile that you had previously seen all in favour of calming your erratic heart. Jisung arrived in front of you, coughing to catch your attention and frowned after you decided to ignore him. Swiftly he took away your phone from your grasp, eliciting a whine that the both of you didn’t expect to make.

His laugh afterwards made your cheek reddened as your embarrassment grew.

“Oh my god, why did you whine like a child? Are you going to throw a tantrum as well, now?” Jisung dangled your phone in front of your face as you glared at him.

“Cut it off, Han!” You swatted him on his chest, “Give it back!”

He giggled as if he just delivered the best joke in the world as he handed your phone back with a wink. “Come on, don’t be mad at me. We have a date today, remember?”

Your eyes rolled at his statement, snatching your phone as you put it back to your bag. “Thank you for reminding me the nauseate situation we are going to experience! Oh how I can’t wait to be disappointed at you becoming my date just like how my previous ones have failed me.”

“Damn, you really underestimate me in this whole date stuff, huh?” He scoffed in disbelief. “Look, you might have bad experience on dating before but don’t go ahead and generalize everyone, especially me. Why do you think I was so reluctant on doing this before?”

You frowned at his question, how would you know that? “I don’t know, smartass. Because you’re a coward?”

“No, baby.” Jisung smirked, his hand moving to your chin softly before tilting it upwards to stare at your eyes. “I don’t want you to be too comfortable and ends up falling for me.”

“Really?” You cocked your eyebrow. It felt like Dejavu, this whole situation both of you were in. You learned that you should never let him has the last word so you smiled at him, your words rolling smoothly from your lips but not before shortening the distance between the two of you. “Then make me.”

You relished on the sight of his eyes widening, clearly caught off guard by the boldness of your words. A giggle escaped from your lips as you turned away from him, catching a sight of Minho and his date in an ocean of people (how you could recognize him immediately was also one of your concern, you played it as because you guys see each other everyday) before waving them over to you. The both of them approached you after waving back and that was when you felt Jisung’s cold hand on the exposed skin of your waist, pulling you flush to his side.

“Babe?” Jisung’s voice was low as he whispered on your ear. You controlled your body’s tendency to shiver under his touch as you didn’t want him to see the effect he had on you after his action. In the moment you couldn’t even care less about the nickname that you usually despise from him. Something told you that he was going to use it a lot in today’s occasion.

Two could play in this game, you thought. “Yes, Han?”

“You will experience the best date of your life, that once you have another chance to go in a real date with someone else, you would think that nothing could top this fake date with me.”

You held back a smile. At least you would feel what you’ve never had on your previous ones? “Really, now?” Your voice trailed off before turning to face him as you encircled your hands on his neck. “You sure we could go a day without insulting each other? A day in which we won’t try to wipe each other’s existence?”

He smirked, both of his hands found their place on your hip as he rubbed small circles on the flesh. “The date is going to be so great that you’re going to forget that we’re supposed to hate each other in the end of the day.”

You smiled at that, “I’m looking forward to it, then.”

–

Minho was lying when he said that the day was going to be a double date as he was gone from both of your range of view after the four of you went to the accessory shop, getting the four of you head accessories to wear later onto the day because Jisung deemed that it was necessary for every single theme park date. You didn’t miss the way he would pat your head everytime you gushed over the cute characters, or how he took out his polaroid camera once you’ve settled on the accessory and wore it in front of the mirror.

Jisung snapped a picture of your side profile and despite your protests of him taking a picture when you weren’t ready, he opted to keep the Polaroid to himself.

“Han please I look ugly in that.” You frowned, hands on your hips like you were scolding a child. “If you promised that you’re going to be a good date then you’re not going to let anyone see this ugly side of me.”

He scoffed, “Please, a good date is when they find you cute despite you think that you’re ugly.”

“That’s not a good date that’s just being blind.”

Your date looked at you dead in the eye before signing dramatically, his hands in his right chest while clutching his shirt. “Love is blind sometimes.”

Your face contorted into a mix of disgust and shock but you couldn’t lie that it got your heart beating slightly faster, “Ugh what’s wrong with you and your cheesy remarks today.” Faking a shudder, you went on, “Where’s my usual Han went?”

Except that he didn’t focus on your question at all, his lips formed a smirk as he repeated a particular line, “Your Han?”

“Shut up!” Your hand moved up to swat his shoulder, cheeks flaring up before realizing that it was only both of you in this part of the shop. You looked around for a bit before concluding the fact that Minho and his date was no longer there in the shop. “You idiot, we lost Minho!”

Jisung’s dumb look was the last thing you saw before you took his hand in instinct and dragged him out from the shop after putting the accessory back.

–

You were queuing for Viking’s ride with Jisung behind you when Minho’s text popped from your notification. He explained that he lost both of you as well and it would be best to just meet up after the day’s over. Your furious typing of scolding him for leaving you with Jisung all alone was refrained when you felt a head resting on your shoulder.

“Han, get off my shoulder.” You shook your shoulder in attempt to get him off it but he didn’t budge. “You’re heavy, please.”

“Just let them be.” He mumbled and you needed to ask him to say it again because you didn’t quite know what he was saying and implying.

“I said let them be, you know? It’s their date after all. The first one, even. I’m sure they want to be alone in their date.” Jisung continued, his head didn’t move from its place at all. He mumbled again but you catch his words, even though you didn’t really understand the means behind it. “I know I do.”

The angry text stayed on your screen as you contemplated about the situation. He did have a point and you didn’t want to risk the chance of not obtaining the stamps in the end. After all, it was his idea, there was also a probability that he planned this beforehand. Your finger hovered over the delete button before touching it, quickly typing out another response and putting it back to your bag.

You missed the way Jisung smiled a little  upon the text that you had typed out, staying still at his position on your shoulder despite your attempt, only getting off when the both of you needed to move forward. When you two stopped walking however, he was back on his previous position and soon you gave up after your efforts were proven to be vain, opting to rest your head on his as you waited in the line.

'yeah okay have fun I guess.’

'hes not that bad anw’

–

Jisung had a habit that you were starting to realize, and that habit was him absentmindedly just taking your hand into his, enveloping it every time you two were walking. The way his touch lingered there even after he, despite momentarily released his hold got you missing on his warmth. To think that it was summer, missing someone else’s warmth was a bold thought but that was exactly what you were feeling.

He let go of your hand to read the pocket map that he carried, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he flicked his gaze from one attraction to another, hoping to find an interesting one. You used this opportunity to feast on his visual from the side without the fear of his snarky comments ruining the mood, although you should’ve known better than that.

“A picture will last longer, you know?” His look didn’t waver from the map, opting to just bite his lips in attempt to hide a chuckle threatening to spill.

You rolled your eyes, lips curving into a smile. “Well what could I say? My date is indeed quite handsome for today.” It was your turn to stifle a laugh as his ears reddened, getting embarrassed from your sudden compliment. “Only for today though.”

He shook his head in disbelief before folding down the map on his hand and taking yours. “Well my date has always been beautiful, and today’s no exception. So you can’t blame me for previously taking picture of her, right?” His smile mirrored yours before not giving you any time to answer, his hand already tugging for you to follow him.

You were glad for that, though. It was your turn to have your face flushed just like his ear a few moments ago.

–

If your plan for that day was to find something about Jisung that you could use to your own advantage, you were definitely failing as the only thing that you discover from him was how he was being such an amazing date.

In the night when both of you ordered a junk food from the restaurant as you sat on a bench beside each other, shoulders brushing, you couldn’t help but think about everything that had happened for today.

His hand was never absent from his agenda of holding yours, even as you complained at how sweaty both of your palms had become. Not to mention that one time when he left you alone because he was going to the bathroom and a group of boys immediately came to your spot as you calmly waited for him. You knew that you could stand your ground, but the number of boys overwhelmed you as you stuttered to answer their rapid questions. Before you could even collect yourself together and told them to back off, you could feel an arm snaking to your waist.

The exposed skin shivered under Jisung’s touch and as you turned your head to look at him, it shivered again for a completely different reason. You’ve never seen Jisung that angry before with his jaw clenched and eyes glared to them. It was a delightful feeling, knowing that you weren’t the end of the gaze that he was holding. He pulled you flush beside him, “Babe, you okay?” It was menacingly sweet, his tone. “These boys aren’t giving you a hard time, right?”

The boys shrugged before backing off, saying stuffs that you couldn’t even bother listening because now the only sound that you could hear was your heart thrumming inside of its cage and the only sensation that you could feel was his hand that was still in your waist.

You could feel his touch lingered there as he used both of his hands to check on you, making sure that you were fine. His hands stopped at your jaw, tilting your face to look at him as his eyes were glistening with worry and all trace of the previous anger nonexistent. “Are you really okay?” Jisung whispered, more to himself because he immediately pulled you into a hug. “God I can’t let anything happens to you. I’ve swore it on Minho.”

There was a way at how his scent intoxicated you as you buried yourself on the crook of his neck. His cologne weren’t supposed to stay with him this long after the walk under the sun but it did. Jisung smelled like vanilla with cinnamon, and in that moment you realized that it might be your favourite scent.

It was quiet, you were waiting for Minho and his date to finish. The artificial lake that you were facing and the soft neon light from the restaurant’s wall coaxed you into a pleasant atmosphere. “Apparently without your insults you’re a pretty decent guy, huh?” You said to him as you stared at the lake, your food long gone. “Your real date would’ve been lucky”

“I know.” He smirked proudly, his head turning to face you. “A handsome face with a lot of boyfriend characteristics fulfilled, my real date is going to be spoiled.”

Somehow at that moment you couldn’t even bring yourself to respond on his self inflating ego comment because deep within your heart you knew what he said was true. The fact that his real date was probably never going to be you somehow put you on a solemn mood, you were actually enjoying today’s date, as fake as it was supposed to be. Your rivalry was temporarily forgotten as you found yourself staring up at him. “Han?” You called, voice above a whisper.

Jisung blinked, his smirk melting off his face. “(Y/N)? What’s wrong?” His tone was laced with worry, and you were hoping that at the very least this part of his feeling was real. “Did I do something wrong?”

Your lips etched into a smile at the absence of the nickname he has been calling you all day, and before you could process how your body moved on its own, you gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “I had a good time today, thank you.” There was no way that your cheek could be even redder than now, but it was already nighttime so you were glad that Jisung wouldn’t be able to see it. You rested your head on his shoulder afterwards, eyelids closing to enjoy the small time that you had left before Minho came and your so called date to be over.

You didn’t expect any response from Jisung except the snarky ones that you thought he’s going to give, a sentence full of ego as he would say something along the line of “I told you before, didn’t I?” since you were only doing that because you were grateful of the promise that he kept, so when you felt his hands taking yours, you definitely didn’t see that coming.

Even more when he brought your hand to his lips, kissing each of your knuckles softly before intertwining it together.

“I enjoyed it too. Very much.” You could feel him smiling from his gentle tone of his voice. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is probably the best date I’ve ever been, despite its fakeness.”

You frowned at that, your voice coming out before you realising it. “Don’t mention the fake thing, you’re ruining it.”

“So you wished that this was real then?” He was definitely smirking now.

“In your dreams, Han.”

But then maybe his claim on his reluctance of doing this fake date was true. Because looking down to your linked hands, you weren’t surprised to find that you wouldn’t mind this day to happen again. At that time, you decided that your plan has crumbled into pieces, that Jisung might have snatched your chance on doing the project with Minho.

The beat of your heart quickly accelerated as your mind took you to a scary possibility of why it was happening in the first place. That maybe, Han Jisung has placed himself within your heart, realization seeping into your veins distracted you to a level that had you barely listening to Jisung’s response to your statement.

“If that so, then I’m not waking up.”

[]

Something changed after that date, you quickly realized. Both of you were still in a rivalry state that the both of you were in before, but the insults decreased or if it was really said, it wasn’t to the point where either of you would be offended. Both the quantity and quality of it weakened, at least on your part it was almost non existent anymore.

You couldn’t brought yourself upon replying on his insults verbally, mostly you would opt to roll your eyes or scoff as you realized that you couldn’t reply to any of it. You had hoped that Jisung and Minho would both see it as your new strategy of winning the competition, the whole 'talk less do more’ mindset but then again the latter was your best friend, he could see right through that.

So when Minho came to your dorm uninvited with a box of pizza and bottles of cola, you knew that he was going to talk about something serious. Him and Changbin did a small talk as your roommate was preparing to go out and work on his music project. By the time the boys were done you had already slumped on your sofa, a slice of pizza on your hand as your feet dangled from the sofa’s arm. Minho watched as you turned on the TV and started to search for any good channel for quite some time before he gently grabbed the remote from your hand.

“I’m not here to watch tv.” He said, muting the current channel. “I came here to talk.”

Rolling your eyes, you bit back a laugh. “No shit, Sherlock. We all know that you have something in your mind everytime you visit me.”

Minho smiled at that, “Well you’re laughing now so I guess I shouldn’t be too worried.”

“Spit it out, Minho.” You refused to make eye contact with him, eyes trained upon an episode of MasterChef. Your first slice of pizza were finished and you learned forward to grab another one, “Address the elephant of the room, whatever.”

It was more of a joke, on your part, really. You clearly didn’t expect him to say it ever so bluntly when you bite onto the junk food, “You have a crush on Jisung.”

You choked.

The cough that you let out was plenty as you had troubles in breathing. Minho was quick to hand you the nearest bottle of soda before bolting to the kitchen and took a water bottle in case you needed it. Immediately you gulped down the soda, the carbon burned on the back of your throat but it gave a way for the piece of pizza stuck there to be gone into your stomach.

Your breath heaved for a few moment as Minho rubbed your back, constantly asking if you’re okay and you gave him a thumbs up. All was quiet safe for your breathing before you said in a small voice, “I lost, am I?”

Your best friend’s gaze softened at your words, still rubbing your back this time for your emotional reassurance. “No, well not yet at least. You still got three more days.”

A groan escaped your lips as you buried your face on your hand. “I’m an idiot, am I? I told myself to make him fall for me and then it was actually the other way around.” You huffed, heads shaking as you finally confessed it to someone else rather than your mirror. “I used to hate him with all my heart and then one damned date changed everything.”

“You do realize that you said to me that he–” Minho air quoted it “was pretty cute without his mouth running around ruining his visual when I first introduced both of you? I’d say that you actually had a small crush already, the whole date just further strengthens it.”

“I do.” You mumbled, face still buried. “I just can’t believe that I’m falling for someone that couldn’t even stand me. The whole date was close to something like a skit. He was just playing his part as a charming enemy and I fell for that.”

Minho scoffed, “How do you know that it’s not his real character?”

“Because I know Han, and his attitude towards me in daily life is a hundred and eighty degrees of difference!”

“You don’t know him.” There was softness in Minho’s tone that got you peeked a bit to see his expression. “Both of you just started off in a wrong direction.”

You opted to stay quiet as you felt like there was no answer needed for that statement. Maybe Minho was right, if only he wasn’t being such an asshole in your first encounter you would’ve find yourself being friends with him already or perhaps more. There was a seed of hope in your heart that you let it died down upon experiencing his behaviour towards you, one that hoped that you would at least be in a good relationship with him.

The whole date just watered down the seed and now it was growing rapidly, its root finding their way to your heart and planted themselves there. You knew that it was stupid of you, to fall in love with someone that could use your feelings to their advantage. The one that could laugh on your face and humiliate you after you confessed at him, saying how he has managed to fool you into thinking that he will reciprocate whatever it is that you’re feeling.

Maybe it was one of his acts, a genius plan on his side that he carefully thought of. Incorporating your emotions into his final piece of the puzzle because let’s face it, Han Jisung would play dirty if he deemed it necessary. He said it himself.

But the hope that rooted itself in your heart has given you faith on him. If believing on Han Jisung that he wouldn’t make fun of you and your feelings were too crazy for your logic, at least you were putting your beliefs at Minho. He wouldn’t let his best friend getting hurt moreover letting his other best friend be a reason behind your pain. Minho wouldn’t befriended him if he was such a douche, too.

You sighed, taking another piece of pizza as you felt Minho’s gaze on your actions. “You know what?” you began, voice a little shaken and muffled after you ate it. “I may be saying the stupidest thing I’ve ever said now–”

Minho snickered at that, cutting you off. “That’s a hard title to beat, remember the summer when we went to our first party? You were crying as you brought the fish from the aquarium to the pool because you were scared that they wouldn’t breathe in the fresh water.”

He could feel your glare all over him but it didn’t stop his words, “Come on, it won’t be that bad, will it?”

“I was drunk, dumbass.” You bit a laugh when you watch him squirmed after you repeatedly poke his ribs. “Now are you going to let me say it or what?”

“Yeah only if you stop doing it!” He sounded so annoyed that you couldn’t hold the urge to tease him more so you poke him again. Soon it ended up with poke fights and continued down to tickle fights as you both fought on the couch. Both of you were breathless after a few minutes, limbs tangled with one another as you struggled to catch your breath and laugh in the same time. You were on top of Minho, your ear rested comfortably on his chest. It was probably very hard on Minho since you were basically crushing his lungs but he made no move on removing you, and for a while that was the only position you were both in.

You found your voice, albeit gravelly. “I’m forfeiting myself from this game. Go ahead, be his partner then.”

“And why are you giving up so easily? You have three more days before it’s over.”

Your laugh came out breathier than you expected, your head shaking. “In your game, yeah. In mine, it was already over the moment I saw him in that theme park.”

Minho chuckled at that. “I don’t want to say anything, but you two have more similarities than you know.” A smile followed suit, his hand came down to ruffle your hair. “FIne, but you still need to come for the last meeting when I declare the winner.”

It was a lie on your part if you said that you weren’t an inch curious about the meaning in the first part of Minho’s sentence was about. But you gulped it down, only hoping that it wasn’t anything bad. “Yeah, sure. You’re paying?”

“Yup. Now are we gonna finish this pizza or what?”

[]

It was raining hard and Changbin weren’t home.

Ever since you were little, storm and big rains were something that you despised. You couldn’t bear hearing the loud rattle of thunder and the sounds of water violently hitting the ground. Lighting gave you anxieties as you were scared that after that flash of light was gone, you would find something else staring at you. Everything was suffocating, in your opinion. The sounds of rain seemed like it slowly cornered you and you felt as if it was trying to drown you. In short, you hated them.

Changbin, figured your fear of rain ever since you were still a pre-pubescent teenager when you spent a night on his house. He was working on some school’s project so he didn’t really need sleep in that time of the night, hence the reason why he let you into his room when he found you crying while clutching onto your pillow. He let you slept on his bed that night and he opted to sleep on the desk instead. Your fear was also part of the reason why your parents wanted him as your roommate so that you could always have someone that knew about your fear and were willing to accompany you during the time it got bad.

It became a habit every time a huge storm happened. It was either you sleeping on his room or vice versa, with an air mattress getting dragged into either rooms so thet the other could sleep on it. You were forever grateful that he was willing to sacrifice a small part of his precious sleep time (or his producing time) to your comfort.

This time, however was different as Changbin were absent from your shared apartment.

He had told you that he was going to his aunt’s house from his mother’s family for dinner but he would be back before 9 because his aunt would told him to clean around the house as well. The first rumble caught you off guard when you were reading as its sound was deafening, causing you to reflectively closed your eardrums and froze as you stare at the floor. You swore that you could feel the floor of your apartment shook lightly under the massive power before you hurriedly messaged him, informing that a storm might’ve come on his way and for him to be careful to not get caught in the rain.

Changbin didn’t reply after roughly half an hour, when the rain started to pour.

‘Sorry I didn’t see your message lol too busy with the dishes’

‘It’s raining quite hard here but I think it’ll be over soon’

‘My friend is going to come to the apartment and we’re supposed to have a brainstorming session together so I hope you don’t mind’

It wasn’t a surprise that your roommate would have others come to your shared apartment for lots of stuffs. Sometimes it was a productive session, sometimes it would be just them playing games in his room. He always invited them when you were not around, so it was the first time for you to actually meet Changbin’s friend. After all, the both of you didn’t really interact outside of the apartment ever since you both went to college except for family occasions courtesy to the different major that you both took since Changbin was a music major.

Which reminded you to a fellow music major student that couldn’t escape from your mind lately. You sighed, your earbuds shoved in your ear to drown out the noise of the rain. It was getting better for you to deal with the sounds of rain especially the small ones like now, but certainly not the lighting and its friends. Still a long way to go for you, but it was an improvement.

‘Ok, I hope your friend ate already though bc I finished the whole chicken we had’

You stared at the ceiling after you texted him that, a melody of a song that you were planning to use in your project flowed freely inside of your ear, shadows of choreography formed in the darkness when you closed your eyes. It wasn’t long before the song ends and you were awakened from your trance upon the rapid sound of your doorbells. Groaning, you rolled on your stomach on the couch before rolling your eyes and starts dashing towards the door.

The sounds of the bell didn’t stop even when you screamed out, “Coming!” Fumbling with the keys, you grit your teeth as you struggled to open the door with the noise. “Hi, you must be Changbin’s—” words died down on your throat as your eyes fell upon your guest’s. “H-han?”

Jisung’s eyes were blown wide and his jaw dropped. It took a few moments for him to shook his head and stammered a “No shit, (Y/N)? What are you doing on Changbin’s apartment?” as he eyed you up and down before realization dawned on him, “W-wait, you guys are dating, or something?”

“Ew, No!” You were quick to object, disgust was written all over your face. “We’re literally cousins! Our parents wanted us to become roommates for.. reasons.” It was when you noticed his wet appearance and droplets of water that fell down from his hair. “Jeez why are you so wet? Come in.”

You opened the door wider for him to walk inside, your heart hammering behind your ribs. “I-I’ll get you some towel, or something. Just sit wherever.” Jisung nodded silently, opting on sitting on your kitchen’s stool as he watched you disappear to the bathroom before coming back with a fresh towel. “Here, use this.” handing him the towel, you prayed that your hand didn’t shake from the adrenaline.

It did, but either Jisung didn’t notice it or he pretended not to because he didn’t address it. He mumbled a thank you before wiping his wet hair with you awkwardly sitting on the couch, busying yourself with the book you left almost half an hour ago. “So,” Jisung began, slightly coughing. “You live with Changbin, huh? Can’t believe that you exist to snatch my friends away all the time.”

And the annoying Jisung was back again. So much for the guy that you fell for.  “Is this about you and your jealousy again? Because I’ve had enough of it with Minho.” You rolled your eyes, leaning back to the couch. “Anyway, isn’t it the other way around since the fact that I knew him ever since he was so little? I knew him first, Han. The difference is, I’m not going to be a baby and wail about how you’re ‘stealing’ my cousin from me.”

He didn’t really pay attention to the second part of your statement once he heard you mentioning Minho, his feet tapping the floor repeatedly as if he was considering something. “Did he…” Jisung was nervous, you could tell from his voice that lacked the confidence and playful tone but from what, you didn’t know. “I mean did he say anything about the game?”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What do you mean? Like the one who win and all? I thought that he’s going to announce it in the day after tomorrow? ” You left out the part that you forfeited from the game as you didn’t want him to clown you right now. He might as well did that when he was crowned as the winner, anyway.

At the sight of your puzzled face, he sighed. “I see. Well, nevermind.” Jisung plugged his earphones in and you figured out that that was your cue to stop conversing with him.

You two ended up not saying anything for the rest of the night, him busying himself with his phone and you with your book. Well, at least he was being very serious about it while you were totally losing your focus on reading because you were too busy stealing glances to the boy. From your place, you could see the way his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, his lips pursued as he stared at his phone. Not to mention his half-wet hair that has gotten messier from his hands that ran through it. Your heartbeat increased as he did it again.

He was indeed handsome, you’ve admitted to that fact long ago but there was something about being together alone with the boy that got you to think that he has gotten more handsome and cooler, for some reason. Whatever that was, you hoped that he didn’t notice your staring or else you knew that there won’t be any end to his teasing.

The intensity of the rain increased as the night went on, and you were planning to check on Changbin when Jisung read out the text he got, “Uh, Changbin said that he couldn’t make it back. The storm was very big so he decided to stay on his aunt’s house.”

Realization dawned upon you in the mention of Changbin not being able to be your companion on this stormy night. You could feel your eyes watered and your lips trembled in fear of getting through the night all by yourself. Your vision blurred, and it wasn’t until you could see a dot of tear that fell on your book that you realized that you were crying.  Biting your lips to stop it from trembling, you wiped the tears on your eyes. You looked at Jisung only to found him already staring, his expression laced with confusion and worry but before he could ask you what’s wrong, you immediately shut him out.

“I’m going to sleep,” you blurted out, voice small and barely cracking. “It’s raining now so I guess you could sleep in Changbin’s room, whatever. You’ll get sick if you go home in this weather.” Hurriedly you close your books, standing up before bolting out to your room.

“(Y/N)?” He stood up from his seat, slowly approaching you before stopping after seeing your glossy eyes. There was hesitance in his actions, like he didn’t know what he has to do but he knew that he has to calm you, somehow.

“I’m–” you trailed off, stopping before the door to your room. Fidgeting with your toes, you tried to control your breathing before calling out in a small voice, “I’m fine–it’s not your fault.”

You entered the room, leaving Jisung and hopefully your fear on the living room.

–

You were wide awake in the middle of the night under the sound of the intense pouring of the rain. Agonized over the worry that when you close your eyes, you’d wake up with your room filled with water from the rain as it slowly increased in height, eventually drowning you. From the lighting and the loud rattle from thunder, you avoided them all as you buried yourself under the safety of your blanket. Suffocation was worth it when you finally gathered enough courage to close your eyes. At least that was what you were thinking until you found yourself gasping for air once a nightmare consisted of you drowning attacked your subconscious mind.

Sitting up on your bed, your eyes darted to the clock right above your desk. It was barely 2 am which meant that you were able to sleep for no less than an hour, a number too little compared to the time you spent actually trying to sleep in the first place. The rain’s intensity didn’t waver for one bit and you actually believed that it was getting even crazier. A flash of light couldn’t prepare you from the loudest rattle that you’ve heard for as long as you could remember, its sound made it seemed like the sky was tearing itself apart continuously with a loud rumble that sounded like a chuckle from Zeus himself.

You could make out a faint siren of a car’s alarm beneath a loud ringing from your ears as you tasted blood on your lips. Before your mind even processed on what you were trying to do, you swung your legs outside your bed, slightly running to open the door without even closing it to your roommate’s room. You knew that it wasn’t Changbin that slept there but you were so desperate for a company or something to distract yourself from your paranoia that you found yourself knocking the door repeatedly, hot tears streaming down your face as you called, downright pleading for his name.

The said boy opened the door with an intention to be angry as every other human being was when their sleep was disturbed, but all anger dissipated as his eyes were blown wide upon seeing your vulnerable form in front of him. He almost didn’t have the time to properly analyze your face as your hands immediately clutched to his sides, anchoring themselves there while you buried your face on his chest, your wails muffled by the fabric of his sweatshirt. Jisung could feel fear radiating off from your body and the thought of you having to deal with this on your own a few hours ago shattered his heart. He tried to soothe your trembling form by wrapping his arms on your body, gently rubbing it on your sides as he left small kisses on the crown of your head.

“Hey, I’m here now. It’s okay.” He would mumble every so often. “You’re safe with me.” And the boy meant it with every inch of his being.

The both of you stayed in that position until your wails decreased into sobs and the tremor of your body wavered. The sound of cloudburst outside were still very much audible but you forced yourself to focus on Jisung’s mumble of sweet nothings on your ear. It was comforting and you realized that you wouldn’t mind it to happen again. After calming down, you dared yourself to look up from his chest only to find his face inches away from you.

Your breath hitched on your throat as you were suddenly insecure about how much of a mess your state was. Your nose were running, you bet that both of your eyes were red because of your crying and how your lips must’ve swell from all the previous lip biting to suppress your fear. Insecurity came a moment too late but before you could bury your face again on his chest his hands already found its way to your cheek, gently wiping away some of your tears. There was a soft smile on his lips, but you were able to see the worry reflected on his eyes. “Hi there.” Jisung whispered.

You had no idea why your brain couldn’t form any sentence at all, but fortunately Jisung didn’t wait for any reply. “Feeling better, now?” He asked.

“A bit.” It was a soft whisper, but the proximity allowed him to hear what you were saying.

“Do you need anything? Drink, perhaps?” You shook your head at that, “Well, what do you want, then?”

Before you could stop yourself you blurted out, “Sleep with me, please.”

It was a second later that you realized that your words could meant something else entirely. Your cheeks warmed out at that, ready to explain yourself but you didn’t need to worry about his teasing because he nodded. “Okay. Your room or Changbin’s?”

“Mine?”

“Alright.”

You missed his warmth as soon as you released your hold at him, but the hand that linked the both of you could suffice for that. For a second, your mind went back to that theme park date. He closed your door once the both of you were already inside your room and you tugged on his hand, motioning him to follow you as you sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m…sorry for your sweatshirt.” There was a wet patch formed out of your tears (and snot, probably) on his clothes, you noticed. “I’ll clean it up later.”

Jisung chuckled at your thought, he didn’t even realize it as he was too busy on making sure that you were okay. “No need to do it, it’s fine.”

“I insist.” You pouted, looking up at him and then he realized that there was no way that he could win against that. Instead he sighed, signaling you to move aside to give him a space on your bed before taking off his sweatshirt.

You didn’t press onto the matter, but you swore that you were going to clean it later. Your legs slipped beneath the blanket as you made yourself comfortable, waiting for Jisung to do the same when the deafening thunder came again. The immediate reaction from your body caused you to flinch before covering both of your ear as you closed your eyes, teeth gnawed onto your bottom lip fiercely. Not too long however, you found Jisung’s arms wrapped on you just like it did a few moments ago. You welcomed the warmth he offered gratefully.

“Let’s just sleep, okay? I’ll always be here.” He said afterwards, slowly laying the both of you down on the bed from your previous positions of sitting down. You let your hands down from your ear as you bring it in front of you to clutch on his shirt and his still wrapped on your body. Daring your eyes to look up, you found him already staring at you as heat spread across your face. However you couldn’t let your gaze stray away from his before he leaned in to give your forehead a kiss. “Always.”

The rain was loud but your heartbeat was louder.

[]

The first thing that you noticed was how the sun was shining very brightly that morning.

The second thing you noticed was how the rain has stopped on pouring now.

Third and final thing you noticed? How someone’s breath was tickling the back of your neck and this supposed person had their arm draped on your waist. It felt nice, you thought. The comfort of everything caused you to close your eyes again, ready to steal some sleep back.

Wait, you thought again, eyes snapped open. Changbin never cuddled with you.

You fought the urge to scream, thinking how you got yourself a stranger that had the audacity to cuddle with you on your sleep. After mentally preparing yourself to face the said stranger, you turned around with an annoyed look on your face. What you saw, however, got your expression softened right in an instant. A familiar scent of vanilla and cinnamon intoxicated your nose.

Right, he’s here.

Jisung has both of his eyes closed as he was breathing steadily, his lips ajar. The sun gave an impression that he was glowing beneath it, like he was some sort of angel that came from the heaven above. But then again considering the action he did last night, maybe he was. You couldn’t help but brush away the hair from his eyes, fingers twirling on the soft brown locks. He looked so peaceful this way, so beautiful in a way that you were beginning to question what did you do in your past life to deserve such sight presented right on your face.

“I could get used to this.” He smirked despite having his eyes closed still. This punk was pretending to be asleep this whole time? That’s very Han Jisung of him.

You scoffed, pulling your hand back from his hair. “Don’t. it’s a one time thing.” Obviously you lied, but you wanted him to know that. You hoped that your tone was playful enough that he knew you were lying.

“Sure you don’t.” Jisung opened his eyes to see if you were serious and immediately relieved when he was faced with your smiling face. He reciprocated it. “Since the next time we’re staying in the same bed, cuddling wouldn’t be the only thing we’re doing.”

Heat rapidly crept on your cheek before you swat his chest lightly on repeat. “you pervert! It’s not even 8 am!”

Jisung let you hit him freely as he was still too sleepy. “Why?? I was planning for a movie night!” you stopped hitting him at that, your eyes widened and your cheeks got even more red, if possible. The boy caught your speechless expression and a smirk sneaked its way back to his lips. “Unless our (y/n) has something else on her mind?”

“Shut up.” You mumbled, turning away from him so he couldn’t see your embarrassed face. He laughed at that, the hand on your waist pulled you a bit closer to him and then you could feel his breath on your nape again. “We’re supposed to hate each other.” you were glad your voice didn’t waver from the proximity.

Jisung lightly hummed at your words, like he was contemplating about something. “You really hated me that much?”

“Excuse me? I was actually looking forward to know my best friend’s childhood friend and then when you first met me you didn’t even let me shook your hand! You barely paid any attention to me and only focused on Minho while repeatedly interrupting my conversation with him!” You turned around again so you could face him, “After that, it was an endless banter between the both of us because hey, I actually don’t want you to feel like you’re the only one with the power!”

The boy in front of you went quiet after your outburst. “You were the one that hated on me first.” you added quietly, “I still don’t know the reason why you’d do that.”

The atmosphere was suddenly tense, all trace of previous playfulness dissipated to thin air. You waited for his response with bated breath, because despite having a crush on him (or falling for him, whatever you prefer to call your emotion) you still needed to know the reason behind his treatment on you.

Jisung laid on his back, sighing. His gaze was fixed to your ceiling as he tried to place the sentences he’s about to say together without sounding like he was stupid. “If I tell you, it still won’t justify my actions.” he finally said, “What I did to you was horrible and stupid, it’s just downright childish.”

“I don’t need your actions to be justified.” You said, “But I need to know why.”

“You’re going to hate me even more.”

“Try me.”

Jisung sighed again, the top of his ears turned slightly red. “You know how middle school students act in front of their crushes, right?” He didn’t dare to look at your expression but the lack of a response probably meant that it was one of a confusion. “Well, they kinda didn’t know how to act. And eventually embarrassed themselves, or making their crushes misunderstand their intention.”

“Okay? And the connection is?” You trailed off as you were genuinely confused.

The top of his ears turned even redder but he forced himself to stare at your eyes. “I’ve always liked you. And I was such an idiot because you thought the opposite.”

You were quiet, your mind was working its gears to understand his words. After a while, you found that you couldn’t say anything but a “You’re being ridiculous!” while shaking your head. “H-how? I mean What? Why? Huh?”

He needed to stop himself from laughing over how your expression was a morph of confusion and shock. So he took it upon himself to explain, “I think I’ve been liking you from the first showcase performance that you did–”

“The one where I almost lost my scholarship? You made fun of me because of it!”

“Yes, and I regret that everyday!” He bit his lip when the memory of your expression after he did it came to his mind. “I just came to cheer on Minho and then I saw you. Not going to lie, I couldn’t even pay any attention to Minho after that, which got him kinda annoyed before I said that I was looking at you the whole time. He then casually said that you were his first friend in campus and I was very jealous because of it.”

A chuckle slipped from your lips before you could even stop it, “Why were you even jealous?”

Jisung frowned, “I figured probably I wouldn’t have any chance since well, Minho is Minho. You know how charming that guy could be. I’m not even close to his level per se.” He shook his head, “And yeah I continued to stay quiet about this feeling since well, I decided that I wouldn’t stand a chance and we probably won’t have our path crossed at all.”

“Let me guess, Minho knew about it?”

The boy sighed again for the nth time in the morning, “He did. That punk teased me about it all the time about how I was being a coward and won’t ‘man up’ to get to know you so I, in my embarrassed and unwise state of being, said that he should introduce me to you. Minho said yes and that was the backstory of our first meeting.”

You hummed at his words, cheeks reddening out of his confession that he actually liked you even when you didn’t even know he existed yet. He was right about how it couldn’t justify his action towards you but you were glad that it wasn’t anything major nonetheless. You thought that he wouldn’t say anything else until he mumbled about something you didn’t quite catch.

“What?”

“I said,” He turned so he could face you, the gap between your faces were small. There was a hint of worry on the glint of his eyes, “Say something. You’re killing me here.”

You giggled at the idea of the Han Jisung worrying about the words that you’re going to say. “Still don’t understand the reason why you don’t want to shake your crush’s hand in the first meeting though.”

He covered his face with his hands, groaning. “I was an idiot, I told you.”

“Well, elaborate.”

“Let’s just say that you were so cute that day and I couldn’t believe I was seeing you so close so I lost a couple of my brain cells.”

“A couple? You kept on interrupting me, too! What about the whole thing of making fun of me and being rude? ”

“Okay, maybe most of them. Also my mind–mind you, it was dumb–thought that I should make a good first impression, but then I didn’t even shake your hand so I figured that I should at least have something you’d remember me as. So yeah, I pissed you off but at least you remember my name, right?“

You furrowed your eyebrows, "So instead of apologizing you just went on with the character of you hating me? Han Jisung you really are stupid.”

“That bit is true.” He peeked through the crack of his fingers, “Want to know what’s even stupider?”

You simply nodded.

“I was actually the one that suggested Minho to left both of us alone at the theme park. So it would feel like a real date for the both of us, you know? I mean at least if I lose the bet, i would still have a memory of you. Or us.” He paused to let out a breath, “No matter how fake it was.”

There was a smile on your lips without you even knowing it upon hearing that. “I actually have something to say too.” You heaved a breath, trying to hide how amused you were from watching how his eyes has gotten wider to your statement.

“Two days ago I told Minho that I quit this game.” You bit your lip, debating on whether you’re going to tell him the reason or not and decided to keep it for later. “You want to know what he said?”

Jisung was more curious on your first statement rather than your question but he held it back, opting to nod instead. “Well,” You began, “He said that we have more similarities than what we actually thought. I didn’t know what he meant by that back then but maybe I know it now.” a chuckle slipped from your lips to mask your preparation of saying the next words.

You could feel your heartbeat increased and how the blood rushed to the apple of your cheeks when you wanted to say it. But then again all words died on your tongue as you felt yourself getting suffocated from Jisung’s intense gaze at your eyes. Your mind went back to the day when Minho offered the game to the both of you. When he stared at you with the same intensity that got you feeling so fragile, out in the open for everyone to read. 

Back then you could easily ran from it with a sip of coffee, staring away into the distance that was anything except his eyes but today, you couldn’t do anything about it and you were forced to return the stare albeit with a weaker intensity before you tried to cower from his, only to met his lips before it flicked up to his eyes again.

He did the same.

“Stop me if you don’t want it.” Jisung whispered, slowly leaning in. His hand shot up to hold your cheek but he didn’t do anything just yet as he simply stared at you. That was when you realized that the tension was way too thick for you, the boy was way too ethereal and you wanted nothing but his lips on yours as soon as possible. So you close your eyes and closed the gap.

Kissing Jisung was something that you never thought would be able to do. It was just a flash of thought in daylights (or sometimes, at night) that you immediately shoved back to the back of your mind with an erratic heart and red cheeks because it was crazy. He didn’t like you. Jisung was nice to you at the theme park because he wanted to see you break beneath him. He would use your feelings against you and you swore to never let him see the faintest part of that.

But then again it was his lips that was kissing you right now. It was his hand on your cheek that tried to pull you closer to him even when it was physically impossible and it was your hand that clutched into his shirt because of the serotonin on your neurotic system because holy fuck you were kissing the Han Jisung, your sworn rival slash crush and holy fuck was he good at it.

He got confident for a second after he realized that it was you that kissed him first, his lips moving against yours in a way that got your toes curled out of excitement. There was a smile on Jisung’s lips once he pulled back and saw your lips chasing his. “Sorry, you were saying?” there was cockiness at his tone, but it was delivered ever so playfully that got you swatting lightly to his shirt.

And then it hit you. The stare that Jisung gave you was the one that he did when he tried to read you, attempting to dive into that complex mind of yours but also a stare he gave when he wanted to try something that he hoped won’t cross the boundary to help. Once when he noticed your insecurity over your own talent that you started to doubt whether you deserve to be Minho’s partner or not, and now when he knew that it was hard for you to express your feelings so he decided to help you out through the act of kissing.

Oddly enough, it worked. You didn’t mind at all.

“I think I like you, Han Jisung.” You whispered, watching how his face lit up and reddened even more after the kiss. “You win. You could be Minho’s partner now.”

“No.” He said, moving from his position so that now he hovered above you with a smile on his face, both of his hands supporting his weight on either side of your head. “You’re crazy if you think that I’ve won because I forfeited first from the game, hence the reason he said the both of us were actually more similar than we thought we were.”

Your eyes widened but before you could voiced out your shock, he gave you a lingering kiss on your forehead. “You won, (y/n). You’ve won the game, but more importantly, you’ve won my heart and probably my soul but hey, you already did it on that first showcase.”

“But now that I think about it,” Jisung trailed off, his gaze flickered on your lips again before staring back at yours with such ardor you felt your heart could burst. “I have my crush confessed that my feeling is reciprocated and I just kissed her so I think I win, too.”

You giggled, biting your lip as you cup his cheeks. “I think your crush wanted you to kiss her again.”

“Well with this lips of mine, that’s not a surprise.” He smirked and you rolled your eyes, groaning.

“On second thought,” You pushed him back lightly and he fell back to the mattress with furrowed brows, “I think I’ll brush my teeth instead because let’s face it. We’re both happy and all but that doesn’t stop our breath from being stinks.”

Jisung laughed at that, and you were looking forward to hear it more often. “Okay, princess. Let’s go.”

You liked that nickname better than his previous ones, but you didn’t want him to know it just yet so you hurriedly make your way to your bathroom with him following you close behind. After brushing both of your teeth you found yourself sitting on the bathroom counter and a confused Jisung staring at you.

“Kiss your girlfriend, you dumb.” You said, cheeks flaring.

He smirked, positioning himself between your legs with his hands on your hips. “Ooh, eager aren’t we? Are we really a thing now?”

“You should really kiss me before I change my mind.”

And kiss you he did. His lips captured yours sweetly, almost innocently and you enjoyed the way his hands rubbed soothing circles on your hips before you accidentally pulled on his hair a little harder that brought out a groan from him. Jisung pulled back before staring at your eyes, catching his breath. “Princess, if you do that again, I’m not going to be able to control myself.”

“Then don’t.” Was all you whispered before pulling him back to you. He smiled onto the kiss before pulling your body closer to him that prompted out a gasp from your lips, allowing him to slip his tongue in. You couldn’t help but tug on his roots and curled your toes from his kiss that lit up a fire on the pit inside your belly, making you feel light-headed and dizzy in all the best way.

You wanted to kiss him forever but the both of you were just mortals that needed air to breathe so you pulled back reluctantly, both of your breaths mingled into thin air as your foreheads touched. “I like you, Han.” You confessed again, enjoying the way he bit his lip shyly before giving you another peck. And another.

There was nothing but pure adoration and affection on his eyes. You believed that yours mirrored his, too. “You do realize you can call me Jisung, right?”

You hummed, pretending to contemplate his offer before shaking your head sheepishly. “No. I get used to it already and besides, isn’t it kinda special that I’m the only one that calls you that?”

“Well, you and dozens of other people that doesn’t really know me, I guess. But yeah–”

He didn’t get the chance of finishing his words when you learnt forward and kissed him.

Jisung liked the idea of him getting silenced with that. He’d make sure to speak a lot more often now.

[]

Safe to say that Minho wasn’t a bit surprised when he called both of you to the cafe and saw how you arrived together, hands entwined. He had a smug grin on his face, his eyebrow raised as if he’s asking you a question he knew the answer already.

“I called it.” Was all he said, leaning back to his chair while sipping the coffee he had ordered before. “You guys really need to thank me.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” You mumbled, rolling your eyes but silently agreeing to that. He deserve to be treated with food and everything be wanted for being the patient wingman for the both of you. “Anyway, who’s the winner?”

“Isn’t it clear?” Minho laughed, “it’s clearly the both of you. Go on and make your own group!”

You were confused with his answer, but Jisung beat you to ask him about it. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Minho’s smug grin made its way back to his face, “I mean clearly you two have the chemistry needed to do the group project, right? It’ll be fun to see what will the new couple come up with.”

You tried to not let the word 'new couple’ affected you despite the fluttery feeling it gave to your chest. It still hasn’t fully registered to you yet, the idea of Jisung as your boyfriend but here he was sitting beside you with a hand that you could always hold onto anytime you wanted. The days when the both of you would have your quarrels and petty conversation seemed so far away like a static white noise in the background.

But of course, you tried to focus on Minho’s words instead. “Wait, what about you? Who’s your partner’s going to be?”

“I mean, I kinda already know who’s going to be my partner from the start?” He giggled sheepishly, a little nervousness was evident there. “It’s never about my partner from the start, it’s mainly for the both of you.”

“Let me guess,” Jisung snorted, “It’s that girl that you got your eyes on?”

“Yeah, the one that slapped you in the face?” You butted in, a little annoyed but most importantly amused with his reddening cheeks. He was easy to read. “And have you finished the project already?”

“Kinda?”

Your eyes narrowed. “So you almost finish your project while the both of us hasn’t even started it yet?? And we only have like, how many month?”

“Short to 3 weeks.” Jisung added.

“3 weeks!!” You flailed your hands everywhere to signal your frustration. “What is this, a sabotage?”

Minho cringed, he clearly didn’t think that your reaction would be this big.  "I mean, I told you two that you guys could do it in a span of a week, right?“ His hands shot up, feigning defeat.

You nearly spat out swear words at him before Jisung held your hand to stop you. You stared at him confusedly but he went on, "Look, wanna bet at that? I mean, the one that would get the highest score in their project will win.”

In the mention of a bet, Minho had his eyebrow quirked up. “Are you sure about that? You guys aren’t even started yet.”

“Yeah? Are we even ready for that?” It was your turn that doubted Jisung’s words but the way he rubbed circles to your palm assured you.

“Yup. I’m sure that we’re more than ready for it.” Your–now–boyfriend smiled at you, a twinkle evident on his eyes. “After all, I’d say that the winner could get a free theme park ticket for two.”

The best friend of the both of you chuckled, catching onto what Jisung was offering. “The losers will pay for it, right?” He stared at you, waiting for your response.

“Okay then. In one condition.” You finally said, and it got both boys furrowing their eyebrows.

You grinned, “The date is real. Not a fake one.”

Jisung mirrored that, his hold on your hand tightened. “No need to worry about it, princess.”

Minho made a disgusted noise with a fake gag when he heard the nickname flew from Jisung’s lips but you didn’t found an ounce of care for his reaction. The only thing that got into your mind was how you were going to work hard for a theme park date with your boyfriend.  You couldn’t stop yourself from grinning upon imagining the things you’re going to do without worrying about some stupid stamps and a game.

Well, it was when the game ended for the both of you and this time, you hoped that it would be a start of something.

What exactly that something was, you didn’t know. But as long as Jisung was there beside you, you’d think that you’ll be fine, after all, he promised you that he was going to be there with you. Always.

And you believed it wholeheartedly.

***

waaah it’s finally here!! after 3 months filled with mental breakdowns and procrastination I finally finished this monster fic. The longest one shot i’ve ever written omg.

I wanted to post it in celebration for his birthday but i’m few days late so here’s a late birthday gift, i guess? Happy birthday, Jisung and Felix!!

Look forward to my future works and don’t hesitate to send me messages/asks !! 

-mine (mee-nay)

[yoonglie]

Double Trouble | jjk.

⤞ pairing: jungkook x reader

⤞ genre: university!au, cursed!au, tutor!au, fluff fluff, angst, smut

⤞ summary: jeon jungkook isn’t who he says he is, and all you want to do is help.

⤞ word count: 13k

⤞ warning: smut, cursing, attempted sexual harassment (not from main characters)

a/n: this is inspired by the otome Cinderella Phenomenon, which revolves around fairytale curses (10/10 would recomMend), and this tiktok by @/taestyfeed (which is REALLY hot btw). Also it’s been a while since I wrote something omg im very rusty. 

“Ugh Jimin I just don’t understand!” You dramatically threw your hands up, flinging your pen and slamming your face on the book in front of you. It was a good thing you both decided to hang out in the learning commons as opposed to the library, you were then able to groan your frustrations freely without being shushed so often. 

Jimin laughed and patted your head “What even are you studying for?”

“Art appreciation” You grumbled as you lifted your head and propped it against your palm.

Jimin laughed even harder “Isn’t that supposed to be pretty easy?” He asked.

You snorted. “It isn’t as easy as easy as I though it was.” 

“Well I’m sure you’ll get it soon. It’s getting pretty late and I’m sorry to be leaving you like this but I have to go, I fortunately don’t have any schoolwork going on and I’d rather spend the rest of my time watching netflix than listening to you groan your ass” He stuck his tongue out and you did as well.

You were thankful to have a best friend like Jimin but he really did suck sometimes. Sighing as you gave a small wave as he was nearing the exit, he sent a flying kiss your way. You just rolled your eyes. 

Okay I can do this

You cracked your knuckles in an attempt to hype yourself and got down to work, jotting down some points along the way. You didn’t realize you were so into your work that you were mumbling audibly the topic you were reviewing on. It was a voice that made you stop.

“That’s wrong” 

You look up and see a man across across the table to the left, holding a book. He has soft features and neatly swept straight hair. He looked really clean and presentable and the crisp white button up he was wearing really wrapped his whole look up. In short, he was cute... really cute. 

You didn’t notice you were slightly staring until he tilted his head, lips pressed in a thin line but with curious doe eyes. 

“Excuse me but what was wrong?” You asked. 

“It was André Derain and Henri Matisse who were the leaders of the fauvism movement” He said simply and went right back to his book. You looked your notes and he was indeed right, you wrote down wrong names. 

It was as if a light bulb shone above your head and as much as you didn’t want to do it, desperate times need... desperate measures. 

You stood up and propped your elbows on the desk. You honestly couldn’t care how stupid or desperate you looked, you needed this.

“Are you good at this subject? art appreciation?” You hurriedly said. 

The guy stared for a bit, noticeably taken aback and scratched the back of his neck “Uh, I guess?”

“Oh my god can you please please tutor me! I’ll uhh ah! I’ll tutor you too on any subject you like given that I took the class as well. Please, I’m not usually this dumb it’s just I took this class this semester thinking it was easy and did not pay attention this semester at all! I ended up flunking most my exams and I had to beg the professor not to fail me for the whole subject and so I ended up with a one-on-one presentation due in 3 weeks summarizing literally the whole semester so far! I’m at my wit’s end. Please help me” You beg, eyes even slightly watering. You weren’t usually this emotional but the stress and fatigue has definitely caught up to you.

You both were just looking at each other, you praying a silent prayer over in your mind. “Well... I am struggling with psychology a bit” He said sheepishly.

“Psychology? Great! I swear I am above average in terms of other subjects, it’s just this one subject that bit me in the ass. You don’t have to worry about me teaching you weird things.”

“It’s okay” He said.

You stuck out your hand to him “I’m Y/L/N Y/N”

He clasped his to yours a small smile gracing his face “I’m Jeon Jungkook, but please call me Kook” 

———

“Wait wait, Jungkook as in THE Jeon Jungkook” Jimin asked while you both were eating lunch at the cafeteria.

“He prefers being called Kook but yes, what about him?” You said while sipping on your favorite strawberry drink.

Jimin leans forward a bit and with a hushed voice he said “Honestly Y/N be careful, I heard some weird things about him”

“Like what?” You said in an equally hushed voice.

“Despite his quiet demeanor he’s actually a beast after night, a real party goer” He said.

You let out a breath you were holding, slightly terrified you might have had a creep as a tutor but was relieved “That’s it? I mean what’s wrong with that? Being the life of a party doesn’t mean you have to be one at uni too, must be tiring”

He placed a hand under his chin “Hmm you may be right but I don’t know man, people didn’t really word it the nicest way so...” He clapped his hand once. “That’s it. I’m gonna meet this guy and make sure he’s not some sort of perv or something” 

“I don’t need a babysitter” You said, rolling your eyes.

“Too bad, now let’s go. He might already be waiting” He pulled you up and you both went to the learning commons. True to what Jimin said he was there, with a book in hand.

“Hi I’m Park Jimin and I hope you take care of Y/-” You elbowed him in the stomach. 

“Okay you had your introductions, please leave” You push Jimin out while Kook was sitting there dumbfounded at the two of you.

“Hey I wasn’t even finishe-” 

“Out” You pushed him away.

Finally getting rid of him, you turned to Kook “I’m sorry about that”

“Seems like your boyfriend was a bit protective” He said with a shy smile.

You laughed a bit too loudly and wiped fake tears out of yours eyes “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just an annoying little friend” 

You noticed Kook slightly perking up at that but paid no mind. 

“I see, anyway I can’t stay longer than 6pm so we better get started” He said as he started laying down learning materials for you. He came prepared as his station was littered with papers full of highlights and sticky notes. 

Kook looked up to you who was mesmerized by all the materials he had... you looked kinda cute. 

———

Kook started warming up to you three sessions in and since then you guys hit off pretty well. You realized how much of a gentleman he is, trying to explain the topics in a way that was digestible and easily remembered, knowing your time constraint. He was always motivating you and correcting you calmly even if you’ve said the wrong thing more than twice. 

“No, the Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss was by-” He started saying

“Wait wait! don’t tell me yet. It was by Johann Zoffany” You said proudly, confident that you got it right this time.

Kook chuckled slightly and you swear it was like ambrosia for your ears. “No it was by Antonio Canova” 

“Oh” You said dejectedly, sipping on your strawberry drink and propping your head up on the table while sighing. You were never good at names. 

He noticed how disappointed you looked and, throwing away all caution, reached for your free hand, squeezing it.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get it” He said. You managed a weak smile.

You didn’t forget your end of the deal though. As payment for tutoring you, you were also tutoring him. He was a good student who listened intently to what you have to say, often asking relevant questions and picking up topics quickly. You really wondered why he needed help on this subject until he one day came a little late, an unusual thing for him, with a crestfallen look. Still, he tried to give you a small smile. 

You both got to the usual routine of teaching you but noticed he was a bit off so you stopped him. “Hold on” You said.

“Sorry, was I too fast? Are you not getting anything?” He asked with a confused look.

“Yeah, you, I don’t get it” You said with a concerned look. He didn’t say anything which urged you to ask “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

He leaned back on his chair and gave a deep sigh “I received my paper but I had a low mark. I thought I really did good this time. I’m sorry to disappoint you” He didn’t spare a minute telling you what was wrong. 

You placed a hand on his shoulder “Hey that’s okay, I’m not disappointed at all. I’m proud of you for doing your best” You offered a smile to which he returned.

“Thanks” He held the hand that was placed on his shoulder, sending tingles down your spine. Skinship was usual now for the two of you but you don’t seem to be getting used to it, electricity racking your body with every touch. 

“We’ll take the day off then” You said, removing your hand from him. 

“What?” He asked.

“You clearly aren’t in the mood and that’s okay! You don’t have to force yourself to do anything you know” You started “I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow” He said. His heart filled with gratitude.

You both even started sitting beside each other in class, so much that your usual seat mate for the class pouts whenever they don’t get to sit beside you anymore (although not minding after a while). The same goes with Kook’s friend Taehyung. 

He arrived class early one time and spotted Kook with an empty seat beside him.

“Hey man” Taehyung was already putting his bag down when Kook blocked him.

“This seat’s taken” He quickly said, placing his own bag down.

“Since when do you reserve seats for others” Taehyung raised an eyebrow, Kook never acted like this.

“Since I realized you were too noisy” Kook rolled his eyes.

“Hey!” Taehyung pouted and got the seat in front of him instead

You got to the room and your eyes immediately tried to scan for Kook, seeing him on the side, you gave a slight wave and bounded over to him.

“Hey is this seat taken?” You asked

“Nope” He said. 

Taehyung’s ears perked at the unfamiliar female sound conversing with his friend and looked. When he spotted them having a conversation he then realized Oh I get it.

“Hey, my name’s Kim Taehyung but you can call me Tae for short. I’m Kook’s friend” He said, surprising the two of you, beaming a boxy smile with arms stretched to shake your hand. 

You shook it and smiled “Nice to meet you, I’m Y/L/N Y/N”

You, Kook and Tae became really good friends. You decided to introduce them to Jimin and he and Tae hit off really quickly, instantly becoming best friends while you and Kook, well, you don’t know how you feel about him. It’s true that you feel fluttering at the pit of your stomach whenever he touches or looks at you fondly, but you didn’t know if he felt the same so you tried suppressing the feelings. 

But it doesn’t help when he constantly makes your heart jump at every chance he gets. 

Head in between pages you groaned, not getting this bit of topic you were working on currently. Kook was very patient in trying to explain but you still weren’t get it and you were growing frustrated, especially since the presentation was nearing. 

Kook had just came back from a so called toilet break when suddenly a strawberry drink was laid in front of you.

You perked up and sipped on the drink, sighing in slight content.

“What’s this for?” You asked him, the giver of this precious gift.

You see his ears that were tinted pink as he scratched the back of his neck “Well you looked really frustrated and I wanted to give you that as some stress reliever. I noticed you keep buying the same drink and deduced it was your favorite”

“It is! Thank you, you really didn’t have to” You said, beaming and heart warming at the kind gesture. 

He dropped his shy demeanor after seeing how much you liked it and chuckled himself “Anything for you, angel”

You sputtered your drink and faced him “W-what? Angel?”

He placed a hand under his chin “Don’t like that? How about pumpkin? sweetie? munchkin?”

Your face reddened at every nickname and waved your hands in front of your face saying no the whole time

Kook laughed that beautiful laughed and pinched your cheek “I was just messing with you. Are in out of your head now? Best you get back to work”

You rubbed your sore cheek and looked down, trying to fight the grin that was itching its way to your face. 

———

“Jimin, I absolutely CANNOT go to a party” You huffed at him across the table at lunch.

“But your presentation is still next week and it’s a friday night” He said pouting.

“Exactly! All the more I should focus” You scolded.

“But it’s Seokjin who’s throwing the party, the senior, and you know his parties are the bomb” He said whilst gripping your arm and mustering the cutest puppy beg face.  

Seokjin did throw the wildest parties, you’ve seen it firsthand. You weren’t an avid party-goer like Jimin but you also didn’t avoid it, finding it fun, but you had priorities. 

“I really can’t you know” You pinched your nose bridge, slightly annoyed he wasn’t letting this go.

“Tae will be there and I bet so will Kook”

That made you stop in your tracks. You forgot about the word that got around about Kook being a nice quiet boy in school but a beast at night, the life of the party. You haven’t really asked anything related to it, too engrossed in your study, but now it piqued your interest. How different will he be from the quiet gentleman who offers you a strawberry drink because you’re stressed? How will he be dressed? Does he entertain ladies who throw themselves to him? Surely there would be a few, he is a handsome fellow. That thought made your heart twinge.

“I see that got your attention” Jimin smirked “I guess I’ll see you tonight” Flicking you in the forehead, he got all his things and headed out.

You groaned and placed your hands to your face. One little party won’t hurt

You walked to the party, Jimin in tow, with your head a little bit high. You always dolled yourself up for these kinds of events but tonight you glammed yourself extra special, not because you wanted to get a certain someone’s attention no. You were looking for a certain someone when suddenly Taehyung came into view

“Jimin! Hey Y/N you came!” Tae said, sporting his beaming smile “Jimin was dead set in trying to get you to come and I’m glad he did cause you look hot” He grabbed your hand and placed it above your head, twirling you all while you were laughing. 

It was then that you spot him. Kook was chatting with a bunch of seniors at a counter and he looks absolutely STUNNING. He was clad in all black, silver accessories adorning his ears, neck and fingers, with his hair long and wavy. He was dripping with confidence, from the way he stands to the way he talks, the people clearly interested in what he has to say. You notice upperclassmen Namjoon and Hoseok that seemed closest to him. 

It was Tae’s voice that snapped you out of your thoughts “I know you want to talk to him but it’s better that you do later on or just back in uni” He cautiously said.

Respecting his privacy and time with friends, you nodded. 

“I got the booze!” Jimin said, handing you a cup as Tae already had one. You didn’t even notice him leave.

A few drinks later, you were buzzed and confident, ready to take on whatever comes at you.... literally. You bumped into Kook and looked up at him. He tilted his head to the side in confusion but a smirk eventually etched itself to his face. Your heart started beating loudly, in rhythm with the pounding of your head.

“I see” Those were the words that he said as he left.

You blinked once then twice, hurt at the fact that he didn’t even acknowledge you. Then grabbing him by the arm, you made him face you to which earned you a glare as he ripped his arm from your grasp, looking at you disgustingly. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked. 

“You” You pointed at his face “Have been ignoring me the whole night” 

He towered over you in an attempt to make you cower in fear but it didn’t have an effect on you, annoyance fueling your system. “Ignoring you? Sweetheart I don’t even know you” The way he says your newfound nickname was sweet, sickeningly sweet that it was unlike the way he usually talks to you, with bite lacing each word. 

You backed away slightly with hurt. He doesn’t know you? Was he pretending he didn’t know you so he wasn’t going to be embarrassed in front of his friends? You honestly didn’t know why he was acting like this.

“Did you forget about my existence? Why are you acting like a dick so suddenly?” You huffed, looking away and getting more pissed at every second. Alcohol not really helping your temper.

He grabbed your chin a little too harshly and tilted it up so that your eyes would meet. He had a small smile on his face but nothing about it was sincere “I don’t know you and you don’t know me. My name’s JK, darling and I don’t owe you any explanations. Now I suggest you go and never approach me again to save yourself from being an embarrassment” He winked and backed away from you, eventually leaving. 

It’s like you’ve been doused with cold water, immediately sobering up though your head was anything but clear. You were hurt and angry and confused. Tae and Jimin found you, but you said nothing and left. 

Monday rolled around and you were actively avoiding Kook. You didn’t sit beside him in class anymore and though he was slightly sad about it, it got worse when you suddenly came up to him just before your supposed tutoring session would start.

“I’m gonna learn by myself from now on, thank you for your effort but I don’t need it anymore” You huffed and Kook became confused

“Did I do something wrong?” He asked, his heart slightly twinging and hands clammy. 

“So you just suddenly remember my existence now but you’re embarrassed to be seen with me in front of your friends?” You said, lips pressed in a tight line.

You saw Kook clench his hands, his face darkening. It’s as if he remembered something horrible, but he did not say a word. You sighed and walked away. Kook didn’t know why he didn’t stop you but he was livid. It was as if his body remembers what to do in situations like these and he hated it, he hated that monster. 

You thought it would be better now that you’re ignoring each other, you could get more focus, but you were anything but focused. Kook’s strange behavior definitely plagued your mind but you weren’t going to do anything about it until he apologizes. You gave him a chance but was met with disappointment. Tae and Jimin definitely noticed the drift between the two of you, not hanging with them as often as you all did. You told them it was because you were prioritizing the presentation but saw through your bullshit excuses which caused them to pester you until you told them what happened. Tae honestly couldn’t stand the tension, wanting the best for the both of them, especially Kook. It’s been a while since Kook acted like this, and he can definitely tell he cares about her a lot. Throwing all caution aside he thought This is for the best, I’m sorry Kook.

Tae called you and Jimin at the lunch table, relieved Kook wasn’t with them “What’s this super important meeting for?” Jimin asked.

“It’s about Kook” He started, he noticed how uncomfortable you looked and continued “Just hear me out... it’s just, I can explain why he acted that way” Despite being still angry, you leaned forward in curiosity.

“He was actually born with a curse, a curse that caused him to have two alter egos, two entities, though both of them are still him. The one that fronts in the day is Kook but the one that fronts at night is JK, the one you met” Tae said. You were shocked. Two alters? That explains the rude behavior at the party. That actually wasn’t Kook.

“So the one that everyone has been calling a beast at night is actually this JK dude?” Jimin asked and Tae nodded.

“Yeah, he loves partying but I don’t like him. He’s.... a handful” 

You placed both your hands to your face “Oh my god I feel like shit. He should’ve told me!” You exasperated.

“He doesn’t wan’t a lot of people knowing his secret, both of them don’t” Tae smiled sheepishly

“Well thank you for telling me anyway. Now... do you know where he is?” You asked, determined to apologize. 

“He’s always at the learning commons after school, kind of hoping you’d come back if i’m honest” You groaned at that and headed out.

Kook sighed and looked at the clock, thinking whether he would go home or continue to wait for you, though you said you weren’t going to study with him anymore. He suddenly saw you burst through the door and he stood up, with you tackling him in a bear hug.

“I’m so so sorry Kook! Tae told me about it all and I’m so sorry” You said as you pressed your face against the crook of his neck. 

Kook’s ears burned red as your sweet smell enveloped him. Your warmth made him feel safe and though it’s only been a few days, he missed this, he missed you. He thought that this was worth Tae telling them so he wasn’t going to get mad at him.

“Hey it’s okay” Was what he said after you broke the hug and proceeded to sit down. 

"Our parents apparently angered a spirit back when my mom was pregnant but really didn't pay attention to it. When we were born they noticed something was wrong quickly and took us to get examined only to find out we were cursed. I front in the day most times, while he does at night. We can’t really be out for so long because our bodies get tired easily, leading for the other body to take over. We had a difficult childhood but eventually got into a routine. Doesn't mean I like him though, he's a real pain in the ass" Kook explained, ruffling his hair.

"Are both going to be like this forever? Can the curse be broken?" You asked with caution.

"I heard them say something along the lines of 'when the sun and moon meet' but I don't know what that means. Despite sharing the same consciousness, I don't really get to meet this guy. It's impossible" He exasperated, frustration bubbling in his gut although it went quickly as it came, already accepting this fate throughout the years. 

“Have you tried sending notes to each other?” You asked.

He hummed in agreement “Yes, voice messages too. Nothing worked”  

He sighed although he felt relieved that the secret is finally out but slightly worried what you might think of him. The worry washed away though as you reached your hand to grab his, a radiant smile he so loved along the way. Wait loved?

“Anyway!” He sprung up, clapping his hands. A twinge of pink dusted across his cheeks “We gotta get you ready for the presentation tomorrow”

“I’m fine you know-” You started.

“Nope, all focus on you now, we gotta get you ready” He said with determination.

“Alright, thank you” You chuckled and you both got started on the preparation.

You were pacing around, bouncing on your toes. Fingers quickly going through the flashcard in your hands, mumbling the topics under your breath.  

“You know you’re gonna get more nervous if you keep doing that” Tae stated but you heard nothing, fully immersed in your almost literal last minute review.

Jimin grabbed both your shoulders to make you stop “Hey, quit pacing around. You’re gonna do fine”

“I’m just so nervous Chim” You said, still slightly swaying to alleviate the uneasiness.

“We know you are babe, but if you keep doing that, you’re going to get more nervous” Jimin explained.

You took a deep breath to try to steady your heart and looked at them “Okay I’m going in. Wish me luck”

Tae and Jimin gave you a thumbs up while Kook suddenly patted your head. Leaning in close to your ear, you could feel his breath tickle your cheek. Your ears warmed and your breath hitched at your throat. “You can do it, angel” He said and pulled away.

You finished the presentation with ease. The weeks worth of tutoring with Kook definitely paid off. The professor mentioned how he will announce the fate of your grade in the following weeks so you were still slightly nervous but nonetheless, you feel a great weight being lifted off your shoulders. Because of that, you actually found yourself thinking more about Kook, with the newfound information actually sinking in. 

When the sun and moon meet you thought. The phrase repeating over and over in your mind. You felt the pain Kook went through because of mere misunderstanding and you don't want that. You want him to be happy, you want them both to be happy, even if the other him can be kind of rude. So you gathered and told them about your plan. 

“Okay okay let me get this straight, YOU want to try and break their curse by doing... exactly what??” Jimin asked, dumbfounded. They were shocked about your sudden want to help but it just made you more frustrated knowing that there was a way out and no one tried to help. 

“Well” You started "I don't know exactly what i'll do but it's better if I knew more about him first right?" You asked

"He's not really someone you'd like to know personally. Like what you experienced, he can be very overbearing and hard to deal with" Tae warned "I had some instances with the guy too and it was not pretty"

A hand gripped yours "But if it's something you'd like to do then who are we to stop you. I'm grateful that you're willing to do this for me... for us" Kook said, squeezing your hand. You smiled at him.

"Well if you wanna know his whereabouts, it's better to ask Namjoon and Hoseok" Tae said.

"The upperclassmen?" Jimin asked.

Tae nodded "Yeah, they're closest to JK and are usual party buddies. They know about the curse too. I've talked to them a couple times and they're actually pretty nice." He explained. You placed a hand under your chin and nodded as well

"Alright then, let me pay them a visit"

You bounced on your toes, pretty nervous about meeting them. You had no problem talking to upperclassmen but something about being JK's friends put you on edge, like you have to be of certain standard to them. Finally you saw them walking in the hallway, laughing. You went to them and introduced yourself.

"Hey! I'm sorry to be disturbing. My name's Y/N and I don't know if JK told you about me or not but if he did then-"

"Oh you're the girl who was clinging on to him the whole night" The guy, who you assumed was Hoseok based on the description Tae gave you, exclaimed. He had a wide grin on his face and his voice had a bubbly tone to it. Way different from what you expected from JK's friends. 

"Oh right yeah that's me" You said sheepishly, scratching your neck."Don't worry about it, it's not like you're the first to do that. We apologize on his behalf if he was being pissy about it" Namjoon said, sighing.

"Right, well, I have a favor to ask" You said to which earned you a raise of eyebrows."I know about their curse and I personally want to help. Would you be kind enough to tell me if you guys have plans and where it would be? I kind of wanna make amends and start over with him" You explained.

The two of them looked at each other in shock and to you with curiosity. A smirk etched on Namjoon's face.

"Sure" Namjoon said. They didn't hesitate to give you the address to the downtown club they were going to tonight.

"See you tonight, nice girl!" Hoseok exclaimed as he waved goodbye, a big smile still adorning his face.

Alright, I can do this.

Walking to the club they invited you tonight, you gulped. They sounded like nice people and was pretty sure they didn't send you to the wrong location but you were still kind of doubtful, looks can be deceiving anyway.  

The doubt washed away when you finally spot JK. Still in an all black ensemble, which you can only guess was his favorite shade, hair a wavy mess at the same time still look put together. You took a deep breath and bounded over to him. He caught your gaze to which he returned with a glare. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked, clearly annoyed as he crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry to be so sudden but I know about the curse" You said the last part in a volume you know he'd be the only one to hear 

"And I just want to apologize for my actions the last time we met" You said. 

His face contorts even more and you were sure he hated you right at the moment "Looks like you're here to observe me then. Is it fascinating to you, sweetheart? Finding someone like us who's so different from everyone else? Should I set you up with a private zoo show?" 

Your eyes went wide as saucers "No! no absolutely not! I just- I wanted to just introduce myself" You held a hand out for him to shake "My name's Y/L/N Y/N" You exclaimed, praying you guys wouldn't have misunderstandings anymore. You offered him a smile to show him you were sincere.

There was something about that smile. JK didn't like trusting people anymore but there was something about that smile that felt so warm and familiar. Of course she was familiar, she's probably with Kook. He got annoyed and looked away.

He avoided your gaze for a long time but noted how his features softened for a second before. He clicked his tongue, rubbing his nose bridge before leaving without saying another word. Your hand still raised in the air.

Anger bubbled but you pushed them down, taking a swig of alcohol. You sighed and began to question your decisions until two people stood in each of your side. You realized it was Namjoon and Hoseok as they offered you their glasses to clink with.

"Cheers for a rough night?" Namjoon asked and you snorted as you took another sip.

"I don't even know what I'm doing anymore" You told them, dejection evident in your demeanor. 

"We're sorry that you're dealing with this but... I hope you don't give up on him easily" Hoseok pleaded "It's not everyday someone comes up to us and tells us they want to help the them" 

"Have you?" You ask them.

"We tried but he would never tell us how we could be of help. He also told us to stay away from Kook and his friends or else he wouldn't be friends with us anymore" Namjoon explained "We didn't want to lose the friendship we fought hard to build. We see how lonely he is sometimes and we didn't really want to contribute to that. Plus he's nice if he wants to" He chuckled.

Your heart twisted, guilty for even thinking of giving up. The both of them have been hurting in their own way and it's unfair to give special treatment to just one.

"Do you know where he goes when you guys don't have any party plans?" You ask with newfound determination. They felt grateful as they beamed at you."He goes to a book cafe near here. Since he doesn't go to school in the day, he misses out on the lessons. Though he still gets the information absorbed by Kook, it just isn't as sharp. He makes up for it by reading a lot" Namjoon explained and your heart swelled. 

You took a swig of your bottle and placed it down loudly on the table "Alright then" You exclaimed as you wiped a bit if liquid staining around your mouth.

"Atta girl, I guess we'll see you around then" Hoseok chuckled.

The next night you trekked to the said book cafe. It was very quaint inside, the smell of coffee that hit your nose instantly calming you. The ambience was very tranquil as soft music played in the background. You noticed how there weren't many people in the cafe so it was easy to spot him this time. He was sitting at the very far corner, a book in hand. You were amused at how he very much looks like Kook when we waits for you but you but had to remind yourself that this is a very different person. His black clothes contrasting the white that Kook loves to wear. As you came closer, the difference became more evident as his wavy hair came into view. When he looked up from his book, he grimaced.

"Okay are you fucking stalking me?" He exasperated as he nearly slammed his book down and crossed his arms, a repeat of what happened in the party. 

You stare at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds before you broke the silence 

"I really didn't expect to find you in a place like this" What?

"Oh cause you think I party every night, do drugs and bring girls home right?" His glare challenging and menacing, a look that clearly says 'get away from me'. your eyes widened as it dawned unto you what you said because truth to be told, you were kind of thinking that about him. It made you sick.

"I'm really sorry! I just want to apologize for my behavior and for um creeping you out. If you want me to stop then I will but can I at least share a bit of your time now?" You asked, pleading with your eyes. You want to be as sincere as you can to him and you really hope he'd let you in.

JK was confused. It should've been easy to to just say no. One word and she'd be on her merry way.... then why on earth was he not able to say it? fuck

"Fine, you can stay" was what he said instead. You perked up and took a seat across from him. He rolled his eyes.

"Let me introduce myself properly for the second time then. I'm y/l/n y/n and I'm Ko-"

"I know who you are. I don't know what your relationship is exactly with Kook but I know you're on his mind a lot. Are you his girlfriend or something? How did you meet?" He expected a blush or some sort of shy reaction. He knows the effect Kook had on people, he hates him but he's not ignorant. 

So he was surprised when he was met with you shaking your head instead "No and I'm not really here to talk about Kook. I'm here because... I want to be friends with you, nothing in return for me. I just want to get to know you" 

You looked serious enough that he knew you weren't kidding but he was flabbergasted. No one really wanted to know him like that. All the people he's met either wanted a trophy friend or a trophy fuck. Having a pretty well off background didn't really help. For once, he commended Kook on having such an interesting plaything.

"What's the catch?" He asked, arms still crossed.

"Catch? Nothing. I just want to get to know you so that i'll be able to help. I know how the curse can be broken and although I don't exactly know what to do, maybe I can start by being friends with you" You explained

Ah, he gets it "I see, you're doing this for your beloved Kook then" He said, suddenly taking an interest in the table. 

"I'm doing this for the both of you" You said.

Whatever, it's been a while since something spiced up his life anyway. Maybe you'll last long enough. 

"Okay" He simply said.

You were surprised "Okay? I mean alright! Okay, that's great" You chuckled in relief "I'll see you tomorrow night then?" You asked, hopeful.

"I have plans" He said and you deflated a bit. He saw and sighed. "I'm free saturday afternoon" He said after a short while.

You perked up "Oh! I didn't know you front in the day?" You tilted your head.

"Am I a vampire or something? Of course I do. I'm out during weekends" He scoffed. 

———

"I really feel like I'm getting somewhere guys!" You tell them over lunch

"That's great y/n. I hope you sort this out quickly though. Kookie here has been moping around ever since your attention has been divided" Tae playfully teased.

Kook kicked him from under the table to which Tae grunted "I do not!" He exclaimed with red cheeks. You only chuckled.

"So what are your plans then?" Jimin asked.

"Well, I did alot of thinking but I hope this really helps him" You excitedly said.

True to agreement, you and JK met up during the weekend at the same cafe, with books at hand.

"Oh sweetheart I really thought you were different but you're as boring as the others" He said, an elbow propped to the table as he lazily sipped on his iced coffee.

You tilted your head at him, still sorting the books "What do you mean?"

"I half expected you to bring me somewhere exciting but as I expected, I am disappointed" He sighed.

"Oh shut up" You said as you flicked his forehead. He jumped slightly in surprise, glaring at you.

"What's all this, a tutoring session?" He snorted.You beamed and clasped your hands together 

"Exactly" You said with a mischievous smile "I heard that you don't really grasp school concepts as vivid as Kook's so I'm here to help you" You smiled at him. 

Although he looks as stoic as ever, you knew from the slight twinge of red on his ears that you've elicited some sort of reaction from him.

He cleared his throat and crossed his arms "How do I know you're not bullshitting me? For all I know you have straight D's in your card" He said. 

You fake gasped and placed a hand to your chest "Excuse me, if you notice yourself getting better at psychology it's because of me, mister" You pointed out. 

He scoffed while absentmindedly flipping through the books you laid out in front of him. 

"Then prove it to me" He looked at you with challenge in his eyes and oh boy you were definitely gonna give it to him.

A few subjects later and JK called for a break. A sarcastic remark is dancing at the tip of your tongue but opted to let it show through your eyes instead. He rolled his as he took a sip from his iced coffee. 

"I still doubt half the things you taught me were correct" He said, playing with the rings on his fingers.

"Oh they were definitely correct" You slumped on your chair, pretty tired yourself as you sipped on your own drink.

Silence hung over the two of you and unlike earlier, it was way more comfortable and tolerable now. You were lightly tapping your fingers on the table to the rhythm of the soft music playing in the background while he was flipping through the pages of the books, not really reading the content inside. This is it, this was your chance to bond, to talk about something other than  academics. You were thinking of a question to ask... anything. Racking your brain of something to say you said "How long does it take to style your hair everyday?" You were slightly embarrassed by such a trivial question but it was better than nothing. 

He chuckled slightly, a sound you notice is darker than Kook's light airy laugh "Darling, I'm all natural" He said, a smirk etched in his face "This curse make it look like we're sharing a body but it's all different too. When I front, my hair naturally becomes wavy. When he fronts, it goes straight again. Same goes with wounds too, unless they're pretty deep. When I get a small graze, he usually doesn't get it" He explained.

"I see" You said. You get what he's talking about, that's the reason why he even looked off the minute you saw him. Not only was he not Kook, he physically isn't Kook as well. Kook has softer and rounder features while JK has the slightest edges to his face, cheeks and jawline more prominent. 

"You staring at me, sweetheart?" His smirk never fading "But I get it, must be tiring to look at someone so ugly all the time" 

You snorted "You do know you guys share most facial features right" You said.

"Oh? Then how about I let your discover what's different about our bodie-"

"Let's get back to learning shall we!" You squeaked as your cheeks reddened. He only chuckled.

You were glad you had some sort of progress with him but it slightly frustrates you that you only gathered minimal information throughout the weeks, though you've gotten more comfortable with each other now, throwing banter here and there. But it’s okay, you’ve just got to be more patient.

“Clearly my answer is correct” He argued.

You rolled your eyes “No you are most definitely wrong” crossing your arms in annoyance.

“Okay i’ll gather people who will support my claim then” He huffed.

“Do you realize you talk too much?” You squinted at him, more annoyed now.

“And do you realize you’re being a big prissy?” He countered.

“Am not!” You exclaimed. If you can drill holes with your stare then you would have by now

“Okay then, if you’re right you can ask me to buy anything for you” He offered

“And if you’re right?” You asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

He tapped a finger under his chin as if to think “How about I get one date with you” He said with confidence and your cheeks flared up.

“Absolutely not!” You exasperated, hurriedly cleaning up the materials laid out on the desk. 

“Why? scared i’ll be right?” He chortled while sticking out his tongue. You flicked him on the way out.

He was way more stubborn than Kook that’s for sure, always questioning and challenging you. Despite all that, he is very bright. He picks up topics as easily as he could challenge you, which doesn’t come as a surprise as you can tell he’s an avid reader. When you both started warming up to each other was when you notice how much of a nice person he is behind the hard exterior.

He placed a strawberry drink in front of you. You felt the strongest deja vu and realized Kook did the same thing for you. 

You looked at the drink fondly and then up at him. “What? Kook did the same for you too huh?” He huffed and sat down, looking the slightest bit dejected. He absolutely saw through you.

You then realized how much you were thinking about Kook and it felt unfair. Maybe it’s because you feel a slight swarm in your stomach ready to flutter whenever JK calls you that nickname that used to disgust you but now have grown accustomed to it, or the way his eyes bore into yours, a slight smirk on his lips whenever you explain a topic thoroughly to which he calls you a nerd afterwards. Maybe it’s because he’s been endearing lately and you don’t want to have to choose, opting to direct all your feelings to Kook instead. But that seemed wrong. 

Shaking your head out of the trance, you offered a small smile to him “No he didn’t, thank you” You lied.

He didn’t say anything afterwards and that prompted you to slip a small tease “I didn’t know you can be so nice” You said, sipping on your drink, waiting for a response.

“Oh darling I can be bad, if you’d let me show you” He said in a sultry voice, wiggling his eyebrows. You only rolled your eyes and smacked him slightly on his arm.

———

You were checking your emails until you stumbled upon an email from your art professor. Your heart started beating loudly. You completely forgot about the announcement. Your cursor hovered over the email, silently praying for a passing grade.

Please please please

The word passed came out in bold and you squealed. All the hard work with Kook did not go to waste and you were extremely elated. You checked your clock which read 8:43. Kook must be gone by now and you’d have to wait until next week to tell him, but you were impatient. Getting dressed, you went out in search for JK. 

Opening the doors to the book cafe you’ve gotten used to, you spotted JK in his usual corner, your usual corner now as well. 

“Well you’re early. I thought we wouldn’t have another session till tomorrow” He said, confused.

“I passed art appreciation oh my god!” You squeaked excitedly, bouncing on your toes. 

“Isn’t that shit easy?” He asked, tilting his head. 

Your cheeks puffed as you pouted “Hey! I was having a hard time okay” You crossed your arms “Anyway, can I borrow Kook tomorrow? I promise we’ll get right back next week. I just need to thank him for helping me out on this one” You explained.

JK’s face darkened “Why? You see him nearly everyday and you’re gonna start seeing him on weekends too?” 

You were surprised at the sudden bite that laced his words “It’s only for a day plus I don’t get to see him the way I do with you in uni” You explained.

“Fine whatever” was what he said before going back to the book that he was reading. He doesn’t care- he shouldn’t care.

Shrugging your shoulders, you walked out of the cafe, excitement filling you up again. What you didn’t notice was JK staring at you, a big frown on his face, as you left. 

The next day, you invited Kook over at your apartment, delicious food ready on the table. You only ever had Jimin at your place before and although you should feel nervous, you were quite calm. 

“What’s the celebration for?” Kook asked, eyeing the food

“Well” You started “I passed art appreciation!” You announced, a big smile on your face.

His eyes widened as his face broke into a grin as well. He suddenly tackled you in a big hug and spun you around, the both of you laughing. “I knew you can do it, angel! I’m really proud of you” He said as he set you down. 

Red dusted both of your cheeks at the contact and you dragged him over to the living room “I know it’s not much but I wanna thank you for the help by treating you to good food and a good movie marathon” You sheepishly said, not making eye contact.

He placed a hand to your shoulder “It’s amazing, Y/N. I love it” He truly was grateful.

A full tummy and a few movies later you were both knocked out, not really paying attention to the movie anymore, though it was still playing. It was getting dark meaning Kook would probably have to leave as JK would front sooner or later, probably still annoyed he didn’t get to front in the day when it was the weekend. You didn’t want him to go though.

“I have a question” You said lazily. He hummed in acknowledgement as you continued “Do you guys share memories?” You asked.

 “Sometimes we do, only in fragments though. We mostly share emotions, usually only when they’re strong. Other than that, I completely do not know what is happening in that guy’s life” He explained.

You nodded as you understood and yawned. You scooted closer to him, finding solace in his warmth and he welcomed you, placing his arms around your shoulder to pull you closer. You placed your head on his chest and let the steady thump of his heartbeat calm you. 

Kook felt like he was gonna combust, with you all curled up against him, your warmth filling his senses, he didn’t know how to think. He watched as your body slightly rose and fell from breathing and mimicked the tempo. He subconsciously ran his hand through your hair to which earned him a small moan, almost inaudible but it still reached his ears. He stopped in his tracks.

“Y/N” He said in a small voice. You looked up and was met with an unreadable expression.

Placing a gentle hand at the back of your neck, he pressed his forehead against yours. You both were staring at each other, not moving as to not break the trance. Slowly, he placed his lips on yours in a feather-like kiss. Seeing how you didn’t feel repulsed by the action prompted him to land his lips on yours again. Your hands reached for his hair to deepen the kiss as his other hand roamed your back, tingles running down your spine with each touch. But before anything can get truly heated, he pulled away.

“I better get going, JK is going to kill me for being out too much” Kook said in almost a whisper of a voice. He chuckled when he saw you pouting and placed a hand on your cheek. “I’ll see you soon, angel” He said as he leaned forward to press his lips against the other cheek. 

You couldn’t really sleep that night. The kiss with Kook still replaying on your mind. Your thoughts drifted to JK, when the erratic beating of your heart calmed down, and you somehow got anxious about the thought of meeting him. Would he get mad you spent the weekend with Kook instead of him? He probably is.

You didn’t have to think too hard because you were tapping your fingers on the table of your usual spot, JK nowhere in sight. It was already dark and you’d hoped for too long he was only running late but no- he totally stood you up. Getting irked, you gathered your things and went out the door. You were standing outside the cafe when you thought about what you should do. Should you just go home or find him? One thing you absolutely hated was getting stood up and your anger would probably dissipate by the time next weekend rolls around so why not just release out now? 

Fishing for the phone in your pocket, you silently thank yourself for getting Namjoon’s number. You texted if he knew where JK was and rang him once to alert him. You were getting more impatient by the minute. Fortunately Namjoon texted back fairly quickly, giving you the address of the club they were in. 

“That little shit” You said to yourself as you stormed to where they would be in a fit of rage.

Coming to a club wearing casual clothes and a tote bag full of books didn’t really help blend you in. You were a goldfish in a school of betta fishes. The initial adrenaline was starting to come down as you were frantically looking for familiar faces. This club was more packed than the ones you go to and it was getting harder to breathe by the minute, the stench of alcohol and drugs making your head hurt. You were starting to notice the stares you got from people as you occasionally bump into one and you were getting more insecure. The blaring music and flashing lights made your head pound even more. You were trying to find the phone you slipped in your bag when you suddenly felt it... a hand on your ass.

Flicking your head to where the hand was coming from, you were met with a very intoxicated man, eyes roaming your body. You pushed his hand away, quaking in fear but he only grabbed your wrist.

“Let me go” You pleaded as you struggled out of his grasp. 

The hand was quickly ripped off when an arm snaked around your waist to push you behind their back.Your whole body trembled but you got the courage to look up to find out who your savior was.

JK’s eyes were filled with absolute fury as he was sizing up the guy “She said let go” He said through gritted teeth.

The man scoffs. “Your bitch has some nerve going here” He mocked.

Something snaps in JK as he lands the first punch square to his nose. The guy stumbles backward, holding his face. He spits blood as he threw a punch to JK as well, the rings he was wearing scratching his face. Soon enough it became a full on brawl, punches and kicks thrown everywhere as they moved around, occasionally breaking something along the way. The bouncers finally came and pulled them off each other, hauling them by the collar of their shirts outside. Someone tapped your shoulder and you flinched.

“Sorry” A voice you recognize as Hoseok rang through your eyes as relief washed over your body. You looked at both Hoseok and Namjoon with concern as JK was still being escorted out.

“Take care of him will you?” Namjoon asked as you nodded, still not finding the strength to speak after what happened.

You followed JK out the door and found him wiping the blood off of his cheek, anger still littered his eyes. He was avoiding your gaze but looked when you softly held his hand. 

“You... come on” You dragged him until you reached your apartment, not uttering a word the whole way.

You were met with the dark empty space, JK still silent as he took in his surroundings, occasionally wiping the blood off his face. You took him to the bathroom and made him sit on the toilet while you find a first aid kit.

“I’ll be right back” You told him. He only looked at you with a blank face but his eyes trailed over to you as you went away. 

When you got back, a wet towel in hand, you loomed over him to get a better look. He had a busted lip and gashes from where the rings hit his cheek, thankful that it wasn’t deep enough that it would need stitches. You gently placed a hand under his chin to tilt his face slightly as you started dabbing the wet cloth over his wounds. His eyes bore into yours as he sported a pained look

“Suck it up you big baby, that’s what you get for picking a fight” You scolded, as you continued to wipe the blood off his face and treating the wounds with antiseptic.

“A thank you would be nice you know” He croaked, now averting his eyes from your gaze.

You stopped whatever you were doing and looked at him. “Thank you, but I’m still mad at you for standing me up today” You said as you starting dabbing on his face again, this time on the corner of his mouth. “God Kook’s going to kill you for messing up your faces”

He grabbed your wrist and placed it down, making you drop the towel in your hand. “Can you for one second shut up about Kook”

He stood up and snaked an arm around your waist as the other laid at the back of your neck. He pinned you against the tiled wall as he slammed his lips against yours. Your cheeks flared up as you subconsciously raised a hand to his head and fisted his hair, to which elicited a groan from him. The hand on your waist was strong as he gripped you hard, a bruise sure to mark wherever his hand touched, but you didn’t mind. He moved back as he sat on the toilet, you being brought along with him all while not breaking the heated kiss. His hands roamed up and down your body as you were basically straddling him, trailing his kisses down south to your neck. You moaned and shifted your weight to a better position but soon realized the effect it had on him, a growing tent from right under your core. He kissed you back on the lips before pulling back, the both of you breathing heavily. 

He was still dangerously close to your face, his breath tickling your cheeks. “Do you know how annoying it is to have Kook’s pesky feelings practically take over mine too? You both are annoying little shits” 

Your eyes widened as you hurriedly got off of him. He dusted himself off before making his way out of the bathroom. Noticing your balcony, he wasted no time going there, needing a breather.

You pressed your back against the wall as you put a hand over your chest, feeling the heavy thumping of your heart. You were still breathing heavily as you tried to process what just happened. You felt slightly guilty for being unfair to Kook but you both haven’t talked about the kiss after it happened so it wasn’t like you were his girlfriend. Meanwhile, JK’s touches were like fire. You note the growing wetness on your core thinking about how he slid his hands up and down your thigh, coming dangerously close every time he slid it up. You shook your head in an attempt to rid yourself from such thoughts.

You figured he needed to cool and down and you gave him just that. Taking a break yourself, you finally calmed down. You took a water bottle from the fridge and headed to the balcony. You saw him looking at the view, moon illuminating his features as both his elbows were propped up on the railing, despite his slightly messed up face, he was gorgeous. 

Oddly calm and unembarrassed despite what transpired moments ago, you tapped the water bottle on his arm. “Here” You said as he took the bottle and had a sip. You both were just looking at the view, not speaking a word until you decided to break the silence “Can I ask?” You said.

He looked at you from the side, eyebrow arching but nodded which prompted you to continue “Why do you hate Kook so much?” You asked.

He turned over to you and gave a deep sigh. He stared at you in silence for a few seconds before speaking. “I had to hide because of him. I was always pretty mischievous and I guess my parents wanted a prim and proper child- an obedient one. Kook was everything I’m not” He looked at his shoes, pain evident in his eyes “They thought I was a menace to Kook’s perfect life and treated me as if I wasn’t their child. I was forced to stay in the dark, literally, ever since I was a kid. It was so fucking lonely, Y/N. Everyone was either tired or asleep at night, I had no one to play with or talk to. When I got a bit older, I found out about clubs that were open all through the night and basically got addicted to partying since then” He said, raw emotion dripping in his voice. 

“Not to be rude but, were you not physically able to front at daytime?” You cautiously asked.

“I wanted to impress my parents. I wanted to prove to them that I can be as obedient as anyone else, so when they told me to only come out at night, I followed. After a while it basically became a routine, so much that my body just naturally comes out at night and was tired in the early morning. Because of that, I never really got to bond with my parents, and they never really got to know me” He sighed before he furrowed his eyebrows in anger, hands clasped in fists. “I fucking hate Kook”

You reached out for his first and uncurled it, lacing your fingers around it instead. “You’re strong for being able to withstand all that” You said as you cupped his cheek, his expression softening at your touch. “I’m here if you need me” You told him. He offered you the smallest of smiles as you pulled away. 

“I gotta go” He said as the both of you made your way to the door. He was about to go before he stopped in his tracks. He swiveled around to face you before placing a hand behind your head and pulling you in for another kiss, his teeth catching your bottom lip in a small bite “I’m sorry I stood you up, sweetheart” He said, the sickeningly sweet tone back again as he closed the door. Your heart was pounding again as thoughts danced around in your head.

Ugh I need sleep

But you couldn’t sleep. You thought about JK and what he had to go through and figured that it’s best to let Kook know about this, maybe it’s a step closer to breaking the curse. Filled with determination, you finally let sleep take over you.

———

You examined the bruises he left on on your hip, frowning as you traced the deep purple marks. You got dressed and set out to look for Kook.

He met you in the learning commons, fond memories lacing this place. There weren’t many people here yet, which you thought was perfect. Kook finally arrived at he set his things down and sat beside you.

“So what did you want to talk about?” He asked, head tilted to the side.

“Well” You started, fidgeting your thumbs. Taking a deep breath, you looked at him “So I had a talk with JK lately”

Kook’s eyebrows furrowed “And?” He edged you on.

You explained what went on in his life, particularly his childhood. You told him how he felt lonely and sad and that he was mistreated by their parents. Kook seemed to understand as he was nodding but he wasn’t looking at you with gleeful eyes anymore. Instead, he had a blank expression on his face, his eyes completely lifeless as he listened to you speak. For a moment you thought it was JK who you were talking to until you took in his appearance again. No this is definitely Kook.

“So I just think... that you should go easy on him. Yes you’ve been hurt but so is he. It would be better if you’d understood each other’s pains” You explained.

Then, something else burned in his eyes, it was something you were completely not used to, something menacing. He slumped back on his chair, arms crossed and you gulped.

“And what about my pain? Do you know anything of it?” He said, sporting the blank look that hid the pain his voice was threatening to spill. “I was dubbed a monster at night and did I want that? I wasn’t able to make friends properly because of that you know” He then leaned forward, elbows propped up on his thighs. “I tried to help him, I left notes, messages, anything. I wanted to let him in the daylight for once, but he didn’t listen and even flat out refused saying that he liked his nightlife. I believed him.” He sat up straight now, his eyes burning with anger “And what did he do? Toy with my life. He sabotaged all of my relationships and that fucker had the nerve to be happy with my frustrations. My friends hated me and as much as I wanted to apologize, what can I say? That it wasn’t me who told them all those things? They’d think i’m either an amnesiac or a psycho. He even tried to ruin my relationship with Taehyung, thankfully he figured out something was wrong and asked me personally, so I told him the truth. He’s been the only friend I had ever since... all because of who? Because of your precious JK. Just wait, when he’s completely obliterated whatever we have, he’ll stop toying around with you too.” He spat out, disgust evident in his face.

He quickly gathered his things and left you dumbfounded. You didn’t notice the tears pooled around your eyes and how much you were holding your breath. Your chest started to hurt at the revelation as you were feeling torn, completely emotionally drained. You slumped back to your seat as you thought about what to do. Now that you heard both their sides, it was best that they knew about it all. So once again, you waited until sundown to talk to JK.

You dragged yourself to the cafe, completely worn out at this point. You spotted JK at the usual spot and ushered for him to talk to you outside. 

“Miss me already, sweetheart?” He smirked and you only sighed.

“Why did you do that?” You asked, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. You were completely done tiptoeing around.

“Do what?” He asked, mirroring your growing frustration. He was always ill tempered.

“Sabotage Kook’s relationships? He wanted to help but you kept refusing him?” You said, your voice slightly raising.

“Help? From him?” He scoffed “Why would I need help from the one who’s ruined it all?”

“How about you just try to work with your problems rather than avoid it completely? Ruining people’s relationships is a completely immature way of handling this situation” You scolded. You were both sizing each other up, the other not backing down. 

“Oh I see, you just love to side with Kook huh? It’s okay, everyone does. I will always just be in the backseat worshipping the feet of the holy other me” He said in a mocking tone, pacing side to side.

You were getting angrier by the minute, cartoon smoke probably coming out of your ears by now “I’m not siding with anyone! God!” You shouted, raising your hand in the air in frustration “You know what, I’m done. I’m done being the both of you guys’s emotional punching bag. I only tried to help but you both think I’m siding with the other” You placed a hand on your forehead, mock laughing “Ha, and to think we actually had something going on. You were probably going to discard me after you’re done playing with another one of Kook’s relationships right?” You asked him, menace in your eyes. “Am I wrong?” 

He only stared at you, expression growing softer but you were only hurt by his response, or lack thereof.

“Thought so” You said. “You probably haven’t gotten rid of me yet because apparently Kook’s feelings latched unto you. That was the only reason you liked me anyways” 

“No that’s not it” He reached out for you but you only backed away “It’s true that his feelings somewhat caught unto mine but it was strengthened by me. My feelings for you are purely mine and they are genuine” He pleaded.

You came up close to his face, eyes squinting “You know what?” You started “I don’t care. I’m tired. Tell Kook I don’t want to see the both of you until you settled matters in your own hands” You said walked away, leaving him dumbfounded and frustrated. 

Your tears completely spilled all over once you hit your mattress. You were oh so tired. Your hand found your phone, dialing Jimin’s number. After a few rings he picked up.

“Y/N? Where are you? Is something wrong” He asked from the other line.

You were ugly sobbing as you spoke to the phone “I-I’m home but J-Jimin can you come o-over? I need someone” 

“I’ll be right there, Y/N”  

You spent the night bawling to Jimin about how emotionally tired you are whilst eating takeout and playing movies in the background, a common instance for the both of you when one is feeling a bit let down. People have always asked when you were going to date but you never thought of each other that way. He’s always been like a brother to you and you were thankful for the friendship.

He was stroking your hair while you continued to rack sobs, calming down with every second. “You’ve always been such a compassionate soul but you got to take care of yourself too” Jimin said as he lifted your chin up “You’re not obligated to fix anyone. If you’ve done all that you think you can then that’s as far as you can go, at least you’ve done your part" He wiped the remaining tears away from your face. “It doesn’t make you a bad person if you’re unable help everyone because you’re emotionally unavailable, always remember that”

You sniffed and hugged him tightly “Oh what am I going to do without you?” 

“Probably wallow in more boy drama” He jokingly said. “Chin up, they’ll come around when they’re ready”

“Yeah” You said with a small smile, your heart less turbulent now. 

As per your wish, the both of them ignored you throughout uni and in the weekends. You had to admit that it was a bit boring not having them in your life, completely not used to their lack of presence but Jimin and Tae made up for it, Namjoon and Hoseok also coming to hang out with you guys more. 

“You know Kook is very beat about all this” Tae mentioned one time at the lunch table.

“Yeah JK too, he’s absolutely devastated” Hoseok added. “You really had them both wrapped around your finger” He joked as he took a bite out of his sandwich. 

“Guys I really don’t wanna hear about the both of them right now” You said, rubbing your temple. They both squeaked apologies as you all continued eating. 

Slowly, your energy was coming back. You refreshed yourself with friendship and knowledge, often coming to the library to read for leisure with Namjoon when you found out about his extensive knowledge in books. You also hung out with Hoseok in the uni’s dance room, always dragging you along to one of his dance practices for what he claimed as needing moral support. He also introduced you to his friend Yoongi who sometimes makes the music he dances to. But it was Jimin and Taehyung who was with you the most, gluing themselves to your hip. You didn’t really mind, they were like peas in a pod and being with them is entertaining. They often came by your apartment, bringing various food and games to play with. 

“You know you guys don’t have to come here every time, it’s not like I went through a massive breakup” You roll your eyes at them as they set down large tubs of ice cream on your kitchen counter

“You might as well have, with the way you cried over them” Jimin snickered.

“Hey!” You smacked his arm, puffing your cheeks.

“We get to help a friend out as well as have an excuse to eat all this junk. I’d say it’s a win win” Tae said as he slung an arm around your shoulders, laughing. You laughed with them, thankful.

They left earlier than they usually do and you were sat alone eating the tub of ice cream in your living room, watching whatever. You suddenly heard a knock on your door as you set the food down to check whoever it was. 

You were shocked as you opened the door, your mouth agape as you took in his appearance. “Kook? err JK?” You said hesitantly, completely not distinguishing who it was. He held out the flowers he brought to you as you took it in your hands. 

He smiled sheepishly, red dusting his cheeks “I’m both of them now” He said and your eyes widened. That is why you couldn’t tell them apart. His hair wasn’t pin straight like Kook’s nor as wavy as JK’s. His expression also isn’t as soft nor as cold. 

 “And I want to apologize for what I did, I’m truly sorry Y/N. We finally had something in common that we were willing to compromise for and that’s you” He stepped forward and tentatively reached out to cup my cheek. When he realized that his action didn’t make you uncomfortable, he continued “We couldn’t risk losing you and that anchored us more to each other until we just fully fused. I have both their memories but I want us to start over so we can make fresh memories together, me being one entity this time” He chuckled softly. “Thank you for breaking the curse” 

Your heart jumped out of your chest as you pulled him in your apartment. You truly missed him. You set the flowers down as you jumped up to wrap your arms around his neck in a hug. “I forgive you and I’m sorry too” You nuzzled your head closer to the crook of his neck.

He cradled your face when you both pulled away, but still staying as close. “Now we can truly start over” He smiled.

You grabbed the collar of his shirt as you pressed your lips against him in an instant heated makeout. His hand found your hips as he gripped you closer to him “Well this is not what I had in mind but I’m definitely not complaining” He smirked.

You rolled your eyes as you found his lips again, taking his jacket off in the process. You dragged him to the bedroom, kicking off his shoes and taking your shirt off. His touches were like fire as his hands roamed your back, coming dangerously close to the clasp of your bra. He suddenly gripped the back of your thighs as he hoisted you up. Wrapping your legs around his waist you felt something hard pressed against your core. You grinded against him as he grunted against your mouth, biting your lower lip. 

“You naughty girl” His voice was dark and sultry and it shot through your sex, wetness growing by the minute. He threw you on your bed as he climbed on top of you, nearly straddling your waist. He took his shirt off and you took in his appearance. He was very toned, abs lining up his stomach as you gently traced over it. “Like what you see?” He teased.

He started peppering kisses all over your neck as he gripped your thigh, occasionally sliding his hand up your shorts which gave you shivers as you moaned. He brought his kisses lower, stopping at the crevice between your breast as brought his hand under you to unclasp your bra, biting it with his teeth to take it off you. He looked at you hungrily, you looked like sex on a platter.

You blushed under his intense gaze and looked away. He noticed your shyness and his expression softened as he kissed your forehead “You’re beautiful, princess” He said. “We can stop whenever you want, just say the word” 

You shook your head “No, it’s okay. Also i’m on birth control” You said as he peppered kisses all over your face.

“Then... would you let me make you feel good, princess?” He asked and you shyly nodded. 

His expression then changed into that of a big bad wolf “Don’t worry, princess you’re in good hands” You were surprised at how a simple nickname can change from something sweet to dirty in a second but you weren’t complaining.

He took your right breast in his mouth, sucking on your nipple. You arched back in pleasure as he did the same with your left. He then kissed your abdomen until he reached the waistband of your shorts. Pulling both your shorts and underwear off, you were left naked underneath him.

He licked his lips as he started sucking on your core “Hahh- keep doing that, ugh” You moaned as he kept lapping at your clit. The sounds you were making didn’t help the growing tent in his pants as he kept sucking and roaming your thighs with his hands. 

“I-I I’m gonna” You said, rolling your head back as you fisted his hair. Just when you were going to climax, he pulled his mouth away from you in a smirk “Don’t think i’m going to let you off that easy, princess” He said as he took his pants and underwear off.

He was big, really big. Veiny and thick and you just couldn’t wait. You sat up and pushed him back, making him sit. You got on all fours, taking him in your hands as he moaned. He was already really hard and you gave him a few good pumps before putting his aching cock in your mouth. His head rolled back as he breathed heavily “Fuck, Y/N” 

Satisfied by his sounds, you bobbed your head up and down faster, his hands gripping the sheets tightly. Before he could cum, you removed yourself from him and wiped your mouth. You straddled him and aligned his cock to your core as you slid down. “Hahhh, oh god” You said in pleasure.

He gripped your ass and guided your bounce on his dick. “Fuck you feel so good baby, wrapped around me like that” Your eyes rolled back in pleasure as he was deep into you, the sound of skin slapping and moaning filling the room. 

He the lifted you up and laid you down, still inside you, as he placed your legs over his shoulders. With a smirk he then pounded into you, taking in the bouncing of your breasts. 

“Oh god oh god don’t stop oh fuck. Just cum inside me” You moaned as your core tightened, reaching your climax. A few more thrusts and his movements started staggering, soon he reached his high as well, completely stopping as he spilled inside you. Pulling out, he grabbed the tissue you kept on your desk as he cleaned the juices that were leaking out of you. 

He then came up and placed a tender kiss to your lips as he stroked your hair “You did great, princess. You were so good” He said sweetly.

He spent the night at your place, completely tired. When morning came you were the first to wake. You trace his features and took in the difference. His features weren’t as soft but weren’t as sharp as well, it was a good balance. You also note how he was both sweet and cocky last night, his performance smack right in the middle. Gliding your hands over his jaw, his nose and lastly his lips, he suddenly opened his eyes. 

“Are you observing me?” He asked sleepily. You giggled at his cute demeanor as placed your head on his bare chest, the both of you not having strength to put clothes back on last night. 

You tilted your head back up to look at him “I just realized” You started.

He cocked his head to the side as he brushed a hair out of your face “Realize what?”

“What should I call you now?” You asked.

“Jungkook” He said as he placed a tender kiss on your lips.

[zeravmeta]

fuck it. soma cruz fgo servant profile bc i make my own content

Servant: / Servant Class: Soma Cruz / Alter Ego

Origin: / Region: Castlevania Series / Japan, 2035

Alignment: Lawful Neutral(?) “Yeah, not sure how I classify as Lawful given my past life, but whatever.”

Aliases: The Dark Lord, Dracula, Soma Cruz

Parameters: STR (B) / END (A+) / AGL (B+) / MP (EX) / LUK (A) / NP (???) 

Class Skills: Authority of Beasts (Fake), Core of Chaos (A), One Who Severs Fate (A)

Character Info: “In order for God to be perfectly Good, there must always exist an embodiment of Chaos, a Dark Lord to emerge from the evil of humanity’s hearts.”

For one thousand years, the Belmont bloodline had opposed the terrible night that Count Dracula would bring with his powers. After generations of suffering, the Belmont’s latest mantle bearer, Julius Belmont, along with their generational allies, the Belnades clan and a nameless soldier, had managed to permanently defeat Dracula with the help of the Hakuba Clan’s shrine magics. Severing his connection to his power and sealing Castlevania, the embodiment of his power, within a solar eclipse, Dracula had finally faced his demise in 1999, prophesied by Nostradamus one millennium ago. Thus, the strongest Dark Lord had fallen, his throne empty and awaiting a new master.

In 2035, Soma Cruz had visited the Hakuba Shrine to meet with his childhood friend Mina, unaware of the birthright he would claim.

Skills:

Chaos Ring A: An extremely powerful construct that channels the very essence of Chaos. It can only be found by the one who can traverse and control the Chaos Realm, the Dark Lords personal right. Wearing it grants the unlimited magical power of the Chaos Realm, but actual output depends on the user. If the Demon King’s Ring is the symbol of Dracula and his reign, then the Chaos Ring could be considered the symbol of Soma and his new beginning.

Thematic narratives aside, it’s a very convenient tool for Soma.

“It’s weird, but it feels like…it was made for me. Almost like a welcome gift.”

[5->3 Turns] [Charge NP (20%->30%), Increase NP Gain (10%->25%) (3 Turns), Gain a Delayed buff 1 turn after skill use (Unremovable): [Charge NP (20->30%)]

Armament Master D: Soma is extremely proficient at using any and all forms of weaponry. Due to Dracula’s vast reach, Soma has a vast number of different modern and mythical weapons and gear at his disposal, notable weapons including Excalibur (sealed in the stone), Hrunting, Caladbolg, Mjolnir, and even a Positron Rifle, to name a few. However, one weapon unique to Soma is the Claimh Solais, an Irish sword of light mentioned in many legends and defining the archetype of “Sword of Light.” It provides a great boost to parameters and is surprisingly light weight despite its size. Another unique weapon he wields is the Valmanway, the “Blessed Wind” that is always ‘cutting’ even when still.

(The rank is D because despite his proficiency, Soma has never had any formal training.)

“I mean, it’s just a sword, right? How complex is it? You can just swing it and things die. Though…considering I have ol’ Drac’s memories…sorta, maybe I’m just remembering it?”

[8->6 Turns] [Increase Atk (10%->20%) (3 Turns), Gain Critical Stars (5->15), Increase Critical Star Absorption (3000%) (3 Turns), Increase Critical Damage (10%->20%) (3 Turns), Apply Special Attack against Sky, Star and Beast attribute enemies (20%->40%) (3 Turns)]

Power of Dominance (EX): Soma’s inheritance from Dracula, or more fittingly, the Chaos Entity opposite to God. The Power of Dominance is a unique ability that grants a complete mastery over the abilities of any and all souls Soma can acquire from the enemies he defeats. All the monsters that Dracula unleashed in his crusade against humanity are the countless souls under his domain, even that of Death itself, and their powers rightly belong to him.

Soma can differentiate between the types of Soul Arts he uses, and this reflects accordingly in his Noble Phantasm.

“I never wanted this power, but I guess I’m stuck with it. I’ll always carry the target on my back, but at least I can look awesome as hell while doing it, I suppose.”

[5->3 Turns] [Decrease Enemy Charge by 1 (20%->50%), Select own NP Command Card’s type between Quick, Arts or Buster for 3 Turns. Effect of NP changes depending on which Command Card Type is selected. This skill is immune to debuff effects (such as Skill Seal)]

Noble Phantasm:

Advent of Sorrow – He Who Severed His Fate Against Chaos and God / Anti-Divine, Anti-Self / Rank (???)

A manifestation of Soma’s power truly made his own, separate from the title of Dark Lord and Dracula. Having defeated the Chaos Entity, he managed to sever its connection to his soul, and be saved from his Fate. Even so, he carries the Power of Dominance with him always, and the countless souls and followers of Chaos always wait and offer themselves unto Soma to lead and command them. In his own imperfect way, neither holy nor demonic.

After all, he’s only human.

(Note: If used by the true Count Dracula, this would be considered an Anti-Humanity NP)

[Type: Buster] – [Deals massive damage to a single enemy (1200%->2400%), Chance to Decrease Charge by 1 (80%->100%). Overcharge: Increases own Buster Card Effectiveness (20%) (1 Turn) and NP Damage (1 Turn) (20%) (Activates First)]

[Type: Arts] – [Deals heavy damage to all enemies (400%->800%), Chance to decrease Atk (15%->25%) and Critical Chance (20%->30%). Overcharge: Inflict Curse (5 Turns).]

[Type: Quick] – [Apply Debuff Immune (1 Time), and Restore HP each turn for self (3 Turns) (1000->1500), and Increase NP Gauge each turn for self (3 Turns) (5%). Overcharge: Apply Def Up for all allies (3 Turns) (25%->50%).]

Bond Lines: 

Bond 1: “Heh, thanks for having me! I’m still not too sure about how all this stuff works here, but if you need a monster taken down, I’m your guy.”

Bond 2: “So the rest of those dudes call you ‘Master’? Kind of awkward, but I guess they’re magical familiars at the end of the day. What? So am I? Sorry but, vampiric powers aside, I’m just a normal guy. I was even in University before I got dragged here. I’ll just call you [name] for now.”

Bond 3: “Do you like curry? Arikado said I shouldn’t be using these monster souls for dumb stuff, but they don’t mind. They always talk to me and really want to help me out wherever I am. Except Death, that guy sucks. He’s always breaking into my home and trying to convince me to become the next Dark Lord and to ‘accept my throne’ and stuff.”

Bond 4: “…It scares me, sometimes. Knowing not only what I am, but what I’m very capable of.”

Bond 5: “Y’know…you could always come back with me to my world, if you want to escape. I’ll take you to meet Mina, and Hammer and Yoko and Julius and Arikado and…Hm. Sorry. I know you can’t abandon this world, it’s where you grew up. There’s…a lot of people here who love you. You should always remember that and hold it close. It saved my life when I thought I couldn’t go on, and I know it will also save yours.”

Voice Lines:

(1): “I’m glad this place is a lot simpler than the castle. That place had so many hidden rooms and puzzles that I felt like I was going insane…No, as a matter of fact, DON’T tell me about all the secret workshops here.”

(2): “Hm? What’s up? I’m just relaxing here. Sorry if I’m taking up space. It’s nice to just take a moment.”

(3): “No, no, don’t worry. Even if I could, I’m not the type of guy to just go around stealing souls. I only do that to monsters, and even then, they become complacent once they return to me. I could show you some of the fun ones, like the Skeleton Gardener, if you’d like.”

Likes: “What I like? Curry! Oh, and Mina. She’s been with me for my whole life. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Dislikes: “This is gonna sound cliché, but garlic. It just tastes bad.”

Event: “Whoa, a party! Let’s go, I’m super bored cooped up in here.”

About The Holy Grail: “Wish granting? No thanks, I’ve read a ton of comics and things always go wrong. What? Of course, it’s a valuable source!”

Summon Quote: “Yo! My name is Soma Cruz. I’m just a regular high school student. Um…Where am I, exactly?”

Happy Birthday: “Happy Birthday, [name]! I’m so gonna throw you the coolest party ever! I’ll even invite Mina…If, uh, if that’s cool with you?”

(King Hassan): “D-Death!? Why are you…Oh. Uh, sorry about that. You reminded me of...someone. I’m sure you’re a cool guy underneath all that armor.”

(Vlad/Vlad III (EXTRA)): “Huh. So, in this world, the legend of Dracula is just that? A legend? Well, that’s a huge relief. I’m not exactly the kingly type.”

(Gilgamesh/Gilgamesh (Caster)): “Hey [name], could you give me a hand? This gold idiot keeps saying I stole his weapons, but they’re mine! …Hey! Stay back with those portal things! Someone, help!!!”

(Scathach): “Jeez, I bet Arikado will get along with that slave driver. Seriously, Arikado’s method of teaching me my powers amounted to locking me in a room with monsters and a pocketknife. Huh? She’s stomping over here!? [name], help me!”

(Marie Antionette): “I don’t know why, but…Looking at you makes me sad. I’m sorry.”

(Sessyoin Kiara): “Master, this lady is coming onto me WAY too hard. She keeps telling me to ‘embrace what I am’ and junk. I already get enough of that crap from cultists back home.”

(Sakata Kintoki/Astolfo/Romulus/Romulus-Quirinus/Ashwatthama): “Hey, you’re a pretty cool dude, huh? Finally, someone with some style!”

(Amakusa Shirou): “Ugh, you remind me of Fortner. And stop using rosaries around me, I’m not Satan, you jerk!”

(Mephistopheles): “Please, leave me alone. I’m not evil, nor will I ever be the Dark Lord. Just because I have those powers doesn’t mean I’m defined by them. Also, the alarm clock you gave me exploded, so I don’t think you’re all that trustworthy anyways.”

(Beni Enma): “Aww, you’re so cute...Wait, from the Underworld? A yokai? Guess you’re one of mine, then. If you want, I can loan you some Skeleton Waiters for your chain.”

(Any Avenger-Class Servant): “Hey, you guys are kinda like me! Everyone says you’re evil, but you’re actually really nice!”

(Arcueid Brunestud): “Master, that girl is shooting me some pretty weird looks....Huh? Reincarnating vampire? Oh, I guess I’d look pretty weird in that case. That’s not her fault, though. Maybe I’ll go say hi.”

QQABB Deck:

Buster Card: 2 Hit / -Soma raises Excalibur (still in the stone) and smashes it into the enemy-

Quick Card: 5 Hit / -Soma holds Valmanway in front of him, turns around, and multiple slashes envelop the enemy-

Art Card: 3 Hit / -Soma does two horizontal strikes, then a third overhead strike with Claimh Solais-

Extra Card: 6 Hit / -Soma punches twice, does a spin-attack with Claimh Solais, then jumps back and fires his Positron Rifle-

Level Up: “Whew…I feel so powerful.”

Ascension 1: “Whoo! Good job, [name].” 

Ascension 2: “This…This is just like then…[name], maybe don’t do this anymore.”

Ascension 3: “Please…stop. I don’t know if I can pull myself back this time…”

Ascension 4: “I see. Well…as long as you’re by my side, I’ll never succumb. So please…don’t die.”

Battle Start ½: “Just how many monsters out there!? In any case, let’s do this thing!” / “I’ll carry the mantle and defeat this terrible night!”

Skill ½: “Bullet, set…Enchanted, set…Guardian, set…” / “How about some of this!”

Attack Selection ½/3: “Hmm.” / “Seriously!?” / “Nice.”

Attack ½/3: “Hraagh!” / “Take this!” / “You’re going down!”

Extra Attack: “Let’s see you handle THIS!”

Noble Phantasm Selection ½: “Are…Are you sure?” / “I’ll trust you on this.”

Noble Phantasm: “I will never be the Dark Lord…You, God, and The World will just have to deal with it!”

Noble Phantasm Damage: “I won’t…Submit...!”

Regular Damage: “Gah!”

Defeated ½: “Mina….” / “Julius…our promise…”

Battle Finish ½: “That was a close one…” / “Anyone need some healing? I have some spare spoiled milk…Oh wait, none of you have a Ghoul soul, huh?”

[jinmindeulle]

of love and other poems | myg

word count: 3.2 k

pairing: min yoongi x reader

genre: art gallery au, pianist/artist au, pianist!yoongi x artist!reader ∣ almost smut?, fluff

warnings: minor cursing

a/n: and with of love and other poems, i officially get started with my bts works! i have been waiting so long for this moment, especially because i love bts with my whole heart and they are my ultimate everything. although seokjin’s my bias, i had to get started with the bias wrecker. more things to come!!

happy reading! ♥

My hands were tinted with every colour of my palette. Most of my paintbrushes were used, spread over my dark wooden table, also painted with multiple colours and materials. Luckily, my floor was covered with a thousand plastic sheets that Taehyung had given me after seeing how messy my art room got every time I stepped inside it. That’s why I recently stopped trying to clean it. There’s no use when I literally have been spending my entire afternoons here.

“Could you book it, Tae? Are you sure that no one’s taking my place that day?”

“Relax, y/n” he chuckled, showing me the Seoul’s National Art Gallery’s website in his laptop “I have already booked yours and mine, and I checked twice. It’s going to be alright”

“You know that this is no joke, and I always get anxious over fucking everything!” I sighed, walking backwards some steps so that I could take a look at my last piece “What do you think? I’m planning to have this one at the entrance”

“So that’s the intro? It’s stunning, y/n” Tae smiled, displaying his boxy grin “You’ll graduate with honours! I’m so proud of you!” he hugged me tight, shaking our bodies with excitement.

“You too!” I giggled, hugging him back.

Although I was constantly worried about how well my art would do in every class, Taehyung was always there to reassure me and make sure that I was satisfied. Nearing our college graduation, however, my insecurities got worse and worse. Surrounded by talented people, including my best friend, I knew for a fact that I was going to have a hard time coming up with something creative and meaningful to display as my final exam. At the same time, we were not only in charge of our work, but also of booking our place at the Seoul’s National Art Gallery on the weekend that our delivery was due, of arranging our pieces and exhibiting them for the general public as if we already were the professional artists that we hoped to become after that damned exam. My anxiety levels were reaching their peaks as that day got closer, so Taehyung made sure to spend as much time with me as possible.

“Don’t you need to get back to your apartment? You had to finish your last piece too” I pouted.

“I can manage”

“Tae…” I whined “You know how much I appreciate and thank you for being here with me, but you need to focus on your exam too. Go home, I can deal with myself for a bit”

“It’s okay, really” he took my chin with one of his large hands and playfully shook my head “Jimin is practicing his routine for his own final exam and I-”

“Need silence to paint, I know” I interrupted him, chuckling “So you’ll stay the night, then?”

“Seems like you want to” he teasingly wiggled his eyebrows, earning an arm smack from me “Ouch!”

“Go order some pizza while I take a shower, dummy”

.

.

Although some say that taking a shower is a way of relaxing, I highly disagree.

Less than two days away from my final exposition, my head wouldn’t stop thinking and re-evaluating every aspect of my already finished pieces, going over every detail that could go wrong that day. I knew I had taken care of everything and anything, but it still felt like something was missing. My art was there, ready to take to the gallery and exhibit, I rehearsed and rehearsed what to say about each piece probably a thousand times and my outfit was already picked up, obviously by Tae. What else was there to complement my artwork?

As I dried my hair, going over the poem that was behind my paintings in my head, Taehyung’s deep, caramel voice came muffled through the bathroom’s door. He was singing that same old song that complimented his tone like no other. Enjoying the melody, I turned off the hair dryer and got started with my night-time skincare routine, softly humming along Tae’s voice.

It was then when it hit me.

“That’s what I fucking need!” I yelled, running out of the bathroom with half of my face covered in my green facemask.

Taehyung’s eyes went wide upon seeing me desperately going in circles around the coffee table, screaming nonsensical words and having the eleventh mental breakdown over the course of the afternoon. But as he was too used to my stupidity, he got up from the couch and stopped me on my tracks, putting his big hands on my shoulders. “Calm down, y/n, what’s wrong now?”

“I need music!” I panicked “My art gallery won’t be complete if I don’t fucking have live music to accompany the mood! It’ll be utterly horrible!” my eyes watered “How the fuck do I find a decent musician in less than 48 hours?!”

“God, y/n, I thought you were questioning your life choices again” he sighed, engulfing me in a comforting hug. I felt some tears go down my face, angry at myself for letting those dumb things get to my head as fast as they pop up. I embraced his waist, cuddling closer to his neck but trying not to stain his pale-blue linen shirt with my facemask. “I know someone that could help”

“You do?” I sobbed, dethatching my face from his collarbone and looking up at his bright orbs.

“He’s a wonderful pianist and has brilliant taste in music. I’ll call him tomorrow first thing in the morning”

“You’re amazing, Tae” I cried, going back to his tight hold “I don’t know what I would do without you”

“Me neither” he chuckled, kissing the top of my head.

.

.

“You’ll do like no other, honey bunch. Just breath in and out, calm yourself down and most importantly, enjoy. You’ve been working so hard for this day and you cannot let it go to waste. You’ll smash it”

Once again embraced in Taehyung’s arms, I breathed in his scent as an attempt to calm down my beating heart. No one had arrived yet, but I was already at my fifth mental breakdown. All of the hard work that I had non-stop been carrying out for the past four years was hanging by a thread today, and as my best friend said, I could not ruin it by being a dumb bundle of nerves. Just when I was finally keeping my heartbeat under control, Tae’s phone started buzzing inside his suit’s pocket.

“That must be my pianist friend” he muttered, taking a look at his iPhone screen. “Yep. He’s here already, let me go get him!”

“Okay” I sighed, straightening my dress as he jogged out of the room.

My art pieces were already hanging on the walls, telling the story that I had wanted them to tell for so long. Each one had their own meaning, their own reason to be. Unlike those first paintings of mine, these had a purpose and they were able to talk to the observer, but only if they closely paid attention to every detail.

“That’s spectacular”

Such unfamiliar voice took me out of my thoughts, making me turn around to find the face that matched it. And goddamnit. Dumbfounded, speechless, mouth dried. That pianist was indeed spectacular.

“Th-thank you” that was all I could say. Damn, y/n, get it together!

“Min Yoongi” he stretched his hand, and I awkwardly shook it, praying to whatever God was above us to just let my blushing cheeks go back to normal as soon as possible.

“y/n l/n”

“Taehyung told me” he smiled, shoving his hands inside his pockets and looking around the gallery “I meant it when I said they are incredible”

“I-I appreciate it” I tightly closed my eyes, breathing in and out to help my heart beat at normal pace once more “And thank you for coming on such a short notice” I opened them up, just to find his endearing face looking at me with a soft smile over his rosy lips “It was a last-minute thought and I really needed music for my exhibit”

“I had the day off, so no worries. I know how important music is and I just wanted to help. Plus, I owed Taehyung a favour”

“It means a lo-”

“y/n! Professor’s here with a bunch of people!” a frantic Taehyung came running into the room, interrupting my exchange with the ravishing pianist “Get into place, you dummy! And you too, hyung!” and immediately after screaming at us, he went back to his place as my gallery’s receptionist.

“Good luck, artist. I’ll do my best to reach your standards” and with that, he walked straight to the giant shiny piano that was laying right in front of my last, ‘outro’ piece, and smoothly ran his expert fingers over the keys.

[BGM: i need u, piano version]

I could not take my eyes off of his veiny hands the moment he got started with his fascinating art, making me instantly regret having Taehyung take care of my one a.m. requests.

“How stunning, Miss. y/n!”

.

.

I was nearly running out of energy when Taehyung informed me that the last visitor was out of the room. He hugged me so tightly that I thought I was about to pass out, but at that point I could not care less.

“I’m so proud of you, honey bunch!” he giggled, picking me up from the ground and squeezing the life out of me, as he always does “It was impressive. Everyone loved it! You should have heard how they complimented your pieces as they left the gallery!”

“Tae…” I answered with difficulty, trying to catch some air “You’re clutching… me too… tight!”

“Sorry!” he put me down, arranging some of the hairs that went out of my perfectly styled bun.

“Thank you Tae” I sighed with a content smile “You made this possible too. And I will be there for you next week just as you were here today. I love you” I kissed his cheek, making him get flustered just as I wanted him to. “Now go home. You need to rest”

“But-”

“Kim Taehyung!” I interrupted him “I’ll finish here. I want to stay for a bit on my own and then I’ll go home.”

“Fine” he pouted “But you text me when you get home, please. It’s too late for you to be walking on the streets all alone”

“M-hm” I nodded, watching him go backwards as he waved at me “See you, babes!”

“Be careful!”

“Yes, dad” I shook my head, giggling at his antics.

Once he was out of the room, I heavily sighed and glanced back to where my paintings where. I studied them once more, pretending as if I was looking at them for the first time. Maybe the story that I wanted them to tell could be something else when a different eye observed them. Art is relative, and so were interpretations.

“W.H. Auden?”

His deep, raspy voice startled me once again, but this time I didn’t have to turn around to see him. He was right by my side. I could perceive his calm breaths while taking in the sight of my ‘intro’ piece, his eyes sparkling with something close to admiration, to esteem, to wonder.

“How’d you know that?”

“I like poetry” he softly smiled, tearing his gaze away from the painting to fixate his eyes on my own “It’s ‘The More Loving One’, right?”

“Wow… that’s… that’s impressive” I bit my lip, astonished by the man’s capacity of interpreting my intentions in mere seconds “I thought that nobody was going to get it”

“I just like art in general” he shrugged. We fell in a comfortable silence, both of us immersed in our own thoughts. However, the pianist was quick to keep the conversation flowing once again. “Let me guess… Looking up at the stars, I know quite well… That, for all they care, I can go to hell… But on earth indifference is the least… We have to dread from man or beast” he recited, with no rush and honeyed deep voice. He gently took my wrist with his hand and slowly directed me towards my second painting. My heartbeat rapidly increased upon feeling his warm touch, and I thanked Taehyung for letting me wear comfortable heels, or else I was soon going to end up collapsing on the floor “How should we like it were stars to burn… With a passion for us we could not return?… If equal affection cannot be… Let the more loving one be me.”

When we reached the following set of paintings, I was, by this time, in Cloud 9. Despite this, I still needed him to stop his astounding display of knowledge about my favourite poet, because he was already becoming something else for me. So I took over “Admirer as I think I am… Of stars that do not give a damn… I cannot, now I see them, say… I missed one terribly all day”

“Were all stars to disappear or die… I should learn to look at an empty sky… And feel its total dark sublime… Though this might take me a little time” he finished for me, as we arrived to the last trio of paintings “As much as I worship Auden, I disagree” he muttered, observing my ‘outro’ painting. “Do you think that love is fleeting and impermanent?”

“It depends… He’s talking about unrequited love, though. That kind of love should be fleeting and impermanent” I looked at him, studying his gorgeous features. He pressed his lips together and his brows snapped together, returning my gaze.

“Is unrequited love less than the requited one?”

“Of course it is” I chuckled “You cannot expect someone to love you just because you love them. You need to get over them, even if it takes you your whole life”

“Still… do you love someone any less when they do not love you back?”

“Not really. But the difference lays in the fact that you won’t ever get that with the person who doesn’t love you. Imagine having to deal with that kind of indifference just because you adore them”

“Wouldn’t you rather your lover be indifferent towards you when the other possibility left is hating you?”

“Oh, c’mon! Does self-love apply here?”

“I don’t think you ever get to love yourself more than a person that makes you feel alive” he replied, his velvety voice becoming deeper and mesmerizing, his eyes never leaving mine “Do you love yourself more than your lover?” Yoongi murmured, getting closer. Our breaths were now blending together, making it difficult to distinguish which was his and which mine.

“I-I don’t…” I stuttered, feeling the intensity of his eyes “I don’t have a… lover” I finally muttered back, unable to tear my eyes off of his.

“Let’s fix that, then”

Yoongi’s mouth found mine in a heavy, hot kiss. His lips took over mine without much effort, slowly angling his face to deepen it. I was quick to let him in, feeling how his soft tongue gradually brushed my own. I took the initiative, pulling him by the neck to get him closer, as if that was even possible by now. His hands gently caressed my hips, securely taking place on my lower back. I tugged my mouth away from his, trying to catch some air, but he was shortly after chasing my lips to pepper light kisses over them.

“I need…” I breathlessly muttered in between kisses “to close… down”

“I’ll help you” he replied, giving me one last, sloppy peck. “I’ll take you home after”

.

.

I could hardly close the door as soon as we entered my apartment. My hand was struggling, trying to get inside the lock as Yoongi peppered wet kisses down my neck while caressing my waist from behind me. A few minutes went by, my mind getting cloudier. He must have realized, because he chuckled against my neck, taking my shaking hand with his and rapidly locking the door “All set”

I turned around, taking his cheeks with my hands and directing his lips to mine, parting them to get better access to his hot mouth. I started walking, slowly but surely taking him down the corridor and right into my room, loudly closing the door once inside.

.

.

“Do you still agree with Auden?” Yoongi whispered, softly caressing my arm.

“M-hm” I muttered, fluttering my eyes open, throwing my leg over his own and getting closer to his collarbone “It is always better to be the one who loves.”

“Would you be willing to love even then, y/n?”

“One does not choose when, how or who they love, Yoongi” I detached myself from his chest, supporting my weight with my arm as I looked at him “And I think it’s better to love rather than being at the receiving end without even acknowledging it. It hurts, yes, but the feeling…”

“Yet he emphasizes the fact that he can, and will get over them. Is his love as strong as he claims?”

“It can be the strongest feeling, of course. Still, you cannot hang in there just because you are unable control it”

“Have you noticed that in those last lines, he openly admits he hadn’t missed them when they were gone? Is that what love is about?”

“If they hurt you, maybe” I yawned, going back to the comfort of his touch “You won’t miss them, but you still love them. It’s easy, young man”

“Is love easy?”

“Can you please shut your stunning mouth for a second, please? You’re the loudest hook up I’ve ever had”

“You were the loud one some minutes ago” he chuckled, caressing my back, and taking my chin with his hand. Making me look up, he left a couple of short but soft, tender kisses over my swollen lips.  

“Goodnight, pianist”

“Goodnight, artist”

.

.

My phone woke me up from my slumber. Cold sheets met my hand, and I lifted my head from my pillow to take a look around my room.

He left.

I rejected whoever was calling me and got up from my bed, stretching out my limbs as I made my way to the living room. Empty.

Should have known that.

“It was just a hook up, y/n…” I murmured to myself, trying to get that in my head as fast as possible to avoid any kind of heartache. “He left as he shou-” I cut short my sentence when I noticed a scribbled piece of paper on my coffee table that wasn’t there the day before. I quickly took it, a smile plastered on my lips as soon as I started reading.

‘Last night I slept, and when I woke her kiss Still floated on my lips. For we had strayed Together in my dream, through some dim glade, Where the shy moonbeams scarce dared light our bliss. The air was dank with dew, between the trees, The hidden glow-worms kindled and were spent. Cheek pressed to cheek, the cool, the hot night-breeze Mingled our hair, our breath, and came and went, As sporting with our passion. Low and deep Spake in mine ear her voice: “And didst thou dream, This could be buried? This could be sleep? And love be thrall to death! Nay, whatso seem, Have faith, dear heart; this is the thing that is!” Thereon I woke, and on my lips her kiss.

Let’s meet again.

Min Yoongi’

in case you’re wondering, the poems featured here are ‘the more loving one’ by w.h. auden and ‘assurance’ by emma lazarus.

hope you enjoyed!

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

Ok picture this. Thief!Uraraka x Rich!Reader. And it's as angsty as possible? Like Uraraka really out here just looking for that coin, ya know? She didn't come to play!

Warning: Cursing, smut~ish, major angst, thoughts of suicide, kissing, gayness, cuteness overload

Uraraka sat in the kitchen, eating the last Christmas cookie in the entire building. “Ugh, I don’t see why you don’t want to go to your parents for the Holidays! I love your mom! We’ve gone to my family’s house for the past three years.” Kirishima argued as he and Bakugo carried their suitcases down the stairs. “No! You’re mom makes the best food for Christmas, and we get the pool house all to ourselves! Do you realize how much fucking we can do?!” Bakugo slapped Kirishima’s ass, unaware that Ochako was in the room. 

“Plus, we agreed that your mom does Thanksgiving and Christmas with the cooking. My mom does Halloween and the fourth of July with the decorations and explosions.” Bakugo kissed Kirishima before they walked back upstairs to get more of the luggage.

“Todoroki! Say hi to my mom!” Izuku yelled, running up to him with a phone in his hand as Todoroki walked down the other hallway. “Hi Inko!” Todoroki smiled as Uraraka saw Izuku’s mom on the screen. “Oh Todo, Bora Bora is lovely! Make sure to thank your sister for allowing me to use the family vacation house!” Inko exclaimed as the two boys nodded, smiled, and then hung up the phone. “Now, Touya is going to be here soon so let’s move!” 

Todoroki grinned, taking all the luggage in his hands as they walked, not letting Deku carry any of it.

Uraraka smiled, happy for her friends who were doing things over their holiday break. Her on the other hand... would be at the dorms alone. She was the only one in 1-A who didn’t want to go home. Her parents would be working their tail off, and she would just be forced to lug around heavy boxes, sweep, and do their office management for two weeks straight like she did every year. She would never tell anyone that though... how embarrassing.

“Ochako!” She heard behind her, turning around to look at you. “You were on the phone with your parents while holding your LV purse. Your Gucci slides shined on your feet, and the diamond earrings you had been given by Todoroki glimmered in the light. You were everything Ochako wished she could be.

You were an icon for a boss bitch, a model, powerful, brilliant, gorgeous... and as rich as someone could get. Sure Uraraka had the biggest crush, but more than not she wanted to be you. The luckiest human alive.

Your father, Endeavor Todoroki, and Tensei Iida been rivals growing up, eventually becoming pro heroes and starting their own agencies. Of all of them, your father had grown to become a millionaire by going to America instead of Tokyo, and starting his agency there where the competition was pitiful.

That had led to your family becoming one of the most wealthiest in all of Tokyo, above the Yaoyorozus and Iidas. In fact, you, Iida, and Momo had been close friends since toddler age.

“Yes Y/n?” Ochako responded, coming out of her trance. “My mom says I should invite a friend to our beach house. I know you said you didn’t want to go anywhere for the Holidays, but would you? My modeling agency is sponsoring our trip so we can get massages, go snorkeling, you know. All that fun stuff.” Ochako perked up more as you explained. “W-where is it?” She asked excitingly. “Ever heard of Hawaii? My dad’s main office is there.” Ochako hopped off the barstool and smiled brightly. 

“Sure! I’d love to go!” She hugged you before running to go pack her things. “Wait, I don’t have any bathing suits!” She yelled back as you just rolled your eyes, still on the phone with your parents. “Yes Daddy, email them about my plus one. Just borrow mine, I have a few you can use. No Daddy, it’s not a boy, it’s Ururaka.” You winked at her as she ran upstairs, hurrying as fast as she could as if you would leave her.

Once her bags with packed, Ochako came back to the room to see you on the phone still. She sat down, choosing to watch you adoringly and letting you finish your call. “Yes Claire, I’m having a couples massage with my bestie on the third, and snorkeling on the thirtieth. Now don’t get that screwed up with my photoshoot the sixth, and the fireworks for New Years. Yes, the maid went to the house earlier.” 

As you continued, she stared at you. Wow, she’s so... impressive. If only I could have a sliver of that... power. Or you. Honestly, you seemed to get more attractive as Ochako stared at you. ‘If only I could use this to help my family... I’m so god damn scared of what’s going to happen. Mom isn’t working, and Dad might have cancer. What can I do? I’m a student taking classes at UA full time. There’s no time to work!’ Ochako thought deeply, stressing out.

“Phew, I’m glad that’s over! Just called my manager to schedule our break.” You grabbed her bags happily, carrying them to the car outside. “Wonderful! My sister is waiting at the airport with our jet! Then we can zip over the Hawaii and get this party started!” Ochako found herself shaking as you two entered the large black car.

...

Walking out of the airport, Ochako found herself woozy. That’s what sleeping for 15 hours straight did to you after all. Of course... you looked beautiful. You had been drinking hot water with lemon the entire time, had moisturized every half hour, and had taken only four naps, being half an hour long each.

 You were literally the perfect human being, while Ochako had helped herself to your plane’s supply of cake and soda while watching videos on her phone.

“Look! There he is!” You pointed to the boy wearing only rainbow swim trunks and sunglasses standing on top of the blue Jeep. “Andrew! Babe!” You ran and hugged him. “Chance, this is my friend Uraraka. Ochako, this is Chance, one of the models I’m working with for the company’s LGBT campaign!” Ochako perked up, staring at you. You... liked girls??? She... had a chance?

“You bet it! Hop in ladies!” With ease, you lifted Ochako into the Jeep and followed her in. While you were driving, Ochako couldn’t help but relax greatly. The sea breeze and smell of the ocean salt consumed her, almost making her forget all her problems. But she couldn’t forget all her problems... she had promised her mom that she would fix everything by the new year. 

And here she was... going to party while she ignored her family.

“Here we are!” As you pulled in, Ochako almost passed out. “You like it? Daddy got it remodeled it last Spring. It has two pools, a hot tub, an amazing view, and of course... the beach is only a few steps away!” You exclaimed, taking your bags in and upstairs to your room. Ochako had her breath taken away completely. 

“You... live here? Like... you own this place?” Ochako found herself dying over the marble everything, the flowers everywhere, the splashes of color from the expensive art, and the views outside. “Don’t be silly. This is only our vacation home! Daddy lives here sometimes while he’s recovering from injuries since he stays in America, but Mom and I stay in Japan. I obviously live at UA.” You smiled, walking out to the balcony from your bedroom. “Oh, I almost forgot! Here, you can choose whatever you want!”

You opened the closet to reveal a room the size of Ochako’s bedroom. Filled to the brim with clothes, shoes, jewelry, mirrors, and led lights. “Over the years of modeling I get a bunch of cute clothes! You should only imagine how much I have from when I did child modeling. Oh, and here! Pick out some jewelry for tonight. We can totally play dress up while we’re on vacay. We have to look famous, right?” You laughed, hugging Ochako while walking out of the closet. 

“Oh, and the purse rack is to your left! We can use that when we go shopping or out to eat! I have a bunch of LV so you can use one! I never use them anymore!” You giggled, smiling as you looked back at the view. “Pick out what you want to wear tonight, and a bathing suit for night swimming at the pool! I’ll go downstairs and give the chef recommendations! Any ideas?” You asked, sticking your head in the doorway. “N-n-nope!” Ochako called out as you ran downstairs.

Ochako’s eyes led to the big case of jewelry. It had so many gold chains, so many rings. Dozens and dozens of real pearl earrings. “I can’t... no. I have to.” She grabbed two pairs of pearl earrings, a gold chain, two rings that both had diamonds, and then a pair of heels. You were a size 8, but these were a size four. They were Ochako’s mom’s size. 

Without thinking, Ochako shoved them into her bag and zipped it back up. In the heat of the moment, Ochako looked around, desperate for more. She had found her solution! Steal from the rich and give to the poor! She easily had just taken over 5k from you, and you probably wouldn’t even blink. You would never suspect her, right? Of course you wouldn’t. You two had been flirting with each other since you met. You trusted her.

Ochako stopped herself, slapping herself in the face. “W-what are you doing? She trusts you! You fricking like her you dumb idiot!” She yelled at herself, looking around. No, she had to help her family, even a little bit. Just little things you wouldn’t even bat an eye at.

She took a ten dollar bill under your desk, stuffed the pencil pouch you had gotten from Italy, and easily slipped a Gucci perfume bottle into her bag. “Hey, Ochako!” Uraraka turned around to see you smiling ear-to-ear. “Happy early Christmas!” You held out your hand, revealing a tiny box. “H-huh?” She exclaimed, slowly taking it from you and gasping. Inside was a simple silver ring, polished and perfectly fitting for her small finger. “It’s a promise ring.” You walked closer to her. 

“As to promise that once we become heroes, we will remain friends.” Ochako stepped closer to you, staring at your lips. “And... maybe...” Ochako couldn’t finish her sentence as you two slammed your lips into each other. The kiss was hot and passionate, as if it was releasing all the thoughts you two had had for four years straight of having to resist. “God, once I found out you were gay.” You kissed Ochako’s neck as she tried to talk, moaning in between words. “Once he said LGBT, I knew I had to...” She moaned again, turning you on. You bent her on the bed, running kisses up and down her neck. 

As Ochako was about to remove her shirt, you stopped her. “Let’s save that for after dinner.” You winked, leaving her feeling teased. “So, what are we Y/n?” She asked, blushing from what you had just said. “Well it depends. I’ll be whatever you want me to be. Just say the word.” You moved closer as she sat on your bed, getting closer and closer. “Be my girlfriend Y/n.” She whispered as you smiled, slowly kissing her lips. 

“Well then I guess that ring is more than a friendship ring. What do you think it means?” You asked, kissing her neck tenderly again. “I... don’t know. Once we have so many responsibilities next year, let’s stay together. Promise to make time for each other... and one day, settle down.” You sucked her neck extra hard as she said that. “We’re getting out of UA soon Y/n. Maybe we can move in together to... try things out.” She talked as you continued to kiss her neck.

 She had to admit you turned her on like nobody else could. “Awesome. Well, dinner is about ready. How about we go down and... introduce you to my family. I’m sure they’d love to meet my new... girlfriend. First, let’s get changed.” You walked over to your closet and pulled out an outfit you had prepared beforehand. A white t-shirt and black jeans, cute and tomboyish. 

“Oh, and I promise not to peek.” You winked, before facing away with your back to Uraraka. Ochako picked out a pink sweater and black skirt, thinking as she put it on. Is this wrong? Of course it is. But wouldn’t it be worse to deny this love for her and steal from her? At least she’s happy, look at her. The poor thing will never know, and eventually... you’ll forget all about it. Just... no more stealing.

But as time went on, Ochako found herself being the happiest she had ever been. She woke up to you two full-on making out in bed for at least half an hour, then would spend the entire day watching you model, then you two would eat, swim, walk around, and vacation. Of course... the days started to end even better. Nighttime was when you two couldn’t contain yourselves. There was a hot tub on the balcony right outside of your room, so you two couldn’t help yourself. Surely, you two had found yourselves naked while kissing once or twice. Sure you two were going fast, but Hawaii set the mood so much, and you two were so excited to release all the sexual tension from the past four years

Of course, Ochako also found herself getting more greedy as she adapted to the rich lifestyle. She slipped one of the nice soap dispensers, took one of you dad’s pairs of expensive sunglasses, stole another ten dollar bill she found under your bed, and had somehow managed to slip a Gucci robe from when you were six into her bag. It was stuffed to the brim, but she needed more. Her family would die if she didn’t.

Then, things turned for the worst that one night. “Ochako, let’s go night swimming!” You called out, reaching for her hand. “But I’m not wearing a bathing suit!” She yelled out instantly, still looking at herself in the mirror. You had straighten her hair, and she liked it. “Exactly.” You whispered into her ear as she grinded into you. “Okay then.” She responded, smiling as you two began to walk to the hot tub as you removed your shirt slowly, Ochako watching your every move. That was until you tripped over Ochako’s bag, falling to the ground. Along the way, a shatter could be heard from inside the bag. 

“Ochakie, I’m so sorry. What did I break?” Ochako blushed at the nickname you had given her, before realizing what you were doing. As you opened the bag, your eyes widened. Inside was your old Gucci robe, your new perfume, your soap dispenser, your dad’s sunglasses, and your old shoes along with a bunch of jewelry. 

Immediately your face turned bright red, looking up at her. “You...” You murmured angrily, standing up as she started crying. “I fucking trust you with everything and you stole from me!?” You yelled, not feeling bad at all. “You don’t understand! My family needs the money! They’re going to die if I don’t do something!” Ochako yelled, trying to defend herself. In an instant, you took out your wallet, slipping out five hundred-dollar bills and throwing them in her face. “Here’s your money Uraraka! Now where’s my trust! I was so ready to give you my virginity, give you my life! I wanted a life with you Ochako!” You began crying as she turned silent. “So that’s why you came? I wanted you, you wanted my money? Is that why you came? Is that why you kissed me?” You asked as she stared at you, trying to find words. 

“My dad has cancer! My mom is dying! I’m terrified Y/n! Please don’t be too mad at me! I needed all the money I could get quickly!” She yelled at you, still crying as you stopped. “Ochako, I could write you a check for a fucking hundred grand as we speak! You think that I would poor out my soul to you, but not help your fucking family?! Ochako, I gave you my trust and love! Do you know how hard that was?! But no, everyone just wants me for my money! Everyone! Even you!” Ochako tried to spill out words. 

She tried to tell you that she did love you, more than anything. She tried to tell you that she was obsessed with you, and that she wanted nothing more than to have you in her life. That the past few days had been the best in her entire life because of you. 

But no, all she could do was cry. 

All it took was one look in your eyes, your heartbroken eyes, for her to run out of the house. Out of the house, down the small path, and to the beach. The sunset was shining brightly, shimmering against Ochako’s tears. She was so mad at herself, and the fact that she had messed up the one amazing thing she had with you. Sure, money was great, but ever heard of love? Ochako had felt it only with you, and she had ruined it. Why hadn’t she thought of asking for your help? You were a hero god dammit, one of the most generous and giving jobs in the world. 

“God dammit! God Dammit! God dammit!” She kicked the sand, yelling as she stomped angrily. God... she should just throw herself into the ocean. After awhile of standing there, Ochako heard a noise behind her. “Oh dear, it’s just me. Tom and I are going to the country club’s cocktail party! We will be back around midnight sweetie. Y/n said to tell you to come inside, she’s getting worried. You crazy kids have fun!” Your mom called out as Ochako smiled before running inside and up to your room where you waited on your bed, a stuffed monkey in your life. 

“You know what I love about the Indian monkeys? They’re called gibbons. Funny name right?” You asked, looking up at Ochako as she nodded. She could see the mascara streaks running down your face, and she hated herself for causing that. “See, they’re cool though. Because, even if one of the monkeys makes a mistake like getting lost or eating too much of the food, they’re with their partners for life because they trust each other.” Ochako smiled sadly, understanding what you were saying. 

“When I went to India, I saw how they wouldn’t let you get close to their partners because they were protective, but if their partners walked up to you, they would allow that. It’s because they trust each other with their lives.” You got off your bed, setting the stuffed toy behind you as you walked towards your girlfriend. 

“I need to be able to trust you Uraraka. When- I mean... if we get married, all of this is going to be yours. There’s no need to steal it, you’re welcome to anything. Shoes, you bet. Want to use my perfume, go ahead. Wear my clothes, eat my food, live in my house. It’s all yours because I trust you. Right now, I need you in my life. I need to be able to trust you.” Ochako buried her face into your chest. 

“I’m so sorry Baby! It was the worst decision I could ever make! I got desperate and I did the worst thing imaginable! I’m so sorry!” She cried as you pulled her away. “In other news, both your parents are on my dad’s insurance and are going to start receiving medication right away. Don’t worry, my mom said they won’t have to pay a thing. 

She also said they can stay in our lake house if they want, it’s only a half hour away from UA.” In an instant, Uraraka started balling, pulling you into a tight hug. “Oh my god. Oh my god.” She freaked out, holding you as tight as she could. “I owe you so much! Let me do something for you! Anything!” She begged, desperate to do something nice for you like you had done for her.

“Get on the bed Baby.”

I felt extra gay while writing this but that’s not a bad thing sooooo. Honestly I’ve never found Ochaco cute until now so dangggg, thx bby. I always love your requests they make me so happy when I get one @drbumpkin

[inspirationdivine]

The Masque of the Red Death || Lydia and Winn

Timing: 27 June Parties: @inspirationdivine @packsbeforesnacks Summary: Winn is invited to a fancy dress auction, but doesn’t realise just how exclusive that invitation is

Boy, rich people sure moved fuckin’ quick. The ink hadn’t even dried on all the documents Nate had had Winn sign before the werewolf was gettin’ letters slipped under his front door. Despite the house’s age, and Winn’s plans to gut the place, he’d decided to move in, not really needin’ more than a mattress and a kitchen to keep him happy-ish. And he really, really needed to get the fuck out of the same house as his dad. He’d left him Denny, for now, and it had been nice, bonding or whatever, but Winn was a goddamn adult, and maybe had, like, an almost-boyfriend now. He refused to bring Noah into the same house that Daniel ‘let me tell you all about my original Chaucer’ Woods lived in. But thinkin’ about Noah did bring a smile to his masked face. 

The carved wooden mask of a wolf was a bit on-the-snout, but funny as hell, to Winn. ‘Sides, no one would guess. They’d all be wearin’ masks from all over the animal kingdom, if the invitation was anything to go by. Why you needed to wear a mask to a silent auction was beyond Winn — and, God did he hate these things, but makin’ a good impression was important, with rich folks especially, he knew from years tailing his mother at charity dinners. But the vibe felt… off, as he made his way through the crowd. Like he’d broken one of those stupid unspoken rules, somehow. It wasn’t his suit — there were people wearin’ far more outrageous (he assumed?) colors than purple here — so what could it have been? He stopped at a painting, pretending to understand the abstract shapes and what he (again, totally just guessin’) he took as a bold color choice. It looked messy, and a bit ugly, given his color-blindness. Maybe he really wouldn’t ever get art.

Lydia had never lived in so small a town that had such a thriving elite supernatural community. She’d never lived in so small a town, either. It wasn’t too surprising that so many of the rich and wealthy were supernatural beings, with their longer lives, lack of needs for conventional expenses, extensive networking skills, and all the other ways that put them above the average human. It was even more lovely to be surrounded by people who felt the same, in one way or another. These events, for all their glamour and fun, had oh so many rules. A costumed silent auction with no allowances for pheromones, compulsion, or other unsavory reality distortions. Then again, in a hall where the only humans were the waitstaff, was it really a necessary rule? 

Lydia wandered around, holding her champagne in a white gloved hand as she mingled and chit chatted with the crowd, especially anyone that made her chest hum. Oh dear. Lydia paused, eyeing the young man by a Wassily Kandinsky piece, with a wolf mask. She winced, and hoped that he was either a fool or altogether much too new to these things, and not some human trying to sneak in. Surely the outside guards had already checked him, but still… the mask was incredibly tacky. “Making quite the statement there, aren’t you?”

Hearing a woman’s voice from behind him, Winn turned, regarding her own mask with interest. It was a bit hard to tell through Winn’s colorblindness, but he could tell the shape of a hummingbird. Long, elegant, and very, very fancy. Winn wondered if those were real feathers. He didn’t know anything about the woman, but the mask… suited her, Winn decided. He looked down at his outfit, then back up at the woman. “I’m not quite sure I know what you mean? No one has ever told me I don’t clean up well, though, so I hope it’s not the suit.” He winked through the mask, grabbing a flute of champagne for himself from a passing waiter. “I’m— Ah, I only just moved to the East End, so you’ll have to excuse me if I’ve made some sort of mistake. Never been one for following the rules.” He grinned, wolfish and self-sure. “I’d ask your name, but that probably defeats the purpose of these,” he tapped the mask on one of its carved ears, “and what’s in a name, really?” 

“Oh, not at all, the suit fits you like a glove. You look positively dashing,” Lydia replied with a grin, looking him up and down. Maybe not necessarily new money, but certainly young money, in both his appearance and attitude. Although, some species ended up rather frozen at a certain age both physically and mentally, did they not? “Oh, I’m not so sure the masks are for secrecy. I’m Lydia, just so that you have something to call me by. I was only commenting on your mask. Wearing another species as costume is rather passe, don’t you think?”

“Uh,” Winn said, intelligently, “I thought that was the whole… point? I mean, unless you’re secretly a hummingbird, right? No one’s wearing a human mask, so we’re all breaking that, right? It was on the invitation. Wear an animal.” He scanned the crowd, trying to figure out if there was anyone without a mask, but the only exceptions were the waitstaff. “I’m Winn. Call me Winn. So…” He grinned. “This is the part where you tell me you are a hummingbird, I take it?”

“Winn,” Lydia repeated with a smile, offering him a faux curtsy. Although, her smile was entirely quizzical as she looked around the room, at the shining floor and glittering diamond chandeliers, and all the kinds of people around them, wondering if somehow they hadn’t come to the same event. “Darling, do you not… realise that no one in this room is human, spare a couple of spellcasters and the waitstaff?”

Well, fuck a duck. “Oh,” Winn said, a soft syllable in the air. He gestured to his wolf mask, dumbly. “So, does everyone know I’m a…” The question hung in the space between them. “Or do they just think I’m an asshole?” He started laughing, ‘cause, really? It was funny as hell. First non-wolf supernatural shindig he’d been to, and he’d already managed to fall face first into a stupid rule. “I— Wow, okay. Alright. So, guess I should’ve thought this one through a little more. Y’know, I was wonderin’ how they got my address. I’d literally just signed the papers.”

“Well, now I do, which is ever so slightly less tasteless than dressing up as someone else’s species. Not all that original, either,” Lydia said, but it was with such a soft smile that it was obvious she was teasing. “No, not that, but you do rather stand out like a sore thumb. If you’re new to all this, though, I’m sure all will be forgiven quickly. Besides, I’m talking to you now, we’ll have a crowd in a hurry.” Lydia smiled, offering her arm for him. “Let me get you a drink. Are you planning on bidding on anything tonight?”

“Oh boy.” Winn huffed out a sigh of relief. “That would have been awkward, huh?” He took Lydia’s proffered arm, setting his downed glass of champagne — ugh, he really hated that shit — and letting her lead him to… assumedly the bar? Lydia wasn’t wrong, though, a crowd did seem to flit about them, seemingly drawn into Lydia’s sheer force of personality. “Um,” Winn said, thinking through much of what he’d seen, “if I’m bein’ totally honest, I’m a little worried now that anything I buy would end up cursed?” He raised his free hand to the back of his head, running it through. “How, uh, about you?”

Lydia smiled, ordering a drink from the bar and gesturing for him to do the same, ‘on her tab’.  “Well, some of the items in here are cursed. Some bewitched, some haunted, some just have attitude.”  She smiled, gesturing around the room. “That one, there, the painting of the lady at a cliffside, can you see the markings on the ceiling above it? Warding signs.”

Sipping his new (and extremely fruity) drink, Winn followed Lydia’s gaze. “Attitude?” Winn questioned openly, taking in the painting that Lydia had pointed out. Glyphs, sure enough, were dotted on the ceiling in, what appeared to Winn to be, nonsense shapes. “And warding from what? Are there, like, ghosts in the paintings?” He got the sense that question was dumb, maybe, but Lydia had to know he was, somewhat, new at this.

With their drinks in hand, Lydia led him along the gallery, speaking lowly even though she knew there were plenty around that could overhear, no matter how quietly she spoke. “Yes, that one is haunted. This sculpture of a face in pain contains vampire ash, and has a bit of an attitude. Then these coins, believed to be from Roman Aos Sí, are entirely fake. So, tell me, what do you want to know?”

“Oh, Lydia,” Winn said with a lopsided grin. “I want to know everything.”

[louadorable126]

Demons(you).me Chapter 5 - Burgers and Meetings

>>Click here to read over on Ao3!<<

Art by Aya/ITOUYAS! <3

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Summary:

In a city controlled by the generally altered race of Demons, Lady's life as a mercenary on the lower floor was never easy. Especially when she ran into Dante. A demon on the hunt for his missing brother.

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Important information!

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Realtionships: Dante x Lady, Vergil x Lady

Characters: Lady (Devil May Cry), Dante (Devil May Cry), Vergil (Devil May Cry) Morrison (Devil May Cry), Nell Goldstien (Devil May Cry) Eva (Devil May Cry), Sprada (He’s mentioned bless him), Mundus (Also Mentioned)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Genetic Engineering, Sci-fi Fantasy, Strip Clubs and Strippers, Dystopia, Seizures, Flirting, Eva and Sprada are alive! :D, Human Experimentation, Cults.

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Chapter 5

When Vergil said he wanted to take a break, Lady certainly hadn’t expected…this.

After walking a few blocks away from the cult’s abandoned lab, the group had stumbled across a fast food truck cosily tucked away beneath a monorail bridge; the occasional train passing overhead and zooming passed in a matter of seconds. Needless to say, Dante had been quick to drag them over to such a ramshackle establishment, the moment his nose caught whiff the sizzling of meat on its grill.

Before Lady knew it, she found herself left on her own in the middle of the road. Vergil had isolated himself away from his twin’s embarrassing display, as he mindlessly drooling over the truck's menu while resting his chin against the van’s rusted counter, by going over to one of the supporting pillars of the bridge and leaning back against it. Of course, he didn’t exactly look like he was in the mood for company; looking lost in thought as he gazed up at the towering layers cascading up to the metal sky above him. Vergil always seemed to have a way to project an aura of intense disinterest when he didn’t want to be spoken too. So not really knowing what to do with herself, Lady walked over to the fast food truck.

“Hey kid, you gonna get anything or not?” The gruff, bearded, chef behind the counter asked in a polite tone. Wiping down his newly washed, worn tongs with a cloth.

“Uhhh give me a moment. It's hard to decide-“

“Not for me! Can I please have a hot dog?” Lady chimed in, as she approached. Standing beside the red demon.

Startled, Dante quickly pushed himself away from the counter and looked over at her in surprise.

“What? Thought you were the only one that was hungry?” Lady taunted with a sly smirk.

“No! I- uh…” The demon frantically stumbled for his words, caught completely off guard by her bluntness. All of a sudden, he turned in the direction of the chef and threw up two fingers. “I’ll have two of the Mega burgers please!”

“Sure. That’ll be 7.50.” The older man informed them. Swapping his hand so a holographic payment screen appeared in front of the pair.

Lady swiftly pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and tapped it against the screen. A moment later a bright green “Payment Received” sign appeared and the hologram vanished into thin air. With a pleased nod, the chef quickly got to work putting two meat patties onto his grill, followed by frying the spongy, inner section of the buns.

“Two burgers, huh?” Lady asked curiously. Raising a playful eyebrow, as she crossed her arms.

“Well, one’s for Verge.” Dante explained, taking a glance over his shoulder at his stoic twin. Resting the back of his head against the supporting pillar with his eyes shut, seemingly in some sort of ‘meditation’. “The guy will never admit he’s hungry. But Eva would totally kill me if she thought he hadn’t been fed!"

“Are you sure he’s going to like it?” Lady questioned in an unsure tone. Leaning in closer to Dante, and keeping her voice low, and away from the prying ears of the nearby chef. “Your brother doesn’t seem like a guy whose taste palate would fit...this kind of place.”

“Nah! I’m sure he’ll be fine with it!” Dante reassured, waving his hand dismissively at the idea.

Lady still didn’t 100% agree with Dante’s assumption; her gut instinct screaming at her that this was a terrible idea. But who was she to argue when she’d only known his brother for around a day or so? Dante had known him his whole life. “If you say so then."

The two quickly fell into silence after that. The space left empty by their words was quickly filled by the satisfying sound of sizzling and spitting from the grill, and the low tunes of a rock song escaping out of the nearby radio. Their meals were coming close to being done, as the chef applied two slices of cheese over the meat and went to go and stuff the hot dog into a bun.

“Hey Lady…” Dante suddenly started to ask. His voice uncharacteristically soft in tone. Something that didn’t slip Lady’s notice, as she looked up at the boyish face hidden beneath that crimson hood of his. “What do you plan to do after me and Vergil leave?”

Well that certainly caught her off guard! At first, it seemed like such a strange thing for him to be asking. Part of her thought that they’d be together for a longer time yet. That even bringing up the idea that they would disband their small party seemed out of place at this moment. But, the more she thought about it, she started to realise where Dante was going with this.

Dante had found his brother, and by all means had completed the original mission he had set out for himself down here. It was only through Vergil’s intervention and insistence that they protect the true nature of their heritage that the boys were still here with her. Nothing more nothing less. And…well they were coming close to making that a reality.

Granted, they had about as much a clue as her when it came to predicting where or whether the next ‘leak’ would appear. It could just be that they would have to deal with this cultist and then everything would be fine. No more work would have to be done and the brother’s could return to their newly discovered mother for a heart to heart. That they would leave her, and she’d return to a mundane life without the thrill or adventure she had experienced over the last few days.

And if Lady had to be honest…she didn’t really want to go back to that.

A swell of anxiety started to curl in her stomach. She opened her mouth to speak, her breath heavy with conflicted emotion.

“Well…I’d probably just go back to working as a mercenary under Morrison. Don’t think much else would change really.” She answered honestly, with a small shrug.

Yet, a part of her couldn’t just leave it at that. A nagging sensation reminded her that things would change once he and his brother finally left. Maybe it was because of an overwhelming sense of sentimentality she’d grown to feel towards the demon. But Lady didn’t want him to think she wouldn’t care for his departure when it finally came. That she wasn’t thankful for what he’d done for her.

She leaned back against the trucks metal counter, letting out a small sigh, as she looked out into the distinct wistfully “But, you know....I think I’d miss your dumb ass. Things will be much less fun around here without you!”

“Who are you calling a dumb ass?” Dante whined in a jovial voice. He obviously wasn’t particularly offended by her slight jab, if that sly smile playing on his lips anything to go by. Lightheartedly poking her shoulder.

Lady couldn’t help but smile too, as she raised her hands in defence. “What? I’m just speaking the truth-“

“Alright you lovebirds! Meal's ready!” A deep voice from behind interrupted. At the sound, the pair quickly turned around. Finding the bearded chef standing directly behind them with a brown paper bag seeped with grease in one hand, and a cardboard container with a hotdog sticking out of it in the other.

Oh god! Not this again! Lady cursed in the back of her mind. Unable to save herself from the rush of heat flooding her cheeks with red, as she gingerly took the items off the man and quickly handed the paper bag over to Dante by shoving it at his chest. Head tilted down shamefully throughout. I’m never going to hear the end of this! Why does everything think just because we’re around the same age he’s my boyfriend! It's so infuriating-

“Thank you” She mumbled in a small voice to the chef. Cutting off her inner turmoil before it could rise to the surface. Keeping her cool as she ever so calmly grabbed Dante’s wrist and forcefully dragging him away from as fast as she could physically move. Which wasn’t that fast given that Dante was already briskly walking ahead of her, when they reached Vergil. Earning her a curious look from the blue demon, as he watched his twin seemingly lead her along. Dammit! She could only imagine what he was thinking! Stupid demons and their speed!

Without a second's hesitation, she quickly let go of Dante’s wrist. Letting Dante’s arm drop down limply, as she threw her hand up to her face and rubbed it tiredly. Trying to compose herself before all logical thought left her and she did something she’d regret. Well, if she hadn’t already. All Lady wanted to do was pray the ground would open up and swallow her whole right now!

Dante however, was completely obvious to this. Freed from her grasp, he swiftly wandered over to his nearby twin and pulled out a neatly wrapped burger, in a cream coloured napkin, out of the paper bag and presenting it to him proudly. "Bon Appetit, bro!”

Vergil looked down at the item in bemusement. As though he had not been expecting his brother to present him such a ‘gift’. Hesitantly, he reached out and gently took it from his brother’s hands. “You didn’t need to get me this, Dante. I’m not particularly famished right now.”

“Yeah yeah! Keep saying that to yourself!” Dante said disbelievingly, waving his brother off.

He pulled his burger out of the paper bag and quickly scrunched it up into a tight ball. Looking around for a bin, the red demon was lucky enough to spot one only a couple of meters away from the group. Never being one to pass up a challenge, Dante attempted to throw the scrunched up paper bag into bin’s open mouth at a startling speed. Sending it hurtling through the air and almost barely missing its target by a small margin, if not for the light breeze that had swept in to save the day. At the sound of the small metallic clank, made by the ball as it hit the inside of the steel container, Dante fist pumped in victory as he spun back around to face Vergil. Who was shaking his head in disapproval of his little brother’s antics.

“Come on! You can’t say that wasn’t cool!” Dante exclaimed passionately. Pointing at his grumpy brother’s person with a burger in hand.

“I see nothing ‘cool’ about littering, little brother.” Vergil said coldly. Not taking his eyes off his brother, as he unwrapped his meal with one hand. “If you had missed that shot, you would have to be the one to clear it up. Not me."

“But I didn’t miss, did I?” Dante pointed out, smugly. Vergil didn’t react to his retort however. His face remained cold and impassive, barely showing a hint of emotion as he glared at his twin. An invisible tension began to mount between the two of them. Rising up until it reached its breaking point, when Dante admitted defeat with a roll of his eyes. “Alright fine! By the way, Lady's the one who bought this meal for us. So might wanna thank her a little!”

“Wha-“ Lady blurted out at the mention of her name. Not expecting to be brought back into the conversation so abruptly. Dropping her hand and letting her vision focus, when she came to her senses, she found Vergil staring at her with an awkward smile. One that looked rather forced, uncomfortable, and….ok somewhat terrifying if she had to be honest!

“Thank you…..for this.” He said in a stilted voice. Seemingly trying his best to remain polite while obviously not caring much for what he was thanking her for, like a child who got a knock off toy for Christmas.

“Oh! Uh…no worries!” Lady said awkwardly. Trying her best not to wither under that unsettling smile of his. She glanced down at the hotdog in her hand and quickly took a small bite out of it. Gosh, it had been ages since she had one! She’d almost forgotten how good they were!

Wiping away a few small crumbs from her mouth with the back of her hand, she looked back up at the two dumbfounded brother’s awkwardly staring at her while she ate. “You guys going to start eating or not? This stuff’s going to get cold soon!” She exclaimed in a muffled voice, mouth filled with food.

Without another word, Dante quickly tore open the napkin covering his burger and began to dig into it. He let out a moan of pleasure as he ate, seemingly enjoying every bite with that blissful expression on his face. It always fascinated Lady how Dante could be so pleased by anything he ate. She honestly wouldn’t have taken him as a foodie to be honest. Expecting him to be a rebellious picky eater who could only enjoy fast food and would sustain himself on nothing else.

Ironically enough, however, that title seemingly went to his brother. Vergil had yet to touch his burger in the slightest. Instead, he had pulled back the burger's wrapping and bun ever so slightly, and awkwardly poked its inner contents with his finger and gave it a rigorous examination before it went anywhere near his mouth. It was obviously not a pleasant conclusion however, as a growing look of vile disgust formed on his fair features. His face twisting and distorting as though he was on the verge of throwing up, as he quickly pulled back his finger and hastily whipped it down with his napkin.

“Is this thing made out of rodent?” Vergil commented maybe a bit too loudly. Causing the food trucks chef peaked his head up in interest a few meters away.

“Uhhh...might wanna keep it down a little, Vergil!” Lady said in a hushed voice, chewing on her food. Catching sight of the man’s movements out of the corner of her eye. Worrying that the chef might kick them out of the area, the mercenary quickly spun back around to check on the older man. Thankfully, Lady was relieved to find, however, that the bearded chef sat back down in his truck, and was nodding his head to the beat of the radio.

“I’m not eating this.” The blue demon asserted coldly. He took a step forward. Moving to walk past his brother, as he headed towards the bin.

All of a sudden, he was stopped by a strong arm appearing in front of him and reaching out across his chest, blocking his way.

“Hold it right there, princess!” Dante said in a muffled voice. Stopping for a moment taking a bite out of his own burger. “Look, it's not that bad! In fact I think these burgers are pretty tasty! So I’m not sure what you're being a crybaby about bro! But, I’m not gonna let your waste a perfectly good meal-“  Dante reached out to his brother with open hand. “Hand it over if you don’t want it.”

Vergil slapped away his brother’s hand with a growl. “I’m not a crybaby, Dante! I just have standards for what I put into my body!” He paused for a moment, taking a deep, shaky breath. Looking down at the burger in his hand with a hard, determined glare, as though he was facing down a fearsome foe in combat. "This meal is mine, and mine alone. Not yours, little brother! If you wish for me to prove to you that I can eat it. Then I will! "

Finishing his dramatic monologue, and without a second's hesitation, Vergil bought the burger up to his mouth and slammed his teeth into it in one mighty, powerful bite. Sending a spray of sickly-sweet, bright red ketchup sauce flying out of the other end of the burger and into Dante’s face. Covering him with sauce like a tasty face paint.

“Pffffffff!” Lady burst out into roaring laughter at the comical sight. To which she was soon joined by Dante, seemingly completely uncaring for the ketchup splattered across his face as he chuckled. Ironic, as Vergil's regal face quickly turned the same bright red shade as his tomato covered brother’s, at their mocking. Deathly embarrassed, Vergil quickly turned away from the pair of them and stormed over to the nearby bin and slammed his burger inside.

As he walked back from the bin, Lady couldn’t help but feel bad for the blue demon. He was obviously trying to play off that he didn’t care about what had just transpired. His face marred with his usual stoic frigidity, icy eyes hard and lips pressed together in a firm line, actively schooling his features so that he looked emotionless. Yet, as the bright red blush slowly left his cheeks, he couldn’t hide the light, pink dusting covering his sharp cheekbones. It was both hilarious and endearing to see. Hell, Lady might even have gone as far as to say it was….cute.

Vergil walked back over to the pillar and picked his sword up off the ground, right next to the black laptop haphazardly leaning against the concrete structure. Held it close to his chest protectively, in his crossed arms, as he stubbornly gazed up at a futuristic, bullet-like train rumbling past overhead. Although, not loud enough to cover up the sound of a stomach growling in annoyance. Given that she and Dante had certainly eaten their fair share, by process of elimination it seemed Vergil was hungrier than he let on.

Taking pity on the young man, Lady awkwardly split off the untouched end of her hotdog, and strolled over to him. She coughed lightly to gain his attention, and when his fearsome gaze fell on her, she swiftly presented her peace offering with a soft smile. “Here, take half of mine.”

Vergil raised a curious, pale eyebrow at her offer from beneath his hood. Still looking uncomfortable at the idea of eating anything from the food truck. The brunette suspected that it was going to take a bit more convincing to get him to concede to her demands.

“I-uh...saw a jar of branded hotdog sausages in the van. So there shouldn’t be anything weird in it if you're worrying about that.“ She was reassured. Rubbing the back of her slim neck with her free hand.

At the news of the hotdog's authenticity, Vergil hesitantly took the uneaten half from Lady’s hand. A small smirk creeping onto his pinkish lips as he gazed down at the meal in his grasp. “Thank you, Lady.” He said in a soft voice. There was a hint of…something behind that tone, however. Something indecipherable to the mercenary.

She didn’t have time to question it too much though, as Dante walked over to the pair of them rubbing down his boyish face with the torn remains of his napkin. It seemed he’d done a successful job of clearing away much of the ketchup covering his face, however the odd spots still remained around his jawline and chin. Apparently only the top half of his face really counted when it came to cleaning himself.

“Hey, you doing alright bro?” Dante asked in a concerned voice, as he casually leaned back against the concrete pillar beside the blue demon. “Don’t worry too much about what happened. There’s a reason I wear red!”

“I thought it was because Eva got annoyed every time you came back from a mission covered in drenched in blood, dirt and god knows what else attaches itself to you.” Vergil pointed out, without missing a beat. Looking over at his twin with a fond, yet taunting gaze. Knocking Dante off guard for a brief second, before he quickly recovered.

“Heh…well I suppose that’s true! But this just proves it has other uses!” Dante lightly pat his twin on the shoulder affectionately. “Anyway, enjoy your meal bro! Let’s hope no special sauce leaks out of the other end this time!”

Dante winked at his brother with a cheeky grin as he finished talking. At first Vergil ignored him, moving to bite into his hotdog regardless. It was only after a second of processing what his twin had said, the cogs in his brain clicking into motion, that the young man realised what he was implying. His pale face quickly flushing with bright red once again. His sharp teeth just stopped shy from the hotdog's delicate bun, before slamming his mouth shut. Gritting his teeth together so tightly that his jaw began to shake.

The mercenary started to step backwards, already anticipating the ticking time bomb about to go off before her, as Vergil moved to click open Yamato’s blade with his free hand. A murderous glint in his blue eyes as he slowly tilted his head up and glared at his unassuming twin - still resting his hand on the blue demon’s shoulder. Toothy grin still etched into his features like he had been turned to stone.

I should probably get myself a soda! Lady thought to herself wisely. Breaking off in a sprint towards the food truck, the moment a flash of bright blue light sparked off behind her, out of the corner of her eye.

“DANTEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!”

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