#my housemate went out with friends for new years eve

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

Me: Damn I really wish I’d written more this year, I feel like I barely did any of the projects I wanted to

My AO3 wordcount for 2022*: 255,894 (spread across 34 fics)

[*This is not including the chapters I’ve added to Plans To Make or You Are Of Their Ilk this year since I started them last year and I don’t feel like going back to count the words of the individual chapters from 2022, nor does it include the projects currently in progress in my wip folder]

[[I really like my stats page and I scroll through it for funsies all the time so I’ll be doing a post breaking down what I wrote in 2022 and including some fun (for me anyway lol) stats, so stay tuned for that if you like that kind of thing]]

[bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove]

The Holidays are Better With You - S.Snape

Summary - The potions master and the muggle studies professor are missing during dinner on Christmas Eve. A certain cat animagus takes it upon herself to find the pair, only to find the two of them enjoying some quality time in the Astronomy Tower.

Word Count - 617

Warnings - female reader, use of Y/N, Minerva is the last one to find out a secret

Author's Note - This is a little later than I wanted but welcome to day Twelve! All of my classwork is done so I am free from college until my winter class starts. I have 8 days of freedom to try and write as much as I can so stay tuned and enjoy!

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not my gif

not my gif

Severus Snape, even just the name of the man would send a shiver down any students’ spine. However, these students never knew the man he was deep down, the man he buried because of countless trauma and heartache. The other professors knew who he actually was because most of them taught him when he was at Hogwarts himself. What they never realized was the fact that he was absolutely smitten with the muggle studies professor.

The two had grown up together, they used to do everything together, even at Hogwarts. Both of them had been sorted into Slytherin, their housemates seeing them in the same corner of the common room more often than not. The two of them still found a way to isolate themselves in a different area, spending time together in the astronomy tower. 

As most of the students had returned home, Severus and Y/N had stayed at Hogwarts with the other professors. At dinner on Christmas Eve, Minerva had noticed that the two older Slytherins were missing, so she took it upon herself to go find them. She searched everywhere, her final spot to search was the Astronomy tower. She thought that it was a good time to transform herself into a cat so that way she could be a little more stealthy. Due to her new found stealth, she could walk quieter into the tower where she heard the voices of the two missing professors.

“It’s beautiful up here, with all the snow,” Y/N had said, turning to the man beside her.

“I hate the snow,” He had said, winding his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his.

“I know you do.”

Minerva quietly approached the pair watching as their lips met. She almost jumped in surprise. “I love you, Severus Snape. Happy Christmas.”

“I love you, Y/N Snape. The holidays are so much better with you,” Severus responded, taking note of a certain cat lurking by their feet, “Minerva, if you wanted to join us, you could have just asked.”

The Gryffindor transformed herself back with a grin on her face. “You’re married! I thought you had a thing for Lily Potter. I would have never guessed that you were infatuated with Y/N,” Minerva exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s always been Y/N. She knows me better than myself," he admitted.

“And he knows me better than myself,” She added in a chipper tone, just happy to be in the arms of her love and chatting with a dear friend. They stood in the tower for hours just talking, more like Minerva asking them questions about their relationship and then answering.

They talked until the moon was high in the sky, the time officially reaching midnight. “I think it’s time to call it a night. Minerva, if you don’t mind, I’d like to spend the start of the holiday with my husband. Happy Christmas and goodnight,” Y/N excused herself and her husband as they went off to his quarters. Minerva left at the top of the tower with a gentle smile on her face, feeling a sense of pride for the couple. 

The sneaky professor had too decided to turn in for the night, not before mentioning the couple to Sybil and Albus.

“I had predicted and knew about this years ago. Where have you been?” Sybil asked her friend.

“I was their witness when they got married, they needed one and asked me. I’m surprised you didn’t know Minerva. You do tend to know everything and all of the gossip,” Albus chimed in. 

“Was I the last to find out? How did I not know about them?”

“You aren’t the last, the students are.”

[aggressive-almond-cookie]

I’ve been feeling a little weird lately and seeking comfort, so I decided to go replay splat2′s story mode.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, maybe briefly, but I didn’t play much of splat2 when it was active. I played a little bit of 1 when it came out, enough to fall in love with the concept but also enough to know it was for people much more mechanically skilled than me (a person who favored slow-paced sim games, turn-based RPGs, and point-and-click grindfests). I watched my housemate play 2 a bit but I couldn’t justify the purchase myself for something I figured I would terrible at. (I remember watching them play salmon run, and asking ‘wow, there’s a PvM co-op mode now?’ and thinking for a moment that maybe that would be less intimidating to learn, and then I saw a steel eel for the first time which was HORRIFIC, then watched them get completely swamped with with bosses and wipe, and decided .. no maybe not).

It was Splat3′s testfire, that I just so happened to hear about happening in a friends discord server, that happened to hit me at exactly the right time. I finally had a better job, was well on my way to healing from the trauma of my 11 years of working retail, and going through a bit of an inner renaissance, particularly getting in touch (possibly for the first time as an adult) with the true concept of play, the idea that playing didn’t have to have high stakes, that you don’t play to get a good grade in playing, you can just play to have fun and experience the thrill of intense situations in a setting where no actual danger is present.

I fell in love so quickly. I played the testfire every moment that I could and felt like I was finally, finally getting to enjoy this. In retrospect I was so bad at it-- I could barely swim up walls and I couldn’t even figure out how to use my special for the first several hours of gameplay and after trying out tons of weapons found that I was having the most luck using rollers and running over people (lol). But my skill level, for once, was something I wasn’t giving a single brain cell to worry about. I was just enjoying myself, celebrating every tiny victory and laughing at how many times I would just run off the map because I had so little spatial awareness. I won a 100x, I experienced my first squidparty, I did tricolors on attacking and felt intensely bonded with the random strangers I got partnered with. I was experiencing so many wonderful new things all at once and was absolutely euphoric.

And once the testfire was over, the emptiness it left behind left me so restless I thought I might start climbing walls. So to tide me over between then and release, I borrowed my housemate’s copy of splat2, figuring I could at least attempt story mode and learn the basics.

It was hard. Like really, really hard. I don’t... play these kinds of games. I could barely control where I was walking, I absolutely could not aim, I had zero confidence in jumping and missed even easy jumps routinely. I made it through by sheer stubbornness and force of will, running over and over through the same levels until I got lucky enough to get through them. Many levels I finished with a time of over half an hour, one at least 40 minutes, and that’s after lord knows how many failures. The last two kettles in the last zone nearly broke me. I actually cried tears of relief when I finally finished Platform Madhouse, shaking from the tension of making my final moves with the greatest precision and calculation that my clumsy and inexperienced hands could.

But... I did it, you know? And in doing so, I managed to prove to myself that I could do it-- that these kinds of games actually weren’t impossible for me, and that maybe, maybe I could overcome whatever other challenges awaited me in 3 and beyond, too.

Anyway, that’s way too much backstory to say that going back through the splat2 levels again was something of both a surreal and comforting experience. I went through them all in the span of a day, during a workday even, just playing in short intervals during breaks and lunchtime. Those last two kettles (minus octavio) were still the most difficult, but they didn’t take more than a few tries. It was satisfying to gracefully sail through so many of the levels that I struggled so painfully with less than a year ago. I’d say my confidence in making jumps has absolutely improved the most and is the thing I think has had the greatest impact on my ability to navigate the game-world in general.

I’ve been finally playing octo expansion too. A bit late maybe, but I think I had just really overhyped the difficulty in my mind and intimidated myself out of it. As it turns out, the main story is still very accessible, even to lower skill levels. You don’t have to actually complete most of the levels (or even play them) and even the points you pay to play you can go into debt with, so there’s never any real danger. You can skip levels after failing them enough times, so I think the only way you can actually get stuck might be the final segments. Granted, I’m still putting off going to the P R O M I S E D   L A N D until I have a long stretch of time for it (This is the same reason I still haven’t done After Alterna >>.., I just.. don’t have the sheer continuous amount of time to sit down and grind it out. I wish I could save states in these games so I don’t have to lose progress if I need to task-switch), so I might take this back, but so far that’s my impression.

And it’s been really enjoyable. I was happy to find there’s a ‘Who Caused The Big Bang’-style level that takes seconds to complete to make it easy to farm points (I keep wanting to call them power eggs when they’re not, lol). The levels on average are definitely more challenging than Alterna, but there are certainly several that I’d consider less challenging than Those Aren’t Birds and Target Town, and there are even some that Alterna practically made copies of (the one where you cut a shape out of boxes, for example).

That said, there have only been a few levels that I might say I breezed through-- they’re pretty challenging, but they don’t feel un-doable, and it’s so satisfying when you do overcome the challenges. It’s giving me an honest confidence boost to watch myself successfully take out a octosniper (my most feared enemy in my early days) with a charger (probably the weapon class I am weakest in) while balancing on a rotating platform (which were my absolute worst nightmare my first time going through splat2′s story mode). There’s still several levels I have to clear and some I haven’t even unlocked, but since they’re not keeping me from finishing the main storyline, I feel like I can just complete them as I feel up to it and there’s no reason to rush or get frustrated.

I love the levels where you just... play anarchy modes against octolings. Especially the one where you play rainmaker on manta maria-- tetras is a weapon option for that one and it’s quickly becoming one of my comfort levels in addition to just being good practice for firing the rainmaker. And I just love the entire vibe of everything-- much like Alterna there’s so much to see if you stop and look around, so many childhood-items floating in the sky, mixed with the music that gives me those vaporwave-esque feelings of nostalgia mixed with melancholy mixed with a feeling that’s somehow equally comforting and unsettling. And all that woven into these... weirdly juxtaposed grimdark/horror elements expressed with clown-like lightheartedness. It’s just a masterpiece of a setting and I’m so so glad I got the nerve to play this.

Splat2 in general has just been kind of a fun thing to mess around in with friends when we feel like a change of pace. Sometimes we do salmon run which is kind of awful without egg throws or squid-rolls, but we’re so low-rank that it’s still just kind of a chill experience.

I wouldn’t say I’m on a break from Splat3 anarchy because I keep intending to play it, and I know I’ll have fun with it, but then I get set up and sit down to do it and end up playing octo expansion instead. I think I may have low-key intimidated myself out of getting back into anarchy since I fell out of practice when I was out of town again; it feels like it takes me so long to get back into the swing of it and I take my losses a bit harder than I should. I tell myself octo expansion is good practice, and that’s not entirely untrue, but deep down I do know that the only thing that’s going to get me over my hesitance to play anarchy is playing anarchy.

But I guess at least if I’m going to put off addressing something I’m intimidated by, I’m glad I’m doing so by addressing something else I was previously intimidated by.

I’m really looking forward to Side Order now, especially since now I have the confidence that I’ll actually get to enjoy it along with everyone else and not get bogged down or walled off by being unable to complete basic things. I just feel a lot more capable, and it’s nice.

[nightmar6ss]

𝐌���𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 - OOI [ STAY FOR THE NIGHT 🌙 ]

𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 ; 𝐻𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑥 𝑓𝑒𝑚!𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 , 𝐻𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑥 𝑌𝑒𝑟𝑖 , 𝑓𝑒𝑚!𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝑆𝑢𝑛𝑔𝒉𝑜𝑜𝑛

𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 ; 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔

𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑒 ; 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝑐𝒉𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑓𝑤𝑏 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠

word count ; 2.3k

It was supposed to be a special day, after all it was New Years Eve.

A day you're supposed to spend with loved ones, with family or friends.

However, for me it felt just like any other day. Lately everything felt too repetitive, like I had no purpose in life whatsoever.

My friends tried to cheer me up constantly, and they actually succeeded, but my happiness went away the moment I stepped into my apartment.

I actually shared the apartment with a colleague of mine, her name was Yeri. She was nice and polite, but we never really got the opportunity to become close. Our interests were completely different and she seemed really distant at times, so I chose not to disturb her peace.

I stepped into the apartment with a sigh, carrying my books in one hand and my other holding the door. I carefully locked the door and looked around for traces of Yeri, but she was nowhere to be found. I thought I was alone till I heard the voice of a guy coming for my housemate's room.

"Yeri, please just consider my feelings for once okay? I actually like your for Pete's Sake!" I could faintly hear as I passed by, shaking my head at the boy's desperation. He sounded sad, did he get his heart broken by Yeri?

"I need to focus on my studies for now, so let's continue doing whatever this is Hee-.." I closed the door of my room and put my earphones in, not wanting to overhear things I shouldn't.

I mean, I demand for my own personal space so she probably does as well, no need to hear their relationship issues, right?

My music suddenly stopped and I looked down on my phone, the screen displaying the name of the person I trusted and cherished the most in my life.

"Jay, why the hell are you calling me at 2PM, it's resting time!" I rambled as I heard him giggle on the other line, does he find my nagging funny now??

"So whaaat, it's not like you actually rest at all" I scoffed and hang up on him, throwing my phone on my bed and went back to reading my book, called "Wuthering Heights".

It was a quite interesting book, Jay got it for me for my birthday last year but I never got the chance to read it until now, because college was hectic and assignments had me on a tight chokehold.

The annoying ring tone of my phone interrupted me from reading my book once again. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to control my growing anger.

WHY WAS I EVEN MAD.

"What." I picked up the phone and said coldly, immediately smiling at the sound of Jay's excited voice.

I may get irritated easily but Jay's voice never fails to calm me down and make me a bit tad happier than I would be usually.

Jay is like the brother I never had. He's younger than me by a year, and he usually brags about it by calling me an old lady or a grandma. Depends on his mood.

"Tonight is New Year's!" He yelled into the phone and I cried out, holding on my ear in pain. That boy has a loud ass voice.

"No shit Sherlock, I totally didn't ALREADY KNOW. And can you not yell into the phoneeee" I whined and he quickly replied with a 'nope'. Am I best friends with a kid or an adult? I truly have no clue.

"We are going to a party tonight, you can't decline because I've already registered you to the uh.. person who organized the party? Don't worry though! Not many people will be there so yeaaah" he said in one breath as my eyes went wide, and I face palmed myself in disappointment.

"When are you picking me up?" I replied in defeat. To be honest, I was glad I wasn't going to spend New Years all alone. I just hope I don't get ditched.

Aaaand I got ditched!

Jay, who literally gas lighted me into coming to the party with me, ditched me to go talk to a girl more privately.

I'm honestly happy for him, he's had a crush on her for a long time. He never really told me her name nor who she was but I trust his taste in women.

On the other side, I get to have my own main character moment by drinking alone in a corner while people make out right in front of my face, or even while sitting next to me!

New Years kiss?? Nah, new years no kiss!

New Year new me?? Nahhh, New year NO me!!

"Um excuse me, but do you perhaps know where Jay is?" I heard a somewhat familiar voice saying. I feel like I've heard his voice once but I can't exactly remember when I did.

I looked up and our eyes met.

You know those cliche movies? Where the female lead makes eye contact with the male protagonist and suddenly time stops? That's how I felt right now. I was starstruck, and I'm sure the pretty stranger I front of me noticed the heart eyes I gave him.

"Jay..? He's my best friend! However, he left a moment ago to uh.. Have a conversation with someone I guess?" I smiled nervously as the boy in front of me smiled, his pearly white teeth making their appearance.

"Oh well, I don't have anyone to be with now that Jay is gone so, I was wondering if you wanted to get to know each other?" he questioned with his big doe eyes looking at me in anticipation.

"Yeah of course, i was feeling really lonely anyways. Jay really ditched us both huh" I chuckled and took a sip of my drink, feeling warmer than I usually did.

"Yes I Guess, he never really ditched me before though so this is a first" he shrugged and extended his hand for me to get up.

"You look a bit tipsy and I'm in need of some alcohol right now so let's go get me a drink?" he suggested with an innocent smile and i quickly agreed.

"Sureeee, but I'm not tipsy at all! I'm completely sober" i pushed his hand away politely and tried to get up but failed to do so as i stumbled back.

That was embarrassing, I shall never drink again in my entire lifetime.

"I can see that." he said with a grin and helped me up by holding my waist. God, my skin felt like it was on fire. Is it because he's hot?

"Anyways, what's even your name?" I looked into his eyes and he kept holding me while walking through the crowd of drunk college kids, the music blasting loudly through the speakers.

"I'm Lee Heeseung, year two in medical school" he squeezed my waist as we passed by a couple of drunk boys, and I almost passed out by his little innocent gesture.

"Noo way! I'm in year two of medical school as well, how come I've never seen you before? And I'm Y/N!" I smiled excitedly, almost clapping my hands like a little kid the moment I heard we are basically in the same class.

"Our auditorium is pretty big if I say so myself, thats probably why" he let go of my waist once we reached the kitchen, moving towards the table where all the alcohol was placed on. He grabbed a cup and quickly mixed coke with vodka.

He took a big sip of his drink and turned to me with a huge smile that melted my heart. Gosh, I just met him and he already had me weak under his presence.

"Wanna go outside and enjoy the night breeze? Countdown is starting in an hour I think" he suggested and I thought about it for a second, before nodding. It's not that I didn't want to go to the balcony with him, it was just freezing outside and unfortunately I didn't bring any jacket.

"Isn't it nice out here? I always come outside when parties like these happen, either to smoke or take a breather" he rested his arm on the railing while looking up at the starry night.

He looked truly mesmerizing at that moment, everything about him pulled me in. It was like he casted a spell on me, since I never got swayed by boys, I thought I was immune to love not gonna lie.

"Yes its really nice, I can honestly see why you come here.. And considering me being an introvert I will be coming on the balcony often when parties are hosted here" I nodded in agreement and let my eyes wander to the stars.

"You're an introvert, I am one as well! I think we really suit each other huh" he said jokingly and I glanced at him momentarily, my mouth wide open.

"You think so? You honestly look like an extrovert, I mean you act like one and at first glance you seem like an outgoing person so-"

"You sure do talk a lot for an introvert" he caught me off and I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Only with people I feel comfortable with" I winked at him, feeling heat rushing to my cheeks the moment these words left my mouth.

"You feel comfortable with me?" He raised his eyebrows and looked down at me with his eyes wide open. He looked so innocent at that moment.

"Yes I do, you radiate good vibes so I feel like I can trust you" he smiled at that and patted my head, taking another sip from his drink.

"You do as well, I can say that you're a really nice person to be with" he bit his bottom lip and looked away in shyness, he looked adorable oh gooood.

"Hey Heeseung" I stared at his side profile and admired his nice and well balanced features, almost drooling at how pretty he looked at that moment.

"Yeah?" he turned to me and we made eye contact for the God knows what time for tonight. I couldn't get enough of him and I knew he would only do harm to me, anyone could tell he wasn't someone to trust with your heart just by looking at him, but i couldnt help myself.

"Do you have someone to kiss for New Years?" I asked him, suddenly gaining the confidence to do so, the alcohol kicking in and making me do and say irrational things that I would most likely regret the next morning.

"No, not really. Do you?" He asked me curiously with a little smirk plastered on his pretty lips. Of course he knows where this is going, he's not naive.

"Nopee, wanna change that?" I licked my lips and turned my whole body to him, him reflecting my actions and doing the same in a swift movement.

"How can I say no to a girl as beautiful as you?" he said before cupping my cheek and smashing his lips on mine.

Our lips moved in sync, his teeth occasionally biting on my bottom lip. He grabbed my hips gently and pulled me to him gently, deepening the kiss as he inserted his tongue in my mouth, sucking on my tongue like he's done this a million times before.

We kept kissing and roaming our hands on each other's bodies, faintly hearing the people inside the mansion doing the countdown and fireworks exploding seconds later.

The fireworks were an accurate representation of my stomach and the butterflies that lived rent free inside it.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled into the kiss, opening my eyes the moment we pulled away from each other for air. He looked so pretty, like a painting. His skin was truly flawless and his eyes looked like they had the whole galaxy inside them.

"You're my last and first kiss of the year" I giggled and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest.

"I feel like accomplished some kind of achievement not gonna lie" I laughed a bit and he ruffled my hair, completely messing it up.

"Let's get you home shorty" I furrowed my eyebrows and rolled my eyes, trying to not get irritated at the nickname.

"First I got Jay teasing me and now you, I can never catch a break huh" I pouted and he nodded like a puppy. After that, I couldn't get mad because he looked way too cute.

The ride back home was pretty nice, we talked about plenty of stuff such as our favorite movies, colors, songs and our birthdays! We shared some pretty funny embarrassing moments until we reached home.

I honestly didn't want him to leave, so I asked him if he wanted to stay for the night and surprisingly he said yes. However, I told him nothing would happen, except for sleeping.

"Hey, your room is pretty niceeee. By the way, do you live by yourself?" he tilted his head and I shook mine, immediately explaining that rent was really high to live on my own and told him I have a roommate.

"If anything happens between you and Yeri, just know that you can always stay at my place. It's pretty big and I'm in need of a roommate.. and the rent is cheaper than the one you have to pay right now so" he sat on my bed and pulled me on his lap, running his fingers through my hair.

His offer was nice, but how did he know my roommate's name is actually Yeri?

"Heeseung, how do you know my roommate's name?" I asked and he looked into my eyes confused, but kept a smile on regardless.

taglist: @rein-deer-stuffs @cracklogy @luvrseung

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[tennessoui]

when is anakin going to get his revenge and kiss divorced obi-wan back

yes hello this got out of hand and the best moment would be in the hypothetical part two but here is a KUWSK directly post kiss from Anakin's pov. For context, this snippet and this snippet probablllyyyy should be read?

(2.8k, ffs @ kit)

“He was thinking about Satine,” Anakin tells himself after he drops the kids off at school and starts making the drive back home. His hands are tight on the wheel. He’s been trying to think about something else--anything else ever since it happened, but his mind refuses to let go of that moment.

He’s replayed it so many times in the last hour and a half that it doesn’t even feel like an actual memory anymore, just a combination of sensations.

The chill of the almost winter morning that made the hair on his arms stick up. The tacky feeling in his mouth because he had slept a bit later than he had wanted to and didn’t have time to brush his teeth if he wanted to make breakfast before the kids and Obi-Wan left.

The woodsy-spiced smell of Obi-Wan’s cologne, stronger than normal. They’d been standing closer together than normal too, but it had been so early and Obi-Wan’s mind had obviously been miles away.

Anakin had been saying something stupid, something that didn’t mean anything, and Obi-Wan had replied and then Obi-Wan had leaned in and kissed him, full on the mouth. His beard had felt so soft against Anakin’s skin, his lips even softer, if a bit chapped.

Had they been chapped? Now Anakin can’t remember, he’s turned this memory over in his head so often. It had been for less than a handful of seconds. A quick brush of lips, a taste of a life Anakin has dreamt about for well over a year now. And Obi-Wan had just turned and left, as if he hadn’t done anything extraordinary. As if he hadn’t just kissed Anakin on the porch for everyone to see.

Obi-Wan would never be that cruel on purpose. Perhaps to that one profesor who always tries to refute Obi-Wan’s papers, but not to Anakin.

Which means Obi-Wan hadn’t been thinking. He had been perhaps caught up in the domesticity of it all, of having someone wish him luck and see him off. And maybe Anakin has been doing something like that for the last two years, but there’s a person who did that for Obi-Wan for much longer. A person they ran into at the park just two days ago.

“He was thinking about Satine,” Anakin tells himself as he gets out of the car and unlocks the house. He tries desperately to keep the despair and jealousy out of his voice, but at least no one’s around. It’s not that he hates the woman or anything. Really, he doesn’t. He doesn’t understand her, but that’s a given.

He’d never have Obi-Wan’s heart and soul and throw it away. He’d never get tired of fighting with Obi-Wan if he was fighting to stay with the man. He’d never be able to run into him at a park and then just leave again as if seeing him stirred up nothing inside of him.

Seeing Obi-Wan always stirs things up inside of Anakin. It makes no sense that Satine, who had had Obi-Wan’s love--knew all those things about the man that Anakin did not and could not know as just his housemate--had just been satisfied with saying hello and then just as quickly goodbye.

The same cold sinking feeling that Anakin’s been trying to shake off for the last two and a half days returns, and he has to lean against the countertop in the kitchen for a second to ground himself.

They’re going to get back together. They will.

At the park, they had seemed so in their own world, as if everything else had disappeared except for them. Anakin had had to send Luke over, couldn’t stand watching that reconnection happen without at least trying to remind Obi-Wan that he has a family now, that he’s not alone anymore, that there are people who love him.

Obi-Wan had glared at him for his meddling, which hadn’t admittedly done wonders to his confidence. And when Obi-Wan had deposited Luke--Luke--on the ground to chase after Satine, when he had hugged her, Anakin knew for sure.

They were going to lose him.

Anakin had had his set of chances and had taken none of them, and now Obi-Wan’s going to re-fall in love with his ex-wife and Anakin’s going to have to be the supportive best friend who has to figure out how to tell his children that due to unforeseen and tragic circumstances, their Obi is probably going to elope to Paris and maybe send a postcard once or twice a year addressed solely to the children and Anakin will grow old and die alone and the name Obi-Wan Kenobi will be banned from his small, shadowy apartment, and all Anakin will have is a few memories of the two most important and heart wrenching kisses he’s ever been a part of in his entire life.

“He was thinking about Satine,” he tells himself. “He kissed me but it wasn’t about me. It hasn’t ever been about me.”

There’s no denying that Obi-Wan loves Anakin’s children and also no denying that his children love Obi-Wan. Anakin thinks he wouldn’t love Obi-Wan half as much if he hadn’t absolutely been charmed by the kids and vice versa. But he had been. They had been. Those few weeks when Anakin had thought about leaving a year ago had been absolutely awful because he knew he would be breaking his twins’ hearts, not just his. He’d be hurting Obi-Wan too, he had known that.

But he had had to try. Because he knew that if he didn’t try to leave then he’d have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of Obi-Wan’s life when it came time for the man to grow tired of his presence.

It had been a last ditch attempt at saving his dignity. And it hadn’t taken much argument from everyone else to get him to abandon the idea completely.

Now he can’t help but to think he should have put his foot down, gotten some distance. Because now he’s entrenched in Obi-Wan’s world, the same way Obi-Wan is entrenched in his and the twins’ world. Leaving now will feel like ripping himself in two. He’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night five years from now and wonder about the academic response to Obi-Wan’s most recent publication.

He’ll probably have read it. He’ll probably still be fielding questions from his kids’ friends’ parents about whatever happened to that handsome man that used to come in to help during Show-And-Tell Day? Do you remember who I’m talking about, Anakin?

If he had left then, the idea of leaving now wouldn’t hurt so much. But there’s a ticking clock in his head.

Obi-Wan kissed him.

But he was thinking about Satine.

He calls Padme, because that’s sort of what he does when he doesn’t know what to do. She’s never turned him away--with the rejected marriage proposal being the one glaring exception, of course.

Thankfully, she doesn’t start now, though she does sound a little stressed when she picks up.

“Hey,” he says trying to sound normal and as if he isn’t a few minutes alone with his thoughts away from crying like a baby.

“Ani?”

“Are you--are you busy? Something sort of happened.”

“My flight is boarding,” Padme admits, but there’s a rustle on the other end of the line like she’s just sat down. “But it’s not like I’m not assigned a seat. They won’t leave without me. What happened?”

Anakin smiles in spite of himself. She’s really just such an angel of a person.

“Are the children alright?” she asks, sounding worried the longer it takes for Anakin to respond. “Ani?”

“No, yeah, the children are fine. I dropped them off at school this morning. But. Um.” He takes a deep breath. “Obi-Wankissedme.”

“I’m sorry?” Padme asks.

“Obi-Wan kissed me.”

The other end of the line is silent. “And we’re calling this a problem now?” she asks faintly. “Is he a bad kisser?”

“He’s a great kisser,” Anakin defends, shifting awkwardly on his feet, catching sight of the fridge door and quickly turning away.

“Then I don’t…?” Padme trails off uncertainly. Anakin can understand this confusion. Padme has only had to hear about how much Anakin wants Obi-Wan to kiss him for about two years now.

“I don’t think he realized he did it,” Anakin confesses. “He just did it as he was leaving. Because I said goodbye. It--I don’t think he realized who he was kissing.”

Now Padme sounds a distinct mix of skeptical and sympathetic, a tone Anakin’s only ever heard her use with him. “What makes you say that?”

“Because--because we went to the park the other day and he ran into his ex-wife and they were together for, for years so--so obviously he just--he wasn’t--it wasn’t me he was kissing. He was thinking about Satine.”

The words sound dull and practiced and lifeless.

“Oh, Anakin,” Padme says.

“And they’re probably gonna get back together, and we’re going to have to leave, and he’ll never know that I--” Anakin cuts himself off and thunks his head on the countertop with a groan.

Padme hums disbelievingly. “Anakin, I know you’ve never believed me when I say this, but that man is gone over you. And I think if he kissed you long enough for you to tell me for certain that he’s a good kisser, then he definitely knew he was kissing you.”

Anakin bites his lip and debates the pros and cons of being completely truthful. But he had called Padme for help, and she can’t provide the best advice if she doesn’t know the full story.

“That’s not the first time he’s kissed me,” Anakin finally admits, rubbing bashfully at the back of his neck.

“What?” Padme exclaims, probably much louder than appropriate for a public space. “Anakin Skywalker, explain yourself right now.”

He exhales forcefully. “Last New Year’s Eve party.”

“That was almost a year ago! And nothing else ever happened between you two? What? We always thought that once the first kiss was out of the way we’d need to beat you both with sticks to keep you off each other.”

“Well--wait, who’s we?”

Padme tsks. “Myself and Obi-Wan’s coworker.”

“You’ve been gossiping about me?” Anakin asks, torn between being flabbergasted and offended.

“That’s not important right now,” Padme says airily. “What’s important here is the fact that you apparently kissed Obi-Wan Kenobi and never told me?”

“He doesn’t remember, okay?” Anakin snaps. “He. We’d been drinking. A lot. It was after everyone left. And. I was in the kitchen and he was in the kitchen and he--”

--had pinned him to the front of the fridge and just looked at Anakin for a few seconds like he was the most precious, important thing in the entire world, and Anakin had opened his mouth to say something and Obi-Wan had--

“--kissed me,” Anakin says out loud. “And then he--”

He had pressed impossibly closer to Anakin, one hand wrapped around his hip, caressing the thin skin there while his other hand ghosted down Anakin’s hair and back as if he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch, as his tongue mapped out Anakin’s mouth for what could have been seconds or minutes, and Anakin could have stayed there forever, but his own hands had grabbed too tightly onto Obi-Wan’s shoulders, must have jerked him forward too roughly, because he had been pushed away and--

“--threw up in the kitchen sink,” he finishes.

There’s dead silence on the other end of the line before Padme bursts out laughing. “Okay, okay,” she says once she’s calmed down. “But how do you know for sure he forgot about that? Sounds like something he might just never want to talk about if it ended up with him vomiting in the kitchen.”

“I just know,” Anakin promises. And he does. Obi-Wan had no idea about that kiss. It was a secret Anakin thought about too often, but one he had kept to himself for nearly a year, too afraid to reveal it to Obi-Wan only for the man to say he hadn’t meant to, it hadn’t meant anything, he’d been much too drunk.

Even the idea of Obi-Wan apologizing for one of the hottest kisses Anakin’s ever experienced in his life has been enough to keep Anakin silent on the matter.

But now he’s been kissed again, this time by a sober Obi-Wan, and it still--it still doesn’t mean anything.

“It didn’t mean anything to him then, or he would have remembered,” Anakin tells Padme. “And this one doesn’t mean anything either. The timing is just...it can’t be a coincidence, Padme. He’s never once thought about kissing me, about...about coming home to me like that, and now, a few days after he runs into his ex-wife he’s suddenly planting one on me as he walks out the door? I know--I know you think he...he might...he might have liked me, or...or wanted me, but. There’s no way I can hold a candle to a decades long marriage. I just. I can’t compete with that. He doesn’t want me to.”

Padme’s Anakin is cut off on her end by what sounds like a flight attendant. “Yes, I’m coming,” Padme tells the person, and there’s shuffling and then the distinct sound of the harsh beep of the ticket scanner, before Padme’s heels are clicking on the flight tunnel. “Do not rush me,” Padme tells someone. “What are you going to do, close this thing while I’m in it?”

Anakin has to hide his only sort of watery smile in his hand as he listens quietly on his end.

“Anakin?” Padme asks, and she must be on the plane because there’s a buzz of other people’s noises around her. “Anakin, I know you won’t believe me, and maybe--maybe you’re right and they’ll get back together, maybe you’re going to lose him.” Anakin’s heart hurts quite painfully at these words. “But do you remember what you did the first time you proposed to me and I said no?”

Great, yeah. Just bring up all his biggest failures in love. Sure, why start with Padme? When Anakin had been five he had tried to kiss a boy and been shoved into the mud for his efforts. That’s a fine place to begin, really. Just drag up all the old hurts. He sighs. “I went and got you a bigger ring.”

“And do you remember what you did when I told you that I couldn’t raise the children, but my parents wanted to?”

“I threatened to take them to court if they didn’t let me have them,” Anakin says. It hadn’t been his proudest moment, of course, but Padme’s parents had never really liked him. They still don’t.

Someone’s trying to talk to Padme on the other end of the line. “Yes, fine,” she snaps. “Anakin. Anakin, what I’m trying to say is I’ve never seen you give up on anything without at least trying to fight for it. And I don’t know why this should be different. You won’t be able to live with yourself if you have to watch him get back together with his ex-wife and know you never even tried to tell him he had other options.”

Anakin opens and closes his mouth, speechless. “Then what--”

“So go,” Padme cuts him off. “Go tell him he has other options! For fuck’s sake, yes, alright I’m getting off the phone. Anakin, when I land I expect to have a very detailed account of events waiting for me on my email. Goodbye.”

She hangs up. Anakin stares at the phone in his hand for a handful of seconds, thinking over what she’s said. What she’s implied.

She’s right, of course. Anakin never gives in this easily. He doesn’t fully understand why he’s so ready to capitulate now. Maybe he knows full-well he can’t compete with whatever Obi-Wan had with his ex-wife. They have history. They grew up together, became adults together. Anakin’s just this weird twenty-eight year old man with a pair of kids too old for his age who crashed at Obi-Wan’s house during the lowest moment of his life. Of maybe both of their lives.

Love can’t bloom from that. Not really. Not...not the sort of love that turns into a lifelong marriage.

But. Padme’s right. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he doesn’t try. If he doesn’t know for sure.

So either he could putter around the house all day waiting for Obi-Wan to text or call or come home, talking himself into and out of confessing every emotion he’s harbored for the man for the past two years, or….or he could drive to his campus and confront him in his office, put himself on the execution block and hand Obi-Wan the axe. At least it would be a quick death.

He glances at the digital clock on the oven. 9:38. The idea of waiting ten hours for a resolution makes his skin crawl.

And besides. 

Obi-Wan hadn’t packed a lunch.

[battybumboy]

He had fallen | | Thomas Thorne

No ones catching on to the Ghosts x reader bandwagon that I have built but this wagon isn’t gonna fall to pieces, not on my watch! Here it is... Part three of the Falling series!

Part one is Here

Part two is Here! Incase yous missed it!

Enjoy part three...

-🍯xx

_____________________________

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ - contains a scene of PTSD. You can still read at your own risk but 🔥🔥🔥- means a trigger warning. When you get to the second set of 🔥🔥🔥-s then it is clear.

————————————————————

“JULIAN!” came the angry shout of a very upset Thomas Thorne. It was the fifth time that week that said ghost had upset the poet... and it was only Wednesday.

Alison, one of the two only living residents of the house, was in the kitchen cleaning out the fridge. She, and every other resident of the large house (except for her very much alive and very much oblivious husband) had heard the commotion. The only thing was... every time Alison had came to check what was wrong, all she was met with was a silent, sulking Thomas and a smug and, if he were alive, very punchable look on the trouserless Tory’s face.

No one knew what Julian was teasing the poet about but it seemed to be serious enough to be kept quiet although Julian’s new muse was getting all too tiring for the other housemates.

“Can that mewling loaf not be so bothersome for ONE DAY?” The pirate said, smacking her head upon the table as she sat with Kitty, Mary and Fanny. The four ladies liked to gossip, (as much as Fanny complained of the unladylike behaviour) so Alison untucked a few chairs and placed down a few empty teacups as if it were a real tea party,

“I should think not. It’s rather like we don’t get any peace and quiet around here.” replied Fanny, as she looked to Y/N in agreement,

“I think we should all be friends! Just like N/N, you get along with everyone”

“It does take a lot of my patience” Y/N replied, truthfully,

“It woulds be more quiets if we weres” Mary countered

“Quite.” The previous owner of the house agreed, correcting her posture before failing to grasp the teacup.

“Right, you lot can stay here if you like. I’m going to try and get to the bottom of this.” Alison said, throwing an old bit of Brie in the bin before strutting out of the kitchen.

“I’m coming with!” Kitty exclaimed excitedly, following Alison upstairs.

“I might as well see what all that racket is about”

“Sames.” And with that, everyone except the pirate had left the table.

She was wise enough to know that the closest thing they were going to get to an explanation out of Thomas was a wave and a mumble of “you wouldn’t understand” before a small sigh.

She hadn’t the faintest clue what was wrong with the poet but it was clear he was avoiding her and ignoring the offer to talk to her. She knew it was nothing to do with her but deep down she was scared he had started to dislike her company. This caused for the pirate to try and get in his good graces again by giving him space but she was unsure if it was helping.

Y/N continued to stare into her teacup again, listening for anyone. It had felt like forever and just when she was about to go up and check on them, there came a thunderous slam.

The feeling of being mentally dragged back to the past filled Y/N’s vision.

🔥🔥🔥-

Y/N I am sorry. But as I have said. You shouldn’t have came home.

“Henry?”

You’re not welcome here anymore. It had to be like this. It just had to.

“Henry... what have... Hen-”

I’m so sorry. You picked your side.

RED. SO MUCH RED.

Pain

A slight sob

The feeling of being dragged

I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn’t want to do it. Honestly.

“Henry?”

Sleep now Y/N... Captain L/N... the greatest pirate.

You can sleep... I’m so sorry...

L/N?

🔥🔥🔥-

”L/N? Are you okay? Oh my god she’s crying! That’s a tear!”

“We can see that, Kitty” came Julian’s reply.

Suddenly pulled back to reality, the pirate realised that everyone was crowded around her in the kitchen. The feeling of vulnerability had suddenly dawned on her... a feeling she hated.

“Uh- I’m fine. I’m not crying, I just got watery eyes. It’s fine!”

“You don’t look fine. You’re shaking, mate.” Pat said from beside her, oh gods, no getting out of this one.

“I’m fine! I promise! I just thought about s-someth-thing... a bit too hard. I’ll be okay in a moment.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alison asked earnestly, “It’s ok if you’re not.”

“I know...” Y/N sighed, not liking the fact she might’ve worried the others. “I’ll be fine” she forced a smile that seemed to convince almost everyone. “Thank you for you concern though.” slowly the crowd dispersed from around the table and went to do else-what elsewhere... but Y/N noted how Thomas hadn’t shown his face. She was fine. It didn’t bother her. Why would it? She was fine.

Robin was the last in the room. He looked Y/n in the eyes before sitting down in Fanny’s abandoned seat,

“You’re not okay.” He started, Y/N looked at him, eyebrow raised,

“Pardon?”

“You sad, I see in eyes”

“Robin-”

“It okay to be sad. No one happy all time.” He said sincerely, placing a hand on her shoulder,

She sighed and paused. This man. (If he counted as a man) had seen everything, he was there as soon as she’d died, back to when Button house was a lowly field, “Well. Yes, I’d say I’m rather sad.”

“Want to talk? It ok if you don’t”

She contemplated for a single second before smiling softly then looking down at the oak wood table,

“I guess I spent my life sailing away from my problems, my family, my life and every untaken opportunity. I had no husband or children to call my own... only a few friends and miles of sea. But... when I came home, my past decided to shoot me in the back and toss me away. It hurts... even though it was hundreds of years ago. But It got better and, even though I’m over it and it being centuries ago... I occasionally remember.”

“I understand. It been a long time for both of us- I sometime remember too. It turn out okay. We die, the world move on but we always remember when we could move on too.”

“You made my death feel less lonely, Robin. I’ve never been able to thank you properly for that. So, thank you.”

“Thank you too. I needed friend. I was lonely and you turn up so I was happy for company. After years being alone. I wait and wait. Then you came and I wasn’t alone.”

She smiled. Robin was her best friend, nothing more. They both understood each other and at times when they felt most alone, the other always turned up out of the blue.

Thomas walked past the kitchen, wondering why everything went so quiet when suddenly he heard the angelic voice of a fellow ghost,

“I had no husband or children to call my own... only a few friends and miles of sea. But... when I came home, my past decided to shoot me in the back and toss me away.”

“Thomas! Julian has something to say to you!” Came a muffled call from the east wing.

The poet rushed away from the kitchen quietly in order not to disturb the two hushed voices. He clambered up the stairs thinking about what she said and a mix of emotions stirred within him.

He was partly angry at himself for eves dropping but the anger melted to sadness at her words. And suddenly he realised... maybe she needed to be there for her as well.

Thomas regretted ignoring her for his own sake, not realising she had been feeling down too. He just didn’t want the pain in his heart and the butterflies in his stomach and the feeling of not being able to stop staring at her charming (almost handsome) beauty and-

Suddenly it hit him. The realisation he never wanted to have but everything added up... the way he felt warm around her and sorrowful without her. The fact that he could barely look at her without his (unnecessary) breath hitching and the way he felt like he’d been blessed every time she gave one of her smiles reserved just for him...

He had fallen.

———————————————————-

So sorry it took so long and for major sad :/ It was originally planned to be happy until I realised you guys still don’t have a clue who Henry is. I hope you enjoyed part 3! 🍯xx

[undead-and-undying]

It had been a long night of research and Jon was ready to just completely collapse, both literally and figuratively. Usually, he would unwind with a book, but right now his eyes were sore from reading page upon page on vampire lore. So instead, he decided he would just sit in the study and try to relax.

Vampirism. He fucking hated it. He hated not being able to eat or drink most of all. He missed the days where he could sit with a nice cup of tea after a grueling day. He missed the sun. He missed life having meaning.

As he opened the door of his study, however, his pessimistic thinking was interrupted by shouting.

“Surprise!” He heard Eve yell as she and the rest of his housemates jumped up from various hiding spots around the room. “Happy 130th birthday, Jonny!”

He practically had jumped out of his skin when they all shot up, but immediately calmed. “My birthday?”

There were decorations strewn about the study. His daughter and each of his friends immediately came up to him, all holding gifts and congratulating him.

Lou and Frank had both gotten him a stack of new books and talked over each other, each explaining the trip they went on to the city adjacent to theirs to find books he hadn’t read yet.

Drake had gotten a portrait done of him, along with a few new sweaters Jon had seen in a magazine earlier in the year and offhandedly mentioned how he enjoyed the style of them.

And his daughter... she had welded a few pieces of metal into a beautiful little sculpture of a rose for his desk.

Vampirism was absolutely a curse, but... maybe immortality wasn’t all bad. At least, not when he had this group...

[aquitainequeen]

Spent New Year’s Eve watching Withnail and I, and it reminded sister and I of our days in student housing. She went on to talk about the sometimes impromptu wild house parties her housemates threw, and how she had to take steps to protect her bedroom from being commandeered and to actually get her coursework done. One time she actually had to sneak out to stay at a friend’s house, because she was worried the party was going to get the police called on it! Her university social life was very hectic.

By comparison, my university social life was incredibly boring. I hung out with friends a lot during the day, but the most exciting thing I ever did was go on pub crawls with the Creative Writing Society, which I didn’t enjoy as much as everyone else since I don’t drink alcohol. 

I don’t regret not going to parties, but I do regret not taking more advantage of the things I could have done and experienced.

Ho hum.

[dalygrace]

🔆 + [post] college au featuring @catherinedaly @evcravens @katarinadvpont

“Grace! Mamma wants a picture to make sure I got here okay and didn’t die en route!”

Catherine’s voice floats from the living room into the kitchen where Grace has her head in the fridge, looking for the bottles of wine Katarina had put in there to chill. She grabs the first one she sees (Kat can come back and get a different bottle herself if she wanted something specific, she thinks, swiping the corkscrew from the counter) before sweeping into the living room and depositing herself onto the couch beside her younger sister. Catia’s face is flushed from the two glasses of wine she’s already consumed, and Grace laughs as she fumbles with her phone for a moment before finally taking a selfie. Grace knows she’ll likely get a scolding voicemail from Simona before the night is out for the wine in her hands and Catia’s clearly buzzed state, but she’s happy, so she doesn’t care.

“Are you going to open that or just let it get warm in your hands?” Mikael asks, slouched in the armchair opposite her, and Grace laughs again, deftly uncorking the bottle and pouring him a glass. “For you, m’sieur,” she says in her snootiest sommelier voice, the one she’d perfected  those long nights in college when they used to mix something awful for each other and have a guess at what was in it, an exercise in masochism on both their parts that left them more often than not hating themselves the morning after. They’d grown since then, matured to real cocktails and wine that came in bottles instead of boxes (Thank god, Everett had exclaimed at the sight of real Italian wine, last year when they’d all gathered to christen Mikael’s new apartment in Jersey), and Grace’s liver thanked her for it.

“It’s Italian,” she says before Everett can ask, pouring three more glasses and pushing them across the table to their intended recipients. “Kat put aside her homeland snobbery just for you tonight, so we can indulge in your homeland snobbery to celebrate you finally deigning to grace us with your presence.” Mikael roars with laughter as Kat and Ev make twin faces of affront and Catia sneaks Grace’s glass off the table, taking a big sip before Grace can snatch it back. “That’s the last glass for you, drunky,” Grace says fondly, “You’ve gotta be with it when Papa comes to pick you up later or else Mamma will start thinking Kat and Everett are bad influences.”

The two in question pull faces again, and Grace settles back onto the couch with her new glass of wine, smile so wide it hurts her cheeks. 

She loves nights like this, family and friends gathered in the living room, when the house is full of laughter and conversation. The brownstone she shares with Katarina is warm and spacious, always kept tidy (Grace) and packed with art and photographs of their mutual friends (Katarina). They have a spare bedroom that they use to house the rotating cast of characters that come through New York, because despite only being in their mid-twenties, having a six figure salary (Grace) and coming from a long line of successful stock brokers (Katarina) means they can afford to live somewhere that isn’t a shoebox, exorbitant rent be damned. Its most common occupant is Mikael, despite the fact that he lives only a short train ride away, because he always whines about how annoying New Jersey Transit is and how cold it gets in the winter. Grace, who grew up in the City, thinks he’s full of shit; then again, he’d spent his whole life in Southern California before moving east after college, so she supposes he gets a free pass for the first few years of real winter.

Sometimes she wonders how they all ended up like this, living in each other’s pockets. Everett and Katarina had met first at an orientation for international students; then Mikael had crashed in, a fortuitous roommate pairing; Lillian came next, trailing in Katarina’s wake, and the four of them became MikandEvandKatandLil easily in the first months of freshman year. Grace, down the hall in Reiber and two rows back in econ classes, was an outsider to the fearsome four, too snarky to fit right in, raising hackles with her quick anger and the drinks she kept accidentally spilling on Everett. Ironic that that’s what brought them together in the end, she thinks, sleepy and warm, before excusing herself from the room.

It’s strange, she thinks, basking in the glow of their laughter as it follows her down the hall to the bathroom, that they all stayed together, relatively speaking. Lillian was off being beautiful somewhere in Europe (she’s in Paris, Grace knows, but she still instinctively pushes down the knowledge of the kind woman with whom she never quite clicked, a sequelae of having pushed down for years the frustration over whether she wants to kiss her or be her, a crisis she’s become more comfortable with since it first started in sophomore year) but she visits as often as she can; Everett was still in Boston, a godsend for Grace’s mother’s nerves as Catia settled into her first year at Tufts (Simona can’t quite handle being an empty nester - it doesn’t matter that Grace lives an easy ride away on the NQR, with Regina fucked off to Montreal for most of the year and Catia in Boston now, Simona is struggling to adjust to not having them all at family meals again like they had been once Grace came back from UCLA), but he too made the pilgrimage to New York with some regularity. Mikael was practically a third housemate. They’d muddled through important years together, through good ideas (vandalizing USC and using an unassuming Everett as the getaway driver) and bad (Grace’s brief affair with Rafaella, a beautiful but flighty exchange student; Mikael’s everything with Lucrezia, a Kappa a year younger than them all who’d moved back to Chicago after her graduation and summarily dumped Mikael over text when she was introduced to a player for the Cubs). Something expands in Grace’s chest as she looks at herself in the mirror, bright and warm and painful in the best way, and she has to sit for a moment on the tub to catch her breath. She leans against the wall, tired and overwhelmed by all the love she holds, and she doesn’t notice the minutes slipping away until the door opens with a quiet click.

To Everett’s credit, he doesn’t startle when he sees Grace, only makes an appraising noise and moves to the sink. Grace, head fuzzy with wine and sleep, does at the sight of him, and smacks her head hard against the tub. She groans, long and low, and Everett laughs at her, the bastard, before stripping off his shirt. “Not that I’m not enjoying the free show,” Grace says with a joking leer, “but why are you rinsing your shirt off?”

“Catia spilled her wine on me,” Everett says evenly, running the bottom of his shirt under the tap. “Must be genetic,” Grace mutters, and he laughs again. 

“I still don’t believe all those times were accidents,” he says, wringing out the shirt as best he can. “I’ve never seen you be clumsy around anyone else.”

“They really were,” she whines, clambering out of the tub to perch on the edge. “It’s not like I was purposefully trying to ruin the godawful number of polos you owned.”

“Really? All of them?” He turns from where he’s hanging his shirt on the towel rack to raise an eyebrow at her pointedly. “Even when an entire bucket of punch somehow went from your hands onto Castora and I all through the second story window senior year?”

“And she never forgave me,” Grace says solemly, and Everett only shakes his head with a bemused smile.

“We thought you all went to sleep without telling us.”

It takes her a moment to process the change in topic, but her mouth has always been quick on the draw, ready to spout nonsense until her brain catches up. “I only disappear mysteriously from parties that I am not hosting,” she says, “and this is, regrettably, my house.” She yawns, listing forward from the rim of the tub with enough force to alarm Everett, who easily catches her and pulls her to her feet.  “That begs another question,” he starts, bemused, “of why you’re in the bathtub and not, say, your room, where there’s a real bed?”

“Going to bed while you still have people ‘round is admitting defeat,” Grace says haughtily, though the effect is somewhat ruined when she almost trips going out the door on the hallway runner. She rights herself before Everett can steady her and flashes him a placating smile as she turns pointedly back towards the living room, where the rise and fall of Kat’s voice and Mikael’s laughter can be heard over the humming of whatever music Catherine’s put on the stereo. She’s only made it a few steps before Everett is in front of her, turning her around and shooing her back towards the stairs. “I just found you half-asleep in the bathtub,” he says pointedly, boxing her in as she tries halfheartedly to push past him. “And most of us are sleeping here anyway, so it’s not like you need to make sure we all leave without stealing your things.” She gives in with a frown, too tired to argue, overwhelmed by the nearness of him, the warmth he radiates, the sudden urge she has to latch on and not let go.

“Why do you do that?” He asks as he corrals her up the stairs, interrupting the low grumbling she’s kept up all the way down the hall. “What?” She replies brilliantly, caught up in her false irritation and the effort it takes to not trip up the stairs. “Sleep in the tub,” he continues, to which she stops on the top step and shrugs, full body. “Dunno,” she replies, truly uncertain of where that particular quirk came from but now painfully aware that this is not the first time that Everett has come across her asleep in a tub. Once is an anomaly, twice is a pattern.... She can’t quite figure the rest of the thought and instead flings herself onto her bed, loose-limbed and nearly asleep by the time she’s horizontal.

She looks up to see Everett leaning against the side of the doorframe, soft smile playing over his lips. She smiles in return, warm and open and real, and pats the bed beside her. “C’mere,” she says, rolling over to make space for him beside her. Grace closes her eyes as he closes the door, and she feels rather than sees him settle onto the edge of the bed, perched as if he wants to take up as little space as possible. She cracks her eyes open to level him with a withering look. “It’s okay, Mr. Chivalry. Let your hair down. Relax, take off your shoes and dive in, the water’s fine,” she quips stupidly, too tired and buzzed to filter herself. She’s suddenly aware as she rambles that this is the first time he’s seen her room since their freshman year at UCLA, all three thousand miles and seven years away from where they sit now. He’s been to her house before - to her apartment on Levering after their tentative friendship blossomed into something real; once, notably, to her parent’s Upper East Side apartment the summer after their graduation where he’d charmed her father with his talk of his Harvard MBA courseload and her mother and sisters with his insistence on making dinner to repay them for allowing him to crash on their fancy and entirely uncomfortable couch for a night - but never in those times did he come close to entering her room, a strange and sacred space. He never visited her in the shoebox of a studio she kept for the hell of it in Alphabet City that first year, too busy in Boston to do more than catch the Amtrak up for a weekend once or twice every few months. Grace, who had been pulling hellish hours in the office to prove to herself as much as her superiors that she was worthy of a promotion so soon into the job, saw him for an hour at most when he did make it up, safely tucked away in the dark corners of pubs that Katarina and Mikael kept locating in various parts of the city.

It is strangely intimate now, having him in her space, seeing the emptiness of the pale blue walls, the way each thing had its place and no mess was allowed to exist. This was where her fastidiousness for work was echoed in her personality; there was no room for her trademark wildness here.

“Just lie down,” she says finally, after they’ve sat a moment too long in a silence that’s toeing the line of discomfort. “Or walk down two flights of stairs to the guest bedroom, I don’t care.” With a shrug, she flops onto her back, closing her eyes again. She hears him type something (obvious by the quiet click of his iPhone keyboard because he has his ringer on, the maniac) and set his phone down on the bedside table, feels him settle beside her a moment later. She waits a beat before reaching out to tangle her fingers in his.

“Grazie per aver guidato Catia qui e prendersi cura di lei a Boston,” she mumbles sleepily, feeling him tense lightly at the language change. She likes that he forgets sometimes that she grew up speaking Italian around the house, likes that she can still surprise him by volleying his native tongue back at him. She saves it for moments like these, just the two of them, but tonight it feels different and the aching love in her chest feels different too. Tonight Italian feels like the hushed French she can hear from Katarina’s room every night when she talks to Lillian, devotion bridging the hours and miles that separate them. Tonight, sono contento che tu sia mio amico feels a little like I love you. Everett’s hand in hers is warm.

“È facile. Non c'è niente di cui ringraziarmi. So quanto eri eccitato di vederla.” The bright thing expands in her chest again.

“Sono felice di vederti anche io,” she mumbles.

“Lo so,” he says, smile evident in his voice, and he gives her hand a little squeeze. Grace grins stupidly at the ceiling, warm with pleasure and the gentle weight of Everett beside her, and falls asleep.

[pidayforpi]

122,640 Days

How many days were there in 336 years?

A quick tap on the calculator, and our hero found out.

122,640 days. Neglecting leap years.

122,640 days. Would anything still remain after 122,640 days?

Daffy Duck stood inside his space ship, looking at the planet he called “home”. Were the stars too bright, or was his heart feeling sour?

Planet Earth in front of him seemed a bit cloudy through the wide windows. The reinforced glass was sparkly clean. Eager Young Space Cadet was always so diligent.

But what was cloudy was something the young pig would never imagine being cloudy.

Duck Dodgers, the national - no, universal - hero, always wore a boastful smile or a disappointed frown.

But the black-feathered duck in front of the panel of buttons was wearing an unreadable expression.

———————————————————————————————

“The breeze gently passes through the air, blowing towards the heart that should have been broken.

Enveloping those crossed, held hands in the everyday dusk, slowly disappearing.”

Somewhere on the blue-green planet, Daffy Duck could see a two-storey house. In that house, he could see a grey rabbit sitting on the sofa, caressing a brown “dog” on his lap. A brown mouse wearing a sombrero pushed opened the front door much taller than him, tired from a day’s work. The rabbit would greet him, and vice versa, before the mouse went inside his mouse hole.

Daffy knew there was a fourth occupant in the house: A black duck fast asleep in a messy bedroom. After all, the tenant always went to sleep strictly at 10:00 pm, only to wake up at 10:00 am the next day. The tenant was a heavy sleeper. No matter how noisy his housemates downstairs were, he would never wake up. No matter how noisy he snored, and how hard his housemates slapped him to wake him just to tell him to shut up, he would never wake up. 10:00 pm, and he’s a dead man for the next 12 hours. Even on New Year’s Eve, he would not give an exception. In fact, he would even sleep earlier at 8:30 pm, because he strongly believed that New Year was “a holiday invented by the media”, whatever that meant.

But if he was now given the chance to relive any New Year’s Eve, Daffy believed the black duck would be willing to stay up all night.

“Strange, isn’t it? Our smile never looked the same.

But now, it seems like I am looking at my own reflection.”

Daffy knew the duck was a moocher. He never worked to pay his rents, or anything for the house. Even the “dog” would win prize money from dog shows, and the mouse would use his hard-earned money to repay the house-owner: The rabbit. Not to mention the duck being a big spender, an irresponsible customer, often buying useless items at high prices. Heck, he even once used the rabbit’s money to buy and decorate his parade float, and a dozen of lobsters to fill the swimming pool for a barbecue. He even once stole the rabbit’s inventions, bought the house with the money earned, only to have the house destroyed when his (version of the rabbit’s) invention malfunctioned. Yet, the rabbit never kicked him out. Never sold the parade float, never got rid of all the lobsters. Instead, he built a time machine to save the house. Not only because it was his house in the first place, but it was also the abode of his best friend: The duck.

But if he was now given the chance to live in that house again, Daffy believed the black duck would take any job to repay the rabbit for his generosity.

“I won’t be sad. Because it’s nothing.

Hidden under those nonchalant greetings is my “thank you”.”

Daffy knew the duck was a terrible friend. He never kept his promises. He just took his friends for granted. Whenever he wanted something, he would ask his friends to pay for him. He wouldn’t even pay for a soda on the Grand Canyon himself. He stole the rabbit’s gloves when he needed to fix his parade float. He took his polite, innocent pig friend’s wallet to buy a ship, lying to his empathetic swine buddy that he needed a kidney transplant. The duck even forced him to be his butler to impress his girlfriend on a date, in the pig’s house no less! Not to mention the verbal and physical abuse the duck had inflicted on him during the dinner. He messed up his rooster friend’s film project for fun, his only excuse being that he wasn’t a professional actor. He was a terrible host at his own diner party, and a pathetic MC for a mystery game. Yet, they all attended his birthday party. Friendship and love were the only reasons they needed to forgive their duck-billed looney friend, not to mention him being fun to be with. The duck’s stupid grin and funny lisp were all they need to feel the power of friendship. Love really did defy common sense.

But if he was now given the chance to be at that birthday party again, Daffy believed the black duck would burst into tears of joy right then and there. Words couldn’t describe how grateful the duck was to his friends.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

He missed those days lounging around Pizzarriba with the rabbit and the pig, engaging in small talks when the mouse delivered two fresh, hot pizzas to their table with a wide smile.

He missed those days filling himself up with helium at the fun fair, just to win the title of “Mr Weiner” in front of his friends.

He missed those days playing bowling with the pig, a Martian and a puma, and helping them make overly long nicknames to insert into the leaderboard.

He missed those days at the Copy Place, where he made his first impression to his girlfriend as a weirdo ordering business cards stating himself as a wizard.

He missed those days being an outlaw chained to his rabbit friend, disguising themselves as yellow versions of themselves and somehow getting away with it.

He missed those days streaking (yes, streaking) with his pig friend in a remote village in Mexico, only to be put behind bars by the local sheriff.

He missed those days disguising as a university professor, and actually changing his name to “Professor”.

He missed those days sharing his house with his rude red-haired neighbour, and trying to scare him away with the rabbit when his misbehaviour were just too much.

He missed those days destroying an antique store owned by a pair of gophers in his fight with the rooster (and the fight between the rabbit and the red-haired neighbour). The shame when he cried for his mother in front of his friends!

He missed those days teaching his witch neighbour’s son how to defend himself against bullies. Even now, he didn’t think he had the power to push the red monster a mere centimetre away.

He missed those days ruining a whole dog show, nearly getting his rabbit friend arrested and his “dog” killed.

He missed those days training with the mouse, only to have the pig carry him throughout the marathon. The pig really was the local hero, as the papers said.

Yes, Daffy Duck really did miss those days. Those days, 122,640 days ago.

“Not long ago, we never talked about the future.

Although I am getting gentler, as wishes that cannot be granted accumulate.”

When he awoke from his 3.5 century slumber, just a glance around, and Daffy knew those days weren’t coming back.

He would rather be frozen forever, oblivious to the cruel reality.

In 122,640 days, everything changed.

No one remained, at least not as themselves.

Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Tina Russo, Foghorn Leghorn, Pete Puma and Gossamer were nowhere to be found.

Porky Pig, “Poochie” the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin, Yosemite Sam, Mac and Tosh were there, technically. But they weren’t who they had been 122,640 days ago.

Especially good old Porky, the second best friend Daffy never admitted that he had. Without Bugs, Porky was the only one Daffy could count on.

But when the “Eager Young Space Cadet” looked at him with a confused, ignorant smile, Daffy knew that was not Porky. Not anymore.

The smile was the same, but not the owner of the smile.

Daffy was still surprised how he didn’t collapse and cry at that very moment.

“But now, for only a bit, please let me throw a little tantrum.”

And it didn’t help that Marvin, his high-school exchange classmate and friend, pointed his gun at him when they first met. Daffy really hoped Marvin had pulled the trigger at that time.

Poochie transformed into a real killing machine, Mac and Tosh reduced to vegetable-stealing mutants, while Yosemite Sam evolved from the local neighbourhood jerk to a galactic evil mastermind.

“I won’t be sad. It’s time for you to go.

Contradicting my cold salutations, I turned around.”

Yes. Porky would no longer jump at him for wasting his money for a ship. Marvin would no longer deliver pizzas with him via a tank. Sam would no longer be stupid enough to cut his own electricity supply, and ask for refuge at Daffy’s house.

He couldn’t tell Bugs how sorry and thankful he was for being his bestie. Couldn’t tell Speedy how delicious his frozen pizzas and 62 hot dogs were. Couldn’t tell Tina how good the name “Zachary” was. Couldn’t tell Gossamer how beautiful his voice was.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

If you write me a postcard or two every year, I will surely catch it tightly.”

Those meaningless, joyful, carefree days were never coming back.

———————————————————————————————

“Someday, we are going to meet again.

(It’s alright if you keep it. Whether it is the CD, or the harmonica...)”

If the buttons weren’t waterproof, the space ship would have crashed already.

Tears flowed out of Daffy’s eyes, dripping onto the metallic panel. He fell onto the cold, lifeless ground, wiping away tear after tear. The planet in front of him was no longer visible, leaving only a smear of blue and green.

“I won’t be sad. Please don’t be sad as well.

Don’t let me see that devastated expression, and cheer up.”

He told himself to keep quiet, to hold himself together. He was now Duck Dodgers, of the 24.5th century! Lest Space Cadet noticed his dear captain crying uncontrollably. But Daffy didn’t care. Right now, he was Daffy Duck, not some fictional hero in the future. Right now, he was back in the 21st century. He could cry all he wanted. He could be the pathetic loser he used to be.

No need for fame.

No need for power.

No need for disintegrating pistols or ultimatum dispatchers.

All he wanted were those 122,640 days back. Those scenes reflected on the photo frame on the control panel.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

I hope that when we congratulate each other, we can meet again.”

The photo frame he received on his birthday, made from pictures of himself. Many have dismissed it as a spoof of narcissism. But little did they know that photo frame meant the world to Daffy.

“I won’t be sad. Because it’s nothing.

Hidden under those nonchalant greetings is my “thank you”.”

Daffy took the old photo frame, and embraced it tightly. He couldn’t look at the pictures clearly anyway. But he could see his friends planning his birthday party at Pizzarriba, making his birthday presents, and decorating both the house and the restaurant...

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

A pair of trembling arms hugged Daffy from behind. The creator of the photo frame. Eager Young Space Cadet must be so confused seeing his captain crying his eyes out with his self-portrait so late at night. He didn’t even know who made the photo frame, let alone what was making his brave captain so, so sad.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

If you write me a postcard or two every year, I will surely catch it tightly.”

Daffy didn’t have to look to see Porky’s puzzled expression. And yes, that was Porky. Not some random “Space Cadet”. That was his second best friend, the one who made him that old, dusty, rusty photo frame. He might not remember it, but Daffy would never forget.

“Farewell. Bye bye. Please do take care.

Because this is a request I proposed first, please firmly catch it.”

———————————————————————————————

Somewhere in the reflection of his overflowing tears, Daffy could see a pizza parlour in a busy city. The bell jingled when he opened the front door, people’s laughter filled his ears. Mouthwatering aroma of pizzas filled his nostrils as soon as he stepped into the restaurant. He didn’t request for a table - He was always the late one.

He sat down besides a grey rabbit and a pink pig at their usual seats, right before a brown mouse with a sombrero dashed towards them with a pencil, a notebook and a bright, friendly smile. Daffy didn’t need the menu. He always ordered the same dish. Every year. Every day.

“Two cheese pepperoni pizzas. The usual.”

(16-4-2020 ~ 20-4-2020)

——————————————————————————————

-(I originally wanted to post this story along with another Ducktales long story, but since it’s a long story, I still haven’t finished it, so...)

-(This is also the first fan-fic I have finished in my life.)

-This story is the result of my new found interest in The Looney Tunes Show and Duck Dodgers in April 2020. The background is a possible AU (?) in which (1) Duck Dodgers is Daffy Duck (is this canon?), and (2) is the Daffy Duck from the Looney Tunes Show, making The Looney Tunes Show a prequel and Duck Dodgers a sequel.

-The number of year “336” is the difference between year 2350 and 2014. Since the Duck Dodgers show doesn’t mention which year it is set specifically in, or how many years is Duck Dodgers frozen for, I am improvising here. Year 2350 is exactly 24.5th Century, while year 2014 is the end of The Looney Tunes Show (2011-2014). I picked 2014 (instead of 2011) because I presume the events in the show happen between 2011-2014, such that after the end of the show, Daffy Duck is frozen until year 2350.

-The song lyrics (in Italic and Bold) are from “Sayonara Byebye” (さよならbyebye) performed by Mawatari Matsuko (馬渡松子). It is best known (and is actually composed) for the anime version of Yu ☆ Yu ☆ Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書) by the (in)famous Togashi Yoshihiro (冨樫義博) as the second ending theme. The translations are by me. The song is about parting ways, and is actually an inspiration for this story, as well as one of my personal favourite anime theme songs.

(It is a bit off to be in an action anime, especially when it’s played during an intense battle tournament arc (you know which one I mean if you watched the anime before), but the song is great nonetheless. In fact, the song fits the ending of the series. I would say it may be planned?)

-Most (if not all) of the flashback scenes (or references) in the story appear in various episodes of The Looney Tunes Show. The photo frame is the one given to Daffy by Porky as a birthday present in the episode “Muh-Muh-Muh-Murder” (S01E25), for instance.

-By chance, I wrote this story across Daffy’s birthday (screen debut), which is on April 17.

-And I also wrote this during my public exam preparation period. Yes I am pathetic.

-Also the Japanese dub is good in both DD and TLTS. (・∀・)

Duck Dodgers, The Looney Tunes Show and any character involved belong to Warner Bros.

“さよならbyebye” is written by リーシャウロン, composed and performed by 馬渡松子.

“幽☆遊☆白書” is created by the wonderful 冨樫義博-sensei.

[barchiestories]

Maybe Baby?

Betty sat fiddling the test in her hands.

What was she going to do.

She had just gotten her dream job

, she worked her way strenuously through school then proved her worth by doing the crappy work at the police department till she was named the head of the Crime Scene Investigation of Riverdale. At 20 she was the youngest person to do so.

There was a knock at the door, she shouldn’t of done this at Pops but she was too afraid to do it at the house, what if Archie saw the evidence somehow.

“Betty, you’ve been in there a while. Are you okay?” Veronica’s voice rang through the door.

Better nodded quickly discarding the test and wiping her eye, when did she start crying?

“Yeah, I’ll be right out.” She sniffled

She stepped out of the bathroom to see Veronica looking at her suspiciously

“I’m fine” she assured

Veronica nodded, letting the topic go but obviously not believing her.

Once they were seated back in their booth again Veronica started going on about her business in Florida, her Speak easy themed bar had really taken off after high school. She now owned multiple locations with Reggie as her business partner

But Betty’s Mind was racing, racing with everything that lead to this moment. Archie and Veronica had decided to split after high school since she’d be traveling a lot for business and he’d be in Riverdale trying to figure out his next move.

She and Jughead decided to try and make things work. With him at Stanford in California and her still in good ole Riverdale, New York.

Archie and Betty grew close. They’re friendship was like it was when they were kids and they found themselves seeing each other at least once a day

She eventually couldn’t take much of her mom anymore and Archie was in need of someone to aid with the bills after his mom moved again. He couldn’t bring himself to sell his fathers place. So the offer came about and she moved into the house next door. Next thing she knew she was feeling things, and he was to. It was weird really the more she thought about it. When he was 8 he told her he wanted to marry her, she told him to ask when they were 18 and she’d say yes.

They’d joked about it over the years and obviously it hadn’t happened. But here she was 18, living with him in his house alone. They were doing domestic stuff like cleaning and cooking, working and paying bills. They were housemates of course with her staying in what used to be the guest bedroom and Archie remaining in his childhood bedroom . The master bedroom was reserved for guests or when Mary came to visit. Neither one of them completely comfortable with taking over Fred’s bedroom just yet.

“B are you even listening to me?” Veronica asked pulling her out of her flashback

Betty looked up “I think I’m gonna be sick” she managed to mumble before dashing off the the bathroom making it to the toilet just in time to vomit

She heard the clicking of Veronica’s heals “Betty? Are you okay” she asked as Betty sat back against the stall

Betty shook her haed and nodded toward the garbage can

Picking up on her cue Veronica walked over and took a look inside “There’s a positive pregnancy test in here.” She stated

Betty nodded

“Oh my God Betty...are you pregnant?” She asked

At her statement Betty threw up again

The ride home with Veronica was silent, Betty cursed agreeing to take the same vehicle earlier that day.

Veronica was probably waiting for details

But all Betty could do was continue to think about what brought her to this point

Back to where she was at in her flashback, her and Archie were getting really close, finding themselves perfectly comfortable with touching hands or sitting closely on the couch while watching movies.

She felt guilty about not putting to much efforts into visiting Jughead, but he was all the way in California, she had her school, job and basically her own life. Plus it wasn’t like he was putting up much effort either.

But winter break was approaching and he was coming home. It’d be the first time they’d seen each other since August.

Needless to say-things had changed the connection was lost no matter how hard they both tried to spark it back up again. The day before he went back they both agreed to part as friends and see what happened between then and when Spring break came. And if they hadn’t found someone else then perhaps they’d give it another shot.

Two weeks later Betty found herself waking up next to Archie

By spring break they were pretty serious, to her delight Jughead was actually happy for them.

Archie proposed to her in July, six months after they had started dating

They’re engagement was quick, they had a small wedding in December on Christmas Eve

Now it was spring again, three months after their wedding and she was pregnant.

Archie had just taken out a loan to start his own record studio

Betty had just started her dream job as a CSI director, the youngest in New York history

What were they going to do?

More importantly how would she tell Archie?

Should I do a part 2?

[itskimtaehyung]

When the Stars Align (M)

Part of the Bangtan Assortment Collaboration 

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: FakeDating!AU with a hint of roommates (well actually more like apartment-mates but roommates is catchier), College!AU, fluff, angst

Word count: 10.5k

Content/Warnings: Mentions of heavy drinking, drug usage, strong language, but also cute things like adopting a dog together

Summary: With cuffing season approaching its end, you thought you had escaped the pressures of finding a boyfriend for the holidays. That is, until your friends set you up on a blind date that goes horribly wrong. This prompts you to enlist the help of your roommate, Yoongi, to fake a relationship so your friends will stop meddling in your love life. And it turns out Yoongi is a lot better at this romance thing than you originally thought...

Spending Valentine’s Day alone sucks.

Even though some people claim they don’t care about being single on one of the many holidays created by capitalist overlords solely to profit off the purest emotion we as humans can experience, everyone cares, just a little bit.

Valentine’s Day is just about the fakest holiday known to man. Does anyone even remember the original meaning behind it anymore? You’re just painfully reminded of how single you are. No one even gets the day off, so can it really be considered a holiday? Although you admit you still can’t help but fall for its charms: The cute little teddy bears that line the grocery store shelves; pink and red, heart-shaped balloons, boxes, and pretty much everything; and candy, half-priced the following day. Also, seeing all the couples being lovey-dovey with each other kind of makes you wish you had someone to cuddle for yourself.

You’ve never really been in a long-term relationship. (Unless you count that boy in high school, who helped you raise your very own sack of flour in health class, equipped with its own voice box to cry every couple of hours, and you two were together all day, every day, for two months straight. Let’s just say that was a bonding experience in more ways than one, and you did very well in health class that semester. The two of you dated for a year after that.)

The thing is, in this fast-paced, ever-changing world, you get bored easily. Some of your relationships don’t last more than a month, a day, or even past the first date.

There is only one person you want to spend Valentine’s Day with this year, and you know he absolutely does not feel the same. And probably never will.

Let’s take a little trip back to last December.

You and your group of friends decided to go out for sushi at your favorite all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. All of you had just finished finals, so you went out to celebrate.

“Y/N! Are you going with anyone to the New Year Ball?” Jungkook asked loudly over the chatter in the restaurant.

The annual New Year Ball is a huge holiday party put on by your school’s Student Association at the end of each calendar year. The original purpose of this social was for frats, sororities, and clubs to recruit new members, but the event is now used as a way for burnt out college students to drink and blow off steam after final exams. The Student Association books out the entire student center (all three floors of it) for the party of the year. You have no idea why the school would allow such a function, let alone fund it, but you can’t complain. You’re a sucker for free food and alcohol.

“No, I was just gonna go with you guys,” you said before stuffing a too-big piece of tiger roll into your mouth.

“Uh uh,” Hoseok interjected. “We all have dates.”

Taehyung, who was seated to your right, reached across you to grab the soy sauce. “Seriously, you don’t have anyone to go with?”

You shook your head, still chewing.

“What about Kai?”

Kai was a guy you met on a dating app last semester who you ended up hooking up and then never seeing again. He was a terrible person, so arrogant and full of himself. You felt your personalities clash the second you two met. But he was also a beautiful god of a man and you weren’t going to let him slip away from you before banging one out with him. After that, you deleted the app and blocked his number.

You forced the colossal piece of sushi down your throat so that you could finally speak. “Nooooo.” You shook your head vigorously. “That ship has sailed. Plus he’s a Capricorn.”

They all gave you a puzzled look that said they needed more explanation.

“Hello? I’m an Aries?” You waved your hands around, gesturing toward yourself, nearly whacking Taehyung with your chopsticks. “Aries can’t stand Capricorns.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Oh no, you didn’t ask him for his birth chart on the first date, did you?”

“No.” You shifted your gaze away from him and sipped your drink.

“Jesus.”

“Okay,” Seokjin chimed in with half an edamame pod hanging out of his mouth, “but you really need a boyfriend. You’re the only one of us that’s single.”

Namjoon motioned for Hoseok to pass him the wasabi and ginger. “Yeah, sometimes we want to invite you places but worry you’ll feel awkward because all of us are bringing our girlfriends.”

“That’s fine! I love hanging out with your girlfriends! Sometimes it’s too much testosterone when it’s just you guys.”

“No.”  Namjoon shook his head. “We need to find you a boyfriend, too.”

“Joon, I don’t want–”

“How about Taeyong!” Jimin suggested.

“I don’t know, isn’t he kind of a fuckboy? I don’t want our Y/N to get hurt.”

“It’s just one date. Plus they’ll be with us. We won’t let anything bad happen.” Taehyung gave you a reassuring grin.

You huff. “Fine. Can you pass me the rainbow roll please?”

So, that New Year’s Eve, you got ready for the party as your roommate (flatmate, housemate, or apartment-mate are probably more accurate descriptions for what he is, since the two of you share an apartment/flat, but have separate rooms. However, for simplicity, let’s use “roommate” from now on) made dinner in the kitchen.

“Oooh, got a date tonight?” he teased, whisking together some eggs in a bowl as you were leaving.

“That’s none of your business,” you replied, shoving a gold hoop earring into your ear.

He eyed your outfit. “Don’t you think that dress is a little… I don’t know… Short?”

You resisted the urge to flip him off. “Shut the fuck up, you perv. I can wear whatever I want.”

Yoongi chuckled to himself. “Whatever.”

“Bye, Yoongi!”

“Don’t get too crazy out there, Y/N. You know how NYB can be.”

You simply rolled your eyes and left, shutting the door behind you without saying anything further.

You had to watch how much you drank that night, because your friends had declared you the designated driver for your date, which you’re still salty about. The six of them arrived shortly after you did, with Taeyong in tow. You had never met the boy before, but right off the bat you could see that he is undeniably handsome. Now you knew why people called him a fuckboy. With a face and body like that, you would use it to your advantage, too.

You greeted your friends in the lobby and before you could say anything further, Taeyong walked straight up to you.

“We’re going to find our girlfriends,” Jungkook informed you. And then the six of them left you alone with your date.

“Hi, I’m Taeyong,” he held his hand out, intending for you to shake it.

Wow, a gentleman. “Hi. Y/N.”

“I know, your friends have told me quite a bit about you.” He shot you a flirty smile.

Since you’re here, you might as well have some fun. “Well, that’s not fair, I hardly know anything about you.”

“Then we should spend the rest of the night getting to know each other, shouldn’t we?” He smirked, not breaking eye contact with you for a second.

Oh, he was good. A smooth talker with shiny brown eyes that could pull you in, hypnotize you, and leave you wanting to give him all of your attention.

“AY, TAEYONG!” The shout rang across the lobby of the Student Center, pulling you out of the little moment you just had with Taeyong. It was one of his frat brothers, marching over carrying three shot glasses. “Let’s do some shots, bro!”

“You know it!” Taeyong greeted his brother with a shoulder bump and took two of the shot glasses from him. He offered one of them to you.

Hesitantly, you took it, suddenly feeling a bit shy since you don’t really know either of these guys. Both of them took their shots and Taeyong looked toward you expectantly, waiting for you to take yours. You downed it quickly, and gave the tiny plastic cup back to Taeyong’s friend.

“Thanks, man.” He clapped his friend on the back.

“Yo, of course, bro. Listen, this really hot ABG was getting all up on me earlier, so I’m gonna go back over to her. I’ll catch you later, alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later, man!” Taeyong waved his friend off. “Let’s get some more drinks!” Before you could say anything, he grabbed your hand and pulled you toward the drink table.

There was a lot of alcohol. More than enough for the entire student body to get absolutely wasted. The Student Association definitely did not skimp out this year. It looked as if they bought out the whole alcohol section of the nearest Costco.

“Oh shit!” Taeyong’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “We gon’ get turnt tonight!” He whooped.

“I have to drive you home later, so I can’t drink too much,” you reminded him.

“All good, Y/N,” he said while pouring himself some beer into a red plastic cup. “I’ll drink enough for the both of us.” He then added two shots of soju to his cup and chugged it quickly until it was all gone. You must have made a concerned face, because Taeyong placed a hand on your shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I can handle my alc.”

For some reason, that didn’t reassure you too much.

“So how did you and your friends meet?” Taeyong had to shout over the music and the overall loudness of all the people around you.

You two were in one of the study rooms, which had been converted into a lounge for the party. Sofas lined the edges of the walls. You and Taeyong were now sitting in one of the more secluded ones in the corner behind some fake potted plants.

“I met Jungkook in elementary school, the rest of the guys were accumulated throughout high school and college.”

“Mhm.” He responded in a way that didn’t seem like he was actually listening. His hand was on your thigh, slowly inching its way upward. Maybe Yoongi was right, maybe this dress was a little too short.

“How did you meet them?” you asked.

Taeyong took a sip of his drink. “I know Jungkook, Jimin, and Hoseok from dance. The other three I just met tonight.” He was a little too close, and his breath smelled strongly of beer.

“Ahh, I see.” You were running out of small talk. You didn’t know what you could possibly talk about with him. From what you’ve gathered, he’s an economics major with enough units to graduate already, but he’s staying so that he doesn’t miss out on any of the parties his fraternity hosts. All he seems to do is drink and fuck, and tonight was no different.

As you were talking, his hand made its way even higher up your thigh, and at this point it was right at the hem of your dress. Taeyong teased the edge with his finger, looking into your eyes to gauge your reaction.

You shook your head and pushed his hand away. You couldn’t deny he was attractive, and you wouldn’t have minded sleeping with him, but this was not the time nor the place. “I’m not having sex with you on school property.”

“Come on, why not? I’ve done it before, it’s no big deal. Plus, I used to work here, so I know which closets we can get into without a key.” He winked at you.

You leaned in so that your lips were right next to his ear. “Save it for later.”

The boy smirked at you. “Fine.”

“TAEYOOOOOOOOOOONG,” you heard someone shout from across the room. You and Taeyong looked over to find an obnoxiously handsome guy in a letterman jacket holding a bottle of tequila. “SHOTS?!”

“HELL YEAH!” Taeyong leapt up from the sofa, throwing his plastic cup onto the floor, and bounded over to his frat brother.

You stayed behind and watched them from afar. A small crowd of dudebros gathered around them, holding out tiny plastic cups as letterman-jacket-guy filled them to the brim with alcohol. Taeyong took six shots, one with each of the guys, and bellowed triumphantly as soon as he downed the last one.

“BEER BONG?!” One of them shouted.

Taeyong hooted in agreement and followed his friends into the next room, completely overlooking your existence.

Where were your friends? You hadn’t seen them throughout the entire party, and you definitely were looking for them. In all honesty, you didn’t really like being alone with Taeyong. The two of you just didn’t click, and he’s very touchy when he’s drunk. Therefore, you were hoping that you would be able to find your friends and hang out with them as well, but you hadn’t seen them the whole night.

You took the elevator up to the third floor, where an actual, literal rave was taking place. The third floor was one big ballroom, and tonight, multicolored lights flashed and loud electronic music thumped as hundreds of sweaty, drunk college kids danced around. If your friends were up here, there would be no way for you to find them, so you gave up on the cause and took the elevator back down. You could still feel the pounding of the bass even after the elevator doors closed, and on your way down you wondered if that was safe, or if the vibrations from the music would compromise the strength of the cables and the elevator would come crashing down, inevitably leading to your tragic death. Yoongi would probably know.

With a ding! the elevator doors opened and you arrived back on the second floor. You were greeted with the sight of your date, a funnel connected to a tube which fed into his mouth, and one of his friends pouring an entire keg of beer down said funnel.

“CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!” The crowd around him chanted.

You sighed to yourself. Frat boys will be frat boys.

“It’s just one date. We won’t let anything bad happen.” You grumbled. That’s what your friends had said to you, but where were they now? Nowhere to be found. You tried texting your group chat with them, but none of them replied.

You went back to the secluded corner from earlier and sat down. You checked your phone again, and still nothing from your friends. You pouted and opened your messaging app.

You: how’s your night going?

You waited a few seconds and then felt the device vibrate in your hand.

Nerd: Shhhhh Halsey is performing You: smh you and your obsession with halsey Nerd: Not so much obsession as admiration Nerd: She’s on my list of top 5 people i want to work with one day You: haha in your dreams Nerd: It’ll happen just you wait Nerd: Also why are you messaging me? your date not going well?

“Y/N!!!!!!!!!” As if on cue Taeyong drunkenly stumbled over to you. He was so inebriated that he could barely walk. His friends had to support most of his weight.

“Oh my god,” you muttered.

When his friends let him go, he collapsed onto the floor, and was too drunk to pick himself up.

“What happened to being able to handle your alc?”

Taeyong struggled to lift his head up. “What are you talking about? I’m totally fine.” His words were badly slurred as he spoke, and you almost couldn’t understand him.

“Oh, jeez. Okay.” You stepped around him and bent over so that you could hoist him up by his armpits. “We need to get you home.”

“No! I’m totally fine!” When you got him to his feet he grabbed a shot glass from someone walking by and poured it into his mouth. The alcohol dribbled down his chin and the passerby shot him a look of annoyance because Taeyong just stole their drink.

You smacked Taeyong on the back of the head. “Stop drinking! You’re gonna kill yourself if you keep going.”

He stomped his foot like a child. “Noooooo!”

You began dragging him toward the elevator and he didn’t resist. When the elevator arrived, you pushed your date into it and pushed the button for the first floor. When the doors opened, you pulled Taeyong out and almost bumped into Jungkook.

“Hey, Y/N! Are you having fun?” He still hadn’t noticed how inebriated Taeyong was.

“I’m not in the mood for small talk right now, Jungkook. Where have you guys been?” You didn’t even try to hide your annoyance.

“Whoa,” Jungkook gasped, noticing your drunk friend for the first time. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Can you tell the rest of the guys that I’m taking Taeyong home now?” You pulled Taeyong toward the entrance.

“Okay. Are you coming back? It’s still pretty early.”

“I think I’ve had enough for one night. I’m never forgiving you guys for this. Goodnight, Jungkook.”

Jungkook waved you goodbye. “Okay, get home safe, Y/N.”

You opened the door to your apartment and saw Yoongi sitting on the couch, sipping on a bottle of beer, and watching the ball dropping ceremony on TV.

“You’re home early,” he remarked. “Didn’t like your date?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You kicked off your shoes and walked right passed him and into your room, slamming the door shut behind you.

“Goodnight, I guess.” Yoongi shrugged and returned to watching his program.

You and your friends regrouped for brunch on the following Sunday morning. Even the barely noticeable smell of alcohol from the mimosas that Jin and Jimin ordered brought back nauseating memories of the party.

“I can’t believe you set me up with Taeyong, who I later found out is a Cancer???? Aries are the least compatible with Cancers!!!”

“I thought that was Capricorns,” Hoseok asserted before stuffing his face with french toast.

“Them too! Capricorns and Aries usually can’t stand each other but when you find two that are compatible it’s like–”

“Anyway,” Taehyung interrupted. “It wasn’t even his personality that you didn’t like, it was his lack of control.”

“It doesn’t matter!” You protested. “It was doomed from the start!”

“Whatever. Enough of this fictitious mumbo jumbo.” Taehyung waved his hand dismissively. “So, Taeyong was an utter failure. Who else do we know who’s single?” The question was directed at the other five boys at the table.

“I don’t want you setting me up with anymore of your friends,” you told them.

“Too bad, we need to find you a boyfriend. You can’t let one bad date stop you from going on others.”

They didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer. You needed to put a stop to this fast. But how? You didn’t have time to think. Before anyone could respond with their suggestions, you blurted out, “I’m dating Yoongi!”

Taehyung nearly choked on his strawberry. “What? Your roommate? Isn’t he a Pisces?”

“And?”

“Aries aren’t compatible with Pisces.”

“And how would you know that, Tae? Aren’t you the one who made fun of me for looking up Kai’s birth chart? Aren’t you the one who just – not even a minute ago – called it fictitious mumbo jumbo?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jungkook holds his hands out to stop everyone. “How did this happen?”

Jimin looked at you curiously. “Yeah, Y/N. You’ve been living with Yoongi for almost a year. Why now?”

“Uhhhh.” You wracked your brain for an explanation. How did you get together with Yoongi? You had to come up with an explanation that your friends would believe. “After I dropped off Taeyong the night of the New Year Ball, I came home crying.” Your palms started to sweat so you rubbed your hands together. “Yoongi was still awake watching the ball dropping ceremony, so he comforted me, and we ended up falling asleep on the couch together.”

“Did you fuck him?”

You kicked Seokjin under the table. “No! Jin, don’t be gross!”

“Owww! What? You’re the type to move pretty fast. I don’t know.” He bent down to rub his shin.

“Wait, hold up,” Jungkook cut in, ready to poke holes in your story. “Since when do you cry?”

“Hey! I cry! What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. Sounds kind of fake. I’ve known you for more than ten years and I’ve only seen you cry once when your turtle died.”

“I can cry! I’m perfectly capable of crying!”

“If what you’re saying is true, then bring Yoongi with you the next time we get dinner together. Does Tuesday night work for everyone?”

All the boys nodded their heads.

Shit. You could feel your face getting hot. “Uhh, since the relationship is still pretty new, I’m not sure Yoongi would want to make it public just yet,” you lied.

“Come on, Y/N. We’ve known Yoongi for over a year, and we’ve known you for even longer. There’s no reason for you guys to hide from us.”

You groaned. “Fine, I’ll bring him. But don’t think I’ve forgiven you guys for setting me up with that trainwreck.”

“We’re sorry, Y/N. Really.”

How would you possibly explain this whole situation to your roommate? “Hey, uh, I told my friends we were dating so they wouldn’t set me up with another fuckboy, and now they want to do a septuple date.”???

You just know he would give you endless shit for this. For as long as you’ve known him, Yoongi has always been the sarcastic smartass who loves to poke fun at you.

From commenting on what you wear: “That’s not a shirt, Y/N.” (Also, remember your dress on New Year’s Eve?)

Giving you “helpful” hints when you try to fix something that broke: “You know that’s not going to work, right?”

To helping you with your math homework: “You get to ask me one question per month. After that I’m going to start charging you a fee.”

To some, his treatment toward you may seem harsh or mean. What a lot of people don’t understand is that you two are this way because you’re comfortable with each other. It’s not one-sided. You definitely roast Yoongi back. And it’s never serious. It’s a sibling type of banter.

Although the two of you are comfortable with each other, Yoongi also keeps to himself a lot, only sharing bits and pieces of him with you. He’s serious and stoic a lot of the time, and when he’s home, you mostly see him studying or watching TV. But you guess this is typical behavior of someone who’s studying to be a sound engineer.

He rarely tells you anything about his dating life. He had a girlfriend when he first moved in. You know this because he would bring her over every weekend, and you would hear them in his room. Every. Fucking. Weekend. But all of that stopped a couple of months ago. You know they broke up, but you don’t know why, or whose decision it was. Yoongi rarely talked about her, so you couldn’t tell if he actually liked her or not, or if it was just a sexual thing. Come to think of it, you couldn’t remember the last time he expressed feelings for anyone.

You turned toward your roommate, who sat next to you on the couch, reading one of his textbooks.

“Are you a sociopath?” You asked him, casually of course, as roommates do.

Without even looking up he replied with, “What in that tiny, little brain of yours prompted you to ask me such a thing?”

You smacked him with one of your throw pillows, which took Yoongi a considerable amount of convincing to let you buy because he thought they were “useless and a waste of money.”

“Because I’ve never seen you express emotion toward anything. Not even food.”

“Just because I don’t have an orgasm every time I eat pizza like you do, does not mean I’m a sociopath. For your information, I am perfectly capable of emotion. I just prefer to channel it into my music.”

You rolled your eyes. He’s so pretentious. “Then why aren’t you dating anyone?

He closed his textbook. “Jeez, Y/N. Not everything is about dating. I just got out of that messy relationship with Nayeon, remember?

“I thought you were just with her for sex? I didn’t know you actually liked her.”

“We were together for four fucking years, of course I liked her. You don’t just share such a big chunk of your life with someone and not feel something for them.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that you were together for that long. You never really told me much about her.”

He shrugged. “That’s because you entered my life during the last year of our relationship, and at that point we could already feel our relationship start to all apart.”

“She was here all the time, though.”

“Yeah, we thought seeing each other more would help fix us, but after a while it just got kind of tedious. So we called it off.”

This was good, this was the most information you’d gotten out of him in a while. “Do you still have feelings for her?”

“Of course, but it didn’t work out. It’s in the past now and I need to move on. My friends think that finding someone knew would help me get over it, but I need to take some time for myself.”

You nodded understandingly. “What were you like with her? You know, before all the bad stuff. I can’t imagine you being romantic in any sense of the word,” you jested.

“Hey! I was romantic! I took her to the beach and bought her flowers and stuff.”

“Wow. A real stunner, you are,” you said sarcastically

Yoongi rolled his eyes

“Hey, here’s a nutty idea.”

Your roommate raised an eyebrow at you. You thought long and hard about how you were going to do this. All the scenarios that played out in your head seemed utterly ridiculous, but you had to tell him somehow. This seemed like the least weird way to broach the subject with him.

“What if we like….. Pretended to date?” you asked hesitantly, wiping your sweaty palms onto your throw pillow. See? It’s not entirely useless.

“Why the fuck would we do that?”

“You know… Because my friends are trying to set me up with people… And from what you’ve said, your friends want you to start dating again, too.”

“Yeah, that’s what my friends want, but I don’t have to do what they want.”

“I’m just saying, you know… It might be beneficial for both of us.” You couldn’t look Yoongi in the eyes. Instead, your gaze shifted just about everywhere else: out the window, the TV, the ceiling.

Yoongi definitely noticed and could tell you were hiding something. His eyes narrowed at you. “What’s the real reason, Y/N.”

You shrugged and shook your head. “That is the real reason.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” His gaze grew more intense and you could feel his gaze burning holes into your face.

You sighed deeply. “Fine. So I… Uhh…”

Yoongi looked at you expectantly. Were you really going to tell him? You had to own up to your stupid decision. But it was exactly that: stupid.

“I may or may not have told my friends that you and I are dating.”

“Fucking hell, Y/N.” There wasn’t even any surprise in his voice. It was more like disappointment, exasperation. Like his exact thoughts were, typical Y/N, always up to the same shenanigans.

“I’m sorry! I panicked! I didn’t want to get setup with another Taeyong and you were the first person who came to mind! I just kind of blurted it out during brunch!”

Yoongi was silent for a long time, and you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. What would you do if he said no? What would you tell your friends?

After an eternity, he finally answered. “Fine”

You let out a sigh of relief. “Great. Our first date is tomorrow.”

“Fucking hell! Thanks for the warning!”

“See you then!” You jumped up from the couch and ran to your room before he could verbally abuse you further.

“Oh my god. Are you seriously wearing that on our first date?” Yoongi was standing in the doorway to his room as you eyed his outfit, which consisted of a white t-shirt underneath an unbuttoned red and cream plaid flannel, accompanied by ripped light wash jeans and old tennis shoes.

“Yeah? What’s wrong with this?” He gave you a mildly annoyed, confused look.

“Nothing’s wrong with it if you’re going to class. But this is dinner with my friends! Our debut as a couple! You can’t wear that!”

Yoongi sighed. “Fine. Then what do you suggest I wear.”

You huffed and pushed past him into his room, him following closely behind. You stared into his closet, eighty percent of which was completely black. Somehow, today, he managed to throw on the only non-black outfit he owned.

“No. No. No.” You grumbled as you sifted through his clothes.

“Why do I even need to dress nicely? I’ve already met all your friends. It’s not like I have to make a good first impression or anything.”

“Still! They would never believe I would date someone who’s dressed like that.”

“Hey! You know, you’re such a bitch sometimes.”

“I know.” You pulled out a red and black swirly patterned button down that was squeezed between two black sweaters. Ugh, there was no method of organization to this closet whatsoever. You caught a glimpse of the tag as you removed it from the closet. “Dior? Damn. I didn’t know you were the type to wear designer.”

Yoongi snatched it out of your hand protectively. “I’m not. Nayeon gave it to me.”

You gently took it back from him. “Okay, so it’s a touchy subject. I guess we’re not going with that one.” You put it back on to the clothing rack and pull out a long wool coat. “Valentino? You’re kidding me, right? Is there any nice stuff in here that you bought yourself?”

Yoongi shook his head.

“Now I know why she bought all of this stuff for you: so you don’t embarrass her everytime you two went out in public.” You sighed. “Well, I guess we’re just going to have to work with it.”

You pulled the red and black shirt back out and handed it and the coat to Yoongi.

“No peeking,” Yoongi warned. You nodded and turned around.

As he changed, you rifled through his closet for some suitable pants, so you wouldn’t accidentally catch a glimpse of your roommate shirtless. You found the pair of black ripped jeans that Yoongi always wore and decided to go with those.

“I don’t like this jacket,” Yoongi whined. You took it as a sign that it was safe to turn around.

The jacket reached almost to the floor, and his arms were tight against his sides, like he could barely move them. “You’re right. You look so stuffy. Like a little old man.”

“Hey! Listen up, bitch.” Yoongi squared his shoulders and took a couple of steps closer to you. “I may be older than you, but I’m also taller.” He prodded your shoulder threateningly with his finger.

“Not if I wear heels. Which is what I’m planning to do tonight.” You smirked at him.

“Fine, then I’ll wear my platform sneakers.”

“That still won’t be enough,” you teased.

He frowned and you chuckled at his reaction.

“I’m kidding. I’m not going to wear heels tonight. So, you still get to be taller than me.”

“Why does it feel like I’m receiving some sort of consolation prize?”

You rolled your eyes. “God, you’re so annoying.”

“Can I just go without the jacket? It’s not that cold outside.” Yoongi struggled to take off his coat so you walked up behind him and helped pull it down his shoulders.

“Okay, but if I get cold, what are you going to offer me for protection? How are you supposed to romantically give me your jacket if you don’t even have one?”

Yoongi groaned. “God, your ideas of romance are so antiquated.”

“And your ideas of romance are nonexistent!” You countered.

“Whatever,” he spat. “Just pick a jacket you want to wear then. It’s too warm out for me to wear one.”

You grudgingly agreed and grabbed a simple black blazer from the closet. The tag on the back said H&M.

“You guys! I’m so excited to try this place!” Taehyung ran up to where you and Yoongi waited outside the new omurice restaurant that opened up across town.

“I hope it’s good,” Yoongi said. “This would be the first omurice place here and I haven’t had decent omurice since I went to Kyoto a couple of years ago.”

“What is this? You? Min Yoongi? Getting excited about food?”

Yoongi shot you a warning look, which you ignored.

“If you miss it so much, why don’t you try making it yourself?”

“If you paid any attention to me at all, you would know I make it all the time, but it’s never the same.”

You frowned at him, offended that he would accuse you of not paying him any attention at home. “I totally pay attention to you!”

“Then you would know I made omurice just last Thursday!”

“Thursday is my busy day! I wasn’t home all day!”

“Okay!” Taehyung interrupted, clapping his hands together. He was probably afraid you two would either start throwing punches or angrily making out. Neither of which he wanted to witness at that moment. “Let’s get a table and wait for the others inside.”

“So did you enjoy it? Was it as good as the one you had in Kyoto?” You looped your arm around Yoongi’s and rested your chin on his shoulder.

Yoongi set his spoon down onto his now empty plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “It was pretty good.” He didn’t turn to face you because he didn’t want his face that close to yours. “But to be honest, nothing can top the one I ate in Kyoto.”

You moved your hand toward Yoongi’s, which was now placed limply on his thigh. He squirmed as you got too close to his crotch.

“Hold my hand, dumbass,” you whispered so that only he could hear. “And smile please.”

Yoongi turned his face toward you and gave you a soft smile so convincing, your heart fluttered for a split second before you came to your senses. He leisurely intertwined his fingers with yours.

“Thanks, you’re doing a great job,” you told him. Yoongi was never really one to seek out praise and validation, but you wanted him to know that he was doing a good job.

“Awww, you guys are so cute,” Hoseok cooed. “Y/N, I’m glad you’re finally dating someone again.”

“I don’t know why y’all are so damn concerned with my love life. It’s none of your fucking business.”

“It’s just that you haven’t been in a relationship in so long, this is quite interesting to watch.”

You twisted your face at Jungkook.

“So tell me more about how this whole thing happened.” Jungkook sat up attentively, putting his elbows up on the table and resting his face in his hands, wanting to hear every word you had to say.

“I already told you everything.”

“Okay, but I want to hear it from Yoongi’s perspective.” He nodded at your fake boyfriend.

“Shit,” you muttered and squeezed Yoongi’s hand. You raised an eyebrow at Yoongi, an expression that said, “You remember what I told you, right?”

Yoongi nodded. “Well, I don’t know what Y/N told you but, she came home really upset after the New Year Ball, thanks to you guys, and that’s when it kind of happened.”

“We’ve apologized so many times for that.” Jin rolled his eyes.

“And yet I still don’t accept your apologies,” you quipped.

You looked over at Jungkook to see that he was eyeing you warily. Your cheeks burned under his scrutiny. Did he still not believe you? Even after you and Yoongi’s blatant (albeit forced) displays of affection? Maybe because he knew neither of you were big fans of PDA. Or maybe because he’s known you for more than half your life and can tell when you’re lying 90% of the time.

Just when you’re about to crack under his gaze, the waiter comes over with the bill.

“So how are we going to do this?” Namjoon addressed everyone at the table.

“I don’t know. You’re the math major; you tell us,” Jimin retorted.

Yoongi grabbed his wallet from his back pocket with the hand that wasn’t holding yours. “I’ll pay for Y/N and me.”

“How noble,” Jungkook scoffed.

You leaned closer to Yoongi. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Of course, it’s our first date. Let me pay.”

You blushed. “Okay.”

Then the unexpected happened. Yoongi leaned in closer and gave you a quick peck on the tip of your nose.

You gaped at him momentarily and then immediately regained your composure. You turned around to see Hoseok and Jin looking at you fondly, Taehyung and Jimin making disgusted faces, Jungkook with his eyebrows raised in a look of surprise and horror, and Namjoon too distracted by figuring out how to split the bill.

Luckily, because of this stunt, Jungkook forgot about grilling Yoongi with the questions.

“Okay, so I’m going to cover it with my credit card and I’ll charge you guys on BuddyPay.” Namjoon announced, still totally oblivious to the kiss that just shocked the whole table.

Everyone else grumbled in agreement.

After the payment was sorted out, your friends trickled out of the restaurant while you and Yoongi stayed behind. The second they were gone, Yoongi dropped your hand as if you had the plague.

“God, your hand is so sweaty,” he griped, wiping his hand on his jeans.

“Sorry! I was nervous!”

“Aww. You get nervous around me?”

“It wasn’t because of you, asshole.” You slapped his arm. “It’s because I’m a terrible liar! I almost popped a blood vessel everytime one of them looked me in the eye. Especially Jungkook! I know he suspects something.”

Yoongi shrugged. “Well, if it means anything, I think you were pretty convincing.”

“Thanks. It doesn’t. Also why did you kiss me? We never agreed to any kissing.”

“Did that kiss really affect you that much?” Yoongi smirked and got up from his seat.

You huffed. “Fuck you, Yoongi!”

“A kiss is as far as I’m gonna go.”

You scowled and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, jogging a little to catch up to him.

By the time you caught up, he was waiting by the door for you. “How are we going to make it convincing if I never kiss you?” Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Also, if you pop a blood vessel, I’m not driving you to the hospital.”

You frowned. “Whatever. Let’s get out of here.”

“God, I’m so full,” you groaned once you got outside. “Can we walk around a bit?”

Yoongi nodded. “Sure. I’ve never been in this plaza. We can check out what they have.”

Out of the corner of your eye you notice a Critter Castle on the other side of the parking lot.

“Ooh! A pet store! Let’s go in!” You grabbed Yoongi by the wrist and hauled him across the parking lot.

Immediately when you walk in, Yoongi gravitated toward the puppies. There was a small one, with curly brown fur that he took a particular liking to.

“Hey there, little guy.” The puppy perked up and started hopping around in its pen. “You’re an excited one aren’t you? Hi.” He brought his hand up to the barrier, allowing the puppy to stick its nose through and lick Yoongi’s fingers.

It wasn’t often that you got to see Yoongi’s soft side. He was always either serious or sarcastic around you. But seeing him like this made the corner of your lips tug up and your heart feel warm.

What was this weird feeling? It couldn’t possibly be… Could it?

You shook off the weird feeling. “What’s its name?” You asked Yoongi.

Yoongi looked at the sign the hung on the edge of the play pen. “Holly.”

“So it’s a girl?”

“The sign says it’s a boy. Awww and he’s only two weeks old! So fucking tiny!”

You giggled. “Do you want him?”

“What?”

“Do you want to adopt Holly?”

“I– yes. But would you be okay with that?”

You nodded.

“Oh my god. Then yes, I want this dog more than anything.”

“Okay wait here, I’ll go talk to a worker.”

You returned a couple of minutes later to find Yoongi sitting on the floor, sticking his fingers in the holes of the pen and playing with the little puppy.

“So, I have some bad news.”

Yoongi sighed. “Y/N, always gotta ruin things.”

“Shut up! The worker said Holly is still too young to be adopted, but we can come back in a month and a half or so and if he’s still here we can adopt him.”

“Can we like, preemptively adopt him? Like put him on hold or something?”

“I asked and she said adoptions here don’t work that way since it’s not a shelter. We’re just going to have to come back later and hope for the best.”

You could see Yoongi’s face fall. “Okay.” He stood up. “It was nice knowing you, Holly. Hopefully we can meet again soon.”

“We’ll come back for you, Holly.”

The little dog yapped and hopped with joy, but when the two of you began walking away, he whined and put his head to the floor.

About a month passes and now it’s the present again. Pretending with Yoongi has gotten a lot easier and more comfortable. Your friends have invited you and Yoongi out to septuple dates with their girlfriends, and you genuinely have fun.

But having a month pass means it’s now February, and everyone knows what dreaded holiday comes in February.

You fling yourself onto the couch right next to where Yoongi is sitting. “So it’s Valentine’s Day next week.”

“And?”

“And are we going to do something special?”

Yoongi makes a disgusted face. You grimace at his grimace.

“Come on! Jungkook will definitely think something is up if we don’t post something cute on Instagram,” you whine.

For the last month, even when your friends didn’t invite you and Yoongi out to do stuff with them, you still took pictures of the two of you together to keep up appearances on social media. Yoongi was surprisingly good at it, knowing exactly how to pose or what caption to write to get a reaction out of people. Everyone seems to love sharing their relationship with the world, and Valentine’s Day is the prime time to do so, so it would definitely be odd if you and Yoongi didn’t do something sickeningly romantic for the special day.

“How about we just get one of those long candles and light it next to a rose and take a picture of that, then we can go back to living our lives like normal? Most of social media is fake anyway, so I don’t see why we actually have to do something special instead of just pretending we did.”

“Ooh! What if I get a bunch of rose petals and sprinkle them from the front door to your room? And then I caption it something like, ‘Came home from class and was greeted with this, *suggestive emoji*.’”

“No! No offense, but I don’t want to imply that I’m having sex with you.”

“We’re dating, it’s already implied.”

Yoongi’s face twists. “How long are we going to keep this up, anyway? I’m not going to fake date you forever.”

“Oh my god!” You exclaim, ignoring his question. “I’ve got it!”

“What?” Yoongi asks, his tone fearful.

“The pet store has discounted pet adoptions on Valentine’s Day.”

“Okay…”

“Let’s adopt Holly together!”

Yoongi’s eyes light up, but he tries to contain his excitement when he says, “So you’re serious about it? You really want to adopt a dog together?”

“Of course! I’ve always wanted a dog.”

Your roommate raises an eyebrow. “You never said anything.”

“Because I didn’t know you liked dogs.”

“So, you’re actually serious about this?” He asks again, just to be absolutely sure.

“Yes, Yoongi! I am 100% serious.”

He jumps up and gives you a big hug, squeezing you so hard that you almost can’t breathe.

That Valentine’s Day, you and Yoongi walk into your apartment with a new addition to your family. Yoongi insisted on holding him on the car ride home, and wouldn’t even let you hold him in the elevator ride up to the apartment. He is still cradling the small, brown puppy even after you’re inside, where it’s safe to let him run around.

“Hold right there,” you tell Yoongi after you both take your shoes off, with Yoongi struggling because he still will not let go of Holly the entire time. “Let me take a picture for Instagram.”

Yoongi holds up Holly so that he’s obscuring his face.

“No! We need to see your face!”

Yoongi sighs and lowers the little animal.

“Great, now kiss him.”

Yoongi puckers his lips and brings it closer to the curly brown fur.

“Perfect!” You snap the photo and post it to Instagram, captioning it, Father and his brand new son. Happy Valentine’s Day, babe *heart eye emoji*.“Cuuuute!” You exclaim.

“I know I am, but how’s Holly look?”

You give your fake boyfriend an exasperated look.

“I can’t believe we have a puppy now!” Squeal isn’t exactly the right word to describe how Yoongi says it, but it’s a pretty close description.

“I know right? We’re parents now.”

Yoongi plops himself on the floor and lies on his back. Holly hops around him, leaping across his legs and stomach. The feeling that you experienced in the pet store when Yoongi first met Holly returns, and you are filled with an inexplicable fondness. You get down on the floor and join them, and when you look at Yoongi, he smiles at you.

“Thank you, Y/N. I am so happy right now.”

“You’re welcome, Yoongi. I am too.”

A couple of weeks later, you come home after a rough shift at work. There was a huge dance contest going on at school tonight and afterwards a lot of the spectators flocked to the nearest boba shop– which happened to be the one you worked at. The line was long, the store was crowded and loud, and it didn’t help that your manager was yelling at all of the workers to put out drinks faster. At the end of the night, you had to turn some customers down so that you could close up shop, and a few of them weren’t too happy about that.

You’re exhausted when you step through your front door, your feet are sore and your muscles tense. When you enter, you see Yoongi sprawled on the couch as always, your nostrils assaulted with a pungent odor, quite a juxtaposition to the sickenly sweet smell of the boba shop.

You let out an exasperated sigh. “How many times have I told you not to smoke inside?”

“I wasn’t smoking.” Yoongi shifts his bloodshot eyes back and forth.

“I smelled weed the second I walked in the door.” You saunter over to the screen door that leads to the balcony and pull it open to let in some fresh air.

“That’s….. a skunk got in here.” His voice is mellow in a way that confirms your suspicions.

You cross your arms and give him an incredulous look. “A skunk?”

“Yeah.”

“We live on the third floor in the middle of the city. There are no skunks here,” you scoff. “Raccoons, I would believe, but not skunks.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes.

“At least share, will you?” You drop your aching body onto the couch next to him, resting most of your weight against Yoongi.

“Since when do you smoke?” He asks.

“I don’t usually. I get a really bad case of the munchies when I do. One time I smoked at Jungkook’s place and ended up eating six of those spicy cup noodles. My intestines were not happy afterward.”

Yoongi chuckles. He then pulls a blunt out of his pocket and lights it for you. You put it up to your lips and smoke it.

“Who’s smoking in the house now?” he teases.

You shake your head. “Where’s Holly?” You ask, ignoring his silly rhetorical question. You shift so that your head is now resting on his chest.

“He’s in my room sleeping. All he does is sleep.”

“Of course, he’s a puppy. He’s still growing.” You pass Yoongi the blunt and he takes a hit before passing it back to you.

“I love him so much.”

“I know you do.”

“He’s so small.” Yoongi remarks, except it comes out more like a whine.

“I know he is.”

He notices that you’re not being your characteristically talkative self, which leads him to suspect something is wrong. “Rough shift?”

“Mhm.” You nod with your head still resting on your roommate’s chest.

He slings his arm lazily across your shoulder. “Want to talk about it?”

You take another long drag from the blunt. “Nope,” you exhale.

Just as before, your cravings set in about thirty minutes later. You haven’t eaten since before your six hour shift, and you're now starving.

“Oh my god I want pancakes!!!!” You wail, springing up from your where your head rested on Yoongi’s lap. “I want pancakes so bad.” Your stomach grumbles at the thought of the fluffy stacks of cinnamon swirl pancakes that they serve at the Pancake Shack, lathered in thick, golden maple syrup, and smothered with butter.

“Y/N, it’s 2 in the morning. Everything is closed now.” Yoongi is always one to burst your bubble.

"But I want Pancake Shack!"

"Pancake Shack is closed."

“Make me pancakes!!!!!”

“I am not making you pancakes.”

“But I want pancakes!! Like so bad. I think I might die.”

“You may be the only person who gets more high-strung when you smoke.” Yoongi doesn't budge.

You pout at him.

Finally, he resigns. “Fine, I’ll make you pancakes.”

“Thanks, Yoongi.” You hug him and rest your head on his shoulder. The two of you lock eyes and your gaze lingers for longer than it should, and for a second, your heart stops. The intensity of the moment startles you and you pull away from him. “You know what. It’s late. Never mind, you don’t have to make me pancakes.”

“Y/N, I don’t mind if you really want me to.”

You shake your head. “No, it’s okay. I should go to bed. I have class in the morning.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Yoongi raises an eyebrow. You were just insisting that he make you pancakes. What made you change your mind so suddenly?

You get up off the couch and make your way to your room.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he calls after you.

“Goodnight, Yoongi.”

Jungkook: hey jieun just broke up with me :’( can you come over?

You get the text late at night, a couple of days later. You’re already in your pajamas and getting ready for bed. But still, you don’t hesitate, because Jungkook is your best friend, and you could really use something to take your mind off of the forbidden feelings you’re starting to develop for Yoongi.

You: yeah i’ll be there in 10

“Hey.” Jungkook greets you with a sad smile when he opens the door to his apartment. His hair is a mess and he’s also wearing his pajamas.

You return the greeting and enter. “How are you holding up?” You ask him.

“Honestly, a lot better than I thought I’d be. I’m not as heartbroken as I expected.”

His place is a one bedroom studio apartment, so inside is just his bed, desk, kitchen, bathroom, and video game system. It’s cozy, and the two of you have had many heartfelt talks here. You used to come here whenever you wanted peace and quiet when you still had two other roommates at your old place.

“Why did you call me over? I thought you’d be a mess.” You kick off your shoes and jump onto the bed.

Jungkook shrugs as he sinks down next to you. “You’re my best friend. I just wanted someone to talk to.”

“Well, I’m here for you. Whatever you have to say. Whatever you want to talk about.”

He smiles at you. “Thanks, Y/N. How are you and Yoongi doing?”

“We’re alright.”

“I can tell he really likes you.”

You sigh, wondering if now is a good time to break the news to your best friend. What are you really waiting for? Why keep this going? Who does it benefit? “Jungkook, I have to tell you something.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow.

You take a deep breath. “It’s fake. My entire relationship with Yoongi is fake. We were never actually dating.”

“I don’t believe that.” He shakes his head.

But it’s the truth.

Jungkook shakes his head again. “No. I know you both really care for each other. I can tell your feelings for each other are real.”

You remain silent. You and Yoongi have definitely grown closer in the last two months, especially after the two of you adopted Holly together, and you were having some feelings toward him, but you knew Yoongi didn’t feel the same. In the beginning, he made it explicitly clear that he had absolutely no romantic feelings toward you. Just last year, you two had The Talk about not being attracted to each other.

“You guys even adopted a dog together for god’s sake. You don’t just do that with anyone.”

Still you say nothing.

“That was real right? That dog is yours?”

You nod.

Jungkook runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m not going to brag, but I knew it was fake at the beginning, especially because it lasted more than a week, which is some sort of record for you.”

“Shut up.”

“But as time went on, I could tell you were growing to like each other, genuinely.”

You shake your head, still refusing to believe it. “He’s a Pisces, though. Aries aren’t good with Pisces.”

“Stop making excuses, Y/N. I think you should talk to him. Sort this out.”

"I may have feelings for him, but I'm positive he doesn't feel the same way about me." You grab one of Jungkook’s pillows and fiddle with a loose thread on the pillow case.

Jungkook sees what you’re doing and takes the pillow away from you, setting it down on the side of the bed that you can’t reach. "If you think that way, then you should end it. It's not fair for the both of you.”

You sigh deeply, knowing he’s right. “I thought we were here to talk about you.”

“We were. But I feel much better now, having my best friend with me.”

You give him a half hearted smile.

“I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Jungkook.”

He holds out his arms. “Come here.”

You crawl forward and give him a firm hug.

“Can I, like, at least practice in front of you? Because I have absolutely no idea how to approach this.”

“Of course. Anything you need, I'm here for you.”

You squeeze him a bit tighter. "Thank you, Jungkook."

The next night, you pace back and forth in your room, trying to figure out how you're going to bring it up to Yoongi. He's right on the other side of the door, on the couch, watching TV and petting Holly, as usual, and can probably hear you burning a hole in the carpet. You take a deep breath. It’s time. But what if he’s not watching TV anymore? What if he’s studying or doing homework? You shuffle over to your door, slowly cracking it open and peeking your head out.

He’s still exactly where he was when you got home earlier. Doesn’t he have things to do? Why is he always watching TV? You then realize that you just want an excuse for him to be too busy to talk, so you can avoid this conversation and postpone it for another time. Another time when you’re more prepared, when you’re older, and therefore wiser. But for some reason all the signs (really, just Jungkook) are telling you to do it now, providing you with the perfect opportunity, the perfect setup for you to break up with your fake boyfriend. Nothing like the present, right? You just gotta do it. Rip it off like a bandaid.

Apprehensively, you tiptoe out of your room. "Hey, Yoongi, I need to talk to you."

He turns his head toward you. “What’s up? What’s wrong?” His brows furrow when he notices your unease.

You walk over to the couch and sit down next to him. "Nothing’s really wrong, per se. But we do need to end this fake relationship."

“Well, it’s about time.” He sighs and picks up Holly from his lap and places him onto the floor. “We’ve been going at this for what? Almost two months?”

Your heart drops at his words, feeling like it's shattered into a million pieces. You know he didn’t feel the same way about you, but hearing him confirm it hurts a lot worse than you imagined. So, it really was all just pretend to him? You had been so stupid to let yourself fall for him, and now you have to deal with the consequences.

“I– Wow– has it really been that long?” You force a chuckle, trying your best to hide your disappointment.

“Yeah. It’s about time we start dating for real, right?”

“W– what?” You stutter, completely caught off guard. Out of all the scenarios you thought of, this was not one of them.

“Y/N, don’t tell me you don’t think there’s something between us.”

“I– I do. I just didn’t think you did.”

“Of course I did! Are you really that dense? I wouldn’t have volunteered to make you pancakes at two in the fucking morning if I didn’t.”

You breathe out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You just saved me from a really difficult talk.”

“Were you going to break up with me?”

You nod.

“Did you plan out everything your were going to say? Rehearse it in front of the mirror and everything?”

“No.” You cross your arms in defiance. “I rehearsed it in front of Jungkook.”

Yoongi chuckles and it makes your heart warm. “You got Jungkook to help you?”

“Yeah. Don’t make fun of me.” You pout. “I’m not good at this type of thing.”

“You’ve broken up with plenty of guys before, though.”

“But none that I’ve cared about as much as you.”

Yoongi takes both your hands in his. "Don't worry. You don’t have to."

You feel as if a tremendous weight has been lifted off your chest. "So what now? What's different?"

Yoongi uses his hand to brush aside a stray chunk of hair that had fallen from your ponytail, and then delicately caresses your cheek. "Well, this, for one." He leans in and places a firm kiss on your lips. Yoongi had given you soft kisses on your cheeks and nose when the two of you were just pretending, and for a long time you wondered what it would be like to kiss him for real. Now you know, and it's so much better than you ever imagined.

You know how in those cliche movies, when a couple shares their first kiss, fireworks explode in the background and everyone cheers? That's what it feels like. It feels like every bad date, every disappointing hookup has led to you finding Yoongi. It's like the spring finally arriving and the clouds getting clear after a long, cold winter. Jungkook's right. Who cares if you're an Aries and he's a Pisces? The stars aligned in just the right place for you to find each other.

"And this," Yoongi breathes, softly brushing his hand against your breast and running it along your body until it reaches your thigh, all while still kissing you. "And this."

You squeal as Yoongi's hand moves under your legs and he scoops you up as he stands. You wrap your arms tightly around him, giggling and burying your face in the crook of his neck while he carries you bridal-style to his room.

Holly follows closely by his feet, wanting to follow his parents and see what they're up to. Once Yoongi gets to the threshold of his room, he gently shoos the little puppy away with his foot. "Not now, Holly. It's special mommy and daddy time." He then enters the room, letting the door close behind him.

Epilogue:

“I can’t believe we adopted a dog together. That’s so incredibly stupid. What if we break up?” You slip on your boots and put a harness around Holly, getting ready to take him out for your daily walk.

Yoongi slings on his jacket and shakes his head.  “Y/N. We’re literally getting married next week. I don’t think we’re breaking up any time soon.”

“But you admit that it’s a possibility!”

“I never said that.”

You peek outside the window to see that it’s still drizzling a little bit and grab Holly’s raincoat off the coat rack and put it on him. “There we go, baby.” You then attach Holly’s leash to his harness as Yoongi grabs an umbrella. “Damn, I can’t believe I still like you. I can’t believe you still like me!”

“Hey! How many times do I have to tell you! I have feelings!”

“Yeah, horny.”

“You’re insufferable.”

You step forward to fix the collar of Yoongi’s raincoat. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re right. You’re very right. I love you very much and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” He leans in to kiss you on the nose.

You react by scrunching up your face. “Damn, that’s a long time.”

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you? Do you want to call off the wedding?”

“Of course not! We’ve been planning this for over a year! I definitely still want to marry you!”

“Okay, but I think I want to marry you more.”

“Will you stop that?”

“Stop what? Wanting to marry you? Uhhh… Not possible.”

You get on your tiptoes so that you could kiss him, and while you’re kissing him, Holly starts barking and pawing at your boots. “Okay! Okay, Holly! We’ll take you on your walk now!”

You give Yoongi one last kiss on the lips before the three of you set out into the rain.

A/N: Yoongi and reader’s dynamic is pretty much how one of my old housemates and I used to treat each other (except we never dated, however, we did adopt a fish together). Also this story in no way reflects my opinions on astrology. It’s all light-hearted I promise.

[courageiseverything]

I fell in love when I was 18 (I’m 24 now) to the most perfect guy in the world. It was perfect. He was tall, dark and handsome and in a band (bonus points!) We dated for a while and then we made it official after a couple of months. It was perfect. A total dream. The first few months I was in that so-called Honeymoon period. Happy and carefree and feeling like an entirely new girl. I was so in love.

But I was blind to all the red flags. So many red flags.

After being in a relationship for 1 year I moved out of my parent’s house and we moved in together. At least point we were both 19. This is when things started to turn sour.

Suddenly, I started to annoy him. Anything I said was wrong and he was always correcting me. I was always walking on eggshells, terrified to say something wrong in case he got annoyed at me.

Then one day, when everything seemed perfect like it was in that honeymoon period, we had a house party at our home. It was a typical young adult house party which consisted of a lot of alcohol and hints of illegal substances. It was such a fun party at the beginning. There was a mixture of my friends and his friends. But as the night went on he got angry at me for drinking (I didn’t touch the drugs). He said that he hated it when I was drunk because I turned into my mum (My mother is an alcoholic and we have a very strained/distant relationship) and he said that I turned into a “Slut” when I got drunk. That night only comes back in flashes, but I always remember standing on the landing. It was me and him and we were arguing and then he grabbed me by the throat and was threatening me. I don’t remember what he said but the next thing I knew I was on the floor and he had disappeared. My best friend had just come out of the spare room opposite where we were on the landing and apparently, she had seen it all. She was so scared and was about to phone the police. To avoid a scene, and to not make him even more angry I begged her not to. Being my best friend, she didn’t. That night would be the first of many.

He got worse. Mainly with the emotional abuse (the gaslighting, lies, belittling, name calling etc) but if I pushed him too far, he would lash out. I tried to leave him so many times, but it was hard. We did have good times and I was blinded by those good times. I loved him with all my heart. I tried to talk to him about how I was feeling but it would always end up in an argument and somehow, I would be the one apologising. It was an endless circle.

Another year passed. Now we were both 20 and he had not changed. One night it did get too much for me. It was New Year’s Eve. We had planned to spend it together. I got dressed up and I was so excited. He had been nice to me for a few days and I thought that he was realising that he loved me too. For once I believed that everything had changed. But he was late home from work (he worked at a cinema at the time). The hours went by and I hadn’t got a phone call, a message or anything from him to tell me he was going to be late home. Soon enough Midnight had been and gone and it was the New Year. In that moment I felt worthless. I believed that everything he said I was was true. I was worthless, boring, useless, annoying, dumb, clingy, a slut, a bitch and that no one wanted me around. I thought that even if the man that I loved didn’t want me around anymore then I shouldn’t be. So I found some very strong painkillers (he had been prescribed them from the hospital for a bad shoulder) and I don’t remember how many I swallowed but I DID wake up the next morning. He had found me in bed surrounded by the empty painkiller packets and he just glared at me. I just remember his intense glare. He called me an idiot. I just got up, had a shower and went to work.

Nothing changed after that. He was still the same. But a year later (aged 21) I summed up the courage and somehow, I left him.

The months went by and I was happy. I was dating someone else and I had new housemates and I felt better. But I was still terrified that he would come back into my life. He lived and worked in the same town (which is a very small town between Worcester and Stratford-Upon-Avon). I would see his mates when I went out and I was terrified that they believed all the lies that he probably told them about me. I was praying that he hadn’t shown them the photos that he had of me. He had previously threatened that he would show them to his mates if I annoyed him.

Still the months went by and I didn’t carry on dating the new guy as I went travelling for a few months.

When I got back from travelling, I was stupid. He got back into my life. He apologised and I believed him. Aged 22 I made the biggest mistake of my life. We got back together. Months went by and he hadn’t changed at all. He still hurt me emotionally and physically. But once again there were still the days that were perfect.

I didn’t think that it could get much worse from that New Years Eve…but it did. He had been out drinking with his mates and well he wanted to have sex. I didn’t. You can sort of see where this is going. I gave in to keep him happy. I gave my unwilling consent. He didn’t use protection. But I couldn’t stop him. The worst happened and a few weeks later I found out that I was pregnant. I told him and he flipped out. Apparently, it was all my fault. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was terrified. He was 100% certain that he didn’t want it and it had to go. So, the night that I told him he threatened to push me down the stairs, he punched him in my stomach, he made me drink this weird drink that he googled would force a miscarriage. Obviously, it didn’t work. I managed to get to the doctors the next day (which he refused to come with me to) and then I got transferred to another place to have the abortion.

But I had to wait a couple of weeks and during that time I was stressing like crazy. I told no one. Not even my best friend (we had fallen out about a year earlier because of him). He was still saying that getting pregnant was all my fault and I felt like I honestly wanted to try and kill myself again because it would have been easier than having to go through it all.

The day came for the abortion and he was late picking me up. He had slept through all of his alarms and then told me that he had actually forgotten about the abortion. That day the pregnancy was terminated, and it has emotionally screwed me up.

I was 23 when my friend sends me a video. She had found his Tinder profile. He had loads of photos, his bio was perfectly written, and he had even connected his Spotify and Instagram. I showed him the video. He laughed. He said that he was trying to find me on there because he was convinced that I was cheating on him. Then he asked me if I wanted him to delete his profile. Something just clicked within me and I laughed and said, “No. You might need it.” With that I left him. After years and years of both emotional and physical abuse I was free.

Or so I thought.

I was dating again, and I lived by myself. I was coming to terms with that I had gone through and I was healing. I found this wonderful man and we decided to start a relationship. This was in October 2019. We made it “Facebook official” (I hate that haha!) but my ex found out via a mutual friend.

That night around 10pm I was woken up by my doorbell being constantly rung and a constant pounded at my door. Worried it was something urgent I ran downstairs (I left my phone upstairs which looking back was a huge mistake). It was him.

He was yelling at me. Calling me a whore. He pushed me and I fell backwards, and he got into my house. It was over in only about 5 minutes. I managed to force him back outside and I locked the door. He was still slamming his fists on my door when I ran upstairs and rang the police.

By the time the police turned up I had contacted my new boyfriend who drove straight over. My ex had disappeared, and I was a mess. Crying my eyes out and shaking uncontrollably.

I was at the police station until 3am making my statement. Going over everything that had happened from when I was 18 until that night.

The police arrested him straight after I made my statement.

They held him for 24 hours and questioned him. He is still released under investigation now (14/01/2020).

He lives less than a minutes’ drive away from my house.

I am terrified. I cannot answer my door unless someone phones me before to let me know that they are outside. I am slowly healing however and my current boyfriend (of 6 months now) is honestly the best person I know. I am getting better. I am healing. I can finally tell people my story. I am worried that he will do it again. To another girl who thinks she is in love with him. I just hope that his time being arrested will make him aware of what he has done.

People need to know about domestic violence. So many people (both men and women) go through it and no one is properly aware of it. I wanted to tell my story.

[everly-kindred]

Eve’s Diary - Entry #62

Date: 24th of April, 2027

Dear Diary, 

A lot has happened and… Once again, a lot of it is bad. It’s a different kind of bad this time, though. Something completely new. I think I… have a bully now? So I’ve been kinda putting off writing because I’ve not really had the want to, and I’ve been in a bit of a funk because of it. So this entry might be kinda long.

I guess I’ll go to the beginning of the week. I think Tom and Abe and Aloy were in a fight, there was something about kissing and boyfriends and… I dunno. A bunch of older year drama, I guess. I was walking through the halls at one point and even saw Aloy on top of Tom with her wand pointed at him. But after Arithmancy, they came out of the classroom all laughing together and stuff, which seemed to really bother Everett… so i don’t really know what’s going on. Especially since she and Everett seem just fine as of yesterday, anyways.

Marigold showed me the paper at lunch, where they had done an article about Hogsmeade and the fire. It showed a picture of her aunt Taffy standing outside of Honeydukes with a man in a cowboy hat comforting her. I told her he seemed sweet. She’s anxious to meet him, says she hasn’t met her aunts long-lost boyfriend yet. 

I caught up with Ruby and it felt as good as it did when we’d talk during summer. Turns out he’s not going to Bulgaria, so we’ll get to hang out this summer! And we’re also gonna study together to make sure we’re both ready for exams. We also talked about flowers, I conjured some more for him and told him he should show me that one flower (that I don’t know how to say or spell) that he said was his favourite. And we talked about how happy he seems during quidditch. I think he’s made good on the promise me made with me on New Years.

Ressy wrote O’Keeffe about learning mermish, and O’Keeffe wrote back asking for her to come to her office, and that she could bring me. She was all worried about it, and it was really cute. I knew that it was about O’Keeffe’s tutoring thing she invited me to do, though. So Ressy and I went to her office - which was absolutely HUGE and beautiful, by the way! - through a shortcut in a portrait, and then she got invited to join us. Of course, I haven’t been to one yet because I sort of forgot where it was, and O’Keeffe pointed that out and asked why… so when I told her why, she thought it was funny. I… think I’ve forgotten where she said to go and what the password was again, so hopefully Ressy remembered…

In herbology we dealt with belladonna and venomous tentacula, and even talked about Edna a bit since she is one, and there was some outburst Casey had about something Talula had said and I think they were talking about Everett and Aloy but I’m not sure… I’ve been able to care for all of the plants in my year so at least I know I’m prepared for the practical portion of Herbology - actually the practical portion of everything, it’s just the written tests I’m scared of now. 

In Defense Against the Dark Arts we did some exercises. Tomorrow is the Boggart class. I was able to do some of the exercises but I felt sick and ended up sneaking away while everyone was moving around. 

I had Dragonology with Ruby, and we passed notes and cute drawings to each other. I showed him this magic ink I have that lets you make moving sketches so we drew little stick figures back and forth to each other. 

In Astronomy, we did stargazing in the Great Hall for these…. Comets or meteors, I don’t remember which (I was really sleepy) and I drew a picture of a dragon that… either eats comets or spits comets. It’s kinda up to whoever is looking at it to decide. 

They’ve announced the summer tourney for dueling club, and in Artificer Club, the Head Boy took over and had us work on decorations for it. I practiced levitating a crystal fairy, and he had me do all these spells and moves. I had a hard time at first, but eventually I got the hang of it… after breaking the fairy twice, anyways. So he had me levitate it, flick it in the air, shower it with sparks and then scourgify it, before catching it with the levitation spell again. It was… really hard to do. But I got it!

I also “met” a housemate of mine that I’m not really familiar with, named Levi. I think they’re a second year? Me and Levi and Aures were talking in a courtyard when Tom, Arthur and some other people showed up. We had been talking about what to name Levi’s rat when Tom asked Ressy if Arthur could ride the clockwork unicorn I’ve borrowed from Bonnie and had following me around since… well…

I guess I should explain about the bullying situation. 

So we had transfigurations class. Aures told me her birthday was July 27th and we talked about our favourite flowers and practiced orchideous some more. That was when things started getting weird. Octavia was sitting behind me, and she threw a paper ball at my head, so I thought she needed something. But when I turned around and asked her, she told me to shut up. And then the professor told us to stay after class and told her to apologise to me, so she lied and said it was meant for Aures and apologised to her…

Anyways, I was freaking out, but then it turns out it was just the professor letting me know she got my extra credit and to tell my parents she said hi. So I booked it out of there, didn’t look at Octavia at ALL because I wanted to forget all of this had happened. 

So then me and Aures walked around the castle, and we talked about our ambitions and stuff. About her working with water creatures and me maybe writing fairytale plays or making wands or something. But then, Octavia found us and started shouting at me! So we got into this whole fight about it with her saying all these horrible things about me and Ressy - like how I have Ruby ‘fooled’ but I won’t fool her and she called Ressy things like beast and stuff. And then she tried to slap me! But I was able to grab her wrist before she could reach my face, and I told her to never talk that way again to us. 

And then she left, muttering something about how brave I’ll be when Ressy’s not there, which… I don’t know. We ran to the Great Hall, both of us were crying but the rain kind of hid it a bit. Essa and Jo and Ruby tried to ask what was wrong, but I lied and said we’d stepped on a toad. 

I didn’t want to like… I mean, I guess I’m worried if I tell, people will be even more mean to her and it’ll just give her more reason to keep being horrible to me? I don’t want her to go after me for being a tattle. I didn’t want any of this at all! The only thing I can think of as to WHY she’s as mad at me as she is is because I beat her in our duel… Ruby said to take it as a win, but I really think it was just luck, and now I wish it hadn’t happened at all. I’ve never done anything to her!

I guess I’m glad I stood up for myself at least. Talula and Casey told me to not travel alone and they think I should tell someone because they don’t believe she’ll ever change but… she’s young! We all are! We all have time to change and get better, and I don’t wanna take away that chance from her… 

And if I tell Ruby, would he stop wanting to be friends with her? Wouldn’t that just make it worse? But if I don’t tell him, Octavia might somehow turn him against me… I can’t lose my best friend, especially when I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know what to do. I wish she’d just forget about me, but I’m nowhere near old enough to know any memory charms. And even if I did, it seems wrong to mess with someone’s memories. But… if I did know it, I honestly probably would just wipe myself from her brain entirely. I saw her again in Charms class, but I refused to look at her. 

I don’t know. All of it makes me want to cry again. I talked to Murina again, and I met her sister Sabrina, and I asked them about what prank items I should order if I wanted to make a quick get away - like, if Octavia catches me alone. But they sort of convinced me I should tell a professor too. Everett even said I should tell Professor Rask, since she’s the Slytherin Head of House. 

I’m not sure what I’ll do. For now, I’ve been walking around with Bonnie’s clockwork unicorn sort of to protect myself, and I’ve been trying to stay close to friends. I’m glad it’s almost summer. Maybe once school ends she’ll stop thinking about me. Up until this point, I never even thought about her, and now I feel like she wants to kill me or something! And I don’t understand why…

Anyways, Magical Theory is soon. I’m going to find some Hufflepuffs and head to class, and think about the fairytale play I want to write. I don’t think it’ll be a musical, unless Ressy helps me with writing music to go with lyrics...

Much love, Everly

[ Eve’s Wiki Page ] 

[ Flickr ] 

[niall-is-my-dream]

Songbird - Part Six

“When Erin decides to perform one of her favourite songs at a bar, she didn’t expect one of the singers, Niall Horan, to be in the audience. What started as an appreciation for her cover quickly turns into more than either bargained for.”

(Previously known as Fools Gold, this fic has been edited, reworked and finally finished!)

Thanks to @angryniall for being an amazing beta!

As always let me know what you think.

Em x

Catch up below

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/184528124078/songbird-masterlist

2870 Words

Waking up the next morning in Niall's arms you felt safe and calm. But then you remembered the picture circulating social media and the smile that had adorned your face soon faded. 

Niall had met you at yours the night before when you had arrived back home after finishing work. He knew that you would have searched social media on your journey home and seen what people had been commenting on the posts. There has been been an article in the Daily Mail calling you "Niall's mystery red head".

You had talked about everything over dinner and a glass of wine. Considering that no one knew who you were and that the comments hadn't been that bad you felt ok. But in the cold light of a new day, you didn't feel as confident as the night before.

His phone vibrating on the bedside table pulled you from your daze. Niall mumbled an apology as he woke up and leaned over to answer it.

"Hey Marco, bit early isn't it?!" He joked.

But then his smile was gone.

His face was full of concern as he turned his body, his legs falling to the floor and he stepped out of bed. You were left lying in your bed confused as he walked hurriedly out of your bedroom. 

Your flat was cold as you walked down the hallway to the living area, the heating had not long come on so it's warmth hadn't filled the air. Niall was stood with his back to you, one hand on the phone to his ear the other frantically running through his hair and down his neck. Red blotches had appeared on his neck where he had obviously put too much pressure on his skin. The sight caused you to panic, whatever was happening on the other end of the phone was serious.

Making your way to him, you wrapped your arms around his semi naked torso, just a pair of white Calvin's covering his lower half. His body was clammy where he had been cosy in bed one minute and then out in the cold of your living area the next.

His hand instantly covered your arms, his thumb caressing your warm skin. When you rested your forehead against his back you could feel the tension in him relax a bit at your touch, your gentle kisses calming him. His breathing was heavy as he listening to what Marco was saying on the phone.

"Yes, I'm at Erin's now."

Pausing your kisses, you held your breath wanting to hear what was said next. But Niall ended the call with a brief goodbye to Marco.

Placing his phone on the kitchen side, he took a deep breath before turning around in your arms. His face was full of worry and you instantly took a step back. But he reached for your hands and held them in his own.

"Um, someone spoke to the press yesterday after our picture was printed and told them who you are. There's an article in The Sun newspaper."

"Fuck..........who?"

"Don't know. Marco and the team are working on it."

"Oh my god. What does the article say?"

"It's someone close to you, they knew a lot about you."

"What does the article say?" You asked more firmly.

"It doesn't matter what it says."

"WHAT DOES IT SAY?!" You shouted.

You knew it wasn't his fault, he had just taken you out for a date. Neither of you expected some random fan to be there and sneak a picture of you. But the fact that he was reluctant to tell you what had been said in the article was frustrating you.

"Says your name, where you work, that you sing at The Courtyard and that's where we met. That we have been seeing each other since before Christmas........" He replied his voice pained at having to tell you.

"And........ "

You knew he was holding back.

"Just that .......they said some not nice things about you."

"Like what?!"

"I don't know, Marco didn't say."

Moving across from the kitchen to the living room, you picked your iPad up from the coffee table.

"Erin...... Just don't look."

"No, I need to see it. Need to figure out who told them."

A quick search of Niall's name and you found the article, a lovely exclusive from Dan Wootten in the Sun. 

Surprise surprise.

There was a picture of you from a bbq at your old house. A photo of you and your friend Rob standing at the grill, massive smiles on your faces. It had been posted on your IG so could easily have been taken from that.

Niall had been right, it had stated where you work, what you do. That you and Niall had started talking when he approached you about singing Fools Gold at The Courtyard pub. It even said about you having been to his show a few months ago. Like you were some obsessed fan.

There was no way Kathy would've done this. She was your friend. But she was the only one you had told. Unless someone had recognised you from the picture. But in the picture you couldn't even see your face, just your hair.

The source that gave the information to the newspaper however definitely wasn't someone who was your true friend. 

Niall stood hovering by your side for a minute before taking a seat next to you. You read the article twice, trying to see if you could work out who had sold you out. There was no mention of New Years Eve, so it definitely wasn't any of Ross or Amys friends.

The gin bar however was mentioned. But you got on so well with everyone who was out that night, who would sell you out like this and say such horrible things?

"Erin, please stop reading it. It's all shit and you know it." NIall said as he took the iPad away from you.

"Fuck......Niall I'm so sorry." You replied, your face in your hands. The tears started to fall then. Broken pathetic sobs.

"Why are you apologising?! Someone has completely fucked you over." He said as he wrapped his arms around you. "I should apologise to you."

"But your name........your reputation."

"This will be old news tomorrow. Marco has already contacted them about taking this article off their website and getting a retraction."

"He has?"

"They can't go printing such personal information about you like your work place. It's not right. It's a fucking hospital for Christ sake."

"God, I'm going to get in so much trouble."

"It'll be ok, just speak to your boss before your shift starts later."

"Why are you so calm?!"

"Because I have a lot of shit written about me and none of my fans believe any of it. They know I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone like the person you're being described as."

You sat looking up at him for a few seconds registering what he said about spending his life with you, before the ringing of your phone from the bedroom caught your attention. Not really wanting to answer it but knowing you needed to, you made your way to your room.

Donna's name showed up on the caller ID.

"Hello." You managed to say.

"Erin are you ok?" She asked her voice laced with concern.

"So, you've seen then?"

"Yeah, just read it. It was Michelle." 

You gasped. Of course it was.

"How do you know?!"

"She was boasting about it last night, they paid her. I should've called you then, I could've helped you not get it printed. I'm so sorry, I didn't realise the article would be that bad."

"Donna, it's fine." You replied.

"No, it's not. Please forgive me, I should've done more, I thought it was all talk. You know what she's like."

"There's nothing to forgive, you didn't sell the story, she did."

"What are you going to do?"

"Not sure. Just do me one thing?"

"Anything." Donna said.

"Don't tell her you called me." You replied, the rage you were feeling deep down in that moment shocked you.

You were frantically brushing your teeth when Niall entered the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" He asked, taking in your appearance. 

You'd thrown on some jeans and a t-shirt and were finishing off in the bathroom.

"Can I borrow Willie's car?" You asked him calmly, ignoring his question.

"Only if I come with you?"

"Probably best you don't."

You walked past him and into the hallway grabbing your boots as you went. 

"Where are you going?"

"Michelle's. It was her."

"You sure you want to do that?"

"Oh definitely. Now give me the keys." You said holding out your hand.

"I'm coming with you. Give me two minutes." He replied as he walked out the living room.

********

"I know you're in there Michelle!" You said banging on the door to your old shared house. 

Michelle didn't work Saturdays, your other old housemate Jess did though and you knew she would have already left by now. You saw the curtains twitch in the upstairs window, she was home.

"Let me in." You shouted.

Niall was stood next to you and you were wondering what he was thinking of about your behaviour. You didn't care if you looked or sounded ridiculous.

Reaching into your pocket you took out your keys and found the one you needed.

"You still have a key to the house?" NIall asked you.

"Yeah, just wanted to give the coward the chance to actually open the door to me first. Wait in the car."

"Nope, I'm not letting you go in there on your own." He replied as he walked behind you into the house.

You stomped up the stairs to the front bedroom where you had seen the curtains twitching. Swinging open the door to find Michelle casually sitting on her bed.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" You screamed at her.

"Whatever do you mean?!" She replied sarcastically.

"Oh you absolute....." You said as you made your way over to her, only to be held back by Niall.

"That's it let your secret celebrity boyfriend hold you back."

"Hey." Niall said. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You lied to me." Michelle said.

"So, you sold me out to a newspaper because I kept this a secret from you?!"

She nodded. "I thought we were friends. You know, who tell each other everything."

"Are you joking?! You're nothing but rude and put me down all the time. You can't keep a secret to save your life unless it's to protect you. And why do you think I was so desperate to move out of here?"

She just sat there, her smug little face not even faltering. You were in no way a nasty person but you couldn't stop the words from pouring from your mouth.

"Did you know that Jess is saving up to move out to? Asked to buy somewhere with me. Did you also know that Andrew knows about your stupid crush on him and won't come near you because you're such a slut!"

 She gasped then, that wiped the smile off her smug face.

"Maybe you should sort out your own life out instead of going around ruining others." You said taking Niall's hand and walking out of the room.

Your hands were shaking and you were sweating as you stepped out of the house, the cold wind of the January morning cooling down your face.

"I'll drive." Niall said, taking the car keys from you.

Sitting in the passengers side of the car you fastened your seatbelt. Taking one last glance at the house you saw Michelle in the window again. Getting your phone from your pocket, you opened up the contacts and hit the button saying Pam, Michelle's Mum.

Michelle might have been an adult, but you knew her Mum would be appalled with her and you had no problem with ratting out her behaviour.

*******

You placed your bag into your locker, closing it before taking a deep breath. You could do this. No one will mention it.

Except Kathy did as soon as she walked into the locker room.

"Are you ok poppet?" She asked.

Kathy's big sister nature was shining through. Her eyes were full of worry for you and it was then that you broke down.

"No...not..really." You managed to choke out.

"Come here." She replied as she pulled you into a hug.

The door to the staff room opened and your boss Linda came in.

"Can I have quick word please Erin?" She asked a soft smile on her face.

You nodded and Kathy gave you another hug before you left the staff room.

******

You were in your bedroom when you heard the soft tap of someone at your front door. Dropping what you were doing you made your way down the hall.

"Hey." Niall said as you opened the door to him.

"Hi." You replied as you moved to the side to let him into your flat.

"Are you ok?" He asked clearly seeing your puffy red eyes. Since you got back from work last night after being sent home by your boss you had spent a lot of time crying while reading all the shit you had been getting online.

His fans had been leaving comments on some of your old IG posts. You'd gone private but you hadn't been quick enough to stop them all. Clearly they had believed the article.

"Not really." You said as you wandered down the hall to your bedroom.

Niall followed behind you but paused in the doorway.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked, his voice low as he surveyed the small suitcase and clothes strewn across your bed.

"Just going to stay with my parents."

"Were you planning on telling me or were you just going to disappear on me?"

"I was going to text, but I was busy packing." You replied not looking at him.

"How long are you going for?"

"Not sure, maybe a week."

"What about work? What about me?"

"Well, considering Michelle told the press where I worked, they need me to take a few weeks off so that there aren't any problems in the maternity ward."

"Shit."

"And you'll be fine, you have work." You replied. You hadn't meant to sound so cold towards him. Your words had just come out that way. You instantly regretted it.

"So that's it is it? You're just going to end things with me without any discussion?"

"No, I just think we need some time apart. It's been a pretty intense couple of weeks." You said as you folded the last of your clothes in your suitcase. You took a deep breath trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. 

But this was his opportunity to get out of this relationship and save himself anymore embarrassment from you.

"Please don't do this Erin." Niall pleaded, his voice breaking.

He made his way over to you, but you couldn't bring yourself to look him in the eyes. He took your hands in his and began stroking his thumbs across the top of your fingers.

"Please...." He sobbed. "I'm sorry they found out about us? I shouldn't have put us at risk by going to that restaurant. I thought we'd be safe. I'm sorry that people are saying crap about you. I'm sorry......." He broke down then. Pulling one of his hands from yours to wipe away his tears that he had let fall. Completely unashamed to show you how he was feeling.

It was then that you looked up at him, tears rolling down your cheeks as well. Lifting your free hand you helped him wipe his tears away.

"I'm sorry too. But it's all too much for me. I just need some time to think."

He nodded, unable to form any words.

"Promise me that you'll come back to me?" He whispered.

"We have something special, I'm not going to throw that away." You whispered back and you hoped he believed you.

His hand moved up to your face cupping your cheek as he leaned in and brushed his lips against yours, worried you'd move away. But you didnt. You moved forward and captured his lips in a kiss that you hoped told him how much he meant to you. His other arm wrapped around your body pulling you to him. The kiss was intense, your body moulding against his. You didn't know when you would see him next and you wanted him to know how much you would miss him.

The buzzer to your door went and you reluctantly both pulled away.

"That'll be my Mum." You whispered, wiping your eyes.

Niall nodded and reached over to your bedside table to get you both a tissue.

He followed you down the hall and you opened the door, your Mum was standing there completely unfazed by Niall at your side.

"Hi sweetie." She said as she embraced you. Taking one look at the broken man beside you before she embraced him the same way. "Niall, it's nice to meet you."

Your Mum didn't say anything about your tear stained faces, just excused herself to use the bathroom. With your Mum down the hall and out of earshot, Niall turned to you.

"Please come back to me. Promise me you will." He begged.

You nodded unable to to say anything in that moment. Your throat felt tight and you could feel another wave of tears approaching.

Niall cupped your face again and kissed you. Neither of you said anything as you moved away and he stepped outside your flat. You watched him walk down the path towards his car, but closed the door before he could turn around and see you.

With your face in your hands, you leaned against your door unable to stop the tears. The soft hands of your Mum pulled them away and she cuddled you close like she always did when you were upset. The comforting scent of her familiar perfume engulfed you, time at home was what you needed.

"He looked broken." Your Mum whispered. "Completely broken."

Thanks for reading!

Tag @awomanindeniall @playboyxniall @ihearthemcallingforyou

[blue-eyed-devils]

9) Favorite Tumblr memory from the 2010s? 38) Best New Years Eve of the 2010s?

9) Favorite tumblr memory...  Friendships I’ve made here. I can’t really single out a particular memory that stands above the rest. But the friends I’ve made here, i feel they see more sides of me than my friends in real life. Get my sense of humor, more likeminded etc.

38) NYE is usually a shitty time for me. A couple years back, housemate went away and I had the house to myself for a couple of weeks, NYE included. That was good. I’m pretty lame I know.