#lots of good food in the cafe. we were always anxious though. one of our teachers had a classroom on the second floor

[possibilistfanfiction]

Okay Elsa is annoying but … any Elsa thoughts on the future?

i also agree that elsa is annoying but u know shes a good mom honestly. also we all know casey is non binary in our hearts so. here's something i guess :) also on ao3

////

the morning gates stay open (i’d be there)

/

i’m born to be somebody, then somebody comes from me i’ll tell you about the rabbit moon and when to keep walking

— clairo, ‘reaper’

//

you see izzie — and no one else — waiting for you when you head out of the terminal at lax.

‘hey elsa,’ she says, giving you a hug when you open your arms, even though you’re a little confused. ‘casey’s in the bathroom,’ she rushes to explain, rolling her eyes fondly. ‘they had like six la croixs today, even though i said it was a bad idea, and —‘

you don’t really process much else because then casey is barreling into you, even though ever facetime call has ended abruptly with an adamant refusal to return any sentiment about missing each other. ‘hey mom,’ casey says into your shoulder, and when you back up you have to smile at the sun-kissed freckles and cutoff shorts fraying at the hem, even though it’s february and snowing in connecticut. casey looks happy, and links hands with izzie, who tries to take your suitcase for you before you glare at casey, who sighs and takes it instead.

/

you’ve visited before; you helped both of them move into their dorms, and then you’d flown out with doug for a weekend in october. casey and izzie came home for thanksgiving and winter break, but you have some miles saved up now and casey hadn’t sounded too annoyed at the idea of you visiting for a few days to get out of the cold. they drop your things off at the hotel you booked near campus, and then izzie levels casey with a look and then says, ‘i have to meet with a group for a midterm presentation, but i’ll see you for dinner.’

you give her a hug and she kisses casey easily, quickly, and says, ‘i love you,’ far too seriously for an afternoon apart. you don’t know what’s going on but you think back to what izzie had said earlier — not about casey drinking too many la croixs; listening to rules has never been a strong suit, after all — but, you think, if you were listening, maybe izzie didn’t say her, which might mean—

‘let’s go to the palisades,’ casey says, then starts to ramble nervously about how they’re closer to the west side than laguna or manhattan but not as crowded as the pier, and who wants to be around that many tourists anyway, and there’s a little cafe if you wanted some snacks. you listen patiently and agree to any plans, because it’s a beautiful day and you don’t, actually, want to drive that much in la traffic or be by so many tourists. eventually casey runs out of things to say and turns on the radio to some music you don’t know but honestly don’t think is half bad. the windows are down and the sun is bright and you’ve been to pflag meetings in new haven for over a year now; you think you’ll knock it out of the park if casey tells you anything.

you do stop by the cafe, which is cute, and pick up a few snacks. casey had packed a big beach blanket, one you’d given as a joint gift to izzie and casey for christmas, which makes you smile. casey’s hands are shaking, a little, though, and so you don’t mention that it was, in fact, a great present that apparently they use all the time, according to izzie, who always politely and enthusiastically returns your texts and calls with all sorts of updates.

you sit down in the warm sand near the water and you know casey; sometimes, you just have to wait it out.

‘so.’

‘hmmm.’

casey fiddles with the edge of the blanket and then with some of the fruit you got at the cafe, before staring straight ahead at the waves. ‘i’m, uh. whew. well.’

you don’t laugh, will your body not to. instead, you squeeze casey’s hand, just once.

‘i’m just your kid, okay?’

you sit with that for a moment, try to process what you think casey is saying, but you don’t want to get anything wrong or jump to conclusions. ‘today, at the airport, izzie said they, when referring to you.’

casey sits for a second, shoulders tense all the way up toward the sky, and then says, ‘oh.’

‘i don’t think she was even thinking about it.’ casey nods. ‘but, is that what you’re talking about?’

casey sighs. ‘yeah. i guess. is that — is that okay?’

‘of course it’s okay,’ you say, because it definitely is okay, and also it’s not the most shocking news you’ve heard. casey hasn’t wanted anything to do with femininity, really, for as long as you can remember; you’ve grown used to, and proud, so often, of having a queer child — and another bonus queer child, too, which is what you consider izzie now, no matter what.

casey sniffles and then leans into your shoulder. ‘i know you’re, like, bursting with questions.’

you laugh, just a little, and feel a small smile against your skin. ‘not if you don’t want to answer them.’

‘depends on the questions.’

‘do you have any term you like, or any concept or something? i’ve been doing a lot of reading, and i’ve met a lot of other parents in pflag who have children who are also gender non-conforming, and—‘

‘whoa, slow your roll,’ casey says, but seems to deflate a little in relief. ‘non binary is fine, i guess. i’m just — not a girl. i’m just casey.’

that makes you smile. ‘your name is still casey, then?’

it produces an eye roll but then a begrudging, ‘it’s a good name. i like my name,’ so you’ll take it as a win.

‘i have great taste.’

‘ugh.’

‘you use they/them pronouns?’

‘yeah,’ casey says. ‘but, like, it’s okay if you don’t always get them right or whatever.’

‘no, it’s not,’ you say gently. ‘i’ll try really hard. i’ll get them right. it’s important.’

that produces a fresh round of tears that they try to dismiss by saying the sun is really bright and they have a hangover, which you know is false because casey had been asleep by 9 last night after an all-nighter and cross country the day before. but you let them have it, eat a few grapes and then toss one their way.

it elicits a reluctant laugh but it works all the same. ‘izzie corrects people all the time so she’ll love you more than she already does.’

‘i’m so glad you brought my favorite child into my life.’

‘wow, thanks elsa,’ casey deadpans, but then digs their hand into the sand and smiles. ‘izzie’s been so awesome, with all of this. i really love her.’

‘i know you do,’ you say with a smile, pat their hand.

‘and i’ll tell sam and dad eventually, but i want to tell them in person because sam won’t care, i’m sure, but dad is… you know.’

‘he loves you,’ you assure them. ‘i won’t say anything, of course.’

they look at you suspiciously.

you hold your hands up. ‘i swear i won’t. i know i love to meddle but i would never out you.’

casey sighs and nods. ‘i believe you,’ they say. ‘but, for the record, meddling is your most toxic trait.’

‘yeah, yeah.’

‘i don’t really want to talk about this anymore,’ they say quietly after a few moments. ‘it stresses me out, sometimes.’

‘okay. any time you want or need, though.’

they nod. ‘love you, mom.’

‘love you, casey.’

they pop up off the blanket, then, which whips sand into your face and all the food, and then take off toward the waves, laughing. you let them have a little space for a moment, watching your brave child chase off into the surf, fearless as always.

/

you take izzie to lunch the next day; casey has class during that time and you like to spend time with izzie anyway. she sits straight and proper but you see how she’s relaxed a little too, here, maybe getting to have a childhood for the first time ever. her hair is long and perpetually wavy from her runs by the ocean, and her eyes are bright.

‘thank you,’ she says, ‘for being so good with casey yesterday. they told me that you were awesome.’

‘casey, my child, said those words about me?’

izzie laughs, delicately takes a bite of her quinoa bowl, then shrugs. ‘not those words exactly. but they meant it. and they were so happy this morning, like a weight was lifted or something. i told them they didn’t need to be that anxious to tell you or anything but it’s been a process, you know. i think it’s been hard for a while.’

‘they like to let things stew, don’t they?’

izzie huffs. ‘it’s the worst.’

‘welcome to my world.’

‘casey is… quite the person, that’s for sure.’

‘thank you, too, izzie. for loving them so completely.’

izzie blushes, looks down at her hands. ‘impossible not to, i think.’

you think back to all the times casey has driven you up the wall over the years, the tantrums and fights, and then reach out to squeeze izzie’s hand. ‘impossible not to,’ you agree.

/

casey and izzie come home for spring break, and casey is pacing around and so you order food, send izzie to go get it, who thanks you quietly with a little squeeze to your shoulder.

you sit down on the couch and make sure that sam and doug are actually paying attention and then casey sighs.

‘is this an intervention?’ sam asks when casey doesn’t say anything. ‘i don’t know who it would be for.’

casey sighs again. ‘it’s not an intervention.’

‘okay,’ sam says, ‘good.’

casey tries to still their hands on their thighs and then says, ‘i’m not a girl. or a boy. or anything else, really, i guess. uh, if that makes sense.’

doug looks genuinely baffled but sam just nods.

‘there are many animals that don’t fit into a gender or sex binary. most commonly, it’s referred to as sequential hermaphroditism.’

casey nods contemplatively and your heart warms a little.

‘one of my friends is trans,’ he says, then takes out his notebook. ‘what are your name and pronouns?’

you can tell casey is trying not to cry, but they just clear their throat. ‘uh, casey, and they/them pronouns.’

sam writes something in his notebook and then nods. ‘got it. sibling? is that okay?’

casey is really trying not to cry now. ‘that’s great, sam.’

‘cool,’ he says. ‘is that all?’

‘oh, uh, yeah,’ casey says, ‘thanks, sam.’

‘sure, i’m just glad this wasn’t an intervention,’ he says, then stands and leaves the room without another word.

casey is smiling but then they turn to really look at doug, who has a furrowed brow.

‘i’m sorry, case,’ he says, which might not be the best start, but you’re fully prepared to jump in anytime they need. ‘i don’t — i don’t understand fully.’

he doesn’t sound angry, and he gets up to sit by them on the couch, squeezes their shoulder once.

‘i love you, though, and i guess, uh. you’re my kid. i just want you to be safe and happy. i’ll try to learn, okay?’

casey swallows once, and then again, and then hugs doug tight. ‘please never quote this, and only remember it for your sake and not mine, but mom knows a lot. she can definitely help explain stuff.’

you beam and doug nods. casey rolls their eyes.

’not now, though,’ they say. ‘izzie’s back with the food.’ they flash their phone. ‘she’s just been waiting outside until we were done talking. elsa, i see what you did there.’

‘you’re welcome.’

‘that pizza better not have pineapple or else i’m taking back everything i just said.’

‘extra pineapple, believe it or not.’

casey stomps off, and then makes a little noise of satisfaction from the kitchen when they discover that, in fact, you had actually ordered pepperoni. you hear izzie laugh.

‘so… we don’t have a daughter anymore?’ doug asks, quietly. ‘that’s not what i should call …’

‘them,’ you supply. ‘casey is our child,’ you say firmly, ‘they’re just casey.’

he takes a deep breath and then nods. ‘okay.’

‘we can practice. i’ve been practicing.’

doug looks relieved. ‘okay, good.’ he waits a beat and then laughs, just once. ‘you know, of all the things casey has ever come to us with, even though i don’t understand the details, really, this might be the one that makes the most sense.’

you smile, lace your fingers together. ‘i thought the same thing.’

/

when casey and izzie come home for a few weeks in the summer before preseason training begins, casey has a few more tattoos and a buzzcut and the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. izzie is in a crop top and long, flowing skirt and they’re both as enamored with each other as always, sweet and considerate and happy. you make peace with it all, because casey is kinder by the day, it seems, even to you.

zahid comes over one night and smiles and says, ‘sick shoes,’ to casey and leaves it at that, even though earlier you had told them that you thought they looked like geriatric shoes — not even in jest, you were worried about arch support or something — and izzie had laughed and casey had spluttered, ‘they’re jordans.’

it’s not hard to realize, as the weeks pass, that casey is better than they’d ever been; you’d read that a lot of trans and non binary teams have a really hard time during puberty, especially, and casey had been going through so much on top of trying to process this part of their identity. you fight the urge to wish you had known more then, even though they’re healthy and thriving now, it seems.

they get everyone to help organize a slip n slide in the backyard made with tarps and soap and water, and it’s genuinely hilarious when they set up an obstacle course. for two division i athletes, casey and izzie do terribly, falling all over each other and getting bubbles everywhere. you’re pretty sure casey is wearing a binder instead of a swimsuit or sports bra, and when they finally finish their ridiculous game, they lie back on the grass with izzie.

they’re both breathing hard and laughing periodically, not really talking. you bring them popsicles and it’s been a while since you’ve seen casey look this young.

/

things settle.

you miss your kids, of course, but they seem very genuinely happy. but one night in the fall, you’re just sitting down with a glass of nice merlot, ready to watch the newest episode of the bachelor even though casey relentlessly tells you it’s ‘misogynist garbage’ — which you know, obviously, but it’s mindless — when your phone rings.

it’s casey, and casey never really calls you for a good reason, and your heart jumps in your chest. you put down your wine and pause the tv.

‘case?’

you hear them sniffle on the other end of the line.

‘what’s wrong?’

your mind runs through a million different scenarios, each worse than the last.

‘izzie’s hurt,’ they say, finally, and casey has been known to be a little dramatic so you don’t know how hurt, or what you need to do.

‘what happened, honey? what do you need from me?’

’the trainers are taking her to the hospital for an mri right now but they think she tore her achilles in practice today. i don’t — she was running next to me, just intervals, and then i heard a pop and then she was screaming and — can you come? i’m sorry. they think she might need surgery, i guess, and, i just. please? can you come?’

you put down your wine and walk to your laptop. ‘i’ll look up flights right now, case. i’ll be there as soon as i can, okay?’

they let out what you can tell is a very relieved breath. ‘okay.’

‘i found one that can get me there tomorrow morning. i’ll find a hotel and keep you updated.’

‘mom,’ they say, ‘thank you.’

‘i love you, and i love izzie.’ it’s firm, but you mean it like that: there is no question; you will be there. ‘i’ll see you both soon.’

/

izzie does need surgery, you find out by the next morning when you uber from the airport to the hospital. casey is hunched over in a hoodie, trying to stay awake with a cup of coffee, but izzie smiles sleepily and happily when you come into the room quietly.

‘i’m high,’ she says, giggling a little.

casey rolls their eyes, clearly exhausted, but gets up to hug you tight. izzie squeezes your hand back when you kiss her cheek.

‘you didn’t need to come,’ she says suddenly, a little furrow to her brow.

‘of course i did.’

her lower lip starts to wobble and casey rolls their eyes but huffs a little laugh anyway. it’s an uncharacteristically chilly, rainy day outside and it’s surprisingly easy to convince casey to go back to the dorm to shower and nap for a few hours before they come back in the afternoon. izzie mostly sleeps, but you take careful notes when the surgeon comes to speak to you, because izzie really is out of it and, although they promise to come back and explain things later, you don’t want them to be missing any information. plus, they always process information better when it’s written down anyway.

izzie eventually gets discharged and has to come back a few days later for surgery. you have savings, so you’re lucky enough that you can stay for a bit. izzie is groggy but gets to have an outpatient procedure, and you help casey get her situated back in her dorm afterward. she has a big padded boot on her foot and ankle but you picked up pain medication for her and so she mostly sleeps. casey settles in next to izzie on the small bed and kisses her forehead, then looks at you, eyes big. their hair has grown out so that it falls floppily over their brows; it makes them look young and you have to fight to not want to kiss their forehead or hold their hand.

‘just — thank you, mom.’

/

you leave after a few days because izzie is doing better, taking just tylenol and very coherently getting around fine on crutches and so therefore casey has relaxed as well, their easy smiles back and their posture relaxed, slouched like normal.

they both come to see you off at the airport, casey doting carefully and izzie swatting away any attempts. you kiss izzie’s forehead and then do the same to casey, even though they fake gag.

within a few weeks, izzie is walking again, tenderly at first but then without any pause. casey actually gives you studious updates about her recovery; from what you can tell, they go to every physical therapy session they can possibly make it to. you know izzie has gone to therapy for years, now, and all of the drama from when she and casey first started dating seems to have faded into the background. but injuries are difficult, you think — scary and painful, especially because of what running has been to izzie. but eventually she sends you a selfie of the two of them by the beach, clearly having just run, with fly away hair and casey’s cheeks flushed red, huge smiles squinting into the sun.

/

a year passes, full of holidays and casey complaining about finals and izzie sending you pictures of pies she tries to bake in the tiny dorm kitchen. they run; sometimes when you’re pretty sure they’re a little high, casey will facetime you just to say hello. you and doug help them move into a small duplex together at the beginning of junior year, a bright sunny kitchen and the breeze from the ocean floating through the windows.

casey takes you to get coffee when they visit for thanksgiving — so you know something’s up, because they would never voluntarily spend time alone with you unless they really needed to talk — and when you sit down they smile at you, gently and openly, a rare occasion, and say, ‘i’m gonna have top surgery in the spring.’

you’re not surprised, and you’ve done casey’s laundry enough times when they’ve visited that you know they’ve been wearing a binder most days; you know they love being an athlete, and izzie has sent you enough articles about non-binary athletes in women’s leagues that you know casey has a place in sport.

that this surgery is happening, though, is a little different. you feel scared, because casey is your child, but mostly you feel excited for them. relieved for them.

‘that’s so wonderful, casey,’ you say, and they blink just once and then a grin lights up their face.

they tell you about their surgeon, and the type of surgery they’re going to have, how izzie has gone with them but how, they admit, they would love if you facetimed in for their next pre-op appointment in a few months.

‘can you help me explain it to dad? sam and i already talked, to be honest, because he asked me. which is, like, inappropriate from anyone else, but he’s sam, so it was mostly just so he could research statistics and stuff.’

you laugh, squeeze their hand. ‘i’ll help, absolutely.’

/

you go out to la a few months after casey’s surgery with doug and sam; everything had gone well and casey had cried in joy and relief when they’d seen their chest afterward for the first time, which had set izzie off, which had set you off too. you’re pretty sure doug had even sniffled.

when you’d left, though, they still had bandages and bruising but now it’s almost the beginning of their senior year and when you go to the beach they take their shirt off and then shove sam into the sand with a laugh. sam grumbles but gets up to dust himself off, izzie rolling her eyes as she helps you set out the blanket.

casey races off into the surf, turning back and yelling at all of you to come join them. you always have; you do.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Stranger Danger ~ KTH [Request]

WORD COUNT: 3.7K

PAIRING: Taehyung x Fem!Reader

GENRE: This takes place in 2013/2016 when the boys debuted and then three years later, just so no one is confused, strangers to lovers, online friends, cute, fluffy, 

A/N: I hope this is okay for you, I sort of left it like this so that you could come up with your own extension of it <3 

Taehyung clicked through the in-game chat as he waited for the game to finish, he'd just died and was waiting to see if his team would still win without him. He'd been playing in the same lobby as someone with the name 'XxChickXx' for the last few hours and they were one of the best players on his time. They'd been a good teammate instead of just looking out for themselves, they helped Taehyung out as well and he was trying to find a way to contact them outside of the game so they could play together again, 

Tae: @XxChickXx game tomorrow? 

The small message was blinking on your screen as it notified you that someone mentioned you, you smiled softly before typing out a reply to the name you'd seen. 

XxChickXx: Sure! But add me on steam first? You attached the same name as your Gamertag and smiled to yourself as a friend request came through at the bottom of the screen as quickly as you sent the message. You exited out of the game then went onto steam ready to message whoever this 'Tae person was. He'd been playing great, one of the best players you'd had the pleasure of playing alongside with.

XxChickXx: Never had someone play so nicely before, most people are selfish & rude! Nice to meet you, I'm Y/n. 

Taehyung smiled brightly as the message came through to his screen, he checked the time. He had some time to talk to you before he had to go to practice so he began replying to you. Smiling brightly as he thought about making a new friend, he'd only met a couple online before and then he had the boys he was practising with but that was it really. He'd always been too shy to communicate with anyone else properly.

Tae: Most people are the worst, I'm Tae...Obviously, lovely to meet you XD

You laughed softly as you saw the message and then you began typing out to him again wanting to talk to him more before you headed out for your shift at the local cafe. There was an exciting feeling in your chest as you got the message from him, it was just something simple but it still had your heart racing.

XxChickXx: Tae? Short for anything? Or a nickname...I've never had one before, don't really like going by 'chick' that much. 

Taehyung chuckled to himself checking the time once again as he got up from the desk, installing the app onto his phone so he could keep texting you while he was on his walk to practice. The front door to the small apartment opened and Jimin walked over to the fridge, placing the small container of Kimchi and rice cakes inside. His grandmother was always making sure Taehyung was well taken care of since he'd moved out of his family home. Jimin always let himself into the apartment since he had the spare key for "emergencies" but who cares.

"What's got you smiling so much?" Jimin questioned as he walked up to his best friend, Taehyung physically jumped up. Almost dropping his phone onto the floor as Jimin scared him, he groaned as he began straightening out his clothes again.

"Nothing! Let yourself in why don't you?" His voice was seeping with sarcasm as he stuffed his phone into his pocket as he went to grab his keys to the apartment before they left for practice. Namjoon would have their heads on sticks if they were late again that week, they'd already been late five times.

"I always do, I brought rice cakes from Grandma," Jimin mumbled as they began heading out of the door together but Taehyung wasn't paying attention, his head was back in his phone as he made his way out of the apartment. He never wanted to stop talking to you and he'd barely even begun to get to know you, he could already tell there was a friendship blossoming between you. 

Tae: Maybe I can come up with one for you, favourite colours, fruit, food, place, and clothing item? 

A small frown appeared on your face as you stared at the message, what did any of those have to do with giving you a nickname? You smirked before typing out a response to him, getting a little flirty but it was all fun and games. It wasn't as if you knew one another or would ever actually meet so you just went for it. 

XxChickXx: Trying to find out where to take me for our first date Tae? ;) 

Tae: ...Maybe...You'll find out sooner or later, answer the questions 

Giggling to yourself you stepped into the elevator of your apartment building to see a couple together, both of them holding hands as they waited for you to step in. You brushed down the light pink diner dress you were wearing and took your phone out from the front pocket, this was going to be the only thing helping you get through the shift at the diner. 

XxChickXx: Hmm, you'll have to give me a second to think about it...What about yours though? 

The text messages continued to exchange between you both for six months, you'd grown closer with time with exchanging messages. Learning lots about one another, coming up with some cute nicknames as well as gaming whenever you were both free. There was one thing you never did though, you would never video call or voice call since you were too anxious for that and Taehyung was far too shy. Neither of you minded though, you would text non-stop as often as you could with one another. Morning, noon and night. During your shifts, you would sneak a look at your phone while you hid it in your apron and Taehyung would check his phone whenever he got a break from dancing in the practice room. Jimin giving him nothing but small jokes and banter whenever he could and tonight was no different. Taehyung had been dying to get on his phone throughout the practice but Namjoon had taken it from him, placing it into the drawer so he couldn't be distracted by it.

"All I'm saying is you live your life on that phone and you don't even know what this girl looks like." You heard someone say as you served a table in your section, you finished pouring the coffee before making your way over. Smiling at the two boys in front of you who had taken some seats in your section, 

"Welcome, I'll be your server. Is there anything I can start you off with?" You questioned, looking at the blonde boy who flashed a pearly white smile at you and the brown curly-haired boy who was shyly smiling at you. Jimin glanced at your nametag and smiled showing off to Taehyung how easy it was to talk to someone outside of a phone screen.

"Hi Caroline, I'll take a coffee to start with and I think my friend needs a reality check." You laughed softly not wanting to get involved in their conversations and how he'd used the fake name on your tag. You'd left yours at home and instead of telling your boss you'd forgotten part of your uniform, you switched the tag for someone else's who wasn't there. Jimin smiled at you, trying to get you into the conversation some more. Customers would do it a lot whenever you would serve a table. Most people would stop talking but there were a select few customers who enjoyed bringing others into their conversations. 

"We don't serve that, can I interest him in something else?" You turned to the shy one who was now avoiding your gaze but nodded, looking over the drink options. 

"I'll just take some sparkling water," You hummed at him before leaving and going to get their drinks, smiling softly as you left their table. It would give them enough time to look over the food menu while you checked your phone to see if there was anything from Tae, he'd messaged saying he would reply slower than usual. That his job was making it harder for his replies to come through.

Tae: Finally out from work. Heading for something to eat and then home...Game later? You smiled at the small message on the screen, you hadn't been gaming for a while together so it would be nice to get home and do that after a long shift. Quickly writing out a response to him you glanced at your boss who was staring at you, hands on her hip but you ignored her quickly hitting send.

XxChickXx: Got an hour shift left, I'll message you as soon as I'm online. 

Walking back over to the table you set their drinks down and began taking their food order, while they were ordering you couldn't help but feel as though you knew one of them. The shy one just reminded you so much of Taehyung despite never having met him or heard his voice. There was a feeling in your chest as the shy one spoke to you or looked up at you, it made your heart leap. Just like whenever you got a message from Taehyung over the app. 

"I think she likes you," Jimin whispered to Taehyung as you walked over to the counter, helping a customer as they dropped their food all over the floor. 

"I'm not interested-" Not true, he'd been checking you out while you and Jimin weren't looking. Trying to ignore the thumping in his chest whenever you would smile at him or the tight feeling he would get in his chest whenever you would look into his eyes for longer than ten seconds at a time.

"No, because you're only interested in Y/n...How do you even know she's real? She could be some creep on the internet, ever thought of that? You never call or facetime...It's weird." Jimin mumbled as he took a huge gulp of his coffee, he was going to need it to get through the night. He was helping out at the shop with his grandma that afternoon/night to make up for going to practice today when he was supposed to have a shift.

"I know she's real, why would they keep up a fake profile for the last six months if she wasn't real?" Jimin rolled his eyes at how naive his friend was being, the internet was full of strangers with weird intentions so who knew what this Y/n person was after. Maybe she knew Taehyung was trying to make it in the industry and this was why she'd tried to contact him. But no one knew about that. No one was allowed to know they were working on debuting unless they were involved in the industry. 

"Just be careful...With our lives, we don't know who we'll be able to trust...Don't tell her who you are, don't give her personal information-"

"Jimin, I'm not an idiot," Taehyung grumbled as he got up from the table, paying for the food and drinks while leaving a big tip for the waitress that had been helping them out, glancing over at you as you began laughing softly to someone. He looked down at his phone as he walked out, messaging Y/n to let her know he was on his way back to his apartment and would be on soon. 

There was always one last game and one last text but nothing had prepared you for losing contact with Tae. The messages had slowly begun to stop three years ago until the point neither of you could talk. You'd gotten busy with work and studies and Taehyung had debuted so he never had time to check his phone or game anymore. He hated it but he never once forgot about you. There was never a day that went by when he didn't think about what you could be doing now. 

"It's been three years and you still haven't stopped thinking about her...Why don't you try to contact her?" Namjoon questioned as he walked into Taehyung's dorm room. He'd noticed how glum Taehyung looked lately and decided to find out what was going on with his band member and friend. Of course, he knew of you. Jimin eventually told Namjoon what was going on with Taehyung during practices, he thought he had the right to know since he was the leader of the group. 

"I don't even know if they still-" Just as Taehyung was about to mention about you playing games anymore you logged onto the steam account. Sending a small notification tone to come through his computer speakers, 

"Oh." Taehyung began to blush as he saw your name still hadn't changed over the years, he stared at the screen for a couple of seconds. Debating messaging you or just inviting you to a random game, he didn't know if you would hate him for never replying to you again. 

June 13th 2013: 

XxChickXx: Hey...Game later? 

June 16th 2013:

XxChickXx: Game...? 

July 26th 2013: 

XxChickXx: Hope you're okay if I did something to piss you off I'm sorry. 

An invitation came through on the screen making you jump up as you looked over at the screen, you'd just moved into a new apartment building and it was the first time setting up your gaming PC in a couple of months. You'd never had the time before, between moving into the new apartment building and your job you'd not had the time but this week you had some time off. Choosing to get back into old habits. 

Tae Invited You To A Game. The message made you frown, three years after your last message to him he just randomly invited you to a game. No message to explain where he'd been. Not even a small emoticon to tell him if the invite was meant for you or not. 

XxChickXx: You okay? I haven't heard from you in a while... 

Taehyung smiled softly as he stared at the message, setting up the game as he waited for you to join in. Your character appeared next to his and he smiled, it had been so long since he'd done this it felt good to be relaxing again. 

Tae: I've been busy...A lot. Life is weird now...I'm sorry 

XxChickXx: Don't be, just glad to know you're not dead or something XD

He chuckled to himself and shook his head before looking over his shoulder, Namjoon was no longer in the room so he was going to do something he never thought he would be able to do. But being who he was was giving him a confidence boost, 

Tae: I'll explain it all...Maybe over a facetime call? Or I could meet him for something to eat? 

The thought of finally meeting up with him was both scary and exciting to you, you'd always been warned about stranger danger and never meeting up with someone you didn't know but, meeting Tae had been something you'd always wanted to do. You wanted to get to know him. 

XxChickXx: You're not just some creep right...Meet me at Daisy's Diner, booth six.

A public setting was better for you to meet him, it would be a lot easier to meet him somewhere public. The diner where you worked was perfect since everyone you knew would be there, watching out for you in case it was some creep or you were stood u.

Tae: I can be there in ten.

Stepping into the elevator you looked up to see the shy boy from your diner all those years ago, you looked back down at the floor not wanting to make it seem as though you were staring at him. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, some brown shorts with a hat and glasses on. 

Taehyung glanced at you before going back to his phone waiting for time to pass. He'd seen you around since you worked in the diner he and Jimin always frequented, you weren't in your uniform though. This time you were dressed in some black skinny jeans, a white blouse and you had a warm looking jacket on. He glanced down at himself, hiding his face from you as he pulled the hat down properly on his face. He didn't want the paparazzi to find him, they could be anywhere at any moment but that didn't stop him from wanting to go out. Nothing was going to stop him from finally getting to meet Y/N for the first time. 

The whole walk over Taehyung had been behind you, frowning whenever you didn't turn off somewhere and continued in the same direction, he didn't want it to seem as though he was following you when he wasn't. Then when you walked into the diner he thought maybe you'd started a shift but then if you had, you would surely be in your uniform. That was when you turned into a booth, the same one he'd arranged to meet Y/n in and it made him chuckle deeply at the thought of it all. After all these years he'd seen you many times, talked to you a lot without even knowing it. Talking to you, exchanging polite conversations even after all the years of not talking to "XxChickXx" he'd still been talking to you.

"Is this seat taken?" You slowly looked up at the shy boy, not wanting to hurt his feelings, this was the most he'd ever spoken to you without his friend there. 

"W-Well I'm waiting for -" Before you could say you were waiting for a friend he decided to cut you off politely,

"Tae? I'm assuming you're Y/n...XxChickXX?" You saw the blush spread across his face as he questioned you to make sure his intuition was right about you.

"Tae?! It's been you this whole time?!" You laughed loudly gaining the attention of a few people but he chuckled, sliding into the booth and sitting across from you so he could talk to you properly.

"I could say the same, I can't believe I never put it together. I know you had the same name but...I just figured it was a coincidence." He chuckled as he remembered seeing your name on your nametag before but it could always be a coincidence. The world was full of them. 

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you after all this time...I'm sorry for the radio silence." He whispered as he looked at you, wondering if he should tell you or not about his lifestyle, you knew they were singers since Jimin regularly told you about their jobs.

"So singing is why you've been so busy?" You questioned, turning to your boss and ordering your favourite along with Taehyung's since you knew it by heart. 

"Yeah, I never knew you moved into my apartment building though." He chuckled thinking back to living above you, the world was really trying to make you guys see that it was meant to be sooner or later. 

"I only moved in a few months ago, after all these years we've been so close." You laughed softly shaking your head as you thought about it. 

"Tell me about your singing? I want to hear everything in detail. Especially since we haven't spoken much in a while." He smiled, getting comfortable in the seat as he looked into your eyes wondering where to start with it all. 

Your head was hanging low as you walked into the back entrance of your apartment building, Taehyung doing the same as you walked side by side laughing together about something he was telling you about Jimin. The whole night you'd spent together catching up and telling one another about your lives. It was late, later than Taehyung was supposed to be out since he was getting non-stop calls from Namjoon to tell him he wanted him back at the apartment since it was currently 1 am and they wanted to know what he was doing out so late.

"Jimin had a crush on you at one point, wouldn't stop going into the diner for hot chocolates." You laughed remembering Jimin coming into the diner about seven times a day just to buy the same drink from you whenever you were on a shift. 

"Is he over that? No offence to Jimin but he's not my type and I...I kind of like someone else." You whispered as he opened the door to the apartment building for you, looking around he lead you over to some of the seating they had in the main lobby. His heart sinking at the thought of you liking someone, someone that wasn't him. He knew he should be happy for you, after three years he couldn't expect you to like him...Or even still want to be friends with him. 

"You like someone?" He questioned trying to ignore the way his voice cracked just like his heart, felt as though it was doing when he had no real reason to feel this way.

"Yeah, I had a crush on him a while ago...It's growing more after finally meeting him." You whispered as you looked up into his eyes, hoping that he would get the obvious inkling that it was him you were referring to but by the sunken look on his face he hadn't gotten the hint.

"You." You whispered as you heard the elevator ding to let you know someone was coming, you glanced up and saw it was someone around Taehyung's age so you acted fast. Leaning close to Taehyung and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

"Call me when you're out of trouble." You teased him, kissing his cheek again before jumping into the elevator right as the boy got out. Watching you as you waved at a blushing Taehyung who couldn't wait to get back to his dorm room and call you. Ask you out on a real date...Right after he got out of the scolding session he could feel coming from Namjoon who was storming over to him with a look of both disappointment and happiness on his face. Namjoon was never able to stay long at him for long so he knew he could get out of this soon and be able to call you.

Tagline: @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @fan-ati--c​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @rjsmochii​ @taestannie​ @bisexualmess007​ @sw33tnight​ @innersooya​ @sweeneyblue1​

[ashdreams2023]

hey! might i get a marvel match up?? (if not, no worries)

i’m a soft sweet stoner, odd and awkward, but also confident in my weirdness because i know there’s really no right or wrong way to just be. i love big pants little shirt when i’m out and about, and a good big shirt + boxer combo for when i’m chilling at home. my style varies a lot, sometimes i’m dressed like a wanna be humming bird (colorful + iridescent elements) other times calm earth tones, occasionally all black. overall though my style is androgynous. im non-binary and love women and gender queer babes and once in a blue moon a man (but that takes a lot of time for them to prove i could trust them)

french and english are both my native languages

5’6 with wavy dark copper hair, moderately freckled, lots of beauty marks. several tattoos currently and planned. atm there’s a little eclipse on my foot, lavender along the left underside of my chest, a sword down my back and as of 2 days ago a dagger on my arm. i want a little sprout above my knee, white ink clouds nestled behind one ear and turning gears behind the other, and a big thigh piece

love love love plants like they are such a marvel and i could go on for hours about them like the science + their cultural relevance + how fucking cool they are , but human interaction makes me anxious in a way that has me coming across as an airhead to most people, it takes a while and a special kind of person for me to get to a place with someone where i’m comfortable/confident enough to genuinely express myself. im always anxious im going to be made fun of for how i talk and gesture and stim

(tw: trauma dump) im the youngest between sister and i, but growing up i was also the youngest of a many step siblings in different houses and they didn’t let me forget that i was the scrawniest, stupidest, and least capable of the bunch. lots of underhanded comments or “jokes”, and my dad wanted them to like him so he just acted like we were a picture perfect family and just wrote me off as overly sensitive and that even when the situation wrecked my self esteem and resulted in getting less food than the others (in the kitchen and at meals could take our (my sister and i) food but we couldn’t touch theirs). (tw finished) it’s taken me a really long time to unlearn that shit and just allow myself to make peace and take pleasure in my interests and passions and food.

when i do get genuinely comfy with a person, im super affectionate physically and verbally (in accordance with other person’s boundaries). the idea of quality time be it watching stuff, going to cafes and museums, or reading together all make my heart warm and i would melt if someone cared for me in a romantic context. enamored with the thought of us (could be one partner could be a polycule) sharing our interests and learning about them to grow closer. at this point if someone tenderly cupped my cheek i might pass out

most of the time i can be found alone, entertaining something fantastical (daydreaming, reading, writing, watching stuff), smoking a blend of weed + lavender + mullein + rose + chamomile, and there’s rarely a day that goes by im not listening to music of all genres for hours on end

ps obsessed with stuff that smells good like candles and incense and plants, bonus points if it has warm vibes

anywho that’s me do with this what you will oh wise one

thank you!!!

Valkyrie

She would absolutely adore your style, it clashes with her own in the best way possible

Oh and she’ll kiss every beauty mark visible on your body

You two can go on dates getting your tattoos done, her pain tolerance is beyond anything you’ll see

Honestly she isn’t going to judge if you’re interested in something more than the other

There would be times where she’ll explain the history of her kind

Her love language is physical touch which will be a good balance for the both of you

She will cuddle you while you ready and kiss your forehead or hand if she’s leaving somewhere

If she’s around she’ll make sure to have every meal with you, not exactly the best cook but if you like takeout she’s ya girl

You two can definitely smoke together after a long day of her ruling Asgard

There’s a lot of sweet scents in her room, you can lay there when she’s not around and relax

[strrawberrii]

love loop {one} myg

that pesky little thing called fate really is a bitch. 

pairing: min yoongi x reader

tag / warnings: some cursing

author note: sorry for being gone for so long! life happened. but i’m back with our favorite mint haired boy, min yoongi. this chapter really is an opener for the oc and her life. watch out for a certain mint haired boy. i hope you enjoy <3

The red string of fate. That pesky little thing called destiny that was tied to another person and locked in an eternal circle; a love loop. The very thing that changed the trajectory of my life, that blossomed chance and coincidence, that pushed me onto a different path and had me headed towards an individual that was about to make my life a living hell.

It was like the world had become suffocating and the days seemed to stretch endlessly and blur together in a way that made me anxious. It was times like these that made my head spin as I tried my hardest to look past the haze and fog that somehow became a permanent resident in my head to think of the last time I had even eaten anything. The listless weeks that stretched on seemed to always end like this; questions bogging down my body and mind until I just couldn’t take it anymore and would eventually let myself fall into a restless slumber. Life had become one long spin cycle and I was starting to feel like there was really no exit sign to the monotony of it all.

But, in all reality, it really was all my fault.

I’d lost the only thing I’d ever really cared about when the company I’d started to work for after college got bought out by a larger one. They dissolved my department and thus all the workers in it. I’d been surviving on endless cup noodles and cold tea ever since as I bounced around from one part time job to another just to make the bills on time. If it hadn’t been for some of the leftovers from my cafe job as the owner took pity on me, I think I would have at one point or another completely starved to death.

As if, I thought bitterly as I wiped down the last table of my shift, I’d ever be so lucky.

The sound of the clock was alarming as it ticked...ticked...ticked...ever so slowly and it was all my mind could process as I tried too hard to let the time pass without obsession. This night needed to be done and over with. This month was the coldest of the year so far and the dreary sky outside did nothing to help with the depressive mood that succumbed me. As much as I tried endlessly to think of anything else, it was futile. The gurgle in my stomach proved as much as I sighed as realization hit that I’d more than likely have to walk all the way home to afford a hot meal or sacrifice dinner for some fleeting warmth. As much as the owners of the small cafe let me have my fair share of meals, it was by no means a solution to the issues I found plaguing me at the end of every day and I would by no means take advantage of their kind hospitality. It was, after all, all my fault I found myself in this mess.

I couldn’t help but sigh a long and aggravated breath. Art and design, I thought sourly again. Who was I to think that I could pull that off? That I would actually have a life and a career out of something like that? It was thoughts like these that occupied my mind a lot these days as the clock continued to tick...tick...tick and I continued to berate myself so much that I felt hot tears forming at the corner of my eyelids. The department I had worked in had been so small that it was only made up of a handful of people and I had been so elated when I got that job, thinking that life was actually starting to look up from everything I’d been through before, only to realize a beat too late that a happy ending just wasn't in the cards for me it seemed. At least, I thought as I tossed the rag I had been holding down, not in something I loved.

“You’re free to go, dear.” Kyung-Hu, the owner of the cafe, patted the top of my head to gain my attention and snap me out of my sulk fest. He was a greying old man who had taken pity upon me when he found me sleeping at the bus stop a street over from the cafe front. He’d been letting me work crazy hours to try and afford to be a human ever since. “Try not to fall asleep this time, yeah?” Despite my foul mood, I could never ever deny that Kyung-Hu and his wife, Ji-hyun, had saved me in a time when I was at my lowest. I felt a smile willingly break out on my chapped lips as his eyes crinkled when he did the same.

“Are you sure? You don’t need me to close with you tonight?” I watched as he sighed, shaking his head as he patted mine again. In most cases it felt that Kyung-Hu and Ji-hyun treated me like I was one of their children. Something that, although I would stubbornly never admit to, made being alone in this big city not so bad. Thinking that I also thought of my own parents and how, the last time we’d spoken, things didn’t go so well.

“Go home. Get some rest, okay? This old man will be fine to close alone.”

“If you’re sure.” I couldn’t help but smile again despite my disappointment that he was sending me home. Even though I wanted the night to be over with, that didn’t mean that I wanted to leave the free heat or leave the old man by himself. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gramps.” He laughed at the nickname as the bell over the door signaled that we had a customer as I turned around to walk towards the back room; thoughts wholly preoccupied with the dilemma that faced me and no longer any concerns for customers since the old man had freed me of my duty to care.

Food or warmth? I wracked my brain, going back and forth. Food or warmth? Would I rather walk an hour in the slushy cold or have a full belly? Sighing, I picked up my belongings and walked back out onto the floor, no closer towards an outcome of food or warmth or, really, anything to solve any problem in my life as the list was vastly long and overwhelming. The only thing I could be thankful for in that moment was the warmth the cafe was gifting me as I was currently trying my hardest to remain inside the slower and slower I walked towards the bitter air outside.

The cafe, Fleur de Seoul, was small and tucked away in an endless row of buildings that housed everything from karaoke bars to office spaces. It was in a good neighborhood and was very popular amongst the twenty-somethings and young business crowd for it’s endless layers of nostalgia for a fairytale-like space - walls covered in art, a book exchange tucked in the corner underneath a news clipping of their opening that, no matter how many times you tried, would never hang on the wall straight. Dried flowers hung from the ceiling so the whole place was coated in a field of beauty and smelt like heaven with the notes of coffee and flowers wafting every which way. It was nice, nestled underneath ivy and baby's breath that Kyung-Hu liked to freshen every other week and it was by all means my second home. I had started to sit inside on days where I had nothing else to do but bum the heat off the old man when I couldn’t afford to get mine turned back on, get a cup of hot tea and sketch for hours until I had to walk back to my cold ass hole in the wall.

I couldn’t help but curse as my thoughts were stuck, dreading the thought of what I was going back to. So lost in thought, in fact, that I didn’t notice the mint haired boy narrowly miss me as I passed through the cafe unaware that despite not really believing in coincidences, the red string of fate was tugging at my pinky as I tried my best to drown myself in layers of clothing to bite off the nipping and inevitable cold. I needed to be reminded that, while fully unaware that my trajectory of life was about to completely change, fate was in fact a cruel bitch who was out to get me.

[huihuiheart]

Classy - Park Junhee

Summary: Junhee shocked everyone when he confessed to you during the last week of class, giving you his class ring as a sign of his affections for all to see. If only they knew the real meanings behind that gift.

Paring: Jock/Popular Junhee x F! Reader - College au

Warnings: Beer pong, drinking, unprotected sex, rough sex, dom/sub themes, ring kink, manhandling, oral (male receiving), face fucking, hair pulling, spanking, mention of marks, fingering, degradation, daddy kink, light slapping, bondage, light choking, slight breeding kink, overstimulation.

Word Count: 5,410

“Yes Y/N I’m serious, I want you to come play as my partner. No tricks or conditions I genuinely want you there.” Junhee had patiently spent the last ten minutes trying to convince you to play beer pong with him. Despite barely having ever had contact with him before. You had one class together and one project, but you worked on it in class with the rest of a group of five. Never had either of you reached out to the other as like a social hangout, especially when you came from two entirely different groups. Junhee was here on a sports scholarship, and while not being the star or his career choice there was no doubt that he was athletic and a favorite player on the team. He also was graduating in two months and moving onto a university to continue his studies in what he actually wanted to pursue for his future. You on the other hand still had a year of college left before you moved on to university, focusing your studies in the science department, but waiting to fully chose a major until university. Not sure if medical, forensics, or botany spoke to you yet, while he seemed so sure of where his life was going. Hence why you two had only passed in one general education class all this time, well before this party that your friends insisted on dragging you to before you had to cram for any finals.

“Sorry, I’m just really confused as to why you’d want me to play with you. I’ve never played before and we haven’t really talked, so I’m just surprised.” You admit causing Junhee to chuckle as he grabs your write and leads you off to the table where his friend  Donghun and his girlfriend were already waiting.

“Exactly! So you can learn something new and we’ll get a change to really know each other since we didn’t during that project.” The way he smiled at you and seemed to remember you so genuinely blew you away a little. You knew he was a kind person, you could always tell but there just simply wasn’t much reason for him to notice you at least to your knowledge, “It’ll be lots of fun I promise, and if you don’t enjoy it then we can always just have a conversation or something.”

You gave a small nod, giving in to his slightly pushy but in all considerate nature. You could give something new a try especially if the person introducing you to in was willing to let it go instead of forcing you to continue if you didn’t enjoy it. Not that you really had to worry about getting too drunk though, Junhee was good enough at this for the both of you and easily won. Wordlessly stepping aside to let another pair take over to just talk with you, incase you weren’t comfortable speaking up.

“So that wasn’t too bad was it?” His voice is playful as he takes a spot besides you in a quieter corner of the party, knowing you at least found yourself laughing a few times during the game. 

“No, I survived just fine thanks to you. Though I think one game a party is enough for me. I don’t really like getting drunk in places like this.” Your voice weakens with your admission as if ready for him to mock you for something that seemed so silly even though as a woman it was so normal.

“Yeah, it’s hard to know who’s here and if you can trust them, especially with all the things that happen. I won’t make you drink anymore if you don’t want though.” Junhee assured you before offering a change of subject after if you wanted it, placing your comfort as his priority even though you were just getting to know each other. An hour of just talking passed before you knew it and you almost....almost felt bad about stealing him away from the party. It was too easy to enjoy his presence though, too nice to have someone to talk to after being dragged someplace you didn’t want to be and then abandoned by your friends. 

“I’m going to be honest Y/N. I didn’t want to get to know you so we could be friends. I wanted to get to know you so that I could ask you out.” Junhee admits bluntly to you his admission stunning you for a moment before you collect your thoughts again.

“Really? So like a fling? Cause after graduation you’ll be onto bigger and better won’t you?” You wouldn’t think less of him for it, but he wasn’t going to be around much longer so you wanted to know what you would be getting into if you were to agree.

“I mean if that’s all it ends up being then yeah I guess a fling. Honestly though I’ve been looking for an excuse to come ask you all year, so if it works out to be more then I wouldn’t be opposed at all.” Junhee’s warm palm cupped your cheek, contrasting with the cool metal bands of the rings on his fingers as he gently tilts your head to look at him, “I’m not just asking so that I can play with your feelings though.”

Junhee’s been so genuine with you all evening that you can’t help but believe his words now too, especially when he leans in to press his lips against yours in the gentlest, most fragile of ways. As if he was afraid to scare you away, but also couldn’t hold back any longer. Only easing up when he feels you responding to his kiss, you two becoming lost in your little corner away from the chaos of the party. Until your phone buzzed anyways, your friend sending you an sos message and meaning you’d have to leave Junhee. Both of you cursing later that night upon realizing that in the daze from the kiss neither of you had given the other your number.

Junhee was more than proactive about resolving that situation though as he waited by the entrance closest to where most of your classes were located the next morning, searching for any sign of you from his post. Weaving through groups of grumbling people to reach you when he finally spotted you.

“Y/N! Hey, I forgot to give you my number last night. I mean if you wanted it anyways. If not that’s fine and I’ll just let you get to class.” Junhee nervously rubs the back of his neck, not having thought of the possibility that you might have intentionally not exchanged numbers until he’d already practically stalked you at the entrance of the collage. 

You giggle a little at his anxious behavior, noticing the confidence he usually had fade away some, but the sound of your laughter does get him to relax some, “Have you been waiting here all morning for me?”

Junhee nods bashfully as his cheeks dust with a faint pink hue, something rather uncharacteristic for him, “Y-Yeah I skipped my morning coffee and came straight here cause I didn’t want to miss you.” 

“Well we can’t have that, you won’t survive morning classes without caffeine and well...neither will I for that matter. Come, I’ll give you my number over a cup of coffee before things get too crazy today. Besides you still have to sweettalk me into actually going on a date with you.” You tease him slightly already walking past to head to the cafe on campus a familiar first stop for you anyways, though it would be nice to have someone with you for a change.

In almost the blink of an eye a month and a half had passed and with just two weeks left until Junhee graduated you knew you were falling too fast. Too fast to be able to let him go like you knew you probably would, but also too far gone to be able to give up what time you had left with him. He’d been the perfect gentleman with you though, taking things slow perhaps too slow even. His confident nature there, but yet he’d never try to fluster you sexually. Though you couldn’t deny that you’d felt more than just curiosity in that regard, especially when you went to his games. Watching the way he’d move and his muscles flex, or the way he’d lift his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face and shoot a smug look into the crowd in the direction he knew you were. That being the only peek into that side of him you’d get. You were curious about whether that gentleman who could be so sweet to you over dinner was the same man Junhee would be in bed with you and you were determined to find out. Though your chance came much sooner than you expected and sending your heart racing, body tensing under the familiar touch of his arms weaving around your waist from behind. It barely teasing as his fingers peaked under your shirt that had ridden up, warm against your skin but given away as the chilled metal of the rings he always wore sent shivers through you.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you baby. Your roommate let me in when she was heading out.” Junhee’s brows furrow afraid he’s frightened you, placing a sweet peck against your neck as his thumbs brush against your skin trying to calm you again. Not realizing the real reason behind your tensing, “ I wanted to surprise you with dinner out tonight so you could relieve more of that stress from finals, but you’re already cooking.”

You place your own sweet kiss to his subtle pout, “You’re stressed from yours too, so it’s alright we can stay in tonight. Eating good food and relieving our stress in other ways.”

The way you purr out the words and smirk at him has his brow raising as he watches you, not used to you being like that. Not that he was one to complain, but he decided to play it off wondering what you’d do if he did, hands coming up to your shoulders and massaging gently, “That’s sweet of you baby, let’s do that tonight. Relax and recover from all that stress.”

You know his words are meant to tease slightly, but you don’t know if he’s trying to test you or not. You know that it suddenly makes you more impatient though, thinking over your next move as your hands slip over his on your skin, looking down and admiring how the red gem of his class ring glitters in the light, “You know you don’t have to hold back with me right? You’ve made this perfect, but you don’t have to be soft and sweet like that with me all the time. You won’t scare me away Junhee, it’s too late for that.” 

“It’s too late for that? What do you mean?” Junhee’s brows furrow as he shifts to look at your face, trying to get a read on you and understand what you mean. Leading you to take a shaky breath knowing you were possibly going to say something too soon, but hopefully it wasn’t something you shouldn’t say right now.

“I mean I love you Junhee. And maybe this will all be over in a few weeks, but I want every second I have with you to count. For it to be with you as a whole. Not for you to hold yourself back for my sake, because you never have to.” As the soft spoken words leave your lips, Junhee slips a hand up to cup your cheek and turn you to face him. Not answering with words right away, but instead capturing your lips in a searing kiss. 

“Are you sure that’s what you want? I can be a bit much.” Junhee chuckles, but there’s concern written on his face, especially in his eyes as they search your own for any sign of hesitation. Not that they find any there, you already sure of what you want from him. 

“I’m sure, I’ve thought about it and I know what I want. So why are you still holding back?” You murmur against his lips, only for him to chuckle at you again his eyes darkening as he backs you up to pin you against the counter. 

“Because I was trying to let you finish cooking, my baby was working hard and I wanted to appreciate that.” Junhee grips your jaw, squishing your cheeks slightly, “But if you’re so impatient then I guess I can take care of those needs for you baby. It’ll just be on my time table.” 

Junhee’s eyes flick down noticing movement and smirking as he notices you pressing your thighs together not as subtle as you thought you were. Not continuing though until you admit whether through words or actions that you want him to fuck you now, before anything else. You doing that by reaching back to turn of the stove and try to nudge Junhee away so you could lead him towards your bedroom in case your roommates decided to come home. Junhee quickly gripping your hips before you can get far though and pressing you against his form, kissing you heatedly, teeth flashing in to nip at your lips as he leads you back into your room and quickly slamming the door shut, your impatience rubbing off on him as he practically tosses you onto the bed. Growling low in his chest as he nips at your throat when you desperately try to claw his shirt off. Pulling back to take care of that for you.

“Tsk so desperate, it’s always the shy ones that are the filthiest little sluts. Isn’t that right?” Junhee gives a light slap to your cheek, the feel of his rings making you gasp even though there’s no real sting with it. Simply enough to pull you out of your daze at seeing his body and back to his words, “You won’t get anything without your words, come on be a good little slut and use them for me.”

You bat your lashes innocently at him as if you weren’t preparing to be a brat and see just what you could get out of him, “Why don’t you make me daddy? After all you haven’t given me any reason to be a good little slut for you, so why should I?” 

Junhee raises a brow watching the way your fingers trace over his belt buckle and he shakes his head with the click of his tongue pulling you up and practically ripping your shirt off. Smirking as your hands follow his movements while he undoes his belt, practically drooling as you anticipate the sight of him. Though he surprises you by stopping after he’s slipped his belt off, moving behind you to pull your wrists behind your back and secure them with his belt. The leather digging in just enough to sting, but not to actually hurt you a softer side of him peaking out for a moment as he kisses your temple.

“We’ll come up with a system later, but for now if it’s too much or you need be to stop just say so. Do you understand?” His words are soft against the shell of your ear, a nod not sufficient as he lightly slaps your thigh in warning, “Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand daddy.” You vocalize, getting a hum of approval and one last kiss to your temple, before Junhee’s fingers weave into your hair and grip firmly as he moves in front of your again, free hand working the rest of his clothes off enough to free his cock. 

“Good, now let’s see if we we can’t teach that pretty little mouth of yours some manners hm?” Junhee raises a brow leading you down, grip lose enough to let you ease into taking his length, but firm enough to let you know he won’t let you tease him, “Come on baby, you can take it. Or is your mouth only good for talking back and begging to be fucked silly?” 

His words along with the shallow nudge of his hips is enough to encourage you to take him deeper, not letting up until you take all of him. Determined to prove yourself now that you were finally getting his cock like you wanted, reveling in the way his hips thrust forward with a low groan as a result. He didn’t let you have the control long though as his hand gripping your hair tightened to hold you in place, thrusting into your mouth with more vigor once he knew you could take it. The sight of you driving him crazy, the way your swollen lips looked around him, spit and tears glistening as they dirtied your face, but your eyes stayed locked on his unwavering through it all. Until he had to pull you off him before he lock control of himself and came down your throat, that not being what he had in mind today. You whine though, moving to take him into your mouth again as soon as his grip on your hair loosens, wanting to make him fall apart because of your actions. 

“Babe you gotta slow down.” Junhee moans out, head falling back feeling his resolve breaking as you don’t let up even hearing his words. Almost giving into what you wanted knowing part of him wanted it too, but pushing that down and taking control again wanting you to be the one that was falling apart right now, not the other way around. Pulling you off his cock again and up to kiss you, tugging your bottom lip in a harsher bite after. Your actions getting him riled up as he moves to get the rest of your clothes off, having to rip your bra with your hands bound to expose you. Licking his lips as he spots the way your arousal already has glistens in the light, fingers running through your slit to collect your wetness, bringing his fingers up to lick clean with a smirk.

“If only I could reward you right now, but you still haven’t learned your lesson have you?” Junhee teases your lips but stays just far enough to not give you quite what you want, your giggle in response only heating him up more. Him moving your body to his liking as he presses your face down and ass up for him, hands kneading your flesh greedily as the sight sends a spike of arousal through him, making his cock throb. His skin felt almost fire hot against yours, but his rings were still chilled from the air, sending a chill through your spine. Though that changed to a different feeling as his touch vanished only for his hand to crack down against your ass a second later, already letting you feel bruises form where the metal bands had hit. Junhee setting a pattern that way, not touching you until a sudden swat to your ass. Them varying in strength, but none too gently. Him showing some mercy and only delivering twenty knowing it wasn’t something you were likely used to feeling and seeing the blossoming marks, gently rubbing over your bruised flesh and leaning down to leave a few kisses in his wake, though what you couldn’t see was the hungry way in which he eyed the way you were dripping down your thighs, only further enticing him.

“Look how well my little slut can take a punishment. Almost seems like you enjoyed it too.” Junhee chuckles his fingers trailing up your thighs and collecting the mess you’d made before running his slicked fingers through your folds. Free hand gripping your ass to stop you from pressing back when you try the first time, “Tsk you aren’t already forgetting the lesson I just taught are you? What do you have to do if you want something slut?”

“I-I have to ask daddy for it like a good little slut.” You whine drawing your lip between your teeth, “Daddy please can I have your cock now? I already learned my lesson and can be good for you I just want you to fuck me already.”

Your little pouty huff makes Junhee laugh, teasing your entrance with the tips of his fingers, “Don’t get all huffy with me slut, you’ll get what you want in due time. Once I determine that you’ve earned it. Until then you’ll take what I give you like a good little fuck doll and you’ll thank me for it.”

You didn’t have even have time to bite back a smart remark before two of his fingers finally slid into you, still teasing as he slowly moved them deeper until his rings pressed against your entrance sending chills of pleasure through you and earning a moan despite his teasing. Glancing down between your legs to see the same red gemmed ring you’d been admiring earlier glittering against your core now, as his fingers slowly moved in and out of you. Drops of your arousal smearing over it and only creating more sparking spots as your pussy clenched trying to draw Junhee’s digits deeper.

“Look at that greedy little pussy of yours, is this what it wants.” Junhee punctuates his words with a particularly hard thrust, curling his fingers against your sweet spot, “Want my fingers deep in the tight little cunt? Deeper than your fingers could ever get?”

“Yes daddy, want you to fuck me good with your fingers or your cock.” You mewl out eyes still fixated on his ring, knowing that every time you saw it now you’d end up thinking of this moment, especially as he picked up the pace. Knowing how good his fingers felt as he fucked you with them, letting himself open up this side of him to you like you’d been wanting for so long. You slicking them up enough that with each thrust of his fingers the rings started to press in as well, dragging against you to form delicious jolts of pleasure through you. Not that Junhee cared if you ruined his rings like that, not if it meant he saw you turning to putty beneath him, not even realizing how you squirmed in pleasure due to your fucked out state. Determined to bring you to fill you with as much pleasure as he possibly could before even fucking you. His free hand moving between your legs to rub roughly at your clit, losing his own patience as he leans down towards your ear, letting you feel his cock against your ass.

“You gonna fall apart for me baby? Go ahead baby, give into it. I know you want to. Show me how pretty you are when you cum.” Junhee softens slightly with his words, despite his rough actions still it proving to be all that was necessary to make the pleasure finally explode. Stars burring your vision as shock waves of pleasure and relief surged through you, slowly turning to a slightly good burn as Junhee’s fingers pressed on for just a moment longer to overstimulate you before slipping out gently to give you a moment of reprieve as his hands worked to undo his belt on your wrists. He gently rubs your wrists for a moment, helping bring back proper circulation before his hand grips your hip to help flip you onto your back, crawling over your form.

“I’m not done with you yet baby, you wanted me to hold nothing back so this is what you get....well when I’m in a good mood.” Junhee smirks and the thoughts that along with his words and the dark glint in his eyes conveys has you shuddering, wondering just what him being in a bad mood would entail. 

Junhee going to look through his pockets for a condom before you pull him back to you with a determined look in your eyes, “I’m on the pill and I said I didn’t want you to hold back, I meant anything when I said that. Unless you don’t want to cum in my sweet little pussy daddy?”

Junhee slaps your thigh hearing your coy attitude and little giggle, “Filthy fucking slut, do you actually know what you’re asking for? If I cum in this little cunt of yours I might just have to fuck you this good every day.” He rubs his tips through your folds teasingly, before finally pressing the head of his cock in, “You’d probably love that though wouldn’t you, dirty whore. You’d love for me to fuck load after load of cum into you whenever I wanted wouldn’t you? You’d beg me for that huh?”

"I-I would daddy, I'd need it so badly. I'd love every second of it just like I do now, cause I'm your dirty little slut." You mewl rolling your hips up only to stop when you feel Junhee's hand wrap around your neck, fingers slightly sticky with your essence still. He doesn't press down on your throat her, but his grip is firm enough to remind you of who was in charge right now and get you to stop your movements as you look back into his eyes.

"Then do it whore. Beg me." Junhee's lips quirk up again as he looks into your eyes seeing the brat in you take a backseat yet again to the submissive side, knowing that he was so close to giving you what you wanted and that all you had to do for it was give in that last little bit. 

“Daddy please, please fuck me. Use me to feel good, please. I want you to prove to me that no one can fuck me like you and for you to cum in me, to claim me like that please.” If not for the way his grip on your throat creeped higher until the pads of his fingers grasped your jaw and turned your face to look at him you might has squirmed beneath him more, but you were willing to contain yourself if it meant getting him to finally give into giving you what you both needed so badly in this moment.

“Alright baby, I’ll give you what you want. Just remember that you asked for this.” Junhee practically snarls at you, grip tightening just slightly, until you wonder if his rings will leave little bruises in their wake there as well. You only have a second to consider it though before your mind goes blank as he snaps his hips into yours full force. Not giving you more than a moment to adjust to the feeling of him inside you, before he’s pulling out again to set a pace without giving you a moment’s reprieve. The punishing thrusts of his good mood were mind numbing, blissing you out before you even had a moment to try and collect yourself. The one hand still secured around your throat as his free hand grips your hip, pulling you into each of his hard, quick thrusts. Soaking up your reactions and being sure to hit all the right spots after he found them.

“Look at you, already so fucked out and practically drooling over my cock and to think you seemed like such a sweet, innocent, little girl. Here you are though, falling apart all for daddy, hm?” Junhee’s words are teasing, picking up his pace as he brings your leg over his shoulder before letting his hand on your hip move between your legs to rub circles at your clit, feeling you clench and spasm around him, becoming more vocal, “ Oh? Does my little slut really like that? You like when I use you like a little fuck doll, moving you and fucking you however I please?”

“I-I do daddy, it’s what I wanted. What I needed from you. If you keep doing this I’m gonna cum.” Your whiny tone spurred Junhee on, stroking his ego and fueling his lust, determined to make you cum as many times as he could manage before he couldn’t hold back his own orgasm any longer. Though with how good you felt around him right now he wasn’t sure he’d be able to last too long today, though he was already planning ways to make up for it later on. 

“Then fucking do it. Cum all over daddy’s dick, let me feel what it’s like when that tight, little cunt makes a mess of my cock.” His words paired with a well angled thrust against your most sensitive spots had you tensing beneath him as your pleasure unraveled, spiraling you into your second orgasm for the evening before you had time to even register what was happening. Junhee’s continued thrusts making each wave of your release as euphoric as possible and even after not giving you much time to consider the slight burn of overstimulation as the knot in your stomach started to form and tighten yet again, “ I’m not filling up this little pussy until you cum for me again, you understand?”

You want to answer, but aren’t able to as his grip tightens just enough around your neck to restrict the airflow some, not fully cutting it off though. Your pussy only further tightening around his cock, something that gave away how much you enjoyed it and something he would have been more cocky about if he weren’t so far gone in his own pleasure. Junhee’s thighs starting to tense and quiver as he chases both of your impending highs, moaning much more than before at how vice like your cunt’s grip on him is.

“F-Filthy fucking whore, likes being choked. I wonder what else you little naughty girl. I can’t fucking wait to find out every little thing that sets you off baby, we’re gonna have so much fun. I promise you that. Right now I need you to cum one more time for daddy though.” Junhee’s voice cracks slightly as he pinches your clit, waiting to feel you cumming around him before he allows himself to cum as well, releasing thick streams of cum into you just like he’d promised to do.

Taking a moment to catch his breath before brushing the hair out of your face and kissing your forehead with a soft chuckle. Deciding that even though he’s going to be sweet once again he’ll tease you some as well, “Come on baby let’s get you showered before your roommates come back. I’ll clean up the kitchen and get us some food too. I think I relieved that stress of yours, but I don��t know that you’ll have your energy back for a bit.”

Walking down the hall during one of your longer breaks between classes to get your mid-day caffeine fix you saw Junhee waiting on your route for you much like he did the same way he did the day he got your number. 

“Hey babe, I wanted to talk to you about something. You got a minute?” He asks smiling sweetly as if he hadn’t just been super blatant in public about you two despite it still being relatively on the downlow still. It flustering you slightly, but you found it sweet at the same time. 

“Sure, you wanna go someplace quieter?” You question taking the hand that he offered you although a little confused by his sudden need to talk about something, especially with the faint pink dusting his cheeks.

“It’s fine. I’m right where I want to be. I just wanted to tell you, I’ve been thinking a lot and I..........I love you too. Not just for these few short months either and I want to keep loving you.” Junhee’s blush deepens slightly as he holds out his class ring to you with a shy laugh, “So what do you say? Will you continue to be mine?”

You feel heat rising to your own cheeks looking at the very ring that had a special place the night you told him that you loved him for the first time, gently taking it into your hand, “You already know the answer to that, of course I will.”

Junhee beamed pulling you in for a soft kiss, before leading the way towards the cafe already knowing where you’d been heading as he announced to the whole campus that you were a couple and you were going to stay that way.

[abiteofnat]

If you’re reading this, I’m coming back to Chicago, beetch

The non-existent rumors are true. After a brief 10-month exit from the city to soak up the fresh air and social distance-friendly suburbs, I am now returning to Chicago as a single, slightly more anxious version of myself. While I’m still trying to kick some of the anxiety and OCD that COVID-19 pushed from “lifelong tagalongs” to “all-controlling demons”, I feel 97% ready to be back where I feel most myself, and cannot wait to welcome that change. While that 3% still makes me a little uncomfy and hesitant, I’m a believer in pushing your boundaries to allow yourself to grow, and also, I am really sick of suburbs food. 

Ha! I joke. I wouldn’t move downtown simply for access to more diverse & higher quality food... or would I? All I know is while there are plenty of gems in the North Shore, I’ve eaten take out from all of them ten times over, and I did not foster my dislike of cooking out of nowhere. My parents do not enjoy cooking, my sister pretends to enjoy cooking, and I will cook if it is 5 ingredients or less. My latest speciality is a toasted bagel with butter, hummus, and EBTB seasoning. Voila. So when it comes to dinner, we are living off of a carousel of suburban favorites, and are losing steam as we are still not comfortable with dining inside (or dining inside in the city, where the fun food is). 

All of this to say, it’s exciting to imagine what life is going to be like in a few short weeks. While I’m still extra precautionary, I can’t wait to have my own space downtown, where I can enjoy coffee on my little balcony (!!!) and dream of the days friends can come squeeze into my studio safely while I lay out an entire table of sharable spreads and snacks from Ema (Charred Eggplant Spread is the best one, don’t fight me). 

So you may ask, how did you come to this decision to move to the heart of downtown out of seemingly nowhere, you hermit? 

It starts with my mom and I having a brief, simultaneous breakdown and coming to the conclusion that we would both feel comfortable doing a staycation downtown, as long as we wore masks, sanitized always, and braved the cold to eat outside. This was big for me! As a person with real OCD, not cute TV show “I have to keep my pens straight” OCD, this would be the most exposure I’d had to a lot of uncontrollable variables since the pandemic started. If you’re thinking, “you get to spend a weekend downtown in a hotel with your mom, shut up”, know that I hear you. I am unbelievably grateful that I’ve gotten this time with my parents, and that we can do a staycation. However, having anxiety comes at a cost, and that cost is blowing everything way the fuck out of proportion instead of being able to rationalize it sometimes. Let’s! Normalize! Having! This! Discussion!

So, we went downtown in early March for a two-night stay, and oh my goodness. The realization that we got to be in a different space, and do different things, and eat different food for a weekend made it feel like a legit vacation, and not like we drove 30 minutes to get there. The view from our room was of Michigan Ave, and hearing the traffic and seeing the people out and about instantly made me feel a sense of peace I wasn’t expecting. I’ve lived downtown for 6 years, but it always shocks me how much the city feels like an extension of me once I’m in it after being away. My mom and I went out for a walk (gentle yet forceful reminder to please wear a mask), then decided to grab dinner while we were out. The plan was to bring it back to the room, but there was a warm spell, and there just happened to be a table for two at Topolobampo on Clark, and suddenly we were sitting on the patio under the lights eating masa quesadillas dipped in a spicy salsa verde. It just happened!!! 

Before getting downtown, I was tentatively looking at apartments for the spring. I was looking at Lincoln Park, Old Town, maybe Lakeview, and came across a listing in the Gold Cost that caught my eye. That one was swiped out from under me within days, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the area. Then I discovered another unit that was available, and couldn’t shake it from my mind. Over mushroom tacos I discussed it with my mom, and we decided to go see it. Totally not what I had been planning for in terms of location, but why not? 

Once we polished off breakfast the next morning (Eggs Benedict with fried eggs, extra hollandaise) we headed out to see the place. Let me say I have never seen my mom fall in love with a single apartment I’ve lived in, and she was ALL. FOR. IT. Unreal reaction on her part. Once I saw the west-facing views and the incredible natural lighting, I was 100% in as well.

We spent the rest of the weekend wandering the downtown area, enjoying another dinner outside at The Gwen and my mom’s first visit to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which was 95% more empty than I’ve ever seen it given we went in a pandemic at 8:30PM. Shit on Starbucks all you want, but that Roastery is an incredible use of space (in non-pandemic times) and the coffee & Princi pastries are really, really good. 

When we got back home feeling refreshed and like we had actually gone on a vacation, I jumped into apartment shark mode real fast and signed as many documents as the very kind realtor could send over. One week later, whabaam, I was a Gold Coast girl. Ahem, *lady*. What better way to celebrate than going to Somerset and having the Rapini & Roasted Garlic Flatbread and Wild Mushroom Risotto? No clue. As I sat outside, yet again with my mom, I felt a wave of excitement come over me and realized, this is it. This is the sign and feeling I’ve been waiting for, telling me it’s time to move back to the city and start over. The creamy, herbacious risotto also helped solidify that. 

SO. After all of that, the news is I’m moving, and you’re probably wondering why I shared all of this on a blog about food. I meant for this post to be about everywhere I ate during my staycation, but realized quickly we ate at some very basic places - DELICIOUS, but still basic. Oops. Below are all the dishes I had and a rundown of the flavors, textures, etc., however don’t expect to find any new, revolutionary restaurants. Sorry! 

1. Topolobampo 

This Rick Bayless restaurant has been around forever, and unfortunately, you can tell by the interior. We’ve eaten here as a family a couple of times before, but never had a noteworthy experience. I can confirm that in a pinch, the patio covered in fun lights & mini piñatas, and the sharable, filling bites will do just fine. This was my first time going to a Mexican restaurant as a non-alcohol drinker, and instead of my typical mezcal margarita, I opted for a Fresh Limeaide which was refreshing and flavorful. We split the Guacamole and Chips, which if you’ve ever stopped at the Frontera in O’Hare, you know is good as fuck. It’s smooth, creamy, tangy, and topped with chopped onions and cilantro for a little crunch. It’s not the most life-changing, but it is consistently satisfying. Next, we got the Mushroom Tacos and Masa Quesadillas. The Masa Quesadillas were a fun surprise, as instead of a tortilla, the masa is what makes up the outside. They are almost like empanadas and stuffed with gooey, melty cheese, and come with a spicy salsa verde on the side. I would come back for these alone - they’re rich yet light, warm, and comforting, all the things you would want when dining outside when it’s still a little chilly. The Mushroom Tacos were quite frankly unreal, because whatever they seasoned the mushroom slices with and grilled them on made them taste unlike any mushroom I’ve had before. There was definitely some meat crossover on the grill, so don’t order those if you’re vegan, or ask them to prepare the mushroom separately. I however was LOSING MY MIND. Over mushrooms. The joys of being vegetarian! 

2. The Gwen

On a happening Saturday night in Chicago, Upstairs at The Gwen is sure to be a packed scene. Located in River North, this hotel bar/restaurant offers a somehow cozy rooftop filled with loungey couches, fire pits, and ambient lighting, even though you’re surrounded by apartments and skyscrapers and there is nothing “cozy” about River North. Every table was filled, yet since you’re outside and it’s fairy spread apart, it still felt safe. I got my new classic, a Lemonade, and we got the Burrata to start. With sourdough, roasted beets, squash, pomegranate, pistachio, & arugula, this plate was nothing short of mouth-watering. It has textures! It has flavors! It has pomegranate seeds, the TikTok must have of the moment! The bread was 10/10, the burrata was 8/10, and all of the toppings made for a very find bite of salad on their own. For my main I got the Lobster Fettucine, a beautiful bowl of “charcoal fettuccine with saffron-tomato sauce, lobster, calabrian chili butter, and basil-brioche crumbs” as listed on their website. Take any of those ingredients and it’s going to be delicious, but all of them TOGETHER? INCREDIBLE. The chunks of lobster were huge, absolutely making the dish worth its price tag, and the sauce was flavorful, unique, and unlike any sauce I’ve tasted in the last few years. It’s typical to do a squid ink pasta with seafood and tomato sauce, but the saffron added a new element I very much appreciated. 

3. The Starbucks Roastery 

I KNOW. THIS IS A TOURIST DESTINATION. All I am saying is if there’s no line, go get an iced latte with two packets of sugar in the raw. That’s all. It’s really good after something like, I don’t know, Lobster Fettucine. 

4. The Penninsula 

You cannot go wrong with hitting up The Penninsula for breakfast or brunch, especially if you are staying there and have the option to do room service. Typically we would go to Pierrot Gourmet, the cafe in the ground floor of The Penninsula, however it has been closed temporarily. If there’s one thing to order with your breakfast, it’s the smashed fingerling potatoes. Delish. 

5. Somerset 

Somerset is becoming a quick go-to of mine for an impromptu dinner downtown, given it’s in the heart of Gold Coast and is cute if you’re sitting indoors or outdoors. The food is nothing too innovative, but it is done well, which is the most important part with “cuter” restaurants that may focus on the Instagram appeal over the food sometimes. Each time I’ve gone I’ve gotten the seasonal flatbread and a pasta or risotto, usually something with mushrooms, and it’s always been plate-licking good. To drink, I got -you guessed it- a Lemonade! For dinner I went with the Wild Mushroom Risotto which was everything you could hope for in a risotto, topped with olive oil, herbs, and local parmesan. We split the Rapini & Roasted Garlic Flatbread which was as it sounds, flatbread covered in rapini, garlic, and ricotta, which added a nice crunch and had enough rapini to feel like it was replacing a boring vegetable side dish or salad. The patio vibes were wonderful, the judgemental girls in the greenhouses looked like they were having a good time, and our waiter couldn’t have been sweeter. I will be going back to try the Fontina Arancini, which I just noticed on the menu. FRICK. 

So there you have it, a very long-winded explanation of the last few weeks of my life and where you can find me on a staycation in Chicago. Hopefully once I move back to the city I’ll have endless new spots to try and won’t be basic anymore! 

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie 

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

Also since i imagine it would go very differently, MC inviting Runa to meet her parents (and whatever anxious angst that idea conjures in Runa) including the meeting?

Written by @shootingstarwithagrudge

Runa’s hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight as I watched her through the window at the front of the Cafe. This was always my favorite way to see her, when she thought no one was looking and could really let all her walls down. Her face was calm and serene even as she picked at her nails, obviously nervous. When I had first brought up the prospect of meeting my parents, Runa had paled at the thought. But after explaining to her that once we were married, they would be her family too, she began to warm up to the idea. I think deep down inside, the thought of having a normal family that didn’t try to manipulate her at any cost, was extremely important to her. I make my way through the cafe door, and Runa quickly turns her attention to me.

“What were you even doing in there? Physically sewing a new outfit to wear?” Even with her eyes narrowed I can tell she’s only slightly annoyed. More from nerves than anything. I’ve come to know Runa’s defense mechanisms pretty well by now. Even though she had come so far from the angry waitress I first met, she still depended on her walls when she was feeling nervous.

“Sorry - I saw this beautiful creature through the Cafe window, and I just had to stop for a moment and admire her” I give her my most disarming smile, which only gets me an eye roll.

“Yeah, OK. Dork.” Her words are a little sharp, but she has the slightest shade of pink to her cheeks as she says them.

“You think I’m a dork? Just wait until you meet my parents” I laugh. My parents were the epitome of average. Their most prized possession being a complete set of encyclopedias from the eighties. And the idea of them finally meeting this wild and fiery woman I was in love with, brought me so much joy.

“Yeah…” Runa replies with a far away tone. She’s been stressing pretty hard over this night, so I remain quiet until she’s finished. “I just hope I don’t say anything dumb. I’m assuming since you’re such a nerd, they’re probably pretty smart for a couple of humans.”

“Runa, they’re going to love you. Just be the amazingly charming woman I fell in love with.” I give her a cheeky grin and she scoffs.

“I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, babe… charming not being one of them.” She quickly falls in step with me as we make our way through the bushes separating our two worlds.

After a few minutes of walking in silence we reach the only bus stop walking distance from the Cafe. Luckily I don’t have to explain too much of how public transit works since Runa was more familiar with the human world than most magicians. And other than the two exceptionally ripe travellers that decided to sit a seat over from us, our ride is supremely uneventful. As we finally approach the stop in front of my parents house, I’m overcome with giddiness. It’s like two complete polar sides of my life were finally merging. Not being able to contain my joy, I audibly squeal as we exit the bus.

“Oh my god. How did I fall in love with such a nerd?” I turn to face Runa prepared to give her back a little lip, but the look on her face was one of pure affection. I feel myself immediately blush as I take her hand in mine. She smiles at me before taking a deep grounding breath.

“Well, it’s now or never.” She let’s out with an exhale as we make our way towards the front door. A part of me was a bit surprised at just how much their house hadn’t changed. I guess since so much in my life had changed, I inexplicably expected theirs to have as well. I can hear the tv as we reach the front step and I laugh. Nat Geo was on. Too perfect. I give Runa one last reassuring smile and swing the door open.

“Mom! Dad!”

Just as expected, Mom was in the kitchen preparing a veritable feast. I could tell she’d been cooking all day by her slightly frazzled appearance, but she still looked amazing. She makes a beeline for us before I can say another word.

“Willem! You’re offspring is here!” She yells towards the direction of the study before bringing me in for a bone breaking hug. “Oh, honey.. We have missed you.”

“Missed you too, Mom.” I left out with a laugh.

“Hey there, Cupcake!”

Dad walks in with a newspaper in one hand and an old mystery novel in the other. One I’ve personally seen him read at least 20 times. When I turn to give him a hug, I catch Runa’s eyes and she looks like she’s about to burst with laughter as she mouths the word “Cupcake?” to me. I narrow my eyes and she chuckles. I look up from Dad’s hug and motion to Runa awkwardly.

“Mom, Dad this… is Runa.” With the smile that reaches my face, it’s pretty transparent how much I love her. Dad and Mom both excitedly make their way over. Shaking her hands, and topped with the ever so awkward hug. My heart swells with the image of them three together. My two worlds colliding.

“Runa, dear. It’s so nice to meet you!” Mom gushes. Runa gives a nervous laugh before Dad claps her on the back in total Dad manner.

“So, Runa! That’s such an interesting name! Runa. Where does it come from?” Runa’s eyes go wide as my Dad waits for an answer. She looks to me before trying her best to answer coherently.

“Uh.. W-well M-mr.. ah-. M-Mr. Wellem.. Uh, sir.”

She pauses and tries to center herself. Taking a long, deep breath, she opens her eyes looking slightly more centred. I look down to find her doing her finger exercises.

“Uh.. So.. Runa was my Great Grandmother’s name, actually. She was the only other one in the family born with pink hair.” My parents eyes go wide at that and Runa immediately realizes her slip up. She pales slightly, swallowing hard as I subconsciously try to figure out how I’m going to explain this. But before I can even respond, both of my parents start laughing.

“Oh, she’s a funny one, Cupcake. You better hold onto her.” Dad waggles his finger at me as he shakes his head.

Runa finally releases the breath she’s been holding, and I let out a nervous laugh.

“Haha - Yeah, Runa here is a regular card.” I playfully clap Runa on the shoulder, pulling her closer.

“Y-yep. Th-that’s me. Ol’ hilarious Runa.”

My parents are still laughing as they lead us towards the dining room. I give Runa a smirk and she rolls her eyes, taking my hand. She stops abruptly though when we reach the armour with all my childhood photographs. My breath catches while I wait to see which photo has caught her eye.

“Oh my gods, babe.. Is this you!?” She holds up a particularly embarrassing picture of me from my 4th grade Science Fair. I groan loudly. “I mean. Of course it’s you! Look at my cute little dork being all nerdy and cute.”

I laugh at her unique choice of affections, and take the picture in my hands. I can’t believe my parents still had this thing framed. My completely out of control hair, white lab coat and over sized goggles made for one of the nerdiest sights to ever exist.

“Uh. Yep. Let’s just put that back where it came from.”

Runa laughs as I quickly put the photo back. I look up to meet her eyes, and her smile has turned so fond that I immediately blush. She leans in for a kiss, which I gladly return. My heart so overwhelmed with joy, I was almost certain it would burst all over my Mom’s hard cooked meal.

“Come on, let’s go before your human food gets too cold to tolerate.”

Runa takes me by the hand and leads me the rest of the way down the hallway and into the dining room. Mom had done such a beautiful job at setting the table that it almost felt as magical as something we would set up at the Cafe. I quickly take a seat across from my parents with Runa seated next to me. I point out all the tasty foods she should try and realize this probably looked a little weird to my parents, but they make no indication as such, so I continue.

“So Runa.. what part of Europe are you from? I’ve been trying to pinpoint your accent, but it’s so unique.” Dad’s question catches us both off guard. Runa’s eyes growing wide as she looks to me. Shit. I had totally forgotten I’d told my parents in my first letter that I was in Europe. This was something neither of us had a prepared answer for.

“Uh, Runa is actually from a town not too far from here, Dad. She just happened to be spending a bit of time in uh.. Belgium.. while I was there.” I spit out the response so quickly, without giving it much thought, hoping it would suffice my Father’s curiosities. He hums in thought before speaking again.

“And how did you like your time in Belgium Runa? How was it there?” I can tell Dad is just trying to be friendly by getting to know her, but I can see the fork shaking in Runa’s hand while she tries to think of an answer.

“Um.. it was nice? Very uh .. Belgium-y? And they had really good… waffles?”

Her answers come out more like a questions as she tries to remember any facts about Belgium. Lucky for us though, Dad doesn’t pry any further and goes back to his roast duck. I can hear Runa release a sharp exhale with a chuckle. Obviously glad to have dogged that bullet. I meet her eyes and mouth the words ’I’m sorry’ which she immediately waves off.

As the dinner goes on, I can’t help but just sit back and watch. When I had first realized my feelings for Runa, I never in my wildest dreams thought she’d be sitting here, in my childhood home, at the dining room table where I used to color, eating a human dinner, with my extraordinarily human parents. The ring Runa gave me sparkling in the dim light. The pink glow bringing me out of my thoughts as it catches my eye. It looked brighter somehow. Warmer. And as I catch Runa’s face, it comes to my attention that the ring was feeding directly off of Runa’s emotions. She was happy. Exceedingly so. She had a family now. And that was all I could ever ask for. I run my finger across the small jewel before trying my best to jump back into the conversation, which had taken an odd turn into laundromats. I laugh, knowing deep down inside that this was everything I could have ever wanted. I was more content than I had ever been, and I had no one but Runa to thank for that.

[alkae]

They Were Roommates

Chapter Two

There was a small cafe in the middle of campus that everyone flocked to like a murder of crows. One could be expected to find it full and bustling every day of the week. And of course, that’s where Hugo decided to take Varian as recompense.

Hugo was wearing his jacket again and Varian kept catching a whiff of espresso everytime the wind changed direction. He shouldn’t judge, though. Despite all the scrubbing he did in the bathroom, there was just a hint of coffee on him that he could smell whenever he sat down. He cringed as he took a seat with Hugo at a table near the window. What did they put in that coffee that made the scent so strong? And permanent?

Hugo must’ve caught onto his thoughts because he smirked. Varian was starting to hate that stupid smirk. “I get coffee every morning,” he said with no preamble. Varian felt a sigh building up in his chest. “Same place, same order. The workers know my name and my face.” He winks. “Makes me a shoe-in for dates.”

Varian released the sigh. “You get a lot of those?”

His roommate looked at him, face serious. “Isn’t that what this is?”

Varian threw a straw wrapper at him. Hugo laughed.

“Okay, okay, Hairstripe. We’ll get there eventually.”

“Sure sure,” Varian said offhandedly. “Is the food ready?”

Hugo leaned back in his chair. “We just ordered. Calm yourself.”

How could he? He was starving. Hugo had his coffee, Varian had his ham sandwiches.

“So.” Hugo put his hands palm down on the table, slamming it just enough for it to make noise. “You’re my roomie.”

Varian crossed his arms. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

“What is this, a job interview?”

That smirk was back. Varian refused to let it affect him. “Humor me, Ruddiger.”

Varian rolled his eyes yet a small smile creeped on his lips. He told Hugo about his dad, a good, hardworking farmer and war veteran who was admittedly surprised when Varian got a scholarship to CU. He told Hugo about Ruddiger (he wasn’t good at names when he was 10), his small gray terrier who he loved more than anything in the world.

Hugo in turn told him about his pet mouse Olivia (“Interesting pet and name choice,” Varian had remarked. Hugo gave him a shut up look) and how he wanted to go to CU because of his mother. “What major was she?” Varian asked.

Hugo shrugged. “Marketing or something. I don’t know.” And that was that.

Soon, the food arrived and Varian’s mind blanked. He snarfed down his food as Hugo watched in amusement. “How can you eat so much,” he mused, “yet still be so small?”

Instead of responding with words, Varian simply shoved a sandwich in his mouth and flipped him off. Hugo laughed loudly. “I like you, Hairstripe.”

“Varian,” Varian said around a mouthful of food.

Hugo ignored him. “So, look, we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together. I mean, we’re roommates, right?”

A thought popped into Varian’s mind as he swallowed. “You’re right. Therefore, I’ll lay down ground rules.”

“Therefore?” Hugo asked. “How old are you?”

Varian plowed forward, using the hand not clutching his napkin to tick off his fingers. “No bringing anyone to our room on a school night. If you do bring someone, tell me so I can be prepared to leave the room. Also, I don’t want you walking into our room drunk on school nights either. I don’t want to deal with vomit or hangovers.”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “Okay Dad.” He slouched in his seat and took a bite of his sandwich. Turkey and cheese. On a lower tier than ham and cheese but still up there. “I’m guessing that means no fun either? Your way or the highway?”

Varian huffed. “No. On weekends, I could care less about what you do. But it’s not just your space. It’s ours. If we have to share a room for a year, we need to learn how to share.”

“Fair point,” Hugo said. “But question: you’re fine with me wandering into our room late at night on Saturday drunk and then vomiting on our floor?”

A feeling of unease settled onto Varian. “That sounds too specific.” His eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

Hugo took a sip of his drink and stared out the window. Varian put his head in his hands. He did notice a stain but figured that it had always been there and he just didn’t notice. However, he gave Hugo credit for being able to sufficiently cover up his mess. “You’re exhausting,” Varian said into his hands, “and I’ve only known you for an hour.”

“It’s a gift.” Hugo set his drink down, leveling Varian with a serious face. Varian couldn’t tell if he was trying to be serious or not. “If you’re laying down ground rules, I’m joining in on this party. No staying up all night studying.”

Varian gasped, offended. “I do not stay up all night studying.” He paused. The memory of him downing 2 5 hour energy drinks and 3 cups of coffee resurfaced in his mind. But that was senior year of high school. “And even if I did, it’s for a good cause.”

“Hairstripe,” Hugo drawled, “all that studying will go to waste if you’re tired to function the next morning and you can hardly even see the test in front of you.”

Varian could feel himself pout. Dammit, he was right. “Fine. I’ll stay up until 1 then.”

“12.”

“12:30.”

“Deal.” Hugo stuck his hand out to Varian and he reluctantly took it. Hugo’s hands were surprisingly soft and Varian jerked his hand back quickly. Hugo raised a brow but said nothing. He picked his drink back up and took a sip. “Look at us, working through our problems like good roomies.”

Varian took the other half of his sandwich and munched on it. “Don’t call us roomies.”

“What else should I call us? Dorm buddies? Cell mates?” From the top of his cup, Hugo smirked at him. “Boyfriends?”

Varian threw a crumb at Hugo. “In your dreams.”

Hugo just chuckled into his cup. “You know what they say, Hairstripe. Dream big.”

Varian shook his head at him and took another bite of his sandwich. Soon, the two were on their way back to their dorms to get their stuff for their next class. Varian was fiddling with his shirt as Hugo slouched at his side, hands in his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, Varian examined him. He couldn’t figure him out. Was he a nerd or a douche? A genius or a dumbass?

A cool flirt or a desperate freak?

He used to pride himself on being able to read people. He could tell someone’s personality just by being around them for a few hours. This led to others asking why he didn’t have more friends. He responded with, “I understand people but I don’t always enjoy being around them.” That got them to shut up and go away.

But with Hugo, Varian couldn’t piece him together. He was a bundle of contradictions and that frustrated Varian to no end. He seemed serious about college yet he was out partying on school nights. He seemed chivalrous when he gave Varian his coat but he also made fun of Varian’s height. Varian couldn’t tell who he was or what he wanted. He was determined to figure it out.

They stopped in front of their dorm room door and Hugo turned to Varian. “You know,” he said slowly, instantly making Varian suspicious, “despite all of our quarreling, I did enjoy our little date.”

For some ridiculous reason, Varian felt himself start to warm. “It wasn’t a date,” Varian said at once. “It was recompense.”

“Sure sure,” Hugo said flippantly. “Does that mean there’s no chance we can do it again?”

Varian took his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed his way in and started gathering his books. Hugo watched him, leaning against his desk. “Is that a no, Ruddiger?”

He couldn’t believe he was even slightly agreeing with Hugo but he did kind of enjoy having lunch with him. He slid his textbook into his bag and turned. “I’ll consider it,” he said. He tried sounding cool but he probably just sounded anxious.

Hugo’s face broke into a grin. “I’ll count that as a yes.” He pointed at Varian, who shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll win you over yet, Hairstripe.”

Varian huffed a laugh. “Don’t get cocky, McCoy. You’re still annoying.” With that, Varian marched out of the room and he prayed that he seemed cool instead of rude. But as he walked to his inorganic chemistry class, he couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face and consumed him. Fuck.

Previous Next

[lindalevanimamm]

Reality- Chapter 7

I woke up feeling a lot better. I got up and found my way to a bathroom to get ready. More new things today. I only want to worry about two things. Number one, moving in. Number two, chat with the RFA. After I was showered and dressed, I made my way to the kitchen. It didn’t look like anyone was up yet, so I decided to start making breakfast for everyone. Well, I was, that is, until I opened up Saeyoung’s fridge. He and Saeran apparently don’t cook. It was full of Phd Pepper, and random things like cheese, milk, jelly, and just stuff you couldn’t make a meal with. I frowned. How are these two even alive? After digging through the fridge I found some eggs, and settled on just cooking them. I began to stand back up, after crouching to find the eggs, to shut the fridge. My eyes met with two others and I jumped back and fell, hitting my head on the fridge’s handle on the way back down. “Ow” I sighed. I looked up to see a worried looking Saeran. “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you,” he stated then held out his hand to help me up. I took it. “You’re fine!” I replied. 

“So, uh, what are you doing?” he asked. 

“Well I was going to make breakfast, but you all don’t seem to have much. I did find some eggs though and I was going to cook them,” I answered. Saeran smiled at me, looking relieved. 

“Oh, sorry about that. I was going to make Saeyoung take me today to pick up ingredients since I ran out. I do the cooking for the most part. Saeyoung is a mess in the kitchen.” 

“Oh thank God. I was worried for a minute. I figured Saeyoung couldn’t cook due to the half cooked pancakes he made me, but I’m glad someone here is.” Saeran reached and grabbed the few eggs I was going to cook. 

“If it’s okay with you we can just order some food. I’ll be stopping off at the grocery store at some point when we’re moving you.” I smiled and nodded. I hope I’m not being too awkward. Ugh. Wait...what if instead of ordering we… I began to grin at the idea I just had. Saeran seemed to notice. “(Y/N) is everything okay?” he asked. 

“More than okay. What if instead of ordering food we, well, you know, go pick some up?” I trailed off. 

“Pick them up? How would we do that?” 

“Well, I know Saeyoung has cars, he always showed them off. It’s not like I’ve never driven before and the driving laws here can’t be that different…” 

“That sounds like something Saeyoung would flip out over,” he paused and smiled. “Let’s do it. I’m totally in!” I smiled back. Hehe I can finally drive a cool car! The two of us quickly and quietly made our way to the garage. We decided on which car we were going to take and grabbed the keys. I made my way into the driver's seat and smiled. It was so cool. I looked over at Saeran and beamed. 

“You ready to go?” I asked. He laughed and shook his head. 

“You’re crazier than him, but yes.” With that, I started the car. It sounds so cool. I was so excited. I started off driving slower than what I wanted, but I wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t crash and kill both of us. Once I was more comfortable, I was zooming. It felt amazing, it was exciting. The drive was mostly silent, but still comfortable. Saeran led me first to a grocery store. We got out and shopped together, making some small talk. After that we went to a cafe and picked up some breakfast to bring home. Saeran had the brilliant idea of bringing Saeyoung his favorite doughnut, as an apology for stealing his car. We were gone for around an hour and made it back safely…..or so I wish. I guess I had gotten a little too carried away and sped a bit too much as we were pulled over. As soon as I saw the lights I looked over at Saeran in horror. I’m not from this universe so it’s not like my licence is going to be valid, not to mention if he recognizes Saeran for any reason that could be really bad. I’m sure police are some the two tend to avoid. Both Saeyoung and Saeran had a complicated background and literally hacked into things for money. Saeran looked at me, slight worry in his eye. 

“Well, this sucks. When you pull over, switch me spots quickly and as discreetly as you can, then follow my lead,” he told me. I nodded and pulled over. As soon as I pulled over, we both unbuckled and switched spots, thankfully the policeman didn’t notice. I buckled back up, barely, I noticed my hands had begun to shake so it was difficult to buckle. I knew I shouldn’t have done this. This is what happens when you try to have fun (Y/N). Now you’ve made a big scene, not to mention having to tell Saeyoung when we get back. Ugh he’s going to be so mad at me!! Saeran rolled down the window and smiled. 

“License and registration,” the policeman stated. I don’t know how he got it, but Saeran pulled out a license, and reached over for the registration stuff and gave it to them. Once the policeman was out of eyesight and earshot, Saeran whispered to me. “In the glove compartment there is a heavy laptop, could you grab it for me?” Confused, I grabbed it and handed it to him. “Keep watch,” he stated. I watched as he opened it up and pulled up a database. Of course. He’s hacking our way out of this. Smart. But also could go wrong very fast. “S-Saeran,” I paused. “Are you sure that’s a good idea.” He nodded. I decided to trust him and keep an eye out to make sure the policeman wasn’t coming back. After only a few minutes, Saeran shut the laptop and handed it back to me to put back in the glove compartment. He smiled. “There. We should be good now.” We sat in silence waiting for the policeman to return. I was super anxious at this point, thinking of all the things that could go wrong and how Saeyoung would react. Eventually the policeman came back. 

“Mr. Choi?” they asked. 

“Yes?” Saeran answered. Did he really use his real name? Is that okay?

“Looks like everything is up to date, but do you know how fast you were going?” 

“Ah, I’m so sorry. My wife and I here were just trying to get home for our child's first birthday, we left him with the sitter to pick up some things for it. I honestly don’t know how fast I was going. I’m a bit excited I guess.” Saeran laughed hesitantly. 

“Well, you were getting close to 100mph,” the policeman paused. “I understand the excitement, but please watch you speed from here on. I’m sure your child would like for you to make it home.” 

“Yes. I am so sorry. Thank you.” The policeman nodded and drove away. Saeran turn to look at me. I shrunk down in my seat. 

“O-one hundred miles per hour (Y/N)? What the hell?!” 

“Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away,” I mumbled. 

“Well, please slow down from now on.” I nodded. We switched spots again. I started driving, feeling the pit in my stomach growing. I felt really bad. We made it back to the bunker and found Saeyoung waiting inside the garage. Saeran got out of the car first. I took a deep breath and tried to act like nothing happened. It didn’t work. 

“Saeran, what did I tell you about taking my cars without me! You’re such a bad driver my baby could have gotten hurt!” I heard Saeyoung whine to Saeran. Saeran tried not to smile. 

“I didn’t drive, but you should be worried about (Y/N)’s driving abilities,” he laughed. I looked down. 

“What are you talking about? (Y/N) are you okay? What happened?” I sighed, and continued to look at the floor. 

“Well, I, uh, kinda got a little excited to be driving such a cool car that I guess I was speeding a bit too much, and we, uh, we got pulled over…” I looked up and saw Saeyoung’s eyes grow wide, before softening. Then he started laughing. Not just a small laugh either, like full blown doubled over laughing. Saeran joined in making me even more confused. Why isn’t he mad? Once he finally calmed down he spoke. “Wow (Y/N), I would not have expected that!” 

“What?” I asked. 

“Oh wow, phew. I can’t tell you how many times Saeran and myself have been pulled over for speeding. How fast were you going? How did you get out of it? Or did my little bro fail you and you didn’t get away with a warning?” I was stunned. Saeran spoke for me. 

“Police said they were going over one hundred miles. And for your information, I got out of it very easily pulling a few hacking strings and lying a bit.” 

“Oh ho ho, nice!” Saeyoung held out his hand and fist bumped Saeran. What is happening? He’s seriously okay with all of this? “Tell me (Y/N), how fast were you going? Pleasssseee tell me I have to know!” I relaxed a bit. He really doesn’t care. Might as well be honest. 

“125,” I mumbled. His jaw dropped. 

“Did you just say 125 miles per hour (Y/N)?” he asked. I nodded. He clapped his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen a new record!” I watched as he walked over to a whiteboard and changed the 98 into a 125, and then wrote my name next to it. 

“What is happening?” I asked. 

“Oh well, Saeran and I have an ongoing competition to see who can get away with speeding. I held the record. I was going 98 miles per hour and was pulled over, but got out of a ticket,” Saeyoung explained. 

“Shouldn’t my name be going up there with (Y/N)’s? It was a team effort,” Saeran challenged. 

“Is this true (Y/N)?” I nodded. Saeyoung sighed and wrote Saeran’s name next to mine. Saeran smiled. I was still confused and shocked. Then it hit me. 

“Hold on, you two go around speeding and getting caught, just for fun? Then why did Saeran act so surprised and tell me to not speed? ” I asked. They both turned and smiled. 

“Yep! We speed for fun and hope to get pulled over.” Saeyoung answered me.

“Sorry, I was surprised at first. Then I realized you completely demolished Saeyoung’s record, but I was pretty sure if you kept going that fast we’d get pulled over again and it would be much harder to get out of that a second time,” Saeran answered the other question. I stood in awe and shook my head. Here I was thinking Saeyoung would be upset. I began to laugh.

“You two are insane.” 

The three of us made our way inside to eat. We ate and then decided to get on with our day. We spent the majority of the day going from store to store buying furniture, after looking at the apartment and deciding on what I would need. It took the majority of the day, but there were many periods of laughter and we had fun. Around 7pm, I finally had a fully-furnished and comfortable apartment, thanks to the help of both Saeyoung and Saeran. I was nervous about staying alone, but I let the two leave for the night. Saeyoung was quick to remind me that he was just a phone call away, so if I needed him to just call and he’d be here. I don’t think anyone has ever told me that before. I smiled and waved goodbye, as their car pulled away from my new apartment. 

[mentalpolaroids]

CH | 5. suspicious

CH 4

🔸

After helping Tierra clean the kitchen, we went back to the living room, where Camila was already explaining the rules of some card game she wanted to play. We were having so much fun playing that we didn't notice the time pass, it was only when Tierra said she should go to bed that we realized it was also time for us to go. Noah dropped me home, not missing the chance to keep teasing me about earlier, about us "being a couple".

"Noah Phillip Carson, you better shut your mouth."

"Or what? You gonna make me shut up, babe?"

He stopped at my front door and I punched his arm as a 'goodbye' but that was just one more reason for him to keep making fun of me and, while he laughed, he pushed me to his side and hugged me. We stayed like that for a few seconds until he spoke.

"I'm sorry for being so annoying to you."

I kind of felt bad for him for feeling like he was being annoying. I mean, he was, but I loved when he did it and I knew he was just joking. It meant he cared and I loved that

"It's ok, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"And I meant what I said at dinner.", I looked at him, not sure what he was talking about, "About your talent being wasted at the company. You really deserve more recognition, and I'm really proud of you for not giving up on the job there even though you hate it."

How could I not have feelings for this guy? Seriously, he made my heart melt just by looking at me the way he was doing and saying those things.

"Thank you. I really appreciate your support."

He kissed my forehead and, with one last glance and a soft smile, I left the car and headed home. I saw Kevin sleeping on the couch as I was heading to my room. Even sleeping he didn't look like himself. His body seemed tense and his face held an anxious expression. He was still in his clothes and I was about to pick up his jacket that had fallen from the back of the couch when I noticed a bottle of wine and a glass on the coffee table. I remembered we had bought that bottle for a sleepover with everybody in our house but actually never opened it, so I was surprised and kind of shocked to see it half empty. It was late and I didn't want to wake Kevin up to talk about it when he was probably drunk so I decided to let him sleep there. I covered him up with a blanket and went to my room. The next morning, I woke up to the smell of freshly made coffee. I went to the bathroom to use the toilet and wash the sleepiness off of my face. In the kitchen, Kevin was making toasts and I could see the steam of the hot coffee coming from two mugs.

"Good morning.", I said sitting on a chair of the kitchenette counter.

Kevin looked at me and greeted me with a shy smile. He had dark circles under his eyes but he didn't look as tired as last night, maybe because of the shower I could tell he took by his half dried hair.

"'Morning sis'. Breakfast?"

"Always.", I smiled, happy to see him in a better mood, even thought he wasn't totally himself yet.

We ate together but in silence. Kevin seemed awkward around me and I was figuring out a way to start a conversation without being too straightforward about his behavior lately so he wouldn't shut me out again.

"So, did you manage to solve that problem you had at the restaurant yesterday?", I asked, before taking a bite of my toast. I wasn't even going to mention the bottle of wine. Kevin looked in my direction but quickly diverted his gaze back to his coffee.

"Yeah, one of the chefs received a complaint about the food and we had to talk to the client so he wouldn't write it down. It took us a lot of time but fortunately the client was convinced and decided to not write the complaint."

I nodded and continued to stare at him for a while.

"And how are you?"

"How am I?", he looked up, kind of confused by my question, as if it was weird to ask someone how they have been doing.

"Yeah, how are you feeling? You look tired and...", I stopped for a second, not sure if I should mention it, but I did, "you've been ignoring me."

At this point I wasn't even trying to keep it light.

"Well... I am tired. And I'm not ignoring you.", I gave him a sarcastic really? look,

"Kelly, I'm sorry if you feel like I'm ignoring, I'm not doing it on purpose, but I'm tired and I have a lot on my mind, but that's it. I'm fine."

I nodded, not wanting to push him over, but I knew he wasn't totally fine. I could tell he wasn't telling me the truth, not a hundred percent, and he didn't even ask about Dustin. There was definitely something more to it that he didn't want to tell me. "If you say so." At work, I lost count of how many times I had to take deep breaths to keep myself from screaming or throwing something against the wall. Or my manager's head. Elisabeth Parker, or, as everybody in the company likes to call her, Elisahell Barker, is one of the few women that works there and she's also the oldest. And the bitchiest. She was the one that hired me as an assistant and she's also one of the reasons I hate my job because she just likes to boss me around, even to do things that aren't even my place to do, like that one time she told me to clean the bathroom of her office. Everybody in the company treated me with respect and were always very nice to me. They knew what I was there to do, to assist in anything they needed related to paperwork or once in a while serve coffees when they were too busy to do it themselves, not to be their personal maid. But, apparently, Elisabeth liked to take advantage of the fact that she was the one that gave me a job, therefore I was obliged to do everything she wished for. So, safe to say, I was fuming when I was done for the day and all I wanted to do was to relax and try to forget that I would have to work again the following day. I went to a nearby Starbucks before heading home. I ordered my usual, a tall caramel latte with oat milk, and sat on a booth near the big window in the corner. The cafe was pretty much empty so the music playing in the background could be heard much clearer. It was the beginning of Fall so the weather was getting cooler and I could already see the leaves on the trees starting to change colors. It was my kind of perfect atmosphere to relax. I was going through my phone, checking my Instagram and sending Noah all the cat memes I would come across. We just enjoyed communicating like that. I took a sip of my latte when I glanced outside and saw Julio, Camila's boyfriend. What actually caught my eye was the woman that was with him and how close they were acting wtih each other. I knew nothing about their relationship and I didn't know Julio that well, but I was pretty sure the way he stared at her and the flirty touches on her arm and hair was not how you acted when you were taken. He certainly wasn't acting like a guy who had a girlfriend. I tried to look away and stay out of their business but I couldn't bear the idea of my best friend being cheated on. I just didn't know how to act at that point so I would discretly switch my gaze between my phone and the scene happening outside. I felt movement from the window and saw the woman leaving, Julio was staring at her in a not so subtle way and then he looked through the window and met my eyes. A tremor ran through my entire body and I didn't know if I felt ashamed or scared that he caught me. He held my gaze for a few seconds, which unconsciously made me close my jean jacket a little more, as if I was protecting myself from the discomfort he was causing me. A smirk shaped his lips and he held my gaze like that as he left. At that moment, I realized I didn't trust Julio one bit.

🔸

CH 6

[jeongyunhoed]

Spellbound

Member: Yunho Part 2 of 3 - Part 1 here Genre: Fluff, angst A/N: Like I’ve been saying, this is a long one! And NGL, I actually cried writing the end of this because this is where things get angsty. Expect a lot of tears. 

Part 2

Over the course of a few weeks, the two of them really hit it off as they spent more and more time together. She opted to always close the store ever since they met, and Yunho would wait for her to finish so they could go home together, and sometimes she would wait for him if he took a few extra minutes in his practicing. She was certain she had never met anyone like him before. He was unusually friendly, he was a good dancer, he was even insanely good at games at the nearby arcade. 

Tonight was no different, and as she had somehow expected, he was already standing outside the store, waving at her with a big smile on his face. She waved back. “Oh? The boyfriend’s here?” One of her colleagues suddenly asked upon noticing Yunho. 

“No, no, we’re just friends,” She said. 

“Are you sure? You were grinning like an idiot earlier whenever you brought him up over lunch today. Are you sure you two are just friends?” Her colleague egged her on. 

She rolled her eyes. “It is possible to just be friends with a guy, you know.” 

“But not a guy like that! Look at him, if I know you well enough, and I think I kind of do, I think he’s exactly your type” Her colleague said. 

She stared at them. “Exactly my type?” She asked. 

“Yeah! But you know, he’s everyone’s type. Tall, cute, can dance, funny, good at games, everything you keep going on and on and on to us about ever since you met him weeks ago” They recalled, partly teasing. 

“Well, maybe he is, but I don’t have time for that kind of thing. I’ve been avoiding it like the plague” She tried to point out. 

“Mhmm, yeah sure,” Her colleague said, side-eyeing her. “Sure you don’t have a stupid grin on your face whenever you see him, or jump at your phone the moment he texts you, or giggle like a schoolgirl whenever he calls and didn’t you say you got anxious whenever someone calls you up?! That’s why we use that as a last resort with you, not that we’ve had to use it before” Her colleague added. 

“What are you still doing here? Your boyfriend’s waiting outside” The manager suddenly said upon entering and noticing Yunho. 

“My boy-” She stared at them then looked away, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks. “He’s not my boyfriend” She managed to speak. 

“Yeah sure, and I’m mother goose. He’s waiting, get out of here and I’ll see you tomorrow” The manager teased, gesturing for her to leave. 

Before she could speak any further, her colleague and the manager shoved her bag and jacket into her hand. She sighed. He is not my boyfriend, she thought. Even if she’s been like that ever since she met him, they’re just friends as far as she knew. 

No, I mean, so what if he’s funny, and cute, and tall, and talented, and insanely lucky at arcade games, and games in general, she thought as she made her way out of the store. That doesn’t mean I like him in that way. 

“Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” She said upon seeing him. 

“No, it’s okay!” Yunho said cheerily. “I did keep you waiting one time, now we’re even!” He added as they turned to the direction of their houses. “So, convenience store first then home?” He asked, glancing at her and still with a skip in his step as she noticed. It never seemed to disappear. 

“Sure, but I won’t eat much. I had a big sandwich earlier” She chuckled. “How was practice?” 

“Pretty good, we learned the next few parts of our routine for the competition, do you want me to show you?” He grinned. 

“Nah, you’re tired, and I’d probably see you on tv anyway” She teased, nudging him as they walked. “And, it’s my turn to pay since you paid for our food last night” She added. 

They approached the nearest convenience store, and she noticed Yunho skid to a halt when they saw a few other guys who were dressed like him. “Oh! Our golden retriever!” Said one of them, whose name she learned was Jung Wooyoung, upon seeing him. 

Yunho greeted them with just as much enthusiasm that it made her wonder if he ever got tired of being this cheerful all the time. He probably did, but even if he was, he probably didn’t look it, she thought. She observed the way he was with his friends. Even his friends seemed to match his energy so well. “Oh, is this the girl you’ve been going on and on and on to us about for the past few weeks?” Said another guy, whose name was Song Mingi, who noticed her. That prompted Yunho to introduce her to them. 

“You know, he’s never stopped talking about you ever since you two met that night” Wooyoung was grinning, almost a little evilly as if to tease his friend. 

“Are you two on a date? It’s kind of late, isn’t it?” said Kim Hongjoong, who was the leader of their dance crew. He too was grinning evilly. 

The question made her look away, getting flustered as she remembered what her colleagues and her own boss were telling her. It seemed like they were also teasing him. Was that what they looked like to people? Did they look like a couple to everyone they knew?

She heard snickering coming from the rest of his friends, who were pointing out how red his ears had gotten from the questions. “We just live in the same area so we just decided to walk home together,” She managed to say, but it was only met with more teasing thrown their way. 

Yunho was looking down, trying to laugh off how embarrassed and flustered he was getting especially as his ears were getting redder the more he evaded the questions. “No, really, she lives in the building meters away from where I live!” He said. 

“Ah, so you’re both dating?” Wooyoung looked incredibly satisfied with how flustered the two of them were. 

“No! No! We’re not dating!” The two of them replied at the same time. It only made the guys howl with laughter. 

“Well, if she’s not dating you, can I ask her out, then?” Hongjoong grinned. 

“No, you can’t. I respect you and adore you hyung, but you can’t go out with her” Yunho immediately replied, shaking his head. Even with a response like that, she noticed that he still had a smile on his face. 

She was too stunned to speak, but she knew it would be awkward if she just stood in her place. She turned and looked around for the ramen packets, suddenly feeling the hunger pangs come over her. But even when she was looking for what she wanted, she couldn’t help but overhear them. “Why not? She’s my type!” Said Hongjoong. 

“You can’t, because then I wouldn’t have anyone to go home with” Yunho reasoned with a nervous chuckle. “And you already get so many girls anyway” He added. 

She smiled to herself, amused at what she was hearing from them. “If Hongjoong hyung can’t, can I?” Wooyoung piped up. 

“No, no, especially not you” Yunho sounded a little firm in his response this time, making the other laugh out loud. 

“Why?! Why not me?!” Wooyoung asked. 

“Because you also already get so many girls! Whenever we all go on a night out, by the time we all decide to go home, you’ve got so many numbers saved on your phone” He pointed out. 

His friends only laughed and patted his shoulder. Somehow, even though she wasn’t looking, she could sense he was pouting like a puppy. She found it adorable how they called him a golden retriever. It made her realize that he really was as cheerful and as happy as one. 

She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Yunho pop out from behind the shelf in front of her. “Hey, I’ll have whatever you’re having. What do you want to drink?” He asked. 

“Just water” She replied. “They really call you a golden retriever?” She chuckled. 

“Ah, yeah, they do. But I don’t mind, those dogs are very friendly” He said. 

“Do you own one?” 

Yunho shook his head. “No, my building doesn’t allow dogs, so I can’t own one. But I do go to dog cafes sometimes” He revealed. It somehow gave him an idea. “Hey! It’s the weekend tomorrow, want to hang out at the dog cafe? Or! Do you want to come over to my house? Pizza and Netflix, what do you say?” He was beaming. 

“Sure, maybe after work, I get a half-day tomorrow” She smiled. 

“In that case, I’ll pick you up and we can walk to my house” He suggested, holding up his pinky. “That’s a promise.” 

She raised a brow at him and linked his pinky with hers. “Promise. Next time, just go inside the store if you’re going to wait for me, I don’t want you getting uncomfortable outside, okay?” 

“Okay, that’s another deal” He nodded. 

~ 

Little did she know, Yunho was often teased about her ever since they met. Although he was focused when he needed to be, he found himself staring at his phone during short breaks in the hopes that she would message him. Hongjoong pointed out how he was often looking out the window to the second floor of the bookstore where she worked, and how he would jump at his phone when her name came up among his messages. Wooyoung and Mingi also pointed out how he would smile like an idiot whenever he’d read her messages.  

He found himself thinking about her a lot more than usual, and whenever he did, his heart would beat so fast that he wasn’t sure if he was getting anxious or not. 

He couldn’t say it, but he hated the thought of any one of his colleagues would take an interest in her, especially Wooyoung. It wasn’t that he didn’t get his share of attention whenever they went out, but it was mostly because Wooyoung was someone everyone naturally gravitated to, especially the girls, who were always so impressed by his dancing, and who were always screaming if he did anything sexy. 

It was the first time he was this possessive over someone, and the realization scared him a bit. Still, his heart seemed to pound louder whenever she was near, and whenever they went home together that he didn’t want it to end. He wanted to see her all the time. 

“Oh” They muttered to themselves that night in their respective rooms in their respective homes, as they were staring at the photos they took of each other over the past few weeks. 

“I...care about him” She muttered, looking away from one particular selca they took. It was raining, and they were sharing one small umbrella that they suddenly thought to take a photo to remember the day they did just that. He had that big smile on his face as the two of them tried to squeeze themselves under it. They ended up walking home with their sides soaking wet from the downpour. 

Yunho was too stunned to say anything, to voice out the realization he had. And to think, they were going to hang out again tomorrow, and he was going to pick her up. This was what it felt like, he thought to himself. 

~ 

Both of them never heard the end of it from their parents the next morning, about how they were often together. The realization was still on both their minds as they got ready for the day. Yunho wanted to make their first ever hangout at his house perfect. Like a date? He first thought, but shook his head later. This isn’t a date, it’s a hangout between friends, he muttered to himself. 

But he couldn’t help but smile, anticipating what they were going to do. Of course he cared about her, he just wasn’t sure how much he cared until now. 

It was all she could focus on as well, as she mindlessly took charge of the cash register, swiping the cards that were handed out and sometimes directed people to the correct aisle where their books and comics were. It was almost like she started to daydream about what was going to happen in the next hour. 

Yunho would be coming inside, greeting everyone with a smile on his face. He’d ask her to take his hand, and it would be the first time they held hands or showed some physical affection towards each other. 

“Hey, you ready to go?” 

“Hmm? Hmm!” She snapped out of her thoughts when right in front of her was Yunho, laughing at probably her face while she was spaced out in her thoughts. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she caught his gaze and quickly looked away, knowing that her colleagues and her manager were more than likely watching them. 

“You’re so lucky” One of her colleagues muttered to her while they moved away. 

She was still in a sort of daze to speak, but nodded anyway as she rushed into the back room to get her things and leave. By the time she was out, he was leaning over the counter. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, and she hoped that she wasn’t blushing, but she knew that her cheeks were already very pink.”Why don’t you take the day off on Monday? You can go back to work on Tuesday” The manager suddenly suggested. 

“Day off?” She was confused. 

“Yeah, you’ve never gone on a break before, why don’t you take one? You’ve worked here for years” The manager added. 

“A-are you sure?” She asked. 

“Yeah. You’ll thank me for giving you one, you know” The manager said. “Go home with your boyfriend” They added. 

“We’re not-” The two of them immediately replied, and laughed when they exchanged looks. 

“Mhmm, sure, go on, get out of here” The manager said to her with a satisfied grin on their face. 

Yunho guided her to the door, feeling how hot his cheeks had gotten from the sudden remark made towards them. “Sorry, you’ll have to excuse them, they’ve just never seen me with a guy before” She said, partly joking. 

“Really? They haven’t?” He said with a laugh. 

“Of course they have, but it was the delivery guys since I let them in with the shipments and all. I do the inventories a lot when they arrive” She said, glancing up at him while they walked in the familiar direction of their buildings. 

His mind was racing with things he wanted to do at this moment. Did he want to confess before they arrived at his house? Or would he wait it out until after the first movie they’d watch on Netflix was finished? Did he want to just say it at all? Or did he want to show it to her instead? He decided to confide in Mingi about his realization before picking her up. He was terrified and anxious and excited all at once. Mingi just told him to be confident and be how he’s usually been to her. Hongjoong offered the same advice. “I realized you haven’t seen the building where I live” He suddenly said. 

“Yeah, I haven’t. You said before that it had a name” She recalled that conversation they had during one of their walks. 

“Sirius Tower. Sounds Western isn’t it? A lady said to us that Sirius is a name for a star” He said. “The more you know~” He sing-songed, making her laugh. 

“Not many buildings seem to be named after stars. I wonder why they decided to name your building after one” She pondered. 

He beamed. “Well, there is another reason why it’s named a star, and you’ll see once we get there” He said, leading the way into his building. They passed through the front entrance, and she saw why he said it. There was a large painting of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” on the wall, set against walls of a dark blue, almost black. The lights on the ceiling almost mimicked the look of stars against the ceiling that was also a dark blue-almost black in color. 

She felt her heart flutter, and it was also when she realized they were already holding hands. She didn’t dare to let go, at least until he realized it too. “It...it must be nice to live here” She said, in awe of the place. 

“This is not even the half of it, but if you’ll stay for dinner, I know my parents would be around, and my brother, but if you can stay,” He said, looking into her eyes. “I’ll show you what else makes this building star-like.” 

Somehow she felt like she’d be doing him wrong if she rejected it. “...Sure” She said softly. 

His lips curved into a wide smile again, and he led her inside the elevators. 

~ 

“Welcome to my crib” Yunho chuckled as he opened the door. They took their shoes off and she waited for him to lead the way. “My parents and my brother went to the bowling alley today” He said, gesturing for her to come in. 

“Without you? That must’ve been fun” She raised a brow. 

He shook his head. “I’ve been that bowling alley hundreds of times, I think I can skip this one. They’re meeting with some of my cousins anyway” He replied. He didn’t want to mention how he had to ask them to stay out of the house because he was inviting her over, an explanation that earned him teasing remarks from his own family, especially his parents. 

Aww Yunho is in love, they said to him. 

She must be a very special girl, his father said. 

He’s never stopped talking about her, he becomes the heart-eyes emoji whenever he calls her up, His brother would point out again and again. 

They passed by a large family photo and she smiled when she saw him sitting on the side and dressed in a tuxedo. He looked so handsome, she thought. A little too handsome that she found herself visualizing him perhaps waiting for her at the end of the aisle. She blinked to snap out of it. She was getting too far ahead. “This was recent, wasn’t it?” She grinned, glancing at him. 

He nodded. “Yeah, wedding anniversary of my parents. Do you have something like this?” He asked. 

She shook her head. “My father died when I was very young, so any family picture we’d have would just be the three of us, me, my mom, and my sister” She said quietly. 

Yunho’s face fell slightly. “Sorry I asked” He said. 

“It’s okay, it’s been a long time anyway” She waved a hand dismissively. “So,” she turned to face him. “Netflix and pizza?” 

“Yeah!” He said. “I’ve set everything up, and the pizza should be here in a few minutes,” She followed him into the living room while he went straight into the kitchen. “I’ve got water and…” He peeked in the refrigerator. “Energy drinks, or juice, or cola. We could open the soju too if you prefer drinking something alcoholic, I don’t mind” He glanced at her.

She had never set foot in Yunho’s house before, and yet, she couldn’t help but feel like she had been here so many times. It had that very familiar feeling to her. “Hmm? Just cola, I have no plans on drinking, especially getting drunk” She teased. 

As soon as he poured some of the soda into glasses, the doorbell rang. “The pizza’s here~” Yunho declared, looking through the security system first to check. “Yes, the pizza’s here” He took his wallet out of his pocket and dashed towards the door. 

She couldn’t shake off the familiar feeling she was having as she looked around, noticing his family photos and stopping at a picture of him when he was a kid. She smiled to herself. It seemed like he had a very happy family despite the usual challenges here and there. It was the only way to explain why he was such a happy person even if he didn’t say much about himself, always preferring to talk about what they were doing or thinking at that moment. She sat herself down on the couch upon seeing Yunho come back with two boxes of pizza. “What flavor did you get?” She asked. 

“What else? The one with everything on it, and, because it’s a special day, these are stuffed crust” He looked pleased with himself as he brought the boxes to the living room, settling it on the space between the two of them along with their drinks. 

“What movie did you have in mind?” She asked. 

“I was going to ask you the same thing” He said sheepishly, laughing as he opened the box. 

“I’d say Serendipity but you might not like that, would you?” She teased. 

“Hey, I can watch anything, as long as we watch something, otherwise we would’ve gone out instead” He teased back.

“You invited me over!” She pointed out with a laugh. 

“I know! So, let’s watch something, shall we?” Yunho chuckled, looking through the titles. 

~ 

“...If we are to live life in harmony with the universe, we must all possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call “fatum,” what we currently refer to as destiny…” They were more than halfway through the movie. The words seemed to resonate within them, but they were unable to admit it. 

“Do you believe in that kind of thing?” Yunho suddenly asked her. 

She glanced at him. “I don’t know, I guess I do if I’ve been staying away from some things,” She shrugged. “What about you? Do you believe in that?” 

He shrugged as well. “I don’t know either. Maybe because I’ve never experienced something like that.” 

“Not even when you joined your dance crew?” She said. She remembered him telling her about how he ended up becoming part of the dance crew that now frequented the studio next to the store. 

“Maybe that. Would it be that feeling that you’re being led somewhere but you don’t know why? You don’t know how you find yourself there, isn’t it?” He mused, taking a drink of cola in between. 

“I guess that’s exactly it” She nodded. “You’re being led somewhere but you don’t know why, you don’t know how, but when you get there, you find that it’s where you were supposed to be all this time” She muttered, looking back at the movie. 

“Do you think it applies to people too?” He said, and she could sense that he was no longer watching the movie. She felt her heart pound and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. 

She turned to him, and her expression falling as she noticed the way he was looking at her. He didn’t look at her like his usual puppy-like expression, but rather in a way that seemed to suggest something else. Something...romantic. “I-I don’t know, I’ve never experienced that part.” 

They gazed into each other’s eyes. All the more it was becoming clear. She was falling in love with Yunho, and she felt like she was going to burst the more they stayed like this. 

Yunho looked down at her lips and then back to her eyes. “...I feel like I’m being led to you and I don’t know why, but ever since we met, I felt like I finally reached it” He admitted, ears going red at his sudden admission. He took the plunge and leaned in to kiss her. 

She felt like her heart was going to burst with how she felt about him, and the kiss was the release she needed, and she could feel it was the same for him too. They slowly pulled away, lingering and wondering what they should do next. She looked into his eyes, and her eyes were welling with tears at the realization. 

He was tall. 

He was called a golden retriever and had the personality of one. 

He lived on a building named after a star. 

All the things she remembered wishing for when she cast the spell years ago. Yunho was that guy she wished for. “I-I think I know why you feel that way…” She muttered. 

“You do?” Why then?” He asked. 

“Because...I sent for you. When I was a kid, I made a wish, I cast a spell from my aunt’s books, a true love spell…” She bit her lip upon revealing it to him. “It was you. You’re the one I wished for” She said and looked down. Yunho had a soft smile on his face, but soon fell when she looked back at him. “It also means you’re in danger…” 

“Danger? What are you talking about? I don’t think you’re hard to love if that’s what you mean” He said, brows furrowing. 

“In a way, you could say that. But you see... my family’s cursed. All the women in my family are doomed to die with broken hearts because of the curse my great-great-great-great-great grandmother placed on herself,” She explained, moving away from him bit by bit. “It’s how my father died, how my grandfather died, and all the men before them...if anything happens between us, to you, it’s because of that curse, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry…” She wiped her eyes and got up, turning to leave. 

Yunho got up to stop her in time. For some reason he found himself saying exactly what he felt. “Hey, wait! Stop!” He said, standing in front of her. “If you think that’s going to change how I feel about you, then you’re wrong. Curses are only real if you believe them to be, please don’t let that get in the way between us” He held her hands, and she saw that he was tearing up as well. 

“But your life will be in danger if you decide to be with me,” She said, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back her tears. “Please, if you really care about me? Please… stay away from me. You’re here, we’re both here because of the spell…” 

He bit his lip to keep himself from crying and slowly let go of her hands and stepped aside. She walked down the hall to put on her shoes. “Hey,” He managed to say, calling her name. 

She turned around. “Yes?” 

“I wished for you too, you know” He said. 

Tears were already streaming down her face, and she felt her heart break into a million pieces as she pressed on, determined to leave. She was in love with Yunho, and she knew his life was in danger. 

[dakotacrisis]

Bright Beginnings

This is a spin-off chapter of my other fic: Transferred. If you haven’t read it then this may not make a lot of sense. At some point while writing Transferred Kagami and Marinette went from friends to awkward flirting dorks and I do not regret it one bit.

---

It was the morning after the fundraiser and Marinette was among one of the first awake. Marinette and Kagami were still cuddled together on the couch. Chloe was curled up in bed and Aurore was spread starfish on the floor. Sabrina was the only other one awake. They made eye-contact and Sabrina waved before returning to her phone.

Marinette’s leg was asleep and she wanted to brush her teeth and get something to eat but she also had a very warm and adorable fencer using her as a pillow. So suffice to say Marinette wasn’t moving. She did free one of her arms to brush the hair away from Kagami’s face.

“Hm?” Kagami’s face scrunched up as she awoke. She looked up at Marinette and gave her a sleepy smile.

“Good morning,” Marinette whispered so not to wake Aurore or Chloe.

“Mornin,” Kagami yawned, “Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

“Don’t be.” Marinette said. Kagami’s face went pink and Marinette suddenly became aware of just how intimate a position they were in. Kagami nestled on Marinette’s chest with their legs woven together and arms wrapped around one another.

“Marinette?” Kagami asked, “Are you doing anything today?”

“Not anything I couldn’t put off till tomorrow.” Marinette was hoping Kagami couldn’t feel how fast her heart was beating. “Why?”

“I was thinking that, if you wanted to, we could--”

“Sweet jeebs,” Aurore stretched awake, “Who let me fall asleep on the floor? My back is killing me.”

“Hey! Some of us were still trying to sleep!” Chloe snapped. “Whatever, everyone up. Let’s get some breakfast up in here.”

With a sigh Marinette and Kagami untangled themselves and ordered breakfast. Housekeeping came by to clean up their junk food mess from the night before while the girls ate breakfast. Marinette herself nibbled on some strawberries while most of the others slathered croissants and toasted baguettes in jams. Honestly, if they weren’t fresh from her parent’s bakery she couldn’t eat them. Having bakers for parents had spoiled her for store bought pastries.

“Kagami, you got a little jam right there.” Marinette pointed out a spot at the corner of her mouth.

Kagami wiped the opposite side. “Did I get it?”

“No. I got it,” Marinette grabbed a napkin and wiped the jam away, “There, all better.”

“Thanks.” Kagami smiled softly.

“Oh, what was it you were asking me earlier?” Marinette asked.

“Right,” Kagami shifted in her seat, “I was wondering that if you weren’t doing anything today if maybe you wanted to hang out. I know we spent all last night together but my mother let me have the entire weekend off so I was hoping we could go out. Just the two of us.”

“I’d like that. I’ll have to stop by my house to change and drop off my dress but after that I’m all yours.” No way was Marinette going to parade around the city with a case of slept in hairspray head. Not if she was going to be spending the entire time with Kagami.

“I need to stop at my house too. How about we meet at the park near your house around noon?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

After breakfast wrapped up the girls changed out of their pajamas and collected their outfits from the night before. Marinette raced back to her house so she had time to get a shower and pick a cute outfit. Trying to run while carrying a garment bag holding a huge ballgown wasn’t easy but she made it work.

She barely said hello to her parents before she was upstairs. She tossed the dress across her chaise and hopped in the shower to get rid of the post-party grime. When she was done she went immediately to her closet and rifled through what she had. She wanted to look cute but also casual. It was a shame it was too cold for sundresses now.

Wait! She had a sweater dress that would be perfect for a chilly autumn day on the town. She grabbed the comfy red dress and slid it on. To make sure she was warm throughout Marinette also put on some fleece lined black leggings and black boots. There. Casual and cute.

She grabbed her purse and went to go meet Kagami.

Why was she so nervous all of the sudden hanging out with Kagami? They were friends. They put aside their feelings for Adrien to get to this point. There was virtually nothing to worry about. If that were true though then why was her heart beating so fast when she thought of being alone with her? It felt like when Marinette got sat next to her on her first day at Lycee Carnot. Except it wasn’t out of awkward jealousy. It felt like a lot more was on the line.

Stop it, Marinette! She chided herself. You need to get out of your head. You are just hanging out with Kagami. You’ve done this a plenty of times before now.

“Marinette, over here!” Kagami waved from the fountain.

Marinette was stopped in her tracks when she saw Kagami waving. She looked so pretty! She had on a white turtleneck and dusty rose peacoat, blue jeans, and tan ankle booties.

Marinette didn’t even know Kagami owned anything pink. She was sure that she wasn’t a big pastel kinda girl. Regardless, it looked great on her.

“Hey,” Marinette found her tongue as she approached Kagami which was hard since upon closer inspection she could see Kagami had also done her make-up before coming out. Just some tinted lipgloss and mascara but now Marinette was kicking herself for only putting on eyeliner. She could have gotten away with some color on her lips at least!

“You look good,” Kagami said.

“Thanks. You look perfect.” Again Marinette wanted to bury her face in the neckhole of her sweater. What kind of a response was that?

“Thank you,” Kagami fidgeted with the buttons on her coat. “So, um, what did you want to do?”

“Whatever you want to do.”

“How about we take a walk and see if anything else comes to mind while we do.” Kagami suggested.

“Good. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

The girls left the park and started to walk around the city not talking about anything in particular. Mainly they reminisced funny moments from the party and sleepover last night. Kagami didn’t know it since she was the first to fall asleep but Marinette had kept the others from writing on her face afterwards. It was traditional sleepover antics but Marinette fought back the girls’ permanent marker attack.

“My hero,” Kagami laughed.

“All in a day’s work, madame.” Marinette gave a mock bow.

“Watch out!” Kagami pulled Marinette out of the way as a couple of kids on scooters rocketed past them. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Marinette had been so caught up in her little bow she hadn’t noticed the scooterers. Kagami had pulled Marinette toward her to keep her from getting run over and had yet to let go. The proximity sent a ripple up of warmth up her spine. “Guess you were my hero this time.”

“We all have our moments.” Kagami let her go. Her gaze lost again to the ground. “That being said you should probably stick close. Don’t want you accidentally getting run over by a rogue biker next.”

“I think that would be for the best.” Marinette wasn’t going to miss an excuse to stay even closer to her.

They continued on their walk. Their hands kept bumping together as they walked before Marinette had enough and grabbed Kagami’s. When Kagami looked at her Marinette gave a tiny shrug. “I thought that if someone was going to try running me over you could pull me to safety easier this way.”

“Good idea.” Kagami relaxed a touch as she wove their fingers together.

A thought from last night dug its way back from Marinette’s memory and poked at her brain as if to say, ‘Hey! Remember me? Remember how beautiful you thought Kagami looked last night?’

Can you not do this right now? Marinette shot back at the voice in her head.

‘Afraid not!’ If voices in Marinette’s head had facial expressions she’d be a hundred percent sure it was smirking right now. ‘Remember how you thought her lips looked good enough to kiss? They still look pretty kissable now too, huh?’

Please stop. I’m just trying to have a nice day out with my friend.

‘You are really going to try and say she’s just a friend? You’re holding her hand. You can’t stop looking at her. You woke up this morning cuddled with her. This is not typical friend behaviour!’

Not necessarily…

‘You can’t procrastinate on this, Dupain-Cheng! You like Kagami! Admit it!’

Of course I like Kagami. She’s talented, passionate, smart, brave…

She’s also really cute and kind. She has a great sense of humor and always makes time for her friends even if it may be hard to do. When she was thinking she made little humming noises and had a habit of fidgeting and tapping her foot when she was anxious. She also always seemed to smell like green tea and fabric softener. It made Marinette want to curl up in her warm arms and take a nap.

Oh...oh no.

‘Finally figure it out? You big bi-disaster.’

We are not putting a definitive label on this right now but disaster-bi will suffice for this freak out. Do not panic, Marinette! You have a crush on Kagami. A realization that was thrown into the blinding light of day with warm morning snuggles. Keep calm. Do not let your freak out show on your face or else Kagami might start asking questions. Smile and continue walking.

They stayed out all day walking around the city and talking. They stopped for lunch at a little cafe and stopped in the used bookshop next door to see if they had any interesting titles. “You find anything?” Marinette found Kagami sitting on the floor in a little nook of the bookshop. A stainglassed window sent hazy sunbeams of yellow, orange and green around the cozy corner.

Kagami snapped her book shut when she saw Marinette sending dust dancing through the air. “Achoo!” Kagami sneezed.

“Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Marinette sat down next to her. “What were you reading?”

“I think I know where Nanette’s moms got the name for their cafe.” Kagami handed her the small purple book. The gold lettering on the front read: Winking Violets by Nanette Sabot.

“And who they named Nanette after.” Marinette opened it. “What’s it about?”

“I had to look it up on my phone since it doesn’t have a description in the book. But apparently it is about these two women that grew up together as friends. One had to be taken far away to a warmer town during the winters because of her weak constitution but always promised her friend that she would return in time for the violets to bloom. So throughout the years the girls became closer and closer and their field of violets grew with them. Until--do you mind if I spoil it?”

“I don’t mind.” Marinette assured her. “I have a feeling I’m gonna end up sad.”

“Oh yeah,” Kagami sighed, “The day before the weak girl was supposed to return home after the winter a harsh frost covered their field of violets killing all the blooms in one day. The next morning the other girl received a letter telling her that her friend had died. Overcome with grief the girl wandered the now barren field until she found one small violet still clinging to life amongst the frost. She dug it up and carried it home where she kept it warm and watered. When it was strong enough the girl took the bloom and brought it to her friend’s grave where she planted it. That way her friend would never miss the violets blooming again.”

“That is so sad!”

“But still very sweet. It’s the kind of love you dream of having with someone.”

“I guess so,” It might have been the light playing tricks on her eyes but she could have sworn Kagami was blushing.

“So,” Marinette handed her the book back, “Are you gonna buy it?”

“I think I’ll regret it if I don’t.” Kagami looked back at Marinette. Her big brown eyes sparkling in the light. “Amongst other things.”

“Meaning?”

“I am not an indecisive person.”

“I know.”

“Which is why the fact that I’m hesitating right now is very unlike me.”

“I thought you just said you were gonna get the book.”

“Oh Marinette,” Kagami cupped Marinette’s face in her hands, “You silly scatterbrain. I’m not talking about buying the book.”

Her hands were so warm and her face was so close. What was happening? Scatterbrained was right. Marinette couldn’t keep two thoughts together right now.

“Oh?” Marinette finally murmured. Truly a stimulating and literate response.

Kagami giggled which sent another wave of butterflies loose in Marinette’s stomach. “I know this might seem sudden and I might be making a huge fool of myself but I need to say this. I really like you. Not just as a friend. Is that okay?”

“Mhm!” Marinette nodded. “Very okay?”

“You’re sure? I know you tend to overthink things--”

“All I’ve thought about doing since yesterday is kissing you.” Marinette confessed in a rush of words.

Kagami stared back at her wide eyed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have just blurted that out like I did. It’s just that you’re really pretty today, you’re really pretty everyday, but today even more so. You looked gorgeous last night too. I like being around you and find myself looking for more and more excuses to be next to you. You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and I would gladly do most anything to make you smile cause I love seeing you happy. Now I’m scared that the second I stop talking you’re gonna freak out and walk away and I--”

Kagami silenced her with a quick kiss.

“I really wanted to kiss you too.” Kagami said.

Marinette could only smile before she went in for another kiss. This one longer and sweeter than the first. She could taste the faint sweetness of the creampuff they had ordered at the cafe on her lips.

“I guess this means neither of us have to worry about competing over Adrien anymore.” Marinette chuckled. Her forehead resting against Kagami’s.

“I’d say so.” Kagami laughed too.

“Ahem,” the bookshop owner peeked their head around the corner, “You girls find what you were looking for?”

“Yes,” Kagami and Marinette stood up, hands holding tightly to one another, “I think we have.”

---

Transferred:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15)

---

@ladylb @immatureidiot101 @lady-flora-of-slytherin @shamefullove @zazzlejazzle @heredemaquam @kristycocopops @schrodingers25 @sublimemagazinestarlight @crazylittlemunchkin @daydream-wannabewriter @trainflavor @never-neverland @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore

[lazyxlazer]

Shit Church Experiences Pt. 1

As the pandemic continues, I’ve been thinking more and more about shit that I never had time to think about before. It weighs on my mind as I try to sleep every night, and since I process by writing things out, I decided this would probably be a good first step at getting it the fuck out of my head. Nothing has affected me quite as much as my church experience. None of my current friends went regularly as a child, so I’ve become the go to for Bible related questions. Unfortunately for them, I’ve blocked a lot out from my memory as far as Bible memorization goes. A lot of the other shit persists.

I had never heard of church until I was probably 8 or 9. My aunt, uncle, and cousins lived in an apartment complex in my hometown, so I was over there frequently being watched by my aunt and uncle. I remember one day being asked if I would like to go on the “church bus” and go to Sunday School with my cousin. She was probably around 5 and my aunt was putting her on this “church bus” alone to go to some unknown church. Mind you, this wasn’t a traditional bus but a large 14-seater van. Don’t worry, it had windows! I’m not sure if I was supposed to keep my cousin company or if my cousin was just encouraged to bring me along.

The church was about five or so miles away from the apartment complex and sat on a mostly empty highway. It was surrounded by lots of trees and the road with the entrance to the church was kind of treacherous. Since there was not much else around, people driving on the highway weren’t very good at paying attention to cars slowing down to turn into the church. When I first started going, it was large but pretty modest inside. It had red brick walls and a tall white steeple. The inside had a cafe and an area for kids. Sunday school rooms were upstairs. The sanctuary was covered in thick maroon carpet. I should have taken it as a subdued warning; everything in that place was a shade of red. A few years later they would build a brand new, extremely massive sanctuary and a school onto the side of the old church building. The adults had church in the new sanctuary and the kids used the old building.

I don’t remember what that first time was like, but after that, I was in love with going to church. We sang songs and danced around, they gave us SNACKS, we played fun games, and the best part was that I was being told how good of a child I was for going to church. 

The church bus started coming to pick me up at my own home every Sunday. I took my mom with me one time. Then the next time my dad came. After that, we went to church every Sunday without fail. This comes back to haunt me to this day. If I hadn’t gotten on that stupid bus, I never would have gone through all of the pain and suffering that it caused later down the line.

Even though my parents were church regulars, I still rode the church bus. I got to hang out with kids, sing songs, and goof around without my friends. Also, if we brought friends, then we were rewarded. Whoever brought the most friends on the church bus at the end of the month got to go out to lunch with the bus driver, Jake. What a reward, huh? He took us to Wendy’s for burgers, fries, and a frosty. I won that prize SEVERAL times.

The thing about me is that I’m very motivated by praise from authority figures. I’m also very motivated by food. Naturally, church was a dangerous environment for a person like me. There’s always food, and there are plenty of people that have authority and use it to the fullest extent. It wasn’t even hard to look up to them because everyone was always so kind, or pretended to be. 

In Sunday school and in kid’s church, which they called “Adventure Land,” I was very subservient. I memorized all of my Bible verses, I did my daily devotional, I prayed. I wanted to be the best, and I wanted God to love me the most. I thought that if I showed them and God how good I was then I wouldn’t end up in the scary, fiery place called Hell. I had to prove I was good enough to be in heaven. I also wanted to prove to everyone else that I had worth and was meant to be there.

I was quickly pulled into the church “family” and my parents were too now that I spent every Sunday and Wednesday at the church. My dad joined the church choir and band. He played the saxophone, and he loves nothing more than to sing his heart out. My mom cleaned the church every Tuesday. I would usually go with her then, too, to help clean. When I got a little older, I got roped into doing puppet shows and teaching kids how to do the dance moves for the songs. The adults trusted me to help teach others what to do, so I felt the worth I wanted so badly. I knew all of the words and motions to all of the songs! I raised my hands and swayed to the music. I closed my eyes and pretended to feel the Lord’s presence. I knew how to do this stuff. Therefore, I was perfect for indoctrinating younger children!

I don’t recall a lot of the time I spent “witnessing” to other children, but I have a strong memory of something I did for Vacation Bible School (VBS). In the summer, there was a weeklong camp that parents sent their kids to so we could learn all about Jesus and be entertained so parents could have a break from their kids. I went up on stage with two adults in front of the entire congregation and sang a song and danced as a preview for that year’s VBS called Amazon Outfitters. I still remember the song. Now, I see how racist and fucked up it is. It went:

Amazon Outfitters,

We’re on a mission for the one true God.

We cannot be quitters, 

We’re on a mission and we will not stop.

Amazon Outfitters, 

We’re giving everything that we’ve got 

To help others discover

The wonders of the one true God.

And at the end of that verse you made a guttural “HUH!” noise like Edwin Starr in his song “War” because that’s exactly what that song needed. The song is poorly written, but at least it has the imperialistic undertones! Colonization, anyone?

So yeah, a person who is now painfully introverted went up on stage to advertise to parents and their children how they could be cool, just like me, if they went to VBS. Where was my shame? I desperately needed it then, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was important.

I was also a perfect candidate for indoctrinating others because of  how “inspiring” my story was to others, at least according to the adults. I came to church for the first time WITHOUT MY PARENTS and CHOSE to keep coming back. Heck, I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME!! I was the pride and joy of several Sunday School teachers and youth pastors. I was also “saved” before my parents were, so it was because of me that they got saved too.

It’s an absolutely riveting story, let me tell you. One of the church members was an actual cowboy. He had a farm, he owned horses, he had a cowboy hat, he had a handlebar mustache, the dude had it all. On a very special day of church, he brought one of his horses with him to show all of the children. While he talked to us about Jesus, I was enraptured by that horse. I’m not really into horses, although maybe I could have been in another life, but at that moment, nothing was more important to me than touching that horse. He had rich brown hair and a diamond shaped white spot on his nose. Luckily, if we decided that we wanted to ask God to forgive our sins and to follow him no matter what on that very day, we were allowed to come and TOUCH THE HORSE!!!! Like fuck was I passing up that opportunity! I was the first kid to stomp my happy ass up to that horse. I touched it and asked God to forgive me of my sins without a second thought.

I was informed soon after that I would have to get baptized, you know, because we have to wash away our sins in a chlorinated pool before it’s official. I did that without question. It was on a day in April in the old church building. It was still cold outside, enough to wear a jacket. I’m pretty sure I wore a dress that was white and lacy. You wouldn’t catch my gay ass in something like that now-a-days, which is why I bring it up. Upon arrival at the church, we were told that the heater in the baptismal wasn’t working, but it would be okay to go ahead with the baptisms. 

It was not okay.

That water was so cold, that everyone that got baptised that day was a shivering mess for the rest of the service. My legs turned purple. I will NEVER forget how cold I was and how foreign my legs looked on my body. I also recall keeping my eyes open when the pastor dunked me into that water.The pastor laughed at me and told me I was weird. Then, later in the day, my parents threw a little party for me where everyone brought me gifts for being baptized. It made me feel proud and WORTHY.

I give myself a lot of shit for following so blindly, for not questioning, for believing every adult I encountered had good intentions, but there was absolutely no hope for me then. I’m a people-pleaser, I’ll admit it. I know how to listen, pay attention, be quiet, obey. I was taught to always respect adults no matter what. I never questioned them or talked back. I once asked my parents what I was like when I was younger, beyond my memory. My dad said to me, “You were always such a good little girl. You were so...meek. If another kid was throwing a fit because you had a toy they wanted, you would just give it to them and do something else.”

He’s not wrong. That behavior persists to this day. I find it interesting that my parents weren’t more concerned about it. I was such an anxious child. I identified with cartoon characters like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh and Chuckie from Rugrats. Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, too, but that’s just because I’m a weirdo nerd. Maybe they found it endearing and sweet. Maybe they liked how cautious I was because they never had to worry about me doing something dangerous. Honestly, I don’t blame them. I’m sure I was an easy child to handle. However, at a time when I needed more than ever to have ideas and opinions, I was indoctrinated into an extremely toxic church environment. Something that was supposed to give me meaning, purpose, and worth actually left me with nothing when I no longer followed without question.

I still have plenty floating around in my head and MANY STORIES that I believe need to be told. Later I’ll be talking about:

The Youth Barn - are you ready teens?! AYE AYE, JESUS!

The Baptist Church Break-up

The Truth About Bob (spoiler: it’s not good)

The Pizza Church

Noah and The Wonderful World of Technology

Ken Ham and Creationism

Youth Group

Church Band

“Dude, your pastor is a little creepy…”

HOW I ESCAPED

[defdaily]

[TRANSLATION] NYLON Korea Magazine November 2015 issue x GOT7 JB

You mentioned you used to be a rebel?

JB: From before I was a trainee, I liked dancing. I wanted to be a dancer and I wanted to be a b-boy. With the advice of people around me, I went for the audition without much consideration and managed to get through, and, by luck, got first place. I lived through practicing and rather than being thankful, I was stubborn in not wanting to be a dance-type performance singer. I also skipped lost of vocal lessons. (Laughs) And then, I listened to some music and suddenly wanted to become good at singing. I looked at myself and realized that I lacked in so many areas. From then on, I stopped dancing and focused on practicing my singing.

What music was it?

JB: It was D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar. It was the type of music that really stood out to me and to be that goos at singing (referring to D’Angelo) was something I though to be impossible from the beginning. I wanted to have a voice that’s “sticky” and seductive like that.

Is that why you became less rebellious?

JB: My personality is not the type that doesn’t listen to other people’s opinions or thoughts. If there is something I want, I’m the type to become stubborn. Now, I’ve really cut down on just doing whatever I want. Up until I was a high school students, I was really irresponsible. Even though I’m not a grown-up yet, at I turned twenty and became and adult (legally, in this context), I feel a strong need to become more responsible. So I try and be careful with my words and actions. At our company, if there is clashing opinions, I don’t just say “I am definitely no doing that,” but I share my opinion in a civil manner.

Do you get “autumn fever”? (Asking if he’s affected in any way by autumn)

JB: I used to think that I don’t, but then when the seasons change from summer to autumn, and then from autumn to winter, I feel that I’m sensitive to the dropping temperatures of the air. I get distracted, and I also think more. [Because] that kind of air is something that always comes around once a year. As I take in that air, I think about the things that happened the previous year during the same season. There are times hone I feel a sense of longing, or sometimes I will reflect. Just because it’s autumn doesn’t mean that I feel lonely.

Then, are you the type that eats well? Or the type that likes to read?

JB: Not just because it’s autumn now, but I like both (eating and reading). I like Korean food and going around searching for good Korean restaurants. As for books… I like crime fiction and self-development/inspirational books. I find profound ones so-so.

So do you find self-development/inspirational books helpful?

JB: Honestly, I don’t find them to be very helpful. (Laughs) Even though you can’t become someone notable/famous just by reading books, after I read them, it becomes like a trigger for me to look back on what I’ve done.

It hasn’t been long since Just Right was released and now you guys are back with Mad.

JB: We started preparing when Just Right promotions were about to end. We recorded and practiced our choreography simultaneously. The concepts for Just Right was very clearly defined, and the concept for If You Do is also very clearly defined, so we really wanted to quickly show a completely different image.

Do you enjoy being busy?

JB: Its not good to rest too much, It’s not about being anxious when we’re resting (i.e. not doing anything), but that if we rest too much, we let go of our thoughts. After resting, we need that driving force to trigger us to move. That’s why we have to properly adjust ourselves.

What’s something that makes you “move”? (i.e. inspires him, keeps him moving forward, etc.)

JB: Even though this is something obvious, it’s the wish for many people to listen to and like our music. Even though it’s important that people like our music, how much I am able to properly show is important as well.

What do you do when you rest?

JB: When I have time on my hands, I practice my singing and write songs in my work space. Sometimes I go to the Han River and enjoy the wind or sometimes I go to a cafe to meet a certain hyung who, music-wise, matches well with me and we just listen to music and chit-chat. That’s all.

When is the time for you to just go out and play as much as you want?

JB: In front of our dorm, there are lots of famous clubs. When I see the people who gather in from of the clubs on Fridays, there are times when I too want to go out and play/enjoy myself. However… I’m not too sure. The same goes for playing… it seems we need to have various experiences so as to not have any regrets, but right now for me, making music and signing is more enjoyable, and I’m more comfortable with it.

Ah yes, congratulations. You guys won first place for the first time, right?

JB: We were really so happy. I though that I would shed tears if we won first place. Even though winning first place isn’t important, it’s not something we can excluded from our desire for results. I thought that the feeling we’ll get when we won would be like compensation for all the hard work we’ve put in so far. However, at that moment we were so shocked, the only thing we could do was say thank you. I spent [the] entire day (he means the night they won) on cloud nine, but then when I opened my eyes the next morning, I ate to the realization. From now on we have to work even harder.

[Translator note: When he said “I thought that the feeling we’ll get when we won would be like compensation for that the hard work we’ve put tin so far, it sounds a little underwhelming, but no. He means that he thought they would be overcome with so much emotion that amounts to how much they’ve worked thus far, but in the end they were just shocked and in some much disbelief that they couldn’t really feel much.]

Did you guys have a party?

JB: As we had a schedule the next day, we immediately went back to our dorm and slept. The members and myself. We were in such disbelief that we had blank expressions on our faces as we sat in the car on the way home. (Laughs) [Because] we are still in the midst of promotions, we said we’ll complete it (promotions) and then have the party after that.

Is it going to be very elaborate and grand?

JB: The party? Actually, when we say we’re having a party, we just go to the meat restaurant to grilled eat meat. (Laughs) I don’r know much about playing, so I’m not sure what there is for us to do. Something like getting a hotel room and having fun with the members? We will probably go eat meat and then go to the Han River to enjoy the breeze (in the end).

Just Right [has a] cute image. If You Do [has a] manly image. Which one are you more similar to?

JB: If my face is expressionless, I appear extremely fierce. Then when I smile, I appear gentle, It’s hard for me to be cute. I find it hard to adjust myself as I’m not sure how far I should go (how cute he should try to be). When I want to appear cite, I have to let go of myself (pride/ego). (Laughs) Anyway, I’m more comfortable being expressionless.

When you are Lim Jaebeom and when you are JB… is there a clear division?

JB: I am only JB on stage. Even after getting my makeup done and putting on my stage outfits, I am Im Jaebum right up to the moment I go up on stage. Besides the time I’m on stage signing and dancing, I’m just an ordinary person who does not worry at all about have to put on a “concept” or having to appear cool.

Amongst the members, is there anyone you want to live as of a day?

JB: I think my current self is just right. That doesn’t mean that I would hate to swap lives with anyone for a day. It’s because I’m satisfied with myself and am not curious about anything else.

Flowers and a disco ball (props for the photoshoot). Which suits you more?

JB: Flowers. They’re more animal-like, and even though there are times I have burning passion, I’m usually meek/gentle.

[Translator note: When he said “animal-like,” he meant that flowers are more natural, soft, etc.]

Translated by @yerines_

[lady-olive-oil]

Work Out: Chapter 3

What up what up! It’s that time again, and you already know! It took a me a good minuet ti get this done and edited, but it’s here and I am currently working on the next chapter along with BSB. Critique is greatly appreciated along with likes and reblogs. If you’d like to be apart of the Lil Nastie’s tag squad, let me know. Here we go!

Warnings: none but fluff, tension, language

WC: 5.1k [not sure how this went about but i did it]

Lil Nasties: @themyscxiras || @maddiestundentwritergaines || @designerwriterchic || @honeychicana || @chaneajoyyy || @jojolu || @dc41896 || @titty-teetee || @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove || @ljstraightnochaser || @mimigemrose || @crushed-pink-petals || @fumbling-fanfics || @madamslayyy || @amelatonin || @screamingdrago || @sparklemichele || 

(Five, four, three, two, one

Leggo! (watch me)

Level up, level up, level up, level up, level up Level up, level up, level up, level up, level up All this on me, so yummy, all this oh so yummy You know you want this yummy, yummy all in your tummy)

Groaning to sounds of my alarm on my phone, that only meant one thing. I had to get my cute self out this queen sized bed and get ready for school. Not too much left to do for graduation. Good thing I had enough gas in my car. Leggings and a T-shirt was all I need, along with my braids in a bun and sneakers. Turning off the alarm, I gathered myself together. Looking like a bum for school was what everyone was gonna get from me.

Taking classes to become a physical therapist, were anything but easy. Especially taking it a second time, but being more advanced. Go back to school to become a physical therapist they said, it’ll be fun they said. 8 am classes ain’t no joke, yet I thought I’d be done with it all. Nope! Still taking them. Only taking three classes anyway, graduation ain’t far behind. Anatomy, general chemistry 2 and biology 2.

As I made my way to the lecture hall, I saw one of my classmates walk past me. She looked happy as hell and I wanted to know why.

“Hey Layla. Why do you look so pleased?” Leaning against the brick building that held the campus library, I got her attention.

“Oh, hey Geneva. You didn’t hear about class being canceled?”

“Uh nah. Was it in the- damn. The group me. I have got to turn the notifications back on.” Feeling embarrassed, I checked the chat and it was true. Class had been canceled, well I’ll be damned.

Waving goodbye to Layla, getting back to my car, I contemplated my next move. 

Well it is 8:45, I have no others classes today. I could either run those errands I was gonna do. Talking to myself in my head, as I planned my day out accordingly, I got a message from the devil.

Jake: Are you free for lunch today? We need to discuss some things.

I know this negro did not just- cool it down Gege. Inhale, exhale, let it go. Thinking of what to respond back to him, he messaged her again.

Jake: I know you read my message, Geneva. Don’t play these games. Be an adult.

That was the last straw. I winded up calling him and putting him on speaker phone.

“Nigga, what do you want?” The obvious sass coming from my voice, lack of sleep from packing up the rest of his shit last night.

This divorce was taking longer than I had planned and it wasn’t making my life any easier. It caused me to have sleepless nights; not eating as much as I should’ve been and just tuning things out. Yet I initiated the divorce.

“Ouch. Language my love. Listen-”

“Not your love, and it’s Genevieve to you and your little pile of sand you call a girlfriend. Now answer the damn question: what do you want?” The irritation was getting to me, I had to calm down somehow.

“Leave Mandy out of this please, she’s not my girlfriend. Cool it with that shit. Anyway, I just think we should meet up to discuss the divorce. Say over lunch at that pizza parlor in Times Square?” He suggested with a gentle tone, I could feel the smirk on his face through the phone.

“You a whole ass child coming at me with that stank attitude. Ha! You got me twisted, thinking you can talk to me just any old kind of way.”

“Are you done? Cause clearly the dude you’ve been running around with don’t look like much either.” His tone was dull and irritated.

“Are you done? Clearly you don’t get the point of a divorce: sign the papers, get ya shit and leave. What don’t you get Jacob? Leave Florian out of this too. He’s just a friend, nothing more.” I haven’t said his full name in a minute. Why did it hurt to say that Florian was just a friend? Jesus be a fence.

“This is just a misunderstanding. Look, just have lunch with me. We haven’t talked since you gave the papers to me.” He did have a point, just this one time.

The deep sigh that left my lips, caused my body to hum in frustration.

“One lunch. That’s it. The next meetings we have will be with our lawyers present. This needs to be done and over with already.”

“Oh come on. I know you miss me, baby girl.”

I nearly gagged in my mouth when he called me that. The only time it meant something, was when we first started dating. Once the lies started in our marriage soon came the infidelity; the over charging in our joint account. The list goes on.

Did I really want to get dressed again, out of my leggings and Nike T-shirt? He just gonna have to deal with what I present to him.

“Let’s get something straight, ok?” I started and grabbed my phone to make my statement clear.

“First of all: We ain’t meeting at the place we went on our first date. Ain’t happen captain, you ain’t slick. Second of all: whatever I got on, is what I have on. I look like a bum so that’s what you’ll get. And third of all: we’re meeting at a neutral spot which is yours. You’re paying for my food, for wasting my time” he owned a little cafe on Times Square. Only thing going for him is his business degree.

There was a poignant pause, a heavy sigh followed. He tried it.

“Deal. It’s just you right?” He didn’t want any surprises. He needs to get over himself.

“Just me. Get over yourself. See you in 15.” I hung up before I could hear him say bye back. I had enough of his bullshit anyway. I didn’t even want to do this meeting but I had to get it over with.

Before I could even leave the parking lot, I got a message from Florian. Which made my body freeze and a smile stretch across my face.

Florian: good morning gorgeous. I hope your morning has been well.

This man knows how to woo a woman. I just don’t know how I ended up with him being back in my life. Responding back, I had to be honest. Pretty sure he could read right through me.

Me: it’s been going, could be better. Class today was canceled but. My ex wants to met up with me for a chat. Sadly.

Everybody I came in contact with knows that I no longer desire any time to be around Jake Austin, anymore. I have wasted the last 4-5 years of my life over some dude who can’t keep himself in his pants.

Waiting for him reply, I was anxious for his response. Knowing he didn’t care did Jake much either.   

Florian: it’s only a chat right? I’d hate to come up there to save the Princess from evil.

Me: well aren’t you a charmer. I’m a big girl I can handle myself love. I appreciate it though. Definitely looking forward to tonight too~

This man was something. From the top of his head, to the soles of his feet. There was no way he was real. Making my way to the cafe, I started to think about what could Jake possibly want to talk about this time. Could be an intelligent conversation. Not.

The place was packed but luckily, a spot was available for me to snag. Hearing my phone buzz one more time, I bit my bottom lip in concentration.

Florian: if you ever need me to become backup, let me know. I’m looking forward to tonight too. Tell me, which sounds better: fancy dinner or Dave and Busters?

He really going for it. I like a man who can take charge. Walking into the cafe I saw Jake behind the bar with Alejandro, his bartender, and they both waved at me. I hadn’t seen Alejandro in a minuet, so seeing him made this meeting better. The place had a it’s moments, some great and bad one's. But they were moments.

I couldn’t help but think back to when he first opened this place. He was so happy and full of energy, that he couldn’t fathom any of it. One of the only times where it was good, but the bad outweighed it all. It finally crashed down when we moved to Orlando. My phone buzzed again, from Florian.

Me: let’s do something fun; Dave and Busters. I’m gonna need some fun tonight. You’re just the person to give it to me.

I didn’t think I’d be this bold with talking to anyone, let alone a man. But hey, it’s working out and confidence boost is needed. My phone buzzed again, taking me out of my concentration as I took a seat by the window, across from Jake.

Florian: oh I’ll give it to you alright. See you tonight princess.

“Well damn.” I muttered to myself while looking at my phone, knowing that Jake was giving me a death glare. I didn’t care either way, so I sent Florian my address and then put my phone on the table.

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” He asked in a smug tone, leaning back to show up. Which he didn’t have much to show off.

“None of your business. That’s what I want to share. So why am I here?” Not in the mood for his shit, I cut right to the chase.

“Nice to see you Jake, how are you? Oh my good Geneva thanks for asking.” He rolled his eyes and scoffed at me.

“I have plans today, so hurry up. Why did you want to discuss our divorce?” I didn’t want to be here any longer than I already was.

“Well there’s been a little upset happen and I figured I’d tell you now, rather than wait and hide till the final day.”

“Quit stalling. I’m sure you have to get back to Mandy, she has you on a tight leash.” I took a sip of strawberry margarita and eyed him carefully.

“Leave her out of this. That’s your problem, always wondering about who I’m messing with. You need to check yourself.” He eyed me back.

“Uh oh, little Jake got some bass in his voice. And FYI, I watch everyone I mess with. Now tell me why am I here?”

“I have a child now.” He went right out with it. There was a poignant silence in the air.

“A what? Is Mandy your baby mama?” I arched a brow in curiosity.

“Yes she is the mother of my child. And, why does it matter?” He confessed. He looked comfortable about it too.

“So let me get this straight: you mean to tell me she had your baby? And you want child support from me?” This was about to hit left.

“Not child support, more of alimony. Settle the divorce. To help out.” 

“Nigga is you dumb? We sighed a prenup for a reason.” And it went way left.

“Yeah we did. I still have my half of what I came with, you do too. I just need more to help out with the baby.” He sure was talking out the side of his neck.

“Is it crack? Is that what you smoke?” I asked in a hushed tone, leaning against the table.

He looked at me as if I was the crazy one. He has the wrong one when it comes to legal matters.

“Genevieve, I need your help with this. I can’t-”

“You can’t what? Stop gambling your money away? Spending it on strippers and what not? You can, you absolutely could stop. Cause I’m not giving you dime. She gave you something I couldn’t!” That memory still haunted me. The day I lost the baby and how he made me feel as though it was my fault, I still can’t sleep at night because of it.

“I- know, and I’m sorry for all of that.” He sounded so sincere and I almost fell for it again. He reached for my hand and I drew it back.

“No you’re not. You’re looking for a goddamn handout again. I’m not the one to mess with Jacob. Have a good day, see you in a month.”

I grabbed my belongings and headed to my car. I couldn’t believe him, the audacity of him to think he could do this to me. I needed a change of scenery bad.

Message to the girls:

Meet me at the salon. I need to vent and look good for tonight.

Sending the message, I drove as far away as I could. I had to get my head on straight.

-The salon-

“Hell no. He got some nerve asking you to give him some hush money to help him and his raggedy ass baby mama.”

Destiny went off her rocker when I told her and Cynthia about my altercation earlier. We were all getting our hair and nails done, at Bon Bon, to release some stress. I had to get beautified for my date at least.

“He wants you to give him more money from the divorce, to help raise his baby. Nah, hell no. This divorce is going on long enough. He needs to sign them.” Cynthia wasn’t having it either. It didn’t make sense to her either. Josie came in just in time, already knowing the rundown.

“He’s a damn fool. I have to tell Florian what happened today, can’t start a new beginning with a lie or secrets.” I sighed gently, thinking of how he’d take it. The look I got from them three was priceless.

“So, you and Captain Romania huh? You two seem pretty close.” Cynthia arched a brow, as her nails were getting done.

That caused my face to heat up a little, just thinking about the late night conversations we’ve been having. He’s really easy to talk to; great listener, makes me laugh. He’s just too good to be true but he’s real.

“Yeah we’ve been talking a bit. Hung out a few times before skate night. I’m just nervous about going on my first date in a year, and on top of it all dealing with Jake’s broke ass.” Letting Evangeline curl my hair a bit, was checking my phone.

Looking at Instagram, occasionally glancing at my feed, I see a new post from Florian. The picture looks like it’s me, at the skating rink. Holy shit..

“Uh ladies. Did you check Florian’s recent post?” I asked the room and they all checked their phones. Within the next 2.5 seconds the rook erupted with a fit giggles, oohs and ahhs.

“Girl! You got him smitten! ‘There’s something about a grown woman in roller skates, and slow jams.’ What did you do to this man? Got people asking if you’re his lady or not, and what’s your Instagram.” Josie squealed happily, as she kept reading through the comments.

“All I did was stand my ground to Mandy; roller skate with him and kissed his cheek. That’s it.” I explained gently, trying not to grin so hard.

“Girl! That’s uncharted territory!” Destiny tapped my shoulder.

“Ok, ok! Maybe I felt daring, and I may feel daring again tonight too.” Handing the money to Eva, I checked myself out in the mirror. Damn I looked good.

“Keep us posted!”

“Please do!”

“We need to facetime later!”

“I got y’all. Don’t worry!” Blowing them all a kiss, I headed out the salon feeling better than ever. Something about getting your hair done makes you feel powerful. It was only a matter of time before the big night.

-Geneva’s Condo-

Boxes on top of boxes. I still have yet to unpack and I’ve been here for about nearly a month. Luckily my clothes were in the walk in closet.

My orange camouflage pants were in the dryer; my white sneakers were in their box still and my black lace bodysuit was in the closet.

“Ok. I need to shower and shave yo cause ya never know.” Checking my phone for the time, it was 6:45, he’ll be here soon.

My shower wasn’t long anyway; pinned up my curls in a bun, quick shave and lather in cocoa butter lotion. All the essentials needed for a perfect date.

Hearing the doorbell ring, I paused before applying my snicker doodle lip-gloss.

“Coming!” I hopped down the stairs to get the door, and was met with a tall Romanian teddy bear that held a bouquet of sunflowers.

“Florian. You shouldn’t have.”

“I insist, and besides it wouldn’t be a date without flowers?” He handed me the flowers, then placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

“True. I’m almost ready, I just need to get my sneakers on and my jacket. Then we can go, make yourself at home. Sorry about the boxes.” I kissed his cheek, upon seeing him get flustered a bit, I set the flowers in a vase then I headed upstairs to get my things.

“Take your time draga.” He smiled gently and sat on my couch.

Did he just called me dear? Hmm, if only he knew I can speak Romanian fluently. Studying abroad in Germany had its perks for a semester, from the second year of college. Slipping on my sneakers and grabbing my jacket, I skipped down the stairs.

“Ready to go?” I asked, catching him off guard from his selfie. I’m pretty sure I got in one.

“Yup let's go- you look amazing.” Florian bit his bottom lip and gave me a once over. The heat rushed to my cheeks as he spun me around a bit.

“Florian, come on now. We’re gonna be late.” Smiling sweetly as possible, I grabbed my keys and headed for the door with him in tow. Making sure the door was locked, I sighed in relief and continued on.

“Alright, Alright. Let’s go have some fun.” He opened the door for me to get in.

“Ever the gentleman. Scoring points so far, Flo.”

“Good to know, I aim to please.” With a wink in my direction, he slid into the driver seat and had us rolling to our date. Watching as the city moved past the window, I noticed that he held my left hand as we drove on.

It all just felt right being here in this moment with him. Our fingers were laced, vibing to some R&B without a care in the world.

-45 min into the date, after dinner-

“This is nice. Just the two of us, finally.” I was nervous ok? Who wouldn’t be with a man like him? Scooting closer to him in the booth, I felt a bit better.

“Yes it is. I’m glad you said yes, to coming out with me. I have to admit, I was going to be really upset if you didn’t.” As if his eyes weren’t enough to sway me, he added the puppy dog pout with it. This man is going to be the death of me.

“No you wouldn’t. The Florian Munteanu, would’ve been upset if little old Geneva, turned him down? Flo you could have any woman you want.” I took a sip of my 1st bottle of Angry Orchard, trying not to smile so hard.

“But yet I want you. You see past all of the fame, and that’s what I admire about you, draga. Hell, my parents only met you once and yet they can’t stop asking about you.” He smiled at me sweetly, causing my face to heat up a bit. His green eyes were like emerald jewels in a crown, that would shine with every passing glance.

“All I did was keep them company while you filmed your scenes. They were real easy to talk to.” The look on his face was priceless when I said that. I leaned back to see what he was going to do.

“Easy to talk to? How did you talk to them? Do you speak Romanian?”

“Mhm. I went to study abroad in Germany, they gave us a choice to either learn German or Romanian.” I confessed with a smirk.

“Say something for me.” He encouraged with a hopeful look. It only made me giggle a bit.

“Ok, um let’s see. tu ești cel mai frumos om pe care l-am cunoscut vreodată. Este o rușine că nu ați fost răpit încă.” I looked him dead in his eyes, while caressing his cheek, which turned red.

{you are the most handsomest man I’ve ever met.It’s a shame you haven’t been snatched up yet}

“There’s no way you’re real. You’re a nurse going back to school for a physical therapy degree; you’re a personal trainer, you speak 4 languages, took jiu jitsu and kickboxing at age 12 and you sing.” Easy to say he was intrigued by me even more. Normally I don’t talk about myself but he made it easy.

“Yeah that’s me. Genevieve Leona Shaw.” I was more comfortable with him now and all self doubt went away.

“Well princess Geneva, why don’t we play some games? Air hockey?” he offered his hand to me to take, and i slid out the booth.

“You’re on.”

-15 min later-

“Cheater! You cheated!” I was pouting a bit as Florian won the 3rd game of air hockey. We had a bunch of food, good drinks and great conversation. So what better way to top it off with a few games, even a bit of hookah.

“Prinţesă, how can one cheat at air hockey?” The sly smirk that graced his face, made the butterflies come back.

“By doing shit like that. Let’s go play pool.” I chuckled, grabbing my angry orchard and heading towards the pool table room. Of course we had gotten each other some prizes from the winners circle, and took them to his car real quick. I held on to the little koala in a hawaiian shirt and sunglasses.

Racking up the balls, and grabbing my pool stick, I leaned against the table eying him. I hit the rack and the balls went in various directions.

“Eyes up front Flo. Don’t need you getting distracted.” The tone I used with him was smooth as chocolate and slick as eco styler gel.

“I’m not distracted draga. You’re just enticing is all.” He admitted and gave me that look that would make any woman melt. I had to stay strong regardless, and not crack.

I rounded the table, looking at him fiercely. My hands grazed his hips and he froze.

“Sorry love. Your go.” I smirked back at him leaning against the other side, just checking him out. He was a sight to behold.

He took his turn, gracefully hitting the balls against the others. He looked as if he was etched in marble, tall like the statue of David in a prestigious museum. You’d want to touch so bad, but know you’ll get in trouble for it. I am a grown ass woman, if I want to get in trouble I will.

“See something you like Geneva?” They way he uttered my name was so suave and delicate. The look in his eyes was predator like, drawing me in further into his trap.

“I do. I might need help with this trick shot though, think you can help?” I asked curiously, watching him walk behind me and grab a good of my hips to position them right.

“Like this.” His voice was hot and heavy, tantalizing even. The deep bass of his baritone voice was like a warm blanket, by the fireplace, on a winter New York night.

Feeling his broad chest against my back again, just as if we were at the skating rink all over again, I felt secure and protected. It had been a while since I’ve felt like this, and it’s foreign to me. I didn’t want it to go away.

On instinct I bit my bottom lip, having his hands on mine to hit the cue ball. Making the last balls ricochet and sink all in their pockets.

Squealing happily I turned around, hugging him tightly. We both fit so perfectly against each other, it was maddening. Pulling away gently, resting my head on his and breathing deeply, we looked into each other’s eyes. His scenery was intoxicating, like teakwood from Bath and Bodyworks and when the rain stops. I wanted to stay like this forever.

“I uh- I should be getting home. I have a lot planned this week.” I broke the tension a little and saw his shoulders relax a little as he still held me close to his body.

“I’ll take you home. Don’t need a pretty girl walking home alone.” I nodded at him gently, feeling like shit for not kissing him right then and there. Holding his hand, as we walked out of Dave and Busters, I felt like I messed it up.

The drive back to my house was a long and quiet one. I had to think of something fast.

“You doing anything tomorrow, Florian?”

“Other than going to the gym, possibly hanging out with the guys. Why?” He made it in front of my house and I knew what I wanted to do.

“I wanna go to the gym with you. I just gotta get my bag from upstairs and I’ll be right back.” Without thinking, I leaned over, pecked his lips and got out the car.

I looked back, and to my surprise he was in shock. With a sweet giggle, I went up to grab my gym bag, that had extra clothes in it. It had all my essentials in it anyway. By the time I came back down, he was so flustered by the little kiss I gave him.

“Florian. You ok? You look flustered.” I rubbed his face gently, as he drove to his hotel room. He let out a sweet chuckle.

“Well I was caught off guard, by a princess giving me a kiss. Maybe later tonight, we could continue it?” He was very charismatic as ever. Pondering the thought in its entirety, I wondered if I could.

The journey up to his room was nothing but comforting and understand. Once inside, he handed me one of his shirts to sleep in, which looked like a dress and we chatted a bit. He was shirtless and in a pair of grey sweatpants.

“So back to what you said earlier, you’ve been singing since you were 10 or 12, right?”

“Yup. I gave it up when I met Jake. He told me I should just focus on school and not on some pointless dream.”

The more I explained it the more hurt he looked. Pulling me into a tight embrace, I finally got the chance to breath him in again. He was really intoxicating and it was down right sinful.

“If you still want to peruse it, I say go for it. I'm in your corner. I’m not gonna let him be anywhere near you ever again, I promise.” He mumbled into my hair, rubbing my back in a tender manor.

Just hearing him say those words to me, the words I’ve been wanting to hear for years, made everything I do seem worthwhile.

I just held on to him, as tight as I could and the tears fell. Lifting up my chin to look into my eyes, I knew this was coming. I wanted it too, so I let him lead us to his bed and just cuddled him.

“Draga, you can just rest on me if you want to-” I shut him up this time. It was now or never, and I chose now. My lips crashed on to his in desire, on their own accord.

“Flo, I’m sorry. I don’t know-”

“Why are you apologizing? Come here.” This time he pulled me closer to his body, which was warm and inviting, kissing me again.

Our lips moved in sync as the kiss grew hotter by the second. He lifted me up by my hips, on to his waist and drew me closer by the back of my head. I didn’t know what else to do but to hold his face in my hands and just rub my thumbs against his cheek. His hands rested on my hips, and the kiss grew hotter.

I could feel his heartbeat increase under my hands, once I moved them. We fit so well like a puzzle piece, it was uncanny. Once it was broken, we looked into each other’s eyes again, taking it all in.

“Wow.” He smiled like a Cheshire Cat as he pulled the blankets over us both. I didn’t feel like moving, he was too damn cuddly underneath all that muscle.

“Wow I right.” My face was nuzzled into his neck and I felt at home for the first time since I moved back. Maybe Florian is the one. I don’t want to scare him away at all, but this new journey was worth it.

I started to hum lightly, and he caught me.

“You should sing me to sleep. Think of a song you’ve finished.”

“On the spot Munteanu?” I traced a few shapes on his chest and thought.

“Yes Printesa. It’s ok, it’s just me.” Kissing my head for reassurance, he gained a smile from me.

“Ok ok. Lemme think. I got the verse done but not the rest. Is that ok?” I asked nervously.

“Go ahead.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sounds of my voice. I scooted up closer to his ear, and held him close to me.

“If you keep on putting it down, you gon' make me love ya. If you keep on putting it down, you gon' make me stay. Ain't no competition, you that man by far. Maybe you the best, got me going so hard.”

My voice carried itself as I saw him smile sleepily a bit, holding me as if he’d lose me.

“And if this isn't love, why do I feel this way? Why does he stay on my mind? And if this isn't love, why does it hurt so bad? You make me feel so mad inside. Something about your love that's got me staying. Something about you boy, don't know what it is. And all you did to me, I'm steady fallen…”

He was sound asleep with me against him, holding on for dear life. Placing a kiss on each closed eyelid of his, i too fell asleep in a peaceful slumber. He wasn’t going to lose me, I was going to make sure of that.

[eris0330]

Hiraeth - Twenty one

☽Pairing☾ ; BTS | Reader ☽Genre☾ ; Angst

☽Word Count☾ ; 2.5k

☽Summary☾ Returning back to Korea after years of being under the ground, to see your parents. You wished it was all it took, to feel complete again. The aftermath of confusion, betrayal and sorrow was the reason to never come back into the boys presents. But it wasn’t until, seeing one them enter the same cafe, at the right time.

☽Warnings☾ Mention of suicide and along those lines.

☽M. List☾ ;  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 [ongoing]

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Present…

In the early mornings of brewing hot water and coffee, with different variants of oatmeal while the eggs are sizzling on the pan. Hoseok had awoken earlier than the others and decided to prepare breakfast, as the others were resting out the alcohol. The boys had stayed up to late night, watching different youtube videos, of them, you and others that could be close to your case. The drinks refilled quicker with lousy dancing and bantering, while the music soothed in the background. It was a night to remember, unfortunately it was only Hoseok that kept the alcohol to a minimum. Secrets were shared, confessions of lonely boys, future worries got thrown back and forth.

“Ooooh smells gooood~” Jimin chimed, sitting at the breakfast bar to look at Hoseok setting up the table. Jimin yawned fondly while cracking his tense bones, to then see Namjoon join beside him. Polishing his glasses, his lips were swollen from a deep sleep in his own room. “Morning~” he spoke with a rust voice, while clearing the smudge off his glasses. 

Taehyung slowly approached to snack on a banana, not waiting further for the boys to arrive. His smacking of lips grows in the room, while nodding a firmly ‘good morning’ too.

Jungkook stepped forward from the deep hallway to help Hoseok put the food ready on the table, letting it be in the centre for everyone to grab. “Are the others up too?” Jungkook questioned curiously, seeing Namjoon and Jimin shrug appropriately while Taehyung pointed towards the hallway. After two seconds, two men with rough morning hair were standing at the entrance of the hallway while giving each other a glance. There weren’t exchanged a word and they each found a spot at the table, while Jin stretched his arms along the way.

“You’re all such early risers” Jin yawned deeply, pouring oatmeal into a bowl. The others chucking at his remark, thanking for the food before indulging into the breakfast. The sound of munching and juice poured into glasses, reminding some of the boys of last nights ‘party’. After a quiet breakfast the boys helped with the dishes, while some were lounging on the couch to dwell on a filled stomach. It took some time before they decided to go wash up and getting their cozy outfits on, because even though it was an off day, they felt this strange urge to have somewhat ‘decent looking’ clothing on.

“So, any news?” Jin spoke, settling himself on the floor to stretch his body in various positions. His long legs spotted any angle of the room, while Yoongi positioned himself as a ball in the lounge chair. The boys following troop to find a spot at the couch or empty chairs looking at their phones, while Jungkook put on some background music. Hours passed and it was almost noon. Their stomachs were about to rumble of anger, or rather hunger, to be exact. Jin was chosen to cook lunch, with two of the others from the group. Though, no one was volunteering with a cheer, so they decided to play a game of who picked the shortest straw. Back in the days it was about to find something useful in the house, to have long sticks and one short stick. Now in the futuristic days, those things are mounted into their phones. So, the game didn’t take very long and the lucky winners, were Jungkook and Taehyung. Thankful for the errands of the day before, they had all the ingredients that they needed, though they were confused why they decided to buy extra but something told them it was the right thing to do.

It was a chaos in the kitchen, with magic tricks involving caramelized potato and different ways to cut the vegetables in shapes. That’s how it usually went, cooking as a trio in a small kitchen. Jin always taught Jungkook new things and skills to prepare the food, or know when something is cooked and even what to do when the food taste bland. Taehyung always admired Jin’s skills in cooking and were doing his best, to show how good he has become in his cooking skills.

Yoongi and Jimin decided to put the plates on the table, while Namjoon were grumbling by himself in the lounge chair. His thoughts anywhere else than in the room, or to be heard by others. He felt strange, sitting by himself but also a snitch of happiness looking back at the others. The way they chuckled, played around and helped each other, felt remising. He couldn’t help but smile and Hoseok seemed to notice, as he nudged Namjoon on his thigh.

“Don’t get lost now” He chimed, before inviting himself to sit at the table. The delicious scent of food was growing in the room, making the other join the table in the speed of light. As the last things were placed, they all thanked for the food before indulging themselves. The sounds of munching and happy murmurs of their taste buds cheering, made confidence grow within the cooking masters.

“So, since we got here, we might as well talk about our plan” Jungkook spoke, with rice stored in his cheeks making them puff larger than usual. Namjoon couldn’t help but smile of the cute sight, that were lining up to a bunny.

“What plan? It’s not like we can do much than roam around on social media. Out of all places, I doubt she would be here in Jeju” Jimin added, fetching a piece of meat from the pan. The others knew why they had to come here, but they didn’t know if it was the real deal or just an excuse to get away from work.

“Never say never” Yoongi muttered, munching on a chewy piece of meat. Namjoon sighed loudly, before taking a big bite of his meal. His hands clapping softly, gaining the other’s attention.

“Right, before we got here, I had a talk with Bang. About the articles that is flowing around” He spoke softly, making the other slow down their eating process.

“Those articles are still up everywhere on social media and even the dating scandal between her and Wonho, but it’s like people don’t want to stop talking about our disbandment” Hoseok mentioned, poking at his meat as he watches the other’s reaction.

“It’s not like they are dumb. I have read a lot of theories online about the whole disbandment and they aren’t far from the truth, even now it has gotten better after the dating scandal article.” Jungkook added, remembering that single theory article about the cover up a disbanded member due to medical issues. Even though the article had faults, it was almost true as it could be.

“Come to think of it, how did Wonho know about the whole thing with Jimin and Y/N?” Taehyung questioned curiously, munching on a piece of bread while looking at Jimin with big eyes. Jimin could only scoff of the question, feeling the pain return that he once experienced in his own home.

“Wonho sleeps around with Jisu” Yoongi answered annoyed, taking a toothpick to take out the piece of meat stuck between his teeth.

“Wonho?? Jisu??? Are you serious??” Jin almost yelled in shock, thinking of the love that was once shared between Wonho and you, but also the hatred that was formed with Jisu.

“So Jisu is with Wonho and Soomi is a Youtuber. How did it end up like this?” Taehyung questioned in disbelief, that it felt like everything went better for everyone else than themselves.

“Also, when Soomi isn’t under contract anymore, she’s pretty much free to speak about everything that happened years ago” Jimin mentioned, clenching his jaw of the thought.

“Will that even matter today?” Jungkook questioned, switching his concentration on the food and the boys.

“Of-course it will. Media will do everything to get a good story, even if it’s years ago.”Jin answered, leaning back into his chair.

“And our agency will be in shambles.” Namjoon sighed loudly, looking down on his empty plate. His eyes lit up, putting his elbows on the table to lean his chin on the back of his hands. “Alright. Let’s get our story straight. If Soomi suddenly decides to spill the beans about us, or the industry. We know what happened and if we keep our cool, no one will pinpoint it. We told them that Y/N disbanded, due to private issues. That’s personal information and WE still have contact with her. There is no bad blood between us and neither with other groups, because we don’t act any different. Soomi doesn’t have any proof, that we are connected with her. She doesn’t know what happened to Y/N before she was sent away, so therefore she has nothing on that matter. If we keep saying to the public that we still have contact with Y/N, they will believe us over some Youtuber. Alright?” His deep voice was booming in their ears, of his solid plan about you. Namjoon was worried, whether Soomi would keep her mouth shut or publicly slander their name around.

“What if they want proof? That we still have contact with her? She’s here, but we haven’t even gotten the change to meet her…” Hoseok questioned softly, making Namjoon gulp. He didn’t know what to answer, than to either keep it a secret from the media and hope it will lay down, or finally tell the truth. It was eating him from the inside, with the lies he had to live with. To protect the boys, to protect the agency and to protect himself.

“We give them proof.” Yoongi finished, with a dead face towards the boys. Yoongi was tired of hiding and accused of doing things that was false. The boys became silent, looking at Yoongi who’s eyelids lowered and the aura changed. His hands were shaking, as if he was anxious and no one knew why.

A faint knock on the door interrupted their silence, making their bodies jolt of the sound. They each looked at each other, thinking of who the person could be. Their manager was staying in a different residence, but it was even then strange for him to knock.

“I’ll get it” After a few seconds of contemplating at the sound, Yoongi decided to go fetch whoever was at the door. As he vanished to the hallway, the boys were sitting patiently stacking the plates.

“If it’s cookies, I want 3 boxes!” Jungkook yelled, making the others laugh in the midst of silence. The sound of steps approaching made their heads turn and freeze, hearing that it wasn’t only one pair of feet hitting the wooded floor. A female like figure came into their view, with a black gym bag sat neatly by the side. The others were frozen in shock, with Yoongi staring in silence behind the female figure. The significant scent crossing their noses, to each second feeling like an hour.

“Y/N….” Your name colliding with their cries as they all rushed to embrace you, with your own tears mirroring. Jin and Hoseok was the quickest to come through, feeling your warm bodies against them. The others joining a split second after, forming a big group hug. Their arms tightening around you, staying like this for a few minutes. Swinging you back and forth, as if they tried to make a baby fall asleep. Their own bodies in shock, not able to know what to do in a situation like this. It was first Namjoon to let go, before the others followed troop. Their eyes were blood shot, while Jin stammered to find words. His eyes swinging between the table and you, not realising how close you are to him.

“O-oh god it’s a m-mess in here… T-that’s so r-rude of u-us. I’ll g-go clean it u-up” It was like everything stopped him from speaking thoroughly to you, but the wide shouldered man was quick to grab the plates while Hoseok hurried to help Jin. Namjoon came close to cup your face, feeling your tears stream upon his hands.

“God I missed you, Y/N” He cried, taking you in for another embrace. Your nose digging into the crook of his neck, feeling his warm skin against your own. Your body shaking within his touch, but soon let go, to see Jungkook approach. His eyes big and curious, just like the first time you met each other in the BigHit building. His finger stroking along your cheek, feeling the scar run under his fingertips. Tears pooling in his eyes to fall upon his black t-shirt, feeling you pull a smile.

“Looks like we’re twins, huh?” You commented softly, making his cries louder with whimpers to hug tightly. The sound of your voice is so delicate to his ears and he always thought, that he was never able to hear it again. Your fingers grabbing tightly onto his shirt, letting him know you’re real and never leaving again. Jungkook let go of you as he was choking on his own breath with cries, letting Taehyung come close. His body taller than yours, almost staring you down with watered eyes. His locks were wet from the tears, letting a hand run through your hair. Your eyes observing him, letting him examine you like a piece of art. His hands were shaking, feeling the strands of hair run between his fingers. Your own hand, meeting up with his to tie them tightly together. Forming a light smile, you caught his shaking eyes.

“I’m real, Taetae...” You whispered, sending electricity through his body to indulge you. His arms wrapping you like a Christmas present, to almost lift you from the floor. He couldn’t speak, his cries were loud and clear. They were used to tears, when they were sad but it was rare, they cried this loudly due to happiness. After a while, Taehyung could finally let you go. Looking at you for answers, or even questions that he always had within him. Jimin was standing a few metres away, crying like others but shaking of fury. The veins on his arms were big and pumping, as if he had been working out for hours. His lips were pursed into a thin line, while watching Taehyung step away from your body. Jimin’s eyes examined every curve, every piece of motion of your breath. You waited for him, to come close but he never came. He stood still, like a rock and watching your every move. You decided to come closer, but his body jolted at your step.

“Jimin…” Your call for him in a whisper, sent shivers down his spine. Running a hand through his hair, frustrated of how he felt of your return.

“No-…. I-I-I need to-… I need to get away.” Jimin spat quickly, walking with heavy steps towards the bedroom to close it shut. Your heart shattering of his words and not getting the reaction that you wished, seeing the fear happen before you. Yoongi came close, putting a hand on your shoulder to assure you that this isn’t a dream anymore.

“It’s okay, give him time” Yoongi whispered, clenching your shoulder of comfort. Hoseok and Jin hurried back after cleaning the table, to watch Yoongi stand beside you.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?!” Hoseok questioned loudly in shock and confusion, looking at the man furthest away. The others looking equally confused and furious, of how Yoongi could keep this a secret from them. Letting them be in pain for so long, as he was the only one knowing you were going to meet them again. Yoongi stepped in front of you, holding his hands up in defence. His eyes examining the blood shot eyed boys, knowing that he was in trouble but needed to explain himself.

“Let’s sit down and talk, alright?”