#like he's serious but he's kind of like deeply cringe I guess? So people started making fun of him but I've always loved him genuinely | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

janetbrown711 · 3 years

Note

Can we get a one-shot between yakko and max at the party? Please

Parties.

Yakko remembered those, though they were far and few between. Angelina wasn't necessarily one to celebrate often, but his parents told them tales of celebrations in the past. Singing, dancing, laughing, falling in love, it sounded exciting.

Well- okay, Yakko had technically been to parties before. However, they always lacked the spirit and energy and- well... fun his parents described them with. His grandmother's parties were stiff and uncomfortable, and usually without his siblings.

However, his mother's coronation party was the complete opposite of that. There was music- fiddles and the like- the kind of music that made you want to dance and brought smiles to faces the second the hair touched the strings. There was dancing, real dancing, the fun kind with stomping and twirling that made people lose their breath without even minding because of how fun it was. There was food, there was art, there was singing, there were people- tons of them.

There was a prince.

Yakko hadn't seen him before.

He was a dog- likely no older than Yakko himself. He looked like he was trying to have a good time, but the outfit he was put into was clearly not meant for this level of activity. His hair was messy, with a crown crooked on his head. His eyes were dark like a smoky quartz, and they were looking around the room, attempting to calm an anxiety within (Yakko could relate to that).

The prince made eye contact with Yakko.

Yakko looked back.

"Yakko! Who're ya looking at?" Wakko appeared out of the blue, tugging on Yakko's sleeve and snapping him out of the trance.

"N-no one," He lied. It wasn't like he knew who he was, though he was a prince and most certainly not a nobody.

"But you were looking at someone, telllll meeeee," Wakko tugged on his sleeve.

"Weren't you drawing with chalk?" Yakko huffed.

"Yeah, but you were making heart eyes and I wanted to see," Wakko crossed his arms, huffing right back.

"I-i wasn't actually making heart eyes, right?" Yakko panicked. Wakko and Dot giggled.

"No, but you looked really silly," She grinned cheekily. Yakko rolled his eyes.

"You should talk to him," Dot said, pointing to the prince.

"Put your arm down, it's rude to point," He put her arm down for her, embarrassed. Dot giggled more.

"Talk to him or else we will," She smirked.

"Nope- uh- that's alright, I can talk to him," Yakko quickly said, already making his way to the mysterious prince, Wakko and Dot watching a bit from behind, before Yakko gave them a look and they (wisely) scattered.

Yakko was about halfway there when he realized he had no idea what on earth he was supposed to say to him. He hadn't interacted with someone his age since- well... ever. Much less someone who made him feel like this.

He should've prepared more. He had read many books on romance and even just social interaction. He had read numerous social interactions, both good and bad, and yet his mind was blank as to what to say.

Well, it looked like he was going to have to improvise because before he knew it, his feet had dragged him over and he was right beside the prince, with just enough distance not to be noticed by him yet.

"Okay Yakko, you get one shot," He whispered to himself in preparation. God- he hadn't felt this nervous in a while.

"So... you... come here often?" He asked. The prince turned and looked at him, slightly startled.

"A-aren't you the crown prince?" He asked, his face flushing slightly.

"Oh my god- that was a terrible introduction," Yakko facepalmed. To his surprise, this made the prince laugh.

"It's cool, I-i can get nervous too," He said.

"Sorry, yeah. Can I- uh, start over?" Yakko asked, laughing nervously.

"Okay," The other prince laughed too, which made Yakko's heart flutter a bit.

"My name is Yakko Warner of- well- Warnernstock, but I think you figured that out," Yakko held his hand out.

"I'm Prince Max Goof of Disneyland," Max said, shaking it.

"Disneyland, huh? that's not too far away," Yakko said.

"We border Warnstock, though the castle is right in the middle of the country so it did take a few hours," Max nodded to himself.

"Sooo... what's it like there?" Yakko asked, internally cringing at just how terrible this conversation was. He usually loved talking- why was he so bad at it now?

"It's- uh- well- it's interesting," Max said, scratching the back of his neck. "My dad works with my uncles Mickey and Donald in running the kingdom, and we technically have a really big family that can get pretty overwhelming at times," He explained. "Used to be more, but Mom died when I was born and Uncle Oswald died in a war when I was 5."

"I thought my mom was dead for awhile, so I kinda relate," Yakko said.

"Your grandma is dead too, right?" Max asked.

"Yeah, but that's not a bad thing," Yakko said, just now realizing that the conversation took an odd turn.

"Don't doubt that, from what I've heard," Max laughed, which made Yakko relax.

Maybe this wasn't going terribly.

"But yeah, it's interesting there. What's it like over here in Warnerstock? It's my first time," Max asked.

"It's chaotic too. My grandma-" Yakko paused, not really sure how much he wanted to share. He had just met Max, he didn't want to scare him away this early.

"My grandma was... a piece of work, but my parents are pretty cool," Yakko said, scanning around for them, and finding them on the dance floor happy as can be.

"And I have two younger siblings, so that's... fun," He added, suddenly becoming aware of just how weird and... deeply wrong his life had been up to this point.

"Oh yeah, I think I've seen them around. I think your brother tried drawing chalk around where I was standing so I tried to move but he wouldn't let me till he was finished," Max recalled.

"Sorry- they can be a real handful," Yakko blushed, embarrassed.

"Yeah, Dot and Wakko can stir up a lot of chaos," Yakko tried to say so with a happy, fond look at their mischief, but instead memories of the times it got them in serious trouble flooded his mind, and he frowned.

"Are you- uh- okay?" Max asked.

"I'm... fine. I'm fine," Yakko shook his head, forcing the memories down. "I'm sorry, I just... it's been a lot lately."

"I can believe that, from what I've heard," Max nodded, his eyes soft and sympathetic. Yakko could only nod.

"But hey, at least things are looking up now, huh?" The foreign prince did his best to lift his spirits.

"That is one way to look at it," Yakko agreed, forcing down the knotted feeling in his stomach.

There was a pause, neither prince knowing what to say, each unsure of their emotions, or where to go next in their conversation.

"So... what's your family like?" Yakko asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"My dad is... well, he's something alright," Max looked away, embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" Yakko raised an eyebrow.

"He's- well... Goofy. That's his name," Max shrugged. "Though my uncles are pretty cool, though they aren't my uncles in the literal sense," He quickly shifted the subject.

"That must be cool. Both of my parents were only children," Yakko didn't push.

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean it's all great, I'm still an only child. I'm sure it's great to have some siblings around," Max said.

"They do keep things interesting," Yakko snorted, looking through the crowd, finding them spying on him yet again. He shot them another look, and the two scattered.

"But I don't know anyone my own age really, and at times I've felt more like a parent than a sibling," Yakko admitted, though he didn't know why.

"I don't know anyone my own age really either," Max said.

"But... I could know you, if you want," He offered. Yakko looked at him, and found he was blushing and looking away.

"I wouldn't mind that," He said, a small smile growing on his face. Max looked at him and smiled back, the fluttering feeling returning.

"You're really-..." Cute? Pretty? Handsome? Yakko knew a thousand words but he had no idea how to describe Max's appearance, especially in a way that made sense.

"Cool?" Max seemed to know his plight.

"Yes! Cool," Yakko snapped his fingers, which made Max laugh.

"You're... cool," He said.

"Thanks," Max punched his arm lightly. "You're cool too."

Another pause. Yakko was becoming increasingly aware that he simply had no idea how on earth to talk to anyone who wasn't a family member. He had no idea what normal things for people like Max were.

Yakko realized he had no idea how to be a kid.

"Do you wanna dance?" Max asked, snapping him out of the train of thought.

"O-oh, uh- I'm a terrible dancer, I couldn't possibly-" Yakko made excuses as his eyes went to the dance floor, where he discovered his parents were watching him too. They both had goofy grins on their faces and gave him a big thumbs up and Yakko's face turned bright red.

"Oh I'm a terrible dancer too, I just figured it'd be fun. I've been observing them long enough, I think I figured it out," Max said.

"Well I guess if you really want, we can be terrible together," Yakko couldn't look him in the eyes, his face still as red as a tomato.

"I-i mean if you don't want to..." Max put his hands in his pockets.

"No, it- it'll be fun. Let's do it," Yakko shook away the flustered feeling, holding his hand out for Max. Max took it.

"I'm not joking when I say I'm a terrible dancer though. I once had to dance with a lady and I nearly tore her dress because I kept stepping on it," Max admitted sheepishly as Yakko took him towards where the people were dancing.

"Well lucky for you, I'm no lady and have no dress to tear," He said, surprised at his sudden wit. Good- maybe that meant he stop embarrassing himself and have a good conversation.

"Y-yeah," Max said. God- he was just so-... so-

Yakko was starting to get annoyed at his suddenly small vocabulary.

"I think I actually know this dance. I'll wait for an opening and then you can follow my lead," Yakko told him.

"Ok-okay, if that's what you want then-" Max couldn't finish his sentence before Yakko found an opening and before he knew it, they were pulled into a dance.

Yakko was thankful he actually paid attention to the book on dances and read the full thing, because while his grandmother had only wanted him to read the formal, ballroom dances, he read the whole thing through and found the town dance section and now knew what he was doing. A luck Max clearly didn't have, but that almost made it more fun. He had only just met Max, but it was clear Max trusted and liked him to some extent, and Yakko felt the same. There was just something about him Yakko couldn't describe.

"Relax, it's all fun," Yakko said to him, and Max loosened up a bit, making the movement a lot easier. Soon, the speed picked up, and the stomps and jumps intensified and the rest of the world just melted away, as all the boys were focused on were each other. Sure, there were a few times that they stepped on each other's feet or they were off from everyone else, but they just laughed it off and continued having fun.

Fun.

Despite how much Yakko embarrassed himself, he was having fun.

Hell- this was probably the most fun he had ever had in his whole life. All of his previous stress and anxieties melted away- this was fun.

Max was fun.

Yakko really, really liked him.

Eventually, after a long while of dancing, the song came to an end, and Yakko and Max were left panting as they stood close to each other. For a moment they looked into each other's eyes, before realizing where they were and both taking a step back.

"Well that was- well-" Max really wasn't one for words, was he?

"It was fun," Yakko said for him. The foreign prince nodded.

"It was fun," He grinned a little.

"You totally lied to me though, you're a good dancer," Max punched his arm again. Yakko laughed.

"I meant more like- ballroom stuff. I'm so terrible at ballroom dancing, my grandmother basically banned me from dancing," He snorted.

"I've basically banned myself- I dance a lot like my dad... usually," Max said. Yakko had never met Goofy, but from the name alone he could get a pretty good picture.

"Don't sell yourself short, you were pretty good," Yakko encouraged as they began to walk back to their previous place.

"Yeah... well... thanks," Max said. "I..." He stopped to think about his words.

"I don't have a lot of friends... especially those my age. People usually find me- well- awkward and weird and... like my dad, basically. But you're... you're cool," He managed to say.

God, Yakko could relate to that.

"You're cool too," Yakko said, looking him in the eyes.

They stood in an entranced silence for a little while, before they heard the music start up again, and they watched the dancers for a while.

"So... what do you like to do? Got any... hobbies?" Max asked.

"I read and study a lot," Yakko shrugged.

"You like studying?" Max genuinely questioned.

Yakko thought about that. "I mean... I think so? I don't know... I guess I just do it a lot."

"Ah," was all Max could really say to that.

Stupid trauma.

"What about you?" Yakko switched the conversation.

"I like doing sports, they're one of my bigger strengths," Max replied.

"That makes one of us- I'm pretty sure no one can be less pathetic than me," He snorted. "Even my seven-year-old sister is better at sword fighting than me."

"And it's not like I don't have the genes or anything- my dad's a knight for crying out loud, I don't know why I have a bad case of noodle arms," Yakko joked, which made Max laugh.

"You don't have to be physically strong, being smart is equally as good," he said.

"Until you have to protect people," Yakko thought to himself.

"Yeah," He said aloud.

Stupid, stupid trauma.

"Besides, I could try and give pointers if you wanted," Max said. That snapped Yakko out of those thoughts in an instant.

"P-pointers? When would we do that?" He asked. Max shrugged.

"I dunno. But what I do know is that you can visit my kingdom anytime, uncle Mickey and my dad love guests," He invited.

"Is... is that normal?" Yakko asked. Max blinked.

"Yeah? Did- have you never had any guests at your castle?" He asked, trying his best not to sound weirded out.

"Outside of the occasional ambassador and ball, no," Yakko admitted.

"Well, then I guess you'll definitely have to come over sometime," Max said.

"Yeah... I guess I will," Yakko managed to smile.

Suddenly, it dawned on Yakko how late it was becoming. The crowds grew smaller and smaller, as the sun had set hours ago. He looked around and saw someone wearing the emblem of Disneyland who looked like they were watching over Max sitting and possibly waiting for them to be done so he could take him home. Yakko frowned.

"You have to go now, don't you?" Yakko asked. Max looked at the man Yakko had noticed. He sighed.

"It is really late... don't get me wrong though- this was easily the most fun I've had in a long, long time," Max said. "I just- I have to go home eventually."

"No, trust me, i get it," Yakko smiled softly at him. Max returned the look.

"I'll... I'll see you again though, right? You'll stop by my castle?" He asked.

"Of course," Yakko nodded seriously.

The man across the way seemed to take notice of the lack of conversation, making his way towards the pair. Yakko sighed.

"I'll see you later then," He said.

"Yeah, see you," Max didn't know what to do so he punched his arm lightly before waving and going with the guard.

"See you..." Yakko said to himself, watching him go.

Max sure was something...

"Did you have fun tonight?" A voice from behind startled Yakko.

"Oh mom- it's just you," He relaxed. "Yeah- I did."

"Your siblings are both practically asleep, not that I'm surprised," Lena chuckled. Yakko scanned the area for them and found them both curled up by the bonfire. He snorted.

"That's Wakko and Dot alright: boundless energy until they crash," He said. Lena nodded.

"Who was that prince?" His mother asked with a slight smirk. Yakko blushed.

"His name is Max, he's from Disneyland," He said.

"Disneyland... I haven't heard from them in a long time," Lena thought out loud.

"Well, he seems to really like you," She looked back at him.

"He's cool," Yakko shrugged.

"Just 'cool?'" Lena teased. Yakko gave her a weird look. Lena laughed.

"Never mind, you'll figure it all out in due time," She wrapped an arm around him as they began walking back inside.

"What about Wakko and Dot?" Yakko asked, looking back at them.

"Your father will carry them to bed, they'll be fine," Lena said. Yakko nodded to himself.

"So... Max, hm? Do you want to see him again?" She asked.

"Can I?" He asked. Lena chuckled.

"Of course, it's been so long since I've spoken to them, and now that I'm queen, a visit or two isn't beyond reason," Lena said.

"Oh right, you are the queen," Yakko realized.

"Strange, right?" She joked.

It was strange, to think of his grandmother in the past tense. She was queen. His mother is queen.

"Yep," He said, before sighing.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," he said.

"After all that, I bet. Goodnight darling," Lena gave him a hug, which he quickly returned before going back inside without her.

So this was what it was like to be a normal kid... well- attempting to be a normal kid, anyway. Parties, fun, making friends, butterflies...

Yakko was going to have to do a lot more studying this next while to see if he could get a grasp on what it was exactly he felt for Max, otherwise, he was certain he was going to go mad.

Still, despite the emotional swirl in his chest, he knew he had a good time. Max was cool and Yakko liked being around him-- that much he couldn't deny.

Yakko couldn't wait to see him again.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 The End

#animaniacs #yax #angelina 1 lives au #yakko warner #max goof #my fics #this will not be a one shot >:D #yax epilogue #god this took forever #I'm so sorry for the wait #I had to figure out how to write bisexual disasters #I love them your honor #they're so cute- fjdkasl;df

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dakarimainink · 3 years

Text

Happy New Year

WARNING: Fluff, friendly, little bit of alcohol, angst, a bit of bullying

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x You (Reader)

Wordcount: 1.6K

Note: Not betad, all mistakes are my own.

This was a request by anon:

"heyy could u write a os about reader and pedro meeting each other at a mutual friend's party and they just hit it off??"

I'm so bad at fluffy writing because 'Im such a slut

I hope you like it.

I'm not gonna lie, I actually struggled writing this 😭

Extra note: Y/F/N = Your friend's name

DISCLAIMER: the number is fake! I got it off a fake number site!!

Masterlist

You knew your friend was popular with a lot of people, but when you were invited to their New Year’s Eve party, you had no idea there would be so many and you barely recognised any of them. You guessed some of the guests were your friend’s partner’s, but it didn’t really make a difference to you now that you were standing alone on the side-line with a drink in hand.

You contemplated to just leave and go back to your original plan to celebrate in front of your TV with pyjamas on, it wasn’t as if you hadn’t done it before, but it was nice to see your friends again, at least some of them.

While contemplating what to do next, you absentmindedly plucked one and one chip from the bowl next to you, your eyes glossing over the mingling people around. Your thoughts drifted over to how your next year would be like, what goals you would set for yourself. It had been a slow year and you were truly ready for a fresh start.

In the corner of your eye, you noticed a small group of people approaching you. You took a step to the side, getting out of the way of the snack table. You turned your head away and looked at the fairy lights slinging across the walls.

“Y/N?”

The voice made you snap your head to the source, meeting a pair of curious baby blue eyes. You gulped as ice prickled in your veins. Fuck…

“Oh my god, it is you.” She giggled and turned to glance at the three other people standing with her. “Haven’t seen you since high school.” Your eyes dragged along her beautiful features and her silver cocktail dress. “Do you remember us?”

“How could I ever forget?” You mumbled with your head hanging low, dread washing over you as old memories hit you left and right and all you wanted to do was crawl away to the safety of your bed.

“I’ll never forget that time you got your period in the middle of the class, your seat was gushing red.” The woman cackled and you cringed inward at the memory. You had to go home that day and didn’t return to school until a week later once your period was done. “Or that time you got gum stuck in your hair.”

You chewed on your lip as you looked up at her, a hint of anger lingering at the back of your throat. “That was because of you.” You pointed out; your fingers tightened the grip around your glass.

The woman took a step closer to you with a smirk playing on her lips. “Mmm, and it was hilarious. You truly rocked your new hairstyle after that.” She grasped at your hair. “You should have kept it short.” She chuckled, lightly tugging at your hair before taking a step back.

You wanted so badly to snap back at her for what she put you through. Years of humiliation you had fought to suppress resurfaced as you were facing her for the first time since those horrible years.

She folded her arms and leaned her weight to one side. “Let me take a guess, you’re here alone? I wouldn’t be surprised, someone like you are born to be lonely.”

You met her cocky gaze and furrowed your brows. That was the last straw for you and you inhaled sharply, ready to bark out at her.

“There you are.”

Everyone snapped their head to the warm and vibrant voice to your right.

“I’ve been looking all over for you.” You met the man’s gaze, warm dark eyes that radiated kindness. He stepped right up to you and pulled you in by the waist with a caring smile. “We need to get outside if we’re to catch the fireworks.”

You could feel the warmth radiate from him and the smell of dark spice and light citrus hit your senses and you inhaled deeply. You gaped at him, not sure as to what to say or do.

“If you’ll excuse us, ladies.” Shifting his hold to your hand, he led you away from them and towards the garden. You barely kept up with his long and confident strides through the crowds of people until you finally stood outside under the clear night sky.

The air was crisp and fresh, feeling grateful for getting out from the cramped and uncomfortable situation, you looked up at him with a grateful smile. “Thank you.” You breathed out.

“And I thought we were all grown-ups here.” He mumbled to himself as he gave you a once over. “You okay?”

You nodded.

“I’m sorry for just marching in there, but I couldn’t help but overhear how rudely they spoke to you.”

You cleared your throat, feeling the fuming heat cool off of you. “Actually, I’m grateful you did. I almost snapped at them, which would probably turn into a whole scene.” You rubbed the back of your neck uncomfortably.

He nodded understandably. “That would probably turn a few heads.” He chuckled and took a sip from his beer. He held out his hand to you. “Pedro.”

You took it with a smile on your lips. “No, that’s not my name.” You said with a serious tone.

“N-no I mean…” He noticed your smile had twisted into a playful smirk and he rolled his eyes teasingly.

“I’m Y/N.” You chuckled and let go of his hand, licking your lower lip in the process.

“So that’s how it is, huh?”

You nodded, proud of your little joke. “That’s how it is.” You took a sip from your glass. “You know what, I think you would look great in a hat.” You giggled, the thought had popped so randomly into your head, and usually you would have kept it to yourself, but the alcohol was already making you a bit smug.

His eyebrows shot up in amusement. “A hat? What kind of hat?”

“I dunno, just a hat.”

You both chuckled at the random thought. He nodded with a smirk playing on his plump lips. “A hat it is then.”

You cleared your throat, shaking off the thought of him reminding you of someone. “So, are you ready for the new year?”

“Yeah, ready for a new year with new adventures and new projects. And you?”

You shifted your weight to one side. God yes! “Pretty much, yeah. It’s been a long year, so ready to put it behind and get a new start. At least that’s what it feels like – a new start.” You smiled “I definitely won’t waste away in my pyjamas at all.” You added sarcastically.

He chuckled. “You know what, that sounds pretty nice. It also sounds like the plans I initially had for New Year this year.”

You snorted at his honesty. “Mine too.” You admitted with a chortle as you looked around at the other unfamiliar faces glancing at you.

“How do you know these people?” He asked, snapping your attention back at him. You couldn’t shake off the feeling of having seen this man before.

“Y/F/N and I have known each other since we were like three years old.” You replied. “And you?”

“Ah, Y/F/N is also a friend of mine. We met like - … - four years ago I think it is.” Your heart lightly fluttered at his furrowed brows as he thought about it. “Or is it three?” His eyes bounced to your gaze with a warm glow. “I can barely remember, time flies by so fast.”

“TEN. NINE. EIGHT.”

You both looked out on the growing crowd by your side, everyone facing away from you to look up at the clear night sky. You felt a smile grow on your lips as you realised it was soon to be a new year.

“FIVE. FOUR. THREE.”

They all chanted together as some fireworks flew up in the air and exploding, painting the black canvas with colours and sparks. You turned to look at Pedro beside you, who already had his gaze on you.

“ONE. HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Everyone shouted out in unison.

He held out his beer bottle and you clinked your glass to it. “Happy new year.” He smiled sincerely, filling you with warmth.

“Happy new year.” You both took a sip from your own drinks and held each other’s gaze. You both took half a step closer and he bent down, wrapping his arms around you and hugged you tightly.

“To new beginnings.” He whispered.

Safety washed over you as you stood in his embrace. His scent overrode your senses as you wrapped your own arms around him. He pulled you a little closer as you heard him inhale deeply.

“Pedro.” An unknown voice called out in the distance.

He let go of you slowly, as if he was reluctant to part from you and looked behind you.

“Alex.” He chimed and took a step to the side to greet what you thought was his friend. “Happy new year.”

“Happy new year, man. The others are looking for you, they wanna wish you a happy new year as well, come on.” Alex grabbed Pedro’s wrist and pulled him with him.

You chuckled at the sight as Pedro looked over his shoulder at you with an apologetic look. You waved at him, hiding the feeling of dismal and emptiness as you watched him leave. Pedro… You echoed his name in your head, when suddenly realisation washed over you. Pedro…! You gaped at yourself in disbelief. Holy shit!

You woke up with a throbbing headache, rolled over and grasped for your phone. You had a few texts from different family members, but what caught your attention was a text from an unknown number.

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

202-555-0021

You’re right, I do look great in a hat.

Omg, ahaha

You're definitely rocking that hat!

How did you get your hands on a hat so quickly?

Have coffee with me and I’ll tell you the thrilling story of how I got it

Hahah sure. When?

El Barrista in an hour? I will be wearing my hat

See you in an hour

(Wanna be added to my tag list for Pedro Pascal and his characters? Let me know and I will happily add you)

@cynic-spirit, @lililolli, @notabotiswear, @sara-alonso, @blankmooon, @xoxo-callie, @mamacitapascal, @thewaythisis, @greeneyedblondie44

#Pedro pascal #Pedro Pascal x you #Pedro Pascal x reader #Pedro Pascal x Y/N #fluff #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #real person fiction #rpf

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discotreque · 3 years

Text

LwD 2.05: An Embarrassment of Dooplers

So I was a little nervous about this one! I hadn’t heard any spoiler-spoilers, but screeners have been out for weeks now, and I’d heard a bunch of individual, vague, non-spoilery hints about (1) big character moments, on the scale of a mid-season finale even though the show’s not taking a mid-season break; and (2) an ending that would make me cry.

I guess I imagined something relatively serious and dramatic, like “No Small Parts”? This show makes me cackle with laughter and giggle with nerdy glee and “d’awww!” at heartwarming friendships every week, but it’s only ever made me cry once—and then I was impressed that they were going to get there from the wacky hijinks we saw in the brief teaser.

The lack of a cold open made me apprehensive too—in my experience, that’s typically a sign that there’s so much plot in the rest of the episode that they need that extra scene—but after ~21.5 minutes of aforementioned hijinks, I was having so much fun that I’d completely forgotten about the alleged tear-jerker at the end…

…and they were not the tears I was expecting.

I didn’t think I’d be smiling and crying!!!! That was wholesome as SHIT!!!!!

I almost can’t believe they earned that—but they totally did.

After a Mariner–Tendi episode and a Boimler–Rutherford episode, we’re back to the “usual” Season 1 pairings… except the relationships between these characters have changed since Season 1. Mariner still feels thwacked in the abandonment issues by Boimler bailing for the Titan, and Rutherford’s having a tiny little existential crisis about losing an entire year of his life.

Both of which are extremely understandable and very heavy situations—and both of those situations get resolved because everyone in them is vulnerable with each other and honest about their feelings—AND that honesty and vulnerability brings both pairs of friends closer together. Are you kidding me?? I would watch SEVENTY seasons of that shit. Put it in my veins.

Onto the notes:

So basically Dooplers are Tribbles, but for cringe comedy instead of slapstick? Ohhhhh boy.

Look at Ransom the diplomat, tossing his own fork on the floor! I like that he’s actually a pretty competent Starfleet officer, despite also being a completely ridiculous person.

Wait a second, is that—OH HOLY SHIT, THE DOOPLERS ARE VOICED BY RICHARD KIND.

It makes sense that B. Boimler would find William annoying—who likes seeing their own flaws reflected back at them? And who could be a better reflection of one’s flaws than one’s literal duplicate?—but most interesting to me is that it implies on some level, Bradward knows the stick up his butt is a flaw. (Does William?)

Why does the Cerritos model have working phasers?!?!

I’m loving hot pink as the currently en-vogue colour for “dangerous sci-fi energy” in animation (cf. almost every previous episode of this show; Into the Spider-Verse; other stuff I can’t remember right now). As a former child of the 80’s, I’m living for it… but as a former teenager of the 90’s, I can’t help but wonder if it’s going to age as poorly as the harsh neon green of The Matrix, every Borg appearance on Voyager, and like 80% of the websites I made in high school…

SKANTS! SKANTS! SKANTS!

That fake-out joke with the fly-by over the Cerritos model was in the season trailer weeks ago, and I was so enthralled by that handsome lady that the sticker coming into frame still got me good 😂😂😂

BECKY Mariner????? omg yes

Some top-quality Boimler screams in this one. Poor Jack Quaid must drink gallons of throat-coat tea when he records.

One of the great things about Star Trek to me is that you never know what you’re going to get from any random episode. A murder mystery? A road trip? A spooky thriller? A cheesy romance? Broad comedy? Body horror? Didactic political screeds shrouded in tissue-thin science-fiction metaphors? Brain and brain, what is brain??? And after this many years of watching, you’d think I’d be hard to surprise. But if I ever told you I thought I’d see a Blues Brothers–style car chase through a frickin’ shopping mall on an episode of Star Trek, I would have been straight-up lying to you. I loved it, it worked for me, my jaw was on the floor and I was clapping with joy—but I’m definitely comfortable calling this one “unexpected.”

It’s CAPTAIN SHELBY!!! And an ancient babydyke crush rose from the depths of my childhood subconscious… (Also I think her Number One is based on the original makeup—eventually deemed too complicated—for Saru? Now that’s a deep cut.)

In 20th-century Trek, you almost never got to see what was going on inside a starship from the outside. Even after they switched from physical models (where it was next to impossible on a single episode’s budget) to CGI (which was still in its infancy, still not exactly cheap, and still broadcast in SD anyway), it was a rare thrill to see any meaningful interior details in an exterior shot. Disco’s modern VFX have given us some tasty, tasty treats in that department, but nothing quite as sublime as all the pink Doopler light glittering through the Cerritos’s windows.

Mariner says she’ll take her contact Malvus down with her, and threatens that they’ll end up “in the same cell.” Malvus is a Mizarian, a species introduced in TNG’s “Allegiance,” in which Captain Picard is held in a mysterious prison with one. I think I see what you did there, McMahan?

Bartender… so hot… lesbian circuits… overloading…

The Tendi and Rutherford C-story was, well, a C-story within a 22-minute episode, so there wasn’t much to it, but the one scene that mattered actually mattered a lot. I’m ambivalent on whether they should end up romantically involved—I’d prefer they don’t, but they’ll be one of the cutest couples in Trek history if they do—and as long as they keep that pure, sweet friendship between them at the heart of whatever else happens, I’m on board.

Carol Freeman was already one of my favourite captains before this season, and she’s been steadily moving up the list. The quiet throughline about her ambition to be on a better ship has been fascinating so far, and it’s starting to actually make me feel a little conflicted: I’m of course rooting for Captain Freeman to recognize her worth, make Starfleet recognize her worth, and become the ass-kicking captain of a hero ship that she’s clearly ready to be—but that almost surely means she’d be kicking ass off-screen, because LwD isn’t about those kind of adventures, and I’d be devastated not to have Dawnn Lewis on the show every week. So I’m kind of on the edge of my seat about this one!

I had so many favourite jokes this week I put them in a separate list:

“Even the replicated water on the Titan tasted better” is a low-key brilliant dunk on people who can’t shut the fuck up about the cooler places they used to live.

“Ooooh, they have a Quark’s now! That used to just be an empty lot where teens would make mistakes!” ← That’s literally me every time I go back to where I grew up. I felt so Seen™ I almost hid under a blanket.

“I would never go down the stairs!” (evil grin) (goes up the stairs)

The “well, shit” expressions from Mariner and Boimler as their crashed car sank right into the water… which started to bubble innocuously… and then the bottles of Data bubble-bath popped up, paying off a joke I thought had already been paid off—that was the one that woke up my poor cat this week. Just exquisite timing.

“YOUR PAGH IS WEAK, AND IT DISGUSTS ME!” “I don’t even know what that is, but I don’t like your tone!”

“Okona’s in there? He’s not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!” made me shout “NO!” at the screen like I was scolding my cat for scratching furniture. (She did not wake up that time.)

Best background joke: the neon sign at the dive bar advertising FREE SHOTS & BEERS. (Get it? Because they’re on a Federation starbase? Where nobody uses money?)

And of course Quark merchandised DS9.

This wasn’t just a standout episode of Lower Decks, this was a brilliant episode of Star Trek, period. The Dooplers, though extremely silly, are nevertheless also a clever sci-fi metaphor for real and relatable personal/interpersonal issues, and an effective plot catalyst for meaningful character growth from all four of our ensigns and the captain.

The jokes were hilarious, the action was kinetic, the A-, B-, and C-plots linked up thematically, the visuals were consistently and thoroughly gorgeous, the character beats—between Mariner and Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford, Mariner and Capt. Freeman—were all genuine, heartfelt and wholesome, and the references to other Trek canon were both deep and deeply affectionate.

Only 15 episodes in, and this series knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to do, and knows that it can knock our socks off doing it. Mike McMahan has said in recent interviews that the back half of S2 (and the apparently almost-fully-written S3) is a straight line uphill in quality from here—which surprised me at first, because McMahan seems like a pretty chill dude who doesn’t normally brag about his own work like that.

But then the Prophets sent me a vision of my space dad Ben Sisko, who reminded me of the words of 1930’s baseball player Dizzy Dean:

“If you can do it, it ain’t bragging.”

[Thanks to cygnus-x1.net for the screenshots this week—I was too lazy to do my own.]

#star trek #star trek lower decks #lower decks #lower decks spoilers #lwd spoilers #amy's episode notes

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artisqueer · 4 years

Photo

RetroBangBoy AU - My Time, Finale (ao3)

Word Count: 6.8k

Pairings: Jungkook x reader, OT7 x reader, ft namkook, namjin, taekook.

Warnings: Language, brief mentions of violence, death and alcohol.

“…oh yes, so pretty, Dear. Whoever receives this must be very special,” the old woman says as she wraps a small item for one of your classmates.

You peer over their shoulder to get a look. It’s a marbly bracelet. Each glass bead resembles a colorful beach stone, with one long pendant carved in the shape of a crescent moon. It's very pretty and must hold great significance. The classmate bows to the woman and turns around to leave.

Your eyes meet.

“Jungkook??”

His widened eyes match yours twice over.

Jungkook is on this trip too? But he’s a greaser…How did I not see this one coming!

Field Observation #6: You are not doing a good job avoiding boy drama, Bighead.

“Hi, big—I mean, Y/N…” Jungkook stammers. A camellia-hue blushes at his round cheeks as he moves aside for you to set your items on the counter. He drops his gaze down to his shoes and his long hair falls over his face.

The tone of surprise in your voice echoes in your ears. You cringe at yourself, hoping Jungkook didn’t notice and take offense. It just never occurred to you that Jungkook is the academic type. You round off the reasons in your head. He’s a greaser and rides in Joon’s motorcycle gang, you’ve never shared a class or seen him study, he’s always dressed like a punk and has skipped every school event ever, and, and… when you went on that date to the drive-in movie he never mentioned school. You get a flashback of him making out with the french fries and drinking two chocolate milkshakes. He had no interest in you at all.

Did he really keep this persona from you? That he’s so… cool?

The lady looks from you to Jungkook and back to you, very clearly enticed by the tension. You scramble out of the awkwardness, trying to make light talk. Jin made it so easy.

“How have you been? I didn’t see you on the bus earlier or else I would have—" you ramble on, quickly paying for your items.

“It’s OK. I tend to lay low. I was in the back…on the bus, I mean. Rode here with Tae, actually.” He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

The old woman slides a small card across the counter. “For the ring, Dear,” she gestures to the small ring in your hand and smiles at you both tenderly. “It’s from the future, so use it well.” She gives you a wink. (mood rings first appeared in 1970)

You tuck the small card into your jacket pocket along with your tangerines and slide the ring onto your middle finger. You both bow to the old woman and walk out of Yeongjusan House with your souvenirs in tow. Once outside, the ring changes color from amber to yellow.

“Oh, you rode with Tae? Is that…OK?” you pose curiously.

“What, because we’re into different subcultures?” he chuckles from behind his messy long hair. His voice is always so quiet speaking to you like if he used his full volume he could break something, or someone. “Pfft, Bighead really,” he continues, “I wonder how you even got nominated for this retreat.” He laughs as he runs away. You make to playfully hit his arm but miss as he pulls away with excellent reflexes, giggling behind his tiny travel bag while you gawk at the size of his arms. There’s no way. What do greasers, eat??? It’s like their muscles just pop out at the most inconvenient times, like right now.

“I thought greasers and jocks hate each other. It’s kind of the point. Having different class backgrounds and all…” You kick some tall grass.

“That’s a stereotype, Bighead. Just because an ideology is popular in a group doesn’t mean we all believe it. Tae isn’t like most jocks, he’s…different.” Jungkook’s smile seems to be the only thing visible behind his shaggy rockabilly.

“So you guys are…friends?” You ask hesitantly.

“I guess,” he plays with his tattooed fingers. “He’s been helping me with a project, so we’ve been hanging out a lot lately. But,” he pouts, “my gang doesn’t really know.”

“About the project or Taehyung?”

“Well, both,” he laughs nervously, “it’s a bit complicated.” He rubs the back of his neck again, and you notice the pulsing veinery dancing from his knuckles up to his forearms. Damn.

He doesn’t seem ready to talk about it. You clear your throat and change the subject. “Well, we have half an hour before the next group activity. Want a tangerine? It’s grown locally! ” You chuck one to him and he catches it with both hands.

You settle on the hillside, a shady patch of grass overlooking the northern face of the island.

“So,” you say between peels of the tiny fruit, “what subject were you nominated for?”

“Physics. I don’t usually participate in school stuff,” he stares down his tangerine, “but I really want to see the caves.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a ribbon. You stop peeling to watch him gather his hair and tie it up. When did it get so long? Now you can finally see his big eyes.

“Huh? Caves?” you weren’t listening because you were distracted by his beautiful side profile. What is it with these nerds and their caves?

Jungkook returns your gaze. “Have you heard of the Bermuda Triangle?” he says with big round eyes sparkling. He gets up and approaches the flat rock next to you. With one swift motion, he jumps and lands on top of it, no hands. Core strength. He stretches his arms above his head and his shirt rides up a bit. From your position on the ground, a glimpse of the unobtrusive trail below his navel invites your mind to fantasies of a very different kind of field trip. He looks down at you sweetly, waiting for your reply.

You shake your head, “I’m more of a biologist. Educate me?”

He gestures for you to join him up on the rock. Though Jungkook made it look easy, the climb for you is much more grueling. He lifts you up with the strength of one arm until you’re shoulder to shoulder. You try to get breath into your lungs without seeming too obvious. Struggling, your nostrils flare and the wind picks up. It carries hints of his musk and sweat. You can’t help but inhale deeply until his fragrance fills you with assurance. Glancing down at your hand, you notice the ring is bluish-green but you can’t recall what the card said.

The bluish-green ocean on the horizon looks like the perfect backdrop for Jungkook’s physics lesson. He starts, “Eight years ago, ships started disappearing out in the western sea. First a small fishing boat, then a big cargo ship, it didn’t matter how big or how many people. They just, vanished. No bodies, no debris, no trace. No one could explain the missing wreckage, so the papers wrote about violent storms to give the families of the lost some closure, something to blame. Only, it would happen again, within the exact same coordinates…The Bermuda Triangle. I think I have a theory. It can be explained with physics, the magnetic field, more specifically. Some physicists believe there’s something special about the Bermuda Triangle’s location in the magnetic field. There are believed to be other places like Bermuda,” Jungkook looks from you to the coast, “and one of them is here.”

“You mean, the legend of the caves? Where the pirates disappeared? I thought it’s just a local myth…"

“There’s more to it than the legend.” He leans in and whispers, “The government’s studying it closely too.”

“What,” you chortle loudly, “the government is funding myth-busters?”

Jungkook’s face is serious af. “It’s not a myth, Bighead. The Republic of Korea started building a naval base here in 1933.” He points to the east. The tall glass building of the research facility can be seen from here, shimmering in unnatural contrast to everything else on the island. You squint.

Field Observation #7: You definitely need specs..and to read more news.

Jungkook continues, “They started planning a naval base on the island some years ago. Construction started in Gangjeong village right over there,” he points west to the ferry docks where you first arrived. “The base was designed to be a mixed military-commercial port so that it could handle ferries, cruise ships, and…warships and submarines.”

“Why would they want a naval base here? It’s just a quiet little sanctuary…” you say as you both sit down on the rock.

He rests his arms over his knees. “That’s exactly what the local villagers said. They were strongly opposed to it. Many worried that the private lab was doing experiments hazardous to the environment. They organized many protests, but in the end, they could only slow down the process. The military moved in with force and built the complex anyway.”

“But that’s like, totally against everything this retreat is about. What about all these scientists working at the conservatory, aren’t they here to study wildlife and protect it?”

“Where do you think their funds come from, Y/N? The lab is backed by the military, which means everything they do is government research.”

“How do you know all this?”

“It’s the subject of my research.” He looks around again, the bun atop his head bobbing side to side. “That’s what Tae has been helping me with.”

“Jungkook, I don’t understand. What’s Tae helping you expose the lab for? What do you think they are hiding?” You stare down his side profile. He bites his bottom lip with his bunny teeth.

“It’d become very dangerous for you if you knew,” he reaches to fix your wind-tousled hair. “Trust me.”

Field Observation #8: Don’t trust men, unless they are Jungkook.

He gives you a warm, reassuring smile. “Let’s get going now, we don’t wanna miss the next activity.”

***

The chaperones lead everyone down the hill for the next activity on schedule. The Butterfly House.

Jin has not returned yet, you’re starting to miss his chaotic antics. At the front of the crowd, Professor Choi is desperately trying to get the class’s attention. Several stern scientists are hovering on the side, waiting for silence so they can deliver the welcome introduction. Once it quiets down, two of the scientists give a run-through on the Butterfly House rules. Among them, it is expected that all students keep their touching to a minimum and especially, keep out of the restricted areas marked by red fence. Hunger strikes your tummy, and you wish Jin were here to cure it with his magic snack bag. A nudge to your rib sends you out of your daydream. You turn to your side. Jungkook has a giant butterfly resting on the tip of his nose. Its shimmery blue wings gently tilting up and down. Jungkook is still, afraid it will fly away. You giggle at the sight of him holding the breath in his cheeks.

The class breaks off into groups to tour the facility.

“Good Afternoon, students. Welcome to our 30-by-15-meter glass atrium.” Your group leader reads off a script as student’s heads tilt back to observe the magnificent architecture above. “We are proud to receive you as guests of the first walk-through butterfly habitat in the eastern hemisphere. It first opened in 1957, so you are the first scholars to visit. Inside these walls, you will find some 500 free-flying butterflies of up to 25 different species. There are about 15,000 to 20,000 known species of butterflies found worldwide and many yet to be discovered. You may find swallowtails and birdwings, brightly colored, or camouflaged among the plants. Some might be difficult to spot, as butterflies can be as small as 3 mm, but can also be as large as 304 mm….”

A small butterfly floats past the guide’s shoulder and rests on it. “Ah, a Sasakia charonda, the great purple emperor. Native to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, China, and northern Taiwan, and Vietnam. As we see, butterflies can be orange, white, black, and even purple. However, they cannot see how beautiful they look because butterflies can only see red, green, and yellow. The journey to becoming a butterfly is always an inspiring tale.” The guide struggles to find their place on the script.

You tilt your head back and stare in awe, the scale of technology here is incredible. Your biologist brain buzzes with millions of questions. How did they replicate a tropical rainforest like this in 1958? Are there places like this in Japan too, or perhaps the United States? The facility is lush with amazon trees and exotic plants. It’s so dense. Thousands of vines cover the floors and wrap around the trees. Layers of moss and countless species of flora and fauna lie in the shaded canopies. Vines dominating the taller trees cross overhead, reaching over through air to dominate the other side. Some climb so high they span the atrium’s glass ceiling, where the sunlight pours in strongest. An astonishing vision of Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

The guide has found their place in the script and begins reading. “There are, um, four cycles of the butterfly’s life. A butterfly starts out as an egg. Then it hatches into a caterpillar, called the larva. The larva goes into a cocoon called the pupa stage, and finally, emerges as an adult butterfly free to spread their wings and fly. We have a display with pupa ready to hatch, please follow me…” The students clamor excitedly after the guide, who disappears down the pathway in the thick greenery.

Yelps can be heard in the distance as students and chaperones alike encounter all sorts of buzzing insects. You duck below the low-hanging vines. One thing they forgot to mention is the climate control in here. Somehow, the air in the atrium is kept very humid to mimic that of the Amazon rainforest. After a while, the moisture in the air becomes nearly suffocating. Jungkook, however, seems to be doing just fine. Suddenly, he reaches for your hand and clasps it in his, clammy.

“Look, there’s Jin!” you almost yell. Your hands are torn apart as you run over to the fence. Jin is working on the other side in a glass office. His face is buried in an apparatus that looks something like an advanced microscope. Dozens of flasks, books, and petri dishes are strewn across the bench before him. He looks like he’s busy.

“This area’s off-limits. I don’t think we can interrupt him.” Jungkook tugs at your sleeve. You expel air and look back at Jungkook to find that the blue butterfly has returned. Right atop his head, it sits, flitting its wings as Jungkook scrunches his nose. The butterfly doesn’t budge.

“Looks like Morpho adonis.” The angelic voice comes from behind you.

Jungkook rolls his eyes with the butterfly still on his head.

“Jin! You looked really preoccupied. What are you working on over there?” you indicate the room guarded by the fence.

“Oh, just some plant cell assays. They think they discovered a new species of moss in a cavern, so I’m helping look at samples. It’s promising. I’m running the RNA against the ones from my own research. If it matches, the cave is likely the one they’ve been looking for, a habitable location for—well, uh it’s confidential. Sorry, you understand.” His smile is still so genuine even when he’s withholding secret government information.

Jungkook tenses at the mention of “caves”.

“Have you seen it?” he asks.

“Seen what?” Jin returns.

“The cave. Have you been there?” Jungkook’s hands are shaking a little, so you move closer by his side and take his hand.

Jin’s eyes follow the movements of your hands. Just like they did back at the library the first time you met.

“I haven’t, no.” He lies.

“Sorry Choco, I’ll have to join you again tomorrow. Professor Moon asked for my help and it seems like it's going to take the rest of the evening. I’m sure Jungkook will keep you company for dinner in my place?” He gives you another sweet smile, but it has a bitter undertone. Much like Namjoon, when he had seen you with Yoongi’s jacket on that weird day.

Field Observation #9: Stop reading between the lines, they don’t like you like that.

“Before you both go—Jungkook, I have something for you,” Jin rolls up the sleeves of his lab coat and steps back into the room before returning.

He holds his hands out and you both peer down at the delicate thing sitting in his palms.

“What is it?” Jungkook nudges.

“Juniperus shimpaku,” Jin beams, “a bonsai.”

You watch Jin place the small tree in Jungkook’s outstretched hands.

“Give it to Namjoon, as my peace offering. Tell him it grows near the sea, so it will prefer regular misting. The foliage is needle-like now because it’s young, but as it grows older it will get scalier. One of the best things about Shimpaku is its hard resinous wood…ideal for advanced sculptural techniques such as jin, shari and sabamiki.” Jin bursts into his signature windshield laugh.

This time you roll your eyes, but Jungkook giggles along.

“Uh, thanks I guess,” Jungkook accepts the gift. “But I don’t know why you don't give it to him yourself. Knowing Joon, he’s pretty old-fashioned. If you've pissed him off, he can be really petty and hold a grudge. He holds things in until it gets really heavy—”

At that moment, a loud engine bang is heard from outside the atrium. The glass walls shake and the birds in the trees fly away in droves of panic.

“What the hell was that?” you say, but nothing else happens. The disturbance was momentary.

"Nothing to fear folks," one of the chaperones calls from a distance. "A small aircraft had to make an emergency landing nearby. Idiots over-estimated their weight capacity and ran out of gas. Carry on."

“Anyway,” Jin continues, “take good care of it until you can give it to him. Oh, and if you’re prone to Drosophila melanogaster with your regular houseplants, you might want to lay off drowning the soil...”

“Droso-whatagaster?” you both say.

“Fruit. Flies.” Jin sighs. “Now please, go before someone sees you here. I am restricted material!” He grins at you and waves you off.

On your way out, your hand finds Jungkook’s again. Less clammy than before.

“Thank you for visiting the Butterfly Habitat, we hope you’ll gain a greater appreciation for butterflies and their place in the world’s ecosystems. Before you leave though, remember to check your clothing for any hitchhikers and pose by the Heaven Lotus for a memorable photo!” the chaperones guide you out toward the Heaven Lotus, where Taehyung is snapping photos.

“Jungkook, are we still on for tomorrow?” Tae heavily eyes your locked hands before Jungkook lets it go. Jungkook nods. You both smile, ready for the flash. Click.

***

Jungkook eats dinner with you at a Haenyeo House. Four bowls of jeonbokjuk (abalone porridge) to be exact. Afterward, you browse the framed black and white photos on the wall. They tell the story of the haenyeo (sea women), the island’s legendary sea divers. Since the 18th century, deep-sea diving for fish became the work of women until their workforce outnumbered the men. So much so, the island has become a semi-matriarchal society, where the head of the heterosexual household is the woman, not the man. You and Jungkook remark if that is possible here in 1958, then why not on the mainland? The villages here seems to be ahead of their time. Patriarchy and heteronormative standards are still dominant in most places and probably will be for many years to come. After digesting your abalone with more discourse about dismantling the patriarchy and capitalism, you and Jungkook go out on the beach.

The sun has already gone down, marking the first day of the retreat over. The only light source radiating from the campfires along the beach and the star-lit sky. The campfire nearest your sleeping tent is vacant. The question of sharing a tent crosses your mind.

“Arent you going to tent up with your assigned travel buddy?” you ask Jungkook.

“My what?” he sips from his flask then stares expectantly at you.

“Your travel…buddy??” It’s not a weird question, right?

“Where did you hear that? I can guarantee there's no travel buddy list,” he giggles into his flask.

“But, Jin said…” You reflect on the words as you stare into the fire.

Water shoots from Jungkook’s nose as he tumbles forward. “He said he was your assigned travel buddy?! Ahahaha—”

Apparently, there was no such thing. Jin made it up just to have a reason to be with you during the trip. What are you supposed to think now?

You’ve had a long first day, to say the least. Jungkook helps you relax. The night passes too quickly as you exchange stories under the stars. At some point, you pass out asleep and feel Jungkook place his jacket over your chest. He carries you into the tent. You roll over onto your stomach and splay like a starfish. Jungkook struggles to remove your shoes and get you into the sleeping bag. Then the darkness swallows you and you drift into a deep sleep. Whatever comes tomorrow can’t possibly top the day you’ve had.

***

You wake the next morning to an empty tent and two layers of sleeping bag. The extra is not yours. Your back is stiff and you feel like your whole body has sunk two feet in the sand. After a little morning spruce, you find Jungkook having breakfast by the campfire. The bonsai tree sits on a rock in front of him and the souvenir bracelet rolls between his fingers.

“That’s a really nice souvenir!” you sit beside him.

“Thanks. It’s for, um, Namjoon actually. Ha ha. You think he’ll like it? Joon loves the sea but, he works so much. He’s studying part-time and can’t take advanced classes.” He scratches the back of his round head again.

“That’s lovely, Jungkook. I think he will definitely love it.” Jungkook is so sweet, you can’t help feel a little jealous after how aloof he was with you on your first date. “Oh, this is totally random but speaking of Namjoon, you haven’t heard anything from him, have you? Last time we spoke was kinda weird…I thought maybe he said someth—"

“Y/N. I have to tell you something,” he hesitates, lingering for permission.

“What is it?” you say. The morning wind on the beach is a little chilly. You fold your arms across your chest for some warmth.

“Do you remember that day? The day I was supposed to pick you up after work?” he fiddles with the bracelet.

Now it’s your turn to choke on your flask. Your stomach feels like it’s going to sink with all the emotions of that day returning. Jin completely avoided this conversation, but here goes Jungkook getting right into it.

“Yes, I remember it all too clearly,” you sigh. “I was on my way to the parking lot where I thought you were picking me up. I was walking by the court while the jocks were playing a game. Then the ball went out of bounds and hit me. I passed out and woke up after Yoongi, uh, resuscitated me. His hand was injured and he looked really mad. He still took me to Namjoon’s. Namjoon was acting all weird about it, but I still don't know why.”

“Well, that’s one version of it. But that’s not our version.” Jungkook explains.

“You see, I have um, I have a secret. The project I mentioned that Tae is helping me with, it’s a dangerous project. A few months ago, I discovered something while experimenting. I may have sort of opened a dimensional rift.” He waits anxiously for your response.

“What does that mean, Jungkook. You farted?”

“No! Haha. In quantum physics, there’s a theorem called the Casimir effect, it essentially says that if you conduct the right amount of energy through the right materials at the right time, you can open a door through space-time.”

“Time travel?” you question.

“Yes!!! Time travel.” He whispers. “I messed with it and got it right. That day you got hit with a basketball, it wasn’t the players' fault, it was me! Haha—.” He says it too happily for your taste.

“Hey!… I thought the jocks might have done it on purpose,” you pout.

“It was an accident, I swear to Namjoon! I haven't completely mastered control over this thing yet. That day I was running a bit late, so I thought, "why not?" . It worked obviously, but there was some, uh, glitching. It was not a clean jump. I injured some people when I jumped back, especially you. I'm really sorry. Only Yoongi and Namjoon knew about my jumping experiments then. Yoongi rushed there to stop me. It could have been a disaster, Y/N. But I figured out that I can do a cleaner jump if I have a stronger source of energy. The vacuum isn't it. ” his eyes are sparkly again.

You are quiet, thinking.

“So, let me see. You can travel through time using science, but you don’t have a good grip on the specifics yet. Yoongi, Jin, and basically everyone else knows about it now. You all got together while I was passed out and schemed a lie so I wouldn’t find out I got knocked by an experimental poltergeist. Am I understanding it correctly?”

He blinks. “That was easier than I thought.”

“Jungkook. You are so cool…”

He blushes, “I’d rather be dead than cool…”

“Since I’ve already been a victim of your jumping experiments. Can I know about the cave?”

Jungkook sighs. “I told you yesterday that the cave is like the Bermuda Triangle. Under ideal conditions, the cave can be a portal for time travel. The lab doesn’t know what conditions exactly, but I do. They aren’t up to anything good with it. If the lab got its hands on time portal capability, it would have the power to manipulate the past and future. Taehyung did some journalistic investigating on the lab. It's called Heaven, Inc. Before it got the military permission to colonize the island, they were just another underfunded private lab, doing shady work for shady leaders. Corrupt stuff. Tae discovered that the lab has already found the cave and they've closed it off. It’s not much time before they get the conditions right. Do you see why we have to intervene? Only we know about it. The cave would be weaponized. A weapon of dimensional shifting.”

“Jin can't know what he’s part of, right? I mean, he would never volunteer for something like that. He’s good…”

“I dunno, he definitely knows where the cave is. Tae and I have a plan. We’ll follow him to the cave and film it all. The video will be released to the papers and the government will have to shut down the complex.”

“That’s doesn’t sound like a good plan, Jungkook. It’s dangerous. They have the strictest enforcement here. What if they stop you?”

“Trust me, Y/N. They need a really big source of energy to open the portal. After my experiments, I think I figured out how it works, but I’ll need your help..." He looks at you with the same expression he’s had the whole time, “Can I kiss you?” Endearing and determined.

You are completely startled at the turn of confessions.“It's for science, right?”

“For science,” he grins.

“Ok, I trust you.”

He lunges forward and kisses you passionately on the lips. Your eyes shut tight and butterflies erupt in your atrium. Not counting Yoongi’s resuscitation technique, this is your first real kiss. Jungkook’s hand comes up to hold your face. He brushes your cheek and lingers, savoring you as long as he can.

At last, you break. “Wow,” he pants, “thank you.”

“Hey?” you pant back, “this better earn us the Nobel Prize.”

***

Taehyung joins you and Jungkook at 7 o’clock sharp, carrying several duffle bags. He sets them down and slicks back his hair. “The name’s Bond, James Bond,” he says with a deep voice. Jungkook ignores him, too deep in thought focusing on the surroundings. Tae turns to you for approval and flashes his adorable boxy smile. You are really about to embark on a covert operation with Taekook.

You squat behind the dense thicket, waiting. Jin passes by with a group of serious scientists. As usual, Jin looks too chippy first thing in the morning. He stands out like a sore thumb. The youngest in the group and the most enthusiastic. Still, he remains well-mannered and eagerly follows orders as they prep for their second day excavating the hidden site.

The three of you follow the group down to the north-facing coastline, staying out of view. The group you’re tailing disappears into a tunnel behind a glistening waterfall. You wait behind some big rocks. A branch cracks behind you and you spin around. Funny. You could swear you saw a glimpse of the big-breasted mathematician's ass hanging out of a tree. No way. You're probably still dazed from locking lips with Jungkook. There's no way Namjoon would ever be here. Then, Jin’s laughter emerges from the cave as he leads the group back out. He saunters past, delightedly chatting up the eldest scientist. You sigh. Poor Jin, he really believes this about some moss.

“Well, we found it.” Taehyung whispers. “That was easy.”

Too easy. An uneasy feeling settles in your stomach. Like right before you are about to lose something. You glance over to Jungkook who is contemplating the next move. Your lips are still tingling from his kiss. Was it real? During your first date, he seemed so aloof. Sure, he was always sweet and protective, but it didn’t mean anything. That’s just how Jungkook is.

Yoongi’s old words ring in your ears,

“Listen, Dove, it’s just a random coincidence. It could have been anybody…”

Yoongi really meant it. He knew. They all knew.

Taehyung holds the fence open for you and Jungkook to climb through. He leaves the duffle bags by the waterfall and only grabs the camera. He takes photos of the chain-link fence protecting the cave entrance. A sign reads “RESTRICTED ACCESS”. Inside, the cave is more like a tunnel. It's cold, dark, rocky, and slippery. Jungkook lights a match and asks you to stay while he explores the interior.

You stick with Taehyung as he takes more photos. “You knew about Jungkook’s experiments?” you probe.

“Sweetcheeks, I’ve always told you, haven’t I? I appreciate art.”

Jungkook runs back from the tunnel, excited. “Hey guys, come check this out!”

You both chase after him.

“Careful, it’s slippery in here!” he yells back through the darkness.

You reach a clearing lit by torches. There's a lot of industrial equipment. Looks like the scientists have come this far. Jungkook examines the mysterious gadgets laying around, one by one. Everything has the same logo, Heaven, Inc.

“Extensional tectonics,” Jungkook mumbles. He walks to the center of the clearing and looks at the wet floor. A man-made “X” marks the spot. “It’s here, inside the Manjjanggul Lava tube. This is the dimensional rift..."

In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart. They form over thousands of years, often at the central axis of most mid-ocean ridges. The new oceanic crust and lithosphere form at a divergent boundary between two tectonic plates. The Manjjanggul Lava tube tunnel is said to be one of the longest, measuring around 7.5 kilometers deep.

Extensional tectonics, as Jungkook said. The Manjjanggul Lava tube is the second Bermuda Triangle. Conditions just right for space-time travel, if supported with a powerful catalyst.

The kiss. The kiss was the energy. Jungkook is trying to manifest the kiss into the big energy he needs to open the portal. You must be…his catalyst.

A purple light begins forming in front of Jungkook as he stands still.

“Wait don't start yet, I need to get the video camera!”

"Well Taehyung, I don't know how it starts only when it starts...and it's starting now!"

Tae runs to retrieve the equipment from outside.

You flinch as water drips on your head from lava rock on the ceiling. The walls of the cavern start vibrating on rhythms, like the pace of a butterfly’s wings or a human heartbeat. The ring on your finger blackens as a void opens within you, a creeping bad feeling. You push it down.

“What’s happening?” you move to the edge of the wall.

“It’s stopped. I felt stronger energy a few minutes ago. It’s gotten weaker for some reason…” he concentrates hard. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“Jungkook—” you start to say. But Taehyung runs back.

“Has it worked yet? Did I miss anything?” he tosses the bags down and starts to assemble the video camera as quickly as he can.

“Wait, I feel something…” Jungkook plants his feet on the marking and holds his arms out in front of him like there’s an invisible wall there. An obscure purple cloud glows before him and the tunnel vibrates with more strength.

Tae starts filming. You flatten your bodies against the wall as more water drips from the shaking ceiling.

“I feel it.” Jungkook closes his eyes, eyebrows furrowed. He extends his arms farther out, pushing against the translucid wall. “It’s….happening…” he grunts as he puts all his might into the force. Blue and white hues emerge from the vortex developing at his hands. The walls of the cavern pulse even harder. You cling to the wall as you brace for the unknown.

Then, an echo of running footsteps down the tunnel gets louder. Indiscernible yelling and swearing as the heavy steps approach.

One deep voice penetrates the cave and spikes the walls harder than the supernatural force at Jungkook’s fingertips can.

“Stop!” Namjoon shouts.

“Choco! Get away from him!” Jin appears behind Joon. Your eyes nearly pop out of your head. Jungkook is not listening anymore. The force in his hands surges and cave walls begin to give way. Tae fumbles with the camera, desperately trying to capture the phenomenon as the tunnel shakes more violently.

Jimin approaches calmly, “I think we would all like to live, so let’s all hold hands and walk out of here in one piece…”

“I can’t leave,” Jungkook replies through the translucent shimmer. "We have to destroy this place."

Namjoon steps closer, cautious of the rocks beginning to crumble overhead.

“Jungkook, please. You are putting yourself in danger…” he pleads. The leader’s fear growing with each passing second until Namjoon breaks down and tears flow from his eyes. With that, the portal opens, rendering Jungkook helpless to its mystical aura.

Everyone is puzzled. Yoongi’s level voice is heard over the rumbling, “What just happened, why is it getting worse?” Jungkook doesn’t know, but his mesmerization with the portal overtakes him and he can’t hear the others anymore. A deep part of his conscious is already elsewhere, they’re losing him.

Jungkook’s peaceful face shimmers with waves of violet and pink. His eyes wide open, soul entering into a new dimension while his body still hangs back. Grounded in something. Or someone.

Seokjin pulls you away, trying to get you out of the tunnel. Before he can get you very far, Namjoon grabs hold of your free arm. A massive pulse sends a long fissure across the floor, dividing the space in two. You’re being pulled in two directions, Jin on one side and Joon on the other. The tunnel begins to collapse. Hoseok yells for everyone to get out. You must pick a side or you'll die.

A segment of lava rock falls, nearly crushing Taehyung who has dropped the camera. He runs to Jungkook but more rock falls, blocking him. You’re held on both sides. You look up from Namjoon’s chest. His cheeks are soaked in tears.

“You put everyone at risk,” he glares at Jin.

“Me?” Jin argues back, tugging you to himself. “Your greasers are to blame! You let Jungkook and Taehyung do something dangerous. They even brought Y/N to the cave. I made you all swear, did I not, to keep Y/N out of this! What Jungkook was doing was never safe! We had a choice to stop the lab from finding the portal key. I mocked up the plant samples to destroy the evidence and convince them this is not the place. No one was going to get hurt! But Jungkook, he made his choice. He chose to destroy the site altogether. He chose violence!”

You’re suddenly thrust away from the pair as Namjoon lunges toward Jin. He throws the first punch. Jin collides with the wall behind them. Joon makes for another hit but Jin headbutts him first, tackling the six-foot-tall man to the ground, which is now being pelted with falling lava rocks. You lose balance on the shaky floor and start to fall backward. Yoongi catches you in time and shields you from the debris, looking for a way out.

Was that true? Was Taekook’s plan all along to destroy the cave? Who is right? Who is trusted? You remember Jungkook's words. Trust me.

NamJin curse at one another as they wrestle to the ground. The leader of the greasers and the leader of the jocks. Peace was never an option, was it.

Suddenly, the pulsing hum stops and there is silence. From Yoongi’s embrace, you can still see Jungkook. One moment he is there, standing on the X mark. Namjoon reaches for him but in a moment that feels frozen, lasting longer than a moment should, a whirring noise slices through the cold air, then…Jungkook vanishes. ZAP.

All that’s left in Namjoon’s large hand, the moon bracelet. Only the sounds of heavy breathing and dripping water fill the void. Jin rises from the ground and catches his breath. He looks up at Namjoon in confusion. Still silence.

Namjoon is about to say something. Then ZAP… he vanishes through thin air. The bracelet drops to the wet ground and rolls toward you. What the fuck! Everyone looks at each other. What is happening?! A moment later, Yoongi follows. ZAP. Jimin. Taehyung. Hoseok. ZAP ZAP ZAP.

Only you and Jin are left.

***

The following morning, your school formally announces the reported disappearance of six of its students, four of whom were not attending the retreat. Their names are printed in the paper, along with their photos.

Kim Namjoon. Min Yoongi. Jung Hoseok. Park Jimin. Kim Taehyung. Jeon Jungkook.

All Heaven, Inc. facilities are shut down for further investigation. The remaining students are sent home early in the morning. Police recover the Heaven, Inc. lab equipment from the Manjjanggul Lava tube, but can't find a single trace of the missing students. Seokjin's father gets a lawyer for the other families and files a civil suit.

The long bus ride home is melancholic. You were up all night being questioned by the police, nothing you said was written down. The reporters will dismiss the truth and release their own narrative in a few months.

The students had a secret party on a sailboat, they got drunk, had a dispute, forgot to tie it to the dock and drifted out in the middle of the night. No bodies were found. It was an accident. A simple mistake of rambunctious youth.

You and Seokjin remain quiet. Neither of you feel like talking. Six of your friends have just vanished. You fear the worst. You have endless questions. Where are they? Why did everyone but Jin jump? Did they make it through safe? Will they ever come back? What will their families do? The void inside only grows. Your racing mind exhausts and you lean your head on Jin’s shoulder. It’s big and sturdy and safe. Whatever happens from now on, at least you will have Jin by your side. You fall asleep.

***

The sound of Professor Choi quietly nudging you awake causes you to jump, “Wake up, Dear. You are home.”

“Huh, what year is it?” You rub the sleep from your eyes and feel a cramp in your neck. There’s no other student left on the bus but you. The spot next to you empty, with all but a snack left on the seat. You pick up the wrapped choco pie and stare at it. No way. Did Jin get time warped? He couldn’t have he was with me…

“It’s 1958, Dear,” Choi laughs. “Don’t forget your belongings. I’ll leave you to it.” The professor walks off the bus.

Jin got time-warped with the rest. This is not a dream. You are not dreaming.

All seven of them...left you.

Field Observation #10: It was a f*ckboy au after all. What did you expect, Bighead?

See you in 1985 :)

158 notes · View notes

7wanderingpaws · 4 years

Text

Captain Bucheon 04

Warnings: language, suggestive

Word count: 4.6K

story masterlist masterlist

tags: @wooya1224 @to-all-the-stories-i-love @jennxx3 @realllllrica (let me know if you want to be un/tagged)

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Fourth: Painful memories

Baekhyun seemed like a distant dream when you awoke the next day. Everything that happened, starting with your obliviousness to his presence at the field all the way to the moment you slapped him and poured your emotions out; they all felt like they never happened.

It was your throat, raw and sore from screaming, that indicated last night happened. You woke up tired, feeling your nose clogged and head heavy. As if constantly haunting you, behind closed eyes you saw his; they were looking at you, troubled and wavering. Baekhyun was at your mercy last night. And you were merciless.

One of the painful memories was exceptionally difficult to erase from your mind. Baekhyun's words, that he uttered one year ago in his office, were haunting you and making you believe that things could have been different if you were not lying to him.

I would have waited for you.

Those words were running around in front of your eyes, each word snaking itself in confusing circles creating slight dizziness. Would he have really waited, though?

Groaning, you turned to your other side spotting Yuyeon’s sleeping figure. She wasn’t in the room when you arrived last night, enabling you to cry to your heart's content, which you did. You cried yourself to sleep and now, here was the result. Swollen eyes, headache and a sore throat.

Your phone that was safely tucked under your pillow gave a short vibration, indicating a message. You were waiting for it; it was the last working day after all. Weekend was coming up and you couldn’t wait to get the necessary free time to do your school work and recover from shouting at Byun Baekhyun.

You checked the text message and you planned your day ahead accordingly.

Unknown number

Parcel delivery for the weekend by Sunday 23:30. Bucheon Christian University main gate’s security house.

You frowned, mulling over the destination. Until now, it was always an apartment building and, with the new found information that the messages could have possible secondary destinations encoded, you grew a little uneasy. If issues occurred, would there be another option to deliver the parcel to?

There was a hustle going on in Baekhyun’s department that day. Several robberies, crimes and attacks and every officer was preoccupied with suffering victims begging for help and justice.

He also had a couple of cases to deal with, yet he kept zoning out. He barely got a wink of sleep and now he needed to be at his best when he would have much rather stayed home and let himself think through stuff. Not that he didn’t have a whole year to think.

“Knock knock, coffee delivery!”

Park Chanyeol, the number one detective and also Baekhyun’s close friend, walked in, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. “What’s up Captain?”

“Thanks,” murmured Baekhyun when Chanyeol handed him the mug. “Any news on the case?” he asked, ignoring his friend’s question completely.

Chanyeol crashed on the chair opposite him with a sigh. “Nope,” he replied. “No solid updates. No leads. The attack was sudden and we can’t seem to find a trace of the target.”

Baekhyun sighed. “Two young women have been attacked so far. They were in their mid-twenties.”

“Actually, both of them were in their final year of university,” added Chanyeol with a serious tone.

“That could be a solid lead,” murmured Baekhyun even though his mind was wandering off again. He was quick to zone out on his friend who continued describing the crime scenes, thinking out loud but Baekhyun was already on a completely different page.

You were just seventeen… and he was so heartless. He could vividly remember the actual happenings in his office. He was sitting just where he was seated now, behind his big table full of paperwork and computer while you were becoming smaller and smaller under his smoldering gaze.

Baekhyun was extremely mad that day. He couldn’t remember the last time he was that mad. Not even the forever annoying Siamsa could annoy him to those bits and he was slowly realizing that it must have been because he liked you much more than he had let himself believe. You betraying his trust, seeing him as a fool and doing stupid stuff behind his back were the exact things he despised in humans. Yet, you did all of them. And one year later, here he was, with you on his mind.

He cringed inwardly when he remembered the harsh words he told you.

You were stupid enough to get caught.

You can be goddamn sure I wouldn’t talk to a KID.

It was a grave mistake to talk to you.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, not even catching Chanyeol abruptly stopping his talk. Baekhyun was way too brutal with you. He groaned out loud when he remembered another horrible thing he said. I’m breaking up with you if it wasn’t obvious enough. Plus, I’m arresting you…

“Are you okay? You really seem out of it today.” Chanyeol seemed concerned and even a little perplexed as Baekhyun rarely showed this kind of behavior in front him, let alone showing it at his workplace. In the office, Baekhyun was the one to be scared of, to be respected and bowed to. This Baekhyun seemed like if Chanyeol pushed him with his finger, he'd crumble.

“I'm fine,” muttered back the captain with a throaty voice.

Chanyeol pursed his lips, unsure how to ask what had been on his mind since he entered the office. Instead of wanting to deal with a serious talk, a cheeky glint lit up in his eyes. “Perhaps you met her again?”

“Her?” Baekhyun frowned with a down-ward tilt on his lips.

Chanyeol wiggled his eyebrows as he stretched on the chair. “You know who!” he took a breath and with his deep voice, started to sing:

She looked incredible Just turned 17 I guess my friends are right She's out of my league So what am I to do? She's too good to be true

Baekhyun couldn't help himself when he heard the lyrics his friend correlated with you. They couldn't have been more accurate and despite him being in a bad mood, the idea made him laugh under his nose as he looked on the floor. “Actually, I did. And I got slapped,” he revealed somehow proudly as he let himself sit on his chair, enjoying the astonished look on Chanyeol's face.

“No way!” he straightened up in his seat, leaning forward so he could get a better look at his friend. “She slapped you? Damn, this girl is feisty. She keeps beating up our captain!” he laughed out loud, consumed by the images of you, the young woman in her late teenage years, slapping someone of Baekhyun's calibre.

“Yeah, well, she's always been fearless.” he shrugged, frowning out of a sudden. “I screwed that girl up pretty badly, Chan, but that's no news.”

Chanyeol went quiet for a minute, fully aware of Baekhyun's emotions and the way the past events had been eating him up. “How is she doing these days?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I guess well? She's lost some weight, but,” he sighed and proceeded to talk about the event that he witnessed with the boys sexually harassing you.

“The kids these days can't keep it in their pants,” cackled Chanyeol in disbelief but Baekhyun was far from entertained. His jaw was locked, the skin pulsing with tension at the mere idea of last night.

“If they ever as much as think about her I swear to god-”

“Whoa, hold on, Baek. You know you can't just get involved.”

“What do you mean I can't just get involved? They were harassing her, and I'm a cop.”

“I think your rage is more fueled because it's about Nari. As much as you seek justice, you shouldn't let your emotions take the better out of you. Besides, people might get suspicious-”

“Chanyeol, what the fuck?” snapped Baekhyun angrily. “If she were any woman I'd do the same.”

“You would not punch in order to protect just any woman.”

“Yes, I would-”

“No, you would do the smart talk and intimidate them with your power and authority. But you punched the kid, Baek.”

Baekhyun sighed in agitation, his hand coming yet again up to his face, tiredly rubbing at the skin. “So what should I have done? I myself am confused about my emotions but I know I care about her a lot.”

“Of course you care about her. You drank straight up one month after she found out about your fake boyfriend identity and you broke up.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, hating the way Chanyeol was so blunt with his words. “Either way, she still hates me.”

“Would you fight for her if she ever gave you a chance?” asked Chanyeol quietly, his fingers nipping at his lower lip in thought.

Baekhyun opened his mouth, ready to answer way too quickly before he stopped himself. He was frozen when he realized the answer that so naturally came to him. Would he fight for you if you ever decided to build the bridges again? He definitely would have one year ago when he came to your high school to see you.

“You're hesitating,” stated Chanyeol and pursed his lips. “I think you're scared, too, captain.”

Baekhyun scoffed but Chanyeol cut him off: “You would hate losing her again. And she is a fragile kid, scarred by everything that happened to her. She could be even more vulnerable with you. Remember that.”

“Where are you going?” asked Yuyeon, confused, when you were putting on your black jeans and a black hoodie. The helmet for the scooter was already tucked under your arm, ready to leave for the Saturday night. Time was ticking in your brain and you grew quite anxious about possible bad outcomes of this delivery if you wouldn't leave right away.

“Work,” you shrugged, “will get this done and then I will be free,” you smiled, a little strained but Yuyeon only gave you a suspicious side glance.

“You never work on the weekends! This employer is already playing with you and telling you to work even when it's not your official hours,” she frowned deeply, looking like a sulking child.

You sighed and suppressed the need to roll your eyes. “Okay, mum, I'll be back in time, no worries.”

“You better be! I won't fuss about wanting to go to a club when you're oh so busy.”

“I promise we can go next Friday!” you shouted, opening the door to put on your shoes.

She grumbled in response and you laughed to yourself, slamming the doors behind you when you slid your feet into your boots. Making sure they were tied well, you rushed out into the chilly evening, making your way to the mini-scooter Chul borrowed you so you could get the job done easier.

Bucheon Christian University was a little further away from your campus, so you made sure you followed the map carefully once you got the box from the apartment you usually got it from. The apartment itself was a high-rise, family friendly building and, just like the previous times, this box was also very light in your arms despite it being a little bigger. You had a spare rope under the seat of the scooter, so you tied it securely so it wouldn't fall when you had it between your feet.

As you were reaching the destination, you realized your palms were becoming more sweaty. Your heartbeat, usually quiet, was now gently beating in your ears, letting you know the stress levels were rising.

“You arrived at your destination,” said the GPS when you passed a big entrance that was leading into a small campus with white buildings that seemed too out of the place. Wanting to get the job done quickly, you searched with eager eyes for a little building that would be the security office, getting off the scooter and untying the delivery.

Seeing a box-like metal security office for the car park barrier you swallowed harshly, walking up to it. There were no signs of life inside, the lights out and the barriers probably working on auto mode. For other people, it must have looked ridiculous - you walking with a bigger box towards the security office but you could only hope no one would see your face which was the reason why you were reluctant to take the helmet off.

You were walking up to what you deemed the correct destination, but you couldn't help the uneasy feeling. There is no need, you insisted in your mind, because this was the correct destination. You would put the box down in front of the doors and just leave. Yes. That was correct.

Despite your weak reassurances, you kept looking around making sure you weren’t missing another spot. Your heartbeat was still gently pumping in your ears, reminding you that this was a little more stressful than the previous outings.

As you reached the doors to the security office, you put the box down more to the side as the doors were directly in front of the road for the cars. Feeling the relief of accomplishing another day of delivery, you turned around and started walking back towards the scooter, the tension slowly but surely easing up. You looked back several times to make sure the box was still there and with that you sat on the scooter and rode away, excited that you didn’t miss out on the night just yet.

If Yuyeon would be up for fun, you could finally go and be reckless!

Baekhyun was about to turn off the lights and call it a night at 9pm when a loud set of knocks disturbed his peace. Thinking it was his friends who wanted to give him a surprise visit, he swiftly opened the door only to be surprised when he spotted a ball of pink.

“The hell are you doing here?” he snapped, not moving to let the uninvited guest in.

Siamsa, or, to Baekhyun, Sooah, rolled her eyes as she stepped closer. “Well, hi to you, handsome. I’ll tell you if you let me in.”

“Well, I don’t want to know,” he replied in an even voice. “So that makes it easier. Bye-“

“Wait!” she exclaimed quickly and made a step in, wanting to prevent him from slamming the door shut in her face. “It’s about your ex.”

He didn’t want to admit it; but his heart jumped at the mention of you. Sooah never cared enough about Baekhyun’s other exes before her. Unfortunately for you, you came after her and Siamsa, the kpop sensation, was not processing it well. “If you’re gonna talk bullshit, I’ll spare myself the time-“

“If you want to protect her, you should listen,” she sing-sang nonchalantly, playing with the ends of her long hair. It was dyed blond and made her seem innocent which she was far from.

“And how would you know what’s up with Nari? You’ve already done so much shit in the past! What makes you think I’ll believe you?”

Sooah shrugged, pretending to be unbothered. “Well, I care about your well-being, Baekhyun. I know you care about her. I know the break-up was brutal. You locked up her brother-“

Baekhyun was fast to grab her by her wrist and yank her inside, quickly kicking the door shut. Sooah had a satisfied smirk on her face when she took in his distressed expression. “How. Do. You. Know. That.”

“Mhmm, so hot,” she whispered with a wink, mocking him. “I always liked how manly you are, my little one-“

“Listen,” he cut her off angrily, the nickname making him shudder inwardly, “I don’t care about your fucking games. I’m way past you and all your stupid shit. But I swear to god, if you do something to Nari-“

“You seem to have luck on girls who do stupid shit,” she mimicked him as she stood closer, making sure her breath fanned his chin. “Nari seems to go from one trouble to another. One day she might as well end up like her brother,” she laughed to herself.

“How do you know about her brother?” he asked again in a low tone, trying hard to ignore the anger he felt whenever she mentioned you.

Sooah pulled a fake thinking face, tapping her slender finger with perfect nail art on her chin. “For starters, don’t underestimate my honesty, Baekhyun. I know more than you think. I really care about you, you know,” she mumbled the last sentence and dared to reach up with her hand, touching his cheek gently. “Me messing up by protecting my identity - you were too harsh with me back then, sweetie.”

Baekhyun sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them and moving his face away from her touch. She was bringing up the past and he didn’t like it; he didn’t want to dive in it. Sooah was a great manipulator and he didn’t want to fall down the guilt rabbit hole when he knew he did the right thing in the past. “We are done with that talk.”

“I was never done with that talk,” she was fast to protest. “You were. I still want you.” When she moved to stand closer to him, Baekhyun quickly stood back and away from her. “Baekhyun!”

“Tell me what you know about Lee Nari and then leave!”

“I want something in return,” she rebutted quickly, even confidently, but the desperation on her face was speaking volumes. “And I’ll tell you all I know.”

He grit his jaw, hard. “I swear to god, Sooah, stop testing me-“

“It’s noona for you,” she murmured with a sharp gaze that kept flickering over his features. He always looked good, but judging from his outfit, she knew he was preparing to sleep. That hoodie would soon be taken off and those plaid pants too. Her mind swirled just at the thought of it.

“We are done with that too—“

“You can’t fight the age difference, baby,” she purred and stepped closer. She enjoyed seeing his internal conflict. Despite being a harsh captain, she knew which buttons to push for him to submit, although she didn’t like that it involved you. She hated that the only way she could talk to Baekhyun was if she mentioned your name.

Baekhyun sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ok. Speak. Otherwise I’m throwing you out.”

Sooah burst out into laughter, quickly hiding her laminated teeth and scrunched up nose behind her hand. “You manhandling me wouldn’t be the first time, Captain,” she said in a low, sensual tone as she trailed her long fingernail over his chest. She could have sworn it was more toned than the last time she had the pleasure of touching it. “And you know how much I like it.” When she saw him closing his eyes in exasperation, she trailed the finger upwards to his prominent collarbones before she took the side of his neck in her palm, running her thumb over the pulse point. “God, I miss you so much. Like, so, so much, my sweetie.” She knew she was testing the limits. She also knew an angry Baekhyun was anything but good news. She refused to spare him, though. “Your girlfriend is a bad girl. She’ll easily become a criminal if she continues doing the bad stuff.”

Baekhyun snapped his eyes open. “Is she up to something these days?” he asked almost breathily.

Her fingers traveled to the nape of his neck and she buried them in the hair, lightly scratching at the skin. Baekhyun was fighting the shuddering feeling, hoping his body wouldn’t betray him.

“Oh, yes. When isn’t she up to something,” she mumbled thoughtfully, her hawk eyes taking note of Baekhyun’s slight blush. He was getting affected with her ministrations and she stepped closer to him. He didn’t move away.

“What is it?” he hummed when her other hand massages his chest in small circles. “What is it that she is doing?”

Sooah had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip in triumph. “Give me a kiss and I’ll tell you-“

“No games!” snapped Baekhyun angrily, his eyes stormy as he glared at her.

“Then you won’t find out!”

“Sooah!”

“Just a magic word and a little kiss is all I want, sweetie,” she whispered, enjoying his intent stare on her. “I promise that’s all I will want and you get to access all you need to know.”

“No,” he shook his head resolutely. “I don’t care.”

“You care so fucking much about her,” it was her turn to spit now, gradually getting infuriated with his reluctance to submit to her. “Or do you want me to, perhaps…” she trailed off, puckering her lips, feigning thinking, “tell everyone in her school you dated her as an underaged kid?”

That was it for Baekhyun. Something snapped within him and he made a threatening step towards his ex, who didn’t even budge at his abruptness. “I dare you to say a single word that would harm her reputation, Sooah. I dare you to. She already went through so much shit because of me and her family.”

Sooah was smirking as she watched the captain's troubled, but hard face. It hurt her, but she wasn’t the most emotionally literate person; she was selfish and sometimes enjoyed suffering of others. That was how a very bad product of the entertainment industry looked like. Whether she would admit it was questionable. Sooah would never give Baekhyun up when her emotions for him were so deep, when the man was desirable so much. It was always a given that he was a one of a kind man and she always wanted everything that was one of a kind.

“What a good man you are, Byun Baekhyun,” she hummed, her eyes focused on his lips. “Caring about a child so much. A child who lied to you from the very first start.”

“Whatever the hell you are trying to do here, leave it,” gritted Baekhyun eventually. “And tell me what she is up to.”

“I already told you what’s the price!” she whined, making Baekhyun frown. “A kiss. On the lips.” With her finger, she tapped her lower lip, excitement cursing through her when she saw Baekhyun eyeing her mouth. “And then the secrets are all yours.”

It was tempting; not the kiss, but the reward. Baekhyun’s mind was racing with possibilities, with outcomes. Then he became worried. He knew how twisted Sooah could be, and were she to talk in front of your school about your relationship, you’d most probably never forgive him for letting it happen and he himself would be in huge trouble. Maybe that thought was even stronger than his need to know whether you were in trouble or not.

To make Baekhyun’s pondering a little easier, Sooah boldly pressed her palm against his toned stomach, the muscles instantly flexing upon her intrusive touch. Sooah knew Baekhyun was a very sensitive man; a single tingle on his neck could turn him on, the lightest of scratches could make him stand up proud. She knew he had to be affected by her minimal ministrations. She knew him perfectly. Touching up the ridges around the muscles, she let her hand slide lower to his abdomen before reaching to cup his—

Baekhyun slapped her hand away with a growl and pressed her against the door. “One fucking kiss and you’ll spill everything,” he breathed. She couldn��t even react before he pressed his lips harshly against hers, the texture of her lip gloss attaching to his lips. Sooah groaned, arms instantly hugging his neck. Her long finger nails scratched his nape and Baekhyun’s will was becoming weaker.

The familiar scent of her strong, sweet perfume wafted over his senses, reminding him that this was not the woman he cared about anymore. Her eager tongue pushed his lips apart and was fast to battle with his own. The way she kissed him was nothing but desperate, needy, a call for attention. He hated it. The last time he kissed a woman— a girl was a year ago and her lips were the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. Despite her being brave with him, her kisses were shy, careful, kitten-like and Baekhyun accidentally groaned at the thought of that.

He pressed his lips harsher against this woman’s while imaging an innocent girl behind his eyelids. His hands were pressed against the door but he wanted to touch so bad. He only got to touch her once and not the way he would have liked, and now he had to fight the urge to let his hands slide around the curves, to outline her behind while her chest would be pressed against his.

He was quickly reminded that the body pressing against him was indeed not Lee Nari. Sooah had a slim physique with a flat chest and a big space between her thighs. He loved it once, but not anymore.

Before Sooah could cup his private part again he broke the kiss, desperately needing some air and needing to snap out of his deep fantasy. Blinking several times, he got to see the face that went through so many changes with plastic surgery and when she smiled at him with swollen lips, he realized how unreal this woman was. Unreal and unfaithful.

“What is Lee Nari doing ?” he breathed, the question coming out in a low murmur, his lips visibly swollen.

The spark that was in Sooah’s eyes left, quickly interchanged with hate and betrayal. “Is this what you ask me right after you kissed me?” she shrieked, causing Baekhyun to flinch. “You just had your tongue in my mouth and you dare to say a little girl’s name afterwards?”

Sooah wasn't wrong about you being a little girl. She was older by fourteen years after all; she saw you as a complete kid. Which made Sooah feel even more devastated and enraged; Baekhyun dated someone so incredibly young, half of her age. It made her feel like she couldn't compare.

“I’m not going to ask you any more. You got what you wanted. Get out of my flat if you don’t do anything useful,” replied Baekhuyn with a hard glare.

“She is delivering drugs,” snapped Sooah and Baekhyun was shocked to find tears in her eyes as she spoke. “That’s who she is now, Baekhyun. She is delivering illegal stuff on a scooter and she doesn’t even have a driving license.”

It felt like someone poured a scorching hot water over him. You and drugs? And you didn’t have a driving license while driving a vehicle? So many thoughts raced through his mind, so many questions left unanswered. What the hell were you up to? “And you know this how?”

Sooah shrugged. “None of your damn business.”

“It is if it involves Nari.”

Sooah scoffed mockingly. “Then sleep with me.”

“You need help, Sooah,” replied Baekhyun somehow compassionately after a moment of silence. Taking the singer’s arm in his, he turned her and opened the door so he could push her out to the corridor. “And immediately. You’re sick in your head. Treat your obsession and then we can still be friends maybe.”

“You’re a heartless bastard, Baekhyun,” whispered Sooah, not turning around. “You better watch out for the university festival. Your girlfriend will be my puppet.”

She started walking with purposeful steps towards the elevator, not looking back and not noticing the way Baekhyun’s face fell with dread.

But the girl had been hurt enough.

><><><><><><><><

A/N: thank you for reading! I had lots of fun with this chapter! Let me know your thoughts, there is so much happening over here >.<

Lyrics credit: McFly - That Girl

#exowritersnet #baekhyun #baekhyun fanfiction #baekhyun angst #baekhyun romance #baekhyun au #baekhyun policeman #baekhyun smut #exo smut #exo angst #exo fluff #CB #mywritings

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the-void-i-scream-into · 4 years

Text

White Tulips - a JunJin fanfic 1/3

Full Story: Part 2, Part 3

Hello everyone! I hope everyone who is reading this is healthy and safe. This is a fanfic about my favorite characters, Kang Sujin and Han Seojun. I really love these two together so I wrote what I had hoped to see in True Beauty. This is my first time writing fanfiction so its not that good. But I hope you still enjoy it. I didn’t change anything from True Beauty, rather continued the events from the ending with a focus on giving Sujin the redemption arc she so rightly deserved.

I really have to thank everyone on the shooters gc, especially @prodmina, for being so amazing and awesome. Never before have I come accross such amazing, wonderful, open and friendly group of people. I’m not that active on the chat, but I am so grateful it exists. Thank you to everyone on there. This is dedicated to you all.

Pairing: Kang Sujin x Han Seojun

Romantic Trope: Haters to friends to lovers

Word Count: 5.9k

Rating: T

PART 1

If you asked Han Seojun why he loved Lim Jukyung, he wouldn’t be able to answer. His feelings for her overwhelmed him to the point of inarticulation. His heart still skipped a beat every time he saw her at dinner with their group. He still found himself staring at her from time to time, unable to look away from her beauty. He even wrote songs about her, his only form of expressing his love for her.

He still thought of her in every free minute he had between practice, performance and recording sessions. When he couldn’t see her, he would watch her make-up tutorials online. He was proud of how far she had come with her career as a make-up artist. Her popularity was a source of delight for him. It was only appropriate that everyone see how amazing she was.

The only problem was, Lim Jukyung didn’t belong to him. She belonged to Lee Suho, his best friend.

Seojun was happy for the two of them. They were the best people he knew and even he had to acknowledge that they belonged together. Which was why, having these feelings were burdensome for Seojun.

It was burdensome, seeing them all lovey-dovey with each other and talking about their lives together. Normally Seojun would have faked a smile, but when they were all together in a group he scowled without reserve. He got away with it because right beside Suho and Jukyung, sat Taehoon and Suah who were the kind of cheesy couple that made anyone barf.

In fact, just the thought of Suah and Taehoon fawning over each other made him cringe. Even now as he walked into the special private room they frequented for their gatherings—private due to Seojun’s and Jukyung’s popularity��Seojun was pushing back his gag reflex at the squealing he could hear outside.

He scolded them as he entered the room. “Guys! I can hear you all the way from the front entrance. Why are you always so—” He stopped in his tracks. There, between a giggling Jukyung and beaming Suah sat the worst person Seojun had ever known.

Her.

He had heard peripherally about how she had changed now, having reformed as a charity worker. She had apparently apologized to Jukyung about the shitty things she had done before. As if an apology could change anything.

Han Seojun knew Jukyung had forgiven Kang Sujin. That woman had even attended Heekyung’s wedding. But Seojun didn’t understand why she had to invade their special gatherings.

The room had fallen silent. Everyone awkwardly stared at Seojun, then Sujin.

“It’s been a while, Han Seojun.” She said with a polite smile. Her voice deeper than most girls’. He always hated her voice and its lack of femininity.

Ya Han Seojun, are you a gangster?!

Seojun pushed the memory away.

“Ah-aah! Han Seojun. You must be surprised.” Jukyung said with forced cheerfulness. “I invited Sujin to join us today.

Seojun merely flicked a cynical brow at Jukyung and took his usual seat besides Suho. Suah and Jukyung nervously returned to their conversation.

The uncomfortable air in the room subsided after a while and everyone chatted cheerfully with each other. Everyone except Han Seojun.

“I saw your performance on TV. You looked good.” Suho told Seojun.

“Why the hell have you invited Kang Soojin?” Seojun asked Suho in a hushed tone.

“She’s a friend, of course she’s invited.”

“Why are you friends with her again?”

“Seojun, its fine.”

Seojun opened his mouth to protest but before he could, Sujin interrupted him.

“Ya, Han Seojun. I saw your performance on TV. I didn’t know you could sing so well.” She said, not sounding too impressed. “You were great.”

It was a peace offering. A way to start off on the right foot.

Seojun gave a sarcastic smile and tilted his head. “You should have known I was that good. I performed in school, didn’t I?”

“Oh right. I guess I didn’t really pay attention before.”

“You were too busy giving all of your attention to Lee Suho. I don’t expect you to have noticed anybody else.”

This time, the silence in the room was palpable. Taehoon audibly gulped. The only person unfazed was Sujin.

“Yeah. I was obsessed with Suho.” She said simply. “But now that I look back,” she made a frame with her forefingers and thumbs, “I think what the hell does Jukyung see in you?”

“Ya!” Suho protested so seriously that Jukyung giggled, breaking the tension.

“Honestly Jukyung. You’d be better off with me as your boyfriend.” Suah and Taehoon joined the laughter.

“Ya Kang Sujin, you stay away from my girlfriend.” Suho protested, pouting.

“You’re too serious, Lee Suho. Jukyung needs someone more fun.”

“At least I don’t go around kicking people in the face.”

“You wouldn’t be able to do it, even if you tried.”

“I know jujitsu, you know.”

“Okay, okay!” Jukyung said. And that was it, the friends were back to normal.

Seojun kept out of the conversations, eating and drinking on his own. No one dared to bother him lest he say something else to ruin the mood.

Han Seojun didn’t care to maintain a good mood. He had no tolerance for people like Kang Sujin; people who were bullies. And especially not when said bully had hurt someone he cared about very deeply. He didn’t buy this act that Sujin was pulling. He knew, that people never changed.

The conversation turned to Sujin and her charity work overseas. She talked animatedly about the children she and her non-profit group worked for. It made Seojun’s blood boil, how she was using a noble cause as a front for her true cold-hearted personality. That angel bullshit may work on others, but it would not work on Seojun.

He kept a close eye on her the entire time, almost glaring to the point where Suho had to poke him with his elbow to get him to look away. But Suho was blind, he should have seen how Sujin’s face gave the barest of glances of pain when he and Jukyung kissed each other and pulled each other’s cheeks and talked about living together.

“Oh, you guys share an apartment?” No one else noticed the high-pitchiness of Sujin’s voice when she asked this. No one, expect Seojun.

And then there was the stolen glances at Suho. That was the final nail in the coffin. Seojun was convinced that Sujin was pretending to be over Suho. She was still in love with him. And that was a problem.

“What’s wrong with you?” Suho confronted Seojun outside, when it was just the two of them waiting for the others to leave.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know the kind of person Kang Sujin is? How can you let her in again?”

“Calm down, Seojun-ah. That was all years ago.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that she hurt Jukyung.”

“She’s not a bad person. I know her better than you. She made a mistake.”

“She knew what she was doing.”

“Haven’t you ever made a mistake before? Or are you telling me that blaming me for Seyeon’s death was the right thing to do?”

Seojun was quiet.

“Seojun-ah, don’t take this the wrong way. You have a tendency to judge too quickly, and misunderstand. If you really hate her that much then talk to her and ask her about her reasons. Don’t just go on assuming something is the way it is because you think so.”

Seojun grit his teeth.

“Shall we go?” Jukyung came up from behind, taking Suho’s arm. The rest of the group was behind her.

“Yeah. Bye everyone. See you next time.” The couple waved as others waved back. “Seojun, I hope you’ll think about what I said.”

Seojun just nodded and waved too. He watched Jukyung and Suho disappear into the crowd on the street.

The rest of them said their goodbyes and went their way, Seojun leaving after giving Sujin a distrusting side-eye.

ii.

I don’t want to be a fool like you and be just friends, only to like him one sidedly.

It had been such a long time ago when Kang Sujin had said this to Han Seojun, but he remembered it like it was yesterday. That and a couple of other memories that played in his mind, causing whiplash.

Ya Han Seojun, are you a gangster?!

Those words especially felt like a slap on his face. He could actually feel his cheek burning at the image of Kang Sujin standing there in her uniform, telling off him and his boys about bullying Jukyung.

He had respected her back then, for having the guys to stand up for her friend. Even though she had been all haughty like some arrogant princess and thought him a fool, he had still respected her. He had never expected her to turn out to be such a vile person.

Am I handsome?

Yes.

No, no, no. That was one incident he refused to remember. It meant nothing. Only a source of surprise at her bluntness, nothing more.

“Seojun, we’re going to hit the showers now, are you done?”

Seojun didn’t hear Chorong as he ran on the treadmill. His body was in the gym but his mind as fully occupied by Kang Sujin, as it had been for the past week.

“Han Seojun, are you listening?”

She must have had a reason for suddenly showing up out of the blue. She had disappeared completely when the truth about her had been revealed online. Obviously, she ran away like a coward. If she was back now, it must be because she wanted something. Kang Sujin could be very calculating and manipulative.

Was it because of Lee Suho?

“Han Seojun!”

Chorong’s voice snapped Seojun out of his thoughts and he fell backward from his treadmill.

“OOOH! Are you okay?”

“YA! Why would you do that?!” Seojun snapped at Chorong as he got back up. He checked himself for bruises though his dignity caught the worst of it.

“Ah-nee, I called you so many times. You were totally checked out.” Chorong explained.

“Does that make sense? Why would I be checked out?”

“Well… you have been out of it this past week. Has something been bothering you?”

Something had been bothering him; something with silky, black hair and long legs.

“What? You met Kang Sujin?” His entire posse sounded as he told them about her return. Seojun put a finger in his ears as he was bombarded with questions.

“Did she apologize to Jukyung? Are they friends now?”

“Did she tell where she was all that time?”

“Is she still pretty?”

“Is she single?”

“What is she doing these days?”

Seojun ignored all of these useless inquiries.

“Hey! Did you al forget the kind of person she is? How could you ask if she is still pretty?”

“She must be. I bet she’s still the same.”

“She was never pretty.” Seojun declared. “I can never understand what people see in her.”

“That’s because you only have eyes for one.” One of them teased and the rest of them Ooh-ed like school girls.

“Ah, shikkeureo! Shut up!” Chorong said in defense of Seojun. Out of everyone, Chorong understood best how much Seojun still pined for Jukyung. “So, what exactly is bothering you about Kang Sujin?”

“I don’t trust her. Especially around Jukyung.”

“Wae? Do you think she might still be after Lee Suho.”

“Yes. At least I suspect so. I’m not sure what game she’s playing at but I’m not buying this angel persona she has on.”

“So? You can’t exactly stop Jukyung from choosing to be friends with her.”

“I feel I can convince Jukyung if I talk to her.”

“She might just tell you to try to get along with Sujin.”

This was true. Jukyung was too nice and trusting with people. Seojun thought long and hard.

“I’ll have to protect her. I’ll have to keep Kang Sujin away from Jukyung.”

iii.

He had been on his way to the studio, casually riding by on his bike, when he saw her. She was in some blue vest, clearly a uniform of some sort. She was handing out fliers to people who passed by, smiling widely with that fake innocent look she had perfected. What a crock of shit. Seojun swerved around and parked his bike, then sauntered up to her with an amused expression.

She lit up when she saw him approach, waving animatedly at him. Her happiness upon seeing him surprised him so much that he stumbled and almost fell. He played it off as nothing, hoping she hadn’t noticed.

“Ya Han Seojun, gimme your autograph.” She grinned as she pushed forward a petition to help kids in Africa.

Seojun didn’t take it. “What are you doing?” He asked rhetorically, looking at the pictures of children she had set up for people to see along with information as to how to donate. So she’s using these poor kids for her own selfish reasons?

“Huh?” Sujin hadn’t missed his tone. “Just sign it, its for a good cause. And being charitable will help your image too, no?” She tried appealing to his logic.

“Ooooh,” Seojun mocked, “So you keep up the pretense even when you’re not around Jukyung? Isn’t this a too much, Kang Sujin?”

Sujin’s smile dropped into a snarl, “What?”

“I’m on to you, Kang Sujin.” Seojun got up in her face. “Ah-nee, if you’re going to pretend to be all reformed then you shouldn’t make it too obvious. Charity work is a little too on the nose, don’t you think?”

Sujin stared at him in shock and anger. Seojun suddenly recalled how well Sujin had kicked those thugs who had kidnapped Jukyung back in high school and gulped. He hoped she wouldn’t try to kill him in public but it was too late to take back what he said.

“Han Seojun…” Sujin said through clenched teeth and Seojun prepared for the worst.

Ya Han Seojun! Are you a gangster?!

But she said nothing. Instead she calmed herself, exhaling through her mouth.

“I probably deserve that.” She said, not backing away or cowering from him. She pushed the flier in his chest, “But don’t make these kids suffer because of your anger towards me. They could really use the support.”

Seojun looked down at the flier. He couldn’t sign anything without the consent of his agency. So he folded it up and pocketed it. Along with his pride. He could put his ego aside for a good cause.

“These kids deserve a better person representing them than you.” Seojun said. Sujin pressed her lips tightly.

“Aren’t you being a little too harsh? I’m not the same person anymore. And Jukyung has—”

“You may have everyone else fooled, Kang Sujin. But I will always remember what you are.” With that, Seojun walked away, his hand twitching.

iv.

The next time they all met up, Seojun made sure to sit between Sujin and Jukyung. He felt uncomfortable because he had to bump shoulders with her, but he would bear it for Jukyung.

Suho gave Seojun a warning look when they all sat down. Don’t do anything excessive, the look said. Seojun ignored it.

He could feel Sujin’s stiffness beside him. This was uncomfortable for her too. Good. If I’m suffering, she should too. But she kept up her polite façade, smiling like nothing bothered her.

Seojun made sure to keep her isolated from Jukyung. He didn’t let her speak to Jukyung, didn’t let her participate in the competitions. He even didn’t let her eat properly.

“Jukyung-ah, did I show you my pictures from—”

“Jukyung-ah, has your sister told you about the tour we’re planning?” Seojun interrupted.

Jukyung would be at a loss as to who to answer and Seojun would move forward, blocking Sujin.

When Suho or Jukyung tried to ask Sujin what she wanted to eat first, he took the first dish he saw and shoved it in front of her.

“Here, have this Kang Sujin.”

“I don’t want it.” She said with an unamused look.

“Take it.” He ordered in his intimidating baritone.

They glared at each other , Sujin’s face twitching with annoyance. Seojun mentally dared her to snap at him but she swallowed her pride, quite literally, and put on a fake smile.

“Thanks.” She said dryly.

By the end of dinner, Han Seojun had successfully managed to annoy Kang Sujin. Her fake persona was slipping as she clenched her jaw and exhaled excessively to keep her temper in check. Seojun guessed he would have her true personality on display by the end of the night.

“Han Seojun what are you doing?” Suho confronted him outside.

“What did I do?” Seojun feigned ignorance.

“You need to sto—”

“Han Seojun. Let’s talk.” Sujin strode up to them from behind, her face set with determination.

“No.” Seojun said.

“I wasn’t asking. I was telling.” And there she was, the old Sujin. Gone was the politeness and friendly demeanor. She stared boldly at him, almost challenging him to refuse again.

“Seojun-ah, just hear her out.” Jukyung broke through their staring match. Seojun could never say no to her. But he didn’t get a chance to say yes either.

Sujin simply commanded, “Follow me,” and grabbed the collar of his jacket, dragging him away.

“Ya! What are you doing?!” But Kang Sujin was stronger than she looked and Seojun found himself being pulled against his will.

The rest of them could only stare.

“Do you think they’ll be alright?” Suah asked, concerned.

“Nope. I’m certain they’ll kill each other.” Suho replied nonchalantly.

“My money’s on Sujin.” Taehoon and Suah said together.

“You’re on.” Suho replied.

iv.

“Are you crazy? How could you grab me like that?” Seojun smoothened the collar of his coat that Sujin had bunched up in her fist. She had let go when he had said that he would follow enough times. They walked together, Sujin going ahead of him. He quickly put on his mask. “How can a girl be so strong?” He said under his breath. Then spoke aloud, “Is this any way to treat an idol?”

Sujin suddenly turned on her heels, stopping Seojun in his tracks. She was a little too close for comfort and looked intimidated with that unfiltered anger on her face. “Just shut up and follow.”

Seojun put his hands on his hips, tilting his head. He was unimpressed by her tough attitude. He gestured forward with his chin, “Then move.”

He followed her, keeping a small distance between them. She marched forward, taking long strides with her long, long legs. She looked like a general going to war.

“She calls me a thug. She should look at herself.” He mumbled.

Sujin led them to a secluded pocha, street food vendor with small plastic seats housed inside a plastic tent. Seojun adjusted his mask.

“Relax, no one here is going to recognize you.” Sujin said, sensing his discomfort. Indeed, when Seojun looked around, all he saw were hold ahjusshis getting drunk and babbling nonsense. None of them seemed like his fans.

Still, Sujin led them in a corner table and sat where he was hidden by her. She ordered two bottles of soju and side dishes for him. He simply watched with his arms crossed.

The silence between them was awkward and heavy. Neither of them said anything. Han Seojun openly stared at Sujin. Kang Sujin looked everywhere but him. The lady brought them their order. Sujin effortlessly opened a bottle and moved to fill his glass. Seojun put his hand on top of his glass to stop her.

With a sigh, he took the bottle from her and poured for himself. She followed suit. They both took a shot.

Sujin sat up straight, shuffling in her seat. She first looked down at her hands in her lap, then looked up, straight in his eyes.

“Mianhae.” It took him by surprise. More than that, the regret on her face moved him. If only by an inch. “I’m sorry, Han Seojun. What I did back then… I was going through some personal issues, and I took it out on Jukyung. But even that is not a good enough excuse. I shouldn’t have done what I did. And even what I said to you… even after you gave me a chance to delete the video… I’m sorry.” She gulped and Seojun mirrored her. “You were right. I was only destroying myself. I should have seen that. But I have changed now. I’m not the same person. I know you’re important to Jukyung. So I hope we can get along from now on.”

Seojun took another shot. He took a minute, considering her words.

“If its forgiveness you want, then Kang Sujin, there is nothing to forgive between us. Your fight was with Jukyung. Not me.” Sujin appeared relieved till Seojun added, “However, my problem with you isn’t because of old grudges. I just can’t trust you, Kang Sujin. I believe you still will hurt Jukyung, even if you don’t mean to. And I can’t let that happen.”

Sujin’s mouth became small. She jutted her jaw, pouring another shot for herself. She downed it aggressively before responding. “I’m not the same girl anymore. I’m not in love with—”

“I keep hearing that you’ve changed. But have you really? Can you honestly tell me that you’re over him?”

“I am over him.”

“Bull shit. I saw the way you were looking Suho. All throughout dinner—”

“Aren’t you just projecting your own feelings onto me?” Sujin interrupted.

Seojun laughed incredulously, “What?”

“The one who’s not over their unrequited love is you. You’re not over Jukyung.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. All these years you’ve been pretending to be her friend. Aren’t you the one being two faced?”

“I’ve already confessed to her. We even went on a date.” Seojun crossed his arms with a smirk.

This was news to Sujin, “Aah. Is that so? Then isn’t that more pathetic? Even though she clearly doesn’t want you—”

“Ya, Kang Sujin.”

“—you’re still not over her. I too saw how you looked at her. With that pathetic puppy dog expression on your face. Don’t you think this is awkward for Jukyung? Sitting there with her boyfriend and—”

“Shut your damn mouth.”

“Wae? Don’t like it when the tables are turned on you?” Sujin and Seojun glared at each other with hatred. Seojun poured and downed a shot. Sujin swallowed and looked away. This was not how she imagined this conversation going.

“I’m not in love with her.” Seojun declared.

Sujin snorted, “Hul. Then why is it you who is giving me this lecture and not Lee Suho? If I’m really such a threat to Lim Jukyung, then shouldn’t her boyfriend be the one to confront me? What gives you the right to treat me this way?”

Seojun paused. “I can give you a million reasons; that I’m her friend, that even though I’m not her boyfriend, she stills relies on me, that I’m doing this out of humanity.”

Sujin scoffed.

“That I don’t want to lose another friend because of bullying.”

Sujin’s face fell. She licked her lips as she considered his point of view. Then, wordlessly, she poured him a drink.

“I’m not a bully. I never was. I did a shitty thing that I’ve apologized for and now I’d like to move on with my life.” She poured herself a shot of soju too. “I care about Jukyung. I will always regret what I did to her. But I still have a chance at friendship and I am going to take it whether you like it or not.”

They both took the shot. Sujin poured them another.

“We both care about Jukyung. And she would want us to get along, or at least pretend to for her sake.” Sujin gave Seojun a pointed look. The ball was in his court now.

Seojun remembered how uncomfortable Jukyung had been because of his hostility towards Sujin. True, Sujin wasn’t the kind to be trusted. Seojun was a man of action, he didn’t believe in hollow words. But it was also true that fighting with Sujin all the time would cause problems in their peaceful little group. And although he was sure that when it came to it, everyone would choose him and not her, he still held up the shot glass and said, “For Jukyung’s sake.”

The two drunken enemies staggered on the sidewalk, each supporting the other while trying not to fall; a drunk trying to steady another drunk.

“Ah-nee-ya, I’m not *hic* not in love with Jukyung. I don… I don…”

“Arassssso. And I’mf the Pwincess of England.” Sujin slurred, pushing Seojun upright as she tried to hail a taxi.

“Na ah-nee-ya. I’m not. Nope.” Seojun hiccuped.

“Ah just sstand still!” Sujin pushed his body away but his arm was still draped over her shoulder.

“Ah sshutup! Shut up you stupid Suijin!” Seojun started snickering at his own statement, “Hehehe. Stupid Suji. Sujinnie phabo.” Seojun pushed his weight onto her, still chortling.

“Ah stand still!!” Sujin wrapped an arm around his waist to hold him up. She was suddenly very aware of just how tall he was. Even with her own impressive height, he seemed too big.

A taxi finally stopped and Sujin struggled with pushing Seojun inside. She pushed him in with her legs when he bent over on the seat but refused to move further to give her room.

“Where to?” The driver asked when they both were seated.

“Han Seojun, tell him your address.”

Seojun fell to the other side, passed out. Sujin, who herself felt like passing out, leaned over to tap his face, “Han Seojun? Ya! Wake uuup.” He did not.

“Are we leaving or not?” The driver asked impatiently.

Sujin shook Seojun again. He stirred, only to mumble Jukyung’s name and pass out on her shoulder again. Sujin looked at the driver helplessly.

vi.

The first thing Seojun felt was the pounding headache, it brought him out of a very nice dream he’d been having that he promptly forgot. He could feel his legs sticking out from the side of the bed. In turning over, his elbow punched into something.

“Oof! Ow! What the hell!”

Sujin kicked at him as she pressed her ribs in pain. They both were surprised to find themselves tangled in each other. It took them exactly three seconds to start screaming.

They both flew off the bed, Sujin hitting Seojun repeatedly with her pillow.

“Ow! Ow! Ah! OW!”

“Why. Are. You. In. My. Bed?!”

“Why am I here? Why are you here?”

“This is my room asshole!”

Seojun grabbed Sujin’s wrist to keep her from hitting him. He looked around and indeed it was Sujin’s room.

“What the hell happened?” He asked.

She kicked him in the shin, “How the hell would I know? Explain yourself, Han Seojun!”

“You explain! How can I end up here if you didn’t bring me?”

Sujin’s raised foot, about to kick Seojun, slowly lowered. She was suddenly hit with the memory of last night. Drunkenly trying to enter the code to her door as Seojun whined about missing Jukyung, stumbling into her apartment and dragging Seojun by his collar to the couch, falling on top of him as he fell and then immediately picking herself up and going into her room to pass out.

Seojun put his hands on his hips defiantly, “Kang Sujin. We got drunk last night didn’t we? Aish, chincha. I never thought you’d be the kind of girl to take advantage of a guy like that.”

“Ah-ni-godun! That would never happen! I only brought you here because you wouldn’t tell me your address.”

“Ah, what a nice excuse. And whose idea was it to go drinking any way? Was this your plan all along? Of course, its understandable that you’d want a rebound with the most handsome guy around.”

Sujin scoffed in disbelief. “That’s not the case!” She protested. “And what handsome? I find you laughable.”

“And I find you detestable.”

“Then why did you come into my bedroom when I left you out on the couch?”

A flash of memory sparked in Seojun’s mind; of getting up, using Sujin’s bathroom and going into the bedroom thinking he was at Chorong’s place.

The red spreading on his cheeks was a dead giveaway to Sujin that she had him.

Seojun cleared his throat, “No matter what, this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Of course, it doesn’t.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment as they wondered what to do next. They both spoke together.

“You should probably go.”

“I should leave.”

A rare agreement. They both nodded in sync.

“But… is there a back door to your apartment? I can risk having my face seen leaving a girl’s apartment.”

Sujin licked her lips as she considered this. “I think I have an idea.”

From the outside, Kang Sujin’s apartment door cracked open, just enough for two heads to poke out to check if the coast was clear. One of those heads was wearing a beanie, a mask and sunglasses. The other was Sujin. They both sneaked out of her apartment and beelined for the emergency stairs.

“Why is your apartment so up high?”

“We can always go in the elevator where my neighbors can see you.”

“I hate you.”

Finally making it out the back exit, the two relaxed.

“How are you going to get home?” She asked him.

“I’ll take the bus. Nobody will recognize me when I’m like this.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate fangirls.”

Seojun chuckled, “Never do. Bye then.”

Seojun turned, then paused, then turned back. “Kang Sujin.” He called out to her just as she was about to go in. “Thanks… for not just abandoning me last night.” It was the most difficult thank-you he had ever said.

Sujin simply nodded. “Get home safely.”

vii.

Sujin didn’t remember going back up to her apartment, just the click of the door shutting behind her that pulled her out of her daze.

She had just spent the night with Han Seojun. Admittedly, it meant nothing, but it still felt weird and she didn’t know what to do about it.

Maybe I should have asked him to eat before he went. He must have been hungry. She thought. And then scolded herself, Ah-nee, why would I care about him? He doesn’t matter to me anyway.

Traces of Han Seojun still lingered in her apartment; the bedsheet that had fallen on the floor, along with the pillow she had assaulted him with, his spicy scent on the bed and a metal ring on her bedside table that he must have taken off during the night.

Sujin held up the ring, looking through it. She would give it to him later, if they met again. She hoped they didn’t. She was already dreading the thought of encountering him again.

Kang Sujin didn’t let herself think too much about last night. She changed her sheets, showered and firmly put all thoughts of a certain idol out of her mind. He was just a silly twerp who had been a thug in high school and was now just an idol. He had nothing to do with her, nor she with him.

She had better things to do, like her work.

If you’re going to pretend to be all reformed then you shouldn’t make it too obvious. Charity work is a little too on the nose, don’t you think?

Nope, she wasn’t going to let that idiot get to her. Who was he to treat her like this? Next time she saw him, she would kick him in the face. Yes, that’s what she would do.

I keep hearing that you’ve changed. But have you really? Can you honestly tell me that you’re over him?

All day long Sujin’s hand twitched with the need to be scrubbed clean. They kept getting clammy and sticky. She wanted to scrub, scurb, scurb them of all the dirt and the grime and the filth of her past self. Sujin had believed that she had kicked this bad habit of unnecessarily cleaning her hands, but apparently she hadn’t.

My problem with you isn’t because of old grudges. I just can’t trust you, Kang Sujin. I believe you still will hurt Jukyung, even if you don’t mean to.

“Well who the hell wants your trust?” Sujin argued with the wind.

“Is everything okay?” One of the girls she worked with asked.

“What? Oh-um-yeah. Everything is fine! Just… talking to myself.” She put on a fake cheery attitude and shook her head.

It was only when Sujin’s day was finally over, and she was back in her empty apartment, leaning against her front door, that let herself feel the misery she had been suppressing.

Of course that Han Seojun hates me. What reason does he have not to?

Even the person who had been obligated to love and protect her, had only ever seen her as worthless. If her own father, couldn’t treat her with decency, then why should she expect a stranger to?

Her small apartment suddenly seemed so much bigger now. Big and empty, with shadows extending from the ground to the roof.

Kang Sujin, were you always such a piece of trash?

She hadn’t answered him back then. But in these quiet moments, she allowed herself to admit, “Yes, Han Seojun. I was always such a worthless piece of trash.”

Back when she had been a kid—running away from her problems in school, from what she had done to Jukyung—she would let this darkness take over. It would eat her inside and out till she was just a shell. However, now that he had grown up, she had learned how to deal with this on her own.

Sujin pushed herself off of the door and walked into her room, turning on all of the lights. Rest, she needed rest. And food, before anything else. Most of the time her depression would just be weakness caused by hunger. She was indeed careless with her health.

Her phone buzzed suddenly. It was a message from Jukyung. She would respond later. First she would spend time on herself. But then, almost immediately, there was a message from Suah. Then Suho. Even Taehoon. Then the phone lit up with a call from Jukyung.

“What’s going o—”

“Kang Sujin, have you seen the articles?”

“What?”

“There’s articles about you and Seojun dating.”

“WHAT?” It took Sujin a full minute to process what Jukyung was saying. She was speaking but Sujin didn’t hear the rest. Jukyung’s voice was muted from the speaker as Sujin searched through Naver for her and Seojun’s name.

“It’s all over the internet.” Jukyung was saying. “Someone’s posted pictures of you and Seojun together. Sujin-ah. Is that really you? Are you and Seojun dating?”

The room began to spin and Sujin had the urge to kick someone in the face.

“Jukyung-ah. I’ll call you back.”

What the hell happened?”

The articles Sujin found showed her and Seojun exiting her building. It was from this morning. Seojun’s face was well hidden but she could be clearly seen. From the way the pictures were taken, it looked as if the two were involved in something together.

Sujin’s phone suddenly lit up with an unknown number. She knew it could only be Han Seojun.

She pressed answer.

Some JunJin images I came up with just for fun

#junjin #Kang Sujin #Han Seojun #True Beauty #True Beauty Kdrama #Kdrama Fanfiction #True Beauty Fanfiction #Seojun x Sujin #Kang Soojin #Kang Sujin Fanfiction #Han Seojun Fanfiction #kdrama #fanfiction #park yoona #hwang inyeop

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thebluesideofmyworld · 3 years

Text

Let's Fall In Love for the Night

Summary: Will just broke up with his boyfriend. Nico offered some consolation. It ended up with some sort of a confession.

Word count: 2500 words || Rating: Teenage and Up Audiences || Read on AO3

Notes: Heavily inspired by "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" by FINNEAS. The first time I heard this song I could only think of Nico pining for Will. And somehow, watching the MV made me think of Will Solace.

***

It was past eleven in the evening when Nico’s phone lit up, Will’s name on the screen. Nico picked it up. Despite the small fluttering in his chest, he forcefully told himself not to feel too excited. It's nothing special. Will could call him any time of the day (or night). They're best friends.

(Didn’t mean that the word friend could sometimes feel so bitter for Nico)

“Hey, ‘Sup?”

“Oh, hey. You’re not sleeping yet?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “As if you don’t know about me and my sleeping schedule.”

“Ah, the one that I’ve been trying to fix?”

Nico snorted. This was one of the topics that they have gone through for too many times.

“Hey, Neeks. I know that it’s late…”

“It is.”

Will let out a laugh. The kind of strained, forced laugh. Nico immediately straightened up on the couch.

“Will? Everything’s alright?”

Will didn’t say anything for a while, but Nico could hear his slow, heavy breathing. Nico clutched the phone in his hand.

“Hey, Neeks. Can you come over? I think I need a pick-me-up” Will asked, voice heavy with hesitation and uncertainty. But as Nico stood up, his answer was a firm one.

“I’ll be there in 25.”

***

Nico hated the sight he saw when the door swung open. The tips of Will's lips curled up into a smile when he greeted Nico. But it's the kind of smile that Nico despised. It was a hollow smile, that didn't reach Will's eyes.

“Go get your jacket,” Nico said.

Will raised his eyebrows, still holding the doorknob.

“What?”

“Go get your jacket. We’re going out. Looks like you need some fresh air.”

“At midnight?”

“At midnight.”

Will sighed.

“Okay,” he said. But there was a small smile on his lips.

Nico smiled.

A few minutes later, Will showed up with his blue jacket and blue beanie (it's a nice color on Will. Not that it's important or anything). He had his ukulele in his hand as he walked out of the door.

“Who said you can bring your ukulele?”

Will shrugged as he locked the door. “Well, nobody said that I couldn’t bring it with me.”

Nico rolled his eyes but the small smile on Will’s lips made his heart forgot to beat for a second.

“I’m ready,” Will said, slipping his hands into the pocket of his jacket.

“Come on,” Nico said. “Let’s go and see the stars.”

***

There was just something about the lights of the city that gave Nico a sense of calmness. That’s why Nico brought Will here, to the hill on the outskirts of the city. They’re sitting on the roof of Nico’s car, legs dangling down as they gazed at the velvet night sky. Nico stole a glance at Will, who was sitting a few inches from him.

Will was leaning back on his hands, looking up to the sky. His profile under the silvery moonlight looked almost ethereal.

Will took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Nico quickly looked away.

“I think you already knew what this would be all about, I guess…” Will said, still looking up at the night sky.

Nico hummed.

He already had a guess. A good guess.

(Didn't mean that he would ever stop listening to whatever it was that Will needed to vent about)

(Didn't mean that he would ever stop telling Will that he should've just walked away and left that piece of shit that for some absurd reasons that Nico could never, ever fathom, had this blessing of being Will's boyfriend)

(Also, didn’t mean that Nico would ever tell Will one of the main reasons why it would be really delightful if Will just leave Octavian)

(Why would he ever tell Will that he loved Will, though? Why would he ever tell Will that he would do everything, anything to call Will as his?)

“But you know you can always talk with me about it, right?” Nico said, stealing another glance at Will before mirroring Will and stared at the night sky.

Will let out a chuckle. He took a deep breath and let it out.

“Well, guess what? I think this would be the last time you hear about it.”

Nico snapped his head to Will, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Will was already staring at him, a bitter smile on his lips.

“It’s over. Or should I say, it’s finally over,” Will said, answering the question that Nico didn’t have a chance to ask.

Nico blinked. His brain frantically trying to process what it meant. Should he feel relieved? Should he feel sorry for Will? Should he-

“Is it the part where I said ‘I’ve told you so?” Nico asked.

Will chuckled but said nothing to that. He looked up to the sky again.

“The stars are beautiful tonight,” he said, this time in a lighter tone. As if he didn’t just tell Nico that he just broke up with his boyfriend for two years.

“Do you know that we’re basically made from stars?” Will turned to look at Nico, sparkles in his eyes.

Nico raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Will hummed as he nodded. “Yeah. So basically, Carl Sagan, a very cool dude, he said that all organic matters, and that definitely involves us since we’re all made of organic stuff comes from stars.” And Will started to ramble about how materials were formed in the sky and big bang theory and stuff like the nerd he was.

Nico loved it when Will was talking some nerdy shit like that. Or maybe he loved that nerdy shit because it was Will the one talking about it.

After a while, it was another silence. But this time, it was like a comfort blanket, embracing them in this sense of calmness under the stars.

“I can actually stare at the night sky forever,” Will said, and let out a long sigh. He took his ukulele, and started playing some tunes.

Nico raised an eyebrow as he recognized the tune.

“I know that song,” he said turning his head to look at Will. Will looked back at him. Under the moonlight, his smile was soft but his eyes twinkled.

“Sing, then.”

Nico snorted. But Will kept his eyes at his.

“Sing for me, please?”

(Sometimes Nico hated himself for not being able to refuse Will whenever he had that look in his eyes.)

Nico rolled his eyes, but Will’s smile got wider as he knew he got what he wanted without even arguing for it.

“Please?”

Nico huffed. “Oh well, only because you asked nicely,” he said, half-hoping that his fake annoyed tone was good enough.

Will smiled.

(Nico wondered whether Will has ever realized that there were stars trapped in his eyes, in his smile.)

Nico took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

“I'm blind and afraid, the colors of this sound like a shape,” he started to sing. “The feast of words you never could say, and I'm torn apart.”

Nico kept on singing, next to Will who was playing the ukulele. Nico kept his eyes at the dark night, at the twinkling stars.

(Nico wondered whether Will ever realized that when he smiled, it’s like he had stars twinkling in his eyes)

“You got mirth, I got bravado...” Nico sang the last line of the song softly, almost whispering.

And then silence fell again, blanketed them with peace and quiet.

“It’s late,” Nico finally said after a while. He turned his head a little to glance at Will. The blond guy seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the horizon as he held his ukulele close to his chest.

“Will?”

“How have you been doing, Neeks?” Will asked, turning his head to Nico. But this time, his blue eyes had this intensity that almost made Nico forgot to breathe.

“Huh?”

“Tell me about your life. What have you been up to.”

Nico blinked, and then he shook his head a little, bemused.

Next to him, Will continued talking. “I feel like I’ve been such a bad friend for you. For the last couple of months, it’s always been about me and Octavian and how our relationship sucks. We never talked about you. You never told me anything about yourself.”

“Hey, we talk. About work. TVs. Movies. Leo being stupid. About Jason being madly in love with Piper. We talk, Will.”

Will snorted. “No. We talk about me. About other people. We never talk about you, Neeks.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “What’s there to talk about me?”

(Obviously not about he has been pining for Will for so long. Nope. They would not talk about that)

Will shrugged his shoulders. “Anything. Everything. Just tell me things about you.”

“Like what?”

“Like…are you seeing someone?”

“No.”

Once the word fell out from his lips, was exactly when Nico realized he answered it too quickly to make it sound casual. He cleared his throat.

“I mean, no?” Nico cringed when he realized that this time, he made it sound like a question.

“Why not?” Will asked, turning his head to look at Nico, curiosity in his eyes.

Nico stayed silent. Instead of staring back at Will, he fixed his eyes at his black combat boots.

“Have you ever been in love, though?”

Yes. No. Maybe. Nico didn’t know.

Nico lifted his head up as he inhaled deeply. He let it out in a long exhale.

“I don’t know,” he said. (The only thing that he knew was that every time he heard that stupid word he could only think of Will).

There was another silence for a moment, but somehow, somehow Nico could just feel there is this tension between them. Nico carefully angled his neck, stealing a glance at Will. There was this strange, intense expression on Will's face, like he was thinking so hard about something.

“Will?”

“You’re going to hate me for what I’m about to say,” Will said, suddenly turned his head to Nico. And even in the dark night, Nico could see the fiery intensity in those blue eyes.

It made him shiver.

Nico cleared his throat. He schooled his face into the most nonchalant expression that he could. He’s trained for this. Hiding his feeling was something that Nico did really, really well.

“If you’re setting me up with one of your friends again then yes, I would definitely hate you. I’ve had enough of Jason and Percy shoving some random guys to me.”

“No. That’s not it.”

Okay. This was serious. Will was supposed to laugh at the fact that the way Nico's cousins were way too invested in his love life.

Nico’s brows furrowed. “What is it, then?”

Will’s lips thinned into a thin line as he kept his eyes at Nico. That fire in his eyes burned even brighter.

It made Nico’s heart suddenly race and his brain freeze.

“Nico, let’s fall in love with each other.”

Nico’s heart stopped, and lurched into his stomach.

(It was ironically funny, how he had been dreaming about something like this, yet he could not believe it when it happened)

(Did it really happen?)

Nico blinked. Once. Twice.

He shook his head.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not serious Will.”

“I am. Serious. Really serious.”

Nico stared at Will. His brain froze.

Will bit his lower lip. He shifted a bit. Just a bit. Carefully, he moved his hand, reached out for Nico’s hand and covered it.

Nico wanted to hold his hand back. God, he really wanted to.

He didn’t hold Will’s hand back. He knew better than that. He knew better than giving in to the illusion of calling Will as his.

“I’m serious Nico. I mean it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Can’t you fall in love with me?”

Nic wanted to laugh and scream and laugh because of how stupid, how absurd that question was.

Can’t you fall in love with me, Will asked, when Nico would do anything, anything for Will.

“Will… This wasn’t the right time-“

Will tightened his hand on Nico’s. “Why?”

Nico shook his head. "Will, you just broke up with your boyfriend. You're emotionally unstable right now. You probably think that you fall for me but then you'll wake up in the morning and regret everything-“

“The only thing that I regret is just that it took me so long to realize.”

That made Nico falls silent. He stared at Will, his heart went back into a crazy race in his chest.

Will squeezed his hand. “Okay, maybe it’s not the only thing that I regret. I regret that I was too stupid to realize that I should have broken up with Octavian a long time ago. I regret that we didn't meet sooner. I just…," Will paused and shook his head. "Oh God, I wish, how I wish that we had met sooner."

Nico’s brain still failed him. Which was stupid. So many things were running in his mind right now yet he couldn’t think of any words to say.

“Can I make you fall in love with me? Or at least, can you give me a chance to try my best to make you fall in love with me?”

Will shifted even closer to Nico now, their shoulders were brushing. He brought Nico’s hand that he’s been holding to his chest. Nico could feel Will’s heartbeat and it was just so surreal, like a fragile, vulnerable dream.

“Can you give us a chance to try? To see if we can fall in love with each other?”

Nico held his eyes at Will’s. At the blue eyes that he had been dreaming of for so many nights.

For over twenty years of his life, Nico had made so many dumb and foolish decisions. Was this going to be just another one of those?

Nico closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. He opened his eyes slowly. Will was still staring at him with stars trapped in his hopeful eyes.

“This is not going to be something that you will forget in the morning, right?”

Will’s smile was soft and tender as he shook his head.

“No. Mornings are just going to be a reminder of how I have promised that I will show you what I feel for you.”

Nico wanted to say something beautifully eloquent. Something that could make Will understand how much this meant to him. But he knew that words were beyond this.

“Okay,” Nico said. This time he let himself take a chance and held Will’s hand back. “Okay,” he repeated. “Let’s try it. Let’s try to fall in love with each other, from tonight…”

“And promise that we’ll never forget it in the morning light,” Will whispered. He brought Nico’s hand to his lips, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on his knuckles.

Will cupped Nico’s cheek with his other hand. Nico closed his eyes, and as he felt Will’s warm lips over his, he let himself fall into this thing called love.

***

Additional Notes:

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :). Reblogs, replies or any other feedbacks are much appreciated ALWAYS made my day :')

The lyric that Nico sang was from "epitaph" by Hippocampus. I swear I would write another fic based on that song. (Also please listen to that song. It's just a great great GREAT song)

I find it easier for me to write a fic based on songs. So if you have a song in mind that reminds you of Nico/Will, mind to share it with me? I'd love to hear your thoughts about songs that have the Solangelo vibes!

#solangelo #solangelo fanfic #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo oneshot

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liliesoftherain · 4 years

Text

My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader

Ch. 18 Code Names

A/N: Guess who’s back... back again.. shady’s back.. tell a friend- But really! Hey guys! I bet none of y’all missed me, but I deeply missed you.

So this is a little rant so you can 100% skip this and read the story! Enjoy!

Anyways, I kinda stopped talking to everyone I met here on tumblr, and that makes me really sad. I mean, I have no one to blame but myself, but now that I’m in a better place, I hope things can go back to normal, so, @pocket-is-obsessed @pinky-the-elephant-room @sunnieskies02 , and everyone else, I’m sorry. I love y’all, and I miss y’all.

Masterlist

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The following days were spent resting up, allowing your body to heal from the taxing day you endured; any cuts or bruises that had managed to slip pass Recovery Girl were now reduced to nothing but a memory. Monday came by, quicker than you hoped, and you were on the train headed towards the school grounds. You basked in the steady hum of the engine, watching the scenery fly by, until the area around you began to break out into murmurs.

“That’s Hakamata, isn’t it?”

“Best Jeanist’s daughter!”

“She won third place at the sports festival, it’s amazing!”

“Oh wow!”

“Hey, good job at the festival! I totally knew you were going to hit it big!”

“You were so close to winning!”

“Good luck!”

“Keep working!”

Exiting the train with a wave, you sigh in relief. While it left your heart fluttering with pride at the praises and recognition, it was still overwhelming to have so many people talking about you, to you, at once.

You arrived at the school gates, quickly rushing inside, shaking your umbrella off as you broke it down. You quickly grab what you need from your locker, placing your umbrella with the others before heading off to your classroom.

Pushing the door open, you smile at the conversations that were going on--everyone seemed to be in high spirits, and you missed the rambunctious energy of your friends.

“Hakamata!-” Denki was grinning and waving excitedly, turning to look at you as you sat down, “How was it coming to school this morning? I bet a lot of people noticed you! Isn’t it great how we’ve all been thrown into the spotlight after just a few days, huh?”

“I guess, it’s nothing much really. We should all be proud of how far we’ve gotten huh?”

“Of course! 1-A is awesome! Only 1-A kids took any of the top spots after all!”

Your attention is stolen as the door opens, catching the eyes of the boy who had been on your mind all weekend. Todoroki blinked at your stare, only for your eyes to be forced away as Kaminari demanded your attention on something. You struggle to focus, nodding along as you desperately try to make his words have meaning--since your thoughts drifted towards your last encounter.

“Aizawa-sensei, your bandages are gone!”

“Oh, I’m so happy!”

Your eyes snap to the front of the room, seeing your teacher--looking way better than he had previously. He looked as if nothing had ever happened, the only indication being the freshly made scar residing under his eye.

“Yes, they are. Thanks. However, more importantly, we’re having a special hero informatics class today…”

Silence hung in the air, each student desperately trying to figure out what could possibly be going on--a pop quiz, maybe?

“You all need code names.”

The class shouted in relief and excitement, only to have Aizawa glare at the noise. You all quieted down immediately, one menacing look from your teacher was all it took. Once settled, he explained further on the subject: how the code names worked, about the internships, and how these offers weren’t normally given to first years such as yourselves.

“Here, the offers…”

Aizawa clicked a remote, causing a holographic image to appear on the board, showing how many hero agencies put in offers for each student. The first three statistics were large, the rest of them dropping drastically from the thousands, to a few hundred and less.

You see your name as the second highest ranking, shocking you, beating the first-place festival winner by more than 50 whole offers.

“Normally the offers are more spread out, but this year all eyes were on these three.”

“Gah, there’s such a big difference!”

“Todoroki is first, Hakamata is second, and Bakugou is third…?”

“How is that, when Bakugou was the winner?”

“Seems the scores are the opposite of the sports festival rankings.”

“Guess some people may be too scared to ask a guy who had to be chained to his podium.”

“HAH!? What are the pros scared of!?” Bakugou whipped around, glaring at Sero for his comment.

Ignoring the loud outburst, you glance behind you at Todoroki, who looked as unbothered as ever at the fact he had the most offers. You give him a small smile as your eyes once again connect, just as they did right before the start of class, and he--surprisingly--returns the gesture.

“Despite these results, you’ll all be interning with pros. Offers or not.”

“So, we can all intern?”

“Yes. Seeing as you guys have had combat with real villains--thanks to the USJ incident. We believe it will be beneficial to see real pros up close, on the field, and to do that…”

“We need hero names!”

“Yes. They may be temporary, but take them seriously or--”

“THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”

Aizawa was cut off by the sudden shout, the door followed by slamming open, stealing everyone’s attention. He sighed as the risque pro hero Midnight sauntered inside, smirking at the attention that fell upon her.

“Midnight is going to have final approval over your names,” your teacher starts, pulling up his sleeping bag, “It’s not my forte--but just remember, the name you give yourself represents what kind of hero you want to be. It’s important.”

What kind of hero I want to be, huh?

You were handed a stack of white cardstocks, passing the remainders back as you grabbed one for yourself. It seemed like a normal, blank canvas, but you saw it as a gateway to your future as a hero. You remember all the times you tried on different hero names--mostly different variations of your fathers, even if now you cringed at the memories.

You knew your hero name was important and necessary, a name to prove to the world who you were and what you were capable of.

‘Your hero name is supposed to represent your desires-- to allow you to become your ideal self. What kind of hero do you want to prove yourself to be, or better yet, just--who are you?’

You take a deep breath, taking comfort in your father’s words as you write down your name…

“Now students, who is ready to share?”

You watch the students go up one-by-one; cringing slightly at the--extravagant--name Aoyama had chosen from himself, feeling bad for Mina as she was sent back to her desk to rethink, and giddy at the cute name Tsu had picked. The rest of the names went by alright until Todoroki had gone up to present his hero name.

“Shoto.”

“Oh,” Midnight blinked in surprise, “just your name?”

“Yeah.”

You frown slightly, Shoto hadn’t looked up, choosing to stare down at the podium with a blank expression instead. You watch as he trudged his way back to his desk, still no eye contact towards anyone as he sat down. Biting your lip, you try to shake the image from your mind. He had his reasons, and you didn’t have to know them.

“Jet Black Hero: Tsukuyomi!”

“Oh, God of the Night! I love it!”

You snap your attention back towards the front, giving a small clap to Tokoyami as he presents his name. He bows at the class before sitting down.

Mineta and Koda present their names, both very fitting and true to their image. You felt yourself grow the tad bit eager as Bakugou was the next one to present his name.

‘I wonder what it could be? He excels in just about everything, he must have a really cool hero name picked out-’

“KING EXPLOSION MURDER.”

The name wasn’t what got you, it was the serious look on his face as he said it that did. You slap a hand over your mouth, snickering as quietly as you could into your palm. You weren’t the only one holding back giggles, Eijiro, Sero, and Kaminari doing the same.

“Um, I’m going to have to say that one is too violent.”

“Hah!? Whaddya mean-”

“Why don’t you be Explosion Boy instead!” Eijiro suggests.

“Nah, he should be Grenades!” You chime in, a smirk on your face as you mimic his gauntlets.

“Or what about ‘BOOM PSH BAWHH’, you know, explosion noises!” Denki laughs.

“How would you even spell that-”

“SHUT UP ALL OF YOU, OR I’LL SHOW YOU WHY MURDER SHOULD BE IN MY NAME!” Bakugou interrupts, a scowl on his face as he yells at the three of you.

“Maybe your hero name should be ‘Anger Issues’, it’s fitting, dontcha think-”

You were cut off by a growl from Bakugou, his face morphing into pure anger as he points straight at you.

“BRING IT, GLOW WORM! I BET YOUR HERO NAME IS GOING TO BE CRAPPY.”

You say nothing in return, standing up and making your way towards the podium, giving him a teasing smile as you got close enough.

“Go sit down and maybe you’ll see.”

“Good idea, go sit down and rethink your name a bit, Bakugou.” Midnight agrees, clapping her hands to diffuse the tension.

He grumbles on the way back to his desk, and you just face the class with a sheepish grin.

“Well, here’s what I want to be--who I will be; Luminary!”

You picked a name like Luminary because you wanted to prove that you were more than just another person; you wanted to be the guiding light, leading people to justice, leading people to their hope. Maybe you weren’t there yet, you did have a long way to go before you could be considered a pro, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t going to try.

You’d be the light, shining in the darkness, for all others to see and follow.

“Oh how sweet, you’ll be a very inspiring hero, I’m sure!”

You shyly smile at the applauds, only for the demeanor to change, a smirk growing as you see Bakugou roll his eyes and look away.

Checkmate.

After a few more people presenting, Izuku shakily stands at the podium, taking a deep breath before showing his cardstock.

Blinking in surprise, you zone in on the singular word on the card, raising an eyebrow questioningly at the boy.

“Really Midoriya?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah man, remember that can be your name forever.”

“Right,” He looks down, “I used to hate it, but then something changed… I guess, someone taught me that it could have a different meaning, and that had a huge impact on how I felt about it. So now, I like it!”

You smile wide as he makes direct eye contact, giving him a nod of encouragement.

“Deku, that has to be my code name!”

-----

“Now that that’s all done, we can go back to talking about the upcoming internships. They are a week long, and as to who you’ll be interning with; if you were on the board, you will choose from one of the offers you were given, as for everyone else, you’ll be choosing from a different list.”

The lists were handed out as soon as the bell rang overhead, signaling the end of the first half of the day, and the beginning of lunch.

“I wanna fight crime and bad guys in a big city!” Kirishima grinned, eyes taking in every name on his sheet of paper.

“I just hope I can intern at a place where there’s a lot of water!” Tsu sighed.

“Turn in your choices before the weekend.”

“We’ve only got two days!?”

“Yeah, so you better figure it out. Dismissed for lunch.”

Aizawa shut the door as he and Midnight walked out, leaving the class to class among themselves.

You read down the list, sighing in defeat as you had multiple papers of agencies stapled together. You should feel grateful, and you do, but there were too many places to choose from! Plus, you were probably just going to end up interning with your dad--

You pause as you read a specific agency, blinking before rereading it to make sure you weren’t seeing things. You weren’t, because right there in bold lettering:

“Endeavor Hero Agency”

What could Endeavor possibly want you to intern with him for?

Taking a look around the room you see most of your classmates breaking off into groups--some heading for the mess hall, and others staying in their seats. You spot Todoroki as he walks out the door.

“Ne, (y/n), what agency are you thinking of-”

“Sorry Eijiro, I’ll talk to you later,” You smile apologetically, standing up to race after the boy--not feeling the few pairs of eyes on your body as you leave.

“Todoroki, wait up!”

He turns to you, confusion in his eyes but waits for you nonetheless. You stop in front of him, clutching onto the list you had brought with you.

“Yes?” His voice was vacant of emotion, and while it was normal, it made you feel nervous.

“Uh, sorry, I just have something to tell you.”

He tilts his head, an indicator for you to continue, and you take a deep breath before presenting him the paper. His eyes search the words, bewildered as he tries to understand what you were trying to show him. Pointing at the hero agency you knew he was familiar with, you see how his eyes widen ever so slightly.

“Endeavor made me an offer…”

“I see.”

“Well, I just wanted to say I won’t-”

“You should take it.”

Your brows furrow, taken aback by his statement.

“What?”

He hands you back your list, looking straight into your eyes with a small flame of determination.

“You should take it. It’s a great opportunity to be working with the number two hero.”

“I was going to go for my dad, who still is in the top five, you know.” You respond, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Oh,” Todoroki’s eyes widen once more, “sorry. I didn’t mean to say your father... he is a great hero. I just… I may hate my father, but I know working with the number two hero will provide some benefits. His agency is pretty good with things like rescue and evacuation, along with battle. It’s a good opportunity, something different than what you see every day at your father’s own agency. Isn’t it good to want to get a new perspective on things? To take these ideas you learn, and make them your own, I guess?”

You’re unsure of what to say, agreeing with the boy internally as his gaze falls towards the ground.

“I know I want to be a better hero than my old man. I want to be seen as someone not in his shadow, not ‘Endeavors son’. And if that means I have to put up with him for a week, so be it. I’ll learn to be better, I swear it.”

“Um,” You rub your arm shyly, “so that means you’ll be interning with him, then?”

Todoroki nods in response.

“Well, I suppose that means I’ll see you there. If, um, if you’re okay with that.”

“Yea, I am.”

You smile, and a spark of emotion floods through his eyes as he mirrors your expression, and it somehow makes you relax. He was completely right; he had said everything you had ever thought about yourself, how you wanted to prove that you were more than just a daughter of a great hero. That you were a great hero yourself.

With that in mind, you had no regrets as you turned in your list--even if it was Endeavors Agency.

You’d be ready.

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fanficflaneuse · 4 years

Text

Sleepless

A/N: Hello, magical tumblr beings. First of all, I can't to thank you enough for all your love and support on my very first imagine ever (you can check it out here). I wrote yet another fluffy, sickly-sweet, absolutely self indulgent imagine. I hope you like this one as well!

Details:

Draco Malfoy x reader (she/her pronouns).

Words: 1689

Summary: the reader has insomnia and decides to roam the castle in the middle of the night. Fluff ensues.

Disclaimers: so Draco’s characterization here was a bit of a problem. It still bothers me a bit. This is fluffy and a bit pointless. Mentions of Dolores Umbridge.

(Y/N) got tired of tossing and turning in bed. The soft snoring of her roommates only made things worse. She peaked through the curtains of her four-poster bed and saw Hermione sleeping. Her best friend had fallen in the arms of Morpheus a while ago. And there she was, unable to close her eyes as the night seemed to stretch infinitely.

(Y/N) couldn’t remember a time in her life when she hadn’t suffered from insomnia. Usually, the sleeping draught helped her, but these days the stress around her was so overpowering she hadn’t even ventured into Madam Pomfrey’s realm for a small dose.

This year things were agitated to say the least. Pained by the tragedy at the Triwizard Tournament, Harry insisted that Voldemort was back. People were harsh. They mocked him, spread rumours about how he had lost his mind, accused him of lying. Some even claimed that he had murdered Cedric Diggory. She was one of Harry’s closest friends and she had her own reasons to believe him, which meant she was also a member of Dumbledore’s Army.

If the strain of running an underground society wasn’t enough, the fact that Dolores Umbridge had taken over the school gave plenty of reasons to drive anyone mad. The sickly-sweet pink lady was one of the most hateful people (Y/N) had ever met. She seemed to have taken a bow to make students’ lives miserable. She was dead set against Harry and the three people she, rather contemptuously, referred to as his “dream team”, which, of course, included her, along with Hermione and Ron.

The icing on the cake? (Y/N) had a crush. An annoying, deeply confusing crush on the one boy she definitely shouldn’t be ogling at. She blamed Snape for this. Hadn’t he decided that (Y/N) and Hermione had to be separated in his class, she wouldn’t have to seat next to the most hands...stupid and obnoxious Slytherin in the whole school. She wouldn’t have to talk to him every day, notice the little gestures that made him seem so vulnerable, so human. How his big grey eyes could hold so much emotion. How he had expressive eyebrows. How the corners of his lips curled just slightly in an awkward attempt to the friendly to her. How he’d fumble with his family ring and pout when he was confused. How he had this one single curl that wouldn’t be tamed regardless of how he combed his blond hair. How he would always treat her with kindness, albeit with a bit of playful cockiness, even when he was horrible to her friends.

Yes, it was totally Snape’s fault. Now, she not only had to deal with the butterflies and the blushing, the typical embarrassment of such situations, but also the guilt of liking a guy who’d call her best friends horrible slurs and created elaborate campaigns to discredit and embarrass them. What was wrong with her? She felt like a traitor.

If Ron thought Cho Chang could explode from an emotional overload, (Y/N) felt she could combust then and there.

Tired of being in bed, she pushed her covers and stood up. She slid into her linen night robe and slippers and left the room, swiftly and silently as a cat. It was not the first time (Y/N) roamed through the castle late at night. Walking helped to ease her mind and she found that the castle seemed more beautiful and enthralling the darker and lonelier it was.

(Y/N) was so distracted she didn’t realize she had unconsciously walked all the way to the astronomy tower. She decided to climb up, something she had never done in all of her nightly rounds. Once she walked through the door, (Y/N)’s gaze met those stormy grey eyes that gave her both butterflies and heartache at the same time. She gulped and took a few steps back. If she could’ve guessed, she probably looked terrified at the moment; he was, after all, part of Umbridge’s inquisitors.

“(Y/N) wait,” he said softly.

“Will you report me with Umbridge?” she asked, panicky.

“What? No. I just… what are you doing here?”

“I can’t sleep,” she shrugged.

She turned around to leave when she heard him whisper a “me neither” that sounded a bit desperate. She pictured his lips curled down ever just slightly and, finding the image adorable, decided to turn around. (Y/N) found him fiddling with his ring, which made her smile. He looked so shy and a cute that she couldn’t believe it was the same guy who could make her knees buckle with one of his infamous cocky smirks. She walked towards him while crossing her arms, suddenly self-conscious of her choice of outfit.

“Why so shy?” he asked, trying to go back to his cocky, confident persona, complete with checking her out. He thought he had nailed it until she raised an eyebrow in response, which made him cringe at his choice of words.

Draco Malfoy was used to having his walls so frighteningly high it was conflicting for him to interact with someone he actually wanted to let in. With her, her smart questions, her kind smile, the way he treated him as an equal and how she seemed to be interested in what he actually had to say, he felt the façade crumbling to bits. With his walls down, though, his “suave” persona turned a bit to dust. Around her, he felt dorky. Draco Malfoy dorky? Merlin, if his father knew this.

“Why can’t you sleep?” she asked absentmindedly, completely disregarding his last question. He noticed how her gaze shifted to the sky, her face full of wonder. He looked back at the stars as well and spotted Orion immediately.

“I have a lot in my mind,” he answered, “what about you?”

“Me too,” she answered.

“That’s Taurus, right?” she asked, pointing at the wrong constellation.

Draco smiled. Whenever they finished their work with a few minutes to spare, they would seat down and talk about their interests. Astronomy and Greek mythology were amongst the many topics they covered. He shared his knowledge on the first and learned about the later.

The conversation then changed topics and they found themselves sitting on the floor, backs against the railing, sharing laughs and jokes and experiences. It was the first time they had the chance to have a full-on conversation, to ramble, laugh and be unapologetically friendly. Usually, their conversations ended after the bell rang. Tonight, they could talk for as long as they wanted to. Make each other blush as many times as they wanted to. Seat as incredibly close to each other as they wanted to. No one was waiting for the outside of the classroom, nobody would judge or mock them for being friendly with the other. Suddenly, (Y/N) was not mad that the night seemed to stretch infinitively.

“So, you believe Potter,” Draco pointed out.

There was a bit of fake annoyance in his voice. The conversation taken a more serious tone when she mentioned something about his inquisitorial squad.

“He is my best friend,” (Y/N) answered, shrugging once again.

“Pansy is my best friend and I don’t believe half of the things she says,” Draco stated, trying to light up the mood once again. He mentally patted his back when (Y/N) laughed.

“If there is one person that truly knows Harry is not lying it’s you, Draco”.

She said this without a trace of malice in her voice. She was merely stating a fact. Draco could’ve pretended he was offended, he could’ve scoffed and stormed off, how dare she imply he and his family had something to do with the Dark L Volde You Know Who? He could use that to stand up, close that door and never see her again, not have to deal with the terrible crush he had on her. But here’s the thing, he didn’t want to do any of that. He wanted to keep talking to her now and every single day. He wanted to see if she felt that same tickling in his stomach whenever he was around. And he wanted to kiss her. So so badly.

Besides, everybody knew his parents had connections to the Dark Lord. And his father…his father had been acting rather strangely when he got back home from his fourth year. He had talked nonsense all summer. It hadn’t taken him too long to connect the dots. He knew Voldemort was back. There was no doubt about it. But until he decided to reveal himself, he had to play his part. And thus, the whole Potter stinks campaign had started.

“(Y/N/N)…” he looked down, sad and ashamed.

She put her hand on his arm and their eyes met again. Draco was transfixed. (Y/N)’s heart was pounding hard on her chest. She leaned in slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of his reaction. Their noses were almost touching. She put one of her hands gently on Draco’s cheek and he leaned into her touch. The both closed their eyes as their lips finally touched. The kiss was slow at first, a bit shy even. But then they got comfortable with each other, his hands travelled to her waist, the hand that wasn’t on his cheek tangled in his blond hair. The kiss became hungrier. He bit her lip, she slithered her tongue into his mouth.

When they finally pulled away, Draco looked at (Y/N)’s flushed face and found himself absolutely smitten.

“I fancy you, Draco” she blurted out.

Draco gave her a huge, wholehearted smile. She smiled back.

“I fancy you too, (Y/N/N),” he said as he caressed her hair softly.

The kissed again and again, sweet chaste kisses and pecks that made them both erupt in giggles. Draco felt on cloud nine. (Y/N) couldn’t believe what was happening. That night, they didn’t speak of every possible way in which things could possibly go wrong. They didn’t talk about Draco’s concerns and certainties, about the war to come. They didn’t talk about (Y/N)’s guilt about her friends. They just kissed and talked and held each other all night.

And it was a beautiful night.

#draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy imagines #draco malfoy #draco malfoy x female reader #harry potter imagines #draco malfoy inserts #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco x you #reader inserts #x reader #draco malfoy x y/n

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gothgirlmahi · 4 years

Text

Wallflower Chapter 1

New series!

Bucky x Reader

Summary: You meet a man at a party neither of you wants to be at.

Warnings: Smut

You weren’t even supposed to be here.

Your boss dragged you here when his boyfriend bailed last minute. He really wasn’t even invited, he was just a journalist. The only reason you went was because he begged and begged and—

“Please please please I can’t go alone, I’ll owe you, I swear.” Having someone like Carter owe you sounded good so you prettied yourself up and you both got into an Uber to Avengers Tower for a fundraiser. Higher ups wanted Carter to cover it himself and, if possible, get an interview with Tony Stark. Considering your line of work, you knew Tony Stark wasn’t exactly amiable to every reporter so you wished him luck.

You walked into a room full of flashing lights, rich people meandering around wearing their best, and waiters carrying around foods you couldn’t even identify. Pretentious snobs. Definitely not your crowd. You knew you probably stuck out a bit. Even wearing the best dress you owned, you couldn’t compete with some of these people. You supposed it didn’t matter because you weren’t one of these people and it was only one night.

Carter tapped you on the shoulder and pointed further in the room. At the center of a crowd of people was Tony Stark himself, smirking and obviously trying to get out of the crowd.

“Oof. I’ve handled bigger crowds for lesser celebrities. Time to start elbowing.” Carter ran off on his mission, quite literally leaving you in the middle of a room with nothing to do. You don’t know what you expected, but it wasn’t this.

Cutting through the rest of the crowd was easy enough as you made your way to a spot that wasn’t as busy. The bar looked enticing but it seemed too early to start drinking so you propped yourself against the wall and started scrolling through your phone.

Something in the corner of your eye caught your attention. A quick peek over revealed a man leaning on the wall a few yards away. Handsome. Thick hair that rested just above his shoulders. Brooding. Hands in pockets. Scowl etched on his face.

Very interesting.

His gaze met yours. Even in the darkened room you could make out the color of his eyes. The steel blue flickered over your form briefly before returning his gaze to the ground. You shifted a bit closer to him, not close enough to be weird, but enough that he could hear you talk over the music.

A waiter walked by with a tray of some sort of food you couldn’t even identify. You sighed deeply, turning back to your silent friend.

“I would kill for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

You almost hit yourself. Would that joke even land with him? Well, it was hardly a joke, but still. He might have been a snob, too, or actually here of his own free will. Maybe he didn’t like peanut butter and jelly. Maybe he was allergic to peanuts. Not even an hour in and you were fucking up. You never were good at networking anyway. In the midst of beating yourself up, you saw the tiniest upward curve reach his lips. Those plump pink lips.

God, he was pretty.

It wasn’t fair. You were almost mad because his eyelashes were longer than yours and his hair was perfectly framing his shoulders while your own style seemed to be falling apart by the minute. He was obviously well put together, at least on the outside. He wasn’t dressed as fancy as some of the others, but his physique more than made up for it. Just a plain but elegant blazer, dress shirt and some straight legged dress pants.

He was your only interest in the crowded room and you wanted to make him smile again. You slid closer until you were about four feet apart.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?” you asked him.

That was bad. So bad it was good. It was a line you liked to use. Usually went okay. He exhaled, holding back a laugh with a gorgeous smirk on his face.

“I bet you say that to all the fellas.”

His voice was low and gruff, like he didn’t use it often, but warm with mirth. You gave him a wink.

“Just the cute ones. But really, what brings you here?”

He looked confused for a moment before giving a shrug.

“I’m an Avenger.”

You took a better look at him and your heart nearly stopped. The long hair, minimal talking, and general angst emanating from him threw you. Was that James Barnes? Did you just try a pickup line on the goddamn Winter Soldier? You had called the Winter Soldier a pretty little thing. He was, but that wasn’t something you just came out and said. Your big mouth was always getting you in trouble.

This was the same man you learned about in school. Or would have learned about if you had been paying attention. It took everything in you not to outwardly cringe.

“Sergeant Barnes, I am so sorry. I did not recognize you. It’s dark in here, I’m not a weirdo. I mean, maybe a little, but I’m not some kind of—I’m rambling, sorry for that, too. Jesus, fuck, I’m gonna shut up now.”

He laughed, a proper one this time. At your expense. You supposed if you were going to be a clown, he was as good an audience as any. Now seemed like a good time to curl up and never face the outside world again so you stepped off the wall, ready to leave and find a new spot.

“Hey, wait. I’m sorry for laughing. It’s just the face you made. I’m not a jerk, I swear. Geez, now I’m rambling. I’m Bucky.”

He held out his hand and you shook it firmly.

“Okay, Bucky, didn’t your mama ever teach you not to make fun of young ladies spilling their hearts out to you?”

He straightened up with a faux serious face.

“You’re right. My ma would kill me. It’s not like I have too many ladies spilling their hearts to me, though, so call me out of practice.”

“Hard to believe. Look over there,” you gestured to a woman eyeing him, “red dress wants you bad.” Bucky didn’t even look at the woman, just shook his head. You gave him your name, trying to be polite and get introductions out of the way. He didn’t seem like much of a talker but that was okay because you talked too much. Especially when you were nervous.

While you were contemplating possible escape routes, he asked why you were here.

“Boss dragged me here. Needed a date. Sounds like an HR disaster, right? He’s a journalist. Well, we both are I guess, but I don’t cover things like this. He wants to cover this whole ‘Tony Stark raising money for the kids’ thing but these days I’m more like ‘what kind of bread are you based on your zodiac sign?’”

“I think I’m a Pisces?”

“You’re a sturdy looking fella, I think you’re rye.”

“That’s what journalism is these days?”

“I used to do political stuff and it quite literally depressed me because everyone is awful all the time. So I hopped companies and ended up with my current gig.”

You could barely remember how you ended up leaving the room with him.

Let it be known that you were not a fan of one night stands. The idea of sharing bodily fluids with absolute strangers triggered your fight or flight response. But somehow, you were able to make an exception for Bucky Barnes as you all fumbled into the elevator and out into his darkened room.

The reason you were here was forgotten as soon as Bucky had his hands on you. Roaming around and exploring what made you tick. He seemed apprehensive about using his metal arm to touch you so you pulled it forward to join the other one. It was a welcome reprieve considering the rest of him was just so hot and the metal was so cool.

He used those same fingers to bring you over the edge twice before he got his mouth on you. The same mouth you were raving about earlier with those plump lips and a tongue that drove you crazy. A tongue that lashed against your most sensitive parts before his mouth came down and sucked hard, drawing agonizing moans from you.

He pulled away before you came again, face covered in you and gave you a winning smile. You didn’t return his grin, just further down until you were eye level with his twitching cock. Thick and begging for your lips wrapped around it. You couldn’t fit all of him in your mouth so you took what you could, hollowing your cheeks and sucking while your hand did the rest. His flesh arm came to rest gently in your hair as he bucked into your mouth, letting the smallest moans escape his lips. A peek up at him and his eyes were closed, head back as he savored the feeling of your mouth around him.

You pulled away and ran your tongue up the base of his cock. Bucky helped you to your feet and laid you across his bed. You laid there, legs open and waiting while he fished through his drawer for a condom.

When he finally pushed into you, you made a noise you didn’t even know you were capable of. There was just so much of him and you hadn’t gotten laid in a while. You ran your hands up and down his perfectly sculpted body. The bed creaked from the force of his thrusts.

The whole super soldier thing hadn’t really registered with you until now. He took you like no other man ever had.

In the aftermath of your sexcapades, the two of you were laid back on the bed, just trying to catch your breath. You glanced over at Bucky and smiled. He gave you a shy smile and looked down, making you giggle a bit.

Then your phone rang. The momentary bliss was over as you reached for your purse on the floor and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Did you leave me?!” Carter.

“No, no! I’m still here, I’ll come find you. Did you get the interview?” you asked.

“Yes! And I had to go through Natasha Romanoff to get it and nearly pissed myself so I am ready to leave!”

“Okay, just wait in the lobby for me. I’ll be down soon.”

When you hung up, you looked back at Bucky.

“I gotta go,” you said regretfully. He nodded.

“Your boss looking for you?”

“Yup,” you stood up, looking around for your clothes and Bucky did the same. When the two of you were dressed, he decided to walk you out.

Before you could hit the button for the elevator, Bucky was calling your name.

“I think I did this sorta backwards, but I have to ask. Could I get your number? I’d like to take you out sometime. If you want that, of course. You don’t have to—“

Your jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“Of course!” You probably said it a little too quickly but he didn’t look deterred. He handed you his phone and you entered your contact info happily. When you gave his phone back, he tuned it in his pocket, leaving both of you to stare at each other.

Seeing him in the bright light of the hallway was honestly stunning. He was extremely attractive. And he had asked you out! Well, he asked for your number to ask you out. Either way, you were happy.

He pressed a kiss to your cheek and you tsked at him.

“A kiss on the cheek? You’re shy all of a sudden, that’s adorable.”

“You wanted something else?” he asked playfully. You shrugged, giving him a dopey smile.

“Maybe I—“

Your phone buzzed.

“Go get back to your boss. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Bucky said, pressing the button for the elevator. Before the doors opened, he pulled you in for a hug and pressed a kiss to your lips. You kissed him once more before hopping in the elevator.

On the way down you did a little happy dance.

This was absolutely a good day for you.

As soon as you stepped out, Carter ran over to you, cheeks flushed and his dark hair messy.

“I was so scared—wait, what happened to your hair? What have you been up to? Did you—“

“Uh. We have work in the morning. Let’s go.”

“You left with...someone while I was in there risking my life. If I wasn’t so impressed I would be mad, but you’re right, let’s go.”

“You’re being dramatic. Natasha Romanoff wouldn’t hurt you. In public.”

“You don’t know that!”

....

Masterlist // Chapter 2

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #winter solider x reader #marvel x reader

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readyplayerhobi · 5 years

Text

Flower | 04

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, light angst, insinuated smut

; Word Count: 3.3k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: This week...you get two chapters! The usual Sunday chapter will also occur, but I didn’t want to leave you waiting for the second half of their date too long! So...consider this my Black Friday deal I guess? Let me know what you think, I love reading you love your this <3

; Flower Masterpost

Inhaling deeply, you let your cheeks puff out as you slowly let out the breath that you’re trying to use to calm yourself down. Tonight is officially the night, the date. Or whatever he wanted to call it. And here you were, in the outfit in your best friends had picked, waiting for one Jung Hoseok to appear.

You’d been terrified all day that he wouldn’t actually turn up. That he’d ghost you, and you’d have to fight the tears as you called Soyeon and Chungha to tell them that the emergency supplies were in fact necessary. Even though Hoseok had messaged you again this afternoon, reminding you of your date.

As if you were somehow going to forget a scheduled date with him!

But you were here, at the appointed time outside of the large modern art statue in the centre of the city. It was a common spot for people to meet up as it allowed for quick and easy access to most places within walking distance so you weren’t surprised that he’d picked here. Plus, it was in public and you appreciate all the people who were around.

Pulling your phone out of your bag, you turn the screen on and check the time once more, frowning slightly when you see that he’s two minutes late. It might not seem a lot, but you always got a little antsy and worried when people were late. You usually turned up fifteen minutes early and then just waited around.

Better to be early rather than late.

“Y/N?” The deep voice comes from your left, causing you to squeak in surprise as you jump, whirling around almost comically to face one Jung Hoseok. Who looks even more handsome than his photos make out, which is just plain wrong. That should not be allowed. You were probably a colossal disappointment in comparison.

He was dressed equally casual to you, black skinny jeans with rips clinging to his legs and ending in leather military style boots while a plain white shirt adorned his chest beneath a black leather jacket and thick silver chains around his neck. You couldn’t help but take a small step back, looking over his visage with wide eyes as your mind accepted the fact that people like him really did exist in real life.

His hair was styled for once, swept off his forehead in a look that had obviously been done on purpose and yet looked completely effortless while the nearby lights from a shop front shone off the silver ring in his lower lip.

“We match.” You say dumbly, pointing at his clothes before cringing at how dumb you sound. It throws him for a moment, dark brows rising on his statuesque face before his eyes run over your body before looking down at his own. And then he smiles, and you swear your knees go a little weak.

Because if Jung Hoseok is handsome normally, then he’s out of this world when he smiles. It positively lights up his face and his eyes almost gleam with happiness as he lets out a raspy laugh.

“So we do. You look very beautiful. Your makeup is amazing!” Hoseok exclaimed, eyes widening as he leans a little closer to take in the carefully placed makeup that you’d spent half an hour putting on. It’s nothing hugely special, a little bit of a smokey eye with black eyeliner and a shimmer of rose glitter on the lids of yours with a touch of silver glitter liquid eyeliner. You’d wanted to match your outfit and put in a little bit of an effort, but not make it look like you were ready to walk a red carpet.

Still, your stomach swirled with a combination of happiness at his compliment and nerves at the overall meeting. The teenage part that still lived in you wanted to scream and jump at the fact he’d called you beautiful. Hands clutching at nothing once you put your phone away, you glance at him from beneath your mascara covered eyelashes and smile shyly.

“Thanks. You look good too.” The words are almost mumbled out and you grimace at yourself, nose wrinkling as you wrack your brain for what you’re supposed to say to him now. You never had any idea how these kinds of conversations were meant to go and you made a slightly odd noise before gesturing lamely.

“So...what do you, I mean...what are we doing for our date-I mean...hang out? Or whatever this is.” Idly, you eye the fountain ahead of you and wonder how quickly he might leave if you just jumped into it and refused to come out. Because the awkwardness was building and you felt jumpy with the nerves and anxiety, desperate to give him a good impression but so unaware of how to do that.

He doesn’t laugh at you thought, just gives you a gentle smile before gesturing down one of the streets. You start to move automatically, the ghost of pressure from his hand on your back sending tingles around your body and you look up at him through wide eyes, noting how beautiful his side profile is.

Your side profile probably didn’t look that pretty.

“Well...I guessed that you might be a little nervous about tonight given how quickly you tried to back out of talking to me...so I thought we could do something that means we have to work together and talk, without actually having to talk about anything serious. So...I booked us an escape room and then we could have dinner after?” He sounds so carefree about it and you pause for a moment before gasping in delight.

“Oh my god! I’ve always wanted to do an escape room! Is it themed? I saw there was a Harry Potter one somewhere and that would be so cool! I don’t really know how they work and I’ve always been a little afraid to do them in case I’m too stupid to figure them out.” You don’t realise your babbling till you catch sight of his grin once more, body heating in embarrassment as you duck your head and apologise.

Immediately though he’s soothing your fears, giving you little cooing noises and an overly dramatic expression that has you snorting out a laugh. “Hey, don’t do that! It’s cute, I’m glad you’re excited. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to try and find a way to make you a bit more comfortable. I know how nerve wracking first dates are and I’ve been pretty nervous too.”

You look at him then, a look of pure disbelief written all over your face so plainly that he lets out a bark of laughter, his hand coming up to cover his mouth as he points at you with the other. “Oh god, your face. I have! I’m not lying. I know I can look pretty intimidating but I’m just a guy and first dates are just as scary for me.”

“Mmm, I’m sure they are. Especially when you look like...this.” A brief movement of your hand gestures to his whole body and he looks down with a breathy laugh again, shaking his head before looking at you, tongue running along his lower lip.

“I get the feeling you’re pretty blunt and sarcastic. Am I right?” Immediately you look away, shoulders hunching as your hands grip your bag tightly.

“Sorry. I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to sound like that, it just comes out.” He’s shaking his head though, smiling to himself as he looks forwards and directs you down another street before pointing at the sign for the escape room.

“It’s okay. I like people who speak their mind. As long as I know that you’re joking if you say something mean…” You go to protest at that but it dies at the sign of mischief in his eyes, recognising that he’s coaxing you out of the shell he obviously knows you must have built so strongly around yourself. And your heart warmed in response, glad that he’s not immediately pushing you away and in fact encouraging you.

“We’ll see if you still think that after we’ve got out of the room...if we can get out.” Hoseok hums, tapping his finger against his lip ring before grinning brightly, opening the door to the business and giving a completely over the top and ridiculous ‘enter’ gesture that has him bowing comically. Even as silly as it looked, he still looked amazing yet you felt a little more at ease with how open and friendly he was being.

“After you my lady. I have full faith we will get out. How hard can these things be?”

“What the actual fuck was that. Seriously! We didn’t even get out of the first damn room, I didn’t even know they had more than one room!” Hoseok rants, his cheeks slightly red as his brow creases while he gesticulated wildly through his rant. You watch him, amused for a few moments before continuing to walk along with him.

Despite his bravado at the start, you had both actually done abysmal in the escape room. You’d quickly discovered that Hoseok had absolutely no idea what he was doing in there and you’d tried your hardest, only to discover that you’d been fixating on a strange looking picture which actually had absolutely nothing to do with anything.

The staff had been incredibly amused when they finally let you out after an hour, telling you both cheerfully that no one had ever not managed to get out of the first room before. At least you’d made an impression on them, and you’d probably be an amusing story for Hoseok’s friends too.

He certainly was going to be for Chungha and Soyeon.

It had been fun though, oddly fun to say you were making no progress. Hoseok was funny, the kind of guy who made you laugh without even realising he was trying as he’d talked to himself in confusion, brows knitted together before exclaiming in a loud and suddenly thick dialect. You’d ended up spending a lot of time giggling at him and surprisingly, you’d managed to find out more than you’d expected during that hour.

He’d talked about how his friends would love to come and do this but that he wasn’t sure if they’d do worse or better. Apparently, the thought that two called Yoongi and Seokjin would probably do well. They were both sales account managers at Seokjin’s father’s company while someone called Taehyung worked as a customer service rep at the same company.

He was apparently the blue haired guy in Hoseok’s profile picture on Facebook, while the pink guy was Jimin. He worked as a bartender at the usual place Hoseok and his friends drank at; a dive bar basically that was frequented by bands trying to start their career. Jungkook was in college, doing a postgrad degree in sports psychology and his final friend, Namjoon, was a lawyer.

The diversity of his friends bemused you, but he’d said that was because most of them he’d met in college. Jungkook was apparently one of Taehyung’s friends who’d slowly become integrated with Hoseok’s friend group once he’d gone to college whilst Namjoon was a childhood friend. You’d found it fascinating that he considered six people his close friends when you couldn’t imagine having more than two or three.

It was then that he’d queried your friends, asking if you had anyone who might like to come to an escape room. Chungha would have been happy to get involved but you knew that Soyeon didn’t like the idea of being locked in somewhere. She had claustrophobia and while it wasn’t bad enough to make her panic in an escape room, she wouldn’t be happy at not being able to escape.

Other than that, it had mostly been passing comments that had led to small discussions between the two of you as you both tried to figure out what you were doing. Which evidently hadn’t worked, given you hadn’t gotten out but it had relaxed you all the same. You’d almost felt comfortable around him by the end, the fact it was a date pushed out of your mind until you’d both finally walked out of the door.

And now you were faced with the dinner. On the one hand, you were eager because you were hungry but on the other hand, it meant that you had to finally talk one on one, without the interruption of something else. Hoseok doesn’t seem to notice your sudden quietness, his hands gesticulating as he continues to talk about your previous activity and you follow along.

You don’t know where he’s taking you, but you hope it’s somewhere nice and not too fancy. Somewhere that you’ll actually enjoy the food. He pauses suddenly, mouth open and letting you get a glimpse of the silver ball in the middle of his tongue and you feel warm at the sight, wiggling slightly as your best friends comments race through your head out of nowhere.

“Oh god, imagine getting oral from him. That tongue and piercing...oof...yes please.” Soyeon sighed, fanning her face and looking up to the ceiling as Chungha lets out a low whistle. The photo they’re looking at is one where Hoseok is sticking his tongue out fully, a festival scene behind him and his tongue piercing clearly on display.

Her comment makes your cheeks heat while you squirm slightly, embarrassed at what she said but even more embarrassed at the fact you too had thought of that already. There was no way in hell that you would admit to perhaps touching yourself to the thought of that tongue doing things to you.

“I bet he knows how to use it too. That man has the confidence of someone who’s brought many to orgasm. Girl, you are going to be so lucky if everything works out!” Chungha giggles, pushing at your shoulder while you whine softly to her. You could only hope that you wouldn’t end up hyper fixating on that piercing, because it had become one of your little group of friends favourite things about him.

Needless to say, that hadn’t worked and you let out the quietest breath as he ran that tongue over his teeth slowly, eyes focused away from you and completely unaware of just how ridiculous hot he was right now. It was just plain wrong, yet you can’t pull your eyes away from the straight lines of his jaw, nor the way the tendons in his neck strain just right as he looks down the street.

“Are you okay?” You croak out, coughing slightly to clear your throat and you hope he hasn’t noticed how husky your voice sounds. Thankfully though, he jerks in response to your voice and looks at you slightly dazed for a moment, dark eyes focusing again before he smiles lopsided.

“Yeah, sorry. I just...I don’t remember how to get to the restaurant I was thinking of. Do you like Indian food? There’s this really great place...that I know is here somewhere. I think we need to backtrack and then I can find it,” He pauses before giving a self-deprecating laugh. “Sorry, you’ve discovered flaw number one already. I am useless with directions. Don’t ever ask me to find somewhere. We’d end up in France. Don’t ask how, we just would.”

The laugh that leaves you is unexpected and loud, but you can’t help it and you see him grin in response out of the corner of your eye. He’s looking at you expectantly though, one brow raised as he reaches up and runs his fingers through his hair. Eyeing him for a moment, you nod your head and grasp desperately for the right words.

“That’s fine, I’m great with directions, luckily. I think I know where you mean, it should be back down the street and then to the right.” Pointing, his eyes follow your hand and he lets out a little ‘ah’ noise before smiling brightly.

“Great. Let’s go. I want to eat some good ass food. Mmmm, it’s been so long.” He moans out and you almost choke on your own spit at the sound, body feeling very warm at the overly sexual sound. The man just oozes sex appeal and it’s almost appalling how attractive you find it, but it also leaves you very flustered and unsure what to do.

So you just begin walking in the direction you’d pointed, staring down at the ground while your hands grasp at your bag and your shoulders rise up almost to your ears. A huff of laughter is behind you before the sound of shoes hitting the ground takes over, echoing over the quiet street and then he’s next to you again.

“Hey don’t leave me! How will I ever find it?” Hoseok pouts almost comically and you watch him for a few seconds before raising your brow.

“You’re a big boy. I’m sure you know how to use Google.” There’s a moment of silence and you wince, just about ready to tell him that you’re sorry and you didn’t mean to insult him. Because he was probably insulted, or offended. Or something at you. Either way, you could’ve been nicer.

But instead, he just lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head in amusement before looking you over with an expression that’s almost fond. “Point taken. Let’s go get some food. I want some naan bread.”

“Did you know that naan just means bread in Old Persian so technically you’re just asking for bread bread?” The words come out automatically, your natural instinct to just give a random fact and you don’t even realise it. It was something you’ve always liked to do, looking up information and absorbing it like a sponge. Your friends liked to joke that you were always prepared for a general knowledge quiz.

“Yeah? Why do we call it a naan bread then?” Hoseok asks cheerfully, interest laced in his voice and you shrug in response.

“For the same reason we say chai tea or Sahara desert. There’s also Lake Tahoe, because Tahoe apparently comes from a Native American word meaning, you guessed it...lake. Another favourite of mine is Table Mesa, which just means table table.” You carry on, remembering more examples as you continue and you laugh in amusement at yourself.

Hoseok chuckles as he walks alongside you, giving you a look that you don’t notice as you babble on about places that are also similarly named, letting you telling him more and more places while he just listens. Finally, you realise that you’ve been talking for too long and give him a chagrined look before apologising.

He just shakes his head and grins. “No...it’s okay. Oh...I know of one! The Los Angeles Angels! That just means The The Angels Angels. You’d think that we’d take into consideration the original language meaning sometimes wouldn’t you? Though I guess every language does it.”

The casual acceptance he gives you of the random tangent you’d just gone on warms something inside you and the fact he’s even actively got involved makes you smile ever so softly. Nodding at him, you note that you’ve finally arrived at the restaurant and duck your head down.

“Okay...let’s go...oh my god. I should tell Jungkook about that naan thing. He can just say ‘let’s get this naan!’” You frown in confusion but he just laughs in response, shaking his head and gently pushing you through the door. “I’ll explain inside. Come on, I want to eat!”

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starlessskies94 · 4 years

Text

Consequence (Joel Miller x OC)

Summary: What if Joel survived his injuries from the Abby and Fireflies attack but ends up with really bad amnesia. He can’t remember his wife, Ellie, or the Outbreak; only before. How will his family bring back the man they once knew?

Pairing: Joel Miller x OC

Note: I will say that this chapter was a hard one to write...not because of story reasons, I'm just don't feel 100% happy with it. I've edited it time and time again; to the point it's driving me mad. So I've decided to post it as it is because I really don't want to keep obsessing over it and want to continue onward as I believe this plot is good and really don't want to put myself off writing it. I'm actually enjoying it so I'm trying not to push myself or be too critical and take the fun out of it.So I do apologise if it's a disappointing chapter and really hope you do enjoy it.

Chapter Five

The whole town was staring at her, she could feel it when she passed. She’d only stepped out for a quick trip to the general store to grab some last minute ingredients for her and Ellie’s supper. And yet she still felt every set of eyes burning into her back as she made her way home.

They’d been gossiping again, it was painfully obvious. Since Joel’s attack and their unplanned...separation, it seemed like everybody had an opinion on the situation.

Some not agreeing with her choice to give Joel his space; claiming she was ‘abandoning’ him, that she was selfish and cruel. Others had fabricated the idea that she herself had actually planned the attack as revenge for an apparent infidelity Joel had.

It was all ridiculous and Ada didn’t know how much longer she could put up with it. She’s been more than grateful to Ellie for covering her shift in the stables for the past couple of days. It had given her some time to escape it all and pretend it wasn’t happening, just for a little while. Ada was downright exhausted from trying to hold it together. She missed Joel like crazy, wasn’t sleeping after being used to sleeping beside him for years and even when she did manage to fall asleep, it was only racked with nightmares.

She continued down the street; backpack in hand with her groceries inside weighing it down as she struggled slightly, but carried on in her rush to get back. Her boots crunching against the slush of melting snowing under foot, it was quickly beginning to thaw; a clear sign that Spring was well on its way. It was hard to believe it had been almost a whole month since Joel’s attack and though Ada hadn’t spoken to him since he’d woken in the infirmary; she still hoped he was doing okay.

She’d kept up to date on his progress through regular updates from Tommy and it had broken her heart when he’d told of the first day he’d returned to find his older brother, a sobbing mess on the floor of his trashed room as he desperately tried to understand what had happened to him.

It had made her question her decision to leave Joel with time to heal. That perhaps it wasn’t what was best for him. But Tommy had told her he was still struggling to piece his timeline together after losing Sarah. He had taken the time to help with the early years of the Outbreak; all the way through to their time in Boston. But then Joel had gotten overwhelmed and hadn’t brought it up since. That had been enough for them to agree Joel wasn’t ready to process his time as a Smuggler and everything else that had come after it.

At times it almost seemed as if he was repressing most of it and if Adaline was honest, she couldn’t blame him. It was a hard life and most wished they could forget the horrid things they’d done to survive. She just deeply hoped that part of him wasn’t holding back his memories of her and Ellie.

It seemed that her deep thoughts had run away from her as she suddenly bumped into a large chest almost slipping on some snow. The tug of large gloved hands stopped her as they held gently onto the small of her back and she managed to steady herself. Ada quickly collected herself as she looked up at the face of her saviour and her heart almost stopped.

“Whoa easy there...you okay miss?” Joel smiled kindly, taking a step back as his arms fell back to his sides. Ada gulped down a gasp, choking slightly at her words before speaking.

“Ye- Yes...Thank you.” She forced, her heart drumming in her chest. Both staring at one another in an awkward silence. She looked at him and almost cried. He stood balanced with a cane in his hand, his kind eyes sore and bloodshot from exhaustion as he looked back at her. His clothes were noticeably loose on his frame, she wondered when he’d last ate. Joel was a terrible cook, it had always been her job to keep him well fed. It had been a long running joke between them but now it just made her hurt. She swallowed hard pulling at the bag in her hand, her feet shuffling as she quickly thought of something to say.

“I’m sorry for walking into you, my mind was somewhere else completely.” She explained pitifully, Joel just smiled again while waving his hand dismissively.

“Nah don’t worry about it, I was just trying to find my way home.”

“Are you lost?” She asked almost too fast, her brows creasing in concern. Her husband cringed at the blatant embarrassment he felt at forgetting his way back after leaving the stables but it’d been a long day and after failing to find his younger brother, Joel was quite content with simply heading home and waiting for Tommy to find him, rather than wander around Jackson all day. Though it had seemed on his way back, he had gotten confused with the winding streets and ended up right back where he started. He blushed at Ada’s concern, his hand reaching up to rub at his neck in that bashful way he always did when he felt flustered. Even now Ada still found it adorable.

“Yeah...You...uh... wouldn’t happen to know where I live would ya?” He asked sheepishly. “Yeah I can walk you back if you want, it’s not that far from my place.”

He nodded, falling into a gentle pace beside her as they walked together. Ada keeping her speed slow enough for him to keep up with his cane aiding his injured leg.

“Hey I wanted to thank you…” Joel started as they continued walking, Ada glancing his way while he continued. “You were a volunteer at the infirmary right? Adaline...You helped take care of me while I was in a bad way. Don’t think I ever managed to thank you for that.”

Ada smiled timidly.

“Yeah that’s me, it's just Ada. You’re welcome. I’m...I’m glad you’re okay.”

They continued walking as the silence fell between them but it wasn’t comfortable like it normally was. It felt strained and rather awkward. Joel would wince at the ache in his bad leg the further down the street they went and Ada could tell he was frustrated with the cane he’d been given to accommodate his injury. He’d always been a bad patient, stubborn and restless; even with something as simple as a cold she had struggled to keep him in bed to rest. Ada would steal the occasional glance at him when he wasn’t looking, it felt strange to miss him now even though he was right beside her. She wanted to hold him, kiss him, even settle for falling asleep together on the couch as a crappy movie played on in the background.

Joel paused as they approached his house...their house. His eyes almost searching hers for something she couldn’t quite place. He smiled sincerely, leaning on his cane the longer he stared at her. They stopped and stood at the bottom of the small set of stairs that led to the patio.

“Think this is me...Thanks for this.” He grinned. “I still can’t remember what the hell happened, been going over it in my head damn near a thousand times and I still got nothing. But I’m grateful your girl and her friends found me when they did.” This caught Ada’s attention, brown eyes snapping back up at Joel.

“You talked to Ellie?”

“Yeah at the stables earlier this morning. Her and her girlfriend...Dina? Yeah that sounds right. She’s a good kid.”

“She is.” Ada agreed. The sadness weighing heavily in her heart at the lost and pain Ellie had struggled with since Joel’s attack. Her mind instantly filled with worry, hoping she was okay. She listened politely to her husband the more he talked about Ellie and the hard work she was doing with Dina and how proud she should be that her daughter was handling things so well at such a young age. Our daughter, she’d thought with a broken heart. Tommy had explained patrols to him a short while ago and he was amazed at how many teenagers had offered to take the watches and joined the ranks to protect the town. It was impressive to Joel to see so many young people step up to take care of their families. Even if he did think some were a little too young to be taking such dangerous routes. Ada smiled at the same old Joel shining through, it made her realise just how much she truly did miss him. She was about to bid him a bittersweet goodbye, preparing to force her away when all she really wanted to do was pull him close, even just for a moment, when he cleared his throat. A serious look darkening his features.

“Listen, I meant to ask before but I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate or not but I uh...heard you in the infirmary not long after I woke up. You were upset, asking about your husband I think, I guess I just wanted to ask if everything was okay.” His words were quiet but she heard them, her breath catching in her throat, heart racing as she panicked, rushing to string her words together to answer.

“Uh...he’s...gone. He went out on patrol a couple weeks ago. He still hasn’t come back yet.” It wasn’t a complete lie. After all, the man that had returned from patrol that day hadn’t been her husband. He was a stranger to her now. A ghost that just looked like her Joel. It struck her as she wondered if that side of him really would stay gone. That there really was the possibility that he really never was going to come back. It turned her cold the more she thought about it.

Joel’s face fell as he dropped his gaze to the floor, a sad sigh brushing passed his lips.

“Damn...I’m really sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you. How hard that must be for Ellie to lose her dad like that…”

“You have no idea.” She breathed. Those were the words that came from Ada’s lips but more than anything she wanted to tell Joel how much Ellie missed him. How much they both did. But Ada knew she couldn’t be selfish, telling Joel now would only further overwhelm him, confuse him. And that wasn’t fair on anyone. None of this was. It wasn’t Joel’s fault, he was just trying to be friendly to someone he thought was a simple acquaintance. But Ada didn’t think she could stand there much longer and continue to pretend this wasn’t tearing her apart inside.

She turned pulling at the bag of groceries and forced a small smile Joel’s way as politely as she could.

“I should really be heading back, you think you’ll be okay now?”

“Oh yeah, thanks again. It sounds ridiculous to need help getting to a house you’ve lived in for years but I’m pretty sure I’ve got it now. I’m sorry for prying too, it’s obviously upset you. That wasn’t my intention.” Ada could almost laugh at the fact that even now after everything; Joel could still see right through her mask and sense how she was feeling. It was one of the reasons she fell in love with him. “I’m sorry about your husband Ada... I really hope he finds his way back to you and your girl.”

“Yeah me too.” She didn’t look back as she walked away. She couldn’t. It hurt too damn much.

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By the time she got home, Ada couldn’t even feel the chill in the air anymore. She was too damn numb to know it was even there.

Her hand was shaking when she reached to unlock the door but found it was already open.

“Ellie?” She called out stepping inside the door. “Ellie you home?” She tried again, making her way through the small house and wandering into the kitchen to put away her groceries. Still nothing.

She noticed her daughter’s jacket and boots thrown in a heap by the back door and rolled her eyes with a huff. I’ve told that girl a hundred times to put her stuff away! She thought in irritation as she moved to tidy them up.

“Ellie!”

There was still no answer and Ada came to the conclusion that the teen must be in her room, headphones in, music cranked up again. Slipping off her own boots, she made her way upstairs. She could hear Ellie stomping about her room, moving to knock at the door before entering. When she stepped inside she hesitated when she saw her daughter rushing around the space, darting back and forth with clothes and packed food. Her gun was cleaned slid into the back of her jeans along with her faithful pocket knife in the back pocket of her jeans. Ada's eyes widened at the maps and, marked photos and tourist leaflets littered across Ellie’s bed.

“Ellie what do you think you’re doing?” She choked out, her voice strained against her suddenly dry throat.

The girl didn’t look up at her mother as she hastily continued to pack.

“What does it look like?” She uttered. “I’m going after them.”

“The hell you are! Put this stuff away now.” Ada ordered, this made Ellie stop. As she looked back at her mom with pure venom in her eyes. Her lips curled in anger. Although it had been nearly a month since Joel's attack, Ellie and Ada still haven't addressed the elephant in the room. The same damn thing that had been hanging over all of them since Saint Mary’s Hospital. The Fireflies.

“So they just get to get away with this?!” She spat at the older woman. The anger boiling in her veins as she stomped back over to the mess of maps on her bed. “Mom I can find those fuckers, Tommy said he’d gotten word they were headed towards Seattle. Dina agreed to help me with this, we can find them and I can-”

“Ellie they don’t matter anymore. It’s over. Joel is what’s important and he needs us here.”

The teen scoffed bitterly at her mother’s words, biting hard on her lip almost drawing blood. Her hands clenched tightly until her knuckles burned.

“They don’t matter?! They almost killed him, tortured him and you’re just gonna let them walk away?!��

“They believe he is dead and we need to keep it that way, you go running after them, whaddya you think they’ll do huh?! Joel needs us here, when he remembers-”

“STOP WITH THE BULLSHIT!” Ellie screamed. “He’s gone mom, don’t you get that?! He doesn't remember us! We mean nothing to him! Stop pretending everything is going to be okay because it fucking isn't! Joel’s gone!" Her mother froze at her words and Ellie gasped as her hand flew to cover her mouth at what she’d just said.

Her brain slowly catching up with her as the tension melted away, the air almost sobering the two as they stared blankly at one another. Brown eyes welled with tears, slowly rolling down Ada’s cheeks. The woman falling to her knees as a wet sob broke from her lips, Ellie rushed to her mother dropping beside her with arms attempting to pull her close.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry mom.” She whispered into her mother’s hair, holding her close against her shoulder. “I shouldn’t...I never should’ve…” She felt at a loss for words. For what could she possibly say to make up for it. It was cruel and she wished more than anything that she could take it all back.

Ellie was tired of hurting people, tired of losing and watching those she loved leave. What good was being the fucking cure to mankind if all it did was bring misery and death everywhere she went?! It wasn’t fair! She hadn’t asked for this, hadn’t wanted to be immune or some special chosen one. Since the day she’d been bitten nothing had been the same and nothing had been easy.

But when she’d finally had the chance to have something good...a real fucking family. It had been cruelly snatched her just like everything else!

Ellie knew how much her mom missed Joel, how heartbroken she was. She held her as she cried for a man they both knew had a strong chance of never coming back. What if he never remembered? She had spoken to him and it had been like talking to a stranger. A man so far gone that he couldn’t even remember her name.

In that moment Ellie broke, collapsing against her mother as she felt hands rub at her back in that soothing way she’d always done since she was a baby. They sat and they cried together. Mother and daughter mourning for a lost husband...and a lost father.

#joel miller #joel miller x oc #joel and ellie #the last of us part 2 #the last of us #the last of us part ii #fanfiction #Starlesskies writes

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crystalwillow · 4 years

Text

Baby Fever

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x Casey Valentine (F!MC)

I would like to apologise in advance for this being the most lacklustre thing I’ve ever written. I lost my spark midway and it kept coming back in fits and starts. I might write a part two in the future just to bring this idea some justice. But, the fact I promised myself that I would post this before the end of 2020 and was not following through on that has been eating away at me. Again. I apologise for the lacklustre quality but I hope you can find some joy with in it 🙂

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Casey sighed as she looked up and noticed her boyfriend of 2 years, Rafael, zoned out as he leant on the side of the ambulance bay.

"Are you ok?" She asked, aware of what he was trying to do.

Rafael nodded as he stood up straight. "Yeah, I'm good. What did you want to talk about?"

"We’re at the hospital. Can you stop thinking about him for a second? I’ve told you, our relationship outside of work goes no deeper than a friendship. I would never cheat Rafael."

"Fine...I'm still wondering how a hospital gets a full-time groundskeeper, when it’s basically on its last leg." he replied, jotting something down on the clipboard in his hands.

Rafael was a longtime paramedic at Edenbrook. He had already been there 3 years when Casey started her residency 2 years ago. But he was also a family man at heart, unlike Casey, who looked to every other point of contact in her life for fulfillment.

“Look, am I going to miss working in this field without Bryce to turn to when I’m stressed and can’t find you? Yes, he always made me feel like he had my back no matter what. Just like you do. But... maybe this place closing down is some kind of sign for us.” Casey said.

She then zoned out herself as she thought of the living arrangements they had put in place with the closing of the hospital, and both of their worlds having been turned upside down. The plan was to move in with Casey’s family until they got back on their feet, and could afford a place of their own.

“I’m going to miss my job and this place terribly, I’m going to miss the people that I’ve worked with pretty much every day for the last five years.” said Rafael as he nodded to the building.

“Yeah. Me too.” Casey sighed, snuggling into his side with a smile. Rafael wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, kissing the crown of her head as she buried her face closer into his chest. Their moment of silence was interrupted as Rafael’s radio crackled to life, informing him of an accident and they pulled apart with a sigh as another paramedic came crashing out of the bay doors.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you after work.” He hurried and pressed a quick kiss to Casey’s lips before opening the driver’s side door and hopping into the ambulance. Casey stood back as the engine of the ambulance came to life, and waved as Rafael sped off towards the accident.

--- a few hours later ---

Casey was at Rafael’s apartment watching TV when she heard the door open and close again, followed by a long and weary sigh. But she was tired and didn’t feel like calling out to him, especially after their almost mini fight earlier. The air was still tense around the pair as Rafael entered the room.

“Oh. You did decided to stay the night.” he snarked and he entered the kitchen.

“Mmmm.” she hummed tiredly.

“Nice. You can’t even afford me the courtesy of saying a simple ‘yes’ in reply to that.” he snapped further.

Casey rolled her eyes and just refocused her attention to the television as Rafael rifled through his cupboards and fridge looking for something to put together for his dinner. As he opened the fridge his heart stopped temporarily. There on the shelf with his name and a sticky bow on the carton was something from his favourite take out. He closed the fridge and went back into the living area.

“Case?” he said, but she didn’t answer. “Casey. Did you order food for me?”

“What would you care?” she snapped back, eyes completely trained on the screen in front of her. The only thing on her mind bringing her joy was the bond she witnessed form immediately between a mother and her newborn baby, that she helped deliver towards the end of her shift.

Rafael sighed deeply from where he leant on the door frame, realizing he was being a total douchebag. He pushed himself upright and walked over to the couch taking a seat next to Casey, but she slid away from him.

“Casey babe, come on. Don’t be that way.” He pleaded.

“Be what way? Rafael.”

Rafael inwardly winced as he visibly cringed at the use of his full name in that harsh tone.

“Look. I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been completely unreasonable with you pretty much all day. I’ve been a shit boyfriend today. How can I make it up to you?”

Casey glanced sidewards before reluctantly turning the TV off and turning her body to face him. “Well for starters, you can tell me why you suddenly seem to feel so threatened by Bryce.” she said.

“I don’t know.” he sighed. “I guess I just feel like you have more fun with him than you do with me. Your own boyfriend.”

“I do have fun with Bryce. You’re not wrong there. But I don’t have more fun with him than I do with you. Yes we have loads of drinks together. Play darts and pool and tons of high school games like truth or dare. But that’s exactly why we’ve stayed friends. Because we enjoy doing that stuff together, but we hate being vulnerable and sappy with each other. I couldn’t cuddle by the fire with Bryce and talk about how dorky I used to be as I think about a future with him like I do with you. I’m with you for more than just having someone to have as a drinking buddy or, excuse my use of this term, a fuck buddy. I’m with you for the long haul because I want to be, and I enjoy all of the dorky things we do together. I couldn’t do those with him.” Casey explained as she took Rafael’s hand in her and idly played with his fingers as she spoke and kissed his knuckles when she finished.

“Really?” Rafael sniffled after a while.

“Really.” she confirmed with a smile.

Rafael nodded as he swallowed his tears. “Okay. What else could I do?”

“Smile. Come back to the old you who wasn’t so nervous. I get that the fact we’re getting ready to move in with my parents isn’t exactly the most calming thing. But... we’ll be okay.” Casey reassured, pulling herself closer and kissing Rafael on the cheek sweetly.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while longer, cuddled up and staring out the window over the city below as people entered and left the establishments outside, until Rafael left out a sigh.

“How was the rest of your shift?” he asked.

“You mean apart from this frustratingly hot paramedic avoiding me all 4 times I tried to approach him?” They chuckled softly together. “It went pretty well. I helped deliver a baby, and the moment was so magical. The bond that was created almost immediately, as soon as I placed the beautiful baby girl on her mother’s chest.” She explained with a faraway tone in her voice as she stared into the night wistfully.

Rafael smiled. “being there for a delivery of another life is magical. It’s a feeling you can’t describe.” he agreed with a nod.

“Yeah. It’s the same every time and I’ve only helped out with about 20 in my career so far.”

“I’ve had more than that.” Rafael teased.

Casey chuckled softly. “Do you want children?” she asked curiously, tearing her gaze away from outside and pointed it up to Rafael’s face.

“Uh..” he said, with a surprise look on his face. “I suppose I’ve never thought about it in a serious way.”

“Oh. Okay.” Casey smiled, a sadness in her eyes as she looked away.

“But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t think about or talk about it with you. If you wanted to maybe start a family one day?” he added quickly.

“Truthfully?” Casey asked hopefully.

“Of course. I’d love to talk about starting a family with you.” he smiled.

Him lovingly before giving a sweet smile and hiding a yawn behind her hand.

“Come on.” He chuckled lightly, gently shaking her by the shoulders. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Yeah.” Casey smiled clinging onto Rafael’s shoulders as he stood up with her in his arms, carrying her to his bedroom.

--- Two Weeks Later ---

Rafael and Casey sat out in the med bay eating lunch together, the topic of their conversation being their future.

“So what would you name a child if it was a boy?” Casey quizzed.

“Easy. Batman.” Rafael grinned.

Casey rolled her eyes playfully as she took another bite of her sandwich. “Be serious.”

Rafael pouted. “Well you’re no fun are you?”

“I’m plenty fun, thank you.”

“You sure about that babe?”

Casey raised an eyebrow as she sipped her water.

“Okay! Okay! You’re fun.” Rafael surrendered with a light chuckle.

They basked in the comfortable silence for a moment as they stared out at their surroundings.

“I’d call him Leonardo Lucas Aveiro. That is.. if his last name being Aveiro would be okay with you.” Rafael spoke softly, breaking the silence as his gaze landed on Casey.

“Well I’m hoping it could maybe be my name someday. When you’re ready of course.”

“I... hadn’t thou-” he started to stutter but Casey cut him off with a kiss.

“I said when you’re ready.”

“I... O-okay.” Rafael smiled and pulled her close.

--- 2 months later ---

“Is that the last one?” Rafael asked Casey as she carried a box out of his apartment.

“Yep. That’s the last of them.” she confirmed.

Rafael closed the car door as Casey got into the driver's seat of her car and started the engine waiting as Rafael settled beside her in the passenger seat. Then they were on their way to Casey’s parents house. The start of the drive was quiet and calm, the two of them too tired to talk. The night before they had stayed out late with their friends to celebrate their last night together before they moved to separate parts of the country and it was harder to meet up. The night was fun but it went on longer than expected and left them very tired for this journey. Halfway there they made a stop at a diner for lunch and to stretch their legs.

As they entered the diner, Rafael excused himself to the bathroom whilst Casey got them a table. When he came back Casey had ordered them drinks and was now looking at the menu.

“How are you today?” Rafael asked as he took a set next to Casey in the booth.

“I’m okay. You?” she asked back.

“Well, I fell asleep so I feel better. Let’ swap for the last part of the trip so you can get some more sleep too.”

“That’s… thanks.”

Rafael smiled and pecked the tip of Casey’s nose before picking up the second menu on the table and looking it over.

“How about we go all in with Mac’s Mighty All Day Brunch?” he asked.

“You know I’ll literally explode…. Right?” Casey questioned with a quirked brow.

“I mean if it’s on the menu…and you need something to put you to sleep...”

“So you’re planning my assissination right to my face?” she joked and Rafael chuckled richly.

“If you want to call it that.”

“I do tend to call it what I want to..”

Rafael rolled his eyes playfully with an exasperated sigh. “You and your Taylor Swift references…”

“Hey hey hey. Don’t be getting down and out now. I’m not a liar or a dirty dirty cheat of the world.”

“You’re just getting down to this sick beat. I know.” Rafael said as he jabbed her side with tickles.

After the spontaneous tickle attack, they ordered food and large milkshakes, talking happily as they slowly emptied their plates of food before paying and waddling out of the diner, back to the car. “So. I’m driving right?” Rafael grinned.

“Yes, Rafael. You’re driving.” Casey sighed as she tossed him the keys.

The rest of the drive to Casey’s parents was peaceful as she slept in the passenger seat whilst Rafale drove them. When they arrived, Casey wouldn’t wake up so when she did it was dark and her surroundings had changed from where Rafael had carried her in and laid her in bed. She sat up disoriented and yawned, blinking a few times and letting her eyes adjust before stumbling out of her room and down the stairs following the sound of two deep voices. When she found them, the two men stopped their conversation and looked up at her.

“There she is! My little fire starter.” her dad beamed, getting up to hug her.

“Hey babe. Feel better now?” Rafael asked, wrapping his arm around her waist as she took a seat next to him as she sat down after hugging her dad.

“Yeah.” she yawned.

“I heard from Rafael here, that you stopped and had quite the feast on the way here..”

“I did. It was lovely. Where’s mom?”

“She went out to the shops. Needed a few ingredients to finish dinner. We’re having her famous beef and chicken stew, with potatoes and all your favourite vegetables.”

“I hope it’s not another mountain on my plate. I don’t know how long it would take me to tackle it.”

The three sat in a comfortable silence watching movies until Casey’s mom called them to the table for dinner.

“I’m so glad to finally be able to meet you Rafael. Casey’s told us so much about you. Hasn't she Tim?”

“She has.” Tim nodded as he added pepper to his food.

“All good I hope.” Rafael smiled.

“Oh no. it was mostly how you’re such a bad man and frustrate me with leaving your pens and paper in a mess.” Casey teased.

“Casey, don't tease him so. He seems like a nice boy.” Her mom warned.

“He doesn’t mind it. Do you babe?”

Rafael swallowed his bite of food. “I don’t mind it in moderation.”

“That means don’t do it anymore at this table tonight.” Tim said.

“So… what’s new with you guys. It’s been a while since we spoke.”

“Well, your father’s stall at the market is doing well, and my business is really picking up.”

“Aw that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you guys.” Casey smiled.

“You have a business, Mrs. Valentine?” Rafael asked.

“I do. Started it a couple of months ago in fact.”

“What do you sell or offer?”

“Homemade handcrafted soaps.”

“Ah, that’s lovely.” Rafael smiled in reply.

The rest of dinner passed by in a comfortable quiet chatter before they all retired to the living room and watched TV and played a couple of board games before they all headed to bed. The next few months passed in a flurry of activity, Casey helped her mother with her business and bringing in custom, whilst Rafael helped her father with his market stall and bringing in groceries. There were rare moments stolen where Rafael and Casey would go on dates that would usually end up with them cooing over a mother with a newborn in a stroller and they would look at each other with longing, silently communicating that they both could wait for that day in their own future.

By the time they had found new jobs and saved up enough to move out and into their own apartment, two and a half years had passed which made leaving all that much harder for them.

“Remember. Call me if you need anything Casey.” Mrs. Valentine told her.

“I will mom. I promise.” Casey smiled.

“Is that surprise ready?” Tim muttered under his breath to Rafael, who nodded in response. “Good. You take good care of my daughter now, young man.” He smiled, clapping Rafael on the back.

“Yes sir. I always will.” Rafael replied earnestly.

After a few more tearful goodbyes, Casey and Rafael were on their way to their new apartment, singing along to the radio and stopping at a Taco Bell drive thru on the way.

“I’ve got a surprise for you at the apartment.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. I um… I’m not sure if you’ll like it though.”

“You’re the king of surprises. If I don’t like it, I’ll be shocked.”

They chuckled together and a short while later were parking in the garage of the apartment complex then heading upstairs. Rafael got nervous with each step closer to the front door and Casey stopped them in their tracks.

“Babe. You’re more nervous than I’ve ever seen you. Are you alright? You’re surprise isn’t that you’ve painted our room a horrible colour is it?”

“What! No..! I wouldn’t do that, ever.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Come on! I’ve not seen this place yet, you’ve been super secretive about it.”

Casey grinned and pulled him towards the door, practically bouncing as she waited to be let in. Hesitantly, Rafael opened the door and Casey gasped as she stepped inside.

“It’s so spacious! …. Oh and look at the view!”

Rafael smiled as he closed the door behind them, watching as Casey padded over to the window and marvelled at the view. After tearing her from the window Rafael showed her around every room with a door open until he stopped in front of one with the door closed.

“Is your surprise behind here?” Casey asked.

“It is. But I want to know that you won’t get mad or upset. Or… think that I’m wanting to move too fast, what with us only just starting our new jobs recently and all.”

“Okay. … colour me intrigued. Open the door.”

Taking a deep breath, Rafael opened the door and stepped inside and Casey followed him into what appeared to be a nursery, complete with a crib, draws for toys, a mini bookshelf, a playmat and several other baby toys and gadgets. She gasped as she took it all in, blown away by the effort that had clearly gone into making this room. After she hadn’t spoken for a while, Rafael cleared his throat to gain Casey’s attention.

“Is … it too much? Are you not ready yet? It’s totally fine if you aren’t. We can just keep this room locked unt-”

“No. It’s… it’s perfect. I… I don’t know what to say.. um.” Casey choked on her words as she struggled to hold back tears. “We’ve had baby fever for a while now huh?”

Rafael blushed bashfully. His voice coming out barely above a whisper as he answered, “yeah..” with a slight chuckle.

The next evening, Casey and Rafael were snuggled on the couch when Casey moved to look Rafael in the eye.

“If we had a boy, what would you name him?”

“Hm?”

“Our baby. If they turned out to be a boy, what would you want to name him?”

“Leonard Rafael Averio.”

“What about a girl?”

“Isabella Casey Aveiro.”

“How long have you been sitting on those?”

“Since our 3rd date.”

Casey sat and stared at him in stunned silence. “Our 3rd… that was…”

“5 years ago? I know.” He gave a smile and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Hey! Don’t cry!” He chuckled.

“Sorry. It’s just…” she chuckled too and grabbed a tissue with her free hand and dabbed away the tears before wiping her nose. “That’s heartwarming. I mean… did you know...?”

“That I wanted a family with you back then? Yeah. I started thinking about it after our second date, but it became a more serious thought after our 3rd.”

“Oh… Raf…” Casey gasped and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was soft and innocent at first, but picked up passion the longer it went on. After a few minutes, the reluctantly pulled apart and sighed happily as they rested their foreheads together.

“I love you, Rafael.”

“I love you too, Casey.”

#choices stories you play #playchoices #pixelberry studios #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction #rafael averio fanfiction #rafael aveiro x casey valentine #rafael x casey #rafael x f!mc #casey valentine #dr casey valentine

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